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Investigators Detect Pings; Investigating Death of Bulger; Muller Questions Bannon; Heated Race in Wisconsin. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired October 31, 2018 - 06:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:33:41] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, divers are focusing on the debris in the search for the crashed passenger plane in Indonesia. They have detected pings that could be coming from the flight recorders. The new Boeing 737 crashed off the Indonesia coast Monday morning killing all 189 people onboard.

Our Ivan Watson live where the search efforts continues.

Ivan, what you have learned?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, first of all, I'm here at the main port here in Jakarta where the authorities have been bringing in debris fished out from the Java Sea from the crash of Lion Air Flight 610, as well as belongings of some of the 189 passengers and crew who were onboard. And in the last couple of hours, we've seen relatives of some of these victims come here and a very sad scene, frankly, of when one 52-year-old man walked out here and spotted the black sneaker that belonged to his 24-year-old son and was immediately overcome with emotion and had to be escorted away. He later told us that he believes, firmly believes, that his son's body must be with the fuselage of the plane somewhere beneath the ocean.

Now, the authorities, they say they are pretty sure that a ping that they are detecting broadcasting at 3.7 kilohertz is coming from the black box, the flight data recorder, and that hopefully that can yield some kind of information about why this brand new Boeing 737 went down just minutes after it took off from Jakarta early Monday morning.

[06:35:18] We can show you the itinerary of that plane, which was recorded by Flight Radar 24, which tracks commercial airliners, and also shows you how erratic the altitude and speed of the plane was during those last, final minutes before it went down. Something was terribly wrong. The authorities are investigating. They've ordered that the technical director of the low budget airline be fired and they've announced that that man is currently under investigation.

Alisyn.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Ivan, it's so mysterious. We need to know answers for what happened there. Thank you very much for being on the scene. Well, back here, the FBI investigating the death of notorious mob boss

James "Whitey" Bulger, killed one day after his transfer to a federal prison in West Virginia.

CNN's Jason Carroll joins us now with more.

What happened?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, this was a man, as you know, who was despised by so many people for so many years. He had created a laundry list of enemies, and his violent life finally caught up with him. "Whitey" Bulger, the notorious crime boss, was found dead by prison staff. His body found yesterday morning, just one day after being transferred to that prison in West Virginia. Prison authorities say no other staff or inmates were hurt (ph). "The New York Times" reporting Bulger was beaten to death by at least two fellow inmates. "The Times" saying staff found him in his cell wrapped in blankets and blood was on the floor. History will note "Whitey" was the organized crime boss of the Winter Hill Gang in Boston. He was also a long-time FBI informant. He was serving two life sentences for a litany of crimes, including racketeering and 11 murders. He was one of the FBI's most wanted fugitives for 16 years until his arrest in 2011. He has been described as a sociopathic killer. Upon hearing of his death, a family member of one of his victims called it, quote, a happy day.

The question now is who killed him and why.

John.

BERMAN: Yes, look, I mean he was a monster, pure and simple, obviously.

CARROLL: No doubt.

BERMAN: This should never happen in federal custody. Obviously I grew up in Boston. I have to tell you, the lure around "Whitey" Bulger --

CAMEROTA: Of course.

BERMAN: His brother was the Senate president in Massachusetts, Billy Bulger. And after he was captured, I was sent to -- ABC -- I was at ABC at the time -- they sent me to Boston and they wanted me to talk to people in south Boston who knew him.

CAMEROTA: How did that go?

BERMAN: I've been to a lot of bad places. Southy (ph) is not bad. I mean Southy (ph) has changed a lot since the '70s and '80s.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BERMAN: But I've been scared a lot, a lot of scary places in my life. I've never been as frightened as when I was going in and out of bars in the daytime asking people about "Whitey" Bulger. The look that I was getting --

CAMEROTA: Not welcoming?

BERMAN: No, it was, maybe you shouldn't ask that question. Maybe you should head toward the door, now.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh. I mean, truly, he was such a folkloric criminal and the idea that it ends this way somehow seems fitting to be honest.

BERMAN: All right, Steve Bannon interviewed again by the special counsel Robert Mueller's team. What are they digging for? Signs that the special counsel is circling around someone very, very close, politically, to the president.

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[06:42:10] BERMAN: New developments in the Russia investigation. Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon has been interviewed again by the Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team. This is the third time they have met with him.

Joining us now is former federal prosecutor and CNN's chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.

And, Jeffrey, you read "The Washington Post," and based on our own reporting, what Bannon has been asked about is Roger Stone. This is someone you know a lot about, you've covered extensively. Roger Stone is a political figure who was an adviser, or acolyte of Richard Nixon, and he's been involved in Republican politics all the way up to the Trump campaign and very close, at times, to the president.

What might Robert Mueller's team want to know about Roger Stone?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I think we know what they want to know. The question is, are they going to build an actual case around him.

You know, Roger Stone, in the peak period of the campaign, was bragging about what WikiLeaks or somebody was going to disclose about the Clinton campaign, that he apparently knew, or claimed to know, that the hacked e-mails from the DNC, from John Podesta, Clinton's former campaign chair, were going to be released. And the question is, was he an actual intermediary between the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks and thus the Russian hackers. He is, at the moment it appears, the key figure in determining whether there was, to use the famous word, collusion between the campaign and the Russians.

BERMAN: But what if -- I'm sorry.

CAMEROTA: Yes, no.

BERMAN: But what if he did talk to WikiLeaks? What if he did talk to WikiLeaks and what if he did know that they were going to release the e-mails about Podesta and others?

TOOBIN: That's -- it depends if he did anything. It's one thing to know that a crime is taking place. It's another thing to conspire with the criminals. It's another thing to aid and abet the criminals. That's a very key question.

First of all, he denies that he actually knew. One of the, you know, many bizarre things about Roger is he tends to puff up his sinister knowledge, sinister inside behavior. So how much was puffery and how much he actually knew is one of the key aspects of this investigation.

CAMEROTA: Yes, it is. And it's hard to tell from his tweets. So here they are from August 21, 2016. Trust me, it will soon be Podesta's time in the barrel. And then from October 2016, right before these were revealed on WikiLeaks, I have total confidence that WikiLeaks and my hero Julian Assange will educate the American people soon #lockherup.

So grandiosity or actual information?

TOOBIN: Well, that -- you know, one of the many bizarre and sometimes hilarious things about Roger is that unlike most people who exaggerate their innocence, Roger often exaggerates his guilt. Now, now that he's under actual criminal investigation and not, you know, trying to hoodwink reporters like me, he's dialing back the guilt. But, you know, obviously, I mean if you look -- Bannon they've talked to. They've talked to all of his close associates. You know, they are concentrating very hard on him.

[06:45:18] BERMAN: I want to get to that point right there, and Roger Stone has hired some real lawyers to defend him now --

TOOBIN: Yes.

BERMAN: And has not been contacted by the special counsel. I mean all of that adds up to -- you know, we don't know for sure, but adds up to serious interests, like nuclear level interest from the special counsel.

TOOBIN: It does. I mean, you know, this -- Mueller's office, when they go after somebody, they really go after someone. I mean you look at how much pressure they put on Paul Manafort, you know, indicting him in two different districts, all those different charges, getting his subordinate, Rick Gates, to flip against him. I mean they are -- they know how to put pressure on someone. So far it hasn't worked with Stone. And Roger, as -- has an enormous tattoo on his back of Richard Nixon's face --

BERMAN: As one does.

TOOBIN: As one does. But he -- you know, he's a guy who admires hanging tough like Nixon did and he's -- he's been fundraising about this and talking about it, but, you know, we'll see what happens.

CAMEROTA: Here are the nine associates of Roger Stone that has given testimony as far as we know. So -- but why wouldn't they have spoken to Roger Stone?

TOOBIN: Because you're not supposed to subpoena a target. One of the -- one of the rules, the procedures of the Justice Department, it's not a law, is that you don't subpoena the person you are specifically interested in, all of which leads to the conclusion that they are very interested in prosecuting Stone, but they haven't done it yet and they may never.

BERMAN: Jeffrey Toobin --

CAMEROTA: Fair enough.

BERMAN: We love your Halloween costume.

TOOBIN: Berman.

BERMAN: The best-selling author.

TOOBIN: Yes, I came as a legal nerd --

CAMEROTA: Very convincing.

TOOBIN: All the little children, yes.

CAMEROTA: It scares little children.

TOOBIN: That's right.

CAMEROTA: All right, very good.

BERMAN: All right, we are in the final stretch of the midterms. A Republican incumbent facing a surprisingly tough re-election bid. There's something about Harry, next.

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[06:50:49] CAMEROTA: The midterm elections just six days away. One of the critical gubernatorial races that we are tracking is Wisconsin. And that's where incumbent Republican Governor Scott Walker is hoping to win a third term. He's facing a challenge from Democrat Tony Evers, but there's really something about Harry.

So let's get the forecast with CNN's senior politics writer and analyst Harry Enten.

Hi, Harry.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICS WRITER AND ANALYST: Hello. How are you? Gubernatorial is such a long word. It doesn't even fit in a teleprompter. The "l" goes onto the next line.

CAMEROTA: Yes, I saw that.

ENTEN: Very difficult.

CAMEROTA: Come up with a new word for it.

But, first, tell us what's happening in Wisconsin.

ENTEN: Yes, so, as you mentioned, Scott Walker is running for a third term. Third terms can be very, very difficult. So let's just jump right into them. We'll take a look at the recent polling which gives you an understanding that Scott Walker is at least in some trouble.

So we have two polls here. The latest Marquette Law School poll, the latest NBC/Marist poll. And what we see is a fairly tight race. In one of these poll, the Marquette Law School poll, has Walker up by just a point, which is not a great place for him coming to be. But the Marist poll has him down by 10. So there's a lot of uncertainty about this race. We're not exactly sure where it's going to end up.

Right now my forecast indicates -- sort of splits the baby in two, right, has Tony Evers winning by four. But wide margin of error because there's a lot of uncertainty of where the polling is at this point.

BERMAN: So what happened? I'm old enough to remember when Scott Walker was going to be president and now he may not be get -- able to get re- elected governor. Why? What happened to him?

ENTEN: Yes, so there are a few things to keep in mind. Number one, let's take a look at that national environment, right. When Scott Walker won his first term back in 2010, Barack Obama, the Democratic governor, Scott Walker being the Republican, Barack Obama was not very popular. He just had a minus seven --

CAMEROTA: In Wisconsin.

ENTEN: In Wisconsin, correct. These are all in Wisconsin. So he had a minus 7 percentage point net approval rating. So that's pretty good for a Republican. Even when Walker won his re-election, Obama was kind of in the middle there. Then, in 2014, when Walker was running for re- election, Obama was really unpopular in Wisconsin.

But then take a look at the number this year. I'll draw a nice little arrow there. Donald Trump is unpopular in the state of Wisconsin. So that's one of the main things that's going on here is the national environment -- sort of what's overlaying this race is very, very bad for Scott Walker. And I believe that the numbers reflect that in the governor's race.

CAMEROTA: What do we need to know about his opponent?

ENTEN: Yes, so let's take a look. Tony Evers, who, you know, kind of is very bland, very milquetoast. They had a nice little article about it. You know, he's this guy in his mid-60s, this kind of boring white guy. But maybe you need a boring white guy to beat Scott Walker in Wisconsin, right? Kind of throw the milk on top of the spicy. And what we see here is that Tony Evers is pretty popular, at least not unpopular, right? A plus three net favorability rating in the Mararquette poll, a plus 11 in the Marist poll. And I went back and I looked and it turns out that each of his pervious opponents, Walker's previous opponents, were underwater at this particular time. So Evers is kind of allowing Walker to do the talking, and that's not a bad thing because what we see here is that Walker's own numbers are underwater.

BERMAN: If you're a polling nerd -- and I'm touching your screen, which I've never done before -- ENTEN: Yes.

BERMAN: You know that they're coming out with a new poll today, right?

ENTEN: Correct. They care coming out -- hold on, I'm -- no, I can't -- I can't get rid of it.

Yes, they are coming out with a new poll today. And this like the polling nerd equivalent of the great day because this is the best poll in Wisconsin. And that's part of the reason why there's the uncertainty.

If you were to ask me right now, do I think Scott Walker is going to lose, I'd say, yes. But the fact that they still have him up by a point makes me take a little step back.

BERMAN: House. Let's talk about the House.

CAMEROTA: Hold on, hold on for a second. I have one question.

Is Scott Walker what passes for spicy in Wisconsin?

ENTEN: I guess. I mean it is, you know, cheese there.

CAMEROTA: I know it.

ENTEN: Yes, I --

CAMEROTA: There's a lot of yellow --

BERMAN: Cheese curds.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

ENTEN: You know, all I know is the Packers lost on Sunday, and that disappointed me greatly.

CAMEROTA: Got it.

BERMAN: I'm sorry to interrupt.

The House forecast?

ENTEN: Yes, you know, we bounce around a little bit. This one we actually have the Democrats down a point, down a seat today at 225. I would watch this forecast specifically on Monday, the day before the election. We'll have final FEC numbers, the final race ratings from folks like CNN. I think that this number is going to move. Which way it's going to move, I'm not sure, but that's why I'm going to appear with both of you.

BERMAN: It's going to move, you don't know which way, and you're going to tell us like two seconds before the election?

ENTEN: Well, that's the one that matters.

BERMAN: That's really -- it seems fair.

ENTEN: I cover my hide right then. You know, that's what a forecast is. It's just beforehand, right? It's like a snowstorm, we get more accurate the closer we get.

[06:55:00] CAMEROTA: You're like a boardwalk pollster where it can go either way depending on our expression when you see us.

ENTEN: We'll play Three-card Monte.

BERMAN: Do you know how committed he is to doing the forecast every morning here on NEW DAY? Where did you sleep last night, Harry?

ENTEN: In slept in someone's office here.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh.

ENTEN: Yes.

CAMEROTA: You couldn't make it home?

ENTEN: I could -- I could not make it home. I wanted to sleep but I wanted to make sure that I was awake for you two, and for you, the audience. Hello.

BERMAN: All right, Harry's forecast, because he sleeps in the office, is available each day at 9:00 a.m. on cnn.com/forecast. Maybe you've seen the promos.

CAMEROTA: Meanwhile, President Trump is making his closing arguments ahead of the midterms, but he's facing resistance from some in his own party. What's going on there? More on that, ahead.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There are scholars who say the 14th Amendment has been misinterpreted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is an insult to the office of the president and a ridiculous legal argument.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a legitimate conversation. Birth right citizenship is being abused.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To do it as a stunt a week before the election, it's demagoguery. It's not policy.

[07:00:03] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president met with four patients. He expressed his thanks for their service.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just wasn't the right time