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Alabama's Second Attempt to Avoid Adding a Majority-Black Congressional District Rejected by Federal Court; Murdaugh's Lawyers Allege Jury Tampering in Request for New Trial; Interview with Defense and Trial Attorney Misty Marris; Today, Haley and Pence Will Hold Separate Events in New Hampshire as Trump Continues to Lead Polls; Interview with Former Republican Governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker; According to Polls, Trump Has Commanding Lead Over His Opponents; American Men Take Center Stage at U.S. Open Today. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired September 05, 2023 - 10:30   ET

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

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[10:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: All right. We have breaking news. Just moments ago, a federal court struck down Alabama's newly drawn congressional map because it did not create a second majority- black district. In the opinion, the judges say they were, "Disturbed", by the state's actions in this case. A federal court had told Alabama, they had to go redraw their districts to include two majority-black districts. Alabama came back and did not complete the homework assignment, basically, according to federal court today.

I want to bring in CNN's Joan Biskupic. Joan, bring us up to speed here.

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SENIOR SUPREME COURT ANALYST: Sure. And John, you know, the -- this state was told by a special three-judge district court to do it. And effectively, as you said, it didn't do its homework, it didn't do it's homework from the same teacher. This is the same three-judge panel that had found that Alabama had likely violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by drawing only one district where blacks had the opportunity to elect a candidate of their choice.

Alabama has seven districts, 27 percent of the population is African- American, and state legislators only had drawn one district where they could have elected a candidate of their choice and they in that one particular district. So, this special panel had said, go back, redraw it.

The state appealed to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court in June, John, had affirmed that three-judge panel saying, yes, Alabama, you have failed here. You have not abided by the Voting Rights Act. Sent it back. Alabama dug in even deeper saying that, no, we don't have to create a second black opportunity or black majority district here. And, you know, surely tempting this panel which reacted very strongly, the judges said, we are deeply troubled that the State enacted a map that the State readily admits does not provide the remedy we said federal law requires.

And I want to say something about this panel, John, that you should know, this is no way a flaming liberal court that has been striking down Alabama's effort here. It's made up of two Trump appointees, and one appointee of the Former President Bill Clinton. So, you know, this is a court that had spent, you know, seven full days looking at the evidence in its first visit to this -- first review of this district, and said, no, Alabama, you need to provide a second district here. The Supreme Court upholds what the special panel has done in June, it comes back and Alabama is still defiant.

[10:35:00]

Alabama, I'm sure, is looking for another round of the Supreme Court. But given what the Supreme Court said in its first round, even though I have to admit it was by a narrow five justice vote, I actually think that this -- Alabama is headed for another rejection at the Supreme Court.

And one last thing, this really affects voting rights in Alabama, but it overall could affect the makeup of the house of representatives because right now, as you know, Republicans hold a narrow majority in the house. And these battles, these voting rights battles could end up with more black majority districts and potentially more Democrats that can change up the makeup of the U.S. house, John. So, this is a very important decision today.

BERMAN: Everything matters for both parties to be sure. Joan Biskupic, thank you very much for that.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: It's so fascinating. I mean, you get a decision and you get rejected by the Supreme Court of the United States, and then you said, no thanks.

BERMAN: You go do this very specific thing. They didn't do that very specific thing.

BOLDUAN: Yes. So, let's -- I'm really interested to see what happens from here.

Let's talk about this now, we've got new information coming in. Disgraced South Carolina lawyer and now convicted killer Alex Murdaugh, he wants a new trial. We've just learned that the request by his legal team will be based on allegations of jury tampering and Murdaugh's double murder trial earlier this year. A jury, if you'll remember, convicted him of killing his wife, Maggie, and his son Paul. He took the stand in his own defense, and has maintained that he is innocent.

Joining us now for more on this latest twist is defense and trial Attorney Misty Marris. So, Misty, jury tampering as the discovered -- newly discovered evidence which had kind of teased out, we're going to be apparently hearing more from his legal team late today about this. But what are you hearing then?

MISTY MARRIS, DEFENSE AND TRIAL ATTORNEY: Always a twist with this case, right? We can't avoid them. So, with the jury tampering, that's actually a criminal act. Jury tampering is generally some sort of outside undue influence exercised on the jurors for the purpose of influencing their determination at trial. So, it can be something really extreme like a bribe. It can be coercion. It can be a threat, or it can be something less extreme, for instance, sharing information with a juror about stuff that didn't come into the trial about evidence that was not admitted.

So, there's a whole gambit of what it could be. There is jury tampering, that's really severe. Then there's jury misconduct, which is generally not criminal, but could still form the basis of overturning the verdict.

BERMAN: I want to see this news conference. And I want to see the paperwork they file, because when they're -- that announcement came that it was going to be jury tampering this morning, it leaves some room for interpretation here. Because, as you say, jury tampering is against the law. I mean, it's a very serious crime. I want to play something that Alex Murdaugh's son, surviving son --

BOLDUAN: The surviving son.

BERMAN: -- said about the jury in an interview recently. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTHA MACCALLUM, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: 12 jurors all agreed that your dad killed your mom and Paul.

RICHARD ALEXANDER "BUSTER" MURDAUGH JR., SON OF RICHARD ALEXANDER "ALEX" MURDAUGH: That is right.

MACCALLUM: What do you think about that?

MURDAUGH JR.: I do not believe it was fair.

MACCALLUM: Why?

MURDAUGH JR.: I was there for six weeks studying it, and I think it was a tilted table from the beginning. And I think, unfortunately, a lot of the jurors felt that way prior to when they had to deliberate. It was predetermined in their minds prior to when they ever heard any shred of evidence that was given in that room.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: OK. That's not jury tampering. If the jury went in with a set decision beforehand, but it might be jury misconduct.

MARRIS: Possibly. So, it all depends on what the facts are. Because, as you said, we got to read this filing. A press conference, normally, you just file, right?

BERMAN: Right. MARRIS: The press conference is, kind of, like a bombastic move. So, jury misconduct could be something like a lie on one of those jury questionnaires. A prenotion about guilt or innocence that was intentionally kept from the attorneys during the voir dire process. All of those could potentially qualify as jury misconduct. And it just depends on that fact specific analysis. And look, that's what happens here.

This goes before the trial judge. The judge -- he's asking the trial judge to overturn this verdict and to get a new trial. If there is jury tampering, jury misconduct, there would be a hearing conducted be the judge to dig into that. Prosecutors would have the chance to cross-examine. And they would ultimately make a determination, the judge, as to whether or not that is the basis for a new trial.

BOLDUAN: Wow. Yes. All in summary, can't -- we really do need to hear what happens this afternoon with this press conference and what comes in this filing.

MARRIS: Absolutely. And keep in mind, from an appeal perspective, there's one -- there's a bunch of different rules as far as what counts as this after-acquired evidence.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

[10:40:00]

MARRIS: One of them is that it has to be likely to change the outcome of the trial. So, whatever we find out has to have been likely to change that. And since he testified, that's a tricky argument because the case becomes so much more about credibility. And could the jurors have found this guy is a liar, so we think he's guilty as opposed to something relating to these allegations of misconduct or tampering.

BERMAN: Misty Marris, thank you for helping us all understand this. We now know how to watch this news conference and read this filing later on today.

BOLDUAN: Thanks, Misty.

BERMAN: So much going on. We'll be right back.

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[10:45:00]

BERMAN: Tonight, in New Hampshire, Former Vice President Mike Pence and Former Governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley, they will both hold campaign events. They have their work cut out for them. They all do. The latest poll of polls shows Donald Trump up more than 40 points over his nearest rival Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Joining me now is Former Republican Governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker. Governor, great to see you. When we last spoke, it was the day of the first Republican debate in your home state of Wisconsin. Now, we're a couple of weeks after, what changed since the first debate? SCOTT WALKER (R), FORMER WISCONSIN GOVERNOR: You know, there's some movement within the second tier of some in terms some of the candidates did better coming out of the debate, some went down a little bit. But by and large, nothing changed when it comes to Donald Trump. He still has an enormous leap. It's kind of, like, the Home Run Derby last year, Aaron Judge is way ahead and the fight was for who is going to come in second.

I would imagine the second debate can happen a few weeks may be a factor, a little bit more than the first but I still haven't seen anything, any of these candidates are saying that would make Trump supports move off the dime.

BERMAN: That's exactly what my next question is, Governor Walker, which is if you are another one of these candidates, single digits, 40 points behind. How do you flip a Trump voter?

WALKER: Well, I think the key is these early states, Iowa and New Hampshire, to a certain degree did in South Carolina, I know having been there, in fact I saw a couple of folks at the debate who said, hey, I had a town hall neighborhood meeting for you at my home eight years ago in New Hampshire. So, there's a lot of that going on. And as much as people sometimes grumble about these early states, these voters really do take it seriously. They don't make a decision often times until they've talked to candidates three or four times.

And so, putting a time, putting effort, not just for the show, it's got to be more than just showing up and making a T.V. appearance. You literally have to talk to voters in a town hall setting, particularly in New Hampshire. You need to show up at things like the state fair in Iowa. That, to me, at least the only shot they've got, show some momentum, maybe come in a close second to President Trump in one of these early primaries and show maybe that you the one who could be the viable alternative.

But again, I have yet to see, certainly on the debate stage and on the campaign trail, that anybody is moving people who are firmly behind Donald Trump.

BERMAN: You show up, you talk to them, maybe in Iowa or New Hampshire, but about what? Is there something that you can sell them on that would get them to change their minds?

WALKER: Well, I think, you have to talk about big ideas. It's not enough to just run a traditional campaign where you, kind of, make the case about your record. You lay out a loose agenda. I think there has to be a very specific proposal. You have to talk about a series of things that make you different, not only Then-President Trump, but then anyone else in the race. You've got to show that you're going to be as aggressive, if not more so.

Remember, part of the reason why so many primary voters are firmly behind president Trump, even if they don't always like his tone or his tweets. And to be clear, there's some that love it. There are others who don't. But the vast majority of people out there are firmly behind the president liked what he accomplished. And so, if you are a candidate, and particularly in these early states, you have got to show how you will do as well or better, and that is a high bar. Because people have said -- I've seen it. I know the pressures President Trump faced. I saw what he did, he didn't back down. So, you got to make that case. And then there -- I think the other pivot is these candidates got to show voters they're more likely to win. If they could do that, maybe they've got a shot.

BERMAN: It was a question in the first debate, would you support Donald Trump if he is nominated and convicted. I'm not asking you that directly, but I am asking you what you think the impact of a convicted Donald Trump would be -- a convicted and nominated Donald Trump would be in the general election?

WALKER: Well, it's like nothing we've ever seen. The challenge is, and I've talked about this a number of times in the past with each of these different from -- whether it's up in Manhattan, it's in Georgia, it's in the federal courts, is what makes this unique is this is an indictment for embezzlement. This is an indictment for a physical crime to get someone.

I think what -- while a lot of folks who look at Republican primary votes and wonder how could people still be with President Trump? I think many of them feel, understandably so, that he's been targeted. And even if you don't agree with his assessment of the 2020 election, I think there are many who feel like he felt that the election had somehow been stolen from him. I'm not arguing whether that was the case or not, but that's what he felt.

And so, a lot of folks feel like this has questioned the timing, they questioned the circumstances, they questioned the politics involved with this. But this, again, we're in an unchartered territory.

BERMAN: Right.

WALKER: I don't think we have anything to compare this to in the past. And it's not only primary voters, but the other part -- I look at where I am standing here in my home state of Wisconsin, even in the general election, normally you think swing voters would be turned off, they may very well be.

[10:50:00]

But I think there's a lot of other voters who -- if they perceive it as he's being attacked because he's fighting for everyday men and women like me, then actually might have an appeal. So, who knows? Throw the playbook out the window.

BERMAN: Governor Scott Walker, thanks for being with us.

WALKER: Thank you.

BERMAN: Kate.

BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, the search area, expanding. Police have new photos, new images of an escaped killer that they're releasing. We're live in Philadelphia where the manhunt for this man is still under way. We'll be back.

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[10:55:00]

BOLDUAN: Lots of action happening at Arthur Ashe Stadium today. The quarterfinals are set after reigning U.S. Open chance -- champ Carlos Alcaraz breeze through to the next round. Today, it's all about the Americans.

CNN's Patrick Snell, he's watching it all and he's joining us. I'm still focused on Coco Gauff. But you can tell me what we should -- what else we should be focused on?

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT ANCHOR: Hi there, Kate. Yes, Coco Gauff, what a storyline always, and still a teenager, don't forget that. But you know, it's been two decades since an American man last won in front of a home crowd at the U.S. Open, that was Andy Roddick in 2003. For the first time in any major since 1968, we'll see two black American men now in the quarters, 10th seed Frances Tiafoe and the unseeded Ben Shelton will play each other later on tonight.

Tiafoe is in the quarters for a second straight year. He's only dropped one set in four matches so far, but he's never faced Shelton as a pro or his big powerful serve. Just 20 years of age, he fired up a pair of a 149 miles per hour serves in his match on Sunday. The fastest of the entire tournament.

Now, there are actually three American still in the men's draw, all toll, the first time that's happened at the U.S. Open since 2005. Ninth seeded Taylor Fritz will have a daunting task ahead of him this afternoon if he wants to reach a Grand Slam semi for the first time. Who's he got? He's got, oh, only to 23-time major champion Novak Djokovic. Friz has never beaten Djokovic. He's 0 and seven all the time. And lost in straights when they played last month in Cincinnati.

But the day begins in just over an hour from right now, Kate, when young Coco Gauff takes to the court at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The 19- year-old phenom has already made history, becoming the first American teen to reach the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open, in fact, about a year since a certain Serena Williams did it. Her next challenge reaching the semis in the Big Apple for the first time to do that, she must get past Jelena Ostapenko. No small task as the Latvian is one very formidable player. She's coming off a brilliant upset of the world number one pole Iga Swiatek in the round of 16. Fascinating hours ahead, Kate, in New York City. Back to you.

BOLDUAN: That's absolutely right. It's great to watch Coco Gauff. And it's going to be a great -- it would be great to see all of this today. You just got me even more excited. It's good to see you, Patrick. Thank you.

John, 149 mile per hour serve. Obviously, that's what I do on a regular Saturday. I don't know about you.

BERMAN: That's my second serve, Kate. All right. The search is expanding to find a killer on the loose near Philadelphia. Forcing school districts to close, leaving communities on edge. We have news straight ahead.

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