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Source: Biden Could Push For Major Supreme Court Reforms; Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH) On Biden's Appeal To Black Voters At NAACP Convention; FBI And DHS: Heightened Threat Against "Election-Related Targets." Aired 7:30-8a ET
Aired July 17, 2024 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[07:33:52]
SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, President Biden looking to bring some order to the court. Sources telling CNN that Biden is seriously considering publicly endorsing major reforms at the Supreme Court. Among them, term limits for all nine justices who currently serve lifetime appointments, an enforceable ethics code, and a potential constitutional amendment to effectively reverse the court's controversial ruling on presidential immunity.
The move is being met with praise from Democrats as support for the court nationally continues to dip in the wake of the conservative majority's 2022 reversal of Roe versus Wade and the controversies that everyone has seen surrounding Justices Thomas and Alito.
CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is joining me now from the White House. I mean, talking about a constitutional amendment -- most people will see that and say that is likely never going to happen. But these are big, potential changes that President Biden is -- hopes to push through -- to stand up for.
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Sara, there's no doubt that there would certainly be a long road ahead for these changes should the president announce them. But these are actions that liberal lawmakers and groups have been calling for for years, and if Congress were to approve them it would represent the biggest hit to the court in decades.
[07:35:07]
Now, just to tick through some of these again. According to sources, this would include term limits for those nine justices. The enforceable ethics codes -- remember, there has been great scrutiny on the Supreme Court for ethical lapses. And that amendment that would effectively reverse the ruling that gave presidential immunity.
Now, the president alluded to some of these changes in a call with the Congressional Progressive Caucus over the weekend. And again, of course, this comes as the Supreme Court itself has been put under the spotlight. And there have been a lot of questions circling around their ethics and certainly, around some of the controversial rulings of the past few years.
But the president has also used the Supreme Court to underscore the stakes of the election while on the campaign trail, including recently in an interview. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And there are probably going to be two more appointments to the court. There's probably two people who are going to resign -- not resign, retire. Just imagine if he has two more appointments on that what that means forever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALVAREZ: Now remember, on the campaign trail, the president has often said that it's Trump's Supreme Court that led, for example, to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, so that is the type of warning that he is trying to convey in that interview and oftentimes when he is on the campaign trail.
But again, all of these changes, should the president propose them, would be an uphill battle. It would include congressional approval, and as far as the amendment goes, require ratification by 38 states.
So it does, at the very least, show where the president wants to head when it comes to the Supreme Court -- but still, an uphill battle.
SIDNER: Priscilla Alvarez, you said it -- uphill battle. Thank you so much. Appreciate it -- Kate.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Sara.
So as day three of the Republican Convention is about to get underway here in Milwaukee, President Biden is starting off his day in Las Vegas where he's expected to address Latino leaders.
He was at the NAACP Convention yesterday and facing new reports of the president's hemorrhaging support post-debate, he made a big push to appeal to Black voters. Biden defending his record and slamming Donald Trump's.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Of course, here's what he thinks of Black jobs -- and I love his phrase "Black jobs." It tells a lot about the man and about his character. Folks, I know what a Black job is. It's the Vice President of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: Biden referencing there Donald Trump's comment during the debate when he said that migrants are "taking Black and Hispanic jobs."
I'm joined right now by Democratic Congresswoman from Ohio, Shontel Brown. Congresswoman, thank you so much for coming in. You heard Biden's appeal to Black voters -- to voters -- Black voters
at the -- at the convention yesterday. And then I also want to play for you now the appeal to Black voters here at the Republican Convention last night. Here is Vivek Ramaswamy. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIVEK RAMASWAMY, (R) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our message to Black Americans is this. The media has tried to convince you for decades that Republicans don't care about your communities, but we do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: And that's just a snippet. He went on and on and on.
Republicans are trying hard -- it's very clear here at this convention -- trying hard to reach Black Americans. A little bit can mean a lot in a tight election in key states.
Does that make you nervous?
REP. SHONTEL BROWN (D-OH) (via Webex by Cisco): What makes me nervous is -- and good morning. Thank you for having me. What makes me nervous is Donald Trump's Project 2025 and his vice-presidential pick, JD Vance.
As an Ohioan, I know what JD Vance stands for and he is a person that has proven to twist himself in knots and bend over backwards to do what Mike Pence -- Vice President Mike Pence would not do, which is certify an election even if Donald Trump does not win. To make that a victory in his favor. So they're willing to break the law and cause harm to all people -- not just Black people, but all people -- and that is what's most concerning to me.
BOLDUAN: We also have new reporting that there is a push to speed up the nomination vote for Joe Biden, holding a virtual roll call as early as next week, a month before the actual convention.
Are you OK with that?
BROWN: Listen, I trust the voters, first and foremost -- the 14 million voters who showed up and cast their ballot for President Biden to be our presumptive nominee.
I also have tremendous confidence in our party chair, Jaime Harrison, to make the right decisions to ensure that we have a Biden-Harris ticket ready for our convention and ready for this 2024 election.
Again, the biggest concern right now for me, especially as an Ohioan, is seeing what they did last year when they tried to test drive -- to present a test case if you will of Project 2025 by putting an issue on the ballot that would suppress and silence and subvert the will of the voters. This is what we can expect from Republicans. And they did it right here in Ohio, and I don't expect them to stop in Ohio.
[07:40:15] But what I am encouraged by is that the Ohioans, when given the information, showed up and showed out and voted in record numbers, even when they -- the Republicans said that they would have no such elections. That they wouldn't do special elections in the summer -- in the months of August -- but they did.
So I cannot trust the Republicans to keep their word. They have proven to be duplicitous and not honest brokers.
BOLDUAN: So you say that you trust the Democratic Party chair, so I take that as if they move ahead with a virtual roll call, you'd be OK with it. But others are not.
Congressman Jared Huffman from California -- he told CNN -- he called it a terrible idea and a dumb thing, saying, "If the election were held today, he would get crushed," Huffman said of Biden. "We have got to do something about it."
Doesn't this -- if this would happen and you have reaction like that from some of your colleagues, doesn't this -- if they move ahead and speed this up, doesn't this have the potential of just creating more division within the party?
BROWN: Well, I would beg to differ. Again, I am -- I'm -- I think that it is important for us to respect the will of the people -- the 14 million people that showed up and cast their ballot for President Biden to be our presumptive nominee, and how we get there might differ.
BOLDUAN: But part of the will of the people -- part of the will of the people when it comes to the democratic process is you get delegates -- you've got superdelegates and they specifically picked to put the convention in August, which is a month away. So taking kind of your train of thought it would be, like, as the primary wrapped up you are ready to have that nominated even before you've got any of these delegates have their say.
BROWN: Well, the issue is in states like Ohio we can't trust them to do the right thing. We've already seen how this will play out.
What I -- what I know as an Ohioan is that when Republicans can't win, they will implement a let's cheat them if we can't beat them strategy, and that's what we see playing out. This is nothing more than another distraction. I mean, we need to focus on winning and not whining. We need to focus on working and not worrying.
Listen, President Biden has made his decision and until that -- if and until that changes he has my full-throated support. Because what I know is the best indicator of future behavior is past behavior and we have a record to run on that the American people can appreciate.
But it's also about the vision for the future. And we have a vision for the future to continue the progress we've made, which is making tremendous investments into our country to repair roads and bridges. To deal with removal of lead pipes that are causing learning disabilities in communities like mine. To make sure that communities like mine have access to high-speed broadband internet.
Because I remember the chaos and confusion of the Donald Trump presidency when people were dying by the thousands. When we were putting people in storage containers outside. When people were losing their jobs and on the brink of being put out of their homes.
It was Biden-Harris that came in, got shots in arms, and helped to restore some sanity back into our country. Recovered all of those jobs and then some.
So that is what gives me the confidence that we have the best ticket, and that Biden-Harris is the winning ticket. And if people have concerns about President Biden let me remind them, we have a plan B and her name is Kamala Harris, and she's the vice president. And if they can't pronounce vice president -- if they can't pronounce Kamala Harris, vice president is always appropriate.
BOLDUAN: OK, a plan B if you don't like Joe Biden, coming from Shontel Brown.
Congresswoman, thank you so much for coming in. Appreciate your time.
Coming up for us, the new warning coming from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security now after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Concerns now over retaliation.
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[07:48:45]
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, a new warning of possible retaliation for the attempt on Donald Trump's life. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security issued a joint intelligence bulletin saying investigators have seen a spike online in people threatening or encouraging violence in response to the assassination attempt.
CNN's Zach Cohen, part of the reporting team that broke this, is with us now. Zach, what are you learning here?
ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yeah, John. The FBI and DHS warning they can't rule out the possibility that domestic extremists may try to carry out a retaliatory attack of some kind in response to the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.
And look, this new intelligence bulletin doesn't list any specific or credible threats but it does broadly reinforce the assessment that the FBI and the DHS have made over the past several years that there is a heightened threat to election-related targets and that domestic extremists do see political events, including rallies like the one on Saturday, as an opportunity to carry out this violence.
Now, some specific examples that DHS and the FBI are warning about in this bulletin.
They are warning about lone actors or extremists operating in small cells who, as I mentioned, see those political rallies as an opportunity. They're also warning about these hoax bombs -- hoax bomb threats or swatting attacks that might draw in an official response, thus creating an opportunity to carry out some sort of mass casualty attack.
[07:50:03]
And lastly, they're also warning, generally speaking, about attempted -- attempting attacks on election-related infrastructure. That's something we've heard from federal officials over the last several years pretty consistently.
But obviously, John, the attempted assassination of Donald Trump has really put this under a microscope once again. And it will be interesting to see if we do see more credible -- or more specific warnings from federal authorities going forward.
BERMAN: Yes, it will. All right, keep us posted, Zach. Thank you very much for that -- Sara.
SIDNER: All right.
Moments ago, the Milwaukee mayor speaking out after police fatally shot a man near the RNC. What exactly happened in that case?
And according to our producer, Anna, she's a wonderful singer but she went viral for her widely panned --
BERMAN: Not this time. Not this time.
SIDNER: -- rendition. Oh, just listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
INGRID ANDRESS, SINGER-SONGWRITER: Singing the National Anthem at the Major League Baseball Home Run Derby.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[07:55:22]
SIDNER: A Grammy-nominated singer who was widely panned for her version of the National Anthem now apologizing. This was Ingrid Andress at Monday's MLB Home Run Derby.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDRESS: Singing the National Anthem at the Major League Baseball Home Run Derby.
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SIDNER: So that wasn't the worst part. It started out OK, but it deteriorated. Andress posted to social media, saying she was drunk at the time and has decided to check herself into rehab. She goes on to say, and I'm quoting here, "I apologize to the MLB, the fans, and this country that I love so much."
All right. New photos released by Royal Thai Police show the hotel room where five people were killed in what is now suspected to be a cyanide poisoning. Authorities there say the victims, which includes two Vietnamese Americans, like drank from cups laced with cyanide after a dispute linked to bad investments.
When police arrived, they found the bodies of three men and three women, a table full of untouched food, but used cups with traces of a white powder in their tea. Police say one of the bodies was the suspect who then died by suicide -- wow.
Democratic lawmakers are calling on New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez to resign after he was found guilty on all counts in his federal corruption trial. Menendez was convicted of 16 counts, including bribery, extortion, and obstruction of justice for his role in a yearslong bribery scheme.
Senator Cory Booker said he will lead the effort to expel Menendez if he refuses to resign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): He must stand up now and leave the Senate. He must do that. And if he refuses to do that, many of us -- and I will lead that effort to make sure that he's removed from the Senate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNER: Menendez said he plans to appeal the verdict -- Kate.
BOLDUAN: Thanks so much, Sara.
So this morning, the Milwaukee mayor is voicing support for several Ohio police officers who shot and killed a man near the site of the Republican Convention. Authorities say that the man had been -- was seen holding a knife in each hand and tried -- hand and tried to attack another man. And that is when the Ohio officers who are in town assisting with RNC security intervened.
Now, we're going to show you the body camera footage that has been released just of the moments leading up to that encounter. A warning: you may find it disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POLICE OFFICER: He's got a knife.
POLICE OFFICER: Yes, he does.
POLICE OFFICER: Hey!
POLICE OFFICER: Hey!
POLICE OFFICER: Hey!
POLICE OFFICER: Stop!
POLICE OFFICER: Drop your knife! Drop your knife!
POLICE OFFICER: Drop the knife!
POLICE OFFICER: Drop your knife! Drop! Drop your knife now!
(Gunshots)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fire! Fire! Fire!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: CNN's Ryan Young has new reporting on this. He's joining us right now from Milwaukee. Ryan, what are you learning?
RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Kate. Obviously, video that's tough to watch, but you also have to note the transparency that's involved in this. They wanted to get that video out so it could be very clear what officers were confronted by. They were doing a briefing nearby, they saw this interaction happen, and they went to engage. And the man apparently never dropped those knives, as you can watch in that video.
Cavalier Johnson is the mayor of Milwaukee. How are you doing, sir?
MAYOR CAVALIER JOHNSON, (D) MILWAUKEE: I'm doing alright. How you doing?
YOUNG: Obviously, a tough video to watch. But as you understand it, what do you think played out there on that video?
JOHNSON: As you were mentioning, officers from Columbus -- they were doing a briefing before the day's activities here. And while doing that briefing -- so not necessarily patrolling, just catching up with each other.
What happened was they -- one of the officers noticed that an individual had not just one knife but two knives, right, and then proceeded to yell out to that individual to drop the knives, drop the knives because he was confronting another person on the street.
Officers then rushed towards that individual, continuing to say, "Drop the knife! Drop the knife!" Don't engage, you know, essentially. And he disobeyed the officers' commands. And then proceeded to lunge at the individual with two knives.
YOUNG: There has been some criticism because they weren't Milwaukee police officers. But as you are explaining, they were doing a routine, sort of, gathering and then happened to come upon this.
What's your reaction to just, sort of, the anger around this right now?
JOHNSON: I understand where some of the anger has come from because they were not local police officers.
