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El Paso Marks 5 Years Since Walmart Massacre That Killed 23; Today Trump & Vance Rally In Atlanta, Just Days After Harris' Stop; Trump Agrees To Fox News Debate After Backing Out Of ABC Debate; U.S. Sending Aircraft Carrier, Warships, And Fighter Squadron To Middle East Amid Escalation Fears; U.S. Embassy In Beirut Telling Americans To "Book Any Flight" If They Want To Leave; Levy Co., Florida Issues Evac Orders As Storm Moves Closer To Coast; Heat Alerts In Effect For 140 Million-Plus Across The U.S.; Election Interference Case Could Get Jumpstart Now That It's Back In Federal Judge's Court; Secret Service Takes Blame For Security Failures In Trump Assassination Attempt; Italian Boxer Angela Carini Apologizes To Opponent Imane Khelif; Simone Biles Wins Another Gold Medal In Vault; Katie Ledecky The Most- Decorated U.S. Female Olympian Of All Time; Trump's New Debate Plan. Aired 1-2p ET
Aired August 03, 2024 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:00:00]
GONZALO ALVARADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The community has shared with me, Jim, that these type of events, this type of ceremonies, these type of vigils help them kind of cope with the pain that they're still there. They say that this type of events, it's going to be a scar that will remain forever in their hearts and in their mind. They say that, you know, the lives of these 23 individuals who were there at the wrong time, at the wrong moment, you know, they will never be forgotten. So I guess it'll be a healing process slowly, but surely, Jim.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Gonzalo, please share our thoughts with the community there. I remember the warm welcome they gave all of us journalists covering that. And --
ALVARADO: Yes.
SCIUTTO: -- they're certainly in our thoughts today.
ALVARADO: Will do.
SCIUTTO: Hello, thanks so much for joining. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. Fredricka Whitfield is off today.
We are following several major moments on the campaign trail. Starting in Atlanta, we're a short time from now. Former President Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance will hold a rally. Their event comes just hours after Trump announced that he was agreeing to, he said, a whole new debate plan, this one on Fox News, in front of a live audience, against his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.
Harris has not accepted that new invitation, given she's sticking with what was the previously plan debate agreed to by Trump as well, hosted by ABC News. Trump now backing out of that plan. Also this weekend, Harris is meeting with her vetting team for in depth presentations on each of the finalists to be her running mate.
She is expected to meet with the top candidates as well this weekend. An announcement of her final decision, the expectation, by Tuesday. CNN's Alayna Treene, Priscilla Alvarez, they're following the campaigns and they join us now. Alayna, first to you, you're at the site of what will be Trump's rally in Atlanta. What is his campaign saying about this new debate plan that he's putting out there now?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, we have heard from both the former president and his campaign, and look, this idea that they do not need to show up to that previously agreed upon September 10th debate with ABC is nothing new. We have heard this from them before.
They have said that since Joe Biden is no longer the presumptive Democratic nominee, and now that he has a new opponent, they do not have to abide by that previous agreement. And it's really unclear at this point, Jim, if we actually are going to see the two debate. I'll obviously let Priscilla get into Harris's side of this, but from the Trump campaign side, I think they are trying to put this back on their own terms.
And we know that they were very eager to debate Joe Biden. Donald Trump himself had said for months, you know, anytime, any place, anywhere. We are now seeing Democrats and Harris herself using that same language to needle Donald Trump on this.
I'm going to read for you just a little bit of what Trump wrote on his -- in his Truth Social post yesterday. The first post he wrote, quote, "I've agreed with Fox News to debate Kamala Harris on Wednesday, September 4th. The debate was previously scheduled against sleepy Joe Biden on ABC, but has been terminated in that Biden will no longer be a participant."
He went on to say that he is in litigation with ABC and that it's a conflict of interest. But I do think actually his second post, there's a line in there that I found very telling. I'm going to read that for you as well. He wrote, quote, "I spent hundreds of millions of dollars, time and effort fighting Joe. And when I won the debate, they threw a new candidate into the ring. Not fair, but it is what it is. Nevertheless, different candidate or not, their bad policies are the same."
This is really what I've been told repeatedly from Donald Trump seniors, advisers, Jim, that they are still trying to figure out what their campaign looks like against Kamala Harris. They have spent months, their entire campaign thus far spending money on ads, modeling, data, all of that designed to go after Joe Biden, an unpopular 81-year-old incumbent.
Now they have a different opponent, and they're still trying to figure out what that looks like. I think the same goes for a debate. They do not know what a debate against her would like -- look like and whereas they were eager to debate Joe Biden and show the contrast between the two and particularly try to highlight what they were arguing was his, you know, he was a weak and feeble candidate. That's not exactly going to be the same with Harris.
And so I think we have to wait and see --
SCIUTTO: Yes.
TREENE: -- whether or not they can come to some sort of agreement and we can actually see them face off.
SCIUTTO: Yes. We know that race is going to be part of their messaging against Harris too, as we learned this week.
Priscilla, so the Harris team is saying, well, we made a deal and we're going to stick with that deal, which was the ABC debate and show up regardless.
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, and to Alayna's point, they are using the former president's own words to make the case that he should be there. In a statement, the Harris Communications Director said, Mr. Anytime, Anywhere, Anyplace should have no problem with that unless he's too scared to show up on the 10th, referring there to that September 10th ABC debate.
Now, the understanding from the campaign, according to a source is that ABC will still give the airtime to the candidates. So if the former president doesn't show up, that effectively gives the vice president that a lot of time on air to make her case. So essentially a town hall style.
[13:05:16]
So we're still learning about how exactly would unfold if former President Donald Trump does stick to what he's saying and doesn't attend, but these were previously agreed upon debates and that is what the campaign is maintaining right now even as the former president tries to throw out this debate on Fox.
SCIUTTO: Maybe it becomes a town hall for her. Let me ask you, Alayna, a question, based on your coverage of the campaign and you speak to Trump campaign officials all the time, is it possible Trump doesn't want to debate Kamala Harris?
TREENE: I think there is a chance. I mean, we have heard Donald Trump himself say in a number of interviews ever since Biden had dropped out and Harris -- it became clear that Harris would be the person he is going to face off against. He said he wants to debate her and that he believes there is a, quote, "obligation" to debate her.
But I do think there is of course concern about what that kind of debate would look like. They recognize that they did have some sort of advantage against Joe Biden. I think clearly after 27th, that was what set off a series of events that ultimately led to him moving aside, and it really had a massive impact on the Democratic Party.
And, you know, I can tell you from my conversations to them, they were feeling very confident after that first debate. They were essentially measuring the drapes for the fall. That is so different now with Harris. And I do think there are some concerns about what that would look like if he were to get up on stage with her and have an entirely different conversation than what they had previously been prepared for with Joe Biden.
SCIUTTO: Priscilla, we're clearly in the stretch run for Kamala Harris's vice presidential veepstakes. What happens now?
ALVAREZ: Well, in this condensed timeline, no less. So, right now, the process that is playing out at her residence is the former Attorney General Eric Holder and his team, who have been leading the charge on the vetting of these running mates, giving presentations on each of the VP contenders.
Those presentations can be somewhere between 60 to 90 minutes. Longer, shorter. We know that over the course of the vice president's political career and in her role as vice president, she asks a lot of questions of her teams, and it's very detail oriented. So you can imagine sort of the conversations that are happening over each of these contenders as that goes forward.
She also doesn't really have close relationships with any of these running mates. So a lot is taken into consideration here. There has been polling. There has been focus groups. Her top consideration, according to a source, is electability. So who is going to help her on the map toward November?
And of course, whoever she picks is going to give us that early window of where her head is at and what policies they plan to adopt here. Now, the people on that list, you see them on the screen there, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Senator Mark Kelly, Tim Walz.
So the presentations that are happening now are going to try to help whittle down who has those interviews, those formal interviews with the vice president some of which are expected to happen in person. But on Tuesday, we have a deadline here, on Tuesday, she will be having a Philadelphia rally where she will be with her running mate and then they will go to all the battleground states after that.
SCIUTTO: Well, Tuesday is going to be a busy day for you then. We'll be watching.
Alayna Treene, Priscilla Alvarez, thanks so much to both of you.
Well, Vance's rollout as Trump's VP has been rocky, to say the least. That does not appear to bother some of his former Appalachian neighbors. CNN's Gary Tuchman spoke with voters in Jackson, Kentucky, about what it is like to see one of their own rise to this new political hype.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three little boys playing in a creek. Under the watchful eyes of their parents. Right across the street from a house where another young boy used to spend a lot of time.
TUCHMAN: You live near where J.D. Vance used to spend all the summers, correct?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
JOSHUA GROSS, JACKSON, KENTUCKY RESIDENT: Yes. Just pretty much right here.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): This is Jackson, Kentucky, in the heart of Appalachia.
TUCHMAN: How'd you feel when you heard that he's the Republican vice presidential nominee?
GROSS: I was actually proud of him. It came across really, you know, like a proud feeling, like you can accomplish something just from this little area. It tells me kind of, you know, one of my little boys could possibly grow up and become vice president one day. You never know.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): In J.D. Vance's book, "Hillbilly Elegy," he says he grew up in the Rust Belt city of Middletown, Ohio, but also here in Jackson, where he would regularly travel with his grandparents to visit other family members.
TUCHMAN: Do you know who you're going to vote for?
GROSS: Donald Trump and J.D. Vance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald Trump and J.D. Vance.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Sarah and David Fischer are among many other people we talk to in the city and elsewhere in Breathitt County who have made the same decision.
TUCHMAN: Do you like Vance?
SARAH FISCHER, JACKSON, KENTUCKY RESIDENT: Yes.
DAVID FISCHER, JACKSON, KENTUCKY RESIDENT: Oh yes.
TUCHMAN: You like the fact he's from here?
S. FISCHER: Yes.
D. FISCHER: Oh I love that.
TUCHMAN: You feel he's one of you?
S. FISCHER: Yes.
D. FISCHER: Yes.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): But what about this political twist that Breathitt County and the nation are now well aware of?
TUCHMAN: Does it bother you that Vance had spoken out vociferously against Trump at one point? [13:10:01]
D. FISCHER: Oh, no, I did in the beginning, too, until I started really listening to both sides.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Mackie Richardson hasn't yet decided who he will vote for.
TUCHMAN: He's talked about childless cat ladies. What are your thoughts about that statement? Should he stay away from that or is it OK to say something like that?
MACKIE RICHARDSON, JACKSON, KENTUCKY RESIDENT: I believe I'd stay away from it. And there's so many people that have sacrificed so much for this nation in one way or another that don't have children.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): The mayor of Jackson, Laura Thomas, prefers not to be public about who she supports for president, but --
MAYOR LAURA THOMAS, JACKSON, KENTUCKY: If good things can happen because his name is out there and he's tied to our community, then great. That's exciting.
STEPHEN BOWLING, BREATHITT COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY DIRECTOR: I'm the director of the Breathitt County Public Library. I'm the public information officer for the Jackson Fire Department. I'm also a member of the Jackson City Council.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Stephen Bowling knows J.D. Vance and his family and says they have come in the county library frequently over the years. As far as the book that helped give J.D. Vance fame --
BOWLING: It certainly caused interest to be placed upon the mountain folks, but only time will tell if that is a positive or a negative lot.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): At the Studio 6 Salon in Jackson, owner Lloyd Roberts has watched the "Hillbilly Elegy" movie that came out in 2020.
TUCHMAN: Based on what you know about him, based on the movie, "Hillbilly Elegy," what do you think?
LLOYD ROBERTS, JACKSON, KENTUCKY: I mean, I'll vote for him.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): His son's fiance, who is the salon manager, has also seen the movie, but feels differently.
TUCHMAN: So you haven't decided who you're going to vote for or even if you're going to vote?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
TUCHMAN: So it doesn't give you some extra pride that you say, I'm going to vote for him?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, it doesn't. No. TUCHMAN (voice-over): Salon customer Freda Banks is keeping her political eyes open.
FREDA BANKS, JACKSON, KENTUCKY: Well, I'm undecided on what I'm going to do, but, you know, it's just feels kind of good knowing that somebody from this community or somebody that has been in this community is going to be running for vice president.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Gary Tuchman, CNN, Jackson, Kentucky.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: As the Middle East braces for a potential retaliation from Iran against Israel, the U.S. is sending more military assets to the region, including a carrier group. Details coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:16:53]
SCIUTTO: The U.S. is preparing to send further military assets to the Middle East, including a carrier strike group as well as a fighter squadron. It is bracing for yet another potential escalation of hostilities in the region as a -- as Iran is vowing retaliation for the killing of a senior Hamas leader in Tehran earlier this week. It blames Israel for the attack. Israel has not commented.
And new this hour, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut is telling Americans who want to leave the country to book, quote, "any ticket available." Also warning those who don't leave that they should not rely on the U.S. government for assisted departure or evacuation in a crisis. That's quite a statement.
CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Beirut. Ben, I wonder what Lebanese civilians as well as officials are telling you about their level of concern at this point. They've been here before, they've been in the midst of just horrible wars, often paid the price. I wonder how fearful they are now.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They're fearful. I mean, I've been in and out of Beirut since last October. And what we've seen is tensions go up, tensions go down, but I've never seen them so far as high as they are at the moment. There really is concern that Hezbollah's counter strike to Israel's strike on Beirut on Tuesday. They killed that senior Hezbollah commander is going to set off a round of strikes that could really broaden into a war.
And, of course, then there's the question of what -- how Iran is going to respond to the -- what's believed to have been Israel's killing of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Now today, for instance, we heard the Lebanese Minister of Trade and Economy, reassuring the population that there is enough food in the country and don't hoard because hoarding is going to drive up prices for everybody.
Yet again, another airline has announced suspension of flights from Beirut-Kuwait Airlines, saying that tomorrow at noon is their last flight out of Beirut for the foreseeable future. And, of course, you mentioned the the American embassy warning American nationals to get out as quickly as possible, just book any flight, just to get out of the country. And just ordinary people who've been through so much before feel helpless.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NAJI DERKASPAR, BEIRUT SHOP OWNER (through translator): In the event of a war, we are unable to do anything, but we hope that it won't happen because this time it will be a catastrophe. The country is suffering. The country is bankrupt. It's struggling to stay afloat. It is asking the West for aid and donations, and even with that, it is barely able to survive. So if war erupts, it's very problematic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WEDEMAN: And of course, tomorrow is another rather dark anniversary. Tomorrow is the fourth anniversary of the Beirut port blast, one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history. It devastated much of the eastern, the western -- eastern part of the city and left more than 200 people dead.
[13:20:01]
So every sort of every month has a memory here of war, of tragedy, of suffering, and people really just don't want to go through it yet again. Jim?
SCIUTTO: Our colleague, Barak Ravid, CNN contributor, he reported yesterday that the U.S. has warned Israel that it will not bail it out again if Israel were to further escalate, perhaps in response to anything we see in the coming days. I wonder where you are. How do folks view the U.S. role in all this?
WEDEMAN: I think people are really shocked that the U.S. has allowed this conflict go on so long. We're basically 10 months into this war that the destruction and bloodshed in Gaza has been horrific. And rather than perhaps trying to bring it to an end, it seems that the U.S. is not able to do anything.
Things are, if anything, getting worse. So there really is a feeling that the U.S. has either decided not to do anything or is incapable of restraining Israel. We've seen, for instance, the United States is calling on Qatar and others to send messages to Hezbollah and Iran to restrain themselves in responding to these assassinations. But there isn't much in the way of restraining Israel itself.
The assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, of course, the Israelis have neither confirmed nor denied that. This is a man who was instrumental in the negotiations for a ceasefire and the release of the hostages. He was seen as within Hamas by Hamas standards as a relative moderate. The question many people are asking, why on earth would you kill the man who's trying to work out a deal with the Israelis?
So the feeling is that the United States, unlike, for instance, in 1982 during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and the siege of Beirut, when Ronald Reagan basically laid down the law, basically said --
SCIUTTO: Yes.
WEDEMAN: -- told Prime Minister Menachem Begin, to stop it, stop the bombing of Beirut that lasted three months. This war is now 10 months in prior, then by the looks of it, is going on even longer. But the feeling is the Americans just are unable or unwilling to stop it. Jim?
SCIUTTO: Yes. And both those things, not good for U.S. influence there, whether it's by choice or by lack of influence.
Ben Wedeman in Beirut, thanks so much.
Back here in the U.S., parts of Florida are now under a hurricane watch as a slow moving storm is set to get stronger, could become a hurricane by tomorrow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:27:06]
SCIUTTO: Just moments ago, officials in Levy County, Florida, southwest of Gainesville, issued a mandatory evacuation order as a tropical depression moves closer to the Gulf Coast. The order affects residents living in mobile and manufactured homes along the coastline, as well as in low lying areas. Parts of the state are under a hurricane watch where landfall could happen by Monday. That storm is strengthening.
Meteorologist Elisa Raffa joins me now from the Weather Center. So, I mean, one frequent factor here, right, is the water's warmer, right, and that as the storms get closer to land, that they can rapidly strengthen. And I wonder if you see the conditions for that here.
ELISA RAFFA, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we could be looking at a storm that intensifies just before landfall again, because these temperatures in the water are just so warm. It's fuel for these tropical systems. Right now, we still have the center looking a little bit disorganized because it's sitting over land over Cuba winds at 35 miles per hour. Still a tropical depression.
But as we go through the day today, we will continue to find it getting out into the water. There's no wind shear in its way or that wind energy upstairs in the atmosphere. So that is favorable for intensification. We also have record warm sea surface temperatures in the lower 90s right off the coast of Tampa Bay.
You need temperatures at 80 degrees or cooler for a storm to weekend. So we have super fuel really, which is why we're concerned about this getting close to hurricane strength right before landfall. With that storm coming inland, we're looking at 3 feet to 5 feet storm surge there in the Big Bend of Florida, 2 feet to 4 feet of storm surge from Tampa Bay down towards Fort Myers.
You've got the tropical storm warnings in effect basically from South Florida up through Tampa. The pink is there your hurricane watch. We could be looking at again. It's either a strong tropical storm or maybe just shy of that category 1 strength as it comes into the Big Bend of Florida.
But then look at what happens. Look at this big bubble. It kind of gets stuck and there's nowhere for it to go. When you look at the long term trends of some of those models, those plots, I mean, look, they just kind of loop de loop because there's really nowhere for this system to go. There's a high pressure off to the east, another one off to the west, and then this front that's keeping it parked in its place to the north.
So once it curves into Florida, it kind of gets stuck off of the coast of Georgia and the Carolinas, maybe right on top too. So we could be measuring rain in feet here. Look at some of these rain totals, 5 inches to 10 inches, pretty widespread, but really worried about some pockets that could develop well over 12 inches. That could cause some significant urban and flash flooding. Jim?
SCIUTTO: No question. Elisa Raffa, thanks so much for keeping a close eye on it.
Speaking of high temperatures to another extreme weather event, California's Death Valley National Park experienced the hottest month ever this July with an average 24-hour temperature of 108 degrees, 108.5 in fact. This beats the previous record of 108.1 set in 2018. The average high for the month was a sweltering 121 degrees. Little relief overnight.
[13:30:12:]
One fatality reported in the park last month. Officials say park rangers responded to multiple life-threatening heat-related incidents.
Heat alerts are in effect for more than 140 million people across the U.S. Today and tomorrow, temperatures expected to reach 115 degrees in Phoenix.
Maricopa County, where Phoenix is located, experienced its hottest June on record, reporting twice as many heat-related deaths than last year.
CNN chief climate correspondent, Bill Weir, looks at what it takes to survive in what is now Americas hottest city.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The sunniest big city in America is shattering the worst kind of records for relentlessly high temperatures and the body count that follows.
CAPT. ROBERT MCDADE, PHOENIX FIRE DEPARTMENT: It's so dangerous. We're in that critical area, they're literally, it's cooking of the brain and really the organs are starting to shut down.
CAPT. JOHN PRATO, PHOENIX FIRE DEPARTMENT: We're trying to get them below that heat stroke range before we even get to the hospital. WEIR: After the heat killed 645 souls in Maricopa County last year, body bags and ice are now standard equipment on every ambulance and fire truck as Phoenix learns the hard way that it's not just the heat, it's the vulnerability.
MCDADE: As always, the most vulnerable population in our communities are the young and the old. We unfortunately had a fatality one of our hiking trails with a 10-year-old. We have elderly people that can't compensate as well in their homes if their air conditioning is out.
We have a lot of our folks that do landscaping, construction, they're working outside. We need to get to them. And then, of course, we have our unhoused, you know, are population that's out on the streets trying to seek coverage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say, brother, you need some water? I have some ice.
MAYOR KATE GALLEGO, PHOENIX, ARIZONA: One challenge that's very much on my mind is about 65 percent of the people we've lost recently had an addiction.
WEIR: Kate Gallego studied environmental science at Harvard. And when she became Phoenix mayor five years ago, she learned quickly how an overheated environment adds life or death urgency to common problems like affordable housing and addiction.
GALLEGO: We lost way too many people who were under the influence of methamphetamines and didn't go inside or didn't cool down when they needed to.
DR. EUGENE LIVAR, CHIEF HEAT OFFICER, STATE OF ARIZONA: These are self-contained, solar-modified shipping containers that can operate for up to 12 hours without being plugged into any energy resource.
WEIR: The crisis spurred both the creation of Arizona's first chief heat officer --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes, it feels nice.
(LAUGHTER)
WEIR: -- and the conversion of 18 cool-tainers to get people off the scorching streets.
GERI BLAKE, REGISTERED NURSE, TERROS HEALTH: Can you sit up for me, please?
We've got to work on hydration.
WEIR: Overnight temps can stay above 90. So Phoenix now has its first 24-hour cooling centers. And since neighborhoods with lots of trees can be around 20 degrees cooler than those without, both city and state have laid out policies of shade equity.
WEIR (on camera): Your office is very hot, Jennifer.
(LAUGHTER)
JENNIFER VANOS, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, SCHOOL OF SUSTAINABILITY, ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY: This is --
WEIR: This is your office?
VANOS: This is my office, yes.
WEIR (voice-over): Informed by science that measures how heat bounces off concrete.
VANOS: We chose to live in the desert. It's hot no matter what. But how can we create microclimates that are cooler than the surrounding environment? And also, how can we reduce the temperature of the surrounding environment?
WEIR: Phoenix is among the Arizona cities set to share in the $1.5 billion set aside for urban tree planting in the Inflation Reduction Act. And in a land of low-slung construction, they want more urban canyons and built breezeways.
GALLEGO: When I was first elected, we pushed buildings to not go into the public sidewalk areas. And now we're saying we want to encourage it.
We have a goal for 70 percent of our heavily walked areas to have shade cover because it can make a huge difference in how comfortable you are outside.
WEIR: But this takes time and the heat won't wait. So day to day, it's about saving lives, one icy body bag at a time.
MCDADE: Come talk to us. We'll tell you what we've learned. Don't underestimate it. Buy the bigger ice machines. Be prepared. Get ready.
WEIR: Bill Weir, CNN, Phoenix.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: Be prepared, get ready.
[13:34:16]
Well, Special Counsel Jack Smith's election interference case against Donald Trump is about to return to the courtroom. It could, though, look much different.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: Well, wheels of justice moving along a little bit. Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan has regained control of former President Trump's 2020 election interference case.
The case back in court for the first time since the Supreme Court granted sweeping immunity for official acts as president.
Judge Chutkan has set a hearing for August 16th to consider exactly how the case should move forward.
Former Miami Judge Jeff Swartz joins us now to provide insight.
Good to have you, sir.
Is the first question before the judge here, what parts of Jack Smiths case survive the Supreme Court's immunity ruling?
JEFF SWARTZ, FORMER MIAMI-DADE COUNTY COURT JUDGE: I think that that's one of the decisions she may have to make. However, I think Jack is going to make a number of those decisions for her.
Sometime between now and that status conference that's been set for the 16th, I believe one of two things is going to happen. Jack is either going to file motions to strike certain language out of the indictment or he is going to surface with a superseding indictment with a lot of that language gone and kind of restating the case.
[13:40:15]
However, I don't think that's going to delay the setting of a trial.
SCIUTTO: So what survives from his case based on the Supreme Court's ruling? Your best guess?
SWARTZ: My best guess, things like he talked to the -- he was going to fire -- that Trump was going to fire the attorney general and replace that acting attorney general with Jeffrey Clark, is one of those core duties that the president has the right to do, even if it's done for a corrupt purpose.
Which is what bothers me the most about the opinion. They didn't make that exception.
Things that can be perceived as being his duties, those things which he has some qualified immunity from, depending upon how it was done and when, those things like going down and speaking to people down at the mall, and those things that were done solely for the purpose of his campaign will remain in the indictment.
And I think Chutkan going to let him stay in the indictment. And then he's going to have to face that at a trial.
The issue on all of that is going to be, is Trump entitled to an interlocutory appeal? Is he going to be able to delay the trial by trying to go to the circuit to review whatever decisions that Chutkan may make?
I don't think that the circuit is going to take it.
(CROSSTALK)
SWARTZ: I see, at that point, they're to say, well, handle it on a direct appeal if you're convicted.
SCIUTTO: So just so we understand, so Jack -- and by the way, Jack Smith is certainly has been doing his homework on this in the intervening week. So, so there's a trimmed-down indictment of some sort. She's hearing this on August 16th.
Any chance that all the various hoops are jumped -- jumped through so that there is a trial prior to the election?
SWARTZ: I think there is a possibility. As much as the delay in getting from SCOTUS all the way back to Chutkan was one month. If -- if that had not taken place, and there were reasons why it did, but if that had not taken place, there's a real possibility we would be in trial a couple of weeks from now.
I think that we're looking at -- after Labor Day, I think that we're looking at a trimmed-down trial that could last maybe two to two-and- a-half weeks. It could be over before October.
Most of what Jack wants considered motion-wise has already been filed. They're just sitting there. It's only waiting for responses from Trump's people.
And Chutkan can put them on a very truncated timeline that could get them in trial by the middle of September. It's a push, but it could happen.
SCIUTTO: That would be remarkable. But, boy, it's been a long time coming.
Jeff Swartz, thanks so much.
The head --
SWARTZ: Thank you.
SCIUTTO: The head of the Secret Service is taking the fall and full responsibility for security failures in the attempted assassination of former President Trump.
The acting director, Ronald Rowe, says agents should have had eyes on the roof where a gunman opened fire into a crowded Pennsylvania rally last month, killed a bystander, injured Trump.
Rowe also said local police should not be blamed for the lapses in security as he and others had done so prior.
CNN law enforcement correspondent, Whitney Wild, has more on the investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Director Rowe revealed some pretty major breakdowns in communication. And what he said was that there was radio traffic, there were text messages and there were phone calls, but it was -- it was pretty scattered among the different agencies.
And what we know is that that's a very critical breakdown because local law enforcement had been tracking that shooter for quite some time. It was only until about 30 seconds before the shooting started that they realized he had a firearm.
And they, the local law enforcement agencies, put that information out over the radio. But the problem was, there were two command posts. What Director Rowe described was a unified command post where local law enforcement agencies were stationed so they could hear one another's radios there.
But there was another area where the Secret Service was located and that was their security room where they were with a Pennsylvania state trooper.
That information, that radio traffic did not get to the Secret Service. And so the Secret Service agents and counter-snipers did not know that gunman had a firearm until he started shooting.
Here's what Director Rowe said about how these two command centers -- how these two command centers were working, and why that radio traffic became so hampered.
RONALD ROWE, ACTING DIRECTOR, SECRET SERVICE: On the day in Butler, we had a Pennsylvania state trooper in our security room. They also had a unified command post that had some of the other agencies that were onsite that day.
It is plainly obvious to me that we we're not -- we didn't have access to certain information, not by anybody's fault. It just so happened that there was a sense of urgency that there might have been radio traffic that we missed.
[13:45:04]
WILD: The other big question here is about accountability. And Director Rowe made very clear that he's not going to discipline anyone or fire anyone until the results of an internal investigation are complete.
He said that that is also not information we are going to be getting in real time but, instead, he said, at some point, he'd be prepared to make what he called a high -level statement to assure everyone that there was some level of accountability associated with this massive failure.
Whitney Wild, CNN, Chicago.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: On the Olympics now, the GOAT of women's gymnastics wins yet again. So could she be the best American Olympian ever?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:50:20]
SCIUTTO: An Algerian boxer's Olympic Games will continue. Imane Khelif received a warm welcome ahead of winning her second bout today.
Her Italian opponent in the first round is now apologizing for her treatment of Khelif. Angela Carini quit 46 seconds into the match. Did not shake Khelif's hands.
Khelif, we should note, has been facing scrutiny over misconceptions about her gender and because of a now-discredited disqualification by the International Boxing Association ahead of a Gold medal bout last year.
CNN sports analyst, Christine Brennan, joins us now from Paris.
And, Christine, I want to talk about her case, in particular, because, listen, a lot of folks have been attacking her, both there and because politics is everything here, it's become a political issue here.
But can you tell us the actual facts of her case?
CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: As we know it, Jim, Khelif is a woman, born a woman, according to the International Olympic Committee. Is a woman. Her passport says she's a woman.
And as I'm sure, many have heard, she's -- of course, she's from Algeria. And this notion that she is transgender, which is incorrect, absolutely false -- obviously, in Algeria, were she to be a transgender woman, she probably would have been jailed or worse.
So that's what we understand. Those are the facts as we know them. The International Olympic Committee has now had four different days of press releases, Jim, where they have said the same thing.
But I think what we're seeing here in Paris is that social media, whether it's the United States, Western Europe, around the world, has just crash landed on these Olympic Games and the boxing venue in particular.
I guess it's, in many ways, a statement about where we are as a society in 2024. But, my goodness, who would have ever thought that this would be what we're talking about?
SCIUTTO: No question.
So let's talk about someone else. Let's talk about Simone Biles. I was watching her performance on the vault earlier today. I mean, it's electrifying to watch her compete. It was another -- another Gold medal.
BRENNAN: It was Jim, yes, the Yurchenko double pike. You and I will not be trying this at home.
SCIUTTO: No.
BRENNAN: She is one of a kind. Simone Biles, the greatest gymnast ever. Such an incredible role model.
Obviously, gone through there's so much. You know, she's a survivor of the worst sexual abuse scandal in sports history, the Larry Nassar's scandal. So the fact she has come back from that and it's such a leader testifying in Congress, just that alone.
And then the athletic feats. And so incredible. Her seventh Gold medal over three Olympic Games. She says she might be retiring. But, of course, it's Los Angeles in four years, so I think anything is possible.
SCIUTTO: Could she -- does she have a case for being one of the best U.S. Olympians ever?
BRENNAN: Oh, I think so. I think she already is. And she's got two more events yet to come, but it's a great question.
You know, Michael Phelps is the winningest, the most decorated, 23 Gold medals. Katie Ledecky, of course, is right there as well. And of course, she's about to swim. So we'll see how that goes. But yes, for sure.
SCIUTTO: OK. Let's talk about swimming. Because there have been some disappointments for the world-dominant U.S. swimming team in the pool, particularly an individual events.
That does not apply to Katie Ledecky, who is now the most decorated U.S. female Olympian of all time. Another event today. Tell us what this would mean for her legacy.
BRENNAN: Yes, of course. So I just said Simone has seven Gold medals. Katie has eight. And she could win her ninth in about an hour-and-a- half on the 12th anniversary, Jim, of her first Gold medal, which was in London when she was a 15-year-old water bug surprising everyone in the 800 freestyle.
This is the 800 freestyle again. She is expected to win it. The longer the race goes, the better it is for Katie Ledecky. She won the 1,500. Now the 800. And this will be the last race in her Olympics.
She's already won three medals, the Gold, Silver, Bronze. I think she'll win a Gold. But it won't be easy. The Australians are pretty good. But Katie Ledecky truly the greatest of all time in swimming. And one of the greats, as well as Simone Biles.
SCIUTTO: Yes, my kids swim in the same pool that she grew up swimming in. So they're -- I know they're going to be rooting for her today. It'll be -- it'll be one to watch.
BRENNAN: That it will be. And I'll be there. As soon as we're done here --
SCIUTTO: Oh!
BRENNAN: -- I'm headed over there so --
(CROSSTALK)
SCIUTTO: So now you're just making me jealous. Christine Brennan. That's not fair now.
But enjoy it. It's great to have you there. Thanks for joining.
BRENNAN: Thank you, Jim.
[13:54:44]
SCIUTTO: All right. So will they or won't they debate? What Donald Trump is now saying it will take for him to debate his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: Hello. Thanks so much for joining me today. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. Fredricka Whitfield has the day off.
Now to a major twist on the campaign trail. Former President Donald Trump is now backing out from a scheduled debate on ABC, which he and his campaign agreed to.
[13:59:53]
Instead, he's now proposing a whole new plan.
Right now, Harris, her campaign, they're not committing to that event. They say they will show up as agreed at the ABC event regardless of whether Trump shows up or not.
