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2025 Trial Date Set for Trump Allies Accused In AZ Fake Elector Plot; Found: Body Of Hiker Sept away In Grand Canyon Flash Flood; Yacht Captain Facing Manslaughter Probe After Deadly Sinking. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired August 26, 2024 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:33:58]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: At a court hearing happening right now in Phoenix, a judge has set a 2026 trial date for some big names in Trump world that includes Rudy Giuliani and former Trump chief of staff, Mark Meadows.

They're among the defendants accused of trying to use fake electors to steal Joe Biden's 2020 election victory in Arizona.

The stakes are very high at this hearing. That is because the judge will also decide if the defendants will be treated as first-time offenders or multiple-time offenders, which could mean prison time.

Let's talk about this now with CNN legal commentator, Attorney Tim Parlatore, who represented former President Trump in the classified documents case.

First off, Tim, this trial date, January 2026, perhaps not surprising, it is later than the prosecution wanted. What do you make of this timing?

TIM PARLATORE, CNN LEGAL COMMENTATOR: You know, this -- this is what trial schedules actually look like in cases where, you know, they're not trying to get things done before an election.

When you have a case of this magnitude, with the amount of discovery and the complexity and also just the number, the sheer number of defendants that you have to coordinate schedules around, a trial date this long out is not uncommon at all.

[13:35:09]

KEILAR: So what is the judge weighing in this case about this first- time offender versus multiple offender?

PARLATORE: So this is kind of a unique issue to Arizona state law, where, if you're charged with multiple felonies in a single case, they can stack them up and kind of try you and then convict you, but sentenced as a multiple-time offender.

You know, in most other jurisdictions, they take those counts and they put them together and they say, OK, this is still one transaction.

But essentially, as I understand it, it's kind of like the three- strikes rule, except you can get multiple strikes on the first pitch.

KEILAR: Yes.

PARLATORE: So it's a little bit different. And I can understand why they're trying to fight that.

KEILAR: Yes, we're one at bat, which might seem strange, certainly in baseball.

The defense says this is tantamount to coercion, the possibility of a harsher punishment, and would compel clients to cooperate, maybe to look for a plea deal.

We do see that incentive regularly in all kinds of cases, not just January 6th-related cases or election-related cases. Do you see anything different than the usual here?

PARLATORE: You know, that is a standard prosecutorial tactic. It's something that I see in just about every case. It's not -- as you said, it's not election-related cases. It's organized crime cases, it's everything.

Because the more that they throw at the wall in the beginning, the more defendants are going to be likely to plead guilty, whether that's you have to cooperate against their co-defendants or just simply to plead guilty to minimize their exposure.

So, yes, that doesn't really surprise me. And it's -- I don't think, in and of itself, it would even be the subject of emotion. But for this unique aspect of that the Arizona law is stacking them up to make them a multiple-time offender on a single case.

KEILAR: Former Trump lawyer, Jenna Ellis, got her charges dropped when she agreed to testify against all of the defendants. What room does that leave for other defendants here?

PARLATORE: Well, it's not surprising that she did that. I mean, that's the same deal that she cut, essentially, in Georgia, although she did take a conviction to a lesser offense there.

And so, you know, really, it's a matter of the first one in the door to cooperate is the one that gets the best deal. And the more people that cooperate to help them take down the people that they really want to, is something the government looks for.

But there is a certain point where they say, OK, we have enough cooperators and so everybody else, you missed the train and so you're going -- you're going down for the full plated on.

So I do think that this is going to, you know, at least put some pressure on people to consider whether they want to cooperate.

KEILAR: How do you think the judge might end up ruling on this? PARLATORE: I don't think that the judge is going to rule for the

defense necessarily on this thing. I think that it's an interesting issue to be brought up on an appeal after sentencing, if the sentence greatly outweighs the severity of the offense because of this unique aspect.

But in a pretrial stance, I don't think that the judge is really going to say, you know, that the Arizona state sentencing scheme is improper. So I don't see that being something that is going to prevail.

KEILAR: The state chose not to indict Trump ultimately, even though the grand jury actually showed some interest in doing so. How does this case affect the former president?

PARLATORE: Well, it certainly affects some of the people around him, including people that are still around him today, are affected by it. But I do think that it's ultimately not going to, you know, directly affect the campaign so much.

KEILAR: Yes. All right, Tim, you better pick that up. But luckily for you, this is the last -- that was the last question. So go ahead.

Tim, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it.

PARLATORE: All right. Thank you.

KEILAR: Thank you so much.

[13:39:22]

And still ahead, some deadly flash flooding in Grand Canyon National Park actually killed a hiker and has forced more than 100 rescues. We're going to have the latest on the operations to get people out here.

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: A popular Grand Canyon hiking trail remains closed today after a deadly flash flood along Havasu Creek sent hikers running for their lives.

One hiker was swept away in raging waters. After three days of searching, crews located her body on Sunday. Despite widespread flooding, more than 100 other hikers were able to escape the danger and made it out safely.

CNN's Camila Bernal is following this for us.

Camila, this happened along a very popular trail and there were a ton of hikers there.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris, people go to this area because of how beautiful it is, because of its serenity.

And in a matter of minutes, it can turn into a nightmare. And it did for a lot of these hikers. And for the family of Chenoa Nickerson, that 33-year-old hiker.

That family really holding on to hope. But it was yesterday when authorities said that a group -- a trip essentially that was going along the Colorado River, found her body.

And now there's an investigation in the hands of the medical examiner and also of the Park Service.

[13:45:02]

What authorities said happened here was that, on Thursday, this monsoon storm triggered those flash floods and, all of a sudden, the water came and swept away Chenoa Nickerson.

She was with her husband. They say she was not wearing a lifejacket at the time. Was separated from her husband at some point. And he was rescued. He is safe.

But in total, 104 people actually had to be rescued. And we were told by some of these hikers that it was actually tribal members who told them to get to higher ground, we're yelling at them.

They got into groups. And some of them had to form a human chain to be able to get out of that area.

The governor of Arizona, Katie Hobbs, actually activated the National Guard and they used Blackhawk helicopters to get them out of this area.

I want you to take a listen to what a member of the National Guard had to say about this operation.

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ERIN HANNIGAN, ARIZONA ARMY NATIONAL GUARD: A UH-60 Blackhawk has the ability to move out people quickly. We can seat about 11 people in the aircraft, not including the crew members. So the nice thing about being able to provide that support was being able to start moving people rapidly.

It was surprising when I got down there and to see the cheers that came from the people who were getting picked up.

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BERNAL: So as you heard there, just gratitude from those hikers that were stuck in that area. And of course, they're just happy to be alive, especially after hearing about Chenoa Nickerson.

That area remains closed. It was closed not just for tourists, but even for a tribal village that was there about eight miles below the rim of the canyon. That village was also shut down.

So there's still a lot of cleanup to be done there and some work. And of course, the grieving process for this family who, unfortunately, lost that hiker -- Boris? SANCHEZ: Yes. Our hearts and thoughts are certainly with them.

Camila, is there any clarity on when Havasu Canyon might reopen?

BERNAL: No indication at the moment. Like I said, there probably is some cleanup to do there. But also taking a look at the forecast because of the monsoon season.

Some of the hikers that we spoke to saying, you know, they'd been there multiple times, go to this hike over and over again. But one of them saying they learned their lesson and they're not going to go back during monsoon season.

So it also depends on the weather here and what's expected over the next few days and probably months as well -- Boris?

SANCHEZ: We'll have to keep an eye on that forecast coming up in the months.

Thank you so much for the update.

Brianna?

BERNAL: Thank you.

KEILAR: Now, to some of the other headlines that we are watching this hour.

Mandatory evacuation orders so we're now in place for parts of a landslide-prone community in southern Alaska.

Torrential rains caused a landslide that killed one person and damaged numerous homes, businesses and roads in the city of Ketchikan over the weekend. Officials there fear another one could cause even more destruction nearby.

And an American tourist is dead, two other tourists are missing after an ice cave partially collapsed in southern Iceland.

And the search for that missing person resuming this morning after being called off overnight when conditions became too dangerous to continue. Police say a group of 25 tourists were exploring the cave yesterday when it collapsed.

And we have some important consumer news. Walmart recalling nearly 10,000 cases of apple juice sold in stores across the U.S. So listen up here, of course, as school was starting and I'm sure people are packing these in lunch boxes.

The juice was found to have potentially harmful levels of inorganic arsenic. The juice was sold under Walmart's Great Value house brand in 25 states and also in Puerto Rico. So check that if you made that purchase.

Still ahead, the captain of the luxury superyacht that sank off the coast of Sicily now facing an investigation and possible criminal charges. We're going to tell you what could come, next.

[13:49:02]

Plus, SpaceX is sending four people on a wild and risky mission into space. We'll have details ahead on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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SANCHEZ: There's some new details to share with you on the investigation into that luxury superyacht that sank off the coast of Sicily. Italian officials have now opened a manslaughter probe into the ship's captain.

The boat capsized during a violent storm last week, killing six passengers and the cook. Most of the crew, though, survived. And now Italian officials are looking into whether their actions may have played a role in the sinking.

Let's take you now live to Rome and CNN's Barbie Nadeau.

So, Barbie, is there any specific reason why authorities are now looking into this captain?

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Yes. You know, there are still so many questions, so many more questions and answers at this point.

You know, after interviewing all of those survivors and taking a look at what they couldn't see about this ship, they're wondering if the captain didn't do all he could to prevent the sinking, which led to the deaths.

Did he, for example, batten down the hatches? You know, the storm was predicted on two advisories for Mariners in the area the night before. Did he not do enough to prepare the ship for that?

And did he raise the alarm that would have woken up those people who were trapped in the bottom of the ship in those sleeping quarters. Those are the questions that the prosecutor here is really going to look at -- Boris?

[13:55:02]

SANCHEZ: Now, Barbie, crews are expected to actually raise the yacht in the next few weeks. What can we expect from that?

NADEAU: Yes. You know, the kind of irony of it all is, in Italy, in a shipwreck like this, the responsibility for the cost of raising any kind of vessel -- this will cost multi-millions to raise this large yacht -- goes on the -- you know, the owner of the ship has to raise it.

And that owner is Mike Lynch, one of the tech titans who died in this. It's his wife's, actually. You know that they'll have to pay for the raising of the ship.

And only then will they really be able to tell what was going on when the ship went down. Were the hatches closed? Was there anything else that was out of order in that ship?

SANCHEZ: Yes. A major investigation. Still, as you noted, a lot of questions to answer.

Barbie Nadeau, live for us from Rome, thank you so much.

Still ahead, lawmakers investigating the Trump assassination attempt are in Butler, Pennsylvania, where it happened as they get their first look at the crime scene.

Stay with CNN. We're back in just moments.

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