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THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER

Attorney General Holder Resigning; Liberia's Ebola Cases Double Every Two Weeks; Wall Street Selling Spree

Aired September 25, 2014 - 16:30   ET

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


JIM SCIUTTO, CNN: We're about to see the president comment on the resignation of Eric Holder. Let's go to the president, live to the White House.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: On this generation of Americans falls the full burden of proving to the world that we really mean it when we say all men are created free and equal before the law. As one of the longest serving attorney generals in the American history, Eric Holder has borne that burden.

And over the summer, he came to me and he said he thought six years was a pretty good run. I imagine his family agrees. Like me, Eric married up. He and his wife, Dr. Sharon Malone, a nationally renowned OB/GYN, have been great friends to Michelle and me for years, and I know Brooke and Maya and Buddy are excited to get their dad back for a while.

So, this is bittersweet. But his typical dedication, Eric has agreed to stay on as attorney general until I nominate a successor, and that successor is confirmed by the Senate -- which means, he'll have a chance to add to a proud career of public service, one that began nearly 40 years ago as a young prosecutor in the department that he now runs. He was there for 12 years taking on political corruption until President Reagan named him to the bench as a judge.

Later, President Clinton called him back. So, all told, Eric has served at the Justice Department under six presidents of both parties, including a several-day stint as acting attorney general at the start of George W. Bush's first term.

And through it all, he's shown a deep and abiding fidelity to one of our most cherished ideals as a people, and that is equal justice under the law.

As younger men, Eric and I both studied law, and I chose him to serve as attorney general because he believes, as I do, that justice is not just an abstract theory, it's a living and breathing principle.

It's about how our laws interact with our daily lives. It's about whether we can make an honest living, whether we can provide for our families, whether we feel safe in our own communities and welcomed in our own country, whether the words that the founders set to paper 238 years ago apply to every single one of us, and not just some. That's why I made him America's lawyer, the people's lawyer. That comes with a big portfolio, from counterterrorism to civil rights, public corruption to white collar crime.

And alongside the incredible men and women of the Justice Department, men and women that I promise you he is proud of and will deeply miss, Eric has done a superb job.

OBAMA: He's worked side-by-side with our intelligence community and the Department of Homeland Security to keep us safe from terrorist attacks and to counter violent extremism. On his watch, federal courts have successfully prosecuted hundreds of terror cases, proving that the world's finest justice system is fully capable of delivering justice for the world's most wanted terrorists.

He's rooted out corruption and fought violent crime. Under his watch a few years ago the FBI successfully carried out the largest Mafia take-down in American history. He's worked closely with state and local law enforcement officers to make sure that they've got the resources to get the job done. And he's managed funds under the Recovery Act to make sure that when budgets took a hit, thousands of cops were able to stay on the beat nationwide.

He's helped safeguard our markets from manipulation and consumers from financial fraud. Since 2009, the Justice Department has brought more than 60 cases against financial institutions and won some of the largest settlements in history for practices related to the financial crisis, recovering $85 billion, much of it returned to ordinary Americans who were badly hurt.

He's worked passionately to make sure our criminal justice system remains the best in the world. He knows that too many outdated policies, no matter how well intentioned, perpetuate a destructive cycle in too many communities. So Eric addressed unfair sentencing disparities, reworked mandatory minimums, and promoted alternatives to incarceration. And thanks to his efforts, since I took office, the overall crime rate and the overall incarceration rate have gone down by about 10 percent. That's the first time that they've declined together at the same time in more than 40 years.

OBAMA: Eric's proudest achievement, though, might be reinvigorating and restoring the core mission to what he calls the conscience of the building, and that's the Civil Rights Division. He has been relentless against attacks on the Voting Rights Act because no citizen, including our servicemembers, should have to jump through hoops to exercise their most fundamental right. He's challenged discriminatory state immigration laws that not only risked harassment of citizens and legal immigrants, but actually made it harder for law enforcement to do its job.

Under his watch, the department has brought a record number of prosecutions for human trafficking and for hate crimes, as no one in America should be afraid to walk down the street because of the color of their skin, the love in their heart, the faith they practice or the disabilities that they live with.

He's dramatically advanced the cause of justice for Native Americans, working closely with their communities.

And several years ago, he recommended that our government stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act, a decision that was vindicated by the Supreme Court and opened the door to federal recognition of same-sex marriage and federal benefits for same-sex couples.

That's a pretty good track record.

Eric's father was an immigrant who served in the Army in World War II, only to be refused service at lunch counters in the nation he defended.

But he and his wife raised their son to believe that this country's promise was real, and that son grew up to become attorney general of the United States. And that's something.

And that's why Eric's worked so hard, not just in my administration but for decades, to open up the promise of this country to more striving, dreaming kids like him, to make sure that those words, "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," are made real for all of us.

So soon, Eric, Sharon and their kids will be a bit freer to pursue a little more happiness of their own, and thanks to Eric's efforts, so will more Americans, regardless of race or religion, gender or creed, sexual orientation or disability who will receive fair and equal treatment under the law.

OBAMA: So I just want to say thank you, Eric.

Thank you to the men and women of the Justice Department, who work day in and out for the American people, and we could not be more grateful for everything that you've done, not just for me and the administration but for our country.

(APPLAUSE)

HOLDER: I come to this moment with very mixed emotions. I'm proud of what the men and women of the Department of Justice have accomplished over the last six years, and at the same time, very sad that I will not be a formal part -- a formal part of the great things that this department and this president will accomplish over the next two.

I want to thank you, Mr. President, for the opportunity that you gave me to serve and for giving me the greatest honor of my professional life. We have been great colleagues, but the bonds between us are much deeper than that. In good times and in bad, in things personal and in things professional, you have been there for me. I'm proud to call you my friend.

HOLDER: I'm also grateful for the support you have given me, and the department, as we have made real the visions that you and I have always shared. I often think of those early talks between us about our belief that we might help to craft a more perfect union. Work remains to be done, but our list of accomplishments is real. Over the last six years, our administration, your administration has

made historic gains in realizing the principles of the founding documents and fought to protect the most sacred of American rights, the right to vote.

We have begun to realize the promise of equality for our LGBT brothers and sisters and their families. We have begun to significantly reform our criminal justice system and reconnect those who bravely serve in law enforcement with the communities that they protect.

We have kept faith with our belief in the power of the greatest judicial system the world has ever known to fairly and effectively adjudicate any cases that are brought before it, including those that involve the security of the nation that we both love so dearly.

We have taken steps to protect the environment and make more fair the rules by which our commercial enterprises operate.

And we have held accountable those who would harm the American people, either through violent means or the misuse of economic or political power.

I have loved the Department of Justice ever since as a -- as a young boy I watched Robert Kennedy prove during the civil rights movement how the department can and must always be a force for that which is right.

I hope that I have done honor to the faith that you have placed in me, Mr. President, and the legacy of all those who have served before me.

I would also like to thank the vice president, who I have known for so many years and in whom I have found great wisdom, unwavering support, and a shared vision of what America can and should be.

HOLDER: I want to recognize my good friend, Valerie Jarrett, whom I've been fortunate to work with from the beginning of what started as an improbable idealistic effort by a young senator from Illinois, who we were both right to believe would achieve greatness.

I've had the opportunity to serve in your distinguished Cabinet and worked with a White House chief of staff -- White House staff ably led by Denis McDonough that has done to make real the promise of our democracy and the -- each of the men and women who I have come to know will be -- will be life-long friends.

Whatever my accomplishments, they could not have been achieved without the love, support and guidance of two people who are not here with me today. My parents, Eric and Miriam Holder nurtured me and my accomplished brother William, and made us believe in the value of individual effort and the greatness of this nation. My time in public service which now comes to an end would not have been possible without the sacrifices, too often unfair, made by the best three kids a father could ask for. Thank you, Maya. Thank you, Brooke. And thank you, Buddy.

And finally, I want to thank the woman who sacrificed the most and allowed me to follow my dreams. She's the foundation of all that our family is and the basis of all that I have become. My wife Sharon is the unsung hero and she is my life partner. Thank you for all that you have done. I love you.

In the months ahead, I will leave the Department of Justice, but I will never -- I will never leave the work. I will continue to serve and try to find ways to make our nation even more true to its founding ideals. I want to thank the dedicated public servants who form the backbone of the United States Department of Justice, for their tireless work over the past six years, for the efforts they will continue, and for the progress that they made and that will outlast -- outlast us all.

And I want to thank you all for joining me on a journey that now moves in another direction, but that will always be guided by the pursuit of justice and aimed at the North Star.

Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

SCIUTTO: Well, an emotional and heartfelt good-bye from Attorney General Eric Holder there describing his mixed emotions even breaking into tears a bit as he thanked his parents and children and wife there. Also, an emotional moment for the president who called it bittersweet.

The first African-American president saying good-bye to the first African-American attorney general. We're joined by CNN's justice reporter Evan Perez. He's with me here in the studio as well as our senior White House Jim Acosta at the White House.

Jim, I wonder if I can begin with you. The president said six years is a pretty good run as he described Eric Holder. But this was both a strong professional, political and also personal relationship, wasn't it?

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It really was, Jim. I want to notice what was said at the very end there. I think Eric Holder sort of hinted at the timeline for his eventual departure. He said I'll be leaving the Department of Justice in the months ahead.

But I just wanted to get that out of the way. But you are right, they are well known inside this administration as being close friends, that friendship getting even closer over the years during Eric Holder's time as attorney general.

I'm told by one White House official that the two spend a good amount of time together up at Martha's Vineyard in August when the president was on vacation. Eric Holder was always on vacation up at Martha's Vineyard and it was during that time that the attorney general likely brought up this idea, which he's brought up before, that he would like to stand down as attorney general.

The president, I'm told, has asked Eric Holder in the past to reconsider, please stay on a little bit longer, but this time around the idea really started gaining steam and resulted in the announcement today, Jim. No question about it, they are very tight.

SCIUTTO: Evan, I know you spoke with Attorney General Holder earlier today. As you spoke to him, did you get a sense that he's ready to go?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE REPORTER: Yes, Jim, I think he feels that he's going out on top. Frankly, you know, he's had his low points. Certainly, we have written and talked a lot about the seizure of the phone records and the controversies over the "Fast and Furious."

But now, you know, he just had a very successful visit in Ferguson, Missouri, where he helped calm some of the racial tensions over the shooting of Michael Brown.

He believes that he's accomplished a lot on civil rights, of gay rights. As the president mentioned he was behind the decision to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act.

So these things that the attorney general, in his conversation with me, he said, I think I go out having accomplished a great deal in the areas that are of importance to me. I'm satisfied with the work that we have done. He feels like his work is done.

SCIUTTO: It's an interesting legacy, which you get at there. He was a civil rights champion for sure. Civil rights when we're speaking about African-American issues like Ferguson, but also gay rights, but also issues with civil liberties.

This administration under him went after reporters, certainly, for divulging secrets, et cetera, and members of the administration, more than anybody before. That's a conflicting legacy, isn't it?

PEREZ: Yes. One of the things that I've talked to him about is, you know, he's the one that signs the warrants that the NSA uses to do its surveillance. And so he didn't get a lot of the attention on that, but you know, he is also part of that, part of the picture there in trying to reshape how the NSA does and how the FBI and spy agencies do their work.

SCIUTTO: So we've got to play the parlor game because this is Washington and he's leaving. Who is likely to take his place?

PEREZ: Well, you know, we don't know of any favorites just yet. We know the president, the White House has already started working on some names and probably talking to some people, but some of the names that are out there that have been mentioned, Don Grilley, who is the solicitor general who argued the Obamacare case.

Kathy Rumbler, a former White House counsel who probably just left the White House and having the legacy of Alberto Gonzales, the Bush White House counsel probably is not going to be --

SCIUTTO: I see Deval Patrick there.

PEREZ: He's always on the list. Loretta Lynch who is an attorney in Brooklyn and Pete Bharara, a star U.S. attorney -- SCIUTTO: Incredible conviction rate.

PEREZ: Exactly. Jeh Johnson who wanted this job previously and he is now the Homeland Security secretary. And Harris, who is a big star in the Democratic circle. She's the attorney general of California. She's also well-thought of.

SCIUTTO: How quickly do you expect the position to be filled? He said he's going to stay until he's replaced.

PEREZ: Well, that's actually one of the great tricks right here is that this is going to give Republicans a little bit of a push to approve someone very quickly because --

SCIUTTO: No love lost?

PEREZ: No love lost from any of them.

SCIUTTO: All right, well, thanks very much, Evan Perez, Jim Acosta at the White House as well.

Coming up next, President Obama with a warning to the world, help stop Ebola before it's too late. We're going to talk to a doctor who witnessed the disease explode before his very eyes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Welcome back to THE LEAD. In other world news, what started as a regional crisis is now being cast as a threat to health and security of the world. Today, President Obama warned global leaders at the U.N. General Assembly that without quick action, the Ebola outbreak could become a humanitarian catastrophe.

There are already more than 6,000 confirmed Ebola cases in Africa and nearly 3,000 people have died from epidemic. The hardest hit nation, Sierra Leone and Liberia, with a number of cases is doubling every two weeks.

Earlier today, I spoke with Liberia's foreign minister about how the explosive phase of this outbreak is overwhelming government and health workers in the region.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

H.E. AUGUSTINE KPEHE NGALUAN, LIBERIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Ebola is a challenge that is having a multidimensional impact on our country and is decimating our health care workers. We have lost about 1,700 compatriots with nearly 3,000 of our people infected.

As we hear these very dire and blooming projections as to the trajectory of the disease. Yes, it's scary but we take it to be a call to action for the global community.

Because if the global community has the good sense to prevent what will happened in a do-nothing scenario, everyone in the global community should have the good conscience to prevent that from happening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: That's the Liberian foreign minister speaking there. Today, the World Bank committed an additional $170 million toward helping African nation's hardest hit by Ebola. But the question remains, why did it take so long for the world to take notice?

I'm joined now by Dr. Paul Farmer, he is an infectious disease physician and professor of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard University. Dr. Farmer, I know that you recently visited Liberia, which is right at the epicenter of this crisis to get a close up look.

Do you have any sense that this is becoming under control because WHO and others have described it as being out of control?

DR. PAUL FARMER, INFECTIOUS DISEASE PHYSICIAN: It's not coming under control yet, but one of the encouraging things about this past couple of days is there is widespread recognition that this is an out-of- control epidemic and so resources are now being mustered to address this health care crisis, but also the weak health systems that dominate in that part of West Africa.

SCIUTTO: Well, you talk about what wasn't done earlier. In a recent op-ed, just today in "The New York Times," Nicholas Kristoff writes the following, quote, "The Ebola epidemic in West Africa is a tragedy, but more than that, the response to it has been a gross failure. It's a classic case where early action could have saved lives and money." What was missing in the initial response to this?

FARMER: What was missing was resources and resources are tied to attention. I was there in Sierra Leone in June and wish we would have sounded the alarm more and more effectively, staff, stuff, safe space in which to work and see patients and also a system sort of approach.

And none of those were available in those three countries in May and June when this could have been slowed and averted and now it has gotten out of control, but we still need all of those things and need to rebuild the health systems of those countries.

SCIUTTO: Still out of the control. I know that that west countries here in United States have a much better health care system to respond to this, but as it expands possibly to more than a million cases in West Africa, does it become a threat to Europe and the U.S.?

FARMER: Well, sure, it's a threat to every part of the globe because the globe is connected through commerce and movement of people and it's now -- this is -- even though it started as a disease of animals, it's jumped into the human population as being spread from person to person.

Because, again, the health care workers and families lack the tools of the trade to protect themselves with protective equipment and we have to address that shortage if we want to stop the epidemic. I believe we will. SCIUTTO: That's refreshing to hear, but the idea that this is a global crisis is certainly a sobering thought. Thanks very much, Dr. Paul Farmer.

FARMER: Thank you for having me.

SCIUTTO: Coming up on our money lead, bad day on Wall Street. The stock market suffers its worse slide in nearly two months. How much does your new bigger than the iPhone have to do with that?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Welcome back to THE LEAD. Now the Money Lead, a rough day on Wall Street today where a selloff in tech stocks pulled down the rest of the market. Dow Jones Industrial average dropping 261 points and the Nasdaq lost almost 2 percent.

CNN Money correspondent, Alison Kosik, is at the New York Stock Exchange. So Alison, is this just a news of the day thing or is this a big correction?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: Jim, I'd say pick your poison. A lot of things caused the market to spiral downward today. First of all, lackluster economic reports here in the U.S., worries about terrorism and other big economies like Europe, China, and Japan slowing down.

The selloff also happening because what you're seeing is investors are trying to figure out how these economies, that I just mentioned, including the U.S. are going to handle it once the fed decides to tighten interest rates as expected next year.

Keep in mind that one day does not make a trend because going into today, the S&P 500, which is the broadest measure of the stock market was up 6 percent. That's, of course, after hitting 34 record highs this year.

Apple was part of this the selloff today. It actually dragged down the Nasdaq in a big way almost 2 percent lower. Investors wound up selling Apple after it's pulled the update to its latest iPhone because of a glitch and claims that it is bending when in your pocket for a long time.

It's being called bendgate, even though only nine customers have complained. But all that was enough for investors to sell Apple. Apple shares ending lower by also 4 percent today -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Bendgate reverberating in the New York Stock Exchange. Thank you, Alison Kosik.

KOSIK: Sure.

SCIUTTO: And in national news, officers from Charlottesville, Virginia, are in Texas ready to take custody of Jesse Matthew. He is the suspect in the disappearance of a University of Virginia student, Hannah Graham. Matthew was in court this afternoon and waived his right to fight extradition. He was arrested in Galveston, Texas. He's thought to be the last person who saw the 18-year-old Graham before she disappeared.

Charlottesville Police are urging residents to help search for Graham, especially by checking out vacant houses. No one has heard from her since the wee hours of September 13th.

Make sure you follow the show on Twitter @theleadcnn and check out our show page at cnn.com/thelead for video blogs and extras. That is it for me today on THE LEAD. I'm Jim Sciutto. Jake Tapper returns tomorrow.

We turn you now to Brianna Keilar. She is filling in today for Wolf Blitzer and that means she's in "THE SITUATION ROOM."