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LEGAL VIEW WITH ASHLEIGH BANFIELD

Snow Slams Half of the Country; More Rape Allegations Leveled at Cosby; Gag Order Impeding Pennsylvania Porn Scandal Probe

Aired November 19, 2014 - 12:00   ET

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


ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Ashleigh Banfield.

We begin with breaking news. Six people are now dead in the Buffalo, New York, area and all of this is blamed on that historic winter storm that has simply hammered that part of the country.

They are always well-prepared. The people of Buffalo, though, are testing the limits of their coping skills right now beneath six feet, that's right, six feet of what's called lake-effect snow. But this just might be the worst of it. At least for now anyway.

And when you talk about the rest of the country, about half of the United States has snow on the ground. And whether it's a fluke or not doesn't matter to anyone. Brace yourself because more of this is coming. And the odds are pretty darn good that it is headed for you.

Jennifer Gray is in Buffalo. Chad Myers has the warm studio and the dry conditions.

So, Jennifer, by virtue of the fact that you are suffering through this, along with so many people where you are, let's start with you. Tell me a little bit about the conditions there. We're hearing about firefighters who are having to use front-end loaders to try to rescue people. We're hearing about people who were trapped in cars and then of course this tragic news off the top of the show that six people have now died because of this weather.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, this has been really serious, Ashleigh. We've been talking about fire trucks haven't been able to get out to rescue people. Even the snowmobiles are getting stuck. So basically anyone with a snowmobile, anyone who can get out and help has been pitching in.

We've talked to just citizens of Buffalo that have been going back and forth all morning long. And they have been trying to help, trying to do what they can. And that's really what we're seeing all around the city because this is such a serious situation. Anybody that can offer anything has been doing it.

And we are seeing incredible amounts of snow. You know, people from Buffalo, you say, oh, they're used to the snow. No, people that have been here their entire lives say this is something like they've never seen before. So much snow at once. Look at this. They're just having to get bulldozers and plows and just shove it to the sides of the streets. And then they're taking it into huge dump trucks and just dumping it.

You know, and what's crazy about this as well, Ashleigh, is this is so localized. Where we're staying at our hotel, barely had an inch of snow. We drove less than three miles and you have 60 inches of snow. It's incredible.

And Chad can talk a little bit more about the lake-effect snow there in the studio. But that's what you get with lake-effect snow, about a 10 to 15-mile-wide swath of snow. And if you're in it, it's bad news. And if you're out of it, there are people just a couple of miles from here raking leaves, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: That was the other question I had for you. With that massive snow bank, that pile behind you, like you said, just a few miles away, there was almost just, what, I think a difference of -- I think a difference almost 50 inches or something crazy. Why is that?

GRAY: Well, it's the -- what happens with lake-effect snow is it's all because of the wind is driving the snow in the same direction. And you know when we get thunderstorms, we call it training basically where the thunderstorms are just one after another in the exact same spot, you can get major flooding. It's basically the exact same thing that happens with lake-effect snow.

These winds aren't changing directions. The snow is coming in off the lake. The lake is warmer than the air above it. So the air rises, it causes snowstorms, thunderstorms, storm clouds. And it snows. And basically where that wind is driving these snowstorms basically in the same area for hours and hours and hours. And so you end up with feet of snow.

BANFIELD: And then I'm seeing a picture beside you as you report. You look like you're in very dry conditions. The picture beside you looks like it's soaking wet, sticky, awful snow. But what I've heard is that it's very, very dry, and thus it's not melting and that it's hard to keep up with that. It's hard to shovel faster than it's falling.

GRAY: Yes, it is. It's -- it is. I mean, we were in blizzard-like conditions when we first came out here. We couldn't even see across the street. Now the sun is out. But it's still so powdery. And once you scrape it off of the ground, there's still a couple of inches underneath it because it's so wet and so heavy. And it's basically packing in and it's very slippery. Even the bulldozers -- their wheels were spinning.

And so this is something, even if it is dry, you know, you see the sun out and you see that they've plowed, it's still very, very dangerous out here.

BANFIELD: All right. Let me get to Chad Myers with just a little bit of what we're -- what we're in store for. I think I heard our colleague Indra saying earlier that this is only the first wave. These people have to deal with this for a few more days, Chad?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: There is another storm coming tonight that will line up the winds again to make more lake-effect snow.

Here's what it looks like right now. Past 36 hours. And I'm telling you, I love Jennifer Gray, the way she explained that like a training thunderstorm. This was a training snowstorm and it trained over the same area for so very long.

Snowfall from Cheektowaga to West Seneca where I grew up, 65 inches of snow there. And the Buffalo Airport, five miles away, at 6 inches of snow. 62 -- or 6.2 to 63 there from Lancaster all the way back over the Buffalo Airport.

Now the problem is we have some rain coming in. Now that rain is going to hit that snow. It's not going to melt it, it's just going to make it heavier. And it's going to be heavier on your roof. We've already heard about a few collapses on some of the roofs, especially on some of the warehouses with all of that weight. And now we warm up and then we get more rain on Saturday or Sunday, going to make that very, very heavy, heavy stuff.

Lake-effect, cold air, warm water and you get snow. But let me tell you this, let me show you this. If you take about -- it's about 20 pounds per square foot that you're going to shovel, if you have 60 inches of snow. You've got a 20-foot-wide driveway. It's only 50 feet long. But it's a (INAUDIBLE). Guess what that is?

Ashleigh, that's 20,000 pounds of snow that you have to move. And that's why it's called the heart attack snowstorm. Need you to be careful out there. Take lots of breaks. Shovel a little bit at a time. Don't try to get it all done all at the same time.

BANFIELD: I am so glad you pointed that out, Chad, because we already have confirmation that a couple of these deaths that have been reported have been due to cardiac arrest from that shoveling. It is a much bigger job than it seems.

MYERS: You bet.

BANFIELD: Take it from me. I grew up in that stuff.

Chad, hold on for a moment, if you would, because just a few minutes ago, the mayor of Buffalo was on television. I want you to listen to him describe the best and only way to get around his city today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BYRON BROWN, BUFFALO, NEW YORK: We have 18 snowmobiles that are operational now in South Buffalo that are responding to EMS calls, responding to stranded motorists. Those vehicles are being managed primarily by our fire department.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Well, speaking of that fire department, on the phone with me, one of those firefighters just outside of Buffalo in Cheektowaga. I hope I have pronounced that properly. The assistant fire chief, Greg Gaczewski.

Chief, I don't even know where to begin. I feel so terrible for what you and your colleagues are facing. Can you just give me the emergency situation right now? How are you getting around? How are people being dealt with in these emergencies?

GREG GACZEWSKI, BELLEVUE FIRE COMPANY ASSISTANT CHIEF: Right now we're working with multiple snowmobiles, four-wheel drive vehicles and some snowcaps, just to clear a path for us to walk to the residents to try to evacuate people.

BANFIELD: And the buffalo mayor who we just saw, he's banned driving, he's telling everyone, you must stay inside and this is not going to be remedied anytime soon. Do you have any idea when you are going to start becoming more mobile with your conventional rescue vehicles?

GACZEWSKI: At this time, we have no idea. According to the weather, we're going to get another two feet. So we're trying to get as much done now with evacuating people while we have the nice little sunshine that we have here now. Just trying to get as many people out as we can before the second storm starts to hit over it.

BANFIELD: And we just showed a picture while you were talking, Chief, about -- it showed a snowmobile. And I just wanted you to revisit that topic with me for a moment. That you put out the call to laypeople and residents alike, bring out your snow machines, help us to help this community.

How is that going? How many snow machines do you have out there? How many drivers? How many residents are joining in this effort to help those in need?

GACZEWSKI: As of last night, the storm hit in the morning, I believe that approximately 30 snowmobiles. We reached out to snowmobile clubs out in Niagara County, Orleans County. And the abundance of apparatus that these people brought was just pretty much overwhelming. But we pretty much utilized every piece of equipment that was sent to us.

BANFIELD: Did you have enough warning that it was going to be this bad? Did you get enough prep time?

GACZEWSKI: No. According to (INAUDIBLE), we were only supposed to get two feet. And we're looking at 65 inches at this time. So it's a little overwhelming. But pretty much everybody's in good spirits and we're getting everybody out.

BANFIELD: Chief Gaczewski, good luck to you. And I just wish you the best in dealing with this. It is Mother Nature at her most beautiful and worst. I thank you for your time. And our thoughts are all with you and of course those who have lost their lives and their families over this.

It is just -- it's unimaginable. A year's worth of storm -- a year's worth of snow falling in about three days. It's something else. We'll keep you posted on what's happening there.

In the meantime, we've got another story that we're following. Yet another woman has come forward accusing comedian Bill Cosby of sexually assaulting here. This time, it is a famous former model telling her story. We've got details on that.

Plus, a former prosecutor coming forward explaining why he could not bring charges against Mr. Cosby in another case years ago.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Yet another woman is coming forward and accusing Bill Cosby of sexual assault. And this time, it's Janice Dickinson, the self- proclaimed first supermodel.

Listen to Miss Dickinson tell "Entertainment Tonight" her story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANICE DICKINSON, CLAIMS COSBY RAPED HER IN 1982: In my room, he'd given me wine and a pill. And the next morning, I woke up and I wasn't wearing my pajamas and I remember before I passed out that I had been sexually assaulted by this man. The last thing I remember was Bill Cosby patchwork robe, dropping his robe and getting on top of me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Cosby's attorney, Marty Singer, wrote a letter to RAP, which was one of the publishers of this information, responding to Dickinson's allegations saying, quote, "Her new story claiming that she had been sexually assaulted is a defamatory fabrication."

The details of Dickinson's stories sound a lot like the stories that are being told by other Cosby accusers. The alleged assault go back several decades. And our CNN's Jean Casarez takes a look back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN LEGAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Bill Cosby it has been a week of allegations from women who say they were sexual assaulted in the past by the comedian. Many claim they were drugged.

BARBARA BOWMAN, COSBY ACCUSER: I never saw any drugs but I would wake up completely confused, half dressed, and knowing that my body had been touched without my permission.

CASAREZ: Bowman says she went to Cosby's New York apartment alone and that Cosby flew her all around the country as he performed at various venues. But she says the advances were unwelcomed.

Also speaking out, Joan Tarshis.

JOAN TARSHIS, COSBY ACCUSER: We went up to his bungalow afterwards. He made me a drink and very shortly after that I just -- I passed out. I woke up or came to very groggily with him removing my underwear. CASAREZ: Tarshis says that in 1969 she voluntarily saw Cosby again

when he invited her to a performance. After accepting drinks at his hotel and in a limo, she says she woke up the next morning with him in his bed.

Ironically, Cosby released a comedy album that same year titled, "It's True, It's True", joking about that very issue.

BILL COSBY, COMEDIAN: You know what? You know anything about Spanish Fly? No, tell me about it. Well, there's this girl, Crazy Mary, you put something in her drink, man, she's --

CASAREZ: But with all the allegations and even after Andrea Constand went to police saying Cosby medicated and fondled her in 2004, the district attorney of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, at the time, Bruce Castor, said there would be no charges.

Constand and Cosby settled a civil suit out of court for an undisclosed sum in 2006.

Also in 2005, Tamara Green on "The Today Show" with a similar story.

TAMARA GREEN, COSBY ACCUSER: He had gone from helping me to groping me and kissing me and touching me and handling me.

CASAREZ: In 2005, Cosby spoke out for the first and only time, telling "The National Enquirer," "I am not going to give in to people who try to exploit me because of my celebrity status."

Now nine years later, Cosby's attorney, John Schmidt, has responded to it all with this statement. "Over the last several weeks, decade-old discredited allegations against Mr. Cosby have resurfaced. The fact that they are being repeated does not make them true."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: And now in another twist, the former prosecutor who had a shot at prosecuting Cosby back in 2005, he's now saying that he's disappointed that he wasn't able to arrest the comedian.

I want you to listen to Bruce Castor as he explains why he could not charge Cosby this morning on CNN's "NEW DAY."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRUCE CASTOR, FORMER MONTGOMERY COUNTY PROSECUTOR: I had no corroborating evidence. I couldn't do a search warrant. I couldn't look for hairs, fibers or anything that would corroborate because of the time delay. And I was given some information about other potential victims but all of them were from far in the past and none of them had resulted in arrests. So I couldn't use even any stretch of the imagination what we call common scheme plan or design because there was nothing unique about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BANFIELD: Joining me now to talk about these allegations swirling around Cosby, CNN correspondent and attorney herself, Jean Casarez, along with HLN legal analyst and attorney, Joey Jackson.

So first, Jean, to you. The newest allegations from Janice Dickinson, she's famous, people know who she is. There is some similarities with the things that she's saying that other accusers are saying.

CASAREZ: I think all the stories are so similar --

BANFIELD: But are there inconsistencies?

CASAREZ: There are some inconsistencies. Similarities are, I was plied with alcohol, I was given a drug. I really don't remember anything until I woke up and felt I was violated. Nobody really describes the sexual assault. Now as far as inconsistencies, Bill Cosby's attorney, Marty Singer, in regard to Janice Dickinson, has said her new story claiming that she had been sexually assaulted is a defamatory fabrication.

I found an interview in "New York Observer" 2002 about her tell-all autobiography. And in this article it quotes from the book, saying that she believed Bill Cosby when he told her she could sing but he realized it wasn't true when she didn't want to be with him and then he blew her off. So there are some inconsistencies.

BANFIELD: But does she not make some allegation that she wanted to put the sexual assault into her book and that she had to fight off his attorneys and his forces in doing so?

CASAREZ: She did. But also in the "Entertainment Tonight" interview last night, she was asked, did you ever bring this up with Mr. Cosby after that? No. Did you ever talk to him about it? No. So there is another little inconsistency. But she was very authentic and her story matches the other women.

BANFIELD: So let's talk about the other women and if there are others that may still come forward. We're talking about the span of 40 to 45 years, Joey.

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes.

BANFIELD: Is there any kind of recourse for these women, hearing what that prosecutor said, that one year was too late to scrape together a case. Is any kind of criminal case or civil case in the offing?

JACKSON: You know, it's unlikely, Ashleigh. And it's interesting when you hear that interview of the prosecutor as to why he didn't go forward. Right? You want to be able to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt. But interestingly enough, Ashleigh, he was speaking to the issue of physical evidence. And we have to remember, although we live in a "CSI Miami" society, there are instances, Ashleigh, where you can be prosecuted in the absence of physical evidence. The DA pieces other things together.

Now first of all credibility is a very difficult thing to examine. Why? Because there are some people who tell the truth but do so very poorly, looks like they're lying. And there are some people who lie but do so very well and it looks like they're telling the truth. However, in the event that you're a victim of a crime, in this instance, rape, you tell a friend, you tell a loved one, you go to someone, it's called a recent outcry witness.

And that person could come forward in a court of law with a compelling story. And if that jury believes it, you know what, you can secure a conviction in that regard. But in terms of statute of limitations for criminal actions or civil actions, I think they're far gone.

BANFIELD: We're in trouble in terms of just looking at the timeline for any of those kind of actions to go forward. Well, we'll continue to see if there are indeed other accusers.

Jean, Joey, thank you both. Appreciate it.

JACKSON: Pleasure, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: We're also following another story, a real shocker, in fact. Pennsylvania's top prosecutor says there are dozens of state officials, many who helped to put infamous child molester Jerry Sandusky in jail. But who have been caught exchanging pornographic e- mails, violent ones. We're going to dig deeper ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Stunning allegations about dozens of Pennsylvania officials, including some who investigated former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. Sandusky as you probably know is now serving 30 to 60-year sentence for sexually abusing more than half a dozen boys over a decade.

Now Pennsylvania's attorney general claims that many of the officials who worked on the Sandusky case, the abuse case, they were at the same time breaking the law by sharing hardcore porn on state computers. On top of that, she says a gag order is keeping her from completing her investigation.

Here's CNN investigative correspondent Sara Ganim.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA GAMIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dozens of state officials in Pennsylvania, many who worked to bring down the infamous child molester Jerry Sandusky, have been caught exchanging crude pornographic e-mails written on state e-mail accounts, state computers and on state time, according to the state's attorney general.

In all, more than 4,000 sexually explicit e-mails were circulated between about 50 people, many state employees, over a four-year period starting in 2008. Some of them at the very same time that the very same people were building a child sex abuse case against Sandusky.

And the porn being passed around was not for the faint of heart. KATHLEEN KANE, PENNSYLVANIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: When I saw them, they

literally took my breath away. And they are deplorable. Hardcore, graphic, sometimes violent e-mails that had a string of videos and pictures depicting sometimes children, old women. Some of them involved violent sexual acts against women.

GANIM: The e-mails were discovered by State Attorney General Kathleen Kane who ran for office on the promise that she would investigate why it took three years to charge Sandusky after his first victim came forward. While looking into that, her office uncovered the pornographic e-mails.

Those involved in the scandal include some of the biggest names in Pennsylvania's justice system. A state Supreme Court Justice Seamus McCaffery, the state police commissioner Frank Noonan, and one of the main Sandusky investigators, Randy Feathers.

The e-mails are so graphic, the chief justice of the state Supreme Court wrote that they are clearly obscene and may violate the crimes code section on obscenity. But now incredibly Kane says she can't do a thing about it, can't investigate further, can't name any names that haven't already been made public.

(On camera): But are you investigating this right now?

KANE: We are not investigating.

GANIM: Why not?

KANE: I cannot investigate. I am being stopped from performing my duties as attorney general. My office is being stopped from certain investigations. And we are being stopped even from telling why.

GANIM: So I'm hearing you say that your hands are tied. Why are your hands tied?

KANE: My hands are tied -- and this will be frustrating for you because it's just as frustrating for me. My hands are tied because there are court orders that don't allow us to say certain things which I believe the public needs to know.

GANIM (voice-over): To understand why you have to go back to a public and very bitter feud between Attorney General Kathleen Kane and the main prosecutor in the Sandusky case, Frank Fina. It started with her criticism of how Fina handled Sandusky.

The two have been lobbing allegations against each other about whether several cases have been handled correctly. As a result, Kane is now being investigated about whether she improperly leaked a memo about a case from 2009 that Fina handled. And according to the "Philadelphia Enquirer" a gag order in that case is keeping Kane from moving forward on the porn e-mails.

(On camera): As the state's top prosecutor.

KANE: Yes. GANIM: You're saying that there's a court order that's keeping you

from investigating a case that you think and the chief justice on the state Supreme Court thinks might be illegal?

KANE: That is correct.

GANIM (voice-over): Kane says she believes she did the right thing. Frank Fina would not comment for this story.

(On camera): Do you feel that the system is being abused to protect certain people?

KANE: I knew that I was walking into public corruption, which again is why I ran. But I will tell you this, even I am shocked at the level of public corruption. I am shocked at how deep it goes and I am shocked at how powerful it is. I have never seen anything like this. It's breathtaking. It has been described by the people familiar with what is happening as shameful.

(END VIDEOTAPE)