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Interview With Nevada Congresswoman Dina Titus; Trump Visits Puerto Rico; Las Vegas Massacre Investigation; Trump Ignites New Controversy During Puerto Rico Visit; Facebook Ads Under Scrutiny in Russia Probe. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 03, 2017 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:15]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news: the killer sweep. A first look inside the rooms and a glimpse of some of the weapons the Las Vegas gunman used to carry out his rampage. Police are now revealing he set up cameras inside the suite and outside. What images did they capture?

Motive for a massacre. New information tonight about the killer, the woman he lived with and his gambling habits. And we're also now learning about a large mysterious amount of money wired to the Philippines. Do any of the new details contain clues about his motive?

Grading on a curve. President Trump gives his administration high marks on its hurricane response as he visit ravaged Puerto Rico. But his comments there are igniting new controversy. Did he downplay the island's disaster by comparing it to Hurricane Katrina?

And Moscow's media meddling. New details emerging tonight about the extent of Russia's interference in the U.S. election via social media. Investigators are reviewing thousands of Facebook ads viewed by millions of people.

We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: We're following breaking news, critical new information just revealed by police about the investigation into the Las Vegas shooting massacre that left 59 people dead.

At a news conference just a little while ago, they said the gunman, Stephen Paddock, set up cameras inside and outside the hotel suite from which he fired on concert-goers. We're also now seeing the first pictures taken inside his rooms, showing some of the 23 weapons he stockpiled there.

Police also say more guns and what they call a plethora of ammunition were found inside a home in Reno where Paddock also lived, in addition to a home near Las Vegas. And they say his weapons are being sent to an FBI crime lab for analysis. Tonight, there are new questions about whether they were legally

modified from semiautomatic guns into automatic killing machines, thanks to a gun law loophole.

Also new, investigators are now calling Paddock's girlfriend a person of interest in the case. They say Marilou Danley is in her native Philippines and was out of the country at the time of the massacre, but now there are questions about a $100,000 money transfer sent by Paddock to the Philippines.

We're covering all of that, much more this hour, with our guests, including Congresswoman Dina Titus, who represents Las Vegas. And our correspondents and specialists are also standing by.

First, let's get straight to Las Vegas, where there are new pictures just coming out moments ago that show even more of the scene inside the gunman's hotel suite, including multiple guns and ammunition strewn across the room.

Our senior national correspondent, Alex Marquardt, begin our coverage.

Alex, police are revealing new information tonight.

ALEXANDER MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Wolf. They are.

The sheriff here moments ago giving more information about the shooting which he said had been pre-planned extensively. He could not say whether automatic weapons had been used in the shooting, but did allow for the possibility that what was called a bump-stock was used, which would allow a user of a semiautomatic weapon to fire faster.

He also gave us an update on the total number of guns that were in Paddock's possession. Until now, we knew there was 42, 23 in that hotel suite, 19 in his home in Mesquite, Nevada. Police now saying that they raided a third location in Reno, finding seven more, including five handguns, two shotguns and a plethora of ammunition.

But as for the big question, the motive, the sheriff still had no answer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUARDT (voice-over): Tonight, new video taken just outside gunman Stephen Paddock's hotel suite showing one of the more than 40 weapons in his arsenal.

Between police tape, a long rifle with a scope mounted on a bipod for greater accuracy. In these photos, two more semiautomatic rifles on the floor of the hotel room, along with shell casings and what appears to be a yellow hammer.

Also, this new video taken by previous guests from inside the same Mandalay Bay suite showing the lofty views over the Vegas Strip, which became a tactical vantage point for the massacre.

Today, Las Vegas police giving an update, noting for the first time that the shooter had placed cameras inside and outside the hotel room.

JOSEPH LOMBARDO, CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA, SHERIFF: I anticipate he was looking for anybody coming to take him into custody. The FBI took all digital and electronic evidence into custody. And we are evaluating.

MARQUARDT: Law enforcement also confirming that Paddock, a retired accountant and avid gambler, sent $100,000 to the Philippines, where his girlfriend has been visiting. But it's unclear when the money was sent or who it was for.

[18:05:10]

Paddock's father was a convicted bank robber on the FBI's most wanted list from 1969 until 1977. But Paddock had no criminal history and those who knew him are in disbelief and have no answers.

ERIC PADDOCK, BROTHER OF SHOOTER: Maybe you are going to find something that I don't know. But I'm lost. I'm lost.

MARQUARDT: We now know that Paddock checked into the room on September 28, three days before the massacre. He brought along at least 10 bags containing 23 weapons, including many long rifles, as well as ammunition.

Paddock is believed to have used a hammer to break two windows in the suite, giving him two separate positions to carry out his attack. Then, at 10:08 p.m. on Sunday night, he opened fir on the concert.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just sounded like fireworks, almost fake at the beginning. And then once everyone hit the floor, just stay down and get out as fast as we can.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like shooting fish in a barrel from where he was.

MARQUARDT: The sheriff said the hail of bullets lasted nine minutes, police at the scene quickly realizing the gunfire came from the hotel.

Chris Bethel (ph) was in a room two floors below.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It seemed like it just never stops. Your -- seconds are going by, minutes are going by, and the rounds are continuously going, changing weapons, changing calibers. You can hear the difference in gunshots of the different rifles that he's shooting.

MARQUARDT: This video from an NBC News reporter staying at the hotel shows police going floor to floor. They soon pinpointed the room where Paddock was holed up, but he fired on them through the door as they approached, hitting a security guard in the leg.

They retreated, waiting for the SWAT teams. And at 11:20 p.m., an hour and 12 minutes after the first shots rang out, the SWAT teams burst in, finding Paddock dead from a self-inflicted wound.

Inside, those 23 guns. And when police searched his home in Mesquite, Nevada, 19 more, plus thousands of rounds of ammunition and, in his car, ammonium nitrate, which can be used to make explosives.

Today, the sheriff emphasizing how concerned he was that his officers faced all that firepower.

LOMBARDO: Absolutely concerned.

The world has changed. And, you know, who would have ever imagined this situation? I couldn't imagine it. And for this individual to take it upon himself to create this chaos and harm is unspeakable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUARDT: Now, the sheriff also noted that Paddock's girlfriend is still a person of interest. She is 62-year-old Marilou Danley. She was not in the country during the attack. The sheriff said she has been in the Philippines. She is on her way back and he told reporters that he anticipates some information here shortly, information that will surely be valuable in determining that motive -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, he did.

All right, Alex, thank you very much, Alex Marquardt reporting from Las Vegas.

We're also learning more about some of the victims and the survivors tonight.

Let's bring in CNN's Stephanie Elam.

Stephanie, the stories we're hearing tonight, they are wrenching.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heart-wrenching completely, Wolf.

We keep saying that there are 59 people who died and that there are about some 500 that were injured. But the truth of the matter is, they're not just people. They're parents, they're grandparents, they're loved ones, they're best friends. We want you to know more about the people who have been impacted here.

Take a look at who...

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM (voice-over): In the middle of the chaos, countless acts of kindness and compassion. Amy McAslin was at the concert Sunday night near the stage when gunfire rained down all around her. She said a stranger came to her rescue.

AMY MCASLIN, SURVIVOR: I don't know his name. I can barely remember what he looked like. But he completely covered me. He covered my face. He said, I have got you. It's just truly incredible, a stranger jumping over me to protect me.

ELAM: Eighteen-year-old Addison Short was among the crowd of people running for cover, but she couldn't move fast because she was shot in the leg. From her hospital bed, she tells the story of a good samaritan who used his belt to wrap her leg in a tourniquet and carried her to safety.

ADDISON SHORT, SURVIVOR: If the guy that helped me is watching, I really just want to tell him how grateful I am for basically saving my life.

ELAM: For those who didn't survive, we're learning more about the last moments of their lives and who they were.

An off-duty San Francisco police officer lost his wife when they got separated. When the shooting began, Vinnie Etcheber told his wife, Stacee, to run, while he rendered aid to the wounded. She was killed in the attack.

The San Francisco Police Officers Association said in a statement that Stacee "was a wonderful caring wife, mother and daughter."

[18:10:00]

Twenty-year-old Angela Gomez of Riverside, California, also died in the rampage. Angie, as she is called, was a member of the Riverside Poly class of 2015 and a Poly cheerleader.

Her cheer coach, Lupe Avila, remembers Angie as a wonderful young woman, saying, "She had her whole life ahead of her."

Denise Salmon Burditus died in her husband's arms. The couple was on vacation from West Virginia. They took this picture in front of the Route 91 Harvest stage just a day before the massacre. Her husband, Tony, wrote on Facebook Tuesday: "It saddens me to say that I lost my wife of 32 years, a mother of two, soon to be a grandmother of five, this evening in the Las Vegas shooting. Denise passed in my arms. I love you, babe."

HEATHER GOOZE, SURVIVOR: I didn't want him to be there alone.

ELAM: Even though she didn't know him, Heather Gooze stayed with Jordan McIldoon and held his hand as he took his last breath. The 25- year-old was from British, Columbia. She delivered news of his death to his mother and girlfriend.

GOOZE: I said, he didn't make it. He died. And I said, I promise you, I swear to you that I will not leave them.

ELAM: For other survivors, concern that they could have done more.

BRIAN CLAYPOOL, SURVIVOR: Did I help enough people? Because everybody was screaming. I didn't know what to do.

ELAM: Amy McAslin's white shirt was stained by the blood of the man who shielded her. She neither knows his name or how he is doing. He told her he was shot in the rear.

MCASLIN: He is a true -- truly amazing person for just trying to protect the whole under that whole table area where we were.

(END VIDEOTAPE) ELAM: In the face of such cowardice on behalf of the shooter, so many people stepped up and showed such humanity, such courage. And if anything, that's the takeaway from what has happened here. That's the highlight. That's the hope, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes. Our heart goes out to the families, such a sad story, indeed.

Stephanie Elam, thanks for that report.

Right now, we're joined by the Democratic Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada, whose district includes the Las Vegas Strip.

It's heartbreaking to hear those stories. I know you have heard those, so many more, Congresswoman.

Are investigators, based on all the information you have, any closer to determining a motive behind this massacre?

REP. DINA TITUS (D), NEVADA: They aren't.

I was at the press conference you referenced a little while ago, and they won't say. They hope that they get more clues when they talk to the girlfriend who is on her way back.

They're also investigating a lot of the software in his computer to see if there are any hints there. The thing is that he just doesn't follow any of the patterns that you would expect from somebody who has been involved in this kind of incident in the past.

BLITZER: Is the $100,000 wire transfer that this killer made a significant clue for investigators? We're told it was transferred to someone in the Philippines.

TITUS: The FBI briefed me on that, but they aren't saying to whom or when it was transferred. We just know that that was the case.

And apparently the girlfriend has been traveling throughout the East, and she was in -- thought to be in Japan, thought to be in Hong Kong. But they're confident now she is in the Philippines and they're working on bringing her back here and maybe she will have some answers.

BLITZER: Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo called her a person of interest.

Is she cooperating with the FBI now? We know the FBI has offices at various U.S. embassies, whether in the Philippines or Japan. Yesterday, they said she was in Japan. Today, they say she in the Philippines, but supposedly coming back to the United States.

TITUS: That's right.

The sheriff said they have talked with her and they're working on getting her back here. Whether she is cooperating or not, that's in progress. BLITZER: Here's one of the sad elements. And there are so many of

them.

Some of the bodies are apparently in very, very bad condition. How difficult is the identification process for the coroner's office? We're told three, three of the bodies still have not yet been identified of the 59 dead.

TITUS: That's right. Three have not.

I was at the hospital this morning. They were telling me how difficult it was to identify the people who were there. They dropped their phones when they ran. They dropped their pocketbooks. They didn't have driver's license with them.

It's been a very tedious process even identifying one off-duty police officer through fingerprints.

BLITZER: How many families still need to be notified that they lost a loved one?

TITUS: I can't tell you the number.

I do know that there's a family reunification center that has been set up. There are several hot lines. The hospitals all have service centers for the families who are there. They are making that a priority. This is about the survivors, as well as those who were slain.

[18:15:01]

BLITZER: Anything else you want to say, Congresswoman, to the folks watching us right now?

TITUS: You know, you think of Las Vegas as not a real place, as a place you go for fun and entertainment, real people don't live there.

But we have seen what a community this is. Donations by Amazon, people standing in line to give blood, food and water taken to those who are standing in line and the great job done in a coordinated effort by medical personnel, our first-responders, law enforcement.

It has just been an amazing thing to see. If there's anything good that comes out of it, we will be able to teach other people lessons of how to do it right, should this horrendous thing occur anywhere else.

BLITZER: Let's hope it doesn't happen again. Let's hope lessons are learned to try to figure out how to prevent this down the road.

Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada, thanks so much for joining us.

TITUS: Thank you for letting us tell our story.

BLITZER: Thank you.

Just ahead, investigators now recovering dozens of guns belonging to the gunman. Were some of them modified into automatic weapons thanks to a gun law loophole?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:20:40]

BLITZER: The breaking news this hour, new information on the Las Vegas massacre.

At a new conference just a little while ago, police revealed that investigators found even more guns and what they call a plethora of ammunition at the Reno home of the gunman, Stephen Paddock. And they say the weapons he used to kill 59 people and injure more than 500 are being sent to an FBI lab for analysis.

Our senior investigative correspondent Drew Griffin is joining us now with a closer look at how the gunman may have been able to make his weapons even more deadly.

Drew, a work-around in U.S. gun laws could be at the center of this, right?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely.

And we should make clear that a lot has yet to be determined about the guns this killer used. But, Wolf, the fact of the matter is, with the money he had and the lack of a criminal record, he had everything in his power to legally acquire everything he needed to pull off this massacre.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN (voice-over): A fully automatic rifle requires two components, a trigger mechanism that allows multiple rounds fired with one finger squeezed and a magazine able to feed the weapon with a continuous stream of bullets.

The result is the kind of weapon one could logically only use in a war or, like Las Vegas, in a massacre.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Be advised it is automatic fire, fully automatic fire from an elevated position.

GRIFFIN: You would think that kind of weapon power would be illegal for average gun owners to possess. Think again.

This is a slide stock, perfectly legal after-market component. According to the manufacturer's video, it's easy to assemble on an assault rifle, and the results, though technically do not make a machine gun, ask yourself if you can tell the difference.

SAM RABADI, FORMER ATF SPECIAL AGENT: That was just one of several ways that you can make a semiautomatic rifle into essentially a fully automatic rifle.

GRIFFIN: The slide stock is legal to buy and to use. Former ATF agent Sam Rabadi calls it a work-around of the gun laws, not a loophole.

That may make no sense to you. This will make even less sense, kits you can buy online to turn a semiautomatic rifle into a fully automatic weapon. Legal to buy, yet illegal to actually use.

RABADI: Anybody with a basic machining skill set could go ahead and convert a semiautomatic rifle into a fully automatic rifle. The conversion kit itself is legal, but when you use it to convert a rifle into fully automatic, obviously, then makes it an illegal firemen.

GRIFFIN: Rabadi says the Las Vegas shooter may have used both, and firing from the 32nd story into a huge crowd needed little training, if any, to kill so many.

Any attempt for more regulation on guns is likely to go nowhere with a Republican-led Congress. But even after the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, when Democrats had control, a bill calling for tighter background checks failed to pass the Senate.

As for the states, in Florida, after last year's massacre at the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, two Democratic state legislators introduced bills to ban sales of assault weapons and limit high- capacity magazines. Both bills died without even a hearing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: And, Wolf, both those Democratic state lawmakers from Florida will reintroduce those bills tomorrow, but they say odds are even after this Vegas massacre, they won't get a hearing yet again -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes. That's what they say.

All right, Drew Griffin, excellent report. Thanks very, very much.

Let's back to Las Vegas right now.

CNN's Brian Todd is on the scene for us.

Brian, you're learning more about the shooter's arsenal. Tell our viewers what you have learned.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Wolf.

We have gotten some incredible new pictures in of the room where the gunman, Stephen Paddock, shot all those people, the room elevated -- from an elevated position at the Mandalay Bay Hotel, 32nd floor, new pictures obtained by "The Daily Mail."

And they show several guns on the floor of the room. In some of the pictures, you can see some of these guns that appear to be automatic or semiautomatic rifles with longer barrels and large ammunition clips.

[18:25:05] You see shell casings all over the floor . In one picture, you can see what appears to be what is called a bipod mounted on one of the guns, which enables kind of a more steady handling of the barrel.

We also learned from the sheriff, Joe Lombardo, just a short time ago, he said he is aware of a presence of what is called a bump-stock, which is a device that can be placed on these weapons that can enable it to discharge ammunition more rapidly.

This comes, Wolf, as we're learning new information about the amount of guns that he had, the arsenal he had at his disposal. Sheriff Joe Lombardo said they raided the third property there that he owned in Reno, Nevada, and found seven additional guns, five handguns, two shotguns.

Now, that brings the total to 49 guns that he had in the room at the Mandalay Bay, at his home in Mesquite, Nevada, and in Reno, Nevada. He had a total of about 49 guns. So, he had quite an arsenal, as Drew mentioned, at his disposal.

Also tonight, Wolf, some new information about some things in the room. The sheriff, Joe Lombardo, confirmed there were cameras inside and outside that room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel, including one camera that they found on a service cart.

And when asked about any recording that he might have done, the sheriff did not want to talk about any particular recording, but he did say that the cameras apparently were there so that he could find out about any law enforcement personnel coming to get him.

The sheriff was asked just a short time ago about the danger that he felt to his officers, given the amount of weapons used and the type of weapons used and the meticulous nature of the planning of this operation, the danger he was concerned about regarding his own officers. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LOMBARDO: Absolutely concerned.

The world has changed. And, you know, who would have ever imagined this situation? I couldn't imagine it. And for this individual to take it upon himself to create this chaos and harm is unspeakable.

And, you know, we have to try to spitball or what-if these situations at all points when we train, and make sure that we have proper response, and I think we did a fantastic job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Also learning tonight that the shooter's girlfriend -- her name is Marilou Danley, 62 years old also -- has been cooperating with law enforcement officials and that she is being brought back to the United States.

She may arrive as soon as tomorrow. Wolf, she is going to have some crucial information about his possible motive in this mass shooting.

BLITZER: Yes, I suspect she will.

Brian Todd, thanks very much.

There's more breaking news. We're continuing our coverage from Las Vegas and the scene of the massacre tonight. Police say it's still an active crime scene.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: The breaking news this hour, chilling pictures from inside the Las Vegas gunman's suite, showing some of the 23 weapons he stockpiled for his massacre on concert goers which left 59 people dead.

[18:32:35] CNN's Don Lemon is in Las Vegas for us tonight. Don, police now say all but three of Stephen Paddock's victims have been identified. But so many families of the hundreds of people injured, some very, very seriously, are still looking for information. And I know you spent some time with those families.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: I have been spending time with those families, Wolf. When you think about it, 527 injured. There are a lot of families, a lot of people in this area who are affected.

A specific family I just left them a couple minutes ago, and it's so sad and so tragic, but their story, at least they have some hope.

What -- two daughters bought their mom tickets to go to this concert on Saturday. And they had been -- the daughter said they had been going for years. The mom wanted to go. They wanted the mom to experience it.

She said Jason Aldean was playing. She said Jason Alden was playing, and then all of a sudden, the gunshots rang out, and they describe it, they call it a rain of bullets. It hit the daughter in the arm and hit the mom in the chest. And they didn't realize it. And they said some good Samaritan who was either an ex-paramedic or an ex- firefighter -- they're not exactly sure; they don't even know who he is -- jumped on top of the mom, made a makeshift tourniquet to stop the bleeding, and told the girls and their friends that they had to get out of there. He said, "You have to run. I will take care of your mother. I am going to stay with her. She will not be alone." And made the daughters leave. And they said that was the hardest decision of their life, having to leave their mother.

The mother ended up in the hospital. They didn't know where she was for 11 hours. They thought she was dead. The dad sitting at home by himself didn't know what was going on. They thought she was dead.

They finally went to a different hospital, found the mom. The mom is in critical condition. She's had a second surgery today. And they said the surgery is going well, but she's still in critical condition. They saw her one time yesterday, and they were able to go see her tonight again after this surgery. But a lot of people are affected. They're still holding out hope that

she's going to be OK. But it's going to be a long road to recovery, not only for physically but emotionally for a whole lot of people, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes. There were 22,000 people at that concert Sunday night.

Don, you've been on the ground now in Las Vegas for a while. What's the mood there today?

LEMON: Well, it's interesting, Wolf. Because you know, as we talked a little bit yesterday, you and I have been here. We were here, you know, for the election. We were here for debates. We were here -- we've been here so many times for work, and then people come for pleasure. And usually, this strip is packed now.

[18:35:05] But I'm standing here at Reno and Las Vegas Boulevard, and it is blocked off. And the people, I'm saying this, you know, usually, this street would be packed with cars, people coming out of the pools. They're getting ready to go to the casinos, getting ready for the night out. And there's a makeshift memorial that's popped up right across the street from the concert hall -- where the concert was and also from the Mandalay Bay.

But everywhere we go, from the baristas in the coffee shop to the Uber driver, to everyone, they all have stories. An Uber driver walked up to me just a moment ago and said, you know, "I -- just, you know, a day ago I was taking all the people away from the concert who had been injured, who were trying to run away and escape all the carnage." And then she said, "On Saturday I happened to have a woman in my car who did not make it." You know, she was in the car before, obviously, but she didn't make it.

The barista at the coffee shop breaking down saying, "I knew some of the people who come in, and they're injured." And on and on and on. It just -- it affects everyone. It's a chain reaction. And when you think about it, 22,000 people, more than 500 injured and then, of course, 59 people dead. It just affects everyone. It's awful.

BLITZER: We're going to get a lot more from you later tonight. Don, thank you very much.

Don will be back with much more from Las Vegas on a special extended edition of his program, "CNN TONIGHT." That starts at 10 p.m. Eastern. It goes until 1 a.m.

Let's dig deeper right now with our analysts and specialists. And Phil Mudd, the $100,000 wire transfer that we learned about today that the killer did to someone in the Philippines, we don't know who, what questions does that raise for investigators?

PHIL MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: Wolf, this seems simple on the surface. But it goes from simple to complicated real fast. The simple questions are obviously who received it? Was it unique? Were there many transfers like this or one transfer? Was the volume unique? Did this person -- this person often send $100,000? I doubt it.

If this is a unique transfer to an individual around the time, for example, that the gunman was purchasing guns you have some basic questions. What did the gunman say about the reason for transferring the money?

But quickly it goes complicated. Let's putt this into a timeline. We're going to start to realize when he began to acquire weapons and whether the acquisition of weapons was accelerating. We know he acquired explosive material. Was that around the same timeline?

Looking, for example, at credit card material, when did he decide to get the reservation at the hotel? And did he travel to that same area previously?

I want to put that money transfer into the timeline and start to understand one simple question. Does the timeline, including a transfer of money, start to show us when he triggered the decision to say, "I'm going to move"? For example, when he said, "I've got to transfer money out, because I've decided I'm going to go downtown and commit this act soon, and I'm going to die when I commit the act."

BLITZER: I assume, you know, Tom, that Marilou Danley, the woman, his girlfriend, who's originally from the Philippines, apparently, she's now coming back to the United States from the Philippines. Presumably, she'll have some answers.

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, we hope so. But we don't know how much she would know about all of the stockpiling of the weapons over all this time.

BLITZER: She lived with him.

FUENTES: Well, we don't know if he kept all the weapons at home or if he had a separate storage facility or how much -- you know, a lot of people have guns, and they live with people who have guns. It doesn't mean that she was aware that he had 40 or 50 assault rifles and converted to fully automatic.

BLITZER: Police say in one of his houses, he had 19 guns. That's the one in Mesquite. Another house that he had near Reno had another seven guns.

FUENTES: Well, she might have been aware of it and she may tell them, "I knew all about it." But if she thought that he was stable and sane and possessed them legally, which apparently, up until now, he did. Other than if the guns were modified to be fully automatic, that would make that gun illegal. You need a federal firearm license to possess that.

BLITZER: You're a forensic psychiatrist, Lisa.

Lisa Van Susteren is with us, as well.

His father, the killer's father, Benjamin Paddock, at one point was on the FBI's Most Wanted List, robbing banks. He was diagnosed, the father, as a psychopathic and with suicidal tendencies. Here's the question: Can that be passed on to a son?

LISA VAN SUSTEREN, FORENSIC PSYCHIATRIST: Absolutely, although it's a little bit more complicated than that. We do know that psychopathology can be genetically bound. In other words, you can pass it on. Certainly, that's not the only issue. There are environmental issues that affect it. But we do know that there are genetic components. It's not a simple on-off switch. There are a number of different genetic abnormalities that can lead to this, but the answer is yes.

BLITZER: And define "psychopathic."

VAN SUSTEREN: Psycho -- a psychopath, like this man, is a person who...

BLITZER: His father was described as.

VAN SUSTEREN: Yes. And I am assuming that -- of course, we don't have all the details, but I don't think it takes a big leap to imagine that he is a psychopath, that Paddock the son is a psychopath, as well.

These are people who have no remorse when they hurt people. They are -- they don't feel the kind of guilt that anyone else would feel hurting people. Typically, you will see that they have had emotional relationships that have been very distant.

[18:40:15] And what's really marked about them is that there's -- it's a chilling reality -- they seem to experience no fear. So they will do things that ordinary humans would never do.

BLITZER: Excellent explanation.

All right, guys. Stand by. There's more breaking news that we're following on the Las Vegas shooting massacre, including the search for the killer's motive.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We'll have more on the Las Vegas shooting massacre in a few moments, but there's more breaking news we're following right now, including President Trump, he's on his way back from Puerto Rico. And some of his remarks of the hurricane disaster while in Puerto Rico are stoking new controversy.

The president made some sharply political comments and seemed to downplay the devastation, comparing to it Hurricane Katrina, which he called a real catastrophic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Your governor has been -- who I didn't know, I heard very good things about him, is not even from my party and he started right at the beginning appreciating what we did. Right from the beginning, this governor did not play politics, he didn't play it at all. He was saying it like it was and he was giving us the highest grades.

Congresswoman Jennifer Gonzalez-Colon, I watched the other day saying such nice things about the people who worked so hard.

Jennifer, do you think you could say a little bit about what you said the other day? It's a not about me, about these incredible people.

I want to thank you, because you were really generous. I saw those comments and everybody saw those comments.

I hate to tell you, Puerto Rico, you've thrown our budget a little out of whack because we spent a lot of money on Puerto Rico and that's fine. You saved a lot of lives.

If you look at a real catastrophic like Katrina and you look at the tremendous, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people that died, and you look at what happened here. What is your death count as of this moment, 17?

GOV. RICARDO ROSELLO, PUERTO RICO: Sixteen, certified.

TRUMP: Sixteen people certified, 16 people versus in the thousands. You can be very proud.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Let's get some more from our correspondents and our specialists.

And, David Chalian, what did you think of the president's comments in Puerto Rico?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I thought it was a great thing the president went to Puerto Rico and he was there. Those comments seemed as the tape reflects, a bit awkward at times because everything, as is the case with Donald Trump very often is about the reflection back on him, and his grading and his performance and his reviews.

Here's the thing. On the plane back on Air Force One and back, he talked to reporters tonight, wolf. He said, all I heard, all I heard from everybody was thank yous from everybody in Puerto Rico. Well, if that's all you heard, you weren't talking to enough people in Puerto Rico then who are experiencing a terrible reality on the ground. There is still a humanitarian crisis in place there.

And so, the only thing I wonder looking at that tape, looking at his visit today, well-choreographed and stage-managed as White House visits usually are, but I don't have a sense that Donald Trump was able to walk away tonight when he got on the plane to come back home with a real sense what's going on, on the ground in Puerto Rico.

BLITZER: Yes, we're showing some video. The president was at a -- meeting with a group of Puerto Ricans and he was distributing some supplies, throwing out paper towels to the folks there.

Jeff Zeleny, what stood out to you?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I think that's going to be one of the enduring images there, the piece of the video the president throwing out a roll of paper towels there. But, look, he was definitely trying to create his own reality on the ground. But the problem is as he arrives back in Washington this evening, the reality as it exists remains the same there.

So, he will still be judged by how the island recovers. And, of course, Puerto Rico had many, many challenges before him, no question about that. But it is still happening on his watch here. So, I thought he was so in search of a good narrative, a good story here, the reality is we're going to keep reporting, even Republicans in Puerto Rico. And we should point out, they can vote in primaries, so there are Republican delegates and things. Even though they are crying out for help here and saying the response is not adequate.

So, he cut his trip by an hour short. He was on the ground I think 4 1/2 hours or so, our Sara Murray said, and she made the point that's shorter than it takes some people to wait in line for gas.

BLITZER: Kaitlan Collins, what was your reaction?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: I don't think there's anything wrong with praising federal agencies doing a good job and most people would argue they've been more competent in Texas and Florida than the Bush administration was in Louisiana. But when congratulating the government becomes the primary focus instead of the suffering of the people who are, that's when it becomes the strange path.

And then comparing the death toll numbers from Hurricane Maria to Hurricane Katrina is also a little off because we, A, don't know the death toll in Puerto Rico. They haven't been able to get in touch with a lot of people. And, B, to say that this is not a catastrophic like Katrina is simply not true because 90 percent of the island doesn't have power, 50 percent of them don't have clean drinking water. Over 9,000 people are in shelters.

So, this is the definition of a catastrophic.

[18:50:03] But it seems like the president is focusing more on the government's performance than the suffering of people who are affected by this.

CHALIAN: And you heard the mayor of San Juan, as you know, was in a battle with the president over the weekend. When she spoke to our Leyla Santiago after she had the interaction with the president, she was pretty clear. She was like, there was a whole PR component to this trip, as Jeff was saying, in search of a narrative. But then she said when she met with all the agency heads and they got down to business about the money they need and the specific asks, she thought that was a proprietary productive session.

So, I don't think this trip was for naught. I just think that the president was not as focused on, as you're saying, sort of how does the power get back on, what is happening? I don't think he was on that kind of fact-finding mission so that he himself could figure where the resources need deployed. It seemed he was looking for better headlines.

BLITZER: He's on his way back to Washington right now. Guys, thanks very much.

We have more breaking news right after this.

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[18:55:34] BLITZER: We go back live to Las Vegas in just a moment for the latest on the shooting rampage that killed 59 people. But, first, there's new information tonight in the investigation into Russia's meddling into the U.S. presidential election.

Our chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto is working the story for us.

Jim, social media ads, they are a key part of this probe.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: No question, Wolf. The key phrase here is force multiplier. These were 3,000 ads, a cost of $100,000 over two years, seemingly small, but seen by 10 million people, about half of that before the election, half of that since the election. Remember, 10 million people in an election as tight as this, decided by about 100,000 votes in those key swing states, this had, it is believed by investigators, the possibility of an enormous effect on this election.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO (voice-over): Tonight, investigators are reviewing thousands of Russian-bought Facebook ads as part of the congressional probe into Moscow's wide-ranging social media campaign to influence the U.S. presidential election.

An estimated 10 million people in the U.S., according to Facebook, saw at least one of the 3,000 political ads bought by accounts linked to the Kremlin. Cost for that access, just $100,000 over the course of two years.

And Facebook's data suggests that money bought Russia influence well beyond the election and may continue to this day. With more than half of the ads viewed after voters cast their ballots in November.

How did Russia target its audience of millions? Moscow set up Websites in Facebook pages that focused on controversial issues such as race relations and illegal immigration, and also used a Facebook tool to send specific ads to voters who had visited those sites, this according to a "Washington Post" report citing sources familiar with the investigation. Congress is now under pressure to release those ads to the public.

REPORTER: Will you release them publicly?

SEN. RICHARD BURR (R-NC), CHAIRMAN, INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: No. We don't release documents provided to the investigative committee.

SCIUTTO: Tonight, new details are emerging from another set of documents being reviewed by investigators. E-mails from former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort appear to show that Manafort used his position to garner favor with Russian billionaire and Putin ally Oleg Vladimirovich Deripaska, who Manafort was deeply indebted to, this according to excerpts released by "The Atlantic".

Just weeks after being hired by Trump, Manafort writes on April 11th, 2016, quote: I assume you have shown our friends my media coverage, right? Konstantin Kilimnik, a Ukraine based former business associate of Manafort, responds, quote: Absolutely. Every article.

Manafort then asks, how do we use to get whole? Has OVD operations seen?

The initials OVD referring to Deripaska, according to "The Atlantic", citing a source close to Manafort.

Still, there's no evidence, according to "The Atlantic", that Deripaska met with Manafort last year or was aware of Manafort's attempts to reach him. These e-mails are under scrutiny as investigators continue to look into whether the Trump campaign had ties to Russia.

But congressional investigators are complaining they are not getting everything they need. Just last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee sent this letter to the CIA, asking for, quote, access to the same materials that have been made available to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Senator Dianne Feinstein, the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee telling reporters, we were turned down.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: This strategic placement of ads on controversial issues continues today, ranging on everything from the NFL anthem dispute to the Las Vegas shooting, Wolf.

BLITZER: You know, let's get back to those Facebook ads for a moment, Jim. Democrats, they are pushing hard that Facebook release these ads to the public. Republicans, we heard the chairman say, they're opposed to that. Give us a little more on that.

SCIUTTO: That's right. The chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Richard Burr, saying his committee will not do it. He said it would set a bad precedent. He did not say, though, that Facebook could not release it themselves, so this still a very divisive issue between the Democrats and Republicans. I should say the Chairman Burr of the Senate Intelligence Committee and the ranking member Mark Warner are going to hold a press conference tomorrow to update on the investigation.

BLITZER: We'll watch that closely with you. Thanks very much, Jim Sciutto, reporting. That's it for me. Thanks for watching.

CNN's breaking news coverage continues right now with "ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" live from Las Vegas.