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John Durham Arrives At Capitol for House Intel Meeting; Trump Gives New Excuse for Keeping Classified Info; Coast Guard: less Than 40 Hours of Oxygen Left; Hunter Biden to Plead Guilty to 2 Federal Tax Offenses, Strikes Deal on Felony Gun Charge. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired June 20, 2023 - 15:30   ET

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

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[15:30:04]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Moments ago, John Durham, the special counsel who investigated the investigators behind the Trump Russia probe, arrived on Capitol Hill. He's meeting with the House Intelligence Committee behind closed doors ahead of a public Judiciary Committee meeting tomorrow.

Last month, Durham concluded that the FBI never should have launched a full probe into alleged connections between Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia. CNN's Zach Cohen is live on Capitol Hill for us.

So, Zach, what do we know about this meeting?

ZACH COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY & JUSTICE REPORTER: Yeah, Boris, it's important to remember that John Durham was appointed when former President Donald Trump was still in office over four years ago. And that investigation led to the report that he released last month.

And now, today, for the first time, Democrats and Republicans will have a chance to sit in-person and ask questions of John Durham about his investigation.

Now, John Durham's report was pretty polarizing based on the interpretations and the responses that we've seen from Republicans and Democrats. Republicans, you know, view it as a compelling and damning account of the FBI's shortcomings when it comes to their decision to launch an investigation into Donald Trump and his connections with Russia, where Democrats see it more as a, you know, reiteration of the same criticisms of the FBI that we've seen from the Inspector General previously.

Now, Durham's going to have a chance to answer questions from both parties ahead of tomorrow's public hearing in front of the House Judiciary Committee.

Now, the House Intelligence Committee is notoriously -- has been preaching a message of bipartisanship, but the House Judiciary Committee a little bit more politicized since its formation, with its chairman, Jim Jordan running the show tomorrow. There could be some political fireworks because of that. But both sides really gearing up for the first chance to talk to John Durham in -person since his report was released last month.

SANCHEZ: We look forward to seeing those exchanges between lawmakers and the former Special Counsel, Zachary Cohen. Thank you so much. Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: A trial date is now initially set for former President Trump's classified documents case. Judge Aileen Cannon has proposed beginning the federal criminal trial in mid-August. But as court proceedings get moving, so too are Trump's explanations for why he held onto all those classified documents. Just last night, he said this in an interview with Bret Baier on Fox.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRET BAIER, FOX NEWS HOST: Why not just hand over them?

DONALD TRUMP, (R) FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Because I had boxes. I want to go through the boxes and get all my personal things out. I don't want to hand that over to [federal officials] yet. And I was very busy as you've sort of seen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: That is just the latest of many different arguments that Trump has offered about his failure to turn over classified documents to the federal government. Last August, just after the search of his Mar-a- Lago estate, he suggested the FBI may have planted the materials on his property.

Around that same time, he also claimed he declassified everything he took from the White House when he left, and that he could do that just by thinking it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: If you're the President of the United States, you can declassify just by saying it's declassified, even by thinking about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Trump's legal team tried to expand that argument, saying he declassified documents so he could work from home. This was the statement that Trump's office gave in the wake of the FBI search.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN SOLOMON, TRUMP DESIGNEE TO NATIONAL ACHIEVES: As we can all relate to everyone, as we can all relate to, everyone ends up having to bring home their work from time to time. American presidents are no different. President Trump, in order to prepare the work the next day, often took documents, including classified documents, to the residents. He had a standing order. There's the word I've been looking for, that documents removed from the Oval Office and taken to the residence were deemed to be declassified the moment he removed them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: We now know the Special Counsel has a recording of Trump post presidency admitting he had in his possession a secret document that he could have declassified when he was in office, but that he could no longer declassify because he was no longer president.

Among the other explanations that Trump gave about holding onto classified documents everybody does it. The former president falsely claimed his predecessors left office with copious quantities of classified materials, like when he baselessly accused former President Obama of taking more than 30 million records. That one prompted the National Archives to issue a statement debunking the claim.

Then, in January, Trump claimed that he merely kept empty folders that were labeled classified as a keepsake. CNN's Katelyn Polantz is here. I mean, Katelyn, quite the changing story, and prosecutors are no doubt keeping track?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: It's very likely they are keeping track. I mean, they've kept track of what Donald Trump was saying publicly about classified documents previously that made the indictment.

And we also know they have much witness testimony, evidence, these audiotapes, and now, potentially what Donald Trump is saying out there publicly, that all could become part of a criminal trial if and when he goes to trial.

[15:35:05]

Now, there's been a lot of reaction to what Trump said, especially the part where he's acknowledging in this interview last night on Fox News that he had these documents and wanted to go through them even after receiving a subpoena from the grand jury and not turning over all of the documents back to the Justice Department.

Here's what one person, a very particular political person who also has some experience with law enforcement, Chris Christie said on CBS this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CHRISTIE, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And it appears to me last night, as a former prosecutor, that he had -- he admitted obstruction of justice on the air last night. I could tell you this, his lawyers this morning are jumping out of whatever window they're near.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POLANTZ: Now, Chris Christie obviously has been very vocally critical of Donald Trump, especially in recent days. But he is a person that has experience in this area, and he is mentioning about this lawyer issue. Donald Trump had two lawyers representing him in court, but there are looking to add to this legal team. But once they get that team together, it's going to be a big question, what is his defense actually going to be? And that is what would come in the court papers in the coming weeks.

KEILAR: So you have Judge Aileen Cannon setting this initially, we say initially because we want to see if this is actually going to be the date for all of this to get going. But tell us about the trial timeline as it stands right now?

POLANTZ: Right. So she did put an order into the court record today in this case saying Donald Trump is now set for trial in the back half of August. So not that long away. This is how cases be in, though. This is how you kick off a case, especially one that the Just Department has already indicated. They want it to go to trial fast, and nobody has come into court yet to argue.

Actually, we need more time to either take care of classified records issues or to take care of other issues that might arise because it's a pretty complex case. So, that date, it could hold? It's extremely unlikely that it would, because this is a case with a lot of possibilities in it. There's clearly a timing issue, but there is a date on the calendar and they're going to have to work backwards from that. We'll have to start seeing what happens in the coming weeks on whether that gets off track.

KEILAR: Yeah, mid-August happening very quickly. Katelyn Polantz, thank you. Jim?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: When we return, an update on the mid submersible lost in the North Atlantic with roughly 38 hours of oxygen left for those on board.

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[15:42:08]

KEILAR: A fishing crew that lost out on more than $3 million in a tournament is taking legal action to get the prize money. The team initially won for catching a blue marlin that weighed over 600 pounds. It actually took 6 hours to hook it, but then look at the hole in the side of the fish. It's a big chunk of flesh that is missing. And the judges, with North Carolina's Big Rock Blue Marlin tournament disqualified the team because they said the fish was mutilated, likely by a shark, and that is against the rules. The team says they won fair and square, and they have filed a formal protest of the decision.

Some Nashville parents whose children were killed during the shooting at the Covenant School in March are trying to block the release of the dead gunman's writings. They have asked the court to deny the media's request to review them, and they've expressed concerns that their children would be forced to suffer additional trauma. A brief filed by the local media cites the First Amendment and calls the documents public records.

And it took 60 plus years but a terrible wrong has been rectified for a 75-year-old Eagle Scout. When Sam Jones was 15, he was not allowed to participate in the Eagle Scout badge ceremony. His White Scout leader at the time said Jones did not come from a model African American home because Jones was raised in public housing by a single mother. But that has changed. Jones, who, by the way, is a Vietnam veteran, finally received that long denied badge of honor during a ceremony yesterday in Washington State. Long overdue, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Well, now back to the urgent search for a submersible that went missing while on a trip to tour the Titanic wreckage. This is new video of the ship Horizon Arctic. This is in St. John's Port, Canada, getting ready to head out to the search area. Right now, crews are doing their best to keep an eye on the vessel's dwindling oxygen supply. Officials estimate those inside have less than 40 hours left.

We're also learning the U.S. Navy is now sending experts to help with the search operations as well as a deep ocean salvage system which could help with the recovery of large, bulky and heavy undersea objects if and when the submersibles found. The Department of Defense is also assisting along with the Canadian Coast Guard in terms of finding it. Four passengers and a pilot were on board when that vessel went missing on Sunday.

Joining me now is CNN anchor, host of The Lead, Jake Tapper. Jake, I know you're working on new angles on this story in the next hour. Tell us how you're going to dig deep on this?

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: So we have two guests that I think are going to really provide some insights. One is named Mike Reiss who took the same voyage on Ocean Gate 11 months ago. So we'll talk to him about what that experience was like and how the vessels controlled by a controller used for a gaming console like an Xbox. And also about the waiver he had to sign which included acknowledgment several times apparently of the fact that individuals who did this trip could die.

[15:45:07]

We're also going to talk to David Mearns. He's a marine scientist. He's an expert on deepwater search and rescue. He knows two of the individuals currently on the craft that is missing. So we'll talk to him both about the technical aspects and also about the human side of this, the fact that he has friends whose whereabouts and well-being is currently unknown. Jim.

SCIUTTO: Well, those safety questions certainly relevant given right now, not just the technology, which I think like, you amazed us as we looked at it here, but also were there sufficient failsafe's here, right, in case something went wrong?

TAPPER: Yeah, I mean, that's a big question. What exactly was the experience like? We're also talking to Gabe Cohen, who, as you know, has some expertise and interest in this topic as well.

SCIUTTO: Yeah, you got to go, go inside. Jake Tapper, look forward to seeing, thanks so much. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Republican lawmakers jumping on the news of Hunter Biden's plea deal. What they are now vowing to do. And come on down, you won a trip to the ER. Wait until you see what happened to this "Price Is Right" contestant. For him, the price was painful. We'll be right back.

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[15:50:44]

SANCHEZ: On Capitol Hill, reaction keeps pouring in after today's announcement that President Biden's son Hunter has made a plea deal with federal prosecutors. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, praised what he called the DOJ's continued institutional independence. But Republicans, their response has been much different. CNN's Melanie Zanona is life force on Capitol Hill.

Melanie, some Republicans have called this a slap on the wrist and a sweetheart deal.

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Yeah, that's exactly right, Boris. The legal investigation into Hunter Biden might be over, but that is not going to bring an end to the congressional investigation. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Top Republicans here on Capitol Hill are vowing to push ahead with their probe into Hunter Biden and his business dealings. Long a top target of the right.

And Republicans are alleging that Hunter Biden got special treatment here, even though we should point out this was a Trump appointed judge overseeing the case, and even though most people are not charged with lying on firearm forms. So legal experts say this is actually a pretty harsh penalty given what Hunter Biden admitted to in this plea deal.

And Republicans are also trying to falsely equate this case with the case the federal criminal indictment of Donald Trump over the mishandling of classified documents and allegedly obstructing justice, even though those are two very different cases.

Let's take a listen to Speaker Kevin McCarthy and what he told reporters a little bit earlier today.

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REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY, (R) HOUSE SPEAKER: My first reaction is that he continues to show the two-tier system in America. If you were the President who's leading political opponents, the DOJ tries to literally put you in jail and give you prison time. If you are the President's son, you get a sweetheart deal.

Now, this does nothing to our investigation. It actually should enhance our investigation because the DOJ should not be able to withhold any information now saying that because of pending investigation, they should be able to provide Chairman Comer with any information that he requires.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZANONA: So this is a familiar playbook for the Republican Party decrying the so-called weaponization of the federal government, despite any evidence in this case that that did happen. And indeed, Republicans are pushing ahead with their probe. Just today, members on the House Oversight Committee went into a secure location in the Capitol to view FBI documents related to their probe into Hunter Biden and Joe Biden.

And then later this week, the House Ways and Means Committee is going to have a closed-door executive session to talk about a whistleblower that claims to have information about the Hunter Biden case. So the rallying cry around Hunter Biden inside the GOP only getting louder, not quieter. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Melanie Zanona from Capitol Hill, thanks so much. Brianna?

KEILAR: Boris, a price's right winner celebrated so hard that he ended up in the hospital. You got to see what happened here.

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[15:58:06]

KEILAR: The price is painful for one contestant on the prices right after he celebrated his victory just a little too hard.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ready?

HENRY, CONTESTANT: I'm ready.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One, two, three, go. Higher, lower, lower, higher. Yes.

HENRY: Yes.

DREW CAREY: Over here Alice. Let me explain what happened. Henry, this is -- this is Alice, Henry's wife. How are you doing? Henry was celebrating and go, "woo." And he dislocated his shoulder.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: That's Henry. OK. He overcome with excitement, as you could see. He's still smiling there. He's winning this game of bonkers. And he dislocates his shoulder celebrating. Later in the show as you hear Drew Carey explaining there, his wife had to spin -- he can't spin the wheel, you guys, with the dislocated shoulder. Here it is.

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CAREY: Henry was celebrating and go. And he dislocated his shoulder. I know. So he's not going to be able to spin the wheel, but Alice is going to spin the wheel for him. Good luck. Here we go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: All right, so Alice really coming through there. The clips were shared on the show's Instagram page with the caption he won a trip to Hawaii and the ER. And the Post added, Henry is feeling better. He is all healed. SCIUTTO: Well, first of all. Perfectly, reasonable way to celebrate on the prices, right?

SANCHEZ: Yeah.

SCIUTTO: I would do the same thing.

SANCHEZ: Yeah.

SCIUTTO: Yeah, totally. That hurts.

SCIUTTO: But that's got to hurt.

KEILAR: He -- I was worried about this one after the heat one. Sorry about how it ended.

SANCHEZ: I stayed, perfectly calm.

KEILAR: But I thought he was going to end up in the ER --

SANCHEZ: Listen, I've stayed perfectly calm.

KEILAR: -- from yelling.

SANCHEZ: Some folks get hurt during celebrations. We see it in the NFL all the time.

KEILAR: Do the throat thing.

SANCHEZ: Gus Frerotte, the quarterback in the NFL celebrating a win, head butted a wall, gave himself a concussion out for a playoff game. It happens to the --

[16:00:05]

SCIUTTO: Listen --

SANCHEZ: We celebrate my loss of voice.

(CROSSTALK)

SCIUTTO: -- every day. I mean, I think --

KEILAR: Every day.

SCIUTTO: Not the headbutts, but dancing. That happens as well. No injuries, so far. The Lead with Jake Tapper starts right now.