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Pentagon Leak Suspect in Court Today; U.S. Economy Grew in Q1; House Passes Debt Limit Bill; Pope Francis Allows Women to Vote. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired April 27, 2023 - 09:00   ET

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

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[09:00:26]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: A look inside the mind of that 21-year-old Air National Guardsman accused of leaking dozens of highly classified documents online. We're getting a look at his room and his arsenal of weapons, and why prosecutors believe he is a flight risk. He is scheduled to appear in court today.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: A major move by the Vatican. Women will now be allowed to participate and vote at a major upcoming meeting of bishops. What Pope Francis is saying about this. CNN is live in Rome.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Brand new numbers on the state of the U.S. economy. Still growing, but slowing. So, what happens next?

All that coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SIDNER: Federal prosecutors say the accused Pentagon documents leaker is an ongoing risk and releasing him from jail could pose a grave threat to national security. This was all part of an overnight court filing just hours before suspect Jack Teixeira will stand before a federal judge in Boston today. Prosecutors say he stole and posted classified material online in a deliberate effort to disseminate this country's secrets.

The court filing also reveals Teixeira allegedly had a history of racist and violent threats. Prosecutors say he spoke about wanting to kill a ton of people. These photos show what investigators found inside his bedroom. They say Teixeira had access to an arsenal of weapons and accessories, including handguns, rifles and a gas mask. At his detention hearing today, the judge will ultimately decide whether he will stay in jail as he awaits trial.

CNN national correspondent Jason Carroll is outside the courtroom in Boston.

Jason, what evidence do the prosecutors have that he was trying to hide what he was doing as well?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, right, there was a lot of new information, Sara, that came out in that 11th hour court filing, including new allegations, namely that the defendant in this case, Jack Teixeira, viewed hundreds of classified documents. This is a new number, not dozens but hundreds of classified documents. And prosecutors argue in this court filing that if he were to get out on bail their concern is that he, in some ways, still might have access to these court documents, which is why they want him to remain behind bars. They said the following, the defendant knows where the information is, he knows how to access it. And based on his specialized IT skills, he presumably knows how to disseminate that information without being immediately noticed. So that was one point.

Also, they noted that right after he discovered that this leak had been publicized and that the authorities were on him, he did several things to try to cover his tracks. He got a new email. He got a new phone. He also allegedly told some of the people that he was conserving with, quote, delete all messages. And if anyone comes looking, don't tell them, expletive.

The prosecutor is also alleging that, in terms of him trying to cover his tracks, when they got to his home, they also discovered that he had smashed a laptop, a tablet, a gaming console, all of this found in the dumpster at his family home.

And what also that a number of us found disturbing as we were looking through all of these documents, Sara, prosecutors were alarmed at the search items that Teixeira had been searching. Things like Ruby Ridge, Las Vegas shooting, Mandalay Bay shooting, Buffalo Tops shooting, also Uvalde. And of this is going to be taken under consideration when this detention hearing gets underway at 1:00.

Sara.

SIDNER: These are all mass shootings.

Jason Carroll, thank you for all those details.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right, this just in, the U.S. economy grew at a much slower pace in the first quarter of this year, at a rate of just 1.1 percent, well below expectations.

So, let's bring in Christine Romans, who, thank you for running up to set to make sure you could help me out with this.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You're welcome.

BOLDUAN: I want to get your take on what you see in these numbers.

ROMANS: Sure.

BOLDUAN: I like the way John said it at the top of the slow, growing yet slowing.

ROMANS: Exactly. And this is momentum, slowing into the new - the new year, quite frankly. We had expected 2 percent. We got 1.1 percent. So that shows you that this read was weaker than many economists had thought.

And this is the broadest measure of economic strength because this is sort of the Super Bowl of economic reports, right. This tells us the big measure of the American economy. And when you look at how we've done here, 1.1 percent is a slow-down from the last part of 2022 when we had 2.6 percent.

[09:05:07]

You can see just exactly that deceleration in economic growth. When I dig inside these numbers, though, Kate, consumer spending stayed very strong. So the consumer has been very, very strong amid high interest rates and inflation. So, consumer spending still strong, but the momentum started to really fizzle in business investments and other kinds of investments. And you've seen that, right? You've seen companies start to buckle up.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

ROMANS: Get a little bit worried about down the road if there could be a recession. So, you've seen businesses reacting. Consumers, though, stay strong. So, 1.1 percent. That is stronger but slower than the end of last year.

BOLDUAN: We're also - you're also getting - we're also getting new jobless claims numbers in. What are they saying?

ROMANS: Yes, these numbers are showing some resilience as well, 230,000 first time unemployment claims. So, these are people who are going to their unemployment office for the very first time filing for unemployment benefits. This is down 16,000 from the prior week.

And let me give you some perspective. In the decade before the pandemic, the average was 311,000 every week. So, this is still historically pretty low.

With all of those - all of those headlines every day of, you know, we're in the middle of job cuts from 3M, and from Disney, and from here and from there -

BOLDUAN: Yes.

ROMANS: When you look at these numbers, it's still a pretty strong job market.

BOLDUAN: It's still confusing to me. I mean it continues to paint a confusing picture, but maybe there is a little bit more clarity.

ROMANS: Yes.

BOLDUAN: I -- does this offer more clarity, or what does Jerome Powell see in this for the Federal Reserve?

ROMANS: I think the folks at the Fed, who have been raising interest rates to try to slow a supercharged economy, see that this number, the GDP number, as evidence that that is happening. But the jobs numbers, I think, are still something that is puzzling to - to the Fed and to big economists because the job market remains very tight. That means wages keep rising, which feeds the inflation story. So, all of this, you're right, it is a chaotic and confusing picture. After the pandemic, you know, trying to figure out what is the new normal? Where is the balance in the economy?

BOLDUAN: Yes. Is it enough for them to pause on rising interest rates at the next meeting? I don't know. We'll see.

ROMANS: I don't know. Maybe not. I think most people bet that there's another 25 basis point rate hike in, and then they pause.

BOLDUAN: I am not a betting woman, though, John Berman.

BERMAN: Look, I'm still riding the high when Romans said that she liked the way I described the economy at the top of that (INAUDIBLE).

ROMANS: Actually -

BOLDUAN: You liked that I said how you like - I said that.

ROMANS: She said that. I concur, but she said it.

BOLDUAN: I know, it's more shocking that it's (INAUDIBLE) my (INAUDIBLE).

BERMAN: Now, I've made it much worse. I made it much worse than I ever imagined. All right.

BOLDUAN: Just go.

BERMAN: This morning, Kevin McCarthy is celebrating his biggest victory since becoming House speaker. The narrow passage of a bill that would raise the debt limit by $1.5 trillion in exchange for spending cuts. The bill is all but dead on arrival in the Democratic- led Senate. McCarthy and other Republicans hope, though, that it might force President Biden to the negotiating table.

CNN's Lauren Fox is live on Capitol Hill for us this morning.

So, what are you hearing now that it's passed the House, Lauren?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, all eyes are on the White House and what their next steps are. They made it clear that they are not willing to negotiate to increase the country's borrowing limit, arguing instead that a discussion about the country's fiscal health should be part of the budget and appropriations process down the line. Republicans arguing, however, that they succeeded in unifying their conference, showing Biden and Democrats over in the U.S. Senate that they have a plan that can work. And their argument is that it's the only plan moving through Congress right now.

This came after months of negotiations, behind closed doors meeting, listening sessions with the whip team. And at the end of the day, Republicans were able to secure a victory, although it was the narrowest of margins that you possibly could have had to pass this bill yesterday on the floor. In fact, a person familiar with Kevin McCarthy's thinking said that as he was going to the floor he was pretty confident he was going to have the votes he needed to succeed, but he wasn't 100 percent sure. He had four Republicans voting against that proposal.

And there's a bit question about even if he gets to the negotiating table with the White House, what he brings back is going to be far less conservative than what was passed yesterday, what wasn't conservative enough for some of those Republicans, John. So that gives you a sense of just how difficult of a needle Kevin McCarthy is going to have to thread here at the end of the day.

BERMAN: Yes, very difficult. Still not clear if they'll talk or, if they do, what they will talk about, what the parameters would be.

Lauren Fox, on Capitol Hill, keep us posted. Thanks, Lauren.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, now senior political analyst John Avlon joins us now to discuss all this.

I'm lucky to have you here.

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Thanks. Awe.

SIDNER: Thank you for showing up in the early morning.

AVLON: Always.

SIDNER: Always.

AVLON: For you, come on.

SIDNER: Thanks.

So, McCarthy sent this message directly to the president yesterday. Let's listen.

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REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): You said at the very beginning we had to show you a plan, even though the Democrats have shown no plan. Not only did we show you a plan, we're the only ones to pass a plan. So, I think it's up to you now. Whether the economy goes in any trouble, it's you, because the Republicans raised the debt limit.

[09:10:02]

You have not.

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SIDNER: So, the blame game has clearly started.

AVLON: Yes. SIDNER: Will this bring the president to some sort of negotiating

table?

AVLON: Look, the White House has been really clear that they're not going to negotiate over raising the debt limit. And there's important context here. This is not fiscally responsible to refuse to raise the debt limit or to try to use it to extort, in effect.

You've got divided government. No Republicans -- McCarthy deserves credit for passing this threshold in his - in the House, but it's not going to pass the Senate.

SIDNER: Yes.

AVLON: I think the question is whether some of the proposals that they have put forward can be carved out and Biden negotiate with them because some of these items are clear nonstarters for the Biden administration and for the Senate, but others - reasonable people, there has been bipartisan support for in the past. And that's worth going forward.

The other context, of course, is that the debt limit was raised three times under President Trump.

SIDNER: Right.

AVLON: Republicans didn't seem to care about extorting it at that time. Now, of course, they see leverage and to draw a contrast with Democrats.

SIDNER: This is politics at its - I don't think the word finest is the word but I -

AVLON: Self -- most self-defeating.

SIDNER: Most self-defeating.

AVLON: Potentially, yes.

SIDNER: Let me talk about some of the things that the GOP has said. They've repeatedly criticized Democrats, that is not a surprise, for raising the national debt, but they claim that everything spent, as you just mentioned, under Donald Trump has been paid for. Is that true?

AVLON: CBO says that's simply not true. The debt limit increased -- debt increased by 7 trillion under, you know, Donald Trump.

SIDNER: Right.

AVLON: So, these are serious numbers. And, again, we see this pattern where when Republicans have control of the White House, they're less focused on deficit and debt than when Democrats are in the White House. But there are elements they put forward that have had bipartisan support in the past. You know, for example, work requirements in exchange for welfare or even food stamps and Medicaid. Controversial, but something that has had broad, bipartisan support in the past. Even Senator -- when President Biden was a senator he supported something like that. Just earlier this month, in Wisconsin, a work fair requirement came before the voters of Wisconsin during that judicial election.

SIDNER: Right.

AVLON: Passed by 80 percent. Calling back Covid money that hasn't been spent, that should be a no brainer. It's only $30 billion. But as Everet Tirkson (ph) said, you know, a billion here, a billion there, soon you're talking real money. So there are other items like that.

SIDNER: Only you could say 30 billion, yes, it's the pennies (ph), is nothing.

AVLON: Yes.

SIDNER: But it is to the -- to the deficit that we're in right now, it isn't that much.

AVLON: Yes.

SIDNER: Where do we go from here? You have this huge argument happening, and, of course, they're going after each other in public because this is the way that they're trying to shame the other side. What happens next? I mean we cannot let this happen, right, where you just don't pass anything to pay our bills.

AVLON: This doesn't benefit anybody but arguably China, big powers that want to see America's faith and credit rattled in -- part of a long term effort to try to replace us as the world's reserve currency. This is an - this would be such an unprecedented, self-inflicted wound. It is up to the president to negotiate. But to separate out, we should not be playing politics with the debt ceiling. It is incredibly dangerous for the U.S. economy and our standing in the world. You want to have a reasoned debate about specific items, especially ones that have bipartisan support to try to lower the long-term deficit and debt?

SIDNER: Yes.

AVLON: That's a good conversations to have and Biden should engage that, but it doesn't need to be paired with sort of an extortion effort.

SIDNER: This is a good conversation to have.

AVLON: (INAUDIBLE).

SIDNER: I enjoyed it. Thank you, John Avlon.

AVLON: Me too.

SIDNER: All right, over to you, Kate.

BOLDUAN: The parents of the Louisville bank shooter, they're speaking out and telling their story.

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LISA STURGEON, MOTHER OF LOUISVILLE BANK SHOOTER: We are heartbroken. We wish we could undo it, but we know we can't.

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BOLDUAN: Plus, another legal blow for Donald Trump. A court rules that he cannot stop Mike Pence from testifying to the January 6th grand jury.

And, the South Korean president breaking into song, admittedly one of my absolute favorite songs, and getting a standing ovation for it.

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YOO SUK-YEOL, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (singing): A long, long time ago. I can still remember how that music used to make me smile.

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BERMAN: On the radar this morning, the parents of the Louisville bank shooter are speaking out for the first time saying they are so sorry for their son's actions. They tell NBC, his mental health issues started about a year ago with panic attacks and anxiety, but he had been seeing a psychiatrist and they thought it was under control.

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LISA STURGEON, MOTHER OF LOUISVILLE BANK SHOOTER: He called me on the Tuesday before the event and he said, well, I had a panic attack yesterday and I wanted to leave -- I had to leave work. And I said, OK, well, what happened? What was the cause? I don't know. I don't know what it was but I - I think I should take off a while. And I said, that's - that's fine. You know, we're here to help you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you worry he was suicidal?

L. STURGEON: That's all so inconceivable to me. He was willing to talk to me. He had told us before he would never do such a thing like that to us.

TODD STURGEON, FATHER OF LOUISVILLE BANK SHOOTER: Well-meaning people keep saying to us, you know, you did what any, you know, reasonable parents would have done. But Connor, in his darkest hour, needed us to be exceptional, not reasonable. And we failed him. We were not exceptional. And I guess if we can send a message to people that you -- when you're faced with this, may have to go to exceptional means. Maybe that it can help open their eyes to this.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: Five people were killed and eight others injured in that attack.

This morning, more than two dozen river gauges have hit major flood stage in the Midwest as snow melt sends the water over the banks of the Mississippi. This is from Minnesota, where at least the river has crested, but parts of Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois, they don't expect to hit their peak until the weekend.

And, the best video you will see this month. A surprise performance at the White House from the South Korean president.

[09:20:02]

So, after their state dinner, President Biden told a story about how his kids would sing "American Pie" on their way to school, and that led to this moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YOO SUK-YEOL, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT (singing): A long, long time ago. I can still remember how that music used to make me smile. And I knew if I had my chance, that I could make those people dance and maybe they'd be happy for a while.

But February made me shiver, with every paper I'd deliver. Bad news on the doorstep. I couldn't take one more step. I can't remember if I cried when I red about his widowed bride. Something touched me deep inside, the day the music died.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: I mean, is there anything better than that? That's the president of South Korea singing a perfect rendition of "American Pie." Someone on Twitter was suggesting that President Biden needs to return the favor by doing some k-pop. It is worth noting that the president gifted the South Korean leader a guitar signed by Don McLean, who is the musician who wrote "American Pie."

Sara.

SIDNER: John, that was unforgettable. All right, I'll stop.

For the first time ever, women will be allowed to participate and vote at an upcoming meeting of catholic bishops. Pope Francis approved guidelines to include women and lay people at the October gathering. Until now, only bishops who were all male could vote. The Vatican says the move is not a revolution but an important change.

CNN Vatican correspondent Delia Gallagher is joining us now.

It might not be a revolution, but this is significant, is it not?

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: No, it is. Absolutely. The cardinal who said that was the cardinal in charge of the whole synod process. He's walking the fine line between trying to keep people happy, that this is still a meeting of bishops, because, of course, this is a concern also for conservatives, this in particular, that bishops are still making decisions. But what Pope Francis has done here as opened up the process to -- he's asking for 70 non-bishop members, Sara, and he's asking that half of those be women. And he also would like young people included.

Now, part of the reason that he's doing this is partially because of his vision, of course, of opening up conversation in the church to women and to lay people. But because the topic of this synod, which is a meeting, as you mentioned, of bishops, it's happening in October, is precisely that relationship with laity (ph), with the hierarchy of the church and those kinds of topics.

As you can imagine, there have been women's groups in the church who have been pushing for this for some time. The Women's Ordination Conference said it's a significant crack in the stained-glass ceiling. A colorful metaphor from them.

The thing we don't know yet, Sara, is what exactly are they voting on? This is a process that started in 2021 with listening sessions throughout the Catholic churches throughout the world in terms of what are Catholics feeling, what are the issues that are important to them? Now it's coming to the Vatican in October. We'll have the agenda from the Vatican in May. There's a month long discussion about it, and then those proposals are voted on and they go to the pope and he can do what he likes with them.

So, it's a consultative kind of process for them until the pope decides.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, Delia Gallagher, thank you, live for us from Rome this morning.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Despite a temporary cease-fire in Sudan today, there are new reports of fighting in the capital city, and American citizens who say they are still stuck. The reality that they face as supplies are dwindling.

And we are just minutes away from the opening bell on Wall Street where futures are all up right now. As we just got those new first quarter GDP numbers showing the U.S. economy growing at a much slower pace in 2023. The 1.1 percent growth was well below economist predictions. Markets have been mixed this week as tech companies have reported their own quarterly earnings. The latest surprise, Meta releasing an unexpected revenue jump for the first time in almost a year.

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[09:29:24]

BOLDUAN: Welcome back to CNN NEWS CENTRAL. The National Guard airman charged with leaking classified intelligence will soon be in court. Jack Teixeira facing a detention hearing in Massachusetts. In a filing late last night, prosecutors are arguing that releasing Teixeira from jail could possess a grave threat to national security, saying that the info that he allegedly took far exceeds what has been reported so far. Since Teixeira was arrested, the Air Force has also suspended two leaders of his National Guard unit.

John.

BERMAN: Thanks, Kate.

This morning, life or death decisions. That is what Americans who have fled Sudan say that they have faced.

[09:30:02]

This as an estimated dozens of U.S. citizens are still there and are pleading for help.