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CNN INTERNATIONAL: New Charges Filed in Mar-a-Lago Documents Case; U.S. Urges Americans to Leave Haiti as soon as Possible; July Set to be Planet's Hottest Month on Record; South Africa-Russia Relationship Under Scrutiny. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired July 28, 2023 - 04:00   ET

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

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MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the U.S. and around the world. I'm Max Foster in London the anchors on assignment but just ahead on CNN "Newsroom".

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: New charges and a new codefendant for Former President Trump.

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: This gives Jack Smith and his team potentially some more leverage and Donald Trump potentially one more thing to worry about.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: In Israel we have the Supreme Court has a lot of checks, but there are no balances.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the next step will be no more peril elections. We have to stop them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the heat that heat causes problems period.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That heat of global boiling as the right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from London, This is CNN Newsroom with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.

FOSTER: Hello, it is Friday, July 28 9 am here in London 4 am at Mar- a-Lago in Florida where Former U.S. President Donald Trump is facing new federal charges in the classified documents indictment. The Special Counsel says Trump asked Mar-a-Lago employees to delete security camera footage to keep it away from a grand jury.

Prosecutors have added Carlos to a Rivera as a defendant they say the maintenance worker lie to the FBI when he said he didn't help move boxes around the Florida Resort. Prosecutors also added a charge against Trump for willfully retaining a top secret document detailing plans for a military attack on Iran.

They say he showed it to biographers at his New Jersey Golf Club in 2021. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, 45TH PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: This was the Defense Department and him.

Writer: Wow.

TRUMP: We looked at some. This was him. This wasn't done by me, this was him. All sorts of stuff-pages long look. Wait a minute, let's see here.

UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER: Oh, my god.

STAFFER: Yes.

TRUMP: I just found, isn't that amazing? This totally wins my case, you know, except it is like highly confidential.

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FOSTER: -- CNN's Senior Legal Affairs Correspondent Paul Reid in Washington.

REID: New charges add a new co-defendant for Former President Trump in the criminal case alleging that he mishandled classified documents down at his Mar-a-Lago estate. Now prosecutors have charged him with an additional count of willful retention of National Defense Information.

As well as two additional counts of obstruction alleging that the Former President and two of his employees attempted to destroy surveillance footage from Mar-a-Lago from the summer of 2022. That surveillance footage is really at the heart of this investigation.

Its key evidence for prosecutors, as they tried to put together were exactly classified materials were moved on the Mar-a-Lago property after the Former President left office. But we also know that witnesses have been asked if anyone tried to prevent them from getting all of that surveillance footage or if anyone tried to tamper with it, or destroy it.

Now according to the superseding indictment to Trump employees wanted to destroy this surveillance footage because, "the boss wanted it gone". Now the new charges were filed not only against Former President Trump and his co-defendant, Walt Nauta, but they also added a new co-defendant Carlos De Oliveira.

He is a maintenance worker at Mar-a-Lago and he has been seen on surveillance footage with Walt Nauta, moving boxes that contain classified information, including one incident where they moved boxes out of a storage closet, all right before one of Trump's lawyers went to search that closet for classified documents.

Now Carlos is represented by a lawyer who is paid for by Trump linked political action committee. His lawyer tonight had no comments but they're both expected to appear in court next week. Paul Reid, CNN, Washington.

FOSTER: Trump is denying all of the charges against him. In a statement of Trump's spokesperson called the latest ones "nothing more than a continued desperate and flailing attempt by the Biden Crime Family and their Department of Justice to harass President Trump and those around him.

The new charges against their Mar-a-Lago maintenance worker came as a surprise, to many people. CNN's Senior Legal Analyst, Elie Honig explains how they'd likely come about?

HONIG: This individual would only be added to the indictment if Jack Smith and his team believed that they could prove that he acted knowingly and intentionally.

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Meaning, he wasn't simply following orders with no concept that what he was doing was against the law. So presumably Jack Smith believes he has proof beyond a reasonable doubt that this person acted intending to break the law, whether it's obstruction of justice or some sort of documents related charge.

The other thing to keep in mind looking at the bigger tactical picture here, the more defendants in this case, and this would be a third defendant, along with Donald Trump and Walt nada, that's now one more person with an even more powerful incentive, potentially, to cooperate.

Because before this person was charged, there was really nothing to threaten him with no particular downside. And now, if and when this charge comes through, this person is going to have to make a decision. Do I fight this charge and risk potential jail time? Or do I try to help my own bottom line by cooperating?

So this gives Jack Smith and his team potentially some more leverage and Donald Trump potentially one more thing to worry about?

FOSTER: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu making no apologies for pushing a right wing agenda. This infuriated thousands of Israelis over the past several months and put a serious dent on his popularity. Emotions were on high in Tel Aviv on Thursday, with thousands turning out as they have since January to protest against the government's actions.

In an interview CNN's Wolf Blitzer, the Israeli leader defended the new law as a minor correction and not the downfall of Israeli democracy.

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NETANYAHU: In Israel, we have the Supreme Court have a lot of checks. But there are no balances. For example, on the court on the decision that we passed on reasonableness, understand what that is. It's like the court can nullify any decision by the government, by the executive by saying it's unreasonable. Not because it's illegal, not because they're using other checks that they have plenty of things that they could do. They can nullify, and appointments like the Supreme Court would be able to nullify an appointment by President Biden, not by saying that there's a conflict of interest that exists today in Israel.

That it's undo process that exists today in Israel, that it's not proportional that exists in Israel. But just by saying, we don't think this appointment is reasonable. That doesn't exist in America. It doesn't exist in most democracies, not to the scope. And that's the minor correction that we made.

That is now called the end of democracy. If that's the end of democracy, there are no democracies, because none of them have this.

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FOSTER: Elliott Gotkine joins us live this hour, from Tel Aviv and the question many people asking what happens if the Supreme Court strikes down Netanyahu's new amendment and the constitutional crisis that might bring?

ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Well, that's one of the questions that will put to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which he declined to answer directly. He simply gave these examples of how it would be unheard of if the Israeli Supreme Court were to do that.

Now he does have a point in that respect, because the Israeli Supreme Court has never before struck down one of Israel's so called basic laws, that these kind of quasi constitutional laws. It's never done that. In the past, however, it has accepted seven petitions to hear, to look properly at this law to decide whether it can stay or whether it should indeed be struck down.

And I suppose one, interesting aspects of that, I mean, it could take weeks, it could take months. By that time, of course, the government could have presented other elements of its judicial overhaul which could, again, be scrutinized by the Supreme Court as to the reasonableness or as to the legality as well.

And what we've also heard from is Benny Gantz now he's the Leader of the Opposition National Unity Party. And he has said that if Netanyahu were to not abide if his government failed to abide by a Supreme Court decision, striking out or striking down this new reasonableness bill than that, in his words, would amount to a coup, say some very strong words coming from the opposition.

Of course, it's all hypothetical at this stage we don't know which way the Supreme Court will go. And we don't know which way the government would go, if the Supreme Court were to rule against it. Of course, it could say this law is perfectly fine, in which case that could take some of the wind out of the sails of Netanyahu's opponents.

But for now, this law, this reasonableness law, is no longer allowed. The Supreme Court can at this moment in time no longer strike down decisions or appointments on the grounds of reasonableness, whether it will stand in the long term or depend on those Supreme Court justices decision, which they will begin deliberating on in September, Max.

FOSTER: Whose job is it to resolve any deadlock if it does occur? Is it the President?

GOTKINE: We would really be in uncharted territory, Max. So I don't want to start to suggesting, that this would happen or that would happen. But it would be unprecedented for the Supreme Court to strike down a basic law and it would also be unprecedented for the government of the day to refuse to abide by it.

And just to give you an example, earlier this year, one of Netanyahu's allies Aryeh Deri. He is the Head of the Shas party.

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It's a religious party that mainly represents his Israeli Jews of Middle Eastern origin. He's been convicted three times most recently of tax fraud and the government said at the Supreme Court story said that it was unreasonable for Netanyahu to make him a minister.

What we could see in the short term is Netanyahu trying again to reappoint Deri because that decision can no longer be struck down right now on the grounds of reasonableness. And that's something that's Netanyahu indicated he might do in an interview with NPR.

What happens if the Supreme Court strikes down this law and if the government refuses to abide by it, I really can't give you a straight answer I'm afraid, Max.

FOSTER: OK, got some time to think about it anyway, earlier. Thank you very much indeed for joining us in Tel Aviv. The U.S. has ordered all non-emergency government employees and their families to leave Haiti, as the security situation in the country deteriorates, and its urging private U.S. citizens to get out immediately.

The State Department says in a travel advisory, "Given the recent armed clashes between gangs and the police, and the high threat of violent crime and kidnapping throughout Port-au-Prince, the Department of State urges U.S. citizens to make plans to depart Haiti as soon as possible".

The U.S. says Americans trying to leave should use commercial or other privately available transportation as the government is extremely limited in its ability to provide emergency services right now. For weeks now, temperatures have been soaring in many places across America and around the northern hemisphere.

It's been so hot in fact, climate scientists say this month is said to be the hottest in human history. Millions in the U.S. are under heat alerts from the southwest to New England. And right now just 1 am in Phoenix it is 100 degrees. The U.N. Secretary General says the planet has moved from a period of global warming to one of global boiling.

And those world leaders must act now to stop things from getting even worse. Gabe Cohen has more on just how bad things have got.

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GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's now the planet's hottest month in human history.

DR. CHRIS RODRIGUEZ, WASHINGTON, D.C. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: We need people to make sure that they're staying hydrated. We need them to stay indoors.

COHEN (voice over): When 150 million Americans are under heat alerts Thursday, being told to stay inside, driving up demand for cooler air, causing a dire strain on the country's largest power grid that covers 13 States and D.C. impacting 65 million people amid this hot weather alert that will last through at least Friday.

This after Texas's independent energy grid has faced record demand amid soaring temperatures. The heat wave sent temperatures above 110 degrees for more than three weeks in parts of the Southwest, and at least 25 people died from the heat in Arizona alone.

DR. JESSE BRACAMONTE, MAYO CLINIC HOSPITAL: That's the heat. The heat causes problems period -- out to people who is alive from heat related illness or heatstroke.

COHEN (voice over): In Texas officials say scorching temperatures have led to a record spike and medical calls.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are way over already.

COHEN (voice over): And in California, the heat is creating conditions for more wildfires. In States as far north as Minnesota where July is usually in the 80s the asphalt is now buckling in the heat reaching into the hundreds. Farmers, they are worried that the temperatures will also destroy their profits.

SUMMER KUEHN, BLUEBERRY FIELD OWNER (ph): I have a prayer that I hope is answered that our fruit that is still green and pink can actually weather the heat storm.

COHEN (voice over): Here in Washington the Mayor declaring a public emergency.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You got a cooling towel already.

COHEN (voice over): Converting city buses into makeshift cooling centers for vulnerable and low income people without regular access to air conditioning and shelter.

ROBERT SEEKFORD, WORKING IN SUMMER HEAT (ph): It's not unbearable, but it's tough. It's hard. I mean it wears you down especially at 61.

COHEN (voice over): The Biden White House now addressing the country wide heat emergency directing the Labor Department to issue a nationwide heat advisory for workers. But some protections fall on States.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We should be protecting workers from hazardous conditions and we will and those States where they do not I'm going to be calling them out.

COHEN (on camera): And so emergency officials here in the northeast and other parts of the country that are experiencing these brutal temperatures say they are extremely worried about the people who are still spending time outside despite the heat here in Washington. The heat index Thursday was close to 110 degrees. The weather Friday expected to be similar. Gabe Cohen, CNN, Washington.

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FOSTER: Those sweltering temperatures are making things difficult for crews working to put out wildfires across parts of Europe. We'll have that story coming up later this hour. Right now we're keeping an eye on developments in St. Petersburg where Russian President Vladimir Putin is meeting for a second day with African leaders.

That's coming up, plus, North Korea brings out the big missiles for its best friends, details on this latest Show of Force. I think the North is trying to impress and later Niger's military and protesters voiced their support for the coup in the West African country. We'll have a live report in the region later this hour.

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FOSTER: We're getting word of an alleged Ukrainian drone attack near the Russian capital. The Russian Defense Ministry says one drone was shot down in the Moscow region overnight without causing damage or casualties though. CNN can't independently confirm that report.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian counter-offensive is keeping up the momentum after kicking into a higher gear in recent days. New Video shows Ukrainian troops rolling into a village in the Donetsk region on Thursday after fighting for it for weeks. And for the first time a Ukrainian Military vehicle was recorded along Russian anti-tank obstacles known as Dragon's Teeth.

The footage from Southern Ukraine shows the vehicle getting stuck in a ditch. But this suggests Ukrainian troops have pushed Russian forces behind that line of defense. Salma is here keeping an eye on developments in Ukraine, particularly some comments made by the Russian ambassador to the U.S.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So I'll start by saying none of this is shocking. But after United States provided cluster munitions to Ukraine, Russia's ambassador to the U.S. speaking out saying that relationships between the U.S. and Russia are practically non- existent.

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Just some crumbs left, those were his words he goes on to say that the provision of cluster munitions rather to Ukraine is considered a serious blow to whatever remains of those relationships. He says or describes this move as anti-Russian by the United States. Of course, these cluster munitions are highly controversial, they are banned in some countries, their use is seen as controversial because of the fear that they could be used indiscriminately that innocence might be caught in the crossfire, the U.S. says for its part that it has received assurances that Ukraine will only use them in legitimate targets on the front lines in a very limited way.

And has gone on to say U.S. that it's only a temporary measure, essentially, that the munitions that Ukraine needed weren't readily available, that they're trying to ramp up those supplies. In the meanwhile, they're giving those cluster munitions to Ukraine, which just a few days ago, were already starting to be used on those frontline.

Now there's evidence as well that Russia has been using cluster munitions in this conflict, as well. So sort of calling the kettle black here, but it does continue to be a controversy. But of course, nothing very shocking right about saying there's just crumbs left.

We very much understand that Russian American relationships are at best just crumbs left at this stage. And it comes as Ukraine ramps up its attacks outside the battlefield. We're talking about those drone attacks today in Moscow in the past Ukraine was very reticent to claim any attacks on Russian territory or Russian occupied territory.

But increasingly, they're becoming more vocal in saying yes we are carrying out these attacks. We are trying to soften Russian targets. We are trying to weaken Russia's military outside of the bounds of that battlefield.

FOSTER: Does just helped pitch his narrative that the country is under attack under threat in some way?

ABDELAZIZ: It does, in many ways. I mean, this brings the war closer and closer to Russians inside Russia. But that's sort of the point I think for Kyiv is that Russians shouldn't be separated from this conflict already. We know that thousands of Russian troops, Russian soldiers have come back in body bags.

We've seen how a partial mobilization some months ago, you know instigated mass demonstrations, instigated mass rallies against the government we've seen just a few weeks ago, of course, the attempted mutiny on Moscow. I think, at this point, Ukraine very much wants to make sure Russians are not sheltered in any way from this conflict.

Whether that's economically, whether that seeing these mobilization soldiers going to those frontlines with very little training. They want to ramp up the cost of this war.

FOSTER: OK, Salma, thank you. The two of Russia summit with African leaders is underway this -- in St. Petersburg. President Vladimir Putin trying to raise the concerns of countries losing out on grain shipments now that Moscow has pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Deal with Ukraine is promising free Russian food supplies for six countries though. Mr. Putin says Russia is still a reliable source of food to Africa, and a key partner in a new multipolar world. Meanwhile, a number of African leaders say they want to discuss their plans for ending the war in Ukraine. Let's go to large Johannesburg and CNN's Senior International Correspondent David McKenzie. How's all this playing out there then, David?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: When you look at those pictures there, which are quite extraordinary, all those African leaders with Putin doing that family photo as it were at the meetings in St. Petersburg, and I want you to look at this video as well.

This is Cyril Ramaphosa, the President of South Africa, arriving at the summit warmly greeting Vladimir Putin. And this is significant because he took several senior ministers to that conference and despite multiple African leaders staying away the South African President is there.

Many people have scratched their heads at South Africa, a very important cog in the overall diplomatic space in Africa. And its role in criticizing the times the U.S. siding times according to Western diplomats, with Russia, and we investigated whether there's anything behind this foreign policy.

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MCKENZIE (voice over): South Africa's policy on paper is non-alignment on the Ukraine wall. But its actions have deeply angered Western powers consistently refusing to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine at the U.N. General Assembly, in February hosting naval war games with Russia and China on the anniversary of the start of the war, a powerful propaganda moment for Putin.

And the U.S. Ambassador publicly rebuked the government and ruling ANC claiming there was intelligence showing weapons and ammunition were loaded on a sanction cargo ship bound for Russia in December. It's now subject of a government inquiry.

REUBEN E. BRIGETY II, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO SOUTH AFRICA: The observable gap between the rhetoric and the reality of a government's professed policy of not alignment and neutrality.

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MCKENZIE (voice over): The question is why? We've traveled to the remote Kalahari in this desert soil a highly lucrative manganese belt used in making steel and the United Manganese of Kalahari mines, or UMK, first revealed by non-profit investigators at -- .

UMK has deep financial ties to this man, Viktor Vekselberg, a Russian oligarch linked to Vladimir Putin and to South Africa. Here, he is in 2006 in Cape Town, the U.S. Treasury sanction Vekselberg in 2018 and again in 2022, for supporting Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

Last year, Spanish authorities and the FBI seized his $90 million super yacht Tango. Despite the sanctions, Vekselberg still holds an important interest in UMK. According to Business records held in Cyprus, another significant player holding company Chancellor House for years channeling funds to the ruling African National Congress.

According to publicly available declarations since 2021, UMK and Chancellor House combined have contributed at least $2.9 million to the financially struggling ANC.

MCKENZIE (on camera): This is a highly lucrative operation and anti- corruption activists say that these alleged linkages pose serious questions. Is South Africa's policy towards Russia on the world stage influenced by money?

MCKENZIE (voice over): Is it possible that foreign policy also has a link to corruption or at the very least to a conflict of interest?

KARAM SINGH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CORRUPTION WATCH: I think this is an increasing concern that we've now more alive today than ever before that there could be foreign money from a Russian origin that comes into the South Africa that flows into different political coffers. And I think that could absolutely have an impact upon, you know, as how South Africa takes positions on certain policies.

MCKENZIE (voice over): Substantial investment, preferential trade policies, and critical foreign aid from the U.S. and European Union, are crucial to South Africa, the world's most unequal country, dwarfing Russia's contribution in both trade and aid.

STEVEN GRUZD, RUSSIA-AFRICA ANALYST AT SAIIA: I think South Africa is playing a dangerous game here. And indeed, sometimes politicians are putting the political party the ANC before the needs of the citizens because it just doesn't make sense to be so closely associated with Russia, when the stakes are so high and there's so much at risk.

MCKENZIE (on camera): And what does that risk for South Africa?

GRUZD: So it risks investment and risks trade, it risks jobs, it risks economic growth, it risks the currency, and it risks isolation from the west. I think there are there's a lot at stake here.

MCKENZIE (voice over): A lot at stake for a country that has much to lose.

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MCKENZIE: We have reached out to all the parties, involved Chancellor House, UMK and Vekselberg's Renova group all denied any wrongdoing, any undue influence on the sank the ANC or any way, violating sanctions. They also say party donations were transparent, legal and above board without any preconditions.

The ANC for its part did not sit down for an interview, or give us any kind of statement on the allegations, Max.

FOSTER: OK, David in Johannesburg, thank you. Weeks of scorching hot weather taking a heavy toll in Greece where crews are working to get the upper hand on several wildfires and the weekend forecast could bring more headaches as well. We'll have details just ahead.

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