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New Day

New Video Appears to Show Istanbul Terror Suspect; 5 Dead After Tornado Tears Through Alabama; Why is Trump Casting Doubts Over Intelligence on Russia?. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired January 03, 2017 - 06:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:31:02] ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: The manhunt continues in Turkey for an ISIS terrorist who opened fire at that Istanbul nightclub on New Year's Eve, killing 39 people and injuring dozens more.

Police have released this new video. Take a look at your screen. This is the suspect. They say they have his fingerprints. So far, they have arrested 14 people in connection with this attack.

CNN's Ian Lee is live in Istanbul with the latest -- Ian.

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, what's so chilly about this new video that we're seeing is that just looking from this live location, I can see actually where he filmed it. It's about 50 to 75 yards away from where we are right now. He filmed this selfie video.

Now, there's -- police are looking into that to see if there's any evidence that they get that from that. But, meanwhile, we are hearing that six more people have been detained. They are being questioned by Turkish authorities bringing that number up to 14.

But with this man allegedly being an ISIS operative, we haven't been able to independently confirm this, it is likely that he might try to make it to Syria. So, authorities really are under a ticking clock so find him before he makes his way to Syria, if that's where he's going to try to go.

So, right now, this nationwide manhunt, hundreds of police officers looking for this man who killed 39 people on New Year's Eve -- Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thank you. Please stay on top of that. We'll check back with you throughout the morning.

We have breaking news throughout the U.S. At least five people are dead after a tornado and severe storms tore through the South. Four died in Alabama. A tree fell on their mobile home. In Florida, a man accidentally drowned. The storms carved a path of destruction, leaving damage buildings, downed trees and power lines all through the region. CAMEROTA: U.S. Customs computers are now back on line following a

four-hour outage, which created chaotic scenes, like this one, at airports across the country. This was one of the busiest travel days of the year. This glitch began at about 5:00 p.m. in the East. Airport officials across the country reported delays -- look at these pictures -- ranging from 30 minutes to two hours. It is not clear what caused the disruption.

CUOMO: You were hoping I got caught up in that, but no.

CAMEROTA: How did you avoid it?

CUOMO: Here I am.

CAMEROTA: You were traveling back yesterday. How did you fly over all of that?

CUOMO: Part of the mystery that is me, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: And the cape that he uses.

CUOMO: U.S. intel officials are repeating once again what they have said all along. The hacking of the DNC has Russia's digital fingerprints all over it. So, why is the United States president- elect doubting those findings? We dig deeper, next.

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[06:36:59] CUOMO: U.S. officials have never expressed doubt as to whether or not Russia was involved in the hacks, specifically those of the DNC emails. They now say they have Russia's digital fingerprints all over these hacks. So, why are President-elect Donald Trump and his team continuing to cast doubts over the conclusion that you just heard?

Here to discuss are two experts in the field of intelligence. CNN counterterrorism analyst and former CIA agent Philip Mudd, and counterterrorism expert and senior fellow for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, David Gartenstein-Ross.

First, please educate us, Mr. Mudd. What are digital fingerprints?

PHILIP MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: Look, if you look at a physical room, for example, if you go into a hotel room where there's been a murder, you are looking for fingerprints, DNA. Think of this in the digital world. You're looking for things like, are people using the same passwords that you've seen them used in the pass? What kind of code are they using? What kind of language even are they using when you see the hack?

We've also seen reporting in the past weeks that the people involved in looking at this hack saw some of it real time. In other words, they didn't just gather fingerprints, digital fingerprints after the event. They were watching Russian entities or people hired by the Russians during the event. So, I think this combination of factors, passwords, language, code

allowed them to go back and say, we've seen this before. This is the Russians.

COUMO: Quick follow, Phil Mudd -- Sean Spicer, incoming press secretary says it's not final yet, they don't really know. We don't understand why you media want to jump to conclusions.

Do you know anybody in that community, Philip Mudd, who questions whether or not Russia was involved?

MUDD: What the hell is that dude talking about? I don't understand this. His boss has come out and already drawn conclusions and said, "I don't believe them."

Meanwhile, on the other side, Republicans and Democrats in Congress and the intelligence community have come out and said with high confidence say that the Russians hacked information related to the elections. I agree with the judgment and it's not clear why they did this or that this had anything to do with swaying the election, but to say either from the Trump camp or from the government camp that we don't know what happened and we're going to wait for the report, do we ignore history here? I don't get it, Chris. This is ridiculous.

CUOMO: Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, when you look at how the intel community has concluded and obviously, they are always a little cryptic about what they find, they don't want to give up their sources and their methods because that's a great informational gift to whomever they are investigating. But does anything about this situation seem unusual to you from the intel side?

DAVEED GARTENSTEIN-ROSS, SR. FELLWO, FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: No, not from the intel side. You, of course, have two different things going on here, one of which is that digital forensic analysis is an imperfect science. That is, you could have false flags that are built into code, for example. And these are things that the Trump team are pointing to when they talked about why they doubt the intelligence community's conclusions.

But that being said, that's just part of the medium. It's difficult to have absolute certainty in the digital sphere in this kind of optic of having the incoming president-elect disagreeing with the intelligence community is very dangerous when it comes to decisions that have to be made extraordinarily quickly.

[06:40:13] The second thing that's going on is that you have distrust of the intelligence community from key members of the Trump team. For example, Mike Flynn, when he was the director of DIA, he was forced out for a variety of reasons. But one of them was that he disagreed with other members of the intelligence community and IC consensus on certain issues, including al Qaeda's comeback.

So, you have some distrust and belief that intelligence has been politicized under the Obama administration. But in terms of internal processes, there's no red flags for me.

CUOMO: Have you heard from anyone that they believe that Russia was not involved with the hacks of the DNC emails?

GARTENSTEIN-ROSS: No, I haven't. Though what I've heard from some is the view that, A, the finger was pointed at Russia very quickly, and B, that digital forensic analysis is imperfect. But that being said, you know, the vast majority think that the evidence, though not conclusive, because it's hard to get conclusive evidence in this sphere, is very strong that Russia was involved.

CUOMO: You know, former CIA Director James Woolsey, you've been on with him before, Phil Mudd, on this show. And he now says, well, look, I think the Russians were in there but it doesn't mean other people weren't too. I think that part of the answer as to why Trump is casting doubt over this might be that he likes to play with the media.

What's your take on that?

MUDD: I think this is simpler than that. I think my 8-year-old nephew could figure this out. Look, this is an inconvenient truth.

We have a president-elect who said our relationship with Russia isn't working. We need to put that relationship on a very different plane. We had President Putin respond to this. Remember, just a week ago, he declined to deport American diplomats after President Obama ordered Russian diplomats out of United States. So, there's a game can going on even before the president-elect becomes president, about improving relations with Russia.

Meanwhile, from left field, you have the intelligence community with a lot of degree of conference of saying that they hack. So, I think he wants to cut loose from the intelligence community and move forward with the Russians.

CUOMO: Phil Mudd, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, thank you very much for your perspectives.

Alisyn?

MUDD: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: It is day one of the 115th Congress. Republicans are poised to repeal Obamacare and Democrats are determined not to let that happen without a fight. So, we will discuss the battle ahead on NEW DAY.

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[06:46:15] CUOMO: Oh, boy, oh, boy. The highest-scoring rose bowl of all time. It came down to a field goal that put one team over the nickel mark, 50 points.

Hines Ward has the highlights in this morning's "Bleacher Report".

Nothing to complain about in this game unless you are a Nittany.

HINES WARD, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: No question about it. This is an epic battle. The rose game yesterday lived up to all the hype between USC and Penn State. The 103rd edition of the Rose Bowl. This game went back and forth. USC down 7 with a minute a half to go in the game.

Sam Darnold finds Deontay Burnett for the third touchdown catch on the day to tie the game up. Penn state trying to come back with a late game drive but Leon McQuay with interception and ill-advised pass by the Penn State quarterback. That sets up USC kicker Matt Boermeester who had already missed two field goals on the day. But this one was good. Trojans win 52-49, in the highest game in Rose Bowl history.

Now to the NBA, Milwaukee they are hosting Oklahoma City. Russell Westbrook with the cardinal sin in the state of Wisconsin. After making a three-pointer, he mocked Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers with a discount double check move. Lots of Packer fans on hand to watch. They let him know how they felt with a lot of boos.

But the Bucks will get the last laugh. Look at this dump dunk right here. That's awesome. They would go on to win the game, 98-94.

So, I have to say, for you guys when you do a good hit, let's give Aaron Rodgers discount double check move.

CAMEROTA: You got that?

CUOMO: I got a big waistline so I can give the full.

CAMEROTA: True dat.

WARD: I love it, Chris.

CAMEROTA: Hines, thank you very much.

WARD: No problem.

CAMEROTA: So, there's a preemptive strike by House Republicans. Before the new Congress is even in session, they have gutted their own independent ethics watchdog. What will Democrats do? That's next.

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[06:51:45] CAMEROTA: The new Republican-led Congress is set to be sworn in, in just hours. But last night, they already made a big change. House Republicans voted to gut an independent ethics oversight office.

Here with his reaction is Massachusetts Democrat, Congressman Seth Moulton. He serves on the House Armed Services Committee and is a former marine and Iraq War veteran.

Good morning, Congressman.

REP. SETH MOULTON (D), MASSACHUSETTS: Good morning.

CAMEROTA: When did you get the news that Republicans had made this move about the ethics commission? MOULTON: Late last night. They completely blindsided us, and it's

absolutely ridiculous. I mean, is there any American out there who thinks Congress is too ethical?

(LAUGHTER)

MOULTON: Donald Trump and the Republicans say they are going to drain the swamp and the very first thing they do is dismantle our outside ethics watchdog.

CAMEROTA: Uh-huh. So, why did they do it?

MOULTON: Well, I mean, it's frightening. I guess what they have on their agenda might run into trouble with ethics. I don't know what else could be the reason.

But we're going to stand up to this, just like we're going to stand up to all the things that Republicans want to do that are bad for the American people, and clearly, this is getting off to a really bad start.

CAMEROTA: How are you going to stand up to it since it's virtually already happened? Yes, you'll vote on it today but they have the numbers.

MOULTON: Well, I mean, this is the frightening thing. Obviously, they are trying to do this at the last minute without any consultation. You know, I was elected on a platform of bipartisanship, of working across the aisle with people, where we can find common ground.

You know, the good news on things like this is that there are Republicans who oppose it. I mean, even Speaker Paul Ryan opposed this change. So, what Democrats have to do is find common ground with Republicans who are reasonable and thoughtful and are willing to stand up to crazy changes like this and things that Donald Trump wants to do that are harmful to the American people.

CAMEROTA: Right. But I mean, so today, when you all are going to vote on it, you are going to scour the halls of Congress and try to lure Paul Ryan and other Republicans to not vote for this?

MOULTON: Well, look, that's what we have to do, is we have to say to our Republican colleagues, this is not the right thing for the institution of Congress. This is not the right thing to represent the interests of the American people. So, rather than just vote the party line here, do the right thing for the constituents you represent.

I know that's what I go to Washington to do every single day. I mean, fundamentally, that's my job as a public servant, and this is not Congress doing its job.

CAMEROTA: Well, you said that you can't fathom why they would do this. I mean, we do have some insight because they have spoken about it. It sounds like Bob Goodlatte, the congressman who led the Congress, thinks that the OCE, the office of ethics, was too powerful, it was overzealous, and it was at times too aggressive and took away people's due process.

What do you think?

MOULTON: I think that Congress needs more ethics. You know, I wish Congress had the ethics that I found in the Marines. You know, I served with Marines from all over the country, Marines from Massachusetts and Vermont, but also Alabama and Texas. We came together with remarkably different political beliefs, different political backgrounds, different religious backgrounds, but at the end of the day, we're able to find common ground to do what's right for the American people.

[06:55:09] We were able to put America first. And I don't think there's anyone out there who thinks that Congress is putting American people first if it dismantles congressional ethics. Congress needs more ethics. We need to be reaching a higher standard, both Democrats and Republicans. And this does the exact opposite.

CAMEROTA: Well, first, thank you for your service. And second, who do you -- as a veteran, who do you want to see now in charge of the V.A.?

MOULTON: I want to see someone who is going to improve and strengthen the V.A., someone who has the experience of leading a large organization who can fix the V.A., who can lead it, and make it work for American veterans. What I don't want is someone who's just going to come in there to dismantle the V.A. and puts veterans out on the street.

And this is what Donald Trump is talking about doing. He's talking about privatizing the V.A., which veterans are opposed to. You know, if you privatize, a lot of studies have shown that wait times for veterans will go up. In fact, they will go up for every American because there are so many veterans who will be put on the private health care system without the specialized services that the V.A. provides. So, we need someone who's going to lead the V.A. and reform the V.A., not tear it apart.

CAMEROTA: OK, next, Obamacare. As you know, Republicans have said this is basically their first order of business starting today. They want to repeal and replace Obamacare.

What is the Democrats' plan?

MOULTON: Well, they want to repeal and replace Obamacare, but all they know how to do is repeal it. They haven't even come up with a plan to replace it. Donald Trump doesn't have a plan to replace it.

So, that means that 20 million Americans are going to put -- be put out on the street without health care. That means that all those Americans are going to have to go to the emergency room when they need treatment, which is going to raise health care prices for everybody else.

So, this is the height of irresponsibility, and it's not doing the right thing by working families. It's not doing the right thing by the American people.

We have a health care plan that while not perfect is working well. It's actually bringing health care costs down. In fact, the Republicans have to break their own rule about budgeting in order to repeal the ACA because all the estimates show that it will increase the deficit if they do this.

So, they are being incredibly hypocritical. They are not doing the right thing by the American people. And they have no plan going forward. We're going to stand up to that and we're going to make sure the American people know that this is not the right thing.

CAMEROTA: Congressman Seth Moulton, thank you very much. It will be very interesting to watch what happens with Congress beginning today and obviously through the next many years. Thanks so much for your input.

MOULTON: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: We also want to thank our international viewers for watching us. CNN "NEWSROOM" begins for you in moments and for our U.S. viewers, we are following a lot of news this morning.

So, let's get right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: House Republicans secretly voting to gut their own independent ethics watchdog.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Republicans went against their own leadership.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm concerned about a bunch of the nominees.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Democrats choice is to oppose every one of these individuals is frankly sad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Digital fingerprints pointing the finger to Moscow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's often no fool proof to say who it is.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't believe that intelligence efforts should interfere into politics.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Leaked videotape, he's still hanging out with his business partners.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT-ELECT: Hussain and the whole family are here tonight.

CAMEROTA: Seven hundred and sixty-two murders in the city of Chicago last year.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel scared in Chicago. I don't want to be shot. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why is Chicago so deadly?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Officers are under attack. That's how they feel.

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

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

Up first, House Republicans voting to gut the independent congressional ethics watchdog. The vote coming just hours before the new Republican-controlled Congress gets sworn in today.

CUOMO: This move comes after President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly promised to drain the swamp on the campaign trail. Many questions remain about Mr. Trump's own conflicts of interest. Who will take them on now? We're just 17 days from the inauguration.

Let's begin our coverage with CNN's Phil Mattingly live on Capitol Hill.

Good morning, Phil. Happy New Year.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning. Happy New Year to you, too, Chris.

Look, it's the moment that Republicans have been waiting for. They will be sworn in for the 115th Congress in just a few hours. A group with a powerful, ambitious agenda, one they believe they can finish up quickly, but first, a rather questionable move last night.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY (voice-over): In a sign perhaps of what to expect from the new Congress, House Republicans voting behind closed doors Monday night overwhelmingly in favor of a proposal that guts its own independent ethics watchdog tasked with investigating allegations of misconduct among House members. The proposal would place the Office of Congressional Ethics under the oversight of the very lawmakers it oversees.