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Don Lemon Tonight

Mitch McConnell Says President Biden Has No Patience For Bipartisan Legislation; President Biden On Crucial First International Trip With Warning For Putin And A Promise For The Rest Of The World; Vice President Kamala Harris Wraps Up Rocky First Foreign Trip; U.S. Interior Department Releases Report Leading To So Many Questions; Trump's Former Counsel Felt Perturbed; Eric Adams Says He'll Release His E-ZPass. Aired 10-11p ET

Aired June 09, 2021 - 22:00   ET

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

[22:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST (on camera): "DON LEMON TONIGHT" starts right now and he was generous enough to give me some of his show to highlight that exceptional American who gave back a scholarship money after getting --

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Everyone is always giving to you, Chris, are you ever going to give in return?

CUOMO: I'm going to give you something.

LEMON: What a selfless act, seriously, we need more -- we need more people.

CUOMO: If I had any emotional depth, I would have wept. Her parents and her mother worked so hard to get her to America, she was born in the U.K., they went to Ghana, the key didn't get you until she was 9. And she just worked the system, got the opportunities, the mother raised her kid worked two jobs and went to community college, paid tuition.

The kid kills in school, gets into Harvard, they give her a scholarship and she give it back because she remembers how hard it was for her mother and she had been blessed enough.

LEMON: Yes. Listen, an amazing young lady but there are so many stories like that in America. People who weren't born with silver spoons in their mouths, or as the former governor of Texas used to say, you remember George Bush, he was born with a silver foot in his mouth, Ann Richards.

CUOMO: May she rest in peace.

LEMON: That was her line, but there are many people who aren't born with silver spoons in the mouth, who do things like that who have every reason to complain, to be aggrieved and they just aren't, because it's not just in them. And they realize the incredible opportunity we have in a is country like America, to live in this country.

And so, you know, I think that's a lesson for a lot of folks who are out there, who are privileged, were born with money and with ease and with comfort to stop complaining so much. And look on the bright side, look at the young lady like the young lady you had on earlier.

CUOMO: I'll tell you what, though. You're absolutely right about everything you said except one thing.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: I've never heard of anybody giving back the money in that situation.

LEMON: Never.

CUOMO: Never. That's all I'm saying, and that's why I had her on the show.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: Not because they work the system, because as you said there are a lot of people who come here and make the most of the opportunity, that's the dream. I was saying to her in the break, that was my father. His parents came here, they didn't speak in English. My father, my grandfather dug graves, they wound up getting into the grocery business. He didn't speak English until he was 8.

The press came and said, you know, the kids got go to school, he got in there and with that drive and the determination of his family, one general generation, he went from a gravedigger to a governor.

LEMON: And that was your --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: But to give the money back?

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: My pup was tight as two coats of paint. I never saw him give back dollar to anybody --

LEMON: My sister -- my sister says Don squeaks when he walks, yes, every -- with the first dollar that he ever -- he ever made.

CUOMO: I believe that. Although, you did pay for lunch, that's why I love you, Don Lemon.

LEMON: You're shock, right? So, this was where you're great, great, great grandfather?

CUOMO: No.

LEMON: Your great --

CUOMO: My grandfather.

LEMON: Your grandfather!

CUOMO: Yes, I'm a second generation.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Got it. So, wow, look at that.

CUOMO: That's why I still have a little bit of the accent.

LEMON: I was going to say, look that his grandkids still doesn't speak correct English.

CUOMO: Skipped the generation.

LEMON: I love you, brother. I'll see you soon.

CUOMO: I love.

LEMON: Have a good night. This is DON LEMON TONIGHT.

And the question is, the question is are we watching bipartisanship theater? Are we? Or is it a real effort to get something done, or is it just theater? Just look at what is going on in the Congress tonight. The president, Joe Biden, his agenda stalled by Senate Republicans determined to digging their heels and obstruct at every turn.

Infrastructure, they are talking. Police reform, talking. Right? Voting, all of that talking. But what would all of this talking amount to? Mitch McConnell no surprise not yet on board with negotiations between a handful of members of his own party and Democrats trying to salvage some kind of deal on infrastructure after President Biden shut down the talks with Shelley Moore Capito last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): Yesterday, President Biden showed that his patience for the smart bipartisan approach was wearing thin. He directed Democratic leaders in Congress to get ready to ram through more expansive unrelated spending, unilaterally.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[22:05:02]

LEMON (on camera): This from the guy who said 100 percent of his focus is on blocking President Biden's agenda. Now he says the president doesn't have the patience for bipartisanship? Huh. Who was it who said just yesterday that the era of bipartisanship is over?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCONNELL: As you look to where the majority leader has in mind for June, it's pretty clear the era of bipartisanship is over. (END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): Well, that is progressives are getting recently fed up with this so far fruitless bipartisan outreach, like Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez who tweets, Mitch McConnell's plan is to run out the clock.

Meanwhile, Joe Manchin who is leading those bipartisan senators trying to hammer out a deal on infrastructure, and who pretty much doomed the For the People Act when he said that he wouldn't vote for it. He's all for talking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: There is already been a lot of resistance, sir, from a lot of Democrats that perhaps you can get end up giving too much to Republicans in some of these negotiations, do you think that, is that a concern that you have that some of your fellow Democrats have already raise concerns about.

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): We're just all talking together, we're all working together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): Everybody just talking, they're just talking and they're just working together, and what is getting done? Just talking. Democrat Jon Tester who is also in that group says the talking can't go on forever.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JON TESTER (D-MT): I don't want to drag this out forever, you know, I remember other issues that have been dragged out till they die.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): Yes. Well, like I said, is this bipartisanship theater or real effort to get something done? Will Republicans run out the clock while Democrats are talking?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-GA): If we can get a bipartisan deal, that's a good thing. But no voter that I've talked to in Georgia that said to me what's important is that we get a bipartisan deal. I think people want to see change in their ordinary lives, and we got to do infrastructure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): Bipartisanship, for the sake of bipartisanship is empty. And with his agenda and a holding pattern at home, the president is on a crucial first international trip with a warning for Vladimir Putin and a promise for the rest of the world. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm heading to the G7, then to the NATO ministerial, and then to meet with Mr. Putin to let him know what I want him to know.

(APPLAUSE)

BIDEN: We are going to make it clear that the United States is back and democracies of the world are standing together to tackle the toughest challenges and the issues that matter the most to our future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): That as the Vice President Kamala Harris wraps up a rocky first foreign trip. Sources tell CNN summit administration officials are perplexed by the Vice President Kamala Harris's answers to questions like this one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LESTER HOLT, ANCHOR, NBC: Do you have any plans to visit the border?

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: At some point, you know, we are going to the border, we've been to the border. So, this whole -- this whole thing about the border, we've been to the border. We've been to the border.

HOLT: You haven't been to the border.

HARRIS: And I haven't been to Europe. And I mean, I don't -- I don't understand the point that you're making.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): Well, let's be honest, I mean, that was a layup. That was an easy question. That was clearly a question that the vice president was going to get perplexing, that answer is perplexing. And those sources say the White House is worried that what looked like a swing in a miss will overshadow what they hope would be a successful trip.

Here's a question, though, yes, that is obviously a question that she should have been prepared for, like -- when I was in California, I went to the border. When I was a senator, I went to the border. Now I'm focused on getting the job done and what I can do here in Washington. Easy. Easy.

Does the vice president being held to the standard of the office or a different standard? We're going to discuss that tonight.

That, as a newly released watchdog report says that park police did not clear protesters from the Lafayette Park last June so that the then president could march to St. John's Church for a phot op. OK.

The Interior Department inspector report saying that the protesters were cleared so a so-called -- so a contractor could install a fence around the White House. And that it was a part of a previously planned operation to do so. But there are a whole lot of questions the reports just doesn't answer. Why didn't they talk to the Secret Service? Why didn't they talk to Bill Barr? Why didn't they talk to the White House personnel?

And then there are the redactions that raise more questions in this report. On page 10, for example, of this report, we learn that park police acting chief got a request from an official, the request is redacted, and we don't know who that official was.

[22:10:08]

We only know the acting chief, quote, "rejected the request and reiterated to the official that U.S. P.P.'s operational plan" and stated the clearing operation could begin once all law enforcement officers under the command of the U.S. P.P. were in place.

And remember, when we saw the then-attorney general watching the crowd in Lafayette Park. The report tells us a lot more about what was happening. From page 14, quote, "at approximately 6.10 p.m., news video showed the attorney general entering Lafayette Park with a security detail and other White House staff members. Protesters in the crowd recognized the attorney general and began shouting at him.

The U.S. P.P. operations commander heard the change in the crowd, saw the attorney general, and walked over to him.

News video showed the U.S. P.P. operations commander speaking with the attorney general, and then hanging his head while another unidentified official patted the U.S. P.P. operations commander on the back."

And there's more. The report going on to say that Barr asked, are these people still going to be here when POTUS comes out? The U.S. P.P. operations commander told us that he had not known until then that the president would be coming out of the White House and into Lafayette Park. He said that he replied to the attorney general, are you freaking kidding me? And then hung his head and walked away.

The attorney general then left Lafayette Park. The U.S. P.P. operations commander denied that the attorney general ordered him to clear Lafayette Park and 8th Street. OK.

We've got a lot more to come on this report later in the show. But this, this is really something. I want you to hear what Louie Gohmert, a United States congressman, I need to point out, what he said today in a hearing by the House natural resources subcommittee on national parks, forests, and public lands. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. LOUIE GOHMERT (R-TX): I understand from what's been testified to the forest service and the BLM, you want very much to work on the issue of climate change. I was informed by the past director of NASA, that they've found that the moon's orbit is changing slightly, and so is the earth's orbit around the sun. We know there's been significant solar flare activity.

And so, is there anything that the National Forest Service or BLM can do to change the course of the moon's orbit or the earth's orbit around the sun? Obviously, that would have profound effects on our climate.

UNKNOWN: I would have to follow up with you on that one, Mr. Gohmert.

GOHMERT: Yes, well, if you figure out a way that you in the forest service can make that change, I would like to know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): It would be funny, well, OK, it is funny. It is funny when a member of the United States Congress asks whether the National Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management can change the orbit of the moon or the earth. Spoiler alert, they can't.

Also, NASA says changes in the way the earth orbits the sun, well they don't explain climate change, either. Which is caused by humans. Because, science. So even if the congressman was asking in jest, mocking the idea that two government agencies could do anything about the climate crisis, well, he's just wrong.

And let's remember, the congressman is not such a fan of facts. Less than a month ago, he tried to downplay the deadly insurrection at the capitol because he claimed it was nothing more than people without firearms coming into a building.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOHMERT: There's been no evidence as has been said on January 7th that this was an armed insurrection. Armed meaning with firearms. There were no firearms. There have been things worse than people without any firearms coming into a building.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): Armed, but it has to be firearms. Flags. OK. So, what do you expect from a guy who, bear spray. What do you expect from a guy who hours after the insurrection voted to overturn the election results? That's the Republican party. Which brings me back to my original question, bipartisanship theater, or a real effort to get things done? Time will tell. Talking, talking.

[22:15:01]

With all that at home, the president is on a mission to prove to the world that democracy still works.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I believe we're at an inflection point in world history. The moment where it falls to us to prove that democracies will not just endure, but they will excel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON (on camera): President Biden in Cornwall, England tonight for the G7 meeting, then it's the NATO summit and his one-on-one sit down with Vladimir Putin. This is Biden's first trip abroad as president and it comes as his domestic agenda especially a bipartisan deal on infrastructure is in danger of falling apart.

So, let's bring in now CNN's chief White House correspondent Kaitlan Collins traveling with the president, and Fareed Zakaria, the host of Fareed Zakaria GPS is here as well.

Good evening to both of you, I should say, good morning to you, Kaitlan. I'll start with you first. This trip for the president, President Biden, he's meeting with the G7 and NATO. Then he meets with Vladimir Putin. This is high stakes. And it's all happening while his domestic agenda is stalling and looking for a lifeline. What are we going to see on this trip, Kaitlan?

[22:20:02]

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a lot of challenges ahead of the president. I think what we saw from his first remarks when he touched down in the U.K. was that he really wants to kind of reassure allies that Donald Trump is not president anymore and they don't have to have this sense of apprehension that they did for the last four years when it came to summits like the G7, like his visit with NATO allies that's coming up in Brussels in a few days.

And so, he seeking to reassure them with this message, that he -- he basically said it earlier when he said the, quote, "America is back." And saying that the United States is going to seek to not only reassure those allies but rebuild those alliances that have been, you know, such a cornerstone of the United States for the last several decades while he's here.

But it does come with challenges because I think what a lot of these European allies learned from Donald Trump's presidency is how quickly things can change based on an election. And so, he can seek to reassure them but I think the concern that it's always in the back of their mind is going to be, well, what happens in four years?

And so, that is what he is balancing while, you're right, also balancing those domestic travels -- or domestic troubles, I should say, at home that the White House has said he is going to be juggling, basically the foreign obligations and the domestic ones while he's overseas.

LEMON: You know, Fareed, Kaitlan said he is going to try to prove that America is back. Another way of putting it maybe that he wants to prove that democracy can still work. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BIDEN: We have to discredit those who believe that the age of democracy is over as some of our fellow nations believe. We have to expose as false the narrative, the decrees of dictators can match the speed and scale of the 21st challenges.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): So how challenging is that, Fareed, how challenging is this message when we see his stalled agenda here at home, and it wasn't even six months ago we saw an insurrection at our capitol?

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST: Well, I think he has a pretty strong hand right now. Look, we did see an insurrection but he was -- he was elected, he was inaugurated, he is the president. And he brings a pretty powerful one-two punch to the party which is, he has demonstrated that the United States government is back as a competent can do superpower.

Don't underestimate the degree to which the world has been impressed by the vaccination drive. We are now basically leading the world on the vaccination front. We are entering the post-pandemic world faster and more fully than any other country in the world. Everybody is envious about that.

The second piece is this very important announcement which we think is going to come of donating 500 million vaccines to the world. So, what you're demonstrating is American power, an American generosity.

The infrastructure agenda, look, these are democracies, they understand politics, they understand there is going to be some back and forth. But those two first things, the fact that the U.S. government is leading the world in vaccines and is now willing to offer half a billion vaccines to the poorest countries in the world, that's a pretty powerful one-two punch.

LEMON: Yes. And they -- look, they see our news. They are paying attention. They don't see the craziness and the jerking back and forth and, you know, all of the rhetoric coming out of a president's mouth every single day in the media. That makes a big difference.

The most -- and the most anticipated part of this trip, though, Fareed, is a week from today, that's when our President Biden is going to meet with Vladimir Putin. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: I've been clear, the United States will respond in a robust and meaningful way when the Russian government engages in harmful activities. We're going to communicate that there are consequences for violating the sovereignty of democracies in United States, in Europe, and elsewhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): What is -- what needs to come out of that Putin summit? Why does success for Biden and this administration look like, Fareed?

ZAKARIA: It's a complicated business when you're dealing with countries as powerful as Russia and it gets even more difficult when you're dealing with China. Because on the one hand, you are trying to find a way to deter.

The Russians are really the biggest spoilers on the world stage. If you think about it, they are the, you know, there has been almost no annexation of territory by military force since 1945, the Russians did it with Ukraine and Crimea. The scale of Russian cyber-attacks really dwarfs almost everything else.

The Russians in Syria, the Russians in Afghanistan -- everywhere they have been playing the role of a spoiler. And what Biden has to try to find a way of doing is pushing back against that but also holding out some hope that they can be a working relationship where the Russians also get something out of it. You see what I mean?

[22:25:02]

It can't -- it can't just be all push. There has to be some pull of integrating Russia in some way. And it's going to be hard. Putin is a tough character. But my guess is Biden will try to establish a working relationship as well as read him the Riot Act.

LEMON: Yes. Listen, Kaitlan, I mean, kind of feels like yesterday, but talk to me about how this White House is trying to avoid the comparisons to Trump's meeting with Putin where he stood on the stage next to him and say I don't see why it wouldn't be him, completely sort of capitulating to Putin.

COLLINS: Yes. I don't think that they are concerned that this summit will be anything like that, but I think they want to make sure that it is nothing like what happened in Helsinki three years ago. And Don, that was the last time we saw a U.S. president meet with Putin and actually appear alongside him.

And of course, there are so many questions about not just that press conference where former President Trump embraced Putin and embraced his denials of election interference going against with the U.S. intelligence community showed, but also, it's the way he met with him.

Where there was a no tinker in the room but the president wanted to note after they had met and sat down, and he didn't want them to talk about what had happened. And then of course later when he landed back to the United States, he tried to rewrite what had actually gone on during that summit.

And so, I think that's why you've seen Biden be so forceful in his remarks about Putin publicly. But I think there are some real questions facing the White House. And one is what are the deliverables that you can potentially get out of this summit. What is really the benefits that the U.S. gets from having this summit so early on in his presidency.

There are questions about waving the sanctions on the company behind the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which Ukraine has said benefits and empowers Russia. And so. there are questions facing Biden as he does sit down with Putin and they say that they want this predictable, stable relationship with Russia. That's really been their phrase that the Biden administration officials have repeated.

But we know Putin is someone who thrives on chaos and unpredictability. And so, I think there are a lot of unknowns going into it and they are waiting to see still even if Putin is going to show up at a press conference with Biden after.

And Jen Psaki said earlier today we know Biden is going to take questions from reporters. They're hoping Putin does but it doesn't seem like they have any kind of a firm commitment from the Russian government yet.

LEMON: All right, Kaitlan, I don't know if it's the beginning of the day or the end, but get some rest, we're going to be watching you until you return. Thank you very much. Thank you, Fareed --

COLLINS: I don't know either, honestly.

LEMON: Yes. You're like, I don't even know time it is. All right. Thank you both, I'll see you. And make sure you watch Fareed Zakaria GPS Sunday at 10 p.m. and 1 p.m. right here on CNN.

Closed door testimony made public. What former President Trump's White House attorney said made him feel perturbed and trapped, that is next.

[22:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON (on camera): So, one-time White House counsel Don McGahn confirming to Congress that the former occupant of the Oval Office, pressured him to fire Robert Mueller, the special counsel in the Russia investigation. McGahn told a congressional committee that he refused to do that and considered Trump's request a point of no return.

Transcripts of his closed-door testimony last week with House Democrats today.

A lot of talk about with CNN senior legal analyst Mr. Elie Honig, a former federal prosecutor. Elie, good to see you. Thank you, sir.

So, Don McGahn is confirming this. And this was his, this was his, quote. He said he felt perturbed and trapped by the request for him to fire the special counsel Robert Mueller mid investigation. This is obstruction 101, no?

ELIE HONIG, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, perturbed and trapped are really understatements. I mean, this is the single most flagrant instance of obstruction of justice laid out in the entire 448 pages of the Mueller report.

Donald Trump instructed Don McGahn, his handpicked White House counsel to fire Robert Mueller mid investigation. Now luckily for Donald Trump Don McGahn had enough common sense to sort of blow him off and hope that this little temper tantrums blow over.

But it didn't, he kept coming back to him again and saying get it done. And eventually, Trump told McGahn I need you to lie about this, and I need you to make a false document about this.

Don, I don't care how strongly you want to defend Donald Trump on well, he has constitutional powers as a president. No president has a power to instruct somebody to create a false document, that is obstruction of justice.

LEMON: OK. And so now McGahn is telling him that Trump told him, right, you better deny this? I mean, what does that mean? That's -- he's telling him to say something that is false, he's instructing his counsel?

HONIG: Yes. Yes. It's a cover-up. Donald Trump is telling his then White House counsel I need you to help me cover up, I need to make up a fake story. And that's why, Don, I'm looking down the street at the Justice Department here.

LEMON: Right.

HONIG: Because let's be real, it's taking congress two years to get McGahn's testimony for a lot of people's fault. It's the fault of Donald Trump, it's the fault of Bill Barr, it's the fault of Don McGahn for dragging their feet. It's the fault of Democrats in Congress for letting them get dragged out like this.

Now, the only entity that can do anything about this to ensure accountability is the Justice Department. Another thing that happened today is Merrick Garland testified and he said essentially, nobody gets treated any better or any worse than anybody else because who that person is. Well, does that principle apply to Donald Trump?

LEMON: Yes.

HONIG: That's my question to Merrick Garland.

LEMON: Well, the Republican line on this that GOP staffers in the district committee are saying that McGahn failed to substantiate any Democratic allegations or Democrat, they say as, you know, as they say allegations of wrongdoing by President Trump. I'm wondering what you think of that.

But if you have a former president who is telling his counsel to lie and ordering someone, then is there any justice in this for anyone? What is Merrick Garland doing?

HONIG: Yes. I mean, first of all let's remember who Don McGahn is here. He's not some Democrat, he is the person Donald Trump chose to be his White House counsel. A longtime Republican, the person who is responsible for shepherding through Donald Trump's judicial nominations including his Supreme Court nominees.

[22:35:06]

So, he is a Republican, he always has been. His testimony today was consistent with what he told Robert Mueller, I don't know how you spin that into no obstruction or nothing harmful.

And Don, you're right. Congress look, they're done. They've done all they can, I think it took them too long, I think Jerry Nadler was fairly ineffective in the way he handled this. I think he got slow played.

Well, it doesn't mean it's over. Merrick Garland has a job to do. I understand it's a difficult thing to investigate and to potentially charge the former president, but sometimes as a prosecutor you have to do difficult things if they're also the right thing.

LEMON: Well, are they -- so because we've been, you know, this has been such a crazy period, is there -- I don't know, is there intention just to sort of, to go easy on everyone, to try to bend over backwards to prove that they're not out to get the former administration, and in doing so, they're missing an opportunity to really restore justice?

HONIG: That's the conclusion that I am now coming to, Don. It's been three months Merrick Garland has been in office. He said all the right things. He said I do not represent the president, that's correct. He is the attorney general. He represents the American people. He said no one will get any better treatment or worse treatment because of who they are. I'm not so sure that's the case.

What are they going to do about Donald Trump? It seems to me that Merrick Garland's approach has been to sort of go along to get along. Try not to make political waves. But sometimes when you're bending over backwards like that trying so hard not to make any political waves, you're also not doing your job as the nation's top prosecutor.

LEMON: Amen, Elie Honig. That was great analysis.

HONIG: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: That's why we have you here. Thank you, Elie. I appreciate it. A tight race to --

(CROSSTALK)

HONIG: Fired up. Thanks, Don.

LEMON: -- the New York's Democrat -- Democratic nominee race for mayor, that's heating up. One of the leading candidates is being asked to prove he actually lives in the city. I'm going to ask him about it. That's next.

[22:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON (on camera): New York City voters casting ballots this month in the primary election to select a new mayor. Key issues in the race, rising crime, especially hate crimes, getting the city's economy back up and running after the pandemic shut down. But one big issue has come up that you probably wouldn't expect. Where a leading candidate, Eric Adams, where he lives.

CNN's Alexandra Field has the details for us.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ERIC ADAMS, NEW YORK MAYORAL CANDIDATE: This is a small bathroom and downstairs is where my bed is.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Democrat Eric Adams, a leading contender in New York City's mayoral race insisted he really does live in New York.

ADAMS: This is our small, humble kitchen.

FIELD: Adams who currently serves as the Brooklyn borough president giving an emotional press conference.

ADAMA: This is a real journey. This is my block. These are my neighbors, even the new ones. I'm proud to be a resident of Bed-Stuy.

While I studied --

FIELD: Then taking reporters on a tour of his Brooklyn pad after a Politico piece raised questions about whether other tenants were really living in the apartment. If Adams is spending his time in a property he owns with his partner in New Jersey or if his home is actually his office in the city building borough hall.

ADAMS: It's been over 40 days and I've been crashing out right here on borough hole on my bed.

FIELD: Adams touted moving into Borough Hall back in March of 2020 at the height of the COVID pandemic. Saying at the time the arrangement helped him best manage the crisis besetting New York. But with COVID positivity rates now below one percent in New York, Politico reports Adams is still been spotted a number of times arriving at Borough Hall close to midnight, and not leaving until early the next morning.

ADAMS: I mean, entering Borough Hall at one in the morning, working until three to four with my staffers who come in because they believe. And then getting up at 6. a.m., 7 a.m., to go to the train stations. It's not a mystery where I am. When I walk through the door sometimes after two or three days, just being at Borough Hall, I just feel good to be home. No matter how modest it is, it's my home.

FIELD: The man who wants to be New York City's next mayor now saying that when he visits his partner in New Jersey, he doesn't spend nights there. The former state senator has focused his campaign on his New York roots. He has 22-years career with the NYPD, and a tough on crime approach.

ADAMS: We need to stop the gun violence! FIELD: He is also tough on other candidates especially when it comes

to time spent in New York, launching repeated attacks on another front runner, Andrew Yang, who admitted leaving the city during the pandemic.

ADAMS: So why should we trust you now? You may flee again during a difficult time.

FIELD: Yang now firing back with his own questions for Adams, like why would anyone vote for a candidate who can't even be honest about where he lives and these more pointed questions from progressive candidate Maya Wiley. WTF, and WTF again.

Alexandra Field, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): Alexanda Field, thank you very much for that. I appreciate it.

So, joining me now, the candidate himself, Eric Adams. Eric, thank you for joining us. I appreciate it.

ADAMS: Thank you, Don. It's great being here.

LEMON: Let's get to the bottom of this. OK? For the record, do you live in New York City?

ADAMS: Yes, I do. I live in Bed-Stuy. I have a beautiful block, and it wasn't always that way, Don. When I moved there, it was filled with crime and uncertainly, and no one wanted to be there.

[22:45:05]

But those longstanding neighbors who are on the block and we made it what it is today. And I am just really proud of the community and how we stick together. And so, yes, let's be very clear, I'm a New Yorker, I live in Brooklyn, New York, and I live in a beautiful, little, small, modest building on the block.

LEMON: Do you understand why, Eric, this is being questioned, because there have been discrepancies in your official paperwork as well?

ADAMS: No, I don't understand why as many questions, particularly, Don, let me tell you. Many of my opponents, they have been following me around for months. I've noticed that, they are my most credible messengers. They know where I am. And they know where I am every day, and throughout the last, you know, four to five months.

And so, they should be leading the charge and the voice to state that Eric is a New Yorker, he's a Brooklynite, and he lives on Lafayette place.

LEMON: So, all right, Andrew Yang, you know Andrew Yang, right, we know him here at CNN, we know him as the presidential candidate, he's calling you to release your E-ZPass records to prove that you don't live outside of the city or in New Jersey. Are you going to do that?

ADAMS: Yes, of course. Transparency is the key. Don, he can pick up a copy, he can come to Brooklyn Borough Hall and get a copy tomorrow. Done. I would love that. It would already show exactly where I am, and again, you know, my, you know, friends, neighbors, and colleagues, they know where I am. I'm a Brooklynite.

LEMON: All right.

ADAMS: I'm proud to be a Brooklynite, so yes.

LEMON: All right. So, you're going to -- you're going to release your E-ZPass records? You say yes, correct?

ADAMS: Yes, I am.

LEMON: OK.

ADAMS: Right away.

LEMON: All right. So, you were a police officer for 22 years here. I just want to talk to you about what you can do to combat crime. You know, look, I live here. I know that people are scared, I see what's happening on the streets. I'm in the city every single day. In May, overall crime went up 22 percent compared to last year. Shootings are up, Eric, 73 percent. How are you going to turn this around? That's going to be a big turnaround.

ADAMS: Well, more than a police officer, Don. When an individual looks at my record, they know that I was arrested as a little child, at 15 years old. I was beat by police officers, and I went into law enforcement because civil rights leaders asked me to go in and fight from within.

And I did just that. Twenty-two years, fighting on behalf of reform and safety. Because during that time, I lost a good friend to gun violence due to the crack wars of the early '80s. And so, what we must do, we must have an approach that's intervention and prevention.

All of my colleagues, they're talking about prevention. Long term plans and what we have to do. I'm talking about intervention. What are we going to do right now to stop 10-year-old boys from being shot and Rockaway, 3-year-old children being shot in Times Square?

We need to go after guns. Illegal handguns are really just proliferating our streets. Saturating our streets. We must focus on gang violence. I speak with gang leaders to try to talk them out. But those who refuse to put down their guns to stop the violence, we have to go after them. And then we must change the ecosystem of public safety.

Police may have a role. But there are other components to that. And that's the approach I'm going to take. I'm going to put in place a plainclothes anti-gun unit with precision policing, so we can identify those known shooters. LEMON: OK. let's talk -- I just want to let people around the country

what we're dealing with here in New York City. And there are other major cities dealing with it as well. Three out of four serious crimes in Brooklyn are going unsolved right now according to NYPD's latest report.

That is -- and you are the Brooklyn borough president. Also, hate crime rates, I want to talk about that. We saw this last week, just last week this attack on an Asian woman from a violent criminal with 17 prior arrests. And that is just one example.

We see this happening all the time, Eric. Hate crimes for Asians are up 335 percent. For black people, 80 percent. Jewish people, 37 percent. And there's been a 188 percent increase in hate crimes directed at people's sexual orientation.

Listen. I know people who have had to, quite honestly, move out of Harlem where I live -- where I lived, because of random attacks on people. They moved to other neighborhoods that they deem more safe here in the city. Why do you think there's more hate in the city right now and how do you stop that? I mean, that is -- there's got to be some fundamental changes here.

[22:4959]

ADAMS: So true, Don. And you know, I'm glad you pointed it out. Because something that's often ignored. The hate crimes against LGBTQ plus community is often ignored. And you're right. I spoke with a dad of Joseph, a young Jewish child who was stomped, mazed and assaulted in Times Square. And I spoke with his dad.

And then I went to visit many of the synagogues and I have communicated with many of the African-Americans and the Asian community. Because this is going to impact our economic recovery. We fail sometimes to understand that the pre-requisite to prosperity is public safety and justice. That's our economic stimulus package.

No tourist is going to come here in our multi-billion-dollar industry if they don't feel safe. And that's the same, no company will allow the employees to come back if they can't ride the subway system in a safe way. And so, it is drilling in on those hate crimes that you're talking about.

So, three things we must do. Number one, we need to really have a look at the new bail reform laws and include hate crimes as a crime that you can place bail on. Individuals are committing hate crimes, coming out the next day and then boasting about it saying I'll do it again. That's unacceptable.

Two, we need to utilize technology. Many of the cases that we make in apprehensions and arrests, it takes place. Those cases -- those arrests take place because of the technology with video surveillance. Three, we need to partner with the district attorneys. We can't decrease the time or plea bargain a crime, hate crime. We need to charge them with the crime and get the most severe penalty because of that. And lastly, I think it's important that we have a long-term plan. I

had something called breaking bread, building bonds, 100 dinners throughout the city where people will come together. Ten people at each dinner talking to each other. We are in a segregated city and we need to be intentional in our schools as well.

LEMON: Eric, I understand that. Listen, I had the former police commissioner Bill Bratton on last night. And he said that the reforms that were tried here under the current administration, it was too much. They tried to do too much at once. Bail reform. Letting violent offenders out. Letting people who have a history of mental illness out.

Not that there is a stigma for people but there needs to be a place for those people. You see those people attacking people on the subway. I live here with my fiance. I'm afraid to have him ride the subway. Fortunately, I live close to work where I don't have to. I'm afraid that he is out there in the streets every day and possibly could fall victim to the crime.

People I know who have lived here for years, for decades, are walking around, looking over their shoulders every single day, Eric. I understand what you say. But do you think that too much was done? Do you think the current administration has been too lenient?

Are you going to be tougher on crime? Because that's what New York City needs right now. Not someone who apologizes for crime. Someone who listens to people who want to go soft on crime. Who don't want violent offenders locked up?

We need people who are going -- we need a mayor who will be tough on crime and make the city safe. If we cannot be safe living here, then people can't live here. We may as well live somewhere else.

ADAMS: Don, listen, I'm not the choir, Don. I wrote the song. You know, all of my former or current candidates they were afraid to talk about that we have to be safe. Andrew Yang did not come out and talk about gun violence until there was a shooting blocks from his home. Others talk about the long-term plan.

Yes, I'm a believer in prevention in long term plans. But we need to deal with intervention. What are we doing right now?

LEMON: OK.

ADAMS: And so, I believe you can go after violent offenders without being heavy handed and go after those nonviolent offenders -- that is the mistake we made in the past. Let's after those shooters, let's go after those hate crime individuals, let's go after the violent offenders. And that is the type of mayor I'm going to be, but at the same time I'm going to put in place measures to prevent crime. Something simple as this lexi (Ph) screening.

LEMON: All right.

ADAMS: Thirty percent of our inmates in prison are -- LEMON: I've got to go, Eric.

ADAMS: -- just lexi (Ph). Let's stop that.

LEMON: All right. I've got to go. Because I'm getting in trouble because I went longer. But we'll see. You said -- so we made news. He's going to be tough on crime. He's got a plan on place and also, he's going to release his E-ZPass records to prove where he lives. Eric Adams, candidate for mayor in New York City.

ADAMS: Thank you. Take care.

LEMON: I appreciate it. We'll be right back.

[22:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON (on camera): Take this. With all the cicadas swarming the D.C. area, it was only a matter of time until one of them got up in close -- up close and personal with President Joe Biden. After swatting it away, the president says, watch out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BDIEN: The cicadas, I just got one, it got me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): Not even the Secret Service could protect the president from one of those big bugs. We'll be right back.

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