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Trump Federal Election Subversion Trial Date Set; Hurricane Idalia Targets Florida. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired August 29, 2023 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:56]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Idalia now a Category 1 hurricane and rapidly intensifying, right now, winds picking up in parts of Florida, as the state's governor is urging people in the path of the storm to make their final preparations.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN HOST: Also new, key decisions could drop any minute after a day of legal drama for Donald Trump, his federal trial date now set, as his Georgia trial date remains in limbo.

SANCHEZ: Plus, Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin's funeral has taken place. We have new details on the burial we're told took place privately.

I'm Boris Sanchez with Rahel Solomon, in for John, Sara, and Kate, and this is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

Just into CNN, the National Hurricane Center releasing an update on Hurricane Idalia just moments ago, the storm currently a Category 1 hurricane expected to intensify rapidly into a potential Category 3 hurricane when it slams into Florida's Big Bend area tomorrow.

We have just learned maximum sustained winds have increased to nearly 85 miles an hour. This is a live look at Key West this morning, as Hurricane Idalia moves north toward the Florida coast. You can see waves crashing ashore.

This is the southernmost point of the United States, a picture frequently taken by tourists at that cone. Not a good time to take a picture right now, wind gusts there more than 60 miles an hour, and this time lapse video showing Havana essentially disappear as Idalia slammed into Cuba this morning.

Idalia's damaging winds will reach more than 100 miles inland. And with a storm surge of up to 12 feet, one sheriff is reminding people of what Hurricane Ian left behind in Fort Myers less than a year ago.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHAD CHRONISTER, HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLORIDA, SHERIFF: I don't think it can be said enough: Hide from wind, run from water. The thing that we saw that we have learned from Fort Myers, that

people were OK with the wind and the rain. It's the storm surge that end up taking their lives. Keep you and your family safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: CNN is tracking the storm from all angles.

Meteorologist Derek Van Dam is live for us in Clearwater this morning. He leads off our coverage.

Derek, what do you think?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Boris, it's the calm before the storm, right?

But the latest information that we can pass on to our viewers is that Idalia is strengthening, 85-mile-per-hour sustained winds, and it continues to lash the southern portions of Florida already. You saw the live view. We will take it again from Key West, just to give you an indication of what 50 mile-per-hour winds look like.

And that is just an outer rain band. Remember the strongest part of a hurricane near the center of the storm, gusts now over 100 miles per hour, and that official forecast track still calls for a Category 3 making landfall in the Big Bend, but, notice, that winds then at 125 miles per hour. That is just shy of a Category 4 hurricane.

So we anticipate -- so does the National Hurricane Center -- continued rapid strengthening. And that is a concern and it is all because of these warm waters that we have behind us.

Storm surge, we talk about that so frequently. The water here is literally, well, like a hot tub. It's not bathtub anymore. It is a hot tub. We're running two to three degrees, even four degrees above average for this time of year. And that's like jet fuel for developing and strengthening hurricanes.

And this coastline is so susceptible to storm surge. Let me explain why. We have got our CNN drone and our CNN aerials to give you a perspective of just the miles and miles of flat, flat beach. If I was to walk out into the Gulf of Mexico, several hundred feet from here, it would literally be up to my knees or perhaps even up to my waist.

But that just shows you how shallow nature this water is, and that is going to give the opportunity for Idalia to push up this water and create the storm surge.

[11:05:00]

So, the time frame of this is, again, Wednesday into Thursday. The storm surge push will be greatest across that Big Bend. We call it the catcher's mitt of Florida. That is literally where we are seeing that eight-to-12-foot storm surge. And we look into places like Tampa Bay, four to seven feet, that will cause problems in a highly populated area -- Boris. SANCHEZ: Highly populated, indeed, some five million people in the

path of the storm now facing hurricane warnings.

Let's discuss with an official who's in the path of the storm as well, Josh Boatwright. He's a public information officer for Pinellas County, Florida. Pinellas County includes St. Pete Beach and Clearwater, where we just saw Derek Van Dam.

Sir, thanks so much for being with us.

What's your concern for residents in that area?

JOSH BOATWRIGHT, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, PINELLAS COUNTY, FLORIDA: Well, as was just mentioned, storm surge is the biggest concern we have.

Four to seven feet is still forecast. Even though Idalia has tracked a bit away from our area and is headed more toward the Big Bend, the winds and the power of the storm are definitely still expected to bring a pretty good wall of water into our coastal areas.

And, in Pinellas County, we are a peninsula, on a peninsula. So we have folks living along the water and in low-lying areas on all sides of our community. And we're really urging folks in those areas to evacuate, to get to a safe place that is well above where the storm surge waters are forecast to rise to.

SOLOMON: And, to that end, I mean, are you finding that residents and people there are taking those evacuation orders seriously?

BOATWRIGHT: We are.

We had one shelter that opened last night. The majority of our shelters, our public shelters are opening this morning. So we're still getting some information from the ground as far as how many people are going to those shelters.

Obviously, going to a public shelter is just one option. We also encourage people to go stay with friends and family who are outside of the evacuation zone or go to a hotel. People don't have to leave Pinellas County or even the Tampa Bay area to get out of harm's way with this particular storm.

The key is really just to get out of those particularly vulnerable areas that are vulnerable to the storm surge.

SANCHEZ: Josh, I want to put up a picture that we had up just a moment ago of the southernmost point of the United States in Key West.

I do so because, a moment ago, I was saying that it's probably not a good time for someone to go out and take a picture there. And, literally, that is what someone is doing right now, it appears. I'm not sure if you can see the video, Josh.

But, look, I'm a Florida man myself. I know that Floridians are a special breed. And they kind of shrug if it isn't anything above a Category 4. What's your message to folks that might be a bit stubborn about preparing for this kind of storm surge?

BOATWRIGHT: Well, here in the Tampa Bay area, we have had a lot of near misses in terms of storms. And this one, of course, also isn't forecast to be a direct hit.

But what we are trying to tell people is, these storms hit in different ways. And particularly with the last couple of major storms that have come close to us, Irma and Ian, in those storms, we actually saw a lot of water drain out of Tampa Bay. And people might be used to that idea that we won't be seeing a lot of that, that storm surge.

But we're really trying to emphasize to people that the storm won't be like that. The forecast has been pretty clear that, if you're in those areas, you are going to see that water starting to rise up. And depending on how higher your house is above the ground, you will get water coming into your house at the height of the storm surge.

SOLOMON: Josh, it's a complicated decision for a lot of people, people who have pets, people who may feel like they may not be able to afford a hotel or perhaps don't have friends and family in the Florida region.

For folks who decide that they are going to stay, what should they be doing right now to prepare?

BOATWRIGHT: Well, it certainly -- we hope that people who are in the evacuation zone know that there is free transportation on our public bus system here, that many of our shelters allow pets in our pet- friendly shelters.

And we also have accommodation for people who have special medical needs or who are electrical-dependent. So...

SANCHEZ: It seems like we're having some technical issues there with Josh, perhaps not a surprise...

SOLOMON: Understandably.

SANCHEZ: ... as we're seeing bands of the storm get closer and closer to that area.

But our thanks to Josh Boatwright of Pinellas County.

SOLOMON: And Idalia has also forced airlines to cancel more than 470 flights already today. That number is expected to grow. Tampa International has already suspended all operations And the St. Pete- Clearwater Airport, which is located in the mandatory evacuation zone, they say they will close later this afternoon.

Let's bring in CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean. He is in Washington.

Pete, the storm's arrival comes just ahead of what is a busy Labor Day travel weekend. I mean, how disruptive, at least for now, could this be?

[11:10:04]

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: You know we're only seeing the start of this, Rahel.

You mentioned the Labor Day travel rush. And the FAA says Thursday will be the big day for travel. Behaviors have changed because of the pandemic and people can work from home, but the FAA monitoring this in a big way.

They have held a teleconference already wants today specifically about the hurricane. They're holding another one today at 6:00 p.m., because this could really have a nationwide impact.

Just checked FlightAware, about 480 flights canceled across the U.S., just crossed the 900 delay mark in the U.S., those numbers only going to go up. Right now, most of them are at Tampa International Airport, which, as you mentioned closed at 12:01 a.m. today.

They're really concerned, a bit of a preemptive strike, about the employees -- there are 10,000 of them there at the airport -- and about the passengers, but also the storm surge. That can have a really big impact. And John Tiliacos, the executive vice president of operations there, says they're really concerned about water on the airport, along with projectiles and the infrastructure of the airport.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN TILIACOS, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS, TAMPA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: We're looking at storm surge of four to seven feet at high tide, which has the potential to bring water on to the airport. And so we're taking all of the measures that we need to, to make sure we mitigate as best we can the impact of water on to the airport.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: A hive of activity there right now. They are moving airplanes. They are moving equipment.

They want to make sure that the airport can open again when the storm potentially passes. They think they may be able to do damage assessments there at Tampa International Airport as early as tomorrow morning and open up again sometime on Thursday.

A lot of folks online just questioning why they would do this early, but they need to do it, especially at Tampa International Airport, because it is so close to Tampa Bay. The good news here for travelers is that, if you have flights into or out of Florida, pretty much every major airline is offering a travel waiver, meaning you can change your flight free of charge, no change fees, for pretty much every major airline right now.

Even United Airlines, knowing that the Tampa Airport is closed, they're adding extra flights out of airports like Sarasota and Orlando, Rahel.

SOLOMON: A lot to watch here.

Pete Muntean, thank you -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Hurricane Idalia has the potential to join a list of powerful storms with devastating and deadly impacts.

Keep in mind, hurricanes that are especially damaging usually have their names retired. Of the 96 storms that have been removed, whose names have been removed, those starting with I have been retired more than any other letter, 14 of them in all.

If Idalia strikes the Northwest Florida Peninsula as a major hurricane, it will be just the sixth storm to do so. Only five storms Category 3 or stronger have made landfall or even passed within 100 miles of the area since we started keeping records back in 1851.

All five of those storms were a Category 3 at landfall, except for one, the catastrophic 1935 Labor Day hurricane. It was an unnamed storm that hit the Florida Keys as a Category 5, and then made its way up the West Coast, passing 30 miles West of Tampa Bay while still a Category 3.

That hurricane killed at least 485 people, including 260 World War I veterans who were on an evacuation train that was derailed by high winds and storm surge. By several measures, it remains one of the most intense hurricanes to ever hit the United States -- Rahel.

SOLOMON: All right, Boris, still ahead: Will Trump's former-Chief- of-Staff-turned-co-defendant Mark Meadows win his court battle in Georgia? How the judge's decision could impact Trump and the other co- defendants in the state's election subversion case.

And, later, U.S. intelligence officials are investigating more than a dozen migrants who were allowed to cross the U.S. Southern border with the help of a smuggler with ties to ISIS.

We will explain. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:18:53]

SANCHEZ: There are major lingering questions this morning after a dramatic day of legal developments in Donald Trump's election subversion cases.

In Georgia, a judge right now is still weighing Mark Meadows' request to move his case from state to federal court. This comes after Trump's former chief of staff took a big risk by testifying. He took the stand.

The Meadows ruling could greatly impact this question: When will the trial in Fulton County happen? Fulton County DA Fani Willis wanted March 4, but that's now the official start of the federal election trial in Washington, D.C.

Let's discuss more of this with Tim Heaphy, former federal prosecutor and former lead investigator for the January 6 Select Committee, and former U.S. attorney Harry Litman.

Thank you both for being with us.

Harry, first to you.

Trump put out a statement saying that he was going to appeal the trial start date. Is that at all realistic?

HARRY LITMAN, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY: No, you can't appeal this kind of thing.

It's an interesting aspect of many of these trials. There's only very few decisions that can be appealed. One of them, however, is a decision not to remove a case. Meadows will have an appeal, if he loses this. And Trump, when, as expected, he makes a removal motion, also will.

[11:20:12]

SANCHEZ: And, Tim, Trump's team wanted to delay the start of this trial because of evidence that you were very familiar with, working on the January 6 Committee, some 12 million pages of discovery.

Do you think that, with her decision, Judge Chutkan downplayed those concerns from Trump's attorneys?

TIMOTHY HEAPHY, FORMER JANUARY 6 COMMITTEE LEAD INVESTIGATOR: No, I think she credited the concerns, but found that they did not overcome the government's and the public's interest in a speedy trial.

The government pointed out that the majority of those millions of pages of discovery were things that the president already had access to, the former president, social media posts and documents that were obtained from him or his campaign, so it wasn't new information to him.

She also made clear that the essential facts have been public for a long time. The Select Committee's materials were posted publicly at the end of our work in January. So there's really no big surprise in the government's discovery.

And they still have six months to review everything. It's all been completed and turned over. So they have access now to everything that the government will use at trial. So she gave them six months, which is sort of the far extent of what the Speedy Trial Act contemplates. It seems to me like a very reasonable ruling.

SANCHEZ: Harry, the other big development yesterday had to do with Mark Meadows, the former chief of staff. He remained relatively quiet over Trump's legal matters for a long time.

But, yesterday, he testified and took the stand. What stood out to you about his testimony?

LITMAN: Yes, I mean, he's been shrouded in mystery for a long time.

And, in general, you want to stay that way if you're a possible defendant. You don't want to give prosecutors a shot at you. You don't want to have to tell your story and fix it. What stood out to me, Boris, was the -- his account of the January 2 phone call.

He gave a credible account that, in the main for the couple of months after the election, he was doing chief of staff sorts of duties, setting up calls and the like. But that phone call and the preface to it, where he basically joins with Trump in trying to pressure Raffensperger, that's -- that was the hardest part for him to try to justify in order to get removal, the hardest part for him to say, I was just acting under my federal office.

And that's the -- I think, going to be the linchpin of Judge Jones' ruling when it comes in about 10 days. And Jones himself said this looks like an issue of first impression. I think it could go either way, but I think it will center on the January 2 phone call.

SANCHEZ: And, Tim, given what you uncovered about Meadows' efforts leading up to January 6, as Harry noted that phone call on January 2, and other events, what did you make of Meadows' testimony?

HEAPHY: I agree 100 percent with what Harry said.

Meadows testified that he was essentially an observer, that it was his job as White House chief of staff to monitor the president's activity and to serve as sort of a gatekeeper.

The problem is that, factually, he was a lot more than a gatekeeper. He was an active participant in that January 2 phone call, where he raises his own and makes his own contributions and raises facts that Secretary Raffensperger rebuts.

And the record is replete with instances where Meadows didn't just act as an observer, but, rather, an active participant. And there's plenty of evidence that manifests his intent to join this conspiracy to obstruct the joint session.

So it's a question of whether he was simply a passive observer as White House chief of staff, or whether the more credible prosecutors' rebuttal to that is that he was an actual participant.

I agree with Harry that I think it is a case of matter first impression that the judge will take some time and think about. But it does -- it is going to be difficult for Meadows, in my view, to move this case to federal court.

SANCHEZ: And, Tim and Harry, we hope you will come back when developments unfold to let us use your expertise for perspective. Thanks so much.

HEAPHY: Thank you.

LITMAN: Thanks.

Thanks, Tim.

SANCHEZ: Of course -- Rahel.

SOLOMON: All right, Boris.

And coming up for us: Hurricane Idalia on track to make landfall in Florida's Gulf Coast as a Category 3. Coming up next, we will go live to the Tampa area, where they're also bracing for what could be ahead.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:29:12]

SOLOMON: Just into CNN, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has announced that he has been diagnosed with what he is calling -- quote -- "a very treatable blood cancer."

In a statement, Scalise says that he has already begun treatments and will return to Washington -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: This hour, the National Hurricane Center says the Big Bend area of Florida should be prepared for -- quote -- "catastrophic storm surge," urging residents to heed any evacuation orders.

The storm is expected to make landfall as a Category 3 hurricane as Idalia gains strength.

Let's actually listen to Governor Ron DeSantis, who's speaking in Northern Florida right now at Duke Energy. Here's the governor.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... are also staging assets, ready to deploy as soon as it's safe.

Now, these companies have called in linemen from throughout the Southeast, as well as, as far away as places like Nebraska, who will be ready to roll as soon as the storm passes. There are over 25,000 linemen already in Florida.

[11:30:00]