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Now, Air National Guardsman Accused of Intel Leak Appears in Court; Drug Maker Asks Supreme Court to Block Abortion Pill Ruling; Police Say, Cash App Founder Bob Lee Knew the Suspect in His Murder. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired April 14, 2023 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Any moment now, the suspected document leaker accused of sharing top Pentagon secrets online is set to make his first appearance in court. The 21-year-old arrested at his home in Massachusetts yesterday and what we're learning about the charges he is now facing.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Boeing discovers a new issue with its 737 Max planes, but it is not pulling any from the sky. These stories and more here on CNN News Central.

SIDNER: Any minute now, the 21-year-old accused of leaking classified Pentagon documents online is set to appear in a Boston courtroom in front of a federal judge. Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira was arrested yesterday. Federal investigators say he leaked documents, which included detailed intelligence assessments of allies and adversaries, as well as the U.S. military's assessment on the state of the war in Ukraine.

Teixeira's job title was a cyber transport systems journeyman, in layman's terms, that's an I.T. specialist. He entered the Air National Guard in September 2019 and was recently promoted to the rank of airman first class. Teixeira graduated high school in Massachusetts in 2020. Several of his former classmates tell CNN he was fascinated with the military, guns and war.

CNN's Jason Carroll is outside the court in Boston. Jason, we know that in just a few minutes, we're hearing, we are going to see him in court, although we will not have video in there, but you will see him going into court.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No cameras again, Sara, allowed during that court proceedings, during that initial court appearance. He is expected to appear in front of Magistrate Judge David Hennessy. Again, this expected to happen just about any minute from now. And when it does happen, we are likely to learn whether or not he will, in fact, be charged under the Espionage Act. Once the proceeding gets underway, we'll find out what charges he, in fact, will end up facing here. He was arrested yesterday at his mother's home in Dighton, which is south of Boston. Cameras up ahead above, as all of that happened, some dramatic moments, as he was handcuffed. He walked backwards as he was taken into custody without incident.

Still a lot of focus on that online chat group on Discord where he allegedly posted much of these classified documents, and so a lot of questions as to why someone in his position had access to classified documents. A lot of questions also, as you can imagine, about who he is what he was all about.

I spoke to one of his former students, someone who went to school with him in high school, also in middle school. She told me that a lot of folks and other students tended to stay away from him, especially when you brought up the issue and talked about guns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKE CLEATHERO, FORMER CLASSMATE OF JACK TEIXEIRA: A lot of people were worried of him, especially since he was really into the whole guns thing, and spoke about it quite often. And I know it was kind of off-putting to some people.

He didn't have a lot of friends, but like some of the friends he did have were also kind of in the same boat as him, in a way, that people are just wary of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Okay. We're just now getting word, Sara, that the suspect in this case, Jack Teixeira, was, in fact, just a few moments ago, brought inside the courtroom. He was shackled, wearing his tan prison guard. He was then unshackled. So, this proceeding now is just now getting underway, where, once again, we are about to learn specifically what charges he will face. Sara?

SIDNER: Yes. It's remarkable that these documents were out there for such a long time before they went noticed by authorities. Jason Carroll, thank you so much for that update for us. John?

BERMAN: You know, Sara, we will be going back to Jason too. We have no cameras in the courtroom, but I do imagine we'll be getting some accounts fed to him as it happens.

In the meantime, Jason mentioned this question, how did Jack Teixeira, relatively junior in the Massachusetts Air National Guard, get his hands on these documents?

[10:05:05]

With us now is current Lieutenant Colonel in the Air National Guard and former Congressman Adam Kinzinger. I'm going to call you colonel for the purposes of this interview instead of congressman. Just, first, let's do some basics. Air National Guard, Air Force, what's the difference? ADAM KINZINGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Nope, same thing. You know, I have a commission as an Air Force officer. I also have a state commission. So, a lot of people are kind of in this Vietnam mentality that the National Guard of the Air National Guard is different. It's not. So, when you see an Air National Guard unit, their Air Force pilots, Air Force trained, they just also have a state mission if called on by the governor. But it's basically a branch of the Air Force reserve.

BERMAN: Okay. So, how are secrets intelligence, how is classified information shared inside the Air Force of the Air National Guard?

KINZINGER: So, you have this kind of system. We call it the vault. When I went to the civilian world, it was called the SCIF, you know, the sensitive compartmentalized information facility, I think is what it stands for. But the vaults where you go in and you can be briefed on whatever the latest intelligence is. You can talk about your tactics, whether it's against enemy aircraft or whatever that is.

And within that, you have a cadre of people in intelligence, and they are intel officers, intel enlisted, and they are the ones that actually handle this information. 99.99 repeating percent of them are great Americans that takes some pretty intense secrets and keep them secret.

In terms of this guy, I don't -- I have no idea what a cyber transport system journeyman is. I mean, my official title in the military is pilot. It's pretty self-explanatory. I don't know what this job is, whether he should have had access to this or if he just knew how to get in the system. Either way, it's a problem.

But I want to make it clear, you're going to have young people and you're going to have people of low rank that have access to this information. Obviously, again, 99.99 percent repeating of them are trustee. You can trust them with this information.

BERMAN: Okay. Why? Why are you going to have young people? Why are you going to have these relatively junior enlisted people who have access to this information at a National Guard base in Cape Cod?

KINZINGER: So, two things. So, number one, let's take into account, you know, in terms of some of this, I'm not necessarily sure they should have had access to it, because some of this is like a joint chiefs level. And then while an air crew may be able to be briefed on this, which is beneficial, we may have to look in it, reining some of those secrets in.

So, the Massachusetts Air Guard, I think this is an air superiority wing. So, they are, you know, air-to-air defense. And their purpose, whether it's them or any fighter unit, frankly, my fighter units out of Madison, Wisconsin, you know, their job is to take on enemy aircraft. Their job is to be deployable in war. The Air National Guard actually carried even a bigger broad -- you know, a bigger burden of the war on terror than active duty in the last few years.

And in terms of when it comes to the young people, look, some people have to put the briefing slides in front of us, you know, in front of the officers, in front of those making decisions, and you can't just wait until you get somebody that's a major to have access to the first time for this information. So, it's young people that put these slides together that brief the officers, that brief those going into battle. And, again, the vast majority of the time, it works perfectly, but sometimes it doesn't and that needs to be cracked down on.

BERMAN: One of the issues here, ironically, is some of the availability of information is something that was asked for after September 11th. Everyone said there needs to be more coordination. There needs to be more information-sharing. But, you know, is this too much? Are there too many people now who could potentially get their hands on this?

KINZINGER: Yes, I think so. I think there are too many people. Now, let's take my unit. Again, Madison, Wisconsin, it has F-16s, which do air defense, multi-roles, they can also bomb stuff. And then my plane at that unit does counter drug. So, the intel there, the intelligence people have to know all about our adversaries, they also have to know about some of the cartels and some of the counterdrug issues for us. So, that's important.

Is it necessary, though for a fighter unit to know, for instance, as we know in this leak, that at one point, Ukraine was about to deplete all their air defense systems? I don't think so. So, I think those kinds of things, you know, yes, it's good to know, but maybe, unfortunately, we don't have to know it. So, I think some of those things can be tamped down on while you can still understand the battlefield picture and be further briefed, if, in fact, you get tasked to go fight a war somewhere.

BERMAN: One more very quick question. I want to take your colonel hat off and put your congressman -- former congressman hat on. Marjorie Taylor Greene, your former Republican colleague, was on social media defending the allegations against Jack Teixeira here or what he is alleged to have done, suggesting that he might be some kind of hero here, praised for what he did.

[10:10:00]

What do you make of that?

KINZINGER: It's sick. It's really sick, John. I mean, look, there's been this like thing in the Republican party about just owning the libs and being against everything the libs are for or against, you know, and I knew this was going to happen. I predicted it. They're going to turn him into a hero. This guy is a traitor to his country. Marjorie Taylor Greene either knows that or she doesn't know it because she doesn't understand how any of this works.

If I was Kevin McCarthy, I'd strip her security access, but, of course, he won't do that. He'll just continue to be nice to her so he can stay speaker.

BERMAN: All right. Former Congressman, Lieutenant Colonel Adam Kinzinger, great to see you on a range of subjects this morning. Thank you for your wide range of expertise.

KINZINGER: You bet.

BERMAN: Kate?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And also new this morning, we want to turn to the big news coming in from the Supreme Court, the manufacturer of the key medication abortion drug is now asking the Supreme Court to step in and intervene in an emergency dispute. They're hoping to fast track this case after the Texas judge suspended the use of the pill, and it's now working its way through the appeals process.

Let me bring in CNN Political Director David Chalian with more on this. David, this is -- it's important to point out, as Joan Biksupic did, when we brought in this breaking news, this case is the most important abortion related dispute to reach the high court since the justices overturned Roe v. Wade. it cannot be overstated how important this is to the country but also how important this move that they've just now requested that the Supreme Court take it up. What this is going to mean legally and politically?

Let's focus in on that because the abortion has been front and center very much so over the past week and far beyond that. How do you see this, David? What do you see in this in this now that the Supreme Court is being asked to take it up?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, Kate. and I think this is, as Joan was saying, just one of two steps we expect today in terms of filing because the DOJ is likely to make a similar request for Supreme Court intervention here.

Since that Texas judge ruled in this case last Friday, this has re- injected abortion into the political debate, the daily to and fro, no doubt. But as you've noted, this has been an issue at the center of American politics for quite some time. I mean, last year, when we saw the Supreme Court over overturn Roe v. Wade and sort of upend 50 years, a half century of precedent, it ignited a moment in American politics, one in which the Democrats believe they have an advantage politically.

We saw that last summer in that Kansas referendum, remember, then in November, in the 2022 midterm elections, where this was an issue that Democrats believe significantly help them perform better than expected and defy historical trends. And just recently, as recently as last week in Wisconsin in that battle for that critical Supreme Court race there, we saw this issue benefit the Democrats and fuel that candidate who won that judicial race to an 11-point victory. So, there's potency in this issue in politics.

And what you see now, Kate, is the Republican field which is forming in the 2024 presidential race, they're going to have an intraparty debate on this of how and where to draw the lines and what restrictions in place in a post-Roe world.

BOLDUAN: And how Republicans are handling this in a primary and in a general is going to be very interesting to watch. And also interesting already to see how even potential presidential candidates are kind of handling this issue.

Last night, Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida -- Republican governor of Florida, likely presidential candidate, he signed into law a six-week ban on abortion. He tweeted out a photo. We can show you a photo of it. This -- I think the photo came out at like 11:00 P.M. last night. This is just -- has went in Florida, it had ignited an emotional debate in the Florida legislature, kind of mirroring the emotional debate going around the country about this. He -- how do you see him handling this? What do you see in kind of the rollout in signing this law and the tightrope that he may be soon walking?

CHALIAN: It is a tightrope, Kate. There's no doubt about it. Listen, he has not shied away from this. He expressed his support for the six- week ban. He did sign it. But there's a difference in how politicians can express support for things, right? Ron DeSantis is no stranger to putting a legislative priority or a key political battle he wants to engage in front and center every day. One way politicians don't do that is by signing a bill behind closed doors at 11:00 at night.

Now, it's possible he wanted to get that bill signed before he headed out today to the conservative Christian university, Liberty University, where he's speaking, and perhaps he will tout this here. He's banking on the fact that there is a slice of the Republican primary electorate that this six-week ban will be a very popular credential that he can sell to them.

[10:15:04]

However, the way he is handling this suggests to me he is also aware of the general election politics around this, the litany of things I just went through in Kansas and the midterms last year, in Wisconsin, he's aware that if he is the nominee and is looking to bring on board independent suburban women voters around Detroit, around Milwaukee, around Phoenix, that a six-week ban may make that mission harder. So, you see him trying to navigate both the primary and potential general election waters here.

BOLDUAN: Very interesting. It's good to see you, David. Thank you. Sara?

CHALIAN: You too.

SIDNER: What's good for the primaries isn't always great for the general. We will see how that rolls out.

All right, new problems for Boeing, this time a manufacturing issue with the 737 Max is causing major delays. What Boeing is saying about possible safety concerns.

And the mother of a six-year-old who shot his teacher will be back in court after being charged with child neglect. We will speak to a former prosecutor who worked on a similar case for his perspective.

Also, a flood warning is in place for parts of Florida after historical rainfall in some parts of that state. We will have the latest forecast ahead for you. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BERMAN: On the radar this morning, the family of the Louisville shooter tells CNN they plan to have his brain tested for CTE. That's the brain disease that can be found in people with repeated head trauma. They say he suffered multiple concussions playing sports.

Long overdue steps, that is what Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer is calling the bill she signed into law aimed at preventing gun violence. The new legislation establishes requirements for universal background checks and safe storage.

And torrential rain drenched Fort Lauderdale, forcing hundreds of rescues. More than two feet of rain fell in just 24 hours. It's dry now, but they're assessing some of the damage. The National Weather Service reported more than three feet of flooding in one neighborhood. Sara?

SIDNER: Happening today, the man charged in the murder of Cash App Founder Bob Lee will be arraigned. We're learning the suspect, Nima Momeni, and Lee both knew each other. But the extent of their connection has not been made public.

CNN's Veronica Miracle has been following the story for us. Veronica, what more do we know about the suspect in this case?

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sara, so many questions, but police are revealing very little about Nima Momeni, just that he's a 38-year-old man from Emeryville, California, which is just over the bay bridge near Oakland.

We know from records that he owns an I.T. business and we actually spoke to somebody who works in the same building as Momeni, who described him as very bright, very kind, very generous with his time, offering his services to this course, and that we spoke to. Yesterday, the press conference, the district attorney said that Momeni is facing a murder charge and an enhancement for using a knife in this attack. She says that he faces 26 years to life in prison. He will be arraigned today here in San Francisco in this afternoon. Sara?

SIDNER: You know, Twitter CEO Elon Musk and the San Francisco D.A. are sort of trading barbs, going back and forth this morning. It started when Musk called her out on Twitter over violent crime in the city. You are seeing that tweet there. How has she responded to this?

MIRACLE: With some very sharp words, Sara. You know, when this all started, there were a lot of people who came out. They were quick to make assumptions, including Elon Musk. Of course, he has an incredibly large following. There were a lot of people who took to social media, including Elon, and people were assuming that this was a random attack. Well, now that a lot more facts have come out, the district attorney had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BROOKE JENKINS, SAN FRANCISCO DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I must point out that reckless and irresponsible statements, like those contained in Mr. Musk's tweet, that assumed incorrect circumstances about Mr. Lee's death served to mislead the world in their perceptions of San Francisco and also negatively impact the pursuit of justice for victims of crime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIRACLE: Of course, it is important to note on the same day that all of this happened, the arrest, the press conference, the San Francisco Comptroller's Office released a survey results that showed that San Francisco residents actually feel less safe now than at any point since 1996. So, in -- they asked residents to rate from a scale of one to five, how safe they feel in the city. In 2022, they said 3.3, which is the lowest in 27 years. Sara?

SIDNER: Yes, it's really disturbing. And it is true, statistically, I've looked them up, that the numbers of violent crimes in San Francisco aren't as high as other cities. But there is a big problem with other things, like petty theft break-ins and that sort of thing. Thank you so much, Veronica Miracle. We appreciate it, Kate?

BOLDUAN: Virginia woman is heading to court this morning to face charges of child neglect. Those charges stem from the shooting carried out by her son. Her six-year-old shot his teacher at his elementary school back in January. And now, Deja Taylor has turned herself in and was released on bond yesterday. She was indicted Monday with felony child neglect and one count of recklessly leaving a firearm to endanger a child. Her attorney says that the gun had been kept on the top shelf of her bedroom closet.

Joining me right now is the former Genesee County, Michigan prosecutor, Arthur Busch. Arthur was a prosecutor for tragically similar case when a six-year-old boy shot and killed a little girl at his school.

[10:25:05]

Arthur, thank you for coming back in. It's good to see you again. I wanted to get your take. Now that we see the charges, this boy's mother has been indicted, what do you think of these charges?

ARTHUR BUSCH, FORMER PROSECUTOR FOR GENESEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN: Well, it's a little different in my case slightly because there's no dead body. There's no box of chocolates and coins and a gun in it where it can get it. I don't know where this gun was. But I think, you know, it sends some message, a little belatedly, to some extent. But I think the fact that this woman was charged with child neglect is an interesting and creative way to approach this problem. But we'll just have to see what the facts bear out because it's been pretty skinny when it comes to getting facts about this case.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And for background, for everyone, because you and I discussed the last time you were on the show, in your case, you eventually brought charges of involuntary manslaughter against an adult for allowing the boy, in your case, to have access to a gun. What do you think this prosecutor needed to see to bring these charges, especially when you're looking at the felony child neglect?

BUSCH: Yes. The felony child neglect is an interesting charge. It's interesting to the fact that, you know, the mother essentially is being accused of allowing the child to be dangerous with this weapon. And so, you know, the foreseeability issues, because lawyers always like to talk about and which we need to prove, it is it is it foreseeable that that gun can end up in a classroom. And that really is where the rubber meets the road in these prosecutions.

BOLDUAN: The teacher who was shot in this case in Virginia has also filed a $40 million lawsuit against school administrators and the school board of alleging that they were aware of the child, as she puts it, history of random violence and that they didn't act proactively, wouldn't -- there were concerns raised about the boy having a gun at school. What do you think of that lawsuit?

BUSCH: I don't think much of that. They tried that in Michigan. And suing the school didn't work. You have to show gross negligence. It's a very high bar and civil law. I think it's unlikely to be successful. And this is a kid who, you know, six years old, again, we're treating him -- at least they seem to be treating this case as an adult, even the sheriff talks about him acting with intention. It's impossible for a kid six years old to act with intention and the treatment of the child in the school itself doesn't appear to be much different, although there could be a few mistakes, then you would handle any troubled kid.

The bar really is how -- it's not the result that they're looking at, it's how the school acted in terms of their negligence. Is the negligence so bad, so out of character and so extreme that it should merit a civil judgment? And I just don't think they'll get there with this. I could be wrong. They didn't in Michigan. They didn't (INAUDIBLE) the motion stage. He got kicked out by the judge before he ever got to a jury. And I would be surprised if this makes it --

BOLDUAN: So sorry. You're hitting on -- you've hit on something that I think is important that we discussed and something that I know -- I'll describe it as you had to grapple with when you were looking at the case, when you were prosecuting the case that you had to deal with. We now see the consequences or, you know, potential consequences for adults in this case in Virginia, but you're hitting on the kind of the crux of this, is what should happen when it comes to the child here.

BUSCH: Well, I think the child -- again, I don't get I don't know the circumstances. In my case, we had a kid being raised in a dope house and was begging it convenience stores in the neighborhood for cans of food. In this case, I don't know if that's likely. But I think what should happen to the kid is there should be all kinds of love and attention paid to this child and services, because it sounds like the child has a great deal of stress and anxiety. And so that gets played out when he gets in, you know, circumstances, like a classroom.

But there's lots of things that the social service system can do to, you know, protect this child and to make sure this never happens again. In my case, it didn't happen again until he got to be an adult, and then apparently re-offended. But, again, if the community loves this child, as they should, and, you know, properly attends to them with their psychological needs and physical needs and nurturing emotional care and so forth, this child has a chance.

[10:30:00]

He is only six years old.

BOLDUAN: Such a tragedy over and over again to see it.