Return to Transcripts main page
Laura Coates Live
Judge Blocks Trump's Move to End Birthright Citizenship. Dispatch Audio Reveals Code Red Delay in Texas Floods. Colorado Dentist Accused of Killing Wife by Poisoning Protein Shakes. Assassination Attempt Caught on Camera in Ukraine. Aired 11p-12a ET
Aired July 10, 2025 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[23:00:00]
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: -- the Democratic Party. They supercharged black political power and paved the way for the country to finally elect the first Black president, Barack Obama. This book takes a look at Jackson's political legacy more than 40 years later, and I cannot wait for you all to read it. Scan that Q.R. code on your screen to preorder now.
And thank you very much for watching "NewsNight." "Laura Coates Live" starts right now.
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tonight, a new roadblock in President Trump's attempt to end birthright citizenship. But will it force the Supreme Court to step in once and for all? Plus, hear the dispatch audio from a Texas firefighter calling a code red as floodwaters rush in. And an apparent assassination of a Ukrainian intelligence officer caught on camera. But was it a Russian revenge? We're going to discuss tonight on "Laura Coates Live."
Welcome, everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez, in for Laura. We're going to start with a federal judge blocking President Trump's push to end birthright citizenship using really the only tool the Supreme Court left on the table.
Now, if this sounds familiar, you're not wrong, because remember, it was just a few weeks ago, the Supreme Court limited the power of lower court judges to block federal policies nationwide. This ruling got around that by coming through a class action lawsuit, which the Supreme Court still allows. The decision covers all babies born on or after February 20th regardless of their parents' immigration status. And this is from a judge appointed by George W. Bush.
The question now, will this case wind up in front of the Supreme Court, forcing the justices to rule on birthright citizenship itself? The lead attorney in the case is confident that if it does, it won't swing Trump's way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CODY WOFSY, LEAD ATTORNEY IN BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP CASE: The text of the Constitution is clear, the history is clear, the precedent is clear. So, can they take the issue up to the Supreme Court? Quite likely yes. Will they win? Absolutely not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: Well, that journey might be exactly where this is headed. The White House is already saying they're going to respond, specifically saying the Trump administration will be fighting vigorously against the attempts of these rogue district court judges to impede the policies President Trump was elected to implement.
And birthright citizenship in this context isn't the only immigration- related issue heating up. Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: So, this is a clash between protesters and federal agents in Ventura County, California. It happened during a suspected immigration raid at a cannabis farm which -- I'll point out, cannabis is legal in California. Another raid was reported in Santa Barbara County.
The Department of Homeland Security says in a statement, DHS law enforcement is executing a warrant at a marijuana facility. Our brave officers will continue to enforce the law.
And we don't know as of now the exact details of why this farm was chosen for enforcement, but this scene symbolizes what farmers across the region fear, an immigration crackdown that could ensnare their workers or their businesses, even potentially destabilize the nation's food supply, which we'll talk a little bit more about in a moment.
But if that raid was meant to send a tough message to undocumented workers, Trump and his team haven't been speaking entirely with one voice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We're going to have a system of signing them up so they don't have to go. They can be here legally. They can pay taxes and everything. They're not getting citizenship, but they get other things. And the farmers need them to do the work. Without those people, you're not going to be able to run your farm.
SEC. BROOKE ROLLINS, U.S. SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE: There will be no amnesty, the mass deportations continue but in a strategic way, and we move the workforce towards automation and 100% American participation.
TRUMP: There's no amnesty. What we're doing is we're getting rid of criminals. But we are doing a work program.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: So, a work program, but mass deportations are going to continue and there's going to be automation with 100% American participation.
If you're confused, so are farmers. One California farmer telling the Los Angeles Times, it just shows how uninformed and out of touch some of these officials are with what food production looks like in this country.
And that may be because MAGA world is actually pushing back on the Trump administration. For the president's hardline allies, any talk of a program for undocumented workers looks like amnesty up against a campaign promise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE BANNON, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF STRATEGIST: The lobbyists are going to come back and call it something else. But it's amnesty. It can't happen. Mass deportations now, amnesty never.
CHARLIE KIRK, FOUNDER, TURNING POINT USA: People are pushing President Trump for amnesty. They are pushing him for mass legalization of illegals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: So now the president finds himself in what has become a familiar position, caught between the economic reality on the ground and the purity test from his own base to carry out a campaign promise.
We're going to talk more about that in a bit. Let's start on the birthright citizenship issue. With me now, Josh Gerstein, senior legal affairs reporter at Politico, and Rebecca LeGrand, attorney and founder of LeGrand Law.
[23:05:03]
Thank you both for being here. Josh, I want to start with -- with the birthright citizenship ruling because the White House says the judge circumvented the Supreme Court's ruling but -- against nationwide injunctions. But is this not the type of class action type-based remedy that the Supreme Court left the door wide open for?
JOSH GERSTEIN, SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS REPORTER, POLITICO: Yeah. And indeed, a couple of the justices said, we're pretty clear if we take nationwide injunctions off the table, people are going to just rush to do class actions instead as a replacement. In fact, Justice Alito said he was worried about that but he -- he predicted it as well as did Justice Kavanaugh.
So, to say that it's sort of like a crazy end around when the Supreme Court itself put it in their opinion, I think, is -- is really stretching the truth.
JIMENEZ: And Rebecca, I mean, we're already -- we're already seeing the signs. This is probably going to end up back in front of the Supreme Court again.
REBECCA LEGRAND, WHITE COLLAR FEDERAL CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes.
JIMENEZ: How -- how might they approach this issue sort of this time around? I know it's different, but it's a similar set of circumstances.
LEGRAND: My -- my hope is that they will approach it by starting with the text to the Fourteenth Amendment, which has been found for -- ever since it was enacted to mean that babies born in this country are U.S. citizens.
And every district court that has addressed this so far, and there have been four, has found that the executive order seeking to change the law completely from what everyone understood it to be is blatantly unconstitutional.
So, I think the Supreme Court is going to have to start with the text of the amendment and what everyone always thought it meant. And I hope that, as the lawyer for the ACLU said, that they will reach the decision that the four district courts all across the country have already reached, which is that it -- that is the law, that babies born here are citizens.
JIMENEZ: And just when you look at the nature of this class action lawsuit, I mean, does today's ruling or does this particular case and how it moves forward, does it sort of this for other judges looking to provide nationwide relief or other attorneys to provide nationwide relief? Is this really kind of the roadmap that's being laid here?
GERSTEIN: Yeah. I mean, I think we'll see efforts to get that in some other cases although sometimes you do encounter judges that don't want to award nationwide relief when there's already another order in place.
But the legal issues are actually very simple because the judge who handled this up in New Hampshire, you mentioned he's a George W. Bush appointee. He had already ruled in one of these cases, so he couldn't very well take the opposite position and say there's -- you know, birthright citizenship doesn't -- doesn't exist anymore. The portion of his opinion dealing with that issue is really only like half a page because he says we ran through all this before, it's blatantly unconstitutional.
And, by the way, three of the Supreme Court justices who ruled in that nationwide injunctions case also said that it was patently unconstitutional. So, we're really just talking about whether two more justices can be found to take that position publicly.
JIMENEZ: Sure. And I've heard lawyers hate to go against their own precedent. But, you know, that's just me observing.
I want to also ask you, Josh, too, because a federal judge held an evidence hearing today over Kilmar Abrego Garcia, demanded Trump administration admits he was wrongfully deported to El Salvador. And ICE official admitted it's possible that there are discussions to deport him to a third country if he's released from criminal custody.
We're still waiting on a decision on that point. But you were in court today, as I understand. What were you hearing in regards to their arguments? What did you observe?
GERSTEIN: Well, I was in the courthouse for this three-hour long hearing.
JIMENEZ: Yeah.
GERSTEIN: It really looked to me like the Trump administration had once again sort of angered and irritated the judge up there, Paula Xinis.
And what they did this time was they brought in an ICE official whose familiarity with this case began, believe it or not, on Tuesday morning. In other words, he said that he had spent three and a half hours looking at the facts of this case which, to be honest, Omar, that's probably 10% of the time I've spent looking at the case, and the lawyers who worked on it have spent hundreds of hours.
But he only became involved in the case two days ago, and this is the expert that the Trump administration brought in to give the judge advice about what was going to happen --
JIMENEZ: Yeah.
GERSTEIN: -- to Kilmar Abrego Garcia. She seemed very irritated by that, said the whole process had taken four times longer than it should have. She decided she couldn't even hear arguments on this today. She put it off until tomorrow morning.
But she sounds very irritated by the whole thing and concerned that there is a possibility they might try to ship Abrego Garcia out of the country or maybe send him to Alaska or someplace like that where it would be very hard for him to prepare for that criminal trial down in Tennessee.
JIMENEZ: And we'll continue to watch for that ruling. Rebecca, I want to ask you about one other thing because Ketanji Brown Jackson -- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was speaking today and got a round of applause after answering this question.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN: What keeps you up at night?
KETANJI BROWN JACKSON, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES: I would say the state of our democracy.
(APPLAUSE)
[23:09:55]
I -- I would say that I am - I am really very interested in getting people to focus and to invest and to pay attention to what is happening in our country and in our government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: So that's on stage. But she has also written blistering dissents and -- and -- I just wonder how -- how do you assess her judicial direction to this point. And does even that answer, signal anything to you about her judicial direction and outlook moving forward?
LEGRAND: I think it shows how seriously she takes her job. And I think her answer to what keeps me up at night and where she sorts of went from there, which is I hope that all Americans are paying attention, I think it's hard to argue with that.
I think no matter what side of these issues you're on, these are -- we are dealing as a nation with very important significant changes in how things have worked in many cases since the founding. Things are being changed quickly and in dramatic ways. And I think it is important for everyone to pay attention. And I think if you're a justice on the Supreme Court, you should always be worrying about keeping our democracy safe and sound.
And I think she's an incredibly effective writer. I think her dissents have been really powerful. I'm sure she'd rather be in the majority, but she has demonstrated her intellectual firepower and her skills as a writer and a jurist.
JIMENEZ: Rebecca, Josh, appreciate both of you all for being here, as always.
All right, as we also have been talking about, tonight's raids at farms in Southern California are renewing fears about where President Trump's immigration crackdown is headed next.
There is deep concern these raids could spread to farms producing food and agriculture. The USDA says California produces about 11% of all agriculture products in America, more than any other state. And out of the more than 850,000 farm workers in California, nearly half are undocumented, according to the University of California, Davis.
So, let's talk about it. With me now, Manuel Cunha, Jr., president of Nisei Farmers League, an organization that represents 500 farmers and more than 75,000 farm workers. Thank you for being here.
You know, President Trump has mentioned some sort of reprieve for agriculture workers, but nothing is set in stone yet. You talk to many of these farmers and farm workers. What is the level? How would you characterize the level of fear and anxiety among them right now?
MANUEL CUNHA, JR., PRESIDENT, NISEI FARMERS LEAGUE: Right now, it's very high because of the uncertainty of not knowing day to day, is the worker going to be there? Is the farmer going to be able to harvest a crop? But the great concern for the farmer is for that worker. Is that worker going to be able to come to work or is that worker now worried about how he comes to work, what he looks like, how he drives, the pathway he takes?
All of those things are being concerns of the grower and the worker. All of our employers, farm labor contractors, growers, packers, hire workers, all base on their information they present on face value.
Our workers are crucial to this entire economy across the world. The farm workers were so important during COVID. We called them frontline workers, essential workers. Without the farmers and the workers, there would be no food in the stores, the restaurants or anything during that time of COVID. The United States said, thank God for our farm workers and farmers.
Today, we have a total mixed direction. We have the president saying great things about what he wants to do for the farmers. Sign the worker up and take care of him here. But yet I see the agency of Homeland and even my Ag secretary saying, we're going to move forward with mass deportations, with all of that. There's going to be no amnesty. Agricultural farmers and workers have never asked for amnesty. But we've asked the president for (INAUDIBLE).
JIMENEZ: And Manuel, sorry to jump in here, but -- but actually, you brought up the agriculture secretary and one of the things we've heard from Secretary Brooke Rollins is to have 100% American workforce, and you actually tried to help hire American citizens to work on farms when there was a shortage of employees in the 90s, as I understand. What did you find then and what is your message to those who say we can just replace the undocumented workers, we have the workforce to do it?
CUNHA: Well, 1998 was a real disaster. Seventy-seven thousand farm workers were short. We had pears hit the ground, rot. Peaches, nectarines, cherries. A lot of crops. Raisins. Crops did not get harvested because of the shortage. So, we went to Congress and said we need to do an immigration (INAUDIBLE).
[23:15:00]
President Clinton had just passed the "welfare to work." So, we're told to go back and use your welfare programs. So, we did. We set up a whole entire thing by the state. Ten counties involved. San Joaquin Valley and the Salinas Valley, the vegetable part of the world. We set it up. We did everything. We had childcare programs. We had transportation. We had training. We separated the people that cannot work.
In just Fresno County alone, we had 22,000 well human beings that could work, talk. They could do anything. They were healthy. They were not folks that couldn't. We had 500 people sign up. We had a system where all the job orders came into the Ag Labor Network. We didn't send them to all the EDD offices. And we had over 60 EDD offices so they would go right to the correct office in the right city or county. Five hundred people applied.
When we got done, three showed up, actually went to the farm. One got lost. One went for half a day and quit. The third got the job order. He went to the farm. He came back in the afternoon to the employment and said, I need unemployment -- I need that workers comp because he had gotten hurt. He never showed up at the growers' operation.
So, what's the difference, 1998 to today? Farm workers are a very strong, educated group of workers. It is a skilled job. I'm sorry, if anybody says it isn't, then they haven't been on a farm. It's hard work. And that's what we like about the president saying we got to take care of them here. But if we're doing what we did today down south, and I understand, drugs and those things, get warrants, go do those things, but when you enter farms today with military equipment --
JIMENEZ: Yeah. Manuel --
CUNHA: (INAUDIBLE).
JIMENEZ: Sorry. There's a little bit of a delay. But -- but Manuel, I just want to say thank you for -- for the time and -- and sharing your expertise, especially from what you all did in -- in the 90s. Manuel Cunha, Jr., really appreciate. Thanks for being here.
CUNHA: Thank you.
JIMENEZ: All right. Let's talk about some of the political implications of all this with democratic strategist Ameshia Cross and Republican strategist Lance Trover. Good to see you both.
Lance, I'll start with you. When you hear Trump say -- President Trump say, oh, maybe there -- maybe we've got to figure out something for the farm workers here.
LANCE TROVER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST, FORMER SPOKESPERSON FOR DOUG BURGUM'S 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Right.
JIMENEZ: Is that something you see as a serious option given sort of, I don't know if you want to call it an edict, to sort of do the opposite and remove as many undocumented people as possible?
TROVER: Yeah. look, I don't buy into this idea that it's amnesty per se. I mean, there is a program which -- that I have seen and had experience with -- with getting, you know, workers here to come in and work on farms and the like.
If we're talking about streamlining that process and cutting out the bureaucracy so we ensure that they are here legally and working legally, I am all for that and think that's the right play.
I actually think it wouldn't be the worst idea in the world for Republicans, while they have the majority, to consider codifying things like this and looking deeper into the immigration issue because they have a majority and they could put up a serious proposal on some of the things that --
JIMENEZ: I hear you saying that. But some -- some of the more MAGA faithful --
TROVER: Yeah. Absolutely.
JIMENEZ: -- base look at anything. I mean, you know --
TROVER: Well, the amnesty is just off the table. I'm not arguing. I don't think we should have amnesty either. But I think -- I think Republicans should seriously consider, while they have the majority, to look at programs like this for farmers and hotel workers, people who can come here legally, streamline the process, potentially codify it into law. I mean, Republicans have the majority. They can control and codify some of these things into law because lord knows, if the Democrats get back in power in 2028, we've saw what the last four years were like. It means the floodgates in the Wild West again.
JIMENEZ: And, you know, Ameshia, part of -- part of the controversy around all of this is sort of just the way in which -- which ICE has been carrying out enforcement actions. And, you know, we heard from Pennsylvania Democratic Senator John Fetterman, who actually called out the Democrats today over criticizing ICE. Take a quick listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): ICE agents are just doing their job. And I fully support that. And for me, and people in my party might, you know, want to abolish it or treat them as criminals or anything, that's inappropriate and outrageous. ICE performs an important -- an important job for our nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: And look, I'm not going to say ICE can't be criticized or scrutinized but, especially as attacks on agents are up, you had a police officer shot at an ICE detention center, allegedly, as part of an organized attack in Texas.
[23:19:57]
Is there a political risk for Democrats in sort of taking some of the -- maybe if you start with legitimate criticisms of taking that too far?
AMESHIA CROSS, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, I don't think there should be standoffs between ICE agents and the general public, even those who have been protesters and those who don't agree with some of ICE tactics at this point.
But we cannot act as though this is the same ICE as it was just a few years ago because it is not. The tactics have amplified. The level of scrutiny that they are getting is much deserved.
The questions that many people have about the raids, about the mask, about who they're rounding up, about the fact that, you know, many of these people have not -- they do not have a criminal history at all, they are not the violent people that ICE and the administration said that they were going to be going after, I think that there are a lot of legitimate concerns around that.
However, there is a way to handle those concerns that does not end up in a standoff or people getting hurt. I think that for anyone who is trying to amplify that or trying to make that okay, that's a problem.
Fetterman is taking a very interesting stance here because it seems as though, at least from some of the comments that you just played as well as some of things that he said on social media, that there is no bridge too far that he sees from this administration. I think that much of the Democratic Party would disagree with that.
JIMENEZ: And Lance, just on that point, I mean, recent poll did find that 54% of Americans polled believe that the actions of ICE agents have gone too far in these immigration raids. So, I guess on the other side of things, are these raids politically sustainable, especially if they are, it seems, wrapping up nonviolent undocumented immigrants as part of these as well?
TROVER: I mean, overall, the polling has shown since the election last year -- I mean, that's one poll of many but, by and large, the voters have been right on board with mass deportations. They certainly are spot-on with 60-70% of this country wanting criminal illegal aliens out of this country.
So, look, the president's polling is still pretty steady around 50%. I don't see that it's taking a political hit on him right now. This has been going on for almost six months. It tells me the voters, while maybe they're a little uneasy about some of the stuff, aren't completely unhappy about it.
JIMENEZ: Could you ramp up from here, especially with added funding coming in from the recent bill?
TROVER: Ramp up House.
JIMENEZ: As in, if more funding in this most recent bill that was --
TROVER: Well, yeah, there's a lot more funding. That includes more border security. That includes finishing the wall. I mean, those are all things that were promised on the campaign. And again, I -- again, I look at where the voters are on the president right now. I don't see that they're completely unhappy with where he is on this topic.
CROSS: It also includes a lot more money for essentially an ICE strike force. This isn't just about border security. This is about manpower. This is about manpower to amplify surveillance. A lot of that surveillance being illegal. And this is also about scaring the hell out of people in their communities. Like that is -- they're going to continue to do what they're doing now, but they're just going to do it in much greater number.
JIMENEZ: All right. I got to leave it there. Ameshia, Lance, good to see you both.
All right, coming up, what went wrong in Kerr County, Texas? We've been getting more questions than answers until now in some respects. CNN obtaining dispatch audio from the critical first hours of the devastating floods. We'll play them for you next.
Plus, the trial that's about to shock the nation, at the very least, with the details involving a dentist, an affair, and poisoned protein. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:25:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JIMENEZ: New tonight, CNN obtaining dispatch audio from Texas in the critical first hours of flooding, hours before the code red alert was sent out. At 3:50 a.m., homes were already flooding.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Respond to 2029 Highway 39 2029 Highway 39. It's going to be for a water rescue. House caller's house flooded.
We're getting multiple calls off of 39. people are stating their houses are flooding. We're trying to advise them to get to higher area.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: Then, 30 minutes later, a firefighter calls into dispatch and asks for the alert.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Is there any way we can send a CodeRED out to our Hunt residents asking them to find higher ground or stay home?
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Stand by, we have to get that approved with our supervisor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: But no alert was sent for nearly 90 minutes. And before that, rescuers started pulling people from the water.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN (voice-over): We've got one female pulled out of the water. If you'll have more units come down to the end of Roland trail and go through the gates. She's going to need medical attention.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: Joining us now from Kerrville, Texas is CNN correspondent Marybel Gonzalez. So Marybel, could -- could an earlier code red have potentially saved lives? What happened here?
MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Omar. Well, Kerr County residents we've spoken to who have lived to tell us about this disaster and who witnessed it firsthand certainly do think so.
One such example is Lorena Guillen (ph). She owns an RV park located right along the banks of the Guadalupe River. She told us that around 2:30 a.m., she called the local sheriff's department. She was concerned about the rising water levels of the river, and she wanted to know if she needed to evacuate her residents. She was told by the sheriff's department, according to her account, that they weren't aware of any sort of imminent threat. By 4 a.m., her entire RV park had washed away and, unfortunately, one family with small children could not be saved.
Now, those dispatch audios that we just heard earlier, we received those from John David Trolinger. He was the former I.T. director for Kerr County who also helped install this code red alert system.
[23:30:00]
Now, he says he woke up in the middle of the flooding and started recording on whether or not this alert could have saved lives. This is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN DAVID TROLINGER, FORMER I.T. DIRECTOR FOR KERR COUNTY, TX WHO INSTALLED CODERED SYSTEM: Quick action could have helped people down river. But at 3:30, once it hit 4:30, it was just too late. The CodeRED would have been ineffective, in my opinion. The 1 a.m. National Weather Service call would be my own -- you know, my pick. That would be the latest that an alert could have gone out to the public that could have saved lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GONZALEZ: Now, as these exhaustive recovery efforts enter their seventh day, so does the quest for answers. But today, a notably brief press conference. And unlike the other press conferences we've seen in the past, there were no Kerr County officials present.
The only person taking the podium today was the Kerrville police sergeant, Jack Lamb. He answered very few questions, none of which shed light on the emergency response or whether or not they had any sort of way of warning people of this deadly flooding.
JIMENEZ: Marybel Gonzalez, really appreciate you bringing us that reporting. Thank you.
All right, just ahead, a poison protein shake, an affair, and alleged jailhouse murder plot. The shocking trial about to unfold in a Colorado courtroom. We'll bring you the details next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:35:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JIMENEZ: Cyanide, an affair, and alleged murder-for-hire plot from behind bars. Those are just some of the many shocking details in the case of Colorado dentist James Craig who is accused of killing his wife, Angela.
Tonight, jury selection is underway as Craig faces six charges, including allegedly poisoning his wife's protein shakes, something prosecutors say resulted in her death nearly two years ago. But that's not it. Craig is also facing charges for allegedly plotting to kill four people from jail while awaiting trial. I want to bring in CNN's Jean Casarez, who's following the case for us. So, Jean, let's just start with what do we know led to James Craig's arrest.
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's interesting because many people did the right thing. It was just a little too late. Here's what happened. He was a dentist, successful dentist. It appeared he had his dental practice. And one of his employees saw him after hours at the dental office on the computer, but not in his office, in one of the exam rooms. They thought that was really strange.
And then a little bit, a few days later, he told one of his employees, that told an office manager, I have a personal package coming to the dental office, don't open it. Well, an employee that didn't hear that did open it and sort of left it open. And then one of the office managers saw it and said that it was a chemical, a poisonous chemical. And she looked and it was potassium cyanide.
Now, at this point, Angela is in the hospital. And she had -- she researched it and potassium cyanide had the same symptoms that Angela is having in the hospital. So, she told the business partner, who was a dentist, of Craig, and then he went to the hospital, and he told the nurse, he has ordered potassium cyanide. And one thing led to another. Police were called in. And before Angela even passed, there was a homicide investigation that had begun.
JIMENEZ: Wow.
CASAREZ: Now, I want to show you, Omar --
JIMENEZ: Yeah.
CASAREZ: -- there is a text between Angela and her husband, James Craig. And this is after -- because he made her protein shakes every day. I mean, he portrayed himself, and maybe he is, there's a defense here, as a loving husband. And so, he'd given her one of the protein shakes on March 6th. She didn't feel well, dizzy, couldn't focus. So, he says, let's show everybody here, have you eaten anything? She said, well, I had my protein shake and magnesium makes me weird. This is not hungry. Are you nauseous? No, I feel drugged, she says.
So, that was right off the bat. That was --
JIMENEZ: Wow.
CASAREZ: -- the first time that she was feeling that way, and she was admitted into the hospital.
JIMENEZ: Wow. And I want to ask you, too. What do we know about this -- this alleged plot from -- from behind bars as this all has been playing out?
CASAREZ: Well, these charges came in the last year.
JIMENEZ: Yeah. CASAREZ: And the prosecutors are alleging. And this is -- solicitation to commit murder is one of them. They are alleging that James Craig asked a fellow inmate that once he got out, if he would murder the lead investigator of James Craig's case.
JIMENEZ: Wow.
CASAREZ: Craig wanted to get rid of the person. And then two other inmates he wanted murdered. And there was -- there was another one also. He wanted four people together murdered.
Now, another thing to go along with that, the inmate's ex-wife, he contacted to try to -- for her to say that she was good friends with Angela, she wasn't, and also that Angela wanted to commit suicide, had suicidal ideations.
JIMENEZ: Uh, a lot to take in and process. Jean Casarez, thank you for being on top of it all. I really appreciate the reporting.
CASAREZ: You're welcome.
JIMENEZ: All right, just ahead, shot dead on the streets of Kiev in broad daylight.
[23:40:01]
The apparent assassination, you see in some of the video there, of a Ukrainian intelligence officer coming on the heels of President Trump's tough talk towards Vladimir Putin. Was Russia behind this? We'll talk about it. Coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JIMENEZ: A brazen shooting in broad daylight in Kyiv looks to be an assassination of one of Ukraine's intelligence officers. Now the shooting was caught on CCTV footage.
[23:45:00]
And while CNN can't independently verify the footage and we're not showing the moment shots were fired, you can see a man walking out of an apartment building holding bags and headed toward a parked car. You can see him in the black shirt there. A masked individual appearing to hold a gun approaches from the other side of the parking lot. After the shots were fired, you can see a person running from the scene.
Joining us now to talk about this and more is CNN global affairs analyst Kim Dozier. Kim, so, for context, this is coming as we're seeing a Russian onslaught of drones on multiple Ukrainian cities. But in regards to this specific attack, is there anything that sticks out to you in regards to how it was carried out and who it was carried out on?
KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: This has to be payback intended by Russia to get revenge for all of the Ukrainian strikes inside Russian territory. Multiple high-level officials, something like 12 generals and more, have been assassinated near their offices, near their homes, in Moscow itself, in Russian-held territory in Crimea. So, it shows that Ukrainian intelligence officials have managed to penetrate Russian society and also have good enough intelligent sources to figure out who these senior people are.
In a way, I'm kind of surprised that we haven't seen more of Russian- attempted payback like this. And you can imagine that after this, this sense that -- so was just in Ukraine several weeks ago, and one of the complaints I heard near the front lines was, hey, back in Kiev, people are acting like this war isn't happening. Now, you can bet that every single senior intelligence officer will be taking protection -- protective measures. They won't be letting their guards down even in the Capitol.
JIMENEZ: This was an SBU officer --
DOZIER: Yeah.
JIMENEZ: -- of a security agency, and that was the agency that helped lead that series of drone attacks on the Russian air bases a little over a month ago as well.
DOZIER: Yeah, the assassination attacks and also the amazing Trojan horse-like operation where they got containers stationed near air bases across Russia, as far away as Siberia, that had drones hidden inside them that then lifted off and attacked the kind of airplanes that carry nuclear weapons.
JIMENEZ: So, we'll continue to watch for that. I want to also ask you about Secretary of State Marco Rubio meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Here's what he said following that meeting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: The president has been pretty clear. He is disappointed and frustrated that there has not been more flexibility on the Russian side to bring about an end to this conflict. We hope that can change. And we're going to continue to stay involved where we see opportunities to make a difference.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: I'm not a body language expert. That did not seem overtly positive.
DOZIER: Yeah.
JIMENEZ: But I just wonder how you see the diplomatic outlook between the United States and Russia right now.
DOZIER: Russia has been very clear from the beginning that it is sticking with its aggression towards Ukraine until its goals are accomplished. And those goals include that Ukraine has to have a government that is friendly to Russia, basically one that Russia has installed, that Russian language has to be spoken. Essentially, the country gets erased. And NATO has to agree never to expand again. A number of measures that NATO members, the West will never agree to, that Ukraine will never agree to.
So, Rubio has the tough job of trying to negotiate with a country that he knows from his time in the Foreign Affairs Committee, et cetera, isn't going to give up on these points. But we're all just waiting for Trump to get impatient enough that he starts really putting pressure on Moscow. That's the only way to a resolution.
JIMENEZ: Seems like the optimism that was there at the beginning of the administration has faded just a little bit. Well, we will see. We will see. Kim Dozier, appreciate the expertise as always.
DOZIER: Thanks.
JIMENEZ: All right, before we go tonight, we got to talk superheroes a little bit because it's not a bird, it's not a plane, it is Jimmy Olsen, you know, best friend, co-worker of Lois Lane and Clark Kent. The actor playing Jimmy in the new "Superman" movie that's breaking records over on Rotten Tomatoes and maybe beyond, we will see, but Skyler joins us next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JIMENEZ: Look up in the sky. After much anticipation, "Superman" is finally here, and he's flying to a theater near you. The movie, which is being distributed by CNN's sister company, Warner Brothers Pictures, just broke the record for the highest Rotten Tomatoes audience score for a live action "Superman" movie.
It's also the very first entry into the brand-new D.C. cinematic universe being spearheaded by Director James Gunn, who has brought us hits like "Guardians of the Galaxy," "The Suicide Squad," and more. Here's a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNKNOWN: I stopped a war.
UNKNOWN: Maybe.
UNKNOWN: Not maybe. I did.
UNKNOWN: In effect, you illegally entered a country.
UNKNOWN: This is how you're going to be?
UNKNOWN: I'm not the one being interviewed, Superman.
UNKNOWN: Did you consult with the president?
UNKNOWN: No.
UNKNOWN: You seemingly acting as a representative of the United States.
UNKNOWN: I wasn't representing anybody except for me and -- and -- and doing good.
[23:55:01]
UNKNOWN: I would question myself in the same situation and consider the consequences.
UNKNOWN: People were going to die.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: I might need to pick up some interview tips from Lois Lane there. But earlier, I spoke with one of the -- I spoke with one of the stars of the movie, Skyler Gisondo, who portrays "The Daily Planet" photojournalist, Jimmy Olsen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIMENEZ: All right, so Skyler, I saw the movie. It really has this classic superhero feel. Like, I'm a fan of the sort of dark, gritty superhero movie, too, but this wasn't that clearly on purpose. You and I, I think, are around the same age. How -- how would you place this in the era of superhero movies that we've grown up with over the past 20 to 30 years? And did it feel like a superhero movie when you were making it?
SKYLER GISONDO, ACTOR: Totally. In terms of it feeling like a superhero movie, usually, as an actor, you're making something and you hope that people see it and they connect with it, you don't know for sure that people will see it. And then coming in to make "Superman," you're so aware of the responsibility that you have, you want to get it right, and I think that that could have -- that feeling could easily boil over into feeling kind of stiff coming into it or nervous or scared.
But James Gunn, our writer and director from the very beginning, created this atmosphere of just total collaboration and fun.
JIMENEZ: Yeah, yeah, James Gunn, also CEO of DC Studios, owned by our parent company. I should mention that. But one thing that is -- I was laughing at was I read an interview where you said you thought you were auditioning for "Superman," like the hero. Is that true? How did that happen?
GISONDO: That is true. How did that happen? That's -- I'm still asking --
(CROSSTALK)
JIMENEZ: -- print, man.
(LAUGHTER)
GISONDO: I was so -- I skimmed the email a little bit, the original one. Basically, when you're auditioning for a movie like this, like a superhero movie, it's very confidential, it's top secret, they don't give you a lot of information.
So, I got sent the email with the audition. And for whatever reason, I had the idea in my head that it was for "Superman," and I don't know why. And I thought -- I did think -- I was like, man, that's not like -- that definitely wouldn't be my first choice, you know, but James is always thinking outside the box and like -- maybe he wants more of a normal kind of dude for this one.
JIMENEZ: Yeah.
GISONDO: And so, I did this audition. I put an audition on tape fully thinking it was for "Superman." And then like a week later, my agents called me and they were like, hey, they liked it, they want you to come in. I was like, oh, how exciting. And so, this is for "Superman," huh. And they got kind of quiet. And then one of my agents was like, no, man, why -- who told you that? Why would it be for that?
(LAUGHTER)
I don't know. And then when I told, after I got the part, and I told James that story, he -- I've never seen him laugh louder or harder in my life which, of course, made me feel even better about thinking that --
JIMENEZ: Yeah. You're like you didn't have to laugh that hard.
GISONDO: Yeah. Thanks, man. Thanks.
JIMENEZ: You know, one of the things that I was thinking about when I was watching it, all right, obviously, I know this is a superhero movie, but dare I say also a movie about journalism? Because I feel like it really plays a big role in this. Obviously, you play Jimmy Olsen, who works on a pretty big story here for "The Daily Planet." But from one reporter to another, is there anything you learned about journalism in the process of making this movie that you feel like you didn't know or appreciate beforehand?
GISONDO: Totally. What I love -- I think one of the greatest things about this movie is the stakes feel equally high at "The Daily Planet," in the newsroom, as they do in Metropolis, in the battles, in the fights.
And the idea that just as important as the reality is the thing that's happening is the intersubjective reality, the thing that we are -- our duty is to cover and, you know, honestly depict.
In terms of learning, I should have done more homework. I started to --
(LAUGHTER)
When you first get the role, your inclination is like, okay, I'm going to do the homework, I'm going to watch all the superhero movies, I'm going to talk to journalists. And then as I got deeper into it, I just started to freak out, like the weight, the sense of the responsibility.
So, I just started talking to Rachel Brosnahan, who plays Lois Lane, who is an incredible actress, and did do the homework. And she was kind of like the person on the group project who you sort of copy their answers and write on their coattails. And she really set the tone in the newsroom for us of what was, you know, what made sense, what a real journalist would do.
Basically, when in doubt, I just looked to Rachel, and I was like, please, please help me, look, I'm somewhat competent.
JIMENEZ: One of the things, before I let you go, is many, I think, are going to go into this movie and remember the iconic legacy of Christopher Reeve. Look, obviously, James Gunn pays tribute to his legacy by giving a cameo to his son, Will Reeve.
But just as someone who, you know, gets to be a part of the "Superman" legacy, what does Reeves legacy mean to you and was it apparent when you all were making this movie just in the way you spoke to your castmates?
GISONDO: Yeah, the first thing they did with us as a cast is they got together and showed us the documentary that they had made about him and his life. And it was so powerful.
[00:00:00]
It was such a wonderful kind of unifying thing for all of us to do as a group before we began productions. And I think that he embodied what kind of his life embodied, what Superman has always been about. It's just ultimately -- it's about hope, it's about trying to do the right thing and be a good person in a world where it's increasingly complicated at times to figure out what the right thing is to do.
JIMENEZ: Skyler, appreciate you, and I'll see you in the gym in case that "Superman" call actually comes.
GISONDO: Thanks, Omar. Okay, man, I'll see you there. Thanks so much. Bye.
JIMENEZ: And "Superman" is out now. I'm going to go and catch it in IMAX. But you should stay right there. Thanks for watching because "Anderson Cooper 360" up next.
