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The Lead with Jake Tapper
Trump Not Saying If He'll Comply With January 6 Committee Subpoena; Soon: Warnock, Walker Square Off In First And Only Georgia Senate Debate; Jurors Explains Vote For Life Sentence In School Massacre; With High-Tech Help, Fighters Push Toward Russian-Held City; Climate Crisis, Extreme Weather Impacting Schools Across U.S. Aired 4- 5p ET
Aired October 14, 2022 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: They're pulling back because inflation is at 8.2 percent.
[16:00:03]
And so, people are feeling the squeeze.
ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: I think people feel the uncertainty, too. There's this concern of, I don't know what's coming next.
SOLOMON: Yeah, especially when you look at your stock -- your portfolio.
HILL: I'm not looking at that, uh-uh. I'm not looking at that 401(k).
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Rahel Solomon, thank you.
And THE LEAD starts right now.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Oh, he responded, all right. Donald Trump's take on the subpoena by the January 6th committee.
THE LEAD starts right now.
Fourteen pages, Trump gives the January 6th committee an earful as the panel tries to legally compel the former president to testify. But he never addresses the million dollar question.
Plus, debate night in one of the most competitive Senate races in the country. The high profile Republican help that Herschel Walker is getting after weeks of dealing with an abortion scandal.
And CNN on the record with one of the three jurors who voted against the death penalty for the gunman behind the Parkland massacre.
(MUSIC)
KEILAR: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Jake Tapper.
And we begin with the politics lead and former President Trump's response to the January 6th Committee. A long letter posted to his Truth Social site makes no mention of whether he will comply with a subpoena the committee plans to issue. In this, Trump re-airs a lot of grievances and lies. He repeats false claims about winning the 2020 election. He blames Democrats for failing to protect the Capitol on January 6th. He bashes the committee for what he calls very poor television ratings. And naturally, he brags about the size of his rally crowd on January 6th, even going as far to include photos.
All of this after yesterday's final committee hearing before the midterms. The panel revealing new evidence that Trump knew he lost the election but refused to publicly admit it. We also learned the Secret Service knew about threats of violence at least ten days prior to January 6th.
And there's also the stunning new footage obtained exclusively by CNN of lawmakers fleeing to safety and begging officials across the government for help. Tonight on "360," you'll see new portions of that video.
But first, Jessica Schneider on Trump's response and the jarring new clarity into those hours during the Capitol attack.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The former president sent a 14-page letter to the January 6 Select Committee after members voted to issue him a subpoena for testimony and documents Thursday.
REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): We are obligated to seek answers directly from the man who set this all in motion.
SCHNEIDER: But Donald Trump made zero mention of the subpoena and let the question of whether he'll comply with it linger. Trump calling the whole investigation a charade and witch hunt, while doubling down on his 2020 election lies. Committee members are leaving the door open of holding him in contempt if he ignores their subpoena.
REP. PETE AGUILAR (D-CA): A few of the president's closest advisers who decided to snub the committee. There are consequences.
SCHNEIDER: All this as new revelations continue to emerge about what led to the January 6 insurrection, including video exclusively obtained by CNN.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): They're just breaking windows.
SCHNEIDER: It shows never before seen moments when lawmakers fled violent rioters rushing the Capitol to stop Congress from certifying the 2020 election for President Joe Biden. And it gives the first a close look at how Speaker Nancy Pelosi's realization that the Hill was close to being shut down that day.
PELOSI: (INAUDIBLE) of the president of the United States. (INAUDIBLE) We would have totally failed.
SCHNEIDER: And it shows how she and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, along with House and Senate leadership from both sides of the aisle, we are desperately trying to regain control of the capitol from the safe location a couple of miles away.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Get the attorney general.
Why don't you get the president to tell them to leave the Capitol, Mr. Attorney General, in your law enforcement responsibility? Answer my question.
PELOSI: I was talking to Governor Northam, and what he said is they sent 200 state police and a unit of the National Guard.
SCHNEIDER: They rallied resources from local, state and federal agencies to clear the Capitol so certification could continue, eventually calling the Pentagon for more troops.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): We're in one hell of a hurry. Do you understand?
CHRIS MILLER, ACTING SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I got you loud and clear.
SCHNEIDER: Finally, it was Trump's own vice president who rode out the attack in the Capitol's parking garage, who called Pelosi with the all clear.
MIKE PENCE, FORMER PRESIDENT: They believe that the House and the Senate will be able to reconvene in roughly an hour.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[16:05:06]
SCHNEIDER (on camera): And the next move from the committee will be to formally issue a subpoena to former President Trump. If he doesn't comply, the committee then could pursue a legal fight to compel him to appear, or the full House could vote to hold him in contempt.
And then, Brianna, the Justice Department will -- prosecute something that will probably be very unlikely, given the fact that they have not moved forward with criminal charges for two top Trump aides, Dan Scavino and Mark Meadows, who did refuse to comply with their subpoenas.
KEILAR: Very good point. Jessica Schneider, thank you so much for that report.
Democratic congresswoman and January 6 Committee member, Zoe Lofgren, is with us now live.
Congresswoman, thank you so much for making the time.
First, I want to ask you about this footage where we see leadership, specifically Democratic leadership in this video, how long have you had this footage if I may ask? And I do ask, because there's a question of whether you could've release the sooner, so it didn't appear to be politically beneficial to Democrats and specifically Speaker Pelosi.
REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): Well, we have had it for sometime, but we didn't have the rights to use it. And so, that's been negotiated. But let me just say this, I thought Speaker Pelosi's action was certainly more presidential than Mr. Trump's, but she wasn't alone. You can see in these pictures, that Mitch McConnell was taking responsibility, Mr. Scalise was there, trying to bring order, along with Chuck Schumer.
So, it was bipartisan among the congressional leaders to try to take some responsibility while the president watched the riot unfold on TV.
KEILAR: The rights, was that determined by her daughter, the documentarian?
LOFGREN: No, it was others. But I'm not going to get into all of that. Our lawyers can tell you a lot more than I am. But we now have the rights. So, I think CNN has obtained some rights to show more than we were able to.
KEILAR: So, I also -- I want to get your response to something that a former Trump administration official, Gavin Smith, who is been very critical of Donald Trump, something that he told CNN this morning. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GAVIN SMITH, FORMER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: In my time working for Donald Trump, one thing that I learned is simply Donald Trump can't avoid a show. So, if the committee were to agree to carry the some national television, I'm just not convinced that he wouldn't show up for simply the fact that he can say he had the best ratings and all the things that Donald Trump's likes to say. So, yeah, I do think there's an instance. There's the question of, will he? I'm not really sure. Does he want to? Yes, I think it does.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Is that something the committee would agree to, to carry his testimony on national television?
LOFGREN: We have asked him to appear. I don't think the subpoena has been sent this morning but, we've authorized it, and not just his appearance. We also have a subpoena from documents from him.
So, we're looking forward -- I notice, this letter that he sent, kind of a rant, reiterating, you know, false claims land complaining that we didn't show enough pictures of how big his crowd was. I mean, we did show the crowd attacking the police. But never once did he say he would come in and talk to us. And, in, fact he just attacked the right of the committee to exist.
So, you know, maybe he'll respond. I don't know. But from the tone of his letter, I'm a little skeptical. He should come in. He has a responsibility, not to the committee, but to the American people to come in and take some responsibility for what he did. KEILAR: You're right. He avoids the question. The all important
question here, would you nationally televise it though, if he would come in?
LOFGREN: I have -- we've not even had that discussion. But, first, we have to see, will he come in? And based on his letter, where he discusses, what does he mean by the unselect committee? It's just with all caps and repeats of the election lies. So, let's get an indication and then we'll work out the details.
KEILAR: So, you know, it seems clear that even if he refuses to testify, you don't have time to hold him in contempt. Is that how you see it?
LOFGREN: Well, we would have time to vote on contempt referral, we don't have time in the remaining time in this Congress to engage in extensive civil litigation to enforce. You know, he is known as someone who uses the courts for delay purposes.
[16:10:01]
And he's done that repeatedly throughout his life, I mean, not just as president. So, you know, a civil enforcement would extend way beyond the length of this Congress. But, certainly, you know, we could do a referral to the Department of Justice, doesn't mean we will, for contempt.
KEILAR: Congresswoman, thank you so much for being with us today. We appreciate it.
LOFGREN: You bet.
KEILAR: Now that subpoena from the January 6 committee is not even the worst of Trump's worries right now, according to a person who knows him well.
Plus, a startling arrest. An elementary school teacher with a kill list, and who was on it, according to police.
And the ripple effect on extreme weather. The harmful impact natural disasters are having on students in America.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: And we're back with our politics lead and the ever gathering legal and investigative storms brewing around former President Trump's personal, financial, and political worlds. A subpoena from the January 6 committee wasn't even the worst part of his week.
Let's talk more about that with former deputy attorney general, Donald Ayer, and former principal deputy assistant attorney general, Tom Dupree.
[16:15:04]
So, Tom, former President Trump has responded to what the January 6 Committee has said. He wrote a 14 -- we assume it was him -- a 14-page document that does not clarify if he's going to comply with this intended subpoena. He also repeats his fraudulent complaints about the 2020 election, that it was stolen.
What did you think of this response?
TOM DUPREE, FORMER PRINCIPAL DEPUTY ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: It was a crazy response. Honestly, I don't know what to make of it. He's not engaging on the legal substances. He's not discussing the legal merits of the subpoena, or anything like that.
He's basically repeating his attacks on the January 6 committee, which again, there's a time in a place like that, but an illegal response letter like, this it was very out of place. I don't think there's any chance he will comply with the subpoena. And, frankly, I think it's going to be difficult for the committee to try to enforce this subpoena in court given the time horizon ahead.
KEILAR: What did you think?
DONALD AYER, FORMER DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL, GEORGE H.W. BUSH ADMINISTRATION: Well, I think it's very consistent with everything he's done for the last six years, in terms of everything is a sideshow. It can be turned into something about Donald Trump. So, I think that was the game.
KEILAR: There's also -- there's a moment in this new footage, which I know that you've seen, that was obtained exclusively by CNN. You have the Democratic leaders, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, who are angrily grilling then Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHUMER: Will you ask the president to make a statement to ask them to leave the Capitol?
JEFFREY ROSEN, THEN-ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL: So, so, as you might guess, we're coordinating as quickly and as --
SCHUMER: No, no, no. Please answer my question. Answer my question.
ROSEN: Senator, Senator, I'm going to do everything I can do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Don, you were the former deputy AG, what did you think hearing that discussion?
AYER: Well, I think it's pretty hard to draw too many conclusions about what Mr. Rosen should've been doing or was doing. I think this is the situation, when the heat of the moment, where people are really distressed and they're trying to get something to happen. None of the people there are in a position to make things happen that need to make it happen. So, I don't know what to make of it, frankly. I'm not prepared to say
who was at fault among that group. I think people at fault were others than the people on that particular phone call.
KEILAR: The committee's investigation is happening at the same time as the Justice Department is investigating Donald Trump. CNN legal analyst Elie Honig, who is a former federal and state prosecutor, has written this. He says, it is humiliating for the DOJ to wind up in this position relative to the committee, given that prosecutors have vastly superior investigative tools at their disposal.
The Justice Department, unlike Congress, can execute search warrants, obtained wiretaps, issued grand jury subpoenas, the real kind that is, and use the threat for prison time to flip cooperators. The committee has surged ahead of the DOJ. It's like the guy driving a Tesla getting laughed by kid peddling a big wheel.
Do you think that's fair criticism?
DUPREE: Well, yes and no. I mean, certainly, there is a sense out there that committee is going in a faster pace than the Justice Department. The Justice Department is playing follow up. It's lagging behind the committee.
At the same time, keep in mind, the Justice Department in the congressional committee operate in totally different ways. The congressional committee loves the spotlight. They love putting the witnesses out there. They love these primetime events, where they can show the American people the fruits of their investigation.
The Justice Department cannot do anything of that. It labors in secrecy. It contacts witnesses, it collects evidence, but its work is kept secret and concealed, unless and until there's an indictment. That's when they had they have their day in court. And that's when they put the cards on the table.
KEILAR: The DOJ isn't confined obviously by the timeline of elections either, right, which this committee certainly is, or by the length of the Congress. Is that playing into this? I mean, do you think it's fair to have this criticism of what the DOJ is doing?
AYER: I don't. I think it's a very unfair criticism. I actually think that it is kind of hard to evaluate in this case the weights being handled as compared with any other cases out there. The challenge is that Merrick Garland faced when he got in, including the challenges of trying to restore the Justice Department to a position of public respect after the total abuse that it was subjected to under Bill Barr.
And he has done I think ultimately a very effective job of creating confidence that he at least is not operating for political reasons. Now, the question is, liberals in particular have raised the question, well, is he getting the job done in terms of going after the people who did these terrible things? I think, obviously the returns are not in yet. But I think the reality is that we are going to find that he will,
while maintaining an apolitical approach to the situation, get the job done. And I think his commitment to the rule of law, to securing, he said how many times, no person is above the law, when people say are you going to indict Donald Trump? He says no person is above the law.
[16:20:01]
That's a pretty clear answer in terms of where he is headed. And the idea that we are going to make fun of the department because it's not putting on the sort of public demonstration of the facts when, as Tom, says you can't, there's no way in the world the Justice Department can do that, I think it's very unfair.
KEILAR: Maybe damned if you do, damned if you don't a little bit with the Justice Department.
Don and Tom, I really appreciate the conversation. Thank you so much.
DUPREE: Thank you.
AYER: OK.
KEILAR: Ahead, the candidate known as Dr. Oz, his response when asked if he would ever talk to his patients the way his campaign has talked about John Fetterman's health, his opponent, who, of course, had a stroke.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:25:08]
KEILAR: In our politics lead, a high stakes moments in a race that could decide control of the Senate. Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican Herschel Walker take the stage tonight for their one and only debates. For Walker, a political newcomer, his debate as comes as this campaign has been dogged with controversy.
CNN's Eva McKend is in Savannah, Georgia, ahead of the Facebook.
So, Eva, Walker's abortion scandal has been a major storyline recently in this race. That could lead to some fireworks tonight.
EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: You know, Brianna, it could, but I would be surprised, especially given how Senator Warnock has responded to this controversy in the last two weeks. It's just not as temperament.
But you're absolutely right. Walker has been dogged by these allegations the last two weeks that he paid for a former girlfriend's abortion. And that, of course, is in contrast with his very hard-line, antiabortion position today. I'm curious to see if he offers any evidence tonight to refute those allegations in a more fulsome way. But aside from, really, this debate also about the issues of importance to Georgians, whether that's public safety, the economy, health care, and I'm interested to see how Walker and Warnock contrast they're very, very different positions on policy.
You know, Walker sometimes, he's meandering on the campaigns trail. It's hard to get a sense of his policy positions. He has an opportunity tonight, if he understands that is mastery of the issues, to show Georgians that.
For his, party is downplayed his performance, saying that he is not that smart. But CNN has learned that Walker, like any former athlete, has been provided for the preparation for tonight, with the likes of Senator Lindsey Graham, and New Gingrich and others.
Early voting, Brianna, begins in the state on Monday.
KEILAR: All right. Eva McKend for us in Savannah, Georgia, thank you so much for that report.
All right. Let's discuss this. Eva is talking to her sources, and Senator Warnock, Abby, you know, it sounds like he's going to go high. He's not going to go low and sort of swallow in the story about abortion.
What do you think of that?
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I think it's pretty clear that Democrats in Georgia think that the best way to play the situation is to focus less on the issue of abortion, which, by the way, we're not supports abortion rights. So I think it would be tough for him to attack someone for a woman having an abortion.
But the other part that I think they think is more damaging, is Herschel Walker's overall conduct. Just the story after story about his treatment of a former mother of one of his children, the abuse allegations that he faces. Just a simple fact that all of these women even exist, that is all of these children that he's not acknowledged or raised. Democrats, from outside groups to the Warnock campaign, to surrogates are focusing on that. I think that tells you a lot. They don't think the abortion part of this is their way to really bring voters into their camp at the moment.
KEILAR: It's about the hypocrisy, right? It's about the hypocrisy. Is that something that's going to resonate with voters? Or do you think that's already baked in this?
KIRSTEN POWERS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think it might resonate with swing voters. Of course among the base of the people that are enthusiastic supporters, they're going to stick with him. We've seen this time and time again. We've seen it with Donald Trump than we've seen the way Herschel Walker has dealt with this. It's very Trump- like, and sort of denying, denying, denying, no matter what the evidence shows you.
But I don't think that, you know, Warnock needs to get out in the mud. He should let the moderator ask these kinds of questions. I don't think there's any reason for him to focus on that. It's more of an opportunity for him to demonstrate that he actually knows a lot about the issues and he would be a good senator. You know, for Herschel Walker to come out and say, I'm not that smart,
to sort of set the low bar, I mean, that's too low to actually be to actually have the position that is running for, right? He said it a little too low.
HEIDI PRZYBYLA, NATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE CORRESONDENT, POLITICO: But I think to your point, it is about the hypocrisy. And the reason why abortion fits into that is because one of the arguments Democrats are making is that a lot of the folks that a lot of the man who would take away women's right to choose when it's convenient for them would go ahead and urge an abortion or pay for an abortion or send their daughters to another state to get an abortion. So, it does fit into the hypocrisy issue there.
And then, secondly, like Abby said, on the treatment of the child that was fathered out of wedlock, according to "The Daily Beast" story, he did have visitation rights but didn't go, didn't see that child. And again, this is a core issue and it has been for decades in the GOP of family values and there's been a lot of grousing for many, many years about absent fathers. He really is a perfect embodiment of all of these arguments in a hypocritical way.
RINA SHAH, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yeah. You know, the phrase of the year, is -- candidate equality, and I think it's Herschel Walker's behavior is so -- is just perfect, because it sets Georgians up, Republicans Georgians, I should be honest, to say, I don't want to really turn up for this guy.
[16:30:10]
And I think tonight, what we have to hear from Warnock is the sort of depiction of Walker as unfit to serve, somebody who is not familiar with the issues, someone who doesn't have a passion for policymaking. So why put him in the highest chamber in the land to do so?
I'd be really interested to see that balance between the behavioral in the substance, because you've got to make Republican Georgians want to turn out. So, Warnock is going to say some problematic stuff, but, again, it makes Republicans want to demonize Democrats and turn out to vote against Warnock.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Really interesting development in Pennsylvania today because you saw Oz Mehmet doing this interview with NBC and he actually tried to distance himself from how his campaign has mocked John Fetterman over his health. Here's the clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Why would you allow your campaign to mock him like that?
DR. MEHMET OZ (R), PENNSYLVANIA SENATE CANDIDATE: I've tremendous compassion for what John Fetterman is going through. I mean, not only do I, as a doctor, appreciate the challenges, but I know his specific ailment because it's a specialty, an area of mine.
REPORTER: Would you ever talk to your patients like this? OZ: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: That's a change.
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I mean, look, I've been saying, I felt like I've been saying this for many months, this is always been a key weakness for Dr. Oz, because from the beginning, he has been trying to figure out how did they deal with John Fetterman's health as an issue? It is harder for him because he's a physician. Also because he's running in the state of Pennsylvania.
I think Fetterman has made a gamble, based on his understanding of the state, that if you are going around saying to voters in the state of Pennsylvania, oh, if you're too fat, you're too unhealthy, why don't you go to the doctor, you had a heart attack, you had a stroke, what's wrong with you? That's not going to play very well. I think Oz has been on both sides of that, which shows a lot of indecision of how they need to handle that. It's harder because he is a doctor. Nobody wants their doctor lecturing them about their health.
KIRSTEN POWERS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: But it is his campaign. His campaign is doing. This I don't know how he's not responsible for that.
PHILLIP: He's doing it also.
POWERS: Yeah. But the really nasty stuff in the last couple of days, for him to, say I wouldn't talk to my patients this way, but it's okay for my campaign to do it. If you wouldn't talk to your patients this, wait and why is this okay?
HEIDI PRZYBYLA, NATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE CORRESONDENT, POLITICO: I don't think it's a good development in the issue of health is an issue again in this race at all. If you look at the fact that the polls have been tightening, it's been as Oz has been making all of these arguments on other issues and health issues kind of fade it, is talking about crime. You have the national issues of inflation. But this is a race that Democrats were really hoping would stay much more wide than it is today.
The polls show that a lot of voters already know that Fetterman has these health issues. Maybe they have those health issues themselves. So, it's probably not a good development of the swings back towards focusing on his health issue.
KEILAR: Yeah, we've all known someone instead of stroke right? CNN has obtained remarkable footage of congressional leaders scrambling on January 6 to get law enforcement and military to the capital during the attacks. Let's play a little bit of this. This is what Republican lawmakers have been saying about this response before the new video came out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JIM BANKS (R-IN): Was Speaker Pelosi involved in the decision to delay national guard assistance on January 6th?
REP. STEVE SCALISE (R-LA): Jim Banks just raise some very serious questions that should be answered by the January 6 Commission but they're not. And they're not for a very specific reason and that's because Nancy Pelosi doesn't want those questions to be answered.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Scalise is suggesting here that Pelosi actually delayed the National Guard response, even after re-seen the, video he was actually there, he was there as she was trying to mobilize. There he is right there, in that unmistakable mask.
SHAH: The hypocrisy is on display for all the world to see. These people risk. Erin McConnell was. There is these people were like rocking back and forth, like what is going on? And there you see Nancy Pelosi calmly handling this.
Whatever you think about politics, I saw a woman but had it together and wanted to do the best for herself and her colleagues as well. It didn't matter what their partisan strikes. For Idaho Republicans are going to gain this now.
They're going to go back to the whole illegitimacy of this committee. It's a show trial. This committee is the. Worst why did you even having? It's happening on your taxpayer dollars? We're not going to let it happen anymore.
And by the way, there were two fake Republicans on it. Well, as a Cheney and Kinzinger Republicans, I got to be honest with you, I don't think Republicans are going to be able to work their way out of their box. Scalise is just not sure what to game out now.
[16:35:01]
They can't. There's visual evidence.
KEILAR: Thank you, guys, so much for the conversation.
And I do want to make two programming notes. You can watch Abby Phillips on "INSIDE POLITICS" Sunday morning, That is at 8:00 a.m. Eastern.
And here, in just a few hours, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in primetime. He'll be talking midterms and more on "CNN TONIGHT" with Jake Tapper. That is coming up at 9:00 Eastern.
So, next, hear from one of the three jurors who voted against the death penalty in the Parkland massacre and why she says the day of deliberations was one of her worst days of her life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: In our national lead, we are following the surprise and outrage after a Florida jury recommended life in prison rather than a death sentence for Nikolas Cruz. He murdered 17 people during the 2018 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Today, CNN's Leyla Santiago sat down with one of the three jurors who voted for a life sentence.
[16:40:02]
And, Leyla, she told you she was undecided until the very end.
LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. Right. She said it was not an easy decision to make by any means. It was a very insightful conversation. She said she had no regrets, but did wake up feeling somewhat anxious from that all this morning.
She talked about how it was a difficult decision to make, difficult to see the family struggling inside, and the toll that it took on her own mental health, specifically she talked about one of the toughest days during the trial, before deliberations, about going to the 1200 Building in Marjory Stoneman Douglas, which is essentially remain the same since that awful day in 2018.
Listen to how she described it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELODY VANOY, NIKOLAS CRUZ JUROR: It was horrific, to say the least. It was like going to a museum that you never wanted to go to. That you would never in your life by tickets to go to. That's what it was like.
And at that point, we had so much video viewed, where you can walk through the school and know whose remains were there. But it was one of the worst days of my life. I even -- I even, when I got home, I even had a glass of my shoes from that day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANTIAGO: And then came the deliberations, which he says led to some very tense -- particularly on that second day, the day the verdict was actually announced, saying it got so tense, we felt that some were even about to have a panic attacked and they had to ask four times to go out get some air, go for a walk, here's what she wants people who were not in that deliberation room to know.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANOY: We collectively agreed that, no matter where we fell on the first day, that we wanted to take a night and really digest and given our own thoughts with where we were. So, I'm happy we did that and, for me, going back to the courtroom I was still undecided until the very, very end.
Some of the small talk, I heard comments like, we are going to let the families down. I heard comments like we have to put a stance for Florida. In other words, you can't come here and do that and get away with it. When you go back to the instructions, those were things we could not consider.
SANTIAGO: A family member of the victims stood in front of you right now, what would you say?
VANOY: I would say I am tremendously sorry for your loss and also sorry that, in my opinion I think that the law failed them. I think that saying that the jury disappointed them or the jury did this I just, I disagree on that wording. I think that the Florida law disappointed them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANTIAGO: And she talked about this, taking such a mental toll on her that she actually plans to seek therapy after this, and also acknowledge the pain of the families who are still very traumatized by this. We heard from them yesterday immediately after the verdict.
I should mention, Brianna, that today before the judge, one juror did report that they felt threatened. That went before the judge. The judge has now turned this over to local law enforcement for investigation.
KEILAR: Leyla Santiago thank you so much for the report live for us from Florida.
And also on our national lead, officials near a school Chicago say there's no need for extra police presence even though a teacher arrested this week admitted she had a kill list that contain students names. One student says that the teacher told her, quote, she wanted to choke us and kill herself. The student went to the principal who says the teacher admitted she had such a list and was sent home. Police say they were not notified until four hours later. They took the teacher into custody without incident.
A vital high tech tool on the battlefield of Ukraine, CNN is getting access to the incredible images that it is providing to Ukrainian commanders.
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[16:48:41]
KEILAR: In our world lead, a top U.S. official tells CNN Russia is burning through its stockpile of high-tech weapons and is desperately trying to buy parts for new ones. At the same time, Elon Musk's SpaceX is asking for tens of millions of dollars per month to keep Ukrainian forces supplied with its Starlink service.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh shows us why it's essential.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice-over): Night is when the push for the south busies, Humvees sped the roads and incendiary munitions light up the night.
That dusk, the skies alight with air defenses around the Russian-held heavily defended town just three miles south of here. It's the gateway to the big prize, the city of Kherson, where Russia is already evacuating civilians and low on supplies.
They say the shelling has been noticeably less over the past month and a half, probably because of the damage done to supply lines the Russians need to bring munitions toward the front here.
Radio chatter intercepted between Russians here is of ammo running out and conscripts fleeing.
VOLODYMYR, SOLDIER OF 63RD BRIGADE: The mobilized conscripts here are called humanitarian aid and they say they don't need them.
[16:50:02]
WALSH: In three days, moving around the front lines here, it's clear Ukraine's movement forward has met a hardened Russian defense, even if they are low on ammo.
On this tree line to the west, the Russian paratroopers are under a mile away.
NAZAR, SOLDIER OF 63RD BRIGADE: They are well trained. They fire often and yesterday hit the threes, 200 meters away from us, 25 times.
WALSH: New trenches are being dug and camouflage laid out. Nature is about to turn on both sides, equally.
Obviously in the winter the cover of the trees will be gone and so there is a race here to prepare new positions, so they can't be seen by Russian drones in the winter.
A mix of the oldest type of warfare and oven heating bunk beds underground here.
This for five people, this is where they will be in the winter if they are still here.
And the newest, this is an antennae for Starlink, billionaire Elon Musk's satellite internet service sending a live stream of drone footage for the artillery battle here.
STAS, DRONE OPERATOR: They are firing at us and I am trying to find them.
WALSH: This is where that signal ascent.
Meet Fogas, his nickname, a farmer turned drone warfare commander.
And then, the lethal impact of a billionaire's Internet service and store-bought drones. I hit on a Russian vehicle. The black smoke under the most cursor.
They show us video of several impacts that they. They know they will hit back.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Snihurivka, Ukraine.
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KEILAR: Our thanks to Nick Paton Walsh for that report.
Here in the U.S., a constant disruption in American schools caused by a man-made crisis, next.
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KEILAR: In the national lead, Lee County, Florida, one of the hardest hit by Hurricane Ian, plans start reopening most but not all of its schools on Monday. But those buildings must first meet critical safety checks.
As CNN's Rene Marsh reports, Lee County is just one recent example where extreme weather, brought on by the climate crisis climate crisis, is having an extreme impact on education.
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MELISSA WRIGHT, SON'S SCHOOL DESTROYED: My goodness gracious.
RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT ( voice-over): Melissa Wright sees the destruction at her ten-year-old son Zane's school for the first time.
WRIGHT: That's the sign he stands in for the first day of school every year.
MARSH: Fort Myers Beach Elementary, is one block from the ocean as Hurricane Ian's powerful winds tore down walls in the storm surge approach the top of the doors to throwing everything inside.
WRIGHT: Losing that school is probably what I've cried about most.
MARSH: It has been more than two weeks and the entirely Lee County School District remains shut down.
CHRISTOPHER BERNIER, SUPERINTENDENT, LEE COUNTY SCHOOLS: We do have schools that remain in a high need category, suffering significant damage.
WRIGHT: He has said most years are this year is tougher than him than most and I'm worried about him falling behind.
MARSH: Lee County schools are emblematic of a growing trend, the climate crisis disrupting school systems nationwide for months and, in some cases, years.
In California, wildfires have been the leading cause of school closures. From 2018 until 2019, a record 2295 schools closed. Last year in Louisiana, Hurricane Ida, a devastating category four storm ripped off roofs and destroyed schools. More than a year later, two schools were close to 900 students are still inoperable.
And in Tennessee, 17 inches of rain fell in 24 hours, flooding Waverly Elementary and Junior High School. More than a year later, some students are using an auditorium with partitions for classrooms.
A government study found that, since 2017, more than 300 presidentially declared major disasters have occurred across all 50 states and U.S. territories. With devastating effects on K-12 schools, including trauma and mental health issues, lost instructional time, and financial strain, something Waverly, Tennessee schools no well. After the flood there, student test scores like mine the rest of the state.
RICHARD RYE, WAVERLY SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT: Some of our staff and teachers lost their homes, they lost their loved ones and learn classrooms. So, mentally wise, that has put a toll on them.
MARSH: As schools struggled to recuperate from extreme weather, experts say they must better understand future risk and rebuild more resilient structures.
LAURA SCHIFTER, ASPEN INSTITUTE: Our public schools right now, they received a D+ on America's infrastructure report card.
MARSH: Until then, when extreme weather strikes, all that is lost will undoubtedly also include quality instructional time in school.
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MARSH: And, Brianna, several school systems tell me that the mental health of students and teachers who are coping with personal losses as they tried to resume learning is a major issue. Also, supplying chain issues have made rebuilding schools a drawn out process so students are in this temporary learning environment for extremely long stretches of time, Brianna.
KEILAR: Yeah. So many challenges they're dealing with. Rene, thank you so much for that report.
MARSH: Sure.
KEILAR: Sunday on "STATE OF THE UNION," face-offs in two states. The candidates in Arizona's race for governor, plus the candidates in Colorado's race for Senate. That is Sunday morning at 9:00 and again at noon.
And this just breaking, a major development in Donald Trump's Mar-a- Lago case. Details right now with Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM."
