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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

New Raids In Belgium Yield Six New Arrests; Families Awaiting Word On Missing Victims; EU Ministers Call For Airport Plan To Exchange Passenger Data; Republican War Of Words Escalates; Biden Slams GOP For Using His Old Speech In Their Campaign To Block Merrick Garland; More Media Companies Threaten To Leave Georgia If Anti-LGBT Bill Is Enacted. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired March 25, 2016 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:00] VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news -- at least six new arrests overnight and this morning in terror raids. An intense manhunt for the surviving Brussels bombers as investigators in Paris say they foiled a new advanced terror plot.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Victor Blackwell.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Christine Romans. Nice to see you this morning. It is 5:30 in the east.

Breaking news this morning on the battle against terror in Europe. Overnight and this morning, new raids in Belgium leading to at least six new arrests as we learn investigators now know of several additional ISIS plots in Europe possibly linked to the Brussels and Paris terror networks.

Now, the manhunt intensifying for two suspects who survived the Brussels bombings. One man who dropped a bomb off at the airport and ran -- the other, who police say participated in the Metro bombing. This, as security forces thwart a planned terror attack in France. And, we learn of new intelligence failures. Top Belgian officials admitting mistakes were made.

And breaking right now, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in Belgium this morning showing American solidarity with Europe with a joint news conference just minutes away. We are covering this story the way only CNN can. We've got correspondents around the world.

We want to start with senior international correspondent, Frederik Pleitgen. He's live for us in Brussels. What's the latest, Fred?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Christine. It was certainly was a flurry of activity by the Belgian security forces overnight and also in the early morning hours of today in the Forest district, which is one of the districts where some of the terrorists who were allegedly involved in the plots in Brussels had a safe house in that district.

There was a raid in the early morning hours. The police are telling us that they detained several people. We don't know the identity of the people whom they've detained or whether or not these people will remain in detention, but it certainly appears to have been quite a big operation that was going on there in that district.

Now, the place that I am right here is called Schaerbeek and it's the place where the apartment that initially served as the main bomb- making factory for the Brussels plots is. In this district right here there was also a big raid that happened overnight with forensic units on the scene later securing material out of an apartment here.

It's unclear whether anybody was arrested at this particular location, however, overnight at least six people brought into detention. Three of them, strangely, right in front of the Belgian federal prosecutor's office -- the three people who apparently were waiting in a car.

So, certainly the Belgian police really stepping up its activity as it searches for those two people who are still at large. One, on those surveillance camera videos from the airport, and that other one -- that mystery figure -- from inside the Metro station, who many people there -- eyewitnesses -- say was acting very strangely before the blast. And some say they saw that person then leaving the Metro station after the blast -- Christine.

ROMANS: Fred, we're learning more about the people who are missing -- the many people who are missing.

PLEITGEN: Yes.

ROMANS: We're not getting much new information about confirmation of fatalities as the investigation continues this morning. We're learning about a mother three -- a woman who was a teacher at an Islamic school there in Brussels. Her students waiting for her on the morning of this. She did not come out of the subway.

We're learning about people who were traveling, people going to work, people taking their families on vacation. I mean, this is terror. The way that this has evolved for ISIS really strikes at the core of how people live their lives. Are we learning any more about when we'll have more information about the list of the dead?

PLEITGEN: It's an important question but you're absolutely right, Christine. It certainly is something where people here in the city say that they're downright afraid at this point in time. It's very difficult for them to carry on with their lives. I was speaking earlier to someone who says that she goes almost every day to that Metro station that was hit. And, of course, these people are deeply shaken by what's going on.

At the same time, you still have all these people who are missing. I was at the makeshift morgue that's been set up at the Brussels airport and the officials there -- and the officials, generally, here are saying that to this day -- at this point in time -- there still has not been a single person who was killed who was identified with 100 percent certainty.

So, there's still a lot of families out there -- a lot of people of there -- who are waiting for any sort of notice about whether or not their loved ones may come back. People who are missing like, for instance, the students at that school where the teacher is missing. It's a really, really big problem. It's an absolute tragedy for these families. They want clarity and at the same time, of course, many of them, so many days after this happened, are now, of course, fearing the worst.

ROMANS: And we're seeing her picture there -- Loubna Lafquiri, a mother of three sons. As we talk about the investigations going forward and the missed opportunities, it's really important to keep our thoughts on the victims and pray for the people who are waiting for more word on their loved ones. Thanks for much for that, Fred.

[05:35:00] BLACKWELL: Let's go to France now where there are breaking new details this morning on that terror plot that was foiled with a major raid overnight in a Paris suburb. A source close to the investigation is identifying the suspect in custody as Reda Kriket. Officials describe him as a high-level militant who was in the advanced stages, in their words, of planning the attack.

Let's go now to senior European correspondent, Jim Bittermann, who is in our Paris bureau. Jim, what else are we learning about Reda Kriket?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Reda Kriket was born in a Paris suburb and, in fact, was convicted in absentia in Brussels. But what makes it interesting -- what makes him interesting to authorities is the fact that he was convicted with Abdelhamid Abaaoud, who was the mastermind, it's believed, behind the terrorist plots that bombed the Paris stadium and the Bataclan theater here in Paris -- that he was the planner behind that. And so the two of them were clearly had connections prior to the attacks in Paris.

Now, the authorities are saying -- and Bernard Cazeneuve, the interior minister, said last night there's nothing to connect this man who was arrested, Kriket, with either of the attacks in Paris or in Brussels, but clearly he's involved in these circles. He has some connection. And when they raided his apartment -- an apartment that he'd been using in a northwest Paris suburb -- they found, according to reports here, at least one weapon and some explosives. A minor amount of explosives, perhaps, but the nonetheless they found some explosives.

Now they're still checking all this out. The prosecutor is expected to be giving us more information later on in the day -- the terrorism prosecutor of Paris -- and I think it's just the beginning of this investigation. I think we're going to hear a lot more about him and exactly what this plot was the. The interior minister said last night it was in an advanced stage of preparation, but he didn't say what the target was or exactly how advanced it was -- Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right, Jim Bittermann for us there in Paris. Jim, thank you so much.

ROMANS: All right, Belgian authorities admitting mistakes were probably made leading up to Tuesday's deadly terror bombings. This morning there are new questions about how airport suicide bomber Ibrahim El Bakraoui managed to slip through the cracks. The terrorist was deported by Turkey, which warned European officials he was a militant, but after Bakraoui arrived the Netherlands and Belgium set him free.

Turkey's president blasting the intelligence failures and saying it wasn't the first time Turkey warned European officials about a terrorist, only to be ignored.

I want to go live to Turkey and bring in CNN senior international correspondent, Arwa Damon. And Arwa, we say how he slipped through the cracks. It's like he drove through the cracks. A real chasm here between European and Turkish authorities.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There is, and there's also a lot of intelligence failure and communication in following up on intelligence. Now, in the case of Bakraoui, he was picked up by the Turks here in Gaziantep, where we are. This is a city that is very close to the border with Syria. It is home to a number of Syrian activists -- non-profits working in Syria.

But at the same time, it is one of the main transit hubs for people who want to cross into the war zone, to include those who want to go and join ISIS. Now, Turkey has a list of names that have been provided to it -- upwards of 38,000 individuals on that list. Bakraoui was not one of them. He is someone who the Turks identified as being suspicious. Exactly why, we don't know at this stage.

Prior to arriving here in Gaziantep he spent some time at a holiday resort town. This is something that the Turks say is fairly standard amongst those who are trying to slip through the cracks and get into Syria. They come here posing as tourists. Something about his behavior, as I was saying, though, did spark their suspicion so they picked him up here in Gaziantep and then notified the Netherlands because that is where he was going to be deported to, as well as Belgian authorities.

The Turks very adamant that they were clear in saying that the reason why he was being deported is because they strongly suspected that his intent in being here was to go and join the fighting group ISIS. But, they say the Netherlands and Belgium both did not follow up on that intelligence and it's not the first time.

There have been at least two other occasions where the Turks have notified authorities in Europe about potential individuals who may have ties to terrorism, and that intelligence has not been followed up on. In one of these cases the man then went on to carry out a knife attack against three soldiers in the south of France. And in another of these cases one of the attackers was one of the key Paris attackers.

So the Turks are saying look, Europe is always criticizing us saying that we have porous borders. We agreed. We're doing everything that we can, but at the same time, Europe needs to look at its own intelligence failures and all of this as well.

And to speak to that, there was a big meeting of European ministers that took place yesterday where they were trying to come to some sort of an agreement about how to up security at airports, but also how to undertake things like the sharing of airplane passenger information lists. Something that one would expect would be naturally happening within the European Union, but it's actually not.

And that is one of the many reasons why it's so easy for these people if they already have a European Union passport. Once they get back into whichever European Union country it is, they can just travel through fairly quickly and fairly easily.

[05:40:00] And Turkey, additionally, is saying look, Europe needs to stop scapegoating us. Europe needs to start taking our intelligence seriously. And, Europe needs to realize that even though yes, there has been improvement in cooperation, that cooperation has to significantly increase if we are going to even begin to attempt to try to follow up on all of this vital intelligence that will potentially, hopefully save people's lives.

ROMANS: All right, Arwa Damon, thank you so much for that for us this morning in Turkey. And it's sort of a cruel irony that 20 years, 30 years into the European Union experiment that meant to open borders and movement of people and goods around Europe, that's exactly what is the biggest problem right now for law enforcement.

BLACKWELL: Yes, they're discussing exchanging this airline data but as you made a point, as we were discussing during the break, that doesn't stop people from driving country to country.

ROMANS: And right now you're driving between Belgium and France, and then you can drive right into Germany. That's just the way it is.

BLACKWELL: Well, officials are admitting that mistakes were made, but what now can Europe do to fix its intelligence failures? We're breaking that down next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:45:00] ROMANS: All right, more now on the intelligence failures leading up to this week's deadly terror bombings in Brussels. European leaders are trying to figure out how to plug those security gaps, once again agreeing to implement a plan to share airport passenger data. Now, this is a plan they agreed to and then failed to implement after the Paris terror attacks.

BLACKWELL: Let's go live to Washington and bring in CNN military analyst and former deputy director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Colonel Cedric Leighton. And Col. Leighton, I want to ask you about a concerning similarity between this arrest of Reda Kriket in France overnight, and one of the bombers in Brussels.

We know that there was that will that was found on a laptop in which they expressed fear that they were the next to be arrested, so that likely expedited their plan after the arrest of Salah Abdeslam a week ago. Now with the arrest of Reda Kriket -- and officials say that he was in the advanced stages of planning this high-level attack -- what is your degree of concern that this arrest could expedite a plan somewhere else across Europe?

CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, I think it's a huge concern, Victor. I think that what we're looking at is the scattering of the rats, if you will. And when these types of arrests occur you're going to end up with a lot of movement within the targeted organization. So in the case of ISIS, you're going to see a lot of terrorists moving across -- they may try to move across borders, they may try to escape the police dragnet, but they made find it very difficult.

They're going to have two choices. Either run or stay in place. If they stay in place that will also allow for certain things to happen on the law enforcement side and it may result in further arrests that way. But it's far more likely that if they run they're going to get caught. So this is one of the big things if Kriket has a lot of information, and if he's the finance guy he probably does.

That could then really mean a real roll-up of a lot of terrorist forces that are out there. It won't be complete. It won't be 100 percent, but it will at least go a long way to denting ISIS if they can act quickly on that -- if the authorities can act quickly on that.

ROMANS: Yes, you look at that arrest -- who was arrested. He was somebody who was a jewel thief who then used those skills to figure out how to get young people to the fight in Syria and Iraq and back, presumably. We look at the Brussels and the Paris networks here and they're a francophone network and we see that there's the concentric circles moving between these two countries, hiding out in different apartments in different neighborhoods in Brussels and outside of Paris.

Are you concerned at all about other networks in Germany, in the Netherlands, in Spain, that there could be a revived attempt outside of this francophone network, elsewhere?

LEIGHTON: Well, I think we do have to be concerned about that, Christine. Of course, the francophone networks -- they rely on the fact that many of the people who are working for ISIS are from North Africa and a lot of those countries. The people are used to speaking French. They grow up speaking French, as well as Arabic, so it's very easy for them to go into those countries, not necessarily to blend into the societies of those countries, but it's definitely easy for them to get there and to, in essence, allow themselves to be part of the peripheral part of society.

Now, in Germany you have a different mix of people. You have a long living Turkish population -- they're a long-standing Turkish population that's been there since the 1970's. They are far less likely to be involved in ISIS, but there is the new addition, of course.

Over the summer we saw the migrants coming from Syria and Iraq and that adds a new dimension to the German landscape and it could result, very much, in ISIS cells being formed there. And, in fact, I know they have been formed in some of the areas of Germany.

The question is how effective are they and how well-developed are they? And it looks to be, at the moment, that they're not as developed as the francophone ISIS cells are but it won't take much for them to ramp it up and to get involved in the elements of the underworld that exist in Germany, as well.

BLACKWELL: As we broaden this conversation beyond Belgium -- Arwa Damon reporting from Gaziantep this morning about the information that came from Turkish officials to the EU. We know that there is this ongoing distrust between European officials and those in Turkey.

How do those entities streamline the information and bring some uniformity to it that's been given from Turkey to European officials?Some European officials saying that what they're giving is too vague -- kind of dumping information with no supporting details.

[05:50:00]ROMANS: Right.

LEIGHTON: Yes, that's right, Victor, and so what you're dealing with is the expectations of the receiver, in this case the European nations. They want certain things in certain formats. They expect certain details to be there. They don't expect that they're going to be able to act on very vague generalities. For example, if Turkey's intelligence service were to say that Mr. X is a bad actor, the Europeans expect there to be some proof of that instead of vague suspicion.

So there's not only a cultural issue here, but there is also a legal issue and the European nations are not going to go after someone just based on superstition or suspicion. But what they're going to do is they're going to want proof and that is going to be very hard to do.

It's going to require a cultural change on both sides. More proof from the Turks, as an example, and other Middle Eastern services, and also a greater willingness on the part of the Europeans to accept the vague generalities that might come out there and just kind of use that as a way to look into the behavior of these groups and these people.

BLACKWELL: All right, Col. Leighton, thank you so much for your insight.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Victor.

ROMANS: All right, 51 minutes past the hour. More companies are threatening to take their business out of Georgia. We'll get an early start on your money next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:56:00] ROMANS: The war of words over wives escalating to outright hostility between Ted Cruz and Donald Trump. Cruz lashing out at the Republican front-runner at a campaign stop in Wisconsin. He called Trump a bully for attacking his wife, Heidi.

Trump had tweeted he'd "spill the beans" on Cruz's wife after a Super PAC not affiliated with the Cruz campaign ran a negative ad in Utah. That ad featured a provocative photo of Trump's wife, Melania, with a caption reading something like is this who you want to be your next first lady. Cruz, angrily telling the billionaire, back off.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have to say seeing him go deeper and deeper to the gutter. It's not easy to tick me off. I don't get angry often, but you mess with my wife, you mess with my kids, that'll do it every time. Donald, you're a sniveling coward and leave Heidi the hell alone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Vice President Joe Biden is fighting against Senate Republicans, calling them ridiculous for using his old remarks to support their efforts to block Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland. Biden maintains they're taking a 17-page speech from 1992 out of context. Now, Republicans argue it shows he supported blocking high court nominees during the high-stakes election season. President Obama nominated Garland earlier this month to fill the opening left the Justice Antonin Scalia's death.

ROMANS: Let's get an early start on your money this Friday morning. The stock markets are closed today for the Good Friday holiday. Yesterday the Dow added 13 points snapping a 5-week winning streak. What a run, huh? There is new talk of an earlier than expected interest rate hike from the Fed and also a pullback in oil prices, cooling sentiment on Wall Street.

A 21st Century Fox and the Weinstein Company say they will take their business out of Georgia if the governor signs a bill that would give faith-based organizations the option of denying services to gay people. Now, proponents say it would protect religious freedoms in Georgia.

The Weinstein Company is threatening to end plans to shoot a film there in the state later this year. Time Warner, CNN's parent company, also issued a statement against the bill. We've also heard from Disney and other Hollywood film companies saying they will not film in Georgia if the governor signs this.

The state offers tax credits to lure television and movie industries. Two-hundred and forty-eight production shoots took place there last year. That added $1.7 billion in direct spending to the state economy. Those breaks can cover up to 30 percent of production expenses. The NFL said earlier this year the bill could hurt Atlanta's chances of hosting a Super Bowl at its new stadium there.

BLACKWELL: New raids and arrests related to the Brussels terror attack. The breaking news continues. "NEW DAY" starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Overnight, a series of anti-terror raids in several Belgian neighborhoods.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Six people arrested overnight.

JAMES COMEY, DIRECTOR, FBI: I don't think I'd give this group of savages credit for getting better.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't think about it because if you think what if, I'd go crazy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At least two people at large.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The number of suspects still growing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was facing the explosion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I really was burned (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was burned on the face.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My hands was burned.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She would walk on bodies to get out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Belgium's interior minister has offered to resign.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know, I think they're going to win and it's not possible. They can win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to your new day. It is Friday, March 25th. I'm Alisyn Camerota. I'm live in Brussels this morning. Michaela Pereira and John Berman are in New York. And we begin with breaking news in the terror investigation.

Belgian police conducting multiple raids throughout the capital. They've detained at least six suspects in connection with Tuesday's bombings. Also, those two unidentified attackers -- the search for them is intensifying this morning as the threat of more attacks hangs heavy over this city.