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Informant Not Implanted Inside Trump Campaign; Meghan Markle Will Walk Herself Down Most of the Aisle; Trump Tells Kim Jong-un Libyan Model is Different; Multiple Fatalities Reported in Texas School Shooting; Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired May 18, 2018 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[10:31:08] POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: All right, breaking news, the president says that there are reports that at least one FBI representative was implanted in his campaign for political purposes. That's the president's assertion. We have new reporting on that from our Shimon Prokupecz on our justice beat.
And Shimon, you're talking to your sources and asking them, is the president right? What are they saying?
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Yes. That's exactly right. And quite frankly, Poppy, everyone we've been talking to about this has said that the president is just wrong. The notion that somehow the FBI implanted, planted someone inside the campaign to spy on the campaign is just not true according to several people that we've been talking to.
You know, just think about this, Poppy, the notion that we here at CNN had to call folks to try to explain to them what the president is saying, what the accusations that the president is making, and they're simply having to refute it, does not put these officials in the best spot that they want to be. You know, they are taking issue with it. There is this issue, this notion, the idea that they put someone inside the campaign, that law enforcement or intelligence officials planted someone inside the campaign, they're telling us it's just ludicrous.
There is an informant, there was someone that was providing information to the FBI, to the CIA, we're told, as well, this was an informant that was involved in other investigations as well. And really what the issue here is, their concern is that folks like Devin Nunes on the Hill want to take this information about this informant and somehow politicize their involvement in this investigation, somehow also question the credibility of the FBI, question the credibility of the investigation by using this informant.
And obviously the FBI is very concerned about this. They do not want this informant's information out there. The fact that we even know as much as we know is a problem. And certainly the Department of Justice and the FBI is doing everything they can to prevent this information from coming out. HARLOW: Right. And just to be clear, from your reporting here that
I'm looking at as well, we know that this informant is an American but that they were held -- and that's really all we know. But held at the highest levels of security and classification within the intelligence community, right?
PROKUPECZ: That's exactly right.
HARLOW: OK.
PROKUPECZ: So there are so few people who know about this informant, his or her information, that it's extremely sensitive here, Poppy. This person is providing information on other investigations as we have been reporting here. There is a lot of concern for this person's safety.
HARLOW: OK. Thank you. Shimon Prokupecz, appreciate the reporting.
Ahead for us, a bold decision from bride-to-be Meghan Markle and we now know she plans to walk down most of the aisle alone. Why is that so significant? We're just less than 24 hours away from her big day.
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[10:38:05] HARLOW: A historic move from a soon-to-be duchess, Meghan Markle announcing she will walk herself down most of the aisle before exchanging vows with Prince Harry tomorrow. That's a first for a British royal bride. Markle's father unable to attend the big day because of health problems.
Our Jason Carroll has the best assignment and is in Windsor.
What a -- I'm, A, jealous, B, happy for you and C, fascinated by this move and this decision of hers.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Yes. It's an incredible move. And out here on the high street where folks have gathered outside of Windsor Castle, there is a bit of mixed reaction. Some people still wanted to see her mother walk her down the aisle. Others wanted Prince Charles to have her throughout the entire procession walking her down the aisle. And still others are still sort of baffled by the decision, but no matter how you slice it, this is a young woman that continues to break barriers.
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CARROLL (voice-over): Brixton, it's a district of South London, where you'll find black, Asian and white cultures all in one neighborhood. It is a place Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have visited before. Markle is celebrated here like in much of Great Britain and because she is biracial, her marriage to Prince Harry has also inspired discussion about race relations.
(On camera): Raise your hand, does everyone know who Meghan Markle is?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
CARROLL (voice-over): These elementary school girls in Brixton are well aware this is a first for the royals.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's surprising because like she's one of the first black, like, people to go -- to join the royal family.
CARROLL (on camera): Did any of you ever think that you could grow up and perhaps marry into a royal family? Was that something that any of you even actually thought of?
CHILDREN: No.
CARROLL: No. Why not?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not many like mixed race black people can join like the royal family.
CARROLL: Do you think it's a good thing?
CHILDREN: Yes.
[10:40:03] CARROLL: Why is that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because it just shows you that anyone can marry into the royal family.
CARROLL (voice-over): A recent study found a little more than half of those polled in the U.K. say race shouldn't matter in a royal marriage. 75 percent say they would feel comfortable if their children married someone of a different race. But a government study also found a 27 percent increase in hate crimes in the past two years.
Stedman Scott has lived in Brixton for some 50 years.
STEDMAN SCOTT, BRIXTON RESIDENT: There's a problem in this country and that is a color problem. That is a problem that we have to address.
CARROLL (on camera): There have been a number of negative public comments and headlines made about the Markle family and their background. Take this one in the "Daily Mail." It reads, "Harry's girl is almost straight out of Compton." And then there was the comment made by the sister of the U.K.'s Foreign secretary. It reads, "Miss Markle's mother is a dreadlocked African-American lady from the wrong side of the tracks."
(Voice-over): At one point, Prince Harry stepped in to defend Markle and her family. In a statement his communications secretary cited, "The racial undertones of comment pieces and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and Web article comments."
Sunder Katwala conducted that recent study on race in the U.K.
(On camera): What did you make of some of the horrific things that the British press were writing about Meghan Markle.
SUNDER KATWALA, DIRECTOR, BRITISH FUTURE: Racism still work in British society, but it's receded quite a lot especially across the generations.
CARROLL (voice-over): And though these girls never expected to see a mixed-race bride in the royal family, they see their marriage as a sign of hope.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it will make a difference likely because like some people like are really racist to other people because of their color. And because Meghan Markle is joining the royal family, I think it might make them change their minds.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: So even before Markle's decision, as you can see, she had folks here in Great Britain, and for that matter all over the world, you know, sparking a number of debates on a number of issues, specifically about race. But this most recent decision certainly is going to have people, Poppy, talking even more. And we get the feeling that's just the way Markle would like it.
HARLOW: Yes.
CARROLL: Poppy.
HARLOW: I think you're right. Have fun tomorrow and don't forget your fascinator, Jason.
(LAUGHTER)
CARROLL: Oh, I'll bring you a souvenir. How's that?
HARLOW: Please do. Please do. Jason, thank you. Such an interesting report.
And stay with us for CNN's special coverage of the royal wedding of Prince Henry and Meghan Markle. That begins early tomorrow morning 4:00 a.m. Eastern live from Windsor. We'll be right back.
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[10:47:17] HARLOW: All right, back to our breaking news this hour about that school shooting in Santa Fe, Texas, about an hour southeast of Houston. What we know at this hour is that the suspect in the shooting has been caught, apprehended by law enforcement. As you see moments ago, children evacuating that school.
We also know from the school district that they had confirmed injuries. Again injuries are confirmed in this school shooting in southeastern Texas there, a school of about 1400 9th through 12th graders. Again that's all we know at this hour. Much more ahead when we get it. Meantime, President Trump is warning North Korean leader Kim Jong-un
not to walk away from a potential deal with the United States. He's also saying that North Korea will be rich and Kim will stay in power if the two countries reach a denuclearization deal.
In a break with his National Security adviser John Bolton, the president says North Korea would not be treated the same way that Libya was, under Moammar Gadhafi. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There was no deal to keep Gadhafi. The Libyan model that was mentioned was a much different deal. This would be with Kim Jong-un something where he'd be there, he'd be in his country, he'd be running his country, his country would be very rich, but the Libyan model was a much different model. We decimated that country. We never said to Gadhafi, oh, we're going to give you protection. We're going to give you military strength, we're going to give you all of these things.
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HARLOW: With us is our global affairs analyst Kimberly Dozier.
And Kimberly, let me just make it really clear. The president then went on to say that the U.S. would follow the Libyan model, which was eventually ended in the death of Moammar Gadhafi. If there is no deal. So there are two important points there. And another confusing but important differentiation is, we don't know if they're talking about the same Libya model or not. Right?
We don't know if they're talking about 2003, 2004, you know, conflating the takedown of Gadhafi with the surrender of nuclear weapons, et cetera. Why is all of that so significant as we're weeks away from this potential summit?
KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Poppy, even the "Wall Street Journal" editorial board this morning said they hoped someone would make it clear to the president that there is a difference between the 2003 and 2004 denuclearization of Libya, which John Bolton presided over when he was working for the Bush administration and was one of the --
HARLOW: Right.
DOZIER: -- high points of his career and the 2011 rebellion against Gadhafi. But from the North Korea perspective, look, this was like a Freudian slip that the Trump administration after a year of making veiled and not-so veiled threats about taking out the Kim Jong-un regime actually still had that in mind. And then undid some of the spade work that then CIA director Mike Pompeo had done, reassuring Kim behind closed doors that no, we are not trying to take you out of power.
[10:50:11] But in a sense, what it could do is inoculate the June summit against instant failure. We understand that the White House aides have been trying to explain to Donald Trump that this is going to be a little bit harder than just sitting down and through the sheer force of his personality making a deal. Now they may have his attention. I think we've also seen the opening salvo of the kind of hard negotiation that is going to happen behind closed doors.
HARLOW: Right. I think one other interesting thing, Kimberly, that the president said that, you know, got me thinking is, he said the harsher tone coming from North Korea, from Kim Jong-un, the threat this week to pull out of the summit came after Kim Jong-un's second meeting with Xi Jinping, the president of China, and that that is, quote, "potentially influencing Kim Jong-un," according to the president. What did you make of that?
DOZIER: Well, there is the possibility that China is saying go along with this summit. If you look cooperative, we can help you with escaping some of these sanctions. And that is what some of the longtime North Korea watchers and some of the people who've negotiated with Pyongyang have feared, that they're just drawing this out to make it look like they're willing to give up their nuclear weapons, where as they're only willing to go halfway there, so that in the meantime they get some economic relief.
HARLOW: And in 15 seconds, the president saying, it would be interesting, he says, if the meeting doesn't happen, we may or may not have it. If we don't have it, that would be interesting.
DOZIER: I think there is still going to try to have it come off, the two leaders will meet, but then it may well fall down in the details afterwards.
HARLOW: Kim Dozier, appreciate it, have a good weekend.
All right. We'll be right back.
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ANNOUNCER: There is CNN Breaking News.
HARLOW: All right. Back to our breaking news, that school shooting this morning in Santa Fe, Texas. We have now learned that there are multiple fatalities. Multiple children have been killed at the Santa Fe High School in southeastern Texas, right outside of Houston.
We're just learning this. Polo Sandoval is with us.
And, Polo, this is incredibly disturbing. We had just heard of injuries and now we know multiple people have died. I should correct myself. We don't know if it's multiple children. It's multiple fatalities. We don't know if it is students, if it is staff, if it is teachers, but this is a high school, grades 9 to 12, of about 1400 kids. What are you learning?
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, we can now confirm that this evolving situation happening outside of Houston, Texas, is now considered a deadly school shooting. Two law enforcement sources telling my colleagues Jessica Schneider and David Shortle that there have been, quote, "multiple fatalities" at the shooting at Santa Fe High School.
[10:55:10] This is located just outside of Houston, Texas. This update now coming minutes after the Santa Fe School District had confirmed multiple injuries. After an active shooter situation unfolded, not long after the start of first period this morning at Santa Fe High. But now this information now being confirmed that there are, quote, "multiple fatalities" at that shooting in Santa Fe, Texas.
This certainly will lead to several questions now, who are among the fatalities, who are among the injured as well, and most importantly who is the suspect that is now in custody according to the assistant principal at Santa Fe High School. But as we watch these pictures together, Poppy, it gives you a sense of what is happening there on the ground, a makeshift triage if you will that has been set up at the entrance of Santa Fe High.
As far as the rest of the campuses, about three others there, I'm told, that operations have resumed as they investigate what is now considered a deadly school shooting. Again this would be the 22nd this year in the United States.
HARLOW: Yes. Stunning. 22 school shootings this year, if you add this one to it and fatalities at this school shooting this morning.
Tom Fuentes is with us, our senior law enforcement analyst, formerly FBI assistant director.
Tom Fuentes, you know, we were waiting and hoping that this wasn't going to be the news. I spoke last hour with the mother in tears whose 14-year-old daughter escaped this, then the daughter Anjelica Martinez got on the phone with us and she described the fire drill and teachers and staff telling these students to stay in place, but because they were so terrified, once they heard these shots ring out, they ran. They ran outside and that was their natural instinct and now we know that there are multiple fatalities.
TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, I think, Poppy, there is going to be so many angles to this to be investigated that, you know, we may not know enough about this, even the rest of the day. Who was this person, was it a fellow student, is it someone that used to go to that school, someone from living in the community, what was the motivation, are there leads on social media, on that person's cell phone, computer, other areas of communication, interviews with former classmates, work mates, neighbors, family members, to try to determine if there was an advanced warning that this might take place.
And then if there is any connection to the victims. Was this targeted, he wanted to go in and specifically go after one or more specific groups of kids and do the shooting there, or was it just he wanted to go in and cause, you know, mass killings or mayhem and then surrender.
HARLOW: Right. FUENTES: So there is going to be a great deal of that investigation.
HARLOW: We -- again, we don't know if this is students or staff who have been killed. We don't know the number of fatalities and we don't know the extent of the injuries or how many. We are just hearing from a woman who was inside of this school when this happened.
Let's play it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard alarms, everybody just, you know, started leaving, following the same procedure as we did. Nobody thought it would be this. Nobody thought it would the shooting. Everybody just thought it was, you know, normal procedure, practice, fire drill. And next thing you know, we just hear so many -- three gunshots, explosions and teachers telling us to run, run, go, like run.
Me and my friend Ryan Calvert ran to the floor so we could get shelter and that's when I called my mom because I thought I was going to have -- I was having an asthma attack and I just wanted to be safe.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was upstairs. And I just, like, I heard the fire alarm go off and I thought it was a fire drill. So I left my bag and stuff inside and then I, like, went downstairs and then I met up with him and then all these teachers like telling us to get back. I didn't know what was going on. I thought the school was on fire. And then we just heard gunshots go off, so he grabbed my hand and we took off running towards the bushes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: The first we're hearing on camera from students who were inside of Santa Fe High School in southeastern Texas, just an hour outside of Houston relaying what was a terrifying warning for them, every student's worst nightmare, every teacher's worst nightmare, every parent's worst nightmare, taking place this morning in yet another school, marking the 22nd school shooting so far this year with multiple fatalities in this school shooting.
This is still developing. We still don't know how many have been injured or the extent of their injuries. Our thoughts are with all of these families. I'm going to pass it off to my colleague Kate Bolduan for more on this right now.
