Return to Transcripts main page

Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Attorney General Eric Holder Will Speak At Ebenezer Baptist Church In Atlanta; Decision On Eric Garner's Case Coming; Sasha and Malia Criticized Over Appearance At Turkey Pardon Ceremony; Bill Cosby Cuts Ties With Temple University; Danger of Social Media Using For Soldiers' Families

Aired December 01, 2014 - 20:00   ET

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

JOHN BERMAN, CNN GUEST HOST: Good evening. John Berman here sitting in for Anderson.

And we do have breaking news on several fronts tonight including Bill Cosby cutting ties with the school to which he was so famously devoted. His old school, Temple University in Philadelphia.

There's that tonight, and even as we speak, there's a high level conversation taking place on policing and race in the wake of Ferguson. It's happening right now at really a wellspring of the civil rights movement, the Ebenezer Baptist church in Atlanta. The Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.'s church and martin Luther King Sr.

Attorney general Eric Holder and members of the civil rights community, law enforcement holding a town hall there. You can see right now live pictures. We are watching it. We have already learned he'll be announcing new guidelines aimed at preventing racial profiling. We'll bring you more of that when had makes his remarks. It's really part of an all-out administration push today with meetings in Washington at the White House.

A big executive order from President Obama and a call for Congress to take action as well. This time the president says it will be different. This is all unfolding on a day after a weekend of protests around the country with students walking out of class, protesters clashing with police, players on the St. Louis Rams walking on to the field with their hands up.

All the angles tonight starting in Atlanta where the attorney general is speaking shortly. Martin Savidge is there.

Martin, great to see you. What do we expect the attorney general to say?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, John.

Yes, a number of things, but you've already alluded to one of the most prominent features which is the fact that as expected, the attorney general will announce that he is going to unveil guidelines that will be disseminated to federal law enforcement to greatly limit now the use of racial profiling, again, by federal law enforcement. That's something that many civil rights advocates have been pushing for for quite some time. So it's anticipated that the attorney general is going to announce those first steps coming up.

Just a short while ago he had a meeting with a number of community leaders. This was behind closed doors. And he said that one of the reasons Atlanta was chosen for the first of what are expected to be a number of these meetings across the country is that it is said to have good community relations, good community outreach between law enforcement and the community which it serves.

Then on top of that there is the historic reference, and that is, of course, that this is the church that was where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. preached. It was where his father preached. He's buried just across the street. And it was that movement by Dr. King that first and foremost said that if you were going to protest, it must be nonviolent and that is, of course, what the president has been saying and the attorney general in the aftermath of the unrest over the Ferguson ruling, John.

BERMAN: As you mentioned, this is just the first of what will be several community meetings that the attorney general will hold. He has only got a couple months left in office, you get the sense that he wants this to be how he spends the remainder of his time in the just department.

SAVIDGE: Definitely, yes.

This is something that clearly, he feels very strongly about it. And he's bridging something that he says, you know, did not just begin with Ferguson, and that is, of course, what appears to be a breach of trust between law enforcement and members of the color community. And so, it is trying to, as he says, tackle this very, very difficult problem. Not one that will be ended in just a couple of months. But committing himself, committing his department and committing law enforcement. That's part of the reason for meetings across the country is to begin this dialogue, to open this discussion to at least start trying to bridge that gap.

BERMAN: One of the questions is, is it a discussion or will it be more than just a discussion?

Martin Savidge, thanks again.

Attorney general Eric Holder will begin his remarks shortly. We'll bring you the important points as they come in from Atlanta.

Meanwhile at the White House today there was plenty of talk. Closer look at the military equipment that so many local police forces have been getting from the federal government. And if Congress approves, more than a quarter billion dollars worth of action that the administration hopes will make police more accountable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When I tried to describe to people as why this time will be different. And part of the reason why this time will be different is because the president of the United States is deeply invested in making sure that this time is different.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: That was President Obama this afternoon. Michelle Kosinski joins us now live from the White House.

Michelle, what actual change did the president implement today? There was an executive order. What does that do?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: All right, what he wants to do is streamline this federal process of giving money and, in many cases, military equipment and weaponry to local police departments. They want a lot more accountability, a lot more consistency. Because when they did this initial study of these federal programs, and there are a number of them, giving more than 5,000 humvees, tens of thousands of small arms to these local departments over the last five years, what they found was a startling lack of consistency, a lack of training in some cases and a lack of community input. So they want to look at this as a whole and then streamline it, make it more efficient.

What we didn't hear today, though, John, was that there could be cases where they take some of this equipment away from departments that may not have the training and resources to use it properly. So this is, obviously, the beginning stages of really taking a much deeper, much closer look at the equipment that local police departments have and what they get from the federal government.

BERMAN: The president talked at length about some of the larger issues that he also thinks that everything that's happened in Ferguson brings. I want to play a bit more sound from that. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: I think Ferguson laid bare a problem that is not unique to St. Louis or that area and is not unique to our time, and that is a simmering distrust that exists between too many police departments and too many communities of color.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The president's talked a lot about that issue of trust, hasn't he, Michelle?

KOSINSKI: Yes, this is such a complicated, complicated, multilayered problem or issue or, you know, long-term process in this country, but what the White House is really honed in on is distrust. They say, yes, this is something that really flares up when it's an issue of national dialogue, and then it ducks back behind other headlines.

So what the president said today is there needs to be a sustained focus and a sustained effort on this. And that's what the White House has been trying to do, get a dialogue going. They're establishing this task force on local policing, and they also want more funding for local police departments, not only so that they have what they need, but the training and the community input to try to break down some of that distrust, John.

BERMAN: One of the big questions the White House is facing, Michelle, is will the president go to Ferguson. Any news on that front?

KOSINSKI: You know, that's been a question from the beginning. And what you don't really get is a clear answer from the White House on this. I mean, you look at how touchy and complex this is. It is clear that the White House sees this as a very delicate balance because at the same time you have deep involvement by this White House. I mean, multiple investigations and statements, thousands of calls and meetings, thousands of them, they say, since this began.

But then on the other hand, you have the president not making any plans to actually go there. Why is it? Well, you could look at they don't want to put any more pressure on the local police department. That's likely. They don't want another -- they also don't want the president to be seen as taking sides in this. So the way they frame their answer today is that this is a national issue, the president wants a national dialogue, not just in one area, one community, but across the board, John.

BERMAN: All right. Michelle Kosinski at the White House. Thank you so much.

This is really a two-pronged discussion today at the White House in Atlanta also where the attorney general Eric Holder will speak any minute.

Let's talk about a lot of the issues that are coming up all day today. Joining us legal analyst Sunny Hostin and Jeffrey Toobin, both federal prosecutors, also CNN political commentator and "New York Times" columnist Charles Blow.

Jeffrey, I want to start with you here because the attorney general is about to speak, and he is going to make some news, we've just learned. He's going to announce a review of federal racial profiling with a goal, he says, to end racial profiling. How big a deal is this?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I would say it's a modest deal. Remember, most law enforcement in the United States is not federal. It's at the state and local level. All of the issues in Ferguson have been involving local police departments, which the attorney general does not control.

Also, racial profiling is already illegal. So telling federal agents not to do it is, you know, maybe a good reinforcement, but I just don't think anyone should be misled that this is going to be some kind of revolution in law enforcement.

BERMAN: Sunny, another thing that the attorney general will discuss tonight is the ongoing federal investigation in Ferguson. He'll say that they're doing the best they can, they're investigating thoroughly, although he goes out of his way to say the bar is very, very high here for federal charges.

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: And it is. And I think he is trying to manage expectations.

BERMAN: How high are expectations here? Because you've been in Ferguson. Are people there on the ground there expecting federal action?

HOSTIN: Not only are they expecting federal action, it's almost as if without that, they will, you know, this is already a powder keg. And without something happening, people are telling me that, you know, the distrust that they have and the helplessness and the frustration will really begin to boil over.

In fact, when I spoke to Michael Brown's parents, I asked them that. I asked them do you think there will be a federal case. And I explained to them the bar was very high. And they both seemed to think there was no question in their mind that the federal government would do something.

And so, I think that is why we hear our attorney general mentioning, you know, that the bar is so very high in an effort to manage expectations. But I sort of agree with Jeff and the other point, which is, you know, this is really a local law enforcement problem. And I think what I would like to see, rather than all the talks that we've been hearing and all the discussions, I'd like to see some concrete actions. I'd like to see some transparency of process in terms of the grand jury. I think when we have officer related shootings, quite frankly, I think there should be a special prosecutor, there should be independent investigators because I don't think we can trust the police to investigate their own department.

And quite frankly, I think that the Michael Brown law is, you know, something that's time has come. Don't we want our police officers to have body cameras on all the time? And so, if we can see that kind of legislation perhaps coming from the top, that makes more sense to me.

BERMAN: But it is calling for more funding for body cameras.

Charles, there's something really interesting in the president's remarks today. He said they're beginning these discussions. He called for this task force to report back to him. And he went out of his way to essentially say this time it's going to be different. It's not just going to be talk. And it's not going to just be talk because I'm here, it's me, I really care about this.

Is that believable? Do you think it's going to happen or he will take action because this is an issue -- clearly, I mean, he cares about this. He's studied this his whole life. He's talked about it his whole life. He wants it to be part of his legacy.

CHARLES BLOW, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think, of course, there will be some actions to come out. All right, these task forces have some actions they come out. They do not get everything that they want. In fact, our most recent history has shown they continue get very much that they want.

I still believe it is incredibly valuable to have the stamp of the federal government and a task force that looks into this and not just leave it to social science, not just leave it to the kind of number crunchers to come away and say this is a problem.

I think by elevating it to a national issue -- and this is the very definition. We always talk about this national conversation about things. This is the very definition of what we have been asking for, which is for the attorney general to go city to city and sit and let people come in and talk to him and he talk back to them and ask questions and raise their concerns. This is the conversation that we have been asking to have. And I think that we should not kind of pooh-pooh that and say that is not a big deal.

HOSTIN: But Charles --

BLOW: I'm sorry, it is a big deal.

HOSTIN: We had it post the Zimmerman case, alright?

BLOW: But we did not -- we did not have this.

HOSTIN: Well, we had panels discussing race and justice.

BLOW: We did this.

HOSTIN: The attorney general and our president came out and talked about the Zimmerman case. And my view, I feel like I'm saying the same things over and over again.

BLOW: But I think that we have to separate the punditry from the people. This is giving the people a chance to come forward and say directly to the powers that be that I am afraid, that I feel like I don't trust the authorities who are in charge of my life -- well, you have the -- well, the best way to eat elephant is one bite at a time. Now, I don't know who eats elephants, but I do believe the metaphor worked because you have to say we have to start somewhere. And you may not -- you can't expect this president in four years or six years.

BERMAN: It will be eight years and the question is has he done anything for the first six?

BLOW: And against minorities. However, you can start somewhere. I think this idea that to say not to starting somewhere anywhere is on its face bad --

BERMAN: Jeffrey, I want you to --

TOOBIN: I don't want to be unduly cynical here, but I'm a little more skeptical than Charles is about what difference this will all make in part not because of the president's lack of interest in this subject, but the tools at his disposal. I mean, what could he do that would make the confrontation between Officer Wilson and Mike Brown come out differently? It's not really obvious what he could have done.

BLOW: You have to separate, I believe, the particular from the general. There is this particular case which may not have been changed in any way by anything that happens, that change is going for. However, there is the general sense, this idea that people -- that this is a question of faith in the system, and that is a big Philosophical question that has to be addressed on the biggest stage and this is the biggest stage you can address that question.

BERMAN: There is a stage tonight in Atlanta, the Ebenezer Baptist church, where the attorney general Eric Holder will be giving a speech. He will be announcing some measures. He'll also be talking in broader terms. We are going to carry some of the important things he has to say. We are going to keep our eye on that and bring it to you as soon as that happens.

Sunny Hostin, Jeffrey Toobin and Charles Blow, really appreciate it. Great discussion tonight. Thanks Guys.

As I said, we are going to check in with Atlanta as soon as we see the attorney general speaking. We'll bring you the key highlights of that.

And as always, make sure to set your DVR so you can watch "360" whenever you would like.

Next, we are going to get reaction to all of this from the Brown family attorney, Benjamin Crump.

Also ahead tonight, another case that's threatening to be a real flash point. The death of an African-American here in New York. The medical examiner already calls it homicide. The question now, will the grand jury call it murder and what happens if they decide not to indict the officer who is responsible?

And later, Bill Cosby under even more pressure. He makes a major decision involving a big, big part of his life and big part of his public persona for decades.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: The breaking news tonight, attorney general Eric Holder is at the Ebenezer Baptist church in Atlanta. He will be speaking shortly and is expected to remind people that the justice department's investigation into Michael Brown's killing remains ongoing and active.

We've also learned he will lay out new guidelines for preventing racial profiling. And this is all part of a larger conversation taking place right now with a lot at stake before Ferguson and ever since. Public safety, civil rights, the lives of young African- American men and in so many words, the notion of justice for all.

That's the context, which is why we want to get Benjamin Crump's take on it. He's one of the attorneys for Michael brown's family.

Ben, you heard what the president had to say this afternoon. What's your reaction and what's the reaction from the Brown family?

BENJAMIN CRUMP, BROWN FAMILY ATTORNEY: Well, it's encouraging to know that he is asking America to have this very serious dialogue and talking about what actions his office will take to ensure that we move forward on this issue that affects so many of the minority communities across America. BERMAN: Is dialogue enough, though? A lot of people have been saying

the president should go to Ferguson. Is that something you'd like to see?

CRUMP: Well, that's something that I think Michael Brown's family would appreciate. I understand from Reverend Sharpton and others in the meeting that issue came up and, you know, there is some consideration to him making a trip to Ferguson.

However, we think him doing the things that need to be done with the proposed legislation for the Michael Brown law of having police officers wear video body cameras all over America is a step forward because a big part of what happened in Ferguson, John, is about a lack of transparency, a lack of trust, and this here will help be transparent and show everybody what happens so we don't have to continue to rely on memories from witnesses and innuendo. We want it to be transparent.

BERMAN: He's calling for body cameras, funding for body cameras for police officers around the country. I do know that attorney general Eric Holder has been in touch with the Brown family. What have those discussions been like? What's the focus been?

CRUMP: He's assured them that their son's tragic death will be thoroughly investigated, the circumstances surrounding it. Also, that the Ferguson police department will be investigating to see if there's a pattern and practice for these type of scenarios to happen as well as getting the proper training and supervision.

But at the end of the day, he talked to them as parents, John, having children, the children of color and talking about the difficult task that parents of children of color have.

BERMAN: Officer Darren Wilson resigned from the Ferguson police force over the weekend. Will that affect your decision and the Brown's family decision on whether they'll seek any kind of civil legal action against him?

CRUMP: No, it will not. John, they greatly wanted the killer of their son to be held accountable. They wanted him to come before a court of law and face criminal charges. In the absence of that, they will explore every legal avenue available to them to get some sense of justice, but they believe the police officer who killed their son, it was in his boast interests both personally and professionally.

BERMAN: So Missouri's lieutenant governor was discussing those situations the protest on the streets, he was talking about Michael Brown's stepfather, Louis Head. Louis Head, of course, was seen on video saying, burn this blank down. The lieutenant governor of Missouri now suggest that he should be arrested and charged with inciting a riot. Is that any kind of concern for your clients?

CRUMP: No, it isn't. And both Michael Brown's mother and father have constantly asked for peace and people to be responsible. You remember that was right after the decision was announced. It was very emotional. And it's indefensible, it is not appropriate in any way. We don't condone people acting on emotion calling for people to do irresponsible things at all. And so we want his family, his mother and father's message to come across louder than anybody who might be associated with them around. And they can't control what others do. They can control what they pray for.

BERMAN: Benjamin Crump, we appreciate you for being with us. Thanks so much.

CRUMP: Thank you.

BERMAN: As always, you can find out a whole lot more about this and many other stories at CNN.com.

Up next a grand jury is deciding whether to charge a New York police officer in the death of another unarmed black man. That incident caught on video. Eric Gardner dies after being put in an apparent choke hold. And like the Brown case, it has also become a rallying cry for protesters. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Here in New York and elsewhere, protests over Michael Brown's death often touches on another case, another unarmed black man's fatal encounter with police. Eric Gardner was stopped in Staten Island back in July. Gardner, who had asthma, died after a police officer put him in a choke hold. He can be heard on amateur video gasping and repeatedly saying, I cannot breathe.

The New York grand jury's decision is expected this week on whether that officer will face criminal charges. Randi Kaye reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): July 17th, Eric Gardner is about to be arrested in Staten Island, New York, for illegally selling loose cigarettes, but something goes horribly wrong and it's all caught on tape by a bystander.

ERIC GARDNER, 43-YEAR-OLD: I'm minding my business, officer. I'm minding my business. Please, just leave me alone.

KAYE: That's Gardner, a black 43-year-old father of six weighing 350 pounds. Several New York City police officers are about to take him down.

GARDNER: Don't touch me (bleep). Don't touch me. (Bleep).

KAYE: Look closely, one officer, Daniel Pantaleo, who is white, has his arm around Gardner's neck.

Listen to Gardner's cries. Muscle side of (INAUDIBLE).

GARDNER: I can't breathe. I can't breathe.

KAYE: What police may not have known was that Gardner suffered from asthma. His body appears to go limp. Gardner was later declared dead in a nearby hospital. Police say he had a heart attack and died on the way.

Less than a month after his death, the New York City medical examiner made the official ruling. The cause of death, compression of neck, a chokehold. Plus compression of chest and prone positioning during physical restraint by police. His death was ruled a homicide. Complicating matters -- the M.E. also found that asthma, obesity and cardiovascular disease were contributing factors.

The city erupted in protests.

CYNAC ST. VII, PROTESTER: We actually came out here to give support and make sure that we show the family of Eric Garner that we're out here and we feel for them.

KAYE: New York City's mayor called it a tragedy promising a full review. The police commissioner promised to get to the bottom of it.

COMMISSIONER WILLIAM BRATTON, NEW YORK CITY POLICE: Says - defined in the department's patrol guide that this would have appeared to have been a chokehold.

KAYE: A grand jury was convened to decide whether or not the officer should be indicted. It began hearing testimony back in September.

ESAW GARNER, ERIC GARNER'S WIFE: I just want them to do the right thing and give me justice for my husband.

KAYE: The jury is expected to announce its decision by the end of this week. Meanwhile, the community is working to prevent another Ferguson. Given the explosion of violence there, New York brass isn't taking any chances. The NYPD reportedly sent detectives to Missouri to learn more about professional agitators and about strategies to prevent the same thing from happening in New York. Staten Island's District Attorney Daniel Donovan isn't talking, but New York police are in touch with community leaders there to coordinate a response to the grand jury's decision. What they don't want is more of this.

CROWD: No justice!

CROWD: No peace!

CROWD: No justice!

CROWD: No peace!

KAYE: Or something worse.

CROWD: No justice.

CROWD: No peace.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Randi Kaye joins me now. Randi, I want to talk about the officer, the one who had his arm around Eric Garner's neck.

Has he had any kind of trouble before?

KAYE: We are talking, John, about Officer Daniel Pantaleo. And we don't see anything in his history that as extreme as a chokehold like we saw in this case, but we did check the court records, and within the last two years there were three cases where he was sued. Three men accusing him of unlawful racially motivated arrests. Now in one case he and some other officers were -- they took part in a humiliating -- a very humiliating strip search right on the street. They asked these two black men to take their pants down, their underwear down, they made them squat on the street, they made them cough on the street, they took him in overnight, and the charges were later dismissed. Those men actually sued the city and the city actually settled with those men earlier this year.

In another case, the officer and some other officers were accused of misrepresenting the facts to help substantiate an arrest. That case was also dismissed. And it's important to remember here, that he just testified before the grand jury, Officer Pantaleo. So, did these issues come up, did these prior cases come up? Did he talk about them? Was he forthcoming about them? These are all questions that we don't know. And if he did, how did those, how might those have played with the grand jury?

COOPER: Again, that grand jury will issue its decision in the coming days maybe even as soon as this week. Randi Kaye, thanks so much for being with us. I appreciate it.

Coming up for us, more fallout for Bill Cosby, new fallout in a big life-changing decision. Details on that when "360" continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: Breaking news out of Philadelphia tonight. Under fire from at least 15 women who accuse him of sexual misconduct, comedian Bill Cosby has resigned from the board of trustees at Temple University. This is a post he's held for 32 years. Temple is a big, big deal to Bill Cosby. You often - you can see him here in Temple sweatshirt. He earned a bachelor's degree from the university in the 1970s. This is the latest fallout from this scandal. One of his accusers worked at Temple. Another accuser, former supermodel Janice Dickinson, is speaking out on CNN tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. She says Cosby raped her in 1982.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANICE DICKINSON, FORMER SUPERMODEL, SAYS COSBY RAPED HER: I should have gone to the police, but once again, I was too embarrassed and I was too disgusted and I was afraid for my career. So I moved out. How do I prove it? Put me on a lie detector test. OK? Put me on, you know, a government lie detector test. Because someone's going to be in big trouble for calling me a liar. Bill Cosby, you know the truth. Bill Cosby, you were there. Bill Cosby, put a lie detector test on Bill Cosby.

(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: Now, Cosby's attorney calls Dickinson's allegations lies. Cosby has never been charged with any crimes. Jean Casarez joins us now with more on the resignation from the Temple board of trustees. Jean, what are you learning?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, when you think of Temple University, your second thought is Bill Cosby because he's so associated with this university. As you said, he got an undergraduate degree, he got an honorary degree. He attends their games. He raises money for them. Well, we want to show everybody the statement that came out late today.

First of all, the statement from William H. Cosby Jr., and it reads, "I have always been proud of my association with Temple University. I have always wanted to do what would be in the best interests of the university and its students. As a result, I have tendered my resignation from the Temple University Board of Trustees."

And then the response from the university very simply, one sentence. They say "the Board of Trustees accepts Dr. Cosby's resignation from the board and thanks him for his service to the university. And John, what is missing in this is really the elephant in the room, right? The why. He says this is in the best interests of the students and the university. They accept it, but they don't talk about what the reason truly is.

COOPER: And of course, all these allegations in some ways began at Temple, right? One of the first accusers, Andrea Constand actually worked there.

CASAREZ: Isn't that interesting? In 2005 she was an employer in the athletic department. And she's the one that filed the civil suit in 2005. There was also a criminal investigation and that resulted in no charges. We know that. But we also know that civil suit was settled, but Bill Cosby continued to remain a part of Temple. In fact, in 2012 he gave the commencement address for Temple University. So they definitely sided with him, we could say if there was a side. But we also don't know what that relationship will take part now with Temple. He's resigned from the board of trustees, but will he still have that ongoing relationship? He could.

COOPER: Well, but certainly not as strong as it was until today. Jean Casarez, great to have you here with us. Really appreciate it.

CASAREZ: Thank you.

COOPER: We want to bring in Bob Huber, one of the first journalists to report on the allegations against Cosby. In 2006 he penned the story, "Dr. Huxtable and Mr. Hyde" for "Philadelphia Magazine." Bob, thanks so much for being with us. We've been saying, you know, so many of us associate Bill Cosby directly with Temple. Are you surprised by this split tonight?

BOB HUBER, PHILADELPHIA MAGAZINE: Well, I'm not surprised at all by the split. You could see it coming, but on the way in tonight, I was thinking about it and just feeling really sad because, in a sense, with this split, it feels like Bill Cosby is leaving Philadelphia. As you said in the lead-up, he was so connected to Temple and so involved and would pop up at Temple events and so forth and, of course, was part of the board for so long, this is kind of the end of Bill Cosby in Philadelphia at least in a public way? That's a pretty sad thing.

COOPER: So you wrote a profile --

HUBER: I think the answer is probably yes.

COOPER: No, it does seem like he's at least parting ways with Temple here, the ties to the city that remains to be seen.

HUBER: Sure.

COOPER: You wrote a profile back in 2006 where you highlight that a lot of these same allegations that have been in the headlines the last few weeks, then it sort of faded away. Why do you think it took so long for this new attention to be paid?

HUBER: Well, I think it's natural for all of us not to deal with things we don't want to deal with. It does strike me as bizarre that it didn't get attention because you mentioned Andrea Constand, she was the woman who worked for as an administrator for Temple University women's basketball. She befriended Cosby. He was giving her some career advice. She went to his house. And she tells a story that many women have now been telling, that she was -- he gave her a pill and then she got very woozy and he proceed to sexually molest her. Now, as part of -- it went nowhere legally, but as part of her civil suit, there were 13 women, 13 Jane Does ready to testify on her behalf and tell their stories.

Now, some of these Jane Does were mentioned by name in the civil suit, were willing to talk, to an extent, back then in '05/'06. "The Daily News" was on this story before me talking about it, interviewing some of the women. I was able to talk to three of the women. And so we have this civil suit with 13 women saying they have similar stories. So, there is a bizarre aspect to it going nowhere.

But the women have been abused or had allegations of abuse that went back 20 and 30 years. They had been very young. They were aspiring models and actresses looking for advice. Now, I don't think any of those qualities are negatives, but I think they allowed us collectively to weigh who they were against our idea of who Bill Cosby was, Dr. Huxtable and take a pass on it, whiff on it, and move on from it, which is shame on us, but we did it. We moved on from it.

COOPER: Yes. You know, in 2014 having a direct impact on his life. Temple University cutting ties or Bill Cosby cutting ties depending on how you interpret it, with the university for which he's spent so much time and devoted so much of his life.

Bob Huber, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

A quick note: on November 21st, this program featured an interview with a freelance writer named Mark Ebner who said that in 2007 he pitched a story to the Associated Press detailing some of the current claims against Bill Cosby. He went on to say that the Associated Press declined to pursue the story because they were afraid of libeling Bill Cosby. The AP got in touch with us to say they deny the allegation and they've never heard of Mr. Ebner.

Coming up, we all know that a pre-Thanksgiving turkey pardoning ceremony may be a little - may be a little much for the Obama daughters to get very excited about. But what one senior Republican staffer wrote about the young woman on Facebook, has broken (ph) a lot of feathers and ultimately it cost the staffer her job.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: A congressional Republican staffer is resigning after she slammed President Obama's teenage daughters. Elizabeth Lauten was communications director for Tennessee Congressman Steven Pincher, but it was her own communication on Facebook that got her in the trouble. Dana Bash reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: You are hereby pardoned.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was a standard first family event - pardoning the Thanksgiving turkey, until a Republican congressional aid wrote a mean-spirited rant on her Facebook page about the president's teenage daughters.

"Try showing a little class. Dress like you deserve respect, not a spot at a bar." That post chastising Malia, 16 and Sasha, 13, went viral, forcing Elisabeth Lauten, communications director for Tennessee Republican Steve Pincher to apologize, but it wasn't enough. Today, she resigned.

SEAN SPICER, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Children, especially the first daughters, should be off limits in the political discourse from attacks.

BASH: That's the Republican Party spokesman agreeing with the White House.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I was taken aback that there was some, you know, a political operative on Capitol Hill who did use the occasion of the Thanksgiving -- of the Thanksgiving-themed event to criticize members of the first family. BASH: It has long been a bipartisan goal to respect and protect the

privacy of presidential kids, living in a fish bowl through no fault of their own. But that hands-off policy has limits. Chelsea Clinton, like the Obama girls, lived in the White House during her teenage years and was largely left alone with some glaring exceptions. Like when "Saturday Night Live" mocked her appearance. Rush Limbaugh even compared her to a dog.

RUSH LIMBAUGH: Cute kid. Let's see who is the cute kid in the White House. No, no, no, no. That's not the kid. That's the kid. BASH: Amy Carter's first day of school was a media spectacle. And

when George W. Bush's then-19-year-old daughters were charged with violating liquor laws in Texas, it made headlines, but even that was before social media where anyone with an opinion can express it. An occupational hazard in politics that Elizabeth Lauten learned the hard way with her mean girl Facebook post lashing out at the Obama daughters. Former GOP leadership aide Doug Heye says it's an important lesson.

(on camera): So what was your advice to Republican press secretaries like her?

DOUG HEYE, FORMER HOUSE GOP LEADERSHIP AIDE: We would always tell them, think before you tweet. Think about what your boss wants to say. And if that's what you actually want to echo. Think about one rule that we would say, does mom want to read this? And if mom doesn't want to read it, you may not want to say it.

BASH: Good advice for all of us these days. Dana Bash, CNN, Washington.

COOPER: All right. Thanks to Dana. Let's get caught up with some other stories we're following tonight. Susan Hendricks has a "360" bulletin. Susan?

SUSAN HENDRICKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, we start with breaking news out of West Virginia. Authorities there say a man suspected of fatally shooting four people this morning at three different locations has been found dead. According to investigators, Jody Lee Hunt new all of the victims.

Well, Janay Rice is speaking out. She says her husband, NFL running back Ray Rice made a mistake when he hit her in an elevator in Atlantic City last February and says he will not do it again. She had this to say to NBC's Matt Lauer on the "Today" show about the incident that was caught on video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANAY RICE: And I asked him after I saw it, why did you just leave me there like that?

MATT LAUER, "TODAY": Did you see that part?

RICE: Mm-hmm. That's the one ...

LAUER: From the outside.

RICE: I asked him and --

LAUER: Why didn't you comfort me?

RICE: Yes, he said he was terrified.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HENDRICKS: She was sitting alongside her mom, by the way, during that interview.

And the appearance of a black storm trooper in the first trailer for "Star Wars: the Force Awakens" is causing a lot of chatter in social media, even some racist comments. Actor John Boyega who plays the part as (INAUDIBLE) telling people on Instagram, John, that "get used to it." I know you saw the trailer and you're a big fan of this one, right?

COOPER: I'm actually, and my reaction to the trailer was simply this is awesome. All right, Susan Hendricks, thanks so much.

Coming up for us more breaking news. American servicemen and women getting a warning that could be a matter of life and death. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COOPER: More breaking news. We are getting new information about an FBI warning to the U.S. military. A law enforcement official tells CNN they're concerned that ISIS is tracking personal information on social media about specific U.S. soldiers. Pamela Brown reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tonight the FBI and DHS are sending out a new warning to the U.S. military saying ISIS members are not only calling on attacks against Americans, but also spotting and assessing like-minded individuals currently living in the U.S. they may be able to use to carry out attacks against U.S. soldiers.

JEH JOHNSON, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: The new phenomenon that I see that I'm very concerned about is somebody who's never met another member of that terrorist organization, never trained at one of the camps, who is simply inspired by the social media, the literature, the propaganda, the message, to commit an act of violence in this country.

BROWN: This latest bulletin sent overnight warns U.S. soldiers to be extra cautious about posting identifiable pictures and information on social media, anything that would make them easy targets for ISIS inspired terrorists.

FRANK CILUFFO, HOMELAND SECURITY POLICY INST.: Tons of people don't think, think through exactly what sort of information they're providing online and in their social media that has GPS material that has friends, contacts and others, family members that, in the hands of those that wish us harm, could be really dangerous.

BROWN: Law enforcement sources say the bulletin was sent out now in advance of the upcoming holiday season when many members of the U.S. military travel in uniform and a time of the year terrorists want to attack the U.S.

CILUFFO: Clearly, if you're in the shoes of ISIS, you would like to instill fear and panic during this timeframe.

BROWN (on camera): Why do you think it's just military personnel in this case?

CILUFFO: Why out military? They're heroes.

BROWN (voice over): Similar warnings have recently been sent to military members and law enforcement personnel out of a growing concern of lone wolf attacks in the U.S. But sources say this latest bulletin is based on renewed efforts by ISIS to attack U.S. troops adding to concern recent attacks in Canada against members of the Canadian military including the shooting last month where a gunman killed a soldier and then opened fire in parliament.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Pamela Brown joins me now. Pamela, quickly, you're learning new information about what was behind this bulletin. What can you tell us?

BROWN: That's right. The concern of the law enforcement community is that ISIS members overseas are actually taking personal information about U.S. soldiers, their addresses, even their relatives' addresses, taking that information and then giving that to violent homegrown extremists who are currently living in the U.S. And basically asking them to carry out attacks against these specific soldiers. It's very concerning to law enforcement officials and they're addressing it head-on. John.

COOPER: Understandable concern. It does explain this bulletin. Family, I know that this is something you'll keep your eye on. Really appreciate you being with us. Thanks so much.

BROWN: Thank you.

COOPER: All right. That's all for us this evening. We're back at 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Meanwhile, "Double Agent: Inside al Qaeda for the CIA" starts right now. Thanks for watching.