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CNN This Morning
Kids Survive 40 Days in Amazon; Officials Ramp up Security ahead of Trump's Court Appearance; Look at Walt Nauta. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired June 12, 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]
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: The candidates he's running against, unable or unwilling to try and utilize this moment to try and knock off the guy who's leading the polls by 25 or 30 points. There has been some reticence to weigh in definitively since the indictment actually came out. Do you see anything that changes that for anyone other than Asa Hutchinson?
MARGARET TALEV, SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR, "AXIOS": Well, and - and Chris Christie.
MATTINGLY: And Chris - yes, sure.
TALEV: Yes. You know, a couple of things. Number one is, I think, as this case proceeds, it may make a difference. I mean it's -- I don't think that most of Donald Trump's GOP rivals are looking at this thinking, yes, this is how I would handle classified documents. They're looking at the base and saying, the base is firmly with Trump. I can't defeat Trump if I don't run to the right of Trump. And so this rallying cry about, you know, the deep state or whatever has -- it's - it's resonant with a core of that base. And that's what they're concerned to walk away from.
So, I think part of it is that and part of it is how Donald Trump conducts himself. If anyone sees an opening, if they think that -- if they see a strategic reason to pursue it, yes, but there's two different lanes. There is the DeSantis lane and there's the -- the Chris Christie lane. And I don't see Ron DeSantis changing his views about tackling, you know, the FBI or the Justice Department. That's already baked into the narrative of his campaign also. So, I think there's two different lanes of candidates here.
MATTINGLY: I can't defeat him unless I support him.
TALEV: It's -
MATTINGLY: The worst thing that's happened to him.
TALEV: You're - because they're -
MATTINGLY: It's a hell of a strategy.
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: What could go wrong? TALEV: It is because -
MATTINGLY: Well, you covered the 2016 campaign and former President Trump. How did that work out for all of those guys?
MURRAY: Yes, it's a great strategy. It's a great strategy. Just sit on your stockpile of cash and never take on Donald Trump directly.
MATTINGLY: Yes. MURRAY: And that's why Jeb Bush is president of the United States.
MATTINGLY: Has proven infallible up to this point.
AUDIE CORNISH, CNN : Please clap (ph).
MURRAY: Please clap (ph).
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you all.
Well, law enforcement officials, as we've been talking about, are preparing over concerns for potential violence tomorrow in Miami. What they're doing in terms of ramping up security ahead of that court appearance.
MATTINGLY: And, a miracle in the Amazon. A group of children found alive after more than a month. How officials say they survive in the jungle.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:36:08]
HILL: Back now with the latest developments on Donald Trump's federal indictment. Here's what we know this morning. In just a few hours the former president will travel from New Jersey to Miami. That, of course, is for his court appearance which is scheduled for tomorrow. The former president is facing 37 counts relating to his handling of classified documents. The indictment detailing the locations where Trump allegedly stored the boxes, including a ballroom, a bathroom, and even his bedroom. Trump has vowed to never leave the 2024 race. Those among some of his first public comments about the indictment over the weekend. He told "Politico" he won't drop out even if convicted. We're going to keep you up to speed throughout the morning here.
MATTINGLY: Now, we are also following other news developments, including this incredible story. New video overnight. Crews in Colombia rescuing four children who survived 40 days, 40, alone in the Amazon after a plane crash. Noticias (ph) media released this video of a search unit treating the children in the jungle on Friday. Military officials say the kids are now recovering at a hospital in Bogota. A month and a half ago they were riding in a small plane that crashed into the dense jungle. Their mom, the pilot and one other adult died.
CNN's Stefano Pozzebon is live outside of the hospital in Bogota this morning. And this story is wild to say the least. What more do we know about
how the kids are doing, how they survived this long?
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN JOURNALIST: Yes, Phil, the kids are still in hospital, as you can expect. They're expected to be here for the next two to three weeks. They're receiving both medical, physical treatment, I mean, but also psychological support. We can only imagine, Phil, how they are affected by - surviving this harrowing experience. I think that the youngest of them is only one-year-old. She spent her first birthday in her world in the middle of the jungle. She turned one just a couple of weeks ago.
Yesterday, Sunday, was a - it was a great day because it was the first time we spoke with the father of the four children. He has been in the jungle joining the search and rescue operations for the past five weeks. And here's what he said about never losing hope, even when the stakes were so much against him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANUEL RANOQUE, FATHER OF RESCUED CHILDREN (through translator): We are indigenous people. I believe in the jungle, which is our mother. And that's why I've always kept the faith and would say that both the jungle and nature have never betrayed me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
POZZEBON: And as I was saying, the kids are expected to stay in hospital for the next two to three weeks. The father, Manuel Ranoque, also told us yesterday that he wants to bring them back to the Amazon when they'll be able to get out of the hospital and also that he expects the president, Gustavo Petro - he urged the president, Gustavo Petro, to support more transportation in the Amazon, to make more investment so that tragedies like this one won't happen again. You'll remember that the mother of the four children, the wife of Mr. Ranoque, died in that fatal crash on May the 1st.
Phil.
MATTINGLY: Yes, it's a rare, great news development. Stefano, you've been doing great reporting on this throughout. Thanks so much for your time.
POZZEBON: Yes.
MATTINGLY: Now officials are warning that a collapsed section of Interstate 95 in Philadelphia could take months to repair. What it means for travel in the northeast coming up ahead.
HILL: Also news out of Miami. Law enforcement is ramping up security there ahead of Donald Trump's arraignment. That is because of threats they've been monitoring online. We'll tell you more about those threats. We're live outside the courthouse.
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[06:44:01]
HILL: Officials in Miami ramping up security ahead of former President Trump's court appearance tomorrow. They've been tracking heated online rhetoric since the charges were announced.
CNN's Carlos Suarez is live outside the federal courthouse in Miami this morning.
So, we're talking about both federal and local officials here talking about stepping up security. Do we have any more specifics about those concerns this morning, Carlos?
CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erica, good morning.
So, the Miami Police Department is set to detail its safety and security plan at a news conference here in downtown Miami later today. Now, it is our understanding that the department's entire police roster has been told that they are on standby ahead of the former president's appearance here in federal court on Tuesday.
Now, law enforcement sources have told CNN that a team of FBI agents have been assigned to a domestic terrorism squad and that they are identifying any possible threats to this courthouse out here. They are also keeping a close eye on the Proud Boys.
[06:45:03]
We're told by these law enforcement sources that there has been some communication between the group about traveling to Florida, though we're being told that there is no indication of any specific or credible threats.
As you noted, we are already starting to hear and see some of this politically charged rhetoric surrounding the former president's indictment. The former Republican candidate for governor in Arizona, Kari Lake, she has come under criticism for what she said following the news of that indictment. Here are those comments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARI LAKE (R), FORMER ARIZONA GOV. CANDIDATE: We are -- we're at war, people. If you want to get to President Trump, you're going to have to go through me and you're going to have to go through 75 million Americans just like me.
And I'm going to tell you -- yes. Most of us are card caring members of the NRA. That's not a threat, that's a public service announcement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SUAREZ: All right, so it's important to note this part of downtown Miami is pretty much already a security bubble. You've got the new federal courthouse here behind me, the old one right across the street, as well as the U.S. attorney's office and the federal detention center. And so, Erica, right now, the overall security posture is what you would expect to see considering just the number of federal buildings in this part of town.
HILL: Yes, a good point.
Carlos, appreciate it. Thank you.
Well, the federal indictment names one of the former president's aides as a co-conspirator, but who is Walt Nauta and how - or rather what is his alleged role in all of this? We'll take a closer look next.
Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM BARR, FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL UNDER TRUMP: It's a very detailed indictment and it's very, very damning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: That would be former Attorney General Bill Barr criticizing his former boss for playing the victim. Now Trump is firing back with ugly insults. All that ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:51:04]
MATTINGLY: This is one of the most striking images from the federal Trump indictment, boxes containing classified information stacked in the Mar-a-Lago ballroom. Now, prosecutors allege that one of Trump's top aides moved those boxes out of that room in March of 2021. The aide's name is Walt Nauta. He's still standing by Trump and even campaigned with him over the weekend in Georgia. Nauta was charged for what prosecutors say he did in May of 2022 when he allegedly moved more boxes at Trump's direction.
Back with Sara Murray here.
And, Sara, I think a lot of people are looking at the indictment, are watching photos of the president with Walt Nauta right next to him and saying, who is this guy?
MURRAY: Yes, I mean, he wasn't exactly a household name until, unfortunately for him, last week.
So, let's take a look at who Walt Nauta is. This is someone who's a 40-year-old Navy veteran. He started in the White House mess hall and then he went on to become a White House valet. When Trump left the White House, he followed Trump to Mar-a-Lago to become a body man. As you know, this is someone who's working in very close proximity to the former president. You need a Diet Coke? He's getting you a Diet Coke. You're tired of holding something, you hand it off to your body man. So, very close to the former president.
MATTINGLY: OK. So, what exactly did he do wrong here? What are prosecutors looking at him for in this indictment? MURRAY: A whole lot of things. Essentially Donald Trump may have taken
the documents with this intelligence information in it, but there are -- prosecutors are saying Walt Nauta helped him hide those documents from investigators. So, he's charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document or record, corruptly concealing a document or record, concealing a document in a federal investigation, scheming to conceal, and making false statements to federal agents, Phil.
MATTINGLY: All right, so this is broadly what they're looking at. But I think one of the things that's inescapable about this indictment is the detail. I want to drill in to the specific accusation from the Justice Department that Trump directed Walt Nauta to move the material. What does this indictment say?
MURRAY: Yes, let's look at this, because this is the -- one of the most damming accusations against Walt Nauta. It says Trump had directed Nauta to move boxes before Trump attorney 1's - we know that to be Evan Corcoran -- June 2nd review so that many boxes were not searched and many documents responsive to the May 11th subpoena could not be found and, in fact, were not found by Trump attorney 1.
So, if you ever wondered, you know, how did Evan Corcoran go into that storage room, find roughly 40 documents, and then a couple months later the feds come and they find 100 more documents with classified markings, prosecutors say this is how, Walt Nauta was moving boxes around.
MATTINGLY: And I think that's so critical because it's the timeline that's so important here, the when he was actually alleged to have moved these boxes, right?
MURRAY: Right. Exactly. The timeline is important here. I mean prosecutors lay out roughly five times where Walt Nauta is moving these boxes around Mar-a-Lago, which gives you a sense of the kinds of errands that Donald Trump was asking him to do. But the important period is this period from May to June between when Donald Trump's team receives a subpoena saying hand back any documents with classified markings and when Evan Corcoran does this search. At that time Walt Nauta removes 64 boxes from the storage room. He only puts back about 30.
MATTINGLY: Man, not great, huh?
MURRAY: It's not great.
MATTINGLY: And also a very key element of this entire case.
Sara Murray, thanks for walking us through it.
HILL: Former President Trump set to travel to Florida today. This, of course, ahead of his court appearance scheduled for Tuesday in the classified documents case. So, how is Florida preparing? Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:59:09]
HILL: New this morning, CNN has learned former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has died. Berlusconi was a billionaire media tycoon, the founder of Italy's largest commercial broadcaster, who, of course, went on to become the country's longest serving prime minister, despite a career tainted by sex scandals, corruption allegations and a tax fraud conviction. Berlusconi was often considered the king maker in Italian politics. He had been battling leukemia. Silvio Berlusconi was 86 years old.
CNN THIS MORNING continues right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Special Council Jack Smith announcing 37 criminal counts against Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Indicted now for hording classified documents, sharing them with others.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some of our most sensitive national security information.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: But still, to get indicted over nothing?
REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): If he wants to store material in a box in a bathroom, if he wants to store it in a box on a stage, he can do that.
[07:00:04]
BILL BARR, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: If even half of it is true, then he's toast.
GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): You can't have one faction of society.
