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Investigators Focus on Marriage of San Bernardino Terrorists; Protestors Demand Chicago Mayor Resign; Trump 'Highly Unlikely' to Break GOP Pledge. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired December 10, 2015 - 07:00   ET

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

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A string of high-profile deadly police shootings caught on tape.

[07:00:03] MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL, CHICAGO: We followed the course. And it's clear the course has not worked for the relationship between the community and the police department.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Are you going to break this pledge?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it's highly unlikely unless they break the pledge to me, because it's a two-way street.

LEMON: Let's just say if you had to run as an independent. Do you think you could win?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to your NEW DAY.

The marriage of the two San Bernardino terrorists under the microscope this morning. The FBI investigating whether their union was arranged in order to carry out the attack. This as CNN learns the wife was not questioned about any jihadist beliefs during the visa's screening process. The FBI now says the husband and wife duo were radicalized before they ever met.

CUOMO: Investigators are also zeroing in on a childhood friend and neighbor of the terrorist. His name is Enrique Marquez. And he admits to investigators that he and Farook plotted a 2012 attack but then got spooked. He said he also provided Farook with two of the military-style rifles used in last week's massacre. The question is why hasn't he been charged?

Let's begin our coverage with CNN's Ana Cabrera, live in San Bernardino -- Ana.

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris.

The time line of when these killers became radicalized is becoming clearer this morning. And the intelligence failures seem to be bigger than first thought.

The head of the FBI testifying and raising some new questions about how it's possible this couple managed to fly under the radar for years.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA (voice-over): New shocking details emerging about the husband and wife terrorists behind the San Bernardino attacks. The FBI revealing Tashfeen Malik and Syed Rizwan Farook were radicalized before they even met each other or started dating online two years ago.

JAMES COMEY, FBI DIRECTOR: As early as the end of 2013, they were talking to each other about jihad and martyrdom before they became engaged and then married and lived together in the United States.

CABRERA: Malik is seen here arriving to the U.S. on a fiance visa in the summer of 2014. A State Department official says the Pakistani native was never asked about her jihadist or radical views when interviewed by a U.S. consular official in Pakistan.

Officials say it's dbecause the Department of Homeland Security found no flags in her visa application, and she passed two other security database checks.

Since Farook is an American-born citizen, officials are now wondering if their marriage was a sham, arranged to carry out a long-planned terror attack.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Is there any evidence that this marriage was arranged by a terrorist organization or terrorist operative?

COMEY: I don't know the answer to that yet.

GRAHAM: Do you agree with me that if it was arranged by a terrorist operative, an organization, that is a game-changer?

COMEY: That would be a very, very important thing to know.

CABRERA: This as investigators learned the husband may have planned other terror attacks before with another U.S. citizen. Farook's friend and former neighbor, Enrique Marquez, told investigators that they were both radicalized in early 2011 and plotted an attack back in 2012. But after terror-related arrests in the area, they stopped the plan.

Marquez also admitting to buying Farook guns, two of which were used in the San Bernardino killings. But he told investigators he didn't know about the couple's plans. He has yet to be charged with a crime.

COMEY: We're also working very hard to understand whether there was anybody else involved with assisting them, with supporting them, with equipping them. And we're working very, very hard to understand, did they have other plans? (END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Now, we're learning the FBI has been able to access some of the couple's electronic communications, even though the couple destroyed their cell phones and a computer hard drive does remain missing. But according to officials, investigators have been able to get some data from some cell phones that were also still at the home, other cell phones, as well as other tablet computer they pulled during the couple's search warrant at the townhouse -- Alisyn and Chris.

CAMEROTA: OK. Ana Cabrera, thanks so much for that.

We do have some breaking news now to get to. This is out of Geneva this morning. Police in Geneva raising the terror alert level. Swiss authorities are actively searching for four suspects who may be linked to last month's Paris attacks. Those are the only details we have at the moment, but we will have more on this developing story throughout the morning for you.

PEREIRA: Another big story: we're watching the protests expected on the streets of Chicago. Embattled Mayor Rahm Emanuel calling for an honest reckoning after several deadly police shootings there as protesters demand his resignation.

Rosa Flores is live there in Chicago with more for us this morning -- Rosa.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela.

Yes, protesters in Chicago turning up the heat asking for the mayor to resign. This is after the release of multiple police-involved shootings caught on tape. Now, those protests grew yesterday after the mayor delivered a speech on transparency, justice and accountability.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL, CHICAGO: ... holding that video, while we were protecting the integrity of the investigation, not compromising it, clearly built up distrust, rather than built trust.

One of the first things that I said to Lori Lightfoot and her entire task force is, "You have to look at a policy change."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: While he delivered that speech just a few blocks away in federal court, city attorneys argued against the release of yet another video, showing another black teen on the South Side being shot and killed by police. Now, this time, it's Cedric Chapman. He's a carjacking suspect who was shot and killed by police back in 2013.

Now, city attorneys argued that the video would be misused by the media, that it would taint a jury pool. The judge didn't rule in this particular case. He said he was going to give the attorneys time to study the law. Now, we should add that the mayor in the past two weeks has asked city

officials to resign, including the superintendent. And, of course, protesters now saying that the mayor should be next -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right, thank you very much. Appreciate the reporting.

Republican frontrunner Donald Trump has no problems speaking his mind, but his rhetoric is not sitting well with everyone, with members of his own party to top leaders around the globe. If voters don't make him the Republican nominee next year, will he make a run as an independent? That's a huge question. And CNN's Don Lemon posed the question to Trump.

Here's the answer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Here's the pledge that you signed. You saw this pledge. You know where I'm going. Are you going to break this pledge?

TRUMP: I think it's highly unlikely unless they break the pledge to me, because it's a two-way street.

LEMON: What does that mean?

TRUMP: They said they would be honorable. So far I can't tell you if they are, but the establishment is not exactly being very good to me.

But I'm leading in every poll by a lot. It looks like I'm going to win. My whole life has been about winning. I'm not -- I'm not like some of the other people that you talk to that are essentially losers, OK? I know how to win. I intend to win. It's the best way of beating the Democrats if I get the nomination.

In the FOX poll that I'm sure you saw, I'm way ahead of Hillary. Head to head, I'm ahead of Hillary. I will beat Hillary. The one person that Hillary doesn't want to run against. And I know a lot of people in sight (ph), because I get along with Democrats, with Republicans, with liberals, with everybody. The one person that they don't want to run against is me, believe me.

LEMON: I just want this plain spoken for the viewer.

TRUMP: Go ahead.

LEMON: What do you mean when you say if they break this pledge, then you'll break the pledge? What do you mean by that?

TRUMP: Well, if they don't treat me with a certain amount of decorum and respect. If they don't treat me as the frontrunner. By far, the frontrunner. If the playing field is not level, then certainly, all options are open. But that's nothing I want to do.

LEMON: How will you know that? What determines that?

TRUMP: Well, I think I'll know that over a period of a number of months. We'll go through the primaries. We'll see what happens, and I'll make a determination. But I would imagine they would treat me properly, because I'm leading by a lot.

LEMON: So the pledge is you'll keep their word if they keep their word?

TRUMP: Don, I want to run as a Republican. I'm a Republican. I'm a conservative. I've had just tremendous bonding. But you saw the poll that came out in "USA Today," that 68 percent of the people would follow me. And it's a much higher number if you saw sort of follow me.

LEMON: But that's a question: why would you say that if you wouldn't consider...

TRUMP: I didn't take the poll. Somebody else took the poll.

LEMON: Why would you...

TRUMP: A very respected newspaper took the poll. But just so you understand, that's nothing I want to do. I want to do it just the way I'm doing it. I want to win Iowa. I want to win New Hampshire. I want to win South Carolina. I want to win the SEC. I want to win Nevada. I want to win the whole group.

And potentially, I have the capability, and I think I have the numbers to run the table. You know what running the table is?

LEMON: I know what you mean by running the table.

TRUMP: We'll see.

LEMON: Let's just say you had to run as an independent. Do you think you could win?

TRUMP: I think it would be much tougher to win as an independent. I think I could win, but I think it would be much tougher to win as an independent. I'd rather not do that.

LEMON: Not anyone can catch up with you?

TRUMP: I don't think so. I guess the world could fall down, but I don't think so.

Look, I'm at 35, 36. One of the polls had me at 42. Let's say they start dropping out. First of all, many can drop out, it won't have any impact, because they have zero. You know, you have Lindsey Graham. You have some others as zero. So they drop out, who's going to pick up anything?

But as people start to drop out, there's not going to be a huge impact, because they're so low. But as they start to drop out, "I think I'm going to get a very good fair share."

Now, if I'm already at 42, you know, when I watched the pundits on division, when I was at 6 the first week, they said, "Well, that's his max. I mean, he'll always have that." Then I went to 12. Then I went to 20. Then I went to 22. And every week I went up -- you know this better than anybody -- every week, virtually, I went up. And every week, they'd say, "Well that's his max."

[07:10:17] Well, what was your last poll, 33 or 35?

LEMON: It was 33, double-digit lead over the next person.

TRUMP: Right. They don't even say that anymore, because I seem to go up all the time. I think I'll go up again.

But just so you understand, when you're at 35 or 42, and you have 15 people, that's a tremendous number.

LEMON: So in your mind, you're the nominee?

TRUMP: No, I would never say that, but I would certainly say that I have an awfully good chance of becoming the nominee. And if I become the nominee, I think I have an even better chance of beating Hillary Clinton. Because there's nobody that did a worse job. She shouldn't even be allowed to run in the election. And frankly, she doesn't have the strength or the stamina to be president.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: All right. We have with us "CNN TONIGHT" anchor Don Lemon and CNN chief national correspondent John King.

Don Lemon, two big things that came out...

LEMON: Yes, sir.

CUOMO: ... in this interview. One, he made the point to you that, "Hey, we have to have this conversation." A little bit of a nod to him being the provocateur, perhaps...

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: ... in this conversation. And he walked back the ban on some levels.

LEMON: Clarified as he would say, yes. Clarified that he didn't mean Muslims already living in America. And then there would be exceptions.

CUOMO: Famous Muslims.

LEMON: Yes, yes. Famous Muslims and there would be exceptions to athletes and diplomats.

CAMEROTA: And he said it would be very quick, whatever that means.

LEMON: It would be very quick. And he said it was only meant to be temporary. He doesn't understand why everyone thinks it means all Americans, but he said it's total and complete. CUOMO: But do you get the sense that he's doing what he did with

immigration, which is he's take something that people are upset about, putting the stakes very high, and then seeing what happens?

LEMON: That's -- you're putting it nicely. Yes. He knows that he has struck a chord. He's hit a nerve with something in society. And he's using that to the fullest of his abilities. He said as much in that interview.

"My friends, I hear people saying, you know, 'You've done a great service to the Muslim people by bringing this subject forward'." He said the same thing about Mexicans. The Mexicans love him. The blacks love him. The Muslims love him, that's what he had says.

Now, I will say this, which you brought out in that great focus group that you did yesterday, is that what happens in the media and maybe even sometimes in the polling, is not often reflected -- and this is unscientific for me -- in what I hear on the street as someone who people think knows Donald Trump. I don't know him that well; I interviewed him. Is that they walk up to me. They would probably never say it in a public forum. "Hey, Don Lemon, I watch your show. I loved the interview with Trump. You know what? I agree with him."

"Would you vote for him?"

"Yes, I would vote for him."

"Why?"

"Because I think that's what we need right now. I don't necessarily agree with everything that he says, but I'm glad that he says it and that he has ability to say it and that he has a devil-may-care attitude." And they feel that's what he needs. And that's coming from people who are not just Republicans.

CAMEROTA: John, what jumps out at you from the great conversation that Don had with the Donald?

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, just on the subject of whether he'd run as an independent or where he stands in the Republican race, a lot of people -- you know, a lot of Donald Trump's critics say, "God, he's irrational. He says these crazy things."

That was a very rational, pretty candid, pretty factual presentation of the Republican race and as an independent. He's right. It would be much harder to win as an independent. He would have to dig into his own bank account much more so than he's doing now as a Republican candidate if he runs as an independent.

So he's -- that part is a dance with the Republican Party. And guess what? For all of the anti-establishment criticism of him, this is almost -- we are just weeks away from this being in the hands of the voters. Iowa votes in 50 days. New Hampshire votes in 60 days. And then we're off to the races. So the voters are going to decide this not the Republican National Committee, not the Republican establishment, not other elected Republican leaders. This is about to be in the hands of the voters.

And Donald Trump is factually 100 percent correct. At the moment, he has the clearest path to the Republican nomination. So yes, he'll -- he'll dangle the prospect of running as an independent. But that's not what he's thinking about. He's thinking about maybe being the Republican nominee.

CUOMO: What's the best current thinking about what the ceiling is on this group of people that resonate within the GOP for Trump right now? Like, how many people does the GOP have to be worried about that Trump owns?

KING: I think Don just hit on it from the conversations you had with people on the street. Go back to the report you had at the top of the show. This couple was radicalized as far back as 2012. Why didn't the government know about this?

Now, maybe the government couldn't have known about it. But you ask people on the street, and they think the government would screw up a free lunch. They just do. They think the government is incapable of doing anything right. And Donald Trump taps into that. That's what he's tapping into.

What's the ceiling? You know, you see in our new New Hampshire poll, 26 percent of Republicans say they would never vote for Trump under any circumstances. Other numbers, you see that poll as high as in the mid-30s. We will not know about Trump's full appeal until we get to a race between Donald Trump and two or three other candidates. The question is when is that? And what does the field look like? And who has money left?

Donald Trump has money if he wants to spend it. Ted Cruz has money. Jeb Bush has money. Who else will have money by the time we get past Iowa, past New Hampshire, past South Carolina?

Look, the three least spoken words in Washington: I don't know. But because we don't know, we are in uncharted waters, we're going to have to let this play out.

LEMON: Yes. I think you're right. And I think, also, he said during the interview -- and you guys know this -- everyone has counted him out. Every single establishment pundit. Everyone has counted him out. He said, you know, "When I was at 4, when I was at 6, everybody counted me out. And then all of a sudden, I got to 40," and people were still counting him out. He said, "I'm still leading the polls by double digits, and people are still counting me out. Why is that?" I don't know. Maybe John can explain that.

CAMEROTA: I liked your question to him about why not just sit back and rest on your laurels, rest on your lead, as you put it? Why keep stirring the pot? What was your impression about his response to that?

LEMON: Well, I mean, I don't think it's in his nature. I mean, Chris, you know. I don't think that's in. You've been around.

CUOMO: It's also what's getting him where he is. He can't stop being what he is.

LEMON: Who he is. Yes. You just answered my -- you just answered the question. It's who he is. And so he just -- he cannot do it. Because on the night, on Sunday night, with the speech the president gave -- and you know this -- roundly criticized by a lot of people. There was no passion. His dispassion is fueling passion on the other side. People thought and that's what we would be talking about.

Instead, Donald Trump releases this controversial proposal about banning Muslims temporarily, and then that's what we're talking about instead of the president's speech. And he is leading the conversation.

CUOMO: Look what just happened here. OK? He says this very provocative thing. All right? Temporarily ban all Muslims from everywhere. He winds up qualifying that. But he says that.

It is an easy, easy pitch for a politician to hit. It goes against the moral center of what America is. There's arguable constitutional violations and practicality issues. You could view this a hundred different ways. Who stepped up and owned it as "I have a counter narrative? I have another idea? I want to say who this country really is?" Nobody.

We asked them to come on the next day.

LEMON: But now, though.

CUOMO: They said, "Yes, this is wrong. This isn't who we are." It's sotto voce. That's not the way politicians are.

CAMEROTA: Well, I mean, Lindsey Graham was pretty outspoken.

CUOMO: He was, but he's not -- but he's not...

CAMEROTA: Lindsey Graham said this is not American.

LEMON: He's not offering a counter narrative.

CUOMO: Right. And him saying tell Trump to go to hell, do you really think that's going to win people over?

LEMON: That's the point, Chris. The dispatch, and even from the president, dispatch or the lack of a counter narrative on the other side...

CUOMO: Right.

LEMON: ... is fueling the passion. Because it gives people something to cling onto.

CUOMO: Right.

LEMON: "At least he has a plan. I may not like it, but there's something." CUOMO: And John King, not all candidates are equal. Lindsey Graham

is a hash mark. And when you hear something like this, and you want the title, you're supposed to go for it. Hillary Clinton is not supposed to just tweet or just stay on the hustings. You're supposed to come out and come strong in a moment like this if you're so against what he's saying. We're not seeing it. What does that mean to you?

KING: Well, the other candidates are speaking out, and some of them are using strong language. Lindsey Graham says he can go to hell. Jeb Bush says he's unhinged.

However, remember, right now we're talking about Donald Trump in the box of a Republican primary. And we need to remember that as we have the conversation. He's not appealing to independents. He's not trying to appeal to Democrats right now. He's trying to win a Republican primary.

So he says ban all Muslims. The other people come out and they say, "Go to hell." They say he's unhinged. Where does that leave them? It leaves them agreeing with Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. It leaves them agreeing with the Democrats that Republicans most dislike.

And that's what -- Trump gets this, trust me. He gets branding. He's winning, right? They're losers. He gets the branding part of this. And when you oppose him, you're with the enemy. To Republicans, Hillary Clinton and President Obama are the enemy. And so even if you don't -- Jeb Bush says, "I have a different plan." Lindsey Graham says, "I have a different plan." You're -- to oppose Trump, you're agreeing with the person they dislike the most.

CAMEROTA: Great point. John King, thanks so much.

Don, we'll see you later in the program with more of your interview. Thanks so much.

CUOMO: Now, we're pushing people to step up and make their own case, right? If they're just going to disagree with Trump, that's not enough. They'll get their chance.

Five days from now, the final Republican debate of the year, right here on CNN. Coverage begins Tuesday night at 6 Eastern with the undercard debate. And the main event, 8:30 Eastern, only on CNN -- Mick.

PEREIRA: Protesters in Chicago are demanding their mayor must go after videos surfaced of police-involved shootings. They're going to speak to someone who is close to the investigation. He says he was fired for doing his job.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:23:12] CAMEROTA: Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in the hot seat today. Massive protests coming after he publicly apologized, saying he failed in his response to several deadly police shootings that were caught on videotape. Joining us now is Lorenzo Davis. He's a former investigator, tasked with looking into police shootings. He says he was fired after refusing to change his findings that, in several cases found the police were at fault.

Mr. Davis, thanks so much for being here on NEW DAY with us.

You were a Chicago police officer for 23 years as a commander and an investigator, and as we said, you were responsible internally for looking into police shootings. So, what did you find?

LORENZO DAVIS, FORMER INVESTIGATOR WITH CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, I found that there were some police officers who had committed excessive force. And there were some officer-involved shootings that were not justified.

CAMEROTA: And when you told your superiors or your colleagues of your findings, then what happened?

DAVIS: Well, when I completed the reports, I was told to change my findings, change the officer-involved shootings to a justified finding. And to change the excessive force findings to exonerate it or unfound it.

CAMEROTA: I mean, that's -- that's an incredible bombshell. Who made you do that?

DAVIS: The chief administrator at the time, Scott Ando. He resigned this past Sunday.

CAMEROTA: And how high up, Mr. Davis, do you think that pressure went? Who do you think was pressuring the chief? In other words, did the mayor of Chicago tell your department to keep those numbers low?

DAVIS: I don't know, but what I do believe is that the mayor has made bad decisions as far as who he places in charge of the various departments. He made two bad appointments, as the Chicago public school superintendent; he made a bad choice appointing the superintendent of police. And he made a bad choice when he appointed the chief administrator of the Independent Police Review Authority.

CAMEROTA: And when you say a bad choice about the police chief and the internal review, what made it bad?

DAVIS: Well, there was a cover-up. There was a culture created of excessive force, where police officers felt like they could do whatever they wanted to do and get away with it. Whenever every shooting is found to be justified, then there is no incentive if there is no accountability for police officers to be more judicious when they use their weapons.

CAMEROTA: You wrote something just remarkable. It was published in "The Daily Beast." Let me read it to you. You say, "I know people coming out of the training academy, telling me that it is a badge of honor to shoot someone, particularly a gang banger."

You heard that in the police department, that people -- that some new police officers wanted to shoot people?

DAVIS: Yes. Even further than that, I heard that, since awards were given out for shooting people, that some, perhaps some police officers wanted to get an award. And that's why they, say, shot someone if the opportunity presented itself.

CAMEROTA: But what do you mean, an award? In the police department, you were given awards if you shot someone?

DAVIS: The superintendent's award of valor. It should be if you, you know, exhibit valor in a deadly force situation. But some of these awards are given out for or to police officers who, it appears, intentionally placed themselves in a dangerous situation and end up shooting their way out.

CAMEROTA: Does Mayor Emanuel need to resign?

DAVIS: Yes, he does. Because as I said, he apparently is a bad judge of character. He's made a lot of bad decisions. The protesters in the street say that it is too little too late.

He said he was sorry after the last election. He did the same thing yesterday. He apologized to the people. But the changes he is making today, in order to correct the problems, are also bad changes, not well-thought-out. I don't know who his advisers are. He does not listen to the people. He has no -- none of these people who are complaining, none of the protesters, in his cabinet.

CAMEROTA: Mr. Lorenzo Davis, we appreciate your candor. Thanks so much for sharing your story on NEW DAY.

DAVIS: Thank you, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Let's get to Michaela.

PEREIRA: A Supreme Court justice facing backlash after appearing to make some disparaging remarks about black college students. We'll tell you about that ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)