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Second Republican Debate Will Feature 7 Candidates; Alabama's Attempt To Avoid Establishing Second Congressional District With Black Majority Rejected By Supreme Court; Final Weeks Of Trump's Presidency Addressed By Cassidy Hutchinson; Writers In Hollywood Might Soon Start Working Again; Soon: Biden Joins Autoworkers On Picket Line. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired September 26, 2023 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN HOST: That's really interesting, Astead. I want to go to Eva now about looking at this group of people who will be on the stage tomorrow. Who's got a real chance to rise here? A lot of folks are looking at Nikki Haley.

EVA MCKEND, CNN HOST: Yes. I mean, she had a breakout moment the last debate. I mean, it really helped with fundraising, that's what these debate moments are really good for. You want to make a big splash and distinguish yourself here. I think that -- you know, anyone of them -- what we're looking at, Sara, really, is the state level polling. And Trump far ahead there, but not as quite far ahead as he is in the national polling.

And so, what we're seeing is many of these candidates really jockey for second place. And to the extent that they can have a moment, I think, it's really helpful in terms of name recognition and fundraising.

SIDNER: All right. Eva McKend, thank you so much. Astead Herndon, always appreciate you coming on.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: Coming up for us, breaking news just in to CNN. The Supreme Court rejecting the attempt coming out of Alabama to avoid creating a second black majority district. What the Supreme Court is saying and what this means now going forward, that's next.

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[10:36:03]

BOLDUAN: Breaking news coming in. The Supreme Court has just rejected another attempt to -- out of Alabama's as Republicans have continued fighting against redrawing congressional maps there. That, potentially, this whole thing sets the stage for the creation of a second majority black district.

CNN's Ariane De Vogue has the very latest for us. Ariane, the justices made -- seemed to make their position pretty clear when they first took this up, I think it was back in June. So, what does this mean now?

ARIANE DE VOGUE, CNN SUPREME COURT REPORTER: Right. So, right now, what the Supreme Court has done is reject this emergency appeal from Alabama. And it clears the way, as you said, for congressional maps with either a second black majority district, or at the very least boosting the black majority in a second district. Alabama had been fighting for its own map. Its map only had one black majority district in a state with a 27 percent black majority.

So, this order, this brief order with no noted descent is a win for supporters of voting rights in the state. But I have to give you a little bit more of the history here because it is really fascinating. As you said, last term, the court did take up a very similar challenge. Again, Alabama was trying to push its map with only one black majority district. The court on a 5-4 ruling rejected that. They said there has to be a second black majority or something close to it.

Alabama goes back to the drawing board, and in July, it really stunned the NAACP and others because the new map that it came up with again only had one district. The lower court that heard this said, look, you are in defiance of the Supreme Court precedent, and the Supreme Court very swiftly stopped Alabama from trying to take this route again. It basically said, we meant what we said last term and it rejected the bid.

So, it's super important. It sends a message to other states, and of course, it could have an impact on tight races ahead.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. We meant what we said, and we will say it again. I mean, let's see what happens next. It's good to see you, Ariane. Thank you so much for bringing that to us.

DE VOGUE: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Sara.

SIDNER: Former Trump aide Cassidy Hutchinson is painting a picture of chaos and lawlessness during the final weeks of the Trump administration. One example, Hutchinson claims that Former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows burned so many documents, his suits smelled like a bonfire. More of her shocking revelations coming up next.

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[10:43:06]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: New this morning, suits wreaking of smoke, allegations of groping, and utter lawlessness inside the final days of the Trump administration. These are the behind-the-scenes revelations. Allegations from former aide to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Cassidy Hutchinson. CNN's Jake Tapper sat down with Hutchinson to discuss her journey from Trump loyalist to star witness of the January 6th Committee.

Jake.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: John, Cassidy Hutchinson was the star witness at the January 6th hearings last year. And now she's back on the scene with a book telling her story from childhood to her courageous testimony, including all those years when she was very loyal to the man. She's now warning the country about Donald Trump.

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TAPPER (voiceover): It was just last summer that Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows became a star witness in the January 6th Committee's hearing. And in her new book, "Enough", Hutchinson paints the closing days of the Trump White House as even more chaotic and lawlessness than described in that shocking testimony.

"Cass, if I can get through this job and manage to keep Trump out of jail, I will have done a good job." Meadows tells her. It's a front row seat to madness. At a mask-free Trump rally during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, former Presidential candidate Herman Cain contracts the virus and later dies. We killed Herman Cain, Meadows tells her. But this does not change the White House's mask policy.

In fact, during a visit to an N-95 plant, Hutchinson advises President Trump to remove his mask because his bronzer is smearing it. At one point on the 2020 campaign trail, Meadows asks Hutchinson if she would take a bullet for President Trump. Yes, sure. She responds. But could it be to the leg? I would do anything to get him reelected, Meadows tells her.

[10:45:00]

And after the election, in the wild scramble to overturn its results, Hutchinson says, Meadows was constantly burning documents in the chief of staff's fireplace. And at one point, leaked classified documents to far-right wing media figures. Meadows constantly reassures his boss that he will work to overturn the election that Trump clearly lost. I was irritated that Mark gave the president false hope, Hutchinson writes. Of course, that's what the president wanted to hear, but he was damaging the country by concocting false rationales.

This is a theme in the book. Soon-to-be House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe both expressed concern to Hutchinson about the president erratically acknowledging he lost, then backtracking and saying, he didn't. Both men blamed Meadows. But it is Trump who is most erratic.

After the U.S. Supreme Court refuses to take up the nonsensical lawsuit filed by Texas to overturn states that Biden won, Trump pushes Meadows, "Why didn't we make more calls? We needed to do more. We can't let this stand." Trump continues in a statement that could have legal ramifications, "I don't want people to know we lost, Mark. This is embarrassing."

When multiple lawsuits and attempt to overturn the election do not come to fruition, January 6th becomes the fail safe. Much of Hutchinson's stories about that day were part of her congressional testimony.

CASSIDY HUTCHINSON, FORMER WHITE HOUSE AIDE: I overheard the president say something to the effect of, you know, I don't -- I didn't care that they have weapons. They're not here to hurt me. Take the effing mags away.

TAPPER (voiceover): But in her book, Hutchinson reveals for the first time that she was groped by Rudy Guiliani backstage. "He moves toward me, like a wolf closing in on its prey," she writes. Saying, he put his hand up her skirt. Giuliani denied this happened.

But even the horrors of January 6th were not enough for Hutchinson to resign. She stayed on with President Trump through the end of his term and sought to get a job with him post-presidency.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The witness will please stand and raise her right hand.

TAPPER (voiceover): When she called to testify before the January 6th Committee, Trump funded Attorney Stefan Passantino, told her to, "Downplay her role as strictly administrative. She was an assistant, nothing more." Passantino says, he did not advise her to mislead the committee. And Hutchinson says she was never told to lie to the committee. "I don't want you to perjure yourself" Passantino insisted. "But I don't recall isn't recall isn't perjury," she says he told her. Another time Hutchinson says, Passantino tells her, "We just want to protect the president."

Jobs are dangled and then withdrawn from Hutchinson as she begins to cooperate with the committee. She's ultimately shut out off and then demonized by Trump world altogether. The rest, and her courageous testimony is history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER (on camera): And John, a spokesperson for Mark Meadows denies the allegations made about him in the book. The spokesman says the burning fireplace was, "Absurd mischaracterization and not at all what it was about and had nothing to do with documents." They claimed it was just newspapers to get the fire started. He also denies leaking classified documents to the right-wing media figures, calls it a completely ridiculous mischaracterization. He says the documents were declassified.

And regards to the, we killed Herman Cain comment, Meadows' spokesperson says it is, "Offensive to suggest that this was Meadows initial reaction." And that in the days after Cain's death, he was "Expressing exasperation that the media would blame the president for Mr. Cain's death, very different." John.

BERMAN: All right. Thank you, Jake. And of course, you can see Jake's entire interview with Cassidy Hutchinson on "The Lead" at 4:00 p.m. eastern today.

Kate. BOLDUAN: Coming still for us, the writers' strike could be coming to an end. So, what's in the tentative deal between the WGA and studios, and what it now could mean for the actors still on the picket line. We'll be back.

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[10:53:23]

SIDNER: The writers' strike has gone on for nearly five months, nearing its end. Writers could be back to work very soon. Union members still need to approve the tentative deal reached with the studios. But union leaders are calling the new deal exceptional.

CNN's Natasha Chen is in Los Angeles for us. Give us some sense of -- first of all, how soon these writers could go back to work? And how soon this deal might finally be ratified?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Sara. This could happen in a matter of days here because today the negotiating committee for the guild will be -- is expected to vote on the memorandum of agreement once that language is finalized. And they did say that they would share the details of those terms then that goes to the east and west coast board and council of the WGA, they will vote on it and they'll also decide if they can allow rank and file writers to go back to work pending the ratification among those more than 11,000 members.

So, it could just a matter of days. Now, at the same time, you have SAG-AFTRA, the actors still on strike. I was actually at an impromptu (ph) show last night where the performers and the members of the audience were applauding the fact that there is a deal between writers and studios, at the same time asking people to come out to the picket lines today to still support those actors. And even though there's now this growing sense of optimism that with one deal in the works, they could possibly have another deal for the actors soon.

Just to remind folks what the WGA was demanding to begin with, they wanted to see better residuals for streaming shows and movies.

[10:55:00]

They wanted to see protections regarding artificial intelligence because they're afraid A.I., you know, the studios could just use A.I.to create content based on writers; ideas. And the idea of minimum staff and duration of employment in this era where studios are progressively using fewer writers for shorter periods of time which the WGA says makes it really impossible to earn a living in places like Los Angeles and New York. Sara.

SIDNER: Interesting to note, 160,000 actors are in that guild, and they are still on strike. But the writers finally have a tentative deal. Thank you so much, Natasha Chen. Appreciate it.

CHEN: Thank you.

SIDNER: Kate. BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, President Biden has left the White House and he is getting ready to head to Michigan. He's going to -- he's going there to join the picket line with autoworkers and he's making -- and will be making history in the process, you'll see in a rainy Joint Base Andrews where the president will be arriving and taking off soon. What this historic trip means for the fight that autoworkers and automakers are having, the strike, and Joe Biden reelection effort. We'll be right back.

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