Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Trump Team Fundraises Off Arrest & Mug Shot; 8 Candidates Face Off In First Debate Without Trump. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired August 25, 2023 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Among them, Jeffrey Clark, the former Justice Department official indicted after trying to overturn the election. Now, there are two defendants who have just three hours until the deadline to report to the Fulton County Jail. CNN Correspondent Nick Valencia is live outside of that jail.

Nick, who is left at this point? And I think we know what happens, Fani Willis has been pretty clear about what happens if they do not show up in time.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So two co-defendants left here of the 19 who have yet to surrender Kanye West link publicist Trevian Kutti, who has been charged with her scheme and trying to allegedly pressure election workers to overturn the election results as well as Pastor Stephen Lee, who's charged with doing the same thing. Both of these two co-defendants remain.

And they risk seriously complicated what has been really relatively smooth process for all these other co-defendants who have turned themselves in ahead of the deadline. Of course, there is one defendant who we believe is still in custody. He did not work out a bond agreement, so he's still, we understand, inside in custody inside the Fulton County Jail.

But these other co-defendants who are ticking against the clock here with just hours remaining to turn themselves in, are running a serious risk of stretching out being in custody for days. Earlier, I spoke to local defense attorney Suri Chadha Jimenez who talked to me about what could happen to these co-defendants if they miss this noon deadline.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SURI CHADHA JIMENEZ, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, that noon deadline was a gift. I mean, it is so generous. Is telling somebody there are criminal charges against you come turn yourself in before we go look for you. That is rare. If they do not turn himself in, the warrants will be active and any law enforcement nationwide will have the duty, they have no choice, the duty to arrest them, take them to a local jail and extradite them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: So about two and a half hours left for these co-defendants. As far as what's next in this case, on Monday a federal court hearing from Mark Meadows who's trying to argue that his criminal proceedings should be removed from state court to federal court. He's saying a federal statute gives him that privilege as a federal official who's accused of crimes while working he says in his capacity as the former chief of staff of the former president. And we also have this October date that's been set by Fani Willis. Fani Willis says suggested that this October trial date happen. We should expect a flurry of legal filings before now and then, Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Nick Valencia. Thank you so much for that update. Appreciate you. John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, Donald Trump's campaign is already trying to make money off of all of this. It is selling $34 T shirts with the mug shot and the phrase never surrender, even though he did in fact surrender. I'm joined now by Senior Columnist from The Daily Beast Matt Lewis. He's also the author of "Filthy Rich Politicians, the Swamp Creatures Latte Liberals and Ruling Class Elites Cashing in on America.

Matt, at the top of the show I read some of the analysis in the papers and whatnot about this mug shot in the roll it now plays in American society. You know the New York Times called a "dramatically unprecedented," MSNBC call it "a sinister apparition," Business Insider called it a masterclass. I think we have a picture of this, "A masterclass in capitalizing on one's supervillain era," Reuters said "Yet another extraordinary moment for Trump." You're so good at explaining things. How can all of these things be true at once?

MATT LEWIS, SENIOR COLUMNIST, THE DAILY BEAST: Well, look, I think that this is Donald Trump in a nutshell. He has never wanted to be a uniter, he has never wanted to be a mainstream political figure that things that a normal politician would do to try to grow their coalition, to try to become mainstream. Donald Trump doesn't do. What he is -- instead, is he wants to be a cult leader. Therefor, things that simultaneously make him beloved, also make him hate it.

He is an incredibly divisive figure. And this is something he has actually pursued intentionally as a strategy. And I would say the mug shot is merely the latest example of this.

BERMAN: And you take this on head on in a new column, where you address the conventional wisdom that he can't lose a primary, can't win a general election. Again, how can all these things be true at once?

LEWIS: It is wild, John. If you look at three of the most recent polls that got a lot of traction, the conclusion would be -- and by the way, the caveats apply, right? Polls or snapshot polls can be outliers, but if you just look at those recent polls, you would conclude that Donald Trump cannot win a general election and he cannot lose a primary. And it's really hard to dispute that. So there was an AP poll that came out a week or so ago that showed that 53 percent of Americans would not vote for him under any conditions in a general election, which that's rough. It's hard to win a general election if 53 percent of a -- the voters start off saying they would never vote for you. Of course Trump found a way in 2016 to pick the lock of the Electoral College and win anyway. But this poll showed even more.

[09:35:10]

I think concerning for Donald Trump is that in addition to the 53 percent, who said they won't vote for him, there's another 11 percent, who are highly unlikely to vote for him. So, it becomes very difficult to win at the same time, John, as we know we've seen poll after poll that shows that he is dominating the Republican primary and winning by like -- something like 40 percent.

BERMAN: So, let's talk about the Republican primary and some of the other people running there was a debate the other night. A lot of people watch the debate, by the way, and you wrote of Vivek Ramaswamy. And I want to read this out loud here. You say, "Out of the gate, he looked pompous," and I actually don't know this next word, which is actually why I'm really asking you the question. What's that? Oleaginous?

LEWIS: I think it's pronounced oleaginous, but it's weird, John, because --

BERMAN: What does it mean?

LEWIS: -- I'm a writer there things you know how to spell but don't know how to produce. It means oily but not in the case of like, you know, literally oily. It's like, he's slippery, and devious, I would say.

BERMAN: And you wrote in this piece, the thrust of the piece, besides the vocabulary instruction, was that it's like everyone hates the Vivek Ramaswamy? Why does everyone hate the vague Ramaswamy?

LEWIS: Well, I think there are several reasons, right? For one thing, he's a line skipper, a line jumper. You can -- someone like Nikki Haley has now been toiling in these fields for, you know, 10 or 15 years former Governor, former ambassador, and you've got this young whippersnapper coming along sort of a pharma, tech bro kind of guy coming along who's fast talking. He seems incredibly sure of himself. You know, there's not a lot of introspection, not a lot of wisdom.

He is 100 percent convinced on everything. And look, this is a guy who literally started off his debate by saying that he's the only person on the debate stage who is not bought, was not owned by someone else, right? Everyone else has been bought and sold except for me. You know, there's this book, Dale Carnegie, "How to Win Friends and Influence People. I think someone should send that to Vivek.

BERMAN: Yes. What he did is not in that book, it turns out. Matt Lewis, great to see you this morning. Always great talking to you. Thank you. Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: John Berman, the oleaginous anchor. BERMAN: I didn't know what it meant.

BOLDUAN: The television news.

BERMAN: I didn't know what it meant, but I could sense it was bad.

BOLDUAN: And if you didn't know what it meant -- if you didn't know what it meant, then no one knows what it means. Because you're the one and only oleaginous anchor of CNN, New Central.

Moving on -- John, thank you. Coming up for us for the first time since the deadly wildfires, Maui is formally placing the blame on local utility companies for the devastation. The new lawsuit and what we learned from it is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:42:25]

BOLDUAN: Updates coming in from Maui now, the number of people still unaccounted for is now around 400. The FBI has released a list of 388 names of people, that is a steep drop from the nearly 1000 people that were believed to be missing in the days after the fire now more than two weeks I believe is where we are now. The death toll though remains at 115, making it the deadliest wildfire in the United States in more than a century. Crews now report that they've searched 100 percent of the single storey homes in the disaster zone. They are now focused on searching the multi-story residential homes and commercial properties.

And now for the first time Maui County is placing blame for the fires, pointing the finger directly at the local utility companies. And the county has filed a lawsuit claiming that the company's inaction caused the loss of life. CNN's Natasha Chen, she has more on this. She's been tracking this for us. She joins us now.

Natasha, what is the county pointing to and blaming the utility companies for this?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, they're pointing to negligence. And I think it's notable that in the lawsuit they're calling this a human made disaster. I want to read this quote from the county in that suit saying the "Defendants' in actions caused loss of life, severe injuries, complete destruction of homes and businesses, displacement of 1000s of people and damage to many of Hawaii's historic and cultural sites." Now they're saying specifically that the utility did not maintain the poles that they were seeing advanced wood decay, not up -- not doing the upkeep and not powering down, not de energizing those lines, knowing there was a high probability of fire, especially in those days leading up to the fire where the National Weather Service had issued high wind warnings, high wind watches and red flag warnings. The lawsuit cites how successful powering down lines has been to prevent wildfires like here in California, Oregon, Nevada.

But here is a soundbite from the president and CEO of Hawaiian Electric Company on August 14 talking about that issue. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHELEE KIMURA, PRESIDENT AND CEO, HAWAIIN ELECTRIC CO. INC.: It's worth noting that even in places where this has been used, it is controversial and it's not universally accepted. It's seen as -- it can be seen as creating a hardship for those customers that have medical needs that are at higher risk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: So you see there's some disagreement about that. The company did tell CNN they are disappointed that the county took this litigious route.

[09:45:00]

Now separately, "The Washington Post" is reporting that the utility actually removed poles and lines, other equipment from where the Lahaina fire reportedly started, and that's from "Washington Post" obtaining court records, letters, documents. CNN is still working to independently confirm that. And "The Post" says that this action violated national guidelines on how utilities should handle and preserve evidence after a wildfire. To that, the company spokesperson told "The Washington Post" that they are in regular communication with the ATF and local authorities and cooperating to provide them as well as attorneys representing people affected by the wildfires with inventories and access to the removed equipment, which we have carefully photographed, documented and stored. So, still a lot to parse through here.

And while the lawsuit from the county does not state the exact cause of the fire, it's certainly places responsibility on the utilities, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yikes. This is something very important to watch in the direction this is headed. Thank you so much, Natasha.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Spain soccer president is digging in refusing to resign after that unwanted kiss of a player. Why he says an apology is sufficient? And 30 of the world's top golfers are not only battling each other for the PGA title in Atlanta this week, they are also battling extreme heat. How the players played to stay cool when temperatures are soaring into the triple digits there, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:50:27]

New York Governor Kathy Hochul was calling on the White House to do more to help with the surge of migrants coming to her state. Hochul who has been facing mounting pressure from New York City Mayor Eric Adams ask president buying to take executive action. Ask him to issue an order to expedite work authorizations for the more than 100,000 asylum seekers in New York. New COVID vaccine set to hit drugstores and clinics by mid-September. The CDC says the vaccines were tweaked to protect against the current crop of COVID variants. Both the CDC and the FDA are encouraging Americans to get the updated shots along with other key vaccines before the fall when respiratory viruses cases typically surge. Sara.

SIDNER: All right. It is going to be a scorcher today as golfers -- thank you, John, for that lovely sound track -- for golfers at the PGA Tour Championship in Atlanta, heat indexes are soaring into the triple digits. CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is joining us now live.

Derek, I thought you had some weird contraption that you were showing on another show of which I will not mention. But tell us what -- you're already sweating dude.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, the air is so thick here. I mean, in Atlanta, we have endured one of the hottest overnights ever. And that includes East Lake where I'm located and where the Tour Championship is unfolding right now. This is the same heatwave, Sara, that has broken hundreds of records across the country Chicago yesterday have the highest heat index it's ever recorded.

Now the Tour Championship used to have this particular tournament run here, but it was in November and you bet that the players wish that that was happening this year. But of course that's not the case. It is impossible to escape this heat. People fainted yesterday, some of the spectators because it was so hot. There is EMS obviously on standby for those types of situations.

But I spoke to the PGA tour director and he said that he doesn't want the athletes to focus on being dehydrated or overheated, he wants them to focus solely on the largest prize money of $18 million. And that's going to be a tough task considering how hot it is expected to get here today. They've got heat mitigation efforts all over the place, fan misters, sunscreen stations, all the way down to just cooled towels at each tee box. And I'll show you that contraption in just a moment that Sara asked about in just a second. But I talked to while the press spoke to some of the professional golfers. Here about how they cope with the heat.

And we talked to actually a local native of Georgia. Maybe he had an advantage here actually growing up in Georgia. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN HARMAN, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: You would think it would be a little bit of an advantage but maybe the heat being in him for so long has worn you down. I'm not sure yet. It never seems to get easy to play in heat like this. The tour has done a really nice job with some amendments to the tee boxes with some cold towels and stuff and some smart hydration stuff.

We watch a lot more fans go down and players and caddies. So, the fans that are coming out, they need to be really careful because you get a lot of trouble out there. (END VIDEO CLIP)

VAN DAM: All right. Sara, so here's the answer to your question. This is called the cool MIT device. It literally can drop the core internal temperature of an athlete within a matter of seconds to a safe level and it's apparently safer than doing an ice bath because, yes, me too, it's only a cool $1,000. I'll be sure to send you one in the mail.

But listen, it's a clever device, new technology they're unveiling here. Every third Bull (ph) has one of these for the athletes.

SIDNER: Derek, you know, there's only a few months left until Christmas and honestly that would be such a nice gift for our team. We will be awaiting our present in the mail. Oh wait, Kate's cold.

BOLDUAN: It is two degrees in the studio at all time.

SIDNER: I need that in my life. We will discuss after the show.

And now over to Kate who is always such a warm person.

BOLDUAN: I'm going to say that was really good. That's really good. Getting cut to the cord, it hurts and these tear -- these are tears, not of laughter but I get it. I get it.

When you my (ph) cold heart, we'll continue on. All right. This morning -- gosh darn it, Sarah.

OK. This morning the president of the Spanish football federation is pushing back and now refusing to resign after the controversial kiss that he gave one of Spain's top players moments after she helped the teams secure the World Cup win. And Luis Rubiales says that he will fight to the end. CNN's Andy Scholes, he's following this for us. He's joining us now.

[09:55:09]

Andy, there was a lot of speculation that he was set to resign, but now this. What is happening?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes. Yes. So, Kate, yes, over the last 24 hours and multiple reports that Luis Rubiales he was going to step down as the head of Spain soccer, but that certainly did not happen this morning. He actually doubled down on his stance. Rubiales claiming that that kiss during the World Cup Trophy celebration was actually mutual, despite the player, Jenni Hermosa saying she didn't like it, didn't expect it. Rubiales was while he was speaking at an extraordinary general assembly on Friday says he's going to fight this to the end calling what was happening to him unjust campaigns and fake feminism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUIS RUBIALES, SPANISH FOOTBALL FEDERATION PRESIDENT (through translator): It was spontaneous, mutual, euphoric, and with consent, which is the key. This is the key to all the criticism of all the campaign which has been mounted in this country that it was without consent, no, it was with consent. I said a small pack and she said, OK, then the pack happened during all of the celebration, with her patting me on the side a few times and then excusing herself, with one more hand on the side, and going off laughing. That's the whole sequence that the whole world understood that the whole world thought was an anecdote. And above all, she says was an anecdote, and nothing more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Now, Rubiales has got multiple rounds of applause during his speech and a standing ovation at the end from some in attendance, including some women. But you know, so many have continued to speak out calling for Rubiales to be fired. Spanish soccer star Hector Bellerin posting on Instagram, "It's a genuine embarrassment what's happening." He went on to say, "The narcissist never thinks he's made a mistake. He's capable of lying, manipulating the truth and converting the victim into the perpetrator, with the aim of maintaining his power over others.

So you know, Kate, what's next? Well, the sports -- the Spain Sports Minister expect to have a press conference at 11am. Eastern, we'll find out if they plan on taking the next steps to try to remove Rubiales.

BOLDUAN: Yes, I mean, I think what matters is what the player said about this. And she said, I didn't like it. So --

SCHOLES: Yes.

BOLDUAN: -- there's also her voice in this that is needed. Andy, good to see you. Thank you very much.

Sara.

SIDNER: You got that, right, Kate. The mug shot is in, I know you've seen it. The arraignment is next and the trial could be in October if DA Fani Willis gets her way with a trial for just one of the defendants. The latest on the Trump's historic surrender in Georgia, that's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)