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Biden: Obama Offered Financial Help For Son's Illness; Where Will "El Chapo" Be Extradited In U.S.?; Ben Carson Unveils Foreign Policy Plan; Could Italian Investigators Botch Olsen Case? Aired 7:30- 8a ET

Aired January 12, 2016 - 07:30   ET

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

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: -- community organizer, by working with people in communities that had been left behind by our changing economy. That starts by building relationships with people.

Obviously, the president and the vice president have developed the kind of personal relationship that just transcends their professional responsibilities. They've worked closely over the last seven or eight years together on a variety of topics, foreign policy and domestic policy.

They've legitimately become good friends. I think, you know, the clearest public display of that, Chris, was, you know, when the president delivered the eulogy at Beau's funeral.

That it was clear that the president wasn't just speaking as president of the United States. He was speaking as a close friend of the family.

I don't know really what impact that has on their collective ability to run the country, but I do think that this sort of shows a side of President Obama that a lot of people in the public don't have the opportunity to see every day.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: I'll tell you what, though, even being president of the United States is only a term of eight years. A friendship is often a term of life. Josh Earnest, thank you very much for being with us. Good luck tonight. We look forward to hearing what the president says.

EARNEST: No problem, Chris. I really appreciate the opportunity this morning.

COUMO: Always a pleasure.

The president's final state of the union airs tonight at 9:00 eastern, coverage here on CNN begins at 7:00 -- Mich.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: So El Chapo back behind bars after a raid on his hideout in Mexico. What will it take to have him extradited to the U.S.? Who will get their hands on him? We'll take a look at all that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [07:35:27]

PEREIRA: Well, El Chapo is off the streets. Where he goes from here is not entirely clear. Mexico started the process of extraditing the drug lord. Seven different court districts here in the U.S. want to get their hands on him including New York, Miami, Chicago, and San Diego. Where will the former fugitive end up?

Juan Masini is a former federal prosecutor and attache to the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City. He joins us now. Lots of questions for you. Obviously with this extradition process beginning the legal team on his side have fired all sorts of motions to try and delay this. How soon do you think it is realistic to see Guzman here in the states?

JUAN MASINI, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR AND ATTACHE TO U.S. EMBASSY IN MEXICO CITY: Well, good morning, Michaela. How are you this morning?

PEREIRA: Very well, thanks.

MASINI: Let me just say this, it will depend on him and his legal team. Mexico, there's no way Mexico can really extradite him based on any requests from the Department of Justice or the U.S. without going through the process in Mexico.

There's no waiver of extradition. He can't necessarily even waive that extradition. It really depends, he cannot contest it and basically go through the process and come back or they can go ahead and basically they can make numerous challenges, which we've seen in many prior cases that could take years for the person then to officially be extradited to the United States.

PEREIRA: Beyond the legal maneuvering, obviously there is going to be a lot of that, what all is at play here. I understand Mexico is a couple years away from a political presidency election. You have the seven jurisdictions here in the United States that are interested in pressing charges. Tell us the bigger picture of all of the maneuvering.

MASINI: Well, the first thing is, the U.S. needs to make a decision to which district it's going to go, which federal district it's going to go.

PEREIRA: OK.

MASINI: My understanding is so far, the western district of Texas and the southern district of California are the ones that have officially filed something. But that doesn't mean that other districts can't then eventually file their documents, have them proceed.

There's a thing call the rule of specialty which basically means, basically it says whatever he gets extradited on, that is the only thing that can be charged and prosecuted and the location it can be prosecuted in the United States.

PEREIRA: Meaning they can't add on after the fact? MASINI: That is correct. There is a waiver. It's rarely used. It's not that common. There is -- you could ask the host country, meaning, in this case, the United States could ask Mexico for a waiver to the rule of specialty and Mexico would have to agree to that. Traditionally once he gets extradited, those are the charges that stand.

PEREIRA: Beyond this one man, are there reverberations this could have, his capture and arrest, could this case get bigger down the line?

MASINI: Well, you mentioned something just recently about, a few seconds ago, there is a little campaign in -- there's a new presidential election in 2018. While that's two years away, there's really -- Mexico is moving towards a new system.

They're changing their accusatory system, many aspects of their criminal justice system. There could be repercussions how they do their due process in Mexico.

However, one of the things we need to keep in mind, a lot of these cartels, when a person gets extradited, they don't disappear, they fraction and part themselves. What ultimately happens is you see different fractions as they try to get the different pieces.

PEREIRA: Juan Masini, we'll have to have you back. This sounds like it will take time and due process. Thanks for joining us on NEW DAY today. Alisyn, back to you.

CAMEROTA: Thank you, Michaela. Not long ago Ben Carson was on top of the polls here in Iowa, but something has happened. What's fueling his dramatic drop? Ben Carson has a big new announcement this morning. He'll join us live. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:44:01]

CAMEROTA: Welcome back to NEW DAY. I am in Iowa where the first presidential contest is just 20 days away. Dr. Ben Carson was at one time leading in Iowa, but he has seen his numbers dip considerably. What's going on with his campaign? Dr. Ben Carson joins me now by phone. Good morning, Dr. Carson.

DR. BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (via telephone): Good morning, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Great to have you with us. We'll get to the retooling of your campaign as well as your poll numbers in a moment. First, your announcement today. You are unveiling a new foreign policy plan this morning. You've just released it this hour. I have a copy of it right here in my hot little hands. Very quickly, can you take us through what is new and different in your foreign policy plan?

CARSON: As you know, last week we released our tax plan. We'll be releasing lots of different plans. And this is the prescription for a stronger, safer America. I thought it was very important to release this now.

[07:45:02]Because at the state of the union address tonight we'll be given a very rosy picture of what's going on. And the fact of the matter is, you know, America is now at great risk.

Our adversaries no longer fear us, our allies don't trust us. We have to bring our strength back. That's so important. I'm talking about the many elements of a stronger and clear and credible foreign policy, a vibrant economy.

If we don't have a vibrant economy, we don't have the wherewithal to strengthen ourselves. We have a navy that's at its smallest size since 1914, Air Force smallest since 1940.

We have low morale, 14 percent decreasing in people volunteering for military service, 22 veterans committing suicide every day. To try to paint this as something that is good is not right.

And it's not just the Obama administration. This is something we've been leading up to for quite some period of time. It's time to really make that break and to strengthen our military and stop leading from behind.

Establishing the kind of relationships with the people who used to trust is who no longer trust us. When we made the Iranian deal, it was like stabbing in the back.

The people who have been aligned with us for a long period of time. What are they thinking now? What are they thinking in Bahrain and Oman and Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates?

Why would they (inaudible) that's when we turned our back on Israel and other people. These are things that will have to be changed. This is part of strengthening ourselves and presenting a new picture.

CAMEROTA: One of the things you've talked about, you believe there have been draconian budget cuts to the military. You want to turn that around. That was a result of sequestration which the Republicans in Congress pushed for and the president fought against. How would you get Congress to go along with you if you want to beef up military spending considerably?

CARSON: Just because Republicans went along with it, doesn't make it right. We have to understand that if we don't get the military right, almost nothing else matters, particularly in the world we live in now where we have radical Islamic jihadists who want to destroy us.

They're an existential threat to us. One of the key things is communication. We need to talk. We need to put everything on the table right now. We have an administration that doesn't really talk to the Democrats.

What happens when people top talking? It's like when people get divorced, they stop talking. I think if we open that dialogue again and make the dialogue public, so the people see who is talking, who's in favor of them, who is not, and stop taking things off the table. Tonight, for instance, at the state of the union, they've invited members of CAIR, the Council for American Islamic Relations. These are people who I have called for an investigation of. They have done things that are clearly, you know, not pro-American.

We can't now sit there and say these are buddy buddies of ours, let's go ahead and investigate the thing. If they are our buddies, let's put that clearly out there.

If they're not our buddies, let's not be giving them access to the ability to further carry on what they call a civilization jihad and to change us from a Christian foundation to a Muslim foundation. We have to be smart about that.

CAMEROTA: So Dr. Carson, let's talk about your campaign and your poll numbers as we've said, you have seen a significant drop in these early voting states of New Hampshire and Iowa. I'll put up the graphic. In New Hampshire you've gone from 16 percent down to 3 percent. In Iowa, 10 percent to 7 percent. What went wrong in your mind?

CARSON: Well, first of all, let me correct your numbers. The latest Iowa poll I've gone from 9 percent to 11 percent. We're on the way back up. There have been a lot of events that have occurred.

There's been a narrative that a person like me couldn't possibly be commander-in-chief in these difficult times. We're in the process of exploding that narrative. You know, I challenge people.

[07:50:02]You know, if you're concerned about my foreign policy credentials, ask me something, ask me something about foreign policy and see what my answers are and listen to the answers. Not the narrative of people who have another agenda.

And we're fighting that and we're going to continue to fight that. And unfortunately we can only be in one place at a time so I can't spend as much time in New Hampshire and I realize that is going to hurt me.

And hopefully as time goes on, you know, we can put more emphasis there. But right now a lot of emphasis in Iowa. We're getting in front of a lot of crowds. Huge crowds.

Last night, we couldn't accommodate everybody. We had to do two town halls. And people have said thank you because when I talk to you in person my goodness is perception is completely different than what people have painted.

That is the challenge that we have. We're working on it. The organizational changes that we did is primarily we needed execution. We needed the ability to do things. You are already seeing since we've done that things coming out.

Clarifications being made. Surrogates being able to get out and explain. All of these are part of a successful campaign that was not there before. It has been corrected and I believe it is in time but we will see. CAMEROTA: So you do have this new campaign manager. You have a new foreign policy advisor. You say it makes you more responsive. What will we see differently now?

CARSON: You will see a lot more pep in my step because I don't have such a weight on my shoulders now. And I think people already are starting to notice a lot more energy. And I think you will see that during the debates on Thursday. I'm actually looking very much forward to that.

CAMEROTA: What is your plan for the debate? How will we see more pep in your step?

CARSON: Well, you are going to see, you know, me not being quite so polite as to never say anything unless somebody asks me something. I will insinuate myself where it needs. And I think you will see more energy behind the responses because again I don't have that weight on my shoulders now.

I have a very vibrant organization that truly provides the kind of information and the help that is need because recognize that it is not about me. It is not about any other candidate. It is about a team.

And it is about the ability to utilize the multitude of talents that exist in this country in order to change the direction that we're going in. The American dream is in danger.

As you probably note, the current generation is the first one in the history of America that many kids will not enjoy a higher standard of living that be their parents. These are things we must correct and we must correct them now.

CAMEROTA: Dr. Ben Carson, we appreciate your previewing that. Thanks so much for being on NEW DAY.

CARSON: Always a pleasure, thank you.

CAMEROTA: Well, authorities in Italy vowing to find the person who killed an American woman in Florence. But we're talking to Amanda Knox's former lawyer. Could Italian investigators already have harmed the case? We'll explore that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:56:11]

COUMO: There is growing international interest in the murder of Florida native, Ashley Olsen in her Florence, Italy apartment. The early stages of the case drawing skepticism of police comparisons to the Amanda Knox ordeal.

Here to share some of concerns and perspective is criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor, Anne Bremner. She also served as counsel and spokesperson for Amanda Knox.

Anne, good the see you again. From the outset, let's talk about Ashley Olsen. What are your concerns in terms of what you understand about the fact pattern so far and the investigative process?

ANNE BREMNER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY, FORMER PROSECUTOR: First, just the investigator. The same lead investigator that served in the Amanda Knox case. That is a huge concern when you look at can you trust the message, can you trust the messenger.

And you look at the fact that the Italian Supreme Court, at the end of day, said that that investigation had stunning flaws and glaring errors. That is number one.

Also we have a situation where there is a lot of jumping to conclusions. I saw this morning in reports police had said something about her bringing someone home for sex.

Her boyfriend's been exonerated, but there was no forced entry. He had a fight with her. Her dog was found unharmed outside. And you usually look at someone like that from the get go. And will this be an endless case like the Amanda Knox case?

COUMO: Two things, one, if this investigator is so bad, why was nothing done? Why is he still on the force as far as you understand it? And secondly, you say forget about Amanda Knox, look at how American women are treated in general by the system there. Answer those two questions for us.

BREMNER: The first one first, the Court of Appeals said that that evidence was contaminated, compromised, and inadmissible. Those are independent experts and the court adopted those findings.

I don't know why he's still on the force. Let alone on another case like this with this kind of magnitude. So that is number one.

Number two, women in these cases. Amanda Knox, foxy knoxy, the she devil, a vixen, wanted, orchestrated a sex -- where did that come from? She was vilified in that way.

And in the Ashley Olsen case are we already seeing signs at looking at her under the kind of Madonna "whore" type of terminology. But these women are portrayed in a light that is quite different than the way they are.

COUMO: And we are hearing there are no suspects. It is early in the case. But your concern is they are ruling out people for the wrong reasons and they may rule people in for the wrong reasons.

BREMNER: Absolutely. I couldn't have said it better myself. That is exactly what's happening and what you need to do is be objective but you can't be when you are already portrayed your victim or suspect a certain way which may be wrong.

Second, if there is a problem with this investigator, everybody said there was a problem uniformly with the investigation in this case. There was a problem with evidence taking forty some odd days.

A knife transported in a shoe box that didn't have any DNA at all that would match to this case. You can go on and on about the flaws in this case. The crime scene tapes were stunning in terms of the ineptitude of this investigation. Why say deja vu all over again in this case.

COUMO: And the important point will be is this being handled the right way. We only know as we learn more about what's going on in each deputy investigation. There is an American involved. There is intrigue involved. You know, that will keep interest involved as well.

Anne Bremner, we look forward to getting your perspective as we move forward --