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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Sources: Trump World Sought To Influence Hutchinson's Testimony; Biden Calls For Dropping Filibuster Rules To Pass Abortion Rights; Supreme Court Deals Blow To Biden's Climate Change Fight; Latest Numbers Show Inflation Remains Stubbornly High; U.S. Airlines Prepare For Massive Crowds Ahead Of Holiday Weekend. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired June 30, 2022 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:07]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: It must. Also, if it were delivered to my house, it would sit in my laundry room for weeks being unopened.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Is that right?

CAMEROTA: Yeah. Absolutely.

BLACKWELL: OK.

CAMEROTA: Yeah, very good.

That does it for us.

THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER starts right now.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Last time I checked, witness tampering is still illegal.

THE LEAD starts right now.

We're now getting a glimpse, just a glimpse of how much pressure former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson was under when she testified before the January 6 Select Committee earlier this week. Sources telling CNN she claims she's been contacted by somebody from Trump world trying to influence her testimony.

Plus, President Biden doing a 180 on the filibuster on the matter of abortion rights. What finally changed his mind? And what happens next time Republicans take control of the Senate?

Then -- is America about to see what happens when there are too many passengers, not enough staff, not enough planes, and not enough air traffic controllers? Add in some picket lines and you have the recipe for a holiday weekend travel nightmare.

(MUSIC)

TAPPER: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

We start today with our politics lead and new insight into what the January 6th Select Committee believes is possible witness tampering by members of Trump's orbit. Sources telling CNN that Cassidy Hutchinson told the panel that she was contacted by someone attempting to influence her testimony before Tuesday's hearing.

And now, the vice chair of the committee, Congresswoman Liz Cheney, says the committee is considering making a criminal referral to the Justice Department. That's according to ABC News.

Today, the committee is now trying to compel testimony from Pat Cipollone, issuing a subpoena to Trump's former White House counsel. Testimony from Hutchinson earlier this week revealed Cipollone expressing alarm, leading up to and on January 6th about possible criminal behaviors by the president and his aides.

CNN's Ryan Nobles starts off our coverage with more on the committee's latest efforts to get more witness accounts about what was happening at the White House on and around January 6th.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New information tonight about the January 6th committee's star witness, Cassidy Hutchinson. Sources tell CNN that Hutchinson was one of the two examples that Vice Chair Liz Cheney used to show Trump's allies were putting treasure on former staffers to stay loyal to the former president.

REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): Our committee commonly asks witnesses connected to Mr. Trump's administration or campaign, whether they have been contacted by any of their former colleagues or anyone else who attempted to influence or impact their testimony.

NOBLES: Witness intimidation, among a growing list of potential crimes, the committee believes that Trump and his top advisers could be at the center of.

CHENEY: It's a serious issue, and I would imagine the Justice Department would be very interested in and would take that very seriously as well.

NOBLES: But Trump and allies are pushing back, attacking Hutchinson and questioning her credibility. Her attorney saying she stands by her testimony.

Meanwhile, the committee issuing a subpoena to former White House counsel Pat Cipollone, a key figure members believe has a lot to share.

REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): There are quite a few things he could tell the committee that would not be subject to privilege. And I think it's important.

NOBLES: Cipollone already signaling that he may be willing to sit for a transcribed deposition. And Thursday, the committee hearing from another key witness, Eugene Scalia, Trump's former labor secretary, who reportedly was part of cabinet conversations to invoke the 25th Amendment.

And Wednesday night, at the Reagan Library in California, Cheney using the work of the committee to make the case that it's time for the party to move past Trump.

CHENEY: For the little girls and to the young women who are watching tonight, these days, for the most part, men are running the world, and it is really not going that well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBLES (on camera): And among the big questions the committee is wrestling is, is what would this testimony look like if Pat Cipollone is willing to cooperate with their investigation? As he signaled, he would be willing to sit for a transcribed interview, but the committee would want a lot more than that. In the very least be able to videotape his deposition, to use clips of it in a public hearing. Of course, Jake, their strong desire you would be for him to sit for live testimony and answer questions from members of the committee, for the entire public to see -- Jake.

TAPPER: Ryan Nobles on Capitol Hill, thanks.

It is a familiar pattern by now, a loyalist to the president says some uncomfortable truths about him, and he starts smearing that loyalist. So, it's not surprising that Trump is trying to do that to Cassidy Hutchinson for her testimony. He called her bad news. He claimed he hardly knew her.

And then Trump told Newsmax this in an interview that aired this morning.

[16:05:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: The woman is living in fantasy land. She's a social climber, if you call that social. You know, some whack job can say this stuff and get away with it, and other things, that I wanted guns at my rally.

Okay, now I'm speaking. Why would I want guns? I don't want people having -- standing with guns in my rally.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Donald Trump not under oath there. Cassidy Hutchinson was under oath. But he was denying on the record one of the most important parts of her testimony, the allegation that he knew people in the crowd, at his speech, on January 6th were armed. And he wanted to get rid of the magnetometers to let them into the area closer to him, regardless, because according to Cassidy Hutchinson, quote, they're not here to hurt me, he said. And also because he wanted the largest possible crowd he could get.

And, of course, we know that Trump urged his supporters to march on the Capitol, despite knowing if you believe Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony, and the committee does, that many of them had weapons.

Now, again, we should note, Cassidy Hutchinson was under oath. Donald Trump was not. And Donald Trump's comments publicly on January 6th, in front of all of us, they seemed to back up Hutchinson's story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I would love to have of those tens of thousands of people would be allowed -- the military, the Secret Service, and we want to thank you, and the police, law enforcement, you're doing great job.

But I would love it if they could be allowed to come up here with us. Is that possible? Can you just let them come up, please?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Trump's defenders are also trying to discredit Cassidy Hutchinson over the alleged incident inside the presidential SUV on January 6th.

Now, remember, Hutchinson says that she was told about this incident by Tony Ornato, who at the time was the White House deputy chief of staff. Ornato told her, she said, that Trump lashed out when Secret Service agent Bobby Engel would not take him to the Capitol after the rally on January 6th. And Ornato told Hutchinson, she says, Trump lunged for the steering wheel and lunged for Engel.

Now, an anonymous source to Tony Ornato is now claiming that Ornato is denying that he told Hutchinson that story. He's denying it, not under oath. He's not denying it by name. But that's what's being spread.

However, no one disputes that Trump was trying to get the Secret Service to take him to the Capitol that day. Sources now telling "The New York Times," quote: Mr. Engel, Mr. Ornato, and the driver of the Suburban are prepared to confirm to the committee another damning finding from her testimony, that President Trump demanded agents bring him to the Capitol so he could join his supporters, even after they emphasized the dangerous scene playing out there, unquote.

Now, at least two former Trump White House officials, Alyssa Farah Griffin and Olivia Troye, have come forward claiming that Tony Ornato, in their experience, does not have a reputation for telling the truth. And two members of the January 6 Committee are now painting a member of Tony Ornato who has a close relationship with Trump and his team.

Here's Democratic Congresswoman Stephanie Murphy earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STEPHANIE MURPHY (D-FL): Mr. Ornato did not have as clear of memories from this period of time as I would say Ms. Hutchinson did, if that's a fair assessment there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: A suggestion there from Congresswoman Murphy that there were many more "I do not recalls" from Tony Ornato in his testimony behind closed doors, than there were from Cassidy Hutchinson out in the open.

Now, Republican committee member Adam Kinzinger, he was a little more blunt. He tweeted, quote: There seems to be a major thread here. Tony Ornato likes to lie, unquote.

The question of whether Tony Ornato's allegiance to the truth or to Donald Trump might not have helped by Trump's interview on Newsmax when he effusively praised his former deputy White House chief of staff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: These are people, these are great people. These are great people. They've devoted their lives to it. And I they were embarrassed by it because it makes them sound terrible.

INTERVIEWER: Tony Ornato and Bobby Engel --

TRUMP: I know them very well.

INTERVIEWER: Sterling records.

TRUMP: They're sterling. And it was very nice they came to my defense. I thought it was incredible, actually, because, you know, some whack job can say this stuff and get away with it?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Tony Ornato, we should note, was not serving as a Secret Service agent during this period. He had been granted a waiver to suspend his time during the brave and dangerous work on the U.S. Secret Service to serve in a political position, as Trump's deputy White House chief of staff.

CNN has asked Tony Ornato and the U.S. Secret Service for comment, we have not heard back.

Liz Cheney has said that Tony Ornato should come forward and testify under oath. All of this, all of this is for us to consider as we move forward and try to learn the truth about all the ways that Donald Trump and his team tried to usurp democracy, which is really after all what this is all truly about.

Joining us now to discuss, former attorney general under President George W. Bush, Alberto Gonzales.

[16:10:03]

He also served as White House counsel for the 43rd president.

Thank you so much, General Gonzales for joining us.

We heard Liz Cheney say in that speech to the Reagan Library, quote, Republicans cannot both be loyal to Donald Trump and loyal to the Constitution. Do you agree? Do you see it that way? ALBERTO GONZALES, FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL, GEORGE W. BUSH

ADMINISTRATION: I think that that is a very accurate statement, quite frankly. There's some serious issues here, and I would like to give the benefit of the doubt to President Trump, given the fact that this really is one side of the story. Although to call Ms. Hutchinson a whack job, I mean, he has the oppo -- President Trump and his allies have the opportunity to come before the committee and present their side of the story. I supposed they want to wait, and I think they will have an opportunity, because I believe that the department is going to move forward strongly and investigate that -- a more serious investigation now that this new information, and there may be some indictments. We'll have to wait and see.

You know, we've never had a former president have a public trial. So to the extent, if the attorney general decides to move forward, and indict and try to prosecute President Trump, he has to be successful. And so it's not surprising that they're taking their time at the Justice Department. They have received criticism about the phase of the investigation, but he will have to be sure that he will be successful in prosecuting a former president, because it's never been done before.

And so, you know, there's a -- quite a situation, quite frankly, and I've got, like many Americans, just so disappointed and displayed about some of the testimony in terms of what happened on January 6th. But some of the president's aides and allies did or didn't do in order to protect him.

TAPPER: Have you seen evidence or at least possible evidence that leads you to wonder whether Donald Trump committed a crime? And if so, which crime?

GONZALES: Yeah, I think that if you can tie him -- he knew about -- he knew the crowd was dangerous. He encouraged the crowd to go to the Capitol. And he knew the crowd was armed, and he knew that the purpose of the -- what was going on in Congress, which was to certify the Electoral College count.

And, yeah, I think one might make the argument that there's certainly the beginnings of a case full of seditious conspiracy, obstruction of Congress. So there are some things there that I think, certainly, Merrick Garland is going to look at, in addition to witness tampering. That's something that's also opined.

So there is a lot there, Jake. But we have a system here. So, there will not be any federal prosecution, unless there's no reasonable doubt. So the question is, how much of this information are the prosecutors going to be able to get into a court, in front of the jury? Of course, all of these witnesses that we're hearing from now are going to be subject to cross-examination. And, you know, so things may turn out differently. I don't know.

But I will say I have to believe that folks in Trump world are very concerned, and very nervous right now. And I think -- I'm not surprised that Pat Cipollone has been subpoenaed. I think his testimony is critical. Again, for no other reason, if you're going go after the president,

you have to lock up as much evidence as you can to assure yourself that, yes, we're going to be successful in prosecuting president of the United States.

TAPPER: Something that I heard when Liz Cheney -- when Congresswoman Cheney put those intimidating texts up at the end of the hearing Tuesday. One of the things it said in there was that Donald Trump is reading all the transcripts. And it occurred to me that earlier this year, a legal defense fund was put together by some strong Trump allies in which Trump aides were being offered representation paid for by this fund.

If these lawyers are representing potential witnesses but actually serving Trump, not the witnesses, and actually providing these transcripts to Donald Trump, is that appropriate? Is that even legal?

GONZALES: Well, I mean, the first fiduciary obligation a lawyer has is to the client. It's possible that these witnesses may have given permission to share that information. I don't know.

But from my perspective, it's problematic if you've got the lawyer for a client sharing confidential information with someone else without the client's permission. There's no question about that.

TAPPER: Neil Eggleston was the former White House counsel in the Obama administration.

[16:15:01]

He told CNN about this about a criminal prosecution of Trump.

Quote: How would a prosecution of President Trump impact the future presidency? I think those are the issues they'll be thinking about. They will conclude they will have no future impact on the presidency. Do you agree?

GONZALES: Well, it's hard to imagine this scenario repeating itself. I mean, this is an extraordinary set of circumstances, and obviously, you have to be very careful about prosecuting a former president.

I think the Constitution is set up in a way that you really can't prosecute a sitting president. What would typically happen if you have that president impeached, and then once they're a private citizen, then they would be subject to prosecution.

But it's hard to imagine, and I don't even want to imagine this kind of scenario repeating itself. I can't imagine a more serious set of circumstances, which in my judgment really negates any kind of claim of executive privilege. It's a qualified privilege. What the courts have to do is weigh the need for the information against the need to keep it confidential.

In this particular case, I -- it's hard to imagine a set of circumstances where that -- the information that people like Cipollone has shouldn't be -- shouldn't be available to the courts. So we'll have to wait and see what happens. Again, I think for many

Americans, all those who work in the white House, at Justice, very, very disappointing about what we're hearing in this hearing.

TAPPER: Yeah, former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, thank you so much for your time. Appreciate it.

Is President Biden claiming that he would get rid of the filibuster to make Roe v. Wade law just for the political points? Two former members of Congress will weigh in, next.

And then, pilots for one airline are picketing ahead of what experts warned could be a holiday weekend travel mess.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:20:43]

TAPPER: In our politics lead, today, President Biden made his strongest stance yet perhaps on the issue of abortion rights. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe we have to codify Roe v. Wade in the law, and the way to do that is to make sure the Congress votes to do that. And if the filibuster gets in the way, it's like voting rights, it should be -- we provide an exception for this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Chances of that happening in the Senate are slim to none, as key moderate Democratic senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema signaled they are not going to budge on changing filibuster rules.

Let's discuss with former Congressman Joe Kennedy, and former Congresswoman Mia Love.

Congressman Kennedy, the Biden administration is banking on picking up two more Senate seats to get this done, which seems something of a tall order, to be honest. Midterm prospects for Democrats are looking dismal.

Is it fair to say that Democrats should be bracing for a letdown this November?

JOE KENNEDY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Jake, obviously the economic -- or the political headwinds have been clear for a while. And history tells us that.

That being said, as everybody knows, history is replete with surprises when it comes to Election Day. I think the comments you just heard are a recognition that there are structural aspects of our democracy under threat and I believe the Supreme Court is delegitimized, and those structures need to be put in place so our public feels their voices are being represented in those institutions.

And so, yeah, he has the right idea. I would abolish all of it.

TAPPER: Former Congresswoman Love, President Biden spoke at the NATO Summit today. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: The one thing that has been destabilizing is the outrageous behavior of the Supreme Court of the United States of overruling not only Roe v. Wade, but essentially challenging the right to privacy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Republican Senate leader, Mitch McConnell, responded in a statement saying, quote, attacking a core American institutions like the Supreme Court from the world stage is below the dignity of the president, unquote.

What do you make of it all?

MIA LOVE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I actually agree with senator McConnell on this. I, anytime a president is out talking about the United States, I hated it when Donald Trump did it and I don't like it now.

And it's a pipe dream. I do think it's a pipe dream. The president can't even get 50 senators, let alone 60, to change the filibuster. The filibuster can't be used, or not just because you don't get your desired outcome. The filibuster is a feature of the Constitution. It's not a flaw of the Constitution.

I think anytime he's out there, he really should discuss the United States in a positive light. Not blaming a major branch of our government.

TAPPER: Congressman Kennedy, something about the filibuster changing the rules, as you want to do, and that is President Biden said he should -- for voting rights and abortion rights. It's entirely likely that Republicans will take the Senate back this November and if not this November, in two years or four years. I mean, we -- it flips back and forth.

There's no -- once you get rid of the filibuster, you get real of the filibuster just because Democrats say, we are only going to do it for voting rights. We're only going to do it for abortion rights. That's not going to mean anything to a Republican majority.

KENNEDY: One hundred percent, Jake. I agree with you wholeheartedly, which is why I actually would get rid of it completely because, as we saw with Mitch McConnell and justices or judges, when Democrats lowered that threshold for federal judges, he then abolished it for Supreme Court justices. So, once you adjust this, you adjust it. But the point here is you

cannot continue to have Republicans continue to alter the core of these institutions.

And I'm sorry to Congresswoman Love and I fundamentally disagree, Mitch McConnell, when he was Senate majority leader, refused to confirm a judge that was put forward by President Obama essentially stacking the court. That's what Republicans have already done.

And now all of sudden when Democrats say, hey, you did it, we are going to do that in ample measure, they claim that somehow Democrats are undermining the fate of the institutions and undermining international faith in the United States.

[16:25:03]

Hogwash.

Look at what President Trump has done over the last several years, did over the past several years and I think you and I actually agree on that, but the continual undermining of those that framework to tilt in conservative favor, and now having activist judges that are just running roughshod over president. And even Clarence Thomas saying, we will go as far as we want to go. Precedent be damned.

Man, that's a government official taken aim right out of those very same institutions that conservatives claim to love.

TAPPER: Congresswoman Love, I know you oppose abortion. Let me just ask you, though, are you concerned at all that some of these states laws are so broad, not allowing abortion in any case except for life of the mother, so not when there is a risk to the health, not in cases of rape or incest, not in the first week of pregnancy, et cetera, et cetera.

Are you worried that any of that goes too far? And if not, are you worried about the political ramifications that this might actually help Democrats come November?

LOVE: I am less worried about the politics of it. I'm more worried about the actual -- what actually ends up happening to mothers who end up with an unwanted pregnancy.

The two bookends are abortion at any time, at any place without any thought. The other bookend is no abortion at all at anytime. And Americans aren't there.

Because these -- because everything is so individualized, these are so incredibly personal, they're in the middle. And so, I am concerned about the bookends, absolutely.

I have always fought for the right to life for the unborn, but I also fought for the mother. I think we can be an advocate for both. And I think one of the best things that Congress can do is stop fighting this battle at the end of this story and start giving more women more options when it comes to their reproductive health. I have fought for that for a while with the over the conservative bill

that I introduced in the House, but we need to give more women more options. So, we're not -- so they're not having to make the choice between keeping a life and ending a life.

TAPPER: Congressman Kennedy, Kentucky's "Louisville Courier Journal" newspaper reports that Biden apparently cut a deal with Mitch McConnell to appoint an anti-abortion rights judge in Kentucky, in exchange for McConnell agreeing to let Biden's future federal judicial nominations through the Senate. There isn't a judicial position open on the Kentucky court right now. But what do you make of this?

KENNEDY: I don't know the details of it, Jake. I saw the reporting there, I think both sides obviously understood the importance of the moment of federal judges and the extent to which Republicans are going to try to continue to impede that process to get selections by President Biden on the court. Obviously, that's deeply concerning.

I would come to say -- I would hope that Democratic majority here would be able to get those people in place, but again, we saw the challenges -- the news breaking this afternoon of Senator Leahy with -- needing hip surgery, so he will be out of the chamber now for probably some period of time.

Now, this is what happens when you've got the very -- you work with imperfect results. So, hopefully, we will get as many of those judges confirmed as possible.

TAPPER: Former members of Congress, Mia Love and Joe Kennedy, thanks. If I don't see or talk to you, happy Fourth of July.

KENNEDY: Happy Fourth.

LOVE: Thanks, Jake.

TAPPER: The first Black woman has been sworn in as the U.S. Supreme Court justice. And what a court it is right now, just wrapping up one of the most controversial terms in modern history. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:33:10]

TAPPER: Today, the Supreme Court handed down its final opinions in what has been, it's fair to say, a monumental term.

The court dealt a major blow to President Biden's climate strategy today, limiting the Environmental Protection Agency's authority to regulate carbon emissions to address climate change.

The court also rejected a major challenge to the Biden administration's effort to end the Trump era remain in Mexico policy that forced many asylum seekers to return to Mexico while their immigration proceedings play out.

More history was made today, as well. Justice Stephen Breyer officially retired, allowing now Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to be sworn in as the very first black woman ever to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

CNN legal analyst and Supreme Court biographer is here to break down all this for us.

Joan, I mean, an incredibly significant term, lots of major decisions. Tell me about the EPA ruling. The White House is calling this ruling a, quote, another devastating decision from the court that aims to take our country backwards.

Explain the importance of this.

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Major ramifications on two fronts. First of all, just the EPA front. You know, these are emissions from power plants that administrations for decades have been trying to control in one way or another. And we're in this climate change crisis.

And so the -- just that part, the court has stripped the EPA of some power here to do that. Chief Justice John Roberts said, if the court -- if EPA is going to do something this significant, it has to have clear authority from Congress. It cannot overly read its statute.

Elena Kagan in dissent said, these agencies are supposed to take care of these kinds of things because they have the expertise, they have the expertise here, and she said, I can't think of many things more frightening than the court taking control here.

But broader, Jake, the court has diminished the power of regulators across the board for environment, public safety, saying, you know, no longer as past courts did offer more deference to agency authority, saying it's in the hands of Congress.

[16:35:10]

The dissenters say Congress isn't going to do anything. This will leave so many spots of public safety health open for no regulation essentially.

TAPPER: And alarm bells going off for a lot of people. For the next term, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear a redirecting case, a legal expert could have major implications when it comes to voting rights. Explain.

BISKUPIC: That's right. A North Carolina redirecting case that puts on the table that theory called the independent state legislature theory that Donald Trump and his people were pushing during the 2020 election to try to get state legislatures to throw out electoral counts, the will of the people, and have their own. That's what is front and center in that case.

Four justices have expressed support for state legislatures having more authority and not being overseen by state courts to see if individual rights are -- voting rights are in any way impinged.

TAPPER: What can go wrong?

Joan Biskupic, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined the three liberals to side with President Biden on his plan to end a Trump era border policy known as remain in Mexico. Biden will now be allowed to end the policy, which allowed Trump to send migrants back to Mexico, while their immigration proceedings played out.

Instead, the Biden administration is not going to be allowed to either detain them or release them into the United States.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is at the U.S.-Mexico border with a look at how this decision could impact asylum seekers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A major victory for the Biden administration. The Supreme Court ruling that President Biden can end the controversial Trump era "Remain in Mexico" policy.

JENNIFER SCARBOROUGH, IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY: It's a relief. It's a program that should have never been started.

ALVAREZ: The unprecedented program forced non-Mexican asylum seekers to return to Mexico and wait there until their immigration proceedings in the United States. It's just one piece of a complicated set of border policies that have contributed to confusion and desperation among migrants.

Jennifer Scarborough, an immigration attorney in Texas, has been working with migrants for 12 years.

SCARBOROUGH: When people feel like they have no other option, when everything's been so confusing and so difficult, they just end up taking riskier and riskier and riskier routes to try and get here.

ALVAREZ: Those dangers came into sharp focus this week when at least 53 people died after being transported in a semi-truck in the sweltering Texas heat in what is being called the deadliest human smuggling incident in U.S. human history.

There are people who left wanting to achieve the American dream and wanting to be better people, says Jose Luis Castellanos, who lives in Honduras.

The Justice Department says four people have been charged in connection to the incident. But human smuggling remains a top concern for officials this summer with temperatures in the triple digits and as border crossings continue to rise.

In May, U.S. Customs and Border Protection stopped more than 239,000 migrants at the U.S. southern border according to the latest available data. That's up nearly 60,000 from last May. There's deep disagreement over how to handle the influx. Even some Democrats were not unanimous in agreement with the Supreme Court ruling on remain in Mexico. Texas Democratic Congressman Vicente Gonzalez represents the 15th

district, part of which borders Mexico. He says the administration needs to implement policies that work to address migration further south.

REP. VICENTE GONZALEZ (D-TX): It concerns me greatly especially at this moment in time because we don't have a policy in place that will prevent mass migration to our southern border.

ALVAREZ: But immigration attorneys and advocates say remain in Mexico is not the answer.

SCARBOROUGH: The things we saw happening to people and the way they were having to live was incredibly disturbing to see. It's just now how we treat -- how we should treat human beings.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALVAREZ (on camera): Jake, it's not immediately clear how quickly the Supreme Court's decision will take effect, because there are still additional legal steps that have to be taken. But a win for the Biden administration as it tries to set its immigration position.

TAPPER: All right. Priscilla Alvarez at the U.S.-Mexico border in Hidalgo, Texas, thanks so much.

Why American credit card habits could be a new warning about a coming recession.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:43:33]

TAPPER: In our money lead, inflation will not go away. A government measure called the Personal Consumption Index shows inflation remaining stubbornly high. Prices are a little over 6 percent higher compared to what they were in May of last year.

The news pushed stocks lower, but Wall Street thankfully avoided a major selloff.

Let's bring in CNN's Rahel Solomon.

First of all, Rahel, explain what this latest number covers.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: So, Jake, every month, we get several inflation reports. This one is considered the Fed's preferred inflation report. It's broad but it's considered less volatile than some of the others.

What we learned today is that energy prices, no surprise to anyone who owns a car these days, higher by about 36 percent than a year ago. Food prices, about 11 percent. Even if you strip away, Jake, some of those volatile categories, like food and energy, core inflation still high.

And to put this in perspective, that 6.3 percent top line number, Jake, the Fed would like that to be at 2 percent. So we are very far from the Fed's goal. So it looks like we are in quite a few years of the fed tightening, as it tries to get inflation under control.

TAPPER: There are also troubling numbers about the use of credit cards to get by. Tell us about that.

SOLOMON: Yeah, so the latest data we got from the Fed suggests that revolving credit, essentially credit and balances spiked by about 20 percent in April, 20 percent, that's enough to raise some eyebrows and question are we seeing some cracks in the consumer?

What I should say, Jake, is what we don't know is whether consumers are using credit cards to pay for essentials or if they're using credit cards to just shop.

[16:45:08]

Very important distinction.

What I can say is that Bank of America to provide context earlier this month, put out a report, a consumer checkpoint, the state of the consumer. And what the bank found is that, by and large, most Americans still have more in their checking and their savings account than before the pandemic. So that, of course, is a good sign, because even in the midst of these recession warnings, the strong consumer has been the backbone of this economy. So any cracks there certainly is going to get a lot of attention.

So it's just unclear if this is just a one off or a sign of a more troubling trend.

TAPPER: And, Rahel, there's this other report showing that mortgage rates have nearly doubled compared to last year, although we should note, they're down slightly now compared to last week. Tell us about that.

SOLOMON: Yeah. So mortgage rates are very sensitive to the Fed's benchmark interest rate. And realtors have spiked this year, although we saw a slight decline in the last week.

This is already, though, mortgage rates already causing quite a bit of pain across the industry. We have seen layoffs as mortgage demand has fallen off because home affordability is such a big challenge right now, and prices are still on average between 15 percent to 20 percent higher than a year ago, and mortgage rates by some estimates are about twice what they were at the start of this year, the very least 2 percentage points higher than they were at the beginning of the year.

So, affordability is a real challenge. Jake, important to note, this is all part of the Fed's plan. It wants to curb consumer spending. It wants to curb demand. But that doesn't make you feel good if you're at home and you're in the market for a house right now. TAPPER: Take it all together, no surprise a new poll shows 85 percent

of the American people think the country is headed in the wrong direction.

SOLOMON: Exactly. We see it in the polling with consumers. But, Jake, what's interesting is that Main Street, the real economy and Wall Street don't always say the same thing.

What we're seeing these days is we all have the same concerns. We're concerned about a recession. You see it in the markets, as we saw, as the market closed today, and really this year, and you see it in the polling with American consumers.

TAPPER: Rahel Solomon, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Pilots for one airline are picketing ahead of what airlines warn could be a holiday weekend mess. What do you need to know before you fly? We'll tell you, next.

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[16:51:43]

TAPPER: Concerns about more travel trouble is prompting the FAA to reach out to airlines ahead of the Fourth of July. AAA predicts more than 3.5 million will take to the skies over the holiday weekend. This is Delta pilots at several U.S. airports are picketing today over staffing issues.

Let's bring in CNN's Pete Muntean.

Pete, are airlines ready to handle the crowds this holiday weekend?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESEPONDENT: Well, the short answer here, Jake, is that we will have to see. You know, there's bad weather forecasted for some of the major airline hubs over the weekend. We know that when bad weather strikes, combined with the fact that airlines got a lot smaller over the pandemic, that is when the deck of cards comes tumbling down and these delays and cancellations really begin to pile up.

Look at the numbers from last week: 2,200 cancellations over last weekend, nationwide. Thirty-two hundred over the weekend before, the Juneteenth Father's Day weekend.

You know, Delta Airlines has been taking it on the chin when it comes to cancellations and issued a statement saying it will institute a travel waiver, system wide, for all of its passengers starting tomorrow, July 1st, and through the 4th.

I' going to read this statement because Delta says it's working around the clock to rebuild Delta's operations while making it as resilient as possible to minimize the ripple effect of disruptions. Even so, some operational challenges are expected this holiday weekend.

So this is a win for passengers in a way, because they don't have to pay change fees or higher fares. But it is an admission from the airline that there are going to be problems this weekend.

TAPPER: There has been a lot of finger pointing between airlines and the FAA over how to manage the summer demand. Any steps being take to help or alleviate the situation?

MUNTEAN: There's a lot of pressure from the Department of Transportation, the Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, on the airlines to essentially get their acts together. Now, he has said that the airlines really have not been good actors, especially since the Memorial Day weekend, when cancellations really started to pile up.

The pressure is on because they know that they have to get this together. They know that the DOT is watching and airlines really put some of the pressure back on the federal government by saying that the FAA has not helped them out by staffing up when it comes to air traffic controllers, to alleviate some of these delays and cancellations, especially in key places like Florida, where we've seen delays and cancellations in the Jacksonville air traffic control center of a last few days because of staffing.

The FAA insists it is moving people around, it is trying to alleviate those problems on its and. With the airlines are doing, they are proactively canceling flights. In fact, really no airline is safe from this.

United airlines is one of the latest to make one of these -- proactive cancellation announcements. It's canceling about 50 flights a day starting tomorrow. And it's major Newark hub through the rest of the month, it's about 12 percent of all domestic departures, although the United says it's really not because of airline staffing, it's more because of congestion that already existed at the airport.

TAPPER: It does seem like it's worse than ever before.

Pete Muntean, thanks so much, appreciate it.

It's the same island where Ukrainian soldiers told a Russian warship to go F itself. What just happened on that island could prove pivotal for Ukraine.

Stay with us.

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[16:59:05]

TAPPER: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

This hour, a notorious lynching dating back to 1955, a newly discovered outside warrant for a suspect who is still alive, could Emmett Till's family finally get justice?

Plus, alarming questions about what the abortion ruling might mean for women's privacy. What are doctor's offices sharing with the government? And isn't HIPAA supposed to protect patient's private information? Leading this hour, the Supreme Court abortion ruling prompting President Biden to reverse his long-time stance in favor of upholding the filibuster nearly a week after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The president now says he supports getting rid of the Senate rule, or the 60-vote threshold needing to get bills passed for that issue. The president made that statement during a press conference at the end of the NATO summit in Spain.

As CNN's Kaitlan Collins reports, President Joe Biden wrapped up this critical trip to Europe with a blistering attack on the Supreme Court back home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I can understand why the American people are frustrated, because of what the Supreme Court did.