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Trump to Leave Businesses Before January 20; Children Trapped in Aleppo Under Heavy Attack; The Murder of JonBenet Ramsey; Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired December 13, 2016 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: International holdings. International holdings. There may or may not be, I don't know, Chinese banking money, Russian banking money. There could be Middle Eastern money.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Right, it's the unknown that are unclear here.

ROMANS: We don't -- and I'm not saying there are. I'm saying we don't know. He operates in, you know, 25 different countries. A little bit of financial disclosure there would be nice. But you know, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George Bush, they put things in a -- in a black box, in a blind trust. Donald Trump's name is on this empire, you know. I don't know how you take his name off the empire, that's not going to happen.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And it seems right now he's going to leave the running of the business to his two sons.

ROMANS: That's right.

COSTELLO: Ivanka Trump it seems will not be involved because she's going to move to Washington with her husband Jared Kushner and both of them are going to play some sort of role in Trump's administration but we don't know what, right?

STELTER: And to his credit, we do have, what is it, about five more weeks until inauguration day. So we're sort of at the halfway mark between election day and inauguration day. I think what's intriguing about this is, you wonder how much thought was given to this before election day. Surely Mr. Trump must have thought about these issues coming up if he were to be elected.

COSTELLO: You think? Do you think he really did?

STELTER: But it doesn't seem -- well, it doesn't seem as if there was a formal plan that was thought about before election day.

COSTELLO: Because I thought Ivanka Trump was his point person for the business.

ROMANS: Yes. But bow Ivanka Trump is the most popular of the Trumps around the world. She is -- her merchandise with her name in Japan, for example, and around the world. She has become a role model and icon. She's more popular and more I guess sought after now as kind of an American symbol. So it's interesting that she'll be going -- some have said maybe as a kind of surrogate daughter-first lady type, ceremonial role while her husband takes a special advisory role. So it looks like she is stepping away from the business. But she has a business that has millions of dollars of revenue every year that bears her name, too, so that will be fascinating to see how they do that.

COSTELLO: But she also wants to get involved in child care policies.

ROMANS: That's right.

COSTELLO: Working women across the country. That's all good.

ROMANS: She could very well become the face of the things that are not conservative in the Donald Trump administration. And by that I mean, climate change, and by that I mean, you know, worker policies, paid leave policies. They're not popular among the business -- the business centric, you know, mainstream Republicans. She might very well, take that role, sort of separate or isolate her father from antagonizing conservative Republicans.

COSTELLO: All right. I have to leave it there. Christine Romans, Brian Stelter, thanks to both of you.

STELTER: Thanks.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Aleppo is on the brink of falling. Dozens of children trapped as pro-government forces execute innocent civilians.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:35:49] COSTELLO: A complete meltdown of humanity. That's what a spokesperson for the United Nations is calling the dire situation in Aleppo, Syria right now. The latest unfolding emergency, the U.N. says about 100 children are now trapped in a building in Eastern Aleppo and that building is under heavy attack. A doctor on the ground says they've been separated from their parents.

This comes after the U.N. cited reports that pro-government forces killed 82 civilians including 11 women and 13 children. The reports say forces loyal to the Syrian regime shooting people on the spot.

All of this happening in Eastern Aleppo. And that's where 7-year-old Bana and her family have been hiding out. Bana's Twitter feed highlighting the toll the war is taking on Syria's children. Her last tweet, 10 hours ago. Quote, "My name is Bana. I'm 7 years old. I am talking to the world now live from East Aleppo. This is my last moment to either live or die. Bana."

CNN's Frederik Pleitgen live in Beirut with more. Hi, Fred.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol, you know, it really just shows how horrible the situation is on the ground there in Aleppo and also how it changes really from moment to moment. At this point, it's really unclear what the situation, for instance, of Bana and her family is and what it will be in the coming hours.

The Syrian government is saying they're in the final stages of clearing out those final pockets that the rebels hold there in Eastern Aleppo. And again, it's unclear whether or not these atrocities actually took place that you were mentioning before. The U.N. says it has reports that they believe could be credible. It's also unclear how many people have actually been killed in the past days, in the past hours.

And there's a group on the ground called the White Helmets that actually helps pull people from the rubble when a lot of these houses are destroyed and they're saying, and I quote, this is also a tweet, "There is no total number of casualties in besieged Aleppo today. The streets and destroyed buildings are full with dead bodies," quote, "It's hell."

And you know, I was on the ground in Aleppo just a couple of days ago. And I think one thing we need to make clear to our viewers is that the firepower that's been unleashed on those areas is much more than we've seen even by the standards of Syria's civil war. It was battles that were ongoing. There was no stop, there were very heavy weapons that were being used and that's why it's so difficult to come by any sort of information, except for -- especially right now, as those Syrian government forces move in.

And a lot of the sources of information that we've been getting, really they're offline at this point because many of them are on the run, Carol.

COSTELLO: So, Frederik, who is responsible for this target killing of civilians in Aleppo?

PLEITGEN: Well, you know, the U.N. says that they have reports that it's pro-government forces that are doing this. And we have to keep in mind that there's a lot of different groups that are fighting on the side of the Syrian government. You have obviously the Syrian military itself. You have a Shiite forces from Iraq. You have Iranian forces. You have Hezbollah, a group here from Lebanon, that's fighting on the ground as well. And then of course you have the Russians with its air force and also with some ground forces again.

Now once again we have to point out that these reports are not verified yet, they're not confirmed yet. The U.N. says the people who told them this are people who have been trustworthy. But it's difficult even for them to come by information because many of them are on the run and the Syrian government for its part has not commented on this yet. But if course there is huge concern for the safety of many of those civilians who right now are trying to get out of harm's way as these battles are really in a very, very decisive and very harsh phase, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Frederik Pleitgen, reporting from Beirut, this morning.

Up next in the NEWSROOM, I'll talk with Franklin Graham about the plight of the children in Syria and his push to help children worldwide this holiday season.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:43:35] COSTELLO: Before the break, we just saw a compelling story of a little girl in Aleppo, but she is just one of so many people, so many children who have suffered in that city. Hundreds of thousands of people have died in that civil war. It's been raging since 2011. And many of those who died are children.

With me now is Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritans Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Welcome, I'm so glad you're here.

FRANKLIN GRAHAM, PRESIDENT AND CEO, SAMARITANS PURSE: Thank you, Carol.

COSTELLO: I see you have a gift.

GRAHAM: You know, I do. And it's Christmas and I love Christmas, and we need a break from politics. This year, Samaritans Purse, we are gathering over 12 million of shoe boxes just like this and we'll go to 130 countries with them. And some of them will be in Syria. We're going to Iraq with them. Especially the kids coming out of Mosul right now.

But this is all packed by individual families. We have several hundred thousand volunteers that help us put these boxes together. And I want every child in the world to know that God loves them and that he cares for them and this is what Christmas is all about.

You know, the bible says that God so loved the world. God sent his son Jesus Christ to this world to take our sins and die on a cross for our sins. I want the children of the world to know that God loves them. And he will forgive their sins.

COSTELLO: How can you get that message to, for example, children in Syria? You're -- it's such a message of hope and I don't mean to dim that. But, you know, what I just saw with Fred Pleitgen's report is so disturbing. 100 children trapped in a building that's being bombed right now.

GRAHAM: No -- absolutely.

[10:45:02] That's right. And that's why I want the children -- when we give these gifts to kids like that, that are coming out of Mosul, that are coming out of Aleppo, I want them to know that they aren't forgotten, that God loves them, because these are kids that are -- have lived in horror, they've lived in hell. And they have experienced and seen things that we would never dream of. And it's important that we reach out to these children and tell them that God loves them. And we love them.

COSTELLO: And I know that you do work in countries like Syria and you do work in Iraq. In fact, you said in Mosul, Iraq, you're going to building a hospital. GRAHAM: Right.

COSTELLO: Which is going to be up and running by Christmas Day.

GRAHAM: Christmas Day.

COSTELLO: Which is great. But many Americans, well, they're not receptive to Syrian refugees or children. And some of them have no place to go. So what do you say to those refugees, those children who can't escape their war-torn country and have nowhere to go?

GRAHAM: Well, we go to they and we help them there. That's what we do. We can't --

COSTELLO: It's very hard to get into Syria right now or anywhere near Aleppo.

GRAHAM: Well, we've got people there right now. And you can get into Syria. But it's dangerous, no question about it. Any type during the war zone, it's dangerous. And Samaritans Purse has teams of people. And that's what we do. We go into these difficult places of the world to try to help people there.

America can't take all the people in the world. You just can't do it. We've got to find ways and avenues to assist people near their home. Most Syrians don't want to come to America anyway. They want to go back to their homes but their homes are destroyed.

COSTELLO: No, no. I interviewed a Syrian couple who wants to do exactly that.

GRAHAM: We need to help them get back --

COSTELLO: But home Syria is totally destroyed. There's no home to go to.

GRAHAM: Well, after --

COSTELLO: They have no choice but to go to another country.

GRAHAM: Well, if you take after Second World War, most of Europe was destroyed. You have to build it back. And we've got to help the Syrians find a political solution and open up the avenue to rebuild.

COSTELLO: And you know I'm going to ask you that tough question now. What is the political solution in Syria?

GRAHAM: Well, you're going to have to get the United States and Russia together along with the Syrians and the opposition and work out a solution.

COSTELLO: But Germany's chancellor just said Russia is in part responsible for the killing of civilians in Aleppo.

GRAHAM: It's a war and there have been civilians that are killed on both sides, no question about it. COSTELLO: Hundreds and thousands of civilians.

GRAHAM: Yes. And this has been going on a long time. Probably could have all been averted if President Obama, when he said this is a line in the sand, if you cross it, this is what we're going to do, and he did nothing. And so we have to go back to that point.

COSTELLO: So what can President-elect Trump -- how can he establish a relationship with Russia that would stop the violence in Syria? What do you do? Does he not support Bashar al-Assad anymore? Like what does he do?

GRAHAM: I can't answer that question. I think no question, we're going to have to talk to the Russians. You can't ignore them. They're there. Just like Benjamin Netanyahu, when Russia put their troops into northern Syria, he went to talk to them. He said, listen, we don't need something that would escalate out of control and we start a hot conflict. We need to work together to defeat these enemies and that's what they're doing. And we need to work with Russia. We need to work with the Syrian government.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: So you're all for normalizing relations with Russia and --

GRAHAM: Of course, this is the largest land mass in the world. They've got nuclear weapons. One of the largest armies in the world. And we're just going to say, we don't like you guys?

COSTELLO: And you're not concerned that Senator Mitch McConnell just came out and said Russia is not our friend?

GRAHAM: Well, they're not our friend. But they were our friend.

COSTELLO: Senator John McCain said Vladimir Putin is a thug.

GRAHAM: Listen, there's a lot of thugs in this world. But we've got to find a way to talk to the thugs. We've got to find a way to work with the thugs so that we can have peace in this world. If we just sit back with our arms folded and say, you know, we're not going to talk to you, guys, then nothing gets done. And that's the problem with the politicians in Washington. They sit down there and they do nothing.

Now we've got a man who's coming into the White House who wants to get things done. And I hope and I pray, we all as Americans, we need to pray for the president-elect and vice president-elect. They're going to be taking control of the reins of government very soon.

COSTELLO: Let me just --

GRAHAM: We need to pray for them.

COSTELLO: Let me just stop you right there and ask you about the divisiveness in the country because there's a great divide in this country right now, right? GRAHAM: Yes.

COSTELLO: Right. And some people can't see any way to deal --

GRAHAM: But Trump didn't divide it. He didn't divide it. This was divided long before --

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: No, I think Democrats -- but see, when you say things like that, I think that Democrats in the audience are saying, oh, come on. Republicans are saying yes, go.

GRAHAM: No. I'm not a Republican. So --

COSTELLO: But don't we need --

GRAHAM: I'm not a Republican so --

COSTELLO: I know. I know but I'm just telling you how people receive those remarks. So if you want to heal the divisiveness in the country, what can be done? What should we do? What should our leaders do?

GRAHAM: Start working to make America great again. That's what Trump wants to do. We need jobs. We need to get employment up. We need to have hope for the future. And the only way you're going to have hope for the future is if a kid goes to college and comes out and knows I can get a job. And I can get a good-paying job and they've got --

(CROSSTALK) COSTELLO: Well, those people are getting jobs, frankly. College graduates.

GRAHAM: A lot of them are not. And there's lot of people out there that are unemployed. And when you see our factories go to other countries and then let them bring their products back in with no tariffs. This is terrible. We've lost -- I live in North Carolina where so much of our manufacturing base has gone to other countries and people are out of jobs, out of work.

[10:50:02] And they said, but we'll retrain you. We'll let you be a computer programmer. They don't want to be a computer programmer. They want to do the same job that their fathers and their grandfathers, when there was pride in the manufacturing and building. And we've taken all that away. It's sad.

COSTELLO: Oh, man, you've opened a can of worms and I'm going to have a conversation with you later. I'm going to hunt you down.

GRAHAM: OK, Carol.

COSTELLO: Reverend Graham, thanks for stopping by. I do appreciate it.

GRAHAM: Merry Christmas.

COSTELLO: Merry Christmas.

I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Checking some top stories at 54 minutes past. In Georgia, six officers have been shot in six days. The latest happening last night in the city of Lavonia. The gunman right now at large after shooting two officers while they were trying to arrest him. Both officers in last night's shooting are expected to be OK. As for the other four shootings, two officers have died.

A judge says Bill Cosby's deposition on sex and drugs charges will be allowed in his upcoming criminal case. Right now the same judge is hearing arguments on whether to let as many as 13 accusers confront him in court. Prosecutors in the Andrea Constand case say they want to show a pattern of behavior over decades. Cosby's defense is expected to argue only Constand should be allowed to testify. Cosby's criminal trial set for next June.

Former Pennsylvania congressman, Chakah Fattah, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Fattah was found guilty Monday of racketeering, fraud and money laundering.

[10:55:01] A judge finding that Fatah has misspent government funds and charity money to fund a past campaign and cover personal expenses. He's expected to appeal the conviction.

Check your kitchen cabinet. Cuisinart is recalling eight million food processors because of a blade malfunction. Nearly 100 people have found broken blades in their processed food. Dozens have even sliced their mouth or broken their teeth. The recall applies to 32 different models made between 1996 and 2015.

Nearly two decades ago, a 6-year-old beauty queen was found murdered in her own home. Today, that murder remains unsolved. We're talking of course about JonBenet Ramsey. With the 20-year anniversary on her death coming up on December 26, CNN is digging into the mystery.

Jean Casarez has a rare interview with her father John Ramsey about finding his daughter's body and that odd ransom note.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On New Year's Eve in their hometown, Atlanta, Georgia, the family buried JonBenet.

JOHN RAMSEY, FATHER: I think it's the worst thing a human being can experience, is the loss of a child.

CASAREZ: But things for John and Patsy were about to get even worse. Investigators had grown suspicious.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of things didn't make sense. Why would they leave a ransom note with her body still in the house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My first impression was this guy wrote the Magna Carta.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You will withdraw $118,000 from your account.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I were kidnapping this guy's daughter, I'd ask for a quarter million. Half million. A million dollars. So the amount of money is just really odd to me.

CASAREZ: The Ramseys thought so, too.

JOHN RAMSEY: What's that mean? We looked at Psalm 118. Was it a biblical -- where did this number come from?

CASAREZ (on camera): When did it hit you that the $118,000 equated to your Christmas bonus?

JOHN RAMSEY: It didn't initially. Because that bonus had actually occurred a year earlier, in January of '96, but it was on every pay stub that I got.

CASAREZ (voice-over): Police asked the Ramseys for handwriting samples. John gave them two notepads.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These pads were pads that were kept by the telephone and each, John and Patsy had their own pads.

CASAREZ: Detectives concluded the ransom note was written on pages torn out of Patsy's notepad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Jean Casarez joins me now. It's just a fascinating case on so many levels.

CASAREZ: I know. Once you start thinking about it and talking about it and looking at the evidence that there is, you just can't stop talking about it. You know, John Ramsey doesn't like to relive it. He does not do interviews. Very rarely. But we were able to go into a remote small little town that he now lives in that he does not want disclosed for privacy reasons. And I spoke to him for hours.

And the insight you get as he relives this, and it was emotional for him to relive it, and questions because he and his wife were indicted unanimously by a grand jury but the prosecutor did not bring charges because he couldn't believe he could prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. But that true bill of indictment was returned.

One note, so fascinating, when he found her body, there was duct tape on her mouth, which I don't think we really know about. He ripped it off because he just couldn't stand having his daughter with the duct tape. And I spoke with acclaimed forensic expert, Dr. Daniel Spitz, who said to me it's a shame that the duct tape was taken off because that could have been a mechanism of death. We'll never know. But it was a brutal death.

COSTELLO: So does he have any idea who could have killed his daughter to this day? CASAREZ: He believes that it's someone that he worked with.

Remember, he had a company that had made $1 billion that year in Boulder. He believes it was someone within the company that knew of him because of that $118,000, which was the bonus that year. They knew intricate things about him in the ransom note, which was a hoax, because it wasn't a -- it wasn't a kidnapping at all. But that's what the experts tell him.

COSTELLO: Well, you know what many people suspect, they suspect his son.

CASAREZ: Right.

COSTELLO: His son was on Dr. Phil recently, right? So how do --

CASAREZ: Which was controversial.

COSTELLO: Yes, very controversial. So do they still have a close relationship?

CASAREZ: Oh, very close, extremely close. And we have some pictures of his son that have never been brought out before tonight. His response to that is, it's ludicrous, that he was a 9-year-old little boy. It was a brutal violent crime. He couldn't have done it. He was a good child. They had a wonderful relationship and he's very angry about those allegations.

COSTELLO: I can understand why he lives in a remote town because he'd never be left alone. Even to this day, even though it happened 20 years ago.

CASAREZ: Yes.

COSTELLO: Well, Jean Casarez, I can't wait to watch the special.

CASAREZ: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Thanks so much for stopping by.

CNN's Special Report, "The Murder of JonBenet Ramsey," airs tonight 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific Time. 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 is off today. The waiting game is over. The winner --