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Alan Dershowitz Denies Sex Allegations; Ferguson Grand Juror Sues to Speak on Case; Jeb Bush Forms Fundraising PAC; Bad Weather Stops Search Again in Java Sea

Aired January 06, 2015 - 10:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and thanks again for joining me. I'm Ana Cabrera in for Carol Costello.

There are new developments in the sex claims involving Prince Andrew and famed attorney Alan Dershowitz. This morning we learned that Dershowitz filed a motion to strike the allegations made by Virginia Roberts, the woman who said the lawyer sexually abused her when she was a minor. Dershowitz is demanding his name be removed from her lawsuit and is asking for damages.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALAN DERSHOWITZ, ATTORNEY: I will take action. I'm filing today a sworn affidavit denying categorically the truth. I'm seeking to intervene in the case. I am challenging her to file rape charges against me. I waive any statute of limitations, any immunity because if she files a false rape charge against me she goes to jail.

The end result of this case should be she should go to jail, the lawyer should be disbarred and everybody should understand that I am completely and totally innocent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Here's a little more now of the back story. Roberts says a wealthy investor forced her into sex slavery when she was a teenager to please his powerful friends, including Dershowitz and Prince Andrew who is not planning legal action at this time, at least. The accuser says she is now being revictimized.

A surprising twist in the aftermath of the Ferguson grand jury decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. One of those grand jurors now wants to speak out and, in fact, has filed a lawsuit against prosecutor Bob McCulloch to do so.

Documents filed by the ACLU of Missouri which is now representing this grand juror read that the plaintiff wants to quote, "advocate for legislative change to the way grand juries are conducted in Missouri and contribute to the current public dialogue concerning race relations." McCulloch is now named in this suit as a defendant because, as prosecutor, he would be the one to bring charges against this grand juror for speaking out.

Let's discuss. CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Danny Cevallos and CNN commentator and legal analyst Mel Robbins are joining me now. Danny, let's start with you.

We just read part of this grand juror's rationale for doing this is to perhaps create change in the grand jury process. Is that likely?

DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, even if the grand juror's purpose is to change the grand jury process, that's not really the focus because it's not about whether or not it will improve a race dialogue in America, it's about the law. And for the most part, grand juries are supposed to be secret. That's not just an arbitrary thing, it serves a very important purpose. And that purpose is that it protects witnesses, it protects evidence. So that's the system that we have.

However, this is not a typical grand jury proceeding because we have a law criminalizing a grand juror from disclosing information that in this case the prosecutor has already essentially completely disclosed. So the spirit of that criminal law has arguably been completely undermined. So that is an important issue here.

Now, the Supreme Court has really only spoken on this issue and said that in the past that you cannot permanently prevent a grand jury witness from disclosing information. However, the reality is that grand jury witnesses and grand jurors themselves are very different participants in the process.

CABRERA: I know, Mel, you have said that McCulloch being named a defendant or the target of this lawsuit may be misplaced.

MEL ROBBINS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it just seems procedurally -- and this is getting in the mechanics of the law that this kind of motion felt a little clunky and that it seems like it would have been cleaner if she simply filed an injunction and asked for an immunity from prosecution. It's a Class A misdemeanor, you can be sent to jail for up to a year if you're a grand juror and you speak out. Would they prosecute? Who knows?

But let's take a step back and talk about actually what's in the complaint, because I think that's really fascinating and very telling. Some of the allegations in the actual complaint that people will want to know about is that this particular grand juror says that -- remember this grand jury sat and heard other cases for months and what this grand juror is alleging is that the way this case was presented was markedly and in significant ways very different than every other case.

They focused a lot on the actions of the victim, didn't do that in other cases. She also said -- or he or she -- we don't know the gender, that the presentation of the law was muddled and untimely. And also was different than how every other case was presented.

The other thing that they said and this is kind of interesting is that the prosecutor's own characterization of how the witnesses came in, of what the evidence suggested, and what the grand jury concluded is very different that what this grand juror's personal opinion was.

So I believe that this is going to be successful. I think we will hear from this grand juror for four different reasons. The first one, the case is no longer secret; second, the prosecutor released all the evidence; third, the prosecutor has made public statements representing what the grand jurors believe that conflict with this grand juror; and third, there's a major public interest in reform.

CABRERA: You talked about the fact that Prosecutor McCulloch has really run this particular case in a different way when he presented it or his office presented it to the grand jury. And we talked about that as we've been covering the Ferguson case, about calling every single witness in to hear from them specifically, even those witnesses who lied.

So do you believe and agree with Mel that this grand juror should be allowed to speak out?

CEVALLOS: It's amazing as a defense attorney to hear everybody complaining, you know.

ROBBINS: I'm a defense attorney.

CEVALLOS: I know. We have so many clients who are burdened by the fact that prosecutors get to tailor their grand jury evidence and just give a greatest hits form of testimony to secure an indictment and now lo and behold we're all complaining because grand jurors received too much information. They received a data dump. So it's a really unique argument in this situation.

The reality is, is this prosecutor chose to present more rather than less evidence to a grand jury and then afterwards he made a decision to disclose virtually every shred of that evidence, probably far more than this particular plaintiff seeks to talk about. So while in the ordinary case, we're talking about the importance of grand jury secrecy, I think this plaintiff would be prosecuted if there had been no disclosure.

This is no ordinary case. The prosecutor here has made all that is secret non-secret. So this is a totally different and unique situation and I think a court is really going to struggle applying and balancing First Amendment law with the importance of regular grand jury secrecy.

ROBBINS: And I think McCulloch's own actions will actually be the best argument this grand juror has because he's conducted this grand jury in a very different way and he has already given up all of the things that are supposed to be secret and he has also been arguing and promising transparency. So I think they might be successful based solely on what McCulloch did, himself.

CABRERA: One last question to kind of wrap this up before we switch to Dershowitz just briefly. What's next in terms of this suit, Danny? What happens next?

CEVALLOS: Well, this is a relatively new area of the law. Like I said, the Supreme Court really hasn't addressed it. They addressed it obliquely as to grand jury witnesses but remember those are totally different. Defense attorneys routinely need to speak to grand jury witnesses so that's a different concept.

So a court is going to deal with this complaint. It's what we call a section 1983 claim. So it's a complaint like any other in civil matters. A court will look at it, they will probably be able to decide it mostly on the law because the facts are already out there. So a court is going to have to apply the law, what limited case law there is to this issue and make a decision which I think will be a new area, sort of a new piece of case law, new piece of precedent.

CABRERA: It could be historic then.

CEVALLOS: I think in this case normally the default rule would be never, ever, ever this grand juror should be prosecuted but this in this case all of the evidence is already out there.

CABRERA: But this case has had so many twists and turns. We'll see where this one goes.

Let me talk about Dershowitz briefly, we played that sound bite with him from just this morning where he is now filing a motion asking a court to strike the allegations, the sexual abuse allegations made against him by defendant Virginia Roberts who has come forward. What do you make of his move?

ROBBINS: Well, ok, I don't want to talk about it from a legal perspective, I want to talk about it from a human perspective and a communication perspective. Let's compare Alan Dershowitz's response to Bill Cosby's. So Alan Dershowitz, who's accused of some heinous actions here, has come out fighting vehemently. He has come out on the offense. He has denied everything. He has challenged this victim and he has even gone so far as to say this victim's lying and should go to jail for this.

CABRERA: What does that tell you?

ROBBINS: What it tells me is he's innocent. What it tells me is that there's no basis for this claim. That's what it tells me as a human being and as a gut check. When you look at how Bill Cosby has handled everything, not saying a word, sitting back -- it makes you wonder. The silence actually makes your brain start to think, well, maybe there is some truth to these allegations.

And so from a strategy perspective, forget about the law, this was a brilliant, a bold, and an absolutely offensive move.

CABRERA: What do you think, Danny? I'll let you have the last word here.

CEVALLOS: Well, I think taking a different tack, I mean, this case -- as someone who practices actually in the Virgin Islands where some of these allegations are alleged to have happened. We've been hearing about this issue for a long time, long before Dershowitz was involved. And I think it's an interesting case because we're dealing with essentially a civil motion to force the prosecution to drop a non- prosecution agreement and that's how Alan Dershowitz --

CABRERA: In fact, he is daring her to come on out.

CEVALLOS: Yes. Because remember, Alan Dershowitz is not named in a criminal complaint. This is a civil matter. So it's something that really anybody can file and it really brings to light the fact that almost anybody can be named in a complaint and how do we respond when that happens? Again, it's not a criminal action lodged against Alan Dershowitz, it's a civil action and it just -- it really is -- it's a surprising thing that just based on the words of one witness you can go to court, you can file a complaint and now your name is out there.

ROBBINS: Well, Danny said -- Danny was like, "I love this guy." And I think it's because you love that he came out with conviction and flat out said "Oh yes, you're going to accuse me of this? Come at me."

CABRERA: And his reputation is clearly on the line.

ROBBINS: Yes.

CABRERA: And he's wanting to defend himself.

Danny Cevallos, Mel Robbins -- thanks. Appreciate it you guys. Great discussion.

ROBBINS: Great to see you.

CABRERA: Good to see you too. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: New this morning: fresh new signs that Jeb Bush is inching ever closer to a presidential run. He has launched a PAC, a political action committee that will allow him to raise money, hire staff, and build some political clout. Here's that announcement from Instagram.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody, today we're setting up the right to rise a PAC, which is a PAC to support candidates that believe in conservative principles to allow all Americans to rise up. If you're interested, go to righttorisepac.org.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: All right. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is joining us now from Washington with the latest. Suzanne, it's pretty telling -- right.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is telling. You said inch by inch but it really is significant when you think about this. I mean just the fact he is forming this PAC. Not only did he do it on Instagram Ana, but he did not only in English but also in Spanish. He is definitely trying to broaden his reach and let people know that he is serious about this. There's a Web site and also another interesting twist on social media. He asks his potential supporters to go ahead and give them his Instagram account so he can communicate with them that way.

What does this allow him to do at this time? Well, he can raise money. He can meet with potential donors. He can travel the country. He can also give and support candidates and PACs that could be useful in the future for him. This allows him to do a couple of things early on, Ana. It allows him to raise the kind of money that people think he can raise from those big, big donors. And that is a big advantage that Jeb Bush has over others and secondly it demonstrates the name recognition that he has. What does being a Bush really mean when it comes to the very beginning of this process? So those are the two things.

The other things to note is that look at the context of all of this. He has done this at a time when it was just last week or so that he announced he was resigning from those corporate and nonprofit boards -- another significant step to distance himself from potentially benefitting financially when he is seeking a political position.

He released those 250,000 e-mails as governor trying to show that he is open and transparent. He has lost 20 pounds, we understand, as well and he's writing an e-book. So he's very busy and he's very serious and he wants people to know that this is something that he's moving forward on.

The big test here, the first test, Ana, and it's going to be tomorrow, that's when he has an event in Connecticut. And it is a potential fund-raiser. How much money can he raise? How much can he get now that he's formed this PAC? We're going to see very quickly.

CABRERA: Suzanne, he's been so public about each move that he's making. It seems so strategic. I mean what more can he do aside from saying "I'm throwing my hat in the ring"?

MALVEAUX: There are a couple things that he's doing that's really interesting. One of the things that he's trying to do is differentiate himself from Chris Christie -- right. Because he's trying to show that "I am the guy who's going to put all of the information out right away." Chris Christie has been dogged by bridge gate, by this kind of trickle of information of whether or not people are satisfied that they're getting the full story. Whether or not there's anything behind it. There's that perception of the Chris Christie. So he's trying to make a real wedge, if you will.

The other thing that he's trying to do is differentiate himself from potentially his biggest Democratic opponent and that is Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton, you know, saying she's got her own Twitter account, she's doing all kinds of things, she's written books. He's taking her one up saying "I'm going to be technologically savvy. I'm going to be social media savvy. I'm going to write this e-book. I'm going to show you on Instagram all the different ways I can communicate and reach out to some of those young voters that are going to be so critically important in 2016."

CABRERA: Yet another political punch of sorts. Suzanne Malveaux, thanks. We'll be right back.

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CABRERA: Nearly 100 divers kept out of the Java Sea again as bad weather hinders the search for AirAsia Flight 8501. CNN shot exclusive video from the desk of the USS Sampson now in the Java Sea to help in the search efforts. That's what you're seeing here. Of course, the clock is still ticking to find the wreckage and those important black boxes.

CNN's safety analyst David Soucie joining us now; he's a former FAA safety inspector and the author of a couple of different books including "Why Planes Crash". Good morning in beautiful Denver, my hometown, David.

DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: Good morning, Ana.

CABRERA: So no divers allowed in the water again today -- the search efforts hampered yet again by the high seas. What concerns you about how long this is taking to find the fuselage and those black boxes?

SOUCIE: Well, my biggest concern is about that of the floating debris because of the fact it's been tossed and turned and the clues that might have been available there may be either not available at all or be changed by the fact that they're ripped and torn pieces of debris. A lot of times the clues come from that as to whether it was a sudden tear, whether it was a working tear. All of that information is important. And now it's pretty difficult to determine whether the damage to that debris had happened before, during the accident, or whether it's happened subsequently during the drift.

CABRERA: We heard from Jeff Wise tell us just a little bit ago that he believes crews are finally in the right area, even as the search area seems to be growing or expanding. Do you have the same confidence?

SOUCIE: I really don't. I know that they're finding things there is, but I've spoke within Dave Gallo over at the Woodshole Institute quite a lot about this area. And he's very concerned that a lot of what they're picking up on sonar is actually previously downed airplanes or previously sunken ships. There's quite a bit of debris in the sea in that area. There have been wars fought there. There's quite a history there.

So I'm just cautious to jump forward and say that they've found it until we actually get visual confirmation that it is from the airplane.

CABRERA: You bring up a great point because earlier this week we were talking about some of the wreckage that they had recovered so hopeful it was part of the plane, turned out to be from a ship wreck and then yesterday there were reports about the tail of the plane perhaps being spotted. Those reports also discounted today.

Now, I want to switch to the separate investigation involving the crowded skies over Southeast Asia there and the fact of the matter is, more and more people want to travel by air so there's a supply/demand issue. Who should shoulder the responsibility for addressing this issue and ensuring passenger safety?

SOUCIE: Well, the issue is being addressed in other parts of the world, but the shoulder of responsibility for setting the standards and practices is once again ICAO. We talk about ICAO a lot after MH370. But the International Civil Aviation Organization which is part of the United Nations has that responsibility under their NX 11 which is air traffic services or air traffic management or air traffic control depending on which time period you're looking at.

But it was started in the 1950s, it's gone forward and it's gone -- it's right now in kind of a catch-up because we have NextGen which changes air traffic in the United States. We have CASAR (ph) and then we have others in Japan and over parts of Asia. But this part of the world is really not as advanced as it needs to be. It's still using 1950s technology for air traffic control which is now in the United States we still do as well but we're in the process of changing that and upgrading that to something now. And I don't know of any initiatives down there. The ICAO really needs to step forward and start pushing this initiative down in that region.

CABRERA: Based on your circles, David, obviously that real-time tracking is a topic a lot of us have been talking about. Is it looking like people are going to take action sooner rather than later?

SOUCIE: Yes. As a matter of fact, there's some action from the industry. I've been approached by two different people that would like to go forward with what we call an STC, a supplemental type certificate which has nothing to do with requirements however, it's something that would be readily available to the airlines in conjunction with INMARSAT and radio which are both satellite systems. But this is something that could be installed on aircraft very simply, very affordably and could be available within the next six months or so should nothing go on with the standard processes which just can take forever.

CABRERA: All right, David Soucie, we really appreciate that. Good to see you.

Checking top stories now, American skiers will wear black arm bands today in memory of these two young Olympic hopefuls who were killed in an avalanche. 20-year-old Ronnie Berlack and 19-year-old Bryce Astle died on Monday. They were both developmental level key racers training in the Austrian Alps. Four other skiers were able to escape that avalanche.

And in sports, some major league baseball players could get a very welcome phone call today. Former world series MVP Randy Johnson is one of several players who could be voted into the baseball hall of fame today. He could be joined by fellow Boston Red Sox ace Pedro Martinez and those selected will be inducted later this summer in Cooperstown, New York.

Now if you were watching Sunday's Dallas Cowboys-Detroit Lions game you probably caught a glimpse of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. And maybe you weren't expecting that. Jeanne Moos with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was the hug some fans couldn't wrap their heads around, let alone their arms. The governor of New Jersey in seventh heaven as the Dallas Cowboys win -- not his home team, Giants or Jets -- the Cowboys, as Governor Christie told WFAN --

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: I don't need a license to root for the Dallas Cowboys. I've been doing it for 43 years.

MOOS: First, the governor tried to high-five Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, but Jones was distracted by his son and the governor ended up in a group hug.

Vines sprouted on the web as the hug was dubbed "goofy, weird". Someone tweeted, "You can't unsee a Chris Christie jump hug." Another compared the governor in his reddish-orange sweater to Kool-Aid man.

Governor Christie says he has worn the sweater five times and each times the Cowboys won.

CHRISTIE: That then becomes a good luck thing.

MOOS: Good luck on that presidential thing. "This is the projected 2016 electoral", someone tweeted in the wake of the hug.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think we can carry Texas now if we're running for president?

CHRISTIE: I think our chances have improved.

MOOS: There were even bad imitations.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We re-enact the Chris Christie, Jerry Jones hug. Boys?

MOOS: There was political analysis.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His problem with aggressive man hugs.

MOOS: But defenders found it cool to see him having a good time letting loose.

(on camera): Hugging can be hazardous to your dignity. I mean who hasn't gotten tangled up in an awkward hug?

(voice-over): For instance, President Obama backslapping his departing press secretary. Even more fraught with danger than hugs are kisses. Bill Clinton found his lips left in limbo as Hillary turned to greet Barack Obama.

At least Chris Christie didn't kiss Jerry Jones. Though if you listen to Marvin Gaye soundtrack, one jokester added, you think he was about to -- (MUSIC)

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Just seeing those smiles and those laughs make me happy. Hopefully they make you happy too.

Thanks for joining me today. I'm Ana Cabrera, in for Carol.

"@THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA" starts next.