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CNN's Breaking News Coverage on FBI's Investigation regarding Donald Trump's Second Assassination Attempt; Trump Spared from His Second Assassination Attempt; Floods Hit Central and Eastern Europe, More than a Dozen Died; Tito Jackson of The Jackson 5 Dies. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired September 16, 2024 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: Hello and warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the U.S., Canada and around the world. I'm Max Foster in London. We are continuing our breaking news coverage this hour as the FBI investigates an apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump.

The former U.S. president wasn't harmed in Sunday's incident at his golf club in Florida, which comes just two months after an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania. A 58-year-old man identified as Ryan Wesley Routh has been detained. A source says the FBI investigation has now gone global as officials look into his background. We've learned that Routh has criticized Trump on social media in the past.

Sources say Trump had been playing golf at the time of the incident, moving between holes five and six, and his outing was a last-minute decision. The Palm Beach County Sheriff says the Secret Service fired shots at a man with a rifle in the bushes along the perimeter of the Trump International Golf Club. A witness who saw the person flee in a car helped authorities locate him in Martin County. The sheriff described the man's reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF WILLIAM D. SNYDER, MARTIN COUNTY, FLORIDA: The suspect's demeanor, I would describe as having a relatively calm, flat, A- factor, was not displaying a lot of emotion, never asked what is this about. Obviously, law enforcement with long rifles, blue lights, a lot going on, never questioned it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: An official says the man was 300 to 500 yards away from Trump as he was playing golf. People familiar with the matter say golf courses have long been a source of concern among Secret Service officials. The Palm Beach County Sheriff explains why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF RIC BRADSHAW, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA: You've got to understand the golf course is surrounded by shrubbery. When somebody gets into the shrubbery, they're pretty much out of sight. At this level that he is at right now, he's not the city president. If he was, we would have had to hire a golf course around it.

Well, because he's not, the security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible. So I would imagine that the next time he comes at a golf course, there'll probably be a little bit more people around the perimeter. But the Secret Service did exactly what they should have done. They provided exactly what the protection should have been, and their agent did a fantastic job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Trump took to social media on Sunday to praise the U.S. Secret Service and other law enforcement officials after the apparent attempt on his life, saying in part, quote, "the job done was absolutely outstanding." Shortly after Sunday's incident, Trump sent out two fundraising emails saying in the second one, my resolve is only stronger after another attempt on my life. I will never slow down. I will never give up. I will never surrender.

Investigators are already learning more about the man detained in connection with the attempted assassination, CNN's Evan Perez tells us what officials know so far.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SR. U.S. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: A 58-year-old man arrested Sunday in Florida in connection with an apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump is a self- employed affordable housing builder in Hawaii and was a critic of the former president online.

Ryan Routh has been active on social media weighing in on politics and current events, including making a post referencing the July assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania.

In separate posts on X, Routh tagged President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris encouraging them to visit those people who were injured at the rally while also criticizing Trump.

In an April post, also an X, also tagging President Biden's presidential account, he wrote that Biden's campaign should be called something like KDAF, Keep America Democratic and Free. The Trumps, he said, should be MASA, Make Americans Slave Again, master. Democracy is on the ballot and we cannot lose.

Now, Routh also has ties to North Carolina, where records show that he voted in the state's Democratic primary in March of this year. He also contributed more than $100 to ActBlue, which is a website that processes donations for Democrats.

Now, at one point, Routh expressed strong support for Ukraine on social media. He had dozens of posts on X in 2022, and he said he was willing to die in the fight, and that, quote, "we need to burn the Kremlin to the ground."

[03:04:58]

Now, Routh's eldest son, Orin, told CNN via text message that Routh was a loving and caring father and an honest, hardworking man. And he also said that the little that I've heard doesn't sound like the man I know to do anything crazy, much less violent.

The FBI is investigating this incident as an attempted assassination on the former president. and federal charges are expected to be filed against them in the coming days.

Evan Perez, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: U.S. President Joe Biden says he is relieved that Donald Trump was unharmed in Sunday's apparent assassination attempt. In a statement, he says, as I've said many times, there's no place for political violence or for any violence ever in our country. And I've directed my team to continue to ensure that Secret Service has everything, has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former president's continued safety.

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris also released a statement saying, I am deeply disturbed by the possible assassination attempt of former President Trump today. As we gather the facts, I will be clear, I condemn political violence. We all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more violence.

And Donald Trump's running mate, J.D. Vance, posted this on X. I'm glad President Trump is safe. He was, amazingly, in good spirits. Still, much we don't know. But I'll be hugging my kids extra tight tonight and saying a prayer of gratitude.

A congressional task force investigating the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in July is seeking a briefing with the U.S. Secret Service following Sunday's incident. In a statement, the members of the force say they want to know what happened and how security responded. One lawmaker says he remains deeply concerned about the political violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JARED MOSKOWITZ (D-FL): I'm deeply concerned about what's going on right now. I'm deeply concerned, quite frankly, for the former president's safety. The Secret Service has a lot to explain how an individual was able to get this close to the former president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Congressman Moskowitz says he expects the task force will also investigate the current incident. Joining me now Cheryl Tyler, former Secret Service Special Agent.

Thank you so much for joining us. A lot of praise going out for the Secret Service today. Do you think they did a good job?

CHERYL TYLER, FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT: Good morning. Yes, I do. They did their job and they did it right.

FOSTER: And some people questioning how someone was able to get so close to Donald Trump with a weapon. Is that a concern for you, away from the immediate response?

TYLER: That's always a concern, whether it's an inside venue or an outside venue. And as with the last attempted assassination, it came out clearer and clearer. Outside venues are very, very difficult to secure. Not that that's an excuse, but they're challenges that you just, you can't have a 100 percent bubble. That's the problem.

FOSTER: In terms of why he was there, that's probably the bigger concern, isn't it? Because as we understand it, this was a last minute decision by Trump to play golf. At weekends, he doesn't have his normal big political team around him. So there would be less people who would have known that he was there. Was this just coincidence, do you think, or are you concerned that there was some intel involved here as well?

TYLER: For face value, where we are right now, when you have those impromptu movements, you can only assume, which is a horrible word to use, but you can only assume that it was a coincidence. On the other side of that is, if the individual was there and had the equipment there, there's the strong possibility that the individual knew this golf course, had cased this golf course, and was just waiting.

FOSTER: We were hearing from specialists earlier that if this was a sitting president, the entire golf course and the perimeter would have been locked down. Just explain why that isn't the case for someone that could be the next president.

TYLER: I've done golf courses with sitting presidents and some have been completely locked down, some haven't. So it depends on the situation. It depends on the golf course there are a lot of ifs involved. To compare the amount of level of protection for a non- sitting president and a sitting president, that's going to be a laundry list of issues and concerns, the capabilities, staffing.

[03:10:10]

It's, if you start going down the road of everybody gets the same then that's fine if that's the road you choose. But what comes with that is an enormous amount of personnel, an enormous amount of equipment. The list just gets larger and larger.

FOSTER: Or you insist that president or presidential candidate doesn't play golf. You've obviously secured golf courses for sitting presidents before. Have you considered that and how would that process work? TYLER: I don't think that process would work well. And I say that very

quickly, because you have to realize on the other side, yes, they're the president of the United States. They have a right to have some sort of life outside of the White House.

So to tell a person, once you become the president of the United States, you no longer can do this, you no longer can do that. There are some things that are trimmed back that they cannot do because it causes more problems and concerns. However, to stop a person from going boating, to stop them from going skiing, to stop them from going golfing, when do you stop stopping them?

FOSTER: Donald Trump obviously has a huge amount of respect for the Secret Service team. There will be discussions with them, presumably afterwards, and he will be listening because he has that respect. What sort of conversations do you think the Secret Service would want to have with the president after an incident like this?

TYLER: Whenever there is an incident, whether it be directed at a particular person or their family, or just in general, they will discuss, the Secret Service will discuss with the protectee what has happened, what has transpired, and discuss with them how they feel.

And really they want to know how do they feel, what do they think should be done, how do they think they're involved. They're not just sitting there listening to orders being thrown at them and decisions being made. They have some input. They're concerned. So they want to know. So you need to keep that communication line open. Will they follow what he says? Maybe, maybe not. Will they take into consideration what he says? Most definitely.

FOSTER: Okay, Cheryl Tyler, thank you for your insight and your expertise. I Really appreciate you being out for us today.

TYLER: Thank you.

FOSTER: Now congressional leaders from both sides of the aisle are reacting to the apparent assassination. Details after the break.

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[03:15:00]

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FOSTER: More now on the breaking news. We've been telling you about Donald Trump safe after being targeted. And what the FBI says was an apparent assassination attempt at his Palm Beach, Florida golf club on Sunday. Trump was playing golf when a secret service agent spotted a rifle barrel sticking through a fence on the course. Police say the agent opened fire, but apparently did not hit anyone.

One man was later detained and could soon go through a court-ordered mental health assessment before facing any possible criminal charges. This is the second time that Trump's faced an apparent attempt on his life. The first was this scene in Butler, Pennsylvania in July. The Secret Service faced mounting criticism over its handling of security at that event. The new U.S. Secret Service director, Kimberly Cheadle, resigned because of it.

Now the Congressional Task Force investigating that first incident. is requesting a briefing from the Secret Service on Sunday's incident. Here's what the Secret Service had to say about security involving the former president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: For the Secret Service, I think that's changed at all, the way you changed that you guys are protecting former president Donald Trump this now second, potential attempt on him. Can you just elaborate on how things have changed and what you make all of this?

RAFAEL BARROS, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, SECRET SERVICE MIAMI FIELD OFFICE: Yes, the threat level is high. We have increased the amount of assets that we've supported. So we are, we live in danger time. So yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Sources say Donald Trump's golf outing on Sunday was a last minute addition to a schedule. CNN's Kristen Holmes is following developments and has more now from Washington.

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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I've spoken to a number of campaign advisors who say there are still a lot of questions as to what exactly happened, the details there, and how exactly this happened. In particular, how the suspect knew where Donald Trump was going to be and when today. Just a reminder, he is a former president. He is not a current sitting president, which means he doesn't have to put out a schedule. There is no pool or press pool following him around.

And so instead, this was a private event with a close friend. He was with ally and donor Steve Witkoff golfing at his property there's there a lot of questions as to how exactly this unfolded. Now one thing there's a good to a number of campaign advisors about is that they are pleased with the secret service response.

One thing that I will notice that after that assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, there are a lot of questions as to why exactly the U.S. Secret Service did not respond or engage in the shooter quickly. That is not early does not seem to be the case here as we know.

Donald Trump seem to be traveling with at least two sets of Secret Service agents, ones that were behind him and then another set that was in front of him. He himself was traveling between the fifth and sixth hole. We are told there was an entire other Secret Service group ahead of him advancing him.

That is the group that saw the rifle and engaged with the suspect on the golf course shots were fired. And then a second group of Secret Service agents took Donald Trump away, they went back to the club, which was on lockdown for several hours.

[03:20:03]

Then we were told Donald Trump was brought back to Mar-a-Lago again several hours later, which is not completely unreasonable, something we saw in Butler, Pennsylvania as well. Secret Service taking their time to secure the location, as well as make sure there's no secondary location or secondary potential gunman waiting. So that is unsurprising.

Now, we also are told that the campaign managers have now reached out to the entire staff to the campaign to discuss what happened today with them in an email. This is what they wrote. And this came from co- managers Chris LaCivita and Suzy Wiles. Partly they say, today for the second time in two months an evil monster attempted to take the life of President Trump.

Thankfully, no one was injured at the golf course. This is not a matter that we take lightly. Your safety is always top priority. We ask that you remain vigilant in your daily comings and goings, be observant, maintain a constant level of situational awareness.

We are also told that for at least some time period after this assassination attempt, they did close down the West Palm Beach, or at least locked down the West Palm Beach campaign offices. They had done the same thing after the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. They're clearly trying to make sure that everyone around Donald Trump is safe, but also you hear them there encouraging and urging people to remain vigilant to keep their eyes open.

They believe there is potentially an ongoing security threat. But again, a big, a huge notable event here. We are now talking about the second assassination attempt in roughly two months. But on top of that, lots of questions still as to how exactly and why exactly this happened again.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Earlier CNN's Erinn Burnett spoke to Marc Caputo, a national political reporter for "The Bulwark," a conservative news outlet. He explained how those in Trump's orbit are reacting to the incident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARC CAPUTO, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, "THE BULWARK": What I'm hearing from people who know him is that there is a tremendous amount of anger in Trump's inner circle, outer circle on social media. And there was already considerable amount of paranoia. And that's only going to increase the second assassination attempt. I don't think we've ever seen this before.

And there are loads and loads of questions on how this happened, why he didn't have greater security from Social, pardon me, from Secret Service. And you're going to hear a lot more about that. But leading up to this, the former president of intake had been subject to some critical coverage in the news media for stoking some conspiracy theories about the first assassination attempt. And now that the second one came along, it's going to be hard to persuade him otherwise that there is not some deeper, darker force at work. I'm not saying that there is, but this is just his belief system, and it's only going to be strengthened by the situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have been reacting to the apparent assassination attempt. House Speaker Mike Johnson posted on X after meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, saying in part, no leader in American history has endured more attacks and remains so strong and resilient. He's unstoppable.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said Trump was in good spirits and he's more resolved than ever to save our country. The leaders of the Senate, Democrat Chuck Schumer and Republican Mitch McConnell, have both denounced political violence and called for the person responsible to be held accountable and prosecuted. And Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Tim Walz echoed that sentiment also saying he was glad for Trump's safety.

We're joined now from Washington by Jacob Rubashkin, Deputy Editor of "Inside Elections." Thank you so much for joining us. We talked with a former Secret Service agent about exactly what happened here, but how does this play into politics going forward, do you think?

JACOB RUBASHKIN, DEPUTY EDITOR, "INSIDE ELECTIONS": Good morning, Max. The worst time to assess the impact of a breaking news event is while it's still happening. The second worst time is right after it happened. And that is at the very least where we are with this second attempted assassination of the former president.

There's still a lot we don't know. It hasn't even been a day. And so as it pertains to the political impact of what we saw go down yesterday, there are still a lot of open questions. And even more so when you think about how just two months ago, there was that dramatic first assassination attempt on Trump's life in Butler, Pennsylvania, that feels like a political decade.

Since then, the number of events we've seen that could be faithfully described as race altering has been a dozen or more. And so what this means for the election moving forward is more of an open question than arguably it would have been a decade, two decades, or even a year ago.

[03:25:01]

FOSTER: Well, you talk about that first assassination attempt, and we're not in a breaking situation, breaking news situation around that at the moment. And there's still massive unanswered questions, aren't there? I just want you to take a listen to this congressman speaking to Anderson earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOSKOWITZ: I'm asking for the FBI, Secret Service, Homeland Security, to come out and start sharing some of the information with the American people. You know, Mr. Anderson, you see it on social media. On the left, people think it was staged. On the right, people think it was the deep state. And that's because we're not sharing information with the American people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: He's got a good point, hasn't he? The public aren't being given information to make up their own minds. He just alluded there to the conspiracy theories on both sides of the debate, but not giving information creates the vacuum that creates the conspiracy theory. So why do you think we haven't been told about what they know about that first attempt?

RUBASHKIN: Look, I think that these are really delicate situations and investigations take a long time and quite frankly there's nothing more American, and you know, conspiracy theories baseball and apple pie.

We still have people here who are arguing about the Kennedy's assassination, who are going about the moon landing, it's entirely predictable that such a major event like the attempted assassination of former President Trump last July would be eventually or even quickly devolve into a real mess of conspiracy theories and obviously we'd all love to have more information about that.

There's no evidence to suggest any of the theories that float around online which I think is important to state but, you know, yes, I think that there's going to be a lot more to come out about both of these incidents and especially on the failure of the Secret Service to adequately protect a former president that to me is the is the most notable that it happened twice and that it happened during this enhanced security posture.

If you look at photos from rallies, not just of former President Trump, Vice President Harris, the Secret Service protectees are speaking out of glass boxes at their rallies. I mean, we are at a point where everyone knows this is a distinct possibility. And so for us to get so close again to tragedy, I think really the pressure on the Secret Service to offer explanations, to offer information, is only going to get higher and higher with every passing day.

FOSTER: We were talking to an FBI agent, former one, earlier. She actually praised the Secret Service on their reaction to this second apparent attempt. We've also seen Donald Trump praising his team as well. But you do have the question, don't you? Not about how the Secret Service agent here reacted in the moment, but how the moment was allowed to happen. And someone got so close to a former president with a weapon?

RUBASHKIN: Yeah, absolutely. I think it's a reasonable question and it's one that a lot of people are going to be working hard to answer over the coming days, weeks and months. FOSTER: In terms of this transparency question, how much information

is being released about the motives behind these attacks? How transparent do you think they should be at this point or do you worry that it will only add to conspiracy theories?

RUBASHKIN: I think more transparency is always going to be good. Obviously, it's very early. But I hope we learn as much as we can about this and that law enforcement is open and candid, as they should be about all major events that we're going through as a country.

FOSTER: Also, a very narrow escape this time and last time. I think one thing that people are talking positively about in very divisive political landscape is that at least everyone of all political shades are coming together to support Donald Trump on this and make sure he's protected. Do you think that's notable?

RUBASHKIN: Absolutely. I mean, I think it's incredibly important that we as a society, as a country, and certainly the political class, make absolutely clear that there's no place for political violence in America. This is something that I think people were pretty clear on in following the first attempt.

I think they're being clear on it now again on both sides of the aisle and I think that's an important recognition and that is a line that we can't cross because if we cross that were in -- were in really bad territory. So absolutely I think it's notable. I think it's important that people of all parties and affiliations are, you know, on the same page about the absolute importance of avoiding political violence in any form.

FOSTER: Jacob Rubashkin, I really appreciate your insights this morning. Thank you.

RUBASHKIN: Thanks.

[03:30:00]

FOSTER: We'll have more on our breaking news ahead, including the latest on the investigation and more details about the man detained in connection with Sunday's incident.

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FOSTER: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom," I'm Max Foster in London.

Back to our breaking news coverage, Donald Trump thanking Secret Service agents and law enforcement after another apparent attempt on his life. He said, quote, "the job done was absolutely outstanding." The Palm Beach County Sheriff says the Secret Service had spotted a rifle barrel sticking out of a fence whilst Trump was on the course. Agents then fired at a man who was in the bushes along the perimeter. No one apparently was hit by the gunfire. Here's what the Sheriff says they found at the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SHERIFF RIC BRADSHAW, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA: In the bushes where this guy was is an AK-47 style rifle with a scope, two backpacks which were hung on the fence that had a ceramic tile in them and a GoPro which he was going to take pictures of.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: The man fled but the sheriff says a witness provided a photo of his car and license plate. Police later detained the man on Interstate 95. Three law enforcement sources have identified him as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh. He owns a small construction company in Hawaii and has criticized Trump on social media. We've also learned that Routh self-published a book last year detailing his efforts to support Ukraine in the war against Russia, a war he called unwinnable.

CNN's Randi Kaye has more now from Palm Beach County, Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are learning more about the man who was detained in this incident here at Trump International Golf Course. His name is Ryan Wesley Routh. He lived in Hawaii for some time. He's 58 years old. And the car that he was driving actually belonged to his daughter.

[03:35:05]

We understand from law enforcement that when he was taken into custody, he was calm, and that he was not displaying emotion according to law enforcement. Now, we also know that he had with him. According to what was found at the scene, two backpacks and a GoPro, as well as an AK-47 style rifle.

Now, this all unfolded after Secret Service, who was on the golf course working the holes ahead of Donald Trump, saw the barrel of a rifle poking through the fence and then they engaged the suspect with some gunfire. He took off, they made chase, they eventually tracked him down and took him into custody. Now, in terms of the law enforcement presence here still at the International Golf Club. The roads have been closed since this incident occurred.

That has continued much through the day here on Summit Boulevard, which is the main thoroughfare outside the front of the International Golf Club. That is where holes five and six, where this incident apparently occurred, those holes back up to Summit Boulevard where we are standing, and this has been closed for hours. That is sort of a key boulevard as well as others that surround the club, which would be Kirk Road and Congress Avenue. All of them were shut down following this incident.

The former president was kept here at the International Golf Club for hours, made sure that the area was secure, the entire golf club was locked down, and then he was brought to Mar-a-Lago, which he calls home about 15 minutes from here in West Palm Beach. So we understand that he does still have scheduled events this week and we will see what the week brings and what the investigation brings as well. Randi Kaye, CNN, Palm Beach County, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: -- joined now by law enforcement and the litigation expert, Sunny Slaughter in Washington. Thank you so much for joining us today. Interesting to see the local police and the Secret Service very much on the same page here.

SUNNY SLAUGHTER, LAW ENFORCEMENT AND LITIGATION EXPERT: Oh, absolutely. The coordination between federal, state and local jurisdictions when it comes to law enforcement, not just in these incidents, but in all incidents, where you might have an individual who has attempted to assassinate someone or violated the law in a federal manner. It's not unusual and they are always going to be working together. Their collaboration is necessary and needed in order for them to thwart and investigate these types of criminal activities.

FOSTER: But the first assassination attempt. There was some tension wasn't there between the two. I just want to show the contrast though and hear from the sheriff again in Florida.

SLAUGHTER: You know we learn from things that we've done and haven't done. Okay let's just hear just from -- we're just going to hear from what he said, sorry I didn't make it clear enough. You're just going to hear what he said about the Secret Service.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRADSHAW: The secret service agent that was on the course did a fantastic job. They have an agent that jumps one hole ahead of time to where the president was at. And he was able to spot this rifle barrel sticking out of the fence and immediately engage that individual, at which time the individual took off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Just explain, Sunny, why that particular Secret Service really stepped up to duty yesterday.

SLAUGHTER: You know, this individual was prepared, fully ready, a part of the advanced team looking out. This really stopped this assassination attempt. One individual stepping forward and making sure he was on the ready, doing the job that he's been hired and trained to do, and how important it is for everyone to be focused on what they are supposed to do and focus on the safety of the former president at all times, not just when there is a rally, but at all times. And you know, I have to applaud the Secret Service agent for the job that was done and done well.

FOSTER: And the team that followed up because there was a witness, wasn't there, who saw the suspect flee and they caught him in what feels like record time in a very effective operation.

SLAUGHTER: Exactly. The witness was critical because had the witness not been able to provide concrete and quick information, the Secret Service would have been delayed and all of the other avenues, you know, and all of the other coordinated law enforcement professionals would have or potentially been delayed in obtaining who this individual was and getting them very quickly. All of this happened in record speed, and that is what we need. But we also need them to be prepared in advance so we don't have these types of close calls as well.

FOSTER: So let's talk about how this was allowed to happen, though, because that's where the criticism could be leveled at the Secret Service, that someone with a gun was able to get so close to the president. And crucially knew the president was there when apparently it was a last minute decision for him to play golf.

[03:40:03]

SLAUGHTER: That is very concerning and I think we have to ask more questions about how this individual knew what he knew at the time that he knew, had he been surveilling the president, had he been looking out, had he been there previously. So they're going to have to go back and roll all of the tape to determine what the presence of this individual was prior to contact other family members, friends, see what he was doing in advance, because that is a critical question that I think is going to be vital for all of us to know what is happening, when it happened, and why this is happening. But I think this individual is prepared.

He's currently detained which is good. They have the opportunity to ask questions. Hopefully he will be forthcoming and if not then they need to start speaking which I'm sure they are with family friends. Those who have been watching those who have been near and those who have been close to him.

FOSTER: They're asking a lot aren't they have any Secret Service to protect a former president whilst playing on a golf course because they are so hard to lock down, aren't they, effectively, by the very nature of how they operate? And also, you know, having bushes is already an issue, isn't it? Do you think there's a case for telling Donald Trump that he shouldn't be allowed to play golf?

SLAUGHTER: I think there might be a case in our minds for telling him not to do this, but I don't think that is going to happen. The former Donald President Trump, you know, is a unique individual. This is a new time and a new era in which strategies must be developed.

And we cannot be thinking about what we used to do. We need to readjust as law enforcement professionals and as a community to how individuals are operating now. Former President Donald Trump is one of those individuals, and we need to level up, level set, and just kind of figure out how to navigate him. But most importantly, his safety is critical and paramount, and I think the Secret Service will do what is necessary to ensure his safety, along with giving him his freedom at the same time.

FOSTER: Yeah, thankfully he is okay, as he's clarified. Sunny Slaughter, thank you so much for joining us today. We will have much more on this in the hours ahead. But first,

Venezuela's government says it has stopped a plot to assassinate its longtime president, Nicolas Maduro. It's blaming the U.S. and Spain. That's ahead.

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[03:45:00]

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FOSTER: Venezuela is accusing the CIA of orchestrating a plot to assassinate President Nicolas Maduro and other top officials, saying the U.S. wants to destabilize the country after disputed presidential election. Venezuelan officials say Spain's intelligence agency is also involved. The U.S. and Spain say that's not true.

Stefano Pozzebon has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: The United States and Spain are firmly rejecting the claims that they were involved in an alleged plot to overthrow the Venezuelan government and kill authoritarian president Nicolas Maduro.

On Saturday, Venezuela's Interior Minister, Diosdado Cabello, announced the arrest of six foreigners, including three U.S. citizens, saying that they were involved in the plot, which Cabello blamed on the CIA without showing any proof.

DIOSDADO CABELLO, VENEZUELAN INTERIOR MINISTER (through translator): The security services of other countries involved in the plot know that we know more than what I am saying now. I'm not going to reveal everything we know as part of our investigation, because there's a reason we were able to stop them. Behind this, there are two main instigators, the CIA and the National Intelligence Center of Spain.

POZZEBON: Now, Cabello is seen as a hardline and intransigent member of the Venezuelan government. He was appointed to cabinet in August after a widespread cycle of anti-government protests following the controversial re-election of Nicolas Maduro on July 28. Both the U.S. government and the European Union have already announced that they would not recognize those results after massive allegations of voting fraud.

On Saturday, Cabello accused six detainees of introducing some 400 U.S.-manufactured guns to Venezuela, but again failed to reveal any detail leading up to these arrests, which included two Spanish citizens and one Czech citizen, as well as the three Americans.

CNN first reported on the detention of a U.S. Navy sailor on September 4. Wilbur Castaneda is now being accused by Cabello of being the ringleader. of the alleged plot, something both the Department of State and the Department of Defense had already denied. They told us back then that Castaneda was traveling to Venezuela on personal matter when he was detained in Caracas at the end of August.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Bogota.

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FOSTER: Ukrainian officials say a Russian strike on an apartment block in Kharkiv has winded dozens of people with fears others are trapped under the rubble. The search for survivors continues after a guided aerial bomb hit the 12-story building on Sunday. It's just one of several attacks across Ukraine this weekend which killed at least nine people. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says over the past week the Russians have launched around 30 missiles, more than 800 guided aerial bombs, nearly 3,000 strike drones.

Still to come, nearly a dozen people are dead as catastrophic flooding hits central and eastern Europe. Details ahead.

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[03:50:00]

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FOSTER: A low pressure system off the Carolinas coast is expected to bring heavy rain and flooding to the U.S. East Coast. Potential tropical cyclone 8, as the U.S. National Hurricane Center is calling it, is expected to make landfall sometime today, bringing with it heavy rains, high winds and coastal flooding. Parts of both North and South Carolina are under tropical storm warnings right now. If the storm strengthens, it will be named Tropical Storm Helena.

Now Chinese authorities say Typhoon Bebinca is the strongest storm to hit Shanghai in more than 70 years. It made landfall early on Monday with heavy rain and gale force winds. China's Meteorological Administration has issued a red typhoon warning for the area, its most severe alert. Officials are keeping a close watch on rivers and water flow from mountain areas due to flooding concerns. Some parts of China could see up to 80 millimeters of rainfall per hour.

At least eight people have died after some of the heaviest rain in decades hit part of central and eastern Europe, causing widespread flooding. These are live pictures, live images coming to us from southern Poland near the Czech border. A slow-moving low-pressure system named Storm Boris has dumped a month's worth of rain across the region from Austria to Romania.

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FOSTER (voice-over): Mud and misery everywhere. Shell-shocked residents in Romania say the floods came quickly, knocking down walls, upending furniture, and drowning livestock that couldn't escape the rushing waters.

DUMITREL SOTROCAN, ROMANIAN RESIDENT (through translator): Total damage, dead chickens, all the geese, everything, everything. FOSTER (voice-over): In parts of rain-soaked Romania, residents are

assessing the damage from storm Boris, which unleashed a month's worth of rain in the span of a few days over central and eastern Europe.

UNKNOWN (through translator): We don't have food, water, look over there, clothes, look the neighbor gave me a dress.

And while clean-up is underway in some areas, it's still impossible in others, where the waters not only haven't receded, but they're still rising. Swift currents raced through streets in one Polish town after a nearby river overflowed its banks, making it too dangerous for some residents to leave their houses. Firefighters tried to pump out water from a local hospital to keep it operational, but it may be a losing battle.

[03:55:04]

MARCIN REISCH, NURSE (through translator): Everything is flooded, mainly the cellars where the surgical clinic and warehouses are. Everyone is now trying to save what they can.

FOSTER (voice-over): In Austria, the Veen River is gushing with excess rain and there's more expected for portions of Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic in the next few days, which could mean more work for the Czech armed forces which have been using helicopters to evacuate people from flood zones.

So far, emergency services say thousands of stranded people have had to be evacuated and significant flooding is expected to continue. Some Czech residents used a break in the weather to try to count their losses. But with many of their homes, shops and neighborhoods still engulfed in water, it's feared the damage they can already see could be even worse when the water subsides.

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FOSTER: Singer and songwriter Tito Jackson has died at the age of 70 according to his family. Jackson was best known as one-fifth of The Jackson 5, a pop group made up of four of his brothers including the late Michael Jackson, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. He didn't pursue a solo career until 2016, with the release of his first album, Tito Time. His sons, TJ, Taj, and Taryll, posted on social media, quote, "were shocked, saddened, and heartbroken. Our father was an incredible man who cared about everyone and their wellbeing." No cause of death has been revealed so far.

Thanks for joining me this hour. I'm Max Foster in London. I'll be back after a quick break with more "CNN Newsroom."

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