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Did Obama Break Law in Bergdahl Swap?; Backgrounds of Taliban Prisoners Released; Apple Makes Tech Announcements at WWDC; Fabien Cousteau to Spend 30 Days Underwater; Homeless Teen Graduates Valedictorian

Aired June 02, 2014 - 15:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Bottom of the hour, you're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin/

Just a short time ago at the White House, spokesman Jay Carney defended this exchange of five Taliban prisoners for Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl. Carney called it a, quote, "near-term opportunity" to save Sergeant Bergdahl's life.

Thus, he said. the plan was carried out, quote, "notwithstanding the notice requirement of the NDAA." In plain English, that means sure enough they ignored part of a law that says they have to tell Congress before releasing people from Gitmo.

A big debate about this, especially the notion of doing a swap with the enemy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN HADLEY, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER TO G.W. BUSH: The problem is if you swap or pay to get your hostages back, you incentivize hostage-taking. That's a problem.

THOMAS DONILON, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER TO OBAMA: I don't find that argument persuasive. We have that risk every single day in Afghanistan, and we deal with that risk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let's talk this over with our "CROSSFIRE" hosts, Van Jones and S.E. Cupp, both joining me from Washington D.C. So welcome to both of you.

And --

VAN JONES, CNN HOST, "CROSSFIRE": Thank you.

BALDWIN: S.E., let me begin with you. I want you to listen to this Republican member of Congress who was on this morning, quizzed by CNN's Carol Costello.

Roll it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR, "NEWSROOM": Do you think the Obama administration broke the law?

REPRESENTATIVE JAMES LANKFORD (R), OKLAHOMA: Yes, it's fairly clear they broke the law. In fact, they've even stepped out and said that it was just so urgent that we just kind of ignored the law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: S.E. Cupp, your Republicans say absolutely Obama broke the law. The White House is saying, yeah, it's more complicated than that.

What do you think Congress should do about this? Hold the usual hearings? Call it a day? What?

S.E. CUPP, CNN HOST, "CROSSFIRE": Yeah, I think, Brooke, there are very, very serious that Congress needs to ask. One, why wasn't Congress part of the process within those 30 days, as the law demands?

Two, what happened the day that Bowe Bergdahl deserted his post? A lot of people that I've spoken to consider Bowe Bergdahl to be a traitor. Will he face any charges when he comes home?

And, third, what assurances does the United States have that these five, high-level detainees that were once so dangerous that they were to be detained indefinitely at Gitmo are now suddenly safe enough to be released back into their theaters and we don't have to worry about them?

Now, these are not partisan questions, Brooke. They're appropriate questions. And if Democrats weren't so interested in defending and protecting the president, they'd want answers to those questions, too.

BALDWIN: Van Jones, do you want answers to some of those questions?

JONES: Sure, but first of all, I just think we need to be very clear. This soldier is in good standing with the United States Army.

The idea that he is a deserter or traitor, there is a concerted effort now to try to diminish him, to turn him into some sort of an unworthy American, that we're going to pick and choose among which soldiers we're actually going to leave behind.

In the United States, we don't leave any soldiers behind. You might be a weirdo. You might have wanted off the base. We don't leave anybody behind. That's who we are as a country.

And this guy is in good standing with the United States military. He's been promoted while he's been over there. I think that's very important.

The other thing I want to say is that this is a tricky question, I think, for Democrats and Republicans. There is a law here, but the president did sign a signing statement saying he was not giving up his authority as commander-in-chief to be the commander-in-chief.

And in these situations, it's tough. Israel has done prisoner swaps, over and over and over again. I don't think anybody would accuse Israel of aiding and abetting terrorism.

BALDWIN: You just brought up my next point, because you have people saying that this sets a bad precedent for the U.S.

Israelis absolutely trade prisoners. Back in 2011 -- we pulled up the video -- they traded more than a thousand people they had held in exchange for a single, Israeli soldier.

We also know that the Reagan administration sold weapons to Washington's sworn enemy to help secure the release of those 12 Americans held in Lebanon.

So just back to you, Van, are we being naive if we say this kind of thing doesn't happen?

JONES: It does happen, and it has happened, and it will continue to happen.

The most important thing that I can say on this particular point is that the president of the United States had the opportunity to bring the last soldier home, the last captive home, and he took that opportunity.

Now we're going to go back, we're going to litigate that, if it was the right thing, the wrong thing, was the law correct, was he correct?

But at the end of the day, I hope that as Americans we can at least celebrate with the family that we got our last one home.

BALDWIN: One of the narratives, S.E. coming out this, appears to be that, you know, as we have discussed, yes, that the White House, A, broke the law, B, just made a really bad deal.

But it can't be that simple, can it?

CUPP: It's a pretty bad deal. In 2008, these five, high-level detainees were warranted to be way too dangerous to ever be released.

And in 2011, Congress was bipartisan in its opposition to releasing any Gitmo prisoners.

Now suddenly we have abandoned all of that opposition and common, good sense, I think, for what might be a political strategy to curry some goodwill and some good favor.

Look, Presidents Jefferson and Madison spent a lot of American blood and treasure during the Barbary wars to set that important American precedent that we do not negotiate with terrorists.

And I think we've just seen that important policy rolled back in the course of two days.

BALDWIN: Taking it way back.

S.E. Cupp and Van Jones, thanks to both of you. We will consider that a little preview of what we get to watch at 6:30 tonight when we watch you debate this and more on "CROSSFIRE." Thanks to both of you.

Coming up next, who are the detainees, as we were discussing, these five faces we keep showing?

Who are these people from Guantanamo Bay in this Bergdahl exchange, and why were they in Gitmo in the first place? We'll take a closer look at each of them.

And a remarkable story of perseverance and determination, you have to watch this young man's story. He is high school valedictorian, about to graduated, who battled everything from losing his mother to leukemia, to homelessness.

Hear the three little words he says helped him overcome some of the obstacles.

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BALDWIN: As we just alluded to in that last segment, really, the release of Bowe Bergdahl has created this firestorm of criticism and debate. And one of the chief concerns here, the deal led to the release of five high-ranking Afghan Taliban detainees.

This group -- we even have video of this, their arrival back in Qatar in Doha where the men will spend the next year -- includes a list of pretty heavy-hitters within the Taliban, a former interior minister and the Afghan's army's chief of staff, among this group.

The big question, do the released prisoners pose a threat? Here is what the Pentagon spokesman had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REAR ADMIRAL JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: Secretary Hagel made the determination that this transfer was in the national interest.

And I can also tell you, and he has made this very clear, that he would have never signed that order, he would never have done that, if he didn't believe that we had the appropriate assurances from the government of Qatar that these individuals were not going to pose a direct threat to the national security of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Each and every one of them will now spend the next year in Qatar under a travel ban.

CNN's Tim Lister takes us through each of their identities.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TIM LISTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: These photographs posted by a Taliban spokesman purportedly show the five Guantanamo detainees arriving in Qatar

They'd also been held by the U.S. for more than a decade after being captured in Afghanistan or Pakistan during the invasion that ended Taliban rule.

Khairullah Syed Waali (ph) is possibly the most important, a former interior minister alleged to have been associated with Osama bin Laden

Mullah Mohammad Fazl (ph) was the Afghan army's chief of staff. The U.N. accused him of being involved in the massacre of thousands of Shiites during the Taliban's rule.

Number three is Mullah Norullah Noori (ph). He was governor of two Afghan provinces but always claimed he was not a senior Taliban official.

U.S. intelligence alleged that Abdul Haq Wasiq (ph) had been the number two in the Taliban's intelligence apparatus, with links to al Qaeda. He always denied that.

And finally, there's Mohammed Nabi Omari (ph). According to his Guantanamo reviews, he also had links to al Qaeda, but he claimed he'd actually helped the U.S. track down the Taliban's shadowy leader, Mullah Omar.

Two years ago, then-director of intelligence, James Clapper, told Congress all five had been assessed as both too dangerous to release and too difficult to put on trial.

JAMES CLAPPER, FORMER DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: I don't think anyone harbors any illusions about these five Taliban members and what they might -- might do if they were transferred.

LISTER: But even then, the Obama administration was considering a halfway house in Qatar for the five men as part of a deal that might bring the Taliban to peace talks.

Tim Lister, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Coming up next, Apple makes a much anticipated announcement on new technology today. It includes everything from your home to your health.

We'll take you live to San Francisco for that, next.

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BALDWIN: When it comes to Apple announcements, there is always something for the tech community to swoon about. But what about the rest of us?

Tim Cook and his company, there onstage at Apple's worldwide developer's conference in San Francisco, right this very minute, still unveiling all the latest and greatest tech stuff, so let's go straight to CNN's Dan Simon, because Dan Simon has been sitting in that audience.

I heard earlier about the tech thing on (inaudible) with Dr. Drew today. What else has been exciting?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I tell you what, Brooke, just big picture-wise, it's called WWDC, the Worldwide Developers' Conference, but you might as well call this the "App Convention."

This is the conference, the convention, for all of these brilliant application developers, all over the world, coming together to hear the latest updates from Apple.

Now, sometimes, Brooke, the software can be just as important if not more important than that $700 new device, so today was all about software.

So what I'm going to do, Brooke, is I'm going to tell you about four things that caught my eye.

BALDWIN: OK.

SIMON: The first thing is the seamless integration between your "i" devices and your computer. One example that caught my eye is that, if your phone is ringing, your Mac will also ring, so you can answer your phone right on your Mac. You don't have to go across the room and pick up your iPhone. I thought that was pretty cool.

The second thing is family sharing. This was an easier way to track your kids. Now, some teenagers may not like this, but I think parents may appreciate this, the ability to track your kids wherever they are, and also to approve any purchases they make on the phone.

You can actually get a message saying, "Do you approve this purchase?" You can click Yes or No. I think that's something that parents will like.

The third thing is this health kit. This may be a precursor to the rumored iWatch, probably coming later in the fall, the ability to track the blood pressure, the ability to track your heartbeat, things of that nature.

Right now, it's just going to work with third-party devices, but we are expecting Apple to come out with their own version of this later in the year.

BALDWIN: OK.

SIMON: And finally, Brooke, I'm saving the best for last. This is the new Home Kit. The ability to control all the things --

BALDWIN: Yeah, I've heard about this.

SIMON: Yeah, the ability to control your lights, your garage door, your locks. All of that can be controlled directly from your phone.

This is what Craig Federighi, the guy who runs the software division for Apple, had to say about that. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRAIG FEDERIGHI, APPLE: In addition to being able to control individual devices in your home, with Home Kit, you can group devices and changes into scenes.

And then with Siri integration, you can say something like, get ready for bed and be assured that your garage door is closed, your door is locked, the thermostat is lowered and lights are dimmed. That's Home Kit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: Now, I don't know about you, Brooke, but I'm OK with getting off the couch and turning off the lights. But that's just me.

BALDWIN: I feel like I'm going to need to have a better relationship with Siri. Siri and I are not very close. I'm still old school like typing away.

So maybe Siri and I will get to know each other better, because if (inaudible) and Siri does all these things. It sounds kind of impressive.

SIMON: Well, it is impressive. I think this would come in handy, say, if you're on the road and you want to turn off the lights, you forgot something was on, the oven is on, you can control it right from your phone.

Clearly Apple is banking on the future on this, and they've signed up all the various hardware-makers, the people who make your oven, you refrigerator. All of that is going to be integrated directly with your phone.

BALDWIN: But can this bring me coffee in bed? I don't think know if it can.

Dan Simon, thank you so much, in San Francisco. Appreciate it.

Thirty-one days under the sea, that is how long ocean explorer Fabien Cousteau plans to stay under the ocean, in an attempt to live underwater longer than his legendary grandfather.

He was on the show not too long ago, talking about this. He was so excited. He and his team drove to their underwater laboratory off the coast of Florida just yesterday.

The lab is called Aquarius. The attempt is called Mission 31. And the team will make these daily dives to explore and to gather information about rising sea temperatures and the impact down there on the reefs.

All of this for 30 days, one day longer than his grandfather. Perhaps you've heard of him, Jacques Cousteau.

Fabien Cousteau talked to CNN's John Berman this morning on "NEW DAY" from 60 feet below the surface.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FABIEN COUSTEAU, OCEAN EXPLORER: We're nice and tightly packed in here. This is about the size of a school bus. And we're six people in a very cozy place. So we have to pack lightly.

BERMAN: So what does this vantage point, being 60 feet under water for this length of time -- what kind of research opportunity does this provide you?

COUSTEAU: Well, it provides us an unprecedented view on the frontier, on the final frontier in terms of exploration on our planet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: There you have it. John Berman, thanks for sharing the interview.

Coming up next, meet a high school student who's been forced to deal with everything from the loss of his mother at a very young age to being homeless.

He says he used three words to help him through those tough times and become his high school's valedictorian.

That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Just when you think you have seen it all, just when you think you've seen a bride that's gone to the craziest length ever to make her day special, take a look at this.

One Tennessee bride has everyone talking because it's all about the picture. A beautiful train, look at that dress. I'm sure her husband is lovely. Do you see what is at the bottom of the train? It's not an it. It's actually a she.

This is her 1-month-old daughter attached to the train of her wedding dress as she is walking and dragging this little girl behind her.

Shona Carter-Brooks says on Facebook that that 1-month-old was well secured, that she was wide awake, but, as you can imagine, the backlash online has been pretty brutal. Look how precious.

For the record, we reached out to Carter-Brooks for comment. I would have loved to have talked to her on the show and asked her what she was thinking, but she didn't return our calls.

I'm sure she had something lovely in mind, integrating her little one in this wedding, but she did say on her Facebook page that, regardless of the situation or purpose, people just have something negative to say.

What do you think? I'm just curious. I'm always online, and I'm always on Twitter. Send me a tweet, @BrookeBCNN. You like it? You hate it? You don't care?

Let's move on. Florida high school student Griffin furlong has these words written on the inside of his baseball cap, these three words, "Never give up."

And you know what? He never did. This teenager is set to graduate Wednesday, valedictorian of First Coast High School in Jacksonville, Florida, an especially tough feat when you consider he lived much of his young life in homeless shelters and foster homes.

After his mother passed away from leukemia, Furlong, along with his brother and father, bounced around for a number of years, sometimes not knowing what they would eat, where they would sleep.

And I asked him about what inspired him to keep going.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRIFFIN FURLONG, FIRST COAST HIGH SCHOOL VALEDICTORIAN: Between the ages of around like 6 to 9, like we were everywhere. We didn't really have a permanent home.

We were temporary. We lived in two homeless shelters. We tried to find hotels. Nothing was permanent. Everything was just temporary. We had to find places to stay and stuff like that.

BALDWIN: So through that time, I'm assuming you still went to school. How did you explain to your friends when they wanted to come over for the afternoon, that you didn't necessarily have a home to come home to?

FURLONG: I couldn't. It was hard, especially in fifth grade. I felt isolated. I felt like I didn't really have any friends.

The friends that I used to have growing up, they just kind of became, you know, just a shadow. I became almost a shadow to them.

BALDWIN: So, Mr. 4.6 GPA, what changed?

FURLONG: I knew that I had to make a change for the good. I was tired of seeing kids getting everything handed to them, like their parents just want to go buy them cars, new phones, and a computer and all of that, you know.

And I just wanted to be better than everyone. I wanted to show that anyone can do it, and I stuck to it, and it all worked out.

Sixth grade was the first time I made all As, and I was like, Whoa! I can continue to do this.

BALDWIN: I like this feeling.

FURLONG: Yeah, I was like, I like this. I can keep doing this.

And it kind of just kept going on and on. And I eventually -- I'm here today valedictorian. It's really special. BALDWIN: Do you have any idea, Griffin, post-college, what you'd like to do with your life?

FURLONG: I just -- I never want to live the life I used to live. I want to be happy. I felt like I've lost many things in my childhood and I just want to be happy in life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Happy in life, simple enough, Griffin Furlong, you go.

A GoFundMe page, by the way, was set up by one of Furlong's friends to help him pay for college.

At last check, they had raised more than $66,000 in honor of this young man. He graduates Wednesday.

Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Brooke Baldwin here at the World Headquarters of CNN in Atlanta.

Let's go to Washington now. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.