Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

New York Millionaire Robert Durst Arrested; Suspect Charged in Ferguson Police Shootings; John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister to Meet as Nuke Deadline Nears; Russian President Vladimir Putin Resurfaces; Monster Storm Rips Through Vanuatu. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired March 16, 2015 - 09:00   ET

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


ALISYN CAMEROTA: "NEWSROOM" starts right now.

<09:00:10> RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, a microphone and a murder. Multimillionaire Robert Durst linked to at least three murders, caught on mike saying he killed them all. This morning he faces a judge.

Plus utter devastation, a small Pacific island almost wiped off the map after a cyclone tears through the country. CNN is on the ground and on the front lines in Vanuatu today.

Also here is Putin. After a nearly two-week disappearance, the Russian president is back. So where was he?

And Hillary Clinton's private e-mail server could become very public, as Congress starts probing for answers.

Let's talk. You're in CNN's NEWSROOM.

Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye, in today for Carol Costello. Thanks so much for joining me on this Monday.

"kill them all." Those are the chilling words caught on tape from New York millionaire Robert Durst. The 71-year-old real estate heir is the subject of HBO documentary series called "The Jinx." Durst is linked to two unsolved murders and the disappearance of his wife. The apparent confession happens while Durst is in the restroom unaware that his microphone is still on.

What you're about to hear is the audio from those bizarre ramblings as Durst talks to himself in the bathroom. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT DURST, REAL ESTATE HEIR: There it is. You're caught. You're right, of course. But you can't imagine. Arrest him. I don't know what's in the house. Oh, I want this. What a disaster. He was right. I was wrong. And the burping. I'm having difficulty with the question. What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: And this morning Durst is behind bars in a New Orleans jail for the 2000 killing of his longtime friend, crime writer Susan Berman.

We should point out that HBO is owned by Time Warner, the parent company of CNN.

Let's bring in CNN's Jean Casarez who's following this case for us.

Good morning to you, Jean.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN LEGAL CORRESPONDENT: Randi, good morning. We're right here at the Criminal Justice Center. In a short time, Robert Durst will come face-to-face with a judge. A law enforcement source that was briefed on the investigation has told CNN that Robert Durst actually drove from Houston to New Orleans last Tuesday, checked into a downtown hotel using cash, a fake name.

And when he was arrested late Saturday night, had a fake driver's license on him, but this is -- he's no stranger to the justice system. True, he was never charged in the disappearance of his wife, a medical student, in 1982, but he was acquitted on first-degree murder charges out of Texas. And now he faces those very same charges in Los Angeles, California, due to the slaying of a dear friend and a confidant in Beverly Hills.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DURST: What the hell did I do? Killed them all, of course.

CASAREZ (voice-over): An explosive comment by real estate heir Robert Durst caught on a live mike, ending HBO's six-part documentary series "The Jinx."

DURST: There it is. You're caught.

CASAREZ: What he means, unclear, but these are the words of a man who police say is a cold-case murder suspect. Durst whispering to himself in a bathroom after his final interview for the special, which challenges the audience to decide whether the 71-year-old son of one of the most powerful real estate tycoons in New York City is responsible for the disappearance of his wife in 1982, the murder of a close friend in 2000, and a neighbor in 2001.

DURST: Well, I mean, the writing looks similar.

CASAREZ: In the final episode, the filmmakers confront Durst after uncovering a letter written by the millionaire to longtime friend and crime novelist Susan Berman. Berman was found shot dead inside her L.A. home over 14 years ago. The handwriting and misspelling of her address eerily similar to a letter written to police, telling them where to find the body. Durst denying he wrote it.

DURST: What I see as a similarity is really a misspelling in the "Beverly." Other than that, the block letters are block letters.

CASAREZ: Police arresting the heir Saturday at a New Orleans hotel, now held on a capital murder charge in Berman's death, citing additional evidence that has come to light in the past year. It is unclear what role the documentary played.

The millionaire's attorney telling FOX News he was underwhelmed by the new developments revealed in the six-part series, including his ramblings in the bathroom.

09:05:03

DURST: He was right. I was wrong.

CHIP LEWIS, ATTORNEY FOR ROBERT DURST: L.A. County has got a case. We'll address those facts in the courtroom, but generally speaking I was underwhelmed.

CASAREZ: The millionaire has long maintained that he did not kill Berman or his wife, who has never been found.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ: And when HBO was asked about their interaction with law enforcement, the director told "Good Morning, America" this morning, "Well, we have been in contact with law enforcement for the past two years. So when we finally found that subsequent admission, what happens in the bathroom, we contacted them and said we have something more."

And we do want to say that is an alleged admission. The attorney for Robert Durst says, "Your honesty would lead you to say, you've said things under your breath before that you probably didn't mean, so I don't want to talk about the factual specifics," -- Randi.

KAYE: Fascinating case.

Jean Casarez, thank you very much for that.

And be sure to watch CNN today at noon. Chip Lewis, the attorney for Robert Durst, will talk one-on-one with CNN's Ashleigh Banfield. Again, that's today at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Now to Ferguson, Missouri, new developments in that brutal shooting that nearly killed two police officers during last week's protests. Authorities have arrested this man, 20-year-old Jeffrey Williams. Among the charges against him, two counts of first-degree assault. Williams has admitted to firing the shots, but denied he was aiming for the officers.

So let's bring in CNN's Stephanie Elam. She's on the ground in Ferguson this morning for us.

Stephanie, what is the latest from there?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Randi, what we have learned is that they're saying that Williams' story remains that he did not target the police officers, but was rather having a dispute with one person who was out here protesting and demonstrating in front of the Ferguson Police Department, but inadvertently hit the two police officers. At this point the prosecutor saying they're not sure that that is

actually a true story, but Williams is sticking with the story, telling a man who is one of the organizers here for the protest movement in front of the Ferguson Police Department, and a man who also knows Williams just through the religious community in the greater St. Louis County region, told him that he had not been out here protesting, but that he was targeting a demonstrator.

Here's my conversation with this man.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BISHOP DERRICK ROBINSON, SPOKE WITH FERGUSON SHOOTING SUSPECT: I asked him to describe the individual. And he said he couldn't. And I told him, could he -- I told him I'd come back and see him, could he provide me more information of who this person is, so that we can confront the individual who robbed him.

ELAM: And he's saying the person that robbed him, he believes was one of the protesters that had been out there in front of the Ferguson Police Department. Is that correct?

ROBINSON: That's what he told me. And I told him, why didn't he come to persons like myself who he knew and others to share what was going on because there was enough law enforcement, there was enough leaders that would able to diffuse whatever was going on. And I thought it just -- you know, it just didn't look good for our community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM: It's also worth noting that police believed that Williams was shooting from a car about 125 yards away from where the police were standing, and the two officers that were hit were standing side by side, we've learned as well. So they -- this story about whether or not he was targeting someone else, that part is not clear.

What we also have determined at this point, listening to what the prosecutor has said, Randi, is that they do believe that they were able to track down Jeffrey Williams because of people who were out here protesting and demonstrating, giving them tips as well as people in the community. They said they would not have been able to find him so fast and recover the weapon if it hadn't been for that help and a key part of getting this.

Obviously the police officers that were shot very relieved to know that Williams is in custody -- Randi.

KAYE: Yes. It certainly was a lot of public information that led to it. Do we know specifically what police were told?

ELAM: What they were told about the two men that were shot, you mean? What they were told?

KAYE: How they were led -- how they were led to Williams.

ELAM: They were led to Williams through these tips. They didn't want to give us any more information than that simply because they're still investigating.

We understand from one law enforcement official that there may have been somebody else in the car. They believe Williams is the only shooter, but he may have had accomplices. That part of the investigation continues so they did not want to get too deep into the minutia of how they were actually able to find Jeffrey Williams and recover that weapon just yet.

KAYE: Got it. OK, Stephanie Elam, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

And make sure to stay with us next hour. Bishop Derrick Robinson, whom you just heard from, joins us live. We'll ask him about that conversation some more and what Williams says happened that chaotic night.

Meanwhile, John Kerry is back in Switzerland today as he and his Iranian counterpart race to real a deal on Iran's nuclear program before a deadline at the end of this month.

09:10:00

This latest round of talks set against a backdrop of ongoing bickering between the White House and Senate Republicans who say President Obama can't make any agreements without going through them first. Amid all of those tensions, and with several issues still to be decided a State Department spokeswoman says negotiation have now entered, her words, crunch time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESWOMAN: There are technical discussions, our technical experts have been working with each other. That's one of the reasons we have our secretary of energy with us to really delve into the technical pieces. But there are political decisions that the Iranians need to make. We can't pretty whether they will get there. But we're going to keep working at it and keep negotiating for the coming two weeks. It's a key time we're in.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Joining me now from London, senior international correspondent Nic Robertson, and from White House correspondent, Michelle Kosinski.

Good morning to both of you.

Nic, let me start with you here. President Obama has said that there's a 50/50 chance now that a deal is going to be reached. What are the next steps if one isn't reached? I mean, are we talking about more sanctions, a new attempt at talks perhaps? What's the answer?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly there won't be a lifting of any of the sanctions that are out there and imposed upon Iran right now. And that's -- you know, that's been the Iranians' concerns, that they want to get these things sanctions lifted sooner rather than later. So, you know, for the Iranians, there would be no relief. They'd be faced with an economy that's being already impacted by the low price of oil.

But where does it go from here? You know, no one is talking about a plan B. I mean, everything is all about these talks. And if they fail to reach an agreement, look, what we've seen so far is the ball get pushed down the road every time, but at some point the political line and the political patience must run out.

And that's really, it seems to me, what we're hearing from the State Department now, that, you know, it is -- there are technical issues, yes, but really it's time for Iran to make those political judgment, as Secretary Kerry said over the weekend. So a plan B, no one is talking about that at the moment.

KAYE: Michelle, on Saturday the White House slammed a bill crafted by Republican Senator Bob Corker that would allow Congress to vote on Iran separately. The freshman senator behind that controversial letter to Iran's government is sticking by it.

Any plans as far as you're aware for the White House to reach out to Republicans to try and tamp down some of this rhetoric?

MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I mean, so far that hasn't happened. You look at the way this letter came up, it took the administration clearly by surprise, and kind of shocked a lot of people in Washington and beyond. So at that point you could see that the White House wasn't going to reach out. I mean, the damage in a sense in their view had already been done.

So it doesn't look like there's a lot of back and forth, especially between the administration and Republicans in the Senate and in the House, because, you know, both sides have been going back and forth on this for about a week now. But when we talk about a plan B, I mean, what the White House has said so far is the efforts of some of these Republicans are damaging the negotiations.

The White House has said clearly that they feel it's hurting things, and that that damage could be done. If not in the immediate sense of the negotiations and how the outcome is going to turn out, because we don't know how it's going to turn out, but in the view of the United States to the rest of the world as well as to allies. So the White House has said if this falls through, then the only other options are, in their view, unacceptable.

And that would be more sanctions on Iran, which would allow them to keep going with their nuclear program, because the White House says that that's what has happened before. That before negotiation started, they were going forward toward a nuclear weapon. It was only once negotiations started that they could really watch Iran and monitor what was really going on there.

And then the other option would be, of course, a military solution. As the White House has said, nobody wants to see that -- Randi.

KAYE: Yes. Certainly not.

Michelle Kosinski, Nic Robertson, thank you both very much. And still to come, Vladimir Putin reappears in public today after a

mysterious absence from the spotlight.

CNN's Matthew Chance is following the story from Moscow.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Randi. He's been away or out of sight for more than 10 days, but it seems reports of Vladimir Putin's demise have been wildly exaggerated.

We'll have all the details.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

09:17:43

KAYE: He's back. Vladimir Putin finally reappeared in public this morning, ending an unexpected and mysterious 10-day absence from a president who isn't one to shy away of course from the limelight. Somewhat calming speculations about his health, his grip on power and, well, love life.

CNN's senior international correspondent Matthew Chance is live in Moscow with the latest.

Matthew, explain, please, what do we know now about this mystery?

CHANCE: We don't know much more about it. I'm a bit tongue-tied, sorry, when you asked me about that because all we know really, looking at what we've seen today, is Vladimir Putin appear in public for the first time in 11 days. He was meeting the Kyrgyzstan president in what was meant to be a very mundane political meeting, but was widely anticipated by the press to get a glimpse of Vladimir Putin.

He looked perfectly well. He looked like he was in fine form. He looked confident. He didn't -- like any sign of illness that would have debilitated him or explained his absence for so long. And that was the rumor or one of the rumors, was that he was very ill, seriously ill. Speculation that he had cancer, speculation that he had suffered a stroke, or had hurt his back very badly. All these denied by the Kremlin. So that was one category of the rumors.

The second category was the rather colorful claim that he had been out of the country to attend the birth of his love child. Now this was obviously not confirmed by the Kremlin. In fact it's not even confirmed that he has a girlfriend. So he keeps his personal life under close wraps.

And so these were the two main strands of the rumors. A third one being that he was actually there had been a palace coup, that he was no longer in power, in charge. Well, this -- his appearance seems to have put (INAUDIBLE) to all of those rumors.

KAYE: Yes. It certainly seems so. And, Matthew, this all comes a day after this documentary aired in Russia, where Putin claimed that he was ready to put his nuclear forces on alert over last year's crisis in Crimea.

What do you make of the timing of that? And how is that information being received there?

CHANCE: Yes, you're right. I mean, these whole rumors, the serious backdrop to this rumor is a very -- a very uneasy time in Russia at the moment. The war in Ukraine has ground to a halt. There was the recent killing of Boris Nemtsov, the prominent opposition leader here.

09:20:01

CHANCE: And so it's led to a sort of sense of uncertainty in the country.

Now this documentary you're referring to, yes, it appeared, it was broadcast last night, it was three hours long, on Russian television. A very long interview with Vladimir Putin in which he discussed in details steps that he took and the kind of thinking that was behind the annexation of Crimea a year ago. The reason it was broadcast is because it's a year now almost that -- Crimea was annexed.

And so there's a whole series of celebrations and events being planned in the course of this week to mark that.

In terms of his popularity, immensely popular, the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine was an immensely popular move, and his popularity ratings, Vladimir Putin, are still somewhere in the region of 86 percent. So he's still immensely popular and the favorite of the Russian people.

KAYE: All right. Matthew Chance, nice to see you. Thank you very much.

Still to come, cyclone Pam devastates Vanuatu. Why the country's president said it could take years now to rebuild.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: The president of Vanuatu is asking for the world's help in the wake of tropical cyclone Pam, the storm battered the country made of a group of islands in the Pacific. The extent of the damage unknown but the pictures showed just how powerful Pam was. Eleven people now confirmed dead and that number is expected to rise.

President Baldwin Lonsdale telling CNN the storm set the country back years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

<09:25:00> BALDWIN LONSDALE, PRESIDENT, VANUATU: It's quite a setback for the whole nation since we have progress so far we have made all the efforts to develop the infrastructure, but all of a sudden this cyclone, the monster which I used to term it, have come in and destroyed all of the efforts that the government and the people of Vanuatu have made so far. And it will take a couple of years before we can become up to where we were before. (END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: CNN's senior international correspondent Ivan Watson has the latest now from the island nation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The tiny South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu devastated after monster cyclone Pam tore through the remote chain of islands for most of a 24-hour period between Friday and Saturday.

The unrelenting storm leaving a trail of utter destruction in its path -- homes flattened, buildings reduced to rubble.

The government declaring a state of emergency as the death toll continues to rise with more than 30 injured, thousands in need of shelter, food and water, including some 60,000 children.

A near total communications blackout across the other provinces, making it nearly impossible for officials to determine the total scale of injuries and damage. Aid workers calling this one of the worst disasters to ever hit the region.

A beautiful island paradise attracting world travelers now hardly recognizable. In some areas where winds up to 165 miles per hour and torrential rains have stripped roofs and decimated buildings in the capital. An estimated 90 percent of the city's infrastructure wiped out.

As search and rescue operations continue, authorities believe it will take days to understand the extent of the misery cyclone Pam left in its wake.

Ivan Watson, CNN, Port Vila, Vanuatu.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAYE: And if you'd like to help out the people of Vanuatu, head over to CNN.com/impactyourworld. And there you'll find a list with links to all of the organizations ready to help once it's safe to do so.

Still to come, after a massive manhunt in Ferguson, Missouri, a suspected gunman is behind bars. Up next, what he's telling authorities about the night two police officers were nearly killed.

Plus we'll talk to the former Boston police commissioner about that scathing Department of Justice report and how police departments across the country can build better community relationships.

09:27:33

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)