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THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER

Escalating War Of Words Between White House And Republican Senators; Interview With Sen. Barbara Boxer of California; Jurors See Tsarnaev Note Inside Hideout Boat; Surveillance Videos Capture Tsarnaev Actions; New And Brutal Execution Video Released By ISIS

Aired March 10, 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 ANCHOR: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

Our world lead today: an escalating war of words between the White House and Republican members of the Senate over Iran's nuclear program. The Obama administration is accusing 47 Republican senators of trying to undermine the White House after they went behind the president's back, sending an open letter to Tehran, saying that any signed agreement could be null and void with the stroke of a pen once President Obama leaves office. That interference described by critics as unprecedented is also raising questions about whether these senators violated federal law. Could that be possible?

CNN's Barbara Starr is live at the Pentagon.

Barbara, this letter is getting condemnation from both Vice President Joe Biden and Iran's foreign minister, both of them in the middle of discussions, especially the foreign minister.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jake. Good afternoon.

And the Republicans today going so far as to pass around examples of their communications they say with other foreign governments. The message being nothing to see here, nothing is wrong.

But in this case, what they are talking about is possibly revoking an agreement the president of the United States could make in the coming weeks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STARR (voice-over): Blistering language from all sides after first term Senator Tom Cotton and 46 fellow Republicans signed a letter warning Iran not to agree to any White House nuclear deal.

SEN. TOM COTTON (R), ARKANSAS: If Congress does not approve an agreement the agreement will not have lasting effect. Future congresses or for that matter future presidents can change them.

STARR: Vice President Joe Biden, a 36-year Senate veteran and former chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, firing back, saying it's all beneath the dignity of the Senate, adding the Republican letter is expressly designed to undercut a sitting president. Biden goes on to say, "I cannot recall another instance in which senators wrote directly to advise another country, much less a longtime foreign adversary."

The State Department wouldn't give a legal opinion on whether the letter violates the 1799 Logan Act which prevents contact with foreign governments. But did say --

JEN PSAKI, STATE DEPARTMENT: We believe it's harmful to America's national security for anyone to insert themselves in the middle of a very sensitive negotiation.

STARR: Iran apparently undeterred.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is a propaganda ploy and bears no legal value. This shows how worried one group is.

STARR: Senators like John McCain often travel overseas and offer their views to foreign leaders. But here, the political question: is this Senate letter challenging the political ability of any commander in chief to deliver on U.S. commitments?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Presumably, it means that any agreement that the next president makes, a President Hillary Clinton, a President Jeb Bush, a President Scott Walker, you know, whoever your favorite candidate is, isn't then not binding on his or her successor?

STARR: Instead of writing letters to other countries, some say use the power of the purse. Deny funding to agreements you don't like.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president can do anything he wants to essentially in foreign policy that does not rise to the level of treaty. But he has to have money to do it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

STARR: And that power of the purse has been used by Congress. Just think about Guantanamo Bay, Congress having passed laws that the U.S. cannot fund any transfer of detainees from Guantanamo Bay into the United States, basically blunting a key Obama administration foreign policy objective.

So the critics are saying go for the power of the purse, don't undermine any president of the United States by writing letters to adversaries -- Jake.

TAPPER: Barbara Starr live for us at the Pentagon, thank you so much.

Joining me now live from Capitol Hill to discuss the controversial letter is Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer from California, a senior member of the Foreign Relations Committee.

Senator Boxer, thanks so much for being here.

So, Democrats and their liberal supporters are using a lot of strong words to describe this letter from Republicans. There's treason, there's traitor. The hashtag #47traitors is trending. I want to get your reaction to what former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had to say about it late this afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: And one has to ask, what was the purpose of this letter?

There appear to be two logical answers. Either these senators were trying to be helpful to the Iranians or harmful to the commander in chief in the midst of high-stakes international diplomacy. Either answer does discredit to the letter's signatories.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Isn't there a third option, Senator, that the senators genuinely believe this is a bad deal and they don't want it to happen?

SEN. BARBARA BOXER (D), CALIFORNIA: Well, there's nothing inconsistent. Yes, they think it's a bad deal. A, they haven't seen it. But what they want to do is scuttle it.

And I applaud Hillary Clinton, because she is right. This played right into the hands of the hard-liners. And, by the way, you mentioned liberal supporters. You said traitors. That word is being used by a pretty right-wing newspaper in New York. This isn't about liberal or conservative. This is about right and wrong.

And I have been here almost 24 years now, and I can tell you I have not seen it. And, yes, there's the Logan Act, goes way back to the 1700s. But as recently as after World War II, we had a Republican head of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Vandenberg, stand up and say, even though he disagreed vehemently with FDR, Franklin Roosevelt, politics stops at the water's edge.

These 47 Republicans, either they don't know history or, as Hillary Clinton said, they're either playing ball with the hard-liners there to scuttle a deal -- remember, this deal is incredibly important.

TAPPER: Yes.

BOXER: Iran has had a nuclear program since Ronald Reagan. And with Obama, it's the first time they have ever frozen it with verification.

TAPPER: I think it was Truman, actually. But the point is taken. Do you think this letter...

BOXER: No, it was Senator Vandenberg.

TAPPER: No, Vandenberg was saying it about Truman's foreign policy.

BOXER: Yes.

TAPPER: But moving on...

BOXER: OK. Go ahead.

TAPPER: Do you think this letter violated the Logan Act?

BOXER: It may have. I don't want to dwell on that, because, to me, what's important is the peace of the world. That's what really is important.

And, as I said, when you see a nation in secret enriching uranium, a nation like Iran, who we don't trust, what is the alternative, just continuing the old status quo? Or go to war? Is that what the Republicans want?

That's where the issue comes. It's not so much, did they break a 1799 law, or it's not so much they disagree with Senator Vandenberg. It's what's going to happen on the ground? And to me, I'm a pragmatist. And I don't want to see Iran develop a nuclear weapon. And I want to see a good agreement.

They're slamming it before they even see it. They're undermining the negotiations. By the way, Jake, you may or may not know there have been 10,000 agreements negotiated by presidents of both parties.

TAPPER: Right.

BOXER: And these are called negotiations. And they're trying to do everything to scuttle it. First, they brought Prime Minister Netanyahu. And he gave a great speech, but at the end of the day, it was aimed at scuttling an agreement, now this letter aimed at scuttling an agreement.

Now they have a law -- a proposal to bring up, to force of vote in the Congress which will scuttle the agreement. So what's their answer?

TAPPER: But, Senator, let's talk about the agreement. We know the broad outlines of the agreement, as the administration has relayed them. And I'm sure you know a lot of Democrats, including a lot of supporters of Israel, who have grave concerns about this agreement.

Isn't it, if somebody has those grave concerns, their responsibility to try to stop the agreement?

BOXER: You're looking at one of the strongest supporters of Israel. So just check it out.

And the last two bills that were very strong, Strategic Partnership Act, I had -- the last two bills were my bills. So, what is in the best interest of Israel? What is in the best interest of America? What is in of the best interest of the region? And we can differ on that. But you don't do your best to scuttle an agreement.

And, by the way, your point is well-taken. But, no, nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to. I have been in enough negotiations writing legislation to know that. So you can get leaks from one day to the next. Let the process move forward. Don't scuttle it. And that's what is happening.

TAPPER: Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California, thank you so much, as always, for your time. BOXER: Hey, of course.

TAPPER: Great to see you.

When we come back, breaking right now, a new horrific ISIS video just released showing what looks like a child executing what ISIS claims is a spy working for Israel sent to infiltrate the terror group -- that rather sickening story coming up next.

Plus, for the first time, we see what admitted Boston Marathon terrorist Dzhokhar Tsarnaev wrote in the boat he was hiding in after the attack. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

Topping our world lead today, a new video from the terrorists of ISIS yet again showing the rather shocking brutality of the group. In a 13-minute clip which CNN is using not to broadcast, a 19-year-old Palestinian from Jerusalem is paraded in the clip before the cameras, confesses under duress to being an Israeli spy -- and then he is shot in the head by someone who appears to be a young boy. The images of the victim in the video match these photos that have been broadcast and published in Israeli media.

Let's go right to CNN's Atika Shubert. She's live in London with all the latest on the story.

Atika, do we know if this man actually traveled to Syria? Was he recruited by Israeli intelligence to try to infiltrate ISIS? What do we know?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We know that he traveled to Syria from his family about three-and-a-half months ago. But do we know if he went for Mossad, the Israeli spy agency? We don't know. The Israeli government isn't commenting on that.

The family has said he was not a Mossad agent. But clearly ISIS has portrayed him as such. In fact, they interviewed him, if you can call it an interview. Clearly, it was under duress for their propaganda magazine. But what's, of course, most horrific about this video is the fact that not only do they kill him, but that they get a 13-year- old child to shoot him in the head and then fire an extra two shoots as well.

It's also interesting to note that in the video there's actually another ISIS member there, another ISIS militant speaking French. There have been a number of French propaganda videos also coming out from ISIS recently. This appears to be another connection there. Pretty horrifying stuff.

TAPPER: Atika, we have seen these propaganda videos from ISIS in which they parade these young boys -- I believe they call them cubs or something like that, getting ready for drills to commit this violence.

Do we know anything about this 13-year-old boy, presumably forced to shoot this unfortunate victim?

SHUBERT: We don't know that much about him. We're not showing his picture. We don't want to identify him. He's still a minor.

But what we do know is that ISIS runs these what they call Sharia camps, which are specifically targeted to brainwash children, to indoctrinate then into ISIS life. And quite a few of them, we understand from Syrian activists in Raqqa, are now being killed on the front lines because they really are just 13-year-olds that have been handed guns. In fact, there has been a recent report that a French 13-year-old was killed on the front lines, ISIS front lines.

There's no way for us to verify that, to verify anything that's happening inside ISIS-controlled territory, but we do know from activists that children are being indoctrinated in large numbers by ISIS.

TAPPER: Atika Shubert live for us in London, thank you so much.

Coming up, never-before-seen video of the Boston Marathon terrorist attack, including Dzhokhar Tsarnaev standing for four minutes near several minutes before his bomb went off. And then he ran from the scene in the moments after the blast.

Plus, he almost lost his life after a freak accident. Now CNN's own Miles O'Brien is learning to live without his left arm -- coming up, his struggles, the lingering pain and an inspiration to us all.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. For the first time, we're seeing the entire message that the suspected Boston marathon bomber left for those chasing him. As Dzhokhar Tsarnaev lay bleeding while a massive manhunt was underway.

He scribbled a note inside the boat where police would find him. Today the jury heard a disturbing explanation for the blast that killed three people. Some lines of the note chillingly pierced by bullet holes from law enforcement who found him hiding.

CNN's Deborah Feyerick has been following all of this in court. She joins us now live from Boston. Deborah, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev had a lot to say on the message inside that boat.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he really did. Given how unresponsive he has been in court, Jake, he barely looks at the witnesses, of the jury. Sort of sits staring straight ahead, his chin in his fist. This is really the first chance the jury had to see what he was thinking in the immediate days after the bombing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK (voice-over): After Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's capture, a Boston police bomb technician sweeping the boat for weapons and explosives discovered the note. Punctured by bullet holes and streaked with his blood, Tsarnaev believed his dead brother had reached paradise. "I am jealous of my brother," he wrote. Explaining God's plan for him was to stay behind, to shed some light on our actions. Tsarnaev references the Mujahideen. "You are fighting me who looks into the barrel of your gun and sees heaven. How can you compete with that?"

And in his words, a possible motive, "We Muslims are one body," he writes. You hurt one, you hurt us all." This apparent manifesto came in the wake of videos showing the brothers' actions immediately before, during, and after the bombing.

Nearly four hours into the race, the Tsarnaevs round the corner together onto the marathon route. Tamerlan is in the lead. Younger Dzhokhar keeping pace then the brothers split up, Tamerlan is seen at the finish line.

Multiple images show Dzhokhar Tsarnaev standing by himself for nearly 4 minutes among the spectators, several of them children. Using a disposable phone bought the day before, at 2:49, records show, Dzhokhar calls his brother.

Moments later, the first bomb explodes. Dzhokhar moves quickly away in the opposite direction, reaching the corner just as the second bomb detonates. Dzhokhar and Tamerlan no longer have their backpacks.

Less than 23 minutes after the terror attack, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev enters a nearby Whole Foods and pays cash for a half gallon of milk. He leaves only to return moments later to swap the milk before getting back into the passenger's side of the car. The driver speeds off.

That night on one of two Twitter accounts under his name, he posts, "Ain't no love in the heart of the city. Stay safe, people." Prosecutors say 19-year-old Tsarnaev returned to his dorm room at U- Mass Dartmouth. He's seen here at 9:05 p.m. the night after the bombing entering the university fitness center with a friend and staying for about an hour.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Jake, as per that boat, the jurors were actually sent home early today. The judge, the defense lawyers and the prosecutors actually went to see the boat to decide whether in fact the jurors should go to it or it comes to the jurors, a big topic of discussion so that they can actually see that note firsthand -- Jake.

TAPPER: Deborah Feyerick, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Coming up, he's lucky to be alive, but that's not what he thought when he woke up at the hospital after doctors had amputated his arm. Now a year later, our own Miles O'Brien is looking back at his struggles and triumphs in a brand-new CNN documentary. We'll have a preview, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. It's a story that illustrates just how quickly your life can change. A CNN special report about longtime anchor, Miles O'Brien, he was on assignment in the Philippines when a case of equipment fell on his arm. It left a nasty bruise. Miles thought that was just that, a bruise.

But what seemed like a minor accident ended up costing Miles his arm and nearly almost his life. The outcome after surgery left Miles in shock.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MILES O'BRIEN, PBS CORRESPONDENT/CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I could barely believe what I saw. I mean, you know, it's amazing that I could -- it felt like it was there. It really did, but it wasn't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: And chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins me now. Sanjay, it's good to see you as always. You've been looking into this case for the past year. Let's start at the beginning. At what point did Miles feel that this was more than a bruise and definitely needed more medical attention?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, he was in the Philippines. He had this injury. Again, it was just that bruise. I think his hand started to tingle. He was starting to have a little bit more pain.

And 48 hours went by, Jake, before he went to the hospital. I think it was just the increasing pain. It should have been getting better. It wasn't. I think that's what took him to the hospital.

TAPPER: The amputation happened while Miles was under anesthesia. Explain how this turned into a life threatening procedure.

GUPTA: Well, this is a thankfully relatively rare occurrence, but it does happen. It's something known as acute compartment syndrome. In the arm and all your extremities you have a compartment with your arteries, veins, nerves and muscle. It's encased by this thick layer of tissue known as fascia.

If you injure your muscle to the extent that Miles did, the muscle will start to swell because of that thick layer of tissue surrounding it. It really doesn't have much that it can swell.

And it starts to die as a result. It starts to push on the nerves, arteries, veins and the muscle tissue starts to die. At that point, two options. You can open up the outer layer, that fascia, and give the muscle room to expand.

But in his case, it was already too late for that, Jake. The muscle was already so far gone they made the decision to amputate.

TAPPER: You and I have the good portions to not only work with Miles who's so smart, but to be friends with him. He's such a good guy with such a great spirit. At one point, he tells you he thinks this is a great time to be an amputee. Explain what he meant.

GUPTA: You know, we live in the days of YouTube. This is a scene I'll just tell you, Jake, he's reading these e-mails that he got after the amputation. It was powerful. It was tough, Jake. I mean, he is a friend. He's a grown man.

You know, it's tough to see your friends like this. What he meant, though, this is classic Miles. He does look at the positive of things. The days of Amazon, the days of YouTube, he's out there finding products that will make his life easier, someone who is living with one arm.

On YouTube, he was seeking out other people who had lost an arm and what they were capable of doing. He found an entire sub-community of people who were doing triathlons, still flying planes, doing all of things that he wanted to do.

So the world is more open I think is what he meant in terms of why it may be a good time to be an amputee.

TAPPER: A powerful report. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you so much for joining me. Your special on Miles O'Brien, "A Life Lost and Found" airs tonight at 9:00 right here on CNN.

That's it for THE LEAD. Make sure to follow me on Twitter @jaketapper and also @theleadcnn. Check out our show page at cnn.com/thelead for videos, blogs, extras.

That's it for us today. I'm Jake Tapper. Turning you over into the able hands of one Mr. Wolf Blitzer who is in a room of some sort we like to call "THE SITUATION ROOM."