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Clinton To Hand Over Server To Justice Department; Sanders Surges Ahead Of Clinton in New Hampshire; Trump On Top In Iowa And New Hampshire Polls; Authorities: Mississippi Couple Planned To Join ISIS; Panda Pregnancy Mystery Is Too Much To "Bear" Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired August 12, 2015 - 07:30   ET

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

MOLLY BALL, "THE ATLANTIC": And I don't know how she or her people ever thought that they would be able to put it to rest without becoming forthcoming especially given the preoccupation of the Republicans with the issue and the investigations.

So, maybe this will put it to rest. Maybe we'll finally be satisfied that she has nothing to hide, but the questions are going to continue. The story is going to continue to chip away at her image and to be a distraction with some of the more substantive things that she is doing.

JOHN KING, CNN HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": One of the big questions is what's on the server because she says it was wiped. Now sometimes you can recover things, sometimes you can't. It depends on what level of wiping was involved.

As we get into this, where this goes next, how much does it help or hurt? Secretary of State John Kerry in an interview with CBS yesterday says when he writes e-mails now. He assumes the Russians and the Chinese are going to read them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: We are deeply involved in fighting back against this on a daily basis. But right now, it's pretty much the Wild West, so to speak.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: This is the Republican argument. If you know it's the Wild West and you know people are trying to read it, why did you have a private e-mail server with no government supervision, with no -- maybe it's actually more secure than the government. But why is it that the government is not watching it to see if people are trying to attack it?

OLIVIER KNOX, YAHOO! NEWS: You have nothing to keep cybersecurity in the news as a major issue is helpful to Hillary Clinton right now because of all those questions. When John Kerry comes out and says that and gets a headline for it, there are some downstream effects.

People say, wait a second, if we can't keep the State Department server secure, if we can't keep the Pentagon secure, you know, this massive Office Personnel Management hack, well, doesn't that raise even more questions about this personal server.

KING: Now if you ask Democrats, is this an issue, most Democrats say no. At the same time, Democrats say no, this is not an issue. Look at this brand new Franklin Pierce/"Boston Herald" poll out this morning, Bernie Sanders, 44 percent, Hillary Clinton, 37 percent. The first time Bernie Sanders has been in the lead in the state of New Hampshire. Can you connect the dots or Bernie is doing a great job?

BALL: It's both things, but I think it clearly shows that the Clinton campaign continuing to feel that that they could ignore Bernie Sanders is not going to work. She is going to have to engage him at this point.

She has not mentioned him to my knowledge. She has not wanting to acknowledge the tremendous crowd who is drawing in the line. It's one thing to draw a big crowd. Those are not votes. That's not the same as actually being competitive.

Now he's competing with her. Albeit, just in New Hampshire, and there are lots of questions about his broader appeal within the party base. She's going to have to deal with the preference of Democratic voters for another candidate.

KING: She's going to have to work hard and earn it as she juggles the investigation. Let's move on to the Republican polls, Olivier. Two new polls out yesterday, post-debate, Donald Trump is in the lead in Iowa and New Hampshire. The question is, has he plateaued or is he dropping a little bit?

He is still in the lead. Here's Iowa, Suffolk University, Donald Trump 17, Scott Walker 12 and Marco Rubio 10. You see the rest. There was a pre-debate poll by a different organization that had Donald Trump also at 17.

So he's in the lead now in Iowa, but his numbers have not gone up. Then we move to New Hampshire. The "Boston Herald"/Franklin Pierce, Donald Trump in the lead at 18 percent, Jeb Bush 13, John Kasich surging at 12 percent, Ted Cruz moving up to 10 percent, and Carly Fiorina, a big jump at 9 percent.

Again, pre-debate polls Trump was at 20 something in New Hampshire so we need to wait for the next round to see what's happening here. He is still in the lead, but the debates did shake up the fields.

KNOX: Yes, because he stopped talking about the issues that catapulted him to the lead at the Republican field. He stopped talking about immigration and focusing more on his comments about Megyn Kelly and threats to her.

Anything that shifts the debate from those issues, from those core issues that made him popular is bad for Donald Trump. A lot of Republicans are concerned about the long stretch of the campaign. Right now, we have things you say and fundraising.

There is no test to organization yet. A lot of Republicans are really, really hungry for those first organizational tests because they think that's where Trump will falter.

KING: He likes being combative in his public speeches. Last night, he was in Michigan, drew a big crowd. He's insulted a lot of people in the past. Last night, he took after Bernie Sanders. Last week in Seattle, Bernie Sanders had about 15,000 people.

But the rally was disrupted when two protesters from the Black Lives Matter Movement came on stage. Donald Trump is criticizing Bernie Sanders for handing away the microphone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would never give up my microphone. I thought that was disgusting. It showed weakness. The way he was taken away by two young women. You know what? He's getting the biggest crowds and I'm getting the biggest crowds. Believe me, that's not going to happen to Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: This style is part of his appeal. But my question, does it limit his growth? Look at this post debate poll? After watching Trump in the debate, are you more or less comfortable with him as your candidate for president?

Fifty five percent of Iowa Republicans says they are less comfortable, 23 percent say more comfortable. Then let's move to the New Hampshire poll, look here, 29 percent don't support his candidacy, 41 percent say I support some of his ideas.

But don't think he has the temperament to be president. If you add up to 29 who don't support him, 41 who question his temperament, you get to 70. So in a 17-candidate field, you can win at 18, 19, 20, 22 percent, but when we start losing candidates. Is that the ceiling?

[07:35:05] BALL: It very well maybe. I mean, the one thing that Donald Trump has done here is very sadly read the conditions of this peculiar year in Republican politics, that fractured field and a base where he's the only one who can consolidate support.

So none of the other candidates have managed to do what he has done, which is draw enough attention to themselves and be appealing enough to a small swath of the electorate to come out on top like you say with 20 percent or less.

It doesn't look like he can really move beyond that, but at the same time, it doesn't look like anybody else can consolidate the field to the extent that he has done.

It's interesting to look at these numbers, the Kasich, the Cruz and the Fiorina. In 2012, we saw this. We had a lot more debates. The Republican field got re-juggled after every debate.

There's no question Republicans watching this debate moved the field around Scott Walker. Bush has to be concerned about static or weakening numbers. Trump has to be thinking about it. KNOX: Yes, 2012 was the battle between Romney and not Romney of the week. I'm not sure that we are seeing quite that same thing although obviously, people who thought Jeb Bush would be the easy frontrunner are getting lesson in this unusual election.

I don't know that we are going to know, really, whether Trump -- we have always said Trump's biggest problem is a lot of Republicans have just said flatly they are not going to vote for him.

But we haven't seen a test of that, yet. Again, I want to come back to the point, we haven't seen him tested yet in terms of organization.

BALL: Well, to Olivier's point, you know, this past weekend would have been the Iowa straw poll. In their attempt to fix what they saw is wrong with the 2012 cycle, Republicans got rid of the Iowa straw poll and they reduced the number of debates. You got to think that if we were operating in that world, in the world of 2012 conditions, things might look different.

KING: Yes, I do think that they may come to regret it was a stunt. The Iowa straw poll wasn't an event where you paid people to show up to win it. However, I think the Republican Party might regret knocking it off because it did help win over the field.

I think in the 17-candidate field, we might have lost three or four, but, it is what it is. The next CNN debate, 36 days away, I think. We'll see if the big question for me is if Carly Fiorina comes into the top ten, who falls out, is it Chris Christie, Rand Paul or somebody else?

We'll keep an eye on that, Ana. All fun to watch as the game of chess heading into the next debate and the Republicans position themselves for that?

ANA CABRERA, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: It is certainly exciting. We are still more than a year from the actual election, which is interesting to see the attention right now. Thank you so much, John King.

They are anything but your average happy couple. Federal officials say this pair from Mississippi planned to use the cover of a honeymoon to travel to join ISIS. What lured them to the fight? We hear from a counterterrorism expert next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:41:45]

CABRERA: A young couple from Mississippi is now facing federal terrorism charges for allegedly trying to go to Syria to join ISIS. Now federal investigators say they were planning to pose as honeymooners on a trip to Turkey. They are newlyweds.

The plot was uncovered however by FBI agents through social media. This couple was arrested at the airport. They were putting their plan into action. Let's discuss this with Phil Mudd, CNN's counterterrorism analyst and former CIA counterterrorism official. All right Phil, so these two aren't what we see as the typical recruits. They have a lot going for them.

One of them just graduated with a degree in psychology from Mississippi State. His wife was a student there. What does this say about ISIS and their ability to draw just about anybody it seems?

PHIL MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: I think you have to look at the contrast between what we face with al Qaeda after 9/11 and what we face with the Islamic State today in 2015. When we are looking at counterterrorism threats around the table 15 years ago, you had to communicate if you were an al Qaeda recruit secretly and you weren't traveling to join a state that represents a future for you.

You're traveling to join a terrorist group that just murdered nearly 3,000 people in New York and Washington. Think of the contrast today for these two kids who are planning to travel out to Syria via Turkey.

The Islamic State doesn't portray itself as a terror group. It's an organization. Remember the use of the word state that represents a geographic area where you can live a true life according to the true faith.

I think for an impressionable youth, and I would consider these two to be youths, I think that's a pretty attractive future, if you want to believe that there's a way to practice the faith truthfully, and that's to travel to Syria. It's a pretty compelling argument.

CABRERA: I want to read a couple of the allegations that were in the criminal complaints. This exposes some of the messages they allegedly wrote to undercover FBI agents.

First, Jaelyn Young, she writes this to the FBI agent, "I am skilled in math and chemistry and worked at an analytical lab here on my college campus. My partner is very good with things like computer science and media."

And then her husband Mohammad (inaudible), he wrote this, "Would I be with people that speak English as well as they do or they do they put me with everyone at basic training? I'm excited about coming, but I feel I won't know what all I will be doing."

So these guys don't even know what they are going there for, exactly. What does this say about the type of people ISIS is recruiting?

MUDD: I think you suggested earlier that this isn't a typical profile. I would argue in 2015, it is. We have seen this with kids as young as 14, 15 years old. This is ISIS preying on people who say I'm not there to be on the front lines.

I'm not going to be a suicide bomber. I'm there to join an idealistic group that gives me an opportunity for a great life. If you are recruiting somebody of these 18, 19, 22, all you've got to say is sure, we have people that speak English. I'll put you on the line with somebody who speaks native British or American or Canadian English.

You can join them here and live a life that is not dissimilar to what you live at home. The problem is, when you get there, you get your passport confiscated, your cell phone is confiscated, you will not speak to your family and you are not going to be able to go home again.

[07:45:01] So I think this is a classic profile for a group that's recruiting among a population like these kids who don't know what they are getting into.

CABRERA: Through this case, we learned that FBI agents are working undercover on social media. We are learning about how they are identifying and tracking some of these recruits that are westerners before they get there. Do you think this is the best strategy for intelligence officials in terms of tracking and is there any risk?

MUDD: There are a couple of risks and strategies to think about here. Obviously, you have to look at family and community. We have seen more of that coming forward saying I don't know if my kid or my friend or somebody in my family is joining ISIS.

I know something is different and I want to talk about it. The first with this volume recruiting that ISIS is doing, the first thing is look at community and family to identify kids who are at risk.

But you talk about this internet program that the FBI runs. There are bigger questions here. When is it appropriate for the government to be talking to people on Facebook? I think it's an important question we have not resolved yet.

We are comfortable in this case because these kids are going south. What about in a case where the FBI is just talking to kids who never intend to travel.

In the second issue that we have been dealing with in recent months is what is the responsibility of companies like Facebook and Twitter to police their own space? They don't want to do that.

But I think in the future, we are going to be facing questions that are pretty basic. The federal government can't be watching 330 million people online. Is it the responsibility of Silicon Valley to help? I think this raises some really big questions about how you police the internet.

CABRERA: All right, so am I. We will have to leave it there. Thanks so much for your time. Good to see you this morning. As Chris would say, nice haircut, looks good.

MUDD: Thank you.

CABRERA: Over to you, Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: It's quite an attractive head he had there. Hillary Clinton is handing over the server. Does that end the situation for you or is this just the beginning? We have new information and insight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:50:49]

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Are you ready for this? Too much homework is bad for your child. In today's "NEW DAY, New You," a study published in the "American Journal of Family Therapy" says early elementary school students are being bogged down with homework, in some cases nearly three times more than suggested.

The National Education Service recommends 10 minutes for first graders, 20 minutes for second graders and at least two hours for high school seniors. It turns out lots of work though is apparently bad for your child's self-confidence, their attitude towards school and social skills. How about that?

CABRERA: Is there are any high schoolers watching the program this morning, they just cranked it up for their parents.

All right, is the National Zoo's giant panda pregnant? She could be faking it.

CUOMO: What?

CABRERA: Apparently that's the big question is, is it real or not? Well, not even her zookeepers know for sure. Panda fans are watching. They are waiting. All the suspense might be too much to bare. Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): America's most famous panda isn't eating much. She's not doing much of anything except sleeping, sleeping on her back, sleeping on her belly, yawning, scratching. What's up?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's definitely acting pregnant.

MOOS: Boy or maybe it's a girl at the Smithsonian National Zoo.

(on camera): Is she or isn't she? Not even her zookeepers know for sure.

(voice-over): She was artificially inseminated at the end of April and has been having lots of ultrasound since. They put the wand on her belly while distracting her with treats.

But lately she isn't hungry and she's too tired to cooperate with ultrasounds that rarely spot a panda fetus because they're so tiny. This could be what's called a pseudo pregnancy. Hormone levels and all the behavioral signs suggest a pregnancy when there isn't one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We usually know that she's pregnant when she gives birth.

MOOS (on camera): You don't know until the cub pops out?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's it.

MOOS (voice-over): Here's her last birth almost two years ago.

(on camera): Now if she has a cub, they're going to have to figure out who's the daddy. That's because two panda's contributed to her insemination, a panda in China and Tien Tien, who lives here at the National Zoo. Is Tien Tien really as bad a lover as he's made out to be?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's not bad. He's just inexperienced. This is what really fascinates me. If we have twins, there's the potential the twins could each have a different father.

MOOS: Next stop, the "Mori Povich Show," zoo keepers are watching to see if she prepared by picking up objects to practice cuddling.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My favorite is there's a drain cover she picks up and she cradles it to practice.

MOOS: You can see how well all that practice paid off. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: Fascinating. Ana, you told us yesterday you were expecting. It's a lot easier than having to guess.

CUOMO: Distract her with treats so they could do the ultrasound.

CABRERA: I don't know if it's the chip, but I am hungry this morning.

CUOMO: Let me let you in on a little something. Mick believes that pandas are the sweetest thing in the world. She can't wait to meet one. I tell her they look cute, but they will rip you in half. They are wild animals. Look at this panda.

PEREIRA: Really? He goes to YouTube. Maybe they had beef.

CUOMO: That panda -- look at him! He wants to kill that guy.

PEREIRA: Taken out of context -- he really liked those pants. I don't know.

CUOMO: All right. Everybody's cute and cuddly until they rip you up.

CABRERA: Passionate. That's the word my husband uses.

CUOMO: There's your boy, trying to pull him through the cage.

All right, the Donald, still on top in the polls, but there is a warning sign in there. Meanwhile, some also Rans are moving up in a big way. We'll tell you about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[07:58:57]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The server will remain private.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "AC360": Hillary Clinton handing over the private e-mail server.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It has affected the credibility, how voters view her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Level of disclosure that is unprecedented.

TRUMP: What would President Trump do? I only care about one thing, making America great again. You are going to love President Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His brand is really toxic for the Republican Party.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do expect him to become the GOP nominee.

TRUMP: I'm a whiner and I keep whining and whining until I win.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Congressional rejection of this deal leaves one option, another war in the Middle East.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The alternative is not war.

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: This deal is a good deal.

TRUMP: It's going to lead to nuclear proliferation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Wednesday, August 12, 8:00 in the east. You have Michaela, and I, and Ana Cabrera here for you this morning.

We do begin with breaking news. Hillary Clinton announcing she's going to turnover that private e-mail server that she used as secretary of state. She's given it to the Justice Department, something that she has resisted for months.

PEREIRA: How is it going to affect Clinton's run for office? This as her top Republican rival, Donald Trump gets a big reception in his first --