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Trump Faces 37 Criminal Counts In Detailed Indictment; Potential Ukrainian Offensive Underway South Of Zaporizhzhia; Frontline Town Living In Shadow Of Russia-Ukraine War; Ukrainian Rescuers Brave Ongoing Shelling To Reach People Stranded By The Flooding. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired June 10, 2023 - 07:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:00:00]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It's Saturday, June 10th. Good to be with you. I'm Victor Blackwell.

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Amara Walker. Thank you so much for spending a part of your morning with us. We're going to get right to it. A lot of news we are watching this morning.

Former President Trump launched a series of attacks on the special counsel after the unsealing of the indictment and the classified documents probe. The reaction coming in following the indictment and what we expect to hear from the former president today.

BLACKWELL: Ukrainian officials say, the situation is tense in eastern Ukraine as we see a surge in fighting in the region. We'll tell you, take you to one Ukrainian town within earshot of the fighting, how they're pinning their hopes on Ukraine's counter-offensive.

WALKER: Some of the nation's largest cancer centers say they are seeing a shortage of some life-saving chemotherapy drugs; how the shortage is impacting patient care, and how doctors are working around it until they can get what they need?

BLACKWELL: Plus, not leaving Netflix despite a strict crackdown on password sharing the streaming service as people are still willing to pay up.

We're starting with Donald Trump's response to an unprecedented indictment against him in the mishandling of classified documents. After the indictment was unsealed, Trump lashed out at Special Counsel Jack Smith, calling him a Trump hater and a deranged lunatic. This is the first time a former president has been charged with crimes in federal court. Trump faces 37 counts including 31 counts of willful retention of National Defense Information.

WALKER: The indictment contains new details about Trump's handling of top-secret documents that includes photos of boxes containing classified documents and various locations at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort and residence including in a ballroom, a bathroom, and shower and office space, his bedroom, and as you see there a storage room. Special Counsel Jack Smith encourages people to read the entire document to understand the scope of the charges. Smith says, no one is above the law.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK SMITH, TRUMP SPECIAL COUNSEL: Adherence to the rule of law is a bedrock principle of the Department of Justice, and our nation's commitment to the rule of law sets an example for the world.

We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone. It's very important for me to note that the defendants in this case must be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

To that end, my office will seek a speedy trial on this matter, consistent with the public interest and the rights of the accused.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Trump is due in court for his arraignment in Miami at 3:00 p.m. Tuesday, and he will hear the charges against him. He's expected to enter a not guilty plea.

BLACKWELL: We are covering the Trump indictment from the nation's capital to the campaign trail. CNN Correspondent Zach Cohen is in Washington with details on the charges in the indictment. Randi Kaye is in Miami with a look at security precautions for Trump's court appearance. And Alayna Treene is covering the campaign. Trump holds rallies today in Georgia and North Carolina.

We'll start first with CNN National Security and Justice Reporter Zach Cohen in Washington to break down the nuts and bolts of the indictment.

WALKER: Yes, Zach so there are a lot of details in those documents. Stunning details. Tell us what you're learning.

ZACH COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Yes, Victor and Amara, prosecutors are alleging that Donald Trump knowingly, intentionally retained hundreds of classified documents. If you look at the charges, the 37 counts in this indictment document, 31 of them have to do with the willful retention of National Defense Information. Now, that is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. And if you look at this one paragraph, paragraph three of the indictment it spells it out very clearly the kind of information we're talking about.

We're talking about information related to U.S. weapons systems, U.S. defense programs, U.S. nuclear capability. So really, this is -- these documents did deal with some of our nation's most sensitive secrets, and it also that it came from a variety of different agencies intelligence agencies, that included the CIA, that included the NSA. So, a large variety of very sensitive documents were found at Mar-a- Lago. And Jack Smith really underscored the seriousness of that in his remarks yesterday.

[07:05:11]

Now, the other accounts that we're looking at here deal with obstruction and concealment. There's even a reference there to, something Trump allegedly said to his lawyers before the FBI came down to search Mar-a-Lago. He said, something to the effect of, wouldn't it be better if we just told them we didn't have anything here? And of course, he knew full well that they did have something there in the form of several classified documents, boxes of classified documents. And this indictment overall, really lays out the narrative of what investigators have found, as they've looked deeper and deeper into former President Trump's handling of classified documents. And frankly, it's a pretty damning indictment.

WALKER: It sure is, Zach Cohen, appreciate it. Thank you very much. Let's talk more about this damning indictment. Joining me now is Dave Aronberg, State Attorney for Palm Beach County, Florida. And I've got to say, I was just talking about this with Victor here. I mean, it is really an easy read. There's not a lot of legalese in this indictment. And just like the Special Counsel is urging all Americans to read it, you really should. There are so many stunning details. Dave, to you because Trump is accused of so many things, you know, lying and scheming to hold on to these documents, showing them off. And even the way these documents were stored, what really stunned you what stuck out to you the most?

DAVE ARONBERG, STATE ATTORNEY FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA: Good to be with you, Amara. I think what surprised me was just the level of involvement that Donald Trump had in all of this. He can't just blame this on the coffee boy, there are 38 counts, 37 Apply to Donald Trump. And the indictment is powerful and damning. It shows that Trump was involved in every step of this process. He packed the boxes. He stored the boxes, he directed the movement of the boxes, he tried to hide the boxes, not just from the government, but from his own lawyer. He asked people to lie about it. He disseminated the classified information to others. You've got violations of the Espionage Act, the obstruction laws and lying. It's really bad for Donald Trump.

WALKER: And there was a lot of evidence, right? I mean, especially Trump's attorney, Evan Corcoran, his voice memos and of course some audio recordings of Trump, himself, in conversations. Tell us about that, and how critical these, this evidence was.

ARONBERG: It is unusual to the key evidence against you comes from your own lawyer. So, you bring up a good point about Evan Corcoran. Usually, attorney-client privilege is sacrosanct. But you know, Trump has said that he wants his lawyers to be like Roy Cohn, the notoriously corrupt lawyer, friends with Richard Nixon, you know, as such, Trump is free in his mind to make these damaging comments to his own lawyers, whether it's Evan Corcoran, or Michael Cohen, and you see in the pages of the indictment that a lot of this evidence comes from Evan Corcoran.

So, when the Department of Justice got access to Corcoran's, personal notes, his voice notes. And these were copious notes. These were meticulous notes under the legal theory of CYA, because that's what Corcoran was doing: he wanted to cover himself up here in case he was ever charged with obstruction. But these notes have come back to haunt him. It's a treasure trove of information that details Trump's involvement from beginning to end of all this.

My favorite part was the part where Donald Trump wanted Corcoran to be like Hillary Clinton's lawyer who he believed covered up for her deleted all the e-mail. This was while he ran for president. He said I'm going to lock you up, right? You'd be in jail. Now, he wants his own lawyer to be like the lawyer who guided Hillary Clinton. It's really ironic.

WALKER: And I guess, you know, no surprise when it comes to the, the high turnover rate of his legal team, right. So, we saw the sudden move happened on Friday where Trump said that he was removing two of his top attorneys: Jim Trusty and John Raleigh from the case, and he said that Todd Blanche, a defense lawyer that he hired in April after being indicted in Manhattan, he will now take the lead. And of course, you had Trusty and Raleigh saying that they were resigning from the legal team entirely. What's the strategy here?

ARONBERG: The strategy is just to find a lawyer who will take the case in Florida, who has knowledge in this area. The problem is, as is respected as his new lawyer is, apparently is not an expert in the field of national security. We lawyers are specialists, and you want someone who is used to this stuff, dealing with classified information, because you're going against Jay Bratt who's the head of the Department of Justice's Counterintelligence Division, and you're going against Jack Smith, who's a bulldog.

You want to bring you're a-game, and you don't want to bring someone who's new to this area. But this is what happens with Donald Trump. You know, lawyers are reluctant to work for him because look at Chris Kies, while respected former Solicitor General Florida brought on to help Trump given a $3 million retainer. Trump didn't like his advice. Kies wanted Trump to be cooperative with the DOJ. Trump rejected it. He sidelined him. And now, he's stuck with whatever he can get. Also, it doesn't help that Trump continues to make attacks on prosecutors, and he probably will attack judges, too, in the future. Not helpful, if you're representing him.

[07:10:06]

WALKER: When you have former President Trump attacking this independent special counsel, Jack Smith, calling him a lunatic and a Trump hater, do you see this backfire in any way?

ARONBERG: Yes, I could see that the judge as part of Trump's pre-trial release will impose some restrictions on what Trump can say. And that's going to be hard for Donald Trump. He's out there on the campaign trail -- grievance is his rocket fuel. I mean, that's what powers MAGA. And for him to not be able to attack those who think are persecuting him, that's going to be hard for him to do, and that could be the easiest way for him to end up in an orange jumpsuit by violating a court order. WALKER: Lastly, so the arraignment on Tuesday, a few days from now

3:00 p.m. in Miami, where, you know, Trump will be told about the charges against him, he will enter a plea. What are you hearing because you're there in Palm Beach, not far from Miami, in terms of law enforcement? Are they scrambling? And we know the DOJ is sending some resources down there as well, but what is all that going to look like? How it's going to play out from a security standpoint?

ARONBERG: Oh, yes, they're going to be ready this time. Because when Trump is out there on social media, saying, you know, get ready for Tuesday reminds you of what he said in advance of January 6th, so they're going to be ready. And a big reason, Amara, that they're going down to Miami, which really doesn't have a connection to this case, this is all happened here in Palm Beach County.

Miami, 71 miles away. But they've got this big courthouse with a lot of security, a lot of resources, and I think that's why they're having it down there. They're better equipped, apparently, to deal with this show than the smaller courthouses of West Palm Beach or Fort Pierce. So, I think they will be prepared.

WALKER: So, from a practical standpoint, it makes sense. Dave Aronberg, appreciate you as always, thank you very much.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk more about security now and go live to Randi Kaye in Miami outside the federal courthouse. So, on the question of security, what do we know about logistics so far?

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Victor. What we know is that securing the scene really will start as soon as the former president leaves Mar-a-Lago to make that 71-mile trip down here to the federal courthouse in Miami. I've spoken with some of my law enforcement contacts, and they tell me that we can likely expect they will have some sort of exclusive lane, exclusive access on that Interstate 95, as the former president makes his way down here.

They will limit some of those lanes, perhaps putting in some lane closures on that highway. Also, as far as court, there will be some type of perimeter setup, they'll look to be keeping, not only protesters back but his supporters back as well. And this really will be a coordinated effort between Secret Service, the Miami Police who will be in charge of detours and any road closures in the area, but also the FBI and U.S. Marshals as well.

They did do a threat assessment here at the Miami federal courthouse, they didn't find any credible threats. They're also monitoring social media, from what I'm told, looking for any actionable intelligence, they're also looking for any calls to action, because they certainly don't want another January 6th situation here at the Miami federal courthouse. So, they are expecting large crowds here supporters, protesters, media, et cetera.

There will be eyes everywhere from law enforcement. And one other note, Victor is that this is a very large complex, they are certainly going to be looking to limit Donald Trump's exposure to those on the outside. There's a lot of entrances, a lot of doors here, very likely they will take him in one of the backdoors where most people won't be able to see him probably bring him through the basement of this courthouse up to the courtroom for his arraignment. Victor.

BLACKWELL: You have been speaking with some of the Trump supporters there. What have you been hearing?

KAYE: Yes, we spent the last couple of days at Mar-a-Lago talking to some of his supporters. And, you know, they, they just do not believe that the former President had any classified documents. In fact, I told them what was in the indictment yesterday, and I showed them the pictures of these boxes of alleged documents in the shower, in the bathroom, in the ballroom. And they said that those pictures were doctored or they were fake. They believe if he did have any documents there, they were planted, and they just don't believe that he would do anything like this, Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right. Randi Kaye, thank you.

[07:14:22]

WALKER: All right. Still ahead, the indictment of former President Trump for mishandling classified documents is revealing some serious national security concerns. We will discuss that with Juliette Kayyem next.

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WALKER: Donald Trump is keeping his schedule as planned following his federal indictment. The GOP front runner is expected to hold campaign rallies in Georgia and North Carolina today.

BLACKWELL: It will be the first time Trump will give live remarks on the new charges he's facing. CNN Alayna Treene joins us now. Do we know much about Trump? What he will focus on at this event? It's safe to assume he'll have something to say about the indictment.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that is true. I spoke with one of Donald Trump's senior advisors yesterday, one of them who was with him at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, just very nearby to where I am now. And they told me that they spent the day yesterday working on Donald Trump's speeches for these two campaigns stops and that Donald Trump remained "defiant." Now, that is the image that they are trying to portray, and I think you can expect to see that Donald Trump will use some of that bravado at his campaign stops in Georgia and North Carolina.

[07:19:40]

But I will say behind the scenes, that's not necessarily the case. I've spoken over the past 48 hours with many of Donald Trump's advisors and his allies. And they say, unlike Thursday night, when his team was really focused on the political implications of this indictment, they were feeling emboldened by the show of force and statements of support from his allies on Capitol Hill from Republican leadership and lawmakers, and that they thought that this could give them a potential short-term boost politically for his re-election campaign.

However, once the charges were unsealed, Friday afternoon, concerned began to settle in amongst some of his team and some of his allies as they began to really think about what are the legal implications here? And how will this play out legally down the line? Victor and Amara.

WALKER: Trump is the clear front runner for the Republican nomination in 2024. Perhaps, this federal indictment will actually boost him in the polls and help us fundraising. But what are other candidates saying about all of this?

TREENE: Well, they've had a walk a fine line, Amara. And we did see many of them issue statements, not totally defending Donald Trump. In some ways, yes, I think you can view them as issues of support, statements of support, I should say, but really railing against the Justice Department and what they call the weaponization of the Justice Department for political purposes. We also heard yesterday from former Governor Asa Hutchinson who talked with CNN's Jake Tapper. Let's listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASA HUTCHINSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is unprecedented that we have a former president criminally charged for mishandling classified information for obstruction of justice. This, obviously, will be an issue during the campaign, but for the sake of the country, he doesn't need this distraction -- the country doesn't need this distraction as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So, that was former Governor Asa Hutchinson, he's also Republican contender. And I think what he had to say was pretty notable, because he's been a critic of Donald Trump. He hasn't shied away from criticizing the former president. But here, he's saying he thinks this could be a needless distraction. I should add very quickly that not all candidates are saying this. Former Governor Chris Christie, who had recently announced that he is running also said that criticizing Donald Trump over this thinking that clearly these charges are very damning. And so, we're seeing a wide reaction from his presidential contenders.

BLACKWELL: Full spectrum. Alayna Treene, thanks so much. Special Counsel Jack Smith has said that his office will seek a speedy trial. And according to a document that prosecutors filed with the court alongside the federal indictment, the Justice Department believes it'll take prosecutors 21 business days or about a month in court to present their case against former President Trump to a jury.

WALKER: That estimate does not include how long the defense might take to present its case, which includes the possibility that Trump could choose to testify in his own defense. Here now is CNN National Security Analyst Juliette Kayyem. Juliette, good morning, or not to you? I mean, as a national security expert, I can't imagine what your reaction was, not just when you saw the photos, but knowing you know, that in these boxes were information regarding defense and weapons capabilities, nuclear programs, potential vulnerabilities of the U.S. and its allies and plans for possible retaliation. I mean, that's a lot of sensitive information.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: It's a lot of sensitive information that is, that has relevance in the present time. I mean, this is the difference between, say, cases and sort of like old historical documents. And the, the information that we know right now is relevant to the United States standing and our national security for two reasons.

One is, and Jack Smith makes this absolutely clear, in the first paragraph, our allies, our allies, have a reliance interest on us as we do on them. But the information that they share with us whether it's through a mechanism called Five Eyes, or NATO, or whatever, that, that the intelligence shared amongst allies to protect, to protect ourselves against common enemies, say Russia, for example, will be protected. And now, we're showing that that's not true.

But I thought Jack Smith did something interesting in his, in his speech. He did not begin with the law. He did not begin with Donald Trump. He began with the service members in our military and our intelligence agents. He spoke to their sacrifices and what the obligation is of anyone who has the honor of having a security clearance, our obligation is to them. And in those two aspects, this case is very different than, than anything related to say, the 2020 election.

BLACKWELL: And in that case, as it relates to those who serve the country, either in military or through national security, it is a matter of life or death, as Jack Smith pointed out, as you talk about the five eyes countries, and we saw that, well, they're all egregious. But the photograph of the box tipped over in one storage room and those documents that were referenced on the floor there, you said that it's undermines the relationship. But is there some actual damage to the relationship where there would be a reluctance to share information with U.S.?

[07:25:07]

KAYYEM: I think you'd have to assume that that is true. We don't, we don't know that, that our Five Eyes allies are not going to say we don't trust you anymore. But from their risk assessment -- so, let's just say if you're Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Canada, they are looking at what's happened to their documents.

They also know, like we do, that Trump is a front runner and that so that someone with such negligent, let's just use that word, behavior could be president again. And I think that's what Jack Smith spoke to. He didn't he didn't connect the docs that this was released, and therefore this this covert operative was killed.

Yes, that's a hard line to draw. But what he's saying is that the, the mere fact of the negligence, at best, will undermine our national security, because our national security is based on an assumption that those with security clearance will protect the interests of not just the United States, but of, of our allies. We don't we don't work in a silo. I mean, we are we are, we're part of

a global network of threats, risks, vulnerabilities, and all of those were released. And that is, I think, the, the damning part of this.

WALKER: And according to the indictment, there was a total of 337 government documents that were recovered from Trump over the course of 2022. But the special counsels team zeroed in on 31 classified documents, hence the 31 counts of willful retention of National Defense Information, and that it was more of a practical thing, right? Because this is about these documents being entered into the court system, which means that means that they can be exposed to people without national security clearance. But how complicated or difficult is, was that navigating this and obviously getting the U.S. intelligence community on board?

KAYYEM: Yes, so, this is a -- that's a great question, because the gap between what we're seeing all the pictures and the sort of limited number of indictments around a specific information is based on, maybe based in part on, the fact that Jack Smith could not get approval from the intelligence agencies that he could use this information in court. So, what we're seeing is very likely not the worst. I talked to two intelligence, former intelligence agents yesterday, and they said, look, the it's the classifying agency, who it can authorize the use of that information in court.

And so that, that the, the Jack Smith clearly did not get approval from all the intelligence agencies, because they basically would say, you can't do anything with this. It's a, it's covert operations. It's ongoing operations. I mean, this isn't -- Trump did this not that long ago. Just, just a year later, Russia invades Ukraine, the North Korea threat remains Iran, all of them.

And so, they are relevant to our interests right now. I also want to say the mere existence of the fact that say we discuss the vulnerabilities of an ally or the mere existence, that we may have -- plans for what it would what it would take to invade a country. The mere existence of them, minus the, forget the details, is also relevant to our enemies. Oh, the United States is thinking about this.

WALKER: Juliette Kayyem, we'll leave it there. Thank you very much.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

WALKER: Still ahead, Ukraine's military operations have been picking up along the front lines, we're going to take you to one town that's living in the shadows at the intense fighting.

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[07:32:24]

WALKER: Now, to the extraordinary rescue of four young children who've been missing for weeks after a plane crash in the Amazon Rainforest.

The crash happened 40 days ago, and since then, authorities have been trying to track their movements. They were believed to be the only survivors. And the children, one as young as a year old were found yesterday.

BLACKWELL: Few hours ago, they arrived in Colombia's capital city aboard a military ambulance that airlifted them from the jungle.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro says the children appeared weak when they were rescued, and they receive medical treatment before they boarded the plane.

Their mother and two other adult passengers including the pilot were killed in that crash.

WALKER: Ukraine says the death toll from a catastrophic dam collapse was -- has grown to at least five people with 13 still missing.

The breach of the Nova Kakhovka dam caused massive flooding that inundated entire villages and forced 1000s to evacuate. Now, humanitarian workers are concerned about the potential outbreak of waterborne illnesses, and officials say the damage caused by the flooding could affect the economy for years to come.

BLACKWELL: Ukraine's military operations have begin picking up along the front lines. Putin says that Ukraine's counter offensive has begun in eastern Ukraine and it's failing.

Ukraine says it will not officially announce the operation, but a local Ukrainian commander says his forces are only testing Russian defenses for now.

Here is CNN's Fred Pleitgen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's move. Let's move.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Aid deliveries in one of the most dangerous places in Ukraine.

We're with the Howard G. Buffett Foundation in Orikhiv, the frontline town where the Russians say Ukraine's military is trying to punch through their defenses.

Constant artillery and mortar barrages driving residents underground.

PLEITGEN: Yes. So, we have to go downstairs in the basement because there's been a distinct increase in shelling. And while you can't really see the counter offensive of the Ukrainians here, you can certainly hear it and feel it as well.

PLEITGEN (voice over): In the basement shelter, team leader Vitaly (INAUDIBLE), hands out aid boxes to the mostly elderly residents, many traumatized but resilient. It's very dangerous here, but I got used to it, 72-year-old Olga tells me. I can already distinguish rockets by their sound. I calm myself down.

I asked 71-year-old Nina, if she thinks the counter offensive can succeed.

Yes, I know about the counter offensive, she says. We will be closer to victory. Hours will push them back step by step until they drive them out, until there is a complete victory for Ukraine.

[07:34:59]

PLEITGEN: But for now, the going appears to be tough for the Ukrainians. While Kyiv have hasn't acknowledged major offensive operations here, U.S. officials tell CNN, the Ukrainian military is facing stiff Russian resistance.

This Russian video purporting to show a column of Western donated armor struck by Moscow's forces.

And the uptick in fighting has made it nearly impossible to get aid into Orikhiv, Vitaliy tells me.

VITALIY KUBUSHKA, VOLUNTEER, HOWARD BUFFET FOUNDATION: Orikhiv is one of the most dangerous areas in Zaporizhzhia region. Orikhiv (INAUDIBLE), it's 24 hours bombed. 24 hours.

But they have to get aid even to those too frail to make it to the distribution point. Grandma Polia (PH), as she's known here, can barely walk and refuses to be evacuated from her tiny house, even though shells keep raining down. Her fate, she says, is now in God's hands.

Will we survive or not? She asks. You're still young. May God give you help and help you to survive this war. It's very difficult for old people.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Orikhiv, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: With me now is Frank Ledwidge, a lecturer and military strategy at the University of Portsmouth in Britain and former military intelligence officer. Thanks for being with me.

So, we heard from Fred that the counter offensive can be heard, it can be felt, the Ukrainian say they're just testing the forces at this moment. Is that plausible that this is not the counter offensive that Ukraine is just kind of testing what the Russian pushback will be?

FRANK LEDWIDGE, SENIOR LECTURER IN LAW AND STRATEGY, UNIVERSITY OF PORTSMOUTH: Well, Victor, good morning.

This is the counter offensive. It's what you'd expect at this stage. You're going to have probing of enemy defenses. And I might say, near where that report was, Ukrainians do seem to have made quite significant progress in pushing out into Russian defenses.

And you've got a number of axes; west of there and east, notably, by the way, Bakhmut. But there's no question at all, this is what the Ukrainians have been talking about. This is what they've been planning. This is it.

And I might say one other thing. When I was talking to Ukrainian generals a few weeks ago, they were saying, don't look out for one massive offensive. What we're going to be is a number of hammer blows. And if this is going to take a long time, it's going to take months, but we will succeed in the end.

BLACKWELL: We saw also in Fred's story, the pictures of the Western donated resources, the vehicles there that had been destroyed.

What's your assessment of these early days of the counter offensive? Or should we even look at it that way? If this is going to be something that's going to be, as you describe it, can we judge the early days of a counter offensive by looking at the losses at this point?

LEDWIDGE: Well, the losses you described, Victor, are about a company of armored vehicles. And there's a couple of notable things about that.

First of all, they're not significant, strategically, Ukrainians have 1000s of those vehicles.

But interestingly, the armor held, there were very few human casualties, and those vehicles will be recovered.

But what we have to remember is that no military operation is obviously and especially the successful ones go without cost.

There is going to be advances, there are going to be withdrawals, this is a dynamic situation, Ukrainians will take losses, they're attacking a prepared enemy. But they've got the resources. And most importantly, they have that human factor. They've got the morale, they've got the training, they've got the zest to push on. And I think they'll do that. And I think they'll succeed in their objectives.

BLACKWELL: The counter offensive is a finite time period and objective. But when you say that they will exceed and succeed in their objectives, what is that? What does success of this counter offensive look like?

LEDWIDGE: Well, at the tactical level, it means attaining the military objectives. So, for example, we're going to hear over the next few weeks, I suspect, the name of the town, Tokmak, which is already being evacuated rather gives the light to Putin's claim that things aren't going well.

We're going to hear political (PH) I suspect. And looks to me that those might be the objectives, not surprising to anyone.

We're also going to hear Bakhmut again, as the Ukrainians are making advances there least for the North. This is going to take a long time. So, that's at the tactical level.

At the strategic level, the whole purpose of this, of course, is to sustain Western assistance. They want to and they need to show results so that flow of weapons continues, and the Ukrainians can succeed strategically in sustaining that.

BLACKWELL: The dam collapsed several days ago. How does that complicate if it does Ukraine's plans?

LEDWIDGE: Well, Victory, I don't think it does, particularly. Very few people were predicting any kind of operation across that Dnipro River. And there were operations, but they're in a very low level, they were commander raids or putting up flags on buildings and so forth.

But what it's done, of course, is it's redirected or directed the attention that government to the assistance and aid efforts.

[07:40:04]

And to that extent, it will displace attention at that political level.

But in terms of military terms, it won't achieve very much, I suspect.

BLACKWELL: Frank Ledwidge, I appreciate the expertise and the insight. Thanks so much.

WALKER: Still ahead, oncologists nationwide are scrambling to find alternative cancer treatments for patients among a nationwide shortage of a lifesaving chemotherapy drug. More next.

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WALKER: At least nine people were shot at a San Francisco party overnight. Police said it was part of a "targeted and isolated incident." Five of those struck by gunfire were hospitalized.

[07:45:02]

All are expected to recover. No arrests have been reported.

BLACKWELL: Comedian and actor Mike Batayeh has died at the age of 52. He is known for his role as the laundromat manager on the hit series Breaking Bad.

His sister told TMZ that her brother suffered a cardiac arrest at his home earlier this month. His family said he will be remembered for his ability to bring laughter and joy to so many.

WALKER: Netflix is cracking down on password sharing and it appears to be working. According to one report, after the strict new policy was implemented, the company gained more news subscribers to its streaming platform than it did in the early days of COVID.

Netflix added 200,000 new accounts in the two days after the crackdown, according to one analytics company, and had more than 100 percent increase in signups compared to the previous 60-day average.

BLACKWELL: All right. So, people are keeping their accounts and yes more signups because you have to, now, and became share.

WALKER: New deal, and they're willing to pay for it.

BLACKWELL: All right. Nearly all U.S. cancer centers in a new study report, they are facing a shortage of life saving chemotherapy drugs.

WALKER: Oncologists across the country are now left scrambling to find alternative treatment options for their cancer patients. CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard has more.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: More than 90 percent of cancer centers in this new survey say they're impacted by a shortage of the chemotherapy drugs, carboplatin and cisplatin.

Now, these drugs are used in combination to treat many different types of cancer. And this new survey was conducted among 27 cancer centers that are part of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network.

93 percent of the centers reported experiencing a shortage of carboplatin 70 percent reported facing a similar shortage of cisplatin. So that shows just how widespread this shortage is.

Now, these drugs are given through I.V. infusions. It's estimated they're prescribed for up to 20 percent of all cancer patients.

And as for the cancer centers in the survey, they say they're still able to treat their patients, but they're scrambling to adjust to treatment approaches or to find alternative drug options for their patients.

In the meantime, the FDA has announced plans to import additional versions of cisplatin from China. imports of foreign medications have helped with similar shortages in the past, but there is still a looming concern about how long this current shortage will last.

And the National Comprehensive Cancer Network says it's calling on the federal government, pharmaceutical industry, providers, and payers to work together on solutions.

WALKER: Jacqueline Howard, thank you.

Nearly 14 million people are under the threat of severe weather today. Next, we'll tell you who could potentially see the worst of it.

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[07:52:08]

BLACKWELL: Right now, severe storms are making their way to the southern plains and Mississippi Valley. Threatening damaging winds, hail, and even tornadoes this weekend.

CNN's Allison Chinchar, joining us now from the CNN Weather Center. What can we expect from the storms, Allison?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. It's a pretty widespread area. That's the thing. You're talking 40 million people that are under the threat. Again, it stretches from eastern Colorado, all the way down through Mississippi. So, you're talking a lot of people with the potential for some strong to severe thunderstorms.

Already, we have some of these thunderstorms on going across the southern plains. A lot of lightning with these storms. So, even though we don't have any warn storms yet, we are starting to see this line intensify as it continues to make its way off to the east.

So, areas of Oklahoma, but also this cluster here across portions of Arkansas. Once we go into the latter portion of the day, we also expect a second round of thunderstorms to develop mainly late afternoon and into the early evening hours.

The main threats here are going to be damaging winds and the potential for large hail. We're talking tennis balls or even larger when we talk about the size of that hail, Dallas, Houston, Little Rock, stretching down through Jackson, Mississippi and even Shreveport, Louisiana, all have the potential for those strong to severe thunderstorms.

So, you saw the ones on going already this morning. But once we get into the afternoon, that's where the southern tier of this area really becomes the main focus for those strong to severe thunderstorms.

Because it's also multiple rounds, there is also the potential for flooding. However, not just in the southern plains, there is multiple areas that could be looking at the potential for flooding. Areas of Montana, including Billings. Areas of the Central Plains that includes Kansas City.

And then, farther south, where some of those strong to severe thunderstorms are expected, Dallas, Houston, Memphis, and Little Rock also looking at the potential for some flooding, because of the multiple rounds that we are expected to receive.

Overall, most areas likely to pick up about one to three inches total just over the next 24 to 48 hours. But you'll see some pockets here, especially this area of East Texas, where we could end up picking up say four, five, even six inches of rain.

So, again, there is going to be a tremendous risk here for not only the severe thunderstorms, Victor and Amara, but also the potential for some flooding not just today, but also into the overnight hours as well.

WALKER: All right, Allison Chinchar, thank you.

So, right now, a 400 -- I mean, you're probably familiar with this living in New York. But I didn't know that your apartment was so small. 462 square feet.

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: No, it wasn't. But this is greater.

WALKER: OK. So, a 600 -- I'm sorry. A 462 square foot apartment in Los Angeles is the talk of town. As CNN affiliate KCAL reports, this old storage space located over the Alhambra bridge is one of only 10 properties in L.A. County listed under $250,000. And yes, it is in high demand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[07:55:01]

DOUG LEE, APARTMENT'S LATINO AGENT: We've got so many people coming by. We had people last night thinking about turning it into a cigar lounge. We have lawyers wanting to turn into the office, or to artists coming from far away, wanting to turn into their own creative space.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: 462 square feet. One bedroom, one bath built in 1949. Has a porch and a rooftop patio.

WALKER: Is that a kitchen? There is a kitchen, yes?

BLACKWELL: I guess if you put four burners in it, you can call it a kitchen. And no parking spot, no driveway. It hasn't been lived in in 20 years. Real estate agent is unsure who owns the part of the bridge under the property.

WALKER: OK.

BLACKWELL: You live on a bridge. But with 10 offers already over asking price. It's going to be off the market very soon.

WALKER: Oh, my goodness. I don't even --

BLACKWELL: 462 square feet for a quarter million dollars.

WALKER: I don't even want to know how much it's going to end up selling for.

BLACKWELL: We'll find out though.

(CROSSTALK)

WALKER: It's going to be more than 250. It will probably be in the 300s.

BLACKWELL: We'll find out.

All right. The justice department lays out their criminal case against Donald Trump over his handling of classified documents.

We'll have the latest reaction from Trump's allies.

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