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Army Veteran to be Sentenced Today for Jan. 6 Insurrection; Airport Brace for Busiest Memorial Day Weekend Since 2005; House Recesses for Holiday Weekend Without Making Debt Limit Deal. Aired 10- 10:30a ET

Aired May 26, 2023 - 10:00   ET

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

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JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: It is all happening now. Airports across the country are seeing the busiest Memorial Day weekend in year. So, when will you get to your holiday destination?

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Also, 86-year-old Pope Francis is canceling all of the meetings today due to a fever. What we know about his condition, we have a live report from Rome straight ahead.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: A passenger opens up an emergency exit door midflight, the terrifying emergency landing then that followed captured on camera. We have the video. This is CNN News Central.

BERMAN: So, at this moment, Jessica Watkins, a member of the far right extremist group, The Oath Keepers, is in a Washington, D.C., federal court where a judge is set to sentence her for her role in the January 6th Capitol riot. This comes after Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy, which was the longest sentence yet for any January 6th defendant.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz is with us now. Katelyn, we spoke to you just a few minutes ago. Why don't you bring us up to speed on what's been happening over the past several minutes.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, John, this hearing has started for Jessica Watkins. And like all of these hearings are going to go, there's a lot of arguments that need to be made and the judge has to make some big decisions first before he ultimately decides how many years these individuals will spend in prison. And one of the things that is being argued is whether Jessica Watkins can be given a harsher sentence because these crimes amount to domestic terrorism.

Now, we know that the judge found that that was the case for both Stewart Rhodes and Kelly Meggs, who were sentenced yesterday, the person at the very top of the hierarchy of the Oath Keepers, that's Stewart Rhodes. He got 18 years in prison. Kelly Meggs, essentially his deputy, got 12 years in prison. They were both convicted of seditious conspiracy, and also the judge found their crimes amounted to domestic terrorism.

Now, Jessica Watkins, she is now being sentenced today. She was not convicted of seditious conspiracy but she was a person who was recruiting people to the Oath Keepers and she was also part of that military-style stack formation that moved inside the building. So, she did have a role in the planning. She was convicted of conspiracy. And so the Justice Department is going to be arguing now that they do think she should get a harsher sentence, because this did amount to domestic terrorism.

The judge hasn't decided that yet but we're going to wait and see exactly what he does. And also then we will wait and whether she has to speak on her own behalf and whether she is going to express any remorse. We know that the Justice Department thinks that she doesn't have any remorse at this time. John?

BERMAN: All right. Katelyn, we know that you are watching this very closely. Please keep us posted, Katelyn Polantz. Rahel?

SOLOMON: And, John, as we welcome the unofficial start of summer, expect packed airports and packed roads. Air travel just hit a post- pandemic record and experts believe that this Memorial Day weekend could be the third busiest holiday in more than two decades.

We also have some new numbers just in to CNN. More than 2.6 million passengers passed through TSA checkpoints yesterday. That is up by more than 250,000 from last year. Air travel is expected to be up by at least 11 percent compared to last year. 3.4 million people are set to fly this weekend, and that is up more than 5 percent when compared to 2019 pre-pandemic air travel. According to AAA, some 42 million Americans plan on traveling 15 miles or more this holiday.

CNN Aviation Correspondent Pete Muntean joining us now from Arlington, Virginia. I believe you're at Reagan National Airport. So, Pete, what's it like back there, because I can't quite tell?

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It looks -- it's sort of tame right now at the airport.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: At one point, Rahel, the line was to where I am standing right now. The TSA says today will be the busiest in terms of the numbers of passengers nationwide, although yesterday we saw that huge number, 2.66 million people at airports across the country, the highest we have seen since the pandemic turned down.

We've seen numbers on Wednesday, numbers on Monday. Those were even bigger than the same day back in 2019 before the pandemic. So, it is likely that we will beat the TSA's estimate of 10 million people between Thursday and Monday, a bit of a conservative estimate.

But the big question here is whether or not airlines are really up to the test. This is a huge test for them. After the meltdowns of last summer, the flight cancelations that were really roving from Memorial Day to Labor Day, airlines canceled about 55,000 flights in total. Airlines insist they are ready this time around. They are right sized. They're offering fewer flights, but operating larger airplanes and their right staffed. They've had about 48,000 staff members, workers since last year.

And I've talked to passengers who say this is still really top of mind for them here at Reagan National Airport, and they're worried that there could be a repeat, although listen now, because they hope there isn't one.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If things run smoothly, people do their jobs efficiently, then it's a great trip.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pack your patience. Come prepared.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I get home without a hitch.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: Here is the big tip from travel experts. Try to take the first flight of the day because heat causes weather, and weather, according to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, it's really the top driver of cancelations and delays. And the FAA is already warning about extreme weather today for flights going in and out of Florida, also concerns about flights going in and out of Denver. So, we will see as the day goes on.

Although, thankfully, Rahel, health things pretty smooth, the cancelations and delays are low, cancelations in the dozens, delays in the U.S. so far only in the hundreds.

SOLOMON: Pete Muntean, here's hoping that that sticks throughout the weekend. Pete Muntean at Reagan, thank you. Kate?

BOLDUAN: almost three minutes of terror for passengers on an Asiana Airlines flight in South Korea today. Investigators, they're now honestly trying to figure out how it happened, how a man seemingly was able to open the aircraft door of this plane midflight. This was as the plane also was about to land. Watch.

You can hear the wind just whipping through, ripping through the cabin. You can see the passengers there gripping their seats. Also, it's just oddly silent, but understandably silent, because that's how terrifying you can imagine this is.

An official for the airline said that a man in the exit row appeared to open the door while the plane was 700 feet in the air. One passenger also said that she believed the man was trying to get off the aircraft and fellow passengers helped the crew pull him back from the opening.

Let me bring in CNN Aviation Analyst Miles O'Brien for more on this. I mean, Miles, on several levels, this should not have happened and should not have been able to happen. What do you see here?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, Kate, the key thing to know is these doors are like stoppers in a bathtub. They're plug doors, they're called. And when the plane is pressurized at altitude, it is humanly impossible to pull them in and push them out. They are sealed tight like that stopper in the bathtub. But when you get lower and the pressure is equalized, which it would be at 700 feet, that possibility -- it becomes a possibility for somebody to do this.

So, it happened. Fortunately, nobody got hurt, and it's really part of a string of cases of passengers, they've been trying to monkey around with these doors.

BOLDUAN: Yes, it's a good point. I mean, and to your point, I think they said that there were 200 people on board, 12 people, they suffered how it's described as minor injuries, like hyperventilation. Are you surprised -- is it surprising that this wasn't worse, considering the details that you're learning now about where they were when this was?

O'BRIEN: I think the pilots had certainly a distraction on short final as they are about to land. All kinds of warning signs would have been indicated on that flight deck. So, the fact that they landed it on eventually, hat tip to the crew, and, frankly, a hat tip to the passengers on board who saw a problem and neutralized it, tackled him.

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It's good to see that, actually.

BOLDUAN: So, to put a fine point on what you're talking about, this was about two to three minutes from landing. They're about 700 feet above the ground when the door was opened. If they were at higher altitude, this would not have been possible. This wasn't a mechanical error, you don't think, in your mind. This was just sheer physics, that this was possible to happen.

O'BRIEN: Whether that person knew that and waited to be that low, I cannot say, of course, but sheer physics will. I want this to be the takeaway for everybody as they're flying. This can't happen once the aircraft is pressurized. Because as it is pressurized at altitude, it pushes those doors in like a plug and you can't pull them open no matter how hard you try. So, that's the good news there.

This incident happened when the pressure was equalized so you could open the door. So, I guess that boils down to passengers being very attentive of their fellow passengers, which it looks like is what happened here.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Comforting hearing you're saying, and also terrifying still seeing this video of what these passengers were experiencing in the last three minutes of their flight, for sure. It's great to see you, Miles. Thank you very much for coming in. Rahel?

SOLOMON: Well, an Indiana doctor who made headlines last year after revealing she performed an abortion on a ten-year-old rape victim is now facing consequences from the state's medical board.

Less than a week left until the U.S. could default on its debt, and negotiators are working around the clock to try to get a deal. Where things stand this morning.

Also coming up, Texas has tensions erupting in the Lone Star State between two top Republicans. What's behind this very public intraparty fight? We'll explain.

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BERMAN: All right. On the radar this morning, one measure of inflation accelerated for the 12 months ending in April, a bit more than expected, what is called the personal consumption expenditures is something the Fed watches very closely to determine whether they should raise interest rates or not. On a monthly basis, prices ticked up a little more than March.

Indiana's Medical Licensing Board has reprimanded an OB/GYN who publicly discussed providing abortion services to a ten-year-old Ohio rape victim. Dr. Caitlin Bernard was found liable on three counts of violating patient privacy laws. She says the case was a political stunt by elected officials.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think that anybody would have been looking into this story as any different than any other interview that I've ever given if it was not politicized the way that it was by public figures in our state and in Ohio.

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BERMAN: The board did agree to allow Dr. Bernard to continue practicing medicine, but she will have to pay a $3,000 fine.

And this afternoon, President Biden and the first lady will welcome the Louisiana State University women's basketball team, along with the University of Connecticut men's basketball team, to the White House to celebrate their NCAA victories. After the title championship, members of LSU's team were publicly upset when the first lady suggested inviting the Iowa team that lost to the ceremony as well. After some pretty significant pushback, that idea was scrapped. Rahel?

SOLOMON: Significant indeed. Well, negotiators have just six days left to come to an agreement on raising the debt limit if they want to avoid a potentially catastrophic default. And with no deal to vote on, members of the House have left for the holiday weekend, but not before a growing number of them have warned that they might not vote in favor of the final agreement.

While 35 Republicans are making even more demands, including more money for border security, several Democrats say they will not support the agreement if it includes things like stricter work requirements. CNN's Arlette Saenz has been following all of this for us. So, Arlette, where do things stand with negotiations this morning?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rahel, negotiators are really racing against the clock and trying to finalize some type of agreement with these next two days really serving as a critical period in the negotiations. Now, the president has said that there's been progress that has been made, and there are some signs that that is, in fact, true, but they are still not exactly near reaching that final deal.

Now, we do know some of the contours that are starting to come together about what a possible agreement could look like, and that includes raising the debt ceiling for two years and pairing that with spending caps for the same length of time.

Now, those spending caps would not apply to defense or veterans programs, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done when it comes to finalizing what spending deals might -- spending levels might look like.

Additionally, there are also other major sticking points, including work requirements for some social safety net programs. So, these are all things negotiators are talking about in these hours as these negotiations continue.

But at the same time, as you mentioned, you are hearing some frustration from both sides, Republicans and Democrats, who feel that each of their sides is giving up a little bit too much in these negotiations based on the details that they are starting to see kind of leak out from them. So, one issue that will be a key challenge going forward is trying to get enough support for any type of agreement that does emerge.

Now, one thing that the White House and the President have been clear about is that there is no backup option to raising the debt ceiling. They insist that it is time for Congress to act.

And one area that progressives have suggested and pushed the president on is using the 14th Amendment to raise the debt ceiling on his own. But this morning the Deputy Treasury Secretary on CNN said that that option is a no go. Take a listen.

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WALLY ADEYEMO, DEPUTY SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY: The 14th Amendment can't solve our challenges now.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Is that a no?

ADEYEMO: So, the question was whether the United States would use the 14th Amendment. I think the president and the secretary have been very clear that that will not solve our problems now. So, yes, that is a no. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: So, negotiators will continue meeting and talking throughout the day. But what is clear at this moment as they are face seeing a very serious time crunch, especially when you look at how long it might take to get actual legislation through Congress with that potential X date of June 1st potentially looming.

SOLOMON: early June certainly quickly approaching. Arlette Saenz, good to see you. Thank you. Kate?

BOLDUAN: All right, let's continue this right now. Joining me right now is Democratic Congressman from New York Gregory Meeks. He's the top Democrat on the House foreign affairs committee, he also sits on Financial Services. Congressman, thanks for coming in.

Real quick, since we heard from the White House today saying that right now the 14th Amendment is not even not going to be looked at, the president is not looking at as an option. Do you think he should in terms of raising the debt ceiling?

REP. GREGORY MEEKS (D-NY): I think that it was always a last option, not something that we should go forward. And I understand the president saying it may not cure the problem now because if you implement the 14th Amendment, you know that it's going to be appealed and you go to the Supreme Court and litigation would take place and so, therefore, the bills will still not get paid and our credit ratings would then be downgraded. So, it's still something that we have at the end.

The best thing to be done here is for us to get a deal where both sides make compromise. I've been here 25 years, Kate, and that's what should have take place in a democracy, that both sides makes compromise, not what we heard Kevin McCarthy saying that their compromise was saying that they will raise the debt ceiling in exchange for some of their draconian debt cuts that they want to put to the budget.

So, we need to make sure that we get it done. And I think plan B would be to get at least five Republicans, because everybody who is rational is saying that we cannot allow us to default on our debt. So, get five Republicans at least, and I know five of them that should be in New York that are very concerned, get them to sign the discharge petition with us so that we can make sure that we don't default on our debt and then we can negotiate the budget.

SOLOMON: So, you think at this late date, Congressman, there is still a possibility, if things completely fall apart, it would need to, that you could get enough Republicans to sign on to a straight debt ceiling increase, no strings attached?

MEEKS: Well, I'm saying that they should understand that we are going to have a debate and we're going to have a discussion on the budget. The president initially, way back in March, put out his budget. Republicans finally put out their budget, which really was to hold the debt ceiling hostage. That's clearly what they did. But it comes time to put the country first, to understand the devastating effect it will have on not just Democrats but Republicans and seniors and even their people that they're trying to support, the rich, it will have deficits -- a problem and cause problems for them also.

So, common sense says put country first, country first, and country first. And the Constitution says we must pay our debt. That's the Constitution. I mean, I see them talking about the Constitution on a number of other issues. Let's look at what the Constitution. Our responsibility is to pay our debt. And this has never happened before.

And people ask me and some friends, am I nervous? I do have butterflies, Kate, in this situation, because. I've never seen anything in my 25 years like the MAGA Republicans and what they're saying right now, some who willingly say that they think it's a good thing that we do not pay our debt.

SOLOMON: I mean, that's quite a statement considering what -- I mean, I was up there covering it. You were there, of course, and I covered you throughout it, what happened in 2011 with the debt debacle there.

While, I have you, Congressman, because these negotiations will continue, I do want to get your take, though. Because, importantly, as the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, you and the Republican chairman were able to read this week the much discussed Afghanistan dissent cable, a classified cable, for everyone -- to remind everyone, a classified cable that was related to the 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, a message that, as it's been reported, raised serious concerns to top officials at the State Department of what the potential collapse of Kabul if the United States pulled troops out, and we all know what happened.

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You were able to read this classified cable. Did you learn new information from this cable?

MEEKS: Truthfully, no. It was exactly as -- and I thank Secretary Blinken for his extraordinary opportunity to review something that is very important for the State Department, the dissent cable. But in reviewing, and he allowed previously, a summary of what the descent cable said, and I saw that the summary and he gave that to all of the members of the committee in a classified session, the summary met what we saw in the actual dissent cable.

And then when I think about what I understood and knew was going on at the time back during the withdrawal, there seemed to be some consistency there. But what I came out of the importance and the necessity of the dissent cable. Because what happened was the government did respond, and, in some cases, as was indicated in The Wall Street Journal previously, there were some things that the State Department was doing that the dissent cable was asking it to do before they even received the cable.

So, there were things that were going on and I classify it as like a coach or a team. You look, you review, you watch the tapes, you have certain coaches recommending certain things, and the person who's the head coach makes a determination, ultimately, what you do and what you don't do. Sometimes you agree and you disagree, but you're listening at all times. And what I found was the State Department was listening at each and every time, they replied directly to that dissent cable.

SOLOMON: Congressman, ranking member, thank you for coming on. Thanks for hitting on that. I appreciate it, Gregory Meeks from New York. John?

BERMAN: Political turmoil in Texas, some Republicans pushing for the impeachment of the Republican attorney General. What they say he did and the outrageous ways he is fighting back.

And a tough new curfew goes into effect in the city of Baltimore aimed at keeping teenagers in check. We will speak with the mayor of Baltimore.

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