U.S. Officials: Sgt. Johnson Not Captured, Executed In Niger Ambush
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump also faced scrutiny for igniting a feud with Sgt. Johnson's grieving widow, reportedly telling her in a condolence call that Johnson quote, "knew what he signed up for."</s>MYESHIA JOHNSON, WIDOW OF SGT. LA DAVID JOHNSON KILLED IN NIGER AMBUSH: The president said that he knew what he signed up for but it hurts anyways. And I was -- it made me cry because I was very angry at the tone of his voice and how he said it. He couldn't remember my husband's name.</s>CAMEROTA: The president refused to back down, tweeting quote "I had a very respectful conversation with the widow of Sgt. La David Johnson and spoke his name from the beginning without hesitation." How the ambush occurred and exactly what happened to Sgt. Johnson are still mysteries. In November, additional remains from Sgt. Johnson's body were discovered and those could provide further clues. But Johnson's family complains that they've been left in the dark.</s>JOHNSON: Why couldn't I see my husband? Every time I asked to see my husband they wouldn't let me. I need to see him so I will know that that is my husband. I don't know nothing. They won't show me a finger, a hand. I know my husband's body from head to toe and they won't let me see anything. I don't know what's in that box. It could be empty for all I know.</s>CAMEROTA: The Department of Defense expects this investigation into the attack to be completed by January. Let's talk more about it. We have Sgt. Johnson's mother Cowanda here with us, and his sister Richshama. They both join us now. Ladies, thank you so much for being here. We're so sorry for your loss and the ordeal that you've all gone through. Cowanda, let me start with you. So what do you think now that the military says that Sgt. Johnson was never in enemy hands, he died in the initial firefight?</s>COWANDA JONES-JOHNSON, MOTHER OF SGT. LA DAVID JOHNSON: It hurts me because La David honored his job and to be told seven different stories, it really hurts me.</s>CAMEROTA: Let me stop you right there. You -- in other words, you have already gotten lots of stories from the military and from the commanders. Tell us some of the evolution of what they've said to you.</s>C. JOHNSON: I'm going to just tell you the first story that we was told as a family that La David Johnson was possibly captured and we please do not post anything on the media because it's going to interfere in his investigation. They said that he did activate his GPS. They said he did activate his GPS and they said he was on the move.</s>CAMEROTA: So the very first thing you heard was that he was possibly captured --</s>C. JOHNSON: Captured.</s>CAMEROTA: -- and they could see that he was on the move --</s>C. JOHNSON: Yes.</s>CAMEROTA: -- from his</s>GPS. C. JOHNSON: They said an elderly man out of the village came and he gave a offer. He said that we have an Army -- a United States Army soldier and they was willing to make a trade. And later -- and later that day we got another call that stated that if they take La David -- if they took him outside of the border it wasn't going to look good for him. That was Thursday. Friday morning around 9:06 we was told that my son's status had changed from unknown to killed in the line of duty.</s>CAMEROTA: Richshama, now that they have this different story -- that they say he was not captured, how have they explained some of these questions like where he was for those two days? Why they weren't -- they couldn't find his body for those 48 hours?</s>RICHSHAMA JOHNSON, SISTER OF SGT. LA DAVID JOHNSON: They haven't explained it to us. We find out everything via social media. They haven't talked to our family about where was his whereabouts. They haven't briefed us the proper way like they were supposed to.</s>CAMEROTA: So tell us about that. How -- what are your communications with the Pentagon and the military like? How often do you speak to them?</s>R. JOHNSON: Well, my parents and Myeshia speak to them. They don't directly speak to me, of course. But --</s>CAMEROTA: But do you hear from them, Cowanda?</s>C. JOHNSON: Absolutely not, and to see -- last night I was inside the restaurant with some of your colleagues and to see the investigation come ahead last night, I ran out of the restaurant because they never notified us that that was the final investigation. I seen it last night on Facebook.</s>CAMEROTA: You saw on Facebook that they said that he was never in the hands of the enemy -- that he did in the initial firefight? They hadn't told you that finding.</s>C. JOHNSON: No one knew nothing about my son's autopsy. We had his autopsy since November 12th -- that's when we had his autopsy, and --</s>CAMEROTA: And you had access to it?</s>C. JOHNSON: We have his autopsy results. We have everything and we never spoke on it. And to see them put it on the news last night, I think it was very disrespectful to our family.</s>CAMEROTA: You want more communication from --</s>C. JOHNSON: I want the truth. If they would've just told us the truth behind the situation from day one, we won't even be sitting here because we would have closure and we can move on from this. But there's no closure because it's like my mom always used to tell us. If you tell one lie, you have to tell so many lies to cover up that one little lie. And if they would've just told us that he did get killed in the line of duty and he was captured, we would have understood. We would have understood as his mom, his dad, his wife, and his siblings because we have talked about this numerous of times and we always -- he used to always say I can't get captured, I can't get captured.</s>CAMEROTA: And why would he say that?</s>C. JOHNSON: It was just something -- we always looked at movies and we always -- I was -- this here is what I feared from the day he told me that he was getting ready to go to the Army. I cried -- she'll tell you. My face was white because I cried so bad because I read so many different stories on this. And to have that done to my family it hurts so bad because he honored the Army, and I wish they would've just honored him the way he honored them.</s>CAMEROTA: Well listen, the Pentagon says that they haven't concluded the investigation yet. Maybe they don't have all of the answers. I mean, is it possible they're not trying to mislead you, they don't have all of the answers?</s>C. JOHNSON: Well, just tell us the truth, you know, and inform us what's going on. When I call they say that his investigation wouldn't be completed until the end of January. That was the information that I have received.</s>CAMEROTA: Have they told you why his body was found a mile away from the incident?</s>C. JOHNSON: (Laughing).</s>R. JOHNSON: No.</s>C. JOHNSON: No.</s>CAMEROTA: What are your lingering questions?</s>R. JOHNSON: My questions -- I just want to know why did they leave him, you know. In the Army, we are trained to never leave a fallen comrade, and they left him. You know, they left him. Being a veteran and knowing the procedures, they left him and it's just why?</s>CAMEROTA: You've never gotten a good explanation for why he was left behind.</s>R. JOHNSON: No.</s>C. JOHNSON: We were just given a lot of different stories and there's no reason behind it, you know. They, you know -- I heard so many stories and now to see they say that he was in bushes and he was taking cover -- that's what I read last night. I was like now, wow, where did these come from?</s>R. JOHNSON: Yes.</s>CAMEROTA: How is his widow doing?</s>C. JOHNSON: Myeshia is doing great. We is a family. We was a family before this happened and we're going to remain a family. We have to be, you know, supportive and make sure that we stay --</s>R. JOHNSON: Together.</s>C. JOHNSON: -- a family.</s>CAMEROTA: And about all the, you know, blowback of President Trump's call to her that he wasn't sensitive enough and that it wasn't in as timely a fashion as it should have been, what are your thoughts?</s>C. JOHNSON: I was on the strip (ph) getting ready to pick up my son's body so I really wasn't really concerned about that conversation with, you know, President Trump and Myeshia. I think that it just wasn't the time for the conversation. I think if we was home and we were sitting in the house eating and drinking and he called, it would have probably been a little bit more different. But, you know, no one knows what to say to Myeshia, nor me, at this time because everyone is trying to understand the same thing. We're trying to understand what happened out there on that battlefield. So, you know, he's human just like us and, you know --</s>CAMEROTA: You forgive it. You forgive the bad timing or the awkward --</s>C. JOHNSON: I think it just wasn't --</s>CAMEROTA: -- sentence or whatever it was.</s>C. JOHNSON: I just think it was just the wrong time to be said. He did say it but I don't that he was, you know, meaning any -- you know, trying to throw it in Myeshia's face to make her feel bad. I think that he just didn't know what to say to her at that time. And I'm sad that it have to go to, you know, the way that it went because it took the focus of what really did happen over there to La David. It went to something totally different. And I don't think nobody in the whole case from Donald Trump to Ms. Fredericka Wilson was trying to mean any harm to anyone. It just was -- everyone has their right to voice their opinion and that's what happened.</s>CAMEROTA: Richshama, tell us about your brother.</s>R. JOHNSON: My brother -- my brother was awesome. He was -- he was our role model. He was the oldest out of us nine and he led by example, you know. He just wanted us to be great and I don't know -- I miss him.</s>CAMEROTA: You do, I understand. I've read about the cooking that he'd do and how funny he was. Tell me some of your memories.</s>C. JOHNSON: I have so many memories about La David and I can't really say anything bad about him because I never -- from kindergarten all the way to 12th grade, I never received any calls of behavior. He was always creative. He always found something to do. And you know, we had -- it was a big family so we always had to sacrifice to make sure that the kids was taken care of. And he did -- that's why he learned how to cut hair, that's why he cooks for his family because those are the things that we installed in him.</s>CAMEROTA: Because he was trying to make extra money and so he taught himself --</s>R. JOHNSON: -- Yes.</s>CAMEROTA: -- how to do these things --</s>C. JOHNSON: Yes.</s>CAMEROTA: -- to make extra money.</s>C. JOHNSON: He taught -- well, I taught them the sacrifices that you have to make for your family because I gave up a lot to make sure that they was taken care of -- me and my husband. We did all we can to make sure that they was provided for and he did exactly the same thing. He loved cooking like I love to cook. He loved baking like I love to bake. He -- we did each other hair, so he's started cutting other people hair. He was in Africa cutting people hair.</s>C. JOHNSON: He was cutting a little boy's hair, you know. He was something special and he is truly missed. When I look at my grandbabies, especially La David, Jr., he looks just like him.</s>CAMEROTA: He sounds wonderful.</s>C. JOHNSON: He was wonderful.</s>CAMEROTA: And you deserve answers.</s>C. JOHNSON: Yes.</s>CAMEROTA: What do you want to say today to the Pentagon or whoever has answers? What do you want them to know?</s>C. JOHNSON: Can you just please honor my son the way he honored his job? Just be truthful with us if nothing else is going to come out of it. It's just -- we want to know the truth so we can have closure and we can move on. And we can't move on because every time we look on the news there's something about La David. He always said he wanted to be famous but I didn't think this was the way he was going to famous. I got cards and letters and all type of things that he always put I want to be famous. That's why he was riding a bike on one wheel. He just always wanted to be famous and to see him be a famous -- and the Pentagon is lying to us. It hurts. I just wish they'd just be honest with us and we could move forward.</s>CAMEROTA: You deserve that --</s>C. JOHNSON: Yes.</s>CAMEROTA: -- and we hope that there's answers when the final report comes out. Cowanda Johnson, Richshama Johnson, thank you very much for sharing your --</s>C. JOHNSON: Thank you.</s>R. JOHNSON: Thank --</s>CAMEROTA: -- wonderful story about --</s>R. JOHNSON: Thank you.</s>CAMEROTA: -- your son and brother.</s>C. JOHNSON: Thank you.</s>CAMEROTA: Chris --</s>CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thank you for that. One of the NFL's most influential owners is selling his team. The man on your screen is Jerry Richardson. He is done with the Carolina Panthers after this season. The allegations that sparked his decision, next.