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New Details Emerge About Prince's Death; Neither Trump Nor Clinton Declare Running Mate Yet; Navy SEAL Charles Keating IV Killed During Firefight With ISIS Forces. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired May 4, 2016 - 15:30   ET

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


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[15:30:58] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Got some revealing new details about the death of Prince. CNN has learned that an addiction specialist was making plans at the request of Prince's representatives to admit the star to a clinic in California hours before Prince passed away. Specialist is nationally known. His name is Dr. Howard Cornfield. His program recovery without walls treats patients for pain and addiction management and Dr. Cornfield's son who initially took the red eye to Prince's compound at Paisley Park. He is the one who was in that building when he was found unresponsive in the elevator and he is the one who dialed 911.

At a news conference today, the Cornfield attorney described the plan as a life-saving mission.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM MAUZY, ATTORNEY FOR OPIOID SPECIALIST BY PRINCE'S TEAM: That mission was to get Prince to a doctor in Minnesota on Thursday morning. He contacted a trusted colleague of his. That Minnesota doctor cleared his schedule for Thursday morning to provide privacy to Prince. The second part of Dr. Cornfield's plan was to send his son, a staff member, for recovery without walls. Andrew's purpose in being there was to describe the recovery without walls program to familiarize Prince with that. Prince could go there for pain management and any addiction issues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Joining me now, CNN's Stephanie Elam who attend that had press conference today and has some new details for us. Also here, CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and criminal and civil attorney Eric Guster.

So, a lot to get to. And Stephanie, first, to you. We now have information what about a Percocet addiction. What do you know?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. And it's important to put this all in context here. What we're understanding from the lawyer representing the Cornfield is that this was an intervention being waged by Prince's camp. That they made the first call Wednesday night and that he was supposed to see this local doctor on Thursday morning. Obviously, we know now that he passed away. And this new revelation that CNN has learned from a lawyer who used to represent two of Prince's half siblings, both of whom are now passed away, in particular Duane Nelson who is the source of this information saying that according to this attorney had said that he had seen Prince use Percocet in the past, not just seen him use it, had helped procure it for him decades before the iconic singer lost his life.

We do know also that Duane Nelson used to work for Prince. And that he worked for him at Paisley Park but then was fired, and then went on to sue his half-brother. But he said that Prince was using this Percocet to come down after performances.

Now, this is according to Prince's half sibling who is deceased, but the lawyer who used to represent this brother is saying that he told him this before he died. So this is something that CNN has learned. And this is a new development in this case - Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK. So, with that huge piece of news, Sanjay Gupta, the question is this, if this is, again, putting this on this attorney who represented these two half-brothers who are no longer with us saying one of them used to, you know, get the Percocet for Prince. He wanted, you know, the Percocet to come down and help him deal with the rigors of performing. It was said Prince was in no way just a recreational user. Have you ever heard of Percocet being used in this fashion?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: No, not really. I mean, look. Percocet is a pain killer. It's an opioid narcotic. It is typically used to treat pain. What is being described as someone coming down after a performance, I don't know. You know, you think someone using an anxiety medication or something like that or a sedative or something. So I haven't really heard of it being used like this, but that's not its intended use either.

BALDWIN: Remind us what it is.

GUPTA: Well, it's a pain killer. Percocet is a pain killer. And, you know, if he was having pain for as long as Stephanie Elam was just describing over a decade or however long it was, you can be rest assured that Percocet probably wouldn't have effectiveness for that long. Typically these medications are used short term. So to -- to have been using it for a decade or so, it wasn't being used as intended by any means. I don't know if he was using it more as a sedative just because it can make you sleepy as well, but it certainly wouldn't be a medication of choice. The way that it was just described, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Right. Right. And it's also tricky because we don't know was he addicted according to this lawyer, according to the deceased half-brother? Were they using it for decades? Were they off and on using it for decades?

Eric Guster, let me bring you in. Let's put the, you know, the nationally known doctor and son aside for a second. And the crux of this is how was Prince getting this, if it was Percocet or whatever the drug was, it was found on him and in Paisley Park the day he died, the DEA is in there, and they are going to figure it out. ERIC GUSTER, CRIMINAL AND CIVIL TRIAL ATTORNEY: This is almost deja

vu with Michael Jackson's death. When you think about a performer who died at the hands of a doctor and someone who was giving them drugs. And Prince, if he had this addiction and he was -- he was getting these major prescriptions, someone had to supply them. Someone had to write prescriptions for him or his aliases or people to actually fill these prescriptions, and that's what the D.A. wants. They want to know who was providing these drugs, who was getting them filled, and who was basically overseeing all of this and who should have stopped it, because if someone was enabling this and writing these prescriptions illegally, then that doctor can be prosecuted, could lose his or her license as well.

BALDWIN: Obviously, somebody knew something was up. To pick up the call, to call this, you know, California doctor, Dr. Cornfield who is, you know, very well known in this kind of thing. They were going to bring him in and have around-the-clock nursing and care in California, you know, confidentially to improve his health. Still, it's like they miss him by hours.

GUSTER: Yes. Literally hours. And the person who made the call, it may have been one of his -- one of his concerned family members. So it may not have been a person who was actually providing the drugs. It could have been a family member saying, look, Prince, we need to get you some help. We're going to call this specialist. They are going to come and see you and we're going to try to save your life because you're going down a bad road. But they just did not make it in enough time which is so heartbreaking.

BALDWIN: That is so sad. Eric Guster, thank you.

We're also again waiting for the toxicology reports and all that's come back with the autopsy. That is all pending. Stephanie Elam knows that very well.

Stephanie, thank you and Dr. Gupta, thank you as always as well.

BALDWIN: Coming up next, back to politics. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton both face unfavorable ratings like any other presidential candidates in history, the highest since I think the early '90s, but smart VP picks could help them turn it around. CNN is learning that possible candidates are being vetted. Find out who is on the short list next.

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[15:42:21] BALDWIN: What a day, what a day. Welcome back. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Donald Trump is not only the presumptive nominee, he is the only Republican candidate remaining in the race which raises the question, who will his running may be? Mr. Trump said just hours ago that his campaign is currently vetting several names.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think that I will say that I probably will go the political route. I have the business, let's call them talents. And I think I'll probably go the political route, somebody that can help me with legislation and somebody that can help me get things passed and somebody that's been friends with the senators and the congressmen and all so we don't have to go -- so we don't have to go the executive order route as much as Obama did, you know, where he can't get anything approved so he just keeps signing executive orders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: As for vice president Joe Biden, he weighed in on all of this.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. Vice president, Trump is now the presumptive nominee. Any comments about -- any regrets about not getting in the race?

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Anticipating the last meeting as a vice president. I have nothing serious to say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I have nothing serious to say. Here he is, Jim Acosta, CNN's senior White House correspondent who I never get to see in person because you're traveling all over the place.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I know.

BALDWIN: Nice to see you.

ACOSTA: This is a limited engagement.

BALDWIN: I know. And I, you know, appreciate every second of it.

ACOSTA: Back now. Yes.

BALDWIN: So, on the short list.

ACOSTA: Right.

BALDWIN: For Donald Trump, who is on it?

ACOSTA: Well, and we should point out, we should stress right at the very beginning, I mean, they have just begun this process.

BALDWIN: Today is day one, he says.

ACOSTA: In its infancy, these are some of the names that they are kicking around inside Trump world. And I talked to one Trump source earlier this morning who said these people would be on any short list, Suzanna Martinez, the governor of New Mexico, Nikki Haley, governor of South Carolina. She tangled with Donald Trump, as you'll recall, during the South Carolina primary and Rob Portman, senator from Ohio. He is always on every short list just about every four years. This happened during the last cycle.

Now, Dana Bash did talk to Portman's office just in the last several minutes and Portman is apparently saying through his spokesman that he is not interested. So, you know, this is going to get batted back and forth over the coming weeks. But it just shows you that right off the bat the Trump campaign is very interested in having somebody who has political experience and someone who is a known quantity in Washington who can help calm some of the jitters inside the Republican Party. There's a lot of them.

BALDWIN: Yes. Someone who can maybe fill the military bucket as I think how David Chalian phrased it as well.

Hillary Clinton, she is still battling it out. She's not taking anything for granted.

ACOSTA: Yes.

BALDWIN: She just told Anderson Cooper just yet. Who would be on a potential short list for her?

ACOSTA: I think right at the top of the list and this is from talking to Democratic sources over the last several weeks about this. It is sort of the chatter in Washington is Tim Kaine, the senator from Virginia. But here is who the other names: Tom Perez, secretary of labor, Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts, Cory Booker, Julian Castro. These are all the names that get mentioned. But when you talk to people time and again they always point to Tim Kaine, why is a moderate from Virginia. He sort of reminds Democrats of the Clinton/Gore team. You know, that same kind of ticket, a moderate picking a moderate. And Tim Kaine was certainly help in Virginia which is going to be battle ground. Mark Warner also from Virginia also on that list.

You know, this -- the thing that's interesting about these last four years, this last eight years really is that we saw Dick Cheney at the head of his -- at the head of the Bush selection process and then he picked himself basically. He became vice president, you know, under George W. Bush, and then Joe Biden was for Barack Obama essentially another person, an older hand inside the party who could help balance out the ticket. You don't really have that concern this time around from a younger and older less experienced and more experienced standpoint.

And so, you are going to see lots of different names floated in this process, Brooke. And part of it, the fun of this is going to be watching Donald Trump go through this process. He's run an unorthodox campaign.

[15:46:14] BALDWIN: Yes.

ACOSTA: My guess is, an unorthodox process.

BALDWIN: How long this work? ACOSTA: My guess is an unorthodox process and I've been told Ivanka

Trump his daughter will have a say in this process as well. She is very trusted and has been throughout the process.

BALDWIN: She's not involved in the campaign.

ACOSTA: He listens to her, yes.

BALDWIN: That will change.

Jim Acosta, happy travels. Thank you so much.

ACOSTA: Thank you.

BALDWIN: And again, make sure you stick around. CNN, has important day in politics. We will be watching Wolf Blitzer's entire interview with Donald Trump that rolls out on "THE SITUATION ROOM" which begins at 5:00 eastern. And then make sure you tune into the entire Hillary Clinton and Anderson Cooper interview on "AC 360." That just wrapped a while ago in Chappaqua, New York. That will air 8:00 "AC 360" here on the CNN.

The secretary of defense today remembering a Navy SEAL killed in a fire fight against more than 100 ISIS fighters. We will talk live to a SEAL to discuss what this means for the war against the terror group and what we're learning about this American hero.

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[15:51:12] BALDWIN: I just want to take a moment today to pause on the politics and the back and the forth and talk about something really, really important, our men and women in uniform. And specifically to remember an American hero, flags are flying at half- staff today in Arizona the home state of Navy Seal Charles Keating IV. The 31-year-old was killed during a fire fight with ISIS forces, broke through Iraqi defenses in northern Iraq. We have some new video just into CNN showing a bullet-riddled SUV the aftermath of that assault.

And in an exclusive interview with CNN secretary of defense Ash Carter says Keating's death underscores the danger that goes with a fight of this magnitude.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASH CARTER, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: It was a surprise ISIL attack that suggests something that also needs to be a caution to us in addition to his loss, which in addition to being tragic shows us this is risky -- this is a risky campaign. There is risk here, Americans are at risk doing it but it's necessary. We need to, we will defeat ISIL but there's going to be risk associated with it.

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BALDWIN: Let me bring in former Navy seal sniper instructor Eric Davis. He is also the author of "Raising Men" what we learned in SEAL training and taught to our sons. Eric, thank you for so much your service to this country and for

swinging through CNN. I appreciate it.

ERIC DAVIS, TRAINED AT SAME CALIFORNIA NAVAL BASE AS SLAIN SEAL: Of course. Thank you for having me.

BALDWIN: So here is what we know on this details are, you know, foggy. We know that Charles was the third American to die in combat since the U.S. redeployed to Iraq in 2013. The battle was classified as a big fight, apparently one of the biggest stage seen recently. He helped evacuate the U.S. advisors before being hit with direct fire. But knowing he was in such a big fight what do you make of that?

DAVIS: You mean how his concentration was on helping getting people out during the fight or just the fact that a big fight can happen right now.

BALDWIN: All of the above.

BALDWIN: Well, if SEALs are deployed there that means there's high risk and there is potential for something like that to go on. It's tough, right. So it feels in a way like we're beyond some of the combative situations we've been in for a while, but we're not.

BALDWIN: We're not.

DAVIS: No, because ISIS still operating. People are still struggling in the world. People are still hurting. Freedom needs to get out there and they still need our help. So it can happen at any time.

BALDWIN: You had a similar role to his, did you not?

DAVIS: Yes. I was also leading petty officer inside the sniper cell.

BALDWIN: What does that mean?

DAVIS: The sniper cell is where we train snipers. So the names change throughout the years but it's basically there is a course that the east and west coast combined together and that's where we train seal snipers.

BALDWIN: So what would he, could he have been doing?

DAVIS: I would imagine if they were there we call it -- this could have been a fid type mission, foreign internal defense which is basically when we're there training other units from other countries to enable them to take care of what they need to take care of. So, as a sniper instructor or sniper he could have definitely been helping with some of their shooting skills, some of their softer skills as far as reconnaissance, surveillance, I mean, who knows but those guys, of course. But he was enabling them to take care of themselves one way or the other.

BALDWIN: The fact we just heard from the president of the United States it is 250, adding 250 special ops forces in Syria. What are the risks? DAVIS: Well, I mean, again, if we're there then the risk is always

high.

BALDWIN: We are clearly there.

DAVIS: Yes, absolutely. And then the risk is always high. I mean, that's what they use us for. Special operations communities have been going for years. I think one of the biggest risk is actually lack of support, right? So we're thinking that, again, like we said, this stuff we feel like it's behind us but if those guys are going back in first the risk is why are we going back in, why do we need to go back or, you know, why do we need to reengage that way. And then will we be supported? Will the White House support us? Will Americans still support us? Will they get tired of war and these kind of stories, which I hope not. That's why it's so important to take time out to do stuff like this.

[15:55:09] BALDWIN: For the families, that's what I always think about. I mean, Navy SEALs, best of the best, you lost one member of your family and these families can't even fully talk about -- they don't fully know what their loved ones are doing. What's your message to the families right now who have men over there?

DAVIS: So my message to the families it's more a message to America, to the world. Don't forget them. But when somebody -- we lose somebody there's 10 to 15 to 20 people their life was torn apart today. It's ripped apart and it doesn't ever go away. So we can't forget them. We have got to reach out and help them when they're ready and just honor -- honor who they are because they're the ones -- I mean, in a way we're out there fighting, doing our job, but they are the ones that are stuck, you know, here not knowing what we're doing. There is a lot of trauma associated with that.

BALDWIN: I can't imagine. Don't forget them.

DAVIS: Do not forget them ever. Ever.

BALDWIN: Eric Davis, that's how I wanted to end the show today. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. We will be right back.

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