Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Experts: Musk's Daily $1M Giveaway To Voters Could Be Illegal; "Central Park Five" Members File Defamation Suit Against Trump; Combs Named In 7 New Lawsuits, Other Celebrities Allegedly Involved; 2 Confirmed Dead As Rain Inundates Roswell, New Mexico. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired October 21, 2024 - 14:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:30:30]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Elon Musk's new scheme to help former President Trump win back the White House is raising some serious legal questions.

The billionaire pledging to give away $1 million a day to voters for signing his political action committee petition pledging support for the First and Second amendments.

Musk handing out $1 million checks to two voters at separate events in Pennsylvania over the weekend and promising more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, BILLIONAIRE TRUMP SUPPORTER: Every day, from now until the election, we're giving out a $1 million prize that is -- all you have to do is sign a petition in support of the Constitution. It's very straightforward. You don't even have to vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Now, some election experts say this may be illegal, including my next guest, David Becker. He's a former Justice Department official who handled voting rights cases. And he's the founder of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation and Research.

OK, David, on the continuum of legality here, where would you put this?

DAVID BECKER, FORMER JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ATTORNEY HANDLING VOTING RIGHTS CASES: It's not particularly close. I mean, this is exchanging something of value, the chance to win $1 million, which is of great value, in exchange for someone being a registered voter. That is a precondition of signing up for this petition. You have to be registered.

It's being done just before the voter registration deadline in Pennsylvania, which happens later tonight at midnight. It is being offered only in the seven swing states. It looks like this is being done specifically to offer something of

value to -- for people to be registered in particular states that Mr. Musk thinks are politically valuable.

And under federal law, 52 USC 1307, you cannot offer or accept payment meant for registration or voting.

KEILAR: You give a Ben and Jerry's example. Tell us about that.

BECKER: Yes.

About a few years ago, Ben and Jerry's offered everyone who came in who had an "I voted" sticker, a free ice cream cone. They got a letter from the Justice Department. The Justice Department said you can't do that. That's offering something of value, even an ice cream cone, in exchange for voting.

So Ben and Jerry's did what they should have done and what Mr. Musk could have done, which is to say, OK, we're just going to offer ice cream cones. Everybody no big deal.

But even an ice cream cone is something of value that cannot be offered in a vote. And, here, we've got the chance to win $1 million. And it's only being offered in a few swing states.

California voters aren't eligible for this. Texas voters aren't eligible for this. This is being done in an apparent effort to influence the election, which is something that prosecutors would look at if they chose to pursue this investigation further.

KEILAR: Because it isn't just signed the position to support the First Amendment, the Second Amendment. It's you have to be a registered voter in order to do it.

And so explain then what -- I mean, if over an ice cream cone DOJ gets involved, what do you expect happens here in is it going to be too late?

BECKER: Well, first of all, I expect the DOJ is talking about this right now. It happened over the weekend. This is Monday. I would expect to see a cease-and-desist letter. That's normally what happens here.

I don't think anyone's suggesting that Mr. Musk should be arrested. There are criminal penalties associated with violating this law, a $10,000 fine, probably not a big deal to Elon Musk.

But five years in jail for violating this as well, up to five years in jail. No one's suggesting he should be arrested or thrown into jail.

But if he got a cease-and-desist letter from the DOJ, maybe he would review that and consider whether or not he should continue with these efforts.

Normally, this stops it. Because most people don't want to engage in vote-buying, don't want to break federal law. We'd have to see what would happen if there were further attempts to

continue to do vote buying, even with the knowledge that this is likely illegal, then there might be an investigation and even potentially a prosecution. But that would happen well down the road.

KEILAR: So let's talk about maybe the process he should have undertaken before making this offer, what would have been a normal, I guess, legal advice avenue for him to get.

I mean, what should -- should he have consulted with a lawyer before doing something like this?

BECKER: I think it's fair to say he should have consulted with a lawyer before that. And I also think it's fair to say he doesn't have a shortage of lawyers that are available to him to consult with.

I mean, there are election lawyers and campaign lawyers. And look, all of them know you don't offer payment for voting. You don't offer payment for registration. That's a no-no.

We've seen, in this cycle, Cards Against Humanity also offered a similar thing in favor of Vice President Harris. Someone brought it up to them and told them, hey, this looks like it's illegal. My understanding is they stopped it right away. They didn't continue with it.

That's what you'd normally see in these kinds of circumstances. If someone was innocently just offering something without realizing what was happening.

Here, I think it's pretty clear now he knows that this is potentially illegal. It's been raised several times with him. He's come up with alternate theories about what this is, whether it's a lottery or a petition, or even a salary offer to a potential employee.

[14:35:09]

And so it's -- it looks like it's a problem for him and he should probably get some good legal advice.

KEILAR: Yes. Maybe worth more than an ice cream cone.

David Becker, thank you so much. Really interesting.

New today, members of the Central Park -- or pardon me -- Boris?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: No worries. Thanks for picking that up.

KEILAR: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Today, members of the Central Park Five, also known as the exonerated five, are filing a lawsuit against former President Donald Trump.

They're alleging that Trump made false and defamatory statements about the group during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris last month. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: "A lot of people, including Mayor Bloomberg, agreed with me on the Central Park Five. They admitted -- they said -- they pled guilty.

And I said, well, if they pled guilty, they badly hurt the person, killed a person, ultimately. And if they pled guilty, then they pled we're not guilty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The group says the former president was acting with, quote, "reckless disregard for the truth" when he claimed the men pleaded guilty to crimes connecting them to the beating and rape of a woman in New York City.

Trump also claimed that the five teenagers, quote, "badly hurt a person, killed a person" in the attack.

Joining me now to discuss is Shanin Specter. He's the lead counsel for the Central Park Five in this case.

Shanin, thank you so much for being with us.

Why did the group decide to sue former President Trump?

SHANIN SPECTER, LEAD COUNSEL, CENTRAL PARK FIVE DEFAMATION LAWSUIT: Well, first, Boris, thanks for having me on.

Sixty-seven million Americans saw Donald Trump say that the five men pled guilty to, quote, "having killed," unquote, this woman and those statements are false and defamatory.

They did not plead guilty and they did not kill anyone. In fact, the victim did not die. And these men now have to clear their names all over again.

Mr. Trump failed to acknowledge that they had been fully exonerated, that the person who was guilty confessed, was convicted, is serving time in prison, that the D.A.'s office petitioned the court to vacate the conviction, that the judge signed that order.

And so these men have been fully exonerated, and yet, Mr. Trump continues to suggest that they are guilty.

SANCHEZ: Shanin, the lawsuit claims that Trump acted with "reckless disregard" when he made those comments.

What evidence are you planning to present to that effect?

SPECTER: Well, Boris, the lawsuit says that he acted either knowingly falsely in what he said or in reckless disregard for the truth. Donald Trump knows better. He has been after these men for the past 35 years.

He took out a full-page ad in "The New York Times" calling for their execution 35 years ago. He knows that they have been exonerated. He's a New Yorker. All this happened in New York.

And he knew better when he said those words during his debate with Vice President Harris. He knew that these men did not plead guilty. He knew that these men did not kill anyone. He knew these men are not guilty.

And yet, he persists in this campaign of disinformation and hate against these five fine men.

SANCHEZ: I want to get your reaction, Shanin, to a statement put out by the Trump campaign.

A Trump campaign spokesperson putting out a statement calling the lawsuit, "Just another frivolous election interference lawsuit" that he claimed was brought "to distract the American people from Kamala Harris' dangerously liberal agenda and failing campaign."

What's your reaction to the accusation that this is tied to the Harris campaign and the election?

SPECTER: Boris, I'm not talking about politics. We're seeking redress in the courts.

It would have been a lot better for Mr. Trump if he had not had a campaign spokesman speak for him, but rather his lawyer. And for his lawyer to say whether what he said was true or false and what they are going to do about this lawsuit.

SANCHEZ: When it comes to the damages that you're seeking, what do you think that could look like?

SPECTER: Well, unfortunately, under our system of justice, we can't compel Mr. Trump to apologize. We can't compel him to issue a retraction.

But what we may do is to seek money damages, fair damages to compensate these five men for the damage for their reputation and for their emotional distress from being defamed in front of 67 million Americans, and fair damages to punish Mr. Trump for his wrongful conduct.

[14:40:06]

SANCHEZ: What do you think, Shanin, happens to the case if Trump is elected?

SPECTER: I think if Mr. Trump is reelected president, the case will be stayed during dependency of his presidency. But he may not be elected. We'll see what happens. Eventually, either sooner or later, we are going to get justice.

SANCHEZ: Shanin Spector, we have to leave the conversation there. Appreciate your time, sir.

SPECTER: Boris, thank you so much. SANCHEZ: Still ahead on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, new lawsuits against Sean

"Diddy" Combs. And now two celebrities could be ensnared in the music mogul's legal troubles. We're going to talk about the new accusations when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:45:22]

KEILAR: Music mogul, Sean "Diddy" Combs, is facing seven new lawsuits alleging abuse. But for the first time, other celebrities are accused of participating.

SANCHEZ: The new lawsuits include accusations from two people who claim they were minors when they were drugged and assaulted.

CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister joins us now.

Elizabeth, walk us through some of these new claims.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: So as you said, seven new lawsuits coming against Sean "Diddy" Combs and they are very graphic and disturbing details in these lawsuits.

One of the accusers, who is a Jane Doe, alleges that in the year 2000 when she was just 13-years-old, that she was drugged and raped by Combs at an after party for the MTV Video Music awards.

Now, what is different about these new claims and these lawsuits is that, for the first time, we are seeing, in a lawsuit printed, that other celebrities we're allegedly involved in the assault.

I want to read you part of what this Jane Doe says, Boris.

In the lawsuit, it says, quote, "After drinking just one drink, plaintiff began to feel woozy and lightheaded, making her need to lie down. Soon after, Combs, along with a male and female celebrity, entered the room."

Now the lawsuit goes on to say that, afterwards, she was allegedly raped by one of those celebrities and Combs while the other celebrity watched.

Now, I do want to point out, these celebrities are unnamed. We do not know who they are. There are no details in these seven lawsuits to dictate who they may be or what the definition of a celebrity is according to these attorneys that represent these seven accusers.

Also, another one of the suits comes from a male John Doe who says that he was a 17-year-old minor at the time. And in yet another lawsuit, there is a male personal trainer, who alleges that, in 2022, that he was drugged and sexually assaulted by Combs and also another unnamed celebrity.

KEILAR: And what's the response from "Diddy's" camp on this latest wave of lawsuits, Elizabeth? WAGMEISTER: Now "Diddy's" camp has not responded to these specific allegations in these seven lawsuits. But when I reached out to them last night, they pointed me to a past statement that's essentially a blanket denial. They are maintaining Sean Combs' innocent.

They say, quote, "Mr. Combs has never sexually assaulted anyone, adult or minor, man or woman."

And I do want to point out that, this past weekend, his legal team, they submitted a request to the judge who is overseeing his criminal case. That trial is supposed to start in May of next year.

And in this request, they are essentially asking the judge to ban these accusers and their attorneys from speaking out publicly about their accusations. They say it limits him from getting a fair trial.

SANCHEZ: Elizabeth Wagmeister, thanks for the latest on those lawsuits.

Still to come, a city coping with a staggering amount of water. Roswell, New Mexico, hit by flash flooding after a deluge. At least two people killed. With the latest on the recovery from that disaster when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:53:04]

SANCHEZ: Roswell, New Mexico, is cleaning up today after a truly Biblical amount of rain. On Saturday, that city received about four October's worth of rain in a single day.

KEILAR: And this caused flash floods. It just swept away cars, stranded motorists, including the sheriff of Chavez County, who was left standing on the roof of his car.

The floods are blamed for at least two deaths.

CNN correspondent, Camila Bernal, is with us now.

Tell us how this all unfolded, Camila.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Brianna and Boris. So you have these wet conditions and you also have burn-scars in this area from recent fires. So that essentially created a very vulnerable environment. And that's how it spread very quickly.

These flash floods created an emergency, a really terrifying situation in this area over the weekend and a deadly situation. You mentioned at least two people were dead. Hundreds we're rescued.

And the amount of rain that they got was about six inches. It may seem like a little but, for this area, it was a lot. And it actually was the most they've ever gotten since the last record that was broken in 1901. So again, there was a state of emergency declared in this area. The Spring River rose, stranding a lot of these vehicles and pushing some of the vehicles under the bridge.

There was obviously houses that were flooded. People that had to wait for hours as this rescue operation was underway and people just waiting on top of their cars, including, like you guys mentioned, the sheriff in this area.

Take a listen and watch what happened to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE HERRINGTON: SHERIFF, CHEVEZ COUNTY, NM, SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: I am sitting on the roof of my cop car. My police truck. I am completely surrounded by water. Down here, that is inside of my truck. And there are multiple vehicles came into this, not expecting that much water.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:55:00]

BERNAL: Again, that was the sheriff. Of course, many others experiencing something similar.

Of course, it was very scary for others who were essentially just waiting to be rescued. In total, about 290 people had to be rescued. Of those, 38 had to be taken to the hospital.

There is a shelter open for people. But as you guys mentioned, the cleanup efforts are underway and it may take a while for them to clean all this debris and this mess created by the storm -- Boris and Brianna?

KEILAR: Yes. It looks pretty wild there.

Camila Bernal, thank you for the report.

Can Republican voters help a Democrat win the White House? That is Vice President Kamala Harris' hope as she campaigns with one of Donald Trump's least favorite Republicans today across the must-win states in the Rust Belt. We'll have that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)