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Oath Keepers on Trial; Interview With Assistant FEMA Administrator Keith Turi; Florida Braces For Hurricane Ian. Aired 1- 1:30p ET

Aired September 27, 2022 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:52]

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

Hurricane Ian is taking aim, and Florida is bracing. The powerful storm is expected to get stronger over the next few hours, a Cat 4 before the end of the day.

Now the track is shifting a bit, but it is still expected to be a major hurricane when it slams into Florida tomorrow night. Tampa's mayor says that area is expected a -- quote -- "devastating amount of water."

And evacuations are under way. People are boarding up homes and businesses. Schools are closing, flights canceled.

Let's begin our coverage with John Cangialosi. He is a senior hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

John, thanks so much for joining us. I know how busy your day is.

Update us on where the storm is right now and the latest forecast.

JOHN CANGIALOSI, NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Sure, Ana. Here's the latest.

So, Hurricane Ian, Category 3 hurricane, starting to pull away from Western Cuba, maximum winds near 115 miles an hour, and the storm is wobbling around, but generally moving to the north-northeast at about 10 miles an hour.

Let me show you the latest forecast from this morning. Here it is here. And, as you mentioned at the top of your show, there's been a few changes. And this is always very tricky, because what's happening here is, we're expecting the storm to make this little shift to the right and move relatively parallel to Florida's West Coast.

So, trying to predict exactly where the landfall is going to be and exactly where the worst impacts are going to be are complicated because of that paralleling track. The bottom line is, if you live in this red area that's currently in a hurricane warning, we think you are likely going to be in the area that's going to see the most significant impacts. And you can see that's generally from Bonita Beach, Florida, down not

far from the Naples area, up through the Tampa Bay region. And, more or less, we expect this to be a major hurricane, either Category 3 or a Category 4, when it reaches Florida's west coast.

If you know anything about Florida, especially Florida's west coast, we have had a big population boom in this state, especially in this region, over the past several years. And this is a very vulnerable spot to one very, very important hazard.

And what we're talking about right now is the storm surge. Now, a storm surge, in simple terms, is the water level rise coming in off of the ocean flooding areas that are normally dry, and we're talking about saltwater. Now, because of the -- because of the ocean topography, we think the worst area is going to be in this red-hashed area, where the strongest winds are expected to come onshore.

So we're talking more or less the Fort Myers area up to about Sarasota, where eight to 12 feet of storm surge above normally dry ground is predicted. And Tampa is certainly not out of the woods. Still, very severe flooding is possible there and both to the south of there.

And, of course, there's consequences downstream after that. But we really want to focus in on Florida's southwest coast and West Central Florida for the worst impacts.

And, lastly, I have to -- have to bring up heavy rains. And part of the reason the heavy rain is a big deal, even though Florida experiences heavy rain often in the summertime, we're talking about a slow-moving tropical system that could dump up to about 20 inches of rain in some spots.

And we think we have more confidence that could happen in a high- population area near and around Tampa. So the water is the big hazard. And the big message to all of the viewers out there is that water needs to be considered here as the number one problem and a combination of storm surge and rainfall together in this -- in this sort of setup here.

CABRERA: You talked about just how vulnerable that area is, where this storm is most likely to impact the most, the Tampa Bay area, maybe a little bit south of that and along that western edge.

I'm wondering then how long the impact will be there. Once Ian arrives, is it still expected to slow down and hover for some time? How long do you anticipate Floridians will have to endure this storm?

CANGIALOSI: Absolutely.

So let's take the southwest part of the state first, because they're really first under the gun. Some of the impacts will start late tonight into early morning hours. That's when we will get some of the outer bands moving across the Naples, Fort Myers, and then up into the Tampa region.

[13:05:02]

And I don't think you will get an all-clear there in terms of impacts until maybe early Thursday morning. So, you could be in the thick of this for 24 hours or more, which is abnormally long because of the slow motion. And the same is true even for the inland areas like Orlando that could be seeing a lot of heavy rain for long periods of time.

So the best message for Floridians, especially those that are in the hurricane warning area and storm surge warning area, here's really the message. If you were told to evacuate, it's really the right thing to do to protect yourself and those that you love. Protect your home. And, again, if you're told to evacuate, find a better place to be, wait this thing out, and then come back and hopefully everything's OK.

But your life matters the most, so best to protect yourselves.

CABRERA: Thank you so much for that message. Thank you for giving us all those important details that could save lives.

John Cangialosi, I know you have long days ahead. Thank you.

Let's go out into the areas now where the storm has hit and is threatening to hit soon.

CNN's Patrick Oppmann joins us from Havana, Cuba, and Carlos Suarez is in Gulfport, Florida, near Tampa.

Patrick, I will start with you.

Looks like you're feeling some of the impact right now. What's the situation like where you are?

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hi, Ana.

Even though Hurricane Ian is moving off the coast of Cuba into the Gulf of Mexico, we are still feeling heavy wind and heavy rain. If you look at the Bay of Havana right here -- ask my cameraman, Rinel Diaz (ph), to pan out to the bay, which is usually very calm and full of cargo ships.

And it is empty right now, because those cargo ships have left the port to ride out the storm at sea, so they don't break loose and get damaged and sink here. And some of the small fishing vessels you would usually see in this port were actually lifted up by cranes yesterday for the same reason.

So there are people out on the streets, but most of Havana is without power right now. You go to the west of us, to the province of Pinar del Rio, and that is really where the most damage has been done in Cuba. The entire province is without power, about a half-a-million people. Homes have been damaged. Trees are down. Roofs have been taken off many, many homes here.

We don't know how many, because they have not been able to send much assistance from Havana to that province just because of the wind that continues to come in. So that has really complicated the rescue efforts, the efforts to know how much damage has been inflicted on Cuba at this point, because it's just not safe to drive. It's not safe to travel that way.

But the Cuban government says, as soon as the roads are clear, they will send trucks out that way, help to try to restore power, but it's probably going to take days, if not weeks. Quite a bit of damage done to Cuba by this hurricane.

CABRERA: A lot to assess.

And, Patrick, we hope you stay safe. Thank you.

Carlos, this could be historic. And we know Tampa is at risk of devastating flooding from the storm surge and the rainfall expected. Tell us about preparations there right now.

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, preparations out here are still ongoing, Ana.

Earlier this -- earlier this afternoon -- late this morning, rather, we learned of another mandatory evacuation order in Hillsborough County. We're told that another 90,000 residents are being told that they're going to have to leave their homes because they are along the coastal community there. And the concern is that that flooding is going to hit another evacuation zone there in Hillsborough County.

Right now, we are in Pinellas County. We are in Gulfport. That's about a half-hour drive outside of Tampa, where businesses here, where we have been the entire morning, they are boarded up. They are ready to go. These folks have their sandbags out. They have got the plywood up. And they are -- they're waiting really for any impact that we're going to see when it comes to Hurricane Ian.

Now, when we got here this morning, there was one business owner who had just showed up here. He was about to get the work done about protecting his business.

Mike Jackson, when we first met, this was all still exposed, but it seems like you're good to go.

MIKE JACKSON, PET STORE OWNER: Still things that I have to -- These guys did an awesome job helping me get everything done.

We got our door foamed up, plywooded up. We're going to finish sandbagging. And that's about all we can do here.

SUAREZ: What about on the inside of the store? I think you were moving some stuff around?

JACKSON: Yes, we raised everything about five or six feet, the best that we could. We had to spray foam the rear door.

And, actually, I just remembered I still have to go into back and sandbag. And then I will be finished.

SUAREZ: The last time a storm hit this area, how many inches of rain got into this?

JACKSON: The water level, it was about up to here on our door, and the inside of our store, maybe six inches, thanks to the foam spray, the expanding foam spray.

SUAREZ: Are you -- you feel comfortable? I mean, at this point, it seems like the storm has maybe moved a little bit further south, so the flooding here might not be as bad, at least right now?

JACKSON: A little bit. But I'm born and raised in Florida, so I'm well aware of the wobbles and what could happen.

SUAREZ: Are you...

JACKSON: But we can just do what we can do.

SUAREZ: Are you going to evacuate your home? What's your plan back home?

[13:10:01]

JACKSON: I'm in the highest point of Saint Petersburg, so my house is fine. It's a brick house. And I have several people that live here in Gulfport that are actually staying at my house tonight.

SUAREZ: Mike, thank you so much, man.

JACKSON: Thanks very much.

SUAREZ: Please stay safe. Thanks.

JACKSON: All right, be safe.

So, Ana, yes, that is the situation right now. The mandatory evacuation for Pinellas County is already in effect. The folks have to leave here by tonight. Over in Hillsborough County, those evacuation orders are also in effect. And so folks right now are just being told, you got to pack up and just get to higher ground.

CABRERA: Wishing safety in the best for all those, Mike and his neighbors in Pinellas County and beyond.

Thank you, Carlos Suarez. And, Patrick Oppmann, our thanks to you as well.

Scientists say hurricanes are likely to become more frequent and more intense because of climate change.

And joining us now is FEMA Assistant Administrator Keith Turi.

Thanks for taking the time.

Ian is expected to dump two to three months' worth of rainfall by Friday, with record storm surge. How is FEMA getting ready for this?

KEITH TURI, ASSISTANT FEMA ADMINISTRATOR: Yes, well, thanks for having me to talk about FEMA's preparations, along with our interagency partners.

As you mentioned, your reporters have mentioned obviously a very serious situation, very serious storm that we're all dealing with here. FEMA is doing a number of things to prepare. First, you can see behind me our national response coordination center is stood up. We have staff in the emergency operations center with the state officials preparing.

We are prepositioning equipment and supplies to be ready to move into the area as needed. And then, most importantly, we're really trying to get the work out on evacuations and following those directions from local officials. It's really important that those that are in an evacuation area take the time today. Today is the day to make those preparations and to move out of that area.

Storm surge, obviously, as you just heard, very dangerous, life- threatening. And we need to take advantage of these hours now to make sure that everyone's ready.

CABRERA: Absolutely. Tampa's mayor I quoted earlier, saying they're expecting a -- quote -- "devastating amount of water" in the Bay area.

One World Bank study called Tampa Bay one of the 10 most at-risk areas on the globe if it were to take a direct hit from a major hurricane. Is this region well equipped to handle what Ian could bring?

TURI: Yes, I think there's been a lot of preparations that have been done for many years with the state of Florida, with the local officials to make sure that we're as ready as possible.

It's going to be a team effort. It's going to require a partnership from a lot of -- a number of different entities to make sure that we're ready for the response and recovery efforts. But we're well- positioned here at FEMA with our partners to be able to respond and make sure that we can deal with whatever may come from this very serious situation.

CABRERA: You said there have been preparations and adjustments taken in the last few years.

What types of adjustments or preparations have been made?

TURI: So, we have a dedicated effort with each of the states that are hurricane-prone to ensure that we're doing planning efforts, we're looking at different scenarios and how we can coordinate our response efforts, how we can get the messaging out, just making sure that it's -- knowing that, any given year, we may see an impact like this, making sure that everyone's ready to respond.

CABRERA: What's your message to people who plan to ride it out?

TURI: If you're in an evacuation zone, don't ride it out. You need to move. You need to get to higher ground. You don't need to leave the state. You don't need to drive hundreds of miles, but you need to get to an area where you're safe. If you're not in an evacuation zone, it's -- the smart thing to do is

stay in your home. Make sure you're ready. Make sure you have the supplies that you need, water, your cell phones are charged, your family knows where you are and what your plan is. And, importantly, also, check on your neighbors. Make sure that your neighbors have a plan. Make sure they're prepared, because, many times, support to one another is one of the most crucial things in the aftermath of a disaster.

CABRERA: All right, Keith Turi from FEMA, thank you and good luck in the days ahead. We will stay on top of the latest with Ian.

Plus, CNN obtaining video showing Trump ally Roger Stone the day before the 2020 election seemingly prepared to fight the results before the votes were even tallied. I'm quoting him here: "F the voting. Let's get right to the violence."

And we're standing by in the Rose Garden, President Biden set to speak moments from now on reducing health care costs. We will bring you his remarks live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:18:35]

CABRERA: Live pictures now from the White House Rose Garden, where President Biden's set to deliver remarks on lowering your health care costs and protecting Medicare and Social Security. You see all the cameras ready.

We will bring you this live soon as it begins.

Meantime, the biggest January 6 trial yet begins today. The leader of the extremist right-wing group the Oath Keepers and four top lieutenants are facing seditious conspiracy charges. It is the first time in more than a decade that the Justice Department is prosecuting a group of Americans for an alleged plot to violently overthrow the U.S. government.

And this is just the first of three sedition trials this year tied to the Capitol attack.

CNN's Whitney Wild is outside the federal courthouse in Washington.

Whitney, what can we expect?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, today, what we will expect to see is a more thorough examination of the more than 150 jurors who were called in the initial jury pool.

We know about 60 percent of those at least have been struck for cause, meaning that officials have decided, either attorneys for either the plaintiff or for the government or the judge has decided that those jurors simply can't serve on the jury because they have either admitted that they can't be impartial or there's some other reason that the parties in this case feel like that juror cannot be impartial.

But, right now, it is a painstaking process. We have seen several jurors questioned about answers they gave in their questionnaire. We have seen a few be kept in the potential jury pool. A few, again, continue to be struck for cause.

[13:20:08]

This is just the first day of what will be very likely -- could be up to a seven-week trial. And, as you mentioned, this is the most aggressive case that the Department of Justice is pursuing as it relates to investigating and prosecuting those responsible for the violence on January 6.

Prosecutors are going to lay out this complex case that began shortly after the November 2020 election. And what they're going to try to prove is that a man named Stewart Rhodes, a Yale law school graduate, was the orchestrator of this effort. He was the head of the Oath Keepers, prosecutors say.

He was basically recruiting top lieutenants, who were then instructed to recruit others to join their movement, this far right extremist movement, and, for about two months, made efforts to try to train people, to amass weapons and to amass tactical gear, with the intent -- with the intention of eventually trying to block former -- excuse me -- current President Joe Biden from assuming the presidency and carrying out what they thought were really the wishes of former President Trump.

So the defense is going to argue that they were not there to cause any harm, but instead are going to argue that they were there to be peacekeepers that should violence erupt -- Ana.

CABRERA: All right, Whitney Wild, thank you. We know you will stay on top of it.

We have also this newly obtained video of a top Trump ally with alleged ties to the Oath Keepers calling for violence the day before the 2020 election. This is Roger Stone you will hear in this clip as captured by a documentary crew.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGER STONE, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN ADVISER: Excellent.

(LAUGHTER)

STONE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED) the violence. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) the violence. Or (EXPLETIVE DELETED) the voting. Let's get right to the violence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's get right to it.

STONE: Shoot to kill. See an Antifa, shoot to kill. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) them. Done with this bull (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: In other clips, Stone pushes for the 2020 results to be tossed out before the election even happened. The previously unseen footage could play a key part in tomorrow's January 6 hearing.

CNN's Jessica Schneider is live in Washington.

Jessica, tell us more about this footage. What's in it? Who has it? And what's Roger Stone saying about it now?

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so, Ana, these were Danish filmmakers. They followed Roger Stone for three years, piecing together this documentary.

And when the January 6 Committee subpoenaed them for footage about two months ago, the filmmakers here, they struck a deal with the committee and they agreed to hand over about eight minutes of this film, plus certain unedited portions. And the filmmakers were actually interviewed last night by Don Lemon.

And they said that, when the committee approached them, they came forward with this idea that they wanted to piece together any three- way link between the White House, Roger Stone, and those extremist groups, like the Oath Boys -- sorry -- the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, who were front and center at the Capitol attack.

Now, the filmmakers last night warned that they were not able to establish that link. But since this footage dates back to July 2020, four months before the election, it does show just how set Roger Stone was about wreaking havoc on the election outcome.

So here he is. There's two clips here, the first part of this clip from two days before the election, the second part from July 2020.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STONE: I suspect it will be -- I really do suspect it will still be up in the air. When that happens, the key thing to do is to claim victory. Possession is nine-tenths of the law. No, we won. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you.

Sorry. Over. We won.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

STONE: You're wrong. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you.

What they're assuming is, the election will be normal. The election will not be normal.

Oh, these are the California results. Sorry. We're not accepting them. We're challenging them in court. If the electors show up at the Electoral College, armed guards will throw them out. I'm the president. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you. You're not stealing Florida. You're not stealing -- I'm challenging all of it. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHNEIDER: Roger Stone, though, is pushing back now. And he's disputing the authenticity of all of these clips.

So here's his pretty lengthy statement.

He says: "I challenge the accuracy and the authenticity of these videos and believe that they have been manipulated and selectively edited. I also point out that the filmmakers do not have the legal right to use them. How ironic that Kim Kardashian and I are both subjected to computer-manipulated videos on the same day. The excerpts you provided below prove nothing. Certainly, they do not prove I had anything to do with the events of January 6. That being said, it clearly shows I advocated for lawful congressional and judicial options."

And, of course, Ana, Roger Stone has repeatedly denied any involvement with the Capitol attack. He was at a rally the day before where members of the Oath Keepers provided security. He's also had some contacts with the Proud Boys. But, of course, Roger Stone has not been charged in connection with the 6th -- Ana.

CABRERA: All right, Jessica Schneider, thank you.

Let's bring in CNN senior political analyst and senior editor at "The Atlantic" Ron Brownstein and CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Jennifer Rodgers.

Guys, I have to warn we got the two-minute warning that Biden's about to speak. He hasn't stepped forward yet, so I will continue to plow forward just in case he's running a little bit late.

[13:25:08]

So, Roger Stone is a name, obviously, that keeps coming up tied to Trump's 2020 election plot. At this point, he hasn't been charged with anything related to January 6.

Jen, do you see his legal exposure changing after we got a look at this video?

JENNIFER RODGERS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, the video, in and of itself, doesn't do very much. He's right, in the sense that freedom of speech means you can say what you want. You can't prove a conspiracy with that.

But is DOJ looking at him to try to establish this link between him, the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers on one side and Trump on the other side? Probably, they are. And if they ever made a case, of course, these videos, assuming they are authenticated, is the sort of thing they could use to prove his intent, to prove his state of mind.

So I do think things have gotten a little bit worse for Roger Stone. But we have to wait and see what happens. CABRERA: The film crew told CNN that they were contacted by the FBI

in March, but that there wasn't a subpoena for the footage. And as far as we know, at last check, they hadn't turned over this footage to federal investigators.

Your reaction to that?

RODGERS: Well, listen, the DOJ has been behind where the committee has been all along. So they are a few steps behind. So maybe this is another example of that.

Maybe they will see what the committee does with this footage tomorrow at the hearing. Maybe they will subpoena it afterwards. That's kind of been their pattern. It's an unusual pattern. But that's the way this has been working. So we will have to see.

CABRERA: And, Ron, is there any reason to believe this extremist strain of the Trump movement that rejects the democratic process and seeks to stoke violence has been deterred or tamped down since January 6?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Really the opposite, right?

I mean, we are seeing the -- what we would call the Republican establishment bending and making room for this. I mean, you have the people who are being investigated for being part of the fake electors schemes who are the Republican nominees for positions like lieutenant governor in Georgia and secretary of state in Arizona.

And rather than kind of excommunicating them, you're seeing mainstream Republican figures endorse them. And so I think, if anything, that the whole -- the whole movement feels emboldened, the dozens and dozens of Republican nominees who are embracing the lies about the 2020 election.

Now, this isn't the whole Republican coalition. There are maybe about a quarter of Republican voters who are uneasy with all of this, who know the election wasn't stolen, who believed that Donald Trump acted improperly after November 6. And a critical question in November, Ana, and beyond is, what do those voters do?

Do they remain the subordinate piece in a coalition that is opening the door to this kind of extremism?

CABRERA: They're not a majority right now, obviously, but they are enthusiastic. And so do they turn out to vote in high numbers? We will wait and see.

Let's turn to the Oath Keepers trial for a moment. Jen, you say this is critical for the DOJ.

RODGERS: Well, it's a huge trial. It's kind of a centerpiece trial. It's the first time they have charged seditious conspiracy in a long time. And it's a serious offense. I mean, they have to prove that these folks were trying to stop

government activities by force. They have powerful pieces of evidence with respect to these quick-reaction forces. They're armed to the teeth just outside the city waiting to come in at the call that the president has invoked the Insurrection Act.

So they have got powerful evidence, but the stakes are high. If they want to continue to roll and build an investigation and potentially get to the inner circle of the former president, you got to think they got to win this case.

CABRERA: I do want to bring up a recent NBC News poll from August; 21 percent of registered voters said threats to democracy was the most important issue facing the country. That placed it at the top of the list.

Ron, that was around the time of the Mar-a-Lago search.

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

CABRERA: It was just a few weeks after the last January 6 hearing. Some time has passed now.

What kind of impact could tomorrow's hearing have on the mind-set of voters going into the midterms, do you think?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, I think the whole question of Trump and the degree to which him and his movement represent a threat to democracy are part of the series of events that has changed the basic framework of this election.

Earlier in the year, we were talking about the midterm as a classic referendum focused on the performance solely of the party in power. And with Biden's approval low, Democrats were looking at a pretty bleak result. All of those threats are still there to them. But now you have seen a series of events that have caused more voters to also ask the question, not only what have Democrats done, but what would Republicans do if they were given power?

And in that poll, it was really striking. I talked to Bill McInturff, who is the Republican half of the team that supervises that NBC poll. And to a remarkable degree, Ana, we are seeing a kind of a split- screen election, in which the Republican coalition is focused on the issues of inflation, crime, and the border, and the Democratic coalition are focused on issues like gun violence, climate, democracy, and, above all, abortion.

And you are seeing each side mobilize their voters around a very different set of concerns that really underscore the extent and persistence of the divisions in the country.

CABRERA: All right, guys, thank you both so much for joining us.

We're going to go live to the Rose Garden and President Biden.