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Flooding Hits California; Classified Documents from Biden's Vice Presidency Found; Michael Moore is Interviewed about Classified Documents; Biden Rolls out New Migrant Measures; Husband of Missing Mother Arrested; House Approves Rules Package. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired January 10, 2023 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:31]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Good Tuesday morning. I'm Erica Hill.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Jim Sciutto.

A very busy Tuesday morning.

Right now, President Biden is facing questions over how he handled classified documents when he was vice president. His attorneys found those documents from his time as VP at a private office, then, we should note, turned them over immediately to the National Archives. Attorney General Merrick Garland calling on a U.S. attorney to now investigate any potential damage. We will discuss the impact and also how this case differs from former President Trump's handling of classified documents.

All this as the president wakes up this morning in Mexico. Immigration, of course, a top priority as CNN learns new details about the president's plan now to curb the surge at the southern border.

HILL: Plus, evacuations underway in several parts of California as deadly storms slam the state. Intense flooding leading to mudslides and power outages. Check out this scene. This is in Santa Clarita. First responders, you see there, rescuing people from submerged cars. As of this morning, we know at least 14 people have died as a result of these storms.

And that's where we begin this hour. Dramatic video of even more rescues coming in. Just look at that basket swinging there. Helicopters, you can see, this is in Monterey County, where the Coast Guard had to pull a couple and their dog to safety after their house really became an island, just surrounded by the rapidly rising Arroyo Seco (ph) River.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID PEPPLE, RESCUED FROM HIS HOME BY U.S. COAST GUARD: When I woke up in the morning, the water was probably four feet lower than when this all happened. And I told my wife, we better get ready. And we started packing and getting ready. And we were looking out the window and we saw the bridge go. And when that bridge went, there's no way out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Downtown Santa Barbara is also getting a record amount of rainfall. More than 6 inches, with more on the way today. Take a look at what all that water is doing, turning creeks into rivers, raging rivers.

Ellen DeGeneres actually posted a similar scene from her own backyard in Montecito.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELLEN DEGENERES: We are having unprecedented rain. This creek next to our house never flows, ever. Probably about nine feet up. And it's going to go another two feet up. We are horses (ph) ready to evacuate. We need to be nicer to mother nature.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: CNN's Kyung Lah and Camila Bernal are out getting a first- hand look at the damage. First to Kyung. She's in Ventura.

I wonder if you can describe the conditions now. One of the features of this is just how quickly the waters rose.

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: How quickly and how rapidly it's constantly changing, in part because of this. We're just starting to see another deluge down here in Ventura County.

And I want you to take a look at where I am, Jim. This looks like it's a river. This is, in part, the Ventura River. But I'm standing on the 101 Freeway. The Ventura River rose so rapidly, and it brought all this, all this mud and water. It is completely shut down eight lanes of freeway, four lanes on this side, four lanes on the other side. And this is just one closure here on the freeway. There are multiple closures up and down because of all of those emergencies that the fire department, that the CHP has had to respond to. They haven't been able to even start to think about handling this type of infrastructure problem because they have lives that they need to save out there.

So, what we are seeing are evacuations. There have been communities, like Montecito, told to immediately evacuate, leave now was the message from the fire department. And there have been some 200 rescues conducted by the Santa Barbara -- 200 incidents that the Santa Barbara Fire Department says that they've had to respond to. Seven of them being swift water rescues. So, they are urging people that if they don't have to go anywhere, if they are safe in their homes, to try to not go anywhere, especially as southern California sees yet another rainy day, Jim.

HILL: Wow. It is really something, Kyung.

Camila, you're a little bit further north there. You're in Santa Cruz County. What is the situation where you are this morning? CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, same kind of

warnings. Authorities telling people, do not drive because a lot of the streets look like what you're seeing here. I mean, this is a residential neighborhood and imagine opening your front door to all of this standing water.

[09:05:05]

And it's part of the reason why authorities are saying you cannot drive because all of the streets look like this.

I talked to a resident yesterday who told me, look, I wanted to put sandbags in front of my house, and they tried to put as many sandbags as possible. That did nothing because there is so much water. Many of them have lost a lot already because the water going into their garages, into their homes, and they tell me, look, it's just the physical part of it and the rain and the water, but it's also the financial aspect of it because a lot of these things are just ruined because of the water. Even cars have been left stranded.

So, you're seeing this in every single neighborhood as you're walking. There's 32,000 people in the county that are under evacuation orders and the county telling me there could be more. Sheriff's deputies are working around the clock with loud speakers telling people to get out of their homes. Many people listening to those warnings. Others saying, look, I just want to stay inside of my home and do as much as I can from here.

But it is a very dangerous situation no matter how you look at it. And they're expecting more rain over the next ten days. So, they're telling people, look, maybe it's not raining right now, but all of it is just not over.

Jim. Erica.

SCIUTTO: Camila Bernal, Kyung Lah, just be careful there with how quickly all that water's rising. Thanks so much.

HILL: Well, overnight, CNN has learned several classified documents from Joe Biden's time as vice president were discovered in a private office last fall.

SCIUTTO: That's right. His own attorneys discovered those documents.

CNN's senior legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid joins us now with more.

So, Paula, tell us exactly what was found and then how they were handled after they were found.

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, let's go back a few years. The beginning of this story.

2017 to 2019, before he's president, after he's vice president, Biden is an honorary professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He has a D.C.-based office. And a couple weeks ago, November 2nd, his lawyers went to clean out that office and they uncovered fewer than a dozen classified documents.

Now, we're told they handed those over to the National Archives. The Archives took possession of them. We're told the next morning the Justice Department was notified and the attorney general has tapped the U.S. attorney in Chicago to review this, do a damage assessment. That's interesting because he's one of the two Trump-appointed U.S. attorneys who's still serving. The other one's in Delaware overseeing the investigation into the president's son, Hunter Biden.

SCIUTTO: Interesting. That was Garland's choice to be the -

REID: Exactly.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

REID: It's a strategic choice.

Now, the Biden team says they are fully cooperating with the Archives, with the Justice Department. But, Jim, going forward, a lot of questions.

First of all, why are you sending attorneys to clean out an office that's been dormant for a few years? Why are you sending them a few days before a critical midterm? And why didn't you get out in front of this before the news media got ahold of it?

SCIUTTO: Yes.

REID: A lot of questions. Still a lot of reporting to do.

SCIUTTO: Yes, no question.

HILL: So, Paula, there's all of that -- those questions that we need answered.

Based on what we know now, though, I mean we have all seen it already, as soon as this broke, this is really being embraced by some Republicans as, oh, the irony and, oh, isn't this great. Look at what President Biden was doing. These are not exactly apples to apples. There are some similarities.

But walk us through what is and is not the same about this event and the documents discovered at this office and what was found at former President Trump's home in Mar-a-Lago.

REID: It's such a great question, Erica. I was surprised in speaking with the former president's legal team last night, I expected that they would be giddy over this. But instead I got a slug. And, in fact, they think that the Biden matter helps their defense because they say, look, this is exactly what we've been talking about, overclassification of documents, how difficult it is to keep track of all of this these, particularly when you leave office. So, they think this helps their defense.

And so far, though, what we know from the Biden team is that these two matters are - are very different. That Mar-a-Lago is a much more complicated investigation. For example, the volume of material we're talking about, fewer than a dozen documents versus hundreds of classified documents. The level of cooperation. The Biden team says they are fully cooperating. We know Trump really would not cooperate fully with the government, only turned over many of these documents when subpoenas were obtained.

He is also under investigation in addition to these questions about classified information for possible obstruction. So, a lot of differences based on what we know now. But I caution, there's a lot more reporting to do and a lot of unanswered questions here about the Biden matter.

SCIUTTO: Paula Reid, thanks so much.

All right, so where does the law stand on all of this? What happens now? Joining us now, former U.S. attorney Michael Moore, partner at Moore Hall in Atlanta.

Always good to have you on, Michael.

MICHAEL MOORE, PARTNER, MOORE HALL: It's good to be with you. Thank you. Happy New Year to you.

SCIUTTO: To you as well.

All right, so there are differences here, but picture yourself as one of Trump's lawyers now defending him in this - in this documents case. Even though part of that is an obstruction case, not just the handling of the documents, as a practical legal matter, does it help his defense team?

[09:10:01]

MOORE: Well, it's going to help in some way because it just gives them one argument. I don't think it's conclusive, you know, for him, but I think the argument will be made that, look, you know, you've got to treat us the same way and this is something that happens and it was accidental as we all transitioned, one, from the vice president's office, me from the Oval Office, or my client from the Oval Office. And that's the argument they'll make. At the end of the day, I don't think they overcome the case, but that's what they'll say.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HILL: You know, Paula in pointing out the U.S. attorney based in Chicago was a Trump-appointed attorney whom Merrick Garland put on this to oversee what's going on with the Biden documents, she called it a strategic move by Garland. Do you think it was the right move by Merrick Garland?

MOORE: Well, I think it's good that he's out having somebody review it. I mean I -- we'd like to consider the Department of Justice apolitical. So, I would hope that didn't go into his decision, but I'm sure it did.

I mean, look, it is ultimately going to come down to a question of intent. It's like having two people stopped on the interstate and going through a road construction zone and one says, you know, Mr. Officer, you're crooked and you're involved in a cover-up and you hate me and the law doesn't apply to me, so there you go. And the other driver says, look, I just -- I'm sorry, I did not notice the speed limit change and I want to cooperate with your stop, I'll help you. Guess what, driver number one is going to get a ticket. And so it's sort of how they handle it. How did they handle it?

And the problem for the Trump team is their handling of this case from the beginning has been abysmal. And so that's what's going to come back and get them in the end. It's always how you handle something, it's the cover up, there's likely obstructive conduct at the end of a case.

SCIUTTO: Yes. It's a great comparison. I think it can help our viewers understand.

By the way, part of the case against Trump is obstruction, right, is legally the handling.

MOORE: Right.

SCIUTTO: But you know that this decision -- we know that this decision former Merrick Garland has politics involved.

MOORE: Sure.

SCIUTTO: Because whether we're talking about documents or talking about election interference, he's got to make a case and realize he'd be charging a former president here.

MOORE: That's true.

SCIUTTO: So, in that sense, if you're the AG now, I'm going to put those -- you in those shoes, does this make you more wary of charging him?

MOORE: It doesn't really make me more wary. I mean the attorney general is charged with following the facts and the law. So, he's going to apply the law equally, but he applies it to a set of facts. And those facts will be determinative in this case.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

MOORE: I mean, I -- look, I've been in law. The efforts to claim that no political faults, nothing about charging a former president enters into the calculus, that's just nonsense. Of course - of course it does. I mean ask yourself how many special prosecutors you have around the United States right now or how many special grand juries are convening to consider a case in states like Georgia. I mean they are thinking about it because it's huge. It's a big deal of whether or not this is going to become how we do things. Do we charge presidents? Do we charge former presidents with crimes?

So, I think his move is the right thing to do. I think he's going to be -- there are going to be people who claim there's politics in it. There's going to be people who claim it's conspiracy. I mean you've got a whole party in Congress who their entire premise is based on charging lies and conspiracy theories and all that. And, you know, if that's the case, I mean, that's - that's nonsense. But, that's where we're at. He's going to be charged. I mean he did the right thing by getting out in front of this and asking the U.S. attorney to review the documents.

HILL: Yes, I mean, it's important to follow the facts. And is the question, should a former president be charged if the facts are there or is the question does the law apply equally to everyone in this country, which is also going to be part of this moving forward.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

MOORE: Sure.

HILL: Michael Moore, always great to have you with us. Thank you.

MOORE: Great to be with you all. Thank you.

HILL: Well, amid sharp questions over those revelations about these classified documents, President Biden trying to stay focused on his summit in Mexico City, where he's set to meet with the Canadian prime minister this morning.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And, of course, the focus there, migration. We are learning the Biden administration is planning to roll out new measures in an attempt to curb surging migrant crossings at the southern border.

CNN's MJ Lee is live in Mexico City.

So, MJ, what is the plan?

MJ LEE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim and Erica, we are continuing to see the Biden administration search for ways to try to get a handle on the migrant situation at the U.S. southern border. This, of course, is going to be a huge topic of discussion at the North American Leader Summit that is going to take place this afternoon when the president meets together with the leaders of Canada and Mexico.

And, you're right, that the administration, today, is announcing the announcement of -- the launch, excuse me, of a new virtual platform. This is basically being described as a one-stop shop for migrants who want to figure out whether they have a legal pathway to get into either the U.S., Mexico or Canada. They are also announcing building of physical centers that can really provide a resource for these kinds of migrants.

And what administration officials are saying is that all of this goes to show that it's important that there be a coordinated effort, not just coming from the U.S., but that there's a partnership between the U.S. and its partner countries.

[09:15:00] I will say, though, there are some questions being raised about how effective some of these new measures could be, including this virtual portal. It hasn't been built yet. It hasn't been launched yet. So it could be several months before we know the actual details.

But really keep in mind that according to advocates and experts, you know, some of these asylum seekers that go straight to the border before first applying for asylum in sort of the proper legal way, they do that often out of desperation because the situation that they are trying to escape and get away from back at home in their home countries is so dire.

So, one concern is that putting in sort of these requirements, that could end up deterring and preventing some of these people from going through the proper pathways and then they'll ultimately get rejected at the U.S. southern border.

But, again, this is going to be a huge topic of discussion at this summit that is going to happen this afternoon and we are continuing to see the president trying to get a handle on and fix what has become a big political liability for the president.

HILL: Yes. MJ Lee, appreciate it. Thank you.

SCIUTTO: All right, coming up next, sources tell CNN that the husband of a missing woman did some pretty darn disturbing internet searches, including this one, how to dispose of 115-pound woman's body. Why investigators are now searching a trash facility.

Plus, I've got some new reporting this morning on the war in Ukraine. Senior U.S. officials tell me there has been a, quote, substantive change in the type of weapons and capability of weapons the U.S. and allies are sending to the front lines in Ukraine. Why and what impact could that have?

HILL: And a bit later, Seattle Public Schools suing major media companies, social media companies. Why they say the companies behind Instagram, TikTok and YouTube among others are to blame for a growing mental health crisis, and what they want those companies to do.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:20:59]

HILL: The husband of a missing mother of three searched online about how to dispose of a 115-pound woman's body. That's according to two law enforcement sources who shared the information with CNN.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Goodness. Well, that's just one of the disturbing new revelations about the disappearance of Ana Walshe. You can see a picture of her there. Her husband, Brian Walshe, he has now been charged with misleading authorities.

CNN's Jason Carroll is live in Cohasset, Massachusetts.

So, Jason, we also are learning that authorities were searching two locations last night. I wonder, do we know the significance of those searches?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they could end up being very significant. It's still early on in this investigation. But as you were saying, much of that search and that investigation shifted here from the home in Cohasset to two facilities, one last night at a trash facility in north Boston. That's where investigators, Jim, spent hours combing through some of the garbage there looking for more evidence in their case.

In addition to that, yesterday late afternoon/early evening, they also spent some time sifting through the rubbage at a dumpster outside of Walshe's - his mother's home, searching that facility there as well. All of this as sources tell CNN that investigators also found very disturbing internet searches that Walshe had conducted following his wife's disappearance, which included how to dispose of a 115-pound body, and also how to dismember a body. Incredibly disturbing details about this case, which we also heard yesterday in court during Walshe's arraignment where prosecutors laid out what they say investigators found at the home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LYNN BELAND, ASSISTANT NORFOLK DISTRICT ATTORNEY: He's on surveillance at that time purchasing about $450 worth of cleaning supplies. That would include mops, bucket tops, Tyvek, drop cloths, as well as various kinds of tape.

Blood was found in the basement area, as well as a knife, which also contained some blood.

During the timeframe when he didn't report his wife and gave various statements, that allowed him time to either clean up evidence --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: And we should also tell you that we reached out to the district attorney's office talking to them this morning, Jim and Erica, expecting to get some more information possibly about their case. That should be happening later today.

Again, at this point, Walshe has just been charged with misleading police. We'll see if that changes in the near future.

Also, I should point out, I spoke to a friend of Ana Walshe on the phone. A man by the name of Peter Kirby. He told me, as you can expect, they are extremely devastated, he says, by all of the developments that they've been hearing about in the news. He said, at this point, their focus is on Ana's three small children.

Jim. Erica.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HILL: Yes, your heart goes out to those kids.

SCIUTTO: Yes. HILL: Jason, appreciate it. Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Well, overnight on Capitol Hill, Speaker Kevin McCarthy passed one of his first tests as leader of the new GOP-controlled House. He did manage to get skeptical moderates to vote to approve a rules package that had led to -- that had a lot of concessions for GOP hardliners.

HILL: And among those new rules, allowing, of course, just one member to move for a vote to oust the speaker.

CNN's Melanie Zanona live on Capitol Hill this morning.

So, Republicans also released the names of their new committee chairs last night. What is on deck today, Melanie?

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well, the House GOP conference is meeting right now for the first time since Kevin McCarthy was elected speaker. There is definitely a sense of relief that they finally were able to elect a speaker. In fact, sources tell our Annie Grayer (ph) that they kicked off the conference meeting by playing a bad lip reading video that went viral of Kevin McCarthy and Matt Gaetz's floor fight. So, clearly, they're in a good mood right now. There's a sense of celebration.

But, I've got to tell you, there is some lingering concern among members, particularly the moderates, about what concessions that Kevin McCarthy had to agree to in order to get the speaker's gavel.

[09:25:06]

While some of those concessions were explicitly spelled out in the House rules package that passed last night, some of the concessions were not. And we're told that Nancy Mace, a moderate from South Carolina, is planning to stand up in the conference meeting today and demand to see a list of every promise that Kevin McCarthy agreed to. We, as reporters, have also been pressing McCarthy, when is he going to release this list? He has not said or answered those questions.

But we do know, based on our reporting, that one of those handshake deals that Kevin McCarthy agreed to was adding more House Freedom Caucus members to committees. And now that they have elected their committee chairs, they will begin to populate those committees and make those assignments in the coming days. Once that happens, then the chairs get to elect their subcommittee -- the subcommittee chairman, whoever gets the gavels. But we are expecting people like Marjorie Taylor Greene, George Santos, Paul Gosar to get committee assignments despite their history of controversial remarks and controversial behavior. And Kevin McCarthy has reiterated that he plans to kick some Democrats, like Eric Swalwell and Adam Schiff, off of their committees. So, a battle ahead when it comes to populating these committees, guys.

SCIUTTO: No question.

Melanie Zanona, thanks so much. Still ahead, new CNN reporting on how the U.S. is substantively

changing the type and extent of weapons it is send to Ukraine and how Russia may be giving Ukraine a window, perhaps, of opportunity to push back. We'll have those details coming up.

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