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Sources: Acting Secret Service Dir. to Meet with Trump Today; SKS-Style Rifle with Scope Found in Area Where Suspect Hid; FBI Investigating Apparent Second Assassination Attempt on Trump; Suspect in Apparent Assassination Attempt Faces Two Fed. Gun Charges; Biden: "No Place for Political Violence in America"; Biden Condemns Apparent Assassination Attempt on Trump; Kamala Harris Quickly Condemned All Political Violence after Apparent Assassination Attempt on Trump. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired September 16, 2024 - 15:00   ET

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

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[15:00:55]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: New details about the apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump's life. Body cam footage showing the moment that the suspect was taken into custody by police, as we learn more about the many hours that he may have been laying in wait and the weapon that was recovered at the scene.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: And we're getting new information about the final moments of that doomed Titan submersible, the last text it sent to the mother ship seconds before it vanished, and what else we've learned about the implosion that killed all five people on board.

And TikTok's time to fight for its future, lawyers for the company arguing against banning the app and a federal appeals court will determine the fate of an app used by some 170 million Americans.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here with CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: There are some new developments in what the FBI is officially calling an apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump coming two months about after an assassination attempt on him. Next hour, federal and local law enforcement authorities are giving an update on their investigation.

And then in the meantime, we are getting this. It is a look, a first look at body cam footage from the moment that Martin County Sheriff's deputies arrested the suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh. He was also in court earlier today where prosecutors are painting just a chilling picture of what happened outside the Trump International Golf Club.

Investigators say cell phone records indicate that Routh may have been lying in wait for more than 11 hours near the golf course armed with an SKS-style rifle.

SANCHEZ: And prosecutors are charging him with possession of a firearm while a convicted felon, as well as possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Today Trump is meeting with the acting Secret Service director, Ronald Rowe, who actually plans to stay in Florida as this investigation plays out. CNN's Carlos Suarez and Kyung Lah are tracking the latest.

First, Carlos, what have investigators said about all of this?

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris and Brianna, we're learning a whole lot more about 58-year-old Ryan Routh and the possibility that he could be facing some additional charges in all of this. We're being told that the two gun related charges that prosecutors sought earlier today really was all in an effort to make sure that he was detained as they continue their investigation into what unfolded at this golf course here yesterday afternoon.

Now, according to the criminal complaint that was released earlier this afternoon, as you all mentioned, Routh's cell phone data seems to show that he may have spent nearly 12 hours, 12 hours near the area where he was spotted by a Secret Service agent. So we're talking about 1:59 in the morning on Sunday to about 1:31 in the afternoon when all of this happened. We're also told that several bags were found here at the scene as well as that SKS-style rifle and a plastic bag as well that was containing some food.

We also got our first look at the moment that Routh was taken into custody about an hour north of where we are. He was arrested by the Martin County Sheriff's Office and the body camera video shows officers kind of lined up behind this one car as they made their way closer to where the 58-year-old was and they took him into custody.

Now according to that very same criminal complaint, authorities, deputies asked the 58-year-old if he knew why he was being stopped. And according to the complaint, he responded in the affirmative and so he seemed to know exactly why deputies were following him at that exact moment.

Authorities went on to note that the license plate that was on his car that he was driving had been registered stolen. Again Boris and Brianna, all of these new details are coming about an hour ahead of this news conference that were expected here in West Palm Beach. Guys?

[15:05:02]

KEILAR: All right, Carlos.

And Kyung, Routh had a very interesting criminal background. Tell us what you're learning here.

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he has an extensive criminal history dating back decades. Public records show that his first brush with the law, the real - the first big indicator that he was going to have some problems was back in 2002 when he became known to North Carolina law enforcement.

CNN spoke with a former officer in Greensboro, North Carolina and she responded there. He had barricaded himself inside a building after a traffic stop. He eventually pled guilty to felony possession of a weapon of mass destruction. Police sources tell CNN that that was a fully automatic weapon.

Public records do other - show other minor financial crimes in North Carolina, but when - then he moved to Hawaii and he set up his own business and worked for a non-profit, there constructing small shelters for homeless people. But it was really two years ago that he became very vocal and personally involved when it came to the war in Ukraine. He even traveled there to join the fight.

He put his effort, when he was told he was too old to fight in the war, to try to raise money. I want you to take a look at this selfie video he posted there trying to raise money on GoFundMe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN WESLEY ROUTH, SUSPECT IN APPARENT TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: Good morning. Most wonder what I'm doing in Ukraine. This is about a center to help people when they come from other countries around the world to have a location, someone to talk to as a greeting committee to get them in the location that they need to be. So that's the whole focus of this project is to help foreigners be as useful as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: So I spoke to an acquaintance who knew him around this time, Boris and Brianna, and they say that he was someone who was singularly driven, especially by the Ukrainian cause.

KEILAR: Yes, singularly driven seems to be a very much a theme of his personality. Kyung Lah, thank you so much.

Of course, it's still very early in this investigation. Let's bring in retired Secret Service agent Robert McDonald, who's also a lecturer of criminal justice at the University of New Haven.

First, I just wonder if you can, based on what you know so far, and of course, there's still information that we are trying to get here, Robert. Your assessment of how the Secret Service response played out?

ROBERT MCDONALD, RETIRED SECRET SERVICE AGENT: Well, I think mindful of the fact that the Secret Service protective advance and response on July 13th was full of some holes. I think the Secret Service did a very good job yesterday.

The diligence of that agent who was out in front of the former president's golfing hole, in other words, one or two holes ahead, and his ability to see that rifle coming out of the foliage or out of that fence area, absolutely fantastic. It shows he was on the ball or she was on the ball, doing exactly what they're supposed to be doing.

You know, one of the hits that the Secret Service took July 13th was that perhaps they were getting a little bit complacent, you know, doing the same things over and over again. And I think, as I said with you folks last time I was on with you, this was an opportunity now coming out of the 13th to retool, reboot and reset what the Secret Service does, refocus on what they're doing, and make sure that their protective apparatus and platforms are fully in place. And I think they did a good job here.

SANCHEZ: What are some of the unique challenges to secure an area like a golf course? I imagine that creates some unique challenges.

MCDONALD: Yes, absolutely. A very wide open area of many, many acres, undulations in the terrain there. Here's an individual that obviously did a little bit of homework, I'm assuming, and was able to secrete himself into that area some 12 hours before the former president was coming to play golf.

I think an interesting question is, how did he know that the former president was going to be playing golf there, if it was what we would call an off-the-record movement, which I'm sure you're aware of, maybe not on the president's schedule. So he either was in the area for a while doing his homework or got extremely lucky to be at the golf course where the former president was playing yesterday.

KEILAR: Robert, this is stunning, right? Were you - about two months ago, we see an attempt in Pennsylvania, now this. How worried are you that this is going to inspire others, copycats, opportunists, when it comes to all kinds of protectees of the Secret Service?

MCDONALD: Yes, absolutely. Great question, Brianna. It is a big concern. You know, we're obviously talking about it in most of the news stories today on various networks. It is generating interest. People are seeing that the Secret Service had issues with the Butler venue nine weeks ago. You're seeing more talking about the Secret Service and their protection of former President Trump at the golf course yesterday.

This generates a lot of interest from people and are they going to continue to try to test the Secret Service?

[15:10:01]

I think the Secret Service has implemented different plans and personnel and asset allocation since July 13th, some of which we don't see. And I think the service is going to continue to be tested here as we move forward into the homestretch of the campaign season.

It's a busy time. You've got the U.N. with 150 to 190 heads of state in New York. We just came out of two conventions in Chicago and Milwaukee. And now we've got the homestretch to November. So a lot going on in the Secret Service. Certainly not an excuse for what happened in July or what happened yesterday, but the Secret Service is stretched a little thin right now and it's a - definitely a concern.

SANCHEZ: In the wake of a number of insinuating remarks from people in the former president's orbit and others, you can say, that are not necessarily acting in good faith, there have been calls from lawmakers and analysts calling for the FBI and the Secret Service to put out as much information as possible about this incident to avoid conspiracy theories and other misinformation and disinformation going out there, suggestions that there's some kind of conspiracy behind these attempts. I'm wondering what the challenges are when it comes to conducting an investigation and, you know, for prosecutors to secure every answer that they possibly can going into what will likely be something that's adjudicated in court, and providing the public with information that's necessary in order to avoid any kind of insinuation.

MCDONALD: I think we got two different situations between July and what happened yesterday. July, we had the individual taken out and neutralized by agents of the service. And we had a lot of cell phone video. We had a lot of indications of the gentleman or the young man on top of the roof. There was a lot of information already out there.

The death of the perpetrator of that really negated a lot of the reason to keep a lot of the investigative information quiet and down without being disseminated. In this case, we have someone who's now going to be going to trial. So the Secret Service, the FBI is going to have - they have to be very sensitive as to the amounts and the types of information that they put out so as not to jeopardize the potential trial on this case.

So I'm a big proponent of getting as much information out, but this gentleman has rights as he moves forward in the criminal justice system and they're going to have to be very cognizant of not putting too much information out to jeopardize the criminal case.

KEILAR: Robert, we just got word that Trump is expected at the Alabama-Georgia game, which could potentially create more security challenges. This is obviously - this is a game on Saturday, September 28th, so there is a little bit of time to plan for that. What concerns does that raise for you?

MCDONALD: Well, you're going to have, I'm assuming, every possible asset and personnel situation available to augment the security that's already in place at that stadium. Most of those stadiums already have metal detectors. The Secret Service will work in concert with those folks or bring their own to develop the security plan there.

You will have plenty of Secret Service agents, what we call standing post, in observation positions and be able to move the crowd in certain areas. But that's a big venue and somewhat of a concern. So I think security will be extra, extra tight, especially coming out of July and yesterday.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it's a stadium that seats something like a hundred thousand people. Robert McDonald, thanks so much for sharing your perspective.

MCDONALD: Thank you.

I want to discuss more on the suspect's background with CNN Political and National Security Analyst, David Sanger. He's the author of "New Cold Wars: China's Rise, Russia's Invasion, and America's Struggle to Defend the West."

David, thanks so much for being with us. We know that this suspect, Routh, did this rambling interview with a Romanian journalist or a Newsweek Romania journalist about the war in Ukraine. We want to play a clip of that now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROUTH: Well, I've been dealing with Russia for my entire life, you know? We had one period where it was okay, but now we've let it slip back into terrorism. So it's just - the world needs to respond, you know? The world - why world leaders are not sending military is beyond me. We're going to have to elect new leaders the next go around that have a backbone and, you know, have the fortitude to say, hey, we're not going to tolerate this type of behavior.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: I should note that interview was done in Kyiv. He was in Ukraine trying to get to the front lines. What do you make of that?

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, first of all, he made no secret of himself from his time in Kyiv. He talked to one of my colleagues at The New York Times. He did interviews like this. You saw that earlier clip.

He's clearly of a group of people who believe that the United States and its allies should not only have come to Ukraine's aid, but put troops in his place. And that's what President Biden declined to go do.

[15:15:02]

Donald Trump, obviously, has taken an even further view. He's questioned why we should come to the aid of Ukraine at all.

But I think it would be a mistake to make a correlation between the political views and the act that's alleged here, the assumed attempted assassination here, because there are a lot of people who disagree with President Trump's approach to the war, President Biden and Vice President Harris' approach, who don't go to the kind of extremes of waiting out on a golf course for 12 hours if that's what happened with an AK-47.

KEILAR: Yes, that's a very good point.

He wanted to recruit Afghan soldiers to fight in Ukraine. During the interview, he said he was working in Ukraine with the Foreign Legion. What I think is more interesting is sort of the temperament. And maybe you can speak to this, too, in The New York Times' report, which has been revisited, the interview, just sort of - that temperament of Routh as opposed to maybe some of the political views.

SANGER: Well, I wasn't in on that interview.

KEILAR: That's right.

SANGER: But my colleague, who was reported, it was sort of like what you just saw, rambling, didn't make a huge amount of sense, not somebody who sort of came back to the reporter later on. Look, the Ukraine war, like the war in Afghanistan before it, attracted a lot of people who are interested in becoming foreign fighters, in training foreign fighters, in getting out on the battlefield. It wraps them in a cause and it looks like he was in that group. But again, there were a lot of those who then don't turn to this culture of violence here.

And, you know, it's the culture that is sort of so remarkable about this. I mean, a week ago, we were sitting on this set and talking about how former President Trump in bringing out the cats and dogs story in Springfield was potentially inciting threats and so forth in this environment. And, of course, in Springfield, you've seen bomb threats and other things.

And now on Sunday, we're talking about former President Trump as a victim of this culture. And, you know, we've gotten to a point where we almost accepted the fact that this is happening on both sides. And it's not really inciting much introspection about how we need to change.

KEILAR: That's a very good point.

SANCHEZ: It is. David Sanger, appreciate the perspective. Thanks so much for being with us.

SANGER: Great to be with you, Boris, Brianna.

KEILAR: Still to come, the lawyers for TikTok arguing in federal court against a law that could ban the Chinese-owned social media app from Americans' devices. We're following the latest on this big news.

SANCHEZ: And later, the crew's final messages. New details in the investigation of the implosion of the Titan submersible. Stay with CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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[15:22:28]

KEILAR: President Biden is condemning the - what the FBI is calling, officially, the apparent assassination attempt of president - former President Donald Trump. President Biden just talked about it at an HBCU event in Philadelphia.

SANCHEZ: CNN's Arlette Saenz has the details and also with us, CNN's Eva McKend, who's covering Vice President Harris.

First to you, Arlette, former President Trump blamed Biden and Harris for their rhetoric, saying that that led to his second apparent assassination attempt. How did President Biden address that?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, President Biden didn't directly address President Trump's claims about the current president and vice president, but he did take the opportunity to really condemn political violence of all kind as he made these remarks addressing the apparent assassination attempt against Donald Trump.

Now, the President was speaking here in Philadelphia at an HBCU conference, and he talked about how he believes that the Secret Service did a good job down in Florida, that they handled this situation in an expert manner. And he also spoke very forcefully about the fact that there is no place for political violence in America. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is no - and I mean this from the bottom of my heart, those of you who know me many of you do - no place in political violence - for political violence in America. None, zero, never.

I've always condemned political violence. I always will in America. In America, we resolve our difference peacefully at the ballot box, not at the end of a gun. America suffered too many times the tragedy of an assassin's bullet. It solves nothing. It just tears the country apart. We must do everything we can to prevent it and never give it any oxygen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, as the President praised the work of the Secret Service, he also noted that the acting Secret Service director, Ronald Rowe, was down in Florida. The President said that he would be working to determine whether any further adjustments need to be made to ensure the safety of former President Donald Trump.

Biden himself has said that he wants to make sure that the Secret Service has all the resources they need to ensure that they can protect Trump. And a bit earlier today, he bluntly told reporters that he does think the Secret Service needs more help. He said that one area they may need more help in is in personnel, but ultimately that will be a decision up for the agency.

It does come at a time when there have been questions about the resources available to the Secret Service.

[15:25:03]

The fact that there is a high turnover rate at times due to burnout over a long shifts and overtime hours. So President Biden has said that there needs to be some thinking about the resources provided to the Secret Service and how they are utilizing them, but also trying to stress in this moment that there's no place for political violence in the country.

KEILAR: All right, Arlette, thank you.

Eva, how is Vice President Harris responding to this?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, there's no indication that the campaign is viewing this through a political lens. A campaign advisor says that this is not a political moment. The Vice President herself issuing a statement calling this entire episode deeply disturbing, adding that "as we gather the facts, I will be clear: I condemn political violence. We all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more violence."

But this is not an entirely easy issue for the campaign - for any campaign to navigate, because they have long waged a very forceful case against the former president. No doubt they will continue to want to do so. And he says that it is these claims that Democrats make that are leading to these attempts.

There is, of course, no evidence of that. But we did see after the first attempt, Democrats not before long, continue this argument that the former president is a threat to democracy and using January 6th as evidence of that argument and all indications that they will continue to say as such.

SANCHEZ: Eva McKend, thanks so much for the update.

So TikTok is fighting for its survival in U.S. federal court. The social media platform trying to convince a three-judge panel not to allow a law to go into effect that could ban the app. More details in just moments.

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