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Quadruple Murder Suspect Wants Trial Moved, Claiming Bias; Rep. Nikema Williams (D-GA) Discusses CNN's Harris-Walz First Joint Interview, Harris & Trump Neck-And-Neck In Battleground Georgia; 5,000 Trained On Military Suicide Prevention In Single Session. Aired 1:30- 2p ET

Aired August 29, 2024 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:31:23]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Right now, a change-of-venue hearing is underway in the trial of the man accused of murdering four University of Idaho students. Defense lawyers are arguing that a survey taken where the killings happened found that people there are too biased, they say.

Including one respondent's saying that people would burn courthouse down if Bryan Kohberger were acquitted.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: His lawyers want to move this trial to Boise, which is, of course, the state capitol, arguing that the area where it's currently set to take place cannot provide an impartial jury for a fair trial.

CNN's Jean Casarez has been following this case from the beginning.

Jean, tell us more about this survey and how prosecutors are responding to it.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're right. The big question is, where can Bryan Kohberger, in the state of Idaho, get a fair and impartial jury, a fair trial?

Well, James Murphy just took the stand -- just got off the stand. He's the president of True Scope, which is media monitoring and media analysis. And he looked at the frequency of pretrial publicity.

Well, for the population in Lata County, which is Moscow, there's a huge amount of pretrial publicity. But also, it's neck-to-neck with the state's capital, Boise, which is exactly where the defense wants this trial to take place.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ (voice over): Moscow, Idaho, a college community known for the University of Idaho and small city life. But on November 13, 2022, that all changed when four university students were fatally stabbed while asleep at their off-campus apartment. The case got international attention. But to residents of Moscow, this was their community, and now they want justice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope to God that justice comes forth.

CASAREZ: Bryan Kohberger was arrested and charged with the murders in December 2022. The state is seeking death.

Now with his trial set for June 2025, the defense does not want this case to be tried in Moscow. They say their client can't get a fair trial there.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Some of your reporting --

CASAREZ: From television to social media, story after story in local newspapers and news stations.

ANNE TAYLOR, KOHBERGER'S DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I'm saying there is pervasive media coverage in this case. It's prejudicial media coverage.

CASAREZ: The prosecution in a January hearing said it believes this is Moscow's case. They lived this nightmare.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The case should be heard (ph) out here. It's a Latah County case.

CASAREZ: The court allowed a defense trial consultant to conduct a telephone survey of residents of the county to see if there was bias against Kohberger.

Their results? Latah County makes up only 2.75 percent of Idaho's population but has received 36 percent of the media coverage of this case. Ninety-eight percent of the community knows about the case. Seventy percent believe he is guilty, 51 percent have a fixed opinion.

Some responses from the survey included that if Kohberger wasn't convicted, "they'd burn the courthouse down. Outrage would be a mild description."

"They would probably find and kill him."

"There would likely be a riot and he wouldn't last long outside because someone would do the good ole' boy justice."

Boise, on the other hand, they say, has more than 10 times as many jurors, a larger courthouse, an airport for witnesses to fly in and out of.

The prosecution countered by calling the defense hypothesis "flawed." A random survey of 400 residents was far from the entire jury pool.

Latah County's jury eligible population could easily accommodate a panel of hundreds or even thousands of individuals being summoned for jury duty.

[13:35:02]

BILL THOMPSON, LATAH COUNTY PROSECUTOR: We at least owe Latah County, the people of Latah County, the attempt to seat a jury here first and not just rely on, "there's been a lot of publicity." There's been a lot publicity everywhere.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ: Now, if the judge would determine this trial will take place in Boise that means the judge, the witnesses, the counsel on both sides, staff, they all have to go to Boise 300 miles away, stay in hotels for three months. That will cost the county a lot of money.

But yet, constitutionally, everyone deserves a fair and impartial trial. And this is a death penalty case, which takes it to a completely different level.

KEILAR: All right. Jean, thank you for that update. We appreciate it.

Still ahead, Peach State pressure. Vice President Harris spending another day in Georgia trying to woo voters there. How the state's Democratic Party chair hopes to keep the momentum going, next.

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[13:40:22]

KEILAR: Happening right now, Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Governor Tim Walz, are in battleground, Georgia, where they will sit down with CNN's Dana Bash for an exclusive high-stakes interview set to air tonight at 9:00 Eastern.

It's a major test for them. It is their first joint interview since becoming the Democratic nominees and a chance to show Americans where they stand on critical issues.

Joining us now is Democratic Congresswoman Nikema Williams of Georgia. She is the state's Democratic Party chair as well.

Congresswoman, thank you for being with us.

First, I do want to talk to you about Georgia. As I mentioned, extremely tight race. This is according to the latest FOX poll. What does Harris need to do to win enough Georgians over in your opinion?

REP. NIKEMA WILLIAMS (D-GA): Well, Brianna, we are doing exactly what we have to do. But what we know is she might be up in that FOX poll today, but polls will go up and down. And Vice President Harris is still the underdog dog, so we cannot take anything for chance.

That is exactly why you saw her yesterday and Sandersville (ph), Georgia, and Hinesville, Georgia, today and Savannah, Georgia because we understand that, in a battleground state, every vote is critical and we can't not cede any territory.

We're going all over the state, having the conversations with voters about a future for this country that is about opportunity, unity and freedom. That is something very different from the stark contrast in Donald Trump and his Republican Party's campaign of continued division and hate in this country.

So Vice President Harris is coming directly to Georgian voters in battleground Georgia, because we understand that the path to the White House runs right through the Peach State.

KEILAR: Is her path to victory in Georgia this year different than it was for Joe Biden in 2020?

WILLIAMS: So what we're seeing in the aftermath of Vice President Harris becoming our Democratic nominee, we've seen a surge in volunteers that helps us get our message out.

We had over 1,000 new volunteers in just 24 hours after V.P. Harris announced her campaign for president, a 320 percent increase in donations just in the Democratic Party of Georgia in the first 24 hours.

So that is huge. And it allows us to reach more voters. It allows us to go into these places where we have to shave off the margins in these red areas of our state. But also maximize turnout in the deep- blue areas like the district that I represent in Atlanta, Georgia.

So we understand what's at stake here. And we have to continue to do the work.

Vice President Harris is this taking that spirit of being a joyful warrior. And we have to add the warrior part because she is fighting for every single vote, because she will be a president for all Americans, not Democrats, not Republicans, but all Americans.

And that is also a stark contrast from Donald Trump and his Project 2025, who continues to look to divide us and only represent those people who are supportive of his.

KEILAR: The polling shows that voters in Georgia, they trust Trump more on top issues like the economy and immigration by quite a wide margin. She is doing better than Joe Biden was doing on these issues.

What does Harris need to say tonight to win on those particular issues?

WILLIAMS: So, what I also know is that housing and the costs in the economy are big issues right here in Georgia. And Vice President Harris has a plan to bring down the cost of housing so that more people have access to the American dream.

More people can understand her plan of not just getting bad but getting ahead in this country. And that's exactly what you'll hear her layout, as she has already, like, put out in her economic agenda.

But she'll continue to do that for the next, what, 68 days on the campaign trail. We have work to do, Brianna, but we're willing to do it because we understand what that stake. And what's at stake is the future in this country that people can look

forward to, not a fear of going back to the dark days of the past that Donald Trump and his Republican Party want to take us back to.

We are committed to doing this work. We've always been counted out in battleground Georgia. But we know that we can win when we show up to vote. And we will bring our message of freedom and opportunity directly to the voters. And that's what we'll be doing over the next 68 days.

KEILAR: All right, Congresswoman Nikema Williams, thank you so much for being with us.

WILLIAMS: Thank you, Brianna.

[13:44:51]

KEILAR: And still ahead, new details in the planned terror attacks at Taylor Swift shows in Vienna. The CIA says the suspects intended to kill tens of thousands of people.

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SANCHEZ: Welcome back to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

Here are some of the headlines we're watching this hour.

The CIA says it helped disrupt the terror plot against Taylor Swift's concerts in Vienna, Austria. The deputy director says the agency passed on intelligence to authorities in Europe leading to the arrest of three suspects.

[13:49:59]

Some of them were found with bomb-making materials and had accessed ISIS material online. Three of her concerts were canceled after these arrests. The CIA says the plot was intended to kill, quote, "tens of thousands of people."

Also, passengers are recovering today after encountering severe turbulence on a flight from Cancun to Chicago. The plane was forced to divert to Memphis last night. At least seven people were hurt. One of them having to be sent to a hospital. The FAA says it is investigating.

And country singer and American idol alum, Scott McCreary, making headlines after he stopped his own concert to call out someone in the crowd.

Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

SCOTT MCCREARY, SINGER: Hey, hey, hey, hey. He's right here, he's right here.

That's a lady you just hit, sir.

Absolutely not. Who just hit the lady?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: McCreary was performing at the Colorado State Fair when he said he saw the incident then called for security to get involved.

In a statement to KK TV, the county fair said they provided crowd control and the incident is still under investigation.

Brianna?

KEILAR: In today's "HOME FRONT," the important fight to prevent military suicides among active-duty soldiers and veterans alike. The American Legion says it just held what is believed to be the largest single training session on suicide prevention. Officials say 5,000 people received instructions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, there is a new war raging. Unfortunately, it is being fought in the hearts and minds of those who served. Veteran suicide is the most important issue facing veterans today. And too many are battling it alone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Joining us now is Columbia University professor of psychiatry, Dr. Kelly Posner Gerstenhaber. She is the founder and director of the Columbia University Lighthouse Project, which led this training.

Doctor, tell us about this. These were your colleagues who put this on. Tell us how this went, training 5,000 people in one day.

DR. KELLY POSNER GERSTENHABER, FOUNDER & DIRECTOR, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIGHTHOUSE PROJECT: You know, it was inspiring and of mythical proportions and really important, you know?

Because let, let me just set -- set the stage for a second. You know, it's not only veterans. We know that suicide takes more firemen than fire, more lives than car accidents, you know, more soldiers than combat.

And 135 people are affected by every death. And those effects linger across generations because of the silence that follows. And this training was really representative of breaking the silence and not being silent anymore.

You know, we know that this is our preventable cause of death. And what do we need to do? We need to find the people suffering in silence, and we need to break down those myths.

You know what one of the biggest lethal myths have been? That this is the doctor's job. It's actually not. Most people, most veterans don't actually even get to the doctor. We know that we have to be upstream and get them as early as possible.

And you know what this also represented, this remarkable work with the American Legion? The importance of family and spouses and being the front line of defense.

You know that we know that 80 percent of people who end their lives, communities, veterans, whoever it may be, do it in their homes, right? We know how to save lives, but we have to get as upstream as possible.

And I -- and you know what, we know that works.

KEILAR: Yes.

GERSTENHABER: Guess -- guess what -- guess what happened with the Marines. The Marines put this in all hands, legal assistance, financial aid counselors, chaplains, et cetera. Do you know that helped them reduce suicide 22 percent?

(CROSSTALK)

GERSTENHABER: And that's what the American Legion (INAUDIBLE)

KEILAR: Yes, it's amazing, Doctor. And I've talked to spouses of servicemembers died by suicide, and so often they did not see it coming. And then in retrospect, they looked and wished that they had known more ahead of time. And that's really what you're trying to do here. It's so important.

In the latest data, there were 492 servicemembers who died by suicide in 2022. How does that compare to the general population? And what are the unique challenges in addressing this with veterans compared to the general population?

GERSTENHABER: Yes. So the unique challenges with veterans are that we have to work even harder to find them where they suffer for in silence, right? We have to find veterans where they work, live, thrive, recreate.

And they have more difficulty with isolation and feeling disconnected from society. So that's, again, the good news, you know, what we're doing, we're taking this to the bartenders, to the slot machines. You know, we know that we can save lives.

[13:55:06]

And one of the other myths, Brianna, is that, well, if I ask, it's going to be harmful to somebody. It's actually not the case. When people are suffering, they want help. They want to be asked.

And there's nothing more important than this movement that's beginning -- beginning to build so we can get these particular questions, the Columbia Protocol in all hands.

Because finding, detecting and identifying the people who are suffering in silence is the first step to getting them the help, the help that we need.

KEILAR: It's so important, the work you're doing.

Professor Kelly Posner Gerstenhaber, thank you for taking the time with us today.

GERSTENHABER: Very grateful to be here. Thank you.

KEILAR: Thank you.

And if you or anyone you love is experiencing suicidal thoughts, you can call the 24-hour Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.

We'll be right back.

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