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Idalia Now a Category 1 Hurricane as it Aims for Florida's Gulf Coast; More Video Released After Three Black People Killed in Jacksonville; Meadows Testifies in Bid to Move Georgia Case to Federal Court. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired August 29, 2023 - 07:00   ET

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

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Storm surge warnings.

[07:00:00]

Right now, Western Cuba is feeling the brunt of the storm. Then the track puts Idalia coming on shore, well north of Tampa in Florida's Big Bend. But, and this is a critical reminder particularly in this moment, a small shift in the track could put that population center more at risk.

Now, Sara arrived just a few hours ago in Clearwater, Florida. And, Sara, some parts of Florida will start feeling the impacts soon. What have you been seeing since you've been on the ground?

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: We've been seeing people leaving because they have been warned this is going to get really nasty really quickly. We're talking about a major storm surge as well as high winds.

There are now 14 counties that have been told to evacuate. Those are mandatory evacuations for people. 32 school districts are closing down. People are warning -- the authorities here warning in Pinellas County, in particular, to make sure that you make your plan now and leave soon as this storm approaches because it will likely not stay as a Category 1. We are expecting it to grow as it hits that very warm water which fuels this storm. There is also always the potential of tornadic activity as well.

There are plenty of places people can go. But right now, they're saying get out of these zones where the storm surge could be dangerously high.

Let's bring in Derek Van Dam, who is standing right next to me. We're standing and this is the confusing thing for a lot of people, especially visitors who are not familiar with what happens in a hurricane. You look behind you and it looks like paradise because it is. It is absolutely gorgeous. But in a split second as these bands come, you can get slapped with very high winds and the rushing water.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, especially that this coastline is so vulnerable to the storm surge, and we're going to get into all the details about that. But, Sara, it is literally off to the races for Hurricane Idalia. It is now into the open waters of the warm Gulf of Mexico. And we talk about that being jet fuel because water temperatures there are literally two to upwards of four degrees Fahrenheit above where they should be this time of year. So, that is just going to aid in this intensification process.

And you can see on my graphics, there's the hurricane there. And it's got a general northerly trajectory and it's moving at quite a clip, 14 miles per hour. And that's significant because that means it's going to bring those first rain bands onto the west coast of the Florida Peninsula here in the coming hours.

Here's a look at that storm surge. And I want to show you that red area we are highlighting. Basically, that is the most vulnerable coastline in all of America to storm surge. 8 to 12 feet in Cedar Key. They talk about Hurricane Hermine back in 2016, which was a Category 1 that brought six feet of storm surge. This will be a Category 3 upon its arrival and that will likely bring catastrophic storm surge to Cedar Key and those general areas as well.

I'm very concerned about Clearwater. Four to seven feet is the official projection here. But what makes this coastline so vulnerable, Sara, is the fact that it is so shallow. You could literally walk from where we are standing now to the beach directly behind us and you'll walk into the water for several hundred yards and you'll only get up to your waist at best.

So, that water literally has to go somewhere. It is going to be pushed up by this approaching storm system that is accelerating and strengthening and that is the concern. So, many people focus on the winds. Yes, that's a threat, but the storm surge is the number one killer during a hurricane.

SIDNER: I think people that understand anyone who's jumped in the water and gotten tumbled by a wave, this is that kind of power, but it's coming at you very, very quickly with the power of a hurricane fueling it. And so that's what people need to know, even though right now we are in the calm before the storm hits.

Someone who is experiencing some of those outer bands this morning is Patrick Oppmann. He is in Havana, Cuba, which has experienced some of this storm as a tropical storm.

You just -- you got knocked off the air earlier today because of one of those bands coming in. Tell us what happened. Tell us how powerful it was.

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, I arrived where I am behind me in Old Havana, and I thought, I don't think I'm going to need to put on my raincoat this morning. The skies were clear. I didn't feel even the slightest bit of wind. And then all of a sudden, one of the outer bands of this storm came, knocked over our tripod, knocked over our lights. We had to come and take refuge inside of this building behind me. And so, you know, it just could change absolutely in a minute.

We all got soaked. And now you're seeing people struggling. They have to work, people having trouble driving on the street.

And, again, we're on the edge of this storm. It did not make landfall on Cuba. It skirted the westernmost coast of Cuba. Cuba really missed a bullet here. But Florida is not going to be so lucky. So, people need to make preparations. People need to take care because even on the outer edge of this storm.

[07:05:00]

You can have a wind gust come in. We've seen some trees knocked off so far this morning. That can be really, really dangerous. About 8,000 people have had to evacuate so far here in Cuba. And, again, we're going (INAUDIBLE) but Florida will not be so lucky.

And we're just feeling the wind pick up. We're seeing some flooding already, and it has been quite a change in just the space of about an hour. If you're not prepared really (INAUDIBLE) forces, winds and rain need to make those preparations, because, when it comes, it will be too late.

SIDNER: That is always really good advice. Patrick Oppmann, thank you for being out there for us. Thank you to your crew as well.

And for people that don't know Derek Van Dam, who is here with me tracking the storm, how heavy those tripods are, those are hefty things. If the winds can blow that over and it's not even a hurricane at the time, it's just the outer band of a tropical storm. We are talking about some real power here, especially as it hits that warm water, as you have said.

We are waiting here. Yes, it's beautiful. Yes, it looks like somewhere that you want to be, and you do, except this is going to change fairly quickly and people are being told here in Pinellas County and 13 other counties to get to a safer space. Mandatory evacuations underway right now.

We're going to keep you updated about all of this. We will be watching the storm here with Derek Van Dam as it comes through, and we will be here as it inches ever closer and as that storm grows. Phil?

MATTINGLY: All right. Sara, Derek, the team on the ground both in Cuba and down in Florida, we're going to get back to you guys shortly. Keeping a very close eye on that.

But we want to stay in Florida for another critically important story, the racist attack in Jacksonville, Florida. The sheriff's office releasing new surveillance video of the gunman who killed three black Americans Saturday at a Dollar General.

Now the suspect can be seen entering the store, you're watching it right here, armed with an AR-15-style rifle and wearing a tactical vest. Authorities say his weapons were purchased legally and he left behind a manifesto filled with hateful and racist ideology.

CNN's Isabel Rosales is live for us in Jacksonville, Florida. And, Isabel, at this point, what are officials learning about the shooter as they've taken more days to investigate this?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Phil, good morning to you. Authorities through video surveillance, they are tracking the shooter's every movement on the day of the shooting, including the moment he donned that tactical vest. We're also learning this Dollar General was not his first stop.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSALES (voice over): The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office revealing new details about the gunman, 21-year-old Ryan Palmeter. According to investigators, he worked at a Dollar Tree store last year. And authorities have now tracked his movements on the day of the shooting.

Newly released surveillance videos show he first stopped at a Family Dollar, five minutes away from the store where the shooting took place.

SHERIFF T.K. WATERS, JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA: So, it looks like he wanted to take action at the Family Dollar. That's what it looks like. And he did not, because I think he got impatient and got tired waiting.

ROSALES: He then drove to Edward Waters University, a historically black institution. There, he donned this tactical vest.

The final video shows deputies inside the Jacksonville Dollar General after the shooter ended his 11-minute racist rampage. Investigators believe this is the moment he took his own life.

At the university, Lieutenant Antonio Bailey hailed a hero for chasing off the gunmen when he entered the parking lot of the school on Saturday.

DR. A. ZACHARY FAISON JR., PRESIDENT AND CEO, EDWARD WATERS UNIVERSITY: He could have gone anywhere. It's not by happenstance. It's not just on a whim that he chose to come to Florida's first historically black college or university.

ROSALES: According to Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters, police have not reported finding any firm evidence the suspect intended to attack the university.

LT. ANTONIO BAILEY, EDWARD WATERS UNIVERSITY POLICIE: There were students that stopped me in the parking lot and advised that there were gunmen.

ROSALES: The shooter drove off after being approached by Bailey.

BAILEY: To me, the students that -- we preach the same saying every day, you see something, say something. And the students, they saw, they said, and I was able to approach that vehicle. I was definitely saddened that is indeed tragic.

(END VIDEOTAPE) ROSALES (on camera): And I've been texting with Ashley Carr, the daughter of one of the victims, Angela Carr. She tells me that her mother was an Uber driver who was dropping off someone at this Dollar General when that shooter fired eleven rounds into her car, killing her.

Now, it's unclear whether she was dropping off someone that she knew at the time or whether this was a passenger. And Ashley says this about her mother. My mother, quote, was an incredible woman. She was fearless and thoughtful, rough, yet gentle.

[07:10:00]

My family lost the light, but gained a star.

And, Phil, in a moment of just incredible grace, she said this to the shooter's parents, that she sends them prayers and condolences because they, too, lost somebody. They lost their son. And she says this, although his actions were malicious, I don't blame them. Phil?

MATTINGLY: that's remarkable and poignant. Isabel, thanks so much for sharing that with us.

And ahead, what new CNN report boarding is revealing about an ISIS smuggler's ties to the U.S./Mexico border.

Plus, a judge has set the date for the trial over Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election. That date is March 4th, one day before primary voters in more than a dozen states head to the polls.

And we're going to take you back out live to Clearwater, Florida, where the city and the state's Big Bend are bracing for Hurricane Idalia. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:15:00]

MATTINGLY: We are keeping an eye on Hurricane Idalia. We'll get back down to Florida momentarily.

But we do want to focus this morning on two major developments in the criminal cases against former President Donald Trump. In Georgia, Trump's former White House chief of staff taking the stand, arguing he was only acting in the capacity of his role as chief of staff.

[07:15:02]

This was the first major hearing since the indictment of Trump, Meadows and 17 others. Now, what ultimately happens could apply to all 19 defendants.

Then, in the federal election subversion case against Trump, Judge Tanya Chutkan setting a March 4th trial date for next year, rejecting both the proposal from the Justice Department and from Trump's legal team for the times they requested to start on social media. On social media, Trump claimed he's going to appeal the March 4th date of the criminal trial, where he's accused of staging a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election, and a Trump spokesperson echoing the former president, calling it, quote, an abuse of the American justice system.

But over the weekend, his own attorney saying, hey, Trump doesn't need much time to prepare.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALINA HABBA, TRUMP ATTORNEY: What is he going to have to be prepped for? The truth? You don't have to prep much when you've done nothing wrong. So, that I'm not concerned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: You know, as I bring in Elie Honig, what's interesting is that's the exact opposite of what we heard over and over and over from Trump's lawyer yesterday in Judge Tanya Chutkan's courtroom. So, a little misalignment on the messaging, to some degree.

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, the lawyers may want to coordinate the message better. But yesterday, to be clear, was a big win for DOJ and a loss for Donald Trump. DOJ had asked for this trial to start in January of 2024, four or so months from now. Donald Trump's team wanted it in April of 2026, two and a half years from now. Judge Chutkan came down right about there, March of 2024, about six or seven months from now.

Now, Trump's team had argued, we've been given over 12 million pages of documents that we have to review. We need more time. But the judge bought DOJ's argument. They said, look, we've streamlined this for them. We've identified the main documents. They can word search this. They can get it done. Judge Chutkan and basically said, hey, get to work. The American public needs to see this.

Now, as you said, Phil, Donald Trump immediately disregard all this blather. All that matters here is he said, I will appeal. Now, he's almost certainly not going to be able to successfully appeal this right now.

MATTINGLY: Why not?

HONIG: This would be what we call an interlocutory appeal, meaning the trial hasn't yet happened. You don't yet have a verdict. In order to do that, you need special permission from a court, probably not going to get it to appeal a trial. It's almost impossible to appeal a trial date. But if there's a trial and a verdict of guilty, Donald Trump certainly will get to appeal. And you can bet that this trial date will be one of the issues.

MATTINGLY: After the fact?

HONIG: After the fact, exactly. That's the normal course of appeals. MATTINGLY: Okay. So, I want to take to the other trial down in Georgia. You had Mark Meadows testify. I think everybody was stunned to some degree. We just haven't heard from him, putting him on the stand. Was it a gamble?

HONIG: I was surprised. Yes, I think it was a gamble. So, the issue here, Mark Meadows is trying to get the Fulton County state level case moved over into federal court. Meadows has to show that he was acting under color of his federal office as White House chief of staff. And in order to make that showing, he took the stand and he testified. I think this was an important quote. He said, there is a role for the chief of staff to make sure that those campaign goals and objectives are implemented at the federal level.

He basically said there's not a clear line between what I was doing politically and what I was doing in my official job as chief of staff. That's the nature of the job.

MATTINGLY: And really hate on the Hatch Act there.

HONIG: Yes. I mean, exactly. It's an unusual argument.

Now, the prosecution called Brad Raffensperger, who said straight up it was a campaign call. The judge is going to have to decide this one.

MATTINGLY: So I do want to ask you about this. Yes, the calendar. We do this, I feel like, every day, because it's important to note that everything is stacking up in a huge, huge, politically problematic way.

HONIG: It's so important to know this, and it changes every day as well.

Okay. So, now, we have the January 6th federal trial scheduled to begin in March. That's going to go certainly through April. But let's also remember, the Manhattan hush money case is also scheduled to go in March. That's going to through April. And Fani. Willis has asked to try her later group of defendants in Georgia at the same time. I mean, that's not going to happen. That's new definition of March Madness. You're not going to have three trials happening at once.

Now, here's how I think this is likely to play out. We know that the federal judge and the state judge talk to each other. Nothing wrong with that. It happens all the time when there's conflicting --

MATTINGLY: Yes, Judge Chutkan said it yesterday.

HONIG: Exactly. No scandal there. It happens all the time. What usually happens here, the state cases will get pushed. The federal case takes precedent. I think that will leave us with the January 6th trial starting March 4th. That's going to take a few months. That's going to take us to April into May.

But let's remember the Mar-a-Lago trial in Florida, Jack Smith's other case, that will start in May and take us through to July. That is a five-month stretch. Phil, you don't need me to tell you what's happening politically from March to July of 2024.

MATTINGLY: Tuesday, Georgia. primary, winner take all primaries, including Florida. That's just in March.

HONIG: Exactly. And Trump has got to be physically in the courtroom for these. These are criminal trials.

MATTINGLY: This is the reality, not just the P.R. and the optics. Elie Honig, as always, thank you, my friend. Sara, I want to toss it back to you, keeping a very close eye on what's happening down in Florida.

SIDNER: Yes. We are waiting for this storm to arrive here in the state of Florida. It is right now a Category 1, but that is likely to change because it is going to go over that very hot water of the Gulf of Mexico.

[07:20:01]

In just a bit, we will be speaking with the FEMA administrator about the preparations that are underway and what they will be doing to make sure that people are able to be safe as this storm inches ever closer to the west coast of Florida, that's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MATTINGLY: Well, welcome back, where we are continuing to track what is now Hurricane Idalia. It changed from a tropical storm to a hurricane, a Category 1 hurricane, overnight. It looks like it's going to continue to strengthen potentially to a Category 3 hurricane.

We have Sara Sidner on the ground in Clearwater Beach, Florida. And, Sara, you've got a pretty critical guest that you're about to speak to.

SIDNER: Yes. We are going to be talking to the FEMA administrator as this storm inches closer and closer to Florida. We've already seen some of those outer bands hitting Cuba that he did not take a direct hit from the hurricane. The hurricane -- the tropical storm strengthened to a hurricane around 5:00 A.M.

I'm standing here with Derek Van Dam, who has been tracking and watching the storm as it gets closer. Right now, though, it's a false -- false beautiful. That's not a thing. But it is so beautiful. And a lot of people see these pictures, and they think, oh, I'm going to go down to the beach, oh, this is going to be an incredible day.

[07:25:01]

And it is an incredible day until it isn't.

And when it isn't, we are talking about major storm surge, which is the most dangerous, most deadly thing. We could see the waters just rise up many feet. And because we're in a place here that is very flat, there's nothing to stop the surge from really powering through, it is extremely important that you listen to the authorities who are telling you in 14 counties to evacuate to get to a safer space.

As you are watching the storm, Derek, just give us some sense of timing here so that people understand what they need to do in order to get out of this potentially really huge storm surge.

VAN DAM: Look, we're already starting to see some of the first outer rain bands reach the West Coast, the Florida Peninsula. It's close. It is now in the open waters of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico. We talk about how that's going to primate for strengthening and deepening. So, we anticipate that. And that is what we're seeing on all the radar and satellite that we've noticed.

So what will happen, what people should expect this morning as these bands approach the coastline, then you'll get the tropical storm force gusts. It's only later tonight and then certainly into the day tomorrow where we get the hurricane onset of the winds. But that's going to be closer to the Big Bend of Florida, the Apalachicola Coast to down to the Cedar Key region. And that's the area that's most prone to storm surge.

SIDNER: And the Cedar Key region is being told to get out now because they could be completely inundated when this storm makes its way right onto land.

Let's go now to our FEMA administrator who is standing by live for us. Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

Can you give us a sense of how FEMA is preparing? I know that FEMA has, for many years, faced some criticism for not engaging as quickly as possible. We saw in the wildfires, for example, in Maui, FEMA showing up immediately and being there on the ground. What are your plans for this particular hurricane, which is at a Category 1 now, but expected to grow quite strong as the hours go on?

DEANNE CRISWELL, FEMA ADMINISTRATOR: Good morning, Sara. Yes, we have been engaged with Florida's Emergency Management Department for several days now. We've also been in touch with our officials in Georgia as well as North Carolina and South Carolina, as they will also feel some impacts from this.

Our preparation getting ready for this has been to move our resources in. We have urban search and rescue teams that are on standby to support the state with any life-saving needs that they have. We have the Army Corps of Engineers ready to support any power generation missions that they might need. We have teams that are ready to go out into the community door-to-door to help understand what the impacts are after the storm passes and it's safe to do so.

And so we will continue to move forces in to be ready to respond at Florida's request to come in after the storm passes to begin helping with any life-saving and then beginning any recovery efforts as needed.

SIDNER: We are looking at the map right now, right next to your thing, places like Port St. Lucy and Tampa, Cedar Key, a lot of area covered by this hurricane potentially. Can you give us some sense of what residents in these places should be doing in case they have major damage? Should they be taking pictures? What should they be bringing with them to make sure that they are safe and that their property is potentially safe in all of this?

CRISWELL: I think the most important thing right now for all Floridians is to make sure that they know where they're at and what their risk is going to be as it relates to this storm. It is a Category 1 now. We expect it to intensify and we expect it to make landfall as possibly a Category 3. But it's also the storm surge that's so significant.

And so the first thing that I just want to tell everybody in Florida is listen to your local officials. If they ask you to evacuate, please do so. And it doesn't mean you have to go hundreds of miles. It could just be 10 or 20 miles inland to get out of that main area.

If you are asked to evacuate, definitely take your important documents with you so you have those. So, after you go back in and it's safe to go back in and you start to assess the damage, you have all of your important documents, like insurance papers and identification, to be able to start a recovery process.

SIDNER: I think it's really important to mention, we all remember August 29th, 2005, when Hurricane Katrina hit, and that storm was a Category 3. But it was the water that was the story. It was the water, the breaking of the dams that was the story there. Is this storm going to be the same, in other words, the storm surge, the most dangerous thing for people who need to understand what that is?

CRISWELL: That is a really good point, Sara. We get very focused on looking at the cone of the hurricane, and that is really representing the winds of the hurricane. But the number one killer in all of these storms is water, whether it's the storm surge that's going to happen at the coast or the excessive rainfall that might happen inland that causes urban.