Source: Trump Discusses Again Replacing His Director of National Intelligence; Trump Confirms Immigration Raids Start Sunday; New Forecast: Barry Expected to Hit Louisiana as Hurricane; Rep. Ro Khanna (D) California is Interviewed About Labor Secretary's Resignation
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking news. Powerful storm, the new forecast is just coming in for tropical storm Barry which is expected to make landfall in Louisiana as a hurricane bringing a storm surge and heavy rain to an area that is already suffering flooding. Why officials are so concerned. Resign and replace. Labor Secretary Alex Acosta resigns amid an uproar over the sex crime plea deal he oversaw for Jeffrey Epstein a decade ago as a U.S. attorney. That comes as sources say President Trump is considering replacing the director of National Intelligence Dan Coats. Fiery hearing. Following a chilling new congressional report about babies being separated from their migrant parents at the border, a hearing turns fiery as furious lawmakers lash out at a former immigration official. And Putin's show of force. Russia delivers a very advanced missile system to Turkey who just happens to be a NATO ally. How worrisome is Vladimir Putin's latest show of force. I'm Wolf Blitzer and you're in</s>THE SITUATION ROOM. ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.</s>BLITZER: Breaking news, the latest forecast is just in for tropical storm Barry, which is expected to make landfall in Louisiana tomorrow as a hurricane. With the Mississippi River already above flood stage, Barry's storm surge and heavy rainfall could be especially dangerous. The mayor of New Orleans is asking residents and visitors to shelter in place while people in some areas are asked to voluntarily evacuate. Also breaking, sources tell CNN that President Trump has talked with his advisers over the past few days about replacing director of National Intelligence Dan Coats. That follows today's resignation of Labor Secretary Alex Acosta under fire for a plea deal he worked out as a U.S. attorney a decade ago which gave multi-millionaire Jeffrey Epstein a very light sentence for sex crimes. I'll speak with Democratic presidential candidate John Hickenlooper and Congressman Ro Khanna of the Oversight Committee. And our correspondents and analysts will have full coverage of the day's top stories. As the gulf coast braces for Barry, we begin with our national correspondent Ryan Young. He's in New Orleans for us. So, Ryan, what is the very latest there?</s>RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, people are worried about rain and especially all of the water that is here. You look at the Mississippi behind me and the mighty Mississippi 12 to 15 inches of water could be headed this way and of course with the water already threatening some areas, people are being told to shelter in place.</s>MAYOR LATOYA CANTRELL (D), NEW ORLEANS: We're focusing on 8:00 p.m. This evening, asking people to stay at home, shelter in place.</s>YOUNG (voice-over): Heavy rains, powerful floods and a strong storm surge. That is the triple threat that Barry could be packing as tonight it is slowly churns toward Louisiana.</s>GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS (D), LOUISIANA: I want the folks in Louisiana to know we're taking this very seriously.</s>YOUNG: Barry is the first tropical system to threaten the U.S. this season and is presenting New Orleans with a dangerous problem.</s>CANTRELL: Prepare for heavy rain, slow-moving with consistent rainfall.</s>YOUNG: The Mississippi river is already about 10 feet above the normal level for this time of the year. And Barry storm surge could cause it to rise another two to three feet, meaning the river could crest at 19 feet tomorrow. A level it hasn't reached in nearly 70 years, according to the National Weather Service.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All these different components are adding up so it's just a unique circumstance.</s>YOUNG: Officials say they are confident none of the levees in New Orleans will be breached. The city's pumps were put to test earlier this week when the rain underground drainage pumps, pipes and canals briefly flooding streets and underpasses.</s>EDWARDS: We feel very, very good about the situation of New Orleans and we believe it's going to be able to with stand this storm.</s>YOUNG: Barry is also expected to dump anywhere from 10 to 15 inches of rain and that is forcing mandatory evacuations in some low-lying areas.</s>BENJAMIN SCHOTT, NWS METEOROLOGIST, NEW ORLEANS: Tropical storm Barry is a dangerous and life-threatening storm.</s>YOUNG: But despite the evacuation order, some residents are preparing to ride out the storm, stocking up on sandbags and supplies.</s>TIM BRADBERRY, LIVES IN GRAND ISLE: I expect some tidal surge and maybe a little flooding. I don't see no point really have to leave.</s>YOUNG: President Trump has declared a state of emergency for Louisiana. And the governor has activated 3,000 National Guard troops to assist with the destruction this storm is expected to bring and it isn't just Louisiana expected to feel the impact. Mississippi, Alabama and the Western Florida panhandle are all also preparing for extreme rain and flooding.</s>YOUNG: 118 pumps are ready to go just in case the water does come into the city. But, Wolf, we talked to someone in the ninth ward who said they're only leaving if God tells them to. So you could understand there are some people who just don't believe in the storm.</s>BLITZER: Good luck over there, Ryan Young in New Orleans for us. Let's get some more in the latest storm forecast from our meteorologist Tom Sater. He's in the CNN Weather Center. What is the latest forecast, Tom?</s>TOM SATER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, it looks like Barry has moved about 30 miles since the last advisory. It's currently, Wolf, 70 miles south, southeast of Morgan City. It's still expected just before landfall Saturday morning to reach a category one status. It means very little because this is all about being a rain-maker. We were discussing this in the Weather Center. It wouldn't be a bad thing for this to become a hurricane. Let's get some power behind it. Let's get it in and get it out but it looks like Barry is going to hang around the state of Louisiana until maybe Monday. So there is our first problem. Unlike, of course, other situations where it starts to pick up speed later in the week, we'll be talking about that, but 10, 20 inches still right on cue. We're looking at pressure dropping which means it is trying to intensify. Broad circulation is really just hard to find a core here. They're starting to see some feeder bands now in the panhandle of Florida. This is the time now where we may be able to see a few unfortunate spin-ups, meaning maybe small tornados. But again, most of the precipitation, even though some is moving in, it is all about the rain and the storm surge. Never before have we had a tropical system move toward the mouth of the Mississippi River with storm surge battling now those extremely high levels on the Mississippi trying to exit. So, again, we got to rely on the expertise of the men and women of the Army Corp of Engineers. They say that the levees will hold. Two days ago the forecast for the Mississippi River was going to be at 20 feet. They dropped it to 19, which is great news. That is a big difference from that one foot. All of these red dots along the Mississippi River are areas where the levees are below 20. North of the river, to the east of New Orleans, these areas of red are areas where they have failed during Katrina. So they're going to be watching it and, yes, the water is going to rise but more importantly, Wolf, it is all about the 10 to 20 inches of rain. I fear hundreds and hundreds of 911 calls, 250 911 calls just two days ago when nine inches fell.</s>BLITZER: Yes, this is a dangerous situation. Tom Sater, we'll get back to you. We'll have much more storm coverage just ahead. I'll speak next hour with the mayor of New Orleans LaToya Cantrell. There is other breaking news we're following right now, including one high-profile departure from the Trump administration has been announced. Sources say the president is considering making another dramatic move. Let's go to our chief White House correspondent Jim Acosta. He's got the very latest. Jim?</s>JIM ACOSTA, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well President Trump once again has another acting member of his cabinet as Labor Secretary Alex Acosta announced he is stepping down. A senior official said the president have been stewing over Secretary Acosta's fate after he was dragged into the Jeffrey Epstein scandal but there may be another top official who may be heading for the exit here at the White House. The Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, we're told the president may be ready to make a change there as well.</s>ACOSTA (voice-over): There wasn't much laboring when it came to the fate of Alex Acosta as the president walked the embattled secretary in front of the cameras to announce his departure.</s>DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And Alex, I think you'll agree, I said you don't have to do this. He doesn't have to do this.</s>ACOSTA: The outgoing labor secretary told reporters he didn't want to be a distraction amid growing questions over the sweetheart deal he gave to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.</s>ALEXANDER ACOSTA, OUTGOING LABOR SECRETARY: So I called the president this morning. I told him that I thought the right thing was to step aside. But sources told CNN the president had been stewing over Acosta's fate after praising the secretary earlier on the week.</s>TRUMP: He's done a fantastic job.</s>ACOSTA: A senior administration official said there were concerns the revelations in the Epstein case would provide ammunition to Democrats in 2020.</s>MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, it is certainly clear that he had to go. I think what this shows more broadly is a pattern in this administration where the country's business cannot get done because of these horrifying scandals that touch the White House.</s>ACOSTA: Despite his past friendship with Epstein, Mr. Trump claimed he once tossed the multi-millionaire out of his club in Florida.</s>TRUMP: It shows you one thing that I have good taste. But Jeffrey Epstein was not somebody that I respected. I threw him out --</s>ACOSTA: The president also confirmed reports that I.C.E. agents are launching a multi-city roundup of undocumented immigrants this weekend.</s>TRUMP: We're not giving warning. No, we're not giving warning. If the word gets out, it gets out. It starts on Sunday and they're going to take people out.</s>ACOSTA: A senior administration official said the president's disclosure could jeopardize the operation.</s>TRUMP: We're focused on criminals. We're focused on if you look at MS- 13 but when people come into our country, we take those people out and we take them out very legally.</s>ACOSTA: The president made time to respond to criticism from Paul Ryan published in a new book "American Carnage" which details how the former House Speaker says Mr. Trump didn't know anything about government when he came into office.</s>TRUMP: So, Paul Ryan was not a talent. He wasn't a leader. When the people in freedom and great congressmen wanted to go after the Dems for things that they did very badly, he wouldn't give subpoenas, whereas Nancy Pelosi hands them out like they're cookies.</s>ACOSTA: The president also fired back at Vice President Joe Biden.</s>TRUMP: Everybody that knows him knows he's a weak man, he's an ineffective man. President Xi laughs at guys like that.</s>ACOSTA: After Biden described Mr. Trump as a foreign policy disaster.</s>JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The world sees Trump for what he is - insincere, ill-informed and impulsive and sometimes corrupt, dangerously incompetent and incapable in my view of world leadership and leadership at home.</s>ACOSTA: But the president surprisingly came to the defense of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi after she was blasted by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The New York Democrat appears to suggest Pelosi criticism of outspoken freshman House members was racially motivated, something Ocasio-Cortez denied.</s>TRUMP: She's not a racist, OK. She's not a racist. For them to call her a racist is a disgrace.</s>ACOSTA: Now as for other departure that may be on the horizon here at the White House, sources tell CNN the president is frustrated with the director of National Intelligence Dan Coats but replacing Coats now would leave yet another vacancy in a critical national security position in this administration. The Defense Department, Department of Homeland Security both have acting secretaries right now. And one other thing that we're watching, Wolf, we're waiting to find out if, in fact, the former Special Counsel Robert Mueller's testimony next week will in fact be delayed. Our Capitol Hill team earlier in the day, Wolf, was reporting that it may be delayed next week, which would put off potentially for another week a huge spectacle here in Washington. Wolf?</s>BLITZER: We're standing by for final word on that. Jim Acosta, thank you very much. Joining us now, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California, he's a member of Oversight Committee. Congressman, thanks for joining us.</s>REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA), OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: Wolf, great to be back on.</s>BLITZER: Let's begin with the latest departure from the President Trump's cabinet. Does Alex Acosta still need to testify before the House Oversight Committee despite his resignation?</s>KHANNA: He does. Because Americans are concerned that there are two different types of Justice Department - justice for those who are rich like Epstein and get away with something of a 13-month sentence for trafficking in a sex offense and others who get long jail sentences for marijuana offenses. So Acosta needs to explain why that discrepancy exists.</s>BLITZER: CNN has also learned Congressman that the director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, who you just heard Jim Acosta report, might also be on his way out. What impact would that departure have on President Trump's overall National Security team?</s>KHANNA: Well it is concerning because this president has a pattern of removing those who stand up to him or give him information which he disagrees with. He got rid of Mattis because Mattis was standing up to him with Shanahan. Shanahan, there was the scandal that was in part leaked because Shanahan may not have supported the president, and Coats has had the temerity to sometimes question the president. So we see that the president just wants yes people around him.</s>BLITZER: The House Oversight Committee held a hearing today on family separations and conditions at various migrant detention facilities on the southern border. Lawmakers became very emotional and at times very angry as did the former acting I.C.E. Director Tom Homan who was a witness of the hearing. I want you to watch a little bit of this.</s>REP. GERRY CONNOLLY (D-MA), OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: I've sat here and listened to horror stories. I thought it was fiction. I thought it was a novel reading from Charles Dickens. And the conditions that prevailed 19th century London -- children without soap, children in filth -- conditions that none of us would ever countenance with our own children. Well any child in our care is our children.</s>TOM HOMAN, FORMER ACTING I.C.E. DIRECTOR: Let me explain why I'm sitting here so frustrated because I'm the only one in this room that wore a green uniform and been in that line. I'm the only one in this room who has found dead aliens in a trail that were abandoned by smugglers and just left them there because they weren't money anymore. I'm the only one in this room that stood on the back of a tractor- trailer surrounded by 19 dead aliens including a 5-year-old little boy who suffocated in death in his father's arms. I was there. And I saw and I smelled it and it is terrible. And I still -- I still have nightmares to this day.</s>BLITZER: Congressman, you were at the hearing, is your committee getting the answers you need from the administration about its policies on the border especially impacting these kids.</s>KHANNA: No, we're not. And Tom Homan was a badgering witness. He wasn't answering the questions. He was interrupting Gerry Connolly. He was interrupting Ayanna Pressley. He wasn't answering questions that all Americans regardless of party want to know. Why can't we get these kids food? Why can't we get them blankets? Why can't we get them access to a doctor? We're not talking about anything more than upholding basic human rights. Frankly upholding basic moral principles rooted in faith.</s>BLITZER: Congressman Ro Khanna thanks as usual for joining us.</s>KHANNA: Thank you, Wolf.</s>BLITZER: Up next, the latest forecast is in for tropical storm Barry which is expected to hit the Louisiana coast tomorrow as a hurricane.