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D.A. Fani Willis Can Continue On Trump Election Lawsuit, Judge Rules; Waiting For D.A. Willis' Response To Judge's Decision; At Least 3 Dead As Tornadoes Rip Through Several States; Voting Underway In Russia, Putin Poised To Earn Fifth Term; After Proposing Netanyahu To Step Down, Schumer Under Criticism. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired March 15, 2024 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Trump's getting help. It's not just that there are these incredible masterminds who are delaying everything. They're getting help from judges, justices, and apparently prosecutors or whatever the heck happened last night in New York with this evidence that just came out of nowhere.

So, the justices of the Supreme Court, they could have resolved this issue of immunity months ago. They opted not to. They're going to hear arguments. It's not expected he's going to win on the merits, but that's helping him with delay. Again, even Judge McAfee, the things that he said today, helping the strategy of undermining trust, but also delay. It took him a while, right?

He had time to do interviews. He probably could have done this a few days ago.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: Well, on the Justice Department --

REID: But then also these prosecutors in New York, it's not just them.

ACOSTA: I mean, they --

REID: They're -- they have a lot of help delaying this.

ACOSTA: It's not -- me saying, a lot of legal experts have said the Justice Department took way too long to appoint a special prosecutor in Jack Smith to do the documents case, to go after the January 6th case.

Elliot, any final thoughts?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, AND FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT GENERAL, DOJ: Yes, just -- my final thoughts, I think, I -- and I'm just going to sort of repeat the point, I think the great tragedy in all of this is that whenever any of these matters go to trial, you're going to have to find 12 people who can sit fairly in judgment. And the process of tainting a jury pool, getting in people's heads with misinformation, disinformation, facts that simply are not true about cases, can be a many years long process.

And like your point, Jim, the former president has played the system like a fiddle and gotten in people's heads and will in this case to making it very hard to define 12 or 14 with alternates, Americans who can sit in judgment of his actual conduct and not have all this nonsense and lies and untruth kicking around in their heads. And it -- as you saw, frankly, from the text message, Kristen got, it's already starting and they're doing it again.

LAURA COATES, CNN SENIOR AND CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, AND SIRIUSXM HOST, "THE LAURA COATES SHOW": Stop checking your phone.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

COATES: Just put the phone down.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tell everybody --

COATES: What are you doing?

HOLMES: -- if you go and tell everybody I can stop checking my phone --

ACOSTA: Honestly, that's a good -- yes.

HOLMES: -- I will be very happy.

ACOSTA: All right. Guys, great discussion. The legal system grinds on. We'll keep our eyes on all of this.

But there's more breaking news just ahead this morning. At least three people are dead, dozens more injured as daylight revealing the magnitude of destruction from these severe storms that swept across Ohio, Indiana, much of the Midwest. We'll talk about that next, you're live on the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[10:35:00]

ACOSTA: All right. Back to our breaking news this morning. Trails of destruction left behind after deadly storms, including suspected tornadoes that swept through multiple states last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is a huge tornado. Wow. Oh, my God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: So far, at least three people have died and dozens more have been injured in hard hit areas in parts of Indiana and Ohio. We have live team coverage covering these storms for us.

CNN's Whitney Wild is in Winchester, Indiana. CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins me live from the CNN Weather Center.

Whitney, you were on the ground in a town where a suspected tornado touched down last night. I can see the destruction behind you. Tell us what you're seeing.

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now in this morning light, Jim, you can really see how vast the destruction is. It just goes on for blocks. And I'll take you on a walk with me. We were -- we've been out here for several hours and it -- the destruction is so massive, Jim, that it takes a while for you to even understand and comprehend what you're looking at.

This was a Taco Bell drive through. So, I'll take you through. Normally you would be driving through. This is the order area. We talked to a guy who was inside this building right as the tornado hit. His name was Andrew Day (ph). Andrew Day (ph) told us at the time there were seven people inside this Taco Bell, which is now completely leveled. And if you can have the camera pan over here, I'll show you exactly where he was when this tornado hit.

So, here, Jim is -- you know, the brick flooring here of the Taco Bell, pretty much the only thing that is left unscathed. Andrew Day (ph), Jim, was right here when this tornado hit. He hid in a cooler. He was in there with his manager. The building started shaking. The door started shaking. His coworkers were screaming and he just told them calm down. Hold on. And he said it lasted for about five seconds. The door shook so rapidly. The storm so powerful that it pushed Andrew Day (ph) from this side of the Taco Bell all the way over to, basically, where that red car is.

So, all the way across the restaurant, Jim. It -- this storm was so powerful, but fortunately it went through quickly. He got out alive. Everybody he was with got out alive. That's the good news here in Winchester, where we know that there were at least 38 people injured.

Now, it is time for cleanup. This is a massive effort. We've seen rescue crews out here with cadaver dogs. This is, again, a massive, cleanup right now, Jim. Certainly, so much work to do. But the good news is that many people, while injured, have survived.

ACOSTA: Wow. That is just incredible destruction there, Whitney.

Derek, let me go to you. What caused all of this? Is there still a risk? How are things going right now?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST AND AMS CERTIFIED METEOROLOGIST: Well, I just want to touch on where Whitney is, our photographer who's behind the lens, actually captured this amazing photo coming out of Winchester, Indiana. It just shows the American flag still standing, maybe put there after the destruction came through, but showing a sign of unity for that community as they go through this recovery process.

Yes, there is still severe weather threats today, but I want to show you and bring attention to some incredible photography and video that was brought in by CNN of a large tornado in Ohio. This is one of many tornadoes that came through. Look at it just flickering the lights of this nearby barn. But what's interesting about this video, as we analyzed it a little further, remember there's only one tornado on average in the month of March for the state of Ohio, and we've had several reported so far.

[10:40:00]

But what I noticed on this are what is called horizontal vorticity. Do you see that? It's almost like a horizontal tube of air getting sucked into the parent tornado, which is right here. You can see that more in the vertical plane, but to have these horizontal type air tubes moving into this tornado and getting this captured on film is something you don't see every day.

So, it's important that we point that out and talk about the rarity of that and also just how impressive it is to see something like that. You can see some of the damage just getting filtered into the air as this likely caused damage on the ground to homes, businesses and likely to livelihoods. Jim.

ACOSTA: Yes, that is just terrifying stuff. I mean, it looks like something right out of a movie. All right. Whitney Wild, Derek Van Dam, thank you very much.

Joining me now to talk about the devastation on the ground is Rob Underwood. He's the superintendent of Indian Lake Schools in Ohio. Rob, I hope everything is OK with you and your loved ones, but how much of a -- an impact did this storm have on the community there? What can you tell us?

ROB UNDERWOOD, SUPERINTENDENT INDIAN LAKE SCHOOLS: It's been a major impact, obviously, you know, it hit last night at about 8:30. And we immediately opened the school up. We're about a mile and a half south of where the storm came through. We opened the school up for folks, and it's just been amazing how the community pulled together and just the amount of people who have volunteered to help and support the recovery efforts. Truly, it does speak volumes for our community.

ACOSTA: Yes, and Rob -- I mean, tell us about the needs right now. Power outages, I have to assume. Roads, what else?

UNDERWOOD: Yes, one of the major challenges last night that first responders faced was several gas leaks and obviously downed power lines, and it made it really difficult to recover some of the victims who are on what is called Orchard Island, which is across a little bridge out kind of one to the lake.

And so, they resumed recovery efforts this morning around about 9:30. And so, we're really hopeful that, you know, some folks will be pulled from the homes there. We know there's a lot of devastation specifically on Orchard Island. And so, that's kind of where it's at right now. One of the most difficult things has been communication. Our cell phones, especially when you get in that area, are almost non- existent.

ACOSTA: And Rob, I mean, let me ask you, I don't know if you saw the tornado firsthand or if you have spoken to folks, but what would -- do you -- can you tell us what this was like? What are people telling you what this was like as it was taking place?

UNDERWOOD: Yes, just -- you know, obviously the noise that everyone always talks about and how it sounded like a freight train coming through. And there was also some heavy downpours and even some hail that hit as well. And it kind of took a path through, really, two villages, Lakeview and Russells Point, which are, you know, really close together. And it came through Lakeview and did a lot of damage in downtown Lakeview and then went on through Russells Point and on to Orchard Island.

So, you know, just the things we're hearing from people is just, you know, lots of devastation, lots of property damage, and obviously lots of injuries as well.

ACOSTA: All right. Rob Underwood, hearts go out to your community. Hope everybody is able to get back on their feet quickly there. Thank you so much for your time. We really appreciate it.

UNDERWOOD: Thank you.

ACOSTA: All right. We'll be right back.

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[10:45:00]

ACOSTA: Russians are heading to the polls today for day one of a three-day election, as they're calling it. In Russia, that's all but decided before a single vote was cast. Vladimir Putin is expected to secure his fifth term in office, of course, extending his rule into the 2030s and making him the longest serving Russian leader since Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.

CNN's Matthew Chance joins me now from Moscow. Matthew, what's the mood in the city? Are you talking to any voters? What are folks saying?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, I mean, there's not a great deal of excitement, as you can imagine, you know, given that the inevitable outcome of this ballot. It's not the U.S. It's not exactly a cliffhanger. You know, in fact, the opposition in the country has been entirely excluded from the ballot. There aren't any opposition candidates that are taking part.

There are three other candidates that are being allowed to take part, but none of them are, sort of, anti-Putin. None of them, incredibly, none of them are anti-Kremlin, none of them are antiwar, and none of them are very popular with the Russian public either. So, it's a shoe in, essentially, for Vladimir Putin for another six years in office.

Now, of course, there have been some unexpected acts of defiance over the course of the past several hours, this first day of voting in Russia. We've seen a number of instances of individuals going into polling stations and tipping, dark colored dye. Green and blue colored dye onto the ballot papers, spoiling those ballots. We've seen arson attacks in at least two different locations, possibly three, with voting booths being set on fire as well.

And so, you know, these sort of acts of disruption are being treated very serious -- seriously by the Russian authorities. On the eve of the election, the authorities came out and said, any attempts to engage in unauthorized protests or to disrupt the election, you'll face, you know, kind of very serious legal consequences.

On Sunday, the expectation is that there may be something else happen in the sense that Alexei Navalny, the Russian prominent opposition figure who died last month in his Arctic penal colony, his widow has called for Russians to gather on mass at polling stations, at a certain point at the weekend on Sunday.

[10:50:00]

And to, kind of, show collectively their opposition to what's taking place in Russia. But we don't quite know what that's yet going to look like, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Matthew Chance, thank you very much. Fascinating reporting there. I really appreciate it.

Joining us now, CNN National Security Analyst and Former Deputy Director of National Intelligence Beth Sanner. Beth, you know, I always feel -- it feels a little goofy or misleading, really, to call this an election. This is a selection --

BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST AND FORMER DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Yes, yes.

ACOSTA: -- in many ways, for the Russian people. And that extraordinary video that Matthew Chance was just showing a few moments ago, there are these acts of defiance.

SANNER: Right.

ACOSTA: And I just sort of wonder in the long view, is Vladimir Putin sowing the seeds of his own downfall eventually or does he have such a stranglehold on this country that it's just -- it's unforeseeable that he might leave the scene.

SANNER: Yes, I heard a really good anecdote today about what Russians were calling this, and they don't call it an election. They call it the voting.

ACOSTA: Wow.

SANNER: Which I think really explains to you, you know, that this is just a process. And even Putin's spokesperson last summer in an interview was just saying it's a bureaucratic exercise, an expensive one. Putin put a billion dollars, reportedly, into this.

So, he's taking it very seriously. But the idea of like, you know, where would this all lead, some very depressing polling out of Russia that shows just wide support for Putin, you know, 80 some plus percent. So, even if you do some discounting, it's very strong. And we have to remember, about a half a million people who were potentially opposition type people have left the country.

ACOSTA: Right.

SANNER: So, you know --

ACOSTA: Or they're in jail.

SANNER: Or they're in jail.

ACOSTA: Or dead.

SANNER: And, you know, these acts of defiance really acts of bravery.

ACOSTA: Yes, because who knows what's going to happen to that young woman right there.

SANNER: Yes, exactly.

ACOSTA: And when you talk about the popularity that exists in Russia for Putin, part of that has to be because of the Russian state media apparatus. I mean, you and I are both --

SANNER: Everything.

ACOSTA: -- old enough to remember when Russia had this, sort of, period of opening and democracy was starting to take hold to some extent in Russia, and that is just gone.

SANNER: Yes.

ACOSTA: It's just gone.

SANNER: Right. I mean, remember the G7, this group of industrial nations became the G8.

ACOSTA: It became the G8, I remember.

SANNER: We were helping build political parties with the support of the Russian government during that period of time. And now -- you know, now it's really not just an authoritarian state, but it's moving toward a totalitarian state.

ACOSTA: Yes.

SANNER: People know what's expected of them.

ACOSTA: And Putin is -- I mean, I don't want to say he's a spring chicken, but he's young enough to continue this into the 2030s, as we've been saying.

SANNER: Yes, 71.

ACOSTA: And I do want to shift topics here because they're -- we were playing this during the newscast yesterday, Chuck Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader, offering this pretty blistering critique of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling for new elections. Saying he should be voted out. And that he's standing in the way, essentially, of any kind of resolution in this war between Israel and Hamas. You -- what is your sense of things right now? I mean, is Netanyahu really going anywhere? Is there any prospect of that taking place?

SANNER: So, you know, what I think is that on the American side, we're kind of letting our emotions take over. And I think that these statements, including a very unprecedented critique of the Netanyahu government in the annual threat assessment provided by the office of the director of national intelligence, which is this -- the intelligence community to view, unprecedented.

We don't usually dabble in having a comment about the state of democracy in an alliance. I think these are mistakes, honestly, because --

ACOSTA: You think some of these needs to be worked on behind the scenes diplomatically?

SANNER: Absolutely. Because it actually can be counterproductive. These kinds of statements help Netanyahu.

ACOSTA: Yes, but what about --

SANNER: Because Netanyahu can play it that way --

ACOSTA: And you see -- but --

SANNER: -- and he is.

ACOSTA: And you've been on this side of things in the national security realm, but you know there's a political side of this.

SANNER: Always.

ACOSTA: And the president is dealing with huge domestic political blowback inside the Democratic Party over --

SANNER: Yes.

ACOSTA: -- his support of Netanyahu, his support of Israel, which has been ironclad up until just recently, where now there are some cracks in that relationship. How does -- I mean, how should the administration move forward here? Is there much they can do?

SANNER: I feel like -- you know, it's easy to play Monday morning quarterback, right? And so, now they're playing catch up, politically. And I think that's part of what's going on with Schumer's statement here. But we have to remember, what do we expect from Israel here?

[10:55:00]

If we expect that this is going to help Benny Gantz, I don't think that that is the case. The opposition leader --

ACOSTA: It's going to embolden the hardliners. SANNER: It is. And when you look at the polling in Israel, and you look at the U.S. plan being put out, majorities of Israelis don't support that. They're with the position being put out by Netanyahu. So, this is like, we've got to be, maybe not, you know, too queue (ph) by half.

ACOSTA: Yes. But I mean -- and you and I were talking about this during the break. I mean, there are folks like Jose Andres, doing this amazing humanitarian work, the famine, the folks who are on the brink of starvation in Gaza --

SANNER: Right.

ACOSTA: -- that's real.

SANNER: And, you have to give credit for the administration in this, that without this tough wording, I don't think that we would be seeing the shifts that we are seeing, particularly over the last week --

ACOSTA: Yes.

SANNER: -- in terms of Israel taking very, very seriously that they need to start playing the offense in terms of providing assistance, even though 70 percent of Israelis don't want them to do that.

ACOSTA: All right. Very good. All right. Beth Sanner, thanks for giving us a lot to think about heading into the weekend. Really appreciate it.

SANNER: Thank you.

ACOSTA: And thank you very much for joining us. It's a busy day, busy hour. As always, I'm Jim Acosta. Our next hour of NEWSROOM starts right after a quick break. Have a great day.

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