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Laura Coates Live

Trump Distraction Piling Up as Midterm Pressure Intensifies; Judge Temporarily Blocks USPS Plan to Restrict Mail-In Voting; CNN Updates on Lindsay Clancy Trial. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired August 27, 2026 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:00]

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LAURA COATES, CNN HOST AND SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Tonight, there's a new Great Lake in town, and it's called America? Between that and rebranding the Kennedy Center, Trump's distractions are piling up ahead of November. The New York Times's Maggie Haberman joining me tonight with some brand-new reporting. Plus, not so fast! A judge blocking those controversial post office plans to limit mail-in voting as the president heads down to Texas to boost his embattled Senate nominee, Ken Paxton. Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett will join me on that and more. And later, verdict block for the Lindsay Clancy murder trial after some dramatic closing statements. All that's tonight on "Laura Coates Live."

My opening statement tonight, Trump's distractions are piling up just as the midterm pressure picks up. And many of them, if not all, are of his own making. Instead of making headlines about efforts to, you know, bring down costs, he's drawing attention to cartography. Exhibit A, can you believe he renamed yet another body of water by executive order?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I guess the purpose of this more than anything else is we're going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario effective immediately to Lake America. That's going to take place right now as I sign the order. So, if you think about it, we have a gulf and we have a lake. Now, all we need is an ocean. So, maybe we'll have to change the name of the Atlantic and or the Pacific. Maybe we'll change them both.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: There goes that mnemonic HOME: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie. HAME? There's obviously a level of trolling here, which Canada doesn't find amusing at all. They either see it as another slap in the face in the middle of an already bitter trade war or a toddler temper tantrum. Either way, the president says he's doing it because Canada is -- quote -- "ripping us off."

And yes, there is Exhibit B. Let me really enunciate this one. The Kennedy Center. He won't let that go either. There was yet another hearing today over his push to inscribe his name to the building. And look who was there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD LUTNICK, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF COMMERCE: This is the board classically capturing the greatest fundraiser and greatest builder ever by putting his name on it and saying, OK, you wanted your name, here it is, now go do it. And that's the board's decision. So, the board overwhelmingly voted for this. This is a board decision. What I can't figure out is why we're in this courtroom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: Here's what I can't figure out. That was the commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, right? The commerce secretary. Know what the Commerce Department directive is? Drive economic competitiveness, strengthen domestic industry, spur the growth of quality jobs in all communities across the country. It's on their website.

So, think about that just for a moment. At a time when poll after poll shows that voters are worried about the cost of living and gas prices and tariffs, you name it, one of the president's top economic officials is spending part of his day litigating the Kennedy Center? By the way, the judge put any effort to add Trump to the building on hold while more litigation plays out.

Let's go to Exhibit C. In the laundry list of messaging distractions, the president's Truth Social habit. Today, he posted a presidential rankings list. He declared himself the greatest president and shaded others. He also declared mission accomplished in Iran with an A.I. image that took a dig at President Bush. The war in Iran is, of course, still not over.

Now, some of this people will simply chalk up to Trump being Trump. But the question is whether Republicans can really afford that right now because the polls show they're in trouble and in places, frankly, where they shouldn't be like Texas where, tonight, the president is having to spend time and money to boost his hand-picked Senate nominee, Ken Paxton, in a state that has been reliably wed for years.

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TRUMP: So, I'm going to help Ken Paxton, and I'm going to spend a lot of time in Texas. I have the all-time highest vote in the history of Texas also, and I'm going to spend some time there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: So, the president wants to project a White House that's winning everywhere. But places demanding his attention suggests something quite different.

There may be nobody better to sort through the Trump noise than my next guest. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who has covered the biggest stories out of Trump world, White House correspondent for "The New York Times," Maggie Haberman. She's also the co-author of "Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump," which is now, I should mention, flexed at its ninth straight week atop "The New York Times" bestsellers list. Congratulations to you. It's one hell of a read. Maggie, the president --

MAGGIE HABERMAN, PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING JOURNALIST, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES, AUTHOR: Thanks, Laura.

COATES: -- followed through with his threat to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America. I mean, he can't force Canada to call it that. But what does he get from this?

HABERMAN: It's something to get us to focus on. It's something that makes him look as if he is strong while he is in a fight with Canada. But at the end of the day, it's reminiscent of when he renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. When he did that, Laura, he was starting out at a very different position in his term. He was coming in to a second term where he was pretty powerful. He was quite strong within his own party. He had a lot of people, including world leaders, pretty cowed.

Mark Carney tried making friends with Trump, you know, pushing back or gently pushing back, and that didn't really work. So, now, he is pushing back more full-throatedly. And the president is resorting to something familiar. I don't -- I don't think this is something that two months ahead of the midterms that most voters are interested in talking about or voting on.

COATES: You know, he also is focused. I mean, he wants everything branded. I mean, the fight to put President Trump's name on the Kennedy Center --

HABERMAN: Yes, that's true.

COATES: -- it actually landed in a courtroom today. You had Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick showing up and offering -- we'll call it a candid defense of why this is so personal for the president. Listen to this.

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LUTNICK: Why are we talking about this? This is what he enjoys. So, late at night, 11 o'clock at night, he calls me and wants to talk about things he's building because it's fun for him. The one thing he likes to do during the week is construction. So, I am helping him so he can enjoy constructing the Kennedy Center.

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COATES: Well, first of all, the only fun thing to do, listen to this show at 11 o'clock at night. OK, that's number one, Howard Lutnick.

(LAUGHTER)

Number two, number two, tell me what you think this tells us about where the president's head is right now. I mean, there is a war going on, not only with Iran. There's this economic with Canada. There's the affordability issue. There's 60-something days away from the midterms. Not the least of which includes all the things Americans are concerned about. Why is this the fun? Tell me about this psyche.

HABERMAN: There was a moment of tremendous candor from the commerce secretary. You know, Jonathan and I reported in "Regime Change" just how much time the president was spending on these projects in the first 14 months that he was in office. And what was clear in the reporting was how much he did prefer that. That was more fun for him.

One advisor said something to the effect of, I don't think this was in the book ultimately, but it was something to the effect of, you know, the hour of the day where he was putting gold all over the Oval Office was like the happiest that he was because that is what he likes doing best. It is doing decorating, it is doing projects, it is doing construction which is what he came up in life doing. It's not high finance. It's not, you know, the economy, which almost anyone who has spent a lot of time with him will tell you kind of bores him. Policy bores him.

So, I was a little surprised that the commerce secretary was so honest about that. But the reality is, as you said, that in peacetime, that might be easier, but there is now a war of the president's own making that he is stuck in. And, you know, gas prices are staying high. Groceries are staying high. Consumer confidence is not high. And so, again, it is just what message are you selling to the American people right now.

COATES: I mean, the president is telling voters, Maggie, to pretend that he is on the ballot this November. We know that he's not but, of course, there's that big elephant in the room that's constantly there. The speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, is also echoing that same message.

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TRUMP: I'm asking the people to get out and vote. Pretend I'm on the ballot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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MIKE JOHNSON, SPEAKER OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: We're going to talk about what we've done for the people, and then the president is going to look right into the camera and say, I am on the ballot, OK, because even though his name isn't, right, his administration, his legacy, the American First agenda is.

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We've got to get people to turn out.

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COATES: OK, now, following that logic, if Republicans underperform, is there any world in which the president takes ownership of that loss? I mean, who does he blame?

HABERMAN: Whoever, but it won't be -- it won't be himself, just if the past is any indication. Laura, you know, he said something in an interview with Jake Sherman from Punchbowl about how, you know, voters are very angry at Republicans. They're not angry at me, but they're angry at Republicans. And it's not true that they're not angry at him, they are, but they are also angry at Republicans.

And he has generally pulled somewhat better than his own party. That has been one of the reasons that he has been successful politically. Whatever is negative about the Republican brand hadn't really been his because he does have these voters who come out to back him. We have seen that over and over again. They didn't come out in 2018. They didn't come out in 2022. The question is, will they come out now?

But things are not going in a direction that most voters feel is positive. That's what every single poll tells us. Does that necessarily determine what will happen in November? No. It could be that the redrawn House districts could go in their favor. It could be those mashups end up costing them if it's a wave night. We just don't know, but he's not going to blame himself.

COATES: Do you think the president views the elections at the state level in the same way as with the congressional elections?

HABERMAN: You mean the down-ballot races or the statewide?

COATES: Statewide, governor, and even to Congress.

HABERMAN: Oh, OK. Yes. So, I think that he is concerned about the Senate races to the extent that he's concerned about any of this. I know that his White House advisers and his political advisers outside are quite concerned about the Senate. The president is not concerned enough that he is not starting a new trade war with Canada, which impacts his border states where there are key races. And so, I think if you strapped his advisers to polygraphs, they would say they would rather not be doing this right now.

He does care about it. But just more broadly, Laura, and this is something we get into the book, too, his advisers all had wished he was more concerned about any of this. He went into this term unlikely to face any major investigations. He obviously doesn't want to get impeached again.

And the oversight of the government, if the Democrats take over of the executive branch, is of concern to a number of people around Trump. He obviously is aware of it, and I think would rather not happen, but he is less concerned than a lot of the people around him are.

COATES: I'm trying to think in my mind, who do I want first to sit for the polygraph test? I'm going to have a list for you at some point, OK, on that one. But today was Karoline Leavitt's last day as White House press secretary, and we haven't seen as much turnover compared to the first Trump term, as you know. But there's a lot of midterm anxiety. So, what's the morale like right now in the West Wing? HABERMAN: Look, midterms, as you know, is often a time when people leave White House. These are rolling jobs, these are, you know, intensity times a thousand, but it's not a happy environment by any of the reporting that we have.

You know, the president has been in a pretty frustrated mood for a while about Iran which, again, is of his own making. He does not have the patience for long-term diplomacy or having these lengthy conversations to try to get out of a situation he believed, as Jonathan and I reported in "Regime Change," that this was going to be a quick war, this would be over fast. And that just is not how it worked.

And now, there is a further depletion of munitions, there are stories about that all the time, he is frustrated about leaks, and on and on and on. And so, it's just not a happy environment. It is normal that people want to leave and want to go make money at this point, but it is very much not a happy place right now.

COATES: You have new reporting, Maggie, on how the president plans to commemorate the 25th anniversary of 9-11. What have you learned?

HABERMAN: So, the president had been expected to go, both by officials in New York and some in the White House, to come to the 25th anniversary memorial. It's not the ceremony, I guess is how you would describe it, for the 25th year after the attacks in New York, at Ground Zero, in the city where he is from. He didn't go last year. He went to the Pentagon. He is now going to do that again.

And according to our reporting, part of the reason is that he wants to make a speech. Speeches are barred, have been barred for many, many years by politicians at Ground Zero, long predating the Trump presidency. There, I think, are a number of reasons why he is not coming here. One is that it was easier for travel. He is going to his golf course in Ireland, in Doonbeg, to watch some golf tournament right afterwards. It was decided it was easier for him to leave from Washington.

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He was coming back from the political convention that he is holding in Texas, which is largely going to be a big rally for him. You know, this is an event, the 25th anniversary of 9-11, that I think for a lot of people -- there has been a generation of people born who don't remember what happened that day. But for those of us who are covering it and for those who are the president's age, it was an unbelievably important event in our lives and has had a huge impact in shaping the last 25 years in politics in this country and, frankly, around the world. So, it was somewhat surprising he isn't going to be in New York, but it's not entirely shocking either.

COATES: Maggie Haberman, thank you so much for your reporting and insight this evening. I appreciate it.

HABERMAN: Thank you. COATES: You know, I just realized there's going to be a new mnemonic. I said HOMES before. We're now with the new Lake Ontario being Lake America. Wouldn't that be Superior, Huron, America, Michigan, Erie? But wait, that spells SHAME.

A federal judge, breaking news, has just blocked a key part of President Trump's effort to restrict mail-in voting. Congressman Jasmine Crockett joins me in the studio to respond.

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COATES: Well, President Trump is doing a little Texas two-step tonight. He's campaigning for the first time alongside Texas Senate candidate Ken Paxton, the scandal-plagued GOP nominee that the party hopes can defeat Democratic challenger and state rep, James Talarico. Now, this is ruby red Texas. The polls suggest this race is a toss-up, and Trump appears to know that. He told reporters today that he plans to spend a lot of time in Texas during midterm season, and he also camped with a new nickname for Talarico.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We have a very good candidate, Ken Paxton, and he's running against "tala-freak-o, they call him, because he is a little freaky, and that's not a man that represents the value of Texas.

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COATES: With me now, Texas Democratic Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett who ran against Talarico in the primary. Congresswoman, before we get into all of what's happening with Trump and his nicknames, I want to get your reaction to the breaking news from just last hour because a federal judge temporarily blocked the Postal Service from carrying out its plan to limit mail-in voting. Does that give you confidence that these won't be changes that will be implemented in the next 60-plus days before the midterms?

REP. JASMINE CROCKETT (D), TEXAS: I don't know that I can speak with confidence on anything as it relates to the legal system nowadays. I mean, obviously, you as a former practitioner, too, probably looks at a lot of these opinions and say, how in the heck did we get here in general, right, when it comes to the Supreme Court?

But what I will tell you is that what the Republicans want to do is already happening. Voter suppression is about confusion. They have already been able to insert confusion into the elections and, frankly, that is going to accomplish some level of voter suppression. But I do applaud this judge, an Obama appointee, for doing what was right.

COATES: And you're right about the confusion because, of course, most people are not going to be following day-to-day court orders --

CROCKETT: Right.

COATES: -- and wondering how it applies to my jurisdiction or someone else's.

CROCKETT: Right.

CROCKETT: It is the final state of the Supreme Court or this federal judge. It's out of Massachusetts. That confusion, though, do you think that's going to benefit those who are Democrats or Republicans?

CROCKETT: I don't think that it benefits anybody, to be perfectly honest. I think that the Republicans actually stand to lose a little bit more than the Democrats. What they look at is that a lot of Democrats do prefer to use vote-in ballots or mail-in ballots, sorry.

But when it comes down to it, when you look at rural America and how rural America votes, most of them don't have a polling location every other mile, right? And so, a lot of people in rural America may actually use it, and rural America tends to vote more Republican. So, I think that it's a mixed bag.

COATES: Let's talk about Texas because Trump's popularity there, as you well know, has taken a hit since just the start of the second term.

CROCKETT: Yes.

COATES: And just 42 percent of Texans have even a favorable view of Trump. Well, will Trump help or hurt Paxton by going down there?

CROCKETT: He's going to help him. I mean, this is the reality.

COATES: You think so?

CROCKETT: Yes, he's going to help him. I mean, when we look at what has happened in so many of our Senate primaries across the country, including the one in Texas, right, we know that he decided at the very last minute to endorse Paxton over Cornyn. Cornyn, who was the incumbent, who has served in the state of Texas in this capacity for decades or at least more than one decade, he decided to endorse him and Cornyn went down. I mean, it wasn't even close, right? We know what happened with Cassidy in Louisiana. Essentially, every time he has put his name on somebody, it has worked out for them as relates to the primary.

Now, we can look to Georgia and know that, well, some of his candidates didn't fare so well down in Georgia. So, it will be interesting to see how it plays, but I don't think that he hurts Paxton because if there's anybody that gets Republicans excited, it is Trump. Like, those are the facts.

COATES: Are you surprised that the race is so close right now between Paxton and Talarico? I mean, Talarico has a small lead, a small margin in a new poll out this week. Does that impact your opinion or the impact of the outcome of this election? CROCKETT: I don't think that I'm surprised at all. I mean, you look at it. When we're looking at it and people are asking questions about why are Republicans going to Texas --

COATES: Right.

CROCKETT: -- for their convention, coming to Texas 30, in fact, my district, you have to face the reality. Democrats outvoted Republicans not by 5,000, not by 10,000, but literally more than a hundred thousand votes in our primary.

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COATES: Why do you think that is?

CROCKETT: I mean, there was a level of disgust, truly, that was taking place, for sure, amongst Democrats, and I think that they were excited to just have an opportunity to get out and vote. I think, right now, the things that they have to balance are the Republicans that will say, you know what, Paxton doesn't do it for me, so I'm going to stay home or, you know, the idea that Paxton is a creep because he is a grade-A creep and whether or not they want to continue to support that. I mean, what has it done for them in the past?

The thing about Democrats, though, is I don't want Democrats to get comfortable because Paxton is just a bad candidate. Guess what? Donald Trump is a terrible candidate and, somehow, he got elected to the presidency twice.

And so, whatever we do, the energy has to be kept up. People have to understand that polls don't vote, people do. We know that the polls have been very off. We know when we look to Michigan, Abdul was up by 15, 16 points in the polls, and that's not what the race was. So, it's a lot more difficult to poll, especially a Trump voter, right? That is why when Hillary ran against Trump, Hillary was supposed to win, according to the polls.

So, I think that what we have to do is we have to be very cognizant of recent history when it comes to Trump and recognize that he has the ability to excite people that normally are just not in the political ecosystem.

COATES: But so do you. You are often, I mean, an energy magnet when it comes to voters. We've seen the turnout that you can produce. Talarico might very well need that magnetism. Will you campaign with him?

CROCKETT: I will be campaigning down-ballot. I think that what matters most --

COATES: Why the decision?

CROCKETT: Because when we're looking at a state like Texas, we've tried this, where we've got one amazing candidate that's running at the top of the ticket. Beto is a very good example of this, raising all the money, doing all the things, running around the entire state, but it's not enough.

So, for me, I don't think that it should be a matter of there's just one thing that is getting me to the polls. I think it has to be something a little bit more in a state like Texas. And so, for me, I think that making sure that people that maybe are getting overshadowed because it seems like it's only about one big race, I think amplifying them, making sure that I can raise their profiles, and introducing them to people, that will give something more to voters to make them say, you know what, it may be raining outside, but I've got to go get there because I've got to go get there for this person and this person, plus I don't like Trump.

COATES: I understand, but is it an either-or? Either you excite the down-ballot or you --

CROCKETT: I think, for me, it probably is.

COATES: It probably is for you?

CROCKETT: I think it probably is only because I am -- you know, we've got the fire pack that's going, and I'm running all over the country. And Texas is a big state. We're not talking about a small little state to kind of get around. We're talking about a really big state.

And so, for me, I'm really invested in a number of candidates that I didn't get to do anything for because I was running my own Senate race, candidates that I really do believe can make a difference no matter what happens ultimately at the top of the ticket. We've got to have wins.

COATES: What are you hearing from Black voters that you speak to in Texas? Is there excitement in terms of turnout?

CROCKETT: I don't think that there is excitement, but I think that --

COATES: How do you turn that around?

CROCKETT: Well, I don't know that -- like, Black voters are practical. So, at the end of the day, I don't know that they're going to have to be the most excited, but I will tell you that you always want voters to be excited, right? Like, you want them to feel that because that gives you an idea. Again, if it's raining on that day, if the lines are long, you want that excitement to be able to overcome that. That is --

COATES: That is suppressive tactic.

CROCKETT: Correct because we saw that happening, obviously, in the primary. And so, yes, we need that excitement to kind of get over some of the things that are going to be coming our way. We know that Texas just purged 1.2 million voters off the voter rolls. That just came out. And so, we need people to be excited because we want them to kind of go that extra mile. But at the end of the day, I will tell you, specifically with Black voters, they are looking at our Black lives, and the fact is we have been the target of Republicans. And so, I think that those that are paying attention, they're going to vote no matter what, whether they're excited or not. The question is some of those that are more infrequent. If we can get them excited, then hopefully, if it is a matter of they tell you, oh, well, you came to the wrong location, if it is a matter of, well, we don't see you on the voter rolls and they go through making sure they do the provisional ballot and they try to make sure that those ballots get cured, all of those things, that's what excitement will do.

COATES: Last night, I interviewed two Texas voters, lifelong Republicans, who said that they were now going to vote for Democrats because of the data center issues in Texas. Does that surprise you? Is that a growing issue that you're hearing about?

CROCKETT: It's a growing issue all over the country. I mean, let's be honest about this. Republicans are trying to run from the deals that they've made with the tech bros, and Texas is leading in this nation as relates to data centers.

[23:30:00]

And all of a sudden, Greg Abbott is trying to, like, roll that back and be like, oh, no, no, no, I'm not for this, I don't know where these people came from, I don't know how they got here. The reality is he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

And, you know, Gina Hinojosa is definitely doing everything that she can to ring the alarms and make sure that people understand what's going on. But, unfortunately, we've got a governor who has been elected for now 12 years, it will be, who typically sits on no less than a hundred million dollars.

And so, it's going to take all hands on deck. Again, another candidate who really needs more resources to be able to get this information out and let everybody in Texas know these data centers, they are a bipartisan problem.

COATES: Those voters said they will vote for Hinojosa for that very reason. Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, thank you so much.

CROCKETT: Absolutely.

COATES: As the tributes keep coming in for the late Dolly Parton, today, her sister revealed one final act of generosity. Stella Parton wrote -- quote -- "My sister was one of the most generous, thoughtful and kind people I've ever known. What the world saw is exactly who she was, so much so, she told me recently that if there was no hope for her, she would still allow her medical team to try experimental drugs in the hope of helping others in the future."

Now, I want to take a moment to correct a mistake from our primetime hours on Tuesday. During our coverage of Parton's passing, we mistakenly aired a single image of a Parton impersonator. We regret the error and apologize to the Parton family for the mistake.

And happening right now, a live look at the partial lunar eclipse currently underway for millions around the world. This is the view of the moon from Rome. In just under an hour, NASA says 96 percent of the moon will be covered by that shadow. We'll bring you more on this a little later in the hour.

Up next, though, deliberations begin in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy. What the jury is weighing tonight.

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COATES: Tonight, two of the country's most watched murder trials are heading into the final stretch. In Las Vegas, the Tupac Shakur murder trial enters its critical last phase with jury instructions tomorrow ahead of Monday's closing arguments.

But first, we open the case file in Massachusetts where the jury is deliberating in the trial of Lindsay Clancy, the mother accused of killing her three young children. Exhibit A, a broken system. In their closing, the defense made the case to 12 jurors that bad medicine, not a bad mother, is the real culprit behind this tragedy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN REDDINGTON, LINDSAY CLANCY'S ATTORNEY: This young lady did nothing wrong in her life. She was a nurse, a daughter, a wife, and a kind, good mother. I told you in the opening statement that this is a prosecution that has ripped the soul out of this girl. This is what they had. This is their family. How does this turn into this? How? Because of the damn medicine and the lousy medical care that she got.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: But the prosecution wasn't buying it. Enter exhibit B, the calculated silence. The state argued that Clancy was fully aware of her actions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER SPRAGUE, ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Know that she knew the difference between right and wrong during that time because she had those thoughts at the beginning of December of harming her kids. And she told Patrick and her mother about them. But who she didn't tell is important and very telling. She didn't tell a single provider. And why? Because the police might take away her kids. That's a rational thought.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: And lastly, exhibit C, the last word, the prosecution's final attempt to strip away any lingering sympathy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SPRAGUE: She killed them. And she left them there on the floor with the bands around their necks. She didn't bring them up to their beds and put them with their favorite stuffed animal and cover them up gently and lovingly, leaving them peacefully there. No. She left them discarded on the basement floor like broken toys because she was done playing the game. You know to a moral certainty, she is guilty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: With me now, criminal defense attorney Brandi Harden and former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani. Glad to have both of you here. I want to begin with you, Brandi, because the prosecution insisted in their closing that she acted intentionally, that she acted rationally, case in point that she was very calculated. Do you think the defense successfully dismantled that by focusing on her repeated cries for help that they say went ultimately unanswered?

[23:40:00]

BRANDI HARDEN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I do. I really do think that they did a good job answering those questions. And I think when you're going not guilty by reason of insanity, you have to establish that there's a mental health disorder before the actual crime takes place. I think that they have plenty of evidence to establish not only that she was on a cocktail of medication, but that she was having these kinds of thoughts well in advance.

I think the prosecutor just said she was having these thoughts in December of hurting herself and hurting her children. I think the defense did a really good job of showing that she was not in her right state of mind. In fact, she was psychotic at the time that this incident happened.

So, I think that's what you have to do when you have not guilty by reason of insanity. You have to show that the mind is not operating rationally, even though the prosecution says it is. In fact, she's psychotic. And I think an expert also testified that she was not in her right mind at the time that this incident happened.

COATES: You know, Neama, you heard the defense blame lousy medical care for the tragedy, not Clancy herself. And as Brandi rightly points out, they're going for not criminally responsible for her actions. We had producers in the courtroom, and they said that one female juror was wiping her eyes, and you could hear a pin drop.

So, from the prosecutor's perspective, knowing that she has been sobbing throughout the trial, and this is a very difficult case to have listened to, let alone to have been experienced in the courtroom, what does that tell you, that the defense's argument may have hit home?

NEAMA RAHMANI, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, PRESIDENT OF WEST COAST TRIAL LAWYERS: Well, Laura, this is one of the saddest cases I have ever covered. I think the defense did a good job. Best defense is always a good offense. Put the system on trial. But from the prosecution's perspective, it's not really relevant to the defense here. Even if the system failed Lindsay Clancy, does that mean that she is legally insane?

And I think the prosecution did a better job today of taking on a more balanced, nuanced approach. What do I mean? In their opening statements, they said that Lindsay Clancy was manipulating her doctors, she was faking or even exaggerating her suicide. Well, I think that was a bridge too far. And today, they said -- they acknowledge that she is mentally ill. But that does not mean that she is legally insane. That does not mean she doesn't know right from wrong or she can't control her conduct.

They refocused the attention in this case not on the health system, which we know is unpopular, look at the Luigi Mangione case, but on those three children. I think they made significant ground today, a much better summation than the beginning of their presentation. I still think it's going to be hard to get 12 jurors unanimously beyond a reasonable doubt to agree on anything in this case. This jury may end up hanging, but they gave themselves a shot today that they didn't have yesterday.

COATES: And one complicating aspect of this is they don't just have to answer one question. I mean, they've got a verdict. They have three verdict slips, Brandi, with multiple options, ranging from first- degree murder all the way to manslaughter. I mean, it's hard enough for juries, as Neama pointed out, to reach one single unanimous decision. This is complex. How can they do so in this instance?

HARDEN: It's very difficult when you have lesser-included offenses, right, to figure out, well, if we don't think that she's guilty of this one, well, what about the next one, and what about the next one? Here, there are a wide range of different charges, and I think it is going to be difficult to have a group of 12 people agree on any of that. I think --

COATES: It is what the defense wants, to add these other charges.

HARDEN: That's right because we want to say, look, if you think that she's guilty, certainly, it's not guilty of first-degree murder. There may be something that you think she's lesser responsible for.

But I think, here, it's going to be difficult to have 12 jurors come up with a verdict here of manslaughter, of murder, of anything. I think, just like we saw a juror crying, this is a very tragic case. And I think the prosecution has conceded. I think, just like Neama said, that she was in fact, in fact mentally ill.

COATES: I want to turn to the Tupac Shakur murder trial because the defense has rested in that case after they called three law enforcement witnesses. This has been billed, by the way, both of you know, as a multiple-week trial. It lasted all of eight days of testimony. Even the defendant seemed shocked that the prosecution rested their case. He did not take the stand.

Let me ask you, Neama. Given the fact that the prosecution was not suggesting that "Keffe D" Davis pulled the trigger but was the so- called shot caller, with 30 years since the killing, no weapon and no car and only him as a star witness, it was already a tough case for the prosecution, right?

RAHMANI: No question. The three of us were covering the trial yesterday, and we were shocked when the defense rested after eight court days, when they'd asked for a month. And today, the defense starts presenting their case. What do they present? Three Las Vegas police officers. Two officers, one detective. That's a pretty strong move by a defense attorney. And guess what? Nevada is one of those states where jurors can ask questions.

COATES: And they have.

RAHMANI: And we've got a great question today, a great one. Is there any evidence that puts Davis in the Cadillac? And the police detective, Dan Long, he didn't have an answer to that aside from Davis's own words.

[23:45:01]

So, the jurors are thinking what we're thinking. Where is the independent corroborating evidence? I think the defense feels very good about their case. And I'm telling you, I can't recall a defense case where all their witnesses were law enforcement. Very strong move, strong defense case here.

COATES: I'm smiling because Brandi is mouthing her comments.

HARDEN: I am.

COATES: Last word, go ahead, quick.

HARDEN: Listen, the Tupac trial was so short, you can't even imagine. I think that the prosecution didn't have the evidence that they said that they had. And, ultimately, they rested on just having the word of "Keffe D" and that's just not going to be enough. His word alone is not going to be sufficient.

COATES: His words, though, were a confession. So, we'll see how the jurors look at all this. Brandi Harden, Neama Rahmani, thank you all so much. Coming up, a near-total eclipse is about to turn the moon red for millions of people. We are live in Rome and Los Angeles, next.

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[23:50:00]

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COATES: We are just minutes away from a near-total lunar eclipse. Just look at these pictures. This is the view from the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. And this is how the moon looks right now in Rome. Very soon, 96 percent of the moon will be covered by Earth's shadow. North and South America will get the best views as well as parts of Europe and Africa.

But don't run outside just yet because we have just the right crew to tell us what to look for. Astronomer Jeffrey Bennett is with us, Stefano Pozzebon is also live for us in Rome, and Julia Jones is live outside the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. Stefano, let's start with you. What are you seeing in Rome?

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Laura, perhaps, the most beautiful dome in the world with this beautiful spectacle, celestial spectacle, that takes place very, very rarely. Of course, the lunar eclipse happens when the moon is passing between the sun -- when the Earth is passing between the sun and the moon, and this is why our own planet blocks the sunlight coming into the satellite.

However, of course, if this happens, it's very rare to see it at night time and with a full moon, and this is why we have a few people here in the Villa Borghese Terrace. We are just overlooking the city center. Many of them are trying to get the shot of the eclipse happening on top of the St. Peter's Basilica, which is just in front of us. We've been here for about a couple of hours now, Laura. Several people have come and gone to find the best place to try to get that photograph. A lot of astrophotographers are here in the city, of course. But it's nice every now and then to come up with such a rare spectacle to mark the end of this beautiful astrological summer.

Just a couple of weeks ago, CNN was live around the world showing the beautiful solar eclipse. And now, we're back here with a lunar eclipse. A lunar eclipse lasts longer and is more common than a solar eclipse. But think that, Laura, in order to see a spectacle like this again, with this clarity especially, you will have to wait up until 2028. And just by looking at our bump shot and the moon itself, we're almost there, we're almost there at 96 percent. I think now we could be perhaps even more than 90. So, maybe check back with us in about 20 minutes or so when we'll get the total clarity of this fantastic partial lunar eclipse. Laura?

COATES: Stefano, how beautiful. That looks wonderful. I cannot wait to see the full thing. Jeffrey, explain to us what we're seeing as the moon approaches the greatest eclipse.

JEFFREY BENNETT, ASTRONOMER: Well, you're seeing Earth's shadow on the moon. My favorite part about this is you can see very clearly that that shadow is curved. And this was how ancient people thousands of years ago realized that Earth is round. So, yes, you're sharing an experience that people have had throughout history. Ever since people have been on this planet, we've observed the sky and been able to watch phenomena like this.

COATES: This is a partial lunar eclipse, meaning Earth's shadow won't completely cover the moon, right, Jeffrey? But 96 percent, that's basically everything. Are we going to see that red blood moon cover once we go outside?

BENNETT: You know, I'm personally very curious to see how much of the redness we'll see. The redness comes from light that's coming from Earth's atmosphere and that sort of ring around the Earth that would be visible from the moon. And it is very, very dim compared to the sun's light that you see in the part of the moon that's still fully sunlit. So, that full sunlit part is going to be bright enough to overwhelm part of that redness that we would see during a total lunar eclipse, but we should still see some of it.

COATES: Amazing. I have Julia Jones also on the line. She's at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. What are you seeing, Julia?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A lot of people are circling in, kind of finishing up this beautiful historical observatory. It is, of course, a landmark of Los Angeles. Hundreds of people come here every day just to take a look at this skyline. But today, it's just a lot of fumes and awes. Everybody has their phone out already.

We're still about 25 minutes or so of time left. We're starting just now to see a little hint of redness from the moon. It's so exciting. We were talking to people earlier who came here just to connect with others. One girl said, you know, there's something a little glimpsical (ph) about tonight. There's a little witchy energy to the moon.

[23:55:01]

But it's just like mother and son neck-in-nature. You know, we were talking to the director here of the Griffith Observatory about the nature, just looking up. And the energy here is starting to get more and more electric. There are people with their posts (ph). There are little kids up top. There's nighttime (ph) out there. And, of course, just all clothings are wrapped for this whole facility. It's starting to get a little bit of rosy orange thing and red into that. We're looking forward to the next 25 minutes or so.

COATES: How exciting. Thank you so much, Stefano, Jeffrey, Julia. Thank you all for watching the coverage on the near total eclipse. We'll pick back up with "Elex Michaelson," next.

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