Return to Transcripts main page
The Lead with Jake Tapper
Trump Singles Out Jewish Voters At Event On Antisemitism; Rep. Jamie Raskin, (D-MD), Is Interviewed About Donald Trump, Lee Zeldin Claim; Rep. Raskin Responds To Zeldin Claim On "The Lead"; Concerns About Ballot Security As Election Nears; Republicans Push For Change To Nebraska Electoral College Rules; Early In-Person Voting Begins Today In Three States; Acting Secret Service Dir. Admits "Complacency" At July Trump Rally; Scientists: "Doomsday Glacier" In Antarctica On Path To Collapse; Doctor Accused Of Sexual Abuse By Dozens Of Women, Children. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired September 20, 2024 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:00:15]
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, a stunning admission from the acting head of the U.S. Secret Service about his agency's failures during the first assassination attempt against Donald Trump back in July in Butler, Pennsylvania. Now he's pledging everyone who dropped the ball will face penalties. We'll tell you more about that in a second.
Plus, with just over six weeks until Election Day, a controversial new rule from Georgia Republicans about hand counting ballots despite warnings from election officials, poll workers and even some of the state's Republican officials.
But leading this hour, the fallout spills into a second day after CNN uncovered disturbing and inflammatory comments by the Republican gubernatorial nominee in North Carolina, CNN's KFile found Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson's posts on a pornography message board for more than a decade ago, before he entered politics, Robinson called himself on that board, a Black Nazi, whatever that is, and expressed support for reinstating slavery, even buying a few slaves himself. Now, Robinson is ignoring multiple calls for him to drop out of the race. He insists he's not the one behind the posts. Republicans are voicing concerns that this scandal could impact other candidates in the state. Let's go straight to CNN's Alayna Treene who's looking ahead to Trump's visit to North Carolina tomorrow.
And Alayna, Trump has full on embraced Robinson in recent months. He helped him get the nomination. He even called him, quote, "Martin Luther King on steroids," unquote. So how is Donald Trump and his campaign? How are they dealing with Robinson's racist, sexist and bizarre comments on the pornographic message board?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Well, first of all, Jake, I think the timing of Donald Trump going to this rally in North Carolina tomorrow is absolutely remarkable. I will say that in my conversations with people close to the former president. They had actually been prepared for a damaging story about Mark Robinson to drop this week. And before that even did, before the CNN KFile investigation even landed, they had not invited Robinson to this North Carolina event on Saturday, which is notable in and of itself, because Robinson has been at all of Donald Trump's recent North Carolina events, and even as Donald Trump's team has tried to distance the former president from them, and not just after the story, they have been doing this for months because these aren't the first inflammatory comments we have heard from Robinson. Remember, he has mocked the victims of school shootings.
He has tried to disparage the civil rights movement. So Donald Trump's campaign has really been trying to distance Trump from him for a while now, but Trump himself, just last month, was the one who called Robinson up on stage at a rally in Asheboro. So, this is something that is going to be difficult for the former president to run away from. And of course, his comments praising Robinson in the past is part of that.
Now we did learn today, we got an exclusive look at a new ad that the Harris campaign has been putting out his launching today in North Carolina, trying to tie Donald Trump to Robinson. They are really seizing on these comments and this new story. And mainly trying to highlight Robinson's anti-abortion rhetoric in that effort. I want you to take a listen to some of that ad
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DONAD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And he's been an unbelievable lieutenant governor, Mark Robinson.
MARK ROBINSON, (R) LIEUTENAN GOVERNOR, NORTH CAROLINA: For me, there's no compromise on abortion.
TRUMP: I think you're better than Martin Luther King.
ROBINSON: We could pass a bill that say you can't have an abortion in North Carolina for any reason.
Abortion in this country, it's about killing a child because you aren't responsible enough to keep your skirt down.
TRUMP: I've been with him a lot. I've gotten to know him, and he's outstanding.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump and Mark Robinson, they're both wrong for North Carolina.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TREENE: Now Jake, clearly, the Harris campaign is focusing on this abortion rhetoric because this is one of the issues that they think they will win on in November. But one thing I want to make very clear is that even while Robinson was not doing so great in his own governor's race, the stakes are very high for Donald Trump in North Carolina. It's something that the Trump campaign had actually pointed out to me in their response following this KFile reporting that they view North Carolina as vital to his chances in November. So I keep that in mind when you see him in North Carolina tomorrow.
TAPPER: Yes, the Trump campaign's response was about North Carolina being a must win state. Didn't even mention Robinson.
Last night, we should know when it comes to Mr. Trump, and as long as we're talking about incendiary remarks, Trump was at an event in D.C. about focusing on antisemitism, condemning antisemitism, but he said something about Jews that today is igniting the wrath of the Anti- Defamation League. Tell us about that.
TREENE: He did. He actually has made a number of controversial comments. One comment was that he thinks that Jewish Americans who vote for Democrats would need to have their heads examined. This is a common anti-Semitic trope that we've heard Donald Trump use in the past, suggesting that Jewish Americans who don't vote for him as being not pro-Israel enough.
[17:05:09]
But he also made a claim that if he does not win in November, Jewish- Americans would be partially to blame. Take a listen to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Any Jewish person that votes for her, especially now her or the Democrat Party, should have their head examined. If I don't win this election, the Jewish people would have a lot to do with a loss.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TREENE: Now Jake, as you mentioned, the Anti-Defamation League condemned some of these remarks. But we also heard from second gentleman, Doug Emhoff, who said that Donald Trump was gaslighting Jewish voters. But I think the big thing to keep in mind here is that what Donald Trump was trying to do last night with these pair of events is to try and court disaffected Jewish Americans who are concerned with the Biden administration's handling of the Israel-Hamas war. However, constantly I know Trump's team is telling him that these are the kind of comments that are not going to help him in that goal, and yet he can't help himself, and he keeps making them. Jake.
TAPPER: Alayna Treene, thanks so much.
Trump went on last night saying this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: The Jewish people would have a lot to do with a loss if I'm at 40 percent. I really haven't been treated right, but you haven't been treated right, because you're putting yourself in great danger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Remember, this is at an event billed at fighting antisemitism. Democratic Congressman Jamie Raskin from Maryland joins us now from Capitol Hill. Congressman, thanks for being here. What do you make of these comments as a as a politician, but also as a Jew?
REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: It's outrageous that this is allowed to go on within the Republican Party. I mean, you've got a candidate for governor on the Republican ticket who's calling himself a Nazi, a Hitler. Doesn't make any difference if you're a white Nazi or black Nazi, you're calling yourself a Nazi. Donald Trump had over to his house for dinner. Nicholas Fuentes, a neo-Nazi Holocaust revisionist, he of course, saw very fine people on both sides of an antisemitic riot in Charlottesville, Virginia.
And now he's setting up the Jews to be blamed for what seems like his likely defeat, since he's not running a real campaign putting any issues out there, he's continuing just to engage in name calling and character assassination against different people, but he wants to be able to blame it on the Jews, and says it will lead to the eradication of Israel. This is extremely dangerous rhetoric, and we need everybody across the political spectrum, including any self-respecting Republicans left to denounce this kind of rhetoric.
TAPPER: I've seen the reaction from some conservatives, including some conservative Jews today saying that the primary place where antisemitism is in America today is on the left, citing some of the protests on college campuses, obviously not all of them, and obviously not all the protesters, but many of them and some of the institutionalization of that antisemitism within academia. How do you respond to that?
RASKIN: Well, that's a transparent effort, just to change the subject. You can obviously find antisemitism all over the political spectrum, but what we have right now is the Republican presidential candidate setting up a situation where he's going to blame Jews if he loses the presidential election, and saying essentially that 72 percent of American Jews who voted Democratic in The last election should have their heads examined, so the President might need to take his own advice. But more importantly, I think that anybody who's involved with that party has got to remember that antisemitism and racism are the gateway to destruction, not just of our communities, but also of liberal democracy itself. And most American Jews, like most Americans, can recognize an autocrat and a would be dictator when we see them.
TAPPER: Earlier this week, congressman -- former Republican Congressman Lee Zeldin was on the show, and he paraphrased comments that you made in February at Politics and Prose. Take a listen to Zeldin, then we're going to run your clip. Then we're going to get your response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEE ZELDIN, FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: On January 6, 2025 that he's saying that President Trump should not get certified and that the country should prepare for civil war.
(END VIDEO CLIP) TAPPER: Now he's referencing you talking in February at Politics and Prose bookstore about a hypothetical scenario if Republicans inverted current election law, I think? Let's play that clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RASKIN: Section three of the 14th Amendment, which they're just disappearing with the magic wand, as if it doesn't exist, even though it could not be clearer what it's stating. And so, you know, they want to kick it to Congress, so it's going to be up to us on January 6, 2025 to tell the rampaging Trump mobs that he's disqualified, and then we need bodyguards for everybody in civil war conditions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[17:10:12]
TAPPER: I have to say I didn't fully understand what you were saying. So, can you explain what you were saying?
RASKIN: Yes, the larger context is a discussion of the Supreme Court's absolute abandonment of its responsibility to say what the law is, which, of course, goes back to Marbury versus Madison. And --
TAPPER: This is about whether or not insurrectionists can run for higher office?
RASKIN: Exactly. And when the Colorado Supreme Court had several weeks of hearings about this, and I think five or six days of fact finding they ended up determining that Donald Trump was disqualified from the Colorado State ballot because he had been impeached for inciting an insurrection against the Constitution, and they considered him disqualified under Section 3, the 14th Amendment, which says, if you've sworn an oath to support the Constitution and you violate it by, quote, "engaging in insurrection or rebellion," you shall never be allowed to hold federal or state office again.
Now, up until now, ballot access for a candidate has been controlled by the state, and the state was simply interpreting a constitutional command which is supreme over every part of the U.S. government, and yet the Supreme Court said, no, it's not up to the states, and we the Supreme Court, despite the fact that our job is to interpret the Constitution, we're not going to interpret it, we're going to leave it up to Congress. So, in that minor passage that was completely distorted and fabricated, in essence, by Lee Zeldin, what I was saying was the Supreme Court is kicking it to Congress to decide at the point of an election whether or not someone is disqualified by section three of the 14th Amendment. And that is obviously a very dangerous thing to do, but that is what the Supreme Court, in its wisdom, in the Roberts Court period has decided to do.
TAPPER: Congressman Jamie Raskin, thanks so much. Appreciate it, sir.
Bill Kristol is back with us right now, plus National Jewish Book Award winner Franklin Foer, who's currently a staff writer at The Atlantic. Thanks, both of you, because I want to talk about what we were talking about before about Donald Trump saying basically that if he loses, will be at least in part, because of Jews. Blaming Jews for, the Anti-Defamation League says, this blaming, quote, "Increases their sense," meaning Jews, "sense of alienation in a moment of vulnerability when right wing extremists and left wing antizionists continually demonize and slander Jews.
Frank, do you think American Jews are getting squeezed by both sides? And if so, what should they do?
FRANKLIN FOER, STAFF WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: I'm very concerned about what Donald Trump said, because I've seen in the past what happens when he blames certain groups for his defeat. He scapegoated election officials, he blamed Congress, and we saw the ways in which he incited mobs to go after that group. And here he's targeting an ethnic group, and says that the entire fate of this presidency hinges on their vote, which is palpably Jews vote the same in every single election. They are the least swinging vote group in America. The vote for a Democrat between 60 percent and 70 percent, they're a very small percent of the population.
His re-election will not hinge on the Jewish vote. But to point them out, to elevate the Jews, reeks of antisemitism. What antisemitism does, it obsesses over Jews despite their small size in society. It overstates their power and tends to scapegoat them for ills, and that's exactly what he's doing here.
TAPPER: Bill, where do you think he gets this from? Because, you know, he said this, you see, there's an Orthodox rabbi on stage with him. He's with Miriam Adelson, a big supporter of Jewish charities and such. I don't think he's making this up out of his own mind. I think he might be --I might -- there might be, like, very conservative MAGA Jews telling him this sort of thing.
BILL KRISTOL, DIRECTOR, DEFENDING DEMOCRACY TOGETHER: Yes, they're telling him you were great on Israel, and it's just terrible that our fellow Jews don't appreciate you. And he's entitled to feel that, I guess. And he's certainly entitled to make the case for why he's better on Israel than Kamala Harris, which he never bothers to do, in terms of policies. And going forward, there is a case to be made. I don't quite agree with it, but it's not crazy to say that, but he doesn't do that, right?
His way of thinking about politics is transactional. I did good for the Israel, Jews, a Jewish and Israel is a Jewish nation, and democratic nation, the Jews should appreciate this. They don't. They deserve to pay a price if they don't come through for me, just like a businessman who didn't cooperate with him on a hotel development, and it is very dangerous. It could lead to violence. I mean, I know Trump supporters hear that.
Trump loses by 10,000 votes in Pennsylvania.
TAPPER: In Pennsylvania.
KRISTOL: I don't even want to speculate on this stuff. You want to give people ideas, but are we -- TAPPER: Yes.
KRISTOL: -- confident that nothing happens in a synagogue somewhere the next Saturday in Pittsburgh or Philadelphia? I mean, it's really -- that part of it is what's so unbelievably irresponsible. He's entitled to say, my policies have been pro-Israel. I think people in America who are pro-Israel should give me a second look, because I'm really better on these issues than Kamala Harris. That's kind of standard political argumentation.
But that's not what he's doing.
[17:15:15]
TAPPER: No, blaming on the Jews.
Frank, this comes at a time, obviously, of rampant hate crimes and antisemitism, hate crimes against Jews and antisemitism, and some of it's from the left, absolutely. But I've heard a lot of conservatives today acting as though it's only on the left, and that's certainly not the case.
FOER: The Pandora's Box has been opened. And this thing that was taboo in American society for a long time has been ushered into the mainstream. It's happening on the left, but it's also happening on the right, and he's running for president of United States. He's a former president United States. And to hear somebody who has followers who are so devoted, to have that kind of megaphone, that kind of power, it's going to have an effect. Even if it doesn't happen in the immediate future, he's part of expanding what's acceptable in American discourse, and he's legitimizing ideas that Jews are beholden to a curse, that they have something pathologically wrong with them, there's force that needs to be overcome in order for him to win this election, this is just incredibly dangerous stuff.
TAPPER: Franklin Foer and Bill Kristol, thanks to both of you. Shabbat Shalom.
Coming up next, that ballot rule change in battle ground Georgia. How it could slow down the state's final results. I'll talk about it with a man who helps overseas the election process across the United States. Plus an up close look at what scientists call it doomsday glacier, and the threat that doomsday glacier poses to a community near you. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:20:42]
TAPPER: And we're back with our 2024 lead with just over six weeks to go until Election Day. Georgia's state election board, which is controlled by Republicans of the MAGA variety, today, passed new rules for the election among other things. The rules require counties to hand count ballots cast at polling places on Election Day. These new rules passed, even though the election board repeatedly was warned this rule will make things worse, not better. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MILTON KIDD, ELECTION DIRECTOR, DOUGLAS COUNTY, GEORGIA: The idea that you're not going to listen to the individuals that are charged with conducting elections is absurd to me. For the board members that want to implement these rules because they're most likely going to implement them because they have the numbers, I challenge you to go into any county in the state of Georgia and to do the rules that you're passing on today. Work as a poll worker all day and then count the ballots.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: Fighting over Georgia's election rules is not the only cause for concern today, threats to election workers are ramping up across the United States of America. Reporting from CNN and the associated press shows suspicious packages such as the envelope we're showing you right now were sent this week to election offices in 21 states. The FBI says they are investigating. With us now is the head of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, Benjamin Hovland, he was appointed during the Trump administration and confirmed by unanimous consent in the U.S. Senate. The commission is independent, bipartisan, and helps both election officials and voters.
Thanks so much for being with us. This is going to be a highly stressful six weeks. I imagine, is it going to be the most highly stressful six weeks?
BENJAMIN HOVLAND, COMMISSIONER, U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION: Well, 46 days until Election Day, certainly a lot of challenges, as you mentioned there, but one of the things that's great about my job is I travel around the country, I work with election officials all across the country, and what I've seen for months, I mean, frankly, for years, election officials have been preparing for this moment. They've been doing the work to run the election. And now we are live. We've got ballots out. The you -- the man -- the -- sorry, the overseas military citizens ballots go out. The deadline is tomorrow, and so all across the country, we will have ballots live and it is time to get ready to vote.
TAPPER: Democracy is a beautiful thing. Let's turn to what is happening in Georgia. These rule changes enacted just six weeks before Election Day. Do you think they are, as we heard that democratic individual say the -- just a second ago, do you think these new rules are likely to cause confusion in lawsuits, conspiracy theories? Where do you see it going?
HOVLAND: I think those are all real risks. Certainly you never want to see changes to the procedures or election law right before an election. You never want to see that. But the other piece is, you know, hand counting does take a very long time. It is very difficult.
That's why we implemented equipment to do that. But it's also critical that that equipment is tested. It's certified. You do pre-election testing, you do post-election testing to verify that the equipment is counting things like it's supposed to. But when you're talking about millions of ballots and dozens of races on each of those, the ability for people to do that in an accurate way just doesn't match up.
TAPPER: There is time right now to talk about another rule change in Nebraska, which allocates its Electoral College votes by congressional district, as does the state of Maine, the only two states that do this. This move, so you see the little splash of blue there, that's Omaha, which tends to lean Democratic, even if the Congressman there is a Republican. This move would make Nebraska's electoral vote winner, a winner take all situation. It would eliminate the possibility of this one electoral vote possibly going to the Democrats. Is it fair to be talking about changing this rule so close to Election Day?
HOVLAND: You know, again, I think that's really a politics question. Certainly, each state legislature gets to make that decision, but with ballots being live with ballots going out all over tomorrow, with people already early voting, I think it's very difficult to try to change the rules in the middle of an election. And certainly that isn't something that I think makes sense. And again, I think you can do that, but there's plenty of time after the election to have those conversations to think through those policy changes, to reflect on whether or not that's the right thing for voters.
[17:25:09]
TAPPER: An early in-person voting started today in three states, Minnesota, South Dakota, Virginia, by mid-October, about a dozen more states will begin early voting. What do you expect this year?
HOVLAND: You know, I think it's going to be a busy election. I think we're going to see very high turnout. I think we're going to see Americans utilize mail voting. I think we're going to see them utilize early in-person and Election Day. With 46 days, the first voter registration deadlines kick in at 30 days, so you still have time.
So Americans who are watching this should make sure they're registered to vote. Make sure their registration is up to date at their current address. That's really the first step to participating this fall.
TAPPER: Is there a website that can go to?
HOVLAND: Vote.gov is a great place to start. That will get you to your official state voter registration portal. Most states have an online voter registration option, but vote.gov will get you to the right place.
TAPPER: Vote.gov. Benjamin Hovland, thank you so much. Appreciate it, sir.
New revelations today from the head of U.S. Secret Service about the failures of the agency and his agents before Donald Trump was shot at that Butler, Pennsylvania campaign rally.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[17:30:26] TAPPER: In today's Law and Justice Lead, complacency. That is the shocking admission from the head of the U.S. Secret Service earlier today as he investigates the very first assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
You'll remember, the former president was grazed in the ear at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania back in July. In a report released today, the agency described, quote, serious communications failures between the U.S. Secret Service and local law enforcement that made it harder for officers to respond to the attempted assassin, unquote. CNN's Zachary Cohen is digging into all this for us. Zach, what are you learning about the Secret Service failure specifically?
ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Jake, the acting director, really did outline a number of mistakes that he says were made by the Secret Service. He created a scenario basically, where critical information was not being shared between local law enforcement and the agents that were there to protect Donald Trump that day.
And he said it was, quote, especially acute when warnings about the shooter when he was spotted on the roof by local law enforcement never made their way to U.S. Secret Service. You remember a local officer popped his head up onto the roof, saw the shooter and thought he was radioing to all the law enforcement on the ground that there was a potential threat there. That message never got to Secret Service a -- agents on Trump's detail.
And that's really been a critical question throughout this two month investigation being conducted by the Secret Service. I mean, look, this really boils down to a problem, as described by the acting director today, about an inability of the Secret Service and local law enforcement to communicate directly. He said that some standard communications or protocols were not in operation that day, raising more questions about why they were standard were they not being used when the former president was there for a rally.
And he also raised concerns about sort of the complacency. He used that a direct quote, a complacency amongst some members of the former president's advanced staff, both in their interactions with the Trump campaign and their concern -- and raising their concerns about the site itself and some challenges that came along with it. Take a listen to what the acting director said today about those interactions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RONALD ROWE, ACTING DIRECTOR, U.S. SECRET SERVICE: While some members of the advance team were very diligent, there was complacency on the part of others that led to a breach of security protocols. With respect to accountability, the mission assurance review has identified deficiencies in the advanced planning and its implementation by Secret Service personnel. These employees will be held accountable. And this agency has among the most robust table of penalties in the entirety of the federal government.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COHEN: So it seems to be speaking about a specific group of individuals at the secret service that will be held accountable. As he says, what that accountability looks like remains to be seen.
TAPPER: All right. Zachary Cohen, thank you so much. Important story. Appreciate it.
[17:33:09]
A jarring new warning today about what's being called the Doomsday Glacier and the impact it could have on cities around the world. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: In our Earth matters series today, a picturesque view that could spell potential catastrophe. And you are looking right now at images of what's called the Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica. It's better known as the Doomsday Glacier because of its threat to our coasts. Scientists are assessing its risk of collapse. They sent a torpedo shaped robot called the Ice Fin to the iceberg where it showed images of warm ocean water able to funnel through deep cracks in the ice.
The Doomsday glaciers collapse could cause the Earth's sea level to rise anywhere from 2 to 10 feet, potentially devastating coastal communities, from Miami to London to the Pacific Islands. CNN's chief climate correspondent, Bill Weir joins us now. Bill, what's the timeline here? How -- how soon could this happen?
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, the scientists say that by the 23rd century, that part of West Antarctica could all be water. That's a couple centuries away. That seems like a long time away. But every decade that can avoid that it means more time to certify themselves, the mangroves to grow and for people to get ready, because this is sort of baked in now. This is a result of six years of research teams from the U.K., U.S., around the world using that Ice Fin torpedo that you showed them, and seeing the disturbing trend now that warm water from the southern ocean is getting up and under this big the world's widest glacier.
It's the size of Florida, a mile thick. That's a chunk of ice. And just by itself, it would raise sea levels by 2 feet. But it also is like a cork in a big bowl of ice, and it holds back a lot of that land ice as well. So what they've seen about it, it's been shrinking for the last 80 years, accelerating last 30. They say specifically, it'll get faster and further coming up.
But again, it's all about buying time and coming to grips with the idea that the coastal cities we've built for a different earth from a different age are not going to hold up to what is happening at the bottom of the world. It is so far away. It's so -- so disconnected from that. This is ancient ice, snow that fell before Jesus was born, building these massive glaciers. But it's now melting so fast.
There was a heat wave last month Jake in Antarctica. It was the temperature was 50 degrees Fahrenheit above normal in the winter. And so these are just the physical results. These are the laws of chemical dynamics and the more key traffic conditions (inaudible). But already this is baked in. People should get ready (inaudible).
TAPPER: All right. Bill Weir, thank you so much.
[17:39:59]
Coming up next, a devastating CNN investigation, more than 100 women and children say they were sexually assaulted by their doctor, who is a long standing and respected member of the Mormon Church. But criminal charges were not brought in this case. Why not? We'll tell you more coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: Back with our National Lead now. For generations, an Oregon doctor and prominent member of the Mormon community was a one stop shop for patients, for wellness checks, sports, physicals, prenatal care and delivering babies, but now dozens of women have joined a lawsuit about the years of sexual abuse they allege they endured in his care, and we want to warn our viewers, this story contains disturbing descriptions of sexual assault. Here's Meena Duerson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICOLE SNOW, FORMER PATIENT: So this is the neighborhood I grew up in. And that's Farley's house.
[17:45:04]
MEENA DUERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So he was over here?
SNOW: Yes.
DUERSON (voice-over): In the small Oregon town where Nicole Snow grew up, there was no escaping David Farley.
SNOW: Yes. These windows on this side of the building.
DUERSON: You remember being in there?
SNOW: Yes, that's where I saw Farley.
DUERSON (voice-over): Farley was her neighbor, her doctor, a coach at her high school, and in her tight knit Mormon community, a widely respected leader in the church.
SNOW: I would see Farley out every Sunday. Growing up, I felt great and safe. And then this building became a place that didn't feel safe for me anymore.
DUERSON: When did you become his patient?
SNOW: Yes, at the age of 15. I saw him over 40 times from the age of 15 through 18. DUERSON: Over 40 times?
SNOW: Over 40 times.
DUERSON: That's a lot.
SNOW: It's a lot. And in those 40 times, he was able to sexually abuse me multiple times a year.
DUERSON (voice-over): Snow is now one of more than 100 former patients who say they went to Farley for care, but he took advantage of them instead.
SNOW: He told me that he had a young patient die of cervical cancer, and so he wanted to check all his patients, starting at a young age. He was penetrating me and giving me rectal exams. I just remember looking over and seeing his hands very bloody and him walking to the sink and washing his hands while I still lay there on the bed, terrified.
KATIE MEDLEY, FORMER PATIENT: The Mormon Church is trusting, and they believe they're male leadership. They believe that, like, the men in charge have a direct link to God.
DUERSON (voice-over): Katie Medley also grew up Mormon. She saw another doctor in Farley's small group practice until 2016, when she says he recruited her to be his patient at a church event.
MEDLEY: He had a really good ability to make you feel like you're special, you know, that special treatment.
DUERSON: Were there experiences that you had in his office that you now look back on differently?
MEDLEY: One of the main things for me is frequency. I had 11 penetrative exams in four years, and I trust him, right. He's an ecclesiastical leader at church layer of trust. He's a physician layer of trust.
DUERSON (voice-over): In 2019, Medley says Farley had her come in for a follow up exam.
MEDLEY: That appointment is one that's hard for me to talk about. And I just remember that he was just moving his finger a lot, and he just said, everything feels really good. And then he took his hand out and kept fondling my external genitalia. And I just remember being in my car after that appointment, just like, sobbing on the way home, because I didn't understand, like, what was happening to me. He had sexually stimulated me that entire appointment.
DUERSON (voice-over): Lisa Pratt also met Farley through the church and became increasingly uncomfortable with his exams, like when he had her come to his home for a pregnancy checkup.
LISA PRATT, FORMER PATIENT: His wife, Ann, she led me to their bedroom, laid a towel down on their bed, and he came in alone and shut the door behind him. And he was in there for a long time. And I remember laying there and thinking, what like what's going on? And then he hurt me. It hurt really bad. And it made my whole body jump.
MEDLEY: My neighbor Lisa, she popped over one day and she said, kind of out of the blue, hey, have you ever had a weird experience with Dr. Farley? And, like, immediately I knew.
DUERSON (voice-over): In 2020, the Oregon medical Board notified Farley of complaints about his behavior, from excessive, unnecessary breast and pelvic exams on underage patients to ungloved pelvic exams, exams at home, and that he'd taken naked photographs of minors for what he claimed would be an educational pamphlet on puberty. Under investigation, Farley announced his retirement, but did not mention the allegations. As word got out, medical board investigator, Jason Carruth, told police his office was slammed with patients coming forward. Among those were Medley, Snow and Pratt.
PRATT: He's like, I -- I don't know if this makes me feel better or not, but you are not alone.
MEDLEY: The three of us and two other women were the first to report.
DUERSON: What was that experience like?
MEDLEY: It was terrible.
SNOW: People close to me had the same experience with Tony Christensen and the other detectives set on our case. He just straight up said, it's going to be really hard to prosecute a doctor.
DUERSON (voice-over): Appalled by their experience, the women blasted the police department.
PRATT: We need to consider the effect that a botched investigation like ours has on our community.
[17:49:59]
DUERSON (voice-over): This led the city to commission an investigation which found lost case files, potential neglect of duty, and that Detective Christensen was uninformed and did not have the training to conduct these interviews. Christensen has since retired and could not be reached. The West Linn Police Department declined to comment.
The medical board revoked Farley's license, finding he'd committed sexual misconduct with multiple patients. Over the next two years, West Linn police did their investigation, bringing in Oregon District Attorney John Wentworth and Deputy Sarah Dumont.
SNOW: She said, well, you are only abused just about 10 times, right? I remember crying, saying back to her, is 10 times not enough.
DUERSON (voice-over): Wentworth told CNN, this is a false allegation and never happened. In 2022, the DA office brought the claims before a grand jury. The women say Wentworth in Dumont fumbled the case, only allowing testimony from a small fraction of patients who had filed police reports.
MEDLEY: It felt like she was defending Farley. She was interrupting me, undercutting my statements.
DUERSON (voice-over): After deliberations, the grand jury said they didn't have enough evidence for a criminal indictment. Farley would not be charged.
MEDLEY: It almost was like out of body, like it just could not be real that they would say no.
DUERSON (voice-over): In a March op-ed, Wentworth defended his office, saying all known patients with a colorable claim of abuse, testified before the grand jury. In a statement to CNN, he added, Dr. Farley's behavior was unprofessional and deserved sanction, but proving that his conduct was criminal is another matter.
DUERSON: Right now he's -- Farley's not facing any criminal charges.
PRATT: It's scary, like one story should have been enough. And now there's over 100 and it's still not enough.
DUERSON (voice-over): The women are now part of a civil suit against Farley, alleging he engaged in sexual misconduct with over 100 of his patients, including children as young as five. Pushing for some kind of accountability, the women also reached out to their local church leader for help.
MEDLEY: He said, you know, this has gone up as high as it can go with leadership in the church.
DUERSON: We've tracked David Farley down to the small town of Midvale, Utah.
DUERSON (voice-over): Farley didn't respond to our interview requests, and his lawyer declined to comment. But his longtime friend confirmed he's still part of the church.
GLADE NELSON, FARLEY'S FRIEND: He's there every week and being engaged in the discussions, the classes.
DUERSON: Some of the former patients have said that they've asked the church to consider excommunicating him.
NELSON: I'm definitely aware of that process. Church leadership in our community are aware of it.
DUERSON (voice-over): The Church told us a formal review will follow the end of litigation, but that Farley is banned from going to any church property, except in the town where he lives, where he is allowed to attend Sunday services when accompanied by his spouse.
SNOW: I think the church does a really good job at creating a paradise for predators.
DUERSON (voice-over): Pratt, Medley and Snow have all left the Mormon faith. They're actively pushing for the Attorney General to reopen the criminal case. The AG's office told CNN, its criminal justice division continues to review the matter.
SNOW: It's just a lot of people, a lot of damage he's created.
PRATT: Yes.
DUERSON: And since you guys have come forward, you've heard from so many other people.
PRATT: This is why we do it.
SNOW: Yes.
PRATT: If you're not going to do it, Tony Christensen, if you're not going to do it, you know, John Wentworth, and I guess we'll freaking do it.
DUERSON (voice-over): Meena Duerson, CNN, Wilsonville, Oregon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TAPPER: Our thanks to Meena Duerson for that report about those brave women. For those that might need any help, the National Sexual abuse hotline is 1-800-656-467 -- 73, that's 1-800-656-4673 that's 656 HOPE.
[17:53:43]
Our last leads are next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TAPPER: Our last leads now, new disturbing details out about a Kentucky Sheriff now charged with the murder, accused of killing a district judge. Letcher County Kentucky Sheriff Shawn Stines is accused of gunning down Judge Kevin Mullins in his own chambers. He'd been embroiled in a civil suit involving his own deputy. That unnamed deputy says Stines sexually assaulted her in 2021 in that same judge's office where the murder happened. The sheriff couldn't be arraigned because that judge who would normally oversee that hearing was the victim.
Also in our last leads, diving in the Titan sub was, quote, never supposed to be safe, unquote, that's according to a mission specialist for OceanGate, the company behind Titan, who testified during a hearing earlier today. The employee says the company's founder made an effort to create a culture of safety, but every passenger was well aware that getting on board was dangerous. The Titan imploded on a June 2023 trip down to the Titanic wreckage, killing all five people on board.
And our health lead, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first flu vaccine that you can administer yourself at home. FluMist is a nasal spray currently available in some healthcare offices, but now the manufacturer says it should be available for home use at some point next year. FluMist is the only needle free option for flu vaccines in the United States.
In our 2024 lead where Vice President Kamala Harris is enchanted to have the endorsement of Taylor Swift. Harris praised the pop star in a new interview with wired.com.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am very proud to have the support of Taylor Swift. She's an incredible artist. I really respect the courage that she has had in her career to stand up for what she believes is right. But we were on different sides of the Super Bowl last year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[18:00:00]
TAPPER: Swift endorsed Harris in an Instagram post right after the presidential debate, which, believe it or not, was last week.
Coming up Sunday on State of the Union, Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, also Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, both of them will join me. That's Sunday morning at 9:00 Eastern and again at noon here on CNN. You can follow the show on X at TheLeadCNN. If you ever miss an episode of The Lead, you can listen to the show once you get your podcasts. The news continues on CNN with Wolf Blitzer in The Situation Room. I will see you again on Sunday morning. Have a great weekend.
