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Zeb Smathers is Interviewed about Canton, North Carolina; Iran Warns of Boarder Strikes if Israel Fires Back; Adams Due in New York City Court. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired October 02, 2024 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Would be there for survivors as long as they need, that they would provide resources. And he's urging Congress to approve even more funding to recover from this. It's going to take billions of dollars, he said.

Now, he is expected to do a briefing over in Raleigh and then fly over, witnessing himself these devastated areas, including right here in Asheville. And part of the reason he won't be here on the ground, Sara, is because conditions are so bad in these roads -- again, officials urging no travel - that his motorcade can't make it through the city. That's according to the mayor of Asheville.

He is predicting that this is going to take a while. And again, billions of dollars to make this right for western North Carolina.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: I know that you were able to get and go along on a ride along with the FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Team. What did you see and hear from them?

ROSALES: Right. This was rare access for us. We were able to follow along with a FEMA team who's helping out the National Guard with these active search and rescue missions that I've been talking about. So this was over in Avery County, a very rural and mountainous area. And we just went in circles in these winding roads, narrow roads. We saw collapsed roads, trees all over the place, mud. Honestly, it was a little nerve wracking, Sara, driving in these conditions. There were portions of my tires that were right at the edge of this road, crumbled, in the area. So, I can certainly understand the challenges that these first responders are going through. It was really eye- opening, how slow they have to take it.

But the biggest thing that popped out at me is the lack of communication that the regular citizens are experiencing here. But even more critical for them in the sense that they can't get through on the cell phones, even satellite phones, with these heavy tree canopies. So difficult for team members to talk to one another. And again, a very time-sensitive situation of finding folks that are in trouble and need help.

Watch. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: Can't get a signal?

We're seeing for ourselves everything that the governor has been talking about, officials have been talking about. The - how big of a challenge communication is. Not just for civilians, but you guys trying to do these rescue operations.

COLIN BURRESS, FEMA DIVISION GROUP SUPERVISOR: Right. It is. You don't have cell service, email, text. All of that comes with changes and it kind of slows things down a little bit.

ROSALES: Tremendously, right? How frustrating is that?

BURRESS: Uh, you like get - you get used to it.

ROSALES: Yes.

BURRESS: You know, you get enough on enough (INAUDIBLE). But you just kind of adapt and overcome.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: Right. And that was a FEMA supervisor who was leading us up this mountain. And for over an hour he was trying to - to get in touch with his team but couldn't. Not through regular cell phone. Not even a satellite phone. And then just out of luck, his team, part of his team found him, and we were able to reconnect there.

But, again, extremely eye-opening to see the challenges these first responders are going through, Sara.

SIDNER: Yes, the first responders, the residents, and the damage is just so extensive.

Thank you so much, Isabel Rosales, for bringing us that story to give us some sense of what's happening there and what President Biden will be seeing today.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, with me now is Zeb Smathers, the mayor of Canton, North Carolina, not to, to far from Asheville.

Mayor, thank you so much for being with us.

Do you have a sense this morning of how many people in your community are still unaccounted for?

MAYOR ZEB SMATHERS (D), CANTON, NORTH CAROLINA: We simply do not because the communications issues that we're still suffering from. Slowly it seemed to be the cellular service is returning. But even today I'm getting message from people across the U.S., my family lives in Canton, they live in Asheville, we can't get ahold of them. And you're simply scared what you do not know. You know, as we searched for our loved ones and can't be able to communicate, it just puts no one at ease. And so as services, communications hopefully gets better, then we're going to have a better sense of who's still missing.

I was talking to someone earlier. I mean it's teachers still looking for students to be able to connect with. And so, it is slowly getting better we hope. But my worry is, this is so many days after the storm, our ability to communicate with our emergency service workers in the storm, and even families still looking for their loved ones today, we've witnessed an absolute crippling effect of the failure of our telecommunications system. When we needed it the most, it let us down, and that is inexcusable.

BERMAN: Are there still rescues taking place?

SMATHERS: Yes. I mean, again, as you just reported, west North Carolina, one of our greatest strengths is how wonderful and diverse our landscape is. But that makes some areas that are absolutely still covered in trees, bridges washed out. And that's something very important to us as we move forward in recovery. It doesn't matter where you call home in west North Carolina, we have to make sure that the recovery, the supplies reach every point, no matter where you call home.

[09:35:04]

And so again, we have no doubt there are still many families, many homes, they're still isolated, without communication, without access, that we need to get to.

BERMAN: You seem frustrated. And that's an understatement. Exasperated with the communications service right now, particular the cell phone service. What do you - what do you think went wrong here?

SMATHERS: And that's one of the great mysteries. I mean, to this day I don't have those answers. I mean I certainly received a text reminder over the weekend through Starlink that my Verizon bill was due. So, again, if you can send me a bill, you can get the cell phone for everyone in this region.

And again, that's a part of this. Everybody, no matter where you live in west North Carolina, deserves the ability to check on their loved ones. And this is something we saw from day one, you know, the inability to communicate with our local fire department and rescue teams in the middle of the storm. I mean we were put in a situation. We did not know what we were dealing with. So, I've said many times, we are dealing with the recovery for a 21st century storm with 20th century technology. And that's not been official.

Again, we know there's workers for these companies that are out here trying to do their best. My question is, is, how did we get in this situation? And we know there will be other storms across the U.S. and I pray - I pray that nobody in this country has to suffer. And I do mean suffer with our telecommunications system absolutely collapsing when we needed it the most. BERMAN: Very quickly, how long do you think it will take for you to rebuild?

SMATHERS: Years. I mean Canton, you know, three years ago we suffered remnants of Tropical Storm Fred. We are still rebuilding. But we will rebuild. I've had a lot of people ask me, you know, Zeb, this is your, you know, second storm in three years. The alternative is that we leave. Than we give up on our home. We give up on our people. And I know the grit and grace that exists, not just in Haywood County, but across the mountains of west North Carolina. It is going to be very, very challenging. We're thing about all the lives lost. That number keeps going up. But there is no doubt, to honor those ones lost, we're going to rebuild, we're going to recover, because that's the standard. We have to live up to the sacrifices that so many are making and we're up to the task.

BERMAN: One of the most beautiful places in the country, beautiful people too. Mayor Zeb Smathers, thank you so much for being with us. Appreciate it.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: It just still boggles the mind what they're all up against and what they've already sustained in the last seven days. It's just truly unreal.

We have some new images coming in just now of the damage in Israel from Iran's unprecedented missile strike, missile attack there. We'll ring those to you.

And soon, New York City's mayor, Eric Adams, will be heading to federal court. He could get a trial date and yet his attorneys are trying to get his charges dismissed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:42:22]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Erin Burnett, in Tel Aviv.

And here, of course, a bigger war. A worry for everyone around the world. The war here, of course, widening overnight with that massive and unprecedented missile strike here on Israel. As we await Israel's response against Iran, we do have a development here. The foreign minister here in Israel has declared the U.N. Secretary General a persona non grata, which essentially means that they have banned him from entering the country of Israel, they say for his lack of support for Israel and his unwillingness to unequivocally condemn the strike of Iran on Israel overnight.

Joining me now, the former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and retired Brigadier General Steve Anderson.

Secretary, let me just start with you and give you a chance to respond to this. Israel is essentially banning the Secretary General of the United Nations from coming to Israel. Obviously, tensions between the U.N. and Israel since the beginning of this war have been high. It's a fraught situation from UNRWA on down. But the Secretary General of the U.N., in terms of the response here of the missile strike on Israel, basically said we absolutely need a ceasefire, condemning all parties, saying don't widen the war. Israel says that is not condemning the actions of Iran.

Secretary Sherman, what's at risk here when you look at a moment like this and Israel's willingness to come out now and do this?

WENDY SHERMAN, FORMER DEPUTY SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, look, there's always been a very fraught relationship between Israel and the United Nations because Israel understandably feels that the United Nations has not been in support of them for many years now and it's always a very difficult situation. So I understand the feelings in Israel. It's unfortunate because ultimately there will have to be a diplomatic solution.

But I think what we're in for right now is a very severe reaction by Israel. Jake Sullivan at the podium yesterday, America's National Security Advisor, said there would be severe consequences. The U.S. would support Israel. And I'm very glad that President Biden, Vice President Harris, seasoned leaders are in charge at the moment because the weeks and probably months ahead are going to be quite difficult and we need sober, clear eyed, seasoned leaders to get us through what's going to be a tough time.

BURNETT: General Anderson, when we talk about the leaders right now, of course, we are hearing from many senior levels of the Israeli government as they weigh their decision that they could strike oil refineries, that they could strike Iran's nuclear program itself, that they could actually even go so far as to perhaps take out senior members of the Iranian government and seize this as a moment for regime change.

[09:45:14]

Do you think that any of those things are realistic goals?

BRIG. GEN. STEVE ANDERSON, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Well, thank you, Erin, and absolutely, I think all of them are realistic. I mean, the Israelis have shown they have incredible capability. They've penetrated the interior leadership of the Iranians, you know, with -- with their intelligence.

And I think they have the ability to take out the senior leadership. I don't recommend they do so. However, I do agree with Naftali Bennett and others like General Wesley Clark that there needs to be a disproportional response to this attack, this unprecedented attack on Israel.

I mean, we're in this with them. You know, the United States and Israel, they are a close ally. They are fighting against authoritarian regimes just like we are.

And so the Israelis need to build a coalition, including the United States. They need to continue their offensive operations in southern Lebanon. But I believe that they need to take out the nuclear facilities of Iran because they are going to -- if they continue to develop these facilities, they will.

And the fourth thing I would recommend is that they need to continue to -- they need to take out some Iranian energy infrastructure. They need to take deliver some hurt to the Iranian people to put pressure on the people to hopefully over -- to overcome this brutal authoritarian regime that for the last 40 years has been driving us crazy.

BURNETT: So, Secretary, let me just ask you in the context of this nuclear program, right? U.S. intelligence assesses that Iran is two weeks away from getting enough nuclear material for some sort of a nuclear weapon. Obviously, that's intelligence developed in concert with Israel.

But if you're in a moment right now and you're Iran and you -- and that's true, let's assume it's true. And you're waiting on Israel's response. Wouldn't you be rushing to get that done as quickly as possible? I mean, what I'm getting at is are they essentially putting -- everybody backing themselves in a corner where the nuclear program becomes sort of a must do for Israel because of Iraq's actions. Iran could take an anticipation of that.

SHERMAN: Well, I think this is a very fundamental question that you ask. Indeed, Iran does is probably within two weeks of having enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon. But they then have to create a weaponization of that material. They have to have a delivery system. They have to put all the pieces together. And the Israelis and the Americans have assessed that's probably a year or two away.

And yes, this may push Iran to decide, which it has not done up until now, that it will go for a nuclear weapon. And that would be really an existential threat --

BURNETT: To take that step.

SHERMAN: -- not only to Israel, Europe and to all of the rest of us. So this is a very concerning moment.

I agree there will likely be a severe and likely disproportionate response to create escalation dominance. But we should all understand that this war will get wider, that it may involve the United States in ways we wish it would not. That it may change oil prices for Americans as we head toward the winter.

So there's a lot at stake here. And I know that the United States is talking closely with Israel to make sure that the response ensures Israel's security, but at the same time tries to move us toward a more peaceful end, which is going to take some time.

BURNETT: All right, General Sherman -- General Anderson and Secretary Sherman, thank you so much. I appreciate both of you. Thank you.

Sobering words there from Secretary Sherman, Sara.

SIDNER: Yes, truly. Thank you so much, Erin Burnett, live there from Tel Aviv.

Ahead in just a few minutes, New York City Mayor Eric Adams is expected to be back in federal court less than a week after pleading not guilty to multiple charges, including bribery and wire fraud. We'll have that story ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:53:40]

BOLDUAN: Minutes from now, New York City Mayor Eric Adams is due back in court. The mayor was indicted on a slew of charges last week, you'll remember, including bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy, and soliciting campaign contributions from foreign nationals. He's pleaded not guilty, and now his attorney though is trying to get at least one of the charges dismissed.

CNN's Kara Scannell is outside the courtroom, the courthouse for us.

What's going to happen today, Kara?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Kate. We're waiting because we expect the mayor to arrive any minute now to head into the courthouse for his second court appearance. You know, last week he came and he pleaded not guilty to those five criminal charges, including bribery and solicitation of foreign donations. Today, he will be before the judge who will oversee the trial. So, this judge will kind of lay out the plans of how this is going to unfold.

His lawyers have already teed up some issues. They're moving pretty quickly, asking the judge to dismiss the bribery charge. Their argument is that airplane upgrades to business class and free hotel rooms are not quid pro quo as alleged in this case, saying they're not even illegal bribery. Something that politicians get on a routine basis. They also want the judge to hold a hearing to explore whether prosecutors violated rules and leaked secretive grand jury information to reporters. So, they've teed up these two issues.

Now, this all in the backdrop, the mayor still under pressure to resign.

[09:55:02]

He spoke with New York Governor Kathy Hochul earlier this week, and she, according to sources, urged him to clean house. The mayor, though, says he is not going anywhere.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D), NEW YORK CITY: I don't need an acting mayor, because I'm an actual mayor. And I'm going to continue to lead the city. That's what I was elected to do. And I think the numbers are clear that I have the ability to do so.

So, I'm not worried about my legacy. My legacy is going to be strong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCANNELL: Now, the other thing that we're expecting his lawyers to tee up today is that they're going to push for a speedy trial. So, we'll watch for the judge to set the trial date in this case. How soon he sets it, of course, within this political calendar, the mayor's term is up next year.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Kara, when they say they're going to push for a speedy trial, is there any sense of what exactly that could look like considering all the charges he's facing?

SCANNELL: Well, it's an interesting question because you'll remember Senator Bob Menendez was indicted on bribery charges just last September. He went to trial in the - in the - in the early summer. So, that was about eight months between when he was charged and when his case went before a jury. This judge, we'll see what kind of schedule he sets. What Adams' lawyers ask for and what prosecutors say. But this is something that we could see go to trial as soon as next year.

BOLDUAN: Wow. It's great to - great that you're there, Kara, waiting right now to see if and when Eric Adams heads into that courthouse. Thank you so much.

BERMAN: All right, this has been CNN NEWS CENTRAL with John Berman, Kate Bolduan, Sara Sidner. Anyone else who wants to come up.

BOLDUAN: Jazz hands.

BERMAN: Jazz hands.

"CNN NEWSROOM," up next?

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