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Body Cam Video Captures Police Shooting That Killed Boy; Newsweek: Trump's Company Violated Cuban Embargo; Military Families Face Off with President Obama. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired September 29, 2016 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:31:06] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right. We have an update on a story we first told you about several months ago. The public is getting its first look and it is disturbing. A body camera video of a police shooting that wound up taking the life of a 6-year-old autistic boy and critically wounding his father.

It happened in Louisiana last November. The two officers are facing charges in the shooting. It all happened after the officers chased a driver following an argument at a bar and cornered him in a dead end.

We want to warn you, this video is disturbing, but it is also probably our best look at the truth. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO (voice-over): A police body camera capturing two Louisiana marshals opening fire on this SUV.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shots fired.

CUOMO: The officers Derrick Stafford and Norris Greenhouse now facing murder charges, seen here shooting 18 rounds at the vehicle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Show me your hands.

CUOMO: Backup quickly arriving at the scene discovering 6-year-old Jeremy Mardis buckled in the passenger seat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They got any weapons on them?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no idea. Whenever I pulled on the side --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They got more than one subject in there too. They know that right? On the passenger side.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a juvenile.

CUOMO: The driver and boy's father, Christopher Few, seen stepping out of the car, still alive, but severely injured. Minutes later, the officer wearing the body camera heard speaking to one of the marshals who opened fire. DERRICK STAFFORD: Was he hit at all?

SGT. PARNELL: Who?

STAFFORD: The driver.

SGT. PARNELL: Yes.

STAFFORD: I never saw a kid in the car, man.

SGT. PARNELL: Yes, he's -- the kid is --

STAFFORD: I never saw a kid, bor. We was telling them to stop.

CUOMO: Then walking over to the young boy and checking his pulse.

Marshals Stafford and Greenhouse arrested shortly after the shooting. Prosecutors credit the body cam video with helping them build their case.

COL. MICHAEL EDMONSON, LOUISIANA STATE POLICE: It is the most disturbing thing I've seen. And I will leave it at that.

CUOMO: The attorneys for the marshals argue that they were acting in self-defense, claiming the driver rammed into a deputy's vehicle before they opened fire. But this video presented by prosecutors in court Wednesday does not show that, but instead shows the driver's hands up before police released a hail of bullets into the car, claiming Jeremy Mardis' life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: I mean, that is the most sickening, heartbreaking thing that we could ever see and thank goodness those marshals justice is prevailing. Those marshals were arrested. But the idea that they were scared, that the marshals were scared or angry or whatever it was that made them fire all those rounds into the car, that's why everybody calls for better police training because you can't just be chasing a car and start firing.

CUOMO: Well, look, these situations are often complicated and the prosecutors aren't basing their whole case on the video, but this is certainly part of it.

The kid winds up changing everything because of the absolute sense of loss when a child, an innocent is killed. You're also going to hear the perspective from people who see this saying, what if you switched the races. I remember when this story first happened, oh, these guys got arrested right away, they were black cops, it was a white victim. What if they were white cops and black victim?

CAMEROTA: I don't know --

CUOMO: Would they have been arrested the same way?

CAMEROTA: -- if this one matters in this one. I just don't. CUOMO: Well, it doesn't because the justice process is moving.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

CUOMO: But every one of these cases needs independent analysis. One thing is clear and it's why we showed you this. That camera makes a difference every time. It could help the officers and exonerate them. It could help show there was excessive force. The cameras should be a must.

CAMEROTA: All right. Meanwhile, we have an explosive report in "Newsweek" to tell you about. It's raising some new questions this morning about Donald Trump. Did he violate the trade embargo with Cuba? What is Trump's connection to the Cuban dictator Fidel Castro?

We have a closer look for you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:38:50] CUOMO: All right. So, a new report in "Newsweek" that claims Donald Trump's company violated the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba by secretly conducting business there, ignoring obvious American laws and the embargo.

Joining us now is the person behind this report, contributing editor for "Vanity Fair", senior writer for "Newsweek", and "New York Times" best selling author, Kurt Eichenwald.

W should note we reached out to officials with the Trump campaign and the Trump organization for comment on this response and receive no response. You reached out for a response and did not get it.

Give us the headline. What is done wrong here in your estimation?

KURT EICHENWALD, SENIOR WRITER, NEWSWEEK: Well, at the time the embargo was in, embargo is still in. Trump in 1998 through one of his companies tried to arrange for dealings in Cuba. And they sent a consultant down. The cost of the entire endeavor was $68,000, at a time when American companies are not allowed to spend a penny in Cuba. In fact, nobody was allowed to spend a penny in Cuba.

You had to have a license and sponsorship by a charity. None of that took place.

And what's the most outrageous element to it is that, you know, seven months after they cut the check paying for this trip to Cuba and meetings with bankers and government officials and so on, Trump gets up at a political rally in his first run for president and says, I will never put any money in Cuba until Castro's gone.

[06:40:22] And they'd already done it.

CAMEROTA: We have, actually, an excerpt from an op-ed that Donald Trump wrote in 1999 about this very topic for "The Miami Herald." Let me read a portion of it for you, "Yes, the embargo was costly. If I formed a joint venture with European partners, I would make millions of dollars, but I'd rather lose those millions than lose my self- respect. I would rather take a financial hit than become a financial backer of one of the most brutal dictators, a man who was once willing to aid in the destruction of my country.

To me, the embargo question is no question at all. Of course, we should keep the embargo in place and keep it until Castro is gone."

So, Kurt, how do you know that Donald Trump knew about these business dealings in Cuba in 1998?

EICHENWALD: Well, there are several reasons. Number one, this was something that was being handled at the very top of the company. The documents make that very clear. You know, the people's names are on it. We're talking about the president, chief executive, the chief financial officer.

CAMEROTA: Of Donald Trump's company. So, does it say his name on it, on the documents?

EICHENWALD: Well, the people who were there say Trump, number one, Trump knew all about it. Two, the person who the consulting firm that did the job was working directly with Donald Trump. And, number three, you know, there's no way that you were going to have a $68,000 check cut out of the top levels of the Trump Company without Donald Trump knowing about it.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: All right. There are three layers of defense that I'm sure you have anticipated. One is, he didn't know. You just addressed that.

The second one will be, everybody does this. As the company sends consultants down there just to see if they can get a toehold on what might be the possibilities once Castro is gone that nothing was done until that point. It was always done in terms of speculation for when the situation changes.

Fair defense?

EICHENWALD: No, because there's a way to do it that is very hard to do, which is that you have to go to the government and you have to get a license. And there are very specific ways in which you qualify for a license. Going down to explore possible business is not. It is illegal to go down to Cuba and buy a bottle of soda. If you do not have a license and you're not sponsored by a charitable organization.

And one of the most outrageous things in this is, you know, in the documents I have, after the trips taken, after the $68,000 is expended, there is a memo talking about -- well, how to make it look like it was legal. We have to find a charity that agreed to have sponsored it. And here's a suggestion of a charity we can use.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

EICHENWALD: And, you know, in the end, they clearly knew what the rules were and they just flouted them completely.

CAMEROTA: So, if they break the law and if Donald Trump knew about it, why no repercussions?

EICHENWALD: The organization that is in charge of enforcement here is called OFAC and they are woefully understaffed on enforcement. And it's widely known that, you know, if you get cigars over the Internet, you might get something. But it's widely known that if you break this, the probability of getting caught is extremely low. And even if you do get caught, you might not get prosecuted. And even if you get prosecuted, you'll probably just end up having to pay a fine.

So, the upside here -- this was at a time when they went. This is at a time when they were talking about dropping the embargo. There was a lot of push to end the embargo and President Clinton, then-President Clinton, had been, had already started to adjust the terms of the embargo and loosen it up. And, so, flying down at that moment, it was, it was laying the groundwork for some future deal they could do, you know?

And you can't do it. It's illegal. They didn't have a sponsoring firm and they spent their own money. Both are forbidden by law.

CAMEROTA: Well, it's a cover story in "Newsweek." It was embargoed until at this moment.

Thanks so much, Kurt Eichenwald, for sharing it with us.

EICHENWALD: Thanks for having me.

CAMEROTA: All right. Well, the Yankees beat the Red Sox with a walk- off grand slam.

[06:45:00] Why are the guys from Boston the ones celebrating?

CUOMO: Because everybody loves the Yankees. Even the Sox.

CAMEROTA: That's not why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Well, the Red Sox lost to the Yankees last night, but both teams were celebrating. That makes no sense.

So, let's bring in Andy Scholes. He has more in this morning's "Bleacher Report".

Hi, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Alisyn.

Well, since the Blue Jays lost last night, the Red Sox are A.L. East Division champs even though they Yankees last night. The Sox up 3-0 in the bottom of the ninth. Bases loaded for Mark Teixeira. He unloads on this one. Walk off grand slam.

Pretty cool for Teixeira. He is retiring at the end of the season.

Now, after getting back to the clubhouse, Red Sox shook off the loss and had a big champagne party. They're A.L. East Champs for the first time since 2013.

Patriots take on the Bills this Sunday. The last game that they have to play without Tom Brady. He will be back next week. He's been vacationing with his wife, Gisele, in Italy. In the meantime, not a bad way to spend your suspension.

Both Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett have practiced this week, but the Patriots not letting on who they will be starting at quarterback this weekend.

Hey, Dolphins at Bengals tonight, Chris. Both teams a disappointing 1-2. One team will get back on track.

CUOMO: What a moment for Teixeira. He went out saying I hope this is the last home run I ever hit because he is retiring this season.

SCHOLES: What a way to do it.

[06:50:00] CUOMO: All right, Andy. Thank you very much.

Let's take a little break.

President Obama was being questioned and confronted by military families at CNN's town hall. It was very emotional and the president was very engaged and very sensitive to the concerns in that room. We want to talk to two people who got a chance to ask the commander in chief pressing questions, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: CNN's presidential town hall last night gave veterans and military families the chance to question President Obama, their commander in chief, directly. One widow of a disabled veteran over lingering challenges at V.A. hospitals.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONNA COATES, WIDOW OF DISABLED ARMY VETERAN BARRY COATES: So when are we going to actually start holding these contracted doctors and the VA employees accountable? For it's the difference between life and death. And families like mine, they're tired of waiting.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't want to in any way sugarcoat the fact that there have been significant problems in the VA that have accumulated over decades.

[06:55:12] Since I came into office, just to give you some sense of perspective, we have increased the VA budget by 85 percent. No president has increased the VA budget faster and more aggressively than I have, because I believe that we've got to meet the sacred vow that we make to our troops that, if you are fighting for us, when you come home, you're going to get good service. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: That woman, Donna Coates joins us now, as well as retired U.S. Marine, Corporal Brandon Rumbaugh who also asked the president a question. Thank you for being here.

What a night. We watched how emotional it was, and provocative and you all posed such direct questions to the president.

Donna, let me start with you. What did you want -- what message did you want to get across to President Obama?

COATES: Accountability. In the military, there's no such thing as chain of command and it also goes in businesses from the lowest to the greatest. And I think that I would have faired better if I would have just heard him say last night, you know, I am so sorry. I dropped the ball. My administration has not done what we were supposed to have done.

It's called accountability and responsibility. And if our chief and commander of our armed forces cannot come out and say, I'm sorry. It just happened under my administration and I wish I could change it, but I can't, how in the world can we expect the contracted doctors and the V.A. employees to say, okay, I made a mistake, I'm sorry, what can I do to fix it?

CAMEROTA: Yes. And, Donna, just for people who might have missed the town hall, you were telling him about your husband, who was waiting for a colonoscopy and by the time he got one, he actually had a tumor that metastasized. What did you -- what did you want the president to take away from your story about your husband?

COATES: Well, not only was it the wait times at the V.A., that was not just the only problem there. The other problem with that is he was misdiagnosed several times. So, I think that we need to put better, our very best physicians at the V.A. Our veterans deserve that. They deserve the treatment and they deserve the best treatment that they can get.

CAMEROTA: The president did say after you told him your family's story that he would try to get to the bottom of it for you and he would try to figure out the status of that doctor who misdiagnosed your husband.

So, we hope that you will follow up and that the president will follow up with you. Please, let us know when that happens.

Brandon, I want to play the moment of you confronting the president. Let's listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRANDON RUMBAUGH, U.S. MARINE CORPORAL (RET.): What can we do to take the members and, also, at the same time, increase the number of citizens that serve our country? OBAMA: I'd like to see a situation which we're more actively

recruiting and lifting up the need for all of us to serve in some ways. There may be ways in which we can modify our recruitment efforts so that we're casting a wider net.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Brandon, we see you there in the shot on crutches. We should let everyone know you lost both legs to an IED in Afghanistan. What did you think about that moment with the president?

RUMBAUGH: You know, it's always great to have the opportunity to speak to him directly. Over the last four or five years, you know, I had many opportunities to, you know, ask him questions and talk about things. You know, dealing directly with veterans and he's been very responsive for the most part. And every single time, it seems like we keep getting further and further.

CAMEROTA: But, Brandon, what did you think about his answer to your question. You don't want to always have to be carrying the burden. The people who do three tours, four tours and he said, well, we need to get more actively involved in recruiting. Does that go far enough?

RUMBAUGH: You know -- you know, I think it's a good start. We can definitely do more. He didn't try to walk around the question as much as a lot of people thought he probably would have. You know, I was pretty satisfied with it just knowing that he realizes that and knows it is an issue and it is causing a bigger issues later.

You know, right now we're seeing guys coming home, you know, PTSD, depression. So many things are going wrong and it's coming down to, you know, multiple tours and not having the resources that they need.

So, you know, talking about the V.A. and all the other things that we spoke about. It all stands together.

CAMEROTA: Brandon, we only have a few seconds left. But what do you think the answer is?