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U.S. Army Sergeant Released by Taliban; Fellow Soldiers Saying Bergdahl Not a Hero; Interview with Bill Richardson; Obama Makes Historic Push to Curb Emissions; Mickelson: "I Have Done Nothing Wrong"

Aired June 02, 2014 - 09:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me this morning.

Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, the American soldier held captive by the Taliban for nearly five years, is a free man. Right now Bergdahl is recovering at a medical center in Germany after being rescued by U.S. Special Forces in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday. Without a single shot fired, armed members of the Taliban handed Bergdahl over to U.S. commandos in exchange for five terror suspects being held at Guantanamo Bay. Bergdahl's mother sent a heart-wrenching message to her son.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANI BERGDAHL, MOTHER OF SGT. BOWE BERGDAHL: Five years is a seemingly endless long time, but you've made it. I imagine you're more patient and compassionate, you are free, freedom is yours. I will see you soon, my beloved son. I love you, Bowe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: This morning the White House is pushing back against criticism it brokered the deal by negotiating with terrorists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Here is what matters. He was a prisoner in an armed conflict, a member of the military, and in that situation the United States does not leave its men and women behind, and for five years we have been engaged in an effort to try to secure his release.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So let's bring in CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson to tell us more about this. He's live in Germany where Bergdahl is now receiving treatment.

Good morning, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Carol. He's now into his second day of treatment. We're not being given updates specifically on how he is faring with that treatment. But we are being told the type of treatment. That there will be a psychological analysis, a physical analysis. There will be, as well, an effort to see if he's got any sort of actionable current military intelligence and also anything that he has learned that could be useful for troops in the future in this situation.

It is going to be a long process is what we're told, going at the pace that he can cope with. It's down to his level of comfort, how quickly this sort of reintegration, as it's described, goes. But all this coming after almost five years in captivity.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTSON (voice-over): After almost five years of captivity in Afghanistan --

SGT. BOWE BERGDAHL, FREED AMERICAN SOLDIER: Scared I won't be able to go home.

ROBERTSON: Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl is free and safe. Now new details emerging about the secret recovery effort three years in the making. According to U.S. Defense officials a so-called proof of life video sent of the now 28-year-old last December incited them to broker a secret deal. Officials say the soldier's sickly appearance putting them on an advance timetable. The deal, swap these five Taliban detainees from Guantanamo Bay in exchange for Bergdahl.

BERGDAHL: Release me, please. I'm begging you. Bring me home.

ROBERTSON: According to "The Wall Street Journal," after days of waiting, the Taliban's call to meet finally came. U.S. Defense officials say it was just around 10:30 in the morning on Saturday when 18 armed Taliban fighters led Bergdahl to the meeting point near the Pakistan border. In wait Special Ops Forces backed by helicopter gunships. Bergdahl walks up to the U.S. commandos talking to them right away.

The American forces immediately search him for explosives and verify his identity. U.S. officials say the meeting lasted just seconds and quickly Bergdahl was ushered onto a helicopter en route to Bagram Air Base. On the helicopter, Bergdahl reached for a paper plate scribbling the letters "SF?" asking the commandos if they were Special Forces. After hearing they were, Bergdahl broke down crying.

After nearly five years, America's last from the POW from the Iraq and Afghan conflicts was finally free.

J. BERGDAHL: Five years is a seemingly endless long time but you've made it.

ROBERTSON: Bergdahl's parents who have not yet had contact with their son sent him this message.

BOB BERGDAHL, SGT. BOWE BERGDAHL'S FATHER: I'm proud of how much you wanted to help the Afghan people and what you were willing to do to go to that length. (END VIDEOTAPE) ROBERTSON: So how quickly before he can be reunited with his parents? Doctors here say they're sympathetic to everything that he's been through in Afghanistan, sensitive to all those types of traumas. One of their aims get him back to his family just as soon as possible -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Nic Robertson reporting live from Germany this morning.

It has been five agonizing years of waiting in Bergdahl's hometown. This is Hailey, Idaho, where family and friends are anxiously awaiting Bergdahl's return. Yellow ribbons and balloons have long decorated the streets there.

Hailey is all in for its hometown hero. Right now officials are trying to figure out whether Bergdahl will be reunited with his family in Germany or once he returns to U.S. soil.

But there is another side to this story, and it's a tough one. Some of Bergdahl's fellow soldiers say he's no hero, they accuse him of being a deserter. They say his, quote, "selfish act" caused lives and they're calling on Bergdahl to stand trial.

Former Army Sgt. Matt Vierkant who served with Bergdahl said this. Quote, "I was pissed off then and I'm even more so now with everything going on. Bowe Bergdahl deserted during a time of war and his fellow Americans lost their lives searching for him," end quote. Vierkant said Bergdahl needs to admit he deserted his post and face a military trial for desertion.

CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr is here with more on this side of the story. Good morning.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. A lot of this narrative has been out there for many years, of course. The commentary, the narrative, the belief that Bowe Bergdahl may have walked away from his post in Afghanistan. We're going to say repeatedly there is no publicly verified information about why he left that night, how he came to not be on the post.

Pentagon officials say that repeatedly, they need to hear from him what happened. But there is a social media backlash about all of this, a Facebook page emerging entitled "Bowe Bergdahl is not a hero." A lot of commentary on that Facebook page, and indeed on the Facebook page of his own unit, a reminder that military standards require people to be respectful when they post these comments, that on his own unit's Facebook page which is also getting a lot of commentary.

So what does the Pentagon have to say about all this? A senior Defense official tells me right now Bergdahl is not classified as a deserter. He has continued to being classified over the years as missing/captured. They believe very strongly that their obligation was to bring him home and then, if there are legal issues to face, they will talk to him, they'll get his side of the story and they will decide how to proceed. And in fact, over the years, while he was in captivity, he was promoted to higher ranks within the enlisted core of the army and is scheduled at this point still to be promoted to staff sergeant sometime later this month. So the bottom line is, the military says they want to hear from him once and for all, in his own words, not under duress, what exactly did happen -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Barbara Starr reporting live from the Pentagon.

Whether Bergdahl was a traitor or hero is perhaps complicating the matter further for the White House. As I told you, five hardcore terrorists were exchanged for Bergdahl's release. These photos obtained by CNN were released by the Taliban and reportedly show those detainees or former detainees arriving in Doha, Qatar.

Joining us now on the phone now, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson. He has experienced with negotiating with rogue characters.

Good morning, sir.

BILL RICHARDSON, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Ambassador, I just want to get the elephant out of the room now. If Bergdahl is a deserter and endangered his fellow troops, this is what critics appear to be asking, was it worth releasing the most dangerous Taliban leaders for his freedom?

RICHARDSON: Yes, it was. Because the precept that any negotiation, any hostage negotiation, especially an American soldier, is you bring that soldier home no matter what. And I think secondly, Carol, you can't look at it as proportional, one in exchange for five. I mean, look what happened with the Israelis with Shalid, the Israeli soldiers. It took 1200 terrorists in exchange for one person.

So I think the administration was correct in moving forward, in striking the deal when the iron was hot. His safety was jeopardized, his health was not in good shape. You know, all of this needs to be investigated. The deserter initiative and the deserter stuff. But the fact remains that there may be one more benefit in that this is the first deal we've ever struck in this Afghan war with the Taliban. Maybe this can lead to a lessening of tensions, of some kind of -- not necessarily a peace agreement, but an exit that we're already initiating in Afghanistan that might save more of our troops.

COSTELLO: But you know what some Republicans are saying, Mr. Ambassador. They're saying that, you know, it's not legal for the United States to negotiate with terrorists and this could make it more dangerous for our soldiers overseas because the Taliban will be more willing to kidnap soldiers in exchange for prisoners being kept in other countries.

RICHARDSON: Well, the president made a courageous decision. I think legally you can get around the negotiating with terrorists because, in fact, it was a broker. It was the emir of Qatar that was our interlocketer, that was our negotiator. And this is a solid country, a solid leader that's helped us before.

And what I think is also going to be key is what happens with the terrorists? Will they be non-combatants? Hopefully there's an agreement that they can't be. But that needs to be enforced. And secondly, the travel ban for a year, that they can't move for a year. But I think on the whole, the president had to make a tough decision. I think he made the tough one as somebody that's negotiated with the Taliban, also in the past --

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: But, Mr. Ambassador -- but the president made a tough decision but he made it without the help of Congress. And if you're deciding something as controversial as this, that might put the country in danger, wouldn't it be a better -- wouldn't it be a better idea for the president to check in with Congress?

RICHARDSON: Well, you know, this law that the president says he challenged was a 30-day notification, Carol. What is he supposed to do? Like give them 30 days? I mean, there's the possibility of leaks, the Taliban may change their mind on releasing Bowe. You know, you really can't second-guess --

COSTELLO: But shouldn't you trust members of Congress? Shouldn't the president have trusted some member of Congress?

RICHARDSON: Well, of course. Of course there were some notifications. But that pre notification law of 30 days is impractical in a hostage negotiation. It's not going to work. And what's important is that there be bipartisanship. This should not be dragged into politics. And unfortunately it is. The fact is, we've got an American serviceman home. I think the positive result was a press conference of the parents in Idaho exalting about their son coming home.

I mean, the other stuff needs to be investigated, but what is important is the message sent to the American people and the troops that, if you're in harm's way, you're an American soldier. We'll do everything we can to bring you home.

COSTELLO: Ambassador Richardson, thank you so much for joining me this morning. I appreciate it.

RICHARDSON: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM. President Obama takes executive action in a major crackdown on carbon emissions. But critics say his plan is a job killer big time.

Erin McPike covering this morning's announcement. Hi, Erin.

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, EPA chief Gina McCarthy is set to announce coal-fired power plants must cut emissions by an average of 30 percent by 2030. More on that after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COSTELLO: President Obama is proposing to cut carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2030.

Now, this move will bypass Congress with the EPA chief making the announcement in the next hour. Other headlines from this announcement, states will have a variety of options to make the goals like developing wind and solar energy. Supporters say this is a major step in cutting the biggest source of greenhouse gases. Opponents say the plan will cost billions of dollars and cost the country hundreds of thousands of jobs mainly from coal plants.

CNN's Erin McPike joins us live from Washington to tell us more about this plan. Good morning.

MCPIKE: Carol, that's right.

Well, as you mentioned, the headline here is these coal-fired power plants will have to cut their carbon emissions by 30 percent by 2030. I've been talking to some experts this morning on this, and they say this is more industry friendly than could otherwise have been expected because they're cutting from 2005 levels, not from 2012 levels.

The next reason that makes it a little more industry friendly than they thought is that states are going to be given wide latitude in how they go about doing this. So, they're not mandating any kind of technology, but they're being given a menu of options for how they can do this, by developing wind, solar, some other forms of renewable energy.

Now, as we know, environmentalists have not been thrilled with the president. They don't think he's done enough.

But opponents and Republicans are saying this is going to be bad for the coal industry. That the Chamber of Commerce says it's going to cost the U.S. economy $50 billion in a year. We also heard from Wyoming Senator Mike Enzi this weekend and he said it would cost 800,000 jobs from the coal industry as well.

COSTELLO: Eight hundred thousand jobs? Where is he getting that figure?

MCPIKE: Of course, these are things that have been studied for a long time. But here is the other thing, Carol. This is going to be a regulatory process. So, it's actually going to go on for a rather long time.

The EPA is going to have to open a forum, essentially, for comments. So, we are going to see a number of legal challenges. I've been told we're going to hear from the right and the left, not just the harm it could do to the coal industry, but some environmental groups are going to say this is not going far enough, that they would like to see emissions cut from the 2012 levels rather than the 2005 levels.

COSTELLO: Erin McPike reporting live from Washington.

We'll have more on this topic later in the NEWSROOM. Still to come, golfer Phil Mickelson preps for the U.S. Open despite a huge off-the-course distraction. I mean, huge. He's the target in an insider trading probe. We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Pro golfer Phil Mickelson has been off his game. A big distraction isn't helping much. Mickelson is at the center of an investigation by the FBI, SEC, into insider trading. It's the tale of two high-rolling people, Mickelson, his friend Billy Walters, well- known sports veterans, golf course owner, and billionaire investor Carl Icahn.

Question, did they trade information illegally to enrich themselves?

Mickelson talked about the investigation at the memorial in Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL MICKELSON, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: You know, I can't really go into much right now, but as I said in my statement, I have done absolutely nothing wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: CNN's Christine Romans following the story.

Really strange, actually. Who would have thought this would involve Phil Mickelson?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I know. Phil Mickelson, a billionaire activist investor and a Las Vegas gambler. I mean, these three, this triangle of people. And the probe is about the stock trades around 2011, when Carl Icahn was making a big move on a company, who know what when.

It is not just a problem. It's not -- no charges yet, but it is very serious, Carol.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Phil Mickelson.

(LAUGHTER)

ROMANS (voice-over): World-renown golfer Phil Mickelson is being investigated by the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of a probe into insider trading fraud, according to law enforcement sources.

Over the weekend, he denied any involvement after teeing off at a tournament in Dublin, Ohio.

MICKLESON: I have done absolutely nothing wrong. And that's why I've been fully cooperating with the FBI agents. ROMANS: The probe centers around stock trades made by billionaire investor Carl Icahn three years ago. The FBI is examining whether Mickelson, along with a well-known sports gambler, Billy Walters profited from information not available to the public.

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: They're going to be looking at a pattern of trading in particular stocks. And they're going to be looking to connect relationship between Mickelson, between Walters and between Icahn.

ROMANS: Law enforcement sources tell CNN that back in 2011 Icahn invested in shares of Clorox and then proposed a $12.6 billion takeover of the company causing a spike in the Clorox's share price.

Now, authorities want to know if Mickelson and Walters were possibly tipped off by Icahn, allowing them to cash in on the share increase.

CALLAN: With respect to Icahn, you have to prove that he deliberately leaked the information and that it was privileged or very confidential information and that he knew it was at the time that he leaked it.

ROMANS: CNN could not reach representatives of Icahn or Walters for comment. But Icahn told the "Wall Street Journal" that the suggestion that he was involved in improper trading was, quote, "inflammatory and speculative", telling the paper, "We are always very careful to observe all legal requirements in all of our activities."

Walters told the "Wall Street Journal", "I don't have any comment about anything."

So far, there are no allegations of wrongdoing, and no charges have been filed against anyone in this case.

MICKELSON: It's not going to change the way I carry myself. I -- honestly, I've done nothing wrong. I'm not going to walk around any other way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: And, Carol, he says he will continue to talk to the FBI agents as long as it takes. He says he hopes it's soon that they resolve all this.

Insider trading is a serious crime. It can have a jail sentence of up to 20 years. This is going to be an interesting case for authorities to continue to pursue here because it's interesting because Carl Icahn -- usually insider trading is someone inside a company who knows about moves that are going to happen. But he's an outsider, an activist investor who is very public and very vocal about the moves he's making on companies from the outside trying to go in. So, they'll be replacing and retracing everyone's steps in 2011 of Clorox, Carol.

COSTELLO: What do you mean by activist investor? I'm sorry, I don't get that.

ROMANS: Look, he's not like the CEO of a company who knows there's going to be some kind of a management change or some kind of good news or bad news happening in that country. He's from the outside. He's someone with a bunch of money who goes in and starts buying up company shares and has the clout to tell the board, I want you to split the company up or I want to take over this company.

He's someone who takes his money from the outside and tries to change how a company does business, the activist investor. He can be very, very vocal about it and can move the stock. Some have criticized those kinds of investors for moving stocks and changing corporate structures just because they have a lot of money to throw around.

COSTELLO: Christine Romans reporting live from New York.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the release of Bowe Bergdahl sparking a mix of emotions and the new round of finger-pointing. Is Bergdahl a deserter? And did the White House break the law when it made a deal for his release? We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)