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ICE Officer Shot And Killed A Motorist In Maine; Texas DA: ICE Shooting Probe Could Take Many Months; Darline Graham, Sister Of Lindsey Graham, Chosen To Fulfill Remainder Of His U.S. Senate Term; Trump Backs Russia Sanctions Package Spearheaded By Graham; Ukrainian Drone Strikes Deep In Russia Grow Public Alarm. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired July 14, 2026 - 04:30   ET

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

[04:30:00]

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: Well, did he give you any assurance they would be looped in? In the past you mentioned the police protocol about vehicles. We saw this play out in Minneapolis. Sadly, a very similar circumstance not that long ago.

You know the secretary, he was your colleague in the Senate when he replaced Secretary Noem. My words, part of the conversation was this was more of a grown up and this is someone who would understand and respect congressional oversight. Are you getting that?

SEN. ANGUS KING (I-ME): Well, I -- well, I do have to say that when I called him this morning, number one, he took my call immediately and number two, he talked to me about what, what he understood at the time. And he said at the time, on, when I -- when I first talked to him this morning, that the fellow that was shot was the target of the investigation.

To give him some credit, he called me about three hours later and said, I have now learned that he was not the target of the investigation. So there was some good faith there. But he did use weaponization of the vehicle. And of course that's what we saw with Renee Good in Minneapolis. And that's what really the investigation is all about.

What were the facts? Did this young man actually try to run over an ICE agent or was he in danger of running over other people in the street? And was there a reasonable expectation of bodily harm or of deadly force to justify this shooting?

The larger question, John, is why do we have these guys on our streets? Why are they in Biddeford, Maine? The whole premise of this project is false. They've talked, you've heard over and over and over that it's all about the worst of the worst. Well, they were in Maine in the winter, went through this big crackdown, if you will, arrested over 200 people. About 19, I think 19 or 20 of those people had some kind of criminal record.

90 percent had no criminal record. So this is not about the worst of the worst. This is a -- this is a broad sweep with people with a quota. They've been told they have to arrest 2,000 people a day by the White House. That's a terrible way, an instruction to give law enforcement and that's this -- what happened today in Maine is a result of that kind of overarching, I think, bad faith.

J. KING: One way to answer the big question, was deadly force in any way justified here would be body cams. There's been a lot of screaming, forgive me, my word again at DHS from the beginning of this. If you're going to put this, I know you don't want them on the streets, but if you're going to put them there, put body cameras on them like local police, like security guards, if you go to a sporting event, have body cams on them.

Why are we at the point where they're still not wearing body cams?

A. KING: Well, that's -- that's a good question and that's one that I think DHS has to answer. They've got unlimited money. They were funded last year in the reconciliation bill. They've now been funded, believe it or not, and I voted along with many of my colleagues against the bill. They've been funded to the -- to the end of Trump's term. So they've got tons of money.

Why they don't have body cams I think is a very fair question. They -- they should, that should have been one of the things that came out of the Minneapolis and that's been called for almost a year now, for eight months.

And clearly that would -- that would resolve this kind of factual issue that we're going to be trying to resolve over the next several weeks here in Maine.

J. KING: As we do try to resolve it. Senator King, number one, grateful for your time tonight. Please stay in touch as this goes forward.

A. KING: Sure.

J. KING: Appreciate it, sir.

Now we move on to new developments in that other fatal ICE shooting just this week, ICE and ball shooting, the killing of Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo awhile on his way to work by an ICE agent last week in Houston. And as we've reported, ICE claims he rammed their vehicle and says the shooting was self-defense.

But an attorney says the men who were with Salgado Araujo, excuse me, told him ICE's version of event is simply false and that the agents lives were never in danger. As a result the Harris County District Attorney's office launched its own independent investigation but says that process could take many, many months.

Joining me now, the Harris County District Attorney, Sean Teare. District Attorney, grateful for your time tonight. You just heard Senator King some frustrations about getting information shared. He hopes that improve in the days ahead. You've been at this for several days now, sadly.

Is the government, the federal government sharing the evidence you need to allow your investigation to go forward?

SEAN TEARE, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS: Well, John, thank you for having me. And to this point the answer shortly is no. But we are equipped, I think unlike a lot of other DA's offices around the country. We have over 100 sworn police officers who work directly for our office.

We are the third largest county in the United States. We handle officer involved shootings and run a parallel investigation in every one of them, sadly over 100 times a year. We know what we need to do, and we are doing it. We've issued almost 20 subpoenas already for different pieces of evidence and different individuals to come testify.

We're working through this as if we would in any other case.

[04:35:00]

And it's just such a sad commentary that we're not all in the same room working together to do it. Because as the senator said a minute ago, the community deserves the transparency. And quite frankly, they deserve the trust of a local entity investigating these cases.

KING: Well, the trust issue, I think, is paramount here. You said your investigators weren't allowed access to the scene until hours after the incident. That's one of the reasons I assume that you need those subpoenas for information. Is that normal?

TEARE: No, it is not normal at all. And just -- just for some context, it's not just when a state or local law enforcement officer discharges a weapon and takes a civilian's life. We -- we regularly work with the FBI when these types of cases involve them. And we've never had an issue with collaboration and working side by side getting to the truth, which is what we have all historically cared about.

So, no, it is not normal that we're not invited to the scene moments after the shooting. It is not normal that I'm have to -- I'm having to issue subpoenas a week later. And it's certainly not normal that I don't know the identity of any of the agents that were involved in this shooting seven days later.

KING: To that end, the DHS says the officer felt life was at risk. Three witnesses who were there with the victim say that's not the way they saw it. Your office has set up a portal asking citizens if you have any information. If you have video, post it, send it in to us.

At this point, understanding it's early in the investigation, have you seen anything? Well, from what you have seen, does it support the witnesses who say, no, there was no life threatening action here, or does it support the ICE account?

TEARE: So we have -- we have gotten dozens of different angles of all three of the vehicles involved spreading over blocks before and after this shooting. What I can tell you is that from every angle that we've seen, from every witness statement that we've been able to put our hands on, it certainly doesn't appear that the car was ever used as a weapon.

Now, we are absolutely in the infancy of this investigation. There are going to be continuous changes in all of the evidence. And until we have all of it, we can't come to a determination about what happened. But from the beginning stages and the things that we've seen, it does not appear that any agent's lives were in danger at the moment that the, the fatal bullet was fired.

KING: Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare. Sir, grateful for your time and again, just like the senator will stay in touch as the investigation plays out. Thank you, sir.

Up next for U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham's life and his political legacy. And later, a CNN report from Moscow as Ukraine continues a wave of strikes on Russia.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:42:22]

KING: The governor of South Carolina has appointed Lindsey Graham's sister to fill the late senator's seat for the final six months of Senator Graham's term. The senator died over the weekend at the age of 71. Here's what Darlene Graham Nardone said this afternoon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DARLINE GRAHAM NORDONE, LINDSEY GRAHAM'S SISTER, APPOINTED TO HIS SENATE SEAT: Lindsey has always been there for me and now I will be there for him. And I promise to work hard over the next several months to support the president and carry forward the efforts of my brother on behalf of the citizens of South Carolina and the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: The two were extremely close. CNN's Jeff Zeleny now more on the senator's life and his legacy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From a South Carolina hometown to the Senate floor to the White House, the political world paid homage to Senator Lindsey Graham, even as a quiet scramble emerged among Republicans to fill his spot on the November ballot.

Lindsey Olin Graham served four terms in the U.S. House and was elected to the Senate in 2002 to fill the shoes of Strom Thurmond, the longest serving senator in American history.

For nearly a quarter century, Graham spanned the eras of the Republican Party, from George W. Bush and John McCain to Donald Trump. From a salty adversary.

LINDSEY GRAHAM, FORMER U.S. SENATOR: You know how you make America great again? Tell Donald Trump to go to hell. ZELENY (voice-over): To a loyal ally.

GRAHAM: I did nothing illegal except be Trump's friend, apparently.

ZELENY (voice-over): Graham long embraced the spotlight and proximity to power, no matter who held it. While he was the rare senator willing to strike a bipartisan compromise, he became one of the president's most unapologetic champions. After the January 6 attacks on the Capitol, it seemed as though the admiration had reached its limits.

GRAHAM: Trump and I, we've had a hell of a journey. I hate it to end this way. Oh, my God, I hate it. All I can say is, count me out. Enough is enough.

ZELENY (voice-over): Yet for Graham, it was clearly not enough. He soon embraced the president again and played a key role in Trump's return to power. Trump, of course, welcomed the pivot.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Lindsey used to be a great enemy of mine. Now he's a great friend of mine. I really like Lindsey. Can you believe it?

ZELENY (voice-over): Graham's weekend death, caused by aortic dissection or a rip in the aorta, according to preliminary findings, could have major implications in a narrowly divided Senate, given his role as Budget chairman, a key member of the Judiciary Committee, and a fierce foreign policy hawk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a huge loss institutionally for the Senate, but it's a huge loss for those of us who knew him well.

ZELENY (voice-over): At the same time, several South Carolina Republicans are eying the rare Senate opening, including members of Congress Ralph Norman, William Timmons, Russell Frye, and Nancy Mace.

[04:45:10]

The state's lieutenant governor, Pamela Everette, who just lost the gubernatorial primary, is also considering it, party officials told CNN. A special primary election is set for August 11th. The winner faces Annie Andrews, a Democrat who is already running against Graham.

As lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill today From a long July 4th recess, Graham's absence was still being absorbed by his colleagues.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need good people who are willing to be respectful of one another and to work hard to find common ground.

ZELENY (voice-over): As one of the most consequential senators of the last quarter century is gone from their ranks, with his sister Darlene now set to fill his seat for the rest of the year. Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KING: Joining us now, the former Republican South Carolina governor, longtime friend of Senator Graham, Mark Sanford, also our CNN political commentators, S. E. Cupp and Van Jones. Governor Sanford, I will start with you.

First of all, obviously, it's a painful time in South Carolina for you personally. Senator Graham was a friend, godfather to your youngest, Blake. Controversial at times, complicated always. How would you describe his legacy?

MARK SANFORD (R), FOREMR SOUTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR: I think you just did. I mean, the beauty of Lindsey is that Lindsey was Lindsey. And so times we agreed, times we disagreed, but he was heartfelt in where he was coming from. And I had always admired that.

I mean, he was a guy that sort of led with the heart, if you want to call it that, and would forge off in this direction and forge off in that direction. He had a keen political nose. He had an amazing sense of humor, and he had a real ability to stay close to power and therefore have the ability to wield the tools of power.

KING: S.E. you knew the senator for about two decades. I was reading in the notes he called you his little libertarian. Is that right?

S.E. CUPP, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: My little libertarian.

KING: My little libertarian.

CUPP: There's a funny story to it, because when I came up in conservative politics, I was known as a big hawk. The joke we would tell is I was war heads on foreheads. But and that endeared me to Lindsey, I think. But I wasn't as hawkish as he was because I still believed in things like, you know, congressional reauthorization and congressional approval, the Constitution. To him, that made me insufficiently hawkish.

So his joke was to call me my little libertarian, even though I was, you know, a pretty big hawk. And just as recently as last summer, I was up on the Hill in a meeting with some senators and some cabinet members. And he walks in the room and he goes up, there she is, my little libertarian so this was a 20-year sort of pet name.

KING: Van, obviously philosophically, ideologically on the other side. But you watch. And a very prominent obviously in the decade of Trump. What did you learn about Lindsey Graham?

VAN JONES, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I mean, first I, you know, you never speak ill of the dead. At least I was raised not to. And look, if you're tonight, if you're a Ukrainian, you're sad. He went to Ukraine 10 times as a senator trying to help those folks stay alive against Putin. If you're an Israeli, you're sad. He was a staunch defender of Israel and tough on terror.

And there were times when he reached out to us in the Democratic Party and we were able to do some bipartisan deals with him. I think there was disappointment in our party when he went back into the arms of Trump. But he has a responsibility to his citizens, into his party and he -- he did a good job on those terms.

KING: Governor, Van makes a good point. It's not to speak ill of anyone, just trying to get your understanding. You guys came to the House together. You ran for governor, he ran for Senate. When Donald Trump hit the scene, you made different choices. Senator Graham went back and forth. He was in Camp Trump that he was out of Camp Trump, back and forth, back and forth. You were out pretty much from the get go. What were your conversations like about that, especially in the

context of South Carolina politics?

SANFORD: You know, the mark of 30-year friends is there are times you just sort of agree to disagree and you kind of leave that area alone and you sort of accept the things that you enjoyed about the other human soul and make light of the things that are in between and just sort of leave alone the things that are sort of no fly zones. And that was probably a no fly zone for us.

So I wouldn't say we discussed it greatly. You know, he was very upfront about saying, look, I got to be close to power if I'm going to be wield the tools of power. And in that regard I understood it. And I would also say this. So, you know, think about the gang of 11 on immigration issues like that. He actually took political risks.

I think that, you know, we live in a political environment where a lot of folks won't take any political risks. And I admired the times that he did. I think he stood out in those moments.

[04:50:00]

KING: To that point, it was in Jeff Zeleny's piece there when after January 6, where Lindsey Graham said, enough, that's it.

CUPP: Right.

KING: They said that was going to be the final pivot. And yet it was not.

CUPP: It was not.

KING: There were others. Senator McConnell stepped forward. Senator McConnell never came back into the Trump fold, but he didn't try to essentially block Trump.

CUPP: Yes.

KING: What happened there?

CUPP: Yes. I've been thinking a lot about something he said in March of 2021, Lindsey. And you have to remember Biden had just been inaugurated. We just had January 6th. And the conversations on the right, both amongst conservatives like me, but also MAGA was, what now? What do we -- what lessons do we learn from this loss? And are we going to move past Trump? Are we going to stay inside of MAGA?

And someone asked him that. And he said, if we abandon Trump, we will lose half the party. To which I think I said at the time, like, promise, but I was -- I was struck by this because the half he wanted to keep was not the Adam Kinzingers, the Liz Cheneys, the Mitt Romneys, the good conservatives. They were already being pushed out.

The half he was worried about leaving were the folks that showed up at the Capitol on January 6, the insurrectionists, the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, the white supremacists, the -- the ugliest elements that I think destroyed the Republican Party. And I think about that moment, and if someone of Lindsey's stature had said something different, had said, we don't want to be the party of comfort for these elements anymore, and if Lindsey had summoned all of his influence and power that he had accumulated for 30 years and got other Republicans to come where he was, it would have been tough.

But could that have changed the trajectory of the Republican Party in that moment between these two Trump presidencies? I think about that a lot.

KING: Could it have.

JONES: You know, you never know leadership matters and, you know, on the -- on the issues that he cared about, where I agree with them, like Ukraine, you know, having somebody like him standing in the breach matters. I wish he had done more of the things that S.E. Cupp's talking about. He was brave on immigration and almost got across the finish line.

KING: We'd be in a different country, brave in his party on Ukraine in the current context, especially when Trump first came back.

JONES: Absolutely.

KING: Right. Governor, you don't have any question the seat will stay Republican, correct?

STANFORD: None.

KING: No. None. Governor Mark Sanford, S.E. Cupp Van Jones, grateful for your time tonight. Up next for us to see a special report from inside Russia and Ukraine strikes deep within the country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:56:48]

KING: A White House official tells CNN President Trump will now support a new sanctions bill targeting Russia that was spearheaded by the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham. The sanctions would clear the way for the president to impose heavy new tariffs on imports from nations that buy Russian oil, uranium and natural gas. Senator gram was one of Ukraine's most vocal supporters in Washington, and he had just returned from Kyiv before he passed away over the weekend.

The sanctions would come at a time when the war in Ukraine is increasingly being felt deep inside Russia. CNN's Mathews Chance is in Moscow with this report. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are the scenes of Ukrainian strikes inside Russia the Kremlin is finding impossible to ignore. Even state television, which often plays down drone attacks, is broadcasting these images of the latest hits in which government officials say at least three people were killed.

SVETLANA PETRENKO, OFFICIAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE RUSSIAN INVESTIGATIVE COMMITTEE (through translator): We have launched a criminal case following the terrorist attack targeting civilian infrastructure. Ukrainian nationalists used fixed wing drones to attack several districts of the Moscow region.

CHANCE (voice-over): One of them, caught on CCTV, slammed into an apartment block in the town of Solnechnogorsk. Shocked residents hundreds of miles from the Ukrainian front lines are increasingly feeling the impact of what the Kremlin calls a special military operation, not a war.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I've been living here ever since it was built. I spent all my childhood here. It's so sad. It brings tears to my eyes.

CHANCE (voice-over): There's no such emotion for the Kremlin leader here, meeting Russia's own drone manufacturers at an exhibition in Moscow and vowing retaliation for Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russia.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Wherever they attempt to strike Russian territory, we will respond in kind, only with several times greater force. The adversary will feel this. I hope they already do, and they will continue to feel it on an escalating scale.

CHANCE (voice-over): But waves of Ukrainian strikes, mainly on Russian energy facilities, appear to have dented the Kremlin's war effort, leaving one of the world's biggest oil producers with weeks of acute fuel shortages, part of a key change in this conflict.

For years, the Ukraine war has been ferocious but distant, the horror and bloodshed out of sight, and for many Russians, out of mind. The problem for the Kremlin is that the casualties and the destruction are now coming home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHANCE: And tonight, John, there's been more bad news for Russia, with reports that more than a dozen Russian vessels, including several oil tankers, were struck in Ukrainian drone attacks.