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Washington Power Outage; Hernandez Trial; Rand Paul Announcement; Boston Bombing Trial. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired April 7, 2015 - 14:00   ET

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


[14:00:04] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Good afternoon. I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Brooke Baldwin.

And I want to begin with breaking news coming to us out of the nation's capital. Right now there are widespread power outages across the D.C. metropolitan area. At this point, Pepco, the power provider there, is reporting that about 2,000 customers are affected by this outage. This does include, though, some very important customers, for instance, the White House and the U.S. Capitol. In fact, check out what happened just a few moments ago during today's State Department briefing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's no reason. It's the same thing. Same kind.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ask - it's the same thing. So you still expect them to ratify it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Same thing. And they've agreed to do so, correct, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Great. And then second thing -

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: All right, so some lights went out there at the State Department and actually Marie Harf, the spokeswoman, had to go ahead and use a phone light to take questions. Let's bring in CNN's aviation and government regulation correspondent, Rene Marsh. She is in Washington.

Do we have a sense of what happened, Rene, and how widespread this is?

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION & GOVT. REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are getting some reporting into CNN. The power outage in the Washington area was caused by a small explosion at a power transfer line in southern Maryland. That's according to a U.S. official from CNN's Jim Sciutto. CNN has been told that the Department of Transportation - the Department of Homeland Security, I should say, is very closely monitoring the situation. But what we have here, Brianna, as you mentioned off the top, is

something that's very widespread. Not just the White House, but reports that the Capitol building, brief power outages here at the D.C. bureau of CNN, the Smithsonian Museum saying that they had to evacuate many of their museums because they lost power. Department of Justice also reports that they lost power as well. So this is very widespread.

Also, we saw mass transit being affected. Metro, the train service here in Washington, D.C., many of those stations reporting that they were operating on backup power as a result of this.

But the information that we are getting into CNN, that the root of this looks like it is a power outage that was caused by a small explosion, again, Brianna, at a power transfer line in southern Maryland.

KEILAR: All right. And do we have a sense - what about airports? You have Reagan Airport, Rene, which is right there outside of Washington, D.C., in northern Virginia. Are there any effects there?

MARSH: Yes, we did a check of all of the airports. At this point, no impact to any of the airports. I also spoke with TSA. Their screening, that's up and running. So we're not seeing any issues. We're seeing flights going in and out of Reagan and Dulles. So not seeing any problems there. Looks like most of the power problems are concentrated within the D.C. area as well as Maryland. Of course, those two airports in Virginia. So at this point, no reports of any problems at the airports here.

KEILAR: OK. We'll be keeping an eye on this. Rene Marsh, this developing just in the last few moments there in Washington, D.C., keep us posted.

And any moment now, a Massachusetts jury will begin to decide the fate of former NFL star Aaron Hernandez. Hernandez is accused of the June 2013 killing of semi-pro player Odin Lloyd, who was dating his fiance's sister. Lloyd was found shot to death in an industrial park less than a mile from Hernandez's home. This is a trial that's taken months. One hundred and thirty-one witnesses have taken the stand. This includes New England Patriots' owner Robert Kraft, as well as Hernandez's own fiance. But it all comes down to this, did the state prof beyond a reasonable doubt that Hernandez killed Lloyd? The prosecutor asked jurors to consider the evidence and Hernandez's behavior.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM MCCAULEY, PROSECUTOR: Something's been taken, something's been left. The car, that leaves. The tire. The shell casing. And guess what? When they go and they speak to Killy (ph) Smith and she talks about the car, oh, yes, they brought the car back and told me about the mirror, the broken mirror. They go and they collect that tire. And guess what? His tire at that scene, his DNA at that scene. That shell casing, the same markings to that same gun, the same gun that he's waltzing around the house with that disappears. Why did it disappear? Because he made it disappear. When you talk about control, who's in control? Who's in control of Wallace? Who's in control of Carlos Ortiz? Who's in control of Shayanna Jenkins, right? The fact that she's going to say, I put up with this, that's a choice apparently she makes, but he is controlling it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:05:00] KEILAR: The defense, today for the first time acknowledged Hernandez was at the scene of the killing and saw it happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES SULTAN, HERNANDEZ DEFENSE ATTORNEY: So what are you to make of Aaron's conduct after the killing of Odin Lloyd? Did he make all the right decisions? No. Did he make all the right choices? No. He was a 23-year-old kid who had witnessed something, a shocking killing, committed by somebody he knew. He really didn't know what to do. So he just put one foot in front of the other. Keep in mind, he's not charged with being an accessory after the fact. You couldn't find him guilty of that charge even if you wanted to. They didn't charge him with that. He's charged with murder. And that he did not do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: I want to bring in former prosecutor and CNN legal analyst Paul Callen and criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor B.J. Bernstein.

So, B.J., why would the defense use this tactic in their closing argument, this admitting here at the last minute that Hernandez was present for the murder?

B.J. BERNSTEIN, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Well, because it tracks the total defense, which is that they don't have anything but gray suspicion that he actually committed the murder itself. The defense throughout the trial really attacked the circumstantial evidence that was presented by the state. They went after the expert, for instance, with regard to the shoe treads, saying that, you know, he was there. They kept using it, attacking each thing that there's just no direct evidence that Aaron Hernandez was there and the only thing lurking was this idea that perhaps he wasn't there at all. And by admitting that, they took that out of the province of the jury and let the jury focus on whether the state proved the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

KEILAR: Was this a smart move then, Paul?

PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: No, I don't think it was in terms of the overall strategy and trying the case. Remember, they opened to the jury, suggesting that this was a weak circumstantial case, suggesting that there was no proof that he was actually involved in the murder. They fought tooth and nail throughout. And now, to close to the jury and say, oh, yes, he was there, but he didn't pull the trigger, I think that's a major shift in the strategy of defense in the middle of a trial and it's kind of unusual for the defense to do that. Usually they follow the same strategy throughout. And I think that's going to backfire on them. KEILAR: Yes, it's this tacit admission that they had to give up

something that they weren't alleging in the beginning of this. What about - we heard the defense hammering over and over today reasonable doubt, reasonable doubt. And the key here being that they want the jury to believe that it wasn't Hernandez, that he was there, but it was these - one of these other men that was with him. B.J., do you think that they really have a chance at this, creating this reasonable doubt, or does it seem like a Hail Mary?

BERNSTEIN: There's always a chance. You know, when you have more than one person there, when you have - especially when they're not on trial with you right in the room, it is easier and should be - you know, lot of times done to say, wait a minute, it's not me, it's these other people. You have the wrong person. And it's the natural way to be able to defend yourself from this that he was there but that they don't have any direct evidence. And again, we're going back to that circumstantial versus direct evidence of whether he actually was the murder. And that's what the defense is relying on that the jury will reject it.

KEILAR: Paul, you're seeing these countless pictures of Aaron Hernandez in the courtroom. He might as well be on a football field, all of these smiles. We saw him sort of smiling, kind of laughing, chewing gum at times. What do you make of that behavior? What does the jury make of that behavior?

CALLAN: Well, I think that it's a big mistake to have a client behave like that as if these lawyers could control it. They really can't control it. I mean it looks like he doesn't take the charges seriously. I mean, what is more serious than being on trial for murder? And to be laughing and joking, I mean, it's just - I think it makes him look terrible. It makes him look like he has no respect for the process or the life of the person who was killed. So I think that's going to - that's going to hurt him when the jury deliberations occur.

KEILAR: And, B.J., you look at this and you see his lawyer is not laughing the way he is. He's laughing, and his lawyer is trying to kind of keep a straight face and maybe discourage him from behaving that way. What do you think?

BERNSTEIN: And, you know, it's difficult, but at the same time, honestly, as I walk the hallways even here at CNN talking to different people here, a lot of people are saying, you know, I like Aaron Hernandez. He's handsome. He's charismatic. I'm still going to keep my jersey. That is a very strong factor here that almost no other defendant has is this likability. And although the circumstances are serious, when you look at the video even right now, not knowing what's there, you say, wow, he - you know, he's likable, he can't be a murder. And that may be a subliminal message that's being sent to that jury.

[14:10:28] KEILAR: Yes, good points, both of you. Thanks so much. Paul Callan, B.J. Bernstein, thanks guys.

BERNSTEIN: Thank you. CALLAN: Thank you.

KEILAR: All eyes now on Boston. We are awaiting the jury's decision on the fate of the accused Boston bomber. The verdict is expected at any moment.

Plus, he's one of the political world's biggest characters, and today Rand Paul announcing he wants the White House. Hear why the focus of his speech surprised some pundits today.

And developing right now, ISIS is storming the streets of a refugee camp on the doorstep of Syria's Bashar al Assad. There are 18,000 civilians caught in the middle of this standoff. We will take you there.

This is CNN.

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[14:15:20] KEILAR: Rand Paul has just joined his Senate colleague Ted Cruz. They are the first two Republicans now to officially kick off their 2016 White House bids.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAND PAUL (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Today I announce, with God's help, with the help of liberty lovers everywhere, that I am putting myself forward as a candidate for president of the United States of America.

CROWD: President Paul. President Paul. President Paul. President Paul. President Paul. President Paul. President Paul. President Paul.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: All right, they had some acoustics there for sure at that event. As you can tell, maybe no surprise, Rand Paul supporters think he is the man for the job. It was a robust crowd. A lot of them were young. They chanted "President Paul," as you heard them there as he took the stage. Paul spent the next half hour pledging to take back America from special interests and laying out his vision for the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: I have a vision for America. I want to be part of a return to prosperity, a true economic boom that lifts all Americans, a return to a government restrained by the Constitution, a return to privacy, opportunity, liberty. Too often when Republicans have won, we've squandered our victory by becoming part of the Washington machine. That's not who I am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: CNN's senior digital correspondent Chris Moody was at today's announcement in Louisville, Kentucky, joining me now to talk about this.

So just give us a sense of what really stuck out to you, Chris.

CHRIS MOODY, CNN SENIOR DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rand Paul used this as an opportunity to introduce his family, his network, and his supporters, I think, to the country. A lot of people know Ron Paul very well, his father, from his past presidential campaigns and now he wants them to get to know Rand Paul, who is really a different kind of candidate in a lot of ways. And I think Rand Paul wants to try to find ways to separate himself from his father while also not abandoned him, of course, and not abandoning the base that got him to where he is today.

KEILAR: So you wrote a really interesting piece, Chris, about the differences between Rand Paul and Ron Paul that's on cnnpolitics.com right now. Give us a sense of really how - what are the - where is the daylight between them?

MOODY: I think the main take away from that is that Ron Paul was more for promoting a message and staying ideologically pure to the libertarian form of political thought, even if that meant risking saying something that might be unpopular or even losing an election. But I think it's safe to say that he was a pretty successful candidate in being a message candidate. His son, Rand Paul, is far more about winning an election. And I think what we've seen from the way he has voted and the way he's taken policy positions and even changed some of those policy positions as he learns new details as a member of the Senate is something that his father did not necessarily do.

Now, what Rand is trying to cast himself is somebody who can reach out beyond the normal constraints of what it means to be a Republican voter. He's going into a lot of communities that a lot of Republicans have not in the past and not necessarily changing his message. And I think that's something that we saw very strongly today. He sees himself as a bit of an insurgent, not just against Democrats, not just against Washington, but even within his own party, as someone that wants to shake up the party. One of the slogans that they used was "a new kind of Republican." And I think that is something that we're going to hear a lot from, from Rand Paul over the next several months.

KEILAR: Yes, and we'll be waiting to see if he can kind of take his message and really go mainstream with it. But he's different when it comes to foreign policy than a lot of Republicans. He did talk a little bit about foreign policy. He called radical Islam the enemy. This is certainly something that I think a lot of Republicans would agree on. He also weighed in on the Iran nuclear talks. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: I believe in applying Reagan's approach to foreign policy to the Iran issue. Successful negotiations with untrustworthy adversaries are only achieved from a position of strength. We brought Iran to the table through sanctions that I voted for. Now we must stay strong. That's why I've co-sponsored legislation that ensures that any deal between the U.S. and Iran must be approved by Congress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:20:04] KEILAR: OK, so that's something that a lot of Republicans, not to mention Democrats, would agree with, but he has some stark differences with his Republican compadres when it comes to foreign policy, right, Chris?

MOODY: Rand Paul's path to the nomination here, as far as the challenge goes, is unique. He's really facing a two-front war. He's got the Democrats hitting him on one side and then a section of the Republican Party, the foreign hawks that point to his past comments on having a non-interventionist foreign policy, they're attacking him too. There's a group that plans to spend about a million dollars, it was reported today in "The New York Times," against Rand Paul. A group of Republicans. And I think that's something he's going to have to overcome and that's going to be very difficult for him, not just facing one side but facing both at the same time.

KEILAR: Yes, a two-front war. Well put, Chris Moody. Thanks so much. Live for us there from Louisville. Appreciate it.

Next, in the hands of the jury. Any moment now we could get a verdict in the Boston bombing trial. What that could mean for the fate of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. We will take you live to the courtroom.

Also, escape from Yemen. With the country on the brink of civil war and a possible ground invasion, residents are scrambling to leave. We will take you there.

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[14:25:32] KEILAR: Nearly two years to the day after the Boston Marathon bombing, a federal jury right now is deliberating the fate of 21-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev after weeks of dramatic, at times overwhelmingly emotional, testimony. The accused bomber, any moment now, could find out if he's guilty of killing four people and injuring nearly 300 others in the deadliest attack of domestic terrorism since 9/11. Seven women and five men are combing through 30 counts against Tsarnaev. Seventeen of these charges carry the death penalty or life in prison.

And during closing arguments, prosecutors called Tsarnaev a cold- blooded killer, who, quote, "wanted to awake the holy warriors." The defense admitted, quote, "it was him," but portrayed the young defendant as an aimless college student who succumbed to the radical influence of his domineering older brother who died in a police shootout. The case has captivated the nation. The jury began deliberating about five hours ago.

And CNN's Alexandra Field has been covering this case from day one. She's outside of the federal courthouse there in Boston.

This is a big moment that we're waiting for, Alexandra.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so many survivors, so many family members of the victims wanting to know what kind of discussions are being had inside that room. Of course, we won't know until the jury reaches their verdict and comes back to the courtroom. Some people thought that this verdict would be delivered very, very quickly. This is the case in which the defense got up and said it was him, admitted guilt on behalf of their client from the beginning stages. Just yesterday, in the closing arguments, Dzhokhar's attorney, Judy Clarke, said that he was ready to be held responsible in the form of a verdict.

However, there are 30 charges, Brianna, as you point out. Thirty federal charges. Seventeen of them bearing that possible death sentence. So there is a lot of work for the jury to do inside that room.

They've heard from 96 different witnesses over the course of this trial. They heard 16 days' worth of testimony. They saw hundreds, if not thousands, of pieces of evidence. They've got access to all of that in that room right now. The documents, the computer mock-ups, paperwork that they might want to look at. They've got the indictment and they also have this verdict slip, Brianna. It's 32 pages long. Some of the language is dense. Of course, it's legal language.

And this is what the jury is doing right now. They're talking about each of the charges. They'll have to go through this verdict slip and they've got the option here for not guilty, guilty on each of these charges and they're going to have to come to a unanimous consensus on each of these charges, Brianna. So we're waiting to see how long it takes them.

KEILAR: On each one. And that's why today is so important in part, right, Alex? We're looking ahead to the penalty phase, which is going to be so important. It will determine if Tsarnaev lives or dies. But this is key because it might give us a sense of where the jury could be, right, whether they're so hard and fast set against Tsarnaev or whether, perhaps, they think, you know, maybe he did kind of follow along with his brother.

FIELD: Right. Guilt has been sort of the foregone conclusion of so many people observing this case. Of course, given what his attorneys said, admitted, acknowledged from the very beginning. But you have had this sort of theme that the defense has implanted very specifically over the course of this phase of the trial, the verdict phase of the trial, in which they have said, yes, he was there, yes, he participated in these events, but he was coerced, manipulated by his brother, Tamerlan.

A lot of jurors are probably in there right now thinking, OK, how significant is that given the charges that we're looking at right now? Well, in a lot of cases, Brianna, that really isn't the bottom line. Their task today is to determine whether or not Dzhokhar committed the crimes he's charged with, whether or not he is involved with those crimes. But if they find him guilty of any one of the 17 offenses that comes with a possible death penalty, then the idea of why, the motivation, the inspiration, could weigh in much more heavily, Brianna, when they determine whether or not to spare Tsarnaev's life in the penalty phase of this trial.

KEILAR: All right, we are waiting along with you, Alex. Alexandra Field for us there in Boston. Thanks so much.

And next, is the Syrian government losing its foothold against ISIS? There are new reports that the terror group is advancing closer to the doorstep of President Bashar al Assad and that thousands of civilians are caught in the middle. We have Christiane Amanpour joining us next.

[14:29:41] And, we continue to monitor a power outage across parts of the nation's capital. It's impacted several buildings, including, as you can see there, the State Department, during the briefing, during Marie Harf, the spokeswoman's, briefing. She was actually forced to use her cell phone for light. We will bring you more as this develops. Stay with us.

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