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CNN This Morning

Kinzinger Fears for Country's Future if Trump is Not Charged; Once in a Century Floor Fight Looms with McCarthy Lacking Votes; Interview with Former Student of Suspect Arrested in Quadruple Murder of University of Idaho Students; Records Flooding Hits Parts of Northern California; Harry, Duke of Sussex, Gives Interview on His Current Relations with U.K. Royal Family. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired January 02, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:09]

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. And By the way, happy New Year.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: You were so great.

LEMON: Thank you.

HARLOW: I stayed up as late as I could. You and your sparkles and the three dogs and your mom. And you brought it.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Thank you. My family. It was a little messy, but New Year's Eve is a little messy. But it's all good.

HARLOW: It was very human and beautiful.

LEMON: And you're sparkly this morning.

HARLOW: I thought if there's any day I can wear it, it's today.

LEMON: For New Year's. It's good to see you. Happy New Year to you. By the way, we're missing someone. Kaitlan is off. She's on assignment, I should say. I keep saying she's off. She's on assignment.

And so we're going to start with catching you up on the five big stories on CNN THIS MORNING. This morning we're looking more about the suspect in the New Year's Eve machete attack near Times Square. Sources say that the 19-year-old had a diary where he wrote of his desire to join the Taliban in Afghanistan and die as a martyr. He is currently in custody in a New York City hospital where he's recovering from a gunshot wound. The three officers who were injured in the machete attack have all been treated and released.

HARLOW: Also, this morning, the suspect released -- the suspect, I should say, charged with murdering four University of Idaho students will appear in a Pennsylvania court tomorrow. His name is Bryan Kohberger. He faces four counts of first-degree murder and a charge of burglary in Moscow, Idaho. He is planning to waive his extradition hearing. He's accused of killing four college students as they slept in their home in Idaho. We'll speak to one of the students who was in one of his classes, Kohberger's classes. He'll join us in just a minute.

LEMON: Tens of thousands of mourners are paying their respects in Vatican City this morning as former Pope Benedict lies in state. Pope Benedict XVI passed away on New Year's Eve at the age of 95. His body is currently lying in state at St. Peter's Basilica. His funeral is set for Thursday.

HARLOW: House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy could be facing the most dramatic election for speaker in exactly 100 years. In a last ditch effort to gain the support he needs ahead of tomorrow's vote, he has made some major concessions to some of the most hardline demands on the right. Still, it's not clear if the numbers add up for him.

LEMON: Ousted Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has left Brazil and is currently in Florida. This new video showing the former far right president in Orlando. His trip comes as his successor, Luiz Lula da Silva was sworn into office. Bolsonaro's trip to the U.S. breaks with Brazil's tradition for outgoing leaders to be present at the transfer of power ceremony.

HARLOW: But first, the suspect in the murder of four University of Idaho students will waive his extradition hearing at his court appearance that is set to happen this week, according to his attorney. Bryan Kohberger faces four counts of first-degree murder in the Moscow, Idaho, killings. He's accused of stabbing those four college students in November at the rental home that they shared. Police arrested him in his home state of Pennsylvania.

That's where we find our colleague Jean Casarez. She joins us now live outside the jail where he is currently being held. Good morning to you, Jean. Wow, so much happened on this over the weekend. We're hearing from the suspect's family and also the attorney, the public defender, right, that he's been appointed. What have you learned?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is correct. We are getting word from his family now. They have released a statement to CNN. We'd like to read that statement to you. It says, "First and foremost, we care deeply for the four families who have lost their precious children. There are no words that can adequately express the sadness we feel, and we pray each day for them. We will continue to let the legal process unfold, and as a family we love and support our son and brother. We have fully cooperated with law enforcement agencies in an attempt to seek the truth and promote his presumption of innocence rather than judge unknown facts and maker erroneous assumptions. We respect privacy in this matter as our family and the families suffering loss can move forward through the legal process."

And that arrest that happened on Friday in the early morning hours was at his family home. And the attorney tells me that his father actually answered the door. He was cooperative. Bryan came to the door. He was arrested by the Pennsylvania state police. The FBI was there, also, however, and he was at that point taken into custody. The next legal hearing will be tomorrow. It will be the extradition hearing. His attorney, the chief public defender for Monroe County which is northeastern Pennsylvania, says he plans on waiving that to get back to Idaho as soon as possible.

HARLOW: Jean, we really appreciate your reporting on this, thank you. Hopefully answers soon for the families.

LEMON: So let's go now to the Idaho murder suspect, who was a teacher's assistant at a criminal law class at Washington State University during the fall semester. So joining me now, one of the students in that class. His name is Hayden Stinchfield, a junior studying criminal justice.

[08:05:00]

Hayden, thank you for joining us this morning here on CNN THIS MORNING. We know it's early for you, but we appreciate you joining us. And this must be obviously shocking for you. so let's talk about Kohberger. He was your teacher's assistant. What went through your mind when you heard that he was arrested for this?

HAYDEN STINCHFIELD, IDAHO MURDER SUSPECT WAS HIS TEACHER'S ASSISTANT IN CRIMINOLOGY CLASS: Yes, it was pretty crazy. I was sleeping here on the couch in my parent's house, and I woke up to all these tweets that were like, oh, they got the guy. And of course, this is has been something that everyone in Pullman has been following, everyone in the whole Pullman, Moscow. And so I look on my phone and I see the guy's name and I see the picture, and I'm thinking, that looks a lot like my T.A. who is also named Bryan, but that would be crazy. And so I went and I checked my email to see the emails I had had with him. And the name matched and everything, and it was totally jarring, totally shocking to realize that this person who had been grading my papers was allegedly this horrible murderer.

LEMON: You just knew it was a teacher's assistant, no interaction with him beyond that, correct?

STINCHFIELD: Yes, entirely. All our interactions came in the form of the class, and not even like office hours. It was all within the confines of a lecture hall.

LEMON: What was he like as a teacher's assistant?

STINCHFIELD: He was pretty strict as far as grading goes. When he came into class, he was very -- not super mentally present. He would stand up at the front, look at the ground. He had a lot of boilerplate responses he would give people rather than maybe something he thought up on the spot. It seemed like it would be -- he would come in knowing what he was going to say to most interactions. And then when he would grade your papers, he would be grading you on what he ended up calling like a higher standard, but what it really felt like to us was he was grading us like he would grade himself as a PhD student. So that was just like, we were all annoyed by him. And so I knew his name, I knew, oh, T.A. Bryan, he sucks at this. He's grading us too harshly. And that was like an annoyance. But obviously, beyond that, we just thought he was a little weird and kind of a bad grader.

LEMON: Interesting that you say that, because you said grading you as if you were a PhD student. You say that he was a harsher grader than most people. We have an example of a comment that he left on one of your assignments. So there it is.

STINCHFIELD: Yes. He actually only left me good comments, which is kind of silly. The only ones I could send in were nice ones. But for most people, he was being pretty harsh on the comments. I just, for whatever reason, he was being pretty good to me.

LEMON: So did people complain, did anybody confront him, and if so, what happened?

STINCHFIELD: Yes, actually, our professor was big on the idea that, if we're all going to be attorneys someday then we have to know how to argue our case. And so he scheduled a day where everyone came in ready to argue to get their grades up. And he brought in Bryan. He was like, all right, go at him. And he had Bryan stand up, and everyone was like -- a few people were on his side because they wanted to keep their high grades and not have questions be cut out or whatever. But for the most part, it was like half of a 150-person class just asking him all these real critical questions and he would answer. And he tried pretty hard to defend himself, which what our professor loved. He wanted the courtroom environment. And so there was just a period in class where we were all sort of arguing about this. It wasn't yelling or anything, but it was certainly conflict.

LEMON: Was there anything odd, especially change or anything in recent weeks or days? What was he like heading into the -- you were going into the winter break, right?

STINCHFIELD: Yes, yes. It would have been right before winter break when the murders happened. And we didn't obviously build our framework for this around that because we had no reason to connect him to that at the time. But definitely around then he started grading everybody just 100s. Like pretty much if you turned something in, you were getting high marks, and he stopped leaving notes. It was just -- he seemed preoccupied is what I would have said at the time. And now, obviously, he seems like he was pretty preoccupied. But it was -- yes, it was easier. You turn in whatever you want, pretty much, and he was just grading them up and sending them back.

LEMON: But Hayden, that was on the papers. Anything in person that you noticed differently around that time?

STINCHFIELD: Yes, absolutely. He probably -- that I saw, he was always a little bit spotty on whether or not he'd come to class because he had whatever PhD stuff over the top of it. But the couple times that he did come after, or around that time period, I remember him, he had a little more facial hair, just stubble, but definitely less well kept than he was. And he was a little quieter. He used to stand up at the start of class and talk about some stuff sometimes, and this time he didn't really do that at all.

[08:10:03] He was definitely, I think, like the previous mental preoccupation that we had been noticing where it was like he didn't really want to be there, that was at like an all-time high. And he just didn't look like he was doing great.

LEMON: Hayden, thank you so much. We appreciate you joining us here on CNN.

STINCHFIELD: Thank you.

LEMON: Poppy?

HARLOW: This morning, really strong storms causing life-threatening flooding in northern California. More than 100,000 customers grappling with power outages, some people forced to leave their homes. The rapidly rising water also shut down big highways and left drivers stranded. Our Camila Bernal joins us live in Wilton, California, that's in Sacramento County. Good morning. How bad is it?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey Poppy, good morning. So a lot of people still in Sacramento county under evacuation orders. Others being told to shelter in place, especially because a lot of the roads still look like this one here. So many rescues over the weekend. Officials here saying they had to use boats and helicopters to rescue people.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

BERNAL: Record-breaking rain across California, leaving at least two dead and many stranded.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The water kept getting deeper and deeper.

BERNAL: In Sacramento County, an estimated 40 people rescued from their cars according to a local fire official. Here is a view from above.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's amazing how strong it is, how strong the flowing water is.

BERNAL: Others were told to evacuate or shelter in place.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been here six years, and it's worse than it's ever been.

BERNAL: The storm system causing significant flooding in urban areas and leaving creeks and rivers in northern California overflowing.

GABRIEL COKE, LIVES IN WATSONVILLE, CALIFORNIA: When you see the water moving this quick and rising like this, it's a little unsettling.

BERNAL: On Saturday 4.75 inches of rain fell in a 24-hour period in Oakland, the wettest day on record. Roads were so impacted that the National Weather Service said closures were too many to count.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I opened one of my gates, there was so much water, it was gushing in. It knocked me over.

BERNAL: Thousands were also left without power Saturday and Sunday. And while crews worked to restore power, the overall cleanup could take days.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is crazy. I've never seen it so deep here.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

BERNAL (on camera): And rainfall exceeded eight inches here in California. It was difficult. It was a lot of headaches for a lot of people. But water is always welcome news here in California. We'll have to wait to see how this impacts drought conditions here in the state, Poppy.

HARLOW: It's a good point. Camila, thanks for the reporting.

LEMON: And new this morning, there comes a point where silence is betrayal. That from Prince Harry who sat down with our very own Anderson Cooper for "60 Minutes" in an interview there. He says that he was a target of media leaks after having private conversations with members of the royal family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: One of the criticisms you've received is that, OK, fine, you want to move to California, you want to step back from the institutional role. Why be so public? You say you tried to do this privately.

HARRY, DUKE OF SUSSEX: And every single time I tried to do it privately there had been briefings and leakings and planting of stories against me and my wife. The family motto is never complain, never explain. But it's just a motto. And it doesn't really hold --

COOPER: There's a lot of complaining and a lot of explaining being done through leaks.

HARRY: Through leaks. They will feed or have a conversation with the correspondent, and that correspondent will literally be spoon-fed information and write the story. And at the bottom of it, they will say they've reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment. But the whole story is Buckingham Palace commenting. So when we're told for the last six years we can't put a statement out to protect you, but you do it for other members of the family, there becomes a point when silence is betrayal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Go.

HARLOW: No, no, no. I genuinely want to hear what you're going to say. Anderson's full interview will air on "60 Minutes" this Sunday, I think. But thoughts.

LEMON: I think it's great that -- it has nothing to do with Anderson's interview. I just -- I don't know. I'm not surprised that the royal family -- I'm surprised that Harry is surprised, having been a member of the royal family.

HARLOW: Don't you think you hope your family will do the right thing?

LEMON: Absolutely. Yes, yes, yes. And their story, his story and his wife's story, it's theirs to tell. But being a member of the royal family, going through what he went through with his mother. His dad obviously being the king now, his grandmother, I'm just surprised he's surprised at the inner workings of what they call the firm.

HARLOW: Right.

LEMON: Maybe the story is that he's not so surprised, but he's just letting us in on it. So maybe I'm missing something here. I don't know.

HARLOW: We'll see. So we have to watch on Sunday night.

LEMON: Watch Anderson's interview on "60 Minutes."

[08:15:00]

HARLOW: Ahead, the dire warning from outgoing Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger if former President Trump is not charged by DOJ for his role in the insurrection. We will talk about it all with Michael Smerconish.

LEMON: Michael Smerconish, there he is standing by in Pennsylvania.

And they made it, the family we met last week who got caught up in the Southwest Airlines meltdown drove thousands of miles across the country.

Wooh, made it in time for the NHL Winter Classic. Well, you guys met them last week.

HARLOW: You're going to love this family.

LEMON: We are going to speak to them before the big game.

HARLOW: They are amazing.

LEMON: They're awesome.

HARLOW: They are awesome.

LEMON: Obviously, look, what they did.

HARLOW: They are awesome. You're going to love them. Great family.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:24:04]

LEMON: Okay, so outgoing Republican Congressman and a member of the January 6 Committee, Adam Kinzinger is making a dire prediction when it comes to Donald Trump and what's on the line if he is not charged for his role in the attack on the Capitol.

Here is what Kinzinger told our Dana Bash on CNN's "State of the Union."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): If this is not a crime, I don't know what is. If a President can incite an insurrection and not be held accountable, then really, there is no limit to what a President can do or can't do.

I think the Justice Department will do the right thing. I think he will be charged, and I frankly think he should be.

If he is not guilty of a crime, then I frankly fear for the future of this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So joining us now to discuss CNN political commentator and host of CNN's "Smerconish," the iconic Michael Smerconish.

Michael, good morning to you. I've got to ask you what do you think of Adam Kinzinger's comments?

[08:20:02]

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning and Happy New Year.

I don't know that Congressman Kinzinger is going to get what he is looking for if he says he is fearful for the nation, unless there's an indictment relative to January 6th.

I think it's much more likely that there will be an indictment relative to those Mar-a-Lago documents, because that is so much more a straightforward case. And in fact, I think that AG Merrick Garland may have backed himself into a corner by appointing a Special Counsel in Jack Smith, and then charged with the responsibility of determining was the law broken? And can you prove it? And I think it's a pretty straightforward case, relative to the documents.

But it's much more hazy, a much more difficult case relative to January 6th, and Don, if in fact, there is an indictment only for the documents, I think some people may be left saying, wait a minute, is that all there is? After all the time and all the expense and all the investigation, it is only those documents at Mar a Lag?

Soon we shall find out. 2023 is going to be a very interesting year.

HARLOW: You say that's what you fear, whereas Adam Kinzinger is talking about I fear for the country, if Trump isn't indicted because of his actions on January 6th, and leading up to it. You're fearful of, you know, what if he is only charged with the docs in Mar-a-Lago? SMERCONISH: Right. Yes, and Poppy, I get where Kinzinger is coming

from, because from his perspective, having played the role that he played on the January 6th panel or commission, to look at the evidence and to say, wait a minute, this is what he caused, he was essentially the arsonist, the President who let the fire burn, and he is not going to get held accountable for that, I completely understand his concerns, but it is still not an ironclad slam dunk case.

LEMON: Hey, Michael, what happens to this Committee? I think I know the answer to this -- after you know, tomorrow?

HARLOW: Gone.

SMERCONISH: Yes, what Committee?

LEMON: Exactly.

SMERCONISH: I mean, I think they fulfilled their purpose. They always knew -- they always knew that the time on the clock was running out as that ball was dropping. They're at a close, it's over now, and Kevin McCarthy and I know we're going to get to that, should he be the House Speaker and others can't wait to just shut down that whole process.

HARLOW: Well, let's get to that, shall we?

LEMON: Yes, because he is in a predicament.

HARLOW: What -- yes. So Harry went through the numbers with us earlier in the program. You know, he is down by 14. There are 14 votes he needs and he doesn't have that as of this morning. He can only afford to lose four.

LEMON: Four. Yes.

HARLOW: Let's say he gets there. Then what? What kind of leader will he be? And how will this -- do you think that this will cripple his ability to lead in some way, that it was so hard to get there.

LEMON: If he even gets it?

SMERCONISH: Well, I think that it will and you know, one of the things that we learned from yesterday's telephone conversation were the concessions that he made in an effort to win himself that position by making it much easier for his leadership to be challenged.

I think now, it'll just take a handful of votes where they can throw him out if he is the House Speaker. So, he'll go in already in a very diminished role.

The only thing I feel confident in saying about tomorrow is that he is not going to get there on the first ballot because of the numbers that Harry Enten explained earlier in the program, the fact that he can lose four and at least five are already lined up against him, maybe as many as 14, as you say, Poppy.

The other thought that I have is when you look at the five who are the never Kevin McCarthy's, you know the Matt Gaetz's, I can't imagine they will have a change of heart between now and tomorrow.

And therefore that's what causes me to say, he is not going to get there on the first ballot, and it could go on for a while. And I don't think anybody knows how it ends, but you can't beat somebody with nobody. There has got to be the emergence of someone else, if it's not going to be Kevin McCarthy.

LEMON: Yes, and who could that be? Michael, I had so much I wanted to ask you because you know, I do not only watch your show --

HARLOW: Well, go, he is right there.

LEMON: I know, but I've just -- I know, they're going to say, you know, Don, come on, let's -- you know, we've got to go to whatever.

Okay, so listen, so who is that? That's what I want to ask you. Number two, you had a pollster on who I found amazing when he talked about his -- the polls that he did, focus groups that he did regarding Donald Trump and there was another thing that I can't remember that I wanted to talk to you about.

So who is it? And why do you think Donald Trump has lost so much of his luster when it comes to support?

SMERCONISH: Do I not get to weigh in on "Rolling Stone" and Whitney Houston?

HARLOW: Go.

LEMON: Oh, and Santos was the other thing.

SMERCONISH: I mean, I know we have to talk about Donald Trump well --

LEMON: All of that, go, go. It is a lightning round. Go.

HARLOW: Hey, you guys, can you just see the control room like throwing their papers in the air? Like, where did the show go? Go, Michael.

SMERCONISH: Listen, I mean, Trump appears so vastly diminished, entering 2023 in comparison to the way that he entered 2022, but Don, how many times -- I'll say I -- have I counted this guy out?

You know, the escalator, the rapists, the grab them by the you know what, et cetera et cetera et cetera so it is going to be an unbelievable year. That's all I can say is like give me a crystal ball because I need it.

[08:25:15]

LEMON: Okay, so is there -- who other than Kevin McCarthy just lightning, quickly, please?

SMERCONISH: Oh, you want me to give you the outsider? I'll give you a name, Steve Scalise.

LEMON: Okay.

HARLOW: Yes.

LEMON: Okay. All right. Interesting.

SMERCONISH: If I had to say like out of -- you know, out of a cloud of dirt maybe, I don't mean dirt in a literal sense, but when the dust settles, how is that? Who could be the individual left standing? Him.

HARLOW: Here was that really interesting "New York Times" op-ed over the weekend saying take someone from the outside like John Kasich or Fred Upton who is retiring, but they told me, I can ask him about "Rolling Stone."

LEMON: Yes. So you want to weigh on "Rolling Stone." You said Whitney Houston in particular, but well, go -- go. What do you want to say, brother?

SMERCONISH: Well, I loved your -- I loved your Luther reference earlier in the program because I'm a Luther guy, whether Luther was heavy, whether he was thin because you remember there were many different shades of Luther, but I always loved Luther Vandross, so it's so funny to hear you channeling him earlier because I'm always game for that.

LEMON: Oh, yes.

HARLOW: My God.

LEMON: Luther.

SMERCONISH: A house is not a home.

LEMON: A chair is still a chair.

SMERCONISH: You know what I am saying?

LEMON: Even when there is no one sitting there.

HARLOW: I was thinking, make my morning. Don't go away again, who is going to sing to me?

LEMON: I know. And to Michael Smerconish. Michael, you're always the best. I love listening to you and watching you.

SMERCONISH: See you, guys.

LEMON: Thank you.

HARLOW: Thanks, Michael.

LEMON: Happy New Year to you. I appreciate it.

SMERCONISH: Thank you.

LEMON: Thanks. SMERCONISH: I hope to see you soon. Thank you.

HARLOW: Okay, I'm really looking forward to sharing this story with you and with all our viewers next because she is the great granddaughter of a lynching victim.

Ahead, I sit down with now Justice Kyra Harris Bolden who just made history, the first Black woman ever to sit on Michigan's Supreme Court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTICE KYRA HARRIS BOLDEN, MICHIGAN SUPREME COURT: It has just been so surreal to be appointed to the Highest Court in the State of Michigan and be responsible for some really important decisions.

HARLOW: What do you think makes you tear up?

BOLDEN: Oh, because this means so much to so many people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:00]