Transcripts For CNNW CNN 20240703

We are following several break news events this hoursh a one that has huge repercussions for the functions of congress, and the others are legal battles one for a former u. S. President and one for the sitting president s son. Those are separate legal cases playing out in two different courthouses for two different reasons. A moment ago we saw hunter biden heading into court and we are waiting for former President Trump to head into court. President trump faces an existential threat to his business empire, and he is heading back into a court where he has lost part of his case, and the judge has already found that he is liable for fraud. And hunter biden is in a delaware courtroom to be arraigned on federal gun charges. And major Breaking News, we are learning that there is going to be a vote today, and House Speaker Kevin Mccarthy announced that there is going to be a vote today to decide his fate. Will he keep his job . Democrats and republicans are meeting Behind Closed Doors at this minute, and we are minutes away to learn whether he has the votes to survive. We will keep our eye on that and bring you word to learn what took place in those meetings. And now to delaware, and evan perez is outside of the courthouse in wilmington, and hunter biden has arrived and what do we expect to see . Well, john, hunter biden is now sitting inside of that courtroom and there with his attorney abbe lowell, and this is supposed to be a very Brief Hearing. This is where he is going to be entering the not guilty plea, and this is what we expect him to do. He will go down to get processed by the u. S. Marshals, and then expect he will leave. Now, of course, we dont know how this going to go down, because the last time he was here a couple of months ago, it was supposed to be a Brief Hearing and his plea agreement, and everything had been set up ahead of time, and then of course, it fell apart spectacularly when the judge started to ask questions about the terms of the deal were. Now, part of that deal was for a Diversion Agreement whereby hunter biden would basically stay away from drugs and make sure that he did not buy any drugs for two years, and that gun charge would go away, but that is no longer the case. He is facing three counts for purchasing this handgun that he owned for 11 days, but under the federal law, it is a violation for him to possess that handgun, because he had said that he was under the influence of drugs in that period, and using drugs in that period, and so it is a federal felony for him to buy that firearm. We expect that Hunter Bidens attorneys are going to make the case that the Diversion Agreement should continue the stand, and make the argument to the judge that this charge should not go forward, but this is obviously only the beginning for hunter biden, because we expect that the special counsel david weiss is also looking to bring charges to hunter biden for his tax, and failing to pay his taxes the on time for a number of years that could happen in the next several weeks in los angeles or washington, d. C. , john. All right. Evan perez is outside of the courthouse in wilmington, delaware, and keep us up to speed for what is going on behind you. And we are waiting for the Zil Trial Of Donald Trump going to begin, and day one was wild, and what is day two going to bring . Brynn gingras is there for us. And the judge is speaking, and there are two cameras outside of the courtroom, and it is difficult to know the tone. But we will tell you that Letitia James came in and she didnt make any comments to anyone, but there is someone who thanked out to say go get him and thank you, and a big thumbs up and a smile. And the reporters inside of the courtroom says that the mood is friendly, and there is attorneys talking with each other, and attorneys hugging the other side, and the attorney generals side with the defense and so it is a different mood right now than what we were seeing with the tense environment for day one. When the court is started today, we expect the former accountant Donald Bender to get in and the attorneys to go through the nittygritty of the Financial Statements and how the valuations were determined in the trump properties, and of course, the defense is fighting that there was no fraud here and no intent, and there are no victims in this case. As far as the former president is concernedsh it is unclear how long he plans on staying today, and of course, he was here for the entire day yesterday, and unclear if he is going to do the same today, but what is interesting is Going Forward and how many days does he show up to court, because he is on the witness list, and his sons are expected to testify as well, and people that he may be interested in listening to are expected to testify like former Attorney Michael Cohen which is why this whole case got started in the first place, and this is something that we will keep an eye out for, and yesterday, he was engaged with the testimony listening, because as you pointed out, this is a lot at stake here, and this is his brand, and intent on defending the brand, and we know that the attorneys General Office and asked at the end of, this they said they hope that trump never does business in new york ever again. And brynn gingras, thank you. We are going to Kristen Holmes, and you said that is a legal proceeding and he does not have to be there, and he has chosen to be there, because this is day two of a Major Campaign event for donald trump and he and the campaign are very much treating it like that, kristen. That is right, john, and they have taken advantage of the media coverage. One thing they talked to advisers about is how they could work with the legal coverage and turn it into campaign coverage. If you remember the arrest in georgia and the day after the first republican debate, and immediately the coverage started to shift to trumps arrest in a ga and something they took notice of, and realized that the legal stuff might play into the Campaign Stuff when it is coming to actually publicizing these events, and so that is a part of it. I am told that trump had fun yesterday. Sources said that he had a good time and he was happy when the judge told them that testimony from 2011 was a waste of time, and some of the Legal Advisers were happy with that, and yes, he is vested in the case, and using it for publicity and spoke to the cameras a number of times, but he is also vested that it is attack his brand. He spent his life building a brand on being a rich successful businessman, and that is part of the brand in The Apprentice of being a rich successful businessman, but it is also going to attack his political brand, because this is how he has sold himself in 2016 and this time again, and im so successful and rich, and id can do that for you, and that what i hear from voters, he can make the best deals, because he the author of the art of the deal and this is going to hit the core of who he is, and so he is vested in this case and how it is going to play out. Thank you so much, Kristen Holmes and brynn outside of the court. We will check back within them, and we were hearing donald trump yet again stand before the cameras just like he did yesterday and speak to the cameras, and make a speech which one could say a Campaign Type of stop speech. And now with us is our political director David Chalian and also our person who has been liable in this case wait, i want to take a pause, and we will get to you, because Kevin Mccarthy is speaking as he is facing a potential vote to oust him. I have a lot of respect for jeffries. I understand politics, but i truly belief that the institution of the house at the end of the day, if you throw a speaker out who has 99 of the conference, that kept government open and paid the troops, i think that we are in a bad place for how we are going to run congress. Are you expecting the democrats to back you up then . No, personally, i am not. Do you need their help to remain in leadership . If five republicans go with the democrats then i am out. So it is whether it is likely. Probably so. So this is a complex piece of algebra, because you dont know how they will vote, and why are you confidence based on the mathematical vote because i live in america. And this is a serious question. I know it s. Have you come to me and on no matter what i thought that i could solve and i have not been confident. No, i look, i am confident and i have had obstacles in my life and i have fallen, and there were times i could not be speaker, and you have counted me out, and i am 55th speaker of the house. You were confident that the government would shutdown, and it did not. And i am confident it is a challenge, and i will take pit will take it on. Are you confident you will hold on . Yes. It seems it is personal for matt, and it is not like he is looking out for the country or the institution. I gave this quote away, and i will give you this quote away. And are you in a Power Sharing with the democrats. Look, it does not work. Im a conservative and republican who wants to get things done. Look, i know that we are living in the government design to have compromise, but look, we are in the majority, and you dont surrender, and do you work with the other side, yes. I have said that i will treat hakeem the way i want to be treated, and i have done that. Not everything has to be political. Look, when you are looking at the other speakers like boehner or paul ryan and the first thing they would do when they meet, nancy pelosi would come and say, if anyone ever did that motion, we would stand with you, and not because of you or because we agree with politically, simply because the institution has to stand on its own, and the first thing she did when she was speaker was to remove that. And it gave me the power to make that motion on her. I had a lot of republicans who wanted me to do it, but i never did. Do nancy and i ever get along . Not really. But i thought that institution was too important and that was too personal. But keeping the government open and paying the troops was the right decision. And i thought that it was the right decision. But if i lose my job over it, i thought that was something i will stand by. And so there are five republicans who want to knock him out of the office out of the 435someodd people in congress, but he wants to keep fighting, and he does not feel like he needs the democrats help. I want to bring in David Chalian, and very different question to ask you after hearing from the speaker. What is your take to listening to what he is saying and he does not need the help from the democrats for a Power Sharing, and he is going to continue to fight and proud to keep the government open and pay the troops, and this is the right decision, and whatever happens, happens. He is Crystal Clear on the math of this, and he does potentially need the democrats help, but he understands the political reality, and he said that he gets politic, and beyond the Power Sharing idea that is not feasible, and the idea that the democrats is going to come to help him is not a settled matter in their own caucus is farfetched, so he made it Crystal Clear, and he said, if five republicans join all of the democrats in this, then im out. Right. So, yes, he is confident that he will be able to hang on, but he is keenly aware of where the numbers are at the moment on this. So, we will await word from the Democratic Caucus as to how they are going to position themselves on this, but it is certainly going to sound to my ear after hearing that there was as manu reported earlier a conversation between Hakeem Jeffries the democratic leader and the speaker Kevin Mccarthy, tell me if you agree, but to my ear, Kevin Mccarthy did not seem that he had a deal that the democrats would save him. To be clear, Kevin Mccarthy just said that probably so there are five republicans voting against him, and that is enough to get him out if all democrats vote to oust him. But what is not said there as he is leaning there saying that i am here for the institution, and he is not talking about standing up for republican conference here. No, he was talking to democrats there. What is unsaid is this appeal across the aisle in between the lines of what Kevin Mccarthy, the words that Kevin Mccarthy was using. Standing next to Kevin Mccarthy as he was speaking is our manu raju who is joined at the hip and not because you want to be, but because you are great at reporting on him, manu, and what did you hear from Kevin Mccarthy just now . Yeah, the key line is if he was open with Power Sharing with democrats and something that has been floated by some democratic members is perhaps one way they could help to cut a deal the speaker of the house here, and he ruled it out. And he said, no surrender to the liberals and i dont know how that could work. So what could he give democrats is uncertain at this moment. He suggested not a whole lot that he could give them. He is trying to make an institutional argument to democrats to say this is not good for the house to have this instability, but the democrats dont trust Kevin Mccarthy to vote for him to stay in power simply because of that argument, and so suggesting that he could actually lose his job, and he thought that he could stay in the job, but he may not be in the job anymore, and so he was uncertain whether he could stay there and what he could give the democrats to come along, but i have been spending all morning talking to the republicans in and out of this conference meeting, and they are furious at matt gaetz because virtually all of them are in line with Kevin Mccarthy even though he has lost more than five republican votes to push him out of the speakership if all of the democrats vote so, but this chaos and this dysfunction and so could cost them the republican majority. For the speaker To Capitulate Saturday and pass a cr with all of the votes on the senate was a bad deal for the american peo people. I am favorably disposed to it. You will have five to ten people grind this place to a halt. And the definition of insanity is to continue doing it over and over, and i could have anticipated this in january. So that last congressman was don bacon who said preliminary discussions going on among the rank and file members to see if there is any sort of give on the democratic side to move ahead. The democrats at the moment are meeting Behind Closed Doors with Hakeem Jeffries, the democratic leader who have not come to a position of how they will vote on the key issue, and the next vote is on the 1 30 series, and this is a vote to kill matt gaetz motion to push Kevin Mccarthy out of the speakership, and if the leadership does not succeed in killing motion, that means it is still alive, and that means they will move by tomorrow but probably as soon as today to vote to Eject Mccarthy from the speakership, and at the moment, guys, he is in serious jeopardy of losing that vote, and then it could go on and on until they elect a new speaker. This could be Kevin Mccarthys last day of speaker of the house. It will be Kevin Mccarthys last day as speaker of the house unless democrats jump in to save him, and that is the situation as it stands right now as we are counting votes. So we will go to lauren fox who is standing outside of this meeting where the democrats have been gathered for over an hour hashing out their plans, lauren, and what are you hearing . What might the democrats do . Yeah. Yeah, john. Behind me, democrats are hearing from the leadership about the procedural steps that could happen on the floor of the house of representatives. This is a technical effort, and so there has to be a educational effort for the members to know what to expect. You heard from our colleague manu raw ju of what could unfol around 1 30. Only a handful of members have come out, and most of them Behind Closed Doors listening to the leadership and having a conversation of how to move forward, but when you heard Kevin Mccarthy say that he is a conservative and republican, and he didnt know what he could offer democrats, and many of the democrats going into the meeting said that they were not going to help him out for free. So if he could not offer him anything, there were not a lot of them uniting to bail him out. I asked Maxine Waters if you are going to bail out mckacaccarthy she said s bail out mccarthy, and she maid a woo sound, and that they wouldnt if they did not help him out, but there is a problem with Power Sharing and coming into the place where you give the democrats things they want. He is a conservative and republican, and he made it clear in the comments, and he is basically saying, i wont change my position politically or on issues or on spending just to save my job. Obviously, that is where things stand with mccarthy saying that he is not offering democrats anything, and many of the democrats said they would not save mccarthy without a key extraction. Lauren fox, all we can say is keep us posted. Continue to bang on that door and see if anybody opens it aupd tells you anything. Thank you for being with us. We so many moving parts. Votes will be coming up. We will speak with a member of the house leadership, republican leadership, and congresswoman m m miliatakis will tell us what could be happening coming up. We are following Breaking News. This is video from a short time ago when hunter biden went into court, but we have learned that hunter biden has pleaded not guilty in a delaware courtroom as he was being arraigned on three federal gun charges. We will continue to bring you news from delaware as the details come in. We are also following real developments from capitol hill as we heard from House Speaker Kevin Mccarthy as the house is preparing to gavel in for the day and decide his future. We are learning that mccarthy will attempt from the sources in the room to block the efforts led by republican congressman matt gaetz to put forward this motion to vacate as it is called, but essentially to oust, and to bring forward a motion to oust Kevin Mccarthy as speaker. But what happens from here, and whether Kevin Mccarthy is speaker after today remains a big question. Joining us right now is republican from new york congresswoman nicole militakis, and can you tell us what happened inside of that room . It is a lot of rallying behind Kevin Mccarthy. He gives a great speech, and he does to bring everyone together, and realize it is not about us, but it is governing for the american people, and delivering on our promises. Look, we have said that we want to secure the border, and bring fiscal responsibility, and bring Good Government reforms to the way that the body runs. He is doing those things. The fact that one individual wants to do this motion to vacate, why . Because we prevented a shutdown the other day, and we averted a debt default a few months ago, and he is fulfilling the promises to make sure that we are doing the appropriations the other day with 11 bills. We have down 4 of the 11, and the senate has done none. This motion is a disthe action, and it is going to differentiate between those who are here to govern, and those who are here to play charades. Part of the job as assistant whip, and the job of whip is to count votes, and Kevin Mccarthy when he left your conference gathering just now, he acknowledged that there are, there could be five votes, and there are five votes that could join the democrats and oust him as speaker. Right now, do you see that the votes are there, and the five republicans to oust him as speaker . I dont know if they are there, and this is what the conference is all about. When you stauaw the room standi up and cheering for him, you think that he has the votes and the overwhelming support of the conference, but this is what happens when you have a slim majority. I am not questioning the overwhelming majority, but with a slim majority, five votes can be the end of his speakership, and right now, he said that probably so when asked if those five votes are there to join democrats. Do you think that today could be the last day that Kevin Mccarthy is House Speaker . I think that kevin is going to prevail and move forward, but again, think about people have to think about what is going on. We had a package and matt gaetz and a small group derailed it. And now, matt wants to blame the speaker for working across the partylines to get something avert shutdown, and this is not going to warrant being removed, but he should be applauded to do something to have the military men and women to be paid, and be responsible so that the programs work for the american people. That is what we are doing. Yes, congresswoman, but this is where you are now, and can Kevin Mccarthy stay in, continue to hold the gavel without the help of democrats, and be that them voting to remain as speaker, and vote for him to table this so that the threshold is lower, and can he do this without the democrats assistance . Honestly, we have to see what happens. We have to see who shows up at the chamber and what time this vote is cast. That is what happens at the time of the day, but i would think that some of the moderate democrats would join with the republicans, and we have 43 days to go until the funding runs out, and we cant do it without a speaker of the house to do the work of the people. And for people who are here to not play games should just table the motion, and continue to do the work that we need to do over the next few weeks. Congresswoman, what is worse, Kevin Mccarthy losing gavel or Kevin Mccarthy and you all needing the democrats in order to keep itt . Look, i think that it would be worse if we do not have a speaker. That is the reality, because we wont be able to do our jobs. We cant do our work if we dont have a speaker of the house, and with 43 days to and with the democrats having leverage, they say that the word of the week is leverage, and do you acknowledge the reality that, it is the case right now. Yeah, they have leverage, thanks to matt gaetz, because he is working with the socialist squad and with the democrats to undermine our conference and the speaker and this is the reality, and we would not be in this situation if the republicans worked together as a team to move the ball forward and we have work to do and this is an opportunity for the center left and right to come together and table this motion if necessary if it comes to that, but we have possibly the republicans to do it just within the republican conference and i know that the people i have spoken with and the Assistant Whips and all of my people are sticking with Kevin Mccarthy, and we will have to tally the rest of it up today. At 1 30 when the votes are expected, is Speaker Mccarthy going to be bringing together this motion to table or also known as the effort to kill this, to kill this effort to push him out in the first place, is that is going to happen at 1 30 . I dont know if he is going to be bringing it, but i imagine there is a motion to table from the floor. Congresswoman, thank you very much. You have a lot the work out among the republicans right now. Appreciate your time. Thank you. Thank you very much. John, it is all happening as we speak. This is chaos. They have no idea what is going to happen. It is really nice having the congresswoman on though, and she made it very clear, it is act exactly what you said, it is happening as we speak and unfolding before our eyes, and they dont know if they have votes or if they need the democrats or pull it off with the republicans, and it is again, wild to watch this play out. We need to hear from the democrats what they have decided Behind Closed Doors, and if they can stick together or get concessions from mccarthy, and he says no, but standby, because you dont know what is going to happen. And in the meantime, Hunter Biden Left A Delaware Courthouse and plead not guilty to three felony gun charges. The power goes out and we still have wifi to do our homework. And thats a good thing . Great in my book who are you . No power . No problem. Introducing stormready wifi. Now you can stay reliably connected through Power Outages with unlimited cellular data and up to 4 hours of battery backup to keep you online. Only from xfinity. Home of the xfinity 10g network. Youre probably not easily persuaded to switch mobile providers for your business. But what if we told you its possible that comcast Business Mobile can save you up to 75 a year on your wireless bill versus the big three carriers . Its true. Plus, when you buy your first line of mobile, you get a second line free. There are no Term Contracts or line activation fees. And you can bring your own device. Oh, and all on the most reliable 5g Mobile Network nationwide. Wireless that works for you. Its not just possible. Its happening. All right. New video in with donald trump inside of a new york courthouse where he is sitting through the civil trial. And the judge in the trial has already determined that he and his adult sons committed fraud. They are liable for fraud. There are other counts being adjudicated and this is a bench trial and there no jury inside of this courtroom, and so the arguments are being made in front of the judge at this very moment. Other legal news this morning. Hunter biden just walked out of the delaware federal courtroom, and he pleaded not guilty to gun charges. Once again, and you saw his face earlier, prosecutor, paul, and donald trump has fallen into the pattern over the last two days where he is making big political charged statements and then walks into the courtroom and sits and listens. What is the effect of that over the long term of this trial . Well, the political effect is the same of all of his political statements on general public. He is talking to the base. The effect on the judge is i think ultimately almost nonexistent. Perhaps a little negative in terms of the effect it might have on the judge to the extent that President Trump is condemning judge personally, but by and large, the judges are pretty good at excluding the outside world. The new york judge is going to rule on this case based upon the evidence that is presented to him, i think, so more or less, we are seeing two completely dissociated processes. A process outside of the court, and a Legal Process inside of the court. We saw one moment that may have crossed line not with trump, but his lawyer saying that i have already ruled that donald trump and his sons have committed fraud here, and that has been adjudicated and we have to move forward to face other things here, and how much can the legal team, and if he had the best lawyers in the world presenting best case to the world here, how much could they improve his legal situation over the next days and weeks . Well, i think they could improve it substantially, because the ruling of fraud did not issues of intent or issues of damages and issues of victimhood, and this is to say whether or not anybody was actually injured by the fraud. All of those are issues in which President Trump has some reasonable things to say. If he said them, he could mitigate in a legal sense the harm to his brand and his image, and the problem is that he cant swallow the fraud charge at all, and he cant admit to that in the first instance, and the lawyers are constrained to mitigate it, and they have to fight it in a way that is not successful. Again, as of now, everyone is saying that donald trump will take the stand in this case. How fraught is that for him . Well, i am going to make a bet with you that he does not take the stand. Assuming that he does, it is exceedingly fraught, because of course, then he is under oath, and he becomes liable for secondary problems of perjury. If he testifies to approving the valuations that have been deemed fraudulent to personally approving them, he runs the risk, but if he denies not approving them he is running the risk for not having managed his own company, and either way, he is caught between a rock and a hard place. That is why he may not walk up on that stand. Thank you, paul rosenzweig. And parents looking for the updated doses of covid19 vaccines for their children as hospitalizations are rising among Young Children. That story and more, as we are watching what is happening on capitol hill ahead. There are new complications in the rollout of the new covid19 vaccines. Parents are struggling to find vaccines for their kids and of course, we are headed into the fall and the uptick is expected. Dr. Sanjay gupta is here to help us understand the problem that parents are running into. They are having a hard time to get the vaccines is, and parents are calling the pediatricians, and finds out that there are no supply, and they are running out. And remember, this is the first year that the federal government is not handling the rollouts. It has not been perfect in years past, but now the pediatricians has to call the manufacturer, and get the right dosages and not over or under, and now when the Public Health emergency ended, kate, that meant that the pharmacies could no longer give the shots to children under the age of 6, and now that the Public Health emergency ended, if you are under the age of 6, you have to go to the pediatrician and not the pharmacy, and that can create the bottlenecks as well. I want to point out to you as well, kate, the demand for the shots, that i have not been super high, but we have been seeing a fivefold increase in the number of children being hospitalized with covid. Back in june, it was 237, and this last week in september, it was closer to 1,200, 1,175 children hospitalized. So those are the concerning numbers. I should point out that if you are looking at children under the age of 4, they are making up about half of the admissions. So it is really affecting the Young Children primarily, and overall, the kids, more than half of them did not preexisting conditions hospitalized, so it is not just the kids at risk for some reason, and that is adding to demand as well, kate. What is the cdc and the federal government saying about this, sanjay . The basic thing is to hold tight more than anything else, dr. Mandy cohen spoke about this specifically. Take a listen. We do know that our manufacturers and distributors were getting out the adult vaccines ss first, and that is t is shipping in the first number of days and now shipping out the pediatric vaccines is, and this is what is filling out. So it is making sense that the people over the age of 65 are the highest risk and making sure that the vaccine is available for them first, but if this is available before the first of the school year as we knew the numbers would go up, but hopefully the numbers will settle in as dr. Cohen suggests. Hopefully, but it is better to have access it to than hoping to get it here in time. Good to see you, sanjay. Sara . Investigators are revealing clues that led to finding the missing 9yearold girl who had been kidnapped, and they have arrested the suspect in her disappearance. We will have the details for you ahead. A 9yearold girl is back home after being abducted on a camping trip with her family. The police say they tracked down her kidnapped craig ross jr. After they found his fingerprint on a ransom note. They warn how quickly it happened. Charlotte was no more than 0. 2 of a mile from where they were camping, and riding her bike around that loop would take no more than four or five minutes. And you think that you would be safe, but you have to be cognizant of your surroundings all of the time, and these things happen in a hurry, and fortunately today, this ended in the right way. She was gone a few minutes. Ross is being held without bail on a Felony Charge of kidnapping in the first degree, and kidnapping charges are expected in that case. Averting a Freshwater Emergency and the army corp as successfully delivered millions of gallons by barge to Water Treatment plants in louisiana. The water there has been threatened because of the extreme drought has allowed saltwater to intrude on the freshwater. The freshwater was shipped downstream by barge. And now, a touching tribute from lebron james to his son bronny who went into cardiac address in july. Bronny is doing extremely well. He has began his Rehab Process to get back on the floor this season. Understanding that it is putting everything in perspective, and no matter what is going on, your life at that point in time, that a only thing that matters a at that point is your family. Those remarks last night, that is the first time that the nbas alltime leading scorer has spoken at length about his sons health care. John . And on capitol hill, Breaking News of a vote that is going to depend if House Speaker Kevin Mccarthy is going to keep his job. It will require democratic votes, and at the moment, we have no indications he will get it. Standby. Is it possible my network could take my business to the next level . It is with comcast business. Powering all your devices with gigspeed wifi. And you get fast downloads and uploads. Pick it up pick it up oh we got this because its powered by The Next Generation 10g network