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CNN This Morning

FOX News-Dominion Trial Delayed on Eve of Opening Statements; 4 Killed, 28 Injured in Alabama Sweet 16 Birthday Party Shooting; Boston Marks 10 Years Since Deadly Marathon Bombing; Missouri Teen Shot After Going to Wrong House to Pick Up His Brothers; Lawmakers Demand Answers on Access to Classified Docs after Leak. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired April 17, 2023 - 06:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have more questions for you, Father and lord (ph).

[06:00:08]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have a problem with me, you talk to my boss, the pope.

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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR/CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The pope's exorcist, starring Russell Crowe.

And No. 3 --

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SAMUEL L. JACKSON, ACTOR: A man has to look his best when it's time to get married. Or buried.

KEANU REEVES, ACTOR: I'm going to need a gun.

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ROMANS: That's the action sequel, "John Wick: Chapter 4," with Keanu Reeves.

All right. Thanks for joining me this Monday morning. I'm Christine Romans. CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

We were just talking. Do you think they should settle? I was saying to Poppy, and they were like, "Go."

HARLOW: I didn't even have time to answer that. I mean, it's fascinating.

LEMON: We're talking about FOX News, by the way, and Dominion. What do you think?

HARLOW: It's fascinating. I think they have a lot to weigh in whether -- I have something in my teeth?

We're off to a good start. Good morning, everyone.

LEMON: You said there's a lot of --

HARLOW: There's a lot to weigh here. You know, I think there is a value in a trial, and there's also a risk in a trial.

LEMON: Yes. Yes, we'll see. We'll see. We're going to update you on all of that.

Good morning, everyone. Kaitlan is off today. It's just Poppy and I.

So we're going to get started with the five things to know for this Monday, April 17, 2023.

And we're going to start with the Dominion trial. That Dominion trials start, though, in that FOX defamation trial abruptly delayed until tomorrow. "The Wall Street Journal" is reporting it's because FOX is making a late effort to settle.

HARLOW: We'll get into that.

Also, protesters taking to the streets of Kansas City after a 16-year- old was shot and wounded by a homeowner after he went to the wrong address just to pick up his little brothers.

Family members say that Ralph Yarl is recovering in the hospital after just accidentally going to 115th Street instead of 115th Terrace. How does this happen?

LEMON: Awful story.

HARLOW: Awful.

New overnight, the U.S. carries out a helicopter raid in Northeastern Syria, killing a senior ISIS leader and two others. That is, according to the Pentagon. The target not yet identified, but the Pentagon did say they were responsible for planning terror attacks in the Middle East and in Europe.

LEMON: And happening today, Jim Jordan's House Judiciary Committee coming to Manhattan to hold a field hearing on crime in the city. Mayor Eric Adams calls it a political stunt.

HARLOW: And ready for launch. SpaceX eyeing a 9 a.m. Eastern test flight of its most powerful rocket yet. The eventual goal is for the starship to take astronauts to the Moon and possibly Mars.

CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

LEMON: So we're going to begin with the story Poppy and I were talking about when we first came on the air. And that is the FOX News/Dominion trial. It was supposed to start today, right, Monday. But there's a surprise twist here, because the judge in that case, announcing that he is delaying the high-stakes $1.6 billion defamation case until tomorrow. That's a lot of money, by the way.

There are reports that the network news giant is now trying to settle out of court. We'll see. Dominion Voting Systems has accused FOX News of broadcasting lies and conspiracy theories about its voting machines after Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, even though the network's hosts and executives allegedly knew that they were not true.

It's already being called the media trial of the century, and legal experts tell CNN that Dominion appears to have the strongest defamation case against a major U.S. news outlet in a generation.

HARLOW: Let's bring in our senior legal analyst, Elie Honig.

Good morning.

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Good morning.

HARLOW: There's so much on the table here.

HONIG: A twist.

LEMON: I know. The plot thickens.

HARLOW: What a twist. Why would a judge do this?

HONIG: Well, so if you go to a judge in either a criminal or a civil case on the eve of trial and say, We're making close progressions towards a settlement, or an in criminal cases -- this is not a criminal case -- towards a guilty plea, often judges will say OK, I'll give you a day. I'll give you two days. Maybe I'll give you a week. I'll give you a chance to work it out.

I think that's the most likely scenario. We've seen reporting consistent with that, as well.

LEMON: So you think there's -- you think there's probably those talks somewhere going on?

HONIG: Yes. There's something about being on the eve of trial that can really sober up both parties. It's a reality. Right.

Look at it from FOX's point of view. They're looking at the likelihood, if there's a trial, of having all of their -- or many of their most prominent anchors have to take the stand, testify and get cross-examined. So --

LEMON: And the owners and the top executives.

HONIG: And executives and up to and including Rupert Murdoch. And so you can understand why they would be hit by reality at the last moment, say we need to avoid this.

And you know, another question is why would Dominion be interested in potentially settling this? Because, as we've discussed, I think Dominion has a very strong case here for defamation.

But the fact of the matter is nothing's sure when it comes to a jury. There's always risk when it comes to a jury trial. Jury is just 12 human beings. You never know what they're going to do.

HARLOW: So if -- if there is a settlement, help us understand, because it's beyond how much money they settle for, which I think gets a disproportionate amount of attention.

[06:05:04]

LEMON: Yes, but how much is -- it's a lot of bills.

HARLOW: I under -- I understand that. I think also, the company has a lot of money.

What I think is fascinating, if there's a settlement, is does it come with an admission of guilt and apology?

HONIG: Right.

HARLOW: Or an admission of wrongdoing.

HONIG: So there's a couple of things that are in play here if there's a negotiation. First of all, of course, there's the amount. Parties will go back and forth on that.

Second of all, there's will this be confidential? Usually, settlements like this are confidential. We don't know the numbers unless we get it through reporting. But we wouldn't know it officially.

But the parties are free to negotiate. This number will or will not be confidential.

And then the parties can negotiate for any sort of admission of guilt. Statement, acknowledgement, retraction, etcetera.

But keep in mind, the judge here has already made a finding, as a matter of law, that FOX's statements about the 2020 election and about Dominion were false. So that is on the record.

The only question at trial was going to be, is there actual malice? Did FOX know, or were they reckless, about the falsity?

So no matter what, Dominion has that finding of falsity.

LEMON: OK, so then 1.6 billion. You're right. It's a lot of money. But FOX has deep pockets, right?

HONIG: Yes.

LEMON: And their viewers will probably not believe, you know, that they did anything wrong; that they were targeted. So I'm not sure what it does to their credibility, right? Because it's kind of, you know. You know.

HONIG: The facts are out there, right? We've all seen the texts. They're all out there. And we have the finding from the judge.

LEMON: OK, so the $1.6 billion, if they go to court and they win. Are they likely to get that? And if they settle, how much money are we talking about?

HONIG: So I don't think there was any realistic chance of Dominion getting $1.6 billion in compensatory damages, meaning the amount we were damaged, the amount we have to be paid back to get us back to zero.

The entire company, by its own valuation, is worth anywhere from 30 to $80 million, but that's not even 10 percent of 1.6 billion.

LEMON: Dominion?

HONIG: Yes, Dominion is worth it.

So from Dominion's point of view, I think $1.6 billion was always a very optimistic, optimistic ask.

Now keep in mind, though, they could also get punitive damages. And so FOX is looking at this. They're saying, OK, Dominion's asking for $1.6 billion to compensate them, but also punitive damages on top.

So again, you can see the high-end risk that FOX will be running at a trial here.

HARLOW: Don't go on vacation this weekend.

LEMON: Right? And then FOX still apologizing to that judge for --

HARLOW: Right.

HONIG: They got in trouble with the -- with the judge on a couple of big issues last week. That could incentivize them, too.

LEMON: Thank you, Elie. Appreciate it.

So we are learning now more about the victims killed in a mass shooting during a sweet 16 birthday party in Alabama. Police say four people were killed and 28 others injured at a dance studio in the small town of Dadeville. That was on Saturday night.

Among the dead was a high school football star who was getting ready to graduate and play in college. He was the brother of the birthday girl.

Isabel Rosales is live for us at the scene of that shooting for us.

Good morning, Isabel. Wow. Police haven't released any information about the potential suspect. What is going on here?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning to you, Don.

Yes, the Alabama law enforcement agency, or ALEA, claims that there is no public safety concern here, but they haven't answered any questions about the status of the shooter or shooters.

They say that right now, they are still working to interview witnesses. They're gathering information, saying that this is a fluid process, that they are not in a rush, that they are working through this methodically to get answers.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are village that will come together.

ROSALES (voice-over): Hundreds gathered in Dadeville, Alabama, Sunday evening, seeking solace --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll never be the same.

ROSALES (voice-over): -- and answers --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We come before you, Lord, with trouble in our hearts. Father, with questions on our mind.

ROSALES (voice-over): -- after shots rang out at a weekend sweet 16 party.

SGT. JEREMY J. BURKETT, ALABAMA LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY: There are still four lives lost. Four lives were lost in the tragic event that occurred here in Dadeville.

As far as the injuries, there are 28 individuals that were injured during the course of the incident.

ROSALES (voice-over): On Sunday, hospital officials said at least 15 teenagers were treated for gunshot wounds, including several who are in critical condition.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It wasn't a fight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They just started shooting.

ROSALES (voice-over): One of the victims killed was Philstavious Dowdell, a stellar high school football player and the brother of the birthday girl. His coach, at first in disbelief.

MICHAEL TAYLOR, COACH: It can't be true. It just -- it cannot be true.

ROSALES (voice-over): Coach Michael Taylor, describing Dowdell as a dedicated and gifted athlete.

TAYLOR: Phil just actually got a scholarship to play football at Jacksonville State University.

ROSALES (voice-over): A second victim has also been identified by family as Keke Smith, also a senior in high school and the student manager of the track team, looking forward to attending the University of Alabama. TENEESHIA GOODMAN-JOHNSON, DADEVILLE COUNCIL MEMBER: These children

had very bright futures, the ones that I knew from Dadeville. Very, very athletic, very humble children. Very respectful children, smart.

[06:10:00]

ROSALES (voice-over): As the investigation continues, police have not released any information about the assailant or possible motive.

CHIEF JONATHAN L. FLOYD, DADEVILLE POLICE: What we've dealt with is something that no community should have to endure. I just ask for your patience.

ROSALES (voice-over): They're asking for the community's help.

BURKETT: I cannot stress this enough. Ever how minor you think it is, we absolutely need you to share it.

ROSALES (voice-over): As the stunned town of Dadeville grieves. Another American city rocked by gun violence.

ROSALES: Could you ever imagine an act of violence like this happening in Dadeville?

TAYLOR: No. Don't happen. We don't have a violence -- gun violence. You know what I mean? Unreal, still unreal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSALES (on camera): And this is such an obvious traumatizing and shocking event that has happened to this community of just 3,000 people. The superintendent says that counselors will be available at county schools today -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Isabel Rosales, thank you.

HARLOW: In just a few hours, about 30,000 runners will line up at the start of the 127th Boston Marathon. This race comes 10 years after the finish-line bombing that killed three people and hurt hundreds of others.

Boston marketed [SIC] that fateful -- marked, I should say, that fateful day this weekend with reminders set up across the city. It's known as One Boston Day.

A wreath laid at a memorial for the three spectators, who also were killed in that attack.

Polo Sandoval is live in Boston this morning.

We were -- Don and I were both there a long time covering this and -- and I'm still in touch with some of the victims who were injured, who lost limbs as a result; families who lost their loved ones. This is a day to not forget, to never forget what happened.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I was here, Poppy, a year after for the first running of the marathon after the attack. Here we are now, a decade later.

And I can tell you here in Boston, the mood is still both somber and celebratory on this day, so it's definitely going to be a mix of both. You mentioned over the weekend a long list of tributes on Saturday, which was the actual anniversary, with the families of those 3 spectators certainly on hand for private ceremony, as well as of course, the officers that subsequently lost their lives, as well.

So that is really renewing the focus today.

And then today, the actual running, there will no doubt be yet another wave of tributes. In fact, there will be a flyover in the eight o'clock hour. A squad of F-15s will fly those 26.2 miles.

And then the runners, they're going to be hitting the pavement. This is actually going to be one of the streets that's going to be closed off to traffic here very soon before things get underway.

The runners, some as you mentioned earlier, some 30,000 of them will then turn at this intersection.

And then from here, it's close to straight shot, another four miles before they reach that iconic Boylston Street finish line.

So again a little bit of both. Yes, there will certainly be some -- plenty of emotion today, Poppy, but it's also a time to celebrate --

HARLOW: It is.

SANDOVAL: -- a reminder of the resilience of the city. And of course, so many people coming together, supporting those people who were lost and injured on that horrible thing.

HARLOW: And it's been amazing to see what people who lost loved ones and were injured and lost limbs have done since then. And sort of in terms of starting huge foundations to raise awareness to help others. That has been just, I think, a reminder of the resilience, for sure.

LEMON: They say they want to move on with their lives.

HARLOW: Yes.

LEMON: Some of them don't even like marking the anniversary.

HARLOW: That's a very good point.

LEMON: They just -- they just don't talk about it and they just move on.

SANDOVAL: Yes.

HARLOW: Polo, we're glad you're there. Thank you.

SANDOVAL: Absolutely.

HARLOW: A teenager in Kansas City just went to the wrong house to pick up his siblings, and he was shot by the homeowner. He's hospitalized this morning. What police are saying and why that shooter has been released.

LEMON: And the fallout continues after the highly-classified Pentagon documents leaked. Democratic Senator Kristen Gillibrand says that she has a lot of questions. What she wants to know, straight ahead.

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[06:17:39]

LEMON: You have to pay attention to this story? I think it's going to build throughout the day and throughout the week here that new this morning, Kansas City teen -- Ralph Yarl is his name -- is in the hospital after he accidentally went to the wrong house to pick up his brothers and was shot by the homeowners -- homeowner.

Police and Yarl's family say that he was instructed to go to the address at 115th Terrace, but he mistakenly went to a resident on 115th Street instead.

The shooter has been released. All kinds of questions about that. So we're checking in with our correspondent, our Camila Bernal. She joins us now live with more.

Camila, good morning to you. What is the latest on his condition? What happened?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Don.

So the family says he's doing well physically but say he has a long road ahead mentally and emotionally.

Look, this is a teenager that was described as friendly and well- mannered. He was looking forward to graduating high school. And instead, all of that is going to be very difficult, simply because, as you mentioned, he went to 115th Street instead of going to 115th Terrace.

He was just blocks away from where his brothers were when he was shot.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do we want?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Justice!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Justice!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Justice!

BERNAL (voice-over): The Kansas City community protesting on Sunday after 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot as he was trying to pick up his siblings last week.

Police say Yarl accidentally went to the wrong address, where he was shot and seriously wounded by the homeowner.

Officers arrived at the scene after a neighbor called 911, and took the homeowner immediately into custody.

MAYOR QUINTON LUCAS (D), KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI: Our heart goes out to the juvenile victim and more than anything to make sure that this child and this child's family. And that was that there are people working hard, a number of people working hard to make sure there is justice for this person.

BERNAL (voice-over): The homeowner, who has not been identified, was released after 24 hours, pending further investigation. The police department says they're waiting to obtain a formal statement from the victim and further forensic evidence.

CHIEF STACEY GRAVES, KANSAS CITY POLICE: I want everyone to know that I'm listening. And I understand the concern that we are receiving from the community.

The information that we have now, it does not say that that it's racially motivated. That's still an active investigation. But as a chief of police, I do recognize the racial components of this case. I do recognize and understand the community's concern.

[06:20:09]

BERNAL (voice-over): Yarl's aunt says her nephew loves music and is a section leader in his marching band. She says his goal is to attend Texas A&M University to study chemical engineering.

Civil rights attorneys Lee Merritt and Benjamin Crump are representing the victim and his family and demanding swift action, and are calling the shooting "horrendous" and "unjustifiable."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As a mother of three children, this enrages me.

BERNAL (voice-over): And protesters gathering Sunday outside the home where Yarl was shot, demanding justice.

FAITH SPOONMORE, RALPH YARL'S AUNT: He is alive. He is healing. I just want to tell you thank you for being here, because my nephew is alive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERNAL: Now the homeowner was placed on a 24-hour hold. This is according to Missouri state law. The thing here is after those 24 hours, he either has to be charged or released, and prosecutors say they want more evidence. They want a further investigation, and that's why this homeowner was released. And it's also why so many people are so angry, Don.

LEMON: Yes and we'll be following. At least as his aunt said, he's alive and he's healing. But we're going to continue to check on him and the story. Thank you, Camila Bernal. We appreciate that.

In other news, U.S. forces conducted a raid against ISIS militants in Syria overnight. What we're now learning at this hour.

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[06:25:33]

LEMON: A senior ISIS leader and two others are believed to be dead after a U.S. helicopter raid in Syria. According to a U.S. Central Command spokesperson, the ISIS leader was responsible for planning terror attacks in the Middle East and Europe.

It's part of an ongoing U.S. campaign targeting the terror group in Iraq and Syria and preventing the organization from regaining its numbers and strength.

One week ago, another helicopter raid led to the capture of an ISIS operative and two of his associates.

HARLOW: Also the 21-year-old Air National Guardsmen who was arrested and charged for leaking secret U.S. intelligence documents online will be back in court this Wednesday to determine whether or not he gets bail. Lawmakers are now asking questions about his access to all of these highly-classified documents.

Listen to this from Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Here's what she told Jake on "STATE OF THE UNION" yesterday.

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SEN. KIRSTEN GILLIBRAND (D-NY): Why were these documents lying around? Why did this particular person have access to them? Where was the custody of the documents? And who are they for?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: She had a lot of questions. Natasha Bertrand, as she joins us from the Pentagon and Ivan Watson in Hong Kong.

Natasha, a lot of questions for the Biden administration from that Democratic senator on this.

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And the Defense Department is conducting a review of all of those questions. We are told that they have begun an intelligence review of who can access this kind of information.

Because again, this person, this man who allegedly leaked these documents, he was essentially an I.T. person for the Air National Guard in Massachusetts. He did not need to engage with the content of these documents on a day-to-day basis.

He was more responsible for kind of making sure that the network operated correctly and that everyone whose job it was, actually, to review these documents had access to them.

So the question now not only is why was he able to retrieve these documents, and also apparently print them out without anyone noticing, but also was there proper vetting of him? Because he had a top-secret clearance, and he was given that in 2021, even though he had been on these chat rooms, including the chat room where he allegedly leaked these documents, for about five years.

So there's going to be a lot of questions here for the Defense Department about how they disseminate this information. And we are told they have already started to put restrictions on who is receiving these top-secret documents across the U.S. government -- Poppy.

LEMON: Ivan, one of the big revelations to come out of the leaks this week is that, according to the documents that were leaked, Taiwan is extremely vulnerable to a Chinese air attack. What can you tell us about that?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sure. This was reported by "The Washington Post." CNN has not seen the document, and we've reached out to the Pentagon for comments and are waiting for a response.

But basically, what "The Washington Post" says is that this document suggests Taiwan's air defenses are not ready for a real-world event, that it could be overwhelmed by the number of missiles that China could potentially fire; that there are a whole host of areas where Taiwan is not ready, where its radios are not compatible between the different units of air defense.

And it also goes on to say that China is conducting so many operations with planes and ships around Taiwan that is making it difficult for U.S. intelligence to assess what is just a drill and what could be escalatory activity by China; what could actually be a preparation for some type of an assault on the self-governing island.

Now the Taiwanese defense ministry has responded to these reports saying, quote, "We respect outside opinion on our national defense, but a foreign media cited unidentified documents and the content was obviously not factual."

The defense ministry going on to say it is ready for any kind of eventuality that might involve the Chinese military.

I might add some more context. The Chinese flew four warplanes across the median line of the Taiwan Strait, this according to Taiwanese officials. This is kind of everyday activity.

And meanwhile, a U.S.-guided missile destroyer, it conducted a transit of the Taiwan Strait on Sunday, a so-called freedom of navigation operation, something the Chinese don't like. But the U.S. does to show it can operate in international waters.

HARLOW: It seems like, from these documents, Natasha, that Taiwan doubts its ability even more than perhaps the United States doubts Taiwan's ability in terms of defense.

I mean, they outlined the fact that Taiwan officials are concerned their air defense systems can't accurately detect missile launches.

[06:30:00]