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Trump Team Faces Deadline; Security Builds in Georgia; Bradley Moss is Interviewed about the Trump Cases; Woman Detained in Zelenskyy Assassination Plot; Three Americans Killed in Ukraine; Biden Heads to Arizona. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired August 07, 2023 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:39]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The streets are cleared in Atlanta for a possible indictment against Donald Trump there as a key deadline today in the federal January 6th case could give us a crucial indication of where that case is headed.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: A foiled assassination attempt on Ukraine's president, and the Russian woman now in custody who allegedly was at the center of the plot.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And 2024 presidential candidate and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis now admitting Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.

I'm Omar Jimenez, with John Berman and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BERMAN: Happening now, the streets around the courthouse in Atlanta are closing, the police presence is building. A new indictment against Donald Trump in Fulton County could come any minute. This for trying to overturn the 2020 election results there.

So, while we're watching that, a key deadline is approaching this afternoon in the federal January 6th case against Trump. We could learn how the judge will approach the Trump team's relentless efforts to delay the trial, to move the trial, and depending on how you look at it, maybe even threaten those involved with the trial. A new social media post is now front and center where Trump wrote, quote, "if you go after me, I'm coming after you."

CNN's Jessica Schneider is following all of this.

Good morning, Jessica.

The last 48 hours, this flurry of activity, back and forth with Trump's lawyers talking to anyone who will listen. What's the upshot of it all?

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and the court filings in that flurry, John, will probably continue through the week. And, in fact, just minutes ago Trump posted again in somewhat

derogatory terms about the special counsel and the judge in this case, Tanya Chutkan. This is what he wrote. He said, "deranged Jack Smith is going before his number one draft pick, the judge of his dreams, who must be recused, in an attempt to take away my First Amendment rights." And then he continues on.

And it's really posts like these that are exactly why the special counsel's team is asking the judge here, Tanya Chutkan, to issue this protective order. It would restrict which evidence Trump gets and also which evidence he can disclose publicly as this case moves forward because the special counsel, in their filing about this over the weekend, they specifically cited several of Trump's posts. They said that if Trump were to post sensitive details once he got this information from the special counsel, like grand jury witnesses, it really could have this harmful chilling effect on the case.

So, as you mentioned, John, Trump's team has to file a response here. They've already said they'll oppose this protective order. That response is due by 5:00 p.m. tonight. And it's just one of these many fights that we can expect in this case.

In the coming days, both sides have to propose a starting date for this trial. Trump's team has already said in public interviews, also in court, that they really want to delay this, maybe slow walk this. And Trump and his lawyers are already talking about asking the judge to recuse herself, mostly because she's actually referenced Trump in previous cases in sentencings for January 6th defendants.

In fact, Trump wrote this in a post over the weekend. He said, "there is no way I can get a fair trial with the judge assigned the ridiculous freedom of speech fair elections case. Everybody knows this and so does she. We will immediately be asking for recusal of this judge on very powerful grounds and likewise for a venue change out of D.C."

So, you know, Trump there previewing a request to change venue, too. But I'll note that's something, that request to change venue, it's more than three dozen January 6th defendants have asked for this and it hasn't been granted. The judges, even pro-Trump or Trump appointees have denied those requests.

Now, meanwhile, Trump's lead lawyer on this case, John Lauro, he was all over the Sunday shows pressing his case and what will be his case that Trump is just broadly protected under the First Amendment.

Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN LAURO, TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: You're saying that asking is action. No, asking is aspirational. Asking is not action, it's core free speech.

What President Trump did not do is direct Vice President Pence to do anything. He asked him in an aspirational way. Asking is covered by the First Amendment. (END VIDEO CLIP)

[09:05:00]

SCHNEIDER: So, John, we are seeing Trump's legal team come out in full force here, both on the airwaves. We're going to see a lot of court filings in the coming days. And all as we head toward that next hearing in this case scheduled here in Washington for August 28th. So, a lot to come.

BERMAN: A lot to come and let's end right where we began. I didn't even know that Trump just posted again. The very type of activity that is in question over the next few hours.

Jessica Schneider, you can't - you can't walk up the stairs for a minute without missing something as this all goes.

Thanks, Jessica.

SCHNEIDER: Exactly.

BERMAN: Crazy.

Omar.

JIMENEZ: I am, John.

And we're going to go to another jurisdiction that we're keeping an eye on when it comes to former President Trump. This morning the streets outside the already barricaded courthouse in Atlanta are now being blocked off as a decision regarding Trump's possible fourth arrest this year could come soon. Fulton County DA Fani Willis has signaled charges in her 2020 election case could come anytime now, and the court is alerting city officials and residents that these dates could see potential road closures. You see them on the screen behind me here.

CNN's Nick Valencia joins us now.

Nick, I want to start with you here, that Fulton County is taking security very seriously here. What are you seeing on your end?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they are taking security very seriously here, Omar. And part of that, of course, has to do with the countless threats received by Fulton County DA Fani Willis. Since she started this investigation over a year ago, some of those threats have been credible. She's actually spoken about it publicly, saying that she's had to make changes to her own personal security. And it has not helped, the rhetoric, from the former president. He's called Fani Willis a racist. He's saying that this investigation is politically motivated.

In fact, it was last week already that we saw a protester out here echoing those talking points from the former president. Now we're seeing these security changes being made here. So, you see barricades set up. That happened last week here outside Fulton County Courthouse. There are several road closures around Fulton County. One of several indications that this sprawling investigation could be nearing its end. There's a heavier than normal police presence here and there are also, you know, this letter that Fani Willis sent to law enforcement to be ready between now and September 1st.

There are currently two grand juries seated in Fulton County. One of them is going to be tasked with hearing the Trump case. Twenty-four jurors on our -- are on each grand jury plus two alternates, 16 are going to be needed for quorum, and it will take 12 of them to be in agreement for indictments to be handed out.

And, again, Omar, those indictments could happen any day now.

Omar.

JIMENEZ: Yes, Nick, so much to keep an eye on and, again, for a potential fourth indictment. We're just going to have to keep an eye on things. Thank you for staying on it.

Kate

BOLDUAN: Thank you, Omar.

Joining us now for more on all of this, national security attorney Bradley Moss.

Bradley, it's great to see you.

Let's start -- let's run through a couple things and then I want to get to some of what John Lauro, the defenses, has said he's starting to present, as he did - as he blanketed the Sunday shows.

First and foremost, recusal of the judge or getting the trial moved out of D.C. As we saw Trump even posted about wanting the judge to be recused again this morning on Truth Social. What are the chances either of these things happen?

BRADLEY MOSS, NATIONAL SECURITY ATTORNEY: Extremely minimal. This crime happened in D.C. The alleged charges, all this has occurred in D.C. The victim is in D.C. This trial is happening in D.C.

And the recusal is extremely thin. Yes, the judge made some remarks in January 6th criminal cases about Trump, but the indictment, as, you know, Jack Smith made it very clear, is largely not about January 6th itself, it's everything that led up to January 6th. So, I don't see any reason to believe this thing is being moved or that she will be recused.

BOLDUAN: And then the protective order that the Justice Department is asking for, is there a halfway point between like a full crackdown, as the Justice Department might be asking for, and no restrictions at all that we can assume is exactly what Trump's team is going to say?

MOSS: Yes, I think we're going to find -- likely find this somewhere in the middle. What we're waiting to see is when the Trump team files their response by 5:00 p.m. today what exactly they still wanted the ability to be able to possibly publicly disseminate that the Justice Department did not. What kind of information was at issue? The Justice Department, you know, sort of made their remarks in their filings over the weekend, that it was leaving a large amount of sensitive information unprotected. We'll have to see what that red lined proposed order from the Trump team shows and what they truly wanted to have, still, quote/unquote, "unprotected."

BOLDUAN: Yes, exactly.

So, now the defenses that we're starting to hear John Lauro present, let's start with what Jessica Schneider played, the fact that he says that asking is aspirational. Asking is not a directive. What do you make of that?

MOSS: Yes, that's ridiculous. That's not how this works. I can't aspirationally go into a bank, say I believe you owe me $20 million, please take it out of the reserves and hand it over to me and say, oh, I was just aspirationally asking. No, it's very clear, Trump told former Vice President Pence, as Vice President Pence keeps saying, to reject electors and decertify in favor of Trump.

[09:10:06]

Trump told the Georgia secretary of state he needed those votes in order to win Georgia. This whole entire argument that this is just First Amendment commentary and that it wasn't instructions will fail in court. This is a political talking point which will help him in the short term but is not going to save him in court.

BOLDUAN: OK, what about this one, and this is -- all of this is related. He also -- Lauro also argued yesterday -- this one was on "Meet the Press," that this was not - this was a constitutional disagreement, not a crime. Let me play this for you, Bradley.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN LAURO, TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: These kinds of constitutional and statutory disagreements don't lead to criminal charges. And one thing that Mr. Pence has never said is that he thought resident Trump was acting criminally.

And technical violation of the Constitution is not a violation of criminal law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: What is Lauro trying to do here with this one?

MOSS: He's trying to muddy the waters. He's trying to make it sounds like, oh, this was just an abstract debate like you'd have at a liberal arts college about the finer points of the Constitution. No, again, this is a political talking point. This is not a viable legal defense. The idea that Mike Pence had to say, I believe Donald Trump was violating - was acting criminally is not necessary for Jack Smith to make his case. And, seriously, that talking point, it was just a technical violation of the Constitution. That's our foundation. That's our bedrock principles. You can't make a technical violation of the Constitution in order to overturn an election.

BOLDUAN: Connected to this, Lauro also says that since all of this took place while Trump was president, he cannot face charges over any of it.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN LAURO, TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: There's one other issue that's very important. Everything that President Trump did was while he was in office, as a president. He is now immune from prosecution for acts that he takes in connection with those policies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: He said policy decisions there. Is there strength to that argument?

MOSS: So, it's a bit of an untested issue, which will be interesting to see in the pretrial motions. There are bases to claim that when a president takes action in his role as the president, that there is immunity. That's certainly been the case in civil actions. It's never been tested in a criminal context.

And part of what Jack Smith is arguing, and what the Justice Department is arguing, is this went beyond the scope of his presidential duties. This was him gauging in separate criminal acts for personal benefit that was outside the scope of his official responsibilities as president and, in fact, was in violation of his oath as president to uphold the laws. That will be their argument in court.

BOLDUAN: Well, let's see first what happens with this deadline today. As you said, it will be interesting what their response will be to the question of the protective order. And then, as we can see right now, the many arguments that are being laid for in Donald Trump's defense and see how they play out.

Good to see you, Bradley. Thank you.

John.

BERMAN: Covered a lot of ground there. That was great.

Ukrainian officials say they uncovered a plot to assassinate President Zelenskyy. A suspect is in custody.

Two firefighting helicopters collide, killing three people. So, what went wrong?

And then a huge adjustment in the policy regarding blood donations from gay and bisexual men. It is being called one of the most significant changes ever.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [09:17:48]

BERMAN: This morning, Ukrainian officials say they thwarted an attempt to assassinate President Zelenskyy. They say they detained a Russian woman who was living in Ukraine in connection to the plot.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh in southern Ukraine with the details.

Nick.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, it isn't clear how advance this alleged plot indeed was. And the Ukrainian security services, quite active in the media over the past week, claiming drone attacks on Russian cargo ships and amphibious assault vessels and indeed a bridge to Crimea, they are suggesting that they have intercepted a Russian informant, unclear of her nationality, but she worked in Kharkiv in a military surplus store down towards the Crimean peninsula on the southern coast. They suggest that she was trying to convey information to the Russians about a likely visit by Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Mykolaiv in the past. That's a key port city down on the south. And some of the messages that were exchanged apparently show them suggesting - her interlocutors suggesting, well, can you get a picture of where he might be going? Is it a hospital? What time are we talking about? That sort of thing.

And another reminder, I think, too, of the daily threats against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a man who famously at the start refused to leave Kyiv, saying I don't need ammo - I don't need a ride, I need ammo allegedly when asked if he wanted an evacuation.

And so this information coming out, as I say, as we hear a lot from the Ukrainian security services about their activities in the Black Sea. Another part of really actually the war opening here at a time when nightly we're also seeing an exchange of barrages between the Ukrainians and the Russians. One killed in Kherson over the past 24 hours. Ukrainians are saying, the Russians are saying, a Ukrainian drone may have gotten near Khaluga (ph), and that's to the south of Moscow. And so this tension ratcheting up slowly as the pace potentially of Ukraine's counteroffensive in the south may grow in the days ahead.

But no comfort to Ukrainian civilians on the receiving end of these Russian barrages. But an interesting development today with the suggestions of a targeted bit to try and hit the Ukrainian president.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, southern Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Our thanks to Nick for that and a reminder of the constant threat that Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Omar, is really still under.

[09:20:01] JIMENEZ: Of course. And throughout this conflict we see how serious it can be. And, you know, we see the prowess of the security service being able to catch something like this before it progressed much further.

Now, to hear on the home front at least folks who are from the home front here in the United States, one of three Americans who was recently killed while fighting in Ukraine has been identified. Andrew Webber died on July 29th according to a statement from his family. They said he was a West Point graduate who left behind a wife and two young girls.

CNN's Kylie Atwood is at the State Department.

So, Kylie, what more are we learning about Webber and the others who were killed?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, listen, Andrew Webber is one of three Americans, as you said, who died in recent days in Ukraine. Two of them dying on July 29th, one dying, unfortunately, on July 31st.

And Andrew Webber, according to his family, is someone who loved traveling the world. He was a West Point graduate, served in the U.S. military. And he also had two daughters. And his wife put out a statement when this news broke over the weekend, saying, and I want to read that to you, saying that, "his incredible compassion, friendship, spanning the globe and high whit did not allow him to turn a blind eye to human suffering. Andrew would likely say his greatest adventure was the role of husband and father. And we ask that you pray for his beloved wife and young children."

Now, his family has set up a GoFundMe to provide support to them during, you know, what is a very challenging time for them. And we should also note that there have been a number of Americans who have died fighting in Ukraine. The State Department, of course, still tells Americans not to travel to Ukraine right now, not to get on the front lines. But what they do is they link up with these kind of informal networks. They connect to the Ukrainians who are fighting. And then they offer their services because they feel that the mission is just that important.

But the State Department is in touch with the families of these three Americans who died in recent days, providing them with any assistance, consular assistance that they might need.

Omar.

JIMENEZ: Yes, three killed and -- at least as reported in the last few weeks.

Kylie Atwood, thank you so much for that report.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: On our radar this hour, three people are dead this morning after two helicopters collided while fighting a fire in southern California. Fire officials say one of the helicopters was actually able to land safely after the collision, but the other crashed, killing all three people on board. The victims included a pilot, a Cal Fire division chief, and a Cal Fire captain. The NTSB is now investigating.

The husband of a Georgia woman who has been missing for more than two weeks has now been charged with her murder. Imani Roberson was last seen July 16th driving two of her four children home from her mother's house. After she was reported missing, police found blood in her home, her burned out car was found a week later and Roberson's body was then discovered on Friday. And her husband was arrested. The sheriff's department says they're also looking for a second suspect now.

And starting today more gay and bisexual men can donate blood. Remember for more than 40 years guidance from the FDA has banned most gay men from donating blood. And the new rules taking effect at the Red Cross will now use a more inclusive risk assessment, one based on behavior rather than sexual orientation, to determine who can donate. Red Cross officials are calling this move one of the most significant changes in blood banking history.

John.

BERMAN: Ron DeSantis says of course Donald Trump lost the election. So, what he is saying, why he's saying it now, and the nuance from these fresh comments.

And not just a musical phenomenon anymore. The economic impact of Taylor Swift. Is it called Swift-onomics, Taylor-nomics. We will settle this raging debate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:28:28]

BOLDUAN: Today, President Joe Biden is kicking off a multistate trip aimed at pitching his economic agenda and record of legislative accomplishments, says the White House, to voters. His first stop is in the battleground state of Arizona, followed by visits to New Mexico and Utah. The administration calls it Bidenomics. You've heard them say that many times. But recent data, including new polling, is showing that he does have some work to do to convince Americans that the economic outlook is not just improving, but improving because of his policies and for each individual voter.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond joins us from the White House this morning. He's got much more on this.

So, what is the -- we know the goal is to get -- to convince Americans, right, that the - that things are looking better and things are looking better because of our policies, but how is he going to highlight this? What's the plan here?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kate, with the central focus for the White House this month is highlighting the president's legislative accomplishments and tying all of that to the economy and the progress that the White House says is enduring in the economic outlook for the coming months.

And a big reason for that is because August marks the one-year anniversary of several key legislative accomplishments of the president's. The Chips and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, as well as the Pact Act, which focuses on veterans' benefits. And so each of these stops is going to be focusing on those pieces of legislation.

The president, this evening, he heads to Arizona, where tomorrow he will hold an event focusing on the climate change portion of this, focusing on his efforts at climate conservation and climate resilience, talking about the fact that the Inflation Reduction Act has delivered the largest ever investment in fighting climate change.

[09:30:04]

Then on Wednesday he heads to the state of New Mexico where he will focus on the manufacturing portion.