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Southern California Braces For Tropical Storm Hilary As Northern Mexico Is Pummeled; Trump Expected To Surrender At Fulton County Jail; Mark Meadows Seeks Dismissal Of Georgia Charges In Federal Court; Bill Weir Reports About Fire-Ravaged Maui; Jim Acosta Interviews Stephanie Grisham And Olivia Troye About The 2024 Presidential Race; Quake Shakes Southern California. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired August 20, 2023 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

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JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington. Good evening. We do begin this hour with the breaking news on Tropical Storm Hilary gaining speed and churning towards Southern California. It's about to become the first tropical storm to hit Southern California since 1939. Flash flood warnings are up across the region.

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And look at that dramatic footage. This is what Hilary unleashed on Mexico's Baja, California. One person in this coastal town died when their vehicle was swept away. Weather forecasters are warning those in the path of the storm, be prepared for catastrophic and life- threatening floods. We're covering the storm from all angles, from the weather center, to the cities in its path.

The warning that blankets much of Southern California today. Stay off the roads if you can. Let me show you this. The small mudslide temporarily shut down a lane of the 14 Freeway north of Los Angeles. Crews were able to clear it quickly. Stephanie Elam is in Palm Springs, California for us where the weather is starting to come down on top of her. Stephanie, officials there took the precaution of closing some roads hours ago. How are things going where you are?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Now, we're really starting to feel the brunt of this, starting to make its way here. Jim, I've been only been outside for five minutes and if you take a look at me, I am pretty soaked. I've not even -- five minutes, I don't think I've been standing outside here.

This is what's coming and what they're concerned about is down this street. This is a major way into Palm Springs and they have shut it off, closed it off because they're concerned about flooding, something they say they know this road does. Now that we're sitting outside here, it's way more windy than it was earlier.

I can also tell you that there is a lot more rain. And what I can also see is that this rain is running down the street and they say that the water down there can take out cars and that is why they don't want people out here and driving on this road even though that's a very quick way to get to Interstate 10 and to get out in and out of Palm Springs.

But what we are facing here is basically a year's amount of rain falling in about a couple of days. So, on average in this area you get about five and a half inches of rain and it's not out of the question that it could be more than that falls from the storm as it makes its way through here.

Throughout the region, we are starting to see more alerts. We are all just got emergency alerts on our phones because of flooding potential in Los Angeles County, where most of us live, that work on this team here. And so, we are seeing that flooding is starting to permeate into lots of areas, and that's leading to that mudslide. It's leading to some more debris flows.

And also, one of the other things we're very concerned about are unhoused populations and that water rushing through areas where they normally can stay because it's dry, but it's now a very dangerous area for them to be. So, we're seeing a lot of this starting to pick up and really feeling the impact here in Southern California, and here in Palm Springs we are expecting to feel the brunt of it and it's just amazing to have this much water falling, falling on us in August. It's just something that does not happen here, Jim.

ACOSTA: Yeah, and all the more reason for there to be all these warnings for folks who please, please, please be careful because these conditions can worsen very quickly. Stephanie Elam, we'll let you get dry again. We'll get back to you over the next few hours. Thanks so much. Really appreciate it.

CNN meteorologist Jennifer Gray is in the Weather Center with a new advisory that was issued just moments ago. Jennifer, we saw those conditions there with Stephanie Elam just a few moments ago. This is what we've been warning people about for the last 48 hours, that these bands are going to arrive and the rain is going to come down in big, heavy doses. What are you learning?

JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. We're seeing rainfall rates at half an inch to an inch an hour, and you have to think some of these areas only get about two inches of rain per year. And so, we know the terrain in southern California, the topography, we just can't absorb the water. And so, you're going to see it rushing through the streets, rushing through these valleys as well.

We have some mountainous terrain. It's a huge concern over the next 12 hours, especially winds are down to 60 mph, gusts of 70. It's quickly moved moving at 23 mph. We've already had almost 4 inches of rain San Diego County. San Bernardino County has picked up about 3 inches, L.A. County about 2 and the rain is still coming down very heavily across these areas.

We have flash flood warnings for Los Angeles. We have flash flood warnings east of San Diego and so while the heaviest downpours are occurring, that's where we're going to be at the greatest risk over the next few hours.

[17:05:00]

So, the tropical storm will continue to head to the north, cross into Nevada, head into portions of Idaho. This is going to create lots of rainfall, not only for Southern California, but pretty far reaching. We're talking about widespread amounts at 2 to 4 inches. But some of the National Weather Service offices in Southern California have forecasted as much as 10 inches of rain for some isolated locations. And so that's going to mean catastrophic damage for some of these areas.

And not to take away from the Pacific, but the Atlantic has lit up this weekend. We now have Franklin that's going to impact Dominican Republic and Haiti. We have tropical storm watches in effect now. This one's going to be a little bit slower of a moving storm, making landfall most likely on Tuesday, Jim, but I wanted to quickly mention that as well.

ACOSTA: No, absolutely. And the other thing we have to caution people about in Southern California is they might say yes, this is a tropical storm. When I watch the storms come in on the gulf coast, tropical storms not always a big deal, but in these mountainous areas and these areas that are prone to flash flooding, I mean a lot of rain like what we saw with Stephanie Elam, that can cause big problems in a hurry, right?

GRAY: Oh, you're right. I mean, east of the Rockies, two inches of rain can fall in an afternoon thunderstorm and its no big deal. In the southwest, it's a completely different story. When you're talking about these desert locations that just cannot absorb the water. You will see those creeks and riverbeds quickly, quickly rising. It can be life threatening in the blink of an eye.

ACOSTA: All right, Jennifer Gray, thank you very much. To that point, the storm's impact is already being felt in Mexico. A dramatic video shows floodwaters, look at this, just ripping through the town of Santa Rosalia along the Baja Peninsula. At least one person died after being swept away in his car. Journalist David Shortell is tracking the storm for us from Mexico City. David, this is just some unbelievable video that we're watching right now. And it just underlines the point about how these flash floods can just move faster than people expect.

DAVID SHORTELL, JOURNALIST: Yeah, that's right, Jim. Some really compelling, horrific images coming out of the Baja Peninsula. Now, this is Baja, California, northwest Mexico, where the storm has just been moving up the coast. And earlier this afternoon, it did make landfall in San Quentin. That was the first landfall for Hilary. And it was pummeling this coastal community, 65-mile-an-hour winds. That's storm surge coming off the ocean there, really treating these towns very, very badly.

Of course, there's a lot more Mexico to go through as this storm moves quickly up the peninsula towards California, where it's expected to cross over into the U.S. at around three or 4:00 local time. On its way, you have Ensenada, that's Mexico's important wine region where there's a lot of tourists, not just from Mexico, but from the U.S., coming to visit. And then, of course, you have Tijuana, the very important border city. That's of course a hub for migrants making their way towards the U.S.

A lot of concern in Tijuana now. This is a hilly city where there are a lot of mudslides. The infrastructure there is poor. You have residences built into these hills. So, authorities in Tijuana on high alert and across the state they have told folks stay home do not get in your cars. We did have one death earlier in the small coastal town of Santa Rosalia where you saw those awful images. The roads really turned into rivers there. Four inches of rain falling in just a few hours. That's about four times the daily average that this small town gets in August.

This was a man who was stuck in his car. It was swept away. Now, authorities said they were able to rescue several other people but they're saying stay home and if you can't stay home there are shelters dozens open throughout the states and at least a hundred people now taking cover in these shelters, according to the governor of Baja, California.

Now, it's not that unusual for storms in this part of Mexico, not quite as rare as California, but when storms form in the Pacific, they move typically towards the east. They hit the cold waters of the Baja Peninsula and they'll turn towards the east. This storm, of course, ignoring history, marching quickly towards California and brutalizing Mexico on its way up there. Jim?

ACOSTA: All right, David Shortell, just really scary video there. People need to be careful with this storm as it moves up the coast. Thank you so much. Across Southern California city leaders and work crews are scrambling to get ready for what is sure to be a long night. Joining me now is Victor Gordo. He is the mayor of Pasadena, just outside of Los Angeles. Mr. Mayor, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

We saw Stephanie Elam, our correspondent in Palm Springs just a few moments ago. The rain is starting to come down there in pretty heavy doses. What do you expect in Pasadena over the next several hours?

VICTOR GORDO, MAYOR, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA: Well, thanks for having me, Jim, and thank you for helping us to spread the word so people can prepare themselves. We've had all city departments from the fire department to the health department to public works, preparing our infrastructure, getting ready to help residents of Pasadena and coordinating with other communities as well. We're anticipating quite a bit of rain. We're also concerned about our urban forest and trees falling over and affecting power lines. That's a major concern for us at the moment.

[17:10:03]

ACOSTA: And I'm just checking with my control room. Are we looking at live images right now from KABC in Los Angeles? It looks like a part of the freeway that we're looking at right now, you might not be able to see it on your screen, is experiencing some flooding. I suppose you're getting prepared for these kinds of conditions to worsen overnight. What's the message to people who are trying to get out on the roads?

GORDO: Well, the message to people is stay off the roads. We're concerned not only about freeways, but we're concerned about down power lines and trees. You know, the topography in the northern part of Los Angeles County where we're in is very mountainous, very hilly. And we're expecting a lot of runoffs. We're guarding against power outages and asking people to make sure they're prepared for power outages in the event they occur.

ACOSTA: And what precautions does the city have in place where you are? I mean, I have to think, I mean, does Pasadena even have a hurricane or tropical storm preparation plan on the shelf somewhere? I mean, did you have to dust that off? What's that like?

GORDO: Well, you know, because we're in earthquake country here in Pasadena, we were able to mobilize quickly. Our departments have experience in setting up an emergency operations center. I'm here in the emergency operations center with that staffed and open.

And we've prepared, you know, because of our topography, we've asked Public Works to look at all the channels, look at all the runoff areas, but we are still concerned and we're asking people now is the time for you to do your individual preparation and join your municipalities, not just in Pasadena, but throughout in ensuring that you're prepared. If you see any problems in your neighborhood, certainly call it in right away.

ACOSTA: All right, Pasadena Mayor Victor Gordo, thanks for taking the time to talk to us. We appreciate it.

Again, I want to focus our viewers' attention on what we're showing on screen right now. These images coming in from KABC, our affiliate in Los Angeles. You can see cars on this freeway. Not sure what freeway we're looking at, if I get that information, I'll pass it along. We're checking on that right now, but there are motorists right there trying to drive through a flooded freeway as we speak in Los Angeles, and that is the kind of situation you want to avoid.

If you get out on the roads and you try to drive through these kinds of conditions, your car, you might not be familiar with these kinds of driving conditions in Southern California, but your car could easily get swept away in a situation like this, so people have to be extremely careful if they're seeing water covered roadways like this. We're going to stay on top of this as these images come in, we'll bring them to you, check back with our correspondents or meteorologists and other top officials as we work our way through the evening. Much more coverage of Hilary just ahead.

Up next, Donald Trump's former chief of staff, Mark Meadows says the charges against him in Georgia should be thrown out. Why he argues he should have immunity.

And later, a stunning number. Hawaii's governor says over a thousand people are still unaccounted for after the Maui wildfires as survivors criticize the government's response. This as President Biden gets set to visit the island tomorrow. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom."

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[17:15:00]

ACOSTA: I want to alert our viewers we are keeping tabs on developments from a Tropical Storm Hilary as it makes its way through Southern California. You're looking at some live pictures right now on the side of the screen there of this coming in from KABC in Los Angeles. Flooded -- partially flooded freeway there that the water appears to be getting deeper by the minute.

We were just looking at this a few minutes ago and just between then and now conditions appear to be worsening and you can see right there as they're zooming in on that pickup. People are trying to drive through these flooded roadways. So, we'll stay on top of that, bring you the latest as it comes in.

In the meantime, we are following new developments in the Georgia election interference case involving former President Donald Trump and his allies. There's a new twist involving one of Trump's 18 co- defendants. His former White House Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows, is asking a federal court to dismiss all the charges against him, arguing that his alleged actions should be immune from state prosecution because he was acting in his capacity as a federal official at the time.

His request for dismissal comes as Georgia authorities prepare for the surrender of former President Donald Trump at the Fulton County Jail. That's where we find CNN's Isabel Rosales. Isabel Rosales, this is going to be just fascinating as the week unfolds. Do we know exactly when Trump will show up in Atlanta? I guess at this point it's not yet clear, but we have it sort of down to a general timeframe.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, we do have some reporting on that. According to a senior law enforcement source with knowledge of the surrender, former President Donald Trump will surrender himself here at the Fulton County Jail on Thursday or Friday. Friday, of course, marking D.A. Fani Willis' deadline for all 19 defendants to turn themselves in tomorrow, making it a week since that indictment came down.

Now sources tell CNN that Trump's team has already been in contact with the D.A. and those conversations are expected to continue into early next week, specifically conversations about the conditions of his appearance and the logistics of him surrendering. We've also been told by a spokesperson at the Secret Service that that agency has been on site here at the Fulton County Jail for weeks now in communications with the Fulton County Sheriff's Office and the city of Atlanta planning out not only Trump's surrender, but also his arraignment.

[17:19:56]

The sheriff here at Fulton County, Pat Labat, had said time and time again that he wants to make sure that everyone is treated equally here, specifically mugshots and fingerprinting. But it is likely and possible that in the nature of all this, that former President Trump will be treated just exactly the same due to those security precautions that are required for him and also high-profile defendants like Mark Meadows, the former White House Chief of Staff. So, it's likely that booking process for them will move much more swiftly. Jim?

ACOSTA: All right. Isabel Rosales, live for us, thank you very much. Joining me now in the studio CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen. Norm, let's get your reaction to this court filing from Mark Meadows. Does his argument hold water?

NORM EISEN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Jim, I think ultimately, Mark Meadows is going to have a very steep uphill climb on his effort to remove a case that is about violations of Georgia state law to federal court, and then to get the federal court he's asked to throw it out based on the supremacy clause of the Constitution.

And the problem for Meadows is the nature of the allegations here, because in order for a case to be removed under federal law, it has to fall within the outer perimeter of Meadow's official duties. And the things he's accused of doing are not official duties.

The president of the United States, certainly his chief of staff under the Constitution, have no role in counting the votes in Georgia or pressuring, as they're accused of doing in the D.A.'s indictment, pressuring Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger after the vote had been counted, recounted, certified to just find 11,780 votes. So that makes it tough on the removal standard.

Then under the Supremacy Clause, the test is, did Meadows have a duty to do it? Did he do no more than was necessary and proper under that duty? And was it authorized? And the problem there again is no real role for the feds and, of course, allegations of returning the peaceful transfer of power. That's the opposite of what the law authorizes.

ACOSTA: And as we await the surrender of Trump at the Fulton County jail, there's been a lot of talk about whether or not we're going to see him fingerprinted and mugshotted just like any criminal defendant who walks through and goes through the system in Fulton County. There has been some discussion as to whether or not you might not see Trump do that, but perhaps see the other co-defendants go through that process.

Would that be fair if he if he's given sort of special treatment and doesn't go through that process or should they, if you're going to do one, you have to do them all?

EISEN: Well, we've seen in all of the three prior criminal cases, New York and the two federal cases, that there are some exceptions made for the former president. Some of that is a security consideration, Jim, because the Secret Service, we've heard they're on site. Some of it is, frankly, a courtesy. It's probably not fair. We have the idea in the United States of one rule of law for everybody, no person above the law, but this is the least of the fairness consideration.

So, he will probably get some special treatment. I'm more concerned that the law be applied evenly to all of these defendants, presumed innocent until proven guilty, but that they all be treated the same way when it comes to pretrial, trial, and judgment.

ACOSTA: And yesterday I had a chance to talk to two constitutional scholars. Perhaps you've seen some of this. And they argue that because President Trump's actions to overturn the 2020 election, that he has already disqualified from being president again under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution. Let's listen to this and talk about it on the other side.

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MICHAEL LUTTIG, RETIRED FEDERAL JUDGE: That language in the Constitution, Jim, simply could not be any clearer. It is unmistakable in its application to the former president. The only thing that was not known until Professors Baude and Paulsen did their scholarly work is whether this was the actual meaning under the original understanding of the Constitution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Judge Luttig and Professor Lawrence Tribe there. I mean, they're world-renowned constitutional experts. When they talk, people listen. When you talk, people listen, Norm. What's your sense of it?

EISEN: Professor Tribe and Judge Luttig are friends and colleagues of mine. There's been so much trauma for the nation since January 6 on, but how fantastic that you have one of the preeminent liberal legal scholars and one of the preeminent conservative ones coming together.

[17:25:07]

And here I agree with them. The liberal legal scholars and one of the preeminent conservative ones coming together, and here I agree with them. The 14th of the amendment of the Constitution, Section 3 says that you're not eligible for to hold office in the United States if you commit insurrection or you give aid and comfort to insurrectionists. And there is such powerful evidence adduced by the January 6 committee out in plain sight of that proposition.

And now we have these two conservative scholars who've published a very important law review article, Baude and Paulsen, saying that's what the founders and framers of the country believed as well. So, I think we're going to see very substantial legal challenges to Donald Trump's right to appear on an election ballot.

ACOSTA: All right. We're going to have to watch for that. Norm Eisen, as always, we appreciate it. Thanks so much.

EISEN: Thanks.

ACOSTA: Good to talk to you, sir. Still ahead, a live update on Tropical Storm Hilary's path of destruction through Southern California as it barrels toward other southwestern states.

Plus, we're live in Hawaii where President Biden is traveling tomorrow to see the wildfire devastation firsthand. A staggering number of people are still missing, and some survivors say they feel abandoned. We'll talk about that next. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom."

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[17:29:59]

ACOSTA: We are following tropical storm Hilary's path of destruction as it makes its way into the southwestern United States. Just a few moments ago, we were showing you some footage of flooded roadways there in Southern California, L.A.

Take a look at this. This is the latest stuff coming in from KABC. It appears to be one of these coastal areas in L.A. and so much water, storm water, coming through this one section of beach that is washing a lot of this beach away as the shot pulls out. We were looking at this through the commercial break.

Um, it looks like it's happening again as we're on the air live right now, but you can see that storm water just rushing through a section of beach there in Los Angeles in the L.A. area and there you see that the path of tropical storm Hilary on the left side of your screen.

So, as that chopper shot from KABC widens there, you can see what this -- what this rainfall is doing to Southern California as it picks up, moves into the region, and this is going to continue to worsen over the next few hours.

We're going to stay on top of that, bring you the latest as it comes in, so stay tuned.

And in the meantime, this is what Hilary unleashed on Mexico's Baja California. If you haven't seen this footage yet, take a look at this. One person in this coastal town was killed when their vehicle was swept away.

More than nine million people, including those in downtown Los Angeles, are under a flash flood warning along the coast. Large swells being generated by Hilary are likely to create life-threatening surf and rip current conditions. So, everybody in that area, please be careful.

In the meantime, tomorrow, the president will travel to Hawaii and get a first-hand look at the damage from the deadly wildfires in Maui. The search to find and identify victims of the wildfires has been painstaking and slow.

Hawaii's governor today said the process will take several weeks and an army of search and rescue teams, along with dogs, begin to go through larger buildings in the devastated parts of Maui. The governor warned the devastation in some areas is so extensive, some remains may never be found.

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GOV. JOSH GREEN (D-HI): More than a thousand are unaccounted for, about a thousand fifty. It will take several weeks still. Some of the challenges are going to be extraordinary because of the temperature of the fire. The remains of those who have died in some cases may be impossible to recover meaningfully. So, they're going to be people that are lost forever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: CNN chief climate correspondent Bill Weir joins us now. Bill, some pretty sobering words from the governor there today.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: It really -- they really are, Jim, and it really makes Lahaina even more sacred to the multi- generational, both native and local Hawaiians who call this place home.

We were just watching some dust billow up. They're moving heavy equipment through the burned-out part of Lahaina town and it's gut- wrenching to think that those are human remains blowing in that dust. And if the rains come -- when the rains come, it could wash a lot of this into the sea here.

It's tradition in Hawaii to lay their loved ones to rest, oftentimes by sprinkling ashes into the sea. But of course, this is not the way anybody wants to say goodbye to their loved ones.

And so, this is also a mental health crisis here. I met a licensed therapist named Jazzy Wong, who is going from shelter to shelter, trying to comfort people who've already come to grips with the idea that their children in some cases will never be found. Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAZZY WONG, MENTAL HEALTH THERAPIST AND LICENSED CRITICAL SOCIAL WORKER: We met a couple over in Honokowai Beach Park who had lost both their kids in the fire. And we created this prayer circle of like about 50 people, volunteers and people at the park, to just pray for this couple and for this family. And it was like so heartbreaking to see that level of despair and loss, like not on the news and not on the other side of the island, but with us.

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[17:35:00]

WEIR: So, you get a sense just, Jim, of the raw emotion people are cycling through now in real time.

ACOSTA: Yeah. Bill, the governor also said today he wishes the siren system had been used, but added that historically, they're not used to those kinds of warnings for fires. What did you make of that?

WEIR: Well, you know, it says on the Hawaii website that these are pretty much all-use sirens that they apply to fire and toxic spills and tsunamis and even terrorist threats. Historically, they've been considered a tsunami warning. That's the first thing you might think. But the argument from locals is we just needed to get children and seniors out to look around to see what was happening. A lot of people had no idea the fires had kicked back up with such intensity right now.

That official in charge of emergency management resigned earlier in the week, citing health reasons, but there's so much emotion around this, both leading up to what happened during and the immediate aftermath.

ACOSTA: All right. Yeah, and Bill, I mean, this challenge of identifying the remains of a thousand people missing, if that's the case or just finding them and determining whether or not they're alive, it just sounds like a monumental task.

WEIR: It's -- you can't wrap your head around it. I mean, we are almost two weeks after the fire. Communications is largely restored. Power is largely restored. You would think by now, if someone was cut off in some way, they would have made contact.

So, people are coming to grips with this, as the governor said, that of that thousand fifty, some will never be positively identified. And so, how do you grieve around something like that? It will change Maui in so many ways going forward.

ACOSTA: Yeah. That is just devastating. All right, Bill Weir in Lahaina for us, thank you very much.

Still ahead, new polling on Donald Trump's commanding lead in the GOP primary race as his indictments pile up. His rivals react to the former president's decision to snub the first debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Every one of us that have qualified for that debate stage ought to be on the stage, be willing to square off, answer the tough questions.

CHRIS CHRISTIE, FORMER NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR: He's a coward. There's no other conclusion to come to that. He's both afraid of me, and he's afraid of defending his record.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[17:40:00]

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ACOSTA: All right, we want to take you back to Southern California. You're looking at some images that just came in moments ago. You're looking at the Santa Monica Pier, the world-famous pier there in Southern California. And as you can see, when the chopper camera from KABC pulls out, you can see some pretty massive beach erosion taking place as some of these storm drainage systems are simply overwhelmed by the volume of rainwater being pumped into this region by tropical storm Hilary, and this is going to continue on for the next several hours. You can see right there, as the camera zooms in now, on some of this big beach erosion that's taking place in Southern California.

As this zoom in even more, you're going to see one gentleman, we were looking at some of this during the commercial break, walking on the beach. Please don't do this if you are in Southern California. This is not the time to go taking a stroll on the beach in these kinds of conditions. Please be safe out there. We are going to keep an eye on all of this and bring you the developments from the storm as they come in.

In the meantime, Iowa's Republican governor appears to be reigniting her feud with former President Donald Trump. Kim Reynolds, who has pledged for now to remain neutral in the crowded GOP primary, chided the Republican frontrunner today for skipping events at the Iowa State Fair, a key proving ground for presidential candidates.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. KIM REYNOLDS (R-IA): They expect him to be here. They want to interact. They want to interact with all of the candidates. He was on the fairgrounds. He just chose not to do the fair side chats. But I think it was a great opportunity for Iowans to continue to hear from our candidates.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now, that, of course, is not the only big event that he's snubbing. He's also planning to skip the first primary debate on Fox for an interview with fired Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson.

Let's discuss now with former Trump White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham and former advisor to Vice President Mike Pence, Olivia Troye. Ladies, great to see you.

Stephanie, let me start with you first. You were on with Trump on the campaign trail inside the White House with him. Is he making a mistake in skipping this debate?

STEPHANIE GRISHAM, FORMER WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, I think there are two schools of thought, right? The strategist in me would tell him not to do it. He's so far ahead. Why go up there and get, you know, such a contrast between these other candidates and himself, which I think they would show to be, most of them, a lot more presidential than he is?

However, I do think by skipping so many events, he's starting to seem like he's above it all. That's not a good thing, especially in a republican primary. You've got people who, as you just played in that clip, really do want to meet and say hello and hear from the candidates. And so, I think in a way, if he continues down this path, it will be a mistake.

ACOSTA: Yeah. And Olivia, what do you think? I mean, he's going to do this interview, I guess, with Tucker Carlson instead. What does that say about where this primary process is right now?

OLIVIA TROYE, FORMER ADVISOR TO FORMER VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE: Look, I think it's typical of Trump to create his own rules and be the rule breaker, right? Which is why I think some of these RNC (ph) rules that they've set up are a joke, because he's not going to follow him. And so, this whole pledge of allegiance to whoever is the nominee, he's probably not going to follow that anyways. So, why are we going on along with it? Right?

I know Ronna McDaniel. There has been reporting that she's not exactly thrilled about how this is playing out. But this is Trump's party. And I mean, what are they going to do? They're going to have to navigate around this. I, you know, don't discount that he may show up at the last minute.

[17:45:01]

I don't know that -- that interview is apparently pre-taped, apparently with the former, you know, most dangerous former T.V. host that we had out there. So -- and I don't even know where it is supposed to air. I haven't really seen that that has actually been officially confirmed, on what platform it will actually show up on.

So, I think, you know, TBD, but it'd be nice to see these other candidates have the opportunity to actually engage with him instead of debating, you know, the invisible person that's out there as a front runner.

ACOSTA: Yeah. And Stephanie, Republican Senator Bill Cassidy is taking an almost heard of step in today's GOP. Listen to what he told my colleague, Casey Hunt, on State of the Union this morning about whether Trump should leave the presidential race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): I think so. But, obviously, that's up to him. I mean, you're just asking me my opinion, but he will lose to Joe Biden if you look at the current polls. I'm a Republican. I think any Republican on that stage in Milwaukee will do a better job than Joe Biden. And so, I want one of them to win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: It sounds like, Stephanie, that there are some nervousness inside the party in some quarters about how all of this is becoming just a really bad spectacle for the party writ large. You know, the other aspect that we're keeping an eye on is we're hearing Trump could surrender to authorities in Fulton County on Thursday or Friday.

And I just -- I was tempted to ask you this, Stephanie, so I'm just going to ask it. You know how sensitive Trump is about how he is photographed. How do you think he's going to react to having as much mugshot taken if that indeed happens?

GRISHAM: So, outwardly, I think that they'll try to capitalize off of it, fundraise off of it, talk about how, you know, unfair the whole process is. I think that they'll try to fundraise, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.

Inwardly, he is not going to like it. He is not going to enjoy being fingerprinted, he is not going to like having a mugshot taken, and he's certainly not going to be happy with the fact that he has to go to a jail rather than a courthouse.

He has become so used to accommodations being made for him, whether it's, as Olivia said, with the debate and Ronna McDaniel and people just allowing him to do what he wants. I think this one is going to really hit him hard, though he'll never ever admit it.

And I will say I agree completely with everything that was said this morning. I think that he should step out of the race. I think there's absolutely no way he will win the general election against Biden. And if he had any love for this country, as he constantly says he does, he would see that and drop out, too. The people around him should be telling him the same thing.

ACOSTA: And Olivia, your old boss, Mike Pence, is weighing in on the special counsel's classified documents case. Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PENCE: The handling of classified materials is enormously serious in the life of the nation. In my case, I was never made aware of any broad-based effort to declassify documents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: You know, Trump has claimed that he did declassify swaths of documents before leaving office, whatever stock you can put into those statements, but how damning is it for him that a top member of his administration is essentially contradicting him?

TROYE: Yeah, well, here you have his own vice president contradicting him. And if anyone would know, it would be Mike Pence. We certainly worked on classified matters together. And if something like that had been done, Mike Pence would definitely be aware of it and so would every other national security advisor. And so far, nobody has really come forward in a credible way and said, yeah, that happened.

And so, you know, I think it's important for Mike Pence to say this because I think it is critical. It is important for our national security to really speak truthfully about what has happened here with those documents, especially given the lives that have possibly been put at risk and what is at stake here.

So, I think, you know, if Mike Pence, you know, he's continuing to seek the presidential nomination, then he should be truthful about this and call it out for what it is. ACOSTA: All right, Stephanie and Olivia, we're following a lot of breaking news this afternoon, so have to cut it short, but thanks so much for your time this evening. Really appreciate it. Great to see both of you. Thanks a lot.

In the meantime, let's show you again some live pictures of tropical storm Hilary as it is making its way into the southwest and into Southern California. There you see some pictures coming in just moments ago of people trying to go out on the beach, probably not advisable here at this point, and check out the conditions. A lot of beach erosion taking place because of the high volume of storm and rainwater coming through this part of the country.

We're going to stay on top of it, bringing these images as they come in. So, stay with us. You're live in the "CNN Newsroom."

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[17:50:00]

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ACOSTA: All right, some more breaking news to tell you about if Southern California isn't going through enough right now. We are being told that a magnitude 5.0 earthquake shook Southern California Sunday afternoon, this afternoon. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the epicenter of this quake was between Santa Barbara and Ventura, California. According to data from the U.S. Geological Survey, at least two aftershocks have also been recorded. According to those officials, measuring 3.1 and 3.6. following that initial quake.

Let me go to Jennifer Gray. I know she's in the Weather Center for us tracking tropical storm Hilary. It's a busy afternoon. I know we probably don't have a lot more than what I just said, but what can you tell us?

JENNIFER GRAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, I really don't have a lot. Yeah, we know that it's a 5.0, as you mentioned. It's about 9 miles deep, I believe. And so, the damage should not be widespread, of course, across this area. This state is used to getting pretty significant earthquakes in the past.

[17:55:02]

And so, it's just adding to what has already being done to the state. As far as Hillary is concerned, all the flooding, the last thing they need is an earthquake right on top of that. But a 5.0 or 5.1 is the preliminary reports.

It looks like, as far as we look at these pagers, that it's green, yellow, red. It indicates the, uh, the damage, what's expected to be with an earthquake that size. I do believe it is green. And so, that's good news. So, um, yeah, we'll have more details to come, the recent, in just a little bit, Jim. But right now, that's --

ACOSTA: Yeah. GRAY: -- pretty much all we know about it.

ACOSTA: Yeah. And Jen, correct me if I'm mistaken, in the control room, you can chime in my ear and I'll correct it on the air, but the text alerts did go out to people in Southern California, is that correct, to tell them --

GRAY: Yeah.

ACOSTA: -- that this earthquake has occurred, and that's pretty standard out there, as we know.

GRAY: Correct.

ACOSTA: Yeah.

GRAY: Yeah, exactly.

ACOSTA: And what's the latest that you can tell us about with Hilary? Just a few moments ago, I'm sure you were watching these same images that we were looking at from KABC in Los Angeles, some of this coastal flooding near the Santa Monica Pier. I mean, that is just an early taste, right, of what is coming into Southern California over the next several hours?

GRAY: Yeah, we really are seeing the worst of Hilary as we speak. You know, the rain is going to continue to come down over the next couple of hours as the heaviest bands from this storm continue to push into Southern California.

So, we've seen rainfall rates of half an inch to an inch an hour. This is an area of the country, you know, that that's not used to getting a lot of rain. Some parts of Southern California only get about two inches of rain for the entire calendar year.

And so, we're definitely seeing at least a month's worth of rain, several months-worth of rain, in some cases more than a year's worth of rain, just in about a 24-hour timeframe. So, we know that the topography there, the soil there just does not absorb the water.

So, where a thunderstorm east of the Rockies get two inches of rain, it's not a big deal. You see two inches of rain across the desert southwest. We are going to see some huge problems, you know.

And a lot of the topography is mountainous. And so, you have the rain falling in these mountains and then it just all funnels down into the valleys below, it can fill the creeks riverbeds extremely quickly, and we can we can see life-threatening flash flooding just in a blink of an eye.

So, it's very dangerous over the next couple of hours across the state and even points north. We're seeing impacts across Nevada. And then as the moisture continues to trickle to the north, we'll see major rainfall across portions of Idaho even.

But right now, the biggest threat is across Southern California into Nevada portions of Arizona as well as we just see lots of rainfall across this area, Jim.

ACOSTA: Yeah. And on top of everything else, a magnitude 5 earthquake shaking Southern California this afternoon. We're going to stay on top of this, and Jennifer, I know you will as well, as tropical storm Hilary and those conditions worsened for that part of the country. So, stay with us. We're going to come back in a quick break.

In a few moments from now, we're going to touch base with some of our correspondents who are out in the field checking on the latest with tropical storm Hilary.

As we all know and we've been emphasizing, this is a rare event for Southern California, even more rare to have obviously an earthquake take place in the middle of all of this. Not a good afternoon for people in Southern California. So please stay inside, stay safe if you're in that part of the country. We'll be right back.

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