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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Gunman Had Visited Orlando Nightclub Before; Obama Travels To Orlando Thursday; Orlando Nightclub Survivors Speak Out; Probing Gunman's Past And Affiliations For Clues To Motive; Trump & Clinton Trade Barbs Over Approach To Fighting Terror; Trump Revokes Washington Post Credentials; Nation Unites To Mourn Orlando Attack Victims. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired June 14, 2016 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:31:00] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Stunning new stories of survival from the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. Forty-nine dead, 53 injured. How the killer planned his attack, his online radicalization, and why he chose that particular gay club in Orlando. Patrons telling CNN they had seen him there before many times.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans in New York.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Berman live in Orlando. Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. Just before dawn now here in Orlando, another dawn with an investigation that's been going on all night, two nights in a row now.

Forty-eight hours they've been working this crime scene here behind me and this morning we are learning new details about what they are discovering. How the gunman planned and carried out the attack that killed 49 people and injured 53.

Regular patrons of the Pulse nightclub tell CNN and the "Orlando Sentinel" that they had seen the gunman there several times before. It is still unclear whether he was casing a target or if he was there for personal reasons, but three years would be a long time to case any target.

The people of Orlando -- they are mourning and they are gathering together right now, coming together. There was this beautiful vigil overnight to honor the victims. President Obama -- he is coming here to Orlando on Thursday to pay his respects to the families and stand in solidarity with the community.

The investigation, as we said, has been going non-stop and it is exposing new details about the attack, including details about the planning, and the preparation, and the motive.

CNN's Boris Sanchez here with me right now to give us a sense of what we've learned over the last few hours -- Boris.

[05:35:00] BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, really these details reveal just how calculated this attack was. About two weeks ago he went and purchased the weapons that he used in this attack. It was a Sig Sauer AR-15 assault-style rifle, a 9mm GLOCK, as well, and a 38 caliber handgun that was found inside his car after everything unfolded.

We also know that he had extensive training -- at least a month's worth of training with these weapons, specifically with one of these kind of weapons, but he was familiar with firearms. Aside from that, he tried to buy body armor a couple of weeks ago and he was denied, fortunately. Who knows how much worse this could have been if he had that kind of defense.

We're also learning that, as you mentioned, he had been here many times before. It's hard to believe that he was casing this place out, potentially, for three years. But regardless of whether or not he was casing it out or whether he was here for personal reasons, he knew where to hide. We heard from officials yesterday telling us that there was this contingent of police that initially went inside and tried to stop him and that he hid in a bathroom. It's clear that he knew where to go.

Aside from that, we're also learning about his influences. One official telling CNN that it was clear that this guy was consuming a hell of a lot of Jihadi propaganda. He was --

BERMAN: That was the words he used.

SANCHEZ: Right.

BERMAN: A hell of a lot of propaganda.

SANCHEZ: He was watching ISIS propaganda, he was watching videos from Anwar al-Awlaki, and so clearly this was something that was formulating for a while. And what's really hard to stomach is when you hear the descriptions from survivors and the fact that he was potentially enjoying himself as he was doing this. Listen to what these survivors said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know friends that actually had to hide under dead bodies just so that he would think that they were dead, as well. It's just a senseless act of violence, a true face of evil.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once he shot him, he laughed.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: The gunman laughed?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, and that's something that's imprinted in my head for the rest of my life. I've literally been in the hospital for two days trying to sleep and one of the first things I hear when I close my eyes are guns, bullets hitting the floor, and just that laugh. It wasn't like a multiple laugh. It's like a villain in a movie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: That laugh is going to haunt those survivors, likely, for the rest of their lives. And you can imagine the pain that the families of the victims have to hear when they hear that this guy was seemingly having a good time as he was carrying all of this out.

So, you have the influence, you have the premeditation, and you have him seemingly having a good time as he was doing this, so it really opens a window into his mindset at the time.

BERMAN: Sick -- there's no other way to put it. Boris, we also are learning where he was in the afternoon -- in the hours before the attack.

SANCHEZ: Right. It's an area called Disney Springs. It used to be known as Downtown Disney. I went there many times as a kid. It's a place that families go. There are restaurants there, concert venues, shopping. The real frightening thing about this, though, that we have to mention, it's not a Disney amusement park. You know, they have expanded security at Disney amusement parks. They check your bags, they check your person, there are metal detectors. This is an outdoor mall so it's a very different situation.

Officials have told us that using cell phone tower data they've been able to pinpoint that he was there just hours before coming here. You know that the next part of the investigation they're going to interview people who were there who potentially saw him, to try to get an idea of what his demeanor was like, was he was doing there shortly before coming here and carrying out this horrible thing.

BERMAN: Yes, that will be a big part of this investigation right now. So many personnel right now behind us, but all over the city now engaged now in this investigation. Boris Sanchez, thanks so much.

SANCHEZ: Thank you.

BERMAN: The killer's family members -- they are cooperating with the investigation, offering new information about the actions in the days and weeks before the attack, and we are learning more about claims that the killer had visited the Pulse nightclub many times over a period of three years. Some patrons tell CNN that he'd been there maybe a couple of times a month for three years.

And there are new details about the radicalization. The president, in the Oval Office on Monday -- he said the attack was an example of homegrown terrorism. He said there's no evidence that a foreign terror group had directed the gunman's actions. But one official tells CNN, as Boris was saying, that he consumed a hell of a lot of Jihadist propaganda online.

Now, not only have the regulars of this nightclub told CNN and other media outlets that the killer visited the nightclub man times before over a long period of time, but some witnesses also say that they chatted with the killer on gay dating apps like Grinder or Jack'd. The obvious question people are asking right now is was this man gay or living a secret gay life?

CNN's Erin Burnett asked his ex-wife.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SITORA YUSUFIY, EX-WIFE OF ORLANDO SHOOTER: He very much enjoyed going to clubs and the nightlife, and there was a lot of pictures of him. So, you know, I feel like it's a side of him or a part of him that he lived, but probably didn't want everybody to know about.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Do you think he was gay?

[05:40:00] YUSUFIY: I don't know. He never personally or physically made any indication while we were together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: There's clearly a lot that was unknown by those around him over several years. Joining me now to talk about the investigation and its progress, CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton, former deputy director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

And Cedric, that is a fascinating new piece of information, that he'd been coming to the Pulse nightclub for years, often. That witnesses tell CNN and other media outlets that they had contacted or had been contacted by him on gay dating apps. It gives you insight, perhaps, to what was in his head in the weeks and months and years before this attack.

CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST, FORMER DIRECTOR, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: Absolutely John, and it looks to me like this man led at least a double life, if not a triple life. He had various identities. One when he was married briefly. He also had an identity at work, and then he had the identity where he frequented the Pulse and, perhaps, other clubs as well.

And then of course, with the dating apps there's a chance that he may have very well led a secret gay life, and maybe he was trying to figure out exactly where he fit into all of this. What kind of a role he had in his version of society. And in some way, perhaps, he felt he couldn't live with himself if he went in a particular direction. So, that and then, unfortunately, he felt he had to take others with him. And that, of course, of the tragedy of this.

I also think from an investigative standpoint here it's going to be very interesting to see exactly where he was before the shooting. If he frequented the Disney shopping mall area, as you spoke about earlier, that could then really indicate that he may have been casing out several different areas and had decided during Ramadan, the Islamic holy month that we are celebrating right now, to carry out these attacks.

And that points to a direction that ISIS gave its followers -- to carry out attacks like this in the West and that may very well hold some of the keys to what was going on here.

BERMAN: And that's exactly what ISIS has called on its followers to do and it's exactly the kind of attack that ISIS has been trying for. Yes, maybe not directed by someone from overseas, but called for. Inspired by this ISIS plea for violence across the globe. We do know -- we were told by investigators overnight that this man consumed what we're told is a hell of a lot of Jihadi propaganda online. ISIS beheading videos, videos from Anwar Al-Awlaki. What does that tell you, Cedric?

LEIGHTON: John, that tells me that he was clearly a fellow traveler with ISIS and potentially with al Qaeda. And he may have, in his own mind, not have really differentiated between ISIS and al Qaeda, in the fact that he was looking at all these different things.

It really leads me to believe that he was an Islamist extremist but may not have had a particular ideology. It mentioned Hezbollah, for example -- a completely different group. So he may not be a purist in the sense of his ideology, but in terms of his actions he created a heck of a situation -- a heck of a tragedy that we're dealing with right now.

BERMAN: Yes, we've seen this before in some cases where people like this almost shop for terror groups to associate themselves with. Cedric Leighton, thanks for your insight this morning. Thanks so much.

LEIGHTON: You bet, John.

BERMAN: What happened here in Orlando -- what went on behind me right now, this attack -- it is now a central discussion point in the race for president. Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton -- they have spoken out and they have wildly divergent views about what the United States should do. Stay with us.

[05:44:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:48:15] ROMANS: The tragedy in Orlando now dominating the race for president. Donald Trump, in a fiery speech, renewing his push to ban Muslims from entering the country. Hillary Clinton blasting Trump's anti-Muslim rhetoric without even mentioning his name.

I want to discuss all of this with Zac Wolf, managing editor of "CNN POLITICS DIGITAL". Thanks, Zac, nice to see you. Using teleprompters yesterday, Donald Trump used this Orlando event to really kind of lay out his next move here in the presidential election and really renew his call to limit immigration from Muslim countries. He really was strident on this.

There were some errors, though, in some of the things he said and exaggerations. I want to tick through some of the things he said and kind of fact-check Donald Trump. Let's listen, first, to a little bit of his speech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE REPUBLICAN NOMINEE: Her plan is to disarm law-abiding Americans, abolishing the Second Amendment and leaving only the bad guys and terrorists with guns. She wants to take away American's guns and then admit the very people who want to slaughter us. We have to stop the tremendous flow of Syrian refugees into the United

States. We don't know who they are, they have no documentation, and we don't know what they're planning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: So, Donald Trump says Hillary Clinton wants to abolish the Second Amendment, and he says that we're just letting thousands, and thousands, and thousands of Syrian refugees in who have the same mindset as the killer in Orlando. Fact-check that for me here.

ZACHARY WOLF, MANAGING EDITOR, "CNN POLITICS DIGITAL": OK. So, to the first point, Hillary Clinton does not, so far as we know, want to abolish the Second Amendment. She's talked on her website and in her speeches about how it's part of the fabric of communities in this country.

[05:50:00] She does, however, want to have some new gun control measures, and most -- a lot of opinion polls suggest a lot of -- most Americans want to have background checks, for instance. She wants to go, I think, a little bit further than that. She was talking yesterday about people on No Fly Lists not getting --

ROMANS: Zac, hold on there. Let's listen to what she said specifically about these assault-style weapons, the AR-15 in particular. Something that's basically -- it's a consumer version of the M-16, you know. A military style rifle. She says there's no reason for people to have that kind of a gun. Listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: In Orlando and San Bernardino terrorists used assault weapons -- the AR-15 -- and they used it to kill Americans. That was the same assault weapon used to kill those little children in Sandy Hook. We have to make it harder for people who should not have those weapons of war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: And Zach, specifically, someone who has been investigated twice by the FBI should not be able to then go out and buy that weapon. That's what she says. What Donald Trump says is no, those people shouldn't be here in the first place.

WOLF: Well, I mean, that's the biggest fact check from this speech is the guy was here because he was born here. He was a natural born citizen. He was not an immigrant. His parents were immigrants, but the point is he was born here in the 80's so you'd have to go back a really long way to have stopped the immigration that led to this gentleman being born here. So that kind of is the larger issue from what Donald Trump was saying, I think.

ROMANS: And Donald Trump, in his speech -- he said -- he called the shooter an Afghan born of Afghan parents. But he is a natural born -- he is an American citizen born in New York. Why is Donald Trump making that distinction, do you think?

WOLF: Well, for Donald Trump, I think this whole thing comes down to immigration. If you look at what he says about the Mexican wall, it's all about immigration. If you look at what he says what he'll do about terrorism, it's all about immigration. That is the overriding issue of his campaign and so it's the first thing he brings up here.

But it's also -- in that speech was a lot of talk about Muslims specifically, casting all Muslims in with the very few who do these horrible things. And that's kind of what raises a lot of alarm bells, I think, for more mainstream Republicans, about this campaign.

ROMANS: When you talk about the war with "The Washington Post" that he's having here right now, interesting to me, too, that he is still attacking the media because that has worked well for him. It really has worked well for him. But he's attacking the media. The media is sort of one of three schools of a healthy democracy.

WOLF: That's right, and ours in particular. It's the one that we have more than just about any other country, is the freedom of the press. But, if you want to think about what this could mean in a Donald Trump presidency, is he going to keep "The Washington Post" out of the White House briefing room? I mean, you have to follow these things, I think, to their logical conclusion, which is under President Trump, what is the press going to look like? I think it would be a lot different now.

Now, that said, President Obama's come under some criticism for limiting access to the press to events and stuff like that --

ROMANS: True.

WOLF: -- but he hasn't taken away anybody's press credentials, and certainly not "The Washington Post".

ROMANS: All right, very interesting. Donald Trump would argue that the media's not been fair to him. That they have been attacking him, not the other way around. So I think this is just round one in that over the next hundred and some days as we go into the general election. Zac, nice to see you this morning. Thanks for stopping by.

All right, 53 minutes past the hour. New stories of survival, new information on why the Orlando club gunman chose that spot for his attack. "NEW DAY" is next.

[05:54:05]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:58:10] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. You are watching NEW DAY. We are live from Orlando, once again. Over our shoulder, of course, the scene of the deadliest shooting in American history. But the story this morning is divided no more. Thousands gathering here in downtown Orlando last night to pay tribute to the victims. Thousands more on the streets of New York. In Los Angeles, a candlelight vigil to remember the 49 murdered in Sunday's terror attack. Communities across the country, around the world, uniting to remember the young lives cut short at the gay nightclub right behind us.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Those are beautiful pictures, to see them with all the candlelight vigils. Throughout the show we will pay tribute to the victims and we will share their loved one's stories about them, each of them individual.

Also, we have new stories of survival and heroism inside that club. We're also learning more about the terrorist's history at that particular nightclub and where he was in the hours before the massacre. This, of course, as the political rhetoric about the attack heats up. So we have it all covered for you.

Let's begin with CNN's Boris Sanchez. Good morning, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Hey, Alisyn, good morning. As we learn more about the individuals -- the sons and daughters and family members that were lost during this horrible, horrible attack, we're also watching the people of the world come together to stand in solitude with the victims and the families of victims here in Orlando as this city begins the very difficult and long process of healing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Thousands gathering in Orlando to mourn the 49 lives cut short in Sunday's terror attack at a gay nightclub. A bell tolling 49 times for each of the victims.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Be in peace, my friends.

SANCHEZ: A community known as one of the happiest places on earth because of its world famous theme parks, now a city grappling with being the site of the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.