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Interview with Sen. Chris Coons on Iran Deal; Iran Deal; Cheney Weighs in on Clinton E-mail Mess; 'Breaking Bad' Actor Helps Cerebral Palsy Patients; CNN Special Report: Who Shot Shirley Reine? Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired September 02, 2015 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:31:13] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to NEW DAY.
President Obama just one vote away from ensuring the nuclear deal with Iran survives Congress. Two more senators now affirming their support despite serious reservations. One of those senators is Chis Coons, a Democrat from Delaware, who is on the Foreign Relations Committee. He joins us now.
Senator, thank you so much for being with us this morning. In announcing your support for the deal, you said, frankly this is not the deal you had hoped for and you have concerns about whether the U.S. can hold Iran to the terms. So an unsatisfactory deal that you don't think or you're not sure the U.S. can enforce. That hardly seems like a ringing endorsement.
SEN. CHRIS COONS (D), DELAWARE: That's right. I think this was a very close call. Coming out in support of this deal doesn't change my unwavering support for Israel or my deep distrust for Iran. The core issue for me here is, can we insure that our vital allies in Europe, the folks who brought this deal to the table and who ratified it, the U.K., France, Germany, the E.U., that they will stand with us during the whole lifetime of this deal, even as their own countries begin to develop closer economic ties with Iran. If we can count on them - and I ultimately was convinced that we can - and if we can aggressively enforce the terms of this deal and have a zero tolerance policy for cheating by Iran, then I think it can end up being a positive deal.
The deal does accomplish some big things. Iran has to give up their 12 tons of enriched uranium that they have built up in great cost over the last decade and they have to put under wraps two thirds of their centrifuges and they have to let in inspectors who will be physically present and monitoring all of their nuclear sites, their whole nuclear fuel cycle for more than 15 years. But I am very concerned about what Iran will do with the tens of billions of dollars they'll get -
JOHN BERMAN: Right.
COONS: That they'll likely try and use to support terrorism, and with what happens in 15 years when they will have an industrial scale civilian nuclear enrichment program. BERMAN: Let's talk about 15 years. A recent poll, 56 percent of those
polled said they believe the world will be less safe because of this deal. Let's project 15 years forward. How confident are you, as you sit here right now, that the United States, that Israel will be more safe than we are right now from Iran in a nuclear arsenal?
COONS: Well, there's no guarantee that Iran will dash toward developing a nuclear weapons arsenal 15 years from now. What this deal lays out is a pathway for them to have a large civilian monitored nuclear enrichment program. We will be more capable of effectively striking Iran if they decide to take a nuclear energy program and turn it into a nuclear weapons program. But I frankly think whether that happens will in some significant part be influenced by how strongly we enforce the deal -
BERMAN: Right.
COONS: And whether we convey that there is a credible, conventional deterrent capability, both for Israel and for the United States -
BERMAN: Senator -
COONS: To take out Iranian facilities.
BERMAN: Senator, the president's one vote away from making sure that the Senate can't block this deal right now. Now there are some saying it could be just maybe six votes away from perhaps being able to support a filibuster in the Senate, meaning there will never be an up or down vote in the Senate on the nuclear deal. Do you think there needs to be an up or down vote in the Senate on this?
COONS: I think there should be. And I had a conversation with one of the senators in our caucus leadership yesterday. Technically we will be on the bill right when we get back next week.
BERMAN: Right.
COONS: So we will debate this. But this all comes down to whether or not majority Leader McConnell will reach an agreement with Minority Leader Reid to let us go straight to the vote and have an up or down vote, which should be a 60-vote margin, or whether we have to spend an entire week going through procedural votes, and ultimately it's filibustered as it were by a 60-vote margin.
[08:35:16] BERMAN: Senator, let me ask -
COONS: As a caucus that was opposed to games with filibusters over the last four years, I would think it would be really regrettable if we didn't ultimately go to the floor and cast our votes for or against this deal.
BERMAN: Senator, let me ask you a presidential politics question right now. You are from Delaware.
COONS: Sure.
BERMAN: You are close to the vice president. You supported him. You worked for him -
COONS: Yes.
BERMAN: In his 2008 campaign. Have you spoken to him about the possibility of Joe Biden running for president?
COONS: Yes, we've spoken a number of times about it and I've reached out and said, it was my honor to go to Iowa and campaign for him in 2008 and I'd be honored, I'd be thrilled to get to do it again. I had the chance to work closely with Secretary Clinton when she was secretary of state and I think she's a very capable, very seasoned senator and former first lady and secretary of state and would make a great president. But as someone who's from Delaware and who really admires the vice president and think - I think he is the best and strongest voice for America's middle class and our most seasoned and senior foreign policy and national security expert in the administration.
BERMAN: Which way do you think he's leaning?
COONS: I will wait until I hear from Joe. And I think he is deeply divided. I think he is a man understandably grieving over the loss of his talented and wonderful son. And I think he's going to make a decision and deserves the right to make a decision on his timeline and to make the right decision for his family, as well as for the country.
BERMAN: Senator Chris Coons from Delaware, thank you so much for being with us. Appreciate it, sir.
COONS: Thank you, John.
BERMAN: Alisyn.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, John, you'll want to listen to this next segment because former Vice President Dick Cheney not a fan of President Obama. We knew that part. But what does Cheney say about a potential Joe Biden run? That's next.
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[08:41:04] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, here we go with the five things you need to know for your new day.
At number one, the FBI joins this widening manhunt for three men who gunned down an Illinois police officer. A veteran lieutenant was shot and killed Tuesday as he pursued the trio on foot.
Meanwhile, Baltimore police ramping up security as a hearing gets underway for the six officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray. Defense attorneys want the Baltimore state attorney off the case over conflicts of interest.
Donald Trump dismissing an attack by Jeb Bush that questions his conservatism. A new poll out this morning shows Trump's unfavorables going in the wrong direction. Secretary of State John Kerry in Philadelphia today delivering a major speech to defend the Iran deal. The White House now one Senate vote away from ensuring the deal can pass Congress.
Markets are looking to find their footing after an ugly dive Tuesday. Stock futures looking more up despite volatility in Chinese markets.
For more on the five things to know, be sure to visit newdaycnn for the latest.
Alisyn.
CAMEROTA: OK, Michaela.
Hillary Clinton facing criticism, as you know, over her use of a private e-mail server, and now Dick Cheney is adding his voice to the mix. The former vice president just releasing a new book called "Exceptional: Why the World Needs a Powerful America." He co-authored that with his daughter Liz Cheney. They sat down with CNN's new special correspondent Jamie Gangel and she is here to weigh in on the 2016 election and her talk with Dick Cheney.
And it's great to have you as part of the CNN family.
JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: I am thrilled to be here. Thank you so much.
We talked to Cheney about the GOP field. He is not endorsing anyone. He is interested and pushing a Democrat, however. Joe Biden he's pushing to get in the race. We'll talk about that. But we started with Hillary Clinton's e-mails. He has very harsh words about those.
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DICK CHENEY, FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Well, it's difficult to know what her motives were. I - I found it surprising that somebody as high ranking as secretary of state, who's dealing with classified and sensitive information all the time, would think that it was OK to have a private server in your home.
GANGEL: How did you handle your e-mails when you -
D. CHENEY: I didn't do e-mails.
GANGEL: So how would you describe her handling her e-mails this way?
D. CHENEY: I don't -
GANGEL: In a word.
D. CHENEY: Well, I - I think it was sloppy and unprofessional. She's an intelligent woman. She's spent a lot of time in the White House. You should not operate in the way she did.
GANGEL: She should have known better?
D. CHENEY: I think she should have known better.
GANGEL: Do you think the Russians and the Chinese have her e-mails?
D. CHENEY: They've got my personnel records. How can they not have her e-mails?
GANGEL: Liz, when you were deputy assistant secretary of state, you know what it's like to handle very sensitive information. Do you think she jeopardized national security?
LIZ CHENEY DAUGHTER OF DICK CHENEY: I do, certainly. I think there's no doubt, given what we now know, that there was a risk to our national security.
GANGEL: Do you think this undermines or disqualified her candidacy?
D. CHENEY: I think there's a very real possibility of that.
GANGEL: I know you're not in the business of giving the Democratic Party advice. But what do you think of Joe Biden and do you think he should get into the race?
D. CHENEY: I'd love to see Joe get in the race.
GANGEL: Because?
D. CHENEY: Well, go for it, Joe. I think it would stir things up. They're short candidates on their side, so, you know, I'd urge Joe to have a shot at it.
GANGEL (voice-over): He may want Joe Biden to run, but it isn't stopping Cheney from a full-on attack against the White House and the Iran nuclear deal.
GANGEL (on camera): President Obama says it's the best deal we could get and opponents are pro-war. You say?
D. CHENEY: He's wrong. Listen, if - we've done much better than that in the past in other negotiations. He gave away the store.
GANGEL: President Obama said, "opponents of the deal are either lying or ignorant."
D. CHENEY: I think that's a very sorry statement by a president of the United States. I just - he ought to read his own agreement.
GANGEL: You, in the book, blame the spread of ISIS on President Obama.
[08:45:03] D. CHENEY: Uh-huh.
GANGEL: He says it's your fault, that Bush-Cheney left the region unstable.
D. CHENEY: Well, I think he's wrong. Look at the record. Iraq was in good shape when we left office and Barack Obama said as much. What happened basically was they failed to follow through, they withdrew as quickly as possible and left no stay-behind force there. They created a vacuum and the vacuum was filled by ISIS.
GANGEL: Do you think we could see another major 9/11 style attack on American soil?
D. CHENEY: I think we could see another 9/11 style attack with much deadlier weapons. I worry if they use chemicals or biological agents or nuclear weapons. Remember the weapon they used on 9/11, airline tickets and box cutters. That was a difficult, terrible day for us, 3,000 casualties. It will be a lot worse if they find deadlier weapons.
(END VIDETAPE)
CAMEROTA: Well, that's a chilling doomsday scenario. He's not an optimist on that front, it sounds like.
GANGEL: He's always worried about national security and this debate is going to go next week. He is doing what he's calling a major address next Tuesday where he is going to go toe to toe again with President Obama on the Iran nuclear deal.
BERMAN: Hm. Interesting.
CAMEROTA: Jamie, thanks so much.
GANGEL: Thank you.
CAMEROTA: Thanks for sharing the interview. Great to see you.
Michaela.
PEREIRA: R.J. Mitte became a household name on TV as Walter White, Jr. in "Breaking Bad." The actor has cerebral palsy and is dedicating his life to helping kids with the condition.
CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta shows us in today's "Human Factor."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
R.J. MITTE, ACTOR, VOLUNTEER: Did you like the last episode?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Growing up with cerebral palsy, actor R.J. Mitte had to contend with a lot of nos.
MITTE: Having a physical disability, there are so many times people will say, you can't do this, you can't do that. You won't be able to walk properly, you won't be able to talk properly. You'll never have a normal life.
(CLIP FROM "BREAKING BAD" ON AMC)
GUPTA: But Mitte didn't let years of physical therapy, leg braces, bullies keep him from his goal of becoming an actor and an example. MITTE: So many people are afraid to put these types of characters on
television. Having my disability makes me want to prove people wrong. "Breaking Bad" gave me the ability to do so much, to open doors, not just for me, but for other people.
GUPTA (on camera): Cerebral palsy is a term for a group of neurological disorders that oftentimes prevent parts of the brain, parts of the brain that are responsible for strength, from communicating with the muscles. The result is trouble with movement. But we know physical therapy can help.
MITTE: Do you like music?
GUPTA (voice-over): In fact, Mitte credits years of treatment at Shriners Hospital. He still volunteers there, inspiring kids like him.
MITTE: There are so many times people try and they just take children and they set them aside. What truly matters when it comes to having a disability is not letting people define you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PEREIRA: He's a great young man.
BERMAN: Really wonderful.
CAMEROTA: Yeah, great to hear him outside of the role. I've never heard him before.
BERMAN: More than ten years after Shirley Reine was gunned down in Cape Cod, still no answer who killed her. A new CNN Special Report examines the mystery. We have a preview. Stay with us.
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[08:51:56] PEREIRA: Shirley Reine was gunned down in her Cape Cod garage on May 9, 2005. Answers in her death have remained elusive, even though friends say that Shirley Reine had reason to believe someone was after her. One man was charged and acquitted and he suggests he know who's behind the crime.
CNN's Randi Kaye looks into this mystery tonight in a CNN Special Report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KATHY CROBAR, BEST FRIEND OF SHIRLEY REINE: She got a call from her lawyer. And word had trickled down through the state police that there had been a hit put on her.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Who actually put out that hit? Friends say Shirley was never told. CROBAR: She was afraid. When we'd come out of the movie, she never
knew when she turned her car on if it was just going to blow up. I don't know how she lived like that.
LORETTA GILFOY, SISTER OF SHIRLEY REINE: I said, oh, cut it out. They're just pulling your leg. They're just trying to scare you. Little did I know.
KAYE: Little did Loretta know that according to John Rams, a plan to kill Shirley was already being hatched.
(on camera): Did Todd Reine ever tell you that he wanted to kill Shirley?
JOHN RAMS JR., CHARGED AND ACQUITTED OF SHIRLEY REINE'S MURDER: He said he wanted to, absolutely. He had a plan and everything. He wanted me to shoot Shirley. Go in her house and shoot her for him.
KAYE (voice-over): John insists he never agreed to do it, but that Todd was determined to make it happen with or without him.
RAMS: He said he wanted it to look like a mob hit. And I'm just listening to this guy like --
KAYE (on camera): Did you warn authorities after talking to Todd?
RAMS: Yes. Absolutely, I did.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PEREIRA: Randi is here with us. This is quite a story. So that man that we just saw in the hat, John Rams, was he ever - He was charged?
KAYE: He was charged after a six-year investigation and then three years later he was acquitted. And to this day, nobody else has ever been charged in the murder of Shirley Reine.
PEREIRA: So you talked to him. You were there, spent time with him. Did he proclaim overtly his innocence?
KAYE: Oh, yes. He told us he had nothing to do with it. In fact, he told us that he went to authorities and told them that somebody was going to hurt - somebody was going to kill Shirley Reine. Authorities have told us that they don't have any record of John Rams ever coming to them and telling them this.
But I should point out, I mean, even though he was acquitted in this case, he does have a long criminal history. He was convicted of manslaughter. He was also convicted in the 2002 burglary of Shirley Reine's home three years before her death.
PEREIRA: And he's back in jail now.
KAYE: He's back in jail now --
PEREIRA: For something completely separate. KAYE: -- on something else. But he was convicted in that burglary and so was her stepson, Todd Reine and another accomplice.
PEREIRA: OK, wait, so Todd Reine, the stepson, what about him? He never was charged?
KAYE: He was never charged. He wouldn't talk to us for this special hour that we did. But the D.A. said that they didn't have a lot of hard evidence in this case from the murder seen. And even after John Rams was acquitted, he said -- he didn't really have a strong case against him. So that tells you possibly why Todd Reine was never charged in the case.
PEREIRA: This is a story that I think - and it's probably just kind of held people in Cape Cod -- They haven't known what's happened to this woman this whole time.
[08:55:03] KAYE: Absolutely. This is a family that is very well-known there, they've been there for years, very connected. Her husband, who is now deceased as well, was certainly well-known in the community for various reasons that you'll learn about tonight.
But I've heard from people there in Cape Cod and in Falmouth who are wondering what happened to Shirley Reine. I guess they're looking forward to the hour tonight.
PEREIRA: They'll look forward to it and they'll have their answers -- hopefully at least some of the answers will come tonight in Randi's special, CNN Special Report "MURDER ON CAPE COD: WHO SHOT SHIRLEY REINE?" It airs tonight 9:00 Eastern. You can watch it right here on CNN.
Back to our top story, police outside Chicago are ramping up their manhunt for three men who killed one of their officers. We'll have the very latest from the "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello right after the break.
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CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. Protests have already started in Baltimore where hearings over the Freddie Gray case are set to begin. We'll take you to Baltimore in just a moment.
But we have to start north of Chicago. It's only been daylight there for a couple of hours in Fox Lake, Illinois, but a small army of law enforcement is sweeping through the area for three suspected cop killers.
