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Hillary Clinton Breaking Campaign Silence; Judge Considers E- mail Release On Rolling Basis; Hillary Clinton Fields Questions On Iraq War; Patriots' Owner Addresses Media; Kraft States He Will Accept Penalties Reluctantly; Iran-Backed Militia in Place Near Ramadi; Report: ISIS Used Sandstorm to Hide Offensive; Police Fear Revenge, Urge Bikers to Back Down. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired May 19, 2015 - 13:00   ET

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

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[13:00:26] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. here in Washington, it's noon in Cedar Falls, Iowa, 8:00 p.m. Ramadi, Iraq. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

Up first, Hillary Clinton finally breaking her campaign silence, answering five questions from reporters today. In Iowa, she fielded those questions as part of her race for the White House. Among other things, she spoke about the war in Iraq. Here's a little clip of what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know that there have been a lot of questions about Iraq posed to candidate over the last weeks. I've made it very clear that I made a mistake, plain and simple. And I have written about it in my book. I've talked about it in the past and, you know, what we now see is a very different and very dangerous situation. The United States is doing what it can but, ultimately, this has to be a struggle that the Iraqi government and the Iraqi people are determined to win for themselves. And we can provide support but they're going to have to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Our Senior Washington Correspondent Jeff Zeleny is out there in Iowa. He's covering the Clinton campaign, joining us from Cedar Falls right now. Here in Washington, our Political Director David Chalian and our Chief Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash.

Jeff, let's start with you. She's been under a lot of fire for refusing, over the past several weeks, to take questions, serious questions, from reporters who are following her. What -- is there any background why she decided finally to answer five questions from reporters today?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, I think, plain and simple, just the math was leading to a way that it was time for her to do it. It had been 28 days, at least by my count, since she had taken questions from reporters. And there had been even Democrats who were calling on her to make her position clear on trade and some other issues. So, I think it got clear to the point that she just thought she had to answer questions.

And, Wolf, I can tell you, she came over with a smile on her face and in very good humor. She was not defensive at all. She was clearly prepared for all these questions. That's not been the issue that she's not prepared. She simply did not want to distract from her message which was supposed to be a small business event today on the economy. But, of course, that was the distraction. She and several questions, including defended her foundation. She said it did good work and several other things.

BLITZER: She also responded to questions about the release of her e- mails during her time at the State Department.

ZELENY: Right.

BLITZER: Let me play that clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: I have said, repeatedly, I want those e-mails out. Nobody has a bigger interest in getting them released than I do. I respect the State Department. They have their process that they do for everybody, not just for me. But anything that they might do to expedite that process, I heartedly support. You know, I want the American people to learn as much as we can about the work that I did with our diplomats and our development experts, because I think it will show how hard we worked and what we did for our country during the time that I was secretary of state where I worked extremely hard on behalf of our values and our interests and our security. And the e-mails are part of that. So, I have said, publicly, I am repeating it here in front of all of you today, I want them out as soon as they can get out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But will you demand it? Will you demand it?

CLINTON: Well, I -- well, they're not mine. They belong to the State Department.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: A judge, Jeff, as you know, suggested maybe those e-mails could be released on a rolling basis. Right now, they're going to be released, the State Department says, in January, just a couple weeks before the Iowa caucuses. You're in Iowa right now. What would it mean if they were released on a rolling basis, politically speaking, I assume, that Hillary Clinton and her campaign would like to get them out earlier rather than later?

ZELENY: I think that's right. I actually take her at her word for saying that she would like them to be released soon. And I think, as we heard from the judge, she urged the State Department to release them on a rolling basis. But what it means, Wolf, that for the next six months, the next nine months, until these Iowa caucuses and the primaries beyond, we are going to be talking about this because she still has to appear before that Benghazi committee. All these e-mails are still going to be released. So, I think that they probably don't want them released in dribs and drabs. But I think it would be untenable for them not to be released until January of 2016. Voters would be asking questions about that. It would be quite a side show, quite a distraction.

BLITZER: All right, let's get some analysis. Dana Bash is here. David Chalian is here. Dana, she's been under enormous pressure, a lot of criticism that she had only, until now, what, since she had formally announced that she's running for president of the United States, answered with 13 questions. Today, she answered five more. I wonder if there's going to be a running count how many questions she answers in the coming weeks.

[13:05:05] DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As long as they're few enough to count, yes.

BLITZER: What's your immediate reaction when you see what she said on these two issues, very sensitive issues? Iraq she says she made a blunder. She made a mistake. She regrets that vote back at the end of 2002 in favor of the war. And the e-mails, she wants them all out as quickly as possible.

BASH: Yes, I mean, the issue is not whether Hillary Clinton knows how to answer a question. She does. I mean, she has been there and done that more times than most of the Republicans combined. The issue is, as Jeff said, staying on message. That they have a very clear strategy at the beginning of her campaign. She doesn't need to get out and get known. Everybody knows who she is. She needs to craft the kind of person, the kind of candidate she wants people to know now. So, she answered that.

The other thing that I thought was interesting is that she was asked a question about the fact that she and her husband made, what, $30 million --

BLITZER: In the last 16 months.

BASH: -- in the last 16 months and whether or not she can relate to everyday average Americans and she had a fine answer. It's not necessarily how much we make. It's we remember where we came from. And, obviously, there are other candidates, Democrats in history, who have been wealthier than they.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: And to that point right there, Wolf, I think what you see here is a candidate getting a little better on the campaign trail. You gave the perfect example. Last year, when her book came out, she was asked about the money and her speaking fees. She had that total faux pas and gaffe and being dead broke. That was not her answer today. She pivoted the question about her personal finances immediately to sort of the middle class message and being for people who are not at the top 1 percent, trying to reshuffle the deck. She went right to her campaign message. Same thing on these e-mails just, like, putting it out there. Jeff said, she wasn't defensive at all. If you're inside the Hillary Clinton campaign and you're an adviser, you would want to show her that tape and see, we maybe should do this more often and talk --

BASH: Yes.

CHALIAN: -- to reporters because, you're right, she's not bad at this. It's just that they build up this head of steam and it becomes this press narrative of her not taking questions, her not taking questions, the Republicans pile on. And it seems unnecessary because she can actually dispatch with some ease when she -- you know, when she is focused the way she clearly was here today.

BASH: I think you hit on something super insightful and important here which is that she does feel -- look for comfortable. She clearly feels more comfortable. And perhaps she got that way because she has been doing this behind closed doors. Yes, with handpicked people but with real human beings and not, you know, members of her political team or her family, people who she's trying to meet. So, it has probably helped her.

BLITZER: We're going to have more of what Hillary said coming up this hour. In fact, that whole exchange where she was asked about all the money, the $30 million the last year and a half or whatever she and her husband made. Bernie Sanders who's challenging her for the Democratic presidential nomination has joined us live here on CNN. And we'll get his reaction to that and a whole lot more.

But, Jeff, talk a little bit about what else she's doing today out there in Iowa. Iowa was the state she fumbled back in 2008. This time, she wants to make sure there are no fumbles.

ZELENY: No question about it. I mean, we all remember so well, she came in third place in 2008 behind Barack Obama, of course, but also behind John Edwards. That's one of the reasons that she is taking it slow and sort of shrinking the size of her campaign this time. She was at a house party yesterday afternoon taking questions without reporters there to see this. But 60 people or so were asking her questions. Then, she was trying to focus on the small business economy here in Iowa.

But she is really doing not all that much campaigning. She'll be leaving Iowa later this afternoon, going to Chicago for some fund- raisers tomorrow and then off to New Hampshire later at the end of the week. This is all building up to what her campaign says is a big announcement of sort of a bigger framing speech that I'm told will happen in early June. That's when she's going to really sort of begin all this and outline what she's campaigning for.

But, so far, she's trying to do this in sort of chapter by chapter. She didn't come here expecting to take questions necessarily but one adviser said he thought that they had made a mistake, you know, by not sort of talking to local reporters over the last couple weeks. It had built up in a head of steam, as David said. That's why she did what she did today. BLITZER: And we're going to get reaction, once again, from Bernie

Sanders, the senator from Vermont, who's also running for the Democratic presidential nomination. He's standing by live. We'll get his reaction later this hour. Guys, thank you.

Up next, the battle for Ramadi and the surprising strategy ISIS used to beat Iraqi forces.

And why law enforcement now in Waco, Texas is addressing serious concerns that bikers, bikers there may retaliate against police.

I want to first, though, go to Robert Kraft. He's the owner of the New England Patriots. He's speaking about what's called deflategate, the NFL's punishment of the New England Patriots and Tom Brady, the star quarterback. Let's listen to Mr. Kraft.

ROBERT KRAFT, OWNER, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (live): I have the privilege of going to a meeting similar to what we're at here in Orlando and being welcomed in an NFL owners' meeting.

[13:10:06] So, here's a fan and a former season ticket holder living a dream and being welcomed in that room. I got goose bumps that day. And I vowed, at that time, that I would do everything I could do to make the New England Patriots an elite team and hopefully respected throughout the country. And, at the same time, do whatever I could do to try to help the NFL become the most popular sport in America.

You know, what I've learned over the last two decades is that the heart and soul and -- of the strength of the NFL that is a partnership of 32 teams. And what's become very clear over those two decades that at no time should the agenda of one team outweigh the collective good of the full 32. So, I have a way of looking at problems that are very strong in my mind. And before I make a final decision, I measure nine times and I cut once.

And I think maybe if I had made the decision last week, it would be different than it is today. But believing in the strength of the partnership and the 32 teams, we have concentrated the power of adjudication of problems in the office of the commissioner. And although I might disagree with what is decided, I do have respect for the commissioner and believe that he's doing what he perceives to be in the best interest of the full 32.

So, in that spirit, I don't want to continue the rhetoric that's gone on for the last four months. I'm going to accept reluctantly what he has given to us and not continue this dialog and rhetoric and we won't appeal.

Now, I know that a lot of Patriot fans are going to be disappointed in that decision, but I hope they trust my judgment and know that I really feel, at this point in time, that taking this off the agenda, this is the best thing for the New England Patriots, our fans and the NFL. And I hope you all can respect that.

You know, I would normally take questions but my desire is truly not to continue the rhetoric. And so, I'm going to leave this discussion exactly here.

Thank you very much.

BLITZER: A major, major development in the NFL, the National Football League. Robert Kraft, you heard him, the owner of the New England Patriots, now saying, reluctantly, he's going to accept the punishment that the NFL commissioner gave the New England Patriots over that so- called deflategate episode, the scandal. The star quarterback, Tom Brady, he will be suspended for four games without pay. The New England Patriots will pay $1 million, $1 million in a fine to the NFL. They'll lose their first round draft choice. This coming here and that -- the following year, a fourth round draft choice. He thinks this is better for the NFL, even though last week he says he would have made a very different decision.

So, once again, the New England Patriots will not appeal the decision by the NFL commissioner. They will -- the patriots will go ahead and accept the punishment and then move on. A major development. We'll continue. Lots of breaking news here on CNN right after this.

[13:14:27]

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[13:17:15] BLITZER: Now to Iraq where the Iraqi military has launched an offensive against ISIS just days after the fall of Ramadi, the provincial capital of the Anbar Province. Iraqi forces, they're now hammering ISIS positions, we're told, in Fallujah. They are also taking some ground from ISIS in the area between Fallujah and Ramadi.

Joining us now from Beirut is CNN senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh, he's monitoring what's going on, and from the Pentagon, our correspondent Barbara Starr.

First of all, Barbara, have commanders there at the Pentagon revealed what the strategy is to try to retake Ramadi, because the fall of Ramadi, this huge city in the Anbar Province, to ISIS represents a major setback for Iraq for the U.S., for the coalition?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, right now there is no new plan by the U.S., no new plan by the U.S. military. Airstrikes will continue, we're told, but again, this is an urban area, so airstrikes into a city are very tough business because of the risk of civilian casualties. No additional U.S. troops on the ground, no real new plan. The idea is to make the Iraqis more capable to go back in and do it.

There is going to be, by all accounts, a lot of reliance on the Shia militias that are gathering in the desert, perhaps to try to go back in to this Sunni majority city and also Sunni tribes that are seeking arms so they can go fight. That's a sectarian cauldron, but right now it looks like it is going to have to be a ground fight. The U.S. will advise but the U.S. not changing its plan. Airstrikes only, Wolf.

BLITZER: Nick, the problem with the ground fight is that the Iraqi military clearly has proven to be rather inept, if you will. They really need backup. The only backup, realistically, is going to come from those Iranian-backed Shiite militias and that potentially could represent a major problem with the Sunni majority in the Anbar Province. Talk a little bit about that.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well that's true. There was a slight glimmer of light about that today, Wolf, when the Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider al Abadi, suggested that they would potentially seek to arm the Sunni tribes of Anbar. They've long wanted weapons but it's been the Shia government in Baghdad that have been slow, in fact, obstructive to put those in their hand.

But yes, those Iranian-backed Shia militia certainly complicated an, at times, incohesive force. Names perhaps familiar from the U.S. fight in Iraq, the Baathist organization, the (INAUDIBLE) army, (INAUDIBLE), groups which fought against the U.S. and now are fighting together in what's called the Hashd al-Shaabi, which effectively means the mobilized group of people, otherwise known as the popular mobilization units. But they are, at times, a loose group. They don't necessarily always act together or with unity.

[13:20:04] In fact, one of the criticisms about what's happened to end the fall of Ramadi is they didn't move in on mass to try to get in the fight at an earlier stage. And we have also heard reports from the ground that when they are in the fight, they often seem to think the Iraqi army is subordinate to them. Iraqi army put up a lengthy fight, Wolf, for Ramadi but something at the end snapped, causing them to retreat quickly. I think people are really trying to ask quite what that was. Was it just the intensity of the ISIS assault or was there something else going on too?

BLITZER: The Iraqi army left behind huge quantities of military equipment, now presumably in the hands of ISIS. Stand by because we're also learning more about that ISIS offensive that captured Ramadi. "The New York Times" now reporting that these ISIS forces used a sandstorm to cover their advance into Ramadi in the early stages of the assault; the cover from the storm may have neutralized U.S. coalition airstrikes around this city.

Let's get some analysis from retired Major General James "Spider" Marks, our CNN military analyst, former U.S. Army Senior Intelligence Officer for the Coalition Land Forces in Iraq.

What do you make of that, I guess, a pretty smart move if, in fact, there was a heavy sandstorm, air cover, air power was really not that usable, it seems to have been a pretty capable strategy that the ISIS forces have.

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Strategy and a combination of taking advantage of the conditions on the ground, absolutely. In fact, when we -- when the United States and the coalition forces invaded Iraq back in March of '03, we had a similar circumstance about day three of the invasion where we had sandstorms combined with some other factors that caused this to really reduce the number of airstrikes we could apply. So not to be surprised by that at all. And also, the fact that the -- that the ISIS forces isolated Ramadi

from support from the routes coming in and they did that first. So you want to isolate the objective, which they did effectively, and with a lot of shock and a lot of immediate action were able to crack into Ramadi and without much resistance, take it over. So we now have a situation where Ramadi belongs to ISIS and they'll just kind of deepen their hold on it. That can drag them down, but they've demonstrated, like they have in Mosul, that they've got the capability to provide governance.

BLITZER: It's not just the staying in Ramadi. They also have a lot more military equipment, including armored personnel carriers, maybe some tanks, some battle tanks, they've got a lot more weapons, a lot more ammunition. And a lot of these ISIS guys, these are trained military officers who used to work in the military of Saddam Hussein, so they know how to use this military equipment, don't they?

MARKS: They do. That's the backbone of ISIS. You have your inspirational leadership, but what you have is a number of aggrieved individuals that were imprisoned by the United States and the coalition, right after the invasion back in '03, and for various reasons were released and they now are professional soldiers that are providing the backbone of the leadership in these formations that ISIS is showing in battle.

BLITZER: So it's clearly not just the ragtag group of terrorists --

MARKS: Not at all.

BLITZER: -- they are pretty sophisticated in their military capability, that's why they took over Mosul, a city of 2 million people, and have been able to retain it over the past year. Now they have Ramadi, a city of about a half million people, and presumably that fight will continue.

What's going to be the role of these Iranian-backed Shiite militias? Will they come in and help the Iraqi military try to retake this city of Ramadi?

MARKS: Wolf, it's complicated, but the only ones that are showing up in battle are the Shia militia. The Quds force, as Nick indicated, Mujahideen, used to be a terrorist organization that the United States labeled as a terrorist organization, so -- the Badr Corps. These are Tehran-backed Iranian-motivated militia forces that have great training. They're showing up in battle.

The complication is is that Ramadi is in the Sunni portion of Iraq. The introduction of Shia fighters in that part of Iraq going into a predominantly Sunni city becomes much more difficult. However, they are the ones that have demonstrated the backbone. They are the ones that can get it done.

BLITZER: "Spider" Marks, thanks very much for joining us.

MARKS: Thank you, Wolf. BLITZER: There's another major story we're following here in the

United States. Police, they're still at the scene of a biker brawl that killed nine people.

[13:24:31] Just ahead, why they're so concerned about a wave of retaliation between rival gangs and against police.

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BLITZER: There's a major story we're following here in the United States. In Texas, police there in Waco, Texas, they're scrambling to prevent another outbreak of serious violence between warring biker gangs but there are fears that more angry and armed bikers could actually be headed to the area right now, might be seeking revenge for Sunday's deadly biker shoot-out.

Meanwhile, investigators are expected to finish their work at the crime scene today. They're compiling evidence from the battle that killed nine gang members and injured dozens more. Police say they found knives, guns, clubs, even chains at the site of the brawl. More than 170 bikers ended up in jail.

Let's bring in Tom Fuentes, he's a CNN law enforcement analyst and former FBI Assistant Director. You know a lot about these biker gangs. When you heard about what happened in Waco over the past few days, was this a surprise to you?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Not really. It's a surprise, I guess, by the number of killings at one time, but the fact that the bikers would go at each other like that, not a surprise at all. The FBI, ATF, law enforcement across the country have been fighting against these biker gangs for decades and Hell's Angels is still bigger than the Outlaws and the Bandidos and some of the other --Cossacks, in this case. The fact that they would have a turf battle and have their brawls with guns is nothing surprising about them.

BLITZER: Here's what the Waco police said just a little while ago at a news conference. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. PATRICK SWANTON, WACO, TEXAS, POLICE: There have been credible, reliable threats towards law enforcement in and around our area. I will tell you those have toned down a bit over the past 24 hours. We are absolutely thankful of that. I made mention last night that there has been enough tragedy and there's been enough bloodshed in Waco, Texas. We would appreciate there not being any more.

Are we asking for cooperation from known criminal bike gangs? Absolutely, we are. We are asking them to stand down, we are asking them to let us sort through our investigation and we will be honest with them as well as we were honest with you all and will continue to be.