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Leaked Audio Reveals DeSantis' Super PAC Appeal For $50M; 93- Year-Old Fighting To Save Family's Land; Body Cam Video Released In Fatal Police Shooting Of Pregnant Woman. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired September 01, 2023 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: After his first freezing episode, they wouldn't even say whether he saw a doctor or got any medical treatment. So, clearly, they are trying to be more transparent in an effort to really tamp down speculation about his health and his political future. And yesterday, he received some notable backup from President Joe Biden. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 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.

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 a -- it's part of the recovery. And so, I'm confident he's going to be back to his old self.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZANONA: Of course, Biden himself facing some questions about his age as he runs for reelection. But look, this issue not going away anytime soon for Mitch McConnell. There are serious questions about whether he will continue to serve as GOP leader beyond 2024 when his current term as leader expires. And I'm sure these conversations are only going to intensify when the Senate returns in their August recess next week, Boris.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. Coincidentally, the episode started during a question from a reporter about whether he would run for reelection or not. Melanie Zanona, live from Capitol Hill, thanks so much. Kate?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Also, this. An urgent appeal and a leaked audio recording. Top officials of the super PAC backing Ron DeSantis's presidential campaign are heard pitching donors on the very same day of the first Republican presidential primary debate telling the group gathered in Milwaukee that they need $50 million over the next four months. That leaked audio was obtained by CNN.

The super PAC head is saying, at one point, this. We just need your help getting $50 million more by the end of the year and a hundred million dollars more by the end of March. I'm not worried about the second 50. We need the first 50.

Joining us now. CNN political commentator Ana Navarro and Terry Sullivan, former campaign manager for Marco Rubio's 2016 presidential campaign and co-founder of Firehouse Strategies. It's good to have you here.

Terry, when you see this reporting about this leaked audio of this gathering with donors, what do you hear in this plea and pitch from the DeSantis' super PAC? What do -- what does it say about the role this PAC is playing in the DeSantis campaign?

TERRY SULLIVAN, PARTNER, FIREHOUSE STRATEGIES: Yes, look. It's the same role that every super PAC for every presidential campaign is playing right now. I mean, look, in modern politics, super PACs are critical, especially for ad spending, and play an outsize role on both sides of the aisle. And pleading for tens of millions of dollars from donors is what they do and what they do best.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And, Ana, as I mentioned, this -- the super PAC, they've made this ask on the day of the -- just before the first debate. Do you think that Ron DeSantis has given his donors -- I don't know, more or less confidence since then in shelling out millions of dollars more toward -- for his campaign to back him up?

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: First, I agree with Terry. And I think there's nothing extraordinary about Super PACs' making a plea, particularly on a day of a debate. It's a pretty nice perk for a donor to get a debate ticket and get invited. So, I'm not surprised that they will use that opportunity to remind them that there is no free lunch, there is no free debate ticket, and that they need more.

I think this is important because Ron DeSantis was definitely in -- has been on a downward spiral. He's been on a downward trend. He's getting a -- he's got Vivek Ramaswamy biting at his heels, a complete amateur when it comes to politics, and he hasn't been able to make a dent on Donald Trump's armor.

So, I think he's become very disappointing. And the signals going out to donors is of disappointment. People want a return on their investment, and I think most donors were very worried by the direction that DeSantis and the DeSantis campaign had been going.

BOLDUAN: And one thing that the super PAC is spending a lot of money on, Terry, as we are learning is ad spending. And some of the latest reporting that we have in is that through the end of August, Republican campaigns and outside groups have combined to air about a hundred million dollars worth of advertising. And in amongst that, the big players, it appears so far, to be the several well-funded Super PACs.

For groups especially supporting Trump, DeSantis, Tim Scott, and Nikki Haley combined to account for more than half of the total ad spending so far. But you say there is another category that people need to keep their eye on in this space, the concert -- conservative groups that are pushing anti-Trump ads, and anti-Trump messages. What impact do you see this kind of category of player having on race? SULLIVAN: You know, that's -- what's going to be critical to watch is we don't know yet because this third-party outside funding from these other conservative groups like the Club for Growth and Americans for Prosperity is relatively new and fairly aggressive about spending most of the campaigns in these early states.

[11:34:17]

And so, from a standpoint of what kind of effect it's going to see, we're going to see in the polling. In the next month, there may be movement. And if there's not, then that will -- the proof is really in the data as we go forward.

But I think there's no way that it doesn't have some impact. Is it going to be enough to dislodge Trump from his pretty much solid 50 percent he's been -- he's been holding now for several months is the real question.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

SULLIVAN: And is it going to give a little bit of wiggle room for some of these other candidates to start to grow and start to accumulate some of that -- some of those voters -- some of those caucus-goers, that that he might be shutting?

BOLDUAN: Yes. One thing we do know for sure, while there's nothing is certain is that it's only that dollar figures are going to go up and the ads are only going to become more plentiful. That's for sure. We were hearing, Ana, from Melanie Zanona talking about Mitch

McConnell and these freezing episodes that he had. In -- when you want to talk, enter into this conversation into the presidential race. We know very well that Nikki Haley has been trying her level best to make age front and a -- front and center issue in the -- in the race.

The -- she's been focusing, of course on Joe Biden's age. But now it's becoming obviously a broader political question with what we're seeing with Mitch McConnell after this freezing episode. I want to play for you what Nikki Haley, Republican presidential candidate said with regard to Mitch McConnell last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What I will say is right now the Senate is the most privileged nursing home in the country. I mean, you know, Mitch McConnell has done some great things and he deserves credit. But you have to know when to leave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: The broader issue of age and politics, how big of a deal do you see this?

NAVARRO: It's a big deal. And it's becoming a bigger deal as we are all living to be longer, but it's also been going on for as long as I can remember. Terry will remember people like Robert Byrd being wheeled around in a -- in a wheelchair holding on to his two little puppies you know. So many others.

Strom Thurman, who died well into his 90s. But there are some of them who are clearly having issues. I would put Dianne Feinstein in that category. Certainly, Mitch McConnell. And there are some well into their 80s that are as sharp as attack.

So, it becomes a very difficult situation to have a one-size-fits-all solution for. And let's remember that the people who have to come up with a solution are the old folks that are serving in Congress right now. I have a very hard time imagining that they would vote to make age -- an age requirement an actual issue.

BOLDUAN: Yes. It's really interesting though, how it's all playing out right now in the middle of this -- in the middle of this primary and what it's going to look like especially going into a general. It's great to see you, guys. Ana, thank you. And Terry, thank you as always. Rahel?

SULLIVAN: Absolutely. Thanks.

NAVARRO: Thank you.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN HOST: All right, Kate. Coming up for us. A bitter legal battle unfolding between a 90-- 93-year-old woman and a developer trying to build on land that her family has owned since the 1800s. We have the details coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:42:58]

SOLOMON: Welcome back. And now, to a dispute over legacy and land. It's happening on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. 93-year-old Josephine Wright is at the center of a legal fight that has attracted national attention. As development goes up around her family home, she is literally in the middle of what developers hope could be a new home community. But for Wright, she says it's so much more than that. CNN's Dianne Gallagher reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): We are connected to this land. Our blood runs through these trees.

JOSEPHINE WRIGHT, HILTON HEAD ISLAND RESIDENT: No matter what. We will keep this land so this land is going to be here with us if it's going to be another 200 years. That's the way we look at it.

GALLAGHER (voiceover): But not everyone has that same view. The serene marsh and sandy beaches of Hilton Head Island had been home to the Gullah Geechee community since before America became America. But today, community members say development threatens those families who still call it home.

WRIGHT: Why should we give up such a precious gift that God has given us? GALLAGHER (voiceover): Josephine Wright has lived in this house on Hilton Head Island for 30 years. But she says her family's home has been on this land since the Civil War, purchased by freedmen and passed down for generations. Her husband, a Gullah descendant, wanted to be sure to keep the land in the family after his passing.

WRIGHT: I feel so much pride and comfort in knowing that this is where I will be for the rest of my life.

GALLAGHER (voiceover): But the 93-year-old great, great grandmother has felt little comfort here over the past few months.

WRIGHT: This is when we start hearing the trees boom, boom.

GALLAGHER (voiceover): Wright is being sued by a company with plans to build 147 three-story townhomes along this Jonesville road community, a historic Gullah Geechee each neighborhood.

TRACEY LOVE GRAVES, WRIGHT'S GRANDDAUGHTER: Our blood, sweat, and tears are in this land. My ancestors are buried here, down at the end of the road.

GALLAGHER (voiceover): Today, construction is closing in around Wright's modest home.

[11:45:01]

GALLAGHER: Has the developer at any point come to you to speak face- to-face about this?

WRIGHT: No. I've never spoken to any one of them. They have never knocked on my door.

GALLAGHER (voiceover): She says about five years ago a woman did ask her about selling the land to an interested anonymous buyer for $39,000.

WRIGHT: And I said you're insulting my intelligence. And would you give them that message?

GALLAGHER (voiceover): She says her first communication with the company, Bailey Point Investment LLC was being served legal notice which alleges a satellite dish, a shed, and a portion of Wright's screened-in back porch or sitting outside of her property line encroaching on theirs, according to their land survey. The lawsuit seeks removal plus just adequate compensation for its loss of the use and enjoyment of their property and expenses related to delays in development.

GALLAGHER: Bailey Point says that the corner?

WRIGHT: That lawn corner is on their property.

GALLAGHER: So, the issue is that corner?

WRIGHT: Yes. GALLAGHER (voiceover): Wright has filed a countersuit alleging Bailey Point and their affiliates are using harassment and intimidation tactics to pressure her off the land. Now, Bailey Point has filed a response denying any harassment as well as any previous offers to purchase her land. She has received an outpouring of support and donations even from celebrities like Tyler Perry, Snoop Dogg, Fantasia, and NBA player Kyrie Irving.

The town of Hilton Head just announced it is pausing all construction in line with their town code, refusing to issue Bailey Point building permits until the lawsuits are resolved. But Josephine Wright isn't alone in her fight.

LUANA GRAVES SELLARS, FOUNDER, LOWCOUNTRY GULLAH FOUNDATION: She speaks to the Gullah culture and the Gullah's desire to fight back.

GALLAGHER (voiceover): Luana Graves Sellars runs a nonprofit called the Lowcountry Gullah Foundation focused on helping prevent land loss in the Gullah Geechee community. Her nonprofit estimates that since Hilton Head Island became a vacation destination after the mainland bridge was built in the 1950s, the Gullah Geechee have lost nearly two-thirds of their acreage, mostly due to rising property taxes and problems with something called heirs property.

GALLAGHER: How pervasive is that on this island now?

SELLARS: It's pervasive here, but it's pervasive throughout the South. And unfortunately, heirs' property is the primary way that black people in America are losing their land.

GALLAGHER (voiceover): Heirs' property is a type of land ownership where a single property may be inherited by multiple members of a family for generations after the original owner passes away. But there's often a lack of clear legal documentation, making families vulnerable to land loss when there are disagreements within the family over selling. In some of these cases here, the land has been purchased by developers.

WRIGHT: Just look at this. This is one of the most peaceful areas.

GALLAGHER (voiceover): And lost by the Gullah Geechee. But in the case of Josephine Wright, she's standing firm on her ground.

WRIGHT: Well, let me put it this way. I've never backed down on a -- on anything that was right.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GALLAGHER (on camera): So, for the past several months, CNN has repeatedly reached out to Bailey Point Investment LLC and look, really anyone we could find associated with the project. One named organizer did respond. Telling us that they are not the developer of the project, but instead an investment company that financed the deal.

We have also reached out to lawyers for Bailey Point, the architect, even the engineer for the proposed subdivision, no one has responded to us. Rahel, Josephine Wright tells me that she is in this for the long haul and wants her 40 grandchildren, 50 great-grandchildren, and soon-to-be 17 great, great-grandchildren to be able to enjoy all of her land for their lives as well.

SOLOMON: Yes. It sounds like she has no plans to stand down. Sounds like a very strong woman, Mrs. Wright there. Dianne Gallagher, live for us. Thank you, Dianne. Stay on this, please. Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, any moment now, President Biden will be weighing in on the jobs report and the state of the economy. That's just come in. We're going to bring you his remarks live when he takes the microphone. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:53:51]

SANCHEZ: We have some footage just into CNN that we want to share with you. Bodycam video investigators in Ohio have released showing the moment an officer fatally shot a pregnant woman that was accused of shoplifting. CNN's Miguel Marquez has been following this story and he joins us now. Miguel, of course, we have to warn our viewers that this video is graphic.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is graphic. It is also just unfortunate in the extreme. Just a really tragic incident.

This is in Blendon Township Ohio, just in the Northeast suburbs of Columbus. It happened on August 24. 21-year-old Ta'Kiya King -- or Ta'Kiya Young was coming out of the Kroger. She was accused by somebody that worked at the store of shoplifting.

Two officers happened to be in the parking lot that day at that time trying to help somebody get into their car that they had locked their keys into. Officer Two approaches the side of the car. Officer One comes around the front. We want to show you a bit of this video

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Out of the car back.

TA'KIYA YOUNG, PREGNANT WOMAN ACCUSED OF SHOPLIFTING: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Out of the car. We still -- we still talk. Do not leave. Get out of the car. Then, get out. No. Just get out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the (BLEEP) car.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the car.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the (BLEEP) car.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:55:11] MARQUEZ: So, the -- Officer Two, who was at the side of the car asks about 10 times for her to get out of the car that she's been accused of shoplifting. She refuses. You see her turning away.

Officer One comes in front of the car. She turns the wheel away and starts to drive away. And as she does, Officer One fires a single shot into the windshield of that car hitting her.

She later died of her injuries. The baby that she was carrying that was due in November, that child did not make it either. This is all under investigation by Ohio's Bureau of Criminal Investigation right now.

Officer Two, the individual who was at the side of that car asking her to get out of the car has been returned to duty. And officer One who fired the fatal shot is still under investigation. Back to you.

SANCHEZ: And quickly, Miguel, Young's family says that she is innocent and that she deserves accountability.

MARQUEZ: They do. And that is under investigation. And they want this officer charged as quickly as possible.

SANCHEZ: Miguel Marquez --

MARQUEZ: In some negotiations, it could take weeks or months.

SANCHEZ: Right. Miguel Marquez, thank you so much for that.

BOLDUAN: Yes. All right. Great to see you, guys. Thank you for being here. And thank you all so much for joining us. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "INSIDE POLITICS" is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)