Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

Mayor of Maui County in Hawaii Says Current Death Toll Due to Wildfires Like to Increase Significantly as Inside of Burned Homes Searched; Judge in Former President Trump's Case Concerning Alleged Attempts to Overturn 2020 Presidential Election to Set Date for Trial; Special Counsel Wants Trump Election Subversion Case To Begin January 2, 2024; First GOP Presidential Debate Less Than Two Weeks Away; Nikki Haley Tweets Signed Loyalty Pledge, Crosses Out Biden's Name And Writes In Harris. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired August 11, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:00:27]

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. It is Friday. Victor Blackwell by my side. Good morning.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

HARLOW: A lot of news. We are keenly focused on what is happening in Hawaii right now. The death toll is devastating these wildfires. The death toll so we know far has risen to 55. The mayor of Maui, though, says that number is expected rise because it does not account for people inside of the buildings.

BLACKWELL: In just a few hours, Donald Trump's legal team will face the federal judge overseeing the 2020 election interference case as the special counsel requests an aggressive trial date.

HARLOW: Five Americans wrongfully detained in Iran one step closer to freedom this morning. We'll tell you the details behind that deal that. It does include $6 billion of frozen Iranian assets.

This hour of CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

This news breaking overnight, the death toll from the catastrophic wildfires in Maui has risen to 55. There is also growing fear this morning that that number could rise significantly. There are hundreds upon hundreds of burned out homes and buildings in Lahaina, the town eviscerated by the fast-moving inferno. The mayor of Maui just said those buildings have not been searched yet and that the current death toll only represents bodies found outside the buildings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR RICHARD BISSEN, MAUI COUNTY: We have not yet searched in the interior of the buildings. We are waiting for FEMA to help with that search as they are equipped to handle the hazmat conditions of the buildings that have been burnt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: This morning those FEMA teams are on the way from California and from Washington state, and they are taking cadaver dogs with them. And now there are serious questions about if, when people were warned to evacuate. Some survivors say they either didn't get evacuation orders or the orders just came too late when the flames were already closing in. And we just spoke to one man who said that he never heard any sirens.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: You are telling me, this is not just one village on Maui. This will affect all Maui.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every single person. Every one of my friends lost their job because the building they worked at. So much of the people that live here work on the west side. It's like where the hotels are. It's where all the tourists come. It's the reason we don't have beaches. So it's like everyone has lost their job, they've lost their house, they've lost their family. I think there's going to be hundreds of people dead, and I don't say that any conspiracy theory. I just looked at how fast it moved.

And I know people around here. We are all in slippers. It happens. How are you going to get out that fast? It's all wooden houses super close together in that neighborhood. You have probably been here on vacation. If there is a way you can help, it's your turn. Help here, because it's needed. Every single home in Lahaina is gone. It's like I said before. It's apocalyptic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: That explanation coming to our Bill Weir, who was there in Maui. Bill, good morning to you. Listen, we have seen the pictures. You are there. What does it look like? What does it feel like?

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: It is so hard. It gets you in your guts, Victor, when you see, when you truly take in the scope of the devastation in Lahaina town. I was lucky enough to be there years ago when it was at its most charming, and it's paradise. It's one of the most beautiful places.

But just today it's unrecognizable. It looks like the set of a World War II movie in the middle of Front Street there. Everything manmade, structurally, is blackened and charred and just melted. It smells. It reminds me of the smells I came across in Paradise, California, after the record deadly fire in the United States happened there, because every petroleum product, all the pipes, all the plastic, fiberglass boats is melted into this soup that is now floating in the harbor there.

And mostly you talk to some of the folks. I talked to the gentleman you just saw there, Eddy Garcia, who is a local farmer, he was cutting furiously a fire break on his farm to try to stop the flames the days before, and it actually paid off. He lost a lot, but nothing compared to his neighbors who have nothing. They didn't have the time to grab their clothes or even a passport before they fled. And now there is that worry. I hear it again and again. They are worried the death count will just go higher and higher, as you mentioned. They start to search buildings.

[08:05:00]

Right now, it seems they are finding folks who were trapped on the road, either in their cars or tried to they to take refuge in the waves of the Pacific. I heard one story of a woman who stood in the waves, or waited there for eight hours. The man next to her did not survive.

And so when they start going through the structures, some of which are just turned to ash, sadly, sadly, those statistics have to climb. And now it's just people are going -- sort of the five stages in real time of grief, understanding what's lost, understanding how to come together. But if there is a place it could be done, it's Hawaii. I talk about the community, the strength of community in this state, especially on Maui, western Maui, there is very tight community there as well. And boy, they need each other now more than ever.

HARLOW: They certainly do. There is real concern about the lack of warning that a lot of survivors are talking about. The mayor just spoke with NBC News, Bill, and was asked, did the emergency sirens work? Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR RICHARD BISSEN, MAUI COUNTY: So, everything happened so quickly. I can't comment on whether or not the sirens sounded or not, but I know that the fires came up so quickly and spread so fast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Bill, you're on the ground. What are people telling you?

WEIR: That's what I hear again and again, is just the speed of this. Within minutes, less than minutes, the embers were blowing so fast, and people didn't have any sort of early warning system. We are hearing mixed reports of some people got some sort of alert on their phones similar to a tsunami warning, which they are used to here in the islands. But the speed of this.

And the escape routes are so limited. You have the upcountry, the mountainsides, you've got the ocean, and with just a few roads in between. And once the traffic was backed up there, people had nowhere to go. I talked to one gentleman, Bill Wyland, famous art gallery owner here, who escaped his gallery on a motorcycle. He thinks that made all the difference because he was able to go around some of the cars.

HARLOW: Bill Weir, we appreciate your reporting. We will keep watching throughout the day as the sun comes up there and they go into some of the buildings. Thank you. BLACKWELL: Joining us is a retired chief of the Maui Fire Department, Lionel Montalvo. Thank you for being with us. I want to start here with what we are learning about alerts and warnings. You say that there have been fires like this before. They were able to have been contained. How do the alerts and warnings play into the containment and minimizing the damage, and were there enough here?

LIONEL MONTALVO, LIVES IN MAUI AND HAS FAMILY IN LAHAINA: Yes, I'm not sure exactly how this event unfolded. In the past, we were fortunate enough to have the opportunity of sounding those alerts. So activating the alert system would simply require just a request on the radio or a phone call to the emergency management center.

HARLOW: Yes. That's a real question now. Was it working? Did those calls happen? I wonder what, chief, your response is to hearing from the mayor that they haven't gone in the buildings yet and what that means for the death toll.

MONTALVO: Yes, it's devastating, I'm sure, for all those involved and those what are doing the work out there. We are still in the process of waiting for assistance from the urban search and rescue units. That's coming in. We do have the National Guard. We do have the capability of doing it ourselves. But if you can imagine the department's limitation is one building. This is a whole village, many structures that need to be searched. And it's going to take some time.

BLACKWELL: We have learned about the communications problems that, to get -- speaking to people in the hotel zones and on the western side of the city. It must be, even as the mayor describes it, impossible to get a count of how many people are missing, to do the job when you can't even communicate with the parts of the island.

MONTALVO: That is so true. The communication, earlier when we were talking about the evacuation of the people, and you take into consideration the winds that were coming through there and the power poles, the utility poles that were knocked down, blocking the escape routes, so there were people stuck in their vehicles, as you mentioned earlier, and those routes were cut off. So, I mean, it's just devastating, the events as they unfolded, and everything happening so fast with the spread of the fire.

[08:10:04]

The communication itself is a nightmare. Once those phone lines go down, the cells, the cellphones get taken out. But you still have use of the radios for communication, emergency communication. And a lot more of those need to be activated and put into place, I think.

HARLOW: What about your family in Lahaina? Do they even know how their homes are? Are they all OK?

MONTALVO: We are OK and accounted for, my family. But of course, I do have people that -- friends and family that lost their homes. Yes, it's really devastating, as mentioned earlier. A lot of people that's unaccounted for that will still be, hopefully, found OK as people hang on to the little hope that they have as time goes by. BLACKWELL: Yes. Those teams are headed in from California and

Washington state. Chief, I can see the emotion on your face as you know these communities, you know these people well who are struggling. I thank you for your time. We wish the entire community there, the entire state well. Retired chief of the Maui Fire Department, Lionel Montalvo, thank you for your time.

MONTALVO: Thank you guys. Thank you for your concern.

BLACKWELL: All right, we will be joined shortly by a woman who is searching for her mother-in-law. She is not heard from her since her apartment was destroyed by the fire. So stay with us for that.

HARLOW: Yes, and just hours from now, former President Trump's legal team will be in a federal courtroom in Washington, D.C., for a hearing related to his case on efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The judge set the hearing to discuss exactly what the former president is allowed to say publicly about evidence related to the trial. This comes after his lawyers asked for the judge to set that hearing for next week as they deal with his busy legal calendar. Just yesterday, his team had to appear in court in Florida for his classified documents probe.

Our senior legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid joins us now. Well, they didn't get the delay they wanted. And will they get the answer they want in court today, that's the question.

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: This is going to be a fascinating hearing because this is the first time the defense attorneys and prosecutors are going to appear before the judge who is going to handle this case to an expected trial. The last hearing they had just a few days ago, that was handled by a magistrate judge. And today, both sides are going to make arguments about how they believe the rules should be set up regarding sensitive evidence that is shared in this case.

Prosecutors are advocating for a broad order protecting sensitive evidence and limiting the extent to which the former president and others can share information they learn in the lead-up to trial. But defense attorneys, they are advocating for something more limited. They're saying, look, you only need these rules for the most sensitive information here, and they also point out that that would be more in line with what has been imposed in other January 6th cases.

So it's going to be fascinating. I am going to be in the courtroom today. I am just watching to see how Judge Tanya Chutkan handles both sides. So far, one thing we've observed from the scheduling and the paperwork is that she is trying to move this along as quickly as possible. So I'll be in the courtroom. And I am just really interested to see what her demeanor is like, because this is likely to be the biggest case of her career.

BLACKWELL: Paula, before you go, the special counsel requested to have the trial start on January 2nd of 2024. Is there any chance that it's going to start so soon? REID: Yes, I don't know, Victor. Objectively, by any standard, that

would be very fast to take a case like this to trial. But prosecutors, they pointed at a unique situation we are in, and they say that that schedule would serve the public interest in moving this case along quickly before the election.

Now, I will point out that these would be the first two months of an election year. That's a time when primary voting would be underway for Republicans. And if they were to have the trial then, it would mean that candidate Trump would be in a courtroom, a federal courtroom for most of his weekdays.

Now, defense attorneys are also going to get to have their say. They have another week to put in their request for a possible time to do this trial. But one thing we have seen down in Florida is they are really keen to try to push any criminal trials until after the 2024 election. But the judge already has a hearing set for August 28th, and that's when she says she intends to set a date for this trial.

HARLOW: Paula Reid, we know you will be in there watching it all, reporting all day. We appreciate it. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: The first Republican primary debate is just 12 days away. Five candidates have fully qualified so far.

[08:15:00]

Someone who has not Donald Trump. Our next guest, Will Hurd. We'll ask him about those requirements, especially that loyalty pledge that he will not sign.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Welcome back. Some Republican candidates still racing to qualify for the party's first Presidential debate in less than two weeks. The RNC has three requirements to get on that stage. And as of this morning, five candidates have fully qualified. They have met the unique donor threshold. They've pulled well enough, and they've signed the pledge to support the party's eventual nominee.

They are Nikki Haley, Vivek Ramaswamy, Doug Burgum, Ron DeSantis and Tim Scott. The others you see on the screen have not yet met the requirements. They've two haven't signed the pledge. Former President Trump has said he won't sign it, DeSantis took a dig at him about that. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): There's no way that I would ever just take my ball and go home and pout. You got to continue to fight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Joining us now one of the Presidential hopefuls still scrambling to make the debate stage that is former Republican Congressman Will Hurd. Congressman, good morning. Thanks for being here. You have said adamantly, I am not signing it. I would never vote for Trump not going to happen. Even if it costs you a shot at the Presidency to be on that stage?

WILL HURD (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Yes, because I can't lie to get access to a microphone. What the American public want to see are people that have principles and a level of ideological consistency. My goal is to make sure we hit all the requirements and let's force this conversation about the debate pledge.

[08:20:00]

The GOP should be a party that thrives and appreciates a competition of ideas. We should have a diversity of thought there. And we also need more people on the debate stage that are willing and not afraid of Donald Trump. And are willing -- and willing to push him on all the crazy things that he's done, like wanting to run for President and stay out of jail.

And so, my goal is to continue to meet those thresholds. I got one more poll, we're close to the 40,000 individual donors from hoping some of your viewers, want to see someone like me on that stage and go to HurdforAmerica.com and donate at least $1.00. And in order to take that debate and have a competition of ideas in Milwaukee.

HARLOW: What do you say? What do you mean forced the conversation? The conversation is happening right now. Are you -- can you guarantee the American people if it comes to the 11th hour, you've met all the requirements, but for signing the loyalty pledge, you will not sign it?

HURD: I am not going to sign a loyalty pledge as is, all right? Like, I just I've said that --

HARLOW: OK.

HURD: Donald Trump's not going to sign it. The fact that Donald Trump is someone who created the loyalty plans, right? This was something that he forced on the RNC because he wanted all the other candidates to bend the knee to him. And he's not even willing to sign.

HARLOW: You said as is, what needs to change?

HURD: And so, that to me that --

HARLOW: You said as is.

HURD: Well, I'm not going to support Donald Trump. My issue.

HARLOW: OK.

HURD: My issue is not with -- my issue is not with supporting a Republican nominee.

HARLOW: All right.

HURD: My issue is with supporting Donald Trump. HARLOW: All right. Something tells me you're not going to get a carve out and this one that says but for Donald Trump. Let me move on to what Nikki Haley did. She signed it and then, she sort of taunted those of you who have not signed it, encouraging you to sign it.

But then she crossed out President Biden's name and wrote President Harris, referencing an increasing message within your party about the age of Biden and that it would likely be a Harris Presidency. Do you agree with her?

HURD: Well, you know, is that a possibility or likelihood and I think the, you know, maybe, but here's the reality. If we put anybody -- if we put -- if the GOP puts up Donald Trump as our nominee, it will be Joe Biden and Nikki and Vice President Harris for four more years. It's very clear that the country does not want to see Donald Trump or even Joe Biden.

We have an opportunity that's why it's important for us to put the right nominee who can grow the party, with women in the suburbs, with black and brown communities, people under the age of 35, that's the real opportunity. If we want to make sure that neither Joe Biden or Kamala Harris is in the White House.

HARLOW: Talking about the future of your party of what even the Republican Party is right now, Congressman. Earlier this week, we had renowned conservative former Federal Judge Michael Luttig on the program, he was central in advising Pence's legal team on January 6, against the President's fraud claims. Here's what he told me saying there is no Republican Party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J. MICHAEL LUTTIG, FORMER JUDGE, U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT: American democracy simply cannot function without two equally healthy and equally strong political parties. So, today, in my view, there is no Republican Party to counter the Democratic Party in the country. And for that reason, American democracy is in grave peril.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Is he right? There's no Republican Party.

HURD: Well, let's look at -- let's look at the facts since 2016, Republicans lost the House. And in 2018, we lost the White House and the Senate in 2020. In 2022, there should have been a red wave where Kevin McCarthy should have had 40 plus more members, and in a ruling majority, he only ended up with five.

So, the Republican Party has been underperforming and is -- and is -- and is shrinking rather than growing amongst the voters that we need to have. And part of it is because we're having debates about whether or not you should have classified documents in your bathroom, whether or not you should be forcing. And when you lose an election, you should be forcing State officials to change the ballot totals.

These are not the kinds of conversation that the American public want to see. I spoke with a -- with a woman last night, a mom last night and she says when Donald Trump comes on T.V., she has to change the channel because she doesn't want her kids speaking the way he speaks. She wants to teach her kids how to be a kind, a nice person, not a bully.

And the fact that a former President, you know, a mom has to do that when a former President comes on television. If we continue down this path, we're going to continue to lose. That's why we need to make sure we're having this debate in Milwaukee, and have a diversity of ideas, and I need you as help to get on that debate stage. So, please go to HurdforAmerica.com.

[08:25:07]

HARLOW: Congressman, I want to ask you about climate change. Look at what's happening in Hawaii right now. Look at what has happened all summer. I mean, you represent a huge represented, a huge swath of the border in Texas, where we've seen the most extreme heat in the history. I mean, according to the Texas Tribune, you had temps at above a hundred degrees, 250 times there.

HURD: Yes.

HARLOW: Austin, wasn't part of your district.

HURD: Yes.

HARLOW: But a streak of 34 straight days above a hundred.

HURD: Sure.

HARLOW: If you were President, would you do what President Biden has not done yet? And declare a climate emergency?

HURD: Well, look, climate change is real, climate change is affecting all of us, you know, to be impacted by climate change, you just have to be human. One of the things you didn't mention is like the Gulf of Mexico. The water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico have been outrageous. Phoenix, I think, for the first time in history was a city that averaged over a hundred degrees for an entire month. We haven't seen that.

The unfortunate pictures of what's happening in Maui right now. And all these things -- all these things are impacted. We can address the climate and economic move forward economically, at the same time.

HARLOW: But.

HURD: That's going to require us to double down on technologies. And so, yes, climate change -- climate change is real, climate changes is humans, you know, having an impact on this.

HARLOW: OK.

HURD: And this is not something that America can solve alone. We got to be working -- we got to be working with our allies and our enemies. HARLOW: Just a yes, or no? Would you be declaring a climate emergency?

HURD: To be frank, Poppy, like what declaring a climate emergency, how that changes? How I would affect the, you know, focus on this issue is immaterial. It's -- this is a major -- this is a major problem that we should be focusing our time, energy and effort on. And that would be something, that would be a priority.

HARLOW: Presidential Republican candidate, Congressman Will Hurd. We'll keep watching closely, maybe see you on the debate stage. Thanks very much.

HURD: Thank you, Poppy.

HARLOW: You got it, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Five Americans held by Iran including the men that you will see here are a step closer to freedom. What we know about the negotiations that move them from prison to House arrest, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)