Assassination of Russia's Ambassador to Turkey
BURNETT: Breaking news, Donald Trump's saying, the shocking and public assassination of Russia's ambassador was done by a, quote, "radical Islamic terrorist. I want to warn you, what we are about to show you is graphic. Russia's ambassador to Turkey was shot dead in public, speaking there at an art gallery, the entire murder caught on video. The gunman, you see him right there, right, just walks up behind him, shouting, "Allahu Akbar" and "Do not forget Aleppo." It all took place in that art gallery. The gunman was a Turkish policeman. Barbara Starr is "Outfront."</s>BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The shocking assassination of the Russian ambassador to Turkey caught on video. Ambassador Andrei Karlov was shot dead while making a speech at an art exhibition in Turkey's capital, Ankara. The horrifying moment the ambassador is hit and falls to the ground, after being shot in the back with multiple rounds. As onlookers scrambled for safety, the gunman shouted defiantly.</s>STARR: Turkish authorities said the attacker was, quote, "neutralized." Russian President Vladimir Putin tonight reacting to the assassination. VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT</s>STARR: Turkey's interior minister said the gunman was a law enforcement officer, a 22-year-old member of the riot police who was born in Turkey. The State Department condemned the attack.</s>JOHN KIRBY, SPOKESMAN, STATE DEPARTMENT: We stand ready to offer any assistance that may be required to Russia and Turkey as they investigate this despicable attack.</s>STARR: A journalist took these stunning photographs moments after the carnage began. After the attack, as the ambassador was quickly taken to the hospital, Turkish security forces swarmed the area. It is not clear what impact the killing may have now on Turkey's sometimes fragile relations with Russia, which hit an all-time low after Turkish forces shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border in November 2015. Russia also is widely blamed by many in the region for its part in supporting Syria's Assad regime amid a humanitarian crisis taking place in war-torn Aleppo. Following the ambassador's assassination, Turkish president Erdogan and Russian President Putin spoke by phone according to a Russian news agency. The slain ambassador had served as Russia's ambassador to Turkey since 2013. He was married and had one son, according to the Russian embassy.</s>STARR: And now, the question for the Russians may be whether their people in Turkey are now a target for anti-Assad militants looking across the border, Turkey, of course, a NATO ally. Erin?</s>BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Barbara Starr. In "Outfront" now, Stephen Hadley, who served as national security adviser to President George W. Bush. And thank you so much for being with me again. I wanted to -- to look at this video again. I mean, it's brazen. It's unbelievable. The murderer is just standing there in that public location in an art gallery. He assassinates the ambassador who has a security detail and has the time to yell his grievance again and again. I mean, were you shocked to see something like this happen?</s>STEPHEN HADLEY, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Absolutely. It is shocking. It's -- its' really unbelievable. It's an outrage. We obviously need to condemn it as the State Department has done and offer condolences. This is -- this is shocking. There's no excuse for something like this.</s>BURNETT: I mean, you have a sitting Russian ambassador murdered in cold blood by a member of another country's security forces. I mean, tonight, Vladimir Putin called it a provocation and -- and his his words were, I'll quote him, Stephen, "We need to know who directed the killer's hand." What is Vladimir Putin going to do about this? It's a question of utmost importance to the U.S. with Turkey a NATO ally?</s>HADLEY: Sure. Well, the first thing they've got to do is an investigation. I'm sure the Russian and Turkish authorities are going to work together on that and try to figure out the circumstances. Was this person acting alone? Was this person acting with others? Was he being directed by the outside? We -- there's a lot we need to know. And secondly, in the film clip that you -- you played, Putin basically said -- President Putin said that the solution to this is to double down in his campaign against -- against the terrorists. And I'm sure he had in mind ISIS and al Qaeda in his -- in his thoughts.</s>BURNETT: So -- so on that -- on that point, the State Department was asked if this was an act of terrorism. And -- and the spokesperson, John Kirby, said, "We need to let the investigation run its course." Donald Trump, of course, put out a statement saying the ambassador was assassinated by a, quote, "radical Islamic terrorist." Did Trump go too far on this? We don't know the motive and, of course, he said "remember Aleppo" which could mean that he is angry at Russia for killing civilians, which would be very different than being motivated in support of</s>ISIS. HADLEY: It's -- it's hard to know. I mean, that's why you need to do an investigation. But he did make -- he did invoke Allah in his comments. He said that they will never take me alive. This does have the hallmarks of somebody that has been radicalized in some form. But, you know, it's really too soon to say. But you certainly cannot rule it out. And that is what the investigation needs to show.</s>BURNETT: I'm curious, though, when you say it's too soon to say, but -- but you do see some of the signs.</s>HADLEY: Right.</s>BURNETT: Do you think Trump putting out a statement saying that this was a radical Islamic terrorist, should -- should he have done that as the president-elect?</s>HADLEY: Look, I -- you know, I -- I think we can -- we tend to overreact to these quick statements and -- and I think let's not make too much about it. Obviously, it was a shocking act. Obviously, in some sense, it -- it was terrorism.</s>BURNETT: Yes.</s>HADLEY: The innocent killing of a -- of a civilian, we should be very clear about that, in this case, a -- a Russian government official. That is a terrorist act. What we need to know is the motivations and associations of the person who did it. And that, of course, is what the investigation will try to show.</s>BURNETT: So, you know, there was also the attack in -- in Germany today, in Berlin.</s>HADLEY: Right.</s>BURNETT: And -- and Trump went a step farther there as well. Now, the White House saying it appears to be a terrorist attack, Trump definitively calling it a horrifying terror attack and went on to specifically talk about ISIS. I guess the big-picture question to you is, you know, he's done this before, right? Before the intelligence services come out and are definitive, even when everyone knows that's probably the way it's going to go but they don't have the facts yet, he will come out and say it. Is that better to be definitive, use the word "Islamic terror?" Is that more or less effective than -- than waiting and following the intelligence community?</s>HADLEY: Well, sometimes, we -- we need to do both. I mean, what is terrorism? We always thought the definition of terrorism is the innocent killing of civilians for political purposes or for some other agenda. These both look very much like terrorism in terms of certainly the comments that were made after the -- the killing of the Russian ambassador in Turkey, and in the circumstances of what happened in Germany.</s>BURNETT: But what about -- I guess what I'm focused in on is the -- the use of the word "Islamic."</s>HADLEY: I didn't hear from his comments whether he used that phrase or not. But clearly, we know that there is a lot of terrorism going on. We know that ISIS and al Qaeda have made these kind of attacks the hallmark of their -- their campaigns. So it's -- it's not much of a stretch. But, again, obviously, there will need to be an investigation in both cases as some of the folks you had earlier said. And that is the proper course.</s>BURNETT: Yes. Now, Russia has been a flashpoint in this election, right? And now, you have...</s>HADLEY: Certainly.</s>BURNETT: ...this -- this whole question about Trump and Putin and their relationship. Trump has not yet accepted the intelligence community's assessment, which is Russia tried to help Clinton win the U.S. election via hacking. Is Trump making a mistake to not back his own intelligence community at this point? Or do you think he's doing the right thing?</s>HADLEY: Well, you know, we don't really have an assessment. What we have, as I understand it, and again, I've -- I haven't been briefed on it, I'm only talking on the basis of what I read in the newspapers. But we have apparently a CIA report which was leaked by some members to the press. It has not been made public. There's a question about whether the FBI and other parts of the intelligence community support it or not. Again, people are saying that they do. But we haven't heard anything definitive about that. And, of course, the DNI has said that he is conducting an investigation. The...</s>BURNETT: So you think that they need to put their evidence out there? That's where you stand?</s>HADLEY: I do. I -- I do. I think this -- if there is evidence to this effect, the American people need to know it. And to be waging this -- this -- this sort of public relations campaign, if you will, on the basis of -- of leaked documents and innuendo. An inference, I think, is not good. This is an important issue. If there is evidence, I think there ought to be a way to get it out to the American people now. And then the investigation by the administration and by the Hill ought to be undertaken so that the American people know what happened here.</s>BURNETT: And -- and you don't share, just, you know, they -- they may come out and say, well, then we would give away our methods. They would know how we would know. When we come out with an assessment, there should be -- it should be taken very seriously. We wouldn't do so lightly. Do you buy that at all?</s>HADLEY: Well, look, any intelligence assessment that is made public has to be gone through to eliminate sources and methods so that you don't blow your sources.</s>BURNETT: Right.</s>HADLEY: But usually, that is a pretty easy process. There is standard protocols to do it. There's a lot that can be -- can be said separate from that. And the real question is, is this just a circumstantial case or is there hard evidence? And that's what the American people want to know.</s>BURNETT: All right. Well, Stephen Hadley, thank you very much for your time tonight.</s>HADLEY: Nice to be with you.</s>BURNETT: And next, Donald Trump slamming the media after his Electoral College victory tonight tweeting, "We did it despite all of the distorted and inaccurate media." And Michelle Obama in an interview later tonight shares the advice she gave Melania Trump. You'll hear it here.