Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Two New York Cops Shot; Funeral Today for Mario Cuomo; Michael Brown Grand Juror Suing to Speak Out; New Congress Heads to Work Today

Aired January 06, 2015 - 07:00   ET

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

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All of this occurring against the backdrop of a possible NYPD work slowdown. The numbers of arrests of tickets, of summons, criminal and otherwise, are all down significantly for a second week in a row.

These officers clearly were not slowing down at all. They may have been getting off work when they responded to this robbery. And now they are fighting for their lives, although it looks like both will survive -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Miguel Marquez, thanks so much.

There's so many issues going on right now involved with this. The shooting came hours after the New York mayor, Bill de Blasio, really went on the offensive against the officers who turned their backs on him at funerals for two officers ambushed last month.

These are very difficult times between the mayor and the police force, and they don't show any signs of getting better, at least not yet.

I want to bring in Nick Casale, NYPD detective and founder of Casale Associates; and Tom Fuentes, CNN law enforcement analyst and former assistant director at the FBI.

Nick, I want to start with you. In this event overnight, these two officers -- and we're all thinking about them right -- they're recovering in the hospital. Hopefully, their injuries not life- threatening, as they say. But how does how they went through being shot trying to stop a robbery, how does that embody the danger that officers face on a daily basis?

NICK CASALE, FORMER NYPD DETECTIVE: That sums it up. Here you have two police officer who are assigned as anti-crime or in plainclothes, civilian clothes to suppress crimes. Violent crimes. That's their mission.

They came upon a robbery. They engaged the perpetrator. They're shot; our prayers go out to them. But you know, the mayor has to see this. Despite this rhetoric about slowdowns and everything else, the police officers are doing their jobs, risking their lives.

BERMAN: But to be fair, and I don't want to -- the mayor did see it. The mayor was at the hospital last night talking about the bravery of those two officers immediately after the event happened. Isn't that what a mayor is supposed to do?

CASALE: Exactly. That's a good first sign for the mayor. I complement them on that. Remember this: cops have great courage, but cops have big hearts. And if the mayor continues to support the police, the police, the rank-and-file will be forgiving, and they'll embrace him.

But based upon prior circumstances, and we see this unraveling in society about police-involved shootings, the mayor has got to do more. But he's on the right track.

BERMAN: He did it last night.

Look, Tom Fuentes, I want to show you, if you can see it, the cover of "The New York Daily News." It says right now -- hold it up to the camera right here. It says "End This War Now." It's the cover of the tabloid here.

From where are you, 30,000 feet, having experience on the street but also law enforcement at the highest levels, what do you make of what the "Daily News" and the tabloids here are billing as war between city hall and city police?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: I think, John, the fact that it's, this one is unprecedented. Compared to previous police battles with politicians. You know, in the past it might be arguments about raises or the union or their contract or, you know, general policies. But -- but I think lately, because the rhetoric in terms of the police perspective has been anti-police. And particularly from the mayor, even back to his campaign. This is how they've taken it. Whether the mayor intended it to be that harsh against the police or not, that's how it's been perceived.

And for the police, the reason they're extra sensitive to that, compared to, you know, streets and sanitation workers being criticized, let's say, is that putting the uniform on of a police officer or responding as a plainclothes officer, this is the only profession that there is where other human beings try to kill you. This doesn't happen in others.

So if you have -- if politicians have battles with air traffic controllers, or some other union, that's one thing. But when the rhetoric turns anti-police, the police are concerned that people on the street are going to -- it's going to increase the already-existent lack of respect in certain segments of the society, including armed robbers, and bank robbers and other violent criminals.

And that's the concern the police have. That the rhetoric helps dial up people who may already have anti-police sentiment. And may be encouraging to them that there's no reason to respect the police, no reason to hold your fire. Or with all the rhetoric, the police might be hesitant to shoot back. So you're going to get the first shot and get an opportunity to kill the police officer before he shoots back at you.

BERMAN: You bring up a point that other officers have said to me that perception, in some cases, is reality, and they perceive this disrespect from the mayor. Bu on that subject, Tom and Nick, you know, isn't there a level of disrespect now being levied at the mayor himself? He said so as much yesterday.

Let's listen to the sound bite. He commented, really, for the first time about the officers who have been turning their backs on him at the funerals for their fallen comrades. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL DE BLASIO, NEW YORK CITY MAYOR: They were disrespectful to the families involved. That's the bottom line. They were disrespectful to the families who had lost their loved one. And I can't understand why anyone would do such a thing in the context like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Nick, Tom Fuentes just made a point that sometimes things you say seeps down and increases the level of rhetoric, creates an atmosphere, a toxic atmosphere. Does the mayor have a point here? That turning your back on a public official at a funeral for an officer who was assassinated, does that increase the level of toxicity in this relationship?

CASALE: You know, it's also what you don't say. And what you don't do that is also a sign. Here you have the police showing a silent form of protests against the mayor.

BERMAN: At a funeral.

CASALE: But the mayor is grasping at the fact, in his comments, that they're not showing respect for their two fallen comrades. So he's injecting the thoughts of what he perceives the family to be.

I haven't seen anything where either family has come out and said that that is wrongful conduct. So the mayor should not be using that as a leverage in his argument with the police.

The mayor's got to learn this. He's got to stand up for what he says, and he has to be bold enough to take criticism. And he has to be bold enough to embrace the police. And not to fall upon the families of that officer. Remember, every cop at that funeral was willing to risk his lives to respond to help those police officers.

BERMAN: I think we are seeing the heroism overnight of what officers are willing to do to stop a robbery. Both are in the hospital.

But Tom Fuentes, we'll stop with you here. I want to read to you some of these statistics in New York City. Arrests down 55 percent versus last year over these weeks after Christmas. Parking summonses down 92 percent. Traffic summonses down 92 percent. Criminal summonses down 91 percent. Do you see a slowdown here in New York City. And as someone who's been involved with national law enforcement, does that scare you?

FUENTES: Well, it's absolutely a slowdown. The only reason it doesn't scare me is because, you know, they're willing to still respond to violent crime, so when you have this armed robbery last night, the police go out, even after their shift is over, and they run out there to respond to this and risk their lives, because it's violent crime. But they want to protect the people.

The low level of summonses and citations that you see not being issued -- no question, it absolutely is a protest. Kind of a mild blue flu, but it's not a protest that involves the safety of the public.

And secondly, these minor crimes, the summonses, the citations, they're dangerous for police, too. And what happens is, if one of these situations like selling illegal cigarettes, turns into a violent confrontation with the police, turns deadly, unfortunately. Then the police are criticized, why were you enforcing such a minor violation? Why aren't -- you know, why don't we mail tickets to these people? Why don't we do it some other way? And I think the police are saying, look, you know, we'll reduce the risk to everybody. We just won't act in these situations.

BERMAN: Tom Fuentes, Nick Casale, I think all three of us, I think all of us here around the city and the country thinking of those two officers shot overnight, trying to stop that robbery, or trying to. Thanks for being with us. We appreciate it -- Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, John. Well, the mercury is plunging. Even your jackets, mittens and earmuffs may not help when you see just how cold it is going to get. Let's ask meteorologist Chad Myers.

Chad, what's the word?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, I know it's cold. I know it's January; I know it's winter, but Chicago is 30 degrees below normal today. So we're past just what January should be.

Right now, it feels like 2 below in Rochester. That's the wind chill factor. There's some ice on the roads around Philadelphia, Baltimore, D.C. Watch out this morning. It burns off when the sun comes out. But there's still some slick spots.

And look at this, International Falls feels like 20 degrees below zero. In Minneapolis it feels like 16. You understand there are people that have to work outside. Whether they're gate workers at an airport or the police that have to direct traffic, so please give them a slight break today. Leave them -- at least give them a chance to warm up every once in a while.

The frigid Jet Stream all the way down to the deep south into Georgia, and it's going to be with us for the next, I would say four days. It finally does warm up next week. But this is a big arctic outbreak for the entire eastern half of the U.S., including all the way down to New Orleans, which will be well, well below normal. And even though the New York City high says 23 Thursday, it will feel like zero as the wind will howl through the buildings.

CAMEROTA: Yikes. Chad, thanks so much for that warning. MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: He was telling us last hour it would

be, like, more comfortable with 19, that it would look good compared to what's coming? That's a hard thing to wrap your brain around.

CAMEROTA: That is. That's a bitter pill.

PEREIRA: All right. Let's take a look at your headlines right now at nine minutes past the hour.

Family, friends and political heavyweights will say a final good-bye to former New York Governor Mario Cuomo today. His funeral starts in about four hours' time at a New York City church. At his wake Monday, hundreds and hundreds of mourners waited in a line that stretched around a block to pay their respects.

Jason Carroll is live outside the church in Manhattan, where the funeral is set to be held in a short time -- Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In a very sad day for the Cuomo family and for the people of New York. The funeral set to get under way here at St. Ignatius Loyola Church at 11 a.m. It will be private, closed, open only to family and close friends.

But as you mentioned, the wake that took place yesterday opened to the public. Hundreds lined up. It was an incredible sight to see, just a few blocks from here, as people waited in the bitter cold for hours to come out and pay their respects to Mario Cuomo and his family.

Some of the political heavyweights showing up, I mean a long list of Vice President Joe Biden; New Jersey Governor Chris Christie; Former New York city mayor, Michael Bloomberg; Nancy Pelosi; former New York governor George Pataki. I mean, the list just goes on and on.

Inside they were met by Cuomo's family. Also a number of pictures were on display during the wake from Cuomo's life. Pictures of him getting married, pictures of him as a little boy growing up in Queens.

And when you spoke to some of the people who came out here, many of them obviously talking about what they remembered most about Mario Cuomo. One of the things that stood out in my mind was the speech that he gave at the Democratic National Convention. He was the keynote speaker back in 1984 when he talked about a tale of two cities. Some of the themes that he talked about still relevant today. His funeral once again will be held at 11 a.m. The Clintons are attended -- expected to attend. His son Andrew Cuomo, Governor Cuomo, expected to deliver the eulogy -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: Given what's going on in our nation, it might be a good thing for many people to take a listen to that speech once again and think about those themes in today's context.

Jason Carroll, thank you so much for that.

Severe weather kept divers out of the water Tuesday in the search for AirAsia Flight 8501. Time is of the essence to find the plane's critical so-called black boxes, and of course, the fuselage where most of the victims are believed to be still strapped in their seats. Two more bodies were found in the Java Sea overnight, bringing the total now to 39. Nineteen of those bodies have been identified.

When the new Congress convenes today, the Senate and the House will in the Republican hands for the first time since 2006. John Boehner faces a challenge from Tea Party conservatives but is expected to be re-elected as speaker. Americans, though, seem to not be expecting much from lawmakers. Check out a CNN/ORC poll. Forty-seven percent think there will be no difference between this Congress and the last one. Thirty-seven -- 37 percent believe the new Congress will get more done.

All right. You know I like to bring you Girl Scout cookie news. New for 2015, three new varieties, Alisyn, of their iconic cookies, ready? Two of them gluten-free, John.

BERMAN: Thank you.

PEREIRA: Toffeetastic featuring toffee bits. Trios made with peanut butter, chocolate chips and whole grain oats. I think that might be my new favorite. And available for the first time, Rah-Rah Raisins...

BERMAN: Impressive name.

PEREIRA: ... an oat meal cookie raisin cookie flavored with Greek yogurt chunks.

CAMEROTA: Look, we're reporters. We need to taste them.

PEREIRA: Well, we can order them online, you know. They're -- they all went digital, as well. You can apparently buy them online. I'm not sure about this Rah-Rah Raisin business.

CAMEROTA: Well, you'll be the judge of that as soon as you taste them. Thanks so much, Michaela.

Well, a member of the Ferguson grand jury wants to speak out to explain why they cleared Officer Darren Wilson in the Michael Brown shooting. That juror is suing for the right to speak out, and our legal panel is going to weigh in, next.

BERMAN: And our poll says no, but can the new Republican-led Congress get anything done? John King will have that and more, coming up "Inside Politics."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: A surprising development in the Michael Brown case. One of the members of the Ferguson grand jury is suing the St. Louis County prosecutor for the right to speak out about those proceedings. So will this grand juror be allowed to speak? And might this open up a Pandora's box?

Let's bring in Sunny Hostin. She's a CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor. And Jeffrey Toobin, CNN senior legal analyst, also a former federal prosecutor. Great to see you guys. SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning.

CAMEROTA: So what an interesting turn of events. So this grand juror wants to be able to speak about what went on inside these sort of secret proceedings. And why shouldn't he or she be allowed to do that, Sunny?

HOSTIN: I think that's with I'm at, because generally, these grand jury proceedings are secret. You never hear from grand jurors, quite frankly, because they're usually sort of run-of-the-mill case, and they don't want to speak out. And the law provides that they should not speak out. Grand jurors, as well as prosecutors.

But this case has been, quite frankly, very unusual. You've got a prosecutor who puts forth every single piece of evidence, even evidence that wouldn't be admissible at trial. Witnesses that clearly now have perjured themselves that wouldn't be able to testify at trial, and a release of many of the grand jury transcripts. And so in that case, then why not have a grand juror have the ability to speak out in the name of what the prosecutors have called transparency?

CAMEROTA: Great argument.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: There's another point here, which is that McCulloch, the prosecutor, characterized the views of the grand jurors. He said everybody agreed there was no basis for charges. That is exactly what this grand juror wants to refute. So the idea is McCulloch opened the door legally. And other people should be -- who were in that room should be able to comment, as well.

CAMEROTA: Here's a portion of that lawsuit that I will read to you that explains why -- exactly what you just said, why the juror wants to do this. "The current information available about the grand jurors' views is not entirely accurate, especially the implication that all grand jurors believed that there was no support for any charges."

So that sounds like a pretty rational rationale, Sunny, of why we should hear what their calculations really were.

HOSTIN: Yes. And I think it is, and I think Jeff's right. Isn't the argument now McCulloch decided to characterize the grand jurors, and can't the grand jurors speak for themselves?

I've got to tell you, though, when you look at this case, because it is so very unusual, I wonder if this doesn't also open up the door to another prosecutor taking a look at this case. People have been so very unhappy with the -- with the way the process was done, especially with all of the information that we, that we now know about, let's say, witness No. 40, who clearly perjured herself. The FBI really cross-examined her, found her not to be credible. McCulloch says that he knows she wasn't credible, wasn't even there. And so many of the grand jurors heard that information.

Isn't it now time, then, to take a real look at this case again, perhaps reconvene another grand jury, and have a special prosecutor? CAMEROTA: Jeffrey, what about the larger issue of just the First

Amendment right to tell your own story? Why can't jurors just come out and say, "Here's what I experienced"?

TOOBIN: Well, you don't have a First Amendment right just to tell your own story under all circumstances. If you work for the government and you get classified information, you don't have a First Amendment right to tell your own story about how to make a nuclear bomb.

But in this case, where this kind of information has already been disclosed, by the prosecutor, under legally-sanctioned circumstances, then in that case it might be a very different story.

However, just to give the other side. Grand juries are, by law, secret. There are certain exceptions...

CAMEROTA: Right.

TOOBIN: ... and that's why there was some release of information here. And I could see a judge saying, "You know, I don't want to create a circumstance where everybody feels like they have the right to talk about what went on during their grand jury service."

CAMEROTA: So you see the Pandora's box argument?

TOOBIN: The Pandora's box argument is -- they are certainly going to take seriously. A judge will take seriously.

HOSTIN: Although I just cannot imagine given the circumstances of this particular case, the public interest in this particular case. And the fact that the grand jury transcripts, very unusually, in my opinion...

TOOBIN: Yes.

HOSTIN: ... were released to the public and sort of -- they were redacted, in many respects. So the notion that this was a very transparent process, that I think many people believe to be true, I don't know is necessarily true. And so my sense is that a judge may look at it and say, "Well, if you want to really be transparent, Mr. McCulloch, the let the grand jurors themselves speak."

TOOBIN: Just to make a sort of obvious point, I've never heard of a lawsuit like this before. So we really are in uncharted waters. A judge has got to take a serious look at it. But lawyers love precedent, and there isn't one here.

CAMEROTA: It will be fascinating to see what the judge decides to do.

HOSTIN: Absolutely.

CAMEROTA: Jeffrey Toobin and Sunny Hostin, thanks so much for coming in.

Let's go over to John. BERMAN: All right. Thanks, Alisyn.

It was the video that rocked the world, Governor Chris Christie high- fiving Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. You can see it there. But how was this trip paid for? Hmm? John King will have that and more, "Inside Politics."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Welcome back to NEW DAY. Twenty-five minutes past the hour, here's a look at your headlines.

A day after burying one of their own, two more New York City police officers were shot in the line of duty. A manhunt is under way right now for two suspects, one of them pictured here. Both officers required surgery overnight. One was shot in the back and arm and is in critical condition. Those officers were responding to a robbery call in the Bronx.

Overseas, Kurdish forces are gaining the upper hand on ISIS in the ongoing battle for Kobani. A monitoring group says the Kurds control 80 percent of the key Syrian city near Turkey after capturing the control of the government square. Fourteen ISIS militants were reportedly killed in Monday's battle. Repeated U.S. air strikes on ISIS positions in the region have helped the Kurds advance.

Oil prices keep tumbling down, more than 5 percent Monday. Now hovering around $49 a barrel. That's under $50 a barrel for the first time since the recession of April 2009. Prices are down 50 percent since June. If this trend continues, well, it will be good news for the American drivers, keeping those gas prices down. There are concerns cheaper oil is slowing global demand.

A passing to let you know of. Bess Myerson, the first and still only Jewish Miss America has died. She was crowned Miss America in 1945, parlayed that start in the public eye into one of a position of influence. She became a powerful figure in New York City politics. She was the city's first commissioner of consumer affairs and cultural commissioner, all of this before the so-called Bess Mess, where she was acritted [SIC] -- acquitted, rather, in conflict of interest scandal. Bess Myerson was 90 years old.

BERMAN: A city luminary for decades.

Let's get right "Inside Politics" now with John King -- John.

JOHN KING, CNN HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": John Berman, Alisyn, Michaela, everyone's excited, right? The new Congress gets down to business today. Everybody is just excited as can be -- no? Maybe not. All right. We'll break it down for you. Let's go "Inside Politics" this morning.

With me to share their reporting and their insights -- we're having a little fun -- Nia-Malika Henderson, Ed O'Keefe of "The Washington Post." I'm making a joke about this, because we do have a new Congress. It's

a big deal. The Republicans have a bigger majority in the House. The Republicans now have the majority and will take charge in the Senate. But the American people are pretty skeptical about this. Look at these polling numbers here.

This Congress compared to the last Congress will get more done? Thirty seven percent. Get less done? Fifteen percent. Make no difference? About half the American people, 47 percent.

How will Republicans run the United States Senate? Will it be better than Democrats? About 28 percent. Worse than Democrats, 24 percent. No difference, again, about half, 46 percent of the American people.

I guess there's every reason to applaud the American people for being skeptical, right?

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Right which tell me they're not really listening, right, to Mitch McConnell and John Boehner, who are promising that this is a new era, that they're going to turn the page; and one of the things they want to do is reverse this image of Republicans as not being able to govern.

But maybe it is good that there's such low expectations, and maybe, you know, Congress will exceed these expectations that are so far really based on what we've seen so far from these past Congresses.

ED O'KEEFE, "THE WASHINGTON POST": A lot of hope, a lot of optimism up there. But privately, I think a lot of people would admit, because it's so difficult to get people to compromise on the details of tax reform and trade and infrastructure and budgets, that it is going to be very difficult. And I think, you know, it will be on Mitch McConnell to really surpass expectations and set the party up for 2016.

KING: I think one of the fascinating questions is, No. 1, will Republicans do a lot of business with Democrats We'll get to that in a minute. But No. 2, how will it play out, now that they run both chambers of Congress? What we've seen in recent years, the internal divides within the Republican Party, especially the Tea Party versus the establishment.

John Boehner will be re-elected speaker today. We don't have any doubt about that. But the question is how many Tea Party conservatives and other grassroots conservatives will vote against him as a matter of principle? They think he's too compromising; they think he's too establishment. They think he's too close to groups like the Chamber of Commerce; let alone he's willing to talk to a Democratic president, in Barack Obama.

Here's Steve King from Iowa, one of the leading Tea Party spokesmen, I'll call him -- he's outspoken all the time -- explaining again why he says Boehner should not be returned to speaker.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. STEVE KING (R), IOWA: Every Republican pledge to repeal Obamacare. I brought the amendment to implement or enforce Obamacare. I was blocked procedurally by an act I think was the speaker's. And then it took two and a half years for that to finally work its way through the system. We had a government shutdown. We've got to control and manage this Constitution. The president is violating it at will, and the actions of the speaker have prevented us from keeping our oath to defend the Constitution and restore the authority of Congress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)