Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Bridge Document Release Moments Away; Chemical Taints Water In Part Of West Virginia; Hiring Slows To A Crawl; Christie Sued Over Traffic Slowdown; Feds Recognize Utah Same-Sex Marriages; Obama Administration Fired Web Site Contractor; Christie's Popularity Hit By Scandal; Chemical Taints Water; Christie Loses Ally

Aired January 10, 2014 - 13:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, we are waiting for a big document drop in New Jersey. The state assembly there is ready to release hundreds of pages of documents on the Georgia Washington Bridge traffic tie-up, the scandal that threatens Governor Chris Christie's political future.

And right now, about 300,000 Virginians don't have access to safe tap water. Their supply has been contaminated by a chemical leak. We'll tell you what happened and what the White House is doing to help protect the people there.

And right now, Wall Street isn't quite sure how to react after a surprisingly dismal jobs report. The numbers and why they fell so short of expectations.

Hi there, I'm Brianna Keilar in for Wolf Blitzer. And we will start with the next chapter in the Chris Christie traffic scandal. At any moment now, the New Jersey State Assembly is expected to release more than 900 of pages of documents on the so-called traffic study that led to Christie firing his deputy chief of staff.

And our Joe Johns joining me now with this. What exactly are these documents? Are we expecting any bombshells?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: We aren't expecting any bombshells, at least in talking to the officials who are supposedly going to release these today. We're talking about between 900 and 1,000 pages, at best, which could shed some light on what happened in the bridge controversy, coming from the same committee in the New Jersey legislature that's been at the center of the storm from the start. Told not to expect, again, any bombshells, just a little more context, perhaps, a little more clarity.

KEILAR: The big issue here for Governor Christie is the threat of a criminal investigation.

JOHNS: Right.

KEILAR: How serious is that?

JOHNS: Well, good question. What we're told is the United States attorney for New Jersey -- by the way, this is a job that Chris Christie held some time ago.

KEILAR: He did, yes.

JOHNS: Now, there is an Obama appointee there. He has launched a preliminary investigation. And he's doing that with the help of the FBI. They're looking into whether it's possible that any public corruption laws might have been broken. The fact of the matter is, though, when you talk to a lot of legal experts and so on, they'll suggest it might be a stretch to try to make this into a federal case.

KEILAR: And that's not the only legal woes.

JOHNS: Right.

KEILAR: There is also this class action --

JOHNS: Absolutely.

KEILAR: -- case.

JOHNS: Right.

KEILAR: Tell us about that.

JOHNS: This is a group of people who were inconvenienced and may have lost time, may have lost money, while the traffic on the bridge was being held up. They're trying to get class action certification. That would mean representing a larger group of individuals who had a problem. They're alleging a bunch of things, including that the government actually engaged in some type of inappropriate activity. They're allegation conspiracy and they're also allegation a lot of negligence in there. In other words, the public officials, including the governor, had a duty to avoid this kind of thing for the public and for some reason or another, they didn't.

KEILAR: The troubles just branching off of this issue.

JOHNS: Right, in every direction.

KEILAR: Every direction. Joe Johns, thank you so much.

Now, just a few hours -- or our Joe Johns just talked about that class action lawsuit over the September traffic slow down.

HLN legal analyst, Joey Jackson, joining me on this. What do you think about this, Joey? Are these people really with a beef? Is this opportunism? Is this kind of a real grass-roots start for them? Are they just aggravated? Is this political? What do you think?

JOEY JACKSON, LEGAL ANALYLST, HLN: Good afternoon, Brianna. I -- you know, I think it's a law suit that may have legs and we'll wait and see, of course. But I think there are legitimate claims. If you go through the law suit, it's predicated on federal claims in addition to state claims. Like what? They're arguing in the lawsuit that their ability to travel was certainly impeded as a result of this. They're arguing that their due process rights under the 14th amendments were violated as a result of this. They're arguing general negligence that the people who were in charge of this certainly should have known better and should have been trained properly. And, of course, the governor should have adequately supervised what was occurring here.

And in addition to that, Brianna, you are talking about damages that are real. You're talking about people's ability not to get to work. You're talking about a, you know, potential panic attack that someone had who was there. And so, that relates to not only damages that are physical in nature but economic in nature and emotional in nature as well. And so, we'll see. They'll have the right to defend it and respond to it. But on the face of it, it certainly doesn't look opportunistic. It looks like there are legitimate claims at the root of this lawsuit.

KEILAR: And I know class action lawsuits are sort of your wheel house in a way. You would take this case then? You think they might have a good shot?

JACKSON: You know, I think they do. And certainly there will be attorney fees that are attached to that, and so any attorney would be motivated to -- you know, to do something like this. And, of course, if you look at the background of it, Brianna, apparently they went to the lawyer back in September when it did occur. But it was only speculation, at that point, as to whether or not it was politically motivated with the e-mails having come out.

And, of course, the jury will still be out on that. Everybody has their day in court. But they seem to be suggestive of some type of intentional act by people that we hold in positions of authority and that we at least expect will be responsible and do their job.

KEILAR: Now, they certainly have some evidence in their corner. OK, one of the other legal headaches, perhaps the bigger one for the governor, will be this threat of a federal criminal investigation. How real is this? What would make this a federal crime?

JACKSON: You know, it remains to be seen. But, you know, again, we elect officials and we expect they behave responsibly and we expect that they're not corrupt in any way. They'll be looking at wire fraud. They'll be looking at mail fraud. They'll be looking at communications that were within the administration between different members of the administration. Was there any intent to actually do this? Does that intent satisfy the corruption laws, the Hobbs Act, you know, and other acts which make it illegal to engage in behavior that is criminal and in fact corrupt? Were there any payoffs that occurred as a result of this?

And so, we're a long way away. There will be an investigation. At this point, on the face of it, is there enough? Who knows? But as they continue with the FBI to unfold and, you know, to peel back the onion, as they say, and we know the FBI leaves no stone unturned, --

KEILAR: Sure.

JACKSON: -- who knows what we could be talking about next week, Brianna. KEILAR: So, Joey, before I let you go, I want to ask you this. And Chris Christie has -- you know, as we heard from Joe Johns, he has this background of being a federal lawyer. He knows or should know what to do, what not to do. He's talking about kind of doing this, you know, internal look himself. Under the threat of a federal investigation, should he be sort of dallying in that, trying to figure out what went on or should he just kind of step back and say, you know, let's let the feds decide if this is an issue?

JACKSON: Sure, Brianna. You know, I know he has wonderful advisers, and they'll advise him accordingly as to what he should do. But I think there is a political consideration as well as an actual legal and ethical consideration that he has to deal with. Politically, he has headaches. People much more qualified than me can speak to those issues.

But, legally, I think people want responsible government. And in the event that anyone in his administration did act improperly and inappropriately, the people of New Jersey, and of course throughout the country, you know, may have an interest in knowing that he's weeding that out, and acting in a responsible way as a responsible official will act. And so, we are far from done from this. We have just scratched the surface. But I think it may be around, particularly with the lawsuits pending, Brianna, for us to be talking about for some time to come.

KEILAR: It's a hard situation, certainly, for him to navigate, at this point. Joey Jackson, HLN, legal analyst. Thank you.

JACKSON: A pleasure and a privilege.

KEILAR: Now, the Justice Department has just announced that the federal government will recognize same-sex marriages that were performed for a short time in Utah. This is a decision that will affect more than 1,000 gay and lesbian couples.

Let's go ahead and bring Joe Johns back in. Why did the Justice Department make this move?

JOHNS: Well, it means the United States federal government is saying the law of the land, which applies to federal benefits and same-sex marriages, still applies. You can make a case that the people over at the Justice Department saw a need to act because they already had the Supreme Court decision called Windsor which allowed for extension of federal benefits to same-sex couples. But with the state of Utah asking for gay marriages to be put on hold while the Supreme Court decides another case, it created an enforcement problem. This was Department of Justice saying, we've got a decision in the court already we're moving forward on enforcing that, regardless of what Utah does. Listen to Eric Holder's recorded statement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES: The governor has announced the state will not recognize these marriages, pending additional court action. In the meantime, I am confirming today that for purposes of federal law, these marriages will be recognized as lawful and considered eligible for all relevant federal benefits on the same terms as other same-sex marriages.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: On a different level, you can say also that now DOJ has taken this action, the federal government, once again, is inserting itself into an issue that's long been the province of the state's which is regulation of marriage. And in some ways, the decision will only add to the confusion over same-sex marriage as the states that don't allow it try to come to grips with the states that do have it along with what the federal government is doing. Brianna, this issue remains a moving legal target.

KEILAR: Does it clear up any of the confusion? For instance, if a same-sex couple -- perhaps in their state, they cannot wed legally, but they go to a state where you can. What does it mean for them, and how does it sort of -- does it clean up any of the inconsistencies?

JOHNS: It really doesn't because it's on hold in Utah. So, Utah is not recognizing the marriages so that means other states don't necessarily have to, I would think. But it's really hard to say. It's a patchwork that's gone on in the United States. The Supreme Court probably has got to revisit this and give a fuller opinion on whether same-sex marriages are valid in the 50 states.

KEILAR: And clear up some of that confusion.

JOHNS: Yes.

KEILAR: Joe Johns, thank you.

Now, we have learned that the Obama administration has fired CGI federal. You remember that? That is the contractor that was hired to create HealthCare.gov, the government's health care exchange Web site that was such a disaster last year. CGI has been working to fix the problems but will now be replaced. CGI's contract with the government was scheduled to expire in February, and ultimately, it was not renewed.

Well, the House voted today to approve a new check on that Web site. The bill requires the administration to notify individuals if their personal information entered onto the Web site is later compromised. The White House opposed this bill but stopped short of threatening a veto. The Senate still has to vote on it, decide if it will even take it up. Next week, the House is expected to vote on a bill that will require weekly updates on enrollment numbers which we're only getting monthly, at this point. Also, updates on Web site problems.

Well, Chris Christie now has an image problem, so why aren't members of his party coming to his defense? We'll be taking a look, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Chris Christie was riding high as a Republican presidential front-runner. Here's where he stood in mid-December against perceived Democratic front-runner, Hillary Clinton. A two-point lead there in the potential 2016 match-up, that's within the margin of error so neck and neck. Christie was the only Republican mentioned who could beat Clinton, according to the poll. That poll was taken three days after he first denied any involvement by his office in the Fort Lee traffic scandal. Now, he has taken responsibility and apologized, even though there is no evidence, at this point, that he personally ordered anything.

But what we haven't heard a lot of from fellow Republicans is defense. Defending him. And our Brian Todd is here to talk about that. In fact, we've actually heard some of them come out and kind of slam him a little.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Brianna, they have.

Now, as for those who are not saying anything at this point, they may be content right now just to let him twist in the wind a little bit. There is real resentment within the Republican Party toward Chris Christie. And some of them are not being so silent, as you mentioned. Here's a quote from Rand Paul from yesterday. Quote, "I've been in traffic before, and I know how angry I am when I'm in traffic and I'm always wondering who did this to me." You know, it's clearly a little dig at him.

But among some conservative voices, even stronger sentiments, Brianna. Here's Glenn Beck yesterday. "Here's the good news, I think this has just ended his political career," according to Glenn Beck. Quote, "conservatives need to run from Chris Christie." Rush Limbaugh saying he's not conservative. Rush Limbaugh saying he's a guy who's going to pay you back. Those conservative voices, who are very influential, are really speaking out now toward him.

And, you know, it's a long-standing clash on policy. They clash with him on immigration. They clash with him on gun control, the Tea Party people do, the conservative wing does (ph).

KEILAR: They feel he's not conservative enough.

TODD: That's right. He is not conservative enough. They've always clashed with him on that.

But also, Brianna, what's interesting, you talk to analysts who followed the 2012 campaign and other things. Some of it's personal. One analyst said that he's talked to some operatives on the Republican side who say that there's a perception that Chris Christie's team is tough to work with, that he's a real prima donna. The Romney people have complained about that apparently. So there's that.

And who can forget - you can't forget Superstorm Sandy.

KEILAR: Oh, no.

TODD: The appearances with President Obama.

KEILAR: Yes.

TODD: You were with the president. I mean you, you know -

KEILAR: Still kind of fresh in a way, I think, for some Republicans.

TODD: Yes, of course.

KEILAR: They're so upset that Chris Christie -

TODD: Absolutely. Yes.

KEILAR: You know, was pictured with President Obama during that time.

TODD: That's right. And right before the election.

KEILAR: Yes.

TODD: They said that Romney couldn't bounce back from that. Now there's some who say that Romney probably would have lost anyway. But, again, it didn't help them at that point.

KEILAR: And it's interesting because, you know, so many people, even though there are a number of people who are kind of coming out, you're not really surprised when there's some folks who may have their eyes on the presidency, as well, that they're kind of knocking him.

TODD: Sure.

KEILAR: It's interesting, there are Republicans who, you know, they think, well, perhaps he really has a shot and they don't really know what to say at this point. You don't really want to take a side if you're them, I think.

TODD: That's right. That's right.

KEILAR: But let's talk about the people who may stand to gain from a Christie tumble. Who has the most to gain?

TODD: Well, I mean, you look at some of the obvious candidates. Rand Paul spoke out yesterday about this. He is certainly someone who has something to gain from it. He's considered a potential presidential contender in 2016. You've got Marco Rubio, you've got Ted Cruz, and I heard James Carville the other day mention someone who hasn't been mentioned very much recently, Jeb Bush. You know, lying back, waiting for some of these pegs to fall, maybe. Maybe he's going to make his move a little bit later when he sees how some of this shakes out and maybe this is something that will help him make that decision. So those are the names you're hearing about right now.

KEILAR: All right. It's amazing, the ramifications. And we'll continue to be able to assess just how much reach this has and how it affects the dominoes.

TODD: Sure. Yes.

KEILAR: Brian Todd, thank you so much.

TODD: Absolutely. Thanks, Brianna. KEILAR: Well, there's a lot of people in West Virginia who are being warned to stay away from their tap water. We're going to tell you why, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: President Obama has declared a federal emergency in nine West Virginia counties after a potentially dangerous chemical leaked into the water supply. It is a chemical used to wash coal and it leaked from a storage facility right into the Elk River, directly into it. More than 300,000 people are being warned not to use their tap water for drinking, cooking or even washing. Two hours passed before that warning went out and emergency rooms were packed with panicked people. The National Guard has been called out. FEMA officials also on site, but it's still unclear how much of this chemical is in the water.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF MCINTYRE, PRESIDENT, W. VA AMERICAN WATER CO.: Obviously, we still have no quantified amount. We have run some tests and we can detect the material. There is a material present. But we don't know how to quantify it. We don't know that the water's not safe, but I can't say it is safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And our Elizabeth Cohen is in Charleston, West Virginia, covering this for us.

Elizabeth, you actually visited this factory site today. What was it like?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, I'll tell you, Brianna, they told us that this chemical smells like black licorice. And when we went there, ooh, boy, were they right. There is this overwhelming smell of black licorice and I don't mean that in a yummy way. It is really pretty overpowering and you feel a little nauseous actually smelling and breathing it in.

Now, Freedom Industries has not returned our phone calls. Not only that, they are not even returning the phone calls of the utility, of the water company who we just heard from. They said, look, we're trying to reach them and they're not talking to us.

What we do know about this chemical, Brianna, is that it can be harmful if you're exposed to it in its undiluted form. If you just took a whiff of the chemical or touched the chemical, it could hurt you. What we don't know is what happens when you're exposed to it in its diluted form, because, of course, by now, it's diluted. It went into the river where the river went into water system. We don't know what it can do to you in its diluted for.

Brianna.

KEILAR: So if it - if we don't know that, do we know if anyone has gotten sick from the contamination? COHEN: You know, Brianna, we called around to area hospitals and they all told us that they have no illnesses that they know are linked to this water. They're not seeing people with strange chemical rashes or anything like that. One hospital official or employee told us, we've had some people come into the emergency room feeling nauseous and they say it's from the smell. It's impossible, of course, to link those two. You don't really know why those people are feeling nauseous.

KEILAR: Obviously a developing story and we know that you'll be following it there. Elizabeth Cohen in Charleston, West Virginia, thank you.

Well, you know it looks like a severe flu season is raging as nine people have died in the San Francisco Bay area. It's so bad there, hospitals have set up triage tents, like this one here. Flu season hits its peak in late January. It runs through March. And health officials say that most of those who died likely had the H1N1 strain, called swine flu, and that they likely had not been vaccinated. The current flu shot covers swine flu. There is concern, too, that the people who died were relatively young. One, just 23 years old.

Well, despite claims on the Internet that the polar vortex left Niagara Falls frozen solid, you can see here that water actually is frozen, or I should say flowing. That's what I meant, flowing. But, yes, that extreme cold left the falls partially frozen. An amazing sight. And experts point out that parts of the falls actually freeze over every winter. And look at this ice in the Niagara River. Officials warn the ice jam could force water over the banks and lead to flooding. An amazing sight, though.

We know that bridge scandal in New Jersey is leaving Governor Chris Christie without a key ally. Hear how that could impact the race for the White House after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Well, some of the fallout from the New Jersey bridge scandal could have a significant and lasting impact on the political career of Governor Chris Christie. And here's why. Christie's trusted strategist, who managed his two gubernatorial campaigns, is no longer at his side. Christie fired Bill Stepien after learning about the apparent scheme to block traffic near a busy bridge. And our Peter Hamby has been following this story.

Peter, how important is Stepien to his success?

PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: This is a big deal that kind of flew under the radar a little bit yesterday. Everyone focused on Bridget Kelly, the deputy chief of staff.

KEILAR: Who said time for traffic problems, right?

HAMBY: Yes. But Stepien's name surfaced in the e-mails, suggesting that he was aware of this after it happened.

Bill Stepien flies very under the radar, but he is in Chris Christie's inner circle. In fact, maybe one of the top three or four strategists. A lot of people in Trenton thought this was the guy who was going to manage Chris Christie's presidential campaign. Essential a field guy, very under the rare, very in the nuts and bolts of campaigning. But basically someone like Barack Obama's David Plouffe.

This is a big deal. A lot of people I talked to in Trenton yesterday were shocked that this happened because Stepien is so close to the governor, travels with him, has his ear. The fact that -- you could read this as the fact that he fired Stepien, cut him out of his political organization suggests how seriously Christie took this. Because, you know, this wasn't just some functionary. This is somebody who had his ear and goes way back with Christie.

KEILAR: This is his right-hand man.

HAMBY: Right.

KEILAR: So a lot of people look at what has gone down in New Jersey and some people say they're not necessarily surprised. You know, certain places are known for more transactional politics, more hard- hitting politics. Is that just kind of what's going on here? How, I guess, often does something like this happen?

HAMBY: Well, I mean, you know, there's some states that just have a little bit of a rough and tumble atmosphere.

KEILAR: Yes.

HAMBY: Florida, South Carolina. But New Jersey is definitely one of them. That's not an understatement. Christie's first campaign for free holder, you know, a county office in Morris County, he was sued for defamation after that campaign and settled out of court because of a hard-hitting campaign ad that he ran. I talked to someone about Bill Stepien, who we were just talking about, who has a very sort of sharp elbowed reputation, and they were saying that's just par for the course in New Jersey. You know, that's how business is done.