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Dylann Roof Convicted on all 33 Charges; Evacuations Suspended in Aleppo; Trump's Pick for Israeli Ambassador; Inside the Cuban baseball Kidnapping Machine; Actor Exposes London's Hidden Gems. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired December 16, 2016 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:30:28] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

Dylann Roof convicted on all charges in last summer's massacre inside the Emanuel AME Church. Roof standing silently as each verdict was read aloud, guilty 33 times over. His crime shaking America to the core, shooting at point blank range nine African-Americans who, moments before, had been praying with him. With sentencing set to begin next month, the jury will soon decide life behind bars or death.

Joining me now from Charlotte, North Carolina, is Malcolm Graham. He's the brother of Cynthia Hurd, one of the nine victims.

Welcome, sir.

MALCOLM GRAHAM, BROTHER OF VICTIM CYNTHIA HURD: Thank you for having me.

COSTELLO: Where were you when you heard the verdict?

GRAHAM: Actually, I was driving back from Greensboro, North Carolina, to Charlotte. I was in the courtroom for a week and a half and had a business meeting on Thursday, yesterday. And there was no need for me to be there to hear the verdict. Many of us knew a year and a half ago that he was guilty. But I was in the car listening to CNN, actually, and I heard the breaking news that the jury came back and he was guilty on 33 counts.

COSTELLO: What went through your mind as you were hearing that?

GRAHAM: You know, it's bittersweet. You know, I sat in that courtroom for a week and a half, and it was just heartbreaking. Heartbreaking to hear how he planned and plotted and he massacred nine individuals that many of whom I knew. Obviously my sister Cynthia was there. Watching her go into the church happy, laughing, and to be carried out on a stretcher dead three hours later, it was just heartbreaking.

COSTELLO: So the punishment phase of the trial will start soon. Dylann Roof is going to act as his own attorney. Will you be present in the courtroom for that? GRAHAM: I will. He has a constitutional right to do that. And so if

that's what he wants to do, I'm fine with it. But I believe, as I said earlier, that he has to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The jury came back on 33 counts, guilty as charged. Now, in January, we go into another phase. And if there's any case in America where the death penalty is deserved, it is this one. The crime was premeditated. It was calculated. He - it was an attack not only of those individuals who were there that night, he terrorized five others who were there.

But more importantly, Carol, this was an attack on a race of people. Those who died that night simply died because they were there, and that they were black. That type of hate, that type of discrimination, that type of just evil has no place in a civilized society, and has no place in America's smallest jail.

COSTELLO: Will you take the stand in the punishment phase of the trial?

GRAHAM: If called upon, I will. Obviously, I knew my sister very well. She was personable. She was sharp. She was candid. She loved life. She loved her community. She was a librarian in Charleston for 31 years. She served on the housing authority down there for 21 years. Not only was she a big sister to me, but she was a role model. My mother died when I was 21 years old. So Cynthia served not only as a big sister, but as a mentor and a mother figure. So the community lost a community asset that night. And if called upon to tell the community who Cynthia was, and how she lived, and what type of loss the Charleston community has suffered because of her death, I'm well prepared to do that.

COSTELLO: If you do take the stand, Dylann Roof will be the one asking you questions. Will you look at him square in the eyes, and - and what would - what would you say?

GRAHAM: Well, you know, again he has the right to do that. I will say that he's an evil killer. That he's a coward. He - you know, he said during the trial that came out that he didn't go to attack gang members because they might fight back, or he waited until those who - their eyes were closed before he started firing. He's a coward. He's a racist. And as I said earlier, there is no place in a civilized society for him and there's no place in America's smallest jail for him. And so I believe as the attorney general has recommended this case to be a capital case. That he ought to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

[09:35:21] COSTELLO: Malcolm Graham, thank you so much for - for being with me this morning. I do appreciate it.

GRAHAM: Thank you for having me.

COSTELLO: You're welcome.

Let's step back in Syria where evacuations have now been suspended for those trapped in that war-torn city, the city of Aleppo. Syrian state television reporting there was a breach in the evacuation agreement and that in their words terrorists are targeting a key crossing along with two Shiite towns where an alternate evacuation is happening. But activists blame Shiites living in Aleppo who they claim are stopping buses. Between six and nine convoys have now departed eastern Aleppo with thousands of people aboard. And for those who managed to escape, motional scenes are unfolding as they recall the horrors they left behind.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): (INAUDIBLE) So many people killed, and we couldn't even get to them to save them or bury them. No hospitals. No nothing.

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COSTELLO: OK, so let's talk about this. Joining me now, CNN's senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen and international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson.

Welcome to both of you.

So, Fred, I don't think anybody was really confidence that the evacuation order would stay in place and that all of the civilians would manage to get out safely. Any surprise to you?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, you know, we've been talking about it so much about the tragedy of what's been going on in Aleppo as we've been speaking throughout this week and I think one of the things that we kept pointing out is the - how fragile the situation there on the ground was, how volatile the situation on the ground was and that one of the big issues was always the fact that there were so many different militias, so many different groups fighting on both sides that all of this could fall apart at any point in time.

Now, it seems as though the first hours that all this was going on, it went exceptionally smoothly, with several convoys making it out of eastern Aleppo, then going through those western districts and going back into rebel-held territory in other parts of Syria. But then it seemed as though this one convoy got held up and there you have those differing accounts where, on the one hand, the Syrian government is saying they believe that rebels tried to smuggle weapons out and were attacking a checkpoint crossing, whereas the opposition says it was a Shiite militia that opened fire first and possibly killed several people after holding this convoy up.

In any case, it's devastating for the people who are there on the ground, the people who have been looking to get out. And, you know, we've been also talking about the fact that it's very cold, it's very bad weather in Aleppo, and all these people are extremely weak. They haven't gotten anything real to eat over weeks, some of them over months. They haven't even been able to change their clothes. And all of them were looking to try and get out and get some real attention. It looks as though right now that's not taking place.

All sides involved, especially the ones who are - who got this agreement in place in the first place, say they're working on the situation. The Russians, for their part, making some very strange statements, saying that they believe that all - everybody has already been evacuated from Aleppo. The Turks, for their part, saying they don't believe that's true.

Carol.

COSTELLO: And, Nic, just a word about Bashar al Assad. You know, he's the president of Syria. He likened the liberation of eastern Aleppo to the birth of Christ. He released this video of himself and I hope we have this. He was dressed in a very nice - very - oh, we don't have it. But anyway, he was dressed in a very nice suit. And just the juxtaposition of Bashar al Assad saying that, and people continuing - his people continuing to die in Aleppo, it was just sort of jarring.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: He's called it a moment in history. And if you ask, as people are, anyone who's coming out of the eastern side of Aleppo, it's not the moment in history that Bashar al Assad describes as some heroic triumph to the nation. This is being described as, you know, as a blemish on the state - on the conscience of the international community, equivalent to the genocide in Rwanda, or equivalent to what we witnessed in Srebrenica in the summer of 1995 in Bosnia where the Bosnian Serbs went into a town and massacred 7,000 people.

It is for the people who live there a sense of utter betrayal by the international community, of being let down. So, it's historic. I don't think anyone doubts that at all. But the way that President Bashar al Assad couches it is not something that's going to find support with the opposition in Syria, and in many western capitals, or the western capitals around the world, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Nic Robertson, Frederik Pleitgen, thanks to both of you.

[09:40:01] Still to come in the NEWSROOM, does Donald Trump's new pick for ambassador to Israel complicate the push for peace?

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COSTELLO: He pushed the Republican Party to back away from a two-state solution in the Middle East. Now campaign adviser David Friedman is Trump's choice for U.S. ambassador to Israel. Friedman is a lawyer who once counseled the president-elect on his failed Atlantic City casinos. Now he wants to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, something quite controversial.

I want to bring in CNN's Ian Lee to tell us more.

Hi, Ian.

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.

This could be a seismic shift in U.S. foreign policy toward Israel, the Palestinians, and the peace process with the announcement of David Friedman as the next U.S. ambassador to Israel. Rarely do you have an ambassador who is so outspoken on domestic policy of the country he is going to. And if you were to interject him into Israeli politics, he would fall on the far right. He is a supporter of the settlement movement. So is Naftali Bennett, a member of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, who said, "good luck to David Friedman, the chosen ambassador of the United States to Israel. A great friend of Israel."

Now, the opinions of David Friedman have been wide ranging. On the left, there has been some criticism from one MK, Zehaba Galon (ph), who said, "I like the Jews who sit in the U.S. and are opposed to a two-state solution while we were the ones paying the price. Bibi couldn't have wished himself a better nomination."

[09:45:19] Now, the prime minister, Carol, hasn't given us a reaction to this, but we do have someone from his own party, the deputy foreign minister, who said that, "we welcome the appointment and expect a fruitful, working relationship that will symbolize the milestone in the transfer of the embassy to Jerusalem."

So when you look at this and you look at his appointment, you do see really three things that stand out that could be the shift of U.S. foreign policy. First, you have the status of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem. Up till now, previous U.S. administrations have said that that will be settled in the negotiation process of the peace between the Israelis and Palestinians about the U.S. embassy, where it will be located. Currently it's in Tel Aviv.

You also have the settler movement. Now, David Friedman has been a strong supporter of it. And previous U.S. administrations have called settlements an obstacle to peace. And finally you have the peace process in general. He has come out against that two-state solution, as you have said, and previous U.S. administrations, again, have been a supporter of it. So, really, we are seeing a potential shift in how the U.S. will deal with Israel, with the Palestinians. So far the Palestinians haven't given us an official reaction, but we are hearing from some that there is dismay over this choice.

Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Ian Lee reporting live for us from Jerusalem. Thank you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a disturbing revelation inside America's favorite pastime. The smuggling ring that brought dozens of Cuban athletes into Major League Baseball.

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[09:50:41] COSTELLO: Smuggled and kidnapped moments before signing Major League Baseball contracts. A new CNN Money investigation is uncovering a network of human trafficking, so-called baseball smuggling rings that hold baseball stars captive until Major League Baseball teams scoop them up. Since 2004, at least 25 players were smuggled into the United States, including these five players. Their teams ranging from the Miami Marlins to the Chicago White Sox.

CNN's Jose Pagliery joins me now with more.

This is crazy.

JOSE PAGLIERY, CNN MONEY INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: It is. And, you know what, if you're a fan of sports, this is the kind of thing that will shock you because you don't usually think about human trafficking in relation to sports, right? And here's what we found, all right? So Cuba - in Cuban baseball you can't leave the island, right? These are really talented players that make up to maybe $56 a month. When they see that they can make millions in the United States, there's reason for them to try to leave the island. Now they have a choice. They could either pair up with a smuggler who takes them straight to the United States, but then they would be drafted and have low salaries. Instead, they decide to go through Mexico, where they can get huge salaries and be free agent - get free agent contracts.

Now, this path, however, that involves smugglers, takes these people from Cuba to Mexico and puts them into the hands of a drug cartel, the Zedas (ph). Puts them into the hands of human trafficking networks that also traffic migrants and abuse them. And what these smugglers do is that once they get ahold of this baseball player, this is a prize, this is a gem to them and they can squeeze them for contracts. And they say, I'm your smuggler, but I want to be your agent now. I'm going to force you to sign a contract that will make you my player. So when these players sign contracts with the MLB, what you don't know is that behind the scenes these multimillion dollar deals are actually lining the pockets of smugglers, of drug cartel, of criminal network.

COSTELLO: OK. So, whoa.

PAGLIERY: Yes.

COSTELLO: So is Major League Baseball aware of this?

PAGLIERY: So Major League Baseball would not comment to us when we were doing this series and we gave them multiple chances to do so. We've been working on this for months. It's unclear how much MLB knows, but we have talked to MLB insiders that sort of hint at the fact that this wasn't a secret. And so there's an MLB investigators we spoke to who said that he's going to testify at an upcoming trial about how much the MLB knew. We've spoken to an MLB scout who says there's a criminal element to how Cubans get here, but that's not his problem. He's looking the other way. His job is to sign these people to the majors.

COSTELLO: His job is to win, damn it, right?

PAGLIERY: Right. Right. And so the point here is that when these players arrive in the U.S., they did - they didn't arrive here legally many times and oftentimes they do so in a way that abuses them and takes advantage of them.

COSTELLO: So - so is anybody doing - like the FBI or the - I mean is -

PAGLIERY: The FBI is cracking down on this. ICE is cracking down on this. There's an upcoming trial where a sport agent who's accused of being a smuggler will face these charges. But at least dating back since 2004, the feds have been cracked down on this. They've broken up at least three smuggling rings. And there's more to go.

COSTELLO: That's just fascinating. And there are players playing now who came in through that terrible route playing with the Miami Marlins and the Chicago White Sox.

PAGLIERY: Yes, and they ended up owing money to their smuggler and playing them extorted (ph) contracts.

COSTELLO: That's just a crazy story. Jose Pagliery, thank you so much for enlightening us because I think it's an important story to know. Thank you so much.

PAGLIERY: Happy to do it.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Democrats have a new tactic to fight Donald Trump, sue him. I'll talk with a Massachusetts attorney general about that in the next hour of NEWSROOM.

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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM STURGESS, ACTOR: Welcome to (INAUDIBLE). We're outside (INAUDIBLE), the stables (ph) market. You know, which is really the kind of heart of this cultural, you know, London scene.

Very much the place of a lot of British guitar music. And right behind us you can see a place called Dingwals (ph), which is in the heart of the market there. And Dingwals was really the focal point for a lot of British punk music. You know, bands like the Sex Pistols played there, The Clash. It's imbedded in a lot of musical history.

You know what, I'm fortunate enough that I get to travel around the world a lot with the work that I do. But the one thing that I always look forward to coming back to is having a pint in a north London pub and enjoying one of these amazing London scotch eggs. Cheers.

[09:55:16] Yes, there really is no better place to finish my tour of London than at the top of Primrose Hill were you can see the whole skyline of London. And just to have a moment and just take in this beautiful scene.

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COSTELLO: Checking top stories at 58 minutes past. A seven-hour police standoff finally over in Washington state, but a police officer was shot during the incident. That officer is currently in the hospital. He's in stable condition. The 44-year-old suspect was arrested without incident after seven hours. Two other people are being called persons of interest. They were taken into custody.

The water is safe to drink in some parts of Corpus Christi, Texas, but not everywhere. City officials telling residents in the outlying areas of Calalan (ph) Flower Bluff and Padre Island, they can use their tap water again. The remainder of the city, however, is under restriction. Last Wednesday, residents were told not to use tap water due to a chemical spill in the area.

Famed astronaut John Glenn is lying in repose in Ohio's capital building this morning. A number much tributes will take place tomorrow, including a public processional and a memorial service at Ohio State University's campus. John Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth and a U.S. senator representing Ohio for two decades or more. He died last week.

The sports world in mourning after the death of Turner Sports reporter Craig Sager. He's a sports - he's a sports person best known for his sideline interviews with NBA coaches and players. Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr held a moment of applause for Sager ahead of last night's game.

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STEVE KERR, GOLD STATE WARRIORS HEAD COACH: We mourn his loss, but while we considered a moment of silence, we thought it would be more appropriate, given the way Craig lived his life, and the joy that he brought to so many people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Sager was just inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame. He was just 65 years old.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts now.

[10:00:05] And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

President Obama vowing retaliation against Russia for interfering in the presidential election in the United States.