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New Day

Coverage Of San Bernardino Shooting; Joint Afghan-U.S. Special Forces Operation Frees Over 40 Afghan Security Personnel From A Taliban Prison; Deadly Fire Bomb Attack At Egyptian Nightclub; French President To Meet With Troops Involved In Fight Against ISIS Later Today; U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter Makes History And Opens All Combat Jobs To Women; Protestors And Police Clashing Outside Minneapolis Precinct. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired December 04, 2015 - 7:30   ET

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

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CO-ANCHOR OF "NEW DAY," CNN: We will have much more on our coverage of the San Bernardino shooting in a few moments. But, first, we do have breaking news. A joint Afghan-U.S. Special Forces operation freeing more than 40 Afghan security personnel from a Taliban prison. NATO forces saying Afghan forces moved in after a helicopter assault, secured the prison, liberated prisoners, including members of the Afghan police, national army and border police.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CO-HOST OF "NEW DAY," CNN: Also breaking, a deadly fire bomb attack overnight at a nightclub in Egypt. At least 12 people were killed, five others injured. Masked assailants reportedly targeted this club in a neighborhood outside Cairo with Molotov cocktails. They believe the motive for the attack was criminal, however, not terrorism.

CAMEROTA: French President Francois Hollande meeting later today with troops involved in the fight against ISIS in Syria and Iraq. He is traveling to the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier that's off the coast of Syria, French war planes launching air strikes from the carrier ever since Hollande's declared war on ISIS following last month's terror attacks in Paris.

PEREIRA: U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter making history, opening all jobs in combat units to women. Under this decision women will be eligible to join the Navy Seals, the Army Special Forces, and other special operation units, as well as the Marine Corps infantry. The Marine Corps recommended that some jobs be kept closed, but Carter overrode that. The services now have 30 days to provide integration plans to Carter. They must also formally notify Congress.

CAMEROTA: Protestors and police clashing outside a precinct in Minneapolis that has served as a protest encampment since the fatal police shooting of 24-year-old Jamar Clark last month. At least eight people were arrested as police moved in to tear down and evict demonstrators. Clark was shot as police tried to arrest him. State and federal investigations are underway in that case.

OK, let's talk about the big news in politics. Donald Trump on top of the polls in a huge...

PEREIRA: Huge.

CAMEROTA: ...way.

PEREIRA: Huge. Pardon me.

CAMEROTA: Huge, exactly. Just released, CNN/ORC poll is now at 36 percent. This is his highest number yet and it is a full 20 points above his closest competition. Senator Ted Cruz is now in second. Joining us to discuss all this is John King, CNN's chief national correspondent. John, great to see you.

PEREIRA: Wow.

CAMEROTA: Throw out the political playbook.

PEREIRA: Right.

CAMEROTA: Burn it.

PEREIRA: The punditry got it wrong.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

JOHN KING, ANCHOR OF "INSIDE POLITICS," CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT, CNN: I, I can't match your huge.

PEREIRA: Huge. Drop the H.

KING: Both of you just outdid me. Look, just make no mistake about. Go back to -- I was talking yesterday to a Republican establishment figure who, back when Donald Trump in July said I'm getting into the race, said zero, zero percent chance of him being the Republican nominee. I said so what are the odds now. He said between 40 and 50 percent.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My gosh.

KING: That tells you everything you need to know. We are 58 days from the people of Iowa officially starting this campaign with their caucuses. Then we move on to New Hampshire. At the moment, Trump has that huge -- I tried -- lead nationally. He's in a dead heat with Ted Cruz in Iowa, and he's way ahead in New Hampshire. So at the moment you would have to say if you look at this field, it's still a large field, and say who is more likely than anyone else to be the nominee, you would have to say the answer is Donald Trump. That doesn't mean he will be the nominee but, as we speak this morning, he is way more likely, has a much clearer path to the nomination than anybody else.

PEREIRA: Yeh, and it's interesting if you break down all the polls, and we'll do that over time here on CNN, the economy, all of the issues, immigration, handling of ISIS, he is ahead on all of those. I want to pivot to another part of this CNN/ORC poll that we both found really, really fascinating. The question about enthusiasm in the voter pool, registered voters. Whether they feel extremely or very enthusiastic about voting for President. The Republicans have a substantial lead here. (If something) we're comparing in a race here, but 63 percent of Republicans feel excited and enthusiastic about voting for President. And the Democrats, a little more lukewarm.

KING: Part of this can be expected. We have a Democratic President, so why would Democrats be so excited about replacing him, right? Democrats like President Obama, but Republicans don't. The question is does that enthusiasm gap carry over? Are we having that conversation this time next year? You know, if we're having that conversation a little before this time next year, if we're having this conversation in October 2016, Republicans will have a big edge going to election.

But what does it tell you today? Let me give you another number. Four hundred and twelve days from now we will have a new President. We don't know who that next President will be. Four hundred and twelve days from is Inauguration Day. Republicans are fired up with replacing President Obama. They don't like him. They want him gone. And that's one of the things that is helping Trump. Trump is the anti-Obama. You mentioned he's way ahead when it comes to who would be the best Republican. Among Republican voters, when you ask Republicans who's best on the economy, who best on ISIS, who's best -- who has the most strength, Donald Trump the last couple of weeks, the reason he's going up is because he's been in a direct national debate with President Obama...

PEREIRA: Mm-hmm.

KING: ...who says let's think about this ISIS threat. Trump says I'll bomb the bleep out of them. The President says let's let Syrian refugees into the United States. Donald Trump says no way, over by dead body and, if President Obama lets them in and I win, I'll kick them out. Trump is having a national debate with the Democrat Republicans most dislike over the last couple of weeks, and that's why he's going that way.

CAMEROTA: Hey, John, I want to ask you about what happened at a Hillary Clinton campaign stop yesterday in New Hampshire. She got a question that she and her campaign must have been dreading about rape accusations, old rape accusations, against Bill Clinton. Listen to this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Secretary Clinton, you recently came out to say that all rape victims should be believed, but would you say that about Juanita Broaddrick, Kathleen Willey, and/or Paula Jones? Should we them as well?

FMR. SECTY. HILLARY CLINTON: Well, I would say that everybody should be believe at first, until they are disbelieved based on evidence.

CAMEROTA: John, what do you think?

KING: Well, it's a -- look, if you're going to do town halls, you have to prepare for this. And, if you're Hillary Clinton, you have to know at some point in the town hall someone is going to get up and bring up your husband and his past. I lived those days. I covered Bill Clinton back in those days. Paula Jones never accused President Clinton of rape. He (sic) accused her (sic) of pressuring her. Kathleen Willey accused the President of groping her. He said it never happened. Juanita Broaddrick did accuse the President of conduct he said never happened back in those days. But the interesting part is, you know, if you're Hillary Clinton, this is a reminder she's in a hugely formidable place when it comes to the Democratic race. She has a clear path to the nomination, while the Republican race is in chaos. But she does have to know that, over time, this is going to come up. And just one last thing, it just reminds you, you know, without the Paula Jones lawsuit, maybe we'd never find out about Monica Lewinsky. So, it's, it's a sad trip for Hillary Clinton. I'm sure it was not a pleasant trip down memory lane, but it won't be the last time something like this happens to her if she stays out there in the town hall environment.

PEREIRA: We have one final tidbit we want to leave you with.

KING: I'll brace myself.

PEREIRA: Yeh, you probably should.

CAMEROTA: You should.

PEREIRA: Do we show the video?

CAMEROTA: Yeh, you know, we talk about how Donald Trump gets rock star treatment...

PEREIRA: Yeh.

CAMEROTA: ...at some of these events. There was this recent event. This is in Manassas, Virginia, and this woman who you are about to see on the right of your screen, she I guess didn't have book of his handy, or maybe she did. But she preferred that he sign her chest. And she was very excited. Hold on, you'll see his body guards move out of the way, and you will see how delighted -- there he is signing it. Now, John, not since I was at a Bon Jovi concert...

PEREIRA: Hey, now.

CAMEROTA: ...have I seen this behavior.

PEREIRA: Hello, New Jersey.

KING: Look, you have to add this in. You know, this is -- this -- the Donald Trump celebrity, the reality TV aspect of him, is something that took some of us a long time to understand. It adds a new wrinkle to the race, and it's part of the Trump phenomenon. Like it, don't like, it is part of the Trump phenomenon and it is with us to stay.

CAMEROTA: It's there in indelible ink.

PEREIRA: Well.... John King, always great to see you. Have a great weekend. Thanks for joining us this morning on "New Day." Back to the search for answers in the horrifying San Bernardino rampage. Chris challenged the attorneys for the shooters' family about the guns, the massive arsenal of weapons, ammunition, bombs, all of that the couple had in their home. How do the attorneys explain the evidence left behind? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRIS CUOMO, ANCHOR AND CO-HOST OF "NEW DAY," CNN: You're watching "New Day." We are live in San Bernardino, California, and we do have breaking news for you right now. We sat down with the lawyers for the family of the shooters. At point the massive amount of ammunition and bombs the killers had in their home. Did the family miss signs? How did they not know that there was this kind of cache of ammo and, if they did know, what did they think it was about? Here's that part of the conversation. (BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

CUOMO: You are not surprised to hear there is an equal amount of shock by people when they hear the family didn't see this, when they learn about all the bombs, and the tools, and the materials, and the ammo, the thousands of rounds. How do you not see any of that if you're close family?

MOHAMMAD ABUERSHAID, ATTORNEY: Well, as you know, Chris, when people have guns and they have ammo, a lot of times when they go on the shooting and firing ranges, they, they do waste a lot of ammo at these ranges. Having a good amount of ammo doesn't mean that you're planning an attack. They're making points about the SUV that he was driving. He's rented SUVs before. This isn't the first time that he's done this. There wasn't anything to the family to show or signify that he's doing something out of the ordinary.

CUOMO: Help us to understand this in terms of the weapons and ammo. This is America, we know people have their guns and love them. We know that he had on his social media that he liked to take target practice. But thousands of .223 rounds, thousands of nine millimeter rounds. You know, this is not necessarily normal, certainly not something that you would just casually dismiss.

ABUERSHAID: Well, I can tell you that, as a gun owner myself, I purchased, you know, in the thousands of rounds easily 2,000, 5,000 rounds. It's very common for the reason that the government keeps on changing their, their rules and regulations, their laws regarding what is going to be permissible, what is not going to be permissible, and very frequently certain bullets aren't available all the time.

And it's cheaper if you buy in bulk, and especially if you're somebody who does like to shoot target practice. If the, if the munitions are available at that time, often times you just want to buy as much as possible. It's not tell tale about any future plan or activity per se, it's just being prepared and having what you need in case, in case it hits the fan, you know. You're not really -- and you're also getting, you're getting a better price. And, again, the flow -- there's often times certain bullets you can't have access to them. They're not available because they've sold out, or there're restrictions put on them, or Homeland Security buys 200 million or something like that.

CUOMO: Understand that that might be what goes through your head and so why you would do it as a gun owner. I'm saying does the family have any insight into why he was doing it? ABUERSHAID: I don't think, I don't think that is a lot of munitions, first of all. I think it was, I think it was just an average amount. But I think that everyone knows that he just did this for target practice, and, and there was no plan here. There's been no evidence of any plan.

CUOMO: Problem is of course he didn't just do it for target practice, right? So it winds up creating a lens of suspicion for all of this. Did the family know anything about the types of weapons that he had or where he got them? Because supposedly the two long rifles he didn't buy?

ABUERSHAID: No, the family just knew that he had a couple hand guns that were -- he was the registered owner and he told his family that he does keep them locked up. That's all they knew about the weapons and that he would go to the firing range here and there. But none of them would go with him. He wouldn't take them with him to the firing range, he would go by himself.

CUOMO: What you're saying is they have no indication of who he was hanging out with, who he was talking to, you know, who he might have been idolizing or looking up to that might in some way explain how his head got into such a defective place?

ABUERSHAID: Well, it wasn't that he was idolizing anybody. He had his religion, he was practicing his religion. There wasn't some sort of idol or iman or somebody that he was specific that he was idolizing.

CUOMO: No extreme politics? He didn't say anything that made them think he was getting out there or changing in any way?

UNIDENTIFIED ATTORNEY: If there would have been something, it would have come out in that, that three and a half hours that we spent with the FBI where they questioned the, the sisters and the brother, and literally they were digging and digging and just came to the point of frustration because it just became obvious that, that there was none of the affiliations they were talking about. There was nothing on social media. There was no ties to any extremists. There was no friendships or any, any ties to any unusual groups who might, who might suggest any kind of nefarious activity or anything like that.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

PEREIRA: Chris, I keep coming back to thinking about how if -- and I imagine victims and families of the San Bernardino shooting are probably not listening to this and probably not watching the news -- how it's going to be really hard for them to hear is, is the, the somehow making, not an excuse, but saying all people stockpile weaponry. That's going to be really hard for some people to hear.

CAMEROTA: Crazy sounding.

CUOMO: Well, people want answers and, you know what, maybe that ammo thing gets you down the road with a lot of people. You know, that may be tough for, for East Coasters to hear, but that is part of the culture in the country. But the dozen bombs, the material? The idea that, hey, there was nothing there, there was no extremism. No, yeh, there was, there was extremism because of what he wound up doing. He wound up murdering 14 innocent people and shooting 21 others, with his wife. There was a lot of planning and it's evidenced by the bombs that they made and the steps that they took. So there is some (there) there. The question is who knew? That's the question for investigators. Maybe the family did not. We have no proof or indication from investigators that they are under any umbrella of suspicion. The lawyers are right, up until now it has just about all been voluntary. They did detain the mother early on. She of course has since been released. There are a lot of questions still out there but, yes, a lot of this is going to be hard for people to hear because they want answers. All right, so...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: The investigators and our reporting have put out a lot of new information to process, and they're also some oddities that require discussion. One aspect is that one of the shooters here being a woman in this massacre in San Bernardino. In fact, just six out of 160 active shooter incidents the FBI analyzed between 2000 and 2013 involved a female shooter. So is this a new normal? Is this a window into a new tactic? And what do the other developments mean about the travel and the potential radicalization? Let's discuss with CNN terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank and CNN counter-terrorism analyst and former CIA counter-terrorism official Phil Mudd. Mr. Mudd, let's start with some of this new information that there were two trips to Saudi Arabia, that sources say that there's a concern that he may have been radicalized because of who he was contacting, the cell phones found smashed at the scene, the computer missing a hard drive. Where does this lead you?