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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

Aftermath of Major Winter Storm; Michael Bloomberg to Run as Independent?; Califrnia Authorities Searching for Escapees. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired January 25, 2016 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:06] ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: -- our nation's capital, New York really bouncing back quickly. Not the same story in Washington D.C. Our nation's capital is still paralyzed. The schools remain closed. The federal buildings are shut tight, the House of Representatives cancelling votes for the whole week. And D. C.'s mayor says she'll be asking for federal help for the capital to dig out. This is the roads re freeze over night.

The side streets remain impassable in so many places. All of this as New York City is really back up and running, even though New York got a lot more snow than D.C and did not expect such.

I want you to take a look at this. 26.8 inches of snow recorded in Central Park. That's the official measurement place. And 22.4 recorded in the District of Columbia. You have team coverage for you on the recovery efforts. CNN's Nick Valencia is live in D.C., Jason Caroll is in New York's Penn Station.

I want to begin with you, Jason Caroll. So, giver me the overall picture and how New York did such a great job this time getting back up and running.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Ashleigh, in terms of getting back up and running, out here at Penn Station, a little earlier it was a little tough doing that.

As you know, 80 percent of the trains on the LIRR are back up and running but, they had some trouble getting back on their feet at about 5:00 a.m. They thought they would have the trains going at full speed, full service. Didn't happen, not at 7 a.m. The problem with that, Ashleigh, is because some of the lines are refrozed overnight. So it took a while for some of the crews to get back out there, get those lines sorted out.

But for the situation right now, it's looking pretty much like New York City on any given day with the exception of these huge mounds of snow surrounding Penn Station. White mounds of snow that, as you know, New York City will soon be brown very shortly because of it's just New York City.

In terms of (inaudible) with the travel spots so that we're seeing out in Queens yes -- out in Queens, though, Ashleigh, that's where we're still having issues, though. In places like Queens and Brooklyn, some of the secondary streets still have not been plowed yet. Some of those secondary streets around schools, so that's definitely a concern for some folks out there because as you know -- schools here in New York City are open.

The mayor saying just allow for some extra time to get around. Those plows are going to get out there into those areas, but, you know, for a city getting back on its feet, not too bad. Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Yeah, not too bad. We were watching as the mayor and the governor of New York, all of them, saying just stay off the roads, and we've had it bad before, so maybe people were chastened and did the right thing.

Jason, hold on for one second, Nick Valencia to you. Things not going quite as planned in D.C. it's a real problem. Give me the rundown.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDEN T: Well the clean up effort is well underway, here. And I wouldn't quite say the city is at a stand still. Traffic is starting to flow a little bit. We can show you some of that cleanup effort that has happened.

When we were here early this morning about 5:00 a.m., this whole street, Ashleigh, was covered in snow. In the last few hours, as the sun has come out, and those clean up crews have put in a lot of work to make sure these streets on Pennsylvania Avenue are flowing.

Of course, the effort has been very tedious. It's been treacherous on those roadways. The Maryland highway patrol saying they have removed -- they have than five million cubic feet of snow from those highways. The effort being compared to the place you are at right now, New York City, and how it's comparing to Washington D.C. the mayor speaking about that earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS GELDART, DIRECTOR, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: I would ask you to say are the roads clear? And the schools may be open, and is it safe situation for those children to get there. That's Mayor de Blasio's call and his folks advising him. Here in the district, we know our conditions and what our roadways look like, and what it's like for our residents and children out there. We're making the best decision we can make here.

UNKNOWN MALE: Even an unfair comparison with (inaudible).

GELDART: It's in total unfair comparison.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: And you can see a lot of effort is still need to put into clearing majority of this snow, tons and tons of it. They brought in hundreds of pieces of heavy equipment to remove this stuff, much of it being taken to RFK stadium, former home of the Washington Redskins here.

But the effort really will last a lot more days here. Tomorrow in the forecast, it is a bleak forecast. Rain is expected. With the temperatures expected to drop around freezing. That could be an even bigger problem. Perhaps flooding is a potential here in the nation's capital, Ashleigh:

BANFIELD: I hope all your friends and neighbors have started the shovel organize finished it. Once that rain starts falling, and the sun comes out, that snow gets next to impossible. Concrete, trying to shovel concrete. Jason Carroll, Nick Valencia, thank you to both of you for your outdoor work today. I know what you're thinking.

That this year's presidential race needs is another billionaire.

A billionaire businessman from New York to shake things up would be believe a second billionaire businessman from New York is thinking that same thing.

[12:35:00] Straight ahead, Michael Bloomberg reportedly considers the run of his life, but only on two conditions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is seriously considering entering the presidential race, as an independent candidate. Two sources close to Bloomberg tell CNN nothing has been decided and that he won't decide until sometime next month.

And there are still n a lot of ifs' in that equation. Sources told us in the past that Bloomberg would run if it appeared Donald Trump or Senator Ted Cruz would face off against Senator Bernie Sanders. Neither Trump nor Sanders seemed fazed by the possibility.

CNN's Political Analyst John Avlon joins me live now. He is editor in chief for the Daily Beast.

[12:40:03] OK, John Avlon, its not like the first time that we've had a really rich guy making an independent run and making lots and lots of headlines, but really not coming close to making an inroad to the presidency, and I'm talking about Ross Perot. Why are things any different now? And maybe how are they different now? And why should this be taken seriously?

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Sure. Well, one big difference is the number of independents in the country has doubled since Ross Perot ran in 1992, and had a pretty respectable showing, was leading in the polls in the midsummer of 1992. So the 44 percent of Americans now identified as Independent, and that's more than Democrats and Republicans, Ashleigh. There are 12 states where registered independents outnumber Democrats and Republicans, including Iowa where the caucuses are, New Hampshire, and swing states like Florida.

Finally, 60 percent of Americans say they want to see a third party on the ballot. So those are deep driving dynamics. Aside from the surreal prospect of the Republicans putting forward either Trump and Cruz, and then Bernie Sanders on the left of the Democratic Party.

In that specific scenario, there really could be an opening for Mike Bloomberg, a successful executive governing record and he's candidate who can self-fund. It's a steep climb, and it's doable which itself kind of extraordinary.

BANFIELD: So, something that you write in your piece today is that the GOP seems to have murdered its center right, and there will be those who say the same thing about Bernie Sanders going way too far to the left.

The primary and caucusing process in had the U.S., all I have heard since I came to this fine country 20 ago was how much worse it gets every time we are in this go-round. Is this the problem? Are we in serious need of revision of how we pick our leaders because we can't get the ones we really want, because we can't get the ones we want to get through the process in the beginning like at primary and the caucuses?

AVLON: Well, yeah, I think the problem is deeper than the specific states and the specific order. The problem is that the two parties have become much more polarized than the American people at large. And that's why it's not a coincidence that the number of independents has doubled by the time that the parties have gotten more and more to the extreme.

Every time they play further and further to their base, in low turnout contest, you get unrepresentative results. And then the general election nominees are further and further off center despite the fact that they have to reach out to the center to win the presidency and let alone govern effectively.

So there is a deeper dynamic that the parties are part of the rise of partisan media has contributed, but it's created this deeper dynamic that is hitting a place where the two party systems is facing a market failure. They are no longer working the way they traditionally have in mediating and being able to adapt to new constituencies. They are really off center, and that's why an opening for an independent candidate is here when normally there would not be.

BANFIELD: Well, I recall that a colleague of our Soledad, O'Brien have this phenomenal interview with, you know, a pundit who was supporting Mitt Romney. It was one of his campaign stops if I recall talking about the "Etch-A-Sketch" factor remember? Coming out of the primaries, and you get etch-a-sketch. You shake it all up and start fresh, and you don't have to be so strident in your opinions. Well, that's not good for us. How can that possibly be good for us? How can we not have a memory of that stuff?

AVLON: I think Eric Fehrnstrom probably regrets making that comment, and I don't think it's accurate.

Donald Trump is already trying to pivot to talking about how he can sit down and make deals. I mean it the sort of the pivot to center, but your foundation matters. How you introduce yourself in a campaign and to the American country matters. And the American people are not stupid. And we do call bias (ph). on that contempt that sometimes politicians have for our collective memory.

But it's really up for us to stand up and turn out. High turn-out election tends to be more representative elections. If we allow the extremes to hijack the process as they have in the two parties then we get report that, you know, were unrepresentative results that alienate more people than they attract. And you get whole rising generation that turns off because they think the game is rigged.

These are the larger stakes, this is why all this matters. Why the dysfunction and the hyper-partisanship that we tolerate and cover as a circus is deeply corrosive to our democracy.

BANFIELD: Well you would know, you wrote the book back in 2005, more than 10 years ago," Independent Nation: How Centrism Can Change Politics." By the way, you are like walking Wikipedia. I mentioned some guy who (inaudible) and you're like, yeah, I heard Eric Fehrnstrom probably regret that. That's why we love having you on.

AVLON: It's a creepy curse. Thanks.

BANFIELD: It's a gift. Come on. Oh, John Avalon, one of my favorites. And by the way, you can tune in tonight, 9:00 Eastern Time, only on CNN. The Democratic Presidential Town Hall live from Des Moines, Iowa. Chris Cuomo is going to moderate as the Democratic candidates answer questions from voters themselves.

Anything can happen, folks, in these town halls. They're live, makes for great T.V. and some very awkward times and some real treats too. So, make sure you check us out 9:00 Eastern Time. Got to check some other top stories here as well.

[12:45:03] The Michigan attorney general is using some very strong words and that crisis in Flint, Michigan. Bill Schuette is announcing today that he is appointing a special prosecutor and retired Detroit FBI chief to get to the bottom of the lead in the water crisis. He said he wouldn't bathe a newborn child in Flint's water, and he called it a tragedy of "immense proportion".

This hour a judge is hearing the Detroit public schools request for a temporary restraining order. He is trying to stop teachers that the (inaudible) from using sick-outs to close dozens of schools there. The teachers have been calling out sick to try to bring attention to the crisis in Detroit schools, the poor conditions and just look at those pictures. That should tell the story right there, lack of funds, for infrastructure, and more.

ISIS has released a gruesome video featuring the final words of nine of the Paris terrorists and showing some of them executing prisoners well before those attacks in Paris. Part of the video recorded prior to those November 13th attacks.

In one video, which CNN is not showing, because of the propaganda nature it presents, one of the men confirms ISIS leader Abu Bakr al- Baghdadi ordered the Paris attacks himself.

The storm is long gone, but could take days for the nation's air traffic to get back to normal. Hundreds and hundreds of flights are still canceled today. We're going to take you live to Reagan National when we come back and find out just how long it's going to be to change the green to go. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:50:51] BANFIELD: That's some very sad news out of Pennsylvania. They're reporting the second weather-related death in that state. And it's an 18-year-old girl who collapsed while shoveling snow. Briahna Gerloff is her name, and she was 8 months pregnant. She's the second Pennsylvania death because of this storm, just a tragic circumstance there.

This was a historic snowstorm and it's certainly might have move on but there is a massive impact in the world of travel as well because more than 1,500 airline flights today have added on to all the cancellations.

Airports in Washington and New York, the hardest hit. CNN Rene Marsh joining us now from Reagan National Airport in D.C. It's just hard to believe that still hundreds and hundreds of flights are being canceled. You think it would be opposite that they're adding flights to try to get rid of the back logs?

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, you know, the problem is that because planes aren't where they need to be, there's going to be this delay, and there's still cancellation of the passengers. Unfortunately who are dealing with, and looking ahead to tomorrow a lot, a lot as far as cancellations go.

But I will tell you people here are getting on board flights. You take a look for yourself, you didn't see these lines a few days ago. People are getting their boarding passes. We're here at Reagan National Airport. It's the same sort of scenario at Dallas Airport as well. I want you to listen in to two passengers who I spoke to just a short time ago. Very happy that they too are going to be on their way shortly. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH: You said, you had how many cancellations?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had eight cancellations, but you know, they've been rolling out -- cancellation is over. So, I'm thrilled to be getting time and headed back to New Orleans.

MARSH: Is your flight on time? Or what's the situation?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As of right now -- as of right now, it looks good. I'm hopeful that it's going to fine. This is like the fourth set of flights that they've put me on. I feel good about this one, I feeling lucky today. So I guess its good I'm heading back to Las Vegas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH: All right, and as you know, airports in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, are also resuming service. But people need to realize the airlines have rebooked passengers, but every one will get to where they'll need to get to today. This process will go well into the week, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: All right, Rene, thank you for that, appreciate it. Coming up next, a lock-up in Southern California. Not such a good lock-up, after three very, very dangerous men got out, and you won't believe how they did it. These three, be on the lookout and do not go near them. They are accused of murder and torture. Full story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:57:50:] They may be armed, and they are definitely dangerous. And three inmates who escaped from a maximum security jail in Santa Ana, California, have proven that they will do just about anything to escape. Get a good look at these three faces. There is a $50,000 reward being offered for information that leads to their capture.

And they are extraordinary accused criminals. One accused of murder. Another one accused of a kidnapping and a torture that would make you cringe. The details almost too vile to repeat on television. CNN's Paul Vercammen joining us now live from Los Angeles. These are very frightening people who are on the loose. What is the manhunt looking like right now, Paul, to get these guys?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, one official described it as a full court press, desperate because of the extremely violent nature of all three of these escaped inmates.

A very sophisticated plan that they pulled off, and now we have confirmed that a fight was staged somewhere around the 8:00 p.m. head count at this jail, and this fight was used as a tool to distract the guards and delay the head count. That gave these inmates even more time to escape, Ashleigh.

And I think we should look at each one of the wrap sheets. Not all of these are career criminals so we can give you can get a sense of how violent they are. You alluded to these inmates and some of the things they gotten involved in, and among other things, as you said, one of them accused of murder, another of attempted murder, the other of basically torture, mayhem, and on and on.

What the authorities are reminding everybody about -- you can see that right there. This is Hossein Nayeri of Iranian descent accused of kidnapping.

This is the youngest of the three. He went in as a juvenile into the system, and also believed to be extremely dangerous.

And then the third 43-year-old man, he involved an attempted murder, among other things, as well as selling meth and burglary, it's that's not listed on their, selling like a deadly weapon. And the latter two both shoot shot into an inhabited dwelling. They are not linked to each other by the way. They do not believe that these inmates had any ties other than to meet each other in the tank in the Security Jail.

[13:00:12] BANFIELD: All right, well there is a good look at their faces. Paul, Vercammen thank you for that. Thank you, everyone, for joining me. Wolf Blitzer starts right now.