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Florida Condo Death Toll Rises to 46; Haiti's President Assassinated; Tropical Storm Elsa Hits Florida; House GOP Leader to Appoint Picks to Insurrection Committee. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired July 7, 2021 - 14:00   ET

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


[14:00:17]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Welcome to NEWSROOM. I'm Alisyn Camerota.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: I'm Victor Blackwell. It's good to be with you.

Today, we begin with the investigation into the January 6 Capitol insurrection. CNN is learning that Republican leadership will participate in a critical House committee to look into the attack. Several GOP sources say that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is finalizing his choices of which Republicans to name to that select committee.

Now, right now, it has eight members named by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week.

CAMEROTA: So, many Capitol Hill watchers had wondered whether Republicans would boycott this committee, so as to avoid the uncomfortable facts that come out about President Trump's role and their own roles in the insurrection.

You will remember that Republicans squashed the chance for that bipartisan independent commission.

CNN's Melanie Zanona broke the details on McCarthy's decision about the select committee. And she joins us now from Capitol Hill.

So, Melanie, what led McCarthy to decide to participate, and who will he name?

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well, initially, there was a debate inside the House GOP Conference about whether or not to boycott this as a way to just sort of cast the entire investigation as partisan.

But once Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed a Republican, Liz Cheney, to her side of the committee, which essentially assures that Democrats will have bipartisan buy-in for their investigative work, it became clear that that was no longer a viable option, for the GOP to boycott.

So, instead, I'm told House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy is in fact planning on naming Republicans to the select committee, but he wants them there so they can push back on Democrats, shape the counternarrative, run de France for Donald Trump, and essentially throw sand in the gears of the investigation as much as possible.

As far as names, you can definitely expect to see some Trump allies and those who are viewed as effective conservative messengers in the GOP Conference, people like a Jim Jordan, an Elise Stefanik, a Mike Johnson. All three of them had prominent roles defending Trump during his first impeachment.

But at the same time, Kevin McCarthy also recognizes that it's important to have some more moderate members who can have sway with Middle America, who can bring some credibility to the debate. So I'm told he's looking at members who have backgrounds in security matters and legal matters and national law enforcement.

He also may face some pressure to put a woman on the panel, so it's not just men up there. But one thing to keep in mind is that Speaker Pelosi does have veto power over these picks. That might explain why two names who are not on the short list are Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz.

BLACKWELL: All right, Melanie Zanona there from Capitol Hill, thank you so much.

There's also a new court filing that shows that there is still a threat of violence even now, six months after the January 6 riot. The FBI just indicted this Capitol riot suspect. He's nicknamed Monkey King.

They say he went into the Capitol that day. Investigators say he wore several masks. You can see -- they say that's him right there. Now, in the court document, an undercover agent also says that a man in Virginia in the months after the attack, they say he spoke of -- quote -- "a second civil war."

CAMEROTA: So, in April, the undercover agents saw five boxes of glass bottles at the man's home allegedly meant to create Molotov cocktails.

The FBI says last month the defendant visited a jail site as a possible testing ground for those explosives.

CNN's Whitney Wild has been all over this story.

So, Whitney, this all came out after the FBI infiltrated this so- called Bible study group, though I don't know how many Bible studies focus on creation of Molotov cocktails.

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Correct.

There was a very brief discussion of the Bible in one meeting, according to the court documents, but, mostly, the discussions surrounded seceding from the United States, weapons trainings, for example. So what this shows is that there are people out there who are inclined to these extremist ideologies and they find each other.

This is something that the FBI has been warning about. They and DHS too had issued warnings really since immediately after January 6 that we would remain in this heightened threat environment. This is an example of that, because the FBI infiltrated, as you saw on that graphic just before, infiltrated this group, and then rustled up evidence over several months following the January 6 insurrection.

So what the FBI is charging at this point is that he did participate in the insurrection, that he went inside the Capitol. He's facing four charges for that, has not yet entered a plea.

But this went on afterward. He's not facing any charges related to these alleged actions after January 6. But the core documents reveal some startling information. For example, he was part of a group that was discussing surveilling the Capitol after the riot, looking for weaknesses.

They were trying to surveil the restricted zone that the National Guard had set up around the Capitol, looking for weaknesses, which is just so chilling. And there's another example of some really disturbing information.

[14:05:02]

He allegedly had told an undercover FBI agent that he was working on a manifesto. Here's just a brief quote about that. He's alleged to have said: "I'm kind of at a point right now that I'm writing letters to my son. If I get to a gunfight with the feds, and I don't make it, I want to be able to transfer as much wisdom to my son as possible. It's like what a lot of serial killers write, their manifestos," which, of course, would send a chill down anybody's spine who reads that.

But what it shows, again, is that we remain in this heightened threat environment, that there are still people out there who saw what happened on January 6, who were inspired by it, and continue to have these domestic violent extremist interests and inclinations here -- Victor, Alisyn.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: ... comparison there.

There is this fascinating detail of LEGOs model. Tell us about that.

WILD: Right.

So this came up in another court filing about a guy named Robert Morss, who was from Pennsylvania. He's charged in the insurrection. His charges are pretty substantial. So he's charged with having led one of the really violent attacks on Capitol Police at one of the entry points to the Capitol.

So far, he's pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors are trying to keep him in jail. So they filed this court document in which they told a judge during a search of his home they also found a building -- like a LEGO building of the Capitol. I don't know the technical term for a LEGO -- is it a LEGO formation?

BLACKWELL: Model maybe?

WILD: Model, yes.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

WILD: See, this is -- this is the 6:00 a.m. live shot rearing its head.

But, anyway. So, anyway, yes, so, throughout the course of the investigation, they found this LEGO Capitol. There's no indication in the court documents about what prosecutors think it meant.

But it is this sort of like strange nuance here. And, again, it appeared in this court document where prosecutors are urging a judge to keep this man behind bars. Again, so far, he's pleaded not guilty -- Victor, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: It's all so disturbing.

Whitney Wild, thank you very much for the reporting all day for us.

So Donald Trump is going after the biggest names in tech after they ejected him from their sites following the January 6 attack. The former president says he's filed class-action lawsuits against Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and their respective chief executives.

BLACKWELL: The former president made the announcement today from his golf club.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're demanding an end to the shadow-banning, a stop to the silencing and a stop to the blacklisting, banishing and canceling that you know so well.

Our case will prove this censorship is unlawful, it's unconstitutional and it's completely un-American.

We all know that. We all know that very, very well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So those tech companies have not commented.

The former president is already trying to make some money off of this, fund-raising. He sent out a text to announce the suits and then asked for donations.

CAMEROTA: OK, now to some weather news.

Tropical Storm Elsa made landfall along Florida's Gulf Coast just a short time ago. Torrential rains, as you can see on your screen, and strong gusts have left thousands of Floridians without power as far south as the Keys. CNN's Derek Van Dam is in Tampa.

Derek, how is it looking where you are? And what has Elsa's impact been?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, good afternoon, Victor and Alisyn.

People are breathing a sigh of relief in Tampa, because this storm largely spared the worst of it, which was fortunate, because if it was even 24 hours later, if it was happening right now, we'd have major implications for this, because we have the Stanley Cup finals game five being played directly behind me tonight at 8:00 p.m.

So that's fortunate as well. But, unfortunately, some people were not as -- greeted with such friendliness from the storm. Let's take you to Cedar Key, which is just to my north. And they had problems with storm surge as well as winds, Horseshoe Beach clocking winds over 70 miles per hour for gusts.

And there was extremely heavy rain within that particular region, as you can see on your TV screen there. That's where -- that's very near where the tropical storm made landfall in Taylor County.

But there are rainfall totals just to our south in Punta Gorda. They have officially approached 11 inches, but by the time it's all said and done, these feeder bands will have produced nearly 12 to 15 inches. That's a foot of rain in the past two days. No city, no infrastructure can handle that amount of rain.

And I want to talk about what's happened here in Tampa, because we have got the Hillsborough River directly behind me, Tampa Bay over my left shoulder. And the inland rain that took place across this area actually meeting with this strong wind that's pushing off of the Gulf of Mexico, and rain and water has nowhere to go but find its own level.

So it went up. It's been laughing at some of the seawalls here and spilling over into some of the local side streets within this area, but really largely spared from the worst of the impacts -- back to you.

BLACKWELL: Derek Van Dam for us there, thank you so much.

We know this is not over because it's headed up the Atlantic Coast now. It is a tropical storm. It's predicted to affect almost the entire East Coast of the United States. Millions of people are now facing or could soon face torrential rains, strong winds, even tornadoes.

[14:10:09]

Here's some pictures. This is Columbia County, Florida, near Jacksonville. You can see here a small tornado blew away a deck and a fence, snapped trees into two.

Let's go down to Tom Sater. He's in the CNN Weather Center.

Tom, where is the storm headed next?

TOM SATER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we have a change in the track in the last 12 hours and it shifts it more inland. So, instead of that heavy rain staying right on the beaches or offshore, millions more are going to be affected by this.

Elsa will not go into the books as the first hurricane to make landfall in the U.S. for the 2021 season. It's the third tropical storm. We had Claudette and Danny. But big news, though, really for the Tampa Bay residents, as it was approaching, it collapsed on radar. It was only a hurricane for a few hours. At 8:00 p.m., they raised it to hurricane status, but then dry air and winds moved in.

And that really saved the thousands that have beachfront property or even lakefront or waterfront property from counting that surge inch by inch. But the heavy rainfall did increase eight to 10 inches, Punta Gorda getting 11.

But now we're going to be watching more of an effect of a tornado watch that's in effect until 8:00 p.m. That could be extended northward as the system circulates. Our concern now is if we get some of these strong thunderstorms, strong enough with wind gusts to maybe down a power line, some scattered power outages, enough rain in some cases where streams will rise,the last thing we want to have is, of course, first responders respond to a water rescue.

But look at this now. We have got a tropical storm watch all the way up to Sandy Hook. That could be extended too. With this track now that is more inland, more residents are going to feel the effects of this. So, again, flash flooding, the possibility of power outages will be isolated, but the strong, gusty winds.

It never really makes its way back off shore, as we looked at yesterday, maybe off Norfolk, could become a tropical storm. But it doesn't have to. It's going to run into a jet stream to the north and that could generate more power.

We can be talking about this into Saturday in the Canadian Maritimes. So it's going to scrape every state up along the way. The story is not over with yet.

And it looks like, after we get through with Elsa, we just might have a quiet time for about two weeks for the Atlantic hurricane season, which is more typical for early July. That would be nice.

CAMEROTA: It sure would.

Tom Sater, thank you for tracking all of that for us.

So, new details are developing out of Haiti, where the president of the country has been, the first lady also injured. So we have the latest.

BLACKWELL: And tragic breaking news out of Surfside, Florida; 10 more bodies have been found in the rubble.

And a task force is taking a look at the safety of more buildings there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:17:02]

BLACKWELL: There is shock and anxiety and growing turmoil in Haiti today.

The assassination of the country's president, Jovenel Moise, is creating all of that.

CAMEROTA: Haitian officials say the attack happened around 1:00 this morning in the president's home. A group described as highly trained and heavily armed mercenaries managed to break in and open fire, killing the president and injuring his wife.

Haiti's acting prime minister is asking citizens to stay calm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLAUDE JOSEPH, HAITIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I just presided over a Cabinet meeting this morning, and we decided to put the country under the state of siege.

I share the pain and the suffering with the president's family. Making sure they were OK was my first priority this morning. I'm calling on the people to stay vigilant and stay calm in this difficult moment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: All staff at the U.S. Embassy have been told to remain at the Port-au-Prince compounds until further notice.

President Biden called the assassination -- quote -- "very worrisome."

CNN's Melissa Bell is following this for us.

Melissa, what do we know about who did this and why?

MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alisyn, forensics teams have been gathering outside that residence of Jovenel Moise, where that assassination took place overnight about 1:00 a.m., as you said, to try and figure out more about exactly what went on.

All we have heard so far from the acting prime minister is that they were heavily armed and highly trained. And what those forensic teams have been looking at are the bullet holes that you can clearly see on some of those images outside the president's residence that show some of the violence that took place inside that house overnight.

Now, as for the first lady, we understand that she is -- they are looking to get her to Miami to for treatment. She is in a stable, but critical condition. We know that she was shot and have heard from the ambassador of Haiti to the United States that she could be heading to Miami for treatment shortly.

As you say, in the meantime, it is really about preventing the country from being plunged into chaos. And I'm quoting here the acting prime minister himself explaining why he's put into place this state of siege.

Now, just to give you an idea, it's just above the state of emergency. Essentially, it is the inspiration of martial law. It is the closing of borders. And it is a handing to the military have a great deal of the control of the security of the country.

And to give you an idea of the nervousness of the neighbor, the neighboring country, the Dominican Republic, it is also, Alisyn, deploying military personnel to the borders with Haiti to ensure the calm is kept there -- Alisyn.

BLACKWELL: Yes, you describe the turmoil now, but it's been a tumultuous couple of months.

Critics say that Moise should have stepped down back in February. Tell us about these past few months.

BELL: That's right, Victor.

This -- what we have seen over the course of the last 24 hours, these shocking developments, are really the fruit of many months of instability, a political crisis that has seen essentially Jovenel Moise ruling by decree, the dissolution of the Parliament, a disagreement over whether he should be in power at all at this stage, and accusations from members of the opposition that he was seeking to extend his grip on power.

[14:20:03]

There have been protests coming from the streets, as the cost of living has soared in a country where 60 percent of the population live below the poverty line of $2 a day.

That has fueled social unrest. The COVID pandemic has done nothing to help it. And this is a country that's been beset by criminal violence, armed gangs looking for control of various districts of the capital. It was insecurity that led us here, and no doubt, Victor and Alisyn, insecurity that it's likely to lead to.

CAMEROTA: Melissa Bell, thank you very much for all that reporting.

All right, back here now to Surfside, Florida, where search-and-rescue teams have recovered 10 more bodies from the rubble of the Champlain Towers condo collapse.

BLACKWELL: Yes, the number of dead now at 46, 94 still unaccounted for.

There's new video of the search. It shows recovery efforts along what was the front portion of the building. And as the investigation continues into how this happened, there's a new safety task force that's been set up to review condominium laws across the state and make recommendations to local and state officials.

CNN's Rosa Flores has more of that new video and details on the search-and-rescue -- Rosa.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let me take you through this video, because, for the first time yesterday, reporters and photojournalists were allowed close to the site.

And, really, the first thing that you see, that front portion of the debris, that is the remnants of the controlled demolition that happened over the weekend.

Behind that, you see and you can hear in this video the heavy machinery that is working. Those pieces of equipment are in the portion of the rubble that is the initial portion of the collapse, the collapse that happened on June 24.

Now, as you look around, we were also actually able to see from that vantage point the sophistication of this search. We were able to see that there were teams in the neighboring buildings that were monitoring the dangers, that were monitoring the rubble. And we had heard this from officials, but we had not been able to see it for ourselves.

I can tell you, from being there, you feel the urgency because you're surrounded by heavy machinery and first responders. You feel the pain because you know that that pile of rubble has been a grave. Now 46 people have been pulled from the rubble.

Since we were there last, which was yesterday afternoon ,10 more people were pulled from the rubble. All of this becoming very emotional for local officials. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIELLA LEVINE CAVA (D), MAYOR OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA (through translator): Our hearts are breaking for those who are grieving and for those who are still waiting.

Please continue your prayers in our community and especially those at the center of this tragedy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:28:52]

FLORES: Very emotional moment there for the mayor.

I'd like to share with you the names of the latest three victims identified, 86-year-old Graciela Cattarossi, 89-year-old Gino Cattarossi, and 80-year-old Simon Segal -- back to you guys.

BLACKWELL: Understandably, it's a very emotional task they have. And I'm sure that the search-and-rescue teams have found themselves emotional in moments like that. CAMEROTA: Oh, of course. I mean, they're exhausted physically and emotionally, but they are certainly making more progress since they brought that -- the rest of that building now.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Yes.

Rosa Flores for us there in Surfside, thank you so much.

So the White House is now working to respond to ransomware attacks. And moments ago, President Biden sent a message to Moscow about his plan to protect American companies. We will have those for you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: President Biden met with top cybersecurity advisers this morning to strategize about how to respond to a series of cyberattacks.

The most recent attack is against an American company. And it's the largest of its kind. And the group thought to be responsible, REvil, operates out of Russia and is demanding $70 million in ransom.

Now, these attacks are a test of the red lines set by President Biden during his high-stakes talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin last month. The White House press secretary spoke about it this morning.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: In this meeting, they provided an update on their ongoing work, surge capacity, resilience and reporting, addressing payment systems and our ongoing efforts to combat ransomware.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Now, President Biden was briefed when asked.

If he had any new message for the Russian president after his briefing, this is what he said:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: What's your message to Putin on cyber? Any message after your briefing on cyber from your officials?

BIDEN: I will deliver it to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Let's bring in now Suzanne Spaulding, a senior cyber official at the Department of Homeland Security during the Obama administration.

Suzanne, I had planned to start in a different place with you.

First, thank you for being with us.

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