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Trump Announces Sanctions; Manafort Offered Private Briefings; Mueller Seeks White House Documents; Puerto Rico obliterated By Maria; Girl Trapped Under Collapsed School. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired September 21, 2017 - 13:00   ET

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


JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Jim Acosta in for Wolf Blitzer.

Right now, Maria on the move. The monster hurricane that knocked out power to all of Puerto Rico is churning north and gaining steam. What the storm is leaving behind and who's next.

Race to the rescue. The hunt for survivors after a deadly earthquake in Mexico grows more frantic. We'll take you there live.

And turning to Trump. The special counsel seeks new documents dealing with the president's actions in office, including a now infamous meeting with the Russians.

But we begin with the Hurricane Maria's deadly rampage. It's latest victim, Puerto Rico, an island with 3.3 million U.S. citizens. It has been absolutely devastated.

President Trump approved a disaster declaration this morning. He also spoke just a short time ago. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Puerto Rico was absolutely obliterated. Puerto Rico got hit with winds that they say they've never seen winds like this anywhere. It got hit as a five, category five storm which literally never happens. All you have to do is read or turn on the television, and you'll see a place that is practically levelled.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Take a look for yourself right now. The entire island is under a flash flood warning. This video was taken by one of our crews in the capital of San Juan. And, in some areas, buildings appear to have crumbled or have been ripped apart. A government spokesperson says the damage to infrastructure alone is of, quote, "historic proportions."

Another video taken while driving down the road reveals miles of uprooted trees and debris. And all of this is just what you can see at this point. What you can't see is that the entire island, every square inch, we're told, is without power. And the governor says it could take not days, not weeks, but months to fix the system. Let's go to our reporter on the ground right now, CNN's Senior International Correspondent Nick Payton Walsh. He's in San Juan. Nick, we've been watching you all morning. What's the situation there right now?

NICK PAYTON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's strange, Jim, because as you can see around me, people are beginning to move around again. But you, sort of, see people stopping to pause, to look around, to really try and take stock of exactly the scope of what's changed in a little over 24 hours.

You know, we were here before the rains moved in to see a perfectly functional city. But now, every street has a degree of debris behind it. There's a Puerto Rican flag trying to flutter in the breeze, low on the trees. And some shops still boarded up. But part of today has been about taking those shutters down and trying to get a glimpse, really, of what the new normality looks like.

And, you know, you know, this debris can be cleaned up. Shops can be repainted. But it's that broad point you made about the power going down for what could be four to six months. That's transformative to people's lives here. You go to work. You go to school. Where do you go to a hospital for medical treatment? Big questions that transform lives here as well.

But also, the much more immediate term, there's also no cell phone service. And that means people can't check on their loved ones without actually physically going to see them, without going back almost a century, in terms of interhuman relations here.

And also, too, people coming up to us, saying how bad really was that storm? And they couldn't even get -- even CNN's not available if you haven't got electricity.

And also, when is the airport going to open? The answer to that, by the way, is quite likely, at some point, later on tomorrow, Friday. Although, you know, that's also a huge task, too, getting people off the island and bringing things in.

We're talking about a state that was already economically in severe difficulty before Hurricane Irma, remember that? Two weeks ago, before that hit, $70 billion in debt, near bankruptcy. And Irma caused a billion dollars' worth of damage.

And I just delivered a glancing blow. We've seen, Jim, how this hurricane slammed into the east coast right next to us yesterday morning and then plowed straight through the state up here to San Juan. The damage along Highway 3, and we drove there last night, unbelievable.

And here, this is the hemato (ph) where it begins to grow as they get to the difficult task of trying to get back anywhere like how their life was about 30 hours ago -- Jim.

ACOSTA: Absolutely, Nick. We can hear the generator behind you. They're going to hear a whole lot more of those over the coming days for that island to get back to anywhere near normal.

Nick Payton Walsh, thank you very much.

The threat from Hurricane Maria is far from over. CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking this deadly storm for us. Allison, that picture that Nick Payton Walsh was painting is just devastating. Where is Maria headed right now? Is it as bad as it was as it toured through Puerto Rico?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The short answer is no. The good news is it has weakened since it left Puerto Rico which is good news for folks, say, in the Dominican Republic which are being lashed with some of those outer bands of the storm right now.

But even still, even if it's not as bad, we're still talking a category three storm, winds 115 miles per hour with gusts up towards of 140 miles per hour. The next stop is likely to be to the northwest into the Turks and Caicos. There, they're also going to get heavy rainfall as well as strong winds.

But storm surge is going to be a huge factor for the Turks and Caicos. Perhaps even worse than places like Puerto Rico or Dominica or the Dominican Republic ended up getting, because of their location in proximity to the actual storm.

[13:05:04] Once it gets past that and continues to the trek north, we expect to see some rapid weakening, because it will be entering much cooler water. Again, it's going from mid to upper 80s into low 80s if not eventually into low 70s. And while that may only be about a five to 10 degree spread, that's enough to truly weaken one of these storms very quickly.

Now, we've talked about comparisons to Irma because many of the same islands have been impacted by both, especially where it's right here. This is at about the exact point in which Irma and Maria are on the same track. Initially, Maria started off a little bit further south because the yellow line is Irma. But right about here is where they line up. And then, from there, it will end up going slightly further to the north -- Jim.

ACOSTA: Allison Chinchar, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

Rescuers in Mexico City are still clawing through the rubble of an elementary school. This has just been heartbreaking to watch. It's an urgent attempt to reach a 12-year-old girl and possibly two other survivors still trapped two days after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake. Officials say 26 bodies, including 21 children, have been found at the school. 11 other people have been rescued. One girl described what happened as the building collapsed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JARDIEL PALOMEC (translator): Just when we were going to run down, part of the building collapsed and everything was dust and you couldn't see anything. The English teacher helped us come down because we couldn't use the stairs. They were moving a lot. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Seas of rescue efforts repeated in numerous locations across central Mexico where at least 250 people were killed. But rescue teams are hoping for more victories like this one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: (INAUDIBLE.)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: The moment of this woman's rescue from the rubble was posted on Twitter this morning. She was inside a collapsed building and in the Linda Vista region of Mexico City. Search and rescue teams rescued a man from another collapsed building. You're watching that here now. He had been buried in the rubble for 26 hours.

CNN's Miguel Marquez joins us now live from Mexico City. Miguel, this has just been incredible to watch. The search at the school has intensified amid these concerns the structure could collapse even more. I know you've been speaking in hush tones. What more can you tell us right now?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I have to talk in a whisper right now because no matter who you are at a period of silence. But you can see down this way just some of the work that they have tried to do here. They brought in large generators and lots of plastic buckets so they could get debris out and by hand.

They believe they know the location of the little girl and they are going in through two different locations to get directions to try to get to her. They don't know if she is with some of her colleagues, some of her classmates and if they may be alive as well.

They did pull one person out today. It was a teacher in her 50s. Unfortunately, she did not survive the collapse of the building. It's a 30-story building. It is unstable.

They are concerned about aftershocks from this quake. So, it is very, very slow, meticulous and thorough going. I can tell you today it is a much more organized, much more focused situation here on the ground -- Jim.

ACOSTA: Miguel Marquez, we appreciate that very much. And, of course, Miguel there speaking in hush tones, whispering, really, because of the delicate and fragile nature of that task there in Mexico City. Miguel, thank you very much.

Let's bring in search and rescue export Sonja Heritage. She joins us live now via Skype from Santa Paula, California. Sonja, you just heard Miguel Marquez there. You probably didn't find it too surprising that he was speaking in basically a whisper as he was reporting from the scene there. It just goes to show you how we're taking great pains to be very delicate in our reporting on the scene there. You have trained -- you've worked with trained search and rescue teams. There are fears that this school building in Mexico is unstable. What do rescuers have to do to keep a structure like this from collapsing even more?

SONJA HERITAGE, SEARCH AND RESCUE EXPERT: Well, I mean, honestly, you're not -- if the -- if the structure is going to collapse, that's what's going to happen. But they'll concentrate on is trying to shore up on the areas where these children are, especially this little girl, first off. And then, they'll try to go in. And going from two different directions, it's right on track.

You know, I just -- we're all holding our breath on this one. And I hope it works. It's -- you know, that's why they can't have heavy equipment. The silence is for their listening devices because they pick up any noise very loudly. So, it's really great that you all are doing what you do.

[13:10:03] ACOSTA: Yes. And, Sonja, we're two days out now from the quake. What are some of the biggest challenges for these rescuers? I heard Miguel say in one of his previous reports that they've basically been out there for 24 hours or more doing this. I assume fatigue sets in. You have to rotate crews in, I suppose a wave at a time. Can you talk about that?

HERITAGE: Well, we do know reinforcements are coming. L.A. County is headed down there. They should be in Mexico at this time. They left last night.

So, there's -- they will. They'll be fatigued and it'll be very hard to pull these people off of something that they've been involved in from the get go. But, you know, that's when mistakes happen as well. So, you know, hopefully, they'll go into a little bit of a rotation, so that they're -- you know, they can be a little more focused in on task.

It sounds like things are far more organized today. That's great because it's really got to be systematic on this. And there's a lot at stake.

ACOSTA: And I'm always curious about this. How do you get food and water and medicine to someone trapped deep inside the rubble? Is it one of those situations where you see them, through perhaps a hole in the rubble and you can reach something down to them, even though you can't pull them out, at that point? I mean, I can't imagine how incredibly frustrating that might be. While, at the same time, that is literally a life line to that person who is trapped.

HERITAGE: Absolutely. I mean, hose, PVC pipe, you know, anything that you can get to deliver, you know, liquid nutrition is really what you're trying to do. Hydration is huge and it's very important. They've been in there long enough now that, you know, they really need to get that food and that water. So, I'm sure they're coming up with all kinds of creative ways to do that.

And, you know, hopefully being a child, you know that she can move enough, you know, to get that and put it into her system. I'm not sure exactly how she's pinned. You know, so that's going to make it a little bit -- a little bit more challenging.

You know, but it -- and as far as the medicine goes, you know, you know, if they can open it enough to get somebody down there, it's usually the really small guys that are women that, kind of, dig down into there, you know, so that they can administer some -- you know, some care right away or as soon as possible.

So, yes, it's just -- it's just the nature of the game. It is -- it is a very slow process but it's also very focused and, you know, hopefully we'll get her out soon as well as the rest of the folks that, I'm sure, you know, are trapped all over that region.

ACOSTA: We hope so, too. It's incredibly heroic work. Sonja Heritage, we appropriate your perspective on this. It's very important. Thank you very much. And we'll come back to the scene in just a moment.

But first, major new developments in the Russia investigation, including a report that the president's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, offered private briefings to a Russian billionaire who's close to Vladimir Putin.

Plus, Jimmy Kimmel doubling down on his criticism of the Republican health care plan with a blistering attack on the senator co-sponsoring the bill. Why the T.V. host is becoming a thorn in President Trump's side.

And more on the breaking news. The president announcing an executive order, targeting companies and individuals who do business with North Korea. He says China is on board.

This is special live coverage. We'll be right back.

[13:13:40]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:17:41] ACOSTA: We are following breaking news on a big announcement from President Trump on North Korea. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Today I'm announcing a new executive order I just signed that significantly expands our authorities to target individuals, companies, financial institutions that finance and facilitate trade with North Korea.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: The president made the announcement right before his working lunch with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and South Korean President Moon.

My colleague, senior White House correspondent Jeff Zeleny is outside Trump Tower in New York.

Jeff, what can you tell us about these economic sanctions?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, this is certainly a very important development today. These sanctions certainly coming on the heels of that fiery speech that both you and I were at the U.N. the other day when the president threatened to totally destroy North Korea. Well, he's taking a different approach today, going after the economy, the finances of North Korea, delivering blunt language there. Essentially offering a warning to foreign bankers and foreign business leaders that you can either do business with the U.S. or trade with North Korea, but threatened to cut them off if they continue that.

So this is something, Jim, that is a sign that on North Korea, this administration still searching for one strategy, trying several things. Threatening military options, but trying to squeeze them economically as well. So a bigger headline than we were expecting today, getting South Korea on board as well, trying to present a unified front in the region here from the U.S.

Jim.

ACOSTA: That's right, less fuel for the rocket man.

But, Jeff, the president was also asked about possible dialogue with North Korea. What did he say?

ZELENY: That was very interesting. Jim, at the end of that pool spray, the end of the announcement this morning, he was asked if dialogue will still continue. He said, why not, and sort of left it hanging there. So this is something that the president has been a bit all over the map on, if he would have dialogue or talks with North Korea. But he definitely did not rule out that possibility today.

But, Jim, taken together, the fiery rhetoric we heard earlier in the week, this is certainly more of a -- of the -- of a normal action of a previous U.S. president here going for an economic sanction. A clear sign that military option is not the preferred route of anyone despite that bombastic rhetoric.

[13:20:11] Jim.

ACOSTA: That's right, less brinkmanship today. Jeff Zeleny in New York outside Trump Tower.

Jeff, thank you very much.

Coming up, Trump's former campaign manager under scrutiny in the Russia probe. The offer he allegedly made to a Russian billionaire close to Vladimir Putin.

Plus, how Special Counsel Robert Mueller is turning his attention to the president's actions while in the Oval Office.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ACOSTA: Russia investigation -- The Russia investigation zeroes in on the actions of the Trump White House and the president's former campaign chairman. Among the latest revelations, a report that Paul Manafort offered a Russian billionaire private briefings on the presidential election while he was Trump's campaign chairman. That's according to "The Washington Post." The paper says d the billionaire has close ties to the Kremlin.

[13:25:04] Let's bring in "Washington Post" staff writer Adam Entous, part of the team that broke that story, and CNN legal analyst Laura Coats, a former federal prosecutor.

Adam, "The Post" says that -- your story said there is no evidence these briefings took place, but what are the concerns that are raised here in this story? Obviously you don't want your campaign chairman making these sorts of offers to Russian billionaires. I guess that's -- that's on the surface of it.

ADAM ENTOUS, STAFF WRITER, "WASHINGTON POST": Like at minimum you have a conflict of interest, obviously. But you can imagine if you were a part of the counter intelligence team that is reading those e-mails and maybe listening to phone calls that followed those e-mails, it sounded like Manafort was offering to be, to their ears I'm sure, like he was offering to be an informant, telling someone that the intelligence community knew was in regular contact with Putin and had a very fraught relationship with Putin. Somebody was who probably trying to impress Putin by showing that he had access within the Trump campaign.

So, you know, we don't know everything because what's in e-mails is obviously just a piece of this. and the e-mails are very cryptic in the words that are chosen. It's usually initials are used. Sometimes code names are being used. And what we don't know is what does Mueller have access to beyond what we're seeing? And probably there's a lot more that we don't know about.

ACOSTA: And, you know, we were just talking about this before we came out of the break, Laura, but you never cease to be amazed by the shoes that are dropping in this investigation. But it's hard to get your arms around -- your mind around the idea that a campaign chairman would be having these kinds of -- these thoughts. That he would somehow be able to provide briefings to somebody who was with, you know, another country, an adversary of the United States.

LAURA COATES, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I mean it becomes so --

ACOSTA: What do you make of that?

COATES: It becomes so absurd at this point in time, the almost mountain of careless mistakes or things that were being made. But what you have here is somebody who's potentially trying to profit or capitalize and then monetize on his relationship with the president of the United States, or who was going to become the president of the United States. And for the prosecutor, you're looking at that and saying, what would be the motive behind trying to do that and would there be some incentive for the person who is trying to capitalize or monetize to receive or act as a liaison between a foreign entity and this campaign position?

And when you have that, you've got the absence, true, of that smoking gun, that one piece of evidence that ties this whole case together, but the key to a successful prosecution, when you don't have that smoking gun, are being able to establish what the motive of the person is who might be that conduit and also leverage. And all that's heaping up about Paul Manafort is that you have leverage, at least in the eyes of Robert Mueller's team, that they could possibly have this person cooperate in their investigation to get to that smoking gun.

ACOSTA: And CNN has reported that the special prosecutor, Robert Mueller, has requested documents covering a wide range of actions by the Trump White House. That includes the firings of Michael Flynn, of Jim Comey, President Trump's meetings with the Russians in the Oval Office. How significant do you think all of is this, Adam?

ENTOUS: Well, I mean, I think what we're seeing here is, you know, this is obviously -- some of this goes to what the president chose to do. Was there an attempt to obstruct justice in these various cases? I think what's very clear from this request is how much Mueller is at least front loading with his investigation, looking at this obstruction piece. We know that they interviewed Coats, the DNI, the director of national intelligence. We know one of the first interviews was with also Mike Rogers, the director of the national security agency. Both of those individuals was asked by the president if they could publically go out there and tell the world that there was no evidence of collusion. So this is all part of a chain. You know, this is all piece -- where they're piecing together, you know, this picture. Was the president trying to obviously, you know, either change the narrative would be the more generous interpretation, but actually intimidate people, trying to get people to drop the investigation by --

ACOSTA: Obstruction of justice?

ENTOUS: Yes, exactly.

ACOSTA: And I want to get something the vice president was asked about earlier today, whether the Mueller investigation has veered outside of its jurisdiction. He said that's for others to decide. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What I can assure you is that we're fully cooperating with the special counsel and we'll continue to do that. And I've made clear that during my time on the campaign I was not aware of any contacts or any collusion with Russian officials. And I stand by that. And as I said, we'll -- we'll provide any information the special counsel requires. But, you know, honestly, this is not what the American people are focused on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Laura, notice there he said there was no collusion, quote, during my time on the campaign. A little bit of a 46-ing there you might say.

COATES: Yes.

ACOSTA: Is that -- is that's what's going on here --

COATES: Well, it --

ACOSTA: Trying to sort of preserve his own purity in all of this.

COATES: Yes, and you -- it kind of reminds you of when Donald Trump was talking about, not to my knowledge. No, never that I knew. You want to distance yourself from people who potentially could flip in an investigation against you. It seems a little counterproductive until that's actually a certainly that he is, in fact, an enemy of the White House if it turns out the investigation points directly at them.