Saudi Service Members To Be Expelled From The U.S.
CABRERA: We have this, just in to CNN, more than a dozen Saudi service members will be expelled from the United States in the wake of last month's deadly shooting rampage at a Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida. Let me bring in CNN Crime and Justice Producer, David Shortell tail joining us by phone with this breaking news. David, what can you tell us about why this is happening?</s>DAVID SHORTELL, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE PRODUCER (via phone): Yes, that's right, Ana. After this investigation began last month into the deadly shooting where you'll remember three U.S. sailors were killed by a Saudi national that was training at this Florida airbase. The F.B.I. and the Pentagon began a review into a number of Saudi trainees that were studying at U.S. military installations across the country, well, now, Ana, tonight, we can report that more than a dozen Saudi servicemen that were training at these bases across the country will be expelled. We've learned that a number of them are accused of having some connection to an extremist movement and some of them as well for possessing child pornography. Ana, we should note that none of these Saudi service members who are expected to be expelled are accused of being co-conspirators or aiding this 21-year-old shooter in any way, and the Saudis have pledged their full support. The Justice Department and the F.B.I. did not comment to us tonight -- Ana.</s>CABRERA: Now, tell us more about a letter the F.B.I. apparently sent to Apple this week to get more information from the shooter's phone.</s>SHORTELL: Yes, Ana, that's another really interesting wrinkle in this investigation that we've learned about in the past few days. On Monday, the top lawyer for the F.B.I. sent a letter to Apple requesting the tech company's help in bypassing the passcode on one of the shooters or two of the shooters' iPhones. I should say we've learned that this shooter, a 21-year-old Saudi trainee had two iPhones with him as he attacked the base last month. One of them he left in the car and a second he took in with him and actually is believed to have shot which had led some investigators to believe that there may be some information on that phone. You'll remember, we reported at the time that this Saudi service member who was accused of killing the three Americans that he was believed to have some type of extremism, radicalization in his Twitter account, led investigators to believe that he had been radicalized in some sense. Well, investigators now want to learn more about what his connections potentially could have been to these radical movements, and that's why they've requested this help from Apple on it. It's a real harkening back to a 2015 case. You'll remember this big standoff between the F.B.I. and Apple at the time after Apple refused to unlock the iPhone that belonged to a terrorist who killed over a dozen people at a Holiday party in San Bernardino, California. Well, the F.B.I. actually took Apple to court in that situation and it was resolved only at the last minute when the F.B.I. was able to get a third party company to unlock that iPhone. Well Ana, it appears that we may be in the first opening steps of a similar situation playing out here regarding two iPhones belonging to the Saudi military member who attacked the Pensacola Base last month.</s>CABRERA: OK. Wow. Lots in there that you wrapped in. Thank you very much, David Shortell for that reporting. And just to recap. The headline there was that there are now more than a dozen Saudi service members who will be expelled from the United States in the wake of that deadly shooting last month in Pensacola at the airbase there.</s>ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.</s>CABRERA: You're alive in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. Topping this hour with breaking news, a brand new snapshot about how voters in Iowa feel about the impeachment saga, and President Trump's bid for reelection. Now, in just moments, we will unveil the results of our latest CNN/Des Moines Register poll.