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Crisis in Iraq; Redskins' Trademark Canceled

Aired June 18, 2014 - 15:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And we move on, hour two, top of the hour. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

And right about now, President Obama and several congressional leaders are set to discuss the escalating crisis in Iraq at the White House. The question now, will this meeting of the minds, will it end with a U.S. strategy, a specific plan to stop ISIS militants before they reach Baghdad or will it be mere discussions, consultations?

We are hearing the military's top brass, including General Martin Dempsey, have come up with a draft plan, a list of possible ISIS targets and ways to hit them, including dropping precision-guided bombs from manned aircraft.

And in Iraq today, the political and economic stakes just got higher for the United States. ISIS militants stormed Iraq's largest oil refinery. This is just north of Baghdad. And at one point, terrorists controlled most of that site.

So this is significant here. Also, if you look at the map -- and Baiji is the town with that largest oil refinery. You see the yellow, the southern section of Iraq? Oil refineries predominantly in that section of the country, they responded to what's happening in the north very quickly, oil giants even before this happened. ExxonMobil, BP began these mass evacuations, fearing for the safety of their own workers, all of this as ISIS moves ever closer to Baghdad.

But the word from Iraq's prime minister today, that everything is under control.

Joining me now, Dana Bash, our chief congressional correspondent, and Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, retired U.S. Army.

Welcome to both of you.

And, Dana Bash, let me just begin with you, since we're right around now that this meeting is happening at the Oval Office, not too far from where you are. Do we know, will the president be presenting these top, you know, leaders in Congress with a specific plan? Or might he say we will put the ball in Congress' court, a la Syria?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's unclear how specific he's going to get today, but I can almost guarantee he's not putting any balls in Congress' court right now, particularly when it comes to matters of war, especially on the issue of Iraq, for lots of reasons. First and foremost, Congress doesn't want the ball in their court.

You did hear a lot of calls for the president to come to Congress first before any air strikes in Syria, not so much now. And I honestly think that the hard, cold truth is because they don't want their hands on it. We are just months before an Election Day.

And they -- even those who are probably the most robust in saying that there should be air strikes, should be a military response, probably wouldn't want to ask their constituents that because they wouldn't agree when they hear the words Iraq and military force.

So, but I can say that there certainly is a divide, not surprisingly, a partisan divide, over what to do. Listen to both the House speaker and the Democratic leader today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: The president has been watching what we have been watching for over a year, as the situation in Iraq continued to be undermined. And yet nothing, nothing has happened to try to reverse it. I'm hopeful I will hear something today.

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: It's not worth the blood of American soldiers. It's not worth the monetary cost to the American taxpayer. So, Mr. President, rather than spending hundreds and billions of dollars on the war in Iraq, about $1.5 trillion, rather than spending more money doing that, fighting George W. Bush's war, how about we use that money to rebuild our nation's infrastructure, roads, bridges?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Now, even though you just heard that from the Democratic leader and you have heard similar things from Nancy Pelosi, both of whom fought vehemently against the Iraq war towards the end of the Bush administration, they are actually being more cautious, and that would appear with regard to -- maybe circumspect is the right word with regard to air strikes, because they want options open for the president.

BALDWIN: But you mentioned air strikes.

And, General Kimmitt, let me ask you. It depends on which paper you picked up this morning. There were conflicting reports over whether air strikes would be a viable option or whether that would be scrapped. What about this? What about the do-nothing option? Is that viable?

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT (RET.), FORMER U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR PLANS AND STRATEGY: Well, it's viable, only if we don't want to have a unitary Iraq state. I think the airstrike options in support of the Iraqi security forces may be one of the best guarantees to keep this country together.

BALDWIN: The oil refinery city, the largest in Iraq, in Baiji, this is north of Baghdad, taken by ISIS.

You know, I have talked to a bunch of people who have been in Iraq as we talk about the southern oil fields. They say no way they could make it down there. But what does that tell you about this strategy from this, not ragtag, quite sophisticated, terrorist group?

KIMMITT: Well, it looks like, rather than try to it continue the assault towards Baghdad, they're trying to consolidate their gains that they have made in the north and the west part of the country.

That's a predominantly Sunni area. They have the most civilian support in that region. It's highly unlikely that they have either the manpower or the capability, or, quite frankly, the desire to go well south into the southern, predominantly, almost exclusively Shia areas.

BALDWIN: OK.

And then, Dana to you, as we know with these meeting in the Oval Office, will there be a stakeout camera? Do -- can we assume that we will be hearing from the McConnells, the Pelosis, the Boehners, the Reids post-meeting?

BASH: Some, we know already that we're not going to hear from, Mitch McConnell, for example. Others are waiting to see what happened in the meeting -- happens in the meeting. And, sometimes, we try to read into the fact that they don't come out, that maybe they know something that they simply can't talk about.

Other times, they actually make a bipartisan agreement just to let the president do his thing. So we're going to wait and see what exactly happens at the end of that. We're not exactly sure.

BALDWIN: We will be watching for it. Dana Bash, General Kimmitt, thank you both very much.

Right now, meantime, the suspected Benghazi raid mastermind is being interrogated on a slow boat ride to the United States. Ahmed Abu Khattala is on this U.S. Navy ship. Taking him by sea, instead of by air, allows these FBI investigators maximum time to question him.

We do know that this terror suspect didn't put up a fight when special forces captured him Sunday in Libya. Khattala says he was directing traffic in Benghazi on that September night in 2012 when fighters attacked the U.S. Consulate and four Americans were killed.

I talked to one of the mothers in an emotional and candid interview, Patricia Smith. She has so many questions she says that no one from the White House, not President Obama, not Hillary Clinton, has answered. Here she was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Hillary Clinton will be answering questions as part of a town hall in a couple of hours here on CNN. Let me ask you, live on CNN, if you could ask her one question, because Christiane Amanpour will be doing so, what is your one question for Hillary Clinton?

(CROSSTALK)

PATRICIA SMITH, MOTHER OF VICTIM: Why did she not give security to those people that were there?

She sent them in there to do her thing, whatever it is that she was supposed -- they were supposed to do, which they did willingly, and my son I'm sure did willingly, and he would probably do it again even knowing what the outcome is. But why can't they just tell me the truth, just the truth?

That's -- that should be something that's allowable. But she don't care. She wants to be president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Well, our chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, heard that interview and Pat Smith's understandable emotional plea.

A matter of hours later, Christiane took Smith's question directly to Hillary Clinton at that town hall. Here she was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Certainly, some of the family are still very distraught.

One of the mothers said that she still feels all this time that she has not had sufficient answers. How do you relate to her as a mother?

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Oh, I totally relate to her as a mother or to any of the family members of the four Americans who were killed that night. I can see why she and others are inconsolable.

There have been, as you know, a number of investigations, including the independent one that the State Department commissioned, as well as many in Congress. There are answers, not all of them, not enough, frankly. I'm still looking for answers, because it was a confusing and difficult time.

But I would hope that every American would understand, number one, why we were there, because we need to be in dangerous places, and, number two, that we're doing the best we can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The Benghazi suspect, Khattala, is set to face a federal trial in Washington, D.C.

Just ahead, a hearing right now under way about the implications about that Taliban prisoner swap, this as we learn new details about why Bowe Bergdahl has yet to talk to his parents. Remember, he is now back in the U.S. at a Texas hospital. Also ahead, the U.S. government stripping the Washington Redskins of

its trademarks over criticism the team name is racist. The bigger question is this. Does that mean a name change could be in the works? We will discuss next here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Welcome back. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

The pressure on the Washington Redskins' owner to change his team's name got a whole lot more intense today, because the U.S. Patent Office stripped the team of its trademark protection. Why, you ask? Because it says the team's trademarks are -- quote -- "disparaging of Native Americans."

Now, the Redskins say they will appeal this decision. They can also continue to use the logos. There is kind of a caveat to that. We're going to get into that. And they retain trademark protection throughout this appeal.

But, today, this is seen as a victory for the five Native Americans who sued. A representative for them says they are -- quote -- "extraordinarily gratified" to have prevailed in this case.

So, let me bring in two voices, former federal prosecutor Fred Tecce and Cindy Boren, sports reporter for "The Washington Post."

Welcome to both of you.

FRED TECCE, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Thanks for having us.

BALDWIN: And, Cindy, let's start -- let's start with you, because I was reading this (INAUDIBLE) from -- I mean, this -- this made it to Capitol Hill today.

Harry Reid this said on the floor of the Senate today. "Dan Snyder," owner of the Redskins, "may be the last person in the world to realize this, but it's a matter of time until he's forced to do the right thing and change the name."

Do you think this is the beginning of the end of the Redskins?

CINDY BOREN, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Well, I think that it might be.

It might be the tipping point. I have thought all along that it would take a major economic push to get the Redskins and the NFL to begin to entertain the motion of changing the nickname. But we have now had kind of three significant events in the span of about a month, in that you had the 50 senators writing two letters to the NFL, and Harry Reid was involved in that.

You also had an ad that aired during the NBA playoffs in seven markets. It was a very effective and powerful ad, which was actually really, really sleekly polished, and now you have got this. So I am kind of beginning to wonder. I still think -- I still think it's going to take a lot to change it. And, you know, this has happened before. They -- there were a group

of Native Americans 22 years ago who filed a trademark lawsuit. And that basically was -- the trademark office ruled in the same way that it did today. Then they took it -- the Redskins took it to court and it was turned down -- overturned, rather, by the court.

BALDWIN: OK. So you say real economics would be that final tipping point.

Let me come back to you, because the court of public opinion is pretty interesting on this.

But, Fred, as far as the law goes, what does this really mean for the trademark? Can the Redskins say to folks who are hocking their gear, you can't sell our logos on our T-shirts, or not necessarily?

TECCE: They can. They can continue to do that.

And, you know, unfortunately, if your ultimate goal is to get them to change the name and you think that economic sanctions and economic pressures will bring that it to bear, then this isn't going to help you, because all a trademark is, is what the law calls constructive notice.

Your trademark rights come from the use of the mark in commerce. And so the Redskins will continue to use this mark, and they will continue to have the right to preclude others. They can't put the little R in a circle on things anymore. And they can't go into federal court.

But they can continue to enforce their common law trademark rights. So, ultimately, you know, you really want to bring pressure to bear on these guys, there's going to have to be economic pressure in some other form.

BALDWIN: That's exactly what Cindy was saying, so the power of the purse.

TECCE: Right.

BALDWIN: But then you also have the power of the public, Cindy, because the majority of Americans, according to the most recent polls I have seen over the last couple years, the majority of Americans actually say that they don't think Native American names, i.e., Washington Redskins, should be changed.

Could this be a door for the NFL to force a name change?

BOREN: Yes.

I mean, I think that that's always a possibility. You know, for every poll that says there are people who favor the name change, there's another poll that says people are against it. It's rather difficult to kind of get a grasp on just exactly where this is overall in public opinion.

(CROSSTALK) BALDWIN: What about people in D.C.?

(CROSSTALK)

BOREN: I would say that, in D.C., the nickname is overwhelmingly popular still.

BALDWIN: interesting.

BOREN: I mean among the fans I know and the fans that respond to me on Twitter and Facebook, the fans that I'm in touch with.

TECCE: Look...

BALDWIN: Go ahead, Fred.

TECCE: I -- well, but I personally think you have got to be cognizant of the fact that people -- some people find this name offensive.

But, as a lawyer and as someone who has been doing this for 30 years, including when I was a federal prosecutor, did a lot of criminal trademark cases, I get a little bit hinky when you start trying to strip people's rights away from them that have been afforded under the law for 150 years.

I agree with the people who find this offensive. I think that these people should effectuate a change of their name. But to start stripping people of rights, which are fundamental -- I mean, trademarks are a fundamental part of our economic system in this country and are very, very important. People like Apple and Microsoft and Google find their trademarks very important. And we should not be taking steps to undermine them.

BALDWIN: So the hinky factor is there. But let me end with you, Fred. When you both agree that this really could be -- economics could change this, what specifically do you mean?

TECCE: Right.

(CROSSTALK)

TECCE: Stop buying tickets, stop going to the games, and, quite frankly...

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Go ahead, Fred.

TECCE: Well, merchandise sales or television. You take away their television revenues, you will get their attention.

BALDWIN: Cindy, you agree?

BOREN: Absolutely, yes.

I mean, you know, this is a multibillion-dollar enterprise. It's the most powerful sports enterprise in America. And once people stop buying stuff -- Redskins merchandise is still tremendously popular. And once people stop paying money and once money stops flowing into the NFL coffers, then they will take notice. They are, after all, businessmen.

BALDWIN: They are? This isn't just about the good of the sport? I kid.

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: Cindy Boren and Fred Tecce.

(CROSSTALK)

TECCE: ... comes down to dollars and cents.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Thank you, both of you. I really appreciate it.

(LAUGHTER)

TECCE: Thanks.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Just ahead, a mother -- this is a pretty stunning story. A mother is accused of poisoning her own child, blogging about his illness, wanting sympathy. This is all now being called -- this is a case of, have you heard of this, Munchausen syndrome by proxy. We will explain that and tell this horrendous story.

Plus, we are awaiting word from the White House. As we mentioned at the top of the show, President Obama is in a meeting right now with congressional leaders discussing options for Iraq. Could American air strikes be involved? We're watching. We're expecting video any second. Stay right here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right, just quickly, we mentioned the meeting that's happening right now in the Oval Office, congressional leaders, President Obama.

Got a little, as we call it, pool spray, some video from inside the room. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, pool.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: And that was 22 seconds of camera clicks and not much else.

But I will tell you, we're watching, we're waiting. Stay with me on that.

Now this: The pictures of a 5-year-old name -- boy named Garnett Spears show him -- how adorable -- smiling, silly, far from sick. And yet his mother blogged about this little boy's bouts with low weight and feeding problems, diarrhea, vomiting. It gets worse from there.

So, it turns out, according to prosecutors, that this little boy was suffering not from poor health, but allegedly at his own mother's hands. Tuesday, Lacey Spears pleaded not guilty to the second-degree murder of her son, who died in January.

"USA Today" reports -- quote -- "The boy was alert and talking on the night of January 20 when friends visited him and Spears in his hospital room. One friend recalled the 5-year-old pleading with her, 'Don't leave me.'"

Westchester County prosecutors say Spears overdosed her son with saline.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE LONGWORTH, WESTCHESTER COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSIONER: It took us across five different states, hundreds of interviews, examination of thousands of documents and a significant manpower commitment by a number of different agencies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: With me now, HLN's Nancy Grace and senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

And, Nancy, to you first. As a mother, when I read that this little boy was pleading with this person, don't leave me in this hospital room, I know innocent until proven guilty, but it makes my skin crawl.

NANCY GRACE, HOST, "NANCY GRACE": Those are the kind of facts about murder cases and child abuse cases that I try to forget. I try not to think about them. But I can't help think about them, because that little boy was begging for help.

This is what is so damning about it this. You might think it's going to be a toxicology or forensic case, because they're going to be analyzing his tissue and the fluids in his body at the time of his death. But listen to this. From the hospital, the mother, Lacey Spears, calls her neighbor there in Chestnut Ridge, and asks her to go and get the feeding bag she was using at home and throw it away, so police couldn't find it. What was in that feeding bag?

Salt. We would call it table salt. What it is, sodium, saline, overdosing her child on saline. And what's so incredible to me is that she actually blogs -- she blogs for the world to see, I'm watching my son come off the bed in pain. We are going to have to make a difficult decision to take him off life support.

If this is at her hand, she's going down.

BALDWIN: She gained all kinds of sympathy, as you pointed out, through social media through the years.

And that's why, Elizabeth Cohen, I just wanted to have you on, because she is being investigated for having Munchausen by proxy, which is all about, what, getting sympathy, you're keeping your kid sick, you want the sympathy from the hospital, which is further exacerbated by this world of social media.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right.

So, Munchausen syndrome is where you do it about yourself. You make up things about yourself. Munchausen by proxy is where you do it for someone who is in your care.

And it is -- it is so sad. In the end, really, it's child abuse. And they don't know why people do this. They do it for comfort. They do it to get attention. Many of these people were abused themselves as children. And, as you said, it used to be with, Munchausen by proxy, you would get the sympathy of your doctors or your immediate family. But now, on social media, you're getting that sympathy constantly all...

BALDWIN: She was in the hospital 23 times with this child.

COHEN: And you can bet that the people at that hospital were suspicious. That would be my guess is that they knew something was up. But it's very hard. What do you do? How do you follow through on that? I think, sometimes, it can be difficult to really -- to really nail that down.

BALDWIN: Nancy, what happens next as far as she is concerned? What could she face here?

GRACE: Well, on her one-way trip to hell, she is going to make a little stop in the courtroom.

What can medical personnel do? For one thing, if they suspect abuse, they can call CPS, Child Protective Services. I mean, if they really suspect that, it's actually their duty to call DFCS, Department of Family and Children Services.

She is now facing murder two. In that jurisdiction, that's the same as murder one to us. It's called depraved heart, when you do something so callous to someone else that results in their death. That's 25 to life. Now, here's the thing she's got going for her. Before this, she was believed to be, by many, a loving and devoted mother.

It's going to be very hard for a jury to wrap their mind around a mother doing this to a child. You look at all those postings you two were talking about, and you're absolutely right.

BALDWIN: Yes.

GRACE: They're having fun. He's giggling, he's with mommy, he's laughing.

It's going to be hard for them to believe that she could do this to him. But forensics don't lie.

BALDWIN: Nancy Grace, thank you so much.

Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.

Make sure you watch Nancy Grace on our sister network HLN weeknights at 8:00 p.m.

Coming up here on CNN, as the situation in Iraq worsens and President Obama discusses his options with congressional leaders as I speak at the White House, Anderson Cooper is on the ground, live in Baghdad, reporting on the crisis. We will check in with Anderson here momentarily.

Also ahead, Congress is holding a hearing right now on the implications of trading those five mid- to high-level Taliban detainees for Bowe Bergdahl. Well, one of Bowe Bergdahl's fellow soldiers testifies, and what he says about Bergdahl's disappearance, we will share that with you, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)