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Kerry Kennedy Acquitted of DWI; Secret Clinton Papers Released Today; Matthew McConaughey Up Close; Federal Deficit at Lowest Level since 2008; Churches Buy Out Theaters for "Son of God"
Aired February 28, 2014 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN HOST, "LEGAL VIEW": And there was a crash too. No one was hurt. But you know DUI, driving under the influence, driving while drugged, this is a critical issue. And this is a very interesting defense too because this kind of drug has what you called an amnesia effect. So this jury believed her expert. And by the way what's even more interesting is they did not believe necessarily, what the prosecutor's expert was trying to promulgate.
Because under cross-examination the prosecutor own expert have to concede she wouldn't have been aware on this particular drug she wouldn't have been aware that she was driving erratically.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And Jean, you talked to Kerry Kennedy in the courtroom. What did she say?
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN LEGAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I was just in the courtroom when that verdict rang out. The jury deliberated about it an hour and 10 minutes. And I asked Kerry Kennedy, has this experience changed you at all because this could be life changing in one way or another. Because she was a defendant in a courtroom and that has never happened before.
She said it really hasn't. She said that she is not angry at all. She is just so grateful for the jury, grateful for the court officials. And I saw some things just a minute ago. I have never seen in a courtroom before.
Number one, the courtroom erupted into applause after the jury renders the verdict. And it was from the side of Kerry Kennedy. And it was just -- has never happened before.
Secondly, she stood up after the jury left the room. She walked over to the prosecutors. She shook their hands before she left the courtroom.
COSTELLO: You are right. That is quite unusual.
CASAREZ: And that --
COSTELLO: Yes, yes Jeffrey --
CASAREZ: Both things are, definitely. But you know -- I just wanted to say that it was obvious that she was driving impaired, she was driving a vehicle. But they couldn't show beyond a reasonable doubt in the minds of this jury that she knew she had taken Ambien before she got on the road or while she got on the road. So it's the defense expert that I think won the day here.
COSTELLO: And Jeffrey, there have been some people who say she was only charged in this case because she was a Kennedy. What do you think?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST (via telephone): Well, I certainly think that's a possibility because this was a very weak case.
Her story was very plausible. The two pills looked somewhat alike. Why would you take an Ambien? Why would you drug yourself, knock yourself out when you were going to the gym? I mean it just doesn't make a lot of sense.
And the whole issue in the case was intent. What was in her head? Did she intend to take a drug that knocks you out before driving? And she had a very plausible story, very plausible defense and it just doesn't seem like this case made a lot of sense. Some sort of lesser charge, not a misdemeanor, some sort of violation, drunk driving ticket, seems like -- seems like it would have been a much more sensible way to resolve this, rather than forcing her to go to trial on a misdemeanor.
COSTELLO: All right. So Kerry Kennedy, cleared of all charges. The jury found her innocent, acquitted her. Ashleigh, I'm sure you will be talking a lot more about this on your show at noon Eastern Time.
BANFIELD: You bet.
COSTELLO: Thanks to all of you -- Ashleigh Banfield, Jeffrey Toobin, Jean Casarez. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: After more than 12 years under wraps, thousands of pages of confidential papers from Bill Clinton's presidency will be released. It all starts this afternoon. Today the Clinton Library will release more than 4,000 documents. In total, 33,000 documents will be released over the next few weeks.
Now political operatives from both sides of the aisle are looking for anything juicy. But I want to ask CNN's national political reporter Peter Hamby. Is there really anything we don't know about the Clintons?
PETER HAMBY, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: That's a really good point Carol. The Clintons have been in public life for so long. You know they volunteered on George McGovern's campaign back in the 70's.
But of course there is plenty we don't know about Hillary Clinton. I mean they -- they have stage managed and carefully crafted a public image. And what we try to do as reporters is try to learn more about these people personally, get inside their heads, see what makes them tick. This is why those documents that were released a few weeks ago, the so-called Blair documents that were uncovered by "The Washington Free Beacon" were so interesting. There might not have been a lot of news in there. But we've got to see sort of how Hillary Clinton thought in talking to her friends.
These memos, these thousands of documents coming out after being 12 years withheld under the presidential records are going to be a series of memos from White House advisers in the Clinton administration to and from each other, perhaps to and from Bill and Hillary Clinton we don't exactly know what they are going to say. But hopefully even if there is no news in here again we can kind of glean some behind the scene thinking from the Clintons and perhaps get their insights into some of the policy battles that shaped the Clinton years, including health care, which continues to be a relevant issue today -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Well it's interesting that these 33,000 documents are being released now in light of the fact that Hillary Clinton will probably run for president in 2016.
HAMBY: Yes that's right. This does however have nothing to do with politics, just conveniently timed. I mean now where of a sudden are really interested in record keeping and the National Archives and Records Act. That's what's governing the release of this document. Basically there is a 12-year window after a president leaves office where these classified documents cannot be released even with the Freedom of Information Act request.
But that expired. And so now they are coming out. Interestingly, both officials from the Clinton world and President Obama's White House do have some jurisdiction over these documents before they are released to the public to keep certain things perhaps sensitive or classified information or deeply personal information private.
But these documents do post online at 1:00 p.m. today also at the Clinton Library in Little Rock. And as you mentioned earlier, people from both sides of the aisle are going to be combing through these documents and we will be here as well -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes you're going to have one busy afternoon. Peter Hamby, thanks so much.
HAMBY: Thank you Carol. Thanks.
COSTELLO: The two most powerful men in the country are proving, no one has an excuse to not get moving.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Mr. President, are you ready to move.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Absolutely. Let's do this thing. Let's move.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: This new video put out by the White House ends with the President and Vice President drinking a glass of water in the Oval Office. Because hey, after you run, you should drink water. It's all part of Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign.
This is too as the First Lady was also moving around. She met with some Washington area school kids and was making her mark by dancing with giant vegetables.
It's just a good optic, isn't it? We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: The Academy Awards are Sunday night, the Red Carpet is out and the gleaming gold statues are ready to go. And one star in particular is getting a lot of attention. That would be Matthew McConaughey. He has generated a whole lot of buzz for his Oscar- nominated performance in "Dallas Buyers Club".
Entertainment correspondent Nischelle Turner got to talk to him about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY, ACTOR: I'm not selling drugs. I'm selling membership. Welcome to the Dallas Buyers Club.
NISHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The Oscar-nominated star of "Dallas Buyers Club" is loving this ride.
(on camera): You've got to be happy.
MCCONAUGHEY: Yes I am. Yes I have been doing this for 22 years. The first time really going around the award season with a film and a performance that has had some light shown on it. I am enjoying it.
TURNER: Matthew McConaughey, one-time king of the romantic comedy now proving he is a Hollywood heavyweight.
(on camera): We've known you always as the romantic comedy guy. Was it a conscious decision by you to say, let me pull away from those and kind of move towards --
MCCONAUGHEY: Yes, I didn't know what I was going to move towards. But I had a -- I had a pretty good sense that I needed to pull back on what I had been doing. I didn't work for two years. Somewhere in that two years, I think I gained a little anonymity. I think I became some people's new fresh good idea. And I went to work.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They got good meds out of Mexico, that's better than what you can get here in the states.
TURNER (voice over): Went to work on smaller films with grittier roles.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Enjoy your life. MCCONAUGHEY: Well we got one.
TURNER: "Dallas Buyers Club" wasn't an easy sell. Hollywood turned the film down more than 100 times before McConaughey finally got it made.
(on camera): You have said a time or two to me even that you feel like this movie is about living and Ron Woodroof was a man who celebrated life.
MCCONAUGHEY: Yes. Well, he fought for --
TURNER: Yes.
MCCONAUGHEY: -- life. I don't know about people celebrating it but he did everything, you know, he could. I know I have had times myself where if you are faced with death or someone near you dies you start grabbing a whole lot more to life immediately after that.
TURNER (voice over): And this seems to be exactly what he is doing while still taking time to remember how he got here.
(on camera): When did you first know, "I want to be an actor"?
MCCONAUGHEY: I think it was about a week and a half into shooting my first film, "Dazed and Confused". I was supposed to shoot for three days. There's three scenes with a few lines and the director kept inviting me back and writing me a $320 check every day. And people are coming up saying, "Hey, you are good to this." And I was like, "I would love to do this. Is this legal?"
TURNER (voice over): McConaughey is a charmer, with an easy laugh and knack for telling a good story but he's also a man who recognizes his current good fortune.
(on camera): At the end of every good meal, you have a little fortune. I have a quick one. "Advice is like kissing. It costs nothing and is a pleasant thing to do." What's the best advice you have ever received?
MCCONAUGHEY: The best advice I have ever received, I'm going to say, "Do it with pleasure."
TURNER: Well, it's been a pleasure.
MCCONAUGHEY: All right.
TURNER: Thank you, sir. I'll see you Oscar night.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TURNER: Yes, I will see him Oscar night with all of his other fellow Best Actor nominees -- Carol. That's Bruce Dern for "Nebraska", Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Wolf of Wall Street", Chiwetel Ejiofor for "12 Years a Slave", Christian Bale in "American Hustle". Now this is one of the most highly contested races of the night, Carol. I think that actually, it is the most -- it's the best one of all.
COSTELLO: All right. I'm going to let you get out of the rain because I can hear it's raining hard. Nischelle Turner -- thank you so much.
TURNER: Yes, it is. It is. All right.
COSTELLO: And we'll have more on the Oscar-nominated star of "Dallas Buyers Club" tonight. Check out our special "SPOTLIGHT: MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY", 10:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Hold on for this. The federal deficit plunged by more than $400 billion in the last fiscal year. That is the sharpest drop we have seen in any year since the end of World War II.
Alison Kosik is in New York to tell us why this happened. Good morning.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Carol, you hear this and you go, "What did I hear right? The government getting its financial act together? Can't believe it."
The federal budget deficit is actually at its lowest level in five years. Now, the deficit is the difference between what the government spends and takes in. And that dropped to $680 billion in 2013.
So just to give you some perspective, during the financial crisis, it shot up above $1 trillion in 2009 that's as the economy tanked and government bailouts became the norm.
Here is why this is happening. The economy is getting better over the past few years and so the deficit has been shrinking. More people are working. They're adding to the tax rolls. Also, we are paying higher taxes. So, all that means more revenue for the government. Plus the government has cut back on spending.
Now the Republicans, they still insist that the budget deficit is still too large. But if they are looking for a fight, they may not get it because Congress agreed to a bipartisan budget deal last year. And mid-term elections they're coming in the fall. So it seems like a strengthening economy is kind of removing, you know, much of the budgetary brinkmanship that we have been suffering through over the past few years -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I'm sure somebody will think of something.
KOSIK: You think?
COSTELLO: I think. Alison Kosik, thanks so much.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Jesus has returned to the big screen and congregations across the country are renting entire theaters so their parishioners can see "Son of God" together. I will talk to the senior pastor of one Megachurch next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: "Son of God" hits theaters nationwide today. Some are calling it the Jesus film for a new generation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIOGO MORGADO, ACTOR: Your sins are forgiven my son.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought only God could do that.
MORGADO: Which is easier? To say his sins are forgiven or say he get up and walk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: For the first time in 50 years, the life of Jesus from birth to resurrection has been on the big screen and that's making for some huge hype. Churches, student groups, even a Christian university are renting out entire theaters to screen the film. They're buying up about a half million tickets even before today's release.
One mega church near Sacramento, California bought ever single seat in a 16-screen Multiplex. Ray Johnston is the senior pastor of Bayside Church. He joins me now. Welcome, Pastor Ray.
RAY JOHNSTON, SENIOR PASTOR, BAYSIDE CHURCH: Carol, it is great to be with you.
COSTELLO: It's great to have you here. So why did you decide to buy all these movie tickets?
JOHNSTON: Well, the first reason we decided to do it is I got to see a preview of the movie and talked to Mark and Roma. And to be honest, it was the first Jesus movie I actually went. Man, they actually got it right. I mean, almost every movie I have seen about Jesus, it just doesn't look real. It is like the Prozac Jesus and his clothes are white like he had a dry cleaner.
And I watched this movie and I went "Man, they actually got it right and a fresh generation is really going to like this movie."
COSTELLO: So why is it important to you that your parishioners see this film together?
JOHNSTON: You know, it was -- part of it was seeing it together -- we have always been a church for people that don't like church.
And there are a whole lot of people that would go to a movie theater to catch a glimpse of Jesus way before they would go to a church. So we bought out the entire theater and told our folks, hey go get tickets to this thing and bring anybody you want. And we had more folks show up at the theater who would never dream of going to a church just to catch a glimpse of who Jesus really was. And the movie does a great job painting that picture.
COSTELLO: You know, a lot of young people aren't so religious anymore. Is it your hope that this movie might draw younger people in to see what Jesus was like?
JOHNSTON: You know what -- actually, you bet. I think the church has somehow communicated that it is not about Jesus, it is about stained glass hymns and things like this. And Billy Graham said, if you want to know what God is like, take a good look at Jesus Christ. This movie I think is going to help people do that in a way that maybe it will feel like it gets communicated by a typical church.
COSTELLO: So you are saying the Jesus in this movie is much more human, accessible than in movies in the past.
JOHNSTON: I'll tell you what -- the moving scene for me was when Jesus is getting arrested and he is going to be killed. Peter whacks off this guy's ear and Jesus goes up to his enemy and heals his enemy. And I thought somehow we have lost that kind of compassion in our culture. And I think young people are going to resonate with that kind of thing.
Jesus is attractive and I think irresistible if somebody will take a good look at him in this movie. I think it's going to help people do that.
COSTELLO: You know there is another religious movie coming out called "Noah". It has not been well-received by the Christian community. Why do you think that is?
JOHNSTON: You know, to be honest with you, I think unfortunately, a lot of Christians are known for what they are against, not what they are for. And so I think, I'm going to go see the "Noah" movie. I'm actually looking forward to it because at least it creates conversation.
It is one of the reasons we bought out the whole theater. I thought Christians are really good at criticizing Hollywood. We ought to be the first people when Hollywood does something well to jump on board and support it.
COSTELLO: Pastor Ray Johnston, thank you so much for being with us. It was delightful. Thank you so much.
JOHNSTON: It's a pleasure. Any time.
COSTELLO: Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello.
"@ THIS HOUR" with Berman and Michaela starts now.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: Kerry Kennedy, the daughter of Senator Robert Kennedy, found not guilty of driving while impaired. We'll look at why the jury made this decision in just a moment.
