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EARLY START

Report: Tulsa Deputy Didn't Earn Badge; Hernandez Guilty Of First Degree Murder; Mailman Lands Aircraft On Capitol Lawn; The Battle For Iraq's Anbar Province; Christie's Town Hall Tour Of New Hampshire. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired April 16, 2015 - 05:30   ET

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


[05:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Shocking new allegations about the volunteer Oklahoma deputy who shot and killed an unarmed man on camera, reports now claim he did not earn his job. We'll explain.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: A security scare at the White House raising new questions about Capitol Hill security. A pilot undetected by radar landing his aircraft on the capitol lawn. The message he wanted lawmakers to get.

BERMAN: ISIS gaining new ground in Iraq. CNN crews getting exclusive look inside these new attacks. We're live. Welcome back to EARLY START, everyone. I'm John Berman.

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. It's 30 minutes past the hour this Thursday morning.

BERMAN: We have breaking news this morning, explosive new allegations about the Oklahoma volunteer deputy who shot and killed an unarmed man on camera.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roll on your stomach.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I shot him. I'm sorry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He shot me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, that's the video of the controversial moment. This news even more controversial, the "Tulsa World" is reporting that Deputy Robert Bates did not earn his job on the force.

Sources tell the paper that supervisors of the sheriff's office were ordered to falsify Bates records giving him credit for field training he never took and firearm certifications that he never earned.

Questions have been raised about whether Bates paid to play deputy. He was allowed to do this because of donations to the force. He is a wealthy insurance CEO who donated money to the sheriff's re- election campaign. He donated equipment to his apartment.

CNN has not been able to independently verify the claims in "The Tulsa World." The Tulsa Sheriff's Department is strongly denying the report casting doubt on the paper's anonymous sources. Those doubts expressed in an e-mail to CNN.

Now "The Tulsa World" reporters, who broke the story, they are going to defend it this morning. They will be on NEW DAY, just a few minutes from now at 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

ROMANS: All right, developing this morning, a steep fall from grace for former NFL star, Aaron Hernandez. Once under a $40 million contract with the New England Patriots, now he is convicted by a Massachusetts jury in the 2013 murder of one time friend, Odin Lloyd.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What say you, Madame Foreperson, is the defendant not guilty, guilty of murder in the first degree or guilty of murder in the second degree?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guilty of murder in the first degree.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: After hearing that verdict, a judge, Susan Garsh, sentenced Hernandez to life in prison without parole. Our national correspondent, Susan Candiotti, was in the courtroom.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Christine and John, good morning. Aaron Hernandez showed little emotion when the guilty verdict was read. He did lick his lips and rubbed his chin, something we often saw him do during the trial when things got tense.

At this moment, he turned to see his mother and his fiancee in each other's arms weeping. He told them be strong and appear to mouth the words they're wrong.

Then we looked across the aisle to the mother of victim, Odin Lloyd. She pumped her fist in the air as if in a sign of relief. And just before Aaron Hernandez was sentenced to life in prison, she addressed the court and said she forgave the people responsible and played a role in the death of her only son.

Afterwards, the jurors were asked why did they take seven days to reach a verdict, was that a long time? They said not in their opinion. They took such a long time because they were very careful about all of the evidence they had to consider.

Then there was this from the jurors. They said that they only found out from the judge after the trial that Aaron Hernandez also faces a double murder case in Boston. That is yet to come. He is always facing accusation that he shot someone in the face. Someone they heard testimony from during this trial.

After the verdict was over and Aaron Hernandez was led from the courtroom to his prison, a source tells me he told his jailors this, he said, "I didn't do it, they got it wrong." Evidently the jury disagreed -- John and Christine.

BERMAN: Thanks to Susan Candiotti for that report. Now the double murder trial, Susan was talking about, is to be scheduled soon now that the first case is over.

Members of the jury as you heard from Susan, in the Odin Lloyd case, says that when the judge told them Hernandez faces more serious charges, they said they knew they had delivered the correct verdict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you found out about the double murder, what was your reaction after going through all of this and you hear that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That we made the right decision, that we did the right thing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:35:07] ROMANS: Outside the courthouse, Odin Lloyd's mother remembered him as the backbone of her family, the man of the house who she will never forget.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

URSULA WARD, ODIN LLOYD'S MOTHER: Just like God has left his footprint in the sand --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Take your time, Ursula, take your time.

WARD: -- my baby's footprints is in my heart forever. He was my strength. I love him dearly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Her poise as a spokesperson for her own family and victims' families everywhere was remarkable. She told reporters she praised that heaven forgives all those who had a hand in her son's murder.

BERMAN: New this morning, we are learning new information about a Florida man who flew a small aircraft called gyrocopter. It is not a helicopter. It was a gyrocopter and he flew it right on the U.S. capitol lawn.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is not good, people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The 61-year-old letter carrier, Doug Hughes, landed the tiny craft right in front of the U.S. capitol. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NORA NEUS, WITNESS: I saw out of nowhere a machine that looked like something from "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" coming straight at the capitol building. It flew straight in toward the face of the capitol building. It bounced once and just landed right on the grass.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Hughes was promptly arrested. Lucky he was not shot. The gyrocopter was examined by the bomb squad and carted away. Law enforcement sources say the aircraft did not show up on radar. Homeland Security officials say that Hughes would have been shot had he come any closer to the capitol building.

Secret Service says it interviewed Hughes back in 2013 on a tip concluding that he did not pose a threat. The flight Wednesday not a surprise to everyone, he told "The Tampa Bay Times" all about his plans and let the paper actually film some video in which he admits this is a stunt.

He said he was willing to risk his life to protest what he calls the corrupting power of money in politics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG HUGHES, FLEW GYROCOPTER ONTO CAPITOL LAWN: I'll violate the no- fly zone nonviolently. I intend for nobody to get hurt. I'm going to land on the capitol lawn in front of the capitol building. I'm going to have 535 letters strapped to the landing gear in boxes. Those letters will be addressed to every member of Congress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: They are in a U.S. post office box, but he did not use the postal service.

BERMAN: No, that is not an official U.S. postal service gyrocopter. He put the logo on the tail. I think the U.S. Postal Service is not happy. He has been transferred to the Washington, D.C. Central Jail at this point now awaiting federal charges.

ROMANS: Some people are making light of it. Somebody could have been hurt. He said he wanted to do it without getting hurt. If they didn't know he was coming, you know, you just don't know what could have happened there.

It's 38 minutes past the hour. ISIS on the rampage in Iraq's Anbar Providence, the militants advancing into the city of Ramadi located just 70 miles from Baghdad. Officials say ISIS fighters have killed a number of Iraqi troops.

They say the need for reinforcements this hour is critical and the troops remaining in the city will not be able to hold the frontlines.

Let's bring in senior international correspondent, Arwa Damon, who was there. She has an exclusive look inside these new attacks. What is the very latest, Arwa?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that call for additional assistance is growing even more desperate. ISIS fighters are trying to reach the government compound and they have launched a series of attacks that began overnight into the hours of the morning.

So far Iraqi security forces able to repel them from this vital piece of infrastructure within the city of Ramadi, but they won't be able to indefinitely, especially if help does not arrive there. They are quite simply out manned and out gunned.

The ISIS assault that began in earnest yesterday morning into the eastern portion of the city, remember, they already control the north and the south sent according to the deputy head of the provincial counsel, upwards of 150,000 people fleeing.

We saw some of them. They were trying to cross a bridge from Anbar Province where Ramadi is located to Baghdad. This is the bridge where they do not allow vehicles to cross. People were walking.

Those who were too old, too weak or too tired to walk were piling into metal carts, elderly, women, men, children, all of them shell-shocked, all of them carrying whatever it was they could.

Some able to take away large pieces of luggage. Others forced to shove their belongings into small bags and some just holding on to their children.

[05:40:07] One older woman who we met just burst into tears the moment we approached her. Another man that we spoke to is describing how ISIS fighters taken over his home and put a sniper on his roof. He grabbed his children and wife and ran out.

As he was talking to us telling the story, his wife just burst into tears. There have been ongoing calls for additional Iraqi troops to come and help this city. These are not calls that just began over the last 24 hours, Christine, these are calls that have been made for weeks.

Now warning that if support, reinforcements were not brought in to protect Ramadi, this is exactly what would take place. There have been requests for airstrikes over the last few weeks from the Iraqi air force, but also from the U.S.-led coalition. Those have not happened, any sort of significant or decisive manner.

A source of great anger and frustration for those trying to fight ISIS inside the city of Ramadi, failing to understand why it is that the Iraqi government says it is sending reinforcements, yet none in significant numbers seem to have appeared.

ROMANS: Frustration in a critical situation. Arwa Damon, thanks for bringing that to us. BERMAN: All right, what is next for Hillary Clinton? Just wrapping up the listening tour in Iowa. Did the campaign get off to the start she wanted? Details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: This week, Iowa, next week, New Hampshire, Hillary Clinton wrapping up a high profile, low key kickoff to her 2016 presidential campaign. Clinton up close and personal with the voters and key Democratic officials during her swing through the Hawkeye state. We get more from CNN's Jeff Zeleny.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine. Hillary Clinton is waking up for a third straight morning in Iowa. Her first trip as a 2016 presidential candidate is coming to an end.

She is planning to return to her home base in New York later today, this time by plane, not a road trip. This first campaign stop was more than simply a drive-by visit.

She intentionally lingered with voters and key elected officials to show that she is serious about fighting for the Democratic nomination. She walked into the Iowa statehouse on Wednesday afternoon for a closed-door meeting, people lined up to see her.

Her campaign believes this trip was a successful one, but it's only the beginning of a long campaign. She is expected to travel to New Hampshire early next week, the state that holds the first primary of the 2016 fight.

Of course, unlike Iowa, she won that state during her first presidential campaign. As she begins to layout the principles of the candidacy, she intentionally did so before scripted and friendly crowds.

Of course, the real test of this candidacy will come when she starts taking tough and unscripted questions from those discerning voters in both states -- John and Christine.

ROMANS: All right, Jeff Zeleny, thanks, Jeff. So he is not a candidate yet, not yet, at least, but New Jersey Governor Chris Christie crisscrossing New Hampshire with the four-day tell it like it is town hall tour continuous today.

At an event on Wednesday, Christie addressed the issue and perhaps his political future.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOVERNOR CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: When anybody is asking to be considered for high office, whether it's the governor of New Jersey or an even bigger job, issues will change and move over time. What you need to know more than anything else is, who is that person?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Jeb Bush and Rick Perry, two other undeclared Republicans also make stops today in the first primary state.

Let's take a look at what is coming up on "NEW DAY." Chris Cuomo joins me now. Hi, Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": Christine, we have a couple of big ones developing on our watch this morning. A startling report out of Tulsa, the whole argument by police is that 73-year-old businessman or not, the man, Robert Bates, the reserve deputy that shot and killed a man during a sting operation.

He was fully certified. His lawyer came on "NEW DAY" and echoed that point said he done hundreds of these. What we will play you part of the interview because here's what we're learning now.

Two local reporters have a story that say that training was bogus. Records were manipulated. Instructors may h and officials removed when they would not go along with helping the long-time friend become a deputy.

We will also have the Aaron Hernandez verdict, plenty of pain to go around for Odin Lloyd's family. The jurors had interesting things to say after the trial and sentencing.

Christine, this one about Sofia Vergara and her former boyfriend, they made embryos. This is a big thing now with fertility couples these days. They are now not together. One of them wants to get rid of the embryos. The other one is saying no. What happens in the eyes of the law? We will take you through it.

ROMANS: Look, I'll tell you, infertility is a very serious issue. Invitro fertilization is a growing subject posted in sort of not classy way, let go my ego. Do it with class.

CUOMO: They put the eggs together. They made a baby, so now what happens to those babies? It will get pretty thick legally and we'll get into it.

ROMANS: All right, good, thanks for that, Chris. Nice to see you this morning. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:52:36]

ROMANS: The president of Iran not too pleased with the compromised reached by the White House and the Senate giving Congress the right to block the lifting of sanctions against his country. President Hassan Rouhani is dismissing the development as nothing but put American politics.

Repeating his claim there will be no deal unless all sanctions are immediately dropped once agreement is signed. In Israel, the Senate and White House compromise being hailed by intelligence officials there as a very important element in preventing a bad deal with Iran.

Iran is increasing the precision and frequency of its cyber- attacks. At the same time, it is participating in those nuclear talks. According to a report by the American Enterprise Institute and the security firm, Norse, if sanctions against Iran are suspended, the rogue nation could use increased oil revenue to bolster its cyber activities against the U.S.

U.S. intelligence officials blame Iran for a cyber-attack that destroyed much of the Las Vegas Sands Company's computer infrastructure last year.

Tensions are flaring between two key U.S. allies in the Middle East, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Iraq's Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi criticized the Saudis for launching air strikes against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. He says there is no logic to the operation. The U.S. is caught in the middle supporting both the Saudi airstrikes and Iraq's struggle to oust ISIS.

Massive marches, big marches, to raise the minimum wage, more than the $9 or $10 that some companies. They want $15. We will tell you about it after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:57:35]

ROMANS: Let's get an EARLY START on your money this Thursday morning. The big stories today, bank earnings and oil prices, oil rose sharply yesterday and today, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, report their profit for the quarter.

Google is facing a fine of up to $6 billion. The EU, European Union, says Google favors its own search results above competitors in Europe. Relevant links not listed first. You will see companies advertising with Google. Amazon will be much lower. The European officials saying this amounts to uncompetitive practices. Google says they disagree.

About 15,000 low wage workers marched across the country yesterday demanding a minimum wage of at least $15 an hour. These are workers from fast food, retail and home health care.

In the last several months, some big employers like McDonald's and Wal-Mart raised wages to $10 an hour starting salaries. It is a start, but those increases are not enough and still not livable for this work.

Shocking new allegations about that volunteer Oklahoma deputy who shot and killed an unarmed man on camera. "NEW DAY" picks up these new developments now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Explosive allegations about the Oklahoma volunteer deputy who shot and killed an unarmed man. ROMANS: Questions have been raised about whether Bates paid to play deputy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Guilty of murder in the first degree.

CANDIOTTI: Sentenced to life without parole.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Aaron Hernandez is a murdering thug.

WARD: I forgive the hands of the people that had a hand in my son's murder.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we can say we made the right decision.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ISIS is advancing into Ramadi, thousands of refugees fleeing.

CUOMO: NBC News under fire once again. The story of their reporter being kidnapped changes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We climbed out of the vehicle and the rebels took us.

CUOMO: The integrity of the peacock back in the media cross hairs.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Good morning. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It's Thursday, April 16th, 6:00 in the east. Alisyn and Michaela are off. They told me not to take it personally. Poppy Harlow here and John Berman.

We do have breaking news for you this morning. A major report claiming Tulsa County Sheriff's supervisors were ordered to falsify the training records of Robert Bates or else.