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Rubio Dismisses Questions About His Finances; U.S. Intel Suggest Bomb Took Down Russian Plane; Interview with NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton. Aired 6:30-7am

Aired November 5, 2015 - 06:30   ET

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

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: The idea that he used a party credit card, a Republican Party credit card, back in Florida, when he was at the state house, and he put his personal expenses on it.

[06:30:11] He argues, yes, he did that, maybe that was a mistake, but he never charged the party for anything that he did personally. And that he's going to bring this out personally.

Now, certainly, Trump is going after him for that. Rubio is making it, you know, this is just proof we need somebody who's a real person in the Oval Office. That really, really flies in the nation of what Trump is saying. You need a really rich guy, because I know how to do that. So, that is going to be a real test of what voters want.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: And also, in fairness, Senator Rubio is getting stung by the fact that these expenses weren't itemized by person. And the early flagging of it, I mean, both Maeve and Dana know this very well, you may have learned from one or both of them, that they didn't say his name, so it fueled a suspicion. But that, ultimately, he has given an accounting. And he says he's going to give more of it that says there's no there there.

CAMEROTA: I mean, that in particular there may not be no there there, but people have raised questions beyond just that credit card about whether or not he can manage his own money. But we'll talk about that later in the program.

Dana and Maeve --

CUOMO: But you got to have money to manage.

CAMEROTA: -- thanks -- good point. Thanks so much.

Up can go to CNN.com for a full report is there.

Michaela?

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Back to the story, the deadly crash of a Russian passenger plane. If a bomb was planted on the jetliner, how did it get past airport security?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:35:44] PEREIRA: New U.S. intelligence suggests that ISIS or an affiliate may have planted a bomb on that Russian jet that crashed in the Sinai Peninsula. There's speculation it could have been an inside.

I want to bring Bobby Ghosh, CNN global affairs analyst and managing editor of "Quartz". Mary Schiavo joins us as well, CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation.

So much changing overnight in the past 24 hours, Mary. This morning, we learned that the Russian officials had essentially granted the entire fleet of A-321s, while they run some additional safety checks. They're looking at the plane. They're looking at technical, which is a far cry from what they were saying just days ago.

While everyone else, based on U.K. and American intelligence is saying it's looking likely that this could have been a bomb. This is a major disconnect.

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, it could be a major disconnect or could just be sensible. At this point, we don't have evidence of whether it's a bomb, a mechanical failure or exactly what occurred here. So, I think that the fleet should be checked. And in particular, just so you can rule some things out.

I mean, at this point, there's just no answers -- and so, grounding the fleet and checking the fleet, and most particularly, looking at the one plane that had the tail struck. And the plane, of course, went down. And ruling out that they did the test, or ruling in that that he did the test, rather, making sure that repair was good and held.

And again, it takes one of the theories off the table. And that's what a lot of investigations are into air crash. Removing theories one at a time, as you test them out.

PEREIRA: Yes, when you talk to investigators, they always say let the investigation run its course.

Bobby, we're hearing from the Russian officials calling the U.K. and U.S. intelligence premature and speculative. The Egyptians going even farther. The civil aviation minister says no evidence to support this bomb theory and don't jump to conclusions.

Are we -- when I say "we," the general public -- are we not watching and letting the investigators look at what happened here or too worried about the circumstances in that area of the world?

BOBBY GHOSH, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, we've certainly come a long way in 48 hours. The first thought was this was terrorism. Then there was a withdrawal from that. Now, we've come back to where we started. What gives me pause is the idea that the Brits are beginning to talk about basically evacuating 15,000 British holiday makers and travelers.

PEREIRA: That speaks to something more.

GHOSH: That speaks to something, it would appear because of signal chatter they're picking up, it would speak to something concrete. You don't try to evacuate 15,000 people. That's a lot of cost, that's a lot of chaos.

PEREIRA: That's not a whim.

GHOSH: That is not a whim.

And you don't do that when the Egyptian prime minister is -- president, is in the U.K. That is deeply embarrassing for him. It would suggest that the British, at least they think they have -- they're on to something solid.

PEREIRA: And this U.S. intelligence, Mary, it's also said that perhaps someone at Sharm el-Sheikh airport helped get a bomb on the plane. When you think about all of the security at our airports, what good does it do me taking off my shoes and belt, yet, we have a giant gap in the cargo bay?

Meaning, you have people that have clearance to get thing on and off the plane. That's a huge vulnerability, is it not?

SCHIAVO: Exactly, Michaela, and that's a vulnerability around the world, including in the United States. We have so many loopholes. For example, we let trusted cargo carriers, load carriers and cargo on without the full security.

We allow people report to work at the airport. We make the pilots and flight attendants go through security and yet other people get to report to work by completely skirting security and without that kind of scrutiny. And it's just ridiculous.

I think after 9/11, I know I started saying it, others did, too. Every person, every time, that's how you guarantee that you have security. But we've carved out too many loopholes as does the rest of the world. You really don't have every person, every time.

PEREIRA: Bobby in terms of intention, there were at first, oh, no, ISIS simply don't have the capability, simply couldn't have done it. They don't have the sophistication.

[06:40:00] Do they -- are we underselling, underestimating what they're capable of?

GHOSH: We certainly underestimated their intention. They have not previously shown this kind of ambition. They've not tried something like this before. There's always a first time.

Is it a very sophisticated operation? We don't know that yet. It does not take a very large, very sophisticated bomb to bring down an airliner. If you know where to put it, if you have the means to put a bomb into a plane, then it does not have to be a very sophisticated device.

I don't know enough, maybe Mary does, about the levels of security at Sharm el-Sheikh airport about what kind of security you have to go past. But one thing is clear, they've never shown this kind of desire to make such a big target. And that alone should give us pause that they're evolving into a more ambitious terrorist organization if this turns out to be true.

PEREIRA: And then asks the big questions were must be putting that if. We don't know definitively yet.

Our thanks to Bobby Ghosh and Mary Schiavo, as always. We appreciate it.

Chris?

CUOMO: All right. And again, Mick, we're qualifying it the right way. If, if, if, if it were a bomb that took down this Russian passenger plane, you have your means, you have your motive, you have your opportunity you have to go through. How could it have happened, what could it mean for what could happen here? Is ISIS getting more sophisticated? Are we doing everything possible to prevent an attack?

Stay with us. Those questions get answered.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:45:23] CAMEROTA: U.S. officials leaning towards the theory that ISIS was behind that Russian plane crash in Egypt last week. In rapid fire succession Wednesday, intelligence emerging from Britain, the U.S. and the Middle East strongly suggesting a bomb was onboard. Russia, this morning saying any suggestion about this, though, is speculative at this point. British Prime Minister David Cameron getting set to discuss this with Egypt's president this morning.

CUOMO: A California college student stabbing four people on campus. This happened Wednesday at UC-Merced, just outside San Francisco. Police say the suspect entered the classroom with a large hunting knife, stabbing two students, a contract worker and a staff member. The suspect tried to run off but was gunned down by police. The victims will be OK.

PEREIRA: Meanwhile, a shoot-out with a rooftop gunman halted flights at San Diego International Airport, that is over. The suspect Titus Colbert (ph) is now in custody after surrendering. SWAT officers responded to a domestic violence complaint that Colbert was reportedly holed up in his ex-girlfriend's apartment. As police arrived on the scene, they were met with high rifle blasts. Thankfully, no injuries reported.

CAMEROTA: All right. Watch this. Talk about a huge flub, the Donald slamming rival Ben Carson in promotional clips for his appearance on "SNL" this weekend. But, apparently, we were never meant to see these.

Let us watch. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald Trump is hosting "Saturday Night Live" with musical guest Sia, because of equal time rules with television, Mr. Trump can only speak for four seconds in this promo.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let me just say this, Ben Carson is a complete and total loser.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Well, it turns out NBC accidentally posted the wrong videos.

CUOMO: Accidentally put up the wrong videos?

CAMEROTA: Yes, and they immediately pulled that clip offline, Mr. Doubting Thomas.

They've also it issued an apology.

Ben Carson equated this attack to grade school antics.

Any other questions?

(LAUGHTER)

PEREIRA: No, ma'am.

CUOMO: I believe if I accidentally put a video of you or Mick on there, pulled it down quickly, I think I'd get beaten like an egg. That's all I'm saying.

What do you think? Tweet them.

PEREIRA: We're more gentle with our egg.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: All right. So, word that ISIS may have planted a bomb in that Russian plane in Egypt certainly has lots of security concerns in the front, not just with what happened here but here at home. Is this really an ISIS capability? Is this a potential target for them? If they went at Russia, might they go to the U.S.?

Bill Bratton knows terrorism concerns and how to protect against it. He is here to tell us the realities.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:52:13] CUOMO: We are following breaking news for you this morning. Word from U.S. officials that the Russian plane brought down over Egypt was probably taken down by a bomb -- this is their language -- planted by ISIS or an affiliate. This is their reckoning.

What does this mean if it is true? What does this mean for you in the U.S.? Our security preparations? Is this a threat that they're aware of?

Meanwhile, there are accusations of the "Ferguson Effect", another policing issue in that country, is that leading to higher murder rates all across the country? We have the perfect person to discuss all of this, New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton.

Commissioner, thank you for being with us this morning.

BILL BRATTON, NEW YORK POLICE COMMISSIONER: Good morning. Good to be with you.

CUOMO: The basis of this is fuzzy until your work is often is. Is this ISIS capable, as far as you know, of pulling something like this off?

BRATTON: Well, I think certainly that they are. ISIS has been very active in Egypt, as we know. So their capabilities are growing all the time. I mean, with this type, we tend to associate more with al Qaeda, but ISIS has been morphing in many different directions and morphing rapidly.

CUOMO: Now, Sharm el-Sheikh and its airport are not like JFK, but is this something that steps have been taken? This is a threat that's been realized, this is something that we protect against already?

BRATTON: Well, in terms of events that we're talking about this morning, the possible bombing of this plane, as to how that bomb got on the plane, they really don't know at this stage. Was it a passenger who brought it on? Was it a worker at the airport?

That will be part of the growing investigation. So, that needs to be understood. Let's face it, the world is changing and changing very dramatically. This one certainly raises concerns very significantly.

CUOMO: The reflex is if they can do it there, they can do it here? Is that simple?

BRATTON: I think we have less concern here. I think control is often times here. Europe and other places, it's very tight. But when get into some of these countries that are having significant issues around terrorism, issues around turbulence in their government, then it's of significant concern.

CUOMO: I mean, you have an atypical level depth into intel and what goes on internationally with terrorism because of what you've done not just now but in the past. Does this smell right to you that they would have targeted Russia because of what's going on in Syria or maybe it is the Chechen connection? Does any of this smell --

BRATTON: I think that would be the first speculation that they targeted the Russian plane because of the Russian intervention and support with Assad. That was my first thought, when began to be speculated it might be a bomb.

I'll have my morning intelligence briefing a little later this morning. I get one each day from my counterterrorism intelligence people. So, I'll have a little more understanding of the latest information.

[06:55:04] But the idea of -- I think it would be more than just coincidence. The fact it was a Russian plane.

CUOMO: Now, by logical extension back here, terrorism can take many different forms. One is that it's the police right now, that there's an environment being against the police, of trying to get -- it's being called the "Ferguson Effect". Do you believe there's a "Ferguson Effect"?

BRATTON: Well, the problem is we don't know. The FBI director, Mr. Comey, I attended a speech he gave at the Major City Chiefs Conference in Chicago last week. I had a private meeting with him.

There were two points that he was trying to drive home was, one was we just don't know with the surge in violence that many American cities are experiencing, particularly in black communities, that -- is that a result of depolicing in those cities? We don't know because we just don't have enough evidence or statistical evidence. He was talking anecdotal.

He was also pushing for expansion of a reporting system that could be a significant improvement over the counter system we've had for 50 years, the UCI system, which would give us more information about crime in our cities, which might help to make more definitive decisions.

The first part of it the anecdotal concern about the Ferguson effect. What he's pushing for was the FBI's desire to have this more comprehensive reporting system which New York will be going to in the next several years.

CUOMO: Because you know, you've been hearing from your men and women on the job, that they do feel that people are more aggressive towards them, literally, that there is almost terrorism that people are coming up and antagonizing them to create incidents.

Now, in terms of whether or not there's there with the proof of crime, Governor Christie and you have had a difference on mind on this. He came on yesterday and again, he made his case that New York is worse in terms of what's happening in most places.

Listen to it and let's get a quick response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R-NJ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Homicides are up. That's the way Bratton measured it when he was under Giuliani, but now that it's not good news under de Blasio, he's measuring it differently, whatever. You know, his problem is the mayor he's working for. Not Bill Bratton. Bill Bratton is a good law enforcement guy but he works for a mayor who's tying one hand behind their back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Politics aside --

BRATTON: It's all politics.

(LAUGHTER)

CUOMO: I know. Let's move it back up. The coming at about the homicide rate is up. Do you accept that?

BRATTON: It is -- oh, we just reported in our monthly crime report. We're very transparent in our information. We're up above 22 homicides, I think. Shootings are down. Overall crime is down.

This year, we'll have the safest crime year in the history of city, overall crime. Homicides are up against last year's homicides, I kind of got a kick out of governor Christie's comments he was giving them the other day from Camden, New Jersey, which this year has seen a rise in homicides, shootings, and crime in general. They have a phenomenal young police chief over there doing a great job.

But Governor Christie needs to stay focused on his state. He has more than his share of crime to deal with.

We're very comfortable in New York that we've got our arms around the issue.

As to his comments about Mayor de Blasio, Mayor de Blasio is extraordinary strong in supporting me on open windows, policing quality of life, supports the concept to stop, question and frisk in the right amount. He has funded us, in a phenomenal way, in getting 1,300 additional police officers this year, a quarter of a billion dollars in technology assistance.

What more can a mayor do? He gives me more cops. He supports me on major policy issues. And what are the results, crime is down.

HAYES: So, Bratton is good. He's able to do the job and the job is going the right way.

BRATTON: My hands are not tied behind me, in front of me, on top of my head.

The mayor is very supportive, very engaged. He's not intrusive in an unnecessary way, that I'm constantly being badgered, what about this crime, what about that crime. He like myself gets notifications of every shooting, every murder.

So, he stays aware. But he does not, if you will, try to manipulate or control. We are not a politically controlled department at all.

CUOMO: Appreciate you correcting the record from your perspective, Commissioner. Thank you very much.

BRATTON: Good to be with you.

CUOMO: So, we heard about ISIS, we heard about what's going on with the potential "Ferguson Effect". There's a lot of news going on this morning. Let's get right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMEROTA: The plane, quote, "may well have been downed by an explosive device".

CUOMO: The Egyptians also say there is no evidence at all of a bomb.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This could be an inside operation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Until they know why and how, they are not going to send any aircrafts into those particular areas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was a carefully staged suicide.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Planting evidence here at the crime scene to stage a homicide.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gliniewicz committed the ultimate betrayal.

BEN CARSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would go out to people with rocks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was surprised when I read he tried to stab someone. I'm like, what?

TRUMP: When you check his credit cards, take a look at what he's done with the Republican Party when he had access.