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CNN This Morning

Uganda's New Anti-Gay Law; Robin Opsahl is Interviewed about DeSantis in Iowa; Trial Begins in Pittsburgh Synagogue Killing; Celtis Lost to Heat. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired May 30, 2023 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Including years in prison for promoting homosexuality. And I'm using the term in that bill. It also says that you can't have sex education for those who are in the LGBT community. A public health official said that it will stop people going to clinics and getting services because they are afraid. Already many people have been fleeing their homes, afraid of being handed over to the authorities because of this bill. And that's the other thing it asks for, is for people to hand over those who they believe are LGBT to the police and for them to face prosecution or very widely discredited conversion therapy.

So, it is a very bad news bill for that community. And there is a promise from lawyers within the country to fight it.

Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: This went back to parliament, because this has been going on for months now, and they made some revisions to it but ultimately passed it. So, since it has the support of the president and the majority of parliament, is there any chance at all of it getting revoked or repealed?

MCKENZIE: Well, it will certainly get appealed in the court of law. And that's what happened to a previous law like this several years ago. But it will, we believe, go into effect in the coming days or weeks and then it basically means that people can be put in jail or have the death penalty against them because of this law.

Now, the U.S. President Biden has said that they are going to review the relationship through the National Security Council with Uganda. You can expect possible sanctions coming in the coming weeks. The U.S. spends about a billion dollars in humanitarian and military support of Uganda. And that money is extremely important leverage for those wanting to see the end of this bill before it does real damage to those communities in Uganda. And because you had Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican of course, weighing in on this, you possibly could have bipartisan support in Congress to punish Ugandan lawmakers for this bill.

Poppy.

HARLOW: To sanction essentially?

MCKENZIE: You could sanction individuals and certainly put punitive measures when it comes to foreign aid coming from the U.S. to Uganda. And I expect that to follow from the White House in the coming days.

HARLOW: OK. David McKenzie, thank you so much for that reporting.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis kicking off his campaign in Iowa today. Recent polling actually shows him neck in neck in the state with another candidate who will also be making a stop there this week. We're live in Des Moines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:36:45]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): He's taken the side of Disney in our fight down here in Florida. I'm standing for parents. I'm standing for children. And I think a multibillion-dollar company that sexualizes children is not consistent with the values of Florida or the values of a place like Iowa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Florida governor Ron DeSantis there, he is in Iowa today where he's kick-starting a multi-stop tour in the state. The governor's expected sales pitch, he's the guy more likely to win the Iowa caucuses, more likely to win than Donald Trump. Of course, though, he's not the only one hoping to best the former president there. Several of the other 2024 presidential candidates, including Trump himself, but also Tim Scott, Nikki Haley and other prominent Republicans will also be visiting the Hawkeye state. We are officially in full swing here, my friends.

Joining us now for a closer look at how Iowa voters really feel about it all, politics reporter at "The Iowa Capital Dispatch," Robin Opsahl.

Robin, great to see you this morning.

DeSantis' pitch here, I'm the guy who can win. How is that sitting with Iowa voters?

ROBIN OPSAHL, POLITICS REPORTER, "IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH": Yes, I mean it's definitely something some voters are very interested in. After the 2020 election, some people are looking for an alternative to Donald Trump, who at least in the most recent Iowa polling remains at the top of the list. So many people who agree with some of the politics of DeSantis are looking at alternatives, and DeSantis as a front-runner as well.

HARLOW: One of the interesting things is that Republican voters in Iowa know Trump. They know him well, obviously.

OPSAHL: Absolutely.

HARLOW: You know, they haven't been governed by Governor Ron DeSantis. Only the people of Florida have. What have you been hearing from voters there, Republican voters, about what their main questions are about Ron DeSantis?

OPSAHL: Of course. Ron DeSantis' track record is somewhat similar to Governor Kim Reynolds, a Republican here in Iowa. And they have had a relationship. They had an event earlier this year together. I think people are looking at his track record favorably if they're fans of Kim Reynolds, who is quite popular among Iowa Republicans right now. But I think heading into the 2024 race, it's more of a question of if DeSantis will be a better choice to beat Biden than president -- former President Donald Trump.

HILL: And that's part of what he's starting to hit on, being a better choice to defeat Biden. But I wonder, because we know that primary voters, or the caucuses as we in Iowa, sometimes you get a different - a different terms of engagement from voters as you would, of course, in a general election. So, beating Biden in a general is one thing, but, of course, being victorious in these early contest is yet another.

How do the culture wars play in Iowa that Ron DeSantis is really doubling down and pointing at as big wins in his state? Is that what is most important?

OPSAHL: It will be interesting to see play out. This is something that has been a big deal in Iowa in the past few months with our own legislative session, passing something that Democrats have said are culture war issues in terms of certain subjects in schools, of banning HRT hormone therapy for minors, things like that that DeSantis has done in Florida as well.

[06:40:00]

However, I think that there is a concern that some of the people who don't want to vote for Trump again in the caucuses are looking for someone less controversial. So that's something they're weighing for, you know, these are big issues in the Republican Party, but also is it going to be too far for a general election?

HARLOW: Is there recent polling that shows how they square up? Because what I'm looking at is from March and it found Trump and DeSantis were neck in neck with Iowa Republicans but that Trump's numbers had fallen from June of the previous year. Anything more recent that tells you where we are?

OPSAHL: No, that's the most recent I have as well. It's just something that talking with voters, having been to DeSantis and Trump events, neither of them are very like anti-one another or on that different of sides, but it's people, you know, Iowans take their role seriously as first in the nation state and trying to evaluate.

HARLOW: Of course.

HILL: They take it very seriously.

OPSAHL: (INAUDIBLE).

HILL: There's an engagement factor, too, and a lot's been made of how Ron DeSantis is or is not engaging with voters, is or is not engaging with the media in interviews. How important is that to voters that they get a real sense of who he is? Because as Poppy pointed out, they feel very comfortable, many voters, with Donald Trump because they know who he is.

OPSAHL: Absolutely. And that's sort of, you know, one of the terms that people point to of the Iowa caucuses, is it kind of forces people to go out, shake hands, have these more intimate, personal events that you need to talk to individuals and prove on a - you know, even just person to person basis that you're a good choice for them to caucus for because it is a smaller state. And I think that's something that he's holding some events. He's holding an event at a church tonight. He's probably going to do the retail politics along with the big 2024 candidate pool who will be here in the next few days.

HILL: Busy few days coming up, which, of course, kicks off several very busy months ahead.

Robin, good to have you here this morning. Thank you.

HARLOW: Thanks, Robin.

OPSAHL: Thank you.

HARLOW: Well, just ahead, the suspect in the disappearance of Natalie Holloway wants more security in prison. Joran Van Der Sloot's attorney says he's being beaten behind bars, something the Peruvian prison denies. We have the latest developments on that case ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:46:32]

HARLOW: Welcome back.

We're just a few hours away from opening statements beginning today in the trial of the man accused of killing 11 people at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. You will remember this. It happened in 2018. And according to the Anti-Defamation League was the deadliest anti- Semitic attack ever in the United States. Now, years later, federal prosecutors are calling for the death penalty. The verdict would have to be unanimous, but it is what many of the victims family members say they want.

Our Danny Freeman reports from Pittsburgh.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four down in an atrium, DOAs at this time.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Four and a half years after the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history, a jury will finally hear opening statements in the trial of the alleged gunman in the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting massacre. After a lengthy jury selection, which started in April, 12 jurors and six alternates were seated. Questioning focused primarily on whether these men and women could sentence the suspect, Robert Bowers, to death if he's found guilty of killing 11 Jewish worshippers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think I could have ever anticipate the intensity of this jury selection.

FREEMAN: Throughout the process, family members of victims have watched Bowers from across the courtroom, without handcuffs, and dressed in collared shirts while speaking with attorneys.

On the morning of October 27, 2018, prosecutors say Bowers walked up to the Tree of Life Synagogue and opened fire. Members of three congregations were worshipping there at the time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a very horrific crime scene. It's one of the worst that I've seen.

FREEMAN: Federal prosecutors say Bowers entered the building and intentionally shot people praying while expressing his desire to kill Jews. He now faces 63 felony counts, 22 of which are punishable by death.

His defense team has offered a guilty plea in exchange for taking capital punishment off the table and two of the congregations who were impacted asked the Justice Department in 2019 to accept a life in prison plea, but prosecutors were unswayed and are still fighting for execution and families of nine victims asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to keep the death penalty on the table, calling anything less a grave injustice.

DIANE ROSENTHAL, SISTER OF VICTIMS CECIL AND DAVID ROSENTHAL: The death penalty must apply to vindicate justice and to offer some measure of deterrence from horrific hate crimes happening again and again.

BRIAN SCHREIBER, PRESIDENT AND CEO, JCC OF GREATER PITTSBURGH: For us I think 10/27 is Pittsburgh's version of 9/11. It's a day that really shook the foundation of who we were as a community.

FREEMAN: Brian Schreiber is the president and CEO of the JCC of Greater Pittsburgh, which served as a makeshift command post after the shooting. He says Jewish life here has continued and persevered after the attack.

FREEMAN (on camera): Do you know at this point what justice looks like?

SCHREIBER: I don't. I know that it is going to be grueling for those families that lost loved ones for a process that has taken four and a half years to get here and will take a number of months to go. But they're also stronger together and they do not feel like they have to take that journey by themselves. (END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN: So, after five weeks of jury selection, nearly five years since that deadly attack, this trial is ready to start in just a few hours at 9:00 a.m. And our CNN team will be inside that courtroom through the duration of this trial to report all the news to you.

Poppy.

HARLOW: Danny, thank you very much.

HILL: Peru's National Penitentiary Institute is now denying a news report that the prime suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Natalie Holloway was beaten in prison.

[06:50:07]

An attorney for Joran Van Der Sloot telling ABC News his client was, quote, severely beaten and also said he's petitioned for Van Der Sloot to be moved to another facility.

CNN's Jean Casarez joining us now. She's been following all of these developments.

It's interesting too the timing here, Jean, given this looming extradition to the United States. What more do we know about these allegations?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They're right in the midst of the paperwork, we understand, right now.

HILL: Yes.

CASAREZ: Well, Maximo Altez, he has been the attorney for Joran Van Der Sloot from the very beginning. And so he was telling ABC News that his client was severely beaten, that he's currently in the medic area of this maximum security prison in Peru. It's about 24 hours away from Lima. It is very, very remote. But he is asking the attorney for him to be moved to another maximum security prison as soon as possible. But the penitentiary institute of Peru is telling CNN this is not true. He was not beaten. He was not attacked.

Let me tell you about the prisons in Peru because I was there at Castro Castro, which was the original maximum security prison that Joran Van Der Sloot was at for the first few years before his trial and then immediately after his trial. Everyone can wear street clothes. And so, because of that -- look at that knife. See that knife? That was a prison in his cell and he was trying to saw his way out of the cell. Because they wear street clothes, they're not supposed to carry weapons, but you can - you can easily carry weapons.

HILL: And they don't check? They don't pat them down? They don't check their pockets?

CASAREZ: I didn't see it. Of course, they try to maintain order. But Maximo Altez, the attorney for Joran Van Der Sloot, does not think it's because of what's happening, the deportation. He thinks that it is -- the extradition. He thinks it is because of the gang activity in the prisons.

HARLOW: The question this morning for everyone who has been seeking justice in this for a long time is, could this impact the extradition?

CASAREZ: Well, how severely beaten is he, if he is beaten.

But let's talk about justice. Do you know what today is? Today is May 30th. And this is so ironic. May 30th, the very last day Natalie Holloway was ever seen alive. It's believed she was murdered on the 30th of May.

Stephanie Flores in Peru, she was murdered on May 30th.

HILL: The same day.

CASAREZ: The same day years later. It's the anniversary of both of their deaths. And now this?

HILL: It's a bit chilling, actually.

CASAREZ: Yes.

HILL: Jean, appreciate it. Thank you.

CASAREZ: Thank you.

HARLOW: Well, to basketball now. They just couldn't handle the Heat. Miami defeats Boston in game seven.

HILL: Oh.

HARLOW: They're headed to the NBA finals. Sorry to the Celtics' fans.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:57:11]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they stand eye to eye with history and they did not blink. The Heat are going to the NBA finals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Quite a night for the Miami Heat, beat out Boston and the Celtics. They are headed, as you just heard, to the NBA finals. The Heat started the Eastern Conference matchup with a dominating 3-0 run but lost three games in a row, made that comeback in game seven last night, beating Boston by 19 points.

Miami fans brought out the pots and the pans to celebrate the big win. It will be a while before they can cheer on their team in person, though. The Heat now head to Denver to take on the Nuggets in the finals. Our Omar Jimenez is live in Boston. How are they coping? How are they

doing this morning?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look, in short, not great. Coming into this game, I mean, there had been 150 attempts to come back from an 0-3 deficit and 150 fails. Now, there have been 151. And the Celtics, of course, on the wrong side of that. They really just couldn't get it going from the beginning in any consistent way over the course of this game. And any momentum they got seemed to be completely met with an earth or soul-shattering three from the Miami Heat on their side.

Take listen to some of these fans as we spoke to them after the game ended.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: How are you guys feeling right now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pretty terribly, honestly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jalen Brown is leaving. He says the fans hate him. You just (INAUDIBLE) give him the money and JB's leaving. Mark my words.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just wanted to say on behalf of Boston, I'm -- I wish my city had responded better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: And, look, after a loss like this, everybody is making theories about where players are going to go, what coaches need to do and things like that. I think we heard a lot of that from fans.

But let's not forget, let's not discount the Miami Heat there. Give them credit for what they did. You heard Kevin Harlan say they went eye to eye with history and they did not blink here. They made their own history, becoming the first play-in team to make it to the NBA finals and beating a number one seed along the way and now the number two seed, Boston Celtics.

Take a listen to Miami Heat's star player, Jimmy Butler, after the game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY BUTLER, MIAMI HEAT FORWARD: I'm just confident. I know the work that we all put into it. So I know what we're capable of. But nobody's satisfied. We haven't done anything. We don't play just to win the Eastern Conference, we play to win the whole thing. Everybody's confidence is so high. We've got to believe that we can do something incredibly special. So, we're going to hit the ground running when we get to Denver and I like our chances.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:59:59]

JIMENEZ: So, they go on to play the number one seed Denver Nuggets. They said they had their bags packed for Denver and not to return to Miami, and they're capitalizing on that planning ahead.

Poppy.

HARLOW: OK. Omar, thank you, friend.