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NYT: Antidepressants Found at Co-Pilot's Home; Iran Nuclear Talks Hit Critical Point; Boehner: Serious Doubt" About Iran Deal. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired March 29, 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] VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Dramatic new developments this morning in the crash of Flight 9525, including reports that Andreas Lubitz, the pilot who steered that plane into the French Alps suffered from a severe psychosomatic illness.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get right to Pamela Brown. She's live outside the headquarters of Germanwings in Cologne, Germany.

Good morning, Pamela.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning to you, Alison and Victor.

We are learning more about Andreas Lubitz condition. According to the reports here and "The New York Times" that he had vision problems and that these vision problems may have been the result of some psychosomatic illness. We had previously reported that he from "The New York Times", and "Wall Street Journal", and German media, that he had suffered from depression and investigators have apparently found medicine bottles, prescription pills, a lot of them inside of his apartment.

The investigation into his background continues. But I will tell you, I spoke to a Lufthansa spokesperson who recently said she finds it hard to believe that he was suffering from any type of vision problems because every year, pilots have to be recertified and they get their vision checked.

She says it's a thorough medical examination. It's a physical examination. But she also said it's only physical, not psychological.

And a German aviation source I also spoke to said that he passed that exam this past summer but, of course, anything can happen since then. We know that he visited a medical clinic in February and March of this year for a diagnosis of some sort. We don't know specifically what that is.

Also, we're learning more about his ex-girlfriend. CNN spoke to a "Bild" reporter. That reporter apparently interviewed this girlfriend who said that Lubitz was aggressive and he had two sides of his personality. Here's what this reporter had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN PUTENPURACKAL, REPORTER, BILD: There was one talk she mentioned which she can remember where he actually admitted that he had medical treatment because of psychological traumas. And what -- he didn't give more details on it, but it was obvious that it seems to be kind of depression of some kind. She told me that she was also kind of therapist because, you know, she observed two sides of him. When he was among people he was like nice, really smart, open-minded to other people, but when they were on their own and especially when they were discussing about the job situation and about the dreams, you know, he turned into another person, into a different person being more quiet, being more sensitive, you know, and I'm sure -- and she was the one who gave him, let's say, power and support to be on the way, you know?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And she apparently told "Bild" that Lubitz was fearful of losing his job.

There's another woman coming into the picture here. According to German media, Lubitz had a live-in girlfriend that's separate from this one. This live-in girlfriend worked as a school teacher right near the apartment. We know there is a placard right outside the door and the mailbox with another name there. So, it's believed that the other name is the live-in girlfriend.

We're still trying to figure out exactly who this person is and what more we can learn from that side of this story -- Alison and victor.

KOSIK: OK, Pamela, thanks.

I want to bring in clinical and forensic psychologist Jeff Gardere.

Jeff, good morning.

JEFF GARDERE, CLINICAL AND FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST: Good morning, Alison.

KOSIK: You know, I'm having a hard time understanding. If this guy, Andreas Lubitz, wanted to commit suicide, why does he have to take the whole plane with him?

GARDERE: Well, because we're looking at something which is more than just a depression. As you talked about earlier, yeah, people with depression can have very productive lives, they are on their medication, they find ways, therapy in order to be able to live. We know that some pilots probably deal with depression and they are not going to take down a plane.

So, it speaks to something more insidious -- perhaps a severe mental illness outside of the depression, perhaps some sort of a personality disorder. We know that he had some sort of a posttraumatic stress disorder going on which is perhaps why he had a lot of these nightmares about planes crashing and so on. But this was someone who was very, very disturbed, had anger issues, rage issues, and I think all of those things together with perhaps possibly some sort of a psychosis led him to do something that was so murderous.

This was a mass killing, as we've seen with the school shooters who said that they're going to change the world. They leave behind a message. He left a message behind allegedly that he was going to change the whole system and that's what I believe he is doing.

[08:05:01] We are looking at more psychological testing and people in cockpits not being left alone and so on. So what he said was prophetic. What he did was murderous.

KOSIK: So, he doesn't seem like a loan e loner. He's had girlfriends. Not hearing that he didn't have friends necessarily. Doesn't mean that's not the case.

But how could his loved ones, how could his family and friends apparently not have an iota of what was going on here?

GARDERE: I believe his -- his family, those closest to him as we heard from one of his female friends, partners, girlfriend, that he did have a personality where he was unstable, where he could be aggressive, where sometimes he would perhaps completely break down. We know that as part of this subjective burnout syndrome that he had.

And allegedly there was some dissociative states that we know of where a person begins to distance themselves from their conscious thinking. They throw buffers in there. He had a psychosomatic illness -- again, alleged -- which tells me that this was someone who had some real emotional issues that perhaps were manifested not just in his mind but went throughout his body, which is why they couldn't find evidence of this illness because he manufactured it from his own level of stress.

So, this was someone, Alison, who was really suffering in private but then had that shield, had that persona where he could interact with others in order to keep them from knowing the demons that he was dealing with psychologically.

KOSIK: We heard a record from the "Bild" that the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, his girlfriend said he seemed happy and troubled. What does this say about his mental health overall?

GARDERE: Well, it tells me this is someone who was probably struggling to maintain his sanity. He knew that there was something that was wrong. He didn't want people to know it, especially his employer.

And as one of your reporters stated, perhaps this problem with his vision was part of this psychosomatic illness that he had where perhaps he may have been losing his sight but this is something that he manufactured in his own mind that he was real to him but that was a clear indicator that he couldn't hold on to his emotional sanity.

KOSIK: All right. Clinical and forensic psychologist Jeff Gardere, thanks for your perspective.

GARDERE: Thank you, Alison.

BLACKWELL: Terrifying moments for passengers on an Air Canada flight. The plane skidded off the runway as it landed in Halifax early this morning. The airport reported that it made a hard right as it arrived from Toronto. One hundred thirty-three passengers, five crew members on board, 23 of those people had to be sent to hospitals with minor injuries.

KOSIK: Israel's prime minister says Iran is on a mission to take over the Mideast.

BLACKWELL: Benjamin Netanyahu is bashing nuclear talks between Iran, the U.S. and other world powers, but will that halt the negotiations going on right now?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:11:57] KOSIK: Two other developing stories we're following this hour.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu says nuclear talks between Iran, the U.S. and other world powers are fulfilling Israel's deepest fears. He spoke today as Secretary of State John Kerry is in Switzerland for the negotiations. All sides are trying to reach a framework agreement by Tuesday's deadline.

Among the sticking points, Iran wants sanctions lifted faster.

Prime Minister Netanyahu also chiming in regarding the crisis in Yemen, saying that Tehran is working in Yemen to, quote, "take over the whole Middle East". This as Arab leaders are gathering in Egypt and proposing a regional unified military force. They also called for Iranian-backed Houthi rebel fighters to turn in their weapons and leave the capital of Sana'a.

Also happening, officials announce that we could see coalition fighters on the ground in Yemen within days.

BLACKWELL: All right. For more insight on both these stories, let's bring in CNN military analyst, Major General James "Spider" Marks. Also, former CIA counterterrorism official and CNN counterterrorism analyst, Phil Mudd.

Good morning to both of you. I want to start with the general.

PHIL MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: Good morning.

BLACKWELL: So, Arab countries have created this unified military force. You have the Saudis and this convoy headed towards the border. The Egyptians, Qataris all on this list. It's surprising. I had this conversation with General Hertling that there's a coalescing so quickly now after this has been going on for so many years.

Why now especially, General?

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, the insurgency and the civil war in Yemen has been taking place for many, many years, going back at least three to four decades. The issue is you now have this -- two things are going on, Victor. You have this collapse of governance that you've seen throughout the Middle East, the inability of capitals to exercise their number one responsibility, which is try to establish some degree of authority and security within their borders. Ill-defined as terrorist organized may want those borders to be.

The second thing is this has now reached -- insurgency in Yemen has now reached a larger level and it's in the neighborhood. Riyadh cannot afford to have this chaos on the peninsula, and across right there continuous to the Bab-el-Mandeb, which is one of the major shipping lanes. So, this is close to home for the Saudis, that's why they're getting involved and that's why there's this very quick scaling of interest and a bringing together of all of these ally moderate powers in the region.

BLACKWELL: Phil, as we heard from Prime Minister Netanyahu and others, this Iranian connection to the Houthis, do you expect you'll see more than just the Iranian money, the Iranian resources there? Will there possibly be Iranian troops there fighting as this ramps up?

MUDD: I think that's highly unlikely but possible. The reason is pretty simple -- we've got an Arab coalition talking not only about airstrikes but about troops on the ground. If you see the Iranians expand their presence, moving from money to actual troops.

[08:15:02] You're going to talk about the Middle Eastern version of the cold war breaking out into a hot war. That is the Saudis and the Egyptians represent the Sunni side. This is not just Arabs. This is the entire Sunni universe.

The Iranians represent the Shia side. If the Iranians show up, the Middle East is going to view this as Sunni versus Shia, and the Iranians are going to start playing a card.

If they expand their presence into ground troops, that means a broader war between Sunni and Shia. I think the Iranians are extremely aggressive. I used to watch them pretty carefully at the CIA. I think even they would be cautious about going that step.

BLACKWELL: All right. Staying with Iran, I want to stay with you, Phil, for the moment, running out of time on this deal to come up with this framework for this nuclear deal. How worrisome is that for the U.S. specifically?

MUDD: I think we've got to be worried. We've got a couple days to go. The administration has said they don't want to extend the deadline.

Both sides want a deal. The Iranians want out of sanctions. They want to start playing more in the global economy. President Obama has made this a center piece for what he wants to do in the Middle East. Both sides are bounded by people who are saying, if it's a bad deal, that's worse than no deal.

So, I think both are looking at this saying, we've got to come out, being able to tell our people that we've got what we wanted. Both want different things, so I would say, if I had to bank in Vegas, I'd say there's going to be a deal. It has to be a deal where both sides go home and say we got what we wanted.

And that's going to be tough because both want different things.

BLACKWELL: All right. Spider Marks, Phil Mudd, thank you both.

MARKS: Thanks, Victor.

MUDD: Thank you.

KOSIK: John Boehner has harsh words on Iran. Our Dana Bash has exclusive interview with the house speaker. We're going to talk to her right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:20:40] BLACKWELL: Time for our political check with CNN chief congressional Dana Bash. She's hosting "STATE OF THE UNION" at the top of the hour.

House Speaker John Boehner, Dana, is weighing in on the negotiations happening right now with Iran over the nuclear program. You have an exclusive interview with the speaker. What did he say?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I talked to him at the end of the week before Congress went off for recess.

He's very pessimistic about the idea of those negotiators actually getting a deal. Obviously, he -- that's also his hope, not just his view, because he's obviously been very much against these negotiations in the first place. But he also told me that he is going to move very quickly in the House if there is no deal to apply more sanctions in Iraq. He's very interested on that in this upcoming interview.

BLACKWELL: Also, the speaker will be meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Today, we heard Netanyahu slamming these nuclear talks.

BASH: That's right. They are sort of comrades in arms when it comes to that. Interesting that the House speaker is going to be in the region, likely actually in Israel on the day of these negotiation deadlines, but also interesting that he's going to be there after, as you see in the picture there, the prime minister had the very controversial visit and speech to joint meeting of Congress, one that the House speaker arranged, which helped cause a big rift with the White House.

I asked the speaker if he is going to speak to the Knesset, which is the Israeli parliament. I'm not going to tell you the answer. You're going to have to watch the show to see.

BLACKWELL: That's a tease. All right.

BASH: How's that for a tease?

BLACKWELL: Dana Bash, thank you so much. We look forward to it.

"STATE OF THE UNION" starts at the top of the hour, 9:00 a.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KOSIK: When that alarm goes off Monday morning, you'll know the grind of a busy work week is here. You may not be thinking about retirement, but in today's "Retire Your Way", watch how one woman is creating a second life after her career.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IRIS RIDEAU, OWNS A WINERY: I never imagined owning a winery. There are two different types of businesses here in the valley. It's either you're raising horses or you're growing grapes. And I don't ride horses. And I drink a lot of wine.

My name is Iris Rideau. I was born and raised in New Orleans. I spent my adult years in California, and I moved here to this beautiful valley of Santa Inez, and now I enjoy fine wines and wonderful Creole food.

Oh, there was always hustle and bustle. Yes.

My years in New Orleans, that Sunday dinner was always about being in the kitchen with my grandmother, helping her to get the food to the table. There was always this wonderful, beautiful antique vase of red wines that her father made. And the kids all got a little small glass of wine. They probably put water in it at the time. But I've been drinking wine since I was 5 years old.

In 1980, I became California's state director for a national pension planning company. So that's really what launched my career and how I made my money. And I did that for another 20 years. And it was at that point I decided it was time for me to start looking to retire.

So I got in my car by myself, left Los Angeles, and drove up north. And when I got to the valley, I said, this is it. This is where I want to live.

This winery property came on the market just at the time when I was getting ready to retire. And I thought, why not? I was 59 at the time. I just had so much more life in me.

Everybody makes wine in the valley. You have to have something different. And you have to give people an experience. And so, I started cooking in the kitchen, making my gumbo, and jambalaya, like my grandmother used to do. So when you walk in this house, you feel like you're at grandma's house.

I'm on the floor. With my staff, pouring wines. I just enjoy people.

They call me the rock star. At my age, I'm a rock star.

You never know about life, you know?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Indiana Governor Mike Pence is seeking to clarify a new religious freedom law that he signed last week. Many say it allows people to use their religion to discriminate against the LGBT community. The bill signing this week sparked protests. Businesses and civil rights groups are threatening to boycott the state. At least one company is putting expansion plans on hold. Governor Pence told "The Indianapolis Star" says it does not promote discrimination would likely be introduced in the coming days.

KOSIK: There are reports months before the East Village blast that leveled three buildings, utility workers discovered a gas line to a restaurant had been illegally tapped and natural gas was leaking into other buildings. City officials say this gas leak was the source of the fire and explosion that injured more than 20 people. Two people are still missing.

That's it for us. Thanks for starting your morning with us.

BLACKWELL: "INSIDE POLITICS WITH JOHN KING" starts now.