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CNN International: Police Release Bodycam Video of Response to Bank Attack; DA Alvin Bragg Sues Republican Rep. Jim Jordan; Judge: Dominion Cannot Bring Up January 6th Insurrection; Biden Visits Northern Ireland to Mark 25 Years of Peace; U.S. Defense Secretary Vows to Find Source of Leaks; Alexei Navalny's Health Deterioration. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired April 12, 2023 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Bianca Nobilo live from London. Max Foster has the day off today. Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These officers unflinchingly answered the call to protect and their duty to serve.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have had enough gun violence in Louisville. We have had enough gun violence in our country.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's asking for specific relief to stop interfering with the criminal investigation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Republicans believe that Alvin Bragg was doing this for out of pure political motivation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They knew what was going on. They always was a step ahead. Sounds like they're never going to find us like this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But they didn't deserve that. None of us none of us deserved it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.
NOBILO: It is Wednesday, April 12th 9:00 a.m. here in London, 4:00 a.m. in Louisville, Kentucky, whether police have released bodycam video showing their offices quick response to Monday's deadly mass shooting at a bank. The 25-year-old gunmen, an employee of the bank, opened fire, killing five people and wounding eight others. Police dispatch audio reveals the gunman left a voicemail to his friend saying he was going to kill everyone at the bank and that he was feeling suicidal. Police say it appears that he was waiting for the officers to arrive at the shooting scene. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEPUTY CHIEF PAUL HUMPHREY, LOUISVILLE METRO POLICE DEPARTMENT: And he could see out where no one could see in because he's, like I said, two sets of doors deep. When you combine that with that nonreflective glass, the sunshine, the elevated position, officers could not see inside those doors on their approach. Whereas he could see out to them. And so that's why he was able to fire on them before they ever saw where he was.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: These two officers were shot and wounded after arriving at the scene that day. One of them is still in critical condition. CNN's Omar Jimenez walks us through the newly released video and explains how the events unfolded and a warning. Some of the footage is disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OFFICER: Stop. Stop right here.
(GUNSHOTS)
OFFICER: Back up. Back up. Back up.
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The video starts as officers pull up to the scene.
OFFICER: Stop right there. Open the trunk.
OFFICER: One-thirty-one and Baker, on scene, we do have shots fired.
JIMENEZ (voice over): Body camera video from officer Nickolas Wilt shows him approach the bank with a pistol. His partner and training officer, veteran Corey Galloway is wearing a camera too. He grabs his long gun from the trunk and moments later engages the shooter.
(GUNSHOTS)
JIMENEZ (voice over): His partner, Officer Wilt is shot and down in front of the bank. Galloway tells riving officers to look for a better angle.
OFFICER CORY GALLOWAY, LOUISVILLE POLICE: The shooter has an angle on that officer. We need to get out of there. I don't know where he's at. The glass is blocking him.
JIMENEZ (voice over): And then --
(GUNSHOTS)
OFFICER: I think I got him down.
OFFICER: I think he is down.
OFFICER: Suspect down. Get the officer. (INAUDIBLE)
OFFICER: I don't know. He is down. Get the officer.
JIMENEZ: And all of this was played out just behind me here. The windows shattered on that video are now boarded up as a community here, tries to heal. A vigil is planned for Wednesday to give some of that community that opportunity to find a way forward.
Police leadership have said they're proud of how their officers responded, but also that the most heroic things we do are shrouded in people's tragedies.
[04:05:00]
And based on what we've seen this is no exception.
Omar Jimenez, CNN, Louisville, Kentucky.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: Louisville's mayor is a survivor of workplace gun violence himself. He says that Tommy Elliot, one of the banks shooting victims was a very close friend too. The mayor is calling for action to end gun violence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRAIG GREENBERG, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY MAYOR: Our city is heartbroken. Heartbroken for five more lives lost due to gun violence. And whether like me, you knew someone and we're close friends or family with someone who was killed or whether you're just part of our community, these five victims should not be dead just like everyone else who was killed by gun violence in our city, in our country should not be dead.
We are weary. We are tired. We have had enough gun violence in Louisville. We have had enough gun violence in our country, and it is time to take action.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: Experts are commending the efforts of the two police officers who arrived at the scene that day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: It's almost impossible to imagine the stress that officer Galloway was under at that time, and he must, you know, he must feel absolutely terrible to some degree right now, about what happened to officer Wilt, but he doesn't let that get in the way of his duty. He runs to the sound of a gun quite literally. He gets thrown off his feet momentarily. He recovers, takes a position of cover and then goes right back at the threat. That is how it's supposed to be done.
(END VIDEO CLIP) NOBILO: Less than 200 miles away in Nashville, Tennessee, a lawmaker expelled from the statehouse will soon learn if he's getting his job back. Justin Pearson was one of three Democrats who loudly demanded stricter gun laws after a deadly school shooting and that didn't go over well with the Republican supermajority. A vote on whether to reinstate Pearson happens in the coming hours.
A group of anti-abortion doctors that sued to ban a common abortion medication is urging a U.S. appeals court to uphold the ruling that would take the drug off the market. The group filed its response to requests from the U.S. Justice Department and the maker of the drug mifepristone, asking that a Texas judge's decision to suspend the pills 23-year-old FDA approval be allowed to take effect on Friday.
The appeals court wants the Justice Department and drugmaker Danco Laboratories to respond by midday on Wednesday.
And the Manhattan district attorney who filed criminal charges against Donald Trump is firing back at one of the former president's closest allies. Alvin Bragg is suing Congressman Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, who's promised an investigation into Bragg. Bragg calls the Republican investigation an unprecedentedly brazen and unconstitutional attack by members of Congress on an ongoing New York state criminal prosecution and investigation.
He also says, quote, Chairman Jordan and the committee are participating in a campaign of intimidation, retaliation and obstruction.
Bragg is asking a federal court to block testimony before Jordan's committee by a former senior prosecutor in his office, plus possible testimony by Bragg himself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: I think Bragg has the better of the arguments here. I don't believe Jim Jordan can point to a legitimate legislative federal interest that Congress has in digging into an ongoing investigation. This is grand jury material. This is universally regarded as secret. Imagine if Bragg or any prosecutor could get called up to Congress, up to Capitol Hill, and have to open up the files on a pending case of grand jury information. It would be damaging to the investigations. It would be damaging to the person who is being investigated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: Jim Jordan responded on Twitter, saying: First they indicted a president for no crime. Then they sued to block congressional oversight when we ask questions about the federal funds, they say that they used to do it.
We are just a day away from jury selection in the defamation trial against Fox News, which is slated to start next week. A Delaware judge is already making decisions that will impact both the right-wing news network and Dominion Voting Systems. He ruled on Tuesday that Dominion may not bring up the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol, saying that would be too prejudicial. CNN's Oliver Darcy explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OLIVER DARCY, CNN SENIOR MEDIA REPORTER: The judge said -- he said that this maybe for another court, at another time, but it's not for this court at this time. Handing a legal victory on this issue to Fox News.
Outside this legal victory, it was not great in court for Fox News. The judge at one point became notably frustrated with the network for not being forthcoming, fully transparent about Rupert Murdoch's role at the company. For years, Fox lawyers have maintained that Rupert Murdoch doesn't have an official role at Fox News. He's the chairman of Fox Corporation. But the lawyers had said he didn't have a official role at Fox News.
[04:10:00]
It was only disclosed recently that he is actually an officer at the company and the judge is not very happy about this. Making it clear in court. He said at one point, you have a credibility problem to the Fox legal team. And so, not good for them heading into this trial.
There have been no indications that this will be settled. And it's going to be a big problem I think for Fox News, at least from a reputational standpoint. You're going to have -- you can see on the screen there -- some of the biggest stars at the network on the stand testifying about how they privately acknowledged and knew that Donald Trump's election lies were lies, they were not true. And then you're also going to have them having to admit on the stand that they gave air to those election lies in the wake of the 2020 election.
So, it's going to be an agonizing process for Fox News. It sets the last about 5 to 6 weeks and I can't imagine at least from a reputational standpoint, it's going to be anything but bad for the network.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: U.S. Senate, Republican Tim Scott of South Carolina is poised to launch an exploratory committee for president later today. That's according to a source familiar with his plans. Scott has been testing the waters for months now with the listening tour in February and frequent visits to Iowa. Which of course, leads the Republican primary and caucus season. An exploratory committee is often a way for presidential hopefuls to gauge interest before officially becoming a candidate. He scheduled to hold events in Iowa later on today.
The U.S. president is waking up in Belfast, Northern Ireland today. He's on a four-day visit meant to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the U.S. brokered Good Friday Agreement, which is the peace pact that ended the troubles.
The British Prime Minister greeted Joe Biden upon his arrival and the two were expected to hold talks fairly soon. President Biden will later head to the Republic of Ireland. He's traveling with family and they will be exploring their Irish roots.
We go now to CNN's Kevin Liptak, who is live for us in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Kevin, I believe the two leaders are going to be meeting over coffee. We're not expecting a press conference. You know, after months of hype this this isn't a particularly significant meeting it sounds like. Where does their relationship stand? And what do you think the president wants to get out of this discussion?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right. Well, I think the president and Prime Minister Sunak should have a good relationship. And you'll remember Sunak is expected at the White House next month for more formal talks. Their talks today aren't necessarily the full blown out robust one on one meeting that these two leaders will have next month. And I think high on the agenda for them today is actually the situation here in Northern Ireland, sort of the reason that President Biden is here in the first place.
Of course, they both want to get this devolved government, the power sharing government back functioning here in Northern Ireland. And of course, both leaders would have liked to see that happen before President Biden arrived, but there continues to be this dispute over Brexit trade rules. The Unionists in that government have withdrawn and it's been nonfunctioning for over a year now. And that is sort of one of the unfulfilled ambitions of the Good Friday Agreement. Of course, that is the agreement that President Biden is here to celebrate.
And I think it's notable, he won't be speaking to lawmakers at any point on this trip in a formal speech. Instead, he'll be speaking to students at Ulster University. Really trying to focus not necessarily on this region's bloody past, but instead on its future, on the potential for economic investments in this region. And you know, a lot of those students may not have even been born in 1998. They may not have any direct memory of the troubles themselves.
President Biden really wanting to emphasize the potential in this region instead of just sort of its very troubled history. From here he does head south to the Republic of Ireland later this afternoon. That will include the first of two stops on this trip. And one of the President Biden's sort of ancestral hometowns. It will be in County Louth. That is where President Biden's great, great, great grandfather Owen Finnegan, who was born in 1818. He was a shoemaker. He left for the United States in 1849 sort of around the era of the Irish famine. That's really kind of the origin moment for President Biden's Irish history, Bianca.
NOBILO: Kevin Liptak for us in Belfast. Thank you so much.
A fire at a recycling plant with plumes of toxic smoke is expected to burn for days in the U.S. state of Indiana. Here's how emergency officials say that the fire started.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF TIM BROWN, RICHMOND FIRE DEPARTMENT: It was fully loaded with unknown types of plastics. The fire spread from the semitrailer to other piles of plastics that were around the trailer. We only have one access into where the fire was. All the other access roads were blocked by piles of plastic and other semitrailers. So once the fire got out of control and darkened down on us. We backed out real quick. And then went to a defensive mode.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[04:15:00]
NOBILO: The building's owner had previously warned about the unsafe facility. Those living within half a mile of the plant were ordered to evacuate their homes.
Still ahead, Egypt is denying a damaging allegation coming out of those leaked Pentagon documents posted on social media.
Plus, Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny's health is reportedly on the decline behind bars. Why his team thinks it's possible that he may have been poisoned again.
And later an exclusive interview with two Americans who survived a terrifying kidnapping in Mexico. They describe in detail their harrowing ordeal and why they were ultimately freed by the cartel members who took them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NOBILO: A parade of top U.S. officials are speaking out publicly for the first time about a trove of leaked Pentagon documents posted on social media. CIA Director William Burns calls the leaks which expose U.S. spying on some of its closest allies an urgent problem. CNN's Oren Lieberman has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Top us officials trying to get ahead of the damage caused by a leak of highly sensitive documents.
LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: I will tell you that we take this very seriously and we will continue to investigate and turn over every rock until we find the source of this and the extent of it.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin promising results from an investigation just getting underway while Secretary of State Antony Blinken worked to reassure foreign nations.
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We have engaged with allies and partners at high levels over the past the past days. Including to reassure them about our own commitment to safeguarding intelligence. And of course, our commitment to our security partnerships.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): The Department of Justice is handling the criminal investigation of the leaks while DoD is part of a broader look into how the leaks have impacted national security. The leaks have reached across the globe, revealing us spying on adversaries, including Russia and China, but also on U.S. allies and partners, among them Israel, South Korea and many more.
Some of the documents reviewed by CNN offer sensitive details on Ukraine's military capabilities or lack thereof, including critical shortages of air defenses and overall casualty assessments after more than a year of war. Ukrainian officials downplayed the significance of the leaks, saying some of the information wasn't secret at all. But a source close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says the military has already changed some of its plans because of the leaks.
In a new set of leaked documents obtained by "The Washington Post," the U.S. learned Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was considering providing 40,000 rockets to Russia for its war in Ukraine. But to do so quietly to avoid problems with the West since Egypt is one of the largest recipients of U.S. military aid. CNN has not seen the documents and cannot confirm their authenticity.
Egyptian state media called the report an informational absurdity. While the Kremlin called it another hoax. And the U.S. says they have seen no signs of Egypt providing lethal laid to Russia. But it underscores the far-reaching consequences of the leaks.
SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): I want a briefing on the logistics, right, on how this information got out there. But we also need to get briefings on the substance.
LIEBERMANN (voice-over): The leaked documents appear to be part of a daily intelligence briefing prepared for the Pentagon's senior leaders, officials said. The documents can be accessed by hundreds, if not thousands of people across the government with the proper security clearance.
LIEBERMANN: It's not just a question of the number of people who had access to information like this, but how it's disseminated. Either through tablets rigged to have top secret information on them, also printed out as we have seen through the documents and simply forwarded via emails, either in whole or in excerpts, depending on the classification level. Some of that creates an electronic track that can be looked after and investigated, but not all of it. And that adds to the complications in investigating something like this and trying to figure out the motive behind it.
Oren Liebermann, CNN at the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: U.S. President Joe Biden has spoken with the parents of Evan Gershkovich, the "Wall Street Journal" reporter arrested in Russia last month on espionage charges. The phone call happened Tuesday as the president flew to Northern Ireland. The White House says that it's committed to getting Gershkovich released, as well as Paul Whelan, another American who has been held in Russia for years.
The family of Gershkovich issued a statement which reads -- We're encouraged that the State Department has officially designated
Evan as wrongfully detained. We appreciate President Biden's call to us today, assuring us that the U.S. government is doing everything in its power to bring him home as quickly as possible.
WNBA star Brittney Griner is writing a memoir about her detention in Russia. The book will cover Griner's 10-month ordeal, including her arrest, trial and imprisonment as well as public and behind the scenes efforts to bring her home. In a statement, Griner said that she hoped her book would raise awareness of other Americans wrongfully detained abroad, including Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich. The book is due out next year. Griner has resigned with the Phoenix Mercury and will be on the court when the WNBA season starts next month.
The health of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny appears to be getting markedly worse. In a Twitter post Tuesday, his spokesperson said Navalny had severe stomach issues and had lost eight kg or about 17 pounds over the past two weeks. According to that tweet Navalny is not receiving any treatment inside the prison.
Clare Sebastian is following developments and she joins me now. Clare, what do we know for sure about this? And why their concerns that he may be being poisoned again?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so Navalny's health has been in the spotlight. Really, for the best part of the last couple of years since he came back to Russia after being poisoned. As we now know that nerve agent Novichok. And he ended up pretty much straightaway back in prison on various charges.
He -- what we know is that, according to his team, his spokesperson, his lawyer, he -- there was an ambulance called on Friday for these acute stomach pains. He wasn't told, according to his lawyer, what kind of ailment he was suffering with. He wasn't really offered any treatment.
[04:25:00]
He was then released from solitary confinement and then put back on Monday. His spokesperson says, for the 13th time. So that is obviously weighing on his health.
His daughter has also recently raised the alarm, saying that she believes that the Russian government is slowly torturing and killing her father. So, his team have come out and said that they don't rule out the possibility that this is a poisoning designed not to sort of knock him out instantly, as you might have expected with Novichok, but to slowly deteriorate his health almost to create the sense of deniability around it, make it look like he's ill.
We don't have any evidence for that at the moment, but we know certainly that Navalny continues to criticize Putin from inside prison. And the Russian government continues to scapegoat him. We saw just recently with the death of that military blogger that they came out instantly, as an antiterror committee and so that agents of Alexei Navalny were behind it. So, he continues to be a pretty big thorn in the Kremlin side, even from prison.
NOBILO: Clare Sebastian, thank you so much for joining us.
On Tuesday, the U.S. and the Philippines kicked off their annual joint military drills and this year is set to be the largest ever training event between the two countries with more than 17,000 participants.
Meantime, China's military drills and simulated strikes over the weekend have drawn condemnation from Taiwan's foreign minister. Speaking exclusively to CNN, Joseph Wu said it seems Beijing may be preparing to, quote, launch a war against Taiwan.
Let's go to Hong Kong with CNN's Anna Coren is standing by. Anna, did Joseph Wu provide any specific evidence as to why he thinks that's what China is doing?
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No specific evidence, Bianca, other than the drills that that were taking place, you know, around Taiwan for three days. I mean, he is very concerned that Beijing is obviously considering war. That is in his opinion.
These three-day military exercises, as you say, they finished on Monday, were in response to Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen meeting with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and other lawmakers in California last week on her way back from a trip to Central America.
China had warned that they would, quote, resolutely fight back if they met. So really, Taiwan should not be surprised by China's reaction. Beijing said the exercises, which included simulated targeted strikes and sealing off Taiwan with its aircraft carrier, the Shandong, was necessary to defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Well, let's have a listen now to what Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEPH WU, TAIWANESE FOREIGN MINISTER: I look at the military sizes -- exercises and also their rhetoric. They seems to be trying to get ready to launch a war against Taiwan. The Taiwanese government look at the Chinese military threat a something that cannot be accepted and we condemned it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: China's defense ministry a short time ago, Bianca, said that they continue to detect the presence of Chinese war planes and vessels in Taiwan's vicinity and that they remain on high alert. Back to you.
NOBILO: Anna Coren live in Hong Kong for us, thank you so much.
A key anniversary legislature and a legislature in limbo. And a U.S. president returning to his Irish roots. We'll have a live report from Belfast when we come back.
And it's supposed to be a place of peace and serenity. But in the past week, Jerusalem's al-Aqsa compound has been a battleground. We'll take you inside to find out how worshippers at the holy site are feeling.
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