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Heightened Security Over Holiday Weekend; Navy Yard False Alarm Triggers Quick Response; Matt Wrote Letter to Daughter, Hinting of Escape; U.K. Holds Moment of Silence for Tunisia Victims. Aired 7- 7:30a ET

Aired July 03, 2015 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

REP. PETER KING (R), NEW YORK: I don't think they are capable of a large-scale attack. But certainly, an attack which could kill, maim or wound hundreds of people.

[07:00:08] SANCHEZ: Police departments in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston and Atlanta tightening up security measures.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAM BRATTON, NYPD: We're constantly seeking to be creative, to be proactive. The name of the game is to prevent it.

SANCHEZ: At the Washington Mall, they're preparing for all possibilities.

New York City taking the greatest security measures in years. The city swept for explosives, even out at sea, where hundreds of boaters will be watching the fireworks. Snipers will be strategically placed. Spotters will be inside the crowds, and 100 mobile cameras will capture the activities on land and in the air.

JAMES WATERS, NYPD CHIEF OF COUNTERTERRORISM: There's no credible event to this event or to New York City in particular. But our operating premise is that we are the target in New York City, all the time.

SANCHEZ: On Thursday, within minutes of the first reported shots fired inside Washington's Naval Yard, the entire complex was locked down as hundreds of police, SWAT teams and federal investigators swarmed the scene, blocking streets as helicopters hovered overhead. The threat a false alarm, but it reveals that law enforcement is at the ready this holiday weekend.

SCOTT MILLER, NYPD: Bring your family, have a great time. You're going to be at the most well-secured event in the city.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: And already this holiday weekend in Fayetteville, North Carolina, officers arresting a man walking through a mall with an AR- 15 rifle, ammunition and a Kevlar vest. Clearly, everyone under heavy watch this weekend -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Boris, thank you. PEREIRA: Well, that massive response we saw yesterday at Washington's

Navy Yard indicating that federal and local authorities are at the ready to respond to any potential attack. Thankfully, yesterday's reports of a shooting turned out to be much ado about nothing.

CNN national correspondent Sunlen Serfaty live this morning in Washington after a very tense day yesterday.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was a tense day. And the response, Michaela, was huge and quick, and it really underscores how on edge authorities are going into this holiday weekend, treating every threat seriously.

Now on Thursday morning, this all started to unfold as a woman inside the Navy Yard, she dialed 911. She reported what she thought was a gunshot. Within minutes, the building was on lockdown. Hundreds of police at the scene responded.

It also boosted a security increase at the capitol and at the White House. Pennsylvania Avenue quickly shut down. White House tours, at the time, canceled. Now, three hours went by as police painstakingly went floor by floor, room by room at the Navy Yard to search the building. That ended up to be nothing. But the D.C. police chief here, she said this just shows that the city is ready going into this holiday weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF CATHY LANIER, WASHINGTON, D.C.: We're aware of what's, you know, the discussion and chatter is around the Fourth of July events and all those threats. And we take those into account. We change our tactics up for different events, but we never lower our posture. We always maintain a very high posture.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: It comes as there's been a change in security at the White House. This week, Secret Service installed those large steel spikes at the top of the White House fence, Alisyn, to deter any White House fence jumpers.

CAMEROTA: Well, that should be effective. All right. Thanks so much, Sunlen.

So more now on that New York prison escape. Richard Matt, one of the two convicted killers who escaped, reportedly wrote to his daughter before the breakout, promising to see her on the outside.

CNN's Jean Casarez is live for us outside the prison in Dannemora, New York. Tell us more about this letter, Jean.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the letter is from, allegedly, Richard Matt to his daughter, and "The Buffalo News" is reporting this morning that his daughter actually got that letter after he escaped, but it was written and sent before.

And in the letter, he says, "I'm going to see you on the outside. I made you a promise. I'm going to stick with it."

That is one of the new developments. But there's also so many changes going on at the prison right behind me every day. We want to show everybody that, at this point, 13 employees have been put on paid administrative leave. And the cells in the prison are now -- the integrity of the cells are now inspected weekly by senior staff. And the tunnels are inspected monthly, random checks of cells; and the honor block that inmates work their years for has now been eliminated.

Getting more information on those employees that have been put on administrative leave. Some were correctional officers. Some were not correctional officers. Some at various levels of security.

And I just spoke with a corrections officer on his way in to work today. Anonymously, of course; he would not give me his name. But he said that those that have been placed on administrative leave have not at all been involved with the breakout in any part.

And I said, "Do you believe, and do your fellow correction officers believe they were targeted?"

And he said, "Yes, we do."

[07:05:05] So John, back to you. Because they do not feel that those that have been placed on administrative leave, that it is warranted at this point. I want to say it's paid administrative leave. They haven't lost their jobs, but they're not working right now -- John.

PEREIRA: I'll take it from here. It's a very interesting development, Jean. Thank you so much.

Overseas, Boko Haram militants again terrorizing Nigeria. They've killed at least 145 people since Wednesday in raids on at least three villages. In fact, 97 people were killed in a single attack on a fishing village. The Nigerian military has responded with airstrikes on Boko Haram militants. They have, of course, pledged allegiance to ISIS.

BERMAN: Major protests in Greece ahead of a crucial vote Sunday. It's a referendum on the terms of a bailout deal from creditors. The prime minister is expected to be at the rally to support the "no" vote, opposing the terms. But European Union leaders are warning that could affect Greece's future in the Euro Zone. ATMs in Greece are now running out of twenty-Euro notes, with limits already placed on withdrawals.

PEREIRA: Baltimore Police are launching an internal investigation after photos surfaced of a sign inside a transport van that says, quote, "Enjoy your ride, cuz we sure will." Police officials telling CNN this is concerning and unacceptable. This all follows Freddie Gray's death in April, as you'll recall. He suffered a severe spinal cord injury while being transported in a police van and later died -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right, Michaela. Back to our top story. U.S. intelligence officials warning of potential attacks here this holiday weekend. What chatter are they hearing? Let's bring in Julie Myers Wood. She is the former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, and she's currently CEO of Guidepost Solutions. And Michael Weiss, CNN contributor and co-author of "ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror."

Great to see both of you this morning. Julie, I want to start with you. You were in the Department of Homeland Security under President Bush. What are your contacts in the counterterrorism world telling you?

JULIE MYERS WOOD, CEO, GUIDEPOST SOLUTIONS: Well, they're concerned this morning. What we have here is not only a major holiday weekend, a very important holiday for America, but we also have Ramadan going on and ISIS trying to recruit lone wolves and inspire attacks all around the country.

And so I think what we're seeing from the FBI is more on-the-ground immediate, early arrest. Definitely heightened surveillance but also very quick arrests. This is -- this is some of the biggest surveillance and threat management we've seen since close to 9/11.

CAMEROTA: And Julie, I want to stick with you for a second, because you say that that's the thing that tipped you off that this was actually very serious, this was more than just sort of the usual level of threat, when you saw the FBI setting up command centers. What does that mean?

MYERS WOOD: That's exactly right. I mean, certainly, right after 9/11, for every major holiday, law enforcement is always on alert. Because terrorists like those holidays. They know they're important to Americans.

But now, with the command centers around the country and certainly with the attacks we've seen overseas, I think that's a sign that something more is going on, that we have to be extra careful and pay extra close attention here.

CAMEROTA: Michael, Ramadan, that's a holy month. Why are we more concerned during Ramadan?

MICHAEL WEISS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Every Ramadan, every terrorist organization, including ISIS, comes out with a statement. This is the time to start escalating the attacks. This is the time that the Mujahedeen really have to sort of earn their glory.

Last year, Abu Baker al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, in his first sermon from the mosque in Mosul said exactly that. A few days ago, a few weeks ago, Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, the spokesman of ISIS, came out and said this is the time to reign fire on the koufar (ph). There's nothing really out of the ordinary with that. The problem is this: I think we're now at a rate of one terrorist attack being interrupted by ISIS in this country every month. And by ISIS, I mean inspired. The lone wolf attacks.

CAMEROTA: You mean our law enforcement officials are breaking up one a month?

WEISS: One a month. "The New York Times" actually did a survey of this yesterday, which was very sort of chilling and edifying.

There's another component to this, too. It's been 15 years since 9/11. A lot of the people who are meant to keep us safe, counterterrorism task force here in New York, which is FBI and NYPD, they haven't had a break in 15 years. They've been on duty. They've been doing this every single year. It's not just Fourth of July. It's Christmas, Thanksgiving, all the major American holidays. So, you know, there's a lot of...

CAMEROTA: Fatigue?

WEISS: Fatigue and wear and tear and a sense of, you know, what if we miss this aspect or what if we miss that aspect?

With terrorism, it's the old line the IRA used after they tried to blow up Margaret thatcher. "You guys have to be lucky all the time. We only have to be lucky once."

CAMEROTA: Julie, you know that world better than most. Do you see fatigue or are there new crops of trainees, I would hope, coming in and getting prepared?

MYERS WOOD: There absolutely are new crops of trainees coming in and getting prepared.

But I think fatigue is a problem not only for the public sector but for the private sector. Those that are hosting events, those that own stadiums and doing security. It's really, really important that during this holiday weekend that they're on their top game, and that they have the best security officials and that they're thinking through their emergency response plans.

[07:10:12] Sometimes during holidays, even security professionals want to take a holiday. This is not one to miss. This one to make sure that they're focused and really looking at every potential threat. And if you see something, you know, say something. DHS has got that exactly right. And sometimes Americans looking and thinking of things have really prevented some of the biggest attacks we've seen.

CAMEROTA: That's a good reminder. Because Michael, right now it's different this weekend than years past, because they're not necessarily looking for the spectacular al Qaeda style attack or even the igniting of a sleeper cell.

WEISS: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Now, they're worried about one guy, one lone wolf somewhere.

WEISS: Look, pressure cooker bombs are a big thing. This is from the Boston Marathon. Putting firecrackers in propane gas tanks or whatever. But there's another aspect here, which is ISIS and ISIS-inspired terrorists can buy an assault rifle and just shoot up a school. We had this problem domestically. It's not even the jihadists. It's just American extremism, or psychopaths going on rampages. That's the kind of attack In think we have to be on guard for. It's not about hijacking planes any more. It's not about trying to level buildings. It's about trying to do a small, but still traumatizing and, indeed, terrifying spree of mass murders, actually. And, you know, if they have their druthers, if they can do it, they will do it. They are trying. Every day.

CAMEROTA: It's also unnerving, but it is helpful to know that one American can pick up the phone and call somebody and stop a terror attack, as we have seen.

Julie, Michael, try to have a good weekend.

WEISS: You, too.

MYERS WOOD: Thank you. You, too.

CAMEROTA: Let's get over to John.

BERMAN: All right. Thanks so much, Alisyn.

In the United Kingdom, a moment of silence for 30 Brits killed in last week's attack on a seaside hotel in Tunisia. The queen and prime minister joining in this tribute.

CNN's Max Foster live outside the prime minister's residence, 10 Downing Street.

Good morning, Max.

MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, very, very powerful moment. The country seemed to come to a complete standstill as Big Ben rang out, marking the start of that moment of silence, led by the queen, who's in Edinburgh right now, but also the prime minister, schools, public buildings; the whole country seemed to come to a stop.

And I tell you what's happened here. What's happened is it's been a week since the attack. And there's a -- there's a realization of the scale of this terror attack, this massacre against Britain, even though it happened overseas. Because in the last 24 hours, with that final confirmation that 30 Brits died on that beach.

And still, the bodies are coming home in coffins with military honors to really reflect that threat against the U.K., not just against innocent people. It could have been any of us. That's the whole sense here in the U.K. That this was an attack on all of us.

So as those coffins come back through -- I was there at Bry's Norton (ph) -- and just on that day, there was a lady there waiting for three coffins: her brother, her father and her son. Just imagine. And also, a wife whose husband died shielding her. These are the sort of stories, which people are coming to terms with here in the United Kingdom.

But also here at Downing Street, they're having to come to terms with the response, not only the biggest investigation for ten years into a terror attack, from 800 police officers, but also how to respond against an ideology driven by ISIS. And David Cameron now laying the groundwork for airstrikes in Syria. That's how serious this has got.

PEREIRA: All right. Max, thank you. We stand in solidarity in times of need like this, obviously, with your nation. Thank you so much for that.

Richard Matt reportedly told his daughter about his prison break in a letter beforehand. How did that slip through the hands of prison officials? We're going to take a closer look at that, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:17:32] BERMAN: It has been one week since Richard Matt was shot and killed on the run after escaping an upstate New York prison. And now we keep learning new, amazing details.

"The Buffalo News" now reports that Matt sent a letter to his daughter before he broke out, alluding to his escape. So should prison officials have known about this letter ahead of time?

With us to discuss this morning, Ed Gavin. He's the former deputy warden for the New York City Department of Corrections.

Ed, thanks so much for being with us.

Let me read you a little bit about what this letter said. Again, Richard Matt sent this to his daughter before he broke out. He wrote, "I always promised you I would see you on the outside. I'm a man of my word."

So, we read that right now. It certainly reads as if this man is telegraphing something, "I'm about to see you on the outside." What are the policies in New York state prisons on screening inmate letters going to friends and family on the outside?

ED GAVIN, FORMER DEPUTY WARDEN, NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS: Well, generally, outgoing mail isn't screened.

BERMAN: Outgoing mail is not screened?

GAVIN: No. Generally not. No, unless there was an exigent circumstance where the inmate might be involved in a criminal conspiracy of sorts. I'll give you an example.

About 15 years ago, I was a deputy warden on Rikers Island. I developed information that an inmate was going to kill his parole officer because she violated him. So right away, I reported it to the inspector general, the Kings County district attorney. And we got up on his phones; we got up on his mail. And working with intermediaries, some other inmate informants and people on the street, we were able to get a conviction for conspiracy to commit murder. He did eight and a third to 25.

BERMAN: There's no right to privacy. The inmates' mail certainly could be screened.

GAVIN: That's incoming mail. Generally, when the incoming mail comes in, the assigned officer in the mail package room would open the mail and not necessarily read it. You don't read inmates' correspondence absent a court order. What you're looking for is you manipulate the paper, the letter. You're checking for money. If there's cash, you take that money and put it in the inmate's commissary. If there -- if the sender put in a check, you know, for a certain amount of money, you put that in the inmate's commissary.

But, generally, without a court order, you just don't read inmates' mail. Doesn't happen, especially in a place like Clinton, where you have 3,000 inmates.

BERMAN: There's too many?

GAVIN: There's too many. You don't -- outgoing mail is not read.

BERMAN: As a guy who was running these prisons, though, to see the fact that an inmate was sending a note like that before he broke out, how does it make you feel?

GAVIN: Well, you know, it shows that he was actually planning his escape. I'd like to know when -- what was the postmark on the letter?

BERMAN: Day before.

GAVIN: Well, there it is. It speaks for itself.

BERMAN: It really does, doesn't it?

All right. Clinton is undergoing a lot of changes right now. They're going to change the policy, how often they do the bed checks, about how often they check the tunnels, about where they have cameras. Everything's changing.

I talked to a guy that served about 10 years in prisons around New York yesterday. And he was telling me, he was saying these changes, while they're in place and they may work for a little while, they won't stick. Sooner or later, inertia is going to set back in, and things will go back to the way they were.

GAVIN: Well, here's what you have to do. You have to make the changes, and the officers have to follow the policy. When an officer engages in undue familiarity, when an officer brings in contraband, that officer needs to be fired. Let me give you an example what I'm talking about.

About -- dating myself again. I'm going to go back to 1993. I'm working in the Manhattan detention complex. And I come out of post, and I see a correction officer with an inmate. And the inmate is eating a McDonald's lunch. He's got a quarter pounder with cheese, French fries and a Coke. I suspended that officer on the spot. He did 30 days. He was removed from his post. And he was transferred to another institution.

Looking back at that now, I think he should have been fired. Because bringing in a sandwich today is a gun tomorrow. You can't -- zero tolerance for that. It's about time we start looking at this real seriously. And around the nation, locally, state; and let's make some changes. Fire these people.

BERMAN: What these corrections officers say, though, is "Look, this is one of the ways we get snitches. This is the way we develop relationships to find out on the inside."

And we're hearing from corrections officers in and around Dannemora, around New York state who are saying, "Look, we're all looking over our shoulders right now. We can't do the jobs we need to do, because we're too nervous about being watched."

GAVIN: Let me be clear. Correction officers should not bring in non- permissible items that are not provided by the facility for the inmates, period.

BERMAN: Period. No matter what it is?

GAVIN: No matter what.

BERMAN: All right. Ed Gavin, sounds pretty definitive to me. Thanks so much for being with us. Thank you.

GAVIN: Pleasure is all mine.

BERMAN: Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right, John. Is it "The Hunger Games" or the Republican race for the White House? President Obama does not see a big difference. Was he dissing democracy? John King explains, "Inside Politics."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:26:13] CAMEROTA: Security ramping up this Fourth of July weekend. The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI alerting authorities across the country to be extra vigilant. A senior member of the Homeland Security Committee says this is the highest level of concern since 9/11. But, officials say they are also not aware of any specific threats.

PEREIRA: A new report revealing prison escapee Richard Matt wrote a letter to his daughter, saying that he'd see her on the outside. "The Buffalo News" says Matt sent that letter from prison. His daughter received it in the mail three days after the pair broke out. There's no indication that the daughter knew about the escape in advance.

We're also learning that the Border Patrol officer who killed Richard Matt fired after Matt pointed a shotgun at him.

BERMAN: Major merger of healthcare providers. Aetna will acquire Humana for $37 billion. Humana is the second largest provider of Medicare insurance. The is the latest deal in a rapidly consolidating industry and likely not the last deal. "The Wall Street Journal" reports that Anthem and Cigna are discussing a possible merger, as well.

CAMEROTA: Vice President Joe Biden heading to the final match of the 2015 World Women's Cup in Canada. The White House says Biden will join the presidential delegation to Vancouver Sunday, which will be led by his wife, Dr. Jill Biden. Team USA will take on Japan after beating Germany, 2-0 in the semifinals. This is a win/win for you.

PEREIRA: It is huge. Except it's a lose/lose, because I don't get to go.

BERMAN: It's manifest destiny. Going to Vancouver and coming back with a championship and more.

PEREIRA: That would be awesome, because we know they lost in 2011.

BERMAN: I remember that. I remember that. They lost.

PEREIRA: It's tense. It's a big, important game. Why did you get all aggressive?

BERMAN: Because to bring it up for the team.

PEREIRA: Let me turn to John King, because he'll defend me and my Canadian ways. John King, what's with this aggression today? What's up with your guy?

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: USA! USA!

BERMAN: Right? Right?

PEREIRA: You're supposed to help me out.

KING: I'm with you on most things. But you know, this has got to be...

PEREIRA: I hear you.

KING: Covering the vice -- covering the vice president is the best thing in the world. You travel the world with the vice president. You actually get to see things.

PEREIRA: True.

KING: You're not trapped in the filing center like you are when you cover the president. It would be fun.

Happy early Fourth to all of you in New York.

Let's go "Inside Politics" this morning. A busy day. Let's start with what we might call a victory lap by President Obama. He went to Wisconsin yesterday. It happens to be the state where the Republican governor, Scott Walker, is about to announce his presidential campaign. We'll get to the president in a minute. But let's start. Sara Murray of CNN is with me this morning; Robert Custer of "The Washington Post." Let's start with this picture. On the tarmac, the president of the United States arrives, and the Republican governor -- can we get this up to show our viewers here? -- comes out to greet him. I got several e-mails from conservatives, saying, "Be tough on him for that. He shouldn't be doing that, because of this stage of the campaign."

I think that's nuts. Scott Walker wrote a letter for RealClearPolitics recently, said, "Hey, Mr. President, I disagree with your economic policies. They're making it hard for small business." He's made clear he doesn't like the president's policies and his speeches. But what's wrong with basic respect? The president of the United States, male or female, Republican or Democrat or independent, comes to your state. I think it's great that the governor goes out there.

ROBERT CUSTER, "THE WASHINGTON POST": There's nothing wrong, at all, with shaking hands with the sitting president or any president of the United States. It's a classy move. It's a standard move for most governors when the president visits.

However, I think this whole conservative uproar about Walker is telling. Because there is concern on the right about the way Walker has flip-flopped on some of his positions. They think he -- he's a real conservative, but they worry on immigration and other fronts whether he's really one of them.

KING: So he was their guy, but now they're a little worried about him, so this is their way to poke him?

SARA MURRAY, CNN: I think they are a little worried to it. But pick your battles here. And the battle is not about him greeting the president.

And by the way, I'm from the Midwest. Scott Walker is from the Midwest. This is what you do. You are polite. You greet your guests. This is how we should behave.

So if you're going to pick an issue with Scott Walker, pick it over gay marriage, pick it over abortion, pick it over immigration. Don't pick it because the sitting president has come to your state.

KING: Amen. I think you respect the office, no matter who holds it. It's good. A little more respect in our politics would actually be a good thing.

So let's get to the president's message. You know, he was there to tout his economic record, to say, "Hey, look, the economy is recovering."