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Now, Suspect in Apparent Trump Assassination Attempt in Court; Biden Says, Secret Service Needs More Help, Congress Should Respond; Sources Say, Acting Secret Service Director to Meet With Trump Today. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired September 16, 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: You are live in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

We begin this morning with breaking news. The suspect in the second apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump is about to appear in federal court. This latest incident happened while Trump was golfing at his club in West Palm Beach, Florida. A Secret Service agent noticed a gun sticking through a fence and fired at a man in the bushes who then fled the scene. Afterward, officials found an AK-47 style rifle with a scope and materials for a bulletproof vest.

This is the suspect, 58-year-old Ryan Routh. He has posted extensively on social media about his political views, including his criticism of former President Trump.

In the meantime, CNN's Josh Campbell and Carlos Suarez, they are covering all of this for us. They have new information on this latest assassination attempt. I want to begin outside with Carlos outside federal court in West Palm Beach, Florida. We expect the suspect to be there soon. What can you tell us?

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Jim. So, we expect that 58-year-old Ryan Routh will make his first appearance in federal court here at any minute now. Now, federal prosecutors have not said just what charges the 58-year-old is facing in connection with what happened at Trump's golf course here yesterday. As for where this investigation stands right now, just about an hour ago, the Palm Beach County sheriff, Rick Bradshaw, he was on Fox News and provided some additional details about the series of events that played out yesterday afternoon again at this golf course.

Bradshaw said that the 58-year-old never managed to fire off a single shot in the direction of the former president, and he said that this did not have -- rather that this took place. He wasn't able to get a shot off because the Secret Service acted so quickly. He said, and I'm quoting him here, that the system worked.

Now, when he was asked whether Routh is talking to federal investigators, Sheriff Bradshaw said, he was not.

As for a couple of other items that we're following at this hour here from West Palm Beach, we know that the United States Secret Service acting director is already here in Florida and that he is scheduled to meet with federal investigators and law enforcement officials on the ground to get a first look at exactly where this investigation stands. It is our understanding as well that the acting director is also going to meet with former President Trump this afternoon. And we believe that the acting director is also going to get a tour of the golf course where all of this happens. Again, Jim, all of this is taking place in the last hour or so, a good amount of developments out here.

One final note before I send things back to you. Aside from the federal investigation and the local investigation, the state of Florida is launching their own investigation. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, as well as the Florida Highway Patrol, are leading the efforts on the state's investigation into what happened at the golf course yesterday. Jim?

ACOSTA: All right, Carlos. And we do understand that suspect is now in court. Josh, what more can you tell us about the suspect?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're learning more about his background. And if you go back and think about the first attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, there're still questions about the motive there. This individual, quite different. He has a robust social media presence that we are learning about on social media. He had criticized former President Donald Trump. He also had written extensively about the war in Ukraine, Russia's brutal invasion of its neighbor. And this was an individual, at least according to a social media footprint, who was trying to get people to go to Ukraine in order to fight Russian forces.

And so, again, this is painting a picture of someone who -- you know, this could possibly have been the motive at play here, someone who was aggrieved over that situation and had previously criticized Donald Trump.

We actually have sound of this individual back in 2022 talking to an outlet, Newsweek Romania in Ukraine. Have a listen.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been dealing with Russia for my entire life. You know, we have one period where it was okay, but now we've let it slip back into terrorism.

[10:05:00]

So, it's just the world needs to respond, you know? Why world leaders are not sending their troops is beyond me. We're going to have to elect new leaders the next go-around that have a backbone and that, you know, have the fortitude to say, hey, we're not going to tolerate this type of behavior.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CAMPBELL: Now it's because of that travel to Ukraine, in part, that has now led the FBI to launch this global investigation. A law enforcement source tells me they're trying to identify everything they possibly can about his travel, his movements, any contacts. I'm also told, Jim, that he had a number of social media accounts that authorities are now seeking search warrants on to include some platforms that are actually headquartered outside the United States, which will require the U.S. authorities to try to work with their international counterparts in order to try to get the content of all of those communications.

Again, it looks at least according initially where this is headed as far as motive. But authorities tell us there's still a lot of work to be done as this investigation continues, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Carlos and Josh, thank you very much.

Moments ago, President Biden weighed in on the apparent assassination attempt. CNN Senior White House Reporter Kevin Liptak joins us now. Kevin, what did the president have to say?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, the president, first and foremost, reiterating that he's thankful that former President Trump is okay, that he's unharmed, and certainly President Biden, in various statements, has said that political violence has no place in this country.

But when we did see him out on the South Lawn about an hour ago, he also had a very specific message about resources for the United States Secret Service. Listen to what he said.

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JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Thank God the president is okay.

The one thing I want to make clear is Service needs more help, and I think the Congress should respond to their needs if they in fact need more Service people. So, that's what we're going to be talking about.

I think may need some more personnel.

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LIPTAK: So I did ask the president, does more resources mean more money, more personnel? And he said there that he thought the Service might need more personnel. Of course, the Secret Service has long been plagued by staffing issues, agents and officers talking about feeling burned out by long shifts, by overtime. There is quite a high degree of turnover at that agency.

And, in fact, then-Director Kim Cheadle told Congress over the summer that their staffing levels currently sit at around 8,000 employees. She says, that's below their goal of 9,500. So, still some work to do on that front for the Secret Service, But I think for President Biden, his goal very much is to ensure that the agency has all of the resources that it needs to protect former President Trump. And certainly when you look at what happened in Florida, it does raise some questions about whether there were enough Secret Service personnel around the perimeter of that golf course. That's something that sources have long been concerned about, how porous, in particular, the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach is.

Of course, we do know now that the Secret Service director, the current director, Ronald Rowe, is heading down to Palm Beach to assess the situation, to talk to personnel on the ground there. And it is interesting, Rowe began his career as a police officer in West Palm Beach. So, certainly, he knows this area well and will want to get a lay of the land as he heads down there today.

ACOSTA: All right. Kevin Liptak, thank you very much over at the White House. We appreciate it.

Joining me now are former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, former Secret Service Agent Paul Eckloff, and former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey.

Andrew, let me start with you first. What's your reaction to what the president said about the Secret Service? I mean, this has been a conversation in Washington for some time now, that the Secret Service does not have enough resources.

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Jim, you know, as well as I do from your time at the White House, the Secret Service has been underfunded for years, decades, maybe, and they have constantly tried to do more with less, but they really unfortunately have to push their personnel resources to the limit to cover down on the, in the ever expanding number of protectees that they're responsible for.

Combine that with the threat picture that we're looking at today, things are undeniably more dangerous and more complicated in terms of the domestic threat picture, targeting people like former presidents, certainly former President Trump, but potentially others as well, and political leadership at all levels.

So, this is a time when the service desperately needs to be supported by Congress to have the resources they need to do this job well. But let's remember, that's a long lead time. You know, a congressional appropriation doesn't automatically convert into capable, trained, ready-to-work Secret Service agents or protective division folks.

So, this is something that's going to take some time and commitment. Let's see if Congress has the wherewithal to get it done.

ACOSTA: Yes. And security measures can be hardened to. I mean, Andrew, you mentioned my time over the White House. I was there, you know, working at the White House when they had a couple of fence jumping incidents.

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And lo and behold, they discovered that the fence was too low around the White House, and they raised it up almost doubled the height of that fence.

And that leads me to this, Paul, I wanted to ask you about this. Should the former president of had more protection and does that golf course -- does the perimeter of that golf course need to be hardened? You can't just have hedges in surrounding that thing and a fence. It seems to me you might need a pretty sizable brick wall or something like that.

PAUL ECKLOFF, RETIRED SECRET SERVICE SPECIAL AGENT: Well, anytime the president of the United States or the former president of the United States goes to a non-permanent protective site like this golf course, the protective model is something called an OTR or an off the record movement. Whether or not the Trump golf course has a hardened fence line is something that the company will need to consider. But the Secret Service model in these instances moves out ahead of the president or former president and behind and certain elements are with them.

Former President Trump right now has just about the same level of security as the sitting president, as far as federal law will allow without a few military assets. In this case, the protective element that proceeds former President Trump out on the golf course, one or two holes are what we call terrain features. They know the course. It was the site agent. They recognized this rifle, we believe to be an SAS -- SKS platform through the fence, and they engaged and disrupted the assassination attempt. So, the plan worked yesterday. Certainly, they can use more assets and personnel, but I don't believe it played a part yesterday.

ACOSTA: Interesting. And, Chief Ramsey, what are your thoughts on this? Apparently, law enforcement is working to obtain some search warrants for these social media accounts that are believed to be associated with the detainee. But looking at social media accounts ahead of time, that doesn't get you a whole lot. I mean, there's just an ocean of social media accounts that belong to a whole slew of disturbed individuals. I suppose it helps after the fact in terms of piecing together a motive but it's not going to stop something before it happens. Not likely.

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, unless someone alerts authorities, should they see something suspicious online and, you know, you have to rely on the public's help to a great extent when it comes to intercepting, you know, threats like that. As far as the security goes, you know, the Secret Service is going to have to make do with what they have with additional support from state and local agencies. I mean, between now and November, they're not going to be able to hire anyone. So, they've got to figure out the best way of providing protection.

Now, I would imagine the president plays golf at that location quite often, so they may have a security package already in place for that particular golf course. But they're going to have to take a strong look at the perimeter, especially that area between holes five and six that's close to a roadway. A couple of marked cars on either end might be all that's needed to make sure nobody can park a car, nobody could enter into that area. But they're going to have to look at a lot of different options to make sure that they're able to provide adequate protection, not only for him, but for all the candidates.

ACOSTA: Yes. And, Andrew, I mean, you've said that this set up indicated a high level of pre-planning, but as our Kevin Liptak was saying earlier on in the program that this golf course was known to have sort of a porous perimeter. I'm just wondering, moving forward, if the former president, the president, if the vice president, if they're having campaign events, does the Secret Service, do federal authorities, do local law enforcement partners who work with the Secret Service, do they just have to go into each and every event or each and every appearance where the former president is going to be, you know, doing something and just say, hey, we need to double the resources here, or is that even feasible?

MCCABE: Well, there's no question, Jim, that every incident like this, and one's not nearly a serious this are learning opportunities for the protective service for the Secret Service. And so, yes, everywhere the former president goes and the current president and the other candidates go, they're going to have to start thinking differently about the threat assessment.

There's a threat assessment done on every location, and it's that threat assessment that drives the allocation of resources to secure the protectee. I think it's a matter of rethinking the threat assessments and understanding that what might have been acceptable five years ago, ten years ago in this current climate of elevated threats is no longer, you know, a good idea. We've got to start going -- you know, taking the extra step to employ local resources or even private contractor resources to bolster maybe perimeter access, things like that. It's going to be a different calculation at every different site, but I think there's a general elevation and concern and then protective measures that need to be taken in light of the fact that we have a persistent, complicated domestic threat picture, one the likes of which we haven't really seen in quite some time.

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ACOSTA: Yes. Paul, the Republican Congressman Mike Kelly, he was the chairman of the task force investigating the previous assassination attempt, he tweeted this. We have requested a briefing with the U.S. Secret Service about what happened and how security responded. At this point, I mean, what can you get out of a briefing like that that we don't already know right now?

ECKLOFF: I believe that they deserve some answers. They are investigating the Secret Service, certainly since Butler. In this case, anytime the president leaves that secure facility and goes to a public site, there are going to be threats. The Trump International Golf Course in Palm Beach is actually relatively secure as far as it has a fence and hedges. There are the golf courses that whoever the ability to secrete yourself in there and the assets that are needed have to be amped up. In this case, the Secret Service has added counterassault, counter-surveillance counter-sniper, as well as drone and other capabilities that aren't known to the public. They just will have to expand that perimeter.

As was said on the outside, they'll have to tap into the locals and state more. And in this case, it was the Palm Beach County police that were able to apprehend this suspect. So, we should get more answers certainly than we had in Pennsylvania.

ACOSTA: Yes, and it was excellent work by law enforcement yesterday to apprehend the suspect, no question about it.

Andrew Paul, Chief Ramsey, thanks very much for your time. Thank you guys.

Coming up, a deeper dive into the latest attempt on Donald Trump's life. I'll talk with Democratic Congressman Mikie Sherrill about tamping down the dangerous rhetoric in a heated political climate.

Plus, more threats in Springfield, Ohio, this morning as the mayor is making a plea for the rumors to stop.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It would be helpful if they understood the weight of their words and how they could harm a community like ours.

Bring peace with the words that you're saying about communities like ours instead of unrest.

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ACOSTA: Returning now to our breaking news. The Secret Service is once again under major scrutiny after another apparent attempt on former President Donald Trump's life, the second in just two months. Now, the congressional task force investigating the July incident in Pennsylvania is requesting a briefing with the agency.

And joining me now is Democratic Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey. Congresswoman, thank you so much for being with us.

As you know, the Secret Service has already made some changes following the July assassination attempt. Do you think more changes are needed?

REP. MIKIE SHERRILL (D-NJ): Well, I think the Secret Service needs more resources and they need to put some more resources on former President Trump. This is now the second assassination attempt, it appears. So, I do think they are going to need to have some help in that area.

ACOSTA: Do you have confidence in the Secret Service?

SHERRILL: I do. I think that they are working hard to implement plans, but I just don't think, so I have confidence in the Secret Service itself. I don't think there are enough resources right now for them to complete their job. ACOSTA: And, Congresswoman, I'm sure you saw this, the Palm Beach County sheriff said the protection around former President Trump was limited because he is not a sitting president. Do you think that needs to change?

SHERRILL: I do. Again, this is the second assassination attempt. So, I think we need to put more resources towards this. But I think we also have to address some underlying issues that are going on here as well. This really seems to be the confluence of two very bad things going on in the Republican Party. On one side, the attempts to divide, to enrage the population, to put out false rumors and misinformation. We know the mayor in Springfield is begging the Republican Party to stop with the false information on immigrants. They have portions of the town on lockdown at this point and an increase in all of the partisanship and the fear-mongering that's going on. And then on the other side, we have this complete availability of assault rifles too. It seems almost anyone who wants to have access.

So, how did this man who already had some convictions for barricading himself with a weapon have access to weapons of war that I was trained on when I was in the military?

ACOSTA: Those are very good questions, and I want to ask you about something else after the apparent assassination attempt. Elon Musk, who owns X, formerly known as Twitter, posted that posted this, it's since been deleted, in response to the question, why do they want to kill Donald Trump? He said, quote, and no one is even trying to assassinate Biden or Kamala, referring to Vice President Kamala Harris.

You're a former federal prosecutor. Does this post open him up to some legal jeopardy? What's your reaction to it?

SHERRILL: Well, certainly I think opens him up to some moral jeopardy. Why is he asking that question? Is he suggesting people should take note of that and take action? I mean, right now, when we continue to see these attempts to divide people, to divide the American population, to create chaos, to sow discord, this is a very dangerous time and we need leaders who are going to bring people together, to unite us.

[10:25:01]

Just a few days ago, we had the anniversary of September 11th, which is very important here in my district. We are along the commuter rail lines into New York City. We had many people who passed away on that day in the fall of the Twin Towers. And so we constantly note how united we were, how we came together as a country in the face of that crisis.

And now as we face these perilous times, Donald Trump, and the GOP, and Project 2025, and J.D. Vance, and now Elon Musk, continue to try to sow division, and wedges, and hatred into the population, and I think it's very dangerous.

ACOSTA: And there's another post that we wanted to ask you about. Florida Republican Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna blamed the incident on the, quote, radical left for its irresponsible rhetoric. And after Vice President Kamala Harris posted she was glad that Trump was safe, current aide Dan Scavino, Trump's current aide, Dan Scavino, responded with this quote, you're full of blank. You're not glad he's safe. It is your rhetoric that has caused this again.

I'm just wondering what your response is to all that. I mean, it just seems as we're getting closer and closer to the election, the rhetoric is getting amped up to some pretty volatile levels.

SHERRILL: The rhetoric is getting amped up to very volatile levels on one side of the aisle. That is getting amped up by the GOP, Republicans, MAGA Republicans, by Donald Trump. I mean, here you have a post, which I think you have heard echoed throughout the Democratic Party, which we are relieved that Donald Trump is safe. We do not want political assassinations in this country. We don't want political violence. We don't want people gunned down by assault rifles. We've worked very hard to implement policies that would protect people, including our children across this country.

And that is met with scorn and disgust, and, no, you didn't mean that. I really don't know what to say in the face of this other than I am personally very happy that Donald Trump is okay. I do not want in our democratic society for people to commit political violence.

I would like to continue to implement gun safety legislation. I have a safe storage piece of legislation that any one of my Republican colleagues is free to join. It is supported in a bipartisan way here in New Jersey by different groups. I have legislation, EMTALA legislation simply saying that women who come to an emergency room who are pregnant can get a base level of emergency care. Any Republican colleague of mine is free to join that. We put forth bipartisan immigration and border security legislation. Again, that was taken down by Donald Trump.

So again and again, we see from Republicans, we see from Donald Trump this inability to govern, an inability to bring people together, an inability to put this country first, and a constant desire again and again and again to put Trump first, his agenda first, which is largely bad for America.

ACOSTA: And I did want to ask you about J.D. Vance. You mentioned him just a few moments ago, and J.D. Vance is defending these baseless and debunked claims. Both he and former President Trump have spread about migrants in Springfield, Ohio. Here's what he told my colleague, Dana Bash, just yesterday, and I want to get your response to that.

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SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes. If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that's what I'm going to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ACOSTA: Congresswoman, Senator Vance acknowledged there that he makes up stories, that it's okay to make up stories to get a point across. How did you react to that?

SHERRILL: You know, it's like dealing with a two-year-old when you're a mom, right? Any attention is good attention. That's ridiculous. We need real leadership in this country. We need people who are going to put the American people first, who are going to focus on issues of affordability, of women's freedoms, of gun safety legislation, who are going to focus on opportunity, and creating that opportunity for all Americans.

And that's what Kamala Harris will do. She has said it again and again and again. Her vision for this country could not be more clear and could not be more different from the vision, the dystopian vision, that Donald Trump and J.D. Vance and Project 2025 have for this country.

ACOSTA: All right. Congresswoman Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, thank you very much for your time this morning. We appreciate it.

SHERRILL: Thank you.

ACOSTA: And this is a live look at the federal courthouse of West Palm Beach. In moments, the suspect at the center of an apparent attempted assassination on former President Donald Trump will face a judge.

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We're awaiting word of charges and we'll bring them to you when we get a chance to bring that to you back in just a moment.

Stay with us.