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National Archives Sought To Share Classified Docs From Mar-A- Lago With Intel Community Months Ago; Atlanta Officers Who Killed Rayshard Brooks Will Not Face Charges; U.S. Urges Americans To Leave Ukraine Immediately. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired August 23, 2022 - 15:00   ET

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

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ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: It's the top of the hour on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Alisyn Camerota.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: I'm Victor Blackwell.

A just released letter from the National Archives reveals more than 700 pages of classified documents were retrieved from former President Trump's home in January. And that collection set off the chain of events that led to the FBI's search at Mar-A-Lago this month.

Now, this letter first disclosed on a website of a Trump ally also lays out the differential treatment given to former president after the discovery. It describes how the FBI waited more than a month to look into those boxes to assess the damage.

CAMEROTA: That delay was to allow the Trump team to review whether to claim executive privilege. The letter was made public just hours after Trump's lawyers filed its first court response to the FBI finding all of those classified documents in his home. They're seeking a third party, also known as a special master now to review the documents marked classified and top secret and return anything outside the scope of this search warrant.

So let's turn now to CNN Senior Justice Correspondent, Evan Perez. Evan, 700 pages of classified documents. What else have you learned?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. Seven hundred pages, a hundred documents that were marked classified in some manner. And interestingly, here, it says that some of the markings were sensitive compartmented information, that's TS SCI. And then there was Special Access Programs. These are documents that, Alisyn and Victor, even if you have the highest security clearance, you need additional clearance to be able to get access to some of these very sensitive programs that essentially the most sensitive secrets of the United States government.

It's interesting that this letter was released, because, obviously, the Trump team is trying to claim that this shows that the FBI was out to get the former president, that the Biden administration was out to get the former president. It shows the opposite. It shows that there was a lot of deference given to him while he decided to figure out whether there was some privileges there.

BLACKWELL: Evan, as for this new motion from the Trump team, 27 pages filed. They're asking for a pause in the investigation. Explain that.

PEREZ: Yes. They're asking for a special master, this is a third party. And keep in mind, Victor and Alisyn, they've asked for this now two weeks after the FBI has had a chance to go through all of the boxes, the 20 boxes or so that they retrieved from Mar-A-Lago during that search.

What the Trump team is asking for it is, a pause to give a chance for someone to basically go over the shoulder of the FBI to make sure that everything that they took should have been taken in this search.

Look, there's some arguments here that they might have had some success with, if they had done it two weeks ago, even if they had done it last week when they had a chance in court, but they didn't do that. And so it's unclear to me whether this is something that the judge will even take up anytime soon.

CAMEROTA: Okay. So now, Evan, switching to another Trump investigation, the efforts to overturn the 2020 election, you have some exclusive reporting about what's going on with the Justice Department. Tell us about that.

PEREZ: Right. That's right. And Jamie Gangel and I were told that last week, just last week the Justice Department issued a new subpoena to the National Archives asking for access to a series of documents going before and after January 6.

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And this comes on the heels of an earlier subpoena about three weeks ago - sorry, three months ago that they had sent to the archives, asking for everything that they had turned over to the January 6 Committee. This is the Capitol Hill committee on Congress, right?

What this tells us is that this is an investigation that's being led by Thomas Windom. This is a group of prosecutors that are looking specifically at the effort to impede the transfer of power, this whole effort to organize these fake electors in the seven battleground states. This is an investigation that's clearly accelerating and there must be something that prosecutors believe that just wasn't covered in the congressional investigation and that they believe they know about that they want more access to. That's why this occurred. Victor and Alisyn?

BLACKWELL: Evan Perez with the reporting for us, thank you, Evan. Let's bring in now Donald Trump's former press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, and constitutional law attorney Page Pate. Welcome to you both.

Page, let me start with you, 700 pages of classified information, including some - the most sensitive top secret sensitive compartmented information as well, how does that change the landscape of this saga of these documents at Mar-A-Lago now that we have the number? PAGE PATE, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Victor, one thing I don't

understand at all is how anyone could think this could help Trump's argument or his defense. What it shows is it's clear there wasn't some random box somebody picked up by mistake. These were documents that Trump or people working with him or on his behalf intentionally took and put in a place where they should not have been kept, and then refused multiple requests to return those documents, or even identify those documents, and then fought to keep them secret from the Department of Justice during the investigation.

So I think what we see here is another situation where Trump and his allies are taking away part of a potential defense. They're admitting the documents that they had them. They knew they were there and now we see the extent of those documents, making it more likely not less than a case would be pursued here.

BLACKWELL: And to remind everyone, these 700 pages, these are from January. These are not the documents that were collected in June nor the documents collected two weeks ago. This was the first tranche of classified documents in Mar-A-Lago.

CAMEROTA: And Stephanie, I just want you to explain how you get your head around the hypocrisy of Donald Trump having 700 pages, at least, again, as Victor says, we don't even know the number of pages that they just got - the FBI just got two weeks ago - of classified paperwork, after everything he said about Hillary Clinton. And let me just remind people, how he railed against anybody having classified information.

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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If I got a subpoena for emails, if I deleted one email, like a love note to Melania, it's the electric chair for Trump.

People who have nothing to hide don't bleach - nobody's ever heard of it - don't bleach their emails or destroy evidence to keep it from being publicly archived as required under federal law.

CAMEROTA: Stephanie, tell us what you hear.

STEPHANIE GRISHAM, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I mean, it's the same old thing, the rules don't apply to Donald Trump. It's a lot like when he - in the case in New York - when he suddenly took the Fifth and he said only criminals plead the Fifth or people who have something to hide. It's the same thing.

And he's playing the victim right now and so what Hillary did, in his mind, I am not saying this, what she did was legitimately bad. She had bad intentions, et cetera, et cetera. He's a victim. He declassified things or (inaudible) people planted things or this or that. And so that's just how Donald Trump works. It doesn't matter what he said in the past, he will find a reason to be able to do or say what he said he shouldn't or wouldn't now.

BLACKWELL: Page, one more element from this letter from May. This is from the National Archives to the Trump team in which they say it's now been four weeks since we first inform you of our intent to provide the FBI access to the boxes so that the intelligence community can conduct their reviews.

The deference that was shown to the shown to the team that, listen, you want to take some time to determine if you have some privilege here, we don't believe you do, but it's been a month. What do you make of the time that was allotted for the President, former president to make his argument?

PATE: Well, Victor, I think deference is appropriate when you're dealing with a former president. I mean, this is not normal investigation, not anywhere close to it. But it became clear, I think, very early on that this deference was not justified here. The Trump team was not using it to review documents, make sure they're in proper order, make sure they could verify what they had and then get them returned or allow the government to access them.

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They were just using it to delay the situation, to frustrate and obstruct the ongoing investigation. So while deference is entirely appropriate, it was abused in this case.

CAMEROTA: Stephanie, in terms of the messaging of the former president, I just wonder what you hear in this letter that his representatives sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland. I'll just read some of it.

"President Trump wants the Attorney General to know that he has been hearing from people," capitalized, "all over the country about the raid. If there was one word to describe their mood, it is 'angry'. The heat is building up. The pressure is building up. Whatever I can do to take the heat down to bring the pressure down, just let us know. What do you hear there?

GRISHAM: It felt - feels ominous. It feels like a veiled threat. It feels like he's making sure they understand that he has the power to control, death threats, mobs attacking, et cetera. The former president knows full well all he had to do was get out on his social media, or have people from Republican leadership, all of his surrogates get on TV and say there is no room for violence here. Let us have this play out. They know that's what they could do.

So to put that in the letter, I think was just trying to dangle his power over the Republican Party and his base over Merrick Garland and the DOJ.

BLACKWELL: Is that any - there any value in that offer for the attorney at DOJ? I mean, soon after they received that the Attorney General went out and announced the filing to unseal the search warrant. That's to Page.

GRISHAM: I don't think there's any value. Oh, okay.

BLACKWELL: That's to Page. PATE: Oh, is there any value in it? No, not at all. And I do agree

that it's really a veiled threat. I mean, Trump is not going to come out and publicly directly threatened the attorney general. But this is not the first time he's sounding like an organized crime boss. These things could happen if you don't do X, Y and Z, so entirely inappropriate. Is it sufficient alone for an obstruction charge? Probably not. But I think that was the intent behind the message.

CAMEROTA: Page, how about the request for a special master? We had Elie Honig on earlier who said not unreasonable to want kind of an independent party to look through - to be able to look through the documents and sift through them figure out what can be returned to the Trump team. But does this - how much would this delay the process? How much would it gum up the works?

PATE: Yes, that's a great question. And no, it's not highly unusual to ask for a special master in a situation where the FBI seized a bunch of documents, and the person who they were seized from is concern they may have privileged materials, all kinds of stuff. It happens not every day, but it does happen in a lot of different cases.

And the timing, it's not too late to do this. You can - even if some of the documents had been reviewed, you can set those aside, appoint a special master so it's not unheard of. But yes, it could absolutely delay the investigation. And what I'm concerned about is who's going to be the special master.

I mean, normally the judge appoints that special master, but I can easily see the Trump side objecting to anyone who they appoint, which would further delay the case. So again, is it legitimate? In some cases, yes, but here probably brought up for delay.

CAMEROTA: Stephanie Grisham, Page Pate, thank you both.

BLACKWELL: The State Department is warning Americans to leave Ukraine now after new intel suggests Russia is planning to ramp up airstrikes.

CAMEROTA: And prosecutors in Georgia have decided not to pursue charges against the officers in the shooting death of Rayshard Brooks. We have all the details next.

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CAMEROTA: A special prosecutor has decided not to charge two Atlanta police officers in the death of a black man they detained in 2020.

BLACKWELL: The officer shot and killed 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks outside of Wendy's restaurant. Brooks was running from the officers after he failed a sobriety test. He fought with the officers and then took a taser from one of them. CNN's Nick Valencia is live in Morro, Georgia with more on the decision. Nick?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Victor and Alisyn. The press conference just wrapped up here from Special Prosecutor Pete Skandalakis who was appointed to this case by Georgia's attorney general. He says that they are moving to dismiss the charges against the two officers involved in the shooting death of 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks.

Just to remind everyone how we got here, Paul Howard was initially the prosecutor in Fulton County who decided to charge these two officers after they use deadly force against Brooks. He lost his reelection bid as the Fulton County DA campaigning on the charges of the officers involved in Brooks' death.

Fani Willis, now the Fulton County District Attorney, she was - recused then from the case making way for Skandalakis who provided some more details about the incident back in June 2020. They were quick to underscore that under Georgia law, a taser can be seen as a deadly weapon and it was during his struggle with police that Brooks was able to wrestle away a taser from one of the officers and deploy it according to the special prosecutor at least twice.

Listen to him when he said afterwards that Rays - he did not believe Rays played a role in this incident. He was asked what he would say to those who believe Rays was a factor.

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PETE SKANDALAKIS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS' COUNCIL OF GEORGIA: Black lives do matter. I've spent my entire career representing black victims of crime and I will tell them that I understand that the encounters between police and the African-American community at times are very volatile, but I will ask them to look at the facts of this case and this isn't one of those cases.

I do understand there has to be an outreach between law enforcement in the African-American community and I encourage that outreach to continue.

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VALENCIA: Going to the Atlanta Mayor statement next, guys. Shortly after the announcement was made to dismiss those charges, the Atlanta Mayor issued a statement here. I'll read part of that.

"My heart continues to ache for the family of Rayshard Brooks. He was a father whose absence will forever be felt by our community. This matter was referred to the special prosecutor last year. I respect the independent role that the special prosecutor played in this case. As Mayor, I remain committed to building the bonds of trust between our residents and the public safety personnel who serve us." That's for Mayor - Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.

Special Prosecutor Skandalakis did say that he was in touch with multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Atlanta Police Department ahead of his announcement, anticipating that there could be some reaction on the streets. We saw some demonstrations in June 2020 after Rayshard Brooks was killed. Some of those demonstrations turned violent, which was also talked about here today at this press conference. Here is what the Atlanta police department had to say about potential demonstrations.

"We have faith in the criminal justice system, and we respect the Special Prosecutor's decision in this case. Both Officer Garrett Rolfe and Officer Devin Brosnan are still employed with APD. They're currently on administrative duty. Both officers will undergo Georgia post recertification and training. Victor? Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: Okay. Nick Valencia, thank you very much for all that follow up reporting.

BLACKWELL: The U.S. is urging Americans to get out of Ukraine now after new Intel reveals Russia could strike civilian government targets there.

CAMEROTA: As Ukraine prepares to celebrate its independence day, the U.S. is set to announce its biggest security assistance package yet for Kyiv, up to $3 billion for air defense, ammunition, training and maintenance. Joining us now to discuss the situation is Steve Hall, CNN National Security Analyst and former CIA Chief of Russia operations and Jill Dougherty. She is the former Moscow Bureau Chief for CNN.

Jill, I want to start with you because this warning for Americans to get out now, it's hard to imagine how the war could get more deadly and more hideous. So what is the thinking about what Russia is about to do?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR & FORMER MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: Well, it appears that there is an indication at least that the United States has that particularly on this anniversary, six months this week that Russia could take some type of action that would be extremely dangerous and specifically aimed at civilians and I think that is the concern they have.

And then you have to add this killing of Ms. Dugina, the daughter of that, I guess, we'll call him publicist and philosopher. This is really upsetting the entire situation. I think it's very dangerous and obviously we'll talk about that, but both of those things right now, in addition to the entire war, I think are dictating that concern.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Steve, there's a lot happening this week. The invasion is six months old tomorrow, Independence Day for Ukraine is tomorrow, the killing of Dugina. I mean, is this the type of scenario in which you expect Russia to mark this with some massive attack?

HALL: Yes, I think it makes sense. I don't think it's a necessarily an in depth intelligence analysis, I'm not sure that we have a whole bunch of intelligence. It's definitely saying that. But it makes all sorts of sense just kind of common sensical. Look, Vladimir Putin and the leadership in the Kremlin is - are very attuned to historical and other dates that have meaning and that they can use largely for propaganda purposes and largely domestic propaganda.

So it wouldn't be at all, a surprise to me to use this sort of overlapping dates with the six month mark of the actual incursion, the war, as well as a Ukrainian National Day, which, of course, Russia is trying to point out that Ukraine really shouldn't exist as a country. And what better way to do that than to send a whole bunch of missiles or airstrikes into targets, many of them civilian in the Ukraine, Victor.

CAMEROTA: So Jill, about the assassination of Dugina, who's the daughter of one of Putin's allies. What's the thinking on who is behind this, internal, external, who could have done this car bomb?

DOUGHERTY: At this particular moment, there are a lot of theories out there and especially in Russia. It is - I've been watching the media, they are full of theories about who did it. But essentially what we're dealing with is probably the - at the top of the Russian list would be the Ukrainians, because they believe that the Ukrainians would want to get her as a proponent of Russian propaganda - that - just as you were saying, Ukraine should not exist, that there is Nazism there, et cetera. Now, that the Ukrainians are denying that vehemently.

And then you also have other countries that are coming into this, Estonia, which the FSB, which is their kind of former KGB, now FSB is saying that this woman whom they - who they allege actually killed, Dugina, fled to Estonia.

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So now as Estonia is on the list. Then you have other theories about the - about Great Britain, the U.K. and, of course, NATO as a whole. So there are a lot of theories. I think what we ought to be watching now is the internal division and the internal fighting that is going on right now within Russia. And the purpose that some of this may serve to increase the possibility of a real crackdown on the opposition to the war within Russia. It's very, very dangerous moment.

BLACKWELL: Steve, I want you to listen to the State Department Spokesperson, Ned Price, here on the car bombing and questions about whether someone inside Russia, some entity inside the country is responsible.

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NED PRICE, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: We have a lot of questions about what happened in Moscow. We don't have full clarity on this. But again, this is a government, this is a regime that is in many ways devious and would certainly wouldn't put anything past them.

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BLACKWELL: What's the plausibility that this is an inside job, someone inside the Russian government is responsible?

HALL: I think it's very plausible. I mean, let's start with what's probably less than plausible. Surely, the Ukrainians have motivation to want to attack Russia, but a clandestine operation whereby a female operative makes it from Ukraine into the heart of Moscow and actually uses a car bomb to kill somebody who really doesn't matter that much in the big picture, that doesn't make a lot of sense.

However, as Jill alluded to earlier, Moscow and the Kremlin are byzantine beyond the imagination. Is it possible, for example, that somebody wanted to protest a group of Russians - national, citizens wanted to protest how the war is going, well, Dugin and Dugina, his daughter were both very strong proponents even criticizing Putin for not being strong enough against Ukraine.

Well, there are people who are unhappy with the way that's - the way that the war is going in Russia going to strike then and try to do something like that, could it be somebody in the Russian government itself that wanted for whatever reason, Dugan or Dugina to be assassinated? And lastly, could it have nothing to do with politics and nothing to do with Ukraine, some sort of - in Russia, bad business deals are not settled in court. So it's really, really hard to tell in the very opaque sort of situation that we have in Moscow right now.

BLACKWELL: Still lots of questions there. Steve Hall, Jill Dougherty, thank you.

CAMEROTA: Of course, it's primary day and in New York, two top Democrats in Congress are fighting each other to keep a seat after redistricting.

BLACKWELL: And in Florida, voters are deciding which Democrat has the best chance of taking down Gov. Ron DeSantis. All the details are next.

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