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Comer Releases Text Of Hunter Biden Contempt Resolution; Trump Wants Georgia Election Case Dismissed, On Claims Of Presidential Immunity; Nikki Haley Cancels Iowa Event Due To Snowstorm. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired January 08, 2024 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Say. But the Republicans believe that his testimony will be key to their impeachment investigation against his father, President Joe Biden. They've been trying to try to show some links between Hunter Biden's overseas business activities, and Joe Biden's actions in office. Links that they have yet to prove but believed that Hunter Biden could provide some light and provide -- shed some light on that matter.

And in this 19-page report, Republicans detail why they believe he should be held in contempt of the House. Comer says this. Mr. Biden's flagrant defiance of the Committee's deposition subpoenas while choosing to appear nearby on the Capitol grounds to read a prepared statement on the same matters is contemptuous and he must be held accountable for his unlawful actions.

Now, the committee plans to vote on Wednesday along with the House Judiciary Committee to hold him in contempt. Floor action is expected soon after that. We expect the Republicans to have the votes in the narrowly divided House to move ahead on this.

Still, questions do -- go -- though about whether they would have the votes ultimately to impeach Joe Biden. Because a number of Republicans especially ones in swing districts simply believe that they have yet to prove that Joe Biden should be charged with high crimes or misdemeanors. But they do believe that Hunter Biden should be held accountable for not complying with the GOP-led subpoena.

So, all that will play out here, John, starting on Wednesday. Now, the official release of the report detailing why the Republicans believe that Hunter Biden broke the law, should be held accountable, and then he'll be held in contempt of the House, which could refer this matter to the D.C. attorney to investigate this further and potentially bring charges, John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: It's just really the next step on what will be a long process. Watching every twist and turn, Manu Raju, thank you so much.

RAJU: Thank you.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: Absolutely. BERMAN: Kate?

BOLDUAN: We also have a new filing out of Georgia. This morning, attorneys for Donald Trump have filed a motion seeking to have the entire case dismissed. They're arguing that he's protected from prosecution by presidential immunity.

Joining us right now is Michael Moore, former U.S. attorney and CNN legal analyst. So, Michael, the filing in Georgia making a similar argument of presidential immunity that his team is making the federal case against him that we're watching for this big moment, this appeals court -- this appeals court taking up that question tomorrow. But is this Georgia filing different than the question now before this federal appeals court?

MICHAEL MOORE, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, good morning. I'm glad to be with all of you. It's -- it really is the same thing. And we expected to see this file.

And the filing is coming not because it's some new matter before the court but because there's a motion deadline. So, the defendants had to file these types of motions in the case today to get this out. And to have some consideration, the judge could at least know what motions were pending.

We expected to see this. This has been raised in some of the arguments. Trump's new lawyer in Georgia has talked about this extensively.

But really the issue in the motion is whether or not a former president can be liable for acts he committed while he was president of the United States. And they argue that in fact, because he was acquitted in his impeachment trial, that then bars him from further prosecution during -- or because of those acts that occurred while he was president. That's always been a little bit of a different linchpin and maybe a kink if you will in the district attorney's case here in Georgia. And that is she focused her conduct by and large, on things that happened while he was president.

Not on witness intimidation after he was president. Not on other acts. But on actual things that happen during his presidency. And so, as we know, the president is vested with a lot of power. One of those things is in fact to have involvement in elections.

The FBI is involved. DHS is involved. The U.S. Attorney's offices all over the country involved. Those are federal functions. And as head of those federal agencies, the question is whether or not any acts he took might be arguably in support of those functions. And that'll be the question that the appeals court addresses this week.

BOLDUAN: And that is what the appeals court is addressing this week, exactly.

MOORE: That's it.

BOLDUAN: The scope of Donald Trump's presidential immunity. MOORE: Right.

BOLDUAN: And what you've seen in the argument is that obviously Jack Smith, the special counsel says his case is entirely based on the fact that he does not think Trump has presidential immunity. Donald Trump's team arguing the opposite. How strong or weak do you think Trump's argument is for absolute immunity at this point?

MOORE: I think both sides have sort of pushed the boundaries of rationality. Jack Smith argues that well, you can't give absolute immunity because a president might order that the minority party members in Congress be killed during the State of the Union address or something. That seems to be such a ridiculous stretch that I think that defies some cryptic fragility.

At the same time, Trump says, well, I'm immune from anything. I could do anything I want, which presumably would mean, he could then you know collude with Russia, or he could do other things that we might say no, that pushes the boundaries, too. And so, the needle that has to be threaded, I think, is what are really presidential functions, what are the things we expect from a president.

At this case, though, because he has not been charged in Jack Smith's case with the insurrection you, begin to question well, will the appeals court look at that as some indication that there's not enough evidence that he was criminally responsible for the insurrection and those things. And instead, try to focus on these issues dealing with the election counting and the vote counting and that kind of stuff.

[11:35:12]

And that seems to be a little bit strong. But I think at the end of the day, he's not going to win simply on presidential immunity. I just don't -- it just seems to be one of his weaker arguments as he goes forward.

But if -- we all knew, and I think this is expected on both sides of the aisle, and that is that the Supreme Court is going to have to weigh into this. Because this case and this issue is not just about Trump. It's about the president 50 years from now, and a hundred years from now, and what presidential power and presidential immunity will mean going forward, not just as we look sort of at the past -- of the oddities of the Trump administration.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And from, you know, District Court to -- in one state to the federal case against him -- I mean --

MORE: Right.

BOLDUAN: It's -- you're making an excellent point. It's great to see you, Michael. Thank you so much.

MOORE: Great to be with you.

BOLDUAN: And a special programming note, for all of you. CNN will bring you special coverage as Donald Trump appears in court tomorrow. That all begins at 9:00 a.m. Eastern. Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN HOST: All right, the Iowa caucuses just seven days away now. The first big test in the Republican race for the presidency. And some campaign moments you're not going to want to miss. That's ahead.

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[11:40:44]

BERMAN: All right, just in. Mother nature weighing in on the Iowa caucuses. This is Iowa right there. You can see right in the middle of this snowstorm there, they're getting 8 -- 12 inches in some places there.

Nikki Haley was forced to camp -- cancel a campaign event in Sioux City this morning because of the weather. The caucuses themselves rain or shine, they are next week. It's not the only thing Nikki Haley is worried about this morning. She's also the focus of a new attack ad out this morning paid for by a Super PAC backing Donald Trump.

CNN's Eva McKend is in snowy Des Moines, Iowa. Really, it's cold in Des Moines, Iowa for us this morning. Eva, what are you hearing?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, there is an added sense of urgency from these candidates in these closing days here. What we saw over the weekend from both Governor DeSantis, Nikki Haley, was them sharpening their attacks against former President Donald Trump. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): I think if we're re-litigating the past elections, if it's about you know, Donald Trump or his legal issues or criminal trials or all that stuff, you know, I think it's going to be a really nasty election. I don't think that puts Republicans in a good position to win.

NIKKI HALEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He was really good at breaking things. He just wasn't good at fixing them. And now we look at the fact rightly or wrongly, chaos follows him.

You know I'm right. Chaos follows him. And we can't have a country in disarray in a world on fire and go through four more years of chaos. We won't survive it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: Now, for his part, Trump campaigning over the weekend here in Iowa as well. Telling his supporters don't pay attention to these polls. Act like he's behind.

You have to remember in 2016, he actually lost the Iowa caucus to Ted Cruz. So, he doesn't want to repeat episodes. We see him aggressively campaigning here and really telling his supporters to take nothing for granted, John. BERMAN: So, Eva, you're right in the center of the state in Des Moines, one of the few places not getting snow right now, but either Ed of Iowa, they're getting a bunch of it. How are the candidates adjusting?

MCKEND: Well, we know that Trump surrogates had to cancel their event. Nikki Haley, you mentioned had to cancel her event earlier this morning. I just got off the phone with a member of Vivek Ramaswamy's team.

So, he usually goes from stop to stop by private plane, but he is doing the long three-hour drive right now to get from one stop to the other. So, that just tells you how it is impacting these candidates. You know, in these closing days, what's really important is for them to shake every hand, meet as many Iowans as possible, and this impending storm, the snow that is expected even here in Des Moines in the next several hours, that really, really complicates things for them, John.

BERMAN: Yes. You canceled an event right now with a week left, you don't get to reschedule. There's just not enough time. Eva McKend, thank you very much. Sara.

SIDNER: All right. With us now, Axios national politics reporter Sophia Cai and Republican strategist and host of the "Focus Group" podcast, Sarah Longwell. Thank you both for being here.

Let's just sort of start with if someone comes in second in Iowa, let's just say DeSantis or Haley, does that help them later on? Does that make a difference, the second matter in Iowa? I'll start with you, Sarah.

SARAH LONGWELL, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yes. Well, it -- look, it's different for DeSantis and Hailey. So, DeSantis has set expectations that he is definitely going to come in second. He's talked about this vaunted ground game that he has. And if he comes in third, I'm not saying his political career is over forever, but man, is it kind of in a deep freeze coma.

For Nikki Haley on the other hand, if she comes in second, she's beating expectations for what people think she's going to do in Iowa. And that's going to give her real momentum going into New Hampshire, which is easily the best state on the map for somebody like Nikki Haley. Because there are so many undeclared voters in that state, she can have all of these independents, these sort of soft GOP, right- leaning independents, those are the people whom Nikki Haley performs really well with. She does not do nearly as well with two-time Trump voters.

[11:45:03]

And so, for her, if she can break those expectations, if she can win in New Hampshire, that is the only way for her to have the narrowest path to making this a real race over the long term because she goes from New Hampshire into her home state of South Carolina. And look, any analyst is going to tell you, she's going to have a really tough time winning her own state. But that's the stakes in Iowa.

You know, for DeSantis, it's over. For Nikki, if she wins it, she -- you know, that would -- that would put her in a good position to move forward.

SIDNER: All right. Let's listen to something that Nikki Haley has to say about the front-runner, and why she doesn't attack Donald Trump. And on the other end, Sophia, I'll have you get your comments. Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALEY: For those that want me to hit Trump more, I just did not going to do it. I told you that I'm not going to do it. If he lies about me, I'll call him out on it.

If he's done something wrong, whether it's the economy or how he talks about dictators and those things, I'll call him out on every one of those issues. But I just think politics is personal enough. And I think let's focus on the issues and getting America back on track.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Is that going to work? Because they just started in the last debate really going after Donald Trump. And you hear her saying, I'm not going to do it. And the crowd claps. What do you think, Sophia?

SOPHIA CAI, NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER, AXIOS: Yes. I mean, I think for her, that's been working. That's a strategy where you see her saying, hey, look Trump was the right person at the right time. And now we need someone else.

And you see that in the ads that she's been putting out. She's been saying we need a new generation of Republican leaders. And that would be her.

And you know, that's a strategy that you know is a very fine line between both differentiating herself from Trump, but also not turning off those Trump voters in Iowa where Trump does very well with evangelicals. She is trying to peel off some of those voters as well, as well as the moderate suburban voters that she's counting on, and those counties that she's been campaigning in.

SIDNER: Sophia, I want to quickly turn to what we're hearing from the Biden campaign or from former President Obama, who has expressed to some of those around Biden's high level of folks in the campaign that he's worried about President Biden's reelection chances. What does a campaign need to do as we're going into the caucuses where all the focus is going to be on the Republicans? What does the Biden campaign need to be doing now?

CAI: I mean, right now, the Biden campaign is counting on President Biden using the platform of the White House, as well as of Air Force One, to go to those swing states. To go to South Carolina. He's traveling there. To go to the early states, including Iowa and New Hampshire. The Biden campaign has also been having a presence at all of the primary GOP debates. And they've had their surrogates, including some key governors, including Governor Pritzker in Illinois, Governor Newsom in California, to also kind of carry the message about the dangers of another Trump presidency. And you see President Biden himself saying that as well.

SIDNER: Sarah Longwell, Sophia Cai, thank you so much. We don't have enough time. I've got more questions, but we will be talking to you throughout the next few days.

And just five days before the Iowa caucuses, a make-or-break night for Republican presidential hopefuls. A CNN Republican presidential debate, live from Iowa, moderated by our Jake Tapper and Dana Bash. That is Wednesday 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

BOLDUAN: Coming up still for us. The White House coming to the defense of the Defense Secretary this morning. Lloyd Austin failed to alert the president for days that he was being hospitalized. The new statement just in now from the White House. That's next.

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[11:53:25]

SIDNER: As we end our broadcast today, I have a personal note that I would like to share with you. I want to start by doing this and asking you a big favor. Just take a second to recall the names of eight women who you love and know in your life. Just eight. Count them on your fingers.

Statistically, one of them will get or have breast cancer. I am that one in eight in my friend group.

I have never been sick a day of my life. I don't smoke. I rarely drink. Breast cancer does not run in my family, and yet here I am with stage three breast cancer. It is hard to say out loud.

I am in my second month of chemo treatments. And we'll do radiation and a double mastectomy. Stage three is not a death sentence anymore for the vast majority of women.

But here is the reality that really shocked my system when I started to research more about breast cancer, something I never knew before this diagnosis. If you happen to be a black woman, you are 41 percent more likely to die from breast cancer than your white counterparts. 41 percent.

So, to all my sisters, black and white, and brown out there, please, for the love of God, get your mammograms every single year. Do yourself exams. Try to catch it before I did. Now, here's something I could never ever have predicted would happen to me.

[11:55:01]

I have thanked cancer for choosing me. I'm learning that no matter what hell we go through in life, that I am still madly in love with this life. And just being alive feels really different for me now.

I am happier because I don't stress about foolish little things that used to annoy me. And now, every single day that I breathe another breath, I can celebrate that I am still here with you. I am here with my co-anchors, my colleagues, my family, and I can love and cry and laugh and hope. And that, my dear friends, is enough.

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