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Interview With Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-TX) About Trump Indictment And On Border Security; Ukraine Issues Warning To Ships Using Russian Ports; Social Media Influencer Charged With Inciting Riot In New York; Fourth Criminal Indictment Could Happen Soon In Georgia; Parkland School Shooting Reenacted With Live Rounds; Feds Trace Cartels' Cryptocurrency To Catch Fentanyl Traffickers; Simone Biles Set To Compete For First Time Since Tokyo Olympics. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired August 05, 2023 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:00]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: They're asking the public to come forward with any tips or information they may have on these cases.

Thanks for watching. I'll see you next Sunday.

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

We begin this hour with the latest escalation in the battle between former President Donald Trump and Special Counsel Jack Smith. A short time ago, the federal judge overseeing Trump's election fraud case responded to a court filing from Smith last night. Smith is now seeking a protective order after Trump posted this yesterday evening, saying, quote, "If you go after me, I'm coming after you."

Smith is pointing to that message and asking the judge in the case to set limits on Trump and his legal team when it comes to publicly discussing sensitive evidence, and the judge has now given the Trump team until 5:00 p.m. this Monday to respond. Just this afternoon, lawyers for the former president asked a judge for more time to weigh in on what restrictions should be imposed.

And joining us now to discuss this is Democratic Congresswoman Veronica Escobar of Texas.

Congresswoman, thanks for joining. So let's get right to it. When you saw these words that Trump wrote in that threatening post, what did you think of that? What was your concern there?

REP. VERONICA ESCOBAR (D-TX): Well, good afternoon, Jim. It was as predicted. I mean, I knew he would not be able to help himself. He is a very dangerous person, and he is always, whenever he perceives himself as a victim, he fights back, and he does that by threatening people. And frequently his supporters respond to that. But this is a very serious case. And his actions are weighty and serious and I do hope that the judge really takes a close look at Trump's history in this regard. ACOSTA: Well, and that leads me to this question. I mean, should the

judge in this case consider warning Trump that he could go to jail if he continues to make these kinds of threats?

ESCOBAR: You know, the judge already admonished Trump, his lawyers were there with him. They know the risks involved. And yet Trump continues to push the boundaries of what's acceptable. You know, I have complete faith in the judge's decision, and I don't want to weigh in either way. But it is really important that people be protected throughout this process.

We saw on January 6th people lost their lives. There was serious damage. We know that Trump really took hours to respond, and so we can't put people in jeopardy, especially those who are witnesses in this case.

ACOSTA: And when you consider these threats he's making online, the potential to incite violence like what we saw on January 6th, do you think that that makes the case for a speedier trial? The longer these cases take, the more threats he can make.

ESCOBAR: I believe that there should be a speedy trial. I also believe the cameras should be allowed in the courtroom. This is a historic case. This is something that every American should be allowed to bear witness to, especially with the way that our democracy was threatened and the way that it continues to be threatened. So it is my hope that every American is paying attention and that everyone watches very closely what happens from here on out. The risks could not be higher.

ACOSTA: And I do want to switch gears and talk about what's happening at the border. I know you have been on this program talking about this several times. So there's obviously more news on this front. An immigration attorney tells CNN that Texas authorities have separated at least 26 migrant families since last month, charging men with trespassing and turning over their wives and children to Border Patrol agents.

The Texas Department of Public Safety is claiming that this is not like the Trump era policy of family separations. What's your response, though, to that? I mean, that's what it looks like.

ESCOBAR: It is precisely what happened with the Trump administration, where the Trump administration decided they wanted to use cruelty as a deterrent. They wanted to use cruelty as a punishment against vulnerable souls seeking asylum.

The Abbott administration is no different, and in fact in many ways is even more cruel and engages in even deadlier conduct than the Trump administration did. And it really -- it's so important that people also see the incredible hypocrisy that is involved here.

[16:05:05]

The families that were separated, the husbands were taken from their families and arrested because of trespassing. Well, Greg Abbott is trespassing on federal property and in international waters with his concertina wire, with the buoys. And so Greg Abbott is guilty of the very thing he is trying to punish immigrants for.

But nevertheless, I will tell you, Jim, I am looking forward to the trial date. The Department of Justice has filed suit against the state of Texas. The DOJ has asked the judge to accelerate the suit. The judge agreed. And there will be a hearing on this in a couple of weeks on August 22nd.

ACOSTA: Yes, and I do want to ask you about some of this. As you know, two bodies have been found in the Rio Grande near floating buoys. We talked about this. These floating buoys that were deployed by the governor, Greg Abbott. The Texas Department of Public Safety says it's only aware of one drowning and that it happened up river from the buoys and the body floated into the barrier. That's what they're telling the public.

What's your reaction to what state officials are saying? What do we know?

ESCOBAR: I have absolutely zero faith in what the Texas Department of Public Safety is telling the public. I don't know that they have the authority to make the determination about where these people drowned, and from the accounts that we're getting it's two people including one child. I don't know that -- unless we have a witness or unless I hear it from federal law enforcement, we don't know if those two souls that were found in the buoys drowned near or at those buoys.

We do know that their bodies were caught. I mean, it is incredibly gruesome and ghoulish. That should have been the alarm sounded to Greg Abbott to remove those buoys, but of course they just doubled down. They lean in, which is why it's so critical and I'm so grateful to the Department of Justice and the Biden administration for taking Greg Abbott to court.

ACOSTA: Yes, and as we were just talking about, this federal judge set a hearing date later this month for the DOJ's lawsuit against Texas to remove these buoys, and this week you called for the full force of the federal government to come down on Governor Abbott. We're showing your tweet right there.

Could the administration be doing more in your view? Are there other levers that they should be looking at? Other tools in the tool belt that they should be looking at to try to get something going down there?

ESCOBAR: Jim, it is my opinion that the federal government should send federal personnel to South Texas and remove all of the concertina wire and remove the buoys. If someone placed items on my personal property, you better believe I'd go out and I'd remove them. But I will tell you there is a wisdom to what the Department of Justice is doing.

As much as I want to see absolutely immediate action, the Department of Justice, the lawsuit that they are bringing against the state of Texas, if the federal government prevails, and it is my hope that the federal government prevails, then that will essentially prohibit Greg Abbott from doing this again on federal property. So I can see that through the lawsuit there is sort of a more

permanent resolution. You know, I would like to lean in on a more immediate resolution, but I'd want resolution nonetheless.

ACOSTA: All right, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, thanks as always for joining us. We appreciate it.

All right, in the meantime, Russia's Ministry of Defense says one of its fighter jets intercepted a U.S. drone over the Black Sea to prevent what it called a border violation. Russia claims the U.S. Air Force drone apparently made a U-turn when approached by the jet. No word yet from the Pentagon.

Meantime, Ukraine has issued warnings to ships using Russian Black Sea ports. It comes after a wave of Ukrainian sea drone attacks, including this one that you're looking at right here on a Russian oil tanker that Moscow says will not go without a response.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh joins us now.

Nick, fill us in here. Why has the Black Sea suddenly become this major focal point?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Yes, and totally unexpected, especially from Moscow, it's fair to say. In fact Vladimir Putin even has a fancy holiday home sat right on the Black Sea area just down from where yesterday's Novorossiysk attack occurred on an amphibious assault ship, and probably not too far away from where the Russian fuel cargo ship, the Sig, was indeed hit this morning.

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That was carrying 5,000 tons or can carry 5,000 tons of fuel. Apparently nobody injured on that. Ukrainian officials suggesting that yesterday's attack against the amphibious assault ship potentially involved 100 people who were on board.

The point here, though, Jim, is these parts of the Black Sea are supposed to be way out of Ukraine's range. They're supposed to be the safe backwaters that Russia could move its ships to away from exposed areas around the Crimea. Instead day after day we are now seeing these instances in which Ukrainian drones, perhaps traveling hundreds of miles, are in fact coming straight into military vehicles, important parts of Russian military infrastructure. That's what they allege the fuel ship was.

And just last week or slightly earlier than that the Kirch Bridge again hit by a Ukrainian drone. That is too very close to that area as well. And so a series of incidents here that show, firstly, the increased ingenuity of Ukrainians using water drones, which frankly appear to carry enormous payloads against exceptionally expensive Russian hardware. The fact that that range means Russia's parts of the Black Sea it used to consider impregnable are now very much targets for Ukraine. And also, too, changing the narrative somewhat from -- about the grind

here in the south where Ukraine's counteroffensive is taking less land than it would have liked by this particular point, and still at this point Russia is on the defensive -- Jim.

ACOSTA: And Nick, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is confirming that some Russian missiles were used in attacks today in Ukraine, including where you are, near where you are. What can you tell us about that?

WALSH: Yes, the Kinzhal hypersonic missiles seem to have been launched. There appeared to have been some interceptions, but indeed here in Zaporizhzhia, an aviation plant may have been hit. Another area of Ukraine hit as well.

Look, this is common, frankly. This is part of the daily routine of Russia's often barbaric response towards Ukraine, particularly when it's experiencing much more symbolically embarrassing things like attacks on Moscow or attacks on its naval ports in the Black Sea area. And so we've been seeing these attacks nightly, frankly.

They often cause deaths, unclear precisely if there was a loss of life from the attacks we've heard of today, but for Ukrainian civilians, part of the daily horrors frankly they experience since Russia invaded, by choice, nearly 18 months ago -- Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. That's right. Nick Paton Walsh with that live report for us, thank you so much for that. We appreciate it.

Joining us for more on the military tactics in the Black Sea is CNN military analyst, retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton.

There's some new video obtained by CNN and we're watching it right here. Pretty extraordinary video here that shows one of these Ukrainian sea drones. Forgive my ignorance here, I didn't realize that they had sea drones or what sea drones were. What are we seeing here?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: So basically what we're seeing here, Jim, is a missile that is -- well, a drone that is acting kind of like a missile, that is going toward a ship. And you can see the ship right there as it's, you know, being approached by the drone. The drone is hitting it right on the side, basically in one of the more vulnerable points of the ship. So what this can do is really a lot of severe damage.

It can actually take out a large portion of the ship. It can possibly sink it, depending on the amount of explosives. Now, in this particular case they tell us that it was around 500, I think kilograms, of TNT. So this is, you know, pretty massive explosion is possible with something like this. And I think what you're seeing is really something that allows us to, you know, realize that the type of warfare that we're dealing with here is an asymmetric kind of warfare, and that's very different. Ukraine has no real practical navy at this particular point in time, except for these drones.

ACOSTA: It's remarkable. And this has been a drone war in my ways. And just looking at that video again, I mean, what is remarkable to me about it is that it's got a pretty clear view coming from the drone's point of view. That is a camera mounted on the drone, I take it.

LEIGHTON: Right.

ACOSTA: And while we're getting a pretty good shot, pretty good image of the Russian ship that it's approaching, I am assuming that it's essentially traveling under the cover of a lot of darkness here. The ships aren't really seeing -- even though we can see the drone in this video, the ships aren't seeing that thing coming.

LEIGHTON: They're not. And in fact they don't have the capability. Ships have radars that is designed to protect them against other surface vessels. They also, in the case of a naval vessel, they have radars to protect them against aircraft, but there's very little protection in the way of anti-drone measures, and that really affects all the naval vessels in the world. That's something that's going to be a big game changer once we really assess how capable the Ukrainians actually have been in this particular case.

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ACOSTA: Another wrinkle that the Russians weren't anticipating in all of this.

LEIGHTON: That's right. And this is one of the key things, Jim, about this war. There's a lot that happens that is unanticipated. There are a lot of different things that occur that aren't part of the playbook, if you will. And they always say, you know, any plan that is used in warfare falls apart once it makes contact with the enemy.

ACOSTA: Yes. Necessity, the mother of invention. We're seeing that time and again in this war. And Ukraine is promising more drone attacks, issuing a war to using Russian Black Sea ports. I mean, this could get pretty dicey.

LEIGHTON: Absolutely. And you saw it with the attack on the naval vessel in Novorossiysk, which is a sea port on the eastern shore of the Black Sea. That is actually one of Russia's major ports. By volume it is actually I think the largest in terms of trade volume that goes through the port. Largest port in Russia. So the fact that the Ukrainians were able to send a drone that far and to take out a ship, a naval vessel, that is a remarkable achievement, no doubt about it.

ACOSTA: Yes, they can just be extremely pesky, those drones. And Ukraine's air force said Russia fired advanced missiles into the western part of the country. What can you tell us about that? We heard Nick talking a little bit about that a few moments ago.

LEIGHTON: Yes, and particularly I think one of the things that they emphasize is the Kinzhal missile.

ACOSTA: Right.

LEIGHTON: The Kinzhal missile is a hypersonic missile. It can travel at least five times the speed of sound, probably about five or six times the speed of sound depending on the variant, and it is designed to evade all kinds of air defenses. Now the Ukrainians have been lucky. They actually have been able to shoot down Kinzhal missiles in the past.

ACOSTA: Really?

LEIGHTON: So they are in essence upping the ante on their side and making it pretty clear that these weapons, these hypersonic weapons which Putin has been so proud of, that they are not invulnerable to.

ACOSTA: I was going to say, you can shoot them down even at that speed.

LEIGHTON: Even at that speed.

ACOSTA: The Ukrainians demonstrating that.

LEIGHTON: Yes, indeed. And they've done it with our Patriot system.

ACOSTA: Wow. Fascinating. All right, Colonel Cedric Leighton, thanks so much. Great to see you. Appreciate it.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Still ahead, I will be speaking with Manuel Oliver, frequent guest on this show. He lost his son Joaquin in the Parkland high school massacre. What did he make of the lawmaker tour and this live gunfire reenactment that took place at the scene of the shooting just this past week? We'll talk to him about that.

But first, how the mayor of New York is responding to these chaotic scenes in the Big Apple. Did you see any of this? They were triggered by an online influencer promising free PlayStation and other giveaways. And as you can tell, pandemonium ensued.

And later, the return of the GOAT. A sellout crowd is expected to watch Simone Biles, there she is, return to competitive gymnastics tonight. CNN is there, and you're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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ACOSTA: Some new details now on an hours long manhunt for a suspect accused of shooting two Orlando police officers. Officials say the 28- year-old suspected gunman is now dead after exchanging gunfire with the SWAT team while barricaded in a hotel early this morning. The two officers were shot while conducting a traffic stop last night for a vehicle wanted in connection with a homicide. Officials say the suspect had an extensive criminal history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF ERIC SMITH, ORLANDO POLICE DEPARTMENT: This is a tragedy for our department any time an officer got some shot. These officers are around here every day protecting our community. They put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe. And for some piece of crap to do this to them because they don't want to go back to prison is ridiculous, and we're not going to put up with it. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And officials say the two injured officers remain in critical condition.

Meanwhile, in New York a social media influencer is facing charges of inciting a riot and unlawful assembly after a chaotic in Manhattan's Union Square. You see any of this video? Involving people who turned up expecting free electronics, including PlayStations. The mayhem prompted the NYPD to activate a level four response, its highest disaster alert level, after the large crowd on hand there, you can see it right there, turned violent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JEFFREY MADDREY, NYPD: I'm not against young people coming here. If we knew about this we could have the barriers out here, we could have police officers out here. We could have did this orderly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: CNN's Polo Sandoval joins us live with more details.

Polo, this looks like it was a mess out there. Where you're standing right now looks a lot better than it did 24 hours ago. Has this social media influencer responded to these charges?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So it really is hard to believe, Jim, that it was just 24 hours ago that there was just utter chaos that was taking place right here where I'm standing. Today there is a nonrelated protest behind me, there's some street vendors. These are all signs of normalcy returning. (INAUDIBLE). You'll see some of the (INAUDIBLE) are basically trying to power wash the paint splatter.

You see just behind that worker, you see a temporary fence that was actually taken down by the mob during the height of the event. Many of them throwing around construction equipment and supply, injuring several people not just police officers, but also members of the public.

Now we did hear a couple remarks from New York City Mayor Eric Adams about what may have led to this and also addressing the police response. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D), NEW YORK: We believe there was some outside influences that may have attempted to aggravate the situation. And I cannot say enough for the police department. I don't think people realize the level of discipline that was showed to take a very dangerous, volatile situation and to be able to bring it to a level of resolve without any loss of life, any substantial damage to property, and without young people harming themselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[16:25:02]

SANDOVAL: Back out live, you hear the sights and sounds of the heart of Manhattan. Now we should mention we have reached out to the influencer that's at the center of this all. He's expected to return to court on August 18th, Jim, after being charged with inciting a riot and also holding that unlawful assembly.

Just think about it, they were -- they went from just a few hundred to a few thousand in only minutes according to the NYPD.

ACOSTA: Yes, Polo, the video, just very quickly, I mean, forgive my ignorance, were they handing out PlayStations? Were they handing out these electronics or they're just in such small numbers that they couldn't keep up with all the demand? What was that all about?

SANDOVAL: Yes, it's a really good question, and from what we have heard from officials and what we've seen also about what took place here yesterday, it seemed that when this influencer arrived, he did not show up with any of the PlayStations, any of the electronics, free headphones, free games chairs that had been promised.

So that's why you're also hearing that part of the conversation really moving the story forward, NYPD saying that influencers should also be held accountable. This underscores the power of social media.

ACOSTA: Yes, absolutely. It also underlines that old lesson, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. All right, maybe some of your younger viewers out there haven't heard that one in a while.

All right, Polo, thanks very much.

In the meantime, fresh off his arraignment for a third criminal indictment, former President Trump joked that four may be his lucky number. Here's what he said at a fundraiser in Alabama last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Every time they file an indictment we go way up in the polls. We need one more indictment to close out this election, one more indictment, and this election is closed out. Nobody has even a chance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: It is true that Trump has remained the GOP frontrunner despite his legal troubles. It's also true that a fourth indictment is looming, this time in Georgia. And Trump would not be able to pardon himself in this case if he's re-elected.

CNN's Nick Valencia explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FANI WILLIS, FULTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: We're ready.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With a half smile and a nod, Fani Willis says she's ready. The Fulton County district attorney is leading the investigation into the former president and his allies' efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia.

WILLIS: If someone broke the law in Fulton County, Georgia, then I have a duty to prosecute, and that's exactly what I plan to do.

VALENCIA: While indictments could be handed down this month, it's been more than a year since Willis launched the investigation, convening a rare special purpose grand jury with the power to subpoena. Although the special purpose grand jury cannot itself issue indictments, it handed over its recommendations in February after interviewing more than 75 witnesses, including some of the biggest names in Trump's orbit.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Mr. Giuliani, when you met with Georgia lawmakers, did you lie to them?

RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: We will not talk about this until it's over. It's a grand jury and grand juries, as I recall, are secret.

VALENCIA: Trump's former attorney, Rudy Giuliani, is among the list of Trump associates who received letters from the D.A. indicating he is a target of the investigation. In the months after Trump's loss in Georgia, Giuliani met with Georgia lawmakers at the state capitol three times, spreading conspiracy theories and election interference lies.

GEORGE CHIDI, INDEPENDENT JOURNALIST: I thought they were trying to conceal something from me.

VALENCIA: Independent Atlanta-based journalist George Chidi stumbled into the 2020 meeting of fake electors in the Georgia state capitol. This week, he received a subpoena to appear before the grand jury as soon as Monday. Once the grand jury hears the case, it will be in their hands to decide whether or not to issue indictments.

(On-camera): Is there merit to this investigation to what you've seen firsthand?

CHIDI: I think there is enough to put things in front of a grand jury. Beyond that, I'm going to let the grand jury figure it out.

VALENCIA (voice-over): It has been months of work for a sprawling investigation that could include racketeering and conspiracy charges. And there are several indications it may be nearing the end.

On Friday outside of the Fulton County courthouse, a heavier than normal police presence in the shadows of freshly erected police barricades. Starting Monday morning, streets around the courthouse will be closed.

And now with Trump already facing three other indictments, the big question here is will Fulton County be yet another place where the former president is arrested and charged? The Fulton County sheriff telling out front his team is prepared.

SHERRIFF PATRICK LABAT, FULTON COUNTY: We understand what courthouse security looks like and quite simply we are ready.

VALENCIA (on-camera): There are currently two grand juries seated in Fulton County. One of them is going to be tasked with having to hear the Trump case. Each grand jury consists of 24 jurors plus two alternates. 16 will be needed for quorum and it will take 12 of them to be in agreement for indictments to be handed out.

Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Reliving the nightmare more than five years later. A reenactment complete with live gunfire taking place at the site of one of America's deadliest ever mass shootings. Manuel Oliver who lost his son Joaquin in the Parkland, Florida, massacre, he joins us live next. We'll talk to him just a few moments.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[16:30:00]

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ACOSTA: One of the deadliest school shootings in American history was reenacted in Parkland, Florida, yesterday. Nearly 140 live rounds were fired inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School as part of a civil lawsuit against Broward County sheriff Gregory Tony and former school resource officer Scott Peterson. Peterson remained outside for nearly an hour while a gunman shot and killed 17 students and faculty members.

He was acquitted of criminal charges back in June, but there's more on that story. Let's discuss with Manuel Oliver. He's the father of Parkland shooting victim Joaquin Oliver, also known and beloved as Guac. Guac should have been celebrating his 23rd birthday yesterday.

And Manuel, I know you're in Chicago right now. I want to talk to you about why in just a moment, but your thoughts on what took place at the school yesterday.

[16:35:06]

MANUEL OLIVER, FATHER OF PARKLAND SHOOTING VICTIM JOAQUIN "GUAC" OLIVER: Well, thank you for having me here, Jim, it's always a pleasure. What happened yesterday, it's actually something that some parents from Portland were able to put together. I celebrate that. I think it's a good thing because they're bringing the facts together, what really happened.

And the only way to do is by just trying to do the whole thing again, which I feel very bad for the neighbors and for the actually community in general. They have to go through that. But you know what? This is about making sure that it won't happen again. I understand that some representatives were there yesterday. My daughter was there yesterday. Sometimes you need to do these extreme things to make your point.

ACOSTA: And this reenactment, it's part of a civil action. Correct. And you're hoping that a different jury will reach a different conclusion than the one we saw in the criminal trial against Mr. Peterson?

OLIVER: Yes, that's the reach. We're not part of that litigation. My family is not part of that litigation. But as always, we support each other. And yes, I think that anyone that has part on this needs to be held accountable. And this person is not the exception. So hopefully, yes, we will get a new verdict out of it.

ACOSTA: And let's talk about why you're in Chicago. You've made it your life's mission to advocate for gun violence prevention. You're having this event in Chicago, in Illinois. Tell us about it. What's going on?

OLIVER: Well, we got our school bus 30 days ago. We hit the road, me and Patricia and a couple of young activists, and we're visiting 23 cities that have been affected by gun violence, which is easy to find, honoring Joaquin's 23rd birthday.

Today we're in Chicago. We have a show tonight, a one man show called Guac the One Man Show. And it's sold out, I understand. And then we will continue with our tour for the next 20 days before arriving home.

ACOSTA: And what's the show about? I mean, I know it's about your son, it's about your experience, but tell us a little bit more, I guess. What it's going to do for you?

OLIVER: For me, it's just a way of expressing my opinion. You know, that when I'm invited to a rally or to an event, I have, like, ten minutes to say, I think now I have my own show since the last three years, and that's a whole hour of full attention. It's a great opportunity. Theater is a great tool to inform people and make your point. So that's what I get from this.

But also I get to share stories from Joaquin. It's a roller coaster of emotions. People laugh, cry, and they end up supporting everything that we do. So far it's been great. And this is a new I haven't presented in Chicago before, so I'm very excited.

ACOSTA: It's a little cooler than it is down in south Florida. I know that. I don't know what the weather is like today, but yes, hopefully you got a jacket or something. But, Manuel, let me ask you. Friday would have been Joaquin's 23rd birthday. I know he must be on your mind. I know he's on your mind every day, every minute of every day but yesterday, your thoughts. This weekend, your thoughts. What do we need to know?

OLIVER: Well, you know what we celebrated Joaquin's birthday yesterday in Highland Park. We were together with families and victims from the Highland Park shooting. Patricia and me, we've been trying to increase the voice of the families of we, the parents, for the last 30 days. And each community that we visited, it's part of this movement.

So, it's sad but true. There's more of us there. And the fact that we're celebrating Joaquin's life with other families that feel the same, it was a very honest way of celebrating Joaquin's life.

So we're here. We always do something different on Joaquin's birthday. This year, he was meeting with other families, trying to raise the voice, make our point, and address this in every possible angle. We need to win this fight, and I think we, the parents, know exactly how. This is terrible, and it needs to be prevented. We don't want anyone else joining our club.

ACOSTA: Yes. And that's the sad reality, is that you're part of a community. And you could, Manuel, correct me if I'm wrong, you could crisscross this country, going from state to state, community to community, and find people who have been through what you've been through. And the community just keeps getting bigger and bigger because we can't get a handle on this problem.

[16:40:07]

OLIVER: This is the only country where you can have a tour like the one that we did, the one that we're doing that is actually visiting memorials from gun violence victims in every single city. You don't find that in any other country. And this is the America that people are ignoring. They don't want to see this reality. We're going to put it out there. We have everything documented. We have interviews with families and victims. We have interviews with law enforcement.

So we're doing a whole, you know, program of the actual status of where we are, what do we need to do, and what will be the next step. By the way, I'm heading to DC in a couple of weeks, and I'm bringing a huge, huge big surprise to the Capitol. So keep in the loop. Stay in the loop.

ACOSTA: That's what we call in this business, a tease. All right, Manuel Oliver, great to see you, as always. Thank you so much for what you do. We'll continue to have you back. We're not sticking our heads in the sand here on this problem. We're going to show it to the public. Thanks very much for your time. Good luck tonight.

OLIVER: I know you very nice. Thank you. Take care. Bye.

ACOSTA: You too. All right. Coming up, how investigators are tracing cryptocurrency payments as they try to crack down on dangerous cartels and the multi-billion dollar fentanyl trade that kills thousands of Americans each year. You're live in the CNN Newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:45:36]

ACOSTA: Follow the crypto all the way to the dark web. That's what the Biden Administration says it is now doing in its fight against the seemingly unstoppable spread of fentanyl in the United States at the center of the search tracing cryptocurrency payments between some of the most dangerous drug cartel companies and Chinese chemical companies.

CNN cybersecurity reporter Sean Lyngaas is here with us. And Sean, the use of digital currency, it has exploded, I mean, everywhere but among fentanyl trackers -- traffickers as well. Explain how this works and the challenges that the Feds have in stopping it.

SEAN LYNGAAS, CNN CYBERSECURITY REPORTER: That's right, Jim. So in 2019, the Chinese government actually banned the wholesale sale of fentanyl, sort of a drastic measure saying, no more of this. And what we had after that, according to U.S. officials and experts who track it, is the companies started selling the ingredients to get around sort of a workaround.

And so now they're openly advertising these ingredients on their website saying, we ship to Mexico, no problem, we take crypto. And so there's been this explosion, as you say, in payments increase in 450 percent over the last year to these chemical companies.

The cartels in Mexico are often using middlemen so to try to obscure it. So maybe someone in Guatemala buys it and they send the materials to Mexico. And the Feds and the U.S. are trying to catch up. It's a race to try to save lives here, and they're investing in technology.

I talked to the DEA who told me that they have identified senior members of the cartels who are crypto specialists and specialize in money laundering, and they're actively watching them. On the DHS side, we talked to one person who leads the office in Arizona, and they have been affected by this person. They have lost someone, a family member, to fentanyl overdose. So it's a very personal issue for a lot of Americans, as you know.

And here we have federal agents trying to catch up, and CNN got a really close look at how they're doing that very much a work in progress. We were able to talk to Scott Brown. He is an agent in Arizona that I mentioned. Not every seizure is going to get you to Chapo Guzman. That's, of course, a reference to the imprisoned famous drug lord.

ACOSTA: Yes.

LYNGAAS: It's certainly more impactful when you go after the people that are behind the production and behind the drugs, behind the production of the precursors, the chemicals, behind the movement of the money, behind running the transportation cells, Jim.

So they're trying to really crackdown in ways that are going to matter. Rather than just seizing the drugs, they want to trace the money and actually put people behind bars. And it's, you know, going to be a tough slog because this, like you said, it kills tens of millions, excuse me, tens of thousands of Americans every year.

ACOSTA: Yes. And I talk to people all the time about what we put in our broadcasts and what people would like to see more stories on. And a lot of times what I hear is people want to see more about Fentanyl and how it's just causing so much damage across the country. So it's important to see that federal investigators are working on this. Sean, thank you very much. A great report. More on CNN.com. They can

go to the website. Read more of Sean's reporting there. Sean, thanks so much.

All right, does the comeback begin tonight? For the first time since the Tokyo Olympics. Simone Biles. Remember Simone Biles. She returns to competitive gymnastics tonight. CNN is live at the event venue that is coming up next.

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[16:53:20]

ACOSTA: It's taken two long years, but in just a few hours, Olympian Simone Biles returns to competitive gymnastics. Her return comes two years after she shocked fans by withdrawing from finals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Citing mental health concerns. CNN's Isabel Rosales joins us from outside Chicago.

Isabel, this is very exciting to see Simone back in action. What are you hearing from fans?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And excitement is an understatement here, Jim. We are less than one year away from the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics. And now the seven time Olympic medalist Simone Biles is back. We're getting all of this excitement not just from fans, but also fellow athletes. They are so looking forward to witnessing the greatest of all time, the goat herself, back in action.

They're so excited. In fact, that now arena, where I'm standing right here, is completely sold out. That is 7,200 seats, all of them filled. Biles is registered for all four events. And folks are going to be on the lookout for how fresh she looks, how sharp she looks.

And Jim, you mentioned that we haven't seen her really compete since two years ago when she just surprised fans shocked the world by withdrawing from all of her events during the Tokyo Games suffering from the twisties, a mental block where gymnasts can't tell what's up from down while they're out in midair. And then, ultimately, she disappeared from the competitive world of gymnastics. Now she is back, and these fans cannot wait. Listen.

[16:55:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And what does your shirt say?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Simone freaking Biles.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The courage and the role model to come out and say, no, my mental health is more important. Physical health is more important because of the twisties she could have got (INAUDIBLE) let's just be honest. I was so proud of her.

ROSALES: When you heard that Simone was coming back to the world of gymnastics oh, my gosh. What did you think?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When we heard Simone was coming back, she started screaming and went crazy. She's like, mom, please get tickets. Please, please, please get tickets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And Jim, CNN also spoke with Joan Ryan. She's an author and a sports journalist who really says that Simone coming back. This is proof that this old ideal. There's a shift and a positive change to the world of gymnastics where you don't have to be a prepubescent teen to succeed in this field. You can be an adult. She's 26 years old, and she is competing here at 08:00. Jim.

ACSOTA: Can't wait. All right, Isabel, Rosales, tell us all about it when it happens. Appreciate it so much. Thank you.

Coming up, one of the defenders of the Capitol on January 6, Michael Fanone. He joins me live in just a few moments. His reaction to Trump's social media post, saying, if you go after me, I'm coming after you. Making its way into a court filing by the Special Counsel Jack Smith. More on that as well. Coming up in just a few moments.

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