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Baton Rouge Leaders Want Justice Department to Investigate, Officers Charged; Trump V.P. List Shrinks; Shocking Allegations Against FOX News CEO Roger Ailes. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired July 6, 2016 - 14:30   ET

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


[14:30:00] NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: --the experience between them.

We should mention that the two officers involved, Howie Lake, Blane Salamoni, just seven hours combined, and Howie Lake was involved in a separate officer-involved shooting in December of 2014. It's unclear if he discharged his weapon. And we still don't know which officer fired the fatal shots in this encounter -- Pamela?

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Certainly still a lot to learn.

Nick Valencia, thank you.

Up next, we'll have a more in-depth discussion and talk more about why the feds are taking over, and why the Baton Rouge police were so quick to turn over this case. A former prosecutor and former police detective join me up next. Stay with us.

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[14:35:02] BROWN: Well, some leaders in the Baton Rouge community have not only demanded that the Justice Department open an investigation, they wanted both officers involved to be charged.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE MCCLANAHAN, PRESIDENT NAACP BATON ROUGE CHAPTER: I'm calling on anybody in the city with any backbone to go and arrest those two officers. If the system will work for anybody, it should work for them, too. Let a judge set their bond. Murder there shouldn't be a bond, period. Let those two officers be arrested and charged with capital murder. Let them hire lawyers. Let them try to weasel themselves out. Thank god for YouTube. Thank god for iPhones. Because without the iPhones, they might.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And there are also demands for the police chief and the major to resign. Louisiana's governor says he plans to meet with the community and church leaders. He urged protesters to remain calm. And he did admit the graphic video was unsettling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN BEL EDWARDS, (D), LOUISIANA GOVERNOR: I have full confidence this matter will be investigated thoroughly, impartially and professionally. I will demand that that's the way it's conducted. I know the people of Louisiana will join me in doing so.

And I will say based on the information that I have obtained from law enforcement, but certainly the footage that I observed of the video that was made available, I have very serious concerns. The video is disturbing, to say the least.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Joining me now to discuss, civil rights attorney and former New York prosecutor, Charles Coleman Jr; and Steve Rogers, a retired police detective lieutenant in New Jersey.

Thank you both for coming on.

Charles, why do you think they were so quick to turn over this investigation?

CHARLES COLEMAN JR, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY & FORMER NEW YORK PROSECUTOR: I've had an opportunity to talk to a lot of folks. One of the things I've heard from repeatedly is there's a sincere lack of confidence with respect to police relationships with the community, particularly with the black community. So I think the governor as well as elected knew and understood to keep this investigation internal, when there's so much hurt and so much pain, so much difficulty and distrust between the community and law enforcement would not be a good thing. From what I'm heard, all the protests have been peaceful, but poignant, and they have been directed. If the governor wanted to keep that same tone, a peaceful protests, people not necessarily destroying property, or speaking out in respect to their anger and hate, what he needed to do was turn it over to an independent authority, and hopefully it's something that will be a remnant of justice for them.

BROWN: Steve, your response?

STEVE ROGERS, RETIRED NEW JERSEY POLICE DETECTIVE LIEUTENANT: Based on what we saw, obviously, it's very troubling. The key to this investigation is what we didn't see. What we didn't see was the right hand of the victim. These officers have to clearly articulate and prove their life was in imminent danger in order to take that deadly force. That's what we don't know. And as your guest just said, very, very justifiably and right, it will take an independent investigator who is unbiased, and there will never be allegations of bias when the FBI takes over, to get down to the bottom of it. But the use of deadly force is the last resort police officers take.

We heard that one officer yelled "gun." If there was in fact a gun there, and that gun was touched by the victim, you may have a different scenario going on.

BROWN: And on that note --

COLEMAN: Pamela?

BROWN: Go ahead, Charles.

COLEMAN: Steve and I have been on before and we've had conversations about these issues. I think the point he brings up is very important, particularly in light of Louisiana. Louisiana is an open-carry state. It is not illegal for someone who otherwise legally would be in possession of a firearm to have a gun on them without a permit. That is totally within the bounds of the law --

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: Except if you're on probation, right?

COLEMAN: Except if you're on probation. But here's the thing. The officers didn't know that. When they approached Mr. Sterling, they did not know that. We have no way of knowing that they know that. They were responding to an anonymous phone call. We haven't heard from the 911 call yet to know that it was specifically the person she was talking about. Yes, allegedly, the 911 call says he was outside of a store and he had pointed this weapon and threatened someone. In terms of what you just described, they had no way of knowing that this was the individual or that the individual was on probation. So I think that also makes it a little dicey, when you talk about, you know, whether he should or should not have had a firearm.

And at the end of the day, again, like Steve said, they have to be imminent threat of danger to them or someone else that they were responding to. Based on what we have seen, thus far, they can't do that, which is what makes this so problematic.

[14:39:57] BROWN: Steve, how critical doing think that 911 calls is in this investigation whether an anonymous callers that apparently a man was threatening this person with a gun. How important is that in determining the officers' mind-set during the confrontation?

ROGERS: Very important, because when you get a call of a person with a gun, the first thing you are thinking about is protecting yourself and someone else from becoming the victim of a shooting. But these police officers, when they arrived, it was hard to determine -- I didn't see their guns drawn, which amazed me. If he did and put his hands down, you see the officer tackling to the ground. It appeared that they had restrained him. But it's the right hand, the right arm we cannot see. If in fact, as my good friend just said, that individual grabbed the gun and in some way pointed it at the officers, then you have a whole different scenario. We don't know that. That's why it's important to have a full investigation and, may I add, that the police department be very, very transparent.

BROWN: And we know that the Justice Department is now investigating, so that is happening.

Charles Coleman Jr, Steve Rogers, thank you very much. Do appreciate it.

ROGERS: You're welcome. Up next, we'll turn to politics. Donald Trump and Newt Gingrich leaving Trump Tower moments ago. This is as Senator Bob Corker says he's bowing out as a vice presidential candidate.

And just into CNN, the Trump campaign revealing news fundraising numbers after the month of June after being criticized for a record slow start. Did they turn it around? We'll discuss, up next.

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[14:45:58] BROWN: Someone at the top of Donald Trump's V.P. list, rules himself out completely. Senator Bob Corker just telling CNN he's withdrawing himself from V.P. consideration, saying he's more of a policy guy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BOB CORKER, (R), TENNESSEE: You know, I think at age 63, I know what I'm good at, and I feel like I'm better suited for other kinds of things. And I think there are probably better suited people for this particular job for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Just like that, the viable veep list shrinks a bit more, though Trump insists, quote, "The only people who are not interested in being the V.P. pick are the people who have not been asked."

Joining me now, S.E. Cupp, CNN political commentator:

S.E., I want to talk about the op-ed you wrote in "The New York Daily News" in just a minute, who you think should be on the ticket. But first, what's your reaction to this news?

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think the way that Senator Corker explained his decision was a very place and kind and supportive to Donald Trump way of saying I'm not interested in this job. You know, he knew that being vetted for vice president was going to require him, you know, to talk about politics and not just policy. So I don't think this was a revelation that he just came to through the process. I think the revelation he came to during the process was that he's not the right V.P. candidate for Donald Trump. Why I don't know. Is that because of the some of the things that the Trump has said? It is because he's seen behind the curtain of the Trump campaign and the organization and doesn't have a sense that, you know, that they know what they're doing? I don't really know, and I don't expect Corker to tell tales out of school, but I think this is going to be a problem for Trump. There are very few people who want this job.

BROWN: And that's pretty unusual, for people not to want the job of vice president. What do you make of the timing of this? As we see here on this video, Corker was just on the trail with Trump. He was with his family. Why now?

CUPP: I think he didn't want to waste everyone's time. Maybe Trump has moved on to someone else. Maybe Bob Corker realized quickly this wasn't for him, and he doesn't want to, you know, engage in all of the speculation that will come for days, weeks. Knows it's not right for him, he wants the campaign to move on to someone who might be right for it.

BROWN: I know this is sort of speculation, but Trump did praise Saddam Hussein. Is there any chance that could spook him and cause him to say, you know what? I don't want to get into this.

CUPP: God, I don't know. If the Judge Curiel stuff didn't do it, if the anti-Semitic tweet didn't do it, there's a long line of things that apparently Bob Corker got comfortable with over the course of the campaign. I can't imagine that outburst was the nail in the coffin. I think for personal reasons he got close enough to the campaign close enough to see he didn't want the job.

BROWN: This op-ed that you wrote, you say that the safe bets like Corkers like Mike Pence and Jeff Sessions aren't right. You say Chris Christie is like having two Trumps, as is Arizona's Jan Brewer, at least when it comes to their toughness on immigration. So who do you think should be on Trump's ticket?

[14:49:25] CUPP: Well, I -- the problem is, like I said, there are few people who want to do it. The credible people who are publicly campaigning for it I'm not sure really enough value for it to be worth it for them. So you have to find someone who's going to add credibility, someone who is still on brand with Donald Trump, right? Isn't going to be this very unconvincing complement, this unconvincing co-parent to this ticket, and also someone who can endure a national spotlight, and add some valuable to a ticket, which will need to, you know, peal off small amounts, if not big amounts of voters. So in my eyes, I think a perfect pick for him would be Congressman Marsha Blackburn, of Tennessee. She is skilled politically. She's been a congressman for 10 years, over 10 years. She's also a business owner herself, so she's got a business mind like his. I think she softens his ticket, but she's still a very tough person. I know her personally and have worked with her. She's tough. She's not easily rattled. She shuns to the spotlight. She does a lot of public appearances and television, she's very savvy. I think she would turn his political outbursts, and spin those into some policy ideas. That's what he needs. If there are women out there or minorities out there who need some convincing to get on the Trump train, she might be able to peel off a fractional, but significant number of those voters.

I usually say that the candidate's veep selection is really not that important. People vote for the top of the ticket, not the bottom, but when you have a year in which two of the least liked people are running for president, I think their veep selections could be consequential.

BROWN: S.E. Cupp, thank you so much. We'll leave it there. We do appreciate it.

CUPP: Sure.

BROWN: Up next, shocking accusations aimed at the CEO of FOX News. What a longtime host says that Roger Ailes did to her. We'll be right back.

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BROWN: A well-known TV personality is suing FOX News CEO Roger Ailes for sexual harassment. Gretchen Carlson filed the lawsuit alleging that Ailes repeatedly made unwanted advances towards her, and when she rebuffed him, he retaliated by sabotages her career at the network. FOX did not renew Carlson's contract last month. So far, we haven't heard a response for Ailes' spokeswoman.

I want to bring in Brian Stelter, host of "Reliable Sources" and CNN legal analyst, Danny Cevallos.

Brian, you have read the lawsuit. Describe the specific claims.

[14:55:03] BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT & CNN HOST, RELIABLE SOURCES: Speaking with Carlson's attorneys today, they say this was a gathering storm, something that build up over time between Gretchen Carlson. Ailes is one of the most powerful men in all of media. He rules with an iron fist. The staffers all talk about him in glowing terms. They're very loyal to him, which makes this lawsuit such a shock.

She says over a period of time Ailes would make sexual comments, sometimes sexist, but sometimes literally sexual advances. That's the way it's described in the lawsuit. At one point, last September, she went to him trying to stop this behavior, and at that point he made a comment about how he wished they had had sex years ago, that it would have made their relationship better if they had had sex a long time ago. Apparently, her contract was up on June 23rd. That's when she was terminated. Her contract was not renewed. She's been MIA on FOX. Usually, her program usually this hour on FOX News, they've had fill- in hosts. So she decided to go public this morning on this lawsuit.

BROWN: Danny, what do you make of this, that this was a gathering storm, going on for quite some time, but she's now filing this lawsuit after her contract wasn't renewed. What do you make of that?

DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: The timing may be part of their strategy and so, too, maybe not only the choice of the court, but the choice of the law. Any plaintiff filing a lawsuit like this, either hostile environment or retaliation has a number of different laws and courts too choose from. You have federal law. This case was filed in New Jersey state court, alleging a violation of New York City law. That may create some jurisdictional problems down the road, where a New Jersey court has to interpret and somehow decide and adjudication New York City administrative code. Now, again, each of these discrimination laws have different pluses and minuses for a plaintiff. Some are more favorable to defendants, some more favorable to plaintiffs, then you have to consider the relative junior pool. Is the Bergen County jury pool going to be as good as a New York City jury pool? These are all strategic decisions. I'm sure a lot of thought went into filing this complaint. It will be interesting down the road to see if the strategy decisions pay off.

BROWN: Just quickly, Brian, you mentioned employees loyal to Roger Ailes, have any allegations like this happened before, and any indication that any employees will testify?

STELTER: Ailes has been a television executive for decades. There have been in the past a number of complaints, some were alleged in the book, "The Loudest Voice in the Room." In fact, Carlson's attorneys mentioned that book today when I interviewed them. The short answer is, yes, there have been allegations in the past, but not been a lawsuit past. Time will tell if other women at FOX News come forward and tell similar stories, or if no one else will back up her claims.

(CROSSTALK)

STELTER: FOX is an ultra-competitive business, but it's also very tight nit. So we'll see if anyone agrees with her.

BROWN: Thank you so much, Brian Stelter and Danny Cevallos. Appreciate it.

Straight ahead on this Wednesday, a fatal encounter with police in Louisiana has many asking how could this happen again? The emotional plea from his family, and why the Justice Department is stepping in. Stay right there.

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