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Concerns Over Olympic Security; Interview with Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger; Terrorist May Conceal Bombs in Toothpaste, Cosmetics; Political Impact of Bridgegate Obvious to Christie.

Aired February 06, 2014 - 13:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: The Olympic competition is already underway in Sochi, Russia, even before tomorrow's opening ceremonies. But there are concerns over security and they threaten to overshadow those events. The U.S. is warning airlines with direct flights to Russia to be aware terrorists may try to conceal explosive material in tubes of toothpaste or makeup containers, along those lines.

Amanda Davies is joining us from Sochi right now.

Amanda, you sat down with the Russian official in charge of these games. Tell us what he told you.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi. I did, Wolf. And security has been an issue that has been ever-present in the build-up to these games, hasn't it? I first traveled here to Sochi six months ago and then spoke to Dmitry Chernyshenko, the man who's in charge of Sochi 2014. And he told me then that they were doing all they could, liaisoning with national security organizations to make the games the safest it could possibly be. Last month, they banned all liquids and gels on internal flights within Russia. And when I caught up with him yesterday, Wednesday, despite the recent Volgograd bombings, despite the threats just this week to members of the Austrian Olympic team, Chernyshenko stood by his claim that there should be no safety concerns to anyone coming to Sochi.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVIES: How disappointing is it though you have athletes arriving to compete at an Olympics fearing for their safety?

DMITRY CHERNYSHENKO, CEO, SOCHI 2014: Sochi likely to be the most safe place in the world. And from the beginning of the project, in preparation with international expert and security and supervision of the ice here, Russian do utmost to organize the safe and friendly environment here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DAVIES: Wolf, as the opening ceremony gets closer and closer, more and more athletes and officials are arriving. And these security measures in place will be put even further to the test.

BLITZER: Amanda Davies on the ground for us in Sochi.

Amanda, we're going to check back with you. Thanks very much.

Let's dig a little bit deeper right now about security, the role of the United States, what the intelligence community knows about these threats.

Joining us is Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger.

REP. DUTCH RUPPERSBERGER (D-MD), HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Good to be here, Wolf.

BLITZER: How concerned should Americans be right now...

RUPPERSBERGER: Well...

BLITZER: -- who are in Sochi, whether the athletes, their family members, other spectators?

RUPPERSBERGER: Well, the first thing, we have 10,000 Americans that we think will be in Sochi. And we have to be concerned. We always have to be concerned. This is a very dangerous part of the world, with a lot of threats that have been out there.

I think, though, that the best defense against terrorism is intelligence, and that's what we're attempting to do, the United States, our allies, working with Russia as much as we can to get information.

A lot of what we heard about the toothpaste and -- and trying -- the terrorists trying to find ways to set off a bomb or an airplane, we got through chatter, I mean and chatter is out there every day in the intelligence community.

But when we have a situation like the Olympics that we're focusing on, we're going to make sure that we follow through on every allegation, everything that we see to protect athletes and protect Americans.

BLITZER: Can you tell us where that chatter originated?

RUPPERSBERGER: No, I mean that's -- a lot of it's classified, but it -- it's out there. The chatter has been out there. And when we get that information or our allies get it, we pass it through.

BLITZER: Is it these Russian terrorists, these Islamic fundamentalist groups in the Caucasus, whether in Dagestan, or is it more al Qaeda central or al Qaeda affiliated inspired groups outside of Russia?

RUPPERSBERGER: It's a combination of both. I think it's about extremists. You have the Russians that really are focusing on Russia. Al Qaeda will always focus on us, the United States. And they will take advantage of any situation.

And what's concerning about the toothpaste and the airplane, if you look at al Qaeda's history, they like to focus on airplanes. That is an area that they have been successful. Now, because our intelligence is so good that normally we would get information about a larger attack. One of my concerns would be a suicide attack, not -- not where the Olympics are occurring, but, you know, people, or Americans have to be concerned that are staying in hotels and transportation and buses and those type of things, because, you know, when a suicide bomber decides to kill somebody and where they're trying to do whatever they can to make sure they identify that, that could be very serious.

BLITZER: Just outside that so-called ring of steel.

RUPPERSBERGER: That would be my concern more, because there's so much security. I know our Olympic Committee has independent security and they're -- they're working very closely.

I think our -- our -- the athletes will be protected. I think that it's going to be very difficult for a terrorist to penetrate the inside, where the athletes are.

I'd be more concerned on the outside.

BLITZER: Is there a collaboration between the internal Russian terrorist organizations who hate Putin, want to embarrass him, humiliate him before the entire world during this moment, and al Qaeda-related elements outside of Russia?

RUPPERSBERGER: We don't really care as much about Putin's ego. He has one of the biggest egos in the world. We care more about protecting Americans and then protecting our allies and what's going on at the Olympics.

But we are working with the locals, too, the local law enforcement.

But...

BLITZER: In Russia?

RUPPERSBERGER: In Russia. Russia is the host country, so they can control a lot of what we are doing.

One of the things I've said to people, why do -- what -- would you recommend your family to go to Russia?

Of course, because terrorists win if you don't. When we have a lin -- when we have Olympics throughout the world and -- we need to continue to move on. And that's why intelligence is so important. We have a lot of issues here in the United States about NSA and -- and privacy and we care very much about privacy, but we need to make sure that we get the intelligence to protect us from people who want to kill us.

BLITZER: So -- but I'm getting back to the collaboration.

RUPPERSBERGER: Sure.

BLITZER: Is there collaboration between al Qaeda elements outside of Russia and these terrorist groups inside, whether Dagestan, some of the other Caucasus?

RUPPERSBERGER: There is some collaboration, but it's not as focused as it, say, would be in Pakistan. You have other parts of the world now that are getting very strong. There are collateral groups that are connected to al Qaeda. There are extremists out there.

You have issues in Syria, where you have more, probably, terrorists in one spot than anyplace in the world right now, Americans who've gone to fight for extreme situations.

So, you know, we -- it's a dangerous world. And that's why I keep saying and intelligence is the best defense against terrorism.

BLITZER: I've spoken to people who are knowledgeable about what's happening in Sochi right now.

RUPPERSBERGER: Yes?

BLITZER: And I wonder if you would agree or disagree.

Several of them said they would be surprised if there weren't some sort of terrorist attack over the next two weeks.

Would you be -- I mean we would all be grateful and be thrilled if there isn't, but would you be surprised if there's no terrorist attack over the next two weeks?

RUPPERSBERGER: It depends on how extreme people are and whether or not they really want to put a suicide bomber out there. I know just in the area of Russia, a lot of people are very concerned and they hate Putin and what they feel Russia stands for. They feel that -- that Russians are taking away their territory.

So, you know, I would be concerned about the more local Russian extremists.

But I would never distrust -- I would never -- not trust, but I would never not focus on al Qaeda and al Qaeda can take advantage -- would take advantage of any situation that's handed to them.

So that's why we have to be vigilant and that's why we're working with our allies. And we're working with Russia, not as much as we want, but we're getting a lot of information and we're working closely with the locals. We've got to protect Americans.

BLITZER: Yes. I mean it's a...

RUPPERSBERGER: (INAUDIBLE).

BLITZER: -- obviously a very worrisome situation that...

RUPPERSBERGER: But there are Brits there. There are allies there. There are Austrians. There's -- there are people from all over the world there. And -- and it's a -- it's a dangerous place, so it's a challenge, there's no question. BLITZER: You -- looking back, do you think this was a mistake to put the Olympic -- the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi seven years ago, when they announced...

RUPPERSBERGER: I think...

BLITZER: -- the venue?

RUPPERSBERGER: -- I think we have to look at history and see what happens when it's over. You know, if Russia was picked by the Olympic Committee, for whatever reason, I'd rather have them in the United States, I mean, and other parts. But, you know, it is where it is.

I just really hope that Putin's ego doesn't get in the way to make sure that we can work together to stop any threat and to get intelligence and -- and act on it immediately, to protect first, our priority, America and our allies and anybody involved.

BLITZER: Dutch Ruppersberger is from Maryland.

RUPPERSBERGER: Yes.

BLITZER: He's the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee.

Thanks for coming in.

RUPPERSBERGER: Good to be here, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, don't leave yet.

RUPPERSBERGER: OK.

BLITZER: Thank you.

Look at this video from a couple years ago. That's how much high explosives the underwear bomber was carrying on an airplane. But what if the explosives were hidden inside a tube of toothpaste? A closer look when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Terrorists have shown no shortage of imagination to try to smuggle explosives on airplanes. They've tried shoes, printer cartridges and even underwear. Now terrorists may be trying to conceal explosives inside toothpaste or cosmetic tubes, common items certainly in carry-on baggage.

Bryan Todd is here looking at the possible terror threat.

You're specifically looking at how much damage explosives inside some toothpaste container could do.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Wolf. And we have learned today that you can make a full explosive and place it in a tube of tooth paste, like this. An expert in England did this for us today. Placed some explosives called RDX inside a tube -- the tubes of toothpaste come a bit smaller in England. He filled about three- quarters with explosives and the other part with toothpaste and oil, mixed it into a paste, you couldn't tell. He blew the door off a car with it and said this could easily put a hole in a plane's fuselage. It is possible to do it --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Wait a second. Hold on.

TODD: Yeah.

BLITZER: Let's say you have explosives inside a toothpaste container like that, right?

TODD: Right.

BLITZER: How do you detonate it? You take it on a plane and then what do you do?

TODD: Well, you don't want to give away too much of that. I asked him that extensively. He says there are ways to detonate it with heat sources.

BLITZER: Going through metal detectors to get on the plane, that wouldn't be detected?

TODD: Some things like matches and maybe some lighters are often not detected. So you could conceivably get it through. It takes some kind of a detonation, possibly with a heat source, to get it to go off. And he was able to do that. You can do it in a tube this size or maybe several tubes this size.

BLITZER: You can do a small one like that?

TODD: Possibly, yes. It is possible, not easy, but possible. You know, CNN also demonstrated two years ago, Wolf, after that 2010 plot to put printer cartridge bombs on cargo planes, we demonstrated how powerful that could have been. That wasn't a whole lot bigger than one of these and that made a huge explosion. We've got some video of that right here. Explosions easily enough to bring down a plane or cause massive casualties in a crowded situation. Again, this was also -- the type of explosive used in that, and this, are fairly similar. The toothpaste explosive that we used today was a substance called RDX. That substance in that video was PETN, same substance used in the underwear bomb plot in 2009. They're fairly similar in effect.

What's interesting, Wolf, this has been done before, in 1976. October of 1976, a Cubana Airlines flight was brought down by anti-Castro Cuban operatives. The explosives were hidden in a tube of Colgate toothpaste. 73 people killed, many of them teenagers in that bombing. So it has happened before. A plane has been brought down with a bomb -- explosives hidden in a tube of toothpaste.

BLITZER: Are they going to start banning toothpaste on flights? TODD: There was talk about that. There was a plot in 2006 to bomb planes using liquid, gels, things like that. Right after that, the TSA did ban all liquids and gels on flights. Some weeks after that, they kind of eased the restrictions to what they call the 311 rule so you can bring limited amounts in small quantities. We're told the TSA is always evaluating their procedures there. But right now, after this news that we got yesterday and we're talking about today, this could be re-evaluated.

BLITZER: It's all very, very worrisome, indeed, Brian. Thanks. I know you'll have more in "The Situation Room" later today as well.

TODD: Yes.

BLITZER: Thank you.

The New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's on the road again, this time in Texas. We're going to find out what kind of reception he's getting in light of the so-called Bridgegate scandal. We'll have a live report from the Lone Star State when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is in Texas today, raising money for fellow Republican governors. But the political impact of the so-called Bridgegate scandal may be painfully obvious to Christie, even in friendly GOP territory.

Our national political reporter, Peter Hamby, is covering Christie's trip for us from Dallas.

Peter, what kind of greeting is the governor getting from Republican leaders there in Texas?

PETER HAMBY, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Wolf. Yeah, we actually don't really know because the Republican Governors Association, which Christie chairs -- and he's here raising money for that -- has been very cagey about who he is meeting with and where he's meeting other than here in Dallas and Ft. Worth. He's having a series of one-on-one meetings with donors. Texas, as you know, is a huge donor state for the Republican Party. But he is not holding any big events here. And we don't know where he is.

We do know that the Republican governor of the state, Rick Perry, and the presumptive Republican nominee for governor, Greg Abbott, who presumably will rely on RGA money, are not appearing with Chris Christie or attending meetings with him. Some of that is understandable. There's a little bit of personal rivalries there going on. Greg Abbott has a lot of money on his own and might not necessarily need RGA money, Wolf. But it is intriguing that these high-profile Republican governors are keeping their distance from Governor Christie here in Texas -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Was he popular with fellow GOP governors before the so- called Bridgegate scandal? HAMBY: Yeah, that's interesting. Democrats are trying to make hay of the fact that these prominent Republicans are staying away from Christie, but there are some long-standing rivalries within the Republican Governors Association. It's a notoriously drama-free organization, but there are different factions within the committee. This flair last year when Bobby Jindal, the Louisiana governor, and Chris Christie competed to be chairman the RGA this year and the committee split down different lines. Rick Perry, for example, supported Bobby Jindal, and Chris Christie won with support from other governors, Wolf. There are some personal rivalries going on. But Chris Christie still has pretty strong support among the committee. As long as he is raising money, Wolf, for the RGA, he is going to be OK, presuming no other shoes drop any time soon.

BLITZER: Yeah, presuming that. The Wisconsin governor, Scott Walker, is also considered a potential Republican presidential candidate. He's in Texas. What's he doing there?

HAMBY: That's right, Wolf. Texas, again, it's an ATM for Republicans. They come here all the time to raise money, specifically Dallas and Houston. He is raising money. He met with Harlan Crow (ph), a big Republican donor. Rand Paul is in the state this week also doing donor meetings and giving speeches. Texas is a huge state. Again, Democrats were trying to make hay of the fact that Rick Perry and Greg Abbott, for example, are not meeting with Chris Christie. But they are not meeting with Scott Walker either. Republicans come here all the time to raise money and that's what they're doing today -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Peter Hamby in Dallas for us, watching the Republicans. Thanks very much.

Still ahead, TV personality Star Jones calls herself the face of heart disease. Her story of survival is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Tomorrow is the American Heart Association's "National Wear Red Day." It's part of celebrating February as "National Heart Month." One TV personality proudly calls herself the face of heart disease.

In this report by our Chris Cuomo, Star Jones talks about-facing her illness and emerging a survivor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, HOST, NEW DAY (voice-over): Star Jones wears many hats, attorney, author, TV personality. The one she takes most seriously is heart health advocate.

STAR JONES, TV PERSONALITY: Heart disease is not old white guys. Heart disease can affect any woman, any time, any race, any size, any age.

CUOMO: A reality that slapped Jones in the face. After being morbidly obese for more than 20 years she had gastric bypass surgery, changed her eating habits and started exercising. Eventually, she lost 160 pounds.

JONES: I though I had accomplished everything I needed to on the health front. And then, I got diagnosed with heart disease.

CUOMO: Even though Jones felt and looked great, she was getting lightheaded and experiencing shortness of breath.

(on camera): You were exhausted?

JONES: Those are classic symptoms of heart disease, especially when it comes to women.

CUOMO (voice-over): Symptoms some women may just chalk up to their busy lives.

JONES: Women don't take care of our health in the same way we take care of our families.

CUOMO: Something Jones vowed to change after she had open-heart surgery.

JONES: I sort of wear my heart scar as a badge of honor because it means I'm a survivor.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Nice report. Star Jones, by the way, will be a guest on CNN's "New Day" tomorrow morning for what's called "Wear Red Day." You can also read her very personal story at CNN.com/impact. I suggest you do so. A very good cause, indeed.

That's it for me. Thanks very much for watching. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. I'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern in "The Situation Room."

NEWSROOM continues right now with Brooke Baldwin.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Wolf.

Hi, there. I'm Brooke Baldwin.