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Hurricane-Fueled Wildfires Trigger Evacuations In Maui; Judge Rules That Suspect Must Give DNA Swab; Officials: Church, Stores Destroyed In Zaporizhzhia. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired August 09, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:02:09]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: Just incredible scenes of flames and smoke in Hawaii. A wildfire burning out of control has forced some people to jump into the ocean to escape the flames.

And new developments in the Trump indictment related to January 6. Why the special prosecutor got a search warrant for the former president's Twitter account?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Is Ukraine's counteroffensive making progress? Why President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is under pressure to show that it's working? We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SCIUTTO: Well, right now in Hawaii, multiple evacuations are underway on the island of Maui and the Big Island as wildfires fueled by strong winds burning in several locations. You can see here drone video, this from high above the town of Kihei in Maui. Goodness. Looks like a lava flow there.

Flames and smoke fanned by winds associated with Hurricane Dora just wreaking havoc across the skyline. This is a video from one of the hardest-hit areas in Maui, a popular tourist town and cultural landmark, Lahaina. The Coast Guard says it just rescued 12 people who jumped into the ocean trying to escape the flames.

Officials say thousands are without power, hospitals overwhelmed with burn patients. There is some positive news. The winds are expected to slowly subside later today. Can't come quickly enough.

CNN's Chad Myers. He's been watching this. So, Chad, a hurricane fueling this with the winds, is that what's happening here?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: A hurricane that is 300 miles away and a high pressure that's 300 miles north the other way. But because you have high and low, close together relatively, you had that wind just kind of funneling through the islands. And the pictures behind me are devastating to places that actually have been to.

SCIUTTO: Yes. MYERS: But the wind blowing offshore, all of that smoke. Actually able to see it on the radar there from Hawaii. And so, there's the high pressure, not fully responsible. There's Dora, Category Four, not fully responsible. Compact little storm. But because they are together, right over the same latitude, that's what caused the winds like this.

SCIUTTO: Wow.

MYERS: Oh, man, could you imagine a wildfire and the winds are going 82?

SCIUTTO: Yes.

MYERS: Just remind you of Southern California. And this is what we're going to have. Wind advisories even on the windward side of the island, also red flag warnings because the air coming down the hill, coming down off Haleakala, coming down off even Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, that's always drier than when the winds are going up the mountains. So, yes, 30 percent of Maui in abnormally dry conditions.

[14:05:02]

And you could see it in some of the pictures where you look at the brush and the scrub on the side of the road, and it's not green at all. Dry and windy for the next couple of days, I believe, although the winds begin to die off because Dora leaves. And so, because of that, a difference in the high and the low pressure starts to spread a little bit farther apart. You start to get the winds to diminish. So, not directly responsible for either one of those, but the winds here, blowing through.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

MYERS: And because we had them so close together combined, they actually cause this to happen. So, yes, we have some hotspots out there as well. You can kind of see them. There is some of the wind blowing through.

But on this picture here out of NASA, you'll be able to see the red spots. And I'll zoom in in a second. But here's the Big Islands, some red spots here. But here's Maui, right? And here's Lahaina. And then Kaanapali and Kapalua up there.

But even here on the saddle, we're seeing the upcountry seeing some hotspots too. And those were the first pictures you were seeing.

Those concern me a lot because the winds here in Lahaina blowing the flames offshore eventually hit the ocean. But the flames that are here on top of the hills, up country we call that. Here's Haleakala with over here. Some people take a -- they will take a bus with a bike to the top of Haleakala.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

MYERS: You get above the clouds, watch the sunrise, then you ride with your bicycle all the way back down, the road to Hana ends up here. I've been on the road here that you're not supposed to take from the other way to Hana. Don't take it especially if it rains.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

MYERS: But that's running right through where those fires are, those other hotspots that concern me as well. Not just that Lahaina.

SCIUTTO: OK.

MYERS: But that Lahaina resort community and the banyan tree, oh, just --

SCIUTTO: Yes.

MYERS: It's heartbreaking.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Listen, I've been up to Haleakala myself. But imagine you've got the winds but you need fuel on the ground, is the ground drier than it is typically? Is that part of the reason you're seeing it light up like this?

MYERS: You know we can't blame it on the drought but the drought is there. The problem is the drought has been there. It kind of went away a little bit but now it's coming back.

So, you had that chance for some of these fuels to grow. And now you're drying them out again. And when you dry them out like that, especially with a downwind -- downhill wind, that's -- you start to get that fuel to really be crisp and tender dry, and one spark.

We don't know where it's -- the spark. You know, most fires are human- caused for some reason. But it's not the problem with the human cause if you get it out right away. These were completely out of control with those winds --

SCIUTTO: Yes.

MYERS: 70, 80 miles per hour.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And listen, people -- if you're forced to jump into the ocean to escape the flames, that's desperation.

MYERS: Yes.

SCIUTTO: Chad Myers, thanks so much for following it for us. Brianna.

MYERS: You're welcome.

KEILAR: So, we, of course, are awaiting expected indictments out of Georgia having to do with the 2020 election and efforts to stop Joe Biden's win thereby associates of former President Trump. And we now have significant new information about what we may be expecting when it comes to the former president's actions there, and those of his associates. What can you tell us, Sara Murray? SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brianna. I mean, we have been reporting that we expect the Fulton County district attorney to go before a grand jury next week and to present her case and really craft this narrative around how Trump and his allies tried to overturn the election. We are now learning from sources familiar with the matter that she's expected to seek more than a dozen indictments when she goes in front of this grand jury. So this, I think, is one of the significant differences that we could see between her case and what we've seen in the federal election interference investigation.

Obviously, we saw the former president, Donald Trump charged in that case, but we know that Willis has been looking more broadly beyond just Trump, that sort of what was the kind of criminal enterprise that was working around him to try to overturn the results. And she's looked at the fake electoral scheme.

She's looked at efforts to pressure election officials and state legislators. She's looked at this voting systems breach in Coffee County. And there are people involved in all of those different facets of her investigation, who are essentially bracing for the fact that they could face charges next week, Brianna.

KEILAR: In the federal case, when it comes to the election interference, there is former President Trump and then there are six so far unindicted co-conspirators. Six, right? So, you're talking about seven people in total. Here, we're talking about 12 plus?

MURRAY: Yes. Here, we're talking about more people. And people that you know, if they're charged, will be named as defendants. These are not going to be unnamed people.

If she moves ahead, as we expect her to with a racketeering case, you are going to see these people named. You're going to see the kinds of acts that she believes that they were involved in. And you're going to see her layout this narrative of, again, what she believes was sort of a criminal conspiracy to try to upend the results of the 2020 election and how she sees these pieces fitting together.

KEILAR: Why might there be people who do not overlap, right? Why might there people -- why might there be people who would be indicted in this case in Georgia, but the beliefs so far are not but they could ultimately be in the federal case?

MURRAY: Well, I mean, the short answer of why we might see names in Georgia that we never see in federal court is because there was a lot of crazy and specific stuff that was happening in Georgia.

[14:10:05]

I mean, there were people showing up at the homes of election workers, you know. The people that had faced these pressure campaigns from Rudy Giuliani and others. People who showed up at their homes and tried to get convinced them to essentially admit that they took part in fraud, that they didn't participate in.

Again, this voting systems breach that took place in Coffee County, Georgia, this is something that the district attorney has been very focused on that we haven't gotten, you know, a sense that the feds have really been focused on. And again, something that's happening in her home state and sort of in their view could fit into this broader conspiracy. So, we may see names in these indictments that you would not expect to see in a federal case.

KEILAR: More than a dozen indictments are expected. And when -- what are we looking out for the timeline here? I mean, we would expect this to be pretty soon.

MURRAY: Well, we are looking at next week. There are two grand juries that meet in Fulton County, Georgia regularly. One of them meets Monday and Tuesday. One of them meets Thursday and Friday.

Again, we know she's subpoenaed witnesses and said, essentially, I'll give you 48 hours to show up and to testify before this grand jury. So, we should get a sense over the weekend if these witnesses are being summoned to show up on Monday or Tuesday. And if that's not the case, then we'll be looking toward later in the week.

KEILAR: All right. Looking like a big week, nonetheless. Sara Murray, thank you so much for that new information. Jim?

SCIUTTO: We are learning new details about a secret search warrant and a secret Trump campaign memo both part of the special counsel's 2020 election interference probe. Here's what we know. The special counsel received a warrant for former President Trump's Twitter account earlier this year. Twitter at the time was barred from alerting Trump to that warrant.

Today, we are also learning about a memo written a month after Trump's election loss in 2020. It laid out a detailed plan to overturn Joe Biden's victory in that election. It was written by unindicted co- conspirator number five, Kenneth Chesebro, an attorney who was advising the Trump campaign. It was the New York Times that obtained a copy of the memo.

CNN's Paula Reid has been following it all. Paula, let's begin with his memo because it lays out in fairly clear terms what the Trump team was attempting to do -- hoping to do in the lead-up to January 6.

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. This is really the missing piece in understanding the roadmap that the former president and his associates laid out for trying to overturn the election. A lot of people when they think of a memo, they think of John Eastman, another Trump attorney, who of course authored a memo about how the vice -- then vice president could help block the results of the election.

But here, this memo helps us to understand how they wanted to install the slates of fake electors if for no other reason to at least buy them more time to continue to litigate.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

REID: And according to The New York Times, Chesebro understood that this was not something that was likely going to pass muster at the Supreme Court and that it was going to be controversial. But it really helps you understand exactly how they were plotting this out. And the fact that it started shortly after Election Day.

SCIUTTO: The choice of the word controversial, is remarkable given they were discussing, turning away electoral votes they didn't like which were votes they lost, and states that they lost with no evidence of fraud and creating a fake controversy in effect, as the special counsel described it. OK. Trump's Twitter account as part of the special counsel's investigation, got a warrant for his Twitter account. Why exactly, and what would this cover?

REID: I think they're exactly what they wanted in the Twitter account. But the fact that they were seeking this warrant is significant, but it was such a sensitive pursuit that they wanted to keep it secret. But Twitter argued that that would be a violation of the First Amendment and the current laws that govern electronic communications.

Now, eventually, the special counsel agreed to let the former president know about the warrant, but they wanted to protect the identities of the investigators who are working on this pursuit. Now, interestingly, Twitter was allegedly slow to provide investigators with what it is they were seeking to obtain. They were hit with a $350,000 fine.

Now, it's unclear exactly what they obtained or how it fits into the case. But it is notable. And it's certainly something that we would expect the former president will mention in the coming days.

SCIUTTO: Paula Reid, thanks so much. Brianna.

KEILAR: The U.S. says it is keeping a close eye on Ukraine's counteroffensive and the challenges that Ukrainian troops are facing on the battlefield. We'll have an update. Next.

And later, a CNN exclusive investigation. A former Coast Guard leader accused of covering up sexual assaults.

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[14:18:28]

SCIUTTO: Let's step forward in the investigation into the Gilgo Beach murders. In New York, a judge just ruled to get a DNA sample from the man now suspected in the killings. Officials say this next step is extremely important to the prosecutor's case.

CNN's Jean Casarez has been following the story closely. Jean, tell us -- well, the significance of this and how unusual it is specifically in the state of New York.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is significant. We have just gotten this ruling. It just came down minutes ago.

And what the judge is ordering is that he is allowing the prosecution to take a beautiful swab of Rex Heuermann, the defendant inside his mouth for his own DNA. The defense was fighting this says it must be in the presence of the defense attorney. But the standard here is probable cause under New York law.

They cannot just -- even after somebody's arrested, you can't just get the buccal swab of the DNA. You have to go to the judge. But the standard is probable cause.

The judge states that came from the indictment but he goes through several pages talking about the five hairs that were found on the victim's. Four of them determined to be female. One determined to be of Caucasian European descent. That one hair he says, according to the order here, went to two outside laboratories through mitochondrial DNA testing.

They then took that half-eaten pizza crust and they took that to outside laboratories to find the DNA. And then they put the two together and the result was that Rex Heuermann could not be excluded as a contributor to both DNAs from under the burlap of Megan Waterman, that's where that one hair was found and the pizza crust.

[14:20:15]

But finding the DNA of the pizza crust is different from getting the buccal swab of the actual defendant. So, the judge is allowing that for it to be compared to the pizza crust, to the hair, and if it is inculpatory or not.

And remember, DNA can also exonerate someone. Even though the defense was fighting this, it can exonerate someone. So, the judge is allowing that. That should be done probably sooner than later.

SCIUTTO: Significant step. Jean Casarez, thanks so much. Brianna.

KEILAR: Just in to CNN. Another Russian missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia. At least three people were reported killed in this attack. And officials say a church, as well as retail stores, were among the buildings that were destroyed here.

We have CNN Chief International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh, who is live for us in Zaporizhzhia. What is the latest there, Nick?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Again, we're hearing behind the sirens, Brianna. We heard the blast over an hour ago now. It seems to have struck a church.

We're now talking about three deaths and a growing number of injured. Unclear precisely what the target was, as is often indeed the case in these Russian strikes. But this is a rare strike on a city of this size. Rare possibly because it's so close to the frontlines.

And one of a number of blasts that we've obviously been seeing across the country today, namely Ukraine, saying they hit a command post of the Russians in Malakhovka. We've also seen an extraordinarily loud explosion not far from Moscow too, which is being -- perhaps suggested as being an accident of the pyrotechnics factory, despite the sheer force of the blast there.

But as this counteroffensive continues to push forward, Brianna, we continually see these attacks across Ukraine here, as I say, often hitting civilian targets. People in this city, obviously anxious to hear the sirens three or four times so far this afternoon, Brianna.

KEILAR: What can you tell us at this point about the counteroffensive and the challenges that Ukrainian forces are experiencing as you see the leadership there in Ukraine, you know, sort of acknowledging that there are difficulties?

WALSH: Yes. Well, I think it depends on what your expectations initially were. And I think certainly many Ukrainians have looked at the Western narrative. Western analysts, thinking this would be perhaps as easy as their advances in Kharkiv where Russians essentially collapsed around them. And then they pulled back in November out of Kherson.

This fight in Zaporizhzhia was always going to be a lot harder because the Russians were expecting it. It had been telegraphed for months, NATO had supplied Ukraine so they could fight it faster. But Ukrainians are finding minefields ahead of them, deep Russian fortifications experienced, Russian paratroopers.

We were just at the frontline yesterday with troops fighting there trying to push forward. They acknowledge the fact -- that the military they're up against there, the Russians are well trained. They say it's possible to have underestimated these guys. They're holding their positions.

But there's a broader thing here and that's air superiority. NATO forces would never undertake a mission like this without controlling the skies. The Russians control the skies here. You can hear the sirens here on the frontlines. That means jets strikes on fortified positions, Ukrainian positions, Ukrainian losses, and that can really mess with Ukraine's counteroffensive, Brianna.

KEILAR: Certainly, can. Nick Paton Walsh, live for us from Zaporizhzhia, we hear those sirens going off behind you. Thank you so much for that report. Jim.

SCIUTTO: As we reported yesterday, Western assessments of the Ukrainian counteroffensive have grown increasingly sobering. Joining me now is Chicago Congressman Mike Quigley. He's co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus. Congressman, thanks so much for taking the time today.

REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-IL): Thank you. Good to be back.

SCIUTTO: You have called this the most difficult time of the war so far. In your view, can Ukrainian forces turn this counteroffensive around and make significant progress?

QUIGLEY: Sure. I mean, your reporter just talked about expectations. And I think there is a problem with unrealistic expectations. He detailed the challenges they face. Let's remember the allied forces landed in Normandy that didn't sweep across France, crossed the Rhine, and again into Berlin in days or weeks. The challenges here or at least is great in terms of the ratio of who they're fighting, fifth- largest army in the world. So, the things I saw when I was in Germany recently visiting the Ukrainian troops training on our Abrams tanks, it's the same spirit I see here in Chicago among Ukrainians.

And when I was in Kyiv last year meeting with President Zelenskyy, they have always exceeded expectations. This won't be easy, but we can't let those unrealistic expectations help the appeasers who would have the Ukrainian seed land in their future, that's Putin.

[14:25:08]

SCIUTTO: OK. Well, let's set aside the expectations. The goal here is to break through Russian lines and gain back significant territory specifically, break for instance, the land bridge between Eastern Ukraine and Crimea. Do Ukrainian forces need more Western help, Western weapons to do so?

QUIGLEY: Yes. First of all, we need to pass the supplemental on. We're hearing that the next one will come any day. They need more of the same. They need a lot more ammunition and a lot more weaponry. And as was addressed just now, they need help in the air.

What we're seeing is a familiar pattern. Initially, the West says no to request and eventually gets there. We saw that from this -- when this was just a battle of funding insurgency to armor, then tanks, and now hopefully something more to help them break through at a critical time.

SCIUTTO: You mentioned concerns that Ukraine will face pressure to concede territory. When I was in Eastern Europe in April, there were already fears of exactly that. Given the difficulties this summer, do you see increasing pressure on Ukraine now to in effect, sue for peace? And therefore do you see division within the Alliance?

QUIGLEY: I don't see that division yet. But it's a real threat. I'm concerned here at home.

You know, one of the things that concern me most right here right now is our ability to govern. When we go back to session in Congress in September, we're supposed to find the government. I'm not sure we're capable of getting that done.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

QUIGLEY: Maybe we'll do a continuing resolution. There's a possibility we'll shut down. Lost in all that will be a struggle to try to pass the supplemental while the world is watching. So, there's a lot at stake here. And the fact is, there will be those who see this difficult task and say it's one more reason not to help them at all.

SCIUTTO: You mentioned political troubles now. As CNN reported a short time ago, it is the view of Western officials that Putin is planning to wait out the war until the 2024 election when he hopes he will get a friendlier occupant of the White House. Would a Trump victory mean a victory for Russia and Ukraine, in your view?

QUIGLEY: No, absolutely. President Trump was an apologist for President Putin. Always acted as if Putin had something on him. And what he is saying right now is he would end it in a day.

Well, the only way he ends this war in a day is to tell President Zelenskyy, no more aid, get the best deal you can. So, this will be a massive victory. Certainly, what Russia would do at that point in time, is regroup, rearm, and prepare for the next assault.

And Ukraine wouldn't be the only one at risk. Eastern Europe would be there as well. So, a massive difference. And obviously, Putin isn't worried about the cannon fire he uses for troops. Tactically and strategically, it's sadly the smart move for him to see if he can wait and have a friendly president who would in reality be on his side.

SCIUTTO: Congressman Mike Quigley, co-chair of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus, thanks so much for joining us this afternoon.

QUIGLEY: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Brianna.

KEILAR: Next. A CNN investigation into an alleged Coast Guard cover-up of sexual assault. Stay with us for this exclusive story. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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