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Penn State Releases Report on Jerry Sandusky Case; Drug Tunnel Discovered; Penn State Press Conference

Aired July 12, 2012 - 15:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: I want to begin the top of the hour continuing our breaking news. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Want to talk about this Detroit-Windsor Tunnel that's been closed for the better part of really the last two hours here. This is a main artery that connects Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit, Michigan. It's this underground tunnel, and according to Windsor police who we have talked to on this show, they say this is all because of a bomb threat that was called in right around 12:30 local time.

And so this tunnel has been evacuated. And this tunnel, there are 27,000 to 29,000 cars and trucks that use this artery each and every day. So this is a tremendous, tremendous deal. And we know that there are bomb teams in and around this tunnel, trying to find out if, in fact, this is, in fact, a bomb.

I want to bring in Lauren Laughlin. She's with the Coast Guard public affairs. She joins me on the phone.

And, Lauren, just bring me up to speed. What do you know now as far as this bomb threat is concerned?

PETTY OFFICER 3RD CLASS LAUREN LAUGHLIN, COAST GUARD: As far as what's happening in the tunnel, I cannot speculate about.

I know that the Detroit (INAUDIBLE) is taking care of that. As far as the Coast Guard's role in it, right now, the Coast Guard has boats on the water that are deferring Marine traffic to and from the areas of the tunnel for safety.

BALDWIN: OK.

So we know Windsor police, they're handling. We also talked to someone who said on the Detroit end, they're sending in bomb-sniffing dogs to try to figure out if, in fact, this is a bomb, the voracity of this threat. So you're telling me, as far as the river goes, because this is under the Detroit River, you're making sure that there are no boats that are in and around this area, if -- in case this threat is real, yes?

LAUGHLIN: Yes, ma'am. The Coast Guard has went ahead and set up a safety zone on the north and south sides of the tunnel, just to make sure everything's safe.

BALDWIN: Lauren Laughlin with the Coast Guard, we appreciate you and we will keep making calls and find out what exactly is happening, the progress as these teams are entering this particular tunnel, the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.

Protecting reputation, above all else, including young victims of sexual abuse, this is what Penn State is accused of doing in this new report from independent investigators, I should say, out today. And what it does is give a detailed account of the university's actions in the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal.

Former FBI Director Louis Freeh, he's the one who released the findings today and they really add up to a horrific pattern.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOUIS FREEH, FORMER FBI DIRECTOR: Most saddening and sobering finding is the total disregard for the safety and welfare of Sandusky's child victims by the most senior leaders at Penn State. The most powerful men at Penn State failed to take any steps for 14 years to protect the children who Sandusky victimized.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: This report here accuses four of Penn State's top men of protecting the university's reputation over the safety of children.

Let me just run through who these four people are, or in this case, were. The late Joe Paterno, Penn State's head football coach of 45 years, fired last November. Number two, former president Graham Spanier also forced out of office in November, but still a tenured faculty member. He is not charged here. Three, former Penn State senior vice president Gary Schultz, the man who oversaw university police, charged with failing to report abuse and perjury.

Four, Penn State athletic director Tim Curley on suspension right now, also charged with failing to report abuse and perjury. Curley and Schultz have pleaded not guilty. And then you have Jerry Sandusky, the man whose sick urges led to all of this. He is awaiting sentencing.

He could get more than 400 years for his conviction on all 45 counts. But today's report, it's actually less about him and more about what his bosses did or really failed to do. These findings here are really just another damning blow to the legacy of this man, of Joe Paterno, who knew about Sandusky long before he admitted it.

That's according to this report. And investigators, they sifted through more than 3.5 million, let me say that again, sifting through more than 3.5 million e-mails, other documents. They say really all of this adds up to a portrait of willful ignorance among the top brass at Penn State.

Investigators say they found a striking lack of empathy for child abuse victims, a president who discouraged discussion and dissent, a lack of awareness of child abuse issues, and a culture of reverence for the football program at every level of the campus.

I want to bring in criminal defense attorney Ted Simon to talk about this here.

And, Ted, as we mentioned, this report, it's scathing against Penn State. It is not a criminal investigation. What do you see here as far as ultimate impact from these findings?

TED SIMON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: True, it is a tour de force, and a remarkable condemnation.

However, I think that one has to look carefully at that report and perhaps drill down in greater degree. For one, they acknowledge they did not interview McQueary, who is a key figure in this case. And even McQueary's own self-admitted admissions, he never specifically told Joe Paterno the details of his claim of illegal sexual contact.

So I think there may be an overstatement with respect to what Paterno knew or did not know. And I think one has to be very careful about that. Keep in mind, also, McQueary claims he made specific allegations, criminal in nature, to Curley and Schultz. But Curley and Schultz out -- completely deny that. So there's a contest with regard to those facts, and the Louis Freeh report did not go about to interview McQueary. That's very, very important.

I also think we have to be mindful of those people that are charged with criminal violations. There's a great to-do going on here in Philadelphia after the report, and a great media attention. And I think the venerated principles of criminal law, that is burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt and presumption of innocence, can easily be lost when we're only looking at this report, this fight, its alleged comprehensive nature.

BALDWIN: OK.

SIMON: Also, I think, much of what Freeh had to say, he spoke about reasonable inferences of what Joe Paterno and others knew or did in an alleged cover-up.

But there's nothing in this entire report that speaks in any kind of specific detail that Joe Paterno knew or did anything that would otherwise thwart the investigation or participated in any alleged wrongdoing.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Let me jump in. Let me jump in, Ted, because I do want to point out, you know, you talk about lack of specificity, and I just want to point out one of the e-mails here included in this report. This is from vice president Gary Schultz to the athletic director, Tim Curley, and vice president Graham Spanier.

This is February 28, 2001. Schultz writes -- quote -- "Tim and Graham, this is a more humane and up-front way to handle this." He's talking about a plan to deal with allegations against Sandusky privately and get him professional help.

This is definitely not a -- not what a boss should do in this kind of situation, is it? SIMON: Well, I think -- I have read that e-mail, and including the responses.

And I think what's really important, they -- you have Curley, who's saying, basically, I want to talk to Sandusky first and get what he has to say. And based on what he says, then I will take whatever course of action.

Curley and Schultz say that McQueary didn't actually make the specific allegations that McQueary says. Sandusky refused it. So what Curley ultimately did was he thereafter told Second Mile. It's true that it was not reported to authorities.

But under Pennsylvania law, whether or not they had to do that or not, I think, is somewhat in question, because the Pennsylvania law is more circumscribed then the Clery Act, which probably required them to do that.

BALDWIN: OK. Let me just remind our viewers, we are awaiting this press conference, because we know that Penn State officials are going to react to this report.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Hang on. They're going to react to this report and this press conference in just about half-an-hour. They're the ones who commissioned the this investigation, this independent investigation.

How do you expect them to respond to that, Ted?

SIMON: I think that's pretty hard to say, because there clearly was a wholesale condemnation, not only of the four purported officials, but they also castigated the board of trustees and others, while they did not know the details of these allegations, they didn't have enough oversight in place. So I expect they will to say they will take corrective actions and continue to look into the matter.

BALDWIN: Will that be good enough? Will that be good enough?

(CROSSTALK)

SIMON: Well, it's a question of how fairly all of this reviewed and investigated.

If there is a rush to judgment and not a careful distillation of what each person knew and what they did, I think it could be very dangerous. But I think the university itself will take what I believe they will call corrective action. They will institute more stringent policies.

They will be more careful in monitoring events, and they will provide much more greater educational opportunity. But then again, let's not forget, with respect to Schultz and Curley, they're charged with criminal offenses.

BALDWIN: Right. Right. SIMON: They have not had their day in court.

And we can't -- no one has ever even raised the question or even mentioned in the entire press conference today that, one, these venerated principles, these critical principles of criminal law were not discussed that there's burden of proof, presumption of innocence, and proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

And those must be equally considered, and no one case, despite its enormous publicity, should overshadow those critical and important fundamental rights that apply to everyone.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Absolutely. We're not convicting them. We're just pointing out the fact that they are indeed charged, and we will wait for that ultimate decision from a judge.

Ted Simon, thank you very much.

And again, that press conference happening just about a half-hour from now where we're expecting to hear from Penn State board of directors as well as the governor, Tom Corbett, both holding news conferences this hour. We will watch for that.

A lot more happening here as well. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN (voice-over): A suicidal soldier calls up the Pentagon's crisis hot line and is put on hold for 45 minutes. In the end, he takes his own life and we're going to talk about why the military can't keep up with this epidemic. I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

(voice-over): Just a short time ago, the feds announcing the discovery of a drug tunnel the length of more than two football fields. Find out what they found inside.

ROBERT BLAKE, ACTOR: You're talking about my life. I didn't write a book about that night and I didn't write a book about Bonnie.

BALDWIN: And an explosive interview with Robert Blake. Piers Morgan tells me what happened off camera.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: On average, every day, a U.S. soldier commits suicide. That is about as many as are dying now on the battlefield. And every 80 minutes, a military veteran takes his or her own life.

In the military, they haven't a clue as far as how to fix the problem. This is the cover story on "TIME" magazine right now. And some of you may think the numbers we just told you are pretty dramatic, but don't tell that to Leslie McCaddon. She has shared her story with "TIME." She says she knew and she called it the enemy, the enemy had gotten hold of her husband, Dr. Michael McCaddon, when he told her -- quote -- "This is the hardest e-mail I have ever written. Please always tell my children how much I love them and most importantly, never, ever let them find out how I died. I love you, Mike."

Leslie immediately grabbed the phone, did everything she could to help get her husband, to find her husband. It was too late. Michael's co- workers found him hanging in a hospital room.

And this is just one of several stories that my next guest has heard, covering the story. Mark Thompson is a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, Washington deputy bureau chief at "TIME" magazine.

So, Mark, it's a pleasure to have you on here. I read this 10-page piece and you really do, you weave this story of the lives of these two men, these two Army captains, their families who they took their lives in the very same day, very different circumstances.

If you can, I just want to begin with tell me a little bit more about both of them.

MARK THOMPSON, DEPUTY BUREAU CHIEF AND PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT, "TIME": Well, I think it's important, Brooke, to realize that for years now, the Army has issued a monthly toll of suicides for the past month. And that's all we get.

When a soldier dies in war, we quickly learn his or her hometown, his rank, where they're from, how old they were. But we know nothing about the soldiers who kill themselves. And we elected to take after this story by trying to look at suicide from the other side. And with help from the tragedy assistance program for survivors, TAPS, and their suicide postvention counselor, Kim Ruocco, who is also a widow by dint of a military suicide.

She put us in touch with these two amazing women, both of whom lost their husbands, ironically, on the same day, March 21 of this year. One had been married to the Army doctor. He had been -- number one, he's a doctor.

Taxpayers paid for him to go to the Pentagon's medical school. And he'd been battling with depression for perhaps seven years. And he had a family history of suicide. So he was at some risk. And she sought help from the Army. She went to her husband's bosses in Hawaii and said, can you force him to get some mental health treatment?

And they basically said, well, no, we will encourage him to get the mental health treatment, but, really, Leslie, and this may be hard to hear, this sounds more like a problem at home than a problem at work.

BALDWIN: Well, let me jump in, let me jump in, because I think part of your article, this is where this wife, Leslie, goes and talks to the commander at the hospital, thinking, look, if this commander can order my husband to do X, Y, and Z, certainly that this commander can order my husband to seek help. And this quote here, let's see, this quote, she says, this commander tells her, basically -- here we are. "Honey, don't worry," the commander said. "My first marriage was a wreck too."

Seems pretty dismissive to me.

THOMPSON: That's the way Leslie recalled it. She also sought an order for her husband from an Army psychiatrist her husband was seeking, and basically he too turned her down.

Now, our second officer was different. He was a decade younger.

BALDWIN: West Point Grad.

(CROSSTALK)

THOMPSON: Pardon me?

BALDWIN: A West Point grad, right?

THOMPSON: Right, a West Point grad, class of 2007, where Vice President Dick Cheney told the graduates, whatever you need, you will get.

Yet this young pilot sought help from the Army six different times in the final three days of his life. Each time he was either shunted aside, they didn't have time to see him, the wait would be too long, and, consequently, he ended up, too, taking his life on March 21 at Fort Hood, Texas.

BALDWIN: If I may just jump in, you tell these two stories and you raise in your article a number of questions, questions like, is the military asking the right questions? Is it the warrior culture? Is it the stigma? Are there enough resources? What is the answer? Why are the numbers as they are?

THOMPSON: Well, you sound like some generals I know, Brooke. And you also sound like some editors.

People think there is an answer here. The military is spending $2 billion a year in part dealing with mental health issues that can lead to suicide. And they don't really have a clue as to what works. Plainly, every case is different.

And for anybody out there who's thinking about this, please call 1- 800-273-8255 and talk to somebody. The situation is such that throwing more money at the problem won't solve it, because we don't know what works, which means, we can't train a spotlight on the problem. We have got to train a floodlight on the problem, and do lots of different things. And that's what the military is trying to do.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Let me say this, that CNN, you know, our team, we sent a crew to the Veterans Crisis Line center a couple of months back, we spoke with suicide responders in New York. Take a look at what we found.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JANET KEMP, VETERANS CRISIS LINE: We have done close to 20,000 rescues since the crisis line has started.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's OK to cry. Just let it out, OK? I'm not going anywhere. I'm going to stay here on the phone with you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not a weakness to reach out for help and get help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When they ask them to walk a mile with you, you say, no, I will walk two.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I give tremendous credit to the these people who are helping save lives. Several lives were saved that night. Our camera crew was there.

Yet, Mark, you quote an Army vice chief of staff and suicide fighter retired here, and I just want to quote him. "It was a common thing to hear about someone who committed suicide who went to see a behavioral therapist and was dead within 24, 48, or 72 hours, and to hear he had a diagnosis that said this individual is in no danger to himself or anyone else, that's when I realized that something was the matter. "

Something is the matter.

THOMPSON: Well, right.

That's General Peter Chiarelli, who was perhaps the Army's chief suicide fighter for the last four years, until he retired in January. I mean, suicide is complicated.

And what works for person one will not work for person two. I think what is so frustrating for so many families, like the two we detail in our magazine this week, Nancy Gibbs and I, is that you had people seeking help, people reaching out for help, especially in the case of Captain Ian Morrison. He was so far beyond being concerned about stigma that he repeatedly sought help and the help wasn't there for him.

BALDWIN: And was on hold for 45 minutes. And the last text to his wife was still on hold. It's the cover story of this month's "TIME" magazine. Mark Thompson, I appreciate it. Thank you for sharing it.

THOMPSON: You're welcome.

BALDWIN: So listen to this. One day after the NAACP gave Mitt Romney a not-so-warm welcome, a new report suggests the Republican stretching the truth about when he left Bain Capital, and now Mitt Romney is responding.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: Try to follow this if you would here.

So today's "Boston Globe" is reporting that Mitt Romney's departure from the private equity firm Bain Capital may have happened three years after Romney says it did. This "Globe" investigation uncovered records suggesting that Romney was the sole stockholder, chairman of the board, chief executive officer, and president of Bain until 2002.

The campaign has said Romney was done in 1999. And this is important. Why?

Well, this is a question for Jim Acosta. He spends a lot of time with the Romney campaign.

Jim, why is it so important whether Romney left Bain in '99, as the campaign says, or in 2002?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brooke, all of this got started when the Obama campaign put out this ad attacking Mitt Romney for being involved at Bain when the company was advising other companies on outsourcing jobs.

And the Romney campaign at that time, and they were armed with several fact-check reports from FactCheck.org and from "The Washington Post" that said, hey, wait a minute, Mitt Romney was gone from Bain Capital in 1999, before that firm was starting to advise companies on outsourcing.

And so there were several fact-checkers, Brooke, that said that that claim was not accurate. Now, enter this "Boston Globe" investigation, and truth be told, Talking Points Memo had some of these SEC documents a few days ago. We have also obtained those documents and we have looked at them, and it shows, in 2001, there's an SEC document that shows Mitt Romney as the president and CEO of Bain Capital.

That would be two years after he has said publicly and his campaign has said publicly he was leaving the company to go run the Olympics. So the question is, who's right, who's wrong here? What does this all mean?

The Romney campaign put out some statements earlier this morning, Brooke, saying that this was just sort of a technicality, that, yes, his name was listed on these government documents as being the president and CEO, but, really, he had transferred all control of the company, the day-to-day operations of the company to other partners at Bain Capital.

And Bain Capital has also, I should tell you, Brooke, put out a statement saying that that is true, that Mitt Romney left the firm in 1999 to go run the Olympics and that the other folks at Bain Capital were running the firm, not Mitt Romney.

BALDWIN: so if the Romney campaign is using the word technicality, I keep reading suggestions, Jim, that if "The Boston Globe" reporting is accurate, then Romney could have a big problem, because I keep seeing the word felony pop up. I mean, come on. ACOSTA: Right.

The Obama campaign held a conference call earlier this morning, and Stephanie Cutter, who is one of the top advisers to the president's reelection team was on that call, and she said, well, if these documents are accurate, then basically Mitt Romney is either guilty of not telling the truth in government documents to the SEC or he wasn't really doing much when he was over at Bain Capital and he wasn't being honest and up-front with the American people. Either way, it's a problem.

Now, I did talk to a former SEC commissioner earlier this afternoon, Brooke, who said this does raise questions, that this isn't just a technicality. This isn't just a technical thing that's on a government document, that it does matter. If you put your name down as a president and CEO of a company, you're telling investors out there that this is the person who is the president and CEO of the company.

Obviously, investors who are doing business with Bain Capital, other companies that are doing business with Bain Capital can hold and look at these SEC documents and say, OK, it says right here Mitt Romney is in charge of Bain Capital. Boy, that makes me feel better, because I can deal with Mitt Romney, I like Mitt Romney.

But if the company is saying, well, Mitt Romney's name was on these documents, but other people were in charge of Bain Capital, this SEC commissioner was telling me earlier this afternoon that's a problem. That's not really being up-front with other investors, other companies doing business with Bain Capital.

Now, the Romney campaign is pointing out, and accurately so, Brooke, that FactCheck.org and other fact-checkers over at "The Washington Post," et cetera, have come out since these disclosures came out in "The Globe" this morning and said, this doesn't change anything. The record so far shows that Mitt Romney was basically a passive manager of the company at that time. Yes, his name was on these government documents, but this doesn't prove that he was involved in outsourcing over at Bain.

I hope that makes sense. It's a lot to put your arms around.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: It's a lot to put your arms around. We're just going to have to wait and see, I guess, what the SEC comes up with. It's one side kind of vs. the other and we will wait for the facts.

Jim Acosta, we appreciate it.

ACOSTA: It is.

BALDWIN: Yikes. Thank you.

You have heard some of the damning remarks from the Penn State investigation, this independent investigation that's come out today headed by former FBI Director Louis Freeh. The students are talking, and also in just a matter of minutes, we will be getting that press conference. We will bring it to you live here. We will be hearing from board members at Penn State and also another press conference that -- the governor of Pennsylvania.

Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We now know, happening right this moment, you have Penn State's board of directors who are now responding to this damning report from independent investigators about the way the university handled the Jerry Sandusky scandal. Let's listen in.

KENNETH FRAZIER, CHAIRMAN, SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS TASK FORCE: Judge Freeh's report is both sad and sobering.

He made three clear points. First and foremost, we, the Penn State board of trustees, failed in our obligation to provide proper oversight of the university's operations. To be absolutely clear again, we are accountable for what's happened here.

Our administrative leadership also failed. Judge Freeh's report concludes that at the moment of truth, people who were in a position to protect children and to confront a predator, including people at the highest levels of responsibility in the university, specifically, Graham Spanier, Joe Paterno, Tim Curley, and Gary Schultz, did not put the welfare of children first. Also, and importantly, on a personal level, you should know that our hearts remain heavy and we are deeply ashamed.

Over the last 14 years, it appears, from the report, that there have been three, distinct phases of the board's involvement. As the report states, the board was completely unaware of what was happening during the first phase, from 1998 to March 2011.

We now know that there was inadequate reporting, in fact, but there was also inadequate reporting lines and, also, inadequate oversight by the board. We were put on notice of the attorney general's Sandusky investigation in March 2011.

However, we allowed the former administration to characterize to us the issues and we failed to ask the right questions, the tough questions, or to take definitive action. Put simply, we did not force the issue.

However, when the information about Sandusky became more widely public in November 2011, we did take decisive actions involving Judge Freeh and his group as an independent, third party to launch a full-scale investigation into the university and the individuals who may have been involved at every level from the top to the bottom.

We also took action with respect to the individuals who were most centrally involved.

Finally, we also began identifying gaps in governance and implementing changes to strengthen our policies and procedures for the safety of children and our entire university community.

This marks a new era for Penn State and for our board of trustees. With a mixture of humility and steadfastness, we pledge to work closely and cooperatively with the administration in diligently facilitating open communication across all departments and levels of the university. That will be for the benefit of the children that are on our campus and it will also be for the benefit of every part of the university.

And with that, I'll turn the microphone over to our chairman of the board, Karen Peetz.

KAREN PEETZ, CHAIRWOMAN, PENN STATE BOARD OF TRUSTEES: Thank you, Ken.

The board of trustees, as a group that has paramount accountability for overseeing and ensuring the proper functioning and governance of the university accepts full responsibility for the failures that occurred.

The board, in cooperation with the administration, will take every action to ensure that an event like this never happens again in our university community.

I'd like to reiterate that we're grateful to Judge Freeh for his report and 119 recommendations and we will be closely studying this document as we continue to push forward in identifying and implementing necessary changes across the entire university.

Since I stepped into the role of chair in January of 2012, with the help of my board colleagues, we've made significant improvements in our structure and university oversight. However, we are just beginning.

Most recently, we've already started taking a more active and structured oversight role by implementing specific oversight committees, such as risk, audit, legal, compliance, governance, academic excellence, and human resources.

Tomorrow, we'll voting on several new governance initiatives and, for the sake of our students' best interests, we must remain intimately aware of and closely engaged with the university's administration.

To this end, we've already begun interacting more closely with members of the president's council, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and within our committee meetings.

We will also continue to seek future opportunities to facilitate these relationships. In addition, we're going to set up some very high goals for ourselves. We must become a best-in-class standard in board governance, and we will keep Judge Freeh's recommendations as our north star throughout this process.

And above all, we must restore trust in our community. We don't expect it to happen overnight, we will earn it back as we move forward and develop a culture of transparency and accountability. And now I would like to turn the podium over to Rod Erickson, our president.

RODNEY ERICKSON, PRESIDENT, PENN STATE UNIVERSITY: Thank you, Karen.

I, too, was horrified when I learned of the Sandusky allegations last year and, as I've watched the process unfold, it has become clear to me that I need to reconsider our community's leadership culture.

Since I assumed the office of president last November, I have committed myself and my administration to addressing this important issue. As Karen noted, my administration has begun to work with the board of trustees more collaboratively and productively than my administration in our recent history.

We're looking forward to continuing to develop these relationships to facilitate healthy and productive communications and shared accountability between the two.

In addition, I have assembled an administrative leadership team charged with developing and implementing an action plan that translates Judge Freeh's ideas into an action plan. The team is comprised of Tom Poole, vice president for administration; David Gray, senior vice president for finance and business; and Steven Dunham, pending approval of the board tomorrow, as our new vice president and general counsel.

The plan will take a few weeks to appropriately research, develop, and approve, but we will provide details as they become available. While in no way lessening our focus on our own failings, we also are committed to helping to build greater awareness of the societal issue of child abuse.

We are partnering with the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape and have created the Center for the Protection of Children at the Hershey Medical Center. Penn State University intends to be a constructive leader in preventing, reporting, and responding to such abuse. This is a problem that plagues our nation, and we have a special duty to increase awareness, prevention, and treatment of child sexual abuse.

With today's report, we can continue the process of addressing the most painful chapter in the university's history. My door is open and I'm going to be very visible in our community in the coming months.

We must work together as we begin picking up the pieces and rebuilding our community to ensure it is safer, stronger, and more student- focused than ever.

As the Freeh report notes, Penn State, quote, "is an outstanding institution, nationally renowned for its excellence in academics and research," unquote. We are rightly proud of the many significant accomplishments of our faculty, staff, students, and alumni.

We also remain proud of the accomplishments of Penn State's student athletes over many years and we reaffirm the fundamental premise that academic excellence and athletic achievement are wholly consistent and complementary goals.

Penn State is a leading constitution of public higher education in the world. That will remain unchanged. With the help of our students, our faculty and staff, and our alumni, Penn state's best days are in front of us. Penn State will emerge from this as an even stronger and better institution.

And now I'll turn the podium back to Karen to direct questions.

BALDWIN: Well, you know the story. We've been covering it for months. Jerry Sandusky now sitting behind bars, guilty on those 45 counts, facing sentencing of up to 400 years.

And now we hear from the top brass, the board, the president of Penn State University. You just heard him say that this has been the most painful chapter in Penn State history.

Some phrases I noted -- they accept full responsibility for the failures of the university. They will take action. Certainly, we presume we'd be hearing those words. They will take action to ensure this never happens again, never again at Penn State.

New pictures just coming in to us today of a drug tunnel across the border. Find out what the feds found inside.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A major drug running tunnel from Mexico into Arizona busted. Rafael Romo joins me live. And, Rafael, talk to me about how sophisticated this tunnel was.

RAFAEL ROMO, SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR: Very sophisticated, Brooke. It was 240 yards long and listen to this. It was 55 feet deep. It was -- it had a lighting and ventilation system, and it was set, authorities say, it was ready to transport to cross illegally all kinds of substances through the board.

The finding was made in the small community of San Luis in Arizona, only a few days ago. Authorities releasing the information only this afternoon, Brooke.

BALDWIN: And there was another tunnel found just last night, right?

ROMO: That's right. That happened in Tijuana, across the border, on the Mexican side. This was already 200 meters, about 200 yards long.

And authorities say it was only a matter of time before they were able, the criminals, to go across the border, perhaps in the San Ysidro, San Diego area, to also use the tunnel for illegal purposes, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Rafael Romo, thank you.

A rapper brags about his prized fighters, grand champion dogs and roosters, and it's on video. You're going to see it, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: I don't have to tell you this. Be careful what you post online. Case in point, a Detroit rapper showing off his home in a video. This video has now gone viral. Take a listen here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anybody want to fight some dogs? I hope we don't get indicted for that. We've got them there in that corner. Pit bulls.

We've got some roosters. We fight them, too.

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BALDWIN: Did he really say what I think he said? "I hope we don't get indicted?" Yeah, he boasts right there on camera that these dogs and that rooster are prize fighters, illegal fighting.

The video now being used as evidence against him by Detroit police. Nick Valencia, you're the one -- you actually found this video online, made some phone calls, and then it was reported to police.

NICK VALENCIA: Well, it was a total team effort. You know, news gathering is a team effort. We alerted the (INAUDIBLE). They called the police, but, yes, we found the video on Reddit on the front page of the Internet.

As news gatherers, we search all sorts of different, alternative websites and it was on there as well as hip hop blog, WorldStarHipHop and Lively. We alerted the authorities and they didn't know about it until we had spotted it.

BALDWIN: So what's happened since?

VALENCIA: Well, there's been a raid. The FBI followed up and I believe we have aerials of that raid that happened yesterday at his home there. You see them raiding the compound.

We still don't know how many dogs exactly were confiscated, but that video led to this, what you're watching there now. He still hasn't been charged, though, Brooke. We spoke to the director of the Humane Society of the United States. He said that's sort of common procedure.

They had probable cause because of that video to raid his compound, but now they're still analyzing the evidence and we don't know what kind of charges, if at all, he will face.

BALDWIN: Statement from police, quote, "We are very confident that we've shut down an operation that is the quality of life." And this rapper tweeted, "If you find a video of me fighting dogs, please let me know."

Really? After everything that happened with Michael Vick? VALENCIA: He even mentions it. He says, I hope I doesn't get indicted like Michael Vick. And this dog-fighting is a lot more common than you would think.

In fact, the U.S. Congress just passed an amended bill, a farm bill, that would expand who is able to be prosecuted in these dog-fighting cases. Right now, only those that fight dogs or have dogs in their possession to fight are susceptible to be prosecuted. The U.S. Congress wants to expand that. There's expected to be a vote on the House floor to expand that to those who attend these dog-fighting events as well.

BALDWIN: Let us know if and when he gets charged. Nick Valencia, appreciate it.

Just getting word in my ear that there's now new video and new evidence here in the George Zimmerman-Trayvon Martin case, including pictures of the hoodie, Trayvon Martin's hoodie that he wore the night that he was shot and killed.

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BALDWIN: We are now getting the first, albeit fuzzy look at the hoodie that Trayvon Martin was wearing the night he was shot by a neighborhood watch volunteer, George Zimmerman.

Grainy evidence, photos of the size large, cotton-polyester hoodie, now part of new evidence records released today by Florida special prosecutor Angela Corey. The front here and the back of the hoodie can be seen in the pictures.

On one of these, top, you see grainy photos of the sweatshirt Martin was wearing under the hoodie here and arrows point to the bullet holes in both of those garments.

A disabled adult in a specialized group home is slapped with a belt, dragged by her hair. We have questions. Let's get some answers next.

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BALDWIN: Got a warning before you view this segment. What you are going to see will disturb you. It is so bad one mental health official calls it the most heinous act he has seen in 40 years working with the disabled and it's now launched this criminal investigation.

So, here you go. The video shows this group home worker, you see this? Kicking, kicking this woman on the floor in the gut. Hits her with a belt. There she goes, being dragged by her hair followed by more swats with the belt.

Unbelievable. The worker suspended without pay. An anonymous person sent the video. By the way, they've labeled it "the perfect employee" to our Hartford TV affiliate, WFSB, also to the private, non-profit that runs the group home and to the state agency that oversees these homes. So, joining me now on the phone the commissioner of Connecticut's Department of Developmental Services, Terrence Macy. Also with me senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen. So, welcome to both of you.

Mr. Macy, I just want to begin with you. I'm appalled looking at it. I'm sure you are, as well.

TERRENCE MACY, COMMISSIONER, CONNECTICUT DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES: Yes, I think you quoted me absolutely correctly. This is the most heinous crime I've ever witnessed.

BALDWIN: Do you know if the victim's OK? What happened to this victim?

MACY: I'm sorry?

BALDWIN: Do you know if the victim's OK?

MACY: Yes. Yes, one of the first thing we did was get our state police trooper (INAUDIBLE) and we had a state trooper assigned to us and we sent him with a copy of the video to the East Hartford police to secure the evidence and to get them investigating. They've done a superb job.

The next thing we did was go into the home immediately and do a check on everybody. We've put state staff into the home on a regular rotating basis and will be monitoring the home until we're satisfied that everything is operating properly.

BALDWIN: OK. Elizabeth, jump in.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Mr. Macy, there are other residents in this home and this abuse went on for a while before they found out about it. Do you know if the other residents were possibly abused?

MACY: There may have been. There was a previous case that was dealt with. And the agency installed -- went so far as to install cameras, which makes us think this is part of a larger set of circumstances that happened so many months ago where there were several staff that were terminated.

BALDWIN: OK. I just want to make sure I get this statement in. This is from the group home run by Options Unlimited. Quote, "We are deeply saddened and appalled by this incident. As soon as we became aware of it, we took prompt action and placed the employee on unpaid, administrative leave.

With 60 seconds to go, Mr. Macy, I just want to say thank you because it's so important.

I just wanted to ask you, so many of us, my grandmother, my great- grandmother, they're in these homes, elderly homes, homes for folk who is are disabled. But what can we do, watching this, thinking, could this be happening to our loved one? COHEN: Right, if you are trying to choose a home, let's say, the first thing you want to do is go to the website for your state department of health or whoever oversees them and look. Many of them have state records and you can see.

Mr. Macy mentioned past problems. See if there have been past problems.

Also, talk to other families. Say, what's this place like? Have you ever had any problems? And, also, spend a lot of time at the facility, both before they go there and during. Is it clean? Do the workers seem nice? Are they friendly? I mean, really spend time and check it out.

BALDWIN: We'll see if that worker ends up being fired, just on unpaid administrative leave. And I want to know, also, about the person who shot the video, but Elizabeth Cohen ...

COHEN: Right. What were they doing and why didn't they stop it?

BALDWIN: Why didn't they stop? Elizabeth, thank you.

Thank you for watching. Now to Wolf Blitzer. "THE SITUATION ROOM" begins now.