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Wolf

Two Separate Investigations in Michael Brown Shooting; Earthquake Damage in Napa Valley; Netanyahu Likens Hamas to ISIS, Hamas Blames Spies; Tensions Rise Before Ukrainian/Russian Leaders Meet

Aired August 25, 2014 - 13:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting from Washington.

Two separate investigations under way in the shooting death of Michael Brown. One is a 12-member grand jury. The other is a federal civil rights probe, focused on whether the killing involved racial hostility.

CNN justice reporter, Evan Perez, joins us.

Evan, what's the status of the federal civil rights probe? How is it different from what the grand jury is doing?

Unfortunately, I think we've just lost our connection. We're going to try to reconnect with him and get an update.

Maybe Evan is back.

Evan, are you there?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I can hear you, Wolf. Can you hear me?

BLITZER: All right, good.

Give us an update on the federal. What do we know?

PEREZ: Well, Wolf, we know it's still at the very, very beginning of this. We're talking about a long process. The FBI, as you said, has done about 200 interviews with people here in the neighborhood where the shooting occurred. Also, they're going to not only look at those interviews, they're going to look at some of the practices of the police department to discern whether this officer or the police department has a bigger problem. Officials are very much expecting that the Justice Department is going to be scrutinizing this police department for the next couple of years to look at, for example, the pattern of stops of African-Americans who are passing through Ferguson. And also looking at whether or not any other incidents of violent which have happened in the last couple of years -- Wolf?

BLITZER: If the county grand jury does foot hand up an idea, how will that impact the federal investigation?

PEREZ: Well, you know, there are separate investigations. So it does have a role in the sense that the feds will look at whether or not there was something in the county investigation that they can pick up and then bring into the federal investigation. That's why we fully expect the federal government will wait to see how this investigation turns out, before they decide whether to bring any civil rights charges -- Wolf?

BLITZER: So this could go on for weeks, indeed, months, there's no time limit, right?

PEREZ: Right. Also, this can play out in years. We're talking about, for example, as a comparison, the Trayvon Martin investigation is still ongoing. It is something that obviously has been in the spotlight in the past. This is exactly what the federal officials I've talked to are preparing us for, that this is going to be a long time before they get to the end of this.

BLITZER: If the federal investigation determines there was racial hostility, what happens?

PEREZ: Well, you know, they can bring charges against this officer and they can also, in the next few months, find out whether they want to look at Ferguson Police Department, perhaps the St. Louis Police Department, and look at this area, whether there's a bigger problem, whether there's some changes needed, whether there's some oversight that needs to be had so these police departments can improve their relationship with the community. Clearly, from the disturbances we saw in the last few days here, they believe there perhaps is a bigger problem here.

BLITZER: Evan Perez in Ferguson, Missouri, for us. Evan, thanks very much for that report.

Up next, we're going to go back to Napa. We have some dramatic pictures coming in from the damage from yesterday's earthquake. We'll share those images with you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: People in Napa Valley, California, they're still picking up the pieces left behind by a strong earthquake Sunday morning. More than 200 people were injured, although almost all of them have now been released from the hospital.

Here's a closer look at the damage this 6.0 magnitude quake caused.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP) CAMILE FREKING, FELT EARTHQUAKE (voice-over): Kind of a shock. That's the biggest earthquake I've ever been in. I was asleep on the couch downstairs. Then, you know, you wake up, I thought it was a thunderstorm, all of a sudden, I see a chandelier and the ding room shaking. Everything, you know, things on tables, they're falling on, glass breaking. I ran upstairs to regroup with my family. My little brother, he's 11 years old, he's startled and rattled as well.

I was asleep and was woken from my very deep sleep. It felt like a ride, felt like being on a roller coaster. It felt longer than it actually was. It felt like it was occurring for about five minutes.

I do not have power. We do not have water. I'm, first of all, thankful I'm OK and everyone we know is OK as well, too.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It gives me the chills. This morning when it was really quiet down here, it is -- it's like a scene out of a movie. It's, like, really crazy and eerie.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like a fairly typical kind of earthquake. The magnitude is much larger than we've seen for a long time.

UNIDENTIFIED FIREFIGHTER: The hardest part was having to deal with the lack of water for the incident and knowing that you had structures immediately threatened like the ones that were burning. You pretty much knew you were destined to lose additional units. So there wasn't a lot of hope of saving that particular unit was very difficult.

We currently have four structures to the ground, mobile homes, and six to eight with varying degrees of damage.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Anybody hurt?

UNIDENTIFIED FIREFIGHTER: At this time, we have no report of injuries and none of the occupants are reported missing associated with the units that are burned to the ground.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Serious earthquake out in Napa, out in the California.

Just ahead, Hamas sets up firing squads as they respond to new airstrikes from Israel. We'll have a full report. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: On "This Day in History," August 25th, 1944, four years after falling to German forces, the French 2nd Armored Division storms Paris, liberating the city from Nazi, Germany. It would take another nine months of fierce fighting until the Second World War came to an official end.

Israel is now continuing to liken Hamas fighters to ISIS militants, with Prime Minister Netanyahu calling them one and the same. The two sides, Israel and Hamas, continue to trade rockets and airstrikes. But as our Ian Lee reports, Hamas is blaming part of their troubles on

suspected spies.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SHOUTING)

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A death sentence read aloud by Hamas militants, telling this crowded mosque, we're implementing God's judgment by executing traders of God and country. Moments later, their justice comes swiftly, a bullet for each man. A graphic warning for a crowd of onlookers, one that resonates with the people of Gaza.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

LEE: "Each spy deserves the death penalty," this man tells me. "Without spies, Israel would have no information."

(SHOUTING)

LEE: Hamas says at least 22 alleged collaborators have been executed since the war began.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

LEE: "There is a war and dangerous spies are operating in Gaza," says this Hamas spokesman. "They forced us to take harsh measures in the form of executing these spies. It sends a strong message to Israel and other spies."

(EXPLOSION)

LEE: The militant group blames collaborators for recent airstrikes that killed three Hamas commanders in southern Gaza.

(SHOUTING)

LEE: 18 people were executed publicly the following day.

(on camera): This is where those alleged collaborators were killed. You can see the blood-stained ground and a bullet hole in the wall. Hamas says these are necessary actions during a time of war. But human rights groups argue that it's this time particularly where you shouldn't lose sight of the rule of law.

HAMDI SHAQQURA, PALESTINIAN CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS: They are tantamount to extradition executions.

LEE: Human rights advocate, Hamdi Shaqqura, criticizes the lack of transparency during the trials. He condemns not just public executions but every death sentence.

SHAQQURA: We are worried that more executions may be coming out in the future.

(SHOUTING)

LEE: That's likely to happen again. As the war enters its eighth week, Israeli strikes continue, so, too, does Hamas' hunt for collaborators.

Ian Lee, CNN, Gaza City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Ian's joining us on the phone from Gaza City.

Ian, is there any movement at all in try to get that cease-fire back on track, getting these indirect negotiations in Cairo back on track? What's the latest on that?

LEE (voice-over): Well, there's definitely a lot of diplomatic efforts here with Hamas. The Palestinian Authority and the Egyptians, they just can't seem to come into agreement, at least so far. A lot of people here in Gaza would like to see some sort of cease-fire. A lot of people here are war weary. They say they would like to see this war come to an end. They've had enough. But, still, they want to get something out of this conflict, they don't walk away empty- handed. And I think that's holding up a lot of these discussions, especially for a permanent cease-fire, is that Hamas wants some sort of listing of what they say is prestige of Gaza, they wants goods to flow in and out. And really that's been the sticking point we have seen all along.

BLITZER: What about today? It's now nighttime, nighttime over there, approaching 9:00 p.m. in Gaza where you are. Was it exceptionally busy as far as Hamas rockets and missiles going into Israel, Israeli airstrikes launching attacks in Gaza? What happened today?

LEE: Well, Wolf, it has been a fairly busy couple of days here. We have seen a lot of rockets go out and Israeli airstrikes than when Israelis had their ground troops here. There was a lot of fire from artillery, from mortar rounds. At this time we're seeing a lot of airstrikes. And a lot of these airstrikes came to be pinpoint strikes on cars, on houses. But we saw the other day a 14-story building hit 20 minutes prior to that. They were given a warning, so everyone was able to evacuate. But still, despite that, there has been -- the death toll is still rising here in Gaza. Every day we see at least a dozen people killed in these sorts of strikes.

BLITZER: The Israelis claim that 11 or 12-story building was a command and control -- contained a command-and-control center for the Hamas military. Have you been able to check that assertion out?

LEE: Well, the people there denied it flat-out. Hamas has been tight-lipped. And going to this area, there is nothing that really is left of this building that you can make out that would be some sort of command-and-control center. It really is hard to tell when you have these two narratives, Hamas saying it was just a civilian building and Israel saying that it was a command-and-control center. When you -- especially if you haven't been in that area, it's really hard to sift through that rubble and find anything. But that's where you have to just take it as two different narratives.

BLITZER: Ian Lee, working for us in Gaza.

Ian, thanks very much. Be careful over there.

Up next, there are new tensions rising now along the border between Ukraine and Russia as the country's leaders get ready to meet face-to- face. We're going to examine what's at stake.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: To the crisis in Ukraine now. Russia says they want to send another humanitarian convoy to areas held by pro-Russian rebels. That call comes just a day before a critical meeting between leaders of the two countries.

Our Matthew Chance and Will Ripley take a closer look at the issues and what's at stake.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Matthew Chance, in Moscow, with the Russian perspective on the summit.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Will Ripley, in Kiev, reporting on the view from Ukraine.

CHANCE: Well, Russia has for months been insisting on two things. A cease-fire on the ground in eastern Ukraine and direct negotiations between the government in Kiev and the pro-Russian rebels. So far, Vladimir Putin has shown no sign of backing down from that position. And has, in fact, according to western officials, been increasing support for the rebels. So unless there has been a dramatic change of heart from the Kremlin, I expect the message from Putin to Poroshenko may be "make concessions or face more bloodshed."

RIPLEY: Ukraine essentially wants their border with Russia to be under the control of the OSCE, the international monetary agency. And it made allegations about Russia interfering in their conflict and they want it to stop. They want Russia to stop firing over the border, allegedly. They want them to supplying the pro-Russian separatists with weapons and ammunition.

CHANCE: Ukraine is highly dependent on Russia economically. Its current leadership wants to re-orientate the country towards the West. But presently needs access to Russian markets, and in particular, Russian energy. In fact, one of the issues that I expect will be high on the mind of President Poroshenko is that winter is almost upon us in this part of the world and Ukraine will desperately need vast quantities of Russian gas to heat its homes and cook its food. So the need for a deal with Russia makes a thaw in relations even more pressing.

RIPLEY: Right now, Ukraine knows they don't have an upper hand with Russia, because Russia is such a big neighbor. They control the gas prices. There's a lot of economic ties. So what Ukraine is trying to do to reduce that reliance on Russia is to more closely align with the European Union, trying to integrate their trade and their energy sectors with the E.U., and trying to, of course, increase economic ties, as well. So, again, they can reduce their dependence on Russia.

CHANCE: Well, internationally, he's under enormous pressure. Western sanctions have been biting and ratcheted up, especially since the downing of the Malaysian airliner over eastern Ukraine. More E.U. and U.S. sanctions could be imposed if Russia continues to support the rebels there.

But in terms of pressure at home, the impact has been limited. Putin's popularity remains sky high. The key figures around him who have been sanctioned remain more or less loyal. The big problem, of course, his big problem, could be if that starts to change.

RIPLEY: Ukrainians have huge expectations of their new president. But the public opinion seems to be swaying in his favor right now. In recent polls, more than half of people surveyed now say they support the operation against pro-Russian separatists, a number that has gone up in the last month. Remember, the Ukrainians elected Poroshenko with more than half the popular vote but they had a long list of things they want him to do. Of course, solve the crisis in eastern Ukraine is top of mind, but also weed out government corruption and improve the economy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Will Ripley, Matthew Chance, good reporting.

We'll have much more on the Putin and Poroshenko meeting tomorrow, of course.

That's it for me. I'll be back at 5:00 p.m. Eastern, a two-hour edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM."

In the meantime, NEWSROOM with Ana Cabrera, filling in for Brooke Baldwin, starts right now.