Return to Transcripts main page
CNN News Central
CNN Investigation Details Massacre In Sudan; CNN: Hunter Biden A Sensitive Topic Advisers Rarely Broach With The President; Tuohy Family Attorney's Accuse Oher Of A Shakedown. Aired 3:30-4p ET
Aired August 17, 2023 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:30:00]
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: A CNN investigation is shedding light on an unthinkable massacre in Sudan as the civil war rages on. It happened in June in Darfur. Hundreds of civilians ambushed by the RSF paramilitary group. Whole families gunned down. Children executed. One of the bloodiest days in that region's history. CNN's Nima Elbagir pieced together the timeline of that horrific day. A warning, some of the images you are about to see are graphic. The report includes distressing descriptions of the conflict.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The streets of El Geneina in Sudan's Darfur region are eerily quiet, filmed at great risk by survivors.
[15:35:00]
The video shows racist graffiti defacing walls and corpses littering the streets. Seen here in their own propaganda, Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, RSF, occupied Geneina in June, after a heavy shelling campaign and fighting in their war for dominance over Sudan's army.
A CNN investigation has now uncovered some of the costs of the RSF's victory here in Geneina. Survivors, aid workers and body collectors described to CNN how, together with their allies, the RSF gunned down hundreds of civilians in and around Geneina on June 15th, in one of the most violent massacres to date in the recent history of this genocide-scarred Sudanese region.
Using satellite images, eyewitness testimony and geolocating what few videos have made it through, the telecommunications blackout cutting Darfur off from the world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, VOLUNTEER BODY COLLECTOR AND EYEWITNESS (through translator): I lost eight members of my family that day during the escape from El Geneina to Chad.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): This man says he buried hundreds of victims in Darfur since April. But on that day, he couldn't even reach his slain relatives. The RSFs troops are drawn from Darfuri Arab tribes and together with its leader Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, aka Hemeti, are implicated in the years-long genocide in the region against African tribal groupings.
It's unsurprising then that the war between the RSF and Sudan's military for control of the country took an even more sinister turn here in Darfur, mirroring the RSFs previous tactics, forcing civilians to flee, many arriving in Geneina.
That is until June 14th, when the West Darfur governor seen here at his arrest by the RSF was executed. The RSF blamed for the killing denies responsibility.
As hundreds attempted to flee, they were harassed and threatened. Even children joined in. A lucky few made it to Chad.
SABRY MOHAMED, FORMER EL GENEINA RESIDENT AND EYEWITNESS (through translator): They were going into houses killing people. Snipers were everywhere.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): Bringing with them stories of ethnic targeting.
MOHAMED (through translator): On the road out of the city, we were stopped and searched. They took our phones. Men were separated from the women so they could kill us. We ran, but they shot some of us.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): Evidence shows much of the killing occurred here outside the main hospital in Geneina. Then fleeing civilians were ambushed again in Wadji Kaja. Satellite images show the river, which is usually shallow enough for cars to cross, had water running high that day. Scores struggled in the water. Some shot as they drowned. Survivors say they heard gunfire from all directions.
JAMAL KHAMISS, HUMAN RIGHTS LAWYER AND EYEWITNESS (through translator): I saw 17 kids who were shot dead then thrown into the water. This was one of the most surreal scenes I've witnessed.
ELBAGIR (voice-over): Even as they fled Geneina for Adre, across the border in Chad, our evidence shows men, women and children were shot as they fled.
At the MSF hospital in Chad, survivors arrived with gunshot wounds in the back, legs and buttocks. The lead doctor told CNN; all injuries consistent with being shot from the back. Over 850 people flooded the hospital in Adre between June 15th to 17th, according to MSF. More than any other period since fighting began in April.
Body collectors say, according to their count, around 1,000 people were killed on the day of June 15th, buried in dozens of mass graves. Survivors say the RSF is replicating these same tactics across the region. Even as their supporters celebrate in the aftermath of mass killings and the sweep of escalating ethnically targeted attacks.
Nima Elbagir, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Our thanks to Nima Elbagir for vital reporting on that horrific conflict.
Still ahead on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, we have new details about how Hunter Biden's legal troubles are playing out inside the White House. Stay with us. We're back in just a few minutes.
[15:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: Now to some of the other headlines we are watching this hour. Super retailer Walmart is boosting a surge in sales. The company says, who the past year sales and stores climbed by nearly 6.5 percent, online sales jumped 24 percent. Walmart says grocery sales have led the way.
Also, U.S. gas prices at their highest level in ten months. According to AAA, the average is now $3.88 a gallon. This is an increase of nearly 10 percent in just the last month. Analysts warn that major hurricanes could disrupt supplies.
And in Canada, an evacuation order is in place for the entire capitol city of the northwest territories. About 20,000 residents in Yellowknife are being told to flee as fast-moving flames close in from more than 200 wild fires. Officials say those who are unable to drive to safety can register for evacuation by air -- Boris.
[15:45:00]
SANCHEZ: It may be hard to keep track of all the special counsel investigations currently underway that could impact the 2024 campaign. But the most recent one is the one investigating Hunter Biden, President Biden's son. And new CNN reporting highlights just how sensitive that topic is inside the White House. Sources say President Biden is frustrated by his son's legal troubles and that White House advisers are treading lightly when it comes to broaching the subject with the president.
CNN anchor, Jake Tapper, will be digging into that shortly on "THE LEAD." He's here with a preview now. Jake, do you get the sense that this goes beyond a political headache for the White House and that there's real concern this could impact voters heading into campaign season?
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR, THE LEAD: Well, so great reporting by our team, Kevin Liptak, Jeff Zeleny and Arlette Saenz. And I'll just read from this. It says:
Biden's adviser concede the topic of Hunter Biden and his various issues is mostly verboten with the president, raising the prospect of a political blind spot heading into a bruising campaign where nothing will be off limits with their Republican rivals. Hunter Biden is not a topic of discussions in campaign meetings, a senior aide said. It's just not addressed. That is a recipe for disaster, I think. Because a president needs to
have people around him who can tell him everything so he could be fully prepared.
SANCHEZ: Yes, and it could be potentially risky because on the debate stage or just in rhetoric Republicans will bring it up.
TAPPER: Well, in 2020, Joe Biden said, in responding to Donald Trump's allegations, quote:
My son has not made money in terms of this thing about what he talked about with China. Donald Trump says, once you became vice president, he made a fortune in Ukraine and China and Moscow, various other places. Biden says that's not true.
Now Glen Kessler, who is the nonpartisan fact checker at "The Washington Post," earlier this month, took a look at that because there's new court testimony from Hunter Biden in July. And Glen Kessler pointed out, he said Biden, during the debate, denied his son had made money in China. In court last week in July, his son said he earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from Chinese business deals.
So presumably, let's just give the president the benefit of the doubt, he didn't know. That means Hunter Biden is not telling him everything. That puts him in a position where he goes before the American people and says something that's not true.
SANCHEZ: Yes, potential liability whether the president wants to discuss it or not.
TAPPER: It's an understandable blind spot. He loves his son. He's lost a wife. He's lost a daughter. He's lost a son. I get it. Hunter obviously has had struggles. But this isn't about that. He's the president of the United States, and he needs to be counted on to tell the truth to the American people.
SANCHEZ: You can look forward to more of that discussion when "THE LEAD" starts at 4:00 p.m. Jake Tapper thanks so much.
TAPPER: Thanks, Boris.
SANCHEZ: Jim.
SCIUTTO: Coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, the Tuohys say they are willing to end their conservatorship of former NFL star, of course the inspiration for the "The Blind Side," Michael Oher. As they reveal new details about their relationship with the man they once described as family.
[15:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: There are new accusations today also further discord between the family depicted in the movie "The Blind Side" and the future NFL player they once took in. CNN's Brynn Gingras is following these new developments. And Brynn, it's been hard to follow this, and also hard to determine what's true in all of this? And I wonder if you could give us a sense of the best we know at this point.
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, you know, this is something that we -- it's obvious it's going to play out in court, right? But we are learning more based just based on the family's attorney now talking to the press. Answering some of those questions that people had had, particularly about the conservatorship that now, again, as known by Michael Oher. He says he found out about it back in February. But the family challenged that through their attorney.
Essentially saying, well, he knew about it before then, because he signed paperwork in December 2004. And then they said and pointed out, that he wrote about the conservatorship in his memoir which was published in 2011. They also say that they never had any control over Michael Oher's decision making when it came to his NFL contracts, which agents he used to sign those contracts. They said he hired and fired and hired and fired, you know, agents all on his own.
And they also point to the fact that that they all made the same amount of money, estimating about $100,000 each off "The Blind Side" movie, which is one of those points of contentions for Michael Oher in that recent filing from earlier this week. But another thing they addressed is the discord that you just mentioned, Jim. The fact that the family is clearly not getting along. It has been souring. I want you to hear from the attorneys about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE FARESE, TUOHY FAMILY ATTORNEY: He's been estranged since then, probably for the last ten years or so, and becoming more and more vocal and more and more threatening.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GINGRAS: And that question was coming from the facts of the -- one of their attorneys had said Michael Oher was blackmailing the family before going public with these allegations and filing that court paperwork earlier this week. They say they have text messages to prove it, something that will be in court. I will say this, Jim, when those attorneys were asked why now? Why did they think this is happening now? They honestly said, they don't know. So we'll see.
SCIUTTO: Brynn Gingras, thanks so much -- Boris.
SANCHEZ: Still to come, it's a travesty. Up next, what happened to this woman climbing across Rome's historic Trevi fountain. Stay with us.
[15:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: In our bad tourist alert of the day, talk about a poor decision.
SCIUTTO: Oh, boy.
SANCHEZ: Yes, I know.
SCIUTTO: Wow.
SANCHEZ: A new video circulating online shows this woman crawling across a Trevi fountain to fill up a bottle of water. She successively fills it up, but of course a guard notices her as she tries to climb down.
SCIUTTO: So, you can see the guard there, blows her whistle. She's talking to the woman, then leads her away. Unclear what happened to her. Just so you know, in case you're thinking about doing it, you can be fined $500 for entering the historic landmark.
[16:00:00]
I feel like if I do, I'm just going to take a swan dive in,
SANCHEZ: Just jump in.
SCIUTTO: For the $500 you got to do it in style.
SANCHEZ: Why drinking water? Feel like that water is --
SCIUTTO: Or maybe you take it home --
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: Anyway, when we do it, we're diving in.
SANCHEZ: Yes, we'll bring our swim trunks.
"THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts now. Thanks for joining us today.
