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Laura Coates Live
Trump Vows Deportations from Springfield; Judge Rejects Death Row Inmate's Claims of Innocence; Are Athletes Staying Out of Politics?; AZ Foster Mom Helps Native American Kids Connect with Their Roots. Aired 11p-12a ET
Aired September 13, 2024 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[23:00:00]
KETANJI BROWN JACKSON, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES: -- icon for so many people. It became partly a goal of mine to get a federal judicial appointment because I learned of her experience and so admired her.
But Judge Motley, who argued something like 10 cases in the Supreme Court and won nine of them, didn't have an opportunity to sit on the Supreme Court because she grew up in a time where that was not going to be possible. And so, I feel so grateful that I have this chance, and I'm doing what I can to serve the American people to the best of my ability.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: And my thanks to the Justice. It is a fascinating book. Thank you very much for watching a busy "NewsNight." "Laura Coates Live" starts right now.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: Good evening. I'm Jim Acosta, in for Laura Coates on this Friday the 13th. And if you're the superstitious kind, it's a date that can feel a little unsettling, slightly creepy. But if you're following this year's presidential campaign, well, it's just another Friday.
Just today alone, Donald Trump made a feeble attempt to distance himself from a conspiracy theorist while actively fueling the dangerous lie that migrants are eating pets in Springfield, Ohio. His infamous (INAUDIBLE) claim from Tuesday's debate is now ricocheting across social media.
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ACOSTA: It's catchy and the internet is having a good laugh, but the people of Springfield, Ohio are not. A second bomb threat rattled that city today just as Trump stoked further division when he promised to target the city with mass deportations if he wins.
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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We will do large deportations from Springfield, Ohio. Large deportations. We're going to get these people out. They call them nests of bad people. They're all now in the United States, and they're now taking over cities. It's like an invasion from within.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Except that the Haitians are there legally. Trump is sticking to that message. He's also defending far-right activist Laura Loomer, a recent campaign plane companion who has a documented history of lying and making racist comments.
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TRUMP: Laura has been a supporter of mine, just like a lot of people are supporters. And she has been a supporter of mine. She speaks very positively of the campaign. I don't control Laura. Laura has to say what she wants. She's a -- she's a free spirit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: A free spirit. In a post, Trump later said she does not work for the campaign and said he disagrees with statements that she has been making without saying which statements. All of this with just 53 days to go until the election, as Trump right now is campaigning in battleground Nevada, where he's holding a rally in Las Vegas. We'll show you some of that if it -- if it warrants that attention.
And with me now is former Trump White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci. Anthony, great to see you as always. I do want to jump right into this Springfield, Ohio issue. Trump calling for legal Haitian immigrants. We should emphasize to our viewers, these are legal immigrants to be deported. What do you make of this whole thing? You've been watching it all week. You know how Trump operates. What's going on here?
ANTHONY SCARAMUCCI, PODCAST HOST, FORMER WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Hi. You know, look, he's got a three-pronged reelection strategy. It's anti-immigration that would include all immigration, legal or illegal, it is misogyny, and it is racism. And those are the three things that he's pressing the buttons on as hard as he possibly can.
And the Laura Loomer stuff is absolutely disgusting. What she's saying about Vice President Harris, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Jim, just think about that for a second, she's speaking out against it and calling it racist. Yet people like J.D. Vance in the campaign, not saying anything. His wife is, obviously, of course, of Indian-American descent.
So, this is what Trump does. He moves the goalposts on everybody. They all equivocate for him. They all rationalize that they're there for these various reasons. But listen, it's absolutely disgusting in his incumbent upon the vice president to marshal a coalition big enough to beat the group of people in the country that like this sort of nonsense.
ACOSTA: Yeah. And Anthony, I mean, I do want to ask you about Trump's promise of a mass deportation program. He keeps talking about it. I mean, if he's talking about deporting people who are legally in the country, does that mean he's going to try to deport legal immigrants if he gets elected? I mean, where's the line? I mean, that sounds completely un-American.
SCARAMUCCI: Well, when you ask these people from Project 2025, when they've done interviews to say, okay, you're going to deport the people, how are you going to do that?
[23:05:00]
You and I are old enough to remember Elian Gonzalez who was --
ACOSTA: Yeah.
SCARAMUCCI: -- taken out of his home with a SWAT team, put into a deportation center, and sent the Cuba. And so, I guess we have to see that on the air 11 million times or Trump saying it's 15 million people.
ACOSTA: Right.
SCARAMUCCI: You'll have to put them in camp somewhere, Jim. So -- and again, we don't know where the line is. We don't know if it's everybody. It's to Trump's designation. That maybe is Black or brown or of some kind of descent that he doesn't like.
ACOSTA: Right.
SCARAMUCCI: We're not sure where it is. And they won't answer the question.
ACOSTA: And I do want to ask you about Laura Loomer, as much as I hate to give her any kind of publicity whatsoever. I mean, she is, you know, with him on the campaign plane. She's going to places like New York for 9/11 commemorations and so on. What do you make of Trump -- it sounds like he's trying to distance himself, but at the same time, he's defending her. I mean, you've been out on the campaign trail with him. He seems to attract these types of folks. I mean, it's sort of like, you know, hanging up flypaper.
SCARAMUCCI: Well, what happens with him, he has a group of moderates, they get sick of him, they leave the campaign, and then he keeps moving to the alt-right. She's a perfect alt-right person. A lot of the stuff she puts out on Twitter, he starts to use.
When he's not doing well, you know, you had a terrible debate this past Tuesday, he moves towards Laura Loomers in the campaign. When the vice president was named the presumptive nominee and he couldn't find his footing, he goes to the Laura Loomers. The whole "she just turned Black" comment is a Laura Loomer special. So --
ACOSTA: Yeah. SCARAMUCCI: -- he's got a lot of Laura Loomer in his personality. So, people have to recognize that they're voting --
ACOSTA: Yeah.
SCARAMUCCI: -- for that sort of ideology.
ACOSTA: Yeah. I mean, I think I read that Laura Loomer is what? Thirty-one years old, something like that. Control room, fact-check me on that if I'm off a little bit. And -- I mean, if you go back to when Trump was peddling the birther conspiracy -- when was that, 2011? -- that would make -- how old was she at the time?
So, I mean, this idea that has been floating around, oh, you know, Laura Loomer is on the plane, she's traveling with him, she must be influencing him, why don't they just knock it off? I mean, isn't he the one who probably influenced her? Isn't he kind of -- I mean, sort of putting the cart before the horse here?
SCARAMUCCI: Yeah, it's a little bit of both.
ACOSTA: Yeah.
SCARAMUCCI: But, I mean, if you just follow her Twitter screens, you can see that this is something that's emanating from her. He likes it, and he thinks the same way.
ACOSTA: Yeah.
SCARAMUCCI: But just so you know, Jim, if you ever call me younger than I actually am, like I'm in my 30s, I don't want the control room to fact-check you, so I just --
ACOSTA: Yeah.
SCARAMUCCI: -- letting my friends know in the control room, I don't want any fact-checking on that.
ACOSTA: You don't look at day over 40, Anthony. But, I mean, Senator Thom Tillis --
SCARAMUCCI: Keep reminding me.
ACOSTA: Yeah, I will.
(LAUGHTER)
He says -- Thom Tillis wrote on X, senator from North Carolina, Loomer is a crazy conspiracy theorist. Marjorie Taylor Greene has been going after Laura Loomer, too. I mean, I sort of feel like we're doing the service, even talking about her. I mean, she is nuts. But at the same time, I mean, here we are, we are less than 60 days until presidential election, and the Republican nominee is right around the country with somebody who thinks that 9/11 was an inside job and just crap and garbage. SCARAMUCCI: Listen, you know, Thom Tillis is a great guy. He's supporting Donald Trump. I don't understand why. I guess he has to say that for personal appearance or maybe his political consultants are telling that. But I --
ACOSTA: Yeah.
SCARAMUCCI: -- I would -- I would really strongly suggest that my fellow Republicans and people that are elected, you got to stand up to this. You got to speak out against this. Where is J.D. Vance is all this? I find it reprehensible that he doesn't have the stomach to speak up about this. And I disagree with you on this, if you don't mind me saying so.
ACOSTA: Please.
SCARAMUCCI: She has to be spoken about because she represents him, and that is who he is. And so, you know, let's get more of Laura Loomer, frankly, in the campaign so that we can really turn off the people that we need to make sure that Trumpism dies, Jim.
ACOSTA: All right, Anthony Scaramucci, thanks. As always, great to talk to you.
SCARAMUCCI: Thank you.
ACOSTA: I'll keep lowering the age every time you come on. Just keep coming back.
SCARAMUCCI: I -- I appreciate it. I have a good dermatologist, Jim. I appreciate it.
(LAUGHTER)
ACOSTA: Don't we all? It does help. Thanks, Anthony. Good to see you. All right, here to talk about the week that was on this campaign trail, Annie Linskey, reporter from "The Wall Street Journal," Chuck Rocha, a Democratic strategist, and Erin Perrini, Republican strategist and former communications director for the 2020 Trump campaign. I mean, Annie, let me start with you first.
[23:10:00]
I mean, what Anthony was saying a few moments ago, sort of reminds me of like, you know, this conversation that we have in press circles. Sometimes, we talk about it on the air. You know, what to cover about trump, how to cover it, do we cover people like Laura Loomer. Anthony is saying you should cover people like Laura Loomer because they do have an impact on Trump
But getting back to the conversation we're having earlier, I mean, you know, he is somebody who probably influenced her first. I mean, you know.
ANNIE LINSKEY, REPORTER, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Well, I think your survey (ph) comparison is spot on. ACOSTA: Yeah.
LINSKEY: But I think, you know what?
ACOSTA: Can't imagine her in the fourth grade or whatever it was, you know.
LINSKEY: Coming up with some of this.
ACOSTA: Coming up with these conspiracy theories.
LINSKEY: But I think -- you know, I think about this week. You know, obviously, the debate was the main event. And most people coming out of the debate, including, as you know, many of Trump's advisors, quietly said that he lost the debate.
ACOSTA: Yeah.
LINSKEY: But we are still talking about Donald Trump and what he said and his comments about eating dogs and geese in Springfield. And so, you know, to me, I just have, you know, in this moment at least, a little bit of kind of 2016 rehash going on because he continues to drive the conversation about the topics that he wants to talk about coming out of a debate that he allegedly lost.
I mean, nobody is talking about Kamala Harris or what her -- you know, what she laid out, what points did she make. So, I do think there is something to your hesitancy on Laura Loomer because --
ACOSTA: Yeah.
LINSKEY: -- it does keep the conversation in a place where he clearly wants it to be.
ACOSTA: Yeah. And Chuck, I mean, he's obviously still smarting from the debate. Apparently, just a few moments ago, he's got a brand-new conspiracy theory that ABC was giving the questions to Kamala Harris. I mean, it's just -- it's amazing. Let's watch if we have to maybe show it now.
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TRUMP: She can't talk without maybe getting the answers. What's the story with that? Did she get the questions? So, I hear she got the questions.
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ACOSTA: I hear she got the questions, which is not true.
CHUCK ROCHA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST, FORMER SENIOR ADVISOR FOR BERNIE SANDERS'S PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS: Speaking of young men who need some help --
ACOSTA: Yeah. -- while you're out there. And look, I've done a lot of debate prep. I've worked with candidates all over the country. This is what he does. This is his M.O. And he's trying to get attention. That is part of the strategy. And you're spot on about that.
He loves the spotlight. And he's got to talk about eating squirrels next to get in the spotlight, that's what he's going to do, or ride on a plane that smells like Big Macs and chicken McNuggets with Loomer. That's what he's going to do.
But the fact is he had a bad night. But the other fact is that folks now are making their decisions about voting. They're going to start getting ballots in many states in just a couple weeks.
ACOSTA: Yeah.
ROCHA: People now have gotten to the lowest common denominator of not even really needing to see the back end of a policy book, but they're just looking for an adult. This is helping Kamala Harris. He can have all the spotlight that he wants if he's talking about crazy stuff with Loomer. If she can continue to just do the blocking and tackling, that's how you win.
ACOSTA: Yean. And Erin, I mean, I'm sure you've heard this from Republican strategists in recent days, I've heard it, which is any day that Trump is not focusing on issues is just a bad day, it's a lost day. And he's running out of time. And here, you know, he's talking about people eating dogs and cats and stealing the geese from the park. And now, he's got a new one about the questions we're given in advance. I mean, doesn't sound like this is heading in his direction.
ERIN PERRINE, FORMER DIRECTOR OF PRESS COMMUNICATIONS, TRUMP 2020 CAMPAIGN: The national narrative is certainly one that Trump is keeping right now off of the main topics, which should be the economy, inflation, grocery prices, home prices, gas prices, everything in between, because that's the one thing that I really wish that, like, Donald Trump and the campaign would keep in the forefront of their mind, which is the issues they are strongest on right now are the ones the American people see every day. You go to the grocery store once or twice a week and you are faced with the fact that man, milk seems more expensive today than it did last week.
ACOSTA: Uh-hmm.
PERRINE: You drive past a gas station every day in your life in the United States, you see the price of gas. They live these realities every day. If Donald Trump stood there and said, you want to know why? Every day of your life, you will see those gas prices, and that is because of Kamala Harris and Joe Biden.
You see your grocery prices when you go in to pick up a loaf of bread because it's the middle of the week and you got your paycheck and you got to make sure your family can eat, and it's more expensive now. Touch the heart of the American people and let go of the --
ACOSTA: Yeah. PERRINE: I keep saying it over and over every time I'm on here, but here we are.
ACOSTA: You've been inside the campaign. Does he have advisors who will say that?
PERRINE: He does.
ACOSTA: And they will say that to him, and then he'll just go out and do this other stuff, anyway?
PERRINE: But Jim, you and I both know that Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita are two professionals in this industry.
ACOSTA: True.
PERRINE: There are few people who understand the state of Florida better than Susie Wiles. Chris LaCivita has a long history in republican politics, going back to --
ACOSTA: They're brought in Corey Lewandowski, who thinks let Trump be Trump. So, you know.
PERRINE: There are people in that apparatus who have long professional careers. And as much as people want to think it's a dirty thing, politics is an industry. This is a profession and a business. I am a political professional. This is what I do for a living. The people that are at the top of that campaign are of that same stature. They're far above my stature because they've had bigger races than I've had, and I've been on presidential.
[23:15:01]
But they will do their best, and they will try to guide him. But at the end of the day, Donald Trump will do what Donald Trump wants to do. It's not let Trump beat Trump. It's do as much as you can until Trump is going to do what he wants.
ROCHA: Erin is a Republican. I'm a Democrat. I disagree with what she has to say, but what she's saying is how you're supposed to run a campaign.
(LAUGHTER)
We are professionals. There's a way to take on Kamala Harris. There's a way to take on Donald Trump.
ACOSTA: Sure.
ROCHA: You're watching one side figuring out how to do it while the other side is not. If I'm going to run a race --
PERRINE: To be fair, we know how to do it.
ROCHA: Absolutely.
(LAUGHTER)
And it's not that hard or they would be paying me to do it. Listen to how I even talk.
ACOSTA: Yeah.
(LAUGHTER)
ACOSTA: You know, Annie, and I do want to talk about this very serious issue this past week. We're going to talk to the Haitian community in Springfield in a few moments. But Trump promising this mass deportation program and then promising to deport the people who are in Springfield, Ohio who are there legally. Let's keep saying that. They're there legally.
LINSKEY: Yes, absolutely. I mean, this is one piece of Trump's rhetoric that when you talk to Republicans on the Hill, they are very uncomfortable with. They are careful about how they talk about it. They say, well, it's unclear how this would actually work, this is unclear how logistically it would work. But there's a deep discomfort with that. And that is because -- there are many reasons. But one, this country has done this in the past. This is not something that is foreign to our history.
"The Wall Street Journal," we actually tracked down one of the kinds of few survivors of the last mass deportation, a man who when he was a small child was --
ACOSTA: During Eisenhower?
LINSKEY: Yes, during Eisenhower. Yeah, yeah. His family was sent from California to Mexico. He didn't speak a word of English. And it was just a traumatic part of his history. And, you know, he is one of the few survivors. So, I'd encourage people to read the story. It was a very moving piece in the journal.
And -- but reading the story is just one, one example of what one human being went through. Many years later, decades later, it still impacts his life. So, the idea that this country is on the verge of that, I mean, what I will say is that Republicans on the Hill have found ways in which they do not like this and would put up locks.
ROCHA: There's an understanding, and we've talked about this, Jim, the immigration system is broken. There's a lot of blame to go around. We need to fix it once and for all. I've got two business partners who are both immigrants. They both have legal status.
And one of them is getting sworn in as a citizen on Tuesday here in Washington, D.C. in a court through a long process. And words matter because when you start grouping all immigrants together, folks from all over, it's a hard thing, words matter, and you're going to end up with what you're seeing in Springfield. That's a shame.
ACOSTA: Yeah, it creates a lot of fear in communities like Springfield, Ohio. We're going to talk about that in a few moments. Stand by, everybody. So, what do people in Springfield, Ohio think about all of those? Two Haitian members of that community are my guests next. Stay tuned.
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[23:20:00]
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ACOSTA: Schools were evacuated for the second day in a row in Springfield, Ohio, the town caught in a spotlight they don't want after false claims of immigrants eating pets made their way through the internet to Donald Trump at the presidential debate. Springfield native John Legend speaking out today about the Haitian immigrant population that has come to the town since 2020.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN LEGEND, GRAMMY-AWARD WINNING SINGER: So, there are plenty of reasons why this might be a challenge for my hometown. But the bottom line is these people came to Springfield because there were jobs for them and they were willing to work, and they wanted to live the American dream. Nobody is eating cats. Nobody is eating dogs. We all just want to live and flourish and raise our families in a healthy and safe environment. How about we love one another?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: So, how are folks doing in Springfield, Ohio? Let's bring in some current residents of Springfield. Viles Dorsainvil is the executive director of the Haitian Community Help & Support Center. Rose-Thamar Joseph is the operation manager of the Haitian Community Help & Support Center. Thank you both so much, Viles and Rose-Thamar, for being with us.
We appreciate it so much. And I just want to know how your community is doing. Can you tell us how the community is doing, how people are feeling? Are they scared? Are they worried with all of these lies that are flying around about what is happening inside your community?
VILES DORSAINVIL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HAITIAN COMMUNITY HELP & SUPPORT CENTER: Yeah, I can say that it is a so unfortunate situation. It creates a lot of fear and confusion amongst the Haitian community here in Springfield. They are so undecisive, not knowing if they should stay in the city or go somewhere else. They keep calling our office asking us if that is not going to escalate to violence. So, we work with them trying to lure attention, but people are still in confusion.
ACOSTA: And people are saying they're worried about violence. Is that correct?
DORSAINVIL: Yes, it is correct because they do not know what might happen to them. They were already worn out when they came to Springfield, fleeing all that happened to Haiti. So, to get themselves into a situation like this just makes it worse.
ACOSTA: And Rose-Thamar, do you have any idea where this thing came from, that people were eating pets and dogs and cats? When you heard this for the first time, what was your reaction?
ROSE-THAMAR JOSEPH, OPERATION MANAGER, HAITIAN COMMUNITY HELP & SUPPORT CENTER: We don't have any idea where those rumors come from.
[23:24:56]
And when I heard that, I was shocked and frustrated because nobody eats cats and dogs. And so, I don't know. It is a lot for us in Springfield. It is a lot for the Haitian community here in Springfield now.
ACOSTA: I feel terrible even asking about it. But, you know, Trump is also saying that the immigrants in Springfield, the Haitian immigrants there, are there illegally. But that is not the case. If you could say something to Donald Trump, what would you say?
DORSAINVIL: I would say that he has to control the rhetoric and the narrative that he puts out there because all that he says can harm a community, can harm some people. He has to pay attention to the mental health of people and people who were already worn out of life trying to find a safe place to raise the family and to find a job.
And I think that he has to know that words matter. So, what he says can just cause a community to turn into chaos, psychologically speaking, because people sometimes don't believe that. Especially, leaders seeking the highest office of the United States should understand that they have to be able to pay attention to people's mental health.
ACOSTA: And Rose-Thamar, what would you say to Donald Trump?
JOSEPH: Um, the same thing and just to add that, um, he should and he had to ensure before spreading the news, maybe fact-check the information before, but I don't know why he didn't. Instead, he just spread the news.
And it caused a lot of fears right now in the community because our Asian people here, they are planning to leave Springfield. And even today, I went to a tour in Springfield, from Asian business to Asian business, and spoke to some people in the community. I can feel the fears of the people of the community. And even -- one of them even cried because he said that he just came to Springfield and all those happened. So, he cried.
ACOSTA: They're crying.
DORSAINVIL: Yes.
JOSEPH: Yes.
ACOSTA: Yeah. Well, from what we understand, Springfield, Ohio is a very nice community, and the Haitian people who have moved there have made it even better. That's what we've been hearing from the folks there on the ground, and I'm sure you're a big part of that. Viles and Rose-Thamar, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it. I hope things get better there real soon. DORSAINVIL: Thank you.
JOSEPH: Thank you for having us.
ACOSTA: Thank you so much. All right, just ahead, a high-profile case over a death row inmate. His claims of innocence and mishandled evidence now pushed to vacate. His conviction has been denied with just 11 days until his execution. The prosecutor trying to stop his death is my guest coming up next.
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[23:30:00]
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ACOSTA: Tonight, an update to a story we brought you a few weeks ago about a death row inmate set to be executed in 11 days who says he is innocent. Now, the legal battle for Missouri inmate Marcellus Williams is getting a lot more complicated. A St. Louis County judge has denied the request to vacate his conviction.
To bring you up to speed on this, Williams was convicted of the murder of Felicia Gayle in 1998 and was sentenced to death. He has long maintained his innocence. Back in January, St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell filed a request to have Williams's conviction overturned after testing found his DNA was not on the murder weapon. The DNA argument broke down when new testing showed the weapon had been mishandled and contaminated.
Bell then announced an agreement with Williams to get him off death row and re-sentenced to life in prison. But it was blocked by the state's Republican Attorney General, Andrew Bailey, who is seeking reelection. Bailey appealed to the state Supreme Court, which ordered a judge to hold an evidentiary hearing and issue a ruling.
And on Thursday, that judge wrote this, there is no basis for a court to find that Williams is innocent, and no court has made such a filing. Marcellus Williams's execution is set for September 24th.
St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell joins us now. We should mention he's also running for Congress. And Mr. Bell, let's just start off by asking you. This man's execution is just days away. This is a major setback. What is your reaction to this judge's ruling? Is there any hope left in this case?
WESLEY BELL, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY, ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MISSOURI: Disappointed. Obviously, we took an oath to bring justice, not just convictions. We created a conviction integrity unit because we recognize that there are times when we recommend folks, that they have to go to jail, and we want to make sure that there are safeguards in place to make sure we get it right. This case was obviously before me, but that doesn't change that oath.
[23:35:02]
And so, it's important for us to do just that, bring justice, get it right, and that's why we took this -- filed this motion.
ACOSTA: Yeah. And the judge says that the officer who mishandled the murder weapon without gloves did so not in bad faith. You argue that it was in bad faith. Tell us about that.
BELL: The point of the matter -- of this matter is that there are questions with respect to the integrity of the conviction. And we're talking about a punishment that we can't undo. There was an agreement on the table to give Mr. Williams life in prison without the possibility of parole. The family supported this outcome.
It would have given closure to this matter. But again, they, as well as our region, has to relive this over and over again. And we have serious questions about the integrity of the conviction. And as a result, we should not be executing him.
ACOSTA: Just for folks who didn't see this story pop up before tonight, I mean, is it your view that the state could be facing a situation where an innocent man may be put to death?
BELL: You know, I don't want to get ahead of the process. We endeavor to investigate this matter thoroughly. I got to give credit to not only folks in my office and our conviction incident review unit, but also Lathrop (ph), a firm that assisted us with this matter to do everything that we could to get to the bottom of this, but also highlight the questions that we had with the original conviction. And so, again, it's disappointing because, again, our oath is to bring justice. And in this case --
ACOSTA: It sounds like you have doubts.
BELL: And we have doubts. And we'd like the opportunity to investigate those. But in the meantime, let's not execute them. Let's not do something that we can't undo in the event that there is evidence of actual innocence.
ACOSTA: And what are the next steps? Are you in communication with the governor? What happens next?
BELL: So, we're evaluating those. The statute that authorized us to be able to bring this motion is fairly new. And so, in some respects, we're in uncharted waters, if you will. And so, we're evaluating all of our options, if any. But our goal is to spare Mr. Williams's life because of the questions that we have with this conviction.
ACOSTA: And we should mention, you're running for Congress. Andrew Bailey is running for reelection as attorney general. Bailey has said the effort to get Williams off of death row is a false narrative meant to fulfill political ends. What's your response to that?
BELL: The questions with respect to the murder weapon, the questions with respect to the witnesses and the reliability of the witnesses at the time, that alone justifies not executing this individual. Life in prison without the possibility of parole gives closure.
It also gives Williams and his defense an opportunity to continue to look at evidence of actual innocence. But if there are questions, if there's at least even a shadow of a doubt with respect to someone's innocence, it is not in the interest of justice to execute that individual.
ACOSTA: Yeah. As you were saying, you can't undo it. If it happens and you find out later, here is some evidence that may have proven his innocence. All right, Wesley Bell, thank you very much for your time. Thanks for the update on the case. Appreciate it.
All right, just ahead, a few big-name athletes like Steph Curry jump into the political fray while most stay on the sidelines. Why are some willing to risk a bruising by giving an endorsement and others aren't? We'll discuss all that in just a moment. Stay with us.
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[23:40:00]
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ACOSTA: Tonight, this question: Are athletes staying off the political field this election year after Taylor Swift backed Vice President Kamala Harris? WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark liked her Instagram post. Clark got some blowback from conservatives online for that, but she then clarified, saying she's not endorsing anyone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAITLIN CLARK, INDIANA FEVER GUARD: I think for myself is, you know, I have this amazing platform. So, I think the biggest thing would be just encourage people to register to vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes also not picking aside. He had to address reporters after Trump suggested his wife, Brittany, was a fan of his.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATRICK MAHOMES, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS QUARTERBACK: I don't want my place and my platform to be used to endorse a candidate or do whatever -- each either way. I think my place is to inform people to get registered to vote, is to inform people to do their own research.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: But some other big names have decided to get political. The NBA's Steph Curry, for example, backed Harris at the DNC, and he just recently explained why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN CURRY, FOUR-TIME NBA CHAMPION: Any time you step into this lane, you know, it's going to be received, you know, in a lot of different ways. For me, it's all about creating conversations that are about being decent human beings. First and foremost, I think we've lost that a little bit to where obviously endorsing Kamala is important for me, for my family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Sports columnist Nancy Armour putting it this way today, "Elite athletes," she says, "are born with unique physical gifts and singular dedication. Moral courage is something they have to find for themselves, and this week was a reminder that not many do."
Let's talk about this with sports historian Louis Moore. He's a co- host of the "Black Athlete" podcast and the author of "The Great Black Hope." Louis, great to see you. Thanks for doing this. We appreciate it.
[23:45:00]
Tell us, if you can, give us a little bit of the history here, too, about athletes coming off of the field and showing some moral and political courage in expressing their beliefs. I mean, you know, I remember the stories of Mohammed Ali and so on. This is not that unusual thing.
LOUIS MOORE, AUTHOR, PODCAST HOST: Yeah, I think some of the great athletes that we've had have always understood that they have the power and the platform to do things. So like Ali, Jackie Robinson was always writing columns and getting people to talk about fairness and equality and getting people to register to vote. Joe Louis to Muhammad Ali, all these people talking about register to vote. Some people like Arthur Ashe. So, there is a history for athletes today to follow, and I just hope that they follow them.
ACOSTA: And that was my question, Louis. What would you like to see athletes do? Do we need to hear from folks like LeBron James? I mean, do you think we need to see more of that? I mean, there's kind of an expectation that athletes have a voice these days. They should voice their opinion. A lot of this happens on social media. What do you think?
MOORE: Yeah, I think that athletes understand they have a powerful platform. Someone like LeBron has certainly used it, right? He has been for Obama, Clinton, Biden. He has helped create this program called "More Than a Vote" to get folks to register and also open up polling places.
But I also think that athletes are understanding that today is pretty toxic. And so, I think when you played that clip of Patrick Mahomes, I think --
ACOSTA: Yeah.
MOORE: -- when you see that, you see that how complicated things are. Families, relationships, teammates. And so, he's a little bit reluctant to say who he's for. But I still think that he was right in telling people, no matter what I say, you need to do your homework and you need to vote. ACOSTA: Yeah, when we played that clip of Caitlin Clark, I just thought, my goodness, in this rookie season for Caitlin Clark, there has been so much controversy swirling around her. An Instagram-like is kicking up a lot of controversy and stirring things up. So, I suppose athletes feel like they have to be careful these days. Is it because the sports organizations put this pressure on them? Is it because they just don't want to get thrown into the middle of a huge hornet's nest?
MOORE: Yeah, I think, you know, with the Clark situation, she's young and she's the most popular athlete in America, I think she wasn't ready for the blowback on that, and then she followed that up with a very great response. But a lot of athletes also worry about the profits, right?
They have contracts and they're worried that if they go for somebody else, it's the famous Michael Jordan saying, you know, Republicans buy sneakers, too. I think they're more -- some of them are more concerned about their brand than they are about the politics right now.
ACOSTA: Yeah, and athletes do care about their legacies on the field. What about the actions off the field? And do you think activism is something that today's superstars are lacking in? We're just not seeing enough of it.
MOORE: It's hard to say because, you know, if we think about it like historically, we can only -- we only really name a few, a handful. And those are the very brave. Those are the Alis, the Wilma Rudolphs, the Bill Russells, the John Carlos, Tommy Smith. And in today's generation, you have people like Kaepernick, you have people like LeBron.
ACOSTA: Kaepernick.
MOORE: And the reason why they're so limited is because it's so dangerous, right? There is a huge pushback when you do that from society, from teams, from organizations. So, I think that the ones we remember, we remember them because they're so great and because they did that.
ACOSTA: Yeah. And you mentioned Colin Kaepernick, which is such -- it is a great example because I suppose there are some athletes, some sports organizations that say, okay, well, we don't want to get into a situation like that. But Colin Kaepernick was right. He was ahead of his time. To me, that's a story that I think just will always feel like something really unfair was -- totally, unfair was done to him.
MOORE: Oh, certainly, he was right, and he'll always be remembered, right?
ACOSTA: Right.
MOORE: So, nobody is going to remember his stats, but they will remember what he did. And he was in conversation just this week when Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins was pulled over by the police. And now, once again, we're having a conversation about police brutality, the same conversation that we had in 2016 when Kaepernick was kneeling.
ACOSTA: Absolutely. And you're absolutely right about Tyreek Hill. And the question has been asked, if it wasn't Tyreek Hill, what would have happened in that kind of a situation? Obviously, we've seen those kinds of things play out over and over again in really, really bad ways. Louis, what a great conversation. Wish we had more time to talk about it. But thanks for coming on and discussing. It's a very important subject. Thanks a lot.
MOORE: Yeah. Thank you for having me.
ACOSTA: All right. Appreciate it. All right, just ahead, from the debate to Trump's embrace of a far-right 9/11 conspiracy theorist.
[23:50:02]
It was a wild week in politics. Did you catch everything that happened? Stick around to take our quiz. We have a quiz coming up. That's right.
But first, this week's CNN hero in Arizona. Thousands of children are in the foster care system. Many of them are Native American and struggling to connect with the roots and heritage of their people. One foster mom is trying to change that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELISIA MANUEL, CNN HERO: When I tell people I was abundantly blessed, within six months, I became a mom to four children that were all under the age of two years old. That's where I kind of knew we needed to make a change. I started out just providing basic resources. Clothes and shoes and diapers. I really wanted to create family engagement, a cultural experience.
When we can incorporate our culture and you have that sense of identity, your world changes. I had non-native foster parents and grandparents raising children, even some group homes, say, how do I get my kids connected to culture? I don't know where to go. There are thousands of native children that are in care and could be connected. I want kids to come and actually feel like their sense of identity and culture is right there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: To see her work in action, go to cnnheroes.com right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[23:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: It's Friday night, and after the week we just had, we want to look back and see if the panel was paying attention. We're bringing them back. I want to ask all of you questions about moments that have happened over the last several days. You get three options: A, B and C, not C, A and T. But anyway, welcome to the Friday night quiz. Here we go guys.
All right, first question, which states Republican Party put up bill -- a billboard saying "eat less kittens?" It should be "eat fewer kittens," but the billboard actually said "eat less kittens."
PERRINE: What do we --
LINSKEY: A, B, and C.
ACOSTA: Is it A, Arizona; B, Ohio; C, Florida? You can tell him to fill in hers (ph).
(LAUGHTER)
A, Arizona; B, Ohio; C, Florida?
LINSKEY (ph): I'm going to just go with --
ACOSTA: You're going to go with B, B and B. See, I would've guessed.
LINSKEY: Oh!
PERRINE: Oh!
ACOSTA: It seems very Florida-esque. But no. It's actually A, Arizona.
LINSKEY: Oh. Oh, no.
ACOSTA: There you go. There's the billboard right there. "Eat less kittens. Vote Republicans."
LINSKEY: I thought this was a chick-fil-a there.
ROCHA: The answers that were given to us in the groom room were obviously wrong.
ACOSTA: Yeah, you were not --
PERRINE: You better go back to ABC and talk about it.
(LAUGHTER)
ACOSTA: They got the answers. Okay. Which artist sued Trump this week for the use of their song? Is it A, Taylor Swift; B, The White Stripes; or C, Elton John? I knew the answer to this.
ROCHA: You know the answer to this.
ACOSTA: I did know this one. Well, I have the answers in front of me, but I did know it beforehand.
ROCHA: I'm going with B.
LINDSEY: I'm going to say C.
ACOSTA: B, the White Stripes. Jack White not happy about that.
ROCHA: We're going to vote you off the island now.
ACOSTA: It was Seven Nation Army, was that the side controller?
LINSKEY: I thought this was going to be easy.
PERRINE: That's a great amp up song ahead of a football game.
RICGA: What state are they from?
PERRINE: White Stripes?
ROCHA: Yep.
PERRINE: California?
ROCHA: I think so.
ACOSTA: Okay.
PERRINE: Oh, I win double trivia. Oh, that's the end of it.
ACOSTA: Very good. How many VMAs did Taylor Swift win this week?
ROCHA: Well, I know this one.
ACOSTA: A, 7; B, 9; or C,5.
ROCHA: For my wife, who's a Swiftie, I knew this one right away.
LINSKEY: Well, when you tell everybody --
ACOSTA: A, A and A. You guys are right. Okay.
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
ACOSTA: -- two each.
LINSKEY: You sounded so confident, I went for it.
ACOSTA: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is currently in a back and forth online in a feud with who? Is it A, Margie Taylor Greene; B, J.D. Vance; or C, Jill Stein?
ROCHA: I got to get this one right because she's my client.
LINSKEY: Oh, yeah.
ACOSTA: That's right. C, Jill Stein. Very good. Annie, well done.
LINSKEY: I get all the text messages.
ACOSTA: Yes, exactly. LINSKEY: I'm getting overwhelmed.
ACOSTA: Next one. During the debate over what issue did Trump say, well, I didn't discuss it with J.D.? Well, I didn't discuss it with J.D. Is it A, pet eating lies; B, tariffs on China; or C, federal abortion ban veto?
ROCHA: Oh, yeah. Maybe, no, yes.
ACOSTA: Yeah. See, you guys are paying attention. All right, so you watched the debate, congratulations.
ROCHA: We watch a lot of CNN over here at my house.
ACOSTA: Six, which campaign merch was President Biden seen wearing this week? Is it A, a Trump 2024 hat; B, a Trump 2024 shirt; or C, a Make America Great Again hat?
ROCHA: Wait, A and C the same?
ACOSTA: It's kind of the same.
PERRINE: They're all similar.
ACOSTA: It's a trick question. We're trying to trick you here. Which one is it?
ROCHA: Oh, it's going to be this one.
PERRINE: It's going to be May (ph).
ACOSTA: It is A. Correct. Very good. Well done.
ROCHA: It's Biden right there.
PERRINE: So, it's red, but it's not the MAGA hat.
LINSKEY: It's not the MAGA hat.
ACOSTA: It's a MAGA hat. It's a Trump hat.
ROCHA: It's the Chinese knockoff.
PERRINE: That was a trick question.
LINSKEY: Yeah.
ACOSTA: I thought that was very nice of the president.
PERRINE: You can always tell if it's a real Trump merch hat because they're actually very specific about making sure everything's made in America, including the --
ROCHA: Not made in China.
LINSKEY: Oh, wow. ACOSTA: Number seven, the Harris-Trump debate handshake was the first one since which matchup? A, Obama-Romney 2012; B, Biden-Ryan 2012; or C, Clinton-Trump 2016? Erin, you definitely looked at the answers ahead of time.
PERRINE: All right. I'm just this good at this.
ACOSTA: C, Clinton-Trump 2016. Very good. All right, who said this week's voters must choose between the lesser of two evils? Was it A, Pope Francis; B, Jesse Ventura; or C, Joe Rogan?
ROCHA: Did I tell you I went to the Basilica in Mexico City this week? I know this one.
ACOSTA: It's A.
PERRINE: Humble brag.
ACOSTA: It was a boom.
PERRINE: Look at me out of the country this week.
ROCHA: It's holiness.
(LAUGHTER)
ACOSTA: Are we to the end or no? We have -- we're at the end.
PERRINE: We're doing great, though.
LINSKEY: But we're just in tie breaking.
ROCHA: You're going to have an arm-wrestling competition?
(LAUGHTER)
ACOSTA: Erin, you did well.
[00:00:01]
You came very close, Annie. I'm sorry.
LINSKEY: Well, the music one was hard.
ACOSTA: That's right.
LINSKEY: I mean, I'm not good at that.
ACOSTA: Yeah. You're not going to make it to Double Jeopardy, I promise.
LINSKEY: No, I'm probably not.
(LAUGHTER)
ROCHA: But moving on to next week's competition for $100,000. (LAUGHTER)
ACOSTA: There should be a tie breaker here.
LINSKEY: There should be. Next week.
ACOSTA: And we're out of time. So, we can't do it.
PERRINE: Is it going to be a tie iron question? Because I know who did that.
LINSKEY: Oh.
PERRINE: The Jeff Gillooly was the one.
ACOSTA: Jeff Gillooly.
LINSKEY: That's right.
(CROSSTALK)
PERRINE: You're welcome, everyone.
LINSKEY: There you go.
ACOSTA: Very good. All right. We'll give it to Erin. All right. Thanks, everybody. Don't forget to tune in to CNN. Speaking of quiz shows, we're going to try to be intentionally funny on CNN Tour Night, our brand-new comedy show hosted by Roy Wood Jr., Amber Ruffin, and Michael Ian Black. "Have I Got News for You" premieres tomorrow night at 9. Thanks, everybody, for watching. "Anderson Cooper 360" starts now. Go to bed. Good night.
