Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Pence Files To Join 2024 Presidential Race; Van Der Sloot To Be Transferred To U.S. Custody Thursday; Sen. Scott Responds To Joy Behar's Comments On Racism. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired June 05, 2023 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, breaking news. We just learned that Mike Pence, the former Vice President of the United States has just filed his papers. He is now officially a candidate for president for 2024. With us now, CNN Political Director David Chalian.

David, Mike Pence, he is in. This is in advance of the public announcement on Wednesday. The significance of this moment of a former VP running against a former president, what a world.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, his former running mate you know that former president. I mean, John, this gets at the unprecedented nature of this campaign. But Mike Pence, making it official, filing that paperwork with the Federal Elections Commission where you make a Statement of Candidacy and declare your campaign open for business.

Yes, he's going to give that speech in Iowa as we had previously reported on Wednesday to make sort of the formal splashy announcement. And as you know, Wednesday night, he will be appearing on a CNN town hall with Dana Bash. But you are right to note this one though.

Look what Mike Pence has been doing in just recent weeks, right? I -- he is clearing away some of the baggage cobwebs from the Trump administration. He testified with the special counsel as it relates to Donald Trump's -- the investigation to Donald Trump's activities in and around the sixth of January and the insurrection on the Capitol.

He was just reported by CNN last week, John, you remember, that the Justice Department is not going to pursue charges in Mike Pence's own classified documents case. A very different scenario that we see Donald Trump in right now.

[11:35:07]

And now Mike Pence has to prove his worth in this race. He's got to carve out a lane where his former running mate, the president under which he served is a dominant front-runner right now in the polls, followed by Ron DeSantis.

Mike Pence is in that next tier. And I even imagined that you are going to see him sort of plant himself in Iowa, make an appeal to the largely evangelical Christian base of the Republican caucus-going electorate, and see if he can make some inroads into where the Republican electorate currently stands in the polls.

BERMAN: David, let me bring up one notable factor about the timing of when this paperwork was filed. His former running mate, President Donald J. Trump, has lawyers at the Department of Justice right now arguing basically not to charge Donald Trump in connection with the classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago.

So, Mike Pence enters the race at the very moment that Trump's lawyers are arguing not to be charged with some kind of criminal violation. Also, Chris Christie enters this week. Just explain how this all fits together.

CHALIAN: Yes. It's like you're watching two different versions of the 2024 Republican nomination race. One version is Donald Trump's version, which is inextricably linked to all the ongoing investigations. And you know, we've heard so much public bluster and denial from Trump's legal team.

That's probably a different posture than they have behind closed doors as they are meeting with Justice Department lawyers to try and figure out where the Justice Department may be going and to perhaps persuade an argument here to decline to charge the former president, which of course, would be the first time we would ever see a president being charged with federal crimes here, John.

So, Donald Trump is on a different course here. Now, we are seeing a crowded growing Republican field. You know, Chris Christie is set to get in. In addition to Mike Pence this week, a lesser-known North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum set to get in. So, the competition for folks not named Trump in the field is getting far more intense and growing here.

And I would just note, the Pence candidacy in and of itself is going to be so interesting to watch because for four years, as you remember, John, he was a loyal lieutenant to Donald Trump. I mean, in full defense of everything that went on through the Trump administration, those four years.

It was on the sixth of January, and thereafter where their relationship fell apart completely because Pence did not go along with the scheme that Donald Trump and his allies were trying to put forth and delay, deny the certification of a rightful election.

Pence said that was simply a bridge too far. Now, he's got to navigate an electorate that has a chunk still very much in admiration of Donald Trump, and somehow thread the needle of, I did -- I was part of the Trump-Pence administration, but I've completely broken from him. So, where does he go to find voters that will fit in that mold?

BERMAN: The contrast presents itself. Mike Pence enters the race. Donald Trump's lawyers at the Justice Department right now talking about a possible criminal prosecution. David Chalian, thank you very much. I know we'll be speaking to you again soon. CHALIAN: Sure.

BERMAN: And a reminder that Wednesday night as David mentioned, Mike Pence will be part of a "CNN TOWN HALL." Dana Bash moderates the Republican presidential town hall with the former vice president live from Iowa, which as David notes is crucial for Mike Pence. It starts at 9:00 p.m. right here on CNN. Sara?

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: The prime suspect in the disappearance of American teenager Natalee Holloway has been moved out of a maximum security prison in Peru. And we have the only video showing him there. And he's headed here to the U.S. as new charges come forth.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:43:19]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: This week, Peruvian officials say that they will be sending Joran van der Sloot to the United States. He was moved from a prison in southern Peru to a facility outside Lima ahead of the transfer. He's still serving a 28-year sentence in Peru for murder there but he's headed back to the States to -- temporarily to face charges related to the disappearance of Natalee Holloway.

Let's get the very latest. CNN's Jean Casarez is on top of this for us. Jean, so, what is going to happen here?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, he's in the midst of this temporary transfer under the extradition treaty. And it all began in the cover of darkness in the early morning of Saturday. CNN en Espanol got exclusive access inside the Challapalca prison, that maximum security prison when he was getting ready to leave. As you can see from this video, he was taken out of his cell in the early morning hours. That's how it began.

He was shackled, his hands were cuffed, and then he ultimately was led to the second part of all of this, which was the medical screening. And a doctor actually took his blood pressure, checked his heart. There they are transporting him. Ultimately after signing the paperwork, he was going into that area where he was ultimately transferred.

Now, they drove from Challapalca prison, a southernmost tip of Peru, very remote area to a prison outside of Lima. And now he is ready. They say -- the head of the prison says that he is ready. He is safeguarded for them to be transferred to the inter pool, that inter- country policing agency, who will then take him to the airport to a designated plane for transport to the United States.

[11:45:01]

And this is to face extradition and wire fraud charges because he stepped forward in 2010 saying to the family, I'll take your reward of $250,000. I need a big cash down payment but I'll show you where her remains are. He said he did that, but then he ultimately lied to them once the family representative went over to Peru to find out exactly what had happened.

BOLDUAN: All right. Let's see what happens here. It's good to see, Jean. Thank you very much. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: So, new comments from South Carolina Senator and presidential candidate Tim Scott. He appeared on The View earlier this morning responding to comments from co-host Joy Behar a few days ago who compared Scott to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, claiming that neither man understands systemic racism. This is how Senator Scott responded on the show earlier.

[11:50:18]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): One of the things I think about and one of the reasons why I'm on the show is because of the comments that were made, frankly, on this show that the only way for a young African-American kid to be successful in this country is to be the exception and not the rule. That is a dangerous offensive, disgusting message to send to our young people today that the only way to succeed is by being the exception. I will tell you that if my life is the exception, I can't imagine -- I can't --

SUNNY HOSTIN, CO-HOST, THE VIEW: But it is.

SCOTT: But it's not, actually. Here's the --

HOSTIN: It's been 114 years.

SCOTT: Yes. So, the fact of the matter is we've had an African- American president, African American vice president, and we've had two African-Americans to be secretaries of state. In my home city, the police chief is an African-American who's now running for mayor. The head of the highway patrol for South Carolina is African American. In 19 --

HOSTIN: Still a - (INAUDIBLE)

SCOTT: In 1975, there was about 15 percent of employment in the African-American community, for the first time in the history of the country is under five percent.

HOSTIN: 40 percent homelessness of African-Americans --

SCOTT: And 50 percent of the folks --

HOSTIN: Yes.

SCOTT: 50 percent of the folks in our community.

HOSTIN: Yes, 13 percent of the population.

SCOTT: You have to ask -- that's the question. I know that -- I've watched you on the show that you'd like people to be deferential and respectful. So, I'm going to do the same thing.

HOSTIN: That is true.

SCOTT: So, here's what I'm going to suggest. I'm going to suggest the fact of the matter is that progress in America is palpable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: CNN's Political Director David Chalian is back with us. David, Senator Scott was eager to bring his message to the set of The View, which I think is seen by some on the right as somewhat hostile territory.

CHALIAN: Yes. Well, he's been engaged in this fight since Joy Behar made those comments. I think she doesn't do the show on Mondays, John, so she wasn't there when Tim Scott came to the table today. But he was advertising it this week in Iowa telling folks he needed to go and sit there and take his case directly to what you say as sort of opposition territory as he sees it.

Listen, the reality is, this is a good opportunity for Tim Scott. He's been fundraising off of this back and forth. It gets him on a very popular daytime show, not necessarily the traditional place where Republican presidential candidates are making appearances, and gets him in front of a different kind of an audience that benefits him. And I'm sure he'll take this clip that you just played and others from his appearance and continue to raise some small-dollar donors off of it.

And so, that will benefit his effort too. It's sort of a no-lose situation here. Obviously, he felt totally competent in his own message to be able to take it directly to these women who host the show.

BERMAN: All right, David Chalian, great to see you. Thank you very much. Sara.

SIDNER: All right, first on CNN. Twitter is under scrutiny from four senators who questioned whether the social media giant is complying with consumer protection laws. There have been sweeping layoffs, as you know, resignations, and abrupt policy changes under Elon Musk's ownership. And this inquiry could highlight major legal risks for Twitter and potentially for Elon Musk himself.

CNN reporter Brian Fung is joining us now. Brian, what can you tell us about all this?

BRIAN FUNG, CNN TECH REPORTER: Yes, Sara. The big question here is whether Twitter has the staff to meet its legal obligations to the Federal Trade Commission. As you know, in 2022 and 2011, Twitter signed two consent agreements with the FTC, basically committing to a bunch of things, including that it would conduct a privacy assessment -- a privacy impact assessment before it rolled out any new products or features. So, when the company rolled out its new subscription plan Twitter Blue this year, did it perform such a privacy assessment? That's one of the things the senators want to know.

SIDNER: (INAUDIBLE)

FUNG: Another thing that senators want to know is whether or not the company has been able to meet its data breach notification obligations. So, if the company suffers a data breach affecting its users, the company has to tell the U.S. government within a certain amount of time. And does it have the staff to do that?

Another reporting obligation is you know, the company has to tell the government anytime it changes a form of structure. So, when Elon Musk bought the company last year, did Twitter you know file paperwork to the U.S. government telling the FTC hey, we -- you know, have undergone this massive change. That's not clear whether or not that's happened too.

And all of these questions, Sara, are really all about how Twitter you know has got much of its staff. And, you know if Twitter has not complied with its obligations, legal experts say that that could mean potentially billions of fines for Twitter and potentially legal exposure for Musk himself.

SIDNER: Yes. When you look at how much you paid for the company, a lot of people looking at that and saying that was just way, way, way over what it was worth. I do want to ask you what impact this might have on the CEO who is going to be starting soon or has already started.

[11:55:03]

FUNG: Well, that's a great question. So, the New York Times has been reporting that the CEO -- sorry, that Linda Yaccarino, the NBC Universal executive that has been appointed to be the future CEO has now started at Twitter today. CNN has not independently confirmed that but you know, she would potentially be on the hook for any you know future violations of these consent agreements if they're indeed found and proven, Sara.

SIDNER: All right, Brian Fung, thank you so much for your reporting there.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. And thank you all so much for joining us at this hour.

SIDNER: You're welcome.

BOLDUAN: This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "INSIDE POLITICS" is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)