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Kamala Harris Presidential Campaign Releases New Ad Tying Donald Trump to Project 2025; Harris-Walz Campaign to Tour Georgia; Savannah, Georgia, Mayor Van Johnson Interviewed on Harris-Walz Campaign Tour Ending in Savannah; New Video Released of Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on January 6th During Capitol Insurrection. Trump Lashes out After Latest Election Interference Indictment; CNN Gets Inside Look at "Unpredictable" Hacking Operation Aired 8-8:30a ET.

Aired August 28, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: -- basically saying this is the biggest thing ever.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yes.

BERMAN: All right, Matt Egan, great to see you, really appreciate it.

EGAN: You got it.

BERMAN: A new hour of our flagship morning show CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, we are showing you new video from January 6th of Nancy Pelosi labeling Donald Trump as the domestic enemy in the White House. Her anger over the Capitol attack and her determination to make Trump pay a price for what happened that day.

Also, new details on an incident involving a Trump campaign at one of the country's most solemn sites. Why they say the visit turned physical after a confrontation with an official at Arlington National Cemetery.

And saved from the flames. Big mama, the dog, and a mother's watchful eye at work helped save a preteen from a house fire. How this all went down, we'll explain.

I'm Sara Sidner with John Berman. Kate Bolduan is out today. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BERMAN: All right, brand new this morning, just moments ago, the Harris campaign released a new ad, arguing that Project 2025 is the blueprint for a second Trump presidency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's called Project 2025, a 922-page blueprint to make Donald Trump the most powerful president ever. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Now, the Trump campaign consistently denies that this is their policy, but there are ties with the folks who wrote it. It comes as Vice President Harris and Governor Walz sit down for their first ever interview of the campaign right here on CNN with Dana Bash. And they also embark on a bus tour through southern Georgia. Now, Georgia is a state that Joe Biden won, but won by less than 12,000 votes. So the margins are very close.

CNN's Eva McKend joins us now. Let's start with this new ad released just moments ago. What's the messaging?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: You know, John, this has to be one of the most effective lines of attack because even as the former president tries to distance himself from Project 2025, when I'm out on the campaign trail, I hear from Democratic voters unprompted, so without me even mentioning it, time and time again how afraid they are of the locations of this. So it makes total political sense for them to hit this hard.

In this ad, they warn that a Trump White House that would overhaul the Department of Justice. They say that he would have unchecked power to seek vengeance and even eliminate the Department of Education. Let's listen to this argument.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump may try to deny it, but those are Donald Trump's plans.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, revenge does take time. I will say that. And sometimes revenge can be justified.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He'll take control, we'll pay the price.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: So you hear in the messaging there, John, that they're leaning into this notion that he is hellbent on revenge, which bolsters this contrast that they're trying to portray between a candidate principally concerned with the past versus one who they are argue is looking towards the future.

BERMAN: Now, what are you learning about this trip to Georgia? Because the part of Georgia they're going to tells a story here.

MCKEND: It does. They think that they can appeal to rural voters. They don't have to win some of these rural counties outright. But playing in them could make a difference. They've got 24 field offices across Georgia, seven of which are in the southern part of the state. They're really looking at these outer metro Atlanta counties, and then they're going to end the bus tour in Savannah. And I've spoken to Democratic strategists and organizers in the state, and they say that often outside of Atlanta voters really lament that campaigns don't go there, don't campaign there. And so this strategy to them make sense. BERMAN: All right, Eva McKend for us in Washington. Eva, great to see you this morning. Thank you so much. Sara?

SIDNER: All right, joining us now, the mayor of Savannah, Georgia, Mayor Van Johnson. Thank you so much, sir, for joining us early this morning there from the beautiful city of Savannah. I am curious what you make of Kamala Harris coming and ending her Georgia tour in your city. What does she need to do? Where should she go in order to try and win Georgia as Biden did in 2020?

MAYOR VAN JOHNSON, (D) SAVANNAH, GEORGIA: Well, good morning, and thank you so much for the opportunity. We're excited, obviously. It is the first time we've had a major person at the top of the ticket since 1990. I believe it might have been Ronald Reagan at the time. But she recognizes that Georgia is in play. The road to the White House goes through Georgia, and the lane to that road goes through Savannah and coastal Georgia.

[08:05:02]

They have a lot of time here, a lot of money here in terms of making sure that they're being very inclusive, ensuring that they're appealing to not only the metro Atlanta voters, but also those in coastal cities, and of course, rural, Georgia. They've invested a lot of efforts here, and today is really accentuating those efforts.

SIDNER: Let me ask you about some of the things that have happened in this particular campaign. Sorry.

JOHNSON: Are you OK?

SIDNER: I am. Thank you so much for asking. OK. How important is it that xi go to rural Georgia and not just go to cities like Savannah, like Atlanta?

JOHNSON: Well, Georgia is very diverse state. We have 159 counties. We have over 530 cities. And the fact is Georgia is bigger than Atlanta and Savannah. And so I appreciate the fact that they recognize that although cities like Savannah and Atlanta enjoy having her here, that it's also folks that work in rural areas, folks that are working, and farmers, and in farm communities that also want to hear that message that she brings to them.

I think that just shows you not only how important this is to her, but also how much the resonating the message occurs here in Georgia. This is a very, very big deal to us. We're certainly excited about it. The campaign has invested a lot of money and a lot of time, and of course, to have her come and spend a significant amount of time with us just after the convention speaks volumes to us.

SIDNER: I know that being a mayor is one of the hardest political jobs in America. You are much closer to your constituents. People can knock on your door very easily. They know where you live, they know where your family is. I do want to ask you about the politics of both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Kamala Harris and Donald Trump both being accused of flip-flopping on a lot of different issues. She's talking about spending hundreds of millions of dollars on a wall on the southern border, something that she called un-American during the Trump administration. She says now that she does not support the electric vehicle mandate while in the Senate, she was in favor of eventually outlawing petrol powered cars. Donald Trump for his part, has plenty of things he's flip-flopped on, banning TikTok, and now he's totally in favor of TikTok, demonizing undemocratic undocumented immigrants, and now he's saying, oh, they should get visas if they go to college. What do you make of flip-flopping in this new political climate that we're in? Does it matter? Or is there a way for candidates to try and say, look, they've evolved?

JOHNSON: Well, it is evolving. I've been an elected politics 21 years. This is my fifth year as mayor. And the way I thought 21 years ago is not the way I think now. When you know better, you do better. You have different experiences. You receive new information, technologies change. You hear from people. And so I think that is a natural part of the ebb and flow as it relates to that.

I think beyond the statements, you have to have explanations about why you've evolved, and why your position has changed about that. I mean, that's just the nature of the beast. But I think, again, for Vice President Harris, she also has a record of achievement, particularly here in Georgia as part of the Biden-Harris administration that has brought unprecedented funding to cities directly, which places like Savannah appreciate. They have invested in time, but also in people, and so that's meant a lot to us, particularly as we have dealt with some of the most challenging times in recent history through the pandemic, through trying to revive and reengage. And Savannah has done well because of our engagement with them.

SIDNER: I think you have your new campaign slogan -- when you know better, you do better. Mayor Van Johnson just said it right here on CNN. I appreciate your time and appreciate you coming on for us early this morning from Savannah, Georgia, which will be the last stop in the Kamala Harris, Georgia tour. Appreciate you. John?

BERMAN: All right, breaking overnight, never before seen footage of then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on January 6th, this is while the insurrection was happening, and you can see that a very different look at her anger at Donald Trump during those hours.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D-CA): There's a domestic enemy in the White House. And let's not mince words about this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: CNN's Sunlen Serfaty is with us now. You've gone through this video. What does it tell us?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, this is just remarkable video, really underscoring the emotion, the chaos, and the real time reaction that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was having as the Capitol was being attacked.

[08:10:01]

Now, one of the most striking moments, I think, is when she is, you see it here, going through the halls of Congress when she's being evacuated by security staff, and she's accompanied by some of her senior staff in those moments. She's going through the halls of Congress. She then escorted in her SUV, and you see her talking as she's moving quickly throughout the Capitol, and she's lamenting, essentially, how could this happen? Why were we not more prepared? And she repeatedly asked why the National Guard has not been called in. Here's more of her in that moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D-CA): How many times did the members ask, "Are we prepared? Are we prepared?" We're not prepared for the worst. We're calling the National Guard now? It should've been here to start out. I just don't understand this. I just don't understand it. Why do we empower people this way by not being ready?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: So you can really sense the anger and the frustration that she has in this real-time moment there. And she later goes on to say, shame on us. This video also shows the day after January 6th. On January 7, she's in her office and she is convening a meeting of her staff there, and it's notable that they are sitting in their office, and you can see that big, shattered mirror above them. Again, John, just one more video clip, and evidence of the violence that took place the day before there on Capitol Hill. John?

BERMAN: So why are we just seeing it now, Sunlen?

SERFATY: Yes, it's a great question. We have seen parts of this video. This is from her daughter, Alexandra Pelosi, who is shooting a documentary for HBO. That documentary has erred, but some of these video clips have left, essentially, on the cutting room floor. But now the House Committee on Administration, they are again reopening their investigation and requested this video footage to be released by HBO. They're in essence working against the findings of the January 6th committee, trying to undermine the findings of that committee and are using some of this new video as new evidence of what happened that day.

BERMAN: All right, Sunlen Serfaty for us in Washington, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Sara?

SIDNER: All right, ahead, new this morning, a CNN exclusive look at the alleged Iran hacking of the Trump campaign and how it focused on some in the former president's inner circle.

And could Donald Trump be placed under arrest again? Details on the new indictment from Special Counsel Jack Smith.

And this is a big oops, a four-year-old's curiosity ending up with a priceless pot in pieces. We will tell you that story, too.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:17:39]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, Donald Trump hit with a superseding indictment by special counsel Jack Smith.

Smith tweaked his original filing after the Supreme Court ruling that granted president's wide criminal immunity.

With us now, the former chief of Organized Crime and Gangs Section for the Department of Justice, Attorney Jim Trusty. Counselor, thank you so much for being with us.

Jack Smith changed this indictment, no longer referring to Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States, but calling him a candidate for president, taking out the charges and references to conversations he had with people in the Justice Department.

How far does this go toward addressing the ruling from the Supreme Court?

JIM TRUSTY, FORMER CHIEF OF ORGANIZED AND GANG SECTION, JUSTICE DEPARTMENT: Well, it's interesting, it's kind of aggressively being defensive. It's paring back the indictment to try to anticipate how the judge would rule on this official acts quandary that he finds himself in after the Supreme Court case on immunity, that basically says personal acts are prosecutable, but official acts are not.

So he's anticipating that, but it's really interesting because the opinion says not just that immunized information is not properly before the court at trial, but that it contaminates the grand jury process if you include that information in pursuing an indictment that's a huge land mine.

He's trying to get in front of it before Judge Chutkan has to rule on all of these acts to decide which stuff is fair game or which stuff isn't. But the problem is if he guesses wrong in one instance, like in other words, if he says, oh, the president was consulting Mike Pence as president of the Senate, not as vice president, which is part of this new indictment.

Then if he gets it wrong once he's got the same problem, he's got to go back to the grand jury, re-indict for the third time based on this ruling coming from the Supreme Court.

So it's interesting, it's taking the initiative, but it doesn't necessarily make it a bulletproof indictment.

BERMAN: No, because the Supreme Court set the bar very, very high here. Just as a thematic matter, 30,000 feet, how complicated is it then to charge a president for any actions that he or she may take as a candidate? Doesn't this give a presidential candidate who happens to be president just incredibly wide latitude? TRUSTY: Well, it does. I mean, I don't know if I'd say he happens to

be president. I mean, the focus is not in terms of whether you have immunity as a candidate, it is that you're sitting president.

And the bottom line is, now the Constitution seems to suggest, and that's what the Supreme Court ruled on, that in fact, we don't want to have our presidents hobbled with constant fear of prosecution by state and federal prosecutors.

[08:20:16]

So, they've set up a test. The problem is enforcing the test in a practical way. I mean, we don't know what the hearing will look like that a judge has to have to determine which things are official acts and which ones aren't.

I mean, it's not going to be basically just, you know, attorneys saying take my word for it. There's probably going to be an evidentiary hearing that's like a mini trial that stretches on for days and by the way, if it goes wrong for one side or the other, we're probably right back up to the Supreme Court.

BERMAN: And again, I think everyone understands at this point that none of this will get decided or go to trial before the election in November.

A lot of focus has been paid to what happens if Donald Trump wins. Obviously, these cases just go away completely, but what do you think happens if he loses, Counselor?

TRUSTY: Yes, it's a great question.

I mean, look, I think that a lot of the prosecutions of President Trump, from my perspective, are very singular, very inventive, very different. And you can call it lawfare and I certainly have called it that, it tends to make the judges bristle. The judges are becoming the safety valve. They have to look at questions they've never had to address and figure out, are we going to let this proceed?

So I think if you look at the Jack Smith prosecutions, both of them now have significant legal issues. Obviously, down in Mar-a-Lago, the case was dismissed and that appeal is being pursued by the government.

You've got the immunity question and frankly the same question about Jack Smith's authority that could be raised in DC on the January 6th case.

So, they may die of their own weight without any sort of political interference because they're inventive, because they're reaching for new territory.

But if not, I guess we'll see whether the incoming Democratic administration to follow up your hypothetical, whether they have the stomach to let that stuff continue or whether they will look better if they end up just washing and cleaning and saying, let's have a new chapter. But that is really more of a political determination than a legal one.

BERMAN: All right, Counselor Jim Trusty, thanks so much for being with us, appreciate it.

New details about a photo-op that led to an alleged physical altercation. What happened when Donald Trump visited Arlington National Cemetery?

And a man is now charged with arson after a fire that burned down more than a dozen homes. What investigators say he used to set it off.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:26:49]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Exclusive new reporting as CNN gets an inside look at Iran's hacking operation, revealing new details about a multiyear scheme targeting both the Trump and Biden administrations. And with the presidential election coming up, US intelligence agencies are on edge over this unpredictable wildcard.

CNN's senior justice correspondent, Evan Perez has details for us this morning. There has been a relentless hacking effort for a lot longer than we realized. Years?

EVAN PEREZ, SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Sara, look, this has been a relentless campaign and this is something that goes back certainly to the last presidential cycle. But we're going to take you inside what one of these hacking operations look like, what one of these campaigns look like targeting people who are critics of Iran, people who are critics of the Iranian regime and also, people who may have information that is useful to the Iranians.

Here's, for example, an e-mail that went out to a number of prominent critics of the Iranian regime. The Iranians were able to, these hackers were able to get into the account, an e-mail account that belongs to someone who works very closely with John Bolton, again, a very prominent critic of the Iranian nuclear program.

I'll read you just a part of what this e-mail said and it went out to again, a number of Iranian experts here in Washington.

It says, "I'm close to finishing a manuscript and I began asking experts like yourself to review these chapters." Now, it takes you to a link that instead of showing you a manuscript, it actually shows you -- it unleashes malware into your systems and gets these hackers who work for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps access to your computer.

We also know, we also got access to an e-mail that was used to try to infiltrate a former senior US ambassador in the Middle East against someone who had a lot of insight into Israel and things that the Iranians are very much interested in -- Sara.

SIDNER: I mean, we saw this happen with Russia. We saw this happen now with Iran. And the FBI and many others have been warning us all about this, that this was going to happen and coming into regular people's e-mails and that sort of thing.

So, it is frightening for a lot of people, they need to really watch out.

Evan Perez, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Live from Washington, DC for us.

All right, coming up, an incident at Arlington, what Donald Trump's team is now saying this morning after allegations there was a physical altercation when Trump visited the site.

And an amazing story of a mom guiding her child through their burning home by talking through their home security camera. We'll have that story coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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