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New Developments, Questions Swirl Over Trump Attack; Haley and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) Endorse Trump, Call for GOP Unity; Out-of- State Officers Shoot, Kill Armed Homeless Man Near RNC. Aired 10- 10:30a ET

Aired July 17, 2024 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, you are live in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

We begin this hour with several new developments in the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. We've learned that within 30 minutes of the former president being wounded by the snipers bullet, federal law enforcement scoured paper records of gun sales and identified the gun and the shooter.

Also new, sources are telling CNN that U.S. intelligence learned that Iran was plotting to assassinate Trump and that the Secret Service had beefed up his protection as a result. There is no known evidence at this point, however, that Iran had any connection to Saturday's attack and Tehran has denied any wrongdoing.

Just minutes ago, we learned that the Department of Homeland Security has opened an investigation into the Secret Service and the failure at the rally site. The FBI is also investigating.

Also this afternoon, all senators will take part in an unclassified phone briefing on the attack and the investigation. We're following that as well.

The Secret Service, meanwhile, is facing the brunt of the troubling questions over failed security. on Saturday. And in a new interview with CNN, the agency's director, Kimberly Cheatle, says the Secret Service was solely responsible for securing the rally site. It's a reversal from just the day earlier when Cheatle appeared to blame local police for the sniper gaining access to a nearby rooftop.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIMBERLY CHEATLE, SECRET SERVICE DIRECTOR: There was local police in that building. There was local police in the area that were responsible for the outer perimeter of the building.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: CNN's Whitney Wild conducted last night's interview with Director Cheatle. Whitney, what did she tell you?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, it is absolutely mission critical that the Secret Service has a very good and trusted relationship with local law enforcement. This is not just about having good working relationships. It is absolutely critical. And if they don't have support from local law enforcement, it is dangerous.

And that is what the Secret Service is trying to make clear today. They are not blaming local law enforcement for any failures that day. Instead, they say that securing that rally was their job and theirs alone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILD: When you said that local law enforcement was responsible for that building, what did you mean by that?

CHEATLE: So, Secret Service respects local law enforcement and we could not do our job, either investigatively or on our protective mission, without them. In Pennsylvania, in fact, on that same day, they were also working the first lady trip and a vice presidential trip. So, I understand the constraints that they're under and as I said earlier, we couldn't do our job without them.

At that particular site we divided up areas of responsibility. But this, but the Secret Service is solely responsible for the design and the implementation and the execution of the site. And that's what I was trying to stress, was that we just divided up areas of responsibility. And they provided support to those areas of responsibility.

WILD: And you mentioned the first lady has also been in Pittsburgh. You guys have a lot of areas to cover. Were any assets diverted from the former president's rally to her detail?

CHEATLE: No, there were no assets from the Secret Service that were diverted at all.

WILD: Okay. So, no one swapped out any of the posts, for example?

CHEATLE: No.

WILD: Okay. CNN, of course, has reporting that the Secret Service increased security for former President Trump because of a credible threat from Iran. You know, I've spoken with several people who look at the perimeter hearing that news, look at the perimeter and say how -- knowing that there was a credible threat against the former president, how could that perimeter be so small that it excluded a building just 150 yards away from the podium?

CHEATLE: I can't get into the specifics of any threats, but obviously with all of our protectees, we're constantly monitoring the threats that are out there. And we designed our security plan based on that, also depending on the venue and the environment that we're in. And on that particular day, a full advance had been completed. But this is also why we are doing an internal review, and we look forward to the external review as well. And, obviously if you know, there are things that we need to change about our policies or our procedures or our methods, we are certainly going to do so.

WILD: Was that perimeter too small?

CHEATLE: The perimeter encompassed the area that we needed to secure for the event that we had on that day. What happened is a terrible incident and should never happen. And we are obviously going to make sure that moving forward, we take whatever lessons that come out of this and adjust accordingly.

[10:05:05]

WILD: Was every element, every part of his -- from the intelligence to the counterassault team to the detail agents, the shift agents, I mean, every element top to bottom of the advance in the operation, was every element increased after you learned of this credible threat?

CHEATLE: What we increased was what we felt was appropriate for the former president. And for that particular event on that day, we have been increasing the assets and the resources and the staffing that we have been providing to the former president since he was a presidential candidate and then the presumptive nominee. That's what I can tell you.

WILD: That sounds like a no.

CHEATLE: I have not saying no at all. I'm saying that we have continued to increase the resources that we've been providing to the former president.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WILD: The Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General has launched their investigation. Jim, this is just one of many as the Secret Service is pushed to answer more questions. Back to you.

ACOSTA: All right. Whitney Wild with that interview, thank you very much.

We're learning more about the gunman's movements in the hours before he opened fire at Saturday's rally. Law enforcement officials say 20- year-old Thomas Crooks usually works on Saturdays, but we're told he told his boss he needed the day off because he, quote, had something to do. Crooks informed his co-workers that he'd be back the following day.

About three hours before the shooting, roughly around 3:00 P.M., he was spotted at the security screening area of the rally. He attracted the attention of security when he passed through the magnetometers carrying a rangefinder, but he was able to get through later on. And nearly two minutes before shots were fire, witness alerted police to the gunman on the roof. About the same time, officials say one of the four counter-sniper teams saw the shooter looking at their position through that rangefinder.

Investigators are still looking for a motive behind the assassination of former President Trump. And this comes as we're learning more about the government from the people who knew him. Here's what his high school guidance counselor told our affiliate, WPXI.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM KNAPP, GUNMAN'S HIGH SCHOOL GUIDANCE COUNSELOR: At first, it didn't register until I saw the picture. And once I saw his picture, I recognized his face right away. Hearing Thomas name just sent chills down my spine.

REPORTER: If you think back to when you knew Thomas, how would you describe him?

KNAPP: Quiet, very quiet young man. He was the type of person where you pretty much knew he wanted to be by himself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Joining us now is Paul Eckloff. He's a former Secret Service agent and was assistant special agent in charge for former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. Paul, thank you very much for being with us.

Part of your job in the Secret Service was managing the snipers. And I did want to ask you about this. We've learned that the sniper team at Saturday's rally saw the shooter looking at their position through a rangefinder. What do you make of that detail? What would you have told your team if they had spotted him doing that through their scopes?

PAUL ECKLOFF, RETIRED U.S. SECRET SERVICE: That's an excellent question, Jim. One thing I'd like to clear up is our units are known as counter-snipers. Counter-snipers are trained to neutralize threats at a distance from protective sites. This individual was identified from reports as viewing their position from a rangefinder.

And I would warn people from making quick snap judgments. We have seen in numerous protective sites over the years, and certainly in my 23 years, individuals using whatever magnification devices they have to see a sitting president or former president, individuals with scopes, individuals with telescopes individual with any sorts of items. So, at that time he was a teenager or 20-year-old as we know now with a rangefinder.

ACOSTA: But on the roof of a building 150 yards away from the president -- former president, that's got to be concerning. I would --

ECKLOFF: I would wait to --

ACOSTA: Yes.

ECKLOFF: Absolutely, sir. That would be that would be concerning. I don't have confirmation that he was sighted. I don't believe the counter snipers saw this individual until he started making his shots. Any suggestion that the local police in Butler acted anything but heroically, I will push back on. It was an officer who scaled the roof and disrupted this assassin's activity, forcing him to reveal his location to the counter-sniper position so he could be neutralized. I believe he was seen on the ground with the rangefinder and there were questions as to where he was. And I'll wait for those facts to come out.

ACOSTA: No, those are good points. And you've had very close access presidents throughout your career. What do you think should change moving forward? I mean, what about these outdoor rallies? I mean, there are just so many gaps potentially at those types of events. What do you think?

ECKLOFF: I believe that perimeters should be expanded, but I also believe that semantics people use is perhaps incorrect. That building was within the security plan. It had been identified as a vulnerability. And, in fact, local counter-sniper teams and local police, as well as the agents on site, were aware of this individual or seeking him at the time.

Part of any security plan is to disrupt the activities of a potential assassin. And in this case, the local police officer assisted by another scaled the roof, confronted the assassin who was forced to reveal his position and start shooting, at which time he crested the peak of the roof. And the counter-sniper officer technician was able to make an incredible shot, a single shot, as I'm told, and neutralized the assassin.

It's an interesting point in history that while movies portray the heroism of special agents, and we certainly saw that play out as those agents shielded the former president with their own bodies. In history, two assassins have been neutralized by the Secret Service. November 1st, 1950 officer Leslie Coffelt gave his own life after shot three times was able to shoot an assassin in the side of the head from 31 feet before dying. And in this case, an officer technician neutralized this assassin before further bloodshed could occur.

ACOSTA: And so, Paul, I mean, you looked at all of the reporting that's come out since Saturday. Is there something you can put your finger on and say, okay, that that's one area where I'm concerned, that's one thing that if it could have been done differently, I would have done that differently, anything you can put your finger on?

ECKLOFF: I haven't seen the specific security plan. But, absolutely, anybody who is participating in these been on the ground as a post in or law enforcement, or in my case, a senior supervisor, we have more questions than the general public. I would wonder what those post- instructions were, where the failure was that this person was allowed to scale the roof. He climbed an air conditioning unit and got above a position he should not have achieved. So, I would ask questions as to what was a security plan.

There will be a time for blame and there will be a time for accountability in this, regardless of what anyone said, it 100 percent squarely falls on the United States Secret Service. And I would tell you today that no one realizes that more than them. And I would assure people who are concerned that the Secret Service is incorporating lessons learned from Saturday into security plans, as we speak. They will not wait for congressional inquiries. They will not wait, though they will certainly participate and cooperate with investigations. There'll be a time for judgment. There'll be a time for reflection, but they are already incorporating those into their mission model today. And they stand on post today with those new lessons learned.

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, I, I covered the White House for almost eight years and I've nothing but admiration for the folks at the Secret Service. They're incredibly dedicated people and just solid professionals through and through.

And I did want to ask you one other thing, Paul. I mean, we just don't know a whole lot about the shooter, the motive and so on. Isn't that a little curious in your view? What do you think?

ECKLOFF: In my view, the only curiosity is that people assume this is something new. There are a number of stressors that young people face. And I would not even assume that his motives were political. There are a number of things that spur emotional instability, mental instability in young people today, as well as adults.

And if anything speaks to a mental health crisis that America is facing, it would be the actions of Saturday. I think this young man was troubled. He clearly, as people who know him, say he was facing some issues. And, unfortunately, he was motivated to act out in some way, assigning specific blame or reasons, whether that's an increase in vitriol and language that people use that a mentally unstable person can't parse the hyperbole that we see in political rhetoric of, by any means, means something very different to intelligent, emotionally stable adults like yourself and me.

To this young man, he maybe saw that as a call to action or he wanted fame. I won't use his name. There are people with differences of opinion of using the name of assassins. But, yes, that that fame that they seek that memory that etching themselves in history, it's tragic. And America, perhaps the world, is reeling from his activities that day. And I would just assure people that there's nobody more concerned right now than the Secret Service, those that are on post today, those of us that served for decades. We want answers as much as anyone else. And I appreciate the questions and I appreciate your fair analysis.

ACOSTA: Paul Eckloff, thank you very much for joining us. I hope we get those answers. You've great raised some great points this morning. Thanks a lot for your time. I appreciate it.

All right.

ECKLOFF: Thank you.

ACOSTA: In the meantime, friends and family of the man killed on Saturday will pay their last respects at his funeral in Pennsylvania tomorrow. Firefighter Corey Comperatore will be remembered as a family man who served his community and was always there to help a friend in need. He was shot as he tried to shield his family from the gunfire. Police say the two people wounded at the rally are now in stable condition. The Marine Corps League of Pennsylvania says 57-year-old David Dutch needed two surgeries after being shot in the liver and the chest and the family of 74-year-old James Copenhaver issued a statement thanking everyone for the outpouring of support as he recovers from his injuries.

[10:15:06]

Coming up, we'll go live to Milwaukee where tonight J.D. Vance will make his first speech as Trump's vice presidential running mate.

CNN's Manu Raju is there. Manu, a big night for J.D. Vance.

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, no question about it, really an opportunity to introduce himself to millions of people around the country. People have not really familiar with them. His wife will give it a chance to introduce him first. And how will we talk about his views with moderates from his more conservative politics, all big questions we're going to dig into after a quick break.

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ACOSTA: Last night, a pretty stunning display of Donald Trump's rock solid grip on the Republican Party as adversaries turned allies, taking the convention stage to lavish him with praise and pledge their support. It's a stark contrast to the 2016 convention, where Trump's primary opponent, Ted Cruz, refused to back the GOP nominee and was booed.

[10:20:06]

Now, a different story, as Trump's most recent Republican rival gave a full-throated endorsement of a man she once called unhinged.

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NIKKI HALEY, FORMER REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'll start by making one thing perfectly clear. Donald Trump has my strong endorsement, period.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now times have changed, and the party may be unified behind the former president. But last night some Republicans were drifting back toward hyper partisan attacks despite calls for national unity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): We're watching the principles of faith, family, and freedom that once defined our nation now being trampled underfoot by the radical left. As President Trump raised his fist and gave a rally cry on Saturday, now is our time to fight, and we will.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ACOSTA: Former White House Press Secretary turned Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the public needs to see the human side of the man she served.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. SARAH HUCKABEE SANDERS (R-AR): I want to talk about the man that I know. I endured relentless attacks from the left. I was insulted as a guest at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

Our president pulled me aside, looked me in the eye, and said, Sarah, you're smart, you're beautiful, you're tough, and they attack you because you're good at your job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Let's go on to CNN's Manu Raju inside the convention hall in Milwaukee. Manu, I was struck by, you know, Sarah Sanders' speech there, how much of it was about herself, in addition to Donald Trump, her old boss over at the White House. But, you know, fascinating night seeing folks like Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, who were really tough critics of the former president, getting behind the GOP nominee.

RAJU: Yes, that was the theme of last night, trying to Republican unity despite all the divisions. And then tonight, J.D. Vance and his meteoric political rise, which is going to take center stage here in Milwaukee. He delivers the most important speech of his young career to date, not just as the junior senator from Ohio, a freshman Republican, but also as the GOP's vice presidential nominee.

Now, CNN's Alayna Treene joins me now. And, Alayna, you have been doing a lot of reporting about what to expect. We expect a lot about his biography. How do we expect him to talk about that and also his conservative politics?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Right. Well, just to touch on, you know, his life story, I spoke with someone who's been helping work with Vance on those remarks, and they said, he has an incredible journey, and I don't think anyone can really argue that. He came from -- he grew up in a poor Rust Belt town in Ohio. He had a family that struggled with opioid addiction, all of which he outlines in his memoir, the Hillbilly Elegy. He also then went on to become a Marine. He went to Yale Law School. He was a venture capitalist. And then, of course, he's been in the Senate for just one and a half years before being tapped as Donald Trump's running mate. And so he's going to talk a lot about that and really try to connect with voters that way.

And, remember, a lot of people who have been in Donald Trump's ear urging him to pick J.D. Vance have said those are the types of stories that can help with the working class voters in the Rust Belt states that they see as so important and essential to winning in November.

Now, as for his politics, J.D. Vance, you know, just from covering him in the Senate, just as I do, is very focused on economic policies as well as foreign policy. And I think we'll --

RAJU: Anti-Ukraine.

TREENE: Exactly. And I do think you're going to hear some of that on stage tonight. However, remember what this whole week is about, which is about unity, which is about getting Republicans lined up behind Donald Trump.

Donald Trump's team is going to be reviewing this speech as well, just as they have done with some of the other speeches this week. And so they'll definitely be online. I don't think you'll expect to see J.D. Vance out of step at all with the former president, what he wants him to say on the stage tonight.

RAJU: Yes, it's very -- I'm sure. There's a lot of drafts that are going back and forth. And whatever he says will have the essential, implicit endorsement of the former president can be fascinating, fascinating to watch.

Alayna Treene, thank you so much for joining me right here.

And outside the convention, local activists this morning are criticizing out-of-state police officers who shot and killed a homeless man in Milwaukee. The Ohio officers were helping with the security for the RNC when investigators say they saw the man holding a knife in each hand. And the Milwaukee Police Department released body cam video footage of the event. And a warning, this video you're about to see may be disturbing.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's got a knife.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he does.

[10:25:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey. Stop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Drop the knife.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Drop the knife.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Drop your knife.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Drop your knife.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Drop your knife. Drop, drop the knife now. Drop. Don't fire. Don't fire. Don't fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: And CNN's Ryan Young now joins us from outside the RNC security perimeter. So, Ryan, what are you learning about what happened here?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Manu, when you watch that video, and it's a good thing that they've been able to put that video out so quickly, apparently, there are five body cameras that caught that incident, but they were able to get that body camera out so people could see exactly what happened. You do see why officers say the reason why they had to get involved is because they thought that man was lunging with those two knives toward that man, and they had to intercede.

Now, of course, you have officers from around the country who are around this perimeter. They were having a briefing, and they saw this happen, and that's why they went to intercede. One thing we want to make clear here, as you look behind me, this wasn't near the soft or the hard perimeter, like you've had to go through all these security checks. This was outside that area about a mile away from there.

But before this all came out with the video, people were saying the man had his hands up and he did not need to be shot. What's made clear by the videos that officers were engaging and trying to get him to put the knife down. Take a listen to the mayor and what he had to say earlier this morning.

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MAYOR CAVALIER JOHNSON (D-MILWAUKEE, WI): The deceased individual had family, had friends, and my thoughts certainly are with them.

These Columbus officers, they saved the life of an unarmed man from death or perhaps serious injury.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Now, there's a lot of anger when it comes to what exactly happened here. People believe the man did not need to be shot. That was before the video has been released. Since then, I believe, people in this community have sort of calmed down, but you kind of can feel the tension not only between the Milwaukee Police Department but the questions about out-of-town officers getting involved in a shooting like this one. But, again, they want to stress that the officers were nearby. They saw this go down. They were afraid for that other man's life and they try to step in to save that life. Manu, of course, this is an evolving security situation that we will continue to follow.

RAJU: Yes, the investigation will continue and there are so many out- of-state police officers here and that's going to be a question for investigators as well about their role in all this. Ryan Young, thank you for that report.

And, Jim, I'm going to toss it back to you in Washington.

ACOSTA: Thanks, Manu. And coming up, President Biden eyeing major changes to the Supreme Court. Will he be successful? That's next.

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