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California Voters Send Message; Gymnasts Sure FBI; Ukraine Claims People Held Hostage in Kherson. Aired 9:30-10a

Aired June 08, 2022 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:32:16]

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: California voters sending quite a message to the Democratic Party overnight, making it clear they want their leaders to focus on ensuring public safety. In San Francisco, voters ousted District Attorney Chesa Boudin from office over concerns that he was not doing enough to tackle the spiking in crime in that city.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's senior international correspondent Kyung Lah is in Los Angeles.

Kyung, you've been speaking to voters there. Tell us what they're saying to you.

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think that this is not a secret to anybody who lives in California or has visited San Francisco or Los Angeles. It is a message that, you know, voters have been expressing for some time. It really was there underneath the recall of the governor as well, even though he very, you know, very safely won that recall.

But there has been this undercurrent of anger among Democratic voters. And in this primary, voters sent it and they sent it loudly, not just ousting Chesa Boudin.

But I want you to take a look at the vote results from the mayor of Los Angeles. These are the top two vote getters. They will now head to the runoff. Congresswoman Karen Bass, who is a, you know, decades long congresswoman, six-term congresswoman, well known here in Los Angeles, trailing the newcomer, Rick Caruso, a first-time candidate, who was a Republican, just became a Democrat this year, in one of the bluest cities in America, is -- granted this is a primary, granted turnout is low. But if you look at those numbers, it is quite extraordinary.

And in the speeches yesterday, as these two candidates now are looking at the runoff, looking at November, they were both addressing homelessness and crime.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RICK CARUSO (D), LOS ANGELES MAYORAL CANDIDATE: My fellow Angelinos, we can make this city the city of our dreams. We can solve homelessness. We can curb crime. We can put city hall back in the service of people.

KAREN BASS (D), LOS ANGELES MAYORAL CANDIDATE: Thank you for joining our fight for small business owners already reeling from a pandemic who now worry about smash and grabs plunging them deeper into debt. Thank you for joining our fight to house over 50,000 Angelinos who will go to sleep on our streets tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: Now, what I'm already hearing from some of the Democratic establishment here in the state of California is that it's going to be really hard to extrapolate that this is a message directly sent by the Democratic base across the country because you only had one out of five registered voters here in California vote. But, certainly, there was a message being sent, Jim and Poppy.

HARLOW: Yes, loud and clear. It's so interesting.

Kyung, thanks very much for that reporting.

SCIUTTO: New this morning, the FBI is now facing a lawsuit for more than a billion dollars in claims over how it handled the sexual abuse investigation into former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar.

[09:35:06]

You may remember he was sentenced to up to 175 years in prison for abusing multiple women and girls in his care.

HARLOW: Now, attorneys for more than 90 former and current gymnasts are filing this against the FBI, each seeking millions of dollars in damages. Among them, Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, Maggie Nichols and McKayla Maroney.

Our Jean Casarez is with us now.

And, Jean, not only are you covering this, you have literally been covering this since the accusations began. You were at the trial. How significant is this and where does it go from here?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is extraordinary, it really is, because it's sort of like that they've come to the end of the road, and the FBI, the Indianapolis field office, they believe, and the inspector general said let them down, and so they want to become whole again.

But here's how this works. They are giving notice under the Federal Tort Claims Act to the FBI and they're doing it in writing and it is a very large document that's being sent to them, that the FBI, specifically the Indianapolis field office, let all of these gymnasts and former gymnasts down. We're talking about world champions. We're talking about Olympic champions. Simone Biles, McKayla Maroney, Aly Raisman, Maggie Nichols, that the FBI knew what Larry Nassar was doing and they didn't do anything about it.

Maggie Nichols, world champion, is actually the one that inadvertently broke it open because she was at the Karolyi Ranch in 2015 training for the Olympics. And as her parents told me in an interview, she was telling someone else about what Larry Nassar was doing to her and her local coach heard about - heard it, found out about it, and it went from there.

And, as you may remember, this went as far as the inspector general, who filed a report, and a conclusion, saying that the FBI did not do their duty. That they knew what was happening, there was inaction, and more young women were being assaulted by Larry Nassar because the FBI just put things in a drawer, did a few interviews, but didn't do anything with them, didn't keep many notes.

And I'm sure you remember the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last year, emotional testimony from Simone Biles and McKayla Maroney and Maggie Nichols talking about what had happened to them. They pleaded and asked for an investigation by the Department of Justice.

Well, there was one. And, Poppy, several weeks ago the Department of Justice said they would not be bringing any criminal charges at all.

Well, case not closed because now notice is given here.

HARLOW: Yes, clearly.

CASAREZ: And here's what happened - is happening. The FBI is given some time period to look at this, to respond to this, because they want to become whole. We were damaged because of you.

HARLOW: Of course.

CASAREZ: And what about all the young women who were assaulted by Larry Nassar during that time period that the FBI knew and didn't say anything? And so, if the FBI does not act, that's when they actually can go to court to get that money.

HARLOW: We know you'll follow it so closely.

Jean, thank you very much for that reporting.

CASAREZ: Thank you.

HARLOW: All right, still ahead, NBA legend Dwyane Wade, known for using his voice on and off the court, talks candidly about gun violence and makes a plea to Washington.

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[09:43:11]

HARLOW: Welcome back.

Dwyane Wade was one of millions of heart-broken parents after the Parkland school mass shooting in 2018. The former Miami Heat star went on to dedicate the rest of that NBA season to one of the students killed in Parkland after learning that 17-year-old Joaquin Oliver was buried in a number three Wade jersey.

Gun violence hits close to home for Wade. He has lost several family members to gun violence, including his cousin Nakia Aldridge (ph), a mother of four, who was killed by a stray bullet in 2016.

So, I sat down with Dwyane Wade yesterday afternoon at Time 100. Here's part of our conversation.

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DWYANE WADE: My kids going to school right now doesn't allow me to sleep at night very well.

HARLOW: Because of guns?

WADE: Because of guns.

HARLOW: Yes, me too.

WADE: Guns has been in my family. It has not been, you know, a positive for my family at all. We've had --

HARLOW: Your cousin died to gun violence.

WADE: I've lost a few cousins to gun violence and, you know, I grew up in the inner city. I had a lot of cousins that was, you know, in gangs that I lost. But I lost a lot to senseless acts of gun violence.

You know, my cousin was taking her kids to school and got gunned down.

And so, for me, when you - when you're a parent, everything goes out the window of whatever your thoughts are, your beliefs are. Look, hey, this is what I stand for. And just the other day I feel like, as people, we all shift a few days ago. I think we continue to keep shifting. We shifted in Parkland in Florida when it happened. It shifted our mindset. It shifted how - like, think about this. When we grew up, we went to school, it was just, hey, kids off to school, that is the safest place to be. Don't be out on street. Go to school. And now it's not the safest place to be.

HARLOW: I wait for 3:00 every day. Every day.

WADE: Yes, I'm afraid being here, and not being in L.A., close to my kids.

HARLOW: Yes.

WADE: We were just talking about this at lunch. Like, you just - you know, like, and just to share a story, I went to my daughter Zaya's recital at the end of the year.

[09:45:05]

And a beautiful recital. These kids worked amazing -- they worked hard for this. But the whole time all I could think about is my exit. All I could think about is what I'm going to do, my daughter's backstage, my son's right here, and what am I -

HARLOW: How do I get out?

WADE: How do I get out but how do I get to them? How do I protect them?

HARLOW: Right, get them.

WADE: How do I get them out? How do I - like, I'm just thinking about that that entire time.

HARLOW: That's not normal.

WADE: No.

HARLOW: But this is America. So, you tweeted after the Uvalde shooting what seemed to be a - to me a message to lawmakers. Tell me if it wasn't. Why have all that power and not do everything in your power to protect our children and our elderly? Who were you talking to and what were you saying?

WADE: Yes, I was talking to the lawmakers. You know, I - you know, this world is ran by money and power. And, you know, this is -- to me, this is all it is. This is a money thing. This is a power move. And we're losing - I mean our kids are not safe in school. I mean this is - this has went way to -- way too far. When I know we are -- everyone has their, you know, beliefs in this world. But can we just all be human for a moment? Can we all just understand that we're -- our kids are losing their lives, right, and they're not getting a chance to become. Like, we're sitting in here and we've all had a chance to become something. Our kids are not even getting a chance to become anything. And so, for me, it was like, listen, let's just take all the politics out, let's take the Republican -- let's take all that out. We're human. This is a human act that's happening in this -- and it's sad.

HARLOW: And what if they don't, again? What if they don't act again? What if Washington doesn't change anything?

WADE: You're getting louder. Keep screaming. Keep supporting. Keep supporting the people on the ground that is doing things. We have - we have foundations. We have the Social Change Fund I'm a part of. We have all these things to be able to help continue the fight. That's what it was when we took that stage with Carmelo, Chris Paul, myself, and Melo. It was about, hey, we've got to put pressure. And we're going to take one of the biggest moments in sports to start to show off this way to put pressure. And that was ten years ago. And here we go right back here again.

HARLOW: Again.

Well, you know these laws only change by the people who change them, right? So, I didn't think about asking you this, but I just thought it, would you ever run for any sort of office? WADE: I'm not there yet.

HARLOW: Oh, another political answer.

WADE: But -- I never thought - I've never thought about that. I have no idea. I would not say no as I sit here.

HARLOW: OK.

WADE: So -- but I'm a parent. I'm a community -- I'm a community leader,

HARLOW: Yes.

WADE: I'm a part of the community, you know, so I think it gets to the point sometimes where you just get - there's only so much you can do, right? I think sometimes we -- all of us, we feel hopeless. We feel helpless sometimes. There's only so much we can do.

So, I don't know. But it's not in - it's not in my future.

HARLOW: Right, but you said it takes -

WADE: It's not in my five-year goal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Dwyane Wade there with Poppy.

Still ahead, Ukraine is leveling disturbing new allegations, accusing Russia of holding people in what an official there describes as torture chambers. We're live near the front lines coming up next.

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[09:52:50]

HARLOW: A Ukrainian official says 600 people are being held hostage -- that is a quote - in what she describes as, quote, torture chambers and pre-detention facilities in Russian-occupied Kherson region of Ukraine.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HARLOW: CNN, as you look at these images, cannot independently verify the claim and has reached out to the Russian ministry of defense for a response.

SCIUTTO: It is not the first report we have of Ukrainians being held against their will, transported even to Russia against their will.

CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman, he is near the front lines of the ongoing war there in Sloviansk.

Ben, you -- these are alarming charges here. They fit with a broader pattern of the actions of the Russian military. Tell us what we know. BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Now, at this

point the details are fairly sketchy. What we've heard this is a claim made by the special Ukrainian representative for Russian-occupied Crimea where they say 600 journalists and activists are being held in some sort of underground prisons that apparently, or so it's claimed, and we can't, obviously, verify this, that these -- this underground facility is equipped with torture chambers. And this, in fact, does dove tail with a lot of what we've heard of these facilities where Ukrainian soldiers, civilians, activists, journalists are being held.

Now, we're in Sloviansk, a city not too far from Russian positions. It has come under bombardment over the last few weeks. In fact, we're at a spot where, in fact, right behind me here is where they're -- a missile impacted about a week ago. And you can see the damage there.

Now, some Ukrainian officials believe that within a week to ten days Russian forces perhaps, when they're done with the battle in Severodonetsk, could focus their efforts here. Why this town in particular? Because it's very close to Kramatorsk. It's just about a 15 minute drive from here. And that's an important and administrative and military center for the Ukrainian military.

[09:55:01]

Now, I'm hearing some thuds in the distance. Now, we believe, and we hope, that those are outgoing rounds rather than incoming. But as you can see around me, there have been incoming in this area.

As far as the battle in Severodonetsk goes, it appears to be static at this moment. Ukrainian officials say that they're holding the line. But given the pressure they're under from particularly Russian military, they may have to pull back to stronger positions in their words.

Jim. Poppy.

SCIUTTO: Goodness.

HARLOW: Ben Wedeman, thank you very much to you and your team on the ground for that reporting. Updating as you get more.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HARLOW: Still ahead, a significant next hour ahead. Parents who lost their child, a student who covered herself in her friend's blood and pretended to be dead, they will be among the witnesses speaking directly to lawmakers today at the top of the hour. We'll bring you the hearing on Capitol Hill, next.

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