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Crunch Time For GOP Contenders Trying To Close Gap With Trump; Trump Files Motions To Dismiss Georgia Election Subversion Case; NTSB: Missing Part Of Alaska Airlines Plane Found In Portland Yard. Aired 3- 3:30p ET

Aired January 08, 2024 - 15:00   ET

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

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[15:01:21]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: The final push before presidential primary season officially begins, Republican candidates with just one more week to sway voters in Iowa. Can they close the gap with frontrunner Donald Trump?

Plus, Trump filing a motion in Georgia asking to have his election subversion case dismissed. Why his lawyers are arguing that that case is unconstitutional.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And a critical find in the Alaska Airlines investigation, all thanks to Bob the teacher. The missing part of the plane was found in his backyard by him.

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

SANCHEZ: So in just one week, Iowa Republicans will be the first voters in the nation making their choice for the 2024 presidential nominee. And if you've been following this contest, you know Donald Trump is enjoying a very wide polling lead in the Hawkeye State. But this week, the former president is pulling back a bit from the campaign trail.

KEILAR: Not out of confidence, but because of some court dates, actually. So that gives his rivals like Nikki Haley and Gov. Ron DeSantis one final stretch to try to chip away at his lead, his sizable lead.

CNN's Eva McKend is on the scene in Iowa. So, Eva, how are Trump's challenges trying to capitalize during this final week?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, I should start out with the big story of the day on the campaign trail is actually this weather, the snow coming down here. Nikki Haley forced to cancel an event.

Vivek Ramaswamy and his wife are supposed to appear at an event this morning together, she appeared alone. He was able to make it to another campaign event, not by private plane like he usually travels, but by campaign bus. And then surrogates for former President Trump weren't able to make their events today.

So this comes during crunch time, a critical period, one week out at a time when all of these candidates need this face time with Iowans and the weather throwing a wrinkle in that. But, yes, former President Trump's legal challenges certainly giving Nikki Haley, Gov. DeSantis an opening to make an argument that they have long made that the former president just have too much going on to really focus on the issues of most concern to Iowans. Take a listen to how this sounds on the campaign trail.

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GOV. RON DESANTIS, (R) FLORIDA, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think if we're re-litigating the past elections, if it's about Donald Trump or his legal issues or criminal trials or all that stuff, I think it's going to be a really nasty election. I don't think that puts Republicans in a good position to win.

NIKKI HALEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He was really good at breaking things. He just wasn't good at fixing them. And now we look at the fact, rightly or wrongly, chaos follows him. You know I'm right, chaos follows him. And we can't have a country in disarray and a world on fire and go through four more years of chaos. We won't survive it.

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MCKEND: So weather permitting, we'll see when these candidates are able to get back out on the trail. That is the big question here, Brianna and Boris, just one week to go. And some Iowans tell me they're still undecided.

KEILAR: Wow, still undecided. Eva, that is a beautiful coat, but I think you might have to trade that in for a utilitarian parka before you turn into an Iowa popsicle here with all that snow coming down.

[15:05:05]

MCKEND: Yes, indeed.

KEILAR: Yes, indeed. All right, Eva, thanks.

Meantime, former president, Donald Trump, throwing - working to throw out some of the legal challenges that are threatening his bid for the White House. Today, his lawyers filing a new motion to dismiss an election subversion case that's underway in Georgia.

SANCHEZ: It's all happening a day before a federal appeals court in D.C. is set to weigh in on a key question of presidential immunity.

CNN's Zach Cohen joins us now with the details.

So, Zach, what is Trump's legal team saying in this latest filing?

ZACH COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, guys. Trump's attorneys are arguing that, look, the criminal case against him in Georgia should be dismissed because he's protected by presidential immunity. And that means he can't be prosecuted for things that he did while he was in office.

And at the core of this argument really is the idea that things that Trump was doing, like pressuring Department of Justice officials to investigate baseless crimes of voter fraud or pushing Mike Pence to overturn the election on January 6th. That actually fell within the scope of his presidential duties, his official duties. That's what Trump's lawyers are arguing here.

And if that sounds familiar, it's because it is. It's almost identical to the argument that Trump's attorneys are making in the federal case. That's the election subversion case here in Washington, D.C., where we're going to hear oral arguments on this question of immunity tomorrow. And Trump himself is expected to be present for those arguments, too.

So - but back in the Georgia case, the immunity argument was not the only thing we saw from Trump's attorneys today. They're also trying to get this case thrown out by saying that, look, Trump is facing double jeopardy, for example, if a trial is to happen in Georgia because he was tried, impeached and tried and acquitted by the Senate for his action on January 6th. They are arguing that he was - his due process was violated as well because he was not informed in an appropriate amount of time that his words about the 2020 election could be criminalized.

So really a flurry of activity today, a deadline for Trump's attorneys to file these pretrial motions in Georgia. But obviously, a lot of parallels with what's going on in the federal case in a big day tomorrow, as oral arguments will happen on this question of immunity.

SANCHEZ: Zach Cohen, please keep us updated with the very latest. Thanks so much.

Let's expand the conversation now with Senior Contributor for The Hill, Kevin Cirilli, and Washington Correspondent for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Tia Mitchell. Thank you both for being with us.

So, Kevin, Trump in court in this last week of the Iowa - before the Iowa caucuses, his opponents in Iowa campaigning right now, but it doesn't seem like it's really a moment of weakness for him. His campaign seems fairly confident.

KEVIN CIRILLI, SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR, THE HILL: They're confident, but they're also paranoid, because if you think back all the way to 2016, I remember being in Iowa for his first caucus contest and he lost. He came in second place behind Sen. Ted Cruz. That has haunted, according to my sources on the Trump orbit, that has haunted them as they get ready for this.

He barnstormed through the state in the last couple of days, four rallies, two days, attacking Jack Smith, attacking President Biden, attacking the legal system and the Supreme Court, as well as also attacking Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis. But for him, he wants to keep the focus on a general election argument. He feels that that's the best strategy for him at this point.

KEILAR: And look, we know the weather is kind of throwing a wrench into things.

CIRILLI: Yes.

KEILAR: Folks want to be out there and that's going to make it tough.

But Tia, what are you watching for in this last week of campaigning in Iowa?

TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, THE ATLANTA JOURNAL- CONSTITUTION: Well, I'm watching for a few things. Number one, I think, for any other candidate, having to be drawn away to focus on these court battles would be seen as something that is a hurt to the campaign. But for Donald Trump, it's almost baked into the campaign. It's almost part of his campaign, because we know a big theme of his campaign is the victimhood and painting all these cases as attacks on him as well as attacks on his supporters.

So in that way, these motions in Georgia, all the court cases tomorrow in D.C., they're part of his campaign. They're part of the get out to vote effort. Meanwhile, you do have DeSantis, Haley and to a lesser extent, Ramaswamy, still in Iowa, still doing the more traditional campaigning. And again, weather's a factor. That's what makes the Iowa caucus is really interesting as well, because you've got to show up in person on Monday or a day before it doesn't count.

CIRILLI: Well, can we can we also say that Trump is not expected to show up to that final Iowa CNN debate when you've got Haley and DeSantis? And quite frankly, that's going to be an opportunity for these Iowans and really the rest of the nation to see who is the final Republican that they would like to see go up against Trump after Iowa.

Because when you have Nikki Haley and I thought this was strategic and you just touched on it, which is absolutely correct in the sense that Nikki Haley's saying she might consider Ron DeSantis to be her running mate and that she's open to that. That's clearly trying to draw that immediate contrast, and that contrast is going to be on full display later this week.

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SANCHEZ: Tia, let's look at the other side. President Biden today speaking at Mother Emanuel AME Church in South Carolina talked about President Trump discussing a potential negotiated settlement as an ending to the civil war - a way to avoid the civil war, rather. He also alluded to Nikki Haley's comments about the causes of the Civil War.

First of all, striking that the Civil War is part of the political discussion in the 2024 presidential Election/ MITCHELL: Yes, absolutely.

SANCHEZ: But also that's territory that's comfortable for President Biden pointing to Republicans saying they're trying to rewrite history.

MITCHELL: Yes, I thought it was really interesting that he's starting to draw parallels between the lost cause movement, which is the retelling the manipulation of the Civil War and its true origins, and now saying there's a new lost cause, which is that retelling and manipulation of the 2020 election in the January 6th attack on the Capitol.

And so, Biden and his speechwriters are really driving that point home, as we've said, making that contrast particularly with Donald Trump as they say, this is more than just who's going to win and occupy the White House for four years, the very pillars of democracy are at stake. And the - and again, I don't - there are a lot of factors that are going to contribute to who - how people cast their votes in November.

But I think they believe that this is one of them and particularly I think the setting at Mother Emanuel we were talking before the show about - it's about black voters, but older black voters, religious black voters, pragmatic black voters, black voters who remember the struggles of the civil rights movement, these types of messages resonate.

CIRILLI: John Mason's (ph) map, when you've got him going to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Clearly, a moment of history for the United States and then going to Mother Emanuel Church down in South Carolina - Pennsylvania, South Carolina. The Democrats are clearly forecasting their map that they see a road back to the White House.

KEILAR: It does resonate. I mean we're talking about it. Everyone's talking about it Republican candidates are talking about it amongst themselves, right? You hear even Ron DeSantis saying criticizing Trump for what he said. But I wonder what you guys think about it for the primary audience and also how much it really resonates with voters for the general election because it does seem that there is this propensity recently in the Republican Party to gravitate towards revisionist history that there's a desire among the base for that. We've seen that in Florida with Ron DeSantis when it comes to some of the testing there, what do you think?

MITCHELL: Yes. I think it's interesting particularly in the Republican Party, there's such a split between what wins a primary and then what makes a candidate viable in a general election in a battleground state or in a contested state. So we're seeing - we see the way that Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump speak when they believe they're speaking to their base and particularly when it comes to Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis that has tripped them up when then they've been asked about how does that message resonate for a more general crowd on issues like race.

Now, Donald Trump is a little bit different because he's kind of throwing cushion to the win about how he speaks about a lot of things and we know that's kind of baked into his brand. But particularly with Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis I think there's conflict there and that has drawn criticism.

Nikki Haley was accused when she had that bad answer about the Civil War of trying to massage her response to speak to a primary crowd to speak to a base and assuming that they didn't want to hear the truth about the civil war.

CIRILLI: Well, and Trump will - wants this thing put away in the primary, after Michigan, right, before - right around Super Tuesday. And - but I can tell you this, if Nikki Haley comes in second place in Iowa, I mean it's over for DeSantis, right? I mean, it's done. How does he justify keep moving forward.

But if DeSantis is able to beat expectations in Iowa would that give him enough momentum? It's all about momentum heading into New Hampshire in order to try to justify him staying on longer. There is a clear economic vision difference between Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, one that is traditional to a lot of Republican voters, historically speaking with Republican Party politics.

But Trump, as you just said, I mean, he blew it all up. And so where does that go? We don't know yet.

KEILAR: And so we should wait and watch and we will.

Kevin and Tia, thank you so much for the conversation. We do appreciate it.

And just five days before the Iowa caucuses, a make or break night for Republican presidential hopefuls. The CNN Republican presidential debate live from Iowa, moderated by our Jake Tapper and our Dana Bash, Wednesday at 9 PM.

SANCHEZ: Still to come, Boeing sending inspection instructions to airlines operating the grounded 737 MAX 9. You had to have seen this, a large chunk of an Alaska Airlines plane tearing off mid-flight. That broken section found by a school teacher named Bob in his backyard.

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KEILAR: Thank you, Bob, for that.

Plus, a senior Hezbollah commander killed in southern Lebanon, fueling more concerns. Israel's war with Hamas could expand into a wider conflict.

And then later, the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary meeting border enforcement officials in Texas as House Republicans prepare impeachment proceedings against him. We'll have those stories and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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KEILAR: Federal officials are combing through evidence as they're trying to figure out what went wrong when part of an Alaska Airlines plane, it just ripped off in the middle of the flight. Brand new images showing - show from the NT - pardon me, brand new images from the NTSB show that investigators recovered the missing door plug from someone's yard, Bob's yard, in fact, right, Bob, in Portland, Oregon.

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This fell off the plane shortly after takeoff. The agency also says that two cell phones, amazingly, that fell from 16,000 feet, they were likely flung from the plane.

SANCHEZ: It blows my mind that you see the picture of this phone seemingly fine. Not --

KEILAR: It had the thing on it, the protective glass cover. You can see it.

SANCHEZ: My phone falls out of my pocket and it cracks on carpet.

KEILAR: You need - well, you need the protective cover. That's what's clear.

SANCHEZ: All right. Let's get back to the story. In the days before Friday's incident, a pressurization warning system went off three times, prompting the airline to restrict the plane from flying long haul flights over water. The NTSB says it's unclear if those warnings are related to that door plug that broke off mid flight. They're trying to figure out if there's an association there.

Joining us now is CNN Safety Analyst and former FAA safety inspector, David Soucie.

But first, let's go live to CNN's Mike Valerio in Portland, who has the very latest on this. Mike, the public playing a big role in this investigation, not only Bob who found the plane part, but also the folks that found that cell phone.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Boris. I think understatement of the day right there. We're going to start with Bob first and foremost and go to our other heroes of this investigation, our civilian heroes of this investigation.

But as we push in beyond this runway here, this is the aircraft in question, Flight 18 - 1282, excuse me, a little windswept here in our position in Portland International Airport. What is going to be happening in the next few hours is that door plug will be making its way from hero Bob's backyard to the tarmac, to right in front of that hangar. And the go team from the NTSB will be comparing what they see in terms of signs of wear and tear.

I don't want to say wear and tear, but just any signs that could be helpful for their investigation, compare what they see on the door that blew off, to the door that is still in place that is facing us, the hull is on the side of the aircraft that is facing away from our point of view. So when we talk about who has made discoveries before Bob, there were two people, one in a front yard and then one person walking along the street in the search area of Cedar Hills, about a 15-minute drive away from where we're standing, who found two cell phones. We have confirmation that at least one of them is in amazing condition as you all were just describing a few minutes ago.

And as soon as it was unlocked, you could tell that it had an Alaska Airlines baggage receipt on it. But don't listen to me. Let's hear from Sean Bates. He's the one who found the phone. Listen.

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SEAN BATES, FOUND CELL PHONE BELIEVED TO BE FROM ALASKA AIRLINES FLIGHT: And I was, of course, a little skeptical at first. I was thinking this could just be thrown out of a car or someone dropped it while they were jogging. But I found it, it was still pretty clean. No scratches on it sitting under a bush and it didn't have a screen lock on it.

So I opened it up and it was in airplane mode with a travel confirmation and baggage claim for Alaska 1282.

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VALERIO: So where things stand right now, there's a news conference that was just announced. It's set for 7 PM Pacific. We will hopefully get a better understanding of whether the NTSB go team has whittled down, started to whittle down the possibilities of how this all happened, Boris and Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, critical questions.

All right. Mike, thank you. And to David now.

David, there are some - listen, there are some fun details here between Bob and the phone surviving, which we can sort of joke a little bit about because everyone's okay in this, right? But it really could have gone a different way. There are serious issues that need to be looked at about what happened here. What are your questions right now?

DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: (Inaudible) ...

KEILAR: I think we're having ...

SANCHEZ: Yes.

KEILAR: -- we're having an audio issue with David Soucie. We're going to try to re-establish that. But - oh, here we go. We have unmuted. We have solved the problem. David, can you hear us?

SOUCIE: Okay. Yes, can you hear me okay now?

KEILAR: Yes, we got you.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

KEILAR: Talk to us.

SOUCIE: Great. Yes. Okay, so a couple of questions I have right now, the primary one is who touched that door last, who put it on, who inspected it, what went on with that door. It appears to me, it's pretty obvious that it wasn't installed properly. I don't think we're looking at a manufacturing defect or anything like that. This aircraft flew for a long time before this happened. And there were also indications that there may have been some problems with the pressurization before it even came off too.

SANCHEZ: David, it's odd to me that they would get that flashing sensor going off, saying that there's an issue with pressurization and yet this plane could still fly. How is that possible?

SOUCIE: Well, there are some sense, that system has one job and it's to tell the pilots when the pressurization drops below 10,000 feet inside the aircraft, so - or above that, actually, is kind of inverse relationship.

[15:25:11]

But when it does that, it's telling the pilot that something's leaking in the aircraft. There's pressurization going outside, so they need to investigate that.

The second question, I was mentioning before I had two, the second question is was that investigated properly or as Chairwoman Homendy said, it could have just been a - it could have been not related. I think that that's a stretch. I think it - in my estimation as a mechanic, having worked on these airplanes before, when that happens, there's something going on and you can't just reset the system that monitors it, which is apparently that's what they did was reset the system and then decide, well, we're going to fly it, but we're not going to fly it over water for a long period of time. So let's just fly it and watch it.

KEILAR: Yes. Talk to us a little bit about that. I find that so strange. Late December pressurization issue, pressurization issues on January 3rd and January 4th. And I guess it's okay based on regulations. I don't know - we have lost David again, unfortunately.

So many questions. But to the point there, they have three times in close proximity where the pressurization drops and yet they're still allowed to fly it.

SANCHEZ: Right.

KEILAR: And yet they just have this restriction on it. I think there are going to be some questions now - unbelievable pictures here - about whether or not you should be able to do that after that many pressurization problems.

SANCHEZ: Absolutely. And to David's point that he was making before he got cut off, whether that was investigated thoroughly enough to figure out the cause of that issue. Obviously, we have to leave the conversation there. Again, really incredible that no one was hurt when that chunk of the plane just blast open.

Our thanks to David Soucie. We hope to have him on again soon.

Still plenty more to come on CNN NEWS CENTRAL. When we come back, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is in Texas visiting the epicenter of the border crisis just days before House Republicans could begin impeachment proceedings against him. We're going to discuss with Republican Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne. That's after a quick break.

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