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Manhunt in Willsboro for Escaped Convicts; ISIS Women Play Prominent Role in Terror Operations; Dennis Hastert Heads to Court; Jeb Bush Speech Takes Aim at Vladimir Putin. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired June 9, 2015 - 13:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[13:00:55] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: We just got the all-clear on Capitol Hill. People are beginning to return to the Dirksen Senate Office Building where there had been some sort of threat, some sort of bomb threat that was called in. You saw the committee hearing, the Senate Homeland Security Committee. There was a hearing under way. Senator Ron Johnson, the chairman of that committee, evacuated the room. We saw the search going on. Now there's an all-clear on Capitol Hill. Good news there, business can resume in the Senate Dirksen Office Building.

There's other breaking news we're following right now. Authorities are actively searching farms and fields in upstate New York. Two convicted killers, Richard Matt and David Sweat, they may have been seen, we're now told, in the town of Willsboro. They escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility about 30 miles away Friday night or early Saturday morning. This possible sighting comes as two witnesses in Dannemora, the town where the prison is located, told "ABC News" they believe the men were in their own backyard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: They were looking around a little bit. As soon as I came across, they ran out of my yard.

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: That was them?

UNIDENTIFIED WITNESS: That was them, yeah.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: CNN's Polo Sandoval is joining us now near the prison.

What exactly do we know about this latest development in this so- called active search, Polo?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it is perhaps one of the most significant developments we've seen today. We know that active search is happening as you mentioned about 30 miles south of here in the town of Willsboro. It was a resident of that very small town, home to about 2,000 people, who spotted two suspicious individuals in the middle of the night walking through the rain as they person began to drive towards those individuals. He reported those two people eventually ran away from him. Now is question is why were running. That initial call is just one of the tips that have been poring into call centers. They've been manning the phones 24/7 since the elaborate jailbreak happened Friday into Saturday morning. What we know about this active search happening right now is that local, state, federal police on the ground in the air right now using helicopters and also walking some of the terrain. The extent of the action we've seen here just outside the Clinton correctional facility which is where it all started, we've noticed transport vehicles, van, buses come and go, a couple of those vehicles carrying some of those correctional officers wearing body armor which is really what we've seen the last several days so we can only assume they could potential will I be heading out there to backup some of the officers that are looking for -- at least following up on this potential lead. Again, at least two suspicious individuals spotted in the nearby town of Willsboro spotted by one citizen there. Of course those reports being followed up on at this hour -- Wolf?

BLITZER: What about -- what do we know, Polo, about this female prison worker being questioned by authorities? She's given a statement to investigators, is that right?

SANDOVAL: That's right, Wolf. Money of the investigation also focusing on this individual, a female prison worker who basically worked in the tailor shop in the facility you see behind me. Our sources telling us she knew pretty well these two individuals and so now they're calling into question if she could have helped in the actual jailbreak but we should note that she has not been charged and, of course, she has not been arrested so this is part of a fluid situation, the story far from over here in upstate New York -- Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, we'll stay in close touch with you, Polo Sandoval on the scene for us outside that prison.

A huge manhunt under way not only 30 miles or so from the prison but throughout North America. A lot of authorities think these two guys could have wound up anywhere by now.

Thank you very much, Polo.

Other news we're following. Could intelligence agencies here in the United States have a blind spot when it comes to ISIS? There's a new report that says it could have to do with the wives of the terror leaders.

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[13:38:22] BLITZER: U.S. intelligence agencies may have been underestimating the scope and power of women in ISIS. New intelligence gathered at last month's Army Delta Force raid in Syria revealed that some wives may be playing a more prominent role in terror operations than ever imagined, in part, because they know officials pay less attention to them.

CNN's Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, is joining us now from the Pentagon. Also joining us, our global affairs analyst, Kimberly Dozier.

Barbara, what's the latest, first of all, on this investigation? What are you learning?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it's an interesting proposition. I don't know that the U.S. intelligence community has a definitive conclusion yet, but when they captured Sayyaf last month in the raid, the wife of the killed ISIS operative, she had a lot of information, we're told. She was talking to interrogators. They have to check everything she says, of course, but the notion that an ISIS wife had this level of detail and information was perhaps a little bit surprising to the U.S. So they're rethinking it. Could some of these ISIS wives know more? Could they know about operations? Could they work as couriers? Do they know more than anybody thought they had at first glance? Let's also be clear, this may be a very small group of ISIS wives. There are women that ISIS has kidnapped, taken into captivity, buy and sell essentially as sex slaves as people that they torture, most women who are under ISIS clutches are in very grim circumstances.

[13:39:54] BLITZER: Let me ask Kimberly.

Has there really been, Kimberly, a blind spot as far as is women are concerned as far as the U.S. intelligence communities look into that?

KIMBERLY DOZER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Not so much a blind spot as a lack of resources. In places like Afghanistan raiders, special operations teams do bring some women along to interrogate the women of the Household. They don't that kind of capabilities in Iraq and much less in operations inside Syria right now. This might be something they have to look at in future. Do you at least want to bring a woman interrogator along to talk to these people at the site? You might not want to bring them away because of cultural sensitivities but it looks like because the women in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, are frequently very educated, they've taken a more prominent role inside ISIS operations.

BLITZER: So what you're saying is special operations teams go in with a delta force or navy seals you have women who speak the language go in with them, in effect combat troops, and start interrogating other Iraqi or Syrian or ISIS women who are there?

DOZIER: Well, they would be with combat troops and possibly with a male translator. But they would then be the interlocutor that makes it OK to -- for them to talk to the women in the room.

BLITZER: Because of the cultural issues, it might be easier to get information out of these ISIS women than a male?

DOZIER: Well, part of it is the cultural sensitivities. The other part of it is that what they found the past in places where they do bring women along, the women are more likely to open up, the children are less frightened and that means they can exploit more information. Most raids that I know of, a couple that I've been on a few years back, they just leave the women and children in another room and try to keep them quiet, get the men and leave. BLITZER: What do you know, Barbara, about this search for Abu Bakr al

Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS? Does the U.S. basically know where he is and if they do will they try to kill him?

STARR: Well, U.S. officials will tell you that they have every reason to believe he is alive, relatively well, in charge of ISIS. They have had intelligence tips, if you will, spotty bits of information over the months, about potential locations for him inside Syria. And, of course, several months ago, we saw him preaching in what was said to be Iraq. But in recent months they've had some tips. They haven't been able to get enough information together to launch any air strikes, to launch any commando raids because the information hasn't been timely enough. You know, they don't have sources on the ground inside Syria where they believe he is. So this is something that is very difficult for them do. But it is interesting to note we are told very strongly that they have had some tips, they're working on all of them. So it suggests that they do have a level of being able to monitor very high-level ISIS activities. They may not have people on the ground, but they have a lot of electronic means of doing it -- Wolf?

BLITZER: Barbara Starr, Kimberly Dozier, guys, thanks very much.

We'll take a quick break. When we come back, we'll shift gears to developments here in the United States. Dennis Hastert reappearing, after lying low for weeks. The former speaker of the House of Representatives heads to court today to face charges linked to an alleged hush-money scandal.

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[13:47:00} BLITZER: Here in the United States, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, will make his first court appearance today. Hastert has remained out of public view since he was accused in an alleged multimillion dollar hush-money scandal. But today he resurfaced. We have pictures of him arriving back home in Illinois after reportedly spending time at his Wisconsin vacation home. He faces charges of trying to conceal huge bank withdrawal then lying to the FBI about why he did it. Sources tell CNN Hastert was paying to hide allegations of sexual misconduct involving a former male student. Hastert was a high school teacher and wrestling coach in Illinois before he entered politics.

We've just received more video of Hastert arriving at the courthouse in Chicago today. Take a look at this. You see the car arriving at the courthouse. You'll see Dennis Hastert get out there. He is walking into the court. These proceedings will be taking place fairly soon. Obviously, a lot of media there, photographers jostling to ask him some questions and get through. Not a pleasant experience, clearly, for the former speaker of the House of Representatives as he makes his way slowly inside that building for this court appearance.

Joining us now is Paul Butler, a former federal prosecutor, a professor at the Georgetown University Law School here in Washington.

Paul, walk us through where this goes from here. PAUL BUTLER, LAW PROFESSOR, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL & FORMER

FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: So this is an arraignment in which Mr. Hastert will have the opportunity to make a plea. Almost certainly he will plead not guilty. Sometimes defendants plead guilty but not in a case like this and not with a pit bull lawyer like Tom Green.

BLITZER: His new lawyer, Tom Green, a man of a lot of experience in white collar criminal allegations, back in Watergate, Iran-Contra, Whitewater. So the lawyer that the former speaker has retained is clearly experienced. He knows what he's doing.

BUTLER: He's in a storied firm. It's where Barack Obama, as a young lawyer, met Michelle Obama. It's an interesting choice. Again, Tom Green has been around for a long time. He represented Senator Durenberger back when I prosecuted him in the 1990s.

BLITZER: You were a federal prosecutor at the time.

BUTLER: I was, with the Department of Justice. He's tenacious. He's a fight-the-case lawyer and that's a surprising choice in a case like this, which a lot of people expect a plea. Because if you fight this case, all this alleged dirty laundry about Speaker Hastert is going to come out.

BLITZER: So the best for Speaker Hastert, presumably, right now, would be to cop a plea, is that what you're saying?

BUTLER: To make some kind of deal. That is what will happen. It will be interesting to see. The department will offer something. The big issue will be whether they will insist that Speaker Hastert do some kind of prison time as a result of a plea bargain. Almost certainly, he's 73 years old, so he's going to fight that. But the problem with fighting it is, if you go to trial and take the stand, you have to tell about what this government, what the indictment calls this prior misconduct.

[13:50:00] BLITZER: Paul Butler, from Georgetown University Law School, thanks for coming in.

BUTLER: It's great to be here, Wolf.

BLITZER: We'll have more coverage throughout the day.

I want to return to the breaking news story we've been following at this hour. Authorities are actively searching farms and fields in upstate New York. Two convicted murders, Richard Matt and David Sweat, may have been seen, we're not told, in the town of Willsboro. That's about 12 miles from the prison in upstate New York.

On the line is the town supervisor for Willsboro, Shaun Gilliland.

Shaun, what do we know about this search under way in your town right now?

SHAUN GILLILAND, WILLSBORO CITY SUPERVISOR (voice-over): Well, I was just down talking to the county sheriff and the law enforcement people. They have a lot of officers on the ground searching a specific area and they also have an air graft in the air looking right now. They are fully investigating the area for two suspicious men that were in the area reported by a citizen. And the police -- the state police are not taking any tip less than very seriously.

BLITZER: Do you know, Shaun, where these two individuals who are wanted by authorities, where they were spotted in your town?

GILLILAND: In a town called Middle Road that runs north and south within the town and in an area that's all agricultural, large farms and fields and wooded lots. We had a very driving rainstorm all last night and they were walking down the road, you know, not dressed for the elements, I think. And then when the car approached, you know, the person that called them in, they took off the road and ran into the fields, from what I understand. So this behavior kind of indicated that they were suspicious. And that prompted, you know, this search which is still going on.

BLITZER: And the citizen who made the phone call to point out that these two individuals looked suspicious, did the person get a good look at their faces? Do you know?

GILLILAND: I do not know. I know that it was raining and dark. . But -- not confirmed, but I assume that the police are taking it very seriously.

BLITZER: What's the mood in your town of Willsboro? If there's fear that people are worried, I assume people are staying indoors and locked up. Is that what's going on?

GILLILAND: No, not particularly. I've gotten a number of calls from worried citizens but being advised by the sheriff that, you know, to maintain normal vigilance that, you know, for a situation like this. But everything outside of the area that the police have cordoned off and stuff like that, they don't consider it a threat. So we're going to have to try to tell everybody to remain calm. And, you know, remain calm and carry on is kind of what I'm trying to tell the citizens.

BLITZER: Clearly both killers, convicted killers, extremely dangerous, what's the advice to people who may be watching us right now that you have, if they suspect that they've spotted these two people, whether in your community or elsewhere because there have been suggestions that these two guys could have wound up not only in Mexico, what's your advice to people that could have spotted them?

GILLILAND: I would say call the police or the authorities. For anything that they think may be suspicious, if the federal and state authorities -- they told me that no tip will be considered anything but serious. So they are concerned and so, you know, it would be best to -- if you think it's suspicious, call it in.

BLITZER: Have you, Shaun, in your community of Willsboro up there, you're the town supervisor, ever gone through anything like this at all?

GILLILAND: No. No. This is the first time. It's a learning experience. There's a lot of law enforcement officers down there.

BLITZER: I'm sure there is.

GILLILAND: But it's -- they are being extremely professional and remaining calm and, you know, there's no sense of panic.

[13:49:45] BLITZER: Shaun Gilliland is the town supervisor of Willsboro, New York, about 30 miles or so from the maximum security prison, which turned out to not be so much maximum and secure.

Shaun, thank you for that. Hopefully, they'll find these two guys and find them soon.

Just ahead, other news that we're following, Jeb Bush is in Berlin and polishing his foreign policy credentials before kicking off his presidential campaign. What he is saying about the Russian President Vladimir Putin. Stand by.

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BLITZER: The soon-to-be official presidential candidate, Jeb Bush, is now in Germany, and that's the first stop on a three-nation European tour. He'll also visit Poland and Estonia. All of this coming less than a week before he's expected to formally kick off his presidential campaign on Monday. The speech just a little while ago, the former Florida governor took direct aim at Vladimir Putin violating incursions by Russians into Ukraine.

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JEB BUSH, (R), FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: Ukraine, a sovereign European nation, must be permitted to choose its own path. Russia must respect the sovereignty of all of its neighbors. And who can doubt that Russia will do what it pleases if aggression goes unanswered? Our alliance, our solidarity and our actions are essential if we want to preserve the fundamental principles of our international order, an order that free nationals have sacrificed so much to build.

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BLITZER: Several of these presidential hopefuls here in the United States, they make these European trips to expand their foreign policy credentials.

That's it for me. Thanks very much for watching. I'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern in "The Situation Room."

For our international viewers, "Amanpour" is next.

For our viewers in North America, "Newsroom" with Brooke Baldwin starts right now.