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Interview with Mayor John Giles, (R) Mesa, Arizona: Harris Heads to Southern Border in Battleground Arizona; Indicted New York City Mayor Adams Pleads Not Guilty, Released from Custody; 50+ People Stranded on Hospital Roof in Tennessee as Floods Rage. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired September 27, 2024 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Right now, Vice President Harris is on her way to visit the southern border in the key swing state of Arizona. Harris will be briefed by border officials before she delivers remarks on border security and immigration, and she's expected to go on offense during her speech and hit former President Trump for killing the bipartisan border bill. According to an excerpt, she's expected to say, quote, the American people deserve a president who cares more about border security than playing political games.

Let's talk more about this now with the mayor of Mesa, Arizona, John Giles. Mayor, thank you so much for being with us. I wanted to talk with you about this because polling yesterday from Fox and Marist in your state shows no clear leader in the state.

Trump has a bit of an edge, but it's within the margin of error. But then when you look at Fox's Arizona polling specifically on the issue of the border, Trump leads by 15 points. What can Harris's visit do for how voters see her and her message on the border?

MAYOR JOHN GILES, (R) MESA, ARIZONA: Well, I think this is a very important visit, particularly for the very close vote in Arizona. This is an issue that border states care about. And I think the vice president has a great story to tell.

She is the former attorney general of a border state, and she has a great deal of experience in prosecuting crimes on both sides of the border and in dealing with the challenges that the border presents. Also, she's got a great story to tell about the administration's efforts to cooperate with Congress to get a bipartisan border security bill. Executive orders are no substitute for congressional fixes to our broken immigration system.

So it was entirely appropriate and it was the best plan A to address this problem for the administration to work with Senator Lankford and Senator Sinema in a bipartisan way to actually solve the broken immigration system that we have to add additional resources to the border. President Trump clearly does not want that to happen. He's delighted to use this as a wedge, as a divisive issue, as he wants to take advantage of this problem rather than treating it as a problem to be solved. KEILAR: Harris's last visit was in 2021. I wonder if you think she should have come more often, if she should have come sooner before a trip to the border might be dismissed by her opponents. By the way, you're a Republican who is behind her, but many Republicans are not, obviously, and they are dismissing this simply as a campaign move when she's behind on the issue of the border.

Should she have come sooner? Should she have come maybe when the numbers were higher during the crisis?

GILES: Well, I tell you, as an Arizonan, I've kind of become numb to national politicians coming to the border, putting on a jeans jacket and using it as a as a photo op. I mean, that's a major part of the Arizona economy is the tourism around campaign people coming to visit the border. So it's become a pretty much of a stunt.

And so the vice president, again, is very familiar with the border as the former attorney general of California. As the vice president, she had a specific assignment to work with the triangle area of Central America to work on the root causes of migration. And she was successful in that.

Now, the folks that you're seeing at the border crossing are in large part not from that region any longer. So absolutely, it's important that she's here. Unquestionably, people in Arizona appreciate her being there, appreciate her being proactive and aggressive in identifying what her -- what her campaign position is.

But the fact that she has resisted the urge to be part of the long string of folks who know nothing about the border, but they come down here to for photo ops, that's not impressive to folks in Arizona.

KEILAR: Do you attribute the drop in border crossings over the past few months solely to the Biden administration executive order in June that limited asylum?

GILES: That absolutely had an impact. But again, the executive orders, even going back to DACA, they are somewhat they're on shaky ground when it comes to legal enforcement. All of these orders are going to be challenged in court.

[15:35:00]

The executive branch is not supposed to write immigration law. That's not the way our system works. That's got to come through Congress.

So these executive orders are very welcome and they do have an impact. President Trump was somewhat fortunate in that he was the president during the pandemic. So Title 42 was in place.

And so a lot of the reduction in border crossing during his administration was tied to Title 42 and the pandemic protections.

So, yes, there's absolutely a critical role for the executive branch to play. But again, this is all making up for a lack of congressional action. And we had a once in a perhaps generation opportunity for that to happen. And until President Trump stepped in and spoiled it.

KEILAR: So she is expected to make an announcement. We expect that to outline her plans during this stop. The New York Times reports that the administration plans to essentially extend the time the border crossings would need to remain low in order to lift restrictions.

I know you say Congress needs to do this. This shouldn't just be about executive action that is on shaky legal ground. But are you comfortable with the permanent system of migrants only claiming asylum through one of the 1000 daily appointments offered at points of entry before arriving in the U.S.?

GILES: You know that the cartels that are managing our border are smart people, that they have great U.S. immigration lawyers and they will exploit every loophole in our immigration laws that they can. And one of those big loopholes for the last several years has been asylum seekers. Before that, it was unaccompanied minors.

It'll always be whatever loopholes that we have in our immigration laws. And so that's why Congress needs to take action. The blame for this problem lies in the United States Congress, not so much in the executive branch. And there are some very necessary reforms that need to take place addressing the current system for asylum seekers being at the top of that list.

KEILAR: Mayor Giles, thank you so much for taking the time. We appreciate it as you were your state's in the spotlight today.

GILES: My pleasure, thank you.

KEILAR: Still ahead, New York City's mayor facing his federal corruption charges in court today pleading not guilty. We're following the latest in his legal battle.

[15:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN HOST: Right now, the top official in New York City, Mayor Eric Adams, is working under the conditions of a pretrial release. That's after officers fingerprinted him and took his mugshot earlier today. And the mayor also pleaded not guilty in his first federal court hearing on corruption, bribery and wire fraud charges.

Afterwards, Adams's attorney said the mayor is innocent and slammed federal prosecutors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX SPIRO, ATTORNEY FOR MAYOR ERIC ADAMS: We let the court know that next week we'll be filing a motion to dismiss. We expect these charges to be dismissed. This case isn't even a real case. This is the airline upgrade corruption case.

(END VIDEO CLIP) FREEMAN: Today, CNN is also learning that New York Governor Kathy Hochul is telling allies that she is seriously considering removing the mayor from office. That's a power granted to her under state law. Joining me now for more on this is CNN legal analyst Jennifer Rodgers, a former federal prosecutor.

Jennifer, thank you so much for helping us understand everything that happened today. You heard Adams's lawyer right there say this isn't even a real case, describing it rather as an airline upgrade corruption case. What do you make of that?

JENNIFER RODGERS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, listen, I'm not surprised to hear the defense lawyer belittle the case. That's one of the things that the defense tends to do. It's not just an airline upgrade case in the sense that what you have to prove in these cases, you have to prove the bribery. You have to prove the wire fraud. You have to prove the campaign finance violations. The elements of those offenses, if they prove what they say they're going to prove via the indictment, are there.

So to say it's nothing isn't really true. I mean, we'll see what motions they make and the success they have with Judge Ho next week. But I think he's just doing a defense lawyer's job, right? Trying to belittle it for public effect at this stage.

FREEMAN: Using the cameras outside of the courtroom. Adams's lawyer, though, also said they'd want to, quote, speedy trial. Jennifer, from your expertise, what do you expect the timeline will be for this very high profile case?

RODGERS: Well, the Speedy Trial Act really doesn't give the government a lot of time. You know, usually what you have is motions all the time. It takes the parties to make their motions and the judge to decide is excluded from Speedy Trial Act purposes.

So, you know, usually even though the Speedy Trial Act will say, you know, 70 days, what it ends up being is up to a year, maybe even two years sometimes because of all the time that's excluded. And a lot of that time will be automatically excluded by the judge. For example, the time it takes to make and decide motions.

But if Eric Adams and his counsel do insist on a speedy trial, then they won't get the kind of automatic adjournments that typically happen. And I would expect if they really want to hold the government's feet to the fire, that we could see a trial within a few months, as opposed to what it would usually be, say, a year or more.

FREEMAN: Well, it's just fascinating to think about that, too, with, again, a raid happening as recently also as yesterday, you know, as this case moves forward.

[15:45:00]

We saw Jennifer, the mayor of New York City, in federal court today. As this case moves forward, are we going to see him in court over and over again? RODGERS: Well, usually, yes. Usually the defendant goes to most of the pretrial proceedings, shows up for status conferences, shows up for arguments and so on. But they don't necessarily have to.

As we've seen, for example, in all of the different criminal cases that former President Trump is involved in, the defendant can be excused. And I would expect that Eric Adams will ask to be excused from some of the more routine matters like scheduling conferences, because, of course, while he is still the mayor, he has a very busy day job and you wouldn't expect he would run over at the drop of a hat to be part of a routine proceeding. So I think that both prosecutors and the judge will be agreeable with that sort of thing if the mayor does decide that he wants to absent himself.

FREEMAN: Jennifer Rodgers, thank you so much for breaking all of that down. Really appreciate your perspective.

RODGERS: Thanks.

FREEMAN: All right, still ahead, a life or death situation in Tennessee where teams are trying to rescue dozens of people from the roof of a hospital. We'll speak to a local official to see how that operation is going right after a quick break.

[15:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: We are continuing to follow breaking news out of Irwin, Tennessee, where more than 50 people are stranded on a hospital roof as floodwaters from Tropical Storm Helene surround the building. That is it there in the distance. You can see it a little closer up here as rescue efforts are underway.

These are pictures that Michael Baker sent us. He's an alderman there in Erwin. He is back with us on the phone.

Michael, at first it's hard to realize what you're looking at. And then you realize you're staring at these folks on the top of this hospital roof seeking refuge. Tell us the very latest of the rescues of these folks and how many remain there on the roof.

MICHAEL BAKER, ALDERMAN IN ERWIN, TENNESSEE (via phone): Absolutely. Yes, this time yesterday, you wouldn't have been able to see straight to the hospital like we are now. There would have been trees and structures, but all of that underwater downstream now.

Currently, we have just a handful left on top of the hospital. We've had a constant stream of helicopters picking them up and dropping them off into the city and safe places. So now there's only just probably a handful, probably just the last first responders on top of the roof getting into the helicopter.

KEILAR: Well, that is certainly good news. And the people that they have been lifting off. I mean, do you have any sense of what kind of condition they're in and how these rescues have been going? BAKER: I'm not sure. I have seen, of course, ambulance personnel going to where they're being dropped off, but it was definitely lots of people on top of the roof, not just patients. There was lots of staff at the hospital and then our police chief was on top of the hospital as well. And I believe he's on there will be the last one.

KEILAR: And tell us about the weather. It looks pretty good in these pictures that we're seeing here out of Erwin as helicopter rescues were underway. But the floodwater is still very much a concern.

BAKER: Yes, the water is still very high. It has went down just a foot or two, but the skies are clear, but still very windy. And then, you know, as I guess the bands come through, we do get a rain shower.

But this river is the Nolichucky River, which comes out of North Carolina. And there's two other rivers that make this one. So any rain that is falling in Western North Carolina.

(INAUDIBLE)

KEILAR: All right, Alderman, I think we're having a tough time and not surprising. We with the sort of the conditions that we're dealing with, we're having a tough time hearing you, but it was great to get that update. We're glad to hear that almost everyone has been rescued from this hospital roof.

It seems at this point it's just a handful of people, perhaps, and maybe just the last of the first responders there, the aldermen seem to think. But just a stunning scene there out of Erwin, Tennessee, that we have been monitoring in the wake of this flooding as we watch the effects of Helene really just stunning. We will continue to monitor this and all of what Helene has wrought, we'll be right back with more.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: All right, let's listen to part of an interview. This is just in. This is our Wolf Blitzer speaking with Secretary Lloyd Austin, the defense secretary, about Russia and Ukraine. Here it is.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, THE SITUATION ROOM: President Zelenskyy is still urging the U.S. to give permission to strike deeper into Russia with U.S. weapons. The U.S. changed its mind and provided longer range missiles, tanks and fighter jets to Ukraine. So will the U.S. allow deeper strikes into Russia by Ukraine with U.S. weapons, or is this a different calculation?

LLOYD AUSTIN, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Wolf, our policy hasn't changed. And, you know, I would point what I've said before is that, you know, one weapon won't be a silver bullet for this in terms of resolving this conflict. It's a combination of the capabilities that you combine to create the effects that you want to want to create.

Now I have been -- we have been focused on providing Ukraine what it needs to be able to successfully defend its sovereign territory from the very beginning. And that's why I brought together some 50 countries some two and a half years ago to meet and discuss how we're going to continue to provide security assistance. And we've done that consistently every month.

We meet every month, either in person or virtually, and our support to Ukraine has been unwavering. We're going to continue to focus on giving them what they need to be successful on the battlefield. And again, one specific weapon won't be the answer to every problem on the battlefield.

And I think, you know, what we've seen recently is that Ukraine has the ability to now produce its own weaponry in terms of UAVs that are proven to be very, very effective in that fight. And some of these UAVs can range out beyond 400 kilometers, which is beyond the range of ATACMS or Storm Shadow or anything else that we would be able to provide them.

KEILAR: All right, so Secretary Austin, they're trying to assure Ukraine and allies of Ukraine that they are going to get everything that they need from the U.S. Zelenskyy came with this singular mission.

FREEMAN: Yes, this was the ask.

KEILAR: That's what he wanted, longer range -- to be able to use longer range weapons into Russia.

FREEMAN: Right. Interesting. We'll see more of that conversation, I imagine, with "SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer just a little bit.

KEILAR: That's right.

FREEMAN: All right. And another programming note, this week's episode of "TV ON THE EDGE" looks at diet culture and how daytime TV was reflective of society's fixation with losing weight. Those shows had a profound influence on everyday viewers. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TESS HOLLIDAY, MODEL: It's very hard to just exist in a world where people constantly think of you as disgusting.

TIGRESS OSBORN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION TO ADVANCE FAT ACCEPTANCE: That's the external message all the time, is that the solution is in the shrinking, right?

LISA RESPERS FRANCE, ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER CNN: As a fat woman, especially, you are not allowed to have privacy. You are a public commodity to the point where there's this implication that people deserve some sort of access to what's going on inside me, why it's happening.

HOLLIDAY: It's the fight you have with yourself, but then also against everyone else to just leave you the (BLEEP) alone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[16:00:00]

KEILAR: It's a fascinating conversation. Be sure to tune in. It's a new episode of "TV ON THE EDGE, MOMENTS THAT SHAPED OUR CULTURAL." It'll air, Sunday at 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on CNN.

And "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now

END