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Elijah Cummings Talks Latest Secret Service Scandal; Ferguson Police Shooter on the Loose; Is Iran Leading Iraqi Forces Against ISIS?

Aired March 12, 2015 - 13:30   ET

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

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting from Washington.

There's a new embarrassment for the U.S. Secret Service. This time, two senior agents investigated for crashing their government-issued car into a White House barricade after a night of drinking. Sources tell CNN the agents had been attending a retirement party for a colleague right before the crash happened. What's more, one of the men involved is the second in command of the president's protective detail. Sources also tell CNN that the officers who saw the crash wanted to arrest them, but they were overruled by a supervisor who allowed both agents to go home. The agents have now been reassigned while an investigation is being completed.

This is just the latest in a string of scandals for the U.S. Secret Service. Back in April of 2012, there were headlines about several agents bringing prostitutes back to their hotel during a trip to Colombia. Then in March of last year, agents who had been drinking were sent home during a trip to the Netherlands. In September of last year, a man armed with a knife sprinted across the North Lawn of the White House, actually got through the front door of the White House into the East Room.

Let's dig deeper for this new scandal for the U.S. Secret Service, the news about the agents allegedly getting drunk, cashing their car at the White House. Just as we said, the latest in a string of high- profile embarrassments. So what does the agency need to do to fix this problem?

Joining us now, a key member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, Elijah Cummings. He's the ranking Democrat on that committee.

Congressman, thanks very much for joining us.

What's going on at the U.S. Secret Service? This is the agency that's supposed to protect the president of the United States, the first family? What is going on?

REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS, (D-MD), RANKING MEMBER, HOUSE COMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM: Well, first of all, Wolf, a lot has been done with regard to the Secret Service. A change of almost more than half of the top leadership, half of the eight assistant directors have been fired and replaced. The deputy has been fired or retired. And we, of course, have a new director. So a lot is happening with regard to the leadership.

But, Wolf, I got to tell you, this incident shows us that there is still a lot to be done. And it's very frustrating. I think what this shows is that there is a culture that's still within the ranks and it may be in part leadership, too, that still does not rise to the level of the reputation that this organization has had in the past.

And I think what we're going to have to do and Director Clancy is going to have to do, he's going to have to put a high-powered microscope over every aspect of this agency, everything from moral to culture to use of technology and protocol and training, got to look at all of those things to make sure that we get it right because we cannot afford the error.

BLITZER: Are you worried about the safety of the president and his family?

CUMMINGS: I'm always worried about the safety of the president and his family. These kind of incidents worry me even more because we have a situation here, if accurate -- now, again, these are only reports. I want to make that clear. But if you've got two top-level supervisors who are getting into a car, a Secret Service car and then crashing a crime scene while an investigation is going on, that's problem enough. But then if, according to reports, you've got a supervisor on the scene that says to the rank-and-file protective agents, look, don't give them a sobriety test, let them go home, that's just as bad. And so we -- we've got to weed out people who have that attitude that, you know, a certain set of rules apply to some folks and don't apply to the other ones.

Now, one of the good things going on here, Wolf, is that Chairman Chaffetz, chairman of Oversight, and I talked late last night and we agree that we are going to -- going in lock step to make sure that we put our high-powered microscope on this organization and make sure they get the right. Because the life of the president, the first family and all our others are at stake here and we want to make sure that there's no room for error.

BLITZER: You and Congressman Chaffetz put out a joint statement in fact last night. "The fact that this event involves senior-level agents is not only embarrassing but it exhibits a clear lack of judgment in a potentially dangerous situation."

Was it a mistake, Congressman, to have somebody from the Secret Service be raised to director because there was a lot of recommendations maybe it's time to bring someone in from the outside?

CUMMINGS: Wolf, I think that those were recommendations, but I think Director Clancy is the right person for the job right now. Keep in mind, he's only been in the job a few months and he has already made a lot of major changes. Can't talk about them all right now. Some of them are classified. But I can tell you that whether he dismissed more than half of the top people, when he went about the business of bringing in certain types of personnel and reorganizing the agency. And these -- he's going about it very methodically. But again, these types of incidents that happened Wednesday show us that there's still work to be done. I think that he will look at this, realize that there's still problems, and try to address them. I have full confidence in him. The president and the first lady have full confidence. He'll be fine.

By the way, he is a zero tolerance director. He'll get to the bottom of this. We do not have room for people who refuse to help this organization move to the elite status that it has enjoyed. So we've got to make sure that they get back there and reestablish that integrity and also make sure that we address the issue of accountability.

BLITZER: Very quickly, Congressman, if all these reports are true, these two agents -- one of whom was number two in the president's security detail -- they should have at least been given a sobriety test on the scene after crashing into that barricade.

CUMMINGS: Absolutely. Absolutely. If you were stopped on the street, Wolf, and you displayed any kind of signs of driving while impaired, you would be stopped. But we're talking about the White House. The elite agency -- protective agency in the world. So, no, zero tolerance, period.

BLITZER: All right. Elijah Cummings.

Congressman, always good to have you here on CNN. Thanks for joining us.

CUMMINGS: Thank you.

BLITZER: We'll have much more coverage ahead on the breaking news we're following, the shooter of two Missouri police officers in Ferguson still on the loose right now. We're going back to Ferguson live for the latest on the manhunt and the investigation.

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BLITZER: Updating the breaking news this hour, a shooter on the loose. Two police officers just released from the hospital after being seriously wounded. It happened overnight during a protest in Ferguson, Missouri.

Let's go back to Ferguson right now. Jake Tapper, the anchor of CNN's "The Lead" is there. Also, our national correspondent, Jason Carroll.

Jason, I understand you were just inside the House that was raided by the police earlier today. What can you tell us?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It happened this morning, Wolf. The house you see behind me right here on Dade Avenue. The grandmother, who was out here a little bit earlier, took me inside. She said, I want to show you what happened inside the house. She took me inside. We saw -- the house was a mess. It was a wreck. When I asked her what had happened, I said, what were police looking for, she said, obviously, they were looking for a gun. She said, they are not going to find it.

Who lives in the house behind me? It's her granddaughter, Irisha Turner (ph). She's 23 years old, Wolf. She was at the protest last night, according to her grandmother. She said she got a call from her granddaughter late last night. After the shooting took place, her granddaughter called and told her, I just heard gunshots, what am I supposed to do. Her grandmother told her to get home. So that's what she did. It was only until this morning when a neighbor called the grandmother and said your house is surrounded by police and SWAT, get over here. By the time she got here to the house, her granddaughter and two other men had been taken in for questioning. She was obviously very upset. She said her granddaughter is not a suspect and cannot understand why all this is going on -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Stand by.

Jake, give us the latest on the condition of those two police officers who were shot.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT & CNN ANCHOR, THE LEAD: Police are breathing a sigh of relief that it looks like they will be OK. Ultimately, they were taken to Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. They have been released. The wounds are potentially very serious. One of the officers, 33 years old, seven years on the force, from nearby Webster Groves. The bullet went right under his right eye. We're told the bullet is still lodged behind his ear, but he is apparently OK enough to have been released from the hospital. The other police officer, from St. Louis County Police, 14 years on the force or in law enforcement. The bullet hit his shoulder and went out the middle of his back.

Apparently, what happened last night, shortly after midnight, there were about two dozen police officers right in the area behind me when, according to witnesses, police officer witnesses, there were muzzle flashes from about 125 yards up this hill, right across the street and to my right. We recall when we were here in November, right after the grand jury declined to mount any charges against Officer Darren Wilson, there were shots fired up there as well. In any case, the officers went down on the ground, as well as about 70 protestors who were there, who had been protesting the fact that they wanted the mayor to resign and the police force to completely disband. All hit the ground.

Thankfully, the two officers are all right, have been released. But it was a very, very dicey situation. As you can imagine, Wolf, tensions already high in Ferguson and this is obviously not going to help matters at all -- Wolf?

BLITZER: No, certainly won't.

Are they bracing for more protests tonight like they had last night?

TAPPER: It's unclear as of now whether or not there are going to be any protests. Obviously, there are police here. The scene has been cordoned off. There had already been three arrests prior to the shooting last night, Wolf. We talked to a protestor earlier this hour, as you know. They are mad not only at the fact that the police force here in Ferguson has not been disbanded, but that the mayor has not resigned, even though there have been several high-profile resignations in recent days after that scathing Department of Justice report. Resignations, including the police chief, that was announced yesterday. It's unclear whether there are going to be any protests this evening -- Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Jake Tapper, Jason Carroll, guys stand by.

We'll have much more on the breaking news coming up.

Also still ahead, the war against ISIS. New reports that the Iraqi troops may not be leading the fight against the terror group in Tikrit. We're going to tell you what's going on.

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BLITZER: We have an update on the search for those three British schoolgirls who left their families to join ISIS. Officials in Turkey now say they've arrested a person suspected of helping those girls who are believed to have crossed into Syria from Turkey. Few details have been released but officials say the suspect was doing intelligence for a country that's part of an international coalition fighting ISIS. The three schoolgirls, aged 15 to 16, they haven't been seen since they left London last month.

Iraqi forces are said to be closer to pushing ISIS out of Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit. That, according to the head of a key Shiite militia force. Some 150 ISIS fighters still hold the remaining 25 percent of the city, we're told. The predominantly Shia militia have been working with Iraqi troops and some Sunni fighters as they work to push ISIS out.

Joining us now from Baghdad is our senior international correspondent, Ben Wedeman. And also joining us from Phoenix, our CNN military analyst, retired Major General James "Spider" Marks.

Ben, you're just back from spending the day with some of those Iraqi Shiite militias. We're told they're really leading this battle for Tikrit, the militias. Who really is in charge, the Shiite militias, who have the support of Iran, or the Iraqi army, which is mostly Shiite itself?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I can tell you what we've seen in going up there several times is that when the commander of one of the main or sort of the umbrella group for all these Shia militias is up there surrounded by Iraqi generals, for instance, we were with him when he was with the commander of Iraqi ground forces, and it's very clear from the body language who is in control, who is running that operation. And I can tell you, it doesn't appear to be the Iraqi army. It's definitely the leaders of this popular mobilization unit. However, today, we actually did meet some Sunni fighters who are fighting as part of one of these predominantly Shia militias. One of the men, for instance, was part of what is known as the Awakening Council or the Americans used to call them the Sons of Iraq. They were the Sunni fighters who crushed al Qaeda in Mesopotamia several years back. But he said that when ISIS came to town, right outside where he lived in Tikrit, that they went after him because he had worked with the Americans. He said they killed his wife, his two sons, two grandsons. And after that, he took up arms against ISIS. So it's not quite as black and white, cut and dry, Sunnis versus Shia. There are a fair number of Sunnis who have an ax to grind with ISIS and it does seem that they are playing also a part in this operation -- Wolf?

BLITZER: That's interesting.

General Marks, Spider, what do you say to those U.S. analysts -- and I've spoken to some of them -- who say the good news is ISIS may be defeated in Tikrit, the bad news is that the Iranians, in effect, are going to have a lot of control over what's going on in Tikrit? What do you say to that analysis?

GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yeah, Wolf, that's exactly spot on. The challenge is, is if we look at it tactically and we describe an intake that's been achieved in Tikrit, which is ISF, the security forces are now in charge, and nominally taken Tikrit back, that's a good thing. But when you walk that tactical success up to some form of strategy, we're now embracing Iran, Tehran's policy, world's largest exporter of terrorism, and their involvement in our operations and our shared view in term of what we want Baghdad to look like going forward. This is a real challenge. What it says is the United States, at this point, irrespective of what we've done in the past, is we have few good options moving forward. So if we can score points right now in Tikrit and the Iranians are helping doing that, some would say that's a good thing. The bad thing is, how do we move forward as we continue to walk in this formation with the Iranians? We have no track record of being successful in terms of dealing with Iran. So I don't know why we would be in favor of this right now.

BLITZER: Ben, as you know, a very disturbing story that we've been following, two senior security officials in Samarra have told CNN they're now looking into these claims that U.S.-trained Iraqi military forces have actually committed atrocities similar to ISIS. You've seen these reports. You're there in Iraq for us. What can you tell us?

WEDEMAN: Well, what I can tell you, Wolf, is that really comes as no surprise when you consider just how brutal this conflict is, that those who are fighting ISIS in some instances are going to copy some of their tactics, some of their more brutal methods, like beheading. We're not in Kansas anymore. This is a country that's been at war more or less since 1980 with the beginning of the Iran/Iraq war, and it's sort of has become almost second instinct for many people here to use violence in ways that may not be quite familiar to those who live outside of Iraq. But it doesn't really come as a surprise. There's some of these units, don't forget, while the Americans were here under Prime Minister Maliki, there were death squads, basically, wearing uniforms of Iraqi security forces who were killing people, dozens of people, on a nightly basis, some of them using power drills to torture them to death. So, unfortunately, this is not really that much of a surprise -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Especially coming only a few days after General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff told Congress he's worried about what he called ethnic cleansing potentially developing inside Iraq. He issued a strong warning against it but he obviously knows something is going on over there.

All right, Ben Wedeman, thanks very much.

Spider Marks, thanks to you, as well.

That's it for me. I'll be back 5:00 p.m. in "The Situation Room."

For our international viewers, "CNN News Center" is next.

For our viewers in North America, "Newsroom" with Brooke Baldwin starts right after a quick break.

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