Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks Near Deadline; Man Escapes Prison Custody in Virginia; Motive Possibly Uncovered in Germanwings Plane Crash; Interview with Mayor Greg Ballard of Indianapolis. Aired 8- 8:30a ET

Aired March 31, 2015 - 08:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[08:00:02] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Iran hangs in the balance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These negotiations have been doing on for 18 months.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know if we'll get there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To be fair I don't think the deal is based primarily on trusting Iran.

CROWD: No hate in our state!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't want the particular state law as it is right now to define who we are.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This law is not intended to discriminate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No more time for clarifications. Fix it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How would you describe yourself?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I work very hard. I always have. I wanted to be remembered for my first 34 years, not my last six.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.

CUOMO: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Tuesday, March 31st, 8:00 in the east. And the world is watching and the clock is ticking because nuclear talks with Iran are going down to the wire. The deadline for a deal, you see it yourself. What happens when all those go to zero? Secretary of State John Kerry admits a lot of work to do. Tricky issues remain, convincing Iran to dispose of its massive atomic fuel atomic fuel for one.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Meanwhile, lawmakers in Washington poised to impose tough new sanctions on Iran if talks break down. So will today be the dawn of a new era or another day of tension between the U.S. and Tehran? Let's get the latest on the negotiations from CNN's global affairs correspondent Elise Labott. She is live for us from Switzerland. What do we know this morning, Elise?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alisyn, the sun is shining after several days of gray skies and rain. Maybe that's a good sign. And it does seem as if the sides are moving closer to a deal. The Russian foreign minister who left last night said he would return if a deal was imminent. He is on his way back. Last night Secretary of State John Kerry told me there was some light in the negotiations yesterday, but he said that there are some still tricky issues. And we have been talking about them for a few days.

First of all, what kind of research and development of advanced technology Iran would be able to do in the end years of a deal. The international community doesn't want any of that. They want to keep those restrictions in place for the entire 15 years of this deal. We are also talking about U.N. Security Council sanctions. Iran wants them to disappear on day one with. World powers want to be able to phase them out as Iran shows its compliance with the deal and also be able to put them -- re-impose them in what they call a snap-back provision if Iran violates the deal.

And so we are going down to the wire. Secretary Kerry tells me negotiators will be working until the last minute because everyone knows the importance of the deadline today, Alisyn. As you mentioned, the Congress could impose sanctions as early as next month, and that would really scuttle all chances of the comprehensive deal due at the end of June, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: It looks like they might be working until midnight, but we know that you will keep us posted on any developments. Elise Labott, thanks so much.

Joining us now is Aaron David Miller. He's advised sex secretaries of state on the Arab-Israeli peace process. He's now vice president for new initiatives and a distinguished scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center. Aaron, good morning.

AARON DAVID MILLER, VICE PRESIDENT FOR NEW INITIATIVES, WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER: Pleasure to be here, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: What do you make of the details we have just heard from Elise Labott that they are apparently moving closer but tricky issues remain?

MILLER: I think that's right. I stopped reading tea leaves and goat entrails when I left the Arab-Israeli negotiations. There is really no way to predict. This is the endgame in the sense that there will be a ton of issues and a ton of work to do over the next several months. But they have to get through this hurdle. And what that means producing enough to persuade skeptics.

The Israelis, the Saudis, most of the U.S. Congress whether you are a D or an R, hardliners in Iran -- although not to be confused with the regime itself, that in effect what you're going to get is enough sanctions for a smaller, slower, more transparent, more easily verifiable Iranian nuclear program. And this isn't a transformation. I mean, rather than jump off the cliff on this one, we have to understand this is another step in an excruciatingly painful process that is still proven -- unproven. I mean, I'm from Ohio, but on this one, I'm from Missouri. It really is a show-me enterprise. And they have to show enough detail over the next 24 hours, 48 hours to at least get past this hurdle.

And Aaron, you have written an interesting op-ed for "The Wall Street Journal" called "The high price of U.S. cooperation with Iran." Are you suggesting that the price is bigger than the benefit?

MILLER: Well, look, the premise of this deal is very simple. The United States and its allies are buying time in an effort to avoid a crisis, which is an acceleration of Iran's nuclear program right now which either the Israelis or Americans would be forced to deal with through military means in the hopes, in the hopes that over time the Mullah-cracy in Tehran would reform, moderate, and ultimately not make a decision to remain a nuclear threshold state, let alone to weaponize. It's a hypothetical based on a lot of contingencies.

[08:05:36] In the meantime the Iranians are expanding influence just about everywhere -- in Syria, in Yemen, as we have seen, in Iraq. They remain an oppressive regime with a terrible human rights record. So, look, avoiding war is important. Assuming you get a compelling agreement that won't fix, however, the other problem which is Iranian aspirations in the region which, in effect, basically don't conform to our view. So I'm a skeptic on this one. I think diplomacy is important to try, but it's a means to an end, and we have to get the end we seek.

CAMEROTA: When you say that we are buying time, are you referring to details that have leaked out that this is only a 10-year, maybe at the outset a 15-year deal, and what you're saying is the thinking is that that the landscape would shift during that decade?

MILLER: That's the hope. With other authoritarian regimes, Cuba, the former Soviet Union, China, the logic is you open up, you integrate them into the international community, and presumably their politics change as well. The problem is that scenario usually doesn't work. And I think that's the real problem here.

I mean, what's 10 years? What's 15 years? We measure our lives in Washington in four to eight-year increments with respect to this administration or that. I did for nearly a quarter century. But that's an insufficient sort of time metric to judge the behavior of a power that thinks itself entitled, fundamentally insecure, and wants a hedge against a hostile element, that is to say to remain a nuclear weapons threshold state.

Last point. Had the shah not been overthrown in Khomeini in 1979, Iran would already have been a nuclear weapons state probably with American acquiescence. This is an Iranian national objective whether it's an Islamic regime or whether it's the regime under the shah. And keeping Iran from obtaining the weapon is critically important. The question is, will this agreement do that? And we just don't know. CAMEROTA: Of course all of this is set against the backdrop of other

turmoil in the Middle East. The Saudis, as you know, are launching strikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen. And this morning the news is they are even considering ground troops. What's the deal of the deal, if there is a deal today, on that?

MILLER: I don't think it will produce any immediate, quick, or easy change in Iran's behavior in the region. As I mentioned, this is not a transformation. This is a transaction. This is a business deal. Think of it that way. They need something, sanctions relief over time. We need something, to somehow constrain their nuclear weapons aspirations and avoid a crisis. If it evolves and morphs into something else, it really will require a fundamental change in the behavior of the regime. That's critically important. It's not going to happen soon. And we have to figure out a way to deal with it.

In the wake of the deal, if there is one in June, we have to make sure that we are able to verify everything, that our intelligence is good enough to know what's going on. We have to impose snap-back sanctions in the event the Iranians violate any aspect of this accord. And it ought to be a low threshold, like broken windows applied to crime in New York City. Violations need to be dealt with firmly so that we don't reach the point where we believe the agreement is too big to fail and we are not paying attention to the Iranians are doing.

CAMEROTA: Aaron David Miller, something tells me we'll check back in with you in nine hours and 50 minutes.

MILLER: Always a pleasure, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Thanks so much.

MILLER: Take care.

CAMEROTA: Chris?

CUOMO: All right, we have news of a possible motive in the crash of Germanwings flight 9525. Let's get right to CNN's Pamela Brown in Germany. Pamela, what have you figured out?

PAMELA BROWN: Well, Chris, we are learning that one of the theories, one of the main theories that investigators here at Dusseldorf are exploring is that Andreas Lubitz was fearful of losing his pilot's license because of his medical condition. We have learned from a source I've been speaking with who has been briefed on this investigation that very recently he was going to see two doctors, one a neuropsychologist, another an eye doctor because he was having vision problems. Both doctors came to the same conclusion that he was having psychological issues. The eye doctor diagnosed him with a psychosomatic disorder. Both doctors apparently deemed him unfit to work, and we know from the prosecutor here that he had torn up the doctors' notes and put them in the trash bin.

[08:10:27] Also, we're learning from the same source that the girlfriend told investigators here in Dusseldorf that she was aware he had psychological issues but did not know the extent of the problems, as the source said. She apparently said that the couple was optimistic that he would be able to work through these issues, that they could solve the problems. She knew he was going to see the doctors recently but the source said she was just as surprised as everyone else by what he did. Bottom line here, while investigators are exploring these theories of this possible motive that he was afraid to lose his pilot's license, there is really still no good, clear-cut motive or really explanation for what he did. Michaela?

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: There is little sense to be made of somebody killing 150 innocent people. All right, Pamela, thanks so much.

Some other news we are staying on top of out of Virginia where police are frantically searching for an inmate. This man escaped during a hospital transfer more than five hours ago. That suspect, a prisoner is considered armed and dangerous. I want to get to CNN's Athena Jones. She's live at the scene in Falls Church, Virginia. What's the latest information we have Athena?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela. The very latest is that police here in Virginia are searching for this suspect Wossen Assaye in a 2002 silver Toyota Camry with Virginia license plates. We are told that the suspect, while still wearing the hospital gown that he escaped in, carjacked a woman three to five miles from where we stand right now, from this hospital, some time ago, we don't know exactly when, and took off in her silver Toyota Camry, year 2002. That's the car they are looking for right now.

But how did this all begin? As you mentioned, this happened just after 3:00 a.m. this morning. The suspect was brought here for medical treatment after an attempt to harm himself. We understand that to be likely some sort of suicide attempt. He was brought here. He was in the custody of two private security guards. At some point early this morning he was able to overpower one of those security guards. During that struggle a gunshot was fired. He was able to get that security guard's gun and make off with it.

And so they shut down the hospital here. They began searching methodically building by building. There were reverse 9/11 calls going out to residents in the surrounding areas, warning them of the situation. Now the hospital has been reopened because now police are searching for this suspect in this silver Toyota Camry. They have also mentioned and they've released a picture of Wossen Assaye's girlfriend who they said he may be trying to meet up with. But they say that he was alone and in a hospital gown with the handgun when he carjacked this woman's car earlier. That's all the information we have right now, Michaela.

CAMEROTA: OK, thanks so much. I'll take it, Athena, and please keep us posted on that manhunt there.

Well, the Fresno fire captain who was severely burned when he fell through a burning roof faces a long and difficult recovery. We showed you the pictures of the 49-year-old Captain Peter Dern yesterday. Today he's on a ventilator and he remains in serious condition. He faces skin grafts and weeks of other intensive treatment. Here's the video. He had second and third degree burns on about 65 percent of his body from falling through that roof. His doctor said his protective clothing kept him alive. Still, with the risk of infection his injuries are life-threatening.

CUOMO: All right, a California judge is appealing to Robin Williams's widow and his three grown children to resolve their dispute over the late comedian's estate. They have a scheduled hearing in June and they're hoping for a settlement before that, at least a judge is. Williams wanted his home to go to his wife and certain belongings to go to the kids. But his wife said the belongings should be limited to what's in Williams's second home in Napa.

PEREIRA: My parents try to have conversations with me about end of life topics that are difficult, as you very well know, and they try to infuse humor in to. My dad always says we we're going to spend it all so you have nothing to fight over. But in a way when you see this kind of thing happen, I kind of appreciate their plan, you know?

CAMEROTA: And even though those conversations are so uncomfortable they are important to have while everybody is still lucid and alive to have them.

CUOMO: And that's when you don't have them, you know what I mean, because nobody wants to deal with this stuff until you have. It goes one of two ways in my experience, either the death knocks people apart or brings them together. In my family we have been lucky that everybody has really pulled together around my mom. But it happens. No family is immune from this kind of stuff.

PEREIRA: No, it is not.

[08:15:00] CAMEROTA: All right, well, Indiana's governor scrambling to fix the fallout from the religious freedom bill. But one Republican lawmaker saw the backlash coming.

We will speak with the mayor of Indianapolis.

CUOMO: And we've heard that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid isn't going to seek re-election and he's retiring. But why? Dana Bash spoke with him and has answers for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: There is news on the religious freedom front. Lawmakers in Arkansas are now set to vote on their own version of a religious freedom bill today, as Indiana Governor Mike Pence tries to clear up the situation in his state. He's clarifying saying that the statute has been misconstrued as a license to discriminate, that that's not what it is. That clarification comes too late for some. You're looking at the front page of the Indianapolis star, demanding changes to the law and they're going through how this is hurtful to the people who are the heart and soul of the state.

Now, one elected official saw the ramifications coming and lobbied against the bill. Worth noting, he is a Republican as is the governor. That's Greg Ballard, mayor of Indianapolis joins us now. Mr. Mayor, thank you very much for joining us. I know you are busy

with what is engulfing your city right now.

But let's just start with the obvious. Do you believe that this bill was designed to allow religious people to discriminate and/or avoid people they don't like, like the LGBT community?

MAYOR GREG BALLARD (R), INDIANAPOLIS: I don't think the people who voted on it understood the ramifications of it.

[08:20:00] They were warned ahead of time that what could happen, obviously. But when you combined this law, which by itself looks innocuous, but you coincide that with the lack of special protection for sexual orientation, then we have what we have at this point in time.

CUOMO: But it's not in the bill. You don't see anything about the LGBT community in the bill. The supporters say that's not what it's about. What do you know about the birthing and the debating of this bill that, to you, reveals the truth of it?

BALLARD: Well, again, if you take the bill by itself, again it looks OK. But you have to combine it with the other code in the law. That's the important points of all this and that's where all this comes.

Indianapolis has their own human rights ordinance --

CUOMO: Sure.

BALLARD: -- which actually gives special protections. Frankly, we couldn't get a straight answer as to whether state law would override that. You know, can they deny service? All the questions were left unanswered until they were starting to be addressed yesterday morning.

So, that's really the issue at hand. You just can't take it take by itself and say, hey, look at this law, it's OK. You can never take anything by itself like that.

CUOMO: The governor says he doesn't want to make LGBT a protected class under state law and exempt them from the provisions of the RFRA the law, religious freedom law, which he could do. What do you think of that?

BALLARD: Well, I think the "Indianapolis Star" headline has it right. Let's fix this. There might be several ways to do this. That would be one. That's one I signed executive yesterday asking that the state do that, because it would clear this up almost immediately.

But if they're not going to move in that direction, they better move somewhere very fast, because this is engulfing the city and the state and has great potential to hurt the economy for a long time to come.

CUOMO: Is it just hype, optics? As people learn more, will it go away? We just one of the supporters on, Ryan McCann, from the Indiana Family

Institute, and he was saying, no, no, this is about protecting discrete religious minorities like the Native American boy who doesn't want to cut his hair or the woman who needs a liver transplant but can't go across state line, the Jehovah's Witness.

Do you believe that that's what it was about?

BALLARD: Not at all. You have to understand what's happening in the state right now.

CUOMO: Tell us.

BALLARD: The business community is in an uproar. So many other people are in uproar about this. Convention business is at risk, sporting events are at risk. All of this is happening, as we speak, because the combination of laws in the state of Indiana.

So, when they passed this law -- again, I don't think they intended harm with this. I really don't. Mike Pence is the nicest guy in the world, much nicer than I will ever be. But the combination of this is disastrous now for the right city and the state. The state house has to understand that, and they have to fix it and they have to fix it fast.

CUOMO: Two points of pushback because my understanding of you is that you are well-wired not just in the city, but in the state, and you're a very respected lawmaker on both sides. So, let me ask you this. One, the talk is that this was a political giveback, that the Republicans in the state wanted to exclude gay marriage in the Constitution, didn't get it, but they did get this.

Two, that this got walked through the general assembly. That these lawmakers now who are saying they didn't know what the law did. What kind of excuse is that? Did you not read the law? You didn't think about the law?

So, are those two things true? Was this a giveback politically? And are these lawmakers saying they didn't know what it meant -- that just can't be a defense of the situation.

BALLARD: I would like to answer that question directly but, frankly, I don't know, becaue the statehouse is the statehouse and we're separate.

CUOMO: Come on, Mr. Mayor. I hear you're wired, that you know what happened.

BALLARD: No, actually, I speak directly all the time. I was on CNN last night.

CUOMO: Mm-hmm.

BALLARD: I know the implications are there, but you'd have to go inside the caucus, which I don't do --

CUOMO: Right.

BALLARD: -- to see what that was all about. I mean, I have heard that repeatedly obviously. But you have to ask the speaker or the Senate majority leader whether that is what it is, because that's just what happened.

Again, what's happened has been disastrous. No question about it. And whether -- I mean, you can -- it doesn't take too much of a detective to walk through some of the things and what some of the Web sites are saying about this to draw the conclusion. I will certainly concur with that.

CUOMO: So, what's the fix? The governor says I'm not changing it. I'm not making them a protected class. It's not in our agenda. That's not what the people of Indiana want. So, what's going to happen?

BALLARD: Something has to change. Like I say, there is some sort of blind spot here as to what people are saying and what has to be done here in the city and the state. There is just no question about that.

I wish they listened to the business community right up front. But they didn't, because they thought it was innocuous.

[08:25:01] They thought, you know, it's not going to be an issue because they said, hey, it's in 19 other states. But if you just take it by itself, it may look like that. Just take it with the other law, with the other code in the state of Indiana, this is what happens. And --

CUOMO: Right.

BALLARD: I think it's been made clear to them at this point in time. I and others are telling them that -- you know, we don't have a few months here. The reputation of the city and the state -- I mean, the hospitality we provide.

CUOMO: Sure.

BALLARD: There is a reason we get the sporting events. There is a reason conventions come back to us all the time. There's a reason for all of this, because of who we are as a people, who we represent ourselves as a city. And that's been damaged. The state house has to fix this very, very fast.

CUOMO: There is a reality and a perception that are both great for Indiana. And I do not think that people who are seeing the story are confusing the people of that state with the politics of that state. Not only has it always been a great place to visit, but you represent a wholesomeness about what this country could be at its best, that people obviously want to see preserved.

The governor is on television this morning. He seems a little bitter more submissive to suggestion.

Do you believe better angels that might prevail and make him change course?

BALLARD: Like I say, he's the nicest guy in the world. No question about it.

I'm hoping that everybody is starting to see the reality of the combination of laws and where that has brought us.

I do believe -- I spoke to members of the House and Senate yesterday about this. What I believe they need to be doing. And they need to get there pretty quickly. So, we'll see what happens.

CUOMO: Mr. Mayor, we'll stay with you. Thank you very much for coming on and speaking directly to us about this. And please, put in a good word for us with the governor. We'd love to have him on to discuss these issues.

BALLARD: All right. Thank you.

CUOMO: Tell him I'm a nice guy, too. Thank you very much.

We want to hear what you think about all of this. That's why we're taking on the issue. You can tweet us @newday or go to Facebook.com/NewDay, what are your questions or what are your concerns.

Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: I'm not sure that's the message he'll be taking back, but I think it is a good one to send out.

Meanwhile, stick around for this revealing interview. CNN sitting down exclusively with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. He shares the reason he's retiring. Wait until you hear him defend some of his past comments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRRESPONDENT: So, no regrets about Mitt Romney, about the Koch brothers. Some called it McCarthyite.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: His response, in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)