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High Court Deciding on Knox Murder Conviction; Letter Said Co- Pilot Unfit to Work; Investigators Search Homes of Lubitz and Parents; Flight Data Recorder Still Not Found; Recovery Effort Daunting Task; Search Area Covers More Than One Square Mile; Germanwings Crash Investigation; Deadline Looms in Nuclear Talks; Interview with Sen. Bob Corker. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired March 27, 2015 - 13:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. here in Washington, 6:00 p.m. in Dusseldorf, 8:00 p.m. in Sanaa, Yemen. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

Up first, unfit to work, those words may shed some light on why the co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525 crashed the plane into a mountain. Prosecutors say that conclusion is based on documents found in Andreas Lubitz's apartment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPH KUMPA, PROSECUTOR, DUSSELDORF (translator): We have found a letter that indicated that he was declared, by a medical doctor, unfit to work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Investigators say they found medical excuse notes that had been ripped up, including one for the day of the crash. They're not saying what the illness was but they say the evidence does indicate Lubitz was trying to hide that evidence. We're also learning more about what investigators didn't find in his apartment or in his family's home. No good-bye letter or suicide note, no evidence that his actions were driven by politics or religion.

Also today, Lufthansa, that's the parent company of the Germanwings airliner, announced that it had adopted a new rule. It now requires two people to be in the cockpit at all times.

Let's sort out the latest on the investigation with our experts. Here in Washington, our Law Enforcement Analyst, the former FBI assistant director, Tom Fuentes and our Aviation Analyst Peter Goelz, former NTSB managing director. Joining us from New York, our Aviation Correspondent Richard Quest in New York.

We don't know, Richard, do we, if it was a mental, a physical issue. What was the problem here? They're still trying to figure that out. But they've been so transparent over these past few days, we should know pretty soon, right? RICHARD QUEST, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're in the midst

of the privacy laws of Germany which are far stricter in many ways. And so, that's one of the reasons we don't know. But, yes, you're right. It -- look, the German media is talking about anxiety. It's talking about depression. It's talking about some form of mental illness or mental incapacity in some way, various levels. But we've not got any confirmation of that.

So, let's be quite clear. We do know that there was a diagnosis that he did go to a university medical center and there was a diagnosis. We don't know what that was. We do know that there were several sick notes to get him off work, including one for Tuesday which had been ripped up and were found in the garbage can at his apartment.

So, we know that there was this diagnosis, this illness but we don't know what. And we're going to wait to see, Wolf, what the -- how they circumvent the laws or at least manage to do justice to the laws so that they can release what it was.

BLITZER: Yes, the laws over there are obviously a bit different than they are here in the United States. You know, it's -- Tom Fuentes, you're a former FBI assistant director. I've been impressed with how quickly they're developing this case right now. We're learning -- we're learning so much on a day-to-day -- sometimes hour-to-hour basis.

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, I think, Wolf, they're able to say so much more publicly about it because they're not worried about protecting a defendants' right before a prosecution. He's not going to be prosecuted so they can be more forthright about what they're finding. And we'll see. The German investigation obtained the documents yesterday. French police have transported those documents to Marseilles today. We'll see if that prosecutor speaks out today on what they found.

BLITZER: I want to go to Dusseldorf for the latest on what's going on over there. Will Ripley is outside the family home over there. Will, what are you learning about this situation? Obviously a very sad situation, a very dramatic situation. It seems to be releasing new information on, as I said, an hourly basis.

Unfortunately, I think we've not been able to connect with Will Ripley. But we will as soon as we reconnect that audio with Will.

Peter Goelz, if the U.S. were in charge of this investigation, would we know as much about what happened so quickly?

PETER GOELZ, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: No, we'd be much more reticent in mention -- I mean, I think -- I think Tom is right. We have no, you know, suspect or, you know, criminal to prosecute. But we would be much more reticent to release this kind of information so quickly. It would take weeks, if not more than that.

BLITZER: And they still haven't found the flight data recorder. They got the cockpit voice recorder. That's where they've come up with all the evidence -- GOELZ: Right.

BLITZER: -- of what was going on. The door was locked. He was trying to get back in and the co-pilot, obviously, wouldn't let him back in. Once we find, Peter, that cockpit, the flight data recorder, what else will we learn?

[13:05:04] GOELZ: Well, it will confirm exactly what steps the co- pilot took to drive the plane into the ground. It will show, I think, a very deliberate step-by-step plan that is -- that is going to show a lot of premeditation. He was thinking about this for a long time.

BLITZER: What else do we know, Richard Quest, about this individual, this co-pilot? 28 years old. Apparently, he was well liked. He seemed to have a relatively normal friendship with a -- with a lot of people out there. If he did have severe mental problems, we don't know if he did, they, apparently, were hidden to his colleagues and friends.

QUEST: We know -- absolutely. And that's spot on. And we can divide his life, if you like, into several sections. You've got the growing up in Montreal where we've been hearing about he was quiet. He was well liked. He was a seemingly normal child in growing up

And then, you have this period where he goes to the flying school which is close to where he lived. And there they say he was a man who was totally dedicated to his gliding and his flying. And he was absolutely delighted when he was able to finally achieve his dream job of becoming an airline pilot.

In the middle of that, Wolf, you get this training period where we know that he went to Lufthansa's training academy in Braman and in Phoenix, Arizona, having taken a six-month gap, at one particular point, or several-month gap, at one point, for an undisclosed reason. And then, finally, you get him to a point where he's offered and given a job as a first officer at Germanwings in 2013. And, Wolf, this is interesting because those who know him then say he was quiet. He was well liked. He -- those who flew with him are believed to say there was nothing particularly out of the ordinary.

And listening to what Tom was saying, in short, so far, nobody has come up with the -- that comment that says, I always thought there was something strange about Lubitz. We haven't heard that yet.

BLITZER: Yes. But the doctor, apparently, said he was unfit to work. Those were the specific words.

QUEST: Yes. Yes.

BLITZER: I think we --

QUESTION: Absolutely.

BLITZER: -- reestablished our connection with Will Ripley. He's in Germany in Dusseldorf outside the family home. Those words are powerful words, Will. Tell us how they came about, the basis, the evidence for this conclusion from this doctor that he supposedly was unfit to work.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, police have been out here throughout the day. And, in fact, officers are still guarding the apartment of Andreas Lubitz. It's in the white building behind me on the top floor. This is a quiet upscale neighborhood. All of this coming to a shock as the people who -- to the people who live here. Because as we've been going around the neighborhood talking to people, this young man, as you were tell -- as you were saying, outwardly at least, appeared as if everything was going well in his life. And yet, inside that apartment, investigators say they found evidence, these medical notes that were torn up and thrown in a trash can in the apartment that showed that Lubitz had been receiving treatment for what was described as an illness.

Now, we're hearing from the university medical center here in Dusseldorf saying that, in fact, while they acknowledge that this young man, 27 years old, was brought in for treatment. He went in in February and then went in again on March 10th to get his diagnosis. They specifically say that he was not being treated for depression, although we need to keep in mind, Wolf, just because it's not depression, there's a whole host of other conditions, both mental or physical, that are a factor here. And that's certainly something that investigators are looking at very closely here -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Have they said, Will, whether or not he was on any specific medications?

RIPLEY: No word of any medications because aside from saying that this is not a depression condition, they are citing patient confidentiality laws here in Germany that are not allowing them to release more information. So, really, we know very little other than the fact that it is being said, and this is new, that it was not depression. This illness that he was being treated for, apparently since at least February, not depression, according to the clinic here in Dusseldorf.

BLITZER: Yes, we'll see if we can find out why they did conclude, at least his doctor, that he was unfit to work. Will, we're going to get back to you. We have a lot of news coming in.

And up next, the plane's flight data recorders. We've mentioned, it's still missing, the importance of the information it potentially holds.

And later, we're going to answer your questions about the crash. You can submit them on Twitter. Use the hash tag, GermanwingsQsatCNN. We'll be right back.

[13:09:48]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 into the French Alps left crash scene investigators with a daunting, daunting task. In this image, take a look at this, you can see different parts of the plane which have been located so far in a debris field scattered over an area said to be larger than a square mile and in treacherous, mountainous terrain at an altitude of 6,500 feet with no access roads.

Right now, helicopters and hiking equipment, they are the only way to access the area. Our panel joins us, once again, to discuss this search. Our Law Enforcement Analyst Tom Fuentes and our Aviation Analyst Peter Goelz.

You know, Peter, the sheer size of this area and the fact that this huge plane crashed into this mountain, what, at 400 miles an hour, it shattered into so many pieces, when I said daunting, that's an understatement.

GOELZ: It is an understatement. You know, they will desperately try to identify what they call the four corners of the plane. The two wings, the toe -- the nose and the tail and then try and start to lay the shattered pieces out on a grid. But, boy, I don't think they're going to get very far with that, because they'll have main -- some pieces. They'll be able to see it but I don't think there's going to be much that you're going to be able to pick up from the devastation.

BLITZER: Because normally, and you've been involved in a lot of these crash scenes, they try to, what, reassemble a plane to try to learn what happened. In this particular case, you don't think they'll be able to do that?

GOELZ: I don't think it's necessary. We know what happened. We know the guy locked the door and flew the plane into the mountain. I mean, you may want to recover the door but I don't think there's a lot of investigative knowledge that can be gained by spending the resources and the time to reconstruct this. What you want to do is spend your resources on recovering the victims' remains and doing the DNA that's going to be required to identify all of them.

BLITZER: One quick Question, on the DNA, will they be able to determine, assuming they find his DNA, what kind of medication he might have been on -- taking at that time?

GOELZ: That's a very difficult question. It -- you know, they -- you can't imagine the destructive force of an accident like this. And remember he was sitting in the front of the plane. They may find simply -- if they find anything, it may be just traces.

[13:15:22] BLITZER: What are investigators looking for now in his apartment, in his family home?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Looking for, again, his mental condition and profile. They're going to want to know his relationships, his financial situation, his work situation. You know, everything about him that might cause him to do something drastic, like he's done. And oftentimes, you know, with a person at his age, oftentimes relationships matter. Boyfriend, girlfriend --

BLITZER: But there was no - but there was no suicide note. No what they call good-bye note. Nothing along those lines.

FUENTES: Well, he could have been driving to the airport to go to work and gotten a phone call or a message that said, your - you know, it's over, I'm not going to see you anymore, something like that, that might have, you know, really added to whatever mental situation he might have already been in. But I think that we're going to have to hear more about this medical condition because it's a persistent condition. It's not something that just - he didn't catch a cold and go to the doctor. They're talking about multiple notes over a longer period of time. So what kind of persistent, chronic condition did he have?

BLITZER: They're saying now it was not depression. There could be obviously a lot of other causes.

FUENTES: There could be.

BLITZER: But depression -- you heard what - you heard that report from Will Ripley -

FUENTES: Right.

BLITZER: That depression is apparently not something he was suffering from.

GOELZ: Yes. And the investigators so far have been very careful about putting out information. For instance, even in the very first press conference, they indicated it was not a decompression event. You know, they gave us hints. So I think here they're trying to make - stop the speculation before it goes off track. So I think we can take that as pretty good guidance.

BLITZER: All right, guys, stand by. We have a lot more coming - coming up. Much more on the crash in the French Alps.

Also, the deadline for reaching a nuclear deal with Iran is fast approaching. Up next, my interview with the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Corker. I'll ask him if he thinks a deal is possible, and if a deal is announced, will it be accepted by the United States Senate?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:20:46] BLITZER: We're going to get back to our coverage of the breaking news on that Germanwings crash in the French Alps. That's coming up in a few moments. Bur right now, another important story we're following.

The deadline is fast approaching for the framework of the nuclear deal with Iran. The French foreign minister says Tehran needs to make a new effort to get a deal. Let's bring in Tennessee Republican Senator Bob Corker. He's the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Mr. Chairman, thanks very much for coming in.

SEN. BOB CORKER (R), SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS CMTE. CHAIRMAN: Good to be with you (ph).

BLITZER: I know you're being briefed by the administration. Deal or no deal? What do you think? CORKER: Actually, you would be surprised how little briefing is taking

place but -

BLITZER: Why would they not be briefing you? You're the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.

CORKER: Yes. Yes, it's been an unusual thing and that's why I think you see so many people in a bipartisan way wanting to make sure that Congress has the ability to weigh in, at least on the congressionally mandated sanctions, if a deal is reached. Everyone wants to see a good deal achieved. I think what you're going to see over the next period of time is the announcement of a political arrangement, meaning that it doesn't have all the details. And I think everyone understands the important elements, Wolf, are all the classified annexes that come with this that really give you insights as to how much transparency is going to exist, are we going to have the ability really to detect covert programs? Are we going to understand where their research and development is going? Are we going to know what their previous military dimensions were? We know they were moving towards a bomb at one point in time. So those are the important elements and -

BLITZER: I assume they're going to have to share all that information, at least with the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

CORKER: Well, at some point, yes. It's been an amazing thing. You know, we've all - again, we want to see a good deal. We want to see one that creates stability in the region. But as you see what the White House is doing, they're obviously moving away from Israel towards a relationship with Iran. And it's very apparent to me that what they're trying to achieve is a balance of power between the Shia sides and the more Sunni-oriented sides. And a way for them to extract themselves out of the Middle East.

The missing component here is that Iran has not changed its behavior. I mean we're seeing right now what's happening in Yemen. We know that if we make a bad deal and they actually get to a place where they're one screwdriver turn away from having a nuclear weapon, it creates proliferation possibly in the region. But the other thing is, they -- they'll have the ability. Their economy will be growing. They'll have access to the $130 billion right now that's trapped overseas to even more fully destabilize the region.

BLITZER: Because financially this will be a bonanza if all that $130 billion is freed up to go into their coffers. But that's a serious suggestion or accusation you're making that the Obama administration wants to move away from the longstanding support, relationship with Israel, and sees Iran as a substitute for Israel. Is that what you're saying?

CORKER: Well, i think that - I mean it's obviously that the relationship with Israel is diminishing to a degree. And I'm not saying totally turning its back. But it's moving more towards, you know, an Iranian-dominated relationship to create a balance of power. I mean you're seeing that happen right now. And, again, while, you know, in a textbook that might be interesting, what you're not seeing from Iran's standpoint is a change in behavior. You're seeing just the opposite. As a matter of fact, what you're seeing is them being more in the face of the Sunni population there. You're seeing, you know, Suleimani, who heads the Quds force, you know, becoming more of a public celebrity and -

BLITZER: He's in Iran (ph). Yes.

CORKER: That's exactly right.

BLITZER: And as concerned as the Israelis are, the Saudis, the Emiratis, a lot of the Sunni Arab states, they're equally concerned about this potential deal.

CORKER: No question. I mean it's fascinating. You know, you wake up in the mornings and here we are in Iraq helping make Iraq a better place for Iran. We're working with them right now in Tikrit in a loose way. And then on the flip side of that, in Yemen, where we know Iran is supporting the Houthis that are creating the destabilizing efforts that are taking place now, we're on the Saudi side of that, and it's almost like - I know this is a little bit trite, but, you know, it's almost like the pole (ph) who says, I've got friends on both sides and I'm with my friends. But it really is confusing to people in the region as to where the United States is today.

[13:25:10] BLITZER: You have a problem if the administration, they don't see this deal as a treaty, which would require Senate ratification. Do you have a problem if they go to the United States Security Council for ratification first and then go to the United States Senate and say, all of those sanctions that you imposed, you now take a vote on easing those sanctions?

CORKER: Yes. So here's -- here's the issue. We respect the fact that the administration has the right to do whatever they wish with the U.N. Security Council sanctions that were imposed on Iran. That's an executive activity. We respect the fact that there are executive sanctions they put in place.

But, Wolf, you know this well. Congress put in place a whole host of congressionally mandated sanctions that really brought Iran to the table. And so what we're saying is, look, we want a good deal negotiated. But before you start unraveling the ones that Congress put in place, we want to make sure that you show us the deal. That we have access to those classified annexes. That we understand how we're going to have accountability, enforceability and transparency. We want to know that those things are going to exist. And before you alleviate our sanctions, which means the entire sanctions regime basically unravels, we want to be able to say grace over that.

I think that's a responsible place for the United States Senate and I would think that the administration, if they're going to do a deal that will stand the test of time, move beyond their administration, they would want buy-in from the American people. We represent the American people.

BLITZER: But are you OK with - are you OK that they say this is not a treaty, it does not require a formal Senate roll call vote? CORKER: I - I appreciate their position and believe that the position

that we've taken representing the American people is also the appropriate place. And that is, again, for us to be able to vote up or down before they start moving away from the sanctions that we put in place.

BLITZER: Yes.

CORKER: I think that is an appropriate balance.

BLITZER: I think they're going to be with you on that part, on the sanctions that Congress -

CORKER: I don't think they're with us now. I mean -

BLITZER: Well, it will be -

CORKER: I mean let me say this -

BLITZER: Yes.

CORKER: I think we're going to pass a bill.

BLITZER: Yes. Right.

CORKER: Chuck Schumer, who's likely the next minority leader, Democratic minority leader, today Senator Reid endorsed him. He's stepping down.

BLITZER: Right.

CORKER: Came on last night as a co-sponsor while we were doing budget negotiations. I do think we are going to pass a piece of legislation that gives Congress that ability to weigh in on behalf of the American people.

BLITZER: All right. All right. Senator Corker, we'll continue this conversation. Thanks very much for joining us.

CORKER: Thank you, sir.

BLITZER: Bob Corker, is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Coming up, we'll get back to our top story. A doctor now declaring that the Germanwings co-pilot Andreas Lubitz was unfit to fly. What does that mean? What impact could it have on the possibility of the liability of Lufthansa and Germanwings? Much more coming up right after this.

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