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House GOP: Biden Family Enriched Itself From Foreign Entities; Trump Vows To Appeal Sexual Abuse, Defamation Ruling; E. Jean Carroll: Verdict Against Donald Trump "Is For All Women"; Soon, GOP Rep. Santos Expected In Court On Federal Charges; Inflation Is Under Five Percent For First Time In Two Years; Social Security Benefits Lost 36 Percent Of Buying Power Since 2000; Tonight: Trump To Appear At CNN Town Hall In New Hampshire; TX Man Sentenced To 25 Years In Prison For Murdering BLM Protester; Biden Takes Debt Ceiling Message On The Road. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired May 10, 2023 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:30:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): That was a lie in 2020. And he continues to lie to the American people now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: Now, Jim, this new report certainly raises concerns over Hunter Biden's activities while his father was vice president.
But I should be very clear. None of the evidence in this report shows that any of these payments were illegal. They also don't have any evidence that any of these payments were made directly to Joe Biden.
Now, the White House has also been very quick to respond to these allegations.
Here's the statement from White House spokesman, Ian Sams.
It reads, "Congressman Comer has a history of playing fast and loose with the facts and spreading baseless innuendo while refusing to conduct his so-called investigations with legitimacy."
And now it's also just important to note that this is only some of the first findings that Comer and the Republicans on the Oversight Committee are releasing.
Comer had said that he promises to have other revelations and other findings that he wants to release in the coming weeks.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: So you said, and that's an important point there, he's not claiming and there's no evidence that they were illegal payments? Is that right?
TREENE: Yes. There's no evidence in this document that any of them were illegal.
SCIUTTO: The question becomes about influence.
Alayna Treene, thanks so much.
Brianna?
BRIANNE KEILAR, CNN HOST: Donald Trump is vowing to appeal after a jury in New York found him liable of sexually abusing and defaming writer, E. Jean Carroll.
The former president lashed out at the judge and the jurors in a video that he posted to social media last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What else can you expect from a Trump-hating, Clinton-appointed judge who went out of his way to make sure that the result of this trial was as negative as it could possibly be?"
I don't even know who this woman is. I have no idea who she is, where she came from. This is another scam. It's a political witch hunt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Yesterday, the jury ordered Trump to pay almost $5 million in damages to Carroll, who alleged that Trump raped her in a department store dressing room in the '90s and then defamed her when he denied her claim.
CNN's Kara Scannell joins us live from New York. She has been following all these proceedings.
Kara, Carroll is also speaking out about the jury's decision here. What is she saying?
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brianna. Remember that there have been about a dozen women who came forward with allegations that former President Trump had sexually assaulted them in some way.
But E. Jean Carroll's lawsuit is the first one and the only one that has gone to a jury. This jury of six men, three women believed her.
And after the verdict, Carroll said that this was a victory for all women who have not been believed.
She was on CNN this morning. She expanded on that. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
E. JEAN CARROLL, WON SEXUAL ABUSE & DEFAMATION CASE AGAINST DONALD TRUMP: The old view of what the perfect victim looks like totally changed.
UNIDENTIFIED CNN ANCHOR: What do you mean? CARROLL: The old view of the perfect victim was a woman who always
screamed, a woman who immediately reported, a woman whose life is supposed to fold up and she's never supposed to experience happiness again.
That was just shut down. This verdict is for all women. This is not really about me. It's for every single woman.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCANNELL: Carroll also said that she had hoped that the former president would have shown up and would have testified sitting there in the court before her. But as we know, he had the option. He chose not to.
She also expanded on -- after the verdict Trump's attorney went over and shook her lawyer's hand and actually shook E. Jean Carroll's hand. And the big question had been, what was discussed between them?
She elaborated on that this morning, saying she said to Trump's attorney, "He did it, you know it" -- Brianna?
KEILAR: Interesting.
Kara Scannell, live for us in New York, thank you.
Boris?
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: At any moment, New York freshman Republican Congressman George Santos is expected to appear in federal court. He was taken into custody this morning.
Remember, prosecutors unsealed a 13-count indictment against him, seven counts of wire fraud, three of money laundering, one of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives.
CNN's Brynn Gingras is back with us now. She's been outside the courthouse where Santos will be arraigned.
Brynn, what are you seeing?
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris, presumably, the judge is beginning to read those counts to George Santos for his arraignment.
It's hard to tell exactly what's happening inside the courthouse right now because there are no communications allowed in federal court. So we'll get an update as soon as possible.
But you just said 13 counts, from wire fraud to money laundering. The allegations in stunning detail saying that George Santos took campaign contributions and spent the money on himself, buying luxury designer clothing. He paid off a car payment.
And also that he reaped the benefits of Covid unemployment benefits all while holding a job that afforded him $120,000 a year.
[13:35:06]
So those are some of the allegations that have been detailed in that dozen pages indictment, 13 counts in total.
And this morning, he turned himself in to the FBI building in Minneola, New York. And then was brought here to the federal courthouse in central Islip, New York. We didn't get a chance to even see him.
But I have to tell you, it's not very easy to avoid us now because there's really only one way that we know of inside and out of this courthouse.
So it's very possible -- as you can see all the press here behind me waiting to see if he will say anything, make any sort of statement following this arraignment. So we're standing by for that -- Boris?
SANCHEZ: We're going to keep an eye on this story and continue following the arrangement -- the arraignment, I should say, of George Santos, a sitting member of Congress.
Brynn Gingras, thank you so much for that.
Jim?
SCIUTTO: Well, if you are collecting Social Security, this really stings. A new report shows just how hard inflation has been hitting retirees.
And thanks, but no thanks? The Georgia Bulldogs championship football team just declined a White House invitation. Why?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:40:32]
KEILAR: For the first time in two years, inflation is finally below 5 percent. The price of everyday goods rose by 4.9 percent in April. That beat analysts' expectations. The last time that it was that low was actually in April of 2021.
The big question is, has this streak gone on long enough for the Fed to stop hiking interest rates?
CNN's Matt Egan joins us now to break it all down.
Matt, what are the big takeaways from today's report?
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Brianna, inflation last year was kind of like a wildfire that just consumed the economy. That fire hasn't been put out. But every month, it does increasingly look like it has been contained.
We now have 10 straight months of cooling inflation. You can see on that chart there, there was this big spike in 2021-2022 that has come down.
Although we should note the slowdown has sort of leveled out. You can kind of see that on the right side of the chart. Also, at 4.9 percent, this is still more than twice what the Fed is really targeting.
Now, on a month over month basis, we actually saw inflation heat up between March and April, although a lot of that is due to a big spike in used-car prices that is not expected to continue.
Now, where are prices going up and down the most over the last 12 months? If you actually look, last 12 months, used-car prices are down sharply. We've also seen a record plunge in prices for appliances and for health insurance.
On the other hand, grocery prices, they're still going up rapidly. And this is particularly painful to me as a parent, daycare and preschool prices are going up by the most on record.
KEILAR: Yes, that is a spike for sure that is affecting so many Americans.
Also related to inflation, there's this new analysis that shows the value of Social Security payouts is plummeting. Of course, those are fixed. So walk us through this.
EGAN: Right, Brianna. This is a direct consequence of inflation.
This new analysis from the Senior Citizens League finds that the purchasing power of people who have retired before 2000 is down by 36 percent.
Put this another way, if you spend $100 as a retired household in 2000, that same $100 is only going to get you $64 worth of stuff. Inflation has basically eaten away at the value of the Social Security checks.
And even though there are cost-of-living adjustments, they have not kept up with prices.
This analysis finds that, in order to keep up with inflation, $517 monthly boosts would be needed to Social Security payments.
KEILAR: Those are painful numbers.
Matt Egan, thank you for taking us through that.
Boris?
SANCHEZ: Donald Trump on the stump and on CNN. Tonight, the former president and current Republican front-runner will be front and center at a CNN town hall event in New Hampshire.
These are live images of the town hall site at St. Anselm College. Trump is going to take questions from New Hampshire Republicans and undeclared voters.
CNN's Kristen Holmes joins us now live.
Kristen, you have been in touch with people close to the former president. What are they telling you about what we can expect tonight?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, as we know and have learned time and time again, there is no expected when it comes to former President Trump.
But I can tell you from talking to his advisers that they have huddled with him the last two days, they have gone over questions. And what they're really hoping he does is stay on message here.
Now, they are anticipating questions about yesterday's verdict that found Trump liable in that sexual abuse case against E. Jean Carroll. But that is one of the only things that they are really preparing for.
And that's because Donald Trump, according to his advisers, and we've heard this for the last several years, is not a man who likes to undergo intense preparation like we see from so many more traditional candidates.
The big thing to watch here, though, when it comes to particularly that question, talking about that verdict is how the voters respond in this room.
We know that everyone here is going to be a Republican voter, someone who plans on voting in the primary. How are they going to respond to the latest legal entanglement that Trump is liable in this verdict.
And that's something we haven't seen yet from Republicans. It's something to watch very closely.
SANCHEZ: Yes. A major conversation going into the 2024 election and also the Republican primary coming fast.
[13:45:04]
Kristen Holmes, thank you so much for that.
Jim?
SCIUTTO: Daniel Perry, convicted of killing a protester at a Black Lives Matter protest, now sentenced to prison. But how much time will he actually serve? As the governor of Texas is now pushing for a pardon.
And a woman, who wrote a book about grief following the death of her husband, is now accused of having killed him. Bizarre allegations that she poisoned him with Fentanyl. That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:50:11]
SCIUTTO: This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. Here's a look at some of the other headlines we are following this hour. Just a stunning, happy story in Michigan. An 8-year-old boy survived
at being lost for two frigid days in a state park. He ate nothing but snow to stay hydrated. Sheltered under a log with branches and leaves to stay warm. Police say he went missing on a family camping trip after he wandered off to collect wood.
Also, invitation declined. The back-to-back college football champion Georgia Bulldogs will not be visiting the White House to celebrate their championship.
In a statement, the university says the scheduled date of the visit was, quote, "not feasible, given the student athlete calendar." No college football champion has been to the White House since LSU visited back in early 2020.
And finally, Senator Dianne Feinstein is back on the Hill. The 89- year-old Democrat has been away from Congress since February, recovering from shingles. Her absence from the Senate Judiciary Committee has held up the confirmation of multiple Biden-nominated federal judges.
Lots of impatience with that, Brianna?
KEILAR: Certainly has been.
Daniel Perry, the U.S. Army sergeant convicted of murdering a protester at a Black Lives Matter rally in 2020, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.
He shot and killed 28-year-old Garrett Foster, who leaves behind his fiancee, a quadruple amputee, he took care of the for the past 11 years.
Prosecutors homed in on violent and racist social media posts and messages that Perry sent. Some of what he said included, quote, "I might go to Dallas to shoot looters," and, "Too bad we can't get paid for hunting Muslims in Europe."
CNN's Lucy Kafanov is joining us now with more on this.
Lucy, tell us what happened during today's proceedings.
LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, it was relatively quick, at least the sentencing portion, when the judge issued that 25- year prison sentence for the murder of Garrett Foster.
We saw Daniel Perry burst into tears. He leaned forward, his head in his hands, crying. He was facing up to 99 years behind bars. His defense team argued for a sentence of 10 years.
They wanted the judge to take into account that he was a military -- served in the military.
But of course, he wasn't the only one. Garrett Foster was an Air Force veteran, a point his sister emphasized when she addressed Perry on the stand after the sentencing. Take a listen. KEILAR: All right, Lucy, if you can pause for a moment.
We're going to go to New York where President Biden is speaking right now as he and Republicans are facing off over the debt ceiling.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's good to be back.
(CHEERING)
BIDEN: It's good to be back.
(CHEERING)
BIDEN: Governor Hochul, thank you for welcoming us to your state.
And she's helping New York lead the way in making things in America. And I mean, making things in America. Not importing them, making them. Sending products out, bringing jobs back.
My friend, the majority leader, Chuck Schumer, can't be here today. I don't know what he's doing. He's just down there, trying to settle a crisis.
(LAUGHTER)
BIDEN: He's the best there is, man.
I want to thank him for working so hard for the people of the state.
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: And for being such a great partner.
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: Nobody's been a greater fight for women's right in the Congress than Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. God love her.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: I've been backing everything she's wanted to do for a long time. When she comes in and asks for something, just say "yes." You don't need to start discussing because you're just going to get it anyway.
She's taken on the military and she's made -- she's a game changer.
And it's great to see Representative Jamaal Bowman. A life-long educator.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE0
BIDEN: A champion of the next generation.
And Republican Congressman Mike Lawler is here as well. Mike's on the other team. But you know what? Mike is the kind of guy that when I was in the Congress, he was the kind of Republican I was used to dealing with. But he's not one of these MAGA Republicans, which I'm going to talk a little bit about.
I don't want to get him in trouble by saying anything nice about him --
(LAUGHTER)
BIDEN: -- or negative about him.
But thanks for coming, Mike. Thanks for being here.
That's the way we used to do it all the time.
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: And I want to acknowledge all the state and local officials, as well. The president, Belinda Miles, thanks for hosting us. And my -
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: Madame President -- my wife teaches full-time at a community college in northern Virginia. And she's been teaching for a long time.
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: She says two things. One, a community college is the best-kept secret in America. They are.
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: And two, equally as important, any education -- any state that out-educates us, any country that out-educates us will out-compete us. It's a simple proposition.
This is a really important moment. There's a big debate going on in this country about protecting America's hard-earned reputation as the most trusted, reliable nation in the world, and about how we fix the long-term fiscal health of this nation.
[13:55:06]
There's a debate with enormous implications for the American economy, and quite frankly, for the world economy. That's not hyperbole. For the world economy.
It's important for the American people to know what's at stake. This isn't just a theoretical debate going on in Washington. The decisions we make are going to have real impact on real peoples' lives.
And that's what I'm here to talk about today. So let me tell you a story about what's going on.
There was a very extreme wing in the Republican party in the House of Representatives referred to themselves now, I've been calling them this for a while, but now they refer to themselves as the MAGA Republicans. And they've taken control of the House. They've taken control.
They have a speaker who has his job because he yielded to the, quote, "MAGA element" of the party.
And they're doing the best -- to the best of my knowledge, what other political party has done in our nation's history.
They're literally, not figuratively, holding the economy hostage by threatening to default on our nation's debt -- a debt we've already incurred, we've already incurred over the last couple hundred of years, unless we give into the threats and demands of what we think they should be doing with regard to the budget.
This could be incredibly damaging. Here's what the speaker has put forward from the Republican proposal.
He says he's going to take funding, how we fund government, back to what the levels were in 2022. Before the omnibus bill. And they exclude any cuts in defense.
So we're going to go back to spending we spent in 2022, but we're not going to make any cuts in defense, which we spent in 2023. We're calling it 2023.
You may remember, in the State of the Union, I got our Republican colleagues to agree -- somewhat spontaneously --
(LAUGHTER)
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: -- to protect Social Security and Medicare from many cuts.
I said, let me get this straight. You're not going to cut Medicare? They said, that's right. I said, you know what? You're on camera. They can see you.
(LAUGHTER)
BIDEN: Well, so far, they're not cutting Social Security, so far.
Not only do they rule out any new revenue, they're still determined to make permanent the $2 trillion tax cuts that are due to expire, the Trump tax cuts, without paying a penny of it.
Look, here's what that leaves us with. This basic sort of math. It leaves us with a requirement to cut 22 percent of everything else in the budget in order to meet the requirements they're demanding that we limit the 2022 budget numbers.
The speaker and the Republicans don't like that I point that out. But that's not my opinion. It's just basic math.
And here's what it does. It makes huge cuts in important programs for millions of working and middle-class Americans, programs that they count on.
According to estimates, the Republican bill would put 21 million people at risk of losing Medicaid, including 2.3 million people here in New York State and 78,000 people right here in Westchester County.
It's devastating. It's not right.
The Republican plan would cut federal law enforcement officers, 30,000, including 11,000 FBI agents, 2,000 border agents, DEA agents, and so on.
They would be cut in order to meet the requirements. They would have to cut that many law enforcement officers.
It risks shutting down 375 air traffic control towers, including five right here in New York State, like Westchester County Airport. Because we don't have enough personnel.
And I've long believed that we have many obligations as a nation, but the only -- if you've heard me say this before, I apologize for repeating it.
But we only have one truly sacred obligation. Many obligations, one sacred obligation. And that's to equip those we send to war and take care of them and their families when they come home.
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: That's a sacred obligation. For real.
(APPLAUSE)
BIDEN: And that's why I fought so hard. And I was so proud to sign the bipartisan PACT Act that takes care of millions of veterans and exposes the toxic materials and takes care of their families as well.
My son went to Iraq for a year, was one of the healthiest guys in his outfit. Came back with stage 4 glioblastoma, having lived just less than a quarter mile from one of those major burn pits.
And you saw what happened when the trade towers went down, what happened to all of those firemen and exposure to toxic chemicals.
[13:59:51]
But under the Republican bill today, they would cut 30 million veterans' health care visits. The way they do that -- that's including nearly two million health care visits for veterans in New York State. Because there's not enough personnel. There's not enough personnel.
