Return to Transcripts main page

WOLF

Cleveland Mayor Talks Police Reform; Cleveland Mayor Press Conference; Bernie Sanders Kicks Off Presidential Campaign; Interview with Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired May 26, 2015 - 13:30   ET

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


[13:30:02] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: If the president of Iran said you know what, give him clemency, let him go, it's not a big deal, wouldn't the judiciary have to go along with that?

DOUGLAS JEHL, FOREIGN EDITOR, THE WASHINGTON POST: Well, actually, if the president -- I think the power really rests in the hands of the supreme leader, not the president. The judiciary operates with extraordinary independence. And we haven't yet heard from either Ayatollah Khomeini, the supreme leader, that it's time to bring this matter to an end.

BLITZER: You think it would go up to him?

JEHL: I do.

BLITZER: Good luck.

Douglas Jehl is the foreign editor of the "The Washington Post."

Thanks very much for joining us.

JEHL: Thank you.

BLITZER: Besides Jason Rezaian, there's three other Iranians being held in Iran. Amir Hekmati is a former U.S. Marine, arrested in 2011 for allegedly spying for the CIA. There were reports last month that Hekmati had gone on a hunger strike to protest his treatment. Also, Said Abidini (ph) is a Christian pastor who have been held for two and a half years. He's serving an eight-year sentence after being accused of helping underground churches in Iran. Then there's retired FBI agent, Robert Levinson. He disappeared more than eight years ago while working for the CIA. It's believed he's being held in Iran as well. The FBI, by the way, has offered a $5 million reward for his safe return.

BLITZER: Still to come, catastrophic flooding like we haven't seen in a long time. Parts of Houston, the nation's fourth-largest city under water. We'll speak live with the Texas governor, Greg Abbott, on what's going on in Texas right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:35:13] BLITZER: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting from Washington. The city and the Justice Department, they're holding a news conference

right now. We're talking about Cleveland, Ohio. Officials announcing changes to the city's policing tactics. Cleveland is now the latest city to come under formal wide-ranking civil rights reforms mandated by the U.S. Justice Department and overseen by a federal court.

The mayor of Cleveland is now speaking out, Frank Jackson. I want to listen in briefly.

FRANK JACKSON, MAYOR OF CLEVELAND: This agreement, however, gives us the structure and tools we need to have comprehensive reform rather than doing one thing at a time. This agreement gives us the structure now to implement comprehensive reform. In addition, this agreement takes police reform to another level and will allow us to rapidly accelerate our program. It will also hold us to an implementation plan that will ensure success. We will have community policing at the end. We will have community policing as part of our DNA. And that will be accomplished through training in areas such as use of force, de-escalation, scenario-based training, community policing, search and seizure training. There will also be accountability and transparency through the Office of Professional Standards, Civilian Review Board, Community Policing Commission, reform and police investigation of the use of force, upgrade of equipment and technology and, again, in crisis intervention. I look at this agreement and the reform in it, not as a program. This is not for us a program. This is -- becomes a way in which we do business in the city of Cleveland, as I said before, it becomes part of our DNA.

Finally, I want to say that this is really a defining moment for the city of Cleveland and for the citizens of the city of Cleveland. It will define who we are as a people and who we are as a city. Over the last several days, the general peaceful response to the Officer Brelo verdict has reinforced my belief that Cleveland is a community where peaceful demonstrations and dialogue will and can provide for change and will make a lasting difference for the people of the city of Cleveland. In spite of all of what I've said, we have to continue to recognize that we still have Tanisha Anderson and Tamir Rice case before us. The decisions on that will be coming probably in the near future. But this agreement will serve as a catalyst for us to do those things necessary to ensure that we would not have to do these kind of things again or have the results that we've had in the past with the division of police and the citizens of the city of Cleveland. Cleveland is one Cleveland. We're hear and we do with one voice. And despite our differences in views, in points of view and despite our differences in emotions, we've been able to be peaceful and united in the way in which we've dealt with things that have confronted us and the challenges.

As we move forward, it is my strong belief that when other cities across this country address and look at their police issues in their communities, they will be able to say. let us look at Cleveland, because Cleveland has done it right. But I will say to you that doing it right is not a matter of any individual or just one entity or organization. It really takes a community. Anything that we've done in Cleveland has resulted in positive change that has been substantial and substantive has meant to create a complete community environment. And one of the departments in that has been the Department of Justice

and the local U.S. attorney, Steve Dallenbach, who I want to introduce to you and present to you now.

[13:39:40] BLITZER: There he is, the mayor of Cleveland, Frank Jackson, announcing an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department. It follows a scathing report about violations, excessive use of force by the Cleveland police, civil rights violations. And now the Justice Department is going to oversee many aspects of the Cleveland Police Department going forward. You just heard the mayor make that announcement.

Other news we're following, involving Houston, it's facing a crisis right now of epic proportions, catastrophic flooding, people dead, roads flooded. We'll speak live with the Texas governor, Greg Abbott. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

It might not necessarily be all that well a name to the general public but Bernie Sanders, Democratic presidential candidate, says he shouldn't be underestimated. The Vermont Senator is kicking off his campaign in Burlington, Vermont.

Our senior politics reporter, Stephen Collison, is on the scene for us. We also have our chief political analyst, Gloria Borger; and our senior Washington correspondent, Jeff Zeleny. They're here in the studio with me.

Steve, let's begin with you.

The rally expected to start in a few hours, complete with, guess what, Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Are they expecting a huge turnout there? What's going on?

STEPHEN COLLISON, CNN SENIOR POLITICS REPORTER: They're expecting at least several thousand people. Not just from Burlington where Bernie Sanders was mayor for four terms but from all over New England, notably New Hampshire as well. Ben & jerry's ice cream is iconic local firm with progressive roots they're handing out free ice cream tonight. There's a good chance for a substantial walkup crowd as well.

BLITZER: Is he going to lay out what he calls his agenda for America in this speech? The key issues he'll be hitting?

[13:45:03] COLLISON: Right. Bernie Sanders will seize this platform tonight, the biggest platform he's ever had to argue his populist economic causes that have been the basis of his political career for several decades. He'll talk about breaking up Wall Street banks. He's going to talk about the need to tackle mountainous college debt. He's going to talk about global warming. I think what he's going to try and do is peel away some of the progressive Democrats who really want a contest against Hillary Clinton and perhaps hoping that Elizabeth Warren was going to run. I think nobody believes really that Bernie Sanders are going to win this nomination but he could really shape the race, perhaps, pull Hillary Clinton a little bit to the left on some of the economic issues.

BLITZER: Stephen Collison, thanks very much. We'll check back with you.

Gloria, Bernie, a long shot running against Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination. All of us remember there was another long shot named Barack Obama, a freshman Senator, running for -- to challenge Hillary Clinton almost eight years ago. He did sort of well.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I think Bernie Sanders, if he were to be honest, honest, honest, he would say to you he doesn't expect to win the nomination. But what he wants to do is shape the debate. I think he may be able to do that.

The one thing about Bernie Sanders, there's no ambiguity. This is something who tells you where he stands, whether it's about wall street, whether it's about big business, whether it's about billionaires and millionaires as he often says running the political system. He is unafraid to say what he thinks and he is completely authentic. So in terms of Hillary Clinton, he may kind of knock her off her stride a little bit and force her to be more specific on issues like trade, for example, on how she would deal with wall street, for example, on her big contributors, even on the Clinton Foundation. Because he will really push her. And I talked to one Democrat today who knows Bernie Sanders really well and said, he's going to get under her skin a little bit. So wait for that to happen.

BLITZER: I'm sure you agree, right?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: That will be interesting to see if he will get under her skin. We've seen her in tough races before where it is easy to get under her skin. But what I think is most interesting is he sent out an e-mail to supporters and it ended with, "People should not underestimate us, let's rock the boat." He's prepared to rock the boat, trying to shape this nomination. Sure he knows he's not probably electable. The Clinton campaign thinks he's a good foil to have in the race. They'd rather have him than Elizabeth Warren. If he gains online support and internet support and he has a big youthful following, how big of an issue that will be doing forward? I think it will be the summer of Bernie, perhaps, but not the winter of Bernie.

BLITZER: I want you both to stand by for a moment.

Because there's something else developing right now. We've been reporting that massive rescue effort under way in Texas and Oklahoma. They're facing deadly flooding. Take a look at these pictures from Houston right now. A lot of the city under water. The death toll continues to rise. It stands at nine right now. Another 12 people are missing.

We're joined on the phone by the Texas governor, Greg Abbott.

Governor, thanks very much for joining us. I know this is an awful situation.

Give us an update, first of all, on the number of people still missing stranded.

GREG ABBOTT, (R), GOVERNOR OF TEXAS (voice-over): Wolf, first, our hearts go out to people across the state of Texas, Houston that's been under water right now. I toured from Wichita Falls to Wimberley yesterday where we had a massive tsunami-type flooding that took place in the Blanco River. We still have countless people who are missing. Unfortunately, we have people who have passed away. It's premature to put a number on our -- or count the number of people we've lost so far. We're still involved in the rescue component, phase of this process. We will continue that and then we will begin the rebuilding process.

BLITZER: Do you have, Governor, the resources you need, are do you need National Guard personnel? Do you need the federal government to help you?

ABBOTT: Wolf, we've had incredible support at the local level, the city, county level, the state has deployed our National Guard and our state troops to help in the rescue missions. I did receive a phone call from the president earlier today offering support of the federal government. The president expressed his sincere sorrow about those who have lost their lives, and also the full commitment of the federal government to help us face the challenges we are facing.

BLITZER: What's your biggest concern, Governor, right now?

ABBOTT: The biggest concern obviously is the loss of life. We have concern that we'll have ongoing rains during the remainder of this week. We need to make sure that every person in Texas who is listening to this right now understands that if the local officials say get out of the way, evacuate because of rising water, that people heed that advice. We need to make sure we lose no more lives. The water's rising rapidly in certain regions. People need to understand the power of this water. It can wipe you away quickly. So stay out of harm's way. Stay out of the water. Let the water recede. Then you can rebuild your lives.

[13:50:30] BLITZER: Correct me if I'm wrong, Houston is the fourth- largest city in the United States. Has Houston seen anything like this in recent years?

ABBOTT: We saw something almost precisely like this with Tropical Storm Allison back in -- around the 2001 time frame where Houston was under water almost the exact same way. Houston being on the gulf coast has received this on occasion. And of course, as hurricanes have passed threw there. This is something -- passed through there. This is something not new to Houston. Houstonians are accustomed to dealing with this periodically. We will survive this challenge again.

BLITZER: When you say, governor, that Houston is under water, Houston is a large area geographically. What would you say, what percentage of the city is under water now? [inaudible]

ABBOTT: It's not like New Orleans faced during Katrina. The way Houston sits geographically is there are bayous throughout town. Those bayous during the heavy downpours like what we had, the bayous overflow. So the regions of the part of town that are under water are the regions that are near those bayous. There are certain parts of town that are completely dry. Have now of what is existing in other parts of there are areas of town that are near the by use that are completely under water, houses, cars, businesses, but the water will quickly recede, and people will get back to the business of rebuilding their lives.

BLITZER: I'm sure they will. If people are told to evacuate immediately, how do they know where to go?

ABBOTT: The first thing you do is you get as far away from the water as you can go. There are multiple areas where people will be able to locate to. The Red Cross as well as other agencies in the greater Houston area are there to help. We are going to have a press conference at 4: 00 today where we will be providing more detailed information about where people can go, where they can evacuate to. But the main thing is that people do not drive your cars into rising water. We've seen that all too often. Not just in Houston but other parts of the state of Texas. People think they can drive vehicle through the water. That cannot be done. Cars have been stalled and lost, and people have lost their lives. Whenever you encounter high water or rising water, don't go through it. Go back, go around it, wait it out. Please evacuate and get away from water as you see it rise.

BLITZER: Important and excellent advice.

Governor, good luck you to, to all the people of Texas now and Oklahoma for that matter. We're going to stay on top of this story. It's a disaster that's unfolding right now. Thank very much for joining us.

ABBOTT: Thank you.

BLITZER: To our viewers, to help those affected by the severe weather in Texas and Oklahoma, go to CNN.com/impact, and you will be able to impact your world.

We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:57:20] BLITZER: We're commemorating an important anniversary here at CNN, 35 years on the air. Over these decades, we've witnessed history. And on this special anniversary, we're taking time to remember the stories that changed all of us. Tonight, we'll air a special report, 9:00 p.m. eastern and pacific. Perhaps no single day stands out more than September 11, 2001.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SIRENS)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A plane crashed into --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was described as inside the 747 -- UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have unconfirmed reports this morning that a

plane has crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Big bang, and then we saw smoke coming out. Everybody started running out.

(SIRENS)

AARON BROWN, FORMER CNN ANCHOR: My producer called, said are you listening to the radio. I said, no. He said, you should.

He said a plane just crashed into the World Trade Center. I didn't know if it was a big plane or small plane. It was an accident, it was deliberate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But when the second plane hit the south tower, I think we all knew it's the act of terrorists.

BLITZER: I started driving toward the bureau. I could see people in Washington were driving the other way, people trying to get out of Washington. People were freaking out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At the Pentagon, a plane or a helicopter has crashed, and the Pentagon is being evacuated.

LARRY KING, FORMER HOST, LARRY KING LIVE: Ted Olson was a friend of mine. His wife died in that plane that hit the Pentagon. She told him before they hit the Pentagon -- she called him before they hit the Pentagon on her cell phone. He had to tell her that two buildings have been hit in New York. And they said good-bye to each other. She knew they were going down.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Don't miss our special report "Breaking News: 35 Years of CNN." It airs later tonight, 9:00 p.m. eastern and pacific.

And also please make sure to go to CNN.com. You can read some of my memories from the first gulf war. I've written a personal account of that day that Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait when I was CNN's Pentagon correspondent.

That's it for me. I'll be back 5:00 p.m. eastern in "The Situation Room."

For our international viewers, "Amanpour" is coming up next.

For our viewers in North America, "Newsroom" with Brooke Baldwin starts right now.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, thank you very much.

Great to be with you on this Tuesday. I'm Brooke Baldwin.