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Trump Free on Bond After Felony Arrest in Georgia; U.S. Evaluating Possible Causes of Prigozhin Plane Crash; BRICS Invites Six New Members to Join Its Economic Group; Wagner Group's Future Impact on Africa; Blackswan Has no Korean Members. Aired 12-12:45a ET

Aired August 25, 2023 - 00:00   ET

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

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[00:00:11]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm John Vause at the CNN Center here in Atlanta. Coming up this hour. Florida man, Donald Trump, free on $200,000 bail after turning himself in on racketeering charges.

Today after Vladimir Putin is widely suspected to have ordered Yevgeniy Prigozhin's death, Russian President Publicly mourns the death of the head of the Wagner group, describing him as a talented businessman.

And for the first time since the war began, Ukrainian special forces stage a lightning raid in Russian occupied Crimea.

Disgrace former U.S. President Donald Trump has now racked up his fourth arrest in less than five months. This time though, it was different. In Fulton, Georgia, he was booked, fingerprinted and photographed. His hair was listed as Bond or Strawberry, height at 6 feet, 3 inches, weight, 215 pounds, inmate number P01135809. It's the first time ever mugshot of a former U.S. President.

Sources say Trump wanted to appear defiant. He chose not to smile. He's charged with more than a dozen felony counts, stemming from his efforts to overturn the state's 2020 election results. He's now free on $200,000 bond, covered with a 10% down payment to an Atlanta bonding company, according to sources.

The entire process took about 20 minutes. Then the former president headed back to the airport just outside of Atlanta for his flight back to New Jersey. He railed against the charges in Georgia, as well as federal charges of trying to subvert the 2020 election and mishandling of classified documents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What has taken place here is the travesty of justice. We did nothing wrong. I did nothing wrong. And everybody knows it. I've never had such support. And that goes with the other ones, too. What they're doing is election interference. They're trying to interfere with an election. There's never been anything like it in our country before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Trump posted his mugshot on X, formerly known as Twitter, along with a fundraising appeal. He said never surrender. It's the first post on Twitter since his final days in the White House and since his band was reversed. Trump is yet to enter a plea in the Georgia case, and the district attorney there has asked for all defendants to be arranged early next month. More now from CNN's Senior Legal Affairs Correspondent, Paula Reid.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Now that former president Trump has completed his surrender here at the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, the next time he'll have to return here to Georgia is for his arraignment. The district attorney, Fani Willis, has said she would like to do the arraignments for all 19 defendants the week of September 5th.

Now in his federal cases, this all happened at once. He was processed, and then he went before a judge to enter his plea. But here in Georgia, things happen at a slightly different pace. Now, after that initial week or two of arraignments, the defendants actually only have a short window of time to file certain challenges to their case.

Several defendants, including Mark Meadows and former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, they've already challenged their cases, trying to get these state-level cases moved to federal court. Now, the former president has signaled that he will likely try to do the same. Rudy Giuliani, they also try that move. So that process will take quite some time to play out. The next thing that's going to happen though is on Monday, there will be a hearing for Mark Meadows' effort to move this to federal court.

We expect that the focus of that hearing is going to be that infamous call between former president Trump and former Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. The district attorney, Fani Willis, has dismissed any suggestion by Meadows that what he was doing was just part of his job as Chief of Staff and that this should be not prosecuted.

Now, it'll be interesting to see what the judge does here, but if Meadows does not succeed, he will be back with the other defendants here in Fulton County as this case proceeds. But for a RICO case of this size and complexity, it could take years for a final resolution. Paula Reid, Fulton County, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Michael Zeldin is a former U.S. federal prosecutor, host of the That Said with Michael Zeldin podcast and he joins us now from Washington. Michael, it is good to see you. Thank you for being with us.

MICHAEL ZELDIN, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Hi, John, how are you? VAUSE: Good, thank you. Now, I want you to listen to an inmate number

P01135809 talking about being booked, fingerprinted and getting that mugshot. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Terrible experience. I came in, I was treated very nicely, but it is what it is. I took a mugshot, which I never heard the words mugshot. That wasn't -- didn't teach me that at the Wharton School of Finance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[00:05:04]

VAUSE: Well, he's heard of it now. It seems almost like a sideshow here, but why is it that this mugshot, you know, it's so -- it does seem to be so significant in the overall scheme of things. They fought hard not to have it taken. They fought hard not to have it released. But why? What's the significance here?

MICHAEL ZELDIN, FORMER U.S. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Well, it's just really the atmospherics. You're the former president of the United States of America, and there you are, like a common criminal photograph in Fulton County, Georgia, accused of racketeering an influence corrupt organization conspiracy to overturn a duly constituted election.

That's really not what you want on your resume. And I'm sure in the Wharton School of Finance, they didn't teach you activities that would lend you in that spot.

VAUSE: Good point. Here's a little more from the disgraceful former president before getting on his 75 -- 757 and leaving Atlanta. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You should be able to challenge an election. I thought the election was a rigged election, a stolen election, and I should have every right to do that. As you know, you have many people that you've been watching over the years, do the same thing. That statement in and of itself, absolutely true. I mean, that's just not what happened here, right? So how's that argument going to hold up against the charges which are being brought by the Fulton County DA?

ZELDIN: I don't think they'll hold up very well. You see, the problem here is that Donald Trump did in fact lawfully challenge the election. He filed lawsuits, his lawyers filed lawsuits in 21 different cases. He lost all of them. And when his legal avenues of challenge ran out, the allegation is that's when he embarked on this conspiracy to overturn the election through illegal means. And so I think the prosecutor will say you had your chance to do it legally, you lost, you then chose to do it illegally rather than abide by the rule of law. And I think that'll be a compelling argument.

VAUSE: Yeah, and there were 60 cases that were thrown up, many of them thrown out of court by Trump appointed judges as well, which is significant, I guess, in the scheme of things.

The other legal defense that seems being used by Trump and his supporters is this one. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: These are fake charges. Why? He's being arrested because he uses freedom of speech? He's not allowed to say what he thinks and feels about this 2020 election.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He break the law.

GREENE: He didn't break law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: That was Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene from Georgia. She's a Republican, a Trump supporter, a follower of QAnon. She believes in Jewish Space Lasers. She protested outside the jail on Thursday. So all of that to one side though, this freedom of speech argument, is that also a non-starter here?

ZELDIN: Yeah, it's a red herring. The truth is, of course, you have freedom of speech in the United States, but it's not absolute. So you can't yell fire in a crowded movie theater and not be prosecuted for that. You can't threaten people with death and not be prosecuted for it.

And similarly, you cannot engage in fraud. So if you engage in speech, which is fraud or a crime, give me the money, put it in the bag, is speech, but it's also bank robbery. So here they're charging him with speaking fraudulently to overturn an election.

And so, I mean, you may have a juror who believes that he has a First Amendment right like Marjorie Taylor Greene does, but that's not what the law that they'll be instructed on. So I think that in the end, the notion that this was speech or just aspirational speech won't hold up -- shouldn't hold up.

VAUSE: And overall, I want you to listen to Trump's take on the four criminal cases that he's facing right now. Here we are speaking to Tucker Carlson on that Twitter interview thing the other night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I got indicted four times. All trivia, nonsense, bull(bleep), it's all bull(bleep).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: The reality, though, seems to be the polar opposite of the bull -- but out of all of them, is the Georgia case potentially the most serious? Because we've said that before on a lot of these cases so far.

ZELDIN: Well, I think they're all serious. They're all felonies and they all carry jail terms. The Georgia case might carry the most severe consequences because there's some sort of mandatory time connected with it. But I think the strongest case is the documents case in Mar-a-Lago, the obstructing of that investigation. I think that there's really very little that he has to say that's a legal defense there. And so I think that if I were ranking them, I'd say that's the most formidable for him to overcome.

And then Georgia and the January 6 federal case are pretty similar. They charge similar conduct. And they -- you know, as I said, they allege that you fraudulently engaged in conduct, calculated to overturn an election. And, you know, that's all-serious stuff. There's no two ways about it, John.

[00:10:10]

VAUSE: Yeah absolutely. And I guess we'll find out how this plays out. We've got a lot to go with this case. It's all just beginning. Michael, I'm sure we'll speak again. Thanks so much for being with us.

ZELDIN: Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: Always a pleasure sir.

Well, a day after the apparent death of Yevgeniy Prigozhin in a plane crash, the Russian President Vladimir Putin called the Wagner boss a talented man who made serious mistakes. It's his first public comment about the doomed plane believed to be carrying Prigozhin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): First of all, I want to express my sincere condolences to the families of all the victims. This is always a tragedy. Preliminary information suggests that Wagner group employees were also on board.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Notably speaking in the past tense, Putin went on to say he'd known Prigozhin for a very long time. He was a man of difficult fate. Wednesday's plane crash happened two months to the day after Prigozhin and his Wagner group staged a brief insurrection against Russia's military leadership. Putin pledged the criminal investigation into the crash would be thorough.

Pentagon Thursday said it's likely Prigozhin was indeed killed. No evidence has been presented that suggests President Putin, the Kremlin or Russian security services were involved in the crash. U.S. officials are evaluating a number of possibilities including an explosion on board. Whatever happened they believe the plane was deliberately brought down with the goal of killing Prigozhin. CNN's Katie Polglase has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE PRODUCER: Falling from the sky, the plane reported to be carrying the Wagner leader Yevgeniy Prigozhin. Coming two months after he launched a mutiny against Russia's leader Vladimir Putin. He was widely seen as a man on borrowed time. As footage started to emerge on social media of the crash, CNN's open- source team began piecing together what happened. The aircraft associated with Prigozhin is RA02795. It makes frequent trips between Moscow and St. Petersburg.

CNN geolocated the main crash site to here. And you can see the same tail number visible amid the debris. The plane had left Moscow at 5.55 p.m. local time, 12 minutes later, the location is no longer detectable. But public flight tracking site Flight Radar 24 still receives information on its altitude.

(On camera): The last minute of the recorded flight is key. You can see here the flight's altitude is erratic. It's going higher and lower before it eventually plummets.

No aviation experts told us this is highly unusual. And it suggests those on board were trying to stabilize the plane after something happened to it. In other words, the disruption was not big enough to obliterate everyone and everything instantly.

(Voice-over): Expert opinion is split on what exactly happened, likely an explosion, perhaps a bomb on board or a missile hitting it, or even something else. Whatever it was, was clearly powerful as the plane is visibly falling without a wing. The tail ends up over here, 2.6 km away from where the rest of the debris lands.

Videos show fires at the crash site. Some are graphic. Human remains strewn amid the debris. Since then, Russian authorities have taken the bodies away for examination and began an investigation. But many have already made up their minds as to who they think was behind the Wagner aircraft's violent end. Katie Polglase, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Joining me live is former CIA Operative Bob Baer. Bob, it's good to see you.

ROBERT BAER, FORMER CIA OPERATIVE: Hi, John.

VAUSE: OK, so, you know, there's a lot of talk or inspection about, who's behind the crash and why? But the how part of this seems to remain a bit of a mystery.

New York Times is reporting that an explosion on a plane, believed to be carrying the Russian military leader, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, likely brought down the aircraft Wednesday, killing all the passengers on board, according to U.S. and other Western officials citing preliminary intelligence.

You know, there are a lot of ways to bring down a plane. So why use an explosive device? Why bring down the plane? Why not poison Prigozhin? There's got to be some nerve chuck left around the Kremlin somewhere or some reason (ph). You know, and why kill the top three Wagner commanders all at once? BAER: Well, I mean, he had -- he had close protection. People have

watched his food. Shooting him was an iffy prod, you know, prospect, especially in a place like Moscow or Petersburg. If you kill somebody in an airplane, you're certain they're on that plane. And if you do the explosives right, and there's probably this is speculation of barometrics switch, it gets to a certain altitude. It opens a circuit, it goes to a timer, the plane goes down, and there's no way to survive that.

Also, don't forget, if -- and I say if Putin was behind this, this had to be a very emphatic assassination. If he was sending a message to the leadership, to the army, to the security services, don't mess with me. The way to do a death is with an airplane, and people will never forget that.

[00:15:16]

VAUSE: Publicly, the Pentagon may not know precisely what caused the crash, but apparently they know what did not cause the crash. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. PAT. RYDER, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: We don't have any information to indicate right now. The press reporting stating that there was some type of surface to air missile that took down the plane. But we assess that information to be inaccurate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Just from an intelligence point of view, how do they know what's right, what's not right? What's the process here for putting the pieces together to work out what really did happen? And doing it from a distance too, because this all happened on Russian soil.

BAER: Well, I mean, let's say they used an SA-18. It would leave telemetry behind the national security agency would pick that up. We can see missile launches anywhere in Russia. They've got all sorts of ways to track this. And plus there was no ground reporting about contrails from a missile. So I think pretty much it was probably brought down by an explosion and not a missile. And the Pentagon, if they say they're sure, they're sure.

VAUSE: Yeah. Clearly when it comes to killing opponents, Putin's got good form on the board. So with that in mind, here's the German Foreign Minister. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNALENA BAERBOCK, GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): We know this pattern in Putin's Russia. Deaths and dubious suicides, window falls that all ultimately go unsolved. This underlines a dictatorial system of power built on violence. It knows only violence internally and externally.

(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: For two months, Prigozhin was a walking punchline. You avoid open windows, don't take the stairs. He's a dead man walking. But just speak to the reality here of what Putin, if it's in fact, is Putin, he's widely suspected of having done it. What has he done? You know, if this is true, he's murdered in cold blood Russian citizens on Russian soil, simply as payback. And it happens often enough no one is surprised.

BAER: Well, don't forget that Prigozhin is a thug. And in his mind, he led a coup against the military, not against Putin. We don't know what this guy was thinking. He was saying, look, the military is betraying Putin. I'll correct things. But he just didn't know what goes through Putin's mind because Prigozhin certainly knows that he's assassinated since the invasion, scores of people. There's no other explanation for it. And that's not to mention people in Britain and an attempt in Florida a couple of years ago. So he knew -- he knew what he was up against. But don't forget the Russian said, this fatalistic side to them. And don't forget Navalny went back. He was clearly going to jail. He's clearly not going to get out with Putin in power and he's in solitary confinement.

I mean, it's a character, you know, deformity of the Russians if you like, this fatalism. And I think that he was ready to be a martyr.

VAUSE: Wow. And that appears to be the case very much. So, hey, Bob, as always, great to have you with us. I really appreciate it. Thank you.

BAER: Thank you.

VAUSE: We'll take a short break. When we come back, Ukraine, marking Independence Day with a big ceremony in the Capital of Kyiv. Also, a big amphibious raid reported on Russian positions in Russian-occupied Crimea. That's a big deal and we'll tell you why in a moment.

Also, how Iran, Saudi Arabia and other nations are reacting to an invitation to join the BRICS Group of Developing Nations in opposition to the United States. Details after the break.

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[00:21:01]

VAUSE: The Eiffel Tower lit up in blue and yellow on Thursday, sporting 32 years since Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union. Right now, Ukraine fighting a military invasion led by the current government in the Kremlin. That fight though was the main theme at a ceremony in Kyiv.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the troops and the country for taking part in the war effort. He promised to liberate all those who have lived in occupied territories. And he told all Ukrainians, they will win the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We keep memories of what Ukrainian people went through. We can see the threats. We are fighting against the enemy. And we keep in mind that we know how to win. And we will win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Russian officials, though, say more than 40 Ukrainian drones were destroyed Friday morning over Crimea. This comes a day after Kyiv announced a daring amphibious raid on the western side of the peninsula, the Russian-occupied side of the country.

Ukrainian special forces reportedly made a landing targeting Russian infrastructure. Ukrainian defense intelligence released images saying it shows troops firing at Russian aircraft from their boat, not far from Crimea. As Nick Paton Walsh, explains, the raid set a message both to Moscow and to Ukraine's allies.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ukraine defense intelligence has suggestions that they launch a significant amphibious assault against Crimea is deeply important because of the symbolism that Crimea holds. I think it's fair to say in the eyes of many Western officials in the mind of Russian President Vladimir Putin. This is a very important part of their occupation of Ukraine because it was the first area they took in 2014 almost without a shot being fired annexed through troops infiltrating.

What Ukraine is suggesting is that a series of amphibious assaults hit the Crimean coastline and may have killed up to 30 Russian troops, essentially attacking their infrastructure and more importantly impacting their psychology, showing that even Crimea, which I think most Russians consider to be far enough away from the actual front lines of fighting, is now vulnerable to Ukrainian special forces assault. That's an important message for Ukraine to send because it has been criticized in Western media reports for focusing too much on Crimea. Ukraine's response I think would have been that so much of Russian military infrastructure is in that peninsula and that helps Russia defend its positions in the front parts of the areas of Ukraine's southern counter offensive.

But this statement from Ukraine, essentially coming on Ukraine's Independence Day, a bid to project force, depth of how far they can hit Russian targets that may have thought they were secure otherwise. And also too feeding in to the broader discussion about how Yevgeniy Prigozhin appears to have died in mysterious, if not deeply suspicious circumstances.

Remember the death of Prigozhin is not by itself isolated from the war in Ukraine. It's another reminder for Ukrainians that Prigozhin led an armed rebellion against Putin, fought heavily in Ukraine for Russia and some of the more brutal front lines, but also too that Putin, if indeed he is somehow involved in this death, still feels a threat internally because of how Prigozhin negatively characterized how this war had been prosecuted. A lot's moving here on Ukraine's Independence Day, but battlefield

changes certainly what Kyiv wanted to project as the world asks exactly what happened to Yevgeniy Prigozhin. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: The BRICS Group of Development Nations has issued invitations to six countries to join the economic block. Egypt is among those invited and the president says the country is looking forward to joining BRICS to strengthen economic cooperation as well as, "raise the voice of the global south." Along with Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Ethiopia and Argentina, all are being invited to join as the summit wrapped up in Johannesburg on Thursday.

[00:25:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EBRAHIM RAISI, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The decision made by BRICS members to expand this group is a commendable move that paves the way for a global expansion within the framework of justice.

FAISAL BIN FARHAN AL-SAUD, SAUDI ARABIA FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): The strategic relationship between the Kingdom and the countries of the BRICS group is reinforced by frameworks of common principles, the most prominent of which is the firm belief in the principle of respecting the sovereignty and independence of states, not interfering in their affairs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Our man in Johannesburg is David McKenzie, here's his report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is certainly a significant moment and possibly a turning point. This expansion of BRICS was surprising to some. It was felt they could potentially go through a methodical process of inviting countries one by one, but in the end it was six countries added, something for every one of the founding BRICS members, I think.

And in particular, the addition of the UAE and Saudi Arabia is important to potentially bring their financial might to the new development bank, the so -called BRICS bank, to counteract the World Bank and IMF. And that's been a theme throughout this BRICS summit, counteracting Western influence. And in particular, this is a win for Chinese President Xi Jinping.

XI JINPING, CHINESE PRESIDENT (through translator): This expansion is historic. It shows the BRICS determination to unite and cooperate with developing countries, which meets the international community's expectation.

MCKENZIE: Now, to underline the importance of the BRICS meeting and its outcome, the Secretary General of the U.N. was in attendance. He had this to say about the World Financial System.

ANTONIO GUTERRES, UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL: For multilateral institutions to remain truly universal, they must reform to reflect today's power and economic realities, and not the power and economic realities of the post-Second World War. In the absence of such reform, fragmentation is inevitable.

MCKENZIE: Now, this loose connection of countries will have to work together to have any kind of political clout. And certainly economically, the talk of de-dollarization, in particular by President Putin of Russia, is in the short term probably very optimistic.

But there is a sense that they could, if they band together, have an impact on the political stage. One small wrinkle, potentially to mention, the Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister spoke to regional press saying they're going to look into this invite and come up with a decision at appropriate time. According to South Africa's presidents, all of these members will join in January 2024. David McKenzie, CNN, Johannesburg.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: During a meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, the leaders of India and China agreed to intensify efforts to de-escalate tensions over their disputed shared border. China's Foreign Ministry says the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and Chinese President Xi Jinping had a candid and in-depth exchange on current China-India relations.

The shared border has been a source of tension for a very long time. Both countries accusing the other of overstepping the line of actual control or trying to expand their own territory.

Still to come, we're taking a close look at the Yevgeniy Prigozhin of Wagner Group and the impact it has in Africa. What officials there say could happen now after he's presumed dead. They're looking to believe it. We're on that, next.

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[00:30:54]

VAUSE: Donald Trump is back in New Jersey at this hour, free on $200,000 bail after his arrest in the Georgia elections, the version case. The disgraced former U.S. President was fingerprinted and photographed in a 20-minute booking process at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta. Sources tell CNN Trump wanted to appear defiant in his mugshot, so he chose not to smile.

It's the fourth time this year that Trump has turned himself in to face felony charges. In Georgia, Trump and 18 co-defendants are accused of a broad conspiracy to try and overturn the state's 2020 election results. Just before he left Atlanta, Trump called the charges a travesty of justice and election interference.

Now, it'll be Fulton County Jail that is notorious for deplorable conditions, including inmate deaths, excessive force, and overcrowded prison population. The building has also been deemed structurally unsafe. For more on that, here's CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The facility where Donald Trump and his co-defendants were summoned to surrender is nothing short of a hulking, sprawling nightmare. The Fulton County Jail, it is also known as Rice Street because of its address. The facility opened in 1989, and almost from the moment it opened, it became obsolete and overcrowded. Just last month, the Justice Department announced an investigation into this facility because of allegations of, "unsafe, unsanitary living conditions, excessive force, and violence."

As for the overcrowding, the capacity of this facility is 2,688 inmates. As of April, according to the state of Georgia, it has 3,221 inmates. According to various news reports, seven inmates died at the facility just this year, about 15 inmates died last year. And there was a notorious case of an inmate who passed away in his cell last September, 35-year -old Lashawn Thompson. The medical examiners and Lashawn Thompson's family's attorneys say that he died of neglect, malnourishment, and other poor treatment. He was in the mental ward at that hospital.

Most noteworthy about his case was that his body was found covered in lice, bedbugs, and other insects, just horrible images released there. Lashawn Thompson's family's attorney has also released a photo of the conditions inside his cell that just showed absolutely deplorable conditions.

All over this jail, there is grime, there is dirt, there are overflowing toilets. One -- another really horrible anecdote regarding this jail is that last year, during a public meeting, law enforcement officers rolled in to the meeting a wheelbarrow. The wheelbarrow was full of shanks that were made by the inmates by grabbing just chunks of crumbling walls in the facility and fashioning them into shanks to attack other inmates. That's how bad this facility got.

The Sheriff of Fulton County, Patrick Labat, is completely admitting these conditions are horrible. He says he's welcoming the Justice Department's investigation, and Sheriff Labat is requesting about $2 billion in county funds to build a new jail. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Back now to Yevgeniy Prigozhin, who's presumed death to -- presumed died, rather, in a fiery plane crash in Russia. His Wagner Mercenary Group currently operates in more than 30 countries, including many in Africa. Some Wagner operations have been highly profitable for both the Mercenary Group and the Kremlin, others are led to allegations of atrocities. Details now from CNN's Larry Madowo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): It's here in an undisclosed location in Africa that the Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin recorded what's believed to be his last undated video message, a recruitment promo for his private and mercenary company and its operation in several African countries.

YEVGENY PRIGOZHIN, WAGNER GROUP BOSS (though translator): Wagner PMC is conducting reconnaissance and search operations, making Russia even greater on all continents and Africa, even freer, justice and happiness for the African peoples. Let's make it a nightmare for ISIS, Al Qaeda and other thugs.

MADOWO: It was also the first clear video of Prigozhin since his march in Moscow in June, once known as Putin's Chef, Prigozhin largely disappeared after his failed mutiny. And quickly Russia sought to assure its allies especially across Africa that Wagner presence in their countries won't be affected.

[00:35:06]

In the two months between his mutiny and presumed death in a plane crash, Prigozhin pleading messages were mostly focused on Africa. A photo on the sidelines of a Russia Africa summit with a visiting African official, an audio recording on a Pan-African channel. And many audio messages on his telegram channels.

Wagner has been expanding in West Africa for years. CNN filmed the mercenaries, training security forces in the Central African Republic. They are also active or have been linked to Libya, Mali, Mozambique, and Sudan.

Huge countries with vast natural resources, some of which Wagner are exploiting. Over the past two years, investigations by CNN and human rights groups have established Wagner's involvement and complicity with atrocities against civilian populations. And the French say the group is also behind a smear campaign against them.

In Niger, supporters of a July military coup were burning French flags and waving Russian flags across the country. Prigozhin was quick to offer his services.

OLUWOLE OJEWALE, CENTRAL AFRICA REGIONAL COORDINATOR, THE INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES: Now that the group itself has become disoriented. They as going to be a lot of fallout, a lot of consequences in terms of security relapsing, and generally there is going to be a resurgence of -- in the culpability of some of these terrorist groups striking those countries.

MADOWO: Prigozhin proved valuable beyond bloodied battles in Ukraine. He helps secure lucrative deals and expand Russia's influence abroad, especially here in Africa where many of sympathetic to Moscow, because it doesn't have the colonial baggage of the West.

Putin could have advanced the betrayal of an old ally and his top lieutenants. But it will take more than a flurry of diplomatic visits to assure allies reliant on the notorious mercenary group and worried about a vacuum and disorientation in its command. Larry Madowo, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Still ahead on CNN, can it be K-pop without the K? Meet the stars of a new multinational girl group breaking the mole or trying to, of Korean pop.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The obvious question, you're a K- pop group, there's no K, there's no Korean. Does it matter?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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VAUSE: SpaceX is being sued by U.S. authorities for allegedly discrimination in its hiring practices. According to the suit, the company falsely claimed in job postings they were legally prevented from hiring asylum seekers or refugees.

The DJ says only candidates with green cards and U.S. citizenship were considered for employment. While there are some specific laws limiting foreign nationals from accessing key information about space vehicles. The Department of Justice says that does not prevent SpaceX from hiring refugees. So far, no comment on the lawsuit from SpaceX or its owner Elon Musk.

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There's a new K-pop band performing in South Korea, but this group has a bit of a twist. None of the members are actually Korean. CNN's Paula Hancocks has the story now reporting in from Seoul.

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HANCOCKS (voice-over): Water Bomb 2023, a K-pop concert in the heart of Seoul where staying dry is not an option. And a key gig for Blackswan, a K-pop band with no Korean members. They're not the first to try it, but Blackswan are hoping they will be the act to break through.

(On camera): So I mean, the obvious question, you're a K-pop group, there's no K, there's no Korean. Does it matter?

FATOU, MEMBER, BLACKSWAN: Actually there is K because we sing in Korean and K-pop is Korean pop. So as long as the language is there, it is still K-pop.

HANCOCKS: Singing in Korean, Blackswan members say they also draw on influences from each of their cultures. Their recent song, Karma, was filmed in India where band member Sriya was from. The music video MV has been viewed over 5 million times on YouTube.

SRIYA, MEMBER, BLACKSWAN: It had been really, really great because it's the first ever MV to be shot in India. And also it shows like proper Indian culture, Indian dresses, outfits and then the dance.

HANCOCKS: Blackswan members are also from Brazil, Senegal and the United States, a global band for a global movement, the band says.

FATOU: And if they see us, like we're all different colors, different backgrounds, cultures, and if they see us achieve it, it's going to put more fire behind them.

HANCOCKS: One difference, the members did not start as young teenagers, undergoing brutal K-pop training as other young hopefuls do. Two members only signed up two years ago.

YOON DEUNG-RYONG, CEO OF DR MANAGEMENT (through translator): They're usually four to five years of training period as they need to learn the language, dance moves, singing. Even though they're being trained within the K-pop system, we need to respect the cultures of these members and we can't just tell them what to do.

HANCOCKS: The group says training was still tough. But what about the Korean public reaction to this different brand of K-pop?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There are other famous bands such as Twice and Eyes One, who are considered K-pop bands even though they have foreign members from Japan and elsewhere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's more like a mindset for me that K-pop is not just because you're Korean and making music in South Korea.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): As there are no Koreans in the group, I've always looked at the group with doubts about them being K-pop, although they technically are.

HANCOCKS: A number of non-Korean K-pop groups have emerged over recent years.

LEE GYU-TAG, ASSOC. PROFESSOR, CULTURE STUDIES, GEORGE MASON UNIV. KOREA: I believe there may be a possibility to have, let's say, American K-pop, British K-pop, or Japanese K-pop. Why not? But it may also make K-pop lose their specific identity as K-pop.

BLACKSWAN: Be unique. (Through translation) Hello this is Blackswan.

HANCOCKS: Paula Hancocks, CNN Seoul.

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VAUSE: I'm John Vause. World Sport starts after a short break. See you back here in about 17 minutes.

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