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CNN International: Trump and 18 Others Indicted in 2020 Georgia Election Case; Hawaiians Helping Hawaiians Recover from Deadly Disaster; 80+ Million Under Heat Alerts Across U.S. South and West. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired August 15, 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]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church. Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: All I want to do this, I just want to find 11,780 votes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The indictment brings felony charges against Donald John Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a whole trailer of information that I think America's going to get to see.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got a very different player that just stepped on the field with a very different playbook and very different sense of what justice looks like.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: It is Tuesday, August 15th, 4:00 a.m. here in Atlanta. Where former President Donald Trump and 18 codefendants have been indicted for allegedly attempting to overturn Georgia's election results in 2020. The 41 count document was unsealed just hours ago. Revealing all 19 people acted as part of the quote, conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome in favor of Donald Trump.

Those names include several high-profile individuals from Trump's time in office, who have ten days to voluntarily surrender. They include former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman and top Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark among others. Trump faces 13 charges, including conspiracy to commit false statements and writings and conspiracy to commit forgery in the first degree. A district attorney broke down the reason for the indictment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FANI WILLIS, FULTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: The states role in this process is essential to the functioning of our democracy. Georgia, like every state, has laws that allow those who believe that results of an election are wrong. Whether because of intentional wrongdoing or unintentional error, to challenge those results in our state courts.

The indictment alleges that rather than abide by George's legal process for election challenges, the defendants engaged in a criminal racketeering enterprise to overturn Georgia's presidential election result.

An indictment is only a series of allegations based on a grand jury's determination of probable cause to support the charges. It is now the duty of my office to prove these charges in the indictment beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: And Fani Willis says that she will push for a trial date within the next six months. CNN's Sara Murray has more from outside the following Fulton County courthouse.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN U.S. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Former President Donald Trump officially facing his fourth indictment. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis bringing charges against the former president here in Georgia. Donald Trump was one of 19 defendants who were charged as part of this case that was unsealed late Monday evening. Now Donald Trump is facing 13 charges. And again, he's one of 19 defendants who are facing a very serious racketeering charge in this state.

Among the other defendants are very prominent names who were a part of Donald Trump's inner circle. Like his former attorney Rudy Giuliani and his former White House Chief of Staff Mark meadows.

Now in a press conference the Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis reiterated that all of these defendants are innocent until proven guilty. She also said she is going to ask a judge to try to push the case to go to trial within the next six months. And she intends to try all 19 of these defendants together. Which of course could make her hopes of getting this trial speedily somewhat of a pipe dream but we will see how that goes.

In a statement, Trump's attorneys called the events that unfolded shocking and absurd.

[04:05:00]

They went on to attack the credibility of the witnesses who appear before the grand jury that handed up these indictments. And now we wait to see Donald Trump and his other codefendants turn themselves in. The district attorney said they will have until August 25th to surrender voluntarily.

Sarah Murray, CNN Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: So let's discuss this now with Bernarda Villalona, a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor. Appreciate you joining us.

BERNARDA VILLALONA, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY AND FORMER PROSECUTOR: Thank you for having me.

CHURCH: And of course, we do want to break down this historic fourth indictment against former U.S. President Donald Trump. He and 18 others including Rudy Giuliani and Mark Meadows are criminally charged on 41 counts in connection with efforts to overturn Trump's defeat in the Georgia state election. Trump charged with 13 counts including violating the states Racketeering Act. So what is Trump's legal jeopardy here?

VILLALONA: Well right now Donald Trump faces a lot of exposure. Just like you stated, this is the fourth indictment that Donald Trump is facing in less than five months, the fourth indictment. But specifically here in Georgia, what he needs to be concerned about is that number one, we're dealing with state charges. What does that mean specifically to state charges? Is that no matter if Donald Trump wins the presidency or another Republican wins the presidency. They will not be able to pardon him on state charges.

Number two, because you are dealing with Georgia, the ability of having cameras in the courtroom is open. So we will be able to watch this televised trial. So he won't be able to push that narrative that he's been pushing throughout all of these indictment.

Third, the most prominent one, Rosemary, he is facing five years -- at least five years incarceration on the cap count of this indictment on the RICO charge and that is a mandatory five years to start. He's not able to get probation on that charge.

Why should he be concerned? Because there are 18 other dependence on the indictment. And those other 18 other defendants are also facing at least five years. And what does that mean? That there is pressure that's going to be applied on these other 18 individuals to do what, to flip. Why? Because they don't want to do jail time for Donald Trump. So the pressure is on who in his circle will breakdown and flip against them and make the case even stronger for this Georgia Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

CHURCH: Right, and as you point out, I mean, this is the critical challenge isn't it? I mean, they and he is facing jail time here, prison time. And as you mentioned, I mean, he's not going to be able to pardon himself because of the state charges. So let us talk about what path he has legally going forward when you consider the charges against him and the very strong evidence.

VILLALONA: Exactly. So as you can see from his campaign right now. His campaign are these criminal indictments. His campaign are these charges, are these allegations stemming across the country. So he's using this as his platform in trying to win the presidency.

Now why do I say that? Why is that important? Because he's trying to number one, jeopardize and dirty the jury pool in all of his cases. Meaning that he'll go into the courtroom, his attorneys. So even if the prosecution proved the case beyond a reasonable, he's going to try to argue for jury notification so his case can be acquitted all across the board. That's one way.

But the second way also, of course, he's trying to win it in the public media. Because at least for the federal charges, he has to hope that if he were to win, he'll be able to pardon himself. But like we said, when it comes to state charges, he's not able to do that.

Before he wasn't concerned because the New York charges, yes, those are state charges but he's not facing jail time in a sense that any judge with sentencing on also find business records, sentence him to any jail time.

So his only way out would be jury nullification. Number two, try to push the case out as much as he can. Or number three, try to point the finger at other people that are on this indictment. Whether they are named or unnamed. And also number five, to say look, they're coming after me. This is all politics that are trying to get me out of the running. This shouldn't be allowed. There's just so many ways that he's going to attack these prosecutions. But the question is, will he succeed on those? Because the deck is stacked against Donald Trump.

CHURCH: And Bernarda, in Georgia, it is up to the judge to set the date for this trial. But District Attorney Fani Willis says that she wants to try all 19 defendants together. And do that within the next six months.

[04:10:00]

How feasible is that do you think?

VILLALONA: So, you have to think, Rosemary, for all of the prosecutions that are taking place, each of the district attorneys offices and U.S. attorney's office by law they have to answer ready and they have to be ready within a certain amount of time. Because what happens if they don't answer ready? What happens if they let the clock tick out? Is that they face the possibility of having their case dismissed by law. So Fani Willis, as well as Alvin Bragg, as well as Jack Smith, they're all going to answer ready.

In terms of this prosecution in Georgia, Fani Willis has already done it and is doing it right now with trying over a dozen defendants in the YSL Young Thug prosecution, which is a RICO prosecution. So the numbers do not concern me. However, is it feasible to get a jury trial within six months? No, not at all. Because we are seeing it in plain view now live with the YSL trials. There has been very selection since January. We are in the month of August and they still don't have a jury. So I think it's highly unlikely that they will be able to try the Georgia case by -- within the next six months. My -- if I had to think, I think it's going to be the D.C. case. The federal case that's going to go first.

All right, Bernarda Villalona, thank you so much for joining, initiated.

VILLALONA: Thank you for having me.

CHURCH: Well the scope of the devastation from the Maui fires is coming in to sharper focus. The latest on what it might cost to rebuild in one of the most expensive corners of the country. Then a family escapes the flames and ends up trapped in the ocean for hours with fires on both sides while they watch their neighborhood burn.

Also ahead, more excessive heat warnings in parts of the U.S. Though some areas will see some relief. Our meteorologist Jennifer Gray has the forecast coming up.

JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Millions under heat alerts once again for today. But we'll let you know which areas are actually getting a little bit of a break from the heat finally. All that coming up after the break.

[04:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Deadly landslides in northern India triggered by days of heavy rain. Officials say at least 60 people have been killed so far and the death toll is expected to rise. India's weather service says some areas got more than 16 inches or almost half a meter of rain in 24 hours. A red alert was declared in two states. And the government says relief and rescue operations are ongoing.

The death toll from the Maui wildfires is now up to 99 and will likely rise further as crews sift through what is left of the tourist town of Lahaina. Thousands of structures were destroyed, most of them homes. But only around 25 percent of the fire zone has been searched. And there are questions about how prepared the island was for a major disaster. None of the warning alarms went off. The governor has said that they were essentially immobilized by the extreme heat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH GREEN, HAWAII GOVERNOR: It's a tragedy beyond tragedies. We of course never expected to see this anywhere in America. But we are, you know, burdened by the circumstance of climate change and the tragedy at the same time. That's why this fire occurred for the most part. We're going to get to the bottom of it though -- I'll tell everyone. I've personally authorized a comprehensive review. So we have every answer going forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And Moody's Analytic predicts the fire will cause a severe local session on Maui. Estimating the economic toll will be astronomical and could run between 3 billion and $7.5 billion. CNN's Bill Weir shows us how fellow Hawaiians are trying to help.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Me and Brittany will lead the front. We got right behind us. Just stay close. WEIR (voice-over): When Charlie and Brittany Fleck saw pictures of the devastation on Lahaina, the couple from Maui knew they had to do something.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come, come, we need to give you cash. We got cash.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You need money?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, we need it.

UNKNOWN CHILD: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think there's a big ice truck coming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got help on the way.

WEIR (voice-over): So they put out a plea on Facebook, and when thousands of dollars began rolling in, they began handing it out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're coming for you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Aloha.

WEIR (voice-over): But that didn't seem like enough, so they organized a caravan and sweet-talked their way past red tape and checkpoints. And when they finally saw what Lahaina looks like for the first time, they wept.

BUT just on the edge of the burn scars we find an inspiring example of Hawaiian togetherness.

WEIR: Cold towel, are you kidding? That is aloha hospitality. Thank you.

ARCHIE KALEPA, HALL OF FAME WATERMAN: There you go man. Right there over your neck. Keep you nice and cool.

WEIR: OK, I appreciate it.

WEIR (voice-over): Archie Kalepa is a Hall of Fame surfer and lifeguard with Maui roots that go back nine generations.

WEIR: This is your actual house here or?

KALEPA: Yeah, this is my actual home. And we were really lucky because our neighbors, they were here fighting the fire right at this corner. And the fire department said, this is our last stand. We're going to hold the line right here.

WEIR (voice-over): While there's so much frustration over the official response so far, he says authorities deserve some understanding given the size of the disaster.

KALEPA: This right here is a crime scene. And so, what people don't understand is the government has to do due diligence before they start moving in.

WEIR: So, it's a humanitarian response in the middle of a working crime scene.

KALEPA: Exactly.

[04:20:00]

WEIR (voice-over): But at another relief pod on a beach nearby, frustration has turned to anger.

ALIKA PENEKU, VOLUNTEER: You know, everybody's like, oh, you know, they going to come and help. They going to come and help. I don't give (BLEEP). Nobody came for help to us. You know what I mean? We rely on people like you guys that get compassion like we do, you know what I mean, that willing to help us because please, we need help. We need help. We need the next step. This is just the first inning. This is the first inning of what we're facing.

KALEPA: Tourism is our number one source of income. I would hope that our representatives, our politicians, our government would ask the people from here, when can we open? They should not be telling us, oh, we want to open six months from now. The truth of the matter is when you look at the overall devastation, we are not going to be ready to allow people to see what we're living through in six months.

WEIR: There are a lot of conflicting emotions around the tourism industry among Hawaii locals after reports that some tourists did not heed shelter in place orders while the fire was raging and they clocked up the evacuation routes. And some tourists actually went snorkeling right on Lahaina Beach a couple days after the fire which was deeply offensive to many locals.

There's also the question about what started this fire. We were up in here, the Kula neighborhood, up country from Lahaina where several hundred homes are burned. They say it was the powerlines that brought this down. These were still hot well after the fire started they say. And that is a lot of the reason a class action lawsuit has just been filed against Hawaiian Electric over the weekend. Stock in that company dropped 40 percent on the news. So a lot of questions about how it started, where the warnings were for locals and where the help is now. As the homeowners here told me, it would be nice to just see one person in uniform come check on us.

Bill Weir, CNN, Maui.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Meanwhile, we are hearing what it took to survive a fire that traveled an estimated one mile per minute. 19-year-old Noah Tomkinson, his younger brother and his mother raced to their cars as the flames spread. They were caught in traffic. So they did the one thing they thought would save their lives. Sprint into the ocean. Where they spent about five hours before they were taken to safety.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NOAH TOMKINSON, MAUI RESIDENT: It was just so suffocating. The water -- or the air was so thick, so heavy with smoke. And like I said in the video, if you look to the left, is was on fire, if you look to the right, it was on fire. I think at that moment I was just realizing that we were going to be in the water for a while.

DAVID TOMKINSON, FATHER: They spent, you know, about 12 hours start to finish from when they had to escape to when they finally got rescued. And then later they finally made it to us. It was the place where they were able to get a cell phone to go up on top of the building. And they were able to be high enough to get a signal. And Noah calmly called me -- as I was talking to my neighbors saying I don't know what's going on. I don't know where my kids are. I haven't heard from them. And while I was telling this story to my neighbor, Noah called me. And first thing, calmly he says to me is, dad, we're OK. And that was just a huge relief.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Terrifying moments for so many survivors. And if you would like to help the survivors of the Maui fire, just go to CNN.com/impact. And there you will find a list of vetted aid groups working on relief efforts.

More than 80 million Americans across the South and West will be under heat alerts for Tuesday. While some places are getting a small break, the extreme heat is set to return later this week. CNN meteorologist Jennifer Gray has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRAY: Heat alerts are still in place across the Gulf Coast and extending into the Southeast. But you can see a large area that we've had heat alerts in place for days and even weeks on end has really gone away. So we will get a brief break from the heat for those areas for a day or so. But along the Gulf Coast, the heat will still be alive and well.

Also the Pacific Northwest, the heat is building there. Could set records across this region, as well as the deep South in the days ahead. Look at the highs, 103 in Portland, Boise 103, Vegas 103. We're looking at temperatures around 102 in Houston later today, New Orleans at 100 degrees. Dallas is actually 95 degrees. That's about ten degrees cooler than we were Sunday and Monday.

So we are going to see above average temperatures not only remaining across the South but building into the Plains and even the upper Midwest while below average temperatures will start to build in across much of the West.

[04:25:00]

So more than 230 potential records, both maximum temperature and high minimum temperatures will be set this week. Mostly across the South and Pacific Northwest.

So Houston, staying hot. Temperatures in the triple digits, normal high is 95. New Orleans staying around 10 degrees above normal for Tuesday. We drop a little bit Wednesday and Thursday. Dallas hits 109 on Thursday. So after a small break from the heat -- if you can call 95 a break from the heat -- 109 on Thursday. So the temperatures will be building. The heat will be building over the course of the week.

So it feels like temperatures this afternoon 112 for Baton Rouge, 108 in Houston feeling like 106 in Panama City. High temperatures across the Pacific Northwest hitting 90 degrees Tuesday and Wednesday in Seattle. Should be at 78 degrees this time of year. 103 in Portland, should be at 83. And hitting 107 in Bedford, should be at 92 this time of year.

Also, a severe threat later today, damaging winds and large hail. This is mainly for the Southeast. We do have a level two out of five across North Carolina and Virginia. And here's the forecast radar. You can see those storms building throughout the day, mainly in the afternoon we'll see that threat come alive for that region.

So the forecast rainfall, looking at about two inches of rain and some areas could see up to four. Just really depends on where those strong storms set up. And if some of those are slow-moving, we'll see more rain from those.

So again, the heat for today once again and the severe threat this afternoon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still ahead, the political ramifications of Donald Trump's indictment. Will the charges sway Republican voters in the next election? We will ask a political analyst to weigh in.

[04:30:00]