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George W. Bush Admits He Does Not Care For Senator Cruz; Any Truth In Trump's Words? Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired October 20, 2015 - 15:30   ET

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

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[15:33:58] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Talk about George W. Bush, no secret who is he is rooting for for the next president, but we may now know which candidate he is rooting against to source who attended a private fundraiser said that President Bush was heard saying that he quote "does not like that guy." Who is that guy? Senator Ted Cruz.

According to a president would not deny the account. Officially, his spokesperson says President Bush does not consider Senator Cruz a threat to his brother. The fundraiser, by the way, is for Jeb Bush.

Now let me back up. Cruz worked for Bush 43's administration and his 2000 campaign. The senator from Texas has responded and this is what he says. Quote "I have great respect for President Bush. It's no surprise he's supporting had his brother and attacking the candidates he believes pose a threat to had his campaign. I have no intension of reciprocating. I met my wife Heidi working on his campaign and so I will always be grateful to him."

Ted Gillman, Washington Bureau chief for "the Dallas Morning News." Ted Cruz not hitting back. What do you make of this? I wouldn't say back and forth, just back.

[15:35:08] TED GILLMAN, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Well, first of all, I'm not sure it's an attack to say I just don't like the guy. I mean, t's not like W. impugned the senator's character and the fact there is I was with the senator chasing him around Iowa last week. There were lots of people who adore him. You know, I think if you went to any state or city in America you'd find a lot of people who say of Ted Cruz I just don't like the guy.

BALDWIN: Do these two have any sort of history of any sort of bad blood?

GILLMAN: Not that I'm aware of. It's not like there's some feud here. As you say, Cruz and his wife, Heidi Cruz, who is a very accomplished professional in her right, both worked for the campaign. They met on then Governor Bush's campaign. They both worked in the administration. Heidi Cruz actually went a little further in the administration than Ted Cruz there. There might be a little bit of resentment there from Ted. But as far as we know, there is not some bad weather.

Now there are some issues. You know, Cruz is very much against what he calls amnesty and comprehensive immigration reform, something that George W. Bush championed. Cruz was the solicitor general for the state of Texas, who led the legal attack on some of the stuff that Bush was trying to do in terms of siding with the world court and enforcing rules allowing retrial for Mexican nationals (INAUDIBLE) that Cruz talks about quite a bit.

There are some substantive issue, beneath them was just, I think, that W. supports his brother and that Cruz tends to rub people from the Republican establishment very much the wrong way. And nothing says establishment more than Bush.

BALDWIN: So, alright. It is interesting, though, as Jeb Bush and Donald Trump over the course of the last few days, they have been -- this is correct word, attacking, attacking one another over, you know, what happened on 9/11. Are you at all surprised that President Bush is being political in saying I don't like that guy at this event behind closed doors.

GILLMAN: Well, any politician or retired president who doesn't think that words are going to leak out of a closed door session --

BALDWIN: Should know better.

GILLMAN: They should know better. So he either was just being careless or casual or he wanted to send a signal. It is possible. Cruz certainly is taking advantage of this and saying well, he wouldn't be saying nasty things about me if he didn't see me as a threat to his brother. I'm not so sure that's it as much as he was just kind of in a friendly setting with his brother's donors that the former president is simply giving his assessment. I just don't like the guy.

A lot of people find Ted Cruz very abrasive. He's a guy that has come to Washington. He doesn't play nice in the sand box. He shakes things up. He is more eager to confront Republican Party leadership than to cooperate. And that is something that just naturally is going to rub someone like George W. Bush the wrong way.

BALDWIN: Ted Gillman, thank you so much. Washington bureau chief for the "Dallas Morning News." Appreciate it.

GILLMAN: Sure, thanks.

BALDWIN: And speaking of Jeb Bush, just into us here at CNN. Jeb Bush with a new attack on Donald Trump over this back and forth regarding 9/11. Hear why Jeb Bush says Donald Trump is dangerous to our national security and why he even brings up the name Michael Moore.

Plus, a teenage boy put on a sex offender registry after a girl he met online lied to him about her age. Now a legal about face that's giving him his life back.

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[15:43:05] BALDWIN: Just in to CNN, Jeb Bush firing back yet again at Donald Trump over Trump's recent references to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Trump, as you know, pointing out several times in the last week that the world trade center twin towers came down under the watch of George W. Bush as a way to go after current Republican rival Jeb Bush.

Just in this last hour or so, Jeb Bush has now posted a column on the national review's Web site comparing Trump's criticisms to those of left wing film maker Michael Moore. Let's be clear. Let me read you part of the piece.

Let's be clear, he writes, Donald Trump simply doesn't know what he's talking about. And his bluster overcompensates for shocking lack of knowledge on the complex national security challenges that will confront the next president of the United States.

I have Talat Hamdani with me here. She knows all about 9/11 in a way, two of us can fully understand because she lost her first born first responder Mohammed Salman Hamdani in right around the towers that day.

So thank you so much for coming down and seeing you again. You have been on the show before. Looking at your son here, can we begin with him? He was coming in on the seventh train into the city. And he saw the towers burning.

TALAT HAMDANI, LOST SON IN 9/11 ATTACK: The burning towers, yes.

BALDWIN: And he went where?

HAMDANI: He went downtown toward the tower because that what - that's who he was. He would respond to people in trouble. He was a cadet of the NYPD so he does changed his route. He went toward there downtown towards the towers and gave the ultimate sacrifice.

BALDWIN: So because this day affects you and your family so profoundly, I imagine it resonates when you also hear this back and forth with regard to these politicians of Donald Trump and Jeb Bush. You believe there is a seed of truth in what Trump is saying. Why?

[15:45:02] HAMDANI: Because, you know, you're talking about national security. There were like six memos if not more that represented to then President Bush about an Al-Qaeda attack coming on American soil. They come through land, air or water. There was a message in the air. There must be a security on land and water? There was no such security. If I am informed that some thieves or gang is going to bust my home, I will have cameras installed and maybe I will get the police to watch outside, which I have done before. So why didn't we do that as a country? He was the president of this country. We depended upon their decisions to protect us. He failed to protect us.

BALDWIN: The 9/11 commission saying, yes, one of their lines is President Bush should not have been surprised by those attacks. But let me pose it to you this way. Because Jeb Bush has said Bill Clinton made a mistake. He takes it back to the Clinton presidency in not pursuing Osama bin Laden. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think there's two ways to look at Islamic terrorism. One is a threat that has to be taken out as it relates to, you know, creating a strategy that calls it a war, or we view it as a law enforcement operation where people have rights. I think the Clinton administration made a mistake of thinking bin Laden had to be viewed from a law enforcement perspective. Set similarly, President Obama's policies seem to be focused on that as well. This is a war against western civilization.

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BALDWIN: So let me ask it this way. With this back and forth and with all these finger pointing as a mother who lost her son on that day, how does it make you feel that this day has become this partisan issue in this campaign?

HAMDANI: Fourteen years later, three elections later, every two years, they exploit, the politicians exploit this issue of 9/11 tragedy. None of them lost a son or a brother or a sister a parent. Nuclear family, extended family, they never lost. They exploit it like vultures. It's not fair to us. The people who have lost a loved one, we do not want to see this issue being exploited for their political reasons. It just, you know, I find it --

BALDWIN: Not fair.

HAMDANI: Unethical. Unethical. And here is Donald Trump also addressing and bashing Muslims and Ben Carson that he would not trust an American, you know, Muslim-American to be president of the right. Why not? All the candidates, any party or no party, they are taking an oath to be the president of the United States of America, right? So when you take an oath, you're taking an oath to defend the constitution. What religion I pursue is protected under the first amendment. So they are negating themselves. They are not defending the constitution. They are trying to take away my rights.

BALDWIN: Who do you like?

HAMDANI: Between?

BALDWIN: All of the candidates, all of this. Do you have a favorite yet?

HAMDANI: All the candidates, both sides, I'm going for Hillary Clinton.

BALDWIN: Talat Hamdani, thank you so much for joining me. I'm so sorry for the loss of your son, who quickly his name is down at the memorial.

HAMDANI: It's their right. As 14 years later, Brooke, I'm still fighting with the city of New York to acknowledge Salman as a cadet of the NYPD. They have no acknowledged in the court. All these Islamic phobia and activist leads to (INAUDIBLE), violence, bully, and victimization. And my son has been the victimization of all these Islamophobic event. BALDWIN: I can't speak for the NYPD on why they haven't done that.

But --

HAMDANI: He gave his life.

BALDWIN: Absolutely.

HAMDANI: (INAUDIBLE). And hopefully that the new administration under Mayor de Blasio, it will be done this year.

BALDWIN: Let us know.

HAMDANI: I will keep you posted.

BALDWIN: Thank you. I appreciate it.

HAMDANI: Thank you for having me.

BALDWIN: I appreciate it.

An Indiana man, face with spending more than two decades on the sexual offender registry just received a lifeline. He has now been taken off that list. A Michigan judge resentenced 20-year-old Zach Anderson to two year probation. He had previously been convicted of having sex with a 14-year-old girl when he was 19. He met her on this online dating app. The girl as it turns out lied about her age. Anderson's parents applauded the judge's action.

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LES ANDERSON, ZACH'S FATHER: If you make a mistake, you shouldn't have to pay for it the rest of your life in a case like this. I mean, and so, I think that's all we ever wanted for Zach, was a chance, you know, for him to pay for his mistakes and then move on with life.

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BALDWIN: CNN's investigative correspondent, Kyra Phillips interviewed Zach Anderson and his parents before the judge's ruling. In fact, you, it was your investigation that led to him getting off this list.

[15:50:12] KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll tell you what, I mean, the story was so outrageous, ad why it drew our attention, is because you know, Zach is not a sexual predator. He is not a pedophile, Brooke. I mean, he just made a bad decision. And because of the way the sex offender laws are, his raging hormones could have cost him decades of his life, making it difficult for him, the restrictions. Here's part of our investigation.

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PHILLIPS: When you those heard those words that your son was a sex offender, what was your reaction?

AMANDA ANDERSON, ZACH'S MOTHER: It's a blatant lie. It's not true. It doesn't even fit our lifestyle. It doesn't fit how we raised our kids.

PHILLIPS: Even the girl's mother appeared in court, testifying that she didn't want Zach labeled as a sex offender because, quote, "he's really not." We also obtained this letter that the girl in question gave Zach's family. I'm sorry I didn't tell you my age, she writes. It kills me every day, knowing you are going through hell and I'm not. I want to be in trouble and not you.

Did it ever enter your mind at any time that she could be underage?

ZACH ANDERSON, FORMER REGISTERED SEX OFFENDER: No, not at all.

PHILLIPS: Was the sex consensual.

Z. ANDERSON: Yes, yes.

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BALDWIN: How many, Kyra, I'm wondering, how many, you know, Zach Andersons are out on this registry who aren't given a lifeline?

PHILLIPS: No. Well, I think that the judge gave this young man a lifeline, Brooke, because she realized he's not a sexual predator, right? And she also didn't let him go without a bit of mom lecture. I love what she said to him. She looked him in the eye in the courtroom and she said, Zach, a good rule to live by, do not say anything, do not text anything, do not Skype anything, do not behave in any manner that you would not be proud to have revealed to your mother, your father, your brothers, grandparents or publicized to strangers.

I mean, we're talking about 850,000 people on the sex offender registry and about a quarter of those, Brooke, were convicted under the age of 18. So, this story has created a lot of debate and a lot of discussion. And I think we will see laws change around the country because it's not fair that he should be on the sex offender registry for making a mistake.

BALDWIN: I'm glad you shared the story. Congrats with the investigation.

Kyra Phillips, thank you, thank you.

Coming up at the top of the hour, a live interview with Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum. He will take on Trump's controversial comments about 9/11 and what he needs to do to jump start his own campaign.

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[15:57:10] BALDWIN: Thousands of Syrians fleeing one nightmare in their own homeland, are now living another one in Europe. Take a look at the crush of people in these new photos taken at Serbian border. One U.N. refugee official described the conditions at the camp as hellish, saying more than 2,000 people, including small children, the disabled and elderly are stuck in a desperate situation with rain and cold temperatures moving in. There have already been cases of hypothermia. And aid agencies say they need blankets, they need raincoats and food. I know so many want to help. And you know what? You can, go to our impact your world website. That is CNN.com/impact.

In Washington, D.C., this mom and dad, their 10-year-old son and their housekeeper found murdered. Their house set on fire. And tonight, a CNN Special Report, we are calling the D.C. mansion murders. What exactly happened to make the home in one of Washington's most prominent neighborhoods turn into a crime scene?

Here's CNN's justice correspondent Pamela Brown.

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: From the outside, things would seem quiet here on woodland drive overnight. Until the next morning, when housekeeper Vera Figueroa's husband comes looking for her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) and ringing the bell, a feeling somebody was inside.

BROWN: A short time after he gets a call from Sava Savapolous (ph).

BROWN: I'm sorry because I didn't call you last night. Vera told me to call you. She has to stay with my wife because she was feeling bad, and she has to go to the hospital and asking Vera to go with her.

BROWN: Vera's husband goes home. A few hours later, a mysterious delivery is made to the mansion, a package containing $40,000. Court records reveal, Sava texted his assistant, Jordan Wallace, instructing him to bring money to the house. Wallace lifts stacks of hundred dollar bills in one of the family's cars, and leaves.

At 1:30 p.m., the D.C. fire department gets a call, reporting a fire on Woodland drive. Flames are pouring from the second floor, coming from Phillip's bedroom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do know at this point that the fire appears to be intentionally set.

BROWN: Once flames around, firefighters discover the grisly murder scene. Sava, Amy, Phillip, their bodies bloodied and burned. Vera is rushed to the hospital, but doctors can't save her. A gruesome end to a nearly 20-hour nightmare.

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BALDWIN: Pamela Brown there. Make sure you watch the CNN Special Report, the D.C. mansion murders. It airs tonight at 9:00 right here on CNN.

I will be back in for my friend Don Lemon. See you at 10:00 on "CNN TONIGHT."

In the meantime, "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.