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Mother Wants Answers from Clinton; The Benghazi Hearing; NYPD Officer Killed While Exchanging Gunfire; Churches Targeted by Arsonist. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired October 21, 2015 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:01] REP. MAC THORNBERRY, (R), TEXAS: Among the headlines today is Bashar al Assad going to Moscow to thank Mr. Putin for saving his regime. 22 Afghan policemen were murdered by the Taliban. An F- 18 apparently crashed in England.

Meanwhile, there are thousands of men and women strapping on their body armor, getting ready to go on patrol, fly their aircraft to protect the United States. It would be absolutely wrong for us to play political games with them and with the support that they depend upon.

As has been mentioned, included in this bill is a reform for military retirement. Today 83 percent of the people who serve in the military walk away with no retirement. This bill changes that. There are reforms that make sure that if someone is on a drug when they are in the military to treat posttraumatic stress or pain management, they can stay on the same drug when they move to the V.A. system. That's not happening today.

There are a number of reforms that are beginning to improve the way that the Pentagon buys goods and services. All of that goes away with a veto of this bill. It would be unprecedented. It is time for the President to put our troops and national security first. He should sign the bill.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, young lady, young lady, young lady.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You dealt with the Freedom Caucus for a long time, so what do you think the chances are that they will acquiesce to Paul Ryan's demands or requests?

BOEHNER: Listen, I think Paul Ryan would make a great speaker. But this decision is up to the members. And I thought last night went very well, and hopefully by the end of the week, we'll have a nominee.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's Plan B if he doesn't --

BOEHNER: I don't know. I should say and I should have said earlier, I did announce to the members that the conference election for speaker will be next Wednesday on the 28th and on Thursday, the 29th, the election will occur on the floor. Jake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Following up on that, could you kind of project around the corner here? We've gone through now you leaving the party and Ryan stepping up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, I'm still staying.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there a viable second, third, whatever would be the option?

BOEHNER: Listen, I think Paul is going to get the support that he is looking for. I thought he laid out a very clear vision of how he would run the speakership. And I thought the members responded very well to him. Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Speaker, thank you. You know, to Jake's question, we've had so many fits and starts. You said the 28th and the 29th. Why should we have any confidence that this is going to work out this time? What is your level of confidence that it's going to work out?

BOEHNER: I feel pretty good about it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You do. Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope it's not our last press conference, by the way. We have one more next week.

BOEHNER: I'm sure we will. I'm sure we will.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But you see the mobilization now on the right against Paul Ryan saying he's pro-amnesty, he's not conservative enough. He's just another McCarthy. He's just another Boehner. How does that sit with you?

BOEHNER: Listen, I've got pretty thick skin. We all know Paul Ryan -- right? He's a very good member. He works hard. He's very bright. And he has good relationships, I think, with all the wings of the party. That's why I think he'll be doing fine. Yes, ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: About the fundraising aspects of the job, he would like to spend more time with his family. You are the fundraiser. What's your sense about whether that job can actually be restructured so that he's not the main fund-raiser?

BOEHNER: I think there's a way to do that, and I frankly outlined over the last week or so, a way that Paul could do this differently than the way I did it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what way would that be?

BOEHNER: Well, we'll let him decide. Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As you depart and you look back at your time here, what message, if any, do you have to the House Freedom Caucus after they've united against you and they did the same against Mr. McCarthy (inaudible)? What message do you have to them now as they consider Paul Ryan?

BOEHNER: Listen, this is not about us. It's not about us as leaders. It's not about us as members. Our job is to do the right thing for the American people every day. You've heard me say this multiple times, and I'll say it one more time. If you do the right things every day for the right reasons, the right things will happen for our country. Thanks.

[10:35:01] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you attending the Benghazi hearing tomorrow?

BOEHNER: I am.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: All right. I don't know what we exactly learned from that, but you heard the House Speaker John Boehner. He's confident that Paul Ryan will become the next speaker of the house because he's a bright guy. He gets along with every faction of the Republican Party. And he did say that the preliminary vote would take place October 28th. And on the 29th, the entire house will vote on the floor for the next speaker of the house. Of course we'll keep you posted.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, when it comes to Benghazi, the focus has been on Hillary Clinton, but what about this face -- what about this face? The face of a Benghazi victim. I'll talk to Sean Smith's mother next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:07] COSTELLO: In just 24 hours, Hillary Clinton will face some of the toughest questions of her career, sitting across from lawmakers who want answers in the 2012attack on the American consulate in Benghazi. That attack took the lives of four Americans including the American ambassador to Libya and information officer Sean Smith.

I'm joined now by Sean's mother, Patricia. Welcome -- Patricia. Thank you so much for being with me this morning.

PATRICIA SMITH, MOTHER OF SEAN SMITH: Hello.

COSTELLO: What would you like to hear tomorrow?

SMITH: Answers. How did my son die? Why did Hillary choose what she chose? How come she made such bad decisions? That my son and the ambassador and the other two guys got killed?

There's a whole bunch of questions I have. I need her to make some answers.

COSTELLO: This happened three years ago. And you're still not sure what happened that night to your son?

SMITH: Three years ago Hillary promised that when I went to the casket ceremony in Washington, she promised she would get back to me and tell me what happened. She has not called me. She has not contacted me. She has not given me any information except to tell me that I am not a member of the immediate family, and I do not need to know.

COSTELLO: They told you that?

SMITH: Yes, they did. Several times over and over.

COSTELLO: Oh, my goodness.

Clinton has testified on what happened in Benghazi before, as you know, most famously in January of 2013. I'd like you to listen to what she said at that time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: With all due respect, the fact is we had four dead Americans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I understand.

CLINTON: Was it because of a protest, or was it because of guys out for a walk one night who decided they'd go kill some Americans? What difference at this point does it make? It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, Senator.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: When you heard that, what went through your mind?

SMITH: She's lying. She's absolutely lying. She told me something entirely different at the casket ceremony. They said it was because of the video and that she would get back to me and tell me what happened with my son. She has not only not gotten back to me but all I've ever heard is that I am not to know because I am not a member of the immediate family.

I still want to know -- I saw on TV the bloody fingerprints on the walls over there. I asked specifically, are those my son's fingerprints crawling down the wall, the bloody fingerprints? Nobody ever got back to me on that. Are those his fingerprints? Were those his fingerprints? What happened? Somebody's got to tell me from the government.

COSTELLO: Has anyone ever informed you -- I know they made one arrest in this terrorist attack. Have they ever, like, kept you up to date on the investigation, anybody?

SMITH: Yes, they've told me about some kind of person that they caught that was there that caused all this. I don't believe any of it. And that's the legal department called me and told me that. I don't believe that. And I don't care about that. I want to know about my son.

COSTELLO: These hearings have taken on a partisan tone. Does that worry you?

SMITH: Not in the least. Not in the least. It is not partisan. The thing is, this was Hillary's department, and she is the one that made the choices, made the decisions, made everything necessary and caused it to happen and killed my son.

COSTELLO: What do you think should happen to Hillary Clinton?

SMITH: I want her to just own up, tell me what happened. Just tell me so I can get some peace out of this. She hasn't bothered telling me, and she has no intention of telling me. In fact, she has told her people -- or I don't know if it's her personally that did this or her people that said that nobody should tell me anything because I shouldn't know. I'm sorry.

COSTELLO: I understand. Take your time. I do know that in previous hearings that it has come out that there should have been more security at the consulate that night.

COSTELLO: Yes. My son called me the night before. He called me from there, from Libya, to tell me that he was really worried because he saw the people -- some guys out there. I guess he mentioned February 17, whoever that is. He said they were out there taking pictures of everything, casing the place, and it looks like there's going to be a big problem. And there was no security and that he asked for security, and he was turned down.

[10:45:09] COSTELLO: Will you be watching these hearings tomorrow? Because they're going to last for a long, long time. So you'll be watching every moment?

SMITH: I want to hear what Hillary has to say. If she takes all day and all night to say something I want to be there -- I want to hear it. I want to hear it from her lips as she's lying to the American public again.

COSTELLO: Before you go, Patricia, I'd just like to know more about Sean because we always mention Ambassador Stevens, but we don't often mention Sean. So tell me about him.

SMITH: What's there to tell? He did what he was asked to do. He was the -- he did what the ambassador wanted. He was the -- I asked him one time, I said, Sean, what are you? What do you do? He says, I'm a clerk. So from that, you can take whatever you want. He's a clerk that went to all different kind of places that he was sent. He was a communications guy. He was my son. He was a sweetheart.

COSTELLO: Well, I understand from reading things about him that he had many, many friends. And everybody says what a sweet guy he was.

SMITH: Well, he was. He was. When this thing was going on, he was typing into his computer to his friends. He says, if I live until morning, and he didn't expect to live until morning because he says everything was happening out there. This is a hell of a thing to have to tell your mother that you're not going to make it.

COSTELLO: Patricia Smith, thank you so much for joining me this morning. I certainly appreciate it. And we'll check back with you after the hearing. SMITH: Please make her tell what happened. That's the least she

could do. It's her department.

COSTELLO: Thank you so much, Patricia.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: A powerful salute in New York overnight. NYPD officers lining up outside this hospital -- the moving gesture to honor one of their own. Their colleague shot to death in the line of duty just hours earlier.

Alexandra Field is here with what happened. Good morning.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Officer Randolph Holder, a five-year veteran of the NYPD, killed in the line of duty. We understand from officers that he was responding to reports of shots being fired and also to a man who said that he was robbed at gunpoint, that his bicycle was taken.

[10:50:04] We know that there was an exchange of gunfire between Officer Holder and the suspect in this case. This is a plainclothes officer that we're talking about. This all unfolded in East Harlem last night.

Officer holder was shot in the head. He was rushed to the hospital. Doctors tried to save his life but weren't able to. This is a man who's a third-generation police officer, originally from Guyana.

His father, his grandfather both police officers before him. They are, of course, grieving today along with the rest of the NYPD community including Commissioner Bill Bratton who had these words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL BRATTON, NYPD POLICE COMMISSIONER: Four police officers murdered in 11 months. That's about as bad as it gets. We've lost six in the line of duty, but four murdered in the line of duty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FIELD: About as bad as it gets, truly sobering words from Commissioner Bratton. What we know about the suspect is that a man was taken into custody about four blocks away from the spot where Officer Holder was shot. Law enforcement officials have not yet released the suspect's name. He did have a gunshot wound to the leg. He was taken to a hospital. He is now in police custody.

We know, though, that this is somebody who's well known to law enforcement in the community. He had some 20 arrests including for some violent crime so he was actually wanted for questioning in connection with another shooting.

COSTELLO: Alexandra Field -- thank you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, investigators say several church fires in St. Louis are related. But one pastor says there is a message behind the flames.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: In Missouri, a $4,000 reward is now being offered for information leading to an arrest in a recent string of church fires. That reward doubled after six predominantly black churches have been damaged by arson in just the past two weeks. Joining me now, the Reverend Rodrick Burton, pastor of the North Side Missionary Baptist Church -- welcome, sir.

REV. RODRICK BURTON, NORTH SIDE MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning. Tell me about the latest fire.

BURTON: The latest fire --

COSTELLO: At your church.

BURTON: Oh, at our church, yes. Well, our church, what happened was about 3:00 in the morning on October the 10th, our minister of music received a phone call that the church is on fire.

[10:55:02] The fire department asked them to come and unlock the doors. When he showed up, the flames were burning, and the fire department put it out. Thankfully, a neighbor alerted the fire department, and there was a quick response.

COSTELLO: So this sort of thing is happening at other churches in your area. Why do you think that is?

BURTON: I don't have a reason, and I won't speculate, but I think it's obvious that someone is having some sort of mental breakdown, and they're acting out in a terrible way.

COSTELLO: You, in fact, are asking your parishioners to come together because of the series of fires. What are you asking them to do?

BURTON: Well, I'm not just asking our parishioners. I'm asking the faith community in St. Louis and all across this nation as well as people who don't ascribe to faith to come together because any attack on our freedom as Americans, people should be concerned. And it seems like it's been sort of an apathetic response when such an incident had happened which attacks something which is the character of who we are as Americans.

COSTELLO: And despite that, you have said in the past of this arsonist, we are praying for whoever the perpetrator is. We have forgiven them, but we want it to stop. The Reverend David Trigs (ph) of New Life, said I have forgiven him. Pastor Renita Lambkin (ph) from St. John said next time you come onto church land, don't stop at the door. Come on in and know that there is a body of Christ waiting to love you. Do you think he's listening?

BURTON: I hope he or she is listening because those are our true feelings. Those are the heart of our faith, what Jesus Christ calls us to do. And so we feel that way.

But, again, I'm also saying this is something that the community at large and the nation should reflect upon. You know, when our freedom to worship is being attacked, we need to think about it. We need to not take it for granted because in other countries, people are dying for that right or freedom.

COSTELLO: Absolutely. And arson investigators -- are they telling you anything? Do they have any suspects at all?

BURTON: No, they're not telling me anything officially, but I have full confidence in the federal and the local investigators. And I believe they will find the perpetrator. But again, my concern is will the community of faith come together and support each other in a situation like this?

COSTELLO: All right. Reverend Rodrick Burton, thank you so much for joining me this morning.

BURTON: Thank you.

COSTELLO: And thanks for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello.

"AT THIS HOUR" with Berman and Bolduan after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:59:57] JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: New information on the plans of Joe Biden. A powerful political insider who has been speaking with the Vice President tells us what he knows about a pending announcement.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: For the job no one seems to want Paul Ryan says sure I'll run for speaker but here is my list of --