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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Lab Test Confirms Cocaine At White House; 5 Dead, Including 15- Year-Old Boy, In Philly Mass Shooting; Zelenskyy: Possible Explosives At Nuclear Plant; Judge Blocks Some Biden Admin/Social Media Contact; Ohio Abortion Rights Group Submits Signatures To Hold Vote On Statewide Constitutional Amendment; Senate Vacancy Prompts Two Trailblazing Congressional Bids. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired July 05, 2023 - 16:00   ET

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

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KEILAR: THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER starts right now.

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JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: The lab tests are back from the White House. It's cocaine.

THE LEAD starts right now.

A ziplock baggy filled with cocaine found just steps from the West Wing where guests are often ushered through the White House. But now, the question -- who dropped it, setting off Sunday's hazmat evacuation.

Then, the phenomenon unique to the United States -- gun violence in America reaching a new level of horror, 356 mass shootings so far this year. A stunning 15 of them just this past holiday weekend. Coming up, why these tragic shootings always seem to spike in the summer months and what can be done about it?

Plus, a federal judge slapping the Biden administration with new restrictions on social media saying the Biden administration cannot decide what is and is not misinformation.

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TAPPER: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. And we begin today with something of a mystery in our political lead.

Who left a baggy of coke at the White House? There was a brief evacuation Sunday night after the powdery substance was found in an area of the West Wing that is accessible to some tour groups. This afternoon, the U.S. Secret Service confirmed the lab tests indicate that the substance is cocaine.

Let's go to CNN's Jeremy Diamond at the White House for us.

Jeremy, this afternoon's White House press briefing just wrapped up. What did Karine Jean-Pierre, the press secretary, have to say?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, Jake, the White House isn't saying that this was a visitor at the White House who dropped this baggy of cocaine, but she certainly is insinuating that that seems to be the likely possibility. The White House press secretary said that this bag of cocaine was found in a heavily traveled area of the West Wing.

I asked the White House press secretary whether or not they are confident that this was not a White House staffer. Here's what she said --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: Have you made any White House officials available for interviews with law enforcement, for example?

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Look, we're not assisting in anything. This is under the Secret Service purview. This is their kind of guidance and guideline, their world. So we're going to let them do their job.

What I wanted to be very clear is that this is a heavily traffic -- heavily traveled to be more accurate area of the campus of the White House, and it is where visitors to the West Wing come through. This is the part where they come through when it comes to coming through the West Wing. I'm not going to speculate on who it was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: And you can see at the end there, Jake, she would not rule out the possibility that this could be a White House staffer, merely saying this is a Secret Service ongoing investigation. And they are going to get to the bottom of this. She did express confidence that the Secret Service will get to the bottom of this.

Now, separately a person familiar with the matter says that this bag of cocaine was discovered near the ground floor entrance to the West Wing which is, indeed, the area where tour groups often on the weekends will come through, accompanied and escorted by a White House staffer. It was also found near where phones are often -- where visitors are asking to leave their phones before they enter the West Wing.

But at this point, we just don't know exactly who found this. The Secret Service says that they are continuing to investigate this, and we will see whether they have an answer soon -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Jeremy Diamond at the White House, thank you so much.

Let's bring in CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller.

John, because of where it was found and what you heard from the White House, is the presumption you think among the U.S. Secret Service agents investigating this that it belonged to a tourist?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: No, that's a possibility because people who come through the tours go through there. But that area is -- there's -- you've been through that entrance, I've been through that entrance. There's a canopy right there, it comes in off the street. And then you go in there, there's a bunch of cubbies where you put your phones, if you're going to one of those restricted areas where you can't carry a phone, like the Situation Room or somewhere else where people can put other belongings.

And it was found right by where those cubbies are. So that could be a staffer. That could be a member of the press who was there for a specific interview with someone on that side of the West Wing. What they're going to do is look at the video.

What does the video tell you? Was it Friday? Was it Saturday? Was it there before and just unnoticed?

They'll look at the logs, who signed in, who were they going to see. But there's more than that. The powder has been sent to Fort Detrick for a second round of testing to see, okay, it tested positive for cocaine, is there anything else in it that could be hazardous or weaponized?

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The container it came in, which is about the size of a postage stamp, like a dime bag ziplock, they'll be looking to see if they can extract a print from that or DNA.

So, they're going to go through a lot of motions before they are at the stage where they're going to need to interview people.

TAPPER: Yeah. But it seems like they're going to definitely find this person. There's so many cameras, and the baggy will have prints.

While I have you, John, I want to ask you, prosecutors today filed some court documents with far more details about the January 6th riot suspect who was arrested near former President Obama's home in Washington last week. They say that this man had firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, and had begun live streaming in the area shortly after re-sharing this social media post from Donald Trump giving what Trump claimed was former President Obama's address. Prosecutors also revealed the man made threats against House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

This does seem to be a case where the Secret Service was in the right place at the right time.

MILLER: You know, this is a good example of some of the things that we've seen criticism about law enforcement not communicating or sharing intelligence, say before January 6th. Here you've got an FBI investigation into Taylor Taranto who has said he was in the Capitol on January 6th, they passed that information to the Secret Service. The capitol police get that information and put out a "be on the lookout" for.

He's live streaming saying he's going to drive his van allegedly to NIST, the National Institute for Standards and Technology, and that it's a self-driving van and it's got a detonator. So, basically, he's threatening blow to up NIST one day.

The next day, Thursday, he's talking about this is where the Podestas and Obamas live and I'm going to meet them in hell. And according to the YouTube channel he was streaming on, I'm here to get a shot. I need to get the angle now.

Here is where he keeps saying First Amendment and, you know, nobody can stop me and things like that. Is he meaning to get a shot of one of their houses with his phone or a picture? Is that the angle he's talking about? Certainly, the context becomes important because when they search his vehicle, they find a Glock, they find a semiautomatic, what appears to be a cut down assault rifle, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

So he's being held without bail while they get to the bottom of this.

TAPPER: All right. John Miller, thank you so much, as always, for your insights.

Turning now to our national lead and the gun violence epidemic that continues to wreak havoc throughout the United States of America. This holiday weekend was marred by a slew of mass shootings, 356 mass shootings have already taken place this year alone. A haunting reminder of how constant this deadly violence is and how countless lives are constantly being turned upside down.

Just last night, as fireworks lit up the sky on the Fourth of July, so did gunshots. Just listen to the numbers -- in the nation's capital, nine people were shot. In Boston, five people were shot. In Shreveport, Louisiana, three were killed, seven others wounded.

Again, this is all just yesterday what I said. The list of victims goes on and on. All met with thoughts and prayers.

In Philadelphia, my hometown, prosecutors say the alleged shooter in a mass shooting on Monday went on a, quote, deliberate killing spree setting out to kill strangers. Five people were killed, including a 15-year-old boy.

Kimbrady Carriker now is in prison being held without bail and facing numerous charges including murder.

CNN's Danny Freedman starts off our coverage in Philly with how this mass shooting has left a community distraught and terrorized. A warning, some viewers might find the video in this report disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Today, 40-year-old Kimbrady Carriker appeared in a Philadelphia courtroom. He's accused of opening fire on a street hours before the Fourth of July. The attack captured by this street corner surveillance camera.

AMEER BARBER, NEIGHBOR: People outside, people eating water ices, nobody's expecting to just come outside and somebody walking around shooting people.

FREEMAN: Prosecutors say Carriker randomly shot and killed five people Monday night and attempted to murder several others.

DANIELLE OUTLAW, PHILADELPHIA POLICE COMMISSIONER: On what was supposed to be a beautiful summer evening, this armed and armored individual wreaked havoc firing with a rifle at their victims, seemingly at random.

FREEMAN: At this point, investigators are still searching for a motive. A law enforcement source telling CNN Carriker's Facebook page could provide some answers. The most recent public post, the morning of the shooting, a man in tactical gear holding a gun.

Carriker also posted about gun rights, religion, freedom, and Black Lives Matter.

Separate law enforcement sources told CNN the suspect told police he committed the shooting to, in sum and substance, clean the neighborhood.

THEO JAMES, WITNESS: I didn't see the guy until the fire started coming out of the gun. We saw the sparks. That's when I ran.

FREEMAN: Police say Carriker indiscriminately sprayed Philadelphia's Kingsessing neighborhood with bullets, killing pedestrians and hitting a car with a mother and twin 2-year-olds inside.

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One was shot in the leg.

LARRY KRASNER, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: This was random. This was someone who set out to kill strangers which, of course, has become way too common in the United States.

FREEMAN: Police chased and ultimately arrested Carriker who was wearing body armor and a ski mask, carrying a police scanner, and holding an AR-15-style rifle and a handgun.

KRASNER: This is just a tragedy at the most profound, deepest level. We're talking about completely innocent bystanders who did absolutely nothing to put themselves at risk.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel saying why me, why me, why me. FREEMAN: Twenty-eight-year-old Lashyd Merritt was among those killed.

His mother said he loved his family, his girlfriend, and his job.

MARIE MERRITT, VICTIM'S MOTHER: Some maniac walking around just shooting, shooting, shooting, for what? We probably will never know why, you know. But he took my son. He took my baby.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN (on camera): Now, Jake, the public defender's office who's representing Carriker declined to comment on the arraignment or case today. He's due in court later this month. And I want to say, there's actually a vigil tonight in honor of those who were lost, scheduled for 7:00 p.m. it's going to take place in that southwest Philadelphia neighborhood where this shooting occurred -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Danny Freeman in Philadelphia, thanks so much.

As mentioned, the suspect in the Philadelphia mass shooting had a large social media footprint, posting videos and pictures about God and freedom and the Second Amendment.

Let's bring in CNN's Josh Campbell.

Josh, what stood out to you when you looked at his social media?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, the social media accounts can be gold mines for investigators as they try to get to a motive. And, sadly, we've seen similar sets of facts in past shootings. He appears to be someone so driven by grievances, so paranoid, that he ultimately resulted to violence.

I mean, you look at this account. I mean, there's a post, you know, heralding Donald Trump and God and guns. There's another post where he mentions Biden is going to take people's guns away. That all, by the way, mimicking what Donald Trump told the NRA recently at a convention, that the Democrats are out to take your guns, they're unleashing criminals on your community.

Interestingly, our colleague John Miller's reporting that a law enforcement source says that after he was arrested, the suspect told police allegedly that he was there to clean up the community. So, so troubling as you see someone apparently motivated by grievances and then acting upon them.

TAPPER: Josh, the Fourth of July holiday historically has seen the most mass shootings than any other day of the year. Why? Why are they so common around the Fourth of July?

CAMPBELL: Well, if you look at the different motivations, if you have a mass shooter intent on causing carnage, public gatherings like those that occur on Fourth of July could be lucrative targets. But also, we've seen, you know, these block parties where you have people that are engaged in some type of dispute and they go to guns to try to settle them. So, we've seen many, many bystanders that have been injured in the

process. Looking nationally at this epidemic, I want to show this chart just to show where we are. And that is the number of mass shootings in this country. You see right now 356. That number has continued to go up today. If the rest of this year is on par with the previous six months, that number is going to eclipse the past years.

Finally, look at that 2019 jump to 2020. That was the big spike. Since then we're seeing that number appear. Finally, worth pointing out, Jake, that, you know, we know what the solutions are. I talk to law enforcement officers all the time on the front lines of responding to these shootings, and when I that both sides of the issue without merit, but they say both Republicans and Democrats share some of the blame.

Republicans because of their unwillingness to pass common sense gun reform such as universal background checks which, by the way, nearly 90 percent of the American public want to see happen, and then Democrats who they say are investigating shootings, these progressive district attorneys, but they want to see more action to go after people who have unlawful possession, so-called lower level gun crimes, trying to get ahead of those when they escalate and actually result in lives being taken, Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Josh Campbell, thank you so much.

Coming up next, new fears about an assault on Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Both Ukraine and the Kremlin are warning about sabotage. But hear what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy just told CNN's Erin Burnett about the intelligence he's getting.

Plus, the special delivery today in Ohio as voters demand that they get to decide the future of abortion rights in that state.

And I'm going to speak with a woman trying to break a remaining glass ceiling here in Washington, D.C.

Stay with us.

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TAPPER: Topping our world leading, a massive explosion in the Russian occupied eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, and conflicting claims over what exactly was hit. Russian state media says Ukrainian shelling killed one and injured nearly 70 others. The Russians say the strike destroyed apartment buildings and kindergartens and medical facilities.

Ukraine's armed forces say that they wiped out a Russian military installation, and that the Kremlin is lying. Meanwhile, renewed concern over the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, that's the largest nuclear plant in Europe, both Russia and Ukraine accusing each other of sabotaging the plant. Though the United Nations nuclear watchdog says the risk of serious harm remains low as of now.

CNN's Erin Burnett just got back from Ukraine and she's joining us now.

Erin, great to see you. Great work over there.

And you had a wide-ranging exclusive interview with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, including discussion of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

What did he have to tell you?

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST, "OUTFRONT": Well, Jake, you know, he's been -- he's really worried about this, and he believes from Ukrainian intelligence that that plant has been mined by the Russians. And, you know, we've been hearing some reports that some of the Russians who have been operating that plant maybe are pulling out. And, you know, he believes that all of this is part of if Russia were to withdraw that they would remotely detonate these mines.

And he has a lot of frustration, Jake, with the IAEA because he says Grossi coming in with the team, the chair of the IAEA, he has a lot of respect for him, but says he comes in with a small team, and you're not going to find these mines with a small team of people.

Let me just play the exchange on the Zaporizhzhia plant concerns for you.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Zaporizhzhia.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Yeah.

BURNETT: I know you've been touring the nuclear plants. You have warned that Putin could be prepared to have a terrorist attack on Zaporizhzhia.

Do you feel that that could be imminent?

ZELENSKYY: So -- what -- I have read from intelligence, I have documents. I don't -- I can't tell you what kind of documents. But it's something connecting with Russia.

I said that they are technically ready to do something. It's very important that they mined some -- local minings.

BURNETT: At Zaporizhzhia?

ZELENSKYY: Yeah, at Zaporizhzhia, in the station. They technically are ready, and that's why we pushed (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE) in English -- IAEA, yes, we pushed them and said, look, your team there, four people, and this plant is like city. It's really like --

BURNETT: Huge.

ZELENSKYY: Huge, it's very big. Four people will not find mines.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: And, Jake, you know, he went on to say even if Grossi sent a team of 1,000 people, you won't find the mines because you need a big, big team to do that. But obviously what he's suggesting, he's clearly saying, he said that the Russians he says, according to the intelligence he has, have the ability to remotely detonate the mines that are there, and obviously the mines -- you don't need many to cause what would be a mass, mass radiation event for all of Europe, if not even broader. Something that he is honest, the mayor of Kyiv is honest that they don't have a plan for.

I mean, really, who can? That is the great fear that they have, that Putin is ready to do this.

TAPPER: Yeah. And, Erin, so I interviewed him in April of last year, and I have to say he looks a little more than one year older in the images from your interview. Not begrudging or criticizing, I'm just saying like, he's a wartime president for more than a year.

What did he tell you about what it's like to be a wartime president?

BURNETT: You know, it's interesting, Jake, he -- it was a beautiful day where we met, and we met in Odesa, obviously, now currently, you know, we talked a lot about Crimea, but that's their port. That's the grain port, the port, the Black Sea port now.

You know, he doesn't -- he doesn't do things outside of Kyiv, so I think he was very happy to be there. But also this interview was outside. And Jake, you know, it was almost at the last minute there, Russian surveillance drones and almost wasn't outside.

And he just kept appreciating the sun. And I know it sounds like a strange thing, but I think all of us can imagine this is a person who he talks about at one point feeling like he's living in a cage, but he doesn't want to become like a beast. But he lives -- he very rarely sees the sun.

And he talks about the importance of that and also what he does in his own time. We'll hear more about that tonight. But music is something important to him for a few minutes a day. And he talks about his favorites bands and his face lit up when he talked about those moments to himself. AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, Eric Clapton, that, you know, at his core like all of us, he's a human being.

TAPPER: Yeah. I can't wait to watch. Thank you so much. Great work.

BURNETT: Thanks, Jake.

TAPPER: You can catch Erin's full exclusive interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on OUTFRONT. This is only on CNN. Great work by Erin Burnett. Check it out. Let's bring in Republican Congressman Mike Turner of Ohio now. He's the chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence.

Chairman Turner, good to see you. Happy Fourth.

Russia and Ukraine are accusing each other of sabotaging the nuclear plant in Zaporizhzhia. The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog says they've expected parts of the facility. They didn't find anything in recent days. What are we to make of all this? Do you believe the Ukrainians?

REP. MIKE TURNER (R-OH): Well, this is one thing that we know. We've seen with our own eyes Russians bombing and shelling this very plant. And the International Atomic Energy Agency under Director General Grossi has flagged this as an on the verge of an international crisis.

Literally he's used powers that he doesn't have. The agency's under the United Nations, but he has caused himself to be inserted, and his inspectors to be in. He has sounded the warning alarm to the world that this was a crisis. Now I think President Zelenskyy with the intelligence that he has and certainly the concern that we've seen of Russia just recently sabotaging a dam that resulted even some of their own soldiers dying in the deluge.

It shows that they will hit infrastructure, they bombed this very plant before. I think his -- his concerns are very valid.

TAPPER: Today, the Kremlin insisted that reporting that Chinese leader Xi Jinping had warned Putin not to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, that Xi warned Putin of this during their face-to-face meeting in Moscow. That was false according to the Kremlin. Xi did not do that.

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What's your take?

TURNER: Well, you know, we won't know the private conversations that have happened between them. But certainly you have seen since President Xi and President Putin have engaged that there were a lot less overt threats by Putin in using nuclear weapons.

I think that he's -- Putin has been surprised that the world outcry of their invasion and really the atrocities that have happened in Ukraine, and I think he's also been surprised that he has gotten word I think both from the countries he thinks that support him and certainly the West, that using nuclear weapons would be an unbelievable red line that would be with unbelievable world outrage and consequences.

TAPPER: Regarding Prigozhin and the Wagner group's armed mutiny, Zelenskyy told Erin Burnett that, quote, half of Russia supported Prigozhin, unquote.

I'm sure that's a very difficult thing to poll. Have you seen any intelligence to support that idea that Prigozhin enjoyed that much popular support in Russia? TURNER: One thing that we've seen in the public record is certainly

when he entered Russia itself, he was greeted not only by the populace but by elements of the Russian military itself as a hero. And they certainly welcomed him coming in to Russia.

And then the fact that he made that 12-hour drive to Moscow, ten hours long he did before he turned around, without significant military repercussions showed that there were most likely in the Russian military people who were assisting him. And we've certainly heard reports of people who are perhaps burying the consequences of supporting that.

But, certainly, I do think that Putin is sitting today knowing he does not have the full support of his own military.

TAPPER: The U.S. has been careful not to openly call for regime change in the aftermath of the Wagner mutiny. A former U.S. intelligence official told "Politico," quote, regime change that occurs through a chaotic and violent process is also the most likely to produce another authoritarian leader which could possibly be worse than Putin, unquote.

And obviously, Prigozhin is no hero. He's not the second coming of Thomas Jefferson.

Do you agree with the basic idea that the devil we know might be better than the one we don't and we don't want to encourage a violent uprising?

TURNER: Sure, but one thing this has obviously done is weakened Putin. So those people who are in the establishments in Russia, those who certainly have financial interests throughout Russia, they're beginning to question their own stability and the consequences to them if there is not a change. So even though we would not want this abrupt change, regime change in Russia, this certainly is beginning to set the ground work that those who certainly honor mother Russia, looking at Putin and not seeing him as the person who's going to guide them for very much longer in the future.

TAPPER: Intelligence Committee chairman and Republican from Ohio, Congressman Mike Turner, good to see you, sir. Thanks for joining us.

Coming up --

TURNER: Thank you.

TAPPER: Coming up, the judge's order that cuts off parts of the Biden administration from contact with some of the biggest names in social media and why this ruling is considered so unusual.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:32:27] TAPPER: And we're back now with our tech lead which is closely tied to politics. A Trump-appointed federal judge ordered a slew of Biden administration agencies and officials to stop talking with social media companies about online content.

As CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich explains, this has to do with a lawsuit filed by Republican state attorneys general over social media, free speech, and COVID disinformation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): A block and a charge. In a new federal injunction, the Biden administration now banned from contacting social media companies for violating the First Amendment.

KENT GREENFIELD, LAW PROFESSOR, BOSTON COLLEGE: This injunction is unusual. It is unusual in its breadth. It is unusual in its nationwide scope. And it's unusual in its reasoning.

YURKEVICH: In a 155-page injunction littered with citations from the Founding Fathers, Federal Judge Terry Doughty bars nine critical government agencies, including the State Department, CDC, FBI, and Justice Department, and at least a dozen key administration officials including the White House press secretary and U.S. surgeon general from communicating with social media companies, including TikTok, Meta, Twitter, Google, and WeChat, except related to illegal activity or national security.

REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): We welcome everyone to today's hearing on the weaponization of the federal government.

YURKEVICH: The injunction stems from a 2022 lawsuit filed against the Biden administration by two GOP state attorneys general from Louisiana and Missouri.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Biden administration has led the largest speech censorship operation in recent American history. Since taking office, President Biden and his team have labored to suppress viewpoints with which they disagree.

YURKEVICH: The lawsuit claims the administration coerced and concluded with social media companies to suppress content like COVID-19 theories, vaccine efficacy, election integrity, and stories about Hunter Biden and the president himself, violating the First Amendment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The First Amendment is not concerned at its core with misinformation or untruths, and certainly no one has a First Amendment -- robust First Amendment right to spread untruths on the Internet.

YURKEVICH: A White House official said the DOJ is reviewing the injunction and our consistent view remains that social media platforms have a critical responsibility to take account of the effects their platforms are having on the American people, but make independent choices about the information they present. JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now these companies and

personalities are making money by peddling lies and allowing misinformation that can kill their own customers and their own supporters.

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It's wrong. It's immoral. I call on the purveyors of these lies and misinformation to stop it.

YURKEVICH: Judge Doughty, who has yet to rule on the case, says if the plaintiff's claims prove true, it, quote, involves the most massive attack against free speech in United States history.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YURKEVICH (on camera): Now legal analysts say that they believe that the Biden administration will appeal this injunction possibly all the way up to the Supreme Court. One legal analyst told us they believe that the Biden administration does have a legal leg to stand on in terms of proving that they did not infringe on the First Amendment when they were communicating with social media companies.

But, Jake, they will face conservative judges up and down the court, judges who have broken with past precedent recently. It could be a bigger uphill battle for the administration than they may be expecting -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you so much.

Voters in Ohio today are sending a strong message all in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. We're going to go live to Ohio to see what's going on there, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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TAPPER: In our politics lead, hundreds of thousands of signatures were delivered today to the Ohio secretary of state by those hoping to enshrine legal access to abortion in the Ohio Constitution through a November ballot measure. This is the latest chapter in what has become the United States of America's state-by-state abortion debate one year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

But as CNN's Jeff Zeleny reports for us from Columbus, Ohio, Republican legislators in that state, they're trying to change the rules, they want to require more than a simple majority of voters to amend the Constitution.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Box by box, a summer showdown over abortion in Ohio intensified today as supporters of abortion rights delivered hundreds of thousands of signatures demanding the issue be placed on the November ballot. These boxes obviously contain signatures of real Ohioans.

DR. AZIZA WAHBY, OHIOANS UNITED FOR REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM: It's overwhelming. It's just an absolutely stunning moment. I can't believe we're here.

ZELENY: For months, Dr. Aziza Wahby has been part of an effort to gather support to have voters decide whether to enshrine abortion rights in the Ohio constitution, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe versus Wade and returned the debate back to the states.

WAHBY: I was never very political before all of this started last year. So this has made me pay more attention, and I think it will do the same for others.

ZELENY: A year after the landmark Dobbs decision, fallout has rippled from courtrooms to the campaign trail, energizing Democrats --

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now I stand here proud to run for re-election --

ZELENY: And alarming Republicans.

NIKKI HALEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't judge anyone for being pro-choice.

ZELENY: In Ohio, GOP lawmakers are going to great lengths to stop the abortion rights movement. It started last summer in Kansas where an abortion measure drew historic turnout for an August election, with a resounding 59 percent voting protect abortion rights.

Michigan voters followed suit last fall with 57 percent voting to change the state's Constitution. Those outcomes were so alarming to opponents of abortion rights in Ohio they are taking the extraordinary step of trying to change the rules in place for more than a century on ballot issues. It's called Issue One which seeks to raise the threshold to change Ohio's Constitution from a simple majority of 50 percent to a supermajority of 60 percent.

DR. SRI THAKKILAPATI, OHIOANS UNITED FOR REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM: Today, we're filing over 700,000 signatures -- vote in November. And vote in August.

ZELENY: The signatures must still be verified by Ohio's Republican secretary of state, Frank LaRose. At a GOP county dinner he made no apologies for using the august special election to stop the abortion rights amendment.

FRANK LAROSE (R), OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE : This is 100 percent about keeping a radical pro-abortion amendment out of our constitution. The left wants to jam it in this coming November.

ZELENY: Amy Natoce of Protect Women Ohio, a coalition that opposes abortion rights, dismissed suggestions the August election was in any way undemocratic. AMY NATOCE, PROTECT WOMEN OHIO: Ohioans should be reminded of the fact

that this is allowing them to determine how their constitution is amended. You know, we've seen the other side saying one person one vote. This takes away the people's voice.

Not at all, this gives the people of Ohio an even bigger voice to decide how their Constitution is amended.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZELENY (on camera): So Ohio is the next frontier in this state-by- state battle over abortion. But, Jake, it is, indeed, a complicated one. Supporters of the November ballot question accuse the Republican officials scheduling that August election as trying to sneak in an election where they believe there will be low turnout.

One thing is for sure -- for the next month here in Ohio, abortion will be front and center in television ads on people knocking doors. This is one to watch, Jake. First in August, then again, of course, in November -- Jake.

TAPPER: Fascinating. Jeff Zeleny in Columbus, Ohio, thanks so much.

I'm going to talk to a woman trying to be one of the next trailblazers in the U.S. Congress. Why she wants you to hear her story. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:48:41]

TAPPER: We're back with more in our politics lead.

The retirement of Democratic Senator Tom Carper, Democrat of Delaware, is setting up two trailblazing possibilities. First, Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester, the incumbent house member, she's likely to snag that Senate seat. She's running to replace Carper. That would make her Delaware's first-ever female senator and Delaware's first ever senator of color.

Eyeing her House seat is another potential trail blazer, Sarah McBride, a Delaware state senator who aims to be the first openly transgender member of the U.S. House. She has a strong ally in a fellow Delawarean with whom you might be familiar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I'm proud that back home in Delaware, the first transgender state legislator in American history, Sarah McBride.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: And State Senator Sarah McBride joins us now.

So, Delaware has a crazy primary system. It's the last one in the country, September, 2024. As of now, you're the only announced candidate for the U.S. house seat.

Do you think you're going to get President Biden's endorsement?

SARAH MCBRIDE (D), DELAWARE STATE SENATOR: Well, I think the president is going to be focused on running and winning re-election in 2024. But I am so proud to call this president a friend and an ally, and so grateful for his leadership not just for the country writ large but fighting for LGBTQ equality here in Delaware and nationally.

[16:50:09]

So I think he'll be focused on his race. But I'll be grateful to see him on the campaign trail.

TAPPER: How much are you going to be focusing on LGBTQ rights as a candidate for the U.S. House, and what other issues do you think you'll be talking about?

MCBRIDE: Well, I'm not running to be the LBGTQ member of Congress from Delaware or the first transgender member of Congress. I'm running to be Delaware's member of Congress, focused on making progress on all of the issues that matter to Delawareans of every background.

That's why I ran for the state Senate here in Delaware. That's why I championed health care and passing paid medical leave in the Delaware Senate, and it's why I'm running for Congress to advance paid family medical leave at the national level, to guarantee affordable childhood education for every family. To pass gun safety measures like the assault weapons ban we passed in Delaware, and to make sure that we're enshrining reproductive rights and the right to an abortion in federal law like we have done here in Delaware.

Diversity in government is certainly important. And in order for our democracy to work, it has to include all of us. And so, I'm proud of who I am. This campaign, though, isn't just about making history. It's about making a difference on all of the issues that matter.

TAPPER: Your campaign is, we cannot escape the fact, launched in a time when states across the country, Republican legislatures, are restricting the rights of individuals who identify as transgender. What is your message?

Let's say that there's a skeptic out there watching right now, because the transgender idea is a relatively new one in American politics today, even if transgender people have not been -- is not a new idea. What is your message to a skeptic out there who says I don't understand any of what this is?

MCBRIDE: Sure. Well, first off, I think we have to recognize that people are still learning, and they are still just tuning into this conversation about who transgender people are. And I think there are few ways to better demonstrate the full diversity of our country, the full diversity of transpeople, than seeing a transgender member of Congress who's focused on all the issues that matter and actually delivering progress on those issues. But I think beyond that, I know what it's like to feel unheard and

unseen. I know what it's like to feel like your government doesn't have your back. And whether you understand what it's like to be me, what I can convey to anyone up and down the state, is that you don't have to understand me for me to fight for you. Because ultimately, I know what it feels like to feel left behind and unseen.

And I don't want any Delawarean to feel that way. That's one of the reasons why I'm so motivated to do this, because I think at this critical moment in our country, we have to answer the question whether our democracy is big enough for all of us. And ultimately, Delaware in 2024, we have the opportunity up and down the ticket to demonstrate that not only is the heart of this country big enough to love all of us, but that our democracy works best when all of us have a seat at the table.

TAPPER: People in the president's orbit say you have helped shape some of his views on LGBTQ issues. Politico says, quote, Biden has leaned on McBride, calling her to discuss the current moment in American politics. Overtime, she's helped turn one of the most devout Catholic presidents in U.S. history, into an unlikely champion of LGBTQ causes.

Joe Biden is 80 years old, has a history in his early career as being kind of conservative on social issues, including abortion, including segregation. How did you change his mind? How did you open his eyes to your experience?

MCBRIDE: Well, I would never take credit for opening anyone's heart or mind on transgender rights. Joe Biden has a big heart, and that big heart has led him to be one of the most vocal champions of LBGTQ equality at the national level. It's why he came out for marriage equality so early. It's why he called trans rights the civil rights issue of our time back in 2012.

But also think that no story can be written or told about Joe Biden's legacy on these issues without talking about his son, Beau, who I worked for. I think in many ways, this president sees in LGBTQ rights Beau's legacy.

Beau championed marriage here in Delaware. He championed trans rights here in Delaware, and this president feels closer to Beau and closer to Beau's legacy when he's helping to carry it forward. And I think that's a huge part of where this president's passion lies beyond just the fact that he's a deeply emphatic and kind person.

TAPPER: State Senator Sarah McBride, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Just hours ago, a CNN crew arrived in Belarus. What we are learning about the suspected whereabouts of the Wagner boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, after he tried to pull off that rebellion in Russia.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:59:27]

TAPPER: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, a new court order today in Donald Trump's classified

documents case. What a judge wants that might reveal exactly what the Justice Department went to find when agents showed up to search Mar-a- Lago last year.

Plus, the use of force by two Los Angeles deputies now under investigation. See the alarming video of the woman thrown to the ground and what she did just moments before that has her community coming to her defense.

And leading this hour, something we hardly ever hear, Russian fighters speaking on camera about what life is like for them on the frontlines of Ukraine, and how the Kremlin pulled them into this war in the first place.