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@THISHOUR WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA

Jury Deliberates in Boston Marathon Bombing Trial; Rand Paul Set for 2016 Announcement in Louisville; Crisis in Yemen; Kenyan Government Criticized for Slow Response. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired April 7, 2015 - 11:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:21] KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The life of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is in the hands of a jury. The key question right now -- is he a cold blooded killer or was he manipulated by his older brother?

The GOP presidential field just got a bit more crowded, folks. Rand Paul throwing his hat in the ring for 2016. All eyes on Kentucky as he's about to take the stage. An early look at his campaign and the campaign already coming out against him.

A call for backup in war-torn Yemen. Pakistan now weighing a request to help in the fight against the Shiite rebel group that has already taken -- already has the country's president on the run. Could this signal a ground war? What that escalation also would mean for the U.S.

Hello, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan. John Berman is off today. A step towards closing a very painful chapter for the people of Boston. A jury deliberating right now on the case against the surviving marathon bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. We're waiting for their decision on the 30 counts that are against him, a decision that could come any minute. No one questions his involvement in the bombing. His own attorney said very clearly he was there at the beginning of the case. But the verdict that folks are waiting will guide the next critical phase, the punishment. And in this case that punishment could be death.

Alexandra Field is live in Boston. Alexandra, you've been following this case minute by minute. What are you hearing so far this morning?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kate, there is a lot for the jury to consider here. They stepped out to begin their deliberations nearly two hours ago. Seven women, five men behind doors. They've got to review the testimony they heard from 96 witnesses over the course of this trial; they can have access to hundreds of pieces of evidence. Of course, no one expects it should take the jury a terribly long time to come to their conclusion.

They do, however, have to read through each of these 30 charges. 17 of these charges come with the possibility of a death sentence. So if the jury convicts on just one of those 17 charges, then this trial moves into the penalty phase. In that phase, we'll hear a lot more from the defense. They have already said that it was him, that Dzhokhar did it, but they will continue to argue during the penalty phase that he was influenced by his older brother. His attorney said he's ready to take responsibility in the form of a verdict; in the next phase of this trial, Kate, they will fight to save had his life.

Prosecutors telling the jury before they left, during those closing arguments, that this was someone who had self-radicalized, who had planned an attack, who wanted to terrorize America, and who accomplished that. They left the jury with images of 8-year-old Martin Richard killed in the bomb blast. They showed Dzhokhar Tsarnaev standing near him and said there's no way he could not have seen the children who were out there that day, Kate, to watch the marathon. Very powerful arguments that the jury is weighing right now. And soon at some point we will hear what they have decided on the 30 counts that they are tasked with looking at. Kate.

BOLDUAN: Powerful images, horrific memories for folks in Boston, which means folks inside Boston and far, far beyond all waiting for that jury to return and to give their verdict. Alexandra Field is on the scene for us. Alexandra, thank you so much. We're keeping a very close eye on that courtroom.

And also this: "I am running for president to return our country to the principles of liberty and limited government." Those are the words of now presidential contender Rand Paul announcing on his website this morning he is in. Paul is expected to make the big official announcement, if you will, to supporters in Louisville, Kentucky, within the hour. He's promising to be a different kind of Republican who wants to defeat the Washington machine. How is he going to do that?

Chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash is in Louisville for that big announcement. Dana, he's in. But the big announcement still to come. What should folks expect to hear from Rand Paul this morning?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. You see the crowd is gathering behind me. They're going to see a series of videos before they actually hear from him or his wife, who's actually going to introduce him, which is going to sort of lay out, I'm told, a series of aspects of his life that people might not know a lot about. But of course his campaign wants people to know about the fact that he was an ophthalmologist for 20 years before he even ran for political office at all, about the fact that he considers himself a different kind of Republican because he spent the last year-plus trying to reach out to the African-America community, going to Ferguson, going to Detroit, going to places where he says Republicans have forgotten and shouldn't do so.

The other thing that you -- it's probably hard to see because it's a little bit dark here but it's very noteworthy being in the room -- are the kind of people who are here: young people.

[11:05:07] The very same sort of grassroots coalition that helped really push his father, Ron Paul's presidential campaign, particularly in the last election in 2012. Rand Paul very much is set apart from the other Republican candidates in that he inherited them and they're here kind of in full force. We're told that after the event they're going to go next door to another room in this hotel where they're going to be phone banking and have a contest to see how many phone calls that they can make and the winner gets to meet with Rand Paul. It's that kind of sort of goal of tapping into the youth movement that really does, again, set Rand Paul aside from others.

The flip side though, Kate, as you know, is that Rand Paul's father, Ron, had some fringe ideas particularly on foreign policy. He was very much viewed as an isolationist and that is already hurting Rand Paul. And he's trying and has been really for the past year trying to move away from his father's ideology on that. Went from opposing -- or supporting cuts in the military to more recently increasing (sic) cuts in the military as he's tried to change and more importantly the Republican electorate has gotten even more hawkish over the past few years.

BOLDUAN: What role Ron Paul will play in this campaign, that's a big question of course. We'll talk much more about that a little later in the hour. But Dana is on the ground waiting for that big announcement; will be happening very, very soon. Dana, thank you so much.

Republican field getting a little crowded, a little more crowded. And it's going to get a lot more crowded before we're done.

Turning our attention to this though. The chaos and fighting in Yemen is growing worse by the day, a country that's a key U.S. ally in the fight against terrorism. It sure is. Saudi Arabia, which is leading an air campaign there, is now asking Pakistan for support. Aircraft, warships, and maybe most noteworthy, soldiers possibly signaling a ground war. The Saudis are trying to push back the Shiite rebel group that ha taken over parts of the country. The toll on the people there has been absolutely awful. Some 600 people are believed to be dead since the beginning of this bombing campaign, which began just over a week ago. Today, air strikes hit a school, killing three students, injuring several more.

Senior international correspondent Nima Elbagir is joining us with much more on this. What's the very latest you're hearing right now, Nima?

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, it's now almost the end of the second week of that Saudi-led coalition offensive to try and return, they say, the democratically-elected government to Yemen. But we're not seeing it breaking the back of the Houthi-led offensive. What we're seeing really is some almost street by street fighting, especially in the really crucially strategic areas like down south in Aden, Fighting for that port is right pressed up against that southern shore of Yemen.

So now Saudi Arabia seems to be sending all signals that would lead us to believe that they are preparing very much for a ground offensive. Pakistan, as you said, mulling Saudis' request for some pretty heavy artillery air cover, but also on the ground troops. This all comes as 16 million people inside those Houthi-controlled areas are living without power, without basic resources, without many of them access even to clean water. Very, very little food now, we're told, remaining in many of those stores and supermarkets.

One man we spoke to in Sana'a said that it really is the most horrible, horrible choice that you have to make. It's either stay home, where at least you hope you're safe, or go out into the streets and try to find something for your family in shops that are increasingly shuttered. The hope was when this began, Kate, what Saudis hoped was that this would be over quickly. And as we're coming into now a third week, that doesn't seem to be the case. Doesn't look like this is going to end any time soon. Kate.

BOLDUAN: It sure doesn't. And as the focus has largely been on the fighting and on the potential of a ground operation, you well point out this is quickly becoming a humanitarian crisis that they have on their hands. Nima, thank you very, very much.

There's some other stories that we're keeping an eye on AT THIS HOUR. President Obama continues his sales pitch for the tentative framework deal over Iran 's nuclear program and also pushing back -- continuing to try to push back against critics of the agreement. He's speaking to NPR. The president called the Israeli prime minister's demand to force Iran to recognize Israel's right to exist, he called that misguided.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The notion that we would condition Iran not getting nuclear weapons in a verifiable deal on Iran recognizing Israel is really akin to saying that we won't sign a deal unless the nature of the Iranian regime completely transforms. And that is, I think, a fundamental misjudgment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:10:04] BOLDUAN: A fundamental misjudgment. The president also took a swipe at potential 2016 presidential candidate Scott Walker who promised to undo a nuclear deal with Iran if he's elected. The president says the Wisconsin governor needs to "bone up on foreign policy".

Also AT THIS HOUR, a father's health is improving, but his two teenage sons, they are still in a coma after they came into contact with a powerful pesticide, a powerful chemical, during their vacation in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The EPA now says there is evidence of this chemical, it's called methyl bromide, in the condo that they were renting at this resort. The Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation and the resort has now terminated its contract with the pest control company. We're talking more about what this chemical is, what it means, what it can do to the body, where else it might be found a little later this hour.

Also at any moment, ex-NFL football star Aaron Hernandez, his fate may move from the courtroom to a juryroom. Lawyers in the murder trial of the former New England Patriots tight end are wrapping up closing arguments. The prosecution, they just began theirs. The trial has lasted more than nine weeks, included testimony from 135 witnesses. Hernandez is accused of killing his friend, Odin Lloyd, back in 2013. But remember, after this trial wraps, regardless of what happens, Hernandez still faces two additional murder indictments stemming from a 2012 Boston nightclub dispute.

Ahead for us AT THIS HOUR, how soon will Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev learn his fate? There's little question he's guilty, but of how many counts and what punishment will he face? Possibly death. What are the factors the jury is weighing at this moment? That's ahead.

And also this: hindsight is 20/20. That's what Kenya's foreign minister says in response to criticism that the government there took too long to respond to last week's university massacre. Coming up, Christiane Amanpour is going to be joining us with more of her exclusive interview on that massacre in Kenya.

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[11:15:31] BOLDUAN: AT THIS HOUR, the life of the admitted Boston Marathon Bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, hangs in the balance. Not so much as guilt or innocence, but whether he should be put to death for the deadly 2013 bombing. A jury is deciding on 30 criminal counts. 17 of those carry the possibility of the death penalty. So if he's found guilty of just one, he could face execution. All along, the defense said that Dzhokhar was a follower swayed by his more radicalized older brother. Will that argument stick, though, in the penalty phase?

Legal Analyst Mel Robbins is here. Also, Mark O'Mara. Mark also a Criminal Defense Attorney. Great to see you both. This is a critical point, obviously, the critical point in this first phase. Mel, first to you, they're deliberating. What is this jury weighing behind closed doors?

MEL ROBBINS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, they're basically weighing an enormous amount of evidence against him and they're also taking into consideration, Kate, the fact that the defense counsel, Dzhokhar's own attorney, said not only in the opening, but in the close, he did it. He's accepting full responsibility. She even said he fully participated, so she did not even attempt to knock out any one of the 30 counts. I would imagine we're going to see a very swift verdict in this case, and you're going to see a conviction on all 30 counts is most likely Kate.

BOLDUAN: But, Mark, the Defense Attorney, Judy Clark, she is well known for her work on death penalty cases. She also said this, in many different ways, but one way she said it was very notable. "Tamerlan led, Dzhokhar followed." Did she make a strong enough case for that? She's clearly looking ahead at the penalty phase already.

MARK O'MARA, CNN CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes. Her point, and the only point of the whole defense team, is to convince, at least, one juror, not that he's not guilty, that's not going to happen, but one juror that he should not be put to death, because they need to have a unanimous verdict for death in order for it to be imposed in this case. So, their whole thought process is not to do anything other than to decide or have a jury decide to save his life. BOLDUAN: And Mark, is that what-what is Judy Clark trying to get at

when she also has said more than once, keep an open mind. What is she trying to lay the groundwork for there?

O'MARA: Well, here's what she's doing. She's very good at personalizing her client and she has to do that by maintaining her own integrity with the jury. So that's why I think it was a great move by the defense team to give in to what they know is going to be proven. They're not going to walk out of there without convictions, as Mel said, on almost all of the counts. If she can maintain her integrity and get that jury to say he's less guilty than his brother, he was following in his brother's lead, then they may decide that he's less guilty than the ultimate penalty, a death penalty, and give him something less, which in this case has to be the life sentence.

BOLDUAN: Mel, we touched on this yesterday. I want to get more of your thoughts. This is a Federal case, that's why the death penalty can be considered here. Massachusetts is not a death penalty state, though. That fact that you kind of got that element as part of this conversation, part of this case, who do you think that helps?

You got on one hand, you have this case being heard in Massachusetts. This happened in Boston. This affected everyone in that state and across the country. But on the other hand, you're in a state that is not supportive of the death penalty. How do you weigh that?

ROBBINS: Kate, it's a great question. How do you weigh the death penalty in a state that's been historically against it, yet had a terrorist attack happened, and in fact, we're going to be running the Boston Marathon in just about a week here in Boston. And so, the thing that I think is more important, Kate, is you have two jurors, two jurors on this case, in particular, one a woman who works for a bookstore who said she's against, opposed to the death penalty, but she would be willing to impose it under certain circumstances.

You have a second juror on this particular case, who said he's unsure about the death penalty. All this Defense Attorney needs, and mark is absolutely right. What she did a fantastic job of, in the penalty- well not the penalty, but the guilt phase of this trial, Kate, is she kept her credibility. By saying he was there, by saying he accepts full responsibility, by saying you need to come down and make him held accountable for this thing, she's actually in a weird way set herself up to be considered in the guilt phase.

And she's got two jurors, in particular, that she is going to be speaking to. She knows that they're on the fence and when she puts in the mitigating factors, I'm sure those two along with others, that's the backdrop for whether or not they're going to get a unanimous verdict for the death penalty.

[11:20:16] BOLDUAN: We're watching that case very closely. This verdict could come, really, as soon as they get it at any -- they have it, as soon as they get called back into the courtroom. We're going to be cover that. It could happen quickly.