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Georgia D.A. Expected to Seek Charges Against Trump; Maui Fires Death Toll Now 93; Ukraine: 23-Day-Old Baby Killed In Russian Strikes; DeSantis Overshadowed by Trump At Iowa State Fair; Police Storm Kansas Newspaper Owner's Office & Home. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired August 13, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:00:32]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Washington, D.C.

And we begin this hour with exclusive new reporting on the investigation into Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Sources tell CNN that Georgia prosecutors now have text messages and emails directly connecting Trump's legal team to a voting system breach in Coffee County, Georgia in January 2021.

This comes as the district attorney investigating Trump in Georgia appears to be close to an indictment. Fulton County district attorney Fani Willis is expected to seek charges against more than a dozen people. And if she brings charges against the former president, it would be the fourth indictment of Trump since being voted out of office.

We have coverage of these new developments. Isabel Rosales is outside the Fulton County court where security preparations are under way. And we have CNN's Zachary Cohen on these stunning new developments linking Trump's legal team to a voting system breach in a rural Georgia County.

Zach, let's begin with you. Tell us more about what you're learning and this new evidence.

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, these are texts that we, our sources are telling us, are in the possession of prosecutors here in Georgia that are investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election in this state.

And the text messages really lay out a plan that links Trump's own attorneys to the operatives on the ground who did get access to these voting systems in a rural Georgia county called Coffee County, Georgia on January 7, 2021.

But the texts show that in the days leading up to that breach, the Trump attorneys and these operatives were discussing ways to get access and specifically trying to secure a written invitation from an elections official in Coffee County that they would basically use as an excuse or validation that they could go in and get access to voting systems that they did not have the right to access.

Now these texts link various Trump attorneys to this breach including Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and also his former attorney Sidney Powell who we know was instrumental in helping fund this effort to get access to voting systems, not just in Coffee County, Georgia but other states as well.

And that's something we've also reported that Fani Willis who's the D.A. here is investigating as part of the broader investigation into overturning the election.

WHITFIELD: And then Zach, what do we expect will be the sequence of events this week potentially?

COHEN: Yes, Fred. We're expecting prosecutors were going to start laying out their case before the grand jury this week. And that will include some witnesses that we know will come in and testify before the grand jury as early as Tuesday. And, you know, the indications are that we could see indictments as early as Tuesday, as well.

So we're looking for this really to pick up pace in the early part of the week and we really could see Trump and maybe even up to a dozen other people face charges early this week, maybe even as early as Tuesday.

WHITFIELD: And then Isabel, what can you tell us about security preparations for this potential grand jury hearing, possible indictment of the former president?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred, the big question here is will Fulton County be yet another place where Trump is charged and then arrested. Despite the answer to that, it does look like Fulton County is ready. They have a heavier police presence than normal around the courthouse. And in fact, over the past couple of minutes we've seen law enforcement officers patrolling the area around the building, some of them with canines.

And also these orange barricades surrounding the building, these police barricades. Not only that, but also streets around the courthouse, those have been closed.

Fred this goes beyond just the building, but also the most visible -- visible front person about this investigation into Trump, and that is D.A. Fani Willis. She has received additional security protection near her home. That is according to a source with direct knowledge of law enforcement movements here in Atlanta.

And Willis has recently urged local officials to stay vigilant about any security threats. In an email obtained by CNN, Willis shared racist and sexualized messages that she had received and also similar voicemails.

Now, the man behind assuring security here at the courthouse, that is the sheriff of Fulton County, that is Patrick Labat. He says that his team is prepared.

[14:04:53]

ROSALES: And all of these legal woes that Trump has been facing, they have been an opportunity for the sheriff to learn from other cities what good security looks like at such a large scale. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF PATRICK LABAT, FULTON COUNTY GEORGIA: We understand that the microscope and everyone is watching Atlanta, but it also gave us an opportunity to go to D.C., gave us the opportunity to partner with New York and partner with Miami and understand just collectively what something of this magnitude involves.

Our goal is to stay focused. And I've said this before, we're ready.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And Trump has been attacking Willis during campaign events and also on Truth Social. Willis has previously said that this has increased the security concerns. They've escalated due to Trump's rhetoric.

And we've seen that here locally in Atlanta with the Trump campaign running an advertisement that included a baseless allegation that Willis hid a relationship with a gang member that she was prosecuting.

According to (INAUDIBLE) a group that tracks these political ads, the Trump campaign spent nearly $80,000 running that ad up until today. Willis has called that ad derogatory and false, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Isabel Rosales, Zachary Cohen, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it.

Let's talk more about this right now with Lisa Rayam, the host of NPR's "Morning Edition" on WABE radio in Atlanta. Renato Mariotti is a former federal prosecutor.

Good to see both of you.

RENATO MARIOTTI, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: You, too.

WHITFIELD: All right. So you know, perhaps it was, you know, established early on after the Georgia presidential votes were called for Biden that top GOP leadership in Georgia was not going to bend the rules or break laws for Trump. And then this weekend, a former lieutenant governor, all the way to the chief operating officer in the Georgia secretary of state office, you know, they are ready they say to appear before the Fulton County grand jury. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GABE STERLING, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICE, GA SECRETARY OF STATE OFFICE: My lawyers have said I can't talk about this one way or the other. But if I am called -- when I am called, I will go and do it the day before. I will tell the truth, answer honestly. GEOFF DUNCAN (R), FORMER GEORGIA LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: I have no

expectations as to the questions. I will certainly answer whatever questions are put in front of me. And certainly don't want to go any deeper than that to, you know, jeopardize or compromise the investigation.

But look, for me this is a story that's important for Republicans to hear, Americans to hear. Let's hear the whole truth and nothing but the truth about Donald Trump's actions and the surrounding cast of characters around him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So Lisa, you know, why does it seem that so many top Georgia GOP leaders, you know, profess fearlessly that they will not defend the former president who remains hugely popular among Georgia voters?

LISA RAYAM, HOST, NPR "MORNING EDITION": Well, Fredricka as you know, we're in the 11th hour of this earth-shattering indictment that is pending here in Georgia.

As far as those text messages are concerned, I immediately reached out to Clint Rucker, who is a former Fulton County executive assistant D.A. This morning. And I asked him how important this latest development is in the grand scheme of things, being that this indictment is pending. And he frankly said that this potentially, Fredricka, could be a smoking gun.

And the reason is pretty elementary, as your reporter Zach said. Rucker says that now you have something in writing, right, that allows prosecutors to make a direct link to those in the Trump inner circle regarding the interference of election results.

And he says those text messages can be perceived as a confession. And that is pretty powerful. And you know, you have all these messages floating around here in Georgia and all across the nation, around in the public domain. And now for the first time you have something really solid in writing.

And in his words, Clint Rucker who has worked for Fulton D.A. for 25- plus years, he says this is big. How big, he says it's going to take a lot of time to sort through this information this week, you know, especially since there's so much fraud being alleged in this case.

And so while many are anticipating a grand jury decision this week, Rucker predicts it may not come down until the following week. So there's a lot to sort through here. And all eyes are on Georgia, as you know.

WHITFIELD: Yes, big time.

So Renato, you know, with these prosecutors reportedly linking texts and emails, you know, to Trump's legal team, in your view is this really big? I mean what will it take, you know, to link Trump's possible involvement, his influence or even direction? MARIOTTI: Well, you know, regardless of whether or not Trump is on

those text messages, the fact of the matter remains that this is part of this overall scheme that we can expect Willis and her team to charge.

I really think the typical juror, no matter who they are, are going to have trouble understanding what could possibly be legal about trying to compromise their voting systems.

[14:09:56]

MARIOTTI: That's what's so powerful about this evidence, if this reported evidence is accurate, if this turns up in this indictment, it's very, very hard for the Trump team and the other defendants, for example, to explain that away.

And I think regardless of whether or not Trump is on the text messages themselves, in my experience -- and I've tried a lot of cases, criminal cases --

ultimately at the end of the day, you know, what the jury is really trying to figure out is, is there something fishy going on here? Did someone do something wrong, and then is this guy in on it?

And I think with Donald Trump there's already a lot of smoke. This could be potentially some of the fire.

WHITFIELD: Right. And to try to determine whether he's in on it, he would be the ultimate benefactor, so that, too, is part of the calculus in determining involvement, whether it be direct or indirect, right.

So I also wonder, Renato, you know, with upwards of 12 co-conspirators possibly facing indictment along with Trump, are prosecutors positioning themselves to cut some sort of plea deals in order to get more evidence against the big fish?

MARIOTTI: No question. And you can see by Willis' approach, her team, what she's done is she has, you know, I think carefully tried to flip a majority of the fake electors. She's already got some cooperators in her pocket giving them immunity, because understanding that they're the small fish here. But also of course, indicting more people creates more potential cooperatives for the government.

And you know, it's easy for Donald Trump to sit back and say, I'm going to raise money off of this and maybe it helps him in the polls. But for some random Republican operative who is a defendant here, it's a very different story. This is their lives, this is their life at stake.

And ultimately they've got to figure out how to hire lawyers. They're not cheap, I'll tell you from firsthand experience. And it's a very, very challenging prospect for most people to go through a criminal felony indictment. I do think that's very much a possibility going forward.

WHITFIELD: And Lisa, Georgia, you know, is a state with very open, some would say lax kind of laws about cameras in the courtroom. If Trump is indicted do you think that we will see his court proceedings play out on live television?

RAYAM: Well, we all know Donald Trump, right. And he's probably, his attorneys would probably fight adamantly against that. So you know, this is precedent-setting. So we will have to wait and see. But I guarantee you there would be a huge fight on the Trump side against that.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And then, Renato, if Trump is charged in Georgia, you know, it would be his fourth indictment, and I wonder what kind of coordination there might be. Because if you look at the calendar of events involving all the other legal cases, expectations of trial, et cetera.

Is there some calculus as to which case would have the more favorable leverage over picking dates?

MARIOTTI: Very interesting. Technically speaking, the prosecutors are all doing their own thing. Obviously there's four different judges who are going to be involved. They're going to have their own views, their own calendars.

The defense is going to want to push their own agenda, what they're going to want to push first. I'm assuming they're going to want to delay all four. But there may be one they'll delay a lot than the others potentially.

But I think the think the prosecutors are going to have conversation because ultimately at the end of the day Trump can't be in four different courtrooms at the same time. And so, you know, he's going to need time to prepare. So that is going to be part of the conversation. It's going to be very interesting to see.

It looks like Jack Smith really wants to have this January 6th trial first. But it will be interesting, and I imagine the defense will have other ideas.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Go ahead, Lisa.

RAYAM: I was going to say, we need to note, all of this going on while he's running for president.

WHITFIELD: That's right. Ok. Thanks to both of you.

And first before we go, congratulations to you, Lisa Rayam, for receiving an Atlanta Press Club award of excellence in radio reporting. Congratulations. Well deserved.

RAYAM: Fred, thank you so much. I'm very honored. Thank you so much. I appreciate that.

WHITFIELD: All right. Great to see you both. Lisa Rayam, Renato Mariotti. All right. Still to come, the death toll in the Maui wildfires climbs

to 93 making it the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than 100 years. Authorities now working to identify those found so far. We'll go live on Maui next.

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[14:18:53]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back.

The Lahaina fire is now the deadliest fire in U.S. in more than a century. The official death toll reached 93 and is expected to rise as recovery continues. Officials say only two of those fatalities have been identified.

Hawaii's governor says the losses are nearing $6 billion with more than 2,000 structures damaged or destroyed.

Senator Mazie Hirono visited the rubble and tells CNN that the entire town of Lahaina burned to the ground.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. MAZIE HIRONO (D-HI): We are really focused, as far as I'm concerned, on the need for rescue -- well, the location of we know, sadly, more bodies. And as I talk with the people who were at this large place where the residents were, that yes, we're going to need to provide a lot of support.

That's why I'm asking for and I expect to receive bipartisan support for additional funds that will enable us to recover.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:19:58]

WHITFIELD: Now, the state's emergency response is under review as their robust siren system, the largest in the world, was not activated during the fires.

CNN's Mike Valerio joining me now live from Maui. Mike, what are you hearing and seeing there today?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Fredricka, first of all, good morning. And whenever -- you've experienced this for decades, we've experienced it a couple of moments ago. When you're here on the edge of disaster zones, there are people who just exude their own generosity of spirit, who are on their missions, going to check on loved ones, their homes, seeing what's left.

To give you a lay of land for a couple of seconds before we introduce you to our new friend Susan. We're in Taikini (ph) Highway. Fred, this is the only way to get into Lahaina, into the disaster zone. We're about 1,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean. And you know, it's an orderly process. Cars are stopping every now and

then. People are coming up to us and they want to tell us their stories.

A couple od seconds ago we spoke to a woman named Susan. And I just asked her, Susan, you know, we're broadcasting to Europe, Africa, the mainland of the United States. Tell everybody watching why this isn't just a postcard, but your home and why we all need to care about what is unfolding this now slow-motion disaster.

Fred, listen to what she told us, it's about 40 seconds. Just listen up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN SLOBODNJAK, LAHAINA RESIDENT: When I drove through on Friday, I had no clue what I was going through. I got so -- everything is gone. I worked at the chart house in 1991. It is flat to the ground. There are houses that I used to live in in Lahaina that I don't even know where they were. And you know, I lost friends in there. They were going back to get their animals, you know, and she died.

So I mean, you know, it's really said that just people come over and you know I heard there was a snorkeling boat looking at Lahaina town.

Give them respect. You know, it's so bad. You know people died here. You know, people -- I mean it's not just a vacation -- not just a place for vacation. We live here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: So Fred, we play that as we gaze over the Pacific Ocean just to show you, you know, the dramatic juxtaposition of what we're dealing with here.

This is one of the most beautiful spots on the planet. Again, about 1,000 feet above the Pacific Ocean. How people are getting to check on their loved ones, to check what is left, in the middle of this lush jungle.

We're going to push in here again to show you the huge contrast from the backup that we saw yesterday when people were figuring out how to begin the next chapter of their lives here in Maui.

But again, going back to what we just heard, when people are on their missions to try to deliver supplies, to try to figure out, you know, how to go on, every now and then you just hear the realization that things will never be the same.

What we're looking at right here, this is one of the officers we've become friends with over the past hour. She's just making sure these are Lahaina residents, not people who are trying to unfortunately loot, take advantage of the situation.

So Fred, we're going to be here for the rest of the afternoon -- or I should say it's still morning here. Check on people, but I think that is what people need to understand who are so far away from where we are right now. This is just beginning, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Yes. I mean you could see it in Susan's face. You could hear it in her voice. I mean this is, you know it's painstaking. It's heartbreaking. It's torturous. It really is.

All right. Mike Valerio --

VALERIO: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: -- thank you so much.

All right. We're going to talk further about, you know, this whole experience for Hawaiians there and the impact that it's making, how the people of Hawaii are processing this horrific tragedy, unimaginable catastrophe.

Naka Nathaniel, he's joining me live from Honolulu. And he's an opinion writer for Honolulu's "Civil Beat". Naka, I'm so glad you can be with us, sadly after these kinds of circumstances. You just heard Susan's voice, if you weren't able to see, you know, her face on a monitor there.

And I imagine you can relate and all of your fellow Hawaiians can relate to the devastation of experiencing this. And then contrast that with people who are only seeing Hawaii as a beautiful destination, a vacation location. But this is residents, and this hits hard. Tell me what you're thinking and feeling.

NAKA NATHANIEL, OPINION WRITER, HONOLULU CIVI BEAT: Yes. There's an unbelievable sadness as people have said. It's kind of been soul- crushing to see the news as it's developed over this week here in Hawaii.

[14:24:57]

NATHANIEL: And to be perfectly honest, you know, the anger is starting to bubble up, you know, as we keep on hearing more and more reports about, you know, the absolute failures, you know, with leadership.

And then it's also -- this has been a generational, you know, problem that's been developing.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And before I ask you about that generational problem, take me back to -- recently understand on Thursday, you were on a kayak, right, amongst friends. And you were not far from Maui. I don't know if that was your destination or if you were, you know, conducting business of another sort.

But tell me what you were doing, what you experienced, what happened.

NATHANIEL: Yes, actually, it was the Kauai High Canoe Club. And we had been practicing to make a channel crossing to cross the Alanuiahaha Channel (ph) at the beginning of next month.

And yesterday -- we had been fund-raising and we decided in practicing. And yesterday we decided that, you know, it's not appropriate for us to do this. And this is an ancient crossing that (INAUDIBLE) and we wanted to honor, you know, our ancestors by re- doing this crossing.

But instead we've taken the money that we fund-raised and we've given it to the relief efforts.

WHITFIELD: And then what are you hearing from people in and around Lahaina.

NATHANIEL: So many people, so many friends have done just what Susan said. It's like they've seen the places where they've worked burned to the ground, they've seen the places where they've lived burned to the ground. And so many of them are having -- we have such tenuous contact with people in Hawaii. I was talking with someone, you know, her brother works for the fire department. She hadn't heard. She just got one quick text message from him just saying, hey, I'm ok. You know, that's all they have -- that's all the bandwidth that they have, you know, to get messages out.

And people are just -- you know, there's so much worry. You know, I haven't heard from somebody in 36 hours. And just the ability to contact people this has led -- you know, if you don't know, you worry.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And this is a colossal, colossal loss for individuals culturally, for Hawaiians and all that Lahaina represents. But you had just said something at the top of this interview about generational loss. I mean this is sort of a microcosm of that. I mean this is much more magnified but you said over time there has been generational loss. Talk to me about that.

NATHANIEL: So what's happened here, unfortunately is -- and you go back and hear the old stories about people who used to live in Maui. And there's an island just off the coast of Maui called Kohoolave (ph) and that was used for at first for sheep farming, and then for the military used it as a bombing site. And it devastated, deforested the place.

And the stories come back from Maui that the southern coast of Maui where Lahaina and Tihei (ph) and all the other resorts are now located used to be lush, used to be a beautiful, beautiful wetland, kind of like the tropical, you know, paradise that so many people, you know, imagine.

And instead, what's happened is because of the deforestation that's happened there, the morning clouds that gather, you know, and provide rain for that area are no longer there. So it's become dry. And dry is great if you want to plan your Hawaiian vacation. Who wants to spend their time indoors, you know, getting soaked like we normally do?

And so that's one of the things that's happened here is that, you know, this perception of what makes Hawaii so beautiful, is the stuff that has also made, you know, put Hawaii in such a precarious place.

WHITFIELD: Oh. And then I also, you know, read that you are making an appeal, you know, on another level. And you wrote an opinion article for the "L.A. Times", and your plea is directed at Californians. What would you like them to do?

NATHANIEL: So, I love Californians. They're wonderful cousins. California is our sister state. But so much of what has happened here in Hawaii, the overdevelopment, the heavy tourism that we had just been -- we are small, we are remote. And like I said, we love our California cousins. We're full of aloha for them.

But the economy that they've brought over here, the level of opportunism, you know, really has damaged our state. And what's happened here is that native Hawaiians are no longer -- there are more native Hawaiians now living outside of Hawaii than live in Hawaii.

In fact I just covered the Council on Native Hawaiian Advancements Annual Convention. We held it in Las Vegas this year because there are more people living in the -- living in the continental United States than are living in Hawaii.

WHITFIELD: And quickly, why is that? Economics?

(CROSSTALK)

NATHANIELS: Because it's more -- yes. So it's economics, you know. Native Hawaiians, especially, can no longer live here. My father's generation had to leave because they just could not keep up with the cost of living. The generation right after his also left because they could not keep up with the cost of living.

[14:30:03]

And people in my generation are barely hanging on. We can't even talk about, you know, what comes next, because most of the next generation are now living in the continental United States.

WHITFIELD: Hence the generational loss that you're speaking of and now, a continued erosion of that, sadly.

Naka Nathaniel, thanks so much for being with us. And we wish you, and all of your neighbors, friends, loved ones there in all of Hawaii, particularly Lahaina, the very best.

NATHANIEL: Mahalo and aloha, Fredricka. Appreciate it.

WHITFIELD: Mahalo.

All right. Coming up, two children including a newborn among seven people killed in Russian attacks in southern Ukraine. We'll take you live to Ukraine as fighting intensifies.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:35:19]

WHITFIELD: A 23-day-old among the seven killed in Russian strikes in Kherson in Ukraine's southern region according to a Ukrainian official. Her 12-year-old brother was also among the dead. Over in Kupiansk, officials there say at least 36 children have been evacuated in the area as Russian shelling intensifies.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Dnipro, Ukraine.

So, Nick, what more can you tell us of this attack in Kherson?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Kherson in the south of Ukraine has been the regular targets of Russian artillery, hitting it seems civilian areas regularly over the past month. Remember it was liberated in November of last year.

And so, there's been the occasional Ukrainian military buildup around the area. And possibly Russian responses to their losses in the southern part of Ukraine along the counteroffensive front line. It may occasionally involved firing artillery.

But still, this particularly ghastly incident involves, as you say, a 23-day-old baby girl called, Sophia. Her 12-year-old brother, Artium (ph), they were killed alongside their mother and father when shelling hit their home. As you say, four of seven people who died in that one incident.

But I should point out, children now repeatedly the people were talking about in terms of Ukrainian civilian life being lost. Startling, someone so young could be killed by something so indiscriminate are as artillery fire. You also mentioned Kupiansk, different part of Ukraine the northeast near the city of Kharkiv, close to the Russian border to some degree. We've seen over the past days a mandatory evacuation for children because the intensity of shell fire against that particular city liberated like Kherson was as well, but being repeatedly hit. At one point in one day by over 500 shells -- say Ukrainian officials.

At the same time, Russia itself suggesting that Belgorod and Kursk regions are being attacked by unmanned aerial vehicles fired by Ukraine, but also intercepted, too. They've also just yesterday been dealing with the aftermath of what they say was a foiled Ukrainian missile attack on the Kerch bridge, billion dollar piece of instructive that links the mainland to occupied Crimea peninsula, but legally it's part of Ukraine.

Russia's launches here are very much about drones or missiles being -- losses about children, some as young as just over three weeks old being killed by indiscriminate Russian artillery fire -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Wow, absolutely horrible.

All right. Nick Paton Walsh, thank you so much in Ukraine.

Still ahead, the Republican presidential race playing out at the Iowa state fairgrounds. Former President Donald Trump didn't spend a whole lot of time on the ground. But it was long enough to get some digs in on a certain rival. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:42:31] WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

Former President Donald Trump's trolling Florida governor, Ron DeSantis.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

WHITFIELD: All right. Yesterday, the former president was met with cheers at the legendary Iowa state fair with an entourage of congressmen from Florida who have endorsed Trump over their own Governor DeSantis. And this comes on the heels of several bad weeks for DeSantis -- of campaign shake ups, low fund raising estimates, and sinking poll numbers.

CNN's Steve Contorno joining me right now with more on all this.

Steve, so Trump was only at the fair for a short time. DeSantis was there for hours working the crowd. Didn't give him a boost, DeSantis that is with Iowa voters?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Well, Fredricka, his team walked away from this weekend encouraged with this performance in a very important state. And everything you mentioned is accurate about the problems his campaign has had over the past month, but they are very encouraged by what they saw this weekend and they still think there's plenty of between now and January when these caucusgoers really start organizing for who they're going to support in Iowa.

So, yes, there have been troubles, but there's also a lot to take away from this weekend. He pressed a lot of flesh. He was very visible with his young family. That's a dynamic that they're going to continue to play up that he has the generational argument between him and the former president.

And he had an opportunity to spend some time with the state's very popular Republican governor. He's going to be spending a lot of time in Iowa trying to convince these Iowa caucus-goers to get behind him.

But then as you mentioned, Donald Trump reminded a lot of people about why he remains the front runner in this race. He had a very large crowd there to see him speak. Yes, he only spent a little bit of time in Iowa for this event. But when he was there he was very well- received.

And he was also bracketing his campaign, bracketing DeSantis's events so that when DeSantis was speaking, he was often getting heckled, there was a plane flying overhead with a banner that said, be likable, Ron.

I think this is the dynamic you're going to see going forward, where you're going to have DeSantis recognizing that he's going to have to grind out a victory if he is going to win. He's going to have to make a lot of appearances and these states.

[14:45:04] And his campaign says they're prepared to do just that. They're building a grassroots operation that can support him through the summer and the fall, and into when people are actually voting.

And Trump in the meantime when he's not --when his calendars not clogged up with all his legal challenges, you're going to see him sort of swooping into the states from time to time, reminding voters why they still like him, why he remains so dynamic in such a powerful figure in the GOP.

So, as much as there was a lot for both sides to take away from this weekend, I'm sure they're going to look back at it and say, this is a good start, this is good for us to build going forward into the debates, and the fall, I think what we really saw is the table getting set for what we're going to see between these two candidates, these two front runners in the race going forward, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Indeed. Steve Contorno, thanks so much for breaking it down for us.

All right. Straight ahead, coming up, a police raid on a small town Kansas newspaper owner's office and home. He calls it chilling, and it's raising troubling questions about press freedom and constitutional rights. Details on what prompted the raid, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:50:47]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

In Marion, Kansas, a story about a small town politics erupting into a big story about First Amendment rights.

On Friday, the town's police raided the home and office of the local newspaper owner. He believes it was in connection to a story he published on a local business owner and called the raid chilling. Authorities countered that they were investigating a case of what they say is possible identity theft.

CNN's Paulo Sandoval has the details for us.

So, Polo, which is it?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred.

So, one press freedom group is maintaining that Fridays raid targeting the Marion county record. It's about 60 miles north of Wichita, where you will find that it not only violates federal law but also the First Amendment.

Eric Meyer, who spoke to CNN, he's the owner of this publication, and he tells us that the Marion County Police Department raided both his home and his publication's office last week. He added that police also seized computers, cell phones, also other materials as part of this investigation. Meyer suggesting that this was partially triggered by a story that he published last week.

And in it, it mentioned Kari Newell, the owner of a local coffee shop. Mayer explained that he and his colleague received a tip about her allegedly driving without a valid driver's license. In his story last week, Meyer reported that after consulting with an attorney, they -- instead of publishing, they notified local law enforcement that the newspaper had, in fact, received some sensitive information about Newell.

So, for that report, police then notified Newell. And so, what eventually followed that was the issuing of a search warrant that alleged violations of identity theft and authorized a seizure of documents or any material pertaining to Newell. Newell, for her part, telling CNN that she was, quote, flabbergasted when she learned about the raid and that she denied knowing that it was even in the works.

Meyer, for his part, claiming that law enforcement did not provide an explanation about the reason for the search and only handed him a copy of the warrant. And during the search, we should note that Meyer's 98- year-old mother, a co-owner of the record, was home. Over the weekend, Meyer telling our colleagues that she died this weekend and he believes it was from of the stress that was brought on by the raid, though the cause of death has not yet been confirmed.

The Marion County police chief has not provided any details to CNN, only saying that he was confident that the judicial system that's being questioned through the investigation will be, quote, vindicated, he said. CNN has also reached out to the Marion County magistrate who actually signed that search warrant, in question, Fred. We're still waiting to hear back.

But, really, the essence of the story is that this small Kansas town now become the focal point when it comes to the conversation about the First Amendment.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, it's unbelievable detail at the same time. It is very confusing.

All right. You did a great job explaining it.

SANDOVAL: It is. Thank you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Wow, the circumstances are confusing.

Polo Sandoval, thank you so much.

All right. Looking forward to a way to do good for your body and your community? In today's "Staying Well", we'll introduce you to the Swedish fitness craze that's a real win-win.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN MICHAEL GENER, L.A. PLOGGING FOUNDER: Plogging comes from the Swedish term "plocka up", which means to pick up, and "jogga" which means to jog. And combining those two words, plogging was formed. It started in Sweden and I just decided to try it out in L.A. and kind

of try to find a community that did not exist. So I started my own. You jog and you pick up trash along the way.

I love to work out and I really love my city. So I described a plastic bag. I wore my running gear and I just went jogging. That small thrash bag filled up so quick. I ran three blocks and it was already full.

So I gathered a group of friends. We got bigger trash bags. We started it jogging around. We cleaned up the city. All you need is your running gear and a desire to make a change.

DR. SAJU MATHEW, PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN: Plogging involves jogging, but you have to stop and bend over.

[14:55:00]

You have to pick up litter around your neighborhood. So, it does involve a lot of core strengthening. You are working on your back, your legs. It's muscle strength training. A lot of people have back issues. Definitely check with your doctor.

GENER: It's not my trash, but it is our planet.

Thank you for coming out!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Hello again everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm in Washington, D.C. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We are following more major developments into the investigation into Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. In exclusive new reporting, sources tell CNN that Georgia prosecutors now have text messages and emails directly connecting Trump's legal team to a voting system breach in Coffee County, Georgia in January of 2021.