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Don Lemon Tonight

Investigations Swirling Around Trump Amid Fallout From FBI Search Of Mar-a-Lago; President Biden Delivers Primetime Address; Body Cam Video Shows Police Officer Shooting Unarmed Black Man; Serena And Venus Williams Lose In Doubles At U.S. Open; A Voting Machine Wound Up On eBay And Sold For $1,200. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired September 01, 2022 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Investigation swirling around the former president. Today, in court, his lawyers downplaying the 100-plus classified documents recovered from Mar-a-Lago, comparing them to an overdue library book.

And amid the Mar-a-Lago fallout, other investigations are moving forward. The January 6 Committee now seeking cooperation from former House speaker Newt Gingrich, and a judge deciding Senator Lindsey Graham must testify before a Georgia special grand jury, but limiting the scope of his testimony.

Let's discuss all of it now. CNN senior legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Elie Honig is here. Also, CNN political analyst, Jonathan Martin, the coauthor of "This Will Not Pass," and CNN global affairs analyst Susan Glasser. Hello to one and all. Good evening.

Elie, I'm going to start with you. The former president's lawyers had their day in court to press for a special master. Did they help themselves by comparing these documents to an overdue library book?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: No, Don. It's such a ridiculous comparison. It defies the need for even further articulation. Look, when you are a lawyer, overstatement is not better. There seems to be a misconception that the more dramatic the claim you can make, the better. You're always aware. We lawyers know that you don't step out of your lane. There's no need to overstep like this.

And Donald Trump has not been well served by his lawyers throughout this particular case. I mean, look, they wanted to get a special master. That is not a dramatic ask. That's not unreasonable. That's not unprecedented.

But in the process, he came in with such explosive, overhyped political rhetoric that they prompted this filing that we saw from the Justice Department a few days ago which really thoroughly set the record straight and, I think, did quite a bit of damage to Donald Trump, certainly in the public consciousness, because now we understand much better what led to that search, we have seen this photo.

So, Trump may ultimately get his special master, perhaps even tomorrow, but it will come at a heavy cost, and that's largely due to poor lawyering.

LEMON: So, Jonathan Martin, the judge appeared open to granting the special master, with a carve out for the intelligence assessment, even asking prosecutors, what is the harm, right? Can a special master helps stop some of the complaints from Trump allies or is that impossible?

JONATHAN MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Look, I just think doing that is going to sort of keep this in the public eye for the next weeks to come.

[23:04:57]

It may ultimately buy Trump more time, Don, on the legal front, but on the P.R. and the political front, every day that this story, the raid on the former president's home, and his apparent refusal to turn over classified documents, is poison for his party.

And you saw President Biden's speech tonight, Don. What Biden is doing is trying to take advantage and seize this opportunity in which President Trump is back in the news.

Look, if you put Republicans on truth serum, Don, they would say, every day that Trump is still the story is a wasted day going into the midterms, and as long as Trump is the story in the midterms, they are going to have -- Democrats are -- a punter's chance.

LEMON: Listen, Scott Jennings was on this program and on other programs today on CNN saying a very similar sentiment to what you were saying, that he -- he actually said if Trump is the nominee in 2024, that his party would lose. So, it's interesting that you are saying that as well.

Susan, in a radio interview today, the former president seeming to imply that the FBI was actually trying to retrieve documents that would make them look bad, connected Hillary Clinton and the Russia investigation. It is a -- it is a bizarre deflection. Is he growing more desperate with all of these revelations this week?

SUSAN GLASSER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: You know, Don, I mean, it's not a surprise to anyone who has been following along these last few years, right, that Donald Trump's, you know, comfort zone is to blame things on Hillary Clinton, right?

He will be re-litigating the election that he actually won, never mind the election he lost forever when it comes to Hillary Clinton and, you know, that's just a refrain for him. I feel like it is his safety net.

But the truth of the matter is that Trump himself has essentially admitted that he took these documents. And given, I think, I don't know, you have to look at the latest count, but certainly, it is a significant number of shifting excuses for why he has done so, from claiming that he gave a blanket to classification order to say, well, never mind, it's not that big of a deal anyways.

I thought it was remarkable that his lawyer was in court today saying it was like an overdue library book. I would like to get access to that classified library. Nobody has offered it to me. Come on. You know, it's kind of crazy (ph).

LEMON: Elie, the January 6 Committee -- I found this fascinating. Yeah, fascinating, it's a good word. Asking for Newt Gingrich's cooperation. Chairman Thompson saying that they have seen messages between Gingrich and Trump advisers like Jared Kushner, Jason Miller, about spreading election lies through T.V. ads. Why would this be an important thread?

HONIG: Well, Don, what's interesting here to me is the coordination. We think of Newt Gingrich because he got famous for being an elected official, speaker of the House. But he is a private civilian now.

And the allegation, if you look at the letter to Newt Gingrich, seems to be that he was coordinating with Jared Kushner -- by the way, which is interesting, we have not heard that name creep in before -- and Jason Miller to spread the lie about election fraud, and that helped sort of fan the flames of what happened on January 6.

What's also is really interesting is the committee alleges that the 10:42 at night on January 6, so, after the riot had been quelled, Newt Gingrich was still pushing for members of Congress to decertify, to refuse to certify the election.

So, Newt Gingrich has some questions to answer. This is not a subpoena. This is just a polite, informal request. I would hazard a guess, he may not comply, in which case the committee is going to have to decide if they want to take it up a notch and issue him a subpoena.

LEMON: Jonathan Martin, Trump now says that he is seriously considering pardons for January 6 rioters if he is --

MARTIN: Yeah.

LEMON: -- reelected in 2024. Instead of backing off in the face of all these investigations, he is doubling down and doing exactly, I think, what most members of his party don't want him to do.

MARTIN: And look, Democrats have spent a lot of time, along with Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney, investigating the events of January 6. We have seen multiple primetime hearings. I am sure we will see more hearings between now and the end of the year into that inquiry.

And obviously, that is not a topic that the Republicans would prefer to focus on. They want to talk about issues like inflation and immigration. But Trump is extremely mindful, Don, of his base, and especially the most hard-core partisans in his base.

And that is a demographic that, you know, frankly feels like some of the people on January 6 were treated wrongly. But, of course, for Donald Trump, on September 1st, two months before the election, to sort of like lean into the fall midterm campaign by announcing he is going to pardon the January 6 rioters en masse, no, of course, is not what his party wants him to be talking about and it sort of gives Democrats a gift.

[23:09:58]

Look, every time is a midterm election and there is one party in power in Congress and the White House. They don't want it to be a referendum on their stewardship, especially when people are not happy with the direction of the country. They want to frame it as a choice election.

And when Donald Trump says that kind of thing like about pardoning the 1/6 rioters, he lends a hand to that cause of making this a choice election between two parties rather than a simple referendum on the party in power.

LEMON: He is also claiming, Susan, that he is financially supporting some of the January 6 defendants. I mean, what happens to this country if Trump runs for president on a platform that January 6 was justified?

GLASSER: Yeah, I think that's the thing that people have not yet fully reckoned with, that a Donald Trump who returned to office or attempted to do so in 2024 would be very different in some ways than the first term, Donald Trump likely to pursue a far more radical agenda, having crossed certain lines that we thought of as uncrossable, including refusing to accept the outcome of an American election.

And, you know, I thought that was a remarkable statement he made in an interview today, that he was supporting January 6 insurrectionists, promising to pardon them. This would be a Trump -- almost a fever- dream second term. It would be totally much more of a radical agenda, especially because he would -- that means that in winning, he would have gotten the Republican Party to go along these outrageous claims.

And it's fascinating to see how riled up Republicans are about the Biden speech tonight with some of their outreach reactions on Twitter and alike. You would think that, you know, they were shocked to discover that anyone had supported, you know, the election denial campaign, that they had anything to do with Donald Trump. It's kind of amazing to watch.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: It certainly is. Susan, Jonathan, Elie, thank you all. I appreciate it.

President Biden calling out Donald Trump by name in his primetime speech tonight and warning what he calls MAGA Republicans are threat to America. How will his message land with midterm voters?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: MAGA Republicans look at America and see carnage and darkness and despair. They spread fear and lies. Lies told for profit and power. But I see a different America. An America with an unlimited future. An America that is about to take off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[23:15:00]

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LEMON: So, President Biden making a speech on what he calls the battle for the soul of the nation tonight, laying out how democracy is in danger and pinning it on what he calls MAGA Republicans. Watch!

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not recognize the will of the people. They refused to accept the results of a free election. And they are working right now as I speak in state after state to give power to decide elections in America to partisans and cronies, empowering election deniers to undermine democracy itself.

MAGA forces are determined to take this country backwards. Backwards to an America where there is no right to choose, no right to privacy, no right to contraception, no right to marry who you love. They promote authoritarian leaders and they fan the flames of political violence that are a threat to our personal rights, to the pursuit of justice, to the rule of law, to the very soul of this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right, let's discuss now. CNN political commentator Alice Stewart is here, CNN political analyst Natasha Alford as well. Good to see both of you. Good evening. Alice, wait, what? She's not with us. Why are you in D.C. and not here on the set with us?

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR SENATOR TED CRUZ: I wasn't invited, Don.

LEMON: Oh, you don't need an invitation.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Just hop on the -- just hop on the bus. You don't need to discuss much. So --

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: So, let me start on this. Natasha, I'm actually going to start with you because the president tonight spoke. Is that the message that is going to fire up voters in the midterm elections going forward about saving democracy and people's rights?

NATASHA ALFORD, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I think he spoke directly to Americans who have been horrified with what they've been witnessing over the past year. You know, the insurrection, the politicians going along with the big lie, politicians who you would expect would know better. And I think he was a champion for them tonight.

And I was waiting to see, Don, if he was going to be a little bit less forward, right, because we have been talking about his language and his tone, but he was really unapologetic about calling out the extremism. Noteworthy that he called out white supremacists --

LEMON: Uh-hmm.

ALFORD: -- which I thought that that was key when you think about, you know, the time when we had a president who did (INAUDIBLE) over Charlottesville. So, I think that was really important.

But the final thought, this idea -- you know, this is not who we are. We always hear this, right, from politicians, this is not who we are. I think it might be better to actually admit that this is who America has been post-reconstruction. We have been a country of political violence. And so, remind people that we used to do these things, right, and we don't want to go back to that.

LEMON: Well, it's just interesting because -- I mean, unless you -- people forget or they haven't been watching. We have been over this before with Charlottesville, with, as you said, the president -- the former president (INAUDIBLE) everything.

[23:20:02]

This is like, well-trodden territory that we have been going over, at least I know -- since I've been dealing with Donald Trump over the past five, six, seven years. He kind of says the same thing over and over. We go through Charlottesville. We go through stuff that he does with NBA players and the kneeling, and all of that. And we always arrive at the same point, where he is making excuses for white supremacy and bigotry and racism. And so, here we go again.

I just want to play this. This is -- Alice, this is for you, from the current president of the United States. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic. I want to be very clear --

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: -- very clear in up front. Not every Republican, not even the majority of Republicans are MAGA Republicans. Not every Republican embraces the extreme ideology. I know because I've been able to work with these mainstream Republicans.

But there is no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans, and that is a threat to this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, Alice, we have been -- since he made that speech, we have been going, you know, back and forth about exactly what was happening, who is he calling. You know, the -- I think it was the semi-fascism. He made a clear distinction tonight.

STEWART: He still attacked Republicans. Plain and simple. Look, Don, I remember when President Biden was sworn in. I was actually very encouraged and optimistic about a new tone and a tenor and a new direction and really bringing this country together.

And tonight's speech about the soul of our nation, I can just tell you, after seeing what I saw and hearing what I heard, that was a dark, depressing, and very divisive speech. And he did -- what he in the speech tonight was vilify half of this country but also doing so --

LEMON: Half of this country are not MAGA Republicans. That's not accurate, Alice.

STEWART: Look --

LEMON: It's 20 some percent of the voting public.

STEWART: 74 million Americans voted for the person.

LEMON: But they're not all MAGA Republicans. They're not all MAGA Republicans.

STEWART: Look, the bottom line is we're Republicans, and he's talking about Republicans.

LEMON: He made a distinction about Republicans. Exactly -- you said, listen, I hate doing this because it makes me seem like it's political, but if you're going to come on and distort the truth, he did not say all Republicans. He is not talking about the 75 -- all of the 75 million people or 77 million people who voted for Donald Trump.

It is as plain as day. He went out of his way and said, I want to make it very clear. And even when he gave the speech earlier in the week, he talked about a MAGA philosophy, a semi-fascism of MAGA philosophy. He did not say Republicans were fascists.

So, why are we playing this word game or pretending that the president did and said something that he actually didn't say? I cannot let that stand, Alice. He did not say that.

STEWART: Don, as a Republican, I'm telling you what Republicans heard.

LEMON: How exactly did he attack all Republicans? Where did he say all Republicans are -- MAGA Republicans or all Republicans are fascists or all Republicans are bac? What exact -- what was his exact language? Where did he say that?

STEWART: Don, he started last week when he called Republicans fascists and --

LEMON: He did not call Republicans fascists, Alice! He did not call Republicans fascists. He said, he compared the MAGA philosophy to semi-fascism. He did not call all Republicans fascists. That's just not true. I'm sorry. It's not true.

STEWART: Don. I hear what you're saying and what you're trying to do. I'm telling you what Republicans here when he is saying that. He is putting --

LEMON: Is there something along with Republicans' ear or the way -- or their interpretation? Because I cannot hear -- do they hear differently than other people? Because that's not -- and again, if I say -- I'm talking about MAGA Republicans and not all Republicans. How do you hear the word I'm talking about all Republicans?

STEWART: Don, the tone of the speech was clearly a direct hit against people that did not share his ideology. And he repeatedly vilified people that did not share his ideology, and did so in a way that he was able to distract from his policies that are not working in this country, when we're talking about high inflation, we're talking crime, we're talking about immigration.

And this wasn't a perfect opportunity as a president of the United States to actually raise the temperature. I was encouraged with one of the lines that he said in his speech tonight, that we all need to show a willingness to not treat each other as enemies but as friends.

[23:25:00]

I wish he would have done much more of that. He spent the first 12 minutes of the speech talking about the former president and those who support him. I was really optimistic, Don.

LEMON: Okay, Alice, all right, let me meet you where you are. So, not to treat everyone as enemy and as friends. Okay. So, who is the friendly person to this current president? How would he -- who should he be friendly towards? Who has given -- who has given him an olive branch to become friends in the current Republican Party, especially the MAGA wing of the party? Who should he be reaching out to?

STEWART: Well, look, he should be reaching out to everyone.

LEMON: But he said that. Didn't he say, I am the president for all Americans, not just Republicans?

ALFORD: And he said, defend democracy regardless of ideology. Those were actually little words in the speech. Regardless of ideology, defend democracy. That was the priority and purpose of the speech tonight, to say that democracy is bigger than party. It's bigger than maintaining power. It's bigger than overthrowing elections just to be a party in power. It's not about agreeing on everything.

STEWART: The point is, Don, he should constantly be reaching across the aisle to all Republicans, whether they are in his mind MAGA Republicans or moderate Republicans. He talks about them every now and again, but he should be reaching out to all of them to get things done, and we would -- then we would certainly have more policies passed on a bipartisan level as oppose to just by Democrats.

LEMON: Alice, how is he going to do that when there's -- everything -- most of what he asked for, and he has gotten some bipartisan support, so he has been very successful with that over the past couple of few weeks, but most of the time, Republicans don't even vote 100% of the time. They vote against any legislation that the president or Democrats asked for. How is that --

STEWART: Look at the majority of the policies that the Democrats have put forth. Our large, massive, billions of dollars of spending packages. And one of the things Republicans are not going to do is to continue to spend billions of dollars as we head into historic inflation and --

LEMON: Not even for tax cuts for the richest Americans and multibillion-dollar corporations?

STEWART: They are not going to support -- they are certainly not going to support student loan bill out which is buying votes of younger people. They're certainly not going to support planting trees in urban areas. They're not going to support climate change proposals that the progressives want.

Republicans are not supporting the policies that he is putting forth because it does nothing more than put us further into inflationary problems.

LEMON: Okay. Thank you. This is --

STEWART: Thank you, Don.

LEMON: Thank you. This is very difficult sometimes because --

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: I'm not political, but I'm not stupid either. I'm just -- we'll be right back.

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[23:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Police releasing body cam video that shows an officer fatally shooting an unarmed Black man in his bed. This time it's in Columbus, Ohio, a city that sadly is familiar with these kinds of incidents. And I have to warn you, the video is disturbing. Here is CNN's Omar Jimenez with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(KNOCKS) OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It started with an early morning knock at the door, and Columbus police officers preparing to serve a felony warrant for domestic violence, assault, and improper handling of a firearm.

UNKNOWN: Columbus police. We are not leaving. We know you are inside.

ELAINE BRYANT, CHIEF, COLUMBUS DIVISION OF POLICE: It should be noted that they spent 8 to 10 minutes knocking on the door.

JIMENEX (voice-over): A man eventually opened the door. He and another person inside were detained. But the third, who ended up being the target of the warrant, was believed to be behind this door.

UNKNOWN: We are going to send that dog in.

UNKNOWN: Hands!

(BARKS)

UNKNOWN: Got something in his hands, something in his hands.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): The something in his hands didn't turn out to be a weapon, police say, but a vape pen was found next to him on the bed. Twenty-year-old Donovan Lewis was later pronounced dead. He was shot by Officer Ricky Anderson, a 30-year veteran with a department who has been placed on leave, pending an ongoing state investigation.

In less than a week, this was the third police-involved shooting in Columbus, this being the only fatal one but also the latest in a number of controversial shootings in recent years, going back to December 2020.

Casey Goodson, Jr. was shot and killed by a deputy looking for violent offenders at the time, but not him. That deputy was indicted on two counts of murder and one count of reckless homicide.

Later that month, an officer shot and killed Andre Hill as police responded to a report of a man sitting in his SUV. That officer fired and charged with murder.

And in April last year, 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant was shot and killed when a video showed her lunging at another woman with a knife. The officer was not indicted.

MAYOR ANDREW GINTHER, COLUMBUS, OHIO: The last few years have been challenging for a variety of reasons not the least of which is balancing the need for public safety with the need for police reform.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): It's part of why the U.S. Department of Justice launched an ongoing review into the police department.

[23:35:01]

But for Donovan Lewis's family, it doesn't change him being gone.

REX ELLIOTT, DONOVAN LEWIS FAMILY ATTORNEY: How many more lives are going to be lost to this type of reckless activity? There was no justification -- let me be clear, no justification for Officer Anderson to shoot an unarmed man trying to get out of bed as police officers were instructing him to do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: Now, the attorneys for the shooting officer put out a statement, saying, they sympathize with a loss of life, but also that we must look to the totality of the circumstances because unlike all of us, officers are not afforded the luxury of armchair reflection when they are faced with rapidly evolving volatile encounters in dangerous situations.

But of course, this is now in the hands of a state investigation. Once that is over, those results will be turned over to a county prosecutor, at which point they will decide if any charges need to be filed, Don.

LEMON: All right, Omar, appreciate that reporting. I want you to stick around. I also want to bring in now former Missouri Highway Patrol Captain Ron Johnson. Captain Johnson, good evening to you. Welcome to the program. You saw the video there. What is your reaction to how these officers handled that situation?

RON JOHNSON, FORMER INCIDENT COMMANDER IN FERGUSON, MISSOURI: You know, I think an issue -- they say they are going to send the dog in. I'm wondering, why wouldn't you just send the dog in by itself? You know, situations are tough. Lighting is probably an issue. But I think you have the canine there, and you say you are going to send the canine in, and you suspect someone is there. Send the canine in and let him or her do their job.

LEMON: So, Omar, in your reporting, as you note, Lewis's killing is the third police shooting in the city in less than a week. Can you tell us what you are hearing from the Columbus community now?

JIMENEZ: I mean, obviously, the video is really upsetting. It's almost a feeling of deja vu for a lot of people who, of course, not just three in this past week. But I laid out some of those extremely controversial fatal shootings over just the past two years or so.

And I want to put out a statement from the head of the urban league in Columbus. She said, in response to this, that we understand that serving a felony warrant creates a highly volatile and dangerous situation. And yet, the body camera video is as gut-wrenching as is the fact that another Black man lost his life.

And that, of course, is the crux of this. No matter where the investigation goes, this families isn't getting their son back. Now, on the other side of things, a pastor, locally in Columbus, told one of our affiliates that just having the video is a major step that this transparency goes a long way. But, of course, this is the beginning of a long investigation where, I can imagine, more facts will come out, Don. LEMON: So, captain, help me out. The department has had controversial shootings in recent years, and the DOJ is currently conducting a review there. What does all of this say to you about what is happening?

JOHNSON: It's obviously being transparent. We've heard some comments from the chief who said that we will support things that are done right, but things that are done wrong, we will hold people accountable.

One thing I would like to say, that the attorney for the officer said, that the law allows officers to be mistaken -- make mistaken. And I disagree with that. And so, I agree that we have to look at this. Transparent is an issue. But these are happening too much in our country. And we have to begin a look at this to see what we need to do better in our training of our officers throughout our country.

LEMON: Thank you, gentlemen. I appreciate it. And Omar, keep following. Thank you so much.

Serena and Venus Williams losing in their first round of the U.S. Open doubles. So, what's next for Serena? We are going to discuss. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Serena and Venus Williams losing tonight in doubles play at U.S. Open. Even this classic played by Williams sisters did not save them at the end. Serena and Venus fell in straight sets to Czech opponents. But as always, the Williams sisters gave their devoted fans quite a show and can hold their heads high tonight.

Well, together, over their lustrious careers, they have won 14 grand slam doubles titles together, and Serena is back in the court tomorrow for her third round of singles.

So, joining me now, CNN sports correspondent Carolyn Manno. So, Serena is playing a lot of tennis.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, she's playing a lot of tennis.

LEMON: So, what do you think? What do you think about the match tonight?

MANNO: You know, it's tough to beat a quality opponent when you haven't played doubles together in more than four years. So, it was a tough -- it was a tough match for them.

I was struck by a couple of things I. I wasn't surprised by the way they left the court. I mean, there was no pageantry like we saw with Serena's first match. They acknowledged the crowd, they waved to the crowd, but it was very business-like. There were no tears.

And that is very much in line with Venus. She's very different from Serena in that way. I mean, she doesn't need all of that. Coming into the tournament, that she could retire and not tell anybody, and that would be just fine with her. I mean, that's who she is.

But as I was watching them tonight, you know, I was a little bit sentimental about it. I started thinking about the beginning of their careers. I mean, they are 42 and 40 years old.

LEMON: But here is a thing, though. We watched Serena -- Venus's career. Is that right? Her as a demand (ph), and then we saw Venus come along --

[23:45:00]

MANNO: Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking about.

LEMON: -- or Serena, I should say.

MANNO: I was thinking about Venus as the initial trailblazer. I mean, the one that was on the scene first, the one that was so talented first. And when you watch Serena tonight on the court, I kind of seeing her as the little sister who joined in the phenom, who is still impressing us to this day.

LEMON: We watched it happened before our very eyes. We saw it happening, right?

MANNO: Yeah, it's very special. And, you know, Serena needed a lot of matches coming into doubles play, so that's probably part of the incentive for why she decided to this with Venus and put them, you know, in a situation where they needed to play doubles.

But the sentimentalism is like she also did it for Venus. I mean, Serena calls looks Venus her rock, and Venus calls Serena the boss, like she is the boss, she told me to play doubles, so I'm going to play doubles.

But they had leaned on each other in a way that has helped them to survive three decades of everything that has come their way. I mean, they are role model for women. They are a role model for minority communities. They are exceptional tennis players.

Serena is a mother. There are not too many people who can understand her, and she needed Venus that times in her career. So, to be able to give that back to her tonight and to play doubles because Venus, you know, she wants to keep playing tennis. They hate to lose. They don't want to say goodbye.

LEMON: Her third round of singles tomorrow, right? What do you expect to see?

MANNO: Ajla Tomljanovic is a very talented player. She is a great baseline hitter. I think it's going to be a tough test. I will say, the crowd for Serena in singles has been unlike anything I have ever heard at the U.S. Open through these initial rounds. And so --

LEMON: I have to say, when Carolyn sat down, she said, we are Serena crazy!

(LAUGHTER)

MANNO: I love Serena. It's true. We are Serena crazy right now.

LEMON: Yeah.

MANNO: The whole country is Serena crazy. She is a player that can crack under pressure.

LEMON: Yeah.

MANNO: And I have never seen a situation created around an athlete like what we are doing with Serena right now. I mean, this is a boxing match, not a tennis match. When you had it on that court, you get ready to place Serena in front of a crowd that keeps getting bigger and bigger, and is now at 30,000. Millions are watching her at home. I mean, there is an incredible amount of pressure to play her.

That has freed her. I mean, she is playing with a freedom right now that she says she hasn't had in three decades. I think we are all here for it.

LEMON: I love having this conversation, and it is a break from politics, right?

MANNO: I was going to say, I don't want any of that in the last segment.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: I love to come back any time, yeah.

LEMON: That is how we do. It's all love. But this has been great to watch. It's been great to watch. And as we said, it's been great to witness over the 30 years, these two young women, and now women who have come into their own and really just been role models.

MANNO: There are quantifiable parts of their legacy, which is the numbers in the resume. And there are parts of their legacy that you can't quantify. And what they've done for tennis and for women and for women of color, you cannot quantify what that has done beyond the sport of tennis. They are truly remarkable. Both of them.

LEMON: Thank you, Carolyn. Good to see you.

MANNO: You, too.

LEMON: We'll be right back.

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[23:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Tonight, the Michigan secretary of state is saying her office is actively working with law enforcement after an allegedly stolen voting machine ended up for sale on eBay. In fact, it sold for $1,200. But how did the voting machine, which is supposed to be kept under lock and key, end up on eBay?

CNN's Donie O'Sullivan has some answers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Harri, what is in the box?

HARRI HURSTI, VOTING MACHINE EXPERT: That is a device, which can be configured either to be a voting machine, as a DRE, or ballot marking device.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): This box should not be here, on Harri Hursti's kitchen table in Connecticut.

HURSTI: Yeah, I have been asked not to open it so that if it is a part of criminal investigation, it's preserved as evidence.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Hursti is an election expert. He bought this voting machine for $1,200 on eBay.

EAN HUTCHISON, PURCHASED VOTING MACHINE FROM GOODWILL: As far as I was aware, it was a completely legal sell on my end.

O'DONNELL (voice-over): The eBay seller is Ean Hutchison, an Uber driver in Ohio.

O'SULLIVAN (on camera): In your eBay ad, you wrote, Dominion ImageCast X voting machine from Michigan. Own a piece of history. This voting machine was one of thousands used in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

(Voice-over): But how did an Uber driver in Ohio get his hands on a Michigan voting machine? He bought it from Goodwill online.

HUTCHISON: I saw a listing for what looked like just an industrial touchscreen computer. And I got to look into the pictures, and in one of the pictures, I saw on the bottom of the screen, it said Dominion voting. So, I just on a whim get on it, and I was the only bidder, and I won the auction.

O'SULLIVAN (on camera): So, how much did you pay for the voting machine?

HUTCHISON: I paid $7.99.

HURSTI: I am really surprised about this. I mean, $8. He made a good profit. O'SULLIVAN (on camera): It turns out, someone dropped the voting

machine off at this Goodwill in northern Michigan. Who that person is remains a mystery. But the Goodwill put the voting machines for sale up on its website.

HUTCHISON: I wasn't even aware that they were supposed to be sold, let alone donated to Goodwill.

HURSTI: It is shocking that only when we started asking, does it belong somewhere? Only after that, did they realize it had been stolen.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): They being the Michigan secretary of state's office.

(On camera): One of Michigan's voting machines showed up on eBay.

JOCELYN BENSON, MICHIGAN SECRETARY OF STATE: Yeah. We immediately referred it to law enforcement.

O'SULLIVAN (on camera): Clearly, it has raised some issues about the chain of custody and how these machines are secured.

BENSON: We basically have 1,600 jurisdictions. Typically, in between elections, clerks have the responsibility of securing all election equipments and protecting it from attempts, illegal attempts, to access it by unauthorized individuals.

[23:54:58]

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Michigan is one of several swing states where authorities are already investigating unauthorized access to voting systems by people who are trying to prove the false claim the 2020 election was stolen.

BENSON: There is a nationally-coordinated effort to try to interfere with our elections that is manifesting itself at the local level, in incidents like this in Michigan. What you really have are individuals who do not seem to understand the technicalities of the election process or election security, trying to gain access to machines to keep the misinformation alive.

O'SULLIVAN (on camera): What do you say to the voter who is skeptical and is watching this and saying, they lost a voting machine in Michigan?

BENSON: Well, a couple of things. One, Michigan elections are secured before every election. We test every machine for accuracy. We've never seen even with this unauthorized access to machines, any actual evidence of any challenges of wrongdoing or lack of security in the process.

O'SULLIVAN (on camera): And Don, of course, police now are investigating just how that voting machine showed up at the Goodwill here in Cadillac, Michigan. Goodwill is telling us that they process hundreds, thousands of items every week in north Michigan. It's not actually clear if the Goodwill even realized that this was a voting machine when they posted it to their website.

Of course, a lot of security questions being raised here, which are being investigated by police. But Don, it is just also a reminder, you will never know what kind of deal you will find at a Goodwill or on eBay. Don?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Donie, thank you so much. And thank you for watching, everyone. Our coverage continues.

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