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Voters Cast Ballots in 16 States; U.S. Officials: No Specific or Credible Threat to Today's Elections; Whelan: Navalny's Death is Extremely Worring for Me; Sen. Menendez Hit With New Conspiracy, Obstruction Charges; Californians Voting to Fill Critical Open U.S. Senate Seat. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired March 05, 2024 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Kitchen table issues are on the minds of many voters as they're heading to the ballot box this Super Tuesday. Immigration, the economy, reproductive rights as well.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Yes, and in the battleground state of North Carolina, they have the potential to decide not just the presidential race, but a closely watched gubernatorial campaign.

CNN national correspondent Dianne Gallagher is talking to North Carolina voters in the city of Cornelius. Dianne, turnout has been fairly steady where you are. What are you hearing from voters?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Turnout is quite steady here in Cornelius.

You can probably see a little bit behind me. We're having a bit of a line that's starting to develop here outside of Town Hall. Now, North Carolina election rules prevent me from getting any closer to these voters here.

But we've started to see this build throughout the afternoon. And voters themselves are enthusiastic when they show up, telling me that they are passionate about the people that they are choosing to vote for. And they especially enjoy the idea that North Carolina may have a deciding factor in the national vote come November when it comes to the president.

But they're also looking again at those down ballot races. Now, in terms of the issues, I can say, especially this afternoon, I've had many voters talk to me about abortion and immigration, adding in education and the economy here as well. I spoke with a Biden voter and a Trump voter about why they made the decision they did with their ballot today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PHIL MAHER, TRUMP VOTER: Trump.

GALLAGHER: Why?

MAHER: I like his policies. I have -- I liked him when he was in office. It works for me.

CAMERIN WATSON, BIDEN VOTER: His values are very in line with ours. And we are nowhere in a better place than we were four years ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER (on camera): So, again, the turnout here looking nice and steady today. More than 695,000 early and absentee ballots were also cast. And, look, Boris Brianna, this is the first statewide election that we have used voter I.D. here in North Carolina.

They say that during that early period, about a little more than 200 people had to cast provisional ballots because of issues with identification. We're going to be watching to see how that might impact the vote later today as well.

SANCHEZ: Yes, that line, an encouraging sign for turnout. Dianne Gallagher, thanks so much.

KEILAR: When we come back, it's the biggest test of the U.S. election, infrastructure before November. How officials are keeping a close eye on cybersecurity threats this Super Tuesday.

[15:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: With voting underway in numerous states across the country, U.S. officials tell CNN that they're not seeing any specific or credible threats to Super Tuesday's elections.

The Biden administration is working with states to closely monitor both cyber and physical threats to the voting process.

Let's discuss now with Chris Krebs. He's a former senior official at the Department of Homeland Security. He also served as the first director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency during the Trump administration. Chris, thanks so much for being with us this afternoon. You say there are three types of threats that officials monitor on Super Tuesday. What are they?

CHRIS KREBS, CHIEF PUBLIC POLICY OFFICER, SENTINELONE: Yes, I think first and foremost, dating back to 2016, there is a heightened concern around cybersecurity threats, technical attacks on critical infrastructure. The good news is the intelligence community and those in the cybersecurity space have not really seen any sort of Russian or Chinese activity that would be able to interfere with the casting, the counting, and the certification of the voting process.

The second risk or threat that we're gravely concerned about is the continued disinformation and information operations that Russia, China, Iran, and others have been waging against the U.S. population and Europeans as well over the last several years.

And even as recently as a couple of weeks ago, researchers at the Sentinel Labs talked about a doppelganger group out of Russia that was undermining confidence in German politics, specifically trying to undermine support for the conflict in Ukraine. That same group of operators has been here in the U.S. highlighting issues down at the border and even trying to stoke civil war.

And then the third and final risk we're concerned about is physical threats, actual directed threats against election officials. The best example here is Stephen Richer down in Maricopa County, Arizona, tweeted out the other day that he had had six different individuals from across the country that had made threats to Stephen or election officials in Maricopa had been arrested for those threats against those officials.

[15:40:05]

So those are the three things I think folks are trying to keep in mind right now.

SANCHEZ: Yes, a broad range of threats and risk. In December of last year, there was this declassified intelligence assessment that found that foreign government efforts to target the 2022 midterm elections apparently grew compared with the 2018 midterms. And you mentioned some of the countries that were aiming to meddle. I'm wondering what you're seeing now as we get closer to the 2024 general election.

KREBS: Well, that intelligence report is required as a result of an executive order that President Trump issued prior to the 2018 election. Where the intelligence community and the FBI have to go out and look at what attempts were there made to interfere or influence U.S. politics around an election.

When you think about the election cycles in a midterm election vice presidential year, you're always going to have more activity in a presidential year because the stakes are much larger. There is more attention to these races than those midterm congressional races.

My sense, though, is that the playbook that has been established since 2016 has been copied. Just like in 2020, we saw the Iranians try to imitate the Proud Boys and intimidate voters. That is now, I think, going to be pretty much the standard operating procedure for most state security services that want to interfere in U.S. elections.

But I think that the good news is today is just -- it's kind of like what I said in 2020, where it's just another Tuesday on the Internet. And there hasn't been a whole lot of activity that I think would be concerning in terms of threats against the election.

SANCHEZ: I'm glad to hear that. At least thus far, it's gone smoothly and it looks smoothly. Chris Krebs, appreciate the perspective. Thanks so much.

KREBS: Thanks, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Of course -- Brianna.

KEILAR: This just in to CNN. We have some new reporting on Paul Whelan, the former Marine and American detained in Russia for more than five years now. He's now speaking out exclusively to CNN. He's sharing his concerns surrounding his detention following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

CNN's Jennifer Hansler has more on this. Jennifer, what is he saying?

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT REPORTER: Well, Brianna, he says it is extremely worrying for him that Navalny passed under suspicious circumstances in a Russian prison, saying that this signals that the Russians could be willing to do that to just about anybody. Take a listen to what he had to say about this incident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL WHELAN, AMERICAN DETAINED IN RUSSIA: I can't say too much for obvious reasons. But one thing I will say is that if they can get to him, they can get to me. And what that means is if they are willing to face the repercussions from the world for doing in somebody like Navalny, they are not going to think twice about doing in someone like me and then blaming the United States for not bothering to get me back in five years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANSLER: So he is again calling on the Biden administration to do whatever they can to secure his release after spending more than five years in Russian prison. He says he is confident that there is work being done on his behalf. After he spoke with Secretary of State Antony Blinken last month, he called that a very, very good call.

I should also note, Brianna, that today is his 54th birthday. He called me saying that it is extremely odd to be spending his birthday in a Russian prison. But he said he was able to do some kinds of little celebrations with some of his prison mates there. And he said it made life almost bearable for a little while there.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken last week -- or last month, rather, said that the U.S. is still working to do whatever they can to bring both him and Evan Gershkovich home -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Let's hope this is his last birthday behind bars there. Jennifer Hansler, thank you for that report.

One of the biggest and most expensive races today is in California. Ahead, we're going to break down the stakes in the Senate race there. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

[15:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Breaking news into CNN. New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez was just indicted on a dozen new criminal charges.

Let's bring in CNN's Kara Scannell. Kara, walk us through these new charges.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris, a dozen new charges in this indictment against Senator Bob Menendez that was handed up today by a grand jury.

This is all part of the same bribery scheme that prosecutors allege the senator was involved with, along with his wife and three New Jersey businessmen. They were accused of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in the form of gold bars, cash, a Mercedes convertible, a lower no-show job. And in exchange, Menendez is accused of taking steps to help those New Jersey businessmen, as well as the governments of Egypt and Qatar.

So among these new charges are what's called some of these substantive charges. He was charged with four counts of conspiracy before. That was acting as a foreign agent. That was committing honest services wire fraud.

Now he's being hit with the underlying counts that go along with those charges, as well as new counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice. So he's facing now 12 new charges on top of the ones that he's already had.

[15:50:00]

So a significant increase in his liability here, his potential liability in this case. Now, the senator has denied any wrongdoing vigorously. He's refused calls to step down as senator.

He has challenged the U.S. government, the prosecutors on his loyalty to the U.S., saying that he would never act as a foreign agent. So he has been putting on a strong defense here.

He had been trying to get the fruits of some of these search warrants of his home in New Jersey, Washington, D.C., of his cell phones to be suppressed. But a judge this week denied that request, saying that all of the evidence that was picked up, including the gold bars, the cash, that's all for the government to use in its case.

Now, these new charges, it's worth noting, comes just days after one of the New Jersey businessmen in this case pleaded guilty and has a cooperation deal with prosecutors. So now the prosecutors have one of the people that they say is part of this bribery scheme working with them.

That may be why we're seeing these new charges against Menendez today. Now, I've reached out to Menendez's camp. I haven't heard back yet.

But again, he has vigorously denied any wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty to the previous charges -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Kara Scannell, an important update in that case. Thanks so much -- Brianna.

KEILAR: In California, we've seen an intense and often bruising campaign in the race to fill the late Senator Dianne Feinstein's seat. Under the state's primary system, all candidates run on the same ballot. And regardless of party, the top two vote getters advance.

Congressman Adam Schiff has been the frontrunner in recent polls. But fellow Democratic Congresswomen Katie Porter and Barbara Lee are also in the mix, as well as Republican and former LA Dodgers star Steve Garvey.

CNN's Stephanie Elam is joining us now from a polling station in Santa Ana in Southern California there. What are you hearing from voters there, Steph?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, Brianna, we have seen a slowed, steady trickle of people coming here to vote in Santa Ana, just making their way in here and casting their vote. We've heard some people wanted to vote in person because they wanted to make sure that they felt like their vote was being counted. But a lot of people have voted by mail already or dropping off their ballot.

We've seen people coming in, dropping off their ballot as well. That's been going on for a few weeks here as well. So it is different. You don't see as many.

But they did set up these tents out here so that people could vote out here if there was an overflow as the day goes on. But you're right, that Senate race is really what a lot of people are focusing on here.

We have seen Adam Schiff has raised the most money. His war chest, as far as the amount of money he has, is larger than everyone else. And what he's been doing is really targeting Republican Steve Garvey, who has not spent any money on ads.

Meanwhile, in this election, there has been more than $71 million spent on advertising for just this. And since February, that number is larger than even how much has been spent on ads in the presidential election. So it's very consequential here.

But we are seeing Schiff targeting Garvey because he's thinking it would be better odds for him to be going up against a Republican in November instead of another one of the Democrats, since they would have to battle for basically the same voting block.

So what he's been doing is raising his profile and it seems to be working. We have seen the numbers rising for Garvey in this election. The idea is California, the Democrats here, outnumber Republicans two to one. So he's thinking if he's up against a Republican, it'll make it more likely that he will win in November here.

But obviously very consequential as they're going after this one seat, this one Senate seat, very important Senate seat here in California -- Brianna.

KEILAR: And when people are voting for the Senate seat, they're voting twice for it? Explain this.

ELAM: They are. There are two opportunities to vote for Senator on the ballot. That's because one is to finish out Dianne Feinstein's term for the rest of the year. And then there's another one for the full six-year term beginning in January. So people can decide that they want to vote for Barbara Lee for the first part of it. And then they want to vote for Garvey for the second part, for the whole six-year term. They can totally do that.

We'll see how that all shakes out. And people decide to do two different things here.

But yes, there's a chance for two of those opportunities to fill Senator for a short term, and then again for the long term.

KEILAR: All right. We'll see how it shakes out. Stephanie Elam, live for us in California. Thank you for that.

So not all get-out-the-vote calls are created equal. Ahead, one that could get more young voters out to the polls.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: After much anticipation and speculation, Taylor Swift is getting political. In a new Instagram post, the pop star encouraging her more than 282 million followers to cast ballots in their state's primaries today.

SANCHEZ: Remember, Swift endorsed President Joe Biden back in 2020. And recently, far-right figures have promoted baseless conspiracy theories claiming that the singer's involved in a covert effort to help Biden win re-election.

All the dots connect. But Swift stopped short of endorsing anyone, simply telling her followers to, quote, vote the people who most represent you into power.

KEILAR: So if you're wondering how Swift herself voted, considering she's currently on world tour in Singapore, well, welcome to 2024, because a source tells CNN that she voted by mail in Tennessee's primary.

And Boris, I mean, she's really kind of a force to be reckoned with here, because on National Voter Registration Day, on her Instagram, she told people to go to vote.org, and the group actually said that they had a surge of 35,000 registrations.

[16:00:00]

SANCHEZ: I think that's part of the reason you see those conspiracy theories. It's clearly a sign that they're scared of someone with that kind of platform, not even telling voters who to vote for, but just persuading them to take action and cast ballots.

KEILAR: Yes, she's very influential.

SANCHEZ: She is.

Thank you so much for being with us this afternoon. Our special coverage of America's Choice 2024 Super Tuesday with Wolf Blitzer and Kate Baldwin starts in just about 15 seconds, 14 seconds.