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Anti-American Protests in Middle East Continue; Behind the Scenes of the Incendiary Anti-Muslim Film; Chicago Teachers' Strike Continues; Foreign Policy Now Front Line of Campaigns; New Presidential Polls Show Something Unique in Ohio; Romney Attacks Obama on China; Boy Scouts "Perversion Files" Document Sex Abuse Cover-ups.

Aired September 17, 2012 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Ashleigh Banfield. It is 11:00 on the East Coast, 8:00 on the West Coast. Let's get started with this.

New protests in the Middle East over that low-budget anti-Muslim film that seems to be getting waves that continue. We've got a brand new picture of the man behind the film, the man who made the film, so far unseen, but taken during the making of the film.

You'll see it in a moment and we're going to hear from yet another actress who says she too was duped into making this offensive movie. We're going to bring you those stories in just a moment.

First, though, the violence, let's turn to Afghanistan where we've seen a wave of anti-American protests breaking out in that country's capital of Kabul.

CNN's Anna Coren is live there in Afghanistan, joining us now. How bad has this become and is it close to the U.S. embassy in the capital?

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ashleigh, the government have been trying to keep a lid on the level of anger by contacting religious leaders here and then, obviously, banning YouTube so people couldn't view that video.

But this morning we saw about 300 very angry protesters take to the street. They tried to make their way to the U.S. embassy, but were stopped by police and that's when the violent clashes began. Some 14 police officers were injured, including the commander. The protesters burnt two police trucks and also set tires on fire and they were ugly, ugly scenes.

You know we haven't seen this over the past couple of days. We've obviously seen it across much of the Muslim world, but not here in Afghanistan. But, today, we certainly got a taste of the anger that people are feeling, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: And then just trying to report on it, Anna, how are you and your crew able to get out of the streets? You know, clearly, there is a problem with American interests. No matter what the story behind the film or who's responsible for it.

How are you able to get out and report on this and how close can you get?

COREN: For sure. Well, Ashleigh, we have to travel with security everywhere we go and we were able to get past numerous checkpoints and we were allowed to get up to about 200 meters from where the protests were happening and our cameraman, Sanjib (ph), was able to get the pictures that you're probably are looking at, these plumes of black smoke going into the air.

We then reports that there was protesters firing into the crowd and, obviously, targeting Westerners. When you work for an American organization like CNN, you have to be extremely careful when there is such anti-American sentiment within the community.

So we kind of had to keep our distance and, obviously, when you go out in public, you have to wear a head scarf so that you're not drawing attention to yourself. But certainly, yeah, there are tricky times here in Afghanistan to report on a story like this.

BANFIELD: And this amid the "green-on-blue" attacks, as well that have been making headlines.

Anna Coren for us live in Kabul. Be careful, please, and continue to update us when you can.

I want to move from Afghanistan back to Libya where the government has now made more arrests in connection with the deadly protests in Benghazi at our consulate last week.

U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed in that attack on our American interests in Benghazi and this is what it looks like inside that building where the attacks happened.

As many as 50 people now have been detained in connection with this, but it's believed that they may have just been protesters, not necessarily taking part in the killings and, as they sort that out, the Libyan government says that it was planned by al Qaeda who used anger over the anti-Muslim film as cover for their planned attack.

The FBI is expected to investigate all of this, but the agents have not yet arrived in Benghazi because it has not been deemed safe enough yet, so we are told. And we now have some more information on the man behind the movie, if you want to call it a movie, the anti-Islam slam that's been posted on YouTube, at least a trailer of it and now we have a photo behind that man.

So far, he's been all wrapped up as he's been led out of his house for some questioning, but the photo was taken when he was actually shooting the movie and CNN's Miguel Marquez has been following the story in Los Angeles. What more do we now know about Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, other than a lot of names? MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We know a lot about his past. We are learning, more importantly, how he, as Sam Bacile -- that's the name he gave as the producer and writer of the film -- we're learning how he actually made the film.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUEZ: Do you like Hollywood?

LILY DIONNE, ACTRESS: Yeah, I do.

MARQUEZ: Lily Dionne had been in Hollywood a week when she answered an ad on Craigslist for an action-adventure film called "Desert Warrior."

DIONNE: First job, first week in L.A., just moved out here.

MARQUEZ: She met this man, Sam Bacile seen here for the first time on U.S. television. She says he was in charge of everything.

Was it your sense he was the writer and producer?

DIONNE: Yes.

MARQUEZ: Yeah?

DIONNE: I really believe he was the writer. He definitely was the producer. He was the one writing the checks, handing out the money. He was running the show.

MARQUEZ: Under the name Sam Bacile.

The shoot, a little weird, but never heard any talk of politics or religion. The actors thought they were making a low-budget, cheesy film with little plot.

DIONNE: We did wonder what it was about. He kept saying -- they kept saying George and we're like this is the Middle East 2,000 years ago. Who's George? But, you know, we don't normally ask questions.

MARQUEZ: George turned out to be the Mohammed character?

DIONNE: He did.

MARQUEZ: The script handed out piecemeal, sometimes late at night, the day before a shoot. Lilly had no lines, but was asked to come in after the shooting was done to dub her voice over that of another actress. Other actors, she says, went to the same sound studio, also after the shooting was done, to record the words that sparked a firestorm.

DIONNE: They brought the actors in, in post, and had them say specific words like Mohammed, for example. Then they took -- it was isolated. It wasn't in context. OK? So, they said say Mohammed. They're like, say Mohammed? Why? MARQUEZ: She says Bacile -- we now know his real name is Nakoula Basseley Nakoula -- was engaging and cheerful on set. There was no indication of the real intent or story.

DIONNE: I was shaking when I found out.

MARQUEZ: Really?

DIONNE: Yeah. I mean, I had no idea. This is a movie that I thought was never -- nobody was ever going to see.

MARQUEZ: You were shaking when you heard about the ambassador's death?

DIONNE: Yeah.

MARQUEZ: Dionne feels betrayed about a man who pretended to be a film-maker and friend, Sam Bacile, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, a fraudster and identity thief who put all of his skills together to pull off the role of a lifetime.

DIONNE: And he had vision. Him and the director would get in arguments. He wanted things a certain way. He knew what he was doing. He was playing us all along.

MARQUEZ: In this town, a common experience, but the making of this film, the deception, its dark motivation would be Oscar-worthy if "hateful" were a category.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: So, Miguel, let me ask you this. We know, as part of this criminal past, that Mr. Nakoula Basseley Nakoula has been on probation and, as a part of that probation, he's been limited in his Internet access, but do we know anything else about the probation order that might give cause for worry here?

MARQUEZ: Yeah, his access to the Internet may be the least of his problems. There's a specific condition in his probation agreement that says that if he -- he cannot use any other name than his true and legal name which is Nakoula Basseley Nakoula without the written permission of his probation officer.

We know his name, Sam Bacile, that he represented himself to the world in making this film was on the call sheet. We know that it was on checks that he handed out to actors and to others while making this film.

So, that is likely what probation officers wanted to speak to him about late Friday night, early Saturday morning and that may be basis for an upcoming probation hearing in the future, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: And violations can lead to going back to prison. All right, Miguel, we're going to talk about this in a little bit. Thank you for the reporting. Later in the program, we'll take a closer look at the legal issues in this case and whether Mr. Nakoula could actually end up going back to jail for violating probation for what happened in this particular case and otherwise.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: In Chicago, we're just getting brand-new word that school officials, in fact, with the government, have filed a legal complaint seeking a court order to end that teacher strike in that city.

Kyung Lah is live in Chicago for us with an update on this. You know, this isn't a total surprise. The mayor, Rahm Emanuel, had threatened a legal injunction over this strike, but what grounds is the mayor citing for legal action on this strike and why now? Why a week into it? Why not last week?

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's actually explaining that in what we've just received in the last few minutes or so. It's basically two counts. What they are seeking is a temporary restraining order and an injunction trying to end the strike immediately and here's the two counts.

The first count is saying that this strike is illegal because under Illinois state law you can't strike, the CTU cannot strike, on -- for non-economic reasons. So, that's the first count.

The second count being that the strike is, quote, "a clear and present danger to public health and safety," so that's what the city is arguing and that's why they want the judge to end this right away.

Mayor Emanuel, as you'd indicated, was threatening this last night. Here's what he told reporters last night in a statement. He said, quote, "I will not stand by while the city -- the children of Chicago are played as pawns in an internal dispute within a union. This was a strike of choice and is now a delay of choice that is wrong for our children."

What the union has been saying, the union delegation, is that they need more time to go over the tentative contract and this is certainly something we've seen this morning. They've been handing out this tentative deal, talking it over with their union membership and then they will go back and vote tomorrow.

What it has meant for the 350,000 school children, no school today, no school tomorrow and, for their parents, they're left scrambling. Here's what one parent told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: What was your reaction when you heard what happened?

LEO POST, PARENT: A little bit of a disappointment, but, you know, I mean, I understand why they're holding out, so, you know, I definitely still support the teachers in holding out so ...

LAH: Are a lot of parents in the city, do you think, still supporting the teachers?

POST: I think a fair number are. It seems to be split between people that I talked to and 50/50.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: So, what's going to change that 50/50 position is how long the strike continues. There is a remarkable amount of parental support out here in the city, but all of those parents quickly follow-up, Ashleigh, by saying, if this stretches into weeks and weeks, then they may have to reconsider that support.

BANFIELD: You know, Kyung, let me ask you, clearly, this is going to be a complex legal issue that the courts are going to have to deal with, but when Mayor Emanuel suggests that the strike is illegal because you can only strike when it comes to economic issues, the issues that are intrinsic to the economic issues may be the sticking point here. And, clearly, we talked about the teacher evaluations and how to get laid off teachers back to work. Is it possible that this is two sides seeing issues as different things, meaning, the teachers see those as economic issues and the government sees those as non- economic issues?

LAH: One word for you, bingo. It's all about perspective, isn't it?

The teachers absolutely see this, the teacher evaluations, as an economic issue because, if they play a part in layoffs, then certainly that's an economic issue, but what the mayor is saying is, hey, let's stop with the teacher evaluation. That's a non-economic issue. At least, that's what we're seeing in these initial readings of the court documents.

BANFIELD: Yeah and you tell a teacher who gets laid off for an evaluation and loses a paycheck that it's not an economic issue, bingo. I wonder if the judge will use the same word. Kyung Lah, live in Chicago. Keep an eye on things for us. Thank you.

Another day and another topless set of pictures of a princess. Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, her nakedness all over the cover of an Italian magazine today and, no, CNN is not going to show it to you. Of course, that Italian magazine is owned by the same people who first brought you topless pictures of Kate last week in a French magazine, one big happy family.

Well, there's another family that's not so happy. That's the members of the royal family and they're going to court in Paris to try to stop the publication of any more of the racy, invasive photos. Remember, she was in a private villa at her own home with her own husband, not out gallivanting on the beach with her bikini top off. The royal family is seeking unspecified damages in this case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: "Issues 2012," the killing of the U.S. ambassador in Libya and some violent anti-American protests over a film insulting Islam have suddenly pushed foreign policy right to the front line in the battle for the White House. In recent days, that issue has been the source of heated exchanges between President Obama and Mitt Romney.

Two other crucial issues, though, that are getting a lot of attention right now, Iran's nuclear program and Syria's chemical weapons. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr now on how the President has handled things so far and what Mitt Romney says he would do differently if he were to win in November.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney on degree on two crucial, national security issues. Iran will not be allowed to go nuclear and Syria will not use its chemical weapons. But if it looks like either might happen, they differ on what could trigger sending U.S. troops into action.

On Syria ...

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have been very clear to the Assad regime, but also to other players on the ground that a red line for us is we start seeing a whole bunch of chemical weapons moving around or being utilized. That would change any calculus. That would change any equation.

STARR: The White House won't say what it will do if the red line is crossed. Seizing dozens of chemical weapons sites would be tough, requiring tens of thousands of troops on the ground. Romney has openly called for covert action.

MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I would -- instead of watching what's happening in Syria from a dispassionate distance, I would be leading in Syria by encouraging our friends there, like the Turks and the Saudis, to provide weapons to the insurgents in Syria.

STARR: But he, too, hasn't said how or when he would use U.S. troops. The bottom line on Syria? President Obama's red line, moving or using chemical weapons. Governor Romney advocates greater U.S. involvement now.

On Iran, the candidates agree. Iran cannot be allowed a nuclear weapon.

OBAMA: We are determined to prevent Iran if acquiring a nuclear weapon.

STARR: Romney has a different take.

ROMNEY: Clearly, we all hope that diplomatic and economic pressures put on Iran will dissuade them from becoming a nuclear-capability nation.

STARR: The bomb bottom line on Iran? President Obama says the regime would have to take direct steps to acquire a nuclear weapon. For Governor Romney, the red line merely having a nuclear capability without actually moving ahead to produce a weapon.

But in the case of Iran, many believe the red line already has slipped.

MICHAEL O'HANLON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: We said that any enrichment was unacceptable in the case of Iran and, yet, here they are with hundreds of kilograms, if not thousands, of material.

STARR: Neither candidate is advocating war with Syria or Iran. Both of them, in fact, have expressed hope the sanctions will work, but if the red lines get crossed, both of those countries pose serious national security challenges to the United States.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: All right, Barbara Starr, thank you very much. And stay with CNN for the latest developments on Iran's nuclear program, as well as the civil war in Syria.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Yeah, we've become used to the question, cash or credit when you make a purchase? Some places will even go as far as let you use a check. But prepaid cash cards or prepaid cards are really becoming a popular way to pay for stuff. Do you know what you're getting into, though, if you decide to use them? Alison Kosik does and she is here live to give us the pros and the cons of pulling out that kind of plastic.

Hey, Alison.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Ashleigh.

You know, these prepaid cards, they can be a risky thing. Still, these cards are becoming more and more popular every day. A new report from a Pew Charitable Trust says that, in 2009, Americans loaded almost $28 billion onto prepaid cards and, next year, that number is expected to top $200 billion.

Now, they work a lot like debit cards, but there's one big problem with them. They come with a lot of fees. According to Pew, prepaid cards come with an average of seven to 15 different types of fees.

Now, we spoke to John Ulzheimer. He's the president of consumer education at SmartCredit.com and he told us that card issuers often rely on deceptive marketing to get your business.

Now, when it comes to these fees, there are some you cannot avoid, like the monthly fees, but you can be on the lookout for the more complex fees and these include paper statement fees, live customer service fees, ATM fees and replacement card fees.

Now, if you do choose to use one of these cards, SmartCredit.com does recommend getting one from a traditional bank. Now, you may trying using sites like CardRatings.com, BankRate.com, Mint.com and CreditSesame.com to compare cards.

So, comparison shopping, probably a must if you're getting these prepaid cards, as well, Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: All right, Alison Kosik, thank you very much. Do appreciate that.

And just a quick note for anybody heading out the door right now. No fear. We're with you everywhere you go. You can continue watching CNN from your mobile phone and then, when you get to work if that's where you're headed, you can also pop us up on your desktop. It's easy to do. Just go to CNN.com/TV.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: President Obama is returning this hour to a state no presidential candidate can afford to stay away from for too long -- Ohio, Ohio, Ohio. And today he will be in Cincinnati and Columbus. And it is the economy, jobs and cars that seem to be on his mind.

Our CNN political editor, Paul Steinhauser, is live from Washington, D.C.

Before we get into the actual discussion of economy and cars and the big fallout from that overseas, let's talk about the horse race. The polls have come in and they do show something unique in Ohio. I know they always say they don't follow them, but they do.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: They do. They do. Take a look at the two most recent. These are non-partisan and live operator polls that came out late last week. And here you go, NBC/"Journal"/Marist. You have the President with a lead here. This is outside the sampling error, a seven-point lead over Mitt Romney in Ohio. But in another poll the same day by American Research Group showed it much closer, a dead heat for the President and 47 percent for Mitt Romney.

And you mentioned such an important state, the battleground that put George Bush over the top in the 2004 election. Then Senator Obama won it four years. President Obama has been there nine times. This is the ninth swing through Ohio since the start of the general election in April. Mitt Romney had been there as well a lot. Guess what, a lot of ads in the state as well in all the major TV markets. You said it best -- Ohio, Ohio, Ohio -- Ashleigh?

BANFIELD: And get used to that. That rings true as we get closer to election.

Let me switch gears a little bit to the battle over China, China, China. That's starting to rear its ugly head. This is really interesting what's developing. I heard, coming to work today, what the big action would be today, the President was going to go after China through the World Trade Organization and complain about what China is doing in terms of tariffs. Turns out they got the better of us faster, didn't they?

STEINHAUSER: Exactly. The Chinese were reacting quickly on that. And is there U.S. politics involved? Yes, probably. Listen, Mitt Romney has been attacking President Obama for quite some time on China, saying that he would be tougher against China and that he would take action against China. And he has been bringing it up on the campaign trail a lot over the last year, a lot especially in the last week.

Take a listen to this from Mitt Romney just a couple days ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROMNEY: It is good for us to trade. It creates jobs for us. We have to make sure when nations like China cheat we hold them responsible and make them accountable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: After the White House action this morning, Ashleigh, the Romney campaign reacted, Mitt Romney putting out a statement saying this trade case was too little too late. And he says, "If I were president, I wouldn't wait until the end of my first term to do something like this."

And how is it tied to Ohio again? It all ties to Ohio. A lot of this is about the auto industry. Do you know over 50,000 jobs in Ohio are directly tied to the auto industry. And if you look at the related industries, almost one in 10, more than one in 10 are tied to the auto industry. It is why it is so important. That's why the Democratic convention, you heard about the auto bailouts over and over and over because of Ohio and to a lesser degree Michigan, which is the home of the domestic auto industry.

BANFIELD: This is an interesting dovetail for Mitt Romney. If he thought he was taking it on the chin a bit over foreign policy last week and wanted to take a right turn and get back to the economy, he does very well staying on the economy. This is a way to take foreign policy in China and make it the economy.

STEINHAUSER: Yes, I guess you're right, to try to pivot foreign policy back to domestic issues, and that is what you are seeing this week from the Romney campaign. And you're seeing maybe, I guess you could say, not a back to basics because they still will be hit ago lot of issues, but there you go, one of the brand new ad from Mitt Romney. There are two new ads in the battleground states, both on the economy. One kind of lays out what Mitt Romney would do and how he would help the middle class. And the other attacks President Obama for his policies and what the Romney campaign says how they hurt the middle class.

I was on a conference call and, Ashleigh, they say the Romney campaign says they to want get back to specifics and tell more about what they would do if Mitt Romney were president -- Ashleigh?

BANFIELD: Campaigning is a lot like mental gymnastics with foreign hurdles being thrown at you.

Paul Steinhauser, thanks so much. Nice to see you, sir. The President is due to speak at about 12:25 Eastern Time, and you're going to see him live on CNN. Governor Romney, for his part, is in Los Angeles today for a speech to the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. You will be seeing that. His schedule has him there about 3:15 p.m. Eastern Time. That's 12:15 pacific time. Make sure you stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: One of America's most trusted and popular institutions, The Boy Scouts of America, is at the center of a scathing set of accusations that children are raped and molested, and subsequent decades of alleged cover-ups. "The Los Angeles Times" got a hold of more than 1,000 confidential files known by Scout leaders as, quote, "The Perversion Files."

Let's go to straight to one of the "L.A. Times" reporter digging into the story. Jason Felch joins us now on the phone.

Jason, this is just astounding to hear the headline on this. First of all, what is in these files and how were these kept quiet for so long?

JASON FELCH, REPORTER, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES (voice-over): The Boy Scouts of America has been keeping Perversion Files for almost 100 years. It is a confidential record of men accused of sexual abuse and they have been stored away in filing cabinets in Boy Scouts headquarters for all of that time. They have become to come out in different lawsuits over the years and we were able to obtain about 1800 of them and we have gotten through about 1,600 so far. And they contain a very detailed accounting of how the Boy Scouts dealt with allegations when they arose, who they contacted, a lot of back and forth between local officials and the national office about what to do about the allegation.

We found, in the 500 cases where the Boy Scouts were the first to become aware of allegations of sexual abuse, 80 percent of those cases contain no indication that they were reported to authorities. And 100 of them have over references to covert efforts to keep that information, keep the abuse from parents, from the public, and from law enforcement.

BANFIELD: There is so many levels on which that is just extraordinarily distressing -- moral, legal, everything. And I do want to read out for you a statement that has been given to company by the Boy Scouts of America and it reads, "We regret there are have been times when, despite the best efforts to protect children, Scouts were abused, and for that, we are very sorry. We have always cooperated fully with law enforcement and now require our members to report even suspicion of abuse directly to local law enforcement. Recent media reports looked at a subset of the Boy Scouts of America's Ineligible Volunteer Files from approximately 40 years ago when the Boy Scouts of America served approximately five million young people each year."

My question would not ineligible aspect of that statement, Jason. What does that mean when the Boy Scouts say the files that you have -- and presumably they're suggesting you when they say media reports -- Ineligible Volunteer Files.

FELCH: That's a reference -- that's what they have come to call the Perversion Files in more recent years -- ineligible volunteers, because men accused of sexual abuse were banned from Scouting for life. And what didn't always happen was that these men were reported to law enforcement and faced their day in court. And so what's begun to happen is that these files have come to light and they're being scrutinized. It is true many of these files are very old, some 34 years old. We would welcome the opportunity to examine more recent files. The Boy Scouts of America is fighting very actively in court across the country to prevent the release of more recent files and so --

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: I am confused. I have not had a chance to read these files. Full disclosure, I am just trying to get notes on your reporting of it. And there is a case about someone named Arthur Humphries that can shed some light. It seems to me that these are not volunteer files where people were ineligible but that, in some cases, if people left of their own volition -- that was one instance. They may have been fired. But in certain cases some were allowed to remain for years in fact with the Boy Scouts.

FELCH: And Mr. Humphries is one in point. In 1978, a Scout executive in Virginia received very detailed reports that Art Humphries, a highly decorated Scout Master, who received presidential citations and Scouting's highest honor, the Silver Beaver Badge, that Mr. Humphries had been molesting children in the Scouts. Those allegations were not taken to police, and Mr. Humphries was not expelled from the Scouts. He was allowed to continue in the Scouts. And the same executive, two years after receiving the detailed reports, gave Mr. Humphries a glowing recommendation for a job within the Scouts at an upcoming event. It was only in 1984, several years later, that police caught Mr. Humphries, and he eventually pled guilty to sodomizing 20 boys and was sentenced to 151 years.

BANFIELD: So, Jason, I have to wrap this up. But is there evidence you have uncovered that people listed as accused or alleged sex offenders within the Boy Scouts went on to molest other children outside of the Boy Scouts years later?

FELCH: Yes. There is ample evidence of that. Mr. Humphries again is a case in point. After the Boy Scouts were aware of his sexual abuse of children within the Scouts, he went on to molest five additional boys in Scouting. There's other cases we write about in the story in which men are expelled from Scouts but no one is told about it, and they go on to molest other boys in the community. So the clear by- product of covering up these cases is that these men were allowed to continue their activity.

BANFIELD: Jason Felch reporting for us from "The Los Angeles Times." Thank you for that.

Also, these details clearly raise a lot of questions, not the least of which the potential lawsuits, the fallout from this. We'll get perspective from one of our best legal experts in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Vast records of hundreds of alleged child molesters within the ranks of the Boy Scouts of America. Seems they not only worked for the Boy Scouts, they were allegedly protected by the leaders, the crimes kept secret and the tracks covered up. Some of the stunning allegations have been uncovered by "The Los Angeles Times" after it reviewed 1,600 confidential files, records that were known as, quote, "The Perversion Files." And, in them, case after case of volunteers and employees allegedly raping and molesting Scouts year after year, decade after decade. And it certainly does raise a lot of legal questions, at the very least the legal questions, certainly the moral questions go without mention.

Defense attorney Joey Jackson is here to give us some of the legal perspective on this.

First of all, where do I start? Obstruction of justice, civil cases. You start with what you think is the most critical legal aspect of the Boy Scouts may be facing at this point.

JOEY JACKSON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: There are several. First, we know that the Boy Scouts do a lot of good for sure. They help a lot of people. And I don't mean to castigate them by any means. When you have things like this, it is difficult to talk about. There are a couple of things that come to mind. The first, as you're mentioning, it relates to criminal prosecutions. Whenever anything is covered up, particularly something of this magnitude, when it affects children, their welfare, their well-being, criminal prosecutions are certainly something you have to look at because they're paramount here. In addition to any criminal prosecution, of course, you have the civil factor. What do I mean? I mean money and damages.

BANFIELD: Before we get to the money, we have heard this before with Penn State, bring your wheel barrel for the money the organization will owe you after the ugly mess. Let's talk about criminal for starters. A lot of people are under the understanding that organizations have a duty to report dangers when it comes to children. Are there any states exempt from that?

JACKSON: No. What ends up happening is, on the federal law and under state law -- state laws may vary with regard to how it is reported, the time frame in which you have to report it. But if there is anything where in you would suspect that child abuse is occurring and it is credible, it is not that you have a sneaking suspicion that you can't justify or you think or might imagine, but if there is something credible that you might believe relates to a child, a child in danger, a child's welfare, you have a duty, irrespective of the state in which you live, to provide that information to authorities so that there action upon it. And, in fact, as it relates to the federal government, the federal government, to their credit, in 2010, passed the statute actually dealing with this specifically, dealing with --

BANFIELD: 2010?

JACKSON: Yes, I know.

BANFIELD: 2010?

JACKSON: It was amended a number of times. I know.

BANFIELD: Two years?

JACKSON: It's late in the game.

MALVEAUX: We're talking 1970s, the beginning of this ugly can of worms.

JACKSON: It's late in the game, but what they did -- it was amended and passed previous to that. Just in terms of appointing guardian ad litem and what that person does --

(CROSSTALK)

BANFIELD: Someone who represents the kids.

JACKSON: Exactly. It's a kid's attorney, to go and look at it and to see what the dangers are. If the threat was credible, if anything happened, what we could do to provide for the psychological welfare and well being of the child.

BANFIELD: Is there anything to the Boy Scouts saying these files are confidential because of privacy of children. We want to protect -- I understand that argument. Everyone understands that argument. But protecting alleged abusers, allowing them to stay on staff, allowing them to perhaps escape unscathed to want to abuse other children outside the Boy Scouts?

JACKSON: No. What ends up happening, whenever you talk about documents and records, of course, there are some previous issues that need to be addressed. However, what you have to do is measure the privacy interests of the people who are employees versus the interests of the actual victim. And when it relates to the victim, those interests are paramount because we need to get the information to address and resolve these issues.

BANFIELD: How about the victim and then the potential future victims as well?

Joey Jackson, hold those thoughts for a moment. I have more that I need to ask you. Thank you for that.

In the meantime, I do want you to know that the Boy Scouts of America has issued a statement to CNN, and let me read for you. In part it says, "In the more than 100 years that the Boy Scouts of America has served youth, society has learned about this important issue. The Boy Scouts of America continuously enhanced its multi-tiered policies and procedures, which now include background checks, comprehensive training programs, and safety policies."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BANFIELD: In California, a controversial anti-Muslim filmmaker is in hiding. No surprise. This, after talking to investigators this weekend. It's not the first time the man that goes by the name Nakoula Basseley Nakoula has had some serious trouble with the law. We found court documents that show that this man has used at least 17 different names during his lifetime, names like Sam Bacile and P.J. Tobacco -- not a joke. Also, here's something you may not have known. In 1997, he spent a year in prison for intent to manufacture methamphetamines. Then he was convicted of credit card fraud and identity theft. He spent a year in federal prison. He's been out on probation since. He has been barred from using the Internet unless it's OK'd by his probation officer.

Which bring us to defense attorney, Joey Jackson, live again with me now.

Let's talk about him and the trailer that was on YouTube. Somebody had to put that trailer on YouTube.

JACKSON: Without question.

BANFIELD: If it's Mr. Bacile who put this, he would have had to have used the Internet.

JACKSON: He would have.

BANFIELD: And that would be a violation of?

JACKSON: His probation.

BANFIELD: Uh-oh.

JACKSON: It could be problematic. Here's what they're going to look at. Certainly they'll look at probation and what the requirements are. As you point out, you can't use the Internet. The question will be whether that was really designed for the bank fraud issue. Many times people use the Internet to do pretty tough things about other people, and, therefore, was that the intent of the probation to make sure that he didn't do anything of a criminal variety as it related to Internet use and bank fraud, not necessarily producing the movie.

The other thing is that perhaps he didn't do it, someone else, a surrogate, was the person who actually put it on the Internet. And then actually we do know, of course, that one thing that was a probation violation, if he did, was use false names, which je has a prior history of doing that. He did it here.

BANFIELD: We already know his name is Nakoula Basseley Nakoula, but on the movie, he named him as Sam Bacile.

JACKSON: Yes.

BANFIELD: That would be an alias.

JACKSON: Yes, it would be and, therefore, a potential violation. Meaning, again, was it so that -- meaning the use of these names -- to engage in fraudulent activity, because there are a lot of people that produce films and write books, quite frankly, who use other names.

BANFIELD: Is the probation officer going to like this and has just found out about it from watching us and gets mad about it? Does he go back in the pokey for three years?

JACKSON: What ends up happening is the judge -- he will be brought back to the judge, and the defense attorney will make arguments that, you know what, Your Honor, he was engaged in a lawful activity that was creating a film. He was engaged in artistic expression and therefore, he shouldn't be held criminally responsible. The prosecutors will have a lot to say about that with regard to the potential use of the Internet and the use of these names, and if the judge feels that it is a violation, not so much a technical violation, but, you know, a substantive and material violation of his probation violation, guess where he ends up?

BANFIELD: Pokey.

JACKSON: Yes, he does.

BANFIELD: These actors and actresses are very upset. And many of them have said they have no idea they were duped. They were asked to come back and loop audio that said Muhammad, who is -- could be a super imposed over what they originally said. They had no idea they said that this was going to be the movie it was. Is there a case to be made --

(CROSSTALK)

JACKSON: The first thing is that we have a lot to do with artistic expression. We value it. We value the First Amendment, and, therefore, we allow producers and makers of films to represent on film what they like. The other issue is freedom of contract. A lot of times actors waive rights to lawsuits. However, you hit the nail on the head, Ashleigh. Were they duped to otherwise fraudulently induce into entering into this picture, thereby really without their consent? They signed away their rights, of course, with regard to making a film, but did they know it would be of this variety? It's a tough argument to make. Why? Because of foreseeability. Certainly you don't anticipate that there are going to be mass killings. There are a lot of films, of course, that depict pretty negative things. Based upon that, though, people voice objections. They don't necessarily kill people.

BANFIELD: Yes. Well, foreseeability. You can ask Salman Rushdie about that.

JACKSON: Oh, boy.

BANFIELD: We have precedent based on these kinds of things where you can know what might happen. Just quickly, five seconds. Do you think they have his hard drive?

JACKSON: I know they have his hard drive.

(LAUGHTER) BANFIELD: Hard drive.

JACKSON: The feds, they investigate.

BANFIELD: Joey Jackson, I knew you would have the answers. You'll have to stay on this with me, because I'm fascinated to find out what's going to happen with regard to the investigation with him.

JACKSON: Ongoing developments, for sure.

BANFIELD: Thank you, sir.

Stay with CNN, by the way, all for the latest developments on this and the latest protest over his controversial film and the fall-out worldwide. Worldwide.

That leads me to this. Thank you for watching my program.

Stay tuned now. Worldwide news, NEWSROOM INTERNATIONAL, Susan Malveaux, starts right now.