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Erin Burnett Outfront
Cruz's Epic Waste Of Time?; Is Rouhani For Real?; Disturbing New Navy Yard Shooter Footage Released; Space Flight Just a Quarter of a Million Dollars Away; Inside America's Secret Bomb Lab; Costa Concordia Captain Blames Faulty Ship
Aired September 25, 2013 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Good evening, everyone. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, heroic marathon man or epic time waster. It's one or the other, but there he is pretty looking pretty dapper, I have to say, after 21 hours. Senator Ted Cruz finally stopped talking. Now granted he hadn't had a chance to sleep or shower or change. He looked pretty good, but it was at times confusing, at times amusing and always controversial. Our Dana Bash is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After 21:19, standing on his feet, Ted Cruz finally sat down. Much of his talkathon was against Obamacare.
SENATOR TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: It is a red herring being used to move the country to single payer system.
BASH: But the memorable moments were those that veered off topic.
CRUZ: I wanted to take an opportunity, an opportunity that I don't usually have when I'm in D.C. to read them a couple bedtime stories. I do so like green eggs and ham.
BASH: He tried his own Dr. Seuss.
CRUZ: They did not like Obamacare in a box with a fox and houser with a mouse.
BASH: This was all about firing up the grassroots. He encouraged supporters to tweet him.
CRUZ: Obamacare, isn't nobody got time for that? All caps and three exclamation marks. Make D.C. listen.
BASH: Most Republicans oppose Cruz' mission, trying to defund Obamacare on a must-pass spending bill. They worry it could cause a government shutdown and they get the blame. And they worry it is mired in the process that's hard to explain. Case in point, in the end, he joined all senators in voting for a procedural measure he seemed to argue against. By 1:00 a.m., he got punchy.
CRUZ: A few words of wisdom from Duck Dynasty. Red neck rule number one, most things can be fix with duct tape, extension cords. BASH: When the sun came up, even more so.
CRUZ: Will confess phrase of rebellion, the rebel alliance fighting against the empire. Mike Lee, I am your father.
BASH (on camera): How do you feel standing there so long?
CRUZ: To be honest, I feel terrific. I feel energized that the American people had an opportunity I hope to engage in this debate and to have their voice heard.
BASH: But back on the floor, Cruz was scorched from all sides. Democrats --
SENATOR HARRY REID (D), MAJORITY LEADER: For lack of a better way of describing this, it has been a big waste of time.
BASH: And Republicans. John McCain was furious that Cruz likened GOP detractors to Britain's Neville Chamberlain in World War II, who argued for appeasement of Adolph Hitler.
CRUZ: Let's appease them, why? We can't possibly stand against them. In America there were voices that listened to them.
BASH: McCain said that insulted Americans who fought.
SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Amongst them were my father and grandfather. I do not agree with that comparison. I think it is wrong and I think it is a disservice to those who stood up and shouted at the top of their lungs that we cannot appease.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: Dissension within the party so seriousness and also abviously a lot of humor. As you said he felt energized. I'm sure he hit a wall soon after saying that when the truth hit him. Dana, what happens now?
BASH: What happens now is the process has to finish in the Senate. Now you saw that the vote was 100-0 today so Senator Cruz voted for something he was saying for 21 hours he was against. Presumably he will vote against and it the next procedural measure, again, if this is confusing, that's exactly why Republican leaders hate this strategy.
So at the end of the day, we expect this to finish up in the Senate probably on Friday. That puts the shutdown hot potato back in the House's plate for about three days before the deadline. I'm hearing from there that they plan to change it a little bit, send it back to the Senate. It will go right down to the wire.
BURNETT: I mean, right down to the wire and obviously an embarrassment for everybody involved on all sides. I mean, Dana, as you know, we've been counting the days since America lost that AAA rating, 781 days for those of you who are keeping track. But I mean, Dana, after the showdown fiasco or shutdown fiasco, the risk of a major crisis actually gets bigger, shutdown or not, right?
BASH: Absolutely. The treasury secretary said today that the United States will reach that debt ceiling October 17th. That is just around the corner. And Erin, even as early as this Saturday, the House is likely to work on some kind of bill that would raise the debt ceiling for a year. Guess what? They are going to attach all kinds of things on it.
Obamacare, delaying that for a year is a possibility. Passing that Keystone pipeline is a possibility, dealing with tax reform, at least putting instructions on there and even today at the White House, the spokesman there, Jay Carney said, you know what? We're not negotiating on the debt ceiling.
So right there you are already going to have a collision course on, just as you said, something that is perhaps even more problematic, dire for the economy than the government shutdown.
BURNETT: Absolutely. All right, our Dana Bash, the only one who understands all of this and puts it into English for us. Thank you, Dana.
Our second story, OUTFRONT, a dove or a wolf in sleep's clothing? It's a crucial question for the world. Iran's new president, Hassan Rouhani taking New York by storm this week holding meetings with the French, talking nice to many people, but also snubbing the president of the United States who was actually willing to meet him, and skipping a working lunch with world leaders because alcohol was available.
OUTFRONT tonight, the man representing Iran's long time enemy and America's closest ally in the Middle East, Israel's ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren is with me. Ambassador Orin, it's always a pleasure to be with you. Rouhani spoke at the U.N. A lot of people see it despite that snub of President Obama as a new Iran, one that is willing to negotiate on nukes, a real change. Is he the real deal a dove?
MICHAEL OREN, ISRAEL'S AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: Thanks for hosting me, Erin, always great to be with you. What was in his speech was peaceful or dove-like, we don't get it. He called the United States a warmonger. He made no concessions on his nuclear program. Talked about Israel as, did not even mention Israel, but mention that had Palestine was occupied, meaning that Israel has no right to exist. I saw no elements of peace in that speech at all.
BURNETT: You know, which is interesting because obviously you've seen the headlines today, right? I'll give you a couple of them. Rouhani recognizes Holocaust as crime against Jews. And then Iran's Rouhani calls Holocaust reprehensible crime against Jews. And those came after he answered Christiane Amanpour's question yesterday about his position on the Holocaust. I wanted to play it for you so you could really hear it and hear the nuance. Here it is, Ambassador.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PRESIDENT HASSAN ROUHANI, IRAN (through translation): I've said before that I am not an historian. When it come to speaking of the dimensions of the Holocaust, it is the historian that's should reflect on it. But in general, I can tell you that any crime that happens in history against human an including the crime the Nazis committed toward the Jews as well as non-Jews is reprehensible and condemnable. Whatever criminality they committed against the Jews, we condemn.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Is that admitting the Holocaust to you?
OREN: Well, I'll say that it is a pretty low bar, Erin, when Iranians stop denying the Holocaust and people get excited about it. I am an historian by training and I know that the Iranian regime has a more than 30-year history of supporting terrorists around the world. They've conducted terrorist attacks in 25 countries.
In this city, in Washington, D.C., they try to blow up a restaurant not far from where I'm interviewing right now. They helped Bashar Al- Assad to massacre over 100,000 of their own people. They've suppressed the Iranian people who protested for democracy. This is not a regime you want to see get its hands on a nuclear weapon.
BURNETT: Now, Prime Minister Netanyahu obviously is scheduled to speak on the last day of the U.N. meeting Tuesday and you know, we all remember the speech last year, right, the famous speech where he had a crude, but very powerful drawing of a bomb and then there he is with the magic marker drawing a red line. This became an iconic moment. Do you think the president of Iran, Rouhani, and of course, the supreme leader, are still moving ahead full steam with what you believe are plans for a nuclear weapon?
OREN: Well, let's look at the evidence, Erin. Rouhani was elected several months ago. In those several months, Iran has continued to defy all of those security resolutions. They continued to enrich. They continue to install centrifuges that can enrich at five times the current rate. They continued to build that plutonium plant at Iraq. They continued to deny international inspectors access to sensitive sites, suspicious sites. Would you trust them? Does that seem like a regime that is on the verge of negotiating for a -- to remove its nuclear program?
BURNETT: Look, you put those facts out there. You know, there are people who think this is a problem, right? They'll maybe say one thing and do another. I want to ask you about how the Israelis have handled this so far. Last night, the Israeli Embassy sent out a tweet. How would Hassan Rouhani's his LinkedIn account look, and then you did a mock LinkedIn page with Rouhani described as quote, "President of Iran, expert salesman, PR professional and nuclear proliferation advocate."
Under his skills you list weapons of mass destruction, ballistics and military justice. On one level it is a little funny. I'll be honest with you, it feels a little immature. Do you think this is an appropriate way to deal with or presented with what you're presenting to me as a life or death situation?
OREN: We have to keep in mind that for us, this is very much a life and death situation. And that a lot of people out there who are expressing optimism when Rouhani stops denying that Iran denies the Holocaust, and that for us is anything but a joke. That's deadly serious.
BURNETT: All right, Ambassador Oren, thank you very much. It's always a pleasure talking to you, sir.
OREN: To you, too.
BURNETT: Still to come, ugly and disturbing new footage from the Navy Yard shooting that we just have tonight. The FBI releasing video showing Aaron Alexis walking through the halls with a sawed off shotgun looking for victims.
Plus a high school teacher got 31 days for raping a student. He is set to be released tomorrow morning and we are there live now.
And then the postmaster general says the U.S. Post Office is in financial disaster. At least he admits the truth, but will 3 cents a stamp save the day?
And Bill Clinton gets payback on Bono.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PIERS MORGAN, HOST, CNN'S "PIERS MORGAN LIVE": Your daughter just inform me, all of us, that you do a pretty good Bono impression. This is your chance, Mr. President.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Our third story, OUTFRONT, new video of the Navy Yard shooter. The FBI releasing a disturbing and ugly video today of 34- year-old Aaron Alexis as he walked through the hallways of the Washington Navy Yard with a sawed off shotgun. Alexis massacred 12 people in the shooting massacre before being killed by police. The FBI says he acted alone and was under the delusional belief that he was being controlled by electromagnetic waves.
OUTFRONT tonight, we'll show you this video. It is hard to watch this, but Joe Johns is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The FBI released gripping silent surveillance video of Aaron Alexis as he drives into the Navy Yard in his rented Prius. The cameras pick him up as he enters the front door of Building 197 ready for a rampage that killed 12 people before she was shot down.
VALERIE PARLAVE, D.C. FBI FIELD OFFICE: There are indicators that he was prepared to die during the attack, and that he accepted death as the inevitable consequence of his actions.
JOHNS: You see him carrying his bag. Hidden inside, a sawed-off Remington 870 which he removed in the bathroom. Photos released today show the bag he left behind. And 22 minutes after he drove in, surveillance picks him up in the hall. He readies his weapon, hunting people. You see him move downstairs and make then his way along another hall, as people flee down a connecting hallway.
In the 10 days since the shooting, a sharper picture is emerging of what drove Alexis.
PARLAVE: There are multiple indicators that Alexis held a delusional belief that he was being controlled or influenced by extremely low frequency or ELF electromagnetic waves.
JOHNS: The FBI released photos of his gun with an apparent reference to the magnetic waves carved into the handle, "my ELF weapon," on the barrel the words "end to the torment."
While the investigation into the mental illness that spawned the shooting will continue, agents said they found writings by Alexis that explained in plain language why he said he did it.
PARLAVE: A document retrieved from the electronic media stated -- quote -- "Ultra-low-frequency attack is what I have been subject to for the last three months. And to be perfectly honest, that is what has driven me to this."
JOHNS: Investigators don't believe he targeted specific people in his 60-minute killing spree. We're told there's more graphic surveillance video than what was made public, but authorities decided not to release it. For OUTFRONT, I'm Joe Johns in Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: And now our fourth story OUTFRONT: the money and power of the post office. The U.S. Postal Service has proposed a three-cent rate increase to the price of a first-class stamp today. Now it will be 49 cents. The postmaster general believes it is a necessary step to combat what he calls a financial disaster. Now, he is right about that. But three cents won't fix it.
Last year the post office lost $16 billion, three time what it lost the year before. That's a pretty meltdownish situation. And it is now staring down more than $50 billion in debt obligations.
And guess what, tiny stamp price hikes don't work. It has been tried and failed so many times because since 2005 the price has gone up nine cents while the post office' total mail volume has plunged 25 percent. All the rate hikes in the world of a penny or two here and there won't make a difference if people aren't sending letters anymore.
The truth is, the post office as a business model does not work. In other countries like Britain, post offices are actually part of a larger business. That's how they've dealt with this problem. General stores, hardware stores, even bars offer mail service. Why not try that here, too? You can't send alcohol through the mail in a lot of states, but could you drink it. Instead of relying on incremental rate increases every year, which is like boiling a frog, why not sell beer, maybe with some live music? It will help pass the time in those lines on tax day.
The White House has been brewing its own beer for years. No joke. Why not let the cash-strapped post office do the same? I mean, who wouldn't want to go post ale? Would you save the post office? If so, how? Please let us know. As you know, we're always available on Twitter.
Still to come, we're learning new details about the Kenyan mall massacre, including the covert methods that the terrorist used to execute this attack. And this attack was meticulously planned, we're finding out tonight.
Plus, Samsung making a huge announcement today. Will it make the iPhone obsolete?
And hundreds of wealthy space travelers gather in the Mohave Desert to get a glimpse of their spaceship. We'll show what you $250,000 per seat a flight gets you. The exclusive.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Our fifth story OUTFRONT: is going to space worth a quarter million bucks? Today, hundreds of travelers with pretty sick pockets gathered in the Mohave Desert to see Richard Branson's spaceship. It's going to take them into space next year. That's the forecast.
But anyway, they were all there today. Ashton Kutcher, Justin Bieber, Leonardo DiCaprio were among the celebrities and rich people who have paid a quarter of a million dollars for one seat. Our Poppy Harlow met with the other buyer today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Who would spend up to a quarter million dollars just for minutes in space?
CAROLINE FREELAND, VIRGIN GALACTIC TICKET HOLDER: Seeing the spaceship here is absolutely mindblowing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not about the destination. It's about the journey.
HARLOW: These people, more than 600, have signed on.
How much to charter one of these puppies?
PING CHUANG, BOUGHT SPACE TICKETS FOR FAMILY: $1.2 million.
HARLOW: Wow! And I hear you're going on leave two seats empty? So it is just the family.
CHUANG: No, it's not empty. There are two angels coming with us. (LAUGHTER)
HARLOW: Passengers won't just check in and hop on board. The whole experience will mean three days of training and health checks. Then a few hours in the air, and three minutes weightless in space.
The mother ship will carry spaceship two up, then release it to glide back. Unlike NASA's rockets, it won't orbit the earth. It is Sir Richard Branson who is determined to take them there.
Is this the new space race?
SIR RICHARD BRANSON, FOUNDER, VIRGIN GALACTIC: I think it is the start of it. A new space race. It has not been easy. It has taken us five years more than we thought it would take. But finally they pulled it off.
HARLOW: That is, if the FAA gives Galactic the green light. Virgin says commercial launch is just months away.
MICHAEL MOYER, SENIOR EDITOR, SCENTIFIC AMERICAN: You're broaching out into a new field in the sky. And we're going to have some mishaps that happen now. Hopefully they won't be catastrophic.
HARLOW: Do you ever fear that maybe you're putting too much at risk with this?
BRANSON: People risked a lot to get space off the ground in the first place. But unless you risk something, the world stays still.
HARLOW: Branson is such a believer, he plans to take the first flight with his own children. David Mackay will be at the controls.
DAVID MACKAY, CHIEF PILOT, VIRGIN GALACTIC: We don't want to push too hard too quickly. It would be nice to be first to do it but the most important thing is to do it right. Whoever is first has to do it right.
HARLOW: What is your ultimate dream for this?
BRANSON: We'll start with giving people a taste of space. Then we'll send people into orbital flights. We'll start building hotels in space.
HARLOW: Really? In our lifetime?
BRANSON: In your lifetime, definitely! And hopefully in my lifetime!
HARLOW: But will this ever be for the masses?
Is this a playground for the wealthiest? The one percent only?
BRANSON: Initially, it is very much the wealthiest that are going to use it. But the true is, wealthy people being willing to be pioneers, I think millions of people will one day have the chance to go to space. HARLOW: Like Mikey Oliveri, who has a dream perhaps bigger than most.
MIKEY OLIVERI: I want to be first to sail first into space. I don't have $200,000 but I have a dream.
HARLOW: Hoping he may get his moment among the stars.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARLOW: And we certainly hope he does, Erin. I'll tell you industry watchers warn, this is not going to become affordable for the masses anytime soon. When it comes to Sir Richard Branson, he is not alone in this game as you well know. Billionaire Elon Musk and his Space X are neck-and-neck with Virgin Galactic.
But as for Branson's bigger dream, he told me get this. He wants to see point-to-point travel. Something like New York to Sydney, a commercial flight in just a few hours. He is a dreamer and certainly a pioneer. Erin?
BURNETT: I would sign up for that one. All right, thank you, Poppy Harlow. Great report there.
Still to come, the latest from the earthquake that killed more than 300 people. It was so powerful, it actually created a completely new island in an instant. New pictures of that tonight that we have just gotten for you.
Plus, five days after more than 60 people were massacred in the Kenyan mall, the FBI is going in. We have an exclusive look on how the agency is investigating the terror attack tonight.
And the disgraced captain of the Costa Concordia demanding a new investigation into what happened. He said don't blame him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Welcome back to the second half of OUTFRONT.
At least 330 people have been killed and hundreds more injured in that earthquake in Pakistan that we first told you about last night. It was 7.7 magnitude. And it was so powerful that it created a new island. People actually went out on that island today.
So, you're looking at this. I mean, when you look at this, it is pretty incredible. It has beach. It has rock. This literally popped up out of the ocean in an instant.
Now, it may look solid but apparently, this is not land that anybody would want to claim. Despite that you see people walking on it.
The geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey says that these formations are temporary and will erode within a year. In this case, he says seismic waves likely passed through a mud volcano. So, it's gases, mud and rock that you're seeing there. So, unstable.
Or maybe it's like Hawaii. After all, some islands created by volcanoes do last.
Well, a government watchdog has found a serious lack of oversight at the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. They just finished a multiyear audit. It shows the ATF lost track of 2.1 million cartons of cigarettes. And in one instance, just as an example, an informant was allowed to keep millions of dollars to cover expenses but he actually never submitted an expense report. The ATF called the misplacements of cigarette inaccurate and says it has, quote, "addressed" the watchdog's other concerns.
Well, Samsung hot on Apple's heels, at least trying to be. Announcing a new version of the Galaxy S4, which comes in gold/brown or gold/pink. Not yet available in the U.S. but there you see it. This comes just after Apple revealed its gold finish iPhone 5S which sold out.
Samsung also said it's going to introduce a smartphone with a curved display next month. People are really hot and bothered about this. We were not able to ascertain what it means. Does it mean it's bendable or what?
But anyway, the Bergs (ph) tells us (AUDIO GAP) add to but not transform Samsung's fortune.
And in our sixth story OUTFRONT: a plan of attack. So, tonight, we are learning more and it is becoming very clear that a lot of planning was done ahead of the terror attack at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya. This was not a sudden decision. Not even a few days planned. It was much more significant than that.
And an official telling our Barbara Starr that based on intelligence, it does not appear the attackers just walked into the mall. Instead, they could have had access to the mall's blueprints which detailed emergency exits.
Investigators are also at whether the attackers rented a store in the mall and possibly hid their weapon inside before the attack.
Tonight, the FBI has arrived in Kenya and is ready to start combing through the wreckage. They just need permission from the government to go into the mall. They're going to look for DNA, finger prints, other forensic evidence that will go back eventually to America's top secret bomb lab. That is ground zero -- a facility that is expected to play a huge role in determining who was behind this horrible attack.
Our Barbara Starr had exclusive access to the bomb lab and she is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's just a fingerprint smudge on a piece of metal. But whose is it?
CNN is the first news organization to see how analysts at America's bomb lab have helped identify nearly 1,000 terrorists and members of al Qaeda in 25 countries since the 9/11 attacks. Lifting fingerprints involves some of the most sensitive techniques.
Here, super glue vapors are blasted on to cell phone circuit boards from IEDs.
MARY KATHRYN BOOK, PHYSICAL SCIENTIST, TEDAC: Fumes are attaching to any fingerprints that are left behind on the surface, and then they form a plastic image over that finger print.
STARR: Ultraviolet light picks up fine details. Prints are gathered off documents. Even food wrappers. I.ED parts gathered years nag Iraq are checked for prints.
The U.S. wants to see if any Iraq refugees now in the U.S. may have ties to terrorism. And some do. Two Iraqi men, one was named Alwan, living in the United States as refugees, were convicted of terrorism charges.
Lab director Greg Carl shows me an evidence bag from one of their IEDs in Iraq.
GREG CARL, TEDAC, DIRECTOR: On this bay station, we found two fingerprints which we were able to identify back to Always, which was the subject of the investigation.
STARR: Beyond using fingerprints -- the lab re-creates exploded bombs to help identify bomb makers. For the first time, you are seeing new 3D images from IEDs, looking at tiny details for clues on how the device was put together.
Here, IED components found in different parts of Afghanistan, tires, metal and wood, match up exactly. This is the bombmaker's signature.
CARLOS ROSATI, SENIOR TOOL MARK EXAMINER: There are obviously people teaching other people to make devices.
(EXPLOSION)
STARR: One target: Yemeni master bombmaker Ibrahim al-Asiri, believed to be behind several attacks and teaching others how to make bombs that can't be caught by metal detectors.
ROSATI: Although there may be many people out, there every time we stop one, that is one less that we have to worry about.
STARR: The lab has 100,000 boxes of evidence. Every item is scrutinized as it comes in, with the hope that some clue will lead the experts to the bombmaker and save lives.
For OUTFRONT, Barbara Starr, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: Thanks to Barbara.
And now, our seventh story OUTFRONT is pointing the finger. An Italian court tonight is calling for a new examination of the wrecked Costa Concordia, which, by the way, you know, has been sitting there rotting underwater for 18 months, at the request of the captain.
The captain is currently facing manslaughter charges for his role in killing 32 people. Now, the ship is upright. Captain Francesco Schettino thinks tour of the cruise liner's bridge and engine room will prove that he isn't to blame.
Now, this move could delay this trial which has taken a ridiculous amount of time for a lot longer.
OUTFRONT tonight, Captain Steven Werse.
Captain, thank you so much for taking the time.
Let me just, I guess, ask you the basics here because, you know, obviously, I don't understand all these issues. But to me, you know, you got something sitting underwater for so long, that really could mess with your evidence. He claims the ship's water tight doors didn't function properly. That's the reason the ship sank and he is not to blame.
Is that situation possible?
CAPTAIN STEVEN WERSE, INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF MASTERS, MATES & PILOTS: Well, thank you for having me here, Erin. And on behalf of Masters, Mates and Pilots, we much appreciated that we have this opportunity to express it.
The water tight doors are not the cause of the incident. The serious marine accident that took place was a result of poor management in a bridge resource mode. The water tight doors in question close automatically and in fact, the decision of whether they are closed or not has an impact on the potential number of fatalities, because closing these doors would limit the egress of water into the hull. It does not have an impact on the decision to bring the vessel close to shore with no valid reason.
BURNETT: But to his point, so you're saying, it would be possible if they had malfunctioned in some way, that that malfunction cost lives as opposed to his decision making? Or I am a not hearing you right?
WERSE: You're not quite hearing me right. It cost lives in his decision-making, bringing it into the beach. He had obviously -- the voice data recorder has been recovered. They have the preliminary evidence. They know what took place on the bridge and it shows a confusion.
But the closing of the water tight doors would only indicate that more water flooded in and caused the vessel to roll over quicker than slower.
BURNETT: All right. So that answer that's part of the question. But what about this? I mean, so now here we are. It's been a year and a half, more than a year and a half. So now this person who has been charged with manslaughter is actually going to be allowed to go ahead and have people walk into the ship? I mean, how would you even be able to tell? When we see the pictures of the inside of the ship, this stuff is -- it looks like the Titanic. It is so deteriorated. How would you get any information about what really happened now this late?
WERSE: Well, certainly everyone is entitled to a defense. But what you're not going to find here is the CSI homicide scene re-creation. You are not going to find hidden DNA or a surprise witness.
This vessel has been immersed over 18 months in a harsh, caustic marine environment with seaweed, plankton, marine growth, corrosion that you cannot imagine. All the electronics have been wiped. It will not be able to be returned to the state that it was at the time of the incident. There will be no message learned from that re- creation.
BURNETT: All right. Well, thank you very much, Captain Werse.
Let us know what you think as our viewers about whether you think this delay is fair or not.
Still to come. A teacher who raped his student got only 31 days in jail. The student, of course, then went on to kill herself in a horrible tragedy, but he is going free tonight. We've been on the story since day one and we're going to go to the scene tonight.
And how former President Bill Clinton answered this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PIERS MORGAN, CNN HOST: Who do you think might make the better president -- your wife or your daughter?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Our eighth story OUTFRONT: a convicted rapist set to go free. After serving only 31 days in prison, Stacey Rambold will be released tomorrow. The 54-year-old former teacher pleaded guilty to raping his 14-year-oldstudent. She then killed herself.
The case has drawn national attention and outrage after a Montana judge suspended Rambold's entire 15 sentence with the exception of just one month. Again, tomorrow is the day he is set to go free.
Our Kyung Lah has been on this story from day one, and she is OUTFRONT tonight in Billings.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the last 31 days, prison has been Stacey Rambold's home. Tomorrow morning, the former high school teacher is set to walk out, having served just one month behind bars for raping his 14-year-old student Cherice Morales.
As she waited for her teacher to face trial, Morales' mother says Cherice was tormented by bullying and victim blaming. Before Rambold's case was heard, Cherice Morales committed suicide.
AULIEA HANLON, VICTIM'S MOTHER: She's beautiful. But hopefully, he'll get justice. I hope.
LAH: Justice has failed at every step, says Cherice's mother. Not only did she lose her daughter but then the judge, Todd Baugh, handed down the short sentence, saying Morales looked older than her chronological age and was as much in control as the then 49-year-old Rambold.
The judge who has ducked CNN's questions has since admitted the sentence may have been illegal. State laws mandate a two-year minimum for this crime.
The sentence and the judge's comments sparked national outrage. Earlier this week, petitions with 140,000 signatures were delivered to a Montana judicial watchdog panel, demanding Judge Baugh's removal. In the courts, the prosecutors have appeal the sentence to the state Supreme Court, hoping to send him back to prison.
And for the victim's mother, a cry for justice. A hollow search along the trail of anguish.
(on camera): Does the pain ever fade?
HANLON: No. No. I think we just get used to it, so -- so you don't cry every day.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: Kyung, are there any conditions to his release or is he just a completely free man?
LAH: Well, Erin, essentially, he is a free man. He has served his time. Now, there is a dispute about how much time he served and whether that was the right thing to do. But yes, he is being released. He is on parole. That is one thing we should point out.
And, Erin, there is a wild card out there -- the appeal to the state Supreme Court. But he doesn't have to have any home electronic monitoring, he can go see his friends, he can go grocery shopping, he can get his coffee whenever he wants and that's a real outrage here for the mother.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Kyung Lah.
Kyung, of course, is going to be there tomorrow as we see what happens.
Well, our ninth story OUTFRONT is one-on-one with Bill Clinton. And this was a really interesting one-on-one.
Our Piers Morgan sat down with the 42nd president today. A wide ranging interview and I'm glad it was, because, you know, politics is good but some of the other stuff is better. The former president had a huge take on future Clintons in the White House. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: Who do you think might make the better president -- your wife or your daughter?
WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT: Day after tomorrow, my wife, because she's had more experience. Over the long run, Chelsea. She knows more than we do about everything.
(LAUGHTER)
CLINTON: And -- and there was --
(APPLAUSE)
There was a time in her childhood when I thought maybe she thought she did when she didn't. Now, it's highly embarrassing because she, in fact, does.
(LAUGHTER)
CLINTON: So I feel like I'm going to school every day when we have conversations.
MORGAN: I met your wife for the first time and your daughter. And she looks fantastic, she looks completely reinvigorated, she seemed absolutely on fire with ideas and dynamism and so on, and it just screamed to one thing -- I'm running. Can you put us out of our misery?
CLINTON: No.
But it should have screamed to you something else. Real life is a healthier existence than politics.
MORGAN: Right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: That's why people like him, even if they didn't like him politically, because, you know what, politics is real -- I don't know. I don't want to use a swear word on a family program.
OUTFRONT tonight, I want to bring in Piers Morgan.
I mean, you know, it's so great to -- you also asked him about the president of Iran, Hassan Rouhani.
MORGAN: Yes.
BURNETT: And the whole Holocaust issue, which has now blown up Iran as well. Did he say it? Did he not say it? Of course, did he use the word? I wanted to play that conversation that you just had with the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MORGAN: Christiane Amanpour for CNN yesterday President Rouhani. And he compared to the interview that I did with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last year, struck a much more conciliatory tone, particularly in the fact that he basically admitted there had been a Holocaust, which was certainly nothing that Ahmadinejad would ever admit to.
What did you make of that? How important is that kind of concession? And do you see a real shift there in the relationship with America? How much do you trust him?
CLINTON: Well, first of all, I think it's interesting commentary on the world in which we're living that admitting that the Holocaust occurred qualifies as being a moderate. I mean, in other words, if you get into the fact-based world, there's something to it. At least we can have something to talk about.
I was hoping and I think the president was that the opening of the U.N. would give them a chance to, you know, maybe even do more. This is eerily reminiscent of what happened when the last moderate Iranian president was there, Mr. Khatami. And I spoke and then he spoke, I went out in the audience and sat with the American delegation and listened to his speech, and I apologized for America's role in overthrowing the Mosaddegh government in the '50s. But he still didn't feel like we could meet or do anything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: It's funny. It's like Ambassador Oren from Israel. Yes, this is a really low bar.
MORGAN: I thought it was interesting answer from Bill Clinton. The bar now for being moderate in terms of an Iranian president is that they don't deny the Holocaust. Well, it's come to something, hasn't it?
So, there's definitely been a movement by the Iranians. I'm sure they'll be backtracking and trying to justify and clarify it.
BURNETT: Right.
MORGAN: But definitely once he said that he condemned what the Nazis did to the Jews, that's a big step forward for an Iranian from Ahmadinejad, who I interviewed this time last year.
BURNETT: He didn't give you an inch on that issue.
MORGAN: He would never say a word.
BURNETT: Yes. As you say, it's a big step, but it's many, many steps away from where you need to be. Fascinating how he said it.
Now, you know Bono yesterday did this Bill Clinton impression which really was awesome. It was fantastic impression, which really was awesome, OK?
MORGAN: It's a fantastic impression, wasn't it? BURNETT: Yes, it was fantastic. And today, you said so here's your chance to get --
MORGAN: Well, let me put it into context for you, because I actually was at a party last night with Bill Clinton. I'm not trying to boast, because his time is like (INAUDIBLE).
I'm at a party with Bill Clinton and he's telling great stories and then, we talk about the interview that we got today. I say, look, you obviously heard the buzz about the Bono impression. He went, yes, yes. I said, do you do a Bono? He looked at me with a twinkle in his eye. I went -- I said, park it in your head for the interview. So, I had the feeling that he did this.
Then, Chelsea Clinton who interviewed for a panel which is airing tomorrow night on my show, she admitted in front of the audience dad does a great Bono. So, make sure when he came out, we played the Bono and the rest is what you're about to unveil.
BURNETT: Yes, let's play it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BONO, U2 FRONTMAN: When I first met Bono, he looked into the Oval Office and I actually thought it was a member of his own road crew. He wasn't really dressed like. I felt like the rock star on that occasion.
MORGAN: Your daughter just informed me, in fact all of us, that you do a pretty good bono impression. This is your chance, Mr. President.
CLINTON: Well, I'm Irish, you know? And we Irish, we can imitate anybody.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORGAN: He goes on and on. He does a funny routine and it brought the house down. It just shows you how brilliantly clever on the spot Bill Clinton is. It's a fascinating job. I interviewed him before. But it's, by far, the most wide ranging -- the warmest, funniest, smartest.
You watch it tonight at 9:00 on my show and you'll think, why that 22nd Amendment, never mind the Second Amendment, the 22nd Amendment, that doesn't allow bill Clinton to still be president of the United States. That's the great tragedy of the Constitution.
BURNETT: I will be watching. I'm glad you found the tragedy.
All right. Thanks so much, Piers Morgan.
MORGAN: Glad to see you.
BURNETT: Still to come, Senator Ted Cruz, 21 hours, right? But there was one thing, there was one thing, probably while you were asleep that you have to see.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: It's time for the OUTFRONT "Outtake".
What Ted Cruz did last night was epic. But it only actually ranks us the fourth longest talk on the Senate floor. Can you believe it? You might wonder how is it possible for someone to speak that long, not only physically because I can resolve your concerns on that. Apparently, in history, they have used bags and buckets for those that.
Now, what I mean, is how do you think of things to say and keep enough saliva in your mouth. The secret it turns out is the books. During the 1930s, Huey long recited Shakespeare and read from cookbooks.
Strom Thurmond, read from the Declaration of Independence. And in 1986, Al D'Amato read from the District of Columbia's phonebook because he really wanted people to go to sleep.
And earlier this year, Rand Paul read from dozens of texts, including magazine articles and books like "Alice in Wonderland." During Paul's filibuster, he was joined by a couple of his friends to help him out, Marco Rubio read rap lyrics and Senator Ted Cruz showed up, reading Shakespeare -- which is why it is strange that this time Ted Cruz was inspired by this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: I would like to provide a little more detail in something I reference earlier, which is the speech that Ashton Kutcher gave. Words of wisdom from "Duck Dynasty" -- you put three rednecks on a mower, it's going to be epic.
A tall gentleman in a mechanical breathing apparatus come forward and say, Mike Lee, I am your father. You know, Senator Lee, Latins love white suits.
Eight white castle restaurants a year. I like their little burgers.
But the law is not a breast that fills itself with milk. Do you like green eggs and ham? I do not like them, Sam I am. I do not like green eggs and ham.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: "Green Eggs and Ham." the strangest part of the whole thing, if that's possible. Not just because it signals a departure from more titles, no, but because of left-wing choice it is. Dr. Seuss was a liberal Democrat who supported FDR and the New Deal, many books contain references to things like environmentalism, anti-consumerism, perhaps not the thing a Tea Party leader would support, not to mention irony since "Green Eggs and Ham" is about someone giving in and accepting the inevitable. Anderson starts now.
