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CNN NEWSROOM

The Presidential Race Heats Up in North Carolina; Investigation Into NYC Bombings Continues With New Video Evidence; Mayor Roberts and Police Chief Putney Holding A News Conference Regarding The Investigation In Charlotte, North Carolina. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired September 23, 2016 - 10:30   ET

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm Hlllary Clinton, and I approve this message.

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'd look her right in that fat, ugly face of hers. She's a slob. She ate like a pig. A person who's flat chested is very hard to pay attention (ph) (--).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So, Lynn, you get the gist here. Is this on purpose? Will Hillary Clinton try to get under Donald's skin for his misogynistic comments of the past?

LYNN SWEET, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, CHICAGO SUN TIMES: Yes and no, but here's I think, Carol, the thing to watch for when it comes to this showdown that Clinton has done well debating against men when they try to bully her. This isn't just a Donald Trump issue. Remember in the debate when she was asked about her likeability and Obama went, "Well, you're likeable enough, Hillary." And when she debated in her senate race. So there's a few things going on her, and I think, in all, the Clinton camp will probably wait for him to make the first debate. That's the luxury of having a 90-minute format, because Trump has never had to sustain himself for more than a few minutes at a time in debate. Another thing to watch for, you mentioned how Robbie -- the campaign manager talked about fact checking. Let's see how aggressive the moderator, NBC anchor Lester Holt, will be in deciding if he wants to fact check or if he's going to leave everything to Hillary Clinton. In which case, yes, potentially, a lot of the debate could be spent just correcting a candidate who doesn't mind if what he says is untrue.

COSTELLO: Well, Donald Trump does bring a certain amount of baggage to this debate because just the other day one of his -- one of the -- his Ohio county chairs from Mahoning County chair of the republican party -- who has since resigned by the way -- but she made some controversial remarks on race including saying that there was no racism before President Obama was elected. Let's listen to that. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATHY MILLER, FORMER TRUMP OHIO COUNTY CHAIR: I don't think there was any racism until Obama got elected. We never had problems like this. If you're black and you haven't been successful in the last 50 years, it's your own fault.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So, Hillary Clinton has also tried connecting to Donald Trump to the KKK, you know David Duke in particular, so he brings that baggage with him. How does he combat that if he really does want to attract an African American?

REBECCA BERG, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, REAL CLEAR POLITICS: Absolutely. And Hillary Clinton has this whole grab bag of controversies to draw from, not just Donald Trump's Ohio chair, but you can go back throughout the course of the campaign and finds dozens of examples that she can potentially raise in this debate. But I would actually think that this could be a challenge for Hillary Clinton. Because she has out there on the campaign trail, as you said, framed Donald Trump's message as racist, xenophobic, bigoted, some very strong language. And if Donald Trump shows up at this debate and is toned down a little bit, is respectful, civil, you know, touts his message of the unity (--)

COSTELLO: You mean if he doesn't (CROSSTALK) at Hillary?

BERG: Right, so if he shows up and surprises people who have very low expectations about him and his campaign, that could actually be a positive thing for him.

COSTELLO: So, some say Donald Trump will do that. He'll go into the debate and then he'll be calm and measured and controlled. But again, it's 90 minutes and it's uninterrupted, and you have a moderator asking questions, and you have Hillary Clinton trying to poke him, you know, like an angry bear. So can he really maintain that?

PATRICK HEALY, POLITICAL CORRSEPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: That's such a good point, Carol. He's never been in that situation. In the primary debates, it was a circus, it was nine or ten people on stage with Donald Trump, you know. He was sort of like trying to get some attention with some of his lines, but then he would sort of recede. You know for some of those debates, he would just sort of step back and listen and kind of wait for his moment. This is what his campaign advisors are most concerned about, that he is not taking the prep seriously in the sense that he's going to be onstage for 90 minutes with Hillary Clinton, and he's going to have to be both attacking, counterattacking, sounding factual. And to Rebecca's point, you know, to what extent Hillary Clinton escalates this really quickly is a challenge for her. To what extent he decides to throw those crooked Hillary, or you're a loser, or come on, come on -- you know, looking sophomoric.

COSTELLO: You've got stamina, you're (--) HEALY: Exactly. I mean it helped him sort of stand out in the primary debates against a bunch of, like, suits, basically. I mean he looked sort of like fun and lively and human and like a nonpolitician. This time, you've got a huge audience of people who are looking for the next president. They're looking for actually who they're going to put in as commander and chief. And this is something, this is uncharted territory for him.

COSTELLO: Uncharted -- and, Lynn, you know Trump said he doesn't want to over prepare for this debate because sometimes you get lockjaw and you don't know what to say, or you're not yourself, and that clearly is one of Hillary Clinton's challenges, isn't it? [10:35:00]

SWEET: Well, she can -- in over preparing, you also can prepare to not look prepared, you know, that's the joke that professional humorists say. This joke -- this one-liner took me three days to do. But here is the point about Trump. If you're not prepared, then when there are sections of a debate, if Lester Holt does the proper followup, you just can't stay stop and frisk is the answer to crime in America. OK, sir, that's not constitutional. What's number two? Hillary Clinton he might say is the worst secretary of state ever. OK, sir, who is the second worst secretary of state. There might be times when you have to demonstrate, you know, actual knowledge and that isn't his strong suit. One quick thing, Carol, you started talking about this survey, or one of you did, that he sent out asking for questions. One of the questions he was asking people is, "Should I call Hillary 'Crooked Hillary' from the stage?" I guess we'll find out.

COSTELLO: I guess we'll find out what the answer was from his constituents on Monday. Thanks to all of you. I do appreciate it, Patrick Healy, Rebecca Berg, and Lynn Sweet. Still to come in THE NEWSROOM: An all-out fight for battleground North Carolina. Both candidates throwing big money and big resources at the Tar Heel state.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [10:40:00]

COSTELLO: We are waiting for a news conference to get underway in Charlotte in just about 20 minutes. This is a live look from city hall where the mayor and police chief are expected to brief reporters on the latest into the shooting death of Keith Scott. Of course we'll bring this to you live as it happens. Forty-Six days from the presidential election. Yes, we're down to 46 now. A new national poll showing Hillary Clinton holds a 6-point lead over Donald Trump, but in the battleground state of North Carolina the race is virtually neck and neck, and the candidates pouring in their money and manpower, fighting for every last vote. Has more on the fight for the Tar Heel state. Good morning.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you Carol. Well the ongoing unrest in Charlotte this week, it sets up a new and a powerful backdrop for what has already been a very polarized race in North Carolina. This could potentially become a game-changer for voters on the ground in a race that has been locked in a dead heat for weeks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY (voice over): In battleground North Carolina.

UNKNOWN FEMALE: My understanding is what we will see your support in November, is that correct?

SERFATY (voice over): A sense of urgency from both campaigns.

UNKNOWN MALE: Tell them who are you voting for?

SERFATY (voice over): The candidates are flooding the state.

CLINTON: It's great to be here at UNC.

SERFATY (voice over): And their campaigns ratchet up their respective ground games.

UNKNOWN FEMALE: Make sure we're taking some voter registration forms.

SERFATY (voice over): Initially, lagging far behind in infrastructure, Trump's campaign is now moving in on the Tar Heel state, looking to capitalize on what it sees as an enthusiastic base of supporters.

TRUMP: Early voting starts here October 20th. So ideally, you get out and you vote, right? You get out early. Don't wait.

SERFATY (voice over): In the past six weeks, bolstering its resources as part of a coordinated effort with the RNC, opening its first field offices, nine now in all, and adding more than 100 paid staffers on the ground. Trump and his allies are spending more than $3 million on the airwaves, but it's still no match for the Clinton campaign's North Carolina footprint, which is still growing. It's added 21 field offices in the past six weeks and expanded its staff to 300. And it's going big on TV, dropping a combined $17 million on ads with affiliated groups.

UNKNOWN MALE, CLINTON AD: Donald Trump's plan? Tear families apart.

SERFATY (voice over): The Clinton campaign sees North Carolina as a must win for Trump.

DAN KANNINEN, SENIOR ADVISOR, CLINTON CAMPAIGN: I think that we have a really good chance to really slam the door shut if we win here.

SERFATY (voice over): The Trump campaign isn't going that far.

JASON SIMMONS, TRUMP CAMPAIGN, NC STATE DIRECTOR: This is a critical state. Victory will come through North Carolina.

SERFATY: Is it a must win?

SIMMONS: I'm not going to say must win, but it is a critical state.

SERFATY (voice over): Both sides are in search of any persuadable voters, including those who are still on the fence about voting at all.

ZACHARY ROLLINS, UNDECIDED VOTER: I don't know if there's necessarily anything they can say, just because of all the negativity that's been surrounded by both their campaigns.

SERFATY (voice over): There aren't many undecided voters left in North Carolina, just six percent in the latest CNN poll, but they could tip the balance for either candidate.

ERIC LEE, UNDECIDED VOTER: At first I would say I was for Trump, at first. But then as time has gone on, you know, that's why I'm undecided. Because it's like, as time has gone on and the more I've heard, the more my opinion has changed.

SERFATY (voice over): The campaigns are facing a dual mission, battling for voters who are up for grabs as they try to energize their core supports, essential in the final stretch. For Clinton that's the Obama Coalition of young voters, minorities, and women. This week the campaign dispatching Mothers of the Movement, women who lost their children to gun violence.

MARIA HAMILTON, MOTHER OF DONTRE HAMILTON: We're in a bad place right now. And they're not going to give us what we want. We have to take it and we do that at the polls. We vote.

SERFATY (voice over): Team Trump traveling to the rural eastern part of the state, to the town of Kenansville, with a population of less than 900.

TRUMP: It is great to be in North Carolina.

(END VIDEO CLIP) [10:45:02]

SERFATY: And as the candidates both react to this new situation on the ground in Charlotte, which will, no doubt, reverberate throughout the state, sources tell CNN that Donald Trump is considering a trip to Charlotte next week after Monday's debate. His campaign, Carol, is said to be looking at the logistics of that visit right now.

COSTELLO: All right, Sunlen Surfaty, thanks so much. Still to come in THE NEWSROOM: Incriminating new video of the New York bombing suspect details on what could be a big break for investigators, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: A potentially huge break in the New York bombing investigation. Newly released surveillance video appears to show suspect Ahmad Rahami planting a pressure cooker bomb inside a carryon bag. In the meantime, investigators say they've pieced together a detailed timeline of Rahami's movements leading up to his capture. Deborah Ferick has it all for us this morning. Good morning.

[10:49:46] DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning there, Carol. And this video is a key piece of evidence for FBI investigators. It shows terrorist suspect Ahmad Rahami placing the second pressure cooker bomb on West 27th Street. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK (voice over): Officials say that happened several minutes after the first bomb detonated at about 8:32 p.m. Saturday night. The bomb, that one right there, was placed across the street from a hotel with a busy outdoor restaurant. Now a short time later, two men spot the carryon bag, remove this sort of odd-looking pressure cooker, take the bag, and walk away. And then somebody actually comes by and kicks the device. Now the FBI -- exactly, exactly -- wants that bag which could have evidence, a fingerprint for example on a piece of tape inside or explosive residue. But right now the two men currently identified, only as witnesses, have yet to step forward despite urgent pleas from police. Now in terms of the timeline that you mentioned, Carol, Rahami may have been casing the Chelsea neighborhood two days before the attack.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: That's according to site(ph) intelligence group. That would have been around the same time that officials have told us that he was testing this explosive material in his backyard. NYPD detectives have been pouring over surveillance video from hundreds of closed-circuit cameras in order to develop a timeline. They say Rahami left New York three hours after the bombings, drove to New Jersey through the Lincoln Tunnel, and then at some point actually returned home to his family in Elizabeth, New Jersey, engaged with several family members who tell investigators that he was behaving normally. That was before he was publically identified as the bombing suspect. As we know, he was caught the next day. We're now learning that he was shot at least seven times by police after he engaged them in fire. He became unconscious soon after. He's currently intubated. He's breathing with the help of a machine, and as of late yesterday, he was in no condition to speak. His wife, however, may be providing some details, meeting with investigators who are trying to determine what he did the year he spent overseas, where he went in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and who he may have met with.

COSTELLO: So the other bomb, the one that exploded, right? It was found in this garbage bin. So how did it get in the garbage bin if he planted that bomb on 27 Street right on the street?

FEYERICK: Well, see and that's very interesting, because that's what investigators are piecing together and they've got a lot of surveillance video because of the cameras that are all over the place. It appears that he did place it in a dumpster. It's unclear why because he may have seen something that spooked him. So rather than leaving it outside, he just sort of put it into that dumpster. Yes, but as for the one on West 27th Street, you know, it's unclear but they know that it was him. The question is, did he stay close to the first bomb, detonate it, and then plant the second bomb, okay? Or did he simply, you know, walk away and call the phone and have it explode? The last thing is that they want to know where he was in that three- hour time period after he detonated or after he detonated the bus(ph).

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: (--) that person who kicked the pressure cooked bomb, it's crazy.

FEYERICK: Can you imagine?

COSTELLO: So much luck was involved in this. It's just, like, thank God. Deborah Feyerick, thanks so much. OK, we are waiting for this news conference to begin out of Charlotte, North Carolina. The mayor and police chief will update reporters on the investigation. We will bring that to you live when it happens.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [10:55:00]

COSTELLO: We are waiting for a news conference to get underway any time now in Charlotte. This is a live look from city hall where the mayor and police chief are expected to brief reporters on the latest into the shooting death of Keith Scott. When it begins, of course, we'll bring it to you live. Quick check on a couple of other stories this morning: The White House investigating the possible leak of Michelle Obama's passport. The group D.C. Leaks posted online an image that claims it is the First Lady's passport. The White House is focusing on the apparent hack of an email account belonging to a low- level contractor who deals with White House travel. Internet giant Yahoo has been hit by likely one of the largest security breaches in history. The company says at least 500 million user accounts were hacked, and the breach includes email addresses, phone numbers, and birth dates. The company believes the hacker was working for the government.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello. "AT THIS HOUR" with Berman and Bolduan starts now.

CNN ANNOUNCER: This is CNN BREAKING NEWS.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, I'm Kate Bolduan.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Berman. Breaking news: Officials in Charlotte about to hold a news conference that begins, really, any minute now. This is about the fatal police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott. We expect to hear from Mayor Jennifer Roberts and Police Chief Kerr Putney. You'll get live pictures of this news here. The big question this morning is, will they release the video of the shooting. That is what the protestors who have been on the street last three nights want and that is what, up until now, city officials have denied them.

The third straight night of protest, though thankfully remaining mostly, largely, pretty much all peaceful. But calls for transparency are only growing louder. The city's mayor, actually just said -- told CNN that she wants the videos to be made public, or at very least, she'd like to have community leaders look at it. Scott's family has seen some of the video and here is what their attorney told CNN about what it shows.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN BAMBERG, ATTORNEY FOR THE SCOTT FAMILY: He stepped out of the vehicle. He doesn't appear to be acting aggressive whatsoever, is not making any quick moves, moving slowly. You know, he doesn't appear to be arguing or yelling at law enforcement. His hands are down by his side. It is -- you can see what appears to be some type of object in his hand, but he never raises it at any point. Actually, when he's shot, it looks like he's stepping backward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: That's a little bit of the backdrop of where we are right now. Let's go to the ground where Brynn Gingras is in Charlotte. Brynn, what are you hearing there?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John and Kate, as you just heard, there still is differing narrative even with the videos being viewed about what exactly unfolded on Tuesday between police and Scott. And really, that's the big question that protestors want answers to and that's the big debate. When will the video be released, will it be released. And as you said, the mayor has basically said, first of all it's out of her hands. She doesn't make that decision. But second of all, it is part of an investigation so it is the state's decision to decide if it should be release.