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First Trump Co-Defendant Surrenders In Fulton County; Fulton Co. Sheriff's Staff Threatened Ahead Of Trump's Surrender; 8 Qualified Candidates To Attend First GOP Presidential Debate. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired August 22, 2023 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

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BLACKWELL: CNN News Central starts now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: $200,000 bond and a promise to behave on social media. Donald Trump's bail deal in Georgia. Can he live up to it? And what happens if he doesn't?

SARA SIDNER, CNN HOST: As officials in Georgia prepare for Trump's surrender, employees with the Fulton County Sheriff's Office are being threatened according to sources ahead details about those threats.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: Eight Republican presidential candidates will take the debate stage tomorrow for the first primary debate of the season. Is that enough though, to keep Donald Trump from grabbing the spotlight with his counter programming push. I'm Kate Bolduan, with John Berman and Sara Sidner. This is CNN New Central.

BERMAN: By this time on Thursday, Donald Trump could be the only presidential candidate to have been arrested, skipped innovate and released on $200,000 bond, all in the same 24 hours, a lifetime of achievement in the snap of the finger. Trump's legal team agreed to the bond deal in Fulton County, Georgia and it includes strict guidance on what he can and cannot post on social media.

Just before they reach the deal, Trump posted this. "Can you believe it? I'll be going to Atlanta, Georgia on Thursday to be arrested." Can you believe it? Kind of only because it has happened in New York, Florida and Washington D.C. already this year. Trump now could be the only former president ever with a mug shot. He could also be fingerprinted as he faces 13 counts in Georgia for trying to overturn the 2020 election there.

As for the candidates he is running against, they -- they're now doing debate prep, all 20 of them, this for the debate that Trump says he will now skip.

Let us start with some breaking news out of Georgia. Katelyn Polantz is outside the courthouse in Atlanta where I understand the first of the Co-defendants has arrived to surrender. Katelyn.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: At the jail at Fulton County leave it, John, to the man whose profession is a bail bondsman to be the first defendant among the 19 including Donald Trump to surrender to jail. Now Scott Hall is this defendant, he is accused of seven different counts including racketeering alongside the former president. He's also accused of taking part in a scheme to commit election fraud, to commit computer theft, to computer -- to trespass on computers to invade privacy, all related to trying to access vote tabulating machines in Coffee County, Georgia. Scott Hall is the first defendant to be reporting to the jail today as we await.

What will happen with the 18 other defendants including Trump himself in the coming days, we're in the middle of a process this week, where they all are negotiating bond first and then trying to go to the jail after that. So they don't have to spend too much time in that detention center. But as they negotiate bond, we already know what Donald Trump's bond is, it is -- has some more restrictions than in the other criminal indictments he faces. He has a $200,000 bond, that's Trump and then he also has several restrictions placed on him about communicating with witnesses and defendants about this case, he's not allowed to do that.

And on top of that, he has some specific instructions not to use social media to intimidate anyone affiliated with this case. And so we are going to be waiting for today and for the rest of the week as more of these defendants begin reporting to jail, to be arrested, to be processed and then to enter their initial pleadings of not guilty. We also of course, are now waiting for Donald Trump to report to jail. We believe that is going to be on Thursday.

And some of them still have to have their bond terms negotiated and set as well, including some boldface names also charged in this case, people like Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Mark Meadows, the chief of staff to Donald Trump. We haven't seen them appear yet in the system here at the county courthouse or working with the DA's office. But we're waiting to see, John, it could be quite a momentous day. A lot of action in this criminal case.

BERMAN: Yes, just to be clear, it's Tuesday morning, if I'm not mistaken right now, Katelyn, and they have until Friday to --

POLANTZ: Oh, I'm sorry. BERMAN: No, no, I'm the one who's lost on what day it is. It's Tuesday morning, you have until Friday morning to turn themselves in. The first of the Co-defendants just did. We could see a lot of activity in the jail first off and also in the courthouse over the next several days. They've got to surrender at the jail, each of these 19 defendants and they also have to reach these bond deals which we've now seen trickle in as you said.

Rudy Giuliani for instance who may not be able to pay virtually anything. We don't know what his deal will be.

[09:05:00]

POLANTZ: We don't and that's something to watch very closely, who shows up for Rudy Giuliani as a lawyer, how he brings himself to Georgia to get this done. He does have a deadline that he's going to have to meet. He is a lawyer himself, and could represent himself as he has sort of indicated he may be interested in doing.

Although Rudy Giuliani, his law license is suspended right now because of some of the actions he took for Donald Trump after the presidency. And he is a person who is clearly just out of cash on a lot of fronts. He couldn't even pay for some of the intermediary steps he needed to just respond to lawsuits that are involving him that are against him in the 2020 election.

So we're going to have to wait and see how much he's able to put up for bond whenever that comes down and what he ends up negotiating.

BERMAN: All right, Katelyn Polantz in Georgia where the action is. Great to see you as always. We will check back in with you as soon as we hear of more news. Thanks so much. Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was now reaching bond agreements with at least four former President Trump's -- of former President Trump's codefendants. Tomorrow, conservative Attorney John Eastman, whose bond was set at $100,000 is planning to surrender at the Fulton County Jail. He's facing nine criminal counts.

Pro Trump lawyer Ken Chesebro also agreed to $100,000 bond package on his seven counts. Chesebro was the architect of the campaign's plot to put forward a fake slate of pro Trump electors according to prosecutors. And former Trump attorney Ray Smith has agreed to a $50,000 bond, he's facing 12 criminal charges including violating Georgia's RICO law, solicitation of violation of oath, conspiracy and lying. And as we mentioned the defendant

Scott Hall, the first that is supposed to turn himself into jail today, he works as a bail bondsman in Georgia, he will have to pay his own $10,000 bond. Hall was a poll watcher and spent hours inside a restricted area of the Coffee County elections office when voting systems were breached there. He's facing a total of seven charges. Now it shouldn't be lost on any one, Kate, that the defendants are all professionals who are trained to defend or assist the accused in legal battles. That's their normal job. Now, they are the accused. Kate. BOLDUAN: That's right. Joining us now is CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Elliot Williams. Elliot, first, as we're just hearing what we think is the first known codefendant or defendant in the Trump case to surrender, Scott Hall. Being the first to report, does that -- does that do anything?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: It really doesn't. Everybody is going to have to report, Kate, by Friday, or they face very serious consequences. He's just the first of 18, you're going to see a trickle of folks coming in over the last couple of days, but he doesn't get a like a prize or a benefit on account of having been the first.

BOLDUAN: There's a door prize for reporting first, not to make light of it. I was just wondering if it -- if a judge or the -- or the DA looks -- looks at -- the judge looks kindly on someone who comes first and gets in there first.

WILLIAMS: That's the -- that's you know, that's not an unfair point. Just as a general matter throughout litigation, you generally want to stay on a in a judge's good graces and on a judge's good side of parties, and that's prosecutors or defense, really don't want to be seen as playing with the court or messing around with them and complying with a basic court order is the kind of thing a party can do to get in the good graces of the court. So you do have a good point there. Yes.

BOLDUAN: Let the -- Let the record show I finally made a good point when it comes to Elliot Williams. This I'm going to end my day already. When it comes to is -- we're going through the -- there are 19 of them, obviously that will be surrendering at some point today.

Let's talk about Donald Trump and the bond restrictions that we now know that the judge has put on Trump, how much -- What do you think of the bond restrictions? And how much latitude does the judge half in this regard?

WILLIAMS: Well, OK, that's sort of the second quarter judges have a tremendous amount of latitude. If you notice, every defendant in this case is bond conditions are different and the judges -- judges can set different conditions for different defendants based on the level of risk that the defendant poses or the nature of the crimes that that person has been charged with.

Now, in terms of the uniqueness of former President Trump's there's really -- they're really surprisingly normal. The idea that a defendant should not threaten other witnesses or should not talk to co-defendants about the case isn't remarkable. Now, it's remarkable when we think about who the defendant is and what his history of bluster and statements and even threats to court and other personnel. But -- but the specific provisions in there, aren't that remarkable.

[09:10:00]

BOLDUAN: What -- what it -- How do you find the line? And where is the line for violating the agreement, especially when you're talking about the social media aspect? Because I'm wondering kind of how likely it is and what is likely to happen to him if he does step over that line?

WILLIAMS: That's exactly the million dollar question, or at least the I guess the -- the -- the $200,000 question right. Now, when you're talking about -- when you're talking about you can't go to XYZ supermarket, you know, where you can't go to go to a place, goes to a very specific bond condition, you can put on somebody and either he doesn't or he doesn't. And if the guy does it, you revoke the bond condition. Here when you're talking about speech, it is, in fact a little bit blurrier, and a gray area.

How do you define what constitutes a threat? How do you define what constitutes speaking about the case? And those are the kinds of things getting back to this question of the latitude judges have. The judges going to have to sort out and really pick apart what the nature of the communication was. Now here, any such statement from the former president will be publicly blasted around for the world to see, and we can all assess it, but it's really going to come down to the judge to decide whether it did cross that line.

BOLDUAN: Yes, it's good to see you, Elliot, thank you so much.

WILLIAMS: Thanks, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Once again, the case of surrounding Trump are leading to threats and intimidation against people just doing their jobs. Sources telling CNN, this time the staff of the Fulton County Sheriff's Office who operate that jail where Trump will surrender have become the target of threats. CNN's Nick Valencia is joining us now outside the Fulton County Jail. This is really becoming a disturbing norm, is it not?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sara, it appears that anyone who dares hold the former president, who tries to dare to hold the former President accountable is at risk of receiving threats and now a law enforcement source with knowledge of the situation telling me that these Fulton County Sheriff's deputies, the leadership are receiving threats -- death threats, including threats to their personal residences.

So the Fulton County Sheriff here, Pat Labat, in addition to dealing with the logistical nightmare that comes with coordinating the surrender of 19 co-defendants, including a former president is now having to deal with safety issues when it comes to his sheriff's deputies. We understand these threats are under investigation, as are the threats towards Fulton County grand jurors, which we reported last week. No reported arrests have been made, though authorities do tell me that they're being very close to the vest when it comes to releasing this information so as not to jeopardize any leads.

Meanwhile, out here in front of the Fulton County Jail, we've seen the first defendant Scott Hall, turn himself in. We are waiting for others to do the same. Sara.

SIDNER: All right, Nick Valencia, thank you. I know you'll be tracking this disturbing trend. Appreciate it, John.

BERMAN: All right. The first Republican debate sans Donald Trump, just a day away. New reporting how the other candidates intend to attack the stage. Also new reporting on the situation in Maui after President Biden sees the damage firsthand. Hundreds of people still missing. Six children trapped, nearly a thousand feet in the air with a cable car for the chairlift they were on, snapped. See what happened next.

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[09:15:00]

BOLDUAN: We are monitoring the breaking news out of Fulton County right there. You are looking at live pictures outside the Fulton County Jail. Well, we know that some of Donald Trump's co-defendants are beginning now to report to jail to be processed as they face these charges in Georgia. President Trump is -- has said that he is set to surrender himself to do that on Thursday, which is the day after the first Republican primary presidential debate and it is official.

While that's happening in Georgia aid campaigns are headed to Milwaukee to kick off the first presidential primary debate. The candidates who met the RNC has requirements and will be attending are these eight; Mike Pence, Doug Burgum, Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Asa Hutchinson, Vivek Ramaswamy, and Tim Scott. The oft used and probably overused phrase make or break definitely applies to this meeting for almost all of them.

Debates are already hard enough. And additional complicating factor for everyone on that stage now is the fact that they won't be facing off with the Far and Away front runner. Donald Trump is choosing to skip the big night. CNN's Steve Contorno has more on this for us. He's joining us now. Steve, what are you hearing from the candidates from the campaign's and how they're preparing?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Well, one of the things that we've heard from a lot of these candidates is that they are criticizing Donald Trump for his decision not to show up and that is something that we've heard, especially from Governor DeSantis, who has been hammering Trump in recent days over the decision to skip this debate. Just listen to what he had to say over the weekend about the Trump's decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Nobody is entitled to anything in this world, less of all the Republican nomination for president. He has -- has a great opportunity to come out and do this. I think he owes it to people. I don't think our voters even people that appreciate what he did. And I'm actually one that appreciated a lot of what he did too. I don't think they're going to look kindly on somebody that thinks they don't have to earn it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: DeSantis' campaign believes that without Trump there, he will be the focal point of this debate. And they have been preparing to be taking fire from all sides during tomorrow night's debate. And they have put a lot of emphasis on this debate as an opportunity for him to demonstrate that he is the front runner among this field of Trump alternatives. However, there are a lot of other candidates who are going to be trying to break out tomorrow night as well.

And some of them have a lot more experience on a debate stage than DeSantis does, Kate. So it'll be interesting to see if he's able to live up to those lofty expectations that his own campaign has set for him.

BOLDUAN: That's a good point. It's good to see, Steve, thank you so much. Jonathan. Would you like to join us?

BERMAN: I'm going to walk in.

BOLDUAN: You are going to saunter.

BERMAN: Well, they stood me in the corner. They said you got to stand in the corner in the corner.

BOLDUAN: No one put you up at the corner.

BERMAN: They didn't want me distracting you.

[09:20:00]

BOLDUAN: I'm so easily distracted. Can we discuss really quickly as you take over, how when we're talking about Ron DeSantis, he has in his corner, one of the Republican debate coaches that we often have talked about in previous -- talk to in previous cycles because he's, -- he's often sought after.

BERMAN: Brett O'Donnell, he is known as sort of the debate guru in Republican circles. Whoever signs him up, tends to improve their debate performance. We'll see.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Go to be interesting.

BERMAN: What kind of a difference he can make in this. Now DeSantis --

BOLDUAN: I will now get out of your way.

BERMAN: I don't want you to distracted.

BOLDUAN: Thank you so much.

BERMAN: So Donald Trump is not going to the debate. Now, it appears; no show, no spin. Fox News informed the Trump campaign, they will not provide credentials for Trump surrogates to go to the debate spin room because Trump won't be on the debate stage. Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, Florida Congressman Byron Donalds, Congressman Matt Gaetz, they were all planning on being there. So what happens to them now? CNN's Alayna Treene has been digging on this. What are you learning Alayna?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Right. Well, good morning, John. Yes, the Fox News, which is hosting the first presidential debate tomorrow informed the Trump campaign on Monday that they were pulling credentials for many of Trump's surrogates, as well as his top advisors who were planning on being in the spin room and that's because Donald Trump is not participating on the debate stage tomorrow night, but many of his senior advisors and surrogates who are still planning to go.

And I'm told that many of them had been given outside media credentials, including Byron Donalds, former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and Congressman Matt Gaetz, and they're all expected to still be there. But Donald Trump's advisors were very frustrated by this news when they heard it. They spent a lot of time yesterday trying to come to some sort of resolution with Fox about this so that they could still be there and represent the former president in his absence.

I am told that they have found somewhat of a resolution essentially a loophole of sorts, where outside media organizations can give them credentials and allow them in the spin room. So that is what they are planning on right now. I am told that many of them, many of Trump's senior advisors are headed to Milwaukee or are already there and are expected to be there tomorrow night, John.

BERMAN: It'll be interesting. If you give them the circus, they're very much looking for there. How about Trump himself? What will he be doing or projecting during the hours of the debate?

TREENE: Well, John, we know that he's not going to be on the debate stage, but instead he has already prerecorded an interview with former Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson. So tomorrow night Donald Trump will actually remain in New Jersey near where I am now at his golf club in Bedminster while his opponents are on the debate stage in Milwaukee. But obviously a great opportunity for him to try and counter program with that Tucker Carlson interview and draw some eyes away from the debate and toward himself.

Now another opportunity he'll have to kind of upstage coverage of the debate will be on Thursday when he travels to Georgia for his surrender. And this is something I'm told that Trump's team welcomes in many ways. They welcome the idea of overshadowing a lot of debate coverage. Thursday's normally spent the day after a debate, talking about and dissecting what candidates have said on the stage the night before. But a lot of the news on Thursday is going to be on Trump and his surrender in Georgia. And so a lot of upstaging from the Trump camp here. John.

BERMAN: Going to jail as a political strategy. Alayna Treene, thanks so much for being with us. Keep us posted. Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Former Georgia Lieutenant Governor and CNN political commentator, Geoff Duncan joins us now to discuss the first GOP debate. Thank you so much for being here. You look well rested this morning. It's not too early. Let me ask you about --

GEOFF DUNCAN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER LT. GOVERNOR (R-GA): I got the kids out of the door. SIDNER: You got the kids out the door. They're -- they're enjoying their life. And now it's your turn to work. I want to ask you about the debate, you can give a little bit of clarity here as to who's going to be, let's say the first runner up when you look at this crowded group that is going to take the stage without Trump being there.

DUNCAN: Yes, I think it's a gift to the eight that are going to be there, right. Because instead of having to deal with the circus that surrounds Trump, they're going to be able to find a way to separate themselves, at least, I hope. I'm going to be as one of those 65 percent of the Republican group that's still persuadable. I'm going to be looking for an adult in the room, somebody who's able to rise above the fray and really articulate a plan to talk to America at the kitchen table.

It's starting with that kitchen table costs a lot more today than it did 4 -- 4 years ago. And so I think there's -- there's an opportunity for these folks to rise above and I think America is begging for an adult in the room in this situation.

SIDNER: The question I think everybody will be watching for is whether they come at each other or only concentrate on Joe Biden. It will be interesting to watch to see how that shakes out. All right. New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu has basically said, "look ,we can't have this many candidates. Some of you guys need to -- and women need to drop out of this race."

[09:25:00]

SIDNER: He is not the first to say this. Is he correct? Are those folks that say, look, with all these people, Trump is going to take this all the way to the end?

DUNCAN: Yes, it's easy to just feel like this is an overwhelming situation. If you're somebody who wants to nominate somebody other than Donald Trump, like myself as a Republican, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. But if you break down this situation into smaller projects. Like New Hampshire, for example, there's only going to be 300,000 people, Republicans that vote in that primary up there. And Donald Trump is only ahead of Chris Christie by 20 points.

So you figure, if you can get 30,000 people to believe somebody who's been indicted 91 times, faces federal and state charges from coast to coast shouldn't be the next president United States. You could see somebody like Chris Christie in one new cycle, one debate, climbing up and being breakeven and trying to flip. And the same thing with Iowa, Ron DeSantis, is only 20 points behind. I know, that's only, but that's, you know, only 200,000 folks are going to show up to vote in the Iowa caucuses.

This is a solvable problem. But we have to be determined like no other time in our party's history, to really step up to the plate and garner the support of the 65 percent that are still persuadable, right. There's 35 percent of Republicans that no matter what Donald Trump does, right, there's still going to be his pen pal in prison, right. They just love them. And we need to we need to focus our efforts on the 65 percent. And, oh, by the way, the pot of gold is really the middle who's disenfranchised with Joe Biden too. I could see us in a general if we elect -- nominate somebody other than Donald Trump, I could see a 60:40 landslide victory for a Republican if their name isn't Donald Trump.

SIDNER: Well, that is quite a statement there. I want to talk about Vivek Ramaswamy. He talked to our Kaitlan Collins last night. And here's what he said about -- about the debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VIVEK RAMASWAMY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If he refuses to debate through the entire debate season, I have an issue with that, but I have no issue with him skipping the first couple of debates. The truth is I -- many people in this country didn't even know who I was six months ago. So this is a good opportunity for me to introduce myself to the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: So he's talking about Donald Trump skipping the debate, saying that the first couple don't matter. But you know, he'd be upset if the rest -- if he didn't show up for any of them. Does this really open up a lane? Is he right about opening up a lane for himself and others?

DUNCAN: Yes, you know, I give a lot of credit to Ramaswamy for -- for gaining some momentum and some early lightning in the bottle. He's certainly working hard and he's everywhere. But, you know, for me, it feels like he might be Donald Trump's best friend trying to run against him, right.

SIDNER: Yes.

DUNCAN: It's like, I think we have to be very articulate with the fact that this individual has bankrupted our party, taken us into the ditch for four years and continues to do it. And I just don't think there's a lane for somebody who just kind of half-heartedly talks against Donald Trump. In my opinion, look, I think Ramaswamy disqualified himself when he said he would on his first day in office --

SIDNER: Right.

DUNCAN: -- Pardon Donald Trump. Now, the reason I think that disqualifies him because he hasn't even seen the charges yet. He hasn't even seen the cases presented. And to me if you've ever seen a dual justice system, that would be creating a dual justice system.

SIDNER: Yes, it's interesting. He parrots a lot of Trump speak. And he's been a big supporter of Donald Trump. So we'll have to see, he's sort of like you said Donald Trump Jr, if you will, not the son but the candidate. Appreciate your time. Thank you so much for coming on, and giving us that analysis. Have a great day. Kate.

BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, first Hilary now there's Harold, the next big storm threatening the United States. Flood warnings have been issued for parts of Texas, as the Tropical Storm prepares to make landfall. And vacancy filled. The new attorney hired by the White House amid the looming threat of multiple investigations targeting President Biden, his family, his administration. We will be back.

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