The lead with jake tapper starts right now. A former president ial candidate and current u. S. Senator is about to join auto workers on that picket line. The lead starts right now. Day one on strike. As auto workers push for higher pay and better benefits. Soon a rally to support their demands with senator Bernie Sanders joining the fight. 32 of Donald Trumps old twitter dms turned over to the Special Counsel and now in the hands of jack smith. As his federal investigation digs into efforts to over turn the 2020 election. What was so damning in those messages . Plus, deliberating the fate of Texas Attorney general ken paxton, already suspended facing impeachment by his fellow republicans. Accused of abuse of power and brib bribery, so will State Senators vote to remove him from office . That decision could come down at any moment. Welcome to the lead, im jake tapper and we start with the national lead. For the first time in u. S. History, Union Workers are on strike against all three of americas Big Three Automakers, all at the same time. The uaw strike is spread across three plants right now, one from each of the big three. It is a gm plant in missouri, a ford truck plant in wayne, michigan, and a stellantis in toledo, ohio. In total more than 12,000 wokkers have walked off the job. That is about 9 of the 145,000 members. But the union warns more will go on strike if demands are not met. This is just a taste of what could come, they say. So what do auto workers want . They want a 40 pay increase over a fouryear contract. They want Cost Of Living pay increases restored. They want a fourday workweek and they want limits on parttime workers and forced overtime. So far, the ceo at the automakers have scoffed at the workers demands. Ford Ceo Jim Farley said the company could not afford the demands but all three automakers has been noted have reported record or near record profits. And the ceos themselves have seen multimillion dollars pay raises with their salaries climbing up to 40 over the last few years. Today President Biden spoke with the white house supporting workers and their demands but he did stop short of endorsing the strike. Lets be clear. No one wants a strike. Say it again. No one wants a strike. But i respect the workers right to use the options under the collective bargaining system and i understand the workers frustration. A michigan lawmaker will join me in a second but our coverage will start with cnns gabe cohen. Youre at the toledo, ohio, Stellantis Plant where the Largest Group of striking workers of the three plants, just minutes ago the uaw, the union said negotiators will return to the Bargaining Table tomorrow. What do we know about that . Reporter well, that was the message from the head of the union sean faiehn. That is what he told me. Sorry about the noise. On a picture line in michigan. He told me that they would not be bargaining today. That really today was about these rallies and these members that they would not be bargaining again until saturday. Although, we now understand that the union has sent a Counter Offer to all three of the automakers and are now awaiting a response and until that deal is reached and it could be sometime, this is what it will look like outside of this massive Stellantis Plant. You could see about a dozen workers and they stretch all the way down this road. If you look on the other side of where im standing, you could see additional lines at each and every gate, many of the other workers who arent here are out at the local Union Headquarters signing up right now for strike pay, jake. Theyre going to be getting 100 a day for the foreseeable future and that is money from the union because theyre not making a salary and they have shut down operation here. We spoke with the head of the union, the local union here about their frustrations. Take a listen. One thing that drives us crazy is we went through a Breaki Bankruptcy with barack obama in 2008 and beginning of 2009 and we were told we had to give um huge concessions to turn the companies around. We did that. And now it hasnt been reversed. Back in when we came out of bankruptcy, our starting pay was 15. 78. 14 years later it is 15. 78. There is something wrong with that. Reporter and, jake, i could tell you every worker ive spoken to today has told me theyre ready for the long haul. Theyre prepared for a strike. They were told to save up money, that this could be coming. And they shut down operation at this huge complex where they make many of the jeeps that you, family and friends likely drive. For example, the wrangler, many of those cars parked just sitting here as these picket lines are growing. Jake. Gabe cohen, thank you so much. So what do automakers want here and how is the strike going to affect the rest of us. Rahel solomon is here to break it down. What are they hoping to achieve here . Well more money. That is the big thing. There are other demands which you just mentioned. One that we hear a lot about is the 32hour, four day workweek. And i could tell you based on conversations today with different industry analysts, that that is not expected. There is a lot of confidence that that issue is going to make it across the finish line. But the issue of the 40 pay raise, that is is a huge issue. Now, for the automakers, they say, look, we could offer ford and gm could offer a 20 raise and stellantis is offering 17. 5 . But again the uaw asking for 40 over four years and just to provide a bit of a snapshot of where were starting from, on average, the average uaw worker at one of the big three plants is making about 32. 32 per hour but that depends on the type of workers. If you are parttime, or temporary, that could be close to 15 to 18 per hour. And pay a big issue here. But it is not just the pay of the workers that were hearing about. It is the pay of the executives as you just pointed out. So the top three executives at the top three automakers making between 20 and 30 million. And if you notice, that is up to a 40 increase. So youre seeing a bit of a theme there. 40 increase over the last four years for executives and the uaw workers now asking for a 40 pay raise. Now if it feels like there have been pmore strikes than usual, t is right. There are a few factor driving this increased Strike Activity, inflation, a big part of it but also the tighter labor market that workers still feel like they have the upper hand and they are exercising that because now is the time to get the things they say they are deserve. What is the impact on consumers and what does it mean for the automakers from a financial tand point . So for the consumers, anyone who has tried to buy a car over the last few years understands prices have been high. So perhaps depending on how long this lasts, we could see more of that. So watch that space. In terms of the Financial Impact of the companies, i have been as asking analysts who know these companies and their financials what would the impact be financially and how damaging could it be and ive heard everything from there is no way these companies could give into these demands, meet these demands as they are now without having to raise prices, 4,000, 5,000 prices per car and it depends on how this turns out and what the automakers do in response to try to minimize. So it is earl wy days and it wi depend on how long this lasts. Thank you so much. Lets bring in michigan representative Elissa Slotkin. We know both sides are set to meet again tomorrow. More than 3,000 workers are striking at fords truck plant in your state. Ford Ceo Jim Farley told cnn that the company cannot afford the unions demands. But the uaw president sean feign said the claims are a joke. How do you see this getting resolved. I think it is like any other negotiation. Were glad that the parties arm coulding together. Were glad that right now it looks like everyone is bargaining in good faith and coming back to the table even though we had Strike Activity today and we expect them to do the push and pull like any negotiation until they figure it out and as quickly as possible. No one wants this to go on longer than it has to. But i think certainly today was a a different moment of inflection for these this conversation because i was down there today in front of the ford plant and the energy is really the workers have they have the energy. Theyre ready for this. The union, theyre asking for several things including a 40 pay raise over four years. A fourday workweek. What do you think of these demands . Well, look, i think i used to do negotiations on International Agreements in my former life, in the National Security world and you prepare and you bring your demands to the other side and you would work it out. And im not in those negotiations. I dont know what each side has sort of set as their internal red lines and i know that no negotiation will be perfect for either side. So, to me, the only sean feign and the uaw and the folks that will vote on that agreement will know what the right sweet spot i is. This was set months ago because you have the Companies Making record profits and you have every employer in the country looking for employees, attracting employees. Raising wages and benefits because they need those employees to come to them. In that scenario, it is understandable why anyone in sean feigns position would push fo for a strong deal. We could not ignore the political impact and this could happen under President Bidens watch, the first time a strike against all three of the Big Three Automakers at the same time. For you, too, running for the u. S. Senate in michigan. How worries are you that this is going to hurt democrats . You know, ill be honest. I was down there front of the plant today, we went to another location where uaw Hospital Workers are striking. And i didnt hear one person on the line actually talking about politics. I didnt hear one person say, joe biden this or donald trump that. They literally were just like, i cant pay my rent. I cant afford to rent a place. Or i started here 20 years ago and the people who are coming in today have no shot of getting the position that ive gotten. I just it is just not on the tip of peoples tongue right now who are actually in the middle of this. And for me, it is not a political calculation. Im a Firm Believer that in the United States of america, we are safer and better off when we have a strong middle class and everyone should be able to get into the middle class and stay in and that is what people an owe the line are asking about. How could i live a secure life financially. So, i get it, that people want to ask about politics. It is not the conversation going on, on the ground here. I want to turn to the final trial in the 2020 plot to kidnap your governor, gretchen whitmer. Three mean were acquitted. They were considered to be the ringleaders and they have done some of the surveillance of the home and two testified saying they had no serious or dangerous the plot was. So of the 14 men prosecuted nine were convicted and five were acquitted. What is your reaction to final outcome . Well, first of all, i think it is really important that we as a state and as a country have gone through this process. If you threaten violence, you organize, you plot, you surveil, you come up with this whole scheme to do this, to hurt somebody else, you should be held accountable. So i think it is just been an important process for us to go through. And then, there is courts of law. You have to be able to prove your evidence in courts of law and i think just by the numbers you just laid out, weve had some justice here. And that is all we can ask for. Democratic congresswoman Elissa Slotkin of michigan. Happy Rosh Hashanah to you. Were standing by for a rally. Senator Bernie Sanders is supposed to be there. Keep it here. Plus breaking right now, prosecutors with the special Counsel Office out with new allegations about donald trump. That is next. We have some Breaking News for you now on the Special Counsel 2020 Election Subversion Case against donald trump. The Justice Department prosecutors are making some new allegations this afternoon about trumps public statements. Lets get straight to cnn justice correspondent jessica schneider. Jake, the prosecutors here are saying quite simply that Donald Trumps public statements have led to the intimidation and harassment of witnesses. Now this is all contained in an opinion that was just released from the judge overseeing the d. C. Case. Judge tanya chutkan. This relates to prosecutors wanted to ask judge chutkan to do something about the former president s threats and intimidation against the witnesses. We dont know what. But the judge has ruled that all of the witnesses mentioned as having received some of this intimidation and any of the threats, their names could continue to be redacted, away from public view. One of the things that she said is that all of these individuals who are mentioned by the prosecutors, they have already experienced harassment and threats due to publication of their information and the possibility of that happening again risks Witness Intimidation including of other witnesses not identified in this motion. So, you know, there is a few holes in this opinion. But we dou know is that donald trump has continued to speak out and tweet and say things about people involved in the d. C. Election case, the federal case going on In Washington and now prosecutors are saying that maybe some of the people who hes talked about, they have received threats, they have been intimidated and now prosecutors are asking the judge to make some kind of decision here regarding those threats. So, jake, it is notable here that prosecutors are saying, you know, Donald Trumps words over the pa the past several weeks even though the judge has told him not to make any public entertainments about this case, not only has he made those comments but they have affected numerous witnesses. We dont know exactly who or what statements have led to those intimidation and threats. But significant news and accusations coming from the prosecutors office. Thank you so much. Lets bring in tom dupree, a assistant Attorney General for the george w. Bush administration. What do you make of this file . It doesnt surprise me that that is the result on witness. The president has attacked judges and witnesses and everyone under the sun through his statements and social media. What issing about what the judge does about it. Shes committed to the judicial process and wants to make sure the jury pool and witnesses say protected. I would expect shell take this seriously and admonish the president or instruct his lawyers to direct their client to knock it off, in an extreme case she could impose a gag order and revoke bail. So she has a menu of options open to her and i suspect shell start at the lower end to see if that will coerce his compliance and work her way up if that doesnt work. And what is interesting, this is coming right after mitt romney announcing hes not running for reelection and in an excerpt of his book about romney published in the atlantic, there is a section where romney is saying they are not going to vote or impeach donald trump after the insurrection because they are afraid of what will happen to them or their families. In other words, intimidation from trump works. Well that may be the lesson thats drawn from this. In past, hes been very aggressive, going after anyone, political enemies and citizens and through the comments and they work and cause people to change their behavior and silence penal. But it is a different world when youre in court. One thing to make that in the context of the Political Campaign and another thing to make it when you are a criminal defendant and you are making kpl comments about witnesses would are posed to testify against you. And the judge said this could speed up the trial as well. You think she might do that. If she thinks there are witnesses out there getting scared or intimidating from testifying, she may say we need to move this up a few months. It is a risky business. Hes Playing With Fire because i dont think this is a judge that will tand for a lot of this stuff. In the same case, jack smith sliding into Donald Trumps dms as it were after a tugofwar, the company, twitter, known as x, reluctantly gave the Justice Department at least 32 direct messages from Donald Trumps account. The warrant sought information from October Of 2020 through january of 2021. As asking for, quote, the content of all direct messages from and received in stores in draft form or other wise associated with trumps account. Explain this to us. That seems like a rather extreme thing to for a judge to order the Justice Department to do . Did the judge have to look and say oh, that merits handing over . How does that work . Well, sure. What will often happen is in this case the Social Media Platform might object. And judge said that they di