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Pentagon Leak Suspect Charged In Court This Morning; DOJ And Drugmaker Ask Supreme Court To Block Ruling On Abortion Pill; More Rain Possible In Fort Lauderdale After Devastating Flood. Aired 2- 2:30p ET

Aired April 14, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

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BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: Hello everyone, I'm Bianna Golodryga. Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM.

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: And I'm Erica Hill.

We do begin this hour with a trove of new information about the young suspect accused of leaking high-level classified information from the Pentagon, information officials say endangers national security. 21- year-old Jack Teixeira was charged on two counts -- two federal counts at his first court appearance this morning. He did not enter a plea but will remain in custody until his detention hearing next week.

GOLODRYGA: Teixeira, who was arrested yesterday at his parent's home was an IT specialist for a military intelligence unit on Cape Cod Massachusetts. Now, according to the affidavit, Teixeira also held top secret clearance since 2021. Starting in December, he posted hundreds of highly classified Intel documents to a chat group frequented by video gamers, which later spread on social media.

CNN's Jason Carroll is live outside of that Boston courthouse and CNN National Security Correspondent Natasha Bertrand is live for us at the Pentagon. Let's begin with you, Jason. Tell us more about what he's being charged with and what took place in court -- in that courtroom today.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, inside the court, you know, a few dramatic moments. Some more dramatic moments outside the court when we saw his parents leave. They were chased by photographers down the street. A lot of questions shouted at them in terms of anything at all that they wanted to say about what had happened to their son in court earlier in the afternoon. They walked down the street without answering anyone's questions about their son.

In terms of inside the court. Yes, he was read the two charges -- the two federal accounts that he is facing now including unauthorized retention and transmission of National Defense Information. The other count, unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or materials. At that point, the judge asked him if he understood the charges that he is facing. He simply answered yes.

At one point during the proceeding, there was a bed set aside for his family members. His mother was praying and crying during the proceeding. Also, during the proceeding when it was all over, at one point, his father said, love you, Jack. He did not turn around at that point, Teixeira. He simply said, love you too, Dad.

So, at this point, there are still so many outstanding questions here. Questions about why someone -- this low-ranking serviceman, why had access to these classified documents. And in addition to that, still outstanding questions about how -- about how this has affected the intelligence community.

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MERRICK GARLAND, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: This is not just about taking home documents. People who sign agreements to be able to receive classified documents acknowledged the importance to the national security of not disclosing those documents. And we intend to send that message, how important it is to our national security.

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CARROLL: Yes. So, the impact of this, as you can imagine, Erica and Bianna, is still being worked out. In terms of what's going to be happening on the next legal frontier, the judge says that next week, next Wednesday, in fact, he has set that time for the next detention hearing. So, that is the next time we will see him in court. Guys, back to you.

HILL: Well, Jason, stay with us for a minute. But, Natasha, as we just heard there from the attorney general, he said he had to sign an agreement. As we learned in the affidavit, he's had to sign a lifetime NDA for the top-secret clearance that he had. Why did he have such a high-level clearance if he was in a -- rather low-ranking job essentially?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes, it's a great question. He was an E-Three, which is one of the lowest rankings an enlisted member of the military can have really. This is basically an entry-level position.

So, what happened was, he was a cyber systems transport journeyman. This is essentially like an IT person for the intelligence wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard. And what he was responsible for was essentially making sure that these networks were operating correctly, and that everyone can access the kind of information they needed to access.

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And because of that, he was given a top-secret clearance including a Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance, which is some of the most highly classified intelligence programs in the U.S. government just in case throughout the course of his work, he was exposed to that intelligence. So importantly, this was not necessarily part of his day-to-day job, the content of those documents. Seeing them, analyzing them, compiling them, that's not really what his role was. His role was more to make sure that everything was operating smoothly on the network, just in case other people had issues.

But now the question is, of course, why did he access these very specific documents? Of course, he was technically allowed to see them. He did appear to have the appropriate clearance.

But these very top-secret documents were not necessarily something that he needed to be seeing on a day-to-day basis. So, why did he access them? Why did he then go to this private company, the social media platform, Discord, and post them in this group of about two dozen other members who did not have the appropriate clearance to view it?

And these are all things, of course, that they will be investigating in terms of how he was able to do this without anyone noticing, including apparently by printing out a lot of these documents day to day without anyone apparently noticing. That is all going to be part of this investigation. And the Defense Department will be looking into all of that in the coming weeks and months.

HILL: Jason Carroll and Natasha Bertrand, thank you both for the reporting. President Biden is praising law enforcement for the arrest, in a statement saying he's directed the military and intelligence community to take steps to further secure and limit the distribution of sensitive information.

Joining us now, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who, of course, also served as CIA director under President Obama. It's good to have you with us today, Sir. You know, that statement from the president comes a day after he essentially downplayed this leak.

The Pentagon made similar promises just the briefing yesterday, without getting into specifics. The Washington Post has said that it looked at hundreds of additional documents that could still be out there floating online. What is your biggest concern today about what may still be out there?

LEON PANETTA, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: Well, there is a lot of concern. Anytime, you have the release of highly classified information. It is -- it's going to damage our national security. And I think that's the case here.

You know, we don't know the extent of this still, at this point. We don't know how it impacted in terms of our security. We do know that it jeopardizes our sources of information.

These are people that put their lives on the line in order to gather this intelligence, they're now vulnerable. We know it damages our relations with our allies and with our friends. And we know that it damages our credibility and our reputation.

The extent of the damage in each of those areas still remains to be determined. But this is serious, and it needs to be fully investigated. GOLODRYGA: Secretary, your time at the DOD and the CIA, were you aware of anyone else of this rather low-ranking -- E-Three ranking that we heard from Natasha, a 21-year-old, who had just been enlisted and assigned to this position to be allowed access to such classified sensitive material?

PANETTA: I -- no. I -- in my experience, I've not been familiar with somebody of that particular rank having access to top-secret information. But you know, a lot changed. 911 basically required a greater distribution of intelligence so that people would share important information. But I think -- I think the president is right in asking the Pentagon and our intelligence agencies to take a close look at our classification system.

First of all, whether or not we're classifying too much information. I think there's enough for secret and top secret and obviously, sensitive information regarding our nuclear secrets. But beyond that, I think we do overclassify.

Secondly, I think we've got to better secure that kind of information. Why should one individual have access? There should be at least two people present when you're dealing with top-secret information, not just one.

And lastly, I think on the clearance process, we can't just sit back and get complacent about clearances that are provided. There should be a system to upgrade those clearances and renew those clearances so that we find out whether individuals are still trustworthy or not.

HILL: In terms of a system, you're recognizing things may have changed, obviously, since your time there. But what about a system of oversight?

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So, even if you did have access to see them, as Natasha said, not necessarily he should have been printing them out, but to see them, should there also be a regular system of checks and balances where perhaps a manager is looking and following the activity that goes on? Because we all log in, right? It's easy to trace what somebody's doing, in theory. It's easy to trace it at CNN, I'm sure it is, you know, within the Air National Guard, so that there is that oversight in that system of checks and balances, does it exist at all?

PANETTA: Well, anytime something like this happens. It's a giant wake- up call with regards to trying to make sure that we are following proper procedures in order to protect classified information. We tend to become complacent. We tend to ignore all the requirements here. We don't follow up on it sufficiently.

I think it is necessary to have a system that can not only provide this information but make sure that it's being secured in the proper way. We can't just put this stuff out on a -- on a huge website that we have, and not follow up to make sure that people who have access to that site have the proper clearance, and are dealing with this material in a secure way. So, there's an awful lot that needs to be done here in order to make sure that our classified material is truly secure.

GOLODRYGA: Secretary, what we know about these leaks is that they were based on electronic intercepts and not human sources. Given that, do you think this compromises the way Intel agencies go about conducting their work and their surveillance in the future?

PANETTA: You know, I don't think there's any question. You know, we're dealing now with people that have all kinds of electronic ways of conveying this information. You know, this was a huge -- this was a chat room that was developed here and they had the ability not only to have access to this information but to share it with others.

Somehow, we have got to do better oversight, particularly over social media sites because that's the area that makes us most vulnerable now is, you know -- we're talking about inside dangers. You know, we worry about outside dangers and spies in other countries. But here is an inside danger where somebody because of his own ego needs, because of his own concerns, has basically jeopardized our national security in the release of this information. We need to do a better job of oversight of not only our intelligence but those that receive our intelligence here at home.

GOLODRYGA: What makes it even more alarming is that he began posting these back in December of last year. So, they've been up there for over four months before he was finally found and arrested. Secretary Leon Panetta, thank you as always, for your time. Have a good weekend.

HILL: Well, Justice Department now officially asking the Supreme Court to weigh in on a widely used abortion medication. We're going to tell you what comes next.

GOLODRYGA: And South Florida is reeling following historic rainfall. Medical offices close, schools flooded, and even more rain if you could believe it, is expected today.

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HILL: Next up. The Supreme Court, the DOJ, and the maker of mifepristone, that widely used medical abortion pill asking the High Court to weigh in now on access to that medication rather than wait for the appeals process to play out. And all of this is stemming from a Texas judge's ruling last week which halted the FDA's two-decade-old approval of that drug.

GOLODRYGA: CNN Justice Correspondent Jessica Schneider joins us live. Jessica, we can overstate the significance of this move now. What are the details?

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes. And because of the significance of this, the Supreme Court -- all eyes are on the Supreme Court. They're expected to potentially act fast here because if they don't, the entire way that this abortion pill is administered, it would really change overnight tonight. To be clear, it would still be available that -- but there would be drastic changes that the FDA is plainly saying they're really unsure how to handle it. And they're saying that it's a process that demands a lot more than just the flip of a switch.

So, the Justice Department laid out all of these arguments and logistical hurdles to the Supreme Court asking them to step in. And they're putting it this way. They're saying the case concerns unprecedented lower court orders countermanding the FDA's scientific judgment and unleashing regulatory chaos by suspending the existing FDA-approved conditions of the use for mifepristone.

So, breaking it down for you. Here's what would happen if the Supreme Court does not step in. At one o'clock in the morning -- Saturday morning Eastern Time, just a few hours from now really, a Fifth Circuit ruling would take effect that says a few things. First, women beyond seven weeks pregnant could not take mifepristone, would up until now they've been able to take it up to ten weeks pregnant.

And crucially here, all telehealth and prescription by mail options would be eliminated. So, so far, in the past few years, women have been able to get this prescribed online by their doctor and then get it via mail but that would end overnight tonight if the Supreme Court does not step in here.

And you know, Bianna and Erica, to hammer home the stakes of this case, the DOJ in its filing this morning really argued a few things. They said, look, this drug has been approved since the year 2000, more than 20 years now, through five different presidential administrations. And on top of that, the World Health Organization has mifepristone listed on its list of essential medicines. So, there is a lot at stake here and really everyone's just holding their breath on both sides because the Supreme Court does just have hours to act and we're expecting that they will act before that 1:00 a.m. East Coast deadline, guys.

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HILL: Well, Jessica Schneider, we know you will keep us posted as soon as you hear anything. Appreciate it.

The parents of the Louisville shooter want their son's brain tested for CTE. Just ahead. What the medical examiner's office will be looking for?

GOLODRYGA: And some California residents are experiencing weather whiplash. Conditions are so extreme that right now, a previously extinct lake, well, it's now come back to life. We'll take you there next.

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HILL: Fort Lauderdale bracing for more rain today, which of course is exactly what the city does not need after already breaking records this week. It's currently swamped with more than two feet of water, which fell on a 24-hour period. A number of people forced to abandon their waterlogged homes and cars. Many roads are still impassable.

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GOLODRYGA: The Fort Lauderdale Airport was able to find reopen for business today but flights are running behind schedule as one would expect. CNN's Leyla Santiago is there for us. So, Leyla, what's the likelihood that we'll see even more flooding today, given that rain is expected once again?

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Of course, we are expecting to see some more rain this afternoon and that ground absolutely is saturated, but not expecting to see the level of water that we saw on Wednesday or Thursday. Actually, just having -- we just heard from the mayor of Fort Lauderdale giving us some new details saying that just Wednesday and Thursday, they had more than a thousand calls for help. They still have crews out there that are doing wellness checks and helping those that may be in help -- that may need assistance over at the shelter.

And I got to tell you, I'm at the airport right now, as you mentioned, Bianna. Operations back up and running. We have seen flights coming and going. So, it does feel like we're getting back to some sense of normalcy.

But when you talk to these homeowners and those impacted, I mean, this is where the cleanup effort begins. So, the damage is done. They are far from any sort of normalcy for many of these communities that, as you can see from the air through our drone, I mean, there is still water very much taking over some of these communities that are the most impacted here.

So, you have the schools that were shut down today, saying that in preliminary assessment, which still did include 30 schools, they had two million dollars worth of damage. You still have some road closures out there. And then you have people who say -- when I asked them to describe what this was like in their home, the words they use were nightmare and disaster.

One man said in eight years of being here, he has never seen anything like this. So, any sense of normalcy may seem close but the cleanup effort here far from over. Bianna, Erica.

HILL: The cleanup from flooding is always a monumental task. Leyla, appreciate it. Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: Well, now to California where a winter of massive storms has done the unthinkable. It's actually resurrected a dried-up lake. Now, that may sound like good news. But residents particularly area farmers aren't so sure, especially since this year's Mammoth snowpack hasn't even started melting.

HILL: CNN's Bill Weir is with us now. So, you've been calling this weather whiplash. I feel like we're seeing a lot of that these days, Bill.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Absolutely. Especially in California. That's a family farm behind me now. For the last 20 years, these folks have been praying for rain in this very arid part of California. But this is the new normal.

You think about sea level rise or maybe long droughts when they think about climate change in California. You don't think about old lakes suddenly coming back to life and drowning two billion dollars worth of crops. But that is what's happening around Corcoran, California. Take a look.

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WEIR (voiceover): In California Central Valley, farmers have spent much of the last 20 years praying for rain. But then came this winter of relentless rivers in the sky, enough to bring a long-dead lake back to life and drown over 150 square miles of farmland and counting. So, now, they pray for the water to stop.

(on camera) It is mind-blowing to realize that if you'd stood here for the last couple of generations, you'd be watching the sunset over dusty fields of cotton or alfalfa or pistachio trees. And now, it is waterfront property. I had no idea to Larry Lake was once the biggest freshwater body west of the Mississippi, but it was dammed and dived and drain to build a two-billion-dollar agriculture industry. And now it's back. It's proof that water never forgets.

And this may just be the beginning because, behind those clouds over there, the Sierra Nevadas are so packed with snow 260 percent above normal, and sooner or later, that's going to melt which is only going to make this flooding worse and last longer.

(voiceover) The last time it flooded this dramatically here was 1983. And it took two years to dry out.

(on camera) You were telling me about the effects in 83.

SIDONIO PALMERIN, COUNCIL MEMBER, CITY OF CORCORAN, CALIFORNIA: Yes.

WEIR: The town hollowed out pretty much.

PALMERIN: Yes. I was on a school board at that time in 1983 and we lost half our school population, about 1/3 of our city population, and a lot of the people that were field workers lost their homes and their cars.

WEIR (voiceover): And this time, in addition to the dripping time bomb in the mountains, Corcoran has many feet lower in elevation after years of over-pumping groundwater to grow thirstier crops, made this one of the fastest sinking areas in the nation.

DANIEL L SWAIN, CLIMATE SCIENTIST, UCLA: So, the ground is literally sunk in some places by ten or 15 feet over the past decade.