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Pentagon Info Leaker Presents "Ongoing Risk To National Security"; Tucker Carlson Breaks Silence; South Korean President's U.S. Visit; Louisville Bank Shooter's Parents Apologize; Talk Show Pioneer Jerry Springer Dies. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired April 27, 2023 - 11:00   ET

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

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JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): New details about the Air National Guardsman who leaked classified documents and an arsenal of weapons and efforts to cover his tracks. We could learn more in a court appearance just a short time away.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): More Republican-led states are making moves against access to gender affirming care.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Long time television host Jerry Springer has died. He hosted his show for 30 years and was also the former mayor of Cincinnati.

All of these headlines and much more on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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BERMAN: Very shortly, there will be a detention hearing for the alleged Pentagon documents leaker, Jack Teixeira, a man that prosecutors are calling a flight risk to ongoing national security. A federal judge is going to decide whether he is going to stay in jail while he awaits trial.

And now, prosecutors are going to see if they are exaggerating the threat to national security while overnight they filed new documents overnight, saying he made a deliberate effort to disseminate this country's secrets.

They claim he also made regular comments about violence and murder and spoke about wanting to, quote, "kill a ton of people."

This is what investigators found in his bedroom. They say that Teixeira had access to an arsenal of weapons and including handguns and rifles and a gas mask. Jason Carroll is in Worcester, Massachusetts, outside of the court.

What new details are emerging today and what do you expect?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, as you can imagine, a lot of new details are emerging in the 11th hour court filing. First and foremost, Teixeira viewed hundreds of thousands of documents and, if he is out on bail, he will have access to some documents.

And they say that the defendant knows where is the information and how to access it and based on his specialized I.T. skills, he presumably knows how to disseminate the information without immediately being contacted there.

And in addition, the defense, for its part, put out a response, if you will, to what their thought is about this. And the argument that, namely, he is not a, quote, "serious risk of flight or obstruction."

And if the judge allowed bail, maybe he could do it with conditions, such as being released to his father, confined to his residence and could undergo location monitoring and no contact with witnesses and no access to the internet.

So they are setting forth, that those could be some of the conditions of the bail. And again, the prosecutors are saying that, once he learned and got wind that authorities were on him, he got a new email address and a new phone and he told people, quote, "delete all messages" and "if anyone is coming to look, don't tell them (INAUDIBLE)."

He allegedly also destroyed some of his items, like a gaming console and a laptop that he put in a Dumpster. And also they're disturbed by some of the things that he searched, like Ruby Ridge, the Las Vegas shooting, Mandalay Bay shooting, the Buffalo top shooting and Uvalde. All these things will be taken under consideration in this hearing.

BERMAN: That is a lot of new information, Jason, and perhaps more to come in that hearing where you are. Thank you, Jason.

SIDNER: Tucker Carlson broke his silence. And we are learning why the FOX network got rid of its highest rated star.

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SIDNER: "The New York Times" reporting he had sent highly offensive and crude text messages and lawyers claimed to ask the judge if they could use those redacted messages.

In his message on Twitter, Carlson didn't say anything about that and, instead, he called on-air debates unbelievably stupid.

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TUCKER CARLSON, FORMER FOX NEWS ANCHOR: The undeniably big topic, the ones that will define our future, get virtually no discussion at all -- war, civil liberties, emerging science, demographic change, corporate power, natural resources.

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SIDNER: CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy is joining us now.

Can you give us a sense of what was in the messages that so badly rattled FOX management?

OLIVER DARCY, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Very crude comments about his colleagues. We know he was making these remarks, including FOX brass. And we are learning from "The New York Times" that Dominion lawyers were planning to use some of the unredacted stuff to question him on the stand.

And Dominion lawyers were going to ask the judge about using the contents of the unredacted information in their questioning and that could be embarrassing to the network.

And also, his ex-producer, Abby Grossberg, has made allegations of rampant sexism behind the scenes.

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ABBY GROSSBERG, FORMER FOX PRODUCER: Women were objectified. It was a game, it was a sport. Female politicians who came on the show were mocked. There were debates about who they'd rather sleep with, C word all the time.

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SIDNER: Wow. Those are some strong words.

Since the departure, you have some news of what has been happening there in that time slot?

DARCY: The audience is rebelling. His slot was averaging 3.2 million viewers, the top show over at FOX. On Monday, after Carlson is fired, 2.6 million viewers. In the key advertiser supported demo, 25- to 54- year olds, FOX delivered the worst ratings they have had since the pre-9/11 era, to give you an idea of how bad these ratings are.

And it could be worse. Over at Newsmax, FOX's smaller right wing talk competitor, they are seeing an incredible surge. Last Monday's ratings, they were averaging 147 6000 (sic) viewers, not too many. But then Monday, they were looking at 531,000 viewers, four to five times higher.

So this is a trend that shocked FOX, because it is happening again after the firing of Tucker Carlson.

SIDNER: Thank you, Oliver Darcy, for all of that -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: This hour, I want to show you a live look at the House chambers and this is a joint meeting of Congress. And you can see the South Korean President Yoon, who is about to deliver a very important speech to Congress.

And Vice President Harris is there and House Speaker McCarthy there. And with this speech, he is the first South Korean president in a decade to give such a speech to joint session of Congress.

This is coming on the heels of the big state dinner that we saw last night and the meeting with President Biden of course. Paula Hancocks is joining us live in Seoul.

What are you expecting to hear from him?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, one of the main reasons that Yoon is there is because it is the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-South Korea alliance. And it is a significant moment in time for both countries. And this is one of the big moments that we are expecting him to hammer home how close U.S. and South Korea is.

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HANCOCKS: This is something he has been talking about ever since he has taken power, to make sure that everyone knew that his alliance is with the United States. Let's listen in.

YOON SUK-YEOL, PRESIDENT OF SOUTH KOREA: -- conceived in liberty and to the proposition that all men are created equal. I stand before that nation with the conviction of freedom, belief in the alliance and the resolve to open a new future.

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YOON: For 234 years, Congress has been a symbol of freedom and democracy. The chamber embodies the spirit of constitution. I am honored to address the members of Congress and the people of the United States.

Thank you, both Democrats and Republican, for passing the resolution marking the 70th anniversary of the alliance. Your support has dignified my visit. I know that. No matter where you sit, you stand with Korea.

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YOON: Over the past century, we have faced many threats. But the U.S. has always led wars in fast our freedom (ph). Imperial nations fall for colonies and as humanity greatly suffer from the two world wars, America righteously standing to defend freedom.

But it was not without cost. We remember the leadership of General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz, when more than 100,000 American men and women perished in the Pacific war. Their sacrifice was not in vain. The U.S. leadership established a new world order based on free trade. It brought peace and prosperity throughout the world.

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BOLDUAN: All right. Listening here as the South Korean president is continuing his remarks to the joint meeting of Congress.

And Paula, just as you projected, a big centerpiece of the speech is the closeness of the alliance and no matter Democrat or Republican, no matter where you sit, you stand with Korea.

We know that one of the centerpieces of the entire visit is the new military agreement between Washington and Seoul and this Washington Declaration.

What more are you learning about what this really means?

HANCOCKS: Well, here in Seoul, we are learning that there a U.S. nuclear submarines to be deployed in Korean waters to try and deter the increased threat of North Korea. And we are learning that could happen within a few weeks.

Now the U.S., Washington did warn China about this ahead of time. And they said it is a preventive measure and truly focused on North Korea and the launches and the missiles and nothing to be concerned about.

But it is not how Beijing is seeing this. We had a briefing saying that they completely disagree with this and they released a statement that this reeks of Cold War mentality.

We haven't heard a thing from North Korea.

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HANCOCKS: But this is what President Yoon wanted. He went to Washington to get additional reassurances, to try to get a more visible deterrent against North Korea. And he has succeeded to getting that and, in return, what he has done is to say that he is trusting the U.S. extended deterrence and is not going for the South Korean nuclear weapons program.

That is a growing voice here in Seoul. The majority of the people polled in all of the recent polls think that South Korea should have nuclear weapons and that is something that Washington does not want.

BOLDUAN: It is so interesting. Thank you, Paula.

BERMAN: The parents of the Louisville bank shooter speaking out and apologizing.

And we are learning that Jerry Springer has died. His legacy ahead.

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SIDNER: This morning, the parents of the Louisville bank shooter are speaking out for the first time. And they are saying that they are so sorry for their son's actions.

In an interview with NBC News, they say that 25-year-old Connor Sturgeon was suffering with panic attacks but was getting help. He killed five and injured eight when he opened fire inside of the bank where he worked.

Omar, this is a remarkable interview. What else did they say?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. He was struggling with mental health and he called his mom to say that he had a panic attack at work and he had to leave. His mom offered resources and he took her up on it.

They went to a psychiatrist and his mom thought that he was coming out of the crisis. And the last time they saw their son he was joking around on Easter and they had no idea what was going to unfold the next day.

That day, the mom got a call from the shooter's roommate who said that her son had a gun, to which she was surprised to hear. The father said that he went from praying for his son's life to just hoping that he commitments suicide so he would not hurt anyone else.

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TODD STURGEON, CONNOR'S FATHER: Well meaning people keep saying to us you did what any reasonable parents would have done. But Connor in his darkest hour needed us to be exceptional, not reasonable. And we failed him. We were not exceptional.

And I guess if we could send a message to people, that when you are faced with this, you may have to go to exceptional means. Maybe it can help open their eyes to this.

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JIMENEZ: They don't believe that he should have been able to get a gun. The father added he was seeing two mental health professionals and still walked in and out with weapons and ammo. And obviously, their grief extends to the five people killed here -- Sara.

SIDNER: You can really hear the pain in their voices. Thank you, Omar Jimenez, for that -- John.

BERMAN: We learned this morning that long-time television host Jerry Springer has died at the age of 79. He hosted "The Jerry Springer Show" for nearly 30 years and before that he was the mayor of Cincinnati. Joining me is Frank Sesno.

And you say that his legacy is what?

FRANK SESNO, FORMER CNN ANCHOR AND BUREAU CHIEF: Ripping the veneer off of civilization. His show, which led Oprah in the ratings for so long, brought all kinds of incredibly tawdry and real human drama to the screen.

Leading the way of pulling down the barriers and the civility that had characterized television. On his show, people threw chairs at one another. The AP's story said that, on his Twitter profile, Springer jokingly declared himself as a talk show host, ringmaster of civilization's end.

And so it was a strange cultural icon and role he played and really it presses the outrage and media of politics in this country.

BERMAN: He owned it. He was on CNN and was asked about being called the grandfather of trash TV. And he answered, yes, that is probably accurate.

So what about that?

What about the fact that he was basically acknowledging what he was doing?

SESNO: It is interesting to think about this, because he was reality TV before the reality TV format was invented.

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SESNO: He brought these people on to bare their souls, all their warts and ugliness and outrage. Here are some of the shows, "Stripper sex turned me straight," "Stop pimping my twin sister" "Hooking up with my therapist."

That's in the AP story too. I wanted to properly give credit for that.

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SESNO: Yes, the segments and the people he had, it was just astonishing but also astonishing is how popular it was and how it connected with this tawdry and completely human side of the human nature.

BERMAN: And it is interesting, because he had a political career before he got into this business. And he actually, his political career could have made him a guest on one of the shows when he was a city councilman in Cincinnati. He resigned with a scandal that had him writing checks to prostitutes.

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SESNO: And he thought of going back to politics and running for Senate in recent years. That is what is so interesting about this, John. It is this crossover from politics to media, to people, where he saw the anger and the tawdriness and the rubber necking at the car crash.

People look at the car crashes and at human car crashes, too. And he capitalized on it and was completely open about it and he said that, I hope that you never end up on my show.

He knew what he was doing. You can call it a gift or a curse, I guess, but he could take it and, in his showman's way, connect him and his guests and his show with the audience in an astonishingly compelling fashion. And for years and years, it worked.

BERMAN: Yes, and he did with it a smile. Frank Sesno, thank you for joining us on CNN NEWS CENTRAL -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Republican moves across the country, state legislature after legislature pushing bills against gender affirming care. Why one state ban was put on hold just hours before it was to take effect. That is next.