Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

CNN International: Trump's Legal Team Seeks to Lean If Special Counsel has Evidence and Witnesses; Heat, Floods, Tornadoes Across the U.S.; 2023 Women's World Cup Will Mark Historic Milestones; U.S. Investigation Why Soldier Bolted into North Korea; Complaints of Troubling Migrants' Treatments; Abbott Faces Lawsuit Over River Obstacle to Migrants; Russia Fires Missiles at Southern Ukrainian Cities. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired July 20, 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]

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a very warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Christina Macfarlane in for Max and Bianca Nobilo here in London. Just ahead --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Attorneys for former President Trump have been caught off guard by this target letter indicating that he will likely be indicted.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When Donald Trump unleashed the violence against Mike Pence, against Congress, he was interfering with their rights and privileges to do their job.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Long term, these charges are a real problem for Donald Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's my sister's home. It's totally destroyed. My aunt's home right here, got pretty much gone as well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a popular crossing area for migrants because the water is very shallow. And despite the buoys being deployed, we've seen migrants cross the river.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.

MACFARLANE: It's Thursday, July 20, 9:00 a.m. here in London, 4:00 a.m. in Washington where the Justice Department is investigating how Donald Trump and his allies tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Later today, a grand jury in that investigation is expected to meet possibly to vote to bring an unprecedented third criminal indictment against Trump. Multiple reports say Trump could be facing charges related to these three laws, including conspiracy to commit an offense against or defraud the United States and tampering with a witness. And Trump is preparing to fight this in court. He's added a new criminal defense attorney to his legal team. CNN's Kristen Holmes has more now from New Jersey.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I spent the day on the phone talking to Trump's advisers, Trump's lawyers and all of them told me that they were trying to figure out if there was any sort of evidence or witnesses that they didn't know about in this case particularly that would boost up Jack Smith's case. Now a lot of this has to do with that target letter and those potential charges.

I'm told when they stalled those potential charges, it was much more robust and became much more clear that Jack Smith the special counsel, had a much bigger case he was trying to prosecute against the former president than what Trump's team had believed in the first place. And you have to keep in mind, Trump's team has been watching this investigation very carefully.

And on top of that, there are a number of witnesses who have gone before the grand jury in the January 6 investigation whose lawyers were paid for by Trump world. Now that has given them a unique amount of insight into this investigation. Yet still, they were taken by surprise. So clearly here they're trying to figure out if there was any sort of evidence or witness that they didn't know about that has led to this.

The other part of this is that they are telling me that this going to be business as usual. If he is indicted, it would be his third indictment and they are just going to continue campaigning. The thing to remember, again, is that he is a candidate for president once more -- this is his third White House bid. And these legal issues have actually been bolstering his campaign, both in fundraising and polling. But I'm told by advisers that they still don't know the long- term effect of these kind of legal issues. Obviously, we are in unprecedented territory.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, Bridgewater, New Jersey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Donald Trump has been dealt setbacks in two other court cases. The judge on Wednesday denied his bid to move the hush money case to federal court. The judge said in his ruling that the payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels were not related to the president's official duties.

Meanwhile, Trump's lawyers say they are appealing all of a judge's rulings against him in the sexual abuse and defamation case brought by E. Jean Carroll. That includes the $5 million judgment awarded to Carroll and the judge's ruling denying Trump a new trial.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my god, dude. That is crazy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Pretty frightening scene in Rocky Mountain, North Carolina. The National Weather Service confirmed this was an EF-3 tornado with winds estimated about 150 miles an hour. At least 16 people were injured, two seriously. The storm flattened buildings across two counties including the Pfizer Pharmaceutical facility. Authorities are warning residents about downed power lines and gas leaks.

[04:05:02]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACKIE B. VICK, DORTCHES, NORTH CAROLINA MAYOR: I don't want to see another one like it again. Because it went from sunshine to pitch black and this storm here lasted probably less than a minute and you see what it's done. We just thank the good Lord nobody lost their life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: And flooding is a problem in Kentucky where the governor has declared a state of emergency. The town of Mayfield likely set a new record with almost a foot of rain in a 24-hour period. A tornado killed at least 80 people there in 2021.

And the heatwave baking the Southwestern U.S. has broken even more records. The overnight low temperature in Phoenix, Arizona Wednesday morning was 97 degrees Fahrenheit, that's the low temperature. And CNN's meteorologist Chad Myers has a look at what's in store.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Christina, I know I've been saying the same thing over and over what seems like weeks. But let me show you some of the temperatures and how hot they have been in places for weeks.

Again, more excessive heat watches and warnings all across the South and Southwest. By the end of the weekend, 170 more record highs will be broken and likely no record lows for sure. Heat in Dallas Thursday, 105 this afternoon.

Look at what has happened in Phoenix. 20 now consecutive days with temperatures at 110 or more. And that is not likely to change when you see Thursday and Friday at 118. Now, I'm sure, and I know it's supposed to be hot in phoenix, but it's only supposed to be 107. That's your average. You are 11 degrees above normal and not cooling down at night. That's another problem where you are still in the 90s when you wake up. You don't even get outside to do anything in the cool weather because there simply is no cool weather.

Vegas in the 114 to 116 range. We already saw Phoenix. Look at Palm Springs running up at 120. And so even if we look ahead to the next week after this, we're still in this above normal to much above normal weather across the South and the Southwest. Even reaching all the way up into the southern provinces there of Canada. Look at Vegas, again 115 on Saturday. You shouldn't be anywhere near that.

It is still going to be hot because monsoon hasn't kicked in yet. We are waiting for storms to pop up in places like Phoenix and Tucson and Flagstaff and Vegas. We hope that these things pop up, the showers cool off the afternoon. They can make dust storms and they could make cooler weather and they can do a lot of things, lightning as well. But you need the thunderstorm activity to get these temperatures down. The humidity has to come up unfortunately to make that happen. But you will get some cooldown as soon as monsoon begins. It's already about a month late.

And in the heat of the day and in the humidity here across parts of the Midwest and even for the Southeast, there will be the chance of more severe weather during the afternoon -- this afternoon. Heat and humidity, a little bit of lift in the atmosphere, the clouds are going to bubble and even some of these storms could contain a tornado or two. Not too likely. The biggest threats are going to be high winds and large hail. But we have to keep our eyes out, especially in the heat of the day somewhere between three and 5 o'clock.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: The Women's World Cup has officially kicked off in Auckland, New Zealand marking an historic milestone for international women's football. Never before has the global competition reached this scale or this level of prize money. The opening match is between co- host New Zealand and Norway at Auckland's Eden Park Stadium.

But lingering over the opening day was a tragic shooting in downtown Auckland earlier in the day. Authorities say two people were killed and six others wounded by a gunman with a shotgun near the waterfront. He was later found dead. The government quickly determined that the shooting was an isolated incident and unrelated to the World Cup. CNN's Angus Watson joins us live this hour from Sydney, Australia. Angus, I know that opening match now well under way between New Zealand and Norway. But tell us more about what actually happened in this incident and how much that has been overshadowing the buildup today.

ANGUS WATSON, CNN PRODUCER: Well, Christina, that match began with a moment of silence to the two people lost their lives and the several who were injured in this horrific incident early Thursday morning in Auckland downtown -- where a 24-year-old man, who was known to police, went to his place of work with a shotgun and began firing, killing two, injuring several, as I said, including one police officer. Now police were commended for their bravery rushing into the construction to try to stop the shooter. That shooter was found dead in an elevator shaft with a bullet wound.

[04:10:00]

So a horrific situation there in New Zealand, but one, as you mentioned, that is separate to the World Cup, this historic competition which begins today.

But several of the teams are stationed there in all Auckland. Of course, the two teams that are playing there tonight. But also team USA, which was very quick to issue the players' there condolences for the people who were killed and injured in this incident.

Saying: U.S. soccer extends its deepest condolences for the families of the victims who were killed in the shooting in downtown Auckland today. We are saddened by the inexcusable loss of life to gun violence and our thoughts are with the people of Auckland/Tamaki Makaurau and Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Now of course, you will remember, Christina, in 2019 the horrific mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand. Every time there is such an event in New Zealand, our thoughts automatically to that. When a white supremacist gunman killed 50 people at two mosques there in the city.

Today's incident was not ideologically motivated. It was not a terror attack and no national security implications are there. So the match was deemed to be safe to go ahead and that was done. However, a fan zone in the middle of Auckland there, where people going to party and watch the game was canceled, will not open as a mark of respect for the people who died.

Here in Sydney, Australia we're just moments away from the second game beginning of this tournament. The Matildas, the Australian team versus the Republic of Ireland. Excitement building. Let's hope that that dark cloud over the tournament does not last too long -- Christina.

MACFARLANE: Yes, let's hope that the focus can stay on the football. Angus Watson, we appreciate your reporting there live from Sydney. Thank you.

Now U.S. authorities are trying to piece together what might have motivated an American soldier to cross into one of the world's most hostile countries. New details are emerging about how private Travis King pulled it off. And it seems like it came down to him claiming his passport was missing and then running really fast.

Our Kristie Lu Stout is live for us in Hong Kong. Kristie, they say new details slowly emerging as what might have prompted this mad dash across the demarcation line. Bring us up to date.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Christina, U.S. officials are still scrambling to figure out why, why Army private Travis King crossed in to North Korea willfully and without authorization. The White House says it is still working to determine where he is, what his condition is at this moment. And the U.S. military has tried reaching out to North Korea to resolve the issue. They have yet to receive a response.

Now King was not in uniform 20 crossed into North Korea. He was on a tour of the joint security area when he suddenly dashed across the border. I want to show you this photo was taken Tuesday before King broke away from the tour group. And in the photo, you can see Travis King there in the bottom left, he is the one wearing the black t- shirt, the black hat. The photo was taken by a fellow tourist, New Zealander Sarah Leslie who witnessed the incident. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH LESLIE, TOURIST: Someone ran close to me very fast and I thought, what is going on? I didn't think anyone who was sane would want to go to North Korea. So I assumed it was some kind of stunt to, you know, run to the North Korean border fence and have someone film it or something like that. A couple seconds after I saw him, that is when the soldiers shouted and started running after him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Leslie also said that there were no North Korean soldiers seen on the other side. There were a number of South Korean American soldiers on the South Korean side. But still, Christina, King's motive not yet known. Back to you.

MACFARLANE: Yes, still so many unanswered questions on this. Kristie Lu Stout, thanks.

In Baghdad, a huge crowd stormed the Swedish embassy and set it on fire. They are furious over the Swedish government's decision to allow a protest outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm today where reports say organizers plan to burn a Quran. CNN cannot confirm that information. But according to Agence France-Presse, Swedish authorities say they only agreed to a public gathering and not whatever activities that may include. This comes just weeks after a man set fire to a Quran outside Stockholm's main mosque. Sweeting says its embassy staff are all safe. Iraq's government has launched the investigation into the attack, calling it a major security threat.

Now Texas officials received new complaints about the alleged mistreatment of migrants seeking to cross the Rio Grande into the United States. We'll have the latest.

Plus, Russia rains missiles on a major Ukrainian port city for a third straight night. We'll explain why Moscow is mounting one of its largest attacks on Odesa.

[04:15:00]

And later this hour, temperatures are on the rise across Europe, the heat is fueling fires like this one in Greece. We'll have a live report.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: Police in Texas have discovered 12 migrants who were being smuggled in to the U.S. in a semitrailer. Officials say deputies chased the truck on Wednesday night after realizing it was stolen. And the driver pulled over near San Antonio. Officers discovered ten men and two women inside. The sheriff's office say they are from Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala and are in good condition. The driver was taken into custody and it's unclear if he'll face any charges.

Meanwhile, Texas is receiving more complaints about the alleged treatment of migrants on the Rio Grande. That's according to three sources who spoke to CNN. Saying complaints included multiple videos. Earlier the U.S. Justice Department received reports that state troopers were ordered to push migrants back into the river and not give them drinking water. The department called had troubling and it's assessing the reports. Governor Greg Abbott's office responded that no one was given orders that would jeopardize migrants' lives.

[04:20:00]

Meanwhile, Abbott is facing a lawsuit over another measure that would potentially cause migrants to drown. Rosa Flores reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESUS FUENTES, OWNER, EPI'S CANOE AND KAYAK: We're in the middle of the Rio Grande.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jesus Fuentes grew up riding the waters of the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass, Texas.

FUENTES: The river that I love.

FLORES (voice-over): And in 2015, he turned his passion into a business, launching Epi's Canoe and Kayak.

FLORES: What was business like?

FUENTES: It was beautiful.

FLORES (voice-over): Fuentes even organized races on the river, but not anymore.

GOV. GREG ABBOTT, (R) TEXAS: We're securing the border at the border.

FLORES (voice-over): Governor Greg Abbott has deployed concertina wire, shipping containers and most recently, 1,000 feet of floating border barrier and netting on the river. The buoys are four feet in diameter and anchored to the bottom of the waterway.

ABBOTT: A strategy that no state has ever before deployed, to stop people from entering Texas illegally.

FLORES: The State of Texas didn't exactly follow the law when it started installing the buoys on the Rio Grande. According to the U.S. State Department, a series of treaties between the U.S. and Mexico governed the use of the water on the Rio Grande and Texas not only didn't consult with the U.S. federal government before installing the buoys. It didn't obtain a permit.

FUENTES: It used to be a beautiful pristine island.

FLORES (voice-over): Fuentes points to an island on the river he says Texas also destroyed. Here's what the island looked like on Google Earth. Here's what it looks like now. The island is gone, the vegetation is dead, a road and concertina wire taking its place.

FUENTES: It made me want to cry. It was sad.

FLORES (voice-over): Fuentes filed the lawsuit claiming the buoys will prevent him from making a living. And Mexico's top diplomat complained to Washington saying the buoys violate two treaties between the countries, including one that prohibits construction that deflects or obstructs the flow of the river. Mexico is also concerned the buoys may be on their territory.

MAGALI URBINA, TEXAS LANDOWNER: This is our property.

FLORES (voice-over): Magali and Hugo Urbina say they too have complained about Texas but for installing concertina wire on their land and for refusing to remove it.

HUGO URBINA, TEXAS LANDOWNER: Has DPS taken over control of our entire properties? Yes. Are we in support of it? No, we are not.

FLORES (voice-over): But the most alarming part of it all is what they say they witnessed. Migrants needing help and Texas National Guard members just standing there.

M. URBINA: I asked, aren't you all going to help? And they just sat there and they said, we can't. We can't get on to your property. They told us not to get on the property. They told us not even to give them water. And I said, fine. And then I just turned around and we just kept helping people out.

FLORES (voice-over): Texas National Guard denies the allegations. The Urbinas' account come after Texas DPS released emails showing top brass acknowledging an increase in migrant injuries from concertina wire. And a Texas State Trooper blowing the whistle to superiors about a 19-year-old stuck on the wire while having a miscarriage, a four- year-old passed out due to exhaustion, and about being ordered to push migrants into the river and denying them water, allegations the agency denies.

Maverick County Sheriff Tom Schmerber says he's never witnessed State Troopers mistreat migrants, but he's worried the buoys could mean more migrant deaths.

TOM SCHMERBER, SHERIFF, MAVERICK COUNTY, TEXAS: I hope that I'm wrong. But I think we are going to have some people drowning in that area only.

FUENTES: I want to be that voice for the river because the river can't speak for itself.

FLORES: Are you afraid of going against the State of Texas?

FUENTES: Am I afraid? No. Is my business suffering? Yeah. Is my heart suffering? Yes.

FLORES: The U.S. DOJ says that it's aware of all these allegations and that it's working with DHS and other agencies, but it's unclear if legal action will be taken. As for Jesse Fuentes, I mean, take a look, you can see that the buoys are still on the river. Jesse Fuentes says that he is waiting for his first court appearance. Once that hearing is set, he says that he plans to ask the judge to force the state of Texas to remove these buoys.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Now Russia is conducting one its most intense attacks on the Odesa since the war began. Russia fired a barrage of missiles on the southern port city for the third straight night -- which CNN cameras caught live here. Ukraine's air defenses have been successful in destroying most of those missiles.

Russia is also attacking Mykolaiv, a city near Odesa. Officials there say Russia struck the city center setting a parking garage and an apartment building on fire. Ukrainian officials are reporting fatalities and say at least 19 people were wounded.

Clare Sebastian is joining me here to discuss. And Clare, this was another terrifying night in Odesa, the third night in a row. Why are Russian forces so persistently targeting this Black Sea port city?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's a really good question because now that we've seen three nights of this, I think it's clear that, you know, they are sending a message.

[04:25:00]

On the first night they said that we've been targeting a place that manufactures these sort of maritime drones that they claim were used by Ukraine in targeting the Kerch Bridge. So, it seemed like that was revenge from that.

But now Ukraine certainly is interpreting this as a way of really putting the final nail in the coffin of the grain deal which Russia also pulled out of this week. They have been putting out images showing destruction of the port. So not only Odesa but the neighboring port of Chornomorsk. Where the agriculture ministry said, the large part of it was actually put out of commission and it would take about a year to repair. 60,000 tons of grain destroyed. So a significant destruction being reported by Ukraine.

And we know that President Putin said on Wednesday -- in his words -- the continuation of the grain deal and the form in which it is listed has lost all meaning. So they are not looking like they are anywhere close to reinstating this deal while these bombings are going on. That's why we think the south certainly is -- according to the Ukrainians -- is being targeted. But this is proving to be a major test for Ukrainian air defenses.

I think what's striking about the overnight attacks that we saw coming into Thursday is that out of the 19 missiles that were launched, the Air Force only shot down, they say, five of them. And we're starting to see the impact of that. Of course, the bombing in Odesa hit, causing more injuries. The mayor has put out a video of himself standing in a nursery showing destruction there. So I think some of the damage still coming to light. And of course, with a really high injury toll in Mykolaiv. MACFARLANE: Yes, and so how many more nights are to come. Yesterday we had these comments from the head of MI-6 on Prigozhin, saying essentially that he was alive. I think the quote was floating around. And then following that, we have the release of this video that purported to show the Wagner boss in Belarus. I mean, and what does that tell us that this stage? I mean, certainly that he would be alive, but what else does that indicate?

SEBASTIAN: So what we're hearing this morning to add to that is from the Belarusian defense ministry saying that Wagner is starting this -- and during the week, not exactly know when -- to train Belarusian troops. At a training camp, the Brest training ground which is right on the border with Poland. About an hour's drive from the Ukrainian border. So they say those exercises are going to start. This tallies with what we heard from the man we believe to be Prigozhin in that video saying, you know, this is the plan. They're going to be located in Belarus for a while. They're going to make the Belarusian army the second greatest in the world, he said.

It seems that the deal that was agreed post mutiny still stands. The Wagner forces have turned up in Belarus. Prigozhin now we believe seen there himself. But the wrinkle in this and I think this tallies with what MI-6 said on Wednesday, is that he is to an extent floating about. And the Belarusian monitoring group that tracks his arriving in Belarus and then leaving again. So essentially it seems that he's free to come and go as he pleases.

MACFARLANE: Very interesting development. Clare, thank you.

All right, still to come, the investigation into the man charged with three of New York's Gilgo Beach murders expands across the U.S. Why police are taking another look at the cold cases just ahead.

[04:30:00]