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Bodycam Released of Uvalde Shooting; Ronald Garza is Interviewed about the Uvalde Shooting; Jury Selection in Bannon Trial Today; Paul Rosenzweig is Interviewed about Bannon's Trial. Aired 9- 9:30a ET

Aired July 18, 2022 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:35]

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm poppy Harlow.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Jim Sciutto. Good to be in New York.

HARLOW: Good to have you.

SCIUTTO: This morning, we are learning new, and just shocking information and details from the first detailed comprehensive report on the police response to the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The damning report by Texas lawmakers shows failures on multiple levels by multiple officers and commanders. The report found that there were nearly 400 officers on the scene that day but says, quote, systematic failures and egregiously poor decision-making resulted in more than an hour of confusion and chaos before police finally confronted and then killed the gunman who had murdered 19 children and two teachers. The victims' family members got a copy of the report before it went public.

Vincent Salazar, whose granddaughter Layla, you probably remember her picture from all this, was among those young children killed. He reacted with skepticism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VINCENT SALAZAR JR., GRANDFATHER OF VICTIM LAYLA SALAZAR: We're not going to get the truth. Because there is cover-up. Everybody's throwing everybody under the bus. The only ones that ain't under the bus is because they're six feet in the ground now, and that's our children and the two teachers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: It is unimaginable heartbreak for these families. It goes on and on. Also detailed in this report, major, major lapses in school security leading up to the shooting, including broken locks and a, quote, culture of noncompliance with safety policies. Also even poor wi-fi that may have delayed the lockdown alert. We'll have much more on this report and the details in a moment.

But first on CNN, body camera video that gives a close-up view of the officers on scene at Robb Elementary School. So, let's begin there with what this video shows us.

Our CNN crime and justice correspondent Shimon Prokupecz joins us in San Antonio.

So, Shimon, the mayor of Uvalde, Don McLaughlin, provided these videos to CNN, to you and your team, out of, largely, frustration and urgency for more transparency.

What can you tell us?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's really the dynamic of that. Think about this. You have this mayor who's going against the advice of the district attorney, who told him, do not release any information, state investigators, the attorney general.

You know, we've all been fighting to try and get this video. And it's an important piece of video because it really puts us there in that moment when officers were making critical decisions, bad decisions. And we also, for the first time, get our view of Chief Pete Arredondo as he is in the hallway making critical decisions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED) shots fired! Get inside! Go, go, go!

PROKUPECZ (voice over): New body cam video released by the Uvalde mayor shows the frantic first moments police arrived on scene at Robb Elementary. This video taken by Uvalde Police Sergeant Daniel Coronado as he made his way inside the building. But within moments, more gunshots.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shots fired inside the building, Uvalde!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which building?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) it's an AR. It's an AR. It's an AR.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's in here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) the door.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's in here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't break. Somebody can break.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Careful, guys, shots fired.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE). (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) guys. (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can't break in here. Can somebody break? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shot - shooting. Shooting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's in the classroom right here on the right!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anybody in there?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take cover, guys.

PROKUPECZ: After taking cover outside, Sergeant Coronado gives his first update on the situation to the responding officers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, guys, he's armed inside this building.

[09:05:02]

We have him contained. He's going to be on the building on the west side of the property. Careful with the windows facing the east. Right there.

PROKUPECZ: Minutes later, Coronado tells dispatch what he believes is happening, that the gunman is in one of the school's offices, not a classroom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Male subject's in the school on the west side of the building. He's contained. We got multiple officers inside the building at this time. We believe he's barricaded in one of the -- one of the offices. I messed up, there's still shooting.

PROKUPECZ: But as the minutes continue to tick by, the urgency first seen by the initial response fades away. Instead, Uvalde police officers are seen hunkering down, waiting for more backup. Critical moments pass by at a time children were still alive in the classroom. At one point you can hear Sergeant Coronado asking for permission to open a door into the hallway where armed officers are already inside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Officers inside the building. Am I clear to open the door here on the south side of the building?

PROKUPECZ: It's after this moment that we learn that Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief Pete Arredondo is inside the building, as other officers crowd around, looking for guidance. Arredondo has been a central figure in the state's investigation of the shooting. DPS Director Steve McCraw calling his actions on the day of the massacre a, quote, abject failure. As more officers arrive and more inaction, you can hear police begin to seek direction.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are we doing here?

PROKUPECZ: We also have video from Officer Justin Mendoza (ph), who also arrived on the scene. At 11:58 local time, police helped the first students and teachers from a nearby classroom escape the building. At the same time, Sergeant Coronado can be seen helping children escape from a window outside. At this point, it had been nearly 25 minutes since police first entered the building.

More than 12 minutes later, we get our first glimpse of Chief Arredondo in the hallway of Robb Elementary. You can hear him pleading with the gunman to give up, but seemingly unaware that children may still be inside the classroom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me know if there's any kids in there or anything. This could be peaceful. Could you tell me your name, anything to help, please?

PROKUPECZ: Moments later, a critical piece of the puzzle from the camera of Officer Mendoza. 911 dispatch gives a chilling account from a student still in the classroom.

911 DISPATCH: We do have a child on the line.

OFFICER: Hey, what was that?

911 DISPATCH: It's going to be room 12 (INAUDIBLE). He is in the room full of victims, full of victims at this moment.

PROKUPECZ: And yet, even with that information, six minutes go by without any sort of response. Then we see Arredondo with a set of keys, trying and failing to make entry into a classroom near where the gunman is barricaded, eventually handing the keys off to another officer, who does make entry.

More heavily armored officers arrive, but no one gives the order to go in.

Then, suddenly, a new round of gunfire.

But after those gunshots, Arredondo again tries to talk with the shooter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you hear me, sir?

PROKUPECZ: And again, minutes later --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, if you can hear me, please put your firearm down, sir. We don't want anybody else hurt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got kids in there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know. I know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That - that's what we're doing. We're trying to get them out.

PROKUPECZ: After no response, police still stand around without much urgency.

Over the course of the next nearly 30 minutes, we see more officers arrive. The video obtained by CNN cuts out moments before police breach the classroom and kill the shooter at 12:51 local time. By then, many young, innocent children and their two teachers were dead. (END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: I mean, watching this video, as an outsider, is gut- wrenching. I can only imagine the parents who lost children there and others in the community.

Shimon, I mean, you've been following this for so long, and there are so many levels to what we discover from these latest videos and the report. But it strikes me that the big picture it shows failure at multiple levels, among multiple officers and commanders, right? That it was not confined to the school district police Chief Pete Arredondo.

PROKUPECZ: Yes.

SCIUTTO: How does that fit into the broader picture here? It's a bigger failure, is it not?

PROKUPECZ: Well, it is. It is, Jim. And I think that's an important point to make. And that's one that the mayor, certainly, Don McLaughlin, was trying to make and why he's releasing this video, because he feels that the Department of Public Safety, right the Texas State Troopers, they're running this investigation. They came into Uvalde and they took over the investigation with the Texas Rangers. And then they developed this narrative.

[09:10:04]

And he's been frustrated by the narrative. He's even called it a cover-up. When I interviewed him, he called it a cover-up. And he wants there to be some accountability on what the head of DPS did, Steve McCraw, in setting this narrative. So, yes, he feels, obviously, and this report indicates, that the blame needs to go everywhere, and everyone that was there that day shares the blame and shares a responsibility for what happened.

SCIUTTO: No question.

Shimon Prokupecz there.

Let's dig a little deeper now. Joining me now to discuss is Uvalde County Commissioner Ronald Garza.

Commissioner Garza, thanks for taking the time this morning.

RONALD GARZA, UVALDE COUNTY COMMISSIONER: Thank you, Jim, for having me on your show.

SCIUTTO: It's a long list of upsetting revelations, frankly, from these videos and the report. As I was saying to Shimon, the biggest seems to be that multiple folks failed here and seemed to go against their training in terms of confronting an active shooter.

First question is, in your view, should several of the responding officers, not just Arredondo, face repercussions? GARZA: Well, Jim, the big takeaway yesterday, from yesterday's press

conference, as Representative Burrows (ph) and Representative Moody (ph) and Judge Eva Guzman (ph) conveyed to the press yesterday and the audience was that there were various shortcomings and failures on the part of the multiple law enforcement agencies that were there on that tragic day. The big takeaway, I think, in my opinion, from the committee was that, yes, the school commander was in charge, but other -- other agencies or other individuals could have taken over the scene.

SCIUTTO: One other -- again, it's a long list of revelations here. Early on in this there were a lot of questions about information sharing. For instance, did the officers inside that hallway know that there was a child calling 911 who was alive inside the room? We now know they did know. It's on the tape. It's on the body cam footage. The 911 dispatcher with a direct line to the officers saying, there's a child on the line.

What's your reaction to that?

GARZA: Yes.

SCIUTTO: How could they not know there's a child wounded in there and then use that as the spark for actions?

GARZA: Well, you know, the video speaks for itself. It was very revealing. And that was another issue that was brought up at the press conference yesterday by the committee that there were communication breakdowns at the scene of that day. So, yes, breakdowns, communication breakdowns, and, you know, as a result, you know, you had that delay before action was taken.

SCIUTTO: What is accountability to you? Parents are calling for accountability. They've called for people to lose their jobs. I wonder how some of these officers may be able to continue to serve in that community given the outrage they've expressed. In your view, what would be justice here? What would be accountability for the failure by multiple officers and agencies, it seems, to respond quickly enough?

GARZA: Well, Jim, yesterday it was also revealed by the mayor that the individual, the person who was second in command for the Uvalde Police Department, was placed on administrative leave. What was also revealed in yesterday's papers that our district attorney Mitchell considers a potential case moving forward. This is another chapter in the investigation. This report and the video is just another chapter. And -- but in the end, Jim, at the end, justice should prevail for the parents and the families who are grieving.

SCIUTTO: One thing I have not heard yet is an apology, right, or an acceptance of responsibility by officers, commanders, agencies involved.

Would you like to hear someone say, we're sorry we got this wrong?

GARZA: Well, you know, in the -- this day and time, you know, our society is that, you know, saying you were sorry means you were wrong. And it can result in potential liability.

[09:15:00]

And -- but I think the families -- I think the families would - of the grieving - you know, the grieving families and parents would - would like to - would like to hear that. I'm sure they would. If I were in their situation, I would like to hear an apology.

SCIUTTO: Yes, we'll see what went down -

GARZA: A sincere apology.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

GARZA: Yes.

SCIUTTO: We'll see if that wins out or concerns about facing consequences.

Ronald Garza, again, as I always say when I speak to folks like you in the community, I am sorry for what you're going through and I really wish you the best as you and the others there try to recover.

GARZA: Jim -- Jim, I know - I know our time is limited, but I would like to say that our community is 100 percent behind the grieving parents and families. You know, we're united in supporting them. And, you know, our -- the business sector, the private sector, support services and I can't say enough about our wonderful churches, are moving forward with vacation bible school and other activities for children and youth.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

GARZA: And so I can't say enough about that.

SCIUTTO: Well, that takes - that takes hope. That takes strength.

Ronald Garza, we really do wish you the best.

GARZA: Thank you, Jim.

HARLOW: So, you just heard him say, other agencies, other commanders could have taken action earlier.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HARLOW: And later this hour we'll be joined by the president of the Texas Police Chiefs Association. We'll get his take on what should have happened, who should have stepped in and when from all those nearly 400 officers on scene.

SCIUTTO: Plus, Steve Bannon is on trial today. He's facing contempt of Congress charges for refusing to respond to a subpoena from the January 6th committee. Does he have a potential case?

And CNN speaks to a Texas mom forced to get three different ultrasounds before she could get treatment for a miscarriage. The real-world consequences of restrictive new abortion laws. It's not happening in just one place. This is just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:21:09]

SCIUTTO: Justice moves along.

Happening now, jury selection underway in the contempt of Congress trial of former White House chief strategist for Trump, Steve Bannon.

HARLOW: For months Bannon refused to cooperate with the House committee investigating the attack at the Capitol. He abruptly last week, you'll remember, offered to testify but with a lot of caveats, only publicly, hoping to perhaps stop this trial, but it is going forward.

Our Sara Murray joins us now.

Sara, many legal experts are saying this is expected to be a pretty short proceeding and trial. Why?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think that's what we're expecting, too. You know, the reality in this case is that the judge kind of neutered nearly all of the defenses that Steve Bannon wanted to make at his trial to a point where Bannon's own attorney said at one point, you know, what's even the point of going to trial if we're not going to have any of these defenses to put on?

The one thing the judge sort of held open is it's possible that Steve Bannon will be able to bring up his offer to testify as part of one of his defenses. The judge was still weighing whether he's going to allow that.

But, look, a lot is at stake for Bannon here. He's, you know, being charged with two criminal contempt of Congress charges. He faces 30 days to a year in prison, as well as fines, if he is convicted. Obviously, that's not something Steve Bannon wants to see. And we've already kind of seen his lawyers sort of holding out the idea that they're likely to appeal this if he is convicted.

But, there's a lot still ahead this week. Today it's just going to get underway with jury selection here. And Steve Bannon came into court earlier. He didn't say anything. We'll see if he has any thoughts to share on his way out later today, Poppy.

SCIUTTO: Sara Murray, thanks so much.

So, joining us now to break it down, Paul Rosenzweig. He's a former senior counsel during the Whitewater investigation and former deputy assistant secretary for policy at the Department of Homeland Security.

Good to have you back, Paul.

PAUL ROSENZWEIG, FORMER SENIOR COUNSEL, WHITEWATER INVESTIGATION: Thanks.

SCIUTTO: These contempt of Congress cases are rarely prosecuted. Even more rarely do they reach conviction. Given what you know about Bannon's case, what outcome do you expect here?

ROSENZWEIG: Well, as the reporter just said, the judge excluded almost all of his defenses, the bogus idea, for example, that he had an executive privilege, even though he was a private citizen. So, it's going to probably be a pretty short trial, I think. There's not a lot of factual proof that needs to be put in at this point.

HARLOW: You brought up something interesting, talking about this case, and that's jury nullification. I don't think most folks even know what that is, so explain that. But it's so rare that you ever even see it happen. I mean they're trying to say -- the defense team here is trying to say, oh, you can't get an unbiased jury because people have been watching these January 6th hearings. There was - they even pointed to the CNN documentary that aired this weekend on Bannon. How would jury nullification play in here?

ROSENZWEIG: Well, jury nullification is the idea that one of the jurors votes against the evidence. Usually it's a holdout juror who refuses to convict even in the face of compelling evidence of guilt. Often for reasons unrelated to the underlying case. For example, some people may say, I don't believe in the death penalty or I don't believe in drug crimes. It is a risk when you try a politically charged case like Bannon's that one of these jurors, who gets selected today, might conceal their pro-Trump bias and try and get on the jury for the purpose of voting to acquit Steve Bannon and refuse to vote notwithstanding the evidence that seems compelling against him. This will be a test case for others similarly situated, high profile Trump affiliates, like Giuliani or Trump himself.

SCIUTTO: Paul, I want to ask you about another part of the January 6th investigation, and that is these deleted -- text messages deleted -- text messages from January 5th and 6th by the U.S. Secret Service that were deleted.

[09:25:00]

Secret Service says this was just a regular kind of purging of text messages as we got new devices. Odd timing, no question, given the sensitivity of the texts and the timing of that day. You used to work for DHS. DHS oversees the U.S. Secret Service. Do you see this as a problematic explanation from the Secret Service? Is it sufficient?

ROSENZWEIG: I do see it as problematic. The Secret Service specializes, in particular, in computer crimes and in the recovery of data from text messages, hard drives, that sort of thing. That's one of their expertises (ph). The idea that they would do this migration and not be aware of the fact that it put at risk relevant evidence of their own conduct is, frankly, a little flimsy at this point. I can believe it because sometimes the right hand of government doesn't know what the left hand is doing. But you would have thought somebody would have been aware of it. HARLOW: So Thursday is the final -- so far, the final hearing for the

January 6th commission. That can always change, right? They said if more people come forward, et cetera. What gaps do you think there are? What holes do you think they need to fill that perhaps would also not only be helpful for their inquiry but for DOJ?

ROSENZWEIG: Well, I do think that President Trump's failure to act for over three hours is a salient thing that hasn't been spread on the public record right now. We all have questions. You know, why was the National Guard not permitted to move for so long? Who was in charge of the response and why did it not happen? What did Donald Trump do or, more accurately, not do in response to the urgings of his chief of staff and his daughter, Ivanka, that we've already heard about. These are good bits of evidence of the president's actual intent and what he hoped would happen that day. The idea, of course, being that enough of it might actually demonstrate that he wanted the assault to succeed, to disrupt the electoral counting and, in the end, prevent Biden from becoming president.

HARLOW: We'll see what happens Thursday evening.

Thank you, Paul, very much. Good to have you.

ROSENZWEIG: Thanks for having me.

HARLOW: Still ahead, the acting chief of the Uvalde Police Department is now on administrative leave as the mayor of Uvalde says the investigation has been mishandled from day one. We will be joined by the president of the Texas Police Chiefs Association.

SCIUTTO: And we're moments away from the opening bell on Wall Street. Wait for it. Stock futures are jumping as investors watch a new set of earnings report from the major companies - from major companies this week. Economic growth showing signs of slowing with inflation at a continued four decade high. Central banks are raising interest rates rapidly, adding to economic anxiety. But, for the moment, markets shrugging that off.

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