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Biden Embarks on Fundraising Blitz; Haley and Trump in South Carolina; Napa Winery Host Confirms Willis' Story; Missile Fired by Russia Had U.S. Components; Police Name a Person of Interest in Missing 11-Year-Old Girl; University of Colorado Shooting Suspect to Appear in Court; Mitch Landrieu is Interviewed about the Biden Campaign. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired February 20, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

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[09:00:49]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Bringing in big money. President Biden's campaign just released how much they have after last month and how much they now have on hand. And they're happy to brag this morning.

FREDRIKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And new developments this morning in the disappearance of an 11-year-old girl in Texas. Police are now questioning a family friend with a long criminal history.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And a ruling from Alabama's supreme court on frozen embryos, now raising fears among fertility experts and reproductive health activists and couples. How the decision could have a huge impact on IVF clinics in the state.

I'm Sara Sider, with Kate Bolduan and Fredrika Whitfield. John Berman is on assignment. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BOLDUAN: If money talks, President Biden's campaign has a lot to talk about right now. This morning the campaign is touting an historic amount of cash on hand after a big January hall. They're reporting more than $42 million was raised last month. And they are now jumping in through February with $130 million of cash on hand.

Biden's about to also leave the White House for another fundraising swing out west.

Let's get over to CNN's Arlette Saenz. She's at the White House for us.

Arlette, talk to me more about what the campaign is reporting out this morning and what it means for what is very -- what it means today and also what is most definitely assured to be a very tough general election fight.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kate, the Biden campaign is really building up a sizable campaign war chest as they are preparing for a very pricey race against what they expect to be there GOP opponent, former President Donald Trump. Those numbers that you ran through, $42 million raised in January alone. And the fact that they are ending the month the $130 million in the bank really are the latest sign that the party's donor class is standing behind President Biden, even as there are deep anxieties about his re- election bid.

It all comes as the president is set to depart in just a few hours for a three-day fundraising swing through California. That will include events in Santa Monica, also Los Altos Hills in Silicon Valley, and San Francisco, where he's set to appear at a high-dollar fundraiser with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

But it's - and one source has told me that that fundraising swing could bring in as much as $10 million. Really pointing to the power of those high-dollar fundraisers.

But the Biden campaign has also been working up to churn out more donations from small dollar grassroots donors. January the campaign announced was actually the campaign's most successful month in fundraising from those small-dollar donors. Just to run through a few of the numbers that they're seeing, they found -- had 422,000 unique donors in the month of January alone, 97 percent of the campaign's donations have been under $200 since the beginning of the campaign, and they also have these reoccurring donors, 158,000 committing to donate each month.

Campaign spokesperson, TJ Ducklo, said in a statement, quote, "this hall will go directly to reaching the voters who will decide this election. That's reason number 355 million that we are confident President Biden and Vice President Harris will win this November." That 355 million is a direct jab taken at former President Donald Trump, who will have to pay that amount as a result of that New York civil fraud case.

But really former President Trump has also been an animating factor for many of these donors. If you take a look at some of the fundraising appeals that the campaign has done, they brought in nearly $1 million a day in the three days after Trump won the Iowa caucuses. There was another event where the president had gone on to criticize Trump quite forcefully. That brought in $1.6 million. And when you talk to donors, that is really one of the animating factors that is also driving much of their thinking as they are standing behind Biden at this time for what's expected to be a very expensive race.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Arlette, thank you so much. Arlette's at the White House for us today.

Sara.

SIDNER: Of course, Kate, President Biden not the only candidate filing his campaign war chest. Nikki Haley raised $16.5 million in January as she heads into a primary race in her home state, of course, this weekend.

[09:05:09] And, at last check, Donald Trump's campaign had $33 million on hand to spend. Both Haley and Trump making campaign stops in South Carolina today where Haley's set to deliver her state of the race speech.

CNN's Eva McKend is following this for us this morning.

What can we expect to hear from her. This is her home state, but she does not necessarily have the home-state advantage according to polling numbers.

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: You know, Sara, we know that she's focused on a unity message, telling voters that she is the one that can unify the country. It's the focus of her latest campaign ad. To the extent that we can measure if this is working, I can tell you, Democrats are showing up to her rallies. So, that is an indication that her message has a broader appeal than just the average Republican voter. It's not uncommon, for instance, to meet people at her rallies, even in South Carolina, who voted for President Biden in 2020.

But she's expected to continue to essentially tell voters that she's in it for the long haul. And part of that strategy has been confronting the former president, arguing Trump is too distracted to engage the voters that Republicans will need in a general election. She's also steady on resisting this pressure campaign from the Republican establishment to get out of the race. And then she also has her eyes on Super Tuesday. She has indicated that no matter what happens this weekend, with only five days to go until the South Carolina primary, she's also focused on Super Tuesday states. She has the money to continue to run the race, and then she's also on the ground in those states. She is in places campaigning in Texas, for instance, continuing to make her case to voters, Sara.

SIDNER: And I know you'll be watching the details and bring those to us when you get them.

Eva McKend, thank you so much for all your work out there.

Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Sara, this morning, new CNN reporting. A Napa Valley winery host is confirming key testimony by the Georgia district attorney prosecuting Donald Trump. Attorneys for Trump and some of his co-defendants say Fulton County DA Fani Willis should be disqualified for allegedly benefiting financially from her relationship with lead prosecutor Nathan Wade. Well, at a hearing last week, Willis testified that she reimbursed Wade for meals and trips.

CNN's Zach Cohen is joining us now.

So, Zach, you spoke with the host of a Napa winery and it was one that both Wade and Willis visited. He says he remembers Willis paying cash. Why is that significant?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Fred, when Fani Willis took the stand last week, she pushed back on these allegations that she benefited financially from her relationship with Nathan Wade by arguing that they had a reciprocal relationship, an understanding that she would pay for things when they went on these lavish vacations, including a vacation in Napa Valley. But the problem is, there was no paper trail documenting those payments. That's why the -- my interview with Stan Brody is important because it does corroborate at least part of Fani Willis' testimony that there was no paper trail because she used cash. And Stan Brody remembers when Fani Willis and Nathan Wade visited a winery in Napa Valley in 2023. And when it came time to foot the bill, Fani Willis pulled out $400 roughly in cash from her purse and paid for both her and Wade.

Take a listen to what Stan Brody told me when I talked to him about his interaction with Willis and Wade.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STAN BRODY, HOSTED WILLIS AND WADE AT ACUMEN WINES: We ran up the thing and I showed her. I was expecting a credit card, quite frankly. And now, she says, I'll pay cash. And so that was that. So then I just put the cash in, made change for her, and she was very generous to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: So, ultimately, Brody is just one additional voice in a sea of a lot of voices here. And -- but the reason that cash payments have come into focus is because this issue of financially benefiting from her relationship with Wade, it could derail the entire Georgia case. It threatens to disqualify Fani Willis. And Judge McAfee, the judge overseeing this case, has to make a decision, is there enough evidence to support disqualifying Fani Willis or will he essentially set the case back on track by keeping her in place? This issue of financial benefit is really at the center of all of that.

WHITFIELD: All right, Zach Cohen, thank you so much.

Kate

BOLDUAN: Also new this morning, we're getting a new look -- I first look at a new analysis, rather, of a North Korean ballistic missile recovered last month in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Now, here's what's so specific and important about it. The new report finds that many of the components that that missile fired -- in that missile that was fired by the Russian military, they were traced back to American and European companies.

CNN's Natasha Bertrand has this new reporting in for us this morning.

Natasha, tell us more about what you're learning.

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kate.

So, this U.K. based investigative organization which examines weaponry used on various battlefields, particularly those in Ukraine, they examined a North Korean ballistic missile that was used by the Russians in Ukraine, in the city of Kharkiv, last month.

[09:10:02]

And they directly examined it and they found that the vast majority of the components inside this missile were actually traced back to the United States and Europe. They were designed and sold by companies incorporated in the United States, Europe, and Asia, with the vast majority, 75 percent of these components being made in the United States.

And so this is very significant, of course, because it further underscores this very vexing problem facing the Biden administration and its allies in that the North Koreans, the Iranians, even the Russians, they are able to make these very, you know, deadly weapons using very cheap and widely available components that once they enter the global supply chain are extremely difficult to track. Things like microelectronics and semiconductors that essentially power these missiles, for example. The components that this organization examined, they primarily made up the navigation system of this missile. And it really is an issue because while the North Koreans and the Iranians are continuing to supply the Russians with these missiles and drones that are using these widely available components found in the west, the U.S., of course, has been unable to continue supplying the Ukrainians because of the fact that the supplemental funding in Congress remains stalled.

And so while the Russians are able to continue getting weaponry and equipment from these bad actors who are in turn able to find these very cheap and widely available components on the global market, the U.S. still stalled in what it's able to give to the Ukrainians so that they can defend themselves.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Natahsa, great reporting. Thank you so much. Good to see you.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thank you, Kate.

The urgent search for a missing 11-year-old girl in Texas is now focusing on a family friend. Where police say this person of interest last saw Audrii Cunningham.

And an emotional plea from Alexei Navalny's mother to Vladimir Putin, release her son's body now. This as the late activist's brother is now on Russia's most wanted list.

Also, a credit card takeover. What a $35 billion deal between Capital One and Discover could mean for cardholders. We'll tell you all about it coming up.

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[09:16:31]

WHITFIELD: Texas authorities have now named a family friend as a person of interest in the disappearance of 11-year-old Audrii Cunningham. Audrii was last seen Thursday when she was on her way to her school bus stop. Police say if 42-year-old man who lives in a trailer behind the family's home was the last person known to have seen her.

CNN's Rosa Flores is in Livingston, Texas.

Rosa, what did the sheriff tell you?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, I talked with the sheriff, and he shared some new details, including the area where the backpack was found, a backpack that belong to this little girl, Audrii Cunningham. It's an area that's by a dam. He said it was muddy and sandy. It was an area that -- were there was debris. He said that there was no signs of struggle there. That there was no DNA, no blood on that backpack. And then he also shared about the person of interest, Don McDougal, that this individual helped search for Audrii Cunningham on the day of her disappearance.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF BRYON LYONS, POLK COUNTY, TEXAS: Well, we know that we met Thursday afternoon. Some of the neighbors or some of the witnesses even said that he was in the community knocking on doors, helping the family go through and trying to locate her. Knocking on doors, asking, have they seen her?

FLORES: Oh, so he was helping in her search?

LYONS: He - he was helping in our search.

FLORES: What does that tell you?

LYONS: Well, I mean, to me, it simply tells me that he's trying to give the appearances that he has no play or he's not at fault in her disappearance and that I am part of the concerned party -- parties who were trying to locate her.

FLORES: Do you believe that?

LYONS: No. No, I don't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Now, according to the sheriff, McDougal lived on the property where Audrii Cunningham lived, in the back in a trailer, that he was the last person to see her, that he left with her that morning? That he was supposed to bring her here to this area where I'm standing. This is where the bus stop is. But we know, according to the sheriff, that she never made it to school. She didn't get home after school. And that's why she was reported missing by her family.

And, Fred, I asked the sheriff, you know, just -- what just doesn't square about this case. And he says that he believes that McDougal knows more information and that he's not sharing that with law enforcement.

And, Fred, I should mention that McDougal is in custody right now, but on an unrelated charge. He is not charged in connection with the disappearance of this 11-year-old girl.

And we've, of course, tried to make contact with either his attorney or his family to get comment, and we have not been successful.

Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Rosa Flores, thank you so much.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, the University of Colorado student arrested for killing two people in a dorm room will make his first court appearance in just a few hours. Twenty-five-year-old Nicholas Jordan is facing two counts of first-degree murder. Prosecutors say he killed a student and a young woman at the University of Colorado Springs dorm room last Friday.

CNN's Lucy Kafanov has the very latest on that investment.

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

No word yet on the why, the motive, but the University of Colorado Colorado Springs has confirmed to CNN that the suspect was a fellow student.

[09:20:01]

Now, he was identified by police as 25-year-old Nicholas Jordan, originally from Detroit, Michigan. They believed that he was responsible for last Friday's fatal shooting of two people, a young man and a young woman, in that dorm room.

He was apprehended, arrested shortly after found -- being found inside a vehicle on Monday. He was taken into custody without any sort of incident according to police.

Authorities indicated that the suspect and these victims may have known one another. In fact, the police had previously said that this was, quote, not a random attack against the school or other students at this university. Authorities, however, did not go into how they were able to identify him so quickly, but they did say that they obtained the arrest warrant on Friday evening, the same day that these shootings took place, which effectively means this invisible is on the loose for two days. And so there were growing questions about why authorities didn't reveal more information about his identity before apprehending him.

The Colorado Springs chief of police was asked about this. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHIEF ADRIAN VASQUEZ, COLORADO SPRINGS POLICE I have to really balance what -- what we provide to the community with public interest and public trust and the safety of the public. And I fully understand that. But the investigation has to be able to move forward. And our goal is, while ensuring that public safety.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAFANOV: Now, as for the victims, both were already deceased when police arrived on the scene on Friday. the woman identified as 26- year-old Celie Rain Montgomery of Pueblo, Colorado. She was not a student at the school. The young man identified as 24-year-old Sam Knopp of Parker, Colorado. This now still being described as an active investigation by police who are encouraging any witnesses, anyone with information to step forward.

SIDNER: All right, that was our Lucy Kafanov there with an update on that investigation.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: The Biden campaign touting a big fundraising haul for January. Does that -- will that kind of cash make up for the struggling poll numbers that Joe Biden continues to be plagued by. The campaign joins us.

And, Russia just put Alexei Navalny's brother on its most wanted list.

We'll be back.

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[09:26:45]

BOLDUAN: How is the Biden campaign feeling this morning? One way you may be able to gauge that in this moment is to count the dollar signs. As reported at the top of the show, the Biden-Harris team, the campaign, raked in more than $42 million in January in fundraising. That's in January. Which now brings their cash on hand to an historic $130 million. That's the largest amount for a Democratic candidate ever at this point in the cycle.

Joining me right now is the co-chair of President Biden's re-election campaign, the former Democratic mayor of New Orleans, Mitch Landrieu.

Mayor, it's good to see you.

$42 million in January.

MITCH LANDRIEU, CO-CHAIR, BIDEN 2024 CAMPAIGN: Hey, Kate.

BOLDUAN: $130 million now cash on hand. It's hard to make a direct comparison. We were trying to - we were doing some digging. It's hard to make a direct comparison to Republicans and Trump right now as they have not released their numbers for the month, but they started the year with less and they're spending big on Donald Trump's legal bills. We do know those two things.

Does this money, this historic hall, does it make up for the bad polling, the tough polling, which continues to plague President Biden?

LANDRIEU: Well, first of all, enthusiasm is always measured in how many contributions you get and how much money you're able to raise. And so by any measure, no matter who you compare it to, it's the best that we've seen in this quarter ever, as you said. Before, you don't have to go too far to make comparisons that makes sense. Donald Trump just got hit with, I think, a $400 million civil fine on top of another one sometime early than that. And while the president of the United States was working really hard on basically doing the things that are important to the United States of America, Donald Trump was selling tennis shoes. So, I mean, you could just look at both of those things and say, who do you think's having the better day?

I understand the concern about the polls. You see this actually for both candidates. But essentially, as this campaign heats up, you're going to have to make a choice between two very, very different people in two very different - very -- very different visions for the country and for the world.

Donald Trump wakes up every day thinking about himself. He thinks about oppression. He thinks about revenge. He thinks about how to hurt other people. He thinks about how to get back at them. He thinks about how to do things that helps himself. Joe Biden wakes up every day thinking about how to fight for the American people.

BOLDUAN: And, Mitch, that's appealing to a lot of voters.

LANDRIEU: I'm sorry.

BOLDUAN: And that's -- and that message, I will be -- I will be your vengeance, I will be your retribution, is appealing to a lot of voters. You could see it in the polling.

LANDRIEU: Well, it's appealing - it's appealing to some voters in the polls. But on Election Day, when -- when folks go into that booth, American citizens are going to step up to the plate and they're going to vote for somebody that's protecting their freedom. They're going to vote for somebody that's providing jobs for them. They're going to vote for somebody like Joe Biden, who has done an incredible job in his first term as president of the United States.

That's what I believe is going to happen. And we have every indication that we're moving in the right direction and we feel very good about where we are. There's no question that campaigns are hard fought. We're in a - we're in a moment right now in this country that we have not been in, in the last 50 years. But the choice could not be clearer. And that's what the fight is about. And that's what the campaign's going to be about.

BOLDUAN: You were just in Michigan yesterday for the campaign. Rashida Tlaib, Democratic congresswoman, she put out a video calling on Democrats in Michigan to vote uncommitted in the Michigan primary.

[09:30:02]

To do so in protest of President Biden's handling of Israel's war against Hamas.

I want to play for you what the Democratic.