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New Day

Planes Carrying Last U.S. Forces at Bagram Leave Afghanistan; Co-Conservator of Britney Spears Estate Asks to Quit over Drama; Supreme Court Decision Green Lights GOP's Voting Restrictions. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired July 02, 2021 - 07:00   ET

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

LISA MARSHALL, WIFE OF ALZHEIMER'S PATIENT: The rest of my life, when I don't have Peter anymore.

[07:00:02]

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Right now, who does Peter think you are?

MARSHALL: His favorite person, someone safe, the person who takes care of him all the time. He loves me very much. You know, he's very affectionate. He scratches my back. He kisses me. He knows that there is love there.

COHEN: And even though he doesn't use the word, that -- that's a wife, what you're describing.

MARSHALL: Yes. We don't need labels. You know, our hearts are very connected.

COHEN: Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN NEW DAY: He knows she's his favorite person. Look, it's such a curse. I mean, Alzheimer's is such -- is such a curse. But to get even one day, one moment, like that, it's -- it's such a blessing.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN NEW DAY: The whole day, she said he was with him the whole day. So --

BERMAN: New Day continues right now.

I'm John Berman, alongside Poppy Harlow on this New Day.

Breaking news from Afghanistan, U.S. forces pulling out of Bagram Airbase, as America's longest war nears its end.

HARLOW: Donald Trump's namesake business facing a sweeping indictment on tax crimes. Are more charges coming?

BERMAN: A new report showing much-needed repairs were stalled at the Surfside condo just months before it collapsed.

HARLOW: And as the nation celebrates the 4th of July weekend, will the rapidly-spreading coronavirus variant derail your plans?

BERMAN: All right. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. It is Friday, July 2nd.

And breaking overnight, a giant step toward ending America's longest war, the last U.S. troops at Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan have now departed, handing control of the sprawling compound, which was really was once the epicenter of U.S. power there, to Afghan security forces. This comes as the full withdrawal from the country is nearly complete.

HARLOW: And a major concern, of course, is what is the United States leaving behind. American troops are departing at a time when the Taliban are making advances across the country, especially in the north, and present a growing threat to security there.

Let's bring in our Oren Liebermann. He is live at the Pentagon. Oren, good morning.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Poppy. The last flights of U.S. and coalition forces left Bagram Air Force Base, two flights leaving Thursday night, one leaving on Friday morning, and that's it. That's the end of the U.S. presence at Bagram Air Force Base, a field that became the symbol of U.S. military power in the region and the base from which operations were launched throughout the country.

20 years ago when the U.S. arrived, it was essentially a dilapidated airfield left over from the Russian presence in Afghanistan. It became a mini city, in its own right, one with gyms, classrooms, shops, really, a miniature city that became the entry point for tens of thousands of U.S. troops in the war against terror and the exit point after they fought and for more than 2,000 U.S. service members who died in Afghanistan.

It is surreal to many here to think that Bagram Air Force Base, so long a U.S. presence, no longer has U.S. troops there. Truly a milestone, as the U.S. nears completion of its withdrawal. Of course, where does Afghanistan go from here? The Taliban is making significant gains throughout the country, picking up districts in a continued fight with Afghan security forces, who have taken back a few districts. But there is a fear amongst senior military officials that Afghanistan is headed back to a civil war.

At this point, there are still U.S. troops left in Kabul and there will be after the completion of the withdrawal. There will be hundreds, perhaps 650 or more U.S. troops to secure the embassy there, as well as to assist in the securing of Kabul International Airport, a necessary facility for a continued U.S. presence in Afghanistan.

But, Poppy and John, this is it, Bagram Airbase truly the heart of U.S. military power in the region for so long is now empty of U.S. troops. BERMAN: It really is stunning to hear you say that, Oren. It really is. 20 years is a long time. That was the gateway, as you said, for U.S. troops and the entire American presence into that country.

One U.S. official described the president's order to withdraw from Afghanistan. It's a gut decision for Biden. It's also part of his fiber, himself, for decades. So take us inside the White House strategy.

LIEBERMANN: Well, President Joe Biden had opposed the troop surge under then-President Barack Obama, sending in up to 100,000 troops about a decade ago. Biden also opposed a continued presence there, at this point. And that became obvious through the deliberations here. He viewed this as mission complete. But that mission wasn't rebuilding Afghanistan, and bringing a complete peace agreement. That mission was to get Osama Bin Laden. That was a decade ago, and to make sure that Al Qaeda or the Taliban couldn't pose a threat to the U.S. Homeland. That, too, for Biden was mission accomplished.

Military officials have said it would take a few years for those organizations to try to build up the capability, if they wanted to, to try to attack the U.S. Homeland.

[07:05:03]

And when Biden looked at the situation, he concluded there was no need for a continued U.S. presence there. He wants a diplomatic presence. He wants an embassy there.

And there are still a lot of problems this administration has to figure out. Key among them, what to do with 18,000 Afghan interpreters and others who have helped the U.S. and their families to get them out, to get them to safety amongst a threat from the Taliban, against many of them.

BERMAN: Oren Liebermann, we appreciate your reporting. Keep us posted throughout the morning. Thank you.

HARLOW: Prosecutors have charged the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, with running a 15-year scheme to defraud the government. And New York Attorney General Letitia James now warning that this investigation is not over and that more charges could be coming.

Donald Trump taking a page from a familiar playbook, calling the case a witch hunt by radical-left Democrats.

Let's bring in Wall Street Journal Staff Writer Deanna Paul. She's reported extensively on this.

Let's start with the indictment here and then we'll get to the -- the reaction calling it all political. How big is this?

DEANNA PAUL, STAFF WRITER WALL STREET JOURNAL: So, yesterday, we saw an indictment of 15 charges against Allen Weisselberg, who is the chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, and ten charges against the Trump Organization. And prosecutors brought a case that, what they called, was an audacious and sweeping tax fraud case that spanned 15 years.

BERMAN: And they presented evidence that really does make it seem like a scheme. I was struck by the specificity of it. And when you look at the indictment, what I call the smoking spreadsheet. There is a literally a spreadsheet, which details this scheme.

And this is what the indictment says. For certain years, the Trump Organization maintained internal spreadsheets that tracked the amounts it paid for Weisselberg's rent, utility and garage expenses. Simultaneously, the Trump Organization reduced the amount of direct compensation that Weisselberg received in the form of checks and direct deposits, you know, and that indirect compensation was not included on W-2 forms. I mean, that's a smoking spreadsheet right there. They were avoiding paying taxes.

PAUL: That is what it seems like at this point. And, you know, we are early into the case, and cases are, of course, tried in court and not just on the face of the indictment. But based on what we saw yesterday, it does seem like it's a strong documentary case.

HARLOW: As someone who's covered this extensively for so long, what questions does this raise for you? Obviously, there is the big one and, that is, so, what's Weisselberg going to do now, right? He has flip, yet will he? And then, as Letitia James is saying, maybe more charges.

PAUL: That is the question a lot of people are asking, Poppy. We have to see what is going to happen, as we move forward. And people have suggested that this indictment was a strategy on prosecutors' parts, to get Mr. Weisselberg to flip. But up to this point, we have no reason to think he is going to. He's, in fact, rejected prosecutors' attempts up to this point to cooperate.

BERMAN: But for what? I mean, I guess the question I have now is based on what we've seen, and I know there's maybe more we haven't seen yet. But if he did flip, to what end? I mean, where would they have him take them, going forward?

PAUL: In these types of cases, when it comes to tax fraud, proving that a defendant's knowledge and intent is -- is key to the case. And so, having a former employee or a current employee that was able to provide that type of evidence would be incredibly helpful in bringing additional charges.

HARLOW: Intent, you can't just prove on a smoking spreadsheet, right?

BERMAN: No, but it's pretty clear. I mean, the idea --

HARLOW: Sorry, intent from others.

BERMAN: Yes, intent from others there. The question is how many people knew about the spreadsheet? Was this part of an overall compensation plan? These are all interesting questions. And people say it's not a crime, it's not a crime, this isn't a big deal. But when you this out like this, it really does seem like this was a planned process to avoid paying taxes by both Weisselberg and the company.

PAUL: At the end of the day, it was a very detailed indictment. And I think what you need to keep in mind is when you are talking about these fringe benefits, you had the Trump attorney -- Trump- Organization lawyers and Mr. Weisselberg's lawyers have, you know, said that this was an incidental fringe benefit. But when you look at the indictment, it -- we're not talking about a one-off school tuition payment, we are talking about 15 years of --

HARLOW: Well over a $1 million.

PAUL: Right, $1.7 million for Mr. Weisselberg.

HARLOW: And so, it's interesting, they don't deny that there were benefits. It's -- yes.

BERMAN: Deanna Paul, thanks so much for being here, great reporting. Next hour, we are going to have George Conway on, obviously, lawyer who knows the ins and outs, and, by the way, once lived in a Trump building who has some insight into how the Trump Organization works.

Also, a new letter obtained by CNN overnight reveals the damage to the condo in Surfside, Florida. It was so severe last fall that repair work was put on hold over concerns it could affect the stability of the surrounding structures.

This comes, as the mayor of Miami-Dade County announced officials will likely have to demolish what remains of the tower.

CNN's Tom Foreman joins us now with that information, and, Tom, really, the ongoing risk.

[07:10:00]

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. That is the risk is why actually they suspended search for a while. They restarted again in these three quadrants here. Look at this. This is where the standing building is, that's where the pool is.

And this is that letter you were talking about obtained by Erin Burnett Outfront. This is from October of 2020 from this consultant firm that was supposed to be doing this urgent repair on the place. And they were saying we could not do it because the areas of deteriorated concrete appeared to penetrate deep into the wall. They needed access to the pool to look at all of this. And they had to keep the pool open, so they couldn't do that. And, they said, there was severely deteriorated concrete near the pool. And if they messed with it, they feared they could affect the stability of nearby structures.

So, one of the things they did was an exploratory demolition, meaning they dug into the concrete, the ground around the pool and on the pool deck to see what they could find. The initial work yielded -- look at this -- some curious results as it pertained to the structural slabs' depth. It doesn't say what was curious about them or what those were. But we do know that a lot of attention has focused on this pool-deck area, around here. See this big collapse? Big questions about whether this happened prior to the building coming down, or if it happened when the building came down. Was this the origin of this or result of the collapse? You can see it in a couple of different angles here, the collapsed area, back in here near the pool. And we know we had images below ground, very early on, lots of water, people down there. You can see the collapsed nature of things. We also know we have those Miami Herald images from a few days before the collapse. Right next to the building that collapsed showing below ground areas that seem to be in pretty rough shape.

So, put all of that together and it gives us some new clues to look at. We do know the delay that we are talking about here in the search was caused because there was some sense of movement happening here. They were measuring it, slight movement in the concrete floor slabs on the south side that we are looking at, risk of things falling down and hitting support columns, alerts from devices that were monitoring cracks in the building. That's why they delayed the search.

Bottom line is when you look at this letter, when you look at the movement you have right now, you have people saying, what, there could be a real risk. There is an ongoing risk to the people who are doing the rescue work here, the recovery work here. But there also may be a continuation, maybe the thing that started the whole problem. And look at that building, look at all the damage there. There is a reason officials are saying this building, in all likelihood, cannot stand, that it will have to come down. And in truth, if you lived in a house and half of it looked like that after a storm went through or something terrible happened, you'd probably want to tear it down.

So, John, really, very important clues that are coming out, keep your eyes focused on the pool deck area, and the substrata, everything that was going on underneath the building there because so many people who have looked at this, who are knowledgeable people, say the problem seems to have originated down low, from that pool area, back to the building. We will find out if that's actually the case.

BERMAN: It really does seem, every piece of new evidence that comes out does point to that. And as to the search-and-rescue efforts, just to be clear, all the crews, they want to be out there. They want to be digging through the rubble.

FOREMAN: Absolutely, not a question in the world. It's the hardest thing in the world for them to be told stand by and don't work. But they also can't get more people hurt or hurt anybody, who might still be alive by trying to move things around when things are unstable.

BERMAN: Exactly right. Tom Foreman, thank you so much for that.

FOREMAN: You're welcome.

HARLOW: Tom, thank you.

President Biden traveled to Surfside, Florida, Thursday to offer comfort and solace to support the families of the victims in this building collapse. The mayor of Surfside described an emotional moment, where President Biden consoled a 12-year-old girl seen praying next to the rubble for her father, who remains unaccounted for. The president spent nearly three hours meeting privately with families and answering their questions about grief and closure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Now, they had basic, heart-wrenching questions. Will I be able to recover the body of my son or daughter, my husband, my cousin, my mom and dad? How can I have closure without being able to bury them? If I don't get the body, what do I do?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: President Biden and the first lady ended the day at the memorial wall close to the site of the collapse. They saw many pictures of victims and written tributes, while the first lady added a bouquet of white flowers.

Joining me, now, is Dr. Edith Shiro. She is a clinical psychologist, a trauma expert, who has been offering counseling to family members and survivors affected by all of this.

And you were in the room with the president, with the first lady. And you have been, Doctor, with these families since day three. What was yesterday like?

DR. EDITH SHIRO, PSYCHOLOGIST WHO MET WITH FAMILIES DURING BIDEN VISIT: Yesterday, the same with every day. There's a lot of sadness, a lot of uncertainty.

[07:15:00]

I think the families were somewhat comforted by President Biden's words. There was a lot of connection from his suffering and his pain, into the families' suffering and pain, which was really, really nice. He didn't come and say all these promises and unrealistic expectations. He really connected from a very sensitive place. That was very authentic and very generous.

HARLOW: One of the things that I was so struck by is -- is that I heard he really discussed the stages of grief and how it's different for everyone.

SHIRO: Yes. I think that was very much on point. He was saying that, for grief, there are several stages. And every person and every family would experience stages differently. And we should be patient with each other in terms of like understanding and tolerating where everyone is, what stage everyone is. And so, that was from a psychological perspective, very important.

HARLOW: You helped families in the wake of 9/11. And I wonder what similarities there are now that you're seeing, what lessons were learned from helping those families? For months to come, long after this is not, you know, in the leading headlines, but their grief remains. SHIRO: I know. Unfortunately, I see a lot of similarities. And one of them is really the moment of shock, not being able to accept what's going on, the prolonged, ambiguous loss that these families are living right now when they are suspended in some sort of limbo when there's no answers, there's no response.

And what -- something that we learned from 9/11 which is that when we first responded, the first few days, we all wanted to do the briefing and interventions and making it better and talking to them. And in reality, what we were doing was re-traumatizing the families because they kept telling the story over and over and over, with no answer.

Now, we know that, first, we have to contain. We just have to be present. And it's only later, in the -- stages, later in the months and later in the years that people really start the healing process in a very different way.

HARLOW: An important lesson to learn. Dr. Edith Shiro, we are so grateful for you this morning. Thank you.

Well, still ahead, COVID cases, sadly, on the rise in the United States. Why? Because of the highly contagious delta variant. What this means for families with unvaccinated children.

BERMAN: Plus, the new government warning about the threat of domestic extremist attacks this summer fueled by QAnon conspiracies.

HARLOW: And another legal setback in Britney Spears' quest for freedom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

HARLOW: This morning, more legal setbacks for Britney Spears, a wealth management company is asking a judge if it can resign as co- conservator of Spears' $60 million estate, following her emotional statement to the court last week. The singer petitioned a judge to have Bessemer Trust as co-conspirator along with her father Jamie Spaers.

This comes one day after the court rejected singer's request to remove her father entirely from the conservatorship.

Liz Day is with us this morning. She is the co-producer of the documentary, Framing Britney, and a senior story editor for The New York Times Presents. Liz, thank you.

You know this story in and out, better than almost anyone, aside from those directly involved in it. What do you make of this latest development that -- that the Bessemer Trust is essentially saying it doesn't appear that our work anymore is in the best interest of the client and we want out?

LIZ DAY, CO-CREATOR, FRAMING BRITNEY SPEARS: So, this was really surprising, because the company noted in their filing that they have been told the conservatorship was voluntary, but that Britney's testimony last week was the first time they learned she does not want to be in it. So, the company said, you know, hey, we respect Britney's wishes.

This is a big deal because some of the players involved, it really seems as if they are starting to either back away or point fingers at each other. And Bessemer had not been fully plugged in yet, but it appears as if the firm said, hey, you know, this is not worth it.

HARLOW: All right. So if the judge allows them to depart this and, I guess, they are a free agent in this, they can leave, right, then what? Then, is it just her dad?

DAY: It appears so. We don't know exactly what will happen but it's very possible that Britney will be back with just her father, Jamie, as her sole conservator of the estate. So she's kind of back where she started.

HARLOW: Okay. Let's talk about what the judge decided this week, because him saying, no, you still are under this conservatorship, that was not based, am I correct, on the testimony that she gave last week, technically? But did the judge consider that in this decision or was he not permitted to?

DAY: No. So, the decision that was made a day or two ago was basically just rubber stamping paperwork on a decision that had been made last fall. So there is some confusion out there where people are interpreting this as a win for Jamie but that's not the case.

HARLOW: Okay. So, what happens then with the testimony that she gave, saying, I'm not getting to live my life, I'm being forced to do things? I can't have another child, for example. Now what?

DAY: So, Britney's testimony really got the public's attention, but the court moves very slowly. Her lawyer still has not submitted a petition to terminate the conservatorship or even to remove her father permanently.

HARLOW: So, may take a lot more time to see where this goes. Liz Day, thank you.

A major Supreme Court decision, as Republican-led states move to restrict voting rights. How will Democrats respond?

BERMAN: And a rare showing of political harmony at a time of crisis during President Biden's visit to Florida.

[07:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: On the final day of the term, the Supreme Court effectively gave Republican-led states a green light to impose new, restrictive measures on voting. The court's ruling came in an Arizona case in which Democrats challenged two voting restrictions, one requiring ballots cast at the wrong precinct to be thrown out and one prohibiting campaign workers, activists, and others from collecting and returning ballots as groups.

Joining us now, DNC Chair Jaime Harrison. Chairman, thanks so much for being with us. Just broadly speaking, when you read that ruling, what was your reaction?

JAIME HARRISON, DNC CHAIRMAN: Well, it was a gut punch. It was appalling. And I think that Justice Kagan said in her dissent really crystallized what this is. She said that this was like pouring old poison into new bottles. We know what that old poison was. It's Jim Crow. It's, in essence, the reason why the Voting Rights Act was created in the first place, to stop racial discrimination, as it relates to voting.

We also know that, you know, John Roberts has -- since he was a young lawyer in the Reagan administration -- has been focused on chipping away at the Voting Rights Act.

[07:30:08]