Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

45th President Becomes the First Ever with Mug Shot; Putin Comments on Wagner Boss' Death; New York Governor Seeks Help with Migrants; PGA Tour Bakes under Scorching Heat. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired August 25, 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]

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Let's start with you and how this is viewed. I don't know, are you - you worked so long in that office, and you worked with Fani Willis too.

CLINT RUCKER, FORMER FULTON COUNTY PROSECUTOR, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, that's right.

HARLOW: Have you had conversations with them just about how they think this whole process is going, their reaction to the former president capitalizing, fundraising off of their efforts?

RUCKER: Well, certainly I've got a great relationship with the current district attorney after knowing her - knowing her for so many years. And we do speak on occasion personally. Not lately, however, because she's been quite busy, as you might understand.

And certainly her ethical oath would prevent her from really divulging much about what is going on during the course of their investigation and the preparation of this case. And so I certainly understand it. I respect it. And so there have been no details released to me personally with regards to the case.

I can tell you that it is a little unusual to see the former president trying to capitalize financially on his current position, you know.

HARLOW: Yes.

RUCKER: It's a little ironic, I guess, for me personally because I've heard so many public comments by him that he is actually quite wealthy. To think that he would actually have to fundraise in order to mount a legal defense is just a little odd to me.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, he's been passing off those legal costs for years now and to his supporters and for a period the Republican National Committee, who was supporting him in those costs.

Let's talk about what's coming very soon. This first trial of Kenneth Chesebro, who initially the request from the DA was for March of 2024. Kenneth Chesebro's attorney said, I want a speedy trial, which forced the hand of the DA to schedule, what, by the end of November?

JEREMY SALAND, FORMER MANHATTAN PROSECUTOR: Well, by the beginning of November.

BLACKWELL: Beginning of November.

SALAND: To set the term, right, that second term.

But, you know, as we were discussing before, the expectation likely was that there was no way DA Willis and her team was going to be ready to proceed -

BLACKWELL: It was expected to be a bluff.

SALAND: A bluff. And when that bluff was called, that's problematic.

As I - you know, I was a prosecutor as well, and I'm a criminal defense attorney now. Very often with these felony indictments, the time is your friend. What can happen? There's many intervening factors. Maybe a witness doesn't become available anymore or there's a change in that testimony or some intervening factor that we don't even -- can't even contemplate. So, time is often your friend. There's no advantage, especially with this magnitude of evidence that's likely in testimony and what is going to be presented from discovery, that push that forward so aggressively.

BLACKWELL: But what's the strategy behind a bluff even?

SALAND: Well, you hope that they're not ready and prepared. And if they're not ready and prepared and there's so many moving pieces -

BLACKWELL: Yes.

SALAND: That can favor you as a defendant. Absolutely.

JEN JORDAN, FORMER GEORGIA STATE SENATOR: Yes, but, part of the issue is that this is - this is a particular thing under Georgia law. If Fani Willis' office wasn't ready and could not go to trial, Mr. Chesebro would be acquitted -

SALAND: Right.

JORDAN: As a matter of law.

HARLOW: Wait, explain that more. So, if she can't get this -

JORDAN: If she can't get this done -

HARLOW: By the 23rd of October --

JORDAN: Right, by the 23rd of October or by the 1st of November, if she can't start trial by then, he automatically gets a pass.

HARLOW: That is so interesting.

SALAND: Statutory. Yes.

JORDAN: It's statutory. So - and it's meant to mirror kind of the protections under the Constitution. So, whether she was ready -- HARLOW: For defendants.

JORDAN: Right.

HARLOW: Right.

JORDAN: Whether she was ready or not, they're going to have to go. And so that's why it's kind of an interesting move by her attorneys, specifically her attorney Scott Grubman.

HARLOW: Is this though -- is this the preview then, Mario, to what the bigger trial will look like? I know Chesebro's a different defendant, but he's part of the alleged fraud. Part of the alleged conspiracy.

MARIO PARKER, NATIONAL POLITICS TEAM LEADER, "BLOOMBERG": Yes. And for -- at least for Trump at least, Trump would love to -- his legal strategy has always been to delay, delay, delay, right?

HARLOW: Yes.

PARKER: That gives him time. The closer we get to the presidential election, that kind of gives him even more juice, if you will, to say that this is election interference, to put prosecutors in a tough position, if you will.

HARLOW: But his lawyers can watch what those prosecutors do in this case against Chesebro and they're going to see a lot more that may be very useful for their case, when their client is tried.

PARKER: Yes, that's -- that would - they -- I mean essentially giving him more ammo, that would help, right? But, again, I think from at least talking to sources within the Trump camp -

HARLOW: Yes.

PARKER: They would like to see this go as far back as to the -- the 2024 election, at least closer to it, just to help their political argument as well.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

Patricia, out to you. The Mark Meadows of it all, former chief of staff here, he's trying to have his case, first step, removed to federal court and then he lost his appeal to - or his attempt to try to stop from getting that mug shot and being booked.

[06:35:02]

The larger picture and the influence on this story, this is a member of Congress who could have kept that - that seat for as long as potentially he wanted, went to the White House, was on this call. The line is, were you just connecting the president to the secretary of state, or were you advocating and were you part then of this conspiracy?

PATRICIA MURPHY, POLITICAL REPORTER, "THE ATLANTA JOURNAL- CONSTITUTION": Yes. That also was not the only time that Mark Meadows was involved in this entire process.

BLACKWELL: Sure.

MURPHY: He actually showed up in Cobb County unexpectedly when they were doing a signature audit, showed up outside the doors to the point that election workers had to say, I'm sorry, Mr. Meadows, we can't let you in to see this process because you're a part of one of the campaigns.

He also was a part of connecting people behind the scenes. We feel like he's played a very large role behind the scenes, connecting Trump campaign people with state senators, state representatives, all trying to move their case forward to overturn the election here in Georgia.

So, he certainly was acting at the behest of the president. Whether or not that was in a federal capacity or a campaign capacity. Fani Willis has already said that he was violating portions of the Hatch Act, which would have kept him out of a role of the campaign, even while he was doing that. So, all of this needs to be sorted out. But it was not at all just limited to that phone call with Raffensperger.

HARLOW: Thank you, all, for your expertise, your perspective. I certainly learned a lot. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: In Louisiana, wildfires are forcing people to evacuate their homes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From this fire they've already found embers that are still lit 20 miles away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: A look at the efforts to contain those flames, ahead.

And next, what U.S. intel is now saying about the Russian mercenary leader Prigozhin and the plane that crashed near Moscow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:41:01]

BLACKWELL: Russian President Vladimir Putin is memorializing Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin as a talented man who made serious mistakes. His first public comments come just one day after the mercenary chief's presumed death in a fiery plane crash near Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, Russian PRESIDENT (through translator): I knew Prigozhin for a very long time, since the early '90s. He was a man of difficult fate.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLACKWELL: Russian officials say flight data shows the plane reached 28,000 feet before it stopped transmitting. Prigozhin's apparent death comes exactly two months after he led a briefed armed uprising against Russia's military leaders.

CNN's Matthew Chance is live in St. Petersburg there in Russia at a memorial for Prigozhin.

So, beyond talented man who made serious mistakes, what else did he say?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, he said that there was going to be an investigation underway, and that that investigation was underway and it would be a full one to try and get to the bottom of what actually happened. The -- you know, the incident that brought that plane down where Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of Wagner, was apparently on board, according to the passenger manifest. And so there's not absolute confirmation yet, you know, officially that he's dead, but clearly his name is on the list. Everybody on board was killed.

But, I mean, look at this makeshift memorial that's sprung up here in St. Petersburg, which is, of course, where Prigozhin was from. It's actually outside the building which is the headquarters of the Wagner organization. And people are streaming through, laying sort of flowers like this, putting photographs of Prigozhin. There's one there. It says, in Russia, it says in this hell he was the best. And so people talking about him, of course, very much in the past tense.

Over here, if we look, Wagner arm patches. Wagner chevrons here that have been put all over the place. You're seeing a lot of people, family members of people who are in Wagner, Wagner soldiers themselves coming here to pay their respects.

This woman here, I don't know whether she speaks English.

(Speaking in foreign language)

She's not - a lot of people don't want to speak to us. It's not a very - this is quite solemn situation.

There's another photograph of Prigozhin over there.

This is very interesting because somebody here, look, has put this really heavy, really heavy sledgehammer here with - with Wagner written on it. The sledgehammer, of course, a potent symbol of the extreme violence that Wagner represented. And it's (INAUDIBLE) because it was with a sledgehammer like that, that someone they regarded as a traitor was brutally executed with on camera and it really kind of like bolstered this reputation that Wagner had as being this, you know, completely ruthless organization that did whatever it felt it had to, to - to fight for Russia.

And so you're seeing a whole stream of people. There's someone doing it right here. Look, a whole stream of people that are coming out now, paying their respects to Yevgeny Prigozhin, a man who was, you know, I think it -- for lots of Russians, he said a lot of things about the incompetence of the Russian military that many people in Russia agreed with.

And so I think one of the big questions right now is -- come - come a bit closer. One of the big questions right now is, you know, to what extent his death, when he's confirmed to be dead, will actually bolster his reputation, or whether, you know, this will end up to be a forgotten chapter in Russia's recent turbulence history. And so that's - that's a question we don't know the answer to yet, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Some important context and really interesting to show us around where people have brought there to this memorial.

[06:45:01]

Let's talk about the investigation. It's early on in the investigation into the crash, but what do we know right now?

CHANCE: Well, we don't know a lot. We know this Embraer Legacy 600 private jet climbed to an altitude of 28,000 feet on its regular flight path from Moscow to St. Petersburg, here, this city here. And it disappeared from radar at, you know, I think it was 13 minutes past 11:00 local time -- 6:00 local time, 30 minutes past 6:00 local time. And, you know, we don't know much else apart from that.

There's been an official passenger list that's been put out. There were three crew on board and seven members of Wagner. Not just the name of Yevgeny Prigozhin, but also someone called Dmitry Utkin, you may not have heard of, but he was the founder of the Wagner group, and a few other people as well, the head of security for the organization, senior ranking commanders of Wagner as well.

It's not known yet what caused the crash. There has been lots of speculation about whether it was a bomb, whether it was antiaircraft fire, whether it was something else. The Russian authorities say that's the purpose of the investigation, to get to the bottom of that. But, you know, I think the suspicions are very clear. I mean it was just two months - well, it was two months to the day after Prigozhin launched the biggest challenge to Vladimir Putin's authority in 23 years. Putin himself called it treachery. He called it a stab in the back for Russia and said it wouldn't go unpunished. And so I think many people believe it's a direct consequence of that, that this crash occurred.

BLACKWELL: Matthew Chance with some excellent reporting there for us from St. Petersburg, thank you.

Poppy.

HARLOW: That really is - really is remarkable to see.

All right, now to this next. What the governor of New York is demanding President Biden do about the influx of migrants to her state.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [06:50:20]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D-NY): I issued a letter to the Biden administration formally requesting that it take executive action to address New York's migrant crisis.

This crisis originated with the federal government, and it must be resolved through the federal government.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: That's New York Governor Kathy Hochul. She's ramping up pressure on the Biden administration for an executive order to help with the wave of more than 100,000 asylum seekers who have arrived in New York City. Hochul says that she's requesting federal funding and space to shelter newcomers and a federal order to speed up legal work for permits for asylum seekers and more.

CNN's Polo Sandoval joins us now.

So, why this request now?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, what we've reached now is a very uncomfortable point for Democrats now where you have New York Governor Kathy Hochul really increasing the pressure and the heat on her fellow Democrat in the White House with her letter specifically addressed to President Joe Biden. She says in that letter that the government's response has been falling short, and calling on executive action from the commander in chief on at least four fronts. I'll break them down for you.

At the very top of the list is, of course, is work authorization that we've been talking about since the beginning of this migrant crisis. But also to help fund not only housing, but also the National Guard response that we've seen over the last year and a half.

And you also see on the list there more -- access to more federal facilities to set up as temporary shelters for some of these asylum seekers.

But that number one item is on top of the list for a reason. I have heard time and time again from sources here in New York City that the work authorization issue, that remains the primary exit strategy to try to get the roughly 59,000 individuals that are still in the city's care out of shelters. And it's something that, as you're about to hear from Governor Hochul, she also echoed that point as she punted to Biden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOCHUL: The mayor and I said that and in countless meetings with Congress, the White House, cabinet members, at rallies with labor, press conferences and working with business. What we've said all along is just let them work and help us out financially. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Yes, obviously, New York gets the bulk of the attention here because of the overwhelming numbers. But we have heard from Democratic leaders in Colorado, we have heard from Democratic leaders in Massachusetts as well echoing the same call that you just played for our viewers, coming from Governor Hochul, that this is a federal issue that requires a federal solution.

The White House, for its part, maintains that it stays in constant communications with these cities to get resources but punts the ball to Congress. And we know how that may or may not actually work. So, this is an issue that's not going away.

HARLOW: So, Biden couldn't just do this and then there would be the work authorizations?

SANDOVAL: At this point we haven't heard that from the White House. And this is an issue that's not going away. It's only going to make it more uncomfortable for Democrats at the state, local and, as we just saw, federal level.

HARLOW: As long it takes. Being uncomfortable with those in your own party to get something done.

SANDOVAL: Yes.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

HARLOW: We'll see. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Polo.

SANDOVAL: Thanks, guys.

HARLOW: Millions of Americans facing not just very high temperatures, but dangerously oppressive heat today. You got triple digit temps across the south. When relief is coming, that's ahead.

BLACKWELL: And coverage of this historic moment continues. Donald Trump becomes the first president with a mug shot. We're live outside his Bedminster golf course with what he's planning to do next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:57:25]

HARLOW: The best of the best, competing in pro golf in the 2023 PGA tour championship in Atlanta. The final 30 players battling for the top prize, staggering $18 million, by the way. But the heat will not help them out on the golf course today. Atlanta heat indices topping 100 degrees almost every day of this tournament.

Our meteorologist Derek Van Dam live on the East Lake Golf Course in Atlanta with more.

Not getting any better, right?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS CERTIFIED METEOROLOGIST: Yes, don't let this picturesque scene on the 10th hole deceive you or our viewers at home. The air here is thick. You can almost cut it with a knife. And temperatures here at East Lake in Atlanta could challenge records in this particular location.

This is the same heat wave that's literally broken hundreds of records this week, impacting over 100 million Americans. Chicago, yesterday, your mercury in the thermometer climbed to 100 degrees for the first time in a decade, even set an all-time record for heat index values. Just impossible to escape this heat.

This tournament used to be held in November. Better believe me, the players are wishing that that was the case, but it hasn't been since the early 2000s.

I talked to the executive director of the PGA Tour Championship. He said he wants the athletes to focus on the prize money, $18 million, not being dehydrated or overheated. They've done all kinds of heat mitigation efforts, from cooling stations, to sunscreen stations, to even ice boxes and cool towels at all the tee locations - tee off locations for the players.

Now, we spoke to a Georgia native, Brian Harman. He is the 2023 British Open champion. And you think that he's used to the heat here. Find out what he had to say to the press yesterday about playing in this type of weather.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN HARMAN, PROFESSIONAL HARMAN: You would think it would be a little bit of an advantage, but maybe the heat, being in it for so long, has worn you down. I'm not sure yet. It never seems to get easy to play in heat like this. The tour's done a really nice job with some amendments to the tee boxes with some cold towels and stuff and some more hydration stuff.

We watch a lot more fans go down than players and caddies. So, the fans that are coming out, they need to be really careful because you can get in a lot of trouble out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAN DAM: Poppy, you've got to see this. This is called the Cool Mitt Device. New technology that cools the internal core body temperature of the athletes. It's set up at every three holes on this tour championship course. Incredible. I've got my hand in it, and it's cool to the touch. It literally can drop your internal body temperature in a matter of seconds.

HARLOW: Wow.

VAN DAM: So, helping regulate the players here on the field, as well as the spectators.

HARLOW: Kind of -

[07:00:02]

VAN DAM: Yes, I've never seen something like it.

HARLOW: Well, it's kind of like those heating things you use in your gloves. You're from Atlanta, you don't know, but -

BLACKWELL: Do I have to be a member of the PGA Tour to get one of those?