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Former NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre Testifies In Corruption Trial; Alabama Defends Use Of Nitrogen Gas For Inmate's Execution; Explicit A.I. Images Of Taylor Swift Spread On Social Media; First 737 Max-9 Flights Resume Today Since Door Plug Blowout. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired January 26, 2024 - 14:30   ET

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

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[14:31:05]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Former National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre is testifying today in the civil corruption case against him brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James.

LaPierre is accused of using NRA funds as his personal piggy bank, paying for lavish trips on private jets, expensive meals, private security, et cetera.

Let's discuss with CNN chief law enforcement analyst, John Miller.

John, what are you learning about his testimony?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT & INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, he's been on the hot seat today in the State Supreme Court, being examined by an assistant attorney general from New York State.

This is the case that was brought by the New York State Attorney General Letitia James. Parentheses, that's the same New York State attorney general who has the case against Donald Trump and his business in the same courthouse.

But as this unfolded today, LaPierre was called to answer from the assistant attorney general, John Conley: What about the trips to the Bahamas? What about the safaris and Africa? What about the private yachts that were paid for by NRA vendors?

Most of his answers were boiled down to yes or no, until he was put on the hot seat about why he declared bankruptcy from the NRA. And that got into a testy exchange between, he, the prosecutor, and the judge, who overruled some of the testimony.

Where he said this was all for political purposes and the New York State attorney general considers the NRA a terrorist organization.

But, Boris, this is an existential trial for the NRA, not just Wayne LaPierre, who has already resigned from his position that he's held since 1991.

This is about how the organization will come out on the other side and if it will still exist in its current form.

SANCHEZ: John Miller, appreciate the update. Thanks so much.

Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Officials in Alabama are defending their decision to execute a death row inmate with nitrogen gas. They say it won't be the last time. Thursday marked the first time the method was used in the U.S.

Now, some of the witnesses who watched Kenneth Smith die, they say he appeared to be conscious for several minutes into the execution as he shook and arrives on the gurney.

Earlier, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall responded to the criticism.

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STEVE MARSHALL, ALABAMA ATTORNEY GENERAL: What occurred last night was textbook. I now suspect that many states will follow.

As of last night, nitrogen hypoxia as a means of execution is no longer an untested method. It is a proven one. We will definitely have more nitrogen hypoxia executions in Alabama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Now, two other states, Mississippi and Oklahoma, have legalized execution by nitrogen gas.

This, morning the U.N. high commissioner for human rights suggested the method, quote, "may amount to torture."

We have CNN's Isabel Rosales live for us in Alabama where the execution occurred last night.

Give us the latest here, Isabel.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, as you mentioned, witnesses described Kenneth Smith as arriving and gasping on the gurney for two minutes.

This is contrary to what the state indicated in court documents would happen. The expectation from their experts was that the nitrogen gas would render Smith unconscious in seconds. That is not what happened.

Reporters asked the attorney general, Steve Marshall, about that. He doubled down, saying that everything was, quote, "consistent with their expectations."

And in fact, he also invited other states to follow Alabama's lead, indicating that Alabama would help them implement nitrogen gas executions.

I spoke with an independent journalist, Lee Hedgepeth, who is invited by the inmate, Kenneth Smith, to witness his execution. He deeply disputes the attorney general's characterization of what happened.

Listen.

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[14:35:00]

LEE HEDGEPETH, JOURNALIST WHO WITNESSES KENNETH SMITH'S EXECUTION: This is the fifth execution that I've witnessed in Alabama, and I said previously and I'm going to say it again, it's definitely the most violent execution I've ever witnessed.

It can be a textbook execution because there is no textbook for nitrogen hypoxia executions. This is the first nitrogen execution to happen anywhere in the world.

So it's difficult to say what the attorney general was referring to when he said it's like textbook execution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: Hedgepeth also said that he viewed that the mask he was wearing had black tape covering up the brand name, something that he sees as a lack of transparency by the state of Alabama.

We've reached out to the Department of Corrections for comment on that.

Now the big question here is, will other states follow Alabama's lead and how quickly? We know Mississippi and Oklahoma have allowed the use of nitrogen gas in executions.

We did hear back from Oklahoma. A spokesperson from the Department of Corrections, who says, we should not expect -- they are not planning for nitrogen gas anytime soon.

That is because of the way that the law is written there in Oklahoma that only permits the use of nitrogen gas if they can't find the drugs necessary for a lethal injection.

We did ask them whether there is a shortage, as we've seen so many other states struggling to find those drugs. They said they do not have a shortage.

The only other path, too, is if lethal injection is suddenly deemed unconstitutional -- Brianna?

KEILAR: All right, Isabel Rosales, thank you for this update on a very closely watched situation there in Alabama.

Alaska Airlines is hours away now from flying its 737 Max-9 jets again after that midflight door plug blowout forced all of the planes to be grounded.

Plus, the Swifties are not having it after fake sexually explicit pictures of Taylor Swift flooded the Internet. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:41:15]

SANCHEZ: Now to some of the other headlines we're following this afternoon.

World Wrestling Entertainment founder, Vince McMahon, is being sued by a former female employee. Janel Grant is accusing McMahon of sexual assault, sex trafficking and physical abuse, saying that he promised her a job and promotions in exchange for sex.

In a statement, WWE says, "The matter predates the parent company's tenure but that it takes the allegations seriously."

McMahon previously stepped down as chairman and CEO amid an investigation into alleged misconduct. He currently serves as chair of WWE's parent company.

In the meantime, the city of New London, Connecticut, is settling without one of the most iconic features of its skyline. You see it in the background there, that collapse. A historic church that was built in the 1850s just crumbled to the ground yesterday.

Luckily, the building was empty when the steeple caved in. No injuries were reported. What is left of the historic church is now being demolished according to local reports.

And, as Detroit gets ready to cheer on its Lions for the NFC championship game, another Detroit titan is making sure that fans get to fully experience the historic moment.

General Motors is planning to delay the start of its third shift at the Flint assembly plant on Sunday so workers can actually watch the Lions take on the San Francisco 49ers for a spot in the Superbowl.

Still to come, Swift action. Fans vowing to protect megastar, Taylor Swift, after A.I.-generated sexually explicit images of the popstar spread on social media. What could be next in the fight against the deepfake photos?

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[14:47:18]

SANCHEZ: Sexually explicit, completely fake and totally unacceptable. Criticism has spread after A.I.-generated images of Taylor Swift spread rapidly across social media and were viewed millions of times before they were taken down.

The White House weighing in just moments ago, calling the deepfakes alarming and pressing for laws that address this problem.

Currently, there are no federal laws against sharing or creating fake images. Though nine states do have laws against non-consensual deepfake pornography. Let's discuss with technology journalist, Laurie Segall.

Laurie, thanks much for being with us.

Let's take a step back, because I think deepfake technology is still so relatively new that a lot of folks may not be familiar with it.

How is it that A.I. can take these images and produce them this way?

LAURIE SEGALL, TECHNOLOGY JOURNALIST: Yes, Boris, it's actually horrifying. I get PTSD because I remember covering, when I was at CNN, non-consensual pornography. This horrific problem and harassment against women. Now, this is that but on steroids.

You don't even have to take a sexually explicit image for someone to do this to you. We now have A.I. and A.I. image generators that essentially mimic our most human qualities. They can imitate our voice. They can imitate our words. They can imitate our bodies.

And the bottom line is, it's becoming increasingly -- the perception of truth is just it's there. You might see something and it might be, quote, "fake," but it really looks real.

That's where things have gotten incredibly problematic, especially because we don't have the right guardrails now to protect folks.

SANCHEZ: Speaking of those guardrails, Congress has to do something about this, right? What are the options for lawmakers here?

SEGALL: Yes, it's so funny. It's like, I've covered the downside of technology for the last 15 years and we've all been talking about A.I. and misinformation and how it can impact the election.

I've been sitting here saying, the number-one thing we really do need to worry about is the future of A.I. and consent.

And at the fact that this is happening and is rampant and, yes, happened to Taylor Swift, which is horrifying.

But it's actually happening behind the scenes at high schools around the country, with young victims being harassed. Women are being stripped of their consent, as an unintended consequence of this technology.

What can Congress do? Congress, the same way that back in 2015 Congress started passing state laws against non-consensual pornography, they need to be doing this. And they need to be doing this at a quicker pace than they actually are when it comes to deepfakes.

There are a handful of states that have passed this type legislation, although they vary in scope.

[14:50:00]

Most recently, I actually spoke to a woman who is at the forefront -- she's a lawyer at the forefront of these types of threats. What she said was there is a bipartisan bill, called Preventing Deepfakes of Intimate Images Act of 2024, that is recently reintroduced.

My hope, as those call attention to this, my hope is that -- Taylor Swift moves the needle on just about everything so, hopefully, will do that with this.

SANCHEZ: Are we in the understanding that she's going to file some kind of lawsuit? Like, what are her options now?

SEGALL: I mean, Taylor spends a lot of time in New York. She has a place here in New York. And New York has criminal and civil options.

So she could sue for focusing on -- focus on misappropriation of her likeness. So there are options.

But I guess the thing I really want people to know is that Taylor Swift has resources.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

SEGALL: So many of the people this is happening to do not have the resources. First of all, the laws are there to protect them. And then they do not have the resources if they want to pursue this.

I will say, when I started covering technology, there was an app for everything. If you want to get a car, order an Uber.

The same thing is happening with A.I.-generated deepfake pornography. If you want to digitally undress someone, there is an app for that. If you want to create a personalized sexual image video with your crush, there is an app for that.

And they are out there. They're creating a full, new route for victims and also abusers, young men. And we have to start talking about that.

SANCHEZ: Yes, the implications of A.I. are just difficult to encapsulate. There's so many ways that it could positively impact the world, and obviously so many in which it can be horrifying.

Laurie Segall, great to see you. Thanks for coming.

SEGALL: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Brianna?

KEILAR: Alaska Airlines says it plans to fly 737 Max-9 airplanes for the first time today since that door plug incident that you, no doubt, remember, which caused the FAA to ground the aircraft. The FAA has since ungrounded the planes pending inspection by Alaska and United Airlines.

Take a look at this. You can see Alaska Airlines has 65 Max-9s. United has 79, which the airline is planning to fly by Sunday.

Boeing's recent issues bringing to the surface what has been years of quality and safety issues at the company. Some of these concerns leading to the long-term grounding of some jets and a halt in deliveries of others.

And when it comes to the 737, its Max-8 design was found to be responsible for two fatal crashes.

The first happened in Indonesia back in October of 2018. Lion Air flight JT 116 was carrying 189 people, including three children, when it went down over the Java Sea.

And the other in Ethiopia in 2019. Ethiopian Airlines ET 302 crashing soon after it took off. And 157 people were on board in that case.

And those incidents led to a 20-month grounding of the company's best- selling jets, which cost Boeing more than $21 billion.

And internal communications that were released during the 737 Max grounding showed one employee describing the jet as, quote, "designed by clowns who in turn are supervised by monkeys."

Joining us now is CNN's Pete Muntean.

Pete, before we go any deeper here on the culture at Boeing and some of the bigger picture questions that this is bringing up, what more are you learning about the 737 Max-9?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Nineteen-day-long grounding? What is a couple more hours? This flight has already been delayed.

This flight from Seattle to San Diego today, Alaska Airlines flight 1146, will be the first flight to fly since the January 5th incident on board Alaska flight 1282.

It was supposed to leave at 12:20 today. Now it seems like it will leave at 3:20 today.

This is something that airlines are eager to put behind them, and get these rains inspected as ordered by the FAA.

The big thing that the FAA wants him to look at is the door plug, of course, the thing that blew off of Alaska flight 1182 with explosive force back on January 5th.

The FAA says the big things to check are, of course, the guides, but also the bolts. There are four of them on the Max-9 door plug. There are two at the bottom and then they are up here at the guide fittings.

The airlines, Alaska and United, did find loose bolts on their fleets. So now the FAA is mandating for these airlines to go through, make sure they fix any possible discrepancies here in order to get these airplanes flying again.

So now the onus is on the airlines. And that is why there is going to be a little bit of a lag between the official ending of the grounding order from the FAA that ended on Wednesday night, and now these airplanes flying again. So we will see Alaska flying today, and then United Airlines flying again on Sunday.

[14:55:04]

KEILAR: So, we are talking about the 737 Max-9. I was mentioning the 737 Max-8.

MUNTEAN: Yes.

KEILAR: But that is not where it ends. There have been many concerns, not all of them fatal incidents, but many concerns about many models.

MUNTEAN: You mentioned the Max-8. There are also concerns about the Max-7. Senator Tammy Duckworth says there needs to be real introspection here and maybe a denial of an exemption that Boeing needs to get that airplane flying into the air.

The Max-10 is another version of this airplane. United CEO Scott Kirby said, after this incident that that somebody that he's not really interested in.

I just want to look at the design of the airplane here, because we can sort of go through the different parts where there have been issues.

The door plug is kind of obscured back here by the engine. But also there have been problems with the rudder bolts. There have also been problems with the pressure vessel, which keeps the airplane pressurized, like a big tin can.

Those are things that have come up not only at Spirit AeroSystems, the major contractor that built the fuselage of the Max for Boeing, but also at Boeing. So the airplane has been riddled with problem after problem after problem.

Now the big question is, will Senators on Capitol Hill really get an answer from CEO Dave Calhoun about why these problems keep occurring in the first place?

A lot of these things don't happen in dramatic fashion like we saw on Alaska flight 1282 with cameras rolling and a huge part of the airplane missing. A lot of the things are happening on the production line.

We've seen that not only with these incidents, but also on the 787, too. And there have been whistleblower reports of that and production air stuff in 2021 and 2023 because of issues at that South Carolina plant.

KEILAR: Look, are they doing soul searching? That is the question here. That is the question Congress wants to know. That is the question passengers have.

Right now, it seems like there is not enough of an indication for that. I suppose we won't be surprised if we see them up there on the hot seat. Pete, thank you so much for taking us through that.

MUNTEAN: Thank you.

KEILAR: We really do appreciate it.

And still ahead, day two of the trial of the Michigan school shooters mother back underway. We'll have new details about whether the killer himself is going to testify.

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