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Chris Christie Launches Town Hall Tour; Inside the Crisis in Yemen; Teachers' Sentences Too Tough? Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired April 15, 2015 - 06:30   ET

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


[06:30:00] JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I do think the inclusions of floating a constitutional amendment to Citizens United is a big deal.

MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It was very choreographed event yesterday, even though it played well, I think she was probably at her most powerful talking about her parents, her roots, this Midwest homespun wisdom she's grown up with. I actually don't know that I've seen Hillary speaking that authentically about herself.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: I want to pivot actually now to Chris Christie if we could, because we got three great brains here. We want to talk about what he's facing. Still not announced, New Hampshire he's heading to today.

I'm curious what you think, Margaret, is his biggest challenge. We know he's trailing in the polls significantly. He's like sixth I think tied with Marco Rubio. What do you think is the biggest challenge facing him at this point?

HOOVER: The problem for Chris Christie is he's essentially a moderate Republican and the Republican primary process really relies on conservatives in Iowa and South Carolina in the South. So, his challenge is to find his niche and have a motivated niche that will actually make him a player.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Why isn't his challenge -- why isn't it the RNC challenge?

HOOVER: The RNC doesn't pick winners in a primary.

CUOMO: I know. But I'm saying, don't you have to address that? At the end of the day, if you're only fielding to the fringe, how are you going to --

(CROSSTALK)

HOOVER: This is why his choice of picking entitlement reform is actually very safe. It unites all the base factions of the conservative movement. Fiscal conservatisms are in every faction -- fiscal conservatives are in every faction of the conservative movement. And entitlement reform is universally popular with conservatives.

AVLON: But what's significant is while that's theoretically true, all the other candidates have essentially run away from that position leaving a vacuum Christie's trying to fill because they're afraid it's not popular with voters.

PEREIRA: Yes.

AVLON: So, that disconnect there, Christie sees an opportunity, he's going to hammer home.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: He said it out loud, yesterday. He said raise the retirement age. He said, you know, cap the income level for Social Security. This was actually for 500 or however many days out, this was pretty bold.

CUOMO: He is the only one doing that.

MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I agree with that. Absolutely no question.

CUOMO: He's the only one saying here's what i'd do.

HABERMAN: Look, he needs to get back into this. The polling in New Hampshire shows he's running behind Donald Trump who I don't think is running -- so, at the end of the day.

Christie's biggest problem, honestly -- there's three problems. There's Bridgegate issue, which has to resolve and it's not done yet, there's fiscal situation in New Jersey which is real. That is his record. He's running as look at what I did at home.

And then there's the other candidates. I mean, Jeb Bush has just sucked a lot of the oxygen out of the establishment lane. He's not -- Jeb Bush is not dominant in the polls by any stretch of the imagination, but he has managed to take up a lot of space that would have been Christie's.

PEREIRA: Well, ladies and gentlemen, I want to make sure you're getting your electrolytes and antioxidants as 572 days from now. So, we've got a long way to go.

Maggie, Margaret, and John, always a pleasure to have you.

CUOMO: Measured in moons at this point.

PEREIRA: Yes, right.

CUOMO: It's good to have you guys.

When we're talking about politics, there's one aspect you can't ignore. If you see a good man in a race, you can be darn sure there's a good woman there as well. So, we're going to have Kelley Paul here, wife of Rand Paul, joining us in studio talking about why she would want to be first lady.

BERMAN: All right. Harsh punishments for former Atlanta teachers convicted in a huge test cheating scandal. Some of the sentences as long as those hit on drug dealers. So, does the punishment fit the crime? Or is this a judge going way too far here?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:36:41] CUOMO: Breaking news out of Washington -- wait for it -- compromise. The Senate and the White House coming together on a bill giving Congress a say on any nuclear deal with Iran. But here's the problem: Iran is now balking, saying the negotiations are with six world powers, not the U.S. Congress.

PEREIRA: Hundreds of protesters in New York and Los Angeles taking to the streets to protest excessive force by police. In New York, dozens arrested, several officers injured after demonstrators blocked traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge. All of this as new video surfaces of an officer in Arizona intentionally using his cruiser to take down a suspect who was seen running through the streets with a gun.

BERMAN: Thirty-four and a half hours and still counting. That is how long the Aaron Hernandez jury has spent deliberating the fate of the former NFL star. He is charged with murdering Odin Lloyd back in 2013. Jurors return this morning for a seventh day of deliberations. If Hernandez is found guilty, he could face life in prison without parole.

CUOMO: What is impressive to a jury is not always the same as what is impressive to the media. So do you want to meet the world's coolest boss? Other than Jeff Zucker, of course.

PEREIRA: Pandering.

CUOMO: That's right. I know who signs my check.

Head of Gravity Payments raising the minimum wage at his company to, wait for it again, $70,000.

PEREIRA: Wait, what, an hour?

CUOMO: No, that's a full year. He's taking a bit of a cut himself from a million dollars to $70,000. That's the new company minimum.

Now, some of his employees will see their paychecks double. He says he took the action after hearing some of them talking about their money problems.

PEREIRA: That's extraordinary.

CUOMO: It is. And it is just showing that capitalism doesn't have to be a certain way. You can find your own peace within it. And that's what this guy's doing.

PEREIRA: Only need so much money.

BERMAN: We'll see how they do. Let's see how the company does.

CUOMO: Let's see if it goes under.

PEREIRA: Are you skeptical?

BERMAN: No, I'm curious to see what the effect will be with stock prices and --

CUOMO: Listen to you, stock prices.

PEREIRA: You two. This bromance is something else.

All right. Ahead here, Saudi-led air strikes, Houthi rebels leaving thousands homeless, millions hungry in Yemen. We're going to take you to the front lines of an enormous humanitarian crisis unfolding now. A CNN exclusive, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:43:02] BERMAN: The dire situation in Yemen is getting worse this morning. The United Nations is reporting nearly 16 million people are in need of humanitarian aid. A rare cease-fire allowed a plane-load of supplies to land in Sana'a on Tuesday.

CNN's senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh takes us exclusively inside the struggles of that nation -- Nick.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, a very complicated mission for this plane from the United Nations Emergency Fund for Children to land yesterday. They negotiated just a two-hour window which the Saudi air force and the Houthis in control of that airport were happy with the runway being used. Remarkably that strip of concrete intact. There's such devastation all around it there.

But those two hours very busy unloading 75 metric tons of food and medical supplies for those you say millions desperately in need now. They were in trouble before this bombing campaign began. It's now on the verge of collapse. I know 75 metric tons is huge for us to behold but nothing frankly compared to the scale of the emergency now unfolding in Yemen.

U.N. resolution just passed blocks arm sales to the Houthis, yes. And Russia who back Iran who back the Houthis, they abstain rather than vetoing that vote. So, some signs the world wants this violence to stop, but no political solution and this humanitarian collapse really unfolding now, John.

BERMAN: Well, the will of the greater world doesn't really matter when you have the fighting inside that country and you have the immediate neighboring nations directly involved with the Saudis bombing. You know, what is the prospect for any kind of greater humanitarian pause in the coming days?

WALSH: Well, you just see the chaos on the ground really. I mean, frankly for us on that piece of tarmac, it seemed like three armed men controlled that entire concrete space. Yes, there's Yemeni air traffic control still functional but there's a real sense of chaos there certainly in the capital. That makes hard for petrol to move supplies we saw brought in to the people who need it.

[06:45:03] The major ports in the country, while some of them are actually contested by fighting right now. So, yes, the needle on the ground is going to be very hard to move because much of that fighting is being done by young Houthi men who have light weapons and military weapons they've taken from the Yemeni army and frankly doing pretty well despite the enormous onslaught of Saudi air power -- John.

BERMAN: A hundred twenty-thousand people already fled their home.

Nick Paton Walsh, really interesting to see that perspective. Thanks, Nick.

Chris?

CUOMO: All right. Thanks, J.B.

Ten former Atlanta school teachers sentenced to 20 years for cheating. Is it too much? Is that not enough? The judge gave them a shot to escape jail time, they didn't take it.

Now, there's a new CNN original series "HIGH PROFITS" that's telling the story of two of the first legal marijuana entrepreneurs. Very different topic, but very equal impact. It's going to be on this Sunday.

And here's a sneak peek.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got cash. It's cash only. Everyone's cool with that? All right. Sorry, guys. End of the night. I'm sorry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought you closed at 10:00?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, our last transaction has to happen at 10:00. I apologize for confusion. But 8:00 a.m. tomorrow. Thanks.

Well, you kicked some ass, good job, first day working there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you guys count your tip jars yet? They made like an extra 60 or 70 bucks over there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Kate, how'd we end up?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Over $47,000.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: $47,000. Holy (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's so much unorganized money.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We did about 30 times our normal daily sales of medical marijuana by switching to retail marijuana. This is why we had to be open on the first.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Unreal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is what happens when you legalize marijuana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:51:07] CUOMO: All right. As you're getting ready for the morning, this one is worth listening to. This case in Atlanta with these teachers is very unusual for what they did, but also very unusual for what the judge just did in open court on camera.

All right. Now, he sentenced eight Atlanta teachers to as much as 20 years. They're going to serve seven in jail. That's a harsh sentence. A lot of felons don't get that.

And a big reason they got the sentence was because according to the judge, they ignored his advice to take a plea deal. It turns out they didn't want to admit their guilt and the judge was fuming. Did he go too far, or is this justice?

To discuss, Paul Callan, CNN legal analyst, criminal defense and civil rights attorney, and Ms. Mo Ivory, radio personality and attorney, lives down in the area in this school district.

We should mention one more educator is awaiting sentencing which will take place later this year. It's not all done, but we now have a feel for it.

Paul, what's your first blush reaction to the judge's expressions and reactions?

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, you know, I'm not somebody who criticizes tough judges. I think tough judges are good. And these teachers essentially robbed children of their education in the cheating scandal.

All of that being said, these sentences are over the top. You're sentencing a person to 20 years in prison for a non-violent white collar crime. I've never seen somebody who stole money at a bank or in a securities fraud or some place else given a sentence of that magnitude.

These defendants are being punished because they didn't want to go along with the deal that was offered by the prosecutor and the judge. First, he offered them a slap on the wrist, the judge, and then he said, all right, I'm going to punish you.

CUOMO: OK. I want you to hear, Mo, you've heard it and you too, Paul. For you at home, listen to what the judge said and then we'll take the next step.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am making a motion for you to recuse yourself (INAUDIBLE). Apparently you're going back and forth --

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You sit down I'm going to put you in jail. If you yell at me, point at me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're yelling at me, judge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: All right. Now, that's just instructive of the antics. The lawyer is saying you can't sentence my client because you have to recuse yourself, get yourself out of the case because you're obviously emotionally involved in this.

But the part that mattered is the judge said, look, I gave you a deal. I told you I want you to take responsibility for what you did. And you didn't.

So, now, you're going to pay the price because things change.

Mo, Paul Callan says I've never seen this with white collar. This isn't regular white collar. These are kids. This went back as far as 2001. It was orchestrated, it was flouted, they had parties about it. They robbed these kids of their future.

Why shouldn't they be punished?

MO IVORY, RADIO PERSONALITY AND ATTORNEY: Well, you know, there you see a little bit of Southern justice.

Let me say that I do think that the judge was over the top. I do think that the sentencing were excessive. But on the flip side of it I do also think they were given an opportunity for all of that to be sort of put in its place by these plea deals.

There was a group of preachers, of civil rights activists including Andrew Young that came out and begged the D.A., Paul Howard, for some leniency for these teachers. To only have these educators to turn around and say, no, thank you.

So, it's sort of like what is happening? First the judge is being really excessive, then you get this whole group of advocates coming to say leniency. You get the leniency in a plea offer and then you refuse to admit guilt and take the plea.

CUOMO: By the way, what's their defense to the charges?

IVORY: Well, the reason they didn't take the plea, they don't want the right to be able to appeal at a later time.

CALLAN: Yes.

IVORY: And if they took the plea they would not have that right.

CALLAN: I'm not going to their guilt or innocence. I'm assuming that they're guilty, OK?

[06:55:01] But punishment is supposed to meet the crime. That's what it's all about. And a just judge hands out sentences that do that.

Here, the punishment is meeting the attitude. He's given these defendants --

IVORY: True.

CALLAN: -- harsh sentences because they gave him attitude in court. And they said, you know something, we want to take an appeal because we think what you're offering us is unjust. And some of them actually thought they were innocent.

And you know something, I think an appellate court is going to look at this judge and say, you know something, how can he be offering them a slap on a wrist in a plea deal and 20 years in prison if they don't go along? Punishment's not meeting the crime.

CUOMO: You ever see that happen in criminal law?

CALLAN: Well, it happens all the time. But I've never seen it happen in a white collar crime where there was no --

CUOMO: Why is there a difference?

CALLAN: Well, because there's no violence here. And I've never see -- I think these defendants should be treated like other defendants, like white defendants are treated in white collar crimes. These defendants are being treated overly harsh.

CUOMO: Do you think this is about race or do you think this is about kids?

IVORY: No, Chris, it's about a lot of things. It's also about politics. There were a lot of school districts in Georgia that were having cheating scandals. This was the only one that went to trial, that these teachers were prosecuted, under a state legislature that is completely Republican.

It is warped with political, it is warped with racist undertones, and it is warped with a lot of things that have not come out to play as part of the discussion on the specific prosecution.

CUOMO: And those all may be valid, but Mo and Paul, at the end of the day, either you took a pass on your responsibility as a teacher and you did it in a flagrant way with these parties, which not only robbed the kids of an education but inculcated in those kids a culture that this is the way to do it.

CALLAN: You know what happens?

CUOMO: That's a big crime. That's bad.

CALLAN: You know what happens in courtrooms in America? You get a felony conviction, maybe you get a year or two in jail, you put on probation, and pretty much your life's ruined as a white collar professional. You don't get 20 years in prison.

CUOMO: You want them teaching your kids?

CALLAN: No, I don't. But you get 20 years when you kill somebody, not when you cheat on a test.

IVORY: That's right.

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: But I don't get this moral equivalency, why does this have to be tantamount to whether it's killing somebody, or whether it's a big bank. All we do is complain that our kids are getting robbed of education, you catch people doing it in the worst possible way and say they're being punished too hard. Is that what's happening here?

IVORY: No, I understand that. I do understand about the fair laws across the board for anybody that commits a crime. I don't even really have a problem these teachers got this sentence.

But I do believe that there are so many things offered part of that and when they were offered a plea deal it could level out the field and put in perspective that they are teachers, they are not criminals that have put somebody -- you know, killed somebody or mobsters or anything like that. That's where I think the plea deal came in and gave them that opportunity to be able to just come on the weekends.

And they didn't take it. So for whatever reason, they felt they did not need to take it.

CUOMO: I got you. I got you.

Mo, Paul, thank you for offering one side. I tested with the other. You can decide at home.

This is one story for you. But there's a lot of news. So, let's get to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Hundreds of protesters outraged by excessive force.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: New video out of Arizona igniting more questions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stand off, stand off, gun is loaded!

PEREIRA: We are inching closer to the 2016 presidential election.

HILLARY CLINTON (D), 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've been fighting for children and families my entire adult life.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL), 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I can serve this country at this moment in history better than anyone else who is running.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX), 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Are we ready to make America great again?

SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY), 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We've come to take our country back.

BERMAN: Hundreds of commercial jets could be vulnerable to hackers.

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

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PEREIRA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Tax Day, Wednesday, April 15th. It is 7:00 in the East.

Allison has the day off today. John Berman joins us here onset.

Outrage from coast-to-coast over excessive use of force by police. Hundreds of protesters filling the streets of New York and Los Angeles. Dozens arrested. Some officers injured in all that chaos after folks blocked traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge. The protesters marching in defiance on the heels of two controversial police shootings caught on video.

CUOMO: And now, a new case, this time in Arizona. Watch for yourself. That officer just used his car to take out a suspect. Suspect was armed, had fired into the air. The sheriff there says this kind of force warranted. Now, that video looks bad, but the suspect wasn't hurt.

This is part of our coverage. We're going to begin with CNN's Rosa Flores -- Rosa.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning.

Police say that this police officer who used his vehicle, rammed it into the suspect actually saved the suspect's life because the suspect was suicidal. But the suspect's attorney is saying no way. The use of a 2-ton deadly weapon is excessive force.

Now, the country is weighing in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES (voice-over): Hundreds taking to the streets in cities across the country in protest of police use of force.