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White House Stays Silent on Trump; Trump Aide Indicted; Officials Scramble After I-95 Collapse; Chris Christie Town Hall; Four Children Rescued in the Amazon; American Detained in Russia. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired June 12, 2023 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: The indictment of former President Trump. While Trump and his Republican allies have slammed the prosecution as a political witch hunt, the president has repeatedly stressed the independence of the Justice Department and its investigators.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is joining us now.

We haven't heard from President Trump - or, sorry, President Biden on this. We have certainly heard plenty from former President Trump. Why do you think that is?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sara, President Biden and the White House are really engaging in this very deliberate business as usual type of strategy. It's something that we saw them engage in when the former president was indicted up in New York on state charges back in April. But what you've seen from the president, all the way down to his spokespeople, and also over to the campaign, is that they are just not commenting on this matter.

Part of it will give the president this opportunity, his advisers say, to really present this stable and steady approach, especially compared to some of the tumultuous nature around this indictment and also former President Donald Trump's in office.

But there's another reason for why the president is not engaging. His -- officials have said that he does not want to add more fuel to former President Trump's claims that these investigations are types of political witch hunts. The president doesn't want to get baited into answering and weighing in on those types of questions. He also firmly believes that sitting presidents should not be commenting on legal matters.

Now, all we really heard from President Biden have been these no comments. He was traveling on Friday in North Carolina, peppered by questions from reporters, and simply said he was not going to comment on that matter. When our colleague DJ Judd (ph) asked him whether he had talked to Attorney General Merrick Garland he said he wasn't going to talk to him, he had no intention and he wasn't going to talk any further than that. The only real comment we've heard from President Biden was before the

news of the indictment broke. Last Thursday he was asked how Americans could trust the independence of the Justice Department at a time when it's been repeatedly attacked by the former president and President Biden simply said that he has never told his Justice Department what to do or what not to do.

So, for today we expect to see the president, he has a pretty packed day, keeping his normal schedule. He's welcoming some college athletes here to the White House, also meeting with the NATO secretary general, as well as speaking at a reception for the chiefs diplomatic missions around the world a bit later this afternoon.

But we will see over the course of the next few days how he continues to handle this approach, but all signs have been that he's not going to be weighing in on the substance of this legal case that the former president is facing at this moment.

SIDNER: All right, Arlette Saenz, thank you so much for that.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Sara, very shortly former President Trump will leave his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, head to the airport in Newark and take off for Miami, where he will appear in federal court tomorrow. Alongside him, maybe as soon as today when he leaves New Jersey, will be his aide, Walt Nauta. This personal aide has been at the center of this case from the very beginning. He is charged as a co-conspirator in this case and will appear along with Trump inside court tomorrow. He is charged with, among other things, helping to obstruct justice and perhaps lying to investigators in this case.

CNN's Sara Murray has been following this from the very beginning. She joins us now.

Sara, Walt Nauta has been in the spotlight here from the very beginning. Talk to us about who he is and why he's so important.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, and he was still by former President Donald Trump's side over the weekend.

Now, look, Walt Nauta may not have been very well-known until now but he certainly is at this point. This is someone who is a 40-year-old Navy veteran. He actually started at the White House in the mess hall and then he became a valet at the White House. When Donald Trump left the White House and went back to Mar-a-Lago after his presidency, Walt Nauta went along with him, serving as his body man. You know, that's someone serving in very close proximity. You need a Diet Coke, he's getting it. You want to hand off the documents that you're holding, he is taking them.

So essentially what prosecutors allege is that Walt Nauta helped Donald Trump conceal these documents at Mar-a-Lago and then made false statements to prosecutors. So, he's charged with things like conspiracy to obstruct justice, as you mentioned, trying to withhold a document or record and then making false statements to federal agents.

And one of the key allegations in this indictment when it comes to Walt Nauta is about this period between when Donald Trump's team received a subpoena in May to return all of these documents with classified markings and when Evan Corcoran did a search at Mar-a-Lago, found the documents he was going to hand over. According to the special counsel's indictment, Walt Nauta moved boxes around Mar-a-Lago at five different points. He moved 64 boxes out of that storage room and put only 30 back. So, if you're sitting here, you know, and you've been wondering, why did Trump's attorney only find roughly 40 documents with classified markings when he did that search and then, a little bit after that, federal agents show up, they search Mar-a-Lago, they find 100 documents with classified markings, prosecutors are saying Walt Nauta and Donald Trump worked together to move those documents.

[09:35:15]

BERMAN: We just lost our lighting, by the way, Sara, in this studio. So if I look a little dark here that's why. They're coming back on right now.

So, Walt Nauta, as you pointed out, was traveling with Donald Trump this weekend for campaign stops, not coincidentally one might think. What has Trump said about Nauta?

MURRAY: Well, he posted on his social media page a couple days ago saying that Walt Nauta has done a fantastic job, saying prosecutors are out to ruin his life in order to get Nauta to say bad things about Trump. And we do know prosecutors have been trying to get Walt Nauta to cooperate. Obviously, that hasn't happened yet to this point, John.

BERMAN: All right, Sara Murray for us. Sara, thank you very much. We will be talking to you again very soon.

Rahel.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right, John, well, coming up, just for us and just ahead, how the collapse of an overpass could cause a traffic nightmare not just in Philadelphia but really along the East Coast.

Also, another American citizen being detained in Russia. Find out what authorities are charging the man with and what his mother is saying about her son's arrest.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:37]

BERMAN: All right, this morning, a traffic nightmare in the making. Officials in Philadelphia scrambling to find any kind of alternate transportation options after a section of I-95 collapsed over the weekend. This happened after a tanker truck caught fire. Pennsylvania's transportation secretary said it is probably the busiest highway in the state. I-95 is, of course, the crucial artery that stretches the entire length of the East Coast. This could take months to repair. The NTSB team is headed to the site to investigate.

CNN's Danny Freeman in Philadelphia now.

Can't be easy to get around this morning, Danny.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, John, it's very difficult to get around. And I've just got to say, you know, I came from just about in the area of south Philly up to this part of northeast Philadelphia to get to this spot and I had to take back roads and I was sharing the roads with large trucks, just a lot of vehicles that are normally used to driving up and down I-95. So that just illustrates what we're dealing with here.

But first, John, I want to get to some actually new video that we just were able to obtain from right up close to the wreckage. You can see right there, this investigation now seems to be underway and they appear to be -- have access for the first time now to what appears to be the wreckage of that tanker truck that really started this whole incident more than 24 hours ago. You can see first responders on the left side of your screen sifting through the rubble there. It looks like a carcass of a tanker truck actually when you're up close. Also that huge i-beam. You can tell that this process is going to take a while.

And the answer that they're all looking for is, how did this all happen? Well, here's what we do know at this point. This all started 6:30 a.m. yesterday on Sunday morning. A tanker truck was underneath I-95, caught fire. Eventually that fire got so hot the northbound lanes collapsed. That's what you've been seeing on your screens all day. The southbound lanes still deemed unsafe at this time.

At this point there are no injuries that have been reported, but the governor said yesterday at a press conference that they are still looking to see if anyone was inside of that truck when this collapse happened.

I want you to actually take a listen to some of the things that Governor Josh Shapiro told us when he first laid eyes on this wreckage from above.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO (D-PA): Remarkable devastation. And I found myself, you know, thanking the Lord that no motorists who were on 95 - on I-95 were injured or died. Just a remarkably devastating sight. One that our first responders, law enforcement and others contained very, very quickly. They got people out of harm's way. And now, under the leadership of Secretary Carroll and others, the hard work of clearing this site and rebuilding it will be underway, and we're going to move as quickly as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP) FREEMAN: And, John, just for some context here, PennDOT says that this area of I-95 is probably the busiest stretch of highway in the entire commonwealth of Pennsylvania. And Governor Shapiro said that the cleanup may take some number of months. So, it's going to be a problem out here for a while still.

John.

BERMAN: Huge problem. All right, Danny, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Rahel.

SOLOMON: All right, John, thank you.

Turning back to 2024. Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie makes the case for why he should be president and why Donald Trump should not. In a CNN town hall tonight, Christie is expected to take aim a Trump over his indictment and the classified documents investigation. You might remember in New Hampshire last week Christie also slammed his primary rivals for not directly criticizing Trump. CNN's Anderson Cooper will moderate tonight's town hall.

And for more now on what we can expect, let's bring in CNN correspondent Omar Jimenez.

So, Omar, what more do we know about Chris Christie's strategy tonight?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a big part of his strategy is, one, not shying away from Donald Trump, but also making the case why he believes the country under Donald Trump would be a country we would no longer recognize.

And I was at that campaign kickoff event in New Hampshire less than a week ago at this point and one of the things he talked about was that he feels the country has a choice between going bigger and going smaller. And by that he went through moment after moment in U.S. history, going back to the Revolutionary War, where he felt like the country chose to go bigger, he feels like under Trump we would be getting smaller.

And, of course, the news in recent days around Trump is something he has pounced on. Take a listen to how he has reacted to news of the indictment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The fact is that these facts are -- are devastating.

[09:45:00]

You know, people are going to argue about who should and who should not have been indicted and who should be tried. But let me say this, the bigger issue for our country is, is this the type of conduct that we want from someone who wants to be president of the United States? To take national security documents involving warfare and our nuclear program, to keep them in their -- in their home when they're not allowed to do so, exposing them to potentially being seen by any number of people, and then actually showing them to people, showing off. This is irresponsible conduct.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now, Christie doesn't just see his strategy as just going after Trump and not trying to win. He doesn't see those two things as mutually exclusive. He has said any path to the nomination, though, he does believe goes through Trump, not around him.

SOLOMON: A lot to watch tonight.

Omar Jimenez, great to have you here. Thank you.

Sara.

SIDNER: Now to a remarkable story of survival. We have new details this morning on just how four children were able to survive for more than a month after their plane crashed in the Amazon jungle. Colombian authorities say the children were ages between 13 and one years old stopped at a clearing in the jungle after weeks of walking because of exhaustion. Search crews finally found them because they heard the baby crying.

Let's go to CNN's Stefano Pozzebon for more on this.

How in the world did these children manage to survive for so long in the jungle?

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN JOURNALIST: Yes, Sara, it's just a remarkable story and remarkable achievement from these four young children. I think that the youngest of them, she turned one in the middle of the jungle just a couple of weeks ago.

Yesterday we heard from the father who said that the kids were found alive, basically thanks to their indigenous heritage, by eating fruit, seeds. We also know from Colombian officials that they had some casala (ph) flour with them on the flight when the flight crashed on May the 1st, and that also helped them to stay alive.

But I want to go back to this - to the father, Sara, and let you listen here what he said about never losing hope, even when the odds were so clearly staked against them.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANUEL RANOQUE, FATHER OF RESCUED CHILDREN (through translator): We are indigenous people. I believe in the jungle, which is our mother, and that's why I've always kept the faith and would say that both the jungle and nature have never betrayed me.

(END VIDEO CLIP) POZZEBON: And indeed the jungle did bring back the children to that father. It's just a - it's just a remarkable story no matter how you see. And we are just in front of the hospital where the kids are currently staying. And it's just good to be here, frankly.

Sara.

SIDNER: Wow. Hearing from him, the beauty of the indigenous mind and how the children responded to that when they were in trouble.

What now happens to the children? Is there any idea of when they might get out of the hospital now?

POZZEBON: Yes, we know that the children will stay here in this hospital for the next two to three weeks. They are receiving, of course, medical treatment, but also some psychological support. You can only imagine, Sara, how affected they are after surviving this experience and just a reminder that the mother of the four children died in that plane crash. Then the father said that he wants to stay here in Bogota after he takes his kids out, but made an urge (ph) to the Colombian president yesterday when he spoke with us, who are (ph) the press, saying that the president should invest more for transportation in the Amazon because the tragedies like this should not occur.

But, again, this is a good story and we're happy to be here, Sara.

SIDNER: Yes. Stefano Pozzebon, thank you so much for that. That little baby turned one, had a birthday in the jungle, surviving there. Amazing.

John.

BERMAN: All right, Sara, very shortly we expect to see Donald Trump leave his Bedminster golf course and drive the 30 miles to the Newark, New Jersey, airport. His plane is waiting there to take him to Florida. Tomorrow he surrenders at a Miami courthouse. We will update you on his departure.

Also, a bear at the beach. That's all. A bear swimming at the beach. That's the tease.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:53:15]

BERMAN: New this morning, the mother of an American detained in Russia says she has yet to hear from U.S. officials regarding the status of her son. Travis Leake is being held in Moscow after officials there arrested him on what they call drug charges. Leake appeared in a Russian courtroom over the weekend.

CNN's Jennifer Hansler live at the State Department with the very latest.

What are you learning this morning? JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT REPORTER: Well, good morning, John.

We are learning from the State Department that they have actually tried to reach out to Leake's family. They said they do this in every case when an American is detained abroad. And that once they have the permission of that person to try to reach out, we will be waiting to see if they actually are able to reach out on Travis Leake's case.

Of course, as you mentioned, this week a court in Moscow accused him of drug dealing, or, in their words, quote, engaging in the narcotics business through attracting young people, end quote.

And he has reportedly been living in Russia since 2010. And he told the police, according to reports, that he did not know why he was being detained or what he was being accused of. And the State Department confirmed his arrest over the weekend. They said they did have officials from the U.S. embassy in Moscow there at his arraignment hearing on Saturday and it was at that hearing that Leake was told he would be in Russian detention until at least early August.

And it's interesting, John, because he actually spoke to our Anthony Bourdain almost a decade ago on "Parts Unknown." And he spoke out about Russian censorship and an incident that had happened with is band and an MTV show and the Russian government. Take a listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRAVIS LEAKE, MUSICIAN: This was a documentary series about musicians standing up, and risking their lives in some cases, stand up against government abuse of power, government corruption, and yet a foreign government was able to editorially control what American viewers see on their TV screen.

[09:55:04]

That, to me, is a scandal of epic proportion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANSLER: So, this is a man who has already spoken out about the Russian government in the years past. And, of course, in the subsequent decade we have seen tensions between the U.S. and Russia continue to rise. Right now things are incredibly tense between the two countries. Russia has detained a number of Americans, two of whom have been declared wrongfully detained. That's Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan. We don't yet know if the State Department will say that Travis Leake is wrongfully detained. That's a process that has to play out. That can take months. But we will be watching to see what else the State Department learns about this case.

John.

BERMAN: It was remarkable to see that historic video right there. Obviously, he's been someone on their radar for some time. All right, Jennifer Hansler, thank you very much.

Sara.

SIDNER: This morning, Miami ramping up security as Donald Trump prepares for a history-making moment, his surrender to federal authorities on dozens of charges. We are live with the very latest as he prepares to leave his Bedminster golf club this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:00]