Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

House Passes Sweeping Voting Rights Bill Over GOP Opposition; Justice Department Declined Criminal Probe Into Transportation Sec. Elaine Chao; Fulton County Prosecutor's Election Probe Heads To Grand Jury. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired March 04, 2021 - 07:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[07:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTICE AMY CONEY BARRETT, U.S. SUPREME COURT: What's the interest of the Arizona RNC here in keeping, say, the out-of-precinct voter ballot disqualification rules on the books?

MICHAEL CARVIN, GOP ATTORNEY: Because it puts us at a competitive disadvantage relative to Democrats. Politics is a zero-sum game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: What are we seeing, David, and why is it important?

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR, CO-HOST, CNN PODCAST "POLITICALLY SOUND": That's it -- the quiet part out loud.

What we're seeing is a new litmus test inside the Republican Party, which is this support for what started as President Trump's big lie around the 2020 election. And we see how dangerous it is for that kind of support for the big lie to move forward.

Now, it may not be that Donald Trump didn't win the election but you see Republicans calling into question the integrity of the election, and there were irregularities.

Mike Pence now with that op-ed yesterday saying there were significant irregularities, something that Attorney General Barr, FBI Dir. Wray of the Trump administration -- the handpicked folks there tasked with enforcing the law say that did not happen.

So this has become a new realm inside the Republican Party that if you want to advance politically you can't sort of speak out against this notion that the election was rigged in some way or something was untoward.

And it is exactly as you point out, John, exactly as the Arizona lawyer pointed out -- this is about getting political advantage. If the Republicans believe if they limit the number of people and the kinds of people who can vote that they will have a better shot at winning elections going forward.

BERMAN: Dana, I want to ask you what we're seeing on Capitol Hill today in terms of the relief plan. President Biden has made some compromises, lowering the threshold by which people will get the $1,400 stimulus checks.

But we're also seeing Republican action here. Ron Johnson has promised to do everything on earth he can to delay the passage of this -- passage which looks inevitable. He's asking to have the whole thing read out loud. He's going to ask for amendments ad infinitum. So why is he doing this if the outcome is inevitable?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, CO-ANCHOR, "STATE OF THE UNION": Because he is a Republican who believes that trying to stop Joe Biden at every turn will help him if he does, in fact, decide to run for reelection -- and he's up for reelection. He hasn't formally said so yet. He's certainly making every move that suggests he will.

And that is exhibit A of where we are in the reality of Washington as opposed to the aspiration that Joe Biden, in particular, came into office with, which is let's work across the aisle, let's change the tone and tenor. That may be possible on some pieces of legislation down the road but it's certainly not where we are now.

And the reality also is that a lot of the Republicans -- maybe not Ron Johnson but others -- actually, I think Ron Johnson did support the idea of direct payments to Americans to help to stimulate the economy, not to mention their own bank accounts, and other very important parts of this large bill.

What they say they oppose are things that they say are akin to pork, like money for the BART system -- the rail system in San Francisco and other things.

But, you know, you don't see Democrats shaving away at that for a lot of reasons. The biggest reason is because they don't think it would work. They see that this is politically beneficial for Republicans to rail against the quote-unquote "liberal agenda" and it's not going to change them on this particular issue.

BERMAN: And by the way, Tom Cotton delaying the confirmation of Merrick Garland. Why? To delay it. I mean --

BASH: Yes.

BERMAN: -- if it's going to happen it's really interesting to see a show. I mean, what we're seeing is just a pure show --

BASH: Well put.

BERMAN: -- at this point and it does beg the question what are we ever going to get in terms of bipartisanship.

Dana Bash, David Chalian, thank you very much.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: John, developing this morning, the Transportation Department's inspector general asked for a criminal probe into then-Sec. Elaine Chao late last year over concerns that she misused her office for personal benefit, but the Justice Department declined to pursue that case in the final weeks of the Trump administration.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is live for us in Washington with more. What have you learned, Kristen?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

Well, this report came out last night and the inspector general concluded that these allegations of misuse of staff circled around tasks that appear to be personal in nature. That is the quote there.

Now, what does that mean? Well, tasking staff with editing her father's Wikipedia page. Sending copies of his book to a quote "well- known CEO of a major U.S. corporation." It also included sending Christmas ornaments to family, as well as allegedly directing staff to reach out to the Department of Homeland Security over the work permit of a student who is a recipient of her family's philanthropy.

Now, these are just some of the allegations and it is important to note that investigators did not make any formal findings that Chao had violated ethics rules.

Because of this and as you know, because of the fact that they asked the Department of Justice to open a criminal probe and they did not, this is what a spokesperson for Chao said.

[07:35:05]

She said, "This report exonerates the secretary from baseless accusations and closes the book on an election-year effort to impugn her history-making career as the first Asian-American woman appointed to a president's cabinet and her outstanding record as the longest- tenured cabinet member since World War II."

One important thing to point out here is that Chao is also the wife of Sen. Mitch McConnell. Mitch McConnell's office declined to comment on this report.

CAMEROTA: Kristen, thank you very much for bringing us all of that reporting.

Also new this morning, the head of the company that runs the power grid in Texas has been fired by the board of directors in the wake, of course, of those catastrophic blackouts. Last month on NEW DAY, ERCOT president and CEO Bill Magness would not commit to resigning. Then days later, the then-chairman of the board and four other board members resigned.

This morning, more than 160,000 Texans are still under boil water orders.

Well, the case of potential election fraud by former President Trump heading to a grand jury in Atlanta. Could this and the other investigations that are ongoing lead to criminal charges? What's the status, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:40:30]

BERMAN: Today in Georgia, the case against the former president for violating election law goes before a grand jury.

CNN's Sara Murray with new reporting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The investigation into Donald Trump's efforts to overturn Georgia's election results --

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's no way we lost Georgia. There's no way.

MURRAY (voice-over): -- intensifying as grand juries convene in Fulton County today, offering the district attorney her first shot at seeking the subpoenas she warned were coming.

FANI WILLIS, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA: What I was doing as a courtesy to people that I respect very much is simply putting them on notice that when a grand jury convened, which would be in March, that they could expect to receive subpoenas.

MURRAY (voice-over): At the heart of Fani Willis' investigation, the now infamous call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

TRUMP: All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state.

MURRAY (voice-over): That call just the starting point for Willis' probe.

WILLIS: Obviously, it's been reported around the world -- that phone call -- and so we have said yes, that is part of the investigation, but we're not narrowing it to that.

MURRAY (voice-over): Trump's recorded call with Raffensperger came after 18 other attempts by the White House to reach the Secretary of State's office, which legal experts say could help establish Trump's intentions.

MICHAEL MOORE, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY, MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA: The repeated calls sort of start to tell the story that this was not again an official trying to talk to another official about problems that he or she might see in an election. It's more about how do I get to the place that I can win the race and what do we have to do about it.

MURRAY (voice-over): Willis has already asked a number of Georgia officials to preserve documents, though they are not targets. Some had lawyered up even before her inquiries. Willis has said she's also looking into the abrupt departure of former U.S. Attorney B.J. Pak, Rudy Giuliani's false allegations of election fraud before Georgia legislators, and a call between Trump loyalist Sen. Lindsey Graham and Raffensperger, which the secretary of state viewed as an attempt to toss out ballots.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I categorically reject that. That wasn't my intent and that wasn't the purpose of the conversation to throw out ballots.

MURRAY (voice-over): A person familiar with the investigation says the D.A.'s office is likely to rely on subpoenas over voluntary requests for information to establish a clear court record of their pursuit of evidence. Willis, the person said, is also unlikely to be deterred by broad claims of privilege the former president has tried to deploy in the past.

Willis was quick to launch her Trump probe after taking office in January.

WILLIS: My career has taught me no matter the political pressure just do what's right.

MURRAY (voice-over): As for when she'll decide whether to prosecute the former president, "I'm in no rush," she tells the Associated Press.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MURRAY: Now, Giuliani tells CNN he was just making the best case for his client, then-President Trump, and any potential case against him would be a travesty and would be vindictive. Trump's team didn't comment for this story but in the past they've said that there was nothing wrong with then-President Trump's call in Georgia.

Back to you, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Sara Murray, thank you very much.

And joining us now is CNN political analyst Maggie Haberman. She's a Washington correspondent for "The New York Times." So, great to see you.

In addition to everything that Sara just laid out, here are the criminal probes that are ongoing with Donald Trump.

So, there's the Manhattan D.A. probe of his finances. The Atlanta D.A. probe of the election schemes. The Georgia secretary of state probe of that phone call, as Sara just said. The D.C. attorney general and D.C. U.S. attorney general possible incitement of violence charge relating to the Capitol insurrection.

And then there are also these civil suits. Congressman Thompson suing him. New York attorney general investigation into The Trump Organization. E. Jean Carroll's defamation lawsuit regarding her rape charge. And Summer Zervos' defamation lawsuit regarding a sexual assault or harassment.

So which one of these do you think team Trump is most concerned about?

MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: So Alisyn, there's one missing there, actually -- two, anyway, which are the suits -- or they're not suits but the prosecutions -- potential prosecutions related to the Trump inaugural committee. And those are taking place in at least two different venues.

What worries them the most -- look, it's still the one in Manhattan from Cy Vance who, as we know, spent a lot of time trying and recently succeeded in getting the former president's tax returns, which were millions and millions of pages which that office is going through. But that is one that goes at the heart of Donald Trump's business.

[07:45:06]

In terms of the Georgia probe, the former president has repeatedly said it was a perfect phone call. I know we've heard him say that before about other things.

His lawyers have been downplaying any potential probe as to how concerned they are. The Cy Vance investigation remains the one they are most focused on.

BERMAN: And there is new reporting in "The New York Times" and "The Washington Post" Maggie about that investigation and a new focus -- I don't know if it's new -- on Allen Weisselberg. Now, explain to us -- remind us who he is, where he exists in Trump world, and why he might be such a valuable target for investigators.

HABERMAN: Sure. So, Allen Weisselberg, remember, is the longtime financial gatekeeper at The Trump Organization and worked for Fred Trump, Donald Trump's father. Has been there for decades and knows where every secret is buried financially and some not financial.

And he was somebody who in the Southern District of New York -- when the federal prosecutors were going after Michael Cohen, former President Trump's former personal attorney, Weisselberg was given limited immunity in order to testify against Cohen. He was not a target himself that we know of.

He is not a target now that we know of, but he is somebody who Cy Vance's office has zeroed in on as a focus because they believe that if they could find evidence of wrongdoing by him they might be able to push him toward cooperation. I think it would have to go a very long way.

One point to make in terms of Allen Weisselberg and how important he is in the world of Donald Trump, there was a discussion by the former president's advisers at various points last year about whether Weisselberg should get a preemptive pardon from former President Trump.

Now, ultimately he didn't do that because the concern was would Weisselberg be waiving his Fifth Amendment rights against self- incrimination and could be forced to testify if he accepted that pardon, so they didn't go ahead with it. But that really does tell you about what a key figure he is.

CAMEROTA: Maggie, tell us about this lawsuit from Congressman Bennie Thompson about the Capitol insurrection.

HABERMAN: Sure. I mean, so this lawsuit relates specifically to the idea that the former president, if I understand it correctly, violated the rights specifically. I believe this is the one that was done in conjunction with the NAACP unless I'm wrong. But my memory is that's that suit.

CAMEROTA: Yes, I think you're right.

HABERMAN: Basically, by -- yes. By incite -- in their words, inciting this insurrection or helping to incite this insurrection that the former president was essentially disenfranchising voters of colors -- black voters. People whose votes the former president had tried to throw out over and over again. And then the goal, remember, of January sixth ultimately what the former president wanted to have happen was to delay the certification of the election.

So this suit is interesting because it is a civil suit, as you noted. This is not a criminal prosecution.

But one of the things that former President Donald Trump was warned about by the White House counsel and by other advisers while he was still in office was you could have some legal exposure here as this was all going on, on January sixth, as they were trying to get him to do something more to stop what was taking place. To appeal to his own supporters, which as you remember it took a while for him to and several takes for him to do.

They were saying to him you could have legal exposure here. This is among the actions that they had in mind when they said that.

BERMAN: I'm not done with Allen Weisselberg yet, Maggie. I mean, he received -- he received limited immunity having to do with the whole Stormy Daniels thing and he did testify that --

What would it take for him to turn? I mean, obviously, the implication here is they're pressuring him to try to get him to flip somehow, and that's words that Donald Trump understands.

HABERMAN: Or they -- or they will, right. Or they will at some point if they haven't yet. That's the implication.

BERMAN: Yes. I mean, so from what you know of Allen Weisselberg what would it take to get him to all of a sudden turn on Donald Trump?

HABERMAN: I think a lot, John. I mean, I think that it would take a lot -- a presentation of very serious charges.

I think it would take a presentation of charges not just against him but against his sons who -- they also have been asking at least one witness some questions about. Now again, the sons are also not targets of prosecution that we're aware of and there's no reason to believe they are. But certainly in terms of pressure points, I think that's something you could at.

Remember that when Michael Cohen eventually flipped, he had spent several months saying he wouldn't, he wouldn't, he wouldn't. And then he was told that prosecutors in the Southern District were going to charge not just him but his wife. That was the pressure point that was pushed.

I think that it would be something similar. But again, I'm still not sure that Allen Weisselberg would do that. Allen Weisselberg has been with The Trump Organization for decades. It would really depend on what we're talking about here.

BERMAN: Maggie Haberman, thank you very much for that.

HABERMAN: Yes, thank you.

CAMEROTA: Roger Stone, since being pardoned, is living his best life. I have video evidence of this. This is outside of CPAC. He's a well- known rapper -- well, OK, he wants to be.

[07:50:02]

Do you want to see it?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Roger Stone dancing to pro-Trump rap outside CPAC.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: I mean, the perfect future for him, right?

BERMAN: You know, it's all fun and games. I mean, this is -- this is -- this is a song about the insurrection and Roger Stone there is dancing to a song about the march at the U.S. Capitol.

I mean, here is a guy who was pardoned for his own crimes. This is a guy who may or may not be under investigation for his own connection -- alleged connection to the Oath Keepers and, you know, it's all a big joke. It's all a big joke to Roger Stone.

CAMEROTA: Yes. I mean, he has --

BERMAN: So is the dancing, by the way.

CAMEROTA: Well, indeed. He has verbally condemned it but I guess your dance moves speak louder than what you say.

BERMAN: So for the first time since his life was threatened at the U.S. Capitol, the former vice president is speaking out and honestly, fueling the fire. Fueling the threats that we're seeing in the country today. A reality check, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:55:13]

CAMEROTA: Former Vice President Mike Pence has broken his silence in an op-ed about the election and a new election law. His op-ed cries out for a reality check and John Avlon is here to oblige. Hi, John.

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hey, Ali.

There's not a phrase in English for what former V.P. Mike Pence did yesterday. He emerged himself from (INAUDIBLE) with an op-ed trying to curry favor with some of the same people who wanted to kill him at the Capitol.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

U.S. CAPITOL INSURRECTIONISTS: Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AVLON: I mean, this is more than a fool's errand or an exercise in political masochism. Just listen to the first part of the first line. "After an election marked by significant voting irregularities, I share the concerns of millions of Americans about the integrity of the 2020 election."

He's trying to dignify the big lie -- the same one that almost got him killed. Because, of course, there were not significant voting irregularities. If you need more evidence than the 60 court cases team Trump lost you can listen to election officials nationwide, or former A.G. Bill Barr, or FBI Dir. Chris Wray.

Pence knows this isn't true so why is he doing it? Well, Stockholm syndrome is when you start to identify with your captors, but this is way worse.

Listen to him try to meet the mob halfway saying that January sixth deprived the American people of a substantive discussion in Congress about election integrity. Nope. Josh Hawley and crew still gave their speeches, they just fell a little flat -- you know, because of domestic terrorism.

But the ex-veep really wants to get in with that gang so he weighed in to oppose a big election reform bill called HR1 or the For the People Act. It's an ambitious effort to defend democracy through election reform and government ethics.

And the measure, which passed the House late last night, includes automatic voter registration, independent redistricting commission, protect early voting, expand absentee voting, and require backup paper ballots. But also, try to rein in presidential conflicts of interest and stop members of Congress from sitting on corporate boards, to name just a few provisions.

Now, Pence said he's defending election integrity and the falsehoods flowed from there.

Pence said the bill would ensure that millions of illegal immigrants are quickly registered to vote. That's not true, though it is some primo fearmongering. The bill does not change U.S. law that allows only American citizens to vote. Anyone registered would have to provide proof of citizenship.

Pence said that voter I.D. would be banned from coast-to-coast. That's also not true. Voter I.D. would still stand in the states that have it and people who show up to vote without I.D. would have to sign a statement under penalty of perjury.

Pence claimed that the bill would force states to adopt universal mail-in ballots. Nope, it would just allow all citizens to ask for no- excuse absentee ballots, just like Trump did.

Now, as CNN political analyst Joe Lockhart tweeted, "When Republicans say election integrity they mean voter suppression." It's funny because it's true.

There are more than 250 bills to restrict voting being pushed in 43 states right now. And just this week the lawyer for the Arizona GOP told the Supreme Court they were pushing for changes, quote, "because it puts us at a competitive disadvantage relative to Democrats."

A classic Washington gaffe, accidentally telling the truth. But here's a larger truth. Mike Pence is never ever going to get people who bought into Trump's big lie to back him for president.

And that's your reality check.

CAMEROTA: I'll be committing that one to memory. Thank you very much John for all of that.

And NEW DAY continues right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Capitol Hill is on high alert as the FBI and Department of Homeland Security are warning about increased chatter of another attack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a great deal of enhanced security around the Capitol.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These types of threats impede us from doing the work we have to do.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking that everything's fine, take off your mask.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's been a year. People can make their own decision.

SHANNE PEGUES: I really do think that we are, as a state, being too lax, too quickly. DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: This is inexplicable. You're only going to set yourself back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.

CAMEROTA: And good morning, everyone. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY.

And this morning, the U.S. Capitol is on high alert. Federal authorities bracing for the possibility of another attack after officials shared intelligence about a potential plot by a militia group. So, the House of Representatives has canceled their session today.

The threat appears to be inspired by the QAnon conspiracy that claims Donald Trump will somehow become re-inaugurated today.

A top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee is pleading with former President Trump to tell the mob to stay away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R-TX): President Trump has a responsibility to tell them to stand down. This threat is credible and it's real. It's a right-wing militia group.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: So far, not a word from the former president.