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@THISHOUR WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA

Ray Rice Fired; Janay Rice Lashes Out at Media; Home Depot Hacked; Officials May Have Identified Killer of Steven Sotloff

Aired September 9, 2014 - 11:00   ET

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


JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning, the wife of Ray Rice speaks out, standing by her husband amid what she calls the "horrible nightmare" of the assault video on constant replay and her husband's career collapsing.

Hello, everyone. Great to see you today. I'm John Berman.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Michaela Pereira.

BERMAN: Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice might not play football again, this after the release of that video of his February assault on his then-fiancee, now-wife Janay Palmer.

The footage from inside a casino elevator shows the actual punch that knocked her unconscious.

PEREIRA: The team and the league say they haven't seen -- they hadn't that part of the footage before Monday, but TMZ Sports reports that the league never did ask the casino nor police for the video.

BERMAN: As hard that has video is to watch, the victim, Janay Palmer, is lashing out at the media and the public. She is really railing against his firing by the Ravens and the indefinite suspension now by the NFL.

She took to Instagram this morning, writing, quote, "I woke up this morning feeling like I had a horrible nightmare, feeling like I'm mourning the death of my closest friend, but have to accept the fact that it's reality. That is a nightmare in itself.

"No one knows the pain the media and unwanted options from the public has caused my family to make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret everyday is a horrible thing.

"To take something away from the man I love that he has worked his ass off for all his life just to gain ratings is horrific."

PEREIRA: "This is our life," she goes on to say. "What you don't all get, if your intentions were to hurt us, embarrass us, make us feel alone, take all happiness away, you've succeed on so many levels.

"Just know we will continue to grow and show the world what real love is. Ravens Nation, we love you."

Joining us now, Rachel Nichols, host of CNN's "UNGUARDED" and former NFL player Wade Davis.

There's so much to get to. I think we have to obviously, Rachel, talk about the reaction from Janay right off the top. I think it is interesting. It's also part of a larger discussion about domestic violence.

But we see her -- Janay's response and the fact that in a way she tries to minimize all what happened.

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN HOST, "UNGUARDED": Look, I think it's important to say first that Janay Rice has a right to say and feel what she wants to, and it's not our place to tell her how to feel. She's said how she feels.

It's also important to talk about, though, that domestic violence is a crime against the community. You may have heard Jeff Toobin say that on our air over the past 24 hours.

That's why it's a fallacy that domestic violence victims press charges. They're not the ones pressing charges. The police are pressing charges. They are witnesses in those cases, and sometimes they do, like this, choose not to testify.

The government still has an obligation to go forward because it is a larger problem, and that is what happened here. It's complicated. There's shades of gray

There's all kinds of pressure from all kinds of people with domestic violence victims to have them feel like they have to have some solidarity with their abuser. They have a child together. She loves him. It is complicated. But it's still not her fault.

BERMAN: It is complicated. It is not her fault. We do understand the pain in seeing this video again and again.

But, Wade, without this video, at this point, the Ravens would not have cut him. The NFL would not have suspended him for the season at least. We were talking just two games before yesterday.

Do you feel like the NFL still has more questions to answer here?

WADE DAVIS, FORMER NFL PLAYER: Yes, and I think it's really unfortunate that it took a video for the NFL, for us all, to really understand the gravity and the weight of what a domestic violence is, and as someone who's an ex-player, who's been a life long supporter of the NFL, I hurt.

Yesterday I was embarrassed to be a former player, but I was also embarrassed to be a human being, right? You know?

As your guest mentioned, domestic violence is a crime against our society, and the fact we're expecting the NFL to be the judge and jury is sad also. The most that the NFL do is take away this career, but what should happen is that our justice system should be set up in a way where a person is punished for a crime that they commit. Now whether that's jail or rehabilitation, there needs to be a space where we're also talking about how can we protect women on a global scale, not just the --

PEREIRA: Wade, we really appreciate your words about that.

What about this notion, Rachel? I want to talk about this notion that the NFL has come out with this statement saying we didn't have access to this video, we didn't see it.

Is that just sort of a way for them to cover their butts and absolve themselves of essentially being complicit and/or -- I don't know -- enabling this somehow? I know that's kind of a buzzword but still.

NICHOLS: It brings home the larger point about just how reactive to all of this the NFL has been. Overall, in this case specifically, "Hey, no one gave us the video." That was the statement that they put out. OK, well, go look for the video.

We know that ...

PEREIRA: TMZ Sports got it.

NICHOLS: Right. It was obtainable. TMZ obtained it and we know that the National Football League has investigators, FBI agents that work for them when teams are investigating ...

PEREIRA: They know how to do this.

NICHOLS: They do a lot of work on these guys, turning over every leaf. We hear that all the time, right?

Nobody even went looking in the yard for a leaf here, and that is very frustrating. And it goes to the larger point. There's other domestic violence cases working their way through the NFL right now. We've heard about Ray McDonald, who had an arrest recently and then went and played later in the week for the San Francisco 49ers.

His coach, Jim Harbaugh, who is John Harbaugh of the Ravens brother, said, "Hey, he's been charge," which, by the way, charged with felony domestic violence. The police don't just do that. So if there's enough evidence for felony domestic violence charges, that might give you pause.

But instead, Jim Harbaugh has said, "Hey, he hasn't been convicted yet, we're going to let him play." That is troubling to me.

Then you have Greg Hardy, who is a Panthers player down in Carolina who was convicted on domestic violence charges. He's appealing that, asking for his a jury trial, which is his right to do, but they're still letting him play in the NFL.

Why is the NFL not being a leader in this? Why didn't they look for the Ray Rice video? Why aren't they pursuing these other cases where it didn't happen in an elevator with video. The woman that those guys abuse is just as important. BERMAN: It is. And, look, if they saw, if anyone saw this video, Wade,

the NFL has explaining to do. They say they didn't. But then Rachel raises the questions why didn't they?

But all of this raises questions about Roger Goodell and his leadership here. Now there have been people who have been saying from the beginning that the two games that he issued was not enough.

PEREIRA: Slap on the wrist.

BERMAN: People were asking questions throughout his this whole process. Have you as a former player, an alum of this league, lost confidence in the commissioner?

DAVIS: I can't say that I've lost confidence in him only because I've yet to have a conversation around Roger Goodell. I will say I am 100 percent embarrassed. I will say that there are a lot of questions Mr. Goodell has to answer and it's scary that there are players who are still playing.

I would also like to add that I was really I would say heartened to see the number of players who are current and former who spoke out about the fact that Ray Rice should not be playing.

I think what we're learning is that the NFL is not a monolith, right, and that there are players out there, owners out there, coaches throughout who were just as appalled as the rest of us who want justice to be served.

PEREIRA: We were talking about it in my office just this morning. The fact that if you worked for a corporation and something like this happened you would have to face discipline, would you not? You would have to face discipline.

So this player is an employee of a corporation and should face discipline.

NICHOLS: And certainly the public face of one.

PEREIRA: And add to it a public face, right, because they have a responsibility there.

NICHOLS: Absolutely. No question. This is something, again, opportunity league to take a forward view on and as everything has outrage over Ray Rice, look, the league has changed its domestic violence policy, no one will get two games again. Ray Rice has been cut by the Ravens.

But let's put this emotion and anger in toward the cases currently in the system and the people you might know in your life who are facing this, because I promise you there is somebody who is.

BERMAN: Great point.

PEREIRA: It's a very good point.

BERMAN: Rachel Nichols, Wade Davis, thanks so much for being with us and having this discussion. It's a hard one to have.

PEREIRA: It is.

BERMAN: It's not at all comfortable.

PEREIRA: No.

BERMAN: And along those lines, Janay Rice's apparent defense of her husband today is not really new. She did stand by his side really from the beginning, not long after the incident. The questions many people are asking, was she pressured somehow to do so?

PEREIRA: Some criticism stemming in part from a February statement in which she essentially took partial responsibility for her own beating.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANAY RICE, RAY RICE'S WIFE: I do deeply regret the role that I played in the incident that night. But I can say that I am happy, that we continue to work through it together.

And we are continuing to strengthen our relationship and our marriage and do what we have to do for not only ourselves collectively but individually and working on being better parents for Raven and continue to be good role models for the community like we were doing before this.

I love Ray and I know he will continue to prove himself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: Rachel pointed out a very interesting thing. She watched that press conference in its entirety when it happened. Apparently Ray Rice apologized to the organization, the fans, the young people that were watching but never once during that press conference apologized to his wife.

We're going to have more on this and on this difficult question of why some women, some abused people, stay with abusive men, with abusive people in their relationships.

We'll look at that, ahead @THISHOUR.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: This could turn out to be the biggest hack in history. Home Depot scrambling to reassure millions of its customers after hackers stole credit card data from shoppers all over the U.S. and Canada.

BERMAN: If you shopped at Home Depot --

PEREIRA: Who hasn't?

BERMAN: -- any time in the last five months, get in line with me, because we are all at risk.

Now, Home Depot is apologizing and promising to make things right.

PEREIRA: Joining us right now, our chief business correspondent Christine Romans whose blood is boiling along with cyber and privacy expert Mark Rasch. I'm sure his is, too.

Christine, here's the deal. You have confirmed with them that it indeed happened. The company won't necessarily say, yes, it was 60 million, but we know it was gigantic. And it is true than it's bigger than the Target hack last year.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We know it's a big number, and we know that it was 2,200 of their stores in the U.S. and in Canada.

And, look, you know, John Berman, usually when you're talking about Home Depot, you're trying to decide if you should oversee the lawn right now or wait till next week when it's cooler.

Now you're thinking about Home Depot, not for that. You're thinking about Home Depot, wait, how many times did I go? Do I need to go back and look at my credit card statement and my debit card activity to see if something happened after I did that?

We know this information is available on the dark Web, and we know that it's been traded. We also know this was completely avoidable, right? This is old technology, magnetic strip technology. Pin-and-chip technology is what most -- and Home Depot is moving toward that, but --

PEREIRA: Move faster.

BERMAN: Mark, along those lines, five months. Five months this malware was inside the Home Depot system stealing our credit card, that's what the reports say. How could this go on for five months without Home Depot, or anyone else for that matter, noticing?

MARK RASCH, CYBER AND PRIVACY EXPERT: Well, the funny thing is that Home Depot never noticed it. What happened was these credit cards, like fenced items, were found on the dark web and they did what's called a common point of purchase analysis. They found out, wait, all of these cards were used by people that buy at Home Depot, that must have been the hack. So the government told Home Depot they were hacked rather than the other way around. Otherwise it could have gone on another five months.

PEREIRA: Geez. That's seriously upsetting. Now I see why your blood is boiling.

Talk about this pin-and-chip technology. My family in Canada talks about the way they use the credit cards and debit cards have the pin- and-chip. Explain it.

ROMANS: So when you use the credit card you don't just swipe the card, you swipe the credit card and then you have to enter a pin so it's a two-step process and a much more secure process. It's not unhackable, but there's nothing unhackable. PEREIRA: But there's another layer here.

ROMANS: But there's another layer here. And Home Depot was moving -- the guidelines are for retailers to be there by October, 2015. Home Depot was moving more quickly than that. The point is, you have got these bad guys who are sitting there knocking on the door, knocking on the door.

PEREIRA: They're way more nimble than retailers.

ROMANS: And they're finding doors that are open and they're going in and that it could last this as long as what is so troubling. I also think it's a little insulting. Every month there's been a big retailer this year. I think it's a little insulting to say we're going to give you credit monitoring now.

BERMAN: Thanks.

ROMANS: Can you please just spend the money on the front end to make sure I don't get hacked?

BERMAN: What can Home Depot do, Mark? Or Target, or the other big box companies, or any store we might go to? It seems like this is a warning sign.

RASCH: Well, right now all of our security is based upon this little magnetic stripe on the back of the card which has all the data on the front of the card, your card number, name, all of that. What's worse is, this hack also exposed people's names, their phone numbers, their e-mail accounts, information that's not on the credit card. And the reason that's significant is because now what's happening is the key that they really want for the debit cards is not just the card number but the pin number.

So what the hackers are now doing is they're calling the bank and saying hi, I'm -- whatever the bank customer's name is. Give them the name, the phone number, the e-mail address and say I'd like to reset my pin. By resetting the pin, now they have the debit card and the pin number. They've got cash. We've seen a massive increase in people resetting pins and taking money out.

PEREIRA: You're going to not reseed the garden now because you're going to be busy try to figure out if you were among those that were compromised.

BERMAN: I'm going to grow my own seed and compost and things like that. Going to the store is to dangerous. Mark Rasch --

RASCH: This technology is 15 years old - 20 years old.

PEREIRA: That's upsetting. We should be far ahead of the game in that regard. Mark Rasch, Christine Romans, as you said, thank you very much.

BERMAN: Change your passwords, check your statements, do what you can now. Sixty million of us in this boat. Ahead @THISHOUR, unmasking a potential killer. U.S. officials say

they are almost certain they know who killed an American journalist. Could a huge amount of money be the weapon that brings him to justice now? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: It really could be a remarkable piece of detective work. U.S. officials say they might have matched a name to the covered face of James Foley's killer. They're not 100 percent certain but sources tell CNN they have a pretty good idea just who this masked militant is.

PEREIRA: Also new, there could be a big reward for the tip that leads them to him. A bipartisan group of senators wants to authorize up to $10 million in reward money for information that brings an arrest and conviction.

Our terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank joins us. A lot to get to here, Paul. We should also mention, new book out, look at this, "Agent Storm: My Life Inside Al Qaeda and the CIA". Congratulations of that.

All right, so let's talk about this killer if he's identified and there's a reward and wanted poster of him. I'm wondering how effective that could be and what is the next steps from there?

PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, Michaela, the Brits are fairly certain they have identified him. British officials have been quoted saying they're 99.9 percent sure of who the guy is. That would have been done through a combination of voice recognition software, interviewing some of the other hostages who were being held by the group, and also detective work in the U.K.

It appears the killer is from London, but of course his is now in Syria. It is going to be very difficult for this reward money to lead to him because the ISIS fighters who know where he is, these are fanatical jihadists, they're not really motivated by financial gain.

BERMAN: So they have that information. Is it worth it, in your mind, Paul, to launch an operation to try to get him?

CRUICKSHANK: Well, it's always worth it to sort of bring a killer like this to justice. But there will be other priorities that they'll have as well, going after some of the ISIS leadership. Also trying to free some of these other hostages, saving their lives. Those, I think, are going to be the priorities.

It's going to be very, very difficult to send in special forces again into Syria. The United States does not have great intelligence there and you can be risking other people's lives by going in if you don't have a good idea of where this killer is going to be.

PEREIRA: And that makes a good point because we know that there are other hostages out there and we even know that the other hostages, Steven Sotloff, was sold by ISIS to rebels in Syria. You know, you think about these transactions for people's lives that are going on, it's too much to take, really.

CRUICKSHANK: Yes, it's really quite awful. And reports that it was actually one of these more moderate rebel groups, an individual in that group who sold information about where some of these individuals, Americans, would be, allowing ISIS to capture them. Sort of speaking to the complexity of Syria, the difficulty of knowing who to ally with in that conflict.

BERMAN: It just shows the danger there. You could be kidnapped, common criminals could get you and then to make money they sell you up this terrorist food chain. It's a terrifying thing to be in a place like that.

Paul Cruickshank, thanks for being with us.

CRUICKSHANK: Thanks, guys.

PEREIRA: And I can see that going after the killer gives some measure of closure and justice perhaps to the family. But it makes you wonder, what does it do to striking a -- taking a strike in the heart of ISIS organization, makes you wonder.

Ahead @THISHOUR, we'll take a break here. She stood by his side after he was arrested for beating her in an elevator. Even after the horrible video of Ray Rice knocking her out and not consoling her, Janay Rice is still standing by her man. We'll look at this, why victims of domestic violence often stay.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)