Return to Transcripts main page

The Lead with Jake Tapper

Biden Nominates Pete Buttigieg as Transportation Secretary; Vigilante Violence Over Election; Congressional Leaders on Verge of $900B COVID Relief Deal with $600 Stimulus Checks Included; Navy Vet Claim Sexual Assault at V.A. Facility, Inspector General Criticizes How V.A. Handled. Aired 4:30-5p ET

Aired December 16, 2020 - 16:30   ET

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

[16:33:49]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: In our 2020 lead, Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg has officially been selected to serve as transportation secretary for president-elect Biden.

And, as CNN's M.J. Lee reports, with LGBTQ rights groups heralding that Buttigieg would become the first openly gay Senate-confirmed Cabinet secretary, he is the latest addition to an already historic and diverse Biden administration.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETE BUTTIGIEG, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY NOMINEE: We need to bring new voices to our capital.

M.J. LEE, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From 2020 opponent to Cabinet secretary nominee.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT-ELECT: For secretary of transportation, I nominate Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

LEE: Pete Buttigieg chosen by president-elect Joe Biden to lead the Department of Transportation. The former South Bend, Indiana, mayor would have a big task ahead, playing a key role in building out a major infrastructure package, a top priority for Biden.

BIDEN: We selected Pete for transportation because the department is at the intersection of some of our most ambitious plans to build back better. Modernizing our transportation infrastructure, our roads, bridges and ports are some of our most critical investments.

LEE: If confirmed by the Senate, Buttigieg would break a significant barrier, a historic moment not lost on the 38-year-old nominee.

[16:35:00]

BUTTIGIEG: Also mindful that the eyes of history are on this appointment, knowing that this is the first time an American president has ever sent an openly LGBTQ Cabinet member to the Senate for confirmation.

LEE: Biden's future administration coming into focus, as some Republicans in Washington finally begin to acknowledge his 2020 victory.

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): The decision by the Electoral College yesterday was determinative.

LEE: Vice president-elect Kamala Harris saying her colleagues in the Senate are late to the party, but that it's time to move on.

SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA), VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT: It would have been better if it were earlier, but it happened. And that's what's most important. And so let's move forward.

LEE: Additional administration appointments expected to be announced in the coming days, Gina McCarthy, the former head of the EPA, poised to be tapped as Biden so-called climate czar, overseeing a newly created Office of Domestic Climate Policy, combating climate change another urgent task for Biden.

BIDEN: The West is burning. The Midwest is being flooded. The East Coast has been pummeled by more tornadoes and storms than it's ever had.

LEE: And former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm, a longtime adviser to Biden, set to be nominated as his energy secretary.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: Now, Biden was asked again when he would get the COVID-19 vaccine. He said that he doesn't want to cut the line. But, when he does get it, he will do it in a public setting to try to show the American people that it is safe to do so -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right, M.J. Lee, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

In our national lead today: Stochastic terrorism, it occurs when a person or group is demonized by, say, an influential politician and who incites violence that was probably going to happen, but the specifics could not be predicted.

Perhaps a politician and his supporters feed and spread the false and insane theory that a Jewish philanthropist is paying for caravans of Latin Americans to come into the U.S. to wreak havoc, and, say, after that, it is followed by mass shootings of Jews in synagogues or Mexican Americans.

Lies are told over and over, and it ends up in violence, perhaps lies about election fraud.

For instance, a former Houston police captain who tried to investigate baseless claims on his own is now facing an assault charge. Police 63- year-old Mark Anthony Aguirre chased down a so-called voter fraud mastermind -- he wasn't one -- with his gun. Turns out the mastermind was an air conditioning repairman who had nothing to do with the election.

And, as CNN's Ed Lavandera reports for us now, the former police captain could now face two decades in prison.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two weeks before the presidential election, prosecutors say Mark Anthony Aguirre they drove an air conditioning repairman off the road and held him at gunpoint.

The former Houston police captain suspected the repairman was the mastermind of a voter fraud conspiracy. Former Harris County election clerk Chris Hollins says it's a dangerous example of when conspiracy theories go too far.

CHRIS HOLLINS, FORMER HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS, CLERK: An innocent man, a working man, a family man who was accosted at gunpoint for no reason whatsoever. It's extremely unfortunate. It's dangerous. This man deserves to be prosecuted.

LAVANDERA: Prosecutors allege Aguirre and a team of investigators worked for a group called Liberty Center for God and Country. The group tracked the repairman for four days, suspecting the man was carrying 750,000 fraudulent ballots in his work truck.

Police say there were no ballots in the truck, just air conditioning repair parts and tools. Prosecutors say Aguirre "crossed the line from dirty politics to commission of a violent crime. And we are lucky no one was killed."

Aguirre's attorney disagree.

TERRY YATES, ATTORNEY FOR MARK ANTHONY AGUIRRE: Well, I believe it's a political prosecution. He was working in investigating voter fraud. It was an accident. They were surveilling a vehicle. There was an accident. And then a member of that car got out and rushed toward him. And that's where the confrontation took place.

LAVANDERA: Prosecutors say Aguirre was paid $266,000 by the Liberty Center. The group is run by Republican activist Steven Hotze. The wealthy Republican donor pushed controversial lawsuits against Harris County to throw out nearly 130,000 presidential election ballots cast at drive-through polling locations.

After a judge ruled against the Republican lawsuit the day before the election, Hotze acknowledged he had a team of investigators hunting what was really a phantom voting menace.

QUESTION: You think Democrats are stealing the election in Texas.

STEVEN HOTZE, REPUBLICAN ACTIVIST: Yes, I know that. We have got affidavits to that. We have informants on the other side of that have told us of massive voter election fraud.

QUESTION: There's no reports of massive widespread fraud in voting.

HOTZE: Sir -- sir, just--

QUESTION: That is a fact, no matter how many times you say it.

HOTZE: You're totally wrong on that.

LAVANDERA: Houston police say, when the victim got out of his truck, Aguirre pointed a gun at the man and forced him to the ground and put his knee on his back.

[16:40:05]

Houston police say part of the incident was captured on police body camera footage. Court documents say that Aguirre demanded that the responding officer arrest the A.C. repairman. Aguirre told the officer that he -- quote -- "can be a hero or part of the problem. I just hope you're a patriot."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: And, Jake, just to be clear, police investigators and prosecutors in Houston say they spent considerable time investigating these claims of voter fraud and found absolutely nothing.

Mark Aguirre is out on bond tonight -- Jake.

TAPPER: Court after court after court, election official after election official. It doesn't matter. The lies and conspiracy theories continue. And now lives are at risk.

Thank you so much, Ed Lavandera.

Congress is closer than ever to making a deal on COVID stimulus. A look at what millions of Americans might be able to get, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:45:25]

TAPPER: Breaking news in the money lead now, Congress appears on the verge of a deal on stimulus relief. And so far, negotiations over this $900 billion package included a new round of checks, one time payments around $600 for some Americans.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux joins me now live from Capitol Hill.

Suzanne, any little bit helps. But $600 in 2020 is not a lot of money if you're months behind on bills and rent. Has the amount been a point of contention here?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It certainly is a point of contention, Jake. I mean, what you're seeing here is there are some glimmers of hope. We saw Speaker Pelosi before going into her office that they are making progress. We saw Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying we're still talking. They were here until midnight talking and they might be here late tonight as well. You're talking about $900 billion package. Jake, what happened early today is they eliminated the most

contentious items. So, we're talking about the liability protections for employers. That is something that Republicans desperately wanted. You're also talking about eliminating aid to state, as well as city governments. That is something that Democrats insisted.

What was surprising that happened today was now the stimulus checks, these individual checks for those making less than $75,000 were thrown back into the mix but you are right. Not near the $1,200 released earlier in the year. There is frustration here but progressives on the House side, as well as the Senate, they are pleased that at least it's been put back in but very frustrated.

I had a chance to talk to Senator Bernie Sanders about what his next move will be.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): Do I think $600 is where we should be? No. I think it should be $1,200 in direct payment for the working class adult in this country. And --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So, Jake, some of the things that are in this COVID stimulus package that people will be appreciating will be small business loans and money for vaccinations for COVID tests and for education, for extending the rent so you're not actually kicked out of your apartment or you have to pay loans. All of these things combined are things that many people here in on the Hill can agree to.

The sticking point, however, as you know, Jake, how will this get through? You might see a government shutdown or an extension by the weekend -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Suzanne Malveaux from Capitol Hill, thank you so much.

Coming up next, calls for Trump's V.A. secretary to be fired by major veterans groups. This comes after a Navy veteran said she was sexually assaulted at a V.A. facility and the agency did nothing. She will join me. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:52:44]

TAPPER: Time now for what we call our buried lead. That's what we call stories that are not getting enough attention. A staggering one in four women who use veterans affairs health care has reported experiencing sexual trauma in the military.

Among them is Andrea Goldstein, who while at V.A. facility in 2019 alleges she was sexually assaulted. When Goldstein reported the incident, the Department of Veterans Affairs sought to discredit her claims. That's according to an inspector general's report, which also signaled that a lack of effort by the V.A. to make their facilities more safe for women.

Today, this afternoon, six major veteran services organization sent a letter to President Trump calling for V.A. Secretary Robert Wilkie to be fired. The V.A. did not directly comment on this letter, but told that Secretary Wilkie will remain in his position.

Joining us is a lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, Andrea Goldstein. She is the one who was sexually harassed, sexually assaulted.

And, Andrea, tell us how the V.A. handled your report after the incident. I know you don't want to talk about the incident itself, understandably, but how did the V.A. handle the report?

ANDREA GOLDSTEIN, LIEUTENANT COMMANDER, U.S. NAVY RESERVE: Well, Jake, first, thank you for having me today and shining a light on this important issue.

What's important to highlight is, first, the day that it happened, I had to make a report to multiple employees at V.A., including some who saw the event happen before police were called, which indicated that V.A. already was not well-equipped to handle this issue that they were already aware of.

Second, the V.A. leadership chose to investigate me. Now, this will resonate particularly with survivors of sexual violence in the military. The I.G. report follows on the coattails of the Ft. Hood investigative review committee which found that there was a permissive environment for sexual assault on Ft. Hood and we can probably guess all of the places in the military where what happen was those in power abused their power, blamed, shamed, and investigated the victim, and abandoned their responsibility to investigate a potentially violent crime that was taking place in an environment where people should feel safe and welcomed.

[16:55:03]

TAPPER: So, Secretary Wilkie issued a statement in response to the inspector general's report. The I.G. was very tough on him and the I.G. report said that he went after you and did not do enough to combat this issue. And Secretary Wilkie said your allegations were false.

Six major veterans organizations today, including Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion, came out and said that they think Wilkie should be fired.

Do you agree with these veterans groups?

GOLDSTEIN: Well, I think that the veteran service organizations are really those that we should look to, to speak on behalf of our nation's veterans, in addition to the big six who I have had the great fortune of having worked with as a congressional staffer and I'm a member of several of those organizations. There are also many organizations that represent young veterans, women veterans, minority veterans, LGBTQ veterans who have also been very vocal in this fight, and was -- in the fight for justice for minority and women veterans.

And what's really important to highlight is that it is not about me. This is about creating a safe and welcoming environment for women veterans, for survivors of sexual trauma, and other veterans who feel marginalized.

TAPPER: Do you think the V.A. is aware of how prevalent these incidents of assault and harassment are within the military and within the veterans, sort of -- veterans hospitals and such? Are they aware and they are turning a blind eye to it, or are they not away?

GOLDSTEIN: V.A. is fully aware. In early 2019, V.A.'s own research used evidence-based methods to find -- and found that at least one in four women veterans experiences sexual harassment or gender-based harassment in health care settings at V.A. facilities and they surveyed around the country at multiple facilities and that was the average. The range was somewhere between 10 percent and 40 percent depending on what facility.

In addition, in 2016, the Merit Systems Protection Board found that at least one in four women are experiencing harassment on the job. So, this is not just something at the V.A. It should be enough, it should be enough that women are saying that I'm experiencing this and that V.A. responds.

But V.A. has the data and has not adequately responded. Bystander intervention training for employees, for contractors, for anyone who works in a V.A. facility is not mandatory. So V.A. is aware of this and has been aware for many years but has abandoned their responsibility to protect those who they serve. In addition --

TAPPER: So, let me -- go ahead.

GOLDSTEIN: Yes. In addition, V.A. is very aware of this issue in the military. In fact, I'm going to praise V.A. here. As a V.A. user, V.A. has world class health care and treatment for survivors of military sexual trauma and, in fact, we should be looking to V.A. for their understanding of the impact of military sexual trauma.

TAPPER: So, Andrea, let me just ask you as a final question. President-elect Biden has said he wants to nominate Denis McDonough, the former Obama White House chief of staff, to be the V.A. secretary.

What does he need to know about this issue and how the V.A. needs to treat this threat going forward?

GOLDSTEIN: So, the incoming administration, I'm really pleased that President-elect Biden has prioritized preventing violence against women throughout most of his public career, and so it's really critical for the incoming administration to prioritize this issue. One of the issues historically is that addressing harassment has been relegated to lower echelons of leadership and not consolidated within the secretariat.

What I'm hopeful for in the incoming Biden administration is that this will be prioritized at the highest levels of leadership, given the attention and resources that it deserves and that it is highlighted as one of the top issues. I mean, sexual violence between -- in this community is effectively a form of fratricide. So understanding that means that it is one of the most critical and potentially damaging issues if we don't address it and a real source of healing and reconciliation if it is adequately addressed.

TAPPER: Andrea Goldstein, thank you so much for your time today for this interview. And, you know, I'm so sorry you went through that but I hope you do feel vindicated at least to a degree by not only the inspector general report but by the six major V.A. organizations, veterans organizations coming and saying we stand with Andrea Goldstein, Lieutenant Commander Goldstein.

So, thank you so much for your -- for your courage.

GOLDSTEIN: Thank you for having me, Jake.

TAPPER: Our coverage on CNN continues right now.