Return to Transcripts main page
Erin Burnett Outfront
Attorney General to Speak about Race in America; Protests Across the Nation; Manhunt for West Virginia Gunman; Expert Eyewitness Testimony Often Unreliable; Obama Vows Action After Ferguson Will Be Different; FBI Warning: ISIS Looking to Attack Military in U.S.; Interview with U.S. Congressman Peter King of New York; GOP Aide to Daughters: Try Showing A Little Class
Aired December 01, 2014 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: OUTFRONT tonight, breaking news. Attorney General Eric Holder, this hour with an historic speech on race and the police in an iconic Atlanta church. We're going to take you there live as he speaks.
Plus the FBI's strongest warning of ISIS attacking in the United States. Militants scouring the Web, spotting and assessing individuals to carry out attacks on the military on American soil.
And outrage as the Obama girls are called out. Told to dress for respect, not a, quote, "for a spot at the bar." Are they fair game?
Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news.
The attorney general of the United States, Eric Holder, with an historic address on race in America. This, of course, well, it all has to do with Ferguson. He is about to speak at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. That is the church where Dr. Martin Luther King preached when he was its pastor.
OUTFRONT is there tonight live.
Also, calls for protest to more 50 cities across the United States. Today there were walkouts around the country in the wake of the Ferguson grand jury decision. From New York to Washington to Chicago and San Francisco, workers walked off the job. Walked out of school, lying down on the ground as Michael Brown did when he lay for four hours.
Demonstrators often repeating the hands up symbol that five players from the St. Louis Rams struck as they were introduced at Sunday's game.
This as the president of the United States held a series of meetings today with civil rights leaders, students and law enforcement. He admitted there have been -- commissions and panels before on these issues but he said this will be different. He said those promised changed and nothing happened. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Part of the reason this time will be different is because the president of the United States is deeply invested in making sure that this time it's different.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Martin Savidge is OUTFRONT tonight in Atlanta outside that historic Ebenezer Baptist Church. That's where the attorney general is going to be giving this historic speech momentarily.
Marty, Attorney General Holder is planning events like this one. This one in Atlanta, though, is very, very significant.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. All about history. And it is all about the civil rights movement and how it relates to the events after Ferguson.
The attorney general is inside Ebenezer Baptist Church right now meeting actually with a small group of civic leaders, that includes the mayor and chief of police for Atlanta. But at the same time there is an interfaith service that's taking place inside the church. That's what you're hearing. Then the doors are going to be open for the public and a community meeting will take place and it's there that Attorney General Holder is expected to speak.
But it's all framed in the history of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This was the church where he preached. This was the neighborhood where he grew up. He is buried or entombed just across the street. And remember, for the civil rights movement for Dr. King, it was all about civil protest but doing it peacefully.
And that's clearly the message that the attorney general wants to reinforce here. People may be upset with the outcome of Ferguson but to protest you must do so nonviolently. That was key for the civil rights movement. He believes, the administration believes it is key still today -- Erin.
BURNETT: It is key, and as we said, there were protests around the nation today. People walking out. People, as we showed you, everyone lying on the ground. They're trying to commemorate what Michael Brown, how he laid there for four hours after he died.
The protests continued from the streets of New York City to the St. Louis Rams' football field. In an incredible moment where some of the players put their hands up as they were introduced.
George Howell is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Protesters marched today from coast to coast one week after a grand jury decided not to indict Officer Darren Wilson. In Ferguson, Missouri, residents voiced their frustrations. From
walkouts in New York to demonstrations in Washington, D.C. Protesters are making sure their message is heard. Some gathered outside the Justice Department, even blocking some streets.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For them to be inconvenienced for 20 minutes is only testament to how the lives of black people are stopped every day.
HOWELL: At Sunday's NFL game in St. Louis, five Rams players staged their own protest as they took the field. Their hands up. A pose that's been widely adopted by Brown supporters.
JARED COOK, TIGHT END, ST. LOUIS RAMS: We wanted to come out and show our respect to the protesters and people that have actually been doing a heck of a job around the world.
KENNY BRITT, WIDE RECEIVER, ST. LOUIS RAMS: We just wanted to let the community know that we support them.
HOWELL: But the St. Louis Police Officers Association condemned the players' action, saying, "It is unthinkable that hometown athletes would so publicly perpetuate a narrative that has been disproven over and over again."
Despite pleas by the police organization to discipline the players, the NFL said none of the players will be punished, saying, quote, "We respect and understand the concerns of all individuals who have expressed views on this tragic situation."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: We're live here in Ferguson, Missouri, tonight where it's more about the dialogue. It has been a peaceful night and a meeting that's happening right behind me where residents are talking about the deep seated issues here that go beyond the riots and the unrest that we've seen. People are frustrated with the way they're treated by police. The education, the quality of education here. That's being discussed. People looking for solutions.
And Erin, people are also asking about Darren Wilson. What happens to him since he's resigned? We hear the following from his attorneys. We'll show you here. It says, quote, "Darren has said that at one point he thought of going back to school for business but nothing is concrete."
You'll remember that he is no longer with the Ferguson Police Department. Not going to get any severance from the city.
And Erin, as you know, for the last several months, he's been living in hiding after unrest and the riots we recently saw.
BURNETT: George, thank you very much.
And OUTFRONT now, Anne Bremner, a criminal defense attorney who has represented police officers for 30 years, along with our LZ Granderson. Anne, let me start with you. You just heard George reporting Darren
Wilson says he might to go business school. Obviously not confirmed but that's something he might do.
ANNE BREMNER, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Right.
BURNETT: It is not as if someone who's been exonerated by the justice system has any responsibility to the system. Right? To be fair. Certainly that isn't something that he has a responsibility to. But do you think he should go ahead and reinvent himself?
BREMNER: Well, I do. But he is almost, Erin, going to be like a man without a country because he's been in hiding and he's going to have stay in hiding and he does have to cooperate with a civil suit if there's one filed by the family in order to be indemnified financially. His fees paid and any potential damage award paid. So he does have that -- he has that concern going to go forward. But boy, in a case like this, there is really nowhere to go at least for now.
BURNETT: LZ, Wilson told ABC News last week he wanted to stay on the force for 30 years and retire as a sergeant. He said that's all I wanted. That's a quote. Now on Saturday he told the "St. Louis Post- Dispatch," quote, "Right now I wouldn't want to be a cop but you never know. Only time will tell."
Should he be allowed to go back to law enforcement?
LZ GRANDERSON, CNN COMMENTATOR: Well, the hiring department would have to ask themselves, can he be effective? And you know, it's hard to imagine a scenario in which he could actually be effective. What community is going to trust him? Particularly any community that has a large portion of minorities in it. And even more so, which community wants to deal with the likely media fallout and perhaps even protests upon his hiring?
That's a very high ask to be making for one officer. And so I agree with your guest. You know, it seems like he needs to remake himself and stay low and think about another profession.
BURNETT: And Anne, what about his wife, Barbara Spradling? She's still on the Ferguson Police Force. She is 36 or 37 years old. She's been there for 10 years. Darren Wilson told the "St. Louis Post- Dispatch" she was asked to resign but she hasn't said yes.
Should she stay on the force or should she be penalized by him?
BREMNER: I don't know if she should be penalized by him because she had nothing to do with what he did or didn't do. But the fact of the matter of is they've cited safety concerns, Erin, within the department. There's been threats against the department, threats against at least Officer Wilson, and they've got a baby on board. So the question, why would she want to stay in that department?
It's a very small town. You know, all things considered, and -- why would she want to remain there? And why would she want to put herself and her family in harm's way, but also, why would the department want to put themselves in harm's way by keeping her within the department? As somebody clearly recognized all over the nation.
BURNETT: LZ, what about what we just saw with the St. Louis Rams? You have those players standing there in front of the nation and many around the world who are watching that game and a few of them put their arms in the air to show solidarity with their community. You have the police officers union coming out and aggressively saying, this was wrong. Why would they do it, when again and again, Michael Brown's side of the story, they say, has been disproven?
Were you shocked that they would come out and say that?
GRANDERSON: Was I shocked that the police officers would say that?
BURNETT: Yes.
GRANDERSON: Yes. Definitely. I thought they hired a publicist. Didn't they hire some PR firm to help them navigate this water? I mean, that is just another misstep in a series of PR missteps in terms of how to best handle the situation. And don't forget, if you read the grand jury witness testimony, what you found was several people.
Most of the people who testify said that Officer Wilson shot Michael Brown when his hands were in the air. So while it's true that the criminal justice system may not have indicted Officer Wilson, that doesn't erase the fact that people in that community said what they saw and those football players opted to support those people.
BURNETT: I mean, Anne, you've represented police officers for 30 years. But should -- you know, as a group, should that statement have been made? I mean, what is the gain in that? Why would they do that?
BREMNER: Well, I don't think it's a PR move or if they weren't listening to their person I don't think, because the bottom line is, you know, everyone is trying to make peace right now.
BURNETT: Yes.
BREMNER: We've heard a lot of what the grand jury testimony is. You know, we've all read thousands of pages now about what Officer Wilson said and what the other witnesses said, and what the forensic evidence says. But why polarize it further by saying, you're exercising your First Amendment rights. You went out with your hands in the air. You made a statement. You should be disciplined for that.
It's just too polarizing. Right now we need to work through this, work through race relation issues. And these kinds of shootings, I've handled many, many, many, from Chicago Police, Seattle Police, Portland Police. Controversial shootings where people shut down I-5 in protests. People --
BURNETT: Yes.
BREMNER: You know, no justice, no peace, et cetera, and we just have to get together and work through this. BURNETT: All right. Thanks very much Tea Party both of you.
And next, basketball great Charles Barkley weighing in on the Ferguson shooting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLES BARKLEY, FORMER NBA PLAYER: What I'm saying, three or four witnesses who were black said exactly what the cop said.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: But how reliable are those testimonies? That report coming up next.
Plus, we're live in Atlanta. The attorney general speaking out at an historic event on race and police violence after Ferguson. The president vows this time will be different. But will it?
And the FBI's strongest warning yet to the U.S. Military. ISIS warning of attacks, urging attacks on them in the United States.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: All right. Breaking news at this moment. A manhunt is underway in West Virginia. Police are search for a man who allegedly shot and killed at least four people near Morgantown, West Virginia. The suspect identified as 39-year-old Jody Lee Hunt believed to be driving a black pickup truck.
On the phone with me now, Lieutenant Michael Baylous of the West Virginia State Police Department.
And, Lieutenant, good to have you with me tonight. Can you just tell me a little bit more about what you know about this man, Jody Lee Hunt?
LT. MICHAEL BAYLOUS, WEST VIRGINIA STATE POLICE: Yes, Erin, you know, we have developed him as a suspect. We have three different crime scenes here in the Morgantown area. And we're needing the public's assistance in helping locate him. We have all his information on our Facebook site. And we put it out through various news outlets.
We're just hoping somebody can come up with that key piece of information we need that can lead us to him or that he will turn himself in.
BURNETT: And we're showing his picture now. A 39-year-old man wearing glasses. This picture, it looks like he hasn't shaved in a couple days but who knows when this was taken?
How long have you been looking for him? My understanding that this has been going on for many hours already.
BAYLOUS: Yes. I was made aware of it early this morning. And I'm not exactly sure what time they discovered the crime scene. But as I said, there's three different crime scenes. Three different agencies investigating it so we don't have a timeline put together as to when we believe each scene, when the crime occurred there. But we're going to get the investigators together and try to piece all that together.
BURNETT: And where are you looking right now? How far do you think it's possible he may have gone or do you believe that he's local?
BAYLOUS: Well, in that amount of time he could have gone anywhere. We put out a BOLO and we've sent to it other agencies as well including out-of-state agencies and we've had contact with them as well. But, you know, our focus is here locally. But you can't rule out that he's left the area.
BURNETT: We know that he knew the individuals or at least our understanding is that he knew the individuals that he allegedly killed today. Do you know now, though, whether he's armed?
BAYLOUS: Well, we believe he is. We're telling the public for their safety, that we're considering him to be armed and dangerous. If they happen to encounter him or have information about him, the best thing they can do is contact their local state police detachment or 911 immediately. Do not approach him.
BURNETT: All right. Lt. Baylous, thank you very much for your time tonight. We hope that you find him and others are safe. Quickly.
Back to our top story tonight, the unrest over the Ferguson grand jury decision. Students across the United States walked out today to protest the decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson. Protesters point to eyewitness accounts that contradict Officer Darren Wilson's story that he shot Brown in self-defense.
But here's the thing. Eyewitness accounts in this case differed dramatically. I mean, gave completely different pictures about what happened.
Kyung Lah is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The now universal sign of the Ferguson protests. The St. Louis Rams players igniting a firestorm of their own on national television. The grand jury ultimately rejected this notion, saying it lacked probable cause that an unarmed Michael Brown had his hands up in surrender.
But how is it in the seconds after Michael Brown was shot that witnesses recording or recorded from three different angles, testified to the grand jury wildly differing accounts of that critical moment? From this recording, audio from a unseen nearby man who says he saw Brown moving towards the officer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Next thing I know I think he's missing (INAUDIBLE) -- started running, kept coming towards police.
LAH: Then there's this video. This contractor throws his hands up moments after the shooting and others also testified Brown did not run toward the officer.
TIFFANY MITCHELL, EYEWITNESS: Turns around, faced the officer and puts his hands up. And the officer continues to shoot him until he goes down to the ground.
LAH: Who is telling the truth? Maybe everyone. Or at least they believe they are.
ELIZABETH LOFTUS, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE: Just because somebody tells you something with a lot of details, just because they say with it confidence, just because they express it with emotion, it doesn't mean that it really happened that way.
LAH: Cognitive psychologist Elizabeth Loftus says she's testified in 300 cases since 1975, and says over and over again, eyewitnesses are often wrong.
The Trayvon Martin case. One witness saw a black man with a hoodie on top of a white man while another witness recalls a man with a white shirt on top of another.
The 2002 D.C. sniper shootings. Multiple witnesses described a white van or box truck. Police shut down freeways to frisk scores of van drivers. But the real car used? A blue Chevy four-door sedan.
The 1999 Oklahoma City bombing. A key eyewitness rented Timothy McVeigh and a suspect dubbed John Doe number two, the Ryder truck that carried the bombs used in the attack. But there was no John Doe number two.
That witness was not intentionally lying, says Loftus. The memory is flawed and affected by stress.
LOFTUS: The major cause of wrongful convictions is faulty eyewitness testimony. That's the major cause. And it's responsible in maybe about three quarters of the cases.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAH: And as time grows from the actual shooting, witnesses unknowingly then shape and adopt their own memories based on what they now hear and see in the media. Here's the important thing to remember, Erin, they all physically saw the same thing, that people who testified before the Ferguson grand jury, they just processed it differently and they now remember it differently -- Erin.
BURNETT: Kyung, thank you so much.
And I want to bring in now our Paul Callan and civil rights attorney Areva Martin.
OK. Good to have both of you.
Paul, let me start with you because, you know, I think Kyung's report is fascinating. Everybody saw it. They believe what they saw. You just heard Charles Barkley there and we're going to hear more from him in a moment but he brings up that point. And we've mentioned it, too. We said, look, they're African-American witnesses and they support Darren Wilson's side so if someone who's black supports his side, then it must be true.
PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, you know, this case has been a trial by television, first of all. I've never seen a situation where the witnesses, some of whom we thought to be the most important witnesses, had press conferences before they went before the grand jury or talked to the police. So one witness was being influenced by another witness watching them give statements on television. And I think the whole process sort of got corrupted as a result of the intervention of the media.
The overly aggressive interviewing of witnesses. Usually these things are handles by the cops and the grand jury and you don't have witnesses being influenced this way.
BURNETT: Right.
Areva, the cops, though, when you think about this, I mean, you know, you could just discount eyewitnesses altogether and go off things like forensics. But there were a lot of mistakes made there. The medical examiner didn't even have batteries in his camera when he went to take pictures. Darren Wilson's first interviews were not even recorded.
AREVA MARTIN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Yes. I think that's the problem, Erin. There have been so many mistakes made with respect to the investigation of this case. It just calls into question the integrity of the entire process. So I think that this trust that the community continues to voice through its protests is related to how this investigation was conducted.
And we have to remember, this grand jury was just trying to assess probable cause. Not guilt or innocence. Not beyond a reasonable doubt. So I think those of us who read those thousands of pages see so many circumstances, so many opportunities, so much witness testimony that gave rise to probable cause that it's really difficult on understand what happened with respect to the grand jury and its decision.
BURNETT: So, Areva, I don't -- we don't, we'll never perhaps know exactly what played into the grand jury's decision. But one thing might have been the fact that there were eyewitness testimonies from African-American who's supported Darren Wilson's version of events. We've reported on that. And I want to play you what Charles Barkley had to say about how important that was to him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARKLEY: You know, I'm hearing things today I haven't heard at all. You know, that even the black witnesses said, this guy came 20 feet at the officer. They were fighting inside the car. And two bullets went off. You know, I didn't know the kid came -- I mean, the blood splattered so the guy came at the cop 20 feet.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: Areva, do you think it's possible that the race of those eyewitnesses somehow made their testimony, that the grand jury then listened to it more?
MARTIN: Well, we know, Erin, that there were three African-Americans on that grand jury and one of the prosecuting attorneys is an African- American woman. So clearly race played some role in this.
BURNETT: Yes.
MARTIN: There is no dispute that something happened at that car. But the witnesses' testimony varied widely once the altercation at the car ends. And one thing I found really incredible. When Darren Wilson was giving his testimony, a lot of leading questions by the prosecutor introducing this concept of justifiable homicide. Not a lot of aggressive questioning of Darren Wilson.
CALLAN: Let's be --
MARTIN: But what some of those witnesses who were contrary --
(CROSSTALK)
CALLAN: You know, but let's be fair about this.
MARTIN: A lot of aggressive questioning.
CALLAN: Let's be fair about whether there was aggressive questioning. I was reading the questioning of Johnson who was Michael Brown's friend. Key eyewitness.
BURNETT: Dorian Johnson.
CALLAN: Dorian Johnson.
BURNETT: The young man who was with Michael Brown that day. Yes.
CALLAN: His testimony was they met at 7:00 in the morning and -- because they usually would start smoking weed at seven in the morning, and they were going to go to the convenience store. No questioning about where they were from the four hours from 7:00 in the morning until 11:53 when the convenience store stick-up takes place.
Softball questioning by the prosecutor throughout.
BURNETT: But -- I mean, just hypothetically, though, why does that matter? They smoked pot.
CALLAN: Well, it matters --
BURNETT: We know they did it. It was in his system. They robbed the convenience store.
CALLAN: Well, it matters because it shows that the prosecutors were softball questioning everybody. They were just presenting all of the evidence to the grand jury and letting them decide. It wasn't that they were just going soft on the cop.
BURNETT: What about -- OK.
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: So for one thing --
MARTIN: Erin, that's just not accurate.
BURNETT: OK, Areva, go ahead.
MARTIN: Yes. That's just not accurate. When you read the testimony of those witnesses, many of those witnesses were questioned very aggressively. Darren Wilson was allowed to give testimony. The question of why --
(CROSSTALK)
CALLAN: Where were they between 7:00 and 11:53 in the morning then?
MARTIN: Why he even pursued Brown?
CALLAN: Where were they in that four-hours space in time?
MARTIN: Wasn't even asked by the prosecutor. He had to bring that point up himself.
CALLAN: And --
BURNETT: So --
CALLAN: Yes?
BURNETT: But, Paul, what about the point about Darren Wilson himself? You know, we're always taught that the last thing you hear is the thing that sinks into your mind that's the most important. So why do they have Michael testify last?
CALLAN: For a --
BURNETT: When Michael Brown couldn't testify at all?
CALLAN: For a very good reason. And if I were the prosecutor, I'd put him on last as well because if you're going to go after him, you wait until all of the other evidence has come in and then you can go after him.
BURNETT: But you just said all the questions were softball.
CALLAN: Then -- then you can go after him on contradictions that come up in the testimony. This was not a trial. This was an investigation. And you know something, in the end, there is so much reasonable doubt here. What would we be accomplished if we indicted in this case? There would be an acquittal. The suffering would go on with people worrying about the case for months. I mean, does anybody seriously think that with five -- seven witnesses
saying that he charged the car, four witnesses saying he was reaching into his waist band, and everybody agreeing that Michael Brown had just done a strong arm robbery of a store, does anybody think that there is not reasonable doubt in this case? There would never be a conviction.
BURNETT: All right. Paul Callan, thank you very much. Areva, thank you.
And next, we're live in Atlanta as the attorney general is getting ready for this historic speech as you can see in the way of the Ferguson shooting in one of the most important churches in this nation.
Plus, U.S. military, law enforcement, intelligence personnel. The FBI issuing a warning that ISIS is targeting them for attacks on American soil.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: In Atlanta tonight, at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King Jr. preached, you now see the attorney general of the United States, Eric Holder. He is meeting with community leaders to discuss the August shooting death of Michael Brown by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson.
This was one of several meetings the president requested in the wake of the protests and the grand jury decision to not indict Officer Wilson. In Missouri, tensions flared at the first meeting of the Ferguson Commission today that was created by the governor of Missouri. They're supposed to be recommendations on how to deal with the issues that arose from Michael Brown's death.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Y'all upset right now because we raising our voices. We get killed out here. You should understand that, we understand this, we're getting killed out here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I've understood that when I was -- no, no, no. I've understood that when I was 14 years old and saw the place where my brother lay in the middle of the sidewalk because he was shot. So, please don't tell me what I don't understand.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Martin Savidge is OUTFRONT, in front of the Ebenezer Baptist Church where the forum is taking place.
And, Martin, what is exactly happening behind you?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, there's an interfaith service that's wrapping up inside the church. But as that's been going on, you've had the attorney general who has had this meeting with a select group of civic leaders, they include the mayor and the chief of police from Atlanta and an number of surrounding county law enforcement as well.
He pointed out during that meeting that one of the reasons he was here was he felt that this area, the Atlanta region had done a good job of community outreach between law enforcement and communities of color. So, that's one reason he gave.
The other reason is historic. And that's the fact that this is, of course, the birth place, this is the church, this is the community where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was raised, where he preached, where he worked. And as a result of that, his message had always been nonviolent when it comes to social change he sparked and worked for an entire civil rights movement.
And, of course, it is the belief that movement is very vital today and still very much connected to events regarding Ferguson. But it is the message of nonviolence that you can expect to be reiterated by the attorney general tonight when he speaks. We also anticipate, he could update the federal probes that are underway in Ferguson, that being, revolving around the case of the Brown shooting as well as looking at the police practices of the Ferguson police department, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Marty, thank you very much.
And we do hope that he will be giving a very direct and clear update on the federal investigation into the Michael Brown shooting.
Joining me now: Martin Luther King III, and Patricia Bynes, Democratic committeewoman of Ferguson Township.
All right. I appreciate you both being with me tonight.
The president today talked about this and he said, look, there have been commissions on race and these issues before. He acknowledged they haven't worked and he said it's going to be different this time. Let me play exactly how he said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There was a cautionary note I think from everybody here that there have been commissions before, there had been task forces, there had been conversations, and nothing happens. What I try to describe to people is why this time will be different. And part of the reason this time will be different is because the president of the United States is deeply invested in making sure that this time is different.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Do you believe him, Patricia?
PATRICIA BYNES, DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE WOMAN, FERGUSON TOWNSHIP: I most certainly do. People that live here in the St. Louis region are going to make sure that whether it is through a commission or other actions, there are solutions. And there are actions that are taking place to address these issues. So, I definitely commend the men and women on the commission. Their
work will not be in vain. But it's the people in the community who are going to have to do the real work.
BURNETT: And, Martin, President Obama and his attorney general obviously speaking in Atlanta, have spoken about race and their commitment to justice. They've talked about it a lot. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Too many young men of color feel targeted by law enforcement. Guilty of walking while black, driving while black, judged by stereotypes that fuel fear and resentment and hopelessness.
There are still problems, and communities of color aren't just making these problems up.
ERIC HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL: We are committed to doing everything possible to ensure that in every case, in every circumstance, and every community, justice must be done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And, Mr. King, President Obama has launched his personal initiative, My Brother's Keeper, right? And that was focused on young men of color. You just heard the attorney general saying that justice will be served. No doubt they believe in this and they believe in it passionately. But the question to you is, where is the action?
MARTIN LUTHER KING III, PRESIDENT & CEO, REALIZING THE DREAM: Well, the action really comes when you see number one, when you look at this issue around police brutality, if that is one of the major issues. What is creating this issue right now? I mean, there are a myriad of issues. Poverty is one of the issues. Not so much just creating this issue, but certainly, poverty is an issue that must be addressed in America.
The president, I believe, has a commitment, the attorney general. They have stated they have a commitment. I believe the other thing that has to happen is there has to be an outreach to Congress. Congress is going to have to create additional legislation for to us continue to move forward.
BURNETT: And, Patricia, what about the issue of justice in Ferguson? We expect the attorney general in just a moment. He'll be speaking. And we hope that he will be giving a very explicit update on the federal Justice Department investigation into whether civil rights were violated in the Ferguson shooting.
Were they violated? How disappointing will you be if the Department of Justice declines to go ahead and press charges?
BYNES: I don't know what their investigation is going to find. You know, I think there will be another hit to this community.
But again, that's going to be another catalyst for us to continue to move forward, because this is much larger than just the Mike Brown case. People need the remember that. It is not just about the one case. This is about men and women of color and policing and all sorts of other issues that we cannot just be disappointed about one lack of indictment.
BURNETT: Martin, should the president go to Ferguson?
KING: I think the president has to make that --
BYNES: I'm sorry?
KING: Excuse me?
BURNETT: Go ahead, Martin.
KING: The president has to make that decision. But I think the most important issue is that the president is finding a way to work with Congress to get Congress to enact things that certainly do trickle down to the communities. Training, for example, in communities so that jobs are created. Those are some of the things that need to happen in this nation.
And as we see these demonstrations all around our nations, it is really a myriad of people coming together, young people, which is most exciting, tragic that it took something like this for it to happen. But the road is being paved as we speak.
BURNETT: All right. Thanks to both of you.
And next, the most serious terror warning from the FBI yet. ISIS recruiting those people to attack U.S. military inside the United States.
And, Sasha and Malia, an online rant tells them to show a little class and don't make faces. Are teenagers in the White House fair game?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: The strongest FBI warning yet about possible terror attacks in the United States. Officials specifically warning members of the American military. The FBI bulletin says and I want to quote it, "Overseas-based individuals are looking for like-minded individuals in the U.S. to carry out these attacks. We also request members of the military review their online social media presence for any information that might attract the attention of violent extremists." Information like their whereabouts at the specific time.
Officials fear copycat attacks similar to Canadian military members including the October shooting in Ottawa.
Republican Congressman Peter King is OUTFRONT. He sits on both the Homeland Security and Intelligence Communities.
Good to have you with us as always. Let me start by asking you, Congressman, how concerned you are about this bulletin? REP. PETER KING (R), NEW YORK: Erin, we have to be concerned. I
don't believe there's anything new over the last 60 days. This is something the intelligence community has been aware of and the Defense Department has notified the military several months ago. I think the FBI and also Homeland Security thought it was important, though, to remind military personnel in this country that it's not just overseas that there's a risk, especially now with the holiday season and a lot of troops will be traveling back and forth in their uniforms, they're on leave, you know, for Christmas, over the holidays.
And it is really, a real reminder to them that ISIS is making a concerted effort to attack, it's not just overseas. You almost expect that. But they want to get military people. They want to get people in uniform. And it started in Canada.
And it is not just even the hard core they're appealing to. They're also appealing to the fringes in society where you saw the person in Jamaica, Queens, who attacked a police officer with an ax. He was influenced by ISIS.
So, it's a real threat. We have to be on our guard. And I don't believe there's any specific plot right now, but it's out there. It's out there on the Internet and they told their supporters to attack.
BURNETT: And I know a lot of the trouble here is, of course, and there isn't necessarily always a trail, you know, with some of the lone wolves. You don't necessarily see it coming.
And I know the new FBI bulletin talks specifically about ISIS members and they use the word, quote/unquote, "spotting and assessing" individuals in the U.S. that they think will carry these attacks out on American soil. You have been briefed and I know you've seen the intelligence.
How are they, quote/unquote, "spotting" these people? How is ISIS spotting people?
KING: They can do it, first of all, they can monitor the Internet and you have people do basic things -- sending pictures of themselves in uniforms, talking about military activities, stories in local newspapers, any type of contact, anytime when you show who you are, when you show you're in the military, that makes you a target. And again, they can just go on the Internet. Communications back and forth, saying where you're moving to, where you've been reassigned. To saying you're going home for family birthdays or wedding anniversary. Any of those thing, you know, they're looking for.
BURNETT: Obviously, the most severe warning as we said from the FBI thus far. Thank you very much, Congressman King.
KING: Erin, thank you.
BURNETT: Two more horrific terror attacks today. It is a word that barely describes the horror of what happened here, a 10-hour battle. Boko Haram militants burned down a police check point, exploded bombs, fire on a government housing compound in the town of Damaturu in Nigeria. Later, an explosion by a female suicide bomber killed six more people at a local market. The death toll there is expected to rise, 78 people were killed by a suicide bomber in that same town just last week, and earlier this weekend, two more suicide bombers, and gunmen killed at least 100 more people at a mosque in Kano. That is Nigeria's second largest city.
And tonight on CNN, meet the al Qaeda terrorist who switched sides and became a spy for the United States, "Double Agent: Inside Al Qaeda for the CIA", an amazing report from our Paul Cruickshank. That is tonight at 9:00 Eastern.
And next, the Obama girls, you know, they looked programs a little bored, maybe casually tired at a White House Thanksgiving event, and then a congressional staffer took time to berate them. Fair?
Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want us to kill the leader of North Korea?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Jeanne Moos on why North Korea failed to find the humor in Seth Rogen's new movie.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: So, an aide to a Republican congressman resigned after she told the Obama daughters to, quote, "show a little class and act like you deserve respect, not a spot at the bar."
OK. Here's what she was reacting to, this video of Malia and Sasha with their dad as he pardoned turkeys which was a White House tradition.
Dana Bash is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You are hereby pardoned --
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a standard first family event, pardoning the Thanksgiving, turkey until a Republican congressional aide wrote a mean-spirited rant on her Facebook page about the president's teenage daughters, "Try showing a little class.", "Dress like you deserve respect, not a spot at a bar."
That post chastising Malia, 16, and Sasha, 13, went viral, forcing Elizabeth Lauten, communications director for Tennessee Republican Steve Fincher to apologize.
But it wasn't enough. Today, she resigned. SEAN SPICER, RNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Children, especially the
first daughters, should be off limits in the political discourse from attacks.
BASH: That's the Republican Party spokesman agreeing with the White House.
JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I was taken aback that there was some -- you know, a political operative on Capitol Hill who did use the occasion of the Thanksgiving -- of a Thanksgiving themed event to criticize members of the first family.
BASH: There has been scattered conservative criticism about the first daughters' appearance over the last six years, curly hair and a peace shirt while touring Europe. But most public discussion of the first daughters has been noncontroversial. In fact, it has long been a bipartisan goal to respect and protect the privacy of presidential kids, living in a fish bowl through no fault of their own.
But that hands-off policy has limits. Chelsea Clinton like the Obama girls lived in the White House during her teenage girls and was largely left alone with some glaring exceptions, like when "Saturday Night Live" mocked her appearance.
Rush Limbaugh even compared her to a dog.
RUSH LIMBAUGH, CONSERVATIVE RADIO HOST: Cute kid. Let's take a look and see who is the cute kid in the White House. No, no, no, no! That's not the kid, that's the kid.
BASH: Amy Carter's first day of school was a media spectacle.
And when George W. Bush's then 19-year-old daughters were charged with violating liquor laws in Texas, it made headlines. But even that was before social media, where anyone with an opinion can express it -- an occupational hazard in politics that Elizabeth Lauten learned the hard way with her mean girl Facebook post lashing out at the Obama daughters.
Former GOP leadership aide Doug Heye says it's an important lesson.
(on camera): This was her personal Facebook page. That's fair play?
DOUG HEYE, FORMER GOP LEADERSHIP AIDE: I think we've moved to a world where everything is public now. Think about one rule that we would say, does mom want to read it? And if mom doesn't want to read it, you may not want to say it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: And that's good advice for all of us, Erin.
In today's toxic environment, it's hard to imagine that there's even a line to cross any more. But this unknown staffer working for a low profile congressman, she found it and she tripped over it -- Erin. BURNETT: She certainly did. As someone wrote, they said, look, as
for the eye rolling, it doesn't matter if you're the president of the United States, your teens are your teens and they're going to roll their eyes at you.
BASH: They will.
BURNETT: All right. Dana, thank you.
And OUTFRONT next, a major film studio hack. Its newest movies appearing online illegally. I mean, they're using paper and pen and fax machines. Jeanne Moos on North Korea and Hollywood in a very real world.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: North Korea called it an act of war. In this country, it's the latest Seth Rogen comedy.
Jeanne Moos on why North Korea may be hacking Sony Pictures.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's not nice to make fun of the dear leader.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Kim Jong Un.
MOOS: But is it is possible North Korea hacked Sony Pictures because they made a movie called "The Interview" featuring Seth Rogen and James Franco out to assassinate Kim Jong Un?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The CIA would love it if you could take him out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like for drinks?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like to dinner.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take him out on the town?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Take him out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want us to kill the leader of North Korea.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?
MOOS: That's pretty much how North Korea first reacted back in June, complaining to the U.N., calling it an act of war. "Those who defamed our supreme leadership can never escape the stern punishment to be meted out." In reply, Seth Rogen tweeted, "People don't usually want to kill me for one of my movies until after they've paid 12 bucks for it."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want to go kill Kim Jong Un? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Totally.
MOOS: Last week, Sony Pictures was hacked. The company's e-mail crippled. This image appeared.
And then, at least five of Sony's films were stolen. From Brad Pitt's movie "Fury", to films like the yet to be released "Annie."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her name is Annie. She'll be staying with Mr. Sachs (ph) for a while.
MOOS: They were uploaded to piracy sites where people can download them for free. Sony called it a criminal matter. "We are working closely with law enforcement."
(on camera): But is North Korea really the culprit? Honestly? We don't have a clue.
(voice-over): The tech Web site Re/code quoted sources as saying the link to North Korea was being explored.
It was a decade ago that "Team America" --
CHARACTER: I'm so lonely --
MOOS: Mocked the current leader's father Kim Jong-Il.
Well, he's not alone now. His son is riding shotgun.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nice tank!
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a gift to my grandfather from Stalin.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In my country it's pronounced Stallone.
MOOS: -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: Well, we'll have to see if we ever figure out who the culprit is. It's been a week where they haven't had e-mail at Sony. Whatever it is, it's one of the most impressive attacks ever.
Thanks so much for watching. We'll see you back here tomorrow night.
Be sure to set your DVR to record OUTFRONT so you can watch us any time.
"AC360" begins right now.
