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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Aircraft Debris Found Now En Route to France for Analysis; Cecil the Lion''s Cubs are Safe; Possible Extradition of American for Killing Lion in Zimbabwe; New Details in Investigation of Ray Tensing; Hillary Clinton in Presidential Race. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired July 31, 2015 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[20:00:00] ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Hey, good evening.
We begin tonight with the debris that could be from Malaysia airlines flight 370. A flight that began nearly 17 months ago and ended mysteriously. A mystery that has yet to be solved. The breaking news right now, the debris is on its way from a remote island in the western Indian Ocean where it was found just a few days ago to France, where it's going to be studied to confirm whether it is, in fact, from the flight that vanished in March of 2014.
Now, we have reporters in both locations that are at the heart of the story tonight. Fred Pleitgen is in Toulouse, France, where the debris is heading. We begin, though, on Reunion Island with our reporter, Nima Elbagir.
Nima, the piece of debris that is now left for France, this wasn't just the normal process of getting an item on to plane, I understand?
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, absolutely not. This had to be dealt with so delicately. Because anything and everything on that debris, any compromising of the integrity of that debris can have an impact on the investigation. So it was wrapped very, very carefully to preserve as much as possible for the investigators. We actually got to see some of that when it was lowered into the crate. It was lowered with a police escort. People standing, watching, making sure everything was done exactly as it needed to be before that crate was sealed off and then put on the plane, Anderson.
COOPER: And I understand, there is an ongoing search right now for any other items that might be possibly from the plane?
ELBAGIR: The search does continue. We had police helicopters flying overhead for most of today, and actually for most of the past few days, because the working theory that investigators have is if this is indeed MH-370, that countercurrent that brought it could possibly be bringing more. And they also want to get a sense of the pathway of that current, because if this is MH-370, then we're sitting right here on what could be the focal point of a renewed search effort, a renewed search parameter, that we've taken Reunion Island, but also Madagascar, and possibly even all the way down to that southeastern coast of Africa. COOPER: It's incredible to think that this could finally be the
answer, at least partially an answer to about what happened to flight 370.
Nima, thank you.
Teams from the NTSB and Boeing are also headed to France, where the debris is going to be examined to participate in the investigation. Our senior international correspondent, Fred Pleitgen, is in Toulouse. He joins me now.
So what kind of timetable are we looking at before we will know for sure whether or not this is from 370?
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Anderson, it's not going to happen as fast as some people would like it to happen. What is going to happen is that the part is going to get here possibly Saturday night, possibly even Sunday morning, but the analysis of that part is not going to start until Wednesday afternoon.
And the investigators here tell us the reason for that is that this is not only forensic work they're doing, this is also part of a larger international criminal investigation. So what you have here is you have French investigators doing their work, you have Malaysian teams here as well, as well as the NTSB and Boeing. And so they say they have to get together first, they have to map out a scheme as to how they're going to go forward. Then we're going to unseal the evidence, which is, of course, that piece of wreckage. But they say once they start, they believe that very quickly, they'll be able to find out, first of all, if this is really a part from the a Boeing 777 and if it is, indeed, from MH-370, Anderson.
COOPER: I mean, it does seems kind of incredible that they want actually start looking at this thing until Wednesday. I mean, I would think a lot of the people are already there or will be there, even before the debris is there. You would think they could have these meetings a little bit sooner. What else do investigators hope to find out, besides just confirming whether this piece is from 370?
PLEITGEN: Yes, they believe there's a wealth of information they could possibly gather from this piece. This is one of the premiere labs for such analysis in all of Europe. And one of the things they want to find out is first of all how long that part has been in the ocean. And then also, of course, how far it might have traveled. And these are all things that they might be able to glean from analyzing the metal of the part, but also, of course, taking it apart, looking at any sort of serial numbers and the like.
The other thing this lab has specialized in, Anderson, is to see whether this part came off of the plane in midair, possibly from an explosion or something similar, or whether it only came off on impact. So, these are all things they're trying to find out. Because they say, of course, the big questions that still need to be answers even though this part is there is first of all, what happened to MH-370? And second of all, also where is the rest of the plane, Anderson.
COOPER: Fred Pleitgen, thanks.
Joining me now is CNN aviation correspondent Richard Quest, CNN safety analyst, and former FAA accident investigator and inspector, David Soucie, author of "Malaysia airline flight 370," and CNN analyst David Gallo of the Woods Hole Oceanographic institution. He co-led the search for air France flight 447.
Richard, first of all, before we go to the magic wall here, are you surprised that they're not going to actually examine this thing until Wednesday?
[20:05:04] RICHARD QUEST, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Of course they're going to examine it beforehand, they're just not going to, basically, formally declare that they've got a result or anything until Wednesday. But everybody gets that. Everybody dribbles into Toulouse over the next couple of days. The piece doesn't get there until Sunday. The NTSB, Boeing have to get there. The Malaysians have to get there, everybody else to look at it. They will be looking at it sooner, but they have set Wednesday's the day for the analysis.
COOPER: OK. Let's look at what we have here. You have a couple of different boards here looking at the currents and the search area. What does this show?
QUEST: What it shows very clearly is that this is the search area and the debris that we're talking about, the flapper-on obviously went into the water somewhere around here and got caught up in the jar and moved way across to where it ends up in Reunion Island.
COOPER: Assuming it's from 370.
QUEST: Yes, assuming. The entire discussion has to assume that. And this is why they believe and, David Gallo will be able to give a lot more of the nuts and bolts of this, but take this as an overview of what we believe happened.
It gets into the water here, it moves across, it ends up at the Reunion, and we always said, we were told, pretty much from day one, this is the sort of thing that would happen, because of the way the movement of the currents, and you'll see exactly why.
Take this from the University of Western Australia. Some of the world's leading work has been done there. They predicted something virtually to this point. This is their -- in 18 to 24 months, we're just about there, they said, knowing the rate at which things were moving, knowing the way things were going, they predicted Reunion, which is just --
COOPER: So they really predicted this. They said, give it 18 to 24 months, it would hit in that area?
QUEST: Well, yes. I mean, they said that because they knew about this. So they knew that once something was in the water here, the natural force of the currents would take it in that direction. But, of course, you've got to -- look, what's the chances that it could have missed and gone there or down there? And that's why it's going to be crucial not just to look at Reunion, but look at that long coast of Madagascar. And right the way down to the eastern coast of South Africa and up to there. These are also areas that need to be looked at.
COOPER: David Gallo, I mean, it is remarkable looking at these currents, that they were able to predict this.
DAVID GALLO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Absolutely. Well, they've done it to a first order, Anderson. So details down to the day, not so easy. But the general motion of the ocean, even with the typhoons and the monsoons and all of that, that's very important to the study of climate change, and very important to Australia weather patterns. So, they've been keeping a close eye on those currents.
COOPER: David Soucie, some people have said, look, this flaperon appears to be in relatively good condition. That doesn't necessarily clarify how, never mind why the plane itself came down, does it?
GALLO: No, it really doesn't. There are two options that are counter opposed here. Whether it still, questioning did it go in as a ditching or did it go in straight down? There's still too many questions.
COOPER: David Soucie, when investigators, you know, get to Toulouse and they actually begin to examine the piece of this wing. What's the first thing they do? I mean, what's the parameters here?
DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: Well, you had mentioned before that it takes until Wednesday until the analysis is done. I've been to the laboratory in Toulouse when we did the certification of the airbus 380. That particular lab is, we're not talking inspector Clouseau here, we're talking the best in the world at this. So even to get into that laboratory, it took me a day and a half, just to get cleared to go into the laboratory. And I was a federal investigator from the U.S.
So, that procedure, every procedure, all the way along the line, has to be taken care of. And the chain of custody, as was mentioned before, this could very well be a criminal investigation still. So the chain of custody and who touches the part, who looks at the part, and they have to wait until every single person has that opportunity who has a vested interest in doing so, which is, of course, Boeing and the airline, and Malaysia and everybody who has that vested interest. So it takes a long time. And as Richard mentioned on Wednesday is when the analysis goes on after everybody has taken a look at it, it all comes together.
COOPER: But David Soucie, do they begin to take it apart to look for serial numbers or examine it from the exterior?
SOUCIE: There will be some disassembly. There'll be two phases. First of all, the identification, as to whether it really is exactly that part from the aircraft. I don't think that will take very long at all. The further investigation will be things about the metallurgy itself. How the brackets were worn off. If it was indeed from flutter in a high-speed decent, that flutter would be evidenced in the way the petal broke. Through metallurgic analysis, we can actually look and see if it was over time, if it had worked its way and then came off, or if it was a sudden, abrupt tear, like it would happen if it hit the water and it would have warped it. So all of those things need to be done through a very precise disassembly of the part.
[20:10:21] COOPER: David Gallo, can investigators determine exactly how long a piece of metal has been floating in the ocean? I mean, looking at whatever marine life or minerals it might have come in contact with?
GALLO: Again, a rough estimate, Anderson, probably, especially if the experts and understanding barnacles and the like, but a part of it will depend on the path of that piece that the aircraft took across the ocean. Places in the ocean are more able to be more fertile and things will grow relatively quickly. Other places are a like a desert and nothing grows there.
So in there, there is a story. It's almost like a floating science experiment. And they'll have these Paleo-biologists (ph) and the like looking at that, trying to understand what the path was like.
COOPER: Its fascinating stuff. David Gallo, thank you. David Soucie, Richard Quest are going to stay with us.
Coming up next, we are going to get into whether or not someone in the cockpit deliberately caused the plane's movements before it disappeared. That's the preliminary assessment from the U.S. intelligence agencies and led to a lively discussion between Richard and Miles O'Brien last night. They are back tonight.
Also ahead, the deadly shooting of an unarmed African-American man by an officer in Cincinnati during what should have been a routine traffic stop. Tonight, we're taking a closer look at what two of the other officers who were there and what they say happened.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:15:00] COOPER: Welcome back to breaking news tonight. Debris that could be from Malaysian airlines flight 370 is on its way to France where it is going to examine to find out if indeed it is from the flight that disappeared nearly 17 months ago.
Now, separate from that investigation, as we've been reporting, a preliminary assessment from the U.S. intelligence agencies suggests that someone in the cockpit deliberately caused the plane's movements before it disappeared. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean it was a nefarious purpose. We simply don't know.
So, the question, though, is was the technology on the plane disabled, and then did it continue to fly for hours after that?
Joining me again, CNN aviation correspondent, Richard Quest. Also with us, former NTSB board member John Goglia, and CNN aviation analyst and pilot Miles O'Brien.
So Richard, this is a picture on the big board of the equipment, the electronics rooms, acars system. Explain what the acars system is.
QUEST: Right. The acars system is the computerized system that allows the aircraft to communicate information about engines, its control surfaces, all the way down so the in-flight entertainment system working, what date you'll be arriving at. Acars standing for going out of satellite or via radio.
But where we are here is something known as the eand ebay (ph). The electronics bay, and it's literally outside the cockpit. That's the entrance there. It's (INAUDIBLE). It's outside the cockpit on the floor.
COOPER: So they put a ladder down.
QUEST: You put a ladder down and you come down to the in ebay. It's just besides first class by the front galley. And the important thing about this is, until now, many airlines have not kept it locked. So you could hoist up the carpet, open the end ebay, straight down the ladder. And what you have, of course --
COOPER: Did you say hoik up the carpet.
QUEST: Yes, hoik up.
COOPER: I don't know.
QUEST: I'll send you the definition. Back to the --
COOPER: I digress.
QUEST: And here you have all the avionics. Think of this as the brain of the aircraft. Everything from the t-class collision avoidance to navigation system.
COOPER: So the acars was turned off. Do you know that?
QUEST: Well, we know the acars was disabled.
COOPER: OK.
QUEST: But you can disable the acars either by going into the menus in the cockpit. You have to go down about five pages in the menus --
COOPER: So someone would not necessarily have had to go down into --
QUEST: No, but the thinking might have been by some people that someone got into the end ebay or stowed away in here. And once you're in here, it's a Pandora's Box. (INAUDIBLE), these are the circuit breakers for the radios, over here. And there's also, interestingly, some -- there are some other devices and oxygen bottles in the bay, which also people have talked about.
COOPER: What was -- the acars disabled after the "good night" was given?
QUEST: No, before. Well, we don't really know. At 1:07 is the last official acars transmission. The next one should have been about half an hour later. It never happened. So they believe somewhere after 1:07 it was disabled.
COOPER: So, John, is there any reason why a pilot or someone from the flight crew would actually go down the stairs into this part of the plane?
JOHN GOGLIA, FORMER NTSB BOARD MEMBER: Not in flight. Although if they are capable of it, it's not normal for a pilot to go down into that compartment in flight.
COOPER: And Miles, are all pilots trained to use this equipment? Do pilots know how to disable this acars system, or is that something engineers and mechanics on a plane would do?
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: No, this is in the realm of engineers and mechanics. And that room, the pilots are not trained to go in there. The door is open, which is a huge security Achilles heel on this particular kind of aircraft. The airlines can order a lock kit if they want to, but there's no regulatory mandate for that. The pilots themselves are not trained to go down there. Why the door is open, I guess if there was some sort of system failure that required them to get to a circuit breaker down there, they would, in fact, have access.
COOPER: But, John, wouldn't it make sense to, you know, secure the cockpit door, wouldn't you want to secure this door as well?
GOGLIA: Certainly. I was surprised they hadn't put the lock kit on it. So yes, you wouldn't want access to anybody down there that didn't belong down there.
COOPER: And John, this intelligence assessment from U.S. officials, the it is, in fact, correct, and someone did cause this plane's movement, it was caused by a human hand, does that entirely rule out any sort of mechanical failure or could both have happened?
GOGLIA: I don't believe mechanical failure, any of the theories, because it just -- the dots don't line up and it's never happened like that before. So, as an investigator, we would never take that off the table. That stays on table as a possibility, but based on experience and knowledge of the systems, I would say that's very, very remote.
And to do what Richard said, to run around and try to in-op all those systems, the pilots would see the cascading failures quickly. And with all the ways to communicate, including the transponder, hitting the emergency code, they would have had enough time to get a message off that there was a problem.
[20:20:22] COOPER: Richard, what about that? I mean, you still don't rule out mechanical failure.
QUEST: No, I don't. And you know, there's a couple of oxygen tanks in this that supply the oxygen to the pilots. We know from a Qantas flight that an oxygen tank exploded, nearly took everybody out that was sitting above it. And the plane continued to fly, Miles, in that particular case of the Qantas 747.
So to your point, that you said yesterday, you're aware of that particular case. Is it a possibility? I leave it on the table that there was a mechanical issue which overwhelmed the pilots and eventually succumbed the aircraft.
COOPER: Miles, you say no way. You say this was a deliberate act?
O'BRIEN: I do, Anderson. And I wonder if we should just think back to June of 2014, when CNN reported from sources at the FBI, in which I've had corroborated myself, that on the captain's flight simulator system at home, there was a flight path that was nearly identical to what we'd been talking about. Why on earth would a captain at home practice a flight on a simulator that leads to fuel exhaustion in the middle of the ocean? I don't know of any pilot that would do that. Pilots like to land on short runways, they like to land on high runways, they like do all kinds of things. But practicing a circuitous route that avoids radar and leads to fuel exhaustion in the ocean, which CNN has recorded was on that flight simulator, I think maybe we're overlooking --
COOPER: Richard's chomping at the bit here -- Richard.
QUEST: Miles, you're being disingenuous in remembering that particular incident, because you've not recounted how the FBI specifically said there is nothing suspicious on that flight simulator.
O'BRIEN: You know what, Richard. Richard, the FBI people who looked at that are not pilots. And any pilot looking at that would say, that doesn't make sense. Nobody has --
QUEST: You're changing a story.
O'BRIEN: No, no, I'm telling you what I know and what I've heard independently of that. I'm just telling you --
QUEST: One minute you're quoting the FBI, supporting your theory. And now, when I quote the FBI saying there was nothing suspicious on it, you immediately turn it around and say, oh, no, the FBI don't know what they're talking about in this situation. Which is it, Miles?
O'BRIEN: I'm just telling you how they characterize what was a factual account of what's on that computer was inaccurate. And that's because they didn't understand the significance of what was on that flight simulator. I think we're overlooking a big issue here.
COOPER: John Goglia, I'm not sure you want to get into the middle of these guys, but what's your thought of that being on the flight simulator?
GOGLIA: My thought is accident investigators are driven by the facts. And facts on a conspiracy theorist and somebody in the lower compartment taking control of the airplane are pretty thin. The facts that indicate a human intervention to make this airplane go where it did are a lot stronger. However, everything is on the table. Until the facts drive us one way or the other.
COOPER: Yes. John Goglia, it is good to have you on. Miles O'Brien, Richard Quest, as well.
Just ahead tonight, new details about the fate of Cecil's cubs. Could their uncle actually be stepping up to keep them safe after their father, Cecil, was killed?
Plus, other new developments in the search for the American dentist who killed Cecil. We'll talk to Jack Hanna ahead.
Also ahead, the legal exotic animal trade generating billions of dollars every year decimating endangered species like elephants, black rhinos. What's being done to stop it? Drew Griffith investigates.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:27:49] COOPER: Welcome back. Tonight, Dr. Walter Palmer's whereabouts, they are still a mystery, even as calls for his extradition to Zimbabwe grow. Today, Zimbabwe's environment minister called the Minnesota dentist and avid big game hunter a quote "foreign poacher" who needs to be held accountable.
Now, unless you've been offline or a remote island for days, you already know that Dr. Palmer killed a famous African lion Cecil on a hunting trip this month. Two local men who helped him are now facing charges. The U.S. fish and wildlife service is investigating the incident.
Today, they say that representatives for Dr. Palmer have contacted them. But again, where exactly the doctor is remains unknown. In a moment, we'll dig deeper on the extradition process. But first, there is good news tonight about Cecil's cubs who were thought to be in danger. That's because when the leader of a pride of lions dies, the lion that takes over typically kills the dead lion's progeny. But tonight, their researchers who have been studying Cecil and hid pride for a long time said that the cubs may have a protector, an unlike one.
David McKenzie joins me with more on that.
So David, what about these concerns about the cubs? What do we know?
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, what we do know is that usually in these cases, is when a lion, dominant male lion leaves the pride or is killed, other lions will come in and kill those cubs. Now, Cecil, the lion, had more than 12 young cubs and even more offspring than that. And so, there were a lot of worries that another lion would come in and kill them. Yet another bad news story out of this story, which has really touched a nerve globally, this killing of Cecil the lion.
But Oxford University professors telling us that, in fact, Jericho, Cecil's brother, is protecting those lion cubs for the moment. So, yes, a bit of good news tonight.
COOPER: Is that common? I mean, that a brother, a lion's brother would do this?
MCKENZIE: Well, it is common, because, you know, this is a large pride of lions and it's all about bloodlines, genetically. If an animal feels that it might have some of its genetic code, as it were in those young cubs, it will protect them.
And look, I'll put this delicately. Jericho might have been the father of some of those cubs as well. So he's kind of hedging his bets there, when it comes to protecting the overall pride.
[20:30:04] So, yeah, Anderson, it's quite normal, but there's still a threat from other lions. And the bigger picture is here that lion populations have been decimated in the last few decades. And this case of killing Cecil the Lion has certainly put a very strong spotlight on the issue of poaching generally, Anderson?
COOPER: And I understand the cubs are not actually being tracked right now, so conservation have to find the adult females first in order to exactly find out how the cubs are doing, right?
MCKENZIE: Well, that's right. And you know, they track several of those lions. Ironically, this whole tracking process was to really research what the effect of hunting was on lions, on the margins of this national park in Zimbabwe. Now, obviously, the effect has been pretty bad given the fact that one of those lions, Cecil, was lured or strayed out of the park and was killed. The good news here also is the worldwide attention on this has already led to an outpouring of support for this Oxford project. They have gotten more than $400,000 in just a few days of the nations to their site. They say, well, they hope that this tragic story will help raise the issue of poaching of lions and generally of the wildlife illegal trade in Africa and elsewhere.
COOPER: Yeah, the decimation of many different species. David, thank you. So, as we said, this story has sparked intense outrage. Protesters have targeted Dr. Palmer's office and one of his homes. Petitions calling for his extradition have collected hundreds of thousands of signatures. The doctor is certainly not the first sport hunter to kill a lion in Africa. Zimbabwe does allow lions to be hunted. That issue is the way Cecil was killed. I want to dig deeper with Jack Hanna, host of "Jack Hanna's into the Wild" and "Jack Hanna's Wild Countdown." Also, CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Danny Cevallos.
Jack, you've spent time at the sanctuary in Zimbabwe where Cecil lived. When you first heard that he'd been killed, I wonder what went through your mind.
JACK HANNA, DIRECTOR EMERITUS, COLUMBUS ZOO: When I heard it, I didn't believe it until I got home late last night. Of course. You've got to understand, Anderson, that when I was born in 1947, there were over 450,000 lions in Africa. 450,000. When my daughters were born in 1970s, there was 100,000. When obviously, today, there are less than 30,000.
That tells you what's happening in my lifetime. COOPER: Jack, when an animal like Cecil is killed, I mean it doesn't happen in a vacuum. It has repercussions, ripple effects throughout the rest of the pride, doesn't it?
HANNA: Yes, I understand it's a brother of this -- of Cecil is now taking care of those cubs. He's monitoring them and watching over them, which as you might know, in our country, the mountain lion, for example, if it's around when the babies are even born, they are consumed in 30 seconds. A cheetah loses her first birth the first time around because she sometimes consumes them. So, a lot of catch to different things.
COOPER: The brother Lion is named Jericho and there are some reports that it may be caring for the babies, which would certainly be good news. Danny, there's an extradition request made by Zimbabwean officials for Dr. Palmer. I'm wondering what is that process? And could he actually be extradited? What's the likelihood of that?
DANNY CEVALLOS, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: There are two issues here. There's the legal issue and then there's the political issue. And legally, the U.S. has had an extradition treaty with Zimbabwe since 2000. And all that's required is what's called dual criminality. Some treaties list actual extraditable offenses, but others simply say, if it's a crime there and it's a crime here, then you have that duality of criminality, and you can extradite the person.
After that, the U.S. attorneys will initiate a proceedings in district court and the only thing that happens at the hearing is that the judge determines if there's probable cause that the crime was committed. It's a very low bar. So legally, it would appear that as long as they establish that this kind of hunting, the law that was broken, has a parallel here, he should be extradited. That's the legal question. But ultimately, this does become a political issue. As does all international law, whether it be criminal or civil, because it really comes down to, what is Zimbabwe's remedy if the United States just doesn't feel like handing this guy over? There's virtually nothing they can really do. So at its core, all international law is ultimately political. Zimbabwe can't do really anything to us, if we decide we don't want to extradite this citizen. But that's a decision that will be made by the Department of State, and not the judiciary and not the U.S. attorneys. Their mission under the treaty and under most extradition treaties is legally very clear and ultimately, they are little more than rubber stampers in the procedure.
COOPER: And of course, given the dictators in Zimbabwe, Mougabe, it's not clear that the U.S. would really want to hand over an American citizen to the justice system in that country. Jack, what do you think should happen to this hunter?
HANNA: Well, obviously, somebody's got to pay the price. One of these issues. By the way, Anderson ...
[20:35:00]
HANNA: One thing, also, when you shoot an animal with a bow and arrow, which I haven't figured out yet how you couldn't see the collar. A rifle is different. The bow and arrow got you pretty close. They don't go for 40 hours, whatever. That's another one. As -- what should happen here, there has to be a serious consequence to this - what has happened? That's all. There has to be one.
COOPER: Well, Danny, let me ask you about that. Is there anything this dentist could be facing charges for here in the United States?
CEVALLOS: Possibly. There is federal law. If the United States decides that he, in fact, not so much for the poaching or for the hunting, but if, instead, he bribed officials abroad, there is federal law that addresses not only bribery, of course, domestically, but bribery of foreign government officials.
So in theory, he could be charged, but I think that would be highly discretionary. Another last thing to think about with extradition, Anderson, is that a review in court, if this lands in federal court, may not look into whether or not Zimbabwe's history on human rights gives them any concern about due process for this defendant. If it is an extraditable offense, the courts are prohibited from looking into the adequacy of that country's judicial system.
COOPER: Oh really? That's interesting. All right, Danny Cevallos, thank you. Jack Hanna, Jack, always great to have you on. Thank you.
HANNA: Thanks a lot, Anderson.
COOPER: Well, just ahead, the killing of Cecil has renewed focus on exotic animal poaching. It's a huge illegal business bringing in billions of dollars every year and danger to animals at risk of extinction, slaughtered for their tusks and horns and other body parts. Drew Griffin takes us inside the trade.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:40:27]
COOPER: As a killing of Cecil the lion sparked outrage this week, other less famous animals were being slaughtered in Africa. Poachers in Kenya reportedly killed five elephants in a national park. The killers reportedly hacked off the animals' tusks and left their carcasses behind. Elephants as you may know, face even greater risk from poachers than lions. Their tusks can be sold for more than $1,000 a pound. Now, according to a recent study, poachers killed more than 100,000 African elephants between 2010 and 2012. Those numbers are just one piece of the illegal animal trade that generates billions of dollars every year. Our senior investigative correspondent Drew Griffin tonight reports.
(BVT)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Step into this grotesque, macabre warehouse on the outskirts of Denver, and you'll soon grasp just how endangered this world's endangered species really are.
(on camera): This is an animal that's about to go extinct, really. COLEEN SCHAEFER, SUPERINTENDENT, NATIONAL WILDLIFE REPOSITORY: It's
the same plight for the rhino and the tiger and the elephant. They could all go extinct within our lifetime.
GRIFFIN (voice over): Colleen Schaefer runs the wildlife repository for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and this is just a fraction of what wildlife officials recover, just enough to show how repulsive the trade in endangered dead animals can be.
(on camera): You get shipments in here every day?
SCHAEFER: Every single day. It depends, the size of the shipment. Sometimes it will be one box full of, you know, 50 different items. Sometimes it's 50 of these smaller boxes, maybe of jewelry of some type or another. It's really variable on what we get from day to day.
GRIFFIN (voice over): Shelf after shelf of endangered tiger heads, even a stuffed tiger fetus. Tons of elephant ivory, bizarre and worthless medicines made from illegally poached animals. And, of course, the extremely endangered black rhinos. Whole horns, horns crushed into medicine, carved into statuettes.
(on camera): This is a baby rhino foot. It's turned into a pencil holder.
(voice over): There are just 2,500 of these black rhinos left in the wild, protected now by armed soldiers. This animal alive, but its horn cut off by poachers. Most are not so lucky. Their carcasses left to rot while their valuable horn is smuggled across the globe. The U.S. Department of Justice says illegal species trade is driven by mostly Asian buyers, willing to pay up to $60,000 per kilo.
SCHAEFER: We also have, basically, the full snout of which you can feel, still the skin.
GRIFFIN: According to Schaefer, wealthy hosts in Vietnam have even used ground up rhino horns as a party favor, said to cure a hangover.
SCHAEFER: Not only their status symbol, but of their wealth and their ability to provide this to their guests.
GRIFFIN (on camera): And of course, it doesn't work.
SCHAEFER: Right, it doesn't work.
GRIFFIN (voice over): To stop the killing, the U.S. government has targeted people who deal in the illegal animal trade. And according to the U.S. government that includes an antique dealer in South Florida named Chris Hayes.
(on camera): Do you have anything to say?
GRIFFIN: For 2 1/2 years, Hayes and his Internet auction site sold black rhino horns, some for as much as $80,000. His cut, he admitted in court documents, 31 percent of every sale. Hayes pleaded guilty and on May 20th, was sentenced to three years in prison. In court he told the judge he made a terrible mistake. Leaving court, shielded by friends, he said almost nothing.
GRIFFIN (on camera): Can you explain to us, why you were selling these horns? You obviously knew, for 2 1/2 years, according to prosecutor that you were selling these horns.
CHRIS HAYES: I don't -- it doesn't matter.
GRIFFIN (voice over): According to the government, Chris Hayes and his elite art companies were involved in the selling of more than 19 pounds of rare engaged black rhinoceros horns worth about $400,000. And while the government says there was no human victim involved, each horn represented a dead and endangered animal. Smuggling, poaching, bribery, and even organized crime.
Government estimates have put the global trade in illegal animal products as high as $10 billion. Hayes was caught trying to arrange sales to Asian buyers in Canada, Texas, even Milan, Italy. The buyers and the sellers, willing to force an animal into extinction for a worthless cure or a trinket. Drew Griffin, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Just awful.
Up next, Hillary Clinton releases her tax records.
[20:45:00]
COOPER: Remember when she said she left the White House dead broke? Well, that is definitely not the case now. Find out how much she's worth in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: More breaking news tonight. Hillary Clinton's campaign has released eight years of tax records. They show from 2007 to 2014, Mrs. Clinton and former president Bill Clinton earned nearly $141 million. They paid more than $43 million in federal taxes and donated nearly $15 million to charity. Our senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny joins us.
Jeff, I mean the fact that the Clintons have become very wealthy since leaving the office, that's certainly not a surprise. People have known that. Actual dollar figures and tax returns, I guess there's clearly a reason they released this stuff on a Friday afternoon. It's like classic late summer document dump.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's so Clintonian, Anderson. I mean but so much wealth. And this is $141 million we're talking about here. Of course, they gave a lot of money away to a charity, but this really, you know, it goes right at the narrative, against the narrative that Hillary Clinton's most famous comment that she was dead broke when they left the White House. This is not dead broke. Look, I don't think voters punish people for their wealth, but this does feed into the narrative of, is she out of touch with voters? [20:50:59]
ZELENY: I actually think it could be more damaging in her Democratic primary. Is there going to be something that Bernie Sanders goes after, if you look at where she made the money from. So many speaking fees, from Goldman Sachs, from other Wall Street entities. That's where I think it could be a bigger problem here. But we knew they were wealthy. Now we know how wealthy they actually are.
COOPER: And the statement from her doctor, clearly aimed at preempting any criticisms that she's too old, especially if she ends up running against somebody who is much younger.
ZELENY: Sure, no doubt about it. I mean she got a clean bill of health from her own doctor. I mean it's not exactly an independent arbiter here, but certainly she said she's healthy. She's on a couple of medications. Most interestingly, I thought, her mother lived well into her 90s or her early 90s. Her father lived well into his 80s. So, clearly meant to show that she is -- she's fit for office. It says she exercises regularly and she's in a relatively strong health for someone her age.
COOPER: She and Jeb Bush were at the same event today in Florida. They spoke separately, but she went after Jeb Bush, not by name, but using one of his slogans. I want to play that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't think you can credibly say that everyone has a right to rise and then say you're for phasing out Medicare or for repealing Obamacare. People can't rise if they can't afford health care.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: It was interesting, because I think when Jeb Bush came on, I think it was like an hour later, he didn't really seem to respond to that, and he continued to use that phrase. Was the Bush campaign caught off guard by her doing that?
ZELENY: I don't know if they were caught off guard, because they did have about 45 minutes or so to think about it. But right to rise is the name of his super-PAC and she used that right against him. But I don't think this was the kind of audience for him to hit her back all that hard. It was the National Urban League. A large African- American audience here. So the audience was probably more supportive of her. But it just goes to show that she thinks her ultimate opponent, if she wins the primary, is Jeb Bush. Never mind this Donald Trump, sort of summer fling, she's clearly looking ahead here. And in Florida of all places, she was going hard after his record. So, it was an interesting window into what could be ahead a year from now if everything goes as she thinks it will.
COOPER: Jeff, thanks very much.
ZELENY: Thanks, Anderson. COOPER: There's a lot more happening tonight and Gary Tuchman has a 360 bulletin. Gary.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, at sunset, just moments ago, the Coast Guard ended its search for missing teen voters, Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos. They vanished on a fishing trip off the coast of Florida one week ago today. The coast guard searched an area almost the size of the state of Missouri and only found their overturned boat. A private search for the 14-year-olds will continue.
The World Health Organization says that so far, a new Ebola vaccine is 100 percent effective. The vaccine has been tested in Guinea since March. Thousands of health workers along with relatives and coworkers of Ebola patients have voluntarily participated in the trial.
And check out this video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHOIR (singing): I'm looking for a congregation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: 1,000 musicians gathered in Italy to play a Foo Fighters song. The Foo Fighters song, "Learn to Fly." Their goal, to get the band to do a concert in their town of (INAUDIBLE). It worked. Front man Dave Grohl released a video message to the super fans speaking in Italian. He thanked them for the beautiful video and said he'd see them soon. Long live rock 'n' roll, Anderson.
COOPER: Gary, thanks very much. Up next, we're going to have the latest on the traffic stop that ended with the death of a young African-American man. An officer facing murder charges. Two other officers were there. What they told a grand jury, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: New developments tonight in the case against fired University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing. He is out of jail on bond, facing a murder charge. Now, he says he acted in self-defense when he shot an unarmed black man during a traffic stop. Samuel DuBose. The incident, you know, was caught on the officer's body cam.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAY TENSING: Well, I'm trying to figure out if you have a license or not. Go ahead and take your seat belt off for me.
SAMUEL DUBOSE: I didn't do nothing.
TENSING: Go ahead and take your seat belt off. Stop! Stop!
[gunfire]
(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: The two other officers were also on the scene. Authorities have released their body camera videos as well and we now know what those officers told the grand jury. Also tonight, new insight on another traffic stop by Officer Tensing. Jason Carroll joins us from Cincinnati. So this new cell phone video of Officer Tensing during another traffic stop I want to play for our viewers. First of all, let's just take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's the charge?
TENSING: Step out of the car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's the charge?
TENSING: Step out of the car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For what?
TENSING: Step out of the car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What am I stepping out of the car for?
TENSING: Because I asked you to.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What am I stepping out for?
TENSING: Step out of the car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What am I stepping out for?
TENSING: Please identify yourself. Step out of the car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're asking for your supervisor.
TENSING: It doesn't matter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are asking for your supervisor. No, we are asking - are we free to go? Can you write the ticket so we can go?
TENSING: You are not free to go right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: So, Jason, where does this new footage, where was it released from and what does it actually show? This is another traffic stop.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is. It's from 2014, shortly after Raymond Tensing joined the university P.D. And I think what's going to happen is, when the police union takes a look at that video, Anderson, they're going to say, look, this is another example of Tensing keeping his cool. These two young men who were inside that car were pulled over because they had some sort of a broken bumper. And as you heard there on the tape there, some of the men, the men became agitated at a certain point. Profanity, which you did not hear, was used at a certain point. They asked to speak to his supervisor. And at one point, one of the young man inside the car actually asked for the Cincinnati P.D. to show up and handle the situation. Eventually, what happened was, Tensing's supervisor was called and the two men were asked -- were free to go on a violation, on a minor violation. So I think the union is going to say, this is an example of an officer keeping his cool.
COOPER: And Jason, the other two officers at the scene, they do testify to the grand jury, do we know more of what they said?
CARROLL: Yeah, that was really the significant development today, Anderson. Phillip Kidd and David Lindenschmidt, as you recall, both of these officers initially corroborated Ray Tensing's story, basically saying that they believed that Tensing had been dragged by DuBose's car. That is not what they told the grand jury. They will not face any charges. Anderson?
[21:00:00]
COOPER: Jason Carroll, thank you. That does it for us. The CNN special report "Vanished: the mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370" starts now.
