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The Lead with Jake Tapper

More Banging Sounds Heard In Search For Sub; Accused Leaker Jack Teixeira Pleads Not Guilty; Biden Labels China's Leader A Dictator; CNN With Ukrainian Navy's Patrol Boats; Special Counsel John Durham Testifies Publicly; NY Prosecutors Subpoena Trump's Deposition From E. Jean Carroll's Civil Defamation Suit. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired June 21, 2023 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:10]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: Fanone who addressed the court today said in his mind his attackers, quote, ceased to exist a long time ago. The former officer also demanded the Justice Department pursue an indictment against former President Trump over the Capitol attack.

So, many political charges around that. But you see what you see with your eyes in those videos and it's quite a reminder. We'll continue to follow that story and many stories.

THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER starts right now.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: More reports of noises from the ocean in that desperate search for the missing sub.

THE LEAD starts right now.

Sounds of hope in what is still being described as very much a search and rescue mission. Sensors picking up noises from the ocean, could those be from the passengers trapped on that Titanic submersible that vanished during a deep sea expedition?

And another U.S. Supreme Court justice defending another undisclosed luxury trip paid for by another billionaire. This time it's Justice Samuel Alito vacationing with a hedge fund billionaire who reportedly had business before the court, according to "ProPublica". The preemptive strike Alito launched as he tried to get ahead of the claims.

And diplomacy undone? Was all that work by Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Beijing ruined when President Biden called Chinese leader Xi Jinping a dictator in an off-the-cuff fundraiser remark?

(MUSIC)

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

And we start today with our world lead. We need to have hope. That is the message from the U.S. Coast Guard today after officials announced more undersea noises have been detected by planes searching for the missing submersible, planes that deployed special buoys with sonar. Officials say multiple reports of the noises are being analyzed and

tracked, although they do not yet know what the sounds are. We should note, as this point, there could be less than a day's worth of air remaining in the sub. The search area is currently about twice the size of state of the Connecticut and still expanding, with more ships and aircraft joining the search as quickly as possible. Five people were on board the submersible when it went missing, including the sub company's CEO, a French diver, a British explorer, and a Pakistani father and his son.

CNN's Jason Carroll starts off our coverage today from Boston. The site of the U.S. Coast Guard command center with new information about former employees who had raised safety concerns about that sub years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAPTAIN JAMIE FREDERICK, U.S. COAST GUARD: When you're in the middle of a search and rescue case, you always have hope. That is why we're doing with what we do.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With what could be less than 24 hours of oxygen left on board Titan, hope, at this point, may rest on banging noises detected by sonar. The Coast Guard revealing more noises were picked up this morning after a Canadian aircraft dropped a sonar buoy.

FREDERICK: With respect to the noises, specifically, we don't know what they are, to be frank with you. The P-3 detected noises and that's why they are up there, that's why they're doing what they're doing, that's why they put sonar buoys in the water.

CARROLL: The sounds described as banging first picked up by a Canadian plane yesterday according to a government memo. All of the acoustic information sent to the U.S. Navy for analysis. Additional resources sent to search the area where the sounds were detected. The Coast Guard cautioned about drawing conclusions before experts can weigh in.

FREDERICK: We moved assets and we're searching there and we'll continue to do so.

CARROLL: Time is crucial. The rescue window continues to shrink. Experts still hoping those sounds are from those trapped on board and the resources deployed can effort a rescue.

TOM DETTWEILLER, OCEAN EXPLORER: It is encouraging that there did seem to be a pattern to it. And we're going to continue to hold out hope.

CARROLL: The vessel was headed to view the Titanic wreck that sits nearly 13,000 feet deep but lost contact on Sunday just one hour and 45 minutes into its descent.

Five on board including OceanGate CEO and founder Stockton Rush.

STOCKTON RUSH, OCEANGATE CEO, PASSENGER ON MISSING SUB: I would like to be remembered as an innovator. And I think it was General MacArthur said you remember the rules you break. I've broken some rules to make this. I think I've broken with logic and good engineering behind me.

CARROLL: Now questions surrounding the safety of the vessel which was not inspected and class by an independent group that set safety standards. Most chartered vessels are inspect, reviewed and then classed. OceanGate argues the Titan is not due to the technology being so new that it is not incorporated into existing standards.

Two former employees of OceanGate separately brought up safety concerns about the vessel and the thickness of Titan's hull.

[16:05:08]

There was additional testing since the time the employees left the company in 2017 and 2018. So it's unclear if their concerns were addressed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (on camera): So the Coast Guard continuing to move assets into the search area, including more of those remotely operated vehicles, those ROVs, which are equipped with cameras which could search below the surface at deeper depths. The Coast Guard also saying, Jake, that they are remaining in close con tab with family members -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Jason Carroll in Boston, thank you so much.

Joining us now to discuss, former submarine captain, David Marquet.

Captain, how encourage should we by the news of these underwater sounds being recorded for the second day in a row. Could it be anything other than the survivors?

DAVID MARQUET, AUTHOR, "TURN THE SHIP AROUND": Yeah. Unfortunately, it could be. It could be natural sounds that fall into a pattern that sounded man-made and artificial. But the other thing that I worry about is now that more and more ships are coming into the area, now we're hearing more man-made sounds from the area.

So I mean, I could just imagine this happening, a crew member on one of the ships has a routine every Wednesday, he's supposed to change the oil filter, and so he -- they're down there changing the oil filter and banging on the thing and now we have just made man-made banging sounds that's picked up by those sonar buoys, triangulates back to the vicinity of the Titanic that we send the ROV off to try to find them.

I'm not saying that's happened --

TAPPER: Right.

MARQUET: -- but in the world that we live, that's a kind of thing that could come up.

TAPPER: The U.S. Coast Guard says the search air is expanding because of changing weather conditions. How much does that complicate the search? It must be tremendously. MARQUET: Yeah. So, there are two search areas. When they say they're

talking about the search area and the surface, it's going to keep expanding as the currents shift and we call it the area of uncertainty, the AOU. If it is on the bottom, that search area is probably relatively confined and we don't expect to be rolling or moving along the bottom. It is probably near the site of the Titanic and the debris field for this Titanic is about a five-mile long by three mile wide debris field.

And so, let's say they're about within a mile of that. That is more reasonable. It is about 35 square miles. But it is pitch black and you search inch by inch with ROVs with lights and try to see what is down there. So it is a much slower process than flying an airplane.

TAPPER: If rescuers with able to locate the sub on the floor of the ocean, how will crews be able to get the sub back up to the surface?

MARQUET: Yeah, so, this is -- this is the good news. The U.S. Navy has a system which is designed to do exactly this. And it is designed to be modularized and it is sitting on pallets and they've loaded on airplanes and they've flown that system, it is a long cable called FADOSS. And it is flown out to Halifax and it is placed on a ship and it will be out there early minute morning.

So the ship that has this system is driving out there right now. It will be out there early in the morning. That puts us close to right about the time we expect them to run out of oxygen. But it is still possible. So if they're found, that system could hook them and it brings it up and it is designed for deeper and heavier things than what we have here.

TAPPER: As someone who spent time in a vessel in the depths of the sea, you could give us an idea of what it might be like for those explorers right now?

MARQUET: Yeah, they are not comfortable. If there -- if they are alive, they're happy. Number one, they're freezing cold. The water entirely surrounding the ship is at freezing or slightly below when they exhale, their breath condenses, there is frost on the inside of the parts of the submarine, and they're all huddled together trying to conserve body heat. They're running low on oxygen and they're exhaling carbon dioxide. The levels going up in the submarine has limited ability to absorb that carbon dioxide. As that level goes up, we get headache, we feel nauseous, start to get confused. We can't think right.

And I'm sure they are thirsty and they're hungry. But that's probably not going to kill them. The oxygen and the carbon dioxide and the freezing are what they got to hold on to as long as possible, give the rescuers the time they need.

TAPPER: All right. David Marquet, thank you so much. In just a few minutes, I'm going to speak with a Titanic historian who knows one of the passengers and knows the area where the crews are searching.

And just in, a plea in court for the 21-year-old Air National guardsman accused of leaking classified documents in the online chat room Discord.

Plus, the vibe shift on Capitol Hill as special counsel John Durham went from closed door meeting yesterday to a public hearing today with cameras and lots of members of Congress expressing outrage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your reputation will be damage as everybody reputation who gets involved with Donald Trump is damaged. He's damaged goods.

JOHN DURHAM, SPECIAL COUNSEL: My concern about my reputation is with the people who I respect and my family and my lord. And I'm perfectly comfortable with my reputation with them, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well said. God bless you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: And we are back with the world lead, the ongoing search for the missing Titanic submersible which likely has less than a day's worth of air at this point.

Let's bring in Titanic historian Bill Willard who is very familiar with the search area and is also long time friends with Paul-Henri Nargeolet, one of the five people on the missing submersible.

So, Bill, the search is focusing on an area where under water noises were heard.

[16:15:03]

Does that give you hope?

BILL WILLARD, TITANIC HISTORIAN AND RESEARCHER: Definitely. If those noises are from the Titan, they could triangulate and locate the submer -- the submersible much quicker.

TAPPER: You've known Paul-Henri for 20 years, how prepared would he be prepared to handle this kind of crisis?

WILLARD: PH is a consummate professional. He has the greatest teacher that one could have as experience. He has experience in underwater vehicles. He has experience in scuba. He has experience leading expeditions.

If anybody could troubleshoot and come up with a plan, it would be PH.

TAPPER: A plan might he be making. What sort of steps would he and other passengers be taking?

WILLARD: Well, just like your previous guest said, they are in there trying to prolong and extend time. They're probably getting close to together to save warmth. It is going to be pitch black unless someone brought a flashlight or a two down. They're going to make noise to try to say how will they know where to find us and this is the best way.

I'm sure PH tried everything that was possible with the sub in order to try to re-engineer the power and get the power back on. So, he would be a man in there to exhaust those opportunities.

TAPPER: In addition to pitch black conditions, what other conditions would the passengers be facing down there? The previous guest said it would be freezing temperatures, if not below freezing.

WILLARD: Absolutely. Very cold. Those would be the two that would probably affect me the most, the cold and the dark. Now eventually they're going to run into a CO2 buildup and that is going to be a problem coming up soon. But the first two is the cold, and the darkness.

TAPPER: Is there is a way to conserve oxygen?

WILLARD: Sleeping. You breathe less when you rest. So that would be one way to slow down. You can't stay awake for three days so they would have rested and slept somehow so that would have helped them to a degree.

The more excited you get, the more you tend to hyperventilate and you breathe faster. So remaining calm is one thing and PH would try to tell them that. You got to remain calm. Everybody is coming for us. We're going to make some noise and let them know we're here and they're going to come for us.

TAPPER: So today is Wednesday. This crew set off Sunday to see the titanic wreckage, more than 13,000 feet under water. How dangerous is a voyage like this and is it more dangerous in a vessel like this one?

WILLARD: The pressure down there is 6,200 PSI approximately. The exact depth of the water, compare that to your car tire which is about 47 to 50 pounds per square inch. So 6,200 PSI is immensely crushing. So, yes, it is an extreme visit when you go down to the wreck.

One person interviewed on one news source said something about these are not tourist dives. Well, in a way they are, because several of the passengers are not scientists, they're not researchers, they paying to go and see the wreck and they take a chance when they do that.

Even on our expeditions in '96 and '98, they said this is not a joy ride. This is something that is very serious and it is real world. Something could go wrong. So even in '98 with some of the best equipment they had out there, there was the potential that something might happen.

TAPPER: Bill Willard, thank you so much for your time and we're praying four your friend PH and his other passengers.

WILLARD: Thank you, we're all -- the whole Titanic community is pulling for this rescue team and we hope that there's good news later today for it -- from them.

TAPPER: Yeah, amen. The Chinese government called it absurd and irresponsible that

President Biden would refer to its leader Xi Jinping as a dictator. Well, now, the Biden administration has its own response. Could the back-and-forth undo all of the diplomatic progress made by the secretary of state just last weekend?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Topping our law and justice lead, moments ago, the 21-year-old National Guard airman accused of leaking troves of classified U.S. intelligence documents online, just pleaded not guilty. Jack Teixeira allegedly spilled damaging state secrets on the social media site Discord, seemingly to impress his online buddies.

Let's get right to CNN's Oren Liebermann at the Pentagon.

Oren, remind us what charges he's facing an how long he might have to serve behind bars?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Jake, 21-year-old Jack Teixeira indicted on six counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information related to the national defense. The hearing today starting about on time at 3:45 p.m. Wasn't all that long. Lasted less than 15 minutes by watch, about 13 or 14 minutes here.

Twenty-one-year-old Teixeira, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard was wearing an orange jump suit and rosary beads as this hearing moved on here.

[16:25:08]

The judge made sure he understood the charges against him, and Teixeira entered a not guilty plea on all six counts, again, the charge of willful retention and transmission of classified information related to the national defense. Shortly after the hearing ended, so just before 4:00 p.m., Teixeira's familiar spokesperson entered -- or rather put out a statement saying, we remain as committed as ever and our entire family continues to share complete and unwavering support of Jack as he faced this matter.

The important thing is Jack will now have his day in court and as we move through this process, we're hopeful that Jack will get a fair and just treatment he deserves. We realize there is a long road ahead and we asked for your continued respect for our privacy during this difficult ordeal. Each of these six counts carried with it a personal sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to a quarter of a million dollars. That's the penalty that Teixeira faces should he be found guilty, in terms of where the legal proceedings move from here. It goes into the discovery phase and there is a procedural check in, in early August.

Jake, just one more point here, Teixeira's lawyers asked the judge to reconsider his detention as he awaits that trial, that was denied by the judge.

TAPPER: All right. Oren Liebermann at the Pentagon for us, thank you so much.

Turning to our world lead, don't you hate it when your boss scrapped all your hard work? Well, President Biden may have just done that to his Secretary of State Antony Blinken. An unscripted remarks at a fundraiser last night in California, President Biden essentially called Chinese's leader Xi Jinping a dictator.

Now, Chinese government officials are seething, one calling it, quote, extremely absurd and irresponsible. The comment risks unraveling any progress Blinken made on his belated trip to China earlier this week where the two countries agreed on the need to stabilize ties.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is at White House for us.

Jeremy, what exactly did Biden say and how is the clean-up going?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, President Biden has long been known for making some of his most off script comments at these type of fundraisers but at this time it is a delicate moment at the U.S.-China relationship. At a fundraiser in California last night, President Biden not only calling the Chinese president a dictator but also perhaps more importantly, actually, he also really undermined the way in which Xi Jinping projects his strength, making him look weak by unveiling U.S. intelligence that indicates that Xi was not aware of that Chinese spy balloon over the United States.

Here's what the president last night. Quote: The reason why Xi Jinping got very upset in terms of when I shot that balloon down with two boxcars full of spy equipment in it, is he didn't know it was there. No, I'm serious. That's what's a great embarrassment for dictators when they didn't know what happened.

And now look, we're told that the president's assessment of Xi being in the dark reflected U.S. intelligence that has been previously reported months ago. But the president of the United States saying this directly, of course, is a whole other matter, especially after Secretary of State Blinken just returned from a very important and sensitive trip to Beijing that has been in the works for months.

Now I did speak with a senior administration official would told me that, quote, it should come as no surprise that the president speaks candidly about China in the differences that we have. We're certainly not alone in that. That official, Jake, also told me they don't believe this is going to undermine the progress that Secretary Blinken made.

But, of course, that visit has been in the works for so long, so much effort went into it and relations appeared to be thawing. We will see whether or not the president's undermine -- president's comments undermine any of that progress going forward.

TAPPER: And, Jeremy, there is a different world leader in town?

DIAMOND: Yeah, that's right. The Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he is set to arrive at the White House tonight, a full state visit is in order tomorrow, including a state dinner. We're also expecting an opportunity to ask the two leaders questions at a news conference tomorrow.

This is obviously a controversial visit in some respects because Modi, his policies and the way he's conducted politics in his country very much viewed as Islamophobic in some regards. And, but, of course, the U.S. is essentially making the notion that look, despite humanitarian concerns, human rights concerns, India is central to the U.S. strategy in the region including in countering China -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. CNN's Jeremy Diamond at the White House for us, thank you so much.

Now on to Ukraine. Today, more than 400 global companies pledged to rebuild the war torn country. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also secured an additional $1.3 billion from the United States for Ukraine's ailing energy grid.

While back on the battlefield, Russian President Vladimir Putin insisted today that Ukraine is losing its counteroffensive, as Ukraine releases video of its artillery units blowing Russian positions south of Zaporizhzhia.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen got some exclusive access to Ukraine's navy as defense in the water becomes just as important as it is on land and in the air.

[16:30:07]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Night after night, a common theme. Russian aerial attacks on Ukraine cities, air defense viciously fighting back from land, the air and from the water.

We got exclusive access to Ukrainian navy patrol boats that are part of that fight.

The Ukrainians say the Russians often fly drones and even cruise missiles along rivers to avoid air defenses. That's why boats like this one play an important role keeping both cities but also critical infrastructure safe.

The commander who only gave his name as "Anton"says air defense is a key component of their mission.

Are you effective?

"ANTON", COIMMANDER, UKRAINIAN NAVY: So I could not answer that question how effective we are. But so are we effective? I would say yes.

PLEITGEN: As Ukraine presses on with its counteroffensive, Kyiv acknowledges the Russians are putting up stiff resistance and every yard of territory hard fought. We would certainly like to make bigger steps, the Ukrainian president

says. They are smaller than we want but, nevertheless, those who fight shall win.

Moscow claiming they are repelling Ukraine's attempted advances, Russian President Vladimir Putin saying his troops are wearing the Ukrainians down.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT: Currently, we're seeing a certain lull. It has to do with the fact that the enemy is suffering serious losses.

PLEITGEN: The Ukrainians fear the Russians might try to infiltrate and destabilize cities like Kyiv or smuggle weapons here. So the navy crew searches all boats and barges on the river. In this search, it was an all clear.

ANTON: They will make sure of their suspect vessel. In the meantime, we'll be surrounding to make sure that nobody is going to leave that they allowed to be under attack.

PLEITGEN: The work they say even more pressing after the recent destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam which the Russians and Ukrainians blame on each other.

ANTON: The river is also a strategic object. Especially now as you could see what happened in Kakhovka and now we can understand how it is important to make it a safe and secure place.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN: So as you could see, Jake, you're absolutely right, another important front here in the war in Ukraine, whether the Ukrainians have to watch what happens here in the capital region of Kyiv, of course, in other areas as well.

And you know, Vladimir Putin was there saying that he believed that the Ukrainian offensive is in a certain lull but the Ukrainians say they did hit the Russians hard and cleared some positions in the southeast of the country and the soldiers that we've been speaking to over the past couple of days certainly still very confident that the counter offensive can succeed -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Fred Pleitgen in Kyiv, thank you so much.

Coming up, the contentious question for special counsel John Durham about his report that found that the FBI went too far in launching a full blown investigation into Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and any ties to Russia.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:37:07]

TAPPER: And we're back with our politics lead.

Special counsel John Durham attempted to defend himself and his investigation on Capitol Hill today as House Democrats launched fierce criticism and Republicans continued their complaints about the Trump- Russia investigation. Special counsel Durham testified about his findings that the FBI should have only launched a preliminary, not a full investigation, and to exploring any possible connections between Trump's presidential campaign and the Russian government during the 2016 election.

CNN's Sara Murray is on Capitol Hill.

So, Sara, this seemed from my vantage point, a confrontational few hours in the hearing room.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESONDENT: It was, perhaps unsurprisingly because cameras were rolling. It was very partisan. And John Durham, you know, he tried to stick within his report. You know, he said he felt like his findings were very sobering. He felt like the FBI failed to take steps to interview certain witnesses and failed to bring forth certainly exculpatory evidence.

Here is what he had to say as the many hours of hearing were winding down today, Jake.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN DURHAM, SPECIAL COUNSEL: I don't think that things could go too much further with the few that law enforcement particularly the FBI and Department of Justice runs a two-tiered system of justice, the nation can't stand under those circumstances.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: Now, Durham stood by his report. He stood by his criticism of the FBI and their actions in opening this full blown investigation. Obviously, this was welcome news to the Republicans on the panel while Democrats were fiercely critical of Durham, saying that he failed to properly look into the possible collusion between Trump campaign and Russians and also pointing out that he got one minor conviction and two pretty embarrassing acquittals when it came to court.

Take a listen to what the top Republican and Democrat on the committee had to say today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): After two and a half years of Mueller investigation, 19 lawyers, 40 agents, $30 million, where they found nothing, maybe, maybe we should figure out how the whole lie started. That's exactly what Mr. Durham has done.

REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY): Mr. Durham constructed a flimsy story built on shaky inferences and dog whistles to far right conspiracy theorists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: Now, Jake, we should also know that despite what Jim Jordan is saying there, John Durham said he was not there to refute the findings of the Mueller report, but he had very serious concerns about the way this investigation got underway. And if you think this is the end of it, think again. I spoke to Jim Jordan as the hearing was winding down today. He said he still has a lot of questions about the FBI's conduct and his committee intends to continue to explore that, Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Sara Murray on the Hill for us, thank you so much.

In our law and justice lead, New York prosecutors have subpoenaed the attorneys for E. Jean Carroll. They're asking for Trump's videotaped deposition that was taken as part of Carroll's defamation suit in civil court against Trump.

[16:40:08]

The Manhattan district attorney's office making this request as part of its criminal case, involving Trump's hush money payment to adult film star and director Stormy Daniels. Trump has been, of course, charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in that New York case.

CNN's chief legal analyst Laura Coates is with us to discuss a lot of this.

So, Laura, New York prosecutors want access to the taped deposition for several reasons. They acknowledge one of them includes his response when Mr. Trump was asked about the Hollywood -- Access Hollywood tape. Here is a little clip from his response on that.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That they can grab women by the (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: Well, that's what -- if you look over the last million years, I guess that's been largely true. Not always, but largely true, unfortunately or fortunately. It's locker room talk.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So does that mean that you didn't really mean it?

TRUMP: No, it is locker room talk. I don't know. It's the way people talk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So why would they want that excerpt? The Manhattan Criminal Court?

LAURA COATES, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it seems to unlikely that many people as to what one has to do with the other. But remember, that Hollywood Access tape came out around the time of the 2016 election and many people in his campaign believed that it would have an impact, a negative impact behind the scenes, it's been alleged that there were conversations about what the impact might be, how to get ahead of it, how to undermine it in some significant way.

And so, the subject matter of that entire discussion, that previous time of his candidacy relate to the core factual predicate of what we know to be the Manhattan D.A.'s office indictments relating to the hush money payments which also had to do with the same time frame and alluded to the same similar conduct in a was going to be discussed overall.

Now it is not the precision of the analogy, but remember, we've already heard an excerpt so far from that E. Jean Carroll lawsuit and that deposition. There are apparently dozens of more pages to have and they want that to be part of the new investigation and continuing investigation.

TAPPER: So, Laura, New York prosecutors have also issued new subpoenas to the Trump Organization demanding emails involving Trump Organization officials and the White House personnel. What's that about?

COATES: Interestingly, my thought on this is that they're related to what other communications might have been had in an effort either to deal with the transition period, to try to deal with what might come out after he was already elected and beyond, things contemporaneous with the actual investigation as well, or things that might be more retrospective and confirming the testimony of others who might say, look, this is what happened and here is complete picture.

You know, you can't look at any of this as a prosecutor in a vacuum. You've got to have a very comprehensive approach to know either, one, what you have that could be inculpatory or what might by exculpatory in some frame or fashion, and you have to actually have the wherewithal to go and get information that you might not have access to initially that could actually relate to what your prosecuting, because you do not want this to happen at trial when all of a sudden, you put on your case, Jake, and the next thing you know, the defense team says, well, what about this? What don't you know?

What they're not telling you is X, Y, Z. Remember, the And the burden rests with the prosecution to the net has to be wide to cast in order to anticipate those defense and anticipate what your requirements are for discovery.

TAPPER: All right. Laura Coates, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

He went all the way to South Korea to become a she and the change still does not sit well with her father who is a preacher. Coming up next, the struggle so many families experience with transgender children.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:48:27]

TAPPER: In our health lead, a federal judge has struck down Arkansas's ban on certain health procedures for trans minors such as puberty blockers or hormone therapy.

The ruling is the strongest blow yet to a state's attempt to block these kind of procedures with the transgender youth, with the judge writing in the decision a series of facts and findings from research, stating, quote, gender identity is not something that an individual that control or voluntarily change and, quote, efforts to change a person's gender identity to become congruent with their birth assigned sex has been attempted in the past without success and with harmful effects. And that, quote, decades of clinical experience have shown that adolescents with gender dysphoria experience significant positive benefits to their health and well being from gender affirming medical care, unquote.

But even without government invention or intrusion, these decisions and experiences and the fallout could be difficult enough on a personal basis, within one's family, as Adrianne Broaddus reports from India.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIAH JOHNSON, TRANSGENDER WOMAN: This was when I first made Sephora squad.

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And that's when Kia Johnson identified as a gay man.

K. JOHNSON: When I was a little boy. People were always calling me gay and I didn't even know what that was.

GINA JOHNSON, MOTHER: This is Kiah back then.

K. JOHNSON: As a Kiah.

G. JOHNSON: As a Kiah back then, and then now Kiah.

BROADDUS: That's Kiah in South Korea.

K. JOHNSON: It is making me so emotional.

BROADDUS: Preparing for gender affirming treatment.

[16:50:01]

G. JOHNSON: This is really hard for us as parents because Kiah was our only son.

BROADDUS: Gina and Ontay Johnson raised three children.

G. JOHNSON: I was so afraid of what people was going to say about us, as parents. Us being, my husband a minister.

K. JOHNSON: I wouldn't choose to be trans. If I had a choice, I would not choose that because of all of the hell that I've gone through.

Being a preacher's kid, I was taught that it is a bad thing.

ONTAY JOHNSON, FATHER: This hasn't been an easy transition as a father. There is a difference between agreement and acceptance. And for me, nope, I don't agree.

BROADDUS: Ontay went live on social media after finding out that Kiah is transgender.

O. JOHNSON: People were wanting me as a father to pivot with, you know, the pronouns and all that. It's like, whoa, whoa, you know, I'm just learning this. I just heard this.

G. JOHNSON: So, Kiah, you have to give your dad time because that's a hard pill to swallow.

K. JOHNSON: I'm human. Oh. Forget the trans. I'm just a human that wants to live their life. I was extremely suicidal. I was scared.

O. JOHNSON: And for me, that's just not, that's a non-negotiable. I'm not going to lose my child. Here's the father of transformation. The Lord spoke very audibly to me. Ontay, you've got to let love lead. How would Jesus, how would he handle this? What would he do?

And so, that's really challenged my theology and my perspective. I'm still growing. I'm still learning.

BROADDUS: Growth is a journey.

G. JOHNSON: During the time in Korea, I went through a whole grieving process for that whole month. I said to myself, you know, you have to let your children live. And you have to let your children do what they want to do. She's happy.

BROADDUS: Do you think you ever will call Kiah she or her? Or say my daughter?

O. JOHNSON: I'm not sure. It's something that I'm struggling with.

BROADDUS: Another struggle, bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community. Nearly 500 across the country introduced this legislative session, according to the ACLU, including a record number in Indiana where Kiah's parents live.

O. JOHNSON: It's foolishness. Is justice just for some people and not for everybody?

K. JOHNSON: All I want for my parents, my dad, my mom, is their love.

O. JOHNSON: My baby has taught me to really re-evaluate and reimagine love and what love is.

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEOTAPE) BROADDUS (on camera): Kiah's voice is beautiful. During our conversation, Kiah told me she stopped singing for a bit because people would tell her, her voice didn't match how she looked. Meanwhile, the Johnsons said they chose to talk to me because they wanted to encourage other Black and Brown families specifically who may be having similar challenges. And it's rare to see honest and hard conversations like the Johnsons are having in other households, Jake.

TAPPER: It's so interesting that it was really just about saving her life. She was suicidal and that was the deal-breaker for the father there. He wanted to keep his child alive.

Where are the parents now on their journey?

BROADDUS: It's still a growth for Ontay. After our conversation, he shared with me, I didn't realize until you ask that question that I don't refer to Kiah as my daughter. And as he mentioned in this story, it's unclear if that day will ever come. So they're learning, and their search say it all, let love lead.

TAPPER: Interesting. Adrienne Broaddus, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

The search area is expanding for the missing sub as the five people on board only have hours of oxygen left. We're going to talk to one man who was supposed to be on the missing vessel. Why he says he canceled at the last minute. That's at the top of the hour. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:59:11]

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

This hour, new information about the DNA collected from the murder weapon used in that brutal slaying of the four Idaho college students.

Plus, more questions today about Supreme Court justices not disclosing luxury vacations with billionaires. This time involving a private jet, a king salmon fishing trip, and a man with business before the Supreme Court. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito comes out swinging against the new "ProPublica" report about one time when he went to Alaska.

And leading this hour, the U.S. Coast Guard just gave an update on the search for a missing sub with five people on board that is quickly running out of oxygen. Officials confirmed underwater noises were detected this morning by a specialized Canadian aircraft. But officials do not blank the noises are.

Banging noises were picked up yesterday in 30-minute intervals.