Transcripts For CNNW Anderson 20240704

Trial. And we get more evidence of defense footdragging in the maralago documents case. Also tonight, were on the scene of the enormous destruction in maui where some of the wildfires are thankfully being contained, but the proportions of this tragedy, including now dozens of lives lost, it just keeps growing. Later, Florida Governor ron desantis adds a new adversary to disney, School Liberians and the woke. This time school prosecutors. He is firing them, only he never hired them. The voters did. Well speak to the latest official to get the ax. Good evening. John berman here for anderson. Trying to for swift justice in what could become the most significant criminal trial ever in this country. If not unprecedented in its speed, then pretty nearly so. The defense in one way or another in this federal case and the other today say not so fast. Today the Special Counsels team asked for a january 2nd trial date in the Election Subversion case which it said could take as little as four weeks. The former president , who is expected to challenge that, took the first step tonight on his social network, quoting now, but leaving out some of the personal attacks on smith and president biden, quote, only an outoftouch lunatic would ask for such a date, one day into the new year and maximum election interference with iowa. Now whatever you make of that, in particular, the proposed date is yet another entry on what is already a very crowded calendar. Take a look. Surrounding that date are the trump organizations civil fraud trial. This october the e. Jean carroll definition. That is the same day as the caucuses. Ten days before the 15th, manhattan hush money trial. And the maralago documents trial is scheduled for may 20th. Today in that case, trump codefendants walt nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, they were in court. More on that and what appear to be delaying tactics there in a second. But first, cnns paula reid on the Special Counsels need, the need for speed. Paula, what exactly is the government requesting, and how likely is the judge to grant the date . Well, they have this need for speed they say to serve what they describe as the public interests in having a speedy resolution to this case. But theyre asking the judge to start this trial immediately after the new year. They say it will last four to six weeks. And these are of course the first two months of a president ial election year. And right at the start of when primary voting would start for republicans. This would mean that Candidate Trump would be spending most of his weekdays in a courtroom. So its unclear if the judge is going to go for the schedule. The Special Counsel also revealed a new detail today. And that is the fact that at least some of the evidence in this case is classified. And john, that could potentially compensate some telephone pretrial hearings here. But the Special Counsel insists even with that classified material, they will still be ready to go in early january. So has the former president and his team, have they responded yet . As you noted in the intro, the former president has responded. But officially his legal team has another week to weigh in with legal arguments about when they think this case should go. Now if the florida prosecution is any indication, we expect they will likely try to advocate for this trial to be pushed until after the 2024 election. Now after they submit their suggestions to the judge, this will all be hashed out at a hearing in late august. On august 28th the judge said then shell hear these arguments and decide on a trial date. And there is a hearing in this case tomorrow before a judge. And what is expected to happen there . Thats right. The 28th hearing was supposed to be a big deal because that was going to be the first hearing before judge tanya chutkan, the woman who will oversee this case to what is expected to be a trial. But she has had to schedule a hearing tomorrow because the two sides cannot agree on the rules for handling sensitive evidence in this case. So ill be in the courtroom. We expect both sides will go before this judge. Again, its their first appearance before her in this case. And they will make arguments for how they think they should handle sensitive evidence. The Special Counsel is advocating for broad protections, citing concerns that the former president may learn something, evidence that has been gathered by prosecutors and share it, potentially impacting the investigation. But defense attorneys, they want something more limited. Theyre arguing for something thats more similar to other january 6th cases. And john, it will be ultimately be up to the judge, her first test many this case. You will be in the courtroom. We look forward to nearly realtime updates. Paula reid, thank you very much. As we said a moment ago, the former president s codefendants in the documents case, they were in court today where once again procedural matters appear to be slowing things down. Randi kaye is outside the courthouse and joins us now. So what did happen in court today, randi . Well, john, donald trump waived his appearance to appear in court but did enter a not guilty through his attorney. His aide walt nauta also was here in court and did enter a not guilty plea. We were expecting the Property Manager from maralago Carlos De Oliveira to be in court, which he was and to enter a plea. You may recall last week he was in miami with a washington, d. C. Based lawyer. So he couldnt enter a plea because he needs a florida lawyer to enter a plea here in the state of florida. He had a florida lawyer in the courtroom with him, but apparently he hadnt signed up all the paper, hadnt officially signed on. Once again Carlos De Oliveiras arraignment was postponed. Hell new appear back in court here on tuesday august 15th, or he could possibly waive his appearance. But we did learn earlier this evening that his florida lawyer did officially sign on hours after that scheduled arraignment. And he will now officially represent him here in the state. So we do expect that he will enter the plea. John, just in terms of the charges that they are facing now, were looking at false statements, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and concealing documents. And weve seen this play out before. Its just another day and another delay. Adds you recall walt nauta, the aide, for his orangenal arraignment, he first couldnt find a florida lawyer. Apparently thats very difficult here. And then he had issues with his flight from new york. He was delayed. He was stuck on plane. So weve seen this movie before, john. Does it look like these delays and the ones that may be coming the next time there is a hearing could impact the actual start of the trial . Its possible. I mean, jack smith said that the superseding indictment and the new charges in them shouldnt impact the timeline for the trial. But it certainly looks possible given what were seeing. And now were seeing a new court filing from walt nauta and his team, requesting that he be able to view classified documents in the maralago case. They say that he needs to do that in order to properly prepare for his defense. But prosecutors say that he just doesnt have the Security Clearance for Something Like that. Also, they say that he was not part of the willful retention of the documents he is being charged with obstruction. So he should not be able to see those documents. John . What is next . The process for these two men . Well, come august there is now the prosecutors have a deadline of monday, august 14th in order to respond to this latest filing from walt nauta and his objection. And then judge Aileen Cannon has also set a hearing date for august 25th to deal with those matters if needed. She also wants to make sure were told that all of the pleas and all of the arraignments and all of those smaller matters are dealt with before the August 25th Hearing if that does indeed take place. And also, john, i should point out that because of this, this could potentially delay Donald Trumps trial, which is scheduled for may. As you said, in this classified documents case. If all of these hearings continue and all of these delays and filings continue, it could very well get pushed from may, possibly even past the president ial election. John . And that may be part of the point. Randi kaye, thank you very much. With us now, former trump attorney Tim Parlatore who currently represents bernie kerik. Also with us elie honig, who has prosecuted his fair share of cases. And senior Political Correspondent and trump biographer maggie haberman. Elie, i want to start with you. The proposed trial date of january 2nd. Realistic or an opening bid . Its an opening bid. This is a remarkably aggressive opening bid. Sort of Wishful Thinking on the prosecutions part. If they start this case in january, that would mean according to the prosecutors Request Jury Selection would start in middecember that means Donald Trumps team would have four and a half months to get ready for trial that is close to unheard of in the federal system. This is a broad conspiracy. This charges donald trump, but at least six other coconspirators involved. Covers seven states over two to three months. And just to understand why its such a short time frame, think of what Donald Trumps legal team has to do in four and a half months to make this happen. They have to review all the discovery. There is going to be hundreds of thousands of pages in discovery. There is going to be hours and hours of surveillance video. Theyre going to have to prepare their own defense. They get do to do their own investigation. Trump is entitled to some due process. I think 4 1 2 month very easily pushing it. Thats an opening gambit. There was an implication, it wasnt explicit, but the implication in this filing was look, its important to do this quickly because there is an important date looming. Yeah, theyre studiously avoiding saying because of the election. But they are saying the first part we have to do this quickly. Its inappropriate i think for prosecutors to even acknowledge the election, never mind to argue to court you should schedule with the election in mind. Thats mixing politics right into the case. It wasnt explicit, but it did seem to hang over. The flip side of, that mr. Parlatore is donald trump complaining that january 2nd, a trial date would be very close to the iowa caucuses. Why should that matter . Why should a nominating process matter to a judicial proceeding . Well, you know, you need to have a client who is available, who is able to assist in his own defense. So certainly looking at other Scheduling Concerns like that is something that should be taken into consideration. But at the same time, i think the strongest arguments that the defense should raise are exactly what elie just said, that this is way too fast. And, really, one thing i noticed in their filing is they avoided also saying how much discovery there is. Because i think that if they put that volume in there, use see that its probably even more discovery that they have in florida. This is going to have everything from the january 6th committee, all of those the documents, each witness that has been subpoenaed has submitted thousands of pages of documents. Were talking probably over a million pages of documents, and theyre expecting them to get ready that quickly. I think that for what is going to most impact the judge, leading with this is something that we cannot possibly be ready to go in that period of time, and if you force us to pick a jury on that date, we will not be ready. And this is a giftwrapped appeal. Thats a stronger argument than to just rely upon the iowa caucus state. To put a finer point on that, most people charged with crimes, they have jobs. Right now Donald Trumps job is running for president. Why should that inherently delay a trial . Correct . Well, it is something that we bring up oftentimes is what the Different Things are with the defendant schedule. What the Defense Attorney Schedules are. Other trials, vacations. You push trials out a month even because somebody has a vacation schedule. Ive seen trials pushed out because the defense attorney hazmat ternt leave scheduled, things like that. It is relevant to consider because ultimately the speedy trial is the right of the defendant. So as long as he is willing to push it out. Maggie, i know better. Weve known each other a long time than to ask you what donald trump is thinking, whats in his head. So ill ask about what he is doing. Because we are seeing him lash out on his social Media Network in campaign speeches. He is talking about the Special Counsel. He is talking about the judge, the proposed trial date. He is talking about mike pence. How much of this is a strategy, and what does he think he is getting out of this . I dont think strategy is ever a great thing to affix to how donald trump comports himself on social media or in a lot of his public remarks. But if there is a strategy, it is essentially to tarnish all the prosecutors that are involved, which is what weve seen him do over and over again. He is a man of very few moves and he uses them repeatedly. He is very, very angry about these indictments. Thats clear. The main thing he is doing and i dont think this gets stressed enough, he is airing an ad that is attacking the prosecutors as well. But he is trying to reinforce for everyone im the frontrunner for the republican nomination. Im the frontrunner, im the frontrunner. Dont even bother trying to compete against me. Now there is no question in polls he is far and away running ahead of everybody else. But he is doing what he often does which is try to make it such an evitability to not even try that is a shield against what youre seeing in the courts. His appeal is to the public. We have seen him do this as a populist over and over and over again. And his voters become his support and his shield. Is this something that his lawyers have an opinion on . His lawyers would rather that he not speak as much as he does. John lauro, one of his lawyers who is handling the j6 case and he was brought on in the last couple of months, but john lauro gave a Podcast Interview where he was very clear that he does not agree with some of what the former president is saying on social media, among them the former president was insisting were going to file a motion asking for a recusal. And lauro made clear no, we have not made a decision on that at all. He also repeatedly talked about how you cant control some clients. This is not something any of them want. So they all work around it. And weve seen that over and over. But trump is going to find out or not whether this is a problem for him. Thats going to be up to judges. It does occur to me, i did have a guy who worked at Donald Trumps lawyer. We should ask him about what maggie just said there. Mr. Parlatore, what do you think about what maggie just said there and how the lawyers view trumps outbursts . Without talking about him specifically, representing a client like this is very complicated, especially when they also have a coms team and a campaign and a whole bunch of people that want to put out public statements. It is something that is preferable for me to have just me, the client, and i tell the client shut up. Ill do all the speaking for you. But when theyre running for president and a former president , it gets complicated. Complicated. A loaded word. Elie, the delay that we saw. We were on tv as it happened here. Every time Something Like this, how much of an advantage is this for the trump team . My mind was boggled today by that, because i understand if its a day or two out from the indictment, you havent got your legal team in place. Were two weeks out from this indictment. How does this lawyer show up without even filled in the paperwork . It leads you to believe it has to be part of a strategy. You know al pacino, football is a game of inch. Every day, every week you can push it back, gives you a better chance to push this beyond the trial. Is that on the judge . Judges have to control their courtrooms. Judges have to control their calendars. And soon well see these judges running out of patience. Elie honig, Tim Parlatore, thank you all. Next, the fires grew sharply today and the destruction in place just total. We have a live report from the island. And later, can a State Governor fire elected officials . Ron desantis, he is doing it, and he says it passes muster under floridas constitution. Were going to speak with the prosecutor he fired most recently who disagrees with. This i was born on the south de of chicago. It has been a long road, but now im working for schwab. I love to help people understand the world through their lens and invest accordingly. You can call us Christmas Eve at four oclock in the morning. 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Our bill weir just arrived in maui and is among the first reporters to make it into lahaina. He is trying to set up live shot. Communications are really tough. But we have bill on the phone right now. While we have you, bill, walk us through what youre seeing. Well, john, i came here bracing for the worst. Wed seen those Helicopter Aerials the last couple of days and heard some tales of folks who have gotten out here. But its worse than i imagined. It looks like a bomb went off in lahaina town. All the iconic buildings are either flattened or just scorched skeletons of their former self from fleetwoods, a popular spot. Mick fleetwood, the Donald Trumper of fleetwood mac, his place is gone, the library, the school. Im doing a 180 pan of front street. Anybody who has been here to this Tourist Mecca knows its one of the most charming little places in the world in just a gorgeous setting. But im hearing from people that the flames came so fast, entire structures went up in a matter of minutes. Captains who are in the harbor would say oh, it looks like that house survived and it would be gone five minutes later. Right now walking towards this giant banyan tree. Its sort of the Signature Heart And Soul of this town. 150 years old. Its scorched everywhere. There is still leaves on it. So if this thing survives, it would be sort of a boost amid so much utter destruction. It reminds me of paradise, california, john, the deadliest wildfire and similar circumstances in which the blaze came so fast and people were trapped in a Mountain Town with only a few ways out. Same here. They got trapped between this mountain of fire and the Pacific Ocean while winds were hitting 80 miles per hour. So even if they get to the harbor, to get on their boat to try to get away, its a whole new situation. I spoke to the coast guard today who told us they had 100 reports of people jumping into the water because the water was the only place they could go for safety. Bill, the scale i think is hard for some of us to perceive. As you look around doing your 180 or 360s here, how far does this go . How much of this part of the island has been burned . So this is a town of roughly 9,000 people that swells to many times that when the tourists are here. It winds along the coast. So its contained. There are hills. There are houses up on the hillside that i can see might have been escaped. And we came in from 60 where some homes had survived. But anything in the town center here is just completely devastated. I mean just you can see this reminds me of paradise. You walk by a car, and there are these aluminum sculptures from the melted rims of cars. The fire was so hot, it burned everything all the way to the ground. Oh my goodness. Im just making to it front street now. And there are signs of life. A few cleanup crews, a few Search And Rescue folks sort of walking through. But just lifeless, smoky, and sooty devastation where lahaina town used to be. You said you see a few people there picking up. Can you get a sense of the Recovery Efforts if any that are happening . Not really. I mean, there are helicopters flying. I know the National Guard has an effort here. But not really. Its pretty lifeless as of right now. But its early to tell. I just met a gentleman here, captain bill, a 35year resident who said i became homeless on tuesday night. His house burned. He took shelter in sort of an alcove of a mall here. And has been living there ever since. And is just sort of you can see he is going through the five stages of wrestling with this. Its unthinkable. And these are folks who are very used to hurricane warnings, psalm warnings, on the big island when the volcanos are going, you know thou work around lava. No one could ever have imagined that one of the deadliest wildfires would happen in the middle of the South Pacific like this. Bill weir, were going give you a chance, you and your team, to try to get your video signal up. Let us know if we can connect. Its important to have you there. We appreciate the work that youre doing. Hopefully well talk to you again very soon. Okay. All right, cnns Veronica Miracle is also on the island and joins us. Now and from where you are, veronica, what is the latest as far as people being able to get back to lahaina . Well, john, we are standing on the road, the one road in and out of lahaina. And it remains closed. People can come out. They just cannot go back in. Earlier today there was a line of cars for miles. But police have now asked people not to wait here, not to stay. And they actually brought in a tow truck threatening people that they will tow them if they continue to remain on the side of the highway. So all of those people have scattered down the road. But theyre still waiting, hoping that the moment this road opens up, they can go in and see their house, their community, or whats left of it. We heard from bill just the absolute devastation as well as the governor of hawaii today saying that he estimates about 80 of lahaina has been decimated. John . All right, Veronica Miracle, again, watching people get out. People cant get in. Keep us posted, veronica, thank you. Just to put a number on the enormous physical damage these fires have caused, in addition to the horrifyings will of life, as many as 1700 buildings have been destroyed, including the shop that Tiffany Nguyen owns in lahaina. Tiffany, your store, the whalers locker was front street in lahaina. And the video you took is just horrifying. What did you find when you got back to the store yesterday by boat . Nothing. Just total destruction. It really looked like a war zone. It looked like a war zone. Nothing remaining . Nothing remaining. Everything is burnt to the ground. The business is thats a shot of it right there. There is cars burned up in the roadway. Just shells of buildings remaining, car frames. You know, i was speaking about it earlier with somebody that when you watch the news, you see short clips of destruction, and they all focus in on that one clip thats really bad. But there arent any good clips in lahaina right now. Everything is that bad. Its not just what youre seeing on the news right now. Can you describe for our audience the historical significance of Front Street And Lahaina To Hawaii and why its so important to rebuild . Yeah, absolutely. Lahaina has such a such an amazing history, all the way back through the Hawaiian Kingdom and being the capital up through whaling days of being a big whaling port. A lot of ships came here for shore leave. Not for whaling, but they always knew they could get their crew back if they came to maui because nobody could go anywhere. We had 700 Whaling Ships come through on our busiest year during that time. Since then its become an amazing place and a National Registered historic district. So there has been fires on front street before a long time ago, and its been rebuilt. This is so devastating, but i do think that lahaina and all of hawaii has a really special place in everybodys hearts. The people i have spoken with from lahaina the last 24 hours, first of all, theyre overwhelmed with the scope of the destruction. Second, i think there is a sense of frustration that maybe the rest of the world doesnt truly understand what happened there. So what does everyone need know . I think like i said before, what you see in the cameras is the entire town. What you see in the footage of the fires is everything. Right now they say 36 casualties. I would imagine from what ive seen there is going to be quite a few more because it happened so quickly. So many families lost all their homes and all their belongings and loved ones. Im in total shock right now. Its all of lahaina from the minute you drive in until you get almost to kaanapali, which is a huge swath of homes and businesses and local families. What do you need most on the island right now . I would say mostly what people need is shelter. So many people lost their homes. Shelter for them, shelter for their pets, clothing, food, fuel, things like that have been really cut off. A lot of people have been making efforts to get supplies up to lahaina. There is no cell service yet. So its really limited on communications so far, unless youre with the first responder. But, you know, and lots of support. Look, i think we all look forward to a time where we can visit you and your store when lahaina is fully back. And i know with your heart and your spirit, its going to get there. We are thinking about you. Thank you so much for being with us tonight. Thank you. I appreciate you taking the time to really get a look at whats going on in lahaina right now. One final and terribly important note, how to help. You can find out all the information in one place, its cnn. Com impact. Just ahead, Governor Ron Desantis overturns the will of the people a second time and turns it into a line in his stump speech. We will speak with Monique Worrell, the Second Democratic State Attorney he has removed. Thats next. If you struggle. Anand struggle. And struggle with cpap. You should check out inspire. No mask. No hose. Just sleep. Inspire. Sleep apnea innovation. Learn more and view Important Safety Information at inspiresleep. Com oh, booking. Com somewhere, anywhere. I just want to lie motionlessn a chair booking. Com, booking. Yeah astepro allergy, steroid free allergy relief that starts working in 30 minutes, while other Allergy Sprays take hours. With astepros unbeatably fast allergy relief you can astepro and go wow, you get to watch all your favorite stuff. Its to die for. And its all right here. Streaming was never this easy, you know. This is the way. You really went all out didnt you . Um, its called commitment. Could you turn down the volume . Here, you can try. Get way more into what your into when you stream on the xfinity 10g network. So a day after Florida Governor ron desantis fired his Second Democratic and democratically elected florida prosecutor, the struggling president ial candidate used that act as an Applause Line during a stump speech in iowa. We had a prosecutor in orlando. She wouldnt prosecute cases. She is putting people back out on the street. And this one guy shot two Police Officers because he should have been in jail, and he is out there. So i removed her from her post. Im not going to just sit there and take that. Desantis fired State Attorney Monique Worrell wednesday, saying in an Executive Order that the orlando area prosecutor did not pursue mandatory sentences for gun crimes and drug trafficking. He also said she was, quote, Derelict In Prosecuting Serious Crimes by juvenile offenders. In his order he said that showed neglect of duty and competence. Florida allows to remove elected officials for a number of reasons, last year desantis removed another Democratic State attorney who had promised to not prosecute those who seek or perform abortions as well as those who provide gender affirming treatments. A clear challenge to desantis and laws he has backed. Monique worrell joins me tonight to respond to the governors accusations. Ms. Worrell, thank you so much for being with us tonight. To be clear you won 66 of the vote in 2020. So whats your reaction to all of this . Yes, thats correct. I won by an overwhelming margin, and my reaction is that we are losing our democracy right by right, vote by vote. And no one is coming to save us. In his announcement yesterday, Governor Desantis accused you of Being Lax On Crime and declining to prosecute certain charges. And he cited three cases, two of which involve suspects with prior records who went on to commit violent crimes. Do you stand by all your past prosecutions from your office . I absolutely do. The governor and local Law Enforcement had been really good about pushing false narratives about my role in the system. But its really important to be clear. The criminal legal system is a collaborative system. It doesnt only rest on the shoulders of the State Attorney. There is a judiciary. There is Law Enforcement. There is a defense bar. And these are the components of the criminal legal system. Any decisions that had been made by attorneys in my office have been ratified by the judiciary. However, no one is talking about decisions made by the judiciary. Furthermore, crime is down in central florida. So obviously, there havent been decisions that i have made that have impacted an increase in crime in any way. The Florida State constitution does allow a governor in that state to remove an elected official for, quote, malfeasance, misfeasance, neglected duty, habit drunkenness, or permanent inability to perform official duties. This has been used previously for people who were ill, who were hurt, who were addicted, who were arrested and convicted. Thats what this has been used for before. This governor is weaponizing the constitution in a way that it has never before been used. And it certainly wasnt intended for the governor to use this overreach to subvert the will of the voters. So why is he doing it you know he did it once last year as well. Well, he has done it before. You know, with two prosecutors now, but he has done it with school board officials. He has done it with other elected officials. A and the common theme here is that these elected officials are in democratic counties. The common theme here is that he is a weak authoritarian, and that he is using his power to retaliate against areas in this state that did not support him in the election. Weve seen it with what he is doing with disney, and were seeing it with where he goes and chooses to suspend or remove a duly elected officials. And this is the worst attack on democracy that this country has seen. And somethings got to be done to stop it. Do you think he would be doing it if he were not having some troubles on the Campaign Trail for president . Well, there is no question about it. This has been used as an alleyoop for his failing president ial campaign. This is something to get him back into the headlines and give him, you know, fodder for maybe taking over, you know, some of trumps voters in the face of his indictment. However, its not working. The more outrageous he becomes, the lower he falls in the president ial polls. And its really pretty sad and pathetic. What is next for you . Do you think there is any possibility that the state senate reinstates you . So my legal team is currently reviewing my legal options, and theyll make a determination and advise me on what our next steps are in that regard. But i have filed for reelection, and i plan to continue to run and rewin my seat by the will of the voters the way democracy works in this country. And be the duly elected State Attorney once again. Ms. Worrell, we appreciate your time tonight. Thank you so much for being with us. Thank you so much. And for anyone who wants to support me, you can find out more at monique for State Attorney. Com. Thank you for having me. And just ahead, the one pledge trump cant break because he now hes he wont sign it. Were talking with the Loyalty Pledge all the candidates are being asked to sign saying they would support any eventual nominee. Former republican South Carolina governor mark sanford joins us to discuss the latest drama over the former president and the upcoming president ial debate. Thats next. So you can deliver more value to your customers. Fast. Reliliable. Perfectly orchestrated. The unitited states postal service. Known as a loving parent. Known for lessons that matter. Known for lessons that matter. Known for being a free spirit. No one wants to be known for cancer, but a treatment can be. Keytda is known to treat cancer, fdaapproved for 16 types of cancer. One of those cancers is advanced nonsquamous, nonsmall cell lung cancer, where keytruda is approved to be used with certain chemotherapies as your first treatment if you do not have an abnormal egfr or alk gene. Keytruda can cause your Immune System to attack healthy parts of your body during or after treatment. 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Com and ask your doctor if keytruda could be right for you. David im david goldberg, a bilingual Elementary School teacher and president of the california teachers association. As we start a new school year, theres something new happening in californias public schools. Jessie theyre called Community Schools. David where parents and families, students and educators are Making Decisions as one. Damien its a real sense of community. Leslie we saw doubledigit gains in math, in english, and reading scores. David its an innovation thats transforming our public schools. Narrator californias Community Schools reimagining public education. The former president is keeping Republican Party officials and candidates in suspense over whether he will participate in the financial president ial debate. Thats 13 days from now. One major hangup is he wont sign the rnc pledge. Party official says anyone who meets the qualifications, they must sign a pledge among other things they will support the eventual nominee and not run as a third party candidate. Ron desantis and nikki haley have signed it. The source says North Carolina governor doug burgum and Vivek Ramaswamy have signed as well, and more are expected to sign this week. But not the former president , who said in an interview that aired last night he wont. I wouldnt sign the pledge. Why would i sign a pledge . There is people there i wouldnt have. I wouldnt have certain people as somebody that i would endorse. So they want you to sign a pledge. But i can name three or four people that i wouldnt support for president. So right there, there is a problem, okay. Im joined now by former republican South Carolina governor and congressman mark sanford. Nice to see you tonight, governor. Pleasure. Look, what is the statement from the former president , the fact that he refuses to sign this pledge. What does it actually say about the Power Balance between donald trump and the rnc . It says absolutely nothing. It says the rnc has a document that theyre going to try to get a bunch of folks to sign. And at the end of the day, he is not going to sign it. It says he is the giant horse in this particular parade. He is going to do what he wants to do. But thats no surprise. Donald trump does exactly what he wants to do, and its always about him. Its not about party idea or party ideals. Does the structure of the party have any power over him right now . None, none. None at all. So listen, we said that many candidates have said theyre going to sign. Former governor Chris Christie has yet to sign it, though he says he is going to do whatever it takes to get on the stage. And this is what he had to say to anderson the other night on this. Listen. Ill take it every bit as seriously as donald trump took it in 2016. We all signed the pledge in 2016 also, you may recall. And at the next debate after we all signed the pledge, one of the questioners said you all signed this pledge, would you reaffirm it by raising your hand . Nine of us raised our hands and trump didnt. Is it basically meaningless . He does. I think this sort of highlights in essence two things. One, just how this is part of the pure genius of donald trump. Theyre fake documents. Ive been to i dont know how many unity dinners over the year where after the election everybody says the most horrible things about one another. And the day after theyre supposedly Blood Brothers and will advance together. So it says, you know, his fans will say you know, this is what i love about donald trump. He is telling the truth. Rather than being one of these fake politicians that loved the guy the day after when in fact he doesnt love that him or her as a candidate, i think it says that. So it resonates with his base as being a, quote, truthful politician. And the other thing it says is, again, how sort of worthless these documents are. The fact is christie is saying im going to sign it, but then ill ignore it after i sign it. They have little value. Its almost the Republican National committee saying you have to do this or it will hurt you. And donald trump is saying no it wont, it will help. It will. Its another excuse not to go to the debate in two weeks which he didnt want to go to any way. His ego may pull him there at the end of the day. But all of his advisers are saying dont go. There is only downside in this thing. Dont go. You were South Carolina governor before that. You served in the house with then Kevin Mccarthy, now the house speaker. I want i dont tao listen to what he said after trump was indicted the most recent time, and he sort of created a false comparison to what trump is going through to what al gore did and Hillary Clinton. Listen. I can say the same thing that Hillary Clinton says about her election that she lost. I can say the same thing about the dnc who said it about the 2016 race. I can say the same thing about those in the Democratic Party from the leadership on down about george bush not winning, that al gore did. But were any of them prosecuted . Were any of them put in jail . Were any of them held with no response to be able to get out . The answer is no. You shouldnt be prosecuted for your thoughts. And the difference here is when Hillary Clinton said it, Nothing Happened to her. When they said it in georgias election, Nothing Happened to them either. Al gore and Hillary Clinton both conceded there but why do you think Kevin Mccarthy is talking like this . Because he wan tots stay relevant in politics. You saw the, quote, supposed elevated emotion that he just showed. Pure theater. Thats an absurd argument. At the end of the day, to your point, they both conceded those elections. And to compare that somehow with folks storming the capitol, breaking into a building where i worked for 12 years of my life is an absurd comparison, but it shows the danger of donald trump in my mind because what it says is somebody as highly elected as Kevin Mccarthy will twist himself in knots to stay relevant with the trump base, and to me thats frightening for the way that it undermines the very tenets of open and free elections. Former governor mark sanford, good to see you. Thanks for coming in tonight. Yes, sir. New reporting on Supreme Court justice thomas. His luxurious lifestyle and who was funding it. What propublica says it uncovered. Thats ahead. please dont g go please dont go please dont go please dont go dont gooo dont go away preorder now and get a free storage upgrade. please dont go theyre off from school, but not really home. Images and videos. Social media, finetuned to suck them in. And steal them away. Alone you cant stop it. Together we will. We have a plan. Join us. jardiance its a little pill with a big story to tell. I take oncedaily jardiance, at each days staaart. As time went on it was easy to seee. Im lowering my a1c. Jardiance works 24 7 in your body to flush out some sugar and for adults with Type 2 Diabetes and known heart disease, jardiance can lower the risk of cardiovascular death, too. Jardiance may cause serious side effects including ketoacidosis that may be fatal, dehydration, that can lead to sudden worsening of kidney function, and Genital Yeast or urinary tract infections. A rare, lifethreatening bacterial infection in the skin of the perineum could occur. Stop taking jardiance and call your doctor right away if you have symptoms of this infection, ketoacidosis, or an allergic reaction, and dont take it if youre on dialysis. Taking jardiance with a sulfonylurea or insulin may cause low blood sugar. Jardiance is really swell, the little pill with a big story to tell. My sport propels me forward. Contra Costa College Saw Potential in me that i didnt know i had. Focus. Determination. Drive. Contra Costa College helped me blaze the trail. Now im a comet, and theres no stopping me. Come on, this is your shot. Take it. Join the team at contra Costa College. Start today at contracosta. Edu so, a stunning new report from propublica reveals new details in the lavish lifestyle of Clarence Thomas over the last three decades all bankrolled by wealthy friends and more extensive than previously known. And most of it never disclosed by justice thomas. Details now from cnns tom foreman. Reporter the most accounting yet of the high life of Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas shows much, much more than previously known. More private jets, more fancy vacations, more sports events, all gifts from Megarich Businessmen and documented through public and private records, plus interviews by propublica. Justice thomas has been living a life of extreme luxury for 30 years underwritten by at least four different ultra wealthy benefactors. Reporter earlier reports have revealed lavish gifts to thomas, including a house for his mother, and this nineday vacation from indonesia from harlan crow. I come from regular stock. Reporter wrote a film about thomas tumble taste. I prefer rv parks. Reporter now the benefactors include three more names, david soakal, wayne eye zeen ga, and tony novelli. The four moguls collectively treated thomas to 38 destination vacations, including a previously unreported voyage on a yacht around the bahamas. A dozen vip passes to professional and College Sporting events, two stays at luxury resorts in florida and jamaica, and one standing invitation to an uber exclusive golf club. The dollar value likely in the millions, little of which appeared in required financial disclosures, according to propublica. Thomas has previously said he didnt feel the need to disclose some gifts, and that woirs jeremy foegele, an Expert On Judicial Ethics and former judge. I couldnt have done this. And even if the people involved didnt have interest before the court, its just the idea that you are receiving gifts of this magnitude. Reporter associate justices make about 285,000 a year. In 2001, when they made about 100,000 less, thomas spoke up. The job is not worth doing for what they pay. Its not worth doing for the grief. But it is worth doing for the principle. Reporter now, he bristles at questions about his principles. He calls crowe merely a friend. Crowe says they never talk about thomas work, and the new report found none of these wealthy pals seemed to have had cases before the court. Still which one of these new benefactors, just like harlan crowe, came into his life after he was appointed to the Supreme Court. Thats why its so problematic from an ethics standpoint. Reporter there is no evidence these rich friends broke rules or laws with these extravagant gifts, nor is there any rule that Clarence Thomas did anything biceping. Some redefenders are calling this a smear job. Nonetheless, an outcry for more strict transparent rules about what Supreme Court justices can accept. And this will only increase that drum beat. John . Tom foreman, thank you very much. Next, the encouraging step made by iran today that may lead to freedom for Five Americans. Whether its a year old, or a few years old we want to buy y your car so go to c carvana enter your License Plate answer a few questions and our Techno Wizardry calculates your cars value and gives you a real offer in seconds when youre ready well come to you pay you on the spot and pick up your car thats it so ditch the old way of selling your car and say hello to the new way at carvana they get it. They know how it works. And more importantly, it works for them. 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You dont have to worry. Be by your side. Ill be there. With my arms wrapped around. Tonight, the white house confirms Five Americans held by iran are a key step closer to freedom, joining the fifth already under house arrest. Three have been held for years. The white house calls the ongoing negotiations for their release delicate and says they never should have been detained in the first place. This is just the first step and would include the u. S. Unfreezing 6 billion in iranian funds for food and medicine. A source says a Prisoner Swap is also expected. The news continues, so the source with Kaitlan Collins source with Kaitlan Collins starts now. Captions by vitac www. Vitac. Com tonight, straight from the source, maui still burning and the death toll i