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American Journalist Evan Gershkovich To Stand Trial In Russia; Oklahoma Supreme Court Dismisses Tulsa Massacre Lawsuit. Aired 9:30- 10a ET

Aired June 14, 2024 - 09:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The American reporter who's been falsely accused and wrongfully detained in Russia for over a year has just been indicted and will now face trial. Evan Gershkovich is a 32-year- old journalist working for "The Wall Street Journal," who was arrested March 29th of 2023. Russian officials accused him of being a spy, accusing him of gathering secret information and working for the CIA. The U.S. government has said all along that's all made up. Here's the State Department now reacting to the news of the indictment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW MILLER, STATE DEPT. SPOKESPERSON: There's absolutely zero credibility to those charges. We have been clear from the start that Evan has done nothing wrong. He should never have been arrested in the first place. Journalism is not a crime. The charges against him are false. And the Russian government knows that they're false. He should be released immediately.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And joining us right now is a friend of Evan's, Jeremy Berke. Jeremy, thank you for coming in. He's been held in Russia for over a year now, falsely accused, now indicted. How do those words hit you?

JEREMY BERKE, FRIEND OF EVAN GERSHKOVICH: Yes. First off, thank you, Kate, for having us on to share Evan's story. Look, I think these developments are expected but they still hit me and all of Evan's friends and family like a ton of friends. It's really hard to see the push alerts with his name, to see him in the news and for it to be for this horrible reason. So, look, we're doing the best we can to advocate for his release, the charges are patently false and ridiculous. And we're just doing the best we can to support each other through these times.

[09:35:08]

BOLDUAN: Since March 29th, last year, he's been, I'll continue to say, falsely accused of espionage. And now his case referred to a trial court where he could face a series of secret closed door hearings, very little due process, if any. Throughout all of this, you've been receiving letters from him once in a while, as much as can be communicated since his arrest. How do you think he is coping with this news?

BERKE: Look, I think Evan is coping with this through sheer force of will. He is a people person. He's a real extrovert. And this has been really difficult for him. But he's finding ways to keep his humanity in this process. I mean, he is trying to cook a little bit in his cell. He has access to, you know, limited T.V. channels. And so he's doing the best he can to stay both connected with us and connected to himself while he undergoes this process. I mean, it's scary and troubling and difficult.

But look, we know he's still in there. And he's reaching out to us. And he's funny as ever in his letters. And he's trying to keep us and keep our spirits up and keep us engaged through the process. So that's a testament to who he is as a person.

BOLDUAN: Can you tell me a little bit more, if you're comfortable, a little bit more about what he shares in his letters or what sticks out most to you that you see in the letters?

BERKE: Yes. Sure. I mean, I want to keep most of the details, private. I'm sure you can understand that. But I can share a little bit. I mean, he definitely is open to talking about inside jokes that we've had just. So we know it's actually him writing back to us. He talks a little bit about his workout routines, you know, he's trying to get fit while he's in there. And, you know, that's incredible. If you've known him for a long time working out was not always his thing.

And he's asking about us and about our lives, you know. He wants to know about what I'm up to, which is amazing. You know, I have an upcoming wedding. And he asked about and about my fiance as well. And so he's really just trying to do his best to stay connected with us. And it's really touching.

BOLDUAN: Yes. The last time, I believe it's the last time that we saw him publicly in court was in February, I think that date is correct. And I am always struck in every image. I mean, we're showing some of them right now to our viewers. Is -- he smiles at the camera. I mean, he's -- he looks so calm when he is stuck in this glass box that is just so dehumanizing. Are you still optimistic?

We know we've heard from the State Department that they're -- what they're trying to do. We've heard from the President, what he's trying to do. Are you -- do you -- how do you remain optimistic?

BERKE: You know, it's really good question. And I don't think there's an easy answer. I think, you know, when we see these news events, we sort of expected this indictment to come. I mean, it took a long time. And so, you know, these are just -- this is just the unfortunate reality we're in and we're trying to stay afloat on that front.

I think, you know, we're hopeful through our community with each other, through just staying in touch with both Evan's family, his sister, all his friends. And, you know, we support each other through the process. I will always be optimistic for a good result. And we know that the State Department, the federal government is working really hard to secure his release. And so are we all here at home. And so that's what keeps us going.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Jeremy, thank you for coming on. I really appreciate your time.

BERKE: Thank you so much, Kate. I appreciate it.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

[09:38:48]

Still ahead for us, the Oklahoma Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit by -- from the last living survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. The survivors are now calling on the Justice Department to investigate.

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SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: The Oklahoma Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit brought by the few remaining survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. The survivors, Hughes Van Ellis, Viola Fletcher and Lessie Benningfield Randle filed the lawsuit in 2021 in a bid to get reparations for their families who were hurt by the attack. On May 31st, 1921, a white mob destroyed a thriving black owned business district in Tulsa known as Black Wall Street, arresting thousands of residents and robbed and killed others.

Joining me now is attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons, thank you so much for joining us today. I want to first ask you that I think there were only two survivors left because Lessie unfortunately died as this case was going through the courts. Have you heard a reaction from them? And what is yours after hearing this from the state Supreme Court?

DAMARIO SOLOMON-SIMMONS, ATTORNEY: Sara, good morning, and thank you for having me on. Yes, we do have two living survivors. But it was Uncle Reed, Hughes Van Ellis who passed away back in October. Lessie Benningfield Randle who's 109 still with us, and another Viola Fletcher who's 110 is still with us. And they are just as disappointed as my entire legal team, including my co-counsel out of New York, Schulte, Roth & Zabel. We are just devastated because this is a case that should have moved forward. At this point we will only ask you for the opportunity to get to court to have discovery and hopefully have a trial on this issue to prove our claims.

[09:45:12]

And we're incredibly disappointed. We believe that the Oklahoma Supreme Court now they get it wrong on the ultimate decision, but their reasoning did not make a lot of sense. They did not follow the law. And so we are planning to file for petition for rehearing. We have 20 days to do that, and we hope they will reconsider this very unjust decision.

SIDNER: I want to read a bit of what the court actually ruled. They firstly acknowledge and this is, quote, grievance with the social and economic inequities created by the Tulsa Race Massacre is legitimate and it's worthy of merit, the court ruled. But they also said that the law does not permit them to extend the scope of the public nuisance doctrine beyond what the legislature has authorized to afford, plaintiff suggests they are seeking. What do you make of that? What does that mean?

SOLOMON-SIMMONS: Well, first of all, that's not the standard here in Oklahoma. First of all, we were asking for this as a public nuisance claim. And so we simply had and as we did that there is still a public nuisance ongoing in the Greenwood district, including blighted property, destroyed property, et cetera. And we did that. So once again, the court system in Oklahoma moved the goalposts to soap the need to not give the survivors and descendants of the massacre, justice.

And this is what we've seen for the last 103 years. You know, our lawsuit, which was filed September 1, 2020, is just the latest lawsuit. Lawsuits have been filed since June 2nd, 1921. And each and every time, each and every time, Sara, the courts have utilized whatever they need to kick us out. And that's why we're calling on the Department of Justice and the Biden-Harris administration to come in and investigate this issue, and give these survivors and descendants and the community some justice. The Oklahoma court system has proven 103 years they will not do the right thing.

SIDNER: You know, when I was there in Tulsa we met. And you all taught me about what happened in Tulsa. At when I -- as a grown woman, I had not learned this history when I was in school. It wasn't taught where I went to school. And I was quite shocked by it. And I did -- I was able to talk to one of the survivors at the time, who said that she was moved off her property with her family, she was a little girl taken in the back of a truck and put into a -- they were all in a field somewhere away from their property that was eventually destroyed.

Ultimately, what is this meant for the community there in Tulsa as they watch this again and again, go through the courts and again, again, be struck down and nothing given to those who suffered through this some 300 people is estimated were killed?

SOLOMON-SIMMONS: Yes. It's devastating because we have been dealing with this, as you stated in silence for most of the history. I mean, I went to school, on Greenwood Avenue Middle School, and I didn't learn about it until I got to University of Oklahoma playing football and was in a class.

SIDNER: Wow.

SOLOMON-SIMMONS: And someone was telling me my professor asked me where I came was telling me about it. And I didn't think it was true. I actually have raised my hand and say, hey, I'm from North Tulsa. That's not true. I could not imagine that a whole community of over 12,000 individuals was wiped out. And I didn't know about it. And so this conspiracy of solids existed for over almost 80 years. And from that standpoint, they denied it ever happened. And now over the last 20 years, they have acknowledged that has happened but they will not repair the harm. They will not help the descendants and the survivors. And it's shameful. And I'm very ashamed of my city of City of Tulsa and those who perpetrate the massacre.

You know our organization, Justice for Greenwood, we're working with descendants all over this country. And we're hearing calls. We've got hundreds of calls and text messages and e-mails, and people are devastated. But they are encouraged and we're going to continue to move this forward. We're going to file a petition for rehearing. We're going to redouble our efforts for the Biden administration to come in and investigate this with the Department of Justice to come in and investigate this issue. And we're going to continue to push forward our descendants to find some form of justice, the best we can until there is no one left and we're going to believe that that's going to happen.

SIDNER: There are still two survivors. As you mentioned, they are in their 100s. Damario Solomon-Simmons, thank you so much for explaining all that. And good luck to you.

SOLOMON-SIMMONS: Thank you, Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Just a few hours from now, President Biden will have a private audience with the Pope at the G7. It's the first time the Pope has ever attended. And we're waiting to hear what came out of his meeting with world leaders on artificial intelligence.

[09:49:37]

Plus, on Sunday, a top CIA agent, drowning in debt and desperate for cash makes a deal with the Russians in an all new episode of Secrets and Spies airing Sunday night at 10:00 p.m. right here on CNN. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OLEG GORDIEVSKY, DOUBLE AGENT: I felt it was a trap. But maybe I'm wrong. After 11 years of my secret work For the British maybe I develop paranoia.

ALEXANDER VASSILIEV, FORMER KBG OFFICER: The danger could come from different directions. The weakest link in espionage is the meeting between the operative and his agent. He could have been spotted by a surrogate fellow officer or there could be an MI6 officer working for the KGB, who could betray (inaudible).

GORDIEVSKY: I was saying to myself, do have patients, do endure. You are in a unique position to help the West. But I felt instinctively that my time was running out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[09:55:25]

BOLDUAN: This just in, the United States military is preparing to temporarily dismantle the pier constructed off the coast of Gaza. That was to get more humanitarian aid in. The reason being expected rough seas. It's going to be moved back to Israel tonight temporarily. The pier already broke once before you remember over rough seas, which required it to be dismantled, fixed and reinstalled. Of course, that delayed the delivery of aid when it broke the first time. This move this time, clearly preemptive, to avoid that kind of slowdown in the flow of humanitarian aid from happening again.

Also, an already flooded South Florida is bracing for more rain today even as temperatures will be climbing into the 90s, floodwater -- flood watches remain and in fact in cities including Miami and Fort Lauderdale tonight. The rain not expected to be as intense today as it was earlier this week. But with the ground, so saturated, it's not going to take much for flooding to set in once again.

And the end of an era, meaning the Era's tour that is happening, I cannot believe it. Taylor Swift has just announced that her Liverpool show that December will be the end of a wildly successful tour. According to her to a website, it looks like the last show is going to be in Vancouver, Canada, December 8th, the tour became the first ever to surpass a billion dollars in revenue and has become the highest grossing music tour at all.

SIDNER: I know. Were you, me and the girls are going to be on December 8th. We're going to be off because guess where we're going to be.

BOLDUAN: Someone --

SIDNER: To Vancouver.

BOLDUAN: Someone is going to buy our tickets for us though because --

SIDNER: John Berman.

BOLDUAN: Good. Yehey. Good idea. This is what happens when you dig a day off.

SIDNER: I love it. This is a great way to leave you with this music. Thank you so much for joining us. This was CNN News Central. CNN Newsroom, up next is Jim Acosta.

BOLDUAN: Shake off that week.

SIDNER: Shake it off.

BOLDUAN: Shake off that week.

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