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Murdoch Divorce Settlement Could be Expensive; Jeb Bush Raises Controversy over Talk on Immigration Reform; Jackson Trial Jurors Hear about Ghosts, Straightjackets; Chelsea Clinton's Push to Help Girls.

Aired June 14, 2013 - 11:30   ET

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

DANNY CEVALLOS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: However, if he does have a prenup, New York is very favorable to prenup agreements and has upheld many of these agreements, even when the couple doesn't really spend a lot of time in New York, so long as they contractually agree that New York would be the forum for that prenuptial agreement.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: When it says nonbinding, what does that mean? Why would you bother ever signing a prenup if it's nonbinding?

BRIAN KABATECK, L.A.-BASED ATTORNEY: Well, action signing a prenup is certainly better than signing nothing at all. At least you have something. Remember, we're talking about three aspects in a family law case, a divorce case. And this is a family law of epic proportion. You have the property, but then you have spousal support and child support. You can't waive child support. You're not going to be able to do much with spousal support, specifically with a 14- year-marriage, so he's trying to control his property. But a binding agreement, whether it's binding or not, is going to give some guidance to the court with respect to dividing up a huge, huge estate.

BANFIELD: Does it ever make a difference, Danny, who files? In this case it's Rupert Murdoch who files. Does that shape into the factor?

CEVALLOS: As long as at least one of the party was living in the jurisdiction, and every jurisdiction is different, but generally in New York City, as long as the marriage was there and there's at least one resident. However, again, when it comes to prenuptial agreement, those are different than the laws of equitable jurisdiction. Is the parties entered willingly. Again, in New York, even if it's grossly unfair to one party, the courts have upheld they'll uphold that prenuptial agreement so long as there was no fraud or duress.

BANFIELD: So let's just assume -- again, we don't know absolutely. There's been some reporting there's been a prenup. Some reporting that it's unclear.

But, Brian, if there isn't a prenup, how about all that accrued wealth. I think it's pretty safe to say that Rupert Murdoch has probably earned tens of millions with his media empire. How do you judge the discretion when it comes to splitting the assets?

KABATECK: Well, the first thing you're going to want to look at with respect to any marital assets is what existed before the marriage and was there commingling? Was there an intent by Murdoch to put all of those assets into the estate and have the whole estate at issue? So there is an argument that a good lawyer -- and I'm absolutely certain she's going to have a good lawyer representing her -- is going to say that whole estate is up for grabs if there's no prenup. And you would be surprised at the guys who get marriage, who should get a prenup but don't get a prenup.

BANFIELD: Yeah, but guys like Rupert Murdoch? Seriously?

(LAUGHTER)

KABATECK: I've seen very wealthy guys who believe they are marrying for love and forever.

BANFIELD: Love does make you a bit crazy, as I've heard, anyway.

KABATECK: I've heard that, too.

BANFIELD: Danny Cevallos, Brian Kabateck --

(LAUGHTER)

-- thank you both. I appreciate your time.

Stick around. We've got a lot more daytime justice.

Here's one that you may not have heard yet because it's just kind of breaking. Former governor of Florida raises some eyebrows as he makes a pitch for immigration reform. Jeb Bush saying that immigrants are good for the U.S. economy, because, quote, "they are more fertile." I am not kidding. You're going to hear it for yourself. We'll parse what he really meant or what people think he meant or what people don't care what he meant or not, because the words were used, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Jeb Bush says the United States should pass immigration reform, because immigrants are, quote, "an engine of economic prosperity." The former Republican governor of Florida was appearing in a conference on immigration being held by the Faith and Freedom Coalition, but it's how we worded it that seems to be making some waves.

I want you to listen to the reasons that Mr. Bush believes immigrants are beneficial to the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEB BUSH, (R), FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: Immigrants created far more businesses than native-born Americans over the last 120 years. Immigrants are more fertile, and they love families and they are more -- they have more intact families, and they bring a younger population.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BANFIELD: So, as you can imagine, there is a lot of reaction. Twitter, a lot of negative, but also mixed reaction. Former governor said younger immigrant work forces would give the U.S. an edge over other countries that have more restrictive immigration policies. Stay tuned for more on that story.

Members of one Iowa family owe their lives literally to some very tenacious firefighters. Take a peak at some incredible video. Look at that child in the window in those torrential waters. An amazing rescue. This was along Internet 35, Worth County. Two women and a girl finding themselves trapped, their SUV into a flooded ditch. Watch that. Oh, sweet heart. It took about 45 minutes for the firefighters to get all of them to safety through the window and into the waiting arms of their rescuers. Thank god for them. Just imagine being the firefighters to put your lives at risk like that. Thank you.

We also want to update you on a chemical explosion, a plant in Louisiana. We brought this to you yesterday. It was breaking during our hour. A 29-year-old person was killed in that explosion. 79 people were hurt. This is from WASB, taken by a plant worker, where you can see the workers running from those flames and from the fireball. Happy to say that that fire is now out, but it's still not clear what exactly caused that massive explosion.

U.S. officials pretty concerned that NSA leaker, Edward Snowden, may be planning on a defection to China. Experts say the Chinese have likely made contact with Mr. Snowden. They may already be telling him what to do.

And we are hearing that Singapore Airlines has received an alert from Britain, urging them not to let him on a flight to the U.K. It is believed that Snowden is hiding out in a safe house perhaps somewhere in Hong Kong.

A lot of people are wondering how someone as young and inexperienced as Edward Snowden even gained access to such high-level information.

CNN's Zain Asher says just the first level of security clearance requires a 127-page questionnaire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDWARD SNOWDEN, NSA LEAKER: I'm not different than anybody else. I have no special skills. I'm just another guy.

ZAIN ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Another guy with access to highly sensitive, classifIED information.

SNOWDEN: Anybody in positions with the access with the technical capabilities that I had could, you know, suck out secrets and pass them to the open market.

ASHER: But to be in that position, Snowden would first have to have undergone a thorough background investigation before being hired. DARREN DUPRIEST, VALIDITY SCREENING SOLUTIONS: We were very strictly regulated, and a very rigorous process that people are going through. The higher up the level we get toward any kind of security clearance, they get much more intense and in depth.

ASHER (on camera): This 127-page questionnaire is the first step towards gaining access to all three levels of security clearance. Confidential secrets and top secret. It asks about your criminal and your employment history. It also asks whether or not you've ever illegally accessed a computer database and about your loyalty to the U.S. government.

(voice-over): At higher levels, investigators may conduct background checks on close family members and examine public records going back a decade.

DUPRIEST: A lot of these will take a year, sometimes longer, depending on the level.

ASHER: They may also interview old acquaintances and former co- workers.

DUPRIEST: What these investigators have got to review is to reach out to people that you haven't through of, or reach out to people that you forgot all about.

ASHER: And to top-secret clearance, some candidates will also undergo a psychological evaluation to assess trustworthiness.

BEN DATTNER, PSYCHOLOGIST: There are things that you can see in somebody's past experience, whether they are more or less likely to be a whistle-blower and to violate organizational norms and regulation.

ASHER: The Defense Human Resource Activity, a branch of the Defense Department, has noted seven different personality traits associated with espionage and betrayal, including risk-seeking impulsiveness and narcissism.

DATTNER: People do display narcissistic tendencies tend to think they can live by their own rules, that don't have to conform to societal or organization expectations.

ASHER: But psychological evaluations and background checks are far from fail-safe.

DATTNER: The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. In most careers, individuals come upon situations that they haven't been in before, so therefore, it's very hard to extrapolate from past experience what someone is going to do in the future.

ASHER: Zain Asher, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: A ghost, a medium and a straitjacket. I'm not about to tell you a joke, just something very unusual. It is some of the testimony that the jury in the Michael Jackson wrongful death trial is having to sift through. I can't make this stuff up. Find out what they said right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: For seven weeks now, seven, lawyers in Los Angeles have been battling over who is responsible for the death of Michael Jackson. And when it comes to that superstar, we have seen and heard just about everything. Like Michael Jackson showing up for court in his jammies, like Michael Jackson dancing on an SUV outside court. Remember the pictures? And the wild fans loving every movement, laughing it all up. And then there was that lady outside of court again releasing doves at the time that Michael Jackson was acquitted on child molestation charges. Releasing doves? Yeah.

So today, if you can believe it, we may just be able to top all of that, because Michael Jackson's ghost showed up in court. This is funny, but it's true.

I want to bring if my colleague Don Lemon. He covered the funeral and he also reported on the CNN documentary "Michael Jackson the Final Days."

And you talked to just about everybody connected to Michael Jackson.

And I also want to mention our attorney, Brian Kabateck, is back with us, too. He represented Michael Jackson in his privacy case. Remember that case where the private jet company was alleged to have videotaped him. Mark Geragos' partner on the way to Santa Barbara. It's a bit convoluted. But Michael was preparing to turn himself in to authorities, and all that went down.

But Brian is not representing the family nor in the current lawsuit against AEG, but he knows a thing or two about this case.

Let me start with, Don Lemon.

DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Which case are we talking about?

(LAUGHTER)

BANFIELD: I know, you have a tough time, too.

The weird thing is, this is not a joke. There is testimony about the ghost of Michael Jackson talking to a medium and telling us all whether Conrad Murray was indeed guilty or not?

LEMON: You left out the got part, too. You can't write this. It's Lionel Richie's ex-wife.

BANFIELD: OK.

LEMON: Speaking to a medium. Then there's another e-mail with Randy Phillips, a former CEO of AEG, saying, "I think it may explain Michael Jackson's death and may exonerate Conrad Murray," because she spoke to this medium. Michael Jackson came to her through the medium and said, "I was responsible, not Conrad Murray."

BANFIELD: I've a few things and --

LEMON: And the judge allowed it.

BANFIELD: Thank you. Thank you.

(LAUGHTER)

Here are my issues. Jump in here, Brian Kabateck. A, what? B, triple hearsay, because you have a guy on the stand talking about a medium who talked to a dead Michael Jackson, and those words are actually on the record. The judge, despite laughter in this courtroom, allowed that to stay on the report. What am I missing?

KABATECK: Well, I've got to tell you, first of all, when this trial started seven weeks ago, I thought this was a long, long shot for the plaintiffs and their lawyer, who I know very well. Today, I think the wheels have completely come off the AEG bus. This is probably triple hearsay, but it's the kind of evidence that I would love to see come in if I represented the Jackson family. It makes the people from AEG look crazy. And everything that's coming out in this case makes them look crazy, e-mails going back and forth, infighting. But you've got an e-mail here that refers to someone exonerating them. What it turns out to be is the medium who spoke to Lionel Richie's ex-wife, who then spoke to Phillips. It's classic triple hearsay, but it proves the underlying e-mail. In some respects, it makes sense, but why, if you represented AEG, why would you want that e-mail to come into evidence? Why would you want any of the story to come out? I have no understanding of what they're doing. I think they have completely lost control.

BANFIELD: Well, and I think we started seeing those wheels on the bus starting to come off during a lot of the depositions that have been played in open court. There's nothing more fun for a challenging attorney to be able to resurrect some deposition and give a little deposition when you're actually sitting on the stand and having to look at herself in deposition.

I want to play earlier deposition, and AEG financial officer, Dan Beckerman, talking about an e-mail he got.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In this e-mail to you, it says, "Trouble with M.J., big trouble." What are you guys up to tonight? Do you see that?

DAN BECKERMAN, CEO, AEG LIVE: Um-hmm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes?

BECKERMAN: Yes, I do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know why it is -- what was your understanding of why Mr. Lightwicky (ph) was informing you about trouble with M.J. Let me ask it this way, do you have an understanding of what he was talking about?

BECKERMAN: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And did you respond to Mr. Lightwicky (ph)?

BECKERMAN: Sure looks like it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what did you tell Mr. Lighwicky (ph)?

BECKERMAN: Do you want me to read what it says?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure.

BECKERMAN: It says -- I figured something might be wrong given how jittery Randy has been this week. Is it pre-show nerves, bad, or get a straightjacket, "call out insurance carrier" bad? We're around tonight just hanging out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Yeah, you don't want to hear that, your own words.

Don Lemon, I hear that, and think point here, point there. Generally speaking, I'm a Michael Jackson fan, to have a businessman question, is this jittery nerves or great a straight jacket and call our insurance carrier because we need to recoup our money. It sounds so callous.

LEMON: Here is what he's saying. He's not sure if during the time if he was referring to Michael Jackson or referring to Randy Phillips. Randy Phillips was so bad and out of it that it was straight-jacket bad or was it Michael Jackson.

(LAUGHTER)

BANFIELD: Can you call your insurer and get money if Randy Phillips is straight-jacketed?

LEMON: And that's the thing. I've got to tell you --

BANFIELD: And Randy Phillips had jittery nerve? Isn't a performer getting jittery nerves?

LEMON: Usually it's the performer who gets jittery nerves, yes.

BANFIELD: Call me crazy, but Brian, you're a lawyer, I'm not. That sounds ridiculous.

KABATECK: This is ridiculous. What they knew up at the very top of the corporation is that Michael was in big trouble. They're saying it over and over again. The circumstantial evidence is clear. They knew. They were so concerned about their money and these concerts going forward that they simply wanted it to go forward at whatever cost. I just think you look at the totality of what you've seen so far and big trouble is exactly the way to describe it up at AEG. LEMON: I'll keep saying I wish cameras were allowed in this courtroom because, man, wouldn't this be interesting to watch every day on television.

BANFIELD: I feel awful for the children of Michael Jackson who have to -- they're part of the petition. They're kids.

Thank you both. Appreciate it.

Moving on. She grew up in the White House, daughter of a president and secretary of state. Chelsea Clinton is now her own woman making things better around the world for girls globally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHELSEA CLINTON, DAUGHTER OF BILL CLINTON & HILLARY CLINTON: One of consistent themes is that every girl wanted to have her own dream.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Our new Michaela Pereira, brand new to CNN. Dang, she's good. She scores the exclusive. She's with me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Chelsea Clinton has been making quite a name for herself. You know she was reluctant at first to be in the spotlight but now it's different. She's speaking out loud and clear.

Our, Michaela Pereira, brand new anchor here at CNN for a brand new day, which is our big morning show that gets launched on Monday.

It's so nice to have you.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN NEWS ANCHOR, NEW DAY: It's a pleasure to be with you.

BANFIELD: Fellow Canadian.

PEREIRA: Canadian!

BANFIELD: Love fest.

I want to talk about your new show. But first, you come to CNN. You get the big exclusive with Chelsea Clinton. Do you have some magic?

PEREIRA: I have magic people.

(LAUGHTER)

Normally, we have known she's been quite shy from the media. She hasn't wanted to be center stage. But among the many thing she's interested in, Chelsea sees being pushed into the spotlight because she's passionate about young women and their plight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CLINTON: We need Hollywood to make movies and television shows about sexy female engineers. At the fourth grade level, girls at the same percentage say their interested in engineering or math but by eight grade that's dropped.

PEREIRA: What is happening?

CLINTON: I think a few things are happening. They're not seeing role models. They are seeing boys who are astronauts and engineers and start Facebook or Google and now seeing girls and it's hard to imagine yourself as something you don't see.

PEREIRA (voice-over): It's not just girls here at home. Her family's foundation supports Ten by Ten, a social action campaign that produced the film "GIRL RISING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: I believe I will study, I will learn.

PEREIRA: -- aimed at educating girls the world over.

CLINTON: I'm grateful it's really a global perspective. I think so often it's easy to think those are problems that exist somewhere else. We still have lots of challenges with girls and women here.

PEREIRA: If you were to write an open letter to girls around the globe, what would you say?

CLINTON: I was just in Malaysia a couple of weeks ago, and one of the consistent themes was that every girl wanted to have her own dream. Even be she didn't know what it was, she wanted to be able to write her own story.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: To dream, and she urges us to push to prop up those dreams. She urges people around the country to tune in to our "Girl Rising" film documenting remarkable stories of these young women from around the globe struggling to be heard. It will air this Sunday on CNN at 9:00 p.m. I'll be in bed.

BANFIELD: Yeah. You're starting to get up at 1:00, 2:00.

PEREIRA: Just a little thing called "NEW DAY." Monday morning.

(LAUGHTER)

Pretty excited about it.

BANFIELD: It's a brand new push. We're very excited. You and Kate Bolduan and Chris Cuomo.

(CROSSTALK)

PEREIRA: How about that? BANFIELD: That's some star power. That's some big journalism power. It's nice to have you.

PEREIRA: We'll celebrate Canada another time.

BANFIELD: Amen. We do that with beer back in our country. Back in our country.

(LAUGHTER)

Michaela Pereira, great work. Thanks for all that.

Don't forget, tune in Sunday night. True stories of courageous young girls determined to learn and read, and learn to study in cultures where those are forbidden for ladies. It's every teenage girl, their mom, their dad should watch. It's CNN's film, "Girl Rising." This Sunday night.

Don't forget, Monday morning, start your week off right. There it is, "NEW DAY."

(LAUGHTER)

Michaela and Kate Bolduan and Chris Cuomo are going to launch us off just right, every morning, 6:00 a.m. eastern time.

We're going to take a quick break. Back right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)