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Obama Defends Prisoner Exchange; U.S. Military Searched Bergdahl For Weapons Before He Entered Helicopter; California Explosives Suspect In Custody; Dan Marino Sues NFL Over Concussions; GM Monthly Sales: Best In Six Years
Aired June 03, 2014 - 10:00 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.
President Obama firing back at critics who say the United States should never have made a deal to free Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl in exchange for those five Taliban leaders. This morning the President who was in Poland for a summit with NATO allies hammered home his stance. The military does not leave its people behind.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Regardless of the circumstances, whatever those circumstances may turn out to be, we still get an American soldier back if he's held in captivity -- period, full stop. We don't condition that. And that's what every mom and dad who sees a son or daughter sent over into war theater should expect from not just their commander-in-chief, but the United States of America. The release of the Taliban who were being held in Guantanamo was conditioned on keeping eyes on them and creating a structure in which we can monitor their activities. We will be keeping eyes on them.
Is there the possibility of some of them trying to return to activities that are detrimental to us? Absolutely. That's true of all prisoners released from Guantanamo. There's a certain amount of that takes place. We have confidence that we will be in a position to go after them if in fact they are engaging in activities that threaten our defenses. This is what happens at the end of wars.
That was true for George Washington. That was true for Abraham Lincoln. That was true for FDR. That's been true in every combat situation. At some point you make sure you try to get your folks back. That's the right thing to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: President's statements comes as allegations of desertion continue to swirl around Bergdahl. CNN has learned the army actually look at the possibility that Bergdahl voluntarily left his base in Afghanistan. But the Army report held off on making any final conclusions until Bergdahl is able to defend himself. Critics of the deal, which include Senator John McCain, a former POW himself, believe Bergdahl's release came at too high a price. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: There's overwhelming evidence and testimony coming forward that Sergeant Bergdahl left of his own free will and that will be the subject of investigation. That does not mean he shouldn't have been brought home. The problem that I have and many others have is what we paid for that release and that is releasing five of the most hardened anti-American killers. If the past proves true they'll be back in the battlefield putting lives of Americans in danger in the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Senior White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, is traveling with the president. He is in Warsaw, Poland. Tell us more of what the president said -- Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, as you heard earlier this morning, the president is making no apologies about this prisoner exchange that secured the release of former POW Bowe Bergdahl and the president as you heard in those comments you just played, Carol, is being very upfront. There's a potential risk in freeing these Taliban commanders from detention in Guantanamo.
But the president said and I also heard from administration officials who are also saying this that this is what happens when you release detainees from Guantanamo. There is a certain recidivism rate that does occur and this is not a risk-free environment when they put these terror detainees back into their countries of origin or in this case under the supervision of the Qataris.
I talked to one senior administration official, Carol, who said that they have gotten assurances from the Qatari government that these former detainees, these Taliban commanders, will be watched and so they do feel reasonably assured that they took a good calculated risk here. Obviously we are going to have to see how this plays out.
But the administration is also trying to back fill some of the president's comments with other legal justifications for what they did. They are saying that the reason why the president did not notify Congress as he was required to before launching into this prisoner exchange is because notifying Congress might have put Bowe Bergdahl's life in jeopardy.
So they are saying at this point that that just wasn't something that they could do. The other thing we should point out is White House is putting out a statement from chairman of Joint Chiefs, Martin Dempsey, Carol, who is saying that, look, Bowe Bergdahl's case will be investigated.
They do want to find out exactly what the circumstances were that led to his capture, but at this point he is innocent until proven guilty. Martin Dempsey saying in that statement, just like any other American might be -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Jim Acosta reporting live from Poland this morning. As Mr. Obama pushes back against critics, we are also learning new details about the final moments before Bergdahl was handed over to U.S. Special Forces. An official tells CNN in an unusual move, American forces communicated directly with the Taliban to coordinate the prisoner exchange.
It happened near the Afghan-Pakistani border where U.S. commandos would come face to face with 18 armed members of the Taliban. Let's bring in CNN Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, to tell us more. Good morning, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. The transfer happened without a shot being fired. The firestorm back at home now, the military says it needs to hear from Bowe Bergdahl about the circumstances of his disappearance then they will decide how and if to proceed with any further investigation, any discipline against him, but for now they are just thankful they got him back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): After five years, a Taliban captive --
SGT. BOWE BERGDAHL, U.S. ARMY: Release me, please, I'm begging you. Bring me home.
STARR: Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl is finally heading home. CNN has learned details of the secret choreography for the U.S. commando operation to get Bergdahl that had been quickly worked out between the U.S. and the Taliban. In the final hours, an extraordinary move. A U.S. official tells CNN the Taliban communicated directly with the American special operations forces team the coordinates where they could pick Bergdahl up.
They would release him after being assured that five Taliban at Guantanamo Bay were being turned over to Qatari custody there. The U.S. team worried until the last minute that something would go wrong. In the end, with helicopter gunships flying nearby, one U.S. helicopter landed, the armed Americans faced 18 armed Taliban and Bergdahl. He walked to them, they searched him for weapons and explosives and quickly got him on the chopper.
Once on the noisy helicopter, Bergdahl wrote down the letters SF and a question mark on a paper plate, asking the men if they were Special Forces. Over the noise of the rotors, they yelled back yes, we've been looking for you for a long time. At that point, Bergdahl broke down crying.
Hours later, the five Taliban prisoners released from Gitmo arrived in Qatar, seen in this video welcomed as heroes. They include a senior Taliban commander who was allegedly directly associated with Osama Bin Laden. A man, U.S. intelligence says was second in command in the Taliban's intelligence service, also with ties to al Qaeda.
And another Taliban official wanted by the United Nations in connection with the massacre of thousands of Afghan Shiites. The same men that director of National Intelligence, James Clapper has warned Congress about. JAMES CLAPPER, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: I don't think anyone harbors any illusions about these five Taliban members and what they might do if they were transferred.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: There was an initial fact finding investigation by the army five years ago when Bergdahl first disappeared. But even the commander at the time said that he couldn't finalize the whole investigation until somebody heard from Bergdahl himself. Now, they hope that is what will happen -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Barbara Starr reporting live from the Pentagon this morning. Also this morning, some fellow soldiers who served with Bergdahl are speaking out. They say Bergdahl is no hero and they're not mincing words.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH KORDER, SERVED WITH SGT. BOWE BERGDAHL IN AFGHANISTAN: He's at best a deserter and at worst a traitor. As soon as he is able and fit, I do believe that he needs to be questioned and basically tried if necessary. Any of us would have died for him while he was with us and then for him to just leave us like that, it was a very big betrayal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: That was former Army Sergeant Josh Korder who served with Sergeant Bergdahl in Afghanistan. He'll join us live later this hour.
The nationwide manhunt for a California man police considered armed and dangerous is finally over. Ryan Chamberlain was taking into custody near the Golden Gate Bridge last night. You're looking at a live picture from San Francisco where things are back to normal.
Police had been looking for this guy since this weekend. They raided his apartment and found explosive materials and used a robot to search his car. Chamberlain, a well-known media consultant in the San Francisco area also allegedly left a suicide note on his Facebook page.
It was titled goodbye and spoke about his battle with depression for as long as he could recall. Dan Simon live in San Francisco to tell us more. Good morning, Dan.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Well, the arrest took place here at a popular place for tourists and locals alike. Why Chamberlain came here isn't clear. It's not known what his motives were for allegedly possessing those explosives, but there's growing evidence that he was only intending to harm himself.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIMON (voice-over): A three-day manhunt over. Fugitive Ryan Chamberlain captured near the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco after being spotted in a local bar earlier Monday.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He put up resistance it look like. There were so many officers, he didn't stand a chance. He is going down. I didn't see that he was armed with guns or explosives, nothing like that.
SIMON: The 42-year-old arrested for allegedly possessing explosive materials in his home. The bomb squad using a robot to search his car before going in. Chamberlain, a media consultant, well known in San Francisco political circles. Even working for then mayoral candidate, Gavin Newsom, in 2003. Those who worked with the political operative are in disbelief.
ALEX TURK, FORMER COLLEAGUE: Flabbergasted, just out of character for anything that I know about Ryan.
SIMON: But now a note titled goodbye posted on Chamberlain's Facebook page may offer an explanation. He writes about his lifetime battle with depression, the loss of Project Sport, a marketing company he says was sold for over $1 million, but he saw none of it, and a struggle with relationships including this passage I met the one. Everything was perfect and then she just stopped.
The three-page letter ending simply, thank you. I'm sorry. I love you. On Monday prior to his arrest, Chamberlain's alleged latest tweet denies all charges. A panicked update to my letter that should have posted by now, he allegedly wrote. Nothing they're reporting is true. No stashes. Not armed.
A U.S. law enforcement official says investigators cannot definitively say the posting was made by Chamberlain.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIMON: So was this just a distraught and troubled man that wanted to kill himself, Carol, or something more sinister at play here? Hopefully we'll get more answers. In an hour we're expecting to hear from both the FBI and the San Francisco Police Department at a press conference here in the city -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Dan Simon reporting live from San Francisco this morning.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, NFL concussion discussion taken to a whole new level. Dan Marino becomes the biggest thing yet to sue the league.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Dan Marino is one of the NFL's greatest quarterbacks ever. A household name even among non-sports fans and someone who says, who claims he is suffering symptoms of brain injury. That's what Marino claims in a new concussion lawsuit brought by 15 former players against the NFL.
So let's talk about that with sports attorney, David Cornwell, and CNN's Sports, Andy Scholes. Welcome to both of you. So Andy, tell us more about this lawsuit.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS: It's a new lawsuit that Dan Marino and 14 other players are filing. It's just like the other lawsuits that we've seen. They are claiming that they have brain injuries coming from football playing days and the NFL knew that these injuries were happening and just turned the other way. Looked the other way.
And so it's interesting to see what is going to happen with this lawsuit because, of course, they want damages and they want medical treatment just like the previous lawsuit. They got settled for $765 million.
But was released recently rejected just this past January by Judge Anita Brody because she said it wasn't going to be sufficient to take care of all of the retired players. That's where we stand now. Where do we go from here? I don't know.
COSTELLO: I don't know. Let's ask, David, you know, the curious thing about this is Dan Marino. I don't remember him having any concussion problems.
DAVID CORNWELL, SPORTS ATTORNEY: There's two things that go on, on the football field. One is the obvious concussion and other is sub- concussive brain injury that may not show itself for years after you've played and there is no question that these players deserve treatment and there needs to be researched. On the $665 million settlement, if it went through, $252 million of that would have gone to attorney's fees.
So I think the time is now for us to look at a different approach. I think the NFL PA perhaps with new leadership needs to sit down with the NFL and figure out a way that all of this money goes to treatment, care and research because at the end of the day, the people that are going to get rich on these lawsuits are lawyers and it won't be about treatment and care.
SCHOLES: When this all originally happened, the first lawsuit, the players reportedly wanted $2 billion. The NFL said we're giving you zero. Then they eventually settled on the NFL saying we'll give you 765 and the lawyers agreed to it and apparently a lot of former players weren't on board with that decision.
CORNWELL: You make the point. This is what happens in lawsuits. You ask for a lot of damages. The defendant says I'm not guilty. I'm not liable. So you end up having a fight over an issue as opposed to a negotiation over a way to provide treatment and care for retired players, research to ensure that today and future players aren't facing the same challenges with regard to brain injury.
COSTELLO: Might star power that Dan Marino has behind his name push your idea forward?
CORNWELL: I think it can. There's another downside to Dan Marino being part of these lawsuits though. Now parents are going to remember Dan Marino and question whether they want their sons to play the game. We have to figure out a way to make the game safe. Treat the retired players instead of paying lawyers.
COSTELLO: I heard the NFL is coming up with all sorts of programs for mothers of kids who want to play football and that sort of thing. Is that working?
SCHOLES: It's hard to tell. This is a trickledown effect. We don't know if the teaching of not leading with your head anymore and that stuff at the peewee level will translate. You watched NFL. We still see 15-yard penalties left and right because players are trained if the guy is coming over the middle, you lay him out and make the play. We haven't seen it trickle down yet. Who knows in years down the line if we will.
CORNWELL: Well, the commitment is there. I spent the weekend with the NFL folks and with the chairman of the competition committee. They have really made an investment not only in the players and the game, but also as you say, to the public with their heads-up program. I do believe it's going to make a difference because it's just about teaching a different technique on tackling and frankly it's a technique I learned growing up. I don't think it will be that difficult for folks to go back to tackle that way.
SCHOLES: Run into torn ACLs every other week.
COSTELLO: David Cornwell and Andy Scholes, many thanks. Still to come in the NEWSROOM, despite all the GM recall issues, it's monthly sales are the best in six years. We'll talk about that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Despite millions of GM cars being recalled in recent months, the monthly sales are the best in nearly six years. Zain Asher is live in New York to explain why. Good morning.
ZAIN ASHER, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: There are a couple of reasons for this. We just got those car sales numbers for the month of May, they were up 13 percent year over year. When GM announces a recall, a massive recall like this, they are in effect luring thousands of customers into their dealerships for repairs. Sales teams jump on that chance to encourage those customers to buy new cars.
Some of those customers actually get loaner cars and buy those loaner cars and you have to remember that recalls happen so frequently this year in general that customers have sort of grown immune to it. People sort of seem to be numb to it. It doesn't affect how they make their purchases. People tend to purchase based on brand loyalty.
Also you have to remember that two of the models that were most impacted by the ignition switch recall don't exist anymore. One thing I will say is even though car sales have not been impacted and GM share prices down 3 percent since February, what has been impacted is GM's profit.
You look at first quarter profit down 85 percent. It cost the car company $1.7 billion because of those recall issues. Sales doing pretty well but profit not so much -- Carol. COSTELLO: And those recalls may not be over yet because Reuters is reporting this morning that at least 74 people died in GM cars because of these faulty ignition switches.
ASHER: Right. We actually got a response from GM about that number 74. GM is sticking to their guns on this one. They say despite what Reuters is reporting, as far as they are concerned the number of deaths linked to the ignition switch recall stand at 13. People are taking issue with the way Reuters calculated their number and they went through a data base looking at car accidents that occurred under similar circumstances to the car accidents that led to those 13 deaths.
For GM right now, it really is all about transparency. They have to prove the old GM, which is all about cost cutting, and new GM are vastly different. It's about stepping out in front of recalls and issuing recalls before waiting for fatalities to come to them.
COSTELLO: Zain Asher reporting live from New York. Thanks so much.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the Tea Party trying to get back on track after a bruising round of elections, but did one conservative blogger cost Mississippi Senate candidate, Chris McDaniel, a chance to head to Washington? We'll talk about that next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. From coast to coast, politics is taking center stage today as eight states hold primaries on everything from the governor's mansion to who will represent those states on Capitol Hill. And for Republicans, two contests are in focus. In Iowa, the party looking to flip that Senate seat from blue to red with retirement of long time Senator Tom Harkin.
