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Trump, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) Blame Democratic Rhetoric for Apparent Assassination Attempt; Sean Diddy Combs Arrested in New York Grand Jury Indictment; Harris Campaign and DNC Target Young Voters in Swing States. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired September 17, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump on the campaign trail for the first time since the second attempt on his life. We've got new reporting on security preparations and what he plans to say.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, Sean Diddy Combs arrested in New York. The indictment against him will be unsealed in just hours.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The Ohio governor is now sending the national -- the highway patrol rally, rather, to schools in Springfield as the fallout over those false claims of Haitians eating pets turns more dangerous.

I'm Kate Bolduan with Sarah Sidner and John Berman. This is CNN News Central.

BERMAN: And for the first time since a second attempt on his life, Donald Trump holds a campaign rally in battleground Michigan today. As you can imagine, security will be tight. And it comes as both Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance, both of whom have a history of inflammatory rhetoric, seem to be putting the two assassination attempts at the center of the campaign, blaming Democrats for both.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Well, there's a lot of rhetoric going on. A lot of people think that the Democrats, when they talk about a threat to democracy and all of this, and it seems that both of these people were radical lefts.

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: No one has tried to kill Kamala Harris in the last couple of months, and two people now have tried to kill Donald Trump in the last couple of months. I'd say that's pretty strong evidence that the left needs to tone down the rhetoric.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: And this morning, former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger says, quote, look, violent rhetoric is wrong and has no place, but MAGA pretending they didn't light this fire is gaslighting to the 100th power. Since Trump showed up, our politics has gone to crap.

All right, let's get right to CNN's Alayna Treene for the plans for today. Alayna, what are you learning? Well, John, we actually are going to see Donald Trump publicly today for the first time since this apparent second assassination attempt when he addresses the crowd in Michigan. It's a town hall in Flint, Michigan, hosted by Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, of course, his former press secretary who worked very closely with him. And I think a lot of people are kind of waiting to see how Donald Trump appears visually.

Now, I will say we did hear from him last night at 8:00 P.M. Monday evening. He participated in a Twitter Spaces event, and we did hear him kind of walk through some of his reaction. What I found notable was that he recounted what happened on Sunday in detail. I want you to take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I was playing golf with some of my friends. It was on a Sunday morning and very peaceful, very beautiful weather. Everything was beautiful, nice place to be. And all of a sudden we heard shots being fired in the air, and I guess probably four or five. And it sounded like bullets, but what do I know about that? But Secret Service knew immediately it was bullets. And they grabbed me.

I would have loved to have sank that last putt, but we decided let's get out of here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So, John, that last part where he's kind of joking, it does line up what I'm hearing in my conversations with Donald Trump's advisers, that this is different from what happened in Butler. They say Donald Trump is in good spirits, that he's been joking with them about how he wishes he could have finished that golf game. He was two under par at the time. He was joking to his advisers after that. And he's been talking about November, thinking that he needs to win in November.

But one thing that I find very clear, and you heard this from J.D. Vance, is that unlike in the aftermath of Butler, where you heard Donald Trump's senior advisers calling for unity, even Donald Trump himself saying that he was a changed man, it is a very different reaction this time around. They've immediately gone on offense and tried to blame Democrats and the rhetoric that they've been using, particularly that of President Joe Biden and Vice President Biden, really making this political. It's very different from what we had heard in the aftermath of what had happened in July.

And so, you know, we're seeing both sides kind of respond to this.

[07:05:02]

And I think it's just very clear that they are using this now as part of their campaign messaging. John?

BERMAN: Maybe the center of the campaign messaging. We have to wait and see how much it plays today at this event in Michigan, but that is the main thing I think a lot of us will be looking for. Alayna Treene, thank you so much for that. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Thank you, John. We also have new details this morning in the investigation. The suspect allegedly spending nearly 12 hours camped out in the bushes. And the question right now is will he face even more charges today?

CNN's Carlos Suarez is in West Palm Beach for us. Carlos, what can you tell us about the latest information here? We are also seeing, of course, the video of his arrest as well.

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Sara. Good morning. So, no doubt, authorities here are still trying to figure out exactly how 58-year-old Ryan Routh knew that the former president was going to be at his golf course here on Sunday.

Yesterday, the acting director of the Secret Service said that the former president's visit here was an off-the-record movement. So it's something that wasn't pre-planned. There are also no doubt still trying to figure out exactly just how many days perhaps Routh may have been here in south Florida.

As you noted, cell phone data seems to show that Ruth was in the area of the golf course for about 12 hours, nearly 12 hours on Sunday before he was spotted by this Secret Service agent. We're told that he got within 500 yards of the former president. Though it is important to note that, according to law enforcement officials, he did not have a line of sight on the former president.

Yesterday, we also got a look at some rather dramatic body camera video showing the moment that Routh was taken into custody about an hour north of here by deputies in Martin County. And we also learned an interesting detail from the sheriff up there about this person who was the one that spotted Routh leaving the golf course. So, this person spots Routh leaving, takes a photo of the car that Routh is in and is able to call 911 and provide all of this information to law enforcement.

We're told that this person was taken by helicopter by the sheriff's office, again, about an hour north of here and was able to identify Routh as being the person that they had spotted leaving the golf course here. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Give us some sense of the timeline here, as to when Routh got to the golf course and when he was arrested as well.

SUAREZ: Yes, Sara. So, we got a pretty good idea of that from yesterday's news conference here. So because of that cell phone data, authorities believe that Routh gets here to about around 1:59 in the morning on Sunday. He's then in the vicinity of this area until at least 1:31 in the afternoon on Sunday, so, again, nearly 12 hours later after agents spot him. And then around 1:55 in the afternoon, this be on the lookout alert

goes out to law enforcement, again, presumably the information that this person had passed along about the car that was seen leaving the scene here and that. And then about five minutes later to the north of here in Martin County, we're told that deputies spot this car, and then about 22 minutes later, they're able to take Routh into custody. Sara?

SIDNER: Wow. All right, thank you so much, Carlos Suarez, for your reporting there in West Palm Beach. Florida. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Breaking news overnight, Sean Diddy Combs arrested on federal charges this morning. We will learn what those charges are.

And new reporting on a new strategy of sorts for the Harris campaign, a push to reach out to men in critical states win their support over reproductive rights.

And passengers suffering bloody noses, even ruptured eardrums when their plane experiences cabin pressure issues mid flight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I looked over at my husband and he had both of his hands over his ears.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It felt like somebody was stabbing me in the ear. I grabbed my ear and I pulled my hand back and there was blood on it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:10:00]

BOLDUAN: And breaking overnight, Sean Diddy Combs is under arrest, now facing federal charges following a sealed indictment by the U.S. attorney in New York. And with the sealed indictment, what those charges are still unclear at this moment. But that is likely to change and be revealed today.

For months, the music mogul has been the focus of a sex trafficking probe. And you might recall his homes were searched in both Los Angeles and Miami earlier this year. And he's facing several lawsuits accusing him of sexual assault.

CNN's Kara Scannell is outside the courthouse in New York. A lot could come -- a lot more could be revealed today, Kara. What are you hearing?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kate. We're expecting more details to come to light this morning after Diddy was arrested at 8:15 last night at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan by agents with Homeland Security Investigations. That was all because of this grand jury indictment that was handed up yesterday. It is still under seal, though the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damien Williams, confirmed the arrest and the indictment, and the expectation is that will be unsealed today, and we may hear more from Williams addressing these charges and explaining what they are.

Now, as you said, Diddy has been under investigation for more than a year. This investigation kicked off after his former girlfriend and Bad Boy recording artist Cassie Ventura filed a a lawsuit alleging sex trafficking by Diddy, saying that she was sexually assaulted by him and forced to have sex with other men in front of him.

[07:15:07]

Now, Diddy settled that lawsuit one day after it was filed, but it kicked off a series of lawsuits, about ten that we've counted so far, brought by other women and least one man accusing Diddy of assault.

Now, Diddy's attorney, Mark Agnifilo, issued a statement last night after the arrest, saying that Diddy is an imperfect person but is not a criminal. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name.

Now, these charges come six months after Homeland Security agents searched Diddy's home. It's in L.A. and in Miami. And they come as, you know, additional lawsuits have been filed with more details, more allegations from other women saying that Diddy had raped them, that he had forced them to have sex with other men, describing drug-fueled parties. It's unclear yet exactly the scope of these charges, but we will learn more details when these charges are unsealed.

We do expect Diddy to make his first court appearance at the courthouse behind me at some point today. And then the big question will be, does the Department of Justice seek to Diddy remanded and held in custody while this case moves forward, or does he work out a deal for release? All that still to come, Kate, and still as we wait to learn more specifics of these details that Diddy is facing.

BOLDUAN: And while we wait for that, are you hearing any reaction yet from -- we mentioned he's facing multiple lawsuits that have been filed on him, some of them directly accusing him of sexual assault. Have you heard reaction from any of the people behind those lawsuits?

SCANNELL: Yes. Lawyers for some of the women have already issued statements after Diddy's arrest came too late last night. One attorney who's representing three accusers say, we leave the criminal aspect of this case in the hands of the people and justice system. As for the civil cases, we await our time for the facts to reveal themselves and seek the justice our clients deserve.

Another person posted on X, the purpose of justice is to provide an ending and allow us the space to create a new chapter. Women never get this. I feel validated. Today is a win for women all over the world. Not just me. Things are finally changing. That statement is from one of Diddy's accusers, Aubrey O'Day. Now, you know, Diddy's attorneys have said that he is an innocent man. We'll wait to see what these charges are and what his lawyers say in court today. Kate.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Kara, thank you so much for the reporting. We'll get back to you as this is going to develop. John?

BERMAN: We have brand new details this morning on how the Harris campaign is targeting its message on reproductive rights to a new group of voters, men.

And one passenger said it felt like someone stabbed me in the ear. New details on an emergency landing that left several passengers with bloody noses and burst eardrums.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BERMAN: All right. New this morning, the Harris campaign is launching what they are calling a youth vote week of action, trying to register as many young voters as they can. The campaign is particularly focused on HBCUs and Hispanic-serving institutions. It comes as the vice president sits down with black journalists in Philadelphia.

Let's get right to CNN's Eva McKend for what's in store for today. Eva?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: John, online, in person, on campuses, and in their communities, the plan is to reach college students everywhere they are. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro hosting an event at Penn State and Bill Nye speaking at a Climate Voters for Harris-Walz event in Durham, North Carolina.

In all, the campaign will support more than 130 youth voter registration events this week alone. And the vice president will sit with the National Association of Black Journalists today in Philadelphia to take questions. It's an unscripted event. She doesn't do as many of those. Later in the week, she'll campaign in Michigan with a live stream event with Oprah Winfrey before a small invited audience. And then she'll end the week campaigning in the pivotal battleground state of Wisconsin.

BERMAN: Eva, reproductive rights, obviously, at the center of the Harris campaign, and I do understand they want to try to focus that message on maybe a new or slightly different audience.

MCKEND: Now, John, my colleagues, Arut John, David Wright, and I are learning that campaign is framing this issue in a way that will be particularly resonant with men. That's because even small gains through a combination of driving up turnout among Democratic men and pursuing some moderates and independents could make a difference in states like Pennsylvania.

So, in the coming days and weeks, what we can expect is to hear what they call abortion stories from men. You'll hear men talk about how restrictive abortion bans have impacted their entire families.

BERMAN: All right. We will I'm going to be watching. Eva McKend, thank you so much for that. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. We are following breaking news for you this morning, musician and producer Sean Diddy Combs arrested in New York. The indictment against him could be unsealed any moment this morning.

And new details in how the suspect behind the second assassination attempt got so close to Donald Trump and why he could be facing additional charges soon. Those stories and more ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:25:00]

BOLDUAN: This morning, we are waiting to see Sean Diddy Combs in court. A federal indictment was filed against the music mogul, and it's set to be unsealed soon. Combs was arrested last night in midtown Manhattan and taken into custody by Homeland Security investigations. A lot of questions still remaining about this.

Joining us right now is Defense and Trial Attorney Misty Marris. It's good to see you, Misty. What do you think this could be about? And what charges could he be facing?

MISTY MARRIS, DEFENSE AND TRIAL ATTORNEY: Absolutely, we won't exactly know until the indictment is unsealed this morning, but there's several indicators that lead me to believe that we're likely to see sex trafficking charges. That's called the Man Act. That means transporting people over state lines for the purpose of a commercial sex act.

Another type of charge we could see is racketeering or what we call RICO charges. We know that some of the. Investigation, the raids that were done on Diddy's home related to guns and drugs. We could see charges under RICO relating to distribution of both of those types of items.

[07:30:03]

The reason that I think we're going to see the sex trafficking allegations, and we're going to see that in the indictment.