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CNN NEWSROOM

White House Says ISIS Defeat Unlikely Soon; Justice Launching Probe into Ferguson Police; Press Briefing by Eric Holder; Breaking: Joan Rivers Dead at 81.

Aired September 4, 2014 - 14:30   ET

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


BUCK SEXTON, NATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR, THEBLAZE.COM: We see what happens. He is forced to take action because he refused to take action or have a policy in the past.

(CROSSTALK)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: You bring up 9/11, and I think this is Apples and oranges. Because that was 9/11, right? This is different. It's totally different new kind of threat, which is ISIS. But it took president Bush three months to get inside Afghanistan and you have the moment of him standing amidst the rubble and everyone -- the chore us saying let's go, go, go. But that took him three months. We're in the middle of it now when we look back in the history books, do we think this is a significant amount of time for President Obama to be stopping and measured and figure out what to do?

SEXTON: The Islamic State is a successor organization to the al Qaeda in Iraq. This was known months ago. They should have taken much more action. It's like they just discovered who they are.

(CROSSTALK)

SEXTON: It's like they just figured out there will be problems in Baghdad. He has been trying to avoid dealing with this issue, because President Obama flatly, again, for political reasons and also because his world views that America messes things up more than it makes things more stable, he's hoping this goes away. It can't. Now he's doing the bare minimum to make it look like he is --

(CROSSTALK)

PETER BEINART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Actually --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Got to go.

BEINART: His world view, if you look at Iraq and Afghanistan, has been entirely validated. And when people keep saying take action.

SEXTON: No.

BEINART: The burden on them is in fact, for them to actually explain how that action would be more successful amid our disastrous last two actions.

(CROSSTALK)

SEXTON: If you look at one conflict zone that President Obama inherited from his predecessor, and look at it now, look at all the major ones, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, they are all worse.

(CROSSTALK)

BEINART: Who started the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?

(CROSSTALK)

SEXTON: Much at some point, Obama has to own the fact he has been president for six years.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Peter and Buck, thank you very much. Come back. We're going to be doing this again. I have a feeling.

Moments from now, Attorney General Eric Holder announcing the feds are looking into the Ferguson Police Department and the behaviors of its officers. Hear what Eric Holder is looking for, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Mere moments from now, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is expected to announce a massive federal probe into the Ferguson, Missouri, police department. This will be a broad scope into the policing patterns and practices of the entire department. What's more, here, this new probe is in addition to the criminal probe into Officer Darren Wilson, who had shot and killed Brown, and that is already underway. Wilson is the officer, as I mentioned, who killed Brown. He has not been charged.

Here with me now, CNN senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin.

I mentioned it just briefly. But, you know, you're the legal guy. Explain to me exactly what we're looking for in this civil investigation. What is that?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Basically, the possibility exists in an investigation like that, that the federal government essentially takes over a local police department now, because you have proved yourself incompetent. You have proved discriminatory, incompetent, dangerous. And we are now going to take charge. That's the potential thing that could happen. It happened most famously in New Orleans not too long ago when that police department had all sorts of problems, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Cincinnati. It's happened in varying degrees in these cities as a result of these kinds of investigations.

BALDWIN: It's interesting. When you look at all the time that Eric Holder has had his job, as A.G., the number of police department reviews, Department of Justice has initiated for possible Constitution violations is twice than any of his predecessors. Why do you think that is?

TOOBIN: I think a Democratic president with a Democratic constituency and Democratic attorney general want to be more aggressive in policing civil rights violations. That has been a -- something that Eric Holder, who I have interviewed several times talks about a lot. He wants to be a civil rights attorney general, relations between minority communities and largely white police forces have been fraught, as we have been discussing for many weeks now. And he has said this is one of the areas he wants to take a special interest in, thus, more investigations.

BALDWIN: Stay with me. We're watching and waiting for Eric Holder.

Jeff Toobin.

Quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: This investigation will take time. The American people can have confidence that it will be fair, it will be thorough and it will be independent.

Over the course of that visit, I had the chance to speak with a number of local residents. I heard from them directly about the deep mistrust that has taken hold between law enforcement officials and members of that community. In meetings as well as in listening sessions, as well as in formal conversations, people consistently expressed concerns stemming from specific alleged incidents from general policing practices and from the lack of diversity on the Ferguson police force. These anecdotal accounts underscore the history of mistrust of law enforcement in Ferguson that has received a good deal of attention. As a result of this history and following an extensive review of documented allegations and other available data, we have determined that there is a cause for the Justice Department to open an investigation to determine whether Ferguson police officials have engaged in a pattern or practice of violations of the United States Constitution or federal law.

This investigation will be carried out by a team from the Civil Rights Division, Special Litigation Section. Some of the same dedicated professionals who have achieved really historic results in ensuring constitutional policing from coast to coast. Over the past five years, the Civil Rights Division has prosecuted over 300 individual officers for misconduct. We have opened 20 pattern or practice investigations into police departments across the country. That's more than twice as many as were opened in the previous five years. And we're enforcing 14 agreements to reform law enforcement practices at agencies, both large and small. With these agreements, we have seen dramatic decreases in excessive uses of force, equity in the delivery of police services, including important measures to address bias. And most significantly, increase confidence by communities in their law enforcement agencies.

Now, as the brother of retired police officer, I know that the overwhelming majority of our brave men and women in uniform do their jobs honorably. They do them with integrity and often at great perm r personal risk. This is meant to ensure that law enforcement officers in every part of the United States live up to those same high standards of professionalism.

In Ferguson, our investigation will assess the police department's use of force, including deadly force. It will analyze stops, searches, and arrests. And it will examine the treatment of individuals detained at Ferguson's city jail, in addition to other potentially discriminatory policing techniques and tactics that have been brought to light. We have met with the mayor, the city manager, and the police chief in Ferguson. They have welcomed this investigation, and they have pledged their complete cooperation. This investigation will be conducted both rigorously and in a timely manner so we can move forward as expeditiously as possible to restore trust, to rebuild understanding and to foster cooperation between law enforcement and community members.

At the same time, I want to make very clear that as this investigation unfolds, and as it evolves, we will follow the facts and law wherever they may lead. And if at any point we find reason to expand our inquiry to include additional police forces in neighboring jurisdictions, we will not hesitate to do so.

In fact, I can also announce today that above and beyond our investigation in Ferguson, we are taking proactive steps to engage the St. Louis County Police Department in what is known as a collaborative reform effort. This partnership is being led by the COPS office working with officials to conduct a comprehensive assessment. The St. Louis County police chief has voluntarily accepted the collaborative reform process, and has also asked the COPS office conduct an after- action report on their response to recent demonstrations. And already with cooperation of St. Louis County leaders, we have identified priority areas for intensive review and technical assistance, including racial profiling, stops, searches and frisking, the handling of mass demonstrations by police officials and law enforcement training, both at the police academy and at the continuing professional level. Of course, the St. Louis County administers training programs for officers throughout the area, including members of the Ferguson Police Department. It makes sense to include the county police department as part of our comprehensive approach to confronting the challenges that we have seen in that region.

Now, I want to be clear. This is not a stopgap or a short-term solution. It's a long-term strategy founded on community policing that will provide a really detailed road map to build trust, to bolster public safety, to ensure accountability, and to change the way that law enforcement leaders make decisions, implement policies and forge community partnerships. And our track record proves that such efforts to reform policing practices can be tremendously successful. For example, in 2012, the COPS office and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department completed an eight-month review similar to the collaboration we are launching today with the St. Louis County Police Department. The Las Vegas review resulted in 75 findings and concrete recommendations regarding officer-involved shootings and other use of force issues. To date, fully 95 percent of these recommendations have been adopted. And police agencies, two in two other jurisdictions, are going through similar processes as we speak.

When I visited Ferguson two weeks ago, I promised that the United States Department of Justice would continue to stand with the people there, long after the national headlines had faded, staying with our investigation into the Ferguson Police Department and our reform efforts in St. Louis County. We're taking significant steps towards keeping that promise. As these efforts unfold, my colleagues and I will keep working with the people in Ferguson to ensure that a fair, thorough investigation occurs, to see that dialogue can be translated into concrete action, and to facilitate lasting, positive change that brings together public officials, civil rights leaders and members of the public to bridge gaps and also to build understanding. This won't always be easy, but I know together we can and we will meet this challenge.

Before we move to questions, there have been court decisions announced today in two separate but very important cases one which I would like to briefly comment.

First, we are pleased that the district court in New Orleans has found that the largest oil spill in the United States history was caused by B.P.'s gross negligence and willful misconduct. The court's findings will ensure that the company is held fully accountable for its recklessness. This case, which was vigorously pursued by the United States, is, I think a stellar legal team, marks a significant step forward in the Justice Department's continuing efforts to seek justice on behalf of the American people for this disaster. And we are confident that this decision will serve as a strong deterrent to anyone who is tempted to sacrifice safety and the environment in the pursuit of profit.

Second, in Ohio, a district court has held that the plaintiffs challenging the state of Ohio's changes to its in-person early voting rules likely will be able to prove those changes are, in fact, unconstitutional. Justice Department has filed a statement of interest in this case. And today's outcome represents a milestone in our effort to continue to protect voting rights, even after the Supreme Court's deeply misguided decision in Shelby County. I am pleased to note that today's decision and the judge's analysis rests on some of the same legal reasoning that underlies the department's pending challenges to voting measures in Texas, as well as in North Carolina, under Section II of the Voting Rights Act. And as we move forward, my colleagues and I will continue to do everything in our power to aggressively defend --

BALDWIN: Just as we mentioned a movement ago, this is official. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder saying, yes, we will be launching a civil investigation into the shooting of an unarmed African-American teenager, Michael Brown in Missouri. Remember, he went, as attorney general, to Ferguson a couple weeks ago and promised, he said basically, as mentioned, long after the cameras are gone, he has a commitment to Ferguson, because there have been a lot of questions over the relationship between the Ferguson Police Department, the community, issues of mistrust, especially in the wake of the shooting. So again, civil investigation officially launched here in Ferguson, Missouri, by the Department of Justice. Quick break. You are watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Now to the guild of a simple click. Some say you should feel it. If you have seen those nude photos of other stars' recent victims of this hacking. These hackers stole these photos from accounts online, data storage, the iCloud. Apple says passwords were accessed illegally and that these hackers took advantage of a loophole in Apple's system, which did not at the time limit the number of times a person can input a password. It's big, because the FBI is now launching this investigation here.

But some believe there are many other offenders in this case. I want you to take a look at Dina Dunham's tweet, from HBO's "Girls." This is what she says: "Remember, when you look at these pictures, you are violating these women again and again. It's not OK. The way in which you share your body must be a choice. Support these women and do not look at these pictures."

Joining me now, Amanda Marcotta, "Daily Beast: contributor; and Tracy Clark-Flory, staff writer for salon.com.

Ladies, welcome.

TRACY CLARK-FLORY, STAFF WRITER, SALON.COM: Thanks for having us.

AMANDA MARCOTTA, CONTRIBUTOR, THE DAILY BEAST: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Tracy, first out to you, because you looked. You looked.

CLARK-FLORY: I did.

BALDWIN: You clicked. Tell me why.

CLARK-FLORY: I did. And I'm ashamed and I regret it. I clicked because of curiosity. And also because I think that, you know, the Internet is built on photos of naked women's bodies. And some of those photos are consensual. Some of them are not. And I'm not just talking about mainstream porn. I'm talking about creep shots, down blouses, up skirts, revenge porn. And you see enough of that, and it normalizes this stuff. And it makes it easy to excuse.

BALDWIN: Did we even have terms: "creep shots" and "revenge porn," I think speaks volumes. And I --

(CROSSTALK)

MARCOTTA: It does.

BALDWIN: And let me say, I have not clicked. I am not going to look, Amanda. But I will say there is a teeny, tiny voice in me, listen, I'm curious, I'm an inquisitive person in my nature. But I agree, Dina Dunham, that it is violating these women. You're not clicking, why? MARCOTTA: Mainly for that. And also, I think what are you going to

learn by looking at the picture? That it exists? That people are naked under their clothes? I mean, duh.

BALDWIN: Right, right.

MARCOTTA: All you're doing is participating and creating demand for the photos when you look.

BALDWIN: Why is it -- it feels like, you know, and especially -- listen, we're all guilty or we who buy into the tabloid madness, that people -- I feel like Americans have this sense of entitlement over some of these celebrities. When you look at the Kate Uptons and Jennifer Lawrences, put themselves out there in the ether over the Internet. And I think people love clicking on, you know, these secret pictures they shouldn't be seeing. Contrast that with Kim Kardashian naked, "G.Q." Nobody is talking about that. Why are we talking about these leaked pictures? It's like this icky voyeuristic nature of creeps?

MARCOTTA: I think so. The funny thing is Kim Kardashian got famous because of a leaked sex tape that she didn't actually -- or maybe didn't consent to, and actually won a successful lawsuit about. Yeah, now she's making her body available fully consensually and no one seems to care. It seems to be the consent that was driving the curiosity about these pictures.

BALDWIN: Then you have, Tracy, these critics saying, well, why are these women taking these photos in the first place?

CLARK-FLORY: Right.

(LAUGHTER)

Well, who among us is not? Let's be honest. I think this is a really normal part of our -- the way we communicate with partners, the way we --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: I hear the people saying this isn't necessarily normal. I can hear them in my viewer thought cloud thinking I didn't do this.

(LAUGHTER)

But a lot of people do.

CLARK-FLORY: A lot.

BALDWIN: Continue.

CLARK-FLORY: A lot of people do. And there's nothing wrong with it. There's nothing wrong with that sort of experimentation, exploration in the context of a romantic relationship or any relationship. And the bottom line is that these women didn't intend them for mass consumption. BALDWIN: So then what's the solution? I mean, it's out in the iCloud

for anyone potentially to hack in. Where do we go from here? Do you think people who click on these pictures are as guilty as those who take them and post them on the Internet? Where do we draw the line?

CLARK-FLORY: I'm not sure they're as guilty are but I certainly feel guilty for looking at them and I do think that it contributes -- it is a form of abuse. It participants in abuse. And I think especially for women like myself doing it, we're sort of participating in our own oppression, honestly.

BALDWIN: OK. Amanda Marcotta and Tracy Clark-Flory, thank you.