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Moody's: Inflation Forces Families to Spend $700+ More Each Month; Judge Revokes Bail for FTX Co-Founder Sam Bankman-Fried; Special Counsel Appointed in Hunter Biden Case; Book: Phil Mickelson Considered Bet on 2012 Ryder Cup. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired August 11, 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]

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN HOST: The course of the past few days. Of course our thoughts are with you, your family and with the entire Maui community. So thank you for coming on.

LA PHENA DAVIS, LOST HOME IN MAUI: Thank you for the opportunity and all of your efforts.

MARQUARDT: All right, La Phena Davis. And for more information about how you can help Hawaii wildfire victims, you can go to CNN.com/impact or just text Hawaii to 707070 in order to donate. We'll be right back.

[15:35:00]

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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Americans are feeling the pinch of inflation, and family budgets they have the bruises to prove it. According to Moody's Analytics the higher prices are forcing families to spend $709 more each month compared to two years ago. CNN's Matt Egan is joining us to break all of this down. Matt, that adds up to more than $8,500 a year. That is a huge increase to a family's budget.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, it's massive, and it really explains why some families are having trouble getting by right now. It's so interesting though, is that inflation has cooled off considerably. We've gotten two big inflation reports in the last two days, and both of them make that obvious. We're nowhere near those nightmare inflation levels of last summer.

And yet inflation can be cumulative. There is a snowballing effect here of two years of price spikes. And so Americans are spending a lot more in a lot of different areas including, of course, housing. And anyone who's been out there trying to buy or rent right now knows that. People are spending more at the grocery store, on recreation, things like streaming, or concert tickets, and also on cars. Buying cars, maintaining them and insuring them. But Brianna, you know, both things can be true. Inflation has cooled off and it's also done a lot of damage over the last two years.

KEILAR: Yes, two things can be true at once very much. Matt Egan, thank you for that -- Alex.

MARQUARDT: And this just in. Sam Bankman-Fried, the cofounder of failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX has been ordered back into custody by a judge after allegedly violating the conditions of his bail. CNN's Kara Scannell is back with us and has been following this case. Kara, one of the allegations is that he was tampering with witnesses.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Alex, that's right. And the judge finding today that there was probable cause to believe that Bankman-Fried attempted to tamper with witnesses at least twice. And that's the basis why the judge revoked his bail and has remanded him into custody. That visual you're seeing on the screen is Bankman-Fried arriving for this court hearing today. And that will be the last time he will be walking as a free man.

He is expected to go to trial on October 2nd, so we are about seven weeks out from this trial. But the judge revoking bail and prosecutors have asking for this because one of the issues, the tipping point really seemed to be that Bankman-Fried spoke with "The New York Times" about a person in this case. This is Caroline Ellison. She was a top executive at FTX and its sister hedge fund. And he had talked to "The Times" about her. Prosecutors saying that that was an attempt to tamper with witnesses, potentially intimidate her from testifying against him at trial.

She has pleaded guilty to numerous serious crimes and is going to be one of the government's star witnesses. So Bankman-Fried been out on $250 million bond, staying at his parents' home in Palo Alto, California. The judge revoking that today.

And interesting to note, his parents were in the court today -- according to my colleague Lauren del Valle. They have not come to a number of these court appearances. So definitely a sign they were prepared for this to happen. Now they'll likely not see their son until the trial date. So Bankman-Fried attorneys have asked the judge to allow him stay out so they could appeal this ruling. But the judge said no, he didn't know what kind of mischief Bankman-Fried could get into during that time -- Alex.

MARQUARDT: All right, Kara Scannell on this late breaking news. Thank you very much -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Still to come on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, a 17-year-old just entered a not guilty plea in the deadly stabbing of a gay dancer at a Brooklyn gas station. Ahead, what his attorney says may be his defense.

And the Illinois state Supreme Court ruled on whether to uphold a ban on assault style weapons. Stay with us.

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MARQUARDT: Back to our top story. Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed a special counsel to the prosecution of the son of the president, Hunter Biden, after negotiations for a plea deal stalled. Now some top Senate Republicans are blasting Garland's choice for the job, Trump appointee David Weiss, saying they don't trust him to be impartial. And presidential candidate Ron DeSantis said this before an audience in Iowa.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And it's like if he were Republican -- the special counsel -- if he were Republican he'd be in jail by now and we all know that.

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MARQUARDT: We're going to bring in CNN anchor of "THE LEAD" Jake Tapper. He's also of course our chief Washington correspondent. Jake, what do you make of these Republican criticisms?

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR, THE LEAD: I think there are some legitimate questions about this whole situation. First of all, I do think it's fair to question why would U.S. Attorney Weiss be appointed to special counsel? Usually a special counsel comes as an outside attorney. It has happened before. Durham came from inside. And the Attorney General has the right to do that, but it is odd.

Second of all, this was a -- this plea deal was picked apart by the judge, so one could ask why would you stick with the U.S. attorney if he -- you know, this was a failure, a colossal failure. The two sides had not even agreed upon what was in that plea deal. And then I think there are questions about whether or not it was harsh

enough, this plea deal. Whether or not it was strong enough.

Beyond that there are some other questions I have which include the U.S. Attorney Weiss -- he's now a special counsel. So one of the reasons to make him a special counsel supposedly is so he has to ability to charge in other venues outside Delaware. But I believe he had previously argued publicly that he had the right to do whatever he wanted. And then the whistleblower said, well, behind the scenes Weiss was complaining he couldn't do that. He wasn't able to do that, and the Justice Department and Weiss denied what the whistleblowers were saying.

But this move makes it seem as though, well, maybe the whistleblowers were right. Maybe what they were alleging is true, and he didn't have the ability to charge whatever he wanted to charge, and now he does. So I do have a lot of questions about that. And I do think some of the political questions being raised by Republicans have merit.

MARQUARDT: Weiss was kept on by the Biden administration. They could have gotten rid of him, but he was kept onto negate this argument of impropriety.

[15:45:00]

And so it doesn't -- do you think the Democratic argument that we're going to hear now that he was nominated, confirmed under the Trump administration is going to be forceful enough of a response for that? TAPPER: It's a completely legitimate argument to make, that this U.S.

attorney was appointed by Trump and the Biden administration to their credit kept him on because he was doing this investigation and they didn't want any allegations of conflict of interest.

But there are also questions about the U.S. attorney now special counsel Weiss' decisions since then. And we can't pretend that there are not political pressures and political wins out there. There are. All I'm saying is I do have questions about all of this. And I understand some of the questions being raised by Republicans. Although, you know again, at the end of the day the evidence of crimes needs to be presented. Whether it's evidence against Hunter Biden, not just the misdemeanor crimes that were part of the plea deal, but if there are bigger or stronger ones, then let's see the evidence.

MARQUARDT: It'll be very interesting to see if that trial widens the scope beyond what was discussed in that plea deal.

TAPPER: Well that's the other thing. I mean, the U.S. attorney had made the decision to have been just be a diversion program and misdemeanor. But now it merits a special counsel, so does he know of stuff that should be in a special counsel investigation that wasn't in that plea deal? I mean, maybe he does, but then why do that plea deal? It's all very suspicious.

MARQUARDT: Fascinating. And I'm sure you're going some terrific discussions on your show.

TAPPER: Yes, we'll be talking about this on "THE LEAD" in a few minutes.

COLLINS: Jake Tapper, thank you very much. And be sure to join Jake at the top of the hour on "The Lead" -- Brianna.

KEILAR: We certainly will.

And next, accusations -- did Phil Mickelson consider betting on a tournament he was playing in. Fellow pro golfers are reacting. And wait until you hear how much he allegedly lost gambling.

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MARQUARDT: Now to some of the other headlines that we are watching this hour.

The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that the state's assault weapons ban is constitutional. A Republican lawmaker sued to stop the law saying it violated equal protection rights. But in a 4-3 ruling today the court disagreed. The law was signed after last year's Highland Park mass shooting.

Also today, a teenager pleaded not guilty to stabbing and killing a gay man who had been dancing to Beyonce at a gas station in Brooklyn. The 17-year-old suspect, whose name is Dmitriy Popov, was arraigned this morning on a charge of second-degree murder as a hate crime. Prosecutors allege that Popov stabbed 28-year-old professional dancer O'Shae Sibley who they say was defending his friends from homophobic and anti-Black slurs.

And a total of five Republican presidential candidates have qualified for the upcoming primary debate after signing onto the required loyalty pledge from the RNC. The pledge declares that candidates will support the party's eventual nominee and forego a third party bid of their own. As of today, Donald Trump, Mike Pence and Chris Christie are the only candidates who have met the polling and donor requirement but not yet signed that party pledge -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Now to the explosive allegations that are rocking the golfing world. Claims three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson is a prolific gambler. That may not surprise you but this may. Who has lost close to $100 million in bets. The accusations made in an upcoming book, even alleged that at one point Mickelson considered betting on the Ryder Cup, a competition that he was playing in. We have Patrick Snell, the host of "CNN WORLD SPORT" following the story for us. Patrick, tell us more about these accusations and the person that's making them.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Hi there, Brianna. Yes, you quite right. This is absolutely the talk of the golf world and beyond in no uncertain terms. Phil Mickelson one of the most popular and successful golfers in the history of the sport, a six-time major winner. Though the did cause controversy I will say last year when he joined the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series.

Now these allegations, according to a book that's going to be released later this month by a professional gambler Billie Walters. He says he was in what he described as a gambling partnership with Mickelson for five years. Walters alleges Mickelson's total gambling losses likely much closer to 100 million and that he's wagered more than $1 billion over the last 30 years.

Now citing his own betting records and additional records provided by his unnamed sources, Walters alleges that between 2010 and 2014 Mickelson made over 7,000 wagers on football, on basketball and baseball. An excerpt from the book published by Fire Pit Collective and Golf Digest, saying that Mickelson in 2011 alone he made 3,154 bets, an average of nearly nine per day. I will say CNN has not been able to independently verify these claims.

Walters himself was convicted of insider trading back in 2017 and sentenced to five years in federal prison. President Trump commuted his sentence in 2021.

And I want to get to this because this is one of the more stunning allegations that Walters makes. Is that Mickelson asked him to bet $400,000, Brianna, on the U.S. team to beat team Europe. This is in the Ryder Cup back in 2012. Mickelson was all that American team that lost on that final day and what became known as the miracle of Medinah, just outside of Chicago.

Walters wrote, he doesn't know if Mickelson ever placed that bet. Mickelson denies gambling on that year's Ryder Cup. Meantime, I do want to get this from the four-time Major winner Rory

McIlroy, the northern Irishman reacting to the book's allegations and take a listen, not holding back in any way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The talk of the golf world is this book excerpt that came out about Phil Mickelson. I'm curious what your reaction, what the reaction in there was when you read about it.

RORY MCILROY, 4-TIME MAJOR CHAMPION: I mean at least he didn't bet of the Ryder Cup this year because he won't be a part of it so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL: I think Rory was ready for that question. He certainly delivered. Back to you.

KEILAR: Yes, wow, I mean no love lost between those two for sure, Patrick. What is Mickelson saying here?

SNELL: Yes, Mickelson taking to social media as to deny the allegations. The 53-year-old posting this:

I never bet on the Ryder Cup. While it's well-known that I always enjoy a friendly wager on the course, I would never undermine integrity of the game. I've also been very open about my gambling addiction. I've previously conveyed my remorse, took responsibility, I've gotten help. I've been fully committed to therapy that has positively impacted me, and I feel good about where I am now.

[15:55:00]

And needless to say, Brianna, this is one we're going across and follow any developments and more fall outs because there could well be more. You never know. Back to you.

KEILAR: Yes, I think there will be. Patrick Snell, thank you for that -- Alex.

MARQUARDT: A humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Maui amid concerns that the death toll will continue to rise. A live report from Hawaii just ahead on CNN.

But first a look at this week's CNN hero, a man who after watching his grandmother and aunt struggle and die from preventable diseases has dedicated his life to bringing health care to remote areas of Ghana.

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OSEI BOATENG, FOUNDER, OKB HOPE FOUNDATION: We've been to communities where they haven't seen a doctor before. Literally, they haven't been to the hospital before. We've designed the van like a clinic. Depending on the person's condition, if the doctor needs additional labs work done, we have some point of care labs that we do in the van. We have medications, and so it's like a one-stop shop for people. Up

to date we've served over 4,000 people. So, imagine if we had two or three vans.

Our vision is to really expand. Words cannot describe the feeling that you get providing care for someone who otherwise wouldn't be alive if your mobile health van wasn't there.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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KEILAR: Before we go, we do want to highlight a video from the devastation on Maui, and that is Lahaina's banyan tree. This is no ordinary tree. It is one of the city's most beloved landmarks.

MARQUARDT: Such a gorgeous tree.

[16:00:00]

It was planted back in 1873, so 150 years ago as an 8-foot sapling that came from India and it grew to shade nearly two-thirds of an acre. For generations it has been a meeting place there in Lahaina, a place of rest and of sanctuary, stretches a full city block and is now more than 60 feet tall.

KEILAR: This is video that was actually shot, this one that we're showing you here by Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz. And while the tree is still standing you can see the damage to it. It's not clear at this point if it's going to survive fully.

MARQUARDT: And no doubt, it may not be the worst loss of this fire that has claimed dozens of lives. But the fact it is still standing and still may live is a much needed sign of hope for the town, for that island and for the state.

KEILAR: And for more information on how you can help victims of Hawaii wildfires, just go to CNN.com/impact or text Hawaii to 707070 to donate.

"THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.