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CNN This Morning
Gunshot Residue Found on Murdaugh's Coat; Students Disciplined after Racial Video; Cohen Speaks to Prosecutors Again; Security for the Super Bowl. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired February 09, 2023 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:30:00]
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Residue particles on the inside of that jacket.
MEGAN FLETCHER, SLED GUNSHOT RESIDUE EXPERT: I confirmed 38 particles characteristic.
Given that it's on the inside, in order for it to be consistent with transfer, an object or objects with a high amount of gunshot primer residue on it would have had to transfer to it.
KAYE: An object, like a firearm, as prosecutor John Meadors hinted at with this line of questioning.
JOHN MEADORS, PROSECUTOR: And you (ph) had a gun inside that rain jacket that had recently been fired? And you were taking it somewhere, to hide it, or transport it, would be 38 particles inside - inside the rain jacket be consistent with transfer from a recently fired firearm?
FLETCHER: That is a possibility. Yes, sir.
KAYE: In his opening statement, lead prosecutor Creighton Waters promised the jury this evidence was coming. The state's working theory seems to be that Alex Murdaugh used this rain jacket to wrap up at least one of the murder weapons. And after allegedly disposing of them, he stashed this raincoat in his mother's house. A theory the defense tried to knock down.
JIM GRIFFIN, ALEX MURDAUGH DEFENSE ATTORNEY: There's no way for you to know when the gunshot primer residue was deposited on the blue rain jacket?
FLETCHER: That's correct.
GRIFFIN: And you have no idea how gunshot primer residue ended up on that garment, correct?
FLETCHER: I could not tell you how it got there.
GRIFFIN: OK.
Or when it got there. FLETCHER: Or when it got there.
KAYE: Alex Murdaugh's former paralegal also testified. She told the jury about how he allegedly stole from his former law firm. She also identified his voice on a recording taken by aul Murdaugh on his phone. Prosecutors believe the video was recorded just a few minutes before Maggie and Paul Murdaugh were killed, when Alex Murdaugh said he wasn't with his family at the dog kennels on the property.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, he's got a bird in his mouth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE), bubba.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, bubba.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you recognize any voices from that video?
ANNETTE GRISWOLD, FORMER PARALEGAL FOR ALEX MURDAUGH: I do. I hear three voices.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And tell me who you hear?
GRISWOLD: I Paul Murdaugh, Maggie Murdaugh and Alex Murdaugh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And how sure are you?
GRISWOLD: I'm 100 percent sure.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: The fact that she recognized his voice on that video really is key because prosecutors do say the murders took place just a few minutes after that video was recorded.
Alex Murdaugh said he wasn't at the dog kennels at the time, but now she says he was. She puts him there, and so do three other witnesses.
Kaitlan.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Every day in court gets more fascinating than the last.
Randi Kaye, thank you for covering it for us.
KAYE: Yes.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right, so you just sit and watch this one and take it in and try to figure out exactly what is going on. Here, a video of a racist incident circulating online, sparking protests and at least two suspensions at a Philadelphia high school. Now, the video - there's -- there it is, part of it -- shows a girl spraying black paint on another girl's face while making comments referencing Black History Month.
So, what's going on? Jean Casarez joins us. She's been looking at this video and she has a report on it. So, what happened here?
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let's just state the facts. Here are the facts. According to the archdiocese of Philadelphia, three girls are in this video, two attend Saint Hubert Catholic High School for girls. A third girl, she does not attend the school.
Now, in the video, a girl is seen spray painting the face of another girl black, throwing around racist insults, all while several girls are watching. They sit by. They laugh.
Let's watch a little bit of this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're a black girl. You know your roots.
It's February.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your mom is never (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're nothing but a slave.
And after this you're doing my laundry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm black and I'm proud.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: A black parent whose daughter attends the catholic school told CNN the video was sent directly to his daughter and niece, along with other black students. Now, the archdiocese of Philadelphia tells CNN, the exact distribution is unknown at this point of time.
What is known is that the video was taken outside of school, after school hours, and then put on social media.
Quote, those allegedly responsible are not present in school. They are being disciplined appropriately. We take this opportunity to be abundantly clear that there is no place for hate, racism, or bigotry at Saint Hubert's or in any catholic school. It is not acceptable under any circumstances or at any time.
The statement goes on to say that general threats have now been made against the school community after the video surfaced on social media. They're being reported as they come in, to the Philadelphia Police Department, and law enforcement, they have been on the campus since the video surfaced.
Philadelphia's branch of the NAACP expressed in a statement Wednesday strong disappointment in the video and called on the school to, quote, ensure action takes place immediately.
[06:35:08] LEMON: I don't really know what say.
CASAREZ: I know. Its beyond words. I mean, what's the motivation? What's the state of mind? What is -- I mean this is blatantly --
LEMON: Look, you know, we've all been young at one point. Some of it hits closer to, you know, at least for me, to you guys. You've been young - you're younger than I am. But when I was in college, you know, people would do stupid things. People would openly say the "n" word. But I thought by the time we got to 2022, 2023, that things would be different.
These kids should know better. They are kids though, right? And I - you know, I want to cut them slack in that they are kids. But their actions are reprehensible.
CASAREZ: Yes.
LEMON: And it's not funny.
CASAREZ: No.
LEMON: And it should not -- it shouldn't happen, but it definitely should not be spread. They should know better the consequences of -- this will last forever. This is going to stick with them forever.
CASAREZ: I think it will be very interesting to see what happens because, you know, what is their state of mind here? What are they thinking? And it was done off campus. And we know from a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision of a high school girl that didn't get --
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: I was just going to bring up the SCOTUS decision. That's exactly right.
CASAREZ: What she - what she did not - she didn't achieve cheerleader or something and off campus she made a video that was absolutely disparaging of the principal and students and teachers.
HARLOW: Yes.
CASAREZ: And it went all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court and they said it's off campus.
HARLOW: Yes.
CASAREZ: Freedom of speech.
HARLOW: That's right.
CASAREZ: It can be done.
HARLOW: It's a really interesting moment in the First Amendment battle over all of this.
CASAREZ: It was.
LEMON: Well, I -
HARLOW: And consequences and responsibility just on a legal front.
CASAREZ: Yes. Yes.
LEMON: I hope Ron DeSantis is watching and paying attention. I hope that people who are saying that we shouldn't - we should only teach certain aspects of our history are watching. There's nothing funny about Black History Month because that's what we should be learning the importance of Black History Month because these kids think it's a joke. And it's perhaps because they didn't learn it before they got to college and maybe they wouldn't be exhibiting this sort of behavior if they actually knew the history of this country, right, and the true history of this country and the importance of at least paying reverence and attention to the black people who help to build this country, rather than making fun spraying someone and saying, oh, it's Black History Month. It's not funny.
CASAREZ: Which goes with the archdiocese is saying, suspension, expulsion, you know, we are taking measures.
LEMON: Yes.
CASAREZ: Is that enough?
LEMON: No, it's not enough.
CASAREZ: Let's follow this.
LEMON: You learned - you learned it when you're younger. That's where you get it.
Thank you, Jean Casarez.
CASAREZ: Thank you.
LEMON: Appreciate that.
HARLOW: Former President Trump's ex-lawyer, Michael Cohen, met with Manhattan prosecutors again over the former president's financial dealings. Why he says there is a strong case.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:42:11]
HARLOW: President Trump's former personal attorney, Michael Cohen, met with prosecutors in New York for the 15th time yesterday. This comes just over a week after "The New York Times" reported that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg had begun presenting evidence to a grand jury regarding hush money payments Cohen made to adult film star Stormy Daniels on behalf of the former president during the 2016 election. Cohen says he believes an indictment is coming.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL COHEN, Donald TRUMP'S FORMER ATTORNEY: I believe we're on the tarmac. And I believe that rather imminently we're going to have takeoff and eventually, since we're going on transportation idioms here, we will be arriving at our destination.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you think that's an indictment of Donald J. Trump?
COHEN: That's the destination.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Let's bring in CNN commentator and CNN's host of "Smerconish," Michael Smerconish.
Michael, good morning to you.
Michael Cohen went on to say that he believes this should lead to an indictment. It's not his decision. But I think it's interesting that he said he agrees with Mark Pomerantz, who used to work on Bragg's team, who was on the program with us yesterday, that the D.A. is ready to do what needs to be done.
What do you see here?
MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN COMMENTATOR: I don't know if that's the case. But I'm wondering about the political implications if there were to be an indictment pertaining to the Stormy Daniels case. By the time such an indictment would be brought, it would be seven or eight years after the facts. I guess the idea, in tolling the statute of limitations, is that you can't indict a sitting president and, therefore, the statute of limitations would be tolled during that time period. I don't think that's a slam dunk. I - I think there's a legitimate legal issue there to be explored.
I also wonder what would be the political impact if this is the only indictment because, as you know -
HARLOW: Yes.
SMERCONISH: (INAUDIBLE) is looking at the events of January 6th. You've got the Mar-a-Lago documents. You've got the Fulton County investigation. If in the end it's only the Stormy Daniels case that leads to an indictment, I don't think it harms him politically at all.
LEMON: Really?
HARLOW: That could also be taken down potentially to a misdemeanor. And so there are real questions, though, about the political implication, which you asked folks in a poll, right?
SMERCONISH: Right.
HARLOW: Would it hurt Trump? SMERCONISH: Well, listen, I'm often - I'm often in the minority on the poll questions that I ask. So, the audience said, yes, it will harm Trump. I think it's probably a lot of confirmation bias. You know, people who are against Trump. They hope that it will hurt Trump.
I don't know, didn't we learn a lesson in the whole, you know, Clinton '90s about the impact of sex on political careers? I think we did.
And, by the way, there's a part of me that thinks every time this case gets brought up, Donald Trump, although he may say terrible things about Stormy Daniels, I think he probably enjoys being in the same sentence as her. That's just my speculation.
LEMON: Look at -- Michael Cohen is saying, you know, I told you so, right?
[06:45:01]
You know, he's been saying I told you so. And I -- he believes his testimony, or at least I think investigators believe it as well, his testimony in front of a congressional hearing with Elijah Cummings, rest in peace Elijah Cummins, he said that there have been more than ten investigation and multiple convictions and that the New York A.G., Pomerantz, done, Muller, multiple congressional committees all stated that everything that Michael Cohen told them was truthful, accurate, and relevant to their investigation.
So, how do you respond to that? Because a lot has come out of his congressional testimony and his involvement with these hush money payments.
SMERCONISH: Don, I like Michael Cohen. I've been a guest several times on Michael Cohen's podcast. He's been a guest here on my radio program. I get a kick out of him. He's a character. I say character in a Philly way. Like, that's a term of endearment. But he's a convicted felon. You know, in the end, how reliable will he be perceived? If the case comes down to Michael Cohen, they better have more than that.
HARLOW: Yes. Well, Weisselberg hasn't flipped. So, that's like a key component as well.
LEMON: Yes.
HARLOW: We'll see.
LEMON: I mean 15 times. They've called him 15 times. We'll see. We shall see.
SMERCONISH: All right.
HARLOW: Thanks, Michael.
LEMON: Thanks, Michael. Good to see you.
HARLOW: Always good to have you.
SMERCONISH: See you guys. Thank you.
HARLOW: You can catch Michael, obviously, on his radio show every morning, but also on his show right here on CNN, 9:00 a.m. Eastern, Saturdays.
COLLINS: After Saturday is going to be the Super Bowl. One of the biggest events of the year. CNN is getting an up close look at how do they plan to keep everyone safe, from the ground to the sky. What do the security precautions for something like that look like?
LEMON: OK, well, that's going to be the happiest place on earth, at least for one team this weekend. Well, even the happiest place on earth, though, can't avoid layoffs, sadly. Details on Disney's new multibillion dollar restructuring plan, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:51:54]
COLLINS: This morning, officials in Arizona are ramping up security with Super Bowl LVII just days away. Nearly 1,000 officers from several different agencies are going to be working together to protect the game by land and by air.
CNN's Rosa Flores is live in Glendale, Arizona, with an inside look.
What do these security measures look like? Obviously, there are so many people here, a ton of celebrities, officials as well. What do - what do the security measures look like?
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kaitlan, good morning.
You know what law enforcement will tell you is that a successful Super Bowl for them is one where the fans can focus on the game, the halftime show, the food, the fun. Where the fans do not even have to think about public safety because law enforcement has done its job.
So, what type of security measures do they have? Everything under the sun.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FLORES (voice over): What are U.S. Customs and Border Protection helicopter -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're flying about 500 feet.
FLORES: A U.S. Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All clear.
FLORES: And an F-16 fighter jet doing over Glendale, Arizona? They're tasked with guarding the skies over Super Bowl LVII. With nearly 200,000 fans expected for the big game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, security is a multiagency effort.
FLORES (on camera): What types of threats does the FBI prepare for when it comes to the Super Bowl?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, a wide variety. Anything from active shooters to explosive threats, IED threats, the bomb threats, suspicious packages.
FLORES (voice over): From this operations center, the FBI, alongside more than 40 federal, state and local law enforcement agencies will use these 360 degree cameras to have eyes on every inch of the stadium.
Scott Brown is the federal top official in charge of security.
SCOTT BROWN: I was in New York for 9/11. I've seen the devastating impacts of terrorism on our soil. I'm deeply committed, as are all my partners, to making sure that we don't have an incident like that here.
FLORES: Sky patrol is in the hands of U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations.
FLORES (on camera): When your teams are patrolling, what could they be looking for?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to look for anything out of the ordinary. It could be anything from smoke to disruptions.
FLORES: CBP Air and Marine Operations will be able to fly over the stadium during the big game, but no other aircraft will because the FAA will be imposing a flight restriction that's 30 miles wide.
FLORES (voice over): Those flight restrictions will be enforced by NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, with these Air Force F-16 fighter jets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Since 9/11 we've been able to safely escort out any aircraft that's violating restricted airspace.
FLORES: NORAD is taking no chances. This KC-135 Stratotanker is part of the fleet on hand.
FLORES (on camera): This aircraft can carry up to 200,000 pounds of fuel. There are ten tanks on board, including some on the wings.
FLORES (voice over): And it can refuel an F-16, midair, in minutes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So it prevents us from having to return for fuel on the ground. So, it's absolutely critical.
[06:55:01]
FLORES: The fighter jets refuel from a receptacle that's right behind the pilot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And my job, as the pilot, is just to remain within the basket in a safe, controlled, stable position.
FLORES: If the FAA's flight restrictions are broken, NORAD or CBP Air and Marine Operations will engage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our role in the event of a criminal event is to bring special response teams to the scene.
FLORES: The message from law enforcement to anyone thinking about committing a crime during the Super Bowl is simple.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't do it. You're going to wind up in cuffs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FLORES: Now, Kaitlan, if the fighter jets, the Stratotanker, the U.S. CBP Air and Marine Operations helicopter is not enough to deter criminals, there's 5,000 other reasons why criminals should not even come close to the stadium is because there's 5,000 public safety personnel that are assigned to this. Some you will see because they're going to be in uniform. Others will be blending in. You will not see them.
Kaitlan.
COLLINS: We'll be watching that. Didn't see that in the half-time show.
Rosa Flores, thank you.
LEMON: And coming up on CNN THIS MORNING.
(VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Oh, my gosh, look at that little face. A smiling baby pulled from the rubble just as the death toll surpasses 16,000 in Turkey and Syria. The race to rescue survivors intensifying by the hour. We're live in Turkey.
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[07:00:00]
