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Former Aide To NY Gov. Hochul And Cuomo Charged With Acting As Chinese Government Agent; 11-Year-Old Confesses To Killing Mayor Of Small Louisiana Town And His Daughter; DOJ Charges Six Hamas Leaders In October 7 Terror Attack. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired September 04, 2024 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:45]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: This morning we have new details about what each candidate is and is not doing in the final days leading up to their high-stakes debate.

CNN's Kevin Liptak has the new reporting for us. What are you hearing, Kevin?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, and one of the most fascinating dynamics of this entire debate is that this will actually be the very first time that Donald Trump and Kamala Harris meet each other in person. So not only is this the biggest sort of political moment of the campaign so far, it's also the first time they've been in the same room, at least at close range. And it is a moment that both of them have been preparing for over the last several days.

For Kamala Harris, that has meant convening a relatively small group of advisers. There is not much overlap, which -- with the team that helped prepare Joe Biden for his debate. This is her advisers. Some of them have been with her for a while. And they're goal really is to discuss policy, discuss potential attack lines, all with the objective of not getting too bogged down, trying to keep cool, but also look for ways to try and get under Donald Trump's skin.

And she has enlisted a stand-in to play Donald Trump in these mock debates. The former Clinton aide Philippe Reines -- he actually played Trump in Hillary Clinton's debate prep back in 2016, so he has some experience on that front.

Now, Donald Trump's debate preparation looks very different. His team doesn't even like to use the word preparation. They're undertaking what they call policy sessions with a small group of advisers talking about some of the potential issues that could arise on the stage.

One new face that he has enlisted is Tulsi Gabbard, the former Hawaii congresswoman. She actually shared a debate stage with Kamala Harris back in 2019 when both were running for the Democratic presidential nomination. Now, one advantage that Donald Trump has heading into this debate is that he has now participated in seven general election debates. He has been the Democratic -- or Republican nominee for three straight election cycles. That's an advantage that Kamala Harris' team thinks that he has.

And it's been interesting to listen to her allies and advisers say that she is actually the underdog heading into this debate. You heard that even from J.B. Pritzker when you interviewed him earlier this week, saying that Democrats underestimate Donald Trump at their own peril.

SIDNER: All right, Kevin Liptak. Thank you so much.

Now to you, John. You've got something to show us today.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: We do. We've got this brand new CNN polling from all the key battleground states, and we want to lay out what it all means in the race to 270 electoral votes.

So this is the map. The six states that we have polling from, plus North Carolina where we don't have polling. Just so people understand right now, this includes giving the one congressional district in Nebraska. Nebraska won to Harris. The second main congressional district to Trump. We haven't seen real polling from there yet, but this is where they went last time, so that's where we're going to start for this experiment right now.

All right. Our polling shows Kamala Harris with small leads in Michigan and Wisconsin. It shows Donald Trump with a small lead in Arizona. So where does that leave things for Vice President Harris? Simply put, I'll cut right to the chase here. Pennsylvania -- she wins Pennsylvania, she's there. She's at 270 electoral votes.

What happens if she does not win Pennsylvania -- Donald Trump wins Pennsylvania? Well, then Harris would need to win two out of the three remaining states here. Say, Georgia and Nevada. That would put her over the top. And, you know, you could always replace -- you could replace North Carolina if you wanted to for Georgia there and that, too, would get her over the top.

How about Donald Trump? Again, he wins Pennsylvania, what does he need to do? They're looking at a map right now that includes Pennsylvania and Georgia for him, and also North Carolina. That would get him there -- or a map that would include, say, Pennsylvania and Nevada as well.

So for Donald Trump, the issue is Pennsylvania, but then he needs to win something else. For Harris, just Pennsylvania -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good stuff, J.B.

Joining us right now to talk about all of this is CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona. Also, former campaign manager for Marco Rubio's 2016 presidential campaign, Terry Sullivan. Good to see you, guys.

OK. Maria, you add all of that up and you think what?

[07:35:04]

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: I think that the Kamala Harris campaign is being very smart and very strategic and underscoring at every rally to all of her voters and in all of her interviews and messaging that she's still the underdog in this race because what this poll shows is that it is still razor thin.

However, having said that, the momentum is still in her favor from the moment that she became the nominee -- the enthusiasm, the mobilization, the energy coming out of the convention. We see that things are moving in her direction. She is not only closing the gap and surpassing Donald Trump in a lot of these swing states, she's closing the gap on key issues like the economy and like immigration.

And so that says to me that there is a lot of underlying enthusiasm. And a lot of it is still not being measured in these polls, Kate, because let's remember in 2022 and ever since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, reproductive rights, freedoms, and democracy have been an issue that have been really motivating to voters and that has -- wasn't really measured. Because remember, all the polls showed there was going to be this huge red wave going into 2022, and it never happened.

I think that is going to be an underlying issue going into this election as well, which is why you see the Harris campaign having so much focus on this critical issue of reproductive freedom.

BOLDUAN: Also --

TERRY SULLIVAN, FORMER CAMPAIGN MANAGER FOR MARCO RUBIO'S 2016 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, PARTNER, FIREHOUSE STRATEGIES: (INAUDIBLE).

BOLDUAN: -- Terry, Maria mentions momentum. She says Harris has it.

SULLIVAN: Right.

BOLDUAN: We have this -- in addition to the battleground polling you have team Trump has put out a memo. They argue that they have the momentum and Wiles put it as, "The state of the race is clear: with just nine weeks until the most consequential election in American history, the Trump-Vance campaign has the momentum."

Where do you see the momentum given this new check-in on how voters are feeling or actually feeling, Terry?

SULLIVAN: Yeah, that might be a little bit excessive hubris to say they have the momentum. But look, I don't -- the point is that she has had the momentum. She's had an amazing month politically. The wind has been at her back. And so this is about as good as it is going to get for her and she's still tied in the polling.

And I think it's important, as Maria brought up the 2022 polls, Donald Trump has consistently outpolled -- or outperformed his polling numbers in 2016 and in 2020, significantly in swing states, anywhere from one to seven points in Wisconsin where he really significantly outperforms those poll numbers.

And so, Pennsylvania -- John is 100 percent right. This is Pennsylvania. If Trump (audio gap) wins, she has to win Pennsylvania.

And the fact that it's tied there right now is a real problem for her given the kind of lovefest she's gotten over the past month. She's gotten very favorable coverage. She's gotten a lot of energy within her party and really hasn't had to lay out any policy initiatives until she's starting to do that now. And gotten away with the fact that she hasn't -- that she doesn't own any of the last four years, which is a little amazing.

And, you know, so I think -- I think that this is the -- the next 60 days is going to be a little bit tougher than the last 40 for her.

BOLDUAN: Let's actually jump on that Maria because that's something that -- it has been a definite strategic move and shift from the Trump campaign. One, is to try and paint her as the incumbent in this race and also making her -- trying to make her responsible for -- making her responsible for all of Joe Biden's --

CARDONA: Right.

BOLDUAN: -- decisions and policy decisions and policy moves over the last 3 1/2 years.

J.D. Vance seems to be leading --

CARDONA: Right.

BOLDUAN: -- this charge. He said it -- he said it as much on CNN. And he also -- let me play for how he put it just last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), U.S. VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Let's laugh at the fact that Kamala Harris is promising to do something if the American people give her a promotion that she hasn't been doing for the past 3 1/2 years as vice president. If Kamala Harris thinks these policies are going to do a lot of good -- and, of course, most of them are nonsensical -- but if she thinks they are going to do a lot of good she should try them out now because she's currently in power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Maria, how do you respond? I mean, why will this or won't this work?

CARDONA: Uh, no, I don't think that what they're doing is going to work because it hasn't been working. And another couple of really key indicators in the poll that we are seeing just now Kate is that you see that Kamala Harris' numbers in terms of her policies -- this was glaring to me.

The vast majority of Americans believe that Trump has the policies that are way too extreme. And that as much as the Trump campaign has tried to scream at -- in the rooftops -- from the rooftops until they're blue in the face that Kamala Harris is this "crazy San Francisco liberal," none of it has stuck.

[07:40:11]

Because in this poll it shows that the vast majority of voters believe it's her policies that are mainstream. That it is her and Tim Walz that understand the issues that are important to "people like you." Those are key, key indicators Kate and I think that's why the momentum is clearly in her favor in the areas that people care about most.

And I do want to say something about what Terry just said. He's right. In 2016 and in 2020, Donald Trump overperformed. But guess what has happened ever since the overturning of Roe v. Wade? It has been Democrats that have vastly overperformed in every single election and special election since that happened. That is the underlying vote that was not measured correctly in 2022 or in any of the other special elections when Republicans were -- you know, were said to win and they didn't.

I believe that is still an underlying incredibly important mobilizing issues for Democrats and frankly, for a lot of Republicans and Americans who believe that women should have bodily autonomy and that we should have the freedom to make decisions for ourselves and our families.

BOLDUAN: And Terry, what do you think?

SULLIVAN: Yeah. Look, I understand that Democrats want to make that the number one issue but look at the CNN poll -- it's not. The number one issue is the economy and -- by leaps and bounds.

And so, look, she -- it's not that screaming from the rooftops that she has some sort of responsibility -- not as you put it, Kate -- you know, all of Biden's policies -- just one of them. Which one of Biden's policies does she agree with? Because she can't list one thus far.

And so she's been there for the last 3 1/2 years. So she's either said nothing or done nothing or she's part of it, and that's an important distinction. What has she been doing for the last 3 1/2 years that she's been vice president, and does she take any ownership for the Biden policies? And if she doesn't, then explain how they're wrong.

And the media really has given her a free pass to be able to lay out these new policies without asking hey, what do you think about the policies you've been governing on for the last 3 1/2 years? I think that's an important distinction.

And I do think that over the next 62 days we're going to start to see a higher level of scrutiny and that's going to be interesting to see how she handles that.

BOLDUAN: And I will say that was one of the more --

CARDONA: I think she's actually been pretty clear. BOLDUAN: -- fascinating parts. That was one --

CARDONA: Yeah.

BOLDUAN: -- of the more -- that -- well, the entire interview was important. I keyed in on that back-and-forth that Dana Bash had with the vice president on this issue --

CARDONA: I agree.

BOLDUAN: -- of the criticism of the last 3 1/2 years, and she -- and she -- and she spoke -- and she gave her answer to that.

All leading up to --

CARDONA: I agree.

BOLDUAN: I can't wait to have this discussion about debate expectations next, guys, for next week. It's good to see you. Thank you both so much -- John.

CARDONA: Thanks, Kate.

SULLIVAN: Thank you.

BERMAN: All right. New this morning, charges against a former key aide to New York Govs. Kathy Hochul and Andrew Cuomo. Linda Sun is accused of acting as a Chinese government agent. Her husband is also charged. He's accused of meddling with policy toward Taiwan in return for favors that included deliveries of special salted ducks.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino is with us now. Give us more of a sense of what she is accused of doing, Gloria.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, prosecutors allege that Linda Sun was working on behalf of the Chinese government and the Communist Party in order to advance their interest and to make sure that they had special access to New York government. Now that might sound strange to you, right? Why does the Chinese government need access to New York State government? But the reality is that Linda Sun was helping to steer business, special accommodations, and several other things to the Chinese government.

Some of the things that she is accused of doing is issuing special invitation letters by the governor in order to invite Chinese government officials into the United States. These letters were part of what they used to successful -- to successfully travel into the country.

She also issued unauthorized proclamations. And when she was working for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, she made sure that Cuomo publicly thanked Chinese officials after they made a delivery of medical equipment at the height of the pandemic.

Now, another thing that Linda Sun is accused of doing is also blocking Taiwanese officials from having any access to the governor's office. There are so many communities across New York City that often seek the support and the help of the governor, and the Taiwanese community was doing exactly that. But because the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese government did not like that, Sun was making sure that the Taiwanese were blocked. That's at least what the federal prosecutors are alleging.

[07:45:00]

Now, Sun and her husband, who has also been charged in this indictment, appeared in court yesterday. They both pleaded not guilty. And her lawyers have said that this is all the result of a very aggressive federal investigation and that they are looking forward to their day in court.

In the meantime, both Cuomo and Hochul have tried to distance themselves from this aide, saying that she only worked for them for a short amount of time and that as soon as red flags were raised about her activities they were flagged to the proper people and that eventually she was let go from her job.

Not only did she work for both governors, John, she also worked at several state agencies. So there are some real questions here just about the amount of access that she had, for how long she had it, and whether or not there may be other people out there who are working on behalf of the Chinese that are going undetected -- John.

BERMAN: That is such an important question, Gloria. A lot of revelations here.

Gloria Pazmino, thank you very much.

Uh, Sara.

SIDNER: Yes, John.

This morning, an 11-year-old boy is charged with two counts of first- degree murder after police say the child confessed to shooting and killing the 82-year-old former mayor of a small Louisiana town and the mayor's daughter. Now a grieving town is asking how did this happen and why?

CNN's Nick Valencia is following the very latest for us. This is such a shocking story. Eleven years old and confesses to this murder. What do you know about the boy's connection, if any, to the victims in this case?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sara, he is related. We don't know exactly how he is related. We're working on trying to get those details.

But the details that we do have are sobering. At least two different caliber handguns were used. And when police arrived at the scene, getting a call from a family member, they saw two victims inside with multiple gunshot wounds.

They say the 11-year-old boy's story initially just didn't add up. He was eventually taken to the police station where he confessed to the killings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JARED MCIVER, MINDEN POLICE: The juvenile gave us a story at first that just didn't add up. Investigators continued on with the interview and later on got a confession from this juvenile. A lot of questions has arose about what is the why behind it. We do not know that yet. That is still -- we are still piecing the puzzle pieces together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: Adding to the shock of these killings are who the victims were. One of them, a well-known community member, a former interim mayor -- somebody that touched countless lives. Eighty-two-year-old Joe Cornelius, known affectionately by those in the community as "Ice Cream Joe" or "Mr. Joe," listened to the police chief talk about him and the legacy he leaves behind.

Also, his 31-year-old daughter was also among the victims.

Listen to the police chief here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCIVER: Everybody knew Mr. Joe and that's the -- that's what hurts the most is when you know somebody that's been in the community that long that's reached so many people. There is -- there's a sorrow. You know, everyone's sorrow. They're grieving for the family -- grieving along with the family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: The big question now: will the D.A. charge this 11-year-old as an adult? His identity currently being withheld because he's being currently charged as a juvenile held on $500,000 bail. But he is being charged with two counts of first-degree murder.

And Sara, anytime something like this happens it deeply affects the community and brings up conversations around public safety and, of course, support systems surrounding communities like this -- Sara.

SIDNER: Just 11 years old. It's --

VALENCIA: Yeah.

SIDNER: -- unthinkable.

Nick Valencia, thank you so much for the reporting there.

VALENCIA: You bet.

SIDNER: Kate.

BOLDUAN: Thank you so much, Sara. We're going to give you a live look right now here at market futures all pointing -- well, pointing a little bit up at the moment, as you can see. All after Wall Street kicked off the month of September on a down note with the Dow falling more than 600 points. The Nasdaq and S&P also ended the day in the red.

September has a history of being a tough month for markets. This one also comes on the heels of a very up-and-down August. A lot of reporting on that throughout the month.

There's a healthy dose also of anxiety over economic news to come this month, including a focus on what is the Federal Reserve really going to do? Weeks of speculation that an interest rate cut is likely -- John.

BERMAN: Pretty solid green there behind you though, at least for this morning.

BOLDUAN: There you go.

BERMAN: The U.S. has charged several Hamas leaders with terrorism over the October 7 attack. What it will mean for negotiations over a possible hostage deal.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:58:52]

SIDNER: On our radar for you this morning, a trial date is set for two of the five people charged in connection with the death of beloved "FRIENDS" actor Matthew Perry. Dr. Salvadore Placencia and an alleged drug dealer known as the "Ketamine Queen" will both be tried together on March 4. Prosecutors say the two are responsible for contributing to Perry's death by providing the actor with ketamine during the final weeks of his life.

New this morning, seven Republican-led states have filed a new lawsuit to try to block the Biden administration's latest attempt to cancel student debt. The lawsuit claims the Department of Education was taking steps to start canceling loans as early as this week, arguing that would violate a statute prohibiting the education secretary for implementing a rule sooner than 60 days after it was published.

And embarrassing 15-year-old -- sorry, this is huge. Two men -- American men -- are going to the finals in tennis and now that -- an American is guaranteed to make into a Grand Slam final competition. This hasn't happened in a decade.

[07:55:02]

Frances Tiafoe advanced to Friday's U.S. Open semifinals where he'll play fellow American Taylor Fritz. It is the first all-American final in nearly 20 years. And no American man has won a Grand Slam singles title since Andy Roddick at the 2003 U.S. Open. I don't remember that. It seems so long ago.

BOLDUAN: So much has happened --

SIDNER: But Andy's nice.

BOLDUAN: -- since 2003. One thing we all know is that cocktail -- the honey deuce -- at the U.S. open --

SIDNER: Oh, wow.

BOLDUAN: -- seems to be the star next to, of course --

SIDNER: Maybe I'll get you one, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Second only to --

SIDNER: I'll get you one.

BOLDUAN: I could take a few. Thank you very much.

Let's turn to this. Lawmakers head back to Capitol Hill next week and with that, it's their -- with that is already the talk of a possible government shutdown and work behind the scenes to avoid another one of those. Congress will have 13 days in session to figure it out before funding starts running out for government agencies on September 30.

Add into the mix everything we're talking about -- that they return for these negotiations in the midst of the final sprint to the election. Complicated might be the word of the day.

CNN's Lauren Fox has new reporting on all of this and she's joining us now. So, Lauren, what are you learning about this?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are here once again, and we are just a couple of weeks away from a potential government shutdown. And right now, leaders have yet to form a plan that both sides agree to.

Right now, House Speaker Mike Johnson is expected to hold a conference call with his members this morning around 11:00 a.m. where we do plan to hear more details about what he wants to do to fund the government.

What we have learned from sources over the last several days is that they are eyeing a plan that would essentially fund the government for the next couple of months into March.

And they would attach, in addition to that funding bill, what is known as the Save Act, which essentially bars illegal immigrants from voting in U.S. elections. Now, that's already illegal. And this is really part of Republicans' plans to sow some doubt about who is voting in American elections. That is something that Democrats says is a nonstarter for them.

So this is sort of a strategic moment for Speaker Johnson to give those in his right flank something that they have been asking for. This was a direct ask from the House Freedom Caucus. And then give himself some time if that fails in the House or fails to go anywhere in the Senate to craft a new deal. So this is going to be sort of a multistep process.

Democrats, I am being told, are in a wait-and-see mode to understand whether or not Johnson is going to have the votes in his chamber to pass this potentially as soon as next week. If he can't that opens up broader negotiations. If he can then there has to be some broader conversations between Senate Democrats and House Republicans about the path ahead.

But again, that deadline coming up soon, September 30, and just a couple of days to figure it out once they return -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yeah, and making it all the more difficult and more complicated is just the backdrop of the election. It just -- it complicates all of it, as you know, and you'll be there to cover it all.

Great to see you, Lauren. Thank you -- John.

BERMAN: All right. This morning, six Hamas leaders have been charged with terrorism by the Justice Department -- the U.S. Justice Department -- for the October 7 attack on Israel.

CNN national security correspondent Kylie Atwood joins us now. What are these charges and on whom, Kylie?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. So the most significant person listed in this list is Yahya Sinwar. As many folks know by now, he is the leader of Hamas. He is the mastermind of the October 7 attacks, and he also the person who is calling the shots in this back-and-forth between Hamas and Israel when it comes to an effort to reach a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

We should note that there are also three Hamas leaders listed in here who are believed to be dead.

And these charges include a number of things. But significantly, Attorney General Garland said that this is effectively not the end of the road. While October 7 was, as it states in this complaint, the most violent, largescale terrorist attack to date, there is still more action that these terrorists have taken since then.

Just look at what happened over the weekend. They killed six of those hostages. One of them, of course, including an American.

So the Department of Justice -- this is the first step that they are taking to hold Hamas criminally accountable for October 7, but this is certainly not the last.

Listen to the attorney general himself on this yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MERRICK GARLAND, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: The charges unsealed today are just one part of our effort to target every aspect of Hamas' operations. These actions will not be our last. The Justice Department has a long memory. We will pursue the terrorists responsible for murdering Americans and those who illegally provide them with material support for the rest of their lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ATWOOD: Now, these charges were filed back in February, John, but they were just unsealed this week.