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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Heightened Security Tonight at Princeton Maryland's NCAA Women's Matchup; Charlottesville Police: No Evidence of Gang Rape; Ted Cruz Running for President; A New Kind of Threat From ISIS; ISIS Online; Vermont Authorities Point to Connection Between Robert Durst, Woman Who Disappeared in 1971; Texas Woman Turns 104. Aired 8-9pm ET
Aired March 23, 2015 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[20:00:19] ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening. Thanks for joining us.
We begin tonight with breaking news. Heightened security tonight at Princeton Maryland's NCAA women's matchup. The reason, a threat against one of the Princeton players who also happens to be the president and Mrs. Obama's niece.
"USA Today's" Christine Brennan broke the story. She joins us now on the phone. What have you learned?
CHRISTINE BRENNAN, SPORTS COMMENTARY, USA TODAY (via phone): Yes, Anderson. Leslie Robinson, the freshman forward for Princeton, is not playing in the game. She's on the bench. But this afternoon the University of Maryland athletic department received an eight-minute long voicemail according to a source who told me all about this. And in the voicemail, the woman leaving that message talking about a man who is driving on the campus with a handgun. And the voicemail also mentioned Leslie Robinson, President Obama's niece.
So at that point, the University of Maryland stepped up security. They have undercover security officers who are near or on the bench. Obviously we can't tell who they are because they are undercover. And in addition, the secret service is here because both Sonya Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, two justices from the Supreme Court happen to be here cheer on their Princeton tigers.
So there is a lot going on here. But in terms of actual presence, you wouldn't know the difference, Anderson. And in fact, I would say I would never have known any of this were going on had I not been told by my source.
COOPER: And we are showing pictures from this weekend. Now, we're talking about the daughter of Craig Robinson, who is the first lady's brother, right?
BRENNAN: That is correct. This is Michelle Obama's brother's daughter, Craig Robinson's daughter.
COOPER: And President Obama did attend a game over the weekend. He's not at tonight's game, though? BRENNAN: That is correct, Anderson. President Obama is not at the
game tonight. He was there Saturday. That's when Princeton played Wisconsin green bay in the first round. And in fact, I received an email and the number of media that there would be heightened security for that game, the day before. They didn't say why. And then, of course, once the word came out that the president was at the game on Saturday, obviously we all understood why that email went out about heightened security 24 hours ahead of time.
There was no such email going out because of this game. Obviously according to my source, this threat occurred this afternoon. So there was no sense at all, Anderson, about anything going on until I received this information from a source during the game tonight.
COOPER: Let's hope it was just some sort of prank call.
Christine Brennan, I appreciate you calling in. Thank you very much.
Now to the explosive story of rape on campus at one of America's top universities. The story that was published in "Rolling Stone" last fall. You probably remember hearing about it. It detailed an alleged gang rape of a freshman woman at the University of Virginia at a fraternity party.
Now, the story that unraveled as contradictions came to light and "Rolling Stone" later apologized. Today, another piece of the story.
The police chief in Charlottesville, Virginia, said that the formal investigation into the alleged rape has not turned up any evidence to support the allegations made in the original story. Now, the issue of sexual violence in college campuses is an important one and can be difficult to navigate. And we certainly don't want to add to the fear that women already have about perhaps coming forward.
But the police chief made it clear in announcing the status of the investigation doesn't mean that something terrible didn't matter to the young woman and the case is not closed.
Rosa Flora has more details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): UVA's rugby road is quaint. Lined with manicured trees and beautiful fraternity houses. But in the original "Rolling Stone" article, a rape on campus, it's the scene of the alleged graphic rape of a woman who goes by the alias Jackie.
According to the "Rolling Stone" article, the freshman was allegedly raped by seven men at a frat party in 2012. While the magazine apologized and news outlets including CNN, poked holes into the story. It's not until today that we learn from police that the alleged gruesome chain of events don't hold up under scrutiny.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not able to conclude any -- to any substantive degree that an incident that is consistent with the facts contained in that article occurred at the fraternity house, or any other fraternity house.
FLORES: Police say that Jackie did not cooperate with the investigators, but they did talk to the nine of the 11 members of this fraternity. They also pulled phone records and even uncovered a photograph of this fraternity house that's electronically date stamped on the date of the alleged attack. And they say that nothing lined up.
But perhaps more concerning, Jackie spoke to police about a separate incident before the "Rolling Stone" involving four men in a nonsexual attack which police say is also unfounded. During that investigation, police say she never provided them with details of the alleged sexual attack, that she described to "Rolling Stone."
So you didn't know that the facts that were disclosed in that "Rolling Stone" magazine, those graphic details?
[20:00:14] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely not.
FLORES: Otherwise, do you think you would have investigated?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it would have been imperative to investigate.
FLORES: Jackie contacted her friend, Alex Stock, after the alleged rape occurred. He said he's not surprised by police findings, because the moment he read the "Rolling Stone" piece, he knew something was off.
ALEX STOCK, JACKIE'S FRIEND: Immediately I knew there were several key facts that were off. I mean as, you know, more details came to light, you know, through the media, we just found out that most of the facts didn't add up.
FLORES: For UVA student rape survivor advocate, Ashley Brown, Jackie's unfounded story is a setback for the cause.
ASHLEY BROWN, PRESIDENT, ONE LESS ADVOCACY GROUP: Yes, it is the setback but I don't think it hurts our cause on the whole. Ever since this article has come out, we've had scores of people come forward, and even more people wanting to help.
FLORES: Meaning what police say didn't happen on rugby road could still make everyone at UVA a little safer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Rosa Flores joins us now. Has the fraternity acted to the results yet?
FLORES: You know, Anderson, the fraternity coming forward and saying that these allegations have been very damning to their organization, in a statement they're saying in part, I'm going to quote here, the fraternity is now exploring its legal options to address the extensive damage caused by "Rolling Stone," damage both to the chapter and members and the very cause upon which the magazine was focused. They go on to say they're hoping that they are hoping that this case does not stop victims from coming forward.
Now, Anderson, we should add this is not the only review going on. Columbia journalism reviewed 15 trough the details of the editorial reporting, and CNN has now learned from "Rolling Stone" that that report will be published in early April -- Anderson.
COOPER: All right. Rosa Flores, I appreciate your reporting.
And now, earlier today I spoke with the police chief, Timothy Longo, along with CNN legal analyst and former federal sex crimes prosecutor, Sunny Hostin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: So chief you were very careful in your press conference saying that even though you found no evidence of an assault, that doesn't mean that something terrible did not happen to Jackie. And those were your words. Can you explain that? Do you believe that something did in fact happen to Jackie that night?
CHIEF TIMOTHY LONGO, CHARLOTTESVILLE POLICE: Well, even her own friends who saw her just after something occurred, said that while she did not appear to be physically injured, she was upset as though something did in fact happen. And so I don't want to close the door on the possibility that we might have some evidence, testimonial or otherwise, that an event occurred. And if we get that information, make no mistake about it, we will open this investigation wide open, and bring it to some logical conclusion.
COOPER: Sunny, what do - I mean, as a former prosecutor, what do you make of this?
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: What is troubling to me is sort of, you know, I think many people are saying, she lied. And she must have made this up. When you look at the FBI statistics, Anderson, two percent, only two percent of false rapes are reported, right? And only about 40 percent of rapes are even reported. And so it would really fly in the face of the stats to suggest that she just wholesale made this up.
But I think the larger question here is what did the university do when they first heard about this? Oftentimes when you look at rapes on campus, and that does happen quite often, unfortunately, universities try to take on that investigation. That is not where the investigation needs to begin. Once a rape is reported to a university official, the police should be involved. Because minutes, seconds, hours can really destroy any evidence of corroboration.
COOPER: And Chief, that's one of the things you made clear in your press conference, timely reporting. Can you just for clarity sake run through some of the pieces of Jackie's story about a sexual assault that you cannot corroborate?
LONGO: So let's start with the date that apparently was supposed to have taken place with this person who we identified as a Haven Monahan. They were supposed to have gone to the boar's head restaurant than to this fraternity party. Now, we were unable to locate any proof of a reservation or any attendance of any event at the boar's head.
When you look at the interior of the fraternity and she describes having to make her way through a crowd to go up a flight of stairs, you may recall we came across a photograph that was presented to us during the course of our investigation of the interior of that fraternity. That photograph was time stamped September the 28th about 11:30 at night. And there is an individual depicted that photograph, he is holding two chairs in his hand, and there's no party going on around him. No large group, no evidence of any social gathering. So there's these inconsistencies that really call into question whether anything occurred in that fraternity house that night, a party or anything else.
[20:10:15] COOPER: And even the person whose name you just said, who she allegedly had gone out to dinner with, you haven't been able to find any existence of that person, and I know you even went to, I think the pool where she worked to see if there was somebody else at that pool, and you interviewed somebody whose name came up, and there's no evidence that person was the person she was on a date with, correct.
LONGO: When we spoke to the folks at the aquatic center, the report that the -- the article says they worked together at the pool. You would think that somebody by the name of Drew and/or Haven Monahan would be reflected on their roster of employees. And based on what investigators tell me, the persons they investigated at the pool said we don't have such a person who works here. I'm not sure Haven Monahan exists.
COOPER: So I guess somebody hearing this will say, well, I mean, that's all pretty conclusive. It all sounds like a pretty lengthy investigation, a costly investigation on your part. Why not just now say, that the case is closed.
LONGO: I think it does a disservice to this person who we now know as Jackie, and other survivors to know even after an investigation like this, we're just going to close it and say, OK, we're done. I don't have enough information to say that nothing happened. I just have information to say that we don't believe anything happened at that fraternity, and certainly not what's described in that article.
COOPER: Chief Longo, I appreciate your time. Sunny Hostin as well. Thank you both.
LONGO: Thank you.
COOPER: Quick reminder tonight, make sure to set your DVR. You can watch "360" anytime you'd like.
Coming up next in this hour, he's been called everything from the future of the Republican Party to a carnival barker and he was called that by a fellow Republicans. Now, you can call Ted Cruz, a presidential candidate as well. We will look at how his tea party message will play in the party and possibly beyond. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:15:07] COOPER: Texas senator Ted Cruz made it official today to become the first Republican presidential candidate for 2016 campaign. Now, he made the announcement first on twitter. And then a (INAUDIBLE) Liberty University:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: This is our fight. The answer will not come from Washington. It will come only from the men and women across this country, from men and women from people of faith, from lovers of liberty, from people who respect the constitution. It will only come as it has come at every other time of challenge in this country. When the American people stand together, and say, we will get back to the principles that made this country great.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Fellow Republican New York congressman Peter King wasted no time smacking him down, calling his opposition tactics in the senate quote "he marks of a carnival barker, not the leader of the free world." Congressman King is a moderate Republican taking issue with Senator Cruz on style as well as substance.
Now, whether you agree or disagree with his assessment, it will be interesting to see how the senator start (ph) are received by the GOP and by the general public.
More now from Jeff Zeleny.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's a tea party firebrand.
CRUZ: Obamacare is a train wreck. We're seeing our constitutional rights under assault.
ZELENY: A climate change skeptic.
CRUZ: I just came back from New Hampshire where there is snow and ice everywhere.
And my view actually is simple. Debates on this should follow science and should follow data.
ZELENY: He wants to disband the IRS.
CRUZ: Abolish the IRS! Take all 125,000 IRS agents and put them on our southern border!
ZELENY: Never mind there aren't anywhere near 125,000 IRS agents.
Senator Ted Cruz wants to be president. He kicked off his campaign today, not back home in Texas, but in Virginia, on the campus of Liberty University.
CRUZ: I believe in the power of millions of courageous conservatives rising up, to reignite the promise of America. And that is why today I am announcing that I am running for president of the United States.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE )
ZELENY: He's been in the U.S. Senate for two years and two months, a brief skin but long enough to wage a 21-hour filibuster for funding for Obamacare and to play a leading role in a 16-day government shutdown.
CRUZ: I intend to speak in support of defunding Obamacare until I'm no longer able to stand.
ZELENY: He makes no apologies in the art of compromise, proudly not in his vocabulary.
CRUZ: Imagine in 2017, a new president, signing legislation repealing every word of Obamacare.
ZELENY: He's the first 2016 presidential candidate out of the gate. He faces an uphill climb, and that's just among his fellow Republicans.
REP. PETER KING (R), NEW YORK: We need intelligent debate in this country. Now Ted Cruz may be an intelligent person, but he doesn't carry out an intelligent debate. He has no real experience. So to me, he's just a guy with a big mouth and no results.
ZELENY: He made clear today he's running hard against the establishment, saying moderate Republicans wield too much influence on the party. He's setting his sights on wooing evangelicals.
CRUZ: Today, roughly half the born-again Christians aren't voting. They're staying home. Imagine instead millions of people of faith all across America coming out to the polls and voting our values.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: And Jeff joins me now. So what's the next stop for Cruz?
ZELENY: The next stop is really to try and start doing some fund- raising. He's well behind a lot of his Republican rivals. So he'll be in New York City actually for the next couple of days. And then he is going to be going on a ten-city fund-raising tour over the coming weeks, trying to raise some money. But at the same time, he's trying to neutralize some of those Republican -- some of that Republican skepticism and criticism from Congressman Peter King and others. He wants to present himself as a serious candidate. That's the opening question. Can he grow here? Can he change some of that to rhetoric that we've become also used to?
COOPER: Jeff Zeleny. Jeff, thanks very much.
Joining us for the first of no doubt many conversations to come, CNN political commentators Ana Navarro, Kevin Madden, both Republican strategist, also chief national correspondent John King.
So John, from the location of the speech to the content, obviously Ted Cruz, you know, is sending a clear signal to his conservative base today.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Clarion calls it the conservative base. A powerful speech. He said I'm for lower taxes. I am for the evangelical base on social issues like same-sex marriage and abortion, I will shrink Washington, I will stand up to the Democrats and liberals. But he also made clear he will stand up to the Republican establishment.
This was a flag planted by Ted Cruz. At the time, you probably had to plant it. If you look at our own polling, Anderson, he's at four percent. And a lot of other people on the space, in that space, on the right side of the field. That Rick Santorum has run before, Mike Huckabee who has run before, Dr. Ben Carson and all the other candidates want a piece of that space.
So, he's behind in the polls. But he's famous to the conservative base. I think its question on this day, he has been a protest candidate for the Republican Party. He's helped shut down the government. He stood up to the president. He stood up to the leadership. Do Republicans primary voters view him as an opposition figure, a protester or as a president? That's challenge number one.
[20:20:30] COOPER: Yes, Ana, how do you answer that question? Because I mean, a lot of folks say well, there's a lot he is against, a lot he says no to, is there enough that he's for?
ANA NAVARRO, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I don't know yet. Right now what he's known for is exactly that, being an obstructionist, somebody who stands up to the establishment. Which is very appealing to a certain part of the Republican electorate. Being the person who is uncompromisingly against Obamacare and executive orders by the president. We have not heard what he is for. We don't know if he can break past the single-digit support that he enjoys in the polls right now. He's going to have a lot of competition. We don't know if he's going to be able to answer the question of, well, you know, you are, like Obama, a rookie first term senator, who is looking to be president without really having any management experience. Can he convince people he's different and get past that crucial question. Which is also going to be a question I think for Senator Paul and Senator Rubio should they decide to run.
COOPER: Kevin, how do you see his candidacy - I mean, you know from your time working with Mitt Romney, if you attack too far to the right, you run the risk alienating moderates to detect too far to the center, to alienate conservative faith of you need during the primary.
KEVIN MADDEN, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: , Well, I think he, not wants to fundamentally change the direction of the country, I think he also wants to change the direction of the party. And you heard a lot of those words today in his speech.
He tried to appeal to the real conservative base in the Republican party by using words like courageous, bold, those are calls to action, to so many of these grass roots conservatives around the country, who feel like not only is the country going in the wrong direction, but the party is going in the wrong direction. And if we're going to win as a party, then you can't nominate somebody who is in the middle, that you need to nominate somebody who's really going to drive a big strong contrast with the eight years of the Obama administration. And that, I think, is what he sees his key to victory inside a Republican primary process.
COOPER: John, what is the road map for him to win the nomination? Is there a clear road map?
KING: A clear road map? No. But any road map for him in Iowa without a doubt.
Remember, Rick Santorum won Iowa last time. Mike Huckabee won it the time before that. Iowa has a history of picking conservative. Iowa does not have a great history of picking nominees. They do have a history of winnowing the field. And what Ted Cruz wants to do is win Iowa which is why he try to get in now, try to seize that space on the right of mixed evangelicals.
Even -- listen, the young people in that crowd make you think he's fighting for the young Republicans, and he is. But remember Jerry Falwell (ph) was also a friend of Ronald Reagan. He is also looking back. Tough on the international stage as well. I'll cut taxes and cut government like Ronald Reagan. He needs to win Iowa. And then probably South Carolina will be his next shot.
The way they've changed the primary calendar, there are some southern states that could be, if we have a crowded Republican field, Anderson, and if this drags out for a long time, some southern states could become more important. That would be the big test of whether more of a tea party candidate can actually win a Republican nomination. But to do that, he's got to win somewhere first and prove his viability, and that would be Iowa.
COOPER: And Ana, there is a danger for a candidate like Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio, both of whom, you know, you have expressed support for publicly. Wouldn't it be a mistake for those candidates to underestimate Ted Cruz?
NAVARRO: Anderson, I don't think anybody is underestimating Ted Cruz. Let me tell you, the last guy who underestimated Ted Cruz got beaten by him very badly after spending 25 million of his own money. The former lieutenant governor of Texas, David Dewhurst. So I don't think anybody underestimates anybody in this race. I think folks are out there trying to do their own thing. And this is not the time when they've begun attacking each other.
And Ted Cruz is very smart, very eloquent. We saw him give today a 30-minute speech flawlessly without a teleprompter. When was the last time you saw that from President Obama or anybody on a political stage?
COOPER: But Kevin, it's interesting. There's been so much focus in recent years on how Republicans need to do better with Latino voters if they are going to win the White House. Ted Cruz, obviously, does keep an American, does take a hard line on immigration reform. How does that play for him?
MADDEN: Well, I think the challenge for Ted Cruz there is that so many Hispanic voters want to see an immigration proposal or an immigration reform idea. They want it to be formed around what it is you're for, rather than what you're against. I think that's been one of the big problems that the party is at. It is also one of the big challenges that Ted Cruz has. A lot of his appeal on immigration is only defined by what he's against or what he wants to stop. So I think that creates a challenge. And that does creates a challenge in a general election.
[20:25:11] COOPER: Kevin, thank you. Ana Navarro as well. John King, thanks.
KING: Great to be with you.
COOPER: Just ahead tonight, how the military is handling the threat from ISIS hackers and their hit list targeting U.S. troops?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:29:18] COOPER: A new kind of threat tonight, it comes from ISIS. It comes from a previously unknown group called - calling itself the Islamic state hacking division. Now, the target about 100 members of the U.S. military. And now members of an ISIS hit list. The hackers posted over the weekend and official said that the threat is very real.
Some details now from our justice correspondent Pamela Brown.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Among the personal information posted on the hit list, pictures, home addresses and phone numbers of commanders, captains and major generals, in total about 100 members of the U.S. military. Many of those singled out are pilots, including this man, seen holding his baby. We're blurring his face to protect his identity.
The list was posted by a group calling itself the Islamic state hacking division. And tonight, that group is calling on ISIS sympathizers to quote "kill the service members in their own land, behead them in their own homes, stab them to death as they walk their streets thinking they are safe."
[20:30:12] COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, U.S. AIR FORCE (RET.): It could very easily become something that really matters from the personal security standpoint. And it could deeply affect the security of all of this personnel.
BROWN: law enforcement officials tell CNN the FBI has been monitoring some individuals in the hacking group for some time. But it's unclear for how long. Those same law enforcement sources say it's unclear if ISIS leadership ordered the list, but say their real concern is a lone wolf sympathetic to ISIS targeting the service members.
LEIGHTON: There is no way that all of these people could receive a personal security detail. They have to do things like ensure the security of their own homes, perhaps in some extreme cases they may consider moving out of the home that is listed as their address.
BROWN: But Pentagon tells CNN all the service members on the list are being notified. Though there's no evidence of an imminent threat of an attack.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Pamela Brown joins us. Now, there have been other cases where ISIS has reached out to service members and their families, right?
BROWN: There have been for months, the FBI has been aware of this threat. We know that ISIS supporters have gone online, directly reached out to service members and their spouses. But this is as one official put it an escalation of that threat. It's really an anomaly as far as the volume here. The fact that this is an organized list, the fact that this group took the time to go online, take publicly information from social media, cross-reference it with white pages and then compile this list of 100 or so service members. It appears, Anderson, that if you look at the list, a lot of them are mentioned in the piece are pilots. Officials I spoke to today, said several of them were involved in the air campaign against ISIS in Syria. And so it's believed that some of them were cherry-picked to be on this list given their involvement there, Anderson.
COOPER: That's really troubling. Pamela Brown, thank you very much. Joining us now is Retired Army Lieutenant General Mark Hertling and Michael Weiss, co-author is "ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror."
Gentlemen, obviously this is not necessarily a new kind of threat, it's been done before. But again, it's incredibly troubling.
LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, U.S. ARMY (RET.): It is, Anderson. It was done by al Qaeda. It's been done by the Taliban. But the ISIS' crew, are just - they're better at it. They are more organized.
COOPER: More organized.
HERTLING: They can pull off social media sites. But I think most of the pictures that you see have come from Facebook pages, have come from press releases, and certainly we're still very concerned about it, because imagine if you're a family member of that soldier, or that pilot, and you see suddenly your address, it strikes fear. It's another attempt at ISIS to just instill fear within their enemy.
COOPER: And I mean we've seen people acting out on this, Michael. I mean Islamists in England killing British soldier, I think Rigby was his last name, beheading him on the street.
MICHAEL WEISS, CO-AUTHOR, "ISIS: INSIDE THE ARMY OF TERROR": Right, now, actually, remember the emulation of Muath Kaseasbeh, the Jordanian airman.
COOPER: Right.
WEISS: The propaganda video, spread out, 22 minutes long. Most of it was actually dedicated to anti-Jordanian propaganda. There was actually this whole section.
COOPER: At the end --
WEISS: At the end - for Jordanian pilot. With the pictures. And their hometowns in Jordan.
So, the idea is, we've located you, we know you're part of this air campaign. We're hoping to inspire some Salafi Jihadi in Jordan to just take it upon themselves.
COOPER: The thing about that, I remember we're looking at that list closely, and a lot of those guys lived on bases. It seems like a lot of these are private addresses. Some live on bases, but some live off base as well. So, the threat to them is even greater.
HERTLING: Anderson, when I commanded in Europe, there's a great deal of emphasis placed on security on bases. Only about 20 percent of your soldiers and their families live on the bases. Quite a few of them live off base. The same thing is true throughout bases in the United States. Quite a few folks live off the compound. And in the civilian environment. So it's concerning from that approach. But truthfully, as Pamela said, this is an opportunity for a lone wolf. It might happen. But this is not a threat that's critical. It's scary, but it's not critical.
COOPER: This group, Michael, the Islamic state hacking division, had you known about them? Is this new? Or ...
WEISS: Yeah, you know, I think these guys have around for a bit. They hacked into CENTCOM's Twitter feed a few months ago or a few weeks ago and put up all kinds of ISIS propaganda. There was another episode. It's in cyber terms, it's called docsing. They published the address and the phone numbers of actually retired servicemen. And so, these guys have to be alerted, too.
Look, we think of ISIS as a sort of a ragtag bunch of Jihadis running around. 14-year old kids from Tunisia and such. It's actually very sophisticated at the top. I mean a lot of them are ex-Saddamists. We've talked about this before. Mukhabarat operatives. For them to - hackers and to use them to do this kind of work, I mean the Syrian Electronic Army does this on behalf of Bashar al Assad, the Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran. At one point, it was trolling Linked-in, I think, looking for people in D.C. to kind of cultivate. See, we have to expect a group this sophisticated is going to have the capability.
COOPER: It's really interesting, though, the evolution, the technological evolution that we've seen here. Because I mean I remember coming and doing stories about al Qaeda's magazine, this - and sort of their social media campaign. [20:35:00]
COOPER: But ISIS has taken it to another level.
HERTLING: Completely. They are certainly slick with their magazine and the way they're doing some of these things. You never underestimate your enemy, that's one thing that any soldier will tell you. You always know that they can do things that you don't expect them to do. This is one of those kind of things. It's scary.
WEISS: They also want us to know they're paying key attention to the policy debates taking place in the U.S. If you open Davoc (ph), which is their propaganda magazine, they have photographs from New America Foundation, the Cato Institute. They're listening to what we're talking about. The idea is, as the general said, it's to sow fear and to say if you try to commit further into this military effort, we can get you where you live. You don't have to come here, we can do this in the west.
HERTLING: It gets back to the operational security by the forces, too. All the commanders in the field knowing this or saying, take your geolocators off your Iphones, make sure you don't post pictures of combat. One of the pictures that was posted on the site was of an airman refueling over Iraq. Those are the things you just don't do. So it requires discipline within the force as well.
COOPER: General Hertling, great to have you on. Michael Weiss, you as well. Thank you very much.
A quick update on the breaking news from the top of the program, the Princeton Maryland women's game is now over. It took place under heightened security, according to "USA Today's" Christine Brennan after someone made a threat against Princeton forward Leslie Robinson, President and Mrs. Obama's niece. Thankfully there were no incidents. President Obama attended a Princeton game on Saturday. But was not at tonight's game.
Coming up, Robert Durst denied bail in New Orleans, and now there's a connection to another cold case, or a possible connection to the disappearance of a woman in Vermont in 1971. Jean Casarez spoke with Durst's attorney about that and more today. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:40:37]
COOPER: Robert Durst was denied bail in New Orleans where he was arrested last week in the connection with the murder of his long time confidante Susan Berman in 2000. Durst has long said he had nothing to do with her death or the disappearance of his wife in 1982, and he was acquitted of murder in the death of his neighbor in Texas, even though he admitted shooting and dismembering that neighbor. All of these cases were documented in the HBO series "The Jinx." And now there's another case to tell you about. Authorities in Vermont say there's a connection between Durst and the disappearance of a Middlebury college student, Lynn Schultze (ph), in 1971. Durst and his wife lived in Middlebury at the time, where they owned a health food store. CNN's Jean Casarez spoke with Durst's attorney and asked him about that case. Here's how he responded.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DICK DEGUERIN, ROBERT DURST'S ATTORNEY: You know, he may have been in Chicago when Jimmy Hoffa disappeared. He's an easy target.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: That was one part of a wide-ranging interview that covered everything from why he's agreed to represent Durst again to the documentary's explosive finale when Durst was in a bathroom with his mic still on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DURST: What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, here's Jean Casarez.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dick DeGuerin is a high profile attorney used in high profile cases. And defending Robert Durst will be no exception.
DEGUERIN: I just don't think that they had sufficient evidence to have him arrested. They had a lot of suspicion. They've always had a lot of suspicion. And the television show just added to that suspicion. But as far as evidence is concerned, I just don't think it's there. I thought something was probably going to come down, because of this damn TV show. Which I've said before, is great television. But it's not really a search for truth.
CASAREZ: When did you find out about the statement in the bathroom?
DEGUERIN: When I saw it on television, like most everybody else in the country. And I've got my own opinions about that. And if that's the strength of their case, I mean, I can be ready tomorrow.
CASAREZ: As Durst waits for the next step in this legal process, the mental and physical health of this 71-year-old defendant has come into question.
The judge may have an issue with competence. Do you have an issue with competence?
DEGUERIN: No, I don't have any issue with him being competent. He's a little frail, and he has some memory problems sometimes. But he's not incompetent.
CASAREZ: So why would this respected Texas lawyer want to again represent a man he helped get acquitted of first-degree murder charges by a Galveston jury in 2003?
DEGUERIN: I know him. I like him. That gives me maybe a little extra touch of passion about coming to his defense, when all the world thinks that he's a killer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Jean Casarez joins me now. Jean, it's fascinating to hear from his attorney. He seems like obviously a very competent, very good attorney. Today in court, the investigator from the D.A.'s office testified about the items they found in Durst's hotel, and how they were able to track him down. What did he say?
CASAREZ: Oh, we learned so much more than what we've heard before. First of all, what they found in the room? They found a mask, as we've heard about, that would cover your face, over your neck, up to your chest area. With salt and pepper hair. I saw the picture of that mask, because when it was shown to the defense, I saw it. It was creepy looking. I mean, there is no way someone could wear it and not get all the attention in the world. It was just like the worst Halloween mask you could find. We also learned the FBI began to track him with telephone pings, and on the 8th of March, which is when the fifth installment of that documentary aired, that's when the envelope was shown. He ceased all phone calls. And then on the 10th of March, they saw that he had left his apartment. And the phone pinged near Beaumont, Texas. Then no pinging at all. Common sense said Louisiana. They couldn't find him here.
Then on March 14th, this hotel right behind me, the JW Marriott, he checked his voicemail twice. FBI went there. They saw him in the lobby.
[20:45:06]
They asked him for ID. He said, I've got my passport up in my room. They took him up to his room, and there some things were in plain sight, that mask, 446 $100 bills, a cell phone that had not been activated yet, brand new, a map showing Florida and Cuba. And that's when he was arrested after that. Now, we also want to say that the defense stood up and said after he was arrested, prosecutor from Los Angeles within hours, and a detective from Los Angeles, within hours, interrogated him for three hours, according to the defense. And now there's a preliminary hearing in a week and a half.
COOPER: Fascinating. Jean Casarez, appreciate it. CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin joins me now. First of all, that mask. People are saying he was going to use that to try to escape. If it's some crazy, freaky Halloween mask, that seems highly unlikely.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It seems highly unlikely. Trying to explain the logical processes involved in his behavior will be a challenge for both sides. For both the defense and prosecution.
COOPER: He's wanted for capital murder in California. Why is he now being facing lesser charges in New Orleans? Is California trying to buy time? That's what the attorney for Durst is saying. TOOBIN: That seems unlikely to me. The -- when you have a high-
profile defendant, prosecutors like to try them. They like to have them in their courthouse. So New Orleans is saying, you know, this is pretty good. We've got this guy. And, you know, possession is nine- tenths of the law, when it comes to defendants as well. So they're not going to be in a big hurry. They may have a drug case or weapons case against him. They're going to at least see how it goes for a while. The important point to make is that he's not going to be released on bail, under any circumstances. So he will either be in custody in New Orleans or he'll be in custody in LA.
COOPER: Although I've got to say, when his attorney says, look, I could defend him tomorrow if all the evidence they have is his mumbles in the bathroom saying, you know, killed them all, of course, I can kind of see his point.
TOOBIN: It is a defensible case. In fact, DeGuerin got him off in what seemed to be a much tougher case.
COOPER: Shooting his next door neighbor and dismembering him.
TOOBIN: That's not the whole case, remember. There is also the letter, the two letters, one of which he admits writing, the other he said was clearly written by the killer with virtually identical handwriting. Not impossible to explain. And remember, this is going to be, this LA case, there's no eyewitness, there is no murder weapon, no tie between the murder weapon and Durst. So there is a lot for the defense to work with. But also, all the evidence is not in yet.
COOPER: I also have to say, I'm skeptical about what authorities in Vermont are saying, they're saying there is a connection between Durst and this missing college student from 1971. And that they've known this for years. If they've known this for years and there's such a connection, why are we just hearing about it?
TOOBIN: Where have they been. Assembling evidence for anything that happened in 1971, in 2015, is incredibly difficult. And talk is cheap. You can say he's a suspect, but whether he could actually be charged, at this point, seems pretty dubious. Although the statute of limitations for murder never ends.
COOPER: And again, I mean, it's endlessly fascinating. Incredible. Jeff Toobin, thanks very much.
360 is live through the 9 pm hour tonight. More on that threat to President Obama's niece.
But next I'm going to make you smile. Meet a spunky 104-year-old woman in Texas, 104 years old. She let us in to a secret to a long life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This stuff is good. It's got sugar in it, and two doctors have told me that if I drink it, I will die. But they died first. (END VIDEO CLIP)
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[20:52:48]
COOPER: A Texas woman is a member of an exclusive club. The other day Elizabeth Sullivan turned 104 years old. To put it in perspective, there have been 18 U.S. presidents during her lifetime, starting with William Howard Taft. Elizabeth credits a doctor for her long life, just not the doctor you'd likely expect. Gary Tuchman met her today. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Elizabeth Sullivan has lived in the same Ft. Worth, Texas, house since 1942.
Nice to meet you. Thanks for inviting us to your home.
ELIZABETH SULLIVAN: I'm glad for you to come in.
TUCHMAN: She has just celebrated her 104TH birthday. As the big balloons in her living room made clear.
You had your driver's license until last January? You were 103?
SULLIVAN: I was driving everywhere.
TUCHMAN: You were?
SULLIVAN: I was going to church, I was going to the woman's club, I was playing bridge. I was doing everything.
TUCHMAN: She credits at least some of her longevity to a Lone Star State favorite.
You're drinking Dr. Pepper right now.
SULLIVAN: That's exactly right. This stuff is good. It's got sugar in it. And two doctors have told me if I drink it, I will die. But they died first.
TUCHMAN: Okay. So that's proof it's good for you.
SULLIVAN: Yes.
TUCHMAN: So you think that this drink has helped you to live to this age of 104?
SULLIVAN: Well, evidently. Because everybody tells me it has too much sugar in it. But since I've been drinking three a day for 50 or 60 years, evidently my body needs sugar. I don't take any medication. They still can't find anything wrong with me.
TUCHMAN: Elizabeth said other than giving birth and getting her tonsils out, she's never been a hospital patient. Even at 104, Elizabeth has managed to maintain her independence. A widow, she has two children, six grandchildren and 13 great grandchildren, who all want her to live with them. But she wants to stay in her own home.
SULLIVAN: If I don't feel like sleeping, I come sit in this chair, and pick up a book and turn on a light, or turn on the TV and stay up all night.
TUCHMAN: Elizabeth is a proud graduate of the University of Texas.
SULLIVAN: I have a key here. I really was smart in college.
[20:55:02]
TUCHMAN: Phi beta cappa. Beautiful.
SULLIVAN: I knew how to do things in college. I could do anything. Just made A's all the way.
TUCHMAN: She taught high school math in Ft. Worth for decades. And was still tutoring students until just a few years ago. When we were visiting, she received a birthday gift.
SULLIVAN: Oh, my gosh! She calls me gaga. So this is -- she's written about me. Gaga turned 104. And the whole world celebrated. Oh, my goodness!
TUCHMAN: The granddaughter who sent this is 60 years old. Elizabeth Sullivan says her life has been fulfilling and very happy.
I want to thank you for having us here.
SULLIVAN: Oh, you're welcome. You're a kind and gentle man.
TUCHMAN: And you are a kind and gentle woman.
And also a very inspirational woman, who proved she can still have fun when you're in your 100s.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, Ft. Worth, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: We wish her the best. We should all be so lucky.
In the next hour of 360, I'll take you inside America's busiest jail with a daily population of 9,000 people. You see why the sheriff who runs this place says too many people are arrested in this country for low level offenses, he said it has got to change.
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