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Once-In-A-Half-Century Rainfall Inundates South Florida; Appeals Court Partially Freezes Judge's Order That Would Have Suspended FDA Approval Of Mifepristone; City Holds Vigil To Honor Bank Attack Victim; Biden Urges Northern Ireland To Repair Political Impasse; 12th Day Of Strikes And Protests Planned For Thursday; Western Australia Braces For Most Powerful Storm In A Decade. Aired 2- 3a ET
Aired April 13, 2023 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[02:00:25]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and all around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. We begin with breaking news with what some call a once-in-a-half-century extreme weather happening right now in Florida. As we speak, up to 20 inches of rain has fallen in parts of South Florida in the past few hours. With more in the forecast.
Will that lead to a flash flood emergency. The highest possible level of flood warning. So, what you see here is the Fort Lauderdale- Hollywood International Airport, which is partly underwater and closed until at least noon on Thursday. The city of Fort Lauderdale has activated its emergency operations center and plans to issue a local state of emergency.
Officials also say airboats and high-water vehicles will join rescue operations in the coming hours. For the latest we go to meteorologist Britley Ritz here in Atlanta who's keeping an eye on all of this. Obviously, really folks in Florida used to storms but, you know, what we're seeing now so unusual. Take us through what they're seeing and what they can expect.
BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Thankfully things have tamed down a bit. Kim. But unfortunately, still dealing with flood warnings throughout the overnight hours and early morning hours with just a few more inches of rain expected for some of these areas. As for rainfall totals, Dania Beach over 13 inches. And Lauderdale pushing over 12 inches. These are estimated preliminary rainfall totals.
So, there's still room for more to come. 10 to 20 inches right there near the airport. Now if that's the case, if we hit 20 inches and we verify that, that means we have hit a once-in-1000, onceoin-5000-year rainfall amount. Folks this is a very serious situation. So, do not drive the roadways. 12 to 18 inches of moving water to lift your vehicle right off the ground and many are already stranded. I've seen video of it.
Thankfully, the rain chances have tamed back a bit for Southeast Florida but that same area of low pressure that brought the rain there working its way up through the Panhandle and right up into parts of Mobile, some flooding possible there as the heavier rain starts to set in. So, through your Thursday afternoon that rain pushes up through the Panhandle and then finally starts to taper back late Thursday and into Friday.
Rainfall totals to come through Friday and additional one, possibly two inches of rain along the east coast of Florida. Again, the heavier rain will be concentrated around Mobile. Another two to four inches possible. And we also have the threat for stronger storms too. With the spin of that low we not only bring in heavy rain but also the threat for isolated tornadoes. Record warmth also a possibility.
Some of these locations could be dealing with temperatures well above their normal. 65 possible record temperatures broken from the Midwest to the Northeast. Kim?
BRUNHUBER: All right. Thanks so much really, Britley Ritz. Appreciate it. Now, two new studies show water levels are rising much faster than previously thought in cities along the southeastern U.S. coast. Experts say that's even fueling more powerful hurricanes and stronger storm surges. One analysis shows an increase of almost five inches or more than 12 centimeters over the past decade.
Cities at most risk include Houston, New Orleans, Tampa, and Miami. So, joining me now is a co-author of one of those studies. Tor Tornqvist is a Vokes geology professor at Tulane University in New Orleans. Thanks so much for being here with us. So first, I just want to get your take on what we're seeing right now in Florida. I mean, we keep -- seem to experience these once-in-a-century-type of weather events, but they seem to be becoming the new normal.
TOR TORNQWIST, VOKES GEOLOGY PROFESSOR, TULANE UNIVERSITY: Yes. That's the world we live in now, right? So now, of course, the relationship between sea level rise and hurricanes is something we're still trying to figure out. And the study I was involved in was primarily focused on sea level change. But of course, rising sea levels will make the impact of hurricanes worse, right? Even if they're hurricane climates wouldn't change if you start off from a higher baseline, the impact will be worse.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. And Florida, one of the state's most vulnerable to sea level rise, I read by 2050. The sea could be a foot higher than it is now. And this is one of the states that your research found was experiencing accelerating sea level rise. So, take us through your findings
[02:05:04]
TORNQWIST: Yes. So, it turns out that starting roughly around the year 2010 that the rate of sea level rise in, say, the southeastern part of the United States, so roughly from North Carolina, southward all the way down to South Texas, the rate of sea level rise has increased really dramatically. And we basically looked at rates that are exceeding 10 millimeters per year, which is, you know, at least twice, if not three times the global average.
So, this is clearly an unusual situation. And part of this is, of course, the result of climate change and global warming and rising, you know, accelerating sea levels that we see in most of the world. But in this particular region, we see that the rate has gone up much higher and say last 10 to 12 years.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. How worrying is that and what effect could that have?
TORNQWIST: Well, it is obviously worrisome because it already has had effects in, you know, one of the things we see increase a lot is, you know, what we call nuisance flooding where, you know, during high tide, that areas that rarely or almost never flooded in the past, they start to flood much more frequently. Now, these are not really catastrophic events but they really mess with people's daily lives.
And so, those are the types of things that we see becoming much more common. And that is likely to continue in the future.
BRUNHUBER: I was just in your state of Louisiana where you are right now this week. And these issues, you know, when you talk to people, they're top of mind for many people, but the people I talked to, it wasn't necessarily because of the environmental reasons or even because they perceive, they themselves are under greater threat of flooding and sea level rise. The issue for many folks is insurance, it's become so expensive to get insurance, if you live anywhere near the water. Many folks can't afford it anymore.
So, when we talk about this idea of managed retreat, the idea of encouraging or even forcing people away from these flood prone areas. I mean, is that what has to happen, basically trying to price people out of these areas to get out of these areas that could face sea level rise?
Tore Yes. Well, that's a really good question. And I can actually speak to that, at a very personal level because I lost my insurance last winter. And that to very, very quickly find a new insurer for my home. And that is -- that is a common thing around here. There are, of course, areas, I'm lucky that I live in a -- in a city that is still reasonably well protected. But people who live in more outlying areas closer to the coast, they often face a situation that they can barely get any insurance.
And you're right. That is leading to, you know, that certainly could have contributed to population loss that we start to see in, you know, parts of the state that are closer to the coast. And in fact, there was a report just last week that -- I think four out of the top 10 counties in the United States, in terms of population loss are here in South Louisiana. And, you know, that has to do with big storms, like we've had, you know, a lot of major hurricanes in the last few years.
And that leads to people leaving. And, of course, people try to come back but not everyone comes back. And yes, that leads to, you know, what you're referring to this retreat. BRUNHUBER: Yes. It's certainly really concerning, especially as we watch the situation in Florida now just reminder of how much is at stake. Tor Tornqwist, thank you so much for joining us. Really appreciate it.
TORNQWIST: Thank you.
BRUNHUBER: All right. Breaking news just into CNN. An appeals court has just issued a ruling on the fate of a key medication abortion drug in the U.S. It decided to partially grant the Justice Department's request to freeze a judge's ruling that had invalidated the FDA's approval of Mifepristone but it left in place parts of the order that halted changes to make the abortion pill more easily accessible.
[02:10:10]
So, that effectively will make the drug harder to obtain as the legal process plays out. The case could ultimately end up before the U.S. Supreme Court. We're learning new details about who might be behind the leak of highly classified documents from the Pentagon. The Washington Post reports they posted -- they were posted in a chat room by a man who worked at an unidentified military base.
He's described as a young gun enthusiast who was chatting with about two dozen people on the social media platform Discord which is popular with video gamers. Now CNN can't independently verify the report. But the post cites an interview with a friend of the alleged leaker was also a member of the Discord chat group.
Listen to this.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was about three other members in the voice chat with me when I first found out that these were public -- made public. It felt like my heart was beating out of its chest and my legs were buckling and I could not believe that this was happening. We didn't realize the sheer -- just immense nature of these leaks until a bit later.
BRUNHUBER: Now the source refused to name the alleged leaker. The documents posted online revealed U.S. efforts to spy on the number of its closest allies.
Emotional moment in Louisville, Kentucky Wednesday evening, hundreds gathered for a vigil to grieve and honor the five lives lost in Monday's bank shootings.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amazing grace how sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me.
GOV. ANDY BESHEAR (D-KY): Tommy, Josh, Juliana, Jim, Diana. Fathers, mothers, grandparents, children, friends, each one a child of God. These are irreplaceable Kentuckians taken far too soon by a senseless act of violence that is certainly making me feel heartbroken. And I think all of us torn.
CRAIG GREENBERG, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY MAYOR: Whether you knew some of these wonderful people who were killed on Monday or not become together this evening to acknowledge that every violent death is tragic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've no less days to sing God's praise than when we first begun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Police have now released 911 calls detailing the panic and fear during the shooting including one from the gunman's mother. Shimon Procupekz reports on what we're learning and we just want to warn you, you may find some of the video disturbing.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know what to do. I need your help.
SHIMON PROCUPEKZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: A mom calls 911 after she was told her son had a gun and was headed to the Louisville Bank where he worked.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son might have a gun and he is heading to the Old National.
PROCUPEKZ: But she said she didn't believe her 25-year-old son was a threat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And please he's not violent. He's never done anything. Please. He's --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. And you don't believe he owns guns?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know he doesn't own any guns.
PROCUPEKZ: But she would wind up being wrong and the call came too late.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my God, there's an active shooter there.
PROCUPEKZ: Her son was already inside the bank where he worked shooting.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Maybe he had a rifle, a gun.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Has anybody been shot?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
PROCUPEKZ: On 911 Call her hiding from the gunman.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm in the closet with one person. I hear -- I hear -- I hear gunshots. PROCUPEKZ: And bank employees watching the attack unfold on a video conference meeting.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We heard multiple shots and everybody started saying, oh my God.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then he came into the boardroom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Stay --
PROCUPEKZ: The gunman livestreams the attack on Instagram. It was just one minute before he sat down and waited for police to arrive.
DEPUTY CHIEF PAUL HUMPHREY, LOUISVILLE METRO POLICE: He went to the front lobby after assaulting the victims in the office area, and he could see out where no one could see in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please get people there fast, please.
PROCUPEKZ: The shooter used an A.R.-15-style rifle he'd legally bought six days before the attack according to police.
Body camera video shows Louisville Metro Police officers responding.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're making an entry from the -- from the East Side (INAUDIBLE)
[02:15:02]
PROCUPEKZ: And heading toward the gunfire.
Twenty-six-year-old officer Nicholas Wilt is shot in the head and critically injured.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we have a gunshot wound of an officer.
PROCUPEKZ: His training officer Cory Galloway takes cover, but it's also shot before he returns fire and kills the gunman.
INTERIM CHIEF JACQUELYN GWINN-VILLAROEL, LOUISVILLE METRO POLICE: Timing is as we all know is everything but not having officers to hesitate, but actually really go in and say I need to stop this threat.
PROCUPEKZ: No words can express our sorrow, anguish and horror at the unthinkable harm. A statement from the family's lawyers said. But they also said that he struggled with depression. While the shooter like many of his contemporaries had mental health challenges, which we as a family were actively addressing. There were never any warning signs or indications he was capable of this shocking act.
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BRUNHUBER: A Democratic lawmaker kicked out of the Tennessee State Government for demanding stricter gun laws after a deadly school shooting has been reinstated. The Shelby County Board of Commissioners voted on Wednesday to send Justin Pearson back to the Tennessee House of Representatives. The Republican supermajority had expelled Pearson and two other Democrats accusing them of intentionally causing disorder and dishonor after they held a lot of protests in the chamber.
But Pearson made it clear he's back and he's fired up. Listen to this.
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STATE REP. JUSTIN PEARSON (D) TENNESSEE: They try to kill democracy. They tried to expel the people's choice and the people's vote. And awakened a sleeping giant.
They put Gloria Johnson and Justin Jones and me on trial but they ended up putting themselves on trial, and the people's verdict is back. Guilty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: The motion to reappoint Pearson passed unanimously after the board suspended a rule that would have required a waiting period between Pearson's nomination and confirmation.
Up next. Horrific videos claimed to show Russian fighters be heading Ukrainian soldiers. We'll have reaction from Kyiv and the United Nations.
Plus, fears are growing of a second mobilization across Russia as lawmakers vote to make it harder to evade the draft. This is CNN NEWSROOM. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: In a yearlong war already marked by immeasurable human suffering. Some Russian fighters in Ukraine have currently sunk to a horrifying new level of depravity. Beheading Ukrainian soldiers on video then posting those videos online for the world to see. Now, CNN has chosen not to show those videos. They're just too graphic but we're about to show several still images from the scene which are obviously disturbing in their own right.
So, these were taken from video posted on a pro Russian social media channel last week. They prompted yet another war crimes investigation by Ukrainian authorities. Now their video appears to show the bodies of two Ukrainian soldiers next to a destroyed military vehicle. And you can hear a person laughing and then a Russian saying someone came up to the soldiers and cut off their heads.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the perpetrators beasts serious.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VOLODYMR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: This video shows Russia as it is. What kind of creatures are they? They don't care about a human being. A son, a brother, a husband, someone's child. This video shows Russia trying to make it a new normal in this habit of destroying life.
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BRUNHUBER: There's growing fear in Russia, the President Vladimir Putin may be preparing for a second military mobilization. Lawmakers have voted to make it easier to draft conscripts and harder to evade military service. The new law would allow for the electronic delivery of call up papers and band travel abroad for those eligible for the draft. Anyone who ignores orders to report could be barred from getting a loan moving into the new apartment or driving a vehicle.
All right. Let's go live to London and CNN's Clare Sebastian. So, Clare, take us through what's behind this and whether it signals another mobilization.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kim, the Kremlin is at pains to point out that this has nothing to do they say with another wave of mobilization. This is simply aimed at modernizing the process fixing the mess in the words of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov of the last mobilization that started at the end of September last year. I think the fear in Russia is one that many believed that that mobilization never officially ended.
No decree was ever signed despite the government saying that it had achieved this goal. And secondly, this is not only potentially a way of easing the process for another mobilization, removing friction by allowing those electronic call-up papers, making it easier for the government to do another mobilization should it choose to do so but then it also provides cover this idea of fixing the mess provides cover but yet another increase in repression and surveillance on the Russian people which as we know, has been a hallmark of this conflict.
Those penalties for not showing up to a recruitment office. One, you can't leave the country once you've been served, that notice even if you haven't read it. Two, you have 20 days elapsed and you haven't shown up at a recruitment office, the penalties are pretty coercive. You can't take out a loan, you can't register a new car or drive it. Things like that that could really push people into complying.
So, I think that is one of the big fears. We did, of course having the Kremlin saying that it has nothing to do with another wave of mobilization. But we also had from the Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin who said that he believes the entire country should be mobilized. His comments are not directly aligned with the Kremlin. He also criticized the bureaucratic system saying the "anthill should be cleaned out and its numbers reduced."
But this is part of what we see that sort of calls and moves towards the militarization of society, the prioritization of the military and the subjugation of the Russian people for that purpose. Kim?
[02:25:03]
BRUNHUBER: All right. Thanks so much. Clare Sebastian in London.
Well, Joe Biden is getting a very warm welcome in the country he's called part of his soul. We're live in Dublin with U.S. President's plans while on the Emerald Isle. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: President Biden says being back in Ireland feels wonderful and feels like home. Have a look here.
Cheering crowds welcome Joe Biden to County Louth where his great grandfather was born. In the hours ahead he'll meet with the Irish president and prime minister and deliver remarks to Parliament.
Also, on the agenda, a special banquet dinner at Dublin Castle. This less intense leg of his trip follows a visit to Northern Ireland when called on the main political parties to end their stalemate and resume the power sharing arrangement.
All right. So, let's bring in CNN's Kevin Liptak who is live in Dublin. So, Kevin, a mix of business and pleasure for the President. Take us through this leg of the visit. And what's expected later.
[02:30:03]
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. If yesterday's visit to Belfast is really kind of about this diplomatic engagement, hailing American diplomacy when it comes to Good Friday Agreement. The next several days are really about President Biden trying to explore his Irish roots here in the Republic of Ireland. And you saw that unfold display yesterday and County Louth, the president touring streets packed with people thousands, who came out in the cold drizzle to see the American president. He was so enthusiastic, he asked, I can't even understand why my ancestors left this country.
Of course, they left because of the famine. And, you know, he did tour Carlingford castle, he was able to climb up at a tower, look out over the port of Newry. And that is where his great-great-great grandfather own funding and departed for the United States in 1849 in search of a better life. And, you know, so much about this trip is about the past President Biden's past of it really today is about Ireland's present, in the whole meet with the President of Ireland to meet with the Taoiseach of Ireland. And really so much about this country's changed, of course, since President Biden's ancestors departed.
It's even changed, you know, since President Kennedy visited 70 years ago, it's changed even in the last 15 years. It's really one of the European Union's top economies, it's turned into a very progressive country. they've passed referendums allowing same sex marriage, allowing abortion really throwing off the weight of the Catholic church that had been so predominant on this island for so many centuries. And so, President Biden will be looking to talk about shared values with these leaders when he sits in meets with them today. Also, talking about global issues, including Ukraine, Ireland has
taken in more than 75,000 Ukrainian refugees. But really, this trip is really about the President's own personal connections to this island. The President's advisors really aren't making much attempt to talk to make this into a policy trip. It's really more about the personal and that will continue tomorrow, when the President goes to the west of Ireland to County Mayo. He'll speak in front of a cathedral that has a historic symbolic symbolism to his own family. And that's before he returns to Washington on Friday.
BRUNHUBER: All right, we'll be following along. Thanks so much, Kevin Liptak, in Dublin. By the hundreds of thousands, they'll take to the streets again, French citizens furious over President Emmanuel Macron's plan to raise the age of pensions by two years. So, we'll go to Paris to find out more about the momentous decision on those reforms. It's just days away. Please stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Hundreds of thousands of protesters are expected to take to the streets across France in the coming hours. It will be the 12th day of massive strikes and demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron's controversial pension reforms. And our CNN's Saskya Vandoorne tells us from Paris. Macron is paying a heavy political price.
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SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER (voiceover): Anger on the streets of France. Macron resign, protesters all united against a defiant president.
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): If you want the pact between generations to be fair, this reform needs to be carried out.
VANDOORNE (voiceover): Pension reforms were a landmark policy of President Emmanuel Macron's reelection campaign. But upping the retirement age from 62 to 64, may have been a step too far for too many. Forcing the bill passed one of the two parliamentary chambers pouring fuel on the fire of popular anger. Much of that ire has come Macron's way.
DOMINIQUE MOISI, POLITICAL ANALYST: Now, it is really against denunciation of the President himself. I don't think in the history of the Fifth Republic. We have seen so much rage, so much hatred at our president.
VANDOORNE (voiceover): With most French people polled supporting the protests. His approval ratings are nearly the lowest of his two terms at just 28 percent in March. It was only worse during the yellow vest protests. Four years ago, popularity at rock bottom, hundreds of thousands in the streets weekly. For Macron the yellow vests protesting what they called Economic Injustice is upset his first term. He now faces a similar risk. (on camera) The deficit balancing moves slammed by many as tone deaf, will face its final hurdle here Friday. France is the equivalent of the Supreme Court. It will either rubber stamp it or deny that some parts or indeed the whole thing is unconstitutional, which would be a further embarrassment for President Macron.
(voiceover) For the young reformer, pensions were supposed to be the first of several policy revamps. But his crusade of government reform now looks dead in the water. With little hope of energizing lawmakers behind yet more controversial policy rethinks. And his legacy may be even more troubled, opening the door to the fall right.
MOISI: The comparison with Barack Obama applies. His paving the way to the coming to power of a populist leader and he will be remembered in history as the man who allowed Marine Le Pen, to finally come to power.
VANDOORNE (voiceover): With four years remaining in his term as president. We may still not know the true cost of Macron's hunger for reform for quite a while.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VANDOORNE (on camera): We expect up to 600,000 people to take to the streets today. And they're going to be taken to the streets, it's not only to voice their opposition at the pension reform. But also, really because it's the last time that they might have an opportunity to be heard by the Constitutional Council who will be voting on the law tomorrow. So, it's their way to trying apply pressure to the nine court appointees who will be voting on that law tomorrow, Kim.
[02:40:17]
BRUNHUBER: All right, we'll be following that story. Thank you so much, Saskya Vandoorne in Paris, appreciate it. Right now, severe tropical cyclone is barreling toward Western Australia and when it makes landfall in the coming hours. Ilsa is expected to be one of the most powerful storms to hit the region in more than a decade. Storm is currently headed toward the coast with the strength of a category four hurricane. Authorities are piling up the sandbags and residents are being urged to get to safer ground. I'm Kim Brunhuber, for our international viewers, "WORLD SPORT" is next. For those of you here in North America. I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment. Please do stick with us.
[02:45:00]
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BRUNHUBER: All right, have a look at these dramatic images showing a tractor trailer hanging from an overpass in the state of Pennsylvania. Police say the vehicle hit the cement barrier and overturned on a curve. The driver managed to escape was just minor injuries, luckily. Recycling plant fire in the state of Indiana has forced thousands of people from their homes with no idea when they might be able to return. That's because the thick black smoke from the plastics that are burning is definitely toxic. According to the State Fire Marshal, the farm will likely burn for days.
Residents were advised to stay indoors, conserve energy, limit engine use in their vehicles and not burn anything that could add more harmful smoke to the region. Meanwhile, details from a 2019 city meeting about the facility revealed a long list of problems among them. The building had no sprinkler system and may contain asbestos. Crews in Wisconsin are working to get a wildfire under control. Authorities say it has burned through about 100-acres in Juneau County and is still growing. On Wednesday Wisconsin's governor declared a state of emergency.
So far, no injuries have been reported. And officials in New Jersey say a forest fire is 75 percent contained. Nobody has been injured in the fire which burned through nearly 4,000-acres. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Former U.S. President Donald Trump is back in Manhattan to face another legal battle. He's expected to be deposed in the civil lawsuit filed by New York attorney Letitia James, who accuses Trump and his three adult children of fraud for providing false financial statements to lenders. Meanwhile, Trump has filed a $500 million dollar lawsuit against his former Attorney Michael Cohen. Trump is accusing his former fixer of breaching his contract. CNN's Katelyn Polantz has details from Washington.
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Donald Trump is suing his former Attorney Michael Cohen, related to everything that Cohen is saying publicly now about Trump. Especially around his charges in New York and the hush money payments that Cohen was funneling to Stormy Daniels before Trump's 2016 election to keep her quiet. Now, this is a new lawsuit that Trump is filing in his now favorite venue, the federal court in Florida. And he's asking for $500 million in damages, basically saying that Cohen was spreading false information about him. And also, may have breached contracts by talking about his work for Donald Trump his clients.
So, attorney client relationship and also, talking about his time as an employee of the Trump organization. Now, when Cohen was talking publicly, much of it has been done in the course of criminal investigations, at least to prosecutors who are building the case around him as a key witness. But he's also been out there on podcasts in a book tour, doing many media interviews about Donald Trump. And so, Trump is taking issue with that, we do know previously, Cohen has actually tried to sued Trump himself to pay for his legal fees whenever he was participating in a federal investigation around this.
And in that separate federal investigation long ago that this investigation in New York that brought the charges against Donald Trump. Grew out of we know that there was a finding Cohen was actually doing very little legal work for Donald Trump at that time. But Donald Trump still wants to protect all of this interaction he may have had with Michael Cohen. The prosecutors say was ultimately illegal behavior. Katelyn Polantz, CNN, Washington.
BRUNHUBER: Now, in response to the lawsuit, Michael Cohen's attorney Lanny Davis issued this statement quote, "Mr. Trump is once again using and abusing the judicial system as a form of harassment and intimidation against Mr. Michael Cohen. Mr. Cohen will not be deterred and is confident that the suit will fail based on the facts and the law." According to the Washington Post, the Special Counsel is looking into whether Donald Trump used false claims about the Presidential Election being stolen to fundraise.
We're hearing a bunch of new subpoenas have been issued. Newspaper reports that federal prosecutors investigating the January sixth attack on the U.S. Capitol have recently sought a wide variety of documents related to fundraising after the 2020 election. And it says they're quote, "Seeking to determine if Trump or his advisor's scammed donors by using false claims about voter fraud to raise money." According to eight people familiar with the new inquiries. A Washington Post reporter who worked on the story spoke to CNN. Here's.
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DEVLIN BARRETT, REPORTER, WASHINGTON POST: What's important here, I think is we're seeing them drilling down on to this question to ask a very specific question which is, how are these email solicitations? How were they crafted? How are they written? How are they changed and edited? And what were the people making those pitches for money saying to each other about these claims?
[02:50:11]
Because there's one comparison case where you could say that the claims that were being made, the appeals being made for money were being made by people who in some ways may have known that they were not telling the truth. And that is the real question that prosecutors have to try to answer here. Was there a known misstatement, known misrepresentations to just generate money because these appeals generated tens of millions of dollars.
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BRUNHUBER: During selection is set to begin in the day ahead in Dominion voting systems $1.6 billion defamation suit against Fox News. The judge in the case is sanctioning the network for possibly withholding key evidence and lying to the court. He plans to appoint an outside attorney known as a special master to investigate. CNN's Randi Kaye has a look at some of the explosive evidence that's already come to light.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TUCKER CARLSON, HOST, FOX NEWS CHANNEL: The outcome of our presidential election was seized from the hands of voters.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Fox News host Tucker Carlson, backing former President Donald Trump on air. But private text messages sent by Carlson, released as part of the Dominion voting systems lawsuit against Fox news, show how he really feels about Trump. According to the messages Carlson actually hates Trump passionately and views his presidency as a disaster. Two days before the Capitol insurrection, Carlson wrote, "We are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights. I truly can't wait." On January 6, Carlson texted his producer calling Trump, "A demonic force, a destroyer." Carlson described Trump's post-election behavior as disgusting.
LAURA INGRAHAM, HOST, FOX NEWS CHANNEL: Is the fix already in?
KAYE (voiceover): It wasn't just Carlson, other Fox hosts who repeatedly featured Trump's election fraud claims on air.
SEAN HANNITY, HOST, FOX NEWS CHANNEL: Nobody liked Dominion voting systems.
KAYE (voiceover): Where also mocking Trump and his lawyers behind the scenes. Court documents reveal Fox anchors and executives used words like "ludicrous mind-blowingly nuts and totally insane." Carlson texted other hosts including Laura Ingraham, about Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, saying, "Powell is lying by the way I caught her it's insane." Ingram responded. "Sidney is a complete nut. No one will work with her." Court documents released in the case also include an email from Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch, describing Trump's election lies as "bull and damaging."
In Murdoch's January deposition, he conceded that some Fox hosts we're endorsing Trump's falsehoods about the 2020 election being stolen. Murdoch said, "I would have liked us to be stronger and denouncing it, in hindsight." Murdoch's deposition also reveals that he rejected his own network's conspiracy theories about dominion. When asked by Dominions lawyers, "Do you believe that dominion was engaged in a massive and coordinated effort to steal the 2020 presidential election?" Murdock replied, "No."
Promotion of the false claims was also rejected by the network's D.C. Managing Editor Court documents show, "In my 22 years affiliated with Fox, this is the closest thing I've seen to an existential crisis, at least journalistically." Bill Sammon wrote to a colleague. Still, Fox News denies wrongdoing and says it was reporting on newsworthy allegations about the election. Why were Fox hosting one thing on the air and something else privately? Dominion contends this was all about business and not alienating the base loyal to Trump. When Fox reporters tried to report the facts, they were attacked. Court filing show Tucker Carlson was livid, after a Fox News reporter factcheck Trump's tweet about votes allegedly being destroyed.
Carlson texted coworkers, "Please get her fired. Seriously, what the F, it needs to stop immediately like tonight. It's measurably hurting the company. The stock price is down. Not a joke." Documents from court also show Fox News Chief Suzanne Scott was furious after a correspondent for the network factcheck Trump's election lies, warning it was bad for business. In this email, Scott said, "This has to stop now. The audience is furious, and we're just feeding the material, bad for business." In another revealing email Murdoch explained why Hannity continued to promote election lies, saying, "Hannity had been privately disgusted by Trump for weeks, but was scared to lose viewers."
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KAYE (on camera): These legal filings really show how worried Fox hosts and Fox Executives were about not only losing business, but also losing viewers certainly to Newsmax which was also pushing these false election conspiracy theories. And if you look at the breadth of the text messages and the emails that were released, you can see Fox's business model at least according to dominion. When you look at all of that it's really not about delivering the truth Dominion says, it's about pushing content and feeding the viewer with these conspiracy theories, which will keep them hooked. And more specifically Dominion has said that has alleged in the lawsuit that Fox News recklessly disregarded the truth because it was good for business. And now Dominion is saying that the emails, texts and deposition testimony speak for themselves. Randi Kaye, CNN, Palm Beach County, Florida.
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BRUNHUBER: Buckingham Palace has confirmed that Prince Harry will attend the coronation of his father King Charles next month. While his wife Meghan will stay in the U.S. with their children, though it's not clear exactly why. Relations between the couple and the palace have been strained after interviews, documentaries and the release of Prince Harry's memoir in which he criticized members of the royal family. I'm Kim Brunhuber, back in just a moment with more CNN NEWSROOM. Please do stay with us.
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