Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Crimea Bridge Blast Delivers Major Blow To Putin's War Effort; South Korea: North Korea Fired Two Short-Range Ballistic Missiles; NFL And Players Union Agree To Updated Concussion Protocol; U.S. Women's National Team Plays First Match Since Abuse Report; Sources: DOJ Doesn't Believe Trump Returned All Classified Docs Taken From White House; Source: Federal Prosecutors Weighing Charges In Hunter Biden Probe; Prosecutors; Police In California On Hunt For Potential Serial Killer. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired October 08, 2022 - 17:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:00:31]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

We begin this hour with a massive explosion today dealing Russia's war effort in Ukraine a literal and symbolic hit. This is the moment part of the Kerch Strait Bridge, a symbol of Russia's power, blows up. It's the longest bridge in Europe connecting the Russian mainland to annexed Crimea, and it's used extensively to resupply Russian forces.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a government commission to get answers into what was behind the explosion. Ukraine is not directly claiming responsibility, but the fire has -- was hardly extinguished by the time Ukraine began trolling Russia.

The Ukrainian government's official Twitter account tweeting "Sick Burn". The bridge was prominently featured in a Russian rom-com. Now Ukraine is giving it their own Hollywood treatment you might say. Ukraine announced new stamps, look at this, with figures resembling Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in their famous pose from the hit film "Titanic" but instead they're standing on that damaged Kerch Bridge.

Ukraine also considers this explosion a birthday gift of sorts for Vladimir Putin who turned 70 years old on Friday. To commemorate they tweeted a video of Marilyn Monroe famously singing "HAPPY BIRTHDAY to JFK. Take a look.

(VIDEO CLIP OF MARILYN MONROE SINGING "HAPPY BIRTHDAY")

ACOSTA: That is an epic trolling.

And CNN's Fred Pleitgen is following the latest on this from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. Fred, what's the latest from where you are?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Jim. Well, we can see -- you see the Russians and the Ukrainians essentially blaming each other for what happened there on the Kerch bridge, on the Crimean Bridge.

You have a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy coming out and saying that he believes that this might be the result of some sort of infighting within the Russian security forces. But not really very much evidence to back all of that up. But certainly, something that the Ukrainians seem to be putting out there. Again, the Ukrainians for their part not acknowledging being behind the attack on this bridge.

The Russians for their part coming out very strongly and blaming the Ukrainians, pointing the finger of blame very quickly. A senior official in Crimea saying that it was Ukrainian vandals that were behind all this.

And he's not the only one. There's some senior figures in Moscow essentially saying the same thing. But again, the Ukrainians not saying they were behind all this despite all the trolling that you were just talking about.

But certainly, this is a huge blow to the Russians, to the war effort of Vladimir Putin, but in general also to the prestige of the Russian Federation, as well.

It's been quite interesting because we've been watching the Russians announcing very quickly that they say that bridge is up and running again, that there's vehicle traffic going through, there's train traffic going through.

But the reality of the matter is that right now the vehicles that are able to cross is really just a trickle of what you would normally see go across that bridge.

There's only one lane currently operating, and that's just operating at a very diminished pace than what you'd normally see. And the rail service exactly the same thing. There's one passenger train that managed to pass some others that are going to pass, as well, the Russians say.

But you know what you're saying is absolutely correct. This is a very important supply line for the Russians, for their war in the south of Ukraine. And the Russians have had some serious issues especially in the south of Ukraine over the past couple of days, especially this past week, where the Ukrainians have made major territorial gains in the south of Ukraine. The Russians have had those serious logistical issues.

And those are certainly set to be exacerbated by the fact that the Russians now have that major bottleneck of that Crimean bridge at least operating at a very diminished capacity from what you'd normally see.

And Vladimir Putin has already signed a decree tonight to strengthen the security of that bridge because it's so important for the Russians both from a symbolic perspective but of course strategically as well, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Fred Pleitgen, thanks as always, excellent reporting out there in Ukraine for us. We appreciate it.

And joining me, national security expert Joe Cirincione and CNN military analyst and retired Army Lieutenant General Mark Hertling.

[17:04:49]

ACOSTA: General Hertling, how humiliating is this for the Russians? I mean this appears to be -- you know, if this is the work of the Ukrainians, this appears to be intended for domestic consumption in Russia.

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes. I wouldn't say that exclusively, Jim. I know there's a lot of people within Ukraine who are executing memes and gifs and, you know, doing the paintings and the postage stamps and all that.

But truthfully this is a three-fold implication. There's a physical implication. This is an operational attack with strategic implications for the both armies -- for both Ukraine's army and Russia's army. A huge humiliation for Russians' army that they haven't been able to defend against this.

Secondly, it's an emotional attack against the Russian people. We've seen over the last week that there have been more and more protests throughout Russia about the war. They have lost more people going away from Russia and trying to emigrate to other countries than they have becoming mobilized to go into the service.

And finally, it's a huge psychological effect on Mr. Putin himself. This is the guy, by the way, who drove a truck across this bridge when he cut the tape opening up in 2018 and saying that it was leading to the holy land, Russia's holy land of Crimea.

So all those things are implications of this attack, whoever did it and however they did it. I'm not going to make any guesses on what was done or how it was done. But it seems to me that this was a pretty good attack by the Ukrainian people against the Russian defensive system within Crimea.

ACOSTA: Yes, Joe, your thoughts on this? How -- I mean, just to play off of what General Hertling was saying, this is a devastating blow to Vladimir Putin symbolically.

JOE CIRINCIONE, NATIONAL SECURITY EXPERT: Right.

ACOSTA: What are your thoughts?

CIRINCIONE: At the beginning of the war there was a lot of us who thought that Ukraine was going to have to make some territorial concessions to end this war, and we're mainly speaking about the Donbas Region. Most people thought Crimea was off the table. Well, it is not off the table. The brilliance of the Ukrainian offensive strategy has been to put

Crimea right back on the table. They are contesting the Russian occupation of Crimea in a way that frankly most of us didn't think they'd be able to do.

A very clever strategic move. The general knows this better than I do. Not a -- a front assault on their dug-in positions, but going and cutting their supply line -- logistics, logistics, logistics. They are isolating the Russian forces. And now are going to be able to attack them much more easily.

ACOSTA: Yes. What do you think about that, General Hertling? I mean are the Ukrainians putting Crimea back on the table? I mean, these are aggressive moves if this ends up being the work of the Ukrainians and it's confirmed as such.

HERTLING: Well, first -- yes, first I'd like to say, Jim, I love my friend, Joe, here, but I'd like to remind him that I was one of those that didn't think Ukraine was going to give up any territory whatsoever from the very beginning of this war.

ACOSTA: I remember that.

HERTLING: What I tell you is yes, they have been very aggressive. They have been very bold. They have learned their lessons well in how to conduct not only tactical operations and different phases given the kind of equipment that they've been receiving from the west, but they've been able to adapt the fight in each phase of the operation.

Phase one, two, and three, and now I think we're entering into phase four. They have always said from the beginning that it would be the Ukrainian people that would decide what territory they took back. And President Zelenskyy was very smart in that way saying that we would take a vote from the Ukrainian people on what areas we would take back over. And I think he certainly has a referendum on that unlike Mr. Putin's referendum that was false.

And I think he has the complete support of the Ukrainian people to not only continue to try and attain ground within the Donbas and in the southeast but also perhaps even into Crimea.

ACOSTA: And Joe, switching subjects a little bit, the last power line connecting the Zaporizhzhia power plant to Ukraine's power grid was disconnected today apparently after some Russian shelling. How crucial is that development do you think in all of this?

CIRINCIONE: This continues to be a very serious concern. It's been so much overshadowed by all the other news that's coming out.

ACOSTA: Right.

CIRINCIONE: The explicit nuclear weapons threats that Putin continues to make, and others in Moscow. But this is another type of nuclear threat. This is another threat that Putin is making, not of a nuclear weapon but the possible destruction of this site. And one of the ways it could be destroyed is by cutting off

electricity around it, even though Russia now claims this as their own. It's on what they consider to be Russian territory right now.

They're still playing with this, trying to frighten the Ukrainian people. They've been launching missile attacks from missiles that they based in the nuclear power plant on the city of Zaporizhzhia daring the Ukrainians to try to hit them back.

[17:09:59]

CIRINCIONE: It remains a very tense situation. That's why the director of the IAEA wants to go there and try to calm things down again.

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean just stunning recklessness.

And General, the IAEA as Joe was mentioning said the attacks on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant are tremendously irresponsible, has emphasized that the plant needs to be protected. Your thoughts on this?

HERTLING: Well, we've heard, Jim, in the past in different conflicts the use of human shields to protect different locations from the enemy.

What we're seeing now is facility shields. The Russians continue to commit war crimes across the board in various areas -- murdering, rape, kidnapping, taking children away from their parents, hitting infrastructure. What they're now doing now is an attempt to use an infrastructure as a shield, as Joe just said, to shoot missiles at other civilian infrastructure.

It's just a continuation of criminal activities by the Russian military led by Mr. Putin. And -- I firmly believe that there is going to be a day when all of his generals, when all of his soldiers, and when Mr. Putin himself is going to be held accountable for these kinds of actions.

ACOSTA: And Joe, earlier this year you wrote an analysis on why folks were wrong to blame this war on NATO and U.S. policies. I mean, some of this gets picked up on the far right. Obviously we've seen a lot of pro-Putin talking points spewed by some on the far right.

Can you talk about that and why you think it is wrong-headed to blame this on the west?

(CROSSTALK)

CIRINCIONE: Sure. There's a serious current of thought that spans the political spectrum on this. From the far right, as you said, people who are pro Putin who think that the Russian military is more masculine than the American military -- things like that.

But it also encompasses the libertarian right who believe that the U.S. should be withdrawing from its military commitments around the world, and the so-called peace left or the antiwar activists who still are looking at this in the frame of the failed U.S. wars over the last 20 years and blame NATO for expanding too rapidly, for threatening Russia and see this as a preventive war. Some of my colleagues have been writing this way.

John Mearsheimer (ph), Stephen Walsh (ph), the Quincy Institute. I just think that is a complete misreading of the situation. We made mistakes in the past, but none of that was caused Putin to make this invasion. This is a ruthless, brutal occupation.

And if you just look at what he's doing there, your sympathies have got to be with the Ukrainian people. We don't abandon people who have been attacked by dictators occupying their land, committing daily war crimes. We rush to their defense.

That's the posture we should have across the political spectrum. If you want to be antiwar, be anti-Putin's war.

ACOSTA: What do you think about that, General Hertling? I mean one of the things that NATO has demonstrated and the U.S. has demonstrated in all this is that there's not going to be any tolerance for expansionist pipe dreams in Europe.

HERTLING: Yes. Joe is absolutely right. He's been writing about this for years. What I would say is, you know, it's interesting, Jim. NATO has gone from its initial founding of 16 nations now to 32 nations. Every one of those single nations have wanted to join NATO because of their anxiety about the kinds of things that Russia is doing right now, and more have joined recently.

Having been in Europe for a big -- about a third of my career total, you know, I've dealt with the Baltic countries -- Romania, Georgia, Ukraine -- some that are in NATO, some that are not. All of them want to join because of the security guarantees, and there has never been a threat by NATO to invade Russia.

It is just talking points by some extremists who just do not understand the footprint within Europe. And Joe certainly does understand it.

ACOSTA: All right. General Mark Hertling, Joe Cirincione -- thanks as always. And a shout out to Joe's work there at the end of the segment. Appreciate that very much.

CIRINCIONE: Thank you, General.

ACOSTA: Thank you.

All right. General Hertling was right from the beginning of all this.

Now, to this developing story we are following out of North Korea. Very serious situation -- South Korean officials confirming that North Korea earlier today fired two short-range ballistic missiles.

CNN's Will Ripley joins me now on this. Will, is this more of the same from North Korea? Any wrinkles to this that the region is going to find more disturbing this time around? WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, let me put

it to you this way -- and this was kind of staggering when I kind of crunched these numbers. North Korea has launched more missiles in the last two weeks than they did in either 2020 or 2021 in terms of just the volume of what they're shooting up into the air. Just in the last two weeks.

[17:14:52]

RIPLEY: Now granted, you know, some of it was timed around the visit of Vice President Kamala Harris to the Demilitarized Zone. You know, which obviously, you know, that and then, you know, military exercises, some of them spontaneous, some of them prescheduled between the U.S. and South Korea.

North Korea has their reasons in terms of politics. But it does seem, Jim, that this is to gain scientific knowledge. And I think that, you know, the missile that they fired over Japan demonstrated the range of, you know, one of their kind of midrange ballistics, the Hwasong- 12. This flight path shorter and you know, these two missiles came down in the waters just outside of Japan's exclusive economic zone which indicates probably the short range type.

We haven't heard if they have any regular trajectory like some of the other short-range missiles that North Korea was testing because those types of weapons that can actually make a turn midflight and theoretically could have a nuclear warhead, these are the kind of tactical nuclear weapons that, you know, we hear so much about both in Russia and Ukraine, but also North Korea developing those, as well.

So certainly, a lot of troubling developments. The aggressive acceleration in testing and, you know, the kind of arms race as a whole in this part of the world, you know, not to mention increased, you know, military activities by the U.S., South Korea and Japan, directly in response to North Korea.

But of course, also, you know, not-so-subtle message for other regional actors that may be, you know, questioning the military alliance of like-minded democracies.

There's a lot of tension here, Jim, that's for sure. And North Korea's one potential flashpoint. The island I'm on, Taiwan, another one.

ACOSTA: No question about it.

All right. Will Ripley, always on top of the North Korea story. Thanks again. We appreciate it.

And this just in -- the NFL and the players union of the NFL have agreed to updated concussion protocol. The legendary Bob Costas, he'll talk about this with us next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[17:16:44]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: And this just in, the NFL and the NFL Players Association have agreed to update the league's concussion protocol after a frightening moment last month on the football field. Back on September 25th, Tua Tagovailoa of the Miami Dolphins, stumbled when getting up against the Bills but still came back later on in the game.

It was a horrifying moment. A few days after that, Tua got hit again, and the crowd watched his hands seize up.

Joining me now to talk about this, legendary broadcaster and CNN contributor Bob Costas. I mean, that video is now burned on my brain forever. I mean it is just terrifying to look at.

BOB COSTAS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes.

ACOSTA: And I guess this had to happen. They had to come to an agreement on some sort of new protocol, right Bob?

COSTAS: Yes. And what they've essentially done is that they've added another condition to the no-go list. No matter what the independent neurologist might have said, had the following been in place in the Sunday game against Buffalo when Tua claimed that it was his back that caused him to stumble, and then he played just four days later and you saw the hit that you referred to where there was no question that he suffered a concussion.

Had the following been in place, no matter what the independent neurologist had concluded, team physicians could have disqualified Tua. And it's the category of ataxia which basically means if the player displays impaired motor skills, stumbling around as Tua was, or if they shake their head from side to side to get the cobwebs out, the sort of things that a non-physician who's reasonably well-trained and observant could note for themselves, then that goes on the no-go list.

So it's just another layer of protection to prevent somebody from playing because they want to play. We know that players historically say I want to get back out there, I want to be there for my team, et cetera, et cetera -- that gladiator mentality is not in their long- range best interest. So this is another safeguard against that happening.

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, Bob, it just sounds to me that they're injecting some reality into the situation, some common sense. I mean, when fans are watching a player stumble around on the football field and then he's allowed to play again, it defies common sense.

And it -- and it's shocking to me to see the NFL behave in this fashion and perhaps they won't after the updated protocol.

After all of the -- you know, there have been movies made about what's happening to some of these players and these brain injuries. This happened -- we're watch some video now of the Colts-Broncos game the other night. Colts players stumbling around on the field.

What on earth is going on with the NFL? Why can't they get this right? COSTAS: Well, in fairness, they have made progress. There was a period

of time up until a decade or so ago when they were in denial. Much like the tobacco company saying there was no connection between lung cancer and cigarette smoking. No connection between repeated concussions and CTE and long-range neurological damage. No connection between football and those conditions.

Obviously now they not only concede that there is, but they've put protocols in place not just during the games, but regarding practice and all the rest.

But obviously there are flaws within it, and some of those flaws have been exposed in the last couple of weeks. But it's inevitable. No matter what they do, no matter how much they improve the helmets, no matter how much they improve the playing surfaces, and one in every five concussions happens not so much because of the collision between players but because of the player's head hitting the playing surface.

No matter what they do improve it, no matter what protocols are in place, as someone once said, the primary problem with football is football. It's the nature of the game itself.

ACOSTA: Right.

COSTAS: They can make it safer but they can't make it safe.

ACOSTA: No, that's true. I want to ask you about what has been a huge story in sports this week. The women's national soccer team and this explosive report that revealed widespread abuse in the sport.

Did that just -- did that surprise you, Bob, as somebody who's covered sports for so long, as you have, and the women's soccer team is just beloved across the United States.

COSTAS: Yes.

[17:24:55]

ACOSTA: In many ways they've just always been more impressive than the guys. And I know people are going to say I shouldn't say that, but it's just the truth. It is just the truth. And to see this going on in that sport -- just unbelievable.

COSTAS: The investigation that was headed by the former U.S. deputy attorney general Sally Yates focused on the NWSL -- which is a professional league, a ten-team professional league in the United States.

But there's significant overlap in players who play professionally in that league and the players who represent us in the World Cup or at the Olympics. So there are some familiar names.

And she uncovered, she and her team uncovered widespread and ongoing instances of emotional abuse, verbal abuse, sexual harassment. Three of the ten teams wouldn't cooperate with the investigation. As it turned out, half of the ten coaches in the league stepped aside. The league commissioner also resigned and was replaced by another

woman. So evidently it's had a ripple effect throughout. What I wonder about, and I have to stipulate this, Jim, other than the Olympics, I've never covered soccer closely.

So I'm not really connected to people within that sport. But one has to wonder this isn't 20 years ago or even ten years ago, there's so much focus on these issues now. You wonder why it took so long for this to come to light because people have a voice.

Women within sports have a voice. And you wonder why it wasn't raised more loudly prior to this.

ACOSTA: And Bob, we have to talk about baseball because these are good -- I mean I'm a Nationals fan, so I can't even believe the words are coming out of my mouth. But these are good times in baseball. Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees hitting his 62nd home run, setting a single season American League record.

And we have this marvelous playoff race, pennant race that's underway right now. It's just -- it's marvelous to watch.

COSTAS: Yes. It's been a good season for baseball. It started with people grumbling about the lockout and labor strike. But once they started playing, people put that in the rearview mirror. A lot of terrific things have happened in baseball.

Shohei Otani is an ongoing wonder. Both an all-star pitcher and an all-star hitter at the same time. That's never been done really. Babe Ruth didn't even do it at the same time. He was a pitcher first and then primarily a power hitting outfield second. And Aaron Judge with the 62 homeruns, nudging one past Roger Maris.

And now as we speak, only moments ago, Cleveland eliminated Tampa Bay winning the first two of the two out of three in the wild card round, winning a 1-0 game in the bottom of the 15th.

So Cleveland goes on to play the Yankees starting Tuesday in the Bronx.

ACOSTA: And how should Aaron Judge be viewed --

COSTAS: There's your full baseball report, Jim.

ACOSTA: That's right. News, sports, and weather.

No, but Bob, how should Aaron Judge be viewed historically?

COSTAS: You know, I think a lot of people --

ACOSTA: Is he now the home run king?

(CROSSTALK)

COSTAS: Yes -- reasonable people, not people who begrudge the fact that Barry Bonds was one of the greatest all-around players of all time on his natural merits because he was. And there's no need demonize Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa, it was a different time. But in a four-year stretch, there were a cluster of six 60-plus homerun seasons by those three guys. By Sosa, McGwire, and Bonds. All of them obviously and convincingly connected to steroid use.

So that's an aberrant period of time in baseball history. And a great number of people view Aaron Judge as the guy who did it most authentically, most legitimately, and it doesn't hurt that he's carried himself with such grace and humility.

In that sense, he has more in common with Roger Maris who set the record of 61 at that time, 61 years ago. He has more in common personally with Roger Maris than he does with many of his contemporaries.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. And I have a feeling that, you know, the next several weeks are just going to be terrific to watch.

Bob Costas, great to see you as always. Thanks so much. Appreciate the time.

COSTAS: Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right.

COSTAS: Scary moments, we should point out, during a college football game this afternoon. The University of Michigan's running backs coach Mike Hart collapsed on the sideline during the first quarter of the game. They were playing against Indiana earlier today. And while medical staff attended to him, players on both teams knelt. Some of them clearly were emotional. Hart was placed on a cart and taken off the field.

A Michigan spokesperson said he was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital to be evaluated. The Fox broadcast reported that his wife was by his side in the ambulance, and that he was alert on the stretcher giving a thumbs up.

So some good indications there after a very scary moment in college football earlier today.

Coming up, does Donald Trump still have classified documents taken from the White House? The Justice Department sure thinks so. So what options do they have?

CNN's Elie Honig breaks it down next.

[17:29:40]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:34:07]

ACOSTA: New developments in the legal battle over classified documents former President Donald Trump took from the White House to Florida. Sources are telling CNN that the Justice Department still does not

believe he's returned all of them. The DOJ pointing to empty envelopes with classified banners seized from Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort back in August.

CNN's senior legal analyst and former federal prosecutor, Elie Honig, is here.

Elie, great to see you.

What options does the Justice Department have at this point? Do they go down to Mar-a-Lago, knock on the door, and say, please? What do they do now?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Jim, DOJ really has three basic options here. None of them on great, by the way.

Going from sort of least to most aggressive. First, they can try to negotiate with Donald Trump's legal team. Give those documents back, maybe we will agree not to use the fact that you gave them to us against you in a future proceeding. But they've tried that for over a year now. It hasn't worked.

[17:35:00]

The middle ground is DOJ can issue a subpoena. That's a formal command from the grand jury saying governor us these documents. They tried that, too. Donald Trump's team gave over some documents, but, again, still not all.

The third option is to do another search warrant on whatever locations they think the documents are stored in, whether Mar-a-Lago or somewhere else.

Jim, I can tell you, if this was a normal case, not involving a high- profile political figure, that what you would do in a second as a prosecutor.

If you believed there was contraband, whether it's documents, drugs, anything out there in a location you could identify, you would do a search warrant.

Of course, DOJ is aware of the politics here. They don't seem willing to do a search warrant because presumably they would have done another one if they felt that was appropriate.

So blame here primarily falls on Donald Trump for having those documents. But DOJ has sort of played itself into a corner, as well, here.

ACOSTA: Right. Specifically, because all these concerns have been raised by yourself and others many times on this program.

If he has these documents, that is an issue, that is a national security issue. And so, as you said, why hasn't the Justice Department rushed down there and taken care of this. It does raise all sorts of questions.

And we also have just learned that the prosecutor leading an investigation into Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia is now seeking testimony for more of his allies, including former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

That seems significant.

HONIG: Yes, Jim, so this investigation went from really a standstill for nearly a year to suddenly increasing in intensity and in focus. They are being very aggressive out of the Fulton County D.A.'s office in Atlanta, Georgia.

It appears they are moving directly toward Donald Trump. And I think of all the pending criminal investigations now, the one that's most likely to result in an actual indictment of Donald J. Trump, the individual, is the one out of Fulton County, Georgia.

But it's really important to keep in mind, if that happens at some point in the upcoming months, it is going to be a very difficult climb for the D.A. to take this case from indictment to conviction.

They're going to have constitutional problems with the local county D.A. indicting a former president. They're going to have legal issues.

They're going to have practical and political issues with getting a jury to unanimously convict someone who's a polarizing but, in many corners, a popular figure.

Especially the farther we get from January 6th and the closer we get to 2024.

ACOSTA: Much time has passed since January 6th, to be sure.

Elie, sources tell CNN that federal prosecutors believe they could charge President Biden's son, Hunter, with tax crimes and a false statement regarding a gun purchase. But a final decision has not been made.

I seem to recall this unwritten rule at the Justice Department that prosecutors not bring politically sensitive cases within 60 days of an election. We're about a month out from the midterms.

So what's your reaction to all of this?

HONIG: Well, technically, Jim, Hunter Biden would not fall within that policy.

You do recall correctly it is a policy of DOJ not to bring an indictment within 60 days of a major -- a major election, including the midterms. But it wouldn't technically apply to the son of somebody who's not on the ballot.

But by any practical or realistic measure, there's no way DOJ can make a decision on this or bring charges on Hunter Biden 30 days before the midterms. If they do indict, it's going to be after the midterms.

It's really important to note, Jim, the reporting here is that the agents, the law enforcement agents on this case think there's enough to charge. That happens a lot.

Prosecutors don't always agree. I've had these conversations many times with law enforcement agents.

So the real decision here is going to have to be made by the U.S. attorney's office by federal prosecutors.

ACOSTA: All right. Elie Honig, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

HONIG: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: Federal prosecutors presenting new evidence to a jury that Oath Keepers founder, Stewart Rhodes, called for a, quote, "bloody war" to keep then-President Trump in office after his 2020 election defeat.

Rhodes, along with four other members of the far-right militia group, are on trial for sedition for their alleged roles in the deadly capitol attack.

And CNN's Whitney Wild has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTER (voice-over): Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the far-right group the Oath Keepers, was the focus of Friday's testimony in the seditious conspiracy trial.

Prosecutors presented letters they say he wrote to then-President Donald Trump in December 2020.

The chilling words addressed directly to the former president read, "War isn't coming, war is already here. Strike now. If you fail to act while you are still in office, we, the people, will have to fight."

The letter written around the same time Rhodes appeared at the so- called Jericho March in D.C. in December 2020.

STEWART RHODES, OATH KEEPERS LEADER: If he does not do it now while he is commander-in-chief, we're going to do it ourselves later in a much more desperate, much more bloody war. Let's get it on now while he is still the commander-in-chief.

WILD: The letters were signed by Rhodes and Kellye SoRelle, the self- described general counsel for the Oath Keepers, who is also now facing federal charges.

Prosecutors had leaned heavily on audio secretly recorded in the lead up to January 6th, including from a virtual meeting Rhodes hosted just days after the 2020 election.

RHODES (voice-over): There's no such thing as another election in this country, of any meaningful sense of term, if you let this stand.

[17:40:05]

WILD: The meeting's purpose: preparing for battle at a pro-Trump rally on November 14th.

RHODES (voice-over): He has to know that people are behind him, that he will not be deserted, and he has to have positive pressure. But we got to be in D.C. We have to be willing to go to D.C. and street fight Antifa .

WILD: Prosecutors also presented a text that Rhodes wrote in late December that said, "They won't fear us until we come with rifles in hand."

The defense continues to argue the Oath Keepers viewed their role as peacekeepers, trying to protect Trump supporters.

EDWARD TARPLEY, ATTORNEY FOR STEWART RHODES: We just have to see. I mean, this is a marathon, not a sprint. So every day, you know, more information comes out. And we just see how that all plays out.

WILD: Whitney Wild, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And coming up, police in California are hunting for a potential serial killer. We'll have details next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:45:03]

ACOSTA: In Stockton, California, there's a potential serial killer on the loose. Police are calling the person you see in this video a person of interest in a string of shootings dating back to last year.

Investigators say the same person has been seen on multiple surveillance videos related to these deadly attacks.

In total, seven people were shot, six of them in Stockton, and only one victim survived.

CNN's Camila Bernal is following this for us.

Camilla, a very disturbing case. Are police any closer to solving it?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Jim. As far as we know, no. And that is why they're asking the public to look at the video and try to help them in any way possible.

Look, they have connected some of these dots. They say the video, they say the time of these crimes, early morning, late in the evening. They say there's also ballistic evidence. And yet, they're still trying to figure out who is behind all of this

this. But they don't know if it's one person or multiple people. That's why they put out the call to the public to try help them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Six killings in northern California, a number of connections in the cases, and at least one possible suspect.

STANLEY MCFADDEN, CHIEF, STOCKTON POLICE DEPARTMENT: If you look at the video is, we want our communities to pay attention to how he walks. He has an inconsistent walk about him, as well he has a very tall posture also when he walks.

BERNAL: The chief says the man appears in some of the recent crime scenes.

MCFADDEN: To go by definition, absolutely we have a series of serial murders occurring in the city.

BERNAL: But authorities can't say whether one or multiple people are involved. They do know that there is ballistic and video evidence connecting the dots.

And add to that, that all the attacks happened during the evening or early morning hours when the victims were alone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of people are scared to come out at night.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am not going out by myself anymore. I told family members when it gets dark, make sure that you are indoors.

BERNAL: And while the police chief tried to reassure the public of their work during a public safety community town hall, he is also warning people.

MCFADDEN: You have to be out, be with someone. Be in a lighted area.

BERNAL: The killings are believed to have begun in April of 2021 with the most recent reported late last month.

MCFADDEN: We believe that perhaps this individual or individuals may be looking for the area during daylight to anticipate where cameras may be and what would be the best approach for this person or persons to take.

BERNAL: In total, seven people have been shot. One survived. And now police offering a $125,000 reward.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe they will catch the person. They just have to figure out who the person is.

BERNAL: Camila Bernal, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BERNAL: Now the man on the video, he is not seen committing any crimes. He's only seen near those crime scenes.

But it is important to identify him because it could lead to what this case is all about.

Now in the meantime, authorities are telling people to be extremely careful, especially if they're alone and if they're going out early in the morning or late in the evening because, again, you know, you never know when this person can strike again -- Jim?

ACOSTA: Absolutely. The community there must be just very worried about this situation.

Camila Bernal, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

Quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:53:04]

ACOSTA: The real-life "Inventing Anna" is out of jail. Anna Sorokin, the inspiration for the Netflix drama, was released from ICE detention yesterday. She must stay off social media, remain at the same address and likely wear an ankle monitor while her fight against deportation proceeds.

Sorokin was found guilty in 2019 of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from banks and friends. Prosecutors say she pretended to be a rich heiress, duping people to cover hotels, plane tickets and other luxurious items.

She was released last year and then detained by ICE.

CNN's original series, "THE MURDOCHS: EMPIRE OF INFLUENCE," continues tomorrow night.

Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rupert Murdoch has been characterized in some ways as being unkind, unfair to his children. I think that's a fair knock on him. But in some ways, he's trying very much to do right by them. He created the Murdoch family trust.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Murdoch family trust controls voting shares for the Murdoch media companies. To have control of the shares is to have control of the empire.

The trust ensures the company will remain in the Murdoch family. The trust has a board and that board includes Rupert Murdoch, Prudence, his daughter from his first marriage, and Elizabeth, Lachlan and James.

But not all board members are equal. Rupert sets it up so his vote is four votes so he can never be outvoted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Make sure to catch a brand-new episode of "THE MURDOCHS: EMPIRE OF INFLUENCE," tomorrow night at 10:00 right here on CNN.

It's the most wonderful time of the year. Yes, it's Far Bear Week. Every year, the Katmai National Park in Alaska pits 12 fat bears against each other -- am I allowed to call them that -- in a contest to highlight and celebrate how bears prepare for winter hibernation.

The favorite is 480, Otis, who has already racked up four wins over the years. He once ate 42 salmon in one sitting just by waiting for the fish to swim by.

[17:55:04]

But 435, Holly, is proving to be stiff competition. The mama bear -- always have to look out for those mama bears -- was the Fat Bear Week champion in 2019. There are four other contestants still in the running.

You can vote for your favorite chunky bear at fatbearweek.org. The winner will be announced on Tuesday when one of these bears will be crowned champion. They are better than the average bear.

You know, I would like to have some salmon now, I think. It looks tasty based on what we just saw there.

All right, that's the news. Reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta.

You can tell it's dinner time for me.

I'll see you back here tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. Eastern.

Pamela Brown takes over the CNN NEWSROOM live after a quick break.

Have a good night, guys.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)