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Ian Expected to be a Major Hurricane Tonight, Florida Impacts Begin Tuesday; New Details on Mysterious Nine-Second Call from White House to a Rioter; Ultra Conservative Elected to be Italy's First Female Prime Minister. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired September 26, 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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[10:00:00]

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

And right now, people up and down the Florida's West Coast are preparing for impact, this as Hurricane Ian strengthens over the Caribbean, now has winds of 75 miles an hour. Ian is expected to rapidly intensify, however, into a major hurricane overnight. Where exactly it will hit is unclear. The National Hurricane Center is warning there remains, quote, higher than usual uncertainty over its track and intensity.

Facing the risk of dangerous storm surge and heavy winds and high rainfall, resident's long Florida's West Coast and Panhandle making final preparations, including, as you there, filling sandbags, waiting in long lines at stores for supplies. We're going to speak to the FEMA administrator, Deanne Criswell, in just a moment.

I do want to begin with our Carlos Suarez, where is live in Tampa. Chad Myers, he is at the CNN Weather Center tracking the storm.

Chad, we're talking about all of those computer models, the various paths. What do they tell us right now?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: They're getting more organized even though there are five or so different models that we look at. The ones that the American model was really way out in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. That was last week. The European model was in the Atlantic Ocean, 700 miles away. Well, now, all of that has really calmed itself down, narrowed down to about a 100 per hour wide strip where not that much air.

What a pretty picture as long as you don't have to deal with this. That's the hurricane, the visible picture from the sky. This is what it looks like when you talk about the hot towers coming up, those big thunderstorms around what could be and will be likely later today, an eye. The storm is now breathing. It is sucking air into it from the surface and it is blowing it up to those towers and then out of the top. And that is what we call a breathing, living, growing hurricane, 140 miles per hour to the west of the keys and also to the west of Florida Bay.

But something else that is going on here. There is going to be some huge waves with this. Not just surge, not just wind, but there is all of those things, and even some flooding, rainfall likely with this. Everyone in Florida likely feels some effect no matter where it goes. Will it be surge on up from Tampa Down toward to Port Charlotte, will it be the waves? Now 30 to 40-foot waves will not be come on shore. They will be dying off before they get through but they still could be 10 to 15. That will be some significant, significant erosion along those shores.

And even though the waves are down, if the storm does make it up here to Big Bend, the surge won't be down. There will be big surge on up into the Big Bend area. We know there will be some surge in Tampa and there may even be some negative surge for a while when the storm is well south of here. The wind will be blowing from east to west that may actually blowing the water out of the bay, and then as it goes north, it will blow it back into the bay so that could be something to see.

But we do know that probably six feet of surge is likely. Right now with this forecast, if the forecast changes, all of these numbers are going to change as well. This is right now, right now, right now, and this thing may not even make any type of close call to land for 60 more hours.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Listen, we cover these storms. It always amazes me how quickly that storm surge can come up too. It can surprise you, the speed, the pace.

Chad Myers, great to have you, I appreciate that. We'll be back to you.

CNN's Carlos Suarez, he is live in Tampa. So, Carlos, statewide, Florida already under a state of emergency. You've been watching people there get ready. I'm curious, how concerned they are?

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, just about everyone that we've talked to this morning says they are pretty worried about this considering that so much of the Tampa area really is flood prone, right? Even in afternoon thunderstorms, a lot of folks we talked said it is not that uncommon to see some flooding in and around they're neighborhoods.

The turnout at this one sandbag distribution site was so great that they ran out of sand, and just a few minutes ago -- a few seconds ago, actually, a dump truck was here and made another delivery of sand.

The concern with Ian is that even if we don't get a direct hit, when you're talking about the storm surge associated with this type of system, we could be seeing anywhere between to six to eight feet storm surge. And with Tampa being essentially surrounded by water, I mean Pinellas County alone has the Gulf of Mexico on one side and the bay on the other.

Officials are really worried that a lot of this water is going to get pushed inland, and the closer you get to land, the more shallow that water comes. And so everyone is trying to do their best to get their homes prepared for any type of impact when it comes to Ian.

We've talked to a number of folks out here who waited in line for hours to get a sand bag just so they can get their homes ready.

[10:05:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been through the eye of the storm, right? I've been through hurricanes. It's is one of the worst. And I have got to be prepared because I have got my kids and then my wife and then my mother-in-law living with me. So, hopefully we'll get through this.

SUAREZ: What is your biggest concern where you live?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Flooding, the storm surge and flooding, in general. That has a major concern for me before it wasn't in an area. I just recently moved about a week ago to the new area and I just want to make sure everything is secure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SUAREZ: All right. So, Jim, we still have not received a word from Hillsborough County officials on whether or not they're going to be issuing any type of evacuation order just yet. Officials are, at this hour, about to have a briefing, so we might be able to get some more information on that.

Again, the concern is we might see some sort of significant flooding even if Ian doesn't make a direct impact. However there are -- there is enough time, they believe, for folks to continue with their preparations, although, ideally, they would like everyone to be ready to go with their supplies and their sandbags by tonight.

SCIUTTO: Yes, a whole range of outcomes, right, from the worst to not so good. Carlos Suarez, thanks so much.

All right, so how is the federal government prepared as Hurricane Ian barrels towards Florida? I'm joined now by FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell who is in Miami. Thanks so much for taking the time this morning.

DEANNE CRISWELL, ADMINISTRATOR, FEMA: Good morning, Jim. Thanks for taking the time to have me on today.

SCIUTTO: So, you know better than me, hurricane prediction is science but it is not an exact science, right? I mean, there are a lot of models and it is just hard to predict where it's going to end up and how big it's going to be. I wonder, in your experience, where do you place Ian in terms of its threat to the coast, particularly to the West Coast of Florida?

CRISWELL: Yes, I think you're exactly right, Jim, right, that there is an art to this science. And as it gets closer and closer to landfall, it certainly gets more refined.

What I would say right now is that this is going to have some impacts to Florida. We're going to see significant impacts along the western coast and parts of the Panhandle. But the people inland should also take this very seriously. Things that we have seen from Hurricane Ida last year, to Hurricane Fiona that we just saw in Puerto Rico, that these are bringing significant rainfall with them, which is causing a lot of inland and street flooding. So, even if you're not in that direct path, everybody needs to make sure that they're paying attention.

SCIUTTO: We spoke to Tampa Fire and Rescue in the last hour, and they were making the point that evacuating from the coast doesn't mean you have got to drive 500 miles away, right? I mean, inland helps, particularly when storm surge is a primary threat. I mean, does that still hold in your view given that the risk is not confined, as you were just describing there, to just folks right on the beach?

CRISWELL: Well, I think it does, right? Because the most significant part that we see is from storm surge. And we want to make sure that we are protecting people from, as you heard just recently, right, in the previous report, six to eight feet of storm surge, very dangerous.

The state has done a lot of good work of identifying places that are safe to go. And so what I would say is they need to listen to their local officials. They're going to make sure that they're telling people where they need to go to make sure that they're safe.

SCIUTTO: Florida has experienced with hurricanes, and that could be good and bad, right, because sometimes residents are like, we've seen this before and it will be fine, sometimes they say it is going to be big, it is not that big. But this one, I mean, listen, if you listen to Chad Myers, I mean, historically, if this is a direct hit, it might be the strongest storm to hit Tampa directly in a hundred years. How do you keep residents there from getting complacent?

CRISWELL: It is always a concern, Jim. And I think that with this storm is showing is that we want to make sure we're getting the message out. That is one of the reasons that I'm here at the hurricane center today, is to make sure that people know that we have taking this serious and they should take it serious as well.

I worry about places that haven't seen a hurricane for like you said nearly a hundred years but also there are so many new residents in Florida that have never experienced a hurricane. So, the best thing that they can do right now is know where you're going to get information and listen to the advice of your local officials and start taking those preparatory actions now.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And as we said earlier, when we get those warnings from local officials, we'll do our best to amplify them.

Before we go, just giving you a platform, we have got a lot of viewers in Florida, including on that West Coast there, what is your best advice at this stage? CRISWELL: Right now, today you need to be making preparations. Know where you're going to get information from. And then if you're asked to evacuate, know where you're going to go, know what documents you're going to take with you. And if you're asked to stay in place, make sure that you have supplies to last you for a now days.

And also know how you're going to communicate with your family members that live outside of the area. We often see a lot of communication challenges. And so knowing how you get information out to your family to let them know you're safe is also incredibly important.

And just expect to lose power. I think this type of storm, we're going to see people without power. So, charge those cell phones up now. Take pictures or write down phone numbers of documents that you may have stored on there. Taking those simple measures today can make a big difference in those first few days after the storm passes.

[10:10:05]

SCIUTTO: That's great, great piece of advice. Well, Deanne, we know you're going to have a busy next few days thank you, so we wish you the best of luck.

CRISWELL: Thanks, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Coming up next, CNN has uncovered new details about a call from the White House to one of the rioters on January 6, right in the middle of it. That took place while the Capitol was under attack. What we know about who exactly was on the line.

Plus, Italy has elected its first female prime minister. Note this, though, she is set to lead the most far-right government in that country since Mussolini. What are the consequences of all that?

Later, CNN speaks to small business owners in Florida who are frustrated by the governor's decision sending to send those asylum- seekers to other states when those businesses are short of workers.

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[10:15:00]

SCIUTTO: The January 6 committee will hold what could be its final public hearing this Wednesday. One former adviser to the committee is now raising new questions about what was happening inside the White House during the January 6th insurrection. In a new interview, a former senior technical adviser to the committee, Denver Riggleman, pictured there, says that a Capitol rioter had a short call with the White House on the day of the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FMR. REP. DENVER RIGGLEMAN (R-VA): You get a real aha moment when you see that the White House switchboard had connected to a rioter's phone while it was happening.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Someone in the White House was calling one of the rioters while the riot was going on?

RIGGLEMAN: On January 6th, absolutely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: CNN Senior Crime and Justice Reporter Katelyn Polantz joins me now.

So, a call from the White House to a rioter right in the middle of this. What do we know about the call, how long it was, who it went to and anything else?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Jim, we know a few things. This is the only known call from the White House to the phone of a rioter while the riot was taking place. But there is a few places things here based on months reporting from Correspondent Jamie Gangel and Producer Elizabeth Stuart.

This phone call from a White House landline, the publicly available number for the White House, it lasted for only nine seconds. Who placed the call and why remains a mystery. Phone logs don't reveal any specific extension of that line.

But we have learned that the rioters who received is named Anton Lunyk from Brooklyn. He attended the Ellipse rally with two friends. They were only in the Capitol for a few minutes and he's seen on a cell phone video leaving the Capitol building through a window. That call happened after they left the Capitol and Lunyk was likely on his way back to New York, his home, already.

According to one source though, the House committee continues to investigate this call, but, so far, they've been unable to discover who placed it or why. Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren downplayed Riggleman's comments yesterday on CNN. Here she is on the committee's work.

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REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): Everything that he was able to relay or to discern prior to his departure has been followed up on and, in some cases, didn't really peter out or there might have been a decision, a suggestion that there was a connection between one number or one email and a person that turned out not to pan out. So, we follow up on everything.

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POLANTZ: So, earlier this year, Lunyk and his two friends pleaded guilty in federal court to demonstrate inside the Capitol. They were sentenced to home confinement and probation. Attorneys for all three men declined to comment to CNN and prosecutors never mentioned this call during their court proceedings.

But according to multiple sources familiar with this investigation, Lunyk says he doesn't remember receiving the nine-second call and he claims he doesn't know anyone who worked in the Trump White House.

So, Jim, there is still a lot of mystery here and it is really hard to say at this time how significant this detail is.

SCIUTTO: No question, outgoing call. Katelyn Polantz, thanks very much.

Members of the January 6 committee are now detailing what to expect in Wednesday's hearing.

CNN's Manu Raju is live from Capitol Hill. I wonder, do we expect this to be a big one? How much are they revealing at this point?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's been different than in past hearings, in which they have detailed the themes, the specific things that the committee planned to drill down on.

This time, they are not exactly revealing what they plan to discuss but it is expected to be a summation of what they have find out so far, providing some insight into some of the matters that have come up, such as those missing Secret Service texts from January 6. We expect to learn a lot more about the communications and what the Secret Service was doing before those text messages mysteriously disappeared.

We'll also plan to hear more about Roger Stone, that Trump associate, his connections with extremist groups, but some of the other questions the committee plans to answer is still a bit uncertain here as they have interviewed thousands of -- more than a thousand witnesses. They have (INAUDIBLE) scores of documents and the interview witnesses since the last public hearing occurred before they recessed in August.

Now, this could potentially be the last hearing before the midterms, potentially the last hearing all together, as this committee moves to its final report and has some questions to answer. One of those questions is will it make a criminal referral as a result of this. That is something that the committee members are still undecided about.

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REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): We operate with a high degree of consensus and unanimity. It will be certainly, I think, my recommendation, my feeling that we should make referrals, but we will get to a decision as a committee and we will all abide by that decision and I will join our committee members if they feel differently.

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RAJU: So, one of the other questions has been whether or not former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence would be asked to testify in some way or the other.

[10:20:04]

Zoe Lofgren, a member of the committee, said over the weekend she is doubtful that that will ultimately play out because a subpoena fight will essentially last beyond this Congress. And another subpoena fight now playing out, the Wisconsin state house speaker has been subpoenaed by this committee to appear by today to discuss his interactions with Donald Trump over the recent months when Trump still wanted to overturn Wisconsin's certified elections. That Wisconsin state speaker, Robin Vos, has filed an emergency lawsuit to block this committee's request for his deposition. Jim?

SCIUTTO: Yes, a lot of battles not to be deposed for this committee. Manu Raju on the Hill, thanks so much.

Coming up next, now at least 35 people have been killed as protests for women's rights escalate in Iran. It is a brave stand to take there. One of the leaders of the movement to get rid of the mandatory hijab, that's the veil that covers a woman's hair, has been targeted by the regime herself. She's going to join me live in moments.

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[10:25:00]

SCIUTTO: Far-right leaders across Europe are now praising Italy after voters there elected the ultra conservative politician, Giorgia Meloni, to be country's first female prime minister. She and her coalition, very hard right.

CNN's Barbie Nadeau joins me now from Rome. Barbie, I wonder if you could explain to viewers here just how far-right she is, but also her coalition, because some pieces of this coalition are even further right of her?

BARBIE NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: That is right. You know, it is a worrying trend when you could have people like Viktor Orban in Hungary applauding the election of Giorgia Meloni. But her politics have been very conservative in this very catholic country. She insists that fascism died a long time ago, and despite the fact that she, herself, started her political career in a neo-fascist party, she says that is no long the politician she is, and that her center-right coalition that she's guiding now will have Italy's best interest at heart.

She's anchored though by Matteo Salvini, the Donald Trump-loving, anti-immigration Italy first leader who has really, really worked hard to make sure that Italy is unique among Europe. She's also anchored by Silvio Berlusconi, a very common name in Italian politics, three times the prime minister in this country. They insist that they're going to govern this country and they have a very strong majority, can probably go for five years on Italy first, secure borders, anti-immigration, they want to make sure that Italy, as they say, Italians, as they say, are proud to be Italian.

And that is something in the political spectrum we haven't seen in these other parties. So, often, we see the focus on being part of Europe. This is a big change for Italy and it is alarming to a lot of people around Europe. And we'll have to see what is to come with her coalition, Jim.

SCIUTTO: It shows the life of the far-right in a number of European countries. Barbie Nadeau, thank you so much.

Well, the European Union is now condemning Iran's violent crackdown on anti-government demonstrations there, this as thousands taking to the streets to protest the death of a woman in the custody of Iran's so- called morality police. Demonstrations have taken place in at least 40 cities across Iran.

The 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died after she was apprehended in Tehran for apparently not wearing her hijab, her veil properly. Protesters are demanding an end to violence and discrimination against women, as well as an end to the requirement that women wear the hijab.

Dozens of protesters have reportedly been killed in the resulting clashes with security forces, though CNN cannot independently verify that death toll.

Joining me now is Masih Alinejad , an Iranian journalist and campaigned against the compulsory hijab. She's been living in exile in the U.S. since 2019, working to amplify the voices of female leaders still inside the country.

Masih, it's great to have you. I've been following your work for some time. It is a real pleasure to see you here.

MASIH ALINEJAD, IRANIAN JOURNALIST AND ACTIVIST: Thank you so much for having such a moment.

SCIUTTO: So, we have seen protests in Iran before. I've covered them myself, for instance, in 2009. The spark there was an election. Here, the spark is the wearing of the hijab, which has angered many Iranian women, as you know better than me, for so long. Can you explain why, why that is driving women and men, frankly, into the streets risking their lives to do so?

ALINEJAD: Let me make it clear. Mahsa Amini got murdered for a bit of her. So, of course, that created a huge anger when the society, men are alongside women chanting against dictators. Because Mahsa's brutal death is becoming a turning point for Iranian people to show the rest of the world that this is 21st century and we don't deserve such a barbaric regime.

I have to tell you that women are the true leaders within the society, but this is the first time which makes it different from other protests that we have been seeing, that men are supporting women to burn their head scarves. Head scarf is not just a small piece of clothe for Iranian women because it is not a choice.

[10:30:00]

So, it is the most visible symbol of oppression. It is the main pillar of the Islamic republic.