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Thousands Try To Flee Hurricane-Devastated Bahama Islands; Cruise Ship Carrying 1,400-Plus Evacuees Arrives In Florida; Bahama's Marsh Harbour Resembles Ghost Town; U.N.: At Least 70K People Homeless On Abaco & Grand Bahama, Waiting On Evacuation; People On Grand Bahama Struggle To Find Safer Ground; Trump Has Private Concerns Over Economy Despite Public Confidence; Trump Considers New Tariffs On European Goods; GOP Challenger, Joe Walsh Confirms George Conway Advising Him; Top U.S. Ally Warns ISIS Resurging, Asks For More Report; 2020 Democrats Speak To Crowds At New Hampshire Convention; Jury Selection Begins In Trial Of Dallas Police Officer; Utah Woman Arrested At Airport In The Philippines With Newborn In Bag. Aired 1-2p ET
Aired September 07, 2019 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:00:22]
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, again. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
Right now, a massive humanitarian aid effort is under way after Hurricane Dorian leveled portions of the Bahamas. The death toll is rising as fast as survivors try to get out. Thousands of people are waiting for aid to get out of the Bahamas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROSSTALK)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: A lot of people in the crush to get out.
Earlier, a cruise ship sailed from the Bahamas to West Palm Beach carrying more than 1,400 evacuees.
One woman who has not heard from her sister since the storm went to the port searching for her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAISY ROLE (ph), UNABLE TO LOCATE SISTER IN THE BAHAMAS: I've been calling the phone but I'm not getting any answer. I am really worried about her. I need to get her either over here or over on the island of Bimini.
Right now, I'm worried and I desperately need to know if she's OK. I need to get her out there because she had a stroke two years ago and she cannot do anything for herself. (END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Oh, boy.
Accessing the damage from Dorian is still in the beginning stages. Areas of the Bahamas are in ruins. Neighborhoods are flattened.
Dorian hit Grand Bahama and the Abaco Islands the hardest. And the U.N. says at least 70,000 people are homeless on those islands. Thousands of people remain missing.
Right now, the confirmed death toll is 43. But officials say there are bodies in the streets and say the number will rise, quote, "significantly."
Our teams are fanned out across the Bahamas and here at home in the U.S. with a closer look at Dorian's aftermath.
CNN's Rosa Flores is live for us at the port of Palm Beach were hundreds of evacuees arrived earlier this morning.
Rosa, what are they saying and feeling?
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Fred, there are so many stories of survival here. Most of the people that we talked to don't want to share their stories but they really don't have to. We can see the trauma in their eyes, in their blood-shot eyes.
We've seen people leave here in stretchers, others in wheelchairs. Some people holding back tears. And then we also see moments of joy where family members reunite and there are tears of joy as well.
Some of the people that we did talk to that shared their stories with us described the horrors, they described the loud winds and the high winds and how the winds nearly took the roofs of their homes.
One couple said that they cinched the roof of their home with rope. They used nails and hammers that were around the house. That's how they survived.
Another woman we talked to said that she had to keep on moving down floors from her building. She lived on the 11th floor and had to go all the way down to the second, moved to several condos in order for her to stay safe.
If you look behind me, you'll see that's still people disembarking. Some of the first individuals these people meet are from Customs and Border Protection.
The agency tells me there are extra officers on hand to try to expedite the processing of all of the evacuees. They tell us that everyone on board was either a U.S. citizen or had some sort of visa or proper documentation.
And that all of the CBP officers working today were volunteers and they are trained in dealing and working with individuals with trauma, which, of course, Fred, is so important because, as you and I know, going through customs is stressful enough. Imagine after going through sufficient trauma like Hurricane Dorian left behind in the Bahamas.
So all of those little things helping these individuals who are coming to Florida after surviving Hurricane Dorian -- Fred?
WHITFIELD: These are some really tough moments and will be for a very long time.
Rosa Flores, thank you so much.
"A ghost town," that's how our CNN crew described parts of the Abacos Islands where Dorian hit the worst.
In Marsh Harbour, the U.S. Coast Guard is looking for survivors among all the devastation.
CNN's Paula Newton is there talking to those who are desperate to leave.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Another day here on Marsh Harbour. People have come with anything they could carry, quite frankly, anything that survived the storm, and have come here to the port in Marsh Harbour.
We have seen a ferry, other boats and helicopters. And the main thing, as well, is we have seen the Bahamian military here try and keep some calm and try to assure people they will get out in time.
[13:05:13]
We have heard from many saying they just don't want to stay here anymore. They do not believe it is safe and that there's nothing for them in terms of food, water, medicine, and also just the basics in terms of infrastructure. They no longer want to be here.
The problem is they are also wondering about what happens next. Many have nowhere to go and are wondering how they can possibly rebuild their lives after this horrific storm.
Paula Newton, CNN, Marsh Harbour in the Abacos Islands.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Paula Newton, thank you so much.
As evacuees arrive in Florida, thousands more are in the Bahamas waiting for aid, like food and medical supplies, to arrive. The U.N. says that at least 70,000 people across the island are without a home.
CNN's Victor Blackwell has been following the ongoing evacuations. And he was on a helicopter from Abaco Island where he spoke with Bahamians whose lives have been turned upside down. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: What you hear first in the background are helicopters. Evacuation flights are continuing to get people off of Abaco. When we were there, on Friday, hundreds of people were crowded in airports waiting to get off of the island.
We spoke with one family that had been there for seven hours. And the feels-like temperature in the middle of the day, 98 degrees.
We've heard from the leader of government, the prime minister, the number of dead will be catastrophic. Currently, just a few dozen officially.
We spoke with a woman who rode the storm out alone. Her name is Jermaine Smith. And she hid in her bathroom. Here's her story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JERMAINE SMITH, ABACO ISLAND RESIDENT: The next thing I know, the roof just flies off. As soon as I duck and I move, a big tree came by the window I just moved from and just missed it. And my roof started lifting. I run inside the bathroom for cover in the tub because they say it always a safe haven and that's what saved me.
I was scared literally. I can't think I was going to make it. And, you know, I was scared.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: And Jermaine Smith is still sleeping in that bath tub every night. She's not she's not leaving the island, she tells us, because she was wearing a black T-shirt branded with "World City Kitchen" that is the Jose Andreas outfit that is feeding people and she wants to be a part of that.
We also, on our flight back, brought two people with us, 14-year-old Malik Marrow (ph). His family was being evacuated. There wasn't enough room on one chopper so he rode with us. And 22-year-old Kenley Victor (ph). Today is his 22nd birthday.
This was their first opportunity to see the scale of the damage. They've had no television, no Internet access. So when they saw what had happened to Abaco, the damage from Dorian, Kenley (ph) looked out the window and just shook his head the entire time we were over the island.
And I asked him about his experience, and he told me he didn't want to talk about it. And then after a brief pause, he continued by saying, because when people ask me about it, it feels like I am living a nightmare.
Our Paula Newton went to Abaco very early this morning and she gives us the latest report is that phone service is back in some of the communities. But of course, though that is restored, there are years of work ahead for the Bahamas. And it starts by getting people off the island and finding those who did not survive.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Tremendous.
Victor, thank you so much.
CNN's Patrick Oppmann is also in the Bahamas. He's in Freeport, and he's been there for days now. That's the main city on the Grand Bahama Island.
So what -- describe what you were seeing and, you know, what people are feeling about how quickly some are, you know, finding safer ground and how it's a struggle for others.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Here in Freeport, the main city, which has a very large port, it didn't as much damage as other parts of the island. There are other scenarios that were completely under water for days. But you feel that parts of live are returning to normal.
We are getting Bahama's air flights in. So the airport in not fully and functional but there are flights flying out. That's a huge relief. And we've seen people evacuated by cruise ship. Phone service is getting better. A few restaurants have opened. A few stores that have very long lines outside, are open. You can get gas.
But you just travel an hour outside of this city to little towns like High Rock where the eye cross over and they are still waiting for anyone to bring them the most basic items imaginable. People are completely cut off. Everyone is without power, with a generator as we have here so we can continue to broadcast.
[13:10:08]
There's no water. No one since the hurricane, ourselves included, has had a proper shower. And so that weighs down on people. If you're in the towns in the periphery of this island, you're drinking water that's been contaminated by sea water, by saltwater. That's very, very dangerous.
We were out there yesterday, spent the whole day out in these little towns. Went as far down the one road that connects Freeport to these eastern towns that were hardest hit. Eventually we got to a place where there are boulders in the road and the police were not letting anybody by because they were looking for bodies in these areas. They're still finding bodies every day.
We saw a Coast Guard chopper that nearly landed in the woods, was hoovering in the woods. The residents said that's what happens when they find a body. They hoover for quite a while, while they mark the area and then alert authorities to come and recover the remains.
And you talk to people and the death toll doesn't add up to what the governor is telling us. Because everyone in these little towns and people in these towns, they all know each other and everyone says, well, I know this person who is missing, I know this person who has lost their whole family. And making an information count of the death toll and it's not what officials are telling us.
I think the latest from Grand Bahamas is eight or something. And certainly, we have to wait for officials to confirm it. But in talking people in these towns, who know better than anybody what's going on, and they tell you that the number of missing is just astounding. It's really quite scary.
And when you talk to people -- we talked to a pastor in a town of High Rock and he said that he was in the third story of his house, 30 feet high, and the storm swept him from his house, swept him from the top floor of his house, and he ended up in a tree yards away where he spent two days clinging for life. And he's lucky.
And you think how many other people whose houses were completely destroyed by debris that was picked up by the storm surge, had their houses taken off the foundations. You look at the damage, it doesn't seem like damage from a hurricane. I've covered a number of them. It seems like damage from a tsunami. Just catastrophic damage.
The whole neighborhoods were completely wiped off the face of this island. You wonder how people managed to survive this kind of destruction.
WHITFIELD: And, Patrick, getting around clearly gigantic obstacles everywhere. I wonder how Bahamians or how survivors of this storm or perhaps even assisting the rescue teams because, you know, the locals know where their loved ones may be, where they last may have seen them. I'm wondering if they are helping to guide the rescue teams, first responders, you know, aid teams about pointing them in the right direction perhaps.
OPPMANN: Our experience has been, Fredricka, that the relatives, the neighbors, the Bahamian volunteers are the first responders. The hurricane was still going on and we saw people out in jet skis and boats risking their lives for their fellow Bahamians, pulling this off roofs, pulling them out of frees.
And in the last few days, we've heard of people being badly hurt. It's been the relatives who brought them to the hospital and evacuating three-thirds compared to parts elsewhere.
Yesterday, we were waiting and a family came up and said, we're looking for out relatives, can you help us. We spoke to them. Later in the day, we said, have you had any luck. And they said, no, we've gone to their house, we don't know where they are.
And that's what people are living through here.
WHITFIELD: Tragic.
Patrick Oppmann, great work down there. Thank you so much, in Freeport. And for ways that you can help the victims of Hurricane Dorian, go to
CNN.com/impact.
The devastation and the despair felt by survivors and first responders. As you heard Patrick say, there's not a huge difference. A lot of those survivors are the first responders. All of this is proving too much to bear in so many cases.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's upsetting that these people have to stay in shelters and then I'm hearing they're not being fed. And the children have no toys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: More stories of survival, desperation, despair. The long road to recovery. All of that coming up.
[13:14:26]
Plus, onto politics. Top Democrats planning to tackle an impeachment inquiry again. But is this just more tough talk, no action? We're live next.
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WHITFIELD: Let's talk the race for the White House right now as President Trump continues to publicly tout the strength of the U.S. economy. Sources now tell CNN that privately the president has begun expressing concern over what has been his biggest selling point for the 2020 race. And he is now ordering aides to have plans ready to roll out if the economy takes a turn for the worse.
CNN White House Reporter, Sarah Westwood, joining me now with more on this.
Sarah, what more can you tell us about the president's growing concerns about the economy?
SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Fred, those concerns have caused President Trump to push his aides to work on coming up with plans that could help mitigate the effects of any economic downturn should things get worse from here.
Those plans have included a potential new package of tax cuts. We've heard the president talk about that. Also indexing capital gains and a renewed push for the president's renegotiated version of NAFTA through the Hill. That's something that has been languishing in Congress for a long time, something the White House will be pushing when Congress comes back.
So all of these things have been what sources describe to us as an all-hands-on-deck situation with President Trump tapping senior aides, including his son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, to work on these plans to conduct outreach to business leaders to try to reassure them about the state of the economy, get their feedback.
Because, as you mentioned, the economy is the number-one selling point for President Trump when it comes to reelection. So, Fred, he's pushing his teams to come with all of these ideas to have something ready to go in the fall if the economy continues to show signs of potentially slowing down the growth he's enjoyed for his first two years in office.
[13:20:04]
Of course, he's shown no signs of backing off the thing that experts agree is actually causing the economic uncertainty, and that is his China trade war -- Fred?
WHITFIELD: Sarah, speaking of which, on top of the president's growing trade war with China, he's also now considering new tariffs on European goods. Raising a few concerns. We're talking about, what, cheese and olive oil in the mix.
WESTWOOD: That's right. He's considering tariffs of up to 100 percent on $25 billion worth of goods from Europe that would affect things like cheese, like olive oil, very popular products in the U.S. This would add more uncertainty to the economy.
But trade issues are something we saw him bring up tech G7 summit in France just a few weeks ago. In fact, he pushed to have a meeting added to the agenda on trade and the global economy. He's frequently brought that up. Those are tariffs that are under consideration that could add more wrinkles to the economy that's already in a turbulent place because of the president's push to have tariffs imposed on Chinese goods -- Fred?
WHITFIELD: Sarah Westwood, thank you so much.
Let's talk more now on all this. Joining me is Karen Finney. She is a former spokesperson for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign and a CNN political commentator. Charlie Dent is a former Republican congressman from Pennsylvania and a CNN political commentator.
Good to see you both.
Charlie, you first.
Let's talk about this new reporting about these behind-the-scenes concerns that the president is expressing, backup plans if the U.S. economy takes a turn for the worse. How concerned do you believe the president is about his economy as he's been touting as being strong?
CHARLIE DENT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think the president ought to be concerned about the economy. I don't think that most are predicting any type of recession. But they are predicting a slower economy moving forward in 2020 at the very least.
I think the best thing the president could do to calm markets and also make investors feel better is ceasing and desisting from this multi- front trade war. I just met with two CEOs of mid-size manufacturers who are alarmed.
This is costing them tens of millions of dollars. It brings about great uncertainty, unpredictability. They can't plan. It's affecting them very negatively. And they will tell you this.
The USMCA, this is an incremental change to NAFTA. The prospects of that passing right now are uncertain at best, probably unlikely.
Picking on Jay Powell, he is not the problem.
I think the president is going to have to move out from under this trade war. Why are we fighting with the Europeans?
For heavens sakes, he was talking about putting tariffs on German cars. BMW is the largest exporter of cars of the United States followed by Daimler. He wants to punish them for what? Investing too much in America?
This trade issue is what's driving so much of this uncertainty and the president could correct that tomorrow.
WHITFIELD: See -- see -- and you mentioned you had these conversations and they're expressing alarm but alarm to the extent they will no longer support this president for a reelection bid?
DENT: Well, some of them I think just want stability. Many of them would say they like the past the deregulatory policies that he's imposed. But these trade wars are simply washing away or negating, I should say, the beneficial affect of the tax cuts and the regulatory relief. So, but the trade issue is alarming.
Now, they'll also tell you they couldn't go for Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders obviously, but they probably could vote for a Joe Biden.
WHITFIELD: OK, so, Karen, this comes as Democrats are preparing, you know, to ramp up some movement on the impeach process. A vote could come as early as Wednesday on whether, indeed, to move forward on an impeachment process. So is it kind of put up or shut up right now?
KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, there's a couple of things. Certainly, this process has been moving forward, these investigations have been moving forward.
And I think what Congressman Nadler is trying to do here is bring this process, these different investigations, if you will, together and also help strengthen their hand with regard to trying to get information and compelling witnesses to come forward.
And it also gives the committee the ability to continue to press this investigation without, as we've discussed before, some of the other members in purple states, that aren't quite Democrats, helps they will consider the vote.
This helps them continue the investigative process at a time where -- let's remember you were just talking about this previously -- at a time when what have we heard over the last couple of weeks? This trip by Vice President Pence and the questions surrounding his staying at the president's golf course/resort.
[13:25:03]
The president talking about, for the G7 next year, having all these world leaders stay at Mar-a-Lago.
(CROSSTALK)
FINNEY: These questions about the violations of the Emoluments Clause, there have been reinvestigations around that. Those have been ongoing because of -- there have been previous investigations around that. So this is new information.
It's almost as if the president is sort of taunting Congress, bring it on. I think he does think that it's a good issue for him, although there's increasing evidence. And the lack of transparency I think is a real problem.
And I would say, Fred, I just want to connect in back to the economic piece in that, what we're seeing in this reporting is what we've seen and known all along, which is you're seeing people in the polling saying, look, the president, we might feel good about how he's handling the economy. We don't feel like these taxes have benefited us yet.
And people are so anxious about the uncertainty and the tweeting and six days of talking Sharpie-gate, that they're really concerned about his stewardship of this economy and our country.
WHITFIELD: Yes, OK. But still very difficult to gauge whether that means, you know, he loses support or people just kind of grimace at things but then they continue to support him for a number of reasons.
Charlie, just a few minutes ago, I talked to former Illinois Congressman and now Republican presidential candidate, Joe Walsh, and I asked him about some reporting by the "Washington Post" that George Conway, the husband of counselor to the president, Kellyanne Conway, is at least talking with Walsh and supporting his campaign against the sitting president. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE WALSH, (R), FORMER CONGRESSMAN & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm honored to have his advice. I speak with him often. He's a wonderful advisor as far as any role in our campaign, I would only be so lucky as to have someone like George Conway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: OK, so, Charlie, what do you think?
DENT: Well, I'd like to be a fly on the wall in the Conway house right now, that's all I can say. Look, George Conway, I have a lot respect for him. He's a very thoughtful man. Joe Walsh is a very imperfect messenger. I served with him in the House. He was a real bomb-thrower then. In many respects, very Trumpian in the way he conducted himself. Now he's trying to sound like the voice of reason. I don't see that campaign going anywhere.
That said, I think it's good that we have three Republican candidates out there who are going to at least push the president on his agenda. So I think that's beneficial.
The bottom line is I don't see Walsh's campaign going anywhere. It's probably nice that he has George Conway there to give him some guidance. He'll probably get good advice.
WHITFIELD: All right, we'll leave it there for now.
Charlie Dent, Karen Finney, good to see you guys. Thank you.
FINNEY: Thank you.
DENT: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: And we'll be right back.
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[13:31:38]
WHITFIELD: Exclusive reporting just into CNN. A top U.S. ally in the fight against ISIS is warning that the terrorist group is resurging in Syria. And is asking for increased support.
CNN Pentagon Reporter, Ryan Browne, joins us on the phone -- Ryan?
RYAN BROWNE, CNN PENTAGON REPORTER (via telephone): Fred, I talked with the commander of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces yesterday and he expressed real concern that ISIS was in fact resurging in Syria some months after the U.S. and its allies declared the end of the, quote, unquote, "caliphate."
Now he said that some of the issues that had been kind of been presented to him were the fact that the U.S. has pulled out nearly 50 percent of its advisors in Syria, something President Trump ordered back in December, and that was having real impact on his ability to his job with U.S. support.
He's also being forced to oversee the detention of some 2,000 foreign fighters from some 50 countries. Many of these countries won't take their citizens back to try them. So that's another real issue that they're spending a lot of resources guarding these people, in addition to some 70,000 refugees at camp, a camp he called a ticking time bomb because the ability of ISIS sleeper cells to radicalize these populations in a bid to make a comeback.
So he said, if he could speak to President Trump and Congress, he would ask for a lot more support of military equipment, financial support, and political support for the Kurds living in northeast Syria -- Fred?
WHITFIELD: Ryan Browne, thank you so much for that exclusive reporting. Appreciate it.
Coming up next, Democrats vying for the presidency out in force today in New Hampshire. This, as Democrats try to stand out from the pack. We'll take you there live
COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:37:29]
WHITFIELD: All right, right now, in New Hampshire, all but one of the Democrats hoping to be president are taking the stage at the state's Democratic Party convention. This, as a new poll shows former Vice President Joe Biden leading President Trump by nine points in a head- to-head matchup in Wisconsin.
CNN White House Correspondent, Abby Phillip, in is New Hampshire.
Abby, how are the candidates distinguishing themselves in such a crowded field?
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: This is a really important day for Democrats. The first-in-the-nation primary has more of its most committed supporters and activists gathered in this area today.
So you're seeing a lot the candidates trying to gauge the level of enthusiasm and support they could get on that stage.
Joe Biden kicked it all off and he was well received. Shortly after he did that, Cory Booker came onto the stage and had this entire arena basically chanting his slogan, "We will rise."
You've seen a lot of the candidates seem really stable at the top. As Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden are duking (ph) it out on the top, some of the those in the middle are struggling to gain traction.
You've seen some like Kamala Harris testing out some new lines today on that stage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA): The only thing he's manufactured is chaos.
(CHEERING)
HARRIS: And when you look at the record number of global crises that this guy has got us into, that's about the only thing that he can claim to be made in the USA.
(CHEERING) (END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIP: So this is about honing their message against Donald Trump and really trying to stand out in this crowd.
Right behind me as we're speaking here, Bernie Sanders is on the stage, another major force in this race here in New Hampshire. He's from a neighboring state that is and is expected to do well this in primary.
Today, it's all about energy, who can get the crowd up on their feet. And it's for some of these candidates, like Kamala Harris, to explain to reporters how they are going to break through as they go forward, especially as we're heading to yet another presidential debate where 10 of the candidates will be up on the stage this week.
WHITFIELD: Abby Phillip, in New Hampshire, thank you so much.
[13:39:57]
It was a case that got a lot of attention last year, a Dallas police officer that shot and killed her neighbor after walking into his apartment. Now, she is on trial, accused of murder. Still ahead, we'll break down the controversial charges with our legal panel.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Jury selection is under way in the murder trial of former Dallas police officer, Amber Guyger. It was one year ago when Guyger entered the apartment of her downstairs neighbor and shot and killed him.
This is part of her harrowing six-minute long call to 911.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMBER GUYGER, FORMER DALLAS POLICE OFFICER ACCUSED OF SHOOTING NEIGHBOR: Hey, bud. Hey, bud. Hey, bud. Come on.
(CROSSTALK)
GUYGER: I thought it was my apartment.
Hey bud. I'm sorry, man. Oh my god, I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: She can also be heard later on, on the call, saying, "I'm going to lose my job."
[13:45:04]
Guyger says she mistook Jean for an intruder when she walked into the wrong apartment after getting home from working a double shift and parking her car in the wrong level of the building. I want to bring in my legal panel, Avery Friedman, a civil rights
attorney and law professor, and criminal defense attorney, Richard Herman.
Good to see you both.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: So, Avery, there have been Thousands of summonses for jury selection. You know, this is one of those highly publicized cases. So is this going to be very difficult to even seat an impartial jury? Is this a change of venue kind of case in the making?
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, that's what the defense lawyers are saying. They're basing it on pretrial publicity. Well, the fact is that people living in the suburbs of Dallas or in the central city of Dallas are all reading the "Dallas Morning News" and listening to the same social media. This is not about pretrial publicity for change of venue. This is about race.
The prosecutors want to keep it in Dallas and defense attorneys want to get it out there. And the shame of that is that it's going to be a battle. And 4,000 summonses, thousands of them. This makes the jury selection of Manafort look like small claims.
It's a very serious case. The judge really has her hands full in this. And it's going to take the entire week, if not more, to make that jury selection and do it right.
WHITFIELD: Richard, a charge of murder, usually with murder, trying to prove intent. You listen to the call and she is saying she mistook, she went in the wrong apartment, and she thought maybe this was an intruder. So does this charge fit the circumstances, what appear to be the circumstances of this crime?
RICHARD HERMAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think it does, Fred. In law, we punish for the mental state of mind, and here the murder charge requires a specific intent to kill someone.
Now, the defense is throwing up, I was disoriented and I was confused. That goes to mitigation and it goes to try to diminish that intent of a manslaughter convince or something less than murder.
But the government and the prosecution are saying, hey, listen, that's not going to fly here. She basically was a civilian at the time, not during police activities. And she broke into his apartment and she shot and killed him. That's their position, that is what the prosecution is going to say. Strong case for the government here, very strong.
The problem, the Achilles heel for the defendant is this, this gentleman had a bright red carpet at the front door of his house so his friends knew his apartment. And those front doors lock automatically in that complex.
So there's something more to this, Fred. There's something more to it.
But under these circumstances, I don't believe her defense, her phone call. I don't think it's going to be sufficient.
They catch you lying, a defendant gets caught lying, the jury crushes them. Government witness, they can get caught lying, still OK. A defendant lives, it's over. And I think this particular person is going to get convicted.
WHITFIELD: Avery, because somehow this defendant has to establish how -- it's one thing that all the doors look the same but entering into the doors is not the same. How did she enter what turned out not to be her apartment to then be in the apartment to think that that was hers?
FRIEDMAN: Well, it's really a bazar explanation. Essentially, what the defense is saying is, well, one apartment looks like all the rest. Number one, the door was ajar. Number two, he was watching "Monday Night Football." It was his home. Number three, there was --
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: And once you go into the apartment.
FRIEDMAN: Exactly.
WHITFIELD: Once you go inside, you know whether you're in familiar territory or not.
FRIEDMAN: The other part, too, is that this wasn't an instant -- she didn't pull a gun and shoot him. There was a discussion, there were remarks being made. So the issue of intent actually is critical here.
I don't know how the defense gets out of that other than counting on trying to get the case out of the city of Dallas, getting them out into the suburbs where they think there will be a less diverse jury and they'll be able to deal with and employing considerations of race in this case. I don't know how they're going to beat it.
WHITFIELD: Richard, why are you shaking your head?
HERMAN: Fred, it's another instance of an unarmed black man being shot by a police officer. That is going to resonate with the jury. It just happens to be the circumstances here.
(CROSSTALK)
HERMAN: Her defense, and that is the only defense she has. That's why they're going to have to rely on it. I didn't know. Look at my phone call. Mitigation. I didn't mean to do it. I was confused.
But, Fred, to get to intent, you can also do it by depraved indifference.
FRIEDMAN: That's right.
[13:50:04]
HERMAN: Here, when you fire a firearm in the dark in an apartment and you're a trained police officer, there's a lot of trouble for the defense here in this case, Fred. Unless you get a racist jury here, I really think there's going to be sufficient evidence
(CROSSTALK)
HERMAN: -- and credible evidence to convict for murder, yes.
WHITFIELD: That's a really troublesome case.
All right, Richard Herman and Avery Friedman, always good to see you both.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: Still ahead, a Utah woman arrested after allegedly trying to smuggle a baby out of the Philippines in her bag. The bizarre details, next.
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WHITFIELD: More questions than answers now as to what a Utah woman was doing with a newborn in a bag as she tried to leave the Philippines. The newborn was just six days old and she did not birth that child.
CNN's Nick Watt has details in this unfolding story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The exact details are still emerging, but what we know is a 43-year-old American woman from Utah is now facing human trafficking charges in the Philippines.
She was apprehended at Manila airport by Delta Airlines security staff allegedly with a baby in her carry-on luggage, a 6-day-old boy in a bag.
[13:55:09]
Now, Delta informed local authorities and this woman was taken into custody.
Now, she says that the baby was born of a young, unmarried single mother. She was carrying, according to CNN Philippines, an affidavit of adoption, but that had not been signed by the mother.
Philippine authorities have tracked that mother down and she is being charged. The exact charges unclear at this point.
Now, the woman's name is Jennifer Talbot. As I said, she is from Utah.
Now, another person involved is a Delta employee because Talbot was traveling on a Delta employee stand-by privilege ticket. That Delta employee, we're told by the airline, has been suspended pending an investigation. And the 6-day-old baby has been taken into care.
WHITFIELD: And now a birth for the record books. A 73-year-old woman has reportedly given birth to twin girls. She and her 80-year-old husband conceived through in vitro fertilization. The couple had tried to get pregnant unsuccessfully for years so their doctor agreed to give science a try. The twin daughters were born by C-section Thursday. The new mom is believed to be the oldest ever to give birth.
All right. Still ahead, families are separated and they have no idea whether their loved ones are alive or dead. CNN special coverage of the humanitarian crisis in the Bahamas caused by Hurricane Dorian, next.
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