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14-Year-Old Suspect & His Father Make First Court Appearance; Trump Appealing E. Jean Carroll Sex Abuse Verdict; U.S. Sees Higher Risk Of Russia Sabotaging Undersea Cables. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired September 06, 2024 - 11:00   ET

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

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[11:00:51]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: We're following major developing stories this morning. The teen suspect in the Georgia school shooting and his father appearing in court within an hour of each other. They're both charged with murder and the deaths of two teachers and two students.

And only moments ago, Donald Trump was back in a New York City courtroom, the former president attending an appeal hearing on the E. Jean Carroll verdict. He was convicted of sexual assault and defamation. He says he'll hold a news conference, what he's calling a news conference. We'll see if he answers reporters' questions over at Trump Tower shortly.

And happening today, Boeing's troubled Starliner finally set to return home after 12 weeks in space. Not on board, though, it's two person crew.

Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington and you're in the CNN Newsroom.

BLITZER: We begin in Georgia this hour where the teen accused of opening fire at his high school two days ago is now back in jail along with his father. They're -- they both appeared in court earlier this morning for the first time. Fourteen-year-old, get this, 14-year-old Colt Gray listened as a judge explained he could get life in prison if he's found guilty.

The teen is charged with four counts of felony murder for killing two students and two teachers. Nine other people were wounded. And only minutes after he was led out of the courtroom, his father was brought in. Colin Gray, 54 years old, sat down in front of the same judge and had his charges read for the same crimes. CNN's Rafael Romo is joining us now from Winder, Georgia, where all this is unfolding. Rafael, tell us more about the back to back father son court appearances today.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf, it's hard to fathom what happened here this morning. As you were saying, we're talking about back to back father and son court appearances for a mass shooting that has gutted this community and the nation. The families of the victims were in the courtroom crying at different moments during the proceedings, made it for a very emotional moment. Then the son, 14- year-old Colt Gray appeared first, his arms were shackled and he was wearing a green top and tan pants.

The 14-year-old remained virtually motionless, other than shaking loose hair out of his face when he first sat down. The younger Gray replied to questions by the judge by saying, yes, sir, in a respectful manner. And he was informed of his rights under the law and the charges he faces.

Let's remember that he has been charged as an adult, Wolf, with four counts of felony murder. Some of the victims' families, as I said before, were attending the hearing as well, which made the hearing even more emotional and somber after initially saying that the suspect faced the death penalty, that Judge Currie Mingledorff corrected himself, saying that he's only eligible for a life sentence given that he is a minor.

The father, Colin Gray, appeared in the same court -- courtroom less than an hour later. Gray, who confirmed to the court that he's 54 -- 54 years old, could face a maximum of 180 years in prison if convicted on all 14 charges against him. According to the judge, Gray made his first appearance in a white and gray striped jail uniform, like his son.

Colin Gray did not ask for bond at his first appearance, where he was represented by a public defender. Gray's voice, Wolf, trembled at times as he spoke to Judge Currie Mingledorff, and he repeatedly rocked back and forth in his seat. Wolf?

BLITZER: Rafael, I know you're also getting a clearer picture of the timeline behind why the father may have been charged. Update our viewers on that.

ROMO: Yes, that's right, Wolf. Both father and son have been on law enforcement's radar for at least a couple of years. Officials confiscated three guns from the family in July 2017, including an AR- 15 style rifle, when they were evicted from home in that year, weapons that were later returned to them. And then -- and -- and then in May of last year, deputies interviewed both Colt and Colin Gray after the FBI flagged online threats at an unidentified location. But the son denied any involvement. And -- and -- and also authorities determined at the time there was no probable cause.

[11:05:12]

And last December, Wolf, Colin Gray purchased the gun that was allegedly used in the mass shooting as a Christmas present for his son. In 2023, the Jackson County Sheriff's office questioned Gray about the availability of guns around the house. This is a fragment of that conversation. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have weapons in the house?

COLIN GRAY, FATHER OF COLT GRAY: I do. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are they accessible to him?

GRAY: They are. I mean, there's nothing -- nothing loaded, but they are down. We actually, we do a lot of shooting. We do a lot of deer hunting. He shot his first deer this year, you know. So like, I'm pretty much in shock to be honest with you. I'm a little pissed off to be even really honest with you, if that -- if that is what was said.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And Wolf, let me finish with this. In a new and shocking development, we have learned that the Barrow County Sheriff's Office has issued an arrest warrant for Marcee Gray. She is the mother of the high school shooter and is sought for offenses committed last November, including felony possession of controlled substances and using a false license plate. And just a moment ago, we heard from the district attorney. He said more charges could be brought against the younger Gray. Now back to you.

BLITZER: All right, Rafael, we'll stay in close touch with you and you'll update our viewers. Thank you very much. Rafael Romo reporting to the scene.

Later this hour, we expect to hear from Donald Trump after he spent the morning inside a courtroom along with E. Jean Carroll. Lawyers for the former president and E. Jean Carroll squared off in Manhattan's Federal Appeals Court. Trump is seeking an appeal after a jury found he sexually abused and defamed the former columnist and awarded her $5 million.

Last year's trial was separate from the related defamation trial held earlier this year when a jury awarded E. Jean Carroll $83 million in various damages. CNN national correspondent Kristen Holmes is with me here in the CNN Newsroom. So where do things stand now, Kristen?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, where they are right this second is the fact that the judge has this case. The appeals court has this case. And they're waiting to make a ruling. We don't expect one today. We don't even think one is likely before the election. But just to give some details as to what exactly we saw today, what is going on. As you said, this is the appeal. He is seeking a new trial here.

This was a two week case. A nine-person jury determined that he was found liable of, as you said, sexual abuse as well as defamation. They awarded Carroll $5 million. Trump's lawyers are now arguing that the verdict should be tossed because of issues with evidence, particularly saying that the judge allowed certain things in that they don't think should have been allowed including the access Hollywood tape.

And again, as we said, the court is unlikely to issue a ruling before the election. Now, the really interesting thing is that this is the first time that Trump has attended any sort of court appearance involving E. Jean Carroll. They were both allegedly in the room for this court appearance. In fact, during that first two week trial, he never even called a witness. Now, all of this to say that, again, we won't have a ruling until potentially after the election. But he did not have to be there today, Wolf. He chose to be there. And as I know we've talked about, he's allegedly giving this -- this press conference particularly possibly just remarks, we know that he gets up there sometimes and doesn't take questions, expect to hear a lot about him ranting against the judicial system because this is generally what he does on days like today.

BLITZER: We suspect that's what he will be doing. We're also expecting some news from Judge Juan Merchan this morning regarding Trump's hush money trial. What do we know about this?

HOLMES: Yes, this is a big deal. So Trump is supposed to be sentenced in that case on September 18th. Juan Merchan today will decide whether or not that sentencing will be delayed. Just a reminder, Trump's team had asked for it to be delayed. District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office did not oppose that. So now it is in the judges hands.

Obviously, it's incredibly significant if he is sentenced before that November election, regardless of what the sentencing is, this would be the second time that the sentencing is delayed if the judge, in fact, allows that to happen.

BLITZER: Kristen Holmes, you've got a lot going on right now. We'll stay in close touch with you as well. Thank you very much.

Also new this morning, a CNN exclusive. Two U.S. officials are telling CNN a secretive Russian military unit might try to sabotage undersea cables. The cables are critical for government, military and private communications, as well as Internet traffic. CNN anchor and chief national security analyst Jim Sciutto, is with us right now. It's his reporting that we're working on. Tell us about this.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So the U.S. is extremely concerned about this, as are America's allies. And there are really two major developments here. That is one, the U.S. has detected increased Russian military activity above key undersea cables around the world, including in northern Europe.

[11:10:08]

And two that the U.S. believes that Russia's decision making on carrying out attacks against these undersea cables has changed. That is that they become more likely, the U.S. believes, to order such an attack. A U.S. official described it to me this way, we are concerned about heightened Russian naval activity worldwide and that Russia's decision calculus for damaging U.S. and allied underseas critical infrastructure may be changing. Their decision calculus may be changing.

I should note the U.S. has been, Russia rather, has been providing more resources to a specific unit stood up to carry out such planning and potentially such attacks. It's known as the General Staff Main Directorate for Deep Sea Research. It goes by the initials Russian, initials GUGI. And it has a formidable fleet of surface ships, submarines and naval drones to carry out not just surveillance of these key chokepoints, but also potentially to carry out attacks.

And I should note, Wolf, that Russia has continued to resource this even as it wages war in Ukraine with all the resources going there. And that is a sign to U.S. officials just how much they prioritize this group.

BLITZER: If there were an attack, how serious potentially could it be?

SCIUTTO: Listen, I think, folks, and here's a map of just how these undersea cables wrap around the world. So much of what we do travels on undersea cables. The -- the vast majority of Internet traffic, communications, telephone calls, both private sector, government, military. And it's not just, you know, what, you can search on the Internet, Wolf, but whole industries depend on these fiber optic communications. The financial markets do, the energy industry.

And I should note that in Europe in particular, there are also cables that carry power, electricity, undersea. So an attack such as this, even on a handful of some of the most crucial conduits, could have enormous economic impact internationally, but also energy impact as well. So just by disabling one or more, you can have carry on effects around the world with -- with enormous consequences.

BLITZER: As soon as I read your report earlier today, the first thing that jumped out at me is, would this be seen by the U.S. government as an act of war by Russia?

SCIUTTO: It's a very good question to what it would be defined as an act of war. I will tell you that U.S. officials told me they would consider this a very serious escalation by Russia. How the U.S. would react to it is a major question because this would have impact not just on the U.S. military and the military of U.S. allies, but also the U.S. civilian population and civilian businesses and -- and industries and economies. By some definitions, that is an act of war.

BLITZER: The key question would be whether or not the U.S. legally calls it an act of war, how the U.S. would respond?

SCIUTTO: Hundred percent.

BLITZER: Yes, we'll watch and see. Good -- great reporting. Jim Sciutto, working the story for us.

[11:13:03]

Coming up, Boeing's trouble Starliner spacecraft set to return to Earth today without repeat -- without the two astronauts that carried it to space some 12 weeks ago.

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BLITZER: Other important news we're following right now. Three months after it first went into space, Boeing Starliner spacecraft will finally make its way back to Earth later today. But the two astronauts who boarded the vessel back in June will not, repeat, not be on board. CNN aviation analyst Miles O'Brien is joining us right now. Miles, if -- if all goes well, the Starliner will land in New Mexico around midnight later today. This test flight was hindered by what I described as thruster failures and helium leaks. Will officials be investigating other issues once the spacecraft is back on Earth?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, you know, one of the problems, Wolf, is the key thrusters which have been causing all the problems and which caused Boeing to make the decision not to return Butch and Suni on this spacecraft. Those thrusters will burn up in the atmosphere tonight. And so that was a big part of why it took so long for NASA and Boeing to come to any sort of conclusion is they wanted to try to test them while they were still attached to the International Space Station.

So it's -- it's unclear how things are going to go tonight. The thinking is that they will have a safe landing, but the thinking is also that it's not reliable enough to put humans on there. So in a sense, they're talking a little bit out of both sides of their mouth. We'll see what happens at about midnight tonight when Starliner should arrive in New Mexico.

BLITZER: And they clearly want to err on the side of caution. That's why those two astronauts won't be aboard the Starliner as it makes its way back to the United States. NASA planned to use Starliner to take these astronauts to the International Space Station annually. This current flight was the first one with astronauts aboard. What do you think the program -- where do you think the program, Miles, goes from here?

O'BRIEN: It's an interesting question, Wolf. This is a different kind of contract. It is a fixed price contract. Of course, Boeing has been a partner of NASA since the very beginning of the space program one way or another. But historically, those contracts have been defense style cost plus contracts. In this case, Boeing is losing an awful lot of money by not delivering as it is promised in this contract.

[11:20:15]

So Boeing has problems on all kinds of fronts now, which we've been reporting for a long time, certainly on their airliner front. And now its space division is facing this. You have to wonder if the company wants to stay in the game. And that might be one of the questions that will be coming up here. And will Starliner fly on its next flight, assuming Boeing stays with it, will it fly with human beings on board, or will there have to be another unpiloted test? Lots of open questions here about a spacecraft, which I think objectively can be called a lemon.

BLITZER: Yes, objectively, indeed. And NASA's Administrator, a man you and I know, Bill Nelson, says the agency previously had a culture in which information could not come forward, and that culture was to blame for the loss of two space shuttles. What do you make of that comment now? And do you think NASA's culture has now changed?

O'BRIEN: I -- I think this is a really good sign here, Wolf. For years and years, NASA has talked about changing its culture. It talked about it after Challenger, and it didn't. And we got Columbia. We lost 14 astronauts because the agency did not have a healthy, viable way for people at the lower levels to communicate their concerns to the upper levels.

In this case, the people making the decisions about Starliner were all -- almost direct, almost all of them directly involved one way or another in the loss of Columbia. And I think that that lesson has stayed with them. And that is a very good thing for NASA marching forward. That -- that tells me that the culture may be, at long last, has changed.

BLITZER: We shall see. And we'll have extensive live coverage later tonight of the return of the spacecraft to the United States. Miles O'Brien, as usual, thank you very much. And we'll be right back.

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BLITZER: Back to back court appearances for the teenage suspect and his father in Wednesday's deadly high school shooting down in Georgia. Both Colt and Colin Gray were in court this morning for the first time to hear their charges read aloud. The 14-year-old will be tried as an adult after two teachers and two students were killed on Wednesday and nine other people were wounded, some of them very seriously.

We just heard from the Barrow County District Attorney that more charges are, in fact, to come. Joining us now is CNN legal analyst Karen Friedman Agnifilo. Karen, thanks very much for joining us. Obviously, the parents of Ethan Crumbley come to mind when considering this case. Talk a little bit about this. James and Jennifer Crumbley, as you remember, were convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to what, 10 to 15 years in prison? What is different about the charges against Colin Gray, who is 54 years old?

KAREN FRIEDMAN AGNIFILO, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: So, you know, any time you've got a situation where the parents, you know, where you have a child who's living with parents, you have to wonder where were the parents in all of this and what were they doing? And here when you see that these parents, this father actually bought him a gun, he's 14 years old. You cannot possess a gun legally at 14. And he possessed and he -- and he bought it for him after there was already a scare and a threat.

And it's obvious that this child, and he is a child, he's 14 years old, is a danger and a threat. And so, it really does beg the question, and I think it was absolutely correct to charge the father and hold him accountable because this was utterly preventable. And all the red flags were there.

BLITZER: It wasn't just a gun. It was an AR-15 type assault weapon that the military uses. Not necessarily something they would use to go deer hunting or something like that.

AGNIFILO: Exactly. And, you know, 14 years old, in addition to the fact that it's well known that brain development has not even come close to being finalized. He's a child, and he's a troubled child with a history. And it's clear that he had threats before, and he lives in a house that I think we're going to learn a lot more. There seems to be domestic violence. The mother, now there's a warrant out for her arrest and drug use.

So it's a very unstable, dangerous environment with a kid who has shown signs of danger and threat. And you have a man put an AR-15 into his hands. Of course he is as responsible. And I think it's great that they're holding him accountable.

BLITZER: You know, and you think about it, this was supposedly a Christmas gift for this 14-year-old, this AR-15 rifle that the father bought as a Christmas gift, even though he knew his son had some serious -- some -- some serious issues and a history of talking about shooting up at -- at a school over the months before.

AGNIFILO: Exactly. And it's illegal to possess a gun or own a gun if you are under 18. And so the fact of the matter is, not only was he committing a crime, buying a 14-year-old child a gun, but as you said, Wolf, and pointed out, he had a history of making threats.

[11:30:06]

BLITZER: Yes. Awful history indeed. In court this morning --