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The Situation Room
Kentucky Court Clerk Jailed; Hillary Clinton in Trouble?; Trump Signs Pledge. Aired 18-18:30p ET
Aired September 03, 2015 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news: Trump's promise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have signed the pledge.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: The Republican presidential front-runner vows loyalty to the party. Will it help his campaign or hurt his image as a political outsider?
Critical clues. After a failed manhunt for suspected cop killers, investigators are now poring over new evidence and that includes a surveillance video and the officer's gun found at the crime scene. Are they any closer to finding the fugitives?
Horror on the tracks. Riot police scuffle with desperate families in an exploding humanitarian and security crisis as millions of people flee the slaughter and brutality of ISIS.
And in contempt. A county clerk is ordered to jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Will she back down or remain defiant behind bars?
We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. Wolf Blitzer is off. I'm Brianna Keilar. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
KEILAR: We have breaking news tonight.
Donald Trump puts pen to paper and reinforces his dominance over the Republican presidential race. The front-runner now is pledging his loyalty to the GOP, something that he refused to do before. And that is easing some fears that he might run as a third-party candidate. But there are big questions tonight. Will the pledge help or hurt Trump's campaign, that surge over a wave of anger over politics as usual? Will he even keep his promise at all? Other Republican candidates are weighing in. That includes Jeb
Bush. Trump's pledge is putting him in a very uncomfortable position. We have correspondents, analysts and newsmakers standing by as we cover all of the news that is breaking now.
And I want to go first to our chief political correspondent, Dana Bash. She was at this announcement earlier -- Dana.
BASH: Well, Bri, never before has a party chair asked a presidential candidate to pledge allegiance to the party, but never before has Donald Trump run for president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After what sources say were several intense weeks of private consultation and cajoling...
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There is your pledge.
BASH: ... the Republican Party chair got Donald Trump to pledge allegiance to the GOP.
TRUMP: So I will be totally pledging my allegiance to the Republican Party and the conservative principles for which it stands. And we will go out and we will fight hard, and we will win.
BASH: Sources say getting Trump to promise not to run as an independent has been a leading Republican goal since the bombastic billionaire refused to do so during the last debate.
(on camera): What changed over the past several weeks, since you didn't want to raise your hand?
TRUMP: I think the thing that changed is the fact that I went to number one place very quickly after I signed and after I, in this building, notified everybody that I would be running for president. So I think the biggest thing is that I went early to number one, and the RNC has treated me with great respect, so that was very important.
BASH (voice-over): As Trump's popularity rose, so did Republican angst that if he didn't get the nomination, he would run as an independent, siphoning votes from the GOP, making a Democratic White House win much easier.
RNC chair Reince Priebus slipped into the Trump Tower for a 15- minute meeting to seal the deal, then slipped out, no comment. That the Republican chair flew to Trump's turf speaks volumes.
BASH (on camera): Why did you have Reince Priebus come here? He didn't go to the other 15, 16 candidate, but he came here.
TRUMP: Well, the chairman asked if he could come up. You saw him. He was here a little while ago. And I was greatly honored that he did come up, frankly. BASH (voice-over): To be sure, the pledge has political benefits
for Trump, too, who was getting hammered as a fake conservative. Making this promise could help expand his support among the party faithful, and avoid problems in South Carolina's primary, where the promise is required, but the pledge is not legally binding.
Even sources close to Trump admit he doesn't have to the stick to it.
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is not a guy who's a conservative.
BASH: Jeb Bush, who is now aggressively questioning Trump's conservative credentials, jabbed the GOP front-runner in a tweet, noting that he has voted Republican since 1972.
And Bush's super PAC is also getting in on the action, posting a video drawing similarities between Trump's views and those of Democrat Hillary Clinton.
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Those at the top have to pay their fair share.
TRUMP: Some people, they're not doing their fair share.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: Even though this pledge is not legally binding, Trump said he sees no circumstances under which he would tear up the pledge. But he of all people knows, Bri, how unpredictable politics is and we know how unpredictable Donald Trump is -- Brianna.
KEILAR: Yes, two things you can count on there. Dana Bash, thank you so much.
New twist tonight in the e-mail controversy that is dogging the Democratic presidential front-runner, Hillary Clinton. A former State Department employee who worked on Clinton's private e-mail server is refusing to testify before Congress.
[18:05:11]
Our global affairs correspondent, Elise Labott, is here with details -- Elise.
ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, the Clinton campaign is not happy about it. They wanted Bryan Pagliano to testify. They said he has nothing to hide. Hillary Clinton maintains her use of a private server didn't break the law, but she could be damaged by this former State Department's refusal to testify, fearing possible self-incrimination.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LABOTT (voice-over): As a top Hillary Clinton aide headed behind closed doors to testify to Congress about Benghazi, Clinton's private e-mail server continuing to rile Republicans. Now a key aide who set up the controversial server and its security telling congressional investigators he won't talk to him.
His lawyer writing to the House panel investigating the Benghazi attacks, acknowledging, though, the -- quote -- "Current political environment makes it controversial, his client will not testify or hand over documents."
The committee's chairman was not subtle.
REP. TREY GOWDY (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I know in the past why people have invoked their Fifth Amendment privilege. But you will have to ask him why he did. And you're free to glean whatever inference you want from the fact that he did.
LABOTT: The Clinton campaign said they encouraged all aides to talk.
BRIAN FALLON, CLINTON CAMPAIGN SPOKESMAN: With Mr. Pagliano, we encouraged him as well, because we don't think he has any reason to not be transparent about the help that he provided from an I.T. perspective, but unfortunately it's his choice what to do.
LABOTT: Hillary Clinton insists her use of a private server didn't break the law, but by pleading the Fifth, Pagliano raises the specter of criminal action, even if out of caution.
His resume shows his close ties to Clinton. Before joining her at state, Pagliano was information technology director for Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. Clinton's chief of staff at State spent the day behind closed doors, interrogated by the Benghazi committee.
Cheryl Mills wanted her deposition made public to avoid what she called selective Republican leaks, her request denied.
GOWDY: We have not had a public fact-finding interview with a single witness and we're not about to treat her any differently.
LABOTT: The controversy a distraction for Clinton, who is facing daily questions on the campaign trail.
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I never sent any classified material nor received any marked classified.
LABOTT: Possibly giving an opening to Vice President Joe Biden, who is stepping up appearances, as he inches closer to deciding whether to challenge Clinton for the Democratic nomination, today meeting with Jewish leaders in Florida to defend the administration's Iran deal.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LABOTT: And Cheryl Mills just wrapped up more than nine hours behind closed doors with the Benghazi committee. Another potential headache for the Clinton campaign, today, a federal judge said he would consider asking for the 31,000 personal e-mails Clinton said she deleted from the server.
And the group Judicial Watch released documents showing Clinton and her staff pushed the State Department for personal devices to read top-secret information. Brianna, that, however, actually could boost Clinton's claim that she handled private information on her private server only on the State Department's secure system.
KEILAR: Very interesting. Elise Labott, thank you so much for that report.
I do want to talk now about the 2016 campaign with our chief political correspondent Dana Bash. And we also have Rebecca Berg here with us. She's a national political reporter for RealClearPolitics, alongside CNN political commentator Ryan Lizza. He's Washington correspondent for "The New Yorker." And we Obama have CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein. He's the editorial director for "The National Journal." Quite the full house here.
So, Ron, let's start with you. I do want to talk about the latest in this Clinton e-mail news, in this testimony, nine hours of testimony from one of her former top aides on the Hill. But I want to ask you about this pledge first of Donald Trump's that says he will support the Republican nominee and he will not launch a third-party bid. Is this a good deal for him?
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. Yes.
You know, I feel like it's one of those debate moments where I should ask all of my fellow panelists to raise their hands if they think this is the last we have heard of this issue. Look, this makes a lot of sense for Donald Trump today because he faced both criticism in the debates and also kind of a potential legal challenge in getting on the ballot in key states, particularly South Carolina.
But I don't think anybody doubts that if he is not the Republican nominee next spring, and he feels aggrieved in the way the process has unfolded, that we will be back around this table talking, will he or won't he again?
I think it's a safe prediction this is not the last we have heard on the issue of whether Donald Trump ultimately runs as a third-party candidate if he's not the Republican nominee.
[18:10:03]
RYAN LIZZA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think Donald Trump has proved why he's a pretty decent negotiator and he built a big business empire.
He held out, he held out, he threatened the Republican Party. There was a sense of, in New York, they would say nice little party there, shame if anything happened to it. He waited until the pressure built. And then what did he do today? He got all the other candidates to sign a pledge saying they will support him if he's the Republican nominee.
Do you think that Kasich and Rubio and Jeb Bush are going to support Donald Trump if he's the Republican nominee? I think that's a bigger deal today than him signing the pledge.
KEILAR: It's very interesting. For instance, Rebecca, today, I asked Senator Rand Paul, who has just called Donald Trump a fake conservative, and he said if he's the nominee, basically, Republicans are going to get creamed worse than they have in decades and decades. I mean, that's an interesting point that Ryan makes.
REBECCA BERG, REALCLEARPOLITICS: I think you would see a lot of Republicans really struggling to step up and support Donald Trump. And really that situation, having Donald Trump as the Republican nominee for president, a couple of months ago, that sounded completely far-fetched. And now he's been polling at 30 percent or higher for weeks on end. And it's not really far-fetched anymore, is it?
KEILAR: No.
And, Dana, what do you think? What is his play here? Is he trying to look for even broader appeal, and break out of his sort of niche, I guess? I mean, he is the front-runner, but he is certainly carving out this space of appealing to people who want an outsider. Is he looking beyond that is really my question.
BASH: It sure seems that way.
I think part of it is the fact -- what Ron was talking about is -- they won't admit this, but the logistical problems in states like South Carolina. But certainly it's broader than that. And I think, as I showed in the piece earlier, when I asked him what's changed, the way he seemed to respond was, I'm on top, I'm doing well, they like me, so I will stick with them.
And that's I think effectively what's going on. But I love Ryan's conspiracy theory that this is all about trying to get them to support Donald Trump. And if that's true, that's pretty remarkable.
LIZZA: It's not a conspiracy theory. I'm just saying if they all sign the pledge...
BASH: It's the effect, right, right.
LIZZA: That is the effect. They are pledging to support...
KEILAR: Because we have been asking them today, hey, would you support him if he's the nominee? And they're saying, like, holding their nose, and going yes.
BASH: But, to be fair, to be fair, the point of Jeb Bush's sort of tongue-in-cheek tweet with his signature saying I voted Republican since 1972 is that, historically, Republicans who run for president who don't win do rally around.
It's very rare that they don't. So if Donald Trump is, most of these guys and woman are tried-and-true Republicans and do tend to support...
(CROSSTALK) KEILAR: Does it matter, though, Rebecca? Because I was saying
-- I sort of made a quip last hour that Donald Trump could sign a little slip of paper that says not a politician until 2015. That's his appeal, right?
BERG: Exactly.
I mean, the contract doesn't really matter, the pledge, whatever you want to call it. What Donald Trump promises doesn't really matter because Donald Trump can do whatever he wants and people don't really hold him to his past statements, as evidenced by Jeb's attempted attacks on Donald Trump to try to hold him to his past statements supporting Democratic positions.
Donald Trump is operating by his own set of rules.
KEILAR: OK, guys, stick with me just for a second. You get first grab next time, Ryan. We're going to talk more after the break. Here's the question, really. What do Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have in common? Well, Jeb Bush wants you to realize that it is a lot. We will tell you about his latest ad coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:18:42]
KEILAR: We are back with our political experts and the breaking news.
Donald Trump has signed a pledge of loyalty to the Republican Party after weeks of dangling the possibility that he might bolt and run for president as a third-party candidate.
We're back now with Dana Bash, Ron Brownstein, Ryan Lizza, and Rebecca Berg.
And I want you guys to talk about a really interesting ad that a super PAC supporting Jeb Bush has put out highlighting some similarities between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Check this out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: Under Democratic presidents, people do better.
TRUMP: The economy does better under the Democrats than under the Republicans.
CLINTON: I am pro-choice.
TRUMP: I am very pro-choice.
CLINTON: We have to get universal health care.
TRUMP: I'm liberal on health care.
CLINTON: Those at the top have to pay their fair share.
TRUMP: Some people, they're not doing their fair share.
I probably identify more as a Democrat. I think Hillary would do a good job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: It is striking, Ryan. But is it effective?
LIZZA: I think it's pretty effective for voters that are only casually paying attention to Donald Trump. They like something, maybe they caught him on the news, they're telling pollsters his name.
I don't think -- I do not think the polls show that there is a deep reservoir of support for Trump. I think it's superficial right now. And voters are now getting for the first time, seems like, as Jeb's super PAC has $100 million, they're going to get a steady stream of alternative information about who Donald Trump really is.
[18:20:12]
As I said yesterday, we're in the kill Trump stage. And if we look back at 2012, when this stage started for other candidates who were flying high on the polls that voters didn't know very well, they started to go down. If Trump survives this, if he survives an onslaught like this, then we will know that he's got some real staying power.
KEILAR: Dana, what do you think?
BASH: I agree with Ryan.
I think that this has the potential to really resonate. But every time we have thought that something that Donald Trump said that got people angry or something that other people said about him that you thought would really stick, what happened? It didn't. He has defied convention every step of the way.
So I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't. However, Ryan just hit on something important. This is not Jeb Bush's campaign. It is his super PAC. This is just a Web ad. But this, there's no question, is a little bit of a canary in the coal mine. This is what is likely to come when they actually start to really dip into those very large coffers and use it against Donald Trump.
And remember, earlier this week, Bri, we were talking about the fact that Jeb Bush started to really go hard after Donald Trump as not a real conservative, and that that was kind of a smoke signal to the super PAC, who they're not legally allowed to talk to. Well, guess what? They got the smoke signal.
KEILAR: Do voters, Rebecca, who like Donald Trump really care if he's a true conservative or not?
BERG: I think that's a great question. And I think another question that Jeb Bush and his campaign and his super PAC running these ads are really going to have to grapple with is whether undercutting Trump is necessarily going to help Jeb Bush, because Jeb Bush, his only problem isn't Donald Trump.
Jeb Bush is Jeb Bush's problem right now. He's not connecting with voters. He's not demonstrating that he's a charismatic candidate. He's not demonstrating, as Donald Trump likes to say, that he has energy on the campaign trail. And so it's one thing to try to bring Trump down a notch. It's another thing to establish Jeb as an alternative for these voters.
(CROSSTALK)
BASH: I want to just add one thing to that real fast, Bri.
KEILAR: OK. Go ahead, real quick.
BASH: Just real fast.
I agree with Rebecca, except for the fact that he is taking up all the oxygen, Donald Trump. And what he does is, he rips apart Jeb Bush and that is not helping him at all. That's the problem.
KEILAR: OK. I want to talk about this Clinton e-mail story. We saw Elise Labott's report just before the break.
The Clinton team saying that they actually encouraged this former staffer who dealt with I.T. for the secretary of state while she was at the State Department to testify.
But, Ryan, decipher this for us. Are they really upset? It sounds like they're really upset that he decided not to. What do you think?
LIZZA: It sounds like it. It's hard to say. The statement was very sympathetic to him, said he's not a public official, he's not used to this, but they're disappointed that he's taking the Fifth here.
The optics are terrible, right? This is a daily story, it's a confusing story, but when you have people testifying and taking the Fifth, and every time she goes out to do a press conference, she's answering questions about this, rather than her agenda, that's bad politically for her.
KEILAR: Ron, does that fly with people, when someone takes the Fifth, to argue that they're doing it because they don't trust the people who are questioning them? I mean, is that something that is going to be fine for her, for Hillary Clinton?
BROWNSTEIN: No, they are in the worst part of any kind of Washington story, where they're kind of locked in process as well as substance. Kind of the process of the investigation generates kind of an endless series of headlines that become problematic, as well as the revelations from those investigations. So they're kind of getting it from both sides. Can I just make one point to kind of button up the Trump
conversation?
KEILAR: Sure.
BROWNSTEIN: The fact that Jeb Bush is going after him, I just want to say, is significant, because Jeb Bush is really running in a different lane than Donald Trump. Donald Trump is not his immediate problem.
Jeb Bush's problem is emerging as a candidate of the center-right from a field that includes John Kasich, Marco Rubio, and Chris Christie. For a long time, I think the Bush team would rather have had Trump win Iowa than any of the other conservative alternatives, like Scott Walker, Ted Cruz, Bobby Jindal, less likely candidates, because that -- they kind of envisioned a world where they as the center-right candidate winning New Hampshire would ultimately face off against the winner of Iowa as the more conservative candidate, and they'd rather it be Trump than someone else.
I think that is probably still true, but as Dana and Ryan both noted, allowing Trump to kind of go after Bush diminishes his ability to compete on the other front. I think this is a significant strategic shift, and this probably is the most significant opening they can have against him, that he is not a true conservative, because I think it will not matter to some of his voters, but there obviously -- there are a lot of voters in the Republican Party who are looking for a real conservative.
And I think some of this information they're putting in front of them is going to be very eye-opening.
KEILAR: Ron Brownstein, Ryan Lizza, Rebecca Berg, and Dana Bash, thank you, guys, so much.
[18:25:03]
And what you just heard Ron talking about, well, that is all going to play out very soon in the next Republican presidential debate. It's now less than two weeks away. And it's going to air right here on CNN. That will be on September 16. We are bringing it to you live from the Reagan Library in California.
And then CNN will also host the first Democratic presidential debate October 13 from Nevada.
Just ahead, new evidence at the scene where an officer was killed. His weapon has been found. Was it used to gun him down? We will have the latest on this case and the three fugitives who are on the loose.
And a county clerk could get out of jail if she backs down on her refusal to issue same-sex marriage licenses. What will she choose?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KEILAR: As the hunt goes on for three suspects in the killing of
an Illinois police officer, investigators have revealed that they have the officer's weapon. They found it at the scene. They also say security video may soon provide significant clues.
[18:30:49] Let's get now to CNN's Rosa Flores. She is in Fox Lake, Illinois. That's pretty interesting to hear them say that. What do they mean, Rosa?
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here's what's so significant about this, Brianna, and that is that right now, investigators only have a very vague description of these suspects. And that description comes from the last radio exchange between Lieutenant Gliniewicz and dispatch. And that is that they're talking about two white males and a black male.
But imagine what crisp video could do in this case. It could give three cop killers a face.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FLORES (voice-over): Tonight, police are examining the final words heard from Lieutenant Joe Gliniewicz over this radio transmission with police dispatch before a fatal shooting Tuesday.
LT. JOE GLINIEWICZ, SHOT DEAD BY SUSPECTS: I'm out near the old concrete plant, checking out two male white, male black.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ten-four. Do you need a second unit?
GLINIEWICZ: Negative, dispatch.
FLORES: The officer indicating he was going to give pursuit just before he was found dead.
GLINIEWICZ: They took off toward the swamp.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you need a second unit?
GLINIEWICZ: Ten-four. Go ahead and start somebody.
FLORES: Analysts reviewing every piece of evidence recovered from the crime scene, including the officer's weapon.
CHIEF GEORGE FILENKO, LAKE COUNTY MAJOR CRIMES TASK FORCE: The gun's been recovered. It's all in the (UNINTELLIGIBLE) site.
FLORES: But tonight a source tells CNN the gun had been fired, although it's not clear if that was the weapon that killed the officer.
FILENKO: We have retrieved, as late as last night, what we believe to be some significant video.
FLORES: As investigators now hope newly-surfaced home surveillance video could help identify the suspects, who they now only have a vague description of.
FILENKO: We're not going to confirm whether these are the same people that we're talking about. We need to look at it.
FLORE: The widow of Lieutenant Gliniewicz speaking out at his vigil Wednesday night.
MELODIE GLINIEWICZ, WIDOW OF LT. GLINIEWICZ: Joe was my best friend, my world, my hero, the love of my life for the last 26 1/2 years. He was my rock as much as I was his rock.
FLORES: All this as a community remains on edge.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're going to find him. They're going to get them. And I hope it's soon. For everybody's peace.
FLORES: Overnight, one woman called police saying she saw two men run into a cornfield just five miles from the shooting. That tip was a hoax, the caller charged with disorderly conduct for falsifying a police report.
FILENKO: Last night was an unfortunate incident. It tied up a number of resources.
FLORES: We joined the search on the swampy waters near the shooting where the killers might find their escape route.
DAVID SCHULTZ, FOX LAKE RESIDENT: You could end up two, three, four, five towns away in a very short period of time, traveling by water.
FLORES: Investigators believe the men are still close by, but leave open the possibility they could have left the state.
FILENKO: We're presuming that there is a good probability that they are still somewhere in the area. Now, whether they're in Fox Lake or any of the surrounding border communities, that remains to be seen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FLORES: In the past half hour, we've learned that the funeral arrangements for Lieutenant Gliniewicz have been finalized. His funeral is set for Monday -- Briana.
KEILAR: All right. Rosa Flores, thank you so much for that report.
I want to check back now with the congressman who represents the Fox Lake area. Bob Dold took part in last night's vigil for the slain officer. He personally knew Officer Gliniewicz.
And since we last spoke with Congressman Dold, he's had a chance to speak directly with the Gliniewicz family; and he's also been in contact with the local police department. Congressman, thank you so much for joining us now. And you
talked with Lieutenant Gliniewicz's family last night at the vigil. Tell us what this outpouring of support meant for them.
REP. BOB DOLD (R), ILLINOIS: Well, there's no question that, when we see the community and what's happening around Fox Lake, this is a very tight-knit community right on a chain of lakes. Things like this normally don't happen in a community like this. And they're obviously -- they're hurting.
And we're seeing a community coming together, and they're very appreciative of a community. As you can see, a vigil that's behind me that continues to grow. People are coming, trying to provide groceries and doing anything they can to help support.
[18:35:13] And I can tell you that the Fox Lake village -- so FoxLake.org -- is going to be putting up on their website ways to help the Gliniewicz family going forward.
KEILAR: All right. That's really good to know, Congressman, thank you for sharing that with us.
Tell us about, as you touch base with officials there in the area, how hard of a job do they have with what little suspect description they're working with here?
DOLD: Well, I can tell you that the search has widened and they're going to have additional resources that are -- in and about that are doing patrols, that are going back, as the investigation aspect of this continues.
So we want to make sure that the constituents that are out there still remain alert and vigilant about what's going on in their surroundings and reporting suspicious activity.
But I can tell you that the investigation is ramping up. We do have -- they do have some new video footage which is promising. And so the investigation is moving forward, and that's a positive sign, not only for the family but this entire community.
KEILAR: We know at this point, Congressman, that police cannot comment on which weapon killed the officer. Can you tell us why they're not able to comment on that?
DOLD: I think that, obviously, this is an investigation that's very near and dear to the hearts of not only the Major Crimes Task Force but the entire police force. And I think it's an ongoing investigation that they're not willing to shed some of these details right now.
KEILAR: You say the investigation is ramping up here. They have a little more to work with, with this surveillance video, this new video. But in terms of a search, in terms of those resources that we saw, whether it was foot patrols or helicopters, do you think that needs to be added back? And might it be added back? DOLD: Well, I can tell you that they're, as far as the search
and the canvassing goes, they are going back throughout, knocking on doors, trying to follow up with people to see if they've heard anything, seen anything, anything unusual. So that's just part of the investigation. And that is, again, expanding from what was the original two-mile radius.
But I just want to make sure that we're getting to these individuals in terms of just the people out there, to make sure that they remain alert and vigilant and report anything that may seem suspicious or anything that may have seemed out of the ordinary over the last couple of days.
KEILAR: The new video, does it show the suspects? Can you see the suspects in it?
DOLD: I have not seen the video. So I would be not doing anyone any great justice by trying to comment on it. I do know and I have heard and I have heard and been briefed that it is certainly promising. They are looking forward to trying to make sure they can glean as much information as they can from this video. And it is certainly jump-starting, or I should say moving the investigation further.
KEILAR: All right, state Congressman Dold, thanks so much. We certainly do appreciate it.
I want to bring in now former FBI assistance director and CNN law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes.
This is interesting, Tom, when you hear the congressman talking about this new video. What do we think -- the video must show the suspects, right?
TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: You know, Brianna, this whole investigation and the description of it is puzzling to me. You want to get this out to the public, to the media, to the officers that are in the swamps out there looking. You want their description as soon as possible.
Now, they obtained that video last night. That means they're close to 24 hours having that in their possession. And they can't say now whether it had suspects in it, possible suspects, persons of interest?
So you know, I hate to be too critical here, but when you're coming up empty and you have no description, you can't even get a warrant for any of these people because you don't know their names, their identities, what they look like, any of that, other than the racial description. You know, they need to put that word out of what's in that video, if anything, or rule it out and just say, "Sorry, it didn't have what we hoped for."
KEILAR: The new information today that we also have confirmed from officials is that Lieutenant Gliniewicz's gun was recovered at the scene. Now a source tells CNN that the gun was fired, but it's not clear who fired the weapon. What's your take here?
FUENTES: Well, there's a lot there that, you know, the police would be aware of. The autopsy has already been conducted. Normally, if the officer's been shot and the bullet is still in the body, they would have recovered it during the autopsy. I've witnessed many autopsies where we pull bullets out. And that would have already had a ballistic test matching against that gun to see if his own gun was used to shoot him.
KEILAR: So they know whether or not. Why won't they...
FUENTES: I think they know. And they should also know whether, you know, possibly the gun was in his hand. Did he fire the gun at any time? If the bullet went completely through his body, then we may never know. And if his gun was fired that may mean that he shot at them and missed. We won't know that either. And then when they say it's recovered at the scene, well, that's a big scene. So...
KEILAR: How chose?
FUENTES: How close, exactly. How close was it?
KEILAR: Very important. All right. Tom Fuentes, really appreciate your insight, great stuff.
Just ahead, protest and punishment. We will tell you what we're learning about the fate of a Kentucky county clerk who was ordered to do jail time after she refused to issue same-sex marriage licenses.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:45:05] KEILAR: Breaking news in Kentucky where the state's governor just announced clerks in one county will begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples tomorrow. This coming after a defiant county clerk sits in jail now for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and really straight couples as well. All couples, in order to not issue them to same-sex couples.
A federal judge found her in contempt of the U.S. Supreme Court's historic ruling.
And CNN's Alexander Field is in Ashland with the latest -- Alexandra.
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there, Brianna.
The battle between the courts and the clerk will continue even with the clerk now behind bars. But it is the governor who's coming out tonight saying that the citizens of Kentucky will receive any rights they are entitled to, meaning that any couple in Rowan County will be able to get their marriage licenses. That is because the judge called five of the six deputy clerks of Kim Davis to the stand today, five of them agreed that they would follow the judge's orders, and begin issuing those licenses as soon as tomorrow morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) FIELD (voice-over): In one Kentucky county, same-sex couples
being denied marriage licenses.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are you not issuing marriage licenses today?
KIM DAVIS, COUNTY CLERK: Because I'm not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Under whose authority?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whose authority?
DAVIS: Under God's authority.
FIELD: Tonight, the clerk who is refusing to issue those licenses ordered to jail because of it. A federal court judge holding her in contempt of court, a decision met by wild cheers from marriage equality advocates. The same ruling igniting equal passions from those who back the Rowan County clerk.
REGGIE DICKERSON, SUPPORTER OF KIM DAVIS: I support Kim Davis. I think you're going to see god's people rise up like they never have before. And I think her going to jail, I think they just woke up a great sleeping giant.
FIELD: Kim Davis was tearful on the stand, testifying that her religious beliefs and her conscience make her unable to follow an August 12th order from the same court to issue the licenses in accordance with the Supreme Court's historic marriage equality ruling earlier this summer.
Davis is currently appealing the order to issue the licenses in a higher court. In an earlier statement, Davis, who's been divorced three times, said, "To me, this has never been a gay or lesbian issue. It is about marriage and God's word. It's a matter of religious liberty which is protected under the First Amendment."
While considering whether to charge Davis with contempt, the court rejected the argument that she was factually unable or physically unable to comply with the court's order to issue the licenses. Judge Davis Bunning saying, "Our system of justice requires citizens and elected officials to follow the orders of the court."
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court of the United States denied a petition from Davis to enable her to refuse to issue licenses, while the appeals process continues.
Despite that, her office continued to refuse to license couples.
April Miller testified she'd been barred three times by Davis from receiving a license to marry her partner of 11 years before the judge ordered Davis taken into custody by the U.S. marshals.
LAURA LANDENWICH, PLAINTIFFS' ATTORNEY: We did not ask the court to imprison Ms. Davis. That was not the sanction that we sought. And I think it is unfortunate that she is there. But the judge did what he felt was necessary in order to gain compliance.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FIELD: Shortly after Kim Davis was taken into custody by the marshals, she actually had the opportunity to get out of jail once the judge had secured a pledge from the five deputy clerks that they would be willing to issue the marriage licenses. Kim Davis' attorney was asked whether the county clerk could allow that and if she would agree not to interfere with the process. But the attorney could not reassure the judge that would in fact happen.
So, tonight, Kim Davis remains in jail, Brianna.
KEILAR: Very important development. Alexandra Field in Ashland, Kentucky -- thank you.
Now, disturbing video of an exploding security and humanitarian crisis fuelled by ISIS in its reign of terror. Hungarian riot police scuffled with migrants as you see here. They were pulled from a train. They were barred from traveling to Western Europe, some of them clinging to the tracks with their children in their arms.
This after the graphic image of a little boy who died and was washed up on a beach. It's now calling new attention to the fate of millions of people fleeing war and terrorism in the Middle East and North Africa.
CNN's senior international correspondent Frederik is in Hungary tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, the standoff here on the outskirts of Budapest has been going on for the better part of the day. And what's happening is that this train here was boarded by hundreds of migrants. And they all thought that they were going to go to the border with Austria so that they could get out of Hungary.
But after only a couple of miles, the train stop and Hungarian security forces entered the train and tried to force the migrants that were on and off because they wanted to take them to a temporary shelter that is right here.
[18:45:04] Now, many of the migrants, of course, don't want that. They want to get out of Hungary as fast as possible. They say that they've had very bad experiences in this country. Of course, many of them for the past couple of days have had to camp out at Budapest main railway station in very dire circumstances.
Right now, the situation is one where many of those people that are on that train are very tired, of course. Many of them are hungry and thirsty. To add on top of that, many of them also have small children with them as well. So, the situation here is one that causes a lot of friction.
There's a lot of security forces that are here patrolling the station. They've cordoned the station off. But, of course, all of this is also part of a much bigger and much broader issue that Europe has at this point in time with this mass influx of migrants coming here to the continent.
Europe doesn't seem to have a strategy on how to deal with all this. On the one hand, you have countries like Hungary that see all this as more of a border control issue. They're building a fence at their border. They don't want to let a lot of the migrants into this country.
On the other hand, you have countries like Germany, for instance, that has said it wants to take in especially Syrian refugees. But at this point, there's not that many Syrians coming because many of them, quite frankly, are stranded right here in Hungary -- Brianna.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Frederik Pleitgen, thank you so much.
Just ahead, an urgent warning about attempts to blame the Black Lives Matter movement for violence against police.
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[18:56:08] KEILAR: A new warning tonight that attempts to accuse the Black Lives Matter movement of fuelling a war against police are dangerous and reckless.
We're joined now by CNN political commentator and "New York Times" columnist, Charles Blow.
Charles, thanks so much for being with us tonight.
And I want to talk about this column that you wrote. You wrote about the intersection of rhetoric in the Black Lives Matter movement. This was your opinion piece for the time. You said, "Black Lives Matter makes America uncomfortable because it refuses to let America continue to lie to itself. It targets police brutality. But the police are agents of the state and the state is representative of the totality of America."
Expound on that for us.
CHARLES BLOW, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Right. So, I want you to understand that I use this analogy a lot, which is that the police are the tip of the spear. But the spear is longer and more complex than the police itself. It's about all the architecture of criminal justice that goes into the interactions of the police and the population.
So, I think we have to look broadly at that.
KEILAR: So, look really beyond that. It's really just a part of it.
BLOW: Absolutely.
KEILAR: Before I let you go tonight, I do want to talk to you about a premiere we have on CNN. It's our newest CNN film. It's called "Fresh Dressed."
I want to watch some of the biggest names in pop culture discussing what style means to them. Let's listen.
BLOW: OK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By the time we hit 2000s, it was you got to watch the trends because of the traffic and all of the activity that was happening online.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Before what our influences were, were confined to what was at our reach. And now, with the expansion and the power of the internet, I have access to every fashion look, brand across the world. So I can be whoever I want to be.
UINIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When a space where the exchange of so many ideas that I think that we're getting back into individual looks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's no longer, you know, like -- it's either urban or it's punk or it's this or that. It's not preppie -- you know, all that stuff to me doesn't mean anything now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: This is a really unique look, Charles, at how pop culture has evolved. I know you have watched this. It's also bigger than that, too. What are your thoughts?
BLOW: Well, I was smiling the entire time. I tell my kids that I am the same age as hip-hop which kind of blows their mind. I was born in 1970. Hip hop starts in the early '70s.
So, this just kind of track, not just pop culture but specifically hip-hop culture and the influence that it has on fashion and music. And it is fascinating. I'm going down memory lane remembering all these styles and how they influenced, you know, the way people kind of constructed themselves in society and how you position yourself by style.
One of the comments that was made in the film that it thought was fascinating, and I thought really appropriate was that, you know, it was aspirational but it was also particularly for poor people, it was a way for you to express yourself and to have agency for yourself, because you were not going to the fancy prep school. You were not vacationing in aspen and the Hamptons. This was all that you had.
So, that was a way for to you say, that I have value you cannot take from me, and I thought that was really important to say. KEILAR: It's really, really interesting.
Charles Blow, thanks so much for being with us. And be sure to check out "Fresh Dressed", this revolution of fashion through the hip- hop culture, tonight 10:00 Eastern, only on CNN.
And that it is for me, thanks so much for watching.
I'm Brianna Keilar, filling in here in "THE SITUATION ROOM".
"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.