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GOP Fights for Debate Control; First Victims of Russian Crash Return Home; Yazidi Volunteers Fight for Their Survival; E. Coli Cases Linked to Chipotle. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired November 02, 2015 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I decided to post that on my Facebook friends -- on my Facebook page, and my followers wrote back in force. This from Nancy. She says, "a gotcha question seems to be a question that the person being questioned either does not want to answer or doesn't know the answer." This could be an example of that. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you name the president of Chechnya?

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: No. Can you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you name the president of Taiwan?

BUSH: Yes, Le (ph). The new Pakistani general has just been elected. He's -- he's -- not elected. This guy took over office. He appears he's going to bring stability to the country, and I think that's good news for the (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you can name him?

BUSH: General. I can name the general.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it's?

BUSH: General.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Prime minister of India?

BUSH: The new prime minister of India is -- no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK. So Robin has a different view. She wrote on Facebook, quote, "I believe a gotcha question can be summed up as a question where the answer is going to get you in trouble with people no matter what you say or how you answer it."

It wasn't that long ago when CBS reporter Major Garrett drew criticism for this kind of gotcha question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MAJOR GARRETT, CBS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Can you tell the country, sir, why you are content with all the fanfare around this deal, to leave the conscious of this nation, the strength of this nation, unaccounted for, in relation to these four Americans?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK. So Carl wrote on my Facebook page. Quote, "a gotcha question is one which is asked with a preconceived motive for the purpose of inciting a predictable response."

Cue the Katie Couric/Sarah Palin interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATIE COURIC, CBS NEWS: What newspapers and magazines did you regularly read before you were tapped for this to stay informed and to understand world --

SARAH PALIN, FORMER VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've read most of them, again, with a great appreciation for the press, for the media, coming --

COURIC: But like what one specifically, I'm curious, that you --

PALIN: All of them. Any of them. I have a vast --

COURIC: Can you name a few?

PALIN: I have a vast variety of sources where we get our news.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK. So let's talk about the gotcha question with the president of the congressional leadership fund and former chief of staff for the RNC, Mike Shields. I'm also joined by conservative radio host Hugh Hewett.

Welcome to both of you.

HUGH HEWITT, HOST, "THE HUGH HEWITT SHOW": Hey, good morning.

MIKE SHIELDS, PRES., CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP FUND: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning. I'm glad you're both here.

So, Hugh, I'll start with you, because you were accused by Donald Trump of asking a gotcha question. In your mind, what is a gotcha question?

HEWITT: A gotcha question is one where the moderator intends to embarrass the person that he is asking the question. And that's why I disagreed with Donald Trump. And we've since had many, many more conversations, interviews. We disagreed about one question. He didn't hear it right. But I think generally, when a moderator or a panelist is trying to

embarrass the candidate, hoping to make them look bad, that's a gotcha question. Now, if a candidate looks bad because they don't know the answer to a question, I had -- by the way, Donald Trump and John Kasich on last week. I asked them both about the F-35 jet. They had -- both had good, different answers. They -- they were not a gotcha question. If someone didn't know what an F-35 was, that's not my fault, but they were both prepared. So a gotcha question is in the mind of the moderator.

COSTELLO: Well, exactly.

So, Mike, that brings me to the question, who decides what's a gotcha question? Is it the moderator? Is it the RNC? Is it the campaign? Who is it? Who should decide?

SHIELDS: Well, I think, first of all, you have to have a body that has control of the process, like the RNC does, to hold people accountable when they do ask gotcha questions. I think -- let's look at what the RNC's done from the last cycle. Last cycle we had 23 debates. The RNC took over the process. Their goal was, let's not have 23 debates. They've done that. They wanted to make sure that we had people like Hugh Hewitt, who's on with us now, as a part of the moderators, that we had conservative voices on the panel so we had fewer of those questions and they wanted to represent what the candidates wanted. And so I think what you're seeing now is a process where the candidates are actually getting together, which I think the RNC's going to be thrilled about.

I mean I don't know if you've ever tried to organize like a PTA or a homeowners association, but imagine getting 14 presidential candidates together to agree on anything. So if they're going to get together and they're going to go to the networks, the RNC, I think, is going to be really thrilled. And one of the things they can address is, what are the kinds of questions that we're going to be asked? I think that's well within their purview to ask that question before they get on the stage.

I do think they're going to face an issue where you have journalists that are going to say, we're not going to tell you. And so there's a little bit of a -- a to and fro there. But, you know, I agree with Hugh, a gotcha question is one that we saw on the last debate, where someone is purposely designing a question just to make you look stupid, not to find out what information you have or where you stand on the issues. That's a gotcha question.

COSTELLO: OK. So I agree with you there, but I do agree that journalists aren't going to want to like, you know, send the candidates their questions before the candidates are asked the question because that's just something journalists don't do. It seems, Hugh, that the campaigns want to move in the direction that they want to control what questions are asked. And I'll give you an example. Ben Carson said, quote, "questions from moderators about someone's morality are uncalled for. That's the kind of approach we'd like to see changed." He went on to say, he wants to bring in non-journalists so they can ask questions Republicans care about. But my question for you, Hugh, isn't morality important to the Republican candidates? And why shouldn't such questions be asked?

[09:35:16] HEWITT: Everything is important to a Republican primary voter when it comes to beating Hillary Clinton. I want to reiterate something that Mike just said and double down on it. Reince Priebus and Sean Spicer did a magnificent job of bringing order out of chaos. We had a Hindenburg debate last week. Because of that, we should not change all the good that's been done because the Republican candidates have to recall that the CNN debate had an audience of 23 million watching live for three hours. Millions more online and listening to Salem Media Group radio broadcast. They can't destroy the tension in the room or they'll lose the audience. Nobody wants to watch a series of talking points delivered robotically without any emotion. They need tension.

So questions about morality are completely legitimate. Questions that are intended to embarrass by, you know, that classic George W. Bush, who's the president of India thing, that's a gotcha question. But if you want to ask someone about, what are you going to do about ISIS, and you want to stay on that question and you want to push hard, then be -- the candidates have to be prepared for that. And the debate moderator or panelist, neither Jack Tapper nor Wolf Blitzer nor me, nor Rich Lowry, nor any conservative, is going to give their questions away beforehand. That's not how it's done. I've done 70 interviews --

COSTELLO: That is not how it's done. It is not how it's done.

HEWITT: Yes, it's -- I've done 70 interviews with these candidates. It doesn't happen.

COSTELLO: OK, going -- going back, you know, Mike, I want to remind our viewers that some of the Republican candidates had a problem with the Fox News debate as well. They weren't pleased with the questions. And I thought they gave great -- they asked great questions at the Fox debate, by the way. Senator Ted Cruz suggested though that he would like a debate moderators by Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and Mark Levin. Mike, would that be -- would that be good? Would that be bad? What do you think?

SHIELDS: Well, I mean, I think if that's what the candidates want, they're going to bring that to the RNC and the RNC's going to advocate for it. I mean I think that that's the way the process should work. So --

COSTELLO: Is that a good thing -- is that a good thing, Mike, that conservatives should only be questioned by conservatives?

SHIELDS: Well, you --

COSTELLO: Because not all Republicans are conservative.

SHIELDS: I think -- I think the key thing is for the -- yes, I think the key thing is for the -- for the candidates to have some leverage, right? I mean I think what you saw was CNBC went over the line, and now the RNC has said, well, we're going to pull back and maybe not do another debate with you. So let's reconsider how you put your moderators up there. I think the key issue is, how can the RNC and the candidates work together to have leverage to say in the future, if you cross the line -- we all know where the line is. If you cross the line and you go into something where you're just having a gotcha debate, then we're not going to work with you anymore. And I think that the reason they're talking about some of these other folks is they trust that they're not going to cross the line.

COSTELLO: You believe that, Hugh? Your thoughts?

HEWITT: Yes, I do. Now, Mark Levin is one of my oldest and dearest friends. He's a terrific intellect. He's really probably the smartest guy in my business. And he would be a great debate panelist. He would ask tough questions. I've known Sean for 20 years. Same thing. Ditto with Rush.

I don't know if you want three conservatives because I think Jack Tapper and Dana did a good job. So I think a mix is the appropriate. That's what Priebus and Spicer put together, was a mix. What was missing last week, at what I call the Hindenburg debate, was they just -- they left Larry Kudlow out in outer space. They should have had Larry running it. They should have brought in Rick Santelli earlier. Instead, it was it looked like three Hillary Clinton operatives trying to destroy Republicans. That's not what we did at CNN. It's not what we're going to do at the CNN Salem debate in December or in March and -- and there is a happy ground. Republican candidates should look for that. They should look for more of what we've got and for audience because we've got to make our appeal too.

I'm a conservative. We've got to persuade America that we're in a ditch and we can get out of it, that ISIS is a threat and we can beat it, and that the country can come back to Reagan-like glory and greatness, and that's possible to do.

COSTELLO: All right, I've got to leave it there. Hugh Hewitt, Mike Shields, thanks to both of you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, hope gone for family members of those on board that doomed Russian airliner. Now they want answers. We'll take you live to St. Petersburg, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:43:32] COSTELLO: The first victims of that Russian airliner crash have arrived home in St. Petersburg. And it's this haunting photo that's spreading on social media who -- that is touching everyone's heart. It shows the youngest crash victim, 10-month old Darina Gromova, in St. Petersburg before she and her parents boarded that ill-fated -- or that doomed flight to Egypt. At the St. Petersburg Airport, a memorial has strung up, piled with flowers and candles and children's toys. CNN's Nic Robertson is there.

Hi, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.

People have been showing up here all day to leave flowers, to leave toys. A lot of them bringing children. We've talked to some of those families. They just feel grief stricken and they feel -- and they know that it could have been them on board that flight. They say they want to show sympathy and support. Often, at times, you look around here, you see several people crying, grown men among them. It is a very tough time. But, of course, the toughest day for the families today. Some of the bodies brought home, 144 bodies brought back here. And those family members taken to a morgue by government officials today to begin the identification progress.

The airline company itself says there was nothing wrong with the plane. There were no reports of problems prior. It passed all its mechanical checks. They are saying that there was an outside -- some outside force, some external thing caused the plane to crash. The head of Russia's aviation is saying, hold on, it's way too soon to draw conclusions like that. And Russia's emergency ministry says the debris field is so big right now in Egypt that they're beginning to use drones to search it.

Carol?

[09:45:10] COSTELLO: Nic Robertson reporting live from St. Petersburg, Russia.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, fighting on the front lines against ISIS Volunteers take up arms to save their families and villages.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The fight against ISIS terrorists will likely be top of the agenda today as security officials from around the world meet in Washington for the Defense One summit. They're discussing the U.S. military's role in handling the latest global threats.

[09:50:01] In the meantime, on the battlefield, major land and air offenses are under way to try to reclaim cities taken over by ISIS terrorists. Kurdish fighters are targeting ISIS-held oil fields now in northeast Syria.

In Iraq, Kurds are teaming up with thousands of local volunteers they're trying to drive ISIS out of Yazidi villages they've occupied around Mt. Sinjar. CNN's Nima Elbagir has been on the front lines with Kurdish refugees. She just returned and she joins me now live from Iraq. Hi, Nima.

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Well, as you said, there's so much going on in the bigger picture here in this region, but down on the ground, those Yazidi volunteers, we really got a sense of what they're fighting for. -- their homes, their families, their right to exist. Take a look at this, Carol.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELBAGIR (voice-over): The Yazidi Peshmerga fighters -- volunteers, former soldiers and a handful of trained officers -- looking out over the ISIS front line.

(on camera): He's pointing out to us all along here you can see the defensive ditches that have been dug. Said they come as close as that valley just there. They mortar, they fire on us, they eventually retreat, but it's pretty neverending.

(voice-over): This vantage point itself was in the not too distant past ISIS held.

(on camera): Just there he said you can see what they did to the Yazidis. The houses are completely destroyed. They slaughtered all the families inside. It really drives home how visceral this was.

(voice-over): Deputy commander Marku Cidu (ph) is 66. He's a retired soldier, one of the few here with fighting experience.

(on camera): This is a fragment of skull that they found. This whole patch of ground is mass graves. He said they found about 150 bodies from children as young as 1 year old all the way up to 80. It is, they say, just a reminder to them of what it is they're fighting for. They're fighting for their very survival.

(voice-over): The massacre of thousands of Yazidi men, women, and children by ISIS last year resonated around the world. Here in the foothills of the Sinjar mountain, thousands of Yazidi volunteers are joining up to fight.

Sinjar City and the mountain that looms over it is at the heart of the homeland of the Yazidi minority. It falls along a crucial supply route, linking ISIS strongholds in Iraq and Syria. When ISIS took the city August last year, their intent was to drive the Yazidis to extinction. Those who managed to escape the ensuing massacre now shelter in tents on barren slopes, overlooking their former homes.

These are the families of the fighters standing guard down below. This is what they're fighting for.

At the front, a poem is being recited. It speaks of lost honor, slaughtered wives and sisters, empty homes. It's meant to remind the soldiers of what's at stake. They tell us they know only too well -- this is a battle for their very existence.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELBAGIR (on camera): And just after we left that position, Carol, two would-be ISIS suicide attackers were gunned down. This is really just a tiny glimpse of the reality of life there for people. Carol?

COSTELLO: Nima Elbagir reporting live for us from Iraq. Thank you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, an E. Coli outbreak linked to a popular restaurant chain -- you see it there -- Chipotle. Officials say they expect the number of cases to grow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:58:22] COSTELLO: An E. Coli scare causing Chipotle to temporarily close dozens of stores. No one has died in the nearly two dozen cases in Washington State and in Oregon, but the source of contamination is still unknown. Cristina Alesci joins me now with more on this.

Oh, this is scary.

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNNMONEY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is very scary because we don't know the source yet. As with what you would typically expect with these outbreaks, it takes a while for investigators to get to the bottom of it. One thing is for sure, it either came from the meat or the vegetables. And the government does keep track of a deadly strain of E. Coli, and data shows that it is connected to either raw or undercooked ingredients.

Now, most restaurants have learned how to cook meat so that you reduce the possibility of contaminated meat getting out. Now, one thing here particular in this case is that Chipotle really prides itself in fresh ingredients, right? You go to the store and you get your tomato, your lettuce, your guacamole, all of that is uncooked. So you increase the likelihood a pathogen is in that, quote/unquote, "fresh ingredient". Which it is fresh -- Chipotle is trying to do the right thing here -- but there is an increased likelihood.

Now also keep in mind that the industry has no way of really keeping track of pathogens in our food. It's not like they're testing routinely whether or not these foods contain salmonella, listeria. The only way we find out is after people get sick.

COSTELLO: So I would suppose they're interviewing the people who have gotten sick to see if they ate similar items, right? That's the way they track it down.

[09:59:57] ALESCI: Right, and Chipotle, to your point, is being very cautious, because it's not only shutting down those six stores that are linked to sick patients, but it's taken the precaution of shutting down all the stores in those two states because presumably they're using the same suppliers in those two states, right?