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Clippers Sale is Off; Cop Killers Motivated by Extremist Views; Families Protest at GM Shareholder Meeting

Aired June 10, 2014 - 09:30   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, Jean.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Carol, it just came out, a statement Donald Sterling, in lieu of his attorney, saying the team is not for sale. So what does this mean? Well, Donald Sterling is saying to the NBA, we'll see you in court. We'll have it, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver warned us about Donald Sterling in an interview we aired just yesterday. Silver told CNN's Rachel Nichols that Sterling has unsold the L.A. Clippers several times over the years. Well, he's done it again. CNN's Jean Casarez joins us with the latest moves from the banned owner.

I can't believe this, Jean.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You can't. Well, from the onset, Carol, I did not want to sell the Clippers, that's what Donald Sterling says in a one-page statement released on Monday. Sterling suddenly pulling out of a $2 billion agreement to sell the Clippers, and now pursuing a lawsuit against the NBA.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ (voice-over): The deal is off says an attorney for Clippers owner Donald Sterling. Sterling suddenly withdrawing support for the team's $2 billion sale to former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. The controversial co-owner issued a one-page statement Monday titled "the team is not for sale," writing, "I have decided that I must fight to protect my rights. While my position may not be popular, I believe that my rights to privacy and the preservation of my rights to due process should not be trampled. I intend to fight to keep the team."

Sterling, now pursuing a $1 billion lawsuit against the NBA, alleging the league violated his constitutional rights and relied upon information from an illegal recording.

DONALD STERLING, L.A. CLIPPERS OWNER (voice-over): Yes, it bothers me a lot that you want to prom -- broadcast that you're associating with black people. CASAREZ: The sale agreed to weeks after the owner's racist remarks

were posted by TMZ was negotiated by his estranged wife and team co- owner Shelly Sterling. And in the beginning, Mr. Sterling was seemingly onboard.

STERLING: Settling sometimes is better than fighting, and maybe I have to settle for whatever they want to do.

CASAREZ: Just last week the Clippers owner said he felt very good about the sale.

STERLING: I feel fabulous. I'm OK. I'm OK. Is the NBA OK? I'm not sure about them. Is Adam Silver OK? I'm sure he's OK.

CASAREZ: In a recent exclusive interview with CNN's Rachel Nichols, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who moved quickly to oust the owner -

ADAM SILVER, NBA COMMISSIONER: I am banning Mr. Sterling for life.

CASAREZ: Questioned Sterling's commitment to sell.

SILVER: There's well-known incidents in the league when he was right there at a closing and at the last minute decided not to sell. And until he signs that document, we still have a pending litigation with him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ: And Sterling directly mentioned Silver in a statement writing, quote, "I believe that Adam Silver acted in haste by illegally ordering the forced sale of the Clippers, banning me for life from the NBA, and imposing the fine. Adam Silver's conduct in doing so without conducting any real investigation was wrong. The action taken by Adam Silver and the NBA constitutes a violation of my rights and fly in the face of the freedoms that are afforded to Americans."

You know, Carol, I have to say, I think this is fascinating. From a legal standpoint I think it's fascinating because will a court continue to hear this? There may be a subsequent probate action in regard to the trust that he had with his wife, and it just changes day by day.

COSTELLO: So where's his wife in all of this? I thought she was negotiating with, you know -- with - with Bezos, right?

CASAREZ: For the sale.

COSTELLO: Right. So what happened to that?

CASAREZ: Well, the NBA -- "The New York Times" is reporting today that in regard to the family trust, that there was a clause that said that if either partner were cognitively impaired and determined to be so, that then the other spouse would have the duty to be the spouse to be the controlling one for any - any action that had to be taken in regard to the trust and the team. Well, Adam Silver said that Sterling was determined to be cognitively impaired, and that was why Shelly took over. Well, that's very subjective, because neurologists that may determine he's cognitively impaired, other neurologists may say he is not and that could lead to a probate action.

COSTELLO: Oh, excuse me. I meant to say Steve Ballmer. But it's just an interesting twist and we'll be busy with this one for a long time. Jean Casarez, thanks so much.

CASAREZ: Thanks.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, the Las Vegas cop killers, they set out to start a revolution and they made their anti-government and extremist views known. Could more have been done to stop their deadly rampage? We'll talk about that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Jerad Miller called himself a patriot. Normally a word Americans use proudly. But in Miller's mind it became twisted and ugly. Miller, and his wife Amanda, gunned down two police officers and a Wal-Mart shopper in Las Vegas because they wanted to start a revolution. On Miller's FaceBook page he wrote, quote, "we can hope for peace. We must, however, prepare for war. We face an enemy that is not only well-funded but who believe they fight for freedom and justice. Those of us who know the truth and dare speak it know that the enemy we face are indeed our brothers, even though they share the same masters as we all do. Think fail to recognize the chains that bind them," unquote. Authorities say Miller was attracted to small government demonstrations, like the armed confrontation at Cliven Bundy's Nevada ranch. Here's what he told an NBC affiliate back in April.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JARED MILLER: I feel sorry for any federal agents that want to come in here and try to push us around or anything like that. I really don't want violence towards them. But if they're going to come, bring violence to us, well, if that's the language they want to speak, we'll learn it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So let's talk about this. David Gletty is a former undercover operative for the FBI and author of "Undercover Nazi."

Welcome, sir.

DAVID GLETTY, AUTHOR, "UNDERCOVER NAZI": Hey, how you this morning, Carol?

COSTELLO: I'm good. I'm glad you're here.

I'd like, first, to play a clip from a former skinhead on who he thinks is responsible for what happened on Sunday in Las Vegas. So let's listen together.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARNO MICHAELIS, FORMER SKINHEAD: If Bundy is responsible for this, as we all are responsible for this. We're all responsible for this huge, magnificent echo chamber that we exist in with media and information being so ubiquitous nowadays. Whatever we put out into that is going to reflect in one way or another. Now, if Cliven Bundy or anyone else is constantly saying, like Mark (ph) pointed out, Obama's coming to take your guns, the government's coming to get you, that contributes to the environment that Jerad and Amanda Miller came from.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So, is he right?

GLETTY: I would agree with him somewhat. I would take it a step further and say, yes, it is all of our faults. It is our faults. These groups, the non-criminal aspects, need to police themselves. And that's the only way this is going to get stopped because those -- some of the people in those groups know that this was going to happen. They know they could have turned these people in and they did not. So it goes to these groups themselves.

And I challenge the non-criminal groups here to step up and help out. You're not a rat when you save lives. Step up and help. Stop these acts from happening, because this is - this diminishes all of our rights.

COSTELLO: Well, in fairness, other militia groups that were demonstrating at Cliven Bundy's ranch, they threw this guy off. They said he was nuts.

GLETTY: Well, I believe, from what I saw about the guy, he is crazy, or he was crazy. These are signs that were out there before. We can all second guess and go back and say this and that, because the records are there. But like I said before, it's up to all of us and this skinhead that was talking before, yes, when the media does report these things over and over, but that's their job, it does send out a trumpet for the call to arms. And there is a revolution going on in these people's minds. They feel like a new revolution war has started and they are the new revolutionary soldiers and it's up to them to go out and make these things happen because they feel like their backs are against the wall and the America that they grew up in is dead and it's never coming back. And that is their beliefs.

COSTELLO: So what in our culture is enflaming these people in your mind?

GLETTY: Well, in this hyper-sensitive mode of over media stimulation and the social networking and everything that's out there that makes it so available for people's views to get out there, these people, like I said, they feel like their backs are against the wall, that they feel like racism is being ramped up by the government in control now. They call it the Zionist government.

And they feel, like I said, their backs are against the wall and there's nothing they can do. So they grab their rifle, they grab their handguns, they go out and look for targets. In this case, it was two unfortunate police officers having lunch and another civilian at a Wal-Mart and they just go out and these were easy targets, even though the officers were armed, it was an easy target, since they were at lunch and at ease. And this is senseless. This could be stopped but we're not doing the right steps to get it accomplished, to stop this.

COSTELLO: So how in a free country, when you can say anything you want, right? And you can. What steps should we take to stop this?

GLETTY: Well, first off, over the years, not just under Obama's watch, but under George Bush's watch also, we had -- we lost resources on the ground -- professionals like myself. We had so many in the past, but those numbers have diminished. The resources on the ground, the boots on the ground, are not there like they used to be.

So things slipped through the cracks. Persons like myself, we're the first line of defense. When I gravitate towards the criminal aspects as an undercover operative and I get close to these people, many times we stopped criminal agents from happening. But now that's diminished.

And I would say I challenge the Obama administration, I hate to say this word, but to create a czar for extremist groups to go out there, need to talk with these groups. There are so many non-criminals. It's not against the law to be racist. It is against the law in the United States of America to go out and inflict harm upon innocent civilians and others.

So I would say that we need to go out there I've seen it. I was in the belly of the beast. I lived with these people I know how they think. We need to go out and talk to them, because they're the ones that are going to turn in these people that are going out there committing criminal acts. That's the only way.

COSTELLO: And just a final question. You think this is such a serious problem that there needs to be some kind of czar created by the government to deal with them?

GLETTY: From what I've saw and what I know, I hate to scare the public, but now is the time for truth and facts. The numbers are growing. These extremist groups are expanding right now, for whatever reason. You can say it's because of this. You can say it's because of that. Forget all of that. Let's go with the facts.

They're expanding, and this violence is expanding, and it's going to get worse. There's a trumpet that's been -- that's been tooted, and the call to arms has been heard, and the triggering mechanism is there. We can see it. It's going to start, more and more of these people are going to go out, like I said pick up their gun, their handguns, their rifles and go out and inflict harm when they get that phone call that tells them now is the time to act. I say that yes, we do need a czar for extremist groups because they need to go out there and be boots on the ground and talk to these group leaders.

You know I'm volunteering myself. You know I'm the perfect guy, because I know. It's a dangerous situation. I've been there. But now's the time to talk to these groups, because their rights are being diminished, our rights are being diminished every time these criminal acts happen.

COSTELLO: David Gletty, thanks so much for your insight. I appreciate it.

GLETTY: Thank you very much.

COSTELLO: Ok you're welcome.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, it is a tense day in Detroit as victims' families protest GM's annual shareholder meeting up next, what CEO Mary Barra is saying about the automaker's controversial recall.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Right now tensions are brewing in Detroit that for families of victims killed or hurt in car crashes related to GM's deadly ignition switch problem are protesting. Today marks the company's annual shareholder meeting it's all happening on the heels of an internal investigation. They call of the auto giant's delayed recall as part of the pattern of incompetence and neglect. Moments ago, GM's CEO -- GM's CEO rather Mary Barra responded to reporters' questions. One of them, Poppy Harlow, who asked her why those who died in the back seat of a car that crashed because of that ignition switch flaw are not counted on the list of 13 deaths linked to that defect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY BARRA, GM CEO: You know I think the important thing to focus on is General Motors has announced that we're going to do a compensation program. Ken Feinberg who is known across I think the globe as an expert in this area, he is working on finalizing the protocol. Our goal is to make sure everyone who was impacted by the ignition switch issue is appropriately compensated as it relates to those who lost loved ones or those who had physical injury.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Let's bring in CNN's Poppy Harlow now she's in Detroit. It wasn't exactly an answer to your question.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No it wasn't. I mean I asked last week and I asked again and we're going to keep asking because it's an important question, Carol. A lot of families feel like their loved ones are not counted on GM's tally at this point of those who died because of this deadly ignition switch. Now that may change. And you heard that from her because they have this outside attorney Ken Feinberg handling victim compensation. If he determines that many more deaths were caused as a result of this that number may change. But for now it is 13 from General Motors.

Look right now behind me inside company headquarters, the CEO Mary Barra is addressing shareholders. This is a company that has made a lot of money since exiting bankruptcy. So far this recall has cost them $1.7 billion. It's likely to cost them a whole lot more in litigation with these families.

But I do want to play you some sound from families that are here. They are protesting in front of the building on the other side from where we are who they lost loved ones in car crashes that they blame on this ignition switch defect. They talked me about -- about why it's important for them to be here in Detroit today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEN RIMER, STEPDAUGHTER DIED IN FOR CAR CRASH: We just want to make sure that, ok, here's the face of the victims. People died because of their inaction. And we got to make sure that that doesn't happen again.

LAURA CHRSITIAN, DAUGHTER DIED IN A CAR CRASH: I think it's important for the shareholders to put a human face to what has happened here because they're going to be in there talking about dollars and cents for the most part. But this really isn't about money. It's not to us we lost children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: They are having a very hard time stomaching what they have read in this 315-page internal report that came out at the end of last week. As damning as it was for General Motors, they still have questions. I want to read you an excerpt from that report talking about the culture at this company that allowed for this deadly defect not to go up to the highest rank, not to be told to the public for more than a decade.

Quote "Nobody took responsibility. It was an example of what one top executive described as quote, 'the GM nod' when everyone nods in agreement to a proposal plan of action but then leaves the room and does nothing." Carol that is what was going on at this company for more than a decade and that is what led to at least 13 deaths.

COSTELLO: All right. We'll check back with you. Poppy Harlow reporting live from Detroit this morning.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a break.

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