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Prosecution Rests in Tsarnaev Trial; Indiana Governor: New Law "Grossly Misconstrued"; Deadline Day for Iran Nuclear Talks. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired March 31, 2015 - 06:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:48] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: After presenting more than 90 witnesses, including a heart-wrenching day of testimony, the final day of testimony that left jurors in tears, prosecutors of the trial of the admitted Boston marathon bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, rested their case. Now, the defense is up. They have a tough job -- help Tsarnaev avoid the death penalty.

CNN's Alexandra Field is live from Boston -- Alexandra.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michael, they sure do. Martin Richards' parents were actually in the courtroom, listening to the findings of their son's autopsy. Bill Richards sat there with his arm around his wife, Denise, but he kept his eyes closed for so many of these painful details. The medical examiner even holding up the scraps of clothing that he had found on the boy's body.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD (voice-over): Martin Richard was 8 years old, more than four feet tall, weighing fewer than 70 pounds. The bomb injured nearly every part of his small body. His charred jersey, the blood-stained t-shirt, the melted pair of pants.

"Over all the injuries would be painful," the medical examiner testified.

Lingzi Lu didn't die immediately, but it was quick. Blast injuries to her lower legs, a piece of jagged metal buried in one leg.

Near the finish line, Krystle Campbell lost too much blood, it happened too fast.

The government rests their case with graphic details of the final aching moments. Prosecutors highlight images of Dzhokhar, standing with his backpack bomb next to the Richard family. Walking away with just a backwards glance before the deadly blasts, accused of 30 federal charges, defense attorneys conceded in opening statements, he did it, but they're now calling witnesses to make his case, arguing he followed in the footsteps of his brother, Tamerlan, the mastermind who they say bought the BBs and the pressure cooker and led the charge toward the finish line.

A year earlier, there were no signs, the defense said that Dzhokhar was plotting anything, marathon Monday 2012 he tweets, "this was a great weekend."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD: The defense has already called two witnesses to try to advance this theory that Dzhokhar was manipulated by his brother. They could call several more before closing arguments.

But, guys, this is really just a prelude to the argument we'll hear from the defense during the sentencing phase of this trial. When you stack up their theory against some of this very emotional testimony, that we heard from the prosecution's witnesses, you know the defense really does have a big job to do if they want to garner some kind of sympathy or leniency for Dzhokhar in this case.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Alexandra, thank you very much. It's always been about the sentencing, it's always been about whether or not prosecutors will get the death penalty. That's why they've gone to such lengths to show the destruction this caused to that community.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: But to hear the final statements of the final witnesses testifying about the 8-year-old who was killed and what happened to him and his body, I mean --

PEREIRA: They relive that terror and grief and tragedy all over again. But for some, it provides sort of some closure, doesn't it? So painful.

Hopefully for the jury, remember, they're asking the jury to do the hardest thing there is, which is to make a decision that someone's life should be taken. Right or wrong, they're the ones who have to make the decision. It's easy for people who aren't in that box to say what they would do. So, the bar is very high for them, and they need to hear what the stakes are.

CUOMO: All right. Other news that we have for you this morning, Iran is on the line. Only 12 hours left for a deal and tricky issues remain. Those are the words from secretary of state John Kerry. Acknowledging that big points, like the pace of sanctions relief and Iran's refusal to export its stockpile of atomic fuel still on the table. Republicans in Congress preparing their own methods: tough new sanctions against Iran, if the negotiations fail.

CAMEROTA: A possible motive surfacing in the Flight 9525 tragedy. The German tabloid "Bild," quoting an investigator saying Andreas Lubitz was worried his medical issues would force him out of his job as a pilot, which may have led him to crash that plane, There 27-year- old apparently suffered from suicidal thoughts. There's also word that Lubitz may have lied on a Lufthansa questionnaire about his mental state.

[06:35:06] PEREIRA: The Justice Department urging a federal appeals court to reverse a judge's decision placing a hold on President Obama's immigration reforms. A federal judge in Texas issued a preliminary injunction in February, freezing the president's executive actions. Five million people in this country illegally could face deportation if that injunction is not overturned. Justice Department lawyers argue the federal government has unique authority to enforce immigration laws.

CUOMO: Epic beat-down alert. Now, Justin Bieber, he's a tough sell for me as news, but a public shaming at the hands of a host of celebrities at a Comedy Central roast, it qualifies. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm proud of you, you have it all. You literally are a guy who has it all. Except for respect, love, friends, good parents and a Grammy.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a father of six, you got to straighten up, son. You know last year, you were ranked the fifth most hated person of all time. Kim Jong-un didn't even score that low. And he uses your music to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) torture people.

JUSTIN BEIBER: Even though you didn't shoot out a single ping pong ball like Snoop promised.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: Wow, Martha Stewart apparently killed. She was there as well.

CAMEROTA: Oh, yes, what did she say.

PEREIRA: I don't think I can repeat some of the things.

I always find these roasts interesting, because everybody gives everybody on the same level, like nobody even there is immune from being skewered, even the roastee, you know? It's not just about the roasted.

CAMEROTA: They're so fun -- were you saying that one of the jokes was there's a whole bunch of rappers here on stage, but Martha Stewart is the one who has done the most jail time.

PEREIRA: Just incredible. It's incredible.

CUOMO: That's fun.

PEREIRA: Some of the things they were saying, we can't repeat the other things. That was the tamer of the ones.

CUOMO: I think he probably needed this. Not for the truth of the assertions necessarily but he got the chance to apologize to his fans, say he had done things wrong. You know, it's really interesting. He had a line here saying he lost some of his best qualities when he

was thrown into entertainment at 12 years of age. That's interesting. One, it's an apology, imagine that, in his mind he was fully formed at 12. Isn't that part of the problem with these child entertainers?

PEREIRA: And he's 21 now. This is just in a small chapter in his life.

CAMEROTA: He can have a second act. We're believers.

CUOMO: That's right.

CAMEROTA: All right.

PEREIRA: Are we now?

CUOMO: No.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: All right. Meanwhile, there is more fallout to tell but for the state of Indiana over its controversial new religious freedom law. Now, the lieutenant governor is trying to do damage control. But did her interview with Chris Cuomo only fan the flames? You can judge for yourself, next.

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[06:41:37] CUOMO: Lawmakers in Arkansas are expected to pass their own religious freedom bill today, later on. And if it opens the same door to possible discrimination as we're seeing in Indiana, they could see a similar backlash.

Now, in Indiana, Governor Mike Pence wrote an op-ed that's in "The Wall Street Journal" today. He says the law has been, quote, "grossly misconstrued as a license to discriminate."

During our CNN primetime special about the law, Indiana's lieutenant governor stood in for Governor Pence and tried to explain why this law was created, if not to discriminate against gays.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUE ELLSPERMANN (R), INDIANA LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: We have great respect for the LGBT community and all those who are Hoosiers, we do not discriminate here. And if we have not clarified that in a fair way, we want it do that. And I think that is exactly what the general assembly is about doing right now.

CUOMO: You are well aware of the situation. You have businesses, you have entire states.

ELLSPERMANN: Yes.

CUOMO: You have the NCAA, you have everybody saying this law is objectionable to us for different reasons.

The fix, and I don't know if it is a fix, as a lawyer, by the way, but the political fix for the governor was include LGBT in your protected classes under state law. He said, no way, it's not on my agenda.

If you're so open, if you're so about the inclusiveness, and I'm not talking about Indiana's people, I don't think it's fair to pull them into this. This is about the lawmakers. This is about you guys at the top.

If that's what you want to do, why don't you include them under your state law of protection against discrimination?

ELLSPSERMANN: Well, I think that is probably not a decision for the governor or our administration to make alone. That is why you have a general assembly. And in the --

CUOMO: But he said no, Lieutenant Governor. He didn't say it's not my job. He said no.

ELLSPERMANN: Let me talk about the general assembly. The general assembly said that is something that their leadership is willing to look at longer-term. They don't think it can be done in the four weeks that are left in session.

But I think these are conditions to be had, and our governor and our leadership are working together and we do want to make sure it is just incredibly important, that here in Indiana, we make sure that people are comfortable, that this law does not discriminate. And we are looking at the options of what needs to be done to make sure that doesn't happen.

CUOMO: Lieutenant governor, before I let you go, would you be willing to make a statement to people of faith in Indiana and elsewhere, who are seeing this as -- as a rationale for striking out against people who they don't agree with in terms of lifestyle. Would you like to make a statement to people who are saying -- if I don't want to deal with gays, I don't have to, that's my religion? Do you believe that that's a legitimate exercise of religious faith?

ELLSPERMANN: Well, no, we really -- we expect all of our people to be welcoming. We expect our businesses are that way.

I'm going to speak to it as a mother. I have -- my husband and I have four daughters, I have three grandchildren. I certainly don't want those children or grandchildren to be discriminated against.

You know I was a female engineer at a time when not many females were engineers. I've been up close to discrimination, I don't want that. We don't want that. The governor has said he doesn't want that.

CUOMO: Understood.

ELLSPERMANN: So I really think this is something -- I know the whole country is watching us here in Indiana. But I think you're going to see us figure this out together. [06:45:00] It is important. And we do want to be a welcoming state to

everyone and we appreciate the opportunity to speak to you about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: The lieutenant governor did step up and come on. You know, we asked over a dozen lawmakers who co-sponsored the bill. None of them, they ignored us or didn't come on.

CAMEROTA: Yes, it's great that she came on. But I think you illustrated the verbal calisthenics that are lawmakers are going to have to go through to explain how they can be on both sides of the position.

PEREIRA: Which is so important, because you look at the businesses, you look at the college basketball system, you look at different tech companies that are saying we won't stand for it, we're going to halt our travel. Some other cities are saying we're not going to do any city business there until this is fixed.

So, yet some of them, some of the lawmaker there in Indiana are just sort of placing the blame on us for muddling the conversation. Yet they weren't clear and aren't being clear. Did you think they were?

CUOMO: Absolutely. At this point, it's fair to say this isn't about everybody else getting it wrong. This is what about they went in, their intentions may have been flawed as well. Proof of that?

Indianapolis mayor, the mayor, who is a Republican, is coming on this show to talk about why he so vehemently disagrees with this law. One question for lawmakers on the other side who are saying we want to change this, where were you when it was being debated? We're going to talk to the mayor of Indianapolis about what he wants to see happen, because remember, this is all going on in his city. That's where the statehouse is.

So, we'll have that there. And, of course, the reason we're talking an issue like this is for you. So, what do you think? What are your questions? What are your opinions? You can tweet us. You go to Facebook.com/NewDay and let us know.

CAMEROTA: OK. Meanwhile, we are inching closer to the deadline for a nuclear agreement with Iran. Even if a deal is reached, the U.S. still considers Iran a sponsor of terrorism and what about the Iranians backing the Houthis in Yemen? We debate this complicated landscape.

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[06:50:50] PEREIRA: We are coming up on 11 hours to go until the deadline for the framework of a nuclear deal with Iran. Even if a deal is reached, it's just the first of a long list of issues the U.S. has with Tehran. It's accused of sponsoring terrorism, funding rebels in Yemen, and backing anarchy with its influence throughout the Middle East.

There's only one man turn to, Bobby Ghosh, CNN global affairs analyst and managing editor of "Quartz".

Sort of a mess of soup here that we have to wade through, I'm hoping you can help me make sense of it. First of all, we know the ongoing negotiations are going on right now. Down to the wire, we look at the clock tick by, 11 hours to go.

Do you think progress is going to be made? Are you hopeful that this deadline for a framework deal is even feasible?

BOBBY GHOSH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, the latest we're hearing out of the talks, and both sides have been leaking speculatively, selectively. The latest we're hearing is that they will come to some sort of agreement, which is sort of soft language, this is a way of saying we have -- we're not quite there yet.

In any case, there was always going to be another set of negotiations over --

PEREIRA: In June.

GHOSH: -- over the nuts and bolts until the end of June.

PEREIRA: Right.

GHOSH: So, it's possible they'll simply punt it all the way to the end of June. It gives you an indication of how complex the negotiations are and how entrenched the two different sides are in their positions.

PEREIRA: Right.

GHOSH: But the argument everyone will keep making and there's something to be said for that, better they're talking than they're fighting.

PEREIRA: No, absolutely, they are at the table, that's a good point. But I look back to what the Ayatollah Khamenei said last year at some point, he said we will not renege, but I will say again, there is no use. It will not lead anywhere.

If you're starting out going to the table with that kind of attitude -- their heels are dug in.

GHOSH: Look, what Khamenei has always done is always had for himself plausible deniability. If the deal is done, he can say, well, I allowed the deal to be made, which is true. If the deal is not done, he can say, well, I've been saying all along, the deal is never going to work.

So, as far as he's concerned, he's perfectly set up on that, he can go one way or the other.

PEREIRA: All right. Let's move on to the fact that, you know, we're talking about -- pardon me, the complicated nature of all of this going on. So, we look at we are talking about the nuclear ambitions of Iran. We know that they have one functional nuclear power plant right now. Is allowing this to continue a massive show of good faith, even knowing that this is already functioning?

GHOSH: Well, the question is what the uranium is being enriched for? The Iranians insist it's for peaceful purposes.

PEREIRA: Right.

GHOSH: But let's not forget, we caught them in the act.

PEREIRA: They lied before.

GHOSH: Yes, they've lied about it before about this, and even now they haven't yet given the IAEA, the nuclear watchdog of the United Nations, they haven't given some crucial information about what they were doing with nuclear weapons technology. So, there's reason to be skeptical and worried about that.

PEREIRA: And our part of the conversation sticking points we're seeing in Switzerland.

GHOSH: Yes.

PEREIRA: Let's moved to Iraq where we see ISIS and Iran, is part of the U.S. fight against ISIS.

So, there is, there is cohesiveness there in terms of battling ISIS. We see possibilities that the two countries can work together.

GHOSH: Yes, what you're seeing now in the Middle East is that we're kind of, we're not sure who our friends are. All those traditional, traditional cliche about your friend -- your enemy's enemy is your friend.

PEREIRA: It's not black hats, white hats, is it?

GHOSH: No. In the Middle East today, your enemy's enemy is your friend, he's also your enemy, he's a friend of your enemy, he's enemy of your friend, it's just -- it's an alphabet soup.

So, Iraq, Iran and the United States and the Iraqi government all have a mutual enemy, which is ISIS.

PEREIRA: Yes.

GHOSH: So, we've seen in Tikrit over the last few weeks, that there is a way to work together. When the American air support went in some of the Shia groups that are supported by Iran said we don't want any part of this and walked away. But now, they're back in.

So, there is a way to cooperate there and that's what we're seeing take place in Iraq. But that's only in Iraq.

PEREIRA: It's only in Iraq, because then if you move further south, as we will do on our map, we know the Saudi-led coalition is doing an offensive, an air strike offensive against the situation in Yemen. Rebels there, the Houthis, and the U.S. is providing support. Not actively involved, but providing support. [06:55:01] The Houthis are backed by Iran and thus the complexity.

GHOSH: So, there you, what you see in Yemen is we're acting against Iran and Iran-backed forces, the Houthis or the Shia rebels who basically destabilize the country. We're on the side of the Sunnis here, we're on the side of a ten-country coalition, all of this them Sunni countries, led by Saudi Arabia. We don't have planes or boots on the ground, but the U.S. is providing intelligence, is providing some kind of reconnaissance support.

And, certainly, in the public eye, is encouraging this Saudi action. So here, we're against Iran. And this is -- this is something that hasn't remarkably at the negotiating table in Switzerland when we're talking about a nuke deal, this stuff is not coming up for a discussion.

PEREIRA: But this is in the back of the mind of many, is it not?

GHOSH: It has to be, how can it not? You know, on the one hand you're having a negotiation about nuclear effect. But you've got to be thinking, well, if we cut Iran a deal, and allow them the access to their money -- essentially we're talking about removing economic sanctions, where is the money going to go? Is that going to go into making the lives of ordinary Iranians better? Or is it going to fund all the rebels and militias and things like that.

PEREIRA: We got a little breaking news that the Yemeni foreign minister has asked for and demanded a ground offensive there in Yemen. We've known that the airstrike campaign was under way. Do you think that is going to change the game potentially there?

GHOSH: I'm skeptical that the ground operation will take place. I can see why the foreign minister wants it and lots of Yemenis do.

But you have to remember the last time a non-Yemeni Arab army went into Yemen. This was in the 1970s, it was Egypt. Egypt sent in 70,000 soldiers into Yemen, they got their clocks cleaned. Between 10,000 and 25,000 depending on who you believe Egyptian soldiers died there, to no avail. In the end, Egypt had to withdraw in humiliation.

That's got to be the top of mind of every Arab state.

PEREIRA: They don't want history to repeat itself there.

GHOSH: We know that fighting a determined local insurgency which has home support, and which knows the terrain, very difficult.

PEREIRA: All right. Bobby, we'll leave it there, thank you so much.

We certainly have a lot of news to get to this morning, so let's get right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REPORTER: Do you think you'll get a deal by the deadline?

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: Good question.

MARIE HARF, STATE DEPARTMENT: I think we owe it to the world to see if we can get this done diplomatically.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If no deal is reached, could Iran at some point test a nuclear weapon?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The severe mental problems this co-pilot had been dealing with.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Prosecutors say Lubitz was treated for suicidal tendencies before he got his license to fly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 27-year-old was hiding his condition from the airline.

ELLSPERMANN: We're a state that really values those First Amendment rights.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some of the biggest beneficiaries of these kinds of laws have been minority faiths.

ELLSPERMANN: This law was allowed for discrimination against lesbian, gay, transsexual and bisexual people. There's no doubt about it.

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaeal Pereira.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome back to your NEW DAY.

The clock is ticking on nuclear talks with Iran. The deadline for an agreement, 11 hours away. So, we're keeping an eye on the clock as we monitor all of the breaking developments for you.

The two sides, though, unable to close the gap thus far on what Secretary of State John Kerry tells CNN are a couple of, quote. "tricky issues", including Iran's demand for quick sanctioned relief.

CUOMO: So, with the entire world watching, the big question is, can a deal get done? And just as importantly, what happens if it can't?

Let's bring in CNN's global affairs correspondent Elise Labott live from Switzerland.

So, we're all watching this clock. The question will be what happens when it's all zeros?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Chris, as you said we're getting down to the wire. But it seems as if they could be inching towards a deal. Now, the Russian foreign minister who left yesterday, said he would come back if a deal was imminent. He said this morning that he's on his way back here to Lausanne, and we've been talking about the fact that they made some progress. Yesterday, Secretary of State John Kerry told me that there was some

light in the negotiations. But he did allude to what he called some tricky issues.

What those issues are? What we've been talking about for the past few days -- Iran wants to resume advanced nuclear technology, in the final years of the deal. The international community wants to keep the restrictions on for the entire 15 years.

And then, Iran does want those U.N. sanctions lifted right away. Now, it could see some economic benefits from lifting those U.N. sanctions and European sanctions, but those United Nations sanctions, they want to get at the stigma of that the world powers want to phase those out as Iran complies with the deal and have the flexibility to re-impose them if Iran violates.