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U.S. Federal Judge Sets Up Possible Affidavit Release; Push to Vaccinate Children Against Polio; Ex-Trump Organization CFO Pleads Guilty; FBI on Edge Over Possible Release of Parts of Affidavit; Afghans Reflect on Life Since the U.S. Withdrawal. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired August 19, 2022 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Christina Macfarlane in for Max Foster here in London. Just ahead --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: The judge setting in motion the possible release of a heavily redacted version of the affidavit where the FBI laid out why they believe there's probable cause a crime was committed.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The longtime chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, Allen Weisselberg, pleaded guilty to 15 felonies on Thursday admitting to his role in a decades long tax fraud scheme.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The biggest nuclear power station in the whole of Europe. The international community reacting in horror that this could be at the center of fighting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Hello and welcome, it's Friday, August 19, 9:00 a.m. here in London, 4:00 a.m. on the U.S. east coast where a federal judge has released a few new documents related to the search of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home. And the details they contain on the potential offenses sharpen the focus on the former president. The same judge signed off on the affidavit and he indicated on Thursday that he's willing to unseal portions of it that were used to justify that FBI search. He told prosecutors to prepare redactions to the document in case the ruling is to release it.

Meantime we're learning that Trump's claim that he had a standing order to declassify the documents taken from the oval office is nonsense. CNN can exclusively report that 18 former top Trump administration officials have been mocking that claim. Here's how Trump's former national security adviser put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN BOLTON, FORMER TRUMP NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR: There was no standing order. I was not briefed on anything like that when I started as national security adviser, I never heard of it, never saw it in operation, never knew anything about it. The president never said anything to me during 17 months there. I just think that it's a complete fiction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well, CNN's Sara Murray has a closer look now at the fight over the search warrant's records.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An extraordinary legal battle playing out in Florida.

DAVID SCHOEN, FORMER TRUMP LAWYER: I think the country depends on information. We want to know what's in there.

MURRAY (voice-over): Over what the public deserves to know about the search at Mar-a-Lago. A judge setting in motion today the possible release of a heavily redacted version of the affidavit where the FBI laid out why they believe there was probable cause a crime was committed.

"I'm not prepared to find that the affidavit should be fully sealed," U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart said, giving the Justice Department a week to propose redactions and explain why each piece of information should be kept secret.

This comes after several news outlets including CNN asked the judge to unseal the affidavit that led to a search warrant resulting in FBI agents walking out of former President Donald Trump's home with boxes of classified material.

ERIC TRUMP, DONALD TRUMP'S SON: It's a fishing expedition.

MURRAY (voice-over): The Justice Department opposing the release of details in the affidavit echoing concerns from an earlier filing.

Where DOJ said: If disclosed, the affidavit would serve as a roadmap to the government's ongoing investigation, providing specific details about its direction and likely course in a manner that is highly likely to compromise future investigative steps.

The head of the Justice Department's counter intelligence section, pointing out the court already found probable cause that evidence of obstruction could be found at Mar-a-Lago, and that releasing the affidavit could chill cooperation from future witnesses. The government also raising concerns about the risks the FBI is faced in the wake of the Mar-a-Lago search. Despite the Justice Department's preference for secrecy,

MERRICK GARLAND, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Much of our work is by necessity conducted out of the public eye. Federal law, long standing department rules, and our ethical obligations prevent me from providing further details as to the basis of the search at this time.

MURRAY (voice-over): The judge still appeared inclined to make at least portions of the document available to the public. Trump meantime has been eager to learn why the FBI targeted his Mar-a-Lago estate.

Posting in part this week: I call for the immediate release of the completely unredacted affidavit pertaining to this horrible and shocking break-in.

This as Trump's inner circle is split on when and whether to release security camera footage of the search. Video recorded despite the FBI asking Trump's lawyers to turn the cameras off when they got there.

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: You still have the surveillance tape. Is that correct? Will you-- are you allowed to share that with the country?

[04:05:00]

E. TRUMP: Absolutely, Sean, at the right time.

MURRAY (voice-over): Some close to Trump say the video could energize the GOP base and appear in a campaign style ad. But others worry raw footage showing agents removing more than a dozen boxes could further damage the former president.

MURRAY: After Thursday's hearing a spokesperson for Donald Trump said the Trump team believes that the full unredacted version of the affidavit should be made public. Of course, that's not an argument that the Trump team has made in court, at least not yet.

Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: And because and because Trump is often tied to more than one court case at a time, there's this, the former chief financial officer from the Trump organization has pleaded guilty to a tax fraud scheme and as part of a deal he has agreed to testify against Trump's real estate company at trial. CNN's Kara Scannell explains.

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KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The longtime chief financial officer of the Trump Organization Allen Weisselberg pleaded guilty to 15 felonies on Thursday admitting to his role in a decades long tax fraud scheme. As part of his deal Weisselberg has agreed to testify against the Trump Organization, a company's worked at for more than 40 years.

The Trump Organization goes to trial in October and the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has said that Weisselberg's testimony will be invaluable. Also, as part of this deal, Weisselberg has agreed to pay a nearly $2 million in back taxes, interests and penalties and in exchange he will receive a five month sentence in jail.

Now, Weisselberg will not implicate the former president at the trial. He also is not cooperating with the Manhattan district attorney's long running investigation into the Trump Organization's finances. The Trump Organization put out a statement today calling Weisselberg a fine and honorable man and said they look forward to going to trial in October. Back to you.

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MACFARLANE: Well, the U.S. stock markets begin trading again in just a few hours after closing out Thursday on an up note. As the final bell rang on Wall Street, the major averages had each logged some modest gains. The Dow was up slightly while the Nasdaq and S&P had both picked up a quarter point. This came after a rocky day of trading Wednesday when all three indices posted losses.

With 5 1/2 hours to go to the start of a new trading day, here is where the U.S. stock futures are standing right now. You can see all three, the Dow, Nasdaq and the S&P 500 in the red currently.

Meantime trading across Europe, just getting under way this hour. Both Paris and the CAC 40 and the DAX down, but FTSE 100 is up. And here's a quick look at how the markets across Asia have fared today, also Hang Seng -- there you can see -- up while the Nikkei and the Shanghai are down.

OK, U.S. mortgage rates took a downward turn last week amid signs that the inflation may have peaked. Freddie Mac says the 30 year fixed rate mortgage dropped to 5.13 percent. This is about 1/10 of a percentage point lower than the week before. However, the number is still far above where it was a year ago. Mortgage rates skyrocketed in the first half of the rear before peaking in mid-June and since then they have been on a roller coaster ride partly because of concerns over the Fed's moves to fight inflation.

Meanwhile, high mortgage rates and high prices keep taking a toll on the U.S. housing market. Existing home sales declined for a sixth straight month in July. Dropping by almost 6 percent from the month before. As sales are down more than 20 percent compared to a year ago. And housing prices are remaining high. According to the National Association of Realtors, the median home price in July was over $403,000. That's almost 11 percent more than a year ago. But slightly lower than the record set in June.

And while stress might be bad for your health, it's apparently good to makers of junk food. Now blame the pandemic, fears of the recession or inflation, but all this stress is apparently giving us a much-needed boost to keep going. Companies such as Hershey's, Coke and Pepsi are seeing their stocks trend up even as the overall market is trending down. Sales of energy drinks have also soared this year. Celsius Holding says it's sales surged 137 percent last year.

All right, coming up, long after the polio was thought eradicated, it's back. Traces of the terrifying and deadly disease found in city sewer systems around the world. More on what we've been finding and what is being done.

And as monkeypox spreads around the world, we'll find out how U.S. officials are increasing the availability of vaccinations for those at risk.

[04:10:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: We're back with some encouraging news on the COVID pandemic now. According to the World Health Organization, overall new COVID cases were down nearly 25 percent last week. And while the number of new deaths increased in some places, overall, they were down 6 percent. As of the 14th, 6.4 million deaths have been reported across the world.

Cases of the monkeypox virus are rising around the world. According to the U.S. CDC, there are now more than 40,000 infections globally. Monkeypox can be just transmitted by any close contact, but it is spreading disproportionately among men who have sex with men. The U.S. Health and Human Services secretary stressed the need to contain the virus. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

XAVIER BECERRA, U.S. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: It's important that we all take monkeypox seriously and it's critical that we do all we can to keep this dangerous virus from spreading.

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MACFARLANE: Well, the U.S. is also stepping up its monkeypox vaccine effort. It's boosting supply by nearly 2 million doses, that will accelerate U.S. health officials vaccine distribution timeline and an experimental treatment for monkeypox will be easier to get. Officials expect to have enough doses to fully vaccinate and target -- the target population in the U.S. by late September.

[04:15:00]

Now London is among a growing list of cities where the polio virus has been detected in waste water. Now health officials are scrambling to get the most vulnerable vaccinated. Salma Abdelaziz has more on the vaccine push in the British capital.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): It's a disease once eradicated from the U.K. But after decades of zero cases, polio appears to be spreading again. A total of 116 instances of the virus were identified in 19 sewage samples collected in London between February and July this year officials say. No cases of the virus have been reported in the U.K. so far. And the risk to the public is considered low. But Dr. Natalie Rout says officials have good reason for concern.

DR. NATALIE ROUT, BRITISH NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE: It's come as quite a surprise that we've seen so many cases identified in sewage which suggests that there may be some transition in between people.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): In response the U.K. announced a vaccination drive for children aged 1 to 9 in London.

ROUT: There are many children who haven't had their usual course of immunizations which is why there's a real concern that that opens up people to potentially contracting polio.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Polio was once one of the world's most feared diseases striking children younger than five the hardest. The worst form of the virus can lead to permanent paralysis.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How long have you been here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE CHILD: Three years.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): There Is no cure for polio. Vaccination is the only prevention.

ABDELAZIZ: Polio was first detected in sewage samples from this facility. Afterwards more samples were taken from other sewage facilities across London and more polio was found. What's concerning for officials is that these areas, these neighborhoods, have lower vaccination rates.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): In London, nearly 14 percent of infants under 12 months have not received a primary course of polio immunization. The shortfall is significant says professor David Heymann.

ABDELAZIZ: Is this an overreaction in any way by public health officials?

DAVID HEYMANN, INFECTIOUS DISEASE EXPERT: Absolutely not. This is what needs to be done in all countries because we live in a world where people travel very much and can carry infections with them.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): But with vaccine hesitancy and fatigue soaring, doctors will face a challenge.

ROUT: There's a real drive for us to reach the communities where vaccination isn't really done, isn't really encouraged. And just try and make the best a little bit about why vaccination is important.

ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): The government aims to complete the polio vaccine drive by September 26. A major feat for an overstretched health service. But it says a necessary response to protect the city's youngest.

Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Now officials say a so-called brain-eating amoeba is the likely culprit behind the death of a child in Nebraska. The child died this week just days after swimming in a river in Douglas County. It confirmed it will be the first such death in the state's history. The CDC says the amoeba usually lives in soil and fresh water, but it can infected human brain if contaminated water goes up someone's nose. Health officials say those infections are extremely rare, but when they do happen, they are usually fatal.

Now the Justice Department wants the documents used to justify the search of Donald Trump's home to remain under seal. Why they are worried its release could endanger FBI agents.

And growing concerns over the safety of Ukraine's nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia as war rages all around it. Live reports are just ahead.

Plus, why there may be plenty of fear and loathing for the Taliban in Kabul. It's a very different story to tell in Afghanistan's heartland.

[04:20:00]

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MACFARLANE: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Christina Macfarlane. If you are just joining us, let me bring you up-to-date with our top stories this hour.

A Florida judge is setting in motion the possible release of parts of the affidavit that led to the search of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home. He says he is not convinced that the entire document should remain sealed and he's given the Justice Department until next Thursday to argue for certain sections to remain confidential.

Plus, the former chief financial officer of Trump's real estate business has pleaded guilty to evading taxes in a long running scheme as part of the plea deal, Allen Weisselberg has agreed to testify against the Trump Organization in a future trial. Prosecutors say the agreement directly implicates the former president's business in a wide range of crimes.

U.S. Justice Department is vehemently opposed to releasing any portions of the Mar-a-Lago search warrant records. And as Brian Todd explains, they're worried about the safety of FBI agents.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The possible unsealing of the probable cause affidavit for the FBI's search of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home raising concerns about what it could mean for the safety of FBI agents. A Justice Department lawyer telling the judge, if the affidavit is unsealed, the department would want to redact background information on the agents involved in the search.

ERIC O'NEILL, FORMER FBI COUNTERINTELLIGENCE OPERATIVE: If I were an FBI agent right now, I would be concerned.

TODD (voice-over): if that affidavit is released, even if it's heavily redacted, could it put agents in further danger? Former FBI Counterintelligence Operative Eric O'Neill says it depends entirely on what the released information says about the search's objective.

O'NEILL: If the basis for raiding Mar-a-Lago was just to find documents, then I think there is going to be a lot of trouble in the nation. If the affidavit is unsealed with redactions that protect witnesses, and it shows that there is something really critical that mandated or merited the FBI raiding Mar-a-Lago, I think that people are going to give the FBI a break.

TODD (voice-over): The Justice Department also warned that targets could be tipped off and witnesses could be spooked.

NICK AKERMAN, FORMER ASSISTANT SPECIAL WATERGATE PROSECUTOR: People are out there looking for who these witnesses are and who, you know, is possibly in danger of being approached if this should come out, if the affidavit is released.

TODD (voice-over): The possibility that the former president could release surveillance video of the search is also worrisome to current and former agents, like CNN's Josh Campbell.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: If the faces of these agents actually makes it into the public domain, that could put those agents at risk. Because we know after the search at Mar-a-Lago, those two agents who signed court records that were the then released, they have faced unprecedented threats to their own personal security.

TODD (voice-over): But the threats already made since Mar-a-Lago have been ominous and are putting FBI agents on edge.

[04:25:02]

A Pennsylvania man arrested for allegedly making threats on social media, saying: FBI personnel deserve to die. My only goal is to kill more of them before I drop.

That's according to court documents.

In another incident, a social media account bearing the name of Ricky Shiffer, the suspect who law enforcement says tried to breach the FBI's Cincinnati field office before being killed in a roadside shootout said on the night of the Mar-a-Lago search that the search was a, quote, call to arms.

JOHN SCOTT-RAILTON, SENIOR RESEARCHER, CITIZEN LAB, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO: The rhetoric, this kind of violent rhetoric, there's a war, there's a civil war, the FBI is the enemy of the people, this stuff activates lone wolves.

TODD: And we're hearing several FBI agents are taking extra precautions. Our Josh Campbell, a former FBI supervisory special agent, says he's hearing that some agents are carrying extra firepower and ammunition with them during routine field operations. And doing things like circling their offices, scanning for potential threats before pulling in to the parking lots.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Augusts has been a deadly month in Afghanistan with the highest number of civilian casualties so far this year. The U.N. Assistance Mission says 250 people have been killed or injured in the past few weeks. Including 21 dead, 33 wounded in an explosion at a mosque in Kabul on Wednesday.

The U.N. Mission is calling on Taliban authorities to, quote, take concrete steps to prevent all forms of terrorism in Afghanistan.

A year on and it seems the Taliban's rise to power has left Afghanistan divided. In the cities especially Kabul, there's a fear of the Taliban's district Islamic laws mixed and equal parts with a longing for the return of U.S. soldiers. But in small towns and villages in Afghanistan's heartland, there is often little love for Americans as CNN's Clarissa Ward report, many remember the days of the U.S. occupation as brutal and deadly.

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CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There were no tears in the Tangi Valley when U.S. forces left Afghanistan. The landscape is awash with white flags, marking the graves of Taliban fighters killed in battle. Among them is the son of Nabi Mubarraz [ph].

WARD: This is your son.

WARD (voice-over): He tells us he was killed during a U.S. supported Afghan Special Forces night raid on the family home in 2019. Video of the aftermath shows the scale of the destruction after a protracted gun battle the house was leveled killing a second son of Mubarraz' as well as his niece and her daughter.

There was a lot of blood spilled, the voice says off camera.

The rebuilds living room is now a shrine to the dead.

WARD: What was your reaction when American forces left a year ago?

WARD (voice-over): I said the peace has come to Afghanistan, he says. There will be no more mothers becoming widows like our mothers and sisters who were widowed and our children killed.

Across this rural Taliban stronghold, American forces were seen as invaders who brought death and destruction with their night raids and drone strikes. Peace has brought a chance to air long held grievances. At the local market we're immediately surrounded.

Every household had at least one fighter ,this man tells us, and every house had people who were killed by the Americans and their drones. And we are proud of that.

Shahir Muhammad Hamas (ph) is treated like royalty here. His brother is believed to be responsible for downing a helicopter full of U.S. Special Forces.

WARD: So, he's taking me to the spot where he says his brother shot down a Chinook. WARD (voice-over): It was August 6, 2011, Hamas says his brother was hiding behind the trees and shot the Chinook down with an RPG as it prepared to land by the river. Thirty Americans were killed, the single greatest loss of American life in the entire Afghan war.

There were a lot of celebrations and not just here. He tells us. It was a big party.

WARD: I'm sure you can understand that it's hard to hear that people were celebrating about the deaths of dozens of Americans.

WARD (voice-over): This was a heroic achievement because the people who were killed on this plane, they were the killers of Osama bin Laden, he says. And Sheikh Osama is someone who was the crown on the head of Muslims. So definitely the people were happy about this.

Days later, the U.S. says it responded with a strike that killed Hamas' brother. Another white flag raised in a valley where murders were made and views hardened.

Clarissa Ward, CNN, Tangi Valley, Afghanistan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Now the leaders of Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations held and emergency meeting on Thursday.