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CNN International: Judge to Schedule Haring in Discovery Dispute in Trump's Election Subversion Case; Powerful Storms Damage Buildings, Cause Power Outages in U.S.; Ukraine Says It Foiled Plot to Assassinate Zelenskyy; ECOWAS to Discuss Niger in New Meeting on Thursday; Leaders from 8 Nations Meeting for Amazon Summit in Brazil. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired August 08, 2023 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Bianca Nobilo live from London. Max Foster has the week off. Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trump's lawyers arguing that they shouldn't be restricted from talking publicly about some evidence in the election interference probe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The American people have a right to know what the evidence is in this case.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Severe thunderstorms with strong winds and heavy rains causing damage across the country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The rain was literally sideways, trees and limbs hitting the truck as you're driving and it's one of the worst I've seen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ukraine's intelligence service says it foiled a Russian plot to assassination Zelenskyy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's no secret that President Zelenskyy has been and likely still is a Russian target.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.
NOBILO: It is Tuesday, August 8, 9:00 a.m. here in London, 4:00 a.m. in Washington where the judge in Donald Trump's election subversion case seems committed to moving forward with a speedy trial. She wants to hold a hearing this week about the handling of evidence and potential restrictions on what Trump can say about the case in public. Prosecutors and Trump's legal team have until 3:00 p.m. Eastern today to come up with options. The Justice Department contends that Trump could disclose sensitive
information or intimidate potential witnesses. But the former president's attorney says that strict rules would infringe on his First Amendment rights. Justice Department prosecutors are also looking more closely at Rudy Giuliani's efforts to subvert the 2020 election. They interviewed a key ally on Monday. Meanwhile, another Trump indictment could come any day now. CNN's Paula Reid has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In Washington, CNN reporting exclusively that former New York Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik talked to special counsel investigators.
TIM PARLATORE, LAWYER FOR BERNIE KERIK: It was mostly about, you know, all the efforts in between the election and January 6th of what the Giuliani team was doing.
REID (voice-over): The meeting is the first known investigative step since the special counsel's office filed charges against former President Trump last week. Kerik's attorney, Tim Parlatore, saying he doesn't think Trump's former lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, will be indicted.
PARLATORE: No, not a chance.
REID (voice-over): Also Trump's lawyers arguing in a new court filing that they shouldn't be restricted from talking publicly about some evidence in the election interference probe.
JOHN LAURO, TRUMP ATTORNEY: The press and the American people in a campaign season have a right to know what the evidence is in this case.
REID (voice-over): While so-called protective orders aren't unusual, prosecutors saying it's especially important in this case because of Trump's public statements and how they could have a chilling effect, like this recent social media post that read, if you go after me, I'm coming after you.
Trump also lashing out specifically at his former vice president, who could become a witness at trial, calling him delusional and not a very good person. Pence saying he would testify if asked.
MIKE PENCE, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: People can be confident we'll obey the law, we'll respond to the call of the law if it comes, and we'll just tell the truth.
REID (voice-over): Trump even attacking Jack Smith at a fundraiser in South Carolina just days after his second arrest and arraignment in federal court on a case brought by the special counsel.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Jack Smith, he's a deranged human being.
REID (voice-over): Trump's legal team testing out their defense in the court of public opinion, including arguing that what Trump did was covered by the First Amendment.
LAURO: There was no fraudulent conspiracy. That's part of the reality of the defense.
Biden said in November 2022 that he wanted to see President Trump prosecuted and taken out of this race.
REID (voice-over): But these defenses were quickly rebutted by some of Trump's former top allies. Former Attorney General Bill Barr drawing a line between speech and conspiracy.
WILLIAM BARR, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: He can say whatever he wants, he can even lie, but that does not protect you from entering into the conspiracy. All conspiracies involve speech.
[04:05:00]
REID (voice-over): The Trump Team also bracing for a fourth indictment in as many months, this time coming out of Fulton County, Georgia --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I think that we can expect it.
REID (voice-over): -- where the former lieutenant governor just got subpoenaed in that grand jury investigation, and District Attorney Fani Willis is getting ready to announce possible charges against Trump for his actions in Georgia around the 2020 election.
FANI WILLIS, FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I took an oath, and that the oath requires that I follow the law, and that if someone broke the law in Fulton County, Georgia, that I have a duty to prosecute and that's exactly what I plan to do.
REID: CNN observing additional security for Judge Tanya Chutkan. She's the judge overseeing the Trump prosecution related to January 6th here in Washington, D.C. She's also the judge who will rule on that protective order and it's unclear when she will make that decision.
Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: Trump's attorneys are testing more potential defenses in the election plot case. They now claim that it is not a crime to suggest that an elected official do something. For example asking then Vice President Mike Pence to not certify the election results.
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JESSE BINNALL, ATTORNEY FOR DONALD TRUMP: There is no conspiracy, you know, illegal conspiracy to do a legal act. And so, when you are saying, you know, Congress is going to meet, I want Congress do Y- action instead of X-action or I want the vice president do A instead of B, that is not a conspiracy do something illegal. It actually is just asking a government official to do something.
TY COBB, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE LAWYER: I'm not aware of the aspirational defense or the free speech defense to a gang leader saying to his subordinates I need you two to please rob a bank for me and they do it, you know that is aspirational. But it leads to a crime. And that's exactly what Trump did with Pence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: Trump's attorneys also claim he was simply following his legal team's advice when he pressured state election officials to find more votes for him.
Severe thunderstorms are rolling across much of the Eastern United States. On Monday alone, more than 600 storms were reported with strong winds and heavy rains causing damage and even deaths across the country. A teenager in South Carolina was killed by a falling tree during one of the storms. Members of the communities had this to say to the boy's family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF CHARLIE KING, ANDERSON FIRE DEPARTMENT: Our thoughts and prayers go out on this young man's family and his friends as they continue to cope and deal with the tragic loss we've experienced.
MARCUS NASH, NEIGHBOR: We certainly feel for them. They are wonderful neighbors. I just can't imagine going through what they are going through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: Officials in Alabama also report a man died after being struck by lightning.
Meantime, this was the scene in Tennessee after storms came through Knoxville ripping roofs off homes and scattering debris.
Storms and at least one tornado in the state of Indiana up rooted trees and destroyed buildings. At one point more than 1 million people across 11 states were without power.
CNN Meteorologist Chad Myers takes a look at what the weather is looking like today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Another round of severe weather later on this afternoon, although not nearly what we had on Monday. So storms across the Deep South, also a few in the high plains, parts of Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado. Storms roll across the Deep South in the afternoon. Another batch of storms will be for your Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. But for the most part this is just going to be kind of a rainmaker to the northeast and some gusty winds. That's all we're really going to see here. We're not going to see a million people without power.
There is the rainfall potential here across parts of New England. It's all because of the ground up here is still saturated. It's saturated from the week and week and week of rain we had over the past year. And so, it just hasn't had a chance to dry out. Like down here that has just dried out. The country cut in half where the southern part way in excess of normal and in the northern part very, very pleasant. How about 79 in Omaha, 83 in Denver. Can't argue with anything like that.
But been down here where the Deep South kind of meets the Gulf of Mexico, that's where temperatures are going to be high, humidities will be high and we're 5 to 10 degrees above normal for the next three. Same story back out here. Closer to normal in some spots. But even for Sacramento on up to 90, Bakersfield 99 for later on today. And for Death Valley, only 112 and in fact that's four degrees below normal. Have a great day.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: Extreme heat in the U.S. is just one instance of global warming. And scientists say that last month was the hottest month on record. This chart shows daily changes in sea surface temperature going back to the 1970s.
[04:10:00]
The top line in red represents 2023 with July clearly the highest temperature by far. Data from the Copernicus Program says the average global temperature in July was around 1.5 degrees Celsius, warmer than the pre-industrial era. It's a critical checkpoint that experts say the world needs to stay away from. We've been hearing a lot about that in the recent.
This graph shows the annual increases of air temperatures, again 2023 is by far the highest on record. If this rising trend continues, scientists say the world will face even more extreme weather.
In Ukraine at least seven people have been killed after Russian missiles struck residential areas in the Donetsk region. It happened on Monday in the eastern city of Pokrovsk. This video shows the aftermath of that strike that left at least 67 others injured. Ukraine's minister of internal affairs said police officers, rescuers and two children were among those who were hurt.
Meantime Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is warning that Russia may be left without vessels if it continues to attack Ukrainian ports. His comments come just days after Ukrainian sea drones hit both a Russian tanker and a warship.
Ukraine security service says a woman is now in custody in connection to an alleged plot to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukrainian security officials publish a blurred image that they say shows the informant for Russia. She's not been named, but officials say that she is from the southern Ukrainian region of Mykolaiv.
CNN's Clare Sebastian joins me here in London with the latest. Clare, it's been a roughly 24-hours since this story became public about the Russian informant and the assassination plot against Zelenskyy. What more have we learned and what does it tell us about the risk that the president is facing? CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, I think it's no secret
that Zelenskyy has faced this kind of risk certainly at the very beginning of the conflict. You remember the U.S. offered to evacuate him. He said I don't need a ride. I need ammo. The Ukrainians have talked since then about various assassination attempts on him. And we know that President Putin himself has said, look, I'm not fighting the Ukrainian people -- that's disingenuous given the scale of the attacks that were seeing -- he says he's fighting the regime, as he calls it, in Kyiv.
So I think this sheds light on that danger, the fact that it is still ongoing. But also on the work of the security services, this sort of parallel battle that is taking place against informants. They do fairly regularly publicize this kind of information about, you know, various degrees of collaboration with Russia. And I think now at this critical point in the conflict, it's even more important for them to get out and present this as a deterrent. The informant could face some 12 years in prison for this.
NOBILO: There are many different battles occurring as you point out. If we turn to what's actually happening in the theater of war, there's been another devastating attack on Ukraine.
SEBASTIAN: Yes, the town -- I think is not so much a city, but virtually about 60,000. Pokrovsk is about 50 miles -- 50 kilometers and 30 miles from the Eastern frontlines in Donetsk. So no stranger to violence. But this was I think characterized by the fact that it was a double attack. So officials saying some tens of minutes apart the missile struck. And you can see of attempts of the range of sum of 67 that we're now hearing about, 29 were police officers, seven were rescuers. So it smacks of this kind of double attack strategy where, you know, they fire one missile, wait for rescuers to move in and then fire a second one. They called a day a mourning now in that town. They're saying that, according to the state emergency services, emergency rescue operations are still under way in a five-story residential building. So that gives you a sense of the scale of the destruction.
NOBILO: Clare Sebastian, thank you so much. It is important to look at these different strategies that are developing as both sides become increasingly desperate. Thank you.
Still ahead, a U.S. diplomat holds a meeting with coup leaders in Niger. What America hopes to get out of it and what the junta refused to concede.
Plus, leaders from eight countries are gathering in Brazil to discuss ways to protect the Amazon Rainforest, but can they overcome their differences and reach a consensus. We'll take a closer look at that for you.
And later, a daytime robbery. Brazen attacks are on the rise in one of California's largest cities. How authorities are responding to the rise in crime.
[04:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NOBILO: A senior U.S. official has met with the military junta in Niger to push for a diplomatic resolution to the country's coup. The acting deputy secretary of state says that they had a frank conversation that made no progress in restoring constitutional order. Instead the junta has been trying to strengthen its authority. It's hosted allies from Mali and Burkina Faso, appointed a new Prime Minister and brought more troops into the capital to prepare for any potential military intervention from the regional bloc ECOWAS. This Thursday the bloc is expected to hold a meeting on the matter.
CNN's Stephanie Busari joins us now from Nigeria. Stephanie, all eyes really on the response from ECOWAS in Niger. It's interesting they seem to have misplayed their hand somewhat because they took a very strong stance, made this ultimatum, this declaration of intervention, nothing happened. And now it doesn't seem like there is much urgency for them to be meeting on Thursday.
STEPHANIE BUSARI, CNN SENIOR EDITOR, AFRICA: Well Bianca, they did overplay their hand somewhat, but some people say that they were caught between a rock and a hard place. They have to be seen to talk tough. This is a state of coup, five coups in this region. And you know, they have to respond in order not to be seen as a toothless body that just ignores forceful takeover of power.
And some of these leaders themselves are facing pressure at home. In Senegal, for example, there are a lot of protests there -- disaffected youth, high unemployment, all of these things. They are worried about the contagion effect.
[04:20:00]
So that is why this tough talking happened. But it has been dialed down because nobody wants a war in a region that is already plagued by poverty, by terrorism. So diplomatic efforts must be reached -- it must be reached through dialogue. That is what people are -- the people are telling their leaders.
In Nigeria for example, President Tinubu does not have the cool of the Senate. And they urged him to go back and seek a peaceful resolution. And that is what everybody is really seeking right now. The U.S. spokesman for Secretary of State has said that diplomacy is the preferred option and he was talking yesterday to reporters. Take a listen to what he had to say.
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MATTHEW MILLER, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: The window of opportunity is definitely still open. We believe that the junta should step aside and allow President Bazoum to resume his duties tomorrow -- today, tomorrow, anytime in the near future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BUSARI: Yes, so the U.S. is really pushing for a negotiated option. But as you said there, the two had very intense and extremely frank conversations with the military leaders in Niger. And she admitted that these conversations were tense because they were quite firm about how they wanted to proceed and that did not include reinstating President Bazoum or following the constitution of Niger. Which is what the ECOWAS and the international community are demanding. But the junta does appear ready to continue these negotiations. President Bazoum, the ousted Prime Minister telling French TV that they have asked for ECOWAS delegate to come back to the country -- Bianca.
NOBILO: Stephanie Busari in Lagos, thank you.
In the coming hours leaders from eight Amazon countries will be meeting in Brazil for a two-day summit to discuss ways to protect the critical rainforest from deforestation and other threats. Columbia says it supports the plan to protect 80 percent of the Amazon by 2025 but that might be a tall order. CNN's Rafael Romo has more on the challenges facing the world's largest rainforest.
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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice-over): They move slowly through the jungle. Their weapons are cocked and loaded. These environmental agents are searching for sites of illegal logging. It doesn't take long before they find what they're looking for.
Illegal logging has been a challenge in Brazil for decades, but experts say it grew worse over the last four years, when former President Jair Bolsonaro was in power.
The commander in charge of the unit conducting this raid says the previous government only cared about solving emergency situations but lacked strategic planning to really combat deforestation. His team later makes an arrest.
In his first speech after taking office on January 1st current president Luis Inacio Lula da Silva said one of his government's goals is to reach zero-deforestation in the Amazon adding that Brazil doesn't need to get rid of its trees to remain an agricultural powerhouse.
ROMO: And now Lula is about to spearhead what he hopes will be an international effort to save the Amazon with the cooperation of all the countries that host the world's largest rainforest. Although almost 60 percent of the Amazon is in Brazil, it also extends through Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela.
ROMO (voice-over): Last month, President Lula met with Gustavo Petro, his Colombian counterpart, at Leticia, a city in southern Colombia on the Amazon River and just across the Brazilian border.
Last week, the Brazilian government said preliminary data from the country's space research agency show deforestation in the Amazon has fallen by 66 percent since July of last year to its lowest point in six years. And this week the Brazilian president is hosting heads of state of Amazon countries at a summit to be held in the Brazilian city of Belem at the mouth of the Amazon River.
Lula said he's going to try to convince the other heads of state to work together in a cohesive way to fight organized crime, to take care of the Amazon and the people who live in it.
According to the Brazilian government, the meeting intends to start a new stage in cooperation among the countries that host the biome through the adoption of a shared policy for the sustainable development of the region.
Efforts to save the Amazon are nothing new. The Brazilian government has raided illegal mining and logging operations over the decades, but the results have been disappointing.
[04:25:02]
A study by Purdue University showed that deforestation drove the massive Amazon rainforest fires of 2019, which destroyed thousands of square miles of Amazon rainforest, roughly the size of New Jersey.
And according to an analysis by the Council on Foreign Relations published last year, it's estimated that between 17 and 20 percent of the Amazon has been destroyed over the past 50 years, and some scientists believe that the tipping point for dieback is between 20 and 25 percent deforestation.
Rafael Romo, CNN Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: Still to come, police are investigating what prompted a massive fight on a boat dock in Alabama. We'll bring you video from the scene that shows a Black man being attacked.
Also ahead, we'll look at the controversy over the British government's plans to house migrants on a barge.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NOBILO: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Biance Nobilo. And if you're just joining us, let me bring you up to date with our top stories this hour.
The judge in Donald Trump's election interference case is planning a hearing this week on how to handle evidence. The Justice Department and Trump's legal team are arguing over restrictions on what the former president can disclose to the public.
[04:30:00]
