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Senate Dems Slam FBI And DHS Over January 6 Riot; Supreme Court Reject Argument That Would Have Given State Legislatures Unchecked Power Over Federal Elections; Wildfire Smoke Blanket Parts Of Great Lakes Region; CDC Issues Warning After Malaria Cases Detected In Florida, Texas. Aired 3:30-4p ET
Aired June 27, 2023 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:30:00]
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Just a blistering new report from Senate Democrats slamming how the FBI and Homeland Security Department handled intelligence before the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol. Senators accused officials of dropping the ball, saying the riot was essentially planned in plain sight on social media.
CNN national security reporter Zachary Cohen is here with this story. It's a critical assessment, very critical. What are the biggest lapses that they detail here?
ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Brianna, this report points the finger directly at the FBI and DHS. And says, hey look, you had all the information you needed to effectively, you know, understand that there was a credible threat to the Capitol on January 6th and whether it was because you didn't share the information with law enforcement, with other agencies, you guys didn't, you know, deem it to be severe enough to really take it seriously. You left law enforcement unprepared to deal with what ultimately happened that day as, you know, thousands of rioters stormed the Capitol building and effectively tried to stop Congress from certifying the election for Joe Biden.
Now this report really does bring out some specific instances and specific evidence that the committee has uncovered. Some communications between, you know, these officials at these various agencies. And I want to give one example of an online post, the kinds of thing they were seeing in the leadup to January 6th.
This is from Parlor. A couple of days before the attack, he says, quote, bring food and guns. If they don't listen to our words, they can feel our lead, come armed.
And this is the kind of thing that analysts were flagging to each other and raising concerns about. And you know, they were also getting direct tips to the FBI, this report says, got a tip about the Proud Boys, just a few days before the insurrection.
Says, quote, their plan is to literally kill people. Please, please take this tip seriously and investigate further. We know that the Proud Boys, the right-wing group, several members
including some of their leadership has been arrested and convicted for their actions on January 6th.
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And finally, you know, there was some communications between intel analysts at DHS in the day leading up to it. And they said, look, I feel like people are actually going to try and hurt politicians. Jan. 6 is going to be crazy, lots of discussions coming -- lots of discussions about coming armed to D.C.
So you know, this is before really we saw what played out on the day itself. But, you know, by all accounts, this report says the evidence was there. They should have been more prepared.
KEILAR: And some people in the agencies were taking the evidence and analyzing it correctly as we saw in that last example there. How are the agencies responding here?
COHEN: So, DHS and the FBI are saying, look, we have taken the last two and a half years and tried to really work on some of these issues that are raised in this report. But you know, the chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee was not convinced they've done nearly enough. He wants them to both conduct really deep dives into the failures that day and report back to his panel. Now Congressional oversight is a tough job. But the chairman is making clear he's going to stay on the case.
KEILAR: All right, we'll be looking for that. Zach Cohen, thank you -- Jim.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: Well, today the Supreme Court handed down a major decision affecting the future of U.S. elections. In a 6-3 ruling, the justices rejected North Carolina Republicans' arguments that the states courts, its own courts, should have a limited to no role in reviewing election rules, rules that would be established by partisan state lawmakers. CNN's Supreme Court reporter Ariane de Vogue has been watching this case closely. Ariane, the legal theory behind this -- and let's talk first about the effect it will have on how elections are run in the states, including federal elections are run in states going forward.
ARIANE DE VOGUE, CNN SUPREME COURT REPORTER: Right. Well, you have to remember that the supporters of president Trump here and the supporters of this theory. They were making a big ask. They wanted the court to say that state courts have no role in reviewing election rules, passed by state legislatures, when it comes to federal elections. That is a very broad theory. It was a dormant legal theory that hadn't been brought up for several years.
And critics were worried about it for this reason. They said, look, it is going to up end how elections go forward. Because it could lead to rogue state legislatures. It could lead to different rules for state and federal elections within states. And that would be real confusion. That was their worry. So, today, the Supreme Court really acted swiftly here, 6-3, rejecting that theory. They said in fact that state courts do have a role here, and that -- and this is what Chief Justice John Roberts said in the majority opinion.
He said, state courts retain the authority to apply state constitutional restraints when legislatures act under the power conferred upon them by the elections clause.
So, basically you even heard former President Obama, he weighed in right away, praising this ruling. Saying that the court had really turned back what he called a fringe legal theory.
SCIUTTO: So that deals with what we saw in 2020, which was an attempt to use this theory in effect to allow states to really overturn the results of their election in a presidential election. How about on the way Congressional districts are drawn, because that is another major affect of this decision going forward as well.
DE VOGUE: Well, the thing is, the one thing you've got to remember here, is one of the reasons the Republicans may have been really pushing this. As things stand right now for states that Biden carried in the 2020 are led by Republican legislatures. And, in fact, when the litigation started, the majority of state legislatures were Republicans.
So that might have pushed them to sort of think in these terms and use this -- bring forward this theory. I will say that in his opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts did say, look, state courts, they do not have free reign here. There's still a role for federal courts to play, to sort of overlook that at times. So, basically the end of the day today, what the Supreme Court did is move swiftly before the next election to try to push back at the notion we have any more sort of chaotic litigation coming up.
SCIUTTO: Yes, things like if you look at the North Carolina makeup of its Congressional delegation, difference between a 10-4 split or 7-7 split there, more reflective of the broader voting populous. Ariane de Vogue in Washington, so much to digest from these decisions. Boris, we'll keep doing our best.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Still to come, the Vatican announcing it is sending a peace envoy to Moscow in hopes of ending the war in Ukraine. We have the details on that.
And the new CDC alert. For the first time in 20 years there are local cases of malaria within the United States. CNN NEWS CENTRAL returns in moments.
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SANCHEZ: Now to some of the headlines we're following at this hour. Pope Francis' peace envoy is traveling to Moscow tomorrow. The Vatican says the visit is a, quote, gesture of humanity meant to encourage a path to peace. The Pope himself is not going, though. Remember, he's recovering from abdominal surgery that he had earlier this month. Also, home prices in April rose for the third straight month.
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The latest index showing the cost to own a home went up a half a percentage point from March. The increase comes after an uptick in February that snapped a seven-month streak of month-over-month declines.
And if you're looking to buy a vowel, TV host Ryan Seacrest is your guy. He has a new gig. He's just been named the new host of "Wheel of Fortune" in a multiyear deal. Seacrest will replace longtime legendary game show host Pat Sajak, who recently announced his retirement after 41 years on the air. Seacrest is set to take the wheel in 2024 alongside Vanna White -- Brianna.
KEILAR: You have lots of vowels in your name, actually, Boris Sanchez.
Parts of the Great Lakes region getting a blanket of thick and dangerous wildfire smoke today. Just take a look at Milwaukee. Look at this. You can barely see through this haze as these wildfires in Canada keep burning. Air quality alerts in effect for several Great Lakes states, including Illinois, which is where CNN's Adrienne Broaddus is. She is in Chicago monitoring the situation there. A very unhealthy level for air there. Adrienne, how long is this expected to last?
All right, I think we're having some technical difficulties with Adrienne. I don't think she can hear us. Oh, here she is.
ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, Hopefully it will be clear by tomorrow and at least not quite as thick as what we're seeing today. If we change positions, it is easy to notice this thick smoke and the haze. Now, when we spoke with you about two hours ago, you -- when we were out here, we could smell it. We could also taste the smoke. That has since changed.
Now, a short time ago I spoke with a lung doctor at Rush University Medical Center who says He Is really concerned about his patients who have pre-existing lung conditions.
But this is what we are seeing in the Chicago area as well as the Great Lakes area. But it is expected to clear out. The Air Quality Index, unhealthy. It's registering at about 195 right now here in Chicago. So stay inside, if you can. Not the day for a long walk or a bike ride -- Brianna, Boris.
KEILAR: Yes, very good advice. Adrienne Broaddus in Chicago, thank you -- Jim.
SCIUTTO: Coming up, doctors have detected malaria cases here in the U.S., locally acquired for the first time in 20 years. The CDC has now issued an alert. What you need to know coming up.
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SCIUTTO: The CDC is now warning doctors to be on the lookout for malaria, after a small number of cases have been detected in Florida and Texas. We should note, all of them were transmitted locally. That means the infected people have not traveled outside of the U.S. to catch malaria. This is the first time this has happened in the U.S. in 20 years.
CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now. Elizabeth, a small number of cases so far. But still first time it happened in two decades. I wonder how seriously the CDC and doctors are taking this?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Jim, in speaking with folks from the from the CDC and actually, Director Dr. Rachel Walensky, they are taking this seriously. Even though the numbers are very small. So we're talking about four cases in Florida and one in Texas. These are both states that have a lot of experience with spraying for mosquitos. So that is a good thing.
To put this in perspective, Jim, you mentioned the cases years ago, that never got beyond eight cases. That was eight cases in Florida. And if someone does get sick, anti-malaria drugs are very effective, best if taken early. So let's look at symptoms.
Fever is the number one. There's also headaches and body aches and fatigue, et cetera. If this sounds familiar, we've all felt this way at sometime. Right? I mean, this could be a whole bunch of things. I think the key is that if you suspect malaria go to your doctor and say, hey, the CDC say doctors should considering malaria as a possible diagnosis -- Jim.
SCIUTTO: Do they have any sense of how this would have happened? How it would have been able to get into this country as opposed someone traveling in with it?
COHEN Yes, there are mosquitos travel too. So you know, that's probably the way it happened. Malaria is not spread person-to-person. It's spread by mosquitos. So actually when you think about it, it's kind of amazing this doesn't happen more often given that mosquitos don't need passports.
SCIUTTO: Exactly and people are traveling a lot, God knows. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much -- Boris.
SANCHEZ: Talk about a bad day at work. We've all had them. A school janitor is now being accused of ruining a million bucks worth of research. We'll explain when we come back.
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SANCHEZ: Well they are underpaid, undervalued and yet absolutely essential employees to any business operation. But one janitor at an upstate New York university allegedly got annoyed while on the job and his reaction, supposedly ruined a million dollars worth of research. A lawsuit from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute says the custodian turned off a freezer while he heard multiple, quote, annoying alarms. It turns out the labs freezer contained 20 years of cell cultures and sensitive crucial samples that were destroyed.
The worst part of all of this is that apparently on the outside the freezer had a sign that red, quote, this freezer is beeping as it is under repair. Please do not move or unplug it, no cleaning required in this area.
We should be clear, the university apparently says they don't blame the janitor himself. They say he's not at fault. Instead they're suing his employer where he was a contractor for failing to properly train him. You could imagine working on something for 20 years only for somebody to come by and just pull the plug.
SCIUTTO: He needs a more serious note than like the one you put on the freezer, like this is my lunch. Stay away from my sandwich.
SANCHEZ: I feel like that gets violated here all of time. If you bring up stuff on air of that?
KEILAR: No, I don't violate that. But I get mad when someone just leaves my freezer open that has like the extra meat and ice cream from Costco.
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So I couldn't imagine this situation. Where it's, you know, unbelievable.
SCIUTTO: Well so much hard work I imagine. Folks had been working on stuff for a long time.
SANCHEZ: I don't really mind melted ice cream.
KEILAR: Melted meat? Well we know you.
SCIUTTO: Big meat salad.
SANCHEZ: We finally got it on the air.
Hey, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate you being with us this afternoon. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.
