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Iran Nuke Deal Deadline Two Weeks Away; U.S. Willing to Negotiate with Syria; Latest Polls Show Netanyahu Trailing Rival; Robert Durst Appears to Confess to Murders on Tape. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired March 16, 2015 - 07:00   ET

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

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And Nic, Secretary Kerry said something surprising this weekend about a different topic.

<07:00:02> He described a willingness to sit down with Syria's Bashar al-Assad. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Everybody agrees, there is no military solution. There is only a political solution. I am convinced with the efforts of our allies and others, there will be increased pressure on Assad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you'd be willing to negotiate with him?

KERRY: Well, we have to negotiate in the end.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Nic, did the secretary explain that shift, or the seeming shift in strategy?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he certainly sounds like a different tone. I mean, a year and a half ago, it was Assad must go. He is no longer the legitimate leader of the country. But what the State Department is saying is what Secretary Kerry meant in the context of the Geneva talks of 2013, which haven't made progress, that the outcome of -- a successful outcome of those talks would be talks, essentially, with the Syrian leadership, President Bashar al-Assad, which would then lead to a change in the new government there, and he would move away from a position of power.

But what the Secretary Kerry also said over the weekend in the context of this, is that, you know, additional pressure will be brought to bear on the Syrian leadership.

But look, I was at those talks in January late last year that didn't work. The expectation from the U.S.-European side was that the Russians will put more pressure on President Bashar al-Assad to make a compromise. That didn't happen then. And look, the relationship between the United States and the Europeans against -- or with the Russians, if you will, on the other side, has only gotten worse. Where that expected pressure is expected to come from on Assad to make a compromise, that's not clear, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK. Nic Robertson, thanks so much for all of that.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu locked in the fight of his political life. After his controversial speech to Congress, calling for a tougher nuclear deal with Iran, his numbers have been slipping in Israel. The latest polls show him trailing Labour Party leader Isaac Herzog as Israelis prepare to head to the polls tomorrow.

CNN's Oren Lieberman in Jerusalem for us with the latest. What's it looking like today, Oren?

OREN LIEBERMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alisyn, Benjamin Netanyahu is very aware of those polls. In the final round of polling before the elections, he is four seats behind his main rival, Isaac Herzog of the left-wing Zionist Union party. He knows he has to close that gap.

Now four seats isn't that big of a gap. The significance party is this was the biggest gap we've seen so far. Just a few weeks ago, this was neck and neck. This was 23, 24 seats a piece. Now it's that four-seat gap that Netanyahu sees in these critical final days.

Now these final hours before the election, Netanyahu came out. He's made a number of these final appearance in these last few days. He came out last night to the central square in Tel Aviv, which is Itzak Rabin Square, firing up a right-wing rally. His supporters, tens of thousands of them, filling the square. He knows what he has to do is close that gap.

Because of way Israeli politics works, and how the Knesset works, he doesn't need to win the election to be the next prime minister, and that's where he's a master politician, a master deal-maker. And he knows that if he gets the chance, he can probably create a coalition government.

But Michaela, the critical part here for Benjamin Netanyahu is he has to close that gap or he may not get the chance to create the next coalition government. So it all comes down to him for voter turnout.

Michaela, at the end of his speech last night, he urged his right-wing supporters out on election day, starting in just a few hours here in Israel.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: As you said, Oren, the political fight of his life. Thanks so much for that.

Well, quite a tangled web right now in the Middle East. Want to turn to Aaron David Miller. He's the president for new initiatives and a distinguished scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center, former are the man to wade through all of this. Please help us make sense of it all.

AARON DAVID MILLER, WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER: Sure. I will try. Where do you want to start? PEREIRA: I want to start with the talks that are going on right now

at this hour. We are hearing from the British foreign minister this morning, saying closer but a long way to go. Two weeks until the deadline. This is the first time they're sitting face-to-face since that letter from the 47 senators. What do you sense is happening in there? How important are these negotiation at this key point?

MILLER: There are a lot of negotiations for a long time. And there's a certain ebb and flow and rhythm to them.

PEREIRA: OK.

MILLER: Deadlines and urgency go together. And I think you're reaching a critical -- critically important point, a kind of put up or shut down point, which is probably the end of March. Something needs to emerge, a political framework, a basic agreement on general principles. Something to demonstrate that the last two years hasn't been empty and wasted.

At the same time -- and my sense is they're moving toward that -- at the same time, you know, in a final stage negotiation, you usually have three or four issues that need to be closed. This time you've got at least ten. And they're not simply dotting the "I's" and crossing the "T's." They're big issues, a lot to do -- and not to mention the domestic politics on both sides and Iran's behavior in the region on so many other issues. No more complicated negotiation I don't think I've seen.

<07:05:13> PEREIRA: You said that it's the toughest one you've seen. I want to speak of some of these domestic issues. Tom Cotton, the sophomore -- the freshman congressman from Arkansas, essentially doubling down over the weekend, saying he does not regret instigating that letter to the Iranian ayatollah. The White House press corps is saying, "Hey, let it play out the way it's going to play out."

How damaging is all of this? The domestic issues?

MILLER: I think it's really hard for a negotiator.

PEREIRA: Yes.

MILLER: There's no question that it's hard. It makes it much more -- more difficult. But look, let me be very clear.

Congress shouldn't be running American foreign policy, but in my judgment, having worked for the State Department for almost 25 years, the State Department shouldn't have a monopoly on foreign policy either.

The reality is this is a critically important agreement, which is going to endure for a decade plus. Congress has to have some input, if only, I would argue, to work with the administration to ensure that, if Iran violates the agreement, that there will be snap-back sanctions or even the threat of the use of force. And that can only come if you strike a durable deal between the administration and Congress. That's obviously not going to happen in the next two weeks; probably not in the next 22 months.

PEREIRA: Oren Lieberman just talking about the Israeli elections being held tomorrow. I want to ask you about that, because I know you've written extensively about it. What do you see happening in a race that seems too close to call?

MILLER: You know, a fifth of the Israeli electorate a day before the elections, less than that, are now undecided.

The last time I tried to predict an election was in April of '96, where working for Bill Clinton, we were all persuaded that Shimon Peres would beat -- you guessed it -- Benjamin Netanyahu. And we were all wrong.

The reality is if we were a beauty contest only question of votes polled, it would be one thing. But it's assembly of that coalition and the natural partners of the 11 or 12 parties that are now competing align more with Benjamin Netanyahu than they do with Isaac Hertzog, the head of the Zionist Union. We haven't had a Labour Party prime minister in 16 years.

And at the same time 70, 75 percent of the Israeli public, according to latest polls, wants a change. So again, I don't want to run for the hills on this thing, but I'm not making any predictions. It will take at least a month, Michaela.

PEREIRA: So a quick final thought from you. So if a new government is brought in, a new leader, What does that change U.S.-Israel relations?

MILLER: Well, there's no -- that is the one area where you're going to see a real transformation. I guarantee you, if Benjamin Netanyahu loses, they'll be popping the champagne corks at Foggy Bottom and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

PEREIRA: Aaron David Miller, always great to have you with us. Thanks so much for sharing your bright, bright mind with us.

MILLER: Always a pleasure, Michaela.

PEREIRA: We appreciate it. Happy Monday.

We're going to get the latest on the nuclear negot -- negotiations, I can say it -- at least I'm not involved in it, thank goodness -- in our 8 a.m. hour. We're going to welcome the spokeswoman for the State Department, Jen Psaki.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. An estranged member of an influential New York real estate family is now behind bars in a cold- case killing of a longtime friend. Robert Durst is being profiled in an HBO documentary. Right at the end of it all, there was an apparent confession caught on video.

For the latest developments, let's go live to CNN's Jean Casarez in New Orleans this morning.

This is crazy, Jean.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, we're right here at the Criminal Justice Center in New Orleans. And in just a few hours, Robert Durst will come face-to-face with a judge. And he is no stranger to the criminal justice system. It was just over a decade ago he was acquitted of first-degree murder charges out of Texas. And now he faces those very same charges in Los Angeles, in regard to the slaying of a confidante and best friend in Beverly Hills.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERT DURST, MURDER SUSPECT: What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.

CASAREZ (voice-over): An explosive comment by real estate heir Robert Durst caught on a live mic, ending HBO's six-part documentary series "The Jinx."

DURST: There it is. You're caught.

CASAREZ: What he means unclear. But these are the words of a man who police say is a cold-case murder suspect. Durst whispering to himself in a bathroom after his final interview for the special, which challenges the audience to decide whether the 71-year-old son of one of the most powerful real-estate tycoons in New York City is responsible for the disappearance of his wife in 1982, the murder of a close friend in 2000, and a neighbor in 2001.

DURST: I mean, the writing looks similar.

<07:10:00> CASAREZ: In the final episode, the filmmakers confront Durst after uncovering a letter written by the millionaire to long- time friend and crime novelist Susan Berman. Berman was found shot dead inside her L.A. home over 14 years ago.

The handwriting and misspelling of her address eerily similar to a letter written to police, telling them where to find the body. Durst denying he wrote it.

DURST: What I see as a similarity is really the misspelling in the "Beverly." Other than that, the block letters are block letters.

CASAREZ: Police arresting the heir Saturday at a New Orleans hotel, now held on a capital murder charge in Berman's death, citing additional evidence that has come to light in the past year.

It is unclear what role the documentary played, the millionaire's attorney telling FOX News he was underwhelmed by the new developments revealed in the six-part series, including his ramblings in the bathroom.

DURST: He was right. I was wrong.

CHIP LEWIS, ATTORNEY FOR ROBERT DURST: L.A. County's got a case. We'll address those facts in the courtroom. But generally speaking, I was underwhelmed. CASAREZ: The millionaire has long maintained that he did not kill

Berman or his wife, who has never been found.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ: And we do want to say that CNN and HBO are both owned by Time Warner.

We reached out to HBO to ask them if, when and how they contacted law enforcement with regard to the information that they gained from this documentary. They have not responded to our questions.

And a law enforcement source that was briefed on this case says that the FBI had been tracking Robert Durst, that he arrived in New Orleans last Tuesday, March 10. And they arrested him late Saturday night. They believed he was very close to leaving the country, bound for Cuba -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Jean, such a spine-tingling and intriguing case. We're going to be speaking to the judge in that, one of the cases coming up to get more details. Jean Casarez, thanks, so much.

Also this: three British teenagers facing terrorism charges after their alleged plan to join ISIS in Syria was foiled in Turkey. Turkish authorities detaining the teens after a tip-off from Britain that they were missing and believed to be traveling to Syria. The two 17-year-olds and a 19-year-old now free on bail. Now this comes weeks after three other female British teenagers left their homes in London and are thought to be with ISIS in Syria.

BERMAN: So this just in. The wait is over, Russian President Vladimir Putin just re-appeared for the first time in 11 days. He did show up to a meeting with the president of Kyrgyzstan. You can see it happening right there. It happened in St. Petersburg.

Now, he was gone for 11 days, disappeared from sight for 11 days, fueling all kinds of conspiracy theories about his health, among other things, frankly. Before the meeting, which was just minutes ago, the Russian leader remarked, "It would be boring without gossip," he said. Again, still unexplained, though, where he was for the last 11 days.

PEREIRA: He must have heard Berman was looking for you. We both have the same thought.

BERMAN: I have enormous sway...

CAMEROTA: Certainly.

BERMAN: ... all around the globe.

PEREIRA: Got to show you guys this amazing video, spectacular crash in a drag race in Gainesville, Florida.

Three-time high-rod champion Dixon airborne seconds after the start of his race, his Top Fuel car cut in half. Check this out, though. He is able to walk away from the wreck under his own power. He even waves to the crowd. Yes, amazing, he's in that portion there. You see the car split in half, fly airborne down the course. Unbelievable.

Well, guess what? Larry Dixon joins us live in the next hour. We have so many questions to ask him about this crash, what went wrong, and more importantly, how he's feeling this morning.

BERMAN: That's a long way to go on NEW DAY. I'll stay right there.

CAMEROTA: There are easier ways.

PEREIRA: Some people will try and get attention.

CAMEROTA: So true.

All right. Meanwhile, back to this crazy mysterious case. Could Robert Durst's recorded remarks about "killing them all" seal his fate in court? Is this a confession or is it inadmissible in court? We will be speaking to a judge who presided over the 2003 murder trial in which Durst was acquitted.

PEREIRA: And a confirmation vote set this week for Loretta Lynch is now off the table. Why the hold up? Well, politics, of course. John King will explain on "Inside Politics."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

<07:18:06> DURST: ... said about a zillion times, "You can't help yourself. Right now you're a free man, 100 percent. You say something inadvertently, and you will find yourself charged in New York or in -- charged in Los Angeles. And an interview was a big risk for you. Why do you want to do an interview?"

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Those words coming back to haunt accused murderer Robert Durst this morning. Durst, long suspected in several murders, appears to admit to those crimes in the bombshell finale of "The Jinx" on HBO, which is owned by Time Warner, the parent company of CNN. Durst was arrested over the weekend in New Orleans in connection with the 2000 murder of his friend, Susan Berman. He was also tried 12 years ago for the murder of a neighbor in Galveston, Texas, but he was acquitted.

We want to bring in Susan Criss. She was the judge in that case.

Good morning, Judge.

JUDGE SUSAN CRISS, PRESIDED OVER ROBERT DURST MURDER TRIAL: Good morning.

CAMEROTA: What a crazy sequence of events here. Let's rewind the clock, because a series of things happened in the 1980s, all involving Robert Durst. He was -- at first his wife mysteriously disappeared and his best friend was murdered. And then his neighbor was shot and dismembered. You were the judge on that case of the neighbor. What happened during that trial?

CRISS: Well, I think everyone wants to know how he could be acquitted when he admitted to dismembering someone. Well, my perception was that the D.A. came in overconfident and then realized they were overmatched and just gave up hope. It was like watching a slow train wreck.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my -- and what were your impressions of Robert Durst as you presided over that trial?

CRISS: Everyone wants to assume that he's crazy, because it's so hard to understand how someone could cut up another human being.

<07:20:06> CRISS: My impression is he is not crazy. He knows exactly what he's doing. He is very intelligent, very cunning. I think he has thrived on the media attention since the trial. It's a very, very complex person. He's a very, very fascinating character.

CAMEROTA: OK. So now listen to what was just revealed in this HBO special. Basically, they are taping an interview with him, the filmmakers, and he takes a break to go into the bathroom, perhaps not realizing that he is still wearing a microphone, and that microphone is hot. Here is what they capture him saying to himself in the bathroom. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DURST: What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: He's speaking to himself, and he said, "Killed them all, of course." How do you explain this unguarded moment here that's caught on tape?

CRISS: Well, it is amazing. It's amazing that, in another sense, that's what he does.

In our trial, he had been recorded on the phone talking to his wife and friends, making a lot of admissions. And the state never used that. But he was aware that he had been recording saying things that could implicate him in -- in the murder that we were trying.

Earlier in those interviews, in a previous interview for that very program, there was a break where he was caught practicing his testimony. And so he realized -- he knew that he had a mic on. This is the third time he's made that mistake. That's amazing.

CAMEROTA: I mean, part of why people, some speculate that he may be insane is because it sounds almost as though he has a split personality, as though there is somebody else talking. But you reject that notion?

CRISS: I do reject that. And if the defense attorneys hear that, they will want to jump on that for his defense. But he is not insane; he is not insane at all. He's an interesting person, but he is not insane.

CAMEROTA: OK. Well, here is what one of his defense attorneys has said about this moment where he appears to be confessing to himself. He's saying -- here's the attorney, named Chip Lewis. He says, "Your honesty would lead to you try" -- I'm sorry, "would lead you to say you've said things under your breath before that you probably didn't mean, so I don't want to talk about the factual specifics."

Basically, the attorney is saying we all mutter to ourselves strange things.

What do you say as a judge?

CRISS: We don't mutter that we've killed anyone. That's crazy.

CAMEROTA: Here's HBO's statement about all this. They say, "We simply cannot say enough about the brilliant job that Andrew Jarecki" -- he's the filmmaker -- "and Marc Smerling did in producing 'The Jinx.' Years in the making, their thorough research and dogged reporting reignited interest in Robert Durst's story with the public and law enforcement."

Is this enough, Judge, in your vast experience, now, to hear that moment caught on tape, to prosecute and convict Robert Durst?

CRISS: I don't know it's a method in and of itself. But it is a part of, I think, the case that is being made against him. That case has been several years in the making. The investigation has been going on. The reopening of the case has been going on. And I think these are -- these are pieces of evidence that are going to be used, and they're going to be very powerful pieces of evidence.

CAMEROTA: Do you think there's any problem with the notion that the filmmakers had this information and didn't immediately give it to the police; they waited for it to come out?

CRISS: Oh, I do -- I don't agree with that. They did immediately give it to the police. They gave it -- they turned over the handwriting sample a couple years ago at least, two or three years ago. They told me when they did it. The police have had it. The police didn't just learn this when they watched television. They've had that.

CAMEROTA: OK. Interesting. So...

CRISS: The filmmakers did an outstanding job.

CAMEROTA: I'm glad for that clarification. So then why only now is Robert Durst arrested?

CRISS: You know, I don't know, and it's probably good that we don't know. Because we shouldn't know every part of an investigation. Part of that has to be kept secret. Bob has been watching television and reading the news, too, so it

wouldn't be appropriate for them to tell everyone now everything that's been going on. That's part of why you call it an investigation.

The producers did a really outstanding job uncovering some things that they did turn over to law enforcement. And I think one of the questions is, why didn't law enforcement go through Susan Berman's things when they were doing the crime scene, and they knew they had a document that was handwritten by someone that they thought she knew? Why didn't they go through every piece of paper then? Well, that's probably going to be answered during the trial. But I think that there's going to be a lot more that we don't know that we're going to find out.

CAMEROTA: Wow, so fascinating. So many questions. Thanks so much for all of your background information on this. Former Judge Susan Criss, nice to have you on NEW DAY.

CRISS: Thank you.

<07:25:09> CAMEROTA: We want to know what you think about this case. You can tweet us, @NEWDAY, or go to Facebook.com/NewDay. We'd love to read your comments -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: Really a gripping story there, Alisyn. Thanks so much.

Republican presidential hopefuls invading New Hampshire. Several reporters tagged along for the ride. Two of them sit down with John King, "Inside Politics."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Secretary of State John Kerry back at the nuclear bargaining table with Iran this morning. He insists he will not apologize on behalf of the 47 GOP senators who wrote that controversial letter to the Iranians.

The secretary of state also signaling a willingness to negotiate with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to end that country's bloody civil war, now entering its fifth year.

BERMAN: Hundreds of thousands of people rally across Brazil, calling for the president to be impeached. Just a few months now into her second term, President Dilma Rousseff is taking heat as that country struggles with an economy that is slipping into a recession. Also, a huge corruption scandal involving the country's state-run oil company.

<07:29:59> PEREIRA: I'll show you this dramatic video emerging now from a police body camera, showing that rescue of the 18-month-old girl from a car that had plunged into a frigid Utah river.