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NEW DAY SUNDAY

New Tamir Rice Police Report; Hillary Clinton in Iowa Today; Stolen Edward Snowden Files Decrypted; Sudanese Leader Barred from Leaving S. Africa; Jurassic World's $200 Million Weekend. Aired 7:30- 8a ET

Aired June 14, 2015 - 07:30   ET

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


VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: And this comes days after a judge says that he believes there is enough evidence to move forward with charges.

[07:30:04] Well, back to the report. Martin Savidge delves deep into the latest findings.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The investigation by the Cuyahoga County sheriff's department seems to confirm the story most people know, but delivers greater detail. In a key finding, the report cannot confirm a police officer's statement he shouted orders to Rice before shooting him. Instead saying, "According to witness interviews, it is unclear whether officer Loehmann shouted verbal commands from inside the zone car to Rice, who was located inside of the gazebo area, prior to discharging his weapon."

Investigators found Loehmann shot one to two seconds after getting out of his car, firing two shots, one that hit the boy who was standing four and a half to seven feet away.

The documents also reveal moments after the shooting, Officer Frank Garmback requested EMS, then asked for EMS again, telling them to, quote, "step it up." Then in a third request asks for Cleveland fire to respond. It would take eight minutes for an ambulance to arrive.

The report does say that Rice was given first aid by an FBI agent, trained as a paramedic who arrived four minutes after the shooting. The agent whose name is blackout told investigators Rice, quote, "turned over and acknowledged and looked at me and he like reached for my hand."

CALLER: He's right there by the, you know, the youth center or whatever.

SAVIDGE: The sheriff's department also investigated the 911 call, reporting a male on the playground threatening with an apparent gun. The report reveals the caller was drinking a beer in the park waiting on a bus.

CALLER: He's scaring the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out of people.

SAVIDGE: He told the police operator the suspect could be a juvenile and the gun was probably fake -- critical information never given to the responding police officers.

When the dispatch was asked why that information wasn't passed along, the report says she went silent, saying she "refused to answer (questions per her attorney)."

The investigation says Rice got the pellet gun from his best friend, trading a cell phone for it. The friend told investigators the orange ring identifying the gun is not real had been removed during a repair and he couldn't get it back on.

In numerous statements, officers and emergency responders who saw the weapon next to Rice say they thought it was real. They also said Rice appeared much older and larger than a child, offering age estimates between 16 and 20. And that he looked about 200 pounds. It's only when Rice's sister arrives on the scene they learn he is 12.

Officers and emergency workers also described Loehmann's demeanor as upset and distraught. One officer said Loehmann told him, quote, "He gave me no choice, he reached for the gun and there was nothing I could do."

(on camera): There are some things noticeably absent in this report, for instance both first responding police officers declined to be interviewed and as did Tamir Rice's family. And nowhere in the 224 pages does it draw a specific conclusion as to if the shooting was justified or not.

Martin Savidge, CNN, Cleveland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: So, let's get some insight into these new developments. On the phone with us is the attorney for Tamir Rice's family, Walter Madison. And we have HLN legal analyst and defense attorney Joey Jackson.

Walter, I want to begin with you, and that piece that Martin was just talking about, in the findings the family did not want to be interviewed. Is that correct?

WALTER MADISON, ATTORNEY FOR TAMIR RICE'S FAMILY (via telephone): Christie, as you know the investigation took some time. And apparently the mother of Tamir Rice just had much reservation and she chose not to.

PAUL: I'm sorry. Is Walter still with us? We're having a hard time.

MADISON: I'm here. Can you hear me?

PAUL: Yes. Go ahead. You said that it took some time. Certainly it did take some time for interviews to start.

Why did she not want to talk to investigators?

MADISON: Well, she -- only she has the answers to her reasons. We're left to infer that she just was not comfortable.

PAUL: OK. Joey, let me get to you, because he brings up a very good point. There was a gap. This is one of the findings of this report. There was a gap between the shooting and the interviews.

And this is a big gap. Apparently, there were interviewed conducted in March, that was more than three months after the investigation had shifted from the police officers to the Cuyahoga County Sherriff's Department in early January. This happens November 22nd. Why that gap?

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, a couple of things to keep in mind. Good morning to you. Good morning to Walter.

And that is that there was an evident to ensure that the investigation would be independent, so it was shifted from the Cleveland Police Department to the actual sheriff's department --

PAUL: Right. In January.

(CROSSTALK)

JACKSON: Exactly. So, there was a time lapse.

It's important to understand as we look at this report, very important to talk about the process, because there is something in the report really for everyone.

[07:35:00] What I mean by that, if you're supportive of the police officer, you could point to the fact that it was never conveyed to him that it could have been a toy gun, that this person was a juvenile, that the fact is that the gun did look real.

There's a number of things you could point to if, of course, you're supportive of Tamir Rice and hey, there should be charges. The fact is, you know what, it's unclear whether or not there was an indication to drop anything, drop anything. He wasn't given my time. It happened in two seconds.

So, I point to the process of grand jury will evaluate this. And let's be clear, they're not looking to find whether there's proof of guilty beyond a reasonable doubt as a trial jury would. That's not the standard. Is there reasonable cause to believe that a crime was committed and, in fact, these officers could have committed it? That's one.

And number two, they don't have to be unanimous. Twelve of the 14 jurors could say by that standard, we conclude the matter should move forward to trial. And so each side could cherry pick based on the report that's released no matter when he officers reviewed, that, you know what, one thing supports the other.

But the charge of that grand jury, to be clear, is, is there enough evidence to just reasonably believe that a trial jury could go forward? And at that time, you better believe that both sides are going to pick out things that support their cause.

PAUL: Right. Walter, real quickly, I want to get to you and ask you, I'm assuming that you believe there's enough evidence for charges to come forward. Do you think when we talk about this 911 call, that that 911 operator is liable in some way?

MADISON: Well, clearly we think that. But most importantly, what the world should know is that this transparency release was not happenstance just this week on Tuesday. The Cleveland eight made an extraordinary move. The judge agrees that the same jury the officers would depend upon to sign a search warrant recommended strongly that there be an arrest warrant issued. And now we have this response, but the active transparency or the report, that's the important part.

For all those who support justice, this should be a very large encouragement to them that it is working. And lastly, these city prosecutors should respect the public. The public servants that they are, there should be warrants for arrest issued.

PAUL: OK, right.

Walter Madison and Joey Jackson, thank you so much for being with us. Yes, still a lot of questions, (INAUDIBLE) officers didn't speak as well. So, thank you very much.

BLACKWELL: All right. Hillary Clinton is holding her first Iowa rally today after giving a really emotional speech in New York. You'll hear about that speech.

And two more Republicans jumping into the race in just the next 48 hours.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:41:17] BLACKWELL: Nineteen minutes until the top of the hour now.

And Jeb Bush is officially expected to announce his candidacy for president tomorrow. So, we're looking forward to that announcement. We'll have that for you on CNN.

Also, Donald Trump is expected to announce if he will run for president. That's Tuesday.

But already on the campaign trail -- Hillary Clinton. She'll be holding her first official Iowa rally today. Now, yesterday, at a rally in New York, Clinton said she's focusing on income equality, embracing the chance to make history. She also spoke about her mother.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My mother thought me that everybody needs a chance and a champion. She knew what it was like not to have either one. Her own parents abandoned her. And by 14, she was out on her own, working as a house maid. And because some people believed in her, she believed in me. That's why --

(CHEERS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: All right. Let's talk about it. Let's bring in Democratic strategist Maria Cardona, and Republican strategist Lisa Boothe.

And, good morning to both of you, ladies.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning, Victor.

LISA BOOTHE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Hi, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Maria, I want to start with you.

Clearly, the most personal tone and context we've heard from Hillary Clinton arguably in some time. Will this work to help change the trend in the slide of the trustworthy, cares about people like me, polls that we've seen recently?

CARDONA: Well, I don't think that Hillary is worried about those polls on a day to day basis, Victor. I think she wants to think about what she said yesterday, which is giving voters a reason to believe in her, giving voters a reason to trust that she will be the one that will wake up every single day, roll up her sleeves, go to the grind and work for them. And that she's going to be the one who's going to be their champion and who's going to be their advocate when there are so many people in the world and in the United States who need one right now.

I actually think it was incredibly compelling when she talked about her mother. And as the mother of an eight-year-old daughter myself, it really connected. And I'm sure that is the case for many voters out there who think they know her so well, Victor.

But yesterday she really gave them a glimpse of somebody who was neither the former first lady, not Bill Clinton's wife, not a former candidate for president, not even the secretary of state, but as somebody who's going to work really hard, harder than anybody else to make sure that everyone gets the chance they need to get ahead in life.

BLACKWELL: Lisa, will it resonate?

BOOTHE: I don't think so. I think what we saw from Hillary Clinton is she's doing everything she can to soften her image. She's doing everything she can to reset her campaign. But it's out of necessity, because what we've seen from her is that her numbers have taken a hit. Her unfavorables are above 50 percent and nearly 60 percent of Americans don't trust her. And I think the biggest takeaway as you hit the nail on the head

talking about income equality. And I think Hillary Clinton lacks authenticity, she lacks credibility on the topic. I think she's going to have a very difficult time, you know, talking about this issue toppling the 1 percent when she's part of the 1 percent.

And I think she lacks credibility when she says she's going to be a champion for the middle class, when -- you know, this is someone who's admittedly hasn't driven a car in 18 years. This is someone who doesn't think that having $100 million in your bank account makes you truly well off.

And aside from saying, you know, every liberal buzz, you know, poll- tested word that she could, I didn't hear her differentiate her policies from President Obama, whose policies we've seen middle class families, you know, get squeezed out of the economy.

[07:45:04] We've seen them get punished under President Obama's administration.

BLACKWELL: Well, Lisa, let me get in here, Maria. I know you want to respond to that, but we've got two minutes and I've got to talk about Donald Trump. He's got an announcement coming up on Tuesday. There have been fake me outs for decades now that Donald Trump is going to run for president.

But listen to -- well, I'll actually read what he told the "News and Observer" in Raleigh. He says, "I think a lot of people are going to be very happy. They're tired of watching American go down. It's about making America great again. I can do it and nobody else can."

He's got, you know, staffers who are working.

Lisa, I'm going to come with you. I'm going to let you finish it up, Maria.

But, Lisa, first, if he jumps in and this isn't one of those fake me outs, how does he impact this race?

BOOTHE: I don't think he does at all. Aside from being incredibly entertaining, Donald Trump lacks the seriousness of the kind of candidate that Republicans desperately need right now. And, you know, this attempt at running for president again is about as real as his toupee.

BLACKWELL: Oh, OK.

(LAUGHTER)

BLACKWELL: Well, thank you for that.

But, Maria, let me come to you, although maybe he doesn't impact it in any major way. There are the debates in which the top ten who are above 1 percent will get in on name recognition alone. You have to imagine that Donald Trump gets in and possibly bumps out a Rick Santorum who won the Iowa caucuses in 2012, or maybe a Lindsey Graham. CARDONA: Oh, well, right now, yes. He's actually polling a lot

higher than some of the more, quote-quote, "serious" presidential candidates. So, I as a Democratic strategist, I say bring it on. It's going to be very entertaining to see.

And frankly, I think at the end of the day, having Donald Trump in the race is going to be amusing when voter after voter looks every single candidate in the eyes, including the Republican nominee and tells them, you're fired.

BLACKWELL: Oh, all right. You're both on fire this morning. Thank you very much.

CARDONA: Thank you, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Lisa and Maria, good to have you.

Also, be sure to watch Bill Clinton on "STATE OF THE UNION" later this morning. It's at 9:00 a.m. Eastern with Jake Tapper.

PAUL: Well, encrypted Edward Snowden files have been hacked by Russia and China, and officials say our intelligence agents may be in danger now. We have some new details for you.

Also breaking news we're getting in, the International Court is calling for the arrest of a world leader wanted for war crimes. We have a live report for you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:51:10] PAUL: British intelligence agents had been removed from live operations in hostile countries after Russia and China were able to decrypt files stolen by NSA leaker Edward Snowden. Senior British officials tell "The Sunday Time", more than 1 million classified files were crashed. Now, that information could jeopardize the identities of American and British spies. Snowden, meanwhile, is currently living in Russia, which granted him asylum.

BLACKWELL: Just in to CNN, a South African judge has barred Sudanese President Omar Bashir from leaving South Africa while an international court tries to arrest him on war crimes.

CNN international correspondent Diana Magnay is live in Johannesburg.

Diana, this is all unfolding in just the last couple of minutes.

DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Victor, that's right. The African Union summit is happening in Johannesburg right now, and various heads of state have come to South Africa to attend this, including Sudan's President Omar al Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for various charges -- crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide for his supposed role in the conflict in Darfur, in which at least 300,000 people lost their lives.

The ICC has had this arrest warrant out since 2009. And South Africa is a signatory to the Rome statute which underlines the International Criminal Court. So, it is obliged, as soon as al Bashir sets foot, the president sets foot on South African soil, supposedly, to arrest him and surrender him to the ICC.

The thing is, the African Union, as an organization, has always been very, very vocally opposed to the International Criminal Court. They accuse the ICC of unfairly targeting African leaders. And as he's here on the invitation of the AU, it puts South Africa in a very complicated legal situation.

The president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, said in 2009 that if he did set foot on South African soil he would be arrested. But we await to see what high court judge here will decide in an hour's time about whether this case can proceed, about whether South Africa will do what it's obliged to do, or whether the A.U. will hold force on this one and he'll be allowed to leave again -- Victor.

BLACKWELL: Again, this is all happening right now. And as you say, in an hour, we'll have the next development in this case. Diana Magnay, thank you so much.

PAUL: Well, it's taken a bite out of the box office. "Jurassic World" is already breaking records in its opening weekend. But there's a lot going on this weekend. And some people are wondering, the numbers going to stay on track?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[07:57:49] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A whole new frontier has opened up. We have our first genetically modified hybrid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: One of the most talked-about movies of the summer out this weekend, "Jurassic World", taking a big bite out of the box office. I mean, this could reach about $200 million just in its opening weekend.

Let's talk to CNN's senior media correspondent Brian Stelter.

So, here's the thing -- big numbers Friday got it on track, right, Brian, to be the second biggest opening of all time, behind "The Avengers" we understand. Sales slipped a little bit yesterday. You've got the NBA finals tonight.

I don't know. Do you think it's going to make it?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: It looks like it is. It looks like it, you know, because these Hollywood experts are very good at projecting exactly how well the movie's going to do all weekend. They've factored in that Saturday dip. I actually saw it last night the theater was still sold out. I recommend it in 3D, by the way, when those dinosaurs are coming at you.

But this is going to be a remarkable performance. Just a few days ago, those experts in Hollywood thought it would make $120 million. But it has exceeded everybody's expectations, even Chris Pratt's expectations, the star of this movie. Now, it's looking like almost $200 million.

And like you said, the only movie to ever have a better opening weekend is "The Avengers."

So, Universal, the studio that made big hit in April now has another big hit out.

PAUL: All righty. And what do you have -- what else do you have in store coming up on "RELIABLE SOURCES"?

STELTER: You know, we're talking about the big media news of the week. Rupert Murdoch beginning to step down from his FOX company, also all the weekend's politics news. Hillary Clinton yesterday, Jeb Bush tomorrow. It feels like the campaign is now in full steam. So, we'll talk about that at 11:00 a.m.

PAUL: It sure does, doesn't it?

All right. Hey, Brian Stelter, thank you so much.

STELTER: Thanks.

PAUL: And, remember, "RELIABLE SOURCES' airs today right here at 11:00 a.m. on CNN.

And thank you so much for starting your morning with us.

BLACKWELL: Your NEW DAY continues right now.

(MUSIC)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Did you have any idea when he left?

JIM BOULWARE, SUSPECT'S FATHER: No, no. I knew he was angry. He blamed them for taking his son.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: The father there of James Boulware, was with his son just hours before he attacked the Dallas Police Department. Insight into that man that only a father could give.

BLACKWELL: Nine days on the run now. Are police in New York any closer to finding the two escaped prison inmates? Well, this morning, what these convicts had reportedly planned to do once they escaped.