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At This Hour

Iraq Prime Minister First White House Visit; Congress Pushing for Say on Iran Nuclear Deal; Can GOP Attract Hispanic Vote?; Blowout: The Gulf Oil Disaster. Aired 11:30-12p ET

Aired April 14, 2015 - 11:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:31:30] KATE BOLDUAN: CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, Iraq's prime minister's first visit to the White House. Haider al Abadi has made no secret that he's asking Obama for billions of dollar more for U.S. military aide to fight ISIS. His request comes amid falling oil price are hurting Iraq's economy.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The Iraqi government announced its sending reinforcements to battle ISIS at the country's largest oil refinery. U.S. officials say the ISIS problem is off the charts historically.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRETT MCGURK, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR NEAR EAST AFFAIRS: We have to work together as an international coalition. That's why we built this coalition of 62 nations. And, yes, there's an aggressive comprehensive global campaign strategy to degrade and ultimately defeat this threat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Want to bring in CNN's White House correspondent, Michelle Kosinski.

A meeting going on between the president and the prime minister. What's the prime minister asking for, Michelle?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: He's made no secret of what he would like to see the U.S. step up to in terms of the help Iraqis need. He'll meet with leaders of world banks and others to get the budget on track and repair the country. There's a lot of work to be done at every level. Also military help for the U.S. to increase its aid and equipment and attack helicopters, ammunition, more air strikes, drones. Pretty much you name it. We don't know how the White House is going to respond to that in the immediate sense. The White House has asked Congress for additional funding. More than $5 billion worth to fight ISIS in general. So we'll see if there's an announcement after this meeting with the president expected to last about an hour. So far the White House hasn't responded to these specific requests that have been reported out there. What they've said is that there are ongoing discussions, close cooperation, conversations on a daily basis to see what kind of help Iraq will need in the future and what's need immediately on the ground. It was interesting to hear those words from McGurk on the crisis and how much ground ISIS has been able to gain. We've heard the administration taut the fact that ISIS was pushed back from 30 percent to 20 percent of the territory that it did control several months ago. It's still a problem. In certain areas they are gaining ground and in other areas the Iraqi security forces have been able to push them back. Clearly what's needed is additional help from the U.S. And others.

John and Kate?

[11:34:07] BERMAN: Michelle Kosinski, that meeting going on right now as we said. Thank you so much.

So big moment in politics here. There are three official candidates for the Republican nomination for president. Three official candidates. Two of them are Hispanic. A key moment. What does this mean for the Republicans? What does it mean for the election ahead? We'll discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: AT THIS HOUR, a potential key vote on Iran nuclear talks. Congress wants a say on the terms of a final deal. The Obama administration says any action could compromise chances of reaching that deal, saying loud and clear to lawmakers, give us more time to negotiate.

BERMAN: Secretary of State John Kerry delivering that message meeting with key Senators. One of he key lawmakers he met with, Senator Jim Risch, Republican from Idaho, and they will vote as soon as today on this bill.

Senator, thanks so much for being with us. I really appreciate it.

Before we get to you, let me play some sound from Senator John Kerry about what he has been trying to convince really members of Congress to do.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: We hope Congress will listen carefully and ask the questions that it wants but also give us the space and the time to be able to complete a very difficult task, which has high stakes for our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right. Senator Jim Risch with us right now.

What's the deal you reached to vote on today in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and does it give the White House the administration the space it wants to finalize an agreement with Iran?

SEN. JIM RISCH, (R) IDAHO: First of all, there isn't really an agreement completed yet. It's still fluid. We're still discussing details of it. Very simply what Congress wants is that the president of the United States submit what he is negotiating to the people of the United States through their elected representatives to Congress. He's willing to submit it to the U.N. He certainly ought to be willing to submit it to the people of the United States. We also want to give him the space to negotiate. That's his job as the head of the second branch of government to negotiate such an agreement or treaty and then it's our job as members of the first branch of government to signoff on that. This is not a political question. What we're dealing with here is something that's incredibly serious. We're dealing with the most dangerous nation on the face of the earth who had their fingerprints on every problem that we have in the Middle East and who want to construct a nuclear weapon. We're trying to negotiate to a point the administration trying to negotiate to a point where they won't get one. They on the other hand are negotiating a path forward to get such a nuclear weapon.

[11:40:31] BOLDUAN: But, Senator, let's try to be clear because it's difficult and there are a lot of elements to what you guys are discussing and will be voting on at some point we expect on capitol hill. What you guys are looking at right now, it's about delaying the president's ability to lift sanctions if you will with this review period. Anything that you are voting on right now or that you want to vote on, does it have the ability to prevent a deal from going through on the Iran nuclear negotiations?

RISCH: Right now both Congress and the president agreed originally that we would place sanctions on Iran. Congress certainly should be involved in lifting those sanctions. One of the problems we have right now is I'm not exactly sure --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: You're talking about slowly lifting sanctions. What you're voting on, does it have anything to do with preventing a final deal from going through?

RISCH: Well, I would say this. A final deal from going through needs Congressional approval. Look, the Iranian legislature has said there won't be a deal until they signed off on it. Certainly the people of the United States should have that same agreement. There's nothing wrong with having the American people signing off on a deal that's reached with Iran. Something that is as far reaching as this. You know, you hit on a really important point. That is when they came out and shook hands and smiled and said we have this framework, the Iranian negotiators went home and said, yes, the framework is such that the sanctions will be lifted on day one after an agreement is reached. The U.S. negotiators including Senator Kerry said, no, that's not true at all. They'll be stepped off and they are still taking that position, the administration, that it is going to be a gradual reduction of the sanctions. That's the way it should be. I'm not exactly sure what the parties have agreed to because they are taking two different positions.

BERMAN: Just one more point of final clarity here, Senator. Do you want the ability for Congress to weigh in before the final deal is reached in June or are you willing to wait until after they hammer out details they laid out?

RISCH: Certainly, this should be after they hammer out the details. It isn't final until Congress signed off on it. I think everyone agrees to that. Constitution is clear on that.

BERMAN: It's not technically a treaty.

RISCH: It very much is.

(CROSSTALK)

RISCH: They call it an agreement. I have said over and over again, you can call a dog a cat, but whatever you call it, it's still a dog. This is a -- if you get out Webster's and look at definition of a treaty and what founding fathers were talking about was an agreement between one or more nations. That's what we're dealing with here. If the president decides on an agreement, that lasts for the next 661 days as long as he's president and as long as he can control what he can control. If you want a treaty, which is what we should have what we're talking about with a nuclear agreement, it should be a treaty and signed off on by Congress. This is not a political matter. This is a matter to protect the security, safety, stability of us, of the people of America.

BOLDUAN: Senator, quickly, let me ask you about a political matter. You now have three Senators who have jumped and thrown their hats in the ring for the GOP nomination. April sure they are all looking for support from their colleagues. Are you ready to throw your support by any one of them -- behind any one of them?

RISCH: All three of them are good friends with me. I work regularly with Marco Rubio. He sits next to me on the Foreign Relations Committee. We're joined at the hip on a lot of these foreign relations matters. The other two I'm also really good friends with and there's no need for me to wade into this at this point. I would doubt that many colleagues will wade in at this point. We have a country to run here. When we have issues like this Iran treaty, we really need to be focused on that.

BERMAN: Senator Jim Risch, thank you for being with us. Appreciate it.

RISCH: Thank you.

[11:44:43] BOLDUAN: Ahead for us AT THIS HOUR, we'll discuss the impact of Latino vote on the 2016 race. Can the growing GOP field do a better job of attracting Hispanic support this time around this election?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: A remarkable moment in politics. Three Republicans have declared for president so far. Two of them are Hispanic. Senators Marco Rubio and Senator Ted Cruz. Both sons of Cuban immigrants.

BOLDUAN: Former Governor Jeb Bush once checked a form saying he was Hispanic. He joked about that mistake and he didn't fool anyone.

But let's discuss that it does highlight and underscore the importance of the Latino vote.

Let's discuss this with Janet Murguia, president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza, Hispanic Civil Rights and Advocacy Organization; and Ana Navarro, CNN political commentator and Republican commentator.

It's great to see both of you.

Ana, this is a big year for Latinos in the Republican primary. You have Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, one Latino by association, Jeb Bush, who is in the best position to overcome what has in recent election history been a real Republican problem winning Latino support from the Democrats.

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, we don't know yet. I can tell you that I think there's a difference between Hispanic identity and Hispanic by birth. Having the DNA. Certainly I think that Marco Rubio has both and as we saw yesterday and when he talks about his personal story, it's very compelling. I think Latinos are going to look at record and they're going they're going to look at the things that have been said in public and that we can go back and read. I think Jeb Bush, though, he does not have the DNA, has the Hispanic identity, and has a very long-standing record. I think Hispanics know that he has not backed away ever from the immigration issue. He also is, to me, Jeb Bush is pan Hispanic. What I mean by that is he lives in Miami, surrounded by Nicaragua what began, Cuban exiles, people like me, but married to a Mexican-American, a woman born and raised in Mexico, which gives him a broad scope of Hispanics. As Janet knows and will tell you, not all Hispanics are alike. Not all of us think alike or have the same experiences or same priorities or same ideologies, so having a broad reach is important.

[11:45:27] BERMAN: No, no doubt. On the point of Hispanic or Latino by birth, Janet, Marco Rubio gave an answer to a question when asked what it would mean to be the first Latino president. Listen so what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARCO RUBIO, (R), FLORIDA: I don't know. I haven't viewed my candidacy in that light. I'm sure it would be an important moment for a lot of people, not just for Americans of Hispanic descent but for anyone who comes from families like mine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: What do you make of that? That he said he's never thought of it in that light? Do you believe him?

JANET MURGUIA, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF LA RAZA, HISPANIC CIVIL RIGHTS AND ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION: Well, I trust him if he says that he hasn't thought about it. I find it hard to believe that such a milestone moment of having the first Hispanic president wouldn't have crossed his mind, but I think the broad appeal that both governor Bush and Senator Rubio have is that, as Ana has mentioned, they both have a long histories, working with the community, they have great affinity for the Latino community, obviously. Marco told his compelling story, an American dream story, one that is very relatable for many Latinos in this country, but I also think that governor Bush has had great experience and track record in working with the Latino community, certainly in the state of Florida, and I think both are going to be very appealing candidates to Latino community because of that.

BOLDUAN: And, Janet, what do you think -- the Latino vote was very important to -- is a very important voting block for both sides, has been a very important voting block in recent elections for Democrats. Obama won the Latino vote 71 percent to 27 percent over Mitt Romney when they ran against each other. How much of a problem or a challenge do you think this is now for Hillary Clinton when you have these potentially attractive candidates on the Republican side?

MURGUIA: Well, I think it's great for Latino voters to have as many attractive candidates as possible and I think --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: That's a good point.

MURGUIA: It's great to have robust candidates on the Republican Party side and Democratic Party side. I think that there will be a lot of interest in Secretary Clinton and in her campaign. She has a long history of working with the Latino community, dating back to the early days of her working as a volunteer for McGovern in Texas and she recounts those days of working with Latinos in Texas in the early days of that campaign, so I think all of these candidates, we're at a moment where diverse electorate and the Latino voting block is going to be key. All these candidates will have to show they can not only appeal to Latino voters but that substantively they will offer positions on issues that are going to advance not just Latinos, but all of America. That's what we're going to be looking for. Obviously, some key issues are the economy and jobs, health. We know immigration is a big issue for Hispanics.

BOLDUAN: That's going to be a huge issue.

MURGUIA: That's going to be a huge issue. I think on that issue, we have seen Governor Bush stand firm in his position in supporting comprehensive immigration reform. The vast majority the polls show that at least 80 percent of Latino voters support comprehensive immigration reform. I think Senator Rubio is going to have to explain his position on immigration. There have been some questions since the time he took the position to support the Senate- passed bill and where we are today.

BOLDUAN: And Ted Cruz will have a different position on all of that.

MURGUIA: A lot of --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: Especially on the issue of immigration.

MURGUIA: A lot of people want to hear from the candidates.

BOLDUAN: All right, Janet, thank you so much.

Ana --

(CROSSTALK)

NAVARRO: Wait. With either --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: Go ahead.

NAVARRO: With either Jeb or Marco on the ticket, I can tell you that it's going to be a completely different animal for Democrats, for Hillary Clinton, presumably, than what it has been with Mitt Romney and even with John McCain because you have folks that are not only bilingual, they are bi-culture, they relate to the community, they get the jokes, they can speak it fluently, and I think it's going to make a huge difference. They're going to put the resources and attention and prioritize the Latino vote, that I'm sure.

[11:50:00] Historic moment for the Republican nomination, that's for sure.

Great to see you both. Thank you so much.

BERMAN: Five minutes to the hour right now.

Marijuana changing the way Colorado does business. And starting Sunday on CNN, kind of a unique look inside two Colorado dispensaries fighting for their piece of a rapidly growing industry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're parasites they have no contribution to this society, they're preying on our community and our kids and it's going to end badly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got exactly $100,000 in cash in the back of the car. I bet there's guys in that prison doing what we're about to do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want the Breckenridge Cannabis Club to be a household name.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is us pioneering a new industry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's going after every resort town in Colorado. His plan is brilliant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a big boy operation now. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are not the Amsterdam of the Rockies.

We're Breckenridge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unbelievable this has happened quickly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's when the town erupted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All hell can break loose.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we have an image to protect.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The powerful elite has definitely put the pressure on.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone is playing everyone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are going to have a target painted on their back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is a real threat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's $2 billion to be had next year. I plan to take more than my fair share.

ANNOUNCER: "High Profits," series premiers Sunday night at 10:00.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: We're also coming up on five years since the biggest oil spill in U.S. History, some 200 million gallons of sticky black crude oil gushed into the Gulf of Mexico after a deadly explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig.

BERMAN: The B.P. oil disaster left hundreds of miles of coastline contaminated thousands of animals dead and the livelihood of so many in question.

Senior investigative correspondent, Drew Griffin, went back to the gulf for an update, part of a new fantastic documentary airing tonight on CNN "Blowout, The Gulf Oil Disaster." Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Louisiana, the marshes and the shores of these small islands were once covered in oil. Today, from our boat, we spot two dozen workers, wearing face masks, shoveling, working on a stretch of beach. We pull up to take a look.

(on camera): How are you doing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you?

GRIFFIN: Doing good. Drew Griffin with CNN. Nice to meet you. This is Felipe Cousteau. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay away from the hazardous material. It is

a cleanup site.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): The hazardous material turned out to be B.P.'s oil, 90-foot long, 30,000 tar mat. We had a small tar ball tested and it matched the oil from the spill.

(on camera): The fact is, five year later, there is still oil, oil in big enough clumps that it needs to be dug up by a crew like this, digging down 30 inches trying to take it and remove it.

GEOFF MORREL, SVP COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERNAL AFFAIRS: The pockets of tar mats that still exist are in areas that are known to us, but which were deemed by the federal government to be better to leave alone there and let them be naturally exposed to -- through erosion and then for us to clean them. As they appear, we are finding them and removing them. But none of them poses a threat to human or aquatic life.

GRIFFIN (on camera): Is this going to go on for years and years?

MORRELL: However long it goes on the company is committed to cleaning up that is which is exposed and Maconda oil.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: They still appear. There's still oil.

Drew Griffin joins us now.

What are the people who live there on the coast tell you about this?

GRIFFIN: They're still nervous. The fish are back, oysters are back, beaches seem to be back, but this unknown, this oil out there. The remnants of millions of gallons according to some researchers, what is that doing on the bottom of the ocean right now? What is it going to do to the future of the fishing industry? They're scared to death down there because they really don't know. B.P. wants to project the image it looks good and so far it does look good but they don't know.

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: Five years later, there's still -- you're still dealing with it, still picking up. Truly amazing. Did it shock you?

GRIFFIN: It did. It shocked me when we came across the cleanup and shocked the cleanup workers when we came across them.

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: A big cleanup, not insignificant.

Drew Griffin, thanks for being with us.

Watch this documentary. It's fantastic.

BOLDUAN: Thank you for joining us AT THIS HOUR.

[11:59:25] BERMAN: "LEGAL VIEW" with Pamela Brown starts right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Pamela Brown, in for Ashleigh Banfield. Welcome to "Legal View" on this Tuesday.

And breaking news out of Tulsa, Oklahoma. That's where a deputy just turned himself into authorities on charges of manslaughter, and soon after, left the jail after posting a $25,000 bond. Take a look. This is Robert Bates arriving at the Tulsa jail a short time ago. He's the officer who says he mistakenly used his gun instead of a taser to shoot a suspect. He said nothing as he left but his attorney gave a brief statement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED ATTORNEY: Mr. Bates was surrendered today and booked --