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AT THIS HOUR WITH BERMAN AND MICHAELA

Fugitive Featured on "The Hunt" Captured; Billionaire Backing Trump Says Blood Bath Coming to U.S. Economy; Obama, Cuba Push for End to U.S. Trade Embargo; Trump Discusses Foreign Policy, ISIS. Aired 11- 11:30a ET

Aired September 29, 2015 - 11:00   ET

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


[11:00:00] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: These are the people waiting in Washington, D.C., waiting to see the pope. As you can see, some of them were saying a rosary, others were singing. That's Evan. I clearly remember him. He said he's a lapsed Catholic and maybe Pope Francis' presence would renew his faith.

Again, thanks for all of your comments. I so appreciate it.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello.

AT THIS HOUR with Berman and Bolduan starts now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: One of America's most wanted fugitives captured after his story was featured on CNN's "The Hunt." I'll speak with a woman who escaped his torture chamber.

A billionaire backing Donald Trump says the blood bath is coming to the America economy and the little guy is going to get creamed.

And breaking today, as Vladimir Putin visits the U.S., Russia is ready to strike in Syria. Why this could change the entire war against ISIS.

Hello, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan.

A fugitive on the run for nearly 20 years, featured on CNN's "The Hunt" with John Walsh has been captured. Paul Jackson has been found and he's accused of horrible crimes, kidnapping, raping women, locking them up in a house of torture in Oregon.

John Walsh described this man as one of his most wanted guys. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN WALSH, CNN HOST, THE HUNT: I'm saddened, angry and very surprised that Paul Jackson's been able to stay out there 23 years. Because he's still doing exactly what he did. Lepers don't change their spots, these types of guys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Paul Jackson is still out there victimizing other women. And I don't think he's going to let any of them live to testify against him this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Now, Jackson was set to face trial after being charged back in 1990, but he then fled and hadn't been seen or heard from until now.

Of course, joining me now, Andrea Hood, one of Jackson's victims. She was abducted but survived and escaped. Also joining me is CNN correspondent, Boris Sanchez, who has been following this case very closely.

Andrea, I can't imagine what was going through your mind the moment you heard they got him?

ANDREA HOOD, KIDNAP VICTIM: When I first heard, I didn't think it was real. I thought it was a joke. I thought they had the wrong person or it was a mistake because I wasn't sure they would ever get him.

BOLDUAN: And then what was followed by that, relief?

HOOD: Shock and relief and overwhelmed and, like, all the emotions all at once. A lot of relief.

BOLDUAN: Does it feel real now?

HOOD: Yeah, after I saw his picture, his mug shot, I was like, oh, yeah, it was him. Thought it was a mistaken identity at first.

BOLDUAN: You were just 17 years old at the time this happened. What I read about your story is horrible. For those who don't know, can you tell us what happened?

HOOD: When I was 17, I was working the streets as a prostitute. I was addicted to drugs, so I was working the streets. And I got picked up and -- by a guy and he and his brother ended up kidnapping me, holding me hostage in their house. They didn't know where I was. Brutalizing me for a couple of days. And then I managed to find a way to get out and so I jumped through the window and escaped.

BOLDUAN: Escaped. You were running through the streets. You were bloodied. And you were able to get away.

HOOD: Yeah. There was one window on the House that didn't have bars on the inside. By accident, I saw it and it was -- I knew it was my only chance for escape.

Boris, Andrea wasn't the only victim. There is at least one other victim that we know of. What are you hearing now though about how Paul Jackson was caught after more than two decades?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, part of it has a lot to do with "The Hunt." The fact that the show aired in July and shortly after that U.S. Marshals received a tip that led them to believe he was hiding out in Guadalajara, Mexico, he was arrested walking to work at an electronics store, and he had been staying in a hotel. Officials believe he was staying there at least a few years.

BOLDUAN: Andrea, what have the last 24, 25 years been like for you, knowing he was on the run? What was -- what has that been like?

[11:05:00] HOOD: It's been scary and frustrating, knowing he's been out there doing things to other women. And I didn't understand why he couldn't be caught.

BOLDUAN: Now, John Walsh, he's described Jackson and his brother, who was involved, here this way, "He and his pervert, creepy brother, they kidnap women off the street, kept them in their house, tortured them, locked them in a closet and kept them in what was like a modern day dungeon."

How would you describe Paul Jackson?

HOOD: Paul Jackson is a monster. He's just a monster. He has no regard for women or anybody. I don't know.

BOLDUAN: I don't know if you've thought about it after so much time. I'm sure you've been trying to move on with your life, but what would you say to Paul Jackson today?

HOOD: I'm just relieved he's caught and hopefully he'll get to spend the rest of his life locked up, like they had intended for me.

BOLDUAN: Wow.

Now, one element of this, Boris, is that there -- John had actually mentioned this in the piece that was featured about this case, is that there were a lot of photos found in the House and the apartment, or wherever they lived, or were staying. Does that indicate to you or are you hearing anything more there could be other cases, other unsolved crimes, murders?

SANCHEZ: It's a very interesting point John Walsh brings up. Apparently there were several pictures of women that were bound and authorities believe they were also sexually tortured by these brothers but they haven't been able to identify them. They haven't been able to track these women down. John Walsh brought up an interesting point, there's speculation that perhaps all these horrible things these brothers are accused of, there's the extent they may have murdered these women to cover up their crimes. There's no indication to it yet but you can believe officers will be looking at that to try to press murder charges against Paul Jackson.

BOLDUAN: Just amazing.

Andrea, shock and relief is how you describe it.

But thank you. Gratitude is what we can describe it as that you came on to tell your story. Thank you very much. We really appreciate it.

HOOD: You're welcome. Thank you.

Boris, thank you so much.

Amazing. We were looking at the tally of the stories that have been highlighted by John Walsh. They have five of the people that have been highlighted by "The Hunt," five of these people have been captured. Two others were surrendered, two found dead, one was killed by authorities and the list goes on and on. Just showing the impact that "The Hunt" with John Walsh is really, really having. We see it have an impact here, according to the authorities who caught this guy.

Thank you so much.

Coming up for us, though, Vladimir Putin may be toasting world leaders in New York but Russia is reportedly ready to strike in Syria at any moment. This is a huge moment in the war against ISIS. More on that ahead.

Plus, a billionaire backing Donald Trump says a blood bath is coming to the American economy. Why? We'll tell you about it.

And also this, Paul Walker's daughter now suing Porsche over the fiery crash that killed the actor, her father. Investigators blame speed. She blames something else.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:11:48] BOLDUAN: Video just into CNN we'll show you. Looks like big smiles from President Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro. They just wrapped up a formal meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. This is their second face-to-face meeting since the U.S. and Cuba restored diplomatic relations last year. There's still a lot of work to be done, though. One thing that both are pushing for is an end to the U.S. trade -- the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba. Will that happen? That's a very big question.

Chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto, is here.

Jim, a couple things that at least Raul Castro wants and some shared interest between the president and Castro, but is anything big going to come out of it? What do you think?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: They're definitely not smiling about lifting the trade embargo. It's not going to happen. The president said in his speech yesterday but the fact is you have a lot of Republicans on the hill who don't want to lift the embargo and a lot of Republicans look at Cuba as Obama's thing and they're not going to grand him that. They're not going to give him that win in the waning 16 months of his president. The other thing Castro talked about is Guantanamo Bay, closing that. Officials are clear about that, not plans to close that.

BOLDUAN: That's something the president has been talking about since the first day of his first term.

SCIUTTO: When I say closing nothing but the detention center but taking the naval base out of there, which isn't going to happen.

BOLDUAN: Exactly right. There's been another -- very big meetings happen at U.N. General meetings. President Obama and Vladimir Putin meeting, big focus of the meeting, although they said it was wide- ranging, the fight of is in Syria and d the role of Russia in all of that. One thing we're learning this morning is that the Russians are capable or could be conducting air strikes there at any moment. What are you hearing?

SCIUTTO: We're hearing that's what the U.S. is preparing for. In fact, part of their discussions here at the U.N. has been so-called "de-confliction," which means --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: I needed someone to define what "de-confliction" means.

SCIUTTO: Meaning you won't shoot at each other. We already have Russian surveillance planes in the air, so they're in the same air space. You make it so, hey, if I'm coming your way, I'm going to let you know so you don't shoot me down. The U.S. position is, if Russia wants to go in and fight ISIS, that's fantastic. We need all the help we can get. But the U.S. is not sure what Russia's intentions are and they know one of their priorities or their only priority may be to protect Bashar al Assad. That's really what they're focused on. The question becomes, who are those air strikes against? And who crucially -- this was brought up by the U.S. supreme commander in Europe -- why has Russia brought in air defenses in Syria?

BOLDUAN: Exactly.

(CROSSTALK)

SCIUTTO: Syrians do but Syrians are on the Russian side, so what does that mean about coalition warplanes? No one thinks they'll be shooting down coalition war plans but a lot is about projecting power. This is --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: And that major military buildup that is happening as we speak, Russians building up in America. A lot going on.

Thank you, Jim. Great to see you.

SCIUTTO: Great to see you.

[11:15:00] BOLDUAN: Thank you so much.

Also new this morning, the U.S. is launching air strikes against Taliban fighters in Afghanistan. This comes one day after the Taliban captured the northern city of Kunduz in the biggest Taliban victory, really, since the 9/11 attacks. Afghan Special Forces there are conducting a ground offensive to try and recapture the city. It's really ongoing as we speak. It is home to some 300,000 people. Afghan President Ghani says his troops have retained some government buildings and reinforcements are on the way. But he also says progress is hindered because the insurgents are using residents as human shields. Much more on that to come.

Still to come, a billion dollar endorsement for Donald Trump. The billionaire businessman and presidential candidate picked up support from another billionaire businessman. The investor, Carl Icahn, the legendary investor, says the country needs a wake-up call and Trump is the man that can do it. Look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARL ICAHN, BILLIONAIRE INVESTOR: I look back and I love this country but I sure as hell don't love a lot of the politicians in it or the CEOs. I think they have taken advantage of the system. And it's just deja vu.

Donald, of all of them, maybe he's brash, but he's willing to say what he believes and he's willing to say, hey, this is complete (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Just the way Carl Icahn would say it. This comes as Icahn -- he wrote a policy paper he says he sent to Trump and others on Wall Street and in Washington. In it, he took a surprising stance to many on the problem of income inequality in the country.

Let's talk about this with CNN chief business correspondent, Christine Romans.

First to that endorsement coming from Carl Icahn. We know Donald Trump has said more than one time he's called up Carl and he said, you handle China, you handle Japan, can you handle it? Carl, of course, in this conversation that none of us were involved in, says, absolutely I can. Maybe not a surprising to get an endorsement. What do you make of it?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Carl Icahn is a corporate raider, an activist investor, you call it, somebody who goes in and tells companies how to fix it and how to make more money from this. Now he's saying Donald Trump can tell Washington what to do, tell Congress what to do and get it fixed. So here's this billionaire endorsing another billionaire, saying he's a guy who can speak his mind and get things done. They're similar that way. Takes one to know one in that way.

He was talking about the Federal Reserve as well and he says there are mediocre -- nice but mediocre CEOs all over America who are making all kinds of money because the Fed has left interest rates too low for too long. They're financial engineering and the little guy's getting hurt. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ICAHN: The question is, why should they raise rates? And it's almost a rhetorical question because so many reasons they should raise rates because low rates, by almost definition, building bubbles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: He's worried about bubbles. Bubbles in the corporate debt market, bubbles that could pop, and bubbles that could hurt everybody. He says the Fed is way too late. The Fed needs to get off zero rates and start moving higher.

It's interesting, Kate, here's a billionaire crafting this video about Donald Trump, about the Fed, about income inequality, about a host of things. It's really remarkable. He has this message to say -- I think most Americans probably don't know who Carl Icahn is. But he's an awful lot like Donald Trump in some ways. He has the money to back his opinion and he's out there speaking his mind.

BOLDUAN: Definitely speaking his mind.

More on this issue of income inequality. He writes in this policy paper, this position paper that he gives them, he basically says the American worker is getting screwed. When you look at the economy, there could be a blood bath coming. Also could be surprising to a lot of people hearing a CEO, a billionaire CEO, who's made his money on the backs of a lot of workers, talking about income inequality.

ROMANS: He has made an awful lot of money over the years and now he says he feels the game is rigged against the little guy. There are those who would argue, if there's some kind of blood bath, this guy will probably make a lot of money no matter what happens. He seems to be legitimately concerned about the direction of the country. He talks a lot about taxes in there and the like.

BOLDUAN: And he's not the only -- the only CEO talking about this.

ROMANS: You've got a variety of CEOs who have been saying, look, it's been here for too long. The guy -- Pimco, Bill Gross, guy who founded Pimco, he says the fed should get off zero interest rates. Much too long they've been on zero interest rates, and that will fuel the next bubble in the economy.

Why are we at zero interest rates? This is the thing, when the economy was in the gutter, this is what the Federal Reserve did to prop up the economy. Now you have Carl Icahn and others saying this has gone on way too long and there's something ugly coming around the corner. They could be wrong. They could be just talking their books, trying to make more money. At least in this -- I just think it's so interesting he made this video that he's releasing.

BOLDUAN: And Donald Trump is touting this endorsement, touting his interview.

ROMANS: Carl Icahn for treasury secretary.

(LAUGHTER)

[11:20:00] BOLDUAN: He was joking, maybe not.

Thanks, Christine, so much.

Coming up for us, hear why Donald Trump admits that he may have been a little childish.

Plus, a former aide to David Petraeus will respond to Trump's ISIS plan, which calls for Putin to deal with ISIS in Syria. Just in from Homeland Security, a new report suggests the U.S.

homeland is in danger because of specific security weaknesses. Hear what they found.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Here's something you don't hear Donald Trump say every day, saying something critical about himself. Erin Burnett asked about the criticism that his confrontational style isn't the temperament of a United States president. Here is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST, OUTFRONT: People say, look, this is a guy who calls someone a loser, he'll say something and they say --

(CROSSTALK)

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PERSIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: Who says --

(CROSSTALK)

BURNETT: They say that's childish, and not the temperament of a president.

TRUMP: Probably is a little childish, but this is a campaign.

BURNETT: You say you're not going to call Vladimir Putin a loser.

TRUMP: No, I actually say the opposite.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Trump also discussed some foreign policy ideas in this interview, including how he would take on the fight against ISIS.

Joining me to discuss all of this is CNN political commentator, Amanda Carpenter, former communications director for the Republican Senator and now presidential candidate, Ted Cruz; and CNN military analyst, Colonel Peter Mansoor, who served as General David Petraeus executive officer in Iraq and he also is a former commander of the 1st brigade combat team who first -- the 1st armored division in Baghdad.

Great to see you and an important day to discuss this.

Amanda, you saw Donald Trump being self-critical, laying out specifics on foreign policy, taxes, even more in this interview with Erin. Are we seeing a new Donald Trump?

[11:25:25] AMANDA CARPENTER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think a little bit, Kate. I saw the first glimmers of this in the aftermath of the CNN debate when reporters were asking him, who won the debate. It was the first time he didn't declare himself the undisputed winner. He said everybody did good. Yesterday he released a pretty thoughtful tax plan. I think he's trying to grow into his candidacy, but at the same time, he can't help himself. Last week, he was calling Marco Rubio a loser, which merited boos from the crowd. It's catching up with him. I think he realizes he has to recalibrate, but it's going to be fairly difficult for him to do.

BOLDUAN: Fairly difficult but he's been -- he has proven everyone wrong in the past many, many times when they have predicted his demise, that's for sure.

Colonel, let's talk about his foreign policy issues he was laying out. I want you to listen to Trump talking about fighting ISIS in Syria and specifically the role Russia should play, in his mind.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Let Syria and ISIS fight. Why are we -- why do we care? Let ISIS and Syria fight. And let Russia, they're in Syria already, let them fight ISIS. Look, I don't want ISIS. I don't want ISIS. ISIS is bad, they're evil. When they start doing with the head chopping and drowning, these are really bad dudes. So I don't want -- let them fight it out. Let Russia take care of ISIS. How many places can we be --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: Colonel, what do you think? Trump says, leave ISIS and Syria to Russia. Is that a workable, winning strategy? What do you think?

PETER MANSOOR, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: There are a number of problems with this proposal. Let me count the ways.

First, it's a recipe for eternal blood shed in Syria because Bashar al Assad does not have the strength or power to defeat is or al Nusra. Second, Russia doesn't have enough power to project to help Bashar al Assad consolidate his control over the whole country or to defeat is, nor do I think that's Russia's game here. What they want to do is re- establish themselves as a great power.

So, if we did as Donald Trump suggested, it would be eternal blood shed in Syria, a conflict that's already taken upwards of 200,000 lives and waves upon waves upon waves of refugees in Europe, upwards of 800,000 this year alone and projected to double next year.

BOLDUAN: You might, though, see how Donald Trump's message could resonate, especially there, Colonel, when he's saying how many different places we could be. We hear over and over the warring combat fatigue amongst Americans. What do you think it would mean strategically for the fight against ISIS broadly speaking? You know, the U.S. taking on ISIS in Iraq, Russia taking on ISIS in Syria, because, as we have learned, as we well know, there isn't a border between the two countries at this point.

MANSOOR: Well, if Russia were actually interested in taking out ISIS and Bashar al Assad were actually interested in defeating ISIS and then coming to some sort of political solution with the other groups that would be fine. I just don't think that will happen. You know, there's only one nation on earth that can lead a coalition that can defeat ISIS, and that's the United States of America. I think what we need to see out of our presidential candidates is how they would lead a coalition in order to do that.

BOLDUAN: That is fascinating.

Amanda, as we've been talking about, we have him laying out some policy specifics, tax policy specifics. You look at the latest polling out, these hypothetical head-to-head, these match-ups. In the latest polling coming out, head-to-head match-up of Hillary Clinton and Trump, she beats him by 10 points. Look at a head-to-head match- up and Clinton and the other leading Republican candidates, she's neck and neck. Does this worry you as a Republican? Obviously, you want a Republican in the White House, but he remains the front-runner now.

CARPENTER: Not necessarily. I think Hillary Clinton has a great deal of vulnerabilities that will be fully explored throughout the campaign.

To go back to Donald Trump and what he's doing on foreign policy, I want to talk about some of the things the colonel brought up. Donald Trump, everything he does is from a purely populist perspective, and that's reflected in this foreign policy plan. He understands people are war-weary. We want a more noninterventionist foreign policy. But Marco Rubio brought up in the debate where he made gains on Donald Trump was talking sensibly about what America's role should be in the region.