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Poll: Clinton Dominates In Iowa; State Department Official: Private Email "Not Acceptable"; Police Challenge State's Attorney's Case; Whole Foods To Launch Lower-Cost Chain. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired May 07, 2015 - 07:30   ET

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

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: The "New York Times" reports that authorities despite their tracking say they never suspected Simpson and his accomplice were even planning an attack and somehow failed to stop him from buying the weapons they used.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Now for something decidedly different. Have you seen McDonald's new Hamburglar? A mysterious suburban dad playing grill master, and it ends, for those of you around in the '70s and '80s with the classic line, rubble, rubble and followed up like this one in Twitter, it exploded at the very least, a lot of people calling the new Hamburglar a hottie.

CUOMO: This was a kid. Now we have a grown man.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: The new one is definitely hotter than that.

CUOMO: It was a kid.

CAMEROTA: The age of Mayor McCheeseburger.

PEREIRA: He is kind of cute little red head.

CUOMO: The apron gave it away because it had the stripes, rabble, rabble.

PEREIRA: You do it better than I do.

CUOMO: John King talk. Let's get to "Inside Politics" right now. John King, you know you like little quarter pounder every now and then.

JOHN KING, CNN HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": It's been a long time, but I think that was Tom Brady looking for a new line of work.

CUOMO: Hating on your own, respect it.

KING: Sad, that one is sad. Glad you didn't hit me too hard with it, Mr. Cuomo, very gracious of you, but reading that report makes you sad. Let's leave it there.

Let's go inside politics this morning with me to share her reporting and her insights, Margaret Talev of "Bloomberg." Let's start, brand new numbers in Iowa. This is news because it isn't news, I guess. Let's look at Hillary Clinton among Democrats in Iowa. She's had 60 percent among likely Iowa caucus goers on the Democratic side, Bernie Sanders, the closest challenger, the Vermont who is an independent, but is now running in the Democratic race at 15 percent, Joe Biden at 11.

What's interesting here is Bernie Sanders has gone from 5 to 15 from the last poll. So you would say, aha, he's moving, but the reason he moved is they asked about Elizabeth Warren last time, Margaret because they said she isn't running they didn't ask about her.

If you're Hillary Clinton and you're at 60 percent, you're feeling pretty good.

MARGARET TALEV, "BLOOMBERG": You are. It really supports the idea that all of these questions about the handling of e-mails and the foundation stuff are potential general election problems and not really at all potential primary problems.

KING: It's a great point because 76 percent of these Democrats in Iowa say Hillary Clinton is honest and trustworthy. So that means about a quarter one in four have a little bit of doubts about her, but one in four with those candidates as we speak.

Still months, things happened, she learned in Iowa four years ago, but as we look at this field, you don't see a surprise at least as yet as we knew back in 2007 to 2008 then Senator Obama was beginning to move.

TALEV: I mean, that's exactly right and if you're Martin O'Malley or if you're Jim Webb, it's tremendously frustrating. You're looking at, you know, Joe Biden, who is not actually campaigning for anything and Bernie Sanders, who nobody thinks is sort poised to unseat Hillary, you know, for that spot.

You know, running head and shoulders above these other two candidates, who consider themselves I think sort of they're pounding the pavement. They're really trying to, you know, build sort of more critical alternatives to her and they're nowhere in this poll.

KING: She did to her credit tweet out this week, let's have six debates. The Democratic National Committee says they want to sanction six debates. She said let's have debates. Let's have a discussion in the Democratic Party.

It will make the party stronger. Some have suggested if she's at 60 percent is she really going to work it? Is she going to get out and campaign and work hard?

Christiane Amanpour put the question to President Clinton, asking Bill Clinton, does Hillary Clinton feel entitled? Does she think this nomination is hers?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: That's something her critics have said. You won't see her acting entitled. What did she do? Did she have a big hoopla announcement like almost every other candidate? No, she got in her van --

CHRISTIAN AMANPOUR, CNN ANCHOR: You say she has to run as if she'd never run before.

CLINTON: I agree with that and that's exactly what she did. She drove t to Iowa, New Hampshire, she talked to people. I also think it's the best way to start a campaign because that's the way you hear how the American people see themselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: For perception purposes so far anyway, look, the Republicans understandably so are looking at everything and criticizing her all the time. But from a Democratic standpoint they seem to think at least so far she's doing it right.

TALEV: You want to find that sweet spot, right, where you're taking nothing for granted, where you're getting enough competition from your own team that you're staying in fighting shape. But without having to sort of be drawn down your money and resources and that sort of thing.

KING: And a key question going forward and one of the things Republicans are talking a lot about is that private e-mail server. Hillary Clinton had the private e-mail server. She used it when she was secretary of state, a government employee.

Then she and her team looked at the e-mails on that server and said this belongs to the government, this doesn't. They made that decision. No outside person brought in to help them litigate that.

It was the subject yesterday. Republicans asking the State Department's I.T. person, the person, who helps with Freedom of Information Act and document requests, what do you think about that?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOYCE BARR, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR ADMINISTRATION: I think that the actions that we've taken in the course of recovering this, these e-mails have made it very clear what people's responsibilities are with regard to recordkeeping.

[07:35:11] We've done -- we continue to do training, but we've sent department notices, telegrams, we've talked to directors. And I think that -- I think the message is loud and clear that that is not acceptable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: She's a career employee of the state department there speaking very calmly and straightforwardly. Guess what? She's about to be the star of a Republican ad even though she's speaking slowly and calmly. The acceptable part is going to show up in a TV ad.

TALEV: For sure, I mean, that's a given although, you know, for Hillary Clinton everybody knows that it's unacceptable like, you know, right out of the gate nobody within her own party was sort of comfortable with her explanation of things. It's not clear how much more of this will hurt her.

In some sense you could argue that it's good because it suggests that, you know, she hasn't sort of coopted that the State Department can still speak independently about things. But it's not helpful, I'm sure it will be in an ad, you're right.

KING: You're about to make history with the president of these United States. President Barack Obama has been to 49 of the 50, he's about to touch them all. South Dakota is his last one. You're on this trip.

For Bill Clinton, who we saw a moment ago I was covering the white house in those days, Nebraska was his last Democratic president, red state the last one, Democratic president this time red state last time.

George W. Bush skipped Vermont. I did a piece on will he ever get to Vermont, and he didn't. Is this just checking the box or what's the point?

TALEV: It kind of is to some extent. President Obama made clear to his team even last year as they were planning for 2015, I'm getting to every state. Let's make sure it happens. It's important that I'm every place and see all of my constituents around the country.

But South Dakota is a tough one. I mean, it was already trending Republican and since his tenure as president has gone completely Republican in terms of higher office, constitutional office in Washington representation.

He's going there under the predicate of this sort of education, higher education and encouraging his own initiatives and applauding the work that they've done at this technical college there. But really this is about making this the last stop.

And if you compare it to 2008, the last time he was there as a candidate where he was about to lose South Dakota as a primary state but about to clinch the nomination, it was such a heady time for him. It's a little more complicated now.

KING: You can bet, Alisyn, the late-night comics will be suggesting things like measuring Mt. Rushmore, taking a peek on something like that. We'll see how that goes.

Another thing we're going to watch today, Chris mentioned at the top, Chris Christie, first New Hampshire town hall since the bridge-gate legal developments. Let's keep an eye on that and see how feisty it gets.

CAMEROTA: Let's do it. That will be interesting. OK, John, thanks so much for all of that.

Well, the Baltimore police investigation and the prosecutor's investigation into the death of Freddie Gray are not matching up. We will speak with the Gray family attorney coming up. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:41:53]

CUOMO: All right, here's the headline out of Baltimore. The police are challenging the case being made against those six officers involved in Freddie Gray's death. Sources tell CNN a police investigation does not support some of the charges that were filed against them by the Baltimore state's attorney.

Here with us this morning is William Murphy, an attorney representing the family of Freddie Gray. You've practiced law in the area for a long time. You understand the system very well.

So what do you think of this alleged inconsistency that the cops are saying we didn't find what the prosecutor found here?

BILLY MURPHY, REPRESENTING FAMILY OF FREDDIE GRAY: Well, that's why the prosecutor did an independent investigation instead of being held hostage by police investigation by department that is under fire, under scrutiny and generally doesn't have high grades in terms of confidence of the public.

CUOMO: So the usual rule is the police do that digging and push a prosecutor to make a case and say here's why we think there's something here. You're saying that rule goes out the window here and that we should expect an inconsistency?

MURPHY: Well, you ought to expect the police department if they're operating under the old principles to close ranks and try to find ways to kill the investigation and to exonerate the police. That's why the prosecutor didn't rely on their investigation.

And that's why probably there are going to be some significant differences in what they came up with and what the prosecutor came up with.

CUOMO: Has anybody showed you any proof of this alleged leak out of the medical examiner's office about the bolt in the van and that it sizes up with the injury on the back of, may he rest in peace, Freddie Gray, his neck. Has anybody given that to the family?

MURPHY: No. And we have avoided speculating down the line because it's just not good for the process. There is going to be a trial. There is going to be evidence at trial.

CUOMO: You sure there will be a trial?

MURPHY: Sure. Some of these cases are going to go to trial. There will be pretrial motions to dismiss. They're rarely granted. Judges tend to wait on the evidence first before granting such motions. There will be a motion at the end of the state's case to dismiss the case.

And there would be a motion at the end of the total case to dismiss all or part of the case and sometimes motions are granted but rarely. CUOMO: The prosecutor within her discretion didn't have to go to a grand jury early on. She is going to have that option again now. Do you think that she'll use a grand jury this time?

MURPHY: I don't know.

CUOMO: Would you prefer?

MURPHY: I tell you why she probably will. If she doesn't, the police officers will get a preliminary hearing. And if you will remember back when O.J. was tried the prosecutors didn't seek an indictment and instead put it in Los Angeles court for preliminary hearing and that became a sideshow circus.

There are two ways to assure that the charges are legitimate up to this point and meet the probable cause standard, one is a preliminary hearing, which is disadvantageous to the prosecutor.

And the other is grand jury, which is impenetrable because they don't know what's behind that indictment.

CUOMO: So the charges themselves, there are basically two big points of contention. The first one is, so, they chase Freddie Gray ostensibly because he runs, Freddie Gray. They then get him. They find a knife after the fact. It was concealed.

[07:45:10] The cops say that the knife wasn't a switchblade or what it need to be. The prosecutor says, but there's another rule that says that this knife does qualify -- reverse that. The cops say it was legit because of the knife.

The prosecutor says, no, you had no reasonable basis because the knife didn't qualify. The law seems to suggest that the knife would have qualified. Does this matter to you? And did the prosecutor get it wrong?

MURPHY: Well, it doesn't matter to the Gray family because we're going to wait and see.

CUOMO: Right.

MURPHY: But it does matter to the criminal case because if the knife was illegal, there is some evidence that might support the ultimate arrest.

CUOMO: The arrest and false imprisonment that charge would be tough to sustain.

MURPHY: Well, on the other hand was there enough evidence to stop him in the first place? And we take the position there was not. Running while black is not a crime.

CUOMO: And they cite federal law says if you run that's reasonable suspicion. They can then come after you.

MURPHY: Well, federal law says a bunch of things the state law doesn't say and vice versa. This is going to be tried in state court. Not federal court.

CUOMO: So federal law being cited here you see as a red herring.

MURPHY: Yes.

CUOMO: Then you have the big ticket here. Second-degree murder articulated as depraved-heart murder. That is a very specific statute. It's designed for crimes like that are just showing random acts of violence where specific intent to an individual may not be clear.

But the person clearly had such indifference towards human life that we impute the intent as we say in the law, we just build it in to what you did. Do you believe that's the right charge in this case?

MURPHY: Well, we'll have to see because based on the --

CUOMO: But your legal mind.

MURPHY: Well, I was also a judge and so --

CUOMO: Yes.

MURPHY: -- I was trained additionally beyond being a lawyer not to speculate and I think speculation is dangerous. It makes for good news. But it makes for a dangerous climate because then you have all of this preliminary stuff back and forth before the trial, which necessarily doesn't have much to do with the evidence that will be produced at trial. The other thing that we need to remember, the prosecutor hasn't shown all her cards yet.

CUOMO: True.

MURPHY: And so we're debating this on an incomplete evidentiary framework, which doesn't help.

CUOMO: True.

MURPHY: So we need to wait.

CUOMO: True. But the prosecutor did make a show of these charges. She said things that she didn't need to say.

MURPHY: No, no, no, no. No, she read the charges.

CUOMO: She read the charges, but she said things about the need for justice and that I hear you. You know, she built some political talk in there that wasn't just a simple reading of charges.

MURPHY: I thought that was plain vanilla stuff and reassuring a community that was about to explode.

CUOMO: True.

MURPHY: That justice will be done. That she is seeking justice. She didn't say that the evidence was sufficient to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If she'd gone that far we would have a legitimate criticism of her. She said there is probable cause to believe that these men committed those crimes. Now, the standard at trial will be --

CUOMO: Different.

MURPHY: -- beyond a reasonable doubt. So we have to wait.

CUOMO: And there's no question that the community needed calming, still needs calming and needs attention beyond what will come from this one prosecution. Billy Murphy, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

MURPHY: And thank you for your thoughtful analysis as usual.

CUOMO: Thank you very much. High praise, high praise -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Chris, another story that a lot of people are talking about today, "Modern Family" star, Sofia Vergara, and her ex-fiance Nick Lobe, locked in a legal battle over their frozen embryos. In our next hour Nick Lobe will share his side of the story with NEW DAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:52:48]

PEREIRA: All right, it's time for CNN Money now, chief business correspondent, Christine Romans is here with the latest in the battle for higher wages.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there. New York's governor wants higher wages for thousands of fast-food workers. Governor Andrew Cuomo is convening a panel to study the fast-food industry.

He is betting that panel finds low wages are unlivable and he will raise those wages. Cuomo says the income gap in fast-food is extreme. CEOs make almost $24 million a year and entry level workers make less than $17,000.

Whole Foods is gearing up to launch a lower cost chain to attract millenials. Whole Foods sometimes called whole paycheck is still growing opening new stores every year, but it faces steep competition in natural and organic foods.

The new store is aimed to give more cost customers an option. Whole Foods is currently negotiating leases for these new locations.

Now today's NEW DAY "New You," a healthy diet could mean a better memory. That's according to a brand new research from the American Academy of Neurology. Research focused on the Mediterranean diet that contains lots of fruits and vegetables, nuts and fish, but limited red meat, junk and sweets.

They found that that diet lowered the risk of memory loss. So what should you eat to make sure your brain is in good condition, the first one is obvious embraced fruits and vegetables, spinach, brusels, sprouts, bell peppers, lemons, you name it.

Next, don't afraid of healthy fats, that means olive oils, avocados and nuts, and finally, choose foods rich in probiotics, think yogurt, Kimchi, pickled fruits and vegetables, no potato chips.

CUOMO: Yogurt and pickled vegetables.

Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, reeling from severe storms. Dozens of tornados reported. What happens next? We have it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:58:24]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This large multi-vortex tornado is getting ready to cross the highway in Kansas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just came right over this hill. It actually flung the basement doors open.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We could hear the sound of a train, and our ears started popping.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You come together and pray five times a day with the brothers, and you are reminded about the hereafter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He expressed to me admiration specifically for Osama Bin Laden. He used the word hero.

CUOMO: Republican presidential candidate, Dr. Ben Carson returns to NEW DAY.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: America remains a place of dreams.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want to use the two embryos.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't know she was going to change her mind within the process.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It's Thursday, May 7th, 8:00 in the east. And residents in parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska are waking up to a new reality. A string of more than 40 tornadoes just barreled through the plain states. The weather spawning heavy rain and winds and tossed around homes and cars and trees.

CAMEROTA: At least one dozen people injured when a twister hit a mobile home park in Oklahoma City. All flights in and out of the city put on hold as the mayor declared the first flash flood emergency in that city's history.

CNN meteorologist, Chad Myers, is in the CNN Weather Center with our top story. What are you looking at, Chad?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We are looking at a weekend full of tornadoes, I think. Here they are yesterday. Just because there are 46 reports doesn't mean there are 46 tornadoes. And the same report from a different guide looking from that direction could be the same tornado.

Weather service will be out there later on this afternoon looking all at the lines of tornados and the lines of damage to see how many really there were, but this will be a weekend full of severe weather.