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CNN NEWSROOM

Verdict Watch in Brett Seacat Case; Breaking news, Bulger Jury Seated; Jury Selection Continues in George Zimmerman Case; Cancer Doctor Facing Assault Charges; Assange Advises Snowden: Go to Latin America.

Aired June 11, 2013 - 11:30   ET

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


ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, has a little advice for Edward Snowden, the man who says he released classified security documents for a good reason.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIAN ASSANGE, FOUNDER, WIKILEAKS: I would strongly advise him to go to Latin America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Latin America. Well, where is Snowden now? And what other documents could be forth coming? We'll keep you posted on this developing story.

Plus, more of Anderson Cooper's interview with Julian Assange coming up straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: We're officially on verdict watch in the trial of a former police officer accused of shooting his wife and burning up their home with the two little boys inside. They escaped. But all of that to cover up the crime. The jury in Brett Seacat's murder trial is deliberating as we speak. And as they sit in that deliberation room, they have a whole lot to consider, and that's an understatement. Was Brett Seacat a burning fuse, like the prosecution claims, full of uncontrollable rage because his wife had filed for divorce, or alternatively, did she kill herself because she was depressed. After all, the medical examiner could not tell whether this was a suicide or a homicide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMY HANLEY, PROSECUTOR: He specifically threatens her that, if you divorce me, I will kill you, I will burn the house down, and I will make it look like you did it.

ROGER FALK, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Based upon all of her experience, her training, her review of the police reports and everything else, I can't tell if this was a suicide or a homicide.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BANFIELD: Pretty powerful stuff.

Ted Rowlands is live in Kansas. And also with me, HLN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney, Joey Jackson.

Straight to the report, Ted, how long has the jury been out? Any tell-tale signs of anything yet?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nothing. Two hours today, about 45 minutes yesterday. They have a buzzer system here. Two buzzes if the jury needs as break, one long buzz if they have reached a verdict. I've been up in the courtroom. No buzzes.

BANFIELD: Nothing at all. What about just the mood? Is sometimes there is something to be said about that, and other times it's just tea leaves.

ROWLANDS: Yeah, tough to read them today. This is the first full day of deliberations. As you mentioned, they have a lot to look over. And I think when they arrived today, they just looked like they were ready to jump in and go through it. And, of course, as you know, Ashleigh, there is two different ways. Either they vote right away or they go through the evidence. If they're going through the evidence, it may take them a while.

BANFIELD: It could take a couple hours, a couple weeks, could end up in a hung jury.

So, Joey Jackson, there is nothing perhaps more powerful than when you hear, "We don't know the cause of death." That matters, doesn't it?

JOEY JACKSON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY & HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Oh, it does indeed. But what juries have to do, and you heard 24 this from the prosecution in the closing argument, it's about common sense. You have a person, she's healthy, of course, she's going through life issues. Who isn't? And as a result of that, will she take her life when there are two children and, of course, the gun found under the body, does that make sense if someone is committing suicide? Would that be the place for it? You have a husband who alleges he went to save her. No blood on him. No injuries consistent with going into a burning building. So there's a lot to consider. So the cause of death issue, major. Is it a homicide, suicide? We don't know. But you have to evaluate this. And I think the jury will in the context of all the evidence not just that part of it.

BANFIELD: I remember covering a case in Michigan that was just so slam dunk. You didn't even need to pass the bar to win this one as a prosecutor. And because of cause of death, there was one person able to convince one other person, if they didn't totally prove it, which leads me to the question of what is to be reasonable. What is the definition of reasonable?

JACKSON: Reasonable minds can differ as to what the definition is. But interestingly enough, what you hear is that it's not a scientific certainty. A jury doesn't have to be, in their own hearts and minds, know, to a scientific certainty that a person did it. Is there a doubt that you have, perhaps, but is that doubt reasonable. So it's been explained by many, it's been explained by many attorneys, but it eludes us still. It's just a matter of jurors coming together and believing in their mind, after using common sense, did they do it or did they not.

BANFIELD: It's the book that I want to write once my children are no longer requiring as much time of me.

(LAUGHTER)

Be reasonable.

JACKSON: If anyone can write it, you can.

(LAUGHTER)

BANFIELD: Because that does drive me crazy sometimes.

All right. Joey Jackson, Ted Rowlands, thank you both. I do appreciate your work.

And, Ted, keep us posted on that verdict as well. We'll watch that throughout the day here on CNN.

Our next stop in the search for daily justice is Sanford, Florida, where jury selection is in its second day. Can six jurors -- you heard right, just six -- be seated soon in the trial of George Zimmerman?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Breaking news for you out of Boston. We've been waiting on jury selection of the James Whitey Bulger case. We thought it might take a while, but it's done. They not only found their 12, they found their six alternates. Apparently it is 11 men, 7 women. And the opening statements are due to begin Wednesday. My assumption is that means tomorrow. So much quicker than anticipated. James Whitey Bulger, the day of reckoning perhaps coming.

Also, making big news in the legal circles, George Zimmerman is sitting in a courtroom in Sanford, Florida. The attorneys in that case are carefully picking the men and women who have to decide his fate. He could face life in prison if he's convicted of second-degree murder in that killing of Trayvon Martin. Some say that the trial is already won or lost in jury selection. And today, marks day two. Some potential jurors are being questioned one by one about who they are and what they already know about the case, specifically what they have seen in the widespread media coverage.

George Howell form CNN is live in Sanford, Florida. He's watching the case carefully.

Get me up to speed on today and, so far, how far they have come in their efforts to get an impartial panel.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, just like you mentioned there, with that Boston case, maybe this case will move along just as fast when it comes to picking a potential jury.

Yesterday, we heard from four people, three women, one man. One of those jurors was dismissed. And today we are hearing from four people, as well, two men, so far, and two women.

And we have producer Nancy Lee Young in the courtroom right now. And you have to keep in mind a lot of it comes down to demographics and it also those critical questions that these prosecutors and defense attorneys ask. Do you watch local or national news? Do you know anything about this particular case? They're asking those questions, clearly looking at the demographics.

And I want to play just a bit of this for you. Described as white male, very well read, says that he does not have an opinion on this case, doesn't understand why it became a national story. Take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED PROSECUTOR: I gather when this discussion was had among two different people and yourself, would you say you were in the middle in terms of opinions?

UNIDENTIFIED POTENTIAL JUROR: Yeah. I didn't have an opinion. I was like, yeah, it's tragic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: So again, you get a sense of what the prosecutors and defense attorneys here are trying to do. Just trying to make sure that they understand the motivation, are these people who want to be on the panel for some reason or agenda, or are these people who clearly have not made up their minds in the case and can listen to the facts and make decisions based on the law.

BANFIELD: Yeah, the laser focus on Marco Maris. Even his body language, facing right to the jury, he doesn't want to miss a thing.

George Howell, thank you. Keep us posted.

Also a cancer specialist now facing an assault charge. And here is the story, allegedly poisoning her boyfriend, another cancer doctor. We'll take you live to Houston for this bizarre one, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: In Houston, a bizarre case involving two highly respected cancer doctors who are the least likely candidates to end up in a criminal courtroom. It has to do with coffee and poison.

Our Ed Lavandera has the case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dr. Annamaria Gonzalez is a breast cancer specialist researching the most aggressive forms of the deadly disease at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. She was featured in this Susan G. Komen Foundation video, highlighting a day in the life of a breast cancer doctor at one of the most respected cancer hospitals in the country.

ANNAMARIA GONZALEZ-ANGULO, BREAST CANCER SPECIALIST: One of my aunts died when she was 35 and I was 10. So that was when I made the decision this is what I wanted to do.

LAVANDERA: Which makes the allegations swirling around her all the more stunning. Police investigators say she tried to poison her lover, George Blumenshein, a fellow cancer doctor at M.D. Anderson, as well.

(on camera): According to court records, back in January, George Blumenshein was behind these gates at the home of Annamaria Gonzalez- Angulo. According to those records, she made him a cup of coffee, he started drinking if but then told her that it tasted too sweet. She told him to finish that first cup of coffee and that she had put Splenda in it and she'd make another one. He drank both cups. 16 hours later, he was in the emergency room.

(voice-over): Blumenshein started losing his balance, suffered slurred speech and loss of motor skills. According to the court records, doctors found ethylene glycol in his system, a potentially deadly chemical used in antifreeze.

But M.D. Anderson officials told investigators it's also a chemical commonly found in labs at the cancer center.

Defense attorney, Mark Geragos, says it could be a tough case to prove in court.

MARK GERAGOS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY & FORMER PROSECUTOR: What you always have to take a look at, what the prosecutors are always going to take a look at in a case like this is the motive. Why did somebody want to do it? And why did they want to do it in this way? And rule out other environmental factors. That's where the defense is always going to go. Was there a motive? Would somebody have done this? Do have the character, so to speak, to do this?

LAVANDERA: A lawyer for Gonzalez-Angulo says, quote, "She's completely innocent," and that these allegations are, quote, "totally inconsistent with her personal and professional life."

Neighbors around her gated home say she is a quiet woman who kept to herself.

George Blumenshein survived but he has suffered serious damage to his kidneys, even needing dialysis to try and repair the damage.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: Ed Lavandera, live now.

First of all, an update. How is Dr. Blumenshein now? LAVANDERA: It's been hard to get the latest information. But according to those documents, in those initial moments, some 16 hours later, after he ended up in the emergency room, he had renal failure. He had to undergo dialysis for some time. It's not clear if it's continuing. The court records do say he's still seeking medical attention, getting medical attention for his injuries.

BANFIELD: Unbelievable.

Standby for a second. Joey Jackson is here, our criminal defense attorney, HLN legal analyst.

I don't have this case on my desk. I don't know what evidence might have been gathered from this woman's home, but 16 hours is a very long time --

JACKSON: It is.

BANFIELD: -- between which, you may have ingested something and you go to the hospital.

JACKSON: Spoken like a great defense attorney.

BANFIELD: I learned something.

JACKSON: Good for you.

(LAUGHTER)

BANFIELD: If you're going to defend this guy, you have a lot to work with.

JACKSON: You say there could be intervening causes. What else happened in the interim, between the time that you were there, the time that you ingested the coffee, allegedly, and what else were you doing? I'm sure that will be tracked with great specificity. And in addition to that, it will go to what you talked about and that's the evidence collection. Anything and everything will be analyzed, the coffee, the containers, the home, search warrants will be gathered to obtain evidence to establish it was her who did this.

BANFIELD: How long will it take between the time this happened and the medical treatment and the assessment you got? Unless you can find it --

JACKSON: That's right.

BANFIELD: -- that's a tough row to hoe.

JACKSON: It really is. Therefore, it -- owing to the fact they got there too late, the police that is, to gather the evidence and presuming the evidence was no longer there, it causes a problem. And it's certainly good to her defense.

BANFIELD: Wow. What a case. It reminds me of another Houston case that involved astronauts and love triangle. And I'm not going there right now, Joey Jackson.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Thank you.

Ed Lavandera, as well, thank you as well for that reporting.

And we're going to return to our top story, the NSA leak and your privacy. Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, claims that the Obama administration is using double-speak to confuse the American public about what is really going on. His conversation with Anderson Cooper coming up, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, has some advice for Edward Snowden and that is this, go to Latin America. Assange himself is held up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London because he's trying to avoid extradition, and he's been there about a year now.

He told our Anderson Cooper last night that Latin America would be safer than Hong Kong for Snowden. Assange has also praised Snowden for exposing the NSA surveillance program and he told Anderson that he does not buy the idea that broad surveillance is critical.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASSANGE: No to a secret program. No one gave that mandate to engage in a worldwide surveillance program on nearly every person. Now, you've seen a lot of double rhetoric used by Obama. For example, the mass daily collection of Verizon information sent daily to the National Security Agency. You see Obama come out and say, oh, but it didn't include the identities or the subscribers. But it includes their phone numbers. Just Google reverse-number lookup. Of course, in particular cases, where there is sufficient evidence, it is right to surveil some people for some amount of time, but that's what we did in the past. That's what has been done historically. That worked historically. And now, we see just prolifercate (ph) mass worldwide surveillance.

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, A.C. 360: When WikiLeaks published the huge trove of communications and documents that Bradley Manning allegedly provided to you, many said this caused tremendous damage to the U.S., put hundreds of people at risk. What's interesting is that since then, and if you do research on it, U.S. officials have said the information didn't significantly compromise U.S. security, and yet Bradley is facing life in prison for potentially aiding the enemy. Do you see a contradiction here?

ASSANGE: You're correct to point out that even if then move to the speculative harm -- actually, NATO officials told CNN they couldn't even see someone who needed to be protected from the speculative component. What is a travesty about the Bradley Manning prosecution is that the defense has received preemptive bans on their argument. They have been cut off at the knees. They are not able to tend of this, that there has been no harm. Any U.S. document, any U.S. official, any U.S. official, they're not able to make the argument.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: That's Anderson Cooper with Julian Assange.

I also want to update you on a developing story at Princeton University that we've been talking about, a bomb threat, leading to the evacuation of the campus at that school. Students are being warned to stay off campus until they are told otherwise. But if you think about it, regular classes are over now for the summer. Luckily, the campus has not been very crowded. We're continuing to watch this story. We'll bring you more as soon as information as soon as it comes in to us.

Thank you for watching, everyone. It's nice to have you with us. AROUND THE WORLD starts after this break.

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