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CNN: Nadler Tops Maloney In N.Y. Democratic House Primary; CNN: Crist Wins Democratic Primary For Florida's Governor; National Archives: Most Sensitive Government Secrets Among 700+ Pages Retrieved From Mar-a-Lago In January. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired August 24, 2022 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:32]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church and this is CNN NEWSROOM. We begin this hour with the end of a three-decade career on the U.S. Congress for New York Democrat Carolyn Maloney. CNN projects her colleague Jerry Nadler will win the Democratic primary for the state's newly drawn 12th congressional district.

Nadler and Maloney are both powerful Democrats. She is the chair of the House Oversight Committee and he heads up the Judiciary Committee. The race had devolved into a nasty name calling but Nadler took the high road during his victory speech.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY): This district is not belong to me, or to my opponents for that matter. Belongs only to the voters of this district. The New Yorkers who get up every day and busy themselves with building a better, fairer city. Those New Yorkers get to choose who best represents the people and values of this city. And you know what? I think the voters made themselves clear tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: In Florida, CNN projects Val Demings will win the Democratic Senate primary to take on incumbent Republican Marco Rubio in the November midterm elections. Demings has served in the House since 2017. Before that she was the police chief of Orlando. And CNN projects Charlie Crist will win the Democratic governors primary, he will take on incumbent Republican Ron DeSantis.

Chris was elected governor in 2006 when he was a Republican. He's been serving in the U.S. House since 2017.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CHARLIE CRIST (D-FL): Make no mistake about it. Because this guy wants to be president of the United States of America and everybody knows it.

However, when we defeat them on November 8th that show is over. Enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: As you just heard DeSantis is widely expected to run for president in 2024. He held his own rally Tuesday night touting his accomplishments as governor and with a $132 million campaign war chest. He says he's just getting started.

Also in Florida, former U.S. President Donald Trump's new lawsuit stemming from the FBI surge of Mar-a-Lago is getting pushback from a federal judge. That judge set a Friday deadline for Trump's lawyers to clarify their request for a special master to review evidence seized by the FBI. It comes as we're learning about a letter from the National Archives to Trump's legal team. It confirms more than 700 pages marked classified and special access were recovered from Mar-a- Lago by the Archives team in January.

According to that letter, Archives officials shared the documents with the intelligence community back in May, so an assessment could be done on potential damage over how Team Trump handled the classified materials.

Well, joining me now from Los Angeles host of the Mo'Kelly Show, political commentator Mo'Kelly himself. And from Washington, former Republican Congressman now CNN political commentator Charlie Dent. Welcome to you both.

MO'KELLY, HOST, MO'KELLY SHOW: Good evening.

CHARLIE DENT, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Hi, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So Mo'Kelly, I want to start with you and get your reaction to Jerry Nadler defeating fellow veteran Democrat Carolyn Maloney in New York's 12th District primary. New York's redistricting debacle, pitted the two against each other and it got pretty nasty, didn't it between the two? But what might Nadler's win over Maloney signal to the Democratic Party and what damage has been done by this bitter fight do you think?

MO'KELLY: It was a very weird race. And I would say it's both significant and insignificant. Significant in the way that someone's long congressional political career probably will come to an end tonight. And we see that it's not Jerry Nadler. But I would say it's insignificant because we're not exactly sure whether the farther left wing of the party and also the younger Democrats are going to continue to support this particular leadership within the intra party politics. What they still want the leaders of the Democratic Party to be Nadler and company.

[02:05:01]

MO'KELLY: So, I think that remains to be seen. It was a nasty race. And it's good to see a Congressman Nadler rise above it in his acceptance speech. But I'm not so sure that we know that this is going to be the future of the party given the redistricting.

CHURCH: And Charlie, Governor Ron DeSantis will now face Democrat Charlie Crist in what will be one of the most closely watched contests in the country come November. Crist was -- as we reported once a Republican governor himself and he's going up against the darling of the Republican Party, and a man likely to run for president in 2024. So how close might this race get do you think?

And how likely is it that Chris could win perhaps a significant number of disenchanted Republicans?

DENT: Well, I have to handicap this as a race that would favor Ron DeSantis. He's very well capitalized, as you mentioned, yes, I think he has over $130 million in the bank ready to go. You know, he has a record that he can run on whether you like it or not, he can run on a record. And, you know, of course, Charlie Crist is well known too. But Florida is still, you know, it's a -- it's a state that is certainly leaning more Republican.

But it's still I would call it a -- I wouldn't call it a deep red state by any means. So, look, we don't know just how the issues will play out. Look, this, this environment does favor Republicans. But Democrats have some things in their advantage as well. I mean, the Dobbs decision on abortion has certainly energized and intensified the Democratic base, and will likely spike turnout to higher levels than you would ordinarily see in a midterm election.

But having said that, I just see it as an uphill climb for Charlie Crist to defeat Ron DeSantis in this environment. But I think it could be a reasonably close race.

CHURCH: And Mo'Kelly, what chances do you think Charlie Crist has here?

DENT: I think it's a really uphill climb. I really can't disagree with Congressman Dent in that regard. I would say that, although Republican -- before it's not necessarily a highly red state, it is a very particularly red state. What I mean by that is you have a Republican governor, secretary of state, attorney general, both houses, both chambers of the state legislature, you -- both U.S. senators are Republicans.

Democrats have not shown that they can win a statewide election in quite some time. And Charlie Crist lost to Rick Scott in 2014 who is arguably more popular now. And Ron DeSantis is more popular now than he was in 2018 when he ran. So it is definitely an uphill battle, not insurmountable, but definitely uphill.

CHURCH: And Charlie, Democratic Congresswoman Val Demings is projected to win the Democratic Senate primary and will challenge incumbent GOP Senator Marco Rubio who's already putting out negative ads about her. What are Demings' chances in the very Republican state of Florida, do you think? DENT: Well, I have to say the same thing, as I said about the governor's race, I still say advantage Marco Rubio. Yes, Val Demings is a strong candidate. Although again, this is Florida, which has been pointed out by Mo, you know, we've -- Democrats have had trouble winning statewide elections for some time now in Florida. And so, I do think that Marco Rubio comes in with a -- with a strong advantage.

But again, you know, the same issues, you know, the Dobbs decision is certainly going to affect things. And to the extent that Donald Trump injects himself, you know, into the midterm election and becomes part of the conversation, that's not something you want if you're Marco Rubio. But still, when I look at history, when I look at how these midterms typically go, I just still see a strong advantage for Rubio.

But again, it's Florida and the race could be, again, closer than I think Republicans would like.

CHURCH: Mo, can Demings least give Rubio a run for his money do you think?

MO'KELLY: Oh, I think so. If anything, the past can be prologue in the sense that Marco Rubio can make a mistake, Val Demings is beloved in Florida. I think that she appeals more to a centrist or maybe just a moderate conservative than other candidates before. She is a former police chief, she rides Harleys. I mean, she can't appeal and endear herself to Republicans and Marco Rubio can make one mistake which could change the trajectory of that election.

CHURCH: Interesting. And, Charlie, I do want to turn now to the ongoing investigation into highly classified documents found at the Florida home of Donald Trump. An ally of the former US president published a letter online from the National Archives that was sent to Trump's legal team confirming that more than 700 pages of classified and special access documents were recovered from Mar-a-Lago back in January.

What possible purpose would that have served other than emphasizing the fact that these classified documents could have very well posed a risk to national security by them -- by being stored in his home?

DENT: Well, I am completely mystified that anyone including a former president of the United States could walk out of a government building, the White House in this case, with classified material.

[20:10:05]

The way classified material is handled by those of us who've had the privilege to have a, you know, a security clearance is that we go into a skiff, that's a secure containment facility where we can actually view the material. It's paper, we're not looking at electronics, you turn in your electronics, you can't -- you can't have them in the room. You look at the paper, you read it, you can ask questions, but then you hand it back and you walk out of the room.

No one would ever think of taking classified material with them. Of course, a G man, a government man would show up at your door demanding its return. So the fact that Trump's allies are acknowledging he had hundreds of pages of classified material, I think, you know, really is a very serious problem for the president. Many people have lost their reputations, their careers, some have gone to jail for mishandling classified material.

And the question is, is this -- is the former president above the law? Does he? Is he going to be held to account? And anybody else who committed the same types of transgressions would be in serious trouble. Now, I think the big question is, what was his motivation? What was his intent? And had the stuff get down there? I mean, who, you know, Trump will probably blame others for being packed and sent to his place. But at the end of the day, he's the one -- he's responsible.

CHURCH: Yes. We still don't know a lot of those answers that yet. Mo, where do you see this and other investigations into Donald Trump going? You get the last word.

MO'KELLY: I think it's more of the same. I've yet to see any inclination of this country that it wants to prosecute a former president but if there was going to be one, it would be Donald Trump. I think he has to own this in the sense that he doesn't deny that he had the classified information. And obviously the Department of Justice removed that classified information and SCI information from Mar-a-Lago.

It is what it is. The ball is in now the court of the Department of Justice where they want to make that next move.

CHURCH: All right, Mo'Kelly, Charlie Dent, many thanks to you both. We're going to talk again that next hour. See you then.

DENT: Thank you.

MO'KELLY: Thanks, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Well, the U.S. military says it carried our precision air strikes on Iran-backed groups in Syria. President Joe Biden ordered the strikes in Deir Ezzor on bunkers used by groups tied to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. U.S. Central Command says no one was killed. The strikes are meant to defend and protect American forces from attacks like one on August 15th when a drone strike targeted a compound run by U.S.-backed Syrian opposition fighters.

Well, still to come. Ukraine is celebrating Independence Day while locked in a fight for its very existence. We will look at where the war stands right now six months after Russia's invasion.

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[02:17:20]

CHURCH: It's Independence Day in Ukraine. But this year, the holiday comes with a sense of dread but also defiance. Security has been increased across the country amid warnings that Russia could launch major strikes on civilian and government targets. Ukrainian officials are also urging people to take extra precautions and pay attention to air raid sirens. The National Holiday also coming exactly six months since Russia's invasion, when Moscow's hopes for a swift victory collapsed in the face of stiff Ukrainian resistance.

On Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine will continue to fight promising to retake all Russian-occupied territory, including Crimea, which Moscow illegally annexed back in 2014.

Well, in the hours ahead, the U.S. is expected to announce its largest ever security package for Ukraine. Worth around $3 billion. U.S. official tells CNN it will include Western air defense systems, as well as stockpiles of ammunition. It also earmarks money for training and maintenance. Ukraine's president says foreign support is critical for his country to stay in the fight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We need to be clearly aware that as soon as the world becomes tired of this world war that's going to be a grave threat to the whole world, and the threat of annihilating Ukraine. So we are grateful to for any kind of assistance. We need more of it. That's true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Jill Dougherty is a CNN contributor and former CNN Moscow bureau chief. She's also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. And she joins me now from Washington. Always good to have you with us.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you. Very glad to be here.

CHURCH: So Jill, in a video address Tuesday evening, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy warned of the likelihood of brutal Russian strikes Wednesday when the country marks both its Independence Day and six months of war with Russia. What do you think President Putin is planning for Ukraine in the coming hours, particularly in the wake of the murder of Alexander Dugin's daughter, Darya Dugina who was killed by a car bomb planted under the vehicle she was driving.

DOUGHERTY: Well, of course, it's anybody's guess. But you'd have to, you know, listening to Russian officials, listening to the Russian state-controlled media, you'd have to believe that they want to retaliate in some way against Ukraine. And as you pointed out, we've got two anniversaries. Six months of the war and since 1991, their independence all coming this week.

[02:20:08]

So that all kind of leads to the conclusion that there would be something and the concern, I think, from the United States at least, is that it could be directed against individual citizens, you know, citizens, as opposed to the military. That could be very dangerous. But, you know, I think also, we have to watch what's going on in Russia as well. And I do think that the retaliation could also be against people who are opposed to the war opposed to Putin because that already is kind of part of the drumbeat that you are hearing from the media and from officials.

CHURCH: Right. And after calling on Ukrainians to respect the curfew and respond to any air-raid signals that they hear, President Zelenskyy pledge to retaliate against any Russian attack? Do you see this as a turning point in the war?

DOUGHERTY: You know, I do see this particular moment is a turning point. Generally, you know, the war is a turning point in the entire world. It really has changed everything. And I think what's really -- I was thinking about this today, very much with this anniversary, that everything has turned out differently from the way anyone expected it. In fact, a lot of the people did not expect.

And so, in that, the individual war right now, if you look at the situation, it's not really going very far. Things are not changing. It looks as if both sides are trying to figure out exactly what they can do militarily. But I do think that we're -- this is a pause before we get into even more fighting. And here we are six months, you know, after a war that began, it was supposed to last a few days.

And now with the murder of Dugina, the daughter of that ex -- very ultra right philosopher, there are many ways of describing him. But basically, an eidolon is thrown another, you know, I think -- I think a certain gasoline on the fire of what's happening. So this is -- this is a dangerous moment.

CHURCH: And on that very subject to Russian intelligence was very quick to point the finger at Ukraine before that car bomb that killed her Darya Dugina, but it could just as well have been someone within Russia, you've lived in the country and studied Russia extensively. Who do you think may have been behind this bombing? Who are the possible suspects that, you know, this has resulted in escalating the war in hardening those within Russia, against the war in Ukraine to really make it a more difficult situation for the Ukrainian neighbor?

DOUGHERTY: That's very true. And, you know, there are a lot of factions in Russia right now, who have various positions, even though, you know, across the board, they support the war, but there's some people who tend to believe that it may not be -- that it could be a mistake, or it could be the wrong decision right now. But you also have on the Dugin side, you have people who are very, you know, flamingly ultra conservative who he believes that actually Putin is not being tough enough on the Ukrainians.

And what they want to do is up the ante and attack even more. So there is a possibility that there could be some, you know, interviews in fighting among them and that somebody wanted to at least send a message. And we still don't know whether it was really to kill the daughter or the father. That's another factor. But whatever it is it shaken things up very, very much.

CHURCH: Yes. We'll be watching closely. Jill Dougherty, many thanks for your analysis as always. Appreciate it.

Well, primary is in two of America's most populous states are testing out redrawing political maps and shaping the races. We'll see in the upcoming midterm elections. Back in just a moment.

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[02:28:55]

CHURCH: One of New York's longest serving House Democrats has lost her bid for reelection. It was a battle Carolyn Maloney never wanted and it was a battle she lost to fellow incumbent Jerry Nadler in New York's 12th district. Each of the Democratic Titans chaired powerful committees, but they were forced into an upper Manhattan clash due to redistricting.

In Florida representative Val Demings has won the Democratic Senate primary by a landslide. The former Orlando Police Chief will face incumbent Republican Senator Marco Rubio in the midterms. And Florida has also chosen house Democrat Charlie Crist to take on Republican incumbent Governor Ron DeSantis come November. Democrats are eager to slow down DeSantis ahead of his rumored presidential bid in 2024.

And I want to bring in CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein who is a senior editor at The Atlantic. Good to see, Ron.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Let's start with those key races from Tuesday night that could signal things to come in November's midterm elections.

[02:30:00]

The race that everyone will be watching in November is the one that puts incumbent Florida Governor Ron DeSantis up against Democrat Charlie Crist, once a Republican Florida governor himself. Does Crist have any chance of going up against the darling of the party in the State, do you think?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, it's going to -- obviously, you know, when there is an election there is always a chance, but it's very hard. I mean, Florida has gone from being a State that was really on the knife's edge with photo-finish statewide elections year after year for governor and Senate. 2018. Ron DeSantis winning the governor's race and Rick Scott, the Republican, winning the Senate race by just a, you know, a tiny fraction of one percent. To a State that now, I think leans clearly towards the Republicans.

And, you know, Crist -- the Crist-Fried Race, the primary race, there was an interesting microcosm of the choice that Democrats face, and it's always reminiscent of what happened in 2020. I mean, DeSantis really embodies the Trump-era Republican Party which is moved in a very, very polarizing direction on a broad array of cultural issues. And the debate in the Democratic party has been, do you respond to that with a candidate who is aimed at energizing and mobilizing your own base which was essentially the Nikki Fried argument, or do you respond to that with a candidate who can more effectively reassure center-right voters and may feel off -- put off by the severity and intensity of the -- kind of this new Republican agenda? In 2020, Democrats faced that choice in the presidential race, essentially between Sanders and Biden. They chose Biden. Again, in Florida tonight, they chose Crist the reassurance candidate over Fried who marketed herself as the mobilization candidate.

CHURCH: Right. And also, Val Demings will go up against incumbent GOP Senator Marco Rubio in November. What chance does she have? Is this the same story, do you think?

BROWNSTEIN: No, I think that's a little more competitive. I mean, look, Florida as I said has moved out of the absolute toss-up to become a Republican-leaning State. Trump has energized a blue-collared base in small-town Florida. And also, the heavy central and South American population in South Florida has moved toward the GOP.

But what we saw again tonight, particularly in this New York's special election, is that there is a lot of energy on the Democratic side around the abortion issue, as well as gun control, and all the issues relating to democracy. And what the January 6th Committee is showing. And that does give Demings, I think, at least a fighting chance. Although Rubio would begin as clearly the prohibitive favorite in that race.

CHURCH: Interesting. And what message is being sent to the Democratic Party with Jerry Nadler's win over fellow veteran Democratic Carolyn Maloney, do you think, Ron?

BROWNSTEIN: Eastside. Westside. All around town. Look, you have -- you got a powerhouse on the east side of Manhattan going against a powerhouse on the west side of Manhattan, and Jerry Nadler -- Nadler wins. I don't think there is a big ideological message between the two of them. In some ways, to me, the real message is that both of them entirely squeezed out the third candidate in the race. So, it's a 38- year-old law professor and lawyer, literally half their age.

And to me, there was a candidate tonight who got nominated in Florida for a House race by the Democrats who is their first-generation Z nominee, a 25-year-old. But by and large, I thought the New York race was a nice revealing microcosm of the challenge Democrats face. They are now a party increasingly dependent on younger voters. Millennials and Generation Z combined in 2024 will be a significantly larger share of the electorate than baby boomers.

And yet, as you know, the leadership of the Democratic Party is very gray. I mean, it's really tilted toward candidate -- toward leaders in their 70s was Biden, Pelosi, or Schumer. This was another example of that, I think.

CHURCH: Yes, interesting point. And Ron, as all of this plays out, so too does Donald Trump's attempt to get ahead of the FBI search of this Florida home, which found an abundance of classified documents in early August. But now we're learning that many more hundreds of sensitive documents were also recovered in January. Now, Trump's new lawsuit is getting pushed back from a federal judge who has set a Friday deadline for Trump lawyers to clarify their request for a special master to review the seized evidence. Where do you see all of this going?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, I clearly -- it clearly is part of the reason. All of the issues surrounding Trump, the revelations of January 6th, and this, I think, are part of the reason why the landscape looks different in the midterm election than it did six -- certainly, six, eight months ago. To me, one of the most revealing parts of this entire episode was the rush by congressional Republicans to defend Trump and to basically, you know, attack the Justice Department, attack the FBI, even before they knew anything about what was taken out, or what the issues were underlying the decision to execute that search warrant.

[02:35:00]

And to me, I think, that's not a very clear signal that if Trump becomes president again, congressional Republicans would be even less willing to constrain him than they were the first time. We saw in that new poll that came out by NBC, done by a leading Democratic and Republican firm this week, that threats to democracy had moved past even inflation as a concern among voters, predominantly Democratic voters.

And I think it is part of the Troika (ph) of issues that the concerns about democracy, the concerns about gun violence, and above all, the decision overturning Roe that has allowed Democrats to get back in the game in this midterm election. Including winning that special election tonight in Upstate New York in a district that Republicans -- that Biden narrowly won in 2020. The Republicans were expected to win. Instead, as in Nebraska, and Minnesota, and Alaska, the Democratic candidate outperformed expectations post the Roe decision and won that race.

And so, it doesn't erase all of the advantages that Republicans have in the midterm, history, inflation, Biden's approval rating. But clearly, we are in a different environment and concerns about democracy, along with abortion and guns, are the principal reasons why.

CHURCH: All right. Ron Brownstein. Many thanks for your analysis. Appreciate it.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.

CHURCH: While Americans struggling with student loan debt may get some relief soon. CNN has learned the Biden administration is leaning toward canceling up to $10,000 in student loan debt for borrowers earning less than $125,000 a year. An official announcement is expected later today. White House officials also leaning toward a final extension of the freeze on federal loan repayments, that's been in place since 2020. If that happens, payments would restart only after the November midterm elections.

And still to come, two men accused of conspiring to kidnap Michigan's governor, found guilty by a jury. We will have the latest from their attorneys and more on their alleged plan.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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We also have a database of all of the skills of our client-facing people. And we can use algorithms to identify who can be upskilled into new hot areas.

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[02:40:00]

PIERRE PASLIER, CO-FOUNDER AND CO-CEO, NOTPLA: The problem with plastic is that it's indestructible. Notpla packaging can break down in a home compost extremely fast just like an apple or just like an orange.

A lot of people were surprised that seaweed could be turned into a packaging material. We chose seaweed because it has a lot of sustainable credentials. It doesn't use freshwater or fertilizer to grow. It just grows on its own in the sea without human intervention. And on top of that, when it grows, it sequesters carbon.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, two men could face life in prison after being found guilty of conspiring to kidnap Michigan's Democratic governor in 2020. A federal jury also found the men guilty of conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction in their plan. Prosecutors say they wanted to set off a second American Civil War. CNN's Jean Casarez has more now on how the trial ended.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Two men convicted of conspiracies to use a weapon of mass destruction and kidnap the Governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer. Now facing the possibility of life in prison.

ANDREW BIRGE, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY, WESTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN: The verdict confirms that this plot was very serious and very dangerous.

CASAREZ (voiceover): Prosecutors say in the summer of 2020, Adam Fox and Barry Croft Jr. went to the governor's vacation home with co- conspirators to plan an attack. A witness testified one idea was to kidnap Whitmer and put her adrift on a boat in Lake Michigan. Another idea was to try her for treason.

DAVID PORTER, ASSISTANT SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, FBI DETROIT: The defendants, in this case, believe that their anti-government views justified violence. Today's verdict is a clear example that they were wrong in that assessment.

CASAREZ (voiceover): Adam Fox, who prosecutors say was the ringleader, bought a taser and ordered $4,000 of explosives from an undercover FBI agent. Prosecutors say the two were part of a group training in combat tactics, practicing assaulting cars with rifles and live ammo, detonating bombs, and trying to recruit others.

You can't just strap on an AR-15 and body armor and go snatch the governor. You can't snatch anybody, and you certainly can't make bombs that are meant to maim and kill people. A prosecutor said during closing arguments. An FBI informant known as Big Dan was a key witness. He said he was with the two men when they conducted surveillance at the governor's summer home. Prosecutors say they plotted to blow up or bridge to make it harder for law enforcement to respond to the kidnapping.

BIRGE: No governor, no public officials should have to contend with what Governor Whitmer contended with here.

CASAREZ (voiceover): But the defense argued entrapment, saying Croft didn't actually agree to the kidnapping and was being targeted for his extreme anti-government views.

They lied to lock him up in a cage, not because he committed this crime, but because they're afraid of the things that have come out of his mouth, Croft's lawyer said. Adam Fox's attorney told the jury, he talked a big game but talk is just talk. Adam Fox took no affirmative steps to achieve the ends.

An earlier trial ended in a hung jury but this time the jurors didn't buy it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This isn't the outcome we wanted, right? But there's more work to be done.

CASAREZ (voiceover): In 2020, Governor Whitmer believed incendiary political rhetoric for giving groups like these a greenlight to violence. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI): Stand back and stand by. Hate groups heard the president's words not as a rebuke but as a rallying cry. It's a call to action.

[02:45:00]

CASAREZ (voiceover): Whitmer saying in a statement after the verdict, those who seek to divide us will be held accountable. Plots against public officials and threats to the FBI are a disturbing extension of radicalized domestic terrorism. Jean Casarez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Coming up next, nearly one million Ukrainians have fled to Germany since the start of Russia's war on Ukraine. We will hear from some of them.

And the war in Ukraine is impacting the world's food supply. Why the conflict is resulting in millions in the Horn of Africa going hungry? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:50:00]

CHURCH: Six months of war has forced millions of Ukrainians to leave their homes seeking safety beyond the country's borders. Hundreds of thousands of them have ended up in Germany. CNN's Lynda Kinkade has some of their stories and what life for them looks like now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR (voiceover): Nearly one million Ukrainians have fled to Germany since the start of the Russian invasion, according to the United Nations. Berlin is a popular landing pad given its proximity to Poland, Ukraine's neighbor.

SASCHA LANGEBACK, SPOKESPERSON, BERLIN REFUGEE AFFAIRS OFFICE (through translator): We have about 25,000 people currently accommodated in our reception centers throughout Berlin, both Ukrainians and asylum seekers from all over the world, and we only have a few hundred places left. As you can see here, we will soon reach the maximum capacity of our reception centers.

KINKADE (voiceover): With private accommodation growing scarce, many are looking to other options. More than 400 refugees now reside in a container village on a runway at Berlin's abandoned airport, Tempelhof.

One of the residents is 28-year-old, Roman, who lost his legs after an artillery attack in eastern Ukraine. He hopes to receive two prosthetic limbs, but it takes time, says his wife.

SVITLANA KOVEL, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE FROM LVIV (through translator): Medical care is good. The only problem is the waiting time, but that's normal. Here there are laws, not like at home. We are just used to other laws and procedures, faster medical appointments, faster treatment. Here, it's better quality, but it takes longer.

KINKADE (voiceover): A few containers down live Yassin (ph) and Albina, who's for months pregnant. After leaving Mariupol to seek safety in Berlin, they see a future here.

ALBINA KIRSAN, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE FROM ODESSA: We are going to have a baby here. We are going to stay here. We like Berlin so much. And we already have lots of friends here. Here's nice mentality and very good people and no angriness.

KINKADE (voiceover): Ukrainian journalist, Svetlana, lives at Tempelhof with her mother and daughter. She's most concerned about her 14-year-old child's mental health.

SVETLANA GALUN, JOURNALIST: I see my daughter need help because she's very nervous after the war. For me and for my mom, it's easier maybe because we are adults, but for a child it's very difficult.

KINKADE (voiceover): Here, at an abandoned airport runway, just a few of the millions of Ukrainian refugees whose lives have been completely upended over the past six months. Linda Kinkade, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The conflict in Ukraine is making it tough to get food shipments out of the country to areas like the Horn of Africa, now in the grip of a historic drought and facing the threat of famine. But help is on the way after a deal last month between Moscow and Kyiv to unblock key Black Sea ports. A ship carrying 23 tons of Ukrainian grain is now heading to the region. And for more on that, I'm joined now by CNN's Larry Madowo. He is in Nairobi, Kenya.

Good to see you, Larry. So, how desperate is the situation and how far will this shipment go in helping those most in need?

LARRY MADOWO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That ship, Rosemary, will be a drop in the ocean. The brave commander is expected in Djibouti in maybe a week or so. And that -- all that shipment is going into Ethiopia, which is one of the countries here in the Horn of Africa that's been worst affected by a drought. And that drought has been exacerbated by Russia's war in Ukraine.

When you zoom out (ph) here, Africa export -- imported about $7 billion worth of food and agricultural products from Ukraine in 2020. For instance, the two countries alone contribute 40 percent of the entire continent's wheat. So, in real terms, Benin and Somalia got almost all the wheat from one of those two countries, Russia and Ukraine. But that's higher in each because 82 percent, in Sudan it was 75 percent.

So, you see why it's so critical that there is a free flow of that food and fertilizer and cooking oil coming from Russia and Ukraine into the continent because they are big players in the global food market. But those that are the most dependent on them are here in Africa. And the real impact of that has been an immediate skyrocketing in the prices of food, fuel, and fertilizer because people just can't get it quickly enough. And when it gets here, it's usually more expensive.

And maybe that's part of the reason why African leaders have been reluctant to take sides in this war. This was President Museveni of Uganda explaining last month before the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov why he's where he's at.

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YOWERI MUSEVENI, UGANDAN PRESIDENT: We want to trade with Russia, we want to trade with all countries of the world.

[02:55:00]

We don't believe in being enemies or somebody's enemy. No. We won't make our own enemies. Not fight other peoples' enemies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MADOWO: Som President Museveni explains clearly why many African countries have chosen not to impose sanctions on Russia, have chosen not to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at least not in the same way that the other western countries have. Because there's such a dependency of them and there's longstanding ties between Russia and the continent. Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Larry Madowo joining us there. Many thanks.

And thank you for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back with more coverage of the primary elections in New York and Florida after this short break. You're watching CNN. Do stay with us.

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