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U.S. Intel Assessment: MH-370 Deliberately Steered Off Course; Trump Tees Up for Debate at Women's British Open; Ex-Campus Cop Pleads Not Guilty to Murdering Driver; Debris From Flight 370 Possibly Located; Officials: Recent Indications "Jihadi John" is Alive. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired July 30, 2015 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:12]
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news: cause of crash? CNN is learning about a U.S. intelligence assessment on why Malaysian Flight 370 went down. Stand by for details as the investigation into one of the biggest aviation mysteries ever heats up.
Major lead. We could soon learn whether a wing that washed ashore is actually from Malaysia Flight 370. This hour, we're also tracking all that points to missing plane.
New clue. Officials say another piece of debris that looks like a suitcase now is part of the MH370 investigation. CNN is live on the remote island where the wreckage was found.
And facing a murder charge, a former university police officer enters a plea in the shooting death of a driver, as yet another body cam video is released from their horrifying encounter.
We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
BLITZER: We're following breaking news.
CNN has learned about a preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment about the MH370 disaster. Sources tell CNN it suggests it's likely someone in the cockpit deliberately caused the aircraft to go off course before it vanished, this as another potential piece of evidence in the Flight 370 mystery is discovered on a remote island in the Western Indian Ocean.
We have new video of debris that looks like a wrecked suitcase. Police say it's now being included in the plane investigation.
And, tonight, investigators say they're treating a wing part found on the island as a major lead. We're told it will be transported to France tomorrow night. One official says investigators could know for certain within 48 hours whether the part actually came from the Malaysian airliner that vanished well over a year ago. CNN is live on the Reunion Island. We have a team of correspondents
and analysts are covering this story and all the news that's breaking right now.
But, first, new information coming in to THE SITUATION ROOM. Our justice reporter, Evan Perez, is joining us.
Evan, what are you learning?
EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, an assessment by a U.S. intelligence agencies says someone in the cockpit of Malaysian Flight 370 deliberately directed the aircraft's movements before it disappeared. This assessment is based on satellite and other available evidence and analysts looked at possible multiple course changes that the aircraft made after it deviated from its scheduled course to Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Analysts determined that it's most likely someone in the cockpit deliberately moved the aircraft to specific waypoints crossing Indonesian territory and eventually toward the South Indian Ocean. This was an assessment done for internal government purposes and it's separate from the investigation that's being led by Malaysian authorities.
Now the FBI and the NTSB have been assisting with that investigation and a Malaysian government report in March says that there's no proof of wrongdoing by the airplane's crew. Here's what they said in March, Wolf. They said: "There are no behavioral signs of social isolation, change in habits or interest, self-neglect, drug or alcohol abuse of the captain, first officer and the cabin crew."
The discovery of debris this week gives investigators hope that they can now find the wreckage and, more crucially, the black boxes. Without that, investigators believe they won't likely be able to make any conclusions about what exactly happened on Flight 370, Wolf. What we expect to happen in the next few days, French authorities are going to examine the pieces of debris that they have there. They're going to try to see if there are any signs of any explosions or anything that could give a clue as to what happened.
BLITZER: This U.S. intelligence assessment that came up, this was a while ago.
PEREZ: Right.
BLITZER: It's just being reported by you right now for the first time. They basically said it wasn't some sort of mechanical failure, that someone in the cockpit, whether a pilot, co-pilot or someone who gained access to that cockpit deliberately took that plane.
PEREZ: Right.
BLITZER: Made that U-turn about an hour after it took off from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, headed toward Beijing and headed in the opposite direction toward the Indian Ocean, that it was a deliberate move. It wasn't some sort of mechanical failure. PEREZ: That's right, absent any other evidence, because they have
looked at everything. They looked at the passenger manifest. Law enforcement from every country represented on that aircraft looked at the passenger manifest to see if there was any sign of perhaps terrorism or anything. They found nothing. They looked at the crew. They found nothing.
So, now what they're doing, Wolf, is just simply going back to, you know, the first original theory, frankly, the only theory that could be, which is someone inside the cockpit made this plane deliberately go where it did.
[18:05:04]
BLITZER: Although there's a different assessment from Malaysian investigators, as you point out.
PEREZ: Right.
BLITZER: And you pointed out specifically. They said there were no behavioral signs of social isolation, change in habits or interest, self-neglect, drug or alcohol abuse of the captain, first officer and the cabin crew.
PEREZ: Right.
BLITZER: That was their conclusion.
PEREZ: Right, exactly. That only deepens the mystery as to exactly what happened here because there is no other evidence to suggest anything. Again, this evidence is based on what they have available to them. Again, we don't know. We don't have a wreckage to examine, which is typically how you determine what happened. You see if perhaps it was a catastrophic failure with the aircraft. There's nothing like that yet that they can look at.
BLITZER: Obviously, they would love to get the cockpit voice recorder or the flight data recorder, if they could find that. That would be a huge, huge potential...
PEREZ: Right.
BLITZER: ... bonanza of information.
PEREZ: Right.
BLITZER: But very interesting. You're reporting U.S. intelligence agencies suggest it was someone in the cockpit who deliberately caused that plane to go down.
PEREZ: That's right.
BLITZER: All right, we will get more on this. I want you to stand by, Evan. Good reporting for us.
PEREZ: Thanks. BLITZER: Let's also check out some of the new clues in the MH370
mystery, the debris that washed ashore on a remote island, including that torn suitcase that's now officially part of the overall investigation.
Let's bring in our aviation correspondent, Rene Marsh. She's working this part of the story -- Rene.
RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, behind the scenes, confidence is growing tonight. They may have their first tangible clue to unraveling this aviation mystery.
But they have to get their eyes on the part before they're 100 percent sure. Tonight, it's not a matter of if, but when U.S. officials will also launch to get a closer look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARSH (voice-over): Tonight, as investigators make their way to the remote island where the debris was found, sources say there is a growing feeling this seven-and-a-half foot chunk of metal is from MH370, one source telling CNN Boeing engineers have scrutinized photos like these and believe the debris corresponds to a 777's flaperon, the back edge of the wing that helps pilots control the plane at lower speeds.
Sources say one reason why Boeing may be confident is in this photo published by a news Web site on the island. It appears to show the debris with an airplane component number stencilled on it.
ALES ABEND, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: The reason it's a big deal that a component number was found is because you can trace that to either assembly at Boeing, perhaps, or at the supplier that built that particular part.
MARSH: Images posted online of an internal Boeing 777 maintenance manual also shows a key section of the aircraft wing, and the same component seen in this photo, 657BB.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The French authorities are working with Malaysia authorities and us to do this as quickly as possible, and we are hoping that something could be done in the next 24 to 48 hours.
MARSH: While authorities remain unwilling to say definitively if the debris is from MH370, behind the scenes, sources say logic is quickly leading investigators in that direction.
Only one 777 that has crashed in this area of the world remains missing, MH370, the doomed flight that vanished en route to Beijing in March 2014, with 239 people on board.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good night, Malaysian 370.
MARSH: Sources tell CNN the investigation is now back in high gear, with scientists doing everything from studying the water currents to marine life growing on the debris, trying to determine how long it's been in the water and whether that matches the timeline of the missing plane.
ARNOLD GORDON, OCEANOGRAPHER: The substantial growth of barnacles on the wing, that indicates to me that that debris was floating in the ocean for a period of about a year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARSH: A lot of questions have been raised about whether investigators could learn anything substantial from this debris if it does belong to MH370. I spoke to a former Boeing accident investigator who says they will analyze the damage, specifically how the attachments broke.
That could tell investigators if the flaps were down or were they up. If they were down, that could mean the plane was slowing or preparing to land. Wolf, it's a piece of a puzzle, but it certainly does not crack the case wide open.
BLITZER: Certainly doesn't. But it does bring some clues. Rene, thanks very much.
I want to bring in our team of experts, our aviation correspondent Richard Quest, our aviation analysts Miles O'Brien and Peter Goelz, our law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes, and our aviation -- and the aviation writer, I should say, Clive Irving.
Richard Quest, I will start with you. And let's get everyone's reaction to the news that Evan Perez is now reporting, this preliminary assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies produced in the aftermath of the MH370 disaster suggesting -- and, remember, this is a U.S. intelligence assessment -- that it likely someone in the cockpit deliberately caused the aircraft's movements before the plane disappeared.
[18:10:12]
Richard, you have studied this. You're writing a book on this story. What do you make of this U.S. intelligence analysis?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: I'm absolutely not surprised because in the cold light of day, every single fact points to that assessment being correct.
Wolf, the transponder gets switched off. The ACARS gets disabled. The prime minister describes the movements as being deliberate. Remember, the plane goes up. It goes round. It comes back. It flies over Malaysia. You can see a better example of it now. It then flies back over the country and then it goes up the Straits of Malacca and around.
Everything about it points to somebody having done something nefarious in the cockpit. When you look at this assessment, you can see exactly how and why they have come to that conclusion.
BLITZER: Miles O'Brien, what do you think? MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Wolf, I'm just going to tell
you, there's no doubt in my mind that this is a deliberate act. The question is who and why.
And those are beyond my capability. But as a guy who knows a little something about aviation, this is something that had to be done deliberately.
BLITZER: It wouldn't have been easy, Peter Goelz, though, for one individual to turn off the transponder, turn off all that equipment and do this, right? That's pretty complicated.
PETER GOELZ, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Not if you're the pilot or if you're familiar with the cockpit and you have disabled the other crew member in the cockpit.
I'm with Miles and with Richard. A human being had to direct this plane. There were too many twists and turns to its flight path.
BLITZER: Basically, what you're saying, Peter, is it wasn't a mechanical failure or anything like that? This was a deliberate act by someone or some people in that cockpit to take that plane down, whether it was pilot suicide, co-pilot suicide? Somebody else wanted to take that plane down for whatever reason?
GOELZ: I think that's the only conclusion you can come to at this point. But there's a lot of discussion about a fire in the E&E bay, the electronics bay. But really it doesn't explain the performance of the plane and what happened in terms of its identification through the transponder and through the ACARS.
BLITZER: Are you surprised by the report of this preliminary U.S. assessment that someone deliberately put that plane in the water?
TOM FUENTES, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I'm not surprised. But, Wolf, I would rather -- I would like to see more evidence before we call one of the two pilots a mass murderer.
I think that that's the problem I have is that we can't prove or disprove whether it was hijacked. We can't prove or disprove what actually happened or what the condition of that aircraft was.
BLITZER: No, we're not saying it was the pilot or the co-pilot or any of the crew. It was someone had access to that cockpit and did it. It could have been a passenger, could have been someone else. We're not concluding and the U.S. intelligence community is not concluding that it was the pilot or the co-pilot. They're simply saying someone in the cockpit deliberately caused the aircraft movements.
Clive Irving, what's your analysis?
CLIVE IRVING, THE DAILY BEAST: The FBI cleared the crew of any background -- any likelihood of either psychological disturbance or a malicious act.
And I think the extension of this mystery is that if this is true -- and I still think it's a rush to judgment to come to these conclusions, since there are possible other connections that have a different story connected to a mechanical problem.
But the really -- mystery at the end of this, if this was so and we have had no declaration of intent, no motivation shown, so that deepens the mystery -- if this is so, it doesn't explain why anyone doing that would end up with the plane flying for six hours with apparently no human intervention at all.
It's just another accumulation of the many mysteries to this. I'm very glad that at least we have got some single piece of physical evidence that will lead us to perhaps slow down on fears of this kind until the inspectors -- the investigators do have tangible evidence that they can work through. I think we should cool down on these conspiracy theories, because actually none of them has any person attached to them at the moment. There's no plausible person attached to them.
The Malaysian police conducting the investigation have been through the whole passenger list. And if they had found anything there, we would know about it, and they haven't.
BLITZER: All right, I want everybody to stand by. Richard Quest, stand by. We will get back to you in a moment, as well, Miles. We have much more on the breaking news.
Evan Perez, our justice reporter, letting us know of this preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment that someone in the cockpit likely deliberately caused that plane to go down. We will have much more right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:19:20]
BLITZER: We're back with our aviation experts and the breaking news we're following.
CNN has learned that a U.S. intelligence assessment suggests someone in the MH370 cockpit deliberately caused the aircraft to go off course before it vanished, this as a torn suitcase is now part of the investigation, along with a wing part that also washed ashore on a remote island.
Our senior international correspondent, Nima Elbagir, is joining us now live from Reunion Island, the epicenter of the MH370 investigation right now.
Nima, update our viewers on the very, very latest.
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The focal point here in Reunion, Wolf, is all about this latest debris to wash ashore, this -- what officials are calling what appears to resembles the remnants of a passenger suitcase.
[18:20:05] They are unwilling at this point to even clearly call it a suitcase.
That's how concerned they are about giving false hope to any of the grieving relatives of those passengers that disappeared in the MH370 tragedy.
This, though, we're told by officials, will be joined by that wing section which washed ashore the previous day. And they're hoping to get that to Toulouse in the South of France, to get it to the French investigators and the Boeing investigators.
We still haven't confirmed that it has left the island. That's because at the moment investigators are weighing out whether it's better for them to be here, to see the site for themselves, where this debris is washing up ashore and to see if any more is going to come up on these beaches. But, of course, time is ticking as families are waiting to hear any news that could finally bring them some closure, Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Nima, we will get back to you. Stand by. Nima Elbagir is the scene for us on Reunion Island.
Clive Irving, how significant are these two pieces of debris that have just been found?
IRVING: I think it's important to see that we now have two search areas and not one, the original one 1,000 miles to the west of Australia, where they're doing the deep-sea search, and now this one. It's a question of resources, Wolf, coming up now.
The resources have been stripped away from the deep-sea search. The Malaysians withdrew one of the three ships conducting that. Now we need a serious search of both by air and by water to see if there's any more debris here, because these two pieces, so far, are very significant. It's very unlikely that they were the only pieces to travel that distance and in that direction.
When the debris is first formed after the heavy part of the plane sinks and the floating debris floats, it's normally a cluster. Now, obviously, with all the currents and forces at work in those stormy seas, there would be some dispersal. But I would think it's highly improbable the buoyant parts of this aircraft -- and there are quite a lot of buoyant parts of this aircraft, I think -- of those parts, only one major part would wash up.
And I think the scientists obviously now are doing a reverse- engineering job at looking from Reunion back in the easterly direction to see that track. And they can, then, I think be useful in guiding a search. But I think there's a serious resource problem here. People have to get serious about renewing the energy behind this search, both in that place and back in the original.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Let me get Richard Quest to weigh in and Miles O'Brien as well.
Richard, first to you.
QUEST: I don't think there's any lack of commitment in terms of the search area down off Australia. The ships that have been removed, yes, GO Phoenix has been removed and a couple of other ships have been taken off for the course of the winter because the conditions are so appalling.
But they have defined a very clear goal, which is 120,000 square kilometers. To that extent, as I understand it, there's no wavering by the Australians in the commitment to search that area fully and properly. In terms of searching further Reunion, Madagascar, east coast of Africa, whilst one can certainly make an argument for searching for further debris, it's a vast area over many, many months.
And I'm not sure -- we saw in the original search for debris how difficult it was. This far gone, I'm not sure you wouldn't just be spending a great deal of time, money and effort to very little result.
BLITZER: Well, what about that, Miles O'Brien?
O'BRIEN: I think they have to look, though, Wolf. They just have to do it.
We know that there's debris there now. At the very latest, they are going to do some beachcombing and let's launch some aircraft and get some eyes on targets there. It's quite likely that there are other floating pieces of debris in the ocean and it's also likely that they're in the same vicinity. Why not start with that as a starting point and begin a search in that area to see if there's further debris? The debris can tell us a lot.
BLITZER: Is it more important, Peter Goelz, to maintain that search in that area, that huge area closer to Australia or to take those resources and move them now closer to the other side of the Indian Ocean near Reunion Island?
GOELZ: I certainly would not pull the resources out of the deep underwater search. That's where the critical information lies. You have got to find the body of wreckage. The only way you're going to do that is concentrating off Australia.
I'm with Miles. You have to send some planes up. You have got to take a walk along the beaches. You have got to search, but the resources can't be pulled off the critical deep-water search.
BLITZER: All right, everybody, stand by.
We're following breaking news, especially the latest information from our Evan Perez, U.S. intelligence agencies suggesting someone in that cockpit, someone in the cockpit deliberately brought that plane down.
[18:25:00]
We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLITZER: We're back with the breaking news.
CNN has learned that a preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment suggests it's likely that someone in the MH370 cockpit deliberately caused the aircraft to go off course before it vanished.
[18:30:08] Richard Quest, you've seen this reporting from our Evan Perez. And I know there's been some debate going on, whether this was a deliberate decision by someone in the cockpit, either somebody in the crew, someone who gained access to the cockpit, to make that plane vanish or there -- the other conclusion is there could have been some sort of mechanical failure.
Where exactly, in all of your reporting over these past 15, 16 months, do you see it right now?
QUEST: I still see this -- I still see it on the mechanical side, Wolf. I'm still on that side. I'm still not prepared to say it was the pilots, because there's no evidence. I'm still not prepared to say it was a hijack or a terrorist, because there's absolutely no evidence of it.
I can see fully how the U.S. assessment, intelligence assessment, comes to the conclusion. Because if you do look at the raw facts of the way the plane turned and what happened and this, that and the other, yes, you can put one and one together; and I suggest you'd come up with three.
I do not believe at this point you can say. And I know I'm in a minority on this. And I'm comfortable being in that minority, but I still go on the mechanical side.
BLITZER: What about you, Miles O'Brien?
O'BRIEN: Well, I would ask Richard what is the mechanical scenario which would create what happened? We're talking about it disappearing from radar, all the communications ceasing, this mysterious turn and then flying for six-plus hours. What mechanical scenario would cause that to happen, Richard?
QUEST: You know, I can go -- Miles knows as well as I do the variety of mechanical scenarios that are out there, everything from an incident in the E&E bay, which is sits next to the radio coms. We've also got the...
O'BRIEN: You're talking about those magical fires that take out the communication and the transponder, making it impossible for them to talk, but yet the plane is still able to fly on for six hours. It doesn't make sense, Richard. It doesn't.
QUEST: But Miles...
O'BRIEN: It looks like it's a deliberate act.
QUEST: You don't have a shred of evidence to pin this on anybody. O'BRIEN: I am not pinning it on anyone. I'm just telling you what
you're seeing there is the work of a human hand. Beyond that, I can't say anything more.
BLITZER: Hold on for a minute, guys. I want Peter Goelz to weigh in. You've done a lot of investigations. Mechanical or human?
GOELZ: I'm coming down on the side of human intervention. I can't put together a scenario, unless it comes out, something like what they used to call a Rube Goldberg contraption that explains it mechanically. I think the actions of the aircraft, the actions that turn off the communications device, point towards human intervention. I don't know who, but I think that's where I come down.
BLITZER: Tom Fuentes?
FUENTES: I'm still open on the question. Because I think the radar information at the time that it made that horseshoe up and around Indonesia is not based on factually seeing it but the fact that Indonesia says they didn't see it, so it must have done that.
Secondly, whether it's the pilot or the co-pilot, Malaysian Airlines assigns their pilots different flights all the time. They don't get to bid by seniority like U.S. carriers. So those guys would have flown many times, going to Perth nonstop, going to Sydney nonstop. And they could wait for one of those flights and deviate to the east or to the west in this case and put it in the ocean if they wanted to.
So I just don't see why on way the Beijing, make a U-turn, fly around Indonesia, going up, going down. When we know that the radar is either inaccurate or nonfunctioning.
BLITZER: All right. Clive Irving, what about you?
IRVING: I think it was a cascade of events which overcame the pilots. They struggled valiantly to put things right, and they were overwhelmed by a succession of things that went wrong. The trouble is, there are various scenarios.
I think it's a very interesting argument that we're having here. Because I think that we're still too apt to rush to judgment; and at the moment, we must keep reminding ourselves that the purpose of the investigation is to find -- ultimately find out what went wrong. We're nowhere near that point yet. And I would also add that the real purpose of an investigation is to find whether something happened to this plane that had never happened to a 777 before and might happen to a 777 again.
So then again, we've got another serious motivation over and above what the security questions are, what the mechanical questions are. In the end we must be able to get the evidence together to make a conclusive and persuasive argument what overcame this plane. It's going to remain a mystery for a very long time to come.
BLITZER: Let's not forget: 239 people were aboard that plane, and there are about 1,200 Boeing 777s flying around the world right now. All right, guys. Stand by. We're going to continue to follow this
story. But there's another story that is developing right now. Donald Trump, he's teeing up for the first Republican presidential debate by visiting a golf course in Scotland.
With a week to go before the GOP candidates face off, there's a new poll showing Trump is actually strengthening his lead over his closest rivals, but his negative ratings, they are also climbing.
Our chief congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One week before the first Republican presidential debate, the GOP front- runner landed his helicopter at his golf course in Scotland. It's not your father's primary season.
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have an amazing day ahead at Turnberry.
BASH: He is in Europe for the women's British Open, taking place at his Turnberry Trump golf course.
TRUMP: The world is going to be here, so I have a big stake in this land.
BASH: The newest investment in his own campaign is paying dividends. Another new national poll shows him with a significant lead in the Republican presidential race, 20 percent, with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker trailing at 13 percent and Jeb Bush at just 10 percent, half of Trump's support.
One GOP candidate called the reason for Trump's rise simple: outsized attention.
SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... have offered a tax code. You can fill out your tax return on one page, 14.5 percent. So if I had a billion dollars' worth of advertising and every network going gaga over that, you know what? I think we could get ours to rise also. But there's going to be time for that. I think this is a temporary sort of loss of sanity.
BASH: But it isn't all good news for Trump. He also has the worst favorability rating of any candidate in either party. And the bombastic billionaire tops the list of candidates GOP voters say they would never vote for.
TRUMP: We get dramatic in our country, and everybody hates us all over the world.
BASH: Although early, state polls are the best test in the primary season, national polls will determine which 10 of the 17 candidates can participate in next week's first debate.
According to CNN's poll of polls, on the stage will almost certainly be Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Scott Walker and senators Rand Paul and Marco Rubio. Likely to make the cut: neurosurgeon Ben Carson, Senator Ted Cruz and former Governor Mike Huckabee, all at 5 percent.
That leaves just two more slots for the next three candidates: Governor Chris Christie, John Kasich and former Governor Rick Perry. And with Trump on the stage it will be must-see TV.
TRUMP: I'm not a debater. I get things done, whether it's this or whatever. I build; I create jobs. Nobody does better. That's what I do. I'm a big job producer. I'm a big builder. I do beautiful work.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: And Trump was true to form there, talking about his beautiful work as a builder. But the way he is lowering expectations, though, Wolf, for next week's debate is oddly uncharacteristic, especially since he's playing the expectations game as politicians do. Remember, he says he's different. Not like the other politicians -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Certainly is. All right, good report, Dana. Thanks very much.
Just ahead, new body-camera video. The deadly encounter between an African-American motorist and a white police officer now being charged with murder.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We're following the breaking news. CNN has learned that a preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment suggests its most likely someone in the MH-370 cockpit deliberately caused that aircraft to go off course before it vanished. We're going to have much more on this, coming up tonight.
But there's another story we're following. A former University of Cincinnati police officer now being held on $1 million bond after pleading not guilty to murder and other charges in the shooting death of a driver. We're following all the new developments in this case, including another body-cam video that's been released.
CNN's Jason Carroll is joining us from Cincinnati. He's on the scene for us live. What's the latest, Jason?
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, today three body-cam videos have been released so far. And so far, none of them show Tensing being dragged by DuBose's car. DuBose's family says, despite what Tensing's attorney says, to them, what happened out here is very clear.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUDGE MEGAN SHANAHAN, HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO: The bond will be $1 million any way. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a courtroom. You will conduct yourselves at all times appropriately.
CARROLL (voice-over): Judge Megan Shanahan, admonishing the court, as observers cheered after setting former University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing's bail at $1 million.
SHANAHAN: What is the plea?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not guilty.
CARROLL: Charges, murder involuntary manslaughter for the shooting of 43-year-old Samuel DuBose during a routine traffic stop that turned deadly.
OFFICER RAY TENSING, FORMER UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI POLICE OFFICER: Go ahead and take your seat belt off.
SAMUEL DUBOSE, STOPPED FOR MISSING LICENSE: I didn't do nothing.
TENSING: Go ahead and take your seat belt off. Stop. Stop!
(GUNSHOT)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good afternoon.
CARROLL: Prosecutor Joe Deters called the shooting senseless, saying Tensing had no business being an officer.
JOE DETERS, PROSECUTOR, HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO: This is the most asinine act I've ever seen a police officer make. Totally unwarranted.
CARROLL: Video from Tensing's body camera shows him pulling DuBose over for a missing front license plate.
TENSING: That's got to go where the front plate is supposed to go.
CARROLL: The tension elevates quickly as Tensing repeatedly asked DuBose for his driver's license, which he does not have.
TENSING: I'm going to ask you again: Do you have your license?
DUBOSE: I have a license. You can run my name.
CARROLL: DuBose was driving with a suspended license. On separate body cameras attached to two other university officers on the scene, Tensing repeatedly explained why he shot DuBose.
TENSING: He was dragging me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I saw that.
[18:45:00] OFFICER TENSING: I thought I was going to get run over. I was trying to stop him.
I just got tangled in the care. I thought he was going to run over me.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tensing's attorney says his client feared for his life.
STEW MATTHEWS, TENSING'S ATTORNEY : He says he was dragged. I think that's accurate and I think that video bears that out.
CARROLL: The prosecutor disputes Tensing's claim.
JOE DETERS, PROSECUTOR, HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO: This doesn't happen in the United States. He was simply slowly rolling away. That's all he did.
CARROLL: As does DuBose's sister.
TERINA DUBOSE ALLEN, SAM DUBOSE'S SISTER: There's not a camera angle that's not going to show Sam not putting his hands up and saying, what are you doing? Go ahead. I would ask his attorney to go ahead and get those angles and show me the angles that show where my brother did not basically beg for his life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: And DuBose's family says any other officer who corroborated Tensing's story should also be held accountable. I can tell you, Wolf, that today, we were told that two university police officers are now on paid administrative leave, pending an outcome of an investigation -- Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Jason Carroll, thanks very much.
I want to bring in our legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin, our other legal analyst, Sunny Hostin, and our law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes.
Tom, first to you, your analysis of what we just heard.
TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, I think to say that the other officers lied, first of all, because I could see on that particular stop an officer coming up behind to back him up and seeing DuBose speed away. And the officer, Tensing, spin around, end up on his back, on the street. And then when he sits up, he's facing away from where that car has been.
That's a pretty clear indication that at least -- he shouldn't have had his arm inside the car. I'll agree with that. He shouldn't have shot him in the head. I'll agree with that. He did put himself in the position to get hurt, to have that when the car sped way, it knocked him down.
So, I think someone coming up from behind seeing that could certainly say, yes, I saw that. Yes, I saw that's what happened to you.
BLITZER: Sunny, as you know, Mark O'Mara is the attorney represents the family of the dead driver, says he didn't think the police officer tensing, quote, "got up that morning and decided that he would kill a black guy" but believed that he made a, quote, negative -- in his words -- "negative instantaneous decision about shooting DuBose".
Your take?
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I'm reluctant to try to determine or to say what was in this officer's mind. I don't think we know that. But I think that the video speaks for itself, quite frankly.
I mean, I think it's clear. I've seen it a dozen times at least. And I think it's very clear that he shot this unarmed motorist before the car was moving. I mean that in and of itself is a purposeful killing. I don't see self-defense. I don't see the threat.
And it seems to me that his statements directly afterwards were false and that he tried to cover up this purposeful shooting. And that's what he has been charged with.
BLITZER: Not only that, Jeffrey, the prosecutor said that Tensing, the police officer, quote, "should never have been a police officer." He called the shooting asinine and senseless. Those are tough words, obviously.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: I don't know what in his background makes the prosecutor say that he should never have been a police officer but I can certainly sign on with asinine. I mean, let's remember the circumstances here.
This was a stop over a missing license plate. Let's say -- as Tom suggests -- he was driving away. Let him go. We don't shoot people in this country over missing license plates.
I mean, that's the big picture here, I think, which is you do not shoot people over missing license plates. What his state of mind was, was it purposeful? Was it negligent? Was it manslaughter? Was it murder? I don't know. But asinine, it sure was.
BLITZER: He makes a good point, Jeffrey.
FUENTES: No, that's a good point.
BLITZER: Stop someone for not having a license plate on the front of the car --
FUENTES: Let's stop there, Wolf.
BLITZER: Yes.
FUENTES: When the prosecutor says that was a chicken crap stop, I think is the term he used -- let's look back to the Oklahoma City bombing. That's why Timothy McVeigh was stopped by a police officer on the street and later, they determined he had just committed the bombing and killing of almost 200 people in Oklahoma.
So, if that's a violation of the law, not having the license plates clearly displayed a uniform patrol officer can make that stop and you shouldn't refer to it that way because police officers make those stops all the --
BLITZER: But you have the license plate on the back, but not the front of the car.
FUENTES: Yes, but at least he's looking into what's the story with that license plate. I think to refer to a bad license plate or not having a license plate displayed because I think he opens the glove box and says it's in here.
BLITZER: But even if the legitimate decision to pull him before, which is clearly was, because technically, that was a violation.
[18:50:00] Let's say he was trying to drive away, what should the police officer have done?
FUENTES: I agree, let him go. You have no business to reach in and stop the car.
BLITZER: Call for backup and say there's a guy --
FUENTES: He sounded like he had backup close behind him. But, no, Jeffrey is right. He should have let him drive away. He had no business shooting him. That's no question.
TOOBIN: Even if he drives away, you don't chase him. We have lots of people injured and killed in these chases over very minor shooting, chasing --
BLITZER: All right. We're going to stay on top of this story. Guys, thanks very much.
Also coming up, we're getting breaking news on the fate of the guy called Jihadi John, the notorious ISIS executioner. Stand by for new information.
(CXOMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We're following some breaking news: getting new word on the fate of the notorious ISIS executioner known as Jihadi John.
Let's go to our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr. She's been working her sources.
What are you learning, Barbara?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, Jihadi John, the hooded executioner of ISIS responsible for such violence, death and misery around the world, having killed several Western and Japanese hostages, tonight, two U.S. officials tell me there are recent blips -- that's the word one of them used -- about a potential location for Jihadi John. He has not been seen in any of these videos for some months.
But now, they have some information about where he might be hiding inside Syria. The best guess right now, somewhere in and around Raqqa in northern Syria, this self-declared capital of ISIS.
Why has he been hiding out? Why hasn't he been seen? Will he emerge again?
U.S. officials, U.S. intelligence looking at this question very carefully. They believe, their assessment is, it's just gotten too hot out there for him after all of this, knowing that the coalition is coming after him. No indication that this recent blip of information was enough time,
date and place for coalition to launch an air strike. Every piece of information adds up.
Tonight, we are very aware. Hostage families watching for any clue, any bit of information that the U.S. might be able to get Jihadi John. No indication they are there yet. But they are adding up the information, the intelligence that they are getting -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right. Good reporting, Barbara. Thanks very much.
I want to bring in our national security analyst Peter Bergen.
He is clearly Jihadi John on the U.S. hit list, right?
PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yes, of course. I mean, the United States did launch a raid on July 3rd of 2014 to try and rescue the hostages. Of course, they were being held by Jihadi John and others. And, unfortunately, the intelligence was a bit dated.
But we've already -- so they've already had information about his likely location. That was also, as Barbara reported, near Raqqa, I mean, which is the de facto capital. So, it's not surprising that this new information puts him close to Raqqa.
BLITZER: And there's no doubt if the U.S. had good information, they knew precisely where he was, they would launch a drone or an F-16 and fire some sort of missile and try to kill him.
BERGEN: Well, they have launched thousands of strikes so far on much lesser targets. So, yes.
BLITZER: OK. Let's talk a little bit about Mullah Muhammad Omar. We now have learned that he is obviously dead, maybe for the last two years. Someone else is now emerging as the new Taliban leader. Is that right?
BERGEN: Yes. Mullah Mansoor has been elected as the new Taliban -- it's not surprising. He's a senior member of the Taliban movement. I doubt he's going to have the same kind of -- you know, Mullah Omar was the commander of the faithful. It's a pretty big claim. It says, I'm not only the leader of the Taliban, I'm the leader of all Muslims everywhere.
I think as it hard for Mullah Mansoor to kind of make that claim.
BLITZER: I know that tonight, this amazing series on CNN, an original series, "THE SEVENTIES" airs, it features the terrorism that did take place throughout the 1970s, including the Munich Olympic Game massacre when those Israeli athletes were slaughtered by Palestinian terrorists at that time.
You are part of the series. Tell us a little bit about it.
BERGEN: Well, you know, I think -- we think we live in the age of terrorism. But the 1970s were the golden age of terrorism. They were 100 hijackings in the United States, not all of them terrorism, but a number of them terrorist acts. Hijackings have virtually disappeared.
They were -- you know, the Weather Underground launched dozens of attacks. The leftist organization, the Black Panthers, Puerto Rican nationalists doing bombings on a routine basis. And so, you know, that's part of the story of what we'll see tonight on CNN in this show.
BLITZER: It's an amazing show. I assume you have seen it already, because from what I have seen, really brings back so graphically and powerfully what was going on in the '70s as far as terrorism.
BERGEN: Absolutely.
BLITZER: Peter, thanks very much for that. Thanks for all your help. Thanks for what you've done tonight.
The rise of international terrorism, once again, that's the focus tonight of CNN's original series, "THE SEVENTIES". It airs at 9:00 p.m. Eastern. You'll want to watch this, 9:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
Remember, you can always follow us on Twitter. Please go ahead and tweet me at @wolfblitzer. You can always tweet the show @CNNSitroom.
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"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.
