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DOJ Filing Reveals New Details In Criminal Probe Into Trump's Potential Mishandling Of Classified Docs; Trump Has Until 8pm Tonight To Respond To DOJ's "Special Master" Filing; Biden Declares Emergency As Jackson, MS Residents Struggle To Get Water; Biden Condemns MAGA Republicans For Defending Jan. 6 Insurrection. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired August 31, 2022 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EASTON OLIVERSON, LITTLE LEAGUER: As I continue to get better, I know the prayers, blessings have worked. And that Heavenly Father is blessing me.

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JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Sounds great. And oh, that smile. The family says well, Easton has made remarkable steps toward recovery. He still has a long road ahead of him. We know he's going to make it.

CNN's coverage continues right now.

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

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: And Jim Sciutto. Overnight, damning evidence. The Justice Department released its most comprehensive filing to date as it responds to former President Trump's request for a special master to review all those documents. Officials say that top secret government documents were, quote, likely concealed and removed. As part of an effort to obstruct the FBI investigation is, of course, in addition to them being held at Mar-a-Lago.

In their 36-page filing, Justice Department officials laid out how Trump failed to return dozens of highly classified documents. This despite several requests over several months.

HARLOW: The Justice Department also released its most visual piece of evidence and you're looking at it, that is a photo showing documents with the highest classification markings laid out there by the FBI. Officials say those documents were recovered from a container that Trump kept at his Mar-a-Lago home. Now since January, the U.S. government has recovered more than 320 classified documents from Mar- a-Lago. The Justice Department says three of those classified documents were not in boxes in that storage facility. They were actually found in former President Trump's desk. So let's begin this morning with all of that news in this stunning filing from the DOJ with our Correspondent Kara Scannell. Kara, this is why DOJ needed 40 pages. They needed twice what the court had said that they could have because they had to apparently lay all of this out.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Good morning, Jim and Poppy. I mean, part of the objective of this filing is for DOJ to, as they say, correct the narrative, correct this false impression that the Trump team has given that they have been fully cooperative with this investigation.

This level of detail was not required at all in this filing, but the Justice Department taking it as an opportunity to tell the judge who was not involved in the search warrant, just the type of work that they had done to this point. And they said that they've recovered 320 classified documents from Mar-a-Lago.

They said that when they executed the search warrant there three weeks ago, they recovered twice as many records that they had been given from the Trump team when they had subpoenaed them back in May. So clearly indicating here that they were not getting the type of information and the full record of information that they believed existed there.

In fact, as you noted, they said that DOJ said that they likely concealed and remove some of these documents in an effort to obstruct this investigation. We're also learning from the filing that, you know, some of those records as you said, they were in a storage room in the basement when the FBI first went there in June. They were not allowed to look into those boxes. When they went -- and they executed that search warrant, they discovered the bigger trove of records.

They also discovered that three documents, classified documents were found in a desk drawers belonging to the former president within his office. So definitely, some indication here that they were not getting what they believe to be the full story. In addition, if you look at those records there, they're marked secret and top secret. In fact, some of these records were so highly classified, that the FBI agents and the Justice Department officials conducting a review of these materials, they already have security clearances, but some of them had to get additional clearances, even in order to read these documents.

Now, DOJ, this is all part of this filing related to a special master. They say one it's not necessary. Same fact that these records don't belong to the former president. They belong to the U.S. government, and that there's no right that the former president has to have a special master in this to conduct this review or to obtain these records back.

And they also say that if a special master were appointed, it could significantly harm DOJ's own efforts, including efforts by the intel community to review these materials to see if any sources and methods needs to be protected. Jim, Poppy?

SCIUTTO: Well, so many details in there, including the idea that there were some torn up documents. We'll be digging that further as we continue to cover this. Thanks so much, Kara Scannell.

HARLOW: Former President Trump's team has just today, they have been told tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time to respond to DOJ's filing. And this morning, the former president is lashing out as the Justice Department's probe clearly has intensified.

SCIUTTO: CNN Reporter Gabby Orr joins us now. So Gabby, the former president, extremely -- unusually vocal even by his standards on a social media platform in the last couple of hours. So what kinds of things is he saying there?

GABBY ORR, CNN REPORTER: Well, Jim, Poppy, he has not specifically responded to the DOJ filing that we saw last night. But you're right, over the past 12 hours including yesterday, former president Donald Trump posted more than 60 times on his own true social, social media platform, which is an unusually high volume for him.

[09:05:18]

A lot of these were anti-government posts that were critical of federal investigators, specifically the FBI. But there were also some others that were aimed at his political opponents, including Joe Biden, and some Republicans like Mitch McConnell, as well.

Now, the former president has been up again this morning on Truth Social, criticizing the FBI once more and also specifically taking aim at these photos that were released of documents that were scattered across the floor at Mar-a-Lago. And included in that filing last night as evidence of the haphazard way that he was storing some of these materials including highly sensitive and classified materials at his Palm Beach residence.

So again, former President Donald Trump has not yet responded specifically to last night's DOJ filing, but he is on a tear this morning on Truth Social lashing out at the FBI.

HARLOW: Gabby Orr, we appreciate the update.

Joining us now to talk about all of these headlines from DOJ's filing is the former Deputy Director of the FBI, Andrew McCabe and Caroline Polisi, Federal and White-Collar Criminal Defense Attorney. Andy, where do we begin? We learned in this filing, you've got 33 boxes that were seized by the FBI in that August search containing more than 100 classified records.

In total, you've got more than 320 classified documents that were at Mar-a-Lago, including what we showed some with the highest security and classification markings. What is this due to the former president's argument that he's been cooperating all along and this search was never necessary?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, Poppy, I mean, it obliterates that argument. I mean, I think the thing that stands out to me most from the language in this filing, is they've gone to great pains to show that there has not only has there not been cooperation from the Trump team, there's been allegedly obstruction and deliberate obfuscation. So the affidavit or affirmation signed by the Custodian of Records, who we believe is the attorney of Christina Bobb, it couldn't be more inaccurate.

They say they conducted a diligent search. They say they've recovered any and all documents described by the subpoena and that no copies of those documents have been retained. We just we now know that that's absolutely not true. So you can understand, originally, we were like, why did the government feel there was such urgency to take this extreme step of searching the former president's residence?

Well, it's perfectly obvious now. It wasn't a rush to judgment, it was only at the conclusion of a year and a half worth of back and forth trying to recover this important material. And then at the very end, they had as the document indicates, multiple sources to indicate the documents, despite the assurances they had been given, still existed on the property and were being moved to other locate, contrary to their instructions. So it's really very damning on the facts.

SCIUTTO: So Caroline, from a legal perspective, I'm curious what is necessary in court to prove an obstruction charge. As Andy was saying, there were more classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, after the documents were removed in January and after a visit from DOJ officials in June. One of Trump's lawyers had signed a letter claiming they were all there. That's clearly not true.

Whether you knew it or not, I don't know. But what would you -- is that legal proof of obstruction? And by whom? I mean, is it Trump's lawyers? Trump himself?

CAROLINE POLISI, FEDERAL AND WHITE-COLLAR CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, Jim, incredibly damaging. And, you know, the facts that Andy laid out just now go to a really clear picture of an 18 USC 1001 violation. We heard a lot about them sort of in the Mueller investigation, and they have to do with, you know, lying to federal investigators, or obstructing an investigation.

And this affidavit or, excuse me, this filing really makes it clear that not only are we discussing obstruction, in the first instance, with respect to the underlying crime, that the affidavits put forth to get the search warrant, which was the initial mishandling, seizing, absconding with classified information. But on top of that, we now have a really clear layer of a 1001 violation, which is an obstruction of that investigation.

And I thought that the DOJ did a great job, sort of laying those facts out. It doesn't get more cut and dried. The attorneys attested to conducting a diligent search. I would note that one question would be whether or not. you know. the attorneys knew that this, you know, subset of information had been removed from the storage space prior to their diligent search.

SCIUTTO: Right.

[09:10:10]

POLISI: So that will be, you know, that will be an issue. And then we need to know who the confidential informants were with respect to how this information was handled post --

SCIUTTO: Yes

POLISI: -- responding to the grand jury subpoena in June.

HARLOW: Andrew, one thing that I don't, you know, want to lose sight of is the fact that at the core of this filing, is DOJ's assertion that no, a special master should not be appointed, because in their view, that would harm the intelligence committees, the intelligence community, rather, review of these documents. I mean, they're right that having a special master appointed would impede the intelligence community from conducting its ongoing review of the national security risk.

And look at all, 320 plus classified documents. I mean, that is what the intel community is trying to go through at this point. And they're saying don't hold that up.

MCCABE: That's absolutely right, because the appointment of a special master would likely also come with an injunction that specifically prohibited the government from proceeding in either the classified damage assessment review or the ongoing criminal investigation. So they're, you know, so they're proceeding from a very strong position saying, hey, we are reviewing the stuff, the IC doing the stuff.

And if we have sources and methods that have been put at risk of human beings at risk, technologies and collection capabilities, maybe need to be shut down or removed so they're not discovered. And it's important to know that that's not a determination you make by simply reading the document and rendering a judgment. You have to then go back to the originator of that document, the entity or the agency that is in control --

SCIUTTO: Yes.

MCCABE: -- of that technology or that source, and get a fulsome assessment from that agency, like what do you think? Do you need to start moving people? Do you need to start removing technologies --

SCIUTTO: OK.

MCCABE: -- and access (ph)?

SCIUTTO: Caroline, I do have to ask you just quickly if you can do this, because there's evidence here, but we have seen in Trump's history for years evidence, right of obstruction, or at least the allegation. I'm just curious what the practice is, with a former president. I suppose we haven't faced something like this before or public officials. What standard has to be met? Is it a higher standard for Justice Department to make a decision to indict?

POLISI: Yes, I mean, this goes to the overarching question we discussed with respect to January 6, and this investigation as well. Merrick Garland has big decisions to make in terms of prosecutorial discretion. Obviously, this is a political question. I would note that the DOJ did a great job, sort of in the last pages of their submission.

They read the room with respect to, you know, the indication that the judge was going to grant the application for a special master and they laid out really tight parameters for that appointment. So I think they see the writing on the wall.

SCIUTTO: Prosecutorial discretion, that's going to probably be a subject of discussion in the coming weeks and months.

Andrew McCabe, Caroline Polisi, thanks so much to both of you.

Coming up next, we will be live in Jackson, Mississippi, where people waiting hours in line just for water. And they're calling on state and federal and county officials to do more to fix the crisis.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's horrible. And I would like for it to be fixed. Please fix our water. I'm tired of not being able to cook clean and do like I need to do.

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HARLOW: Also ahead, new details about the Texas governor's efforts to bus migrants to New York City and Washington, D.C. what it is costing taxpayers. And President Biden takes on MAGA Republicans in a fiery speech in Pennsylvania doubling down on his support for law enforcement and his calls for gun control

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm determined to ban assault weapons in this country, determined. I did it once before and I'll do it again.

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HARLOW: Well, this morning, the water crisis in Jackson, Mississippi persists. President Biden approved an emergency declaration in Hinds County. This is after flooding worsened long standing problems with the main water system there. The failed system leaving the city without clean drinking water or enough water to fight fires, or even flush toilets.

SCIUTTO: Troubles. There have been issues there for decades. Now, the city is under scrutiny for not repairing these issues sooner.

CNN's Amara Walker, she's live in Jackson, which is the state capitol, by the way this morning. Amara, the mayor is suggesting water could actually be restored sooner rather than later. What's the news here?

AMARA WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he's definitely sounding optimistic that within this week that water, running water, drinking water will be restored to the residents. But he said this is going to be an uphill battle because of the complexities when it comes to fixing the pipes at this main water facilities since it faced decades of neglected maintenance.

I do want to talk to you about what's happening here, Jim and Poppy. We are at a distribution site of non-potable water. You can see the water tanker here behind me at Forest Hill High School in Jackson, Mississippi. It doesn't look like the demand is very high. We're told that it should get busier during the afternoon but we just speak with several people who've been driving by and asking us where can we find some drinking water.

So that's where the demand is right now. So there's still no reliable running water right now in this capital city. If the water is coming out, we're hearing from residents who say that the water is tinged with a brown color. People being forced to brush their teeth with bottles of water, they're not able to shower because the water pressure is so low. No air conditioning even though the weather is extremely hot in the 90s because you need water pressure to feed these chillers.

[09:20:04]

Also, people waking up with their kids at home, right, because they're all in virtual learning and Jackson Public Schools had to switch to that because of the water crisis. And at one distribution center on Tuesday, I mean, you can see the demand extremely high people needing this basic human right of drinking water, but they ran out within two hours.

So as you'd imagine, people have been frustrated and extremely angry. And they want to know when they're going to get some clean running water. Jim and Poppy.

SCIUTTO: Honest, understandable question. Amara Walker, thanks so much for covering.

So joining me now to find out what's behind all this is Robert Graham. He serves on the Board of Supervisors in Hinds County, Mississippi. Mr. Graham, thanks so much for taking the time this morning.

ROBERT GRAHAM, BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FOR HINDS COUNTY, MISSISSIPPI: Good morning, Jim. Thank you.

SCIUTTO: So first, this is an issue that arose at least in the short term from flooding, but it's been a long-term issue in and around Jackson for years., in fact. I'm curious, and I'm sure many who are watching this is how did we get here?

GRAHAM: Well, it's easy to talk about how long we've had this particular problem, but it has been over several years. And it's due to -- just a lack of maintenance as what we believe. We also had a shortage of employees. COVID-19 hit the city very hard. We lost a lot of experienced employees at the water treatment facility. So it's just been a number of issues that has led us to this particular point at this time.

SCIUTTO: Yes. I mean, listen, there are echoes of Flint, Michigan here, frankly, and when you hear warnings from state health officials talking about, you know, keep your pediatrician appointments up to look for lead poisoning. If I'm a parent there, I'm not just worried, I'm angry. I wonder who failed here. Is it the city? Is it the county? Is it the state, the federal government or all of the above?

GRAHAM: I think it's a combination of all, but it's not so much a fact of a failure that we're dealing with. The fact is a maintenance issue, trying to make sure that we keep the above facility up and running. That's been our most pressing need at this particular point. It will be very easy for me to start pointing fingers, but it's not going to solve the problem.

We do have a improving problem or, excuse me, improving situation today. We have 150,000 people in the city of Jackson. And during the middle of the day, that swells to around 180,000 with people coming into the city to work. But we do have parts of the city that have running water this morning. We don't know how long that's going to last. But we do have some residents with running water and they are able to take showers and to brush their teeth.

SCIUTTO: But listen, I mean, the schools are even closed because of this and residents are understandably frustrated. We spoke with some of them. Have a listen for a moment.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very frustrating. It's very frustrating to have to fight for some water. You know what I'm saying? You got to mess around by five cases of water just to stay hydrated.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's just kind of scary, because we don't know if anything's going to get done or when it's going to get done.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After work or get off late and you come in the store and it's empty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: I'm sure you've heard comments like that as well. You say you don't want to point fingers here, but who should those people hold responsible? I mean, who's taking responsibility now?

GRAHAM: I think that you have to hold your elected officials responsible. I feel their pain. I know their pain. I'm involved in their particular pain. But like I stated earlier, just doesn't do any good to point fingers. I want to make sure that we're a part of getting this crisis under control and making sure that we get people back with good drinking water and water that they can use to take showers and brushed their teeth.

SCIUTTO: Well, we'll be continuing to follow the story to see where this goes. Robert Graham, thanks for taking the time to join us this morning. GRAHAM: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Well, President Biden sharpening his attacks on Republicans accusing some in the GOP of hypocrisy when it comes to supporting the police. We'll discuss ahead and we're also moments away from the opening bell on Wall Street futures up slightly this morning after a third straight day of losses. Investors still really focused on Fed Chair Jerome Powell 's remarks on Friday.

Oil prices also falling pretty sharply yesterday down 5 percent. The national average for gas dip to 384 gallon. According to AAA, that is down 5 cents from a week ago sharply lower than that record $5.02 set in mid-June.

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[09:29:38]

HARLOW: Welcome back, President Biden is now directing his focus to threats against American democracy turning a key Republican talking point against certain GOP members during the speech that he gave in battleground Pennsylvania. Listen.

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BIDEN: Well, thank you so much. Let me say this to my MAGA Republican friends in Congress. Don't tell me you support law enforcement if you won't condemn what happened on the 6th. Don't tell me. You're either on a side of a mob or the side of the police.