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Manhunt After NC Power Grid "Targeted" By Gunfire; Election Day Tomorrow In Georgia's U.S. Senate Runoff; Trump Calls For "Termination" Of The Constitution. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired December 05, 2022 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Hey there, I'm Victor Blackwell. Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): And I'm Alisyn Camerota.

BLACKWELL: We're starting with the attack on a power grid in North Carolina. The FBI is now helping local law enforcement find whoever shot two substations in Moore County. That's about an hour's drive southwest of Raleigh. At this point, the sheriff there is not calling it domestic terrorism.

CAMEROTA: But he stressed that the shooting was intentional. Right now, a state of emergency is in place. Schools are closed, a shelter is open, and about 35,000 people are without any power. It could be days before it's restored.

So, let's get to CNN is Whitney Wild in Moore County, North Carolina. Whitney, I know you've been reporting there all night, so what's the latest on the investigation?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, as you mentioned, the FBI as well as local law enforcement combing through all of the evidence they can to try to figure out who did this crime and why. The social media had been buzzing over the weekend that this was somehow connected to a drag race -- a drag show that was supposed to happen in Moore County around the same time the power went out. That was supposed to happen Saturday at 7:00 p.m. That's shortly -- just before, rather, when the power went out. So, again, social media buzzing with rumors, those two things are connected, although law enforcement saying they have no evidence to connect these two incidents.

Meanwhile, the crews here have been working in 24-hour shifts. You can see them behind me trying to get this grid and another one in a place called West End North Carolina back up and running, try and get people back online. The good news, Victor and Alisyn, is that since last night, Duke Energy, the energy company responsible for these power grids says that 7000 people have been able to come back online. The bad news is they think that people won't be fully restored -- that all customers will not be fully restored until Thursday. So, working through this. The temperature is supposed to drop into the 40s tonight, so this is a dire situation.

Meanwhile, we spoke with a man who's trying to fix that situation for his neighbors. His name was Davis Clark. He owns a company called McNeill Oil & Propane. Here's what he told us about the attack on his community.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVIS CLARK, VP, MCNEILL OIL & PROPANE: It's very emotional and it's -- you know, I know that the police, FBI -- maybe FBI are looking into it. And I hope they find who did this because it's senseless.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILD: The substation here is in a rural area. There are multiple homes within 100 yards of the substation, so law enforcement certainly hoping that somebody here saw something and they will be able to get to the bottom of this crime, which is extremely serious. The other big concern for law enforcement all across the country, Victor and Alisyn, is that people will see this crime and do the same thing somewhere else. The Department of Homeland Security has been warning since 2020 that -- or excuse me, since earlier this year that since 2020, there has been social media chatter about attacks on critical infrastructure. That warning was re-upped just a few days ago in a bulletin in which DHS said plainly, there is a chance that there will be attacks on critical infrastructure, that chances of lone wolf-style attacks pose a lethal threat to the United States. Back to you.

CAMEROTA: Let's hope that the investigation bears fruit soon. Whitney Wild, thank you.

BLACKWELL: Carol Haney is the mayor of Southern Pines in Moore County. She joins us from a community Senator because her home has been without power since this attack. Madam Mayor, thank you for being with us. How much of your city is without power right now?

CAROL HANEY, MAYOR OF SOUTHERN PINES, NORTH CAROLINA: I would say 100 percent is without power.

BLACKWELL: 100 percent. So, you're there -- I'm sure you're at the community center, not alone, how many people are coming in because they need the heat or to charge their phone or they need some access to electricity?

HANEY: The room is fairly full with people that are kind of rotating in and out as they are able to do their job or charge their computers and then they move on and another group of people coming in. So, is this a bit -- were very well used room which is why we provided that service.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And, of course, we know there are people who need something more dire than just to charge their phone or their laptop.

HANEY: Oh, absolutely.

BLACKWELL: Some people may have to charge medical devices. Talk to me about any emergency calls related to the outage.

HANEY: I'm sure there are plenty. In fact, I'm living with one. My mother is 98 and so I'd got her to Charlotte so she could be in a warm home because she can't -- she lives alone and she does not need to be in a cold situation. So, a lot of people are doing exactly what I did, just looking for friends and relatives who can help us -- them out and they leave town to make sure that their families are taken care of. But this community is exceptional in the fact that they take care of each other, and so people are looking out for their neighbors and friends. And it is -- it's an amazing time to watch under the circumstances how people are taking good care of each other.

[14:05:14]

BLACKWELL: Yes. And that's what we see sometimes when the worst happens, people, of course, at traffic lights, we have to think of all the things there could be some accidents, some problems.

HANEY: Right.

BLACKWELL: People are for more caution, neighbors who have generators are sharing power with the folks next door. So, let me ask you about the calls to grocery stores, gas stations, are these places available? Are they open to the necessities to just run life or do people have access?

HANEY: Yes. There are several -- there are several that are open. And there's a town about 30 minutes away from here that people are going to that have gas and grocery stores. So, people are -- and finding out what their neighbors need, so there's a lot of traffic between our community and the one just a little bit north of us.

BLACKWELL: The sheriff says that -- go ahead.

HANEY: But there are -- the grocery stores are here open. And there -- anything that sells coffee is doing quite well.

BLACKWELL: Anything with coffee usually does well in situations like this.

HANEY: Right.

BLACKWELL: The sheriff says that there's no suspect at this point. Without the suspect, doesn't know the motive. But what would you say to the person who shot up these substations, person or persons responsible for what we're seeing in Moore County?

HANEY: There's very little to say that you can print.

BLACKWELL: Right.

HANEY: It is a selfish act. It is cruel. There are so many people that are hurting. The revenue stream is been stopped. You know, if you have health issues, it is critical. It is just a horrible, horrible terrorist, in my opinion, cowardly to do that.

BLACKWELL: Well, again, we know the FBI and of course, North Carolina State officials have joined the investigation.

HANEY: Right.

BLACKWELL: And hopefully they come to some suspect soon. Mayor Carol Haney of Southern Pines there, thank you so much for your time. Stay warm.

HANEY: Thank you. And we appreciate everybody's concern. We've got people calling from all over the place checking on our neighbors and on us and we thank you and keep us in your thoughts and prayers. We got a couple more days of this.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

HANEY: But we've done this before with usually it's for the storm. This time it just -- with no power, this town is still run very smoothly. So, we're good.

BLACKWELL: Yes. We will certainly check back in with you. Thank you, Mayor.

CAMEROTA: Well, tomorrow is the final day of the high-stakes Senate runoff in Georgia. Incumbent senator Raphael Warnock is trying to keep his seat and beat Republican challenger Herschel Walker in this final race of the 2022 midterms. If Warnock wins, it gives Democrats a clean Senate Majority, one that does not rely on Vice President Kamala Harris to break ties.

BLACKWELL: More than one out of five Georgia voters has already voted cast the ballot in the runoff during the early voting period as according to election officials. CNN's Dianne Gallagher joins us from a Warnock event that wrapped up just a few minutes ago. What are you hearing in these closing hours of the campaign?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Look, the candidates are trying to sell themselves to voters who have not yet gotten out to vote, convinced them to show up to the polls on Tuesday. You mentioned that more than 1.85 million people have already voted, this is key now both of them barnstorming the state. Senator Warnock just wrapping up an event here at Georgia Tech. Herschel Walker having the most events that he has had really in weeks at this point, almost the entire duration of the runoff, trying to see if they can get enough to put them over the finish line.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. RAPHAEL WARNOCK, (D-GA): Are you ready to win this election?

GALLAGHER (voiceover): Democratic senator Raphael Warnock and his Republican challenger Herschel Walker spending the closing days of their runoff campaign getting out what's left of the vote.

HERSCHEL WALKER, REPUBLICAN SENATE CANDIDATE, GEORGIA: If you don't have a friend go make a friend and get him out to vote.

GALLAGHER: With more than 1.85 million ballots already cast, the incumbent Democrat warning supporters not to leave anything on the field.

WARNOCK: We are on the verge of victory but I don't want us to do the victory dance before we actually get into the endzone.

GALLAGHER: Warnock leaning on his Senate record and sharpening his criticism of Walker's fitness for office and personal background.

WARNOCK: He was an amazing running back and he will need those skills because come Tuesday, we're going to send him running back to Texas where he actually lives.

GALLAGHER: Walker, a Georgia football legend taking advantage of the Bulldogs playing the SEC championship game in Atlanta, meeting fans at a tailgate on Saturday, but playing the role of underdog on Sunday calling out his opponent's fundraising advantage as fueled by out of state money.

WALKER: Most of his money comes from California or New York. They don't even come from Georgia.

[14:10:02]

GALLAGHER: Walker has made tying Warnock to President Biden central to his closing argument.

WALKER: Our president was in Massachusetts, even campaigning for Senator Warnock who lives in Georgia because of the way Senator Warnock votes. He thought he was a Massachusetts senator.

GALLAGHER: As the remaining days turned into just hours, in an election fatigue state where they're asking for votes once again.

WARNOCK: The whole world is watching Georgia one more time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GALLAGHER: So, there's the old political adage that it may all come down to turnout. And both campaigns agree that is likely true for Georgia on Tuesday. But it's also who turns out. When we look at those early voting numbers, roughly one-third of the early votes come from black voters. We know from a CNN poll that look -- a poll likely black voters, they chose Senator Warnock 96 to 3 percent over Herschel Walker. But Walker in this North Georgia area where Republican Governor Brian Kemp had bested him in the general election trying to make up some of those votes. There's also a former President Donald Trump rally sometime tonight on election eve to try and push the Republicans further through.

CAMEROTA: OK, Diane Gallagher, thank you very much for all of that. And CNN's special live coverage of the Georgia runoff election starts tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.

BLACKWELL: Former President Trump who swore an oath to preserve protect and defend the Constitution and wants to take that oath again, now wants to terminate the constitution. So, what are GOP lawmakers saying about this? We'll have it for you. CAMEROTA: And the surviving roommates of the four murdered Idaho college students have a message for the community. That's ahead.

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[14:16:04]

BLACKWELL: Outrageous. That's how one Republican describes former President Donald Trump's latest comments in which he calls for the termination of the Constitution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. CHRIS SUNUNU, (R-NH): Outrageous. And it's just driving even more people away from him in terms of his race in '24 because he's proving day after day that he becomes more and -- or I should say less and less electable in November of '24.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: So, in a post on his social media, he wrote in part, "a massive fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution." I don't need to read the rest. Let's discuss with CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist Karen Finney, and Republican strategist John Brabender.

So, John, last week, when we spoke to you after Donald Trump had had that dinner with the white supremacist and anti-Semite, Nick Fuentes, you said that you were still reserving judgment on whether you would support him to see if he would come out and say the right thing and denounce white supremacy and antisemitism. Now, instead of doing that, he never did that. But now instead, what he's done is come out and said that all rules and regulations should be terminated "even though it's found in the Constitution." Does he still have your support?

JOHN BRABENDER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, I certainly strongly as most Republicans do, strongly disagree with the president. And I think the more fundamental question, though, is just weeks after announcing that he's running for president, why is he going down these paths that are not particularly good messaging for a campaign? He --

CAMEROTA: He -- maybe because he believes them, John.

BRABENDER: That's true.

CAMEROTA: The reason he's going down these paths, he must truly believe them and not believe in democracy, but believe in autocracy. So, I mean, do you --

BRABENDER: I think a lot --

CAMEROTA: Are you ready to walk away, is my question.

BRABENDER: I think a lot of this still comes back to that the president is still fighting the results of the 2020 election, instead of looking forward. And it's a horrible message for trying to win it back in 2024.

CAMEROTA: Sure. Do they have your support in 2024?

BRABENDER: And I can give it to you, this is advisers around him telling him to do this. And he is losing support.

CAMEROTA: Like yours?

BRABENDER: I mean, people are looking for somebody that's going to provide a more hopeful vision and articulate vision. And right now, the president, week by week, seems to be going down these rabbit holes that have people scratching their heads and saying, what is he talking about? What is the benefit to him? That's the other thing that people are trying to figure out is where --

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: I think you made four or five passes at does he have your support. And we didn't get an answer that this disqualifies the former president. Karen, let me come to you.

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.

BLACKWELL: So, the people who are even on the fence about Donald Trump, even after this post, they have now I guess, ignored or forgiven him for calling Georgia and saying find the votes I need to win, or pressuring his vice president to ignore the will of the people. How much does this change any minds because we're hearing John not answer the question about if it's disqualifying?

FINNEY: You know, what, I'm a "Maya Angelou." And I think you all know what I'm about to say. When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time. The moment that Donald Trump was unable and unwilling to denounce white supremacy and antisemitism way back when, after the Charlottesville incidents, told you -- that's how we got here, right? Because too many in the Republican Party allowed him to sort of play footsie and coddle and this is the same person. And so -- and I think it's a shame that the Republican Party isn't more forceful.

But at the same time, it's easier I guess, for them to denounce it now that the election was so decisive in terms of showing how little support there is. But I just want to say one other thing very quickly about this. Let's also take a step back and remember, he's invoking throwing up the Constitution over a laptop that belongs to his opponent's son who also happens to be an addict.

[14:20:09]

And having you know grown up with, and know people who suffer from addiction, you know, addict -- the things that we would -- we will find on that laptop would not have materially changed how people feel about Joe Biden other than the fact that he loves his son, and is trying to help someone who is an addict. And addicts, many times do embarrassing, horribly, humiliating things in service of their addiction.

CAMEROTA: John, I want to move on to the fight that Kevin McCarthy said but I want to give you an opportunity to respond. Do you want to say anything?

BRABENDER: Yes. Look, nobody criticized Joe Biden and the Democratic Party when he was out fighting for the crime bill that many considered very racist. And as far as Hunter Biden, look and understand, nobody on the Republican side --

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: He has come out and talked about it and how he was -- the mistakes he's made in his new phones on that.

FINNEY: Yes.

BRABENDER: Nobody on the Republican side hears about Hunter Biden.

FINNEY: And the CBC actually supported that.

BRABENDER: What they care about is that Joe Biden breaks American laws and becomes --

BLACKWELL: Then you care about the Constitution?

BRABENDER: Financially was gained by his relationships with other countries.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BRABENDER: That's the real question. It has nothing to do with Hunter Biden --

CAMEROTA: Now -- but I mean since all rules and regulations should be terminated. Maybe we don't care. I mean, that's what Donald Trump is running on. So, I'm just throwing that out there. But let's table this.

BLACKWELL: Sure.

FINNEY: Yes.

CAMEROTA: And let's move on to -- Karen, I want to know about -- this interesting to ask a Democrat about the fight that Kevin McCarthy is having for leadership. Do you think that Democrats have some leverage with Kevin McCarthy in that they could extract some deals in order to win their vote in case he doesn't have enough votes in, say, the Freedom Caucus?

FINNEY: Sure. I mean, look, they could certainly try that behind the scenes and what we all hate to refer to but we all know, happens. There's backroom deals and those -- I think they're not so smoke- filled anymore. They could attempt that. Although two things.

Number one, I think there was such a lack of trust, particularly after the last four years, that I doubt that anyone would believe or trust that the other side would actually hold up their end. The second thing is, I think the others -- there's -- the real strategy for Democrats here is, you know, it is not Democrats' job to save the Republican Party over congressional Republicans from the extremism that seems to have taken over.

So, in that mode, I -- you know, they, I think will stand back. Let them nominate whoever they're going to nominate and let that unfold as it may, which I think most of us believe is going to be utter chaos, given the tensions within the Republican Party, and in many hearings, we're going to hear about a laptop.

BLACKWELL: John, Congressman Clyburn said over the weekend that it's possible that if Kevin McCarthy can't get the Republicans he needs, he can make some deals with Democrats. Is there a corollary relationship between the more Democrats you get the more Republicans you lose, and he's always going to be fighting this seesaw if he has to cross the aisle?

BRABENDER: Well, I think -- I think it's going to be a difficult task for everybody. I mean, first, I do feel the need to remind everybody, America just put the Republicans back into control of the House. That's how they voted. They wanted the Republicans there.

The real thing that we all know, as much as we might want to be optimistic is that what's going to happen is in the Senate, they're going to pass a lot of judges because that's what the Democrats can do. In the House, they're going to do a lot of investigations because that's what they can do. And Joe Biden is going to do a lot of executive orders because that's what he can do. I think going into the 2024 presidential election if there are deals that are cut, it's going to be on things that people feel they can run on, in 2024, and not wedge issues that they want to run against.

BLACKWELL: John Brabender, Karen Finney, got to wrap it there. Thank you.

FINNEY: OK.

CAMEROTA: So, a former FedEx delivery driver reportedly confessing to killing a seven-year-old Texas girl. Ahead, what the community is doing now?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:28:36]

BLACKWELL: Texas Police say a FedEx driver has confessed to killing a seven-year-old girl after kidnapping her from outside her home last week. Tanner Horner made his first court appearance today. He faces capital murder and aggravated kidnapping charges.

CAMEROTA: Police say he was making a delivery to Athena Strand's home outside of Fort Worth last Wednesday when he abducted her. CNN's senior national correspondent Ed Lavandera is here with more. Ed, what are the police saying now? ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, investigators say that they have garnered this confession from the suspect, 31-year- old Tanner Horner. This came after seven-year-old, Athena Strand, went missing from her front yard just northwest of Fort Worth, Texas in Wise County, a rural part of the county, and really has just left this entire community stunned and shaken by all of this. Investigators say that they do not believe that the suspect knew the young girl or anyone in their family, that this appears to be a crime of opportunity. But it has really stunned people there in Wise County who spent two days searching for this young girl.

It wasn't until authorities investigated and identified Tanner Horner as the possible suspect and then began to interview him -- interviewing him on Friday. That is when investigators say he confessed and that led them to the whereabouts of the young girl's body after she had been murdered.