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Gov. Ron DeSantis's Storm Preparation News Conference; Key Hearing for Trump; Hearing for Trial Date for Trump; Nancy Gertner and Jeremy Saland are Interviewed about the Trump Cases; DOJ Investigating Florida Shooing; Issaiah Rumlin is Interviewed about the Jacksonville Shootings. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired August 28, 2023 - 09:00   ET

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

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[09:00:38]

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: This morning we are set to learn significant new details in the trials of Donald Trump. Two key hearings in two separate cases, one in D.C., one in Fulton County, Georgia, moving the legal drama surrounding the former president into a new phase.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And police calling it a rampage motivated by hate. A white gunman targeting black people in Jacksonville, Florida, shooting and killing three victims at a Dollar General store. What we're learning this morning.

SOLOMON: Also, a major hurricane threat. Tropical Storm Idalia gaining strength, churning in the warm waters of the Gulf, and taking aim at Florida's West Coast.

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

And we are taking a look at Governor Ron DeSantis as he prepares to make remarks about Hurricane Idalia, as we just said.

Let's listen.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): We also have FDLE on site today evaluating security on campus and making recommendations for any additional infrastructure improvements.

Also, per the request at yesterday's vigil, we're able to do $100,000 to the charity that's supporting the victims' families. And those funds are all coming from Volunteer Florida. So, we're going to continue to work with those folks in the days and weeks ahead.

As of 0800 today, 90 miles south of Cuba, Tropical Storm Idalia continues to gather strength. It will become a hurricane today and it is forecast to reach landfall as a major hurricane, a category 3.

I think it's important to point out, if we were sitting here three days ago, a lot of people thought it would end up being a tropical storm. Then they said, well, maybe a category one. Then yesterday it was, oh, maybe it will hit cat two. Now there really doesn't seem anything to prevent it from continuing to strengthen.

And we've seen this before with something like Hurricane Michael that continued to gather strength. So - so this is going to be a major impact and Floridians should expect that this - this storm will be a major cat three plus hurricane. So, please prepare accordingly.

The National Hurricane Center currently has hurricane watches in effect for the Gulf Coast from Sarasota County, all the way up to Franklin County in northwestern Florida.

And this track, if you look at how the models are, there's a general agreement on the track that it's going to take. There's a lot of agreement that it's going to be, you know, somewhere between north of Tampa and Tallahassee. But anything that wobbles with this storm could change that. So, pretty much anybody on the West Coast of Florida, I mean you can see major, major impacts. And so please prepare accordingly.

We did submit a pre-landfall declaration to the federal government last night. We anticipate that that will be approved.

I have expanded our state of emergency, the executive order, to include 13 additional counties. So that will be 46 that are under a state of emergency, of course, on the Gulf Coast but also, as you look at the track of that storm, you're going to see northern Florida, north central Florida, northeastern Florida counties affected as well. So, all of those counties are under a state of emergency.

Our state EOC is operating at a level one, 24-hour operations. This is what we do.

Now, all counties in the path of Idalia should have their emergency operations centers activated now. Please request aid from the state as soon as possible. There's a relatively limited window here. If you request aid, Kevin and his team are going to get it to you. But if you wait until, you know, six, eight hours before the storm hits, it's going to be much more difficult to make that happen. So, tell us what your needs are, submit those requests and Kevin and his team are going to work to fill those requests as expeditiously as possible.

Evacuation orders. I urge Floridians to heed the admonitions and heed the directives from your local officials.

[09:05:05]

There are going to be evacuation orders issued in all these Gulf Coast counties in the a and b zones. All the barrier islands, places that are low lying on the coast, you are going to be told to evacuate. So just understand that. And that will be true probably from Pinellas, maybe even Manatee, all the way up through the big bend.

Keep in mind, if you're told to evacuate, you do not need to drive hundreds of miles. You do not need to leave the state of Florida. You basically need to go to higher ground. Almost every instance you can go tens of miles to a shelter, to a hotel, to a friend's house, whatever works for you, and you will be able to ride out the storm. The key is, is to not be in those areas that are going to be hit with big-time storm surge and that are going to potentially have life- threatening situations. And so tens of miles, not necessarily need hundreds of miles. And the more people that do a more limited evacuation, more local evacuation, you're not going to have the highways and the roads clogged. So, it's not necessary to try to outrun the storm, just get to higher ground, get in a structure that is going to be able to handle the hurricane, ride it out and then you'll be able to go back to you property and inspect -

SOLOMON: And we've been listening to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as the state prepares for Idalia, saying that there will be evacuation orders, telling Floridians to prepare accordingly. Still watching the track, but saying that if, in fact, your county gets an evacuation order, you don't necessarily have to leave the state but seek higher ground and prepare accordingly. This is something, of course, we will continue to follow closely throughout the show, and we'll have much more in just a few moments.

But turning to our other top story today and this morning. And starting next hour, two key hearings, two different cities, two major tests for two of Donald Trump's four criminal indictments. At 10:00 a.m. Eastern judges in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., are set to hold dual hearings. And that means that very soon we will all have a much clearer picture of the timing, the evidence and the legal peril that the former president faces ahead.

In D.C. January 2nd or April 2026, those are the proposed dates as arguments over when the federal election interference trial should begin. Special counsel Jack Smith and Trump's lawyers preparing to duke it out. And this could get fiery. Last time we had a hearing with this D.C. judge, she told the 2024 candidate that his status as a criminal defendant will take precedent over politics.

And in Atlanta it's a crucial litmus test for Georgia's election indictment. Key evidence set to soon be presented as Trump's former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, seeks to move his charges out of state court to federal court. And today's fight will provide the best preview yet that the case district attorney Fani Willis has built against Trump and his 18 accused co-conspirators.

Now, Trump not expected to attend either hearing today as his campaign continues to profit off prosecutions. On Saturday his team claimed to have raised $7.1 million since he was booked in Georgia last week.

There is obviously a lot to get to this morning. Let's begin this hour in Atlanta with CNN's Katelyn Polantz outside federal court.

Katelyn, good morning.

What can we expect?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, Rahel, there will be witnesses today in federal court. They will be under oath. And they will be pretty important voices who interacted with Donald Trump after the 2020 election. There have been witness -- four witnesses subpoenaed by Georgia, that's the prosecutors in this case, to come to a hearing today in federal court because Mark Meadows, one of the defendants charged here, Donald Trump's chief of staff in the White House, Meadows is trying to get this case moved, or at least the case against him moved from state court into federal court. And the people that the prosecutors in this case have subpoenaed to testify today to show, to try and show that Meadows was acting in a political capacity rather than as part of his official duties in the White House when he was helping Trump try to challenge the election results in Georgia, they include people like Brad Raffensperger, the secretary of state. He is expected to be at the court hearing, very likely testifying today. Also, an investigator that Trump also called, similar to how he called Raffensperger. And then two lawyers that were working more on the Trump side of things, they've been subpoenaed to the courthouse as well.

So, we are very likely to hear that witness testimony. The very first time in any of these criminal cases against Donald Trump where we'll get a preview of the evidence that the prosecutors would have in any of the cases. No one has had to do something like this yet. And so that is important.

There's also going to be these important legal arguments around whether this case does have some sort of protection for the people who were federal officials at the time of these allegations.

[09:10:08]

People like Mark Meadows. What happens today with Meadows might not just be about him, either. It could expand out to what happens with others in the case and be quite a harbinger for what may happen with Donald Trump in this case as a defendant as well.

Rahel.

SOLOMON: Yes, that's something we've heard a lot, that this could be a predictor of what could happen with some of those co-conspirators, as you say.

Katelyn Polantz, we will, of course, continue to check back if with you throughout the show. Katelyn Polantz, live for us there in Atlanta.

But, Boris, this is one trial and one city, but we know that there is another one happening today as well.

What are you hearing?

SANCHEZ: No shortage of cases for the former president.

SOLOMON: Yes.

SANCHEZ: So, let's focus on Washington, D.C., now, where today a judge could decide when the federal election subversion case against Trump could begin. Trump's lawyers want to start a few years down the road, but special counsel Jack Smith wants to start ASAP, in just a few months.

CNN's Evan Perez is outside the courthouse for us.

So, Evan, how are both sides going to be making their case?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, we expect that the former president is going to be making his case to try to delay this trial as long as possible, certainly after the 2024 election. His team is asking for a trial date in April of 2026. Jack Smith, the special counsel, he has asked for a trial to happen in January of next year. Of course, Judge Tanya Chutkan is the one who's going to make the decision and she's already signaled that she believes that this case and the importance of this case takes precedence over the former president's political campaign, which, of course, is ongoing and it is influencing some of what is happening here.

The former president is facing a four-count indictment in this case. It's a narrow case. Much narrower than the one you see down in Georgia where Katelyn is. And that was designed for a reason. He's charged with defrauding the United States, obstructing Congress and, of course, disenfranchising voters in those states where the former president was trying to overturn the election results.

Again, the case was designed in a narrow fashion, perhaps to try to get it to trial as soon as possible. We'll hear from Judge Chutkan at this hearing in the next hour and we'll see what patience she has for trying to delay this beyond the election year.

Of course, the former president is going to be making the -- his legal team is going to be making the case that they've -- they have so much material to get through that they cannot possibly go to trial in the next year, guys.

SANCHEZ: Evan Perez outside U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., thanks so much.

Rahel.

SOLOMON: All right, Boris, thank you.

And with me now to discuss is former federal judge Nancy Gertner and former Manhattan assistant district attorney Jeremy Saland.

Welcome to you both. Good morning.

Nancy, I want to start with you in the Georgia case. You are a former federal judge. So, talk to me about the why. What advantage does Mark Meadows and his team see by wanting to move this to federal court?

NANCY GERTNER, FORMER FEDERAL JUDGE: Well, there are a couple of concrete advantages. I mean one concrete advantage is the fact that the jury pool in federal court draws from just more than just, you know, Atlanta. It would actually draw from the neighboring counties, which across the country typically means suburban voters and typically means -- would be conceivably a more pro-Trump configuration than just the city of Atlanta. So that's one advantage.

The other advantage, it would be an opportunity to present federal defenses, if he has any. Federal defenses which would not as -- be brought in state court. So, he -- the nature of the trial would change a bit. The audience for the trial could change. But the -- should it wind up in federal court, the law, however, it still is Georgia law, it still is the Georgia accusations. So, that would -- there are some advantages. There are some advantages. And if he has any federal defenses, that would be the locus for hearing those federal defenses.

SOLOMON: No, it's a great point and I want to bring -

GERTNER: But I'm not optimistic -

SOLOMON: And I want to bring Jeremy into that.

So, same Georgia law and same Fulton County prosecutor, Fani Willis. But if you're a prosecutor, you don't want this to happen. Why not? You don't want this grand -- moving to federal court.

JEREMY SALAND, FORMER MANHATTAN ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I know my court. I know my jurisdiction and venue. I've walked that path countless times. I know those judges. And the law -- the substantive underlying criminal code doesn't change, but there's different federal procedures that I'm not necessarily familiar with. It's, you know, it's kind of like Hoosiers (ph) in the sense that it's the same - the hoop is still 10 feet, and it's the same thing no matter what area you're in, what court you're in, but it's still just very different. It's not going to change her approach. It's not going to change what the evidence is going to be. But it does change a little bit in the sense that you're at a different place that's a little less familiar.

SOLOMON: Nancy, let's stick with the Georgia case. If this is a case before you, what are you going to be listening for in terms of some of the witnesses today, some of the evidence, in terms of whether Mark Meadows has what we've heard a lot, a colorable defense, has some legitimacy here for moving this to federal court?

[09:15:13]

GERTNER: Well, I think the question is going to first depend on what the law is, what the standards are. If the standards are -- if the judge believes that the standards are low and there's some mushiness here, they're -- because this is not an often used statute, that whether or not it is colorable, whether - whether - I mean that's a very, very low standard, colorable federal defense, colorable federal claim.

The other low standard would be if the judge adopts a view that all that was - all that's relevant here is that the acts took place while Meadows was chief of staff. Now, if that had been the standard, the judge wouldn't have needed an evidentiary hearing because it was clear, in terms of some of the accusations anyway, timewise he was chief of staff while they were happening.

But the fact of this evidentiary hearing means that the judge wants to dig deeper than just you were doing x while you were chief of staff. He wants to know whether the accusations in the Atlanta case are related to - are actually causally related to Meadows' jobs. Under what circumstances does the chief of staff of the United States have a right to involve himself in an electoral situation, Electoral College situation, in a - in a state, or under what circumstances can he - can someone who's obviously being involved in the campaign and not in his traditional U.S. duties, that he's involved in the campaign, that he's not shielded by this law, that he doesn't have a right to access. So, the judge's date (ph) obviously has a view of this and is digging more deeply.

SOLOMON: Jeremy, let me give you the final word here, and let's pivot to D.C. I mean we heard our correspondent Evan Perez there say that Trump's team clearly feel like - or at least they're saying they feel like there is a lot of evidence here that they need months, if not years, to prepare. Is that a valid argument?

SALAND: I think there's an argument to be made -- and there's certainly an argument to be made that there's a lot of evidence, but it's not - it's not to the extent that they're making it out to be. The defense is going to throw everything they can in the way to make this thing move as slowly as possible. That is their goal. Being speedy, despite the term we've heard about the speedy trial, is not in their advantage, especially for Donald Trump in D.C. because he wants to get this beyond the election. Whether it's removal, whether it's a severance, whether it's a motion to dismiss, whether it's review and discovery, any tool that they have they are going to pursue, meaning Donald Trump, to move this case out as long as he can. And that goes for all his cases. Further and farther out, that's his friend in terms of timeline.

SOLOMON: Well, it sounds like we'll learn a lot more in that regard a little later today.

Jeremy Saland, thank you. Nancy Gertner, thank you both.

Boris.

SANCHEZ: Still to come this morning, calls for action in Jacksonville, Florida, after a white man shoots and kills three black people during a racially motivated attack.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sad to realize we are in 2023 and as a black person we are still hunted because that's what that was.

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SANCHEZ: Plus, Russia officially confirming the death of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. What that means for the future of the mercenary group. And of course, we're tracking Tropical Storm Idalia. The storm

strengthening, expected to become a major hurricane by Wednesday. We're going to tell you when it's expected to make landfall as it barrels towards the Florida coast.

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[09:22:51]

SANCHEZ: This morning the Justice Department is investigating Saturday's deadly shooting in Jacksonville, Florida, as a hate crime. Three black people were killed at a Dollar General store when a white gunman opened fire. Police releasing these images from surveillance video of the shooting. Just a short time earlier on Sunday, the shooter had been turned away from the campus of a historically black university in the area. The victims have now been identified as well. They are 52-year-old Angela Michelle Carr, 29-year-old Jerrald Gallion and 19-year-old AJ Laguerre Jr. Jacksonville's sheriff says the 21- year-old shooter left behind racist ramblings that read like, quote, "the diary of a madman."

Listen.

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SHERIFF T.K. WATERS, JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA: When a person grabs ahold of a gun with hateful intentions it's very difficult to stop that from happening.

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SANCHEZ: The attack is just the latest in recent years where a gunman has targeted black people, including at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, New York, last year, and an historically black church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015.

Now, President Biden spoke with Jacksonville's mayor and the sheriff last night. In a statement the president saying, quote, "we must refuse to live in a country where black families going to the store or black students going to school live in fear of being gunned down because of the color of their skin.

Let's take you know live to Jacksonville with CNN's Isabel Rosales.

Isabel, you've spoken to a number of community leaders, as well as the family of a victim. How are they holding up?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is such a tough scenario for them. They're really grappling and trying to understand what it is that happened here.

But let me get - let me paint you a picture of when the shooting happened on Saturday. This happened on the 60th anniversary - the commemoration of the March on Washington. Also the fifth anniversary of a mass shooting here in Jacksonville. But also something known as Ax Saturday, where in the 1960s a white mob beat black demonstrators. So, the timing here certainly doesn't help. Just adding to the outrage of this community that an outsider, a white man, would come here to this predominantly black community and carry out this act of violence.

[09:25:09]

So, we just learned on CNN from Sheriff T.K. Waters, a black man, that for some reason this shooter was, quote, "very focused" on this Dollar General. And he carried out his rampage here for 11 minutes, donning a tactical vest, a mask. He had an AR-15-style rifle, a handgun with swastikas on them. And then in this parking lot right here, he fired 11 rounds into a car killing Angela Carr Then he went inside the Dollar General, killed an employee there and another customer and also chased a witness inside of this Dollar General, firing at her. Thankfully, she got away unharmed. All of the victims here were black. And then he turned the gun on himself.

Also incredibly we are learning about what happened on a campus not too far from here, a historically black college, that is Edward Waters University, where the shooter was there first and security actually turned him away after students spotted weird behavior from him according to the president, Zachary Faison. He says he is frustrated because his school was targeted before in a string of bomb threats against HBCUs back in 2022, but he is so proud of his security team.

Listen.

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ROSALES: Do you believe that lives were saved?

ZACHARY FAISON, PRESIDENT, EDEWARD WATERS UNIVERSITY: Oh, I think it -- I think it's - it is - it is -- it's unconverted that we now know that this very disturbed young man had the intention to go and murder black folks. It's not by happenstance, we believe, that he came to the first historically black university in the state first. And so we - you know, I think it's unconverted that this security team here at our institution saved dozens of lives. And for that we're very, very grateful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And you heard there the president believing that his school was absolutely targeted. We just heard from the sheriff, T.K. Waters, who says that they have found no indication that the shooter intended to attack the university. And also brand new from Governor Ron DeSantis, he intends to award $1 million to the school to help bolster its security.

Boris.

SANCHEZ: Isabel Rosales, live from Jacksonville, Florida.

Rahel, still a lot of questions to be answered.

SOLOMON: And for more to discuss now is Isaiah Rumlin. He is the president of the Jacksonville chapter of the NAACP, because, Boris, as you say, there is a lot to discuss.

Isaiah, we appreciate the time this morning.

Can you just first tell me how the Jacksonville community is doing?

ISAIAH RUMLIN, PRESIDENT, NAACP JACKSONVILLE CHAPTER: Good morning. And glad to be here.

But, I mean, we're holding on as best as we can. But this was a very sad, dark day in the history of Jacksonville wherein this racist, white supremacist came into our community, attacked people of color, killing three. It's a very sad day and something needs to be done as it relates to sensible gun laws and gun control in this country.

I mean we saw Buffalo. We saw South Carolina. The Jewish community. Now Jacksonville. Five years ago we had this same issue with another mass killing. So, I mean, we are - I mean we're holding up. We're doing the best that we can under the circumstances. But it's a very dark, disheartening day in our city.

I mean I drive by this store probably three to four times a day. I know exactly where it is. I've been in it several times. And for someone to come into our community, target African Americans and then kill them and murder them is very unacceptable.

SOLOMON: Yes. You know, you mentioned that mass shooting five years ago to the day. We've learned the sheriff said that the shooter was, in fact, aware of the timing. What do you make of that, that level of what appears to be premeditation or the performative aspect, at least from what we can tell now, of the shooter's actions?

RUMLIN: I think this just goes to show how hatred exists in our country. It is not - and it's been with us for a long time. It is continuing. And all the rhetoric that we are hearing from our politicians are not helping in any way. I think there's going to have to come a time wherein this rhetoric, policies, statements that are being scrutinized by our politicians must come to an end and must end today.

SOLOMON: And, Isaiah, let me ask, to that end, Governor DeSantis just announced this morning, we heard this from Isabel Rosales, that the state of Florida will be giving $1 million to Edward Waters University.

[09:30:07]