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Don Lemon Tonight

Coronavirus Does Not Excuse Children; Gov. Tony Evers (D-WI) Is Interviewed About The Supreme Court's Decision To Reverse The Stay-At- Home Order In Wisconsin; Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) Is Interviewed About President Trump's Criticism Of Dr. Anthony Fauci's Warnings; President Trump Says Fauci's Caution On Schools Reopening In The Fall Is Not An Acceptable Answer; Neighbor Says Suspect In Arbery Shooting Had Earlier Confrontation With Unidentified Black Man. Aired 10-11p ET

Aired May 13, 2020 - 22:00   ET

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

[22:00:00]

LAURA COATES, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: What you have strung together is a series of assumption, not prudence, not careful consideration of the facts of the case --

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: Shoot. Let me try and get Laura back. Do you see what's on your screen? Put it back there for a second. We'll try and get Laura back. There's no substitute for her.

Just look at this. If the offense is committed in his presence, OK, or within his immediate knowledge. So, let's say you say well they knew about this. No, they didn't know about anything on the 23rd. They think they knew about something about the 11th, but they don't know that that was Arbery. And even if it were Arbery, and we don't that it was, it wasn't a felony to trespass. They don't get the protection of this.

Sore we lost Laura. She's always a value. But it's now time for D. Lemon anyway. Laura, I'm sorry about what happened with you. I'll get you back tomorrow night. D. Lemon's time is now.

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Yes. Thank you, sir. I appreciate it. We're going to continue to follow this.

Actually, we have a message from the mother tonight that you're -- you guys are going to want to hear about. Someone left a mysterious note on the makeshift memorial for Arbery, saying I wish I could have stopped this. Well, the mother has a message tonight that she wants to hear. If anybody in the sound of my voice, I have nothing up on the screen.

CUOMO: I hear you.

LEMON: In this room.

CUOMO: I hear you right now, Don. You sound beautiful. And it is very important to hear from the mother. And this is a really important context to add to that story. That we have a reasonable basis for belief now that the McMichael's thought they knew who Arbery was before the 23rd. That's why they took off after him outside their house.

They thought he was the guy from the 11th, the surveillance video there. Even if they're right, and we don't know that they were, even if they were right, it changes nothing except probably makes it a little bit worse for them because they had no authority to do what --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: For any of it.

CUOMO: -- they did.

LEMON: Again, as we said, even if he did do whatever they thought he did, it is still -- it does not condone the actions on that videotape. You don't have to be an attorney to see that. I know that you are a very smart attorney. Laura Coates --

CUOMO: Is a genius.

LEMON: Very smart. Is a genius and she's telling you, doesn't warrant the behavior of that. So, we shall see.

CUOMO: Not even close.

LEMON: Not even close. Thank you, sir. We're going to continue to follow that. We've got the attorney on tonight and that new information, the new videotape and the member from the mother tonight. Chris, we'll see you. Thank you, sir.

This is CNN TONIGHT. I'm Don Lemon.

We have some breaking news as the death toll in this country tops 84,000. Dire warnings on the coronavirus to tell you about. That as sources tell CNN that this president is privately questioning whether the death toll is inflated.

And tonight, taking aim at the top medical expert on his own task force, Dr. Anthony Fauci, accusing him of playing all sides of the equation and trying to shoot down his concerns about schools reopening in the fall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I was surprised by his answer, actually, because, you know, it's just -- to me it's not an acceptable answer, especially when it comes to schools. The only thing that would be acceptable, as I said, is professors, teachers, et cetera, over a certain age.

I think they ought to take it easy for another few weeks, five weeks, four weeks, who knows, whatever it may be, but I think they have to be careful because this is a disease that attacks age. And it attacks health. And if you have a heart problem, if you have diabetes, if you're a certain age, it's certainly much more dangerous, but with the young children, I mean, and students it's really -- it's -- just take a look at the statistics. It's pretty amazing. (END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, the president thinks it is not acceptable for Dr. Fauci to suggest that schools only open cautiously with the virus spreading. Not acceptable for a doctor, a scientist to raise concerns about keeping children safe at school? Not acceptable for him to tell the truth that there's a lot that we don't know yet about this virus?

I think millions of parents, teachers, frankly, most Americans would take Dr. Fauci's concerns pretty darn seriously. But this is a president who just doesn't want to let facts stand in the way of his need to get America back to business.

And he is 100 percent wrong when he suggests that children are not at risk because we are learning more and more that they can be.

Doctors warning tonight that there will likely be more cases of a mysterious illness that is linked to coronavirus. That seems to be affecting children. It has sickened at least 100 children so far with fever, inflammation, poor function of the kidneys or heart, and other symptoms similar to toxic shock. So, children are definitely not immune. Dr. Fauci saying this today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[22:05:05]

ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: I think we better be careful if we are not cavalier in thinking that children are completely immune of the deleterious effects.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: But like I said, the president doesn't want to let facts stand in the way of getting America back to business. Which, yes, is something we all want.

But if it comes down to the president versus Dr. Fauci, the president, he may not be the winner here.

The new CNN poll finds 67 percent of Americans trust Dr. Fauci on the coronavirus. Only 36 percent trust the president. And listen to what Rush Limbaugh, you remember the president gave him the medal of Freedom. Listen to what he has to say about Dr. Fauci saying the quiet part out loud.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUSH LIMBAUGH, RADIO HOST: Let me tell you how you deal with Fauci. You praise him to the hilt. Exactly like Trump is doing. You praise him to the hilt. You talk about how brilliant he is and you say that we're so lucky to have Fauci. My God, Tony, you should run for office. And then privately you ignore every damn thing he says and implement your own policy. That's the only way you can -- now, don't repeat that because then the

policy, the secret would be let out of the bag, but that's how you deal with these people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will President Trump do that?

LIMBAUGH: I think he already is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Get the Medal of Freedom for that, huh? That kind of stuff. OK.

That as there are dire warnings tonight from someone who was inside the administration at the beginning of all of this, and that is Dr. Rick Bright, the vaccine chief who was removed from his post last month. Is set to testify before Congress tomorrow.

And what he is planning to say is stunning, warning of what he calls the darkest winter in modern history without a ramped-up coronavirus response. Yes, here we are, 48 states in the process of reopening while the virus continues to spread, while the death toll continues to climb.

That as Wisconsin's Supreme Court just hours ago struck down the stay- at-home order in a four to three decision. Wisconsin's Governor Tony Ever -- Evers is here to talk to me about that last-minute development. He's going to be here. So, make sure you stay tuned for that.

We're abandoning the very things that have actually been working to flatten the curve, and that is social distancing and stay-at-home orders. And now here we are. More than 84,000 Americans dead. We've got a lot more to come on all of that tonight.

And we have some new developments to tell you about in the case that we have been following now for well over a week and a half. The shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery, who was gunned down while jogging on February 23rd.

A new photo, a new video and a new 911 call all giving us leads to follow. CNN affiliate WJXT photographed this unsigned message in a car that was reportedly left at a memorial on the corner where Ahmaud Arbery was killed. The message reads, quote, "Ahmaud, I am so sorry. I should have stopped them. I am so sorry."

The lead attorney for the family Lee Merritt tweeting, quote, "we need to discover who left this note." He's going to be here tonight with more.

We might never have known about this case without the video of Ahmaud jogging in Georgia in that neighborhood where he was chased down, shot and killed. And there's another new video tonight, new surveillance video from a house under construction in that neighborhood.

This was less than two weeks before Ahmaud Arbery was killed. The video shows an unidentified African-American man walking in the house. One of the suspects in Ahmaud's death, Travis McMichael, later had a confrontation with an unidentified black man that day.

An attorney for that owner, for the owner of that house says he is, quote, "unaware for the confrontation on the property involved Ahmaud." The owner says he doesn't recognize the man in the video. Has no idea of his identity and nothing has taken from his -- was taken from his property. And tonight, we have the 911 call from Travis McMichael on February 11th. Listen.

(BEGIN VOICE CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was leaving the neighborhood, and I just caught a guy running into a house being built two houses down from me. When I turned around, he took off running into the house.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. What did he look like?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a black male. Red shirt, white shorts.

(END VOICE CLIP)

LEMON: More to come on all of this.

And as we said, Wisconsin now, stay-at-home orders? Not so much. The governor of that state joins us next.

[22:10:02]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The governor of Wisconsin joining me in a little bit to talk about the breaking news in his state. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has overturned the state's stay-at-home orders which was issued by the governor, ruling the order was unlawful and unenforceable. He'll join us in just moments.

But first, as President Trump pushes states to reopen, it comes -- it seems, I should say, he is putting distance between himself and Dr. Anthony Fauci. Sources saying that he is questioning if the coronavirus death toll in the U.S. is inflated. Fauci testified yesterday that he is almost certain deaths are being undercounted.

I want to bring in now Dr. Tom Inglesby. He is director of the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He testified before Congress today. Dr. Inglesby, thank you so much. I appreciate you joining us.

[22:14:59]

Sources are saying that the president is questioning whether coronavirus deaths in the U.S., if they're being inflated. I mean, that puts him at odds with Dr. Fauci, who seems, you know, pretty upset. He seems pretty upset with him. Does that trouble you?

TOM INGLESBY, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR HEALTH SECURITY, JOHNS HOPKINS BLOOMBERG SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Well, I think there's pretty compelling evidence that the number of deaths from coronavirus is probably an undercount. We have statistics year to year which -- which show how many people typically die in a given week in America.

And if we compare that number of people who have died this year as compared to last year starting in March, going through April, you can see that the numbers are substantially higher this year.

And in addition to that, we actually have diagnostic tests on the people who have died, for the most part. And for others, very compelling clinical evidence. So, I think it's pretty clear that we -- the number of people who have reported to have died from coronavirus is probably an underestimate.

LEMON: Yes, listen, because it -- there's a new study out. It's from the National Institutes of Health and University of Pennsylvania estimating coronavirus could remain in the air for eight minutes after talking loudly for one minute. Eight minutes? I mean, is this one more reason why masks are so essential?

INGLESBY: Yes, I think masks are really important. Because -- and what I think the message hasn't been maybe clear enough where we have to keep talking about the masks is that the mask primarily is to protect other people from you.

Because we don't know if we have coronavirus at times. We don't -- if we have symptoms, we may know, but we also may have it and not have any symptoms and spread it by accident. And none of us in America want to spread this virus to anybody.

So, wearing a mask is an act of generosity and goodness to other people. It also probably has some level of benefit to you, the wearer of the mask, but it's really about protecting other people. So, I completely agree with you. We do need to wear masks when we're out in public and around other people.

LEMON: Doctor, in your remote testimony, you focused a lot on contact tracing as a key step to reopen safely. And you say that the country needs 100,000 contact tracers until a vaccine is ready. Is the United States where it needs to be on that?

INGLESBY: We're moving in the right direction. Many states have announced their plans to hire many contact tracers. And there's a -- a metric has been established of about 30 contact tracers for about every 100,000 people in your state. We got that number after looking at what other countries have done successfully around contact tracing, and many states are moving in that direction. A couple of states have exceeded that.

At this point, about 67,000 people are expected to be hired based on press releases, announcements, hiring programs in states. We need to hire more, but we're moving in the right direction.

LEMON: Doctor, the World Health Organization is saying that coronavirus may -- that it may never go away. I mean, how should people at home make -- make sense of that headline? What does that mean practically for, you know, how we live our lives?

INGLESBY: Well, what I hope and believe is that we are very likely to get a vaccine. I think what we've seen in the science so far does suggest that this -- this virus does cause a pretty strong immune response and we're looking for a vaccine that will mimic that immune response.

So, I am very hopeful that we will get a vaccine. We don't know exactly when. Dr. Fauci has said maybe as soon as January. If everything moves in the right direction. It may be later, perhaps.

But if that's the case, then, well, the virus will still be in the world. The world will be increasingly immune to it, and while it still could cause harm in people who haven't had the vaccine, if more and more of us become immune to it through vaccination then the risks go down and down and down.

So I think it is possible that this virus won't go away, that we won't contain it, by it's also, I think, more likely than not that we will get a vaccine in the not too distant future and we could all be -- as many of us as decide to take the vaccine could become protected against it.

LEMON: Dr. Inglesby, thank you for your time. Really appreciate it.

INGLESBY: Thank you for having me.

LEMON: I want to get the very latest now on developments on the coronavirus. Wisconsin Supreme Court today struck down the state's stay-at-home order in a four to three decision ruling it unlawful and unenforceable.

The governor there is Tony Evers and he joins me now by phone. Governor, I appreciate you joining us. This is new information. This is just coming out just a short time ago. So, you just put out a statement saying that Republican legislators have convinced four justices to throw our state into chaos. Do you think this decision is going to cost lives in your state?

[22:20:02]

GOV. TONY EVERS (D-WI): Look, certainly not going to help. That's the bottom line. We were in a good place, Don, as a state. We've worked. The people of Wisconsin are the ones that should be very upset. I'm upset, but we worked really hard to stay at home and do all the right things around social distancing and so on and so forth.

We established high-quality gaining criteria and we met most of those. A recent Marquette poll shows that 69 percent of the people are supporting their efforts, and it's been a Wisconsin effort.

So today, absolutely, Wisconsin Republican legislators and those four Supreme Court justices decided that facts don't matter, the statutes don't matter and, frankly, it's going to -- it puts our state into chaos. We have no -- there's no regulations out there right now. Period.

LEMON: So then, what do you do then? What's the next step? Does this mean all businesses, even bars, restaurants can open up like usual if you're -- in your state starting tomorrow or right away?

EVERS: Yes. The Tavern League of Wisconsin sent the message to all their -- all the people that are a part of their organization tonight saying you can open now. And that's happening all across the state of Wisconsin, as we speak.

So, this is the Wild West, Don, and there's -- the Republicans, we've worked with them and they have provided no plan. Even when they went to the Supreme Court, they said they had a plan. Haven't seen it. And now we have no plan and we have no protections for the people of Wisconsin.

This will cause the -- us to have spikes across the state. There's no question about it. When you have more people in a small space, I don't care if it's bars, restaurants or your home, you're going to be able to spread the virus, and so now, today, thanks to Republican legislators who convinced four Supreme Court justices to, you know, not look at the law but look at the -- look at their political careers, I guess, it was -- it's a bad day for Wisconsin. It's the Wild West.

LEMON: So, couple of things here. So, what about -- will they have to wear masks? Will there be any restrictions? Is it just completely opened up? I mean, and has the state met even the guidelines that the White House put out, that the administration put out?

EVERS: Yes, so we met -- we met that -- those guidelines. We have -- we have initial gaining criteria. We met five of six. We're doing a good job here in Wisconsin. That's what's so frustrating.

The people of Wisconsin have done exactly what they needed to do. Whatever we've asked them to do. They get the common sense of this. They don't get the common sense of going -- having no requirements, no expectations. People will get sick.

LEMON: So, no masks? There's nothing. Just go out, walk out just as if things were a couple of months ago like nothing ever happened?

EVERS: That's right. Exactly.

LEMON: What about schools?

EVERS: There's hope that we can do administrative rules to fix this. Well, that's just baloney. It will take two weeks minimum to do an administrative rule. We've waited a long time for the Republicans to step to the plate. Hasn't happened and now -- now, here we are. It is a mess.

LEMON: What about schools, governor?

EVERS: Schools will remain closed. That's the one thing they didn't touch. And that's a good thing. Our schools -- our teachers are doing really good work under difficult situations, and they need to be congratulated for that, but schools will remain closed for their -- for the rest of the school year. It's my concern that all the good work that we've done is going to go

to waste. And, Don, it's not just a health issue, it's also an economic issue.

Early on when we started this process, I met with lots of business leaders and they told me the most important thing is that people must feel confident in their health. And safety.

And if they're not confident in their health and safety, they're not going to be good consumers and good -- good customers and good workers. All that is at risk tonight in Wisconsin. Seventy-two counties now can do what they want to do. And it's a mess. I mean, I can't put it any other way.

LEMON: Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, thank you very much. We appreciate you joining us with the breaking news. Please come back. Keep us updated on how things are going. Thank you.

EVERS: Will do, Don. Thanks, Don.

LEMON: Thank you.

The president meeting with governors from Colorado and North Dakota today. How did it go? I'm going to ask Colorado Governor Jared Polis, next.

[22:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: President Trump publicly criticizing Dr. Fauci, calling his caution about reopening schools in the fall not an acceptable answer. The president accusing the country's top infectious disease experts on wanting to -- of wanting to play all sides of the equation.

His comments coming during a White House meeting with Colorado Governor Jared Polis, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum. Governor Polis joins me now. Governor, thank you so much. I appreciate you joining us. I know it's a very busy time for you. You were in the room when the president took a swipe at Dr. Fauci. What went through your mind when you heard that?

GOV. JARED POLIS (D-CO): Well, you know, the president, of course, invited me and Governor Burgum to the White House and I had an opportunity to share with him what's really going on in Colorado to try to improve that partnership on products.

You know, I wasn't sure exactly what he was talking about with Fauci. I didn't hear Fauci's remarks until earlier. I think, Don, you know, look, the truth lies somewhere in between. We are all hopeful and I'm confident that schools will generally start in the fall.

[22:29:59]

But it's likely that some districts and schools might have outbreaks and need to close for some period of time, go to online, so it's probably somewhere in between. I think we all share the goal of kids being able to return to their physical classrooms.

LEMON: Yes, I just -- it's scary, though, to think about children getting sick and especially when you think about the whole Kawasaki thing, you know, and we don't want to put the kids at risk. Listen, though, Governor Polis, this was over the weekend. This is a restaurant in Castle Rock openly defying your state order and reopened its dining room.

People were -- I don't know if you -- have you seen this video? People packed inside. Most were wearing -- weren't wearing masks. You shut down the restaurant and called what happened irresponsible. Does that kind of behavior make you worried that, you know, cases could spike if this sort of thing continues? I mean, gosh, this is nuts.

POLIS: You know, Don, I really believe in my heart that Coloradoans and Americans are better than that. We have to be to get through this. That -- the type of behavior that we saw modelled there, that risky behavior, if that's occurring on a large scale, this is going to take a turn for the worst in our entire country.

I'm confident that those people who went out there and acted foolish were not representative of anywhere close to the vast majority of Americans who care deeply about their own lives, the lives of their family members and the lives of their neighbors.

LEMON: Was that a baby I saw someone carrying? I thought -- was that -- was that right? I don't know. I thought I saw it in that video, someone holding a baby. I don't know.

POLIS: Well, you know what I said, Don. That was on mother's day, Don. You know, I love my mom who is, of course, watching now. Hi, mom. I love my mom far too much to put her at risk by taking her to that kind of crazy environment. She's 75 years old. And we didn't even visit with her physically for over a month.

LEMON: Yes, I'm still not visiting with my mom -- so -- who is over 70. Don't tell her I said that. She will get mad at me for telling her age. Just slightly over. So, listen, you tweeted at Elon Musk telling the Tesla founder to come to Colorado after he announced that he would defy orders to reopen the Tesla plant in California. Do you want him in Colorado if he's defying public health guidance in California?

POLIS: Yes, you know, one of the first -- the very first action I took as governor was implementing electric vehicle standards. We are one of the highest states in electric vehicle usage. We would love to have alongside that electric vehicle manufacturing. Of course all of the businesses in our state need to follow the valid public health orders.

But, of course, this is for the long run. This is likely a transition that could be a year or two years. We would be very excited if Tesla would locate in Colorado. We work with all of our businesses to be a great place to grow a business and a great place for manufacturing.

LEMON: Why would you want someone who is defying orders to -- I mean, listen, I understand the business part of it, but I mean, come on, governor. POLIS: Well, nobody can defy orders in our state, but we pride

ourselves in working with businesses across the board. In fact, the restaurants in our state have been open through this entire health care health crisis. They've been doing delivery, takeout, curbside. They just haven't been able to do in restaurant dining. We work with our manufacturers --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: All I'm saying is you're a governor -- I know I get that. You're a governor. That doesn't make -- you're not making a fellow governor Gavin Newsom's job any easier. Imagine if it was the reverse, if Gavin Newsom had done the same thing. You'd be like, hey, Governor Newsom, what are you doing? Come on, man?

POLIS: You know what, at the end of the day, Don, we want good jobs for Colorado and I know Gavin wants the same for California. A few thousand jobs is an opportunity, and I'm not going to shy away from. We'd love to have him here.

LEMON: All right. That was a good spin. I got you. Thank you governor. I appreciate it. Thank you for joining us. Be safe. Thank you.

POLIS: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: Late breaking developments tonight on the Ahmaud Arbery case. CNN is learning that less than two weeks before Ahmaud Arbery was fatally shot a suspect in the shooting had a confrontation with an unidentified African-American man. What we know so far. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:35:00]

LEMON: Lots of late-breaking developments tonight in the Ahmaud Arbery case. Arbery was killed February 23rd while out for a run in the Satilla Shores neighborhood of Brunswick, Georgia. Footage of his killing surfaced weeks later, sparking outrage throughout the country and criticism of how the investigation has been handled.

On Monday this week, surveillance footage from the day he was killed was released showing Arbery looking around a home under construction in the neighborhood. And new today, more surveillance footage released. Plus audio from a 911 call. Our Martin Savidge has the very latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The new video and new 911 call depict an altercation from the same neighborhood less than two weeks before Ahmaud Arbery's death.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 911, what's the address of your emergency?

TRAVIS MCMICHAEL, SUSPECT IN AHMAUD ARBERY SHOOTING: We've had a string of burglaries. I was leaving the neighborhood and I just caught a guy running into a house being built.

SAVIDGE: The video obtained by CNN is captured by one of eight security cameras set up in and around the house that's under construction in a community outside Brunswick, Georgia. It is the same home where Arbery was seen looking around on the day he died.

Unlike that day, the new video is at night between 7:00 and 8:00 p.m. According to the homeowner's attorney and depicts an unidentified individual walking in from the left side of the camera's view. The person slowly seems to circle the room and then goes out of the camera's view, but the microphone continues to hear the sound of footsteps.

According to the homeowner's attorney, nothing was taken or disturbed in the house. Which is so open headlights can be seen from traffic on the streets. The same night as this video was taken, Larry English, the homeowner who lives an hour and a half away, receives a text message from a neighbor two doors down from the house under construction.

[22:40:06]

Describing a confrontation involving someone named Travis and a young man on or near the property. The attorney shared a transcript of the message English received describing the altercation with the unidentified person. Quote, the police showed up and we all searched for a good while. I think he got spooked and ran after Travis confronted him. Travis says the guy ran into the house, the neighbor reports.

It was Travis McMichael's call that night that summoned police to the scene. McMichael tells authorities he spotted the individual going into the home. McMichael is gasping for breath, so much so it worries the 911 operator.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you OK?

MCMICHAEL: Yes, it just startled me. When I turned around and saw him and backed up, he reached into his pocket and he ran into the house, so I don't know if he's armed or not. But he looked like he was acting like he was.

SAVIDGE: Police arrive on scene a short time later but find no one. Nothing more is said about the incident and the homeowner says he has no idea who was in the house that night. But the encounter is not forgotten.

Two weeks later, as Ahmaud Arbery lay down on the ground killed by three shotgun blasts from Travis McMichael's gun, Gregory McMichael tells authorities he thought Arbery was that suspect from 12 days before.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: Don, I want to reiterate to everyone, there is nothing in this new surveillance video or in the new 911 call that in any way associates Ahmaud Arbery with the events of February 11th. There's nothing to say he was there that night. I just want to make people clear on that. Don?

LEMON: And just on that night, so the homeowner said that there was -- he didn't report anything stolen. Was anything taken that night or has anything been reported like that?

SAVIDGE: No. No. In fact, the owner of the home was very specific, he said, you know, you can't see or tell who that is based upon the video and nothing was taken that night.

LEMON: So, have we learned anything else about the man who filmed the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, William Roddie Bryan?

SAVIDGE: Well, it's interesting, his attorney gathered us all around and gave a notice to the media that was here saying that he was going to have an announcement today and we all showed up dutifully in his yard tonight. And the attorney came out and it was quite clear he thought he was going to have some news to tell us about his client, but apparently he didn't.

Because he apologized and said he would have to make an announcement tomorrow. It seemed like -- he believes the GBI is going to do something. It sounded like he thought the GBI might clear the man of taking the video who some suspected more than that that day. But instead it fizzled out tonight. So we don't know.

LEMON: Martin Savidge, continue the reporting on the story. And you're doing a great job on this. Thank you, Martin. I appreciate that.

Next, the lead attorney representing Ahmaud Arbery's family. And we've got a message tonight from Ahmaud's mother.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:45:00]

LEMON: More on our late-breaking developments tonight in the investigation into the killing of Ahmaud Arbery. A second surveillance video has now been released from the home under construction owned by Larry English. The video was shot between -- between -- on the night of the February 11th and it shows an unidentified African-American man entering the site.

CNN has also obtained the 911 call from suspect Travis McMichael that might. So I want to discuss now with Lee Merritt, he's a lead attorney for the family of Ahmaud Arbery. Lee, thank you so much. I appreciate you joining us. So we're going to continue --

LEE MERRITT, ATTORNEY FOR FAMILY OF AHMAUD ARBERY: Sure thing.

LEMON: We're going to continue to talk about this story. The nation is riveted by this story and there's so much outpouring for the family, and they want to get to the bottom of what is going on here. They just want to know the truth. Everyone wants to know the truth. So, this video, the -- that I just mentioned, this new video shows

someone entering the same construction site that Ahmaud would enter less than two weeks later on February 23rd. But I just want to be clear, that the homeowner, Larry English, told CNN that he does not recognize the man in the video. He has no idea of his identity. He says nothing was taken from the property.

We're now also hearing this 911 call from that same day. What can you tell us about this incident? Do you know if it's Ahmaud? I mean, it seems to be the same outfit, but we can't -- type of outfit. But you can't tell.

MERRITT: Yes, you really have a difficult time telling -- I know that speaking with Mr. Parish and his attorney that whoever was in there that night actually didn't do anything criminal other than trespass.

LEMON: You mean Mr. English?

MERRITT: I'm sorry. Yes, Mr. English, I said Mr. Parish. But yes. Mr. English says -- and that every night that there were at least four or five different people -- or different times where people came by his property. And each time it was someone different, according to his own statement.

LEMON: And then he's saying -- now, in -- according to your sources and to what was released from the authorities there, there were no -- there wasn't a rash of burglaries or robberies as the McMichael's had said?

MERRITT: No, there was only one incident in the last six months, and that was relatively recently, but no -- no string of robberies or anything like that. It was a trespass issue with one construction site where the owner says it was more of a nuance than anything. He didn't consider it a criminal matter and that's why he didn't call the police.

[22:50:05]

LEMON: OK. And I just want to be clear, do you know if this is Ahmaud in the video?

MERRITT: We have no -- we have not been able to confirm after speaking (inaudible) to the family, the father says it is absolutely not Ahmaud. Other people say they can't tell. So no, we can't confirm whether that's Ahmaud at all.

LEMON: OK. So, I believe we have the 911 -- I want to play part of the 911 call. This is from February 11. This is before the incident with Ahmaud where he was killed. This is an earlier incident, this was February 11, 911 call. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCMICHAEL: I was leaving the neighborhood and I just caught a guy running into a house being built, two houses down from me. When I turned around, he took off running into the house. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. What did he look like?

MCMICHAEL: It was a black male, red shirt, white shorts.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you OK?

MCMICHAEL: Yes, I -- yes. It just startled me. When I turned around -- when I turned around and saw him and backed up, he reached into his pocket and ran into the house. So, I don't know if he's armed or not, but he looked like he was acting like he was.

So, you know, be mindful of that. But we've been having a lot of burglaries and break-ins around here lately. And I had a pistol stolen January 1st actually. And, you know, he's -- I've never seen this guy before in the neighborhood.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: What do you think of what -- that is Travis McMichael. What do you think of what he's saying?

MERRITT: Well, it's interesting that he says really right there around the end that I've never seen this guy around in the neighborhood. We have other witnesses, other statements that say, they would see this handsome young Ahmaud run by all the time. Other people would wave at him. So, this was somebody who was known to the neighborhood.

But more importantly, for legal purposes, the truth is it doesn't matter whether this was Ahmaud or not. What matters is whether or not they observed him commit a felony first. And it seems like they observed someone commit a trespass. And secondly, whether it was close enough to the other incident for them to just be able to make the citizen's arrest, you know, let's say two weeks later, for an incident that they saw two weeks prior.

And the law isn't written that way. The way the law is written, says you either have to witness a crime or have the crime in your immediate knowledge. And that crime has to be a felony in order for you to pursue the person with guns. So, regardless of who this is, that community just was not empowered. The McMichael's were not empowered under the law to pursue them with guns, certainly not to kill him.

LEMON: I just real quick -- and if you can answer this quickly because Rodney Brian's attorney said he had something for the media, had them gather in the front yard and said he had nothing. Do you know what that's about? Martin Savidge just reported that?

MERRITT: No, I have no idea what he called everyone out for.

LEMON: OK. OK. So, listen, earlier today CNN affiliate WJXT reported about an unsigned note that was left at the memorial for Ahmaud, that reads, Ahmaud, I'm so sorry, I should have stopped them. I'm so sorry, Ahmaud's mother is speaking out. And she recorded this video. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WANDA COOPER, AHMAUD ARBERY'S MOTHER: I am the mother of the late

Ahmaud Arbery. I was just informed with a note that was left at the memorial stating that you should have helped, and you were sorry. I'm pleaing on the behalf of the family to please make yourself known to the authorities so my family can begin to have closure. You can contact the authorities anonymously, or you may feel free to reach out to me and the family (inaudible). Again, I'm asking that you please help us. Thank you so much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, you think this note is important. And what are you doing to find who left that note?

MERRITT: It is extremely important, and the original police report by the Glynn County Police Department there was only one person who offered statements to that report and that was Gregory McMichael. We know that there were other witnesses there. We know that there were other suspects there.

We know Travis McMichael and William Brian were there, for example, but we're also hearing about a third or a fourth person who may have been there or may have been involved and showed up at the scene. And now this note indicates that maybe that there's someone there with knowledge of what was going to happen, the possibility to prevent it, and can tell us more about really the motivation behind this ambush.

[22:55:12]

LEMON: Let me look at my notes here because -- and explain. Travis McMichael also mentions on that February 11th call that there was a group of four people gathered around the house. So, I imagine you want to know who they were.

MERRITT: Absolutely. Anybody who seems to be a part of this group that comes together to police -- to control -- if it's a citizen's watch group, there's nothing illegal about that. But we need to know about it if you're a part of that. And these men took it too far.

And so, there's a lot more information to know because that February 11th incident, it indicates there's some sort of coordination going on between members of that community that we want to hear more about.

LEMON: So, before I let you go, I've reached out to the original attorney who was allegedly representing the McMichael's and was told that the attorney was not making a statement and that the attorney had not been hire or not retained by the McMichael's. Not making any statement.

Do you know who the McMichael's -- has anyone representing the McMichael's? Because no one has heard anything from them, their side, nothing. No statement from any representative beyond the person who allegedly released the video that shows Arbery being gunned down.

MERRITT: The last official statement from the McMichael's was that they had not retained counsel. There are some indications that they may be represented, and we expect to have a letter of representation or to have their representation identified by tomorrow.

LEMON: Lee Merritt, thank you very much. I appreciate it.

MERRITT: Thank you.

LEMON: We'll be right back.

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