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S.C. Confederate Flag to Come Down; United Airlines Technical Problems Continue; Confederate Flag Removal Painful Path for Some; How Secure is New York Stock Exchange; Rumors RNC Chair Told Trump to "Tone It Down". Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired July 09, 2015 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:] ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: The sheriff's department said it was investigated and it was unable to determine if anything illegal happened.

That's going to do it for us today. Thanks for being here. I'm Ana Cabrera.

AT THIS HOUR with Berman and Bolduan starts right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It will fly no more. History in South Carolina. The legislature votes to remove the Confederate flag from the capitol grounds. We will speak with someone who was in the room the moment that vote happened.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Tone it down? Absolutely not. Donald Trump flatly denying reports the head of the Republican National Committee asked him to essentially bring it down a notch when talking about immigration. The latest on the war of words.

BERMAN: And do you know this girl? The mystery of Baby Doe. Millions have joined the effort to identify this little girl whose remains were found ashore in Boston.

BOLDUAN: Hello, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan.

BERMAN: And I'm John Berman.

Happening now, it is coming down. A bill to remove the Confederate flag from South Carolina's capitol grounds is now on its way to the governor's desk, and Governor Nikki Haley is expected to sign this bill into law during a ceremony at 4:00 p.m. today. This historic move comes three weeks after nine people were killed in an African- American church in Charleston.

BOLDUAN: The final vote happened late last night following a passionate 13-hour debate.

One of the standout speeches comes from Jenny Horne, herself, a descendent of the president of the Confederacy. Here is a little bit of what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) STATE REP. JENNY HORNE, (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I cannot believe that we do not have the heart in this body to do something meaningful such as take a symbol of hate off these grounds on Friday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Nick Valencia is live for us in Columbia, South Carolina.

So, Nick, what more are we hearing now about the governor's signing ceremony slated for this afternoon after this very long road to this moment?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kate. A very exhaustive debate yesterday. At times, very emotional, contentious, but it's led to today. A monumental day for the state of South Carolina. It has been a long time coming for so many people. 13 hours it took the lawmakers to come to this conclusion. The final vote happening just after 1:00 a.m., and now this flag that you see behind me, that's flown on state grounds since 1961, is coming down.

So many people excited to celebrate the news, among them Representative Jenny Horne, who you saw on that clip. Her emotions very raw. I think that's the mood for so many who wanted and waited for this day, some for their whole lives -- Kate?

BERMAN: Nick, any sense of exactly when the flag will come down and what kind of ceremonial activities will surround the moment when it does?

VALENCIA: Well, Governor Nikki Haley is expected to sign this bill, make it all official at 4:00 p.m. this afternoon, and by the compromise and this joint resolution, the Senate proposal, it has to come down within 24 hours. We've been hearing from early morning to mid-afternoon perhaps. So it has to come down by 4:00 p.m. tomorrow, so we will see what happens, what happens after that ceremony. The flag will be take a few blocks away to a Confederate relic room where it will stay -- John, Kate?

BOLDUAN: Nick, I think we have some video of that relic room. I don't know if we can pull it up. Just so our viewers know where the flag will end up.

You've been there during this debate in the aftermath of that horrific shooting and you're there this morning. Have you talked to folks behind you in the state capitol and their reaction to now that this vote, this historic vote, has finally taken place?

VALENCIA: The legislative process, so many people were concerned it was slow, it could take up to a month. House Representative Jonathan Hill was saying the time line could have taken a month. The more optimistic voices were saying it could happen by Thursday or Friday and that's what ended up happening.

These lawmakers had to hear a lot of amendments, more than 20 amendments. Every representative had their chance to introduce them. Some the House minority speaker here, Todd Rutherford, he was saying it was a filibuster by amendment but in the end they got it done. You saw people coming together from both sides.

And it was a really controversial decision for a lot of these lawmakers, some that will have to go back to their constituents and really face some tough words. There are people here, let's make no mistake about it, they want that Confederate flag to stay up. You can see one of those individuals behind me. He's been one of the loudest voices here in the last couple days. Some people say this is southern heritage. It's pride. It's about their ancestors. Others say that that is a selective reading of history and that this is a symbol of hatred, and it is a long time coming for this flag to finally be removed from state grounds -- Kate, John?

[11:05:] BOLDUAN: Now the state legislature has spoken. We know it's going to happen. It will happen tomorrow, and starting today, with the signing of that bill by the governor. We're going to be speaking -- Nick, thank you so much.

We're going to be speaking with a state lawmaker who has been very outspoken about this. Mia McLeod will be joining us. She was in the room.

BERMAN: This just into CNN. United Airlines technical problems not over yet. The airline is still facing lingering issues with its computer systems after the big outage yesterday.

BOLDUAN: Let's get over to aviation correspondent, Rene Marsh, with more on this.

Rene, everybody kind of assumed they were back up and running but what do the lingering issues mean right now?

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION & GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Things look a lot better for United Airlines today versus yesterday but there's still some cancellations, still some delays. We're talking about right now 13 cancellations. That's not so bad but we are seeing the delays inching up. A few minutes ago it was at around 82, just checked again according to flight tracker, flightaware.com, and now they're at 93. We see an increase in the delays, but better shape than they were yesterday, but CNN did obtain an internal message to its employees, and it describes even after the computer check-in system was back up and running, they were still experiencing some issues with other internal systems, and so this internal memo essentially warning employees that they could be experienced problems on those other internal systems because of some lingering problems, some kinks they still needed to get out. But, you know, it was a rough day yesterday for the airline, and we do know that aside from the check-in system, they were also working on other issues that they were having with other computer programs that their employees use. So it appears that they're not totally out of the woods yet, but, again, a lot better than the situation we saw yesterday, guys.

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: Go ahead.

MARSH: I was just going to say we did reach out to the airline just to get an additional progress report on exactly how soon it will be before all of their computer issues will be resolved and we're awaiting that comment.

BOLDUAN: All right.

Rene Marsh, thank you so very much.

Let's return now if we can, get back to the conversation that we were having at the top of the show about the news about the Confederate flag that is still flying at this very moment, but not for much longer, on the state capitol grounds in South Carolina. It's a new day for South Carolina. Those are the words coming from the state's governor, but the path to this point for that state was a very long and painful one.

BERMAN: A 13-hour debate finishing it off with passionate moments like this one. We played you one a moment ago. Here is another from Jenny Horne that may have turned the tide and forced the final vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HORNE: The immediate issue, as far as I'm concerned, is a member of the Charleston delegation and speaking on behalf of the people in Charleston, this flag offends my friend, Mia McLeod, my friend John King, my friend, Reverend Neil. If we amend this bill, we are telling the people of Charleston we don't care about you. We do not care that someone used this symbol of hate to slay eight innocent people who were worshipping their God. I'm sorry, I have heard enough about heritage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: One of the fellow representatives you heard mentioned in that speech right there is with us right now, Representative Mia McLeod.

Thank you for being with us today.

You, of course, were a key supporter of the move to remove the flag from the capitol grounds. The final vote coming in the wee hours of the morning after a passionate debate. What was the moment like when you heard the words that the moths ha motion had passed?

STATE REP. MIA MCLEOD, (D), SOUTH CAROLINA: It was unlike anything I have ever experienced. Since I have lived in this state and I have lived here all my life. It's just an overwhelming feeling of gratitude, and it was just a moment that it's indescribable.

BOLDUAN: The governor in a statement afterward called this a new day for South Carolina. How would you describe it?

[11:10:00] MCLEOD: Well, I absolutely agree, and, you know, I have said before that I don't agree with our governor on much, but I've stood firmly with her from the beginning on this fight. And we are so proud of what I call Team South Carolina. That's Democrats, Republicans coming together for truth and for change in this state, and it's just overwhelming. BERMAN: So we understand the bill signing today around 4:00, which

means 24 hours after that, within 24 hours, the flag itself will physically come down. What are you hearing about that moment? Will there be any ceremony surrounding that?

MCLEOD: Well, that will be a moment that will be very moving for so many of us. I said last night, and I will say it again today, that flag doesn't -- the Confederate flag doesn't represent all of us. And despite all of the amendments that were put up, we were able to get back to what really matters, and that's the people, all of the people of South Carolina. What Representative Horne did last night was beyond amazing, and it really -- I mean, without it, without her passionate plea for truth and for change, I don't know that we would be in this position today because the amendments would have just prolonged the agony that we were dealing with honestly to try to bring that flag down, but, you know, as remarkable as what jenny did is and as grateful as all of us are for it, it was such a team effort, and, you know, Representative Russell Ott, Representative Rick Quinn, Representative James Smith, Todd Rutherford, all of us have fought in our own ways for years to try and move this state, but what we were able to accomplish last night by coming together is just beyond amazing, and, you know, I'm grateful. I'm glad that my boys can now have a state house and state house grounds that they, too, can be proud of. But I'm also a little bit saddened by the fact that my parents won't be here to see this move and this change towards truth and inclusion and change in South Carolina. It's going to be a very emotional day.

BOLDUAN: Representative, we are just learning that there will be -- the taking down of the flag will occur at 10:00 tomorrow morning. And that is something that a lot of folks are going to be watching. I kind of wonder, and we're wondering, have you -- when this vote happened, have you had a chance today -- I know one lawmaker that's been top of mind for everyone, which is Clementa Pinckney. Have you had a chance to speak to any of the families, including Mr. Pinckney's about this, how they feel about it, and if they are going to watch it come down?

MCLEOD: I have not had a chance to speak to Senator Pinckney's family since the vote. We were here until 2:00 this morning, but I can tell you that I can only imagine how they're feeling this morning, and the families of all of those who were killed at Emanuel AME on June 17th because Senator Pinckney fought for this. It was one of many changes that he fought to see. I hate that he's not here to enjoy it, but as I said last night, out of tragedy comes hope and promise for the future, and we have to hold onto that. So I have to believe that his family and the family of the other victims are overjoyed this morning as well because this -- as the symbol comes down, it is just a symbol, and we do have a long way to go when we talk about meaningful change that also needs to be made with our policies and some of the things that, you know, still need to be addressed in this state, but this is a significant step and a better direction towards a new South Carolina.

[11:15:11] BERMAN: Representative Mia McLeod, thank you very much for being with us. We know, as you say, Team South Carolina is with you in their thoughts, too, with the family of Reverend Pinckney, so thanks so much.

BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, still, AT THIS HOUR, Wall Street was brought to a screeching halt right about this time yesterday by a computer glitch. The Dow has been up most of the morning, but there are still questions of what was behind that glitch and what does it say about how secure, or not, the New York Stock Exchange really is. That's next.

BERMAN: And did the chairman of the Republican Party ask Donald Trump to tone down his act? Our reporting says yes. Trump says no. So is it possible there is still a new war of words surrounding this candidate?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Happening right now, the stock market is up this morning. This follows the major technical glitch that shut down the New York Stock Exchange for nearly four hours yesterday.

BERMAN: Coincidentally, technical issues also grounded United Airlines' planes. We just learned those issues still have not been completely resolved. A glitch also crashed the "Wall Street Journal's" website.

So with us now to talk about this, Shawn Henry, president of Crowd Strike Services, a cyber security firm. He's also a retired executive assistant director of the FBI.

Shawn, thanks so much for being with us.

Yesterday, while this was going on, there were people who were saying United Airlines, the "Wall Street Journal," the stock exchange, there's no way this is a coincident. My thought was, this crashes all the time. Is this a function of really just the fully automated world we're living in, that problems will happen even to big, important places?

[11:20:11] SHAWN HENRY, PRESIDENT, CROWD STRIKE SERVICES: I think you're absolutely right. We live in this interconnected world. There are a lot of moving parts. The infrastructure is fragile. We've become so reliant on the internet and we just expect when we push a button it's going to work. Unfortunately, that's just not the way it is. I think the big thing here though is the fact that adversaries can do this type of attack, and they have certainly the wherewithal and the intent to do it. That's something we have to be concerned about. Had an adversary done this, it would have been a lot worse.

BOLDUAN: A lot of people think the stock exchange is something that should be a little different than our home computer security. Do you think that the stock exchange could be hacked? Do you think it is that vulnerable? You don't think they have the systems in place to try to avoid it?

HENRY: I can tell you, Kate, that these things happen every single day. There are attacks that we don't hear about publicly where organizations, companies, large networks are breached. There's data stolen off of it, intellectual property, corporate strategies. We've seen destructive like with Sony where North Korea didn't just steal data, they destroyed physical infrastructure. These things are happening every day and they can. Companies need to be more proactive in searching and looking for indicators that an adversary is attacking their network.

BERMAN: Change your passwords, everyone.

Shawn Henry, thanks for being with us. We really appreciate it.

HENRY: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: One thing we did see, cyber security stock was up yesterday.

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

BERMAN: Coming up next, for us, Hey, Donald, it's me, Reince, let's talk about this whole "how you are running for president" thing. Did the Republican chair just ask Donald Trump to tone down his act?

BOLDUAN: He used a cell phone with the little -- no.

And also this is coming up for us. It is a terrible mystery in Massachusetts that we're following. Take a look at this picture. It's a composite picture. Do you know this little girl? Her body was found in a garbage bag along the Boston harbor. The district attorney there is pleading for your help. He is joining us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:25:50] BERMAN: This morning, Donald Trump is claiming the head of the Republican National Committee did not tell him to tone down his comments about Mexican immigrants. The surging presidential candidate tweeted this out a short time ago. He said, "Totally false reporting on my call with Reince Priebus. He called me. Ten minutes, said I hit a nerve. Doing well, end."

BOLDUAN: A GOP source had said that Priebus had told Trump to tamp down the rhetoric because they're worried it could hurt the Republican party with Hispanic voters, but Trump is standing by his comments, no surprise to all of you, that he's made about who is crossing the border.

Here is what he told Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP GROUP: Number one, I wouldn't even think about anything until I built a wall impenetrable. There would be nobody coming into this country illegally. That's number one. Number two, I would get the ones that are criminals, drug dealers, and the people that are forced in by Mexico, and you know exactly what I'm talking about because Mexico is smarter and sharper and more cunning and, frankly, have much better negotiators than we have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Let's talk more about this with Lanhee Chen. He was policy director for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign. He's now a Hoover Institution research fellow and director of domestic policy studies at Stanford.

Lanhee, it's great to see you. Thank you so much for joining us.

I want to get your take. Clearly, there is a bit of confusion maybe about what was said on this call between Donald Trump and Reince Priebus, but what do you think? Do you think Reince should be telling Donald Trump to tone it down?

LANHEE CHEN, RESEARCH FELLOW, HOOVER INSTITUTION & DIRECTOR OF DOMESTIC POLICY STUDIES, STANFORD UNIVERSITY: Kate, it's good to be with you. Absolutely. There's no reason why this kind of rhetoric belongs in any election, in any Republican campaign for that matter. I think Donald Trump is raising some issues that need to be debated and discussed but clearly this kind of rhetoric ought to be denounced. I encourage all the candidates to do so. I'm glad to see Marco Rubio, Rick Perry, and Jeb Bush have done so.

BERMAN: What does this do to the Republican Party? The man you work for, Mitt Romney, Governor Romney, you got 27 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2012 and there were a lot of people who think that number has to go up for a Republican presidential candidate to be able to compete in this election. So how do you get that number up with rhetoric out there like that which is coming from Donald Trump?

CHEN: Well, again, Donald Trump doesn't speak for the Republican Party. He shouldn't speak for the Republican Party. I think clearly it's important for Republicans to be speaking to all Americans, that includes Hispanics and African-Americans and Asian-Americans. That's got to be an important part of the outreach, John, but I think to focus on Trump and to see him as somehow the mouthpiece for Republican values and Republican policies is wrong. This is one guy with his own opinion and it's a little wacky and downright offensive in many cases.

BOLDUAN: But he's speaking to somebody because he's up in the polls, and right now the way it stands, he'll make it on the debate stage and that's where a lot of these candidates in this crowded field, they need to take the time there to differentiate themselves. You were in the room. You helped with debate prep for Mitt Romney. What's your advice to candidates in how they take on -- how they debate and take on Donald Trump on the debate stage?

CHEN: Kate, I think it can be a moment of strength. I think it's an opportunity for candidates to stand up and say, look, this is not the kind of rhetoric I stand for, not the kind of policy and stand for, and to differentiate on policy and rhetoric that's not offensive to people. That's what I would advise people in the room. I think it really can be a chance for the Republican Party to stand out on an issue that's been troublesome in the past for the party.

BOLDUAN: It's great to see you. Thank you so much. It's a great voice to have in this conversation.

BERMAN: We think it's a discussion that needs to be had but perhaps not the way that Donald Trump is having it just now.

BOLDUAN: In a backwards way, maybe it's a good thing he's forcing the conversation. I don't know. We'll see.

BERMAN: We'll see.

(LAUGHTER)

BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, the latest deadline for a nuclear agreement with Iran is just hours away. Why the last-minute push is so important for President Obama. Why he is also saying the prospects are less than 50/50 at this point. The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Corker, he's going to be joining us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)