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Wolf
Nepal Earthquake Death Toll Nears 4,000; Glimpse into Secret World of Smuggling; George W. Bush Blasts Obama on ISIS; Iran; House Committee Review Hillary Clinton E-Mail. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired April 27, 2015 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[13:32:19] WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting from Washington.
Crews are racing against time to find survivors of the worst earthquake to hit Nepal in 80 years. Rescue teams have found some people alive in the rubble including this little boy. But hopes of finding more survivors, those hopes are, fading as the hours pass. The death toll now approaching 4,000. Many thousands of others injured.
The U.S. State Department, they are saying that they are aware of at least four Americans who have died. Drone video shows an aerial view of some of the moments and the monuments and buildings damaged by the quake. Many buildings that have stood there for centuries, they were toppled. Governments and aid agencies from around the world are rushing to get assistance to Nepal. So far, at least 16 countries plus the European Union have announced that they are sending aid.
The epicenter of the magnitude 7.8 quake was less than 50 miles northwest of Nepal's capital of Kathmandu. A powerful aftershock yesterday hit closer to Mt. Everest where the quake triggered a deadly avalanche. And there's been little information on the damage and death toll from more remote areas.
Our senior international correspondent, Arwa Damon, reports from Kathmandu.
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(SHOUTING)
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nacul Taman (ph) managed to scale the ladder before rescue teams stopped him. The building is not secure. But he doesn't care. His father is buried somewhere under the rubble of a collapsed church behind a school. He was the pastor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
DAMON: "It's hard," Taman (ph) says.
So far, six bodies were recovered here. Many more remain.
Most shops are closed. People unwilling to venture far from their families, especially those lucky enough to still have each other.
(on camera): This was a five-story building. The bottom three floors have completely collapsed and only two are visible. For some of those who are waiting here, there is a little bit of hope because more than a day after the earthquake happened, the rescuers manage to find a woman. She wasn't even really harmed. In a lot of shock, but alive.
(voice-over): That's what keeps Nataham Goulen (ph) believing his wife and 7-year-old daughter are still alive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
DAMON: "I raced here after the earthquake. I haven't slept for days," he says.
Workers dig painstakingly slowly removing piles of stones and debris. They spot someone's hair but can't reach the body or tell if it's male or female. For Goulen (ph), it's too much. All he remembers now is how happy he and his family were.
Throughout the city, makeshift camps. Many families are still too afraid of aftershocks to go home. This is Kathmandu's main park. Outside a mobile medical clinic, the walking wounded wait. This woman was injured when panicked crowds stampeded. This little boy was hit by a falling brick.
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
[11:35:23] DAMON: "I felt something like a fire and I ran and then something hurt me a lot," he says. "I am still scared."
And so is everybody else. Those who survived clinging to those they loved. The tremors may have stopped for now, but the terror remains.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Arwa Damon joining us on the phone from Kathmandu.
Arwa, update us on what you know about this search-and-rescue effort that's clearly under way.
DAMON (voice-over): Well, it's still very intense and difficult, Wolf, as you saw in that piece. It's quite overwhelming even though you have all of these international teams that are arriving from nations around the world sending quite a bit of support, but it's still not enough at this stage. They need the heavy machinery on the ground that they would use to move the large pieces of rubble and it's just so time consuming and painstaking of a process. It really takes quite a lot of manpower and so while everyone on the ground is doing the best they can, it's simply not enough.
More concern Wolf is not just the search-and-rescue effort happening here in the capital but what's happening in the far-flung areas that teams have not been able to reach just yet. These are places that are so remote in normal times it can take days to reach them, so imagine how difficult it is going to be to reach them under these circumstances when roads are blocked out and the only way in or out is by helicopter.
BLITZER: So what I take it, Arwa, the numbers nearly 4,000 confirmed dead, many thousands of others injured. Once they get closer to the epicenter -- you're in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, the epicenter about 50 miles outside of Kathmandu. Once they get closer and closer to those remote areas, potentially -- we hope it doesn't happen -- but they could find a lot more bodies, is that the fear?
DAMON: It most definitely is. In fact, the head of one aid organization was saying in his estimation the death toll could rise as high as 10,000. So many of these areas have been yet to be reached, so many areas because they're so remote. Even if someone survived the earthquake, survived the landslides, the concern is that without proper food, water, if they're injured without proper medical care they could end up perishing because assistance has not been able to reach them and that is something that so many are potentially having to grapple with and the aid organizations are trying to find a way around.
To give you an idea of how far away these places are, one man who we met earlier this morning has family living about 20 kilometers away from the epicenter, two cousins who work on Mt. Everest. He has not heard from them. There is no communication at all to these areas. He has no idea how he's going to get there.
The fear is, when various aid groups, rescue missions do reach these places, what they're going to find is going to be beyond horrific.
BLITZER: It certainly is.
Arwa Damon, part of our team of excellent reporters who are there on the scene for us doing amazing work.
Arwa, be careful over there. We'll stay in very, very close touch with you.
A warning to our viewers in the United States and around the world, some of you may find these pictures upsetting.
Families in Nepal are being forced to wait in line for funerals. Traditionally, the dead are buried in design spots in Nepal but with nearly 4,000 dead so far. Many are carrying out Hindu rituals in neighborhoods or open fields while others wait in long lines at traditional temples to give last rites.
To find out how you can help the victims of the Nepal earthquake, and I want you to do so if you at all can, go to CNN.com/impact. You'll have a chance to impact your world.
We're staying on top of this story. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [13:42:23] BLITZER: We're staying on top of the breaking news out of Nepal, the huge earthquake, 7.8 magnitude. And we're following what's going on. We'll get back on the search-and-rescue operation under way. Stay with us for that.
But there's other important news we're following as well. These people, they're searching for a better life in Europe, instead many of these migrants find themselves in a situation that can only be characterized as a living hell.
In an exclusive report, our Nick Paton Walsh and his team offer us a glimpse into the seamy underbelly of human smuggling.
We must warn you, some of the images you're about to see are graphic.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You've seen the victims of this continental trade and misery end up, in boats adrift, on beaches drained of life. But here, we expose how the smuggled find themselves in this hell.
A CNN producer stumbles into a Tripoli meeting with a smuggler who thinks she is a Syrian looking to bring more Syrians across to Europe. She uses her phone to secretly record his offer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WALSH: He insists they use satellite phones, GPS, and a pilot who isn't Libyan but Senegalese. He's from Mali and drives CNN to the unfinished building the migrants wait in to cross. To enter, she walks over trash pretending to tell someone in Syria the details on her phone.
Inside, this sick underworld there are more than the 80 migrants who they were told would be in their boat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WALSH: Now maybe these peoples' last days on dry land.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WALSH: The TV is always on. The rooms hidden behind curtains. But the trade so boldly cynical, so patently inhumane.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Tripoli. (END VIDEOTAPE)
[13:45:09] BLITZER: What a heartbreaking story that is, as well.
Up next, other news we're following, including the former president of the United States, George W. Bush, breaking his silence on the Obama administration's policies around the world. Now he's calling his successor naive when it comes to Iran and a failure in the war against ISIS. Much more when we come back.
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BLITZER: For more than six years, former president George W. Bush has been quiet about his successor. But at a fundraiser over the weekend, he lashed out at President Obama's foreign policy, especially his handling of the situation the Iran and the war against ISIS.
Joining us now is Josh Rogin, the CNN political analyst and a columnist for "Bloomberg View."
Josh, you broke this story over the weekend because it's pretty extraordinary. Former President Bush has been relatively quiet, almost completely quiet, doesn't want to go after President Obama, staying back, but now he has decided to go out and speak. What did he say?
JOSH ROGIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST & COLUMNIST, BLOOMBERG VIEW: In pretty shocking and new comments, for the first time, in a very long time, President Bush criticized the sitting president in a closed-door meeting on Iran, ISIS, and his handling of Russia and many other things. He basically said that President Obama has been naive in his handling of the Iran nuclear deal. He said President Rouhani doesn't represent a new policy for Iran, just that he's the new spokesman. And he said we're losing the war on ISIS. And that the president doesn't have a plan to solve that problem.
[11:50:09] BLITZER: Do we know why he decided all of a sudden to go break that silence and go public, and for all practical purposes, not only criticize but condemn the president's policies?
ROGIN: He did say at the beginning that he didn't want to enter the public arena and he didn't feel it was right to criticize the president. But then he went on to criticize the president pretty severely. We can say perhaps he thought he had confident in an off- the-record setting, although the information leaked almost immediately after.
There was a huge group inside there, right?
ROGIN: There were a lot of people there. There were a lot of reports about it. I got some details. Other reporters got other details. Perhaps he has a lot to get off his chest and he was just ready to make those comments.
ROGIN: He basically was suggesting that the proposed nuclear deal with Iran would be a disaster for the United States, is that what he was saying
ROGIN: He said three things. One, to lift sanctions before Iran had agreed to stop their nuclear program was short sighted. He said President Obama's contention you can snap back sanctions after the fact wasn't plausible. He also said the deal would have long-term ramifications for U.S. security. He said think of our grandchildren and how the deal would affect them. That was a direct --
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: The forum where he spoke was at the Nation Hotel in Las Vegas. Tell us about that.
ROBIN: It was the Republican Jewish Coalition, a group heavily funded by Republican Jewish donors. It was held at the Nation Hotel, which is owned by Sheldon Adelson, who was in attendance.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: -- the Venetian hotel.
ROGIN: The Venetian Hotel. He's a contributor to the Republican Jewish Coalition. It was basically a meeting of the top Republicans, many candidates who were all assembled there for the weekend to hear off-the-record comments from top Republican officials, including George Bush.
BLITZER: Was there any indication he did this, the former president, to help his younger brother become the next president of the United States? Was that the motivation?
ROGIN: I think there's counter indications. He said he realized and he was liability for his brother as his brother contemplates a run for the presidency. You wouldn't see him on the campaign trail because he said during the debate all somebody has to mention is the name Bush and that could hurt Jeb while he's running. So for one, he's promising to stay out of Jeb's way, but at the same time, he's interjecting himself with these comments because they got into the public so quickly.
BLITZER: Josh Rogin, good reporting. Thanks very much for joining us.
ROGIN: Thank you.
BLITZER: Still to come, here in Washington, the House committee investigating the Benghazi terror attack now examining hundreds of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's emails. Republicans may not necessarily find what they are looking for. We have new information. Stay with us.
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[13:56:17] BLITZER: "It's about time," that's how the vice president of the United States, Joe Biden, described the swearing in of Loretta Lynch to become the next U.S. attorney general. Lynch was confirmed by a Senate vote last week. She's the first African-American woman to lead the U.S. Justice Department. In her own remarks, she thanked the president for his patience, said she looks forward to restoring trust in law enforcement, and protecting the rights of victims.
The Clinton Foundation now admits it made mistakes in the way it reported government donations on its tax returns. In a blog posted on Sunday, the acting CEO wrote a rare admission. Quote, "So, yes, we made mistakes as many organizes of our side do, but we are acting quickly to remedy them and have taken steps to ensure they don't happen in the future." The foundation also plans to re-file five years of returns. The nonprofit also addressed questions about the foundation's donor disclosure practices, insisting its policies on transparency and contributions from foreign governments are now, quote, "stronger than ever."
In the meantime, Representative Trey Gowdy and the House Select Committee on Benghazi are examining 300 of Hillary Clinton's emails. They are looking for evidence of security lapses in the days and weeks leading up to the terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. But now sources tell CNN they have found no, quote, "smoking gun" in these 300 e-mail messages.
For more, let's bring in our global affairs correspondent, Elise Labott. She's joining us from New York.
Elise, the State Department plans to release some of these emails publicly in the coming weeks but your source has seen at least some of them. What do they say?
ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well several source, Wolf, are saying that, you know, there's not a lot "there" there in terms if anyone was looking at great insights on Hillary Clinton's actions leading up to Benghazi or afterwards. There's not that much information in these emails. A lot of them, about a third of them are mundane things, like scheduling, logistic, very little talk about security, Wolf, very little talk about Benghazi.
There is some evidence that Secretary Clinton and her inner circle, who she was e-mailing from her private server, were interested in the fallout from Benghazi and how it might affect Secretary Clinton and the State Department as the whole. But nothing really indicating that Secretary Clinton was -- there was no stand-down order, as some Republicans charge, about the night of Benghazi. Secretary Clinton did not try to stop help from getting to the consulate on the ground. And there's no evidence of any type administration cover-up, Wolf. In fact, there's an e-mail from the office of Senator John McCain the day after the attack, one of his staffers even praising Secretary Clinton for her address to State Department employees the day after the tragedy and asking her office to convey the fact that Senator McCain appreciated those remarks. So there's a mixture of the mundane to the interesting, but certainly no great insights from that -- Wolf?
BLITZER: Very quickly, where does the investigation now go?
LABOTT: Well, they are looking for Secretary Clinton to testify. And there's a little bit of a debate how that will go. Republicans on the committee, Representative Gowdy, really wants to do a private interview with Secretary Clinton first. Secretary Clinton wants to do a public hearing, get all the questions out, and is interested in just speaking to the public at this point, Wolf, not interested in having a private interview with the committee.
[11:59:48] BLITZER: All right, Elise Labott in New York. So is the secretary of state. We'll stay in touch with you. Thank you.
So that's it for me. I'll be back at 5:00 p.m. eastern in "The Situation Room."
For our internal viewers, "AMANPOUR" is coming up next.
For our viewers in North America, "NEWSROOM" with Brooke Baldwin starts right now.
