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@THISHOUR WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA

Kidnapped Woman Found Alive; Authorities Arrest Man Who Posted Pics of His Murdered Girlfriend Online; AC/DC Drummer Charged in Murder-for-Hire Plot; President, Congress Plan Separate, Contrary Partisan Agendas; Grand Jury Decision Soon in Ferguson

Aired November 6, 2014 - 11:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Found alive, a woman held captive for days is safe and sound. New details about the suspect and how he's being held in connection with another kidnapping.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: The midterms, that's so 2014. Let's talk 2016. Huge new speculation about what Hillary Clinton will do and when she will do it.

PEREIRA: And an honor 150 years after his death, a Civil War hero honored for his service. We're going to take you live to the Medal of Honor ceremony @THISHOUR.

Hi there, I'm Michaela Pereira.

You all caught up on your sleep?

BERMAN: I slept a little, finally.

I'm John Berman. Those stories and more coming up.

PEREIRA: @THISHOUR, a young woman, a young nurse, she is safe. She's going to be reunited with her family. A suspect police call a vicious predator is in custody, and we're learning new details, new fascinating details of just how law enforcement tracked him down.

BERMAN: Yeah, really dramatic stuff -- an ATM card, security cameras, a savvy used car salesman, all playing a role in this.

It was a surveillance camera that caught the kidnapping of Carlesha Freeland-Gaither, the 22-year-old basically stolen right off the street Sunday night near her home in Philadelphia.

Wednesday afternoon, there was another shock, a good shock this time. The victim of this violent kidnapping was found alive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES RAMSEY, PHILADELPHIA POLICE COMMISSIONER We actually found a scene where some items were discarded that belonged to her. A receipt was found there, so we were able to backtrack that. It was a grocery store in Philadelphia. We pulled video from there, very good video. We got that out.

The media was a great help to us, because by putting that video out, we got a phone call from the person who sold this individual a car.

PEREIRA: Just amazing.

Our Jean Casarez has been following the story, and she joins us on the phone right now. She's been working on this story and working where she is, trying to get more information.

We're also going to bring in Ernie Allen, who was head of the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Ernie, I'm going to get to you in a second because I want to start with Jean.

As you're getting more details, we're learning more and more about this suspect, Delvin Barnes. We understand that he was charged in a separate and a really horrific attack on a Teen. He might also be accused in a 2005 assault?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Right. And the case in Virginia is the alleged abduction of a young girl last month, days ago, in October. This is a young girl that was just walking along the street, and law enforcement is saying and prosecutors saying that he abducted her.

She was able to get away. And law enforcement tells me this morning that she had a sexual-assault examination done, and they were able to obtain the DNA of a perpetrator. They matched it through a database to Delvin Barnes. And this is in October.

At that point in time, she pointed Delvin Barnes out in a lineup. They then went to an auto dealership where he had gotten a vehicle and realized that a GPS monitor was put on the car that he purchased because of his bad credit.

That GPS monitor yesterday led authorities to where he was with Carlesha. About 3:30 in the afternoon yesterday is when law enforcement, ATF, U.S. Marshal, FBI, they surveilled the car. They didn't go near it because they didn't want a hostage situation.

They observed both of them in the back seat. When he exited the car, they apprehended him and they rescued her.

BERMAN: Wow.

PEREIRA: Oh, my goodness.

BERMAN: What a fantastic outcome. And a lot of things had to go right there. What is next for this suspect, Jean?

CASAREZ (via telephone): There's a hearing at 1:00 this afternoon. It's really a lot of things.

I think the headline is it's an expedition hearing because he was arrested on a warrant, that outstanding warrant from Virginia. And those charges are very serious, attempted capital murder, assault, and then also injury with fire and acid.

The facts of this Virginia case where the young girl survived are horrific, also, because he allegedly abducted her, sexually assaulted her, and set her on fire with bleach all over her. Prosecutors believe it was to get rid of any DNA evidence.

And those are the outstanding charges in Virginia. He should be extradited within the next 24 hours back to Virginia.

PEREIRA: Which makes the fact that if this is the same man in all of these cases, the fact that Gaither was able to get away and survived -- my goodness.

Let's bring in Ernie Allen. Ernie, I think this is the thing that's making us all so pleased that this is the outcome we're reporting on because sadly we know, and you know all too well in the work you've been doing over the years, this is generally not the way these situations turn out.

ERNIE ALLEN, FORMER CEO, CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN: Michaela, that's right, but I think this is a textbook example of how you work these cases.

Philadelphia police responded swiftly and aggressively. They worked with law enforcement in the region and with federal law enforcement. There was intensive media coverage. The public played an extraordinary role in rescuing Carlesha. And, finally, the use of technology enabled law enforcement to track him down and locate him with her.

So it's a great example of what we need to be doing in every one of these cases.

BERMAN: Yeah. It turned out in a great way. It's unusual that it turns out this great. It's also unusual how this started.

They're calling this probably a stranger abduction. That's very rare, isn't it Ernie?

ALLEN: Well, John, it is rare, and particularly the blatant way in which it happened. There are large numbers of victims taken by non- family members, but most of them are lured. They're tricked. They're seduced. They don't understand that they're being taken until they're already in trouble.

To do something this blatant, this overt, indicates a compulsive nature of the behavior. But it also, when cases like this occur, the risk to the victim is obviously very, very high.

BERMAN: That's a good point.

PEREIRA: It is a good point. Look, we're learning more about this suspect, Delvin Barnes. He was also accused of raping his estranged girlfriend back in 2005, assaulting her father. He was acquitted of rape. He served time for the assault.

It makes one wonder when you look at a record that a guy like this has, was there a breakdown in our system?

ALLEN: I think you have to look at the case in which he was convicted. There was not ultimately a conviction for the rape. There was a conviction for a lesser offense. And so the amount of time he served was probably less than it could have been, should have been.

But we have to understand, there are offenders like this out there. And most of these offenders don't engage in these behaviors as a matter of lapse of judgment. For many of them, it's a lifestyle. So we need to be particularly vigilant.

PEREIRA: That is a horrifying notion. Ernie Allen, Jean Casarez, great reporting, our reporter. Ernie, thank you so much for helping us look at this and to remember the stark reality for so many women out there. There's danger lurking for some of them.

BERMAN: All right, got some other news we're watching right now.

Authorities arrested a Washington state man they claim killed his girlfriend, Amber Coplin, and posted pictures of her lifeless body online. Police say David Kalac also wrote how hard she fought as he choked her, that her son would find police, and that he would brandish a BB gun when the cops found him so they would kill him.

Kalac was taken into custody without incident in Oregon. Police say he has a history of domestic violence.

PEREIRA: A bit of shocking news for the music industry, the rock group AC/DC, their drummer, Phil Rudd, has been charged in New Zealand with attempting to have two men killed.

The names of his alleged targets and the potential hit man are not being released. Rudd, for his part, has not entered a plea. He has been granted bail, though, until November 27th.

The band's latest album is scheduled for release later this month.

BERMAN: @THISHOUR Texas Governor Rick Perry due in a courtroom in Austin, the one-time and perhaps future Republican presidential hopeful is facing two felly counts on abuse of power.

His lawyers will reportedly try to get this case dismissed on technicalities. This is the first pretrial hearing that the governor has been required to attend. According to his office, Perry will make a statement just after this court appearance.

PEREIRA: Republicans won congress by slamming the president, but is that really an agenda? Ahead @THISHOUR, "Washington Post" columnist Dana Milbank joins us to discuss the hard task now at hand for the GOP -- governing.

BERMAN: And Ferguson, Missouri, a city on edge. It's not just Ferguson. So many people waiting for the crucial grand-jury decision on whether there will be an indictment for the police officer who killed Michael Brown.

What's next for that community, and what steps are being taken to keep things calm?

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BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The American people sent a message, one that they've sent for several elections now.

They expect the people they elect to work as hard as they do. They expect us to focus on their ambitions and not ours. They want us to get the job done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: This morning, there are big new questions about just how President Obama plans to do his job for the next two years.

BERMAN: But now House Speaker John Boehner and the next Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, they have given a sense of how they intend to do their jobs. In a new op-ed in the "Wall Street Journal," they say they plan to try to, one, repeal ObamaCare -- remember that -- simplify the, quote, "insanely complex tax code," authorize the Keystone pipeline, expand education choice, and reduce excessive government regulation.

PEREIRA: So much to discuss with Dana Milbank, political columnist for "The Washington Post." We love having you with us @THISHOUR, Dana. Thanks so much for indulging us.

All right, despite --

DANA MILBANK, POLITICAL COLUMNIST, "WASHINGTON POST: Good to see you.

PEREIRA: -- this laundry list, you -- you, Dana -- predict disaster. Let me quote you, if you will allow me to.

"Because Republicans didn't run on an agenda other than" -- I can't say that word. Say it for me.

BERMAN: Antipathy.

PEREIRA: Thank you -- "toward all things Obama, they created a policy vacuum, and they've set themselves up for chaos if not out right fratricide."

So look into your crystal ball and tell us, Dana, how bad you think this could get in terms of infighting and sniping?

MILBANK: I have to say we're 48 hours after election day and both parties are doing exactly what the voters told them not to do. The voters said Washington is broken; you've got to work and fix this thing.

What has each side done? President Obama has gone off and said he's going to continue doing the things he was doing in terms of immigration, executive orders, the minimum wage, climate change. Now you have Boehner and McConnell saying, "We didn't tell you what our agenda was during the election. Now we'll tell you -- it's the same old agenda we've been interested in for the last several years, such as repealing ObamaCare and going after tort reform and school vouchers and all the other old favorites."

So it seems everybody is sorting of going -- heading off into their own corners here. And yes, the vacuum remains, everybody is sorely looking for some leadership here, and nobody seems to be stepping forward to say, it's time to compromise, guys.

BERMAN: No, it did. It's as if they each picked the one thing they knew would poke a finger in each other's eye. The president comes out and says in his first news conference, I am going to sign the executive order on immigration before the end of the year. And the Republican leaders in their first op-ed say, we're going to repeal Obamacare or work to repeal Obamacare. How then, does this meeting go at the White House tomorrow? Role play.

MILBANK: Well, I think each side is going to bring in their own food testers in case any snacks or drinks are served. But it really does seem almost as if it's deliberate. You had Mitch McConnell come out yesterday and say, well if Obama goes ahead with these executive orders, it will poison the well and be a red flag. So a few minutes later, that's exactly what Obama says he's going to do. Obama says, no way are you guys going to chip away at Obamacare. So McConnell and Boehner come back and say, we're going to go right after Obamacare.

Hopefully this is just posturing, it's done for the bases, and they'll actually sit down in private and say, look, what can we actually do here. Because, you know, if you look at it, there are serious things that can be done that they can agree on, on energy, on tax reform. It's just a matter of are they actually going to do things that triangulate, that go against the extremes in each party, and actually cut deals? It's been done before. Bill Clinton did it with great success. It can be done again.

PEREIRA: So liberal doses of bourbon and golf?

MILBANK: Well, I recommend liberal doses of bourbon for everybody. Golf in moderation.

BERMAN: Dana, does President Obama owe the Democratic party and the Democrats in Congress anything at this point? It's not like, you know, they welcome him to their districts. Is he, in some sense, liberated from certain wings of his party now? Might that give him more room to compromise?

MILBANK: Well, that's the thing I was saying about triangulation. So, I mean look, he said that his policies were on the ballot, and if so, they were rejected. But the truth is, he can also point to exit polls that say, actually the people who came to the polls were against the Democrats, but they're generally for the things that he's talking about. So, yes, he can now -- he's never going to be on a ballot again, he can afford to antagonize some of the Democrats, whether it's on environment and regulations, whether it's on trade, particularly. There's room for him to agree with the Republicans. And if Mitch

McConnell and John Boehner want to be brave, they have some wiggle room in their caucuses, too. They can afford to offend Ted Cruz, God forbid now, and then -- and actually strike a deal. So, it all can be done. It's a question of are they just lining things up to bicker for another two years until 2016, or can we actually have something done with divided government?

PEREIRA: I was just doing my math in my head. About two years' worth of headlines and news hours, that's a lot between the two of us. We'll be talking a lot about this, Dana Milbank.

MILBANK: That's why we need a lot of bourbon, Michaela.

PEREIRA: And there you go. The last word to you. Appreciate it, Dana. We'll talk to you soon, okay?

BERMAN: An endorsement we can all get behind. Ahead for us @THISHOUR, we are on the precipice of a moment that has a lot of people very, very nervous. The grand jury's decision on what to do about Ferguson. What are they doing in and around that community to get ready? That's ahead.

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BERMAN: Ferguson, Missouri is on edge this morning. Safe to say a lot of people are. Very, very soon a grand jury will decide whether to indict the police officer who killed an unarmed teen, Michael Brown, in August. We have been told the decision could come by the middle of this month. Well, there's a sense now it may be delayed a little bit. In a new development, activists now say they want 48 hours' advanced notice of exactly when the announcement is coming. They say this will help them prevent violence and protests like the one we saw soon after Michael Brown was killed.

I want to talk to Dr. Cedric Alexander, President of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. And Dr. Alexander, thanks so much for being with us. We know this decision is coming. So what can be done now to get that community ready?

CEDRIC ALEXANDER, NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF BLACK LAW ENFORCEMENT EXECUTIVES: Well, not only in Ferguson, but I think across the country, it's very important for all of us who have been paying very close attention to what's been going on in Ferguson and the dynamic that's related to it. It is incumbent, right now, for all of us to be talking to our community members, community leaders, having conversations and making sure that we're being open and honest with each other, in terms of how we feel. We need to be developing relationships, if we're not. We need to be developing relationships in our respective communities, as well, too, in regards to police and community having opportunity to talk through things together. Regardless of the outcome of what may happen over the next couple of weeks, it will be extremely important, extremely important, that police and community are talking to each other and are being planned for together as well. PEREIRA: I appreciate what you're saying, because we have the rare and

unfortunate opportunity here, in advance, to sort of get a plan right, if you will, a bit of emergency preparedness. I'm wondering, it has to extend beyond just the community. Is this not a place for the governor to step in, the White House, the Justice Department? Does it not all need to work in concert together to make sure that the community and the nation are ready?

ALEXANDER: Well, we're talking about a very important social issue in America. And it becomes very important, I would agree, Michaela, that all of us, at every level of government, need to be involved in the process that is going to be peaceful and one that is going to dictate peacefulness, regardless of whatever the outcome is. But more importantly than that, right now at this very moment, we all need to be talking to each other and communicating, being planful and working together in concert with each other, as well, too. Because, let's just say, regardless of what the outcome may be, if there are going to be protests, they need to be peaceful protests, and peaceful protest that's planned and work with, both community and state and local government, so people can have a voice, in which they deserve to have as American citizens.

But it becomes incredibly important for all of us, and I cannot overemphasize this, that now is the time that we're talking and we're planning and we're doing things together, that we not have done -- may not have done in the past, particularly in some communities across this country, such as Ferguson.

BERMAN: You know, we don't know what the grand jury will decide. And in some cases, maybe it's unfair to presume there will be violence if they decide one way or the other. On the other hand, it may just be being prepared. And I go back to what Michaela was asking. The president, leaders in Washington, you don't want to say too much while the grand jury is still making their decision, but at some point, wouldn't it help for a leader of that stature to say, let's make sure this stays calm?

ALEXANDER: Well, they're going to have to make that decision, in terms of what are the dynamics, in terms of which they have to consider from looking at things from 25,000 feet. But for those of us who are on the ground in our respective communities, such as myself here in DeKalb County, wonderful county, wonderful citizens, great leadership in county government. We all have great relationships here with our local community. And in spite of having those good relationships, right now at this very moment, what we find it incredibly important to do is to reach out and be planful and begin starting to think about going forward. How do we improve those relationships in light of whatever happens in Ferguson, whatever that outcome may be? We've got to be talking to each other and we've got to be planful in a respectful way.

PEREIRA: That has got to be the key, that we have to be talking to each other and listening to each other. I think that's where's it's got to begin. Dr. Cedric Alexander, we appreciate you joining us. So much, and hopefully we can talk about this again. This is certainly a topic that's not going away any time soon. ALEXANDER: No, it's not. Thank you very much for having me.

PEREIRA: Ahead @THISHOUR, a Republican House, a Republican Senate, seems a bit of a bad omen for somebody like Hillary Clinton. But could the GOP takeover actually help her if she runs for president? We'll discuss it with our political panel coming up.

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