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Terrorists Attack National Museum in Tunisia; University of Virginia Student Beaten Bloody by Campus Police; Did Secret Service Erase Surveillance Video? Aired 8-8:30a ET
Aired March 19, 2015 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- while returning from a party.
[08:00:01] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they had two tapes, they must have others.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That kid could very well have been here playing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The house is cracked in half, totally fine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Look at that beautiful shot that we're showing of the Statue of Liberty. Good morning, everybody. Welcome back to your NEW DAY. It is Thursday, March 19th. It is 8:00 in the east. Chris Cuomo is off today and John Berman joins us. Great to have you with us.
Up first, the search for three terrorists on the run after opening fire in the national museum in Tunis. Two other gunmen killed by police. The terrorists slaughtered 23 people, most of them tourists. And in new developments this hour, two Spanish tourists and a museum worker found alive hiding in a museum office.
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Tunisia's prime minister is calling this massacre a cowardly act. No one has yet claimed responsibility but a Tunisian government official says at least one of the gunmen killed was indeed known to authorities. Let's begin our coverage with CNN international correspondent Arwa Damon in Tunis. Arwa?
ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela. Small crowd has gathered outside of the museum chanting Tunisia is free, no to terrorism. This country is still struggling to cope with the aftermath of the horrific attack.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAMON: This morning a massive manhunt for at least three suspects continues, this as scores of international visitors depart Tunis on a cruise liner following the deadliest attack on tourists in the Middle East in over a decade. On Wednesday men strapped with high powered guns dressed in military fatigues stormed the Bardo National Museum in Tunisia's capital, opening fire inside. The museum connected to Tunisia's parliamentary building full of lawmakers.
SABRINA GHOUBATINI, TUNISIAN LAWMAKER: We heard it and just next to the building was gunshots, and the administration came to tell us to lay down.
DAMON: Security forces killing two of the gunmen, but not before the attackers shot and killed at least 19 people, including 17 tourists from around the world. More than 20 others were injured in the attack including this man visited in the hospital by Tunisia's president.
This morning, concerned the brazen attack could have been the work of ISIS supporters, the opening of a new front for their violence in North Africa. Out of the 20,000 foreigners that have joined the fight in Iraq and Syria, a British think tank says up to 3,000 of them are from Tunisia, the largest number from any country.
REP. MIKE MCCAUL, (R-TX) HOMELAND SECURITY CHAIRMAN: We're seeing really I think northern Africa is falling now not just to Al Qaeda affiliates but now to ISIS.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DAMON: Michaela, people we have been talking to are horrified by the violence that took place, but just as horrified and concerned about what this is going to mean for the country's future, especially an economic future that is so reliant on tourism. People say they believe this was a deliberate blow to bring this country to its knees.
PEREIRA: All right, Arwa, yes, the concerns there are many, not to mention the geopolitical ones. Tunisia is a trusted U.S. ally in north Africa. The White House quick to condemn the terrorist attack, vowing to stand beside the Tunisians to track down those killers. Let's bring in CNN White House correspondent Michelle Kosinski. Michelle?
MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Michaela. What we're hearing is that the list of countries where these victims were from, tourists who lost their lives during an afternoon out at a museum keeps growing. They came from at least nine different nations. One of them now we know was Britain which called the attacks despicable, cowardly, and sickening.
This is one situation where we're told Americans were not among the injured or killed. But right after the attacks U.S. officials were in touch with their Tunisian counterparts, not only offering condolences but sharing information and offering help.
The White House says that the U.S. is proud to work with Tunisia against terror and on security issues and will continue to stand with Tunisia to counter violent terror. Also the first lady who's traveling in Japan had something to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MICHELLE OBAMA, U.S. FIRST LADY: Our hearts go out to the loved ones of those who were lost here in Japan and around the world. They are very much in our thoughts and prayers today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSINSKI: With her at that event was the U.S. ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy, who herself has received death threats over the last few weeks, highlighting the threats to U.S. officials and people around the world. But in the region of Tunisia there have been threats recently that caused the closure and evacuation of the embassy in Yemen not long ago. Just this week temporary closures we've seen in Saudi Arabia and Djibouti. But Interestingly in this case, even though some gunmen are still loose, officials determined that the threat was not such that there need to be any changes to the embassy there. It appears that this threat was solely directed towards citizens. Michaela?
[08:05:13]PEREIRA: We'll take a look at the security of our diplomatic corps a little later in our show. And in just a moment, Michelle, we're going to speak with a Tunisian lawmaker who was a member of parliament during the Arab spring. She actually helped form the country's new democracy. That's coming up.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hundreds of students making their voices heard at the University of Virginia after the bloody arrest of a student prompted accusations of police brutality. Martesee Johnson can be heard on this video calling the cops racist. Police say Johnson was drunk and resisted arrest. But the governor has ordered an investigation into this arrest. CNN's Brian Todd at the scene in Charlottesville this morning with the latest. Brian?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. This incident occurring just a few feet away from the campus of the University of Virginia. The incident has clearly shaken this campus and shaken this town. We're standing at the spot where this occurred. Check this out, this is Martese Johnson's blood still on the sidewalk about 32 hours after the incident occurred. He was wrestled down to the ground here by police just after he was denied entry to the Trinity Irish Pub here. The Black Student Alliance at the University of Virginia calls his treatment brutal and animalistic.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His head's bleeding. His head is bleeding. You racist! You racist!
TODD: This disturbing cell phone video at the center of the latest claim of police brutality. Twenty-year-old University of Virginia student Martese Johnson arrested by uniformed Alcohol Beverage Control special agents outside a bar near the college. Pinned to the pavement, blood spatters his shirt and covers his face.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Check your I.D.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did this happen, you -- racist. TODD: According to a statement from the ABC Johnson was arrested
after he was refused entry to the pub. The third year student was charged with public intoxication and obstruction of justice and received 10 stitches to his head at a local area hospital and released. This gruesome booking photo circulated by the university's Black Student Alliance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No justice.
CROWD: No peace.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No justice.
CROWD: No peace.
TODD: Stoking student outrage including from UVA's president.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I felt it in my stomach, seeing the blood run down that young man's face.
TODD: Hundreds of rallying students flooding UVA's campus, including Martese Johnson himself.
MARTESE JOHNSON, UVA STUDENT: We're all part of one community and we deserve to respect each other, especially in times like this.
(APPLAUSE)
TODD: The governor launching an investigation to determine whether excessive force was used. The officers involved in that arrest put on administrative duties pending the results of the probe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For his face to literally be bashed in by concrete, there's no words to describe that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did this happen?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Check your I.D.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did this happen, you - racist?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: Now Martese Johnson spoke to that rally last night. He did not speak to reporters. His attorney, Daniel Watkins, has issued a statement saying that Mr. Johnson is, quote, "absolutely devastated by what happened. " The attorney, Daniel Watkins describes Martese Johnson as a third year student at the University of Virginia majoring in Italian and Media Studies, a student who holds numerous leadership positions at the university. Martese Johnson had no previous criminal record, and contrary to earlier reports his attorney says he was not arrested -- not denied entry to this pub the other night after brandishing a false identification. His attorney says those reports were false. Michaela, to you.
PEREIRA: Now you see "Justice for Martese" circulating on social media. Brian Todd, our thanks to you.
Police in Mesa, Arizona, identifying now the suspect in a shooting spree that killed one person, five others left wounded. And 41-year- old Ryan Giroux, a white supremacist, has an extensive criminal record. It includes several stints in prison. The shootings took place in several areas in and around Mesa. A police SWAT team captured Giroux finally by finding him hiding in a vacant condominium. Still no word on a possible motive.
CAMEROTA: Target may have to pay out $10 million over that massive data breach. This is part of a proposed settlement between consumers and the big box chain. Victims of the hack attack could be eligible for up to $10,000 each, but you'll need to provide documentation of financial loss. And 110 million people were affected by the hack at the height of the 2013 holiday shopping season.
BERMAN: Shocking video out of Washington state. A boiler malfunctioned inside a home, exploded right into a child's playroom. The blast obviously caught on a nanny cam. It ripped everything to shreds, shrapnel and nails flying into the empty room. The amazing thing here, the lucky thing here, no one was hurt.
PEREIRA: Incredible video to see, my goodness.
BERMAN: Makes you think, you've got to get your boiler checked.
PEREIRA: Absolutely. All right, Alisyn, over to you.
[08:10:00] CAMEROTA: OK, let's go back to our top story now, and that's the terror attack in Tunisia. Joining us now is a member of the Tunisian constituent assemble Mabrouka M'Barek. She served as a member of Tunisia's parliament following the Arab spring. Ms. M'Barek, thanks so much for being with us.
MABROUKA M'BAREK, MEMBER, TUNISIAN CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY: Good morning, Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: I want to talk about one of the ironies of this tragic attack, and that is that the Tunisian parliament at the moment of this attack was working on an anti-terror bill. They heard the shots and they had to evacuate. Have you been able to talk to any of your former colleagues about what the scene was like?
M'BAREK: Absolutely. Actually, after I heard it I actually saw the tweets of people inside the committee saying, oh, my god, we're hearing shots now. I called my colleague who was inside the committee. It is a very sad irony, and this bill has been, you know, in the parliament for over a year now. We were discussing it. It never really passed because it's been really challenging for us, so that's a very sad irony, indeed.
CAMEROTA: I want to follow up on that because you were working on an anti-terror bill in parliament. What was the problem? Why didn't it pass?
M'BAREK: Right. So, you know, for people who don't know about the context in Tunisia is the first thing that we need to understand is terrorism is not something new. It predates the revolution, but the state police of the former dictator Bin Ali put in place a law not to combat terrorism but actually to crack down on political opponents. So that was the main issue. The police state of Bin Ali has failed in combatting terrorism.
So now Tunisia is different. It's a democracy after the revolution. We have one of the best, one of the most liberal constitution in Arab world. And we're really keen in trying to guarantee freedom and rights to citizens. So now the challenge ahead of us, there are three challenges in fact in terrorism in Tunisia. The first is how do we find the fine balance between security imperative and rights and liberties in post revolution Tunisia.
The second is we need a strategy. We no longer have talks about trying to combat Tunisia. Right now the government has been only using the ministry of interior and ministry of defense. Terrorism needs an answer from multi-level. We need to engage citizens, we need to engage social workers, educators, everyone should be on board. And this is not a partisan issue.
And the third challenge is we need to have a regional answer. Tunisia needs to talk and come up with a strategy. You know that in Libya the power vacuum that is existing there has been very challenging. You know, this probably is the reason why the strategy hasn't really come up yet.
CAMEROTA: You've spelled out the status of Tunisia beautifully for us, and yet there's even one more challenge, and that is of the foreign fighters who are leaving Tunisia. Tunisia is often held up as this ray of hope for democracy in the Middle East, and the role of women there is particularly exemplary, and yet the irony is it has the most foreign fighters, I believe we have a map that we can show our viewers, who are heading to Syria or Iraq to join ISIS. There are 3,000 foreign fighters that have been identified from Tunisia alone. And that leads the way sadly in the Middle East. So explain that paradox.
M'BAREK: Yes. Alisyn, this phenomenon, again, is not new. It has started in the beginning of the 2000 and we have actually documentation showing that prominent fighters in Afghanistan, in Yemen, are actually Tunisian, and these happened under the Bin Ali regime. So now here's the problem. We have about 3,000 Tunisians living and they're coming back. So, again, we really have to address the problem.
What was done so far was a couple of actions but independently so, you know, the former government worked with the President Erdogan to make sure to arrest Tunisians trying to cross from Turkey to Syria. There were a couple things done. It's not enough. So we need really a multi-level strategy right now. It's not enough to only engage police, et cetera. So don't get me wrong, we really need to have a strong police presence. We need to have our army better trained.
So this phenomenon, you know, it has been studied. So the irony, if I may add another irony, is that Tunisia is very exceptional in a way that Tunisia actually did a study for three years the Tunisian institute for strategic studies led an amazing research with field interviews with yuck people who actually left for jihads, with people who returned, and came up -- came up with -- in December 2014 with a book, 360 pages book of detailed analysis on the phenomenon of jihadism and ways, countermeasures of how we can implement the strategy. So Tunisia is very unique because it had done its work.
[08:15:03] Now, what we need to have is the government to put back together the team.
And this is not a partisan issue, they have to come all on board to address that.
So, they have the studies, which is very unique. They have this complete strategy already proposed. Now they really need to do their own work and get everybody on board.
CAMEROTA: Yes, and just put it all into action.
Mabrouka M'Barek, thank you for all the information. And we're thinking of your country today. Thanks so much for being on NEW DAY.
M'BAREK: Thanks, Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: Let's go to Michaela.
PEREIRA: All right. Back here at home, the prosecution in the Boston bombing trial continuing to build their case against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. Today, jurors will view more physical evidence. We'll tell you what's being presented and whether this is going to be a game changer.
BERMAN: The Secret Service under fire. The head of the agency says it may have erased surveillance tapes from the night the two agents allegedly disrupted an active investigation. What is now next for that embattled agency?
We're going to speak to a former Secret Service agent.
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PEREIRA: The Secret Service facing mounting criticism this morning. The head of the agency telling lawmakers behind closed doors they may have erased surveillance video capturing potential misconduct by agents of the White House.
[08:20:01] CNN's investigative reporter Chris Frates has been digging and he's got the latest for us from Washington -- Chris.
CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Yes, Michaela.
This is another shocking development in the investigation into two Secret Service agents accused of drunk driving their car into a barricade around an active bomb investigation at the White House.
House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz tells me that the Secret Service director showed lawmakers two videos in a closed door briefing earlier this week. When lawmakers asked Director Clancy if there were more videos from other angles, Clancy said they may have been erased telling them it's agency policy to erase tapes after 72 hours.
Chaffetz told me he's frustrated that Clancy didn't know if there were more tapes and he wonders if he's getting the run around.
The Secret Service sent a statement that said, in part, that the agency keeps video in the event of a security incident at the White House, but the agency didn't say whether it kept additional videos of this incident.
Chaffetz is launching his own investigation, asking the Secret Service for all its tapes and any other physical evidence, telling me it's unfathomable that the agency would erase tapes every three days.
As he put it, John, this is not your local 7-Eleven. This is the White House -- John.
BERMAN: This is the White House. Chris Frates, thanks so much.
Joining me now to discuss this a little bit more is Dan Emmett, a retired Secret Service agent, author of "Within Arms Length: The Secret Service Agent's Definitive Inside Account of Protecting the President."
Dan, thanks so much for being with us.
DAN EMMETT, RETIRED SECRET SERVICE AGENT: Hey, good morning. Thank you.
BERMAN: It's been ten years since you've been in the Secret Service and the technology has changed at the White House in terms of the monitoring there, but does it make sense to you that they would erase footage outside the White House after 72 hours?
EMMETT: Well, first of all, let me just speak briefly about the oversight committee's treatment of Joe Clancy on Tuesday. I think it's unfathomable that a member of Congress actually referred to the director of Congress as "dude". And so, before that committee goes any further into this investigation, I think they owe Director Clancy a public apology.
However, in regard to the question that you have, I don't know whether or not that is actual written Secret Service policy that after 72 hours, these tapes are erased. If it is, then the question that would come to my mind would be, why then do two tapes still exist and the others were erased? It would seem to me that all of the tapes would be either erased or none of the tapes would be erased.
The other question that comes to mind would be, are these tapes erased automatically after 72 hours or is that manually done by an individual?
BERMAN: Yes, it would have had to have been a pro active decision to do it if it is done by an individual. And the question is, if there was an investigation, if there was concern about the agent's behavior outside that White House, perhaps someone could have made a decision to keep those tapes around just because there were questions about it.
Look, we understand your defense of the director of Joe Clancy. You've known him for years. You say he's a stand-up guy. You think he's up to fixing the Secret Service.
EMMETT: I believe that if the Oversight Committee gives him a chance, he can fix the agency. Now, he's already done, in my view, some pretty drastic measures by coming in and dismissing or having reassigned four assistant directors, as well as pushing out the deputy director, the number two agent in the service.
And so, my opinion for the last three years has been the problem at the Secret Service is leadership. He's certainly changing that on the upper levels. Now, I think that he's going to focus more on the divisional levels, in other words, special agents in charge that run these divisions that have had problems.
BERMAN: How do you explain --
EMMETT: Because if you look at -- yes?
BERMAN: I mean, how do you explain how it took five days for him to learn about this incident outside the White House? That's an awfully long time.
EMMETT: Well, five days is inexcusable. This is the type of incident that in my view they should have called him at home and gotten him out of his sleep if he's asleep, wake him up and tell him what happened. And if at the very latest the next morning at his morning briefing that he gets from his assistant director.
So, you know, this is a clear case of sometimes the guy at the very tippy top of an organization doesn't know really any more what's going on in his organization than his subordinates are telling him. And so, in this particular case, I think that it's really Joe's subordinates that are at fault.
But if they will give him a chance, and I'm saying a year to 18 months, it's going to take him that long to get this train wreck back on the track because it didn't fall off overnight. This has been going on a long time. It's not going to be changed overnight.
BERMAN: We should say -- we should say the director and others, well, maybe this incident wasn't as bad as is being reported. They may have hit a safety cone, it's not like they crashed head first into a barricade.
[08:25:03] But there still is the question of the drinking which hasn't been fully explained right now -- if these guys were drinking beforehand, if they got into a government vehicle, if they were perhaps intoxicated while they were in or around that investigation. Is there any universe that you existed in when you were in the Secret Service where that would have been acceptable? EMMETT: No, absolutely not. The Secret Service in my time, it was
pretty much big boy rules apply. What you did on your own time was your own time, but when it came time to work, you better be ready to work and you certainly never came to work impaired.
However, let me say this -- in the fact that these agents were not given sobriety tests, it's going to be very difficult to prove one way or the other how much they had or did not have. Now, the I.G.'s investigation will do its best to determine that, but essentially when those guys went to bed that night and woke up the next morning, all of that evidence was gone.
BERMAN: And I think that's a concern for the Oversight Committee right now. Dan Emmett, thanks so much for being with us. Appreciate it.
EMMETT: Thank you.
BERMAN: Alisyn?
CAMEROTA: OK, John.
Jurors in the Boston bombing trial seeing more physical evidence today. Why this could be key to Tsarnaev's fate.
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