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Manhunt Continues on Escaped Convicts; Mayor of Plattsburgh Gives Latest on Manhunt; U.S. Could Add Military Bases in Iraq; Jeb Bush Facing Challenging Questions. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired June 11, 2015 - 13:30   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[13:33:23] BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: We have breaking news out of New York on the hunt for the two escaped killers. Bloodhounds actually picked up a pretty good scent about three miles from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora. That's where searchers found possible with bedding as well as food wrappers on the ground. They set up a perimeter around this area. The search is still under way at checkpoints along State Highway 374 after reports of a sighting in nearby Cadyville. Authorities closed down parts of the route all the way to west Plattsburgh, New York.

That's where our Miguel Marquez is standing by.

We're now hearing from a source close to the investigation that prison worker Joyce Mitchell has told investigators that one of the prisoners, Richard Matt, made her feel special. That's what she said. Tell us what else we're learning about Mitchell.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, her family members say there is nothing to the reporting and the rumors that there was any sort of an affair between any of those convicts and Mitchell. She had worked in the prison. Her cell phone was used that night. And she has been cooperating with investigators but they have not charged her yet because she has been cooperating. It's not clear where exactly any possible charges will go against her, but her family at this point is saying there was nothing more than her trying to help these individuals and that is it -- Brianna?

KEILAR: Let's talk about some of the reported sightings. You get a lot of sightings in different areas, some further afield or that seem impossible. What's the latest on the search right now?

[13:34:58] MARQUEZ: Well, as you laid out, they have found this area about three miles east of the Clinton, east of Cadyville where they had that sighting and to give you an idea of where the area is, we're four miles from where they found that site. This was an area that appeared -- the grass appeared to be bedded down like someone slept there are for the evening, food wrappers, shoeprints, boot. The dogs picked up a scent there as well. They believe to be that of the inmates. There was something that led investigators to believe this was a recent camp site giving them hope they are still in the neighborhood, still in the area.

I can tell you, residents from here all the way to Vermont are worried.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's scary. I mean, they literally could have been in my backyard the whole time running through, making their way by to keep going where they're located now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think law enforcement is very effective so I wasn't concerned at all in the onset. I have concerns now, but I do think they're doing the best they can in the circumstances.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: I think it fair to say the entire area on very, very high alert, but authorities, some 500 searchers out there attached to this search right now, they are confident that they are looking everywhere they possibly can and are discounting the hundreds of leads they get as quickly as possible and believe that they will have them soon -- Brianna?

KEILAR: All right, we'll be watching.

Miguel Marquez, thanks so much.

Next, the very latest on the search from the mayor of Plattsburgh, New York. Stay with us for that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:40:25] KEILAR: We continue it to follow that breaking new from upstate New York. Police have now set up a perimeter around the area where two convicted killers may have slept after escaping from a maximum security prison. The clues, including a footprint and a food wrapper, were found just three miles from the prison. We've also learned that dogs may have picked up their scent.

Joining me now by phone to talk about this is the mayor of Plattsburgh, New York, James Calnon.

Thank you for being with us. Really appreciate it.

Mayor, we know police have set up this perimeter. What you've heard from law enforcement, do you think police are closer to finding these two men, Richard Matt and David Sweat?

JAMES CALNON, MAYOR OF PLATTSBURGH, NEW YORK (voice-over): Well, we certainly are encouraged by the prospect that we have some solid evidence of where they have been and probably have been recently. We had some pretty heavy rain days. Tat the dogs are picking up a scent, we're encouraged that it is likely a new scent.

KEILAR: OK, so you're encouraged it is a newer scent. There have been, I guess, signs that the men are he definitely there in the area because you haven't had carjackings or, say, break-ins to houses but there must be a concern as days go on they become more desperate that this is a very real thing. Do you think -- how worried are you that they may commit a crime and put lives in danger?

CALNON: Oh, very worrIED. Obviously when you look at their criminal records, these are not people that exhibit much control at all. And so the prospect of them coming into contact with any of our residents is really scary. That's why we've been really anxiously waiting and participating. Local law enforcement working with the state and federal agencies to try to bring this to conclusion because it is about the public safety.

KEILAR: What are you telling people there in the area who are -- might be afraid that they could encounter these men and they're watching the search happen here basically in their back yards?

CALNON: Well, certainly we are telling everybody to be very vigilant and we're telling them if they see anything out of the ordinary to report it. We follow up on every tip whether that's here in the city or in more rural parts of the area. We expect people to keep their outdoor lights on, to keep their doors locked. And, you know, in the immediate area of this search where they did close the road, we encourage people to stay in your house, don't go out, don't put yourself in harm's way.

KEILAR: All right, Mayor, thank you for updating us. Good to hear that you're encouraged by some these developments.

CALNON: Thank you.

KEILAR: We'll continue to bring any new developments your way on this hunt for the escaped prisoners.

Up next, though, the U.S. may be planning to open more military bases in Iraq. We'll talk about what that means for the fight against ISIS and also what it means for American troops.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:46:41] KEILAR: A day after the White House floated the plan for 450 more U.S. troops for Iraq, now they could be preparing to open some new military bases in Iraq as well.

We have Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, joining me now.

Give us an update here, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brianna. Suddenly, the Pentagon opening the door to the possibility of sending hundreds of additional troops to Iraq just one day after that 450 troop level increase was announced. Now, how does this all work? What the Pentagon is talking about is something called lily pads, bases across Iraq where there are Iraqi troops where U.S. troops may go to help work as military advisers. The idea, they say, is that these troops, these Iraqi troops, need to be trained on basic military tasks, supply, command and control, communications, logistics, repair, all the basic military tasks that keeps an army on the move will be on the shooting of those frontline combat forces. There's sense now they need to shift and work on some much of these skills. What it means actually is that, indeed, hundreds more U.S. troops could be headed there. They are already looking at three to four hundred sites and a Pentagon official said they're looking at not hundreds of sites but hundreds of locations where they may have to put U.S. troops eventually, not that they're going to go to hundreds of places, but they're picking out the ones they need. All of this really first articulated by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dempsey. The Pentagon coming out a short time ago saying, yes, they are actively considering this. It could make the U.S. mission in Iraq increase and grow significantly -- Brianna?

KEILAR: So all we know really is they could be moving or they will be moving hundreds of troops, not still to be determine a number of sites, right?

STARR: That's right. Four is what we're hearing for sort of the most realistic possibility in the future. This is now the military plan weigh know that the Pentagon and the U.S. Central Command have been working on behind the scenes. None of this had been made public and certainly not in the last 24 hours when the White House came out and announced the 450 troops to go to that base in Anbar Province, that's the model they're looking at, sending those 450 troops to help advise and assist and that's what they're looking at now. They'll continue with some of the training, but if Iraqi troops are going to go to Mosul, if they're going to go to Ramadi, if they're going to go to Baiji, to retake all the areas ISIS is, they need a lot better skills, a lot better basic military skills. The idea is these U.S. troops would help, but let's be clear, the risk is they are going into an area much closer to combat. The risk for those troops grows.

KEILAR: Very good point.

Barbara Starr, at the Pentagon, thank you.

Virginia teenager pleaded guilty to providing material support to ISIS. 17-year-old Ali Shukri Amin (ph) faces up to 15 years in prison after being accused of helping an adult who joined ISIS and travelled to Syria. Authorities say that Amin also passed messages between ISIS contacts.

[14:50:17] An American citizen fighting ISIS in Syria has been killed. Keith Broomfield, originally from Massachusetts had been fighting alongside Kurdish fighters in Syria for the last few months. The State Department confirmed his death. Kurdish fighters on social media say that Broomfield was killed in fighting around Kobani. The 26-year-old is believed to be the first American killed fighting ISIS in Syria.

Still ahead, on day three of Jeb Bush's trip to Europe, the likely candidate faces more questions about 20-year-old comments on unwed mothers. We will go live to Warsaw next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:54:57] KEILAR: Let's talk politics now. Jeb Bush is in Poland, the second leg of his European tour, but back here in U.S., questions persist about his campaign just days before the big kickoff. Bush's trip to Europe is designed to sort of polish his foreign policy credentials, essential for governors who are running, right? Because he also faces questions about why he's struggling to break out of a huge Republican pack of candidates.

I want to bring in chief congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, she's covering Bush's trip in Warsaw; and senior Washington correspondent, Jeff Zeleny.

You have been following his trip. He had tough words for Vladimir Putin. Fill us in on that.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. You know this trip, two-thirds of it, actually a little bit more, is about going to countries that were part of this Soviet Union. And so in today's day and age, going to places like where I am in Poland, it is about trying to show that you are tough when it comes to Vladimir Putin. And so that certainly is what Jeb Bush has been doing on his European trip so far. But you remember, his brother, when he was in office, had a very different view, at least initially, of the Russian leader. I asked him to sort of square those two visions. Listen to what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Your brother kind of famously, during the beginning of his first term said if Vladimir Putin got a sense of his soul and said he was straightforward and trust worthy. You're calling him a bully. Can you square that?

JEB BUSH, (R), FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: I think Putin has changed, for sure. He's changed over time, and he has been emboldened by the fact that we're, weather it true or not, the perception is that we've pulled back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: And, Brianna, that is the classic, hawkish Republican line that you're hearing from many of the candidates in that part of the Republican spectrum. Arguing that Vladimir Putin and others around, not just Europe and Asia, but around the globe, field emboldened because they don't feel frankly scared of the current president and they don't feel that he has been "forward-leaning" enough. And that is, those are the words that we've heard from Jeb Bush throughout these couple of days, "Forward-leaning," in that he insists that when and if he is president, he would be much more so especially when it comes to these particular countries like Poland and like the Baltics where we're going tomorrow to be much more supportive of these countries.

KEILAR: Let's talk about some comments, Dana, that Bush made 20 years ago in a book. He sort of recently resurfaced, but at the time he said that out of wedlock births were increasing because there was no public shame in being a single mother. Here's what he said today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BUSH: The book was written in 1995, my views have evolved over time. But my views about the importance of dads being involved in the lives of children hasn't changed at all. In fact, since 1995, if you look at the -- this book was a book about cultural indicators -- the country has moved in the wrong direction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: All right. I want to ask both of you this question, I'm going to Jeff first, how much of a distraction do you think this is for the Bush campaign?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: I mean a little bit of a distraction, but I think it's important to put these in context. He said that his views have evolved a bit. Everyone's views have evolved. 1995 was a long time ago in some respects. It's the moment to pile on the distractions for Jeb Bush's campaign right now. He's been at the front of the pack sort of, so anything happening, people pile on, I think for context it's important to say, what he says is not that different from what President Obama has said. He called on, since he was the United States Senator in 2004, being at a father's day speech he gave that fathers should take more responsibility for that. It's a little bit said more eloquently than Jeb Bush, he's on an island on this.

KEILAR: Do you think, Dana, this is really a problem for Jeb Bush so much has been made of this, but when you compare to what President Obama said, maybe he could sort of say he has company in his opinion.

BASH: That's right. I think Jeff is exactly right. Two things, number one is the full context of what Jeb Bush was trying to argue today is that it wasn't so much about shaming single mothers, which certainly, you know, kind of puts your back up if you think about that, what he was trying to say, he tried to clarify today, was that people on both sides should be shamed. Fathers in particular, he said he argued in this book, because they shouldn't just walk away. They need to be supportive and they need to stick around. He said that he tried very hard when he was governor of Florida to push for child custody and so forth. I think that served on the policy side. But politically, you know, Jeb Bush has had some trouble convincing conservatives that he's one of them. Talking about traditional family and traditional marriage and a two-family house is not a bad thing when you're running in the conservative and Republican primaries and caucuses.

KEILAR: All right, Dana Bash, in Poland, thank you.

Jeff Zeleny, really appreciate it.

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

For our international viewers, "Amanpour" is next.

For our viewers in North America, "Newsroom" with Brooke Baldwin starts right now. ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[14:00:12] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR; Brianna, thank you so much.

You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.