Transcripts For CNNW The 20240704

The lead starts right now. Donald defiant. Back on the campaign trail this afternoon, pushing back on prosecutors who want to restrict what he can say publicly about the federal indictment. Plus, that hideous river boat drbrawl, after a man was rushed by a group of wight men. And americans in Credit Card Debt, surpassing 1 trillion as more americans pull from their own Retirement Savings for help. Welcome to the lead, im jake tapper. Were going to start with our Law And Justice lead. The Federal Grand Jury here in washington, d. C. , the same one that indicted donald trump last week, is back Behind Closed Doors today. For the First Time Since handing down those unprecedented charges for Donald Trumps unprecedented actions. It is a clear sign that the investigation into the efforts to over turn the 2020 election is not over. And it raises questions about six coconspirators listed in the indictment and whether they could soon also face federal charges for their actions. We also just got some new Court Filings from both trumps lawyers and Special Counsel jack smiths team. U. S. District judge Tanya Chutkan asked both sides to propose a day this week to discuss any the ability to publicly share evidence. But trumps team is pushing to delay that meeting until next week. Citing his busy legal schedule. Lets get straight to paula reid. Lets start with the Federal Grand Jury that met right down the street today. Do we know how many more witnesses they will hear from and when more indictments could potentially come . Reporter well, jake, our case that stakes out the courthouse, saw The Grand Jury and they worked half day and they did not hear from any witnesses. We broke the story on your show yesterday that the Special Counsel interviewed carrick, he is a coconspirators to rudy giuliani. We got a read out and im to he did get a lot of questions not only about rudy giuliani, but also about sidney powe, another one of the coconspirators. But it does not appear, according to keric and his attorney that they gave them sufficient evident to support a Superseding Indictment or a new indictment against, for example, rudy giuliani. And at this point, there are no plans for keric to go before The Grand Jury to testify. But as of now, we know that the Special Counsel prosecutors are expected to sit down with at least one other witness and at this point were not aware of any plans to bring another witness before The Grand Jury over the next few days. Lets turn to this squabble between trumps lawyers and the Justice Department over what evidence can be shared. When do we expect to hear from judge chutkan . Reporter i would expect to hear from her soon. Trumps lawyers are asking to delay any potential hearing over this protective order that will dictate that the president could see in the process of discovery, so for evident at a trial. She appears to want to do this hearing this week so the fact that theyre asking to delay it next week, that could be because of the schedules, but we know, part of the overall Defense Strategy in both of the Special Counsel prosecutions is to delay, delay, delay. And a delay of a few days doesnt seem like much, but if you do that a dozen times over the course of the investigation, and in this case, you could potentially help push a possible trial into after the election. So i so i dont know if judge will go for that. Hes trying to move this along as quickly as possible. She wouldnt even give them an extension to respond to her about the protective order. So i would expect a decision quickly and i would be surprised if she let this Hearing Slide until next week. Paula reid, thank you so much. Joining us now tom dupree, the assistant attorney general under george w. Bush. Lets start with The Grand Jury meeting today. None of the coconspirators veas of now, been charged with anythg. Cnn has identified five of the six as fmer trump lawyers, ru giuliani, john eastman and sidney powell, Jeffrey Clark and pr protrump lawyer kenneth chesebro. How many will be charged . I think it be charged. He wanted to plant a flag with this original indictment. He constructed a case that is stream lined. He named a single defendant and the Special Counsel understands hes in a case against the clock to to name just former President Trump for now. But there is no question in my mind that indictments are almost certainly forthcoming for all of those unnamed coconspirators. Do you think they would be charged, if they are, separately from tmp . That is a great question. My guess is probably not. But it wouldnt surprise me if he did charge separately. It seems to me most natural that they would basically be added to this case as it currently exists just because the evidence is overlapping and the legal theories and in all likelihood are also overlapping and it might seem artificial if they were charged separately. That said, it doesnt mean that all would be tried together or that the cases would all proceed on the same schedule. I think the Special Counsel is moving the case against former President Trump quickly and let the other cases follow in its wake wake. Lets talk about the debate over evidence sharing. They want to restrict what trump could share in the evidence and they feel trumps team wants to try this case in the press, prosecutors point to the arguments that trumps lawyer made when he appeared on five sunday shows two days ago. Is there a strong legal argument that could be made based on that . Look, i think both sides have reasonable arguments. From the Special Counsel, this is from their view a standard protective order that their asking the judge to approve. Not that different from what you would impose in other cases. From former President Trump, he does see this as an infringement. This is not a typical defendant who remains mum and follows the advice of his lawyers to stay silent. To the contrary. We has zetty commentary and on the judge, his opponent and Special Counsel. And theyre be pushing to have complete freedom to comment on the evidence. My best guess is the judge will come down somewhere in the middle. I would be surprised if she approved what the Special Counsel is demanding but on other hand i cant imagine a world in which she gives former President Trump free reign to comment on evidence. Zesty is your word for it. That is my word of choice. Well chosen. But to play devils advocate, why should anyone believe that donald trump would follow any restrictions at all at this point given the fact that he has this propensity to offer free flowing commentary one way or another . Oh, look, i think that the first battle is going to be the scope of the protective order. I think the second battle is when the Special Counsel accused former President Trump of violating whatever protective order is imposed. I suspect that regardless of what the judge said, i dont think it is going to have that dramatic effect on what former President Trump said publicly. And so i think we are in a world, this is the first skirmish of what are going to be many long battles over the course of the month concerning commentary that former President Trump offers on the proceedings as they move ahead. Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Turning to our Politics Lead and what is happening on the other side of the 2024 race, this hour President Biden is in arizona, where in just a few minutes hes set to tour the grand canyon. He dedicated a new National Monument around the grand canyon. Part of a southwest swing to mark the 1 Year Anniversary of the inflation reduction act, his Land Mark Legislatat focused on climate and the economy and hes also doing so in a battleground tate that he won in 2020 and wants to kin again. Lets discuss. Aisha, the white house clearly trying to gixcitement for bidens 2024 campaign. Yes. Cnns poll from last week found his Approval Rating is at only 41 . Ome 37 of americans approve of his handling of the economy. I said this in our staff meeting today, i feel like ive been noting this for three years. President biden is out there harolding such and such and the American People disapprove overwhelmingly. Three years in, were still having the conversation. Because the connection isnt happening and i know that has to be frustrated for his staff, because when you look at the economy, when you look at the raw numbers, there is a lot of good there. Unemployment is relatively low and inflation is coming down but people arent feeling that way. I think part of it is because when you have inflation, that is such a Pocketbook Issue and it really hit people where they hurt. You have Interest Rates up, and cost a Million Dollars to get a house. Im talking about around here. I might just be complaining about myself. It is a lot. Everything feels more expensive and i think that is the issue that they have. They have not been able to connect and make people feel like biden has done something for them. And i think it is hard because biden is not that type of candidate that gets people all worked up in their hearts to feel very warm and fuzzy about him. And margaret, there is major news on the other side of the president ial race, Florida Governor ron desantis has replaced his Campaign Manager as they struggle to catch fire the way he and his supporters thought it would have done by now. Hes dropped in the polls pretty consistently since he launched hi campaign. What do you make of the latest move . I mean, the move satisfied a number of boxes for desantis. His team and donors was demanding it. When youre stuck in the mud, you have to make a change and the Campaign Manager makes sense. But number two, the person hes tapping has been his Chief Of Staff in the governors off. This is someone with national experience, he staffed the Commerce Secretary under donald trump. Hes been involved in that ind coo of nexus of political stuff that you could do or the auspice of governor like moving the migrants to blue places like whatever Marthas Vineyard or whatever. Is it going to work . I dont know, maybe. What does he have to lose. But there is a pattern and practice and donald trump has dumped a number of Campaign Managers and it did not get him over the finish line in 2020 but if you do it earl why i enough it could be a reset and desantis is looking for different ways to reset and this is one of them. And they told their messenger this was the last reload. If desantis failed to catch fire after the first debate which is in a couple of weeks, is that a sign that maybe the staffing isnt the issue . I think that is that is the issue that he has. Is it staffing or is it him. I feel like it was a rebound boyfriend. You have a bad breakup and you get with the new person and it is all hot and heavy at first but then after the honeymoon period, that is what they want. The gop wants trump, the tried and true and the steady and it just doesnt feel like desantis has figured out how he could hit trump and make damage. He knows how to hit the left. He does not know how to hit trump. And to get to the nomination, you have to go through trump, not through the left. And margaret, when it comes to the debate, listen to what donald trump said during a Campaign Stop this afternoon. Okay. Are you ready . Poll. We take a free poll. Should i do the debate . Well, maybe well do something else. That seemed to be people chanting no and doing the thumbs down. By the way, that is not a poll. Just for record. That is not a poll. But do you think hes considering showing up . Does it matter . Because what hes telling us is what we already knew which is that, whether he shows up or not, it is a predicate for the conversation he wanted to have on the terms he wanted to have it and debates would be around the issues and what differentiates one candidate from the other if i put my vote towards this person, what would i be getting as a result in terms of policy, in terms of reliability, you pledge me something on stage and you will have to follow through on that pledge. I think that is all different now. And that this is a show. Im not trying to to cover the debate, great. But this is telling us that hes seeing this as another stage for the show. And not a real decision about whether to discuss substance in a serious setting. Right. Aisha, mike pence former Vice President is the latest puican candidate to qualify e debate stage. But what does it say about thi race that seven other candidates qualified for that stage before the most recent Vice President of the United States . It shows, like, how, you know, right now, this is well we know it is not traditional. This is not traditional politics and it shows how much of a Problem Pence has. Because what is his argument for why he should vote for him. When it comes to base, his whole case would be what he did with donald trump. But donald trump doesnt want him. So now he has to make the case for like why should i be the one. And i dont think hes come up with that. Hes not come up with the reason for mike pence and a lot of them have to answer that question. I dont know that theyve answered it. And Asa Hutchinson has not made the stage, and francis suarez. Do you think it is Campaign Ending if you didnt make the Debate Tstage . Yeah. It may be Campaign Ending if you do make the stage. There is such a limited window. For any folks to break through, two things have to happen. They need to rise quickly and something needs to happen to change Donald Trumps dynamic other wise this is a oneman contest. Maybe a fourth indictment will be unlikely. Thanks so much. Appreciate it. Coming up, the charges just in from that River Front Brawl and the questions police have after reviewing the tape. And the crackdown in iran on women willing to live their lives when the regime pay think the world isnt watching. Subway refreshed everything. And now, theyre sling their meats fresh. Thats why this pro proffers the new grand slam ham. So does this pro. 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In our Law And Justice lead, moments ago in montgomery, alabama, Police Charged three men for assault for their involvement in a violent brawl over the weekend. Some viewers might find this video disturbing. Punches thrown and someone hit with chair and someone tossed into the water. All of it unfolded on a popular river front dock as police tried to get the situation under control. Ryan young is in montgomery where police gave an update. And you just spoke with Montgomery Police chief and the mayor, what did they have to say . Reporter yeah, also, jake, we just got a picture of damien picket, the copilot seen getting attacked over and over after getting off this boat and weve learned that this man is quite beloved by the crew that is on this boat. In fact, jake, as we take you back live we wanted to show you this boat that is docked here. This is the normal position for this boat. They were trapped out there nt owe the water and apparently all of the boats were lined up stopping them from being able to dock for about half an hour to 45 minutes they kept asking people on the boat to move and at some point mr. Picket tried to move so the boat could dock and that is when all of the chaos broke out. And you listen to the mayor and the police chief, they were quite disaippointed by how this city has been framed over the last few hours because this is going quite viral. Take a listen to them and the charges that could be coming next. We put everything that we had into making sure that the right charges are presented, and that these folks will face the appropriate charges in a day in court. I think it tells a really a story of people who took some bad actions, did not use good judgment and in some cases had no regard for authority. And that is problematic any time you have that in our city. Reporter yeah, three men are going to face assault, theyre misdemeanor charges, jake. One man is under arrest and they wouldnt tell us which one and two others will be picked up in selma. But this video is traumatizing. Talking to people on the boat, watching the copilot come across and being hit like that over and over again. And then the people did not try to flee. They walked around and engaged even more. So there is additional questions here about whether or not more people who were on that boat will face charges. But you could understand, this is really kind of racially charged things up, because when you watch the video, you do see an older black man being beaten by several white people and at that point people rushed on to help him out so you could understand the fear and anger here. Yeah, it is a grim scene. Ryan young in montgomery, alabama, thank you. Coming up next, what sources are revealing about the sobering reality about ukraines counter offensive and what might need to be recalibrated as this war continues to drag on. An the accused former new York Governor Andrew Cuomo of Sexual Harassment and then a campaign to smear their reputations. The reporting from the New York Times ahead. So you can deliver more value to your customers. Fast. Reliablele. Perfectly orchestrated. The united s states postal service. From pep in their step to shine in their coats, when people switch their dogs food to the farmers dog, the effects can seem like magic. But theres no magic involved. dog bark its just smarter, healthier t food. Its amazing what al food can do. I have lots of monthly subscriptions. Streaming, music, news sites. Then i went to experian. Now i can see them in one place. And the ones i forgot about . Experian can cancel them for me. See all you can do at experian. Com save now. 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And according to you are why sources, what is going wrong . Why havent Ukrainian Forces been able to retake more territory from the russians . Partly this is a story about russian defenses. They had months to dig in the east. They have heavily mined, tens of thousands, a complex network of trenches where theyre highly dug in and they have some air support, to a greater degree than the ukrainians have as their assaulting this. The assaulting force is always going to be an at a disadvantage. You want to be three to one and ukrainians are about one to one. It is a really tough job for Ukrainian Forces to try to accomplish. And as you describe the russian tactics, trenches and mines and it sounds like world war i which was more than a century ago. Are there nor modern weapons or tactics that could break through these old tactics . There are, there are devices that could go through mine fields and blow up some of the mines and there is mine Detection Equipment and so on. And weve covered for weeks and months ukrainian have been supplied with highly advanced u. S. Bradley fighting vehicles for instance, german tanks. But, what ive been told is the training on those systems has really been quite short. Eight weeks on some of the systems and it seems there is now a growing feeling that the attempt to transform the Ukrainian Armed forces into large mechanized fighting units which takes u. S. Forces months, years of training to do, to try to do that in weeks may have been a bridge too far. So given all of the difficulties, are the ukrainians adjusting . They have been leaving the Armored Vehicles and attack as best they can. But theyve also been pulling back some of their forces. Ukrainian forces, they endured just staggering losses, jake. In these assaults both in terms of kia and wounded in action from mines. Horrible wounds and Ukrainian Commanders understandably pulled some of those units back to reduce the casualty and that adjustment by its nature has meant that the progress has been more plotting. And what is ahead. We have fall coming up, what is putin hoping for . Hes waiting everybody out. And he thinks he could wait the west out, the west will grow impatient with ukraine and for divided ab less likely to support him. That is his hope. Ukrainians and their western backers say they still have fight and speaking to these forces before the war started, this is the most pessimistic ive heard. Jim sciutto, thank you so much. And in our world lead, it has been nearly a year since the death, some would say murder of 22yearold Massa Gina Ameany who died in the custody of the Morality Police after she showed some of her hair. Iran women are still defying the regime, refusing to wear the hijab in public. But the efforts to stop the women are getting increasingly dangerous. Reporter irans brave women are fighting for their freedom with every day acts of defiance like this. Out on the streets without the mandatory hijab. This video appeared to show a woman harassed and called a criminal for refusing to cover up. The days of being afraid of you are over, she said. Nearly a year after the death of 22yearold Massa Gina Ameany in the custody of the socalled mo Morality Police, they have been crushed by a bloody crackdown, but not the will of those standing up for their most basic of rights. Countless women have been defying the establishment choosing not to wear the hijab. And now the regime is lashing out with a campaign over repression announcing the return of Morality Police patrols. Being a woman in iran is now harder than ever. Because of all of the attention, our privacy and safety is a wish. You should always be worried and careful about police. Reporter this young woman were not identified for her safety spoke from inside of the ever of iran. They are in metro stations and in streets, and they warn you if you disobey and they take video and photos and they were paparazzi. And now failure to abide by the strict dress code a more severe offense with unprecedent lid harsh penalties including five to ten year jail sentences an fines of more than 8,000. This may be just a warning to intimidate those who dare to dissent, but a crack down has been well underway. This chilling video released by a group affiliated with the Security Apparatus captures some of the terrifying tactics. Facial Recognition Technology being used to identify and threaten unveiled women. Cameras are everywhere, thousands have had their cars confiscated according to Amnesty International and women without a veil are being denied access to education and public services. Perhaps even more disturbing is courts have been imposing degrading punishments on women including counseling sessions for quote antisocial behavior claiming government buildings and Washing Corpses in morgues. I couldnt believe the Mortuary Punishment until i saw it with my own eyes which was Washing Corpses for a month. Are you and other women around you scared when youre out in public . The first days were scary, but with time the courage inside everyone grows and now no one is scared. People were just waiting for a spark. And that happened last year. We keep going for the kids who were murdered during the protests. Reporter many like her say this is not just about the hijab. This is about standing up to tyranny and theyre not backing down. Most people believe in freedom now because theyve tasted it. We know about the punishments but we know everything has a cost and if this is the cost of freedom, were ready to pay for that. Im sure we will see iran breathing again one day. Cnn, london. And our thanks to jamana. Americas Credit Card Debt is hitting a collective 1 trillion. Might that be a warning sign about the economy . Were going to have Expert Opinion next. So i called innovation refunds. Their team of independent Tax Attorneys will work with your cpa a to determine if your company is eligiblele. [whip sound] take the first step to s see if your smallll business qualifie. Pensive Music Footsteps Crunching Pensive Music Birds Tweeting Pensive Music Broom Sweeping [narrator] one in five Children Worldwide are faced with the reality of living without food. No family dinners, no special treats, no full bellies. All around the world, parents are struggling to feed their children. Toddlers are suffering from acute malnutrition, which stunts their growth. Kids are forced to drop out of school so they can help support their families. Covid, conflict, inflation and climate have ignited the worst famine in our lifetime. And were fed up. 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Get fed up. Call us now or visit getfedupnow. Org today. vo Verizon Small Business days are back. From august 7th to the 13th. Get a free tech check and special offers. Like a free 5g phone. Plus, switch, keep your number, and get up to 300 off. With verizon business. Its your business. Its your verizon. In our money lead today, for the first time ever, americas Credit Card Debt has surpassed 1 trillion. That is according to new data from the Federal Reserve bank of new york. With me now, mark zandia to break this down. Mark, what does that mean for all of us . That u. S. Credit card debt has surpassed a trillion dollars . Well, jake, it indicates that there are some americans that are under significant financial stress. I think particularly low income households, less than 60,000 a year, 70,000 a year, they got rocked by the high inflation and if youre paying more for filling your gas tank or putting groceries on table or paying your rent, turn to credit cards to help out that Purchasing Power Gap so i think weve seen a lot of borrowing as a result of that. Middle income and high household is no probe. Theyre paying their cards back each month. But for lower income households i think it indicates some financial stress. Meanwhile, the people are getting shish kabob, because inflation is so high and then the Federal Reserve in order to reduce inflation is raising Interest Rates. So their debt is becoming even more expensive. Is this how troubled are you by this spot of the economy . Like, it seems very reminiscent in some ways of the Housing Problem in 2008 . No, not to that degree, jake. Clearly it is a problem and youre absolutely right, it is not only that these households have taken on a lot more Credit Card Debt, but Interest Rates on those cards have revenue quite significantly. So there are interest payments, to serve that debt. And then of course that means they have less to spend on everything else. Were not in the same ballpark that happened in 08, 09. The high income households, theyre in fine shape. Theyre debt loads are actually pretty close to record lows and theyve done a very good job of locking in the previous record low Interest Rates through Mortgage Refinancing and so theyre sitting in a good spot. But for low income households, theyre struggling with all of this. So the consumer and Producer Price index reports are set to be released at the end of the week. Theyll show signs of whether inflation is continuing to cool. What are you going to be looking out for . Yeah, this is good news. Particularly for those low income households struggling with high inflation. Inflation is coming back in. It is slowing dramatically and we should get a good report on thursday, to still show an increase but a small increase in over Consumer Price inflation. And the most encouragingly, it will indicate, i think, that all of the trend lines look really good here. So cost of housing services, and vehicle prices, food prices, theyre all stable to down and that should continue as we look through the remainder of the year into next. And that is very encouraging. So all of this stress that people have been under, because of the high inflation, that stress should ease in the report should indicate that. I like it when you bring us good news, mark, thank you so much. A new spin on an old tactic. Smearing the reputation of women who make highprofile Sexual Harassment allegations. New reporting from the New York Times about former Governor Andrew Cuomo and his sister. 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As we start a new school year, theres something new happening in californias public schools. Jessie theyre called Community Schools. David where parents and families, students and educators are Making Decisions as one. Damien its a real sense of community. Leslie we saw doubledigit gains in math, in english, and reading scores. David its an innovation thats transforming our public schools. Narrator californias Community Schools reimagining public education. An were back with our national lead. A story of generational power and back channel image rehabilitation, the New York Times reports that former new York Governor Andrew Cuomos sister coordinated with a group of democratic supporters, older women active on twitter to help to fix his public image. This is in 2021 after multiple women accused the democratic governor of Sexual Harassment. Madeline cuomo encouraged group called we decide new york, wdny, to publicly attack if not smear the accusers, including Charlotte Bennett, cuomos former aide who said that the governor asked her inappropriate questions about her sex life. Claims that he has denied. One of the groups leaders tweeted your life will be dissected like a frog in a High School Science class. This after Madeline Cuomo encouraged Membersf Group to post ptos of bennett from her instagram which Madeline Cuomo said made bennett look like a, quote, bimbo. She told the we decide ladies that the governor was seeing everything but in public she said he was not involved. Though the groups official we decide twitter page still states, we stand by new york Governor Cuomo. The New York Times reports that the group has since fractud a tad. The groups pridt told cnn today, the board of wdny will not condone the repugnant behavior of Madeline Cuomo. And cnn has reached to the governor and his sister and a spokesperson said he does not personally have nor does he follow social media accounts and he was not directly or indirectly involved in the online efforts wn hes had somingo y he has held back from doing so publicly. And his sister said to the i invoked his name so the group felt it was appropriate but it was not with my brothers knowledge. Joining us now, the attorney representing bennett, deborah katz. You called the role in all of this shocking but not surprising, unquote. And you say yourk looing to use some of the New York Times reporting in Charlotte Bennetts lawsuit against the governor. How . Well, we know from this reporting that Madeline Cuomo did what we knew was happening, which is part of a Concerted Campaign to try to smear and intimidate complainants from coming forward. Andrew cuomo was a bully and surrounded himself with people who tried to intimidate and bully women who came forward and this is shocking this behavior exists but it is not surprising because this is the hallmark of the cuomo administration. He was a bully and his sister was too. You heard in a statement to cnn that Madeline Cuomo denies that any of this was at her brothers direction. Obviously that is not the suggestion made in the trove of emails and Phone Messages an the like that the New York Times reviews. So which do you believe . I believe what she said to members of the group. But we will take discovery. We will depose Madeline Cuomo and andrew cuomo and members of this group. It is clear to us that andrew cuomo had a group of advisers who were doing everything that they could to try to beat back the women who were coming forward, and this was just part of the campaign. No one took action without it being sanctioned and being directed by then governor and former governor and his inner circle. I will say, having seen a lot of Online Activity and mobs going after people, especially women who make accusations against powerful men. It really makes you wonder how much, if any of it is organic versus how much of it is being pushed by these high profile men . Well, i think thats a really key point here. Obviously, in terms of Charlotte Bennetts case, this is a watershed moment. We now have peeked behind the screen and see what actually happened. But as someone who represents victims of Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment, this is what everyone fears if they come forward. And now we have the most Concrete Record of exactly what happens. 4,000 texts from madeline and these individuals coordinating efforts to smear the women who came forward. The timing every time andrew cuomo was in trouble, there would be efforts to smear the women. It was coordinated. And we see that. Thats what women fear coming forward against the powerful. Because they dont want to be treated like this. Does this make your client Charlotte Bennett feel relieved in any way, in a weird way, in the fact that this wasnt necessarily organic, it was basically a Political Army on the internet of trolls . I think charlotte knew from the very beginning that this wasnt organic, that this was a coordinated effort. This is exactly what then Governor Cuomo and former Governor Cuomo did to people who came forward. He would try to smear them, discredit them. And it was a shot at other people who came forward to not do that. Because who would want to be treated this way. One of the trolls puts on the internet saying your life is going to be dissected like a frog in a High School Science class. Who would want that kind of scrutiny and consider that image. Its such a violent image. Yeah. Debra katz, thank you so much for your time. Really appreciate it. Thank you for having me. 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Get way more into what your into when you stream on the xfinity 10g network. Welcome to the lead. Im jake tapper. This hour a breakthrough study involving a popular Weight Loss Drug and the risk for Heart Attacks and strokes. Why it could impact Insurance Coverage of the drug. Plus, a major 2024 Campaign Shakeup among the campaign hopefuls. Who lands on the first debate stage . But leading this hour, voters are heading to the polls in ohio for a Special Election that could determine the future of Abortion Rights in the state even though abortion is technically not on the ballot. This could be a referendum on what may be one of the biggest issues in the 2024 race. Were going to start with cnns jeff zeleny. He is in columbus, ohio for us. Jeff, what exactly is on this ballot . Well, jake, this is all about whether a simple majority is needed to pass an amendment to the states constitution, or if it would require a Super Majority. At issue as you said is that november question on enshrining Abortion Rights in the states constitution. But think of it as a twostep process here. Because republican lawmakers called this Special Election for today to try and raise the threshold. And by doing that, its called issue one. Thats all voters are deciding here today. That would raise the threshold from a simple majority of 50 needed to approve an amendment to the states constitution to 60 needed to approve an amendment the states constitution. But thats not all. It would also make it more difficult for normal people, citizens to put forward an amendment to the states constitution. Rit now something signatures are only needed in 44 of the states 88 counties. If this issue 1 were to go forward, this would require signatures to be gathered in all 88 ohio counties, effectively allowing one county to block the rules of the rest of the state. So that is the simple issue here. Is it a Majority Vote or a Super Majority vote . And a very interesting crossing of party lines here in this debate as well. So, jeff, what do you say to somebody who looks at this and says this just looks like the antiabortion politicians felt they were going to lose in november on whether to enshrine Abortion Rights into the state constitution, which would have only required a Majority Vote. So now were trying to change the rules on how to pass a constitutional amendment so that the minority gets to have sway over the majority. In other words, if 59 of ohioans say no, they want Abortion Rights in the state constitution, thats still not going to be enough under these new rules if they pass. Thats right. It would take 60 . And jake, this is coming in the context of what happened last summer in the wake of the Supreme Court decision. Just about a year ago we saw the amendment in kansas pass to enshrine Abortion Rights there. Just shy of 60 . In kentucky, another red state, just shy of 60 as well. So we ask the republican secretary of state Franklin Rose a pro poet of issue 1 why Something Like this is constitutional or even appropriate. This is what he said. I think that thats a silly idea. I mean, its a this is democracy at work. Asking the people, do they want to have the same kind of Common Sense Protections in place that many other states have. Many other states around the country, many states