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CNN NEWSROOM

Releasing Senate Report on Torture; Stabbing Incident at New York Synagogue; Bill Cosby's Accusers Get Together; Cosby's Case and Statute of Limitations

Aired December 9, 2014 - 10:00   ET

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


POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone, I'm Poppy Harlow in today for Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me. We begin with this. Thousands of U.S. troops around the world are on alert right now as Washington braces for the so-called torture report. It is due to be released in an hour and it will reveal controversial, possibly even brutal techniques used on terror suspects in the wake of 9/11. It's an official report. This is not a leak. And we've been expecting it. But the potential for violent backlash has caused U.S. embassies and military bases to ratchet up their security. Let's go straight to Barbara Starr who is following this from the Pentagon. Good morning, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Poppy. Troops at the ready just in case there are retaliation attacks. This report has been in the works for months. The question now, of course, is how will the world react when it is made public.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: This morning, thousands of U.S. military personnel on heightened alert, anticipating the release of a report by the Senate Intelligence Committee on top-secret interrogation tactics and torture of CIA detainees.

REP. MIKE ROGERS, (R) INTELLIGENCE CHAIRMAN: Our own intelligence community has assessed that this will cause violence and death.

STARR: The Marines are positioned in key areas, ready to respond to potential violent reactions directed at U.S. embassies and military bases around the globe. Believed to be included in the report, details of waterboarding and other interrogation tactics in the years after 9/11. The CIA believes the so-called enhanced interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, provided key information that prevented other terror attacks and led to the capture of Osama bin Laden. But the report questions the effectiveness of those procedures. Critics of the $50 million report question the timing of its release.

JOHN EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: When would be a good time to release this report? And it's difficult to imagine one. Particularly because of the painful details that will be included. But, again, the president believes that it is important for us to be as transparent as we possibly can be about what exactly transpired, so we can just be clear to the American public and to people around the world that something like this should not happen again.

STARR: Former Vice President Dick Cheney dismissed the Senate report saying the CIA's interrogation methods were "Absolutely, totally justified."

(APPLAUSE)

STARR: Cheney, who hasn't read the report, strongly defended CIA leaders arguing the program itself was worth it adding "as far as I'm concerned, they ought to be decorated, not criticized." That sentiment was echoed by former president Bush.

GEORGE W. BUSH: These are patriots and whatever the report says, if it diminishes their contributions to our country, it is way off base.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: This report from Senate Democrats is expected to be made public just about one hour from now. Former and current serving CIA officials will tell you that they were just following the orders they believed were legal orders they got from the White House. One of the key questions, of course, is whether the CIA told the White House everything it was doing. Poppy?

HARLOW: Barbara Starr, thank you very much for that. We're going to continue this discussion and I want to bring you some sound just into CNN from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. He is thanking U.S. troops for their efforts in fighting ISIS. He arrived in Baghdad earlier today. Our Jim Sciutto is traveling with the secretary. He just sat down for an interview with him. They talked about the release of this so-called torture report. Listen.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is one of the places where they're concerned about possible retaliation for that terror report. I asked Secretary Hagel about this. He said he has put all his combat-and-commands on the alert with the release of this report today. He says that some of the redactions of the report have helped a bit. But they're still concerned he also - they have heard no specific threats, but listen, they are taking every precaution. A lot of commanders we've spoken to here in Iraq as well as in Afghanistan over the weekend concerned about the repercussions of this and Secretary Hagel told me this morning that he wants to be prepared to doing everything they can.

HARLOW: Jim Sciutto traveling with the Secretary of Defense. Thank you, Jim, reporting from Baghdad for us. Let's talk more about how dangerous this may be to the United States. Is it dangerous at all, this so-called torture report? Aki Peritz joins me now, he was the CIA analyst during the George W. Bush administration. Thank you, sir, for being with us this morning.

AKI PERITZ, FORMER CIA COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: Thank you for having me on the program.

HARLOW: First, your assessment, Bob Baer, former CIA operative told us last hour he really thinks the fallout from this is going to be political. That it is not going to be any retaliation from our enemies overseas. Do you agree?

PERITZ: I generally think this is actually a political issue. All the things that are basically ahead in the SSCI report has already come out. All the - the tough interrogation techniques has leaked over the last several years. The CIA Inspector General Report actually came out with something in 2004 which was declassified in 2008/2009 that actually detailed exactly what the CIA did for the most part and who they did it to. And so, the fact that there might be violence somewhere overseas against U.S. facilities suggests that there were plans ahead of time, much more independently of this report itself.

HARLOW: You were a CIA analyst under the last Bush administration and interestingly I was reading some of what you've written lately and you said it is more effective to build a rapport with someone you want information from rather than to beat them up. You're basically saying tactics like this don't work.

PERITZ: Well, professional interrogators all state -- and this is from the federal up to the local levels -- that rapport building with your detainee or your suspect is basically the best way to achieve the intelligence you want. If the point is to terrorize or frighten a person, then, yes, torture is a very effective way to do that. But the point of the interrogation effort carried out by the CIA was to elicit intelligence in order to crush al Qaeda. This is information that we didn't actually have. If we actually had all the information then there was no need to actually use these rough measures against people. But the fact is that we didn't know what we didn't know, and so, the issue is that if you use brutal techniques, often times it achieves a non-compliance among the detainees.

HARLOW: Did we get the actual answers we were looking for? But I do want you to respond to this. Because some people will scratch their head and say what is the benefit of releasing all of this to the public? Don't we need clandestine operations to effectively fight terror?

PERITZ: Absolutely. We need to have things and kept out of the public realm in order to fight this terrible, terrible group that still fights us today, this al Qaeda group and then other associated terrorist organizations. But the fact is, is that these are things that actually happened almost ten years ago or over ten years ago. The entire program generally was released publicly by the president of the United States in 2006 and formally shut down in 2009. So we're really talking about things that happened over a decade ago and we have to close the book on this issue once and for all.

HARLOW: Aki Peritz, thank you very much for joining thus morning.

PERITZ: Thank you very much.

HARLOW: Still to come here in the "NEWSROOM," a deadly police shooting, this one unfolding overnight and on camera. Our Rosa Flores is covering this story. Good morning, Rosa.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Poppy. This all starts with the stabbing of a man inside a synagogue while he is reportedly deep in prayer. Then there's a police standoff. It all gets caught on video. I'll talk to the man that shot that video. All the detail, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: A deadly confrontation between police and a knife wielding man who just stabbed a worshipper inside of a Brooklyn synagogue. This happened in the early morning hours, around 1 a.m. overnight. It was all captured on camera. Over the next couple of minutes, you're going to see all of this unfold. I want to warn you first, the language is raw, the images are very disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (INAUDIBLE).

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE) Throw the knife. Throw it.

UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: (INAUDIBLE).

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE) (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE) Step away. Hold here. Hands up. Hands up. Stand up here. (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE) Oh, oh, oh ....

(EXPLETIVE DELETED)

(INAUDIBLE)

EXPLETIVE DELETED) EXPLETIVE DELETED)

(SHOT)

(EXPLETIVE DELETED)

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE) Put your hands up. Stand over here. Stay down, stay down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't move! Don't move!

(YELLING)

(EXPLETIVE DELETED)

UNIDNETIFIED MALE: We've got a shooting. Get away, get away. Get away. Get away. Get away.

UNIDNETIFIED MALE: Don't move!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (speaking foreign language)

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE) Negative.

(MOANING)

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE) Hands up! (EXPLETIVE DELETED) (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE) Don't (EXPLETIVE DELETED) move.

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE) (INAUDIBLE)

(CROSSTALK)

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE) Did someone say someone got shot?

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE) He's inside.

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE) (INAUDIBLE)

Are you sure of that?

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE) One male get down.

(CROSSTALK)

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE) With this guy.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE) Where is her parked?

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE) Inside ....

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Our Rosa Flores joins me now here in New York to talk about this happening right near here in Brooklyn. Do we know first how the young man, 22-year old, who was stabbed, how he's doing?

FLORES: We know that he's in stable condition at this hour, Poppy. And of course, he's lucky to be alive, but really think of the horror that he went through. I actually spoke to the man who shot the suspect and we just watched, and he was describing to me, kind of setting the scene as to what was going on around him when all of this unfolded and he says that he believes that this -- this young man who was stabbed was deep in prayer. He was in prayer reading his bible looking at his bible. And so he wasn't really looking around as to what was going on.

HARLOW: In terms of what the officer's response at this point in time, right, you hear them yell numerous times "Drop the knife, drop the knife, drop the knife." Eventually they shot him, cuffed him and he later died. But it does appear that they only shot him when this suspect went back for his knife.

FLORES: And that's what police are saying exactly. And you can see in the video where police officers numerous times ask them to drop the knife, drop the knife. According to police he drops - he actually dropped the knife, then picks it up, launches at a police officer and that's when the police officer responds and shoots. And I was actually asking the man who was shooting this video, you know, what else were people saying around and what was happening. Kind of the dynamic around and he was saying that some people were saying, you know, "Don't shoot him," "Don't shoot him." And others were saying what are you talking about? He has a knife."

HARLOW: That's the decision the officer has to make.

FLORES: Exactly. And they've been talking about this for so long now.

HARLOW: For so long. I know that the NYPD sent their anti-terror squad in response. Is there any thinking that this was possibly a hate crime?

FLORES: You know, that was the obvious question, is this a hate crime because of where this happened. Now, here's what we're hearing from police. They're talking to a lot of witnesses and I'm going to quote here. They say that the witnesses that they've talked to say that this man when he walked in said "I will kill all of you." That's in quotes.

HARLOW: Wow.

FLORES: "I will kill all of you." So it's unclear at the moment.

HARLOW: And does that mean because you are Jewish?

FLORES: Exactly.

HARLOW: Does that mean because you're here worshipping or does that mean because this person is out of their mind. What does it mean?

FLORES: What does it mean? And it's unclear at this moment.

HARLOW: Gosh. Rosa Flores, thank you very much for joining us. Very disturbing thing to see. Appreciate it.

Still to come here in the NEWSROOM, five of Bill Cosby's accusers unite for an open and very candid conversation about what they say he did to them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE) He's a predator. He goes after women. And he's not even a man. If you have to drug a woman to have sex with her, that's not even a man. He's a coward. He's a despicable coward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Much more from that straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Bill Cosby facing the fight of his career. 21 women now accused him of rape. And five of them sat down with our own Don Lemon and Alisyn Camerota for last night special, "The Cosby Show: A Legend under Fire." Here's a clip of how they describe the comic legend, the man that America came to know as America's favorite television dad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VICTORIA VALENTINO, FORMER PLAYMATE, ACCUSES BILL COSBY OF RAPE: I can't look at him. 44 years when his picture went across the screen, when it was in a magazine or a newspaper or I heard his name mentioned I had to walk away, change the channel.

PATTI "P.J." MASTEN, ACCUSES BILL COSBY OF RAPE: It makes me sick to my stomach just to look at him. Just sick to my stomach. You know, he's pretty much -- probably the world's greatest actor because he fooled a lot of people. He fooled a lot of people.

KRISTINA RUEHLI, ACCUSES BILL COSBY OF RAPE: He has the same MO with all of us. He identifies a vulnerable victim. He then gets them alone or lures them into a place, sometimes where other people are in proximity. He drugs them, he does his thing with him and then sometimes he waits for them to wake up so he can -- yet more contempt.

JOAN TARSHIS, ACCUSES BILL COSBY OF RAPE: I had said that I've lost my anger towards the man and the resentment towards the man, but I wonder if that's really because of what's happening to him now. Because this is what I dreamt. This is what I dreamt of for years they can kill ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Great. Don Lemon and also CNN commentator and legal analyst Mel Robbins join me now. Don, that was a fascinating program, them all coming together. I'm wondering. That was just a short clip of the whole hour. What struck you most?

DOM LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Jeez, one thing that struck me most? I think when we -- when I asked what do you want to happen to Bill Cosby and Joan Tarshis said "What I want to happen to Bill Cosby is what's happening now."

HARLOW: Public shame and humiliation.

LEMON: Yeah, it's because she said for someone like him, that's a fate worse than death, for someone who is - in her estimation has built his career on a lie or at least his public persona on a lie so that's the worst thing to happen.

HARLOW: So, that's her take. I'm sure, Mel, there are others that would say I want to see the legal process play out here as much as it can. The issue is the statute of limitations in California and New York.

MEL ROBBINS, CNN COMMENTATOR AND LEGAL ANALYST: Right. And it's really tricky. I mean in California you only have ten years after a rape. If it's of somebody that is, you know, an adult to bring any kind of criminal charges. You have up to the age of 28 if the attack happened when you're a minor. But on the criminal side, that's it. Age 28, no more prosecutions. I find it very interesting, though, that the LAPD is now saying that they're willing to investigate these claims despite that. We saw that happening in the sex abuse case against the Catholic Church in Boston. They investigated despite the criminal statute of limitations.

HARLOW: So, what could that mean legally, Mel? Are there loopholes here, basically? Where he could be criminally charged?

ROBBINS: You know, I think that they're ...

HARLOW: You don't think ...

ROBBINS: You know, I think they are kind of doing that to appease, but ...

LEMON: Right. And it's also the way that it was handled, because if you are - there are all these different things that you have to go through. You can't name the accuser, she's already named the accuser. Just little things that are, you know, sort of ...

ROBBINS: I think what's happening here is you're seeing more that they're responding to something ...

LEMON: Right.

ROBBINS: And opening an investigation because nothing happened back then.

HARLOW: So, they may bring things to light but not charge him.

ROBBINS: Correct.

LEMON: Legally. And that's why - that's why Gloria Allred wants to have them waive the statute of limitations and all those things, because it's really nothing legally that can happen.

ROBBINS: On the criminal side.

LEMON: On the criminal side. And that's ...

HARLOW: Civil side.

LEMON: Civil side. And that's why he's not saying anything.

HARLOW: Well, that's what I was just going to say, Don, right? You have been following this so closely on your show in particular, I'm sure you've asked Bill Cosby and have seen him a number of times for interview.

LEMON: Yes.

HARLOW: And I just wonder what you think about him not speaking after 21 women have come forward.

LEMON: I think initially when I was in contact with these people during the early stages of this they were willing to, you know, consider the possibility of coming on or giving a statement or go to the attorneys. Now it is just radio silence because so many people have come forward and I just don't think that he wants to expose himself to anything. And as, you know, as we just said - civil ...

HARLOW: But not even a statement in a controlled environment.

LEMON: He's made - he's made one statement and that has been on Twitter ...

HARLOW: Right.

LEMON: You know, to his supporters, to Jill Scott and Whoopi Goldberg saying thank you for your support. That's the only statement that has come from Bill Cosby, at least from his Twitter account. The other statements have come from his attorney.

HARLOW: So, Mel, if you're his lawyer, it's a right move?

ROBBINS: Shut up is what I would say. You're not talking to anyone about anything. Because there's a pending civil suit. Under California law there's a teeny loophole that allows somebody to bring a claim civilly so they have what they call the delayed discovery rule which basically means that if you were sexually abused as a minor and you only way later discover the fact that the psychological injuries that you have as an adult link back to what happened to you as a kid, you can bring a civil lawsuit which is what one of the victims has done, as long as you have a certified affidavit from a licensed psychologist.

LEMON: Well, that strick (ph) me. There's so many stipulations with that, though, too, as well, right? And with that - I was kind of ...

HARLOW: We're out of time, we have got to go. But I will ...

LEMON: I ...

HARLOW: I misspoke when I said he hasn't said anything. His lawyer has unequivocally denied any of these allegations.

ROBBINS: And bashed the victims.

HARLOW: Are true. Mel Robbins, Don Lemon, thank you. Fascinating. I appreciate it.

Still to come here on "THE NEWSROOM," the Obamacare architect, the one who called American voters like you and me stupid facing off with the White House and with Republicans on Capitol Hill right now. Our Joe Johns is monitoring it for us in Washington. Good morning, Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Poppy. A full mea culpa from Jonathan Gruber, the MIT economics professor who served as the key advisor on the Affordable Care Act. He was caught on video saying "public stupidity and a lack of transparency helped the bill." Now both Democrats and Republicans have him on the hot seat here on Capitol Hill. We'll have that coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)