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Top Clinton Aide Faces House Committee on Benghazi; Former Staff Hints on Biden Candidacy; CNBC to Limit Debate after Trump, Carson Threatened to Boycott; Clashes Between Palestinians Protesters and Israeli Police Intensify; Turkey Downs Russian Drone; Tamir Rice's Family Calling for Special Prosecutor; Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired October 16, 2015 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:01] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Wow, I'll be watching, though, because that's pretty of awesome. I'm going to go root for the royals. Why not?

Let's talk about fantasy baseball, shall we?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS: Yes. The big news in fantasy sports, as far as you know, we keep talking about these daily fantasy sports sites, FanDuel and DraftKings, Carol, the big news is in the state of Nevada, the home of gambling, has basically banned both of these sites saying, you know, whereas the federal government in 2006 put out a niche for -- for fantasy sports saying it was more of a game of skill than gambling. Well, the home of gambling, Nevada, says, no, this is in fact gambling, Carol, and it is no longer allowed in the state. They both going to have to apply for a license if they want to continue to operate.

COSTELLO: All right. Andy Scholes, thanks so much.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, minutes from now, Hillary Clinton's top aide meets with investigators on Capitol Hill. What will she say about Benghazi?

And what's your bet on Biden? One of his closest confidants sends a letter saying a decision is coming soon, even outlining the type of campaign Biden would run. But what is the veep saying?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Have you made your decision yet?

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I can't hear you.

COSTELLO: Plus inside Lamar Odom's room at the brothel.

DENNIS HOFF, BROTHEL OWNER: He spent $75,000. And that was his number. What he wanted is two girls, 24 hours a day to take care of any of his needs.

COSTELLO: The NBA star's family by his side in a Las Vegas hospital as loved ones hope for the best.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's compassionate and friendly and nice. And everybody loves Lamar Odom.

COSTELLO: Let's talk, live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you for joining me.

She's Hillary Clinton's must trusted aide and most visible confidante. But right now Huma Abedin goes it alone, stepping behind closed doors and facing questions from a House panel investigating the deadly Benghazi attack.

What did Secretary of State Clinton know and when did she know it? Lawmakers believe Abedin's special access might province new insight into the tragedy and how it was handled.

CNN's senior political reporter Manu Raju is live on Capitol Hill with more. Good morning.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. So in a matter of minutes Huma Abedin will be e walking behind me in this private setting to talk to Republican and Democratic investigators on that Benghazi committee. Now each of these -- each side will have about an hour to question Miss Abedin about what she knew during that 2012 fateful attack in Benghazi. We're not expecting many members of Congress here, maybe two members of Congress. And this is supposed to be done in private.

Now Miss Abedin is one of 54 people who have been interviewed by this committee. And this is just -- you know, that's a fraction of the amount of witnesses who were interviewed by past committees that have looked into similar type controversies and scandals, the Iran contra affair, for instance, had about 500 people. By a similar point in the investigation, Democrats believe the Republicans have been dragging their feet in this investigation to put it into election season.

Now I should add that the Clinton campaign is responding to Huma Abedin's appearance before the committee. They are contending that this is a partisan witch hunt. There is no reason why Miss Abedin should be interviewed by this committee and they're hoping that this is not an effort to undermine a strategic effort to leak her appearance and to bring her before the committee in order to shift the focus onto Hillary Clinton rather than the attacks itself.

So, clearly, the battle lines are being drawn to the big event next week when Hillary goes before the Benghazi committee in interviews in public, testified in public, and something that will certainly shape the campaign trail over the next several weeks -- guys.

COSTELLO: All right. Manu Raju, thanks so much.

These are live pictures. I'm going to go back to you, Manu. Obviously, Huma Abedin is walking into the room where she will be, I guess, interrogated by committee members.

RAJU: Yes, she is. And she's walking in right now right behind me. It looks like that she did not stop for questions. We're not expecting her to answer. Maybe afterwards she'll make a statement. But if we do hear from her, I'm sure that they're going to contend that she really didn't know anything about what happened during the Benghazi attacks. She was simply what the Clinton campaign says a scheduler, someone who was close to Hillary, but really had nothing to do with the security response to the Benghazi attack.

So she's walking in the room right now. We're expecting this testify to go on for a matter of hours. We'll see how long it does go. She is at least the fourth Clinton confidante that has gone behind closed doors to talk to this committee, and each of those members, people like Cheryl Mills, Jake Sullivan, two high-level Clinton aides, as well as Sydney Blumenthal who was a longtime Clinton confidante also was pressed about what he knew and his knowledge during the Benghazi attacks.

It will be interesting to see how much she -- Huma Abedin -- explain what knew during the attacks or whether she distance herself from what happened that day and the administration's response immediately afterwards -- Carol.

[10:05:08] COSTELLO: Manu Raju, thanks so much.

One of Joe Biden's closest advisers is adding to the intrigue of whether the vice president will enter the 2016 race. CNN has obtained an e-mail sent by Biden's former chief of staff Ted Kaufman addressing other former staffers. Kaufman says Biden is aware the clock is ticking and said, quote, "If he decides to run we will need each and every one of you yesterday."

This latest flirtation with a possible run comes as Biden is personally calling Democratic strategists about how to best launch a campaign.

Our senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta is here with more now. Good morning, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. This e-mail from Joe Biden's former Senate chief of staff, Ted Kaufman, to the vice president's political network is the clearest indication yet that a decision is coming and, perhaps, coming soon. The message appears to be designed to address concerns among Democrats that Biden's window is closing. And it says to his supporters that he's aware of the practical demands of making a final decision soon.

But it goes on to add what a Biden campaign would be about. Let's go ahead and put this up on screen. It says -- this is Ted Kaufman talking here in this message. If he runs, the message says, he will run because of his burning conviction that we need to fundamentally change the balance of our economy and the political structure to restore the ability of the middle class to get ahead and whether we can put together a political consensus in American to get it done. You know, Carol, in this election, voters flocking to candidates like

Donald Trump whose shoot-in-the hip Kaufman's message also promises Biden would be Biden, as unscripted as the public is used to seeing the vice president should he decide to run. But Biden has been downright cagey about his intentions, consider how he answered the question yesterday.

COSTELLO: I thought we were going to the Joe Biden bite again. But we don't have that.

Jim Acosta, thanks so much. Jim Acosta reporting live from Washington.

On the Republican side, Donald Trump is claiming victory this morning over the CNBC network. Trump along with Ben Carson threatening to boycott the debate if it was more than two hours in length. This morning CNBC agreed to limit the debate to two hours.

Trump tweeting about his triumph, saying in part that it was fantastic news for all, especially the millions of people who will be watching it.

Joining me now to talk about this and more, Robert Zimmerman, a Democratic strategist and a fundraiser and supporter of Hillary Clinton, and Amanda Carpenter, CNN political commentator and former communications director for Senator Ted Cruz.

Thanks to both of you for being with me.

AMANDA CARPENTER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Sure. Happy to be here.

ROBERT ZIMMERMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good to be with you. Good morning.

COSTELLO: Happy to have you here. So, Amanda, let's start with you. Donald Trump, a big win over CNBC? A good decision by the network?

CARPENTER: I don't like the decision. Listen, I mean, the two frontrunners, Donald Trump and Ben Carson were openly seeking to limit debate. They don't want the dynamics in the race to change, therefore they want to deprive their opponents of time to take them down. And they won. And so I would like to have seen another hour of the debate, but I understand three hours is a long time. So it is somewhat reasonable. But moreover I would rather see the people polling 1 percent and below get out of the race and give the people the time and attention that deserve it.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: I would have to agree with you there. I did like what Carly Fiorina said, however. She talked about Ben Carson and Trump's stamina. She prefers three hours because, frankly, she has the energy to do it, Robert.

CARPENTER: In heels, too. ZIMMERMAN: Absolutely. I mean, very frankly, I'd hate to see Donald

Trump and Ben Carson in the situation room if the meeting lasted longer than two hours, as oftentimes they do. So I think it's -- I think it's an interesting commentary on their influence and their impact because obviously they draw the ratings and in politics, I guess as in life, those who have the gold make -- those who have the gold follow the golden rule and those who get the ratings they can dictate the standards. And I'd be a bit concerned about that if I were another candidate.

COSTELLO: OK. Just it's a bit more on Trump because Trump's son came out and said, Amanda, that his father should have Secret Service protection. Donald Trump said a couple of days ago that he should have it, too. And he doesn't have Secret Service protection because he doesn't happen to be a Democrat. Your thoughts, Amanda.

CARPENTER: Well, we did see some clashes at his latest rally. I'm not sure he's at the level that warrant -- you know, taxpayer-provided Secret Service protection. Certainly he's wealthy enough to provide his own security if he feels that he needs it. And, you know, we'll get further down the race and have a discussion of whether someone gets the nomination and they really deserve that protection.

ZIMMERMAN: You know, the Secret Service follows a formula and a strategy for determining security. They're really above partisan politics. And this is just another spin by Donald Trump. Remember, his last great discussion about how he was embattled with El Chapo and how he tried to make that into a media event. And I think at one point there has to be some reality check. Maybe he needs not just Secret Service protection, maybe he needs some other type of counseling as well that might be more helpful.

COSTELLO: Robert. Robert. Robert.

ZIMMERMAN: I'm sorry about that, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Let's switch gears and talk Joe Biden possibly running. If he enters the race, Amanda, he'll just be another white person running on the Democratic side, right?

CARPENTER: Well, yes --

[10:10:06] COSTELLO: Because if you take a look at the Republican side, some say it's the most diverse in history.

CARPENTER: That is true. But there's all speculation about whether Joe Biden -- is running or not. I think he absolutely is. And it's because of this. If you're wondering, ask yourself this question. Would Joe Biden leave public life? If the answer is no, he is absolutely running for president because after this what else is there? There's no immediately viable option.

And so yes, I think he's running. And yes, I think it's going to hurt the Democratic Party because having this trifecta of Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders is really is old Washington establishment as it gets. And that plays certainly into the Republicans' favor. COSTELLO: And it's just plain kind of old, right, Robert?

ZIMMERMAN: Well, you know, first of all, you can never look at Hillary Clinton and talk about her being the establishment because of what she stands for and because of her background and who she is. But the bigger point is this, when you talk about diversity, and we hear a lot of discussion about diversity amongst the Republican field, yes, they're individuals who are accomplished people who represent diverse backgrounds but they campaign like old, rich white people. I mean, when you think about -- from the 1950s, no less. Ben Carson, for example, Ted Cruz, they're advocating overturning the 14th Amendment not only to deport undocumented workers but to deport citizens.

COSTELLO: You're not saying Ben Carson isn't a real black person, are you?

ZIMMERMAN: No, I'm not saying that. I'm saying that they're advocating an agenda that doesn't speak to diversity. It speaks to an America from the 1950s. Their agenda to demonize the gay and lesbian community, for example. And so I think the issue is not just your background. The issue is what you stand for and what you believe in.

CARPENTER: Yes. And the issue will be whether the Democrats present a continuation of Obama's failed economic and national security policies or we're ready for a stronger, freer, safer America that will be represented by a Republican president in 2016.

ZIMMERMAN: And when you move past the talking points and the bumper stickers you've got to deal with the fact that our economy is growing --

CARPENTER: There's no talking points here, buddy.

ZIMMERMAN: Our economy is growing --

COSTELLO: I have to leave it here. I do.

ZIMMERMAN: We're in better shape than 2008.

COSTELLO: I have to leave it there. Robert Zimmerman and Amanda Carpenter, thanks to both of you.

And be sure to tune in this afternoon for CNN's interview with Hillary Clinton, that's today on "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper 4:00 p.m. Eastern. Plus you can catch all of the Democratic candidates sparring when CNN re-airs the big debate. That's tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, another wave of violence in Israel today. Is it just getting even worse? We'll take you live to Bethlehem next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:16:55] COSTELLO: Take a look at these new pictures out of Bethlehem on the West Bank where four Palestinian protesters were shot during clashes with Israeli Security Forces. A CNN team says that activists were throwing Molotov cocktails and rocks. The Israeli military responding with tear gas, rubber bullets and then live fire. All of this comes amid calls by the militant group Hamas for a day of rage.

In the meantime, a religious shrine was torched overnight. Officials say that fire broke out at the Tomb of Joseph, an important figure in the Old Testament, who's cherished by Orthodox Jews. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has condemned the attack.

The incident took place just north of Jerusalem where there are growing fears that other religious sites in the Old City could be easily targeted like the site of Jesus' crucifixion and burial, along with the Tomb of the Virgin Mary.

CNN's Ben Wedeman is on the West Bank, though, in Bethlehem where the situation is tense. Hi, Ben.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. These clashes have been going on now for about five hours. I'm going to step out of the way so you can just get a look at what's going on. What you see in front of you is this truck belonging to the Israeli Border Police. On top it's mounted with something that launches 36 canisters of tear gas.

And if you hang on long enough, you may see it as it goes forward and fires it down the street where there are several hundred Palestinian protesters who have been throwing rocks, shooting marbles with sling shots, throwing improvised explosive devices and Molotov cocktails at the Israeli troops. We did see several of those protesters hit by live fire.

And this has really been going on day after day after day for the last two weeks in this location. But it's not the only location where clashes are ongoing. In Gaza we understand, one 20-year-old Palestinian was killed by live fire there at a protest at one of the -- near one of the fences that separates Israel from the Gaza Strip. On previous occasions, there have been attempts to actually get over that fence and inside Israel.

Now you see this jeep going forward. And you know, when it fires these tear gas canisters, I have to tell you the air is absolutely completely thick with tear gas. Fortunately, we're not on the receiving end. If you are, it is completely disabling. You cannot function if you're in one of those clouds.

So, Carol, I'm going to be quiet because I think it's about to --

There you can see the canisters falling. They spew this thick, white cloud of smoke that really is impossible to breathe in. But nonetheless this is a means to disperse a crowd. The problem is the crowd disperses and as soon as the gas itself disperses, everybody comes back and it's deja vu all over again -- Carol.

[10:20:09] COSTELLO: So Palestinian factions have declared this a day of rage. What exactly does that mean? WEDEMAN: Basically that it's a call for people to demonstrate, to

protest, to engage in clashes. And, you know, if I had a dollar for every day of rage I've attended over the last 15 years, I probably wouldn't have to work for CNN anymore. In this instance what they're doing is, these are days of rage in protest against the 48-year-old Israeli occupation and protest over the perceived change of the status quo. And on the Temple Mount. There's a whole long list of grievances that one can attribute to the day of rage, but on it goes -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Well, it was certainly effective because there was a crowd there and after those tear gas canisters were fired into the crowd, there's nobody there any longer. But you're right, Ben, they'll probably be back later.

Ben Wedeman, reporting live from Bethlehem.

WEDEMAN: They'll be back. They'll be back.

COSTELLO: They'll be back. That's what Ben is saying. Live from Bethlehem on the West Bank.

U.S. Defense officials tell CNN a drone shut down by Turkish warplanes is Russian. Here you see Turkish soldiers gathering in the area where the aircraft was reportedly down after ignoring three separate warnings to leave Turkey's air space.

For the latest on this, let's head to the Pentagon and CNN's Barbara Starr. Good morning.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol, Russia is now dismissing these reports that a Russian drone was shot down by a Turkish warplane over Turkish air space. Russia is saying all of its drones are operating as expected. So Moscow very much saying this did not happen.

Now to be clear, what the Pentagon is saying is, looking at initial reports, initial intelligence, they are not sharing what that intelligence is. That tells them it was a Russian drone. We do not know who was operating that drone in some ground station somewhere at the time. As for the Turks, they are saying they shot down an unidentified aircraft, indicating also they believe it was a drone, not a manned fighter jet. So as always, in this very troubled area, everybody's got a different opinion of what exactly is going on -- Carol.

COSTELLO: That's true. Barbara Starr reporting live for us this morning.

Checking some other top stories at 22 minutes past. A 22-year-old man is accused of stealing the personal information of U.S. military members and then giving it to ISIS. Ardit Ferizi is being detained in Malaysia on a U.S. arrest warrant. Officials say he hacked into the computer system of a U.S. company and stole information on more than 1,000 American service members and federal employees. Also this just into CNN. Hungary is closing its border with Croatia

and not allowing any more migrants to come in. A Hungarian government spokesman telling CNN the border will close tomorrow night at midnight local time. Hundreds of thousands of migrants have fled to Europe this year from countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, L.A. drivers trapped in their car as a flash flood leads to dangerous mudslides.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:27:34] COSTELLO: In less than two hours, the family of Tamir Rice is expected to hold a press conference. They'll ask that a special prosecutor be put on the case. It was nearly 11 months ago that Rice was shot and killed by a Cleveland police officer in training who mistook a pellet gun for a real handgun. A pair of recent reports has called the officer's decision, quote, "reasonable."

All of this as attorneys for the victim's mother have some harsh words about the prosecutor. In a new letter they write, quote, "The obvious shortcomings of the reports themselves has contributed to make the Rice family feel that your office is not committed to securing an indictment in this case. It now appears that the grand jury presentation will be nothing short of a charade and whitewashing this police killing of a 12-year-old child."

CNN's Nick Valencia has more this morning. Good morning, Nick.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Less than a week after the Cuyahoga Prosecutor's office released these two commissioned reports that were both independent which found that the shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice was an objectionably reasonable one, the family of that 12-year-old is expected to host a press conference in about an hour and a half. At that press conference, we expect them to adamantly voice their disapproval with these two independent reports. One done by current county prosecutor in the Denver area, another done by a former FBI agent.

The attorney for the family called them pro-police hired guns and in a letter that they released to the media last night questioned their credibility. Part of that letter, I want to read that now, saying, "The unorthodox if not unprecedented use of expert reports at this stage of the criminal proceeding is all the more troubling because these reports are clearly designed to exculpate the officers. Typically biased reports of this type are offered by criminal defense lawyers at trial. Here it appears your office has abandoned its obligation to diligently pursue criminal charges against the killer of a 12-year-old boy because the shooter was a police officer."

In that letter, the attorney goes on to question the expertise saying that S. Lamar Sims, that county prosecutor in Denver, was only chosen by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's office after he gave an interview to local media in Denver siding with the police officers.

As far as that former FBI agent who wrote the second report this weekend, they question and discredit their credibility, saying that back in 1992, the U.S. Department of Justice found testimony of another fatal shooting there, selective testimony, selective facts according to this attorney.

We should mention, Carol, as well that the family of Tamir Rice has a pending civil litigation against the city of Cleveland. Ultimately, all of these facts will be considered by a grand jury. We just don't know when that will happen -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Nick Valencia reporting live for us this morning.