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First Video of Navy Yard Shooting; Mental Illness Indicators; Cruz's Ends Obamacare Talk-A-Thon; Jackson Trial

Aired September 25, 2013 - 14:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, thank you very much.

I'm Brooke Baldwin.

I want to continue where Wolf left off with breaking news, this chilling new video of the Navy Yard shooter. You see him moments before he killed those 12 people.

So I just want to pause as we all sit and we watch this video just released by the FBI of 34-year-old Aaron Alexis. You see him clutching his sawed-off shotgun, looking for victims at the Navy Yard.

(VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: It is chilling It is eerie to watch. Just released by the FBI. They released it in silence. We wanted to present it to you as the FBI presented it to the members of the media.

Mike Brooks sitting alongside me. We were in Washington last week covering this story.

MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Right. We were.

BALDWIN: HLN law enforcement analyst. Worked at Metropolitan PD. With the FBI. You have a lot of sources here on this story.

BROOKS: Yes.

BALDWIN: But the first - the first thing that we have noticed, and the FBI discussed, you see it here, this is the shotgun. They confirmed it was, in fact, sawed off. And the reason one would saw off a shotgun is in order to conceal it in a bag.

BROOKS: Right. This is a Remington 870 shotgun. So he sawed off, Brooke, he sawed off about this much of the barrel. And he sawed off, I'd say, about - about over a foot off the stock. And he wrapped some purple tape -- purplish-blue tape around that. I've heard from my sources who were some of the ones that confronted him in the final shootout, that the gun was sawed off.

And, you know you would see him walking through the hallway here. But the FBI said that where he was just walking through indiscriminate targets. He was not targeting anyone that they found through any of his electronic searches that he did of his computer, of any - everything else, his hotel room. And we see him moving through the hallway. You know, my sources told me -- we see him coming down the steps - that he would start off on one floor and there were victims on a number of different floors throughout building 197.

BALDWIN: Four floors. Four floors in total, building 197 here.

BROOKS: Right.

BALDWIN: And that's what we were talking about, is the way in which you see him move, because let me just reiterate, as you pointed out, Mike, this is from the FBI just now that again they're reiterating that he acted alone and was not targeting specific people when he went on this rampage inside this building. But you notice he just goes from floor to floor. He's in the stairwell. No rhyme or reason.

BROOKS: Right, doing a - no rhyme or reason, just doing quick peeks around the walls. And you know what else is ironic? He's got his badge around his neck as he's walking through the hallway. He's got his valid contractor's I.D. around his badge. We see him walking through with that sawed-off shotgun. And, you know, you also -- we also found that he had bought four -- 24 shotgun rounds. And it was a -- it looked like I believe it was double - it was buckshot that he was using as he was going through there.

And we also heard that he had taken a Beretta. We believe that Beretta was taken from the security officer there at building 197. And they said that that was also used. Because my sources were telling me, you know, when we were talking about, in the initial phase, AR-15 rounds, but they saw nothing. They saw no shell casings from a .223 that an AR-15 would be used.

BALDWIN: Right. They confirmed last week when we were in Washington -

BROOKS: Right, that there was none.

BALDWIN: There was no AR-15.

BROOKS: Exactly.

BALDWIN: That, in fact, he walked in, he goes in the bathroom, has his bag, puts this sawed-off shotgun together, and then we later learn he somehow grabbed a Glock from inside and began shooting.

BROOKS: Right. We heard today it was a Beretta. A handgun.

BALDWIN: IT was a Beretta. It was a Beretta handgun.

BROOKS: Right. Correct. Yes.

BALDWIN: Also as we look at the pictures, we see this car here in the front. This is the beginning. This is - this is the tape. You actually see his Prius.

BROOKS: Right.

BALDWIN: This is what he was driving, driving into the garage. And they really go sort of point by point by point through this building. We also learned from the FBI today, and we've been reporting this before, remember there was an incident at Rhode Island just the previous month, a run-in where he reported to police about, you know, what was it? It was electromagnetic waves, you know, hearing voices is what we had heard from sources, from his parents.

BROOKS: Right.

BALDWIN: So the FBI, today, also revealed that Alexis was under the delusional believe that he was being controlled by electromagnetic waves.

BROOKS: Right, he talks about the ELF waves. In fact, you know, there were a number of etchings on his shotgun. And one of the etchings on the receiver side of the shotgun was, "my ELF," my ELF weapon, referring to those electronic waves.

BALDWIN: Wow.

BROOKS: I know. And I'd heard some of this, but now we look at the shotgun and just watching him move through the hallway and talking to my sources who were there and who -- some of those whom confronted him, talking about this, because we know that the first MPD officer who was taken to Medstar, he was shot on the third floor. And we heard today that he was extricated, extracted from here by NCIS police and other MPD officers. And that was also was the third floor that we believe he came back down to when officers confronted him and killed him.

BALDWIN: Let me jump in just on the issue of him clearly acting delusionally as he's doing this.

BROOKS: Right.

BALDWIN: We've just turned around some sound as we were reporting. The FBI just holding this news conference. So we just want to play this sound for you on the issue of his delusions. Here's the FBI.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIE PARLAVE, ASSISTANT DIR. IN CHARGE, FBI DC FIELD OFFICE: At this point, I can confirm that there are multiple indicators that Alexis held a delusional belief that he was being controlled or influenced by extremely low frequency, or E.L.F., electromagnetic waves. The etching of, quote, "my elf weapon," close quote, on the left side of the receiver of the Remington 870 shotgun is believed to reference these electromagnetic waves.

In addition, a document retrieved from the electronic media stated, quote, "ultralow frequency attack is what I've been subject to for the last three months. And to be perfectly honest, that is what has driven me to this," close quote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I want to go straight to our justice correspondent, Joe Johns, who is there, who is listening to the FBI as part of that news conference.

And, Joe, talk to me a little bit more about what they were saying, about the etchings, about the delusions here of this 34-year-old shooter.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Right. It's fascinating stuff. And I just want to sort of give you a fuller sense, Brooke, of all of the etchings that were on the gun. Not only did they (ph) talk about "my E.L.F. weapon," there were other things that said, "end to the torment," "not what y'all say," "better off this way," which we've reported, and "my E.L.F. weapon."

Now, apparently, electronic communications, meaning something on a phone, something on a computer that the FBI recovered, actually gave them that fuller understanding of him saying, "ultra low frequency attack is what I've been subject to the last three months." So you're looking now for a motive. Apparently that is the motive. He believed he was being controlled by electronic -- electromagnetic waves.

Of course, the Navy uses that kind of thing. And there's been -- you can look it up on the Internet. There's all sort of conspiracy theories about how or not electronic waves have been used to control people.

The FBI also said they won't be holding other news conferences, but I think one of the things that stood out to me, Brooke, is a concern about friendly fire. There were so many different police officers inside of the Navy Yard trying to take down this shooter, the question has arisen as to whether anybody got in the way of flying rounds coming from a law enforcement officer.

BALDWIN: Right.

JOHNS: The FBI said today that they're not going to be able to figure that out, at least for the present. But they're still searching, obviously, for that information, Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK, Joe Johns, thank you. Again, 12 people killed, and the shooter killed last Monday as well there at the Washington Navy Yard. Joe Johns, thank you. Mike Brooks, thank you. We'll see you again at the top of next hour.

BROOKS: Yes, you will.

BALDWIN: Meantime in Washington, just about 24 hours after freshman Senator Ted Cruz of Texas vowed to talk until he couldn't stand anymore, Cruz's marathon speech denouncing Obamacare is over. And the Senate is voting to move ahead with legislation to prevent a government shutdown. A deadline is mere days away. Cruz's talkathon was more symbolism than showstopper. It means nothing in terms of this legislation. And we're going to get to that here in just a minute.

But what it did do was this, provide more than 21 hours of raw meat for Tea Party Republicans who sent this Ted Cruz here to Washington and who detest, absolutely abhor the health care law. Cruz also detoured into everything from Dr. Seuss to "Duck Dynasty." Watch. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: I intend to speak in support of defunding Obamacare until I am no longer able to stand.

Most Americans could not give a flying flip about a bunch of politicians in Washington. Who cares? What the American people care about is their own lives.

On a Saturday or Sunday morning, when your dad's making pancakes, it is very cool when he can like flip them and make them, you know, make them do a flip high in the air and catch them. He also, I also will credit my father, he invented, this wasn't for the restaurant, but he did it anyway, he invented green eggs and ham.

I don't believe there's been a day on this Senate floor that I haven't worn my argument boots. But I took the coward's way out and so went and purchased some black tennis shoes.

I am not in my argument boots, and I'll confess, I really do feel embarrassed by that.

Some people dismiss, oh, single payer, this is designed to go there. You know that's just crazy, tinfoil hat wearing stuff. But you know there's an old saying, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you.

If you will forgive me, I want to take the opportunity to read two bedtime stories to my girls. I do so like green eggs and ham. Thank you, thank you, Sam I am.

Note folks in the gallery who just waved. I'm not sure if they have their -- they do have their electronics. Well, if you tweet, it may end up here and I may have the chance to read it.

I want to point out just a few words of wisdom from "Duck Dynasty." Redneck rule number one, most things can be fixed with duct tape and extension cords.

I will say standing here after 14 hours, standing on your own feet, there's sometimes some pain, sometimes some fatigue that is involved. But you know what? There's far more pain involved in rolling over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Ted Cruz.

As for Democrats in the U.S. Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid pretty much summed it up moments after Cruz stopped talking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: For lack of a better way of describing this, it has been a big waste of time.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: Chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash, live for us on Capitol Hill.

Ah, it was just about this time yesterday when I feel like he had just begun and we were showing those live pictures. Bring me up to speed, Dana, in the last hour because there has been a vote in the Senate, correct?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There has been a vote in the Senate, but it was meaningless. I mean that's just a blunt way to put it because Ted Cruz, even after standing there for 21 hours and 19 minutes saying that a vote for cloture (ph), which is the procedural vote they took, would be a vote in favor of Obamacare, voted for it. He voted yes.

Now, they argue, he and his Republican colleagues, the small group of them who are really pushing this strategy, argue that they didn't really mean it on this procedural vote. It's the next procedural vote.

Brooke, if you're confused, that is exactly why Republican leaders, who say that they want to get rid of Obamacare, think that this is the wrong strategy. Communication wise, it is just so hard to explain. But they're trying, nonetheless, and they certainly have several hours to keep going.

But he did speak for a very long time and I was able to catch up with Senator Cruz, not even an hour after he left the floor, and I asked him -- just asked him how it went.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: How do you feel standing there for so long?

SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: Dana, to be honest, I feel terrific. I feel energized that the American people had an opportunity, I hope, to engage in this debate and have their voice heard. If senators listen to the American people, if Republicans listen to the American people, if Democrats listen to the American people, the Senate will act to defund Obamacare because it's the biggest job killer in the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: But again, we should remind our viewers that most Republicans, in fact maybe all Republicans in the Senate, agree with him that they want to get rid of Obamacare, but they simply disagree on this strategy, which is to do it as part of a must-pass spending bill that keeps the government running. And the deadline of that is Monday.

One other point that I want to make, Brooke, is that this has exposed very deep fault lines between Ted Cruz and his what he calls the young turk (ph) part of the party, and people like John McCain and some of his colleagues who have been here for a very long time. And John McCain went to the Senate floor this morning and frankly ripped into Ted Cruz about one specific comment that he made suggesting that people who are opposed to his strategy are appeasers like Neville Chamberlain was with Adolf Hitler in World War II. Listen to how John McCain responded to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Amongst them were my father and grandfather. I do not agree with that comparison. I think it's wrong. And I think it's a disservice to those who stood up and shouted at the top of their lungs that we cannot appease and that we must act, and we did act. And it's a disservice to those who did act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Not a happy John McCain, of course, the guy who called Ted Cruz and some of his colleagues whacko birds, which Cruz now wears as a badge of honor. But again, what this is doing, much to the chagrin of a lot of Republicans, is exposing fault lines, which is why they wanted to have a fight over Obamacare on different turf and in a different way, not on - on a procedural measure that is extremely hard to explain to the American people. But Cruz says he's still hoping that the grassroots, who he is really working up on Twitter and elsewhere, will help him convince enough Republicans to come his way.

BALDWIN: Yes. We will be diving deeper on those fault lines next hour. Dana Bash, thank you.

And Ted Cruz, Obamacare and the possibility of the government shutdown here, it kind of feels like we've been here before. The mid-'90s, Bill Clinton was president, Newt Gingrich, speaker of the House. I want you to watch what President Clinton told CNN's Piers Morgan in the wake of all of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PIERS MORGAN, HOST, CNN'S "PIERS MORGAN LIVE": There is a sense that it's never been more dysfunctional, more divisive, more personally abusive. Ted Cruz, for all I know, is still banging on now, trying to, you know, get Obamacare defunded and so on, even when most of his party think he's crackers. What is the way you and Newt Gingrich eventually reached --

BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Once in a while I'm extremely grateful for your British roots. I couldn't have said that with a straight face and pulled it off. That was great.

MORGAN: All right, I'm happy to help, Mr. President. What is the way (INAUDIBLE)? You and Newt Gingrich eventually worked it out between you. How do you get stuff done in this dysfunctional Washington?

CLINTON: Well, it was interesting. We worked it out when he was trying to run me out of town. We were still working together. I mean I knew it was a game to him. He thought, you know, he would -- as he looked - he once said to Erskin Bowles (ph), the difference between us is that we'll do whatever we can and you won't do that. You think there are things you shouldn't do.

And once I realized what the deal was, I let him do whatever he could and then we did business on the side. And you're laughing, but that's really -- we reached an accommodation. But, at the time, because they shut the government down twice, and because they wished to hold on to their jobs, the Republicans, they wanted to maintain their majority, they believe they had to show up for work and get something done.

This reapportionment has created a climate, particularly in the House of Representatives, but also in some of the states where they're basically one-party states, where they believe that they don't have to get anything done. They just believe that they have to demonize the opposition and say whatever they're going to say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: We will play more clips throughout the show, including Clinton's response to the responsibility of a Chelsea Clinton presidential run. Chelsea Clinton. But you can watch Piers' entire interview with President Clinton tonight at 9:00 Eastern.

Coming up next, happening live, a defense team for the concert promoter accused in Michael Jackson's death is telling the jury some, quote, "ugly stuff," about Jackson's life and his mother. We will play that sound for you next.

Plus, have you heard? A high school football coach suspended his entire team, all 80 players. Find out why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Moments ago in an L.A. courtroom an attorney for Michael Jackson's last concert promoter giving the final argument for why they are not responsibility for the pop star's death. Court is in recess right now. Lawyers for AEG Live had warned five months ago when this wrongful death trial started that they would show, and I'm quoting them, show some "ugly stuff" about Jackson. So we're listening closely for that. But what the defense did say just moments ago is that Katherine Jackson didn't want to know the truth about her son. They said she closed her ears to it. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARVIN PUTNAM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: She closes her ears when she hears bad things about him. She doesn't want to believe he had a problem. And that is understandable. One cannot blame her for that. She's his mom. Anyone who's ever known an addict can understand how that is. But she -- as a result, she closed her ears to the choices Mr. Jackson made. She closed her ears to the fact that Mr. Jackson overdosed. That he overdosed on a drug that he chose and that he had been repeatedly warned about, given to him by his own doctor.

And now, Mr. Panish needs you to close your ears to the simple truths of this case. The truth that it was Michael Jackson that chose Dr. Conrad Murray. The truth that it was Michael Jackson who asked Dr. Conrad Murray to join him on the tour. The truth that it was Michael Jackson who offered the $150,000 a month. The truth that it was Michael Jackson who brought Dr. Conrad Murray from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. And the truth that it was Michael Jackson who demanded the Propofol, a drug that he called "milk." All AEG Live was going to do was advance the money for the salary that Mr. Jackson was going to pay Dr. Murray if he went on tour to London, like so many other people on the tour. And I told you that in opening statements. We've never run from that. That is true. But that doesn't change any of the facts that you learned in the five months since.

Mr. Jackson was going to pay Dr. Murray ultimately, as he was everything else on the tour. And AEG Live never even advanced that money, ever. It never paid Dr. Murray anything. And that is because he was never hired by AEG Live to go on tour.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Lawyers for Jackson's family say that AEG Live must share responsibility for Michael Jackson's death. And they're asking for $1 billion to possibly $2 billion for pain, for suffering, and for what they're arguing Michael Jackson would have made on that tour. Jackson's lawyers blame AEG Live, who they say hired and supervised Dr. Conrad Murray. Murray, as you know, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Michael Jackson's Propofol overdose death. CNN's Casey Wian just left the courtroom. As we reported, they're in recess.

And really the $1 billion question here, who hired Dr. Murray? Is the defense here, are they convincing the jury that AEG live did not?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hard to know if they're convincing the jury, Brooke, but they are putting on a very convincing argument. And the smoking gun, if you will, that benefits AEG Live the most here is the fact that this contract that their attorney was referencing was never signed by Michael Jackson. It was never signed by AEG Live. The only person who signed that contract was Dr. Conrad Murray. Therefore, according to AEG Live, there was no employment relationship there.

You also referenced that -- those harsh words that he spoke about Katherine Jackson and how he said she turned a blind eye to what was going on. I want to put that into a little bit of context. What he's trying -- the point he's trying to make is that this concert promoter, AEG Live, could not have known what was going on in Michael Jackson's bedroom behind closed doors with Dr. Conrad Murray, when even those closest to him had no idea what was going on. The fact that he had pressured Dr. Conrad Murray to administer Propofol over a two-month period, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Casey Wian, thank you very much. We'll check back in with you there in Los Angeles. Coming up, I know a lot of veterans, a lot of soldiers have proud, proud tattoos. But here's the thing, those tattoos may soon be banned in certain places. And the question we're asking, is that OK? Should that be allowed? Will it hurt recruitment? We'll discuss that.

Plus, Bill Clinton tells CNN what happened between him and Vladimir Putin behind closed doors. And Clinton says that meeting is why Putin can, I repeat can, be trusted.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BALDWIN: When it comes to the question, who would make a better president, Bill Clinton is actually split between his wife and his daughter. He sat down with CNN for an exclusive interview with Piers Morgan and got a bit of a grilling on where his true allegiance lies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PIERS MORGAN, HOST, CNN'S "PIERS MORGAN LIVE": Who do you think might make the better president, your wife or your daughter?

BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Day after tomorrow, my wife, because she's had more experience. Over the long run, Chelsea. She knows more than we do about everything. And it's - it's -- there was - there was - there was a time in her childhood when I thought maybe she thought she did when she didn't. Now it's highly embarrassing because she, in fact, does. So, look (ph), I feel like I'm going to school every day when we have conversations.

MORGAN: I met your wife for the first time, and your daughter today actually. She looks fantastic. She looks completely reinvigorated. She seemed absolutely on fire with ideas and dynamism and so on and it just screamed to me one thing: I'm running. Can you put us all out of our misery?

CLINTON: No. But it should have screamed to you something else. Real life is a healthier existence than politics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So from that conversation, the conversation then turned to Russian president Vladimir Putin. We know the relationship between President Obama and Putin is icy really at best right now. As for President Bill Clinton, it seems like he actually likes the man.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN: Can we really believe that Vladimir Putin, with his own self- interests for Russia, is orchestrating this huge maneuver to remove all of Assad's chemical weapons and it's just going to happen?

CLINTON: Look - no, we don't have to believe it. We just have to see what happens and make the most of what happens. You work for the best, prepare for the worst in this business. But I think it would be a terrible mistake not to take advantage of the opportunity. And, you know, look, Mr. Putin is got - he got - he's very smart.

MORGAN: Well, you know him better than most people.

CLINTON: Yes, I do.

MORGAN: What was he liked behind closed doors, away from, you know, sort of the public utterances?

CLINTON: Smart and remarkably -- we had a really good, blunt relationship.

MORGAN: How blunt?

CLINTON: Brutally blunt.

MORGAN: Ever like, you know, fisticuffs (ph)?

CLINTON: No. No. But I think - you know, I think the right strategy most of the time is -- but it's frustrating to people in your line of work, you should be brutally honest with people in private. And then if you want them to help you, try to avoid embarrassing them in public.

MORGAN: Right.

CLINTON: Now, sometimes they do things which make it impossible for you to keep quiet. But by and large, all the people I dealt with appreciated if I told them the truth.