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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

DOJ Indicts New York Attorney General After Trump Pushed Prosecution; DOJ Charges Attorney General, Who Sued Trump for Fraud, with Fraud; Trump: Hostages Should Be Released Monday or Tuesday; Sources: Israeli Government Approval Of Trump's Gaza Plan Brings Ceasefire Into Immediate Effect; Military Families Struggle In Second Week Of Shutdown; Texas Court Again Halts Execution Of Death Row Inmate Who Claims Innocence In Shaken Baby Death. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired October 09, 2025 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CARDINAL PIERBATTISTA PIZZABALLA, LATIN PATRIARCH OF JERUSALEM: ... dependence from the humanitarian support from abroad, from the international society or any other institutions and the rebuilding will take years. Meanwhile, what to do? Some will leave for sure, but many are very rooted there, they want to remain there. This will be a big question and the main concern also for all those who have to take responsibility for the future.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Cardinal Pizzaballa, your Beatitude, thank you so very much for your time.

PIZZABALLA: Thank you to you.

BURNETT: Thanks to all of you for joining us. AC360 starts now.

[20:00:47]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Tonight on 360, Letitia James, a longtime foe of President Trump, has been indicted by the DOJ prosecutor targeting James Comey. Plus, a judge has temporarily blocked the deployment of National Guard troops to Illinois. What happened to those already on the ground?

And later celebrations on both sides of the fighting Gaza, as Israel approves a deal. And now we've learned 200 U.S. Troops will be sent to help oversee its implementation.

Good evening thanks for joining us. We begin tonight with breaking news. Yet another case, the Department of Justice, prosecuting individuals the President of the United States has made very clear he wants them to prosecute because he sees them as enemies. President Trump repeatedly accused the prior administration of weaponizing the Justice Department against him. Well, now he has a Department of Justice whose leaders have made very clear they are there to execute his orders.

Letitia James, the Attorney General of New York, has today been indicted by a grand jury in Virginia on two criminal counts, bank fraud and false statements to a financial institution. The charges are related to a property she owns in Virginia. Late today, James released a video statement. I want to play part of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LETICIA JAMES, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: These charges are baseless, and the President's own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost. The President's actions are a grave violation of our constitutional order and have drawn sharp criticism from members of both parties.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, the prosecutor that presented evidence today against Letitia James, Lindsey Halligan, has no experience as a prosecutor. She was President Trump's former personal lawyer and handpicked choice for U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia. Halligan was just in court yesterday for her arraignment of former FBI Director James Comey.

Now, I want to give you some background on how and why Letitia James landed on the Presidents enemies' list. She campaigned for Attorney General of New York on promises to investigate President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES: I'm running for Attorney General because I will never be afraid to challenge this illegitimate President when our fundamental rights are at stake.

He should be charged with obstructing justice. I believe that the President of this United States can be indicted for criminal offenses. We would join with law enforcement and other attorneys general across this nation in removing this President from office.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, in early 2024, James ultimately won a civil fraud case against Trump, his adult sons and his real estate business. A judge found him liable for fraud and ordered Trump to pay $355 million in penalties, which he's appealed. The President has been railing against her for years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: By the racist attorney general of New York State, Letitia "Peekaboo" James.

I actually thought that they would never bring a case, and she brought it. And the reason I thought, because she didn't have a case.

We have a racist attorney general who is a horror show.

She's got serious Trump derangement syndrome. There's no question about it. Letitia James, the corrupt attorney general of New York. This judge is a lunatic and if you've ever watched him and the attorney general may be worse. Did you ever watch her? I will get Donald Trump.

James ought to be looked at. He's like the puppet master of the judge.

On the Letitia James case, she's the worst attorney general in the country, by the way.

You have an attorney general who's a total stone-cold crook -- New York State, Letitia James, a total crook. All they do is want to go after political opponents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: While FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed in May that a federal probe was looking into James' real estate transactions the case had apparently stalled by September. Justice Department prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia, led at the time by the Trump appointed U.S. attorney Erik Siebert, interviewed dozens of witnesses and did not believe they gathered enough evidence to support a criminal case against her. That's according to sources.

Now, under pressure by the President to bring charges against both Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey, Siebert resigned on September 19th. The very next day, this now infamous social media post directed toward Attorney General Pam Bondi from President Trump, which reads in part: "Pam, I have reviewed over 30 statements and posts saying that essentially same old stories last time all talk, no action, nothing is being done. What about Comey? Adam "Shifty" Schiff, Letitia, they're all guilty as hell, but nothing is going to be done."

He went on to write, "Lindsey Halligan is a really good lawyer and likes you a lot. We can't delay any longer. It's killing our reputation and credibility."

Well, we now know that the President meant to send that as a private, direct message to the Attorney General and was surprised to learn it was public. That's according to sources who spoke to "The Wall Street Journal." The message was deleted after it was posted, but it sure seems like the message was received on Monday, September 22nd, Lindsey Halligan was sworn in as the new U.S. attorney of the Eastern District of Virginia.

That Thursday, In her first time ever presenting evidence to a jury in a criminal case, she secured an indictment against the former director of the FBI. Today, exactly two weeks later, Halligan has gotten her second indictment of President Trump's perceived enemies listed on that social media post, the Attorney General of the State of New York.

[20:05:59]

Joining me now, CNN senior political commentator and former Illinois Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, CNN senior political commentator, former Trump campaign adviser David Urban, and former federal prosecutor Jeffrey Toobin. So, Jeff, the indictment is four pages long. Does it seem like a strong case to you?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Well, it's a bizarre case in many respects. First of all, it's incredibly small potatoes. This is a house that was purchased for $137,000.00 in 2020, a year when the average house in America was sold for $383,000.00. So, any mortgage, any insurance on a house of that value is going to be very small and an ordinary circumstances wouldn't draw the attention of the Department of Justice.

But more importantly, what is so chilling about this case is that ever since Watergate, Presidents have imposed on themselves the rule that they do not interfere in criminal prosecutions, much less demand them. But here you have a demanded prosecution and one that the career people in the Eastern District of Virginia thought was an unworthy case. That's a really chilling example of how the criminal justice system is not supposed to work.

COOPER: Jeff, I mean, according to PolitiFact, the day after she was elected in 2018, Letitia James was asked by a community activist if she was going to sue President Trump. And she replied, "Oh, were going to sue him. We're going to be a real pain in the ass. He's going to know my name personally." I mean, that's not a great look for somebody who has just been elected, who has just been campaigning, who hasn't even looked, I guess, deeply at any evidence.

TOOBIN: Well, that's -- you know, we live in a system where attorneys general and district attorneys in the United States, unlike almost any other country, are elected officials, are politicians. So, they run for office making political statements. That's how our system works. It's not pretty, I don't think it's a great system, but there's nothing uncommon about it.

The other point to make, though, is just because she made inappropriate comments, that doesn't mean she should get indicted for fraud, years later. I mean, that's -- we're not supposed to live in a system of that kind of tit-for-tat. Criminal cases are supposed to stand or fall on their own merits.

COOPER: David, I mean, there's no evidence that Letitia James' indictment stems from some widespread audit of thousands of mortgage applications. It seems that the President's allies were looking through her background to find something on her, and they found this. Isn't that kind of the essence of selective prosecution?

DAVID URBAN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, so, Anderson, just a couple of points. Jeffrey makes a point that people, you know, prosecutors are elected, they're political animals. But yet I've never, Jeff, maybe I'm wrong, you can point it out. I'm not aware of many prosecutors saying I am going after this specific individual. They're usually political statements. I'm going to be tough on crime. I'm going to make your lives better, safer communities. Those types of political statements, not I'm going to go get the governor. I'm going to take down the President of the United States. So, I think that's a little too cute by half on that. And look, Letitia James, you live by the sword, you die by the sword. There is no small crime. As Jeff knows, this is relatively small potatoes as you as you point out, Jeff, correctly. But it's still mortgage fraud, it's mortgage fraud. She signed on a piece of paper saying, I, you know, I pledge, I affirm, I swear that these things, these facts are correct. For those of you who filled out a mortgage application, it says on there at the bottom, you fill it out, you sign your name that this is going to be my secondary residence. She did that knowingly, that she was not going to use it as a secondary residence. So, that's fraudulently, allegedly, fraudulently. And whether it's a small fraud or a big fraud, whether the attorney general of a state committing fraud, it's a bad look.

Anderson, and the answer your question directly, I think Letitia James' action was terrible. I think any selective prosecution is bad and should be rebuffed, whether it's by Letitia James or by this Justice Department. I think it's bad for America. The American justice system and people's trust in our system.

COOPER: Congressman, I mean, live by the sword, die by the sword. Is that is that the way the system should be?

[20:10:21]

ADAM KINZINGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: No, I mean, look, I think two things can be true here. I think the first thing is, Letitia James never should have made those comments. She never should have run on, I'm going to go after him before she's seen the evidence, before she's had anything. That was wrong. Not illegal, that was wrong.

And then at the same time, there is no doubt and I mean, we can argue about it, but there's no doubt that this thing, they went after her specifically for retribution, specifically because it was her.

I mean, all you have to do is read the President's accidental fake tweet or whatever thing that's called posts and know that he was basically saying, Pam, here are two people we have to go after. And then all of a sudden we just miraculously, a new person comes in after the other person said that they didn't have enough to make a case and get indicted.

This thing probably like Comey's, is either going to be thrown out. I'm not a lawyer, so who knows? Either be thrown out before trial or certainly will be will be seen as what it is, which is revenge. But I think we can hold, Anderson, both things are true. Letitia James never should have said that in the campaign. And also they are going after her for one reason, because it's her.

COOPER: Jeff, do you think this will ultimately be prosecuted? Do you think it will be thrown out?

TOOBIN: Well, I think this case has a better chance of going to trial than the Comey case, which is a very, very bizarre and weak case. But I mean, just I think, you know, I've heard from the James Camp, they are going to dispute the factual allegations here.

I mean, David is correctly repeating what the accusation is, but the James camp says there was no fraud here, this, that she had access to the house. It was not -- it's purchased as an investment property. These are terms that have widely different definitions. I think it's very unlikely she will be convicted, and there's also the question of whether Halligan was correctly and legally named the U.S. Attorney. And she's the only person who signed the indictment. So, there's that issue as well. But it seems like a slightly better case than the Comey case. But that's a very low bar.

COOPER: All right, Jeff Toobin, David Urban, Adam Kinzinger, thank you, as always.

A lot more ahead tonight. A federal judge has temporarily blocked the deployment of National Guard troops to Illinois. We'll look at what could happen next as the President continues to push for them in Chicago.

Also, a reaction to the Gaza ceasefire deal from Yifat Zailer. You may remember her cousin Shiri Bibas and two of Shiri's young boys were kidnapped on October 7th and murdered by Hamas. Here's what Yifat told me when I spoke to her just three days after they were abducted from their Kibbutz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YIFAT ZAILER, FAMILY MEMBERS KIDNAPPED AND KILLED BY HAMAS: The only thing that helps me be sane right now is sitting here with you and showing their faces and telling their story.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:17:46]

COOPER: More breaking news tonight on another legal front, this time regarding the President's mission to deploy National Guard troops into blue cities and states over the objections of their governors. A federal judge in Illinois has temporarily blocked guard troops from deploying to Illinois for 14 days. Judge April Perry of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois said that "I have seen no credible evidence that there has been rebellion in Illinois."

The judge, a Biden appointee, also expressed concern that the Department of Homeland Security's assessments of the protests in Chicago are unreliable. Now, this comes as today, for the first time, National Guard troops from Texas could be seen patrolling an ICE facility outside of Chicago, this one in the suburb of Broadview.

Earlier today, before the ruling, President Trump convened his eighth Cabinet meeting and spoke of his plans to deploy the National Guard all over the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Here in Washington, we've deployed federal law enforcement and National Guard to restore public safety, and we're working to replicate that in numerous places all over the country, and we have a very powerful military. We have a very powerful National Guard.

I want to thank the governor of Texas, who has been, as usual, great. Governor Abbott, he gave us 400 troops without even a question. And we have other governors likewise doing what has to be done because they know we have to confront crime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: When Trump federalized the National Guard to send them to Illinois, the focus was on protecting federal property and federal agents, not the broader mission of confronting crime, as the President's words.

For now, with this temporary restraining order issued by the judge, it's unclear what's to become of those Texas National Guardsmen already deployed outside Chicago.

I want to talk about it with former federal prosecutor and CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig.

Not only did the judge say that she didn't see a credible evidence of rebellion. She also said the Homeland Security Department's perception of events are unreliable, which is incredibly damaging.

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, that's a stinging rebuke right there.

So, what this judge did is really dig in over the last several days and gather facts. And the judge said the President's claim that it was necessary to deploy these troops in order to protect federal assets and federal resources was simply untrue, unverified and questionable.

And the judge gave as one example. She said, the largest protest that we've had involved, 200 protesters, and there were 100 local cops. So, you have a two to one ratio there. No one got hurt, no one got injured.

So, this judge has put a pause on what the President has done now. And I do have to say, Anderson, all of this that's happening in Oregon, California, here in Illinois, its brand new. We have no history on this. We have no prior case law because no President has ever tried to use this emergency law in this way, so we're learning history as we go here.

[20:20:22]

COOPER: It's also the President seems to be conflating a lot of things all into one. I mean, he talks about, you know, the city of Portland burning to the ground or, you know, it's unclear. Does he mean just the little area outside an ICE facility where some people get into scuffles and things like that?

HONIG: Right.

COOPER: And he talks about combating crime. ICE is there to grab people who have crossed over the border, illegally? HONIG: It's a really important distinction that you draw there. There

is a big difference between what the President is saying and the clips like we just saw. What he's saying from the Oval Office and what the lawyers are actually saying in the legal papers.

The President is talking about we are doing this to control crime, to protect the larger community. But the actual legal basis is simply we need to deploy National Guard troops to protect federal buildings and federal agents from these protests like we see in Broadview, like we saw in Portland.

And when he makes statements like Portland is burning to the ground, that was a quote that the that Donald Trump said the other day, federal judges are digging in, as we just saw with the judge in Illinois, scrutinizing those and finding them to be simply untrue.

COOPER: Is this going to end up with the Supreme Court? And they're going to have to settle this?

HONIG: So, eventually they have to, and the thing to keep in mind. Each of these cases California, Illinois, Oregon, they all stand on their own. They all depend on what the conditions are in the street. But we are already up to the Court of Appeals in both California and Oregon. This one in Illinois is going to be up in the Court of Appeals soon.

And the big question, I think the Supreme Court is going to have to wrestle with is who gets to decide? The President has argued judges can have nothing to do with this. This is up to me and me alone. Courts have nothing to do with this. The states have said, courts can overrule him. And so, the big question here is not so much is the President right or wrong, but who gets to ultimately decide this? What level of deference does the President get?

And look at this Supreme Court, I mean, they have given this President the presidency, vastly expanded powers. So, it wouldn't shock me if the Supreme Court ultimately weighs in favor of the President, but we've got a long ways to go until then.

COOPER: All right, Elie Honig, thanks very much.

Breaking news in the ceasefire in Gaza. I'll talk to a woman whose cousin and two young children were taken hostage and returned dead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZAILER: I still haven't processed completely and accepted completely what happened to us. It's going to take time and this permanent ceasefire will give us the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:27:21] COOPER: Tonight, Israel's government has approved the ceasefire deal. And we're learning from a U.S. senior official that the United States will send 200 troops to help monitor the ceasefire and peace plan between Israel and Hamas. They'll join soldiers from other countries in the region to provide oversight, though we are told that "No U.S. troops are intended to go into Gaza."

Meanwhile, both Israel and the Gaza Strip, war-weary Israelis and Palestinians have been celebrating the ceasefire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(PEOPLE CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Champagne, hugs and tears in Hostages Square in Tel Aviv by former hostages and families, though still held captive by Hamas, will soon be released.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(PEOPLE CHEERING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: In Gaza City, emergency responders offering prayers and shouts of "God is great!"

The remaining hostages will be released. Israel's military will withdraw to agreed-upon lines, and Israel will free some Palestinian prisoners.

President Trump talked about it during his Cabinet meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Last night, we reached a momentous breakthrough in the Middle East, something that people said was never going to be done. We ended the war in Gaza and really on a much bigger basis, created peace.

And I think it's going to be a lasting peace, hopefully an everlasting peace. Peace in the Middle East. We secured the release of all of the remaining hostages, and they should be released on Monday or Tuesday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: The President is being widely praised for putting pressure on all sides to reach a peace deal. Some families of the hostages who live in Washington thanked the President directly when Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick put him on the speakerphone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD LUTNICK, U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY: President Trump, you have the best crowd in the world. What do you guys have to say to President Trump?

PEOPLE: Thank you. Thank you.

TRUMP: Thank you very much, everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You did it!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, we believe in you. We know you've done so much for us over the past since you became a President and even before that. And we trust you to fulfill the mission until every hostage, every 48 of the hostages are home.

Thank you so much. Blessed be the peacemakers. God bless you, Mr. President. God bless America.

TRUMP: Thank you very much. You just take care of yourselves. The hostages will come back. They're coming -- all coming back on Monday.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Tonight, Israel's Knesset Building in Jerusalem is lit up in red, white and blue in anticipation of the President's possible visit to the Middle East. He's been invited to formally address Israel's Parliament.

CNN's chief international correspondent, Clarissa Ward, is in Tel Aviv tonight. So, now the Israeli government has approved this plan, how soon will we see the hostages released? We heard the President saying Monday.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Anderson, there's. A lot of moving parts here.

What we know so far is now that the Israeli government has approved this plan, that ceasefire should effectively now be in effect. We don't yet know if the IDF has been ordered to cease fire. But according to the agreement, the ceasefire should now be in effect.

The next phase is for the IDF to begin to withdraw its troops to this agreed upon perimeter, which would leave roughly 53 percent of Gaza under the control of the IDF, and then within 72 hours, Anderson, so we are talking about by Monday evening, all 48 of the hostages are to be released. As you know, 20 of the hostages are still alive. Two of those, 20 are believed to be in poor health and 28 of the hostages are in fact deceased.

[20:30:59]

We have heard that the ICRC, the International Red Cross, has been tasked to work with elements of Hamas to go about trying to find all of the deceased hostages, because that's something that entails quite a bit of effort, as you can probably imagine.

Now, another part of the puzzle here, or one of the four points that was agreed upon, is trying to get that aid into Gaza, 170,000 tons of it waiting here and in surrounding countries to be administered to get in on the ground. But there are some questions as to what that would look like, obviously who would facilitate the security given that the IDF is pulling back.

And then, of course, you have as well the other part of this, which is the release of some 250 Palestinian prisoners who are serving life sentences and some 1,700 Palestinians who have been detained since October 7th. So a lot of different moving parts here, Anderson, but the sense now that within 72 hours we should see all of those hostages released, Anderson.

COOPER: And do we know any more about the troops, particularly from the U.S., that -- that are being committed to a role in the region as part of this deal?

WARD: So, again, we're just starting to get our arms around what this task force looks like, this international stabilization force, 200 U.S. CENTCOM troops arriving in the region who will be working alongside the UAE, Egypt, Qatar, and a number, and Turkey as well, in order to try to basically do whatever they can to help facilitate the implementation of this plan.

One defense official telling me, Anderson, that a big part of that will be trying to create the security environment necessary to get that aid in. But this defense official also said that they're sort of building the plane and flying it at the same time. A lot of things that they're trying to organize as phase one goes into effects and phase two starts being prepared for, Anderson.

COOPER: All right, Clarissa Ward, thanks very much.

My next guest is Yifat Zailer. She's someone I talked to just three days after the October 7th attacks. At the time, she was searching for any information about her missing cousin, Shiri Bibas, her husband, Yarden, and their two young children who were kidnapped from kibbutz Nir Oz.

This video has been -- had been posted then online of Shiri and her kids being taken hostage as those two children, Ariel was four, Kfir was just nine months old, the youngest person abducted. Yifat also found these images of Shiri's husband, Yarden, in captivity with blood on his head and -- and his hands.

Here's what Yifat told me when we first spoke back then.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YIFAT ZAILER, FAMILY MEMBERS KIDNAPPED & KILLED IN GAZA: The only thing that helps me be sane right now is sitting here with you and showing their faces and telling their story. I want my family back. I want my family back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Finally, on February 1st of this year, after 484 days in captivity, Shiri's husband, Yarden, was freed. Then 20 days later, Hamas released the bodies of his wife, Shiri, and their two sons. I spoke with her cousin, Yifat Zailer, earlier tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Yifat, I -- I will never forget sitting with you on a park bench some two years ago in what had to be the lowest moment of your life, where you were desperately searching for any word of your cousin, Shiri, her husband, her children. When you heard about the ceasefire plan, I'm wondering what went through your mind.

ZAILER: A great sense of relief, I must say. The same sense you feel like after holding your breath for too long, I guess. But the irreparable pain of losing my family is something that -- that I will have to learn how to live with for the rest of my life.

[20:35:10]

COOPER: For so long, you did not know what had happened to Shiri. You didn't know what had happened to Ariel and Kfir. And -- and I mean -- the -- those images of them being taken, I think, touched so many people around the world in those terrible days immediately after October 7th. How have you gotten through each day since then?

ZAILER: It's been such a nightmare. No one could have written this kind of horror script. I think hope is what helped me when everything else broke into pieces around us. I still haven't processed completely and accepted completely what happened to us. It's going to take time, and this permanent ceasefire will give us the time to heal finally and understand what we lost and how to move forward from this.

COOPER: Shiri's husband, Yarden, who was also kidnapped, was released by Hamas. How has he been doing?

ZAILER: He's the strongest person I know. He lost everything. He was in captivity for a year and a half. And it's incredible to watch his journey now in recovery. And I really, really hope Sunday, Monday, I'm not sure when, we get to see his best friend David Cunio and his brother Ariel Cunio get released as well. It will be a huge step in his recovery. He needs his closest friend next to him.

COOPER: This may be a naive question, but are you -- do you have hope for the future in the region?

ZAILER: October 7th definitely broke something in my core beliefs. We talked about it when we met, the way we were raised to believe that we can live here next to each other peacefully. It didn't erase completely my beliefs, but it made everything much more complex. And I think before we draw a new line in the sand, we need to repair the trust. We need to believe in humanity again.

And I'm a mother. I have two small children here. I want to see them grow up. I want to laugh without guilt. I want to go to sleep without anxiety that someone will come into my home and take me.

COOPER: You said something which I think is really, I don't know, really stuck out to me. You said you want to be able to laugh without feeling guilt. That's -- that's been hard to do. That's been impossible for you to do all this time.

ZAILER: It's been impossible to do almost everything.

COOPER: To laugh with your children, to enjoy being in the moment without the weight.

ZAILER: My son is Kfir's age. He was born one month after Kfir. He's two and a half years old now. He was seven months when Kfir and Shiri and Yarden and Ariel were taken, kidnapped and held hostage.

So when I hold him, when I see him grow up, I feel guilt. I feel like I failed. And like I didn't do enough to help her. But that's probably the stage of mourning that I am. I'm going to dedicate my life to tell her story. To tell my cousin's story. The strong woman she is, the mother she was. The -- how she protected them. How she was brave. How she survived the time in captivity until she was cruelly murdered.

And not only the tragedy, not only her as a victim, we're going to do good in her honor, in my family's honor, her parents as well who were taken from us on October 7th. We're going to repair and heal and do everything we can to tell their story proudly without fearing the people who justify it now, to remind people who we are and what happened on October 7th, that we need to really keep our moral compass because without it, we're lost. We need to keep our humanity and our belief that things can be better.

[20:40:31]

COOPER: Yifat Zailer, thank you so much for -- for talking to us. And -- and as I said, I -- I truly have never forgotten and will never forget our sitting on that bench with you in those difficult days. So thank you.

ZAILER: Thank you, Anderson. And if I can say one last thing.

COOPER: Sure.

ZAILER: I really wish no more children would die because of grown-up mistakes. I really, that's my hope for the future of this region.

COOPER: Far too many children have died.

ZAILER: No more.

COOPER: Yifat Zailer, thank you.

ZAILER: Thank you very much. Thank you, Anderson.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Well, still ahead tonight, a death row inmate convicted more than 20 years ago of killing his two-year-old child. And what was said to be a case of shaken baby syndrome is granted another stay of execution and continues to maintain his innocence. We'll also look at the burden military families and their communities are carrying right now with the government shutdown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB MCNAB, CHAIR, DEPT. OF ECONOMICS AT OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY: How much the federal government occupies a role in our economy, $4 out of every $10. You can see how a prolonged shutdown will have dramatic impacts upon families' finances.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:46:31]

COOPER: Government shutdown is in its ninth day with no end in sight. Instead of finding a resolution, Democrats and Republicans continue to blame each other. The House is not even in session. President Trump and top officials also blame Democrats at every opportunity.

Here's a video message from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Democrats in Congress refuse to fund the federal government. And because of this, many of our operations are impacted. And most of our TSA employees are working without pay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: This is being played in airports. Americans who rely on a federal government paycheck are in a terrible situation, especially military families. One military spouse, a woman who says she has two sick children, called into C-SPAN this morning and spoke directly to House Speaker Mike Johnson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAMANTHA, REPUBLICAN VOTER IN FORT BELVOIR, VIRGINIA: And as a Republican, I'm very disappointed in my party. And I'm very disappointed in you because you do have the power to call the House back. You did that, or you refused to do that just for a show. I am begging you to pass this legislation. My kids could die. We don't have the credit because of the medical bills that I have to pay regularly. You could stop this, and you could be the one that could say military is getting paid. And I think that it is awful. And the audacity of someone who makes six figures a year to do this to military families is insane.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: More tonight from CNN's Jeff Zeleny and how military families are coping with the shutdown.

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BASHTYE BAILEY, NAVY WIFE & VETERAN: It's very stressful. And honestly, I pray that it doesn't roll into those many days this time around.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Bashtye Bailey is thinking back to the last government shutdown and counting the days until her family's military paycheck may stop again.

BAILEY: We got paid on the first. We'll see what happens from here on out. But there's already a strain there.

ZELENY (voice-over): A Navy wife and a veteran herself, Bailey is standing in line at a food bank for military families where demand is rising as the shutdown stretches into its second week.

The U.S. government is the economic lifeblood of Hampton Roads, Virginia, with tens of thousands of active-duty military, shipbuilders, and civilian contractors. Here, fallout from a shutdown is more practical than political.

Richard Maigue is already frying up fewer smash burgers at Kitchenfinity, the restaurant he and his wife own just outside the world's largest naval station.

RICHARD MAIGUE, OWNER, KITCHENFINITY: I think they're looking at, hey, I don't get paid in the next week or so. Where do I put those funds? Everyone needs to eat, but they could probably try to maybe cut corners somewhere.

MARICEN CORRALES, OWNER, KITCHENFINITY: Yes.

MAIGUE: Yes, that'll affect us.

CORRALES: In fact tomorrow, we don't know what is our business, how -- how we're able to survive, really, you know. We don't have any customers coming in.

ZELENY (voice-over): For this region alone, economists estimate the impact of a month-long shutdown at $1 billion.

MCNAB: If you think about how much the federal government occupies a role in our economy, $4 out of every $10, you can see how a prolonged shutdown will have dramatic impacts upon families' finances, but also our ability to function as a region.

ZELENY: How are you?

ZELENY (voice-over): The blame is more immediate.

EVELYN ANDERSON, VIRGINIA VOTER: I think it's Trump and the Republicans, because the Republicans are the ones that's agreeing with him, the yes people that's agreeing with him.

ZELENY (voice-over): And there's plenty to go around.

GRACE COOK, VIRGINIA VOTER: The government shutdown is the Democrats, OK? That's a shimmer shutdown.

ZELENY (voice-over): When President Trump visited here on Sunday to mark the Navy's 250th anniversary, he offered this promise.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will get our service members every last penny. Don't worry about it. Don't worry about it.

[20:50:04]

KADY FRAIZER, NAVY WIFE: I think we're going to get a broccoli.

ZELENY (voice-over): But back at the food bank, Kady Frazier is worried for her husband, a Navy technician, and their children.

FRAIZER: We get paid every two weeks. So, yes, that one, if we don't get paid after that, it can start to become a real stressful situation. We struggle, so.

ZELENY (voice-over): Bailey worries, too, amid frustration and disappointment at another impasse in Washington.

BAILEY: I really hope that a resolution is -- is found quickly.

ZELENY: Life is stressful enough without having to think about your paycheck.

BAILEY: Absolutely.

ZELENY (voice-over): Her family's next paycheck is one week away or whenever the shutdown ends.

ZELENY: OK. Take care.

BAILEY: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZELENY: And, Anderson, having conversations with so many families, it's clear they are worried about missing that paycheck. It truly is a lifeblood of their economy. But, again, they'll get back pay. But furloughed workers, they won't necessarily. The White House has left that open. Those paychecks may not come at all. Anderson?

COOPER: Jeff Zeleny, thanks very much.

Up next, for a second time, a man incarcerated in Texas has had his execution put on hold. He was convicted of killing his daughter more than 20 years ago in a shaken baby case. Why the ruling was made and what's next in the case.

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[20:55:56]

COOPER: A Texas court has once again granted a stay of execution for a man who was set to become the first person in the U.S. put to death for a murder conviction tied to shaken baby syndrome. For more than 20 years, Robert Roberson has maintained his innocence and says his conviction was flawed. The victim was his two-year-old daughter. He spoke to Ed Lavandera just yesterday before he learned of this day.

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ROBERT ROBERSON, TEXAS DEATH ROW INMATE: I'm not scared to die, but I'm not ready to die yet, you know.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In Texas, when someone is executed, they're taken into the chamber and they're given an opportunity to make a last statement. Have you thought about what you might say if it comes to that moment?

ROBERSON: Well, I tell you, at this time, I ain't got nothing written out. At this time, my spiritual advisor, she's going to read Psalms 27, you know, and then she's going to pray over me. I'm going to let my family and loved ones, my wife and them, know how grateful, thankful I am for them to be in my life.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): In 2003, Robert Roberson was sentenced to die for killing his two-year-old daughter, Nikki. Prosecutors said the child showed signs of being violently shaken with internal bleeding under her skull and a swollen brain.

Roberson's attorneys say his then court-appointed lawyer didn't put up much of a defense, conceding it was a shaken baby case. To complicate matters, hospital staff and investigators said Roberson acted like someone who was guilty. What they didn't know, and what even Roberson didn't know at the time, is that he is autistic, and that affects how he reacts to stressful situations.

LAVANDERA: Did you hurt Nikki?

ROBERSON: No, sir.

LAVANDERA: What do you want people to know if this is your last chance to convince them?

ROBERSON: That I'm actually innocent. That I didn't do it, you know. I'm actually innocent. I love my little girl, you know.

LAVANDERA: How often do you think about her?

ROBERSON: Oh, I think about her every day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do not execute an innocent man, please.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Roberson has garnered a staggering collection of support, including conservative death penalty advocates who demanded the death row inmate get a new trial.

REP. LACEY HULL (R-TX): If Robert is executed, justice will not be served at all. It would be a stain on this state, a stain on this nation. REP. BRIAN HARRISON (R-TX): I'm going to be damned if I'm going to be silent and let my children inherit a state where potentially innocent people have their lives taken from them by the government.

BRIAN WHARTON, FORMER POLICE DETECTIVE: It's painful to watch.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Even the lead police detective on the Roberson case, Brian Wharton, says investigators got the case wrong. He's now a minister and believes Roberson is innocent.

WHARTON: It's not just that his trial wasn't quite good and maybe he should get a retrial, but it's that maybe we shouldn't have been at trial at all.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Roberson's lawyers say doctors misdiagnosed her symptoms and that she actually died from complications of severe pneumonia and other chronic health issues.

On Wednesday afternoon, we caught up with Roberson's lawyer, Gretchen Sween, outside the prison, where at the time she thought she had just seen him for the last time.

GRETCHEN SWEEN, ROBERT ROBERSON ATTORNEY: He's a very vulnerable person who has trusted me, and I made a commitment to him that I wouldn't walk away from this, and I'm not even if they kill him.

LAVANDERA: Can you talk about at times you find yourself, you have this righteous anger. But I also sense that you still are keeping hope.

ROBERSON: Yes. I believe I got much hope. Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

LAVANDERA: Is that hard to hold onto as the days --

ROBERSON: No -- no sir, because I know the truth. God knows the truth and stuff, you know. No matter what happens, you know, I'm -- I'm going home to free world. I'm going home to be with the Lord, right. And no matter what happens, let God get the glory, you know.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: Anderson, that police detective you heard from, told us this afternoon when we heard the news, he cried. But Robert Roberson is not a free man. What this court ruling does is give his lawyers a chance to convince the court system to grant Robert Roberson a new trial. But that's a legal fight that will take months.

[21:00:07]

It's not clear if that will even happen. But this does give Robert Roberson the opportunity to think about the one thing that we asked him, what does he dream about most in his days as he remains incarcerated here in Texas and he thinks -- he thinks often of being able to eat barbecue outside of prison. And then getting in a car and driving around the streets of his East Texas hometown where he used to live. Anderson? COOPER: Ed Lavandera, thanks very much.

The news continues. The Source with Kaitlan Collins starts now.