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Brett Favre Under Fire Over Fraud Scandal; Unrest in Russia; New Details Emerge in January 6 Investigation; Florida Prepares For Hurricane Ian. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired September 26, 2022 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: People counted you out.

Heck, I know something about being counted out.

(LAUGHTER)

BIDEN: And I know, in Georgia, you show up when it counts.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: Thanks for your time today on INSIDE POLITICS. We will see you tomorrow.

Ana Cabrera picks up our coverage right now.

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Hello, and thank you so much for joining us. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.

Right now, millions of people in Florida are preparing for Hurricane Ian. This storm has intensified. And it's expected to keep getting stronger. Right now, it's south of Cuba, but, one hour from, now a mandatory evacuation in Hillsborough County, where Tampa is, will kick in. And it's still unclear exactly where Ian could hit the U.S.

But forecasters say, if Tampa takes a direct hit, it could be like nothing seen in this lifetime. In neighboring Saint Petersburg, the mayor there says it could be the storm they hoped would never come.

Across the state, people are gassing up, emptying shelves and filling sandbags.

We have live team coverage.

Let's get right to our meteorologist Tom Sater for the latest timing and impacts -- Tom.

TOM SATER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we have got a lot to talk, Ana. On and it's going to continue to change in the next couple of days. And it varies slightly.

A 20-mile shift here and there in this eye means everything for everyone in Florida. Take a look at our storm system right now. Typically, we have an icon over the center, but we took it away. So we can start to see these bright colors of purple. So that convective activity is really showing us, near the center, we should have an eye soon.

We're about 100 miles to the west of the Cayman Islands, about 240 miles south of the Western tip of Cuba. I want to take you and show you the radar. This is the Cayman Islands. You can see the pinwheel effect, already starting to see that eye, but with the curvature of their coastline in Cuba, they're going to get hit very hard with some very high seas and, of course, that storm surge.

Now, back to our track and what we're thinking. The warnings have now been issued and some watches to the north. And this is very important. Notice in pink here, from Tampa southward, that's a hurricane watch. It is not to the south of there from Fort Myers southward, where we have tropical storm warnings.

So this is telling us, National Hurricane Center, and these computer models, speculating, in this watch area, in the near future, we will have hurricane conditions. The track moves right over Western Cuba, sparsely populated. Typically, when these systems move over a landmass, they kind of break down somewhat, lose some strength. We do not expect that to happen.

I mean, if it drops maybe five, 10 miles per hour, nothing, because it quickly goes to Category 3. And then we have a Category 4 storm on our system -- on our radar here. This is the big thing I want everyone to realize. When you notice a Cat 4 well off the coast, and even though there may be some weakening in the storm before a landfall in a Category 2, pay no attention to that number.

The biggest issue we have with this is storm surge. It's going to take a storm surge equivalent of a Category 4 no matter what that category is at landfall and throw it into a landmass. Other storms that have gone through rapid intensification like Ian, Katrina was a 5. It didn't make landfall at a 5, but it took that surge of a Category 5 with it.

Last one in Florida, Charley, a Category 4 storm. This was 18 years ago. It was expected to go into Tampa, but shifted down to the south. There are millions and millions of more people who live there now that were not living there at that time.

The model, the American model, is now joining hands with the European model. When you see agreement like this, you get a better understanding. Our concern is, it stalls off the coast. For 36 to 48 hours, it shoves the surge equivalent of a Category 4 into Tampa Bay, which will act like a catcher's mitt in all the tributaries and coastal waterways.

So, big storm on the way, but it can still change Ana, and we need to watch it closely for evacuations. CABRERA: And, again, first things first. Before Ian strikes the U.S.,

it will hit Cuba first.

And our Patrick Oppmann is in Havana.

Patrick, is Cuba ready for this?

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we're starting to see the first preparations take place right now.

There are actually ships in the Port of Havana behind me that we have been seeing all day long slowly leave the port, because as we have seen, in storms previously, if a ship breaks loose, it can be devastating.

So they want to get those ships out to sea, actually. It seems counterintuitive. So that's what we have seen, container ships and actually Cuban navy ships starting to leave throughout the day to get out of port.

And, otherwise, people say they're going to hunker down. Cubans, being islanders, they know they can't get out of the storm's path. So, they have to hunker down. They have to get ready. And so that's what people are doing now.

CABRERA: OK, stay safe there, Patrick.

Let's go to CNN's Carlos Suarez in Tampa now.

Carlos, what are you hearing, what are you seeing there ahead of Ian's arrival?

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so folks across Hillsborough County are getting ready for this storm.

The line to get into this one sand distribution bag site is anywhere between three to four hours. And folks have been out here since early this morning.

[13:05:03]

Let's take a look at exactly where things stand across the state of Florida. All of Florida right now is under an emergency declaration by the governor there. We're told that 2,500 members of the National Guard have been called up. They are on standby. And the first round of evacuations will go into effect come 2:00. We're talking about nearly 300,000 people that are being asked to leave their homes because they live along the water.

The governor, he was in Tallahassee earlier today, and he said that the size of Ian is so great that everyone really across the state of Florida is going to see some sort of impact.

CABRERA: We can see so much going on right behind you there, Carlos. You can see people really getting ready and getting their sand to prepare and hunker down and hopefully also evacuate, prepare the property and get on out of there.

Thank you, Carlos Suarez, Patrick Oppmann, Tom Sater. We will be watching this very closely.

Now to some new CNN reporting showing yet another angle of the 2020 election reversal scheme. In December of 2020, as pro-Trump operatives began to coordinate an attempt to access voting machines in key states, then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows was getting real- time updates and texting with the other man in this picture, a key architect of these efforts.

CNN national security reporter Zachary Cohen broke this story first,.

Zach, what's in these texts and who might be interested in them?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Ana, these are text messages between a man named Phil Waldron and Mark Meadows, who, as you mentioned, was Trump's White House chief of staff at the time.

And they were exchanged in late December, when the hunt for any evidence of election fraud or voter fraud on the Trump side of things was becoming increasingly urgent. We were just days away from January 6.

Now, if you look here at this first text message from December 23, 2020, it's clearly about Waldron's efforts to gain access to voting machines. Now, it's important to note that what they're discussing here is not necessarily illegal, but it does underscore how the Trump White House was working with a known conspiracy theorist as they were trying to find this evidence of election fraud.

You see Waldron there saying -- lamenting the fact that an Arizona judge had essentially dismissed a lawsuit that was filed by friendly Republicans there that would have given Waldron's team access to voting machines in the state. He said he tells Meadows that his team will shift their focus to Georgia, but he calls Arizona the lead domino and really makes it clear that he saw that as the key to starting a cascade of legal rulings in their favor.

Now, again, the timing of this is so important, because it came just days before January 6, and as this hunt for anything to prove Trump's unfounded claims of election fraud was really becoming urgent.

CABRERA: And so, again, that text message exchange was just a piece of this. It's important to know that this was a multistate effort. Pro-Trump operatives were trying to access voting machines in Georgia, Arizona, Michigan.

And then there was also that White House draft plan, a drafted executive order to have the federal government seize voting machines. So, Zach, tell us more about the person at the center of this, Phil Waldron. Who is he? And how did he get involved in all of this to begin with?

COHEN: Yes, it's been interesting, because Waldron has sort of emerged as this character at the center of all these different extreme proposals for overturning the election.

Witnesses have characterized him as an outsider. But as these text messages show, he managed to have a direct line to one of those powerful men in the country when it was the most important as far as Trump's efforts to overturn the election.

Now, Waldron was behind that draft executive order that would have either ordered the military or the Department of Homeland Security to cease voting machines around the country. Now, that would have been completely unprecedented. Trump did not sign those orders, even though they were presented to him during an Oval Office meeting.

But that's just an example of the types of things that Phil Waldron was backing at the time. And it's interesting to see, just days after Trump was presented with those draft executive orders, that Phil Waldron is still texting Mark Meadows.

CABRERA: And, again, he was connected to each of these people in this area around the election time, as well as in his past life, when he worked with Michael Flynn in the military.

And I just want to remind everybody, again, he was somebody who was concerned about the integrity of these voting machines. He was somebody who was worried about foreign adversaries hacking into these voting machines.

Let me just remind everybody that this was playing out more than a month after Trump's own Homeland Security officials put out this statement pertaining to potential 2020 election hacks. I quote: "The November 3 election was the most secure in American history."

Our thanks to Zach Cohen for his reporting.

And let's fast-forward now, because, just two days from now, the committee investigating January 6 will hold what is expected to be its final hearing. And members will have a crucial decision, either send a criminal referral to the Justice Department or don't.

[13:10:08]

Here's Congressman and panel member Adam Schiff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Let's go to CNN's Katelyn Polantz in Washington. Now, Katelyn, you might think the first hearing in months would be a

prime-time affair. But, no, this isn't the afternoon on Wednesday. What's the thinking behind that? And what could we see?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, Ana, what we could see, there's a lot of things.

The committee has been at work. They continue to investigate, to do their work. But we have gotten a couple hints from the lawmakers on the committee who have been speaking in recent days, including on CNN. Some are saying it will be sweeping this hearing. It will be thematic in nature.

The committee chairman has said that there will be new footage that they do have that has not been seen before, including of some witness testimony. But as for why it won't be in prime time, Representative Zoe Lofgren actually had an answer for that yesterday when she was asked about the hearing by our own Alex Marquardt. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): It's true it's not in prime time. I would note, however, that in the past, FOX News does play our hearings if the hearing is in the daytime. So that's a factor in reaching an audience that is not watching CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POLANTZ: And, Ana, of course, this won't be the last word from the committee. They have made quite clear that, later on in this year, they will be releasing a final report.

And we even know that they are still asking for interviews with people like Ginni Thomas. And they even sent a subpoena to the Wisconsin speaker of the House over the weekend -- Ana.

CABRERA: Katelyn Polantz, thank you.

We are staying on top of the growing mad dash to escape Putin's war, the outrage, the protests, the long lines at border crossings all building up, as thousands of Russians try to escape the Kremlin's new military draft and as the U.S. warns Moscow not to use nuclear weapons.

Plus, the scandal threatening a football legend's legacy. Text messages revealing how Brett Favre allegedly pushed the poorest state in the nation to use welfare money for his personal pet project.

And hidden airline fees, I know you hate them. So do I. Find out how their days finally could be numbered.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:16:57]

CABRERA: Vladimir Putin ramps up his nuclear threats, and the Biden administration responds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Privately, the United States has been in communication with the Kremlin about these threats of nuclear war?

TONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Yes.

It's very important that Moscow hear from us and know from us that the consequences would be horrific. And we have made that very clear.

JAKE SULLIVAN, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: If Russia crosses this line, there will be catastrophic consequences for Russia. The United States will respond decisively.

Now, in private channels, we have spelled out in greater detail exactly what that would mean.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Tensions escalating as thousands of Russians try to get out of the country after Putin instituted a partial military draft, record numbers trying to cross the border into Finland.

And take a look at all these cars. Witnesses say that is a two-day- long lineup to get into neighboring Georgia right now.

Joining us is retired Major General James "Spider" Marks, a CNN military analyst and head of geopolitical strategy at Academy Securities.

General, thanks for being here.

The Biden administration now making public that they have been warning Putin privately against using nuclear weapons. This sounds serious. How do you read those comments that we just played? Do you think the U.S. believes Russia is preparing to use nukes?

BRIG. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, I hope they do.

I mean, we certainly need to be postured for that eventuality. And I think the way the secretary of state indicated how he had communicated -- and I'm saying when the secretary of defense has said the same thing, and as well as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that they have spoken to their counterparts as well.

It's very important that we realize that private conversations...

CABRERA: But do you think Russia is preparing to use nukes, that -- sorry, just to confirm. When you said, I hope they do, I know you're referring to your hope the U.S. is preparing.

Do you think Russia is preparing to use nukes, the fact that they are being that serious about these warnings?

MARKS: I think -- yes. Short answer is yes.

You don't have nukes unless you're prepared to use them. But the use of nukes is a decision that's made, obviously, with great consideration. But preparedness has to be in place 24/7. Look, having been in the world of nuke surety, as we call it, I mean, that's a 24/7 obligation that you have, incredibly professional, very delineated steps.

Short answer is, yes. I don't think -- the United States is totally prepared 24/7. And I guarantee you, the Russians are using a lot of what I would call public bluster. The private conversations is where the real seriousness takes place.

CABRERA: I think I just am hoping it's just bluster. I can't imagine nuclear weapons getting involved here. But that's what I think we all fear right now is where this could be headed.

There is a mass exodus out of Russia right now. We mentioned the long lines to get into neighboring Georgia, record numbers going into Finland. And, today, there was a rare admission from the Kremlin that there were some mistakes made during this conscription.

Did Putin make a major misstep here?

MARKS: Well, I think he did.

[13:20:00]

I mean, first of all, when you're trying to mobilize 300,000 reservists and, in many cases, a large portion of those have no military training at all -- in other words, it's just a blanket conscription -- you then send a very powerful message that we're broken; 300,000 mobilization is not going to fix the inherent problem of the Russian military, which is, leadership doesn't exist, incompetence has been demonstrated throughout the ranks.

They have failed miserably in Ukraine. They have overestimated their own capabilities, et cetera, et cetera. We have seen this laid out over the course of the last eight months; 300,000 really says, I have got a serious problem.

Look, this is going to be a generational fix on the part of the Russians.

CABRERA: We're seeing some reports that everyday people, people like mechanics, farmers are being called up. I wonder, how helpful are untrained civilians in a military campaign?

MARKS: They're dilutive. They don't do any good at all.

In fact, a unit that now has been in combat, is on the front lines, has been bloodied, is dirty, is embroiled in this fight, and now a bunch of new dudes show up who have zero training, zero kit, probably very little motivation, they now become a burden. And they're not going to be accepted and integrated into their units. This is going to be a major problem for leadership that, as I have

indicated, doesn't exist in those units. This is a significant problem. This is a -- a problem has been created with this mobilization, and it will be realized on the front lines.

CABRERA: A British soldier who was just freed after being held by Russian-backed forces says he was treated worse than a dog, kept in a small cell with three other men, suffered the worst beatings he's ever endured, struggled to get food and water.

He says one of the captors asked if he wanted a quick death or a beautiful death, and then went on to say: "I'm going to make sure it's a beautiful death."

That's just so evil, so cruel. What does that say about the mind-set?

MARKS: Well, it's a level of desperation. And it clearly speaks to the inhumanity of the type of warfare that Russia is now engaged in.

There are rules there, there is guidance, there are Geneva Conventions that exist that describe how you are to handle combatants and noncombatants in these conflicts. Russia has completely tossed that out the window. Whether they ever adhered to it or whether they intended to, it's laid bare right now. They clearly do not.

This really speaks to the type of enemy that exists and the type of warfare that's now being waged on the Ukrainian people. It truly is brutal. It's unimaginable.

CABRERA: Yes.

MARKS: And it's taking place in front of us.

CABRERA: General Spider Marks, good to have you here. Thank you so much for joining us.

MARKS: Thank you, Ana.

CABRERA: To Italy. Giorgia Meloni is now set to become the country's first female prime minister and its most far right leader since Benito Mussolini.

Meloni will head a coalition of far right parties after they grabbed at least 44 percent of the vote in this weekend's election. Her party was founded a decade ago on anti-immigration policies and skepticism toward the European Union. She's also openly anti-LGBTQ.

It could take several weeks before the coalition is worked out and Meloni is able to take power.

He still played, but should he have? That's the question after it looked like the Miami Dolphins quarterback suffered a head injury, stumbles off the field. And now players -- the Players Association wants a review.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [13:28:42]

CABRERA: New details now on that massive fraud scandal involving welfare funds linked to Brett Favre.

Damning text messages appear to show the football Hall of Famer pushing for money to be funneled to a project at his college alma mater, even after he was warned it could be illegal.

CNN's Dianne Gallagher is here with more.

Dianne, lay out these new developments for us.

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ana, there's a lot of twists and turns in this entire welfare fraud scheme here.

What this focuses on is a filing from the former Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant's team essentially trying to keep his private communications, the totality of them about this volleyball center, from being made public or the media ever getting to them.

They argue that the governor, even though there is evidence he talked about and worked with Brett Favre and others involved in this scheme on this volleyball project, that he did not know welfare funds were being used for it. And their evidence they're offering are some very select text messages. The majority deal with or are with Brett Favre.

Now, of course, again, this is a massive scheme, $77 million that were meant for the neediest people in the poorest state in America instead going to these pet projects for the politically connected and celebrities.

Brett Favre associated with several aspects of this, including the volleyball center

[13:30:00]