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U.S.: Iran Behind Hacking Attempts Of Trump & Harris Campaigns; Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL), Youngest Member Of Congress, Discusses Being Set To Address DNC; Maya Rudolph To Return To "SNL" As Kamala Harris; New Fencing Placed Outside Of Convention Area After Breach. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired August 20, 2024 - 14:30   ET

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

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[14:30:37]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Were getting some new details about what the U.S. alleges was an Iranian hacking operation. Investigators say the hackers targeted both the Trump and Biden-Harris campaigns in recent months. But Iranian officials are denying that saying those claims are unsubstantiated.

CNN senior justice correspondent, Evan Perez, joins us now with the latest.

Evan, what are investigators saying about all of this?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is now the official confirmation from the U.S. government. You know, there's whole procedure that the FBI and the intelligence community goes through to determine the attribution of these types of attacks.

And in this case, they've now taken a few weeks to look at the evidence and they have concluded that the Iranians were behind both of these targetings of the Trump campaign and the Harris campaign or what at the time was the Biden-Harris campaign.

Now we've previously reported that one of the ways they got into this was, first, they targeted a number of people. They managed to get into Roger Stone's email. He's a former associate of the former president, is still kind of an adviser, loosely advising the former president.

And they used that to refine their targets and used essentially his contact list to be able to get to the people that they want to inside the campaign, the people associated with the campaign.

And that's where you see now there has been some documents that news organizations have reported receiving, which came from inside the campaign.

Here's part of what the intelligence community said in this joint statement yesterday.

They said, "The intelligence community is confident that the Iranians have, through social engineering and other efforts, sought access to individuals with direct access to the presidential camp -- presidential campaigns of both political parties.

"Such activity, including thefts and disclosures, are intended to influence the U.S. election process."

Now, you know, the playbook that the Iranians are going for is what happened in 2016. The Russians successfully breached the DNC. They used some of that information that they got, the documents and so on, emails, and they used it to disrupt the Hillary Clinton campaign.

And to some -- to some extent, they, there we're successful, right? That's the same playbook that the Iranians are going for.

A little more complicated with the Iranians because they're also looking to assassinate members of the former Trump administration, too. So they're working all of these different angles to try to -- again, to influence the election and to carry out other intelligence purposes in the United States.

SANCHEZ: Yes, elections always an important time to be on the lookout for this sort of malfeasance.

PEREZ: Don't click on anything.

(LAUGHTER)

PEREZ: Do not click on things that you don't --

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: This is why I haven't been responding to your emails. I have to be careful.

PEREZ: I was wondering.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Evan Perez, thank you so much.

Now to some of the other headlines that we're watching at this hour.

Taylor Swift inviting two young fans, both survivors of a knife attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England, to join her backstage. In a video posted to TikTok, the girls can be seen posing with the singer at Wembley Stadium in London.

The girls' mom posted the video online with the caption, quote, "The biggest thank you to Taylor Swift and her mum for making the most magical night possible for a song," end quote.

Also this just in. The body of the chef of a super yacht has been recovered off the coast of Sicily days after that boat sank in a storm. Two Americans are still among the missing after that vessel sank in what's being described as a freak storm. Rescuers are still searching today for billionaire British tech

entrepreneur, Mike Lynch, along with five others, including Lynch's 18-year-old daughter and the top executive at Morgan Stanley International.

And listen to this. Disney is now backtracking on a wrongful death lawsuit. You might have heard about this. The suit has been brought by the widower of a woman who died after an allergic reaction when she ate at a Disney resort restaurant.

Disney initially tried to get the suit tossed out of court, arguing the dispute had to go to arbitration because of the fine print in the husband's Disney Plus streaming account agreement.

Now, Disney is saying it's waving its right to arbitration and wants to handle this situation sensitively and quickly for the family.

[14:34:46]

Still to come on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, he is the youngest member of Congress, and tonight, he's speaking to his generation, Gen Z, making the case for Vice President Kamala Harris, Congressman Maxwell Frost is joining Brianna live in Chicago in just moments.

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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Before President Biden exited the race, he consistently lagged behind former President Trump with younger voters. And although recent polls show Vice President Harris reversing that trend, winning over voters under 30 still remains a challenge.

Joining us now is the youngest member of Congress and the first Gen Z elected officials set to speak, we expect, at the Democratic National Convention. We have Florida Representative Maxwell Frost.

[14:40:05]

You will neither confirm nor deny that, but I'm going to press you on that hear in a moment.

(LAUGHTER)

KEILAR: First off, tonight, big night. Former President Obama speaking. What do you want to hear from him?

REP. MAXWELL FROST (D-FL) & YOUNGEST MEMBER OF CONGRESS: I mean, I think the president has an opportunity here to really bring together the different generations.

You know, for so many young people, they didn't really grow up under that Obama era. I mean, I remember it and I'm the oldest member of Gen Z. And I was pretty young at that time, too.

And so I think it's going to be amazing for a lot of young Americans across this country to hear him speak. And for a lot of them, it's going to be almost for the first time, right?

And hearing that message from him I think it's going to be very helpful in bringing people together here. I mean, he was really one of the last candidates we had that I would describe as a movement candidate, which, not just the campaign. It's a movement that brought people together.

And that's what we see with Vice President Kamala Harris right now.

KEILAR: I needed to mentally prepare more for you to make me feel very old.

(LAUGHTER)

KEILAR: OK. So I wonder, you've been watching the convention. You have been -- you've been out on the campaign helping out a lot. You have been talking to a lot of people who are here. And young people.

Do you think that Gen Z's concerns are being adequately addressed so far at the convention?

FROST: I do. In fact, I was almost kind of surprised of how many young people I'm seeing here. Everywhere I'm walking, I'm seeing loads of young people. Of course the creators, but in the delegates. There are so many young delegates here.

And for people who don't know, you've got to run for these delegate positions, which means young people are fired up enough to run to represent their party and their locality here at this convention.

And I think that says a lot about our candidate. I think it says a lot about our party platform and what we're fighting for.

KEILAR: It would be strange to me if you did not speak at the convention. You will not tell me if you are.

But I do wonder, sort of, as you are speaking to people, if you were to speak, what -- you know, what message you think it is important to impart to people and who's specifically you would talk to.

FROST: I mean, I think it's important that we focus on the issues and exactly how we, as Democrats -- that the vice president is the best on these issues, from housing affordability to the climate crisis.

So you know, I'm from the state of Florida. I'm a Florida man. And the climate crisis isn't coming. It's here. And we're experiencing extreme heat, hurricanes that are lasting longer and doing more than ever before.

And the vice president and President Biden made history by passing the Inflation Reduction Act, the most amount of money and resources to combating this not just in our country's history, but in the world's history.

So I think really putting that fourth for people. But we can't just talk about the record. I like to say that's what people got with their last vote. Now they want to know, what are they going to get with their next vote?

So talking about the future is also really important.

KEILAR: Alex Thompson, who's one of our contributors and works at Axios, has some reporting about how Vice President Harris, you know, she sort of has this reputation for being someone who's deliberate and careful about how she approaches things.

And I wonder, for you, especially as with Gen Z, there's such -- you know, the way to reach Gen Z is to be very authentic.

FROST: Yes.

KEILAR: And sometimes to kind of be off-the-cuff and just keep it real. Do you think that she needs to do that more? I mean, what is your perception? What do you hear from people?

FROST: I think she's been doing that. And I would say her entire career. I mean, we've seen her blowing up on TikTok, right, blowing up online.

It's really these authentic moments of her just being herself that have really brought in a lot of Gen Z-ers and young people saying, wow, like she's -- she's a normal person, but she's fighting for the things I believe in.

You know, sometimes you reel in someone who doesn't care about politics with that authenticity. And then you have the opportunity to talk with them about the issues.

We see a lot of these pop-culture accounts reporting on what's going on at the DNC to a crowd people who might not care about politics. But this week, they're learning about the issues and how the vice president is going to fight for them.

KEILAR: Do you think that's a generational divide then? And we, of course, --

(LAUGHTE4R)

KEILAR: -- a sound check.

FROST: Yes.

KEILAR: It's getting quite loud, but I assure you that our viewers can hear us.

Do you think that's a generational impression then, that -- do you think younger people perceive her as more authentic and that it's kind of the olds, if you will, who think that she's more carefully curated?

FROST: I couldn't comment on kind of on how older folks are seeing her. I mean, as I've traveled the country, I've seen a multi- generational, multi-racial movement of people coming to these office openings, coming to these events. And when I talk with them and ask them, why are you here, why are you

doing postcards, why are you making phone calls, why are you knocking on doors in 100-degree weather in Nevada this weekend?

And they say it's because she has been fighting for us, she's authentic, and I feel inspired to be here to make sure we defeat Donald Trump in elect Kamala Harris.

KEILAR: There are uncommitted voters represented among the delegates here. And they want Kamala Harris to outline a proposal, a clear plan as she sees it, when it comes to Israel, when it comes to Gaza.

[14:45:13]

She does not seem particularly inclined to do that. It sounds like the campaign is saying she's been very clear on where she is. They want more.

And I wonder if you think that without what they're calling for, she can win over those voters, and if she needs to?

FROST: Well, the vice president and President Biden have been fighting for a ceasefire to make sure that we save lives. And you know, I think the thing that the vice president really brings to the table here is empathy and love for all people, no matter who you are.

And we know that the that is full of Palestinians, innocent people. It's tragic and it's tough. And she understands that we need to stop this killing and this war.

The president said it last night. She's been saying it over and over again. And what the uncommitted delegates -- look, these are folks who are Democrats, who believe in the values we believe in as a party. And they're using the system, we've set out to make their point known and advocate for an issue they believe in.

And I applaud anyone for taking this system and doing what they want to do, to fight for the issue that they believe in.

The vice president I think has been very open and listening and hearing from all different parts of our party to figure out what the path forward is.

KEILAR: Congressman Maxwell Frost, thank you so much for being here.

FROST: Thank you. Good to be here.

KEILAR: Really appreciate it.

FROST: Of course.

KEILAR: And you may have heard that actress/comedian, Maya Rudolph, is returning to "Saturday Night Live" soon to reprise her Emmy award- winning "SNL" impersonation of Vice President Kamala Harris.

Well, it turns out that's news to Rudolph, she pulled a RuPaul on the "Jimmy Kimmel Live Show" last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYA RUDOLPH, ACTRESS & COMEDIAN: The minute she -- it was announced that she was running, you know, I think I was home watching the bear. and it was announced that I confirmed during this now. And I was like, I did what?

(LAUGHTER)

RUDOLPH: I would never have believed you if you had said, hey, one day you're going to be playing the presidential candidate. For me to think that I have anything to do with this by association is mind-blowing.

Yes. I spent so many years on "SNL," you know, watching other people play presidential candidates and thinking, you know, there's no one that resembles me in the race.

To think that we're here now and to think that I would ever be close by association is so incredible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[14:51:57]

KEILAR: Today, in Chicago, crews installed a new row of fencing outside the Democratic National Convention grounds after pro- Palestinian demonstrators breached part of the area.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

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KEILAR: CNN's Whitney Wild is joining us now from outside of the United Center.

Whitney, tens of thousands of protesters were set to take part in DNC- related protests in Chicago this week. What have you been seeing today?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: What we saw, so far, is a much different security footprint. So let me just walk you through what we're seeing at the United Center.

So this is a more fortified view than what we've seen, Brianna. So these -- these non-scalable fences were here. But what we're seeing now is these bolts that are fusing these more closely together.

Because what we saw demonstrators do yesterday was they kind of got underneath this and wiggled it out of its spot here and then hoisted it over. And that's how they were able to breach the perimeter of the DNC. These are about eight feet. In addition to this size, new panels have gone up. So there are some areas here where the fence is much taller.

And then further, Brianna, there's an entirely new line of fencing. Before, there we're there were two layers. Now they've added a third layer a few yards in.

And, Brianna, this is a good example of what law enforcement has said they plan to do for months, which is have many layers of redundancies.

Yesterday, that redundancy was law enforcement coming upon those protesters quickly as they breached the fence. Now, you're seeing this additional physical redundancy.

This is not the start that Chicago police or the Secret Service were looking for, but it's certainly one that they anticipated.

And what the Chicago police department had made very clear from the outset was that they we're not going to tolerate any criminal activity.

Here's Superintendent Larry Snelling earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY SNELLING, SUPERINTENDENT, CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT: Some of them breached into the fence, the adjacent fence. They attempted to pull that fencing down. We got in there as quickly as we could. Our officers showed great restraint.

The leadership team being out there, making sure that the officers are remembering their training and relying on your training to get this done. We do expect to see more protests or demonstrated tactics again. We're up to the challenge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILD: Brianna, I want to be sure that we're putting this into context. There were around 3,500 protesters and it was a very small group that ended up reaching that fence. I mean, we're talking a couple dozen people at most.

And what police have said over and over is that they are doing whatever they can and they were explaining they are giving people enough space.

Because they are very committed to making sure that the thousands of protesters who did this correctly, who did this peacefully have the chance to exercise their First Amendment right.

We have heard that over and over from law enforcement at many briefings over the last few months.

And that was what Superintendent Snelling was getting out today that they, in these high-risk, high-stress moments, really wanted their officers to be able to balance acting aggressively when necessary but also making sure to respect the people who were out here peacefully.

[14:55:11]

And so as you heard Superintendent Snelling today, he feels that his officers acted appropriately and incorrectly in that very difficult moment.

In addition, Brianna, when you look across the DNC, in the first couple of days, the superintendent says 13 people in total have been arrested. It's related to these protests throughout, not necessarily yesterday, but just total, around 13 arrests so far -- Brianna?

KEILAR: Yes, a small number at this point.

Whitney Wild, thank you so much. We do appreciate it.

And straight ahead on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, day two of the DNC. We will be looking at what to watch for as the Obamas take the stage and Democrats turn the page from Joe Biden to Kamala Harris as their nominee, next.

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