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CNN NEWSROOM
Missing Student's Parents Plead for Help; Two White House Security Breaches; U.S. Leads Push to Stop ISIS Recruits
Aired September 22, 2014 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks so much. Have a great day.
NEWSROOM starts now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, vanished.
CHIEF TIMOTHY LONGO, CHARLOTTESVILLE POLICE: Jesse Matthew was the last person she was seen with.
COSTELLO: Breaking overnight, the search for missing UVA student Hannah Graham intensifies. Gone for nine days as her parents --
JOHN GRAHAM, FATHER OF MISSING UVA STUDENT: My name is John Graham.
COSTELLO: -- make a plea for help.
GRAHAM: We need to find out what happened to Hannah.
COSTELLO: Also, White House jumper.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a failure here.
COSTELLO: Two major security breaks.
REP. PETER KING (R), NEW YORK: This is absolutely inexcusable.
COSTELLO: Why was the White House front door unlocked? Why weren't the dogs launched? New concerns and new questions about the Secret Service.
And climate march.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are at a pivotal turning point.
COSTELLO: Hundreds of thousands taking to the streets as the United Nations begins to debate environmental action.
This morning new protests aimed at Wall Street.
Let's talk live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.
We begin this morning with the desperate search for a missing college student and the heartbreaking pleas from her parents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRAHAM: What we want to do now is to bring Hannah home safely. And I appeal to anybody who knows anything. Please, please help us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Nine days after Hannah Graham vanished, police want to talk to this man. They say Jesse Matthew was the last known person to be seen with Hannah. Police have searched his car and his apartment and they're now trying to find him.
CNN's Jean Casarez live in Charlottesville near the University of Virginia campus.
Tell us more, Jean.
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN LEGAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, Carol, we've heard so much about the downtown mall area. Well, this is it. This is it in Charleston, Virginia. And the last known place that Hannah was ever seen alive.
Now her parents are here in the area. They have been all week. But they never came out to speak publicly. And I could tell yesterday it took all of the strength that they had to step up to that microphone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GRAHAM: Hannah is also our little girl. She's our only daughter. And she's James' sister. She's also -- Hannah is also the oldest granddaughter both of my own parents and Sue's parents. And she's actually my parents' only granddaughter. And she's enormously precious to us all.
CASAREZ (voice-over): The parents of Hannah Graham spoke publicly the first time on Sunday pleading for help in finding their daughter.
GRAHAM: We know Hannah was downtown early Saturday morning. We know Hannah was distinctively dressed. Did you see Hannah? Did anybody see Hannah? Did you see Hannah? Did you see Hannah? Who saw Hannah? Somebody did.
CASAREZ: At a press conference Sunday, Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo in an unusual move publicly pointed fingers.
LONGO: I believe Jesse Matthew was the last person she was seen with before she vanished off the face of the earth. Because it's been a week and we can't find her.
CASAREZ: Law enforcement says Matthew was seen on surveillance video walking behind Hannah at the Downtown Mall. While members of the community look for Hannah this weekend, Jesse Matthew walked into the Charlottesville Police Department.
LONGO: Walked right through the front door with a couple of family members. He got inside and he asked for a lawyer, and we found him one.
CASAREZ: Still law enforcements admits they don't have probable cause to tie him to this case.
GRAHAM: I think that the reason that Hannah has such marvelous support is that this is every parent's worst nightmare. I'm certain that everybody in this room and those watching knows that what happened to Hannah could happen to their child.
We need to find out what happened to Hannah and make sure that it doesn't happen to anybody else.
CASAREZ: An emotional plea to help push this investigation forward.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CASAREZ: And I was able to confirm that Jesse Matthew does work at the University of Virginia Hospital, the medical center. Police tell me he is an orderly there. And those that know him in this community that I've spoken with say that he would be the first to help Hannah, not hurt her. And what he does for a living is he helps people at the hospital when they are patients there -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yet this man went into the police department and said here I am. I know you're looking for me. And then he asked for a lawyer and then he disappeared.
It just sounds suspicious, Jean.
CASAREZ: Well, here are the facts that we know. He walked in the police department just as you're saying, he asked for an attorney. The police chief tells us that they got him an attorney. Jesse then spoke with the attorney.
Well, we know, Carol, what attorneys tell their clients, don't talk. And so we don't know what they said. But after that, he left and he didn't speak with authorities.
Now here's what happened after that. Later on in the day, authorities saw him in his car. They believed he was driving at an excessive rate of speed. So the Virginia State Department of Police have issued two arrest warrants for misdemeanor reckless driving. They have not arrested him. They have those outstanding warrants. But today the police chief tells me he expects it to be a very big day.
He wants the results of the forensic testing from Jesse Matthew's car and the apartment. He tells me that the forensic investigators spent hours on that car. And if he doesn't get the results by this afternoon, he says that he's going to make a phone call because he needs those results, obviously, Carol, to tie in this person that is not a suspect. And they won't even admit a person of interest. Just someone they are interested in talking with. COSTELLO: All right, Jean Casarez, reporting live from
Charlottesville, Virginia, this morning.
The U.S. Secret Service is ratcheting up security measures at the White House this morning after a pair of incidents raised new concerns about its vulnerability.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody out. Right now. Go back. Everybody into the park. Right now into the park.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: That video is just incredibly astounding, right? The scarier, the two incidents took place on Friday -- this incident -- when a man scaled the fence, dashed cross the White House lawn and actually made it through the front door.
Omar Gonzalez is described as an Iraqi war veteran who was suffering from PTSD. He was unharmed and he's due in court this morning.
CNN's Michelle Kosinski is at the White House with more.
Good morning.
MICHELLE KOSINSKI, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Carol. You know, if you work at the White House, you spend time here, security is always a top concern. It's something that you think about. That's why it is so unbelievable to people here that this guy was able to jump over the high fence, and in a matter of seconds make it all the way across the yard, open up the front doors and walk inside.
So now what we expect to see is more security, more surveillance outside the White House and possibly even bag checks.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KOSINSKI (voice-over): Security outside the White House now is visible, very visible. But it often is, so all the more dumbfounding that Omar Gonzalez was able to do this around 7:30 Friday night.
Take a look at this new video. Sprinting, 20 or so seconds to 70 yards across the entire lawn, up the stairs, onto the Portico. There you see what appears to be a Secret Service officer with gun drawn. And Gonzalez makes it inside the White House where he was tackled.
The first family was not home but in Gonzalez's pants pocket, a folding knife with a three and a half inch blade.
KING: How anyone especially in these days of ISIS, and with concern about terrorist attacks, someone could actually get into the White House without being stopped is inexcusable.
KOSINSKI: Now the internal investigation. Why weren't at the very least Secret Service dogs deployed? And why couldn't officers have gotten to him before he hit those doors? In a statement, the Secret Service admits while the officers showed tremendous restraint in discipline in dealing with the subject, the location of Gonzalez's arrest is not acceptable.
Now it's true officers on the roof, surely this one at the door, could have shot Gonzalez. They didn't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody out right now. Go back. Everybody into the park.
KOSINSKI: Law enforcement officials told us these things are always taken in context that Gonzalez didn't appear to be armed, had nothing in this hands, no bags, nothing bulky. They also said the 42-year-old Texan who spent more than a decade in the military including in Iraq seemed to have mental issues and was known to the Secret Service.
Gonzalez's family members say he had been struggling lately, drifting and had PTSD. He'd retired from the army with a disability.
And less than 24 hours after this breach, another man, Kevin Carr of New Jersey, tried to get in through the White House gate on foot then drove to another entrance, got out of his car and refused to leave. He too was arrested. But some now calling this the last straw.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOSINSKI: You know, the last couple of years have not been the greatest for the Secret Service in terms of embarrassing incidents probably starting with that couple who crashed the White House party -- remember them -- back in 2009. And then of course there was the prostitution scandal in 2012 along with some others, too.
But the White House says it has full confidence in the Secret Service and says it is certain that the review will be conducted with professionalism and commitment that the American public expects. Sounding about as much like a directive as it does a statement -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right. Michelle Kosinski, reporting live from the White House this morning.
Three Afghan soldiers in Massachusetts for training have gone missing. The soldiers at stationed at the Joint Base Cape Cod were last seen at a nearby mall. The Massachusetts National Guard says the -- the soldiers are not a threat to the public.
Earlier this month, two Afghan police officers training with the DEA wandered off during a sightseeing trip in Washington. They said they wanted to stay in the United States but they were found and eventually sent home.
The U.S. is spearheading a global campaign to stop the movement of ISIS recruits. President Obama will meet with more than a dozen heads of state at the United Nations on Wednesday. And the resolution on the matter is expected to pass.
The new diplomatic effort comes as U.S. airstrikes continue to pound ISIS targets inside Iraq.
CNN's Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon for us this morning.
Good morning.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Well, now it is all in President Obama's hands when and where and if to strike ISIS inside Syria.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): More weekend U.S. air strikes against ISIS in Iraq, close to 200 so far. And the Pentagon says it's ready to hit ISIS targets inside Syria at any moment, once President Obama gives final approval.
The president takes his case this week to the United Nations. His U.N. ambassador arguing he has overwhelming support.
SAMANTHA POWERS, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: We are not having problems getting countries to commit.
STARR: In a rare event, the president will chair a Security Council meeting Wednesday, a demonstration of his commitment to build a consensus to take on ISIS. And CNN has now learned he is hoping to get approval for a resolution calling for countries to crack down on their citizens traveling abroad to join terrorists groups like this.
Still no Arab nations have openly agreed to send ground troops or take part in air strikes in Syria. Secretary of State John Kerry is already at the U.N. lobbying for allies to help, even talking to Iran. Republican Congressman Peter King says the president shouldn't wait to build pay coalition.
KING: We can't be holding back. We should attack and strike and do what we can to the command and control centers that ISIS has in Syria.
STARR: And no word on whether Turkey might now allow U.S. planes to fly from bases there after the weekend release of nearly 50 Turkish diplomats held hostage by ISIS for three months.
Meanwhile, a mass exodus of Syrian refugees seeking safe haven in Turkey. Officials there opening eight checkpoints along the border. One U.N. official says she has seen 100,000 people cross in just two days.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see them now digging their own graves.
STARR: This ISIS militant speaking seemingly perfect English in a new 55-minute long propaganda video. It has U.S. officials thinking he could be an American. They're still doing voice analysis but are concerned they say that this could be the first time an American is portrayed as an ISIS leader.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the flames of war only beginning to intensify.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: And of course intelligence community analysts are now watching ISIS around the clock to see how they are reacting to all of this international pressure. Analysts saying that some of the terrorists are moving into cities, trying to mix in with civilian populations and changing their communications perhaps trying to avoid what they believe is a coming U.S. attack -- Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Barbara Starr reporting live for us from the Pentagon. Thanks so much.
Still to come in the NEWSROOM, as the parents of missing UVA student Hannah Graham wait and hope for the best, we'll talk with the father of kidnapped survivor Elizabeth Smart about what a family is going through and how you can help.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: The parents of missing University of Virginia student Hannah Graham are desperate for clues, answers, anything that will help bring their daughter home. She vanished more than a week ago now.
And with each passing day, Hannah's parents are not giving up hope. They're pleading with the public for help.
You're about to hear her father speaking at a news conference with his wife by his side. Here's their complete unedited statement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN GRAHAM, HANNAH GRAHAM'S FATHER: Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. My name is John Graham. I am Hannah's father. To my right here is Sue, Hannah's mother, and my wife.
As this nightmare for Hannah for us, Hannah's big brother James, her grandparents, and her extended family continues, we would like to make this statement.
We have been utterly overwhelmed this by the generosity of spirit of everybody we have met this week, and many more besides whom we've been unable to meet. We understand that over 1,000 volunteers have been out combing Charlottesville looking for our girl, yesterday and today. A similar number of wonderful people are out today searching.
Sue and I were out searching yesterday, so were some of our work colleagues, our friends, our neighbors from our home, Hannah's friends from soft ball, Hannah's friends from high school team, high school and many others.
But the effort is much wider. Members of the Charlottesville community have turned out in force to help. Armies of Hannah's university friends are helping. I read this morning that a gentleman came from as far away as Baltimore, Maryland, to help. Thank you, sir.
I read that Alexis Murphy's aunt, Trina, was helping. Thank you, ma'am.
Sue and I are utterly overwhelmed by this support for Hannah and we cannot begin to express our thanks. We thank you all of you from the bottom of our hearts.
I think that the reason that Hannah has such marvelous support is that is every parent's worst nightmare. I am certain that everybody in the room and those watching who is a parent knows that what happened to Hannah could happen to their child. We need to find out what happened to Hannah and make sure that it doesn't happen to anybody else.
You have all I'm sure read about Hannah, I am sure. You will have read that Hannah is a second-year student at the University of Virginia, a skier, a musician and a softball player. She likes to help people and is interested in a career helping others. And just as a little example, last spring break, instead of hanging around on a beach like other students may have done, she spent a week in Tuscaloosa rebuilding houses and helping the recovery from the devastating tornado. That's Hannah.
That's one Hannah. But Hannah is also our little girl. She's our only daughter and she's James' little sister.
She's also -- Hannah is also the oldest granddaughter of both my own parents and Sue's parents, and she's actually my parents' only granddaughter, and she's enormously precious to us all.
And while you think of what we're going through, think about parents as well, Hannah's grandparents. They are literally an ocean away, and they're not knowing what happened to their little grand daughter, little granddaughter, and they're unable to help and it's awful for them.
Now, somebody knows what happened to Hannah. We don't know who that is, but somebody knows what happened to Hannah and others may be watching and they may know something about what happened to Hannah, and they may not even know that they know something about what happened to Hannah.
What do we know? We know Hannah was downtown early Saturday morning. We know Hannah was distinctively dressed.
Did you see Hannah? Did anybody see Hannah? Who saw Hannah? Somebody did.
Please, please, please, if you have anything, however insignificant you think it may be, call the police tip line with anything that just might help us to bring Hannah home.
Sue and I have received countless messages of support. I would like to read one email that we received this morning from one of Hannah's high school teachers:
It reads as follows, "I am sure you are continually being inundated with hundreds of people reaching out daily, but I just wanted to touch base again to express some of my hope and confidence." Throughout the week as I spoke with Hannah's friends and teachers, and the countless other people whose lives have been bettered by Hannah's passion and positivity, one theme shone brightly through each conversation: hope. Not because that's what people feel like they should say at a time like this, but because of who Hannah is. Hannah is brilliant, resilient, determined, and loves life more than anyone I know. Everyone agrees, if anyone could get through this, it is Hannah.
"I've been trying to frame my thoughts with the idea that every moment that passes we are one moment closer to having Hannah back. Let's hope today is the day." Lovely message that we received this morning.
When I returned home from bringing Hannah back to Charlottesville for the beginning for term last month, I found that she left this little guy behind.
This is Hannah's favorite white rabbit, BeBe. He was given to Hannah by one of my friends when she was less than a week old. BeBe helped out in Tuscaloosa, and he was Hannah's constant guardian, companion friend and guardian angel until last month when she chose to return to Charlottesville without him. Constant companion, that is, except for about six months when Hannah was three-years-old when he was lost in a nursery. We found BeBe, we brought him home to Hannah and us.
All we want to do is bring Hannah home safely. I appeal to anybody that knows anything, please, please, help us. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: I'm joined now by someone who can relate to what the Grahams are going through right now. Ed Smart is the father of kidnapped survivor Elizabeth Smart.
And I don't know, just listening to that news conference shook me. Mr. Smart, your daughter Elizabeth went missing nine months when abducted in 2002, as moving as John Graham was, watching Hannah's mother hit a lot harder. She just cannot speak. What struck you about this news conference?
ED SMART, FATHER OF KIDNAP SURVIVOR ELIZABETH SMART: You know, I think that being able to come forward and sharing with the community was one of the most important things they could possibly do. It's incredibly difficult. Everyone handles things differently.
And, you know, our prayers and thoughts certainly go out to the Grahams. I thought when you look at what this conference is doing, it's really a call to action to mobilize to help search for her. Nothing could be more important at this time. I think usually they say that if they don't find the person within the first 24 hours, that there's a better probability they will find the person.
And so, in this case, Hannah -- she still could be out there. Everyone needs to come and help search for her. I think that's probably the most important message that could be shared. I mean, making her the real person that she is, and being able to share a part of her was very important.
COSTELLO: I was going to ask you about that, Ed. We heard Hannah's parents read an e-mail from a former teacher, held up a beloved stuffed rabbit Bebe. What message does that show about their daughter?
SMART: You know, it's trying to portray who Hannah is which is important to the public. You know, with Elizabeth, when he was taken out of her home, I think that was one of the things that as we talked about Elizabeth and what she -- what kind of person she was like, that's what they were trying to portray. This was totally out of character and that they need everybody's help out there.
You know, sometimes people don't understand that they've seen something or that they've experienced something that might be of value. That call to action is something that is very important in finding Hannah.
COSTELLO: I just -- I don't know how to quite phrase this properly. I'll just go ahead and say it. The last image we have of Hannah is she -- according to police, she was slightly drunk and running through the streets. And that must be painful for her parents because that doesn't define who their daughter is.
SMART: Absolutely not. I mean, I think the focus really needs to stay on who Hannah is and where she might be and that really, the hope is that they will find her by everyone helping.
You know, I'm sure that Hannah is a wonderful person. She needs to be found. You know, when I think of the outpouring and help and support that we had as a family, nothing brought more hope than the support of the community.
My son said to me, Dad, I've never -- I couldn't believe seeing every walk of life, every religion, the amazing support. That's what the Grahams need more than anything at this point is to have the support of the community. Those eyes and ears even now taking a look at her picture and envisioning her and being able to go out there and keep your eyes open. The day that Elizabeth was found, two people saw her at the same time.
That's what our hope is for Hannah. Our hearts go out to them. I hope and pray that the community out there will give continued support in finding her. She is the daughter, precious daughter. They need all the help they could possibly get.
COSTELLO: Ed Smart, thanks so much. I appreciate you being with me this morning.
SMART: You bet.
COSTELLO: I'm back in a minute.
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