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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Top Univ. Of Missouri Officials Step Down Amid Racial Tension; Debate Stakes; Inside Job?; Republicans Prepare to Face Off In Milwaukee; Judge Shot, Manhunt Underway; Searching For Answers; Top Freeskier: "I am gay". Aired 9-10p ET
Aired November 09, 2015 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[21:00:38]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: And 9:00 P.M. here in New York. 8:00 P.M. in Columbia, Missouri home of the University Missouri where today both the university system president and chancellor are out. It is the traumatic climax remarkable strange events. Protest is growing there for weeks but statewide and the nationwide watching one student launched a hunger strike and over the weekend came what may be the decisive blow.
On Saturday members of Missouri football team which brings in tens of millions of dollars in revenue year of school said they would boycott games until University President Timothy Wolfe resigned and this afternoon he did just that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM WOLFE, RESIGNED PRESIDENT IF UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI: My decision to resign comes out of love, not hate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: As protesters linked hands in celebration, elected officials weighed in on both sides of the isle and all sides of the issue. In a moment we'll talk to the graduate student that launched the hunger strike. A young man says some people considered him a dead man walking that he wouldn't survive the hunger strike. First, Kyung Lah is in Columbia and joins us with the latest. Seems like this holding escalated quickly. Take us through what happened.
KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, the students who are here we'll tell you, Anderson, this has been simmering for years and back, some date back to 2010. But really came to ahead and started boiling over mid September. There were two students who are in the black student leadership who say that they had racial slurs thrown at them. There was a swastika painted in the dormitory and human feces just a few weeks ago.
The students went to university leadership seeking some answers and the university leaderships specifically the president, Anderson, they say that they did not get a satisfactory answer than what we saw where the dramatic protest the hunger strike and what we saw with the football team.
COOPER: So the school chancellor also announcing he plans to step down at the end of the year, is that directly related to the current crisis on campus?
LAH: It's very curious. They were separated by several hours and the language that was used when the chancellor was going to be reassigned moving to a new job quite different than what the president used from what we are told, and what you see in paper is that the chancellor says he's going to be moving to a new position, research facilities development but we're hearing from some local newspaper, some local report that there were nine deans who sent a letter of protest saying that under the chancellor, the result was chaos and disorder.
COOPER: Right the administrator teachers who planned to walk out today as well. Where does the university go from here? I mean they planning changes to address some of the issues that been brought up?
LAH: Well, this may sort of paint the picture frame. You can see behind me that there are still some of the tents. These tents are empty and the students are not protesting actively tonight but left them behind. They are reminder that there is more work to be done. The university says they are going to do that. They are promising within 90 days and they specifically use that timeline 90 days they want to make sure they have a chief diversity officer here and that they find new ways to address some of these student concerns.
COOPER: All right Kyung Lah, thanks. More now on the grad student who went hungry to make his point. I spoke earlier time with John Butler along with Missouri student body president Payton Head.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: John, you stopped eating last week. I'm wondering were you surprised how quickly the president stepped down and now the chancellor?
JOHN BUTLER, HUNGER STRIKE PROTESTER: You know, I wouldn't say I was surprised about the president stepping down and chancellor. Honestly, it should have happened earlier. It should happen before the hunger strike just because former U.M. System President Tim Wolfe had a track record since he's been in office of just being negligent and not really performing the key roles of his duty as U.M. System President. So we really honestly, you know, I've reiterated this all day but should have never gotten to this point.
COOPER: Payton, I wonder I mean for those who do not go to the University of Missouri, can you explain what the campus university is like for African-American students?
PAYTON HEAD, PRESIDENT, MISSOURI STUDENT'S ASSOCIATION: Especially at this time it's very tense. It is unsafe. And I think that's one of the main reasons why we have been calling for leadership in a time where students have been saying over and over and over that we feel unsafe and we feel unincluded in this campus community.
As student body president that is my job. I bring issues to our administration so they can address them. What I've seen over the course of my year in office here at the University of Missouri is a lack of response, a lack of concern for these issues that marginalize students have been bringing to the attention of U.M. administration for years.
[21:05:08]
COOPER: John, just on a personal level, when you were not eating, I mean, to go on this hunger strike, did you have any doubts at any point?
BUTLER: I don't think I had any doubts because for me, I never took it as a deficit approach. A lot of people know how corrupt the system is and thought I was going to die from day one. From the moment I made my announcement, people thought I was a dead man walking. So for me, especially with faith in God I really didn't look at it from a deficit approach that I would die even though I took precautions that I might, I really did come at this with an approach of victory knowing the harder we fight, the greater the reward.
COOPER: You said you took precautions you might, what do you mean?
BUTLER: Precautions in terms of updating my living will. I did have a DNR signed. There are other precautions in terms of, you know, what would happen, you know, with certain things in terms if I had a seizure or went into a coma and I outlined those things in documents to make sure people know what to do if any of this would have turned out poorly.
COOPER: So you were really prepared to go that far?
BUTLER: Yes, this was not a light decision. I've been facing issues on this campus as an under grad since 2008 and now as a graduate student here, I've been facing these issues and so this wasn't an easy decision to make but over the past two and a half, three weeks prior to the hunger strike I really took some time with consulting my spiritual leaders and my pastors and other mentors about this decision and knowing that I am truly committed to this change. That's what I really set my heart on doing and just was the necessary precautions just in case anything happened.
COOPER: And this is important. As an under graduate, you were saying you've been facing these issues going back to 2008. Did you feel unsafe on campus?
BUTLER: I felt unsafe since the moment I stepped on this campus. But the thing that we've been pushing to everyone is that we love Mizzou enough to critique and to fight against the injustices that we face at the school. So my first semester here, I had someone write the "N" word on the wall and I've been physically in altercations with white gentlemen on campus, you know, I've had other incidences that's going on. And for me, it's just I've always not felt welcome at this university because the campus hasn't been in welcoming and inclusive environment.
COOPER: Payton, the Missouri's Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder was on a radio interview today and he said that you and the students had no legitimate authority to drive the president out and were seeking quote "governance by mob rule". Those were his words. He also said it was reminiscing of Ferguson which he called the catastrophe. I'm wondering how you would respond to that.
HEAD: In regards to that comment, you know, I have nothing to say. I think that shows the lack of leadership in this state that's a problem and it shows the fact that this is not just, you know, U.M. system issue. This is national issue that we need to address as a whole. You know, these incidents that were seeing on this campus are not single isolated incidents.
Racism is systematic. It's institutional and we are not blaming Mr. Wolfe for institutional racism. We have a problem with this, we have a leader who supposed to represent the students who are coming from all 50 states over 120 different countries around the world not understanding the history of this institution and how it's played a role in perpetuating systems of violence towards marginalized and minorities students. So that's what I think the people in this state need to educate themselves on and that goes all the way out to, you know, the capital that goes to our U.M. system and it goes to the nation, as well.
COOPER: Payton Head, and John Butler, I appreciate your time tonight. Thank you, gentlemen.
HEAD: Thank you.
BUTLER: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Just ahead, the next republican debates less than 24 hours away, the candidates facing off in Milwaukee. The stakes have changed since the last time around. We'll look at that and who has the most to gain and also lose.
Also ahead growing evidence that a bomb brought down Metrojet 9268 with several questions was it an inside job and could it happen here?
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[21:12:42]
COOPER: Tomorrow night the Republican presidential candidates will face-off in Milwaukee just eight candidates will share the stage in the main debate Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee have been bomb down to the under card event. As we said earlier Donald Trump is once again the Republican front runner in the latest national polls with Dr. Ben Carson right behind him and still making gains. Two of the main stage debater, Carson and Marco Rubio have been on the defensive since the last debate both facing questions about chapters from the past. Dana Bash tonight has an overview. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ben Carson is surging in South Carolina now running neck and neck with Donald Trump.
BEN CARSON, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's not particularly getting under my skin.
BASH: Carson is on the rise even as questions persist about his life story defined by tails of personal struggle and redemption, central to his appeal.
CARSON: You're asking me about something 50 years ago and you expect me to have details on that? Forget about it. It's not going to happen.
BASH: Whether it's the fact that CNN could not find anyone that could corroborate his story of stabbing a boy young man, a boy only saved by his belt buckle or the wall street journal questioning his anecdote about taking a test at Yale designed to paint him as ethical. Carson says he's a victim of unfair media bias.
CARSON: It's stupid. It's our media is no better than investigating on that, it's sick.
BASH: Carson declined to identify individuals involved in the violent outburst but today he did point to a 1997 story featuring his mother Sonia who told "Parade Magazine" about the attempted stabbing and said, oh, that really happened, Carson's top advisor sounds a different note from the candidate telling CNN the questions are fair game.
UNIDENTIFED MALE: I think it's a very good thing that Dr. Carson is being vetted, that Dr. Carson is being tested.
CHRIS CRISTIE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Is he kidding?
BASH: And other candidates listening to Carson complain say welcome to the big leagues.
CHRISTIE: I don't have a lot of sympathy. He should answer the questions forthrightly and directly.
BASH: Marco Rubio is also facing scrutiny for his past using a Florida Republican Party credit card for personal expenses but his campaign is confronting with a different tactic releasing statements this weekend insisting there is no there, there.
Donald Trump his fellow outsider virtually tied with Carson and key early states has the most to gain by the controversy and stoked it on CNN's "State of the Union".
[21:15:02]
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ben wrote a book and it's a tough book because, you know, he talked about he has pathological disease. That's a serious statement when you say you have pathological disease because as I understand it, you can't really cure it, but he said he has pathological disease.
BASH: Carson isn't the only first time politician prone to embellishing in the past. Here's what Donald Trump told us this summer.
TRUMP: Everybody exaggerates. I mean, I guess I do a little bit. I want to say good things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Dana, you've been talking to the campaigns. Any idea what to expect tomorrow night on the debate stage?
BASH: Well, to tell you. They expect to get a lot of questions focused on the economy, focused on jobs, even more so than in the past. First of all, because this is a business news kind of forum but also because the campaigns at least are hoping that this is kind of a lessons-learned from the last time around but I think what we should focus on is obviously Ben Carson because you know, Anderson, in the past he has really been kind of a mild mannered and hasn't been, you know, thrust into the mix, if you will. But we've seen a very different Ben Carson which you saw in that piece over the past several days. He's really gotten a little bit more fiery. So to see if that is going to come through in this debate tomorrow night will be fascinating.
COOPER: Dana Bash, thank you very much. And short time ago at a rally in Springfield, Illinois, Donald Trump went after Dr. Carson again without actually naming him though there was no mistaking who he was talking about. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: If you try and hit your mother over the head with a hammer, your poll numbers go up. I never saw anything like it. Now, I haven't seen that yet, but, you know, probably that's going to happen. No, it's a weird -- a lot of weird things are happening. This is a strange election, isn't it?
Man, you stab somebody and the newspapers say you didn't do it. And you said yes, I did, I did it. No, you didn't. Yes, I did. I stabbed him and it hit the belt. And they said you didn't do it. If they said I didn't do it, I'd be so happy.
This is the only election in history where you're better off if you stabbed somebody. What are we coming to?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, he's kind of right about that. A lot to talk about.
Joining me now is CNN Political Commentator Jeffrey Lord and Tara Setmayer. Jeffrey served as Ronald Reagan's White House political director and as a contributing editor at the "American Spectator". Tara served as the communications director for Congressman Dana Rohrabacher. Also with us, CNN Political Analyst and former presidential adviser David Gergen.
Dave, what are you expecting tomorrow night on that stage? I mean, for Dr. Carson, there were some complaints that at the last CNBC debate which was supposed to be on economics which sort of got, you know, muddied and detailed that he didn't really talk a lot of in depth on economics. Do you think he has the kind of step up and do that?
DAVID GERGEN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Absolutely. Now, since the last debate, Anderson, he has clarified what his tax plan and where are the level of taxation would be set. He first indicated maybe 10 percent and now it raised it to 15 percent. There are going to be a lot of folks who are going to play that tax plan apart and argue that it's a win fall for the rich and it would doesn't help people at the bottom very much.
So he's going to have to defend that as well Trump coming at him but I also think that if Carson can come out of this debate, well, that's going to help him enormous because right around thanksgiving, things began to, you know, settle down for awhile. They hold for awhile. They for sure stay in place and if he can be at all right up there was running neck and neck was Trump coming out of this debate that's a very good place for him to be.
COOPER: Tara, I mean if you are Cruz or Rubio or Fiorina, do you go after Carson? Do you go after Trump? I mean, at some point you got to do something to shake things up to get out of single digits.
TARA SETMAYER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yeah, but I think that we've seen going after one another hasn't really worked.
COOPER: Right, certainly not.
SETMAYER: I think people are tired of that. They are put off by it. And this debate, you know, we're about 11 weeks out and we really haven't heard anyone take on the economy as their signature campaign issue. We really haven't heard that.
When the economy still polls of the number one issue for people, number one issue for voters the economy isn't great despite the numbers that have come out recently. The middle class isn't feeling it. Labor participation is low.
And so, this is an opportunity for those candidates like Rubio, like Carson, I mean, excuse me, like Cruz to actually demonstrate their chops of policy chops, their economic chops and I think if Carson doesn't have a solid performance on that, he could trip up a little bit because he's not necessarily known for his policy specifics. So I think a lot of eyes will be on him for that.
COOPER: And Jeffrey, I have no doubt that the moderators, I mean, Fox is doing this. They are obviously very smart. That I think they are going to go like a laser on economic issues just as CNBC was supposed to and got hammered for, you know, for some of the quality of their questions.
[21:20:02] I think they want to stand in sharp contrast to CNBC and I think it's going to be interesting because I do think you're going to get a lot of specifics.
JEFFREY LORD, TRUMP SUPPORTER: Yes, I think that's exactly what I was thinking here right before you said that, Anderson. I mean, this is a place where Fox at this point, they just want to keep their moderators' heads down and provide the debate that everybody said was not provided by CNBC. That will in return work to the advantage or disadvantage of whomever on the stage has actual proposals out there and is fluent enough in them discuss them.
So it's a combination of the two things that I'm not so sure that these personal attacks that we're looking for will be there because I'm not sure if they will be provided necessarily.
COOPER: But David, do you think then it works to Donald Trump's advantage. I mean, you could if you're looking for people who have a lot of specifics on economic issues, his critic's will certainly say he's not somebody who has a lot of meat in (ph) around.
GERGEN: I agree but I don't agree Tara that nobody has made the signature issue. Actually, Jeb Bush has put out quite a lot of material and a couple of the other candidates like Rubio would argue. He put out quite a lot...
COOPER: But if a tree falls in the forest...
GERGEN: Yeah, that exactly. Exactly, it was all of his mother by all the personalized.
SETMAYER: It's gone unnoticed.
COOPER: So this is -- perhaps an opportunity for you're saying for Jeb Bush if he can get over whatever his debate issue is to...
GERGEN: It is and yes and I think Jeff got more on the log anybody else on this.
COOPER: Without a doubt.
GERGEN: But, you know, that he could...
COOPER: He has to step up.
GERGEN: If he can match about a 100 or let say 50 percent of what happened last night with his brother George that would be when John Meacham here on CNN. He would do very well but I think because there has been some personality driven and because you have eight people on the stage, you can't really mixed-up who you're listening to and what they think. I think it's going to -- to have a really good stuff in the debate, we need to narrow the field more.
COOPER: Smaller, yeah.
GERGEN: I think personalities are still going to play a lot more.
COOPER: Although this is the smallest one there's been so far.
GERGEN: Yeah.
SETMAYER: That's true. The RNC is having a meeting this Wednesday to discuss again what they can do to change the structure of the debates moving forward.
So obviously they heard the complaints of the campaigns about this and I think that, you know, for Jeb Bush, he's not his brother and this -- that has come across, you know, pretty clearly and that's why he's not breaking through. He doesn't connect.
And this might be something that he thrives off of because he is a wonk. Jeb Bush is a policy wonk but he have to be able to translate it into a way where people will listen to him and I'm not quite sure he's going to be able to do that at this point.
COOPER: Well Jeffrey, the interesting, I mean, say it is whittled down to five people or so or six people, whether that helps or hurts Donald Trump and Dr. Ben Carson. I mean, if you have more time to get into greater detail. Everybody says they want get into detail, do you think it helps them?
LORD: Yes, I do because I think the depth of the outsider vote, I mean, when you add as we've done before you know the Carson and the Trump and the Cruz vote to some degree Marco Rubio certainly Carly Fiorina, you know, and some of these cases it's been as much as 65 percent.
I mean, I think that people are decided. They want somebody who is a quote unquote outsider. The question is who is it? And I think that's what's really going to be decided here and I actually think this is going to be a life or death situation as it were for Jeb Bush. I mean he is really got to put out here and if he doesn't, if he does as he did the last time, big trouble.
COOPER: David, I mean, you've watched a lot of elections and obviously this is different than any we've seen but traditionally, you know, people flirt with an outsider and then they ultimately go for a more established candidate do you think?
GERGEN: I think that's what political pros are betting you on.
COOPER: Right.
GERGEN: That this is going to come down to one of the outsiders versus one of the more traditional candidates and everybody is looking at Marco Rubio now is that most like I think.
COOPER: Right.
GERGEN: So Jeb where to get down again tomorrow night, then Rubio goes up and it could become a two instead of a two person Carson versus Trump it could become Rubio versus one of the other two. COOPER: Right.
SETMAYER: But because substitute like debate like this one that could differentiate between the outsiders and then not and the political neophyte and that people who have political experience because now we're talking about actual substance, policy, governing and then that could -- people may reevaluate. Do we really want an outsider that has no experience whatsoever?
COOPER: Right. Tara it's good to have you on. Jeffrey Lord as well, David Gergen as well. Thank you very much.
GERGEN: Thank you.
COOPER: A quick programming now at"360" we'll bring you in depth coverage of the Milwaukee main debate starting at 11:00 P.M. tomorrow right after debate until 1:00 A.M. hope to join me for that.
Up next, growing certainty that a bomb brought down the Russian airliner in Egypt. The question is, was it an inside job?
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[21:28:12]
COOPER: There is growing certainty tonight among some key officials that Metrojet 9268 was brought down by a bomb and then an ISIS affiliate is responsible. There's also growing belief that it was an inside job that someone planted explosives on the airbus at the airport in Sharm el-Sheikh Egypt.
Our Chief National Security Correspondent Jim Sciutto has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Tonight, U.S. intelligence is 99.9 percent certain. A U.S. official tells CNN that a bomb brought down Metrojet 9268 over the Sinai.
PHILIP HAMMOND, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: There's going to be a high probability that ISIS was involved that doesn't mean that it was directed attack from ISIS headquarters in Syria.
SCIUTTO: The increasingly likely conclusion sparking ominous new warnings of the global threat from ISIS.
DIANNE FEINSTEIN, (D) SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE: This is huge worldwide problem.
ADAM SCHIFF, (D) SELECT COMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE: That this is a bomb by the affiliate of ISIS. In the Sinai, ISIS has now fully eclipsed the Al-Qaeda as the greatest terrorist threat in the world.
RAND PAUL, (R) KENTUCKY: We do need to be very weary of flights coming in from the Middle East. SCIUTTO: Egypt's lead investigator noted a loud noise on the cockpit voice recorder just before the plane broke up in the air but he still wouldn't concede a bomb as the likely culprit.
AYMAN AL-MUQADDAM, HEAD OF THE COMMISSION OF INQUIRY: The initial observation of the aircraft wreckage does not yet allow for identifying the origin of the in flight breakup.
SCIUTTO: U.S., British and Israeli officials seemed more convinced. Some crucial intelligence coming from communications intercepted by Israeli intelligence focused on the Sinai and passed along to the U.S. and U.K. One focus now, the possibility this was an inside job with ISIS recruiting an airport worker in Sharm el-Sheikh to place a bomb on board the plane.
PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: If they were able to infiltrate Sharm el-Sheikh Airport, they certainly could have had the opportunity to do that in other airports throughout the Middle East.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[21:30:05]
SCIUTTO: A U.S. intelligence official tells me that there is no definitive statement on the crash from the U.S. yet because the evidence is incomplete. Some the equivalent official say of hearsay and the U.S. had no access to evidence such as debris to look for explosives, residue or the voice recorder to assess the mysterious sound heard on that tape.
That said if ISIS is found to have done this, this would be in the words of this official, clear and concerning evidence of ISIS's ambitions outside Iraq and Syria, Anderson.
COOPER: All right, Jim Sciutto, thank you.
Joining us now, CNN National Security Analyst, Juliette Kayyem and Bob Baer. She's a former U.S. Assistant Secretary for Homeland Security. He's a former CIA officer.
Juliette, you had an article interesting on cnn.com toady, which you said that British officials announcing this was a bomb last week might have actually caused Isis to stop talking. So was that a misstep?
JULIETTE KAYYEM, FORMER ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR HOMELAND SECURITY: I think it was and I don't want to say anyone is right or wrong at this stage. These are really hard calibrations but because we have no access to the evidence, because there is no evidence right now in terms of proof of bomb material, right? So we're still at the stage where we don't even know if it was a bomb, let alone it was a bomb from ISIS.
We are -- how we believe if ISIS is from sources and methods of intelligence and infiltration into ISIS. We're now reporting and CNN is reporting that's likely Israel. So in the process of knowing that this was ISIS or at least looking at this intelligence. We have now exposed the extent to which we have infiltrated ISIS and I'm guessing that those communications are now closed off.
And so the way to think about it rather than right or wrong is this is a win for the battle, in other words, we know and we found out it's ISIS and that's good but this is a long-term war ahead and it is this clearly in the exposing of the sources and methods of how we found out it's ISIS. It's clearly going to up set some of our intelligence efforts.
COOPER: Bob, the fact that response ISIS publicly has been fairly muted a couple. A couple of videos claiming responsibility short in details does that surprise you? Would you be expecting to hear more from them publicly if they are in fact the ones who brought down the plane?
ROBERT BAER, FORMER CIA OFFICER: Anderson, I would. I would think they would consider this a great victory bringing down the Russian airplane. They are at war with Russia. They've been bombed by Russia.
What I would have expected at this point was the Islamic State to come out and say look, we took this plane down and this is how we did it, offered some sort of proof that they truly were involved.
I mean in the past they have provided videos and the rest of it because they do want to take credit like this so it makes me wonder if the Islamic State was really behind it.
A lot of this chatter that Juliette was talking about is very vague and cryptic and it's difficult to, you know, you have to read it in context but I've never seen chatter that was a smoking gun so we're pretty much in the dark. You know, we're in the dark how the bomb got on the airplane, as well. It could have been someone put it on or could been checked through luggage.
COOPER: Juliette again, in your article, you talk about black propaganda, leaking false information to throw your enemies off the trail. Is that what you think could be going on here?
KAYYEM: I think it's an alternative explanation given that we have no physical proof yet of the fact that this was a bomb.
Look, all evidence suggests it was a bomb so I want to make that clear but I also don't want us to close up alternative theories and one of them is this that ISIS is using the fact that we're pick up their chatter as a way to sort of throw it off, right that we now believe it was them even if it wasn't them.
And so that's why someone like me and Bob clearly from what he said, we like physical evidence. Chatter is chatter and we can interpret it but proof of bomb material, something conclusive from the black box is always the way you want to go especially because the consequences, you know, will be so great. Russia is going to clearly respond. COOPER: Well, I'm talking about the consequences. Bob, I mean, if it was in fact a bomb and it was done by ISIS it certainly leads to a much more scary proposition, which is just how vulnerable airports actually are right now.
BAER: Anderson, we've been talking about this before, yes, it is and it's not just in Sharm el-Sheikh, it's airports around the world. I mean including the United States.
A ground staff is not thoroughly vetted and if you can get around a TSA checks in this country, you can get a bomb on a fairly simple one home made and you could even get a liquid bomb on made from home made stuff.
I mean, this is very, very scary and the quicker we reassemble this airplane to figure out what it was, whether it was a, you know, C4, a plastic explosives or a homemade bomb. It's going to help us a lot but frankly, Anderson, I worry about the Egyptians and their ability to conduct this investigation keeping the FBI out is not good.
COOPER: Look Juliette, I mean, that was my next question which is, I mean, if Egyptians have a vested interest in this not being a bomb because it makes them look bad and hurts tourism, they are ones in charge of the investigation on the ground that doesn't bode well.
[21:35:00]
KAYYEM: That's exactly right. I mean, look, Egyptians clearly should be in-charge. This happened in their country. So we'll give them that but the more that they close off any sort of outside investigation could any offer of help from FBI the more the conspiracy theories will just go out of control.
I mean, what I would say to Egypt is the plane is already down, right? So that, you know, recreation, travel, the country is already been impacted. The best that they can do is...
COOPER: Be transparent.
KAYYEM: ... get the truth out and learn from it.
COOPER: Yeah.
KAYYEM: The damage is already done. So I don't know why they are being like this.
COOPER: All right, Juliette thank you, Bob Baer as well.
Just ahead, the manhunt for the suspect who ambush shot a judge in Texas. Also, searching for answer is in the police chase and shooting that left a father badly wounded and took the life of his 6-year-old son.
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COOPER: Tonight in Texas, the search is on for whoever shot a judge in the driveway over Austin, Texas home. CNN's Ed Lavandera tonight has the latest.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Judge Julie Kocurek's courtroom in Austin, Texas sat a really quiet Monday. Usually it's a criminal court field with the characters and violent stories reap from the crime bladder.
[21:40:01]
JULIE KOCUREK, AUSTIN, TEXAS: Thank you. You may be seated.
LAVANDERA: But now, Judge Kocurek is in the middle about local reports described as a targeted murder attempt. The new stand her fellow judges in the Travis County Court House.
LORA LIVINGSTON, JUDGE, TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS: The idea that you would be ambushed or attacked in your home for the work that you do was just mind boggling to me. So in a nutshell, I would say I was devastated.
LAVANDERA: Judge Kocurek was attacked here on her driveway as she was coming home from a football game on Friday night. The Austin American statesman report that someone put a garbage can or bag in the middle of the driveway forcing her car to stop. You can still see the skid marks and glass that's when someone came out of the darkness and started firing at her. Police say they arrived at the scene within five minutes of getting the 911 call but the attacker or attackers slipped away and are still at large. Investigators say they don't even have a suspect.
MARK SPANGLER, COMMANDER AUSTIN POLICE: Unfortunately, this occurred during the darkness. And we are working through a number of witnesses that will hopefully be able to give us additional details that will help us track down this person or persons who were responsible for shooting.
LAVANDERA: If she was targeted getting in and out of the judge's neighborhood with its winding secluded streets would takes some extensive planning and scouting of the area. Those closest to the judge say it's terrifying to imagine someone deliberately planning the attack.
DAVID MINTON, AUSTIN ATTORNEY: It's stunning. There were really aren't words to describe how you feel when you hear something like that. It's terrible.
LAVANDERA: Investigators are pouring through Judge Kocurek's extensive cases looking for anyone who might have a grudge and looking to retaliate but Kocurek has spent about 25 years in Austin working as a prosecutor and then a judge. There's a potentially long list of defendants who might feel they have been wronged.
Is there any question in your mind that she was targeted?
MINTON: There is not any in my mind.
LAVANDERA: Defense attorney David Minton has known Judge Kocurek for years and says she's a fair and considerate judge. MINTON: But clearly, in her job and the number of year that she's been on the bench she would have had to make some enemies for doing her job. And it's just something that it comes with the territory but you never think it will come to this.
COOPER: And Ed, tonight, any leads?
LAVANDERA: It doesn't appear so at this point. However, Austin police have been extremely quiet but we reached out to them repeatedly over the course of the last couple days. And haven't really gotten any kind of feedback from them or any kind of idea of where the investigation stands at this point. So I don't know if that's a sign of something, but until now, they've been very tight lipped about what is going on.
COOPER: How is the judge doing?
LAVANDERA: Well, we got a statement late this afternoon from a spokesperson for the family saying that the judge appears to be improving everyday is making progress in her recovery. And also, they sent out well wishes and a thank you to all of the people who sent her so much love and support here over the weekend since this attack, but the main part of that message saying that she appears to be recovering nicely.
COOPER: All right. Ed thanks for the update. Now to Louisiana where a judge set bond at $1 million each for two officers involved in the shooting that sent a father to the hospital and took a 6-year-old son's life. The local district attorney refused themselves because of this relationship with one of the officer's families. Now they started with a chase nearly a week ago and ended according to authorities with two officers were not charge with second degree murder firing shot after shot into Chris Few's Truck including five and hitting mortally wounded his son, Jeremy Mardis.
We're starting learn at least some of what led to the case as well as the at least some of the other facts surrounding this apparently senseless killing. Martin Savidge joins us tonight. So, how did this chase start?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, this is the question that many people are asking. How did it start and end up with so much gunfire? It's start apparently a week ago, well tomorrow Tuesday night. And Chris Few, the father of the child according to a source who closed to the information in this case apparently was seen arguing with his girlfriend outside of a bar observed by the marshals that we're involved and apparently they felt that this argument was so extreme, so severe that the marshals wanted to intervene to prevent and getting any farther out of hand.
They attempted to move in on Chris Few and detain him but apparently according to the source he would have none of that. He got in his vehicle. His son was inside but apparently authorities weren't aware and took off. That's what started the chase. What this source will not say and does not know is, why did it end up with so much gunfire? Because they eventually panned in Chris Few and for reasons still unclear, the officer, he was an armed. The officers open the fire, something 16 to 18 shots of fired. He was struck twice, critically wounding him and point out his young son hit five times and died nearly instantly according to the coroner.
COOPER: There were reports early there were warrants for the father's arrest but I -- you're saying, is that true or not?
[21:45:06]
LAVANDERA: No, it's not true. Apparently according to the State Police, neither ones know in charge of this investigation. There has been a lot that's gone on but clearly know the state authorities that are the ultimate source on this. And they are saying that yes, there were initial reports that Chris Few apparently had warrants out where the marshal were pursuing it.
That is not true. They checked and rechecked and said there were no warrants. He had no gun. As far as anyone can determine, no one can figure out why the Marshals initially had to go after him. Though, they say they know now and why did they have to shoot and shoot so many times? That's still wasn't been answered.
COOPER: The little boy, 6 years old was just buried and his dad still on the hospital. Martin Savidge, Martin, thank you for that report.
Up next, an Olympic medalist comes out saying he's tired of spending years hiding.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: On the day when protesting football players, the University of Missouri apparently helped oust two top officials at the school. We got the story tonight of another athlete who is standing up.
24-year-old Gus Kenworthy is the top freeskier on the planet. Five times world champion an Olympic Silver Medalist. He's face of the X Games. And three weeks ago, Gus Kenworthy told the world that he's gay. I spoke to him recently.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: So why did you decide to make the announcement?
GUS KENWORTHY, OLYMPIC SILVER MEDALIST: I decide to make the announcement because I was at a point where it was getting really painful for me to kind of continue on with this straight. And kind o f plays this role that I didn't really want to be playing.
When I was young, and I was competing, the questions were always surrounding the sport, what I was doing, run, injuries weather that kind of a thing. And then after the Olympics, it was so much more about my personal life, girlfriends, that kind of -- crushes. So then I felt like I was in this position where I was lying or avoiding answers. And was just always walking on eggshells, I was just nervous that I was going to use the wrong pronoun and out myself. COOPER: It's interesting because I read. You said something about your medalling at Sochi. You said you never got to be proud of what you did at Sochi because I felt so horrible about what I didn't do.
KENWORTHY: Yeah. I had talked, going into the games, with my boyfriend about landing like the best run ever. And winning the Olympics and then going to the bottom of the course and kissing him on camera and that would be like my way to kind of come out to the world and to everybody.
COOPER: And make a statement in Russia because...
KENWORTHY: Make a statement in Russia because law and everything. So I had talked about that. We had talked about that. And it just didn't happen. And in hindsight, I'm glad it didn't happen because at that point, I hadn't told my mom, I hadn't told my dad, I hadn't told anyone else in my inner circle and...
COOPER: That would have been quite a moment for your family.
KENWORTHY: Yeah. I think it would have been just -- I think it's good that I had an opportunity to talk to the people that are important in my life and had that conversation privately. And then be able to come out publicly and have gotten so much feedback from people saying that, they were in the same position and they had no idea that anyone else felt this way, or that they were inspired by the magazine, and I mean that just like -- that's so touching to me because I feel like I didn't have that role model when I was younger. I didn't have someone to look up to, someone supports that was out, someone that kind of had these masculine qualities and things that I felt like I wanted to have but also, I could relate to on the level of being gay.
COOPER: Do you worry about, you know, sponsors and things like that because I mean obviously that huge part of your profession.
KENWORTHY: I was nervous. I didn't know how people are going to react. I mean, my income and my career is base on -- I guess my image. And I didn't want to do something that would tarnish my image or change it, I guess. So I was nervous. But it's been great. My sponsors have been supportive. And I think if anything, this opens the door for new sponsors.
COOPER: Did -- I mean, you always knew as a kid that you were gay?
KENWORTHY: Yeah. I think, I know I was gay since I was like, five. I think I fully understood what that meant and knew it about myself with the term and everything when I was like 16.
COOPER: I read at the time you were depressed. You've even contemplated suicide sometimes. Is that right?
KENWORTHY: Yeah, it is. I lost my best friend when I was 14 in a ski accident. And it was horrible and it was tragic. But the beautiful thing about it was our whole town and community and neighboring towns came together in a way that I've never seen anyone come together and just supported him and his family and it was so beautiful and I -- it so selfish and -- but remember thinking like if that have been me then everyone remembers me in this great way.
And I would be remembered for all these positive things. And not that I was gay and like this things that no one knows that I can't let anyone know that I was so afraid of people finding out, I don't know, I guess I was so nervous about coming out and being gay and accepting that would change people's views of me for the worst.
COOPER: What was the conversation like with your mom? I mean, was it -- it's not an easy conversation to have?
KENWORTHY: No, it wasn't. And I knew my mom would be accepting. And I also kind of thought she just knew because I had this long-term boyfriend even though I hadn't told her. I figure she would have just kind of pick up on it. And when I did tell her, I started crying and I told her and she's like, I know. It's fine. It's like, I know. She was so not face, but I was emotional.
COOPER: And are you -- do you feel different? I mean, after having made the announcement, it's one thing to kind of, you know, to walk into a room and have everybody kind if know, oh, he's gay. Does it feel different?
KENWORTHY: It's a little strange, for sure, suddenly having everybody know something so personal about you. I guess I'm just embracing myself. So it just feels good. This is like the person that I've wanted to be, that I've struggled to be. But now that I can actually just be that person is, I guess I just feel proud.
COOPER: Do you find in the sport that you're in, that people still use, you know, the term gay in a derogatory way, like that's so gay meaning that's bad thing.
KENWORTHY: Yeah. Well, that's like that something for me that was hard. And I would lose focus at contests because you'd be sitting at the top with everyone else waiting for your run, watching the monitors and like a score would come in low and someone would like, oh, the judges are being so gay. And they're like, they're really not. Like I'm picturing them making out in the booth or something. They're not being very gay. They're not being very generous with their scores.
[21:55:03] And I'm like -- I don't know that's just the wrong word. But then it would suddenly take me out of kind of the head space that I wanted to be in to be competing and to be focused and ready. And so, it was always kind of a distraction.
COOPER: Do you think you coming out will in some small way change that or begin to?
KENWORTHY: I definitely do. I don't think anyone says those things to kind of like hurt anyone's feeling. It's just that they don't have an association to the word. So I think that now that they know that someone to complete again, someone I like, maybe even someone I don't like but someone that they're in the start gate with does have an association to those words. I hope that it would change the way that they talk and the way that they act.
COOPER: Well, I'm really proud of you and really happy you came out.
KENWORTHY: Thanks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Gus Kenworthy. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: That's it for us. We'll see you again at 11:00 p.m. for another edition of 360.
[22:00:00] Make sure to tune into our post debate coverage tomorrow night from 11:00 to 1:00 A.M. "CNN Tonight" with Don Lemon starts now.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Ben Carson takes a razor-thin lead over Donald Trump in a New National Poll. This is CNN...
