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New Day
Could Nikki Haley Be Vice President Pick?; President Obama Says He's "Fearless"; Poll: Governor Christie Unpopular At Home; Prison Worker's Husband Breaks Silence; Inside Newly-Liberated Syrian Border Town. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired June 23, 2015 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: The New England Patriots quarterback expected to meet face-to-face with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. The NFL Players Association is prepared to argue that the suspension is grossly inconsistent will past league disciplinary actions claiming the judgment based on insufficient evidence.
Also we are learning, according to ESPN, Ted Wells, the actual attorney who wrote the Wells Report will be at the hearing as well today. I'm curious now that the noise has kind of subsided, how people are feeling about this.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Is this grossly inconsistent?
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.
CAMEROTA: So it was just proportionate. What he got was just proportionate compared to other people?
CUOMO: Yes. The argument on the other side is if you want to start taking cheating and things more seriously, when do you start?
PEREIRA: You got to start now. Is this the new NFL? We shall see.
CAMEROTA: All right, meanwhile, let's get to "Inside Politics" on NEW DAY with John King. Good morning, John.
JOHN KING, CNN HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": Good morning. I'm going to stay silent. Let's hope justice is served in the end.
CAMEROTA: That's always a good policy.
KING: Commissioner Goodell finds an island somewhere far, far away to live on or something like that. OK, I'm done.
PEREIRA: He's not going to say a word about the matter.
KING: I have no opinion on this matter at all.
CAMEROTA: I hear that opinion.
KING: Let's get to "Inside Politics" this morning. With me to share their reporting and their insights, Julie Page of the "Associated Press" and Ron Fournier of "National Journal." A huge day in South Carolina and in national politics yesterday, the Republican governor, Nikki Haley, after a few days of consultations came out, after the horrible tragedy in Charleston, came out.
This is an issue, if you covered presidential politics or South Carolina politics. It's been with us a couple decades, at least. Nikki Haley says no insult to those who support the confederate flag, but it's time, she says, to get it off the South Carolina statehouse ground. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOVERNOR NIKKI HALEY (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: As a state, we can survive and indeed, we can thrive as we have done while still being home to both viewpoints. We do not need to declare a winner and a loser here. We respect freedom of expression and for those who wish to show their respect for the flag on their private property, no one will stand in your way. The statehouse is different. The events of this past week call upon us to look at this in a different way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: (Inaudible), a former Republican Governor David Beasley tried this once. It became his quick sand. Where does this go for her? She needs two-thirds approval in the legislature. It appears she's OK. No one knows for sure the final vote. Business interest, keep people in the legislature because one of the victims, of course, the pastor was a state senator as well, a lot of Republican friends. This was gutsy.
JULIE PACE, "ASSOCIATED PRESSS": It was. It was unusual to see a politician who has a real stake in this come out and say I'm going to lead on this. I'm going to take the lead on this issue. It's a tough issue in South Carolina.
Like you said, this is something that has been really divisive in this state. There's some support in the statehouse. Certainly Republicans, as a whole, a national party are behind her now. We know that Democrats have been behind her in this position.
Walmart coming out and saying they are going to take the confederate flags off the shelves is a big step. So it seems like, she, politically is in a good position, but again, I think a real moment of leadership from a politician, that was refreshing.
RON FOURNIER, "NATIONAL JOURNAL": Gutsy is Jeb Bush doing this in 2001. This is a case where the legitimate pride people have, some people have for the flag in the south is far outweighed by the pain it's caused people for years and years and years.
So this is a case where we have a leader down there who was willing to be led by the people. She wasn't on the front of this. She eventually did the right thing and she does deserve credit for that. Hopefully, the rest of South Carolina legislature will do the same thing. KING: She did Republican candidates a favor here. They were all over the place. This has become, Mike Huckabee saying it's not a question for the president. Well, of course, it is a question for a president in a time of national tragedy. Rick Santorum saying I don't know enough about it. I don't know where he's been the last 15 years.
FOURNIER: That was Mitt Romney stepped up, gave them cover and eventually, you know, created -- over the course of a couple of days, it got Nikki Haley where she needed to be.
KING: So her national profile has been elevated. She was somebody in a few months we will be talking about anyway. A Republican nominee will emerge and we will look around the country to say who the vice presidential pick will be, female governor, Indian-American.
She would have come up anyway. Does this make Nikki Haley Republicans have a problem with nonwhite voters? She steps out on the issue that is important to African-Americans in her state and nationally. Does this boost her stature?
FOURNIER: I think helps since especially since she used her profile to make this case, what do you think?
PAGE: No, I absolutely think that this boosts her stature. She was already somebody that was in the conversation. She brings a lot of advantages that Republicans need. I think the fact that she didn't stand back and kind of wait to see where the tea leaves were falling among the 2016 candidates. She actually led the 2016 candidates. It will give her a big boost.
[07:35:06] KING: Let's move on. Most of you know about the podcast interview President Obama did because of his use of the "n" word in a conversation about race. You should find this. Whether you support or don't support the president, find it and listen it. The president reflective in a way we haven't heard. Among the things he said is now that I have experience as president, I'm fearless.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Sort of like an athlete, you might slow down a little bit, you might not jump as high as you used to, but I know what I'm doing and I'm fearless. When you get to that point --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Freedom.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Then, and also, part of that fearlessness is because you screwed up enough times.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: You know it that --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's all happened.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: It's all happened. I have been through this. I have screwed up. I have been in the barrel tumbling down Niagara Falls. I emerged and I lived. That's such a liberating feeling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: You've spent years covering this president. It's interesting. He's not on the ballot again. He can candidly say I screwed up, I feel liberated. What is the result of it? What happens because of this feeling? What will be different today, tomorrow, the final 18 months of the presidency because of this fearlessness?
PAGE: Yes, I think that's a big question. It's interesting to hear him talk like this. There are a lot of supporters of President Obama who hoped that he may feel this way after his reelection in 2012 when he knew he had four more years in front of him. They hoped he would be more fearless, free to push back on Republicans more.
We saw that the, you know, first two years of the second term didn't exactly play out the way that he wanted them to and a lot of his supporters did. If you look at this summer, I think that we will probably see some answers to how this plays out.
You have action on Cuba. You've got Iran negotiations that are in the final weeks. You've got this trade bill. You got to see if he can get this through on the Hill.
But I think on issues of race, which he talked about extensively in the interview, things he can do on his own through talking and travels. I think that's where we should look to see how the fearlessness should play out.
FOURNIER: Let's pause on a minute on that word, fearlessness. You and I have talked about for years that maybe the greatest asset of Bill Clinton had was his fearlessness.
KING: He liked the high wire better than he like --
FOURNIER: Right. Now where did that come from? They came from 12 years as governor and two years attorney general hanging on to and losing an election. Keeping a Republican state or conservative state democratic, making a lot of mistakes.
So by the time he came to the oval office, he was ready to lead and take some big chances. He had a rough couple years, but he certainly came in office with a sense of fearlessness.
Barack Obama is now learning the value of what he didn't have early in his presidency. By the way, I think Hillary Clinton, that might be one of her biggest detriments is she doesn't have that fearlessness.
KING: That's an interesting point. Let's close on this, Chris Christie, we assume he is about to announce his candidacy for president. He has been in New Hampshire. Maybe this is a reason to run or not to run.
A poll, approve or disapprove, voters in New Jersey of the performance of their governor, 30 percent approve, 55 percent disapprove. My people don't like what I'm doing at home, I probably shouldn't try to take it national or get out of dodge.
FOURNIER: You know what, again, come up Bill Clinton, he had low numbers like that too in 1991. Part of the problem is voters don't like the idea that their governor wants to go somewhere else. His bigger problem is that most Republican voters in the primaries for president can't see voting for him.
PAGE: His numbers look fairly similar if not worse in places like Iowa.
KING: Don't count him out in New Hampshire. He's been doing town halls. He's starting to go. If he grows in a crowded field of 15 or 16 candidates, you get 6 percent or 8 percent. You are taking it from somebody so everybody can be an impact on this field. We'll keep an eye on the New Jersey governor.
CUOMO: Well said. And to Ron's point, I remember my pap in 1988, there was talk about running for president. His polls took a little hit at home. I think there is something built into that. There's time to go into analysis. As always, John King, spot on. Good luck today.
KING: Good luck to Tom Brady.
CUOMO: We are going to take a break here. For the first time, the husband of the prison worker accused of helping the escaped inmates is speaking out for himself for the first time. What did he know?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PEREIRA: There are so many questions lingering this morning about the escape of Richard Matt and David Sweat. For example, just how did they get those tools to break out of that prison in New York? The husband of prison worker, Joyce Mitchell, who is accused of helping those inmates escape. He broke his silence moments ago in an interview with NBC. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The instant you and your wife heard that Richard Matt and David Sweat had escaped from Clinton, what was her reaction and what was your reaction?
LYLE MITCHELL, HUSBAND OF JOYCE MITCHELL: I just couldn't believe it. Her reaction, they really escaped. I left it at that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have known her 21 years, you looked in her eyes, nothing seemed unusual?
MITCHELL: Nothing. They want to talk to us. We went right to the police barracks. Said who are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At that point, Lyle, you had no reason to ask your wife, do you know anything about this escape?
MITCHELL: No. No. No. And the next morning, she said the state police called. I said for what. They wanted to know about a package. I said a package? What are you talking about? She said, I need to talk to the troopers. Investigators said Mr. Mitchell, your wife has more involved than she's letting on.
That's when she said she brought in two hacksaw blades and a chisel, my God. They said we have something else to tell you. What's that? She said their plan was they wanted to kill you. I said what?
[07:45:09] She told me that Matt wanted her to pick them up. I never go anywhere without Lyle, never. He said I will give you some pills to knock him out and you come pick him up. She said I am not doing that, I love my husband, I am not hurting him. Then I knew I was in over my head and said I can't do this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PEREIRA: This is incredible. Apparently, she swore to her husband on their son's life that she did not have sexual relations with either of the inmates.
CAMEROTA: This is some new information. We didn't know the plan was to give him pills to knock him out so they could then get away. Do you believe him? What do you think of his aspect?
PEREIRA: Like you were saying, he's going to defend himself. He could be implicated. You also wonder how much investigators count on people to be completely honest even with the nuance of how they tell things.
CUOMO: Never.
PEREIRA: To protect their own ego and their own pride.
CUOMO: Never. People have a tendency to distort even when the truth is a better story for them. When dealing with the police, they are protective. This is intriguing story because of the personal nature of it not just because of the legal analysis.
He has a lawyer sitting next to him. That's not his drinking buddy. He's got to worry about that. However, it defies basic reason to think that he would be implicated in helping his wife's lover get out of prison unless there was some kind of incumbent threat on him that was pushing her.
CAMEROTA: He seems shocked. He seems to be shell-shocked and he said I know in the interview that she was his bestfriend for 21 years so he feels so betrayed.
PEREIRA: It is like something out of a Hollywood movie.
CUOMO: And it will be.
PEREIRA: Absolutely. They have to get these guys first.
CAMEROTA: Let us know what you think of that interview. Also, we have this exclusive look at the battle against ISIS. You have never seen this before. We are going to take you inside a newly liberated town and ask the Kurdish fighters there what worked so well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:51:14]
CAMEROTA: Now to this CNN exclusive, taking you into a Syrian border town just liberated from ISIS. We go inside tunnels once used by ISIS and talk to Kurdish fighters about why the coalition strategy worked there. And the question, will that strategy work elsewhere? CNN's Arwa Damon has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For two years, ISIS reigned with impunity over this rural landscape, a vital frontier to defend and supply its stronghold of Raqqa now beaten back.
(on camera): There was a coalition air strike he was just saying, on that side of this underground tunnel that goes around the entire village. ISIS had moved into this particular area about two years ago.
This obviously dug out with heavy machinery about three feet three inches, a meter wide and pretty high as well. And then you can see the metal ceiling roof that was put into it running throughout. ISIS tunnel is fairly crude, but still highly effective when it comes to giving them freedom of movement throughout the entire area.
This is the road that runs parallel to the Turkish border and berms like this one had cut it off completely. This is just one of ISIS's many defenses they had put into place. What he is saying is that the air strikes that happened here were key. They took place just a few days before forces advanced into the city and they were highly effective.
(voice-over): In just four weeks the air strikes allowed the YPD to advance some 80 kilometers, 50 miles taking over key territory, including the town of Tal Abyad and the border crossing, cutting off the supply routes.
When the coalition against ISIS was formed, we were the only force that was committed in the fight against ISIS, commander of the Tal Abyad front says the coalition saw this and coordinated with us. He won't disclose specifics.
Here, the U.S. can say that its strategy has delivered a blow to ISIS. But the battlefield is vast and the blueprint for success hardly easy to replicate. Arwa Damon, CNN, Tal Abyad, Syria.
CUOMO: More intrepid reporting from our colleagues out there in the badland showing what worked in one situation. Hopefully that's something that's going to be a repeatable strategy for the coalition forces. Our thanks to Arwa Damon.
We are going to take a break, when we come back, there is a significant break in the search for these two escaped killers in New York, newly discovered DNA evidence that could show where they definitely have been in this two-week cat and mouse. Where they are going? What it means about what comes next? That's the question ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:58:28]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Officers saying they've confirmed their most credible lead yet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: DNA consistent with both of the suspects on the run.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The investigators are looking at whether tools or other contraband was hidden inside frozen hamburger meat.
HALEY: It's time to move the flag from the capitol grounds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a memorial to our ancestors as we fought a war defending our land.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an issue they should debate and work through and not have a bunch of outsiders going in and telling them what to do.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The president himself used the "n" world.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Do you think that it de-synthetizes word if the president uses it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think he should have said it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Certainly the president got our attention.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CUOMO: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It's Tuesday, June 23rd, 8:00 in the east. There is a captivating manhunt in New York state going on and it could be, could be nearing a close. Why? DNA from prison escapees Richard Matt and David Sweat has been found in a cabin just 25 miles from the prison. The discovery is definitely breathing new life into the search now in its 18th day.
CAMEROTA: Law enforcement telling CNN new info about how those two convicts managed to get the tools they used to bust out. So we begin this hour with Sara Ganim, she is live in Owl's Head, New York. That is near the cabin where that DNA was found. What's the latest, Sara?
SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, you could see it has begun to rain here. We've even seen some lighting storm, something that has been plaguing this investigation many of the 18 days that it's been going on. But I can tell you that there is busing in hundreds of police officers for this search to continue. We just saw six school buses filled with police officers and search crews.
