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Interview With Rep. Tim Murphy Of Pennsylvania; Kaci Hickox Says Won't Comply with Maine Quarantine; Military And Civilian Quarantines Causing Confusion; Deciding Factors in Battle for U.S. Senate; Tensions Rise Between U.S. And Israel; U.N. Official: North Korea to Face International Criminal Court>

Aired October 29, 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 HOST: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting from Washington.

A nurse who was quarantined against her will is vowing to fight the latest attempt to isolate her. Kaci Hickox returned to Maine on Monday after being held in New Jersey. But she says she won't comply with Maine's efforts to try to quarantine her. This is what she said on ABC's "Good Morning, America."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KACI HICKOX, QUARANTINED NURSE: I remain really concerned by these mandatory quarantine policies from aid workers. I think we're just only adding to a stigmatization that's not based on science of evidence. And if these restrictions are not removed from me, from the state of Maine by tomorrow morning, Thursday morning, I will go to court to obtain my freedom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Representative Tim Murphy is the chairman of the House Oversight and Investigations Committee.

Mr. Chairman, thanks very much for joining us.

What do you think of this nurse's refusal to comply with that quarantine order in the state of Maine?

REP. TIM MURPHY, (R-PA), CHAIRMAN, HOUSE OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS COMMITTEE: I know there's a lot of different confusing things coming out from governors, from the military, from the CDC and others about just what to do with Ebola. I still believe for the best of public health it is good to have restrictions on those who have had direct contact with Ebola patients. There's a lot we still don't know about the disease. I think it gets to be a problem if we have too much assumptions with regard to this. And it is still in the best interest of public health to say for 21 days, there should be a lot of these restrictions in place. BLITZER: The Defense Department certainly agrees. The secretary of

defense, Chuck Hagel, today announcing that all U.S. military personnel returning from that so-called Ebola hot zone in West Africa, those three countries where Ebola is spreading right now, all of them once they leave will have to go through a 21-day period of quarantine before they can get out and see their families and go back to their regular lives. So there's one standard for the military. There's another standard for civilians who are leaving there. And that's generating some confusion. What's going on here?

MURPHY: Sure it is. I think the military has a right -- even though our sailors are not going to be directly involved with Ebola patient care, they still want to have a strong perimeter of defense. And out of an abundance of caution, not knowing where else those sailors or soldiers might have been while they were in Africa.

Further, I've been contacting a number of hospitals throughout my district and asking them, what will their policies be if people returning from West Africa who have been treating patients? They say such persons will not be treating patients at their hospitals. They're going to ask them to stay away for a few weeks. They'll have work for them to do, other things. But they believe that those workers, as great as they are, as selfless as they are, that selflessness needs to continue and make sure they're not putting anybody at risk. There's still -- when you talk to so of the people who have caught Ebola who have been workers, in many cases, they're not exactly sure how they caught it. Even though they may be wearing all the protective gear, it makes a lot of sense that we have this high perimeter of defense and walk back from there. A lot of this confusion you refer to is because it's been said, let's not start with any standards and then go where we need to. It would have been better to start with the strong perimeter and then create exceptions where we are clear in that. Hopefully, this ambiguity is going to end soon but I think the military has it right.

BLITZER: Because the CDC, the guidelines that they issued the other day were certainly not consistent with the order now signed by the secretary of defense, the recommendation of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that all military personnel, about 4,000 U.S. troops, are either already -- 1,000 are there and another 3,000 could be headed. Doesn't make a difference what they were doing in Liberia or Guinea or Sierra Leone, they're all going to be quarantined for 21 days, once they leave, before they can get back to their regular lives. That's very different from the CDC guidelines issued the other day. Once again, I think various forms of the government, the military as opposed to the civilian branch, are sending out conflicting signals, generating more confusion.

MURPHY: Well, I think that's what we should be doing here with regard to -- is having the higher standards for public health. My investigation, our subcommittee, it's ongoing. We want to continue to review from the standards are, how they make exceptions, the CDC guidelines saying, unless you've been pricked by a needle or put in a high-risk category, you don't need to have these same sort of isolation restrictions. But I don't agree with that. If you have been around Ebola patients,

you should have an abundance of caution. I also don't think this is something that will detract people from wanting to volunteer. When I've also talked with some of these volunteer organizations, particularly Samaritan's Purse, they already have it in your policies you're supposed to be somewhat isolated for 21 days. You're not in a cage or a box. But they don't want you on public transit or farther than an hour from one of these hospitals. Many of these other groups have it as well.

So this is not new to have these sorts of restrictions in place. But when someone says there's disagreement on that, that's some of the confusion between these. But look at what hospitals are doing and what these organizations are doing. They all say, let's be overly cautious rather than permissive and have to walk this back.

BLITZER: Tim Murphy is the Congressman. Thanks very much. Republican Congressman from Pennsylvania. Appreciate it very much.

MURPHY: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: We have other breaking news to share with you. The man who led the Department of Homeland Security's internal investigation here into the United States into the U.S. Secret Service's prostitution scandal back in Colombia in 2012 has now resigned. David Neyland two months ago resigned after he was implicated in a prostitution scandal, according to DHS officials. Deputies of Broward County Florida were conducting what they described as an anti-prostitution operation back in May. They stopped Neyland after he was seen entering and leaving a location they were monitoring for prostitution activity.

The United Nations wants to hold North Korea accountable for human rights abuses. We'll find out what's at stake, what's coming up. Standing by.

And why are tensions increasing rising now between two staunch allies? We're going to explore what's going on in the relationship between the United States and Israel.

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BLITZER: -- insulting remark, personal remark about the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu. The White House has been concerned over Israel's role in the Middle East peace process and Israel's expansion of settlements in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.

Let's bring in our global affairs correspondent, Elise Labott, who's been working the story for us.

You wrote a major the piece on CNN.com about it. What's going on in the U.S./Israeli relationship right now?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: There's always been a lot of tension in the relationship between the U.S. and Israel, the two leaders of the countries, President Obama and prime minister Netanyahu. But over the last few months, there's been increased tension because of comments made by Defense Minister Alan about Secretary Kerry, about the U.S. role in its negotiations with Iran, really insulting to the U.S. And last week, when the defense minister came to Washington, he was snubbed. He couldn't get a meeting with Vice President Biden, National Security Adviser Rice or Secretary Kerry. And that became a war of words between the U.S. and Israel.

BLITZER: He did meet with his counterpart, Chuck Hagel at the Department of Defense. They gave him the traditional welcome ceremony.

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: But you're right. He didn't meet with these other officials, which is normally a defense minister, the former defense minister. When he would come, he would meet with everybody.

Here's the statement the White House put out in reaction to this "Atlantic" article that Jeffrey Goldberg wrote, "We do not believe there is a crisis in the relationship. The relationship remains as strong as ever and the ties between our nations are unshakable. However, there are times when we disagree with actions of the Israeli government and we must raise our concerns such as our concerns about Israel's settlement policy. We raise these as a partner who is deeply concerned about Israel's future and wants to see Israel living side by side in peace and security with its neighbors."

No one thinks there's going to be any serious deterioration in the military-to-military relationship or the intelligence cooperation. But there could be some diplomatic fallout.

LABOTT: That's right. Listen, the security relationship between the U.S. and Israel, sacrosanct. And the U.S. officials say, no matter what's going on, we're going to fund that iron dome anti-missile system for the Israelis and make sure their security is taken care of. And Iran, very important security issue. That's going to stay the same. But the U.S. is very frustrated with the Israelis, not only about these comments that are continuing. They say, we gave -- the U.S. gives Israel $1.3 billion in aid. How could you be talking about your close friend? They say, while we're going to maintain that security relationship, my sources are telling me that unequivocal political support, whether calling up the Europeans and asking them not to support President Abbas going to the U.N. to create a Palestinian state or trying to get the Europeans not to boycott Israeli settlement products, the combination of the Israeli talking "smack," if you will, about the United States and also the settlement construction are various sore spots in the relationship.

BLITZER: Well, the House speaker, John Boehner, issued a lengthy statement condemning the Obama administration about these remarks over Israel. Boehner saying, over the last several months, "I have watched the administration insult ally after ally. I'm tired of the administration's policy."

Elise, we'll see where this goes. This story, by no means resolved right now.

Elise, thanks for joining us.

The economy could also be a critical factor in the upcoming midterm elections, just six days away. We'll show you what that could mean for Democrats fighting to hold onto the Senate.

And North Korea may be facing a trial for human rights abuses. Stay right here with us. We'll have that story and a lot more.

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BLITZER: The mystery of what happened to the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Un, may have been solved. He was seen limping in September. Now a South Korean lawmaker tells CNN he had a cyst removed from his right ankle.

Kim is back in the public eye as a top U.N. official is calling for North Korea to face the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity. This, as the country's been trying to soften its image.

Our Paula Hancocks has this report from Seoul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Pyongyang recent charm offensive is showing no signs of slowing down. The U.N. representative says they may be willing to invite human rights investigators into the country. He gave his annual report on the rights situation Tuesday, saying he welcomed the signs of increased engagement by North Korea but attention mustn't be diverted from holding those who commit human rights abuses accountable.

The U.N. submitted a commission of inquiry in March accusing Pyongyang of murder, torture, slavery, sexual violence and mass starvation. The report says some abuses, including those committed in prison camps, amount to crimes against humanity. North Korea's ambassador to the U.N. rejected the report's findings, saying there are no such violations in the country.

Pyongyang has been sending officials all over the world recently trying to soften its image and mitigate the impact of this report. But he said it should still be referred to the Security Council and the country referred to the International Criminal Court.

Meanwhile, South Korea's intelligence agency has said they believe Kim Jong-Un had a cyst removed from his left ankle recently, explaining why he disappeared for five weeks and why he reappeared with a cane. The agency says it also believes that there's an ongoing political purge in Pyongyang and that 10 party members have recently being executed by firing squad. The agency believes that their crimes ranged from corruption to women's issues to something as seemingly as innocuous as watching South Korea soap operas.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER: Some 50 homes are threatened today by a river of lava on Hawaii's big island. The flames are creeping toward the town of Pahoa. In some places, the lava is chest-high. Some people evacuated today. Others are staying put. Lava from the Kilauea volcano is about 2,000 degrees and there's no way to stop it. The National Guard is patrolling the streets but, so far, no mandatory evacuations are in place.

Hundreds of people are missing in Sri Lanka. At least 140 homes were destroyed. Emergency crews are trying to reach areas buried by mud and rock looking for people who may have been trapped.

A horrific discovery in Mexico where 43 college students disappeared more than a month ago. Human remains have been found buried in a mass grave not far from where the students disappeared. Forensic experts have been examining the remains. So far, none of the students has been identified. The students went missing last month after clashing with police who are suspected of handing them over to a drug dang.

Critical midterm elections less than a week away here in the United States. We're going to tell you what is at stake and what issue could be a deciding factor in the battle for the U.S. Senate.

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JAY CARNEY, CNN COMMENTATOR & FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Democrats are, as we've talked about before, going to have a bad election day, no matter how you slice it.

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BLITZER: The former White House press secretary, the CNN commentator, Jay Carney, predicting one week from yesterday, Democratic candidates will be licking their wounds from some painful Election Day results. Those results will be coming in throughout the evening.

The balance of power in the U.S. Congress is at stake in these midterm elections. Republicans certainly have a real shot at taking control of the House of Representatives but could take control of the U.S. Senate as well. Just a handful of extremely tight races will be the deciding factor in these contests.

President Obama has been virtually persona non grata on the campaign trail for a lot of Democratic candidates who were in rough races. Many of the Democrats keep their distance from a president unpopular in their home districts or states. That wasn't necessarily the case last night. The president was campaigning in Wisconsin for the Democratic gubernatorial candidate and he zeroed in on a critical issue for voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Over the past four and half years, America's businesses have created more than 10 million new jobs.

(CHEERING)

OBAMA: Here's the only problem. Wisconsin lags the rest of the country when it comes to job growth. So the country as a whole is doing better. Wisconsin's not doing so good. Over the next week, you have a chance to change that.

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Our chief political analyst, Gloria Borger, is here.

I guess he's saying, since Wisconsin has Scott Walker, the Republican governor, the people have to get rid of him so more jobs will be created.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. What he's doing, Wolf is he's speaking to the liberal Democratic base in a place like Madison, Wisconsin, which is very important if you're going to beat Scott Walker. Don't forget, this was just his third public campaign rally this year. He can't step foot into the red states where Democrats are worried about getting re-elected. He's walking a fine line because he's trying to tout his accomplishments but they are saying, stay away from us while at the same time they are trying to bring out the base that he attracts.

So they have to bring out President Obama's base without President Obama. He's gotten himself in trouble when he has said his agenda is on the ballot this fall. That candidates who are on the ballot voted with him. He can't be saying that stuff in those red states. So this is a president who has been kind of confined to the Rose Garden and it's very difficult when he does get out there.

BLITZER: He went to Wisconsin, Illinois, and also Maryland to endorse the work for Democratic gubernatorial candidates. But when it comes to the Senate, some of those Democratic Senators, whether in North Carolina and Alaska, --

BORGER: Colorado.

BLITZER: -- Colorado, Louisiana, where these battlegrounds are taking shape and it's really, really tight, New Hampshire. And I was just there last week, they don't want them to --

(CROSSTALK)

BORGER: They don't have first names. Obama is their first name now and that's what they are being portrayed as because he's unpopular in all of these states. The approval can be in the low 30 percent range. They are being tied to the president in a bad way so they'd like him to leave them alone.

BLITZER: Right now, only 38 percent think economic conditions are good. It was 42 percent in September. But last October, if you go down, only 29 percent thought economic conditions are good. A lot of people are still worried about the economy.

BORGER: That's because of low wages when people do get jobs they very often have to take pay cuts. 68 percent of the folks in this country believe it's headed down the wrong track. So they are not really optimistic about their current conditions. Looking way down the road, if you look at the polls, people think things will begin to improve but not by next Tuesday and that is a real problem as people tie their economic situations. Again, you'd blame the person in the White House.

BLITZER: And pollsters look at the right track and wrong track number. Our new poll shows nearly seven in 10 are angry at the direction of the country.

BORGER: Right.

BLITZER: 68 percent, 60 percent are either very or somewhat scared about the way that the country is moving right now. And that doesn't bode well for a lot of these Democratic candidates.

BORGER: It doesn't. I'll give you some other numbers about that. 68 percent are angry or somewhat angry. 60 percent are scared or very scared. And the president last night made an interesting point when he was speaking. He said, don't buy into the anger and the fear. Don't be cynical. Don't let the cynics take over. We are making progress. We are creating jobs. But this campaign, Wolf, has been about fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of Ebola, fear of ISIS, mistrust of government. Put all those things together and it's really a toxic brew for Democrats who are trying to run for re-election.

BLITZER: And what's so frustrating -- because I've had conversations with White House officials -- is that six years when the president took office, the country economically was a disaster at that point. Unemployment was a disaster. The Dow Jones was at 7,000. It's now at 17,000. Millions of jobs have been created. And the president gets very little credit for turning the economy around.

BORGER: He gets very little credit, and people don't trust their government anymore. So they are not giving anybody credit for anything.

BLITZER: All right, Gloria, we'll have more on this in the days to come. Of course, extensive coverage next Tuesday.

BORGER: You bet.

BLITZER: That's it for me. Thanks very much for watching. I'll be 5:00 p.m. eastern in "The Situation Room."

For our international viewers, more news is coming up.

For viewers in North America, "NEWSROOM" with Brooke Baldwin starts right now.