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Mitch McConnell Supports Bipartisan Probe on Russian Hacking; Interview with Olympian Ibtihaj Muhammad; Wave of Terror Strikes Three Cities; Frosty the Snowman Stabbed by Masked Assailant. Aired 10:30- 11a ET
Aired December 12, 2016 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[10:32:19] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me.
I want to take you to Capitol Hill right now because the Senate's top Republican, Mitch McConnell, he just said he is all for a bipartisan investigation into Russia's alleged meddling into the U.S. election.
Manu Raju was there. He has the front row seat. Tell us more, Manu.
MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Carol. Indeed he does support a bipartisan review but he wants that review done through existing committees in here, in the United States Senate. That includes the Senate Intelligence Committee. The Senate Armed Services Committee. He seems to be rejecting calls for a bipartisan commission, like a 9/1-style commission that some folks want to do about Russia. He just wants to do it with the existing channels.
Now through this -- in this press conference, he knew he had to respond on Russia and he came out with a statement right at the top saying that any hack into the political systems should be condemned and he also made very clear about his own personal views on Russia. Take a listen.
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SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MAJORITY LEADER: The Russians are not our friend. They invaded Crimea. Senator McCain and I, and some of our Democratic friends, met with the delegation from the Baltic countries just this past week. To say that they are nervous about the Russians, to put it mildly.
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RAJU: Now, Carol, McConnell is also very careful not to criticize Donald Trump. He would not talk about Donald Trump's views on Russia. And I asked him specifically, do you think the Russians were trying to steer the election to Donald Trump and he would not comment. He stuck to that opening statement. Also would not comment on Rex Tillerson, the likely secretary of State pick for Donald Trump. So he was very careful in his assessment about this Russia situation -- Carol. COSTELLO: So, Manu, with what Mitch McConnell said today, it is
likely that some sort of hearings will be held on Capitol Hill about Russia and the U.S. election?
RAJU: Yes. That's absolutely right. And we're expecting that to happen and through the Senate Armed Services Committee, John McCain, the chairman of that committee, and also subcommittees on that panel as well, led by Senator Lindsey Graham. So watch for that. And also classified hearings through the Senate Intelligence Committee. So this issue, not going away -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Manu Raju reporting live for us on Capitol Hill. Thanks so much.
So as you heard, the CIA making this remarkable allegation, Russia interfered with the U.S. election to help put Donald Trump in the White House. A former acting director of the intelligence agency Michael Morrell tells Decipher Brief, a global security platform, if that is true it is an attack on our very democracy. He goes on to say, this is the political equivalent of 9/11. CNN's intelligence analyst and former CIA operative Bob Baer took it a step farther.
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ROBERT BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: If we had been caught interfering in European elections or Asian elections, or anywhere in the world, those countries would call for new elections. Any democracy would.
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[10:35:08] COSTELLO: OK. So that is extreme because nobody in the United States is calling for a new election. But it is an intriguing question, right? What would it take to de-legitimatize an American election?
With me now is Richard Hassan, an election law expert and a political science professor at UC Irvine.
Welcome, sir.
RICHARD HASEN, ELECTION LAW AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE EXPERT: Hi. How you doing?
COSTELLO: Hi. I'm good. It's been kind of an incredible morning. So, Richard, what does it take to de-legitimatize an American election?
HASEN: Look, if you're talking about what it would take to cause a new election, if we weren't talking about a presidential election, well, narrowly what we're looking for is fraud and how the votes are counted or people who are voting in such large numbers that it would make a judge think that the election was not done in a way where you express the will of the voters. It wouldn't be based on just the leaking or stealing of information that's given to voters and that might influence the outcome of the election. But it's even more complicated here because we just have a single
election date for the president and there really isn't a provision in the Constitution for a do-over even if it's something that courts thought needed to be done.
COSTELLO: So is there a -- when you talk about de-legitimatizing an election, is there a difference between a foreign entity influencing an election by hacking into e-mails, hacking into computers, disseminating information through another entity, you know, as in WikiLeaks, and then actually hacking into voter systems across the country and tampering with the election in that way?
HASEN: Right. And I think that's very important to note that, despite all the talk we're hearing about hacking and about problems with how the election was run, there really is no indication that the voting machines themselves were hacked, that the vote totals were changed. We have a recount now going on in Wisconsin. The numbers are changing very little. So this is not the kind of situation where we think the actual numbers of votes have been manipulated by a foreign entity. If that were the situation, we'd be in a very different posture and, as I said, if it were not a presidential election, that would potentially be the situation for a do-over. It's a very rare thing but not really in a presidential election do we have the mechanism to even do it if we had that kind of problem.
COSTELLO: OK. So let me ask you the question this way. Is it possible that Russia could have influenced Americans to vote in a certain way? Is that possible in America?
HASEN: Sure. I mean, any time information -- if we talk about the October surprise, any time information is sent out by someone or released or some new bombshell you can think of the "Access Hollywood" tape, too. That also may have influenced how some people voted. But influencing how people voted is not the same as fraud on the election that would be a basis for having a new election.
COSTELLO: So when the former acting director of the Intelligence Agency, Mike Morell, says that this is the political equivalent of 9/11, is he exaggerating?
HASEN: Well, I mean, I think that's for someone else to judge. I -- you know, how important this is as a matter of foreign interference in the American election, that's -- I do think that's an issue for the nuts and bolts of how we decide how to conduct our elections but I do think it's an issue about the integrity of our democracy that needs to be thoroughly investigated.
COSTELLO: Richard Hasen, thanks for joining me this morning.
Coming up in the NEWSROOM, a one-on-one with our nation's first Muslim-American Olympian. A candid discussion on her life post- election.
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IBTIHAJ MUHAMMAD, U.S. OLYMPIC FENCER: When you have someone who sits in the seat of power, who makes hateful statements about your race, about your religion, about your gender, it's hard for us to get over these things. It's hard for us to just say, OK, we accept it.
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[10:42:11] COSTELLO: All right. At any minute now, the U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch will speak at one of the nation's largest mosque to detail the Department of Justice's efforts to combat hate crimes in America. She's meeting with religious and community leaders who were talking right now. This comes as the FBI says hate crimes are up. We'll listen to Lynch's speech and bring you any details as they come in.
But Ibtihaj Muhammad who won a bronze medal at the Olympics in fencing is on board with Attorney General Lynch. She fears for Muslim Americans in our political environment. I sat down with her to talk about the Olympics, her role model status and how we can heal as a nation.
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COSTELLO: How have the Olympics changed your life?
MUHAMMAD: From the moment I qualified for the Olympics, it felt so much bigger than me in the sense that it was this moment for me to use my platform to change the storyline for the Muslim community, to change the narrative of who a Muslim woman is.
COSTELLO: How do you heal a divided nation?
MUHAMMAD: I feel like that's a question so many of us, like, wake up asking ourselves, like what do we do next?
COSTELLO: Is it exaggerated? I mean, do we just feel that we're intensely divided?
MUHAMMAD: I think there's been a significant increase in hate crimes and just the rhetoric, the bigoted rhetoric that I feel like that we hear within the last few months specifically. And I don't think that it's in our heads. I think that this is actually happening, and we have to acknowledge that it's happening.
COSTELLO: Now that Donald Trump is president-elect, do you feel more discrimination? Have you experienced more hardship because of that?
MUHAMMAD: I personally haven't, but I can't ignore the things that I read and I see in the news. I think of myself as a strong person. I believe in who I am, I believe in my religious beliefs, I'm a confident person but at the same time, I don't think I'm any different from anyone else in the sense that I can easily be a target of a hate crime.
COSTELLO: I can hear many Trump supporters say, you know, it's time to just get over it. Donald Trump is president of the United States. What would you say to them?
MUHAMMAD: When you have someone who sits in the seat of power, who makes hateful statements about your race, about your religion, about your gender, it's hard for us to get over these things. It's hard for us to just say, OK, we accept it. That's not the America that I know.
COSTELLO: Why do you believe that some of white America think they've been forgotten?
MUHAMMAD: It's hard for me to believe that President-elect Trump has had the support of middle America, people who don't fall in the 1 percent who really can stand behind someone who doesn't have their best interest at heart.
COSTELLO: So you think Donald Trump is fooling that constituency that voted for him?
MUHAMMAD: I think there will be quite a few groups who supported him throughout his run for president, who will unpleasantly surprised with the outcome.
[10:45:04] I don't think that someone like me, who is not part of the 1 percent, who is not white, who is not a male, is going to benefit from a Donald Trump presidency.
COSTELLO: What would you say to those people who think that minorities get everything at the expense of the white working class?
MUHAMMAD: I think that that's kind of a laughable statement. It is difficult even in this time to walk down the street as a woman, to walk down the street as a racial minority, as a religious minority, and those aren't ideas that we just kind of pull out of thin air. That's a reality of minorities and women in our country.
COSTELLO: I've heard from so many Trump supporters who say, you know, he doesn't mean everything he says.
MUHAMMAD: When you make racially charged statements and bigoted statements, you incite fear, you incite hate, you incite violence. When you tell a room full of people at a rally that you wish someone would punch someone in the face and it happens, you can't say, oh, I didn't know that they would actually do those things. You can't potentially be surprised that it's happening. And we have to curve that before it really gets out of control.
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COSTELLO: I also talked with Ibtihaj about her work with young people especially her work with young women. I asked her about the advice she gives them. Ibtihaj told me, she tells these young women to, quote, "be proud of who you are and proud of how far you've come," adding, "You can't allow anyone to change or dictate your own journey."
I'll be right back.
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[10:50:13] COSTELLO: Three cities hit by a terror attack. We'll start in Cairo where a suicide bomber killed dozens inside a Coptic Christian church. The blast happening during a worship service on Sunday morning. At least 24 parishioners killed.
Then a deadly car bomb in Mogadishu, Somalia leaves at least 20 people dead. The attack targeting police officers. Police also believed to be the target in a pair of twin blasts in Istanbul, Turkey. The death toll now rising there.
CNN's Mohammed Lila is live in Istanbul with more.
Hi, Lila.
MUHAMMAD LILA, CNN COMMENTATOR: Reporter: Hi, Carol. So, overnight, Turkish warplanes bombarded the suspected Kurdish militant outpost in northern Iraq. 24 separate air strikes on 12 locations. So we're starting to see some of the revenge that the Turkish president talked about in retaliation for these heinous attacks, these bombs that happened over the weekend.
Also more than 200 people have been arrested for suspected links to Kurdish militant groups. Now because there's still a state of emergency here in Turkey, those people that have been arrested and detained could wind up staying behind bars for several weeks, if not months. And it comes after these heinous twin blast over the weekend targeting fans as they left a soccer stadium after the match had been finished. More than 40 people killed out of the more than 30 of them were police officers who were just on duty providing crowd control when these two explosions went off.
COSTELLO: Muhammad Lila, many thanks to you.
Today marks six months since the deadliest mass public shooting in U.S. history and the worst terror attack on U.S. soil since 9/11. 49 people died and 53 were wounded at Orlando's Pulse nightclub. This morning, a moment of silence was held for the victims of the attack. Only those directly connected to the shootings were involved. Later -- later on today, there will be a public event with a performance by the Orlando Gay Chorus.
I'll be right back.
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[10:55:48] COSTELLO: The gunman who shot and killed former New Orleans Saints football star Will Smith after a traffic incident last April has been convicted of manslaughter. Late last night a jury also found 29-year-old Cardell Hayes guilty of attempted manslaughter for wounding Smith's wife Raquel. Hayes was facing more charges of second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder but the jury convicted him on lesser counts.
Boeing makes a deal with Iran, agreeing to sell eight jets to Iranian Air. This is the biggest deal between the United States and Iran in nearly 40 years. It was all made possible after the U.S. lifted sanctions against Iran in September. Boeing says the agreement will support tens of thousands of U.S. jobs.
Factory workers from two companies, including Carrier, are praying for a Christmas miracle. They are hoping a plan for pending job cuts will not happen.
This is what it looked like over the weekend as employees gathered, spending for that prayer vigil. Carrier still has plans to move more than 500 jobs to Mexico. As you know, last week, President-elect Trump came under fire for inflating the number of jobs saved through a deal made with the company.
And the nominees for the Golden Globes are --
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy, "20th Century Women," "Deadpool," "Florence Foster Jenkins, "La La Land," "Sing Street."
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COSTELLO: "La La Land" proved to be the early favorite, picking up seven nominations including Best Picture and Best Director. As for Best Actor in a Drama, Casey Affleck, Denzel Washington among those getting a nod, and the nominees for Best Actress in a Drama, Amy Adams, Jessica Chastain and Natalie Portman. All of this year's list. The award ceremony will be held next month. This year's host, by the way, is Jimmy Fallon.
Frosty the Snowman injured after someone stabbed the giant snowman. Who else would have this story but Jeanne Moos.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's kind of chilling to hear that -- has been stabbed?
JEFF DIGS, ST. LOUIS RESIDENT: It's just mean spirited. I mean, it's silly vandalism.
MOOS: St. Louis resident Jeff Digs discovered the diabolical attack on his inflatable snowman when he came home from work.
DIGS: That's when I saw the big hole that had been gashed in his side.
MOOS: He immediately checked his surveillance camera video. At 11:22 p.m. a masked passenger jumps out of a pickup and makes a beeline for Frosty, viciously stabbing him, then trying to cut the rope and finally escaping in the getaway vehicle.
What could be sadder than watching Frosty slowly, slowly, ever so slowly deflate? The good news --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am alive.
MOOS: But he did require extensive surgery.
DIGS: I put nine stitches in him. And he's doing well.
MOOS: To pay Frosty's medical bills, Digs jokingly set up a go-fund me page. The modest proceeds will actually go to charity. And he used "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" to attack the attacker by posting the surveillance video with a sound track.
(On camera): Digs didn't bother to call police figuring they have more important things to investigate, so the Frosty slasher remains at large.
(Voice-over): And you can't blame Frosty for being nervous after experiencing this.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
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COSTELLO: It's amazing how fast that deflated. Very mean.
Thank you for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello. "AT THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND BOLDUAN" starts now.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Berman. This morning Donald Trump suggested that CIA assessments that Russia interfered in U.S. elections were not accurate and he did it by making statements that are not true. Yesterday the president-elect called the CIA's claim ridiculous. He said it's just another excuse to undermine his victory.
