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Never-Seen Evidence Against Trump Could Be Public Before Election; Trump Backs Government Oversight Role For Elon Musk In Economic Speech; Harris In Pennsylvania For Debate Prep Ahead Of Tuesday Face-Off With Trump; Putin Trolls U.S. Presidential Race With Claim Of Support For Harris; Hunter Biden Pleads Guilty In Federal Tax Case. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired September 05, 2024 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news, the judge at Donald Trump's federal election subversion case just announced a schedule going forward that will allow prosecutors to release never before seen evidence against Trump before the November election. Stand by for details on what it could mean for the prosecution of the former president.

Also tonight, Trump unveils new economic proposals, including a plan to give Elon Musk a broad role in the oversight of federal government spending.

This as Kamala Harris is now on the ground in Pennsylvania preparing for her high-stakes debate with Trump, just five days from now.

And the Georgia school shooting suspect is formally charged with four counts of murder. And we're learning that investigators have found writings about past school shootings in his bedroom.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in The Situation Room.

And let's get right to the breaking news on the January 6th federal election subversion case against Donald Trump. The judge just issued a new order that opens the door for prosecutors to release significant evidence before Election Day.

CNN Chief Legal Affairs Correspondent Paula Reid is joining us. She's got details. Paula, break all of this down for us and what it potentially means for the case against Trump.

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, this is quite significant because, here, the judge overseeing this case has just set her schedule, which couldn't allow prosecutors to release never before seen evidence, like grand jury transcripts, before the 2024 presidential race. Now, this is something that the defense was fighting against today in court. And as we saw in today's hearing, this is just one of many fights ahead in this historic case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: It's a total fraud. It was election interference.

REID (voice over): Donald Trump's January 6th case back in D.C. federal court today with a fiery and contentious hearing. Attorneys for the former president seeking an immediate dismissal to the case. We have an illegitimate prosecutor, we have an illegitimate indictment, and we have illegitimate legal issues raised in that indictment, Trump attorney John Lauro said. The judge, Tanya Chutkan, made it clear that was not going to happen.

The Trump team sparred with her over a timeline for the case, calling it unfair to introduce evidence this close to the 2024 election. Chutkan responding, I understand there is an election impending. You have said before, and I will say again, that the electoral process and what needs to happen before the election does not matter here, and that she was definitely not getting dragged into the election.

But there was one area of agreement. The judge must decide how a Supreme Court ruling on presidential immunity affects this case before any trial. Immunity is the linchpin here, she said. A 6-3 decision in July gave former presidents immunity from prosecution for official acts, but not for private conduct.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said this week he was confident in Special Counsel Jack Smith.

MERRICK GARLAND, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I stand by the actions of the special counsel. The superseding indictment is an effort to respond to the direct instructions of the Supreme Court as to how to effectuate a new indictment in an ongoing case.

REID: While the new reworked indictment removed things, like Trump's infamous Rose Garden video --

TRUMP: So, go home. We love you. You're very special.

REID: -- it added new details about Congress' certification process and what role Vice President Mike Pence played in it. Trump's attorneys arguing on Thursday that the case should be tossed if the judge rules communications between Pence and Trump are immune from prosecution. It tanks the entire indictment, Lauro argued.

They also intend to raise other issues, like the legitimacy of the special counsel, questions about obstruction of justice on January 6th and discovery. But one question that won't be answered anytime soon is when this case will go to trial. It is sort of an exercise in futility at this point to talk about setting a trial date.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[18:05:02]

REID (on camera): Yes, a trial is still a long way off in this case. Sources close to this matter tell me that they expect this case will make at least one more trip back up to the Supreme Court, because there's going to be a lot of litigation about key evidence and whether that is covered by the Supreme Court's opinion about presidential immunity, and whoever loses is expected to want to fight that all the way to the high court. Will they take it up? That's unclear. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Paula Reid reporting for us. Thank you, Paula, very much.

I want to get some more on this breaking story. Our legal and law enforcement experts are with us, and, Laura Coates, let me start with you. So, we could soon could see never before seen evidence that the prosecutors are going to release about Trump in this election subversion case. What sort of materials do you think we're talking about?

LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Well, we're going to have information about the allegations to support the charges. Remember, they have not actually changed, it's still the same four, but the underlying notions of how they're going to support it, outside of what they believe to be possibly immunized testimony, statements that were made to encourage lawless activity, conversations that were outside the realm of what are core constitutional arguments and duties as well.

And we're not going to hear it all. There might be some that are still going to be sealed, but we're going to have information to support what the underlying issue is. And, really, if you're the prosecution, you're looking at the defense saying, be careful what you wish for. You just might get it. If you want us to do a full evidentiary or on the papers discussion of what is official and what was not, here you go.

BLITZER: You know, it's interesting also, Andrew McCabe, that prosecutors have until September 26th to submit the evidence for Judge Chutkan to review. What kind of factors do you think she will have in reviewing whether to make this specific evidence, all of it or some of it, public?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT: Well that decision, in essentially letting the prosecutors go first, was a core one to the fight that we saw play out in court today. Trump's team quite reasonably wants to slow this down, put discussions and motions and possible avenues of appeal in front of that part of the case where we'll be deciding, sorting through the evidence and deciding what charges stay and what charges don't.

The decision by the judge today was one sending a clear signal that, no, she's going to go right to the evidence, and that will likely compress those issues in a way that they all get appealed at once, which, again, is consistent with what the prosecutors are seeking.

BLITZER: And she's making it clear that the upcoming election is not going to have an impact on her decision.

MCCABE: That's absolutely right. And I think that's consistent with what you're hearing from the prosecution as well. They are not worried about the election. They are worried about getting as much of this case done as they possibly can in the next few months. And, of course, President Trump, former President Trump is looking at it very differently. He wants to keep as much of this case out of the public consciousness before the election, and so we'll see them fight over those grounds.

BLITZER: It'll be a big fight. And Bill Brennan is with us. Donald Trump's attorneys, they're clearly likely to try to prevent this evidence from being made public, especially before the election, right?

BILL BRENNAN, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: They will, Wolf. And, they'll have the blanket of the United States Supreme Court decision on immunity, which basically holds that anything done in a presidential capacity is immune, anything that's done while president is -- it's like a rebuttable presumption that it's immune, and if it's a private act, clearly private act, maybe not immune. But I'm sure that they're going to push as much as they can into the top pile, which is the fully immune. And if they're successful, then it'll be dismissed again, and that won't go to trial.

BLITZER: If this never before seen evidence is made public, potentially, it could have a negative effect on Trump going into the election.

BRENNAN: Right. I mean, it's a little bit counterintuitive when the court says the election is really not an issue in this case, and, of course, it is. You know, it's the calendar pages make it an issue. But then to release this material during the election season seems to bring the election into it, but we'll see.

BLITZER: We do know that the former vice president, Mike Pence, Laura, and some of other White House aides spoke to the grand jury in this specific case. Potentially, what they said could be explosive.

COATES: And remember the role that they are putting Pence in now in this new indictment versus the previous one. It's more about him being the president of the Senate, less about being the running mate and second in command to President Trump. The reason they're doing so is because they're trying to compartmentalize the conduct of a president and the conduct of a candidate who's trying to continue to campaign. Having him as the president of the Senate is far removed from the actual vice presidency of the United States.

Another point, though, it is -- think about this, you're going to have the defense saying that, look, Jack Smith has tried to weaponize the government. They're trying to interfere with the election by even prosecuting Donald Trump. By highlighting it at all, you're trying to hurt. On the other hand, they want the judge to say, focus on the election, focus on the politics, because that's the only way that justice can be served. These two things do not, you know, have the same mechanism for the judge, and the judge objected in saying, I'm not concerned with that calendar.

It's been 11 months since we've had any hearing in this case.

[18:10:02] In that amount of time, a lot has changed. But one thing is not. She's still a trial judge over a current indictment.

BLITZER: Interesting. All right, guys, thank you very much. Thanks to all of you.

An important note, Laura, of course, will be back later tonight, 11:00 P.M. Eastern, to anchor her show, Laura Coates Live.

And just ahead, Kamala Harris lands in Pennsylvania to go deep into debate preparation right now, as Donald Trump proposes giving Elon Musk influence over the federal government, if he were elected.

And the hunt for a motive in the Georgia high school mass shooting, what investigators are now learning about the 14-year-old suspect.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Tonight, new campaign promises and preparations just ahead of the first and likely only debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, the former president focusing in on the economy right now and offering some rather provocative proposals.

[18:15:01]

CNN's Kristen Holmes is in New York where Trump spoke earlier today. Kristen, what promises did Trump make?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf, this is actually the first time we've heard him give detail about what that economic policy might look like if he were to be reelected. He often says that he had a better economy under his tenure in the White House than Kamala Harris and Joe Biden have under theirs, but doesn't offer a lot of details. This was his way of laying out what the economy would look like.

Now, a lot of this are, as you said, campaign promises, things like saying that he would institute a national emergency declaration to increase domestic energy supply and essentially lower gas prices to below $2, talking about dirt cheap gas, obviously something that voters care about when they go to the polls because they are paying so much more at the pump. Other things he talked about, tackling government regulations, creating a government efficiency commission that was originally proposed by Musk. He said that Musk had agreed to be a part of it, withdrawing unspent funds from the Biden administration, adding sweeping tariffs on more imports. That's very important because economists have said they believe that would actually create more inflation. Donald Trump arguing it would create less inflation. Decide who you want to believe there. Again, these are campaign promises. Also embracing cryptocurrency, something that he has done throughout his campaign, now saying he wants to make America the capital of crypto and Bitcoin.

But, of course, because it is Donald Trump, he also went off topic. He talked again about his various court cases and said that he was being politically persecuted, at one point, implying that he might do the same to Democrats as in bring them to court as what it sounded like he was saying, if he were to be reelected. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: She and her party are censoring speech, weaponizing the justice system, and trying to throw their political opponents, me, in jail. This 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.

And they always have to remember that two can play the game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Two can play the game. Obviously, they're implying that if he was elected, he might take action of some sort against Democrats or Kamala Harris. It was not completely clear. Just, of course, as we always say in these kind of situations, there is no evidence that the Biden administration or Democrats are behind -- excuse me, are behind these cases. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, Kristen Holmes, thanks very, very much.

I want to get to the Harris campaign right now. The Vice President kicking off rather intense debate preparation in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania, where she will face off against Trump on Tuesday as her running mate, Governor Tim Walz, is out there campaigning on the ground as well.

I want to bring in CNN's Priscilla Alvarez. She's joining us right now. Priscilla, why has Vice President Harris decided to do her debate prep in Pennsylvania?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Wolf, sources tell me that this is a strategic play because it allows the vice president to prepare and what is a critical battleground state, and over the course of the next few days, also make stops across the community.

Now, you see Tim Walz there. He is already also campaigning in Erie, Pennsylvania. This is a state that is top of mind for this ticket. So, in addition to her being there for her prep, he is there as well.

Now, of course, this approach is one that resembles that of former President Barack Obama, who also took his debate camp outside of Washington. And, of course, it's not the first time that the vice president is preparing. Over the past month, she has put together a small team of advisers who have been preparing her already for this upcoming presidential debate, including with mock debate sessions and a stand in for former President Donald Trump.

And when I talk to sources about what this prep looks like, they tell me that she is keenly aware of the types of strategies that the former president might employ in preparing for those moments, but her allies also tell me that they want her to not get too roped into that and to also make sure that she is articulating a vision for the country and using it as an opportunity to present a stark contrast with her Republican rival. Now, we do also know that the debate rules have been said. Of course, this was the debate over the debates. And that's going to include that the microphones are going to be turned off as each candidate is speaking, though there will be opportunity that they're potentially turned on for certain exchanges. Of course, that will also factor into her preparation. Wolf?

BLITZER: They've worked out the rules, apparently. All right, Priscilla, thank you very much, Priscilla Alvarez reporting.

I want to bring in our political experts right now, and Meghan Hays, let me start with you. Vice President Kamala Harris is heading to Pittsburgh today for final debate prep. As we've been reporting, she's intentionally pared back her travel to prepare for this debate. We saw what a poor performance did to the Biden campaign, the former Biden campaign. How critical is it for her to have a very good night this coming Tuesday?

[18:20:00]

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING, BIDEN WHITE HOUSE: Look, I don't think that we should put a lot of stake in the debates. I think it's an important showing. I think it's the next step in the campaign. I think that she needs to -- she is reintroducing herself to the American people. A lot of people still don't know where she stands on different policies. So, this is another opportunity to do that and also go head to head with former President Trump. It also creates an environment where she can create a contrast between the two of them in their different approach and their different styles and draws some contrast in the character. So, where I don't think it's critically important like it probably was to President Biden, but I do think it is an important step moving forward in the campaign.

BLITZER: Yes, I think you're right there. Shermichael Singleton is with us as well. Shermichael, Trump reportedly told Fox News Sean Hannity that he's approaching the debate with Harris the same way he did with Biden and we'll, quote, and I'm quoting him now, let her talk. Harris is a very different opponent than Biden. Is that the right strategy? What do you think?

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I mean, I think so. I think the vice president has to answer, Wolf, how her economic plans will be paid for, what's her plans to address the immigration crisis in the border, and also how she plans to bring a resolution to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

I think the former president needs to approach this debate with discipline but also with surgical precision and how he draws the contrast, to Meghan's point, against Vice President Harris on how he will be the better alternative to address the plight that so many hard working class people in this country are currently facing.

BLITZER: Meghan, Trump laid out his economic agenda in rather great detail in New York earlier today, a day after Harris did so in New Hampshire. In our new CNN poll of six key battleground states, voters now say they think Trump can better handle the economy that Harris can. The economy is the number one issue in this campaign. How does she turn those numbers around?

HAYS: Look, I mean, that poll was done before his speech today and before her speech the other day, two days ago. So, I do think that as they're continuing to lay out more specifics, I think American people will see the difference. I think that, you know, somebody who wants to have tariffs will raise household costs 25 -- $100 a year and also someone who wants to align themselves with Elon Musk, who is very anti-worker and very anti the middle class. I think that those things will start to come clear.

And just like we were talking about with the debate, those are opportunities for the vice president to draw that contrast and draw the difference. And I think that's the way you turn it around is continuing to talk about what your policies are different from the former president's.

BLITZER: Shermichael. Trump, of course, always likes to tout. How good the economy was when he was president, but in a note from Goldman Sachs, they say Trump's trade policies would cause America's economy to shrink, while saying Harris proposals would grow the economy. Is Trump at risk of falling behind on a key issue like this?

SINGLETON: Wolf, I do think from an economic perspective, there should be some reconsideration, if you will, reconsideration in terms of how we approach trade with China. Is tariffs necessarily the best approach? I would perhaps beg to differ, and I would ask the former president to reconsider some new strategies.

However, Wolf, it cannot be negated that the vice president also has some very serious issues with her economic policies. Let's talk about price control, for example, and the implications of that. Can the federal government even do that constitutionally? I think you could see a series of legal challenges there. Let's also talk about the vice president wanting to tax unrealized gains and the implications that could have on startups. Let's take many of the tech startups that we're seeing in the country. If you're taxing some of the goods or products that they have built, yet they are cash short, that would have serious implications on those companies' ability to continue to grow and expand.

And so while I understand what Goldman Sachs stated in their documents, I read through them, I don't necessarily agree with Trump, I think they're right there, but I also think we cannot miss the fact that the vice president also has some very, very troubling economic policies that may not be felt as quickly and immediate such as Trump's tariffs, but in the long run would be detrimental to entrepreneurs in this country.

BLITZER: Interesting. Meghan, Trump made some rather bizarre comments about Kamala Harris and Israel today, speaking to the Republican Jewish Coalition. Watch and listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You're not going to have an Israel if they become -- if she becomes president. Israel will no longer exist. (END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: What do you think? Because obviously there's no basis for him to say this about Kamala Harris, that Israel will no longer exist if she's elected president.

HAYS: I mean, that's just patently false. It's just patently false. Like there's just no evidence of that. She has stated over and over again that Israel has the right to defend itself and she will do everything to help with that security, just like the administration has. Also it's interesting because her husband is Jewish, obviously, this is something that's very personal to her. So, I mean, it's just very false. I just don't understand where the former president's coming from.

BLITZER: What do you think, Shermichael? I mean, look, I think the vice president has a real issue on her hand with a certain constituency within the Democratic Party who, I wouldn't say anti- Semitic, Wolf, but at best, probably anti-Zionist.

[18:25:01]

I mean, I think that's pretty clear from the college protests we saw before the summer, and we may see some of those protests return. And so if the argument is that you're seeing this level of anti Zionism rhetoric arise within the Democratic Party among younger Americans, I think that's a very accurate and fair point to stake -- to make, rather.

And so it does beg the question, if that is rising and the vice president needs those voters in order to win, does she placate to some of them and does that diminish our support for Israel in the long run?

BLITZER: All right. Shermichael Singleton and Meghan Hays, to both of you, thank you very much.

Coming up There's breaking news on how the suspected school shooter in Georgia got hold of a weapon.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

BLITZER: There's breaking news in the deadly high school shooting in Georgia. We're getting new information right now about the weapon allegedly used by the 14-year-old suspect.

CNN's Ryan Young is on the scene for us in Winder, Georgia. Ryan, what are you learning?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Some very troubling information, Wolf. What we've learned from our sources, Mark Morales and myself have been working this all day long, we have now found out and believe from our sources that the weapon that was used was actually purchased by the suspect's father. Now, let's not forget just yesterday, we broke the details about the Jackson County Sheriff's Department after an FBI tip went to try to investigate an apparent talk about a school shooting. They talked to that young man in Jackson County. He then transferred to this county this year for school. It was after that May conversation that apparently the father of the suspected shooter decided to purchase the weapon as a holiday gift. So, he was talked to in May of 2023. We believe the gun was purchased in December of 2023. And then after all that, this shooting happened.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, God, as we come before you tonight, we come before you with humble hearts.

YOUNG (voice over): As the wider community grieves the killing of two students and two teachers from Apalachee High School --

ASTER CASTO, APALACHEE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: I'm just sad that people had to die.

YOUNG: -- warning signs about the 14-year-old alleged shooter emerge. Colt Gray and his father were questioned by law enforcement last year regarding several anonymous tips about online threats to commit a school shooting. The FBI Atlanta and the Jackson County Sheriff's Office said in a joint statement that they have received tips about online threats in May of 2023 and tracked then 13-year-old Gray as a possible subject and interviewed him. The subject denied making the threats online. The father stated he had hunting guns in the house, but the subject did not have unsupervised access to them, and there was no probable cause for arrest or further action at the time, according to that statement.

This afternoon, CNN obtained the incident report from Jackson County detailing that interview. Colt expressed concerned that someone is accusing him of threatening to shoot up a school, stating that he would never say such a thing even in a joking manner.

Jackson County alerted local schools for continued monitoring, but Gray later moved to neighboring Barrow County where the shooting occurred. That's where law enforcement sources tell CNN authorities found writings in Gray's bedroom, they believe, he wrote referencing the 2018 Parkland Florida High School shooting massacre.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation said the gun used in the school shooting was an AR platform weapon. Due to Gray being a minor, he's being held at Gainesville Regional Youth Detention Center, but will be tried as an adult.

The school's shooting has been heartbreaking for many, especially those who knew the victim, 14-year-old students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo.

KATHRINE MALDONADO, APALACHEE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: Why would you just shoot innocent people that you don't even know? And he's actually like a sweet person. YOUNG: Teachers Christina Irimie and Richard Aspinwall, a former football coach.

MICHAEL GORDON, APALACHEE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: He had a wife and kids and that's just so wild to me now that I talked to him that morning. And he said he liked my shirt and now I just never talk to him again.

YOUNG: One student telling us she feels unsafe to return to school.

JOHNYE WALLACE, APALACHEE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: Every time I walked in the school, I never thought anything will happen to me. Like that's honestly a place I've honestly felt protected. Now, I don't even want to be in the hallways alone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YOUNG (on camera): Yes, Wolf, you can understand how tough this is on the kids. And all day long, we've seen hundreds of people arriving to this flag out in front of the school to pay their respects, the ones who were lost here.

Once again, that's bringing you that breaking news that it's believed the father purchased this weapon as a holiday gift, heartbreaking for so many in this community. Wolf?

BLITZER: Holiday gift for his son, what a decision that was. All right, thanks very much, Ryan Young reporting for us.

I want to get some analysis right now. CNN Law Enforcement Analysts Charles Ramsey and John Miller are joining us. And, John, how significant is this new revelation we just heard that the father purchased this gun, AR-15 type assault weapon, as a holiday present for his teenage son?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, there is no way that his teenage son could have gotten this gun himself, and there's a reason for that. You have to be 18 in Georgia to purchase a gun. And the idea of the what it was, it's not the Winchester you'd go target practicing or deer hunting with your dad with. It's basically an assault weapon developed for the military and SWAT teams.

The other piece, Wolf, is not just the what it is, but the when it was. This was a time in the middle of an extraordinarily, tumultuous divorce with allegations and counter-allegations between his father and his mother, arrests and charges of vandalism, and actually introducing a weapon into an adolescent who is a troubled kid in a troubled home is something that you would really have to ask yourself as a parent is that the right thing to do and is that the right time to do it.

[18:35:06]

But that story has told itself.

BLITZER: Yes, good point. Charles Ramsey is with us. Chief Ramsey, you're the former D.C. police chief, former police commissioner in Philadelphia. We saw the parents of the Michigan school shooter, Ethan Crumbley, held accountable for their son's actions. Could we see something similar happen in this case?

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: I hope so, because what I'm hearing now that is totally irresponsible, what the father did. Now, remember, law enforcement knocked on his door and told him that they had received tips that the son was planning some kind of school shooting. Now, the police didn't have enough to take it much further than that, but that alone, if that were you, if that were your child, don't you think you'd start paying a little bit of attention to what they're doing?

And you certainly wouldn't go out and buy an assault weapon for him. It is absolutely crazy. In my opinion, there's no excuse. And if anybody should be prosecuted in a case like this, it should be this particular father. There's just no excuse for it.

BLITZER: It's interesting, John, to Charles' point. What do we know about why officials didn't take action then, when they first got wind that he was, you know, mulling over the possibility of some sort of school shooting?

MILLER: When the Jackson County Sheriff got that information from the FBI and went to the home, they interviewed the father who said, we will go shooting together, but he does not have access to these guns. They're locked up. In other words, he can't get them without me. At least that's what they recorded in their report, as what the dad asserted.

And as for the threat to shoot up the school, which was posted online and reported to the FBI by a number of people, the child denied he did it. The father said, Colin said, it wasn't me and the Jackson County sheriff determined what I think a number of agencies would have determined is we can't prove who was at that computer or behind that threat and we don't have an arrestable situation here. But they did remind the father about the caution they talked to other agencies, but that's where it ended.

BLITZER: So, Chief Ramsey, what are the next steps in this investigation?

RAMSEY: Well, I mean, they're going to continue to dig deeper to find out more about this individual. I believe they'll start to focus more on the father, what he knew, when he knew it, how secure were those weapons in the home? Did anyone other than the shooter know that he was planning something like this? I mean, there had been a rumor that there was a call earlier where not only with that high school be targeted, but for other high schools would be targeted. I don't know if that's legit or not, but they've got to track and trace all that down.

I don't see where the police, with the information they had at the time, could have done much more than what they did, but I do think that we've got to take a look at the parenting that took place in light of that. It just makes absolutely no sense to me that if someone knocks on your door, whether you think it's true or not, and tells you that someone made an allegation, your son could be a school shooter, you reward him by going out buying an assault weapon? I don't think so. And so they need to take a real close look at that one.

BLITZER: You got to learn the lessons to make sure it never happens again. Chief Ramsey, thank you, John Miller, thanks to you as well.

Still ahead here in The Situation Room, North Carolina 2024 ballots are due to be mailed out tomorrow. Why the ballots may now be delayed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BLITZER: There's a new chance that the first early voting of the 2024 presidential election will be delayed. It all centers on a dispute over ballots in North Carolina that are supposed to go out tomorrow.

CNN's Dianne Gallagher is in North Carolina with details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Election Day 2024 may feel like it's far away.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're going to put yours inside the flap.

GALLAGHER: But once these ballots ship out, it's here.

MICHAEL DICKERSON, DIRECTOR, MECKLENBURG COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS: We're kicking off the official voting process of the general election.

GALLAGHER: Those first ballots were set to go out Friday, but due to a challenge by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is seeking to remove his name from the North Carolina ballot that could be delayed.

The dispute highlighting the state's role as a battleground that could determine the race for the White House.

JASON SIMMONS, CHAIRMAN, NORTH CAROLINA GOP: We've been preparing, really, for the better part now of a year-and-a-half.

GALLAGHER: The Trump and Harris campaigns are shifting into high gear.

Crunch time or it's literally go time?

DAVID BERRIOS, DEMOCRATIC STATE CAMPAIGN MANAGER: Well, the voters are voting.

GALLAGHER: North Carolina is one of seven states where both candidates are investing most of their time.

TRUMP: North Carolina, thank you very much.

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT, DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Oh, it's good to be back in North Carolina.

GALLAGHER: And resources.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm here supporting Vice President Kamala Harris.

GALLAGHER: It's the only state on the 2024 battleground map former President Donald Trump carried four years ago, but it was his slimmest victory, less than a point and a half. And recent polling points to another close race in November.

SIMMONS: North Carolina historically has always been a two-point state for the last couple of election cycles, and we'll continue to see that.

GALLAGHER: With frequent visits, large investments in advertising and a robust ground game, the Harris campaign is seeking to turn the state blue for the first time since 2008.

BERRIOS: That's why our infrastructure of 26 offices across the state, over 230 staff knocking on as many doors as we can.

GALLAGHER: Also critical now, voter education, as absentee by mail requirements here have changed drastically with two witness signatures and a photocopy of an I.D. needed, plus ballots that now must be returned by Election Day.

TRUMP: Did you know that absentee ballots are about to go out in North Carolina?

[18:45:03]

GALLAGHER: Republicans, including Trump's own campaign, are promoting voting by mail, even as Trump himself continues to falsely criticize the process.

TRUMP: Mail-in voting is totally corrupt. Get that through your head.

GALLAGHER: Just last week, his campaign and the RNC launched an online tool to help Pennsylvania supporters vote by mail.

As Trump said in an interview, mail-in voting shouldn't be allowed.

TRUMP: Anytime you have a mail-in ballot, there's going to be massive fraud.

GALLAGHER: Republicans in North Carolina state, the mixed messaging isn't a problem here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Trump's have been very clear, specifically in when he's come to North Carolina --

GALLAGHER: Would we call that clear?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has. When he's come to North Carolina, he's told people, have a plan, whether again, that's by voting by mail, voting in-person early, or on Election Day.

GALLAGHER: Voters in the other battlegrounds and the rest of the country are set to join North Carolina and casting ballots either by mail or in person in the coming weeks.

Before that, an eager North Carolina voters is poised to kick it off for everyone.

MICHAEL DICKERSON, DIRECTOR, MECKLENBURG COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS: They're just going to get that ballot back to me as quick as they can, so they can say I was first.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GALLAGHER (on camera): So when will those 130,000 or so absentee ballots that have already been requested go out? Well, that's up to the courts. The judge today actually denied Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s request to have his name removed and all those ballots we printed, but she did issue that 24-hour pause. So he has the opportunity to appeal.

The State Board of Elections has told these counties that they can start singing them out tomorrow afternoon unless the Court of Appeals intervenes and says otherwise, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Dianne Gallagher, reporting, thank you very much.

Coming up, Vladimir Putin surprising response to U.S. allegations that Russia is trying to influence the 2024 presidential election here in the United States.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:51:02]

BLITZER: Volodymyr Putin is firing back at an unusual way after the U.S. accused Russia of a sweeping campaign to try to influence the 2024 presidential election.

CNN's Brian Todd is working the story for us.

Brian, what are you learning?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, we have new information tonight on how the Russians allegedly used American social media stars to promote disinformation, and on Vladimir Putin's latest trolling of the two presidential candidates.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): Vladimir Putin responded to a U.S. cracked down on alleged Russian election interference with more election interference. The Russian president claims his preferred candidate was Joe Biden, but --

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): He was removed from the race and he recommended all his supporters to endorse Ms. Harris. Well, that is what we will, too. We will support her and also she laughs so expressively and infectiously, that it means she's doing well.

TODD: Putin's comment drew a sharp rebuke from the White House.

JOHN KIRBY, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER: Mr. Putin ought to stop talking about our elections, period. We would greatly appreciate it if Mr. Putin would, A, stop talking about our election and B, stop interfering in it.

TODD: Former president Donald Trump also quickly jumped in posting on Truth Social, quote, President Putin would much rather see comrade Kamala Harris in office as he strongly said.

Could Putin be using reverse psychology and publicly supporting Kamala Harris?

BRET SCHAFER, ALLIANCE FOR SECURING DEMOCRACY, GERMAN MARSHALL FUND: Do I think he prefers a candidate? Do I think he prefers Trump? Probably, but what he really prefers is for us to be more at each other's throats. So he's playing against each other, which something he's done for years.

TODD: This comes as CNN learns the identity of a Tennessee-based company that the Justice Department says was funded by Russian operatives as part of a Kremlin-backed campaign to influence this years U.S. presidential election. A U.S. official briefed on the matter tells CNN that company is Tenet Media.

Prosecutors say Tenet Media with Russian money hired right-wing social media personalities to fuel Russian narratives. Among those stars, content creators Benny Johnson, Tim Pool, and Dave Rubin. Combined, those three have about 6 million subscribers on YouTube alone.

Pool once interviewed Donald Trump on his podcast. Benny Johnson interviewed Eric Trump.

Tim Pool show "Timcast" features opinions that the Kremlin might want to see broadcast as widely as possible.

TIM POOL, PODCASTER: Ukraine is the enemy of this country. Ukraine is our enemy.

TODD: All three of those stars say they were deceived in this scheme, that they are victims, that they created their own content without input from anyone.

BETH SANNER, FORMER DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: I do think that these, these people do have responsibility to at least understand who's paying them.

TODD: In 2016 and 2020, officials say, the Russian election meddling campaign against the U.S. involved hacking and releasing emails to embarrass politicians and establishing dummy accounts to spread disinformation.

How much has that campaign evolved since then?

SCHAFER: It's evolved significantly, but that's why the Tenet thing was so sophisticated and smart is, they found real Americans, Americans who are influential, who have massive audiences and they were trying to manipulate that platform.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Analysts Bret Schafer says he's worried going forward is that whatever election meddling activity the Russians have been doing that the U.S. has caught, that they could be doing ten times more of it that has not been caught. He likens it to trying to catch drug smuggling across the southern border -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right. Brian Todd reporting -- Brian, thank you very much.

And just ahead, a surprise move, President Biden's son pleads guilty to all federal tax evasion charges. Why a sentencing could have major implications.

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[18:58:55]

BLITZER: A dramatic new development tonight in the federal tax evasion case against the president's son, Hunter Biden, now pleading guilty.

Let's go to CNN senior justice correspondent, Evan Perez.

Evan, how long unexpected is this?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: This is a big surprise, Wolf. We came here expecting that this was going to be the first day of jury selection. Instead, Hunter Biden's attorneys stood up and at first tried to figure out a way to resolve this case by not admitting guilt.

Prosecutors objected to that and in the afternoon, they attempted a second way to go about this, which was for him to plead guilty without making a deal with prosecutors. This is a unilateral plea. He pleaded guilty to three felony counts for tax evasion, six, misdemeanor counts for failing to file and pay his taxes on time.

Prosecutors spent a couple of hours reading all 56 pages of this indictment, going through all of the salacious details about Hunter Biden spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on escorts sports, and private sex clubs.

In the end, what the judge did here, Mark Scarsi, he asked Hunter Biden, do you agree that you committed every element of every crime. And Hunter Biden said, yes, your honor. And afterwards, the judge asked him for each individual what do you get whether he pleaded guilty. Hunter Biden said he did.

Now, he's facing 17 years, Wolf, when he is -- when he is sentenced on December 16.

BLITZER: Let's see what happens after that. Evan Perez, thank you very much.

I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. Thanks very much for watching.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.