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Dick Cheney Won't Talk Trump; Poll: Carson Pulls into Tie with Trump in Iowa; Thousands of Hillary Clinton E-mails Released; Suspected Cop Killer 'Mentally Incompetent' in 2012. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired September 01, 2015 - 07:00   ET

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

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Yesterday, you'll recall, we brought you the first part of Jamie Gangel's interview with former Vice President Dick Cheney, who was promoting his new book with his daughter, Liz, "Exceptional: Why the World Needs a Powerful America".

[07:00:04] The former vice president now weighing in, sort of, on Donald Trump's remarkable summer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: OK, get your popcorn ready. It is the summer of Donald Trump, ladies and gentlemen.

What do you think of Donald Trump?

DICK CHENEY, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't know the man; I have never met him.

GANGEL: Watching this whole spectacle, what do you think?

D. CHENEY: Well, again, he's a candidate, and I don't want to be in the business of rating candidates at this point, or grading them. I have not signed on with anybody, and I don't plan to today.

GANGEL: You're not endorsing Donald Trump today?

D. CHENEY: You can even -- that's a given. I'm not endorsing Donald Trump today.

GANGEL: So let me try it this way: why do you think he's doing so well in the polls?

D. CHENEY: I -- I've been surprised that he's done as well as he has. As I think most of us have, on the Republican side. But he clearly is a major factor going forward, and we'll watch developments with interest.

GANGEL: Liz, why do you think he's doing so well in the polls? Since the vice president is punting on his question.

LIZ CHENEY, DICK CHENEY'S DAUGHTER: Hoping that I'll dive in, right?

No, I -- I think that it's this notion that people are frustrated with the president, who doesn't seem to believe in American greatness, American exceptionalism. I think people are frustrated with Washington. And you know, Donald Trump is tapping into a lot of that.

GANGEL: Would you vote for him?

D. CHENEY: I will support the nominee of my party, as I always have. I think it's very important.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: You can see more of Jamie Gangel's interview with the Cheneys on "AC 360" tonight, 8 p.m. Eastern. And tomorrow, you'll see it here on NEW DAY.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We will look forward to that.

So the big question this morning is, after the summer of Trump, how has Dr. Ben Carson managed to surge to tie Trump for the top spot?

Armstrong Williams is a conservative radio host. He's also Dr. Ben Carson's business manager and confidant. Good morning, Armstrong.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS, CONSERVATIVE RADIO HOST: Good morning, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right. Let's just pull up the big poll this morning that shows that Dr. Carson has had this meteoric rise. Since just July, he was at 8 percent in Iowa among Republicans in July. Now he's at 23 percent. He's tied with Trump.

What happened in Iowa over the past month?

WILLIAMS: Well, Alisyn, Team Carson calls it hard work, staying on message, not being distracted, being sincere, authentic.

And the good news is that the media no longer gets to fine Dr. Carson to the American people. When Dr. Carson is in places like Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Nevada, people really -- he resonates with them. People like to talk about his personal story, which is -- which is remarkable, in and of itself.

But what is neglected oftentimes in these media reports is Dr. Carson's rapid understanding of foreign policy; Dr. Carson's understanding of issues that people care about that they relate to him directly. And they believe that he is sincere.

And, obviously, it's easy to say it's anti-establishment. And you may make that case if you look at what's happening with Senator Clinton, with Bernie Sanders, and you look at the top three on the Republican side. There may be an anti-establishment sentiment, but it's because Americans across this country believes that something is not working for them.

What happened to that shining city on the hill that Ronald Reagan talked about? What happened about the opportunities young people expected to have job opportunities when they graduated from college and not having to go back home and live with their parents? These are the kinds of things that the media cannot capture with Dr. Carson and others on the road, connecting with everyday Americans, and it's resonating.

CAMEROTA: And you've used the word "authentic" and "sincere" to describe him. Let me read you some other words that, in just the past week, the media has used to describe Dr. Carson: "soft-spoken," "humble," "sleepy," "soporific," "low-energy," "a mumbler." Now, these are not normally the words associated with a winning presidential candidate. Do you think that his style of being soft- spoken plays outside of Iowa?

WILLIAMS: Well, Dr. Carson, if you know anything about him, and I think he's introducing himself to the American people every day. There are still so many people who don't know who Dr. Carson is.

I mean, there is something to his gift at hands. When you're a surgeon, quietness, understanding the complications of the most complicated surgeries that has ever been performed, especially under his watch, you have to become -- you have to be very -- really, really immersed in details, because on a moment's notice, something could change in the operating room. And you have to make split-second decisions that means the life and death of that child or whomever is under his care.

So while the American media may not understand that, everyday people who understand the role of pediatricians and neurosurgeons, understand that that calmness is a gift.

[07:05:03] Now, while he's trying to translate that to national politics, yes, he is soft-spoken, but never underestimate his soft- spokenness for being weak, and not being firm and not being strong. And never underestimate his soft-spokenness and his eyes sometimes as being out of touch and not listening and not hearing. Because it's just the complete opposite.

People like to judge people in soundbites. But the American people, while Dr. Carson is on the road, is getting the fullness, the expanded view of who this person is. And guess what? Not only do they respect him because of his remarkable and extraordinary history as a pediatric renowned neurosurgeon, they respect his intellect. They respect that this man is very bright. He's a quick learner, and he's prepared himself in leadership.

And most people in the media, after the first presidential debate, tried to dismiss Dr. Carson as the loser, that he came in at the bottom. Well, that was the media's version. Because why? We don't understand it, nor do we care.

But the American people were wondering initially, after the poll numbers came out, which debate did the media watch? Because they saw a man who's very presidential, very elegant, maybe soft-spoken but very firm. And there is fire in the belly of Dr. Carson, as you will see as he debates and he continues to be on the road, embracing the American people, and they continue to understand him.

CAMEROTA: Yes. Armstrong, I want to ask you about some news of the day and how Dr. Carson feels about it. There are three county clerks in Kentucky who have refused marriages -- refused licenses to marry to gay couples. Yesterday, the Supreme Court refused those county clerks' appeal. So in other words, now marriage licenses must be issued.

How does Dr. Carson feel about what these clerks are doing? Does he believe they must now issue the licenses or not?

WILLIAMS: Well, the good news, Alisyn, is that Dr. Carson is on vacation, and we don't know what Dr. Carson feels about this. Certainly, we will engage him and answer that for you at a later date. But on that issue, I cannot answer today.

CAMEROTA: So you are not on vacation, but Dr. Carson is on vacation. I like how that works. That is a good -- a good system.

We have one of the clerks coming up, I should mention, a programming note, to talk about what they do plan to do.

Last, I just want to read you something that is provocative from an op-ed in "The Washington Post," and I want to get your comments to it. Jonathan Capehart writes yesterday about Dr. Carson, "Carson is also this cycle's Republican answer to Obama, a role that was Herman Cain's in the 2012 race. The sad subtext of the support is, 'See, we have our own brilliant black man.'" Do you think that the appeal is because Dr. Carson is black?

WILLIAMS: Dr. Carson's appeal is that he's as American as apple pie and Chevrolet and football and baseball. He's as American as Serena Williams, who we hope to capture her 22nd Grand Slam, an Alcalamas (ph) Slam.

Dr. Carson relates to the American people. He's not Vulcanized. You cannot put him in a box. Yes, he understands racism, because he grew up in poverty. He grew up with discrimination. He was often mistaken as an orderly at Johns Hopkins University.

But Dr. Carson is not defined by race or all this "ism." He is defined by his rise out of poverty, embracing the American dream like many immigrants who come to this country and make it their own. He finds his footstool (ph) through hard work, discipline, faith in God and sacrifice. And that's who we are as "we, the people," as Americans every day. That's who Dr. Carson is.

CAMEROTA: Armstrong Williams, you are working hard this vacation week. Great to see you. Thanks so much for being on NEW DAY.

WILLIAMS: Good seeing you, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Thanks so much.

Don't forget: You can watch Ben Carson and more than a dozen other Republican presidential contenders debate the issues at the CNN GOP debate. This will take place at the Reagan Library on September 16. Coverage starts at 6 Eastern only on CNN.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, is that going to be good. All right. A busy night for reporters, poring over a trove of new Hillary Clinton e-mails. The State Department released more 7,000 pages of messages sent and received by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Some of the information was retroactively classified. So how will this affect the Clinton campaign?

CNN's Elise Labott in our Washington bureau. Elise, what have we learned from these e-mails released overnight?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, 125 of the 7,000 e-mails have information that was retroactively classified. Now, they weren't marked classified at the time, but they've since been upgraded before the State Department released them to the public. Several parts of them have been redacted.

Now once again, reading them, we get a sense of her close relationship with former Clinton advisor Sydney Blumenthal, who was constantly sending her advice, a very close back and forth on there. There's a memo, a very detailed memo from Chelsea Clinton, reporting back on her trip to Haiti after the earthquake with the Clinton Foundation.

Interestingly, there are also e-mails suggesting the State Department tech analyst didn't recognize Clinton's server. Now, in one of the e- mails, her aide, Huma Abedin, says an e-mail bounced back from someone on the State Department's system. And we have a screen grab there.

[07:10:12] She says when she called the help desk, "They had no idea it was you."

Now, there were also several e-mails about Clinton's new iPad. Her aide, Philippe Reines, says, "Your iPad has arrived." Clinton saying, "That's exciting news." She wanted to get some instructions on the flight to Ukraine. Now you'll remember Clinton only said that there was only one advice -- device that she used. So this would be another one.

And some of those e-mails, you know, you really had to be there at the time to know the back story. For instance, there was one that got a lot of buzz overnight about gefilte fish problem. Those of us covering the State Department at the time remember there was a huge trade dispute with Israel, holding up a very large shipment of gefilte fish to Israel right before the Passover holiday. So sometimes these aren't in code. Sometimes gefilte fish, Michaela, is just gefilte fish.

PEREIRA: I've said that so many times, I've almost lost count, actually. Elise, all right. Thank you so much.

Ten minutes after the hour. The suspect in the execution-style murder of a Texas sheriff's deputy spent six months in a mental hospital in 2012 after he was found mentally incompetent to stand trial on a felony assault charge.

Prosecutors say Shannon Miles ambushed Deputy Darren Goforth at a gas station last week, emptying his gun. Some 15 rounds he fired into that officer. We get the latest from CNN's Rosa Flores, who's live in Houston where

that community is grieving.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela.

The prosecutor and the defense tight-lipped about the motive in this particular case. But you can't ignore the clues that they are putting forth, like information about the suspect's criminal past and his history with mental illness.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES (voice-over): This morning, new insight into the mind of alleged cop killer Shannon Miles. Miles, appearing in a Houston courtroom Monday. The clanking of his shackles the only thing breaking the silence as dozens of deputies stare him down.

DEVON ANDERSON, HARRIS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: He unloaded the entire weapon into Deputy Goforth.

FLORES: Prosecutors say the 30-year-old ambushed Deputy Darren Goforth at a gas station, the suspect shooting him, execution-style, a total of 15 times. The motive, prosecutors say, is still unclear.

BRIAN MCCULLAR, FRIEND OF DEPUTY DARREN GOFORTH: Let's hope that it wasn't because of uniform. Let's hope that it wasn't race-related.

FLORES: Now CNN has learned the suspect was previously ruled mentally incompetent. Back in 2012, Miles was charged with aggravated assault against a homeless man. Miles, also homeless at the time, was sent to a mental institution for six months. He then ruled competent, but the case never went to trial.

Even given the suspect's mental health history, one Texas sheriff still suggests the killing could have some relation to the Black Lives Matter movement, an ongoing uprising against police brutality.

SHERIFF RON HICKMAN, HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS: It isn't very far stretched to believe that that kind of rhetoric could influence someone.

FLORES: Leaders of the movement say calls for police reform cannot be blamed for the senseless murder.

RASHAD ANTHONY TURNER, LOCAL ORGANIZER, BLACK LIVES MATTER, ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA: Our mission is to end violence against black people and the fact that every 28 hours a black body is killed.

FLORES: As the Houston suburb community continues to mourn the loss of their deputy, President Obama called Goforth's widow Monday to give his condolences, saying he will continue to stand up for the safety of police officers wherever they serve.

ANDERSON: This crime is not going to divide us. This crime is going to unite us.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: And as we take another live look here, you can see a memorial that the growing for Deputy Goforth. And there's also a group of organizers here, just people from this community coming together to raise money for his family. Now, the latest that we've heard, about a quarter of a million dollars has been raised.

PEREIRA: My goodness, what tremendous support for that family. All right, Rosa, thank you so much.

We should point out to you that next hour, we are going to speak with Ron Hickman. He is the sheriff of Harris County. We're obviously going to ask him for an update about the investigation, about the crime, the suspect. We're also going to talk to him about the comments that he made after the shooting that are drawing criticism.

BERMAN: A Kansas jury will now decide is Frazier Glenn Cross gets the death penalty. He was convicted Monday of killing three people at two Jewish sites near Kansas City last year. The 74-year-old has a history of anti-Semitic views, but none of the victims was Jewish. Cross greeted his capital murder conviction with a Nazi salute.

CAMEROTA: Breaking overnight, a second arrest in the deadliest bombing in Thailand's history. A male suspect, who police say is a foreigner, taken into custody near the Thailand/Cambodia border. He's being held in connection with that August 17 bombing at a popular shrine that killed 20 people and injured more than 100.

[07:15:08] PEREIRA: A major shift from the pope this morning. Pope Francis now says that women who have had an abortion can be reinstated by any priest, simply by going to confession. Previously, women who had abortions had to seek a bishop's permission to reverse their banishment from the church. That process of returning after being excommunicated has long been viewed as the reason many women never return to the church. For now, the change is only for the holy year, which starts December 8.

CAMEROTA: Just when you think you've heard everything from the pope. I mean, this pope continues to surprise. Everybody is so excited about the visit.

PEREIRA: And there will be rumblings of this -- you know, it's interesting. It will be interesting is the reaction as this reaches congregations.

BERMAN: And as he comes here in the United States in the next few weeks. He seems to be attracting as many people -- or trying to attract as many people to the church or back to the church, if possible.

CAMEROTA: Right.

PEREIRA: Back to the fold, right?

CAMEROTA: Yes, he believes in the big tent church. Meanwhile, we do have more to tell you about the fatal shooting of that sheriff's deputy in Texas. The suspect ruled mentally unfit in a case three years ago.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: The man accused of firing 15 shots at a sheriff's deputy, killing him at a gas station in Texas, has been deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial on felony assault charges three years ago. That was a previous case.

Shannon Miles appeared in court Monday, met by a courtroom packed with officers showing solidarity after the murder of Darren Goforth.

[07:20:08] I want to bring in Cedric Alexander, CNN law enforcement analyst, president of the National Association [SIC] of Black Law Enforcement Executives.

Cedric, I was struck as I looked at that courtroom, the walls lined with officers and sheriffs. Law enforcement there to watch as that suspect was brought in, accused of firing 15 shots, emptying his gun as he was allegedly attacking Sheriff's Deputy Darren Goforth. What's it like, as an officer, to sit there and watch that kind of thing? It must just stir up so much emotion.

CEDRIC ALEXANDER, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST, PRESIDENT OF NOBLE: Well, I'm going to be very honest with you. It was a very brutal slaying. It was painful for any of us to -- to hear about. And those officers that were in that courtroom was there in show of their support for their fellow officer, who recollects they work with every day and who they share experiences with, who they have gone on dangerous calls with; and they have survived a number of situations together. So there's a sense of friendship, a sense of camaraderie, and they're showing their support.

But here's what's really interesting, Michael. In any profession, you will find that people work -- that work closely together will come together at a time such as this. And if you look at that community where that deputy was killed, you're seeing that community come together and show support. And it's a variety of people. It's a cross segment of folks in that community who are saddened by this tragic loss of life.

BERMAN: There is a notion out there. And you hear it from some in the law enforcement community -- you hear it some from the political community -- that law enforcement is under attack. That people are targeting officers politically for the way they go about their practices. And it could be, perhaps, an impetus for violence. I want you to listen to something that Senator Ted Cruz, who is running for president, has said about this. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Cops across this country are feeling the assault. They're feeling the assault from the president, from the top on down as we see whether it's in Ferguson or Baltimore. The response of senior officials, of the president, of the attorney general is to vilify law enforcement. That's wrong. It's fundamentally wrong. It's endangering all of our safety and security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Now Ted Cruz is taking it, the senator is taking it very far there. He's blaming the president. He's blaming politicians for actually going after, somehow law enforcement. That is one extreme notion.

But on the other end, you do speak to people in the community, law enforcement, who do say they do feel an intense scrutiny right now.

ALEXANDER: Well, what Senator Cruz stated there is very far-reaching and certainly is not accurate. I don't agree with it, being a law enforcement official, whatsoever.

This presidential administration have been quite supportive of police in a very difficult time. And this is a very difficult time for policing in this country.

But Michael [SIC], at the end of the day, the greatest majority of people in this country support police in their communities. The greatest majority of men and woman who are out there doing this job are doing a fantastic job.

And we also have to take into account, over the course of the last year, when all these events began to emerge that created so much concern in our communities across America, police departments, sheriff's departments, law enforcement in general, have made significant strides and efforts to connect, to begin to look at the way that they do business, to look at their hiring, to look at their recruitment, to look at training and how to de-escalate situations. So police, law enforcement across this country is moving forward in a positive way.

Anytime we get negative rhetoric in regards to police, it is not a good thing. And no one should be able to say things that are going to be inflammatory, regardless of what that group or organization, individual would happen to be. These men and women have a tough enough job. We as community have to support our police across this nation and understand it is a very difficult job, and particularly now. And we must continue to support them going forward.

BERMAN: Let me just stay clear that the president did call the widow of Deputy Goforth. Let me just read you a little bit of what the president put out in a statement.

He said, "I promise that I will continue to highlight the uncommon bravery that police officers show in our communities every single day. They put their lives on the line for our safety. Targeting police officers is completely unacceptable, an affront to civilized society."

There's been a lot of focus on law enforcement, a lot of focus on race in the days since Deputy Goforth was killed. We also have this mental-health issue right now, because we know the suspect had been looked at for mental health issues in the past. And here he is with not one, if you listen to prosecutors yesterday, but two weapons inside his house.

ALEXANDER: And that's continuing to be an emerging issue in what we're learning going forward, is that there is some indication, strong indication, evidence that's being presented or reported, that he has a mental health history, and that may be the impetus of his attack. We don't know for certain. But as this investigation continues, I think we will learn more.

[07:25:22] But here, let me say this on behalf of the family of Deputy Goforth and that sheriff and the men and women in that department. My heartfelt condolences goes -- go out to their loss.

BERMAN: Sure.

ALEXANDER: This is a very painful time for them and that community.

BERMAN: And I think the country mourns alongside them. Cedric Alexander, thank you so much for being with us.

ALEXANDER: Thank you for having me.

BERMAN: Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right, John. Thank you.

Republican White House hopefuls want to undo yet another decision by President Obama. Changing the name of a mountain. Why Donald Trump says he'll change Denali's name back. That's "Inside Politics" with John King after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: A new batch of Hillary Clinton e-mails released by the State Department. Some 7,000 pages released. One hundred twenty-five of the messages were retroactively deemed as classified and redacted, along with portions of unclassified e-mails. Clinton has been criticized for using a private server while conducting government business as secretary of state.