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Families Outraged Over Leaked Uvalde Surveillance Video; Latest Hearing Focused on Ties Between Trump and Militia Groups; Ranil Wickremesinghe Appointed Acting President of Sri Lanka; Biden En Route to Israel for First Visit as President. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired July 13, 2022 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Max Foster in London. Just ahead --
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody's got to get some answers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You see the officers in the hallways, you see them run toward the gunfire and then do everything against their training.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump's fingerprints seem to be all over this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that we saw a glimpse of what the vision of the Oath Keepers is on January 6. It includes violence.
REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): Donald Trump cannot escape responsibility by being willfully blind.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is going to be revolutionary. These are incredible capabilities this we've never had before.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For the first time we're seeing brand new stars that were previously completely hidden from our view.
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ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN newsroom with Max Foster.
FOSTER: And it's Wednesday, July 13th, 9:00 a.m. here in London. We begin with chilling newly released surveillance video showing what law enforcement did and didn't do during the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The leaked footage from Robb Elementary has sparked outrage amongst families of the victims who were sent to view it privately before it became public. A warning, the video you are about to see a disturbing.
The "Austin American Statesman" newspaper published edited portions of the footage which show the gunman entering the school and also officers retreating from gunfire on the day of the shooting in May. 19 students and two teachers were killed during the massacre. The mayor of Uvalde is slamming the early release of the video saying there was no reason for the families to see it now.
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DON MCLAUGHLIN, UVALDE MAYOR: I want to go on record, the way that video was released today is one of the most sickened things I've ever seen. In my opinion it was very unprofessional which this investigation has been in my opinion since day one.
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FOSTER: The mayor also said that all news agencies knew the city was working with a Texas house committee to release the video to families this coming weekend. Now those who lost loved ones in the shooting are expressing their anger and frustration over the video's release just the days before they had the chance to see it first.
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FELICIA MARTINEZ, MOTHER OF UVALDE SCHOOL SHOOTING VICTIM: We're angry. We're very angry. And we want justice for our kids and for this to be let out without us even being seeing first? We are the parents that lost our children. We're supposed to do this together first.
ANGEL GARZA, FATHER OF UVALDE SCHOOL SHOOTING VICTIM: Who do you think you are to release footage like that of our children who can't even speak for themselves but you want to go ahead and air their final moments to the entire world. What makes you think that's OK? The least you can do is have some freaking decency for us. That is unacceptable.
NIKKI CROSS, AUNT OF UVALDE SCHOOL SHOOTING VICTIM: We've been asking the D.A. for this video for a while. And she refused to let us see it. So once again the world got to see it before us just like the day of the shooting when Governor Abbott announced to you all that our children were dead and we had no idea. So, it's like reliving that day all over again.
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FOSTER: Well, a Texas house committee investigate the shooting still plans to show the full video to the families of victims before releasing it to the public on Sunday. CNN's Rosa Flores walks us through the footage, but again, we want to warn viewers that some of you will be disturbed by what you're about to see.
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ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An edited version of surveillance video, one of two videos released Tuesday by the "Austin American Statesman" shows that at 11:32 on May 24th, the first shots were fired outside Robb Elementary School. An audio of a teacher calling 911.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The kids are running! Oh my God. Get Down! Get in your Rooms! Get in your rooms!
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FLORES (voice-over): Then at 11:33, school surveillance video showed the gunman entering an empty hallway, unhindered, walking casually with his gun hanging down. He slows down, peeks around a corner. A boy sees him as he starts shooting and the boy runs.
According to the Statesman, the gunman fired his weapon, an AR-15, inside two classrooms for 2 1/2 minutes, stopping and starting multiple times. The Statesman saying that they edited out the most disturbing sounds including screams.
The surveillance video shows seven police officers arriving armed, some with rifles. They enter the hallway, weapons drawn, at 11:36 just three minutes after the gunman arrived while shots are being fired. In total, the material revealing just over two of the more than 70 minutes police were in the hallway before killing the gunman some rushing towards the classrooms, other officers hanging back.
Within one minute, shots are heard. 16 rounds in total. And police can be seen retreating running back down the hallway to take cover. Then at 11:52, 19 minutes after the gunman enters the school, the time stamp on the video shows more officers arriving heavily armed, some with ballistic shields. Still, they wait.
At 12:04, the video jumps 31 minutes after the gunman enters the school and law enforcement is still waiting. At least 19 officers are now in the hallway according to the official timeline.
At 12:21, 45 minutes after police arrived, the gunman fires another four shots and police start to move down the hallway again, remaining outside the classrooms. At 12:30, one officer uses the hand sanitizer dispenser in the school. At 12:43 and 12:47, more 911 calls to send police and the caller says children are aware the police are outside the door.
Then at 12:50, 74 minutes after police first arrived, officers breach the classroom door and kill the gunman. At this point, the video shows officers in the hallway pushing to go in.
The Texas DPS director expressed his disappointment the video was released before the victims' families were given access to it.
Releasing a statement saying: Those most affected should have been among the first to see it.
The Statesman defending their decision to publish the material saying, quote: We have to bear witness to history and transparency and unrelenting reporting is a way to bring change.
As for the families of the 19 students and two teachers who were massacred at Robb Elementary, some say the video's early release just adds to their pain.
JAVIER CAZARES, FATHER OF UVALDE SCHOOL SHOOTING VICTIM: It got leaked, it got shown all over the world. And we are pissed. These families didn't deserve it, I don't deserve it. That's a slap to our babies' faces and we're tired of this. You know, we can't trust anybody anymore.
FLORES (voice-over): Rosa Flores, CNN, San Antonio.
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FOSTER: Well, the leaked footage has fueled anger amongst the victims' families. It's also drawing further scrutiny over the delayed law enforcement response to the shooting.
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ANDREW MCCABE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: A complete failure to live up to the sacred trust, the bargain that every law enforcement officer makes when they hold up their hand and are sworn into their job. And that is that you will lay down your life to protect other people.
That commitment is what you see violated by a bunch of poorly led officers who wander around and half of whom are surprised when the entry is finally made. You see the officers at the back of the hall, they are shocked that somebody is actually going in the room. It is inexplicable and kind of -- I have to say it is kind of sickening to see that in the law enforcement community that I love that I know my colleagues treasure. This is really hard to watch.
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FOSTER: We're also getting reaction from state lawmakers including this tweet from Representative Tony Gonzales who represents Uvalde. He called the video very difficult to watch and said the gunman should have been neutralized immediately. And Texas House member Joe Moody called the video a piece meal release of information and says people deserve the complete truth.
The House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol wrapped up its seventh public hearing on Tuesday. Zeroing in on former President Donald Trump's connection to far right extremist groups and shedding light on how far the Trump camp went in planning for supporters to march on the Capitol.
Panel members heard from a former Oath Keeper who spoke about the group's violence aims. They also revealed that Oath Keeper's leader shipped thousands of dollars' worth of tactical gear to a January 6 rally planner.
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Meanwhile, phone logs obtained by the committee reveal how associates of the former president may have known what would happen. The record shows Steve Bannon spoke with the former president on the morning of January 5. You'll recall Bannon making this prediction later that same day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) STEVE BANNON, FORMER TRUMP ADVISOR: I'll tell you this, it's not going to happen like you think it's going to happen, OK? It is going to be quite extraordinarily different. And all I can say is strap in.
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FOSTER: Several former Trump aides told the committee he gathered staff in the Oval Office on the day before the riot so that they could hear supporters rallying outside. One aide said Trump was taking notes and talking about going to the Capitol.
CNN's Ryan Nobles picks up the story from there and viewers should be aware that some testimony contains profane language.
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RYAN NOBLES, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The January 6 Select Committee used their seventh public hearing to build the case that Donald Trump had a plan to call his supporters to Washington to march on the Capitol and stand in the way of certifying the 2020 election.
One witness, Stephen Ayres, who has since pleaded guilty to entering the Capitol illegally, said he answered to Trump's call.
STEPHEN AYRES, PARTICIPATED IN JANUARY 6 CAPITOL RIOT: We didn't actually plan to go down there. You know, we went basically to see the "Stop the Steal" rally and that was it.
REP. STEPHANIE MURPHY (D-FL): So, why did you decide to march to the Capitol?
AYRES: Well basically, you know, the president, you know, got everybody riled up, told everybody to head on down. So, we basically -- we just followed what he said.
NOBLES (voice-over): The committee unveiling never before seen depositions and communications among Trump insiders, showing that the former president ignored the advice of his own advisers and instead leaned on the council of election deniers like Sidney Powell, Michael Flynn, and Rudy Giuliani.
RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: I'm going to categorically describe it as, you guys are not tough enough, or maybe I'll put it another way, you're a bunch of pussies. Excuse the expression, but I'm almost certain that word was used.
NOBLES (voice-over): The committee arguing Trump knew he lost the election but was driven to overturn the results anyway.
REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): President Trump is a 76-year-old man. He is not an impressionable child. Just like everyone else in our country, he is responsible for his own actions and his own choices.
NOBLES (voice-over): A drive that led to a raucous meeting at the White House in the middle of December, when Trump wanted to name Attorney Sidney Powell as special counsel in order to seize voting machines.
SIDNEY POWELL, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: The president said, OK, you know, I'm naming her of that, and I'm giving her a security clearance.
NOBLES (voice-over): Former White House counsel Pat Cipollone testifying that he was displeased to see people like Powell and Flynn in the Oval Office and told Trump naming Powel special counsel was a grave mistake.
PAT CIPOLLONE, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COUNSEL: To have the federal government seize voting machines is a terrible idea. That's not how we do things in the United States. There's no legal authority to do that. I don't think any of these people were providing the president with good advice. So, I didn't understand how they had gotten in.
NOBLES (voice-over): Cipollone also describing his frustration dealing with people who couldn't produce any evidence of widespread voter fraud.
CIPOLLONE: I disregard, I would say a general disregard, for the importance of actually backing up things, say, you know, facts.
NOBLES (voice-over): Afterward, Trump shifting gears but not backing down from his pursuit of pushing election lies, tweeting the next day an invitation to his supporters to descend on Washington on January 6th.
MURPHY: Be there, will be wild, the president wrote.
NOBLES (voice-over): The committee also presenting a draft tweet obtained from the National Archives showing Trump planned before January 6th to tell his supporters, please arrive early, massive crowds expected. March to the Capitol after.
This, despite members of Trump's cabinet and inner circle testifying that they told Trump he lost the election and he should concede to Biden after the Electoral College met in mid-December.
EUGENE SCALIA, FORMER U.S. LABOR SECRETARY: I conveyed to him that I thought that it was time for him to acknowledge that President Biden had prevailed in the election.
CIPOLLONE: If your question is, did I believe he should concede the election at that point in time, yes, I did.
NOBLES: Next up, a hearing next week that they say will focus on what they describe as Donald Trump's dereliction of duty, those 187 minutes while the Capitol was under siege and they say that they'll show he did not do enough to prevent the violence from getting worse.
And the committee ended their hearing on Tuesday by making note of a potential witness getting a phone call out of the blue from the former president Donald Trump. They say that witness declined the call and instead informed their attorney of it. The attorney then reached out to the committee.
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The committee says that they've now passed that information along to the Department of Justice in case it is a potential instance of witness intimidation.
Ryan Nobles, CNN, on Capitol Hill.
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FOSTER: A fast moving situation in Sri Lanka where political crisis in leadership is changing rapidly. As CNN has learned that Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Prime Minister has been appointed acting president of the country. This comes after Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled Sri Lanka for the Maldives hours before he was due to formally resigned today as president. Earlier a state of emergency was declared for the Western province which includes the capital after police fired tear gas and clashed with protestors outside his office.
Let's go to CNN's senior International correspondent Will Ripley who is following the developments for us. We have to sort of unpack this, don't we. First of all, just explain what happened with the president and then we can talk about what happened with the Prime Minister.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, so President Gotabaya Rajapaksa was trying to flee the country we now know and he was actually denied on Monday at the airport. Twice he tried to get on flights to the UAE, first to Dubai, then to Abu Dhabi. He couldn't get on either because he didn't want to stand in the immigration queue with everybody else considering all the anger that the public has against him.
Because his financial decisions and those of his brother who is also former president and Prime Minister have landed Sri Lanka more than $50 billion in debt. And now in a situation where they cannot provide food, medicine or fuel, the basic necessities cannot be brought into the country and people are really struggling. And yet he continues to live the high life in that presidential palace that protestors, you know, raided over the weekend and continue to occupy.
And so, he has now fled on a military plane. He was actually being held in a military vessel, a naval vessel basically for his own safety. But he boarded a military flight and they got last minute permission to land in the Maldives. So now President Rajapaksa and his wife, and perhaps other family members, are in this island paradise as chaos is now ensuing in Colombo, Max, outside the offices of the Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Now he was supposed to resign as well. Let's keep in mind the president, he has fled the country but he has not formally resigned. But by the Prime Minister now declaring a state of emergency that set the stage for him to now become the acting president, to be sworn in as the acting president. And he's now saying his resignation may not happen anytime soon. And what the government is now doing on the orders of the acting president, the Prime Minister, that protestors demand he resign, they torched his official residence over the weekend. He said he'd resign but now he's the acting president and he has asked
police to arrest anybody who is out protesting. Essentially, people riding around in louries. People who might be engaging in, you know, behavior that the government might deem to be civil disobedience and they're using a lot of tear gas and they're using water cannons against people to disperse them.
The Prime Minister now the acting president, also has imposed a curfew on an area which includes Colombo where a lot of this violence is taking place. So, what we're seeing potentially, Max, is this lead up to yet another climax of violence in Sri Lanka with people on the ground who are furious that the resignations that they have been promised have not happened. They have a president who is now, you know, in the Maldives in exile and they have a Prime Minister who's taken over as acting president despite the fact that he had already pledged to step down to allow for a new all party government to be formed. Whether that can possibly happen by next week -- next Wednesday -- which is the timeline that was given, you know, really all up in the air now -- Max.
FOSTER: So, it really becomes a case of how long the military supports this very unpopular leadership of the country.
RIPLEY: That's right. The military has really been crucial here in protecting the President Rajapaksa because it was military officers who were able to get him out of his house just moments before protestors breached the property and went inside. You know, it was peaceful, they hung banners, they, you know, jumped in the swimming pool, posted social media videos of them playing the piano, working out at the gym.
But had the president been there, who knows what could have happened. It could have potentially been a very different situation. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people who are getting injured here are the people who are out on the streets. The protestors themselves who have been, you know, clashing with the police and with the military.
The military has protected the president thus far. The military seems to also be protecting the Prime Minister. And you're absolutely right, Max, that is the key factor here. If the Prime Minister who is now the acting president retains military support, he could presumably stay in this post as acting president for quite some time and continue to impose restrictions like this state of emergency, like this curfew that allow him to keep that grip on power for the foreseeable future.
FOSTER: We're watching some really stark scenes coming out of Sri Lanka right now. Will, thank you for joining us with that.
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Still to come, just how high will prices go. Wall Street and the White House are bracing for key report on inflation due in just a matter of hours. Plus, Israel is rolling out the red carpet for Joe Biden. What he
hopes to accomplish on his first trip to the Middle East as U.S. president.
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FOSTER: Joe Biden is scheduled to arrive in Israel in just a few hours on his first visit to the Middle East as U.S. president. He plans to meet with the new Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and get a briefing on the Iron Dome Missile Defense System. On Friday Mr. Biden will visit Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank. After that, he travels to Saudi Arabia for the most controversial leg of his trip. As a candidate for president, he pledged to make Saudi Arabia a pariah for its role in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Let's go live now to Jerusalem and journalists Elliott Gotkine. The whole world is watching this visit because it's so sensitive.
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Very much so, Max.
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And although this is President Biden's first visit as president to Israel, this is actually his tenth visit to the country. He's met every Prime Minister and president over some five decades to Golda Meir. And he's also met with Yair Lapid, Israel's new Prime Minister, when Lapid was finance minister. He was in Washington, Biden was Vice President at the time, there was a lockdown in Washington in terms of the government -- not a lockdown, a shutdown, excuse me -- and Biden said to Lapid, if I had your hair, I would be president. And Lapid retorted, if I had your height, I would be Prime Minister.
And so, now they both occupy those positions. They'll be meeting at the airport when Biden touches down this afternoon. As you say, he'll get a demonstration of the Israel's missile defense system, not just Iron Dome but the new Iron Beam, a laser missile defense system designed to protect Israel from threats such as Iran and its proxies. But also, its allies in the region ranging from the new ones, such as Morocco, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and old ones, such as the Egyptians. And also, ones who aren't yet -- have yet have normal relations with Israel such as the Saudis.
Now we don't expect any great moves in terms of normalizing relations between Israel and the Saudis, but we are expecting baby steps perhaps towards an eventual normalization. So, for example expecting Israeli flights to be able to fly over Saudi air space and Muslims coming from Israel to be able to fly directly to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj pilgrimage.
Of course, Biden will also be meeting with the Palestinians. Again, don't expect any great moves in terms of trying to resuscitate the moribund peace process, but we've already seen some developments, some so-called confidence measures to try to improve the economic lot of the Palestinians. We saw announcements just yesterday from Israel saying they'll would be more -- some rare building permits for houses for Palestinians in the West Bank. A new crossing would be open between the West Bank and Israel. And also, more work permits for Palestinians in the Gaza strip to come and work in Israel as well.
We also expect Biden to announce $100 million going toward a hospital in the West Bank to enable Palestinians to get treatment that they can't currently get in the Palestinian territories.
And we're also seeing more calm and perhaps Yair Lapid, the Israeli Prime Minister have the first phone conversation of any Israeli Prime Minister in five years with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas as well. But don't expect any moves in terms of the peace process, no great shakes in terms of normalization with the Saudis. And of course, they'll both be discussing Iran's nuclear deal as well. Israel remains dead set against it -- Max.
FOSTER: Elliott in Jerusalem, we'll watch that visit as it unfolds. Thank you.
The White House is bracing for another potentially painful monthly inflation report, meanwhile, set to be released later day. Prices for all kinds of goods were on the rise in June and economists are expected the numbers to show year-over-year inflation rising to 8.8 percent.
The Federal Reserve is expected to hike interest rates further as it looks to cool things down even more.
Fears of a recession in the U.K. may be easing meanwhile, just a bit after a government report showed the economy grew by half a percent in May. The highest inflation in years, plus rising fuel prices have been weighing on consumers and analysts had predicted zero growth for May. But a surge in holiday travel and large rise in doctor appointments helped to fuel the growth.
Now opposition lawmakers are planning for another confidence vote today to try to force Boris Johnson out of office. But a Downing Street spokesperson says it can go forward as long as it doesn't mention Johnson by name. Meanwhile, Conservatives are set to cast their first ballots in the contest for a new Prime Minister. The field is down to eight and Tories plan to announce their new leader on September 5.
Still ahead, as Ukraine ramps up counterattacks on the Russian held territory to the south, the death toll is still rising from a brutal Russian attack in the east.
And going deep into space and back to time, what stunning new images of stars and galaxies thousands of light years away are revealing.
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