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AP Levinson Report; Airport Terror Plot; Mega Millions Worth $425M; Lance Armstrong Would Cheat Again; Beyonce Drops Surprise New Album

Aired December 13, 2013 - 14:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much, Mr. Blitzer.

I'm Don Lemon, in today for Brooke. Thanks for joining me, everyone.

We're going to begin with what appears to be a rogue CIA mission, a diplomatic bombshell that top officials say Iran has likely known for some time. Robert Levinson, the longest-held American hostage, was working for the CIA when he disappeared visiting Iran's Kish Island nearly seven years ago. The Associated Press and "The Washington Post" found he was gathering intelligence for an analyst in a rogue operation that led to the firing of three CIA employees.

The "Post" and A.P. also report that the CIA paid $2.5 million to Levinson's family to avoid the publicity of a lawsuit. Levinson's wife and son said last month the former FBI agent had been on a business trip when he vanished.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE LEVINSON, WIFE OF ROBERT LEVINSON: We have seven children. We were living the American dream. We had a happy family. And Bob had business. He was running his own business and doing well. And then this happened. And our whole world fell apart.

CHRIS CUOMO, ANCHOR, CNN'S "NEW DAY": And this man, he, your husband, did work in the FBI, but this wasn't an FBI caper gone wrong, this was a business trip, just to make that clear, is that correct, Ann (ph)?

LEVINSON: Correct. Bob retired from the FBI in 1998.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So the Associated Press first learned of Levinson's CIA link back in 2010 and agreed to hold the story three times on the possibility that Levinson could be freed. In the last hour, the White House decried the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Believe it was highly irresponsible to publish, and which we strongly urged the outlet not to publish out of concerns for Mr. Levinson's safety. I'm also not going to say anything that might further harm our efforts to bring Mr. Levinson home safe, which has been our goal for the six and a half years he has been missing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right, so I'm going to talk to a CIA officer in just a moment here on CNN, but first I want to bring back in CNN's Wolf Blitzer.

Wolf, you just covered this on your show. You just finished covering it. But what I wanted to get from you is your expertise on this. And what do you make of the White House denying this now?

WOLF BLITZER, ANCHOR, CNN'S "THE SITUATION ROOM": Well, it's sort of a technical denial. They issued a statement saying he was not a government employee, if you will. Now, private contractors who may be getting some money, contract funds from the CIA or other government agencies, are technically not government employees. So I'm not exactly sure it was a hard and fast complete denial.

There's a nuance here that I certainly understand. I certainly appreciate the nuance. And clearly the White House is not happy that the Associated Press decided to go ahead and report extensively on this connection he had with this - with this -- what they described as this rogue element inside the CIA.

LEMON: Hey, Wolf, I want to ask you this, because we're saying that, you know, this is a bombshell. And we know that "The Washington Post" held off on reporting it for a while. Was this sort of in the cards, or were people sort of thinking about this? You've covered this more as a Washington correspondent and anchor, that it could be a possibility that Levinson had some sort of involvement that most people didn't know about?

BLITZER: Well, everybody knew he spent nearly 30 years as a senior official in the FBI. He was an FIB agent, worked for the U.S. government for the FBI. So that was widely publicized. That was widely known. That certainly was no secret.

I don't think it was necessarily widely known that he had some sort of connection, that he was getting some sort of - that he contract, if you will, that he was getting some funding from these analysts at the CIA, as described in this AP/"Washington Post" story. I don't think that was necessarily widely known. But that he worked for the U.S. government for so many years, that he had retired and the notion that he was in private business. So what does that mean, private business? If you're a private businessman, but you have a contract with the U.S. government, is there a connection there? Is there not a connection there? If, in fact, though, he was receiving, as a private businessman, funds from the CIA as part of a contract for analysis or whatever else he was doing, he was obviously getting paid by the CIA for his private business dealings, whatever that was. So it gets a little murky in that world of Washington -- Washington.

And as Tom Fuentes told me in the last hour, the former FIB assistant director, who worked closely with Levinson over the years at the FBI, certainly was not a, quote, "spy," was not involved in espionage on that matter. But he was trying to do something in Iran and he was getting some money from the CIA.

LEMON: All right, Wolf Blitzer, thank you.

Wolf, I'm going to ask you to do, what you ask reporters to do all the time, can you please stand by because we want to get to some breaking news now. This is out of Kansas. The FBI is about to hold a news conference there talking about a terror plot. This is just in to CNN. It's a foiled bomb plot in Kansas, an FBI sting operation, has learned the arrest of one person accused of plotting a terrorist attack. CNN's Joe Johns joins us now with the information.

Joe, you're in Washington, but this is about explosives at the Wichita Airport?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: That's what we understand. A law enforcement source confirms there was one suspect. The case was motivated by the desire to set off an explosive, we're told, at the Wichita Airport. The source wouldn't confirm, nor would the source deny, that it was a suicide bombing that was being contemplated. But when I asked flatly for the source to deny that, he refused to comment.

We're also told that this was a terrorism-related situation. In other words, there was no real plot, but no one was in danger. Multiple charges were expected in this case, including, but not limited to, a charge of material support for terrorism. Now, as of a little while ago, charges had not been filed, and one suspect, who's been arrested, had not been presented before the magistrate. Federal authorities had been billing this as a matter of national security and they thought enough of it that the governor of the state, Sam Brownback, decided to attend that news conference.

Back to you.

LEMON: All right, Joe Johns, stand by, in Washington. Joe has the details on this.

I want to get to the former assistant director of the FBI, Tom Fuentes, who joins us here all the time on CNN.

Tom, you heard what Joe Johns had to say about this foiled plot. We hear about these plots at airports, but usually at much bigger airports. This appears to be a smaller airport. What do you make of this story as we wait for this news conference?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: No, I think you're right, Don, it doesn't sound like an earth shaking plot at this point, but we don't know. So I think it will take a little bit of time to have more of the details come forward, especially in the charging documents when they actually bring the formal charges against him. So I think at this point, if he was planning to do any kind of a bombing, even in a small airport, it certainly would be an act of terrorism, a national security matter. But at that point, we just need to learn more.

LEMON: Hey, Tom, I want to get to that news conference. Let's listen. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a white male, age 58, an avionics technician who works at the airport and who lives here in Wichita. The defendant was arrested this morning at approximately 5:40 a.m. at the airport.

Mr. Loewen faces three charges. One count of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction, one count of attempting to damage property with explosives, and one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. If he's convicted of these charges, he faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison.

The criminal complaint, which was filed today in U.S. Federal District Court, alleges that Mr. Loewen spent months developing a plan to use his access card to the airport to drive a car loaded with explosives to the terminal. It's alleged that he planned to pull the trigger on the explosives himself and die in the explosion as a martyr.

Agents arrested him at about 5:40 a.m. as he attempted to use his access card to enter the tarmac and to deliver the vehicle loaded with what he believed to be high explosives. In fact, those explosives were inert, and they -- it was not a bomb that would ever explode. Members of the FBI's joint terrorism task force took him into custody without incident.

Now, I want to express in the strongest terms possible that at no time was the airport perimeter breached, and that at no time was any citizen or member of the traveling public in any type of danger. No one was placed in any jeopardy.

I also want to have - also want to add this. We have no indication that the defendant was involved or working with any members of any religious community in Wichita. And his actions in no way reflect anyone else in our community.

Let me tell you a little something about the investigate itself. Mr. Loewen had been under investigation by the Wichita Joint Terrorism Task Force since early summer of 2013. He made statements that he was resolved to commit an act of violent jihad against the United States. Over a period of months, he took several actions to advance his plot.

According to the affidavit filed with the complaint, it alleges that Mr. Loewen studied the layout of the airport and took photographs of various access points. He researched flight schedules to determine when there would be a maximum number of individuals at the airport. He assisted in acquiring components which he believed were part of the building of the bomb. He talked about his commitment to this crime and his commitment to martyr himself as part of this horrific event.

This morning, as I said, when he went to the Mid-Continent Airport to detonate the bomb, he was taken into custody when he attempted to open the security gate with his pass. He was taken into custody when that security pass failed to operate the gate. As I said, he was taken in without incident. No one was harmed, fortunately.

The FBI evidence response teams are processing multiple locations right now for evidence. And although the investigation is ongoing, we do not anticipate any additional arrests at this time. I was talking with the governor earlier, and in this day and age of cynicism about government and cynicism about law enforcement, I want to tell the members of our community and folks in our state that this is a shining example of how good law enforcement, how well they work together.

LEMON: You're listening to FBI officials in Wichita, Kansas, talking about a plot that they foiled at the Wichita Airport. Apparently, an employee there was going to use his access card and drive a car onto the terminal with explosives on it. The FBI got wind of the plot. They said all of the explosives or the potential explosives were inert. So they must have gotten o it earlier. At no point, no time, was anyone in danger, they are saying, and they don't intend to have any more arrests.

But, Tom Fuentes, this is certainly very serious. Anytime you have someone who has access to the tarmac, to the inner workings of the airport, and would have the possibility of driving a car full of explosives onto the tarmac, that's pretty serious stuff.

FUENTES: Sure. Sure, Don. You would have a lot of people that would be in that position to be able to do that at many, many airports across the country. The question is, does that individual have the ability to assemble the bomb and have it go off once they've gained the access? So at some point this guy apparently was trying to get other people to help him carry out what he wanted to do, which obviously he wanted to carry out a bombing but didn't have the technical still to do it all by himself. And usually that's the point when someone reaches out for help, that people report that to the authorities, report it to the FBI, and they're able to introduce somebody who is going to compromise his plan and keep the public safe.

LEMON: Tom Fuentes, former assistant director of the FBI, thank you very much.

And again, I want to tell our viewers, the FBI there in Wichita, Kansas, just announcing that they foiled a plot - they foiled a plot by a man and arrested him, who was seeking to go onto the terminal at the Wichita Airport and set off explosives in a car. One person arrested. They don't expect any more arrests. We'll continue to monitor the story for you here on CNN.

In the meantime, tonight is the night. Everyone will be taking a look at their lottery tickets. But as the Mega Millions jackpot rises, wait until you hear the odds of winning.

Plus, Beyonce shocks everybody and drops an album without warning. But isn't she supposed to drop an album? She's an artist, as a matter of fact. Is this how we're going to get our music in the future, though?

And, John Boehner's on a tear. He's fed up with the Tea Party, but he's not the only high-profile Republican who's criticizing their party's extreme faction.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK, look who is trying to take over. Don't you have your own show?

CUOMO: I'm trying to fix you up. I do, but the chance to be with you, Don, I can't pass it up.

LEMON: A holiday party...

CUOMO: Jump in with you.

LEMON: Did you buy your Mega lottery ticket?

CUOMO: I did. The whole team got them. The whole "NEW DAY" team.

LEMON: Are you going to win? Then you have to share. If you win, will you share?

CUOMO: We win just by participating.

LEMON: All right. Get out of here. I'll meet you.

CUOMO: You see how I did the jump interview there? Got to respect it. Got to respect it.

LEMON: Merry Christmas. I'll see you later for the party.

CUOMO: When the show is over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know we're on the air, right?

LEMON: Oh, sorry. I'm sorry. It's Jeff Zucker. See you.

Thanks, boss.

The definition of frenzy is wild excitement or derangement. Welcome to the current Mega Millions drawing. Tonight's drawing now worth an estimated $425 million.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Someone is going to be lucky, and I think it's going to be me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of people's lives will be much better if I win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, people who have never played the game like these in Reno, Nevada, are buying tickets at the -- at a record pace. They're hoping against hope and reason for a shot at winning, but the odds are extremely long: 259 million to 1. Two hundred and fifty-nine million to 1.

All it takes is one, though. In fact, you're more likely to be crushed to death by a vending machine or have identical triplets. Why do we do this stuff? And much more likely to be killed by an asteroid. But that's not stopping people from lining up. Alexandra Field joins us now from New York.

Alexandra, you hear Chris has gotten his tickets. The whole "NEW DAY" team has their tickets. What about you? You got yours?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and I got some for you, too, Don, but I'm going to hang onto them until after the drawing, and then, of course, I'll give you what you won in a very fair way, of course.

This prize money has rolled over 20 times now without a winner. That's how we got to this jackpot of $425 million. It's the second largest in Mega Millions history. The cash payout on this, by the way, is $228.2 million. It's why so many people are dreaming very big, even though they know that their odds of winning this jackpot are very, very, very small.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: Do you usually buy lottery tickets?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, it's Friday the 13th, and I'm going wild.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's always nice to dream. I enjoy the "what if?", you know, before the big game. And "Oh, we can take trips here and there." So it's all about that, really.

FIELD: What would you do with this money?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would share it with CNN.

FIELD: I'm going to hold you to that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four hundred, that much million? That's a lot of money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: All right, well I am not spending any of that yet because the odds now of hitting the jackpot are 1 in 259 million. That's up from the old odds of 1 in 175 million. That's because Powerball changed -- Mega Millions, rather, changed the format of the game back in October, Don.

LEMON: Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Better chance of getting hit by an asteroid. Thank you. We'll be watching. I want my ticket, too, Alexandra. Appreciate it.

Coming up, disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong telling ESPN if he had it to do all over again, he would still cheat. Oh, Lance. You're going to hear his reason why.

And next, queen of pop Beyonce dropping a new album in the middle of the night with no promotion, no fanfare, yet it's got everyone talking. Is this the future of music marketing? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: You know, like Mama always used to say, if your friends jumped off a bridge, would you? Well, if you're Lance Armstrong, sure, of course you would.

The cyclist telling ESPN if he had to do it over again, he would still cheat. He'd still dope because everyone else was cheating, too, including his competitors. Armstrong says his team wasn't doping as much as the other guys, so that's why he never thought they'd be caught.

In the course of the interview, he calls himself an a-hole and felt he was targeted and stripped of his Tour de France titles because he took on and battled his accusers. More on this coming up in the next hour here on CNN.

OK, 14 songs, 17 videos, and virtually no one knew about it until now. We're talking about Beyonce's new album, just released on the sneak tip overnight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: There was absolutely no pre-publicity about it. Queen Bey -- is that right? Queen Bey, right, not Queen Bee? -- surprised her fans. You can call her Queen Bee if you want. Surprised her fans on Instagram with the big announcement.

You know, it's simply entitled "Beyonce." It's her fifth release and the first since she gave birth to baby girl Blue Ivy. But the frenzy over Beyonce's new music is not just about her new album. It's really about how she did it on her own terms in an exclusive deal with iTunes. No pre-A&R, no music videos or listening parties. She just dropped it on social media.

Is this a new model for doing business in the music industry? It has us wondering.

So here to talk about the potential impact is veteran entertainment P.R. and brand strategist Marvet Britto. Beyonce surprised everyone by not doing the traditional thing. Is this the new way?

MARVET BRITTO, P.R./BRAND STRATEGIST: It's the Bey way. Not every artist can do this. In fact, Beyonce and Jay-Z, the Carters, are the most potent music brand in the history of music. So no, we don't suspect that other artists will follow Jay-Z and Beyonce's model, the Carters' model, but Beyonce can do it.

This further differentiated Beyonce's brand from everyone else in the music industry.

LEMON: Yes. BRITTO: It showed that she's potent. It shows that she's relevant, and it showed that she has the power and gravity to shock the music world by releasing a record with no advance notice.

LEMON: Now, is this -- people are saying there's no middleman. But I mean, still, there is some publicity to this. We were talking about it. Is this the publicity, the shock of it, like wait a minute, what happened to your...?

BRITTO: This is a very audacious move. The silence of this...

LEMON: Right.

BRITTO: ... speaks volumes.

LEMON: Right.

BRITTO: The silence of this move, Jay-Z and Beyonce together as a family, as the Carters, are the most potent brands in music. And this showed that they have the power to do whatever they want to do in music.

LEMON: Is it a smart move, though, Marvet?

BRITTO: It's a smart move, because she further differentiates herself from everyone else in music. No one of Beyonce's caliber can do what she did. And it shows...

LEMON: Can a Gaga do it or Madonna do it? No.

BRITTO: No, they can't do it. They don't have the loyal audience. They don't have -- and think about it. Jay-Z and Beyonce are creative masterminds, and this showed that they can move, create and distribute music on their own terms.

LEMON: Can I say this? I love the "Anchorman," right, being a television news person. I love "Anchorman." I'm so sick of the promotion. Everywhere I turn, I'm like, OK, enough. I just want to see the movie. Stop it already with the promotion. And this is the exact opposite. I mean, are there people -- am I -- who feel like me, like stop with all the promotion? Maybe this is...

BRITTO; Promotion is important in raising awareness, but Beyonce has her soldiers that are doing the work for her. So she creates the property, the content, and her soldiers and fan base has done the work for her.

So the potency and currency that Beyonce Knowles has is evident in the fever and epic proportion in which she released this record.

LEMON: When I first heard it, I was like, "Wait a minute."

Everybody said, "Beyonce released an album."

I was like, "Well, she sings. She's supposed to."

BRITTO: But normally, people release records with months and months of promotion.

LEMON: Yes, yes.

BRITTO: She did it her way, and it's working magically.

LEMON: Always good to see you, Ms. Britto.

BRITTO: Thank you.

LEMON: Happy holidays to you. Merry Christmas.

BRITTO: Same to you.

LEMON: All right. Appreciate it.

Coming up here, we're going to talk about Kanye West now comparing himself to police officers and soldiers. And now a real cop is responding, telling Kanye, "You better check yourself before you wreck yourself." That's next.

And later, Speaker of the House John Boehner is fed up with members of his own party. He said some of the Tea Party groups have, quote, "lost all credibility." So I'm just going to go ahead and ask. Is the GOP chief suddenly unafraid of the extreme right wing?

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)