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Obama to Visit San Bernardino Terror Victims; Friend of San Bernardino Attackers Faces Terror Charges; Theme Parks Install Metal Detectors; DNC Punishes Sanders Campaign for Data Breach. Aired 7- 7:30a ET

Aired December 18, 2015 - 07:00   ET

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

PEREIRA: Following a lot of news on this Friday. Let's get right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[07:00:06] BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our intelligence and counterterrorism professionals do not have any specific and credible information about an attack on the homeland.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not very reassuring, but it's very honest.

CAMEROTA: Theme parks announcing metal detectors at their gates.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Disney will be randomly be selecting guests for a secondary screening.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Turmoil in Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign after snooping into rival Hillary Clinton's data.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Vladimir Putin transmitting a message to Donald Trump.

JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: To get praise from Vladimir Putin is not going to help Donald Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He raised the price of a drug that was used by AIDS and cancer patients. He lied to his investors about the health, about the returns. He collected money from public company investors.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

PEREIRA: Good morning and welcome back to your Friday edition of NEW DAY. Chris is off. I'm told this man here is John Berman. He joins us now.

President Obama is trying to reassure a jittery nation that the homeland is safe ahead of the holidays. The president is expected to defend his ISIS strategy when he holds his final press conference of 2015 this afternoon, which will be live on CNN. CAMEROTA: And today, the president flies to California to meet with

the families of the San Bernardino terror attack. This as federal agents arrest the friend of the shooter, who admitted to providing the weapons, charging him with conspiracy to support terrorism.

Let's begin with CNN's senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns. He's live for us at the White House. What's the latest, Joe?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: We've been seeing a lot of this lately. The president getting one more chance to make his case to the American public on why his administration is on the right track against ISIS and international terrorism, holding his final news conference of the year here at the White House before he flies off to San Bernardino, California, to meet privately with the families of the victims of the attacks out there.

On Thursday, the president going to the National Counterterrorism Center, meeting with his experts, saying there is no specific and credible threat against the homeland at this time.

Also announcing that he has launched a review into the so-called K-1 fiance visa that allowed one of those attackers in San Bernardino to get into the country.

The president adopting a mostly reassuring tone at a time when he's under attack on Capitol Hill, because some say he's too low-key on the issue of terrorism. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Anyone trying to harm Americans need to know, they need to know that we're strong and that we're resilient, that we will not be terrorized.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: So after this visit to the victims' families in California, the president heads out to Hawaii for his long holiday vacation, will not be back in the United States -- I'm sorry, will not be back here at the White House until the new year.

Back to you in the studio.

BERMAN: All right, Joe, thanks so much.

That friend of the San Bernardino shooter we mentioned is waking up behind bars this morning. What did officials uncover that led them to bring these terror charges? CNN justice reporter Evan Perez has that part of the story, here with us -- Evan.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: John, he's the only person thus far to face any charges as a result of the San Bernardino terror attack.

Enrique Marquez is the friend and former neighbor who helped Syed Farook buy two military-style rifles that Farook and his wife used to kill 14 people.

Federal prosecutors charged him with material support for terrorism; lying on a firearms application, because he bought two rifles so Farook wouldn't have to go through a background check; and immigration fraud. He took money to marry a woman who's part of Farook's extend family.

The most serious charge, material support for terrorism, stems from plots that Marquez and -- who's a Muslim convert, and Farook planned in 2012 but never actually carried out.

The idea was to attack a library or cafeteria using pipe bombs and guns, an attack that prosecutors said was, quote, "designed for maximum number of casualties."

A second chilling plot involved attacking a busy highway at rush hour, an area with no exits. And they would use pipe bombs and -- to disable cars, and Farook would open fire on people in the cars. Marquez would stand on a hillside to kill law enforcement and rescuers trying to help these victims.

Prosecutors also revealed that a few hours after the San Bernardino attack, Marquez called 911. And he talked of wanting to hill himself and that he let Farook hold guns for him -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Evan, thanks so much for all of that background.

Joining us now to talk about this and so much more is State Department spokesperson John Kirby. Great to have you here, John.

JOHN KIRBY, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: Thanks for having me.

CAMEROTA: Thanks so much for being on set.

Before we get to all of the latest in the terrorism and the terrorism investigation, we want to ask you about the news coming out of Russia. Secretary of State John Kerry was in Russia this week. He was meeting with the foreign minister there, and he talked about Syria. Of course, all of this is connected to terrorism. What's going on in Syria, obviously, has a ripple effect here.

[07:05:18] And Secretary Kerry seemed to change his tune on Syrian president Bashar al-Assad and what should become of him. Let me play for you what Secretary Kerry said this week.

KIRBY: sOK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: As I emphasize today, the United States and our partners are not seeking so-called regime change, as it is known in Syria.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Regime change in Syria, that's what the administration had said it has been seeking for years. What's happening?

KIRBY: No, there's no change to our view and our policy that Assad's lost all legitimacy to govern and needs to go. And what we want to put in place is a political transition to a government that is responsive to the Syrian people and representative of the Syrian people.

What he's referring to is that, while we work through this transition, this political process, we want to make sure that the institutions of government are able to stay in place, so that when the Syrians come home, when these refugees go back to Syria, there's a government there that can take care of them. So it's Assad change. It's not a regime change in terms of the institution of government.

CAMEROTA: So Assad still needs to go...

KIRBY: Absolutely.

CAMEROTA: ... according to the administration.

KIRBY: Absolutely. There's been no change in that.

CAMEROTA: But we're not calling that regime change?

KIRBY: Well, what the secretary is referring to was the change that needs to happen is Assad's leadership lost all legitimacy to govern. He needs to go. But the institutions of government -- what we've learned over the last 14 years is that, if you destroy all the institutions of government, then it just makes a more chaotic environment. It makes it harder to beat back terrorism, insurgency.

BERMAN: I think the reason people are confused is because of all the statements that have been made. You know, you have President Obama, 2011, saying the time has come for President Assad to step aside. Hillary Clinton in 2012 when she was secretary of state, "We think Assad must go. The sooner the better for everyone."

And it is a country where the leader is the regime. Bashar al-Assad is the regime. He's a -- he's a dictator there. So how -- what do you leave in place if he goes?

KIRBY: Well, that's what we're doing here in New York today. The international Syria support group is meeting. We're going to meet at the U.N. this afternoon to talk about exactly that, John. What is the process here, the political transition through which we can get to a government that is representative of the Syrian people, that they have a voice in, and yet preserve the core institutions -- whether they're economic, educational, even security-related -- so that that government can function going forward. That's what we really want to see. And those are tough questions. That's why we're here in New York.

CAMEROTA: And is Russia on board with the U.S.'s plan?

KIRBY: Well, Russia has been a very constructive part of this process. And the secretary will meet with Foreign Minister Lavrov again this morning before the meetings kick off. They have been very helpful.

I would tell you that, in this process, we don't see eye to eye with Russia on every aspect of it. And there is still a lot of work to be done at the table, not just with Russia but with other nations. There are going to be 20-some-odd participants in this meeting today. And I can tell you, not all of them agree on the future of Assad. And we know that that's a core issue that has to be solved.

One of the other things that's really important and they want to try to get to today is trying to get a framework around where a cease-fire can be put into place. Because it's hard to have a political transition and negotiations when people are still killing each other.

BERMAN: So obviously, the battle against terror, the battle against ISIS taking place inside Syria but also now inside the United States. And the president and everyone here now focused on what defensive measures should be taken to prevent ISIS from getting here. They're talking about the visa waiver program. They're talking about ways to make sure that potential terrorists don't get in.

KIRBY: Exactly.

BERMAN: What changes do you want to see?

KIRBY: Well, we're working very, very hard right now. We've been working with Congress on the visa waiver program. Look, it's important to remember that that is still an important program. It doesn't mean that it gives somebody a free pass. If a -- if your country is part of the visa waiver program, you as an individual applying for a visa to the United States still have to go through a very extensive screening process.

But we recognize that that program, like any other program, and the secretary's been very clear, any program by which the State Department assists people coming into the country on a permanent or nonpermanent basis, we have to take a look at that now, especially in light of San Bernardino.

And we're doing that. We're reviewing all those programs. The one that is specifically under review very heavily is the K-1 visa program.

CAMEROTA: The fiance.

KIRBY: Fiance visa program. And we're working on that very, very hard, with DHS.

CAMEROTA: I mean, it sounds like the entire visa program needs an overhaul. They were talking about this just yesterday on Capitol Hill. And Congressman Jim Jordan had a Department of Homeland Security official on. And they admitted that they have a very hard time tracking people once they're in this country. Listen to this exchange yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many visa waiver program travelers are in the country today? Just the overall number. Not even overstays. Just how many are here today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are 20 million -- there are 20 million persons who enter the country each year in the visa waiver.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Twenty million a year. Do we know how many are here today?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do not know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:10:11] CAMEROTA: OK. Twenty million people, and what he went on to say was that they can't track all of them. They don't know how many overstay their welcome. That's a problem.

KIRBY: Well, there is definitely things about the program that we want to take a look at. It's difficult to track every individual once they come into the country under -- under a visa. And our job at the State Department is to -- is to work on the other end, the overseas end, to make sure that the applications are, in fact, credible and that we have done the proper screenings and checks before they come to the country.

But this is something we're working on with DHS every day. And I think, as we go forward, you're going to see, as we review that program and the fiance visa program, if there's changes we need to make, we'll make them.

BERMAN: Can I say, so oftentimes when you hear people, you know, out of the administration, out of Washington say, "We're reviewing things. It's under review right now." Can you give me an example of some common sense change that you think should happen now?

KIRBY: Well, it's hard to say, because the reviews are just now starting.

But one of the things that we're looking at, and I know this has been a topic of discussion lately, is -- is the degree to which you look at somebody's social media platforms. And how much does that help you? What are the limits? What are the laws governing your ability to do that? And so we're going to take a look at that. Social media is one of those aspects.

We know now in the wake of San Bernardino, that they had some material out there on social media. So we're going to take a look at that.

And again, if there's common sense -- and the secretary, he's made this clear to us at the State Department -- if there's common sense changes that we find as we review that need to be changed right away, before the review is complete, he wants us to make them.

CAMEROTA: How does the degree to which you question people. Because you know, some people have said, obviously, if you ask somebody bent on jihad, "Do you have jihadist tendencies," they so no. But there is evidence, actually, from El Al security, the airline in Israel, that does this sort of behavioral profiler that sometimes, when you ask somebody, "Do you have any plans to do something bad?" they start sweating; they look nervous. And sometimes they do admit things. So can the questioning change, particularly as we saw with the fiancee?

KIRBY: Well, it could. I mean, one of the things we're going to look at is the whole process of how these visas are granted. And a big part of that is the interview.

Now, I will tell you, our consular offices are very professional. And they have been properly trained in interview technique. I can't go into all the details of the things they're trained to look for, but they're -- but they're very competent.

Now, if somebody has mal intent, and they have every intention of hiding that mal intent as they go through this process, it will be that much harder to catch them. Nothing is fool-proof here. But we want to get the system to be as perfect as possible, knowing that that's a very difficult bar to reach, and we're going to keep working at that.

CAMEROTA: John Kirby, great to have you here. Thanks for all the information.

KIRBY: Thank you.

BERMAN: Shock waves across the country as theme parks adjust to a new reality. More parks announcing metal detectors at their gates. We're going to calm visitors who could be jittery for the holidays.

CNN's Alina Machado is in Miami with more.

Good morning, Alina.

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

Universal Studios, SeaWorld and Disney's theme parks in California and Florida are now using these metal detectors.

Disney is randomly selecting guests for a secondary screening using the detectors. They've also added what they're calling visible and nonvisible security at all of their parks. This includes the use of specially trained dogs to patrol key areas.

Some of the other things you might notice, if you head to a Disney park, they are discontinuing the sale of toy guns on Disney property. They're also no longer allowing people to bring toy guns to the theme parks. And if you're 14 and older, you won't be able to wear any costumes at any of the parks.

These changes come just weeks after the San Bernardino and Paris attacks and just in time for the busy holiday season. Disney has not given any specific reason on why they've decided to use these enhanced security measures now. A spokesperson releasing a statement that reads we continually review our comprehensive approach to security and are implementing additional security measures as appropriate -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: Hopefully those measures will calm fears, to be sure. All right, Alina. Thank you.

Breaking overnight, a setback for Bernie Sanders' campaign. They are suspended from using the Democratic Party's voter data base after confidential data from Hillary Clinton's campaign was accessed this week. Athena Jones, live in Washington with more for us -- Athena.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela.

A bit of campaign intrigue for us this Friday morning. But this is a major blow to Sanders. It's coming just a day before the third Democratic debate.

The Vermont senator's campaign has been suspended from using the Democratic National Committee's voter data base after snooping into rival Hillary Clinton's data.

The breach happened on Wednesday. Clinton's data was accessed by at least one of Sanders' staffers after a software error occurred at the technology company that runs the program. We're talking about vital voter information the campaigns use to make strategic plans, but you're not allowed to look at another campaign's data.

[07:15:09] Now, the Sanders campaign is going to remain suspended until it provides the DNC with a full explanation of the episode and provides proof that any data that was accessed has been discarded.

Now, a spokesman for Sanders blamed the tech company, saying, quote, "On more than one occasion the vendor has dropped the firewall between the data of different Democratic campaigns." So he's making the point that Sanders voter records were also vulnerable.

But the spokesman did hold his team accountable for the breach, saying, "That behavior is unacceptable, and that staffer was fired immediately."

So a lot of talk about data this campaign season. We'll see if it comes up at that debate tomorrow night -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK, Athena, thank you so much for all of that background. We'll be talking about that in some of our political segments coming up.

Also happening at this hour, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter is in Afghanistan on a surprise holiday visit. He's meeting with American service members, commanders on the ground and local Afghan officials. The unannounced trim comes amid a spike of attacks carried out by the Taliban. A new Pentagon report found that Afghan forces were taking more casualties this year compared to last.

BERMAN: The House set to vote this morning on a $1.1 trillion budget deal. If the measure passes -- it is expected to pass -- it moves to the Senate, where it is also expected to pass today, keeping the government funded through September of next year. The House already approved a $622 billion tax bill that permanently extends the child tax credit and delays scheduled Obamacare taxes for two years.

PEREIRA: Four monuments to the Confederacy are set to come down in New Orleans. The city council there voting 6-1 to remove three statues of generals and an obelisk dedicated to an insurrection by ex- Confederates. Mayor Mitch Landrieu described the move as out -- or pardon me. He described the move as courageous, but council member Stacy Head, who cast the only dissenting vote, says it creates more division and won't solve any real problems.

BERMAN: Jeb Bush going all-in right now in his attacks against frontrunner Donald Trump. He predicts Trump will not win the nomination. I spoke with Governor Bush last night about this shift in strategy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right. Jeb Bush now going on offense. He predicts that Donald Trump's campaign will implode and that Trump will not get the Republican nomination. He also slammed a surprise Trump fan, Russian President Vladimir Putin.

I talked to the former Florida governor overnight on "ANDERSON COOPER 360." Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: I want to start with your reaction to the reporting from the Russian news agency. They quote Russian President Vladimir Putin saying that Donald Trump is a bright and talented person without any doubt and the absolute leader of the presidential race.

Donald Trump has responded. He says it's, quote, "a great honor to be so nicely complimented by a man so highly respected within his own country and beyond."

So what do you make of all that?

BUSH: I don't respect Vladimir Putin. He is the leader of an important country, certainly not a regional power as Barack Obama called him. But to get praise from Vladimir Putin is not going to help Donald Trump.

He's not a serious candidate. And he would bring chaos to the presidency, just as he's done to this campaign. It's entertaining, but the simple fact is we're -- we're at war right now with Islamic terrorism. And he's not offered one compelling, specific thing to do to keep us safe.

It's all high volume, lots of talk but nothing specific. Because he hasn't taken the time to learn the issues. And I think we need someone with a steady hand in the presidency. And we're never going to beat Hillary Clinton with grandiosity, with big language without anything to back it up.

BERMAN: You say he's not a serious candidate. You say he's the candidate of chaos. The question is, what are you going to do about it? Your campaign, Tim Miller said, you guys are doing due diligence, looking into whether you could pull out of that pledge you signed to report [SIC] the Republican nominee, whoever it is, including Donald Trump. Why? Why are you doing that due diligence?

BUSH: Well, because Donald Trump had threatened to go, once again, to become a third-party candidate. And so I didn't know that they were doing this. But that's a smart thing to do in the campaign, is to determine exactly what the consequences are for making that kind of decision.

Look, my intention is to win the nomination. And I think as we get closer to the caucuses in Iowa and New Hampshire, that Donald Trump will begin to fall, because he's not a serious candidate.

BERMAN: You spent a lot of time on the campaign trail the last couple months saying you were sick of talking about Donald Trump. Now your super PAC went up with an ad today, praising you for going after Donald Trump. You do seem much more willing on the debates and on the stump to talk about Donald Trump. Why is this now a good strategy for your campaign?

BUSH: Well, my strategy is to talk about my plans. And when you can compare it to Donald Trump's, it makes it even more vivid that, long before the attacks in Paris and the tragedy in San Bernardino, I'd laid out a specific proposal to be able to destroy ISIS, which is exactly what we need to do.

And it requires America's leadership in the world. It requires building an army, Sunni-led, in Syria and getting back in the game as it relates to Iraq. And without American leadership, this isn't going to happen. We can't do it alone. '

And when you compare that to Donald Trump, who late September said that ISIS was not a threat and says that, let Russia take care of Syria, when their interest is to prop up one of the most brutal regimes in the world, it shows the lack of understanding of where we are in the world today.

BERMAN: Would he make a better president than Hillary Clinton?

BUSH: I don't think Hillary Clinton is going to be elected president of the United States. She's not trustworthy. And her proposals aren't much better.

BERMAN: But you didn't answer my question. Would he make a better president than Hillary Clinton?

BUSH: No, I've learned not to answer questions. That's one of the things that you do now in political discourse. You answer what you want to say.

BERMAN: Right. So you're just not going to answer outright? I mean, don't -- don't Republican voters deserve to know? You're attacking Donald Trump every day now, which is something you got into reluctantly.

BUSH: I am.

BERMAN: But it is now part of your campaign. So do you think he would make a better president than Hillary Clinton?

[07:25:04] BUSH: I don't think that he's qualified to be -- oh, absolutely. I'd be a better president than Hillary Clinton. That's why I'm running for president.

BERMAN: No, no, does Donald Trump? Would Donald Trump?

BUSH: My point is -- my point is he's -- he is not qualified to be commander in chief of the United States of America's greatest fighting force. And he's had a chance to bone up. God willing, he'll start doing it. But it looks like this is all about him, not about creating strategies to keep us safe. And the world right now has been turned asunder, turned upside down because of the lack of American leadership. We don't need another version of that as the Republican nominee.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: You know, it's interesting. As I said, the super PAC, his super PAC came out with an ad with much of the same line of attack you heard right there. The super PAC now spending money, saying that Donald Trump is a bully, praising Jeb Bush for taking him on, saying he's the only candidate willing to take on Donald Trump. The campaign clearly thinks it's getting some traction with this line.

PEREIRA: The tactic is certainly changing now.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

PEREIRA: You can see the tone. And there's a shift. Right?

CAMEROTA: I see something definitely has shifted, particularly even with Jeb Bush's delivery. He seems to be engaged in what I'm calling sort of aggressive honesty, or radical honesty, where he's peeling back the curtain so much he's like, "Yes, I don't answer questions like that. I've learned. And, you know, now I have zingers, everyone." Like, he's telling you his process, which is sort of refreshing and interesting.

PEREIRA: Living out loud, right?

BERMAN: Yes.

PEREIRA: I know. Well, the question is, is it going to work? We're going to analyze Jeb Bush's new strategy. Too little too late?

Also, Bernie Sanders supporters are feeling the Bern, but his campaign now taking the heat for accessing Hillary Clinton's private campaign data. How is the Democratic National Committee responding? We'll take a look, ahead.

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