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At Least 36 People Dead In Catastrophic Maui Wildfire; FBI Shoots, Kills Man Accused Of Threatening Biden; Sources: Justices' Ethics Bill Unlikely To Pass; Atlanta-Area DA Likely To Seek 12 Plus Indictments In Trump Case. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired August 10, 2023 - 15:00   ET

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

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[15:00:45]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Right now, new terrifying images from Hawaii: entire neighborhoods on fire, people fleeing to safety and a state that is reckoning with a terrible tragedy. We're going to speak with a Maui council member as well as the lieutenant governor, as President Biden promises help from the federal government for this disaster.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN HOST: Also ahead, new details about the deadly encounter in Utah. FBI agents shooting and killing a man they were trying to arrest after his alarming and threatening posts about President Joe Biden and other public figures.

And a sign of hope for five Americans wrongfully detained in Iran, a deal could bring them home soon.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: Right now, it is all hands on deck as firefighters are battling flames that are still sweeping across Maui and as rescue workers intensify their search for survivors. Alex Marquardt Right now, at least 36 people are confirmed dead in Hawaii on Maui, and there are some major concerns that that death toll is going to rise even more.

We did just obtain some new video. It is showing the Hawaii Army National Guard helping here to fight the wildfires. They're using helicopters, dipping large buckets into the ocean, dropping that water on top of the flames.

And here in the last hour, President Biden spoke about this ongoing situation and he declared a major disaster in Hawaii.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our prayers are with the people of Hawaii, but not just our prayers, every asset we have will be available to them and we've seen - they've seen their homes and businesses destroyed and some have lost loved ones, and it's not over yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: I want to talk about this more with Keani Rawlins- Fernandez. She sits on the Maui County Council.

Councilwoman, thank you so much for joining us today.

We know everything that you are dealing with both in terms of supporting your community and you personally, emotionally, you must be going through so much. First of all, how are you doing? How are those around you doing?

KEANI RAWLINS-FERNANDEZ, COUNCIL MEMBER, MAUI COUNTY: We on Molokai are safe. So we here are okay and aloha, Alex. Mahalo for covering this and for having a way to collect funds to support our community. Our community is in support mode right now to help those most affected.

So those that are - that have a stable home and are okay are contributing however they can to help those that have been affected and who have lost everything.

MARQUARDT: We know that some of the worst winds have died down a little bit, but that there are still some winds there. Can you tell us what the status of the fires are and to what extent you know about firefighters making headway?

RAWLINS-FERNANDEZ: They're doing their best to control flare-ups. The winds have been gusty and it causes flare-ups after it's been controlled, so it's been really unpredictable. The winds have died down. The day that the entire town burned, we were unable to fly helicopters to help control the fire because of the 80-mile-per-hour winds.

And since then, we have been able to use helicopters to control the fire and that has helped tremendously.

MARQUARDT: We do know that the President has declared a disaster declaration for your state. Do you think that - does your community have enough support right now from the state, but also from the federal government? What more do you need?

RAWLINS-FERNANDEZ: We have a lot of community members whose houses did not burn down north of Kaanapali.

[15:05:02]

They've been reaching out to us, and we've been collaborating and coordinating as much as possible. They don't have power. They still have running water. Hawaii Water was able to get diesel so that they continue to have running water. They need ice because they don't have power. They'll need food and we're trying to get them generators so that they can have some power.

They need a plan for those that are choosing to stay in the area because of the looting that's starting to happen. And so those community members - my colleague, Council Member Tamara Paltin, is on the ground there and trying to support her community there as much as possible with all of these supplies.

MARQUARDT: I'm sure so many people are turning to you right now. In terms of recognition from the rest of the country, would you like to see a visit to Maui from President Biden or perhaps from former President Barack Obama who, of course, grew up in Hawaii?

RAWLINS-FERNANDEZ: I think both of those would be incredible help to get the attention from the world. Our community has been devastated. Lahaina was one of our - was our kingdom's capital. We have lost so much. It's in ashes. Over 271 houses have been lost, businesses, the death count is continuing to rise.

And I think whatever individuals that care about Hawaii can do, we're asking them to do everything in their power.

MARQUARDT: These images from Lahaina that you just mentioned are just so incredibly sad and disturbing. Anybody who's interested should certainly read about its history, the rich cultural history. It is an extraordinary place and we are just wishing you all the very best. Thank you so much for joining us today.

We know it is an incredibly difficult time. Our thoughts go out to you, to everybody else on the council, to everyone in your community, thank you very much. Your thoughts - we're - you're very much in our thoughts.

RAWLINS-FERNANDEZ: Thank you so much, Alex.

MARQUARDT: All right. Councilwoman Keani Rawlins-Fernandez there. I just want to highlight what the Councilwoman was mentioning about, support that they need. For more information about how you can help Hawaii, go to cnn.com/impact or text Hawaii to 707070 to donate. Brianna?

KEILAR: The fire in Hawaii has been fueled in part by these violent winds from a hurricane churning more than 800 miles offshore. And just hours ago, NOAA upgraded its forecast, warning that warm oceans, so warm they're setting records, will spur even more storms this season than usual.

Meteorologist Chad Myers is in the CNN Weather Center for us.

Tell us about these predictions, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. The Atlantic hurricane season is now predicted to be above normal, where we have this tug-of-war between very warm water that should make bigger and more storms. And then the El Nino that should stir them up and break them apart.

So it really will be all season long just a tug-of-war of what's going to be more important, the very warm water or that shear that could tear those storms apart. In El Nino, year has more shear. A hurricane likes to be all by itself, kind of like my old cat. Just doesn't want to be bothered. Just leave me alone. Don't knock me over with any of your winds, I'll do my - my best with this warm water. And the warm water now two to four degrees above normal in some spots, and even warmer than that in some of these really developmental zones for hurricanes.

So we've had four names already, but the numbers will certainly go up. And I know it seems like, wow, it's been hot. Hurricane season must be over. Nope. We are right there. We are just at the beginning of the ramp to get up to the top in the beginning of September when there are more storms in the water on these days than really almost all the days here and all the days there.

So a long season to go and the hurricane center say, please get ready, be prepared. We are not even started yet.

KEILAR: Yes, it's a very sobering assessment, as you put it there. Chad Myers in the Weather Center, thank you. Alex?

MARQUARDT: Long season to go.

Now, just hours before President Joe Biden arrived in Utah yesterday, FBI agents tried to arrest a man in Provo accused of making online threats to kill the President as well as other Democrats. That suspect was then shot and killed, a law enforcement source telling us that Craig D. Robertson pointed a gun at agents as they tried to take him into custody.

At this hour, that fatal incident is under review by an FBI shooting response team that launched from the bureau's headquarters right here in Washington.

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For more, let's bring in CNN Security Correspondent, Josh Campbell.

Josh, this was not the first time that the FBI encountered this suspect.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Alex.

This investigation began actually back in March. It was a social media company that observed some concerning material on their platform. They called the FBI's National Threat Information Operations Center and said, look, this is troubling. The FBI then looked into that account. They eventually identified this suspect as the owner and they put him under surveillance.

They said at one point they saw him wearing a Donald Trump hat, an AR- 15 lapel pin. They walked up to him and made contact and confronted him about some of these posts. Now, he originally had told them that, look, this was part of some dream I had, a lot of these threatening posts that he had online.

He then got very belligerent with the agents, told them to go away, don't come back unless you have a warrant. Now, it was after that that he began posting, essentially taunting the FBI. I'll show you one of these posts, which some might actually see as a threat.

He said, "The FBI tried to interfere with my free speech right in my driveway. My 45ACP," that's a reference to a type of ammunition, "was ready to smoke 'em." He then goes on another post, essentially posting at the FBI, saying if you're still watching, are you watching my account, if so, I need to make sure I have a loaded handgun in case you swing by, so that obviously very concerning.

But what really concerned the Secret Service and the FBI was just ahead of President Joe Biden's visit to Utah yesterday, where the suspect posted - I'll read part of that from the criminal complaint. He allegedly wrote, "I hear Biden is coming to Utah, digging out my old ghillie suit," that's a reference to an attire, a camouflage attire worn by snipers, "and cleaning the dust off the M24 sniper rifle."

The FBI then went and sought an arrest warrant. They attempted to take him into custody yesterday. A law enforcement source told me he pointed a gun at those agents, one of the agents opening fire, fatally shooting the suspect, Alex. And Josh, these troubling posts online, on social media, that wasn't - they weren't just directed at the FBI and at President Joe Biden, but at other prominent Democrats all across the country. What do we know about those?

CAMPBELL: No, absolutely. And I mentioned before that he was seen wearing a Trump hat. I mean, the reason that's important as you connect the dots here is that the through lines in his alleged targets were prominent Democratic officials, including those that have been targeted verbally by President Donald Trump. That includes, obviously, President Biden, Vice President Harris, Attorney General Merrick Garland who, of course, is overseeing an investigation into Donald Trump.

There were also state officials, including California governor, Gavin Newsom, New York attorney general, Letitia James, and Alvin Bragg, of course, who was also overseeing a criminal investigation into Donald Trump.

The reason that's so important is because, as we've continued to report on, intelligence and law enforcement officials remain concerned that this vitriol that we're hearing in this overheated political climate could actually lead to violence, people getting whipped up. That's what they're concerned about moving forward. Someone just like this person, who might have stood ready to actually fire upon those agents had they not shot him first.

MARQUARDT: Words have consequences, it's so often forgotten.

Josh Campbell in Los Angeles, thanks very much. Brianna.

KEILAR: Ahead this hour on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, our breaking news, five Americans detained in Iran now released on house arrest in a $6 billion deal with the U.S. We are going to speak to former Iranian prisoner, former prisoner to Iran, Jason Rezaian, who's one of the few people who knows what these Americans may be experiencing right now. Plus, brand new reporting providing the most detailed look yet at the luxurious life of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, bankrolled by wealthy friends. His gifts, more extensive than previously known.

And it could affect your doctor's ability to care for you. A new study finds a near record-breaking drug shortage, one pharmacist says, is having a critical impact on care.

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KEILAR: Despite new bombshell reporting from ProPublica about Justice Clarence Thomas, sources in Congress say there is virtually no chance that a new bill on Supreme Court ethics reform will pass. The reporting that ProPublica released today found Justice Thomas received many more gifts from more benefactors over decades than previously known.

Four moguls collectively treated Thomas to 38 destination vacations, including a yacht voyage in the Bahamas, plus another two stays at luxury resorts, 26 private jet flights, and that does not include another batch of trips by helicopter, and a dozen VIP passes to college and pro sporting events. Thomas reportedly also had a standing invitation to an Uber-exclusive golf club.

Joining us now is CNN Senior Supreme Court Analyst, Joan Biskupic.

Okay. So Joan, first we have ProPublica reporting first on Harlan Crow's gifts in the spring. Turns out that was kind of a drop in the bucket, and the kind of expenditures that we're talking about on the Supreme Court justice were the kinds of things that if they were spent on, say, a member of Congress or someone in the executive branch, would certainly have to be declared or they couldn't even be accepted.

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SUPREME COURT ANALYST: That's right. That's right.

So Harlan Crow was just the first one. ProPublica revealed three other billionaires who have, you know, very strong Republican conservative interests, including David Sokol, former top executive of Berkshire Hathaway, three other - two others too. And the important thing here is the disclosure, exactly what you said.

Now, Clarence Thomas did not comment to ProPublica for this report, and he has not commented to us. We've asked repeatedly for any kind of response, but here's what he said in April when the first story came out about Harlan Crow.

"Early in my tenure at the Court, I sought guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary, and was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close friends, who did not have business before the court was not reportable."

But that's not really the case, because you just mentioned the private jet trips.

[15:20:03]

Those have always been required to be reported on financial disclosure forms put out annually. There is a little bit of fuzziness in other personal hospitality, but that - those - that kind of transportation has never been deemed personal hospitality that could have some variation.

Now, the other thing that's happened here, Brianna, is that even though the justices are covered by certain post-Watergate rules and disclosure rules and conflict of interest rules, they do not have a formal code of ethics. And this is just one other part of the drumbeat that has been putting pressure on the court, mostly from the outside, but some inside, too, to adopt a formal code of conduct.

KEILAR: Yes, and more pressure now on Chief Justice John Roberts to do something and clean up a little inside the house there. Thank you so much, Joan, for that.

BISKUPIC: Sure.

KEILAR: We appreciate it. Alex?

In days, we could see charges in the sprawling investigation into Donald Trump and alleged election interference in the state of Georgia.

Now, CNN has learned that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is eyeing major charges like conspiracy and racketeering and that at least a dozen potential defendants are on her radar and Trump, of course, is one of them. As his legal team braces for what could be a fourth indictment, his campaign ramped up the attacks on Willis and she had to boost her security details.

CNN's Nick Valencia is outside the courthouse where that grand jury meets.

Nick, what more do we know about this case that Fani Willis is building and, perhaps, most importantly the timing?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alex, sources familiar with the matter tell us that Fani Willis expects to make her presentation to the grand jury sometime next week, and that presentation is expected to take up until two days. And as you mentioned, we know that she's been eyeing racketeering charges and the potential for a RICO indictment allows her the opportunity to go after multiple people at once.

And we're told by sources familiar with her presentation to the grand jury that she's pursuing charges against at least a dozen people. It could be much more and we've learned that it could be among the biggest names of those in Trump's orbit. Look, this is not just about Trump's infamous phone call to Georgia's secretary of state here in 2020 after he lost the Georgia election, where he asked Raffensperger to find more votes. This is about a slate of fake electors that tried to subvert the Electoral College and say that Trump won Georgia when he really didn't. This is about illegal accessing of voting data systems in rural Coffee County, Trump's stronghold, and this is about a pressure campaign from Trump operatives on Georgia lawmakers and Fulton County election workers to overturn the results.

This has been a sprawling investigation, it's taken a lot of twists and turns over the course of last year, but there are several indications that this is near its end. We know at least three people have been subpoenaed to appear before the Fulton County. They'll be given a 48 hours notice and we've also seen a dramatic increase in security around the Fulton County courthouse as we prepare for the expectation for Trump to be indicted and arrested for the fourth time, Alex.

MARQUARDT: All right. Nick Valencia watching that courthouse closely where a lot more could be happening in the coming days. Nick, thank you very much. Brianna?

KEILAR: Next on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, we'll have more on our breaking news. Five Americans detained in an Iranian prison now released to house arrest while the U.S. negotiates with Iran to try to bring them home. We'll have more on this ahead.

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KEILAR: Residents are describing the aftermath of the Maui wildfires as apocalyptic, and you don't need to listen to them. I mean, just look at the pictures here. This is video that is just in that shows how this historic town of Lahaina, the former capital of the kingdom, one of the most popular places on the island, has just been burnt to the ground.

At least 36 people are officially being counted as dead. But that number, officials worry, they worry that it is going to rise at this point in time. There are more than 2000 that are at this point in shelters. There are nearly 300 buildings that are impacted, fires are still burning elsewhere on Maui at this point in time.

Here in the last hour, a survivor who lost both homes that he has in Lahaina spoke to us and he described how he had to run for his life as his neighborhood just went up in flames.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF MELICHAR, WILDFIRE SURVIVOR WHO LOST BOTH HOMES: We ran back to the house and had another 10 or 15 minutes before we knew we were going to be overtaken. And at that point, we had to just jump in the car. I'm sorry. It was rather traumatic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Joining us now is the lieutenant governor of Hawaii, Sylvia Luke. Thank you so much for being with us, Lieutenant Governor, and we're so sorry for what Maui is dealing with. I mean, this is what we're seeing. I've never seen anything like it. I know that you have been briefed today. What information, what new information can you share with us?

LT. GEN. SYLVIA LUKE, (D) HAWAII: Yes, we've been having regular briefings and everything is changing. It's been just heartbreaking and just to think that this all happened in the last basically two days.

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