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CNN This Morning

Soon: VP Harris Gives Major Speech on Russia's War On Ukraine; Ukraine Says Russia Launched Four Cruise Missile At Ukraine; Louisiana Officer Charged In Shooting Of Unarmed Black Man; Senator Rick Scott Revises Controversial Plan to Exempt Medicare, Social Security from Sunset Provision; Prosecution Rests in Murdaugh Trial After Week of Key Testimony; Auction Pays Tribute to Legendary TNT Broadcaster Craig Sager. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired February 18, 2023 - 06:00   ET

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

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[06:00:29]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone and welcome to CNN this morning. I'm Amara Walker.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, Amara. I'm Boris Sanchez.

Just as Russia is launching a fresh wave of attacks on Ukraine, Vice President Kamala Harris is set to condemn Vladimir Putin in his speech to world leaders. What we expect to hear at the Munich Security Conference and the latest on the ground from keep coming up.

WALKER: Also, funeral services are set to be held today for Alonzo Bagley, the unarmed black man killed by Shreveport police. We're getting our first look at the body cam video showing the moments leading up to the shooting.

SANCHEZ: And the toxic train derailment in Ohio. Federal officials said to investigate next week, as some residents say they're experiencing health issues including rashes and trouble breathing. We're going to hear directly from them.

WALKER: Plus, key testimony in the Alex Murdaugh trial laying out the prosecution's version of events including the timeline they say, puts Murdaugh at the scene of the crime.

SANCHEZ: The weekend is here Saturday, February 18. Thank you so much for waking up with us. Amara, always great to be with you bright and early.

WALKER: Yes, I wish you were right here next to me to keep me energized. I had a rough night, but we won't go into that.

SANCHEZ: A rough start for all of us. Sometimes you got to fake it till you make it, right.

WALKER: I'm going to do that. SANCHEZ: You got to do that bring up the energy. Yes. Up first this morning, Vice President Kamala Harris is preparing to condemn Russia during a major speech happening this hour. Harris is addressing diplomats and military officials at the Munich Security Conference just a few moments away. Her speech coming just days before the one- year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

WALKER: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the conference and stressed the need to speed up the delivery of weapons to Ukraine. He says with the world's help, Ukraine can stop Vladimir Putin's aggression.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): Can we detour Russian strikes? Yes. Can we protect our citizens from Russian missiles? Definitely. Can we liberate our land? There are 1,891 proofs of this. That is exactly how many cities, towns, villages we managed to liberate from the Russian occupation?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: We're covering the story from all angles from the White House to Kyiv. And we'll have in depth analysis.

We begin with CNN White House reporter Jasmine Wright. Good morning, Jasmine. What do we know about the message Vice President Kamala Harris plans to deliver this hour?

JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, Boris and Amara. Well, this is a high-profile speech for the Vice President. This will be the second time in two years that she has given the speech at the Munich Security Conference. Now her aides told me that this speech today will be a follow up to her first speech last year.

If you remember, she spoke just days before Russia invaded Ukraine. And in that speech, she delivered the message that really Russia was on the brink of it and that they would suffer major consequences if they went through with it. Now, of course, we know that they did. So the Vice President today, she will really follow through with it talk about how those threats of consequences have materialized really due to the Western alliance rule.

And then she'll talk about how Ukraine still stands strong after a year of its invasion and how Western allies remain united really supporting Ukraine and its sovereignty. Now, the Vice President will also talk about atrocities that the U.S. believes Russia has committed.

Yesterday in an interview she spoke about how she believes Russia has committed war crimes really detailing some of those reports that we've heard over the course of the years, was really horrible reports out of places like Bucha and other places in Ukraine. So the Vice President will go into detail about that.

Now, of course, the U.S. last year officially determined that Russia has committed war crimes in Ukraine. Now, President Zelenskyy has gone further than that accusing Russia of committing crimes against humanity. So we'll see whether or not the U.S. eventually adopts that same language. Boris, Amara?

WALKER: All right, Jasmine Wright, thank you.

SANCHEZ: We want to take you now live to Ukraine and get an update on conditions on the ground.

WALKER: Yes. CNN Senior National Security Correspondent Alex Marquardt joining us now live from Kyiv. We're getting word of a missile launch by Russia. What can you tell us about that?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Boris and Amara. That's right, Russia's assault from the air against Ukraine continues at least four cruise missiles fired at Ukraine from the Black Sea. At least two of them were intercepted according to Ukraine's Air Force.

[06:05:12]

Two explosions, however, were heard in the western city of Khmelnytskyi. That city in the west far from the frontline, in the east and southern part of the country. The -- a senior aide to President Zelenskyy says that there is a need for more air defenses. This is something that has been requested repeatedly by Ukraine.

We just heard from President Zelenskyy at that Munich Security Conference, saying that the Western aid needs to be sped up for Ukraine. He compared this fight between Russia and Ukraine to Goliath facing off against David sling. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY: Unfortunately, he can still destroy many lives, many. That is why we need to hurry up. There is no alternative to speed, because it is the speed that the life depends on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: Now we are beginning to see ahead of this first anniversary of Russia's invasion, the beginning stages of what is believed to be a new offensive and so far it is not going well. A top State Department official this week said that the efforts so far are what she called very pathetic.

One place that the Russians are making a major push and have been trying to push for over the last few months is the eastern city of Bakhmut where Ukrainian forces have been facing off against mercenaries and convicts from the Wagner organization.

Now if Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is the head of Wagner, has said -- has admitted that they have not made the progress, that they have wanted so far. He blamed in part, what he called the monstrous military bureaucracy of the Russian military. We are increasingly seeing the divisions between this private effort by Prigozhin and Russia's military.

And Amara and Boris, we have gotten a new assessment from the White House about the significant toll that that fight in Bakhmut has taken against Wagner forces. They say that in the past few months, there have been some 30,000 casualties. So that's 30,000 dead and wounded 9,000 dead, according to the White House.

Of course, over the past year, Ukraine has also suffered tremendous losses, both in Bakhmut and all across the country, but far less transparency from Ukraine and the U.S. in terms of those Ukrainian losses. Amara and Boris?

WALKER: All right, Alex Marquardt, thank you very much. And next Friday marks one year since Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the war is the main topic, as you'd imagine at the Munich Security Conference,

SANCHEZ: Let's bring in CNN International Diplomatic Editor, Nic Robertson, who is live for us in Munich. And Nic, we understand that Vice President Harris is arriving now for her speech. Give us a sense of the magnitude of this moment, given this renewed push into Ukraine from Russia that Alex was just outlining for us.

ROBERTSON: Absolutely. The Vice President should be pulling up behind us here very shortly. You can hear the helicopters about security as all stood by it is a big moment. United States, obviously, the biggest player and providing the support for Ukraine and building the Transatlantic Alliance and encouraging everyone to move forward in there.

So that was certainly Vice President's message when she met with the German Chancellor yesterday, when she met with the French president as well yesterday, thanking them for their contributions, talking about the United States ongoing commitment, talking about the importance of that ongoing commitment.

So she is going to condemn that President Putin, as you say here, but also we can expect her to talk about the coordination that's going to be required going forward. The coordination between all these different allies a year ago, the threats that Putin was going to invade, the warnings to tell him not to do it, he did it.

Everyone, all the allies of Ukraine started contributing what they could, rockets, and now more complex systems like tanks, like fighting vehicles, like air defense systems, but of course, all that thrust of support for Ukraine that needs coordination for it to land properly and effectively, because so much of it is coming now and have troops fully trained on it.

That will be part of the message here, and also a message for China as well, not to support Ukraine to watch what's happening in terms of a sort of United support with transatlantic allies. And we heard from Jen Stoltenberg, the NATO Secretary General saying, look, economy is important in terms of relations with China. But it's far more important this our security posture in relations to China.

And that's been an important lesson for all the people here who will be listening, all the leaders who will be listening to the vice president as well that the relationship with Russia has trained dramatic equally and there needs to be a focus on how everyone positions themselves forwards towards China.

[06:10:07]

SANCHEZ: As a very good point, Nic, especially as in the law few weeks, the United States is put out there that they believe Chinese companies are aiding Russia in their efforts in Ukraine.

Nic Robertson, please stand by. We'll go back to as the morning progresses. Thanks so much.

WALKER: All right. We are following a developing story out of North Korea. South Korean officials say the North has launched at least one missile into the waters off the Korean peninsula.

SANCHEZ: Now let's take you to the region now with CNN's Will Ripley, who has done extensive reporting in North Korea. Will, what do we know about the launch?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we know is that this missile flew for at least an hour and eight minutes. It did launch to 5:22 local time landing at 6:30. local time, just west of the Japanese northern island of Hokkaido. It's so close.

In fact, it was within their exclusive economic zone. This is exactly the same distance as North Korea's longest ever missile launch of the Hwasong-17 back in November, a missile that traveled 22 times the speed of sound. And that Japan warned had the potential to hit the U.S. mainland.

And this is North Korea's second ballistic missile that they fired this year. The first was on the New Year's Day. Last week, though what was a cause for concern was that there was a parade in Pyongyang, where Kim Jong-un unveiled an apparent mock-up of a new solid fuel ICBM.

They're easy to make, and they're very easy to launch in a very stealthy way without detection by United States spy satellites. So could this be a test of this of this new type of ICBM, or is this another launch of the Hwasong-17? Because the flight trajectory was almost identical to the last ballistic and ICBM class launch in North Korea, which was back in November.

And just a reminder, just on Friday, North Korea actually threatened unprecedented action over U.S.-South Korean military drills. Just this week at the Pentagon, they're going to be conducting what are known as tabletop drills using computers to conduct simulations.

But then on the Korean peninsula, there will be more traditional military drills happening next month and North Korea always use those as essentially a dress rehearsal for invasion. So we could and probably should expect to see more provocations to come as these drills happen. Boris, Amara?

SANCHEZ: And we know you'll be watching them closely. Will Ripley, live from the region. Thanks so much, Will.

So public health officials are now on their way to Ohio as residents there are experiencing rashes and trouble breathing following this toxic train derailment. What we're hearing from folks in East Palestine coming up.

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[06:16:47]

WALKER: Five former Memphis police officers have pleaded not guilty in the beating death of Tyre Nichols.

WALKER: They each face several charges including second degree murder, kidnapping and assault. Nichols' 29-year-old black man who was repeatedly punched and kicked by the officers after a traffic stop and a brief foot chase on January 7. The second-degree murder charge carries a penalty of 15 to 60 years in prison.

Meantime, funeral services are going to be held today for an unarmed black man shot by police in Louisiana. Alonzo Bagley was killed on February 3rd after Shreveport police officers responded to a domestic disturbance call and an apartment complex.

WALKER: This week, an officer was charged with negligent homicide and investigators released body camera footage from the shooting. Before CNN Ryan Young walks us through those details, we do want to warn you that some viewers may find this video quite difficult to watch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two officers arrive at the home of Alonzo Bagley responding to a 911 call regarding the domestic disturbance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, what's your name?

ALONZO BAGLEY: Alonzo.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)?

BAGLEY: No. (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sit down. Sit down. Let her -- hi, come here. Come here.

BAGLEY: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She can put the dog.

YOUNG (voice-over): The first officer follows Bagley down the hallway as his wife continues to yell in the background. The officer realizes Bagley is heading out the door of a balcony and sees him jump from the second floor to the ground below.

He then turns back to run through and out of the apartment downstairs to chase after Bagley. Once outside, you hear one officer yell to the other. He went that way. About five seconds later, you hear a single gunshot.

It's been one minute and 25 seconds since officers first knocked on the door.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dispatch EMS right now. Shot fired. Shit fired.

YOUNG (voice-over): For the next two minutes, you hear the officers distraught and administrating CPR.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guy, hey, keep breathing. Keep breathing.

BAGLEY: Stay with me now. Stay with me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep breathing. Keep breathing, dude. Keep breathing. Keep breathing. Keep breathing.

Hey, go to the front of the building, go to the front of the building. We've come down. We've come down with the flush light. Come on. Run, run, run, run, run. Hey. Dude. you're going to be all right, you're going to be all right. Look at me. Hey, look at me. Look at me. Look at me. Look at me.

Look at me. Hey, wake up. Wake up. Look at me. Look at me. Hey. Respond. Come on, come on. Come on. Wake up. Respond.

YOUNG (voice-over): Bagley was unarmed during the encounter, according to Louisiana State Police. The officer who fired the shot, Alexander Tyler, has been charged with negligent homicide.

[06:20:02]

In court Thursday, a Louisiana state police investigator told the judge in the split second after the shot is fired, you can see in the body camera footage, Bagley's hands are up.

On cross examination, the investigator acknowledged the view from the body camera is obstructed by the way the officers turn in the moment the shot is fired.

DHU THOMPSON, LAWYER FOR OFFICER ALEXANDER TYLER: Officers are always faced on a day-to-day basis with dangerous situations like that and at times where they have to make split second decisions where they're in a potential life-threatening situation. The mere fact that an argument has been made by the investigator in court that he was unarmed does not necessarily mean he's not a threat to the officer.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YOUNG: A very rough video to watch and I tell you, community members are asking for the police to make wholesale changes when it comes to policy and how officers chased suspects. You won't see the officers orange jumpsuit when he was doing his first court appearance before receiving his $25,000 bond. Because of this date, you can't film first court appearance. His mugshot also will not be released. The family though is also joining the community and asking for changes at the police department and they are moving forward with a lawsuit. Reporting in Shreveport, Louisiana, Ryan Young, CNN.

WALKER: All right, Ryan, thank you for that.

So the Biden administration says it has deployed federal medical experts to East Palestine, Ohio to help residents -- address residents growing health concerns after a train derailment there two weeks ago caused a toxic chemical spill.

SANCHEZ: A hundreds of people were forced to evacuate earlier this month. But since returning to their homes, many of them have reported health issues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need help. We do. We need President Biden. We need FEMA housing. People we're getting sick.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: CNN's Bill Weir has more.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Boris, Amara, good morning. It's now been about two weeks since this nightmare started there in East Palestine, Ohio. A lot of worried folks, despite the best efforts of Governor Mike DeWine to let folks know that the air and water as they're measuring it is safe.

He says that those who are drinking on the village water supplies, they tested those wells repeatedly. And none of those toxins from that train derailment has gotten in there. He even said the toxic plume that was floating down the Ohio River had dissipated to the point where it was barely traceable to their tests there as well.

But that is done not a lot to alleviate fears. In fact, one Republican state senator from that region went on Fox News right after the governor's press conference and says I don't believe the government. I get a sore throat when I go home. So a lot of testing be done.

The governor is not accepting FEMA help right now, for whatever reason, but is accepting Health and Human Services, experts who are coming to town to do an exposure assessment and try to answer the questions of anyone who might have them.

It will be interesting to see how that plays out. There's so much frustration and suspicion. We live in an age of conspiracy and after the COVID mask and vaccine debates, you can't blame the folks there for not knowing who to believe given the information they're having.

As for Norfolk Southern that the railroad, we have that incredible surveillance video of a town 43 minutes from the crash site that showed sparks flying out of the back of that faulty axle at the back of a 1.8-mile-long train. Safety experts and activists been warning about the railroad industry switching to running longer trains with fewer people in order to maximize profits.

And that of course will come up and probably all of the eight class action lawsuits that have been filed against Norfolk Southern so far. We'll stay on it and see what's the latest there. As those health teams arrive, they say, we'll be on the ground by Monday. Boris, Amara?

WALKER: Just the fear in the voices of those residents is really heartbreaking. Bill Weir, thank you.

All right, just ahead, details are coming out from the long-awaited report of the Georgia grand jury investigating Donald Trump and his allies' efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. But does it really offer the total exoneration, the former president is claiming?

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[06:28:31]

SANCHEZ: In just a few moments, Vice President Kamala Harris will be speaking at the Munich Security Conference in Germany and we're of course monitoring her speech. The Vice President is expected to condemn Russia just days before the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine.

Here to discuss the speech and all the political headlines, CNN Political Commentator and Spectrum News anchor Errol Louis. Errol as always, appreciates you being up with us bright and early on a Saturday morning. What are you going to be watching for in the Vice President speech?

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Good morning, Boris. What we're going to be -- what I'm going to be watching for is whether or not there's a firm and final and explicit commitment from the U.S. to continue the funding. I mean, we've spent, you know, upwards of $27 billion so far in support of this war effort.

There's going to be some political difficulties in maintaining that flow of support. And we'll be looking for clues from the Vice President as to whether or not they have any intentions of going further. This is going to be a very tough season of spring offensive as expected from Russia.

Ukraine has been asking for more and more support, more and more weapons and whether or not they're going to get it is really going to depend on the United States in the end.

SANCHEZ: Let's turn to the domestic front now because there was a significant shift yesterday. Florida Senator Rick Scott changing his signature spending plan that would require all federal spending to be reauthorized every five years. He added exemptions for Social Security and Medicare.

He says, this is a clarification that this is over gotcha politics. What did you make of the shift? LOUIS: Yes, OK, well, he needed to make that shift. And you know, when they are playing gotcha politics, sometimes it's because they gotcha. This was something that has been on the Republican agenda for generations frankly. There was a lot of opposition to these programs at the time that they were created.

And certainly, it was very clear there were endless numbers of headlines and speeches when Senator Scott put forward his proposal last year that, what he actually wants and what is desired here is to fundamentally remake these very popular programs as a way to save on the federal budget. Now, if that is something that people believe should happen, they should own it.

In this case though, it is politically a third rail. And I think he's come to realize that. I mean, it became the center piece of that extraordinary confrontation at the State of the Union address. And so rather than continue to be burdened by that, and continue to lose elections around it, they're going to try and adjust a little bit. I frankly don't know if anybody is going to believe it at this point, because again, this is not something he just made up for the last campaign. This has been talked about year after year for generations.

SANCHEZ: Yes, let's focus on 2024. This week, the special grand jury in Fulton County looking at Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, it recommended indictments for one or more unnamed witnesses that it believed lied to the court. It is important to point out Trump didn't testify before the special grand jury, so that doesn't necessarily apply to him.

And the report was only partially released, so there may be more coming. How do you think this might impact his presidential campaign though?

LOUIS: Well, I mean, the first and most important finding of the special grand jury, Boris, is that, there was no election fraud sufficient to overturn the 2020 election. So that talking point now has a real serious problem -- presents a real serious problem for Donald Trump if he wants to continue running around saying that there were problems -- really won this state and really won the election.

Well, that's just not the case, and this is not some adversarial prosecution, this was not a politician saying it, this is, you know, 23 lay members of a grand jury in Fulton County who said, no, nothing happened here like that. And then, the fact that one of the 75 people that testified before this special grand jury was the president's attorney, Rudy Giuliani. Who has been identified as somebody who could be a target of criminal prosecution.

That's not going to play very well either on the campaign trail. So, look, elections are about the future, if Donald Trump wants to put this behind him and either implicitly or explicitly acknowledge that he lost the state, he lost the election, he lost the court fight to try and overturn the election, if he should find his way to doing that, he might be able to put this behind him for 2024. But that seems to be something Donald Trump does not want to do. SANCHEZ: All right, somebody who really wants to make 2024 about the

future is Nikki Haley. She entered the presidential race this week. Now, the former governor of South Carolina and the former U.N. ambassador taking shots at Joe Biden and Donald Trump. What's your read on her odds to lead the GOP ticket?

LOUIS: Well, look, right before she announced, I think she was polling around 3 percent. I mean, she's got a huge uphill battle. In fact, the biggest problem, Boris, is that, she doesn't have a platform. She's an ex-governor. You know, she's an ex-ambassador. She doesn't have a TV show. She doesn't have any particular way to enter the conversation politically, other than just to sort of make accusations and say something that's a little bit news worthy.

And she's certainly tried to do that by suggesting that we need to turn the page and that, there should be mental acuity tests for any politician who wants to be president, who is over 75 years old, that kind of a thing. It didn't draw a response from Donald Trump at whom that remark was clearly aimed. And that in itself underscores the problem that she's going to have getting on the agenda as the election shapes up.

SANCHEZ: And there are a few other potential Republican nominees out there. Mike Pence as well as Senator Tim Scott also of South Carolina, Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida. Who are you anticipating might jump in next?

LOUIS: I don't know. I don't like any of their odds, I've got to be honest with you. I mean, look, the reality is this, we saw it with Nikki Haley's announcement. What exactly is the case for change? You know, because if you're saying you want to unseat the Biden administration, what's the case for change? That we have 3.5 percent unemployment? You know, I mean, they're going to have to try, and I think find their way to a winning argument, not just for the Republican primary, but for -- they have to sort of make a dual case.

[06:35:00]

That there's something urgent that requires throwing out the existing administration, number one. And number two, Donald Trump is not the person to do it. That's a pretty heavy lift. And, you know, so far we've heard a lot of people talking about it, but when they forget that first response from Donald Trump, when he takes them seriously as he already has with Ron DeSantis, I think you're going to see the field clear pretty quickly.

SANCHEZ: And I've heard from his advisors, saying that they hope that more names jump in because it might dilute the field and make it harder for someone else to really rival him. We've got to leave the conversation there, Errol Louis, it's always a pleasure.

LOUIS: Thank you.

WALKER: All right, still to come, the prosecution rests its -- in the double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh. Now it's the defense's turn. So what kind of strategy can we expect from them in court next week? We will discuss.

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[06:40:00]

SANCHEZ: It's now the defense's turn in the double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh, calling their first two witnesses on Friday. First, a coroner to clarify Maggie and Paul's time of death, and a public information officer with the sheriff's office to address a press statement that was sent out following the murders.

WALKER: Now, before the prosecution rested its case, Friday, their last witness laid out a timeline of the night of the murders from cellphone and GPS data. But as CNN's Randi Kaye reports, not all the data matches up with what Murdaugh told investigators.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETER RUDOFSKI, INVESTIGATOR, SLED: This is going to be the full timeline.

RANDI KAYE, CNN REPORTER: Special agent Peter Rudofski analyzed cellphone data from phones belonging to the victims and Alex Murdaugh, as well as GPS data recovered from their cars. He presented a timeline to the jury from the night of the murders.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then at 8:44:55, what does it reflect on Paul's phone?

RUDOFSKI: You can hear Alex, Maggie and Paul in the background.

KAYE: Rudofski testified about a key piece of video extracted from Paul Murdaugh's cellphone that witnesses say puts Alex Murdaugh at the scene just before prosecutors say Paul and his mother were killed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What time did Paul and Maggie's phones get silent forever?

RUDOFSKI: Eight-forty-nine is when their phones went silent forever. :

KAYE: Rudofski told the jury that minutes after the murders are believed to have occurred, Alex Murdaugh's phone showed more steps taken than at any other point that evening.

RUDOFSKI: Two hundred and eighty three steps.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was a busy guy right there, wasn't he?

RUDOFSKI: It appears.

KAYE: The witness says cellphone data also shows someone moved Maggie Murdaugh's phone minutes after she died.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At 9:06:12, what happened?

RUDOFSKI: Maggie Murdaugh's phone implements orientation change from portrait to orientation sideways.

KAYE: According to earlier testimony, Alex Murdaugh left the house that night around that same time, 9:06 p.m., to go visit his mother. GPS data from his car shows on his drive, he slowed down right around the spot where his wife's phone was found in the woods just the following day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After passing that location, does the defendant's vehicle start to accelerate?

RUDOFSKI: It does.

KAYE: Rudofski also told the jury, data shows Murdaugh arrived at his mother's house at 9:22 p.m., and left there at 9:43 p.m.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So roughly, 20-minute period (INAUDIBLE)?

RUDOFSKI: Roughly 20 minutes, correct.

KAYE: That's key because Murdaugh had told investigators in an interview played in court this week that he was at his mother's house for about an hour. But this GPS data shows he was there for just about 21 minutes. His mother's caretaker also testified earlier that he stopped by for about 15 to 20 minutes. Cellphone data shows Murdaugh arrived back home at the murder scene just before calling 911 at 10:06 p.m.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is showing the suburban arriving at the kennels 10:05:57 p.m. And from the moment the suburban arrived at the kennels, how long did it take for that 911 call to be made?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Less than 20 seconds.

KAYE: Remember, Murdaugh told investigators he tried to turn his son over a couple of times, and checked the pulse on both Paul and Maggie all before calling 9-1-1.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the person getting out of the car had seen the bodies already, and already knew something was horribly wrong, do you believe that, that is an unreasonably short period of time to inspect and call 9-1-1?

RUDOFSKI: I'm here testifying on his data, not hypothetical.

KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, Walterboro, South Carolina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: All right, lots to unpack here. CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson joining us now. Good morning to you. So clearly, Joey, I mean, there are inconsistencies between this time line that the prosecution presented, and what Alex Murdaugh has said. So between that timeline and the witnesses identifying Murdaugh's voice in a video on Paul's phone just minutes before his death. Have prosecutors done enough to place Murdaugh at the scene just shortly before the crime? JOEY JACKSON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, Amara, good morning to

you. The defense has a lot of work to do to be clear. Absolutely, I think the prosecution has established that he was there, right? A lot is said about the issue of DNA, and we're in a DNA society, where show me the proof, demonstrate to me, connect the dots says to him being there.

[06:45:00]

And I think the timeline, right? In Randi Kaye's excellent piece really is problematic to the defense in as much as, number one, it contradicts the statements that really Alex Murdaugh has made to the police significantly. And number two, with respect to demonstrating that he has a major connection, right? To the particular crime scene, it does that.

So, in essence, that's the DNA. I think the task ahead really, Amara, for the defense is going to be three-fold. Number one, they have to justify and speak to the issue of timeline, which is why I believe they called the coroner to say, hey, couldn't the death have been around 10 O'clock, right? And number two, they have to attack the motive or lack thereof, as it relates to why would he do this?

And the defense has really harped on the fact that there was a loving relationship. And then I think, certainly, what the defense needs to do in terms of really going to the core of this, is they have to demonstrate that at the end of the day, there's reasonable doubt here, there is no basis to do this, and you know what? They have to attack the basis of the police focusing on Murdaugh exclusively, it could have been someone else. And so, I think for this point, the prosecution has really established a compelling case.

WALKER: Right, so obviously, the burden of proof is on the prosecution. and I'm glad you laid out what the defense strategy might be because, I mean, there is no other suspect to talk about, right? So, is this going to be about just portraying Alex Murdaugh as a loving father who wouldn't ever do such a thing?

JACKSON: So, you know, that's important, Amara, without question. Because although, you don't have to establish motive when you are the prosecution, inquiring minds, 1-0, and the prosecution has tried to say, hey, he's had these financial problems, things were closing in on him, pills were discovered by his family, and that certainly got him, you know, sort of anxious.

But I think there's also something else. We've heard the suggestion, Amara, from the defense about these drug dealers, right? About the fact that he had this habit, this $50,000 habit that he would pay for these painkillers. And so, could it have been one of them? And so, I think the insinuation is, is that the police were focused on him like a laser beam, the investigation was sloppy, they excluded other people who could potentially have been involved.

And in the event that someone has a habit like that, could that not lead to unsavory people who could have been after him, and by extension, meant harm to his family. So I think we'll continue to see innuendo. And to your very good point, as noted, right? The defense doesn't have a burden. They just have to establish reasonable doubt. And I --

WALKER: Right --

JACKSON: Think that's what they'll continue to do and began --

WALKER: OK --

JACKSON: To do, Friday, as they laid out their case.

WALKER: Got it. We're running out of time, just a quick question because you are a criminal defense attorney. Sources close with the defense team say they are considering putting Alex Murdaugh on the stand. Would you recommend that?

JACKSON: So, it's fraught with difficulties, Amara, quickly, because number one, when you put your defendant on a stand, and in a general sense, it comes -- it's not about what reasonable doubt you established, it's about whether the jury believes him. And then number two, specifically, he has so much to explain --

WALKER: Yes --

JACKSON: And how do you explain every inconsistency you told the police. I think that he would be savaged by the prosecution. That's a very tough call to make, and one that could backfire significantly. But we'll see.

WALKER: Yes, you're right. He would have so much to explain. Joey Jackson, really appreciate the conversation. Thank you so much. And a programming note for you, "LOW COUNTRY: THE MURDAUGH DYNASTY" explores the Murdaugh family whose decades of powerful influence unravel amid accusations of fraud, deception and murder. Tune in for this three- part docu-series, starting tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. right here on CNN. Back after this.

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[06:50:00]

WALKER: The world's best basketball players have gathered in Salt Lake City for the NBA All-Star weekend. And some of the biggest names in the game have contributed to one of the most unique auctions you will ever see.

SANCHEZ: And CNN's Andy Scholes has more on this tribute to legendary "TNT" broadcaster Craig Sager.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Boris and Amara, NBA All-Star weekend is always one of the most fun of the entire year. Tonight, we've got the 3 point and dunk contest here in Salt Lake City on "TNT". And one person who had a larger-than-life presence here at NBA All-Star weekend for more than two decades was sideline reporter Craig Sager. You know, fans and players, they loved interacting with him and to see what colorful suits he would wear to report in. Now, Sager lost his life to blood cancer back in 2016, but his legacy continues with the Sager Strong Foundation. And on this week's difference makers, some of the biggest stars in sports sign a Bentley to be auctioned off with the proceeds going to cancer research.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES BARKLEY, ELEVEN-TIME NBA ALL-STAR: This is an amazing car. This is a beautiful car, and this is a great tribute.

LISA LESLIE, TWO-TIME WNBA CHAMPION: Oh, my gosh, I love Craig. Craig has always been so fashionable.

ADAM SILVER, COMMISSIONER, NBA: My favorite memory was when David Stern actually tried to get him to change his jacket. They went down, he felt it wasn't NBA-like, and Craig just smiled, and said, I'm keeping this jacket on. And then the turner people said, David, go back to your seat.

BEN WALLACE, NBA CHAMPION, 2004: Craig has always been a great guy, man, always, you know, was a great ambassador for the game, man, and you know, he was one of those guys that everybody enjoyed spending time with.

RUDY TOMJANOVICH, TWO-TIME NBA CHAMPIONSHIP COACH: A wonderful personality. He just exuded that positivity all the time.

[06:55:00]

LESLIE: That's the thing about whenever you would talk with Craig, he made you feel like, you know, you hadn't missed a beat, that he is just focused solely on you.

SPENCER HAYWOOD, NBA CHAMPION, 1980: He brought so much to the NBA, it's just awesome. He was the man that would like lighten up the game, make it really fun to watch.

ROY WILLIAMS, THREE-TIME NCAA BASKETBALL CHAMPION: How silly he was in all of his interviews, and how much he loved life. That's what I remember more than anything. He just loved what he did and everything he did.

GEORGE GERVIN, NINE-TIME NBA ALL-STAR: When you think about it, it puts a smile on your face.

LESLIE: We love you, Craig.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: That is certainly one cool car. And Boris and Amara, I can't wait to see what it goes for.

SANCHEZ: All right, Craig Sager, a legend, by far the best dressed man on the court. Andy Scholes, thank you so much for that. Coming up at the top of the hour, HHS set to travel to Ohio this week as residents grow increasingly concerned after two weeks following a train derailment that released toxic chemicals into the air, ground and water. Has the official response been adequate? We're going to ask a former deputy administrator of the EPA later this morning. Stay with us.

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