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Connect the World
CNN International: Ukraine's Foreign Legion: Routh Never Part of Military Unit of Volunteer Fighters; Security was Bolstered after Shooting at Trump Rally in July; Man Arrested in Apparent Assassination Attempt on Trump to have Initial Court Appearance Soon; Several Dead as Heavy Rain Hits Central & Eastern Europe; FBI Investigating Apparent Assassination Attempt on Trump. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired September 16, 2024 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ERICA HILL, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Thanks for joining me this hour. It is 09:00 a.m. here in New York. I'm Erica Hill in for Becky Anderson.
This is "Connect the World". A global investigation underway at this hour as law enforcement are working to learn more about the motive and the
actions of the man behind what appears to be a second assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
All of this unfolding on Sunday while the former president was playing golf at his club in Florida. A Secret Service agent spotted a rifle barrel
poking through a fence a few 100 meters away from where Trump was then playing. The agent fired shots at the suspect, a witness telling police the
man got into a vehicle and fled, and shortly after, the local sheriff's office detained a driver on an interstate highway.
The man in custody, Ryan Wesley Routh had criticized Trump on social media. Interestingly, he also spent time in Ukraine. And recently wrote about
other global hot spots, including Afghanistan and Taiwan in a self- published book.
A source telling CNN a federal court will require Routh to undergo a mental health assessment before any possible criminal proceedings. Separately, the
Palm Beach County Sheriff explaining the challenges that come with protecting the former president, especially in a sprawling outdoor
environment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RIC BRADSHAW, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA SHERIFF: You got to understand the golf course is surrounded by shrubbery, so when somebody gets into the
shrubbery. They're pretty much out of sight, all right. And at this level that he is at right now, he's not the sitting president. If he was, we
would have this higher golf course around it.
But because he's not, security is limited to the areas that the Secret Service deems possible. So, I would imagine the next time he comes at a
golf course, there will probably be a little more people around the perimeter, but the Secret Service did exactly what they should have done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: After the incident, Donald Trump thanked the Secret Service in a post on his website. Leigh Waldman has more now from Palm Beach County.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the second time in two months, Former President, Donald Trump is the victim of an apparent
assassination attempt.
TIM CLEMENTE, RETIRED FBI COUNTERTERROR & SWAT AGENT: I don't think this is the last. We'll see if crazy is out there trying to do this.
WALDMAN (voice-over): Sources say Trump was moving between holes five and six at his Florida Golf Club when gunshots went off the golf round, a last-
minute addition to his schedule.
CLEMENTE: I'm focused on finding out how he knew Trump's movements and where he was?
WALDMAN (voice-over): According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff, a Secret Service agent, spotted a rifle barrel sticking out of a fence 300 to 500
yards away from Trump, and agents fired at a man in the bushes along the perimeter.
JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: How was the outer perimeter? How was this shooter able to get to that outer perimeter, an area that
should have been identified as a vulnerability previously.
WALDMAN (voice-over): Sheriff Ric Bradshaw says the quick thinking of a witness helped officers quickly apprehend a suspect.
BRADSHAW: Fortunately, we were able to locate a witness that came to us and said, hey, I saw the guy running out of the bushes. He jumped into a black
Nissan, and I took a picture of the vehicle and the tank, which was great.
WALDMAN (voice-over): Law enforcement sources identified the person detained as 58-year-old, Ryan Wesley Routh. Arrest records suggest Routh
has a history with firearms and law enforcement run-ins an active Ukraine supporter and Trump critic. Law enforcement says he was found with an AK-47
style rifle with a scope. It's unclear if he has an attorney in Palm Beach County, I'm Leigh Waldman.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: And joining me now CNN National Security Analyst, David Sanger. Good -- David good, to have you here this morning. As we're looking at this and
as things are being pieced together, we are, of course, waiting for some more information from law enforcement at this point even, what the
potential charges may be. What are your initial questions?
There's been so much made of the perimeter here, of the security and the differences between when Donald Trump was president in terms of his
protection and today, when he's the former president and a candidate.
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL & NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: That's right, Erica. You know, if you've traveled with the President and White House
correspondent, and I know you've been on some of these trips as well, for sitting president, the perimeter is very large. You know, they get local
police to lock down the area all around.
For candidates it's not quite as broad an area. And you know, that was the issue that came up in the Butler Pennsylvania attack on President Trump,
and it's going to be the issue here. This one's got an additional complication, though, in Butler the president's -- former president's
arrival, and the fact that this was the rally would be held was widely publicized.
[09:05:00]
But when you're not the sitting president, your schedule was not necessarily released in advance. And so, the really interesting question
is, how did he know that the president would be at that golf course on that day? Because he doesn't travel with a press pool. This isn't announced
along the way, and I think that will be a lot of the focus of the investigation.
HILL: You know, I was listening, and it -- me now, who said this earlier, but someone was discussing that very point earlier on CNN. Also, though,
made the point that Donald Trump is fairly predictable. If he is in Florida, if he is at his resort, there's a good chance he's going to be
playing golf. That, being said, I would imagine one of the first questions will be, how did you know he'd be there?
SANGER: That's right. And the timing. You're right and -- you know it is a little bit he is predictable on these although you also think on a Sunday,
this close to the election, was a good chance he'd be out campaigning, you know as well.
And you know golf courses, even when he was president, were a big concern to the Secret Service, because obviously, they're wide open. So, somebody
who's at considerable distance would have a good vision outdo them. Frequently they're surrounded by bushes and -- the way this one was. So,
there are a much more open target than say -- you know if the president had taken up handball or even tennis.
HILL: David, stay with me. I also want to bring in my colleague Carlos Suarez, who Suarez, who was in West Palm Beach covering the developments
there. Carlos, in terms of some of the newer moments this morning, of course, we have a new picture of Ryan Routh.
What more are we learning about? As David and I were just discussing the fact that this was not an announced golf game for the former president, the
fact that it was -- it was not publicized, that that's where he would be. Do we know how much of a focus that is right now in terms of questioning in
the investigation?
CARLOS SAUREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, so I'd imagine that that is just one of several questions that investigators are trying to get an answer for
because, as you noted, the former president, his decision to go golfing yesterday, we're told, was made at the last minute, and so it wasn't on his
schedule.
And there's really no reason for the 58-year-old man who has been detained to have known where the president or the former president was rather?
Again, he has been identified as Ryan Wesley Routh. Now, just a few minutes ago, the Sheriff of Palm Beach County, Ric Bradshaw, he was on Fox News and
provided some additional details surrounding the event out here yesterday.
He said that the 58-year-old did not get off any rounds. That is very important here. He said that Routh was not able to get off any rounds at
the golf course here yesterday, because the Secret Service was able to act so quickly. He also said that Routh is being held right now in a federal
holding facility, and so we expect a little bit more information throughout the day on exactly just when he might make his first court appearance, and
whether that is going to be in federal court or in state courts.
We also know that the Director of the Secret Service is in Florida and is expected to meet with law enforcement officials and investigators here on
the ground. We're also told that he is going to meet with Former President Trump, and that at some point, it is our understanding that the Director
will get a tour of the golf course here behind me guys.
HILL: Carlos, thank you. David, in terms of what we saw after this last assassination attempt in July, almost exactly two months probably it was
July 13th, when we look at what changed after that and the concerns that were raised specifically about security, not only for the former president,
but for other candidates and for sort of the security writ large at this point, given the rhetoric in this -- in this country, have you noticed
evidence much in terms of changes?
SANGER: Well, sometimes they're hard to see. But you know the change that would be the most obvious would be if they treated both Vice President
Harris and Former President Trump, as sitting presidents, even the vice president gets -- you know a pretty big lockdown area around their
movement, so not as big as the president does.
Obviously, this is a high threat environment for both of them. And you know, in this case, it sounds like -- you know they got very skilful work
by the secret service agent who opened fire before Mr. Routh was able to get any rounds off. If that was indeed his intent, which it appears it may
well have been.
[09:10:00]
But it does raise the question of whether you just need between now and Election Day. It's only, you know a little less than two months.
HILL: 50 days.
SANGER: -- yeah, 50 days to just expand that perimeter, as if both were president.
HILL: Absolutely. David and Carlos, appreciate it. Thank you both. Of course, we continue to follow all of the developments in this story
throughout the day, including some of the international reaction that we're hearing to the apparent assassination attempt.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sending his best wishes to both the Former President and Melania Trump on X, writing Sarah and I were
shocked by the second assassination attempt against President Trump and relieved to hear that it too failed, but we should not rely on luck.
Going on to say that he hopes all measures will be taken to ensure such deadly attacks on a candidate for the U.S. presidency will be foiled in
advance. And from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who, of course, shares a close relationship with Donald Trump. Quote, it is clear President
Trump's life is in danger until his victory, we are praying for you, Mr. President.
The man detained in this investigation has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine. Ryan Routh had visited the country and in 2022 in a video, said he
was willing to die in the war there. Routh also criticized Trump in a self- published book on the conflict, which he called unwinnable. CNN's Clare Sebastian following all these updates for us. So, the fact Clare that he
actually went to Ukraine, wanted to fight in Ukraine, ultimately, though, that didn't happen.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. So, look, there's a lot of evidence out there. He was not trying to hide this intense interest in
Ukraine. There was a self-published book, Erica, as you mentioned, there's a number of media interviews that he did. His own social media post. It
looks like several of his accounts have now been taken down.
It was an intense interest, really bordering on an obsession, though, actually, all of his efforts to help Ukraine seem to have been frustrated.
According to his book, he went to Ukraine initially to try and volunteer himself. He said he was willing to die for this country, but he was deemed,
he said, too old and he lacked any military experience.
So, he then turned his hand to trying to recruit other foreign fighters. He, at one point, according to his book, set up a sort of military
recruitment office in Kyiv that that was apparently eventually, sort of dispersed by police. He then tried to target Afghan soldiers fleeing the
Taliban to try to bring them in to join with the Ukrainian forces. That doesn't seem to have worked either, and there are two main offices within
the Ukrainian military that handle foreign volunteers.
Both of them have told CNN that he had nothing to do with them. One of them, in particular, with the land forces, saying that he did actually try
to contact them a number of times, but calling his ideas delusional. So, look, I think it was clear that he was frustrated with this from some of
his comments, including in his book.
And it's also clear from this clip with an interview he did with Newsweek Romania, that he was transferring some of that frustration back onto U.S.
politicians. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN WESLEY ROUTH, DETAINED IN CONTENTION WITH APPARENT TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT: Well, I've been dealing with Russia for my entire life. You know,
we have one period where it was OK, but now we've let it slip, slip back into in the terrorism. So, it's just the world needs to respond. You know,
the -- why world leaders are not sending military is beyond me. We're going to have to elect new leaders the next go around that have a backbone and
that -- you know have the fortitude to say, hey, we're not going to tolerate this type of a behavior.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN: So, it's clear from that interview and other comments that he made to Newsweek Romania, this was in June of 2022 that he saw this
conflict as black and white. He said good versus evil, and he simply could not understand why Western leaders were not doing more, and even as he
said, they're sending the military in.
But look, there's a lot that we don't know about his connection to Ukraine. How he managed to fund his efforts to help them? What he means by that
phrase that you heard in that clip there, when he said, I've been dealing with Russia my entire life? But it is clear that this was a very intense
interest, and he was very public about his efforts as well.
HILL: Clare, I know you -- said that the Ukrainian officials telling CNN that there's -- that he did, obviously, did not participate in the fighting
there. Did they -- did they share any concerns or any further information when it comes to their interactions with him?
SEBASTIAN: Not really Erica. Simply, what we're hearing from several parts of the Ukrainian military is really an effort to distance themselves from
this. Obviously, we got those comments from this section of the land forces that handles international foreign volunteers coming in to fight for
Ukraine, who said that they thought his ideas were quite delusional and schizoid.
So pretty strong words there, and they actually ignored his attempts to contact them. There was another branch of the military, the 12th National
Guard as a brigade, who, based on a photo that showed him taking part in a rally in Kyiv, said that he had nothing to do with them.
[09:15:00]
President Zelenskyy himself has not mentioned the suspect, but has, of course, come out and said that he's very glad that President Trump is safe
and that obviously the rule of law is being observed, saying there's no place for political violence. So, Ukraine -- you know possibly there's some
concern among some political circles there of what this means for them long term, but they are really distancing themselves from the suspect.
HILL: Clare, appreciate it. Thank you. Of course, this apparent new attempt on Donald Trump's life unfolding just weeks before the U.S. election here.
Early voting already about to get underway in some areas. So, what could the impact be on the campaigns that's ahead?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: The latest developments on our top story, of course, the man who has been detained in the apparent second attempt to assassinate Donald Trump.
We're learning more about him being a staunch supporter of Ukraine. Video shows Ryan Routh visiting the country not long after Russia invaded in
2022. Authorities say the secret service -- a secret service agent, fired shots at a man with a rifle in the bushes.
This happened along the perimeter of Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, as you see there on your screen. Donald Trump was playing at
the time the secret service agent was a little bit ahead of him, but this was only four to 500 meters away from the former president at the time,
who, of course, was not hurt.
All of this unfolding, of course, in the final stretches of the presidential campaign here in the United States, just 50 days now until
Election Day, and this is a crucial moment for both candidates hoping to get their messages out and to reach those voters who are still undecided in
a race that is tight, to put it mildly.
At Mar-a-Lago later on, we are expecting to hear from the former president, where he's expected to announce a new cryptocurrency exchange, which will
be run by his sons, Donald Jr., and Eric. This as Vice President, Kamala Harris is set to meet with members of the Teamsters Union in the coming
hours.
She, of course, is hoping to pick up an endorsement from that group. For a closer look at what is happening out there on the campaign trail today
Priscilla Alvarez joins me now. So, this assassination attempt, Priscilla is going to dominate, of course, what we're talking about today, how much
is it expected to figure in terms of an impact on the campaigns, especially when we're talking about security for the candidates?
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Erica, we're still waiting to get some answers on whether there is going to be an enhanced security
posture for either Former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris, as they continue what is going to be an aggressive phase of the
both -- for both of these campaigns going into November. But we do know that this has been top of mind particularly for the vice president.
[09:20:00]
Recall that in July, after the first assassination attempt of Former President Donald Trump, she said in remarks in Michigan that there was the
question that campaigns have to confront now, which is decrying political violence while also making the argument that the other candidate isn't a
fit for the presidency.
In her case, that would be that Former President Donald Trump is unfit for the presidency. Now, of course, she overnight, did release a statement
where she said that this was deeply disturbing, and she also said, quote, as we gather the facts, I will be clear, I condemn political violence.
We all must do our part to ensure that this incident does not lead to more violence. So, this is a reality that the campaigns are having to navigate,
particularly the Harris campaign, as it responds to what to these two security incidents involving Former President Donald Trump.
Now today, the vice president is off of the campaign trail. She is in Washington D.C., where she has campaign meetings. One of those, as you
mentioned, is with the teamsters. That is an important union, a union that has not yet endorsed either candidate and has over a million members.
Now recall that President Biden was buoyed in 2020 by support by union workers, and that is something that the vice president is also trying to
get. Now she has not met with the teamsters yet. This will be her first meeting with them. The teamsters had already met with President Biden and
with Former President Donald Trump.
So, this is going to be a really crucial moment as she tries to get as much support as she can going into November. Now this will be followed by visits
to Michigan and Wisconsin later in the week, those blue wall states. So clearly, the campaign seen this as the final stretch and trying to hit
those really critical states, states that President Biden only narrowly won in 2020.
And in the process, have these meetings to get these key endorsements in hopes of again using that to buoy her ticket going into November.
HILL: Absolutely. Priscilla, thank you. I also want to just bring in. We just heard the president weighing in. Let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: -- one thing, I want to make clear, the service needs more help. And I think the Congress should
respond to their needs if they need more services. So that's what we're going to be talking about.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- the personnel. They need more money. What kind of help --
BIDEN: I think we need some more personnel? I think they made the deciding whether they need more personnel or not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: So, you just heard there, the president, of course, here departing the White House was asked specifically about what had happened. When asked,
he said, The U.S. Secret Service may need more. He said may need more personnel. When he was pressed on whether he meant money or manpower, as
you can tell there.
And it did sound like some questions were shouted in terms of how he feels about his own safety, which were not answered. I do want to bring back in
my colleague Priscilla Alvarez. Priscilla, the fact that he said they may need more personnel. We are, of course, also in the middle of an
investigation into the first assassination attempt on Donald Trump's life.
There have been a lot of questions about the Secret Service. A change at the top in the wake of that. We know the Director of the Secret Service is
in Florida, according to our colleague, Carlos Suarez, he will be meeting with the president, likely later today. But all of this unfolding as there
are, frankly, a number of questions and concerns about the level of protection, specifically for the president, for the former president and
the vice president.
ALVAREZ: That's right. And if we zoom out here a bit, the Secret Service is part of the Department of Homeland Security, and that is a department that
has struggled for years to get the funding and the resources it needs. And that holds true for the Secret Service.
And that is what the president seems to be referring to there, that they continue to need more personnel, more funding and more resources,
particularly in an environment where all federal authorities have acknowledged that it is a heightened environment, particularly during an
election year, and this one where there has been so much heightened rhetoric around the politics.
So, the president seems to be making a call to Congress there, for them to bring in those the money and the resources that are needed, because it is
ultimately Congress who gets to do that. It is within their authority to give more funding to the federal agencies.
And so, this has been an ongoing issue for the Department of Homeland Security, for the Secret Service, which is part of that department, and
certainly it has not, and the president feels, though it has not been resolved yet. So, you can imagine that moving into today and the next few
days, that there will continue to be a clamoring by this administration for Congress to do more on this very issue in hopes of trying to plug holes,
where there may be holes.
[09:25:00]
And as you mentioned, Erica, there is still an investigation in Congress, and these are the questions that they are also looking into. So, the fact
that this happened again just raises a lot more questions as to the why, and the president there, seemingly focusing here on the personnel and how
to make sure that the agency and the department has that to protect their protectees?
HILL: Yeah, absolutely. Priscilla, really appreciate it. Thank you. Stay with us. We're going to fit in a quick break here on "Connect the World".
We'll see on the other side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: A second apparent assassination attempt on Donald Trump. This latest happening on Sunday afternoon at Trump's golf course in South Florida.
Authorities say the man who has been detained in the case is 58-year-old Ryan Routh, who did not fire any shots because of some quick action from
the Secret Service.
Routh currently in a federal holding facility. Meantime, we are hearing, of course, from the former president, also from the candidates, President Joe
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, both saying they are thankful and relieved that Donald Trump was not harmed.
The president also just making some quick remarks as he left the White House just a few moments ago. CNN, Kevin Liptak joining in now. So, Kevin,
there is a heightened sense of concern among protectees. Understandably, what did we hear from the president?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, and it was interesting, he came right over to us on South Lawn to make sure that we
knew that he was, of course, glad that Trump was OK, but to also make the point that, in his view, the Secret Service needed more help, essentially
saying they were under resourced.
And when I followed up with him and asked, well, does that mean more money, more personnel, he said he thought that that could mean personnel. And
certainly, it has been true that the Secret Service has faced staffing issues for the last several years, this has been something of an ongoing
issue with that agency.
There's a high degree of turnover. Some of the shifts that they have asked officers and agents to work have been very long. It has led to burnout.
That has been a persistent issue at the Secret Service.
[09:30:00]
And in fact, the Then Director Kim Cheatle, when she testified to Congress over the summer, said that the agency still is below its desired staffing
level. She said that it has about 8000 employees currently, but that its goal would be to reach 9500 employees, so they haven't reached that level
yet.
And President Biden very much giving voice to those concerns on the South Lawn just now, and he also added that it may be true that Congress may need
to act to provide more resources, although the Congress has provided ample resources to the service in the past.
Their budget has increased over the years, but they haven't necessarily been able to figure out some of those recruitment issues, whether staffing
issues are what led to the incident yesterday in West Palm Beach is something that hasn't been determined and certainly will be investigated by
the agency itself, as well as Congress.
I think when you talk to officials, and certainly they -- we've been talking to them for years about the concerns they have about Donald Trump's
golf course in West Palm Beach, the poorest nature of it that fact that it's bounded by three major roads, the roads aren't shut down. You can get
on the sidewalk. In the case of this, would be assassin he was able to kind of crawl through the bushes.
Whether that could have been prevented by more staffing at the Secret Service, very much remains to be seen. But I think for president Biden's
part, he is saying, and he said that in his statement last night as well that he is committed to providing the agency every resource that it could
possibly need to protect the former president as this campaign season continues.
HILL: Kevin Liptak, with the latest for us from the White House, appreciate it. Also, with me this hour, CNN's Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence
Analyst, John Miller. John, always good to talk to you, my friend. So, we have learned that the suspect here is said to have his initial court
appearance this morning.
That's going to happen at a federal court in Florida. I'd love to pick up on where Kevin was just ending there, talking about the poorest nature of
this golf course. And I think we have that map that we can put up of the president's golf course there in West Palm Beach, just to show where it's
located, in terms of protecting that area. What are the biggest red flags that this raises for you? First of all, in terms of access, John?
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, I mean, one of the issues here is that Donald Trump is living the life of
Donald Trump. You know, he's going to want to do his outdoor rallies. He doesn't like indoor rallies. He's going to want to do his golfing. He is a
regular golfer.
And for the Secret Service, something that has less containment and doesn't have four walls around it is always going to be a challenge. And you know
what Kevin is talking about is key here. The sheriff yesterday of Palm Beach County said, you know, if it had been a president, we would have
surrounded the perimeter with resources.
But former presidents and candidates don't get that same level. It boils down to a resource question. Look, the Secret Service has 3600 agents. They
have 1600 uniformed people who do the screening and guard the White House perimeter. They've got 2000 support employees.
So, when you say, you know, a head count of 9000 it sounds like a lot, but when it boils down to it, it's 3600 people for the entire country across
seven days a week, three shifts, add in vacation and sick. It's not that big a number. So, what they've been doing. And we learned this in the
Pennsylvania issue was they've been relying on local law enforcement to be their backfill.
But in the case of Palm Beach, if they had surrounded this golf course, that would have been Palm Beach County, West Palm Beach Police Department,
the State Highway Patrol. It would have been a giant draw on resources for an unscheduled event with a person who you know is there regularly.
It's just hard, unless you decide, if we have that expectation, we're going to add another 3000 agents to the Secret Service. That's a different story.
But nobody's talking about that.
HILL: Right. And then there is, of course, the issue, the very real issue of funding that comes with adding more resources. We should point out the
sheriff here just a short time ago, noting in another interview the system worked in his words, saying, this isn't like what we saw in Butler,
Pennsylvania.
So, as they're -- you know, as they're working through that aspect of it, we will have this initial appearance today. It's not clear yet what charges
he is facing, and the fact that we've learned that he didn't fire a shot. How could all of that come into play when it comes to charges, when it
comes to moving forward here?
MILLER: Well, they start behind the curve, where, in Florida, possession of a rifle is not a crime, possession of a handgun is not a crime. The only
time it is, is if you would be legally prohibited from having that weapon for other reasons. So, one of the things they've got to drill back on, and
this was hard information to get yesterday, Sunday and before 9 o'clock this morning. And is what do the court records show about his 2002 arrest
for possession of a machine gun in North Carolina.
[09:35:00]
If that resulted in a felony conviction, then he would be prohibited. Then it gets easy. You can charge him with possession of a firearm by a felon,
and that's a serious federal charge, and you can build on the attempted assassination case from there, absent that they're really going to have to
depend on what did they find in the car?
What did they find in the phone? What notes did they find? You know where he was staying, to show that he had this intent there, and that's what
we're going to be looking for at this court appearance, likely today, probably not at 10 o'clock, while they put those clues together with just
24, less than 24 hours since the incident.
HILL: John, as you're looking at all this, what is the biggest question in your mind?
MILLER: The biggest question in my mind is probably the biggest question in their mind, which is you need to eliminate, was he acting alone? If that is
the case, it will be similar to Pennsylvania, similar to most of these cases, but they're going to have to peel back those layers and say, was
somebody talking to him?
Was he on a mission for somebody else? Just a couple of weeks ago, they arrested an individual named merchant who came from Pakistan, and they were
able to document alleged contacts between him and Iranian handlers where his job was to recruit assassination teams here on the ground from other
elements, criminal elements.
So that's one of the things they're going to have to get through is they need to see all his contacts and make sure this was just him, and if it
wasn't who else?
HILL: Yeah, John, appreciate it as always. Thank you.
MILLER: Thanks.
HILL: You are watching "Connect the World" here on CNN. Much more news ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HILL: Welcome back. I'm Erica Hill in New York. You're watching it. "Connect the World". U.S. stock markets opening over eight, almost nine
minutes ago. Here's a quick look at where things stand at this hour you see a little bit of green, very little bit of green for the DOW, little red
over there for the NASDAQ and the S&P 500.
We are going to keeping a close watch on this throughout the week, because, of course, investors waiting to see, Americans waiting to see, and frankly,
much of the world, what will happen on Wednesday for that expected a decision from the Federal Reserve to cut U.S. interest rates.
All of this amid strong signs that inflation is under control. We are also closely watching a federal appeals court hearing, which is set to get
underway right now that could determine the fate of TikTok in the United States. The social media platform will have just 15 minutes to persuade
federal judges that in fact, TikTok should not be banned in the U.S.
This after President Biden signed a law back in the spring, which bans TikTok unless from operating in the U.S., unless its Chinese Parent Company
ByteDance sells the app. ByteDance and TikTok understandably appealing that decision. They contend that the move is actually unconstitutional.
[09:40:00]
If the appeal is rejected, what could it mean for TikTok 170 million U.S. users? Well, that's a big question. Potentially it could disappear from
their phones as soon as January. We'll keep a close watch on that. Meantime, when it comes to Boeing, the strike there now in its fourth day,
the head of the union representing workers says it could go on for, quote, a while.
More than 30,000 members of the machinists and Aerospace Workers Union, of course, went on strike in the wee hours on Friday after rejecting a new
contract offer. The company is set to resume talks with union representatives this week, but this strike comes as the U.S. plane maker is
also trying to put a series of safety and production issues behind it. The U.S. and South Korea discussing a new deal on how to show the cost of
keeping American troops based in that country.
Both sides are eager to strike a new agreement ahead of a potential Donald Trump election victory. You may recall that during his presidency, Trump
demanded Seoul increase its contribution to American military expenses by up to 400 percent advocates for the U.S. South Korean Alliance argue a
significant American troop presence is crucial to strengthening that relationship.
And here's some of the other stories on our radar at this hour today marks two years since the death of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old woman, of course,
died in the custody of Iran's morality police after being arrested for allegedly not wearing her mandatory head scarf properly.
Mass protests then erupted across the country in the wake of her death. At least 10 people are dead after some of the heaviest rain in decades. It hit
parts of Central and Eastern Europe, Storm Boris, as it's known, causing catastrophic, widespread flooding. You see some of it there in the Czech
Republic.
Several cities receiving a month's worth of rain. Chinese authorities say Typhoon Bebinca is the strongest storm to hit Shanghai in more than 70
years, making landfall early Monday with heavy rain, gale force winds. China's Meteorological Administration issuing its most severe alert for the
area.
More than 400,000 people have been evacuated from their homes. And a little weather we are following here in the states as well. Tropical storm
warnings now in place for the Carolinas, as a potential tropical cyclone approaches the coastline. The storm could also bring some urban flooding to
the Mid-Atlantic and on up the East Coast.
CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam, joining me now from Atlanta. Looks like a fairly large sized bit of weather there.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, that's right. And we call this tropical mischief, even though it's not been given a name yet, it's still
got about eight hours or so before it makes landfall. It will still bring the impacts of equivalent to a tropical storm, let's say, and it already is
we call this potential tropical cyclone eight.
That's because the National Hurricane Center established this low-pressure system without its tropical characteristics, allowing it to give advisories
to the coastline. There is, in fact, tropical storm warnings in place for the coastal areas of North and South Carolina as the system moves on shore.
It is expected to become classified as a tropical storm just before landfall. It would be given the name Helene, if it does, regardless, the
storm bringing heavy rain and extremely strong winds. We're talking gusts in excess of 50 miles per hour recorded on some offshore buoys.
Now some of the worst weather moving into Wilmington, where a flash flood warning is currently under way. Gusts there around 40 to 45 miles per hour.
Look at the amount of rain that is expected to fall out of the system. Really centered on the northern quadrant of the storm.
So, bringing portions of North Carolina some of the heaviest bouts of rainfall from this onshore component to the storm. Now the other big story
we're monitoring here is across Central Europe. This has been ongoing all weekend long, high elevation snowfall on the alps, down in the lower
elevations where the majority of the population lives.
There's been catastrophic flooding. Look at the scenes coming out of Czech Republic. This is from storm Boris. That is the meteorological name to
this. And so, the rainfall totals here over the past 24 hours have just been incredible in the Czech Republic, over 350 millimeters in some
locations, that will put some serious flooding on the ground.
And in fact, we have gone over four times our average monthly rainfall for the month of September in Vienna, Austria. So not only Czech Republic, but
Vienna into portions of, excuse me, Austria into portions of Germany. And the wind has just been very strong, creating some significant concerns for
travel and also causing some damage as well.
So, there are still red alerts in place for portions of the Czech Republic into Austria and southeastern sections of Germany. This is for heavy
rainfall and strong winds, although the storm is starting to slowly weaken as it kind of churns itself out across the Adriatic and into portions of
Italy.
Now we'll take you to China, because there is a landfalling typhoon, typhoon Bebinca that has brought strong winds to Shanghai within the past
12 hours.
[09:45:00]
This is the scene in Shanghai that you can see making as a storm makes landfall starting to really just knock some of the trees over and also
create wind gusts in excess of 180 kilometers per hour. So tropical mischief from the United States to China and the larger storm system,
Erica, that is still impacting Central Europe.
HILL: Yeah, absolutely. Derek, appreciate it. Thank you. As we continue to follow new developments about the apparent attempt on Donald Trump's life
Sunday afternoon at his golf course in Florida. My colleague John Berman, a short time ago, spoke with CNN Senior Law Enforcement Analyst Andrew
McCabe. Here's some of what they discussed.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR NEWS CENTRAL: With us now is Andrew McCabe, CNN Senior Law Enforcement Analyst and Former Deputy Director of the FBI. And
Andy, this is the fifth hole right here Donald Trump, you know, was walking up to putt on the fifth hole. It's a par three, 228, yards. But you can see
here, this is summit boulevard.
And right here is South Congress. Anyone who's driven around Palm Beach, you're on South Congress all the time, and it's right next to the green of
the fifth hole here. What kind of challenge does securing a place like this pose to the Secret Service, Andy?
ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yeah. John, massive challenges for the reasons that you've just highlighted on the map. There
are broad, broad spaces of unsecured land there. And because of the way the course is laid out, and you'd have a similar situation at any golf course,
the president is going to be very, very close to that fence line dividing, you know, dividing the property from golf course to publicly accessible
area at numerous times.
You can see that if he is, if he -- we know that he was putting he's finishing up the on the fifth hole, which means that the Secret Service
detail was likely at or near the green on the sixth hole, because they stay one hole ahead of him, clearing the area. And it is in that transition from
where the sixth hole ends to where the T boxes are for the seventh hole, which is basically at the very bottom of that map that you're showing right
now.
That is likely where this shooter decided to set up, because those T boxes are so close to the fence line. It would provide a pretty good -- a pretty
good line of sight. And also, think about it, the T box is a place where, as a shooter, you could be pretty confident that your target is going to be
confined to a pretty small area and also standing still for some period of time.
So, you know, those are the sorts of -- those are the ways that snipers think about acquiring a target. And in a place like a golf course, you're
going to have numerous opportunities for those sorts of lines of sight and moments of vulnerability.
BERMAN: In this is what we know was left behind by the would-be shooter. This is a little grainy, so it's hard to tell, but backpacks, right?
Backpacks, maybe a GoPro camera there. What does this tell you? And this is the rifle. What does this tell you about the mindset of the person who did
this or try to?
MCCABE: So, it tells you John, that this is someone who really thought through this plan with some degree of rigor and discipline. Now, you know,
a lot of people will say, oh, it was a crazy plan. It would never have worked. Nevertheless, this is someone who thought through it.
He armed himself not only with the rifle, but with protective implements that he thought would give him a better chance to get his shot off before
he started taking fire. There were ceramic plates. They've been described as ceramic tiles, but not exactly the same thing, ceramic plates that are
designed to stop rifle fire, specifically from impacting you when you're deployed with a Kevlar vest or something like that.
And he's got those hanging from the shooting position there, right near the fence. He's got the GoPro stuck to the fence in an effort to memorialize
what he's doing, which we know from so many mass shootings, is very important to many of these folks. So yeah, he's thought through this.
He was probably there for some period of time, enough time to enable him to hang that stuff where he wanted to place it, and literally lying in wait
for his target, who in this case was a Former President of the United States. It's really shocking, and really should cause a lot of people, most
importantly, the Secret Service, to really rethink how they're thinking about the threats that are posed to the president these days, former
president.
BERMAN: All right. Andy McCabe for us, thanks so much for helping us understand what we're seeing there.
HILL: And that is certainly part of the discussion today. We even heard just a short time ago from President Biden saying that the Secret Service
needs, in his words, more help, specifically, more personnel. The latest on this story and much more after a quick break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:50:00]
HILL: Thanks for joining us here on "Connect the World", continuing on with our top story at this hour, the second apparent attempt on Donald Trump's
life in the span of just two months. This incident happening on Sunday afternoon while the former president was playing golf at his club in
Florida.
A Secret Service agent who was a couple of holes ahead of the former president spotted a rifle barrel poking through a fence. This was just a
few 100 meters away from where Trump was playing at the time. There is now a man in custody, Ryan Wesley Routh, who had criticized Donald Trump on
social media.
Also spent time in Ukraine, where he was hoping to fight, but ultimately did not. Thomas Verni is a Former NYPD Detective and joins me now live from
New York. Good to have you with me today. You spent so many years as a detective for the NYPD as we're looking at the clues that we currently have
and the situation as it were in terms of the perimeter and the protection that was there. What's your most pressing question at this moment?
THOMAS VERNI, FORMER DETECTIVE OF NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT: Good morning, Erica, good to be with you. It's been a while.
HILL: OK.
VERNI: So, it's -- this is a disturbing thing that we're seeing here in this election cycle with the former president. You know, clearly, you know,
as we've discussed, you know, for a number of years on other shows that, you know, our country is awash in weaponry, right? We have guns all over
the place.
We have more guns, and we have people in this country, and then we have a number of people in this country who are severely unstable. And when you
add the two together, it creates a toxic mess of chaos. We see this in school shootings. We see this in shootings at concerts and you know, malls
and just over and over and over again, we see these the toxic soup of weaponry and people who are unstable.
You know, look, I've criticized, you know, Former President Trump online, I'm not a supporter of his. However, if I were working for him, I do my job
and try to protect him the best way I could, you know. And the problem with protecting a former president is that they don't have the same level of
protection as an active president does, right?
So, the Secret Service is somewhat limited as to what they can do, so they have to rely on getting some additional help from local or maybe even state
authorities. But in an area as Andrew McCabe was discussing, such as the golf club, that's a very porous site.
[09:55:00]
It's a -- target where, meaning that there are numerous avenues where a potential perpetrator could come in and cause damage, not that presents a
nightmare for trying to protect someone like the former president.
HILL: Which is what we heard earlier. Right the minute somebody gets into those bushes. It's very difficult to spot them. The sheriff did say, just a
short time ago, the system worked, in his words, that this was not like what happened in Butler, Pennsylvania, of course, two months ago.
That first assassination attempt on the former president at a rally there, when we look at the where we're at, you mentioned this country is a washing
gun. That is a fact. There are a number of people who are likely unstable, who may have access too, firearms. Again, we don't know in this case.
Important to note, we haven't even had the first initial court appearance yet. But when you look at that, in addition to the divisions in this
country, the heightened rhetoric, the political rhetoric, the calls for violence. How concerning is that to you?
VERNI: It's very concerning. I can't begin to tell you the -- I myself have tried to back away on social media that compared to the last election
cycle, because people have just become so angry and the vitriol that is exhibited by people on both sides has just gotten to points of new heights
or new lows, where, you know, the language that's being used some people threatening others.
I mean, there have been instances where people have lost, you know, 30, 40, 50-year relationships, friendships with people because of politics. It's
just -- it's kind of ridiculous. You know, I believe, as a registered Democrat and as someone who's in law enforcement, I think the Democrats
could be doing a better job as well, to be honest, to present better choices for us to choose from.
The Republican Party can absolutely be doing better choices. I was kind of hoping John Kasich might throw his hat back in the race. But at the end of
the day, we have to understand that regardless of what party you're affiliated with our supporting, that we are still, at the end of the day,
all Americans. And we have bigger fish to fry.
HILL: Yeah.
VERNI: You know, we have forests around the world that want to see us, you know, killed. We have political adversaries around the world. We have
countries around the world that want to see us fail, Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, just to name a few of the top --
HILL: It's an important point. You know yours. I will happily add yours to the voices calling for some unity and some understanding and perhaps a
little bit of grace, as in dealing with people who may not -- who may disagree with you, but that is certainly no reason to call for violence.
VERNI: Exactly.
HILL: Thomas Verni, good to see you. It has been a little too long. Appreciate your insight. Thank you. And thanks to all of you for joining
us. Stay with us. We'll be right back at the top of the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
