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Hernandez Back in Court; Continuing Coverage of the Royal Birth; Weiner Admits to More Texts, Stays in Race; Snowden Set to Leave Terminal; House Vote on NSA Surveillance Program Due Today

Aired July 24, 2013 - 11:00   ET

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

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone -- great to have you with us on this Wednesday morning. I'm Pamela Brown in for Ashleigh Banfield.

Mounting legal problems for former NFL star Aaron Hernandez, the ex- New England Patriots tight end is due back in court today in the shooting death of his friend Odin Lloyd. And "The Boston Globe" reports a grand jury is hearing evidence that could tie Hernandez to two other deaths.

Our Susan Candiotti is in Attleboro, Massachusetts. Susan, good morning to you.

What's the purpose of today's hearing?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: First of all, you know, this is accused murderer Aaron Hernandez will be breaking the monotony of sitting in his jail cell to attend today's probable cause hearing.

What's it all about? At a probable cause hearing, prosecutors generally put more evidence into the record to prove the strength of their case.

However, oftentimes they ask for more time or a continuance and that's probably what's going to happen here today and here is why. We know and have reported, according to our sources, that a grand jury has been meeting to consider evidence in this case and that charges are likely within the next week or two.

Since that is the case, it is very likely that the prosecutors will indeed ask for more time and judges generally granted it. So in effect, there might be a very, very brief hearing today and they -- we probably will not be hearing any more evidence, but, of course, we will wait and see.

Pamela?

BROWN: We sure will.

And, Susan, prosecutors may be preparing for charge against Hernandez in the killings, last year, of two immigrants.

Do we know what the connection is, a possible connection, between Hernandez and these two immigrants?

CANDIOTTI: Yes, absolutely. And we have been reporting on this since the start.

You know, he's being looked at, according to our sources, Aaron Hernandez, for a link to a drive-by double shooting that happened a year ago, July. And it wasn't until authorities stumbled upon a silver SUV that was parked in the driveway of Aaron Hernandez's uncle in Connecticut that they were able to make more of a link. At least they are looking at that connection right now.

And they are trying to keep a lid on all of this. Yes, reportedly, a grand jury is now looking at that. That's a different jurisdiction. It's in Boston. But we learned in a courthouse in Connecticut yesterday that the D.A. in Boston asked for and got a seal on the search warrant for that SUV.

Why? Because he told the court that there is critical evidence they are looking at in this case and they are concerned that more information comes out about what they learned about this SUV and other witnesses, that it could jeopardize their investigation. Pamela?

BROWN: Interesting. Susan Candiotti, thank you so much.

All right, now let's bring in our legal panel to talk more about this. We have former criminal prosecutor Faith Jenkins with us and attorney Brian Kabateck. Thank you for being here.

Faith, I want to start with you. Hernandez has pleaded not guilty in the death of Odin Lloyd and his lawyers claim this case is circumstantial, but as we heard Susan report there, a grand jury is reportedly hearing evidence about two additional murders.

What does this indicate to you?

FAITH JENKINS, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECTOR: This indicates about the other case where the grand jury is hearing evidence the prosecutors believe they have enough evidence to go forward and go forward with the case based on the probable cause.

That's what you are having in both of these cases. This hearing today is about probable cause. Is there enough evidence to go forward? Is there enough evidence to go to trial on a case?

That's what the judge will determine here. It's a much lower standard than a standard for trial where it's proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

BROWN: And so the fact that this other case has gone to a grand jury indicates that basically it is more narrowly focused on Hernandez. It's an indication that the prosecutors have enough evidence. Is that right?

JENKINS: Well, they believe they have enough evidence for the grand jurors to probably indict Hernandez and that's what they expect to happen. If they're going before the grand jury, they're presenting the evidence, those jurors will determine and vote if they believe if they believe there's enough probable cause to go forward.

BROWN: OK.

And, Brian, one of Hernandez's alleged associates, Carlos Ortiz, reportedly is seeking immunity. How serious do you think this is for Hernandez?

BRIAN KABATECK, FOUNDER AND MANAGING PARTNER, KABATECK BROWN KELLNER: Well, it's very serious. Any time that a prosecutor can find an accomplice, somebody that's involved in the proceeding, and offer them immunity in order to testify against a witness, that simply means that they've got a case that they are going to go forward with. It's going to be very difficult for the defense to kind of counter that.

Of course, the way the defense always contradicts that is to say, hey, listen, you got a deal. You're really the bad guy, and you made a deal in order to exculpate yourself from some kind of criminal responsibility, criminal liability.

But this case is very early right now. This is moving very quickly. There's going to be a lot of procedural process that happens. This grand jury indictment probably is going to move the case right to trial. But I wouldn't expect to see a trial in this case for many months to come.

JENKINS: Ortiz is particularly interesting in this case because he is the co-defendant that's come forward and said that another co- defendant involved actually told him Hernandez is the individual that actually shot the gun and killed Odin Lloyd.

So his testimony will be particularly crucial in this case. And you could see him coming forward and testifying in the hearing. In the probable cause hearing, hearsay is allowed, so that could be a possibility here.

BROWN: All right, we'll have to wait and see what happens.

Thank you so much, Faith Jenkins and Brian Kabateck. We're going to discuss other legal cases later this hour, so we'll see you again soon.

And here are some other stories we are following this morning. An explosion ripped through a natural gas grilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico.

A fire continues to burn following yesterday's blast about 60 miles southwest of Grand Isle, Louisiana. Forty-four workers had to be evacuated.

It's desk duty for Massachusetts state police photographer Sean Murphy. He's the officer who got into hot water for releasing hundreds of pictures he took of Boston bombing suspect Tsarnaev we see right here. A board will decide what's next for Murphy, though officials say that termination is unlikely.

It's been exactly 100 days since the Boston marathon bombings, and this hour, the last of the victims is going home hour. Mark Fucarile will be discharged from a rehab hospital in just about 30 minutes from now.

He lost his right leg and his left leg was badly damaged. And he may lose it as well.

And it's been a busy morning at Kensington Palace. This right here, this is great grandma arriving to meet the new royal. It was Queen Elizabeth's first look at the heir to the British throne. It was pretty quick visit, we've been told.

And then it was Aunt Pippa and Prince Harry's turn to come around for a view of the boy known now as Baby Cambridge.

Prince William says that they are still working on a real name, and that's the royal couple right there, taking the newborn for a ride to Catherine's hometown after all the visitors left.

And take a look. Here is some amazing video from China's Szechuan Province. An entire hillside gave way earlier this week after heavy rains there.

Reuters reports that as many as 1,400 people were forced from their homes, but there could be another 2,000 who still need to be evacuated there.

And after hiding out in the Moscow airport for more than a month, NSA leaker Edward Snowden is expected to leave the terminal. At least that's his hope. We're going to have a live report, coming up.

But, first, Anthony Weiner insists he's the best candidate for mayor of New York city except there's a major problem, new revelations of more sexting.

Now his wife is speaking out. What she has to say, coming up.

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BROWN: It was less than a week ago that people were marveling at the comeback of Anthony Weiner. He was leading at least one poll in the race of New York mayor, but his predilection for impropriety has resurfaced.

Yesterday, Weiner admitted sending more explicit online photos and messages as recently as last summer, more than a year after resigning from Congress for the same habit.

Standing by his side, perhaps his greatest defender, his wife, Huma Abedin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) HUMA ABEDIN, ANTHONY WEINER'S WIFE: Anthony has made some horrible mistakes, both before he resigned from Congress and after, but I do very strongly believe that that is between us and our marriage.

BROWN: Anthony Weiner's wife, Huma Abedin, asked New Yorkers to forgive her husband like she has and in a dramatic news conference Tuesday.

ABEDIN: It took a lot of work, and a whole lot of therapy.

BROWN: The disgraced congressman once again guilty of the same behavior that publicly humiliated his wife back in 2011 while she was pregnant.

Huma Abedin addressed the newly surfaced allegations, this time in a very public way.

ABEDIN: I love him. I have forgiven him. I believe in him. And as we have said from the beginning, we are moving forward.

BROWN: Weiner admitting to online sex chats with women after resigning from Congress and undergoing therapy.

ANTHONY WEINER, NEW YORK MAYORAL CANDIDATE: I said that other texts and photos were likely to come out and today they have.

While some of the things that have been posted today are true and some are not, there's no question that what I did was wrong.

BROWN: Weiner's latest apology came after new pictures with a 22- year-old woman surfaced on the gossip website, TheDirty.com.

Weiner reportedly used a screen name "Carlos Danger" to carry on his sexually tense relationship last summer.

WEINER: While some of the things that have been posted today are true and some are not, there's no question that what I did was wrong.

BROWN: Back in April when Weiner announced candidacy for New York mayor, he said more allegation could emerge.

WEINER: If reporters want to go try to find more, I can't say that they're not going to be able to find another picture.

BROWN: And with the continued possibility of more texts, there's no telling if Abedin's defense of her husband will help resurrect his political career.

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BROWN: So it looks like it will be up to voters to make that final decision.

Let's now bring in CNN chief political analyst Gloria Borger. Gloria, nice to see you. You know, Anthony Weiner, as we just heard in that story, he warned us that more pictures, more sexts could be coming out, but he left out one key fact here, how long that behavior has been going on.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Right.

BROWN: Now we're finding it was after he resigned from Congress.

Do you think he should have come clean about this before now?

BORGER: Well, yeah. I think that's the real problem here. Voters believe in redemption. They are very willing to give you a second chance, but they expect you to come clean before they do that.

So what he did is a classic political move, which is that he tried to inoculate himself and he said, look, you know, I think you might -- some of these texts may come out. You might find one or two or maybe six that'll come out.

But what he didn't tell us is the most salient and important fact, which is that this occurred a full year after he resigned the Congress in disgrace, and around the time he and his wife were saying, you know, he was in therapy this, their world was coming together, this was all behind him.

So I think the voters of New York have a right to ask the question about why didn't we know this, why didn't you come fully clean about how long this behavior extended?

BROWN: We were all surprised, Gloria, I think, we both were, probably, that his wife, Huma Abedin, went to the podium and spoke out yesterday.

She perhaps is one of his greatest assets. Do you think that she can save him?

BORGER: Look, I think she's the only thing so far that's saved him. If she had not been there, I think it would have even been more of a problem for him.

Look, "The New York Times" has done an editorial saying that he should leave the race. That's going to be important in New York.

Huma is his greatest character witness. A wife is always a character witness for her husband. And as you pointed out in the clip you showed earlier, she said, look, I have forgiven him and I believe in him, the implication, of course, being that that's what voters should do as well. And so her words take on a very for meaning.

However, now that their private life has become so public again, I think it comes back to the question for the voters of judgment and of trust.

And, you know, my question is, I know people don't trust politicians. They think they have terrible judgment. So the question is where is the bar set in the New York City mayoral race? BROWN: Right. And, you know, he saying he's not going to drop out of this race ...

BORGER: Right.

BROWN: ... despite growing opposition to him and "The New York Times," "New York Daily News," saying he should withdraw. His opponents saying the same.

It will be interesting to see if he can maintain his position in the polls, staying at the top, or how this impacts him.

BORGER: And I also think you've got to believe that privately there are key Democrats in the state of New York who may be talking to him and saying, you know, Anthony Weiner, it's time for you to get out of this race.

And as you know, Pam, it's not exactly that the Democratic establishment has been rallying around Weiner. Chuck Schumer, his former mentor, senator from the State of New York, has been silent, noticeably, on this entire candidacy. So I think people are probably trying to get him to withdraw. But you know what? It took him a long time to decide he ought to leave Congress. He's a pretty stubborn guy. And so if he is going to leave the race, it may take him some time to come around to that point of view. If.

BROWN: And I think it would -- if. And I think it would say a lot if he is elected mayor of New York City after all of this. And, Gloria, I want to point out you wrote an interesting column on this on CNN.com. I encourage everyone to check that out. CNN.com, Gloria Borger Thank you so much.

BORGER: Sure.

BROWN: All right, and now to Russia. NSA leaker Edward Snowden may finally be able to leave the Moscow airport. But first he must do some paperwork when and if he gets it. A live report from the Russian capital up next.

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BROWN: After a month of waiting at the Moscow airport, NSA leaker Edward Snowden may be leaving the airport's transit terminal. Reports say he's waiting for a document that would allow him to leave the airport but not the country.

"The Guardian" reporter Glenn Greenwald told CNN's Morgan Spurlock what Snowden's future could hold.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN SPURLOCK, CNN HOST: Snowden may be leaving Moscow's airport soon. What can you tell me about that? Where's he going?

GLENN GREENWALD, COLUMNIST, THE GUARDIAN: Well, the application he made was for temporary asylum, for him to stay in Russia because the United States and its allies made clear they are going to physically prevent him from exercising his well-established right to seek asylum by doing things like grounding planes that are carrying presidents of sovereign states if they think that he's on it.

So I think the plan, ironically, is that he's going to stay in Russia for some period of time. So what you have is the United States basically forcing him to stay in Russia not withstanding the fact that he has many documents that the U.S. government claims is quite sensitive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And Phil Black is live from Moscow. He's been covering the story for us. Phil, do we know anything more about when Snowden might leave the airport and where he might go?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, at one point today it looked like it could have been today. Snowden's Russian lawyer had always said he expected it would be today. He would be allowed to leave one week after his official application for temporary asylum was submitted.

And earlier today, a flurry of Russian state media outlets suggested -- reported specifically as fact, I should say -- that he received necessary documentation to leave this airport while his application was being considered. So it wouldn't have been official approval of his asylum application but simply an official status that would let him enter Russia while that application procedure was going through.

His lawyer met with him here at the airport and we spoke to him a short time ago after he emerged from that meeting. And he said that is, in fact, not true. He has not been granted the necessary paperwork by Russia's Federal Migration Service to enter this country yet. What we know is this, that the application should receive some sort of answer within the next three months. And at any point within that three-month period, Snowden could receive the documentation he needs to enter the country.

It's not going to be today, though. We do not know specifically when it will be. His lawyer said usual procedure is for it to take place within a week, but that hasn't happened. So it suggests this process is taking a little longer than expected. Pamela.

BROWN: Still a waiting game. All right, thank you so much, Phil.

And Morgan's Spurlock's full interview with Glenn Greenwald will air on CNN's "PIERS MORGAN LIVE" on Saturday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

And speaking of Snowden, the House is expected to vote on restrictions to the NSA's controversial phone surveillance program today. The decision comes after Snowden leaked information to the media. The White House has issued a statement saying that it opposes the amendment and is asking the House to reject it.

Well, it turns out the days of home delivery from the U.S. Postal Service may soon be over. You might have to now walk to a new location to get your mail and packages. And Pope Francis visits a must-see shrine in Brazil while his security status is upgraded to "High Risk".

Those stories and much more when we return.

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BROWN: Checking our top stories. Right now, President Obama is on his way to Illinois. It is the first of several stops the president is making to talk to people about the economy, jobs, and the middle class. He is scheduled to speak at Knox College next hour and, of course, we will bring that to you live.

The U.S. Postal Service is planning to end door-to-door mail delivery for new housing developments. They want a more centralized delivery where residents collect mail from a cluster of mailboxes in the neighborhood. Officials say it would save $4.5 billion a year. The House votes on the issue today.

And over to Brazil now. Pope Francis toured the shrine to country's patron saint today. The Vatican says the Pope personally insisted on adding this trip to his agenda. And a federal official tells CNN security for the Pope's visit has been raised to "High Risk." You will remember seeing his car swallowed up bay crowd of enthusiastic followers on Monday. Here again today, people could actually touch the car as it drives by.

Ariel Castro was in court this morning for another pre-trial hearing. Castro has pleaded not guilty to all 997 charges against him. He is accused of raping and kidnapping three women for over a decade. His trial is set to start in August.

And the three bodies found wrapped in trash bags in East Cleveland last week have been identified. They are Angela Deskens, Shirellda Terry, and Shetisha Sheele. Thirty-five year old Michael Madison has now been formally charged with the deaths. He was taken into custody after a stand-off at his mother's house.

Well, a University of Southern California student says police told her she wasn't raped because her assailant didn't have an orgasm. She's one of many students who have filed complaints and now the feds are investigating. Live to the campus when we return.

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