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Newspapers Push for Snowden's Clemency; Macy's, Martha Stewart Settle Lawsuit; Time Magazine's User Guide to 2014; Alabama QB's Bond with Fellow Student

Aired January 02, 2014 - 10:30   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Yes exactly. Stay put -- thanks so much -- in New York.

All right, checking your other stories now, a car bomb has ripped through a residential neighborhood in Beirut, killing four people and adding to the tensions in the Lebanese capital. This is video that's just now coming in. Today's blast was so violent that it was felt in nearby neighborhoods. And just last week a car bomb killed a former ambassador to the U.S.

And all of the 52 passengers on board a research vessel trapped in ice, in Antarctica have now been rescued. After facing major delays a helicopter from a Chinese ice breaker actually carried them to another ship. The team of researchers and journalists were there to study climate change but got stuck in unusually thick ice on Christmas Eve. The 22 crew members are staying on board the ship until the ice breaks.

And Minneapolis firefighters hope to get inside that burned-out apartment building we showed you yesterday at about this time. Three residents are believed to be missing after an explosion and fire yesterday. At least 14 people were hurt, six of them critically. Some people jumped from third floor windows to escape. Fire officials say freezing weather hampered the rescue efforts.

NSA leaker Edward Snowden is a wanted man charged with espionage and on the run from the U.S. government. Well now, two major newspapers are calling on President Obama to give Snowden clemency so he can return to the U.S. "The New York Times" and Britain's "The Guardian" are praising Snowden's leaks, calling him a whistle-blower.

"The Times" editorial board writes this, quote, "Considering the enormous value of the information he has revealed and the abuses that he has exposed Mr. Snowden deserves better than a life of permanent exile, fear and flight."

And "The Guardian" editorial board writes this about the leaks saying quote, "That was an act of some moral courage. We hope that calm heads within the present administration are working on a strategy to allow Mr. Snowden to return to the U.S. with dignity" end quote.

So joining me now to talk about it, Ben Wizner, a legal adviser to Edward Snowden and the director of the ACLU Speech Privacy and Technology Project. Good to see you. And Jeffrey Toobin, CNN senior legal analyst. Good to see you as well. Happy New Year to both of you.

OK so Ben, let me begin with you. You know why shouldn't Snowden face charges? Didn't he take classified information and make a decision on his own how to publicize that info?

BEN WIZNER, LEGAL ADVISER TO EDWARD SNOWDEN: Well, I think that "The New York Times" makes the case very powerfully and I urge your viewers to go to "The New York Times" and see it. But I think it boils down to the following -- the disclosures that Mr. Snowden is responsible for vastly improved a much, much needed public debate both in the United States and around the world. The claims that they caused damage are hugely overblown.

He had no alternative but to do it in the way that he did, because the people who were responsible for oversight of these programs already knew about what he reported and hadn't done anything about it.

And the law, under which he would be prosecuted if he were to return to the United States, would not allow him to make a public interest defense, would not allow him to say what I just said, that these disclosures were valuable, that they didn't cause harm. That in fact, they revealed programs that will be found unconstitutional by open courts. They're basically strict liability offenses under U.S. law.

So prosecutors would be able to lock him up for life without the jury ever hearing about the benefits of the disclosures that were talking about today.

WHITFIELD: But what would -- what would give Edward Snowden the justification to be the one that sets the precedent? That -- as an American citizen, anyone could make the determination whether to respect the law or not -- wouldn't that be the case if he were to be given asylum?

WIZNER: Well let me say this. Edward Snowden would not be the first person in the last ten years to get this kind of clemency. But he would almost certainly be the most deserving. Washington is full of people who broke the law by lying to Congress, by engaging in illegal spying, by ordering the torture of prisoners. We haven't seen prosecutions of those officials and we haven't seen a lot of hand ringing about the precedent that's going to be set by not prosecuting those people.

So, let's not you know get on a high horse and say, that oh, dear, if we don't prosecute this person, we're going to set a bad precedent. That precedent has been set a long time ago. The difference is that what Edward Snowden did, in violating the letter of the law, vastly benefited society what some of those high officials did really harmed the U.S. standing in the world.

WHITFIELD: So Jeffrey let me bring you into the equation. So what is the response there to you know Ben's premise there that you know Edward Snowden is doing what many others have done prior to and why should he be prosecuted?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well he should be prosecuted because he broke the law in a very dramatic and egregious way. It is true and I don't think you know someone in my position can deny that he has started an important debate.

But what we will never know is whether that debate could have gotten started if he had done it the right way. If he had gone to Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, someone who has been critical of these programs, and said look, look at these documents. You could bring these out to the public in a way that I can't, but you could do it legally.

No. Snowden took it upon himself to decide that he was above the law and disclose them. And the one point that I think is very important here that Ben didn't mention, that these editorials didn't mention is where did Snowden go? He went to China and he went to Russia -- two repressive countries.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Places where he wouldn't get the kind of -- right, places he wouldn't get the kind of freedoms that he professes he's really not getting U.S. when, in fact, he does.

TOOBIN: Well more to the point also, his computers contained the keys to our national security apparatus, to the National Security Agency. Those now -- perhaps Ben thinks not -- are now in the hands of Chinese intelligence and of the successors to the KGB. Is that something that we should give him credit for? I don't think so.

WHITFIELD: Ben?

WIZNER: It's a fabrication. I mean Jeff has said this over and over again. But saying it 20 times doesn't make it any more true than saying it one time.

WHITFIELD: What part is the fabrication?

WIZNER: There's not a shred of evidence. It's a fabrication that Edward Snowden's computers that contain somehow evidence or something are in the hands of Chinese intelligence or Russian intelligence. Edward Snowden said to the "New York Times" very clearly there's no evidence to the contrary that he did not carry anything with him on computers, hard drives or anything when he traveled to Russia from China.

It was his job in the NSA to train officials on how to evade having their materials compromised. And the only evidence of secret material being compromised is that GCSQ, the British version of NSA and NSA lost control of it. There's not a shred of evidence that either Edward Snowden or the journalists with whom he's worked have lost control.

And I can tell you that if he had -- that if China and Russia had access to this trove somehow, you wouldn't see top level NSA officials going on "60 Minutes" and saying we need to talk to this guy and consider clemency. If they thought that all of the information had already been compromised they wouldn't want to have that conversation. So I really think it's important that your viewers know that there's absolutely no evidence whatsoever that China or Russia got access to this. One more point I want to --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: So actually, we have a clip of that, that you refer to. Let's watch that, from "60 Minutes."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MILLER, "60 MINUTES": He's already said if I got amnesty, I would come back. Given the potential damage to national security, what would your thought on making a deal be?

RICK LEDGETT, NSA OFFICIAL: So my personal view is, yes, it's worth having a conversation about. I would need assurances that the remainder of the data could be secured and my bar for those assurances would be very high. It would be more than just an assertion on his part.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So Jeffrey, what's at stake? Does the Obama administration has to weigh as well, you know, entertain the idea or even have discussions about granting clemency? What is at stake for the U.S. if they were to seriously entertain that, this administration were to seriously entertain that, extend that kind of reprieve?

TOOBIN: Well what the government has to decide is whether it's worth it to get this stuff back. I mean you know Ben says it's not in the hands of the KGB -- successors of the KGB; it's not in the hand of the Chinese intelligence. Where are all these documents, where are all the things that Snowden took with him illegally? I don't know the answer to that.

I don't think the NSA knows. And they'd like to know. And he's got the keys to the kingdom there so we've got some leverage. There's no doubt about it.

WHITFIELD: Yes and then isn't understandable that this administration or any government official would have a hard time trusting the word of Edward Snowden, whether he still has compromising information or not?

WIZNER: I think the important thing is that any discussion be between Edward Snowden and the United States not rely on trust on either side. I think both have reason not to trust the other but -- but be built upon verifiable agreements that don't acquire anyone to believe the other person is telling the truth.

I do want to close by returning to one point that Jeff made, which is that Ed Snowden should have gone to Congress, he should have told Ron Wyden about this instead of going to "The Guardian" newspaper and "The Washington Post".

Congress knew, the intelligence committees knew. Ron Wyden was on the floor of the Senate with his hair on fire saying "If the American people only knew what I knew, they would be outraged." But it turns out that Senator Wyden was right that when the American people did learn, not from him but from Ed Snowden and "The Washington Post," they were outraged.

So there was no other channel as the "New York Times" right we pointed out but the one that Mr. Snowden chose, which was go to the public.

WHITFIELD: Ben Wizner, Jeffrey Toobin. Thanks so much, gentlemen.

TOOBIN: OK.

WIZNER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We'll leave it there. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right it was a marriage of two corporate titans. And today the legal battle between Martha Stewart and Macy's is over. The retailer sued when Martha started selling her products at JC Penney while under an exclusive contract with Macy's.

Alison Kosik is in the New York Bureau with more on this. So a nice big smooch and handshake by all parties involve now?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hard to tell if that's exactly what's happening. But one thing is for sure the battle of Martha versus Macy's yes it has come to an end. And you know this has been one of the -- the more testier legal battles around. You know Macy's sued Martha Stewart living on the media for breach of contract, accusing Martha Stewart's company for violating an exclusive agreement with Macy's to sell Martha products.

Now Macy's had claimed exclusive rights to Martha Stewart cookware, bedding and bath products under a 2006 deal. But Stewart's company signed a merchandising deal with JC Penney in December 2011 to open Martha Stewart home shops in JC Penney stores. And that's what prompted Macy's to sue both Martha Stewart's company and JC Penney.

Now Macy's says that today's settlement with Martha Stewart does not impact the ongoing lawsuit it has with JC Penney and the terms of Macy's settlement with Martha Stewart are confidential -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: OK so does this end all problems involving Martha Stewart?

KOSIK: Good question and not so fast. You know you look at Martha Stewart's company. It's been battling a lackluster publishing market, sluggish advertising. In October it said its quarterly loss narrowed but its revenue still fell 22 percent, it's being pummeled by weakness in broadcast and publishing.

And then you look at what's going on with Macy's. Macy's on other hand has been enjoying strong sales and profits, profits rose more than 20 percent in the latest quarter. JC Penney though has been trying to right the ship suffering from slowing sales. In fact it's been the worst performing stock on the S&P 500 before the actual company got booted off the S&P 500 in November.

So it kind of makes you wonder if she's got any regrets, you know, going with JC Penney and away from Macy's.

WHITFIELD: Yes well she's got a lot of irons in the fire.

KOSIK: I think so.

WHITFIELD: So something tells she made it, she still has a pretty good masterful plan I imagine.

KOSIK: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: All right Alison Kosik thanks so much.

KOSIK: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right still to come. What's in store for 2014? "Time" magazine just released what it calls the user guide for the year, what you should be on the lookout for, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Last year seemed to just come and go in a blink. But there were plenty of events that certainly kept our attention from the appointment of a new pope to the birth of a royal baby.

So, what's ahead for 2014? Any predictions? Well, "Time" magazine has a few things up its sleeve. It just released its latest issue featuring what it calls a user guide for 2014.

Rana Foroohar is CNN's global economic analyst and assistant managing editor for "Time". Good to see you.

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Nice to see you.

WHITFIELD: All right. So let's begin. Yes, let's begin with powerful people because people just simply fascinate us all. You say really topping the list is Janet Yellen, who just, indeed, may be one of the most powerful people. Why?

FOROOHAR: Well, she's the incoming or very soon to be the incoming chair of the federal reserve. And her big task for this year is going to be addressing the ongoing unemployment problem in this country. You know, we are several years into a recovery now but unemployment is still historically high. She has really committed to this.

She's a labor economist. She is someone who has stressed again and again that she really understands the human costs of unemployment. So you know, these are people's lives, they're marriages that we're talking about. We're not just talking about dry figures here. And so if you think about unemployment as the biggest economic and possibly even cultural and social problem of our era, then she's the person who's really in the position to do most about it right now. WHITFIELD: All right. Now, talking about, you know, fresh starts, you know, say this year, 2014, you've got a baby on the way or baby just born in 2014, is there a way to kind of look into the crystal ball about what their life is likely to be like?

FOROOHAR: Absolutely. For starters, it's going to be dominated by technology, you know, they are going to be not only the generation that's born with gadgets and lives and breathes digital media, but they'll be learning through electronics, through computers and through the internet.

One thing that's very interesting is the next generation of children being born is likely to be heavier than those in the past. And that has some interesting implications, possibly for longevity. It's possible that this generation could actually live less long than their parents.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh, heavier because they're just sedentary and they're playing all these electronic gadgets?

FOROOHAR: Well, hopefully not that yet at birth, but they are heavier. And that has health implications. It will be interesting to see how that plays out.

WHITFIELD: Wow -- very fascinating.

OK. Well, speaking of, you know, digital technology and all that good stuff, tech companies, all the big companies responsible for, you know, training our new habits, what is likely in store for them? Or is there a company that's going to dominate?

FOROOHAR: Well, you know, one of the companies that we profile is Square, which is a company that enables retailers to take credit card payments via tablets. You've probably seen these. You go into the hair salon now, and to the coffee shop and you can just use your credit card very seamlessly.

That movement away from cash is going to continue. There's another company with a product called coin that is enabling us to collate all of our credit cards and debit cards on to one card which can then be managed by your smart phones. So I think that this movement away from cash and towards using your phone or your tablet for any kind of payment is going to continue.

WHITFIELD: Gosh. Well, you know, speaking of security breaches and all that kind stuff that kind of makes me nervous on that front. So, speaking of fear, let's talk about the fear index. And what's on it.

FOROOHAR: Well, this is one of my favorite things. The good news first, you should worry less about asteroids and less about a government shutdown, looking less likely for this year. But you should worry more about shark attacks; they are on the rise.

WHITFIELD: What?

FOROOHAR: Possibly because of -- yes, shark attacks are on the rise. Last year there were 53 of them, down a little bit from 2012. They're expected to keep going. Some scientists think this is because of global warming and changing ecosystems. That are moving sharks around and changing where they live. So watch out in the water.

WHITFIELD: They're just kind of getting confused in the water, not necessarily because they have a new appetite for humans? But just -- it has something to do with the environment.

FOROOHAR: No. They're getting confused.

That's right -- warming planet.

WHITFIELD: The old warming thing, OK. Our Rana Foroohar, thanks so much. And Happy New Year.

FOROOHAR: Happy New Year to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still to come, a side of quarterback A.J. McCarron that you haven't seen before.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

A.J. MCCARRON: I was holding tears back right there, just hearing his story and him having cerebral palsy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: McCarron's special friendship with another Alabama student named A.J.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A.J. McCarron leads Alabama against Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl tonight. It's the quarterback's final game for the Crimson Tide where he has helped to win two national championships but one of McCarron's most rewarding move came off the field when he developed a special relationship with a fellow student. And Andy Scholes picks it is up from here. Get your hanky ready.

ANCY SCHOLES, BLEACHER REPORT: Yes. You know, Fredricka this is such a great story. One day when McCarron was leaving practice, he noticed a student who missed a bus. He went over and offered him a ride and the student turns out -- his name was also A.J. and the student suffered from cerebral palsy. But since that ride home together the two have really developed a very special relationship. Take a look.

WHITFIELD: Nice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCARRON: I'll always remember him watching football through the cracks of our fence, just so he can see a glimpse of the team, standing in rain and, you know, cold weather, whatever it was just because he wanted to be around the game. When we had gotten done with practice and I saw two buses starting to pull away. I saw A.J. I could tell, you know, he had some type of disorder and tried to like raise his hand at the bus, at the two buses and they just pulled off. It was starting to rain. And so I just felt bad.

A.J. STARR, ALABAMA STUDENT: I heard someone say, hey, man, you need a ride?

MCCARRON: He just had this big smile on his face and was like, yes.

STARR: As I got close to him, I was like, that's A.J. McCarron.

MCCARRON: And so we're pulling around -- I'm taking him home. He lives right down the street. And I'm like, "I'm A.J. McCarron."

STARR: Yes, I know who you are. My name's A.J. also.

MCCARRON: If that's not a message from above, I don't know what is. I was holding tears back just hearing this story of him having cerebral palsy and how it happened to him. Umbilical cord got wrapped around his neck when he was in his mom's stomach, cut off his airway.

STARR: Having cerebral palsy, it's kind of hard to go out into the real world and sort of meet people.

MCCARRON: He got out of the car and I started bawling, crying. I couldn't handle it anymore. I called our Joe Pannunzio. He was like director of our football operations here and I told him the story and I said is there any way we can get him a job here?

He called me back the next day and said he's going to help in the equipment room, getting all the stuff ready for the games and doing laundry. He's not going to get paid. And I told A.J. that. And he was like I don't even want to get paid, I just want to be here and be around the team.

STARR: I was so excited that I get to be around the football players and just interacting with all the guys. I'm so thankful for all A.J. and this organization has done for me.

MCCARRON: Here's a kid, you know, who's been through all types of obstacles and he still wakes up smiling every day and ready to go to work. And I feel like he has taught me more than I've actually -- or given me more than I've actually given him.

STARR: Every time I come here, no matter how bad my day is or what I may go through, when I come here, it goes out the window, you know. I'm probably the happiest man on this planet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Such a great story.

WHITFIELD: Yes, powerful.

SCHOLES: You can watch both AJs tonight in the Sugar Bowl. Alabama is going to take on Oklahoma. That's 8:30 Eastern. WHITFIELD: I love that friendship.

SCHOLES: Yes. And you can't help but root for A.J. McCarron after something like this.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Indeed.

SCHOLES: It's so great.

WHITFIELD: All right. Great. Thanks so much for bringing that to us, Andy.

SCHOLES: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: All right. We're going to have much more today, straight ahead I'm Fredricka Whitfield. See you again back here tomorrow morning.

"LEGAL VIEW" with Ashleigh Banfield starts right now.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN HOST: Deep freeze, deep snow; we could be in some deep trouble in the northeast in just the hours that lie ahead. Flights are already canceled. Schools are already closing. But just how bad is this actually going to get?

And also this hour, why would someone murder a revered priest in his own rectory? Police search for suspects as his congregation struggles to make sense of this murder tragedy.

And the banker who supposedly committed suicide after being accused of bilking investors out of millions looks a lot more like a biker instead when the authorities nab him. What was the one critical teeny-tiny mistake that led his life on the run to fall apart completely?

Hello, everyone. I'm Ashleigh Banfield. It is Thursday, January 2 and welcome to "LEGAL VIEW". I wish I had better news for you in this New Year but this only Day Two into 2014 and it's already a doozy.

For millions of you all across the country from Illinois to Maine, snow blowers are in overdrive, gearing up for a dangerous Nor-Easter.