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Police Arrest Tech Exec In Death Of Cash App Founder Bob Lee; Today: Air Guardsman Accused Of Leaking Documents Set To Appear In Court; Highlighting The Heroes Who Keep Us Safe And Healthy. Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired April 14, 2023 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[07:30:15]
DON LEMON, CNN THIS MORNING HOST: San Francisco police saying Cash App founder Bob Lee knew the suspect who has been arrested for his murder. Police took 38-year-old Nima Momeni into custody on Thursday. He's expected to be arraigned later today on a murder charge.
Lee was fatally stabbed on April 4. Desperate moments following his attack caught on surveillance cameras as he searched for help.
CNN's Veronica Miracle live in San Francisco with the very latest on this, this morning. Good morning to you, Veronica.
Police didn't give further details about the connection between the two men, but what do you know?
VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, that's right. Police are staying pretty tight-lipped.
But we have spoken to somebody who actually worked in the same office building as Momeni trying to just learn a little bit more about him because police are also not talking a lot about the suspect. And this person said that Momeni is actually very bright, very kind, and also very generous with his time.
This district attorney now says Momeni faces 26 years, up to life in prison.
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MIRACLE (voice-over): Nine days after the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee in San Francisco --
BROOKE JENKINS, SAN FRANCISCO DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Mr. Lee's killer has been identified, arrested, and now will be brought to justice.
MIRACLE (voice-over): -- the suspect, 38-year-old Nima Momeni was booked on a murder charge early Thursday.
CHIEF BILL SCOTT, SAN FRANCISCO POLICE: We are confident in the evidence that we have found so far. Mr. Momeni is our focus and the single suspect in this case.
MIRACLE (voice-over): Momeni's online profiles identify him as an IT consultant.
And police say Lee's murder was not a random act.
SCOTT: We followed the evidence and there is a lot of evidence. The evidence shows that they knew each other.
MIRACLE (voice-over): The final moments of Robert Lee's life were captured by surveillance video posted by the Daily Mail before the police had access to it, according to the police chief, and show the 43-year-old tech executive in the early morning hours of April fourth suffering from stab injuries and looking for assistance.
DISPATCH AUDIO: There's a male screaming "Help," saying "Someone stabbed me." Advised he is bleeding out.
SCOTT: This is not about San Francisco.
MIRACLE (voice-over): The murder has sparked renewed outrage over crime in San Francisco, frustrating local officials.
SCOTT: This is about human nature like many homicides are and many murders are, and it could have happened anywhere.
MIRACLE (voice-over): The district attorney expressed frustration that the city was unfairly maligned in this case, calling out a tweet by Elon Musk.
JENKINS: Reckless and irresponsible statements like those contained in Mr. Musk's tweet that assumed incorrect circumstances about Mr. Lee's death serve to mislead the world in their perceptions of San Francisco and also negatively impact the pursuit of justice for victims of crime.
MIRACLE (voice-over): The mayor assured constituents that combating crime is a top priority.
MAYOR LONDON BREED, (D) SAN FRANCISCO: That is our goal to make San Francisco a better, more safer city for each and every one of us.
MIRACLE (voice-over): But the police chief said their first priority is finding justice for victims and their families.
SCOTT: We have to keep the bigger picture in mind that this is a case with a man that lost his life who has people who love him and that care about him that deserve justice.
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MIRACLE: And Momeni faces a murder charge but also a special enhancement for allegedly using a knife in this attack, according to the district attorney. He is going to be in court today -- arraigned this afternoon here in San Francisco -- Don.
LEMON: All right, Veronica, we'll be watching. Thank you.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN THIS MORNING HOST: The trial for Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 billion case against Fox News will get underway Monday with opening statements. The judge in Delaware started vetting jurors yesterday. Court is out of session today but that judge said that he has more than enough potential jurors to be seated for a final panel on Monday.
Dominion Voting Systems is suing Fox News for defamation, arguing hosts on that channel falsely claimed the company's voting software flipped millions of votes away from former President Trump in 2020. Fox denies any wrongdoing.
Marshall Cohen joins us again live this morning in Wilmington, Delaware.
Fascinating -- we were wondering how this jury selection process would go. It sounds like it went pretty smoothly yesterday. So how are they picking these jurors since everyone knows what Fox News is?
MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, good morning, Poppy.
They made good progress here in Wilmington at the Delaware Superior Courthouse right behind me. They started with 300 Delaware residents summoned to the courthouse to basically whittle it down one by one. They want to end up with 12 jurors and 12 alternates -- more than usual but the judge said in such a high-stakes case he does not want any potential for a mistrial.
So, some of those questions that you mentioned, it's pretty interesting. Jurors were asked if they have an opinion on Rudy Giuliani. If they have an opinion on Mike Lindell and Sidney Powell. Those are three figures that are a huge part of this case because it's what they said on Fox News' broadcast in 2020 that is what Dominion thinks was defamation.
[07:35:11]
Jurors, though -- you can't ask them whatever you want. There were some limits there. The judge would not allow questions about January 6. The judge would not allow questions about the legitimacy of the 2020 election. But that wasn't a problem. They made good progress.
They're going to pick things up Monday morning. Now, Poppy, unless there is a settlement over the weekend, which is always possible, that means the jury process will finish Monday morning. We'll expect opening statements. It's going to be a huge day. It's going to be a huge six weeks.
HARLOW: Yes.
COHEN: That's how long they're expecting this trial to last.
HARLOW: We really appreciate your coverage. It's going to be so important to watch, especially what it means for journalism writ large. Marshall, thanks very much.
Well, happening today, the 21-year-old National Guardsman accused of leaking highly-sensitive intelligence data online will appear in federal court. We'll talk about why he even had access to this information and what punishment could he face if convicted.
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REP. JIM HIMES (D-CT): There's just so much that makes me crazy about this story. I mean, yes, let's talk for a second about the arrest. The New York Times knocks on his door. I mean, just -- I've spent a lot of time around the intelligence community and a lot of time around the FBI. I spent a lot -- you know, I have a lot of respect for them -- but The New York Times beat the FBI to this person, right?
And the reason that's serious is because what if he has suitcases full of documents and he's in the process of sort of sending them out -- mailing them out, faxing them out? What if he hands all those documents to the -- to The New York Times? Now we've got sort of an interesting constitutional issue. And so, you know, I'm still, as you can tell, not exactly calm about that fact.
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HARLOW: That was Congressman Jim Himes speaking to Jake yesterday. He, of course, is a ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee with a lot of questions, like we all do, after the arrest yesterday of 21-year-old Air National guardsman Jack Teixeira, the man accused of leaking hundreds of classified military secrets online. Teixeira is expected to appear in federal court in Boston this morning in connection with removing and transmitting classified national defense information that is a crime under the espionage act.
Let's talk about this with Bradley Moss, who is an attorney who specializes in litigation related to national security. He's also the Deputy Executive Director of the James Madison Project and a law partner at the offices of Mark S. Zaid. Good to have you, Bradley.
The first question I had is the fact that you know --
BRADLEY MOSS, DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, JAMES MADISON PROJECT, PARTNER, LAW OFFICE OF MARK S. ZAID: Good morning.
HARLOW: -- this is different than, for example, Chelsea Manning or Reality Winner with the -- where there was a real intent to broadly distribute, right? This sat online for like over a month without people outside the group knowing.
I just wonder what you think the motive could be, then?
MOSS: Yes. As far as we can tell -- and obviously, we only have the initial reporting. We don't even have an indictment yet. We certainly haven't seen all the evidence that would come out if this went to trial. But as far as we can tell, this was a 21-year-old kid showing off and bragging to a bunch of other gamers in a Discord chat.
This wasn't like Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, Reality Winner, who deliberately were trying to disseminate it to the media. It doesn't change anything for purposes of criminal liability --
HARLOW: Right.
MOSS: -- but it was still a deliberate act. He still took the classified documents. He still violated the espionage act as far as I'm concerned.
HARLOW: Yes.
MOSS: But it could be a consideration at sentencing when deciding how much --
HARLOW: Yes.
MOSS: -- prison time this guy could face.
HARLOW: OK, right, and that is if, indeed, he is found guilty. And the question is in what court of law?
MOSS: Yes.
HARLOW: Will this be a military court? Will this be a federal court?
Just listen to what Bill Barr, the former attorney general told Kaitlan last night.
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BILL BARR, FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL, TRUMP ADMINISTRATION: I'm glad that he's going to be tried in the federal court system rather than court-martialed. And as Evan was saying, I think the Eastern District of Virginia is the perfect place to try this case.
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HARLOW: What do you think, Bradley?
MOSS: Well, I agree in the sense that it should go through the federal system. This -- you know, most prosecutions of withholding -- sorry, mishandling classified information go through the civilian courts. They handle it just fine and the protections are there just like they would be for anybody else.
I don't necessarily know if I agree with the former attorney general about the Eastern District of Virginia. I don't think it necessarily would have the jurisdiction. I think it might be in a different courthouse. But whatever district court handles this it's going to be a rather clear cut case as far as we can tell from the existing facts. As far as I'm concerned this guy should be looking for a plea deal and minimize sentencing.
HARLOW: You think? You are a specialist when it comes to national security law and we heard President Biden over the last 24 hours or so downplaying a bit the damage of the leak, right? And I understand it's different than WikiLeaks, for example, but it was still top secret, highly classified, real time information about the war right now between Russia and Ukraine, for example.
So I wonder how you think a damage assessment can actually be made.
MOSS: Sure. So there is going to be a rather extensive after-action report that the original agency that created the documentation as well as other -- the other agencies that had equities and had interest in it will all partake in and determine to what extent sources and methods were undermined. Determine to what extent they have to recalibrate how they gather some information if those sources will now have dried up because of what was exposed.
But the greater concern for me is how did this guy get the information in the first place. Even with his top-secret security clearance, I don't see why he would have had the need to know with this particular documentation.
HARLOW: OK.
MOSS: And it wasn't supposed to be able to be exfiltrated like that.
HARLOW: Well, so what needs to change then, first of all, in the fact that he could literally, it appears -- you know, if he did this, print them out, fold them, and take them out of this facility where he was working overnight at 21 years old. A guy who had just been promoted.
[07:45:08]
So, like, how do you actually stop that from happening? But then also, how much do you need to rein in who gets this intel?
MOSS: Yes. So the first part is that second part of your question, which is reining in who gets access to it because having the clearance is one thing. All kinds of people have top-secret clearances. It's the need to know determination.
HARLOW: Yes, but do too many people have that clearance, right? Or --
MOSS: Well, and that's one thing is one, having the clearance but two, why would they have a need to know this particular information? Just having the clearance doesn't give you access to everything at top secret. It's supposed to be compartmentalized. Was that properly done here? And in terms of the documents themselves, how properly were the protocols put in place and enforced when it came to handling and printing, and removing documentation?
There were all these reforms after Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden that were supposed to have been put into place to prevent this. To what extent did those protocols break down here? That's going to be a subject -- HARLOW: Yes.
MOSS: -- of oversight.
HARLOW: Yes, that's a great point.
Bradley Moss, really good to have your brain on all of it this morning. Thank you for your expertise.
MOSS: Absolutely. Have a good morning.
HARLOW: You, too -- Don.
LEMON: One hundred thousand nurses have left the workforce citing pandemic-related stress and burnout. Our very own Dr. Sanjay Gupta is speaking with two nurses who are fighting through it for the sake of their patients. They're going to join us live. There they are live on your screen. We'll see them right after the break.
And also, Miami police go beyond the call of duty to rescue a toddler trapped in a submerged car. That incredible story is straight ahead.
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LEMON: As we head into the weekend we want to shine a light on the people who help keep us safe and keep us healthy. In a moment we're going to go to our very own Dr. Sanjay Gupta who is speaking with two nurses who are committed to their work -- there he is right there -- even as 100,000 of their colleagues are leaving the workforce because of pandemic-related burnout. That, in just a moment.
But first, a team of police officers in Florida going beyond the call of duty saving a 3-year-old boy from a sinking car. It happened in Miami in February. But now those cops are speaking out about the dramatic rescue.
CNN's Amara Walker has the incredible story.
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POLICE OFFICER 1: (inaudible).
POLICE OFFICER 2: (inaudible).
AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the back passenger seat of the sinking car is a 3-year-old boy trapped in his car seat.
ORLANDO BORRON, FATHER OF 3-YEAR-OLD (through translator): I felt like I was dying, not so much for me but for the child. I've lived a little but he had just turned three.
A. WALKER (voice-over): The father, Orlando Borron, says he lost control of his car trying to avoid an oncoming vehicle and then crashed into a canal. Even as police arrived, he refused to leave his son's side.
SGT. EDWARD WEBSTER, MIAMI-DADE POLICE: That's what I saw when I got there. It was the father trying to hold on to his child, saying he can't get the kid out of the water.
A. WALKER (voice-over): When Miami-Dade police officers responded to the scene, Officer Emmanuel Walton immediately dove into the murky waters multiple times, each time coming up empty-handed.
OFFICER JULIAN REYES, MIAMI-DADE POLICE: Every time he would actually come out and he wouldn't come out with the baby it did worry us.
A. WALKER (voice-over): Minutes later, Officer Walton somehow located and freed the boy.
OFFICE EMMANUEL WALKER III, MIAMI-DADE POLICE: Eventually, I felt the baby seat -- the car seat -- and I pulled it as hard as I could because I couldn't figure out where the seat belt was or anything of that nature. Luckily, it broke off and the child was able to pop up to the top of the car.
A. WALKER (voice-over): Extricating little Christopher from his car seat was only half the challenge.
OFFICER JUNIOR CLERVIL, MIAMI-DADE POLICE: After the third sets of CPR he pretty much threw up the water that was inside his stomach.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're OK, baby. Roll him over.
A. WALKER (voice-over): Officer Junior Clervil says he thought of his own son as he attempted CPR over and over again.
CLERVIL: Emotionally, it was the worst day of my life but also the best day of my life.
A. WALKER (voice-over): These officers, all of whom are fathers, credit their teamwork for beating the odds in a canal where they've seen most accident victims lose their lives.
OFFICER MICHAEL MONTESINO, MIAMI-DADE POLICE: Us all being fathers, that day they answered the call to that being their own.
CLERVIL: I remember when I was going to the hospital with the kid I left my gun belt, I left my shoes. I was in the back of the ambulance like a normal civilian. It wasn't really about doing my job; it was more about saving the day. I felt like more of a human being more than a police officer, honestly.
A. WALKER: Amara Walker, CNN, Atlanta.
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HARLOW: I love that. It completely made my day.
LEMON: He's a cutie. Yes.
HARLOW: Yes, those officers.
LEMON: Those are the real heroes, right?
HARLOW: A hundred percent.
And let's talk about some other heroes hailed as frontline heroes during the pandemic. Now nurses are leaving the profession. The numbers are really alarming. Nearly 100,000 nurses have recently left their jobs, citing pandemic-related stress and burnout. This is according to a new survey by the National Council of State Boards of Nurses. Roughly half of the 50,000 nurses that they surveyed say they are emotionally drained, they're fatigued, they're burned out.
So our very own chief medical correspondent and neurosurgeon -- practicing neurosurgeon Dr. Sanjay Gupta is with two nurses from Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Dana Mathieu and Savanna Weaver. Sanjay, I'm so glad you're there. Take it away.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I'm really excited to introduce you to Dana and Savanna here in a second.
But we wanted to talk about this because these numbers are concerning. One hundred thousand, as you mentioned, nurses that left during the pandemic. Eight hundred thousand more are expected to leave by the year 2027. Nurses are the backbone of any hospital and those are concerning numbers. There's about 5.2 million registered nurses in the country, just to give you some context.
About half the nurses say they are leaving because the workloads have just become untenable. About half say it's just very emotionally draining. So the work has become harder, both physically and mentally for sure, and that's a lot of what's driving that.
[07:55:05]
But no people better to hear what's happening than the both of you. Dana and Savanna, thank you. We're colleagues. I've been here for some 20 years and you guys both started sort of in the height of the pandemic.
DANA MATHIEU, REGISTERED NURSE, GRADY HEALTH SYSTEM, HAS BEEN A NURSE FOR SEVEN YEARS: Yes.
SAVANNA WEAVER, REGISTERED NURSE, GRADY HEALTH SYSTEM, HAS BEEN A NURSE FOR FIVE YEARS: Right, yes.
GUPTA: Dana, when you hear these numbers, first of all, does that -- does that surprise you?
MATHIEU: No, not at all. I mean, during Covid it was probably the most stressful times of my life -- of most of our lives. I've seen my colleagues -- a lot of them left. A lot of them felt uncomfortable and scared to harm their family members.
GUPTA: (INAUDIBLE). MATHIEU: And that number doesn't surprise me at all. Correct, by just transmitting -- taking home something. So it's probably pretty accurate. It doesn't surprise me.
GUPTA: I know you told me earlier it doesn't surprise you as well, but do -- when you think about this do you think that there are solutions out there? I mean, like what needs to be done?
WEAVER: I -- well, unfortunately, burnout is very real. I think the job we work in is very stressful. I tell all new nurses coming into the field to take time for yourself outside of work. To not pick up overtime despite the pressures to do so when you're working in the hospital.
I think during Covid a lot of people were doing more and more, requiring more of them. More time in the hospital, traveling, going to contracts that were, again, requiring a lot of right -- being right and exposed to the virus.
And I just tell people to take your time when you're -- when you're a new nurse to not pick up overtime if you don't -- if you can and try to reduce the burden of that.
GUPTA: As I mentioned, I've been here over 20 years now so I feel like I've really got a sense of this place.
Do you feel supported, Savanna, by the leadership? I mean, if staff- to-patient ratios and whatever else to make the job easier -- does it happen?
WEAVER: I feel that my biggest support is to only my coworkers. And the unit I work in, in SICU, it's a lot of comradery and people pulling together when you need help.
And as far as our leadership it has changed a lot recently. There's times when you feel supported. There's times when you -- when you don't. But again, it always just comes back to who is right there next to me and that's always my coworkers, which is why I've stayed in it for so long. I love working with people in SICU at Grady. Yes, with nursing and respiratory therapy -- all different departments.
GUPTA: I should point out as well, Don and Poppy, that about -- you know, when you look at these numbers of people leaving the majority of them are people who have had 10 years or more experience. But increasingly, the percentages of people who are younger. I mean, Savanna is five years roughly at Grady and three years here roughly.
You know, you're getting -- you're getting an idea of the types of people who are in the profession and what may lie ahead.
LEMON: Yes.
Sanjay, I don't know if you remember during the height of Covid I went to my hometown hospital -- the hospital I was --
HARLOW: Yes, I remember that. LEMON: -- born in, in Baton Rouge, and interviewed patients, and nurses, and doctors. And just the number of them who said that they had -- they had to deal with not only what they -- what they were dealing with seeing people but their own mental health issues, right? They had their own concerns.
So I'm interested for -- to you young ladies, what can we do to help? What should the people who come into the hospital or the people who can help you -- what can we do in order to make the situation better for you?
GUPTA: Dana?
MATHIEU: I think most of all, it's just feeling that appreciation. That understanding that we are human. During the heart of the pandemic, I mean, I was pregnant. I was nine months pregnant --
LEMON: Wow.
HARLOW: Wow.
MATHIEU: -- running the halls, going to codes, doing what I could. I literally left work three days before I gave birth. I was the whole time still being there for our patients.
And I think just feeling like people understand that we also have lives, but also that our main purpose for this nursing career is to be there for our patients. It is something that we truly, truly love. And you can't be in this for the money. You can't be in this for anything other than just the love of what you do. And I think our patients can see that. They can feel that.
And I think just making sure that we know that we're appreciated, and we get that here at Grady, luckily -- our leadership. I know in the trauma unit that I work on we really do get that kind of appreciation and staff engagement, and it helps us a lot.
WEAVER: Yes.
GUPTA: Did you -- have either of you ever thought about quitting?
WEAVER: I mean, personally, no. I mean, I thrive in this environment being in the hospital and the chaos and everything. And I love what I do. I love working with new nurses and seeing them flourish, especially the ones that came into the hospital during Covid -- at the height of Covid.
I would like to say a quick nod to Kelsey, and Ian, and Daff (ph), and Tiffany, and all these nurses that came in during a time -- Huff, Jessie Donnie -- that came in in such a difficult time and just have flourished in such a challenging environment.
But that's, again, one of the reasons why I love what I do. I love seeing --
