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Federal Appeals Court Grants DOJ Request To Expedite Case Weighing Legality Of Mar-a-Lago Special Master; Biden Calls OPEC Plus Decision A "Disappointment"; CNN On Sanibel Island As Families Return Home For The First Time; Wisconsin Parade Attack Suspect Acts Erratically At Trial. Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired October 06, 2022 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:32:44]
ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: A federal appeals court has agreed to fast track a case regarding the documents seized by the FBI at Mar-a-Lago. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court granting the DOJ's request to expedite a challenge over the legality of the appointment of a special master to review the seized records.
Now, this is coming as we learn more about what was taken from President Trump's Golf Resort over the summer. Among the list of items which was posted by the DOJ, clemency requests, healthcare documents, IRS forms, and some paperwork that appears to be related to the 2020 election.
Joining me now, Laura Coates, CNN Senior Legal Analyst and former federal prosecutor. Laura, as we look at this, too, so Bloomberg News published a copy of this list on Tuesday. They say that it was briefly and inadvertently posted before it was taken down. This is the list of what that privilege review team found. There were some 520 pages. Are we able to glean anything from that list and looking at what was separated out by that privilege review team?
LAURA COATES, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, first of all, you have to wonder how this accident occurred. I mean, you can clearly understand that the judge is probably very, very clear on what is supposed to be made public and what is not. So I wonder what's happening in the back end of things to figure out how to make sure this error does not happen again to reveal it.
But number two, Erica, it shows that the DOJ team, essentially the team that was meant to look over to decide whether they were privileged documents did include documents that were personal in nature. So it does actually increase the confidence level people ought to have about the DOJ trying to compartmentalize and separate certain things from the other documents.
We don't have every document information but we don't want to go too far of our skis here. But we do know that look, if you've got this team in place to try to figure out what might be privileged, then they have tried their best at this point in time to differentiate those documents. HILL: And just to remind people, if you could, as we're going through all this because I think it can get confusing even for those of us who may be keeping a tally at our desk, guilty. The privilege review team, they would not be involved in the investigation. This is a totally separate team.
COATES: Correct. That's the whole point of it, right? You don't want to have people go in there and try to say, listen, I'm just going to put my blinders on. I'm not going to pay attention. Forget everything I've seen here. No, you have a team that separate whose job it is to figure out, look, what can the investigative team see, what can't the investigative team see.
[10:35:03]
Is there a way for us to make sure that we are separating the two because you really can't unring that bell, right, Erica? If I've seen something, it's hard for me not to say, well wait, I have to wait for my memory and try to find an ulterior way to get that information. Why that's important is because in a criminal investigation, if there is some matter that comes from what should not have been seen, privileged documents, things that should not ever be in evidence, for whatever reason, then you have to have some independent way to get that into the trial in front of a jury, if there ever is one.
Having to try to purge and cure that particular taint is a very difficult thing to do. That's why they have someone, a separate team that goes in and says, look, you don't have to worry about ever having to make an argument in court that you were totally divorced from this notion, the teams in place for that reason.
HILL: Thank you. Appreciate that reminder. We also, you know, as we said, just off the top here, the 11th Circuit has now granted the DOJ's request to expedite this challenge. But based on where we are with all of this back and forth, what does that really mean this morning?
COATES: Well, the key word here is mootness. That's a phrase you use in law to say, listen, a judge is only going to look at a matter as long as it's still an issue. If it's already been resolved in some other way. There's no reason to burden the courts, take up their time, fill up their docket and take them away from other duties if it's already been resolved.
And so the timeline here is so important, Erica, because on the one hand, the special master has a date for the end of November to resolve and look through all the documents and determine what is privileged and what is not privileged. On the other hand, circuit courts, they've got a lot of matters we're looking at.
They have a tendency to -- I don't want to say drag their feet, Erica, but they've got a lot of other matters we're looking at. They're on their own sort of timeline. So in order to try to resolve these two things, you have to come to terms with what would be the date that the court has to resolve it that would not make it moot for this special master to even still be reviewing the documents that's what this is about.
HILL: Laura Coates, always appreciate it. Thank you for putting the legalese into plain English for me. Nice to see you this morning.
COATES: Thank you. As my earpiece keeps wanting to come out wanting to hear you, Erica, but I just want to hear all of them. But the reason I'm like what's happening, it's live TV. Whatever. Thanks, Erica.
HILL: Well, you rolled with it beautifully, my friend. Don't worry.
Still to come here, returning home to see what if anything remains in the wake of Hurricane Ian.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We live down this way.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This beautiful street. That's been forever changed. Oh my god, their house is gone. Total devastation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: We are there with some of the first residents to arrive back on Sanibel Island as we learn more about search and recovery efforts.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:42:18]
HILL: President Biden just moments ago speaking at the White House. Let's take a listen.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- disappointment and we're looking at what alternatives you may have. Don't hurt him, man. Don't -- you're knocking him through the wire.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is Venezuela one of those alternatives?
BIDEN: There's a lot of alternatives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you meet President Putin at the G20 Summit, sir? Will you meet President Putin at the G20 Summit or APEC Summit to talk about Ukraine and (INAUDIBLE)?
BIDEN: That remains to be seen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What would Venezuela have to do in order for the U.S. to ease sanctions?
BIDEN: A lot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What does the OPEC move say about your relationship with the Saudis? Are there any regrets about that trip now? BIDEN: No. The trip was not essentially for oil. The trip was about the Middle East and about Israel and rationalization of positions. But it is a disappointment, and it says that there are problems.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you waiting that U.S. gas prices (INAUDIBLE)?
HILL: The President there understandably being asked about his reaction to this decision by OPEC Plus to cut production by 2 million barrels a day. He said look, he's disappointed as we know, so the White House is looking at a lot of options. There are a lot of alternatives, hasn't made his mind up yet.
He was pushed on that trip, controversial trip he made to Saudi Arabia. He responded it wasn't just about oil. It was about the Middle East and Israel. He was also asked whether he plans to meet with Putin at the G20. President Biden saying it remains to be seen.
This morning, more than 215,000 customers in Florida remain in the dark. Florida Power and Light though says it does expect that 95 percent restoration could come as soon as tomorrow on Pine Island. Emergency road and bridge repairs have been completed, giving some much needed access to emergency vehicles and the island's 9,000 residents.
On the area's other barrier island Sanibel, people just now being able to access the island to find what's left of their home. CNN's Randi Kaye was there as some of the families returned.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's 7:00 a.m. and Julie Emig and Vicki Paskaly are on a boat for Sanibel Island. This will be the first time seeing their home up close since Hurricane Ian swept through here and they have no idea what to expect.
(on-camera): How do you feel about coming here today?
VICKI PASKALY, SANIBEL ISLAND RESIDENT: Very apprehensive. I almost don't want to know. I'm afraid of what we're going to see.
JULIE EMIG, SANIBEL ISLAND RESIDENT: This time, it's not going to be the same. Our island has been changed.
KAYE (voice-over): We made our way from the mainland across the Gulf of Mexico. No because the one rode in was destroyed.
[10:45:03]
(on-camera): Can you see where the causeway used to be? What did you think?
EMIG: Troubling. troubling to know that Mother Nature is that powerful.
KAYE (voice-over): With the island cut off, Julie and Vicki had to hire a private boat to take them to Sanibel. Captain Brandon Lawson was at the wheel for the hour-long journey.
BRANDON LAWSON, CAPTAIN: Looks like there's an opening right here.
KAYE (voice-over): As we edged closer to Sanibel now just a couple of miles out, the destruction left in Ian's path became clear.
PASKALY: It just gone. Our beach is gone.
KAYE (voice-over): Once off the boat, it's around a mile on foot to their home. What they see is overwhelming.
PASKALY: We live down this way.
EMIG: This beautiful street. That's been forever changed. Oh my god, their house is gone. Total devastation. Totally changed. It's just heartbreaking to see this. Unbeliever.
KAYE (voice-over): They're closer to their house now, but still unsure what they'll find until they make the turn around the bend.
PASKALY: I think I see the back of our house.
KAYE (voice-over): Remarkably, their house is still standing.
(on-camera): There's all kinds of stuff that doesn't even belong to them in their backyard. We found these, these are somebody else's camera negatives, certainly not theirs. And then also in the backyard, this bag of birthday cards for someone's 60s birthday, certainly not their name on it and not their collection of cards.
And look at this, this is what's left of a door from a women's restroom from a clubhouse at a resort that is blocks and blocks away from here.
PASKALY: How do you ever start with this?
KAYE (voice-over): With the power out, it took about an hour to get the hurricane shutters opened manually.
EMIG: Upstairs is, we're good here, dry.
KAYE (voice-over): But on their lower level, Hurricane Ian had left his mark. In the garage, the floors were slick with mud and sludge and the smell was unbearable.
EMIG: We were wondering how high the water got. Well this tells us the story, right here. This tells us the story. So --
PASKALY: I've -- little over 5 feet.
EMIG: A little about 6 feet of water in here.
KAYE (voice-over): And their mini cooper which they left behind when they evacuated full of water and mold. All of this just beginning to sink in.
PASKALY: I know.
KAYE (voice-over): And in their lower-level apartment, the force of the water destroyed the kitchen. The island flipped on its side and the refrigerator yanked out of the wall and left to rest on top of the kitchen counter.
PASKALY: This was our dream home. Sanibel provided it to us for two years. It was wonderful.
KAYE (on-camera): Until Ian took it away.
PASKALY: Until Ian took it away.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: And Vicki and Julie, Erica, do plan to rebuild. They say they have to. It was their dream home. But the question is, as you heard it right there, where to start. They do have hurricane insurance, they have flood insurance, but the way it works on Sanibel Island is that lower level is not covered by flood insurance.
So where you saw the most damage in their home, all that mud and muck and mold now already beginning, that is going to be on them. They are going to have to cover all of that in order to make those repairs and as well as the outside and their pool area.
But there is some good news of course, Governor DeSantis saying that there is going to be this at least some temporary access or roadway by the end of the month, he hopes, for people to get to Sanibel Island. Erica?
HILL: Yes, it is something to see that in the force of that water moving things around the kitchen. Randi, appreciate it as always. Thank you.
Any moment now, opening statements set to begin the trial for a man who's accused of driving his SUV through Wisconsin Christmas parade. He's been causing a scene this morning in court as he attempts to represent himself while the prosecution says they have no concerns about his competency.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:53:23]
HILL: Tension started to boil over in Wisconsin courtroom even before opening statements have begun in the trial of Darrell Brooks Jr. He's the man accused of intentionally ramming his SUV through a crowd. They were gathered for a Wisconsin Christmas parade last year. Six people were killed, more than 60 others hurt.
CNN's Lucy Kafanov is following this for us in Chicago. So he's chosen to represent himself, already clashing with the judge. And as we noted, Lucy, opening statements haven't even started.
LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Erica. I mean, this has been a nightmare of a trial and it's barely kicked off. Darrell Brooks fired his lawyers last week. He has chosen to represent himself on his own. He's been talking over the judge, repeatedly asking relevant questions, refusing to follow directions regarding picking the jury. Let me play you a small example of just how that these interactions have gotten.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE JENNIFER R. DOROW, WAUKESHA COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT: Mr. Brooks, I need to move on to the jury instructions. Are you willing to participate in this process right now?
DARRELL BROOKS, DEFENDANT: No, I am not. And I don't give consent without me being present in the courtroom like I stated before I was brought over here.
DOROW: Would you like to come back over?
BROOKS: So why would you ask me that? Why would you ask me that?
DOROW: Mr. Brooks, you were put over in that courtroom because of your disruptive behavior. If you can agree to abide by the rules of decorum and courtesy, then I will bring you back over here at any point in time. Did you hear me advice you of that, sir?
BROOKS: No, I do not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[10:55:00]
KAFANOV: So we were supposed to have opening arguments this morning, that hasn't happened yet. In front of the jury, that hasn't happened. Brooks has repeatedly been removed to a separate courtroom to participate via video because of his behavior. Including this morning, he interrupted proceedings yet again by taking off his shirt, clashing with the judge.
She accused him of making a mockery of the judicial process. Yesterday, the court convened to go over some housekeeping items, was supposed to be a short session. It lasted for four hours. He claimed he was feeling sick that he might have COVID. The prosecution accused him of trying to delay the trial pointing to phone conversations he had with his mom saying that he was going to try to delay the trial. And so, yes, we have not seen opening arguments yet. This has been a wild televised trial that's barely begun, Erica.
HILL: Yes, that is for sure. Lucy, appreciate it. Thank you. Wow.
Well, thanks to all of you for joining us today. I'm Erica Hill. Stay tuned at this hour with Kate Bolduan begins after this quickly.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
