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Gun Violence Plagues Holiday Weekend in Cities Across the U.S.; Trump Escalates Attacks on DOJ, FBI; and Biden at Weekend Rally; Israeli Military Admits Journalist was Likely Killed by Israeli Fire; Two Nuclear Inspectors to Remain at Zaporizhzhia Plant. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired September 05, 2022 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's got a gun. He's got a gun.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A man emerges and approaches the SUV wielding a firearm. The victim reported that $20,000 was taken, but law enforcement says there are some inconsistencies with the amount.

In Virginia, seven people were shot in Norfolk after a fight broke out at a house party early Sunday morning.

INTERIM CHIEF MICHAEL GOLDSMITH, NORFOLK, VIRGINIA: The preliminary investigation reveals that there had been a party at that location that had been advertised on social media. Apparently a fight broke out at the party. And once the fight started, then somebody pulled out a gun and started shooting.

SAVIDGE: 25-year-old Zabre Miller and 19-year-old Angelia McKnight were shot and killed. Norfolk State University said several of the victims were NSU students, including McKnight, who was a second year pre-nursing student from New York. The president of the university writes, "Angelia's life is important and every Spartan is a key member of our campus. With our strength, we will continue to work together."

MAYOR KENNY ALEXANDER, NORFOLK, VIRGINIA: Violence has no place in the city of Norfolk. Let me be clear to anyone in our community committing crimes and engaging in acts of lawlessness, we will hold you accountable for your actions. The violence must end now.

SAVIDGE: In Florida Saturday night, two people were shot and killed and at least three more injured outside a restaurant in Palatka. In Charleston, South Carolina, a shooting early Sunday morning left five with non-life threatening gunshot wounds. Two were arrested and charged with firearm violations.

The Minnesota State Fair closed early after a shooting injured one Saturday night. The area was heavily populated and police haven't released the identity of any suspects or a motive. And in Maryland outside Washington, D.C., two teens were shot and injured outside an AMC movie theater. Hours earlier, moviegoers were evacuated from another D.C. area theater after a threat to harm was reported. Police were called and shut down the theater for the rest of the day, according to CNN affiliate WJLA.

ELIZABETH HARVEY, WITNESS: I heard that in one of the movie theaters, someone had said, you all are going to die, which caused the, I guess the crowds to flee.

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SAVIDGE: Of course, the holiday weekend isn't over yet. But today the focus of law enforcement will shift somewhat to the roads and highways as millions of Americans begin the journey back home -- Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Martin Savidge for us. Martin, thank you.

Well, former President Trump blasting the FBI as monsters for searching his Mar-a-Lago resort. Now he's being accused of potentially inciting violence again. We'll discuss next.

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[09:37:21]

HILL: A ruling could come any time now from the Florida judge who's considering whether to grant former President Trump's request for a special master to review documents seized from Mar-a-Lago. In Pennsylvania on Saturday, Trump's first rally since the search, he again lashed out at the FBI and the Justice Department. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: The FBI and the Justice Department have become vicious monsters controlled by radical left scoundrels, lawyers and the media, who tell them what to do, you people right there, and when to do it. They're trying to silence me and, more importantly, they are trying to silence you. But we will not be silenced. Right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: One January 6th Committee member told CNN Trump's attacks on the FBI potentially amount to incitement. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): We've seen that sometimes that rhetoric reaches people who are prepared to act on it. For example, the fellow who was killed when he tried to attack the FBI agents in Ohio. So this is not responsible, and the ex-president ought to stop it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Joining me now to discuss, David Preiss, he's a former CIA intelligence officer and author of the book "How to Get Rid of a President: History's Guide to Removing Unpopular, Unable or Unfit Chief Executives," and presidential historian Douglas Brinkley with us as well.

Gentlemen, nice to see you both on this Monday morning.

David, when we hear that reaction from Zoe Lofgren saying that Trump's continued attacks could amount to incitement, is there any real legal danger for him connected to that rhetoric?

DAVID PRIESS, FORMER CIA INTELLIGENCE OFFICER: There is. Yes, there is if people take action based on his words. And that's a lot of what the January 6th Committee is investigating regarding that incident. But if there are people who are inspired directly by this and cite this as a reason why they take action, for example, some violence against the FBI as we saw in Ohio a few weeks ago, then there is a potential threat.

The bigger threat of course is just the overall political environment that at a time when the former president should be explaining how it's possible there were all these classified information documents inside his residence, instead of explaining that, he is going on the offensive and taking on people like he calls the radical left leadership of the FBI, forgetting that he appointed the director himself.

That's a losing argument for him politically except with a very small base. It does put him in some legal jeopardy but I think the bigger fear at this point is simply that he is not bothering to defend himself of some very, very serious charges.

[09:40:08]

HILL: It's interesting, too, when we look at where things stand in this country, right? We can all feel on a daily basis how divided it is. And yet what I was struck by is a new CBS News-YouGov poll that found almost two-thirds, 65 percent of Americans think political violence will only rise in the coming years. That's actually up 10 percent from December of last year. 80 percent of Americans believe the country is more divided now than it was during their parents' generation.

Doug, when you look at those numbers, when you look at this most recent polling, what do you make of that?

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: It's what a sad state we're in right now. How democracy is in peril and that we all must act and vote and be engaged. Listening to Donald Trump's speech, I mean, that was Joe McCarthy on steroids. It used to be a big deal in the 1950s if McCarthy would intimate some name he won't mention on my list as a communist and now we have a president -- a former president of the United States demonizing the FBI in such a grotesque fashion.

And with the Mar-a-Lago incident, I mean, imagine these -- what the intelligence community is thinking about right now. I mean, host (INAUDIBLE) they are, 45 empty folders of highly classified information, nobody knows where those documents are and what was in them and then we find out at Mar-a-Lago it's been a revolving door of quasi-nefarious characters coming in since Trump left the White House. It's a huge crisis going on and let's hope that the Justice Department

can kind of keep Trump accountable for what he has done with these documents.

HILL: As we wait to hear from the judge as to whether or not a special master will be appointed, I was really struck, as I know a number of people were, by some of the comments that we heard from former attorney general Bill Barr starting on Friday afternoon, who was pretty clear where he stands right now when it comes to these documents that were at Mar-a-Lago. Take a listen.

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WILLIAM BARR, FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL: I have a legitimate reason why they could be taken out of the government, away from the government. If they're classified. I think the driver on this from the beginning was, you know, loads of classified information sitting in Mar-a-Lago. People say this was unprecedented. But it's also unprecedented for a president to take all this classified information and put them in a country club, OK?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: I mean, David, talk about a big change there, right, in terms of what we're hearing from Bill Barr now, and he was very forceful throughout that interview in terms of what he thinks about this raid, those documents being there. Not mincing words. How much do you think that message is getting through?

PRIESS: I don't think it's getting through to the former president, that's for sure. He's already written off Bill Barr. But Bill Barr did work at the CIA earlier in his career, so he probably has a better personal understanding of the nature of these classified documents than a lot of the president's other supporters and some of his lawyers who have never worked with this material before.

But there's also the factor that some things are almost impossible to excuse. And yes, we could have said that about many things in the past. Bill Barr also was not a fan of what happened on January 6th. But in this case, if you look at the affidavit that went to the judge who authorized the search and seizure, if you look at the government's filings in the special master case, this is not a close call.

This is not a matter of fine legal judgment. There is essentially no case for the former president because all of these records are presidential records and as the former president, he has no title or right to possess them. So, that the former attorney general of the United States, no matter how politicized he was on some issues, he cannot look at those documents and make any possible case in support of the former president's arguments, such as they are. This is where we are.

HILL: And as we wait for the special master, something Bill Barr also said he thought the whole idea was a red herring, basically, that it was a waste of time. What's interesting, though, and I was speaking with somebody about this on Friday night. I guess someone else pointed out to me, well, a special master, right, isn't going to be beholden to this sort of unwritten 60-day rule, where you're not going to hear much about the investigation in the 60 days leading up to the midterm elections, even though the former president of course isn't a candidate but he has endorsed candidates.

So could it be that we would actually, perhaps, learn even more and hear from the special master during that 60-day period? I mean, it could backfire.

PRIESS: It is possible but no special master that I can think of is going to release classified information. And the bulk of the concern that I have is that the investigation into who saw these documents, who had access, were any of them exposed to foreign nationals, or even worse, exposed to someone who's representing a foreign intelligence service, I want to make sure that that is taken care of and the special master not get in the way of that.

[09:45:04]

HILL: And Doug, I think it will be fascinating to see, right, it will need to be a few years out, but really just to see how much once again this has turned sort of norms and will be think of in terms of presidential norms just on its head.

BRINKLEY: Completely. In Trump's speech last night attacking the FBI in the fashion that he did reminds us what Joe Biden was trying to say in Philadelphia. I was not that big of fan of Biden's speech, but the point is that there is an ultra-right MAGA contention in this country that wants to overthrow the U.S. government, that despises our institutions, our constitutional foundations because they believe in a deep state conspiracy and they cling to it.

And so Trump's Pennsylvania -- or both the Pennsylvania speeches this past week are really signs for what's more to come. It's going to be vicious as we head into the midterms.

HILL: Yes, I think so. We're going to see those polling numbers we just spoke about go up even more.

David Priess, Doug Brinkley, great to see both of you today. Thank you for your insight.

BRINKLEY: Thank you, Erica.

HILL: The Israeli military in a highly anticipated report out this morning, now admitting an Al Jazeera journalist was likely killed by Israeli military fire. So what will happen now? Those details next.

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[09:50:50]

HILL: This just into CNN. The Israeli military releasing findings from its investigation into the death of an Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, and admitting the fatal shot likely came from Israeli forces. CNN's Hadas Gold joining us now live from Jerusalem with the very

latest. What more does this report say, Hadas?

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Erica. This has been a highly anticipated report since it's been nearly four months since Shireen Abu Akleh who is an American citizen was killed was covering the Israeli military raid in Jenin in May. Now according to this report, the IDF says that moves most likely that she was killed by Israeli fire, although they are still leaving the possibility they say that it could have been other gunfire.

But they are admitting that it was most likely Israeli gunfire. This is the same conclusion that multiple media organizations including CNN as well as the United States have come to after their own investigations. Now the IDF says the soldiers were most likely in an armored military vehicle south of where Shireen and her other journalist colleagues were standing and that the soldiers did not identify Shireen and her colleagues as journalists.

This is despite the fact that Shireen was wearing a helmet and a protective vest that said press on both the front and the back of her vest. But the Israeli military is saying that for certain the soldiers did not know that they were shooting at journalists and thought that they were shooting at Palestinian militants. The IDF is saying that soldier regrets what happened and this was not supposed to happen and it should not happen, that he did not do so on purpose.

Now it's important to note that there will also be no criminal prosecution. The Israeli Military Advocate General's Office said in a statement that after the investigation they determined that they did not -- that the soldiers did not deliberately fire at anyone identified as a civilian and in particular anyone identified as a journalist.

Now Shireen Abu Akleh's family in a statement said that the report tries to obscure the truth and avoid responsibility saying that they are very hurt, frustrated and disappointed, and they are still calling on the U.S. to conduct its own proper investigation that they say will include full accountability -- Erica.

HILL: Wow, there's still going to be quite the reaction to that report throughout the day. That is for sure. Hadas, appreciate it. Thank you.

This morning Ukraine says at least two members of a nuclear energy watchdog team will remain at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The announcement coming just hours after a senior pro-Russian official said the U.N. inspectors' mission would end on Tuesday. Well, now at least on Ukrainian official is calling the group's trip, quote, "ineffective."

Joining me now, CNN military analyst, retired Air Force colonel Cedric Leighten.

Colonel, good to see you this morning. So the fact that one Ukrainian official is saying this is ineffective, we do know two team members are staying behind. The big issue, though, of course, is Russia doesn't seem to be willing to play ball in terms of a demilitarized zone or even reducing shelling. So what happens now?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes. That's a good question, Erica. Good morning. And it's going to be one of those areas where I think there's going to be a standoff between the Russians and the Ukrainians. The IAEA is really there, those two members are going to be there at the, you know, really with the acquiescence of the Russians, and if the Russians say they're going to go, that's going to be a problem for the IAEA to monitor the situation there. So it's going to be dangerous, and we have to look at this as a possible flashpoint going ahead.

HILL: When we look at where things stand, Ukrainian president Zelenskyy speaking out very forcefully on his concerns. Take a quick listen to that.

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PRES. VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY, UKRAINE: You see they occupied our nuclear stations, six blocks, the biggest in the Europe. It means six Chernobyls. It means the biggest danger in the Europe so they occupied it so that is -- that means that they used nuclear weapon, that is nuclear weapon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: So you hear him there, you know, making the case on "GMA" this morning that occupying this plant is essentially using a nuclear weapon. You know, I've heard other people say they are holding this nuclear power plant hostage to use it as a nuclear threat. What do you think the end goal is here for Russia? Is it simply to use this as some sort of a bargaining chip? Is it to hold out as long as possible?

[09:55:05]

LEIGHTON: I think it's possible that it's going to be a bargaining chip for the Russians. Of course, things could go very wrong very quickly, so this is an extremely risky playing with fire type of scenario, Erica, and it's really a dangerous game for the Russians to be playing because the risk is so high. President Zelenskyy is right. It's going to be a very tough thing not only to get them out, but it is in essence hostage-taking of a very different kind.

HILL: I know sometimes it can be tough to really assess it, but when we look at where we're now, more than six months into this war, we also heard from President Zelenskyy that two settlements in the south, another in the eastern doing next region had been liberated. Ukraine also talking about some of the losses it inflicted on Russian forces in Kherson, talking about hitting another ammunition depot. Do we have a sense of where this war stands right now?

LEIGHTON: Right now it's basically a stalemate. However, the Ukrainians are making a bit of progress, you know, as you mentioned, and it's one of those areas where the Ukrainians have a chance to potentially capture the city of Kherson. It's going to be a tough slog for them, but it's definitely something they could do. The other thing to think about is the Russians are trying to amass a response to the Ukrainian counteroffensive, and it is not going well. They have a third army corps that they've created and it is not at full strength and it is not in a position to actually go there.

HILL: Colonel Cedric Leighton, always good to have you with us. Thank you.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Erica.

HILL: A manhunt is under way right now for two armed and dangerous suspects in a mass stabbing that has left at least 10 dead and 15 injured. We're live next.

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