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AG Garland Slams Efforts To Turn DOJ Into "Political Weapon"; Hero Pilot From Flight With Blown-Out Door Shares Harrowing Details; "Have I Got News For You" Premieres Saturday At 9P ET/PT. Aired 1:30- 2p ET
Aired September 12, 2024 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[13:31:42]
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: A warning today from Attorney General Merrick Garland that the Justice Department will not be turned into a political weapon.
In a speech to department staff and prosecutors from across the country, Garland praised the work of career staff who he says are facing escalating attacks and threats of violence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MERRICK GARLAND, ATTORNEY GENERAL: The work you do every day makes a difference. And the way you do that work makes clear that the public servants of the Department of Justice do not bend to politics and that they will not break under pressure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: CNN's Evan Perez joins us now with the latest.
Evan, Garland here, obviously, sending a message, right?
EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Right. Absolutely. He's sending a message because, obviously, we're about a month or month- and-a-half or so from the election.
And one of the things that people talk about, right, that's certainly a big discussion point for the former president, is this idea that the Justice Department has been weaponized against him.
And he's talking about the norms of the Justice Department, which he says have been applied evenly, no matter what political stripe you are.
Here's more of what the attorney general had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARLAND: There is not one rule for friends and another for foes, one rule for the powerful and another for the powerless, one rule for the rich and another for the poor, one rule for Democrats and another for Republicans.
We have only one rule. We follow the facts and apply the law in a way that respects the Constitution and protects civil liberties.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PEREZ: And this is a theme that he has repeatedly gone back to over the time that he has been attorney general.
And I think, you know, we're, again, because the attorney general has to essentially stopped speaking publicly in just a couple of weeks, he wanted to do this essentially as perhaps the last time we're going to be hearing from him before the election.
SANCHEZ: But notably, he didn't mention former President Donald Trump by name, but he's been a frequent target, not only of Trump, but other Republicans as well, right?
PEREZ: Right. Exactly. And unspoken is not only the former presidents name, but also the Supreme Court of the United States, which, in July, ruled on former president's immunity claim.
And one of the important parts of that ruling, Boris, was essentially blessing some of the conduct of the former president where he tried to use it Justice Department took to support his false claims of widespread fraud.
And that's one of the things that was on the mind of the attorney general in what you're seeing.
So the warning here being that if the former president wins the election and he tries to weaponize the department and tries to use it against his critics, that the department at least has to stand up to try to maintain its independence.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
PEREZ: That's at least what he's hoping.
SANCHEZ: Those so-called official acts that the Supreme Court sanctioned.
Evan Perez, thanks so much for the update.
[13:34:43]
When we come back, an Alaska Airlines pilot is now speaking out about when her plane had a door plug blown off midair at 16,000 feet. Hear how she describes that moment, and when she realized that, fortunately, everyone survived.
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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: For the first time, we are hearing from one of the pilots who safely landed that Alaska Airlines flight after the door plug just blew out in midair back in January.
SANCHEZ: That hero pilot, Emily Wiprud, told CBS News her harrowing account of what happened.
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EMILY WIPRUD, ALASKA AIRLINES PILOT: The first indication was it was an explosion in my ears and then a woosh of air. My body was forced forward and there was a loud bang.
UNIDENTIFIED CBS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Did you know at this point there was a hole in the airplane?
WIPRUD: No. I didn't know that there was a hole in the airplane until we landed.
[13:40:00]
It was so incredibly loud. And I remember putting the oxygen mask on and trying to transmit to ATC and wondering, why I can't hear anything?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: This happened moments after takeoff from Portland, leaving that gaping hole in the side of the plane of the Boeing 737 Max-9.
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WIPRUD: And I opened the flight deck door and I saw calm, quiet, hundreds of eyes staring right back at me. And I looked at my flight attendants and I said, are you OK? And in that response, I heard "hole, four, five empty seats and injuries."
UNIDENTIFIED CBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: And are you thinking when they said empty seats that you've lost people?
WIPRUD: Yes. And I remember it not taking very long for us to confirm we had 177 souls onboard. I was in shock. I -- disbelief everybody was there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Yes, really an incredible story. Fortunately, everyone survived, all 177 were safe.
Joining us now is CNN safety analyst, David Soucie. He's a former FAA safety inspector.
David, thanks so much for being with us.
In hearing that account, what did you think?
DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: I'll tell you, it had to be just horrifying for her coming out there and not knowing whether they'd lost people or not. But one thing she said that was incredibly impressive to me is she saw
calm when she came out. And that's testament to that crew. That crew in the back was able to maintain calm even in the face of this horrific thing that was going on at the same time.
So the fact that she came out there and she said she saw com is really an amazing feat. And it really talks to the training and the preparedness of that crew before this happened.
KEILAR: And she says, to that point, the training kicked in for her as well. What kind of training do you go through for that kind of thing as a pilot? SOUCIE: Look, they actually go through on-site training of explosions, of smoke in the cockpit, of fire in the cockpit, pretty much any scenario that you can think of, they've already experienced.
And they do it well. These are not just like, oh, what do you do if? These are actually confronted and faced with those types of emergencies in their training systems.
So Alaska, United, all the U.S. carriers, I've seen those facilities and I've been part of the certification of several aircraft where they do that training on-site at the airport or at the aircraft -- at the aircraft simulators.
So it's really something they feel like they've experienced before. That's the only way you can really be prepared.
You can't just talk about it. You have to experience that idea of walking through the cockpit and knowing that the pressurization has gone. You only have minutes to breathe without getting oxygen.
And all of those scenarios are fully vetted and experienced by the crew before it actually happens to them.
SANCHEZ: Did it surprise you that she didn't know there was a hole in the airplane until they landed?
SOUCIE: Well, I know she said she didn't know there was a whole but she certainly did mention the fact that it had rapidly depressurized and that she knew there was a catastrophic failure of some kind. So that can mean anything to a pilot.
If you recall, years and years ago, the Aloha Airlines accident where the top of the aircraft had peeled off and so they would have experienced the same thing in the cockpit on that scenario where the whole top of the airplane was gone, yet it continued to fly.
So she was prepared to see whatever it might have been in the back as far as how many people had been fatally injured or the seats, when she said five seats empty, that says a lot to me.
If I had heard that coming out of the cockpit, it would have sent chills through me.
KEILAR: Yes, and certainly, it was something she was so worried about.
She still has confidence, she says, in the 737. Are you surprised by that? What do you make of that?
SOUCIE: Well, as do I. I have confidence in every airplane that is flying in the air right now, I have to say. What things are going through, the confidence in the FAA and their oversight over Boeing and what they're doing to correct those problems there.
I have confidence in the new leadership at Boeing and what they're doing there.
You have to understand that this 737 -- I've been in this business a long, long time, longer than I'd like to mention, probably. But as during that time period, the 737 has always been the backbone of this industry. It's a tractor.
It's something that started out simple, and they kept adding to it and making king get better and better and better. And it still can get better.
But Airbus is doing the same thing with their aircraft. They continue to get better.
[13:45:01]
And we learn from these things. And that's the thing that we need to keep focused on, this line of sight with our continuous improvement, our continuous interest in safety.
There's tens of thousands of people that are trying to make these airplanes safe for all of us and tens of thousands of people that are overseeing that to make sure that that job is being done properly.
So, yes. Do I have confidence in the airlines right now? I do. Do I have conference and the confidence in the 737? Yes, I do.
SANCHEZ: Never heard of a plane described as a tractor before, David, I've got to admit.
In a situation like this, what does --
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: What does a pilot do in a moment of that sort of extreme uncertainty and, obviously, risk to make sure that the plane lands safely?
SOUCIE: Well, there's a rule in aviation for pilots and it's called "Aviate then navigate." And so what they're talking about -- and then "communicate," I'm sorry.
So you have to aviate. You have to figure out how to fly that airplane. So the ability to stabilize the aircraft -- she said that it's slowed down, that forced her forward, that there was pressurization.
There's a checklist of what to do during rapid deceleration -- a rapid decompression and how they handle that. So they fulfilled that checklist. They looked to see what they need to shut off, what they need to control.
How they - how is the aircraft flying at the time? She knew at the time that the aircraft was stable. So there's a lot that needs to be done in that situation and they followed that perfectly.
SANCHEZ: David Soucie, always great to get your perspective. Thanks for joining us.
SOUCIE: Thank you, Boris. Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Still to come on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, Jon Bon Jovi proving he's not just a rock star on stage, but in real life. How he helped save someone's life on a bridge in Nashville.
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[13:51:24]
KEILAR: This weekend, CNN is set to premiere a new comedy quiz show called, "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU." And it is based on a long-running BBC comedy series. It's going to be hosted by Emmy Award Mominee Roy Wood Jr.
SANCHEZ: Comedian Amber Ruffin is going to be the captain for one team on the show and comedian, actor and director, Michael Ian Black, will captain another team.
And he joins us now, live.
Michael, thanks so much for being with us.
What can viewers expect from the show?
MICHAEL IAN BLACK, COMEDIAN, ACTOR, DIRECTOR & TEAM CAPTAIN, "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU": Ask the question again because I was so busy thanking you.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: What can viewers expect from the show?
BLACK: Oh, laughs, hopefully. Hopefully a lot of laughs. I mean, we're going to be taking the current events, news, things that are going on that CNN is covering, and we're going to make fun of them basically.
It's not a show where you're going to learn a lot, but it is a show where, hopefully, you're going to laugh a lot.
KEILAR: I mean, do you think you have enough material, Michael, with what's going on right now in the news?
(LAUGHTER)
BLACK: I'm going to assume that was a joke.
KEILAR: I try. BLACK: Yes, there's no shortage. There's no shortage of material.
We're going to -- we're going to have plenty to choose from.
SANCHEZ: So you're a team captain. What does that exactly mean? What are your duties? What does that entail?
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BLACK: So the way it works is Roy is hosting and then Amber and I are captain. So we're competing against each other to win that episode. But there are no stakes. No trophies are going to be awarded. Nobody gets a wristwatch. No cash prizes.
It's purely for pride. And I have a lot of pride.
KEILAR: I was going to say, I mean, dignity is at stake, right?
(LAUGHTER)
KEILAR: And that is going to be up for grabs here. What are you looking forward to the most from this experience?
BLACK: Honestly, I think the thing I'm looking forward to most is not only engaging with Amber and Roy, but also, we have guests each week. So I'll have a guest on my team and Amber will have a guest on her team.
And hearing perspectives from people that you don't always hear from. It might be comedians, it might be athletes, it might be politicians, it might be journalists like yourself. Hint, hint, come on.
And I'm looking forward to hearing other peoples' perspectives, and also, having a lot of laughs.
SANCHEZ: I'm going to take that as an invitation and we're just going to show up.
KEILAR: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Yes --
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KEILAR: Just sometime --
That was an invitation.
KEILAR: -- you won't even know when we're coming.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Michael, obviously --
BLACK: That's great.
SANCHEZ: As you noted to Brianna, there's a lot of stuff out there in the news that is worth ridicule. But there is a lot at stake in this election and there's a lot out there that isn't -- it's hard to say it's not funny --
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SANCHEZ: because -- because you could find humor in almost anything. I have the kind of sense of humor I'll find humor in almost anything.
But there are some things that are not quite as easy to laugh about. They're not exactly rife for joking, especially in a public forum this way, right?
BLACK: Absolutely.
SANCHEZ: So how do you bring levity --
BLACK: Absolutely.
SANCHEZ: How do you bring levity to issues that are a lot more serious?
BLACK: As you said, and I think I think it's true that you can find humor in most situations.
Fortunately, for us, when you've got somebody claiming that people are eating -- are eating dogs and cats, we don't need to necessarily look at the more serious things. We can look at things like that.
KEILAR: It is a buffet.
(LAUGHTER)
KEILAR: This is a comedy buffet for you and you just have all you can eat.
Michael Ian Black, hey, we're really looking forward to this. This is going to be great. Thank you so much for joining us to talk about it.
[13:55:02]
BLACK: Thanks so much for having me.
KEILAR: And the premier of "HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR YOU" will be airing this Saturday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.
That sounds pretty fun.
SANCHEZ: It's a buffet, as you said.
KEILAR: Especially our episode, right?
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
KEILAR: When we show up for our episode. SANCHEZ: Yes.
KEILAR: OK, so we're only 54 days away from the presidential election and both campaigns are courting voters in a post-debate battleground blitz.
Another hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts after this short break.
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