Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Mayor Sam Liccardo (D-San Jose) Discusses Wanting Gun Owners to Foot Bill for Gun Violence; IG Report: No Evidence Park Police Cleared Park to Let Trump Survey Damage, Stage Controversial Photo Op; Biden & Sanders Form Unexpected Alliance in Face of Gridlock; IRS Leak: America's Wealthiest Pay Little to No Income Taxes; Cicadas Unleashed. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired June 09, 2021 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:30:00]
MAYOR SAM LICCARDO (D-SAN JOSE): We have expects providing us with the actual cost per gun in the city of San Jose. That analysis is under way now. But the number is much, much higher than $25, I can assure you.
So the likely fee is not even going to compensate the public for the full cost.
In the state of California, taxpayers incurred $1.4 billion in costs for emergency rooms and police response and ambulances and all the other things that are necessary to respond to the scourge of gun violence.
So this is a very large bill. It's time for gun owners to be footing part of that bill.
ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, thank you very much.
Breaking right now, a new report surrounding the clearing of protesters at Lafayette Park. Remember, this was just before that picture where former President Trump went over to the church, lifted up the Bible. We'll have details, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:35:40]
CABRERA: We have this breaking news. A brand-new government report is out on this controversial moment involving former President Trump last June where police tear-gassed a crowd of protesters in Lafayette Square before Trump then walked to this nearby church for a photo op with the Bible.
CNN law enforcement correspondent, Whitney Wild, joins us now with what this report says.
Whitney, what can you tell us?
WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Ana, this report, dropping just a few minutes ago, says U.S. Park Police did have authority to clear Lafayette Park when they did.
There was a big question whether or not they should have waited until the D.C. curfew went into effect. That was at 7:00. We know Park Police began clearing the area around 6:00.
Here's what the report says. They did have the authority to clear it when they did. They did not need to wait for the curfews.
There were questions about chemical irritants that were deployed. Was it tear gas, was it not tear gas?
What we've learned from this report, Ana, is the U.S. Park Police did not deploy tear-gas. But they did deploy a white chemical irritant - this non-irritant -- I'm sorry -- this white smoke, nonirritant white spoke.
That's an important distinction because they felt like their operational plan did not specify they should be using tear gas. So Park Police decided early on they were not going to use tear-gas and they did not.
The report said it was the Metropolitan Police Department in another location that used tear-gas later on.
The white smoke you see deployed by Park Police and its law enforcement partners, that's a non-irritant white spoke. Important distinction there.
This was not cleared for the president's visit to the church. And it was sort of -- I wouldn't use the term happenstance, but it's not clear -- let me back up and explain the whole process here, because it was a day-long thing that led up to the confrontation.
Park Police earlier on in the day decided they would clear the area outside Lafayette Park because, by June 1st, after days of civil unrest in D.C., they needed a contractor to come up and put up a fence around the White House.
And it was at the contract's request this happened, under two conditions, in daylight hours, one, and two with a police presence.
They had to plan to clear the area for the purpose of getting the fence up safely and not allowing the president to go to the church.
And that decision was made. The report doesn't opine on why that decision was made.
But the timing here, although it looks, you know, at first blush, looked like that was the reason, the report said it was specifically not the reason -- Ana? CABRERA: Interesting to get those details.
Thank you for bringing us the report, Whitney Wild.
So as Democratic infighting over infrastructure and the filibuster is currently the drama playing out in Washington, President Biden has turned to an unexpected ally to keep his agenda moving forward, Senator Bernie Sanders.
CNN's Gloria Borger sat down with the Vermont Independent and asked him about his new-found influence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHEERING)
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Let's just say that during the campaign, progressives were skeptical about Joe Biden's big tent.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Progressives, moderates, conservatives.
BORGER: But now, guess who is firmly incited.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): As somebody who wrote a book called "Outsider in the House," yes, it is a strange --
BORGER: Right.
SANDERS: -- experience to be having that kind of influence that we have now.
BORGER: Strange, especially for two men with decades of hard-held longstanding disagreements.
SANDERS: I believe in Medicare For All.
He is more conservative than I am, obviously. But on the other hand, he is not only a smart guy, he's a good politician who has the sense of where people are at and what is possible.
I think he understands that at this particular moment in American history, you got to go big, not small.
(APPLAUSE)
BORGER: And five months into his presidency, Biden has gone big, very big.
BIDEN: He's historical, and they call it transformational.
BORGER: That was the $1.9 trillion COVID relief package followed by a far-reaching plan to protect voting rights. Not to mention a massive infrastructure plan.
[13:40:05]
Sanders, the newly-minted 79-year-old budget chairman, is primed and ready to go.
Progressives are growing more and more impatient with moderates in their own party. Not to mention with Republicans who have been flirting with Biden on infrastructure. And Sanders is in a rush.
BORGER (on camera): Do you have infinite patience time-wise?
SANDERS: No, I do not.
BORGER: That's a no?
(LAUGHTER)
SANDERS: Not only do I not have infinite patience, I have very limited patience.
Look, we learned a lesson from the Obama years. And that is Republicans will talk and talk, we want to work with you, bipartisan month after month after month, nothing happens.
BORGER (voice-over): It's a lesson that stuck with Biden, too. And so an alliance was born. Not so much a love story, but more like a marriage of convenience, the one-time centrist and the long-time progressive.
BORGER (on camera): Twenty years ago, is this the Joe Biden you would have expected?
SANDERS: No. I think the Biden of today is not what I or others would have expected.
BORGER (voice-over): Until a new reality intruded.
SANDERS: COVID exacerbated all of the existing problems in terms of the struggles of working families.
BORGER: Then came January 6th.
SANDERS: What Trump is about is his actual threat to American democracy.
What Biden sees out there is that if we do not move aggressively and make it clear to people that government can work for them, then we stand a real chance of losing democracy in this country.
BORGER: There is a shared history, too. Both men have working class roots and both wanted to be president.
(MUSIC)
BORGER: And when Vice President Biden decided not to run in 2016 as the party establishment lined up behind Hillary Clinton, he reached out to Sanders for a private chat or two, a courtesy Sanders has not forgotten.
SANDERS: He was giving me his advice, political advice. And they were, I think, for me, very useful conversations and friendly conversations.
FAIZ SHAKIR, SANDERS SENIOR POLITICAL ADVISER: I certainly believe that Senator Sanders left that meeting feeling that Joe Biden was giving him a, hey, go make your case, Bernie, because there is a lot of people who need to hear it.
BORGER: In 2020, they were campaign rivals. Then as Sanders was getting ready to withdraw from the race, he had an idea on the plane ride back to Vermont.
SHAKIR: He says, hey, do you have some friends over there in the Biden world? Ask them if they want to invite progressive policies and personnel into their campaign. Just see what they say.
BORGER: They said yes.
REP. CEDRIC RICHMOND (D-LA): Bernie is an important voice within the Democratic Party. And we respect that voice. And we need that advice sometimes.
BORGER (on camera): Can you talk to me about how welcome they made you feel?
SANDERS: Very welcome.
BORGER: Or it was a little different from Hillary Clinton in 2016?
SANDERS: Yes. Yes, it is.
BORGER: You weren't welcomed?
SANDERS: I was tolerated.
(LAUGHTER)
SANDERS: My support was -- they wanted my support, obviously.
BORGER (voice-over): But now, the one-time outsider is Mr. Chairman.
BORGER (on camera): Hosting dinner parties.
(LAUGHTER)
SANDERS: Not exactly a fancy dinner party. We did it outside with our progressive friends in the House. We had a very nice time. Yeah.
BORGER (voice-over): He worked to corral progressives for the American Rescue Plan, even after the minimum wage hike was taken out.
SANDERS: Was it everything we wanted? No. Was it a major step forward for the working class of this country? You bet it was.
BORGER: But can he or will he search for common ground with moderates in a 50-50 Senate?
BORGER (on camera): You have to deal with moderates like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema and getting them on board.
SANDERS: Yeah, I've heard about that. But in all honesty, Chuck Schumer does more of that talking than I do.
BORGER (voice-over): Back in Vermont, Bernie, the former mayor of Burlington, is the local anti-establishment hero.
But these days, he is really part of the ruling class in D.C., even when he disagrees with the man in charge.
SANDERS: He does things sometimes that I think are really not a good idea. But I understand why he does it, because he has made promises to people and he wants to keep his promises.
BORGER : And he has always kept his promises to you?
SANDERS: I think yes.
SHAKIR: Joe Biden understands, I think, his heart and gets what he is fighting for, and in that way, has built a real respectful relationship.
BORGER (voice-over): Which these days is hard to come by.
SANDERS: One of the things that struck me about Joe Biden is a very strong sense of loyalty, which I like and respect.
We're going to have our differences, but I ultimately trust you and you're going trust me. We're not going to double cross each other. There will be bad times, but we're going to get through this together.
Gloria Borger, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[13:44:52]
CABRERA: They make the most but pay the least, if any at all.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CABRERA: A stunning new leak of financial documents shows billionaires, like Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, paid zero taxes in the past in recent years.
The IRS has now opened an investigating, but not into the apparent tax dodges. They're investigating the leak.
CNN's Christine Romans reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: When it's time to pay taxes, new reporting from ProPublica says the 25 richest people pay little if anything at all.
The revelation after an anonymous source sent the publication years of tax returns from thousands of the wealthiest Americans, including Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk.
[13:50:04]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had to work for months on this to get it into a shape where we, you know, it was accurate and saying something clear.
ROMANS: Take a look at Amazon founder and CEO, Bezos. According to ProPublica's reporting back in 2007, his wealth increased $3.8 billion and paid nothing in taxes.
Neither did Tesla founder, Elon Musk, in 2018. Not a penny from George Soros for the three years from 2016 through 2018.
It's all legal, thanks to the U.S. tax codes, which focus more on wages, as opposed to investments, which are usually taxed at lower rates.
That's something that billionaires like Bezos can take advantage of, along with complicated tax loopholes and write-offs.
"ProPublica" says while the now richest man in the world's wealth grew $99 billion between 2014 and 2018, he only paid $973 million in taxes at a rate of less than 1 percent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALKE: If you're Jeff Bezos on top of this wealth and getting richer by the day, that doesn't get transformed in income. You don't have to put it on your tax return until you sell your stocks, generally.
ROMANS: For Buffett, who has said in the past he favors raising taxes for the rich, his wealth grew by $24 billion between 2014 and 2018. And the amount of taxes paid? It was $23.7 million or 0.1 percent of his wealth.
Buffett telling "ProPublica" tax codes should be changed substantially. And huge dynastic wealth is not desirable for our society.
According to "ProPublica's" analysis, the 25 richest Americans are worth $1.1 Billion dollars by the end of 2018. It would take 14.3 million ordinary American wage earners to make that same amount of wealth.
The IRS and the FBI are investigating this leak. And the Biden administration says it's looking into the situation.
JEAN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Any unauthorized disclosure of confidential government information by a person with access is illegal, and we take this very seriously.
ROMANS: White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, also emphasized President Biden's proposal to raise taxes on the wealthy to help finance his spending plans.
PSAKI: We know there's more to be done to ensure that corporations, individuals who are at the highest income are paying more of their fair share.
ROMANS: Ana, the super-rich, they are not like us. They tax code is designed to favor the investment income of the mega-wealthy over the regular earnings of everyone else.
CABRERA: That is eye opening.
Christine, thank you.
"ProPublica" said it received no comments from Bezos or Musk. Musk replied to the non-profit publication with a question mark but did not reply to detailed questions.
As for George Soros, a spokesperson told "ProPublica," between 2016 and 2018, George Soros lost money on his investments, therefore. did not owe federal income taxes in those years. Mr. Soros has long supported higher taxes for wealthy Americans.
Cicadas unleashed, stopping planes, causing car crashes, and bugging the president.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:57:53]
CABRERA: Cicadas don't care if you're head of state or heading out on a foreign trip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've seen Cicadas. I just got one. It got me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: A swarm of those pesky bugs even stopped the White House press plane last night, putting that flight six and a half hours behind schedule.
They're so dense in Washington, D.C., they appear to be picked up on weather radar.
And it's not just Washington getting hit. This is in Cincinnati. Police say a cicada flew through an open window, causing this single- car crash.
Our affiliates reporting only minor injuries but you can see the car is totaled.
Harry Enten has a closer look at what is going on with this aHarry cicada takeover?
Harry, help us out.
HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL WRITER & ANALYST: Look, they started in northern Georgia a few months ago. They've made their way up the eastern seaboard.
You can see it right there, the two areas right now really dominating, in and around the Washington, D.C. area, as well as Indiana into Ohio. They're partially in some other states there.
What I love about this story is how much interest it's generated. Look at Google trends over the last five days. What do we see? We see that cicadas -- more people are searching for cicadas than are searching for Joe Biden.
So it's not just me and you, Ana, who are interested in them. A lot of people in this country are.
And one thing that I really love here is there are people eating these bugs. One of them is our colleague, Brianna.
In an average poll, about 25 percent of Americans say they would at least try eating a bug. I admit, I'm not in that 25 percent.
CABRERA: And you don't want to do it, according to the FDA and the CDC, if you are allergic to shellfish. Because apparently it's part of that kind of family.
Just so we are clear here, when are we going to be rid of these bugs?
ENTEN: Sometime between July 1st and July 15th.
But I should say that this idea of exotic animals doing strain things is not just cicadas.
In fact, in Los Angeles County, what we see is a bunch of peacocks, hundreds of them, have been roaming free. Do not feed those peacocks.
(CROSSTALK)
HENTEN: Let those peacocks be on their own.
[14:00:02]
CABRERA: They're actually talking about banning feeding peacocks there.
Harry Enten, what is next?
Always good to have you. Thank you.
ENTEN: Bye.
