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Pats Coach: We Did Nothing Wrong; Message Appears to Show Dead ISIS Hostage; Terrifying New Violence in Ukraine; Obama Adds Stop in Saudi Arabia; "American Sniper" Questioned; First Republican Gathering in Iowa; Cubs' Ernie Banks Remembered

Aired January 24, 2015 - 19:00   ET

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


POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, everybody. Good evening. I'm Poppy Harlow. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm joining you live from New York. It's 7:00 Eastern. And we are following developments this hour on the scandal that threatens to overshadow the Super Bowl.

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick says what everyone is now calling deflate-gate is a huge waste of time. He also slammed allegations suggesting that someone in the Patriots camp possibly deflated footballs, bending the rules to help the Pats win their last game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL BELICHICK, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS HEAD COACH: I'm embarrassed the talk about the amount of time that I've put into this relative to the other important challenge in front of us. I'm not a scientist. I'm not an expert in footballs. I'm not an expert in football measurements. I'm just telling you what I know. I would not say that I'm a Mona Lisa Vito of the football world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: All right. I want to go straight to our Sara Ganim. She was in the room for that really impromptu press conference today when Belichick defiantly defended his team -- Sara.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, Bill Belichick, the head coach of the Patriots, held an unexpected press conference today essentially to explain that he conducted a series of experiments in the last few days to try and figure out why it is that several of the footballs that the team used during last week's AFC championship game were underinflated.

Take a listen to what he said.

BELICHICK: We simulated a game-day situation. In terms of the preparation of the footballs and where the footballs were at various points in time during the day or night as the case was Sunday. GANIM: Now, Belichick also stressed that it's not his team, not the

equipment managers, not the players who inflate the balls, it's officials. He said his team can recommend a psi, pounds per square inch, that they want the balls to be inflated to and he said that quarterback Tom Brady likes his footballs to be inflated to a certain level, but then they leave that in the hands of the officials to measure the football they provide and make sure they fall within the rule what is the psi should be when they're playing the game.

He was also asked, what's next? How do they prevent this from happening at the big game next week, at the Super Bowl, if, as he alluded to, this was an act of science, of atmospheric pressure messing with the footballs? And he said that was an important question, something he wanted to explore but was not something he felt should be addressed today.

Now, there is an ongoing NFL investigation. We have conducted more than 40 interviews at this point. The NFL also says they are examining other evidence as well.

Interestingly, the last time we heard from quarterback Tom Brady, he had not yet been interviewed by the NFL. However, their investigation is ongoing and there is no time line on that investigation, so it's unclear if we'll have any of the answers to these questions before the Super Bowl -- Poppy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: All right. Sara Ganim there for us. Thank you, Sara.

Let's bring in ESPN columnist and senior writer L.Z. Granderson.

L.Z., you listened to this press conference, I listened to this press conference today. How much of this in terms of a lot of people making assumptions, blaming the Patriots before evidence is out there, how much of that, do you think, has to do with 2007, right, when the Patriots got caught in spy-gate videotaping opponents?

L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN COMMENTATOR: Well, it has a great deal to do with it in part of what the patriots did but also because of what the NFL did. Remember, they destroyed all the tapes linked to spy-gate so something about this aura of skepticism with fans and with the media not just with the Patriots but also now the NFL treats the Patriots, because they're kind of seen as like the crown jewel if you will of the NFL and some people think Tom Brady gets treated differently than other quarterbacks. So, 2007 has almost everything to do with it, but then also, you have

the added part where is Tom Brady is kind of seen as being treated differently in the media than other quarterbacks and players.

HARLOW: But, L.Z., I read the full transcript of that, you know, Tom Brady press conference on Thursday, saw part of it. I mean, he was asked tough, tough questions over and over again. Do you think he's really getting special treatment or are people holding him to a higher standard? GRANDERSON: You have to remember this controversy began Sunday at

halftime. Tom Brady was in front of us talking about this and detailing until Thursday after his coach's press conference, hours after his coach's press conference. I don't think you need to hire Olivia Pope to prep somebody for questions when that you have many days to get ready for the media, and not to mention he's kind of used to answering tough questions in all his years in the NFL. So, I wasn't surprised he handled it as well as he did. I was surprised he thought the answers he gave in day were going to be enough to satisfy not just the fans but the media as well.

HARLOW: Well, interesting, Bill Belichick in that presser today saying, look, this is the end of the subject for me for a long time. He clearly says I'm done addressing it. He's going to be asked about it a lot on Tuesday, media day ahead of the NFL, and in every opportunity journalists have with him. Did you find -- I'm interested, L.Z., in how you found his demeanor today and the way he held this press conference.

GRANDERSON: It was typical Bill Belichick. Anyone who's seen him in press conferences are used to him not only dropping the occasional pop culture references as he did in that conference but also just kind of having a defiant sort of stance. You know, I have a great deal of respect for him as a coach. I still think he's probably the greatest coach in NFL history, but he's also known to have at least a public persona that's a little bit cold and can come across as arrogant. I think that's what a lot of people saw.

If you hadn't seen him before, that's just kind of how he is, at least in public.

HARLOW: You know, what matters here is the facts, and frankly that's just what we don't have right now. We have ESPN reporting 11 of the 12 balls were underinflated, the NFL corroborating that but that's about it. Are you concerned that far too many people may have made their decision before the evidence is presented?

GRANDERSON: Well, we have what the NFL said itself. You know, if you want to eliminate media companies including my own has said and look at what the NFL has said, it said it too has found balls to be deflated. And we know from science it's easier to catch and throw balls and more important easier to hold onto a football that's slightly deflated.

If you look at the statistics, the Patriots have probably the best hands in football when it comes to holding onto the football. They only fumbled once in rushing and didn't lose that one fumble. That was way below what you see other teams in the NFL do. If they're playing with deflated balls, that would help explain that -- if. And so, it's really important at least within the context of the game that the NFL figure out what's happening, figure out whether or not the patriots are consciously doing this or as Bill Belichick hinted, just a by-product of science.

HARLOW: We'll see the investigation ongoing. Who knows when we'll get a determination from the NFL. L.Z., great to have you on. Thanks so much.

GRANDERSON: Thank you.

HARLOW: Well, turning our attention overseas. ISIS may be testing a new strategy after a chilling video of two hostages is released. The video appears to announce that only one hostage is still alive now that a ransom deadline for $200 million has passed. This is what these two hostages looked like when ISIS released images of them more than a week ago.

Now, CNN is not airing the new video today from which Kenji Goto is holding a photograph that appears to show fellow hostage Haruna Yukawa beheaded.

Also today, ISIS relayed a new demand to keep that remaining hostage alive. They want a woman held prisoner in Jordan to be released. Sajida al-Rishawi was arrested in 2005.

And our Will Ripley has more on how Japan is reacting to this new video and the new demand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right now, outrage here in Tokyo from the Japanese prime minister and other top officials strongly condemning this video which includes a graphic photo that is believed to be proof of the brutal murder, the beheading of a Japanese hostage, Haruna Yukawa, a man who went to the Middle East dreaming of a fresh start, a new life as a security consultant, only to end up in the hands of ISIS, displayed in a propaganda video and now, a picture purportedly of his body being distributed over the Internet.

But there's another situation that has to be dealt and that is Kenji Goto, the other hostage, the journalist whose voice purportedly appears on this video, still hasn't been authenticated yet. They are not 100 percent certain that Kenji Goto is still alive and is the voice on that recording pleading directly to his wife, the mother of his two young daughters, to convince the Japanese government to talk to another government, the government of Jordan, and try to convince them to make a deal, to trade a convicted terrorist, partially responsible for an attack that left dozens of people dead, to allow that convicted terrorist to walk free in exchange for his own life.

The propaganda video, the new video also used Goto, who is well- respected and well liked here in Japan, to shame Prime Minister Abe, saying it was his fault that his friend was murdered.

But time is of the essence here. Even though this video contained no deadline, no specific time frame for this prison release. So, we know from previous experience that ISIS will only keep a hostage alive in they feel a person is valuable to them in some way. So, this could end one of two way, some sort of a deal that would allow Kenji Goto to come home to Japan and reunite with his wife and his children or it could end much more tragically.

Will Ripley, CNN, Tokyo. (END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Will Ripley, thank you for that report.

And, you know, the latest demand by ISIS to trade one Japanese hostage for this woman, Sajida al-Rishawi has everyone wondering who exactly is she and why is she so important to ISIS.

Here's what we know.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW (voice-over): It was the deadliest terror strike in Jordan's latest history. In 2005, 60 people died when suicide bombers attacked three hotels in the country's capital. Shortly afterwards, Sajida al- Rishawi made a televised confession of her role in the attack.

She said she was sent from Iraq to kill in Jordan and this was her confession.

It was almost unemotional and there was no mention of why she carried out the mission.

Sajida al-Rishawi is made to display a belt of explosives crudely linked with tapes, officials say here, to a pack of ball bearings.

SAJIDA AL-RISHAWI (through translator): My husband wore an explosive belt and put one on me. He taught me how to use it. The targets were hotels.

There was a wedding ceremony in the hotel. There were women, men, and children. My husband detonated his bomb and I tried to set off mine but failed.

HARLOW: The Iraqi woman was sentenced to death by hanging. Despite her confession, Rishawi pled not guilty in court.

Defense attorneys argued she confessed on television only after she was tortured by authorities. They say Rishawi was forced to participate in the attack by her husband, but that she had no intention of detonating the explosives.

However, explosives experts testified the triggering mechanism on her belt had jammed. Her lawyers say Rishawi accepted the verdict stoically.

HUSSEIN AL MASRI, RISHAWI ATTORNEY (through translator): She asked what the verdict was and I told her, capital punishment. She asked whether it could be altered. I said that the verdict could be appealed. Then, she said, either kill me or send me to my parents.

HARLOW: Officials say Rishawi is related to a former aide of Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the former leader of al Qaeda in Iraq. Zarqawi claimed responsibility for ordering the bombings. He was killed in 2006 by a U.S. airstrike in Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Joining me now to discuss, CNN intelligence and security analyst, former CIA operative Bob Baer.

Bob, any chance the Jordanians will release her in order to try to save the life of Japanese hostage Kenji Goto?

BOB BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: I think there are none. Jordanians, their prisons are full of people close to the Islamic State and other terrorist groups and they don't play this game. You know, they're not going to do it. Especially this was such a devastating attack to the Jordanians, that hotel attack in 2005.

HARLOW: Yes.

BAER: I would be very surprised if they would agree.

HARLOW: I'm interested in your take on the fact ISIS has reversed course on what they want. I mean, they went from the $200 million demand which they didn't get and now this. Does this tell us anything about where ISIS is right now in terms of their mentality?

BAER: First of all, we're not exactly sure this is the Islamic State or ISIS that took two Japanese hostages. It may be a copycat group. It still needs to be authenticated -- the tape and the people in it.

So, once that's done, otherwise, it makes no sense, but these people are not exactly rational. You know, I don't think the Japanese would pay $200 million for the release of these two hostages or one now. You know, there's some personal connection to this woman which frankly I don't understand. I mean, Zarqawi is -- this is a long time ago, long before the founding of the Islamic State. So, why they want her back is frankly incomprehensible to me.

HARLOW: Bob Baer, before we go, very quickly here, this report out this week that U.S. and coalition forces have killed about 6,000 members of ISIS, about half of what is believed to be their force on the ground -- does that change the game for is in any way or does it embolden them?

BAER: I think they're desperate at this point and they're expecting an offensive against Mosul. That's been leaked this summer. And they're going to fight back all the harder. But they have so this many recruits flowing into Syria and Iraq they'll be able to replenish this.

I talked to a friend who was just this and a lot of central Asians are showing up. They are replenishing their ranks and will put up a good fight for Mosul.

HARLOW: Wow. It is a prolonged battle that this country and coalition forces are fighting against is. Bob Baer, thanks. Appreciate it.

BAER: Thanks. HARLOW: Another troubling big story today: terrifying new levels of

violence in Ukraine. Are there any hopes for this coming to a peaceful end?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK

HARLOW: At least 16 people were killed and more than 80 injured in shelling in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Regional police blamed pro-Russian separatists for the attacks which struck civilians just trying to live their lives.

Earlier this week a separatist leader se he has no interest in peace talks because his troops are on the offensive. Ukraine's president used a dramatic prop to point the finger of blame squarely at Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. PETRO POROSHENKO, UKRAINE: I have here part of the Volnovakha bus, with the hit of the fragments of the Russian missiles which hit my people. And for me, this is a symbol, symbol of the terrorist attack against my country. The same way a symbol like "Charlie Hebdo" and the same way a symbol like a terroristic attack which was done by Russian missile operated by Russian officer against MH-17 flight of Malaysian airplane, which were killed 298 innocent victim from 17 countries, which demonstrate that the terror is not a problem of Ukraine and not even the problem of Europe. This is a global problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Michael Weiss, a foreign policy columnist here to talk about the deteriorating situation in Ukraine.

Thank you for joining us. This hasn't been in the headlines for a few months really and now it is back in the headline, rightly so, because civilians are dying, people living in the crosshairs of this are dying. This ceasefire in September, it seems to have fallen apart the moment it began.

MICHAEL WEISS, COLUMNIST, FOREIGN POLICY: Yes, it never existed. You know, it was sort of kept at a low rumble of violence, but separatists were still firing on Ukrainian army positions and vice versa. In the last several weeks, there's been an intense battle for Donetsk international airport, which has now fallen to the separatists. So, when President Obama got up for the State of the Union as he was speaking and saying, you know, Putin is isolated and being pushed back and all this, the Ukrainians were losing.

HARLOW: Right.

WEISS: And today, it's been -- I think this is probably one of the worst days for civilian casualties since the war began. You guys have it a slightly lower death toll than what I've received.

HARLOW: OK.

WEISS: That's 30 civilians I think have been killed. HARLOW: OK.

WEISS: There's a really haunting video that's been circulating on the Internet. A guy in his car has a dash cam and he takes sort of a video footage of the road ahead of him and all of a sudden this intense bombardment of shelling just blows up the stretch of road in front of him.

HARLOW: There are also been reports that rebel forces may have used poison gas. The monitoring people on the ground, they are saying that this was used likely at Donetsk airport.

WEISS: Right.

HARLOW: And 80-some Ukrainian soldiers saying that they had multiple reactions to this.

WEISS: Right.

HARLOW: I'm wondering what you think should happen now. We've had some in Congress calling for U.S. boots on the ground here.

WEISS: Right.

HARLOW: Should the U.N. step in here? What more can be done?

WEISS: Well, there is a kind of unanimity amongst Ukrainians that at the very least the United States should be supplying them with weapons. When I say weapons -- I mean specific types of weapons or military equipment, surveillance drones, which they haven't got to monitor rebel positions, things like that, anti-tank -- certain kind of anti-tank missile.

Ukraine is actually one of the world's leading manufacturers in arms. I mean, it has plenty of ammunition. It has plenty things like AK-47s --

HARLOW: But they need something specialized.

WEISS: Right, and we failed to do that. I think the only thing the U.S. has sent thus far is a certain type of armored vehicle, defensive equipment but not offensive equipment.

HARLOW: Can you put this -- because for a lot of people watching, you know, I think they feel like this is so far away, how does this affect me, what does this mean geopolitically talking tact U.S.?

WEISS: Right.

HARLOW: Can you break it down for why this really matters?

WEISS: Yes, because in the mind of Vladimir Putin and the people surrounding him in the Kremlin -- when I say people surrounding and advising him, those who are most rah-rah about this war are the security services, the heirs of the KGB, military, the oligarchs and the sort of business elites are very, very touchy about what's going on.

In his mind this is not a war for Ukraine, this is a war against the United States. There was a "New York Times" article published yesterday I think, somebody very close to the government said this is a holy war, he is on a holy mission to restore the Russian empire.

HARLOW: Sure.

WEISS: The rebel leader said today in announcing or heralding this operation that Kiev belongs to Russia. So, this is a messianic mission here. And this is probably the worst time since the end of the Cold War in U.S./Russian relations.

HARLOW: Wow. One-word answer, yes, no -- are the U.S. sanctions against Russia working?

WEISS: No.

HARLOW: No. We have to do more.

WEISS: Not to stop the war.

HARLOW: That's your take. All right. Michael Weiss, good to have you on the program. Thank you very much.

WEISS: Yes.

HARLOW: Also, with so much instability in the Middle East, President Obama planning to cut his visit to India short. Where is he going? Saudi Arabia.

We're live from New Delhi, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: President Obama arrives in India in just a few hours. He is on Air Force One right now, on his way there, but his trip will be cut short so that he can visit Saudi Arabia following the death of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah.

CNN international correspondent Sumnina Udas is in New Delhi with us live tonight.

Good evening to you, Sumnina. What will the sudden change of plans do to the trip that he had planned and all he hoped to see where you are?

SUMNINA UDAS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not much, Poppy, because he's only cutting short his trip by a few hour, really just canceling his trip to the Taj Mahal, which, of course, the iconic architectural wonder, the monument of love. President Obama had expressed his desire to visit the Taj Mahal when he was here in India back in 2010, but he had to cut that trip short because of course he is going to Saudi Arabia.

Now, Vice President Joe Biden was expected or supposed to actually travel to Saudi Arabia with delegation, but the White House says plans were changed because it turns out the president's departure from India and the vice president's plans actually coincided. So, President Obama will be going not much -- he will not miss out on much of the substantial talks that are going to take place, the bilateral talks.

And, of course, the republic day parade happening on Monday. That is the day in 1950 when India's first constitution was adopted and that's the day President Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be sitting out in the open for 2 1/2 hours watching this extravagant parade, a real show for India culturally, militarily, and the symbolism won't be lost on anyone, Poppy.

HARLOW: I'm interested. You know, Prime Minister Modi has really made waves since taking over and a lot of hope has been placed in him in terms of India's economic growth and development. Can you gives us a sense of what's going to be on the agenda, what the president and he would like to talk about most?

UDAS: Certainly defense, trade ties because, you know, especially with the new prime minister, India is looking to develop, to upgrade its infrastructure, to upgrade its defense equipment and the U.S. has shown an interest in being part of that India's growth story. India, of course, expected to surplus China in terms of economic growth by 2016, 2017, that's according to the IMF and the World Bank.

So, trade is certainly top but symbolism in terms of that parade -- the military parade, the republic day parade, that's still the highlight of this trip, Poppy.

HARLOW: Sumnina, thank you for the report. We appreciate it. Busy time ahead with the president visiting. Appreciate it.

All right. Well, coming up, the movie "American Sniper" is breaking box office records. We're talking over $100 million in the first weekend. It is based on the life of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle and the book he wrote. But some question whether the book is, in fact, fully factual or if there is some fiction to it. We'll dig into Kyle's story next.

Also, take a look at this. It is not nice outside where I'm broadcasting live from. We're talking about snow up and down the east coast from New York to Boston all the way up through Maine. We'll bring you a live report in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: The story of Navy Seal Chris Kyle's life was first written as a book and then became a blockbuster movie starring Bradley Cooper and directed by Clint Eastwood. But potential inconsistencies to the story have come to light and now some are questioning its accuracy.

Ed Lavandera explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The legend of Chris Kyle has grown to Hollywood blockbuster levels. The man known as the "American Sniper" is credited with at least 160 kills during his four tours of duty in Iraq. His story has made him a U.S. military icon.

But the movie and the glorification of Chris Kyle's life ignores some troubling stories.

(on camera): Chris Kyle and his friends often told a legendary story. It involved an incident that happened to him along this stretch of highway southwest of Dallas. The story goes that Kyle was driving along, pulled into a gas station when two men attempted to carjack him while he sat in a pickup truck. He reached for a handgun and shot each man twice and they dropped dead, but this is where Kyle's story takes a strange turn.

When the police arrived and ran his driver's license they didn't get a name or an address. What the officers got was a phone number for someone at the Department of Defense. After a short conversation, they let Kyle go. He simply drove away.

(voice-over): It's a story that Kyle told writer Michael Mooney. Mooney wrote a lengthy profile of Kyle for "D Magazine." He said "Kyle claimed there was video of the shooting but Mooney could never verify the story. He says he went to every gas station on that stretch of road across three counties, asked local and state law enforcement officials, but nobody has ever verified the incident."

MICHAEL MOONEY, WRITER "D MAGAZINE": So ultimately what it comes down to is it was either a joke that he didn't say it was a joke, he was lying for some reason that we don't know, or it was evidence of an enormous conspiracy that no American is going to feel comfortable with. We don't know. The fact is he was killed and there's no possible way to get an answer from him now.

LAVANDERA: Kyle also bragged that after Hurricane Katrina he and another sniper snuck into New Orleans and shot 30 armed looters from the rooftop of the Superdome.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Put those down, weapons down!

LAVANDERA: Lieutenant General Russel Honore famously spearheaded the federal response in those days.

LT. GEN. RUSSEL HONORE (RET.): If somebody was shooting people in and around the Superdome, trust me, we would have known about it and I can assure you no federal forces or anybody from the armed forces were there doing any sniper work.

LAVANDERA: Chris Kyle also boasted in 2006 of punching out former Minnesota governor and Navy veteran Jesse Ventura for allegedly making disparaging remarks about Navy S.E.A.L.S. fighting in Iraq. Kyle bragged about it on the "OP and Anthony Radio Show."

UNIDENTIFED MALE: You slugged him good?

CHRIS KYLE, SNIPER: I punched him. Good.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Where did you punch him?

UNIDENTIFED MALE: Bravo.

LAVANDERA: Ventura said the incident never happened and sued Kyle for defamation. A jury sided with Ventura and awarded him nearly $2 million. The case is under appeal. We asked a spokesperson for Chris Kyle's wife to help shed light on these stories, any details that might explain Kyle's frame of mind, but the spokesperson simply said she was not available to speak with us.

But Thea Kyle spoke at her husband's funeral alluding to the tough and emotional roller coaster of their lives.

THEA KYLE, CHRIS KYLE'S WIDOW: I don't need to romanticize Chris because our reality is messy, passionate, full of every extreme emotion known to man, including fear, compassion, anger, pain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Ed Lavandera, thank you for that report.

"American Sniper" earned a record $105 million in its premiere weekend alone. The film, though, also drawing criticism as you just heard. Let's bring in two people who understand the job snipers do better than most.

Jeremiah Workman was awarded the Navy Cross, the nation's second highest award for valor after leading his squad through a deadly battle in Falujah, Iraq. He is the author of the book "Shadow of the Sword: A Marine's Journey of War, Heroism and Redemption." Also with us again, former CIA operative, Bob Baer. Thank you both and thank you both for your service to this country.

Jeremiah, let me begin with you. You knew Chris Kyle and you know that there are questions about what he may have done and what he didn't do. Do you have any doubts?

JEREMIAH WORKMAN, U.S. MARINE: There's no doubt in my mind. You know, I can't get into what happened on the side of the road in Texas or on top of the Superdome. I don't know. But what I do know is what the man did in combat and providing tremendous support to the Marines in Fallujah and Ramadi and Al Anbar in general.

And the man is a stud of the military. I mean, he wrote to a lot of people and I think there's just people trying to bring discredit to the story because of the success.

HARLOW: Yes. That's an interesting point. To Bob Baer, to you, not only are you a CIA -- former CIA operative, your wife was a shooter for the CIA. So you have this perspective of someone who knows what it's like to be a sniper. What's your take?

BAER: Well, she spent a couple years just in training with weapons. Her job, for instance, was to sit in a restaurant overseas and she had what's called a quick-draw purse and she'd do backups for meetings. And, you know, once something goes very bad and you have to pull out a weapon in a crowded place, mistakes will be made, there will be second judgments and, you know, I think it's called target acquisition is very, very difficult.

And, you know, in times of war, people will call into doubt accounts. But, I mean, I think what the point is with Chris Kyle and the S.E.A.L.S. snipers is they kept our embassy from being mortared from the Shia area of Sadr City. They simply put snipers up there and anybody that moved in Sadr City with a weapon, they shot them, and that's why there are a lot of Americans that made it through this.

HARLOW: So Jeremiah, I want you to talk about this tweet. You may have seen -- some of our viewers may have seen this tweet from Michael Moore, the filmmaker, that defended a lot of veterans saying he was taught that sniper are cowards. "My uncle killed by a sniper in World War II. We were taught snipers were cowards, will shoot you in the back. Snipers aren't heroes and invaders are worse." What's your reaction to that?

WORKMAN: Michael Moore who? That's my reaction is Michael Moore really brings nothing to the table. He's brought nothing to our -- to the conversation. I mean, he -- you know, we fought over in Iraq and Afghanistan so that people could have an opinion about the war, but to say something like this, about a man that has been killed or to say something about any of our service members that have paid the ultimate sacrifice is down right disgraceful.

And I can assure you that if you said something like tat in front of me, I am going to give you PTSD. It's downright disgraceful.

BAER: Yes. I agree. You know, Michael Moore, he never heard a shot fired in anger and, you know, when you got the military on the front line, especially on a war like Iraq where things are really messy and it's never clear cut, you know, the outsiders, they really have to know a situation and there's always been snipers in warfare forever and, you know, with these bows and arrows at one time. It's just sort of a stupid remark.

HARLOW: Before we go, quickly, Jeremiah, to you, as someone who fought in this war, this is the first big-time movie that has pulled in so much about the Iraq war. It seems to be the first one that has really, really resonated on a broad scale with people focusing on the Iraq war. Why do you think that is?

WORKMAN: I think people are just -- when you're talking about Navy S.E.A.L.S or special operators and then you throw in the word sniper, I think that's just the recipe. People are intrigued and want to know about it. But for those of us, the Marines that were there, we know that these snipers where the Marines are special operators, they had our back, did a wonderful job, and a lot of us are here today because of the jobs that they did and we thank them for what they did for us.

HARLOW: Yes and we thank you for your service, Jeremiah and Bob. Thank you both. Appreciate it.

Some of the top contenders for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination met in Iowa. Today that key state, you're looking at Donald Trump there, perhaps even more interesting than who showed up is who didn't show. Why and what it means for the race for the White House.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: It is the first big gathering for would-be Republican presidential hopefuls, ambitious members of the GOP gathering in Des Moines, Iowa, this weekend for the Iowa Freedom Summit. Among the big names, Sarah Palin, Chris Christie, Ben Carson of Equal Interest, who is not there.

Let's bring in CNN national political reporter Peter Hamby. Peter, everyone's talking about who's not there and the people that are there probably wish that everyone was talking about them.

PETER HAMBY, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, people are talking both who isn't here and who is here. To your first point, this is a big conservative event in Iowa. Jeb Bush, who is sort of perceived moderate, kind of an established front-runner, chose not to come to this event. He's criticized the party's base for being too hard line on issues like immigration.

Well this event, here at the Iowa Freedom Summit was sponsored by Iowa Congressman Steve King, who is an immigration hardliner, sort of known for inflammatory comments about undocumented immigrants but a number of conservative candidates and Republicans including Chris Christie, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, came here to sort of introduce themselves to the Republican base who's going to be really, really important in the Iowa caucuses come next January.

As you said, this is the starting gun of the 2016 race and anyone who's anyone in Iowa Republican politics was here today in Des Moines. Poppy.

HARLOW: Also, Sarah Palin was there, Donald Trump. Are we hearing from them on any potential bids in 2016?

HAMBY: They are doing the dance that we start to see every four years where they say they are interested in running for president. That's more to telegraph that they're interested in letting people know that they're interested so people write stories about them and they get booked on TV. Look, Donald Trump isn't going to run for president, if he did, he wouldn't win.

Sarah Palin, while she did have a little bit of a window in 2012, I think that ship has sailed. Both of them gave speeches here. Donald Trump was very punchy. He actually criticized Mitt Romney who's thinking about running for president again, saying he choked in 2012. He criticized Jeb Bush saying we don't need another Bush. So they definitely got a lot of tension and threw a lot of red meat to the crowd. But when you talk about candidates who are more serious about the race, you have to talk about Scott Walker who gave a pretty impressive speech today and was well received, kind of exceeding expectations.

And then Chris Christie. You know, he is sort of a perceived moderate from New Jersey, known a little bit as a bully. He came out here and actually connected with the crowd, told some personal stories, told some jokes and he left with a standing ovation. That's a win for him.

HARLOW: Wow. All right. Peter Hamby in Iowa for us. You're going to be there a lot over the next year or so.

HAMBY: That's right.

HARLOW: Peter Hamby, thank you.

Coming up after a quick break, Guantanamo Bay, a mysterious death of a civilian worker leads to the shocking revelation, the sordid love affair between the Gitmo commander and the dead man's wife. That story straight ahead.

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HARLOW: A civilian death on a Navy base and the resulting investigation that reportedly reveals the dead man's wife had been having an affair with the base commander.

But that's what played at the U.S. Naval Station in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Suzanne Malveaux tells us why the Navy has relieved the base's commanding officer of his duty.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Navy says it has relieved Neddleton of his duty due to the loss of confidence in his ability to command. I spoke with a U.S. military official who told me that it was over an inappropriate relationship. But that alleged relationship only came to light after the discovery of a body. Now Nerrleton has been temporarily reassigned to a post in Jacksonville, Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): Navy Captain John Nettleton, in charge of the naval station at Guantanamo Bay has been removed from his post. Now under investigation for having an alleged extra-marital affair with a woman whose husband was a civilian worker on the base. This according to a U.S. military official.

It all began when 42-year-old commissary worker and former Marine Matthew Tur, a father of two, married for 19 years who moved with his family to the base four years was reported missing January 10 by his wife.

The next day, Tur was discovered by the U.S. Coast Guard, dead in the Guantanamo Bay. During the course of the investigation into his death, a U.S. military official says they uncovered the alleged affair between his wife and Nettleton.

CHUCK HAGEL, DEFENSE SECRETARY: The base commander has been relieved. It is now in the purview of appropriate authorities.

MALVEAUX: While Nettleton is being removed for alleged adultery which is a crime under military law, Pentagon officials have not said Nettleton is in any way connected to Matthew Tur's death. A military official told CNN initial indications are that Tur's death was a suicide though there has been no final determination. MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET.): We got a naval officer who had an affair. It was totally inappropriate. Was there a climate? Was there a culture that he allowed to exist?

MALVEAUX: But Nettleton's alleged love triangle and reassignment while a black eye for the Navy has nothing to do with the Guantanamo prison.

MARKS: Inside the prison itself, he has nothing to do with that. That is run by intelligence agencies, run by the Army to ensure that everybody in there is well cared for and everything is going appropriately.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: The U.S. military official I spoke to says Nettleton has not been named a suspect in Tur's death, his widow has not spoken about the alleged affair and that it is important once again to note that the U.S. base in Guantanamo is made up of an airfield, recreational facilities, a chapel, school, even a golf course as well as the prison. Nettleton was described like the mayor of the base providing all of those services to those entities but not involved in anything concerning Guantanamo's prisoners.

HARLOW: Susan Malveaux, thank you for that report.

With me to talk a lot more about this story is former Army JAG Officer military lawyer Anita Gorecki-Robbins. Thank you for being here. Let me begin with this. NCIS, we know is handling this particular investigation but nonetheless, this is a military investigation of top brass. Give me a sense when you're dealing with someone as Suzanne described as like the mayor of this entire base. How does that change, if at all, the investigation?

ANITA GORECKI-ROBBINS, LAWYER: Well everybody's capitals are immediately up when you have somebody of that type of rank, any type of, even a general officer, like she said, he is the mayor. He is in charge and due to his rank and so it is two-fold now. You have a criminal investigation through NCIS going on and now you're also probably going to have like a separate investigation maybe after that which is called a 15-6 which is kind of what is going on in the Berghdal case.

And any time you have somebody of that rank and stature, every one is going to make that they are crossing their i's, I mean, sorry dotting their i's and crossing their t's.

HARLOW: So let me ask you this, there's obviously one thing -- one investigation into the whether it was a suicide or murder of this man but also it's another to look at his affairs and whether or not they were appropriate or not. Can he be punished for having an affair with someone else on base and if so, what kind of punishment can that hold?

ROBBINS: Absolutely, adultery is actually, is a court-martial-able offense. One year in jail and a dishonourable discharge. Now, having said that, that rarely happens unless it's in conjunction with some other crime. More likely than not and what does typically happens is an investigation is done. He will be reprimanded with usually what's called general officer letter of reprimand and then his career is basically over with because what they're looking at is -- part of it is is it service discrediting, which adultery is pretty much viewed that it is. It's conduct unbecoming and prejudicial to good order and discipline. So in the military community, unlike the financial community, which you report on, they wouldn't care if titans of industry do this.

HARLOW: I don't know.

ROBBINS: I would say, not in the same way. Maybe a hedge fund manager, but in the military community, this is taken extremely seriously because it goes to his or her judgment of whether they can lead and whether his subordinates have faith and confidence in him. So yes, this is taken very seriously in ways that maybe that in the civilian community, maybe doesn't resonate but it does within this community.

HARLOW: Yes and to hear that it is a punishable offense. Anita, thank you for joining us. Thanks.

ROBBINS: Thank you, Poppy.

HARLOW: Appreciate it.

ROBBINS: Thank you.

HARLOW: All right. A very sad loss from the world of sports to tell you about tonight. The great Ernie Banks will be remembered for a lot of things, his ability to hit a baseball landed him in the baseball Hall of Fame. But as our George Howell reports, there was so much more to this legendary baseball player.

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GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just over a year ago in the iconic Wrigley Field, Mr. Cub himself, Ernie Banks described what this place means to him.

ERNIE BANKS: Standing there and just small talk, it is a real thrill, it's like my home, my bible, my life.

HOWELL: Baseball was his everything and what a career. From an upstart with the Negro league to becoming the first African-American to wear a Cubs' uniform. Ernie Banks was a trailblazer. Between 1953 and 1971, this shortstop and first baseman piled up 2583 hits, 11 National League All Stars Selections, two back to back National League most valuable player awards. He racked up 512 home runs, five seasons, hitting more than 40 homers.

In 1977, Banks was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He later saw a statue go up of his likeness outside Wrigley Field.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: It looks like you hit one right out of the ballpark, even today. HOWELL: And then there was this.

OBAMA: These are the recipients of the 2013 presidential medal of freedom.

HOWELL: Seated among the ranks of former president Bill Clinton and Oprah Winfrey, this award from a White Sox fan and the president of the United States would be one of his greatest honors. A Cubs legend, Ernie banks died Friday at the age of 83.

People who remember him know him as the guy with that smile who was always so optimistic, ever so approachable, and exceptional at what he did.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: He was such a nice guy. I mean you never heard anything bad about him. I had the opportunity to meet him a couple times, and just always had a big smile on his face.

It is Mr. Cub, you know, he had such a title like that, and then to lose such a man is a huge loss for not only the organization and the city as a whole.

UNIDENTIFED MALE: He was just so open, and so generous with his whole life, and so positive. And that is a rare quality in humans these days. Someone who in the face of all of this, that goes on in the world, that he could just maintain that genuine smile.

Love you, Ernie.

HOWELL (on camera): I had the good fortune of meeting Ernie Banks several times here in Chicago and you could not have been in the presence of a better guy. He was always in a good mood and one game was never enough. Let's not forget that famous phrase that he coined "Sunshine, fresh air, and the teams behind us. Let's play two."

BANKS: I turned into a kid when I walked in here. Everything old begins new again and this ball park is new to me now.

HOWELL: To the best cub to ever play the game, Ernie Banks will always be a special part of Chicago and his presence always felt here in Wrigley Field.

George Howell, CNN, Chicago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: George, thanks for that really very moving remembrance of Ernie Banks. The president, of course, awarding him, the presidential medial of freedom back in 2013.

All right. Stay with CNN and cnn.com for breaking news around the clock. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York.

Thanks so much for sending part of your evening as I stay right here, coming up next on CNN, Morgan Spurlock, Inside Man and the new season takes off with robots and artificial intelligence. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)