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Three U.S. College Students Killed In Cafe Attack; ISIS Claims Responsibility, Some U.S. Officials Cast Doubt; Trump Tweet Using Star Of David Prompts Backlash; Clinton To Hit Trump On Business Practices In Atlantic City; Trump Vetting Gingrich, Christie As VP Picks; Increased Police Presence At 4th Of July Events; Clinton Met With FBI Over Email Server Use This Morning; Lynch-Clinton Meeting Concerns; Hillary Clinton Interviewed about Emails; GOP Convention Preview. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired July 02, 2016 - 12:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

On this holiday weekend, the world is on edge after two deadly terror attacks in a span of just four days. Overnight in Bangladesh, gunmen seized a popular tourist cafe in Dhaka, 20 hostages were killed, among them nine Italian, seven Japanese citizens.

And the U.S. State Department now confirms there was one American, three of the victims were in fact U.S. college students, two were attending Emory University, one of whom was from Miami, Florida. It's unclear if she is the same American the State Department is referencing as at least one American dead in that melee.

And also there was another student who was enrolled at an American university, the University of California at Berkeley. Although there was been a report of ISIS claiming responsibility, the U.S. State Department will not confirm that the terror group is indeed behind the attack.

Meanwhile, investigations are still underway into Tuesday's bombing in Istanbul. Officials say a top soldier in the ISIS war ministry organized the suicide bombing. The chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security says the man is nicknamed "Akhmed One-Arm" ordered. And that that person ordered the attack on Istanbul's Ataturk Airport. Forty four people were killed in Tuesday's attack in Turkey, 239 were injured.

We have full coverage for you. CNN's international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson in London, senior international correspondent, Nima Elbagir in Istanbul, and in Washington, Phil Mudd, a CNN counterterrorism analyst, and Michael Weiss, a CNN contributor and co- author of "ISIS Inside the Army of Terror."

All right, Nic, let me begin with you. All of the hostages killed were indeed foreign nationalists, I'm talking about Bangladesh now, several from Italy and Japan and then the three students at U.S. universities. What do we know about whether these terrorists singled out those who were foreign? Why were these people targeted?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, the restaurant itself was somewhere that was known within the city of Dhaka in the capital of Bangladesh as somewhere that foreigners would congregate. This was chosen as a target because the foreigners were there, number one.

We know now that the U.S. State Department confirming one U.S. national killed, seven Japanese, nine Italians so far. It was an upscale neighborhood. This was the place where you hang out. The food was good. The atmosphere was good.

ISIS claimed responsibility. You have two principal, if you will, terror groups that competing to recruit and sort of brand their own terrorism within the sort of jihadi circles in Bangladesh. You have al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, AQIS, and you have ISIS as well.

Now ISIS has claimed responsibility. We can't say for sure it is this them. But the al Qaeda affiliate have tended to target and they have killed several bloggers recently, people from the LGBT community, secular Bangladeshis in particular.

ISIS on the other hand in Bangladesh was singled out and targeted foreigners. They've targeted Hindus. They've targeted -- last year they shot and killed an Italian aid worker, a Japanese businessman.

So when we look at this attack and see that the perpetrators went in in a sophisticated organized way, the police officer recovered walkie- talkies, some weapons, as well as these sharpened knives, the guns and the explosives tend to indicate in Bangladesh that this would be an ISIS type of attack.

We understand from the authorities in Bangladesh that the victims had their throats cut. That would tend to be an ISIS type tactic. Also the ISIS media wing on their telegraph account released some photographs purporting to show this attack which appeared to be -- which appeared to sort of stand up, if you will, what we've heard from the Bangladeshi authorities and this restaurant itself.

So it does appear at the moment the preponderance of evidence does tend to lean towards ISIS, the style of attack, the target, the weapons used, all tend to hint in that direction -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And then Michael, does it appear to be these are the hallmarks of an ISIS to you or does it appear to be a collaboration of some other extremist groups?

MICHAEL WEISS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, it wouldn't be ISIS and al Qaeda in collaboration. The two are in a state of war with each other on the battlefields of Syria and within the realm of ideology and the battle of hearts and minds if you like of international Jihadism. I agree with Nic. This does look very much like ISIS.

[12:05:05]ISIS was quick this time to claim responsibility. They have not claimed responsibility for the Ataturk Airport bombing yet although that's characteristic for their behavior in Turkey. Just as I'm sitting here talking to you, they've released the names of what they claim are the purported attackers in this atrocity. And all of these guys, it would suggest that all of the attackers came from Bangladesh.

You recruit from the area that you're looking to hit back at. We saw this in Paris, in Brussels. This was a European network tasked with spreading terrorism in Europe. So far this does tend in the direction of ISIS rather than say al Qaeda or some local franchise.

WHITFIELD: All right, and Nima there in Istanbul, Turkey where that attack happened at the airport, no claim of responsibility by ISIS or anyone for that matter, as Michael was underscoring. Is that worrisome? Is that perplexing or is it presumed there in Turkey that ISIS is behind that attack?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly bears all the hallmarks of an ISIS attack. And it merits very much what we saw ISIS perpetrators to have acted along the lines of in Brussels. But no, it's not perplexing that they haven't claimed here in Turkey and that's because they're in a state of active recruitment in Turkey.

The number of their cells, of their safe houses have been growing. So it's a very delegate balancing act for ISIS here. When you hit a Muslim majority country where you are trying to recruit, what you don't want to be doing is alienating that support base.

So when they don't come out and announce, it gives them that plausible deniability. But there is no doubt in the minds of many of those who we've been speaking to, whether in the U.S. or here in Turkey, that this is an ISIS attack.

What has changed in the way that ISIS have carried out this attack is that this seems to have been, as we understand it, from Turkish officials centrally planned. The men are believed to have come over from the Raqqah headquarters of ISIS.

They are believed to have rented a flat right here in the tourist district, which paradoxically is also very conservative. It's somewhere where ISIS has specifically been targeting for recruitment.

So this now speaks to ISIS wanting to show as they lose that territory in Iraq and Syria, that look, we still matter. We still have impact and reach. That's what's concerning so many of the authorities we're speaking to.

That they're dealing with a really hybrid approach. You have this homegrown terror network and now you have this proven ability for ISIS to move across the border, which is supposed to be highly secured -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And then Phil, you know, it's a physical war, also a psychological war, is it not? You're talking about is it ISIS or an extreme group like ISIS, a finger in the eye of Turkey, a mostly Muslim nation during Ramadan and as Nima was just underscoring, a high traffic area into Syria.

PHILIP MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: Look, if you're talking about the psychological war, I think the attacks in Turkey and Bangladesh are significant. If you add them in to what we've seen in San Bernardino and Orlando.

Think about when we started this global counter terror campaign, we had a core of operations from al Qaeda and Afghanistan and then in Pakistan that was trying with a relatively small group of people to inspire a global revolution.

Fast forward to 2016 in the last couple of months and think of three tiers. You have a central organization for ISIS in Syria that is directing attacks in places like Turkey.

You have a second phase, that is groups that are not directly necessarily tied to ISIS, they might have some communications but not necessarily financial -- financial linkages or leadership linkages that attack in places like Bangladesh.

And then you have a third tier of people who have never even met an ISIS member and who are not part of a cell in Orlando or San Bernardino. So as you have this pressure in Syria and Iraq, we see three tiers of operations outside in Europe, South Asia, and America. And it indicates why we're going to be at this war for so long -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Phil Mudd, Michael Weiss, Nima Elbagir, and Nic Robertson, thanks to all of you. I appreciate it.

All right, back here in the states, straight ahead on the road to the White House, Hillary Clinton now planning a trip to Atlantic City next week. Top of the agenda, slamming Donald Trump's business practices there, all next.

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[12:12:15]

WHITFIELD: All right, Donald Trump is receiving some harsh backlash now after tweeting an image of Hillary Clinton and then using the Star of David perplexing many. You see the Star of David there and then it says most corrupt candidate ever history made.

CNN has reached out to the Trump campaign for clarification about what this really means. Meanwhile Clinton has announced plans to travel to Trump territory, Atlantic City, New Jersey. The campaign says she'll be hitting Trump on some of his financial failings and business endeavors in that state.

Let's talk about this more with CNN political commentator, Ben Ferguson, and Kris Kobach. He is the secretary of state in Kansas. He is also a Trump supporter. All right, good to see you all.

Kris, you first. When you see that image that was tweeted out by Donald Trump, what is your interpretation? What does that mean to you?

KRIS KOBACH, KANSAS SECRETARY OF STATE: My guess is that somebody on the Trump campaign team was trying to put together a clever tweet and didn't even think. They probably said the six-pointed star I can put more text in it and didn't think about it. I can't imagine that the Trump team would intentionally try to make the reference to Judaism to the star. It sounds to me just like a dumb campaign stint.

WHITFIELD: And Ben?

BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I would agree. I think this is going to be a much ado about nothing. They obviously pick the star, wanted to put a talking point in there and I doubt they looked to the sub context of what this would be. So I don't think this is going to be that big of a deal at all.

WHITFIELD: Would it at least say another gaffe?

KOBACH: Well, it certainly is -- at this point in the game we've talked about this a lot. You can't make as I refer to them, Bush league mistakes. But if you look at Donald Trump right now, if this is the worst thing that has happened with this campaign this week compared to Bill Clinton getting on a plane with a woman who is going to have to deal with investigating or even indicting his own wife, I think I'll take the accidental star with text in it that had nothing to do with Judaism over the other week that she's had.

So I really just don't think this is going to be -- this is another blip. Obviously you want to clean up your game. You're in the big leagues now. But this to me is just not going to be that big of a deal at all.

WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk about strategy now. Kris, you first, Clinton campaign saying that she's be going to Atlantic City and they will, quote, "highlight Trump's now familiar pattern," Trump restructured his debts, padding his own pockets while investors, contractors and working people bore the brunt. How effective might this strategy be?

KOBACH: Well, we're at that stage in the political cycle where the candidates are trying to brand their opponent, right? So Trump has been consistently trying to brand Hillary as corrupt and with some success.

[12:15:04]And Hillary is doing her thing to Trump. She's tried to give him the brand of being uncontrollable. And I think she's going try this brand on to see which one sticks. So I think that's what you're seeing happening here is they're floating this idea as this is how we will negatively brand our opponent.

WHITFIELD: And so, Ben, is this likely to be the momentum leading up to the conventions?

FERGUSON: You can try to make it a momentum, but this has been played by many other Republicans and it didn't connect very well with the voters. We saw Ted Cruz spend a lot of time on this. We saw Santorum or in Huckabee early on trying spent time on this.

We saw Rubio try to spend on this. I don't think people care that much about it. They understand Donald Trump seemed to explain this away pretty well. I thought this was going to be a bigger liability for him early on and it wasn't.

Because he said look, in success you have failures. In success sometimes things don't work out perfectly. But if you look at all of the people that I've employed, all of the people that I've given great careers to and high paying jobs to, yes, there are some things that are not perfect in the past.

But overall look at what I've been able to create and most people contact with him on that. I just don't think this is going to wring over undecided voter to Hillary's side. If you already love Hillary Clinton, of course, you're going to love the talking points.

But is it bringing in new voters? I don't think it's going to bring it enough to make a big difference in the campaign overall.

WHITFIELD: But then is it also kind of a thorn in the side of Trump and that he's talking about bringing jobs, but then there's also the argument of him exporting jobs or at least outsourcing with a lot of products that have his name on it, which are not manufactured in the U.S.?

KOBACH: Look, he has been Teflon. A great example is early on I couldn't believe that his clothes, for example, were not a bigger issue because they were not made in United States of America while he was talking about bringing jobs back. I think that is certainly a vulnerability.

But it now looks like a rerun. It was played a lot in the primaries and people really just did not seem to, you know, make a connection there. I don't think that Hillary Clinton is somehow going to be able to say something that hasn't already been said that will connect in a new way.

People know this about Donald Trump. This isn't new information about him. So it's not as big of a vulnerability if it was somehow for the first time people were seeing out or hearing it.

WHITFIELD: All right, perhaps one of the most important decision as presidential candidate can make is the running mate. The drum is beating louder, Kris. When you think about who Donald Trump's running mate might be and if any of them are already on the screen right here, there are seven of them, who might you choose.

KOBACH: Well, I can't see your screen, so I can't tell you which one --

WHITFIELD: OK, Newt Gingrich, Chris Christie are the front runners, Governor Mike Pence, Bob Corker, John Thune, Jeff sessions, Mary Fallon.

KOBACH: I think all of them are good choices on the screen. Trump has said he wants someone with government experience, someone who can help him negotiate and navigate through the fields. I think it's probably going to be someone like that.

I think Gingrich is a really intriguing choice just because he had has a lot of throw weight with conservatives. I think that's the other factor here too is that Trump really needs to keep his credentials strong with conservatives.

I'm a conservative. I got in early on, but there are some who, you know, became married to the Cruz campaign and are still some having hesitation. I think it's combination of experience and conservative credentials and several of the people on that screen that you have would qualify.

WHITFIELD: All right, Ben, I know we talked about it earlier, it sounded like you were leaning forward thinking Trump would choose a Chris Christie.

WHITFIELD: Yes, I think Chris Christie obviously is one of those that has to be at the top of the list. I think Donald Trump reacts -- is going to look at this pick in the short term of what can you do for me on the campaign trail right now.

We've really seen Donald Trump focus. Since his first I call it teleprompter speech where he really laid out his attack of Hillary Clinton a couple of weeks ago, as saying, I need someone to be able to go out there and say that every single day.

Chris Christie is definitely something that can prosecute in that way. I also think that Donald Trump really likes Gingrich because Gingrich is a guy that's still well-respected on the hill.

When he goes to the hill, people like working with him, they like dealing with him. They feel like they know what they get with Gingrich. And most people that worked with him in the past liked his leadership style.

And Donald Trump understands his vulnerability. He must have someone who can help him move legislation in Washington and that's going to be a vice president that's going to be powerful. Gingrich would be a great pick for him in that capacity on Capitol Hill because he does not know how Capitol Hill really works.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and he admitted to that many months ago. He didn't use the word strength, but that was the interpretation. He said it was not his thing.

[12:20:07]FERGUSON: No, his vulnerability for sure.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Ben Ferguson, Kris Kobach, all right, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

Coming up, security increasing across the country this holiday weekend after a string of recent terror attacks overseas. Sara Ganim is following the things happening and not happening there in New York. SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Happy 4th of July weekend, Fred. Travelers across the country are seeing stepped up security. We'll have more details coming up after the break.

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WHITFIELD: All right. On this holiday weekend, law enforcement is stepping up security at the nation's airports across the country. You'll see a heightened police presence at some of the nation's biggest 4th of July events also this weekend.

CNN's Sara Ganim is live for us at Penn Station in New York. What have you been seeing?

GANIM: Good afternoon, Fred. You know, everywhere from L.A. to Chicago, Washington, D.C. to here in New York City, travelers are going to see the stepped up security. They're going to see police in tactical gear and those bomb sniffing police dogs when they're traveling and at those celebratory events Sunday and Monday.

Here at Penn Station I talked to some officers who said yesterday on their big day of travel they were here. This is one of those soft targets especially after a week where we saw two terror attacks at soft targets, one at a cafe in Bangladesh, another one at an airport in Istanbul.

Places like this, train stations, where there is no perimeter of security, secure perimeter, these are the kinds of places that travelers are going to see that stepped up security. This is a big travel weekend.

AAA is estimating more than 43 million Americans are going to travel in some way, many of them coming into those big cities. Police chiefs across the country are saying no credible threats, but they're always on the alert. They want to be prepared.

They ask people who are traveling not to stay home and not to be afraid but to always be vigilant and alert just as the police are being. The Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson saying similar things to people across the country as we're coming into this holiday weekend. Have fun but also be safe -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Right. And Sara, you're at a very busy place. It's always busy there outside of Penn Station, but did you get the impression from people whether they feel relatively comforted by the fact that they're seeing larger police presence?

[12:25:13]GANIM: You know people here are going about their usual business. I talked to some police officers here this morning who were saying they're treating this sort of like a normal Saturday, a little busier here inside the terminal. You see a lot of people traveling.

Friday and Monday tend to be the heavier travel days, but I think, you know, in a city like New York, Washington and Chicago, they're getting used to seeing the stepped-up presence and it's a comfort to them. You know, when you first start seeing the police with the long guns and the bomb sniffing dogs, it's scary because you're thinking about the threat because you see the police presence. But it's reassuring to the people here that the police are paying attention. They want to have fun this weekend.

WHITFIELD: I find it reassuring. I actually like it when I see the sniffing dogs and stuff. This is good. All right, Sara Ganim, appreciate it. Thank you.

All right. In this breaking news, CNN has learned that Hillary Clinton has met with the FBI today over the investigation into the use of her private e-mail server while she served as secretary of state. Chris Frates has more on this -- Chris.

CHRIS FRATES, CNN INVESTIGATIONS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred. Yes, so some breaking news here, the Clinton campaign putting out a statement and I want to read it to you right now.

It says, quote, "Secretary Clinton gave a voluntary interview this morning about her email arrangements while she was secretary. She's pleased to have the opportunity to assist the Department of Justice in bringing this review to a conclusion out of respect for the investigative process. She will not comment further on her interview."

And that comes from one of Clinton's spokesmen. Now I can tell you on background an aid chatted with me, told me that this happened at the FBI Headquarters, lasted about three and a half hours. There's been lots of talk of when Hillary Clinton would sit for this interview.

Remember, the FBI is investigating whether or not top secret or classified information was moved on this server. Hillary Clinton has said she never received or sent any classified information. Of course, that information has since been retroactively classified.

Republicans have attacked her for that and the FBI is looking into whether any laws were broken there. The Clinton camp says no laws were broken. She did everything by the book and she says she'll cooperate with anybody who is investigating her e-mail.

So she did sit for this interview. Though, Fred, it's important to point out that she has said she would cooperate with any investigation into the e-mail use.

However the State Department inspector general, the independent investigator also did an investigation and put out a scathing report about Clinton's e-mail use that Clinton did not cooperate with.

She has said in the past he would cooperate. She did not cooperate with the IG report that found that she did not ask for permission to use a personal server. That nobody was ever contacted.

And while she said that everything was above board and she followed the rules that report found that she did not. On the separate question of the FBI investigation, they need to find out whether or not there is enough evidence there to press charges, whether any crimes were committed.

They've also met with and interviewed some of Hillary Clinton' top aides. Now the expectation is that that high bar will likely not be met, that there won't be any charges brought against Hillary Clinton.

But certainly this is a big step toward finishing the investigation which hangs over Hillary Clinton as she turns to the general election to take on Donald Trump.

Of course, the meeting between Loretta Lynch and President Bill Clinton earlier this week, this impromptu meeting we've been talking about where President Clinton popped on to Loretta Lynch's plane.

She came under a lot of scrutiny for that because her Justice Department is the one doing this investigation, the one who met with Hillary Clinton today. Republicans say that shows a conflict of interest. They want a special prosecutor on that.

Loretta Lynch said she's not going to weigh in on it. She'll accept whatever the FBI and her career prosecutors find, whether or not they decide to go forward and bring charges.

But certainly the news here, Fred, Hillary Clinton did meet with the FBI, at FBI Headquarters for about three and a half hours this morning and they here not going to comment any further. There has not been a lot of comment when her aides have testified. We've got to wait and see how this continues to play out -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, and of course, we don't know a timetable do we in terms of interview takes place, how long it would take to assess or you know, what information would be compiled in that report that Loretta Lynch said that she still would review.

She's not recusing herself from reviewing these findings despite the impromptu meeting as you put it, Chris, in Phoenix with the former president, even though she says she does regret that that happened. Do we have an idea of how long it would take before that report would be finalized or even sent to the attorney general?

[12:30:20] FRATES: Well certainly this was a big step and everybody was waiting to see when if Hillary Clinton would sit down with the FBI. This is an important point in the investigation. And James Comey, the Fbi director himself has said that, you know, he wants to do this as quickly as possible. He understands that we're in an election year and this is a politically sensitive issue. But he's also said that he wants to make sure that this investigation is done well, that he gives it all of the resources that it needs. And he would rather it be done well first and quick second.

So there is no official timeline Fred, but certainly this is a big step towards completing it. And, you know, a lot of people argued that it couldn't be done without having Hillary Clinton sit down and talk with the FBI. She's now done that. She said she would do that. And the Clinton campaign is going stay pretty harsh, harsh on this as the FBI. As, you know, the sensitivity around this investigation is huge Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Chris now, I do understand we have a statement and the statement is from whom?

FRATES: The statement is from Nick Merrill. He is the spokesman for Hillary Clinton. Let me read this again to our viewers so they can know exactly what the Hillary Clinton campaign is saying about this interview.

"Secretary Clinton gave a voluntary interview this morning about her e-mail arrangements while she was secretary. She is pleased to have had the opportunity to assist the Department of Justice in bringing this review to a conclusion. Out of respect for the investigative process she will not comment further on her interview."

Now, an aid tell me that this interview did happen at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. this morning, it lasted about 3.5 so a long interview. Certainly, you know, it's very difficult to schedule an interview with a presumptive major party nominee, Hillary Clinton of course the presumptive Democratic nominee. So they, you know, they tried to get her, get this schedule. There was, you know, scheduling issues. There -- it's a pretty quiet weekend on the campaign trail. And so they got her in for 3.5 hours, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, somebody tells when the FBI says they want an interview. Yeah, you kind of clear the schedule. It's going to happen. OK, Chris, hold tight.

And I've also got with us CNN Senior Law Enforcement Analyst Tom Fuentes on the phone along with legal analyst Avery Freeman. You first, Tom, in a 3.5 hour interview, you formerly with the FBI, what kinds of questions might be asked to the presidential candidate?

TOM FUENTES, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well I think first of all they're going to ask her every aspect of this investigation of what they've been looking at. And normal procedure, having investigated in overseas probably thousands of investigations, you do the main subject interview last. They would want to have every record they could possibly obtain, all of the interviews with everyone else, the state department at the company that set up the private servers, all of the information that they could possibly gather, they would want to have already received that, analyzed it and been prepared for the interview so that they would understand if she's telling the truth or not. And also give them an idea of what specific questions to ask.

So this is really probably -- unless she's offered something new that they didn't have, and they will look into but this would normally be the last step in this complex investigation.

WHITFIELD: So Tom, is this strictly an interview, you know, an exchange of words or given that it was at her home, we saw the images of the vehicles leaving the home, would it also involve looking at getting a second look at anything physical within the home?

FUENTES: No, we're hearing that the interview was conducted at FBI headquarters. So, you know, the FBI normally, you know, and this is just normal strategy. You don't conduct these kind of interviews and give the person home court advantage. So if possible it's going to be done at an FBI office or if you're based in Washington, an FBI -- in the sensitivity of this case, FBI headquarters, so that would be normal procedure in this state. And also she's in a little bit of a predicament.

If you're going to be interviewed by the FBI, whether you're the subject of a case or a witness, you don't have to talk to the FBI. You could say I don't want to talk.

And now, she's not in that position because of being in the heat of this campaign. And look, if she refused to answer questions. If you talk to the FBI, you have to tell the truth. And if you don't tell the truth you can be prosecuted under Title 18 Section 1001. And as you recall, people like Martha Stewart went to prison because they were convicted of lying to the FBI during an official investigation.

So she's more or less politically had to talk the bureau. But legally, you have to tell the truth as well. And if they can't find misstatements in what she talked about there during that interview that itself is prosecutable.

[12:35:10] WHITFIELD: All right, so Tom you reveal that more information to ascend that. That interview would take place at FBI headquarters, those images that we would see of the vehicles leaving the residence in the Washington, D.C. area of Hillary Clinton presumably now, maybe that's her transit as suppose to vehicles with the FBI departing.

FUENTES: Yeah that was probably, you know, she has a secret service detail as presumptive nominee, she's under secret service protection. So she would have a protection taking her to the meeting.

WHITFIELD: Right. OK, very good. So Avery, I would like to bring you into this too. So what would be your best understanding as the kinds of probing questions that would be asked of Hillary Clinton at this juncture given there have been, you know, so many layers of this investigation. And if this is the final phase before a report would be submitted. What would need to be asked, what would need to be answered?

AVERY FRIEDMAN, LEGAL ANALYST: Well, you know, this is the wrap-up interview. And Tom is exactly right. The fact is that anything that she says, if it veers from the truth in any respect, she's looking at a potential crime here.

So it is very significant that here she is at FBI headquarters, Fredricka, she does 3.5 hours with undoubtedly the best of the best at the bureau. And they're going to be asking many of the questions that relate to what she knew about engaging the service, engaging the contractors, what kind of communications.

And they have access to the documents that have been produced. And those are thousands of documents. So whether or not Secretary Clinton remembered what a particular document said, it may very well be that for 3.5 hours, many of the answers are going to be, "You know what, I don't remember." And if she does remember, remember, she's got to tell the truth or else she's looking at criminal indictment and criminal prosecution.

WHITFIELD: So while question are being asked answers, you know, also being given. How many people potentially might be part of this interview, whereby someone would be trying to check to see if they're consistencies of the information exchange? Avery would you know offhand how many people would a part of this interview?

FRIEDMAN: I would. And it's not uncommon when you meet either at the local United States attorney's office or with the FBI or at main justice. And I've been at all three places. You've been in a situation where you don't know. For all I know, they're meeting in the major conference room at main justice, on constitution. They have a slew of agents and specialists who are feeding the inquirers of Hillary Clinton information about what they want to find out.

Now remember, Fredricka, this is the wrap-up. They have interviewed enormous numbers of people have hundreds of thousands of pages of materials. So to the extent there could be a clarification, you could have a limitless number of FBI agencies and specialists asking those questions, making the inquiries.

WHITFIELD: And so Tom, you know, I got to ask because we're talking the FBI, would there ever be a use of, you know, a lie detecter test? Would there be anything to measure her believability?

FUENTES: No, the measurement is going to be the statements she makes against the facts that they've gathered already and additional facts that they could pursue. Polygraph is inadmissible in court. From my experience it's clouded more investigations than it's helped, when even being used for information purposes. So they wouldn't try to change the whole investigation by throwing a polygraph in which may or may not be accurate and it definitely is not admissible anyway at the end of the day. So I would not expect that.

WHITFIELD: All right, Larry Sabato, director of for UVA Center for Politics is also with us now.

So Larry, you know, we've been talking about optics all week as it pertains to the former president and the attorney general and their, you know, impromptu meeting. And now we're talking about the optics of a presumptive Democratic presidential nominee now at FBI headquarters being probed, asked of questions about her choices of e-mails. Talk me about what -- how you interpret or how voters might interpret the optics of that.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR UVA'S CENTER FOR POLITICS: Well, Fred, that isn't the ideal situation for somebody on the verge of a presidential nomination. There's no tradition in American politics of a nominee presumptive being interviewed by the FBI.

So I'm sure Hillary Clinton would rather be anyplace else. But let me also add this. It's about time. The Democrats are getting ready to nominate Hillary Clinton just three weeks to be president of the United States. And she is, after all, the front runner, not for the nomination, for the general election.

I think all of us need to know what the facts are and what their determination is as quickly as possible.

[12:40:07] WHITFIELD: And so do you feel like, Larry, if there was a more opportune time in which this were to take place, is now much better than if it were early on so that it would have mileage throughout the campaign? Or do you see that this is potentially most damaging because it is on the precipice of the Democratic National Convention just weeks away.

SABATO: It would be worse if it were after the convention and she were the official nominee. At that point the only change could occur if she agreed to step aside and resign the nomination. At that point it would be up to the Democratic National Committee. They would elect her successor as the democratic nominee.

But I think we're jumping way ahead of reality. Personally I don't think she's going to get indicted. I don't know too many people who follow this process who believe she is.

But Fred, ideally this would have been take care of months ago. There were primaries in all of the states and territories and the District of Columbia. It would have been better to have this information earlier. I realize practically speaking that wasn't possible. But this is really pushing it, three weeks before the convention.

FUENTES: And Fred, I just want to jump in there on Larry's point. When you talk to Democrats, they will tell you they hoped this would have already been behind them, in fact not just the Hillary Clinton's interview with the FBI. But this whole mess.

Remember this goes all the way back to last March is when we first learned about this private server. It came out of the House Republicans inquiry into Benghazi. That's how we found out that there was a private server to begin with because they had gone looking for e-mail correspondents. The State Department couldn't find that e-mail correspondents, then we learned that she had this private which set off this firestorm that has been dogging her campaign for over a year.

And if you talk to Democrats, they had hoped this would all been put behind them because Hillary Clinton maintains that she didn't do anything wrong, and then in fact, if you look at the investigation right now, sources telling CNN that there's no evidence yet that she willfully violated the law here when it comes to classified information.

You can bet if that continues to be the case, that the Clinton campaign and Democrats generally would love to get that out there and put this behind them because right now it's still being investigated a you hear Donald Trump out there on the campaign trail over and over again using this investigation to hit Hillary Clinton.

Now, she says, "I did nothing wrong," but she doesn't have any proof of that because it's not concluded.

And as Larry pointed out, I mean we're very close here, to just a few week to the Democratic nomination. I think Democrats had hoped when this broke, that this would be over long before now. And if these bleed into the general election in the fall when people really start to tune in, it only lingers and becomes more of a headache for Democrats in the Clinton campaign.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you to all of you. We're going to talk more about this of course, Chris Frates, Tom Fuentes, Larry Sabato, Avery Friedman, appreciate it.

Again if you're just now joining us, Hillary Clinton did meet with the FBI for 3.5 half hours at FBI headquarters. This just now three weeks away from the Democratic National Convention.

We'll have much more straight ahead after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:46:28] WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

This breaking news, CNN has learned that Hillary Clinton has met with the FBI today over the investigation into the use of her private e- mail server while she served as U.S. secretary of state.

Clinton spokesman, Brian Fallon, saying this in a statement, "Secretary Clinton gave a voluntary interview this morning about her e-mail arrangements while she was secretary. She's pleased to have had the opportunity to assist the Department of Justice in bringing this review to a conclusion. Out for respect for the investigative process, she will not comment further on her interview."

CNN Justice Correspondent, Pamela Brown is covering this and she's joining us right now on the phone. So what more do you know Pamela about this interview that took place at FBI headquarters involving the presumptive Democratic nominee?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: What we can tell you Fredricka, that this was the big piece of the investigative puzzle for the FBI to sit down with Hillary Clinton and conducted Fredricka. And we know it lasted 3.5 hours, it happened at the FBI headquarters.

I can tell you that the hope was that this would be done much sooner than now. Of course we're weeks out from the Democratic Convention. I know it was important to investigators to try to do it before the convention. Of course she as officially named the nominee.

In fact, we've been told previously that they hope the (inaudible) FBI is that the investigation is wrapped up before the convention. But of course it's an investigation that is take an year. And so now, we have reached this critical point where they've sat down with Hillary Clinton.

And just covering the FBI for the last couple of years, I can tell you, I mean the feeling inside the bureau is that this is one of the most high stakes investigations that the bureau has ever done, you know, investigating the presumptive Democratic nominee. And so they're taking it very seriously. We heard James Comey say, they want to be quick but thorough. And so thorough is the priority. But we're reaching the home stretch according to officials we've been speaking to. Now, that this interview is done we expect it to wrap up shortly. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: And so Pamela, what do we know about the timing of this? I mean the in the statement it makes it very clear that she voluntarily, you know, participated in this interview. We heard from a number of our analyst just moments ago, who said, you know, she did, you know, have to say, "Yes" to the interview. But, you know, Hillary Clinton did, but what about the timing of the interview in terms of the phase of this investigation?

BROWN: Well typically an investigation, you want to interview the target of an investigation toward the very end once you have gathered all of the evidence and all of the facts. So that is why they have waited until the end of the investigation to do this interview.

And again, you know, even though the FBI says, we are focused on being thorough more than anything, they are acutely aware that the Democratic convention is just around the corner, and so the hope was to get to that phase, to this phase toward the end before the Democratic convention, which they have done, but just weeks away, certainly cutting it close. Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, Pamela Brown, thank you so much. We'll have much more on this story again.

[12:49:35] Hillary Clinton meeting with the FBI for an interview that lasted 3.5 hours at FBI headquarters today. We'll have much more straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

So in just over two weeks the Republicans will gather in Cleveland for their party convention.

This morning presumptive presidential nominee, Donald Trump tweeted, "The speaker slots at the Republican convention are totally filled with a long waiting list of those that want to speak. Wednesday release."

Our sources tell us one of those speakers is Former Republican Presidential Candidate, Ben Carson.

Joining me right now to discuss this is CNN Delegate Analyst. Mike Shields. He is also a former chief of staff to the Republican National Committee. All right Mike, good to see you.

MIKE SHIELDS, FMR. CHIEF OF STAFF, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: Good to see you too. Good afternoon.

WHITFIELD: All right, so let's talk about the highly anticipated Republican Convention where potentially Donald Trump could be revealing his vice presidential pick as well as unveil this long list of speaker. What is the tone that the Trump campaign you believe is trying to build here?

SHIELDS: Well, you know, first of all, it is up to the nominee who is going to be speaking. They're really, the people that are putting on the show on. I think that Reince Priebus and the Republican Convention has done a fantastic job of putting together the parts of this that the party can build, building a stage and a platform upon which the candidate can then put his message out there.

It looks like, Donald Trump wants to look like, continue to look like an outsider. I think this is an election that shaping up to be an insider versus outsider message. Even more than it is a left versus right message. And Hillary Clinton is the ultimate insider. You're not going to find anyone in politics who is more of an insider than she is. And it looks like the way that for what we're seeing that the Trump campaign is doing is they want to build a convention that sort of conveys outsider, not normally what you would see in a convention sort of feeling a message.

WHITFIELD: And what do you suppose the real objective will be? He is indeed, family members are going to be speaking including his wife Melania potentially and Ivanka his daughter potentially.

SHIELDS: Well, I mean look, Donald Trump has some of the worst approval ratings that you've ever seen in a candidate in history.

Hillary Clinton would have the worst approval ratings of any candidate in the history if it wasn't for Donald Trump having worst numbers.

And so I think putting the family out there really shows a completely different side of Donald Trump. And, you know, you hear over and over again people saying, what a credit to him his family is, and how intelligent they are, and how warm they are.

[12:55:03] And so I think my guess is that the thinking is that, you know, if they put the family members out there, it helps soften his image a little bit, it helps him sort of navigate going through a time when his negatives are so high and people are viewing him so unfavorably in terms of his personal favorability members.

WHITFIELD: There's a lot of unpredictability with this convention as well. There's also a lot of anticipation. There has been growing, you know, unrest at rallies and protests at Donald Trump events where you've got clashing sides. How much of that potentially is going to be part of the equation for the convention? How worrisome potentially is that?

SHIELDS: And, you know, it's hard to say. I mean there's so many things that are being reported about this convention that are actually pretty common place at conventions. For instance you have politicians saying they're not going to the convention. That happens all of the time.

In 2012 there were about five competitive house races in North Carolina and the Democratic Convention was in Charlotte. And so we were chasing after the Democrats saying, "Wait a minute it's in Charlotte, aren't you going to your convention?" And no one who was in a targeted race wanted to be anywhere near Barack Obama in a very liberal looking convention in a say like North Carolina.

WHITFIELD: But is it particularly troubling that you hear so a Republican leadership who would customarily be at a RNC saying, they're not going to. And spelling it out in large part because they don't prefer a Donald Trump?

SHIELDS: Yeah, I don't mean to say that there isn't something sort of going on that may be a little bit of a political issue for Trump when it comes to his party. And that's obvious.

But my point is that some of it, I think some of it is actually pretty common place. You have people that don't go to the conventions. You're going to have protesters. Protesters have been coming to the conventions and being put into their protest box. I think all the way back to 1986.

Now, to what degree it is, that I think is what remains to be seen. And I know that the convention is making preparations for, they're working with the city of Cleveland and trying to ensure everybody's safety. It's not like they don't know this is coming. And so I think they're doing everything they can to prepare for it.

And then I think some of it is up to Donald Trump. I mean, frankly, if he wants to unite the party, if he wants to have more leaders coming to his side, there are things he can do and say in the next couple of weeks and his vice presidential choice for instance could be a big part of that.

WHITFIELD: All right, Mike Shields, thanks so much. Good to see you.

SHIELDS: Good to see you too.

WHITFIELD: All right, take care.

All right, straight ahead, we're going to have more on the FBI meeting with Hillary Clinton today for about 3.5 hours at FBI headquarters.

All about her private e-mail server, more on that breaking news next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello again, and thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin with this breaking news. The Democratic presumptive nominee for president, Hillary Clinton meeting with the FBI earlier today voluntarily, her campaign said she talked to investigators about her use of a private e-mail server while secretary of state, and that meeting taking place about 3.5 hours.

Let's get straight to CNN Chris Frates with more details on what you know. Chris?

[13:00:00] FRATES: Hey Fred, yes, so big news here with Hillary Clinton finally sitting down and meeting with the FBI. This is been something that's been in the works for some time now. And we have a statement from the Hillary Clinton campaign, from one of her spokespeople.