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EARLY START

"A Major Lead" on Missing Airliner; Trump Calls for "Expedited" Deportations; Ohio Officer Indicted in Fatal Shooting. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired July 30, 2015 - 05:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:00:15] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning: that piece of debris -- is it from missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370? Investigators pouring over it right now. The same type, same color as the vanished jetliner.

We have team coverage breaking down the information, including a reporter on Reunion Island -- all starting right now.

Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman. It's Thursday, July 30th. It is 5:00 a.m. in the East.

And we do want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. And the breaking news this morning, a major development in the hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. Sources close to investigation tells CNN that a piece of debris on the shore of the remote island in the western Indian Ocean appears to be from a Boeing 777, a Boeing 777 is the model as disappeared in March of 2014, more than 500 days ago.

That piece of debris apparently a flaperon, a flap from the wing. It was found on Reunion Island. That's about 2,300 miles from the area where the plane is believed to have gone down.

CNN's Robyn Kriel is on Reunion Island. Not easy to get to.

Robyn, we are lucky to have you there. What's the very latest?

ROBYN KRIEL, CNN AFRICA CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, the island is really abuzz with news of this possible discovery. It has been a mystery really that the world has been waiting to solve as you said, for more than 500 days, families -- an agonizing wait of the missing people which the airline basically said were missing, presumed dead.

And if this does indeed turn out to be a flaperon or a piece of the missing Boeing 777 from MH370, several questions. How did it end up so far off course and how did it crash? And all of this, if it does end up, turning out to be that this is a piece of that missing plane, then those will be answered in the coming days for families in that agonizing wait, as I've already said. John, the Australian deputy prime minister addressing the media,

saying that they were being cautiously -- they were treating very cautiously at this stage and they could not confirm it was indeed, but it is a major lead.

Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WARREN TRUSS, AUSTRALIAN DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER: This is obviously a very significant development. It's the first real evidence that there's a possibility that a part of the aircraft may have been found. It's too early to make that judgment. But, clearly, we are treating this as a major lead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KRIEL: On this island, the search and really recovery has begun. This piece was found by just onlookers who alerted police. They then dragged that piece up on the beach.

Reunion is a French island. It's a French air force base. So, it's going to be interesting to see how they deal with Malaysian authorities coming in, and, of course, Australian transportation authorities coming in. Australia has been charged with the search mission up until now, really leading the search mission.

And they had said this is not unlikely this would have been a place where this piece could have ended up when you look at the different gyres and currents of the ocean and the different studies that they have been doing -- John.

BERMAN: So, right now, who is in possession of the piece of debris? Do we expect any information in the coming hours?

I see it is 1:00 p.m. where you are right now. Still several hours of daylight left. Might officials be briefed anytime soon?

KRIEL: We are expecting various people to be arriving, John, including investigation teams from Australia as I said, as well as Malaysia. This is quite a remote island. There are no direct flights from here. We had to fly via Madagascar. It took us quite a while.

So, it will be some time before the investigators come. We are also waiting to hear if there will be any media briefings. As of now, everyone has been quite quiet, including Boeing. Even though this piece does have a number etched on it with letters. They have not come forward to say whether that is a piece of their part, saying they will leave it up to officials.

So, in an international incident such as a crash, the jurisdictions become fairly interesting. So, it will somehow jostled with the French, the Malaysians and the Australians. We are just waiting to see how it will be handled. Everyone is treading carefully in what they say and not commenting at this stage. BERMAN: All right. Robyn Kriel for us on Reunion Island which --

remember, folks, is 2,300 miles from where officials have been searching for this missing Malaysian jet for nearly 500 days.

[05:05:00] They've been searching off the coast of Australia. This piece of debris found on Reunion Island, on the shore, some 2,300 miles away, and investigators pouring over it right now.

Robyn says officials from Malaysia and Australian expected on the scene shortly to take a look at the piece, anxiously awaiting word if this is from MH370. The families of the passenger and crew who have been waiting in the state of limbo since the plane disappeared.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH BAJC, PARTNER, PHILIP WOOD WAS ON MH370: If ultimately this is a piece of the wing, then that little thread of hope I have been holding on to will have to break. And reality will have to take over. But, yes, up until now, I and most of the family members have continued to believe that until we have a body, we can't give up hoping that they will come back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Yes, there is no such thing as closure for these families. Most of the passengers on MH370, they were Chinese citizens. The crew was from Malaysia.

CNN's Andrew Stevens has been in contact with the families over the last 500 days. He joins us now from Malaysia.

Good morning, Andrew. I get the sense that this morning, despite this news, these families are very weary and very cautious.

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Very cautious, very nervous and very anxious. Their words said to me today, John, as I speak to family members.

They are not going to accept anything until it is absolutely proven beyond doubt this part of the wing is, in fact, from MH370. We heard the deputy transport minister here telling reporters just a couple hours ago he was, quote, "almost certain" that this part of the wing was from a Boeing 777, although he did not make that link directly to MH370. The families I have been speaking to and the person you heard from there, Sarah Bajc, she actually does now live in Kuala Lumpur.

They just don't want to accept anything until it is in sort of incontrovertible proof, because you remember in the days and weeks following the disappearance of 370, there were so many false rumors, false leads, false reports in newspapers that the wreckage had been found, all of that amounted to nothing. I spoke to one girl whose mother was on the flight. She said this is another link in this chain of the evidence that leads to nowhere.

So, I can't accept this until I have absolute proof. They are hanging by a thread as Sarah Bajc says. The hope is still there with all of the families as I guess it would have to be.

So, to actually see this proof has to be so difficult for them. It's not just Malaysia, of course China. China actually had more nationals on the flight than anyone else, John, 153 Chinese nationals on the flight. The families there have been speaking to the media.

In fact, they put out a release, a collective statement to the media. I just want to read it to you. It does encompass what the families of the 239 souls on that flight think of the moment. This is what they said, "We will follow the developments and hope to receive the official confirmation as soon as possible. We do not want to hear of guarantees of 99 percent likelihood from authorities. We need confirmation of 100 percent certainty."

Until that is a 100 percent certainty, these families will hold on to the thread of hope even though it's overwhelming the evidence which points towards this plane crashing somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean, John.

BERMAN: And right now, these families largely getting their information from the media, not official channels, sadly consistent with this operation from the very beginning.

Andrew Stevens for us in Malaysia, thank you so much, Andrew.

I want to talk about the piece of debris and whether, in fact, it is connected to MH370. How long it may take to confirm that. Joining us is Justin Green. An aviation attorney, former military pilot and now president of the International Air and Transportation Safety Bar Association.

Justin, thanks so much for coming in this morning.

I think it is almost obvious to suggest this. If they do confirm quickly that this is from a Boeing 777, no other Boeing 777 has gone down in the Indian Ocean. It would almost have to be from MH370.

JUSTIN GREEN, AVIATION ATTORNEY: It would definitely be MH370 if it is part of a 777 that has been in the water for the period of time that we know that MH370 has been missing.

BERMAN: And once you get technically adept people, once you get people who know large aircraft, 777s on the ground there, taking a great look at it, it shouldn't take long to get that confirmation, should it?

GREEN: No, it's not going to take long. In fact, I think people may already know whether in fact it's part of the 777. The question is, there is an investigative process they have to go through. And it's an appropriate process.

Boeing is going to be the expert on whether this is in fact a Boeing part.

[05:10:00] They're going to be helping the investigators identify it as a 777 part. Then the question is how they're going to officially release the information. I hope they officially release the information first to the families, because they've been waiting.

BERMAN: That would be nice, but these families have not been given information in a timely fashion from the very beginning.

GREEN: That's right.

BERMAN: A maintenance number, the latest news we're getting is that there appears to be some kind of maintenance number on this piece of debris, though, a serial number exactly. With that maintenance number should be enough to connect, correct?

GREEN: Oh, yes, absolutely. Every part -- one of the things you have to understand is that Boeing 777 part -- obviously, there are parts of the airplane it has in common with other aircraft. But a flaperon is going to be from a 777. They number the parts for serial numbers and maintenance numbers, other things. And those numbers will tell, will help tell the story.

But even without the numbers, if it's the right size, if's been in the water the right time, they're going to be able to confirm it.

BERMAN: It is fairly big piece of debris, at least seven feet. I've heard a big as nine feet. Let's talk about what it can and can't tell us. Let's start with the positive first.

This piece of debris, which will be pour over, it's a road map. It will reveal clues if it is from MH370.

GREEN: Well, the first major clue is that it will confirm the investigators are right. That the airplane, in fact, crashed and it crashed in the Indian Ocean. And that will rule out a number of theories. Some, you know, significant --

BERMAN: Landing somewhere in Asia.

GREEN: Yes, exactly. The second issue is it could rule out possibilities of what caused it.

BERMAN: Like an explosion.

GREEN: Like an explosion.

I think that -- I think it's evidence. And it's a piece of the puzzle, but it's not going to, in my opinion, tell the whole story.

BERMAN: Because the limitations are what? Because this ocean is huge? It's been in it for 500 days, and there could be many pieces of debris scattered across thousands and thousands of miles.

GREEN: Right. Ultimately, we're going to have to find the main part of the wreckage. Ultimately, we most likely will have to find the black boxes to find out what happened.

BERMAN: And those are likely where? Still probably in the area some 2,300 miles away at the bottom of the sea? GREEN: Most likely. And you have to remember in Air France 447, it

took a couple years to pull up the black boxes, and in that case, we pretty much knew where the plane was from the get-go.

BERMAN: Does this make the search under water any easier?

GREEN: I don't think so. I think the only question is, is whether they're going to reexamine the search area based on where this part was found.

BERMAN: Justin Green, thank you so much. Fascinating this morning as we continue to look at this piece of debris, which I think for the next several hours, if not days, will be the most inspected piece of metal on earth. We continue to follow the breaking news this morning on missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, at least the possible news connected to that.

But first, Donald Trump talks to CNN, calling for a mass deportation. We'll tell you how he plans to get it done. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:15:58] BERMAN: All right. New this morning, Donald Trump revealing how a President Trump would reform immigration. The Republican frontrunner says he would deport all 11 million undocumented immigrants in this country and then let the good ones back in.

Our chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash has an exclusive interview with Trump -- Dana.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, Donald Trump is, of course, leading in the polls for lots of reasons. But probably, the thing that propelled him early on was his stance against illegal immigration, the fact that he talked on the issue at a time what dozen plus other Republican candidates really been wanted to talk about it as much as they have in past election year.

So, the question has been for Donald Trump what exactly are his plans beyond building a wall with Mexico and so forth. So, I started by asking on that issue the question about the 11 million or maybe more undocumented immigrants in this country. What he would do it about it. Listen to part of that.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want to get the bad ones out. Not only the ones in the prisons, and -- by the way, and they're never coming back. Not only the ones in the prisons, but the ones that are going around like in San Francisco and shooting Kate and shooting Jamiel, and shooting people that should not -- you know, that should be with us.

OK. Then we have a law, right? You are supposed to come in legally. I would put people out and I would have an expedited way of getting them back into the country so they can be legal. BASH: OK, hold on. Let me just -- hold on that point right there.

When you say get people out, are you talking about a mass deportation?

TRUMP: We don't know who these people are.

BASH: But how do you find them?

TRUMP: We have to find them.

BASH: How do you do that? You are a business guy.

TRUMP: Excuse me. We've got to find them.

BASH: But how?

TRUMP: Politicians aren't going to find them because they have no clue. We will find them. We will get them out.

BASH: When you say get them out, just the process of that. There are a lot of smart people who have been focused on this for a long time and say it's just not feasible.

TRUMP: It's feasible if you know how to manage. Politicians don't know how to manage.

BASH: So, you see, John, not an entirely fully formed position on immigration specifically on what to do with the undocumented people in this country so far. And, you know, when it comes to the whole idea of DREAMers, the young people who came through this country through no fault of their own, it was interesting to hear Donald Trump say out loud, almost think out loud about what his position could be.

Also it will be interesting to see how that plays out when he is standing next to nine other candidates, competitors for the Republican nomination during the debate next week -- John.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Really interesting. Almost policy on the fly. Thanks to Dana for that.

Fired University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing will be in court this morning for an arraignment. This follows his indictment for murder in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black motorist Samuel Dubose during a traffic stop over a missing front license plate. An Ohio prosecutor said this is the most asinine action he has seen a police officer has taken.

The comments come after he viewed body camera footage that appears to show Dubose not acting aggressively toward Tensing as the officer had claimed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OFFICER RAY TENSING, UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI POLICE: Take your seatbelt off. Stop. Stop! (GUNFIRE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he was making an excuse for a purposeful killing of another person. That's what I think. I'm not saying he's smart. I just saying what I think he did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: That camera footage is tough to see. After the indictment, Officer Tensing was fired. He turned himself in. His lawyer says he is devastated. The Dubose family unmoved by that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is devastated that he is being accused. He's devastated. It just kicked me in the stomach to hear that because we're devastated. Yesterday, I left my brother at the cemetery.

[05:20:00] My mother buried her son and he's devastated? I just think he really needs to rethink that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: If convicted, Tensing could get life in prison.

All right. Our breaking news this morning: a piece of debris on an island in the Indian Ocean. You are looking at pictures of it right now. Is it connected to MH370? We are live on Reunion Island with new developments in the investigation.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right. Breaking news: a major development in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. A piece of debris recovered on an island in the Western Indian Ocean, thousands of miles from search zone. It does appear from a Boeing 777.

CNN's Tom Foreman has more now on how officials can figure out if it is in fact from the missing Malaysian jet.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This piece of debris is about seven feet long, maybe three or four feet wide. And we're now told it is consistent with what you would find on a 777 made by Boeing.

So, let's bring up a model of the missing plane and talk about where you would find it on the plane. Our aviation analysts say it would likely be on the back side of the left wing right in here, a controlling flaperon as they call it. So, it meets the first part of the test for a match. It is the right type of piece to find.

It is also the right color and it's in the right condition. It has barnacles all over it. That's consistent with something that's been on the water for 500 days roughly.

Now, you have to check out the identifiers, the serial numbers on this piece.

[05:25:03] Almost every part of a big aircraft like this has serial numbers on it, like this seat cushion from a different plane. If they find the serial number on this other part, this thing they've just found and it matches the Malaysia Air flight, then that's the deal. They will know they absolutely have evidence of what happened to that plane.

It doesn't answer the question how did it wind up where it is. Remember, all of the search areas for this plane were over near the coast of Australia over here. How did this get all the way over there some 2,300 miles or more away. That's where they have to look at the currents and see if, in fact, ocean currents here were strong enough to push it over there to Reunion Island and give us maybe the first physical piece of what happened to the missing plane.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Thanks to Tom Foreman for that. We will follow the breaking news all morning on missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

The piece of debris found on Reunion Island. We have a reporter there with the latest developments.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right. Breaking news at this hour. A piece of debris washes up on an island, the same type and same color as Malaysia Airline 370. Is this the breakthrough that so many people have been waiting for?

We have live coverage breaking down all of the information, a reporter on Reunion Island with the very latest, starting now.

Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm John Berman, 30 minutes past the hour.

And we do want to welcome our viewers in the United States and all around the world.

And the breaking news right now, a possible turning point. A major development in the hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.