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CNN This Morning
Louisville Police Release Bodycam Footage of Response to Bank Shooter; Biden to Meet with UK Prime Minister in Belfast; Manhattan DA Sues GOP's Jordan in Case Over Trump's Indictment; Rep. Tim Scott (R- SC) Weighs Presidential Bid. Aired 6-6:30a ET
Aired April 12, 2023 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Well good morning, everyone. We're very glad you're with us. It is Wednesday. Let's get started with five things to know for this Wednesday, April 12.
[06:00:28]
In Louisville, police have released just dramatic body camera video from Monday's mass shooting inside of a bank. The police chief says that his officers' actions saved lives.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Also, Republican Senator Tim Scott is now taking a step toward running for president. We are told he is going to announce an exploratory committee later this morning.
Also here in New York, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has now sued Congressman Jim Jordan. He's the chair of the House Judiciary Committee. As Bragg is trying to challenge his investigation into the DA's prosecution of Trump.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: We have that and this that we're keeping a close eye on today. An Indiana town under evacuation orders after a giant fire broke out at a recycling plant. Officials say that the smoke is toxic, and the fire could burn four days.
And Michael Jordan setting a new record, at auctions. Look at this. Do you guys remember this? The throwback? Right. That is -- it's game- worn, signed 13s from the 1998 NBA finals, going for $2.2 million.
CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.
HARLOW: Must be the new --
Good morning, everyone.
LEMON: Did you place your bid?
HARLOW: No. But do you remember that great ad? It must be the shoes?
LEMON: Yes. "Be like Mike." That took me back to -- I don't know if it's high school or college. Whatever. HARLOW: You didn't believe me when I told you I grew up with that wings poster -- or was that you? -- in my room, you know, the famous Michael Jordan wings? Spread out.
LEMON: Oh, my God, Poppy.
HARLOW: OK, I know.
LEMON: Look at us. we look like Easter eggs.
HARLOW: I brought it Monday. Kaitlan brought it Tuesday, and you are --
LEMON: Kaitlan's, like, popping off the screen over there.
HARLOW: Right. It's my favorite suit.
LEMON: I look like an Easter egg.
HARLOW: All right. Let's go to Indiana, because these pictures --
LEMON: Yes.
HARLOW: -- are just stunning. That's where we begin this morning. A huge fire emitting toxic smoke at a recycling plant in the town of Richmond. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SOUND OF EXPLOSIONS)
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HARLOW: Can you imagine standing there, filming this, like this person did?
The flames prompting officials to issue evacuation orders for about 2,000 people there. Unknown plastics are burning at the plant, sending a giant pillar of black smoke all over Richmond.
Officials are now waiting on air-monitoring test results to help decide how long people are going to have to stay evacuated. Firefighters say when they responded to the scene, they discovered a semi-trailer engulfed in flames.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF TIM BROWN, RICHMOND, INDIANA, FIRE DEPARTMENT: It was fully loaded with unknown type of plastics. The fire spread from the semi- trailer to other piles of plastics that were around the trailer.
We only have one access into the -- to where the fire was. All the other access roads were blocked by piles of plastic and other semi- trailers.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HARLOW: So the obvious question this morning is how did this start? Officials say they don't know, and they won't know until that fire is extinguished. They say it could burn for days.
So we'll be live on the ground in Richmond with our colleague on the ground a little bit later on CNN THIS MORNING.
COLLINS: Also right now, we are tracking some body-camera footage that has been released by police in Louisville after that mass shooting at a bank. This is footage that comes from the body cameras of the first two officers to arrive on the scene after those 911 calls were placed.
As we know, a rookie cop, who was only about 10 days out of the police academy, was shot in the head. He's still in the hospital. recovering right now. And his training officer ended up being the person who killed the gunman.
I do want to warn you that what you're about to see is the moment that the gunman actually ambushed the officers as they approached the entrance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're making entry from the -- from the East side at Preston and Main.
(GUNSHOTS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Police now say that gunman was waiting in the lobby to ambush the officers after he had shot his coworkers.
An eyewitness cell phone video that was also released by police shows a different angle of the entire incident. After the gunman opened fire, the training officer rolls on the ground, runs down the stairs to take cover behind a planter. He's unable to see the shooter through the glass, but the rookie was lying outside the entrance, of course, as we know, severely wounded. You can hear them calling for help for him in this audio.
[06:05:10]
CNN's Adrienne Broaddus is live in Louisville.
Adrienne, obviously, they released this bodycam footage very quickly, and it does show what happened here, how quickly they were able to go in and get the shooter, despite the fact and the number of people that he was still able to shoot and injure.
ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kaitlan, not only does that video show, but we can also hear the stress level in the officers' voices.
But despite the high stress officer Cory Galloway, the field training officer, remained calm as he gave instructions to the other officers responded -- he's been -- responding, excuse me. He has been a police officer since 2018, and he was outside, just behind this bush behind me, when he fired the shot that took out the shooter.
And what you're about to see is graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CORY GALLOWAY, LOUISVILLE POLICE OFFICER: Stop! Stop right here.
BROADDUS (voice-over): Gunfire rings out almost immediately as police pull up to the mass shooting at Old National Bank on Monday morning. Louisville P.D. releasing body-camera footage worn by the two officers shot while responding to the attack.
GALLOWAY: We're making entry from the -- from the East side.
BROADDUS (voice-over): Footage shows, for rookie Officer Nicholas Wilt, the encounter lasts seconds. He runs up the steps to the bank and is shot in the head.
(GUNFIRE)
BROADDUS (voice-over): Wilt's field training officer, Cory Galloway, was also hit, and body-camera footage shows that he falls, then moves down the steps, concealing himself behind a planter box.
GALLOWAY: Goddammit! The shooter has an angle on that officer. We need to get out there. I don't know where he's at. The glass is blocking him.
BROADDUS (voice-over): Moments later --
(GUNFIRE)
BROADDUS (voice-over): -- more gunfire.
(GUNFIRE)
GALLOWAY: I think I got him down. I think he's down. Suspect down. et the officer.
BROADDUS (voice-over): The gunman is dead, killed by police three minutes after they arrived.
DEPUTY CHIEF PAUL HUMPHREY, LOUISVILLE METRO POLICE: It feels like eternity to watch. You can only imagine how it felt for them. For people to react by staying there, staying in the fire, and going back inside the scene, keeping themselves in danger, that's superhuman.
BROADDUS (voice-over): Photos show the gunman, a 25-year-old bank employee, inside a hallway. Police say the images were snapped just moments after he finished shooting co-workers on the ground floor.
HUMPHREY: He then went to the front lobby and set up an ambush and waited for officers to respond. BROADDUS (voice-over): At one point, a police dispatcher warns responding officers they were heading to the scene of a targeted attack.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's texted a friend, called a friend, left a voicemail that he's going to kill everyone at the bank. Feeling suicidal.
BROADDUS (voice-over): Louisville is the latest community coping with the horror of gun violence that includes Dr. Jason Smith, who has cared for gunshot victims for 15 years. He's now treating Officer Wilt, who was still in critical condition.
DR. JASON SMITH, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE HEALTH: I'm weary. There's only so many times you can walk into a room and tell someone they're not coming home tomorrow. And it just breaks your heart.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROADDUS (on camera): And he says it is hard. That doctor has been treating physical injuries for 15 years. But he, too, like so many others in this community, have emotional injuries.
We are also hearing from the family of the 25-year-old shooter. They spoke out via a statement, saying they knew their son struggled with depression and lived with mental illness, which they say they were actively trying to address.
I also want to add, and I'm paraphrasing, they said here, expressing their condolences for the lives that were lost, saying, "No words can express our sorrow, anguish and horror at the unthinkable harm our son Connor inflicted on innocent people."
So many families hurting this morning.
Back to you.
COLLINS: Absolutely, Adrienne. Thank you.
LEMON: Before he left for Ireland. The president spoke out on that. Monitoring the situation where, just moments from now, he will be holding a bilateral talk with UK's prime minister, Rishi Sunak, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He'll be addressing students at Ulster University later this morning.
The president's visit coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement. And we're told the president plans to discuss the economy and America's commitment to peace in the country.
CNN's Donie O'Sullivan, live for us in Carlingford, Ireland, this morning, Donie, good morning to you. Understand you spoke with some very special folks there. What do you know?
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Don. Yes, a lot of excitement building here in Carlingford, County Louth, in the Republic of Ireland.
This is where just some of President Biden's ancestors hailed from. He has visited this town before, and we actually bumped into somebody who told us a little bit about that earlier. Have a listen.
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[06:10:11]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's fantastic. I mean, we all remember when he was here in 2016, and we met him just over -- over at the green there. He actually came upon myself and my son. He was eating a crepe (ph) and my son's face was covered in chocolate. And he wanted to buy the crepe (ph). So we have a great picture then.
And we're all very excited to see him coming today. He's got ancestral roots here in -- in the Cooley Peninsula. And we're delighted to showcase Carlingford to him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'SULLIVAN: Don, I don't know if you're seeing a trend here, but you know, we told you about the chicken nuggets yesterday. Now he's trying to get a bite of a crepe (ph).
But we're actually joined live right now by Joe Biden's -- President Biden's fifth cousin. Have I got that right?
BYRON MULLIGAN (PH), IRISH RELATIVE OF PRESIDENT BIDEN: You have indeed.
O'SULLIVAN: Byron Mulligan (ph).
MULLIGAN (ph): Yes.
O'SULLIVAN: Lot of excitement here today.
MULLIGAN (ph): Plenty of excitement around the village and around the peninsula as a whole, like it's been buzzing this past week, I'd say, just with people -- people are so excited. His relations are so excited. It's great family bonding time. I don't know what else to say.
O'SULLIVAN: You're -- and you actually got to meet Biden when he was vice president.
MULLIGAN (ph): Yes, back in 2016.
O'SULLIVAN: And tell us what about that.
MULLIGAN (ph): At Lilly Finnegan's (ph) pub. He arrived in a big cavalcade. There was a good few people outside the pub, over 100 to meet him. I shook his hand. He held my child, Jade. And that's -- yes.
O'SULLIVAN: What does it mean? Why -- why are the Irish -- Why are we so obsessed with American presidents? What is it about it? MULLIGAN (ph): Well, I think it's the degree of connection between
Ireland and America. Like, you'll never -- You'll never see anything like it. And Irish-American, like it's just something you've always grown up with. I'm sure you have, as well.
O'SULLIVAN: And the immigration.
MULLIGAN (ph): The immigration, yes.
O'SULLIVAN: So let me just get this straight. So your great-great- great-grandfather was Joe Biden's great-grandfather's cousin.
MULLIGAN (ph): Very good.
O'SULLIVAN: I think that's the fairest way to put it.
MULLIGAN (ph): Yes, yes.
O'SULLIVAN: The genealogists are working overtime in Ireland. Bye. I hope you have a great day. I hope you get to see --
MULLIGAN (ph): Thank you very much.
O'SULLIVAN: -- the president.
By the way, guys, that we have even more cousins are over here.
LEMON: Oh, my gosh.
O'SULLIVAN: The crowd gathering already. They're everywhere. They're everywhere, Don.
LEMON: Explain this to us.
O'SULLIVAN: A Biden cousin here.
LEMON: Great-great-great-grandfather was Joe Biden's second cousin. Is that what you're -- Is that what he said?
O'SULLIVAN: Yes. Yes, something like that. Yes. My great-grandmother bumped into his cousin in the street, too. So I think I'm family, as well.
COLLINS: Absolutely.
LEMON: My gosh. Did you go -- you're not really in Ireland. You're, like, on a Hollywood lot in central casting. Right?
O'SULLIVAN: I'm upstairs in the green room.
LEMON: Yes. And one more -- clear up one thing for us.
O'SULLIVAN: -- characters here.
LEMON: They said "crepe," as we would say it here in the United States. Not, you know, crep (ph). It sounds different here to our ears, but we're saying crepe.
O'SULLIVAN: We're sophisticated. Despite -- despite what you've heard, Don, we're very sophisticated here.
COLLINS: Can we just talk about how epic it is that Donie is there right now, interviewing president Biden's Irish cousin as the president is on his --
LEMON: And his cousin.
COLLINS: -- first trip? And Donie's cousin.
O'SULLIVAN: While I have you guys, Biden, when he comes here later today, he is going to be dropping by this. This is Carlingford Castle. It is a 12th Century castle. He's going to be getting a tour around there. He's going to be doing a walkabout around the town.
As you can see, all the American flags are up. They're saying Secret Service are on the way. So this place will be locked down pretty shortly. And more people showing up with more -- with more American flags.
If you really want to feel popular as an American president --
(CROSSTALK)
HARLOW: Come to Ireland.
LEMON: Oh, my gosh. Look, folks are getting out there.
OK, Donie is in Ireland interviewing the president's great-great- great-grandfather's second --
COLLINS: Just let it go.
LEMON: Yes.
HARLOW: With crepes.
LEMON: Bye, and we'll see you next hour with "creps." Or crepes.
HARLOW: What I -- what I think this show --
O'SULLIVAN: What a way to start your day, huh?
COLLINS: Thanks, Donie.
HARLOW: I think this shows us there is actually nothing Donie cannot do.
LEMON: Right.
HARLOW: OK. From trick his parents with A.I. in his last piece on artificial intelligence; to go to Ireland and cover the president's visit.
COLLINS: My question is what Biden's approval rating is there, versus the White House --
HARLOW: Probably very good.
LEMON: Is that higher -- is there a higher than 100 percent?
COLLINS: Two hundred.
HARLOW: That made my morning.
OK. Also this news, significant. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is suing Republican Congressman Jim Jordans. The DA filed the lawsuit yesterday.
He accuses Congressman Jordan of trying to interfere with his office's criminal probe against former President Donald Trump.
Congressman Jordan serves as the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. He has been investigating Bragg's handling of the case.
Our Kara Scannell is here with more.
[06:15:04]
He wants to talk to Mark Pomerantz, who left Bragg's office and wrote this book, et cetera, in the middle of this investigation. This -- this is rare to see how Bragg is responding. No?
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, I think we've seen the former president and some of his allies try to block Congressional subpoenas, including Jim Jordan. He didn't comply with a subpoena during that House January 6th investigation. Now the tables have turned here.
This back and forth between the House Republicans and Jim Jordan, and Alvin Bragg coming to a head now, with Bragg saying, OK, I'm suing to block this subpoena for testimony from Mark Pomerantz.
He's saying it's unconstitutional. Congress is a federal body. This is a state local prosecution.
And also, they're looking for grand -- excuse me, grand jury information. That's covered by secrecy laws.
HARLOW: Right.
SCANNELL: Because that whole process is secret. So they're trying to block this subpoena, as well as any potential future subpoena to Bragg or any other current or former prosecutors.
So in their lawsuit, they write in sum -- excuse me -- "Congress lacks any valid legislative purpose to engage in a free rein [SIC] -- ranging campaign of harassment in retaliation for the district attorney's investigation and prosecution of Mr. Trump under the laws of New York. This court should enjoin the subpoena and put an end to this constitutionally destructive fishing expedition." You know, they also note in this, they're tying Jim Jordan to some of
the verbal attacks that the former president has made against DA Bragg, you know, saying that they've received over 1,000 calls and emails that are either either -- either racially-charged or threatening to Bragg's office, including, you know, as we discussed, the envelope with the white powder --
HARLOW: Yes.
SCANNELL: -- that turned out to be nonhazardous, you know.
And Jim Jordan, though, was on FOX News last night, and let's take a listen to his response to this lawsuit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): Understand what happened here. Alvin Bragg used federal funds to indict a former president for no crime. And then when we ask questions about it, when we want to investigate, he takes us to court.
They're obstructing our constitutional duty to do oversight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCANNELL: Now what he's talking about there in this forfeiture thing, Bragg's office is, you know, one of many of these state and local prosecutors that, when they have these big settlements, they contribute money to a forfeiture fund.
HARLOW: Right.
SCANNELL: Bragg's office says they contributed over a billion dollars in the last 15 years. They've used about $5,000 on this investigation in Trump, most of that going to their fight to the Supreme Court to get Trump's taxes.
HARLOW: Wow. All completely fascinating. And I have no idea where this is going to go, Kara, thank you very much.
LEMON: Thanks, Kara.
COLLINS: Also speaking of former President Trump, he may be getting another Republican challenger in the 2024 race. South Carolina Senator Tim Scott is making moves for a possible presidential run. Ahead, how does he stack up against the other candidates?
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[06:21:28]
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REP. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): We need mature leadership. That's right. At the time of crisis. We need folks who are not focusing on each other, ourselves as leaders, but people are focusing on the problem and who it affects the most. And that's never the leader.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: That's South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, a Republican, who did that interview last week, but reposted the clip on Twitter just hours before he announced that he plans to launch an exploratory committee for president.
In an email to supporters overnight, Scott wrote that, in part, "I've been doing a lot of thinking the last few months. I've been thinking about my faith. I've been thinking about the future of our country. And I've been thinking about the left's plan to ruin America."
Joining us now is CNN senior political commentator and former special assistant to President George W. Bush, Scott Jennings.
Scott, obviously, this is not a huge surprise to people, but this would be the next formal step for Senator Scott to take. Is there room for him in this 2024 race? What does -- what does that look like for him, you think?
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I certainly think there's room for Tim Scott. He's one of the most well-liked and beloved Republicans in the country. I mean, everywhere he speaks, everywhere he goes, people love what Tim Scott has to stay and what he represents.
He'll be probably the most optimistic person in the race. You know, he always presents the Republican Party, the GOP, as the grand opportunity party. He talks about America in optimistic terms, which, of course, as you know, is a big departure from how Donald Trump and others describe America.
So he's a -- he's going to have a different kind of marketing style, which is relentlessly optimistic.
Now, just to be fair, on the technical side, he starts very low, probably at 1 percent, just like a lot of the other people who are looking to challenge Donald Trump. So he's got a long way to go.
But if you look at people who have just raw political and communication skills, he's going to have one of the highest and most developed skill sets in the race. So it does give him a chance to break out, you know, say in a state like Iowa, New Hampshire, where it was kind of retail skills are going to be very useful for him.
HARLOW: One of the things I think is so striking -- you just sort of mentioned it -- is that you've called him relentlessly positive and optimistic. Obviously a huge contrast to Trump who will be running against in the primary.
But his family story, the line he often repeats, from cotton to Congress in one generation, is positive and optimistic. Is a family story like that what you think Republican primary voters are looking for? JENNINGS: I think they will really like the story. I think they have
liked that story about Tim Scott. And I think he's -- he's gone a long way on it.
I do think in the current Republican Party emotional frame, you also have to show a little bit of fighting spirit. And so he has to marry that optimism with the ability to say, and I will fight to protect, you know, what I see as, you know, a better future for America.
I mean, Republicans are looking for fighters. They're looking for confrontation. They're looking for people who want to fight the left right now. I mean, that's why you see so many of the other campaigns really sort of on the same messages almost every day.
So I think as long as he can also show that, this story is going to sell.
Look, I think you put this guy in front of a crowd in Iowa or New Hampshire, obviously in South Carolina, where he's been elected, he's going to be electric. I mean, he is a -- he is one of the best, if not the best communicator in the Republican Party today.
So putting the optimism together with the fighting spirit could be a combination for him to make some hay.
LEMON: You said that admittedly, you think he starts off low. You said, like 1 percent, right? Is that -- so can you handicap -- handicap the field for us?
Because if you look at it, you've got Donald Trump, who appointed Nikki Haley. She's going to be running against him. Right? And you have Nikki Haley, who -- who appointed Tim Scott. Right? So you know, handicap this for us. How do you see this playing out?
[06:25:12]
JENNINGS: Well, I think it's pretty simple. You've got Trump, who occupies a fairly large space. And you have everyone else. And the -- in the everyone else bucket, Ron DeSantis right now is, by far and away, the most powerful candidate in that group.
And so all that non-Trump group, the people who are looking to consolidate the "I want someone else" crowd, they're going to be fighting each other over the next several months to see who can emerge.
A prolonged fragmentation helps Trump. In fact, they would almost guarantee his nomination. If someone could break out of the non-Trump group, like DeSantis, like Tim Scott, whoever it happens to be, what they want to try to do is get to a place where it's essentially a one- on-one contest. That gives them the best chance to take out Trump in a non-fragmented field.
So this is where Tim Scott is -- starts pretty low, but with a lot of skills. And I think Republicans are going to love him out there. And I'm glad he's in the race, because I think we need more optimists in politics. He is one of the most optimistic people. His life story is terrific, and I think it's inspiring to a lot of folks.
Whether he wins or loses, he's an inspiring guy. We need people like Tim Scott in politics.
LEMON: And it's good that he's in there.
Scott, we appreciate it. And time to get your kids on the school bus. We wish you were here. But you know, get at it, Dad.
JENNINGS: You got it. You got it. I got to go wake them up right now. Oatmeal is on the stove.
LEMON: And Scott, we're sorry -- also, and at the end, I said, but we're sorry what happened in your state. And we hope you guys are holding up.
HARLOW: Yes.
LEMON: Thinking about you.
JENNINGS: Thank you very much. Rough day for Kentucky.
LEMON: Thanks, Scott.
So this morning, defense officials say that they will, quote, "turn over every rock" until the source of the Pentagon document leak is found. We're going to speak with the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. That's next.
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[06:30:00]
