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David Sweat Talking to Authorities About Escape; Prison Guard in Court on Charges Tied to Escape; FBI Warns of Fourth of July Terror Threat; U.S. Stocks Tumble as Financial Crisis Looms; Greek Debt Crisis Affecting the U.S.; NBC Dumps Donald Trump. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired June 29, 2015 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:14] WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now, escape ring? As a captured fugitive spills details of a dramatic breakout and getaway, a prison guard accused of aiding the escape appears in court, the second employees to be charged as the FBI launching a broader corruption investigation at the prison. Did other guards help the inmates put together an escape plan?

ISIS arrest. A New Jersey man is the latest to be charged with plotting to help the terror group, as federal authorities are warning of possible threats tied to the July 4th holiday. After bloody attacks abroad, U.S. law enforcement is on a heightened state of alert right now.

And you're fired. After his harsh comments on immigration, NBC dumps Donald Trump, cutting its business ties with the presidential candidate by dropping the jointly-owned Miss USA pageant and Miss Universe pageant.

I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: Our breaking news: a captured killer is talking. And we're getting stunning new details on how he and a fellow convict managed to evade authorities for three weeks before one was shot dead, the other was wounded and captured.

That comes as a prison guard accused of aiding the escape appears in court today in a series of related charges.

At the same time, the FBI has launched an investigation into possible widespread corruption at the Clinton Correctional Institute, including drug trafficking and heroin use.

Our correspondents, analysts and guests are all standing by with complete coverage. Let's begin with CNN's Miguel Marquez. He's outside a hospital in Albany, New York, where the surviving, David Sweat, fugitive has upgraded to serious condition after he was shot by a state trooper near the Canadian border.

Miguel, what's the latest?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he's in serious condition, so he is starting to stabilize, and the hospital officials say they can take care of him here until he's completely stable and ready to move.

But his run for the border, as they were headed towards Mexico, he is telling police, that is where he says -- told investigators they were heading from their breakout in Dannemora -- the correctional facility in Dannemora.

On Sunday he was shot twice while trying to run for the Canadian border, saying that they had planned to meet up with Joyce Mitchell shortly after they escaped the facility, but they were unable. She never showed up. They were going to kill her husband and then run to Mexico. That didn't work out. It was very unclear whether or not that was their Plan A or not. And now it's very clear it was, and for three weeks he and Richard Matt were out in the wilderness, searching, scrambling for a Plan B -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Miguel Marquez, thanks very much. The prison guard, Gene Palmer, meanwhile, charged with this conduct and other charges related to the escape, has just appeared in court.

Let's go to CNN's Jean Casarez, who's in Plattsburg, New York. How did that go, Jean?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was very short, but it was extremely important. We're here at justice court, and the defendant, Gene Palmer, arrived. The media absolutely covered him. He would not say anything, though. He went into court.

And the purpose of today's hearing was to see where the case would go from here. Well, the defense waived any more hearings in justice court, which is the very preliminary court. They waived onto county court.

So now this case will go to a grand jury. The district attorney said afterwards that he may wait up to a month to go to the grand jury, because the defendant, Gene Palmer, does have a brand-new attorney. And we do know that new attorney is Richard Dreyer. He is from Albany, New York, practicing criminal law for 40 years. He did not give a statement but just said they would be going on to county court.

I want to give you a little bit of color from the courtroom. The charges were not read. He did not enter a plea. I sat right behind the defendant, Gene Palmer. He was nervous. He was serious. You could tell he was not used to being in this position. This is a correction officer, now charged with promoting prison contraband, tampering with physical evidence, and official misconduct.

And that is in regard to giving and he admitted to New York state police giving tools at least four times, introducing them from the outside to the inside of the prison. Screwdriver and pliers to David Sweat and Richard Matt. And after they escaped, burning and burying paintings that the two had given to him -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Is it a sense that the charges leveled against him are more serious or about the same as the charges leveled against the woman who is accused of aiding in this escape? CASAREZ: That is an interesting answer, because actually Gene Palmer

has more charge against him, three felonies and one misdemeanor, as compared to Joyce, who facilitated, allegedly, the escape. Because she is charged with promoting prison contraband, a felony; and facilitating an escape, which is ironically is a misdemeanor. So Gene Palmer has more serious and potentially more time in prison than Joyce.

BLITZER: Joyce Mitchell. All right. Thank you very much for that. Jean Casarez reporting.

Let's get a closer look now at the clues which led to the end of this three-week manhunt resulting in Richard Matt's death and David Sweat's capture. Brian Todd is here in THE SITUATION ROOM. He's looking into this part of the story.

What are you finding out?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tonight we're getting new information on how this all started to unravel for these two men. One of them, Richard Matt, got sick. Then he inexplicably fired on a camper. And it was a crucial split between them which turned the tide for law enforcement.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): The tale of two takedowns begins nearly six days ago. That's when David Sweat says he decided to break off with Richard Matt, because Matt was slowing him down.

One law-enforcement source tells CNN there's evidence Matt was sick, possibly from contaminated food or water. Underwear with Matt's DNA on it had been found near an old outhouse.

12:20 Friday afternoon, a key clue. Cabin owner Bob Willett gets a call from his son, who'd just checked on the cabin near Duane, New York.

BOB WILLETT, CABIN OWNER: When I was talking to him on the phone, there was a gunshot then, at 12:20.

TODD: Those gunshots near Willett's cabin might have been fired at those fired at a passing camper. When Willett checks the cabin with his son, he immediately notices something out of place.

WILLETT: Just the bottle of gin that had moved off one counter to another, and it was spilled. There was a ring; it was wet. The cap was on the floor.

TODD: Authorities later could smell alcohol on Matt's body from a few feet away, according to a law enforcement source. Another clue, when responding officers are inside Willett's cabin, they smell gun powder in the air. They step outside.

SUPERINTENDENT JOSEPH D'AMICO, NEW YORK STATE POLICE: There was movement detected by officers on the ground, what they believed to be coughs (ph).

TODD: 3:45 p.m. Friday, a tactical team comes pace to face with Richard Matt. He's shot three times in the head. Shortly after Matt's death, investigators find a camp near Route 41 in Malone, New York. They discover another important clue, DNA from discarded material that matches David Sweat.

D'AMICO: Picnic style pepper shakers, and we believe that possibly these two males were using pepper to throw the scent off of the dogs that were tracking them.

TODD: 3:20 p.m. Sunday, almost 48 hours after Matt was killed, a state police sergeant notices David Sweat jogging down a road near Constable, New York. Sweat is shot and captured.

A law enforcement official now says Richard Matt and David Sweat had been gathering their own clues for almost a year, from conversations with guards at Clinton about hunting cabins and fields in the area.

Jeff Dumas is a former corrections officer at Clinton.

JEFF DUMAS, FORMER CORRECTIONS OFFICER AT CLINTON: They gathered information. They had a pretty good layout of the surrounding areas of hunting camps, what could be in them as far as maps, knives, weapons that are left there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Jeff Dumas says a lot of corrections officers at Clinton have hunting cabins in that area, that they often talk out loud about the cabins and the supplies they need for them. He says inmates listen to every word those officers are saying.

Now, according to a law enforcement official, guards at Clinton are being questioned by investigators about the friendly conversations they have had with inmates, including these two escapees and others -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And as you know, Brian, some items found on David Sweat, they could be used to help get more information.

TODD: That's right. Governor Cuomo said that when he was arrested on Sunday, David Sweat had on him maps, tools, bug repellants, wipes, Pop-Tarts. He had a lot of stuff. They need to find out whether he got those items before or after the escape, Wolf.

And that's hopefully what he's revealing tonight and in the coming days, as he starts talking more and more to investigators.

BLITZER: See what he says and if you believe him.

TODD: That's right, Wolf.

BLITZER: That's part of this. All right, Brian. Thanks very much.

Joining us now, Sheriff Kevin Mulverhill of Franklin County, New York. That's where the manhunt drama played out. Sheriff, thanks again for joining us. First of all, is there any indication that either Matt and/or Sweat attacked or harmed any residents of residents of your area while they were on the run?

SHERIFF KEVIN MULVERHILL, FRANKLIN COUNTY, NEW YORK: None at all, we're extremely thankful for that. No law enforcement and no civilians were injured throughout this three-week ordeal.

BLITZER: Is there any evidence, Sheriff, that anyone in the outside helped these two guys along the way during their three-week escape?

MULVERHILL: Not that we detected over at least -- you know, my part of the investigation when they entered into Franklin County, we didn't detect anywhere that they were getting any help. I think there is a possibly that they had broken into camps that we just haven't gotten a report of yet.

[17:10:04] BLITZER: Are you looking into any of these places where they stayed to see if they had any specific accomplices who may have directed them, for example, there?

MULVERHILL: Yes, any of owners, they've been -- they've been deposed. They've been, you know, spoken to by the state police, and not necessarily interrogation, but, you know, following any of those leads up.

BLITZER: I want to show you and our viewers a photo. This one shows both Matt and Sweat in the woods. It was taken from what's called a trail cam, a trail camera. Has your department, first of all, seen this photo, as far as you know?

MULVERHILL: I haven't, but a lot of those leads and a lot of those details went into the -- into the command center at Cadyville.

BLITZER: Do you know if this photo actually help played a role in the capture of Sweat, the death of Matt?

MULVERHILL: I'm sure it did. We had over 2,500 leads since they came in, you know. Maybe ten or 15 of those were credible. So I'm sure this photo played a big part in how we reacted.

BLITZER: The -- that picture, by the way, was taken June 24, so it's a significant potential lead that was available to law enforcement, including you.

As of right now, the stuff that Brian Todd was talking about that was discovered, together with David Sweat, what other indications, what other clues is it providing? Are those -- are those -- those elements providing right now as to whether or not others may still be at large, accomplices?

MULVERHILL: I don't know, as far as accomplices, like I say, the items that they have, the maps and whatnot they came across, really are items that would be unusual to a camp: snowmobile maps, ATV trail maps, that type of thing. And those were the items that were located. Most of the items that were found on Sweat, even that Sweat was wearing would not uncommon in a hunting camp.

BLITZER: So presumably, they stole these items from inside one of those cabins. Is that what your suspicion is?

MULVERHILL: I think not only just one of those cabins. I think that, as time goes on, and people open up their cabins, I think we're going to find other cabins that they went into.

BLITZER: Sheriff, I want to take a quick break. But we have more questions on what's going on. A lot of questions remain to be answered.

Much more with Sheriff Kevin Mulverhill when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:16:46] BLITZER: Our breaking news, the captured fugitive, David Sweat, is giving investigators details of the escape that sparked a three-week manhunt. The prison guard accused of misconduct appears in court today, and we have new details about an FBI investigation into possible widespread corruption at that so-called maximum security prison, including drug trafficking.

We're back with Sheriff Kevin Mulverhill of Franklin County, New York. That's where the manhunt drama played out. Sheriff, is the area now safe? Can all the residents in your county, Franklin County, breathe a sigh of relief? Or are there still fears out there?

MULVERHILL: Absolutely. I talked to a number of community members today. They're just extremely thankful. The kids are all going to rest well -- excuse me, are going to have a good sleep tonight. Everybody's just -- just a tremendous sense of relief throughout the county

BLITZER: Were you surprised how it went down over the weekend?

MULVERHILL: You know, I guess you have to be open for these things. You can never really plan how this is going to go down. I'm glad it went down the way it did. I'm thankful that no law enforcement and no civilians were injured. I think any of us expected there to be a really big gun were injured. That's kind of surprising itself, you know. I think any of us at any given time expected there could be a stolen vehicle or a, you know, expected there to be a really big gun battle kind of thing. And I'm just glad it didn't come down that way.

BLITZER: Sheriff Mulverhill, thanks very much for joining us.

And joining us now is our justice reporter, Evan Perez, our law enforcement analyst. The former FBI assistant director, Tom Fuentes, a former ATF special agent in charge, the security expert Matthew Horace.

Evan, I understand you're getting some new information how the FBI is broadening this investigation into what happened at that prison?

PEREZ: That's right, Wolf. The dysfunction in this prison is now the focus of this investigation by the FBI. We're told that they're looking into drug -- a possible drug-trafficking ring centered on this prison, whether people were supplying heroin to the prisoners and whether some of the employees were actually involved in some of that trafficking, Wolf.

And, you know, this is something that comes from some of the interviews that the FBI has been doing. They've talked to some prison employees who have painted a picture of rampant heroin use within those prison walls. And so now, this is only really the beginning of a much bigger problem here, looking at -- deeply inside this prison to see whether or not there's bigger corruption issues.

BLITZER: This is shocking stuff. As shocked as we were about some of the other allegations, what was going on in that prison, this is even more shocking. Tom, you're a former assistant director of the FBI. Take us inside an FBI investigation along these lines, what was going on in that prison.

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, what they found out, in investigating the escape and what was going on at that time, and possible involvement of employees and correctional officers, is then uncovered information about this heroin trafficking ring. And corruption of -- whether they be federal, state or local officials, is a federal violation, is an FBI investigative violation. And that's what they're into now.

So what started as just the -- what happened to cause the escape, who helped in that regard, has now expanded into actual corruption of public officials in the prison.

BLITZER: It's shocking. There were about 3,000 prisoners at this Clinton Correctional Facility, so-called maximum-security prison. Here's the question: should it be shut down? Should those prisoners be moved elsewhere, at least for now?

FUENTES: No, keep them there for now. It's one-stop shopping to interrogate all those people.

But seriously, I don't know what other facilities New York state has, where else they could put these people for now, but certainly, they need to figure out what happened there. But the actual structure, building and physical location might be just fine if you have the right corrections officers who are honest employees and do what they have to do to maintain control of the prisoners. Apparently, that all broke down.

BLITZER: Pretty shocking stuff indeed. The governor needs a special commission to take a close look to investigate what happened, lessons learned and move forward, because this...

FUENTES: I think it needs to be -- it needs to be an independent investigation, and...

BLITZER: You don't trust the governor to do this?

FUENTES: I trust the governor. I just don't trust everybody who works for the state of New York in this situation.

BLITZER: So the FBI?

FUENTES: Not necessarily.

BLITZER: The federal government?

FUENTES: No. It could be another, you know, I.G.s from another state. It could be their state prison. Just some other officials that aren't here.

Because the governor has liability here, the head of the prison system, the head of that jail. Not just heroin, corruption and trafficking, that type of thing, but this happened on their watch. And if people had been killed, if an innocent civilian or a law enforcement officer had been killed during this escape, that's really their responsibility to keep control of these inmates.

PEREZ: It's supposed to be a maximum-security prison. This is supposed to be the place where you are assured that these people can't get out.

BLITZER: The governor keeps saying in 100 years no one has ever escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility, which is true. No one has escaped until now. So they've got to learn some lessons, what happened now. And if these other accusations, Evan, that you're talking about, widespread drug use, heroin use, whatever that's going on over there, that's -- that's pretty shocking.

Let me get Matthew involved in this. Quickly, Matthew, you want to react to what we've just been talking about?

MATTHEW HORACE, FORMER ATF SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: Well, I have to agree with Tom. There needs to be an independent investigation as to what created the environment that caused these security compromises.

Now that one suspect is dead and one suspect is captured, we can go back and start from the beginning and truly determine the extent of the criminality, the security lapses, and trying to figure out what happened, and what activities these two were doing while they were in the woods, in the cabin, if there were other cabins they went into, stole items, hurt people, whatever. There's still a lot of investigation that needs to be done.

BLITZER: Certainly is.

Matthew, we also heard David Sweat is now supposedly speaking to authorities. He told them the plan was to have Mitchell drive them to Mexico. She never showed up where these two guys escaped in that manhole. So what's the incentive here for this killer, who's going to spend the rest of his life in jail? He has no possibility of parole. What's the incentive for him to cooperate?

HORACE: Well, at this point, there's no traditional incentive. But as Tom pointed out yesterday, there's no disincentive for him not to talk either. So he's in custody. He's in jail for life. He's going to be in jail for life. He's injured right now, so using good interview techniques and good interviewers, hopefully, we're able to get some more information out of him that will validate his story and invalidate or validate Joyce Mitchell's story and other people's who may be involved.

BLITZER: The only incentive he might have -- Evan, I'll let you weigh in on this -- is if he's going to be in solitary confinement, which presumably he will be for many years to come, 23 hours a day. He'll be locked up in a small cell without a window, maybe a tiny little window, 23 hours a day. Maybe they'll give him a Bible to read. If he's a good prisoner, maybe after a few years, they'll give him "Moby Dick," another book to read, something like that. Maybe one hour a day they'll let him walk around, some sort of area.

The only incentive he has, if he fully cooperates, is maybe he'll only have to spend 22 hours a day in that solitary confinement, as opposed to 23 hours.

PEREZ: I'll tell you, one incentive, Wolf, he may have is the fact that other prisoners in that prison now know that he was a snitch, that he was providing information, that he had a very close relationship with the employees of the prison, the guards, and that they were using information from him, from those two fugitives, who were building their plan, really, to try to escape. But now people know in that prison that these guys were passing information about other prisoners. And so they have -- he will have a very big incentive, self-preservation incentive to cooperate.

BLITZER: And your sense -- your sense also, this guy may have an ego he wants to show off? Right?

FUENTES: Absolutely. He's pulled off the greatest escape of our times. He doesn't care if he has 22 or 23 hours, I don't think. It's going to be bad no matter what. But he, I think, is going to be narcissistic enough and want to be famous, want to get the glory, want to brag about what they pulled off, how they pulled off this fabulous escape. You know, they were out there for three weeks, eluding the authorities. His ego, Wolf, has taken the best of him already.

BLITZER: But I would be very careful to believe a word he says. He's a liar. He's a killer. He's obviously no good.

All right, guys. Stand by. We have much more on this story, coming up.

Also coming up, in the wake of terror attacks on three continents, and the latest arrest of an American accused of supporting ISIS, there's now an ominous new FBI warning about the Fourth of July holiday.

Also ahead, Donald Trump fired by NBC, and the newly declared presidential candidate, guess what? He's firing right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Breaking now, a New Jersey man is picked up on charges of supports ISIS, the ninth ISIS-related arrest here in the United States this month alone. It comes in the wake of three deadly terror attacks overseas and a new FBI warning about the threat of terrorism over the Fourth of July holiday.

Our chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto is here in THE SITUATION ROOM, watching what's going on. What do we know?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this is not just a usual pre-holiday warning. U.S. counterterror officials very concerned, a senior counter-terror official telling me that the U.S. is definitely at a heightened state of alert, based on ISIS's open call to conduct attacks on the West.

[17:30:12] And we saw the depth of that threat in the most deadly ISIS-inspired attack on westerners on this beach resort in Tunisia, that happening on the same day as another attack in Kuwait inside a mosque, killing 27 worshippers.

And on that beach in Tunisia, at least 37 tourists killed. Keep in mind, both of those attacks, a single gunman, a single attacker. And if that lone-wolf attack that is of great concern here in the U.S., that because it's very difficult to attract. But look at this demonstration of ISIS's spread and its popularity just in the last year.

JANES Defense tabulating all the attacks in that last year. More than 3,000 of them. You can see, as this explosion here in Syria and Iraq, but how they've spread beyond there, to Egypt, Libya, Tunisia on Friday, Kuwait on Friday, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, also going to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Then, of course, the concern becomes when you're inspiring attackers here how quickly you can inspire attackers in Europe and in the U.S., that attack in Lyon, France, on Friday. We've already seen other ones inspired in Texas here, in New York, and then, of course, the Boston potential recruit who was shot and killed before he was able to carry out an attack. It is now a global threat very much, Wolf.

BLITZER: What's different about the threat now?

SCIUTTO: Well, the difference is this particular threat is that the spokesmen and a senior leader for ISIS has issued a called during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. We're about a week in. And in that call, he has said if you carry out an attack now, you will get ten times the rewards in heaven. And that is the concern.

They believe that the attacker in Tunisia, the attacker -- perhaps the attacker in France, as well, heeded that call. And the concern is, and you heard Mike Morell, the former CIA assistant director, saying this as well this morning, that we would not be surprised to see a similar attack in the U.S. on the July 4th weekend.

BLITZER: There was certainly some controversy when the homeland security secretary warned people away from the Mall of America after that threat. There are authorities now warning people away from celebrating July 4th? SCIUTTO: No, they are not. In fact, they are encouraging people to

go out, to celebrate, but at the same time, they are encouraging people to heed this phrase we've heard so many times, Wolf, which is if you see something, say something. If you see something strange, report it to the police.

In fact this FBI bulletin that went out on Friday is encouraging both law enforcement and the public to be vigilant. But this is always the tough wall that they walk here. It's a balancing act, right? You want people to enjoy the holiday, but you want to acknowledge as well there's a real threat here and everybody to do their part to look out for that threat.

BLITZER: All right. Jim Sciutto, thanks very much. Let's get some more now, some more insight on the growing terror threat.

Joining us our CNN national security commentator, the former congressman Mike Rogers. He was chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Also joining us, our national security analyst, Peter Bergen, and former congresswoman Jane Harman. She's a leading intelligence expert. She heads the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

What do you make about this July 4 warning, if you will, directive going out from the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, to all law enforcement across the U.S., no specific threat, maybe, but be on the lookout?

MIKE ROGERS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY COMMENTATOR: It tells you, a, they don't have a specific threat. So they don't have a source of information in any form that says, "We think in this region or this place or by these group -- this group of individuals there's going to be an attack."

So that tells me that they don't have that specific conclusion on an event. But because of the call -- so they layer these threats. There's calls over Ramadan to get engaged. This recent spate of attacks will encourage other people to take up arms in an ISIS- sponsored terrorist attack somewhere in the world. That's what they're hoping for.

And so I think they're being prudent. You don't want to scare too much. Again it's going to take someone, an individual to go through the planning process. Clearly, they don't have anything on that yet, but they do want to be vigilant in saying all of the threats that we've seen over this series, this matrix comes together to say it is highly -- more highly likely there could be an attack on a...

BLITZER: Or a terror group, Peter, like al Qaeda or ISIS for that matter. How important symbolism is the July 4th holiday?

PETER BERGEN, COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: Well, we've seen attacks that happened when they were ready, which were not on symbolic days, and the most threatening attack on the United States, potentially, was the Christmas day 2009 attack, which might have been brought down Flight 253 over Detroit. So sometimes they do go for symbolic days, and sometimes they just go when they're ready.

BLITZER: What do you think, Jane?

JANE HARMAN, WOODROW WILSON INSTITUTE: Well, Friday's attack was the anniversary of the creation of the so-called Islamic State.

BLITZER: The caliphate?

HARMAN: Yes. So they do mark anniversaries, but July 4th is a big deal in the United States, and people mass in public places. And they have to be right once. We have to be right 100 percent of the time. The odds don't favor us being right 100 percent of the time.

And just think about that kid in Tunisia who surprised his whole family and his whole village by pulling this thing off. They thought he was a quiet good kid with an advanced degree, who obviously got radicalized in his basement on social media. This is the new normal. The new normal is quiet kids who have no police records pulling something off like this.

BLITZER: Do you agree with that?

BERGEN: Yes, I think that's exactly right. I mean, the social media has enabled these attacks around the world. We've seen them in Ottawa. We've seen them in Australia. We've seen them, you know, attempted in this country, Garland, Texas. It didn't work out. But this is the reality.

BLITZER: All three of those attacks in France, Lyon, Tunisia, in Kuwait, different, but similar in the sense that maybe ISIS-related and lone-wolf individuals inspired, if you will. Different modus operandi, if you will. Do you believe, since they happened on the same day within a matter of a few hours, they were related? Coordinated?

ROGERS: It's hard to say if they were related. I don't buy the lone wolf, because it was an individual. I think you have to track that back. One person can be a coordinated attack.

Some of the supplies that were gained raises some issues. One had a suicide vest that clearly wasn't made in somebody's basement for the first time. That tells you there was a logistics training involved in that attack.

Now, not all of them fit that profile, but clearly on the face of it shows that there was an investigation. And we should remember, the FBI domestically has an ISIS investigation open in all 56 field offices. That's why I think they're concerned about this. This is a big and growing problem not only here but in the...

BLITZER: Jane, almost every other day they seem to be arresting someone in the United States: today, New Jersey. Someone in the United States for supposedly collaborating with ISIS or plotting a deed.

HARMAN: I think there have been nine arrests this month. I think it's 50 in the last year since March of 2014. Three people have been killed, evading arrests, but the number is going to go up.

And what we want is people to see something and say something, and we want law enforcement to build trust with communities where some of these people are.

Let's understand: this is only -- not only Muslims who are conducting attacks in the United States that are hate crimes, too. Just think South Carolina, that tragedy just last week. So there's a lot of stuff that could happen, and it's easy access to how to build pressure cooker bombs or do other minor forms of use of explosives and guns.

BLITZER: And these are soft targets, Peter: the factory in France, the beach, the resort in Tunisia; a mosque in Kuwait. These are easy targets.

BERGEN: Yes, hotels can't turn themselves into prisons, right? I mean, by definition, they let people in. And similar with places of worship, whether it's in Charleston or whether it's in Kuwait. You have to let people in.

BLITZER: All right, guys. We're going to continue to stay on top this story. Let's hope it's a quiet holiday, July 4 holiday here in the United States. Guys, thanks very much.

Coming up, wounded and captured. Surviving escapee David Sweat is revealing stunning details about three weeks on the run in the rugged terrain of upstate New York.

And you're fired. This time it's Donald Trump himself. Why NBC is now dropping two major beauty pageants and cutting business ties with the Republican presidential candidate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're following the breaking news, the worst day of the year for U.S. stocks. Markets across the globe, including here in the United States, tumbled today, amid fears of a new financial crisis that could break wide open as soon as tomorrow.

Let's go to our business correspondent, Richard Quest, who's joining us now from Athens, Greece, with more on what's going on.

Lots of concern, Richard. What is going on where you are?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: What's going on, of course, is that Greece is just about out of money. The banks are closed. The stock market is closed, and the country is to have this major referendum on whether they want to have more austerity and, in other words, stay within the euro system.

You can hear the sounds of the protests that are taking place, but Wolf, people in this country are now being restricted to taking out 60 euros a day. That's about 65 U.S. dollars, 66 U.S. dollars. That's all they're allowed to take out. And that's not going to change any time soon. The situation is serious. There's no chance of negotiations during

the course of the week. And Wolf, as we head towards the weekend, we can only expect more tension and pressure as this crucial vote takes place.

The world markets are responding. And the worry is it's going to get worse.

BLITZER: The Dow Jones here in the United States dropped about 350 points today. There you see it 350 points down, closing at 17,596, and that's just worrying about what's happening in Greece. Why should this impact America's economy, potentially?

QUEST: And that's a really crucial point, because if you just look at the trade flows, if you look at the automatic nature, it shouldn't. But here's the problem. Drop a pebble into the water, and the ripple effect starts to grow. Because what happens in Greece could help, could hurt the Eurozone. Now we're starting to see the connection with the United States. The Eurozone is the single largest trading partner with the United States. Suddenly recession problems, deep dismay in the Eurozone, that does have an effect with the United States.

And one other thing, what we used to call counter-party risk, and we saw it with Lehman Brothers. Nobody really knows who is on the other side of half the deals and transactions. So if Greek banks are in trouble, are European banks in trouble? If European banks may be in trouble, the counter-party risk could end up back in New York. We saw it with Lehman Brothers, we've seen it with subprime. We've seen it time and again.

Wolf, they say the financial system is better equipped to cope with these sorts of pressures, but what we are seeing at the moment is people saying we're not so sure.

BLITZER: So our viewers here in the United States, Richard, how worried should they be?

QUEST: Not particularly at the moment. Certainly if they're coming to Greece, let's put it in the most basic terms, if viewers are visiting Greece, they will be allowed to use their ATM cards. They can take out as much money, the weather is glorious, a great holiday will be had. However, if the Greek crisis really does impact the Eurozone, then yes, you are going to see market volatility, but I think this is classic, this is classically one of those occasions where you just hold your nose and stay the course.

BLITZER: Richard Quest in Athens for us, we'll see what happens tomorrow, a critically important day. Thanks very much.

Coming up, why NBC is now telling Donald Trump you're fired. And what Trump is telling NBC.

Plus new details about the bloody end of the New York manhunt as a prison guard goes to court today facing charges for his alleged role in the breakout. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:51:47] BLITZER: Today NBC is joining Univision in telling Donald Trump you're fired. The networks are ending their business ties with Trump, including broadcasts of the Miss Universe and Miss USA beauty pageants which Trump and NBC jointly own. Both networks are blaming Trump's inflammatory comments about Mexico and immigration when he announced he was running for president. But Trump is not backing down.

CNN's Athena Jones is joining us from Chicago where Trump had plenty to say about all of this this afternoon.

Walk us through, Athena, what he said.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He did have a lot to say. He did not back down. He really doubled down. But I can tell you, Wolf, Trump's comments have offended a lot of people. There were protesters outside this event today. One of them even had a Donald Trump pinata. And this comes as his party is trying to make inroads with Hispanics, something many see as key to winning the presidency in 2016. But as you mentioned the immediate problem for Trump himself is on the business front.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Am I so bad?

JONES (voice-over): NBC Universal has cut its ties with Donald Trump citing his derogatory statements calling Mexican immigrants rapists, drug dealers and criminals.

TRUMP: Somebody has to come out and tell it like it is.

JONES: The real estate mogul stood by those comments before a packed house in Chicago quoting a report by "Fusion" owned by a Spanish language channel Univision and ABC.

TRUMP: They think it's like Mother Theresa is coming across the border, OK? This one says, 80 percent of Central American women and girls are raped crossing into the United States. Well, I said drug dealers. I said killers. And I said rapists.

JONES: NBC says it will no longer air the Miss USA or Miss Universe pageants, partly owned by Trump, following a similar step by Univision, which also dumped the event. Trump is threatening to sue.

TRUMP: I'll be suing Univision. Maybe I'll be suing NBC, too.

JONES: NBC was facing growing pressure to respond. With more than 200,000 people signing on to a petition on change.org calling on the company to dump Trump. And angry protesters denouncing him outside the Chicago event.

The reality star and now presidential candidate had already planned to give up his hit show "The Apprentice." Amid the controversy, Trump has been surging in the Republican polls. Up to second place in the first primary state of New Hampshire. Oozing confidence in classic Trump style, he touted the latest CNN/WMUR polls.

TRUMP: This is a CNN poll just came out. And they have interesting categories. Who's the best on terrorism? That's a pretty important subject. Trump right at the top. Who's the best on handling international trade? Like not even close, Trump is like almost double anybody else, right? That's incredible.

JONES: As for the man besting him in that poll, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, Trump says he's a nice guy who can't win in 2016.

TRUMP: Believe me, he will never, ever in a million years bring it off.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: Now in a statement issued after the press conference he held here, Trump called NBC weak and said the company is foolish for not understanding the serious illegal immigration problem confronting the U.S.

[17:55:06] He also took a dig at the company for standing behind, quote, "lying Brian Williams," but not behind, quote, "People that tell it like it is, as unpleasant as that may be." So a defiant Trump who sees himself as a truth-teller -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Athena, thanks very much. More on that story coming up later.

Meanwhile, coming up next, the captured fugitive spills details of a dramatic getaway. A prison guard accused of aiding the escape appears in court. And the FBI launching a corruption investigation at the prison including heroin use.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)