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Erin Burnett Outfront
Sources: Harris More Than Doubles Trump's Fundraising Haul; Georgia Investigators Arrest Father Of Alleged School Shooter; Video: Ukrainian Troops Surrender, Seconds Later, They're Executed. Aired 7- 8p ET
Aired September 05, 2024 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:43]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
The breaking news, the Harris campaign announcing a massive fundraising haul, more than double humbling Trump's, as attack dogs Walz and Vance hold dueling rallies tonight.
And breaking news of the investigation to the deadly Georgia school shooting at this hour. A source is telling CNN that the alleged gunman's father told investigators that he bought the gun as a gift for his son, months after son was investigated for a school shooting threat.
Plus, a CNN exclusive, Putin's cruelty on display. Video of executions at the hands of ruthless Russian soldiers.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
The breaking news tonight: Kamala Harris with jaw-dropping fundraising numbers, just coming out. CNN is reporting that Harris more than doubled what Trump raised in August. We know that Trump raised $130 million. So just to state the obvious, that means Harris did better than $260 million in just one month.
And that is a sign of what we have seen, of course, in polling, the enthusiasm around her campaign clearly very much alive and well, six weeks after she rose to the top of the ticket.
Tonight, her running mate, Tim Walz and J.D. Vance, Trump's running mate, are holding dueling rallies, as I mentioned in crucial swing states, Tim Walz is in Pennsylvania right now, dead heat in the latest CNN poll, J.D. Vance wrapping up his remarks in Arizona, where Trump is marginally ahead in our poll, both on the attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now, I'm going to quote, which I think is a brilliant quote by your great governor, Josh Shapiro. He often says, and I hear him say this, whenever Donald Trump's talking about America, he (EXPLETIVE DELETED) talking America. He does not believe in the promise of America, and he continues to put this country down, whether it's our veterans or working people, he continues to do it.
And you know why he does it? You know why he does that? Because he can only think of himself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: All right. So those are the lines Walz is using and Vance for his part is going after Harris's campaign message.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The Democratic National Convention was all about joy and I thought to myself, what does Kamala Harris have to be especially joyful about? She's been the vice president for three-and-a-half years, Americans can't afford groceries. Americans can't afford to buy a home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And as for Harris herself, she is in Pennsylvania, in Pittsburgh, for debate prep.
While Trump today delivered what they had billed as a major economic speech at the Economic Club of New York, obviously, a crucial place to give such an address. The president though, did veer off topic a number of times, at one point going to the whole topic of Harris, he says tried to put him in jail. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She and her party are censoring speech, weaponizing the justice system, and trying to throw their political opponents, me, in jail. It hasn't happened. I didn't do that to crooked Hillary. I said that would be a terrible thing, wouldn't it, putting the wife of the president of the United States in jail.
But they view it differently, I guess nowadays, but that's okay. And they always have to remember that two can play the game.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Obviously, not even veiled as a threat there.
Trump though for years, of course, has been the one threatening to put political opponents by name in jail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Hillary Clinton has to go to jail. OK? She has to go to jail.
Lock her up is right.
For what she's done, they should lock her up. You should lock them up. Lock up the Bidens. Lock up Hillary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Lock her up, of course, was the regular chant you all remember at Trump's rallies. As for Harris, this is what her response was when supporters chanted lock him up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS (D), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, you know what? The courts are going to handle that and we will handle November. How about that? How about that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Eva McKend is OUTFRONT live. She's in Pittsburgh, whereas I mentioned Harris is right now in full debate mood prepping.
[19:05:00]
So, Eva, what more are you learning about this massive fundraising haul that the Harris team brought in? They saved for just the month of August.
EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erin, that fundraising report is due September 20th, so not before long. We will know exactly how much that number is. But a source telling CNN that it is quite substantial. And to give you a sense of where the campaign is spending their money.
A lot of it is on ads, ads like one that again, airing today in the battleground state of Georgia targeting Black voters, talking about the conservative blueprint Project 2025, warning voters about the further erosion of reproductive rights and the possible elimination of the Department of Education.
But the vice president is here in Pennsylvania but to get critical time, critical facetime with voters ahead of the debate. I've been speaking to voters here in Pittsburgh, and they have their head on a swivel to see if they ultimately spot the vice president.
Many of them that I spoke to at the University of Pittsburgh and near the campus told me that a number of issues are top of mind for them as we head towards November, including the economy, including LGBTQ rights, including reproductive rights.
And I'll end with this, Erin, I spoke to one young man and he is from New York. He just moved to Pennsylvania for grad School at Carnegie Mellon. And he told me that he changed his voter registration to be able to vote in this critical state. And he told me, listen, Pennsylvania is a state that could go either way and I want my vote to have an impact -- Erin.
BURNETT: Well, you know, people who live in states that are all red or all blue. It is an incredible opportunity, right, when they move to a state where were their vote can truly move the needle.
Thank you much, Eva.
All right. So everyone here with me.
Astead, I wanted to talk about the fundraising, but, first, just, you know, when you see Walz and you see Vance on stage and they're both being sent to these crucial swing states, Pennsylvania, excuse me, Arizona, favorability numbers though, aren't the same. You've got Walz as -- is doing better 40 to 31, Vance's at 32, 44.
I mean, you know, usually wouldn't actually say 42 is great, but it's a hell of a lot better than 31.
ASTEAD HERNDON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Absolutely. I mean --
BURNETT: So, what does this mean?
HERNDON: I think for two candidates looking to expand their map, that's where the VP could have marginal differences. We know that people usually vote at the top of the ticket are usually voting for a spate of issues are what the kind of lead nominee is saying. But we know that they were chosen as this -- as points of expanding their base. Harris chose Walz with a specific idea to underscore normality, to underscore kind of sense a pitch to the middle of the country.
Vance was chosen I think not for reasons to expand the map overall, a double down of ideology, a kind of furtherance of a MAGA viewpoint, a frankly, a hardiness from the Trump campaign who fraught -- who thought that they were on course for victory.
BURNETT: He was picked when Biden was the rival.
HERNDON: And at that RNC where if there was Republican confidence that they were going to win this race. We have seen Vance slip further and further into that unfavorability zone. And I think even more so than that triggering specifically important groups of voters that was childless cat lady comments are not just a one-off, right?
It is an example of someone who spent so much time and that masculinity MAGA ecosystem. And that turns off a crucial group that I think he's going to have to win over, come November.
BURNETT: OK. You mentioned cats and dogs. They're actually relevant to this conversation. Margaret, in the sense that Vance did bring his fans and he has been trying to humanize himself in that way to the rally he brought his family, they've been with him over the past few days.
Here's some of what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: We brought the whole crew to Arizona. I got my lovely wife, Usha -- Usha, where they -- were they put you?
(CHEERING)
VANCE: But we -- we brought our three kids. They're 7, 4 and 2, and we even brought our dog.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARGARET HOOVER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You say --
BURNETT: I mean, if you really wanted to connect with people and kind of breakthrough, he would have said I brought both my cats.
HOOVER: Yeah.
BURNETT: I mean, but, you know, it does just show right that he's putting everything behind.
HOOVER: But also what Astead said is correct. J.D. Vance was not picked because the Trump campaign thought they would win the popular vote and win the Electoral College. I mean, Trump's strategy has actually never been to win broadly and to have a broad bipartisan coalition. It has always been to get just enough votes to win the electoral college. That's -- that was the strategy in '16, that was a strategy in '20. And that's a strategy again.
So, J.D. Vance's lack of popularity was just never -- or popularity or likability or frankly authenticity was never part of the calculus, and I would just say to centrist Republicans or center right people who -- who are trying so hard to become comfortable with Trump again, even though they're not and they know better, that thing they tell themselves and they look in the mirror as they say, he'll be okay if he surrounds himself with the right people but he couldn't even pick a vice president, a candidate, as somebody to be on the ticket with him, who engenders confidence or could do the job and they know that.
[19:10:03]
BURNETT: All right. So, you know, and then, Max, wait, voters, at least small donors see this is reflected in the fundraising we just saw.
MAX ROSE (D), FORMER U.S. CONGRESSMAN: Sure.
BURNETT: So, yesterday, $130 million from Trump, they were saying, I believe if I remember the wire correctly, 98 percent of it was coming from small donors.
ROSE: Right.
BURNETT: Harris is coming out and I don't know the exact number. I don't know the breakdown, but more than double the overall haul.
ROSE: Yeah. And I promise you, if you raise $300 million, it's really virtually impossible to accomplish that with large donors, but that, that is a small donor feat, and at this point, the fundraising is yes, a metric for your ammunition to get your message out in a campaign. But at this point, it is also a metric for enthusiasm because many of
the people who are doing those small dollar donations, they're also knocking on doors, they're also talking to their neighbors. Then -- there's this constant effort over these 60 days of who has that energy.
And what we've seen over prior presidential elections is the statistic that matters more than anything, is enthusiasm. In this highly polarized country that we live in, that, that is really bodes well.
BURNETT: Well, tens of thousands more. I mean, it's exponentially more in terms of just people volunteering for the Harris campaign versus Trump campaign.
So, Astead, you know, it is interesting though that now both, each candidate is trying to talk about their support that they have from the other side of the aisle, right? That there has been this -- to the extent you want to say that's trying to reach across the aisle or not.
Here's what Vance said about that just a couple minutes ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VANCE: We've got people like Nikki Haley, and Brian Kemp, and we've also got RFK and Tulsi Gabbard. You know why?
(APPLAUSE)
VANCE: Common sense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Meantime for Harris, Liz Cheney announcing her backing of Harris last night. So does -- does that matter? I mean, I'm not talking about the messenger. I'm talking about the reality that he is correct, that Nikki -- those people are behind Trump, Liz Cheney is now behind Harris.
Does that move any votes?
HERNDON: I think it speaks to the change in coalitions that are true for both parties. Donald Trump is not trying to put together a George W. Bush's or Mitt Romneys or whoever insert previous Republican of the past coalition. He's not even trying to put together his 2016 coalition.
He thinks that he can build together a more multi-racial working class base, but also bringing the Republican Party together in the end, right? We know that Brian Kemp, Nikki Haley, those are people he has targeted personally. There has been a lot of infighting in the Republican Party around -- unity around Trump for the past year.
His bet, this is where you see this with evangelicals also on abortion rights is that they will come back to him in the end from a sense of negative polarization or anti-Democrat-ness, while he expands himself to the middle. We haven't seen him be the best messenger for that, but that's clearly the strategy. On the Democratic side, they have a consistent story they've been telling about reaching out to maybe your non-MAGA Republicans. We saw worked for them in the midterms.
And we see kind of Harris and Walz making a concerted effort in the DNC to be for independents, to be for the middle of the base because if there's a warning sign for Harris right now, is that she certainly made up the enthusiasm gap among her base, to put her in the game that Biden was frankly, is completely out of. But we haven't fully seen the independents, the swing, the kind of middle of the road to be able to expand those margins, in particular, in swing-states.
That's what her task is now. She shored up the base, but she has to reach out to the side and I think her policy message has been geared to that.
BURNETT: You know, Doug Emhoff has campaigned for her. You see Vance's family on the trail, Walz's family has been on the trail.
You know, Trump's been kind of alone, Margaret, in terms of that. Melania, we haven't heard much from. Today, she did release a black and white to promote her new memoir.
So let me play some of that video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELANIA TRUMP, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Writing his memoir has been a deeply personal and reflective journey for me. As a private person who has often been the subject of public scrutiny and misrepresentations, I feel a responsibility I think to clarify the facts. I believe it is important to share my perspective. The truth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Who is the audience for that?
HOOVER: I don't know, the next modeling agency that might pick her up after they lose the election? I mean, look, I'm so sorry. But like I just -- that makes my head want to explode because that is -- I watched the whole lot and I went to MelaniaTrump.com. You can do it, too.
Here's what's on MelaniaTrump.com. You can go buy the book. You can buy Melania jewelry. You can buy Melania collectibles. You can buy a Melania Christmas ornaments.
You can learn a little bit about a charitable organization that helps foster care scholarships, which I'm sure does has the intention of doing good work. I don't know if it actually does good work because it Trump 501c3s tend to not be as effect -- efficacious as other non- profits in this country.
So all it does is a scream commoditization of --
BURNETT: Money.
HOOVER: -- of the presidency and of public service. And I find that incredibly ugly and beneath the office of the presidency.
[19:15:03]
It appears and smells and looks like a grift. But if she wants to tell her story, what it was like to be on the sidelines of a Trump presidency, I invite her to do that on CNN, on my program on PBS, on anyone. She can do that for free if voters need to be he able to consider what she would like to say an offer for this campaign so we can take that into consideration as we go to the polls in November.
BURNETT: Max, final word?
ROSE: Yeah, look, she has every right to tell her story. It's a story worth telling, but there are really serious questions as to whether or not she wants her husband to win this election. Because if she did, she would be campaigning with him and she has been present at nearly zero events. Maybe you've just a few minutes of the convention and that to me is what is telling here.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you all very much.
And we are just days away from that first presidential debate between Harris and Trump on Tuesday. And as we mentioned, Harris has been doing debate prep in Pittsburgh.
You can watch the ABC News presidential debate simulcast here on CNN as well. It will air at 9:00 Eastern and we'll have coverage before and after the debate.
And next here tonight, OUTFRONT, the first ballots actually go out tomorrow in the must-win state of North Carolina for Trump and for RFK Jr.'s name for now is still on them. So how much does it actually matter? Harry Enten, here to go beyond the numbers.
Plus, breaking news, the father of the alleged gunman in the Georgia school shooting buying his son the gun he used in the massacre as a holiday gift.
And Trump now wants to give Elon Musk sweeping powers to oversee government spending.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:20:57]
BURNETT: Tonight, RFK Jr. fighting to get off the ballot after he fought so hard to get on the ballot in state after state after state. I mean, it's been an entire thing for ten months here. He is now trying to get off the ballot because he endorsed Trump after dropping out of the race. But it happened late.
So he's still on the ballot in North Carolina and Michigan, and Wisconsin, which are three states where Trump and Harris are incredibly close. And all three of those particular states have early voting. And that voting starts in September. In fact, in North Carolina, the ballots are scheduled to go out tomorrow.
And as of now, because they're scheduled to go out tomorrow, that means that they are printed and ready to go, definitionally. That means Kennedy's name is on those ballots.
And Harry Enten is here with me to go beyond the numbers.
I want to talk about that specifically in a moment, Harry, because this could be really crucial. I mean, Trump pass to win North Carolina --
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yeah.
BURNETT: -- for his path to victory.
So let's talk about this six weeks after Harris gets to the top of the ticket and RFK gets out. You still got this name on the ballot.
How much of an impact is early voting all in when you hear about it starting this month, going to have?
ENTEN: You know, when I was a kid, the idea essentially was we all go and vote on Election Day. You can take that and chuck at right out the window. We have this fantastic timeline that can sort of chart what percentage of the vote is either cast in-person early are cast by absentee.
You go back 40 years ago, it was well less than 10 percent. It was only about 5 percent of the electorate. You look back 20 years ago, you see that number go up, but it's up to one think 21 percent.
Look at this, planning to vote either early or by mail in 2024, 53 percent in an average of polls, I should note --
BURNETT: Wow.
ENTEN: -- that that is lower than 2020 with the pandemic. But forget the pandemic for a second and you just look at that trend line, just a clear trend towards people voting early or by absentee, much more so than ever before.
BURNETT: I mean, that is just stunning. That's more than half of people.
ENTEN: Correct.
BURNETT: Just -- I mean, I'm saving basic math here, but somehow that putting it that way really makes my eyes bulge out. And it's not -- I mean, North Carolina is a must win for Trump. So were mentioning that the ballots go out tomorrow.
But where else do these people start voting so early? ENTEN: Yeah, absentee ballots, you know, we took a look at across the
seven key battleground states that we've all been following. In fact, the majority of them have either earlier or absentee ballot starting this month, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, all of them start absentee ballot voting in this month. So the bottom line is this election doesn't start on November 5th. This election for a lot of folks starts now or this month.
BURNETT: Right, and amazing. I mean, again, we got to this debate next week. But if those ballots really, when you get to people who've already voted before, even something like a debate happens.
ENTEN: It's absolutely possible, especially if there's a second debate between these two.
BURNETT: Right. And when you think about what happened to summer in just the space of a few weeks, the assassination attempt, the ticket changes, and all of a sudden, I mean, to put it in context.
All right. So, now, in the context of North Carolina, at this concept that Kennedy could be a spoiler, right? That his name could be on the ballot and those ballots going out. Therefore, that's going to come views people are somehow just take away from Trump -- is that a thing?
ENTEN: No, no. "The New York Times" poll this week, poll with Kennedy on the ballot, poll without Kennedy on the ballot, Kamala Harris, up in that poll by two points with Kennedy on the ballot or without, I should note no clear leader.
But the bottom line is Kennedy was getting such a small fraction of the vote. And even if Trump picks up a little bit more than Harris would, it's just so small, it doesn't really make much of a difference.
BURNETT: Right. And when you look at a state that Trump had in the bank and I know it's within the margin of error, but she's now up to, he has to win that state to win.
ENTEN: It's going to be very difficult if he doesn't.
BURNETT: Right.
All right. Harry, thank you very much. Harry Enten beyond the numbers and next breaking news, we are just learning what the suspected school shooter told investigators after the massacre is in custody, of course.
Plus, Trump going out of his way to make it clear that he and Vance are not as the Democrats, like to say, weird.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: J.D. is not weird. He's a solid rock. I happen to be a very solid rock. We're not weird. We're other things perhaps, but we're not weird.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:29:20]
BURNETT: Breaking news in the Georgia school shooting investigation. CNN is just obtaining the audio of the sheriff's questioning the alleged 14-year-old shooter last year before he allegedly carried out yesterday's mass shooting at his high school in Georgia, in which he killed four people and injured nine more.
Here's what he said when investigators asked him about tips at the time last year in school that he was allegedly threatening a school shooting.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
INVESTIGATOR: Have you heard anybody on Discord when you were using it say something like that? Do you remember?
COLT GRAY: Like at that time?
INVESTIGATOR: Yeah.
COLT GRAY: I don't so.
INVESTIGATOR: I mean, I'm not trying to get anybody hemmed up, but, like, this is some serious stuff, like --
COLIN GRAY: Oh, he knows how serious it is. Trust me.
INVESTIGATOR: Because I, I, I'd hate to, yeah, my boss was even like, you know, I don't know old this information is and if you want to wait until Monday to follow up on I'd rather do it now because --
COLIN GRAY: So would we.
INVESTIGATOR: Because God forbid something happened and I don't do my job. That'd be -- that I -- I'd feel pretty bad about that.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BURNETT: I mean, it's just words now, it's hard to hear, God forbid, something had happened. And now something has.
And it has come as CNN is learning that Gray's father told investigators that he purchased the gun that was used in the killings as a holiday present for his son.
Isabel Rosales is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHERIFF JUD SMITH, BARROW COUNTY, GEORGIA: I saw Colt in custody with handcuffs on. He is cooperating with as far as I know.
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Still talking?
SMITH: They're still talking.
ROSALES (voice-over): Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith was one of the first responders on campus yesterday.
SMITH: It was very nerve wracking going there, not knowing what I was about to walk into, what else about to see and what the situation was.
ROSALES: Both he and the entire school staff are crediting the fast response from law enforcement to a new security system that was implemented at the school just one week ago/
SMITH: It's like 26 -- I think 26 alerts during the incident when it started, within five minutes of the first alert going off, we had this suspect in custody.
ROSALES: The system called Centegix works with ID badges that include a panic button, the teachers and staff can press in an emergency situation.
SMITH: It's an ID card and the teachers can alert and lock the school down and we got alerts that told us where this was going on.
ROSALES: The 14-year-old suspect spent the night behind bars at a youth detention center. But on Friday, when he makes his first court appearance --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He will be charged with murder and he will be tried as an adult and handled as an adult.
ROSALES: According to a source familiar with the investigation, new details have emerged from the search of the suspect's home.
Documents found in his bedroom, believed to be written by him, referenced past school shootings, including the 2018 massacre in Parkland, Florida. But this wasn't the first time the suspect had a run-in with law enforcement, a 2023 investigative report says that last year, the local sheriffs office received a tip from the FBI about a series of anonymous threats on the chat platform, Discord, quote, shoot up a middle-school tomorrow.
The tip included photo attachments with a profile name in Russian, the translated to Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook shooter. The suspect and his father were both interviewed and while his father acknowledged hunting rifles existed in the home he said his son did not have unsupervised access to them. The suspect denied making the threats to shoot up a school, stating that he would never say such a thing, even in a joking manner.
The case was ultimately cleared because law enforcement couldn't substantiate the threats. Now, we've learned Gray's father told investigators he bought the AR-15 for his son after that investigation, and several months before he transferred into Apalachee high school.
And authorities are trying to figure out how the suspect managed to get that rifle into the school, especially because he was so new.
SMITH: He is enrolled in school two weeks ago, two-and-a-half weeks ago, and only been in school two days.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROSALES (on camera): And, Erin, we have breaking news, just dropping here in the last minute that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has arrested Colin Gray, age 54. That is Colt Gray's father, in connection to this deadly shooting at Apalachee High School. Again, that is Colt Gray's father. He's been charged with the following, four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder, and eight counts of cruelty to children.
The GBI will be having a press conference here in the next half hour or so we expect to get more details and an understanding of what led them to these charges here very soon.
And, Erin, I do want to leave you with this yeah right here. A community united here as the sun is setting in grief, there laying flowers, balloons paying their respects to again, the four dead two teachers to students at Apalachee High School.
BURNETT: And, Isabel, just in this breaking news, I mean, we're now hearing the audio which was just so chilling of the FBI asking questions of the shooter, his prior school about these threats, that one line, God forbid something happened and I didn't do my job, but when that investigators that I brought him in to ask these questions, now, I didn't wait over the weekend and, of course, here we are.
Are you learning anything more about Colin Gray? I mean, do we even know if he's in custody as you get all of these charges, which obviously are extremely significant, especially in the context of the fact that he gave his son this gun and he is the other voice we hear that there in that question. He was there with his son.
ROSALES: Right. And we have stunning reporting from my colleagues, Mark Morales and Ryan Young, that found that again investigators spoke with the father with the sun back in may of last year but then about six to seven months later as a holiday or Christmas gift, he bought the same gun that was used to carry out this attack as a gift to his son.
[19:35:09]
I spoke with the sheriff earlier who told me that anything was on the table including possible charges against Colin Gray, his father, Colt Gray's father, who had custody of his son. And here we are hours later and he's been in charge.
The biggest question again is how Colt allegedly got access to this gun, right? How it wasn't unlawful on how he managed to get it inside of the school that is what led to these charges. And we hope to find out more from the GBI here in the next half-hour.
BURNETT: All right. Isabel, as you get that, of course, we're going to come back to you as we get more information. Thank you very much.
And I think also just important to emphasize Isabel, Ryan, Mike's reporting, and as she's laying that out, that you hear that questioning, you hear the father brought in with his son for that questioning and it was after that questioning, six months after when he gave his child the gun that his child then used to murder people yesterday in Georgia.
I want to go to Tim Clemente now, former FBI special agent and SWAT team member.
Tim, I just as were hearing this audio, as I said, it is hard to listen to. You heard that agent and the sheriff says, say, look, I just God forbid thing happened. I do my job. I want to bring you in now. I want to do this questioning.
Let me play a bit more of the audio that we've obtained.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
INVESTIGATOR: Do you have weapons in the house?
COLIN GRAY: I do.
INVESTIGATOR: Are they accessible to him?
COLIN GRAY: They are. I mean, there's nothing -- nothing loaded. But they are.
We actually we do a lot of shooting. We do a lot of deer hunting. He's shot his first deer this year, you know? So, like I'm pretty much in shock to be honest with you. I'm a little pissed off to be even really honest with you if that is what was said.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BURNETT: That Tim that he's referring to are the threats about shooting a school that they brought in Colt Gray, the alleged shooter here to ask him about. So, seven months after that conversation when they're talking -- that's the father talking about his son's access to guns, seven months after that conversation, he gives him a gun. He gives him a gun for Christmas, and that is the gun that his son used to kill people yesterday.
How do you even process this?
TIM CLEMENTE, FORMER FBI SPECIAL AGENT: You know, Erin, it's almost impossible to process. Obviously, the father didn't take those threats seriously, didn't consider his son as the suspect that may have made those threats, the visit by the local sheriffs department investigators to talk to the sun and the father as a 13-year-old kid that possibly made those threats, you would think that it might wake the father up, that maybe he didn't know everything he should know about his son.
And it's disheartening that he would be so stupid as to, you know, he says in the interview that I saw him does have access to weapons and they're not loaded, but he has access to them and then he just increases that access with an additional rifle that tragically used yesterday.
BURNETT: I mean, it is -- it is really an incredible. You know, so you heard the investigator say, you know, I -- my supervisor said, are you going to do this today or do you want to wait through the weekend in terms of the questioning of this kid?
The alleged shooter Colt, who had now is 14 at the time was 13, because God forbid something happened. I didn't do my job. That'd be -- I'd feel pretty bad about that.
Now, you know, you hear there in the follow-up the 13-year-old saying, oh, I would never make such a threat. I would never do anything, you know, I know this is serious. I knew. So then it just it all went away.
When you hear all of this, does it make sense to you that it kind of went away? I mean, this kid then transferred to a new school. I don't know what level of awareness they had about any of this history.
CLEMENTE: You know, Erin, that's the biggest question that I have is what awareness did the new school have, did his teachers have, that maybe this is a kid they should be looking at more closely.
Now, obviously, a threat is significant enough that it goes from the FBI to local authorities to investigate further, but it's not enough to arrest the good because they really cant tie his fingerprints to that threat, even though it may have come from his IP address, his email address, whatever the connections were, they may not have had enough to actually charge him with anything if they were able to prove that it was his threat.
But it doesn't mean you don't look more closely at the kid. As a parent, as a teacher, a school administrators, everyone should have been looking more closely at this kid and his behavior, and obviously they weren't.
BURNETT: No. And I mean, I was talking to the kid who sits next to him, who was sitting next to him and algebra when he got up to leave, and she said, well, I didn't think anything of it because he's always skipping class. Right already this year, one month into school the kid who sits next to him knew that this kid had had issues and problems just because of that, no other interaction.
But these are things that in the context of what we -- of what they knew obviously should have should have stood out.
[19:40:05]
Tim, thank you very much. I am grateful for your time. Well, when we think about the people who died because of what happened, a beloved football coach and a math teacher, Richard Aspinwall, he was among the four victims killed at Apalachee High School. The students, Mason Schermerhorn, Christian Angulo also killed teacher Christina Irimie. Tributes are pouring in for them tonight. Now, Aspinwall was known as Coach A by his students, many calling him a hero tonight, 39-years- old, killed, protecting his students according to a GoFundMe set up by his family. He leaves behind his wife, Shayna, and two young daughters.
Nick Bach joins me now. He's been friends with Aspinwall for more than a decade. They coach together for five years before Aspinwall began teaching at Apalachee High School.
Nick, I'll just start by saying, I'm so sorry for this unbelievable moment that you are in. That you -- you know, with everything that we here in this country with these shootings that you never would've thought would touch you in this way. You texted your friend yesterday when you heard about the shooting and he didn't respond.
What did you think in that moment?
NICK BACH, FRIEND OF APALACHEE TEACHER RICHARD ASPINWALL WHO WAS KILLED: Honestly, at that moment, I thought the odds are got to be super low. It can't possibly be him. I mean, there's probably 2,000 kids, thousand other people walking around that building, you know, we're down to one and 3,000, but that's still crazy odds. There's no way, you know?
And then maybe 20, 30 minutes later, I started getting a few texts from fellow coaches that we all work together. We were all really close, and a couple of guys started saying that they were hearing that maybe it was him and then I just started shaking and kind of speechless and didn't know what to do for a few hours, mixed messages coming in at that point. So that's -- that's -- that's kind of how the first couple of hours went.
BURNETT: Nick, I don't -- I don't know how it must feel to you when you hear what we were just playing, you know, but he allegedly made these threats a year ago in his prior school, and then they actually call them in and investigators interviewed him and his father was there, and the investigator says, God forbid something happens and do my job. I feel pretty bad about that. He was saying that as to why he's going to do this interview on a Friday and not wait over the weekend. I mean, they took it seriously.
And yet the father then after that interview gives -- gives his son a gun seven months later. I mean, I don't know, when you're literally hearing all this right now, if you were plugged in a few minutes early, I mean, are you even able to process that information and how does it make you feel to hear that?
BACH: I'm honestly not able to process too much of it, certainly infuriating a little bit, kind of makes me, it makes my stomach turn. But at the same time, like I just heard it a few seconds ago and I'm just really here to honor my friend and he great he was.
BURNETT: When you talk to his wife and I know you did have a chance to talk to her yesterday and today, and her daughters, you were at their wedding, these known them a long time. You've coached with him? We've got a picture of you fishing together. I mean, just in terms of the regular things that you love to do, that you do together.
BACH: Yeah.
BURNETT: What was he like?
BACH: Just the best. I mean, the best human, most beautiful soul you've ever met, would go so far above and beyond for everybody around them. I mean, for the students and his math classes, for teachers and his department, coaches. I mean, you'd ever had to ask him to do anything. He just did it because he just wanted everybody around them to be great.
And I think that was his calling. It was just in his DNA to help everybody around him, so he was just so good at that. He just made us all admire and love him. So that's why were also broken up right now.
WAGNER: His wife and daughters, their losses is truly unimaginable. Over the years from their wedding, you would have you with him when those girls were born. What do they mean to him?
BACH: You know, that's the hardest part about it. I've told a few people today how he was how he was with my daughter because she was very young in the field house when I was coaching there and she was just a magnet to him, how he was like the biggest toy she'd ever seen, and he just smile and shed sit like right next to him and they'll take up all the space. I just want to be near them and we just knew he would be the best daughter dad ever, you know?
So, we all just were so pleased when he had little girls because he was born to do that. And that is the part that is the most tragic because -- I mean, he had some time but he should have been here for all of it with them.
[19:45:06]
BURNETT: Yes, he should have.
Well, Nick, thank you very much. I know it's hard to do this and I appreciate your doing it coming on and talking about him. Thank you.
BACH: No problem. Thank you. And just wanted to make sure we try to support the family as much as we can.
BURNETT: Yes. Thank you very much, Nick.
And next, we're going to be talking about how Trump says he's going to put Elon Musk in charge of government spending. An announcement Trump just made today. We'll tell you exactly what he says he'll do.
Plus, Putin tonight weighing in on the 2024 election, claiming that he now supports Harris.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:48:49] BURNETT: New tonight, Elon Musk and Donald Trump, two, at least they say, billionaires teaming up. Trump today announcing mosque will lead what he calls a government efficiency commission for his administration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I will create a government efficiency commission tasked with conducting a complete financial and performance audit of the entire federal government and making recommendations for drastic reforms -- need to do it.
And, Elon, because he's not very busy, has agreed to head that task force.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Trump claiming that Musk's commission could save trillions of dollars and not affect any services. This is Musk has gone full-on in his support of Trump with his in embrace, his endorsement of him, and the MAGA movement.
Musk just last night tweeting in part, quote, I think civilization as we know it is on the line. If we want to preserve freedom and a meritocracy in America then Trump must win.
And here's more where that came from.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELON MUSK, TECH BILLIONAIRE: You are the path to prosperity. And I think Kamala is the opposite. I think we need to take the right path and I think you're the right path.
American needs a strong leader. They'll think twice about messing with Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[19:50:02]
BURNETT: Musk has also pushed and embrace to host of unfounded conspiracy theories.
OUTFRONT now, the former Republican governor of Maryland and U.S. Senate candidate now, Larry Hogan.
And, of course, your race, Governor, very well could determine which party controls the Senate, which now is a real very important question for this country.
So, Governor, I just want to start with that news now, Trump saying, you know what the New York Economic Club today, that Elon Musk is going to be in charge of this commission if he wins. Would you be comfortable with that, you know, if Trump wins that Elon Musk would have such a major role in U.S. policy and spending? LARRY HOGAN (R), FORMER MARYLAND GOVERNOR, CANDIDATE FOR U.S. SENATE: Well, I obviously I never heard anything about this. We're out there busy campaigning here in Maryland. I just heard it just now sitting on your show. I really had no time to follow that. I don't have much reaction to it at all other than -- look, I'm all for government efficiency and it's the kind of thing that we focused on for eight years when I was governor of Maryland, but I don't really have any details about what Trump said today. I don't pay much attention to what he says actually.
BURNETT: All right. So to that point, you're not paying too much attention to what Trump says. That's true, and to the extent that you do, you have often been on the others side of it, Governor, I mean -- and you've been very open about that.
HOGAN: That's true.
BURNETT: Your campaign actually just released a series of new ads and I just wanted to play two of them, parts of two of them. Here they are.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AD NARRATOR: An early critic of Donald Trump, one of the few Republicans who never caved.
And on January 6, as we watched in horror, Hogan didn't talk about defending democracy. He did something sending in the Maryland National Guard to protect the capitol.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're attacking him as anti anti-women. Nothing could be further from the truth.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As governor, dad kept his word to provide birth control at no cost, and his supports choice by restoring Roe in every state.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: That last SOT, Governor, featuring your daughter is just hit the air tonight.
You know, so I'm watching these ads if I hadn't introduced you as foreign problem governor of Maryland, might've thought those were ads for Democrats, right? That these are ads Democrats could be running.
How do you feel about that? But said that -- and that is the environment that we're in?
HOGAN: Well, look, this is -- this is all nothing new. I mean, I've been the same person for the past decade and I ran -- I was elected as a Republican governor in the bluest state in America, and then reelected as only the second one in 248 years.
So, my positions haven't changed, and actually, my two daughters actually did an ad like that in 2014 and in 2018. So we're they keep running the same kind of false attacks against us which is disheartening that they tried to use issues as important as reproductive rights, as, you know, falsely attacking me. But we have to keep defending ourselves.
But look, its no secret that I'm the one that sent the Maryland National Guard and the Maryland state police to defend democracy and send them to the Capitol. We were the first ones to arrive. And so, it's not switching tactics or me saying things that are unusual. I mean, I've been probably the most outspoken critic of Donald Trump since the day he came down here the escalator.
BURNETT: Yeah.
HOGAN: And my record as governor is pretty clear on all of these issues.
BURNETT: You know, a few moments ago, I played a clip and I'm sure you weren't plugged in for this, but Trump was -- it was just Trump being a comment saying, oh, J.D. Vance and I are weird. We may be many other things, but were not weird but I'm sort of playing on that fact that that word and being called weird has gotten some its trended and its gotten picked up, right? And he's noticed it to the extent that he tried to make that sort of flip comment to acknowledge it, but make it go away.
I just want to play it for you, a part of it of what he said. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: J.D. is not weird. He's a solid rock. I happen to be a very solid rock. We're not weird. We're other things perhaps, but we're not weird.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: It does seem, Governor, that for him to bring that up and do that in that way, it's under his skin. That's often how he responds when something is just their festering.
Do you think that means it's been effective?
HOGAN: Well, I mean, its certainly got some traction, but it seems like it did get under his skin.
But look, I think the whole kind of the election season is weird and everything that's happening in our broken politics is weird and you know I don't -- I don't blame Donald Trump for pushing back on that. But, you know, I think people are tired of weird and they're tired of extremist the rhetoric from both sides.
And I think one of the reasons why I'm doing so well in a deep-blue state is that people think I'm normal and maybe its about, it's time we just focus on regular folks that actually want to solve problems and bring people together and fix some of the serious problems facing the nation. BURNETT: Just --
HOGAN: I -- it's not a serious campaign on either side. We're just kind of typical politics as usual, rhetoric, and I think people want straight talk instead of all the nonsense we're hearing from all over the place.
BURNETT: Here, as you say, Governor Hogan, I'm normal.
(LAUGHTER)
HOGAN: Yeah, it's a good ad right there, new ad.
BURNETT: Yeah.
All right. Well, Governor, it's great to see you. Thanks so much. I appreciate it.
HOGAN: Thank you, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. And next, an OUTFRONT exclusive: we have some new video and what this video shows is the sheer brutality of the front line.
[19:55:02]
Putin's military murdering Ukrainians as they tried to surrender.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Tonight, a CNN exclusive, horrifying new video of Ukrainian soldiers trying to surrender, then murdered in cold blood, a shocking reminder of the horrors on Ukraine's front lines. We warn you that the video in this piece is incredibly disturbing.
Nick Paton Walsh is OUTFRONT tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The scene all too common on Ukraine's imperiled eastern front, smoke billowing, a position overrun. Ukrainian troops staggering out, adhering to surrender to advancing Russians. A brief close up on Ukrainian drone video seen here for the first time shows them on their knees.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated): My friend, zoom in, we have to see them.
WALSH: The drone operators ask each other for a better view.
And then seconds later, it is too late. The three fall to the ground, dust nearby, suggesting gunfire, executed in cold blood, Ukrainian official familiar with the incident said, despite hoping to be taken prisoner by the Russians. It is from near the besieged city of Pokrovsk in late August. The source said, the hottest spot on the front now where Russia is persistently advancing and follows a horrific pattern.
Prosecutors say they're investigating a total of 28 cases in which 62 Ukrainian soldiers were killed after surrender on the battlefield.
ANDRIY KOSTIN, PROSECUTOR GENERAL OF UKRAINE: If prisoners of war surrender, if they showed that they surrender, if there are without weapons in their hand -- in their hands, than summary execution is the war crime.
It has worsened in the past ten months, CNN obtaining from Ukrainian intelligence officials a detailed list of 15 incidents.
WALSH: Most backed up by drone video or audio intercepts.
Now, United Nations investigators have scrutinized for many of these killings. And the U.N. investigative source said to me, quote, there are many there is a pattern and the killings are war crimes individually. They said in their opinion. And together could amount to crimes against humanity.
And new reporting, the site of some of the fiercest fighting this year in Zaporizhzhia, another Ukrainian drone filmed in may. These images that are upsetting to watch.
Ukrainian soldiers emerge one by one from the dugout. Ukraine's defense intelligence said they intercepted the Russian commander's order to execute all zero of them, and gave us this transcript.
Take them (EXPLETIVE DELETED) down, (EXPLETIVE DELETED) zero them, take them zero them, the officer says. Got it, plus, comes the reply.
Once you zero them, report back, he adds. Once they're all out, face down, the Russians fire.
Ukrainians we spoke to left asking why? To just terrify them or is it simply sport for the Russians.
PETRO YATSENKO, UKRAINIAN COORDINATION CENTER FOR THE TREATMENT OF POWS: The main reason is to made Russian soldiers believe they -- it's very dangerous to surrender Ukrainian forces because Ukrainian soldiers will kill them like Russians killing Ukrainian prisoners of war. This force them not to surrender, but to go forward to their deaths.
WALSH: A horror not always publicize all fully accounted for, yet being felt steadily by Ukrainians, as they struggle to hold the eastern line.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: That was horrific to watch. Now, thank you for joining us. "AC360" starts now.
