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THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER

Fifty Five Million Feeling Freezing Temps, Snow; Sleazy Politics Isn't A New Thing

Aired February 16, 2015 - 16:30   ET

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


JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

In world news, another Western nation and U.S. ally gripped by terror today. Police in Denmark are now questioning two men charged with helping the gunman in the deadly attacks in Copenhagen.

Tonight, 42,000 people came out in a show of solidarity and support and to pay tribute to the victims of yet another senseless terrorist killing spree. It is a rampage with eerie similarities to the "Charlie Hebdo" attacks in Paris.

The gunman was apparently an Islamic extremist radicalized in prison. He targeted policemen and Jews and an artist who had drawn a provocative picture of Muhammad, and the shooter was no stranger to law enforcement.

CNN justice correspondent Pamela Brown has new details for us -- Pamela.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, we just spoke to a former classmate of the suspect Omar El-Hussein, and he says that he used to espouse alarming anti-West views in class. This as we learned just moments before the shooting spree this past weekend on the suspect's apparent Facebook page, he pledged his fidelity to ISIS.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why do we still say but when we --

(GUNFIRE)

BROWN (voice-over): A hail of gunfire at a free speech event in Copenhagen just after 3:30 Saturday. Audio obtained by the BBC captures the horrifying scene. More than 20 shots can be heard. A filmmaker Finn Norgaard is killed, three police officers injured.

CNN cannot authenticate the recording. The shooting suspect, identified by Danish media as 22-year-old Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein, seen here in surveillance photos, was apparently targeting controversial artist Lars Vilks. Danish authorities say the suspect was known to them.

HELLE THOMING-SCHMIDT, DANISH PRIME MINISTER: He was known by the police for several criminal acts, including severe violence and he was also known to be linked to a criminal gang in Copenhagen. BROWN: 12:45 a.m., the shooter opens fire at a Jewish synagogue,

killing a 37-year-old security guard, Dan Uzan, and wounding two more officers before again evading police.

METTE BENTOW: I went into the other room and said everyone to the basement.

BROWN: Mette Bentow was inside the synagogue celebrating her daughter Hannah's bat mitzvah. If not for Uzan, it might have been much worse.

BENTOW: And then once I learned what had happened, I'm sorry. All I could think about was, of course, Dan and his family and how are we going to show our gratitude.

BROWN: Finally, around 5:00 a.m., authorities confront the suspect outside these Copenhagen apartments, killing him after they say he opened fire.

Danish police later arrested two men who they believe may have helped hide the shooter, seen here in boxing video from 2013. On what appears to be the suspect's Facebook account, he declares his allegiance to ISIS leader al-Baghdadi.

His former schoolmate Milo Martin (ph) says El-Hussein would express extremist views in class.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't think that he would do it, but then again...

BROWN (on camera): Then again, you're not surprised?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not surprised. And I don't think that many in my classroom are.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: And, today, the Danish prime minister says it's now believed the suspect is linked to a terror cell. What's interesting is they point out he was known more for his links to violent crime and gang activity than terrorism.

We have been speaking to people on the ground, Jake. They say there is a growing trend of jihadists trying to recruit people like this suspect, people involved with violent crime -- Jake.

TAPPER: Pamela Brown in Copenhagen, thank you so much.

Let's stay in Copenhagen right now.

Joining me on the phone is Jesper Frimand Christensen. He's a bartender at the cafe where this rampage began.

Mr. Christensen, thank you so much for joining us. First of all, of course, our thoughts are with you and the people of Denmark at this terrible time. Can you describe for us the scene when this terrorist, this gunman walked into the cafe?

JESPER FRIMAND CHRISTENSEN, EYEWITNESS: Yes. He didn't walk in at first.

I was a -- and suddenly I see this guy jumping up from the far corner on the side of the building and pulling a rifle towards me and the security in the room, and opened fire. And..

(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: Keep going. I'm sorry.

CHRISTENSEN: And then only one thing I could think about is go to safety with my colleague, so I ran towards her and grabbed her and we went to the floor behind the bar. And then the shooting proceed for numerous seconds.

TAPPER: So it was immediately that you realized something wasn't right, it was as soon as you noticed the shooter, it wasn't that he -- he hadn't been milling about; you hadn't noticed him before then?

CHRISTENSEN: No. It was very, very, what you call it, direct, like he came like out of the blue.

TAPPER: There was a forum obviously going on inside the cafe at the time, people talking about free speech, people talking about blasphemy. Law enforcement believe that the likely target was a Swedish artist who is on an al Qaeda hit list. Were there any concerns before the cafe agreed to host this about something like this happening?

CHRISTENSEN: I am only a bartender at this place, and I wasn't briefed that this event was going on when I got in at work.

I was just aware of it when I came to work that there was a lot of police officers at the cafe. And I asked my boss what it was and he told me about the meeting and asked me if I wanted to go home or stay, and I stayed. And then one hour later, the gunman appears. So I didn't -- I wasn't aware of what was going to happen at my job.

TAPPER: All right. Well, Jesper Frimand Christensen, we are so glad that you're OK. Thank you so much for talking to us today.

CHRISTENSEN: You're welcome.

TAPPER: After yet another round of violence targeting Jews in Europe, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Jews in Europe should come "home to Israel."

CNN global affairs correspondent Elise Labott is live for us in Jerusalem.

Elise, what's the reaction in Israel to this terrorist attack? What's the reaction to Netanyahu's comments?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, the reaction is pretty bad everywhere from Israel to Europe. These comments yesterday by Prime Minister Netanyahu telling Jews that it's not safe in Europe and they need to come to Israel have really caused a lot of fire. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Israel is your home. We are preparing and calling for the absorption of mass immigration from Europe. We call on the absorption of mass immigration from Europe. And I would like to tell all the European Jews and all Jews wherever they are, Israel is the home of every Jew.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LABOTT: And he said Israel will be welcoming of them with open arms, Jake. The Israeli government is now working on a package of measures to help Jews emigrate to Israel.

And everyone from former President Shimon Peres saying that this is not the way they want Jews to come to Israel, out of fear, out of terror. They want Jews to come because of their faith, of their love for Israel. That's not what Israel wants to be known for.

And in Europe, as you saw, the reaction also very bad, saying Jews are an integral part of the fabric of society, whether it's in Copenhagen, whether it's in France, where President Hollande had some very negative comments about the prime minister's remarks. What they really want Israel to do is to support the Jewish diaspora around the world, which helps these societies flourish, instead of sowing fear and using politics.

If you remember, Prime Minister Netanyahu running for reelection in about a month, so they feel he's really playing politics with these horrible terrorist attacks, Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Elise Labott, thank you so much.

In national news, this time, it's not just Boston, 50 million Americans bracing now for more brutal cold and now facing a winter storm that is quickly moving east, heavy snow, freezing rain, ice, strong winds all expected. We will have more on that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

In other world news, a cease-fire agreement went into effect in Eastern Ukraine over the weekend, but since the time that the cease- fire went into effect, Ukrainian defense officials say five of their security forces have already been killed and another 25 injured fighting separatists.

Both sides continue to blame each other for the violations. How long will this supposed truce even last?

Joining me now from Kiev is Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt. Mr. Ambassador, thanks so much for joining us.

First, immediately, five Ukrainian soldiers have already been killed and another 25 wounded since this cease-fire supposedly took hold. Isn't that a violation? Hasn't the cease-fire already been broken?

GEOFFREY PYATT, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: Jake, we are very concerned about the stresses that are being placed on the cease-fire and the Minsk agreements that underlie it.

As you note, at least five Ukrainian military casualties so far. Seeing reports of heavy combat around the Debaltseve area, to the north of Donetsk and then also some fighting that CNN has been reporting around Mariupol.

TAPPER: So, just to be clear, does the United States believe that if Putin wanted these pro-Russian rebels or whatever you want to call them to stop fighting, they would have stopped fighting?

PYATT: No question, Jake.

It's our judgment that these groups are acting as proxies of the Kremlin. More importantly, we also believe that regular Russian military units are now involved in the fight. As you know, on Friday, we noted the presence of regular Russian military in some of the shelling that was going on after the signature of the Minsk agreement, as part of the effort by the separatists and their Russian supporters to seize the Debaltseve region, which, we should point out, is well outside the line that was established by the September 19 agreement and which Russia has pledged to respect.

TAPPER: So, just to be clear, is the United States asserting that Vladimir Putin has already violated the Minsk agreement and the cease- fire?

PYATT: We believe, Jake, that Russia's actions so far have not been sufficient to be in conformance with the obligations that Russia undertook as part of the Minsk agreement. Yes, that's the case.

TAPPER: Now that reporters are able to get in the region and maybe even some observers, what are they seeing in terms of the humanitarian condition in Eastern Ukraine?

PYATT: Well, Jake, they are seeing the kind of pictures that we haven't seen in Europe for decades, families living in basements, houses that are burned out, bodies frozen in the street.

It's a true disaster from a humanitarian standpoint, which is why we are so interested in seeing the enforcement of a cease-fire so that humanitarian workers can do their good work and so that the innocent victims of this violence that Russia and its proxies have brought on the Donbass region, so that they can get back to something approaching a more normal life.

TAPPER: A cease-fire that's not a cease-fire, an agreement that does not seem to be abided by. Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Coming up: ice-cold temperatures that are so low, they can literally kill you. And that's just the beginning, more than 50 million people preparing right now for a major snowstorm. It's already started on the East Coast.

Plus, it could be one of the largest bank heists ever, thieves hacking into more than 100 banks, stealing millions from each one, and they are not even done yet. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. Our National Lead right now, a dangerous winter system packed with snow, sleet, potentially dangerous cold moving across the United States as we speak.

More than 55 million of you are beginning if you haven't already been feeling the effects of this one. The south is getting snow and freezing rain. Bitter cold is the story in the north. Even just standing outside for too long could leave your skin blistered once that wind hits you.

Then of course, there's Boston where the mayor urged the city to stay Boston strong and Boston patient as crews try to clear more pathways. All this has brought a new record for Boston with more than 45 inches of snow in one month, the most for a 30-day period in the city. At least ever since recordkeeping started in 1872.

We have a whole team in place to show you the impact of the storm. CNN's Martin Savidge is in Nashville where ice is a concern. Meteorologist Jennifer Gray is tracking all this in the Severe Weather Center in Atlanta.

Let's start with our friend, Joe Johns. He is near Washington, D.C., where it's already started. Joe, crews there loading up the trucks.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Started around 2:30 Eastern Time today, Jake. If you look behind me, this is the Megasalt facility, that's actually what they call it, in Alexandria, Virginia. They have been loading up the trucks to take that salt out on the roads, about 3,800 of these trucks in Northern Virginia, 14,000 across the entire commonwealth.

The governor here has declared a weather state of emergency. There's good news and bad news for people in the Washington area which is sometimes star-crossed with weather like this.

On the one hand, this is the end of a holiday weekend so that means a lighter than usual traffic pattern, as you can see right out here on the beltway. On the other hand, there is a bit of a problem because there are still a lot of people on the roads.

The other issue is the temperatures. Normally, the salt that they put down along with liquid magnesium actually doesn't work very well unless it's above 20 degrees, right now, about 16 degrees. I'm going to throw it to Martin Savidge in Nashville. How's it looking there, Marty?

TAPPER: Actually, I think we are having problems -- there he is. OK, go ahead, Marty.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jake, I was just going to say, it's good news and bad news for Nashville. The good news is the winter storm warning has been canceled. The bad news is they just now issued an ice storm warning.

Look at this. This is the kind of stuff they've got to worry about here. It is building up on just about anything that's at ground level. We took some imagery earlier what it was like to drive around. Then it wasn't too bad, pretty much just slush on the roads.

The going was slow for sure, but at least you could get around. However, that is going to change especially as the day goes on. Anything that is out on the streets now, that is all going to freeze as of tonight. Ice in the trees could bring down power lines. Let's go to Jennifer Gray in Atlanta.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Martin, that ice is so dangerous, the most dangerous type of precipitation. We are going to look at very, very -- driving conditions are going to be very difficult across the Nashville area.

As we go through the night, we will also be looking at North Carolina to get in on the mix as well starting to end in Kentucky, still seeing that icing across portions of Tennessee.

Just to the south of Nashville starting out as snow in North Carolina will be changing over to freezing rain and sleet as we go throughout the late evening hours, the overnight hours.

Hopefully you are already home because the afternoon commute is going to be awful. D.C., already starting to snow in your area, it will continue overnight. You could see up to 8 inches of snow in D.C., Jake, and we could see even more across portions of the east.

TAPPER: All right, Jennifer Gray, Martin Savidge, Joe Johns, thank you all. Marty and Joe, stay warm.

Coming up, so you think you know your presidents? Which one liked to go skinny dipping wearing nothing but his mutton chops? Some of the things I found out cramming for the CNN Quiz Show this President's Day that I can no longer un-remember. That's coming next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to the special Presidents Day Edition of THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. I'm sure you know that George Washington was the first president and you probably know that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves, but what else do you remember about the presidents?

That was the question our bosses here at CNN forced their anchors to reckon with in a special Presidents Day Quiz Show airing tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern to benefit charities, of course.

I will be playing for "Homes For Our Troops," a group that buildings specially designed mortgage-free homes for the most severely disabled troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Now maybe to you, it doesn't sound all that fun to spend weeks boning up on Martin Van Buren and/or Millard Filmore, but the truth is amidst all the refreshers, there's a lot of nasty ugly sleazy history about our presidents that was kind of fun to relearn.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER (voice-over): More than two centuries and 44 presidencies, it was a hefty study topic. With upchucks, downfalls, and yes, some snoozers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, have you looked at your pension?

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I don't look at my pension. It's not as big as yours. It doesn't take as long.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me give you some advice.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: I don't check it that often.

TAPPER: But what struck me from all this studying is as much as modern day candidates bicker and wallow in mud, their tactics do not hold a candle to previous presidents and politicians.

Take President James Buchan. He had a congenital condition that caused him to tilt his head far to the left so naturally, his opponents told voters he had unsuccessfully tried to hang himself.

The brutal presidential campaign in 1800, Thomas Jefferson's hired pamphleteer wrote that President John Adams was a quote, "hideous hermaphroditical character."

Later, Andrew Jackson and their allies were even less gentlemanly. During that 1828 campaign, Adams was accused of pimping while Jackson's wife and mother were labeled a convicted adulteress and common prostitute, respectively. Then of course, there are the first affairs.

FORMER PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON: I did not have sexual relations with that woman.

TAPPER: Miss Lewinski was far from the first woman to catch a president's eye.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think I could love you, Sally Hemmings.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're the boss.

TAPPER: The relationship between Thomas Jefferson and his slave, Sally Hemmings, was one of the most hotly rumored in history.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What time do you get off work?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Never.

TAPPER: All "Saturday Night Live" skits aside, DNA tests finally confirmed in 1998 that Jefferson was father to at least one of Hemmings' children.

Warren G. Harding was a lady's man with a mistress, Nan Britton. According to her tell-all book, he romanced her in a closet at the White House. He was endorsed because he was considered handsome and it was thought he would appeal to women, the nation's newest voters.

Perhaps my favorite story has to do with journalism. President John Quincy Adams reportedly liked to skinny dip in the Potomac River. Then an enterprising reporter stole his clothes until he granted her an interview. Here's to hoping I won't have to use that tactic any time soon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: You can see what happened when CNN anchors are put to the test. Watch the CNN Quiz Show Presidents Edition hosted by Anderson Cooper tonight at 9:00 Eastern.

In our Money Lead today, all they had to do was walk past an ATM and it would apparently spit out cash. That's just one of the ways a gang of cyberthieves got away with what could be the biggest bank heist in history.

A computer security company says the hackers based in places such as Russia, Ukraine and China stole up to $1 billion from about 100 financial institutions in 25 countries, including the United States, over two years and the attack is not over. Security experts are not saying which banks were hit.

That's it for THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. I'm turning you over now to Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM."