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Protests in Chicago Take Place after Video of Officer Shooting Black Man Released; Turkish Military Shoots Down Russian Warplane; U.S. Works to Deescalate Tensions Between Russia and Turkey; Bush Calls for "Change in Course" Against ISIS. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired November 25, 2015 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00] ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Wednesday, November 25th, 8:00 in the east. And we do have breaking news. Protesters taking to the streets overnight in Chicago reacting to a video of a white police officer shooting a black teen 16 times in 15 seconds. The officer now charged with first-degree murder.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Now that incident happened last year, but we're just seeing the grizzly footage now. So why did authorities take so long to release the video? CNN's Stephanie Elam is live in Chicago with all the very latest. Good morning, Stephanie.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn. That's right, this video is from October 20, 2014. But a judge ruled that it needed to be released to the public by Wednesday. It came out yesterday and now the world can see and judge for themselves what happened here between this police officer and this 17-year-old.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM: Demonstrators converged on Chicago streets by the hundreds, outraged over this graphic police dash cam video showing Laquan McDonald being shot by a single officer 16 times in October of last year. The disturbing footage shows McDonald falling to the ground after being shot then hit multiple times while on the ground.

SUPERINTENDENT GARY F. MCCARTHY, CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT: The officer in this case took a young man's life. And he's going to have account for his actions.

ELAM: The 37-year-old officer, Jason Van Dyke, is charged with first-degree murder and has been taken off the Chicago police payroll. For now he's being held without bond. Van Dyke's lawyer says his client feared for his life.

DANIEL HERBERT, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It is truly not a murder case and we feel we are going to very successful in defending this case.

ELAM: On the night Laquan was fatally show, investigators say McDonald was wielding a knife with a three inch blade, which he allegedly used to slash the tire of a police car. Police say when McDonald, who had PCPC in his system, ignored orders to drop the knife, Van Dyke fired 16 rounds.

ANITA ALVAREZ, COOK COUNTY STATE'S ATTORNEY: Officer Van Dyke was on the scene for less than 30 second before he started shooting. In addition to the fact that all evidence indicates he began shooting approximately six seconds after getting out of his vehicle.

ELAM: City officials have been prepping for mass demonstrations in the wake of the videos release, calling for peaceful protests.

RAHM EMANUEL, CHICAGO MAYOR: This opportunity for healing begins now.

ELAM: Late Tuesday, dozens locked arms in solidarity, blocking off an intersection and Interstate 94. Officers made some arrests, but tense moments between the crowd and police never escalated out of control.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM: And those demonstrations did roll over into after midnight, early this morning here in Chicago. But it's worth pointing out this is no Ferguson. It is a very different tone, and there's a couple reasons why. For one, the officer has already been charged and is in custody. And the other reason is the city already settled with the family of Laquan McDonald in April for some $5 million making it a very different situation.

But one thing that does remain the same here is these protesters are talking about the need for a change between the way police interact with people of color, and that is the same thing we have been seeing throughout the last year, Chris.

CUOMO: Stephanie, there's no question that when you get to see what actually happened it renews the dynamic and in this case creates a lot of outrage. Please stay on it for us, and have a happy Thanksgiving.

Also breaking news for you this morning, a top Russian official says he has proof that Turkey's decision to take down a Russian fighter jet was a planned act. We've also learned that Russian and Syrian special forces have rescued the pilot who survived being shot down. We have CNN's Becky Anderson live in Istanbul with details. Becky?

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We don't have any more details on what Sergey Lavrov is describing as proof at this stage. But you are right to point out the Russian defense ministry, Chris, has confirmed that the second pilot of the SU-24 jet shot down by the Turkish military is safe. And he's back in their base in Syria, a Russian air base in Syria.

We got exclusive video obtained by CNN showing the wreckage as we learn more about the circumstances. This morning in a televised address the Turkish prime minister has said that two planes breached Turkish air space on Tuesday. One left, the other remained despite repeated warnings and in an act of self-defense Turkey says it was shot down. That the jet was ever in Turkish air space still disputed by the Russians. President Putin describing the incident as a stab in the back, warning of serious consequences for relations between the two and accusing Ankara of spreading radical Islam and supporting terrorism.

And, Chris, it's prime minister this morning going to so far as to accuse certain Turkish officials, and I quote Dmitry Medvedev here, of "direct financial interest related to the oil produced by ISIS facilities," end quote.

[08:05:04] Barack Obama expressing U.S. and NATO's support for Turkey's right to defend its sovereignty while emphasizing the importance of deescalating the situation. And for his part President Erdogan has said he has no intention of escalating the matter. That's not surprising perhaps when you consider Russia is Turkey's second largest trading partner. It depends on Russia for 60 percent of its national gas. Russian tourism is enormously important. So when the prime minister this morning said Russia is our friend and neighbor, you can understand perhaps those conciliatory words.

So I guess the whole point is that what we're seeing is a very messy situation in what is this horrible conflict in Syria just getting more and more complicated. Michaela?

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Becky, thank you for that. We'll continue to watch.

Meanwhile, we are learning the Paris terror attacks could have been even worse. French police releasing new details, saying the organizer was killed in a raid just hours before he and another man were planning to carry out an attack in Paris's financial district. Senior international correspondent Clarissa Ward has these details for us. She's in Paris. Clarissa?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Michaela. Well, that's right. We learned some pretty shocking revelations about what the ring leader, the architect of these attacks, Abdelhamid Abaaoud, did just after they took place. According to his cellphone signal, he actually returned to the scenes of three of these different attacks in the moments after those attacks. Potentially, ostensibly he would have been outside the Bataclan Theater as riot police, as French authorities were pouring in to try to diffuse the situation. So certainly it seems like he was emboldened.

We also know he was reportedly talking constantly to one of the suicide bomber, 20-year-old Bilal Hadfi, who blew himself up outside the stadium on the night of the attack. And we're also getting new information that Abaaoud was planning another attack alongside a man who is yet to be identified. He was killed in that apartment in Saint-Denis with Abaaoud last Wednesday. Reportedly the two of them were planning a major attack on the financial district here in Paris. Police saying that attack was planned for Wednesday or Thursday, so really getting the sense that they just got there in the nick of time. Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: Just incredible all the things the investigation is revealing. Clarissa, thanks so much for that.

Brussels is trying to get back to normal this morning. Schools reopening and metro service partially restored after being locked down for four days. The city remains under the highest level of security. This as Belgian authorities have issued an international warrant for a new Paris suspect. Surveillance footage shows him with another fugitive on the road to Paris two days before the attacks.

CUOMO: All right, joining us now is Pentagon Press Secretary Mr. Peter Cook. It is good to have you with us, sir. An early Thanksgiving wish to you and your family. Let's talk about what happened in Turkey. Help me understand something. Let's assume the Russian jet was in Turkish air space. Let's assume that NATO and other applicable law they had the right to self-defense if so perceived. Given all of that, why isn't the U.S. being a little harder on Turkey for taking the step of shooting a plane out of the sky?

PETER COOK, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: Chris, first of all this is a situation between Turkey and Russia specifically. And obviously the most important thing right now is for de-escalation of tensions between those two countries.

But as the president reiterated yesterday, Secretary Carter reiterated, NATO -- Turkey has a right to defend its air space. There were two previous incursions which obviously had drawn criticism and concern on the part of the Turks and a NATO ally and concerns on the part of NATO.

And in this particular instance our understanding is there were warnings that were issued to the Russian aircraft, and the Turks felt that their airspace had been violated, and they took this action. And again, this was something that the Turks identified some time ago as a real concern for them, something they had spoken to the Russians about directly. And really this is a sign of the tensions along that border area. And concerns particularly about the Russian flights in that part of Syria and obviously right along the border with Turkey.

CUOMO: What does the U.S. have to do now to assuage Russia and get it involved in the coalition efforts given the fact that even though this just happened, this is still about what they want to do with Assad versus what the U.S. wants to do with Assad. What's the move?

COOK: Chris, obviously there is still an opportunity here for the Russians. And Secretary Carter here at the Defense Department has expressed this weeks ago to his counterpart with the Russian ministry of the defense.

[08:10:00] The president reiterated yesterday at the White House, there is opportunity for Russia to play a more constructive role and to focus its efforts on ISIL at the same time using its significant influence on the Assad regime to push towards a political transition and diplomatic solution to the Syrian civil war. There is an opportunity here. We'll wait to see if Russia accepts that opportunity. But right now we still remain at odds effectively in our approach to the Syrian problem. And until that is resolved, again, there is not going to be the most effective fight possible against ISIL.

CUOMO: Jeb Bush says that there is no clear plan to take out ISIS. Containment is functionally giving them more energy to expand and that the military hasn't been engaged in finding a way to end this. They've been handcuffed.

COOK: The U.S. military and the rest of the coalition, 65 nations, Chris, remains very much focused on the fight against ISIL. And you have seen adjustments in our strategy on the ground. You have seen steps forward with regard to Sinjar, the area in northern Iraq and up towards Turkey where we've seen the Iraqi Kurdish, Peshmerga forces deal ISIL a blow there, a critical supply line. You have seen progress on the part of Syrian forces moving towards Raqqa with the support of coalition air strikes as well as some ammunition provided, of course, by the coalition. And you have seen progress in other areas.

Are there going to be setbacks? Are there still challenges? Absolutely. But we're refining our approach, making it more effective, more efficient. We're accelerating efforts, and ISIL remains pressured on multiple fronts right now. And there is a reason, Chris, that you all on CNN are having to show, if you show a convoy of ISIL forces with flags flying, that is file footage. It is very dangerous right now to be an ISIL leader. And part of that is because of the coalition air campaign, the coalition effort overall.

CUOMO: As you know, our job is to show what is happening, so that is what we do.

Let me ask about the Syrian refugees. You are losing the battle of optics on this. The polls are against the administration position of allowing their admission. Is it fair criticism to say you are failing to make the case? The majority of Americans believe there is no vetting of Syrian refugees and that is why they are afraid of the threat. Why aren't you making the case of what the vetting in? The State Department is involved in this. This is one of the most onerous processes anybody goes through to get into the country. Why are you losing the argument?

COOK: My colleagues at the State Department are taking the point on this. But you heard the president yesterday make the case that we can maintain security for the homeland and yet allow America to be a safe haven for people who truly are in need and looking for a safe place to call home. There is a balancing act that needs to be maintained here, to maintain the nation's security. And Secretary Carter remains confident in the interagency process and his colleagues in the State Department and law enforcement community to do this safely and effectively without compromising America's moral compass, if you will.

CUOMO: And I get that's Kirby with the State Department and you are at the Pentagon, but the military and the political situation go hand in hand, because what are we afraid of? We're afraid of ISIS. How are we afraid of them getting here? Infiltrating refugees. And that goes to our preparedness for the threat the administration says. These people are not a threat, and yet the American people don't believe it. So what is the disconnect?

COOK: Well, Chris, let me talk about what we can do here at the Department of Defense. We've been focused along with our interagency partners on dealing in this issue of foreign fighters. This is an area of significant concern for the Department of Defense, for the government overall. The secretary met this week with his interagency partners. Secretary Kerry, you had also leaders are if intelligence community all working on various lines of effort to defeat ISIL. And one of those critical lines of effort is dealing with the risk of foreign fighters. There are additional steps that need to be taken to try to address this issue. We've seen what's happened in Paris. Obviously our thoughts go out to people in Europe, particularly in France after what's happened there. More can be done. And you can be sure that the U.S. military is doing its part to try and stem that flow and to try and target the people who pose the greatest risk to the United States.

CUOMO: Peter Cook, thank you for answering questions. Appreciate the conversation here on NEW DAY, sir.

COOK: You bet. Happy Thanksgiving.

CUOMO: To you as well.

PEREIRA: All right, a state of emergency has been declared in Tunisia following a suspected terrorist attack there. At least 15 people were killed when a bomb went off on a bus carrying presidential guards in the capital city of Tunis. No group has claimed responsibility. But the north African nation has been targeted by ISIS in the past. Back in June you will recall 38 were killed when a ISIS gunman opened fire at a crowded beach resort hotel.

CAMEROTA: Hillary Clinton holding on to her lead in Iowa. Take a look at brand new Quinnipiac University poll: 51 percent of likely Iowa caucus-goers backing the former secretary of state.

[08:15:04] Bernie Sanders gets 42 percent. These results virtually unchanged from October, as you can see. Clinton getting high marks from voters for what they call her leadership skills and electability, even though a majority do believe Sanders would be better for the economy.

CUOMO: We have an incredible survival story after a smokestack demolition goes wrong in Alabama. The first attempt to bring it down failed. So, Tim Pfeifer (ph) used an excavator to finish the job. But things got ugly when the smokestack collapsed directly on him.

CAMEROTA: Oh, no.

CUOMO: Watch, keep watching.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cab turned over on it and I was safer inside the cab than coming out of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: Let's watch this --

CUOMO: Let's watch this again. Watch this him coming down. He's turning it around as if it was his head.

PEREIRA: It almost looks like it disintegrated, right?

CUOMO: It did. He got lucky by it breaking up as it was coming down. You can see the top of the cab though. You see the top of the cab, it got heavy rock on top of it. And obviously, Pfeifer feels what all of us would, this was a blessing being on that cab and getting through it. And he says, you know what? It was the right thing to do. I would do it again.

PEREIRA: Goodness.

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: Now, is that the right answer? Maybe you shouldn't poke a smokestack with a forklift, that's what I'm learning from this.

CUOMO: He's a man. A man does what he needs to do even when a chimney is going to fall on his head. And that is why you need us.

CAMEROTA: We'll debate that later.

Meanwhile, Jeb Bush laying out his vision for the future here on NEW DAY this morning. How would he fix the current conflict in the Middle East? Hear what he had to say, next.

CUOMO: He is a man.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:20:27] CAMEROTA: Jeb Bush laying out his plan in an interview last hour here on NEW DAY. He did his best to dismiss Donald Trump as the front runner, and he says his own time will come. He also drew a line between President Obama and himself on military strategy, most notably on how to tackle ISIS.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: First of all, I'd ask the military commanders for strategy, options for a strategy to destroy ISIS, not to contain it, because its containment actually gives it energy to expand. We saw the tragedy in Tunisia yesterday and other attacks in Lebanon and other places that seemed to be ISIS or al Qaeda inspired.

We have to have a strategy. And the military needs to have their hands -- no longer hands tied behind their backs, which means that the sorties need to be effective.

Seventy-five percent of the air strikes we undertake, which are far fewer from what existed in Afghanistan, for example, don't even drop their ordinances. Because we don't have the intelligence on the ground and we have lawyers on top of the Air Force, all right?

CAMEROTA: You're saying no intelligence on the ground. So, as you know, the president sent 50 more advisors. So, are you saying in order to be effective against ISIS that there should be more boots on the ground to call in those airstrikes?

BUSH: Fifty special operators is 50 better than what it existed before, but it's not a strategy. A strategy would be how to we mobilize support for the remnants of Syrian Free Army, and it might require combat troops to inspire an international effort.

I would -- I would let the military commanders give the commander-in-chief options rather than tell them what you want them to hear. And so, having -- not having gotten those options, I can't tell you if we're going to have boots on the ground.

CAMEROTA: True.

BUSH: But certainly, a more expanded role for the special operators would be essential, and being more effective in strikes as it relates to the air. This last week, there was a convoy of stolen refined oil and diesel going to Turkey to be sold. And they sent out fliers to the -- dropped fliers before they started striking to the truck drivers to tell them to abandon it because it may not have been ISIS supporters.

My gosh! That's not how you fight a war. You need to destroy their ability to garner money. That was the appropriate action, but tying the hands of the war fighters the way that this administration has done shows that this is a law enforcement exercise, not a fight -- not a military fight.

And so, we need to unleash the military in unison with our partners in Europe and the Middle East to be effective in this regard.

CAMEROTA: You know, Donald Trump has -- I'm sure you know -- he talked about Muslim Americans and he talked about their reaction after 9/11. He said that he saw them celebrating and cheering. Do you believe that happened?

BUSH: No, I don't. I don't believe it happened. I know many Muslims that were just as angry and saddened by the attack on our country. I don't believe it.

Look, Donald Trump says these things to prey on people's fears, their anger, their frustration with Washington. He's quite effective at it. But he doesn't know what he's talking about. And he's not a serious leader.

We're living in difficult times. We need serious leadership to be able to solve the problems we have domestically and lead America and lead the world so that we can create peace and security for ourselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: OK. So, let's break down what we just heard with our CNN political commentators, S.E. Cupp and Van Jones.

Hi, guys.

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hi.

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning.

CAMEROTA: S.E., what jumps out at you about anything that Jeb Bush said?

CUPP: Yes. I mean, look, he is -- he is a sober but impassioned candidate who makes a lot of sense. But Jeb Bush, as he discussed there, refuses to tap into the anger of the Republican electorate. And that is why you are seeing this disparity in his poll numbers, even though he's a very convincing and able leader with a very impressive record and background.

The -- while that's high minded and may be admirable that he refuses to sort of play in that pool, you know, the opposite, being the happy warrior isn't working really either because he doesn't seem all that happy. He doesn't seem like he's sort of you know, loving where he is. He seems like this is kind of an unexpected drag that he's had to put in this kind of time and effort to get to where he thinks he's going to get eventually. And I don't think that's engaging voters either.

CUOMO: Well, they say psychology beats ideology. That's not me. That's David Garth, a renowned political consultant. And certainly, that's Trump's advantage.

[08:25:00] He's playing to how people feel.

One of the things that Jeb Bush did well, Jeb Bush, in this interview, Van, is he went at President Obama in a way that I think is going to be certainly the main angle of attack in the general, which is, this man does not show the will to win. He does not show the will to fight. That's why the ISIS battle is out of control.

How do you combat that?

JONES: Well, first of all, I think the Republican Party has kind of a Goldilocks problem. You have Donald Trump, you know, too hot, too low minded. You got Bush, too cold, too high minded and it's hard finding something that's just right that will work with the Republican electorate, as well as work with the general electorate. That's their basic problem.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: But they have the situation on their side, Van.

JONES: -- definitely very high minded. You got to give him credit for sticking up for the Muslim community in this country against Donald Trump. That's great.

What he said about our strategy in the military is just factually wrong. The president is being advised every day by the top military minds on earth. You've got a messy situation over there. I don't know if he wants to be the guy selling more boots on the ground Middle East, a Bush trying to sell more boots on the ground in the Middle East, I don't know if that is a great move for him. I guess --

CUOMO: But that would be more of a cheap shot than a legit criticism, right?

(CROSSTALK)

JONES: Today, I'm very proud that George W. Bush is sticking up for Muslim Americans.

CUOMO: That would be a cheap shot if you say, well, you're a Bush, you can't make that argument. You know, looking at the situation right now --

CUPP: Also, let me -- can I just add? Can I just add? I mean, there are reports that the intelligence coming to the Obama administration is being doctored to please the Obama narrative.

So, I think what Jeb is rightly pointing out is that he would not hamstring the intelligence community and fit them, fit and hold them into a narrative that pleases the administration. He would actually listen to the advice and have options to actually go in and win and not just contain something that is not containable.

CAMEROTA: Although, I mean, Van --

JONES: I agree that ISIS is not containable, but the last Bush administration was hit with the same allegations of intelligence being doctored.

Part of what happens is we do have a political system, a democracy, on top of our military. We don't have a military on top of the democracy. And so, sometimes outside people look at that and say why are political considerations being considered?

But that is what a democracy is. You have the democracy on top of the military and not the other way around. As I said before, one of the things you had under the last Bush administration was the concern that that intelligence was being doctored.

The most important thing I can say, though, today is that George W. Bush I think being the most -- not George. W. Bush, I'm sorry, Jeb Bush, got confused. The Jeb is actually I think the most strong standing against the hate mongering against Muslims, and to me that came through again today. I think that's a good thing for the country.

CAMEROTA: All right. Let's look at the poll numbers, in particular this one. ABC News/"Washington Post" asked who is most likely to win the Republican nomination? And Trump gets 39 percent there in that question, and then Carson, then Rubio. Then Jeb Bush gets 6 percent.

What he's told us, S.E., was that he believes that somewhere around February 1st, his day will come once the dalliance with all of these other sort of frontrunners is over, and he'll be the man standing.

What do you think of that calendar?

CUPP: Well, yes, I've said this before. I've written this. Safe money is actually still on Jeb Bush. And that's for better or worse.

But what the Republican Party generally does, traditionally does is back a front runner years in advance, right? And they get this infrastructure set up that is actually very hard to penetrate once it is in place. And for all of the anxiety over Jeb Bush's poll numbers, his donors aren't really fleeing just yet.

So, he can stick it out and wait for the field to whittle, which puts Donald Trump and Ben Carson in much more precarious positions and ultimately be the last sane choice for Republicans in this primary. It's absolutely possible. And I think a lot of prognosticators would probably be caught flat-footed for not having kind of just relaxed a bit and waited this thing out.

CUOMO: Van Jones, S.E. Cupp, thank you both for the analysis. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

CUPP: You too. Thanks.

JONES: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Michaela?

PEREIRA: All right. Frustration in Chicago after a video is released showing a white officer shooting a black teen 16 times. What took so long for that to be made public? Where do police and community relations go from here? So many questions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)