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The Situation Room
Interview With Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard; OPM Director Resigns; New Info Emerges on Charleston Shootings; FBI: Clerical Error Allowed Roof to Purchase Gun. Aired 18-19:00p ET
Aired July 10, 2015 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:03]
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Does this happen a lot?
ISIS recruits. Has the terror group lured commercial pilots into its ranks? We're learning about a terrifying scenario that may be unfolding right now.
Massive security breach. A high-level resignation tonight after a cyber-attack on government computers exposing the personal information of more than 20 million Americans, from Social Security numbers to details about their sex lives.
And gruesome mystery. Who this is little girl? And how did she die? John Walsh of CNN's "THE HUNT" joins us to talk about this unsolved case and his mission to track down killers.
We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. Wolf Blitzer is off. I'm Brianna Keilar. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Tonight, a bombshell admission by the FBI that the slaughter inside a Charleston church might have been prevented, should have been prevented. The FBI director now revealing that his agency botched Dylann Roof's background check, allowing him to purchase the semiautomatic handgun he used to kill nine people.
It's a gun he should not have had legally. It's a cloud over the celebrations in South Carolina after the removal of the Confederate Flag from the statehouse. That was a direct response to the church massacre and Roof's confessed attempt to start a race war.
We're also getting new information that ISIS may have influenced two commercial pilots with very specific skills that could help the group unleash terror. I will ask Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard about that and more. She's an Iraq War veteran and she's a member of the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees as well.
Our correspondents and analysts also are standing by as we cover all the news breaking right now.
And first we want to talk to our justice correspondent, Pamela Brown -- Pamela. PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, this
shows a huge breakdown in the background check system which is run by the FBI, FBI Director James Comey admitting today that a series of errors enabled Dylann Roof to buy the gun that killed those churchgoers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN (voice-over): The man who confessed to gunning down nine people inside a South Carolina church should never have been able to buy the .45-caliber gun he used to kill them, that bombshell coming from FBI Director James Comey, who told reporters today in a closed- door session his bureau made a mistake during Dylann Roof's background check, a mistake he calls "of heartbreaking importance that rips all of our hearts out."
PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: I think it's a major deal and it's a huge tragedy. And it just shows how a bureaucratic mistake can cost human life.
BROWN: Director Comey says the FBI examiner doing Roof's background check didn't discover he had previously admitted to illegally possessing drugs when he was arrested in late February. That information would have prevented Roof from passing a background check and buying the gun.
CALLAN: There's a regulation that says if he was a drug user, he shouldn't have got a gun. And there was abundant information for the FBI to have had that information. Had they had it, no gun sale and possibly no shooting here.
BROWN: Comey says the FBI examiner failed to make contact with the Columbia Police Department which arrested Roof on the felony drug charge, in part because of a clerical error that listed the wrong police department in the records. After the three-day waiting period for the background check, the South Carolina gun shop legally used its discretion to sell Roof the gun, even though his status was still pending.
Gun law activists say this error is another example of why they believe the three-day waiting period needs to be longer.
ALLISON ANDERMAN, LAW CENTER TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE: The fact that the dealer was allowed to proceed after three days and perhaps the examiner did not have enough time to fully conduct the investigation, and right now they're not given adequate time under that three-day default.
BROWN: The victims' families still grieving a loss of their loved ones met today with FBI officials, who explained the terrible mistake and promised to work on fixing the system.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: The FBI's revelation contradicts earlier assertions that the background check was done properly. Director Comey said that he concluded last night after reviewing the latest information that a mistake had been made -- Brianna.
KEILAR: Pamela Brown, thank you so much.
And I want to dig deep now on the story with CNN justice reporter Evan Perez.
I have a number of questions for you. But I want to start with this one. FBI Director Comey is very much falling on his sword here. He's not pointing fingers at local jurisdictions or at the state of South Carolina. But at the same time, what they reported up to the FBI was that he had a felony charge, which would not disqualify him from purchasing a gun. This was an examiner who would have been following up and if she'd been able to get in touch with the police, she would have discovered that he'd also admitted drug possession, which would have disqualified him, right?
EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Here's the issue.
The FBI director has no choice but to own this, because this was something that the FBI should have been able to catch, especially, as Pamela just explained. They called the wrong police department. But you're right. There is -- we have a map of the country that shows the patchwork of gun regulations and the way how background checks are done.
[18:05:11]
You can see California, and some states, Western states, do their own. South Carolina is among 36 states that rely completely on the FBI. And what really is the problem is that there's a lot of antiquated systems that the FBI relies on.
KEILAR: Fax machines, right?
(CROSSTALK)
PEREZ: Fax machines and court systems that are just really old and that don't report their information up to the FBI. So that's part of the issue here. You know, it's only -- these background checks only are as good as the information that is put in there.
KEILAR: Comey has said he only learned about this last night. He would have said something had he known sooner. And so then he comes out today off-camera and he talks about this. But it sounds like there were inklings in the department long before now that there was an issue.
PEREZ: Right. I'm surprised it's taken this long for the FBI to figure this out, frankly, because I'm told that within days that agents on the ground knew that there was something amiss.
And then a week after the shooting, the FBI finally -- the examiners did the required work and did a denial of the background check request, which happens a lot in these cases. That's what's so amazing is that this happens a lot more often than people realize. There are people who shouldn't have guns who initially get through because they have 72 hours to approve these. If they don't, they get their guns.
KEILAR: Yes, or these things just aren't reported. For instance, Seung-Hui Cho, the shooter at Virginia Tech, should not have been able to purchase a gun. A court had ruled that he was a danger to himself. That would disqualify him from purchasing a gun.
Somehow, that information did not trickle up. We have seen this before.
PEREZ: We have seen this before.
KEILAR: It's happening again. So where do we go from here?
PEREZ: That's the question.
We don't expect, frankly, Brianna, that in the climate that we're in, that there's going to be any changes made really to the gun background check system.
(CROSSTALK)
KEILAR: Not even on streamlining how the information comes up? I mean, does that take Congress?
PEREZ: It requires money, it requires the states to cooperate. Really, this is upon the states and the federal government to cooperate and do this. And there's not a lot of appetite for you to strengthen the background check system.
And keep in mind, people who favor the Second Amendment will point out that if the background check system had just been used properly here, this guy would never have had this gun. So this is not a loophole that he fell into. This just was human error. And the system just didn't work.
KEILAR: All right, Evan Perez, thank you so much.
Tonight, an Obama administration official has been forced out after a massive security breach happened on her watch, this coming a day after revelations that the cyber-attack impacted more than 20 million Americans. This is vastly more than originally thought.
I want to go now to our senior White House correspondent, Jim Acosta.
Tell us about this resignation, Jim, and also just the political pressure that led up to it.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Right, yes.
Brianna, OPM director Katherine Archuleta, she came to the White House and offered her resignation in person earlier this morning. President Obama accepted it, the White House says, because he believes new leadership is "badly needed" at the agency.
Administration officials say the personal data of 21.5 million federal employees and some of their relatives were swept up in this hack that led to Archuleta's departure. Investigators detected the intrusion as they were already looking into a separate hack of four million people.
And, as you said, Brianna, calls were coming in on President Obama to fire Archuleta. They were growing in the last 24 hours. House Speaker John Boehner jumped in and other top Republicans. But a key Democrat, Senator Mark Warner from Virginia, also piled on.
Brianna, as you know, as we have seen in other big fiascoes in this administration, once members of the president's own party start to pile on, it was going to be extremely difficult for Archuleta to hang on, and she didn't.
KEILAR: Yes. And you said this is not just information of employees, it's information about their spouses as well. I know that you pressed the White House on the seriousness of this hack. How damaging could this be?
ACOSTA: This is one of the most damaging hacks in the history of the federal government. What's astounding is how easy it was.
A contractor's stolen user name and password were all the hackers needed to break into the federal system. They likely obtained Social Security numbers, health records, mental health records, in some cases fingerprints, on nearly every federal employee who's gone through the background check system since the year 2000.
And also it stands to reason that the president's personal data was also obtained. The White House won't say at this point for sure. The Chinese, we have been reporting are the leading suspect. We pressed them again, the White House again on that. They have yet to publicly accuse Beijing of being responsible.
And we should point out Archuleta, she wanted to hang on. She told reporters on a conference call yesterday, 12 hours before she resigned, that she wanted to stay on board to oversee the upgrading of these systems. Instead, today is her last day. Brianna, she will be replaced by Beth Cobert, who is a top official at OMB. Cobert starts next week -- Brianna.
[18:10:01]
KEILAR: All right, Jim Acosta at the White House, thank you so much.
Now let's talk about the threat from ISIS and warnings that two commercial pilots may have fallen under the influence of the terror group.
Our Brian Todd is looking into this.
What have you found, Brian?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, those two pilots are from Indonesia. Tonight, the Indonesian government is trying to obtain more information about them.
Now, given that ISIS has already commandeered fighter planes in Syria and captured air fields, analysts say there could be some dangerous consequences if commercial pilots bring their skills into the terror group's fold.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): The 9/11 attacks, the Germanwings crash, horrifying evidence of what can happen when the wrong person takes control of a commercial plane.
Tonight, new questions on whether ISIS has commercial pilots in its ranks. Australian authorities are concerned about the potential radicalization of two Indonesian commercial pilots. That's according to an intelligence report believed to be from the Australian Federal Police.
The report says of the pilots -- quote -- "Both appear to be influenced by pro-I.S. elements." The document obtained by news Web site The Intercept says one of the pilots last September began to post pro-ISIS messages on social media, started interacting with people affiliated with ISIS, and later listed his current city as Raqqa, Syria, ISIS' stronghold.
It's not clear if that pilot ever actually traveled to Syria and CNN has not been able to independently verify the contents of the Australian police document. A U.S. counterterrorism official tells CNN ISIS has specifically called for skilled professionals to join their self-declared caliphate. Analysts say they're looking for a broad range.
DAVEED GARTENSTEIN-ROSS, FOUNDATION FOR THE DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: One thing that they certainly need is mechanics because of all the heavy armor they use. Having pilots as well is probably something that's in their designs. The pilots would be worth much more if they kept their activities covert, rather than the very overt statements of support.
TODD: There's no evidence so far ISIS actually recruited either of the two pilots. One of the pilots sent messages to local Indonesian media denying any ties to ISIS. Both of them reportedly no longer work for commercial airlines.
But could a trained commercial pilot with terrorist leanings infiltrate the airline industry?
LES ABEND, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Commercial pilots have knowledge of not only the aircraft and the systems and are intimate with the aircraft itself, but as far as security procedures, we have been trained with various verbal codes, various things we do as pilots if there is an onboard nefarious act occurring. Having knowledge of that could be an infiltration of that particular system.
(END VIDEOTAPE) TODD: Indonesia's national police chief tells CNN their
investigating shows these two pilots are not directly involved with ISIS. But he also says they often post about ISIS on Facebook and they are sympathizers.
Indonesia's Foreign Affairs Ministry says it has asked the country's security agencies for more information about these two pilots. The Australian Federal Police told CNN it does not comment on intelligence matters -- Brianna.
KEILAR: And, Brian, what are the Australian police saying about the wife of one of these pilots?
TODD: The wife is mentioned in that bulletin. The report says the wife of one of the pilots also worked for two airlines and it says she recently requested information from a pro-ISIS radical group in Indonesia.
KEILAR: All right, Brian Todd, thanks so much.
And joining me now to talk more about this, we have Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard. She's an Iraq War veteran. She's a member of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs committees.
Both committees, so you know what's going on here. And you just heard this report from Brian Todd. This idea of these pilots abroad who were sympathizing with ISIS, they'd been doing this or at least one of them had since mid-2014. And we're just now learning about it.
Think about this happening in the U.S. Do you have confidence that if this were happening in the U.S., that U.S. intel and law enforcement would have gotten on it sooner?
REP. TULSI GABBARD (D), HAWAII: Look, I think when you look at how these pilots, how they're saying they were recruited, through social media, we have heard also recently news in different parts of the United States, the reach of ISIS has gotten really predominantly through social media, and again, it goes back to the call to action I and many others have had to crack down on their ability to reach tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people via social media, to recruit them with their radical Islamic ideology.
And you see how they have apparently done this successfully with these pilots. And I think it's safe to say that they are doing the same thing with who knows how many people here in the United States.
KEILAR: Let's talk about this hack that we have seen of OPM. It's like human resources for the federal government. If someone's had a background check, they have gone through OPM. If they work for the government, they go through OPM, 21.5 million current and past employees and their spouses impacted by this.
[18:15:01]
At least that's what we know. The number keeps going up, China blamed for this hack. How does the U.S. respond when normally there's some sort of proportional response?
GABBARD: Well, first of all, I think it's important as we look at this so-called H.R. department for the federal government where these breaches took place, I think it's a good thing that the director was forced to resign.
It's unfortunate too often in Washington, people are not held accountable. But it can't stop there. I think you have got to look at the chief information officer. You have got to look at the fact that the breach that began in May of 2014 wasn't detected until a year later, the fact that they didn't have really an I.T. security department until 2013.
And, as you mentioned, this is the department responsible for incredibly private information on all federal employees and their family members and their histories.
KEILAR: Senator Chris Murphy said yesterday he got a letter that said he'd been impacted by this. Have you gotten...
GABBARD: I haven't gotten the letter yet, but I have been through these background checks. I'm quite certain that my information is out there. My staff has gotten letters. Other members of my family have gotten letters, just like these 22 million Americans.
KEILAR: How worried are they?
GABBARD: Well, it's the same concern, I think, of uncertainty that these 22 million Americans across the country are wondering exactly how that information could be used, the depth of it.
And they're talking about not just those whose background checks were done, but their neighbors, their family members, people who they have come into contact with going far back into their lives. So, it's important I think for urgent action to be taken on this, to, one, identify exactly why these breaches were allowed to occur within OPM, to bring in a third party, neutral, objective expert to be able to fix those breaches and to really strengthen the security of this very important information.
KEILAR: Many more questions for you, Congresswoman. Stay with us.
We will be right back with Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:21:43]
KEILAR: We're back now with House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committee member Tulsi Gabbard.
Congresswoman Gabbard, we will be back with you in just a moment.
But right now, we're getting a late update on the Iran nuclear talks, the newest deadline in any progress toward a deal.
Our global affairs correspondent, Elise Labott, is monitoring the negotiations.
What is the latest, Elise?
ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, Secretary Kerry came out a few hours ago and said there was some progress, but still some more work to do after some very tense and difficult days.
Now the negotiators are going to work through the weekend, see how much more progress they can get. They still do have some work to do. But officials and diplomats tell me it's really they're on the verge of a deal or they're on the verge of coming home, because you have to remember, Brianna, these people have been -- administrators have been working for about two weeks straight now.
The negotiators have been there for 30 days. They're exhausted. So they're really going to have to fish or cut bait. Either they will be on the verge of a deal in the next 24 to 48 hours, or they're probably going to have to come back and reassess.
KEILAR: This is pivotal.
We know the sticking points have been sanctions, how quickly will they be lifted, and then also this idea of inspections. Can the IAEA verify that Iran is not working toward a nuclear weapon? Do we know where specifically the issues are right now? Or is this a real close hold?
LABOTT: They're really nailing down on two key issues. As you mentioned, it's the inspections and that's about resolving old questions about Iran's nuclear weapons program.
Were they building a nuclear bomb? And they want to get access to military bases, scientists. I'm told the supreme leader is really digging his heels in on that. There's also the issue of the U.N. arms embargo. The Iranians want that lifted. The international community is hesitant.
And those are the two issues the Iranians are really staying firm, but also the international community. So for negotiators, the challenge is to come up with language that they can get what they want, but also show that the Iranians aren't caving, because that's really important to them. And that's the art of diplomacy, Brianna.
KEILAR: It is. Elise Labott, thank you so much for your report.
And I want to talk to you about sort of the specifics of the timeline and whether this really is the "take it or leave it" moment for the U.S. But, first, I want to put this into context about how much of a threat Iran is.
We just heard Joe Dunford, General Joe Dunford. He's the nominee to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And he was before Congress and he said, I think Russia is the most dangerous threat to the U.S. He said Russia, then China, then North Korea, and then ISIS.
Where do you think -- you may rearrange those. Tell me if you do. But where do you think Iran fits into this?
GABBARD: Well, I think it's -- I'm not at all surprised to hear him say that Russia is the greatest threat.
They have been for a very long time. And when you look at the thousands of nuclear warheads that they have, it's absolutely understandable, especially with Putin's actions as of late in particular.
North Korea, he mentioned North Korea. This is something that is very close to home for me because of North Korea's continued ballistic missile capabilities development. Hawaii, my home state, lies squarely within their targets. So the need to invest further in ballistic missile defense to protect the people of Hawaii, to protect the West Coast of the mainland United States is critical.
[18:25:00]
When you look at Iran, you look at the importance of these negotiations and how much more of a threat Iran will be if they are allowed to gain these nuclear weapon capabilities, I think that is really the point of what's at stake here.
KEILAR: That they could ascend there on that list that he detailed.
So you have this deadline for the Iran nuclear talks. It keeps moving and moving. Extra innings is what one State Department official described this as. Now it's Monday, July 13. Is it time for the U.S. to walk away?
GABBARD: I think it really will depend when -- in their discussions over the next couple of days if they get to a point where it's a decision between no deal or a bad deal
Then I think, absolutely, the United States should walk away. And we should be prepared to do that, because that's really -- the most important thing is not whether or not a deal is done. It's the content and the substance of the deal that matters the most.
KEILAR: Do you think this is really the "take it or leave it" moment here over this weekend? Or is this more the we're frustrated for now, if they decide to go home, we're going home, we're going to reassess, and see what's going on? Will we know?
GABBARD: I think it's hard to say.
I think you could look over the past how many extensions that have been there, the disagreements that have come about, the rhetoric that's been played on both sides, saying, you know, it's either horrible and there's never going to be a deal, or we're very close and we're making progress. I think it's part of their negotiation tactics, maybe. But I
think the point is, is, we remain focused on the content, specifically on these inspections, on making sure that these IAEA inspectors will have this any time/anywhere ability to make sure that Iran is holding to what it has agreed to, that it's no longer developing their nuclear weapon capability, and making sure that that is an enforceable fact.
So, I think that's going to be one of the key sticking points to whether or not this deal will be possible or if it means it's time to walk away.
KEILAR: That the U.S. needs to be able to verify, a very key point.
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, thanks so much. Appreciate you being here.
GABBARD: Thank you, Brianna. Aloha.
KEILAR: Aloha.
And just ahead, an emotional day in South Carolina, as the Confederate Flag was taken down. We will be discussing that.
And then also this, a disturbing admission from the FBI that the Charleston church shooter should not have been allowed to get a gun.
And the sparring between Donald Trump and Jeb Bush, well, seems to just be heating up -- Bush hitting back and talking a language that Trump understands. That would be money.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: We're following major new developments in South Carolina, including a stunning admission by the FBI. It now says a clerical error allowed Dylann Roof to buy the gun that he used in the Charleston church massacre.
[18:32:30] And in a direct response to the killings, the Confederate battle flag was permanently removed from the grounds of the statehouse today. CNN's Don Lemon talked about it with Governor Nikki Haley.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. NIKKI HALEY (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: What I realize now more than ever is people were driving by, and they felt hurt. And pain. No one should feel pain. We can have our disagreements, and we can have our policy back and forth. But no one should feel pain over something. Not over a symbol.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Don Lemon joining us now from South Carolina along with state senator Marlon Kimpson, and also we're joined by former ATF special agent in charge, Matthew Horace. Don, big day. You were there to see it. You talked to the
governor. What else did she say?
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Listen, it's important. Look, it's not there.
KEILAR: That's right; it's not there.
LEMON: The flag is gone. And the pole is gone. And I think that's what the governor was working towards, at least these past three weeks.
And I talked to her. I said, "You know what? You evolved over time about this."
And she said, "Well, I didn't really evolve. I just -- it never really came up." That's according to her in her time as governor to have the flag come down. But she understands that some people see this flag as a symbol of pride and heritage, history. And she said, that doesn't mean that this flag should continue to stand and that it should be in a relic room where it is and it should be part of a museum. But it doesn't mean that it should stand on statehouse grounds.
But she also said that this changed her personally. And that she now understands even more about empathy and walking in other people's shoes. If this causes someone else pain, therefore, she believes, it should not be here.
KEILAR: Senator Kimpson, it is a different scene. Don is right. We've been talking to people standing where he's been standing, and you see the flag just jumps out at you. I saw him, and I almost thought he was standing in a different place without the flag behind him. It just doesn't even look the same. This was a really tough fight. What are you feeling today?
MARLON KIMPSON, SOUTH CAROLINA STATE SENATOR: Well, you know, I was just thinking about that as I saw the flag come down, and it was reminiscent for me, at least, when President Obama got elected to president the first time. What you saw in South Carolina today was people, all people, coming together and just celebrating. We really felt good.
You know, I started the day talking to my dad. My dad picked cotton in Calhoun County as a sharecropper on the Gressette farm. And now his son is in the Gressette Senate Building, and I am the co- sponsor of the legislation that passed to bring the Confederate flag down.
And so it is about progress. It's about unity. It's truly a great day in South Carolina. And it's something that we should be all proud of.
KEILAR: Matt, this is certainly a big day for South Carolina. But it's also overshadowed by what we're learning from the FBI, that the shooter in the church massacre never should have been able to purchase a gun.
The FBI, we've learned, an examiner there called the wrong police department; and therefore, she didn't get the information that she would have found out would have disqualified Dylann Roof from getting a gun. How was this able to happen?
MATTHEW HORACE, FORMER ATF SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: Well, you know, Brianna, having been a part of this process for a number of years, there are a number of different areas of concern where there are room for mistakes. And we never like to see this happen in any case.
But I can tell you that, as an ATF agent, whenever we learn that someone received a gun that shouldn't have, there was a very compelling and emergency effort that we put into getting that firearm back. And you always had the idea in the back of your mind that you had to do this before something bad happened. In this case something very, very bad did happen.
KEILAR: Matt Horace, thank you so much. Senator Kimpson, really appreciate you being with us. Don Lemon there with us from Columbia, South Carolina, standing in front of what used to bear the Confederate flag and no longer does.
Just ahead, Donald Trump heads to Hollywood, gearing up for what's expected to be a huge rally this weekend.
Plus the latest on the heartbreaking mystery of the little girl whose body was found along Boston Harbor. Who is she and how did she die?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:41:14] KEILAR: Police in Boston are hoping that a new computer-generated image will help identify a young girl being called Baby Doe. The body of the girl, believed to be about 4 years old, was found on the shore of Boston Harbor almost two weeks ago. But so far, investigators have no idea who she is. Or how she died.
And we're joined now by John Walsh. He is, of course, the host of "The Hunt" on CNN.
And John, you've worked on several cases like this. It's been two weeks since this little girl's body was found. What does it tell you that no one has come forward to identify this child?
JOHN WALSH, HOST, "THE HUNT": Well, it certainly tells us that nobody's looking for her. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, that did that picture right there, has researched and searched and combed through their database of missing children for weeks now and have no record of a child fitting this description being missing.
And they did have one possibility, but eliminated that possibility, unequivocally. So we're back to square one. And it makes me think that whoever dumped this poor little girl's
body in the bay like a piece of garbage, in a garbage bag, had something to do with their killing; and that they're under the radar and they don't want people to know that they killed a child.
So I am asking everybody, and so is law enforcement, to come to the grips with maybe you might know this family. You might know this child. You might have seen this child. And you may be afraid to talk to law enforcement. You may not want to call the Massachusetts State Police.
I learned in the 25 years of working on "America's Most Wanted" that people trusted me. They trusted the fact that our hotline was monitored; and the phones were answered; and the computer was monitored by my technicians, that I didn't trace or tap calls and didn't allow law enforcement to do that. So we were able to catch almost 1,400 criminals and recover 61 missing kids alive.
So if somebody is afraid to talk to authorities, afraid of retribution from the family, or whoever killed this girl, don't worry about it; just call. Make that call. Tell us what her name is, so we can bury her and get her the peace that she so deserves. And the burial and the memorial that people that did love her can come to and pray. And to find out who killed her, who dumped her body there. And my fear is that there may be other siblings in the family. And lots of times it's the live-in boyfriend; it's the stepdaddy; it's somebody that kills a child, and then they start to batter or abuse another child in the family.
So time is -- time is of the essence here. We need to find out who this little girl is.
KEILAR: Good advice, just call. John Walsh, the season premiere of "The Hunt" is Sunday at 9 p.m. This is about two girls who were shot to death in the back of their father's taxi. And in it, you're trying to track down the main suspect. It is their father, Yaser Said. I want to watch a clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WALSH: It's the classic control freak/domestic abuse scenario. Make the woman so dependent upon the man that she's not only afraid; she's actually convinced that this is the norm. This is the way that she has to live.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yaser always had a gun on him. And he would always go to the gun range to practice shooting. He had threatened before to kill my mom. And kill my dad.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think slowly, Patricia became very, very isolated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Tell us about the hunt for that man there.
WALSH: Well, you know, the FBI has their top ten and I was lucky enough, when doing "America's Most Wanted," to catch 17 off the "ten."
[18:45:04] Marshals have their top 15, caught I think 45 off the 15.
I have my own top ten. And Yaser Said is right up there at the top. This coward molested his own daughters. When they had the courage to tell somebody and go to authorities, he threatened to kill their mother and got them to recant out of fear, trying to protect their mother.
Then, he went to Egypt and made arranged marriages so he could literally sell the girls. When he came back, the girls at the request of their mother went to see him, maybe to see if they could somehow patch up this so dysfunctional family.
How did he reward those girls for their courage? He shot one of the sisters immediately, the other sister he shot methodically. One kneecap at a time, one elbow at a time, parts of her body, tortured her for I don't know how long, and then finally killed her.
This is a coward. These are the guys I hate the most. I profiled many times, never was able to catch him.
I think he fled to Egypt. He has dual citizenship. And I'm sure with all the problems Egypt has, with all the money we send there for aid, they don't want our garbage. I think on Sunday night, Yaser Said, we're going to get a tip where he is. Then it's up to Egyptian authorities to extradite him.
U.S. marshals will get on a plane. They'll fly right there to Cairo where I think he and they'll put the cuffs on him and bring him back. This is a guy I would love to see face a court room, face justice for this so damaged family. Hopefully, Sunday night will be his last time that I profile him.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: We sure hope so. John Walsh, thanks so much for being with us.
WALSH: Thanks for having me.
KEILAR: And the hunt is on for Yaser Said this Sunday at 9:00 p.m. on CNN.
Just ahead, thousands of people are expected at a Donald Trump rally in Phoenix tomorrow. But what can we expect the outspoken candidate to say? We're following him on the campaign trail, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:51:28] KEILAR: The battle is heating up between the two frontrunners in the Republican race for the White House. In one corner, Jeb Bush, a traditional candidate who's leading in the polls. And in the other corner, Donald Trump, he is polling in second place as his campaign plays out like one of his reality TV shows.
CNN senior Washington correspondent Jeff Zeleny has been following all of the latest.
What's going on, Jeff?
JEFF ZLENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESONDENT: Well, Brianna, it does actually seem like a reality show, even though it's not. This is a serious competition. But this week, the large GOP field suddenly seems smaller, with Donald Trump repeatedly taking aim at one candidate in particular.
But if you thought Jeb Bush had a bad week, you'd be wrong. It was his money versus Trump's mouth.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'll be the greatest jobs president that God ever created.
ZELENY (voice-over): Donald Trump may be sucking up the oxygen --
TRUMP: We are going to make our country great again.
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How're you doing?
ZELENY: But Jeb Bush is sweeping up the cash. The presidential Republican primary suddenly seems more like a summer sideshow. Trump is dominating the airwaves.
TRUMP: I'm all over the place.
ZELENY: And expecting big crowds to hear his sharp words on immigration.
TRUMP: They're bringing drugs, they're bringing crime, they're rapists, and some I assume are good people.
ZELENY: He's moving a Saturday rally in Arizona from the Biltmore Hotel to the Phoenix Convention Center because of high demand.
Expect more tough talk like this on Jeb Bush.
TRUMP: Bush is weak on immigration.
ZELENY: It's even getting personal, with Jeb Bush's wife Columba drawn into the fray.
TRUMP: If he loves his wife and I know he does, I hear she's a lovely woman, by the way. So if he loves his wife and she's from Mexico, I think it probably has an influence on him, yes.
ZELENY: And that was enough for Bush to start pushing back, gently appealing to voters to ignore his outspoken rival.
BUSH: Maybe you could talk to Donald Trump about that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, exactly.
BUSH: I don't have his number, but I can find it for you. Give him a call.
ZELENY: Bush, who is leading in the polls, said this week he and his allies have raised $114 million in the first half of the year. Trump says he is not beholden to donors.
TRUMP: I don't need anybody's money. I'm using my own money.
ZELENY: Jeb Bush is walking a fine line between elevating the conversation and not getting steamrolled on television by Trump.
BUSH: You can love the Mexican culture. You can love your Mexican-American wife and also believe that we need to control the border.
ZELENY: Trump's hunger for attention and the media appetite for him has made it harder for other GOP candidates to stand out.
GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Leadership matters.
ZELENY: Chris Christie is trying to get back into the conversation through a half million dollar advertising campaign, aimed at New Hampshire voters.
CHRISTIE: But if we're going to lead, we have to stop worrying about being loved and start caring about being respected again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZELENY: Now, it's not only Christie who is seeking attention. The Republican field is expanding even more next week. When Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin officially jumps into the race on Monday, perhaps giving Donald Trump a fresh rival to go after in what's becoming an increasingly unruly GOP primary fight.
KEILAR: All right. Jeff, hang in there with us. We want to bring in CNN senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein, the editorial director of "The National Journal", and we also have CNN senior digital correspondent Chris Moody with us.
So, you just reported some pretty impressive fund-raising numbers for Jeb. You said it's Jeb's money versus Donald's mouth. So, put this into context for us.
ZELENY: We are talking $114 million. Now, I'm told just a few moments ago, it may be up to $119 million.
[18:55:00] That's the money that he has raised and his super PAC has raised. It blows everyone out of the water on both sides. It's about 10 times as much as his nearest rival.
The reason is Jeb Bush was playing by a slightly different set of rules. He has been all year-long raising big checks, millions of dollars at a time, before he announced his candidacy. So, he starts with a big advantage. His campaign has $11 million or so. But his whole apparatus has about $119 million.
KEILAR: Hillary Clinton, $45 million for her campaign.
ZELENY: Right.
KEILAR: The super PAC supporting her not as well. But what do you make of that?
ZELENY: I mean, I think that it gives Jeb Bush a big advantage, of course. But he has a bigger primary fight in his hands and Hillary Clinton, you know, she is not -- you know, she's still far and away the most on the Democratic side.
KEILAR: Chris, you have Donald Trump. He got this event in L.A. tonight. This is interesting to me because he's attending this dinner with a group of Hollywood conservatives. It's not a fund-raiser for him, right? He says he's using his own money. This is a fundraiser for them.
California is not an early state. I generally think when someone is really serious about being in a tough primary fight, they are doing something that makes total sense for -- if it's not money, it's for votes. What's going on here?
CHRIS MOODY, CNN SENIOR DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, no one has ever expected Donald Trump to be a conventional candidate --
KEILAR: Yes.
MOODY: -- in any sense of the word.
Donald Trump is going to meet with a group of conservatives in Hollywood, actors, producers, people in the film business, and there aren't that many of them, in the grand scheme of things. They are quite a minority out there.
The group is called Friends of Abe, but they are fairly secretive, very low-profile. The meeting is going to be totally off the record, behind closed doors. Now, he is going to be met by them but outside in front of the doors are many protesters, particularly Latino advocacy groups that are not happy with the words he said about the group, as well as pinatas shaped like -- that look like Donald Trump that will be out there as well.
KEILAR: Very clearly Donald Trump pinatas, I will say, with the comb-over and everything.
MOODY: Absolutely. Unmistakably. So, it's going to be quite a show.
KEILAR: So, he's going to Phoenix and he's got a speech on Saturday and he is expected to have thousands of people attending at this speech. Arizona is a state where there are a lot of Hispanic voters. What is going to say, do you think? MOODY: Well, I guess he's going to freedom-fest, which is a
libertarian party, I guess. Libertarian convention in Las Vegas, then to Arizona, which lots of immigrants, obviously -- there has been a lot of conversation about immigration there for the past several years, and controversy.
There's going to be, as you said, thousands of people there. This is an opportunity for him to really get his message out. I do not expect him to be any less incendiary than he already has. This might motivate him to be more so.
KEILAR: Yes, he is digging in.
And, Ron, it's of note that Donald Trump told Anderson Cooper that he thinks he is going to win the Latino vote. Fact-check this for us.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the short answer is no. He would not. The longer answer is that he is unlikely to get the chance as the Republican presidential nominee and most relevant answer is that the real question is what is Donald Trump doing to the Republican prospects among Latinos whoever wins the nomination next year?
I mean, if you think about it, since 2012, Reince Priebus, after the election, said the party had to reach out to Hispanics and Asian- Americans to win other minorities, after Mitt Romney won a share of the white vote than Ronald Reagan in 1980 and lost. Since then, we have seen the Republican House shelve a bipartisan immigration. We've seen 26 Republican states sue to block President Obama's executive action on immigration. We have seen the first candidates talk about reducing legal immigration, and Scott Walker and Rick Santorum.
And now, you have Donald Trump, who is speaking to the portions of the party and I'm sure we'll see this in Arizona that are most alienated from the demographic change going in the country, Jeb Bush is striking a very different tone. But there's a risk that all of this will make it harder for Republicans than in 2012 to improve among the Latino vote which really would seem to be essential to getting back over the top in the presidential race.
KEILAR: It's one of the reasons that Republicans are hesitant to fully slam Donald Trump is that, you know, if they anger him, you never know, maybe he goes rogue. Maybe he runs as an independent.
ZELENY: I think that's one reason. I mean, certainly, there are -- you know, millions of or billions of Republicans not to anger Donald Trump. He has a lot of money here. But it is unlikely, he has said so himself, that he will run as an independent. He thinks the best way to beat Hillary Clinton is for a Republican to do it.
But it certainly is an open question. Party leaders are not sure how to handle him. They don't want him to be saying what he is saying. But they don't want to give too head of the hammer. And the reality is they can't control him at all. The Republican National Committee controls small things. They can't control Donald Trump, you know that, Chris. You've
been out with Donald Trump. He controls himself.
MOODY: Right. And also, by attacking him, you empower him as well.
KEILAR: Yes, that's a very good point that you make. Chris Moody, Jeff Zeleny, Ron Brownstein, have a wonderful weekend all of you. Thanks for being with us tonight.
And remember that you can always follow us here on Twitter. Tweet me, @BriKeilarCNN, tweet the show @CNNSitroom. And be sure to join us on Monday in THE SITUATION ROOM.
You can watch us live, DVR us. You don't want to miss a moment, right?
Thanks so much for watching. I'm Brianna Keilar in THE SITUATION ROOM.
And "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.
