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Trump Pleads Not Guilty In Georgia Election Subversion Case; Two Trump Co-Defendants Request Separate Trials; McConnell Freezes For The Second Time; President Biden Visits FEMA HQ In Wake Of Hurricane Idalia; McConnell Declared Medically Clear To Continue With His Schedule. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired August 31, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:50]

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JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump pleads not guilty and elects to skip a hearing next week in the Georgia election interference case, while his attorneys also look to sever his case from those of his co- defendants. Details on that and the looming decision over whether his former chief of staff's -- case gets bumped to federal court.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And on Capitol Hill, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is telling allies and donors that he can still do his job. Some colleagues are questioning whether that is the case after he appeared to freeze at a news conference for the second time this summer. We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN News Central.

SCIUTTO: It has been a jam-packed day for Donald Trump's defence team. First, the former president formally entered a not guilty plea to 13 charges in the Georgia election subversion case. This was an expected plea from Trump. He has already pleaded not guilty in three other cases in recent months. And he and his lawyers have been very clear that any talk of a deal is out of the question.

And Trump's lawyers just filed to sever his case from some of the others. They argue they will not be ready for an October start to the trial, which some of his co-defendants are seeking. We have CNN's Sara Murray and Zachary Cohen here following all of these. So, Sara, first about this new filing in which he was basically saying he's not going to show up at the arraignment. I mean, he sometimes likes to take advantage of the public spectacle. You might say he did exactly that with the mugshot from showing up to his booking. Why the decision here to basically waive that right?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, I think there are a couple of reasons. One, I don't think Donald Trump thinks it's all that much fun to go to court now that he's done it a few times. You know, he got the full pomp and circumstance, which is weird to say, but around his arrest, right? He got the lights and sirens treatment. They got the mugshot that they've now been - (CROSSTALK)

SCIUTTO: For the people who want that pomp and circumstance. Others are shocked by it, but some enjoy it.

MURRAY: -- Yeah, exactly. He's been using the mugshot to raise money. And so now, you know, to go to sit in the courtroom to wait for them to read this 98-page indictment, especially when he's been complaining publicly about how all of these, you know, court issues, criminal charges, are taking him off the campaign trail. You know, this is a way for him to just put in a piece of paper and go back to the kinds of rallies that he wants to be holding.

SCIUTTO: Understood. And the effect is the same. He's still pleading not guilty. So, you have these two other defendants. This is, of course, a sprawling case. You have 18 co-defendants for the former president, and they are now asking to sever their cases. What's the reasoning there?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yeah, same kind of request Trump is making, but for the opposite reason, right? These are two defendants, Trump lawyers, Sydney Powell and Kenneth Chesbro, they want a speedy trial. They want to hurry this process up. You know, Fanie Willis has said and the judges said that Chesbro's trial could start as soon as October 23rd of this year. So, you know, while Trump is trying to delay this and prolong this out as long as he possibly can, you know, these are two defendants who said, look, we want this to happen as soon as possible, and we're willing to go to trial basically now.

SCIUTTO: In the simplest terms, why does Trump want to drag this out? He wants to pull this in as much into the election schedule calendar as possible?

COHEN: Yeah, his whole mantra really has been this is election interference, right? And so, the further you get - (CROSSTALK)

SCIUTTO: Yeah

COHEN: -- into the, you know, the process of voting and you get into the primary process and then potentially into the presidential race, the stronger that argument possibly could be for him.

SCIUTTO: Understood. So, Sara, what are the remaining questions in the short term about these trials? Listen, that's a long list, but the most immediate questions about how these proceed, one is, of course, Mark Meadows case.

MURRAY: Yeah, I mean, I think there's a broader question around the Mark Meadows case, which is where are these defendants going to be tried? Obviously, Mark Meadows wants to move to federal court. Trump's team hasn't asked to move his case to federal court yet, but we expect that they will probably do that at some point. So, there's a question of do all of the defendants end up in federal court or do they all end up in state court? And then do people get like split off in these kinds of blocks or some, you know, staying in state court and allowed to proceed with this speedy trial while others may move to federal court?

SCIUTTO: There's so many threads. And that's going to happen when you have four criminal --criminal trials. I mean, the issue with the Meadows matter, when you when you saw the judge jumping in on this or asking for the arguments from both sides here, there's a read from some of the legal community that the judge here knows this is this is a big question and he's going to both sides so that when he does make a decision there's less likelihood that it'll be lost on appeal.

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COHEN: Yeah, this question really does cut at the core of Meadows' argument to begin with, right? He's saying look everything I did I did under the auspice of my role as chief of staff. The judge's question is an interesting one because he says well what if one of the things that you're being charged with does qualify under the chief of staff role and the other one doesn't is that enough to move this to federal court? Obviously, the prosecutor's going to say no, and it'll be up to Meadows and his lawyers to basically sway the judge's opinion in their favour.

SCUITTO: Yeah and listen the election interference argument has always been an interesting one given that he is charged here with attempting to overturn an election which one might call election interference as well but we'll see if that's proven in a court of law. Zach Cohen, Sara Murray, thanks so much. Brianna.

KEILAR: Today senate minority leader Mitch McConnell is facing some new questions about his health and his ability to do his job. The 81- year-old republican lawmaker is privately reassuring his allies and his donors that he is fine after he froze during a news conference yesterday, but this is the second time this summer that this has played out in front of reporters.

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UNKNOWN: Running for re-election in 2026?

MITCH MCCONNEL, SENATE MINORITY LEADER: That's right.

UNKNOWN: Did you hear the question, Senator? Running for re-election in 2026? All right I'm sorry you all we're gonna need a minute.

UNKNOWN: Okay.

UNKNOWN: Want to head outside, sir? Want to come with us?

MCCONNEL: I'm okay. Okay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: CNN's Melanie Zanona is on Capitol Hill for us. Melanie what is McConnell's office saying?

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well McConnell's office said that he is fine and that he just felt light-headed which is the same explanation they gave after his first freezing episode, and they also said he was going to see a doctor yesterday before his next event. But they have still not said what the underlying cause might be for these alarming freezing episodes and it's very clear that McConnell and his team recognize that this could be a ballooning political problem for the longtime GOP leader. And that is why you have seen McConnell working behind the scenes to tamp down speculation about both his health and his political future.

We're told that yesterday he spent some time calling up his allies reassuring them about his fitness to serve. He's also reaching out to donors according to our colleague Manu Raju and he also made it a point to carry on with his schedule. He attended a fundraiser last night for Jim Banks a congressman who is running for senate and people who were with McConnell yesterday said he was totally fine and as sharp as ever. Let's take a listen to what Scott Jennings a longtime McConnell confidant told CNN this morning.

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SCOTT JENNINGS, FRIEND AND ADVISER TO SEN. MITCH MCCONELL: He came back home to Louisville. I was with him with Jim Banks who's running for senate in Indiana. He met with a group, answered questions, worked the crowd and was you know on top of it sharp and fully in command of you know all the all the politics and issues of the day so. And I should also tell you I was with him two days ago and watched him give a long speech to a lunch crowd and then answer several questions from that crowd and in the midst of another long day. So, throughout the month of August he has kept up a pretty robust schedule.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZANOA: But despite this effort to try to reassure Republicans that he is able to serve there are still lingering questions about how long McConnell can continue to serve Republicans in the Senate. Right now, his term as leader will last until the end of next year. He has said he will continue to carry out his duties as leader until then but it's unclear if he would run for leader again or if he would have the support of his conference to do that. In fact, there is some early chatter according to our colleague Manu Raju from rank-and-file Republicans about calling for a special conference meeting to discuss his leadership. It would only take five Republicans to call for such a vote. Unclear if that's going to happen but I'm sure these conversations are going to intensify next week when the Senate returns from their August recess.

KEILAR: Great. All right Melanie Zanona, live from the Hill. Thank you so much. I want to go now to FEMA where President Biden is about to speak.

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JOSEPH BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My mother would say I apologize for my back. I apologize. But folks look yesterday I convened the entire cabinet for a long meeting to make sure that we had a whole government response. Every single cabinet agency has some contribution they can make and some responsibility. And I'm here at FEMA today. Just a few minutes ago I received a call from your administrator and -- Criswell and who's in Florida and helping them recover at least doing an initial assessment of that Category 3 storm that made landfall.

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And this morning I spoke again, it seems like we should be on direct dial, the two of us, Governor DeSantis and I, we spoke again this morning. I let him know that I approved his major disaster declaration, and I also spoke with Governor McMaster and with the, -- for South Carolina's emergency declaration as well. And I spoke the day before to the governors of not just Florida and South Carolina, but of North Carolina as well as Georgia.

And look, it means we're making available federal assistance for Florida survivors whose homes or damage are destroyed by the declaration that I agreed to. And we're helping both Florida and South Carolina with the delivery of meals, waters, and debris removal that's going to help both states begin their road to recovery and do it immediately. But before we do anything, I'm here to thank all of you, and I really mean this. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You are making an incredible contribution.

I mean, it's, I don't think, I hope the American people have a sense of, and it's hard to understand it because, you know, we usually don't, we're not this engaged this often. But this last couple years with climate change and really kicking in, you guys are going 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.

And it seems to just keep piling up. And I mean it sincerely. I admire, I admire what you do. I've been almost every one of the areas you're talking about that you've had to deal with. And your sister organ, the president's sister organizations from the Coast Guard, the military, I mean, across the board. It's amazing the sacrifices, and I might add risks, risks your folks are taking out in the field. And so, thank you, thank you, thank you. It's important the American people understand it. Because we're in a situation where, you know, we're, -- how can I say it?

There's still some deniers out there in terms of whether or not climate change has anything to do with any of this. And we're going to need a whole hell of a lot more money to deal with emergency appropriations, to deal with all you're taking care of. And on behalf of the country, I want to deliver the heartfelt thanks to the emergency personnel in our communities all across the federal government, including right here, all of you in front of me, FEMA's National Response Coordination Center, and those out on Maui. You know, you've, it's just amazing. You've seen it. Some of you have been there. It's just pure devastation. That whole part of the island is just levelled. There's nothing left.

And before this week's storm, we pre-deployed 1,500 federal personnel and Coast Guard throughout the Southeast. Federal search and rescue teams have been helping people whose homes have been surrounded and inundated by water. And FEMA and the Small Business Administration are on the ground to help residents whose homes and businesses have been destroyed or damaged. And I want to, again, thank you all. It really, really, really matters. And one more thing. Every American expects FEMA will show up. And when

they're in the middle of a disaster, and I'm calling on Congress to make sure you're able and have the funds to be able to continue to show up and meet the needs of the American people to deal with immediate crises that we're facing right now, as well as the long-term commitments that we have to make to finish the job in Maui and elsewhere. Showing up for the moment to save the lives is critically important, but that's just the beginning. Just the beginning. And some of this is going to take months and years to make sure we restore the people to the circumstances they were before this disaster hit. And as I said, you know, and to the people of Florida and throughout the Southeast, I'm here to make clear that our nation has your back and we are not going to walk away. We're not going to give up. We're not going to slow down.

And again, you know, we're in a situation where, how can I say it, some of my colleagues, my former colleagues in the Senate and people I work with every day in the United States Senate think that this disaster relief money we're asking to continue to finish the job so far and have enough money to continue to work to save the American people's lives, their homes, their well-being is somehow, I don't know, not needed or I'm not even sure what their thinking is.

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But we need this money done. We need this disaster relief request met. We need to do it in September. We can't wait. But I'll take a few questions from the press if you have any right now, but then I'm going to go talk to these folks.

UNKNOWN: Do you have any comment on overdose awareness day?

BIDEN: Yes. Look, I've been dealing with the drug epidemic in America since I was a chairman of the Judiciary Committee when I was a U.S. Senator. And it has, in many cases, gotten much worse because of the nature of the drugs that are being consumed. And Fentanyl is a new and really, really dangerous addition. And more people, more young people, not just young people, are being dying as a consequence of ingesting Fentanyl, sometimes not even knowing it's in the drug they're taking. And one of the other things I've been asking the Congress for, there's a need about $15 billion along the border to be able to deal with the technology needed to be able to determine whether or not these precursor drugs are making it into Mexico or into the United States. And dealing with that. So, there's more to do there as well.

UNKNOWN: Mr. President, -- (CROSSTALK)

UNKNOWN: Have you spoken to leader McConnell?

UNKNOWN: -- are you concerned about a government shutdown and how that affects the work that's being done here at the U.S.?

BIDEN: It would be a serious, serious problem. I'm hoping that there's greater maturity to prevent that from happening than some think.

UNKNOWN: Sir, have you spoken to Leader McConnell? BIDEN: Yes, I have. I spoke to Mitch. He's a friend. And I spoke to

him -- today. And you know, he was his old self on the telephone. And having a little understanding of dealing with neurosurgeons and people, and one of the leading women on my staff, her husband's a neurosurgeon as well, it's not at all unusual to have the response that sometimes happens to Mitch when you've had a severe concussion. It's part of the recovery. And so, I'm confident he's going to be back to his old self. (INAUDIBLE) (CROSSTALK)

UNKNOWN: Do you have any concerns about his ability to do his job? Do you have any concerns about his ability?

BIDEN: No, I don't. Do you want to talk to me about -- do you want me to? (LAUGHTER) Let's talk about why I'm here.

UNKNOWN: President, are you excited President Xi will attend the G20 summit?

BIDEN: The answer is I hope he attends the G20 summit.

UNKNOW: Thank God. (CROSSTALK) (INAUDIBLE)

UNKNOWN: Are you going to Florida soon? Are you going to Florida? (CROSSTALK) (INAUDIBLE)

Unknown: Thank you very much. (CROSSTALK) (INAUDIBLE)

BIDEN: I am going to Florida. I am going to Florida Saturday morning.

UNKNOWN: All right, thanks everybody.

BIDEN: Where am I going now?

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

KEILLAR: So, President Biden will be heading to Florida after Hurricane Adalia went through there on Saturday. But also, we just learned, as I bring back our CNN political director,

David Chalian, and we were just talking about the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who had this freezing episode yet again. He had one last month. He had one again. He said, Biden, that he'd spoken to him, and he has no concerns about his health.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yeah. Interesting hearing the president, of course, the oldest president to ever served in the role in this moment, talking about the 81-year-old Senate Republican leader with whom he has had a long relationship, a storied relationship, their time in the Senate together. And of course, when Joe Biden was vice president, he would hammer out some deals between the Obama administration and the Senate with Mitch McConnell directly. So, there's a real history in their relationship. And it is not surprising at all to me that the president and McConnell spoke.

But his report, he not only said he sounded like his old self, he was talking about how, from his information, that what he observed about Mitch McConnell is not uncommon for somebody who's experienced concussions. Now, I'm not a doctor. I don't know. Neither is Joe Biden. So, I'm not quite sure how he knows that.

But he was relaying information, he said, from a neurosurgeon who's the spouse of someone on his staff that he thought it was not terribly uncommon for somebody who experienced a concussion to have those kinds of freezing moments.

KEILAR: And obviously not raising questions for him about Mitch McConnell's fitness for office. Mitch McConnell may has not -- maybe said as much as he could about what is going on. I think we should be clear about that. We don't know a lot of things. His office has just talked about kind of some sort of dizziness, right, that he has had. But I also think it's interesting because you have Biden, who is, you know, he's no spring chicken, right? You have Biden, who is 80, McConnell's 81, Donald Trump is 77. So, like these old guys, in a way, are kind of sticking together. It's to the, this vulnerability for Mitch McConnell on age and health is a similar one for Joe Biden. So, it's interesting to hear him speak about it. I wonder how Americans look at this issue of age and health is linked to that.

CHALIAN: Yeah, well, we're starting to get a sense of this. There was. a poll about a year ago from CBS YouGov that asked Americans, should there be a maximum age set for somebody to hold a leadership position like this? Look at this, Brianna, 73% of Americans in that poll said yes, there should be a maximum age limit. We know the Constitution sets a minimum age limit to run for Congress or the Senate or the presidency, but three quarters of Americans think there should be a maximum age limit.

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And then there was a Pew Research poll that asked about what you think the right age is to serve as president, ideal age for president here. Look where their plurality is. 49% of Americans say in your 50s is the ideal age for president. As somebody who just turned 50, Brianna, I take that positively. (LAUGHTER)

KEILLAR: (LAUGHTER) I'm in my 40s and that just feels still very young to me. I suppose that changes as you get older too, right? Everything seems relative, but very interesting to look at, David Chalian, thank you so much. We appreciate it. Jim.

SCIUTTO: Of course, they do have the option of voting for candidates those ages when they come up. New York officials are calling out the federal government and demanding work authorizations for asylum seekers. We're going to explain why next.

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SCIUTTO: Some breaking news now. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's office has released a statement from his doctor. CNN's Manu Raju joins us now from Capitol Hill. Manu, does his doctor have an explanation for these health events? MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Yeah, this is

the Capitol Hill attending physician Brian Monahan, who just conferred with Senator McConnell. McConnell's office just releasing a letter from Dr. Monahan explaining what happened. This is what it says. I'll read it to you in full. It's a brief statement.

It says, I have consulted with Leader McConnell and conferred with his neurology team. After -- evaluating yesterday's incident, I have informed Leader McConnell that he is medically clear to continue with his schedule as planned. Occasional light-headedness is not uncommon in concussion recovery and can also be expected as a result of dehydration. Now, that is the full extent of this letter.

This is the first time we're getting any indication as to why Senator McConnell had that moment yesterday in Covington, Kentucky, where he froze for roughly 30 seconds before the cameras, and also in July on Capitol Hill, where he also refroze for roughly 30 seconds. And whether this has anything to do with his fall that occurred back in March. Recall, at the time, he hit his head at a Washington hotel, suffered a concussion, broke ribs.

He was out from the Senate for about six weeks. After that initial July incident, in fact, I asked Senator McConnell if that freeze-up moment had anything to do with his fall. He just said he was fine. They would not say. His office has not explained his most recent episode as well. But this letter indicates that it does have something to do with his recent concussion. Again, it says, according to this doctor, occasional light-headedness is not uncommon in concussion recovery and can also be expected as a result of dehydration.

So, tying McConnell's situation that we have seen directly to him suffering that concussion from the fall -- from the spring. The first time that we have seen any sort of relation between the two here. But I will frame Jim here. First time we're getting any explanation about what happened to Senator McConnell, but also the doctor saying he can continue on his schedule as planned.

SCIUTTO: So, this is the Hill doctor saying he's medical clear for the first time connecting it to the concussion that he suffered. Has his team provided any more detail about whether these symptoms are expected to dissipate? Because this is the second time, and we are a number of weeks now from that concussion. Or have they given no indication as to prognosis?

RAJU: There really has been no indication whatsoever, other than that we had heard that he felt lightheaded at the time. No other indication about how they plan to deal with this going forward. But it's clear that Senator Mitch McConnell has not changed any of his plans. He has continued with his private events, with his public events. They return back to Washington next week. He will undoubtedly face questions from his own colleagues who are concerned about him, concerned about his tenure atop the Republican leadership. He will meet with his colleagues both at a leadership meeting on

Tuesday evening and the full Republican conference on Wednesday, where these questions will persist. But here we're getting some indication as to why this has happened. And perhaps that could -- tamp down some of the speculation that has intensified in the aftermath of these pretty jarring moments, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Some more questions to be answered for sure. Manu Raju on Capitol Hill. Thanks so much. Brianna.

KEILLAR: New numbers show inflation remained high last month, but that is not stopping consumers from spending. We'll talk to the White House about that next.