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Judge Orders Release of Redated Affidavit By Today; District Attorney Wants Mark Meadows to Testify; Gov. Kemp's Attorney's Argue to Block Subpoena; Biden: Republican Party is Embracing Semi-Fascism; Ukraine's Nuclear Plant Fears; U.S. Launches Airstrikes Against Militants in Northern Syria. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired August 26, 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]
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Max Foster in London. Just ahead --
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We could see the Mar-a-Lago search warrant affidavit in redacted form at any moment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The governor doesn't think that he is beyond any rich of law. He's just beyond the reach of this particular subpoena.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Trump with the extreme MAGA Republicans have made their choice. To go backwards. Full of anger, violence, hate, and division.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every minute of the Russian military's staying at the nuclear plant is a risk of global radiation disaster.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster.
FOSTER: It's Friday August 26, 9:00 a.m. here in London, 4:00 a.m. in Washington. Where the U.S. Justice Department has about hours to release affidavit used to justify the FBI search of Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home. A federal judge set the noon Eastern deadline after a hearing on Thursday. Affidavits like this typically contain crucial information about why investigators want to search a property and what potential crimes that they're looking for.
Judge Bruce Reinhart agreed with the Justice Department that certain portions of the document should remain sealed.
Quote: Disclosure would reveal, number one, the identities of the witnesses, law enforcement agents, and uncharged parties. Number two, the investigation strategy, direction, scope, sources, and methods. And three, grand jury information. This comes as we are learning there is growing concern inside Trump's inner circle that his legal team is less than qualified. Sources tell CNN the former president is turning to outside legal advice now. Including from the head of the conservative activist group, Judicial Watch. Tom Fitton. He's considered a close Trump ally. He's telling the former president exactly what he wants to hear.
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TOM FITTON, PRESIDENT, JUDICIAL WATCH: Trump should get every single document they took from him back. These are all personal records.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: More now on the release of the affidavit from CNN's justice correspondent, Jessica Schneider.
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JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: We could see the Mar-a- Lago search warrant affidavit in redacted form at any moment. And that's because the federal judge in this case, Bruce Reinhart, has ruled that the Justice Department must make public the version they submitted to him on Thursday.
Now this is a version that is likely significantly blacked out. But it could still reveal a few procedural details about why the search at Mar-a-Lago happened on August 8th. The judge wrote that the DOJ must unseal their version of the affidavit by noon on Friday. And we saw that the judge did agree that the judge DOJ does need to blackout substantial portions of the affidavit, since the judge said it could reveal the identities of witnesses, law enforcement agents. It could even reveal uncharged parties who might eventually be charged with crimes related to this ongoing criminal investigation into classified information.
The judge also said that the DOJ could black out details relating to the sources and methods and grand jury information. Since we know, of course, the grand jury has been hearing evidence for months. They even issued a subpoena to Trump to return of some of this material. So, the public will soon see a bit more detail but probably not a lot more about what prompted a federal judge to approve this unprecedented search of former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago home and resort. That will be by noon on Friday.
Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Well things are heating up in the Fulton County, Georgia investigation into Trump's election interference. The district attorney is calling for Trump's White House Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, to testify before a grand jury. Meadows took part in a call with the Georgia Secretary of State in which Trump asked him to find more than 11,000 votes needed for Trump to win the state. Meanwhile, all attorneys for Georgia Governor Brian Kemp are trying to
keep him from appearing before the grand jury. They say he is beyond the reach of a subpoena and the investigation could interfere with his reelection campaign.
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DEREK BAUER, ATTORNEY FOR BRIAN KEMP: The governor doesn't think that he is beyond any reach of law, he's just beyond the reach of this particular subpoena.
[04:05:00]
Because there are other mechanisms, if the state needs or wants to investigate. The official activities of the governor, that legal authority does exist. It just doesn't exist with this special purpose grand jury.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, prosecutors want to ask camp about evidence from the Trump team that the election was rigged. Who contacted him and how many times and the contents as well, of those conversations.
With U.S. midterm elections a little more than two months away, President Joe Biden is leveling some of its sharpest attacks yet at Donald Trump and the Republicans. In short, he's openly including them of embracing, quote, semi-fascism. At a late rally on Thursday night in suburban Washington, Mr. Biden laid out a list of hot button issues that he hopes will drive Democrats to the polls on the November 8. CNN's Phil Mattingly was at the event and he filed this report.
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PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: There is no question when you talk to Democrats, they believe their fortunes have shifted over the course of the last six or seven weeks. They don't necessarily believe that they can for saw losing seats particularly in the House during the midterm elections. But they now clearly feel that they have something to run on. They have a positive message and a message that is resonating.
Seen it in special elections across the country. They've seen it in wake of the Supreme Court decision on Roe v. Wade issues. And those were all issues that President Joe Biden in his first real campaign rally in the midterms sought to highlight. The contrast making very clear what Democrats believe they've done. What Democrats believe they can bring it to the table. What they believe it's opponents, the Republicans, would do.
The president going after the former president. Who he rarely mentioned for the first 18 months of his time in office. And also, repeatedly going after Congressional Republicans and their opposition to his top agenda items. Probably the most fiery language we've heard on several prompts. Take a listen. JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In 2020, you and 81 million
Americans voted to save our democracy. That's why Donald Trump isn't just a former president, he is a defeated former president. And it's not hyperbole. Now you need to vote to literally save democracy again.
Will we be a country that moves forward or backward? Will we build a future or obsess over the past? Trump and the extreme MAGA Republicans have made their choice to go backwards, full of anger, violence, hate, and division. But we've chosen a different path. Forward, the future, unity, hope and optimism.
MATTINGLY: The president was out in Rockville, Maryland, actually a DC Suburb. This is not exactly battleground or red country. But it was an opportunity for him to get his feet wet. It was very much a campaign feel, packed gym, overflowing rooms. The president went and saw everybody, talking to everyone and made clear that the Maryland delegation, mostly made of Democrats has is support.
The real question going forward though is can the White House maintain some of the momentum the party has seen and will it have a real affected in November. No question when you look at the history, Democrats and Republicans alike, first midterm of a new president never goes well, typically in the House. Democrats now think they have a shot to buck that trend. Phil Mattingly, CNN, Rockville, Maryland.
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FOSTER: U.S. stocks ended trading on Thursday with a second day of gains. Welcome news there for investors after a sell off on Monday and Tuesday. When the dust finally settled the Dow closed 322 points higher than the day before. But it's still down around 300 points for the week with inflation fears weighing heavily on the markets
The Wall Street's new trading day gets underway in just about five and a half hours. And here's a look at how the futures are looking right now. It's a down day. So, it's not going to end the week well and if those futures are correct.
European markets are up and running already and they're all up. So maybe Wall Street will take a lead from that. Here's how it is across Asia fared today. Generally good news, apart from China of course. Where there are so many pressures on lockdowns and the state of the economy there.
And the eyes of the financial home also will be on Jackson Hole, Wyoming. About an hour after today's opening bell on Wall Street, Federal Serve Chairman Jerome Powell is set to speak at the Feds annual summer gathering. He's expected he'll offer some guidance on where interest rates may be heading in the coming months.
New data shows that the U.S. economy shrank again between the second quarter of this year, but by a slower rate than economists had predicted. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis says gross domestic product shrank by 0.6 percent from April through to June that's better than the advance estimate of 0.9 percent released last month. Now despite the improvement, those estimates show the American economy
contracted for two straight quarters. A declined that is often considered an unofficial indicator of a recession.
[04:10:00]
A new study from the Brookings Institution fines that long COVID is keeping up to 4 million people in the U.S. from working. Researchers determined that about 16 million working age Americans currently have long COVID, a combination of symptoms that last months or even years after infection. They include brain frog, fatigue and breathing problems. The report said work outages linked to long COVID translates to about $168 billion in lost earnings. As of June, U.S. economy had nearly 11 million unfilled jobs.
On to weather and record rainfall is soaking to the capital of Mississippi, nearly 22 centimeters, or eight and half inches of rain have fallen on Jackson over the past few days, would you believe. And areas east of the city like Pearl have received even more. This is now Jackson's rainiest August on record, and a flash flood emergency was issued on Wednesday for some 300,000 people. Let's bring in CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam to see if you can offer any hope to those people.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we really did see what mother nature was capable of doing with flash flooding, just incredible imagery coming out of the state capital there in Jackson, Mississippi. Look at this, this roadway is completely washed away.
I'd like to say there's better news in this forecast, and there is, but I'd say we have to pull back our expectations here, because they're still the potential for flooding today. And I'll explain why in just one moment.
Even though the risk of extremely heavy rainfall has been reduced today, this is a very saturated environment, some of the rivers, the tributaries and the streams are running extremely high. So additional precipitation could lead to the potential of more localized flash flooding. So, the weather prediction center still has a slight risk, let's say level two out of four, located across central Mississippi as well as much of Louisiana. This is the area that has been hardest by the deluge of rain, the flooding rain that occurred this week.
And let's just take, for instance, the Pearl River in Jackson. This is just southeast of downtown Jackson. And I want to show you how the flood stage will continue to go up through the course of the week, into the weekend and into early parts of next week as we get some of that runoff from the local tributaries, and the streams into the larger rivers like the Pearl River for instance. And authority there's there are claiming that this could lead to some water in the downtown areas. And they're urging residents there to get sandbags ahead of time to prepare for the potential of more flooding.
You can basically see where the flood warnings are existing through today. Those shades of green actually highlight that, and a lot of them follow along those larger rivers like the Pearl River, for instance, bisecting the Jackson region. This area has seen over ten inches of rain for some localized area, and you can see the pop-up showers and thunderstorms that are expected to meander across the area today. So, any of those set up shop over the same locations for an extended period of time today, that again, will lead to the localized flash flooding threat from New Orleans to Jackson as well as Alexandria. Later this afternoon, we do have a marginal risk so we can see we can reduce that threat level as we go forward in time, but still, the risk remains -- Max.
FOSTER: Derek, thank you.
Now after Iran backed militants struck U.S. troops in Syria, the American military is fighting back, details on that. Just ahead. Plus --
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SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Essentially, are you saying that that risk is a meltdown of the reactor?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, could be. Because, you know, you cannot stop this fire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: A Ukrainian official talks about the possible nightmare scenario of a nuclear plant caught up in fighting. The latest concerns after it's been disconnected from the power grid.
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FOSTER: Ukraine confirmed a short while ago that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is still disconnected from the power grid. A Ukraine said the facility went off line after fires damaged power lines on Thursday. Kyiv and Moscow have been trading blame over outages at the facility which has been held by Russian forces since March. While still not connected to the grid, Ukraine also said it's now able to provide power to the plant, and that's critical, because it needs power to cool its reactors to prevent them from melting away. President Zelenskyy says his government isn't taking any chances.
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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I want to assure all Ukrainians, we are doing everything to prevent an emergency scenario. But it depends not on our state, international pressure is needed that will force the occupiers to immediately withdraw from the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The IAEA and other international organizations must act much faster than now. Because every minute of the Russian military staying at the nuclear plant is a risk of global radiation disaster.
(END VIDEO CLIP) FOSTER: The disconnection is raising concern that Moscow may be trying to divert electricity from Zaporizhzhia to occupy parts of Ukraine. The U.N. nuclear watchdog is also being pushing for its inspectors to go to the plant. The agency's director is now optimistic that it may soon happen.
RAFAEL GROSSI, IAEA DIRECTOR-GENERAL: I think now there is general recognition that we need to be there, we need to be there soon. And Kyiv accepts it, Moscow accepts it, we need to go. And we are going to be there, hopefully, very, very soon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is very soon days or weeks?
GROSSI: Days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, the loss of external power may be the biggest but may not be -- maybe the biggest but not the only threat actually to the Zaporizhzhia plant. Sam Kiley explains a bit more around that.
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KILEY: There are two major threats to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, one civilian, the other military. The civilian threat, a technical issue reared its head today with two power paths effectively -- the power supply to the nuclear power station was severed. There were four lines. That was down to one. That was cut. The Ukrainians say as a result of Russian shelling. The Russians say, as a result of a short circuit.
[04:20:00]
Either way, the danger is that if that is cut and then not reconnected, as it has been, the cooling system to the two functioning nuclear reactors there could be in danger. There is backup generators that are diesel-powered but they can be unreliable and they rely, obviously, on the supplies of diesel going into a war zone. But the other issue is military. And that also poses a severe threat.
KILEY (voice-over): A fireman tests for radioactive fallout. It's an essential ritual repeated several times a day. It is safe for now. But the war and the shelling that puts this city on the frontline of a potential nuclear disaster continues.
KILEY: The pattern over the last month has been that the city has been hit mostly at night. But in the last week, the locals are telling us that there has been regular attacks during the daytime, more or less at exactly this time of day, around about 3:00.
KILEY (voice-over): While communications are reestablished, an officer explains where the shelling is coming from, pointing to three locations close to a Ukrainian nuclear power station captured by Russia in March. And now, Ukraine's top nuclear official is raising fears that Russian trucks, which have been parked inside the plant's turbine hall, could be laden with explosives or cause an accidental fire.
PETRO KOTIN, ENERGOATOM PRESIDENT: And if it happens, then there is a major fire in the turbine hall and after that, it can actually impact the reactor building.
KILEY: Essentially, are you saying that that risks a meltdown of the reactor?
KOTIN: Yes, could be. Because you know, you cannot stop this fire if it blows.
KILEY (voice-over): There's been a renewed exodus of civilians living under Russian occupation in the towns close to Europe's nuclear power plants. Safely in Ukrainian-held Zaporizhzhia, they consistently told CNN that Russian troops were bombarding locations close to the plant, shelling that Russia blames on Ukraine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The internet is switched off before it starts.
KILEY: Now international inspectors may be able to get to that power plant in the next few days. But it won't solve the significant problem that this is a nuclear power plant for the first time in history that is on the frontline of an international war. And it is the first time that this nuclear power station has ever been cut from the Ukrainian network. Both of those factors are unlikely to be solved merely by inspections.
Sam Kiley, CNN, in Kyiv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Scott has been keeping an eye on the latest developments out of that nuclear plant, and the power is still cut off to it as we understand.
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Correct, and just I want to tell you what the Ukrainian energy minister said this morning. He said that the Russians on the site is a constant trigger of a possible nuclear disaster. Not exactly reassuring, is it?
But you're right. So, the actual power plant itself is disconnected from the grid right now. Two of the six reactors are actually still functioning, still working. These are the two that we're trying to reconnect to the grid. This is important because the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant actually provides some 20 percent of all of Ukraine's energy. And so, especially as we move towards winter, people using more electricity, more energy. This will become more and more important.
Even with the plants off line though, obviously -- a Sam explain in his story. You still need external electricity to be connected in order to run the cooling systems, the ventilation systems and keep the lights on. That kind of thing. The head of Ukraine's state nuclear power operator though says that look, he thinks that the Russians are trying to knock the power out on purpose. Because they want to get the power plant, not on the Ukrainian grid. But on the Russian grid.
FOSTER: You want to take it out for a while to make the switch?
MCLEAN: Correct. So, they run a different frequency. So, he says that you have to shut it down completely, disconnected from all other power sources and run on those backup generators. And that is the period of time where he says it would be really dangerous. Because the generators are not really supposed to run for long periods of time.
Yesterday, they were forced to switch on for a period of time when fires nearby the power plant cut off the power entirely. And President Zelenskyy says that look, the world needs to know what exactly the risk is -- listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENSKYY (through translator): If the diesel generators hadn't turned on, if the automation in our staff on the plant had not reacted after the blackout, then we would already be forced to overcome the consequences of a radiation accident. Russia has put Ukraine and all Europeans in a situation one step away from a radiation disaster.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLEAN: Not only do you have the external power issue, Max, you also have -- as Sam explained -- the potential of Russian explosives. Military hardware that are actually inside of the plant. You also had staff telling CNN that they are leaving by the dozens. Remember, it's Ukrainian staff who are still actually operating at the site. And of course, you have fighting in the area as well.
[04:25:03]
And if they were to be fighting and some kind of an accident, it would come from either the reactors which are housed in sort of protective buildings that are meant to withstand even the force of an accidental plane crash. Could they withstand a missile strike though? Do you really want to find out? We don't know the answer to that. The other possible risk here is the cooling poles, which set on the sites with the spent nuclear fuel. Those though, there right out there in the open. So, it wouldn't take much in that case.
FOSTER: OK, Scott, thank you.
U.S. military striking back in Syria. Meanwhile following a rocket attack that injured American troops in the region. U.S. central to command carried out a series of retaliatory strikes on Iran affiliated militants in the northeastern part of Syria.
Our Oren Liebermann has more.
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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The exchanges of fire we've seen between U.S. troops in Syria, and Iranian black militias have all happened very quickly over the course of the last 24, 48, 72 hours and have appeared to escalate at least for now. So, the key question is, where does this go from here?
Earlier in the week the U.S. carried out strikes against nine bunkers used by Iranian-backed militias. U.S. Central command said in a statement, those bunkers used to store ammunition, as well as logistics support for operations by that Iranian backed militias. And those strikes were in response to rocket attacks, and drone attacks, on bases housing U.S. troops a week earlier.
But from the strikes on those bunkers, it quickly escalated at a very rapid pace. In less than 24 hours there were rocket attacks on two separate bases housing U.S. troops in Syria, known as Conoco and Green Village. At the Conoco site, U.S. Central Command says three U.S. service members were injured. They suffered minor injuries. One has already returned to duty, while the other to remain under evaluation.
But in an exchange of fire right around that rocket attack, the U.S. says they used an Apache attack helicopters to strike back at the origin in of that rocket attack. In that, Central Command or CENTCOM says they killed three militants, as well as destroyed some launchers.
But the U.S. says in what was called a proportionate and deliberate response carried out another series of strikes, against which they say was somebody preparing to launch another rocket attack on U.S. forces in the region.
And that, U.S. CENTCOM says one more militant was killed as we waited for more information. Now it certainly looks like this is accelerating, or at least was accelerating. But a U.S. officials says they believe -- the militaries of the opinion that for now, the deterrence has been restored. And this round of escalation has come to its combination.
But of course, it remains a very sensitive situation. One that could change very quickly. So, we're keeping a very close eye on it.
Oren Liebermann, CNN, in the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Yet another American politician visiting Taiwan in defiance of Beijing, which considers the island a renegade Chinese province. A U.S. Senator, Marsha Blackburn, met with the president Tsai Ing-wen. Reassuring her of American support for the self-governing island.
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SEN. MARSHA BLACKBURN (R-TN): And we look forward to continuing to help and support Taiwan as they push forward as an independent nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Blackburn does not represents the Biden administration on her trip and her comments do not change the long-standing one China policy. Which recognizes Taiwan as part of China. Blackburn's visit comes despite increased pressure from Beijing to hold such trips by U.S. officials. Several high profile visits from Congressional lawmakers including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi had angered the Chinese government in recent days and weeks.
Coming up on CNN NEWSROOM. Monkeypox cases are popping up in young children, raising questions with how schools will prepare to deal with the possible cases. Plus --
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People have other kinds of debt and those are being forgiven. So, it's just -- it's tough to swallow.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just don't think it's enough to come out and say they're forgiving 10 to 20,000. It's just kind of ridiculous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: U.S. President Joe Biden's student loan forgiveness plan is drawing both praise and criticism. But what affect will it actually will help Americans? We'll get the details next.
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