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Special Counsel Contacts Georgia Governor Regarding Trump; Documents Shed Light on Fake Electors Scheme; Remembering Legendary Singer, Tony Bennett; DeSantis: May Sue Over Bud Light's Trans Partnership; Ukraine: Counteroffensive "Slowed Down" by Entrenched Russian Defenses; Jamie Foxx Speaks Publicly After Health Scare. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired July 22, 2023 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:56]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

We begin this evening with a new important step in the special counsel's investigation into former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

A spokesperson for Georgia governor, Brian Kemp confirms that Jack Smith's office has contacted Kemp, but declined to release any further details.

You'll recall, Trump pushed Kemp to overturn Georgia's 2020 presidential election results after he narrowly lost the state to Joe Biden.

CNN's Marshall Cohen joins us now.

Marshall, the target letter has already gone out to the former president. That means an indictment could come at any time. We thought there is a possibility it could happen late this past week, like yesterday, for example.

So maybe in the coming days here very shortly. Is it a surprise? Should it be a surprise that the special counsel is still talking to people like the governor of Georgia as part of this case?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: You know, I'm not too surprised because there were so many people, Jim, that were the target of Donald Trump's efforts in 2020 to overturn this election, so there's a lot of people to talk to, who they want to interview first, who they want to interview last, that's up to the prosecutors, but Brian Kemp is a big name.

Don't forget that during that critical period in 2020 after Trump lost the state of Georgia, but before the inauguration in January '21, Donald Trump spoke repeatedly with Brian Kemp in public and in private, Trump tried to twist Kemp's arm to get him to basically violate his oath of office and step in to overturn the results in Georgia. So those conversations between Kemp and Trump, I can imagine that's what the prosecutors are going to be asking once they eventually get him, maybe in front of the grand jury, perhaps an FBI interview, we're not quite sure at this time, but as you mentioned, with that target letter going out to former President Trump, an indictment really could come at any minute. That's typically the next step.

ACOSTA: And in the classified documents case, the judge, in this case, Judge Aileen cannon, set the trial date for May 20, 2024. Assuming that it happens on that date. And of course, it could slip beyond that, that will be in the thick, or actually it will be sort of after the presidential Republican primary elections have kind of wrapped up. Trump could have this thing wrapped up with the primary process before this trial even starts.

COHEN: He could. He may be the presumptive nominee by the time this trial kicks off. If the trial schedule means it is not going to get earlier, it might go later.

ACOSTA: Yes.

COHEN: But yes, if it holds, he might be the presumptive nominee. At that point in time in 2016, he already was. Everyone else had dropped out.

But this decision from Judge Cannon who is a Trump appointee, you know, she did not give Trump everything he wanted here. He asked for -- frankly, he asked her not even to put a date on the calendar yet. And if you really, really had to, make it in 2025. She did not go there. She put it in May '24, but it's a lot later than what Special Counsel Jack Smith wanted. He wanted this trial to take place in December of this year. Presumably, there would have been a verdict before the end of the year, before anyone cast a ballot because of course, Jim, the Iowa caucuses are in January.

ACOSTA: Yes. Coming very soon.

All right, Marshall Cohen, thank you very much.

Joining me now is the Michigan secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson.

Madam Secretary, thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate it. Great to talk to you again on this program. You were also interviewed by Justice Department prosecutors, as part of the special counsel probe.

It seems though there is a focus on what took place at the state level, in places like Michigan and in Georgia and so on. We were just talking with our Marshall Cohen a few moments ago, that there has been some interest at the special counsel's office in Georgia governor, Brian Kemp.

Can you talk about the importance of what took place at the state level between the 2020 election and January 6th and why that might be critically important to the special counsel?

[18:05:08]

JOCELYN BENSON, MICHIGAN SECRETARY OF STATE: Yes, and thanks for having me. I think what this really reveals is the, again, the multifaceted, nationally coordinated effort we were facing in the states like Georgia and Michigan and Arizona in 2020 that really did take place on the ground.

I mean, people who are claiming falsely to be electors of the state showed up at our state Capitol, people showed up outside my home. And I think a lot of the investigation at the federal level should focus not just, and needs to focus not just on the effort to undo the election results, but on the violence that followed and the threats that came towards our election officials, because that was the precursor for the tragedy that unfolded at our Capitol on January 6.

ACOSTA: And let's talk about the case in Michigan. The new charging documents are revealing the attorney general's case against 16 Republicans accused of trying to subvert the 2020 election process by falsely claiming that Donald Trump won the presidency. The fake electors are charged with forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery. If convicted, they face up to 14 years in prison.

Your reaction to these charges being filed? And what, I guess, some of them are saying, which is they don't think they did anything wrong in this case?

BENSON: Well, first, I'm gratified that the felony charges were filed. I think it reflects the gravity of what was attempted in 2020 in Michigan, and frankly, in other states as well, and it wasn't just a wish and a ceremonial attempt to sign some things and say, symbolically, these are our electors.

This was an actionable attempt to physically disrupt the Electoral College and the transmission of the Electoral College votes from Michigan, to the United States government.

And, you know, it's important that we see consequences for what happened in Michigan in 2020 at the state and federal level, because right now, as we prepare for another presidential election next year, we need to assure voters and be assured ourselves that this isn't going to happen again.

And so seeking consequences now for what happened in the past will help us prevent a reoccurrence of these instances in the future.

ACOSTA: And let me ask you this. I mean, one argument that we've heard from defenders of these bogus electors, no matter what state they were in, is that they were just preparing to serve as legitimate electors in the event that Trump's legal efforts in the 2020 election were successful.

I'm sure you've heard that argument made before. They've been made from people inside Trump world and so on. What's your response to that?

BENSON: Yes. I think we have to look at that in the context in which everything was unfolding.

I mean, first at the time when these so-called fake electors allegedly met in the basement of the state party, Republican Party building. All of the court cases had by and large, been resolved. There had been -- the election results had been certified. We had begun the process of transmitting the Electoral College votes and we had asked and answered all of the questions.

There was zero evidence of any widespread fraud, all of the evidence suggested and indicated the results of the election, were and indeed are an accurate reflection of the will of the people.

So there was really no ground to stand on to somehow say that you thought something was going to happen to somehow change the results at a later date.

The election was done. The will of the voters was unequivocally clear. And you know, a lot of Republicans, including Republican leadership in the state legislature recognized this and affirmed the results as well.

And so when you look at mayors and the former co-chair, the party who chose instead of accepting the results to sign these electors papers, you have to see and I think the evidence shows a willful, intentional effort to lie about the results simply because they didn't agree with them.

ACOSTA: And based on what you know, do you think that this is a part of the special counsel's indictment that they may be preparing for the former president?

BENSON: Well, we know that Michigan was not the only state where these shenanigans were attempted. We know in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania and Arizona and Georgia, there was a similar effort afoot.

And so when you have a nationally coordinated effort like that, you do need to have a national consequence and so, I'm hopeful that the federal investigation will continue down that route, but what is also uniquely poised to do is recognize the connection of those attempts to overturn the election and the lies surrounding them to the threats and the violence that so many of us experienced that then again, we saw unfold at our Capitol on January 6th. It's all connected.

And as atrocious as it was, as unprecedented as it was, we have to see consequences or else we have to prepare for it to unfold again.

ACOSTA: And I was just about to ask you this, do you worry something like this could happen again in 2024? Is there anything really stopping party officials getting together in basements and saying, well, we're going to be the alternate electors in case Our efforts overturn the election work out, they pan out, hey, here we are. We are ready to go. There are signatures on the page.

Could this happen all over again if they wanted to?

[18:10:09] BENSON: Yes, because the only thing that ensure democracy prevailed in 2020, at this point, were people of integrity on both sides of the aisle, secretaries of state, elected officials of both parties who said, no, that's not who we are, we're going to follow the law. That's what ensure democracy prevailed.

And when we look at some of the personnel changes that have happened since 2020, we see not just more people stepping up who are pro- democracy, but you know, for example, someone who was my former opponent in '22, is now the head of the Republican Party in Michigan in 2024, and that person still has not accepted the results of past elections and tried to intervene with them in 2020 and in '22.

So we have to be wide-eyed and clear-eyed about the opportunities that may exist for bad actors to try to overturn election results they don't like again in the future, and that is why legal consequences and political consequences, frankly, for the actions that occurred in past cycles are so important to see play out now.

ACOSTA: And let me ask you about that, finally, because as we were just talking about with our Marshall Cohen a few moments ago, for example, the documents case has been set for trial in May of next year. We haven't even seen an indictment yet in January 6 probe for the former president or whoever else may be indicted, if that ultimately happens.

But presumably, that case may not be set for trial until later than May of 2024. Who knows when it'll be? Are you concerned that you're saying that there should be political and legal consequences for people who were involved in this back in 2020, and leading up to January 6, but you may not get that before the 2024 election?

Does that disappoint you? Does that worry you?

BENSON: It does. It does worry me. But look, we've been worried for a long time. We've been worried since 2020 and planning, frankly, for the possibility of reoccurrence.

And so we need to allow, of course, the legal process to play out. We need to allow facts and evidence and the law to guide those prosecutors at every level forward, even if it takes longer than perhaps your eye or others might like.

But at the same time, as that process unfolds, the American people, voters everywhere need to pay attention to it and the evidence that it unfolds alongside it, because they are going to be making decisions in the next few -- the next 18 months about who is going to oversee our country and protect our democracy into the future.

And I do think these investigations and the facts that are coming out as they proceed are important for voters to know and consider even if we don't see a resolution for these cases, until far into the election cycle next year.

ACOSTA: All right, Michigan secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it. BENSON: Thanks. Always a pleasure. Thanks for having me.

ACOSTA: All right, thank you.

In the meantime, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has a new target. First he went after Disney, now it's Bud Light. That story is coming up.

Plus, months after his mysterious medical emergency, Jamie Foxx is issuing a statement. We'll have more on that.

And next, remembering the legendary crooner, Tony Bennett. Singer James Taylor, you know who he is, of course, he's an icon himself , he joins us live to talk about his experiences with the music legend. That's coming up in just a few moments.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:17:21]

ACOSTA: We continue to pay tribute today to the late singer, Tony Bennett, the legendary performer whose appeal transcended generation after generation passed away Friday at the age of 96. His long career -- during that career, Bennett often collaborated with other musicians, and here he is with another legend himself, James Taylor back in 2011.

[VIDEO CLIP PLAYS]

ACOSTA: And the amazing James Taylor joins us now.

James, thanks so much for being here with us. It's such a privilege, it is such an honor to talk to you, and I have to ask you because we've spoken with other artists who performed in these amazing duets with Tony Bennett over the years.

And I just have to ask, I asked K.D. Lang this earlier on in the program. What's that like to get a call from Tony -- do you get a call from Tony Bennett? Do you get a call from his people and asking you hey, we want you to perform with Tony Bennett? What's that like? What's that process like? It must be just something amazing when that happens.

JAMES TAYLOR, GRAMMY-WINNING SINGER AND SONGWRITER: You know, I remember, I spoke to Danny Bennett, his son and manager at the time when those sessions were being set up, and yes, I was just all-in immediately ready to go.

ACOSTA: Yes.

TAYLOR: It is just, you know, Tony was sort of relentlessly consistently a positive person. You just -- being in his presence was just always, like someone turned the lights on. He was just, you know, the most convincingly positive person I've ever known, really. ACOSTA: Yes. Well, and I remember when these incredible duets came out, and there were artists from all walks of life, all kinds of music and I just wonder, what was it like to be a part of that experience?

And, you know, it strikes me that it was, it was kind of like Tony Bennett, passing the baton to another generation, this gift of this kind of music that we all just tap our toes to and like the soundtrack of our lives. What was that like?

TAYLOR: Yes. You know, I don't have sense that anyone would have turned this invitation down so he could pretty much have his choice and I wasn't going to let anything stand in the way of my being there. So, I'm sure everybody on my band felt the same way. They were -- you know, because Tony is such a musician and so comfortable in the driver's seat, it was just -- the sessions were a joy.

[18:20:27]

And Lee Musiker was playing piano and sort of doing the translations for the singers to the band and that part of it was at least so great. That was excellent, too.

I think the sessions took place in that that famous RCA building in Los Angeles. Was it RCA or Atlantic? Whatever that big, tall, cylindrical, spaceship looking building is over there.

ACOSTA: Yes.

TAYLOR: Capitol Studios, that was it.

ACOSTA: Capitol, oh, that's it. That's it. Okay, forgive me. It was on the tip of my tongue, too.

And James, I mean, you've had so many amazing and incredible hits over the years, your music is iconic to so many millions of Americans.

Did you ever think for a moment? Will my music blend with Tony's style of music? What were your -- any thoughts on that front?

TAYLOR: Well, Tony and I had worked together a number of times. I think, the first was probably in Carnegie Hall at a rain forest foundation benefit, and he actually joined me when I had a series at Carnegie Hall, an anniversary of Carnegie Hall series, and Tony showed up and sang for that.

We had done -- I think we met at a celebration of Nancy Pelosi being installed as Speaker of the House in DC, and over the years, we just -- our paths crossed many times ad every time I'd see Tony, he would insist that I run for president.

I'm not entirely -- I'm not entirely convinced that he was kidding. So, you know -- but I just always felt at ease with the man. I just had the sense that he totally got me musically, and it was always a good fit, you know.

ACOSTA: And what is it -- I know this question has been asked so many times, but what does Tony Bennett mean to you? What do you think he means to music? How do you think he's going to be remembered?

TAYLOR: You know, just as I said before, it's just a force for good and a bright light and a really positive guy. Today, I was looking at a clip of him on "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood." He had done a little thing where he came and basically explained himself to the children who make up that audience.

He explained himself that he was a jazz singer, and what that meant, and it was so direct, and so natural and straightforward. To me, it was like the epitome of Tony being willing to do anything and to accommodate anybody, you know.

So I think the other thing is that Tony sort of -- his longevity, the depth of his career, it sort of spans two generations of contemporary music from the sort of Sinatra era Broadway, big band, swing era, through the modern era, and I remember seeing his "Unplugged" on MTV when he was 77 years old, you know, 20 years ago.

It was -- it was sort of -- you know, there was a point at which the popular culture kind of turned away from that traditional Sinatra Las Vegas kind of establishment music. Basically, the baby boom generation felt as though it wanted its own thing, you know, and basically closed the door.

And I think that must have been had kind of a chilly spell for Tony, but he weathered that storm and then came back, you know, just back on top and sailed right through the past 20 years just really representing a kind of a high point in American popular music that 40s and 50s big band Broadway, some very sophisticated lyrics very harmonically and in terms of the arrangements, very sophisticated stuff and it's great -- it is great that he preserved that for us, you know.

[18:25:26]

ACOSTA: No question about it. I mean, there will never be another Tony Bennett, but it's just that his music is just going to be a gift to all of us. And so are yours, James.

What an honor and a privilege to speak with you. I'm sure we could go on all evening like this, but thank you so much for your time. We really appreciate it. Great to talk to you. What a privilege.

TAYLOR: You bet. There goes, Tony Bennett, the greatest last man standing.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. No question about it.

All right, James, thanks so much. Well said. Have a good night.

TAYLOR: You bet. Thanks, Jim. That was great. You, too. Take care.

ACOSTA: All right, we'll be right back.

[VIDEO CLIP PLAYS]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:39]

ACOSTA: Ron DeSantis has this message to Budweiser, "This probe is for you." The Florida governor and 2024 Republican presidential contender is calling on state investigators to look into Florida's investments in the company that makes Bud Light. DeSantis says the beer conglomerate may have breached its duties to shareholders when Bud Light marketing executives partnered with a transgender social media influencer resulting in conservative backlash and a sharp drop in the company's stock price.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R) FLORIDA, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to be launching an inquiry about Bud Light and InBev. And it could be something that leads to a derivative lawsuit filed on behalf of the shareholders of the Florida pension fund, because at the end of the day, there's got to be penalties for when you put business aside to focus on your social agenda.

ACOSTA: Joining us now to discuss Vanity Fair Special Correspondent Molly Jong-Fast and CNN Political Commentator and Republican Strategist, Alice Stewart.

Alice, first to you, DeSantis he went after Disney as we know, now he's going after Bud Light. Is it time to cut off the governor so to speak?

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Look, these culture wars that he's been engaged in, in the state of Florida work in the state of Florida, and he is clearly right now using this as a way to look after the funds of the pension of people of Florida and that's a valid reason.

But to go after Bud Light in this culture arena, I think it's certainly not going to help the presidential campaign and it's certainly going to loop him in. He would be much better advised to focus on the economy of his state, touting the successes of his state, talking about how the - more people are moving to Florida and the cost of living in Florida is good and how he handled COVID. Those are the things that he should be talking about as he is running for president and still leading the state of Florida.

ACOSTA: Molly, is there a sensor that Governor DeSantis is kind of grasping?

MOLLY JONG-FAST, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, VANITY FAIR: Yes. I mean, the thing that's amazing to me is here we have DeSantis. He fought with Disney. You'll remember the happiest place on earth, furious with them, and also a major part of Florida's economy. Now he's fighting with Bud Light.

This has nothing to do with protecting the economy. By the way, the Bud family - the Bush family, big Republican donors, I think that it's just very silly. He's looking for attention. He's looking for culture wars. He thinks he can out trump Trump, but as we've seen in the polls, he cannot do that.

ACOSTA: And Alice, this week, President Biden posted a new campaign ad using the words of one of his critics, fervent opponents, Marjorie Taylor Greene. Let's take a listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Joe Biden had the largest public investment in social infrastructure and environmental programs that is actually finishing what FDR started that LBJ expanded on and Joe Biden is attempting to complete.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Yes, Alice, I mean, I can't imagine that Marjorie Taylor Greene was happy about showing up in a Biden ad, which apparently has gone viral. Yes.

STEWART: Oh, absolutely. Look, clearly, I understand what she was trying to say that President Biden and Democrats are spending a lot of money on large programs and climate change and all of these issues. But it was right for the picking for Biden to take that and use it as a campaign ad.

Problem is, Marjorie Taylor Greene is far from a mouthpiece for Republicans and the message of attacking this president and the administration on Bidenomics and how the economy is doing that could have been done in a much better way, just sticking with the facts, talking about how prices are up, wages are down, people are still reeling from inflation. And she would have been much better just talking about that as opposed to the issues that she brought up.

ACOSTA: And on the Republican side, Molly, Trump has an ad where he has - he's taking a much darker and even scarier road after news broke this week that he's a target in special counsel Jack Smith's 2020 election interference investigation. Let's look at a video that he posted on Truth Social.

Oh, we don't have that video? Okay. Well, apparently, Trump said during that video - well, Molly, have you seen the video? He talks about ...

JONG-FAST: Yes, I've seen the video.

ACOSTA: ... threatening revenge and so on.

JONG-FAST: Yes.

[18:35:04]

ACOSTA: There's another one of these revenge videos where he talks about getting revenge.

JONG-FAST: Yes. It's another time where Trump has retweeted something violent, inappropriate, a little bit scary, very much a sort of dog whistle to his supporters. He does that when he's scared, when he's worried. He's probably facing more indictments more federal and more state indictments, so I think he's worried.

I would say one last thing to what Alice said, this has been a very yet another very good week for the Biden economy, right? You're seeing - wages are actually going up and inflation is going down and the inflation numbers are looking really good. And there's a lot of talk that this may be a soft landing for this economy.

So ultimately, I do think Republicans are going to need to find something else to run on besides this. But there is certainly a disconnect between the way people feel and the way the economy looks. But certainly having Trump threatened violence does not solve anyone's problems.

ACOSTA: Yes.

STEWART: Yes. And the words that he used in that are atrocious, but they're typical Trump, he said - mentioning that you do things that have never been done before to people who F around with us. Threatening - at the time, this was a - an interview with Rush Limbaugh, and it was talking about Iran. This was from a long time ago.

But the timing of this now, it appears as though he's sending a message to whoever's involved in any of these indictments or in these investigations. That's really not a smart thing to do. You don't want to intimidate anyone that's involved in any kind of legal action against you. So it's typical Trump, but it's just really not the right thing to do when he's got all of these legal issues on the horizon.

ACOSTA: Yes, our video server went down. Apologies to our viewers couldn't show that to you. But let me let me shift gears. Speaking of Trump, the Washington Post is reporting on a text, Molly, that Mark Meadows sent to a White House lawyer saying how his son, who's an Atlanta attorney, was unable to find more than a handful of votes cast by dead voters.

We should note back at that time, Trump was saying there were thousands of dead people who were voting. That, of course, was not the case. But what does it say, Molly, that Trump's own people - I mean, Mark Meadows' own son was not able to verify what Trump was saying at that time?

JONG-FAST: Well, at the time, everyone agreed that this was not true that Trump - what Trump was saying wasn't true. Later on, you've seen other Republicans try to cover for Trump. But we know the truth, which is that the 2020 election was free and fair and has been litigated to the hilt and no one has found anything.

So ultimately, I'm not surprised and I think you would find - you probably will see more of these kinds of texts. I mean, this was Trump trying to stay in office. Trump's scared. Trump is worried that he might be prosecuted. And now he's trying to get back in office because he's worried about these indictments.

Again, yes, I think they - I think most of them knew and we're now seeing that it really is clear they knew. STEWART: And Molly's right at 100 percent that the election was free and fair and Joe Biden won and Donald Trump lost. And what we're going to see more and more as we hear more information, the public and private face of people in this administration and even some in the news media, people with rational brains understand that there was no widespread voter fraud.

And publicly, people in his administration were saying something differently. So I think one of the interesting things will be how many people knew darn good and well that the election was free and fair and there was not widespread voter fraud, but went along with it anyway just to stay in Trump's good graces.

ACOSTA: Yes. And Molly, I mean, here we are, we could be days away, could be not very long at all from seeing Donald Trump indicted on charges related to efforts made to overturn the 2020 election, what took place on January 6th. I mean, that that is going to be a significant moment for this country, is it not?

JONG-FAST: Yes. And this will be a second set of federal indictments. And then we still have Georgia coming down, yes. I mean, these are - this is major, unprecedented, no historical - no, there's no historical precedents for this. It is just completely, totally new and a big historic deal. I do think that ultimately we'll see if he can run out the clock before the 2024 election, which is his strategy.

ACOSTA: Yes. All right. Molly Jong-Fast, Alice Stewart, great to talk to both of you. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

STEWART: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: Thank you.

All right. Ukraine's president is explaining the slow start to his country's counteroffensive. We'll break down the latest from the battlefield with Colonel Cedric Leighton. That's coming up next. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:43:54] Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says the slow start to the country's counteroffensive will soon pick up steam. Deploying new weapons like U.S.-supplied clustered munitions could help support that optimism. Ukrainian forces are looking to push back an increasingly aggressive and entrenched Russian presence along the eastern front.

Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel, Cedric Leighton, joins us now. Col. Leighton, great to see you.

Your sense of it. Has this been a slow counteroffensive? Can Ukraine pick up the slack?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: The answer is yes to both, Jim. And I think the reason for that is the - Zelenskyy was right with the way he talked about this at the Aspen Security Conference, because what he was saying was this took a while to get things there, the weapons systems, the munitions, the resupply of everything, the training, all of that really played a major role in the timing of the counteroffensive.

And plus, the other thing is, we all have to be honest, we did a lot of talking about the counteroffensive and there was more talk than action. And I think that they lost the element of surprise in this particular case on the Ukrainian side.

ACOSTA: Yes. It was one of the most foreshadowed things --

LEIGHTON: Yeah.

[18:45:05]

ACOSTA: -- that we've seen so far. And we've seen the Ukrainian military deploying these U.S.-supplied cluster munitions for the first time in the past few days. What is your sense of it? Is it making a meaningful difference? Or is it - are they really going to need some upgrades in other areas?

LEIGHTON: Well, they definitely going to need upgrades in other areas, because the cluster munitions are there. They are making a difference. The Russians have definitely noticed them. They are also responding with cluster munitions of their own.

And because of that, what that's doing, Jim, is it's kind of upping the ante on both sides. But I think the Ukrainians have a bit of an advantage here. First of all, the American cluster munitions have a less of a fail rate to - a dud rate as we call it in the business ...

ACOSTA: Right.

LEIGHTON: ... Than the Russian munitions do. And the other part of it is - is that the resupply mechanisms are definitely in place for not only the cluster munitions, but the more conventional munitions, the single-shot munitions in essence that will resupply their 155 millimeter weapons and things like that. So that's going to make a big difference, I think, for the Ukrainians in a positive way for them.

ACOSTA: And Russia has consistently attacked Odesa this past week, hitting grain stores. Zelenskyy says that's been deliberate. Your thoughts on that?

LEIGHTON: Yes, it's absolutely deliberate because when you look at the geography of Odesa, where Odesa sits on the Ukrainian coast and on the Black Sea, the northwestern part of the Black Sea, what the Russians have always wanted to do is cut that part of the Ukrainian coast off from access to the Black Sea. In other words, make Ukraine a landlocked country.

They tried to do that at the very beginning, they failed. They're trying to do it again. They will probably fail again. But it does show that there's a weakness in the Ukrainian air defense systems. They need to ramp up the supply of Patriots, other systems, IRIS-T from the Germans and other air defense systems that would really be a very beneficial thing.

One positive note, the Ukrainians are reporting that they're being able to shoot down 100 percent of the Shahed drones. That is a major impact, not in Odesa, but in other areas. And if they can replicate that success in the Odesa area, that will make a big difference for that port city.

ACOSTA: And I'm sure you saw those report. Top foreign policy advisor to French president, Emmanuel Macron, says China is delivering military equipment to Russia that could be used in Ukraine, although not on a massive scale. What's going on there?

LEIGHTON: So I think what they're talking about, at least what the French tried to clarify this as is dual-use technologies. So it's not like they're sending a tank directly to Ukraine, but they're sending pieces and parts that can be used in tanks. And that kind of thing is really important because I've always had the suspicion that the Chinese are going to do some kind of tacit support to the Russians and I think that's probably what's happening.

And because of that, the Russians are gaining a bit of an advantage. They have a supply line to the Chinese. That supply line can't really be cut by Western military actions or even economic actions and that's going to help the Russians for some time. But it won't be the panacea that they're hoping for.

ACOSTA: All right, very good. Col. Cedric Leighton, thanks so much. Great to talk to you. Appreciate it as always.

LEIGHTON: Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. We'll talk to you again soon.

In the meantime, actor Jamie Foxx is speaking about a medical emergency that he suffered earlier this year. What he is saying, that is next. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[18:52:58]

ACOSTA: The government of Malaysia is warning the British pop rock group, "The 1975," over something that took place at one of its concerts in recent days. This is what happened, the band's lead singer kissed a bandmate on stage after delivering a speech full of expletives slamming Malaysia's stance against homosexuality. This occurred last night in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia responded by canceling the rest of the three-day festival. Members of the country's LGBTQ community criticized the onstage kiss, calling it performative and warning it could lead to further discrimination.

We are hearing from Jamie Foxx for the first time. He was hospitalized in Atlanta with a medical complication. The actor thanking fans for their support in an Instagram post last night. He also addressed the rumors surrounding his hospitalization and condition.

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JAMIE FOXX, ACTOR: I know a lot of people were waiting or wanting to hear updates. But to be honest with you, I just didn't want you to see me like that, man. I want you to see me laughing, having a good time, partying, cracking a joke, doing a movie, television show. I didn't want you to see me with the - with tubes running out of me. I went to hell and back. And my road to recovery had some potholes as well, but I'm coming back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Foxx also thanked his daughter, his sisters and doctors for keeping him alive. New CNN Original Series, "See It Loud," the history of black television celebrates the creators who brought black TV to life this week. A look at the way the community has forged a path in television. Here's preview.

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AVA DUVERNAY, DIRECTOR & CO-WRITER, "WHEN THEY SEE US": The question is, can we interrogate what's happened in the past to safeguard ourselves from happening in the future? That's why I'm such a student of history. I like to ...

TARELL ALVIN MCCRANEY, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, WRITER DAVID MAKES MAN: To get stories like when they see us. But sometimes you have to tell it from the way it was felt, not just exactly how it happened but how it was felt, how it was metabolized.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They beat her with their fists. She was raped by four of these groups - four of these youths.

[18:55:06]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The savage attack unleashed a cry of outrage in New York.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was in New York City in 1989 and I have to say that being caught up in the moment of everything that happened and the way it was designed for me to process and take it in. I mean, it did its job.

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ACOSTA: Don't miss the new episode of the CNN Original Series, See It Loud: The History of Black Television tomorrow night at 9 Eastern and Pacific only on CNN.

Vice President Kamala Harris condemns Florida's new set of standards on teaching black history in public schools. The story's ahead here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is unnecessary to debate whether enslaved people benefited from slavery. Are you kidding me?

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