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Erin Burnett Outfront

Eleven Defendants Join Trump With Not Guilty Pleas In Georgia; GOP Senators Privately Discussing McConnell's Future; Search Underway For Convicted Murderer Who Escaped Pennsylvania Prison; Ukraine Defends Counteroffensive: Moving Forward; Nikki Haley Seeks To Stand Out As Only Woman In GOP Primary. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired September 01, 2023 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:37]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next, Giuliani pleads not guilty. Trump's former attorney now skipping his arraignment on charges of trying to overturn Georgia's 2020 election as all eyes are now on a Fulton County judge who could at any moment change the course of Trump's case.

Plus, the manhunt for an extremely dangerous man. Authorities expanding their search for a convicted murderer who is on the run. We have new details tonight on where he could be headed. And new video just into OUTFRONT shows the moment Ukrainian forces come under attack as Putin escalates his nuclear threat.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

(MUSIC)

KEILAR: Good evening. I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Erin Burnett.

OUTFRONT tonight, the pleas are piling up. As of tonight, 12 of the defendants in Georgia's election case have now pleaded not guilty, including Rudy Giuliani, who just moments ago entered his plea and opted not to appear in court next week for his arraignment.

Now, Giuliani joins his old boss, former President Trump, who also pleaded not guilty yesterday to the 13 counts that he is facing in Fulton County. It's where the former president's focus is tonight. At any moment, a judge could decide if Trump's former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, will face trial by air or in federal court.

Remember, Meadows was Trump's right-hand man in the White House. And according to prosecutors, helped orchestrate the plot to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results. However, Meadows claims he was just carrying out his governmental duties. And for the first time, we are seeing a transcript of Meadows testimony from earlier this week.

At one point, Meadows was asked about why he was so concerned about coordinating fake electors. He responded, in part, quote, well, because I know I would get yelled at if we had not by the president of the United States. Now, if Meadows succeeds in moving his case to federal court, it could

have a profound impact on Trump's case as well. The former president could follow suit with his own motion to transfer his case out of Georgia state court.

And we are also getting a new glimpse into the cash crunch that Trump's 18 codefendants are now facing. A source close to Trump tell CNN none of the 18 have so far asked Trump for financial help, despite drowning under mounting legal bills.

In fact, we are learning tonight that at least four of the co- defendants have turned to fundraising online for the hundreds of thousands of dollars they already need.

Sara Murray is OUTFRONT live in Washington.

So, Sara, just how close are Trump and the other codefendants watching for this judge's decision about Meadows?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, they're definitely paying close attention. Obviously, Mark Meadows is arguing that everything that he is accused of doing after the 2020 election in Georgia was related to his role as White House chief of staff. And so, he should be able to move his case to federal court and then he's going to argue the charges against him should be dismissed.

The district attorney's office has argued that the things that you did after the 2020 election, the steps you took in Georgia, where about trying to keep Donald Trump in power. This was about your own political ambitions, Donald Trump's political ambitions, there was no way this could be related to your duties as a federal officer. So we are still waiting to see where a federal judge is going to come down on that, and we fully expect that Trump's teams, kind of regardless of how the judge rules, is likely to make a play to move Trump's case to federal court.

Obviously, Trump was president at the time. They feel they can make a different kind of argument. But they may just be biting their time, waiting to see how there this goes for Mark Meadows.

The other thing we are looking ahead, too, you mentioned those defendants who have entered their not guilty pleas. We still have a few more, who either need to enter a plea on paper or show up for their arraignment next week. But after we get that passed that Wednesday deadline for folks to be arraigned and to enter their pleas, then we're in a new phase of the case.

We're in a phase where the state court judge can decide, am I going to lump a few people together who want to go ahead with this speedy trial in October? Am I going to set a trial date for the others who may want to move ahead on that same timeline? So we may get a little more organizational clarity next week, Brianna.

KEILAR: All right. We'll be looking for that. Sara Murray, thank you for that report. OUTFRONT now, Ryan Goodman, former special counsel at the Defense

Department, Stephanie Grisham, who is White House press secretary for former President Trump, and Anthony Michael Kreis, who is a law professor at Georgia State University and has been following the Fulton County probe very closely.

[19:05:02]

Anthony, to you first. When do you think we might be seeing the ruling on whether Meadows case gets to move from Fulton County or not?

ANTHONY MICHAEL KREIS, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF LAW, GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY: Well, I think Judge Jones has a considerable task in front of him, and he has even admitted in some court orders that there is a potential novelty to this particular case, and whatever rule he decides on, once he decides what needs to be done here. So, yesterday, we had some movement where filings were submitted by the D.A.'s office and by Meadows attorneys about whether or not Georgia RICO would permit or require, or, I should say, whether Georgia RICO in the way it is structured would permit removal if one act that was part of the racketeering scheme was within Meadows duties.

So, the D.A. basically said that Mark Meadows is not being charged for anything that he did within the scope of his chief of staff duties but rather he is being charged for engaging in unlawful conspiracy to overturn the election, which is not within his prerogative, or was never within his prerogative his chief of staff. So we are seeing movement on those arguments. There is some additional hearings that we have for other removal of motions in the third week of September. So, that also might play a role. And I think the other thing is that state proceedings will continue on.

So, there's really not an imminent rush for judge -- the judge to decide by this week or next week.

KEILAR: All right. We will be waiting, then.

Ryan, Meadows testified earlier this week. He was trying to say he was not involved. This is the crux of his point, right? He wasn't involved with the campaign part of this. He wasn't involved with the fake electors plot.

But when you look at the newly available transcript that we see, the Fulton County D.A. is trying to pin him down in it because he, Meadows had emailed about the need for someone to coordinate the people who were the fake electors and asked about them Meadows tried to explain, quote, it was mentioned to me that there was litigation going on and that you had to have a provisional or conditional elector and that I -- and what I didn't want to happen was for the campaign to prevail in certain areas and not have this.

It was brought -- he asked, why did you not want that to happen?

Meadows says, well, because I know I would get yelled at if we had not. "By whom?" he is asked. Meadows then answers, by the president of the United States. How bad is that for Meadows and for Trump, Ryan?

RYAN GOODMAN, FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL AT DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: It's very bad. I would imagine that their defense counsel are quite worried about that testimony. It's bad for President Trump because Meadows is directly pointing the finger at him to say he would have yelled at me if I didn't do this.

That means that President Trump is directly involved in the false electors scheme. That's the kind of evidence the prosecutors need, and also ensures the intensity of President Trump's interest in it. Not only that, but he is saying, Meadows is saying, he would have yelled at me if I didn't do it.

That alone is also a violation of the Hatch Act. It's not just that the President Trump was involved in the false electors scheme, but he's getting his chief of staff to do it in this chief of staff knows, if I don't do this he's going to yell at me. That is a Hatch Act violation.

One of the only provisions of the Hatch Act into applied to the president. You are not allowed to, as president, tell an employee or intimidate an employee and to engage in political activity on behalf of a candidate. What else is that?

And then the last is, for Meadows it's horrible for him. His entire argument is based on, as you have described it, that he was taking everything he was doing was within his governmental authority of the office of the chief of staff. But he is saying, in his own words, the reason I did this was to preserve an option for the campaign. I didn't want to have a sense of the campaign would be left without these provisional electors.

That's a pure campaign trying to win the election type issue. There's nothing about the federal government's authority with respect to that particular item, and there he is saying it. At the end of the day, after lunch, after they have quizzed him since the beginning of the day, in the morning, and here he just admitted at the end, that it was purely the idea of trying to preserve Trump's options.

KEILAR: Stephanie, you spent many hours around Meadows around the course of your employ at the White House. What do you think about him testifying that he had no role with the fake electors within explaining, yeah, he was trying to coordinate them because he was afraid the Trump would yell at him?

STEPHANIE GRISHAM, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, I certainly understand the feeling of not wanting the president of the United States to yell at you, and in this case the former president, his anger was swift and it was cruel, and we all did everything we could to avoid being yelled at.

However, to kind of echo what Ryan just said, there is a campaign and there is a White House for a reason. At the very least, Mark Meadows could've gone to the campaign manager and said you guys deal with this, these are these outside lawyers, you guys can deal with this, we're out of it.

[19:10:02]

And he should have stuck to our in-house White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, and Pat Philbin, who were just telling the president over and over that this isn't the case, you didn't lose the election. So, I understand it. I do.

I was oftentimes in situations where I would do anything just to keep that man from yelling. But this is different. I mean, you're trying to overthrow the government and take hold and keep your power.

KEILAR: All right. Ryan, I want to ask you about another instance we learned of, and it has to do with Cleta Mitchell, an exchange during Meadows testimony about it. She, of course, was a non-White House lawyer who is on that Raffensperger call about trying to overturn election results in Georgia.

He was asked, did you have any role in bringing Ms. Mitchell then to advise the president on any campaign related issue? He answers, I asked Ms. Mitchell to come down and volunteer early on to Georgia, to volunteer when it looked like the election results were going to be close. Why did you do that?

Meadows response: Because I felt like we needed a number of attorneys on both sides because it was going to be close.

Is he making the prosecution's point for them? Is there any part of that that he can wiggle out of?

GOODMAN: No. He cannot wiggle out of it. And yes, he is making the prosecutions point. That is gold for the prosecution.

And also it came at the end of the day. And he has no other alternative. It has been reported this is what he did, but now it's coming out of his own mouth.

He specifically asked, who brought her on? It's him. Why do bring her on? He explains, to help the campaign balance out its lawyers. In Georgia. And that's just kind of like game over, because it does mean that he is acting on behalf of the campaign.

It's game over. It should probably be game over for getting the case in federal court because he needs to say I was doing everything within my office, and it's also game over for the defense that he is trying to mount. He's also trying to say I also have sovereign immunity. What is that? It's immunity if you are acting within your office.

The actual test is, if you go beyond your office in your conduct, you don't get it. So he doesn't get it. I should add one more point to it, which is just that the facts of the matter, if you look at his testimony, the entire testimony is built on this idea, everything I did was as the chief of staff. And then it comes out under cross examination that that's not true.

I do think Jack Smith will have to look at this transcript and think, are we going to think about perjury charges? Because it's that much of a convergence of what he had said, and initially what his position is, and then he has to flip later and say okay, I acknowledge.

KEILAR: Anthony, do you think that's true?

KREIS: Yeah. I think Mark Meadows had a bad day in court. I was able to watch the proceedings in federal court on Monday. And Meadows certainly tripped up a number of times. In that same line of questioning about coordinating with the campaign about the fake electors, Meadows had referred to a kind of "royal we" and the D.A.'s office said who do you mean by "we" and he said, something to the effect of well, you know, me in the campaign.

And that -- I mean, that's -- when you're trying to claim that everything you're doing is under the color of your office, that's not what you want to say. So I think it was a really -- it was a mistake to put him on the stand, probably.

KEILAR: Yeah, there was some moments there that were eyebrow raising.

Stephanie, we talk about how cash-strapped these four defendants are, four of them crowdfunding to raise money for their bills. How worried should Trump be right now about that?

GRISHAM: I think he's definitely worried. I mean, who wouldn't be? But I think he's going to start to do the very minimum that he can to help these people, for instance, Rudy Giuliani, he's going to headline a fund-raiser. Well, that's not money coming out of his pocket or even the tax pocket.

That's going to be people donating money to Rudy. I wouldn't be surprised if he starts getting direct asks from people who are crowdfunding like Jenna Ellis to maybe tweet out, hey, support Jenna as she's being persecuted, et cetera, et cetera.

And so, I imagine he's going to try to do the bare minimum for as long as he can in order to keep them happy, because there's no way he's not thinking about all of these people who could potentially turn on him.

KEILAR: Yeah, we'll be looking to see if your prediction there is true. It certainly seems possible there.

Stephanie, Ryan, Anthony, thank you so much to all of you.

OUTFRONT next, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley says lawmakers need to know when to leave after Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell froze publicly for the second time in his many months. I'm going to talk to a former Republican congressman. Does he agree?

Plus, Ukraine now says it now has a long-range missile that can hit a target deep inside Russia. Should they use it, though?

And an eight-year-old dies while in the custody of U.S. Border Patrol. What happened, tonight? Her devastated parents speak out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KEILAR: Tonight, growing questions about the political future of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell after the 81-year-old McConnell publicly froze in mid-conversation for the second time in five weeks. Senators are scheduled to return to Washington next week, so will Senate Republicans force a special meeting to address their party's leadership as some of them have been discussing privately?

OUTFRONT now, we have former Republican Congressman Francis Rooney of Florida.

Thank you so much for taking the time with us this evening, sir.

You've seen him freeze twice publicly. We know of multiple falls now, including that one in March the caused a severe concussion and broken ribs. In your opinion, should McConnell step aside?

REP. FRANCIS ROONEY (R-FL): Well, I lament the infirmities that senator McConnell has displayed. He has been a great patriot, a great leader of our party, and has done so many things that we should be thankful to have him at the helm of our party.

But I do think the question of term limits needs to be raised. Our forefathers never thought we would have long-term serving elected officials. And hopefully this might be something that people start to think about now.

KEILAR: So, I mean, that's pretty broad. That would apply to a lot of people.

[19:20:02]

Do you think that he should be term limited out?

ROONEY: Well, I -- my personal feeling is that everybody should be term limited out. I mean, I introduced a bill -- first of all, okay, all these elected people say I'm for term limits, right? And they sign on to bills that require constitutional amendment, which is bogus and is never going to happen, which is unfortunately the way a lot of things happened on the Hill.

I introduced one that said, okay, after 12 years, your salary stops. And it gotten a few sponsors but it really created a lot of concern, because it might actually be able to happen.

KEILAR: There's a difference, right, between someone kind of getting old and comfortable and sort of entrenched in Washington and questions of whether they are physically able to carry out the duties.

ROONEY: That's true.

KEILAR: Do you have concerns that he is physically unable to carry out his duties?

ROONEY: Well, I think his health is -- has shown some debility's the need to be considered, just like Dianne Feinstein and a few others up there, that term limits would've solve that. But I'll grant you that's a different issue, for sure.

KEILAR: So considering the reticence of members of Congress to actually pursue term limits in a very real way, I want to ask you this. The U.S. Capitol physician released a brief letter yesterday medically clearing McConnell to continue his schedule. The letter suggested that McConnell was suffering from light-headedness and dehydration.

Quite frankly, it's pretty vague. So, term limits aside, do you think that McConnell needs to be more transparent about his health? Does he owe that to voters?

ROONEY: Well, I think he probably owes to his voters the level of transparency that they require. I feel that politics should be more transparent than it is. I think there's too much power of the incumbency, and that's part of why we are in the fix that we are in.

And I think transparency is the clear light shows everything. I would hope that he would, you know, if he has a serious medical issue, that he would come clean on that. I don't know that he does, I can't really say.

Dianne Feinstein's the same way. She may be worse, in fact.

KEILAR: I want to listen to something Nikki Haley said about Mitch McConnell.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Right now, the Senate is the most privileged nursing home in the country. I mean, you know, Mitch McConnell has done some great things and he deserves credit. But you have to know when to leave.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: She's proposing a competency test for politicians over 75. What about that? And what do you think about what she said?

ROONEY: Well, I don't know that the Constitution would allow that, but it's not a bad idea. Of course, if you apply a competency test to elected officials, you may find out you don't have many elected officials.

KEILAR: Well, that is a funny but perhaps true point in some cases.

Francis Rooney, great to have you, thank you so much.

ROONEY: Thank you for having me.

KEILAR: OUTFRONT next, the urgent manhunt for a dangerous murderer who has escaped from prison. One college is shutting down over fears he could be nearby. So, where do authorities think he's heading?

Plus, Russia takes its nuclear threats to new heights, announcing it now has a weapon capable of hitting the continental U.S. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:26:49]

KEILAR: Tonight, a manhunt for a highly dangerous convicted murderer who escaped from prison. Hundreds of officers are searching for this man, Danelo Cavalcante, who escaped from the Chester County prison near Philadelphia. Authorities believe he may be trying to get to Mexico. He's seen in the surveillance photo after breaking out yesterday morning.

Cavalcante was convicted just two weeks ago, brutally stabbing his girlfriend to death in front of her two children. He's also wanted for another murder in Brazil.

Danny Freeman is OUTFRONT. He's outside the prison tonight.

So, Danny, authorities believe he may be trying to get to Mexico, but do they have any concrete idea where he could be right now?

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, frankly, no. The authorities that we've heard from today do not have any concrete idea of where they are, but they did get some reason at a press conference earlier today that gives some clues as to what they're thinking is. The first thing is that the district attorney here in Chester County said she believes that the escapee, Danelo Cavalcante is still in this general area. She said, quote, we believe he's hiding somewhere locally, and is alone.

The other thing, Brianna, that the D.A. said is that there's no evidence to suggest that anyone is helping him on the lam at this time. And then the last thing that we heard, Brianna, that was new today that was again reason to believe that he might be heading south. And the reason for that, Brianna, is basically that tied to the reason why he was in the prison in first place. Like you said, he was just convicted of first degree murder of brutally killing his ex-girlfriend just two weeks ago, was when that conviction happened, and he was just sentenced to love life without the possibility of parole last week.

But prosecutors say after that murder, back in 2021, Cavalcante actually tried to flee to Mexico, ultimately trying to head to Brazil. That's his home country. He didn't ultimately get that far. He was stopped by law enforcement in Virginia.

But because of those actions back in 2021, that's why prosecutors believe he might do the same thing this time. At this point, though, the message for law enforcement for everyone in this neighborhood is please be on alert, be cautious, especially as we head into this Labor Day weekend -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Heard a lot of people on the move and out of their houses. Danny Freeman, thank you for that report.

OUTFRONT now is Andrew McCabe, former FBI deputy director and CNN senior law enforcement analyst. Andy, it's been nearly 36 hours since Cavalcante escaped, there are a

few leads, if any, on his whereabouts at this point. The FBI is offering assistance. What do these early hours of the search look like?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: The early hours, Brianna, are always the most important and particularly when it comes to the kind of traditional manhunt side of this chase. So, you know, if you imagine that this was this was an escape of opportunity that he is left the facility and he has no known access to transportation or funds or a support structure, then it is literally giving people -- getting law enforcement officers in that community trying to find him.

It is as you can see from your coverage, an incredibly rural face populated mostly by farms and wooded land.

[19:30:01]

So that is a tough thing to do. Those first few hours are essential to kind of course through as much of the property as he possibly can.

KEILAR: So, right now, he as Danny was reporting, is believed to be trying to make his way to Brazil through Mexico because that's what he did before. Law enforcement say, they say at this point, there's no reason to believe that he has left that area. You know, why are they thinking that? What do you think?

MCCABE: It's hard for me to say why they believe that he hasn't left the area. But we know that it would be almost impossible for him to make any progress in that direction, whether he's headed south or someplace else, without the assistance of friends or family or relatives or associates.

We know that he does have some relatives near. He supposedly has a sister, possibly another family member in Phoenixville area, slightly to the north of Chester County. We know he has relied on associates in the past when he tried to escape after the murder in 2021.

So that's the kind of behind the scenes sides of the manhunt, where you have analysts at the state police, or the U.S. Marshals, or the FBI, working to course -- to identify who those people are, to try to find out how to contact them, find out how to potentially surveil them, to see if there's any contact between this gentleman and his support structure.

KEILAR: How does something like this happen, Andy? This is a heavily fortified facility.

MCCABE: Yeah, you know, Brianna, it's always a bit of a head- scratcher, but as they say, each one is different. There's as many ways to escape from prison is there have been escapes, right? So we have seen a lot of different ways used in the last few years.

We saw the Dannemora escapees literally tunneled their way out of a facility. We have seen other escapees essentially turn law enforcement members and prison staff and have insiders helping them get out. And we have some who have actually taken staff members hostage.

So really hard to say how this guy has done it. There is no question he pulled it off.

KEILAR: Yeah, hasn't been there all that long.

Andrew McCabe, thank you so much for their insights. We appreciate it.

OUTFRONT next, exclusive video from Ukrainian forces approaching what's known as Russia's infamous dragon teeth, designed to stop Ukraine in its tracks.

Plus, the heartbreaking story of an eight-year-old who died in U.S. custody. Her parents say they were pleading for help before she died. So what happened?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Tonight, Ukraine's military says it's consolidating the territory that it has gained in the south and is now trying to bounce through the next layer of Russian defenses. This as remarkable new video into OUTFRONT shows the inside of a Ukrainian armored vehicle at the moment it gets hit by Russian artillery. The Ukrainian soldiers managing to flee the damaged vehicle and continue their combat mission.

Melissa Bell is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The scars of war, Russia's sprawling network of fortified defenses, including the infamous dragon's teeth, clamping into Ukrainian ground. These pictures, shot by Ukraine security service and shared exclusively with CNN, a reminder of all that lies before Kyiv's advancing troops. The counteroffensive gain so far slow but steady.

DMYTRO KULEBA, UKRAINIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: We are not failing. We are moving forward. We liberated thousands of square kilometers of land through minefields with no air coverage.

BELL: The Ukrainian military says it is consolidating positions on the southern front lines and looking into the next layer of Russian defenses, with the country's foreign minister, reassuring impatient allies.

KULEBA: Our partners who are helping us, including the United States, they understand that things are moving in the right direction and they understand that there is no tragedy or no kind of slowdown.

BELL: Meanwhile, Russia renewing nuclear fears. The country's space agency announcing that it's put the Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile on combat alert.

As attacks on Russian soil increase, drone strikes, once shocking, now routine. Moscow's mayor announcing on Friday the foiling of yet another attack by Ukrainian drones on the capital as well as surrounding regions.

Russia's defense ministry spokesperson also praising Russia's air defenses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Two hundred eighty-one Ukrainian uncrewed aerial vehicles were destroyed, including one Tu- 141 Strizh jet, as well as 29 Ukrainian aircraft type UAVs in western regions of the Russian federation.

BELL: But some drones did get through this week. These new satellite images show the damage to planes at the airbase in Russia's western Pskov region, an attack launched from inside Russia, according to Kyiv. The burned remains of the aircrafts, Russia's own scars of war.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BELL (on camera): Brianna, what's really remarkable about this week's series of drone attacks against Russia is not just that Ukraine has a newfound desire to make clear that it is responsible, but that it has actually claimed responsibility from inside Russia for those drone strikes that I just mentioned on that airfield to the very west. Now, that airfield is 600 miles to the north of the Ukrainian border. It's just across from the Estonian border. The idea that Ukrainian forces might be able to carry out attacks so deep into Russian territory from inside Russian territory really quite remarkable, Brianna.

KEILAR: Certainly is. Melissa Bell, live for us from Zaporizhzhia. Thank you.

And OUTFRONT now, we have retired Army Major General James "Spider" Marks.

General, great to have you with us.

You have Russia announcing its newest nuclear weapon amidst all of this as well, capable of hitting the continental United States, saying it's now operational and it has been placed on combat duty.

How alarming is this to you? And why is Putin making this announcement now?

[19:40:03]

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Well, certainly anything that has anything to do with nukes is alarming, but ICBMs, these intercontinental ballistic missiles that can reach almost any part of the globe, are always on combat alert, they are always ready to be launched. So the fact that Russia has announced that is really a narrative that is nothing but redundancy, frankly.

But we need to be able to take this seriously. You don't cast these away. What that means is what our status, what is our capability, what is our alert capability, our ballistic defense alert capabilities, and how are we prepared to address these?

But the thing about using a nuke, and that's the thing we need to keep in mind, bear in mind, as much as Putin needs to go away we would hope that he would go away, he has chosen not to use a nuke yet and there's no guarantee that if you were a place that somebody might choose a different path. So we have to bear that in mind.

But when use a nuke, you lose all leverage. They understand. The Russians understand that as well.

KEILAR: You see these drones striking deep inside several hundred miles inside Russia. But you also have Ukraine saying it's got this long range missile that it has developed, 435 miles it can travel. Do you think that they will use that?

MARKS: If they use capabilities like that, complementary to the drone capability that they have demonstrated, we need to make sure that they are striking targets that provide them operational advantage. In other words, going after aircraft that can resupply forward Russian troops, going against fighter aircraft, going against logistic bases -- those are all fair game. Those would provide great advantages.

But to launch one of these attacks against any infrastructure that is not directly contributing to the fight would put themselves in the same category as the Russians, which they certainly -- I hope they would not want to do.

KEILAR: Certainly, good advice. We'll see how they do proceed. This is going to be very interesting to see how they proceed with this long-range missile.

Spider Marks, great to have you. Thank you.

MARKS: Thank you, Brianna.

KEILAR: OUTFRONT next, we hear from the parents of an eight-year-old who died while in U.S. custody. Her family says she was just fine when they turn themselves into immigration authorities. But days later, she was dead. So, what happened?

And Nikki Haley is the sole Republican woman running for president. So, how she is using that to her advantage?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:46:25]

KEILAR: Tonight, 10,280, that is how many unaccompanied migrant children were in the custody of the Department of Health and Human Services at the end of August. That is a staggering 37 percent jump in just one month, and it comes as we are learning more about the tragic death of an eight-year-old girl who was in U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody.

The girl's devastated parents telling CNN they beg for help, but their pleas went unanswered.

Rosa Flores is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Eight-year-old Anadith Danay Reyes Alvarez loved pink, hugs, and hearts.

What dreams did she have?

She wanted to be a doctor.

But her dreams were cut short. She died in U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody this spring.

MABEL ALVAREZ, ANADITH'S MOTHER: They killed her little by little.

ANADITH'S DAD: They should have called an ambulance. They should have taken her to the hospital. They didn't do any of that.

FLORES: Her Honduran parents say they migrated to the U.S. for the family's safety, and say their daughter and sickle cell anemia and a heart condition.

She was running around, she was happy?

She was fine when they entered immigration custody in South Texas. Their nightmare started a few days later when they said she was diagnosed with the flu.

She says that they were all transferred immediately to another location, a border patrol station.

In Harlingen, Texas, where they say they were kept in cold jail cells and given old sleeping pads and milder blankets to sleep on the floor.

So it was there that she says that her daughter started feeling sick.

That's when you started asking for medical attention for your daughter.

These parents say their daughter developed a fever and started vomiting. According to CBP, the agency investigating the death, between May 14th and May 17th, Anadith contracted medical personnel three times, and was prescribed Tamiflu, ice packs, fever reducing medications and a cold shower. But her parents say their daughter needed hospital level care.

She would have to lose consciousness for them to call an ambulance. What cross through your mind?

She says she felt helpless.

On May 17th, eight days into their immigration detention and the day their daughter died, CBP says a nurse practitioner reported denying three or four request for an ambulance to be called or for Anadith to be taken to the hospital. Anadith's parents say one of the pleas came directly from their daughter.

She says that her daughter told Border Patrol, I can't breathe, I can't breathe through my nose, I can't breathe from my mouth.

What did you think that point?

She says she felt devastated, and the only thing she could do. Carry her daughter in her arms and ask for help again.

She says that she was told go back to yourself, take your daughter back to your cell, give her electrolytes, and everything is fine.

Anadith's dad said he knew the end was near when his daughter locked eyes with him.

ANADITH'S DAD: She gave me her last look.

FLORES: And he saw the life in her eyes go out.

ANADITH'S DAD: When my daughter saw me, she just did this. Dad, they killed me, is what she made me understand.

[19:50:05]

FLORES: And it was that they ask for an ambulance.

ALVAREZ: Why didn't they seek help before? 20 minutes before. One day before. Why?

FLORES: After the ambulance arrived, they say all they wanted was in a little compassion. But that was denied, too.

They didn't let you go in the ambulance with your daughter? How did you go to the hospital?

So you are in a border patrol van. So you couldn't see the medical attention that they were providing to her.

These parents say they felt humiliated and discriminated against throughout the entire process.

According to CBP, Anadith died at the hospital, but her parents believed Anadith died inside the jail-like border patrol station.

You think your daughter died in your arms?

A Harlingen fire department incident report obtained by CNN stated Anadith was unconscious and unresponsive when paramedics arrived.

Anadith's casket was covered with ribbons, roses, and balloons in her favorite color. And while these parents say they forgive those who didn't save their daughter, they can't forget.

ALVAREZ: When I see children playing, I remember my daughter.

FLORES: Everything reminds them of their little piece of joy taken too soon.

(END VIDEOTAPE) FLORES (on camera): Now, this family says they have been struggling ever since they were released from detention. According to their spokesperson, they're having trouble finding housing in New York. According to their attorney, they're in removal proceedings, which mean that they could get deported at any point in time.

Now, Customs and Border Protection did not respond to our request for comment involving the allegations made by this family in his story, but the agency does say that it has taken steps to correct the deficiencies that have been identified through this ongoing investigation into Anadith's death. As to the cause of death, according to the death certificate, Anadith had an extreme response to a bacterial infection with acute sickle cell crisis -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Bacterial.

Rosa Flores, thank you so much for that very important report.

OUTFRONT next, Nikki Haley is the only woman running for the Republican nomination. How she is leaning into that on the campaign trail.

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[19:56:30]

KEILAR: Tonight, the only woman in the race, Nikki Haley is hoping to stand out from the 11 men also seeking the Republican nomination. Are voters noticing?

Kylie Atwood is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBATE MODERATOR: Welcome to the first debate of the 2024 presidential campaign.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nikki Haley channeling the late British prime minister, Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher, as she interrupted two sparring male candidates on the debate stage last month.

NIKKI HALEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.

ATWOOD: It was a rare instant to the sole Republican woman running for president, shining a clear spotlight on her gender.

Throughout her six months on the campaign trail, Haley has instead keyed in on the need for a new generation of leadership.

HALEY: We are more than ready for a new generation to lead us into the future.

ATWOOD: Sparking interest from some Republican voters, especially women. MELINDA TOURANGEAU, NEW HAMPSHIRE REPUBLICAN VOTER: It's not

necessarily to point out that a female would bring a fresh risk perspective. She has one. She's nailing it. And I think that stands on its own merits.

ATWOOD: Particularly after having watched her tackled opponents on policy matters.

HALEY: You have no foreign policy experience, and it shows.

ATWOOD: On the debate stage.

ROSS GLATZER, SOUTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN VOTER: She also fought back against, I think it was seven other male candidates. She held her own very, very well.

CROWD: Nikki, Nikki, Nikki, Nikki!

ATWOOD: Haley was South Carolina's first female governor. She also served as the U.S. invite ambassador to the United Nations. Over the years, leaning into her gender at opportune moments.

HALEY: I wear heels. It's not a fashion statement. It's because if we see something wrong really kick him every single time.

ATWOOD: It's an approach that Haley has mirrored on the campaign trail. As the fifth prominent Republican woman to run for president, she weaves her femininity into stump speeches in ways that informed her policy positions.

ALICE STEWART, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: If you have to lean on the crotch of gender, that means you just don't have what it takes to walk the path in politics.

ATWOOD: Alice Stewart, a Republican strategist, who advised Michele Bachmann during her 2012 presidential bid, applauds Haley's approach.

STEWART: There's no need for her to lighter hair on the fire and the fact she's a woman, because she uses her ability and experience as a way to connect with voters.

ATWOOD: In advocating for veterans, she details her experiences as a military spouse.

HALEY: I feel for every military family out there because it is survival mode.

ATWOOD: While voicing opposition to transgender girls participating in female sports, she speaks about being a mother.

HALEY: It is the women's issue of our time. My daughter ran track in high school. I don't even know how I would have that conversation with her.

ATWOOD: Haley also evokes her own experiences when it comes to abortion. HALEY: I'm pro-life because my husband was adopted. And I lived with

that blessing every day. I'm pro-life because we had trouble having both of our children.

ATWOOD: Turning that experience into nuanced policy on a polarizing topic for voters.

HALEY: Let's treat this like a respectful issue that it is.

ATWOOD: Haley's approach appears aimed at helping the Republican Party reverse it slide with suburban women, since Trump's emergence as the Republicans' leading figure.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Although she is totally pro-life, she is willing to make some concessions because it's not about her, she said, it's about what the country thinks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ATWOOD (on camera): Now, next week, Nikki Haley is headed to New Hampshire, where she's hosting a town hall focused on education, with the cofounder of Moms for Liberty. And, of course, that is a conservative political organization that has many followers for suburban mothers -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Kylie Atwood, thank you for that report. And thank you so much for joining us.

"AC360" with John Berman starts now.