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Alvin Bragg is Interviewed about the Crackdown in Crime in New York; Woman Arrested for Attempting to Buy a Child; Controversy over Who's Allowed into Baseball Hall of Fame. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired January 26, 2022 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:33:46]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: The NYPD announcing the passing of Wilbert Mora, one of two officers who was fatally shot responding to a domestic incident on Friday. And this comes as New York City is seeing an increase of gun violence, which has prompted the mayor, Mayor Eric Adams, to crack down.

Let's talk now with Manhattan's District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Sir, thank you so much. And, of course, you know, our heartfelt condolences to your city with the passing of yet another officer. We do appreciate you joining us on this -- this very important day, and this important moment.

We hear the mayor talking about instituting an anti-gun police unit. Do you have any concerns with that?

ALVIN BRAGG, MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Well, to start where you started, which is, a horrific tragedy in our city on Friday night, and the city is mourning and we're standing side by side with members of the NYPD.

I've, you know, been in touch with the mayor throughout the, you know, early part of the year here and in consultation and talking. And guns are, you know, an urgent issue that I've been working on for years and we have to redouble our efforts. And I look forward to working with and partnering with the -- with the mayor and the NYPD and specifically, you know, the mayor talked about the revamping and doing this in a different way, and so I'm looking forward to having conversations with him about how it's going to be rolled out differently.

[08:35:08] Like, for example, I understand that they won't be plains clothes. They'll be, you know, in marked -- marked as NYPD officers.

KEILAR: Any other concerns about the anti-gun police unit?

BRAGG: I'm looking forward to talking with the mayor and hearing more about is the rollout. We certainly, you know, need to be responding and what I call sort of an all of the above way, which is just sort of using our kind of, you know, gun possession cases, gun trafficking, our community violence interrupters and looking forward to engaging with the mayor as we kind of go into more of the logistical nuts and bolts. So, looking forward to having that conversation with him.

KEILAR: Let's talk about your approach here. Your approach generally has been more to use resources on more serious crimes. To prioritize, I think, is sort of how you characterized it. Less emphasis on prosecuting non-violent crimes, including not prosecuting people for possessing a weapon unless they were involved in a violent crime. So, they're arrested, it sounds like, for a non-violent crime. They have in their possession a weapon.

That seems to be at odds with what the mayor is proposing and also seems to be a little bit at odds of what you have been talking about of prosecuting more -- more in the traditional sense these gun charges.

BRAGG: Yes, no, look, I -- I'm, you know, for those who don't know me, I'm a career state and federal prosecutor. I've done gun possession cases. I've done cases involving guns. I've talked about a couple of exceptions, like my brother-in-law who was prosecuted and went to jail for more than a year for a gun that he didn't know about and didn't touch. It was on (INAUDIBLE) during a kind of a college schoolyard fight. But that's the exception. I mean the rule in my office is, you know, gun possession is serious. It's prosecuted as a felony. And we've been -- we've been doing that since the beginning of the (INAUDIBLE) been doing it throughout my career.

KEILAR: Why the emphasis then on holding people accountable in what you would say is the traditional sense? Why the need to make that clear to people?

BRAGG: Well, because I think we're in a, you know, an urgent crisis now. And I know, you know, around sort of all the dinner tables and all the water coolers, we're all talking about, you know, guns and want to be clear as the district attorney of Manhattan that that's what I'm going to sleep thinking about, it's what I'm waking up thinking about. And that it's all of the above. As I said, it's our gun possession cases, it's taking the gun possession cases and using technology and tracing to turn them into gun trafficking cases. It's working with our community groups that are interrupting violence before it happens. It's doing all of that.

So, yes, I'm talking about guns. I've been talking about guns really (INAUDIBLE) in some ways the last six months, in some ways the last 20 years. But right now with renewed urgency given the spike in gun violence in our city. KEILAR: So as an example of someone, you know, either by themselves,

maybe they do it in a group, they commit a non-violent crime, say they steal food from a bodega or something. It turns out that they, or one of them, have a gun. They're arrested. Do you prosecute them for possession of a weapon?

BRAGG: Yes. Yes. I mean the example I gave, which I've talked about, and which may have led to some confusion is, you know, my family member, and this was years ago and not in New York, you know, it was -- he wasn't the person. It was someone else he (INAUDIBLE) was arrested (INAUDIBLE) the gun. He didn't know about it, didn't touch it. But someone who's walking around our city, carrying a gun, we're doing those cases, we're doing those cases vigorously. And those are important to our public safety, you know, message and to our -- and to the deterrence in our city. They are high priorities for my office.

KEILAR: OK, so just to be clear, you have multiple people involved in that theft. One has a gun. One makes an argument they didn't know about the gun. Whether or not that is proven or not. You're saying you would prosecute the person possessing the gun, not the person not possessing the gun, is that correct?

BRAGG: Obviously depending upon -- upon the circumstances. The example I was giving which, again, was -- you know, I don't want to get stuck on that example, was, you know, a schoolyard fistfight where, you know, it wasn't -- so it wasn't -- wasn't involving the use of the gun, and then the evidence, you know, showed that the others didn't know about it. Obviously, we're going to have instances where people are -- you know, people go in to rob a store together and one has a gun, they're working in concert to do another crime.

So, you know, the general rule, rather than sort of dwelling on the (INAUDIBLE) if you got a gun and you're walking around Manhattan, we're going to prosecute you, hold you accountable for that. It's as a felony and that's important to me and to the office.

KEILAR: All right, sir, I do appreciate you joining us. And, again, we are so sorry, so sorry to your community as they are dealing with this loss.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, thank you.

BRAGG: Thank you.

KEILAR: A Walmart shopper arrested after allegedly asking a fellow customer if she could buy her child.

[08:40:06]

Plus, you know the rule --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first rule of fight club is you do not talk about fight club. The second rule of fight club is --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: This, honestly, is one of the craziest stories you will ever hear. What China just did to the ending of "Fight Club" that has us all breaking the rules because we are talking about fight club.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Time now for "5 Things to Know for Your New Day."

In a CNN exclusive, the Justice Department confirms it is reviewing fake Electoral College certifications from 2020 that falsely declared former President Trump the winner in seven states he lost. Trump allies in Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Georgia signed the fake certifications claiming to be rightful electors.

[08:45:08]

KEILAR: The White House calling a Russian invasion of Ukraine imminent as American troops are placed on high alert to deploy to eastern Europe. President Biden also said that he would consider personally sanctioning Russian President Vladimir Putin if Russia invades Ukraine. That is a step that previous presidents have shied away from.

BERMAN: Elton John's farewell tour hitting another sag as he now has tested positive for coronavirus. Two of his tour dates in Dallas are postponed. Elton John is fully vaccinated and boosted. He says he has only mild symptoms. He just returned to the stage after almost two years because of the pandemic and hip surgery.

KEILAR: And anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Junior apologizing after comparing vaccine mandates to Nazi Germany. His wife, actress Cheryl Hines, is condemning his comments as reprehensible and insensitive.

BERMAN: Yikes.

All right, I'm about to break the first rule of "Fight Club" by talking about "Fight Club," but I have to here because China has released a different ending for the film where, spoiler alert, in case you intend to see the Chinese version, instead of fireworks and taking down consumerism, you see only this caption, explaining how police saved the day, captured the criminals and sent Tyler Durden to the insane asylum.

KEILAR: That is not what happened. What's the point? What is the point of the movie then?

BERMAN: No, I have to say, it's really an unbelievable case of censorship right there.

KEILAR: Gosh, it makes me want to rewrite other movies that totally didn't go the way they were.

OK, those are the "5 Things to Know for Your New Day." We'll have more on these stories all day on cnn.com. So, check that out. And don't forget to download the "5 Things" podcast every morning. Go to cnn.com/5things. And you can also find it wherever you get your podcasts.

Texas police arresting a woman after she allegedly tried to buy another woman's one-year-old child for $500,000 at Walmart.

CNN's Rosa Flores is live in Houston with more.

Rosa, tell us about this.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, good morning.

According to police, all of this happened in Crockett, Texas, which is a very small town, about 120 miles north of Houston here where I am. Police say that a woman by the name of Rebecca Taylor approached a shopper at Walmart that was at the self-checkout. She was there with her baby and one-year-old son. And this woman started commenting about the boy's blonde hair and blue eyes, and then offered to purchase the child.

Now, the mom laughed it off thinking that it was a joke, but Taylor, according to police, actually offered the woman $250,000. The mom responded, no money will do. The mom waited for Taylor to leave the Walmart. But Taylor was outside of the Walmart. And in the parking lot, according to police, Taylor approached this mother again saying that if $250,000 wasn't enough, well what about $500,000? What about half a million dollars?

This mom locked herself inside her car with her children, and according to police, Taylor continued to scream at this woman that she was willing to pay $500,000 for her child. Eventually, Taylor drove off, according to police, and that's when this mom called the police. Officers responded, reviewed the surveillance video from inside the Walmart, and, remember, this is a small town, police identified Taylor from that surveillance video. They then arrested her, charged her with the sale or purchase of a child, which is a third degree felony. She has since bonded out.

And, Brianna, CNN's attempts to reach Taylor have not been successful.

Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, so many more questions about this.

Rosa, thank you for that report.

And here's what else to watch today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ON SCREEN TEXT: 10:00 a.m. ET, Secretary Blinken remarks.

11:00 a.m. ET, White House Covid team briefing.

2:00 p.m. ET, White House briefing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: A scary situation involving Apple's CEO Tim Cook, who is the target of an alleged armed stalker.

Plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The baseball writers have elected you to the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

DAVID ORTIZ: Yes!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: He's in, as he should be. But who's not? Creating a giant controversy.

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[08:54:04]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID ORTIZ: This jersey that we wear today, it doesn't say Red Sox. It say Boston.

This is our (EXPLETIVE DELETED) city. And nobody going to dictate our freedom.

Stay strong.

Thank you!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: That was David Ortiz, and the Boston Red Sox, putting a city on his burly shoulders after the Boston Marathon bombing. Or should I call him Hall of Famer David Ortiz. The baseball writers elected Big Papi to the Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot. The controversy this morning, though, is about who did not get in. Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, whose stats and careers, their numbers, put them among the greatest players ever, like greatest five or ten players ever. They missed out on their final year of eligibility. Their links to performance enhancing drugs have sparked a debate, should they be in?

Joining us now, Susan Slusser, San Francisco Giants reporter for "The San Francisco Chronicle," and former president of the Baseball Writers Association of America, and Bob Ryan, columnist for "The Boston Globe."

[08:55:07]

Susan, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, you say let them in, why?

SUSAN SLUSSER, SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS REPORTER, "SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE": My thinking about this has evolved over the years, John, and thanks for having me on to talk about this because it's such an important topic in San Francisco.

I was president of the Baseball Writers the first year of their eligibility and I did not vote for Bonds and Clemens the first couple of years they were eligible.

But as soon as the leaders of that era went in automatically, upon their eligibility, I'm talking about people like Bud Selig and Tony La Russa, I decided it did not make sense to hold two guys responsible for that entire era.

And also on that ballot, the year that Selig and La Russa went in was Pudge Rodriguez, who I'd covered for two years at "The Dallas Morning News." And one year his body type was completely different from the second year. And they say, don't use the eye test. Don't use hearsay. I wasn't going to. He's arguably the best catcher I've ever seen, with maybe apologies to Buster Posey, who's also in that conversation. But, at that point, it just got too scrambled.

So, I'm going to go with the results on the field.

BERMAN: Bob Ryan, rebuttal.

BOB RYAN, COLUMNIST, "THE BOSTON GLOBE": Well, I believe the blame here is with the Hall of Fame itself. It's their museum. All they had to do to avoid this entire controversy was post a notice outside the room where the plaques are. Get Bob Costas to write the script and say there was a period of time in baseball when PEDs were rife and prevalent and many of the people that you will see in here and -- were participants during that time. We have instructed our voters to vote on the numbers only. And then you the -- you, the fan, can feel however you want about those people that are in here.

Now, concurrent with that, I have said for years that some day I may wake up and say, you know what, we don't know which juiced pitchers pitched to which juiced batters. Let them all in. The hell with it. Well, that day didn't come. I didn't get there yet.

BERMAN: Why not? Why not, Bob?

RYAN: Because I have -- I wrote this in "The Globe," and it's a matter of having to look yourself in the mirror and look at, are you comfortable letting these known cheaters and arrogant in one case cheater and in -- and -- when other people aren't. And I just couldn't do it. And I've heard all the arguments about, they were Hall of Famers before they allegedly starting doing it. Yes, I know all that. And they are two of the greatest players of all time. I know that very well. But it's just a matter of how you feel about yourself as a voter. And I couldn't do it.

BERMAN: Susan.

SLUSSER: Yes, the problem is the character class, which is on the ballot that the Hall of Fame voters are given. And in every way, shape and form, it's spelled out, you must consider character. Well, what does that mean? We know there are cheaters already in the Hall of Fame. One of them is celebrated. Gaylord Perry, former Giant. There are people who have, you know, been involved with domestic violence. There's segregationists. There's misogynists. There's certainly homophobic. What is the character line? The character class to me is antiquated and has created this whole, you know, tangle that we're dealing with now. They've left it up to the writers to sort it out. That shouldn't be our job. You know, we've got to -- a large membership with a lot of opinions, and the bar for entrance is high. It's 75 percent of the vote you have to get.

BERMAN: Is it just character, though, Susan, or the possibility that whatever they may have taken really did enhance the careers?

SLUSSER: Oh, I think there's no doubt that steroids, absolutely. And, you know, it -- what terrible role models. They cheated, for me. And you don't have a sport when you've got cheaters. It's not a level playing field.

However, if the Hall of Fame wants to make a player ineligible for their ballot, they can do that, a la Pete Rose. But as of right now, anyone that is on that ballot is eligible. And the problem is, we don't know who did and we don't know who didn't. So, two guys, no, that's not -- that's not enough of a sample size.

BERMAN: Bob -- I'm so sorry to cut you off, Susan.

Bob, what about the argument, you know, there were so many people doing it, how can we be sure who was and who wasn't?

RYAN: We don't know for sure, but we have a lot more evidence on some people and a lot -- than we do on others. And, you know, go read the book of the (INAUDIBLE) brothers. Go listen to the people that who talked about -- about Clemens and know what he did. You know, they -- we know -- we know a lot more about some people than others.

I -- as I said to you earlier, John, we do not know all for sure how many juiced pitchers pitched to how many juiced batters. How many 450 foot homers would have landed on the warning (ph) track (ph). We do not know that. I understand that. It's a -- I hate this. This has taken all the fun out of being a voter. This should only be about baseball. And, once again, I put the blame on the hall. All they have to do is tell us, vote on the numbers, period, and then we would be comfortable.

BERMAN: I will say, if Bud Selig is in, boy, that's the tough pill to swallow.

Susan Slusser, Bob Ryan, a terrific discussion. And I just want to leave everyone with the most important thing that happened in the Hall of Fame, which is that David Ortiz, Big Papi, is in.

[09:00:07]

And, again, I did sleep in this shirt last night. Smells like victory.

KEILAR: Glory. It smells like glory, right?

BERMAN: Glory. CNN's coverage continues right now.