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Video Shows Pro-Trump Operatives Accessed Election Office on Day of Breach; Judge Grants Trump Request for Special Master to Review Seized Documents; Uvalde Students Return to Class for First Time Since Shooting. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired September 06, 2022 - 10:00   ET

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

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JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour now. I'm Jim Sciutto.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Poppy Harlow. We're glad you're with us.

We are following several key stories this morning. First, a major development in the investigation into voter machine tampering in Georgia. New surveillance video obtained by CNN shows a Georgia Republican county official escorting a team of pro-Trump operatives into the Coffee County Elections Office on January 7th, 2021. That is the same day a voting system there was illegally breached. That official at the center of the video is also under criminal investigation for posing as a fake elector in 2020.

SCIUTTO: Plus, a Florida federal judge has thrown a wrench into the DOJ's investigation of the documents, many of them classified, seized from the former president's home at Mar-a-Lago, granting Trump's request for a so-called special master to review the evidence. This temporarily prevents the Justice Department's investigative team from accessing thousands of documents taken from Mar-a-Lago. We're going to have more on that in a moment.

First though, CNN Senior Investigative Correspondent Drew Griffin joins us with the details of this newly obtained video from Georgia County, and we should note, taken the same day a voting machine was breached in that office. What do we know, Drew?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Breaches, Jim, of these voting machines in swing states are under investigation across the country. This one happened in Coffee County, Georgia. CNN obtained surveillance video at one of the offices where these machines were breached. And this was all done at the behest of one of Donald Trump's attorneys.

I want to show you the video now. It's Cathy Latham, is the woman there. She's the former chairwoman of the Coffee County GOP. She's the woman already under investigation for posing as one of those fake electors who signed documents declaring Donald Trump the winner of the 2020 election. She is seen here escorting a team of pro-Trump operatives into this county elections office, including an I.T. specialist who was working with Trump's lawyer, Sidney Powell.

This all happened on the same day the voting systems in that office were illegally breached. This is January 7th, 2021, the day after the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Text messages, emails and witness testimony in a civil lawsuit against Georgia elections officials have connected Latham, that woman, to the plan to give that group access to the elections office.

About a week before this breach of the voting machine, Latham herself testified before the Georgia state legislature along with Rudy Giuliani about alleged voter machine irregularities in Coffee County. Latham's attorney told CNN in a statement, Ms. Latham has not acted improperly or illegally and Ms. Latham did not authorize or participate in any ballot scanning efforts, computer imaging or any similar activity.

And important note, Coffee County, where this happened, very rural, very Republican, Donald Trump won the county by 70 percent of the vote. But as you can see from that video, the Trump team was able to use the sympathetic election official to get access to an elections office.

SCIUTTO: Drew, you noted this kind of thing, talking about access to voting machines, didn't only happen here. How extensive, what do we know?

GRIFFIN: There were a series of breaches of voting machines in other states. At least one of those breaches in Michigan has been connected to what happened in Georgia. And it all points to a coordinated plan to try to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Let me tell you, Jim, later on, like 11 days after that breach in Coffee County, Doug Logan shows up at that office. He is the president of Cyber Ninjas. He's the guy who helped run that farcical Arizona audit, that partisan audit, and he's also named in Michigan by the attorney general as part of a conspiracy involving this voting machine collection that they were doing.

So, it all leads to this group going around the country or collectively working around the country to try to do what they have not been able to do, which is find any reason that Joe Biden is not president of the United States.

HARLOW: So, this is what's happening in Georgia. There are investigations in multiple states.

GRIFFIN: Yes.

HARLOW: But I just wonder about federally, right? Is this all being looked at federally?

GRIFFIN: The states are wondering the same thing you are, Poppy. I talked to the Michigan secretary of state. They in Michigan have handed over all their information, their evidence, to the Department of Justice.

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It's just been a one-way street. They have given to the DOJ but they have not heard back yet. You know, it's a federal investigation. That doesn't tell me or anybody anything. It just means that they do have the information at the DOJ.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Drew Griffin -- and oftentimes they deliberately do not talk about ongoing investigations. Drew Griffin, thanks for the reporting.

Also this morning, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon cleared the way for a third party to review all documents seized from former President Trump's Mar-a-Lago home last month.

HARLOW: Our Correspondent Kara Scannell was at the hearing about this. She's following all of it. Walk us through what is key here. I mean, obviously, it's a delay. The question is what does it do more broadly to the investigation?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. Well, it's definitely going to slow it down somewhat. The question is how long that delay will last. And the judge, Aileen Cannon, she was appointed by Trump in 2020. She became a member of the bench. She's saying that she's granting Trump's request. He wanted a special master to review all of these materials, more than 11,000 documents at Mar-a-Lago, for personal records. She said that there were some medical records in this cache and also anything that could be covered by attorney/client or executive privilege.

Also importantly, though, this is where the delay comes in, is blocking the Department of Justice from using any of these documents in its ongoing criminal investigation. So, for instance, they can't ask a witness about some of these records that they may have found.

Now, the reason for this, the judge saying that part of the issue here is that he is a former president, and she wants to give some deference to him. She wrote in this 24-page opinion, the investigation and treatment of a former president is of unique interest to the general public and the country is served best by an orderly process that promotes the interest and perception of fairness.

Now, Trump had claimed that this FBI search, which was approved by a magistrate judge, signed off on with probable cause of crimes being committed, he claimed that this was in violation of his constitutional rights. The judge in this ruling saying that the former president's rights were not violated. She said the court agrees with the government that at least based on the record to date there has not been a compelling showing of callous disregard for plaintiff's constitutional rights.

The Department of Justice says that they're reviewing this decision. The big questions is will they appeal this. As for now, the judge has set a deadline for Friday in which she wants the Trump team and DOJ to submit a joint filing with their recommended list of candidates for the special master, as well as setting out what the terms of engagement will be, such as the duties and the limitations, the schedule, and who is going to pay for this.

HARLOW: A whole lot to come on Friday. Kara, thanks very, very much for that.

Joining us now to talk about both of these significant legal stories, Paul Rosenzweig, he was senior counsel during the Whitewater investigation, also the former deputy assistant secretary for policy at DHS. Thanks so much, Paul, for coming in.

I am fascinated by this judge's ruling for a number of reasons, but namely for what it means for executive privilege beyond the term of the executive in office. So, she brings up the Supreme Court's recent ruling that had to do with documents surrounding January 6th and she used the argument of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to make this claim in Trump's favor, quote, a former president must be able to successfully invoke the presidential communications privilege for communications that occurred during his presidency even if the current president does not support that privilege claim. Concluding otherwise would eviscerate the executive privilege for presidential communications.

What does this actually mean in terms of how far executive privilege last? Because if we get clarity in this now for the law, it changes everything going forward.

PAUL ROSENZWEIG, FORMER SENIOR COUNSEL, WHITEWATER INVESTIGATION: Well, first off, the Kavanaugh opinion came in the context of an intra -- inter-branch conflict between the Congress through the January 6th committee and the executive branch, to which even if you have a weak view of executive privilege, there might be some argument as to that.

What the judge has done here is mistakenly, I think, and I think most analysts would agree, mistakenly imported that into an intra-branch conflict between the current executive and the former executive. Indeed, the Presidential Records Act was written precisely to eliminate a president's claim of executive privilege over documents that he had with respect to his successor. I mean, the stories are legion about how John F. Kennedy couldn't find Eisenhower's documents because Eisenhower took all of them with him. The idea that a former president, in this case Trump, can stop a current president, in this case Biden or his designees, from using documents created by the executive branch is really quite extreme and frankly pretty silly.

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SCIUTTO: More immediately, explain what the purview would be of a special master, and would it include the classified documents more than 100 found there or just documents that Trump's team would make an argument involve some sort of attorney/client privilege or does it go further?

ROSENZWEIG: Well, according to the judge, it's going to cover both attorney/client and executive privilege. That's another reason why the executive privilege argument is kind of silly, which is to say that the president does not have a presidential communications privilege as to classified documents that have been provided to him by the intelligence community. Presidential communications is maybe related to advice he got from his White House counsel, maybe related to directions he gave to the secretary of state, but not to the raw intelligence that was generated outside of the White House and provided to him for his analysis. So, at least as she's written it, the judge is saying that she has a very expansive view of executive privilege. But I'm struggling very much to figure out what she means and how she plans to implement this. This is really quite -- this decision is quite unmoored from practicality.

HARLOW: Right. I mean, to let ODNI go forward with one part of it, so executive privilege doesn't apply there, but then it does apply on the other side of it, to DOJ, at least for right now. What are the pros and cons for the Justice Department of appealing this ruling? Because you think they would at least want to appeal, you know, her stance and her argument on the executive privilege front, no, just for sort of law going forward.

ROSENZWEIGH: I think that they could have lived with the special master, maybe even with a special master reviewing executive privilege claims since they're so weak. What is really going to stick in DOJ's craw at this point, I think, is the injunction against further investigation. That's truly unprecedented and, frankly, I think beyond the judge's scope.

You know, there's an old Supreme Court case, Los Angeles Lions v. Los Angeles County, which essentially says that for violations of law, we don't allow injunctive relief against investigations. The remedy is through the exclusionary rule, fruits (ph) for the poisonous tree analysis. Almost all of the criminal law practitioners I know have never seen a case in which a judge has stopped or purported to try and stop an ongoing criminal investigation because it may have privileged information that they have come across. Again, unprecedented and not really moored to any legal analysis that I understand.

HARLOW: Paul, thank you for helping us understand all of this. We'll have you back soon.

Well, this sad news just in to CNN, a body found in Memphis has been identified by authorities this morning as that missing teacher, Eliza Fletcher. Surveillance footage captured the moment the 34-year-old was abducted as she was jogging early on Friday morning. Her body was found 20 minutes away from where that happened.

SCIUTTO: Yes, sad confirmation there.

Our Gary Tuchman, he has been following the story from Memphis. Tell us what you're learning from police and have they already made a decision about additional charges against the suspect?

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. Jim and Poppy, you're right, this is a very sorrowful news. Eliza Fletcher, the jogger kidnapped on Friday who has been missing, is dead. Memphis police just confirmed it to us.

Behind us, Cleotha Abston, the accused murderer, will be appearing in this courtroom in the Shelby County Courthouse in Memphis for his arraignment. He was supposed to be here to be arraigned on the kidnapping charges. Now, it just changed on the docket in the last 15 minutes. He'll be arraigned on first-degree murder charges and first- degree murder and the perpetration of a kidnapping.

Obviously, this is just -- I can't say it's unexpected. We were concerned this would be the outcome, but it's just so sad. Last night, we were at a search site, the major police operation here in Memphis about 15 minutes south of this courthouse. They closed off a neighborhood with police tape, scores of police officers, police helicopters, and they announced they had found a body but they hadn't been able to identify the body.

We were reasonably certain it was going to be her. The reason being because police had told us after the kidnapping they had talked to a witness who saw the accused murderer cleaning his SUV and looking very odd. And where he was cleaning it was a half mile away from where this body was found.

So, right now, this is a murder case.

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It's very sad and tragic. And one thing, Jim and Poppy, that's really important, no one should be scared of jogging or biking when it's dark out. No one should be scared of it. Yet we have to be because of what happened. Back to you.

HARLOW: So right. Those little kids, you saw those family photos there. Their mother is gone. Gary Tuchman, we appreciate the reporting on this throughout.

Well, still to come, the resilience of children on a very emotional day in Uvalde, Texas. Students and teachers are returning to class for the first time today since the deadly mass shooting killed 19 children and two teachers in May. We'll take you there live. SCIUTTO: Plus, another big day of primaries. Today, ahead of

November's midterm elections, more on the high stakes governor's race in Massachusetts, and who to watch as voters go to the polls there.

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SCIUTTO: A tough morning at schools in Uvalde, Texas, this morning. Emotional support dogs were there greeting students, parents, teachers, as they went back to school for the first day since that horrible shooting on May 24th, a day a gunman killed 19 kids, 2 teachers at Robb Elementary. We should note, no one is returning to the site of that shooting. That school, instead students there heading to nearby schools where they're going to be met with several new safety measures as well. Despite those changes, some parents still opting for virtual learning from home as their kids, understandably, not convinced those precautions are enough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ADAM MARTINEZ, PARENT OF UVALDE SCHOOL STUDENTS: I talked to my son, and I told him that they're going to have higher fencing. They're going to have more DPS cops, and he just wasn't having it. He said that he doesn't think they're going to be brave enough if it happens again. They're not going to go in there. They didn't go in there before. And he wants different cops. And that he's really not budging. The fencing, he said they can just get a ladder and climb over it. So, right now, he's just not ready.

My daughter, she was looking forward to volleyball, playing volleyball, and now even with that, she doesn't want to go back.

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HARLOW: Well, our Senior National Correspondent Ed Lavendera, joins us this morning from Uvalde. Ed, we were saying earlier, none of us can imagine what it's like for these children, for their parents, for the teachers. I just wonder what you're seeing, what you're hearing from them as they do go back to school this morning.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim and Poppy, this is a first day of school that very few people, no one in this community, could have imagined more than three months ago when 19 children and 2 teachers were killed in their classrooms here in Uvalde.

So, this is a very different first day of school. The atmosphere around these campuses kind of reflects that. It's a mixture of smiles on many young people's faces, teachers putting on a good face, welcoming them back to these campuses. This is the first time all of these students have been back together once again in a classroom.

The building you see behind me is where last year's second and third graders at Robb Elementary who are now third and fourth graders, this is one of the campuses that has absorbed those grade levels. And the eight-foot fence is around this entire campus, and that is just one of the measures that the school district here in Uvalde has tried to implement.

They're in the process of hiring ten more school police officers. Last week, district officials said that so far they had only hired three of those. There's a plan to put in 500 cameras inside school campuses. So far, they have installed about 100. And, of course, as we mentioned, many campuses now have this eight-foot perimeter fence and there's also campus monitors that are supposed to be walking around campuses making sure doors are locked and that their entry points are well protected.

As well as inside the classrooms, the children, as you mentioned, have these therapy dogs that will be here on campuses for the first several weeks of school, as well as counselors and trauma counselors, to help them navigate this very difficult time.

But despite all of that, Jim and Poppy, there is still a great deal of apprehension, especially among parents here. We spoke with the father of one of the victims who died in the shooting back in May. He has four other children that attend schools, and even just up until a few days ago, he wasn't sure exactly how this day was going to go for his family.

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BRETT CROSS, UNCLE OF UVALDE SCHOOL SHOOTING VICTIM UZIYAH GARCIA: There's a lot of us that are still scared and that are still speaking up. And nothing really gives us peace in that. The school says that they're doing certain things, but then you look around and they're not done.

I don't want any other parent to ever feel this way. It's not a fun feeling, you know? This is something that terrorizes you daily and nightly. I close my eyes. All I see is my son. I hear the gunshots, you know? It's something that doesn't ever go away.

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LAVANDERA: So, Jim and Poppy, this has been a tumultuous and emotional summer unlike any other, as these families have gotten ready for this first day of school.

And to show you just how traumatizing and how difficult these decisions these families are making, there are nearly 140 students that have chosen not to come back to school here. They are doing virtual learning. Dozens more have transferred out of the school district into private schools. So, it is definitely a very difficult and emotional time here for many families in this district.

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Jim and Poppy?

SCIUTTO: I have not heard that number, 140 kids staying home. Ed Lavendera, thanks so much.

Still ahead, this hour, today Republicans hope to choose a candidate who can keep the governor's mansion in Massachusetts, Republican but a unique challenge in a state that leans heavily Democratic, in everything but the governor's office. We're going to have more on the critical midterms race, coming up.

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