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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Renewed Fears Of Recession Triggers Global Sell-off; Google Loses Antitrust, Called A Monopolist; Vice President Harris Still Searching For A Running Mate; U.S Personnel Injured In Rocket Attack In Iraq; Biden and Harris At The Situation Room; Trump And Harris Disagree On Debate; Rep. Auchincloss Says Shapiro Criticism Has "Undercurrent" Of Anti-Semitism; Journalist Alsu Kurmasheva's First Interview Since Prisoner Swap; Debby Weakens To Tropical Storm, Dumps Historic Rainfall. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired August 05, 2024 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to "The Lead," I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, it was the reunion that brought tears to so many eyes. American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva reuniting with her daughters and husband after that massive prisoner swap with Russia. And tonight, Alsu is going to join us live with her husband for her very first interview since leaving Russian captivity.

Plus, a brand-new update from the Kamala Harris for President campaign, which said moments ago that VP has not yet decided who her running mate will be. Our reporters have new inside details on the deliberations.

And we've got an update on the most bizarre animal-related story of this campaign cycle. And yes, I'm including Christy Noem shooting her puppy Cricket in the head.

And leading this hour, stocks around the world taking a major hit. That includes here in the U.S. where the Dow closed down more than 1,000 points earlier today. Investors seem spooked after a worse than expected jobs report renewing recession fears. But one analyst tells CNN it's a quote, "classic market panic."

So how worried should we all be? Well, let's bring in CNN business editor-at-large Richard Quest. Richard, what is your read on how bad this is?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN EDITOR-AT-LARGE: It is grim, but it's not panic and it's not crisis. We know why this is happening. It's happening because the Fed rate rises. The very medicine, Jake, that you and I spoke of over the last two years is doing what it was intended to do. It has slowed the U.S. economy.

It has crushed inflation. But the other side of that coin, to mix my metaphors, is that it has slowed sufficiently that unemployment is now starting to rise and growth could tip over. Likely not, but it could be towards recession. Jake, the ultimate question, has the Fed left it too late to start

cutting rates? We won't know the answer to that, but I can guarantee you a dollar to a pound that they will cut in September and up to maybe 50 basis points.

TAPPER: All right. I want to ask you, as long as I have you here, there's another major story breaking this afternoon. A district judge here in the United States has ruled that Google violated U.S. antitrust law with its search business. They called it a monopolist. Walk us through this case, how it could impact Google and consumers, including most of us who use Google every day.

QUEST: Well, this is the one about how Google has meshed its browser, how Google manages to hold on to people, how it forces itself into computer operating systems. The arguments aren't new, but here we have a judge in the court saying Google is a monopolist. Using those words, Google is a monopolist.

And now, of course, we'll go to the remedy section. Do you strip out Chrome? Do you make Google more difficult? How do you set it up so that Google can't continue? There's only one thing of which I am certain here, Jake, only one. Google is going to appeal this as far and as fast as they possibly can because this decision, I mean, it is an instant court decision.

You've got many layers of appeal which we've got to get will affect Alphabet. It will affect Microsoft. It will affect Meta and all stations in between.

TAPPER: All right, Richard Quest, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Turning now to our "2024 Lead" in the final hours of Vice President Kamala Harris's search for a running mate. Tomorrow, we're going to take "The Lead" live to Philadelphia as the two, Kamala Harris and who knows who, make their first joint appearance at a campaign rally at Temple University.

Let's jump right in with some of the best sourced reporters on this story. And Jamie Gangel, your reporting show that (inaudible) Harris is focused right now on Governor Josh Shapiro of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Governor Walz of Minnesota. Arizona Senator Mark Kelly is still theoretically in the running, although it seems like the reporting suggests it's down to Walz and Shapiro. You also have some new reporting that the meetings over the weekend might have made a difference.

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Just to be clear, no one has been eliminated, but we really do think it's down to Walz and Shapiro, according to multiple sources. So let me take you, we're finally getting a sense of the vetting. And I'm told, let's do Pennsylvania first, that Governor Shapiro had an excellent meeting with Vice President Harris.

And that in the vetting, some of the questions that were asked were, what role do you see as vice president? Are you going -- are you interested in becoming president again? There were a lot of details about Minnesota Governor Walz's meeting with the vetting team, which happened before the Kamala Harris meeting. I'm told that they loved him.

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For whatever that's worth, they're not Kamala Harris, that they thought he was authentic, a team player, and that his background, while he's not from a battleground state with Minnesota, he is from --

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Born in Nebraska.

GANGEL: Born and raised in Nebraska, just for Jeff Zeleny. But they said that they think he's great on the stump, a natural, that he will appeal to independents and swing voters across the Midwest, a happy warrior. So he got very high marks from the vetting team.

TAPPER: So Jeff, let's take a look at just like the snapshot thumbnail bios of these three individuals. Governor Shapiro of Pennsylvania, he's been able to win over moderate voters, critical in this battleground that Harris cannot win the White House without Pennsylvania and he has a very high approval rating, 61% favorability rating in Pennsylvania.

Governor Walz has helped define the weird attack lines Harris's campaign is using to define Trump. He's not a lawyer. He served in the Army National Guard for 24 years, former high school teacher and football coach, kind of folksy. And then Senator Kelly, of course, Navy flyer, astronaut, military record, personal story around political violence because he's married to Gabby Giffords.

And he's a little bit more moderate on the issue of immigration, which is a real vulnerability for Harris. How are each of them stacking up with the Harris campaign?

ZELENY: Well, they're different in some respects, as you know. And let's start with Shapiro, as you were saying. I mean, he has the geography. There is no doubt about it. The 19 electoral votes of Pennsylvania, as you said, Jake, absolutely essential. And he has performed stronger than Joe Biden did, stronger than Donald Trump did when he won in '16. And in 2022, he won by 15 points when he was elected governor.

So he's won three times statewide. He has won in some of the places in Western Pennsylvania where Democrats have struggled to win. That said, can he do that on a national ticket as the number two on a national ticket? It's very much an open question. Only the campaign has full knowledge of the details of the polling that was done, the focus grouping that was done.

And they're trying to answer some questions of if he wins Pennsylvania, does that sort of change his support some other places in the blue wall, Michigan, Wisconsin. So he's strong. There's no doubt. He has a strong brand name. But do you leave him in Pennsylvania if you pick him or do you send him elsewhere? So there are risks to picking someone from a key state as well.

Look, we talk a lot about winning a state. The top of the ticket has to be strong as well. But some other attributes, I'm told, about him are really attractive to the Harris campaign. That is he is a fighter. He was showing last week, every day he was out on the road showing how quick witted he is, how tough he is. He is more than an attack dog. He's a creative original attack dog.

So he is attractive. There's no doubt about it. But Tim Walz from Minnesota in the final, I would say last two weeks, maybe 10 days has really caught a lot of interest by Democrats because of and he's supported by a lot of progressive groups. And there is this underlying campaign that's been going on inside the Democratic Party. They sort of skipped the primary campaign.

TAPPER: Right.

ZELENY: But there is a campaign going on among a lot of different groups. The question is, can they come together or not? But Tim Walz in his own right, he has a very progressive liberal record in Minnesota. That worries some, if he could perhaps cause problems for the Harris campaign. But as Jamie said, he's very plain spoken and he coined this weird phrasing and it has caught off.

But the biggest deal of all this, never mind their bios, I'm told, chemistry is the biggest thing. So only Vice President Harris knows what the actual chemistry there was on Sunday. We're told she's not made up her mind. An aide I talked to a short time ago said that means she hasn't told people her decision. And that's slightly different because they want to hold this until tomorrow morning --

TAPPER: Right.

ZELENY: -- if possible, to control the information. The only way you hold this is by not telling a soul. And perhaps she hasn't. Perhaps she's still deciding, but she hasn't told anyone her decision.

TAPPER: It's actually amazing how much Trump was able to keep J.D. Vance's secret until he announced it. And Harris trying to, you know --

ZELENY: She didn't tell anyone either.

TAPPER: Trying to do that as well.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Until 20 minutes before he announced it and tell him.

TAPPER: Correct. So you were, Kristen, you're part of the reporting team that uncovered what's been happening behind the scenes in the Trump campaign, starting from the debate to the assassination attempt on Donald Trump, then to Biden bowing out, Harris moving to the top of the tickets. Fascinating read. Give us some of the highlights from your reporting.

HOLMES: Yes. So there's a time that those around Donald Trump just thought that he couldn't lose. And it's not just because of his polling numbers when he was going up against President Joe Biden. It was also his legal cases. The Georgia case had stalled. He won the immunity case. The -- becoming a convicted felon, which should have tanked or could have tanked anyone else's political career instead skyrocketed his donations and put them in a fundraising realm that they didn't expect to actually be in.

And then you had that dismal performance by Joe Biden at the debate. But they had a very detailed playbook to go after President Joe Biden. And they felt very good about that.

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Now, they will tell you that they are completely prepared for Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket, that this was something that they were monitoring. And that's true. They had been saying they thought it was possible Joe Biden wouldn't be at the top of the ticket. But there's a difference between having a full campaign strategy and being aware that this could happen.

And what we have started to see, and this is what Donald Trump himself said at a rally in Atlanta over the weekend, he said, we have to work hard to define her. And then he kind of went off and said, I don't want to define her. She's a horror show. But that in its own self is a nugget of truth.

Now, of course, part of the complication is that Donald Trump doesn't always help himself going up there on that stage at NABJ, getting into a confrontation with a black journalist questioning Harris's ethnicity, saying, is she even black? Or is she Indian? Then going after in Atlanta, the most popular governor in Georgia, he won by a landslide, Republican Governor Brian Kemp, who obviously they have had a feud for a long time.

But instead of burying the hatchet, which Governor Kemp had appeared to try and be doing, despite the fact that Trump had tried to force him to not certify the election in the state of Georgia, he went after him multiple times during that rally. Remember, Georgia is a critical state. And it is one that is really unsure right now, particularly with Kamala Harris at the top of the ticket. They were feeling very good about Georgia. Georgia could now be a question mark.

And again, critical battleground state. Why are you going up against the governor there who is part of the Republican Party? And it's actually gone on our own air and said supportive things of you, even if he's not a true believer in Donald Trump.

TAPPER: Well, he wouldn't break the law and deliver the state to him, the state that he lost -- that Donald Trump lost. Jamie and Kristen and Jeff, thanks so much.

We're following breaking news. Sources are telling CNN that several American service members have been injured at a base in Iraq. We're going to have a live report in moments. And then, of course, the big question, will we see a presidential debate before the November election? This is all up in the air. Donald Trump pulled out of a planned face off on ABC News. He's suggesting a new one and a more friendly venue to him. Stay with us.

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TAPPER: We have some breaking news for you now on the conflict in the Middle East. Several U.S. personnel have been injured in an attack on an airbase in Iraq. Let's go straight to CNN's Natasha Bertrand. Natasha, what more do we know about this attack?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, we're learning from a Defense Department spokesperson that a suspected rocket attack did hit U.S. and coalition forces at Al Asad airbase in Iraq earlier today. And a number of U.S. service members, according to the Pentagon, they were injured. Now, we don't know the extent of their injuries, nor how many of these service members were actually injured in this attack.

But it was the first attack that we have seen in several weeks, again, against Al Asad airbase. Just last month, there was yet another attack. And these attacks are being carried out by suspected Iran- backed militias. And, of course, this comes as the entire region is on heightened alert amid concerns that Iran could launch a coordinated attack against Israel that could include these kinds of attacks on U.S. service members.

And so while we don't necessarily know just yet who the culprit is of the suspected rocket attack, it, of course, bears all of the hallmarks of the dozens and dozens of attacks, such attacks that Iran-backed militias have launched against U.S. and coalition forces in the region since last year. And so we have to wait and get to get more information here.

We, again, don't know the extent or the severity of these injuries, but very significant, because it would mark the first time, it seems, since those three U.S. service members were killed in a drone attack in Jordan earlier this year, that U.S. service members have been injured in an attack by these suspected proxy groups, Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Natasha, thank you so much. Let's stick with tensions in the Middle East. President Biden and Vice President Harris just wrapped up a Situation Room meeting with their administration's national security team to assess the threat of Iran striking Israel in retaliation for the assassination of the political leader of Hamas while he was in Tehran. Ismail Haniyeh was killed last week in a building in Tehran.

The U.S. says he was taken out by an explosive device that had been hidden there for months. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in the assassination of Haniyeh. CNN's Clarissa Ward is in Tel Aviv for us. Kayla Tausche is at the White House. Clarissa, let's start with you. Are there indications that Iran is close to taking military action against Israel?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest indication that we heard, Jake, was earlier this morning, local time, when a spokesperson for Iran's foreign ministry essentially reiterated what Iran has already said before, that it would be necessary to inflict some kind of punishment.

He did say that Iran did not seek to escalate tensions more broadly across the region, but made it very clear that there would be some kind of response. Now, interestingly, here in Israel, the home front command has just put out another statement on X basically saying that they have not changed or given any directive, meaning that there is no heightened state of alert so far here on the ground in Israel.

We have seen, obviously, a huge amount of activity in terms of comings and goings. We had the head of CENTCOM, General Eric Carrillo, in town today. You have had the minister of defense here, Yoav Gallant, having conversations with his counterpart in the U.S., Lloyd Austin. And of course, you have had this broader flurry of really furious diplomatic activity as the U.S. and other parties.

We heard also from the Turkish foreign minister, the Egyptian foreign minister, the Jordanian foreign minister who traveled to Tehran himself over the weekend. Everyone really trying to kind of put the brakes on here, Jake, and try to avoid some kind of a catastrophic disaster. But when you talk to analysts who watch Iran really closely, they say that the possibility for diplomacy right now in terms of averting a retaliation is basically impossible.

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The question now is, can it at least be effective in trying to somehow contain or control what that retaliation will look like and what Israel's response to that retaliation might be, Jake?

TAPPER: Interesting. And Kayla, President Biden has been talking with allies, including with the King of Jordan today, trying to de-escalate the situation. What do you know about this afternoon's meeting in the Situation Room?

KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Jake, we know the meeting lasted about 90 minutes and that the discussion not only addressed the most recent intelligence, but they also discussed ways that the U.S. and other allies in the region could move to diffuse some of those tensions.

We're expecting a more fulsome readout with more details on that conversation momentarily. But we know that this meeting echoes a similar meeting that took place the last time retaliatory strikes from Iran against Israel were happening. That was back in mid-April. And at the time, U.S. officials used much stronger language.

At the time, they were saying that they believed an attack by Iran was inevitable, that it was imminent and that it was coming very soon. And while some sources have indicated that, yes, such a strike is possible early this week if one materializes, the U.S. has been much more circumspect this time around in the language that it's chosen to discuss this.

Last week, NSC spokesman John Kirby talked about the efforts that the U.S. was undertaking to mobilize its assets in the region and safeguard assets that had been positioned there. So, certainly, it's a heightened -- state of heightened alert where the U.S. has been aware of the potential for these attacks for some time, but not going as far as the U.S. did back in April, using that type of language like imminent and inevitable, even as we await a full readout of what that discussion today, Jake, concluded.

TAPPER: All right, Kayla Tausche at the White House, Clarissa Ward in Israel, thanks to both of you.

A massive day in American politics as Vice President Harris is expected to announce her pick for her running mate any minute. Our panel is going to weigh in. Stay with us.

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TAPPER: Back to our "2024 Lead." Vice President Kamala Harris is pushing back on former President Trump's new debate plan. She posted, quote, "It's interesting how anytime, anyplace became one specific time, one specific safe space. I'll be there on September 10th like he agreed to. I hope to see him there," unquote. This is after Donald Trump posted on his social media account that he has pulled out of the debate hosted by ABC News that he had agreed to participate in when he was running against Joe Biden.

Instead, Mr. Trump says he's willing to do another debate that no one had agreed to on Fox. He wrote, quote, "I'll see her on September 4th or I won't see her at all," unquote. Let's bring in our political panel to weigh in on this and more. Do you think we're actually going to see a face-off between Trump and Harris?

MO ELLEITHEE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GEORGETOWN INSTITUTE OF POLITICS & PUBLIC SERVICE: I don't know. And it seems like that decision is actually in Donald Trump's hands, right? Like she's there. She's agreed to this debate. And if he backs out of it, I think it sends a message, right? It sends a message. He does -- he just doesn't want to face her. And I actually think he has more to lose from this than she does.

This is an opportunity for him, right? We're in the middle of this race to define her. This is an opportunity for him to try to do that. But he, well, if he chooses not to show up to the ABC debate, he's really missing out on that and it's going to give the Harris campaign a huge -- a huge hammer to bludgeon him with.

TAPPER: Rina, the DNC is out with an ad campaign calling Trump, quote, "afraid to debate" and will, quote, "launch digital ad takeovers in major papers in states following Trump rallies on the campaign trail." So they're -- they're going after him for -- for being a chicken. What's your reaction?

RINA SHAH, SENIOR ADVISER, THE SENECA PROJECT: Yeah, you know, right now he may not believe it, but she has the upper hand because he looks like a bit of a hypocrite. And by them, the Democrats pushing back on his hypocrisy daily, I think that's a very strong move. But also, they've got to be looking at this as a situation where he shoots himself in the foot daily right now.

When's that going to end? And I'm of the mindset that he really can't stop. And I don't see much of a plan right now from Trump world to stop this, stop the leak, stop the bleed. Whatever's happening is not helping him in any way. So what I think needs to happen is for him to make one strategic turn towards looking like he has some degree of control. Now for Trump, whatever that is, I don't know. But I do think it's external geopolitical factors that help Trump.

I've always been of that mindset that it would be external factors that help him. And I think right now, if he lays a little bit low in this moment, particularly after a disastrous week last week and having a running mate who doesn't help you in any way and zaps your energy and caps the momentum, he's better off to, again, lay low and just agree to her terms and then meet her there and again, go in with a full blow like he's known to do.

TAPPER: I mean, it does seem as though the last debate worked well for him. And there doesn't really -- I mean, he's saying, well, you know, I'm suing George Stephanopoulos and ABC News, so it doesn't make sense. But that -- those were the same set of circumstances when he agreed to the ABC News debate. And surely nobody really thinks ABC News is going to --like it's not MSNBC. It's not like a progressive channel. It's, you know, it's just been middle of the road news.

JEFF MASON, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, REUTERS: Yeah, I think it's just a reflection of the fact that former President Trump and his campaign don't know quite what to do with Vice President Harris.

TAPPER: Yeah.

MASON: And that includes this debate and whether or not to debate her, whether or not to agree to this debate or another one. It also includes what to say on the on the rally stage, on the stage more writ-large. They're stumped and she's had a good couple of weeks. That doesn't mean that this momentum that she has now is going to continue all the way through Election Day. But he had a good few weeks and he's not having a good few weeks now. And that's partially --

SHAH: -- into this month and that helps her more. That's my thing, is like the momentum's not stopping through this month. That's bad for him.

TAPPER: Unless he does something to switch it.

(CROSSTALK)

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ELLEITHEE: That's exactly right. If he refuses to stand on that debate stage, he's just giving her more and more of a runway to let the momentum grow. It doesn't mean it won't stall on its own at some point, but he's certainly not doing anything to stop it.

TAPPER: So right now, Kamala Harris is trying to decide who a running mate should be. Progressives are criticizing Governor Shapiro for his -- for being a supporter of Israel, al -- although I have to say like I don't personally see what his -- what the difference is between his position and that of Kelly or Walz, the other two contenders. And on that topic, Democratic Congressman Jake Auchincloss said this about those criticisms earlier today on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JACOB AUCHINCLOSS (D-MA): Those in the overly online left who are attacking Josh Shapiro's pro-Israel positions in a different way than they are attacking non-Jewish beat contenders positions, they're just telling on themselves. It -- there's a strong undercurrent of anti- Semitism to that. It's unacceptable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Whether or not there's strong anti-Semitism on the left, and -- and there certainly is anti-Semitism. Isn't that a reality of what the Democratic Party is today that Kamala Harris has to, like, deal with one way or another?

ELLEITHEE: I mean, look, there's --

TAPPER: Or do you think it's just the small online?

ELLEITHEE: I -- I think, at the end of the day, and we talked about this in a previous segment, at the end of the day, yes, there are people who want to see a -- a Harris administration take a different approach on -- on Israel and Gaza. And look, I think she's already started to a little bit lean a little bit more heavily into the humanitarian crisis. But here's the thing, no matter whom she picks, if you are a supporter, if you are sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, and are concerned about the humanitarian crisis there, no matter whom she picks, Donald Trump will be a worse president than Kamala Harris, right?

This is a guy who is not showing much sympathy for the -- for the humanitarian crisis on the ground. He is targeting Muslim Americans, threatening to bring back his Muslim ban here in the United States, if you care about this cause, this is not -- the Republican ticket is not your friend. And so whoever she picks, I think, will be close -- more aligned with them.

TAPPER: I want to go around the table on this because it's a bit of a -- it's a bit of a head scratcher. Our independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in anticipation of a "New Yorker" piece, posted a three-minute video in which he admitted to a few years ago, picking up a dead bear and then leaving it in Central Park. Here's just a little bit of this preemptive video he -- he released.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think at the airport, and the bear was in my car. And I didn't want to leave the bear in the car, because that would have been bad. I had an old bike in my car that somebody asked me to get rid of it. I said, let's go put the bear in Central Park and we'll make it look like he got hit by a bike. It was fun -- funny for people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Really weird.

MASON: I feel like the word weird is being overused right now in -- in political discourse. And yet, is there a better word for that particular moment or quote, I just don't know.

TAPPER: By the way, Roseanne Barr is the -- is the normal one in that video, just sitting there that's what -- listening to the story.

SHAH: Well, to me, it wasn't so bizarre as it was just prank like, you know. He -- he talks about it as if it was a stunt and one that he was, like, sort of proud of. But I got to say, you know, elected officials and dead animals this cycle, like, first Kristi Noem and the -- and the dog and now this and the bear, like, this to me, just says there's some sick depraved people out there who want to serve in public office, and we should probably push back on these --

MASON: Nice job bringing all those together.

SHAH: I'm sorry.

ELLEITHEE: I love that this is a guy who picked up a bear that was road kill so he could skin it, and eat it.

TAPPER: And eat it he said.

ELLEITHEE: Left it in his car to fester for several hours.

TAPPER: Yes.

ELLEITHEE: And then dumped it in the middle of Central Park, where families go to play --

TAPPER: Yes.

ELLEITHEE: -- but he won't get vaccinated, because that's unsafe.

SHAH: Oh, my God.

ELLEITHEE: Right. Like -- like come on now.

SHAH: -- humanity, right?

TAPPER: Yes.

ELLEITHEE: Come on now.

TAPPER: There is a, yes, there's -- it's weird. Anyway, thanks to one and all. Appreciate it.

[17:34:09]

It has been four days since those families were reunited, thanks to that massive prison swap, including Russia and United States. And next, I'm going to be joined live by one of those freed prisoners. Join -- she's a joint citizen of America and Russia, Alsu Kurmasheva, for her first interview since touching down on U.S. soil and reuniting with her husband and her two daughters. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Another Lead exclusive, topping our World Lead, after more than nine months detained improperly and unfairly in Russia, American Russian journalist, Alsu Kurmasheva is finally back with her family. She was part of the biggest prisoner swap between the West and Russia since the Cold War. Before her release, Alsu, like Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, was sentenced to years in Russian prison on bogus charges, and it is our delight to say that Alsu is here with us now on The Lead for her very first interview since she was released, joined by her husband, Pavel Butorin. Alsu, it's so great to see you safe and sitting beside your husband. It was so great to see you the other night, reunited with your girls. How -- how are you doing?

ALSU KURMASHEVA, JOURNALIST RECENTLY RELEASED FROM RUSSIAN PRISON: Hi, Jake. Thank you very much for having us on such a news -- busy news day. I'm good. I'm finally in good hands. After months of being denied basic professional medical care, I am finally being treated as a human being, and it's incredible. It's -- I'm great now. I'm -- I'm good. I'm good. There is a lot to go through still until I can come back to -- to my normal life, but I'm good now. Thank you so much.

TAPPER: It's so great to have you. And -- and Pavel, you and your daughter, Bibi, came on the show in March. I want to just remind our viewers. I want to play a very short clip from that interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIBI BUTORIN, DAUGHTER OF ALSU KURMASHEVA: I miss hugging her. I miss her touch. I miss the jokes she would make. She is truly the most caring and empathetic person I know, and it's absolutely unfair and unbelievable that she is in this position right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[17:40:00]

TAPPER: Pavel, I mean, what is it like to have all three of your -- of your girls back together?

PAVEL BUTORIN, HUSBAND OF ALSU KURMASHEVA: Well, we're overjoyed. And when I was standing there on the tarmac -- tarmac, when Alsu finally came out and -- and -- and she was running towards us, and -- and we were able to hug her, I heard my daughter, and Miriam, our younger daughter, saying, I can't stop hugging you. I can't stop touching you. This is exactly what they've been missing all this time.

And, you know, it's -- I -- I was still in disbelief standing there on the tarmac, and I finally believed it was happening when I saw Alsu coming down. And it was an incredible experience. It was a day filled with emotion. I'm so happy that we are back together. KURMASHEVA: I was so happy to make it minutes before my daughter Miriam's 13th birthday was the best present ever.

TAPPER: Oh, my God, I didn't know that. That's amazing. Alsu, when you were in this Russian prison, did you have any idea the extent to which your husband and your daughters were -- were doing interviews to help raise awareness about you?

KURMASHEVA: I had a very limited information. I knew something was going on. My lawyers were telling me a -- a very limited. For sure, I didn't know what was going on in full scale until now, you know, days past, I'm unloading this information for myself, and the -- the scale is -- is incredible, and -- and I -- I still have to re watch videos. By the way, thank you for your coverage, Jake. I just watched the video yesterday. It was the first time I saw the -- the video and interview with Bibi and Pavel. And I have to re -- rewatch, reread, and I have to -- I -- I really want to know who was involved in -- in my release, and say thank you personally to every -- every person was -- who was involved and who helped.

TAPPER: Pavel was pretty good, but Bibi was the real star of that interview. I think it's fair to say.

P. BUTORIN: It's true. Now Bibi and Miriam now too, they become -- they become the best advocates for the Free Alsu cause. I -- I owe them a debt of gratitude. They've been so supportive throughout this ordeal.

TAPPER: Yes.

KURMASHEVA: Well, they've grown a lot. They -- they -- they --

P. BUTORIN: They've grown taller.

KURMASHEVA: They've grown taller.

TAPPER: Yes.

KURMASHEVA: And they -- they just -- they realized -- they really smart speakers. They are the leaders -- leaders -- the leaders of my advocacy team, so.

TAPPER: Yes.

KURMASHEVA: It's amazing how -- how much they've changed.

TAPPER: Well, I'm -- I'm sure that they're just so happy to have you home. Alsu, as -- as much as you are comfortable sharing, tell us what it was like when you finally learned that you were going to be released, and -- and what happened after that.

KURMASHEVA: It wasn't until I saw my family I -- that I believe that I'm free, or I would say, when I was on a U.S. plane -- airplane, that I really believed that something that magic I was hoping for months was happening, because when they took me out of my cell in Kazan, they never told me where they were taking me. Even in Moscow, I didn't know what was going on.

Then I saw that bus of other prisoners, even -- even then, you know, we -- you -- you can never know for 100 percent that it's -- it's going to happen. So there was hope, as there is a belief that there is always hope, but you should be ready for anything. So I was in that kind of a mood until the very end.

P. BUTORIN: On this side too, there was so much uncertainty. And even going into the White House, Thursday morning, you know, I was obviously hoping that this was about to happen. But I had no idea that this was happening that same day. Many things came as a surprise on that day, even that phone call from -- from the president's office, from the Oval Office, from his desk. It -- it came as a total surprise. And we're so happy to hear Alsu's voice, finally, after so many months of, you know, no communication with her.

TAPPER: Alsu, we -- we see -- see this photograph of you with two other hostages that we've been telling their story. We're showing it right now. On the -- on the left side of your screen, if you're watching, is Evan Gershkovich, obviously the Wall Street Journal reporter. On the right side of your screen, right behind Alsu is former U.S. Marine, Paul Whelan. Did the three of you talk on -- on the plane? Did you know of that, I mean, I guess as a journalist, you knew that Evan and Paul had been in prison. Tell us about that.

KURMASHEVA: We saw each other on the bus in Moscow, but we were not allowed to talk. We just greeted each other and but we recognized each other. We have met -- but we knew each other by -- by the photos. And the first time we talked, it was on the U.S. plane, where we took off from Ankara.

[17:45:13]

TAPPER: And what's your --

KURMASHEVA: It was the first time we exchanged our first.

TAPPER: What's your message also to -- to others who are -- are either currently being held hostage, such as three of your Radio Free Europe colleagues, or other family members who have loved ones being unfairly detained abroad. What's your message to them?

KURMASHEVA: You know what I always believed in that I knew I was innocent. I knew I was innocent. And this was a big -- the biggest mistake ever done, and it will be corrected. And that my favorite concept, the art of small steps, smart, cautious, small steps from all sides will always work out. So like from my side, it was keeping myself healthy, from my family side, being strong and keeping themselves healthy so we could rush this moment of happiness of seeing each other. This is what -- this was, the only thing I believed in. And I just want everybody to believe in that.

TAPPER: And Pavel --

P. BUTORIN: Yes. Their nightmare will be over to at some point. Yes, because, you know, no family should have to go through this nightmare, especially journalists. Journalism is not a crime. They've done nothing wrong. We know that Alsu, we always we're certain that, you know, Alsu is not a criminal. She's done nothing wrong. The world knows she is not a criminal. And we'll get them out. We'll get our colleagues out.

KURMASHEVA: I've been waking up from that nightmare, Jake. I -- I had a feeling, I -- I fell asleep 10 months ago, and now I'm getting out of it. And this is what everyone should think of.

TAPPER: Well, we're just so happy. I mean, we cover a lot of news. We don't get to cover a lot of great news very often, but this is really just wonderful, wonderful news. Alsu, is there anything else you want to -- want to add before you say goodbye to us?

KURMASHEVA: I just want to say thank you to all, everybody who supported me, who kept me alive, who kept me going. It's the U.S. government, the members of Congress, the National Press Club, the -- the Committee to Protect Journalists, all press freedom groups, my colleagues, everyone, but you know, I want to show you something I showed those in Russian courtroom on June 1st. This is -- these things kept me going.

So if I want to send a message, please send messages and postcards to those who are in prisons right now. This picture -- so this is from little Davis (ph) in the United States. This picture is from little Maya (ph) in Russia. And thank you so much children, kids, mothers, fathers, everyone. Thank you for your support.

TAPPER: That's so lovely. What beautiful art. Thank you so much, Pavel and Alsu, it's such an honor to have you here, and I'm so happy for you, and especially for your little girls.

KURMASHEVA: Thank you very much, Jake.

P. BUTORIN: Thank you Jake.

[17:48:08]

TAPPER: Officials are warning about a, quote, life threatening situation as Tropical Storm Debby lashes the southeastern United States, retracting the forecast for severe flooding, storm surge and even tornadoes. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Millions of Americans are at risk of severe weather this evening as Tropical Storm Debby pummels the southeastern coast of the United States. Debby made landfall in Florida this morning as a hurricane and could cause catastrophic flooding, which is a life threatening storm surge and damaging winds as well. Chad Myers is in the CNN Severe Weather Center. Chad, what is the biggest threat to Americans right now?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The fact that this storm is going to move about five miles per hour overnight and maybe even slow down to about three tomorrow, put down heavy amounts of rainfall. Though we've lost a lot of color, that's great news, because this was an 80, 85 mile per hour storm when it moved over Steinhatchee, Florida, early -- early this morning. We are losing the color, which means we're losing the intensity of the wind.

Now down to 50, but it doesn't move very far in 48 hours. By the weekend, it's even approaching the Northeast. Now, the cone gets very wide by Saturday. Don't get me wrong. This could be left or right from here. But tornado watches are in effect at this hour, and we've had some tornado warnings not that far from Jacksonville Beach. And yes, I think we're probably going to see more in the way of this later on, this afternoon, into the evening.

Right now, one small, little tornado warning right there, just about Jacksonville Beach. Other than that, though, it is going to be a very heavy rainfall event. We are going to see areas that have already picked up 18 inches of rain, 18 already could pick up another two to three tonight. And here in Lake City, around the I-75 and 10 Corridor, that's where flash flood emergencies are happening right now, with rescues going on.

High risk of severe weather, high risk of flooding today, all across the eastern half of Georgia, all the way through the Carolinas. It stopped. It's a category four of four. You know how we do slight, moderate and all that when it comes to risk of severe weather? Well, this is the risk of flooding weather, and it's four out of four, the highest category we can get because many areas could see 15 inches of rainfall over the next 72 hours. Jake, it's just going to rain and rain and rain and rain and rain.

TAPPER: All right. Chad Myers, thanks so much.

[17:54:28]

Our last leads are next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: And our last leads today, today, Louisiana showed off how it might display the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms using a rather odd cast of characters. One poster featured House Speaker Mike Johnson, with the title of, quote, the House of Representatives and The Lawgivers, a play on Moses, the lawgiver. Another example shows Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the commandments next to his commandments for nonviolence. Another featured Lin Manuel Miranda, the guy who wrote Hamilton and the song "Ten Duel Commandments." Starting in January, Louisiana will require every public school to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms. There is a group suing to stop this law.

The convicted January 6th rioter, known as the QAnon Shaman, is allowed to get his spear and horned coyote tailed headrest back. Prosecutors wanted to keep them as evidence, but today, a judge said there are plenty of pictures and video of the shaman if he ever tried to challenge his case. During the Capitol attack, Chansley made it all the way to the Senate dais, where former Vice President Mike Pence had just been standing moments before. He served a 41-month prison sentence.

A viral moment from the Olympics, USA Gymnastics superstars Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles, bowing to Brazil's Rebecca Andrade, who won gold in the women's floor exercise final.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SIMONE BILES, U.S. GOLD MEDAL GYMNAST: She's queen. At first it was an all black podium, so that was super exciting for us. But then Jordan was like, should we bow turn? I was like, absolutely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[18:00:08]

TAPPER: Biles scored just fractions of a point behind Andrade, landing her a silver medal and Chiles a bronze. Congratulations to all of them. They're, frankly, three queens.

You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, formerly known as Twitter, and on the TikTok at JakeTapper. You can follow the show on X at TheLeadCNN. If you ever miss an episode of The Lead, you can listen to the show once you get your podcasts. The news continues on CNN.