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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Capitol Hill Terror Plot; France's War on Terror; Aftermath of Boko Haram Massacre

Aired January 15, 2015 - 04:00   ET

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

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Terror threat on Capitol Hill. Police arresting a man they say planned to setoff a series of bombs in an ISIS-style attack. New information about the suspect this morning and what his father is saying about the arrest.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The French war on terror. Searching for more terrorists on the run believed to be involved in the attacks here in Paris and vowing to fight al Qaeda. There are now claims by al Qaeda to have been behind the attacks here at "Charlie Hebdo." And now, in France, they have approved new airstrikes on ISIS.

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is Thursday, January 15th. It's 4:00 a.m. in the East.

There's a lot happening in Paris this morning. But, first, let's get to breaking news.

New information in a terror threat in this country. An Ohio man is in federal custody, accused of planning an attack on the U.S. Capitol. Criminal complaint alleges that Christopher Lee Cornell had aligned himself with ISIS. His father tells CNN that Cornell could never have carried this plan.

Our justice correspondent Pamela Brown is in Washington with the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christine, the FBI report says 20-year-old Christopher Lee Cornell from Cincinnati, Ohio, was in the final stages of carrying out his alleged plot of detonating bombs at the U.S. Capitol building and opening fire on U.S. lawmakers as they ran out. FBI officials have been keeping an eye on Cornell for several months now after confidential informant tipped them off about some alarming statements he posted allegedly on social media about launching violent jihad.

At point, according to criminal complaint, he told the informant that he had been in contact with people overseas. He wanted to murder U.S. government officials in honor of ISIS. And the criminal complaint says that some of the communications happened over the summer. One, this is a quote, he allegedly said, "I believe we should wage

jihad under our own orders and planned attacks." And the FBI says that after that, he begun to take concrete steps towards his goal. Researching how to build pipe bombs, studying the building that he wanted to target in D.C. and then we learned on Wednesday, he allegedly bought two semiautomatic rifles. Shortly after that, the FBI arrested him and charge him with attempting to kill a U.S. government officer.

His father did speak to CNN, and he says he is shocked by this, that he had no knowledge of his son's alleged plot. It is important to point out here, Christine, that officials say that he did not pose a threat to the public during the course of the investigation over the last few months -- Christine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right. Pamela Brown with that story this morning for us.

John, a really interesting story. The FBI saying that he purchased weapons and was planning to do damage at the U.S. Capitol.

BERMAN: Obviously on high alert in the United States, Christine.

And this morning, in Paris, high alert as well. Of course, in the wake of the new claim by al Qaeda in Yemen. That group has taken responsibility for the terror attacks here against the satirical magazine "Charlie Hebdo" right behind me.

At the same time, the country is celebrating the release of the new issue of "Charlie Hebdo" with its cartoon as the Prophet Muhammad on the cover. The government here is ordering prosecutors to crack down on some kinds of speech. The justice ministry says that since last week's attack, more than 50 people have been detained or arrested for hate speech or condoning or defending terrorism. It is against the law here.

The level of public hostility to radical Islam seems to be growing. The lower house of the parliament has voted overwhelmingly to extend French participation in the coalition airstrikes against ISIS.

Also, French President Francois Hollande has announced that he is sending a French aircraft carrier to the Indian Ocean to help battle ISIS. All this happening as the U.S. Secretary Kerry is due to arrive here later today. He will be the highest level American official to come to Paris since the attacks.

I want to bring our international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen. He's with me this morning.

And, Fred, overnight, there was an incident here in Paris that really highlights the high level of attention here.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: High level of attention, the high level of security concerns as well. Apparently, there was a car that was involved near the residence of President Francois Hollande. Apparently in the wrong direction down the one way street, right in front of the residence, and what the police is that all of a sudden, this car started backing up and ran into a police officer, lightly injuring that police officer, and the people inside that car tried to run away. Two of them were apprehended. Two of them were not. There were four people inside the car.

There were reports initially saying that the police believe that this was done intentionally. That, of course, leads many to believe that maybe it's linked to what happened here. That maybe there are people who just want to make a statement after all this. And now, the police believe or suspect says they were confused and they went down the street. They were intoxicated and they tried to get away. It really is unclear at this point. But, certainly, highlights the increased level of security here right now and the increased tension.

I just came out here and we were driving around the facility of the residence and there are a lot more police checkpoints. We ran through a lot of traffic. There's a lot of police checkpoints. You see them on the street. They pop up all of a sudden. So, there is certainly big tension here today.

BERMAN: And the police here already thought they were a target. So, you can expect this only to raise that level of security and tension more.

Fred, something having has happened over the last day. We've learned there have been more than 50 arrests or legal proceedings started against more than 50 people here in France for defending or condoning terrorism.

PLEITGEN: Yes, and the interesting thing about that is there are 50 arrests, but there's a lot more cases. And in some cases, it's not even clear who is behind all this. So, they opened a case because maybe someone called anonymously into a newspaper or called anonymously into police and defended what happened here. The terror attacks here.

And then there's some police action afterwards. There is however one incident where a fairly well known cartoonist.

BERMAN: The comedian.

PLEITGEN: The comedian, he said "I am Coulibaly", "Je Suis Coulibaly", and that was something that got him arrested. He's someone who in the past has said a lot of controversial things. He feels that the state is going after him and then likes to make radical statement.

But it does show that the police is not playing games right now. But if anybody condones this, they're going to go after them. Another interesting thing is that they were apparently over 100 incidents across the country when they had the moment of silence here last week for those who were killed in the terror attacks at schools in France, where people disrupted that. And there was action taken after that as well. So, certainly right now, the French don't understand any sort of humor

when it comes to dealing with the incident.

BERMAN: Interesting. Almost have conflicting though strains of thought here on free speech, even as "Charlie Hebdo" is being celebrated, not allowing certain kinds of statements to be made.

Frederik Pleitgen, great to have you with us. I really appreciate it.

I want to talk more now about the investigation. Some new leads this morning. This as investigators pursue every angle following the attacks here.

We are learning more about the gunmen who staged them. American counterterrorism officials tell "The New York Times", they now believe it was Cherif Kouachi, the younger brother who was really the aggressor in the attacks, the main player, not his older brother, Said. French security services has now believed that Amedy Coulibaly had an accomplice in his attack at the kosher grocery. Police sources tell French newspaper "Le Parisien" that a man from a Paris suburb may have driven Coulibaly to the supermarket. They found keys to a scooter in Coulibaly's apartment that did not belong to Coulibaly that led them to this other man.

And now, there is new information breaking this morning. Belgium authorities say they have arrested a man who recently bought a car from Coulibaly's partner, Hayat Boumeddiene. Prosecutors say this man is now being held in the connection with arms trafficking. This development just in.

The investigators are following the money and now they say they have a data point that appears to show that Coulibaly may have self financed his attack. This is a different strain here. The idea that Coulibaly took out a loan. The newspaper reports overnight that Coulibaly took out about $7,000, the loan was to be repaid in five years.

I want to get more now on all of these angles, turning to CNN's Isa Soares in our Paris bureau.

Good morning, Isa.

Let's start with Belgium, an arrest for a man who may be involved in selling weapons.

ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, good morning, John.

Lots of pieces coming in overnight, breaking overnight. In fact, this one out of Belgium in the last 20 minutes. Belgium authorities telling CNN, they have arrested a man in Belgium in connection with arms trafficking. He is believed to have bought a car from Hayat Boumeddiene.

Of course, if you remember, Hayat Boumeddiene is a woman who's believed to be in Syria. She is believed to be part of this terrorist tactics here. And she is the partner of Coulibaly, of course, as many people would know.

So, he is believed to have bought the car from her. Belgium media reporting this hour as well, that they searched the house -- authority searched this man's house and they found plenty of documents that linked Coulibaly to this man in terms of arms trafficking. So, that is one angle that authorities are looking at.

The other one that broke overnight we've been hearing is that the potential fourth accomplice. According to the French newspaper saying that they believe the man lives in the suburbs of Paris and drove Coulibaly to the kosher store on Friday.

Now, they say the reason why they made this connection, John, just to be clear to the viewers, is if you remember last week, investigators went to the house of Coulibaly and inside that house, they found a stash of weapons and explosives. They also found a set of keys to the motor bike. That motor bike belongs to this man they're looking for. Apparently, he has a lengthy criminal record and also just add another layer to this, the man is believed -- the man they're looking is believe to have shot a wounded, a jogger on the same day of that "Charlie Hebdo" attack.

And why is this important, because basically the ballistics from the incident match the ballistics from the incident in the kosher store. So, another key development.

Also, investigators really painstakingly looking at the money trail, finding out who funded these men. We heard from Coulibaly in the past saying that money came from ISIS, allegiance to ISIS. But we know, we have learned through "La Voix Du Nord", basically saying that he, on December 4th, took out a loan for $7,000. The loan, he asked to get it in eight days.

He also got life insurance with that loan. We have been told the amount he borrowed wasn't enough to warrant any sort of comment, any sort of questioning regarding the amount. We know if you remember going back to the video from BFM TV, he said he had taken money out to help the Kouachi brothers.

All of this coming in the last 24 hours after al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claiming responsibility for the attacks at this offices of "Charlie Hebdo". They said they chose the target. They laid the plan and they financed the operation. Overnight, U.S. government saying they believe the tape is authentic from the AQAP.

But there are doubts over the involvement, planning and indeed the financing, John. So, many, many layers. You see the pieces of the puzzle coming together, but clearly authorities on the trail of the money and indeed the weapons, John.

BERMAN: The money and the weapons, the idea of other people involved. This fourth suspect, security source tells me, one thing they're looking at is, did he drive Amedy Coulibaly to the kosher market? Because they still are not clear exactly how he got there with the arsenal of weapons and equipment that he had.

Isa Soares, here in Paris with me, thank you so much.

As you can see behind me, there is still a memorial outside the office of "Charlie Hebdo" for the people who were killed here. This is still a nation very much in mourning. Funerals for the victims of the attacks, some are set for this morning. Police Officer Frank Brinsolaro will be laid to rest in just a couple of hours and the "Charlie Hebdo" cartoonist Bernard Verlhac known by the pen name "Tignous", he will be buried. That ceremony begins around 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time -- Christine.

ROMANS: Thank you for that.

Twelve minutes past the hour.

Happening now, divers in the water trying to recover victims of AirAsia Flight 8501 as investigators examine those black boxes to figure out why this plane crashed in the first plane. We are live with new developments for you this morning. That's next.

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ROMANS: Fifteen minutes past the hour.

Now that the fuselage of AirAsia Flight 8501 has been found, divers are working in the Java Sea facing an especially grim duty. They have started to search the wreckage for bodies of those who perished in last month's crash. Officials say that if the divers encounter trouble, crews may lift the fuselage out of the water.

ISIS fighters are still making gains in Syria, even after three months of pounding by coalition forces. Close to 800 airstrikes. U.S. and independent assessment say bombing campaigns have pushed militant forces out of some key battlegrounds in Iraq. But the same cannot be said in Syria. In fact, Syria continues to be a safe haven for Islamic state militants and they kept making progress in Syria.

A "Washington Post" journalist detained in Iran for months has been indicted and will stand trial. Tehran's announcement comes following as Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to Geneva pushing forward program. Current and former U.S. officials believe the prosecution of Jason Rezaian, an Iranian-American will complicate the Obama administration's efforts to forge a nuclear deal with Iran.

A major management shake up at the Secret Service. Four of its most senior officials overseeing protection, investigation, technology and public affairs, they are being forced out following a series of scandals and security breaches at the White House. The agency's acting director says, quote, "Change is necessary to get a fresh perspective on how we conduct business."

House Republicans going the offensive passing legislation to overturn President Obama's executive actions on immigration and remove protections for so-called dreamers. Those are immigrants brought here illegally to the country as children.

Speaker John Boehner says the president's executive overreach left the Republican-controlled House with no alternative. But 10 GOP members voted against the final bill.

Sexual assault claims against Bill Cosby could go from scandalous to criminal. The LAPD says it will investigate new allegations brought by Chloe Goins. She says Cosby drugged and assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion back in 2008 when she was 18 years old. More than a dozen other women have made similar accusations against the comedian. Her attorney says the claims by his client are the first to fall within the California statute of limitations.

Just days before the AFC championship game, an Indianapolis Colts player have been charged with rape. Twenty-six-year-old Josh McNary was arrested Wednesday. He's a backup line backer and special teams player with the Colts. McNary is accused of felony rape and criminal confinement, along with misdemeanor battery resulting in bodily injury. In the statement, the Colts say they are aware of the allegations. The NFL says the matter is, quote, "under review".

If you have questions about filling out your tax returns or filing your tax returns this year, do not count on the IRS for help. A report by a federal watchdog group says taxpayers will bear the brunt of IRS budget cuts with customer service expected to be the worst in more than a decade. And it is not likely to improve anytime soon. Republican lawmakers want to cut the IRS budget by another $346 million for this fiscal year.

Time for an early start on your money this morning. Good morning for stocks so far. European and Asian shares are up. U.S. stock futures are up following rebound in oil prices.

On Wednesday, the stocks fell for a fourth day in a row. The Dow is down 350 points by midday. And it finished the day with a total drop of 187 points. A really wild day because of the drop in December retail sales and weak results from JPMorgan Chase rattling the market. We're going to get a look at more big bank earnings today.

The president is renewing his push for paid sick days and paid family leave. The White House announced the move in the lengthened blog post, saying the president will push Congress for the Healthy Families Act. It would allow workers to earn up to seven paid sick days per year. It could be a huge change for the 40 percent of workers in this country, 40 percent of workers do not get paid for sick time. And the U.S. is pretty lonely out there in the industrialized nations that don't require a paid sick leave.

At last, the weather you've been waiting for that, a January thaw due to end those arctic blasts.

Let's turn to meteorologist Pedram Javaheri with an early look at your weather.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good Thursday morning, Christine.

Yes, the warming trend finally ticking back in for portions of the Upper Midwest, portions of the Great Lakes, even the northern plains getting in on the action now. We're not talking about getting up too far above freezing. It's still very cold. Not shorts and t-shirts weather.

But 36 for Minneapolis St. Paul since the 3rd of January. They'll take it.

About 12 degrees above normal for Denver. Remember when they were below zero a few days?

And, of course, St. Louis on the warming up side as well. And Washington, D.C. and New York, the lone spots going to remain low. But just a couple of notches below averages, and notice just everyone again sees the temperatures go above average. Come Friday, New York, D.C. staying again right at or below average.

The trend changes a little bit. We get some cooler air pushing in across the northern portion of the country, mainly the north eastern portion. So, New York unfortunately, you don't get in on the warm just yet.

But here is the culprit. This clipper system drops in Thursday into Friday reinforces that shot of cold air from Boston to New York and Philly. That is the trend.

So, notice the warming in place for large parts of the country in the northeast. Saturday, pretty cold. New York City, 29. Boston, 22.

But look what happened Sunday, Christine, temperatures in New York finally shoot up not only into the 30s, but into the mid and upper 40s. So, the warming trend is going to get towards their direction, but it's going to take a few days before it does.

ROMANS: All right. Pedram Javaheri, thank you for that.

OK. They made it, they made it. Climbers Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgenson becoming the first to scale the granite wall of El Capitan at Yosemite National Park. They use only their hands and feet, no climbing tools, that's never happened before. It is considered the toughest rock climb in the world. The 3,000 foot free climb took 19 days.

Their remarkable feat was celebrated by President Obama. He tweeted a picture of himself standing in front of Yosemite painting with the message -- you remind us that anything is possible.

Boko Haram launching new attacks after we learn about the massacre earlier this week. We are live with the latest after the break.

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ROMANS: This morning, we are getting a closer look at the horrific aftermath of the Boko Haram massacre in Nigeria. Amnesty International published satellite images which they say shows one Nigerian town has been virtually wiped off the map after thousand of homes and businesses were damaged or destroyed in the Boko Haram attack.

CNN's Diana Magnay live for us in Johannesburg, South Africa with more.

The scope of this violence is just almost hard to comprehend, Diana.

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's shocking, Christine.

Amnesty says that it's the worst attack it has seen in Nigeria, and it's been on the ground covering this conflict for a long time, a good many years. You can see from that satellite image the before and after of the attack in the town called Doron Baga, which is about two and a half kilometers from Baga. And Amnesty says about 3,700 buildings were razed to the ground, as Boko Haram went through, setting them on fire, burning people inside, killing all those who came in the way of their guns.

So, absolutely horrifying devastation even if we still can't put an exact number on the death toll in that region. When I looked at the pictures, it reminded me of the pictures from April of 2013, with satellite images that were published by Human Rights Watch. That too showed horrific devastations, but that time, Human Rights Watch attributed that devastation, the razing to the ground of around 2,000 buildings to the Nigerian military, who were acting in response to a Boko Haram attack on one of their own, on a military patrol, in which a soldier was killed.

And according to Human Rights Watch, some 180 people lost their lives at the hands of the Nigerian military in that attack. And I bring that up because I think it's important to detail that everybody in that region, the vigilantes and military and Boko Haram, of course, themselves act with a degree of impunity.

It is, therefore, very difficult when the international community speak of aiding the military. It is very difficult to do so when the military stands accused of very grave human rights crimes itself, Christine.

ROMANS: And a president who is running for re-election and who has made virtually no mention of any of this.

Diana Magnay, thank you for that.

Twenty-six minutes past the hour.

New information this morning in the Capitol Hill terror plot -- investigators say a terror plot inspired by ISIS. That's next.

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