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Paris Attack Foiled; Trump Vermont Rally; Families of Victims Attend Town Hall. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired January 7, 2016 - 14:00   ET

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


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[14:00:24] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And hello there. I'm Brooke Baldwin. You're watching CNN.

We are live today at George Mason University here in Fairfax, Virginia, where, just hours from now, President Barack Obama will face critics and supporters of his executive actions just this week on guns. It will happen during a town hall right here in this very building live tonight on CNN.

But let me add this. Both the NRA and Gun Owners of America have declined CNN's invitation to take part tonight. We should also note, though, that despite that, there will be many NRA members and gun rights advocates in the audience. And we'll make sure we get both sides, speak live with both sides here during the show in just a moment.

But first, breaking news from several parts all around the world here. I want to begin in Paris, where schools there are on lockdown, shops are closed, streets are blocked off after what police are calling a new attempt at terror in a city already on edge. Here's what we know. A man wielding a butcher knife with fake explosives strapped to his body reportedly yelled "Allah Akbar" as he was trying to rush this Paris police station. Officers responded in a flash, shooting and killing this unidentified man. And here's what they found on his body. They found a piece of paper with the ISIS flag printed on it.

All of this happening one year to the minute after jihadist stormed satirical newspaper "Charlie Hebdo," killing 12 people. And, of course, also in the wake of the terror attacks in Paris in November.

My next guest was one of the first journalists to arrive on the scene after the massacre at "Charlie Hebdo" one year ago today. So let me bring in French journalist Stefan de Vries.

Stefan, nice to see you, my friend.

You know, before we talk about that day one year ago, I want to ask you about this thwarted attack. You know, from the looks of it, from what I have read, it appears to be this individual acting alone with some sort of fake explosive device. What's your interpretation of this?

STEFAN DE VRIES, FRENCH JOURNALIST: Well, there has been - has been news - a development on this story about an hour ago. The person has been formally identified. It is a 20-year-old Moroccan. He was not known to the security services. He was only arrested in 2013 for theft, but he was not known at all. He was not linked to any radical movements. So this about the identity of the attacker today, it shows that Paris is still on a very high alert level. Actually the highest level already since the "Charlie Hebdo" attacks now today one year ago. It also shows that the - that Paris is under very high pressure in front of all the police stations in Paris since "Charlie Hebdo," there are always two heavily armed police officers protecting the police station and it's also the reason why they were able to shoot down this terrorist that was arriving - running towards the two police officers. So it shows that the danger is still here and it's still very, very real.

BALDWIN: Take me back a year, Stefan, to "Charlie Hebdo," those first few moments as you arrived. What was that like?

DE VRIES: Well, my office is very close to the former - now the former office of "Charlie Hebdo," about five minutes. I received a text message of a colleague who said something is going on at "Charlie Hebdo." And at the very same moment, I heard a lot of sirens on my street where my office is. So I - I put on my coat and I started running. So I arrived there basically at the same time as the emergency services.

It was very unclear what was going on, so I tried to get the information from the police officers. At first they said, well, two people are injured. There has been a shooting. Then a couple of minutes later, it was like - they said there were three people injured, maybe there's one death. And showily by surely this story began developing and we got more and more details. And then one hour later, we learned that 12 of our colleagues of "Charlie Hebdo" were killed inside the office building where I was just standing outside.

And so, well, that was a very difficult moment because my colleagues were killed, but at the same time I had to do my work as a journalist and I basically started working for days and days because it just kept developing what happened in the - happened in the next couple of days with the attack on the kosher supermarket as well. It was a very strange time. But I - I remember it vividly and, of course, all the images that we're seeing now on the TV shows commemorating these horrible events bring - brings everything back. And it's - it's so - it's so early still to try to, well, to give it a place.

[14:05:04] And then in November, of course, it all happened again, but much worse. Ten times - ten time more victims than in January. So you can understand this city is - it's very nervous, the people are very nervous in the streets of Paris and, of course, they are today on the 7th of January, they are mourning "Charlie Hebdo" and everything that happened in the last year.

BALDWIN: Having just been in Paris and being with you, talking to, you know, one of the city's key therapist offices saying a lot of those "Charlie Hebdo" - the eyewitnesses, the victims still - still seeking help one year later. Stefan de Vries, thank you so much. Burlington, Vermont, is a small town facing a very large problem all

because of one man, Donald Trump. In less than hour five, the Republican frontrunner will be holding a rally there and I can tell you that the lines are already forming. Perhaps these folks know that Trump has sent out 20,000 free tickets for a venue with just 1,400 seats. Do the math. His campaign told police that 6,500 people have confirmed they are coming.

Let me go down to the police chief in Burlington, Vermont. He's Brandon del Pozo.

Chief del Pozo, nice to see you, sir. Sounds like you've got a big night ahead of you. And staring at all those people behind you, how the heck is this supposed to work?

CHIEF BRANDON DEL POZO, BURLINGTON, VERMONT POLICE: Yes, hey, Brooke, thanks for having us. Greetings from Burlington, Vermont.

So we're not sure - we're not sure exactly how many folks are going to show up for this, but, you know, we're the police. We'll handle it. As long as folks treat each other with respect, as long as they exercise their First Amendment rights, as long as folks who don't get in don't overreact, I think the night will go smoothly. We just would have preferred some more advanced notice about 20,000 tickets being issued for a 1,400-person venue.

BALDWIN: On that, chief, and you would have preferred advanced notice, and I'm sure you'll handle it just fine, what kind of notice, if anything, did you get from team Trump?

DEL POZO: Well, we know that campaigns overbook their venues because they need to account for opponents who are going to book seats and not show up. That's a common practice. We've established that by talking to a bunch of different campaigns. We found out fairly late in the game that they were overbooking by a factor of 10 to 15, 15 to 20, upwards of 18,000, 20,000 tickets. That we found out about, you know, 36 hours beforehand tops. We asked the campaign what they were going to do to help us manage a possible overflow. The message was that the inside was their responsibility, but the outside, the public, was ours. So we issued an advisory to people saying, you can come but don't necessarily expect to get in. And when you do come here, please be respectful.

BALDWIN: All right. You know, in reading about what you said, I read something to the effect of, you said, you know, listen, if the band Phish was giving away 20,000 free tickets like this, you would have shut them down. Why not shut this down?

DEL POZO: Yes, that's exactly right. If this was a music concert, this wouldn't be happening right now. We'd shut it down. But, you know, this is the First Amendment. This city, Burlington, Vermont, sets the bar very high for First Amendment speech. This is a political campaign. This is an opponent. It's no secret that the hometown senator running for president here has a lot of different political beliefs than Trump. We have to make it clear that this is not about shutting down speech because the town's politics isn't congruous with the visitors. The bar is high, so we're going to make it work. We're going to invite Trump supporters, Trump opponents and everybody to engage in the First Amendment here. That's why this is going on. This is not a concert, this is politics.

BALDWIN: Final question. For any other, you know, campaigns perhaps listening and seeing what's happening in your beautiful town of Burlington and they get some ideas about inviting overcapacity crowds, what would your message be to them?

DEL POZO: I mean, listen, the message is the police department is always going to put the safety of citizens first and balance it with the First Amendment and anybody's welcome to come here to spread their political speech, candidate, otherwise. I just hope they have the forethought to work closely with the police department to keep it safe. I mean that's what this is all about.

BALDWIN: Chief del Pozo, I will let you go. You have a big night ahead of you. Thank you so much, sir, for your time. I appreciate it.

DEL POZO: Yes, great, thank you very much. Thanks.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

Just ahead here, staying on Donald Trump, his campaign has just released this new Instagram video linking Hillary Clinton with everyone from Monica Lewinsky to Bill Cosby. We will have that for you.

Also ahead, as Trump's rival dealing with new concerns about his eligibility to become president of the United States, we have more on that and Ted Cruz.

And the two faces who you saw earlier this week right there over President Obama's right shoulder as he shed a tear, they too were emotional standing in the East Room given the fact that they have both lost their sons to gun violence. They will be part of this town hall here tonight at George Mason University. They will join me live here. What will they ask the president? We'll find out.

[14:10:17] You're watching CNN's special live coverage. I'm Brooke Baldwin, live here in Fairfax, Virginia.

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BALDWIN: And welcome back. You're watching CNN's special live coverage here at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

This is where President Barack Obama, in just a couple of hours, will participate in a very special CNN event. It will be a town hall to really get to the heart of the issue, which is guns in America. Both the NRA and Gun Owners of America have declined CNN's invitation to appear with the president tonight. We should note that despite that, there will be many NRA members and gun rights advocates here in the audience here at George Mason. This, of course, comes on the heels of the president's announcement

earlier this week of his executive actions to expand licensing and background check requirements for certain types of gun sellers. In detailing his plan, the president was surrounded by survivors and relatives of victims of gun violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And from every family who never imagined that their loved one would be taken from our lives by a bullet from a gun. Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:15:08] BALDWIN: And as some tears streamed down the president's face, two parents behind him stood out. Rich Martinez, who lost his son in the rampage near U.C. Santa Barbara, and Lucy McBath, mother of loud music trial victim Jordan Davis. Both lost their sons. And through their suffering, these two have taken an active role in growing the survivors network. They are now more than 750 people strong and includes parents and survivors and children who face the grim reality of deadly bullets and mass shootings. Just a couple of months ago I had the honor of speaking with Lucy and Rich at a town hall here in Washington, D.C., at the Newseum. About 40 people involved in Every Town for Gun Safety Network. Here is just a piece of that town hall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUCY MCBATH, SON JORDAN WAS KILLED IN LOUD MUSIC SHOOTING: I was visiting with my family for Thanksgiving in Chicago. And I had just talked to Jordan Thanksgiving Day. And he was really excited about going to the mall the next day and shopping with his friends. And he made phone calls to all of his friends on Thanksgiving Day to tell them that he loved them and that he was so thankful to God that they were his friends. And then the next day I received this phone call that Jordan had been murdered simply for playing loud music in his car. And every fear that you have as a parent, every fear that you have that they'll be hurt while driving or be in an accident, it all comes crashing down on you at one time. And I remember I was just completely numb.

BALDWIN: When you heard about what happened at that church in Charleston, Lucy, what was the first thing you did?

MCBATH: I was weeping. I weeped literally on my knees for a good hour and a half, two hours, because I felt like the last bastion of safety is a church. It's church. The next day when I was asked, you know, what are you going to do? Do you want to go to Charleston? I was like, yes, I need to go to Charleston because I know firsthand what those people are feeling and I wanted to go there and I wanted to pray for them and I wanted to offer them the very same support that I know those family members in that church prayed for me and my family when Jordan was murdered.

BALDWIN: How did you meet, Sharon?

REV. SHARON RISHER, MOTHER, TWO COUSINS KILLED IN CHARLESTON MASSACRE: I received a bag full of cards. And I was going through things and I came upon this envelope that had the address and then it had my name written on the side. So my curiosity says, open this. And I open it and here is a two-page letter from Lucy. She left me her phone number. And I didn't think about sending an e-mail. I jumped on the phone. And we started to cry. And it just seemed like our souls came together in a commonality that I can't even explain. As far as the question of peace, it will only be three months. So I am raw, I am new to this cause. Peace will come.

BALDWIN: Rich, talk to me about when you got the call.

RICHARD MARTINEZ, SON CHRISTOPHER KILLED IN ISLA VISTA RAMPAGE: My son Christopher Ross Michaels Martinez was shot and killed in Isle Vista, California, on May 23rd at about 9:27 p.m., 2014. And Karen, his mom, was talking to a detective and she was asking him whether he was alive or dead. And the detective didn't want to tell her. And she insisted. And I could tell from her reaction that he was dead. And, you know, it's bad to lose a child, but it takes you down to a place you've never been before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And Rich and Lucy are with me right now.

I mean every time I see those clips, it's like it - it's tuff every time to listen to your stories. But to see both of your faces over President Obama's shoulder, I know everyone else was watching the president and I was watching the two of you. And I'm just wondering, in that moment, when you embraced as he was talking about those first graders in Connecticut, what was that like for the two of you?

MCBATH: Well, you know, I consider Rich kind of a kindred spirit with me. We travel together quite a bit and we talk about our boys all the time. And so knowing how many miles we have travelled and how many interviews we've given and how many doors we've knocked on, you know, for the legislators to hear our plea for gun safety measures to, you know, be taken in this country so that no more children die, for us, it was just a really compassionate, wonderful moment that I knew he was feeling exactly the way that I was feeling and thinking exactly what I was thinking, that, you know, our boys did not die in vain and that everything that we're doing is making a difference.

[14:20:35] BALDWIN: What was it like in the East Room that day?

MARTINEZ: It was a privilege to be there and to listen to the president speak so powerfully and eloquently about our experience. And I was moved by what he said. I mean I - every time one of these things happens again, I remember what it was like for us. You know, we - and as he's talking about the kids at Sandy Hook, as he's talking about Aurora , these are - it's real and personal for us because we've lived it. And the only people that really understand what it's like - you know it's bad and, you know, people sometimes say, well, you should get over it. Well, I'm 62 years old and Chris was my only child and - BALDWIN: You never get over it.

MARTINEZ: And I'll never get over it. It's not possible. There's not enough time left in my life to get over it. And to lose him as the center part of my life in a situation that was preventable, and it should have. If we, as a country, had done what we could have done and should have done after Sandy Hook, so many lives would still be with us. And every day in this country that we don't address this problem, more people are dying needlessly. We need to take common sense measures in our country to reduce gun violence, consistent with Second Amendment rights, but in keeping with our traditions of balanced rights, safety. We've made flying safer and driving safer.

BALDWIN: Hey, listen, I know exactly what you were talking about and all those massive changes that the president wanted to push through and some, you know, members of Congress after Sandy Hook. That didn't happen. You skip to this week and these executive actions. And I've talked to very smart legal minds, I talked to other folks how are saying they probably - no one will probably even challenge the president on the executive actions because in their opinions it's really quite minuscule what he did. And critics would say, you know, what the president has done as far as clarifying background checks, you know, would not have prevented your sons' deaths. So your response to that?

MCBATH: Well, maybe not, but it's a deterrent. It's a beginning. And we've got to find some common sense solutions and begin somewhere. So this is a giant leap forward towards gun safety.

BALDWIN: You feel like it's a giant leap?

MCBATH: Absolutely. And I - and we absolutely believe, you know, that this is just the beginning. We have a long way to go. There's a lot more that has to be done. A lot more amending the laws, the gun laws in our country. But there has to be a beginning. And this is the start. And so Every Town for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action, all the gun sense coalitions, we're committed to expanding upon what we're beginning to do now with the president's initiatives and moving forward.

MARTINEZ: And the president himself said he realizes that this is not going to end all gun violence. There's not one single solution or thing that the president can do that's going to end all gun violence that will address every situation that's arisen or is likely to arise. But we haven't even started to address the problem. It's going to take research. One of the things that the president is committed to do is to do more research and to - things that we can do to improve gun safety. It's an act of leadership, an act of courage and we're grateful.

BALDWIN: Thank you so much for taking the time. It is wonderful seeing both of your faces again. We'll see you at the town hall this evening. Lucy and Rich, thank you.

MCBATH: Thank you.

MARTINEZ: Thank you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: And again, just a reminder tonight, President Obama will be joining Anderson Cooper for this exclusive one hour live town hall on gun violence in America. Both of the sides of the gun debate will be in the room. That is at 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

Happening right now, former President Bill Clinton stumping for his wife, here he is, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Will he respond to a new attack ad just released by the Trump campaign? We'll bring that to you next. Stay right here.

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[14:28:09] BALDWIN: Burlington, Vermont. It's a small town facing a big problem because of Donald Trump. In less than five hours from now he's holding a rally there. The lines are already forming. We just talked to the police chief there, saying they're going to work it out. He understands this is a First Amendment right to be able to be in line, take part in a political rally. But, still, it's a lot of people, he admits. Perhaps these folks know that Trump has sent out 20,000 free tickets for a space that holds just 1,400 seats. Police are stressing they will turn people away once this Flynn Center hits capacity.

And as police work on how many can actually fit, Trump, no doubt, is figuring out what they will hear. Will he mention Ted Cruz and repeat the doubt that he has cast on whether Cruz can become president because he was born in Canada, though his mother, an American citizen. Nearly all scholars say Cruz should be in the clear again since his mom is American. Trump himself in an interview with my colleague Wolf Blitzer offered Cruz a tip to resolve the question, but not before saying the question in itself may be a problem for the Republican Party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: How do you run against the Democrat, whoever it may be, and you have this hanging over your head if they bring a lawsuit. You know, I want to win this thing fair and square. I don't want to win on this point. Here's what I think - what I think I'd do. I'd go and seek a declaratory judgment if I was Ted.

WOLF BLITZER, ANCHOR, CNN'S "THE SITUATION ROOM": What does that mean?

TRUMP: It means you go to court.

BLITZER: Which court?

TRUMP: You go to federal court to ask for a - what's called a declaratory judgment. You go in seeking the decision of the court without a court case. You go right in. You go before a judge. You do it quickly. It can go quickly. Declaratory judgment. It's very good. I've used it.

(END VIDEO CLIP) [14:29:47] BALDWIN: And guess who's jumped on the birther bandwagon with Donald Trump, Senator John McCain. Just a day ago Ted Cruz used McCain to defend the position that Cruz's Canadian birthplace is a, quote, "nonissue" in the race for the White House. Senator McCain was born outside of the country and we all know he became the Republican nominee for president in 2008. But McCain does not agree with the comparison. Listen to what he told KFWI Radio.