Transcripts For KGO ABC World News Tonight With David Muir 2

KGO ABC World News Tonight With David Muir April 12, 2018

Sparking protests tonight. Officers first tasing a suspect. Why they opened fire as he turned around. The cruise ship collision. The ship smashing into a pier. And we do have breaking developments tonight involving actor kevin spacey. Good evening. And its great to have you with us here on a very busy wednesday night. And we begin tonight with President Trump and those tweets aimed at russia and its support of syria, suggesting a u. S. Strike on syria is imminent. The president warning in the tweet those missiles, quote, will be coming, nice and new and smart. Youll remember during the campaign, President Trump so often said that he would never telegraph what was coming. The white house was pressed on that late today. And abcs chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl leading us off. Reporter just hours after a russian threat to shoot down missiles fired on its ally, syria, President Trump today declared those missiles are coming anyway. Get ready russia, the president tweeted, because they will be coming, nice and new and smart. You shouldnt be partners with a gas killing animal who kills his people and enjoys it. Its a break from what President Trump has said over and over again, that military actions should be kept secret until they happen. Militarily, i dont like to say where im going and what im doing. I dont want to telegraph what im doing or what im thinking. Im not going to tell you anything about what response i do. Whatever happened to the element of surprise . Reporter despite todays president ial tweets, the white house insists no decisions have been made. The president was direct in talking about missiles. He said, get ready, russia, because they will be coming. Nice and new and smart. Why is the president telegraphing his military intentions on twitter, announcing, effectively, an attack on twitter . Again, the president has not laid out a timetable and still leaving a number of other options on the table. Reporter the president s tone towards russia has taken a sharp turn. From never criticizing to declaring today, quote, our relationship with russia is worse now than it has ever been, and that includes the cold war. But he offered a surprising reason, tweeting, quote, much of the bad blood with russia is caused by the fake and corrupt russia investigation. Isnt it russias support for what the president himself calls a gas killing animal, or its meddling in our elections, or its military intervention in ukraine, arent those the actions that have caused bad blood . Is it really Robert Mueller . Its both of those things. Neither one of those things are good for our country. Certainly the things you listed off, as well as the investigation, are all things that have hurt that relationship. Reporter so Robert Muellers actions are similar to, i mean, another i didnt say that. Youre certainly putting words into my mouth. Reporter well, hes the one that said it is. I said that both of those things are bad for america. Thats all i said. Reporter as the president prepares for a military strike, it seems the special counsel investigation is weighing heavily on his mind, as he acknowledged himself when he met with his war Council Earlier this week. Here we are talking about syria, were talking about a lot of serious things with the greatest fighting force ever and i have this witch hunt. Reporter his anger directly focused on special council Robert Mueller and Deputy Attorney general rod rosenstein. The white house once said the president did not intend to fire them, but now, only this i dont have any Personnel Announcements at this front. Jon karl joins me now from the white house tonight. And jon karl, in the senate, a group of republicans and democrats now trying to introduce legislation to try to prevent the president from firing the special counsel . Reporter its a serious bipartisan effort, david, but it faces real obstacles. Its unclear whether or not the Republican Leadership will even allow a vote on it, because Republican Leaders say that they do not think its necessary, because they dont believe the president will fire mueller. By the way, those same Republican Leaders have told the president directly that they believe firing the special counsel would be a grave mistake. David . All right. Jon karl with us tonight, leading us off from the white house. Jon, thanks. Meantime, amid those tweets from President Trump warning of missiles coming, u. S. Officials late today confirming syrias military is now repositioning some of its aircraft. Abcs chief Global Affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz tonight on what could be coming. Reporter a missile attack on syria now appears inevitable, with that Missile Warning from the president. Those smart missiles, satelliteguided precision weapons poised to launch from the air and the sea. The u. S. And britain could have submarines in the mediterranean armed with tomahawks, but there is a u. S. Destroyer laden with tomahawks already there. A french warship, off lebanons coast, and french aircraft could launch from jordan, the british from cyprus. We stand ready to provide military options, if they are appropriate, as the president determines. Reporter those options range from striking chemical weapons storage to airfields to syrias Bashar Al Assads military command headquarters. Assad was given a warning a year ago. He didnt heed that warning, and so the president is going to have to go back in with something thats going to make more of an impression on mr. Assad. Reporter assad has denied his forces carried out that horrific chemical attack, but today, images were posted by activists on twitter said to show an unexploded barrel bomb, which a man wearing a gas mask said contained chemicals. But the u. S. Has also pointed the blame for these attacks on russia. Russia was the framework guarantor of removing all the chemical weapons, and so, working with our allies and partners, from nato to qatar and elsewhere, we are going to address this issue. And Martha Raddatz with us live tonight from washington. And martha, word tonight that syria, as i mentioned there, is now moving some of its aircraft from some of its bases in anticipation of any possible attack . Reporter it looks that way, david. Theyre repositioning their warplanes and the Syrian Military is moving into a defensive posture. Meanwhile, european officials are warning civilian aircraft to be cautious when flying near syria because of the possible missile strikes. David . All right, Martha Raddatz with us again tonight. Martha, thank you. And another big question tonight, will russia carry through on its threat to shoot any missiles down . Abcs James Longman is in the region tonight for us. James . Reporter david, growing questions tonight about how russia will react if the u. S. Bombs its ally, syria. The Russian Ambassador here in lebanon saying that his country will shoot down american missiles and target their launch sites. The kremlin today did not repeat that threat, saying instead that u. S. Action could lead to the gravest of consequences. And analysts point out that a u. S. Strike plan would aim to avoid Russian Air Defense systems in the area. Nevertheless, with american troops also inside Eastern Syria fighting isis, the potential for direct contact between the two sides could be edging closer. David . James longman from beirut tonight. James, thank you. Meantime tonight, as President Trump decides if and when hell take that military action, hes also dealing with a new headline tonight involving his personal attorney. Just 48 hours now after that fbi raid of Michael Cohens office, home, his hotel room, tonight, were now learning they were also looking for documents related to that infamous access Hollywood Video. Heres abcs Kyra Phillips tonight. Hello, how are you . Hi. Reporter it was the tape that many people believed could destroy Donald Trumps president ial hopes. Tonight, federal authorities are Digging Deeper into it. You know, im automatically attracted to beautiful women i just start kissing them. Its like a magnet. Just kiss. I dont even wait. And when youre a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Whatever you want. Grab them by the [ bleep ]. Do anything. Reporter the access Hollywood Video first surfaced just a month before the election. Oh, nice legs, huh . Reporter tonight, sources tell abc news the fbi agents who raided the president s personal attorneys home, hotel and office were also looking for this. Documents related to that tape. Sources telling us the search warrant involves looking for evidence of potential election violations. And Michael Cohens personal finances. Was money spent, were there secret deals being made outside the campaign to protect donald trump . Questions already raised with the payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, hush money days before the election. And the National Enquirer paying for Karen Mcdougals story to kill it. But tonight, abc news has learned investigators want any records or documents connected to discussions cohen had about that access Hollywood Tape at the height of the campaign. Even though he was not officially a part of the trump team. Michael cohen today, leaving his hotel, and was uncharacteristically silent. Mr. Cohen, why do you think they raided your office and hotel room . Have you talked to mr. Trump about a pardon . Reporter cohen already admits he paid Stormy Daniels 130,000 using home equity. And the president said in recent days, he never knew about it. Why did Michael Cohen make it if there was no truth to her allegations . You have to ask Michael Cohen. Michael is my attorney and youll have to ask michael. Reporter cohen has been both lawyer and fixer for mr. Trump for more than a decade. And i will do anything to protect mr. Trump. Reporter cohen telling abc news fbi agents were courteous, respectful. That at the door, when he answered, they asked, is that your phone in your hand . Yes, he said. They asked for it, and it was handed over. Tonight, cohen telling us, after that raid, i just want my stuff back. And so lets bring in Kyra Phillips tonight. And kyra, as you reported there, you learned from sources who have seen this warrant, that among other things, investigators were looking for documents tied to possible secret deals . Reporter thats right. Hunting for records tied to possible secret deals or cash paid on the side by Michael Cohen, and any records of cohens interactions with the trump campaign. And remember, he was not an official member of that campaign. Kyra phillips in washington for us tonight. Kyra, thank you. Next here, to that political bombshell on capitol hill. Speaker of the house paul ryan announcing today he will not run again. He will leave congress in january. Abcs mary bruce on the hill tonight with the reason why, and what this could mean for his seat and for republicans, as the midterms near. Reporter a standing ovation for the speaker of the house, paul ryan, breaking the news to his staff. After nearly 20 years in congress, he is retiring, but not until the end of this term. Mr. Speaker, why are you resigning . Not resigning. Im not resigning. Reporter the decision, he says, is personal. Some of you know my story. My dad died when i was 16, the age my daughter is, and i just dont want to be one of those people looking back at my life, thinking id spent more time with my kids, when i know if i spend another term, they will only know me as a weekend father. Reporter he insists it has nothing to do with his rocky relationship with the president , or the prospect republicans could take a beating in the midterms. Mr. Speaker, did the chance that you might not be speaker come november, if democrats possibly take the house, factor at all into this decision . No. None whatsoever, actually. Reporter democrats are eager to capture ryans wisconsin house seat. Their candidate has already raised more than 4. 5 million. And on the hill tonight, House Republicans are looking for a new leader. All eyes are on ryans number two, Kevin Mccarthy, and the majority whip, steve scalise. Well, i think everybody will start jockeying for position immediately. They wont wait for nine months. So, lets get to mary bruce, shes live on the hill tonight. And mary, House Speaker paul ryan, weve learned, is at the white house right now having dinner with the president . Reporter david, Republican Leaders have just arrived for that dinner with the president , including speaker ryan and his rumored replacements, Kevin Mccarthy and steve scalise. Now, the president is wishing paul ryan well, but he has not yet said who he would like to see as the next speaker of the house. David . Well stay tuned for that. Mary bruce, as always, thank you. Also on capitol hill tonight, members of congress turning up the heat on Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg in his second day of testimony, challenging him today on the companys handling of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The alleged misuse of some 87 million users private information. Including, as we learned today, his own. Was your data included in the data sold to the malicious third parties . Your personal data . Yes. Several lawmakers threatening regulation now. The federal trade Commission Already investigating how the company protects its users privacy. There are new developments in the scandal involving a rising star in the Republican Party tonight. Missouri governor eric greitens, about his affair with a woman in 2015, before he was elected. The Missouri Legislature writing a scathing report about that affair. Greitens fighting back tonight, even before the report came out. I want to say, again, what ive said from the beginning. This is a political witch hunt. Greitens is also facing criminal charges in the case. He says hes looking forward to his day in court. Overseas tonight, a devastating toll from a military plane crash in algeria. At least 257 people, including soldiers and their families, killed when their plane went down shortly after takeoff from an air base. Witnesses reporting seeing flames from an engine as that plane took off. In the meantime, there is still much more ahead on world news tonight this wednesday. The Deadly Police shooting. Body cam video bringing outrage tonight. Officers first tasing the suspect, then opening fire as he turns around. Also ahead, the murder case making National Headlines tonight, and the accidental confession to the killing of a lawyer in front of his home. You will hear what the suspect said. And look at this tonight. The cruise ship collision. The ship smashing into that pier there. The crew struggling to stop in time. A lot more news ahead tonight. vo more doing chores for mom per roll more doing chores for dad per roll more earning something you love per roll bounty is more absorbent, so the roll can last 50 longer than the leading ordinary brand. So you get more life per roll. Bounty the quicker picker upper. But prevagen helps your brain with an ingredient originally discovered. In jellyfish. In clinical trials, prevagen has been shown to improve shortterm memory. Prevagen. The name to remember. [seen it. Covered it. N. We know a thing or two because weve seen a thing or two. We are farmers. Bumpadum, bumbumbumbum and back pain made it hard to sleep and get up on time. Then i found aleve pm. The only one to combine a safe sleep aid. Plus the 12 hour pain relieving strength of aleve. Im back. Aleve pm for a better am. Alright, i brought in high protein to help get us moving. And help you feel more strength and energy in just two weeks ill take that. Yeeeeeah ensure high protein. With 16 grams of protein and 4 grams of sugar. Ensure. Always be you. Next tonight here, the alleged accidental murder confession in kansas city. Prosecutors say a suspect mistakenly recorded himself admitting to killing an attorney in front of his home. Heres abcs alex perez. Reporter in kansas city tonight, an arrest in the mysterious murder of personal injury attorney tom pickert. My office filed a first degree murder charge against david g. Jungerman. Reporter jungerman is the man pickert defeated in court last summer, ordered to pay nearly 6 million to pickerts client, one of two men jungerman shot, claiming they broke into his warehouse. They charged at me, put me in fear for my life. I had no choice but to shoot them. Reporter pickert was gunned down in his front yard last october. Suspect was in a white van with no back window. Reporter police questioned jungerman, who owned that van, but released him. But police say a break in the case came when investigators discovered a recording jungerman accidentally made of himself confessing, saying, in part, people, uh, know that i murdered that so

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