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CNN NEWSROOM

Tunis Museum Attack; Netanyahu's Party Wins Israeli Elections; Rising GOP Star Resigns Amid Scandal. 10:30-11a ET

Aired March 18, 2015 - 10:30   ET

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


ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The speaker of French parliament has actually said that one of them may be a French tourist. We're still trying to confirm that detail as well.

[10:30:00] It now also appears that dozens of people have been injured and taken to nearby hospitals. We don't know how severely wounded they are in this attack. But we do know from hospitals that they are currently being treated there.

So it does seem very fluid at the moment. It's not clear if the situation is completely over but clearly things very tense on the ground there where hundreds of tourists were in this area. And as you can see in that video, they were ushered into the museum when gunshots were heard because they thought they would be safer in there but that's also apparently where the gunmen took hostages. And so the tourists that were in the museum had to be evacuated by a back door.

We're still trying to get details from the interior ministry and we are expecting the President of Tunisia to make a statement very shortly but hopefully it does look like the remaining hostages there have been freed and the situation appears to be over. That, according to Reuters News Agency.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: OK. Atika -- stay with me. I'm going to bring in a journalist to us there in Tunisia but I want you to stay with me. You've been following this story and maybe you can throw a couple of questions at her.

We're going to bring in Jennifer Ciochon (ph). She's there in Tunisia. Jennifer -- tell us where you were during this attack and also tell us about what you're learning about it.

JENNIFER CIOCHON, JOURNALIST: The latest that we've heard so far is that two terrorists have been killed and hostages have been released.

KEILAR: OK. So, two terrorists killed. So we believe it was two terrorists. Have you learned anything about what the motivation was and also who is telling you that the terrorists have been killed and the threat appears to have been resolved?

CIOCHON: It's too early to tell who these terrorists are. So far we are getting our reports from local radio stations here in Tunisia.

KEILAR: OK. So tell us a little bit about this museum and it's attached to parliament. It looks like from the video that we're seeing, these are people who are just out for a lovely afternoon and a chance to go see some really amazing archaeological finds there at this museum, right?

CIOCHON: Yes. The Bardo Museum is one of the main local tourist locations here in Tunis in the capital. They're along like the Roman ruins at Carthage (ph). The museum has an incredible collection of mosaics from ancient Rome. It's magically preserved the rich cultural heritage of Tunisia and ancient Rome.

So tourists go there all the time. It's a major attraction.

KEILAR: It's one of the major attractions there. You've been --

CIOCHON: For Tunis, yes.

KOSIK: -- we see obviously because it's -- we see a lot of guards there with weapons. Presumably that's because this area is right next to the parliament. But this is a pretty heavily guarded area, right? I mean are you surprised the gunmen were able to get in?

CIOCHON: Well, the museum itself is actually rather spacious and there's not that many cameras. Security here -- there are a lot of security officers but it can also be quite lax security at the same time.

KEILAR: OK -- I see.

Atika Shubert is our correspondent who has been monitoring some of the local reports as well. I want you to jump in, Atika and throw a question at -- sorry. Actually we just lost Atika -- my apologies.

Jennifer, you'll have to continue with me. I hope that's OK.

CIOCHON: It's fine.

KEILAR: I just want -- tell us a little bit about, you know -- you work for Tunisia live. You're an editor. You're a photographer. You've been covering what's been an ongoing Islamist threat in Tunisia. But this is something very new, isn't it?

CIOCHON: Yes, it is. You know, we receive reports daily about terror cells being dismantled across the country. Here in Tunis, that's still quite strange to hear. ISIS is a concern for a lot of Tunisians especially in the border region. Not just with Libya but also with Algeria. It's one of the mountains for terrorists.

KEILAR: So we don't know yet who is responsible for this.

CIOCHON: No, not yet.

KEILAR: But that is sort of where -- that's where the mind goes -- right. There is a concern about is this ISIS. Is the reach of ISIS stretching as far as Tunisia?

CIOCHON: Yes, yes. Just a couple weeks ago we heard reports of an ISIS training camp maybe about 40 kilometers away from the border to Tunisia. So it is a concern.

KEILAR: OK.

CIOCHON: And occasionally you'll hear reports of people raising the black ISIS flag in very small towns.

[10:35:01] Of course that doesn't necessarily mean that they are officially affiliated with ISIS but there are supporters.

KEILAR: Yes. There are definitely sympathizers there and also Tunisia has dealt with -- we talk certainly in the U.S. and we talk in Europe about the threat of foreign fighters to Syria. People coming from France going to Syria, fighting and then coming back having been in a way -- bringing back their skills and bringing back their motivations and has that been a big growing concern in Tunisia?

CIOCHON: Of course. Tunisia -- it's been reported that almost 3,000 Tunisians, more than any other country, have sent fighters to fight with ISIS in Syria. A number of those are returning back to Tunisia. And the state's ability to monitor the returning fighters is somewhat strained and limited.

KEILAR: Yes -- certainly a challenge everywhere and there in Tunisia as well. Jennifer Ciochon for us in Tunis in the capital of Tunisia -- thanks so much.

CIOCHON: Thank you.

KEILAR: An editor and photographer with Tunisia Live. We appreciate your insight.

We're going to be right back with this breaking news -- more breaking news in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: We are live with breaking news. Just in to CNN, this -- what has been a developing situation in Tunisia. We understand from Reuters -- pardon me -- I'm having some spring allergies.

[10:40:03] But we understand from Reuters that an attack there on a museum attached to parliament has come to an end at this point but we know from officials eight people have died.

I want to bring in Atika Shubert for us. She's following local Tunisian media reports from London. And Atika -- just tell us the very latest here as it appears -- we certainly don't know at this point who is responsible for this and that will be the key here in the coming days, maybe even hours.

SHUBERT: That's right. No one has claimed responsibility yet. But the latest that we have from Reuters is that the operation is over. All of the hostages have been freed. And in fact, we were just speaking to a freelance journalist on the ground. You could hear people cheering as the hostages were let out. We also know that the two gunmen in the attack have been killed. A policeman is also believed to have been killed in the attack. And in the initial attack, it looks like eight people were killed. Seven of them are believed to have been foreign tourists and also a local Tunisians killed there.

So this is the latest we have coming in from Reuters News Agency. We're still trying to confirm independently with the interior ministry. We are expecting the president of Tunisia to speak very shortly and hopefully to give a bit more confirmation on exactly what has happened inside the museum.

KEILAR: And as you say now that it appears officials there in Tunisia are able to get a better hold on this after seven foreign tourists -- and just to give people a sense of things, I want to tell you about something that we're learning from an Italian cruise ship company that the cruise ship Costa Facinosa (ph) docked in Tunis at this moment.

This is a ship that carries more than 3,000 passengers onboard and Costa Cruise has said in a press release as all of this was going down, as all of this -- this hostage situation was going down at the Bardo Museum, they said to passengers -- they asked passengers to immediately return to the ship.

But it just goes to show you, Atika, that this the Bardo Museum with these fantastic archaeological finds, if you're going to Tunis, this is one of the places -- if you even had a day there, six hours there, this is one of the places that you would go.

SHUBERT: Yes. This is a major stopping off point for cruise ships and as you point out there are 3,000 passengers that were basically in the city at that point. We know that there were hundreds of tourists in and around the museum. And just to give you a sense, this museum is home to one of the largest collections of Roman mosaics in the world. So this is a place where people come to see these archaeological treasures.

And as you can see from the video of those tourists that were fleeing to safety -- many of them elderly tourists, families -- they really had no idea that anything like this could happen. And it's a tremendous shock to them but also to Tunisians that a national treasure like this, the Bardo Museum, would come under attack.

I should point out though that the museum is directly connected to parliament. And it's actually part of the same parliament area. The entrance is the same. We're not sure if gunmen were targeting parliament or the museum. In the end, however, they did take hostages inside the museum and that is apparently where the eight people were killed as well.

So even if they were targeting parliament, at some point they ended up in the museum. This will be a line of investigation that security officials will be looking into -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes. And big questions about who the perpetrators in this case, who these two gunmen who we now understand from Tunisian officials are dead? Who they are with especially with growing concerns about ISIS pushing in a way its sphere of influence into Tunisia certainly?

All right. Atika Shubert, thank so much for that report. We'll be back in just a moment with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:46:11] KEILAR: Against all odds -- that's how Benjamin Netanyahu described his victory in yesterday's tight election. It was a stunning turnaround for the incumbent Israeli leader and one that may have been pushed over the top, I should say, by last-minute promises that a separate Palestinian state would never be allowed under his watch. That pledge though goes against an earlier promise to the U.S.

Let's go now to CNN global affairs correspondent Elise Labott live in Jerusalem. This is significant -- Elise. It seemed like it was going in a different direction and now Netanyahu it appears has won. What does this mean now for Israel's relationship with the U.S.?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, it's a little bit unclear right now. I mean clearly the statements that the Prime Minister made over the last 48 hours really bending to the right talking about he did not support a Palestinian state, really kind of doing a lot of fear mongering in terms of talking about that the right needed to get out and vote for him because they were worried about Arabs unseating him, Arab Israeli citizens.

It does put a little bit of fear in the United States. These statements are really against 15 years of U.S. policy trying to get a peace deal with the Palestinians; trying to create a Palestinian state. There hasn't been any reaction from the United States. I think they're going to wait and see what happens in terms of forming a government. But clearly this is the least good option I think for the Obama administration.

I think privately they would never say this publicly but they were really hoping that it was going to be Isaac Herzog they were calling to congratulate today -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes. And what are you hearing about how Palestinians are responding to this -- Elise?

LABOTT: Well, you know, it's running the gamut. I mean in terms of the Palestinian authority and Saeb Erekat, a representative of the Palestinian Authority -- he was saying this prime minister was elected on the statements that he made because he got the right out to vote for him over the last 48 hours. And he was talking about how this is a really dangerous message for Israel to be sending to the world that he was calling them racist. That they were inciting against the Palestinians.

As far as Hamas is concerned, Hamas put out a statement recently calling this -- making no difference really because they are saying that all the Israelis say are lies. And so -- clearly not a good result from the Palestinians. I think they would have preferred a different scenario today.

Palestinians I talk to feel, they as if the Israelis are the Israelis and they don't really think that Isaac Herzog might have put a better face on the Israeli government but they're not expecting much change in the way they're treated by the Israelis -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes but the U.S. was hoping maybe for a different outcome and they see there may have been a difference. I like how you said that, Elise -- that that may be something they're not saying publicly but certainly feeling that privately. Elise Labott for us in Jerusalem, thank you.

And still to come, Hillary Clinton takes heat for her hidden e-mails but do Americans really even care? New polls break down the top presidential front runners next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:53:18] KEILAR: A once rising star in the Republican Party and one of the youngest members to be elected to Congress now stepping down. Illinois congressman Aaron Schock is resigning amid a growing scandal over questionable spending and political donations. Among the accusations against Schock: using taxpayer money to fund lavish trips like the ones he regularly posted to his Instagram account and using taxpayer funds -- $40,000 to be exact -- to decorate his office in a "Downton Abbey" theme -- that's right.

Schock says that he's paid the government back for that hefty tab and the biggest spending issue though actually was mileage reimbursement. Schock is accused of receiving funds for miles he never traveled -- 90,000 to be exact on that. According to Politico, he billed the U.S. government for 170,000 miles on his personal car. Here's the thing, when he sold it last year Politico says the vehicle only had 80,000 miles on the odometer and that means that he may have been reimbursed for 90,000 miles that he did not travel. A spokesman for the congressman says all mileage funds have been returned to Congress.

I want to look at this a little deeper with Bernard Schonberg, he's a political writer and columnist for "The State Journal Register". He's with us from Springfield, Illinois.

Thanks for joining us Bernard. And just give us a sense of what the reaction there is to this.

BERNARD SCHONBERG, "THE STATE JOURNAL REGISTER": Well, after the last six weeks of publicity, I think people were surprised that he resigned but they're not surprised that this has taken another very dramatic step.

KEILAR: Are you surprised by this? Obviously you know Aaron Schock and have covered him and you have a sense of him more than the average American. Were you surprised?

[10:55:00] You know what I was surprised about? I knew that he was traveling all around the world. I knew that he didn't mind posting pictures of himself on Instagram. I know that he traveled by plane some because last time I saw him at an event recently, he helicoptered in.

I was really surprised thought to find out by research that others did how sloppy his bookkeeping was. The fact as you just talked about the Politico story and mileage reimbursement for miles that apparently he did not drive. That kind of thing is really kind of shocking -- always a bad pun with this congressman -- but it's because he had so much going for him.

He was the boy wonder when he was age 26 and running for congress and got into congress, I think he was 27 -- youngest member at the time. This national profile -- we saw him more on national TV than local TV or radio. He was just all of a sudden everywhere and it seems like he would be smarter than to throw that away by being wasteful in this way.

KEILAR: I agree. I was surprised by that as well.

Bernard Schonberg, thank you so much. Really appreciate you giving us some local perspective there. Thanks for being with us.

SCHONBERG: No problem.

KEILAR: Hillary Clinton has taken a lot of heat over her e-mails but she may take some comfort from this. She's still got a really big lead over other potential Democratic White House challengers and that includes Vice President Joe Biden and rising political rising Senator Elizabeth Warren -- heads above her.

Former Florida governor, Jeb Bush is topping the GOP pack but it's pretty crowded. His lead over other potential rivals much tighter.

I want to bring in CNN national political reporter, Peter Hamby to talk about this now. And you know, Peter, one of the things that people may notice as they look at Hillary Clinton's polls and her favorability has dipped a little bit, this e-mail controversy doesn't seem to have really brought her down too much.

PETER HAMBY, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: And that was probably going to be the story the whole time because Clinton no matter how many hits she takes in the media and no matter how many self-inflicted wounds there are, is still in poll position and there doesn't appear at the moment to be someone who can really challenge her beyond a kind of Al Gore/Bill Bradley dynamic -- a sort of 60-40 race in the end where she still wins.

Look, if you take out Elizabeth Warren from these numbers, Hillary Clinton's numbers only go up. So she's still at the front of the pack and is likely to be the nominee at this point. It's important to point out though as you mentioned, her favorable numbers have dipped to their lowest point since April of 2008 when she was locked in that tight primary battle with Barack Obama. And our poll earlier this week showed that her numbers in terms of honesty and trustworthiness have also taken a hit. So if you pull back the curtain a bit, there are some troubling signs for her but she's at this point still firmly the Democratic front runner -- Brianna. KEILAR: Yes, very much. The kind of excitement and the question

marks are on the Republican side. You look at those poll numbers. And are you seeing anything surprising? Are you seeing any weaknesses? What are you looking at here?

HAMBY: Yes. A couple things. One, the race is absolutely wide open. We talk about Jeb Bush and Scott Walker as the front runners certainly Jeb Bush is doing those things that matter in the so-called invisible primary lining up staff, financial support, before the campaigns are announced.

That's why the Washington media complex has dubbed these guys the front runners. But in terms of national polling, most people in the country still don't know who a lot of these people are. Almost 60 percent of the country, for example, doesn't know who Scott Walker is or has no opinion of him. And yet we talk about him incessantly in the press.

In terms of troubling signs, you have to look at Chris Christie's numbers. Obviously he's well known. But a full 44 percent of Republicans have an unfavorable opinion of him. He's under water in terms of those fave/unfave numbers. That is not where you want to be. You want to be growing your support and introducing yourself to voters at this point, not trying to climb out of a whole.

KEILAR: OK. Real quick before I let you go. Talk to us about who is shaping up really well when they are put against Hillary Clinton.

HAMBY: Look, everyone loses to Hillary to be honest. She polls about 50 to 40 against most people.

KEILAR: Who is doing the best?

HAMBY: Probably Rand Paul if you look at the numbers -- 54-43 in terms of that matchup. He does better than other people. You know, one of Rand Paul's selling points is that is he's able to put together a more diverse coalition in his telling appeal to young people despite running contrary to them on plenty of issues.

But look it's so early to tell these hypothetical matchups before the Republican primaries have even been litigated before this campaign have even been announced. But Rand Paul is doing the best so far according to our poll -- yes.

KEILAR: Yes. According to our fall. All right -- Peter Hamby. Thank you so much.

[11:00:01] All right. Peter Hamby thanks so much. And thank you so much for watching me today -- watching the show.

"AT THIS HOUR" with Berman and Bolduan starts right now.