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AT THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA

New Details in Istanbul Attack; New Video of Istanbul Airport Attack; Funerals Begin for Istanbul Attack Victims; Trump Blasted after Breaking from GOP on Trade; Backlash after Bill Clinton, Attorney General Meet. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired June 30, 2016 - 11:00   ET

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


[11:00:00] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Laurie Segall, thanks so much.

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN SENIOR TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Thank you for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello.

AT THIS HOUR with Berman and Baldwin starts now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kate Baldwin. John Berman is off today.

New details on the coordinated terror attack at one of the busiest airports in the world, the attackers using one bomb as a diversion, the others to kill. Now the death toll has risen to 43 people, well over 200 injured.

Also new, a Turkish government source tells CNN there is strong evidence the attack was directed by ISIS. Directed, not inspired, directed. And that the three attackers traveled from Raqqa, the self- proclaimed ISIS capitol in Syria. The source calls the attack extremely well planned with ISIS leadership involved.

This morning, a Turkish official is also revealing the three bombers were from Russia and two former Soviet states, Uzbekistan and Kurdistan, as Turkish police are conducting anti-terror raids, detaining more than a dozen people in connection to Tuesday's bombings.

Brooke Baldwin is live outside Istanbul's airport.

Brooke, great to see you.

A lot of new details and moving parts this morning. Bring our viewers up to speed.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let's just go back to that senior Turkish source who has been giving CNN a lot of information this afternoon in Istanbul. Number one, to your point, absolutely, "strong evidence," quote unquote, that these three bombers who were here, holed up in an apartment in the Istanbul suburbs for the last month, they would have come in from outside from outside of Turkey. Strong evidence that they have come in from the ISIS stronghold that is Raqqa in Syria, holed themselves up in an apartment for the last month. Again, according to the senior Turkish source, we know that the explosive devices they used in the Istanbul airport, the suicide vests, they were made outside of Turkey, brought in by the terrorists who blew themselves up. This, according to the source, was directed by ISIS leadership, that is significant.

Also underling the nationalities, we don't know the "why" entirely yet or really the "who" as far as I.D.'s, but the nationalities, Uzbekistan, Kurdistan, and the Russian, specifically from Dagestan.

There is also video from a Turkish TV channel that appears to show one of the attackers reportedly shooting one of the security officials. You have to go through metal detectors just to enter inside the front door of this airport. So as that was happening, you see the video of one of these attackers appearing to shoot one of the security officers as he's asking, as per protocol, for this person to show his I.D.

The death toll, it has risen to 43. And 94 people, Kate, are still being treated here in Istanbul hospitals.

BOLDUAN: 94 people. And we don't really have a read how serious some of those injuries are. We have to watch that very closely.

You're talking about that new video that came out, and it also raises the question if there are new details about the timeline and how these attacks were all coordinated, how it played out, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Yeah, I was just talking to a security specialist. He raised a fascinating point. Talk about diversion tactics. These terrorists wanted to maximize casualties. You have three bombers. The first guy gets in, he's right around security, and he blows himself up, which then allows, according to what I'm understanding, the second to go in, start shooting, and then the second bomb goes off. In this sort of a fog of explosions and smoke, everyone, your natural instinct is then to rush outside, and that third bomber is waiting for them, just outside of those doors, to then detonate his suicide vest to maximize casualties there. Number one, it underscores the technical abilities of these terrorists, and also their appetite to kill -- Kate?

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. A terrifying level of planning and coordination, it seems, is coming out here, and what that means going forward.

Brooke, great to see you. Thanks so much.

Brooke has the headlines for us. We'll go back to her. A lot of new details have been coming out through the hour, so we'll come back to Brooke as soon as we get new details.

Let's talk about what we just learned with CNN military analyst, Rick Francona; and Juliette Kayyem, a CNN national security analyst and former top official at the Department of Homeland Security, also the author of the book, "Security Mom."

Good to see you both. Thank you. A lot new we just learned this morning, Juliette. The significance of where these attackers are from, how is it significant to you?

[11:05:02] JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I think it's less significant than it may appear. Obviously, ISIS is a global phenomenon. The sort of former Russian republics, Islamic terrorists for over a year have been identifying with ISIS. There's been articles about it. People who study ISIS certainly know it. So it shouldn't be that much of a shock that there's something nefarious with the former Russian republics that would engage them with what happened in Turkey. ISIS is a phenomenon with global reach. We shouldn't be that surprised that the sort of hard-core Russian terrorists who are sort of well-known for being to do things like that would identify with ISIS.

But obviously, you know, two things here. It expands the investigation, because there's a new pool of people to be concerned about. Secondly, there are others that Turkey is looking for. There's at least four others Turkey is looking for because they know the cell is at least seven big.

BOLDUAN: Colonel, we'll get to the conversation about the cell in a second, but even before the cell, they're talking about the actual influence, the direction coming from ISIS leaders. The way officials describe it is, quote unquote, "strong evidence" that ISIS leadership was involved. What evidence do you think that would be?

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, I don't know what was in that apartment. Something in that apartment, not just the passport, triggered their belief that this was directed from Raqqa. So as they roll up these cells, they'll find out how these three were able to get from Raqqa across the border and in Turkey to Istanbul and then to carry out this operation. As Brooke was reporting, this was so well-planned. This has to be rehearsed. That airport had to be cased. There's a lot more people involved than these three, probably more than just these seven that they believe are in this cell.

But I think this underscores the necessity to go after these people in Raqqa. That seems to be their center of gravity. The Turks, for all they've done over the last few months, have failed to close that border, that pocket. The only part of the border that ISIS still controls is still wide open. And it just shows they're able to get there. Hopefully, the Turks will be able to close that off.

BOLDUAN: Could an attack like this, Juliette, in your experience, could this have been pulled off without more people on the ground in Turkey helping them out? Would those people still be in Turkey, do you think?

KAYYEM: Yes and yes. There are obviously others who at least knew about the planning. Look, it's very -- you know, these cost money, they have to survive, they have to live, they have to get access to guns and things like that. I believe that this investigation I going to unfold. There's been a series of raids, even this morning. So, you know, these take months. We are going to learn more about this cell in the months to this is not going to be solved by July 4th. BOLDUAN: Colonel, the coordinated nature of the attack, that one

suicide bombing was to be a diversion, the other two were then set to kill, you see this graphic of the airport, and where the understanding is right now. Do you see that as a new level of sophistication in these attacks? What's your takeaway?

FRANCONA: I'm very impressed with the level of planning and the way they thought this out and then the way it was executed. You know, the diversion, the first bomb that drives people outside for the third bomb. That shows a real level of sophistication. I go back to Juliette's point and our point, there's many more people involved in this. This took a lot of planning and a lot of intelligence-gathering prior to this operation. They had to know how they would go down very precisely. That would require a high level. Of course, ISIS has that capability. That capability, again, rests in Raqqa.

BOLDUAN: We'll see what level of surveillance that had to be done of the airport before they would pull this off, how they decided coordination.

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: Go ahead, Rick.

FRANCONA: And the support assets involved. Somebody had to rent that apartment. I doubt if it was this three, because that would just draw attention. There's got to be local support in Istanbul for this operation.

BOLDUAN: We're seeing those raids just like you did in the aftermath of Brussels, these raids where they're detaining people. We'll see how many they keep or release. We're seeing this rush in the aftermath, the net that they're casting to scoop people up.

Juliette, great to see you. Thank you.

Colonel, thank you as always.

Ahead for us, new security video from inside the airport showing one of the terrorist attacks attacking an undercover police officer, as the officer asked to see some I.D. How that fits into the timeline and what people can learn from that, how that can be used in the investigation into the attack.

[11:10:03] Plus, a major development in the war against ISIS. A U.S.-led air strike destroys a huge convoy in Iraq, potentially taking out more than 200 ISIS fighters. Details on that ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: New video coming in this morning from the deadly terror attack in Turkey at Istanbul airport. As with all of these new videos that come in, we do want to warn you, it is graphic.

This is what the video reportedly shows. An undercover police officer, they believe, asking one of the suicide bombers to see identification. The man turns and shoots the undercover officer. That is what the video purportedly shows, as you see right there.

CNN's Alexandra Field is live in Istanbul.

Alex, what are officials saying about this video and what it reportedly shows?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look, this is pretty chilling video. What it shows when you take a look at it is the fact that there were security procedures in place at this airport. Did it stop these attackers from being able to penetrate and hit parking lot but the arrivals and departure hall? No. But airport officials continue to maintain that the level of security at this airport exceeds international standards.

[11:15:08] When we talk about the plainclothes officer we saw in that video, we know this is an airport that has a team of counterterrorism officers who patrol here on a regular basis in plainclothes to spot people who are potentially suspicious. So this person was acting on that training. This officer approaches somebody who, for whatever reason, appears to be suspicious from his point of view to ask for that I.D. That is when he's shot by the suspect that you see in the video.

But that's just one layer of security that these attackers were able to get beyond. We know in the case of the arrival hall, one of the attackers came with the A.K.-47. That arrival hall had a security gate at the entrance that everyone has to pass through. Instead of trying to get through that gate with his A.K.-47, we understand the attacker fired shots into the crowd. Then in the departure hall, you have the attacker who walked in with the A.K.-47. He was spotted by a security guard who shot at him. As he falls to the ground, he detonates his explosive.

Analysts say it's impossible to completely secure a facility when you have people who are intent on these acts of terror. This is an airport that opened a mere number of hours after this attack because security services in Turkey believed it was safe enough to reopen. We have seen police officers patrolling, armed officers patrolling. That's routine here, they're back on duty today. They were on duty yesterday, obviously with a higher level of vigilance. This is something they're committed to every day here, they say -- Kate?

BOLDUAN: That is an amazing fact that we have been talking about, Alexandra. It's startling how much video there is coming out of these attackers and the various stages of these attacks.

Alexandra Field on it for us. Thank you so much, Alex.

The death toll from the Istanbul airport attack has risen to 43. Today there are several funerals taking place for many of the victims in the attack.

CNN's Matt Rivers joins us from Istanbul.

Matt, you attended one of the funerals of one of the youngest victims in the attack. Tell us about her, tell us what you saw. MATT RIVERS, CNN ASIA-PACIFIC EDITOR: This was a very difficult

funeral to attend, to witness family members having to go through this. This young girl was 8 years old. It not only was her funeral but the funeral of three aunts with her, ages 13, 16, and 24. So this was a family that had come here to Turkey to visit family that lives here in Turkey. There were several of them at the airport. They had exited the airport. They were outside, waiting to get a taxi. And as one family member told me, there was an explosion. He turned around and several members of his family, all four of those women, older women, as well as the three girls, were on the ground, all four of them ended up dying.

And we went to that funeral today. As you might imagine, it was incredibly emotional.

We got a chance to speak very briefly with the father of the 8-year- old victim. Incredibly shaken up, understandably so. Here is a little bit of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUHAMMED AMINI, FATHER OF ISTANBUL ATTACK VICTIM: Before she goes, she hugged me. She said, father come with us. I told her that I will come.

RIVERS: If you wanted people to know something about your daughter, what would you want people to know about her?

AMINI: She was a very lovely --

RIVERS: She was lovely?

AMINI: Very lovely. I loved her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIVERS: And I want to point one thing out. That entire time we were talking, he had his hand on his daughter's casket and was gently stroking the casket as if he was stroking her hair. Was really, really emotional to see that in person. You felt his pain while you were standing next to him, as I'm sure you can feel the pain through the TV there.

BOLDUAN: Unbelievable, 8 years old, 13 years old, 16 years old, 24 years old. If it doesn't hit you, it should.

Matt, thanks so much. Thank you for bringing us that.

That is tragic. 8 years old, her father right there.

[11:19:41] Our special coverage continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: There is one thing that Bernie Sanders and I are in complete accord with, that's trade.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Has never shown any regard for workers, has never fought on behalf of social justice issues.

TRUMP: Our politicians have aggressively pursued a policy of globalization, moving our jobs, our wealth, and our factories to Mexico and overseas.

OBAMA: That's nativism or xenophobia or worse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Donald Trump's new line, free trade is killing us. And he's taking that message to New Hampshire today. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, traditionally a pro-business group, strong pro-business voice, and a traditionally strong backer of Republicans, is trying to stop Donald Trump in his tracks on that message, taking on the candidate on his home turf, Twitter, where they tweeted, quote, "Under Trump's trade plans we would see higher prices, fewer jobs, and a weaker economy."

[11:25:14] Remember, this is all playing out with just three weeks left to the Republican convention.

CNN's political director, David Chalian, is joining me from Washington.

This conversation around trade has become a fascinating one, David. What a strange world we live in, that this candidate can bring together Republicans, pro-Republican groups, and a Democratic president, all against him.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Kate, I know we should no longer be surprised that Donald Trump is different kind of candidate. But each time there's some new revelation where it's just like, wow, really different. You've covered Washington and campaigns. You know that the Chamber of Commerce is firm aligned with the Republican establishment. We do need to separately that out, because I do think Donald Trump and his position on trade is giving voice to a lot of folks in the Republican grassroots, Tea Party new members over the last several years, post-bank bailouts, that kind of mentality has been really infusing the energy in the Republican grassroots. It's totally antithetical to Republican Party orthodoxy that the leaders of the party have been pursuing from a policy perspective. It is quite stunning to see Donald Trump basically running to Hillary Clinton's left on this issue. He sounds a lot more like Bernie Sanders than he does like Paul Ryan or Mitch McConnell.

BOLDUAN: He sure is. And he seems to be using this message, if not absolutely to appeal to Bernie Sanders' supporters, definitely hinting that way. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Bernie Sanders cannot stand Hillary Clinton. But I'll tell you something. You wouldn't think this, but there is one thing that Bernie Sanders and I are in complete accord with, and that's trade. He said we're being ripped off. I say we're being ripped off. I've been saying it for years. He's been saying it for years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Is it a compelling argument to the Bernie Sanders' supporters? Is there evidence that this is helping him win them over?

CHALIAN: There's really not evidence of that, Kate. In fact I think we're starting see in the polls Sanders supporters moving towards Clinton, perhaps not entirely, but with some deliberate speed here. It hasn't been all that long. But I do think that there is a slice of appeal here for Donald Trump to make to some of those, even if a small slice of the Sanders supporters who might be voting purely on this economic and trade issue.

I do think, though, that this is the kind of debate that we are used to seeing on the Democratic side. Remember, I mean, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton fought over trade back in 2008. We have seen these battles on the left. But now, having Donald Trump -- and notice what Hillary Clinton's response was, Kate. It wasn't, I'm diametrically opposed to Donald Trump. It was, he's coming around to some ideas that I've been talking about out there. It was sort of a "me too, me too," even though they don't take exactly the same approach, because she doesn't want to completely walk away from TTP, it seems, the way Donald Trump does. But nonetheless, she's still trying to grab on to some of that populist energy.

BOLDUAN: I love your deliberate speed line. So it's not running, but speed walking. The new Olympic sport, speed walking.

Great to see you, David Chalian. Thank you.

CHALIAN: Thanks, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Something that could be the next brewing political storm. U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch confirms she met privately with former President Bill Clinton at an airport in Phoenix this week. Why are people making a big deal about this? This is the head of the department investigating Hillary Clinton's use of an e-mail server while she was secretary of state. The attorney general insists the meeting was impromptu and primarily social.

Let's talk about this. CNN's senior Washington correspondent, Jeff Zeleny, is here; and CNN justice correspondent, Evan Perez, both tracking the various angels.

Evan, first to you, what are you learning about the meeting?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: You know, if this was a TV show script, perhaps for "Veep," you would not believe it. This is just a weird, weird story. It appears on Monday night Loretta Lynch is arriving in Phoenix. She was there to do an event, a Justice Department event. Bill Clinton is on his way out of town. He sees her plane on the tarmac and decides that he's going to go up there and say hello. The FBI security detail that protects the attorney general didn't stop him. After all, he is a former president. And he decides to launch into a conversation with her, apparently, while her aides were panicking on the tarmac. They didn't really know what to do. You can't stop the former president from doing, frankly, something like this. And so she was kind of --