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Preview Of "The Truth About Benghazi"; Did Marilyn Call Jackie?; Obama Expected To Outline Plans To Shut Down Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac; Beauty Queen Faces Charges For Alleged Bombmaking

Aired August 06, 2013 - 15:30   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Let me throw up a live picture and just show you what you're looking at.

We're waiting to hear from this alleged victim, alleged victim number 11 with allegations of sexual misconduct, sexual harassment against the mayor of San Diego, Mayor Bob Filner, who is now in day two of intensive -- to quote him from a couple weeks ago -- intensive behavioral therapy here before he goes back officially on the job. As soon as we hear from this nurse speaking, we will take that live in San Diego.

Meantime, we have gotten pictures of the Air Force passenger jet that left Yemen after dawn. An unknown number of Americans were on that flight to Germany arranged by the U.S. State Department which insisted today it's not an evacuation, even though it certainly looks like one. Security is very tight in Yemen's capital.

And today we got word of a drone strike, perhaps two, that killed a handful of militants. We have also gotten word of an unknown number of bad guys filtering into Yemen from elsewhere. This is all connected to the terrorists threat that surfaced late last week. You see all the places on the map here.

These are the 19 U.S. embassies across the Middle East and much of Africa remain closed for the rest of this week. Tomorrow, by the way, is the 15th anniversary of those deadly embassy bombings in both Kenya and Tanzania. Those were the work of al Qaeda. You had simultaneous truck bombs killing hundreds of people at those U.S. compounds in Africa, again, tomorrow 15 years ago.

Speaking of anniversaries, we are coming up soon on the first anniversary of the consulate attack in Benghazi.

And tonight on CNN, 10:00 Eastern, "The Truth About Benghazi," a special CNN investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY COMMANDY, MOTHER OF AMBASSADOR CHRIS STEVENS: I do know from this diary that they found, he recognized that there was danger lurking in these places.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: That is the mother of Ambassador Christopher Stevens, one of the four Americans killed in that attack last year.

As I said, "The Truth About Benghazi," tonight, 10:00 Eastern, watch it live. Set your DVRs.

Erin Burnett is the host. She joins me now live. And, Erin, what will we learn from watching this?

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST, "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT": Well, you just heard Chris Stevens mother saying that diary, of course, which as you know, CNN Arwa Damon who has been in Benghazi twice found that and his family talks about how he knew there was danger.

And all of the people who were there knew that there was incredible danger, Brooke, of course, but the bottom line is that this absolutely could have been prevented.

When we talked to each of the family members what struck me the most is covering this as a journalist, it was actually having the opportunity to talk to these family members, with their children, with their brothers, talking about what it was like to lose someone, you know, who was so important to their lives, to get a sense of who these people were as individuals, that each of them were living the lives that were meant to lead.

Glen Doherty was a former SEAL. He was about to retire. He had intimated that he would have to go into the private sector and retrain.

He had all of these skills and had been all around the world and saving people's lives and felt he had to go back and start from zero. This was going to be his last assignment. You had a story like that.

You had Ty Woods whose mother talks about a game that he had drawn on a little piece of paper when he was 12 with alligators, spiders. The whole goal was to shoot your way to get back home.

They were all very apolitical. They want justice. It was very emotional.

I'll give you a clip of Kate Quigley, Glen Doherty's sister, the SEAL.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE QUIGLEY, GLEN DOHERTY'S SISTER: I got a phone call and from there I then had to decide how to tell everyone.

BURNETT: And how did you do it?

QUIGLEY: There's no way to sugar coat it. You just do it. You know, getting a phone call that kind of alters your life forever is horrible.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: She was incredibly close with her brother. She had to call their parents and tell them and you realize just this incredible human toll.

These people, although like I said, only one family was very political about it, but they do want justice, Brooke. They want to know what happened.

BALDWIN: So as they are seeking the truth about Benghazi, I understand that we talked to someone within the U.S. government, someone -- or I should say, a figure that the U.S. government really wants to hear from? Who is this person?

BURNETT: This person is someone Arwa Damon, when she was in Benghazi a few months ago, was able to talk to. The U.S. government has identified this person as a person of interest. He was able to speak to Arwa.

He's spoken to journalists, but at least, according to our understanding, not to the U.S. government at this time.

He said to her, look, I'm happy to do an interview as long as it's a journalistic one. Yes, I was there that night. I was going to see what was happening. I was directing traffic. She had this whole conversation with him out in the open.

I think, Brooke, the thing to emphasize about this, even over the past couple months after that as we've been trying to get different things in Benghazi, trying to go there and get information, it has been incredibly difficult.

The whole situation has deteriorated. You know about the jail break, 1,200 released from jail. It is now more dangerous than it was three months ago. It is almost impossible to go.

The situation has gotten worse, not better. That's the opposite direction this country needs to go to.

BALDWIN: 10:00, "The Truth About Benghazi," CNN special investigation, 10:00 Eastern.

Erin, thank you.

Coming up next, you have heard about the rumors of Marilyn Monroe, her relationship with John F. Kennedy.

Now there's a new book of shocking new conversations and a phone call Marilyn made to Jackie Kennedy. In that phone call, Monroe confessed to the affair. We will share with you the first lady's shocking response.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: The rumors, rumors that President John F. Kennedy had affairs, that's nothing new, even his supposed affair with Marilyn Monroe. But now there is a book. This new book claims that not only did Monroe and Kennedy have a relationship, but that Monroe actually picked up the phone and called first lady Jackie Kennedy to talk about it.

Here is CNN's Zoraida Sambolin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Never before have such details been heard about the relationship between President John F. Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe and the first lady.

In a new book, "These Few Precious Days - The Final Year of Jack with Jackie," author Christopher Anderson claims that the Hollywood starlet actually called Jacqueline Kennedy on the White House phone, confessing to an affair she was rumored to be having with the president.

The first lady allegedly responded by saying, that's great. You'll move into the White House and you'll assume the responsibilities of first lady and I'll move out and you'll have all the problems.

NICK RAGONE, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: The claim that Marilyn Monroe actually called Jackie O at the White House, it does seem far-fetched, but then again, with Marilyn Monroe, seemingly everything was possible.

SAMBOLIN: The book claims the breathy sex symbol, singing here in "Some Like It Hot," confided her most intimate details of the alleged affair to a friend, convinced the president would leave Jackie for her, even fantasizing, quote, "can't you just see me as first lady?"

RAGONE: The idea that President Kennedy would leave his beloved wife who the nation adored for a sort of aging movie star probably was a fantasy only in Marilyn Monroe's mind.

SAMBOLIN: The book also tells of Jackie reportedly telling her doctor that of all her husband's alleged affairs, the one with Marilyn was the most troubling.

RAGONE: Jackie Kennedy, she was a smart political wife and she feared Marilyn Monroe, not as somebody who would be emotionally intimate with President Kennedy but, rather, somebody who can take down the administration in scandal and she viewed her as a loose cannon and unpredictable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So did Marilyn Monroe really call Jackie Kennedy or not?

Let's ask a presidential historian for his expert opinion. Doug Wead is the author of "The Raising of a President - The Mothers and Fathers of Our Nation's Leaders," and he joins me by phone from Las Vegas.

Doug, let me just ask you -- DOUG WEAD, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN (via telephone): I'm with you.

BALDWIN: I hear you laugh.

Is it possible that Marilyn Monroe picks up the phone, calls Jackie Kennedy, says she wants to marry JFK, or was Marilyn, you know, dreaming?

WEAD (via telephone): Yes, it's very possible that that happened. In fact, I would say if President Kennedy and Mrs. Kennedy were ordinary people, it's very possible that a court would have awarded a divorce to Jackie Kennedy just based on the documentation, the documentary evidence, the diaries, the testimonies if Jackie had wanted it.

So actually, the court of history is much tougher than a divorce court and there are historians who will never accept this unless the president himself admitted to it and you're not going to get that.

BALDWIN: We know that Jackie knew that her husband was being unfaithful. The book says, though, and we just heard in Zoraida's piece that it was specifically his relationship with Marilyn Monroe that bothered her the most.

Why do you think that was?

WEAD (via telephone): Well, Jackie's relationship -- the two men in her life, besides her husband, the two most prominent men, was her father, who she loved very dearly, and he was a womanizer.

And when she married into this Kennedy family she was not close to the Kennedy sisters. Her closest friend, if you will, was the stepfather, Joe Kennedy, who was a very famous womanizer.

So it's a very curious situation. I guess she, because of her unique experience in life, must have been able to come to terms with the fact that someone can love you and still be unfaithful.

BALDWIN: Do you think that it's possible just because, you know, Marilyn Monroe was so out there and in the spotlight that there was this fear that she would eventually go public, that she would talk, that she would embarrass the first lady?

WEAD (via telephone): Yeah. That's what makes the whole story so absolutely intriguing, and I promise you a hundred years from now history will have really parsed it every way it can be parsed.

And we know now from FDR's story of his love life that's only now coming to light, we didn't even know he had one. Now we know that -- it takes time for the history of these presidents to unravel completely.

BALDWIN: I think we'll be parsing through this as long as we possibly can. It's almost like our own royalty, the Kennedys and the photographs, Doug Wead, the photos, the perfection.

It's almost like -- you know, just to learn that it perhaps just wasn't all perfect. Is that what it was?

WEAD (via telephone): And it's true with all White Houses. In every White House, including the one I served for George Herbert Walker Bush, all of the stories are not told until long after the presidents are gone and their power is gone.

Even after they leave the White House, the Kennedy family is a very powerful family still and they have their impact and their influence on those who write it.

These presidents spend their time in office trying to shape what we think is happening and they spend their time after they leave office trying to shape what we thought happened.

So it continues even after the president himself is gone.

BALDWIN: It is absolutely fascinating.

Doug Wead, thank you. Doug's book is "The Raising of a President -- The Mothers and Fathers of our Nations Leaders." Doug, thank you.

Coming up, two U.S. senators visiting Egypt today. While there, Senator John McCain directly contradicted the Obama administration, and his comments could have a major impact in Egypt and here in the U. S.

We will talk about that with Jake Tapper, coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Two prominent U.S. senators visited Egypt today. Senators Lindsey Graham and John McCain called for the release of political prisoners. They also wanted all parties to come to the table, including the Muslim Brotherhood.

Senator McCain specifically went on to say that the new government came into power because of a coup.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: We have said that we share the democratic aspirations and criticisms of the Morsy government that led millions of Egyptians into the streets on June 30th.

We've also said that the circumstances of the former government's president's removal were a coup, and we have said that we cannot expect Egypt or any other country to abide by its laws if we do not abide by ours in the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: CNN chief Washington correspondent and host of "The Lead," Jake Tapper joins me, and we're talking about this.

And I know you are discussing this on the show because you hear Senator McCain and then you hear the Obama administration refusing to call it a coup. What does this all mean?

JAKE TAPPER, HOST, "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER": It's a little bit of a carrot and stick, really, is what's going on there.

The Obama administration will not call it a coup. Calling it a coup would legally require the Obama administration, the U.S. government, to cut off more than $1 billion in aid that the U.S. provides the Egyptian government every year.

So that is the position of the Obama administration, that it is not a coup.

But, of course, having Senator McCain and Senator Graham go there and say they think it is a coup is a reminder to those in power in Egypt that hat threat remains, that there are those who think that the U.S. technically, legally should call it a coup and stop funding the Egyptian government with the billion dollars that the U.S. gives every year.

Of course, the larger message from McCain and Graham on behalf of the Obama administration was that they want the situation to resolve itself.

So it's a little of good cop/bad cop with sending the bad cops, to a degree, to Egypt.

BALDWIN: So you're talking Egypt. What else do you have coming up, Jake Tapper?

TAPPER: We have some breaking news that I can't go into right now, but one of our newest correspondents is going to be breaking this story right on the top of the show about a national security issue, a major national security issue.

We'll also be talking about that worldwide terror alert with Congressman Adam Schiff. He is on the House intelligence committee.

We'll be covering the Nidal Hasan trial, the Ft. Hood shooter, with somebody who was a witness, talking to him about that, and we'll be -- god, there are so many.

A lot of great things, our cup runneth over on "The Lead" today, so you'll have to tune in to see the rest.

BALDWIN: A plethora from Jake Tapper on "The Lead" today. Tapper, you know --

TAPPER: A cornucopia.

BALDWIN: A cornucopia if you will. Thank you. We'll see you at the top of the hour. Thank you very much, Jake Tapper.

President Obama, getting ready to give a policy speech in Phoenix, here are live pictures as we anticipate the president.

But it is what he is doing after this speech that has a lot of people talking. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: In certain cities, the housing market is on a winning streak, really like we haven't seen in years, and no surprise, the politicians want to let the good times roll.

President Obama heads to Phoenix today to talk about how he plans to do that. Obviously, you can expect some digs at Republicans for not doing enough, in his opinion, to help out.

And CNN's chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin is traveling right along with the president. She joins us live from Phoenix where we expect the president to speak in just about 10 minutes from now.

And, Jess, what are we going to be hearing from him?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Brooke.

We expect that he'll outline plans to shut down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac over time. Now those, you'll recall, are the mortgage giants that backed about 80 percent of all U.S. mortgages.

This is the fifth economic speech that he's given on this late-summer tour and it comes ahead of congressional efforts to reform those housing giants we were talking about.

Now the GOP has a proposal that could also wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but also makes 30-year mortgages harder and more expensive -- harder to get and more expensive.

And so we think the president is getting ahead of congressional fights over how to wind those giants down.

He'll be insisting that those 30-year mortgages are important to keep and making that a priority should be part of Congress's efforts as they tackle this issue.

Now, part of the reason he's doing this is because the housing market, as you know, is starting to rebound, and Arizona, where we are right now, was one of the ground zeros for the foreclosure collapse.

And so it's also coming back here, but we'll expect the president to say it's doing better, but it has a long way still to go, Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK, so this is the crux of the president's speech, but his day not over after the speech. What does he do afterward?

YELLIN: Well, we live in this world where the politicians have to press the flesh in every media realm there is, and he'll be going to the Jay Leno show to answer Jay's political questions, I guess.

The argument there is he does that so often because it reaches a different audience. And so we can expect him to maybe address, I don't know, the terror concerns overseas.

And I'm at a high school. It's the first day back at school, so a bit of a rowdy crowd.

But we'll expect him to hopefully address the terror threats overseas and maybe some more on wiretapping, surveillance and those issues that have been in the news lately.

BALDWIN: OK, the president on Leno. Jessica Yellin, thank you very much. The president speaking, as she mentioned, just a couple of minutes ago. Jessica, thank you, our chief White House correspondent.

Coming up, a beauty queen is under arrest for allegedly tossing homemade bombs -- bombs -- at homes in a Salt Lake City suburb.

Why? And could she face jail time? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A beauty queen in Utah has bigger problems than winning the swimsuit competition. She is facing charges for allegedly making homemade bombs.

Kylie Bearse from our affiliate KTBX has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's pretty scary to hear that that went down in our neighborhood.

KYLIE BEARSE, KTBX REPORTER: Steve Willy (ph) wasn't home Friday night when the explosions happened, but word spread fast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That really concerned us a lot. Yeah, absolutely.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, I'm OK, but I'm just glad it didn't happen to me. That would totally freak me out.

BEARSE: Neighbors called police after what sounded like bombs going off. Witnesses say someone threw bottles from a car that then exploded.

Unified fire officers found those bottles and say, while small, they have the potential to cause a lot of damage.

CAPTAIN CLINT MECHAM, UNIFIED FIRE AUTHORITY: You get a little bit of a shrapnel or fragmentation effect from the container as well as the chemicals.

BEARSE: Four teens, including recently crowned Miss Riverton, Kendra Gill, could be facing felony charges.

MECHAM: Ten counts, I mean, there could be potentially a good deal of jail time here.

BEARSE: For Gill, the consequences could go even further.

GRETCHEN JENSEN, FORMER MISS USA: Most definitely she should not keep her title in my opinion because you're not the epitome of what that role model needs to be.

BEARSE: Gretchen Jensen is one of the hosts of "Good Things Utah" and a former Miss USA, so she knows a thing or two about this.

JENSEN: When you get right down to it, you are a goodwill ambassador. You are an ambassador for your city. You represent your city which means you represent everybody there.

BEARSE: Something that worries neighbors we talked to as well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't want to put a bad name to Riverton City because this is an awesome city.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Kylie Bearse, KTBX, reporting.

I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks so much for being with me on this Tuesday.

I will see you right back here, this time tomorrow.

In the meantime, let's go to Washington. "The Lead With Jake Tapper" starts right now.