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Trump Says Key Georgia Witness "Shouldn't" Testify; Security High In Atlanta Amid Possible Fourth Trump Indictment; CNN In Fire- Ravaged Lahaina As Donations Begin To Pour In. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired August 14, 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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[11:01:50]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: CNN has learned the Fulton County grand jury will hear the election subversion case against Donald Trump today. Donald Trump is once again publicly lashing out. This time, his target is one of the witnesses in that case. We're live outside court with the very latest.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: At least 96 people are now confirmed dead from the wildfire that ripped through Maui. Officials are warning the death roll will rise as crews have only been able to search 3 percent of the burn area so far. The help now being sent in to assist with the search with so many people still missing this.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This Morning, six former Mississippi police officers known as the Goon Squad in court to face charges accused of torturing two black men in a racist assault. I'm John Berman with Kate Baldwin and Sara Sidner. This is CNN News Central.

SIDNER: This hour, there is a lot of activity happening inside an Atlanta courtroom. And in the coming days, it could lead to Donald Trump's newest and fourth indictment this year. We're told the grand jury that will make that decision will hear the case today. Sources telling CNN, a former state senator from Georgia who was subpoenaed to testify arrived just last hour.

Sources also say Fulton County DA Fani Willis is expected to call multiple witnesses as she wraps up her 2020 election interference case and seeks charges against possibly more than a dozen people. What's key to understand this morning, the nature of this case and the potential legal risks for Donald Trump this time around and how that might be different than his last three indictments, because these are state charges in part.

CNN's Sara Murray is live outside the courthouse. Sara, all this activity that's happening inside Donald Trump is posting brand new attacks against someone who was one of the witnesses. What can you tell us about that?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. I mean, obviously, what's going on in the courtroom today in the courthouse today is a grand jury presentation, and that's being done under seal. But the grand jury will beginning to hear this case against Donald Trump and his allies today. As you pointed out, we confirm that there is one witness who is there to testify today. Our colleagues at The Atlanta Journal Constitution have spotted two other potential witnesses testifying today.

And even though Donald Trump has insisted he did nothing wrong around his efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia, he has been lashing out on his social media platform, including against one of the witnesses who's expected to testify before this grand jury tomorrow, former Georgia Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan.

Donald Trump took to his social media account to say he's reading reports that the failed Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, Geoff Duncan, will be testifying before the Fulton County grand jury. Trump goes on to say he shouldn't. And then he goes on to launch a number of other attacks against Duncan.

Again, this grand jury presentation is expected to take up to two days, although, of course, we're going to be on high alert for any potential indictment announcements today or tomorrow. And this is a sprawling case. This has been a two and a half year investigation that was set off when Donald Trump made that phone call to Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and pressed him to find the votes for Trump to win the state of Georgia. But it's gone on to include the fake elector scheme. It's gone on to include a harassment campaign against election workers, as well as a voting systems breach in rural Coffee County, Georgia. Sara?

[11:05:26]

SIDNER: All right, Sara Murray, thank you for all of that. I appreciate it. John?

BERMAN: And just a reminder, Sara, these were the election results in Georgia in 2020. This was the margin between the two candidates. Joe Biden won by 11,779 votes. That was the number that Donald Trump called Brad Raffensperger and said, find me more votes than that. This trial is taking place or this grand jury, these hearings are taking place in Fulton County. That is where Atlanta is.

And very briefly, Sara Murray mentioned Coffee County. That's all the way down here in the southern part of the state. You can see Donald Trump won that with nearly 70 percent of the vote. There's just over, you know, 15,000 voters in that county. But it was in that county, there now appears to be these evidence, text messages and e-mails between Trump campaign officials and officials in this county talking about seizing and cracking open the voting machines there.

All right, with us now to talk about all this is CNN contributor John Dean, former Nixon White House counsel. John, if we can, I want to start in Fulton County, where former Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan is going to testify tomorrow. And we just saw that social media post from Donald Trump. I'll read you the beginning again.

I'm reading reports that failed former Lieutenant Governor of Georgia Geoff Duncan will be testifying before the Fulton County grand jury. He shouldn't. He then goes on to say, I barely know him, but he was right from the beginning of this witch hunt, a nasty disaster for those looking to the election fraud that took place in Georgia, et cetera, et cetera. You have the potential defendant in here talking about a witness testifying, saying he shouldn't. What are the potential problems there, John?

JOHN DEAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, it's not very smart. It's witness tampering, pretty blatantly. He's trying to send a message to Duncan to withhold or whatever. Trump is just -- he just doesn't seem to be able to help himself. He's under protective orders elsewhere in New York and now in D.C. He knows better, but he just doesn't seem to be able to behave. And I don't know what a judge will do in Georgia when this actually, if the indictment comes down and he finds himself in front of a judge.

BERMAN: You know you were talking about, this is happening in Georgia right now. In Washington, D.C. right here, John, there is the federal case against Donald Trump where Judge Tanya Chutkan has warned Donald Trump about his social media messages. What role, if any, will these messages directed at Georgia witnesses have, maybe in the federal case?

DEAN: They'll have no effect because the D.C. judge, she has no jurisdiction over what's happening in Georgia, but it will not go unnoticed by her. He has been somewhat restrained in D.C. Apparently, yesterday, the only thing I happen to notice is he reposted a picture and a critical remark of the D.C. judge and whether she'll react to that or not, I don't know. It's not as -- he's trying to play a game and see how close to the line he can get and how he can send harassment without actually being the harasser, if you will.

BERMAN: Sara Murray and others are reporting that in Coffee County, Georgia, that Fani Willis, the Fulton County DA, has in her possession text messages and e-mails between Trump campaign officials or people associated with the Trump campaign and officials in this county talking about getting access to the voting machine. These are receipts. What role could these texts and e-mails play in this trial, John?

DEAN: Documents always play a big role. They are not impeachable. They say what they say. They can't be cross examined, and they have a big impact on juries. And when there's jury polling later or juries discuss what influenced them, it's often the documents that have the biggest impact on them, because they can, you know, really no credibility issue with a document. A document is a document. So that is a powerful piece of evidence.

BERMAN: All right, John Dean, counselor, always great to see you. Thank you so much for your help today. Kate?

BOLDUAN: So security is tight right now around that courthouse we're talking so much about as new charges, new potential charges loom for weeks. Concerns over safety have been paramount, as the DA herself has been the target of threats and attacks. Attacks including from Donald Trump, who's called Willis racist and also called her investigation corrupt. CNN's Nick Valencia tracking this for us. He's joining us now. Nick, what are you seeing there? There's a lot of activity at that courthouse today.

[11:10:21]

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There is. Actually, just in the last several minutes, there's been an uptick in activity, Kate, but we want to be very clear this is unrelated to the former president. I will show you what's going on here. Just in the last several minutes, about 20 to 30 protesters showed up. There's a whole other separate issue going on in the city right now with a police, fire, and training facility. Those individuals who are protesting the building of that facility have used this scene and this atmosphere outside in front of the Fulton County Courthouse to bring their own issues.

The main headline, though, today, as it relates to the Fulton County investigation and the efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election, is that there is no credible security threat here outside of the courthouse. We have seen some dramatic increase, though, in security preparations over the course of the last several weeks.

What am I talking about here? These metal barricades, these plastic barriers, we're seeing more presence of -- a heavier presence of sheriff's deputies with long guns and tactical gear. Law enforcement sources tell us there's a lot of things that we don't see happening. We can only assume that means snipers on the rooftops and other security measures that are in place here to make sure that nothing happens.

There's a lot of legitimate concern about things going down here, if only because of the lack of gun laws, if only because of the large contingent of Trump supporters. And he has encouraged them to take to the streets and use really explosive rhetoric, calling this investigation politically motivated, calling Fani Willis, the district attorney here, racist. All of that has led to credible threats against the safety of Fani Willis, who's had to change her security detail. We're now seeing these security preparations here.

This main street in front of the courthouse has been closed down to vehicle traffic. There is still foot traffic in anticipation as the grand jury hears evidence against Trump. And we wait for Trump's potential for the arrest and indictment. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Nick Valencia, thank you so much for being there.

All right, so coming up for us, teams are combing through the ash and the rubble in Maui with a painstaking task ahead of them, looking for human remains. And survivors of the fires, they are struggling, as we are seeing, to find a place to stay and other basic necessities. Adding to the unfolding tragedy, lawsuit has just been filed.

Plus, they called themselves the Goon Squad. Six former Mississippi police officers facing more charges now for torturing two black men. Why they're headed back to court.

And NASA's Webb telescope spots something raising a new cosmic question. We'll be back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:17:21]

BOLDUAN: The death toll in Hawaii is climbing still. Now, 96 lives have been claimed by the wildfires. What's more is only 3 percent of the burn area has been searched so far using cadaver dogs. Officials say it could take months to search the entire fire zone. Today, extra search crews and 20 additional dogs are being brought in to help in the search with so many people still missing and unaccounted for. Now the state's largest power company is facing a lawsuit for not cutting the electricity when forecasters warned of the powerful wind gusts that fueled the flames.

Those winds were so strong, Hawaii's governor said it created what he's called a fire hurricane. And the flames were moving 1 mile every minute. He's ordered now a comprehensive review of what happened in the early hours of the fire disaster. CNN's Mike Valerio, he's in Maui for us. He's been there, really, since the beginning. Mike, tell us what you are -- what you're, I mean, it's still obviously just after 5 o'clock in the morning. But tell us, Mike, what you've been hearing from folks there, what you're seeing there this morning?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure, Kate. Well, good morning to you. And to set the scene where we are right now, this is the only checkpoint that can get you into the disaster zone, into Lahaina. So when people come up this ridge, we're on a cliff about a thousand feet above the Pacific Ocean to this entry route into the disaster zone.

They pull over and they talk to us about the need for accountability. And Kate, I can't tell you how over the past few days more and more people, an ascending chorus of people have said that something needs to happen with the power company. Changes need to be made like have been made in California after the campfire in 2018, when 85 people died, so specifically that leads to this lawsuit that you mentioned.

Over the weekend, three law firms filed a lawsuit on behalf of a couple who live in Lahaina. And essentially it accuses the utility here, Hawaiian Electric, of failing to shut off power during these dangerous conditions. With wind gusts at the, you know, peak, the crescendo of this crisis reaching 80 miles an hour, 130 kilometers an hour, claims the company's failure helped cause the fire that led to deaths and injuries.

And what it's saying is that in California, for example, if there is high wind danger, PG&E, the main utility for a huge portion of the state, now turns off parts of its power infrastructure. Because when you have the threat of live energized wires potentially crashing to the ground, that could set off a spark. So anguish and accountability are tied together. Listen Kate to what Susan who passed through this checkpoint a few hours ago, had to say on that front.

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[11:20:15] SUSAN SLOBODNJAK, MAUI RESIDENT: When I drove through on Friday, I had no clue what I was going through. I got so -- everything's gone. I lost friends in know, they were going back to get their animals, you know, when she died. So I mean, you know, it's really sad because people come over here, you know, I heard there was a snorkeling boat looking at Lahaina town. Give them respect, you know. It's so bad. This is, you know, people died here. You know people, I mean it's not just a vacation -- it's not just a place for vacation, we live here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: And Kate, the only thing making that worse is the process of finding the missing and identifying human remains. Therein lies the potential where hundreds of people could still be missing. That unknown looms large over the entire island of Maui. This process of grief is only beginning. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Yes. That's absolutely right. Mike, thank you very much for your reporting. John?

BERMAN: So as just reported there, the community on Maui is coming together at this difficult time. CNN's Bill Weir has more on the relief efforts underway.

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BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Aloha from the north side of Lahaina, just one of the several thousand structures that were completely burned and gutted by the firestorm last week here. This is the line that the fire department on this part of Lahaina held. They decided we're going to keep it here this particular neighborhood, most of it survived as a result. But let me show you the contrast right here. This is the home of Archie Kalepa. He is a legendary surfer, lifeguard, a waterman hall of famer on Maui, 9th generation Hawaiian family from the Lahaina area.

And you can see what the spirit of Ohana or family in the islands means as everybody on Maui and from around the islands began flooding donations here. So they've set up a command post, improvised first responders here, all volunteers, all people from the community and they've created several of these pods around the burned area of the fire zone.

You can see all the diapers and critical supplies, the water and food and people just coming in here and it's sort of a self-organizing system. Archie has great leadership experience as a lifeguard extraordinaire and it's all coming to play right now. People trust him. He does say that the state and federal response is getting a bad wrap.

Let me ask you about the immediate response right now. There's a perception as we've been outside of the perimeter that there's no federal or real official state response and most of the work in the front lines are being done by people like you. Grassroots, just improvised first responders. Is that fair? What's really happening? What do you need? And what's the story? ARCHIE KALEPA, MAUI RESIDENT: I don't think that's fair. I don't think that's fair because this is a crime scene. This right here is a crime scene. And so what people don't understand is the government has to do due diligence before they start moving in. So they're at 30,000 feet. They're looking, evaluating about how they need to come in to begin to facilitate this operation. At the same time, they have to figure out how to take care of this operation. And so, you know, that is not easy.

WEIR: So it's a humanitarian response in the middle of a working crime scene.

KALEPA: Exactly. The truth of the matter is when you look at the overall devastation, we are not going to be ready to allow people to see what we're living through in six months.

WEIR: We're hearing from a lot of people outside of the sort of quarantine zone right now, the fire zone. They're frustrated because they can't get back in to see what happened to their homes or belongings. They're afraid that people up here aren't getting the help they need. That there's too much red tape in the shelters down in the center of Maui there.

But those folks here say right now it's a matter of managing the outpouring of aid. They don't want a lot of this to turn into trash. So they're trying to manage it as it's coming in. FEMA is now starting to bring in shipments we understand. So right now the message from here is they have enough, plenty of tangible supplies. They would love to get a dust shield to protect this community from all that toxic dust that's blowing up the hillside from down below, containers to store a lot of this stuff and keep it to when they need it, maybe months from now. And they are really begging for sustainable compassion.

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[11:25:31]

SIDNER: It's very well said, sustainable compassion. This is going to go on for a long time, the recovery of that area. Bill Weir, thank you to you and your team. For more information on how you can help wildfire victims, go to CNN.com/impact or text Hawaii to 707070 so that you can donate.

All right, just ahead, six Mississippi police officers who subjected two black men to hours of grueling violence are back in court today after pleading guilty to federal charges related to the torture of those two men, now, those officers facing new charges in court today. And Ukraine says Russian shelling killed an entire family, including a day's old newborn baby. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vows to retaliate. We're live with more from Ukraine ahead.

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