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CNN NEWSROOM
Trump Remark Appears in Terror Recruiting Video; Trump to Debut Campaign in Mississippi; Historic Floodwaters Surge Downriver; Obama Plans Executive Actions in New Year; Congress Could Derail Some Obama Plans; New Year's Resolutions for Wannabe Presidents; Deaths of Shiite Cleric, 46 Other Spark Protests Against Saudi Arabia; Deadly ISIS Attack Refutes Iraq's Claim of Ramadi Control; Bill Cosby's Wife to Testify. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired January 2, 2016 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:59:51] BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Brianna Keilar in Washington in tonight for Poppy Harlow.
A brand new terror recruiting video focuses on Donald Trump's proposed ban on Muslims travelling to the United States. The Republican front- runner announced that plan, saying that if he was president, it was something he would put in place and he did that in the wake of the San Bernardino shootings last month. The video was apparently released by Al Shabaab, this is an al Qaeda affiliate based in Somalia and the video labels the U.S. as a racist society that will turn against its own Muslim communities. Trump is just hours away now from a crucial appearance in the Deep South. Thousands of supporters are expected to rally tonight in Biloxi, Mississippi. Some Trump fans may be driving to Biloxi from nearby states participating in the influential SEC primary that takes place on March 1st, that's when voters in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia will all cast primary ballots.
And Phil Mattingly is joining me now from Biloxi, Mississippi. How is he resonating there, Phil?
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, people are excited and look, that's not really a surprise when it comes to Donald Trump events. But if you look behind me, that's the convention center. To my left is the coliseum. The convention center is actually the overflow for this event. The coliseum holds more than 13,000 people. Lines have actually formed. Parking lots have filled up. So, people here are clearly excited, Brianna, but I think one of the interesting things we wanted to find out was twofold. One, what people thought of the Al Shabaab video that was released today, the recruiting video. And also, what they thought about Donald Trump's repeated attacks on Hillary Clinton when it came to what Bill Clinton did in the Oval Office or allegations otherwise. Take a listen to what we heard.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that's fabricated.
MATTINGLY: You think the video is made up? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Sure, it was.
MATTINGLY: How did you know?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, because you can see where it was cut in. At least that's my opinion. I think that was strictly, I may be wrong, but I think that was a made up deal there.
MATTINGLY: Now, does it make you guys uncomfortable at all when he attacks Hillary Clinton about some of the stuff that Bill Clinton did?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No! No! No!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: So, Brianna, obviously, fairly set. Both on the video and on the Clinton allegations. When it comes to the video, multiple people I've talked to here say, they think it's fabricated, it was not something that was made up by a terrorist group. It's something one person actually attributed to the Clinton campaign, this is all coming after Hillary Clinton in December during a debate saying that the terrorist groups were using videos to recruit. Now, there's concrete evidence of that, people of this rally, not really believing it so far -- Brianna.
KEILAR: And just to fact check, we do believe it is an authentic video. Phil Mattingly, thank you so much for that report from Biloxi, Mississippi.
Record high floodwaters are receding in the St. Louis, but the danger is far from over. Surging water is flowing downstream. It's putting millions of people in communities farther south on alert for flooding. Missouri's governor just wrapped up a tour of the damage. I spoke to him a short time ago about what he saw and what the first step is to rebuilding.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JAY NIXON, MISSOURI: The River here went up 35 feet, Meramec River tributary to the Mississippi, it's now going down and there's a lot of debris. So, we're here with the locals working through a program in which we're going to get a disaster declaration and get this long debris field cleaned up over the next few weeks.
KEILAR: Are you getting or do you expect you'll get the federal help you need? What do you need?
NIXON: Well, we're asking for expedited disaster declaration so that we can access folks who are already on contract out there. Much like we did down in Joplin so that we can get debris moved quickly. It's hard to rebuild while you still have all of this stuff here. In order to get out the damaged stuff, we need to move quickly. So, we'll be working with the FEMA as well as the corps of engineers and our National Guard to make sure we get a program to move this out of here quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: CNN's Dan Simon is joining me now from Eureka. This is one of the hardest hit towns in this entire disaster. Tell us what you're seeing, Dan. We can always see just a mountain of debris behind you.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hi, Brianna, this is what you might call debris central. This is where people have been dropping off their damaged goods. You can see an old television right there. This is an old washer over here. What people have been doing is basically taking all their flood damaged stuff, putting it in their driveways and then it's being collected and ultimately brought here. Eventually, if will be taken to a landfill, but in the meantime, they just need a place to put all of this stuff. And so that's worth winding up.
So, what we learned today is that the Governor of Missouri Jay Nixon, he asked the Obama White House to issue a federal emergency declaration so they can speed up the debris removal process. He said ultimately what it's going to take to get this community back on its feet is really to get everything cleaned up and he's hoping that will be honored in quick order. This is what the Governor had to say just a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIXON: I'm from this part of the state. I mean, quite frankly, it's almost hard to believe. When you see the levels of where water was. When you're coming over historic highs, I mean, from the beginning of time, we kept records by four and five feet. I mean, when you're seeing 55 close, when you're seeing a house that's floated, a full house that's floated into the highway 30 bridge and blowing up, it's almost as if you're living on some other planet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[17:05:06] SIMON: And back here in Eureka, you can see another truck here dropping off a pile of debris. We've seen it grown all day long. And so, really, the next step in this is just to get everything cleaned up. Fortunately, Brianna, the floodwaters have receded. So now what you're just left with is the damage and the destruction and the effort to get it all cleaned up -- Brianna.
KEILAR: We were happy to learn earlier, Dan, that the community actually does have safe drinking water. I know that was a concern because some of these waste water plants had flooded. What about their homes though? Are they livable? What proportion of this area are people able to return and go back and stay in their homes?
SIMON: Well, in Eureka, there are dozens of homes and businesses that are significantly damaged throughout the state, it's really in the hundreds. What we've seen in terms of the damage is that -- most of the damage occurred in basements where they took on several feet of water. The upstairs for the most part, the living areas of the home seems to be undamaged, so that is good news in terms of, you know, people being able to continue to live in their homes. But now, it's just really the aggravation in dealing with the insurance companies and things of that nature to try to rebound -- Brianna.
KEILAR: Yes, that is so aggravating. I know. All right. Dan Simon, thank you so much, live for us from Eureka, Missouri. And then as the flooding eases there in the St. Louis area, people points south of there are hoping to avert a similar disaster.
We have meteorologist Allison Chinchar with what's in store down river.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We still have 16 states that are dealing with flood watches or warnings and the reason for that is all of the rivers locations that we still have that are either at or above their flood stage. That number, over 270 of them. And you can see it's spread all across the Midwest and also, parts of the southeast. Now, this entire gray shaded area is the basin we've talked about for days now. All of the rain that has fallen in this area has to go somewhere and it ends up in the Mississippi River. Whether it comes from Missouri River, the Arkansas or even the Ohio rivers, they all at some point funnel back into the Mississippi.
St. Louis crested yesterday, which is good news. The water has started to recede, but it's a different story. A little bit farther south. Take a look at Cape Girardeau, not expected to crest until January 3rd and Cairo, not expected to crest until January 4th. We already have one levy that overtopped near Miller City, just on the east side of the Mississippi River, that south of Cape Girardeau. And again, it's possible we could have more Levis that get overtopped over the next several days. And again, as we noticed, a lot of these areas aren't expected to crest for several more days. Greenville and Vicksburg, not for another ten to 14 days. The problem with that is, any rainfall that we get the next ten to 14 days could make these crests even higher depending on that amount of water. One good news is, we do expect the Bonnet Carre Spillway to help alleviate some of the flooding problems downstream in New Orleans.
KEILAR: Allison Chinchar, thank you for that. Coming up, crunch time for the presidential candidates with a months to go. Not even until the all-important Iowa caucuses. Some GOP campaigns are making last minute changes hoping to cut into Donald Trump's lead.
We'll check in with Chris Frates and the state of the race, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:10:10] KEILAR: After all of the politics and posturing, the candidates for president begin a four-week sprint to the Iowa caucuses starting on Monday. This, people, is crunch time and all their efforts mean nothing if supporters don't show up and endure what can be a rather long caucus process. For some, it is really now or never.
Chris Frates has been following all of this. Chris?
CHRIS FRATES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Brianna, several Republican candidates did some year-end tinkering to their campaigns bringing new strategies and players to this New Year. The last minute changes come as the GOP field begins hurdling toward make or break contests in Iowa and New Hampshire that are only a month away.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to have a great time next year. It's going to be an amazing year. We're going to make America great again and we're going to do everything in our power to make sure that happens.
FRATES (voice-over): Donald Trump has been off the campaign trail the last few days, but that hasn't stopped him from going after his rivals on Twitter. "I would feel sorry for Jeb Bush in how badly he is doing with his campaign other than for the fact he took billions of dollars of hit ads on me." Hoping to regain some mojo in the New Year, Jeb Bush changed things up this week. Cancelling ad buys in Iowa and South Carolina and moving dozens of staffers to key early states to try to cut into Trump mento (ph).
JEB BUSH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's not a serious candidate. He has a broad appeal, but it may not be as deep as people imagine. So, we're going to put together a ground game, if you will, in Iowa and New Hampshire and here in South Carolina that I think will be second to none. And that's how we'll do, we'll win and we're going to do well. So, I'm excited about it.
FRATES: Trump leads by wide margins in national polls, but his lead in Iowa is more disputed. With the Iowa caucuses less than a month away, Ted Cruz is gaining on the billionaire. The Republican senator is up with an ad there selling his conservative credentials and he starts a six-day Iowa bus tour on Monday. To help blunt Cruz's rise and stay on top. Trump says he'll soon start spending at least $2 million a week on his own advertising.
TRUMP: I'm going to be doing big ads in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and they're going to be very substantial and I think they're very well done. I've seen the first two or three of them. We're very proud of them. We're going to be talking about a lot of things, including the border, including trade, including ISIS and security for the country.
FRATES: And Ben Carson rang in the New Year with a new cast of advisers after three top aides resigned on New Year's Eve. The struggling contender promised to reinvigorate his campaign ahead of Iowa's February first caucuses.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRATES: Democrats are also getting back on the campaign trail. Bernie Sanders is in Massachusetts today and over the next two day, New Hampshire gets a double dose of Clinton. On Sunday, Hillary Clinton makes several stops in the granite state and on Monday, former President Bill Clinton makes his first solo appearance of the campaign to stump for his wife -- Brianna.
KEILAR: All right. Thanks, Chris. And tomorrow, you can hear from two of the top candidates on CNN's State of the Union. Bernie Sanders and Carly Fiorina will be on live tomorrow, that is at 9:00 a.m. Eastern only on CNN.
And President Obama has been pushing Congress to act on guns for well over a year, but his patience may have run out. Now, he says he's ready to act on his own. We'll talk about that and how he's determined to avoid the dreaded lame duck label, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:17:18] KEILAR: President Obama wants to avoid being a lame duck his final year in office and to that end, he is planning a flurry of executive actions to get his way on issues Congress will not deal with. The first step of the New Year, new gun rules.
CNN Senior White House correspondent Jim Acosta joining us live now from Honolulu, Hawaii, where President Obama is on vacation. And he really has a lot left to do on his to do list, considering it's his last year in office -- Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Brianna. And President Obama has talked about gun control as being a part of that unfinished business. He is almost at the end of his annual vacation here in Hawaii. Time to put down the golf clubs and pick up that presidential pen and don't use the words, lame duck around President Obama. He has instructed his staff that this will be a very busy final year in his two terms of being president of the United States and at the top of the agenda is gun control.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): For President Obama, the final round is about to begin.
PRES. BARACK OBAMA (D), UNITED STATES: In 2016, I'm going to leave it out all on the field.
ACOSTA: Up first in the President's eighth and last year in office, Mr. Obama's long promised response to mass shootings in the U.S. Sources familiar with the plan say it will be a package of executive actions on gun control. Expected before the January 12th State of the Union, and aimed at the gun show loophole, which allows some firearms sellers to avoid conducting background checks on their customers.
OBAMA: All across America, survivors of gun violence and those who lost a child or a parent or spouse to gun violence, are forced to mark such awful anniversaries every single day. And yet, Congress still hasn't done anything to prevent what happened to them from happening to other families.
ACOSTA: The President will review the Slate of administrative changes with Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Monday. The White House argues the President's actions will be within his executive authority and in line with poll that show Bras (ph) report for tightening background checks.
OBAMA: Change is always is going to take all of us, the gun lobby is loud and well-organized and it's defensive, effortlessly available guns for anyone. The rest of us are going to have to be just as passionate and well-organized in our defense of our kids. That's the work of citizenship. To stand up and fight for the change that we see.
ACOSTA: Vowing to fight the move, the nation's biggest gun lobby, the NRA says, "The President is doing what he always does when he doesn't get his way. Defying the will of the people and using executive action."
Another controversial proposal coming in the New Year, the President will ask Congress to shut down the terror detention center at Guantanamo, a facility Mr. Obama may close on his own if lawmakers block at the White House plan.
OBAMA: It will be an uphill battle.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: The President also hopes to travel to Cuba and perhaps more than a dozen other countries in what's shaping up to be a global farewell tour. But the President's agenda could be upended by setbacks in the war on ISIS. A foreign policy crisis that could complicate White House plans to have the President campaign heavily with the 2016 Democrat nominee, a prospect that may well put him and Hillary Clinton on the trail together again.
OBAMA: I think we will have a strong democrat nominee. I think that democratic nominee will win. I think I will have a democratic successor.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Now, we'll hear more from the President's plans for 2016 during his State of the Union Address on January 12. That is a very early State of the Union Address date as you know, Brianna. And White House officials are cautioning not to expect a long laundry list of proposals from the President. They acknowledge that he just doesn't have that much time left to implement all of those proposals and as for Donald Trump, who has now weighed in on the President's upcoming executive actions on gun control, he's really slamming what the President plans to do. The White House, they welcome that debate, Brianna. They want to be relevant, not just in Washington, but out on the campaign trail as well.
KEILAR: Yes, they certainly do. What about Congress' role in all of this? Is there anything that Congress can do to stymy his efforts besides complaining about what he's trying to do?
ACOSTA: Well, on gun control, I did talk to a spokesman for House Speaker Paul Ryan, who said that they're going to wait and see what the President is going to do before they respond. But in the meantime, they say that what they're seeing in terms of news reports on what the President plans to do, that none of that in their view would have stopped what happened in San Bernardino and other school shootings in other mass shootings across the country. But you know, the President said in that weekly address, you know,
just because he didn't stop the last shooting or the one before that, that doesn't mean he shouldn't do something. But as for what he plans to do with Guantanamo Bay and Cuba, the terror detention facility there, you know, he is saying -- he is basically hanging a thread out there that if Congress doesn't act on the plan that he plans to unveil later on this year, that he may go and do an executive action on that front to try to close that facility once and for all -- Brianna.
[17:22:20] KEILAR: All right. Jim Acosta, thank you so much. You know, the President may not like the lame duck label, but can he really avoid it? And no matter what he does? Will Congress stop him cold, maybe? We will talk about what the President's New Year has in store with our political commentators after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:25:42] KEILAR: All right. Let's start politics. With me now live, our CNN political commentators, Ben Ferguson and Marc Lamont Hill. Gentleman, thank you so much for being with me today, it's good to see you again.
BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Happy New Year. Good to be with you.
KEILAR: Happy New Year to you guys, as well. Before the break, I know that you heard Jim Acosta's report about President Obama's desire to avoid being called a lame duck in his final year in office. You know, one year left for President Obama. Can he really stay relevant, do you think, Ben, in 2016? Is he just limited to executive action or could we see him perhaps push through some legislation?
FERGUSON: Well, he's never been very good at working with Congress even when he had control of the House and the Senate. So, I don't think that you're going to see the President try to get anything done that way. I think this last year is going to really be about a checklist. He wants to say close down Guantanamo Bay. He's been moving a lot lately to try to get more people out of Gitmo. And I think he also says I'm going to act on guns for executive action and you're going to see him use every power that he believes he has when it comes to executive action and get things done off his list that he wants, including climate change and other legacy building ideas.
When it comes to actually working with Congress, I just don't see issues he's going to work with him on because he's not worked well with them. He didn't work that well with Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid to be honest with you, he's outside of ObamaCare. So I just don't see that happening. So, yes, he's going to be powerful, but it's going to be an interesting lame duck year at the same time.
KEILAR: In fact, Marc, it kind of seems like you know, he has struggled to work with Congress certainly when it's been divided. He did not always have the best relationships even with Democrats. Some of them say he's gotten past some of that. But now, it may not matter when you have Republicans in both the House and the Senate. It seems like he might be trying to kind of go around Congress. You know, if he does an executive order, then it may be an issue for the courts, right?
MARC LAMONT HILL, PROFESSOR, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE: First, I don't want to accept as a matter of fact or as an article of faith that Obama just doesn't work well with Congress because that language suggested it's a one sided affair. I could just easily say Congress hasn't done a good job working with President Obama, and that would force us to look at their ineffectual practices that would force us to look at their organization. And quite frankly their abstinence in terms of deciding that they're not going to pass for any meaningful legislations as long as the Obama administration is in power. So, this is a two way street and I don't want to just keep saying Obama doesn't work well with Congress, that is a misleading to the viewers.
That said, I do think that President Obama is going to be one of the more powerful last year presidents. Not because he has remarkable leadership and not because he's a visionary person. Although I think he has some traits of both of those things. Simply because he's using executive action. He is using signing statements. He is using other measures that will allow him to do this. Now, there are debates about the constitutionality of this. There are debates about whether the courts will intervene at some point. And I'm not entirely comfortable with the amount of executive actions that we've seen. But I think he is getting work done that the Congress has decided they're simply unwilling or unable to do. And so, I think you'll see a very interesting year. For all the reasons Ben laid out. Climate change, more immigration stuff. Stuff around drug reform, more prisoner releases for nonviolent drug offenders. All of these things I think will be things that will be on the table to make for very interesting 2016.
KEILAR: What do you think, Ben, about his relationship with Speaker Paul Ryan? This is someone who during the negotiations between the white house and house republicans, I know that the President and those around him really felt that he was the lynchpin on some of those issues. But, you know, is there any sort of common ground? Is there any sort of meeting of the minds between these two?
FERGUSON: Well, I mean, we saw that with the budget deal that recently just happened. I mean, Paul Ryan did not make any friends in the conservative movement by what he did, which a lot of people felt like he just laid this perfect deal at the feet of the White House and what they wanted to make sure there wasn't a government shutdown instead of fighting a little bit. So, so far, if I'm President Obama, I'm loving the way that my relationship with Paul Ryan and maybe there are some things that they can work on, but ultimate we've seen this consistently over this president's time in office. Is that he does not like to negotiate with Congress.
Even when it's negotiating with his own members and I think he seems from this first step making it very clear through these leaps and others are talking to the media, he is going to use executive action in every way, which means I'm going around Congress or another way to translate is, I'm not going to waste my time dealing with Congress and that's the one problem he's going to have I think with the court says, the President's job, whether he likes or not, is not to be a dictator on issues. If Congress isn't willing to act on issues, it doesn't mean you get to do what you want to do, however you want to do it. The Congress does play a vital role in Washington and a vital role in the way our laws are made.
[17:30:00] BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: --he is going to use executive action in every way, which means I'm going around Congress or I'm not going to waste my time dealing with Congress, and that's the one problem he's going to have with the courts is the president's job, whether he likes or not, is not to be a dictator on issues. If Congress doesn't act, it doesn't mean you get to do whatever you want to do, however you want to do it. Congress does play a vital role in Washington and in the way our laws are made.
MARC LAMONT HILL, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: They should.
FERGUSON: And so, he's making it clear he doesn't care about Congress. He's going to get his checklist out for his legacy. He's going to do as many of those boxes as he can check by the end of the year, and if you want to come after him in the courts, he seems to be OK with that.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Marc, quick final thought. Guns, and how this executive order will play on the campaign trail. So many Americans are in favor of what President Obama -- what we expect President Obama's going to propose, which is tackling this gun show loophole.
LAMONT HILL: Absolutely, and I think -- I think on the whole, the American people are on the side of President Obama on this particular issue. Unfortunately, the gun lobby is powerful and Congress is not nearly as in bay of President Obama on this issue as the American people are. So, what I think you'll see on the campaign trail, particularly on the Republican side, is people playing to the cheap seats, playing to the gun lobby, playing to Americans that have less of a central view. Most Americans want access to guns, they want reasonable gun reform, but that's the kind of demagoguery you're going to hear. On the left, you'll hear people aligning themselves with President Obama. There will be distance, particularly foreign policy, but domestic issues and gun issue, Democrats will say, Obama got this right.
KEILAR: Ben, I know you want to respond to that --
FERGUSON: Yeah --
(CROSSTALK)
KEILAR: -- but I have to leave it there for now.
And you guys hang with me because we'll talk more politics ahead.
New Year's resolutions can be so tiresome. It's why I didn't make one this year. Lose weight, get in shape, you know the drill. We've got a little surprise for you. New Year's resolutions for want-to-be presidents. Our political panel ready to give firm resolutions to top candidates if they want to improve their chances of winning the White House race.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:35:21] KEILAR: Out with the old, in with the new. And more than a dozen politicians are still in the race to be president of the United States. So, what New Year's resolution should Republican and Democratic candidates make in order to improve their chances of winning the White House?
Time now for a quick political game with our dynamic duo of punditry, Ben Ferguson and Marc Lamont Hill.
Ben, Republican front runner, Donald Trump, does he need a resolution? Things seem to be going well his way. What you would you say it should be?
FERGUSON: I would say at some point, he's got to be a little bit nicer and start acting more presidential if he wants to be able to keep these poll numbers moving forward. If he keeps staying exactly the way he is, I think at some point, it's going to bite him in the rear end and it's going to be a problem. Having to walk into a booth and push the button for Trump.
KEILAR: What do you hope, Marc, Hillary Clinton's resolution is?
LAMONT HILL: That's no fun. I wanted Trump.
KEILAR: OK, you do Donald Trump, then we'll do Hillary Clinton.
(LAUGHTER)
LAMONT HILL: I think he has to get discipline. He keeps saying crazy stuff and explaining it away. I think it plays to the worst parts of ourselves. And that guy in the middle of America, that woman who says, hey, I wish I could say those things in public, but at some point, it's going to get bad, so, unless he gets disciplined and stops saying crazy stuff, he'll be popular, but won't be president.
KEILAR: Marc, go, Hillary Clinton.
LAMONT HILL: Hillary Clinton, she has to actually be a human being. She has to come across as a person. Too often, she seems inaccessible, doesn't seem warm or nice. Some of that is the fact we treat women differently, but some of it is that Hillary, herself, for the last 20 years, has never presented herself as likable. Her most likable moment was crying in New Hampshire. That can't win again. She has to be a person.
KEILAR: Ben, I have to give you a shot at this. FERGUSON: I think she needs to be honest. And she's got a big
problem still --
(LAUGHTER)
-- in the polls with trustworthiness. If she went and saw the Benghazi movie that's coming out, then did a press conference afterwards, that would be e a great decision. It would show she understands and cares what's going on with these issues she's tried to explain away. So, for Hillary, you've got to, at some point, feel like you're a real human being and not just a political robot. And I think there's a lot of people that just don't trust her and the way she comes across. It's, you've got to be more personal. That's what allowed her to lose to Obama the first time. And I think it could be her undoing this times, as well.
KEILAR: What do you think about Ted Cruz because he's within maybe striking distance of Trump if he hasn't surged too soon? What do you think?
FERGUSON: I don't think he surged too soon. I think the closer you get to the election, I think he's going to do very well in Iowa. I think he'll win Iowa, and that can really change things, the selection. I think he's been underrated by a lot of people because they didn't understand what got him to Washington in the first place. He was the Ben Carson, Donald Trump, before Carson and Trump thought about running for the White House in Texas.
(CROSSTALK)
KEILAR: What is his resolution for that then?
FERGUSON: Keep being Ted Cruz. Keep going out there, don't pander and don't dumb down politics. He's a smart guy. You are smarter than a lot of the other candidates. Be who you are and I think it will work well for him.
KEILAR: What do you think, Marc?
LAMONT HILL: I think Ted Cruz, be yourself. Ted Cruz is like the nerdy guy in school that started hanging with the cool kids and thinks he's a cool kid. Trump is the cool kid, so, he hangs close to Trump. Until he distances himself from Trump, until he has the courage to say, hey, Donald, I disagree with you on this issue instead of hoping that Donald bails out and he gets all of his voters, until that happens, Cruz will be a really interesting second-rate candidate. He has to make a distinction. Ted, be yourself. Trump can't save you.
KEILAR: Be yourself. So, the resolution is like I'm just going to be myself. That's one to share with your friends, right?
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
KEILAR: OK, Bernie Sanders. What do you think, Ben? FERGUSON: New Year's resolution is actually realize that you're in a
race for the presidency and start acting like you're going to fight for this. He's the best second-place candidate I've ever seen. He is not willing to take on Hillary Clinton, which I don't understand why you wouldn't if you're running for the White House. You have to go after the people you're running against, and yet, he keeps being the nice guy. Even bails her out during the debates. They put him on Saturday night. You should be angry about that. They have completely ruined the -- the DNC has ruined your chances because they put you on Saturday nights. You should be fighting over that, the same way you're fighting over minimum wage increases of $15 an hour, which I disagree with, but at least have some fire in your belly. You're running against Hillary Clinton, whether you like it or not. You need to go after her.
[17:40:-6] KEILAR: Marc, I wonder -- gosh, I wish -- I want you guys to talk about all the candidates. There are still so many of them. Let's do Marco Rubio because some think maybe he's someone that could come into is his own ahead of Iowa. What do you think?
LAMONT HILL: My advice to Marco Rubio is -- I go to one of my mentors and heroes, George W. Bush, and say stay the course. Stay the course.
(LAUGHTER)
KEILAR: Stop it.
LAMONT HILL: A part of me thinks that Trump is still going to flame out because, you know, he's Donald Trump, and people don't want Ted Cruz. Even Republicans don't like him. Jeb Bush is showing he doesn't have what it takes to be president. And at some point, Republicans are going to get serious about winning the presidency and want someone who is likeable, electable, who checks the demographic box, who's young, and who's from a key state. That could be Marco Rubio. Marco, don't give up, don't go all George Pataki on me, and don't bail too soon. Carson won't be around much longer. Just hang and stay the course.
KEILAR: Ben, quick and final resolution for Martin O'Malley. Go.
FERGUSON: Martin O'Malley, it's called go out and enjoy retirement. That simple.
(LAUGHTER)
FERGUSON: Retire, enjoy life, you've had a good run, don't embarrass yourself. Walk out there on stage, wave to everybody. You're not going to win. And move on with retirement. Fly fish, have a good time. Go to dinner, and be a commentator, and we'll take you at that.
(CROSSTALK)
LAMONT HILL: Not a commentator, not a Democratic commentator.
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
KEILAR: I like fly fishing and dinner. That sounds excellent.
(CROSSTALK)
KEILAR: OK, Ben, Marc, it's so fun to hang out with you guys. Happy New Year. LAMONT HILL: Happy New Year.
FERGUSON: Happy New Year.
KEILAR: All right, we are turning to another story now. An explosion of anger in Tehran as dozens of executions have led to a fierce backlash against Saudi Arabia. We're going to talk about a potentially huge crisis in the Middle East, next.
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[17:45:01] KEILAR: Saudi Arabia said Saturday it executed 47 people in a single day, including Shiite cleric, Nimr al Nimr, who had repeatedly spoken out against the government and the Saudi royal family. Nimr had been convicted of inciting sectarian strife, sedition and other charges following his 2012 arrest. This execution has sparked strong reactions across the world, including from the U.S. State Department, with spokesman, John Kirby, saying, "We reaffirm our calls on the government of Saudi Arabia to respect and protect human rights."
Amnesty International called the Saudi charges against the dissident Shiite cleric from the majority Sunni government vague and branded his execution appalling.
Demonstrations have broken out tonight at the Saudi embassy in Tehran, according to Iran's student news agency. Police and security forces have reportedly been unsuccessful in attempts to break up the protests with crowds still said to be gathered in front of the embassy complex.
There are pictures on Twitter that CNN has not independently confirmed. They appear to show Iranian protesters breaking into the Saudi embassy in Tehran starting fires there. One even showed what looks like a Molotov cocktail being thrown at the building.
I want to bring in our CNN global affairs analyst, Kimberly Dozier.
Kim, what are the chances of this sparking violent, pardon me, reprisals throughout the region in general and other places?
KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I think this is really going to touch off a lot of protests for weeks, possibly months across the Middle East in that it brings to light something that has been under the surface for some time. The Saudi government and the Iranian government have been fighting proxy wars, in Syria, each backing their own rebel forces, or the Iranian backing the Assad government, and in Yemen, each backing their own side, perhaps less openly so on the Iranian side. But what it brings to light is that there is a large group of Shiite Saudis and also Shiites in Bahrain who feel like they don't have an opportunity to fully take part in either of those country's governments and they have asked for reform. And under Saudi's latest rule passed -- a counterterrorism law passed back in 2011, just criticizing the government alone, which is apparently what this Shiite cleric was doing, is enough to land you in jail.
KEILAR: And for execution, right? So, tell me about what some of these 47, who were executed, what they did. Tell me about what Nimr allegedly -- he was convicted of doing. What were his -- what is the meat of his crimes?
DOZIER: Nimr al Nimr was arrested back in 2012 for essentially speaking out and criticizing the Saudi government, saying that the Shiite population there needed greater rights, but under the 2011 counterterrorism laws, that in itself is a crime that can lead to the sentence of execution. There were another three Shiites who were allegedly part of a plot to shoot Saudi policemen. There were also -- the rest of the people executed were convicted detainees who were part of al-Qaeda. So for the United States, yes, they criticized this action, but very obliquely because, just from the numbers, you can see, Saudi Arabia is a key ally along with the U.S. against fighting al-Qaeda. So, they really have to tread carefully here.
KEILAR: Yeah, and you see that. There's a statement where they expressed concern, but what more can the U.S. do to pressure Saudi Arabia to respect human rights, to respect those who oppose the government? What can they do, I'm assuming, behind the scenes, because, as you mentioned, publicly, they're walking sort of a tight rope here.
DOZIER: They are. I've spoken to U.S. diplomats who have negotiated with the Saudis and they said every time you try to publicly shame or humiliate them, it blows up in your face, that they get the most change and have the most progress when they have one-on-one's behind closed doors. And right now, the U.S. really needs Saudi Arabia not just for the counterterrorism cooperation, but also to maintain the coalition against ISIS. Saudi Arabia has provided a lot of the funding and equipment for some of the rebel groups on the ground, but also just the moral factor of them being part of the coalition fighting ISIS, so, it's just not the West against this Islamic militant group on the ground.
KEILAR: Tell us more, Kim, about the protests that we're seeing in Kashmir, in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Is there a worry that these are protests that could spread to other Muslim areas or is this pretty isolated?
[17:50:00] DOZIER: You know, that's not really clear. But this particular -- this incident today with the 47 being executed, what it has sparked off is not just protests that we're seeing in the streets but also diplomatic "tit for tat" between the Saudi government and Iranian government with each calling their envoys and saying, you know, this was wrong. The Saudi government accusing the Iranians of interfering with their internal affairs. I think, as long as you've got the governments exchanging this back and forth, that's going to drive some protests on the ground and that's why I think that this could rumble on for quite some time. KEILAR: Kimberly Dozier, thank you so much.
Confident claims by the Iraqi government that the key city of Ramadi has been taken back from ISIS may be premature. The terrorist group attacked an army post. They killed three, they wounded 17. Tribal leaders say ISIS still controls as much as a fourth of the city.
Here's CNN's Nima Elbagir.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Almost a week after the Iraqi prime minister jubilantly announced the liberation of Ramadi fighting continues to purge what Iraqi officials are characterizing as pockets of ISIS militant presence inside the city. And in some of the most intense fighting yet, overnight, on Friday evening, ISIS militants attacked in a complex attack the division headquarters on out outskirts of Ramadi city, just 35 kilometers from that crucial central government district. Iraqi officials say their losses in this attack were limited but it gives a sense of how difficult it is in street-by-street fighting to push the militants entirely outside of Ramadi city limits. All of this as the Iraqis are attempting to extract hundreds of families still remaining within the city limits, many of whom Iraqi officials tell us, are being used as human shields by the militants.
This year, 2016, the Iraqi prime minister promised will be the year that ISIS is driven out of Iraq but it is clearly still a long road ahead.
Nima Elbagir, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Coming up, defending Bill Cosby following his arrest on sexual assault charges. We'll take a look at the strategies that could be used in the criminal case against the legendary comedian.
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[17:55:27] KEILAR: In same week Bill Cosby was arrested on sex assault charges, his wife, Camille, learned she must testify in a defamation case against him. Cosby's wife of nearly 52 years will be under oath Wednesday in the civil case. Seven women say Bill Cosby portrayed then as liars when they came forward and accused him of drugging and sexually abusing them. Mrs. Cosby's attorneys argue that the couple's private conversations are privileged but the plaintiffs say they subpoenaed Mrs. Cosby because she was her husband's business manager.
Bill Cosby is free on $1 million bail. He was arrested Wednesday on charges that he drugged and raped a woman named Andrea Constand, the first of 50 women who publicly accuse Cosby of assaulting them over the last four decades.
Criminal defense attorney, Danny Cevallos, joining me to talk about this.
Danny, Camille Cosby, people are surprised to learn about this, that there are exceptions, I guess because it is a civil case, but is there any chance that she testifies, this testimony becomes public and it's used against him in this criminal case in Pennsylvania?
DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Let's talk, first, about the fact that anyone testifies under oath could potentially be used against them, in virtually any proceeding with some exceptions. But, number one, will she testify? The judge ruled that, in this case, her claim that her communications were privileged was not exactly right. Instead, under Massachusetts law, it's an issue of competence. So in other words, the law looks at her as being incompetent to testify against her husband. And, this is a nuance distinction, but when it comes to depositions, discovery in a civil case, the scope of discovery's much broader than that which is ultimately admissible at a trial. And just because a witness like Mrs. Cosby may not ultimately be competent to testify against her husband, even if her testimony may not be admissible at trial, she can certainly appear for a deposition because that information may lead to the discovery of other admissible evidence, and that is the standard under which civil depositions are held.
KEILAR: How much will the defense play up his public persona as America's dad?
CEVALLOS: I think they'll do that. But they have so much more in terms of defending this case that they can rely on. Number one, certainly use America's dad, but whatever goodwill he's built on the reputation as arguably been tarnished beyond repair. Instead, focus on the defensible of the case. This is a defensible criminal case. Number one, there is no scientific evidence. It's all testimonial evidence. So attack the credibility of those witnesses, impeach their testimony. And in doing so, the entire commonwealth's case is based on the recollections of a witness from over a decade ago. That's the kind of testimony that can be cross-examined and can be damaged.
KEILAR: What about this -- I mean, obviously, I interviewed Bill Cosby's lawyer this week. She's going to make the case that this is all political, this is what authorities there campaigned on, they were going to take down Bill Cosby. The statute of limitations would have expired not long after these charges came forward, after Bill Cosby was arrested and charged. She'll probably make an issue of that, too, right?
CEVALLOS: There's an interesting defense, an interesting motion that the defense may consider here. Although we know that the statute of limitations prescribes to the amount of time in which a criminal case can be prosecuted, sometimes, even cases brought within the statute of limitations or the cases of murder, which obviously isn't here, which has no statute, anytime the prosecution intentionally delays, if they intentionally delay to gain a tactical advantage, the supreme court has said, in some cases, that may -- that the due process clause may require dismissal of that case. That's an exceedingly large motion to win but it's something the defense will make here because they'll argue that politically there are many reasons why this case originally was investigated and a deliberate decision was made not to prosecute. Now, almost more than a decade later --
(CROSSTALK)
KEILAR: Danny, I'm sorry. I've got to cut you've there because we're running up -- I want to give "Smerconish" all of his time.
Happy New Year to you, Danny.
CEVALLOS: Happy New Year.
KEILAR: I'm Brianna Keilar, in Washington. I'll meet you back in an hour.
"Smerconish" starts right now.
