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Don Lemon Tonight

Trump Organization CFO Facing 15 Charges; Rep. Liz Cheney to Lead the January 6 Commission; Kevin McCarthy Denies Threatening GOP Members; Michael Cohen Says He Saw It Coming to Allen Weisselberg; Supreme Court Upholds Arizona Voting Rights Law; President Biden Meet Families in Surfside, Florida. Aired 10-11p ET

Aired July 01, 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: Thank you for watching. Time for Don Lemon Tonight and its big star D. Lemon.

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Well, can you call this bipartisanship?

CUOMO: What we're doing right now?

LEMON: No, no. This is called, you know --

CUOMO: Jacked and non-jacked.

LEMON: Yes. Why would you call yourself non-jacked? I mean, I know you've been eating a lot, you know, and you've gained a lot of weight during quarantine, but I wouldn't call you non-jack.

CUOMO: Make your point, friend.

LEMON: But I'm talking - I'm talking about Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida and the president of the United States tonight and having a cordial meeting, complimenting each other, saying that we live in a world where people should get along. DeSantis saying he's got all the resources. The president was nice and the president stopping to talk to everybody, and he apologized because, I mean, what a difference a year makes. But anyways, go on. This is how it should be.

CUOMO: The job should come first. You have abject tragedy, trauma, a community that has no time for pettiness. They are dealing with the heaviest of human consequence. And I'll tell you what I like about it. Is that everybody is doing this the right way including the media. Nobody is magnifying fringe fools on Twitter and saying some don't like it, some don't like it. No, shut them down.

LEMON: Yes. Who cares?

CUOMO: This is the time for the big voices, --

LEMON: Yes. CUOMO: -- not to make the most of the least. And DeSantis should do his job, and that's taking care of his people. And you should want the federal government to help with that. And Biden treating DeSantis like he's anybody else is exactly what he should do.

LEMON: But you know, that's just shows go -- I know I said that wrong. But that's just a funny thing. That just goes to show you that we're not -- we're no longer -- well, I should say we're living in a world now where you have to compliment someone for doing their job. And it shouldn't -- it wasn't that way for so long, and we shouldn't have to do that because this is exactly how it should be.

And guess what? Right now, you just said it, the fringes. Right? I can't believe -- why's he talking to him that way, I'm talking about everyone, right, Democrats and Republicans. Why is Joe Biden being so nice to Ron DeSantis? Why is Ron DeSantis being so nice to Joe Biden? It shouldn't matter.

Again, this is what should be like. Listen, we have been telling people rightly so to follow the science, to believe in science, to believe in the vaccines because that's what the scientists tell us, what Dr. Fauci tells us, that's what all of the doctors, the legitimate doctors are telling us. That they should go and be with their families, that they should be outside and enjoy their lives and they're out to do it.

And I think that it's -- we have a tragedy that we have to deal with in Florida, but I think it's great that we are actually seeing that happening from both a Democrat and a Republican. And I think Democrats and Republicans in general except for those radical fringe voices, and I hope that this weekend quite frankly everyone gets out and enjoy the weekend. And they also tune in to CNN to watch me and my colleagues Dana Bash and Victor Blackwell, Ana Cabrera. We're going to be hosting the Fourth of July coverage and celebrating.

CUOMO: I love it. I love the plan for the coverage. I love that we're going big with it this year, and I also hope people can just subscribe -- you know, let's not get too deep with it. Just a simple existential pragmatism. Are you able to defend yourself if you hate yourself?

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: No is the answer. We have to remember that at the end of the day you can disagree, but you have to do it with decency because we're all part of the same cause. That's what we've lost sight of, and we see here in the worst of situations. This is the best of how they behaved today, and it was a good thing.

LEMON: I wish everyone could do this. I should have gotten our producers to do that. You see that?

CUOMO: Yes.

LEMON: That's me and you. That's this weekend. That was this weekend.

CUOMO: In black and white. LEMON: This past weekend. In black and white. Ebony --

CUOMO: Odd at a pride party that you decided to go in black and white.

LEMON: Right, of all things that should be in color.

CUOMO: Hey, look, it was nice.

LEMON: There you go. Yes.

CUOMO: Look, the more we celebrate the right things, --

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: -- the more we do the right thing, that can become contagious as well.

LEMON: Yes. Yes.

CUOMO: I love you, D. Lemon.

LEMON: Hey, you the most. I won't be sitting in this chair tomorrow because my entire family is at my house now. I've already gotten reports from my niece about what things have been broken already, who's leaving the door open, letting the flies in, all kinds of things, setting the alarm off. But I love every second of it, so I'll take it because I haven't seen them in almost two years.

CUOMO: I love family. I missing my kids.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: My kids are scattered all over the place.

LEMON: Yes.

CUOMO: So, call them all in and come over for some coffee. I'm ready to take your mom on all host of topics she brings my way.

[22:05:07]

LEMON: You're going to be seeing a lot of us and I'm not sure if that's what you want.

CUOMO: Chris, let me ask you something, Chris.

LEMON: Come here and give me a kiss, Chris. Take my sunglasses off, Chris. I love you. I got to get to the news. I'll see you. I'll see you.

So, this is Don Lemon Tonight. Thank you so much for joining us.

And on the day that President Joe Biden goes to Florida to console families since rescuers continue to search for the rubble of that collapsed condo, you know what, his predecessor really got some bad news in a New York courtroom today. We've never seen anything like this, you guys. Never seen anything like this.

A former president's family business and its chief financial officer charged with a 15-year alleged tax scheme. CFO Allen Weisselberg led into court in handcuffs today. Prosecutors charging the company with 10 counts and Weisselberg with 15 counts in an alleged scheme to defraud, conspiracy, criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records.

Weisselberg also charged with grand larceny. Now, the former president, the former Trump fixer and keeper of secrets I should say, Michael Cohen, who knows a thing or two about taking the fall saying this today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL COHEN, FORMER DONALD TRUMP'S LAWYER: What you have right now is Allen Weisselberg's head on the chopping block. And do you think that Donald Trump will protect him? Well, if Allen looks back at what happened to me, the answer is an emphatic no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: But do you remember what he told Congress about how his boss made his wishes known, how he made sure people knew what he wanted them to do?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: He doesn't give you questions. He doesn't give you orders. He speaks in a code. And I understand the code because I've been around him for a decade.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, here's what you should know. The former president is not charged with anything right now, but his pride and joy, his company is. And his attitude about paying taxes is well-known. Remember this?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: The only years that anybody has ever seen were a couple of years when he had to turn them over to state authorities when he was trying to get a casino license, and they showed he didn't pay any federal income tax. So, if he's paid --

(CROSSTALK)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: That makes me smart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: He said it right there. And now the family business that bears his name is charged with criminal tax fraud. Add to it to the list, I should say of Trump University, Trump stakes, Trump casinos, well, you know, on and on and on.

And then there's the big lie, the big lie alive and well with Republican deniers, fighting to sweep the capitol insurrection that could have killed them under the rug. And here's what they're so afraid to look into, OK?

We have newly released body cam videos tonight showing what happened in that tunnel on January 6th as police fended off a mob of rioters. You see the violent standoff with an officer's bloodied hands visible. And I'm telling you this now, this is a warning, OK. So if you have kids or whatever, we are not bleeping it because we want you to see the full context. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Back off. Back off. Sir, let go off the door and leave the capitol. Back off. Stop, stop. Stop, stop. Stop. Look at me. Stop. Back off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Yes. So, there you go. You know, tourists, patriots. Another video shows a rioter kneeling on the ground in the chaos. Then behind a door Trump flags visible in the crowd.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Fast forward. Fast forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Does it make you angry? Does it make your blood boil? Does it -- are you embarrassed to see it? You should be, all of those things. Because you know what? That is what the GOP is so afraid to investigate.

[22:10:08]

They're afraid of a disgraced, twice impeached one-term former president. They're playing a disgusting game of see no evil over the select committee to investigate January 6th. See nothing. I don't want to see it. I don't want to see it and I don't want to hear it. It didn't happen, never happened. Patriots, tourists.

The committee Liz Cheney was appointed to today along with seven Democrats, by the way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): I think it's clear to all the people on this committee that our oath to the Constitution, our duty, our dedication to the rule of law and the peaceful transfer of power has to come above any concern about partisanship or about politics.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: So Kevin McCarthy now denying he threatened to pull committee

assignments from any Republicans like Liz Cheney who accepted an offer from Nancy Pelosi to serve even though two GOP sources tell CNN he did exactly that.

Adam Kinzinger who voted for the committee along with Liz Cheney reacted to McCarthy's threat telling reporters, quote, I'm just -- I'm going to say it because I've already warned you about foreign -- about language, OK? Telling reporters, quote, "who gives a shit." McCarthy saying this today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: I did not -- let me be very clear, I'm not threatening anybody with committee assignments. What I'm saying is it was shocking to me that if a person is a Republican, they get their committee assignments from the Republican conference. For somebody to accept committee assignments from Speaker Pelosi, that's unprecedented.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Now isn't that special? Isn't that interesting because I know I remember a guy just one week after Trump supporting rioters ran wild at the capitol beating police with that -- to with an inch of their lives and hunting lawmakers in the halls of Congress -- I remember a guy saying this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCARTHY: The president bears responsibility for Wednesday's attack on Congress by mob rioters. He should have immediately denounced the mob when he saw what was unfolding. These facts require immediate action from President Trump. Accept a share of responsibility, quell the brewing unrest and ensure President-elect Biden is able to successfully begin his term.

And the president's immediate action also deserves congressional action, which is why I think a fact-finding commission and a censure resolution would be prudent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: It's so interesting because I find myself talking to myself when I'm play these sound bites. I said who is that guy? Does he have any core? He says one thing one minute and next -- next minute he says something else. Contradictory, hypocritical.

What or who is he so afraid of that he's now threatening members with losing their committee assignments? Look at what he tolerates from them. Paul Gosar apparently plans and claims he didn't know anything about it a fund-raising appearance with a Holocaust denier and white supremacist even though he has previously attended events with him and appeared to defend the appearance.

In a tweet saying and I quote here, "not sure why anyone is freaking out." He tolerates a QAnon congresswoman who is still pushing the big lie, who compared mask requirements on the House floor to the Holocaust, who blamed wildfires on Jewish space lasers, who before she ran repeatedly expressed support for executing top Democrats.

He tolerates her. He tolerates Matt Gaetz who is under DOJ investigation over allegations involving federal sex trafficking, prostitution, and public corruption laws and whether he allegedly had sex with a minor.

He tolerates Mo Brooks who whipped up the crowd ahead of the capitol insurrection just before they stormed the capitol with the goal of hanging the vice president. Kevin McCarthy tolerates them, but he can't tolerate any Republican standing up for the truth about one of the darkest days in American history.

And let's face it, the last thing most Republicans want to serve on the January 6 is to serve on the January 6th committee in spite of all their whining about this being partisan. That is one of our most sacred rights as Americans is under increasing assault with conservatives on the Supreme Court basically gutting voting rights. Never thought I'd see that in all my years.

[22:15:02]

Upholding Arizona's restrictive new voting laws and signaling they would like -- likely side with other states passing new voting restrictions in the name of preventing bogus voter fraud, i.e., the big lie. The highest court in the land gutting voting rights as states across the country are passing restrictive laws targeting voters of color while Congress sits on its hands totally unable to get anything done on the John Lewis Act or for the For The People Act.

In the face of all that, the president of the United States, Joe Biden, a consoler in chief going down to Florida as rescuers search for any sign of the missing more than a week after that condo collapsed in the middle of the night. And as questions loom over what caused that disaster.

The president promising the feds will cover the cost of the search and the rescue for 30 days. And apologizing for being late for his speech because he stopped to talk to everybody who wanted to hear from him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I apologize for taking so long to get here because I thought it was important to speak to every single person who wanted to speak to me.

Jill and I wanted them to know that we're with them and the country is with them. Our message today is that we're here for you as one nation, as one nation. And that's the message we communicated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: One nation. That's the president's message tonight. One nation under God with liberty and justice for all. Too bad Republicans don't seem to be listening.

You know the former president's family business and its chief financial officer facing criminal charges right now. What does it mean for the guy whose name is on the front door is the question?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: When things really get hot that's when Donald runs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[22:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So, we're going to report on the breaking news now. The -- tonight, the Trump Organization and the company's chief financial officer accused of an alleged 15-year tax scheme. Unheard of, right, in the history of this country. Among the charges, conspiracy and criminal tax fraud. The Trump Organization calling the case political prosecution. The former -- the former president was not charged, by the way.

A lot to discuss. Matthew Dowd is here, he is a former chief strategist for President George W. Bush, CNN political commentator Amanda Carpenter here as well. Good evening to both of you.

Matthew, it's not every day that a former president's company is criminally charged. What does that say about where we are right now?

MATTHEW DOWD, FORMER CHIEF STRATEGIST FOR PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: Well, I think it's imminently predictable that Donald Trump is who's lived this life in this exceedingly corrupt manner and who everybody around him seems to constantly get indicted or plead guilty to various crimes. He's had the most indicted or guilt-ridden White House that we've had since probably Teapot Dome, much more so than Watergate.

So, it doesn't surprise me at all. I think the question still remains is, you know, in many ways Weisselberg is a little fish, are you going to get the big fish? And the big fish is obviously President Trump -- former President Trump. And I'm -- you know, he's managed to escape for four decades on things. Will he still escape through this, and that's still an open question?

LEMON: So, Amanda, the Trump Org CFO hauled off to jail in cuffs. Hundreds of insurrectionists are arrested and facing charges. But the man at the center of it all being protected by Republicans to the point where they don't even want to investigate attempts on their own lives.

So, I don't know. I want to ask you what's next, but I'm sure even you can't figure that out as bright and --

AMANDA CARPENTER, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well.

LEMON: -- fresh as you are. CARPENTER: Well here's how I think the conversation should move

forward. Yes, politically, the most interesting question on both fronts is how does this lead up to Trump because there's still this deep hunger for some kind of accountability. That's not what moves the ball forward, though. Those actually aren't the most important questions.

When it comes to the Trump Org, when I look at that I wonder how many other Trump organizations are there. We should be having a discussion about tax avoidance and fairness and how come there's a different set of rules for the rich that screw over the little guy again and again and again?

How come these kids were able to go to the finest schools paying with tax free dollars when other people struggle? I mean, that is how you politically move the ball in a way that moves past Trump in a way that's positive for everyone.

The same thing with the insurrection. Yes, Donald Trump should be held accountable, but right now this question is much bigger than Trump. It is about our democracy. It gets to the question of voting rights. When you vote should it be able to count? Those insurrectionists and everyone who supported them were trying to cancel votes for Joe Biden and overturn the will of the people. These are the kind of big discussions that started under Trump but need to be bigger, broader and more inclusive going forward.

LEMON: Are you saying that the Republican Party is now the party of cancellation, of canceling people?

CARPENTER: Listen, the willingness to cancel votes that started with Attorney General Ken Paxton's lawsuit, that he tried to take to the Supreme Court that got the support of many other attorneys general, many other members of Congress including Kevin McCarthy and a number of conservative organizations, that is a bright line.

That laid the groundwork for a lot of stop the steal and laid the groundwork for January 6th. We should have a principle promise to one another that we all have the right to vote, and when we do it will count. And no one should be able to take that away from you.

LEMON: And speaking of January 6th because Amanda mentioned it, Matthew, when it comes to that date and the commission and the GOP's attacks on voting rights, your advice to Democrats go full partisan on this and make the truth your north star. Explain to me what does that mean?

[22:25:04]

DOWD: Well, it means that the constant struggle in this moment to constantly show yourself as bipartisan is a fool's errand. You -- they have a partner now in Washington, D.C. that is unwilling to tell the truth, that is unwilling to support our democracy except for a very few exceptions, very few exceptions who are unicorns in the GOP right now. So, there's no partner in this. So, every time we talk about

bipartisanship, bipartisanship, we move further and further away from what the truth is. And the truth is and I totally agree with Amanda on this, is holding people accountable.

But it's not -- I think sometimes we focus way too much on Donald Trump because where we are today --

LEMON: Yes.

DOWD: -- is we have a legacy party, the GOP today that has adopted wholesale all of what he has pushed. And they themselves push the lie, and they themselves are actually taking it steps further than Donald Trump took it in 2020 and in 2018.

And so, I think the conversation is what do we do as a country when it a major political party no longer believes in democracy as it stands? And so, that's -- I think that's the question now. And I think Democrats should give up on this idea of bipartisanship, just forget it and just basically say we're going to do what's right for the country.

If that means it's Democrat versus Republican, we're going to do what's right. And remember, the 14th and 15th Amendments to the United States Constitution were completely partisan. And that's the only way they were able to get through. So the standard that others want to apply today back then we would have never had the 14th and 15th Amendment. So, I say Democrats highlight this, go big and just go as far as you possibly can to get to the truth.

LEMON: Well, Amanda, you're talking about other people. You said, you know, he said we focus on Trump a lot. Let's talk about the leaders in the Republican Party.

In your latest piece for the Bulwark, you eviscerate GOP leader Kevin McCarthy and his record on Trump, the insurrection and this committee. I mean, McCarthy went as far as threatening to strip Republicans of their committee assignments if they accepted Pelosi's offer to serve on the commission. That's according to Republican sources. What is -- what is he so afraid of?

CARPENTER: Well, this is going to blow back on him and his party. I mean, when Kevin McCarthy complains about partisanship, it's a joke. He is the biggest partisan there is in Washington. If you look at his record when it comes to January 6, right, like he voted twice to not certify the election in Joe Biden's favor.

He refused to impeach Donald Trump for inciting the riot. He refused to support a bipartisan commission. He refused to support a select committee. And he punished Liz Cheney once. He's going to try to punish her twice now because she refused to mouth the big election lie.

I mean, he loves partisanship. He loves partisanship more than his country at this point. Because that is all they're clinging to. And this is, listen, I still consider myself a Republican, but I am not a blind partisan, neither is Liz Cheney, neither is Adam Kinzinger, neither a whole lot of other people who need a place to go and serve as a stop against this horrible, terrible impulse.

LEMON: Amanda, Matthew, thank you so much. I really appreciate it.

Charged with running a 15-year scheme to dodge taxes. Inside the Trump Organization's indictment after this.

[22:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: New York prosecutors taking aim at the heart of former President Trump's business, charging the Trump organization and its CFO, Allen Weisselberg, with 15 felony counts in connection to a 15- year alleged tax scheme that helped Weisselberg and other executives evade taxes on perks and bonuses.

Let's discuss now with CNN's senior legal analyst is here, Laura Coates. Laura, hello to you.

So, let's -- it's criminal tax fraud, it's conspiracy, falsifying business records, no taxes on perks like a rent-free apartment and Mercedes cars. Are these significant charges?

LAURA COATES, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: These are very significant charges. Originally people thought these would be about fringe benefits, and of course they tried to be dismissive about that. The idea of are you really going to try to charge someone for fringe benefits? But now it's not the fringe. It's the fraud that's involved.

The intent to defraud the tax paying members of the state of New York. The combination of the attorney general in New York Letitia James with the Manhattan D.A.'s office who you'll recall went all the way to the Supreme Court twice to try to ascertain the tax information from Donald Trump and the organization.

And now we see here it wasn't just a matter of a few mistaken filings perhaps but the idea of intentional fraudulent behavior to not pay the taxation that's owed. This all allegations, of course. There are still a presumption of innocence. But the weight of these charges is significant. We're talking about some of them double digit in statutory numbers in terms of the amount of time they could actually -- he could actually serve. It's very serious.

LEMON: So, the indictment talks about Weisselberg not reporting nearly $360,000 in tuition payment for his grandchildren on his taxes. It says this, and I quote, "From 2012 through 2017 and as part of the scheme to defraud Trump Corporation personnel including Weisselberg arranged for tuition expenses for Weisselberg's family members to be paid by personal checks drawn on the account of and signed by Donald J. Trump." Signed by Trump. What do you take from that, Laura?

COATES: Well, we know with Michael Cohen and his earlier statement with Alisyn Camerota and others earlier today that nothing really got done in that office without the real consent of Donald Trump. [22:35:00]

And of course, Allen Weisselberg is the highest-ranking member of the organization who doesn't have the last name Trump. He's not a low- ranking official who would just be taking orders and just be delegating. He also is able to receive those orders.

Now the reason it's important about who signed it if that's in fact true is that's a matter of, look, if you truly are just taking orders and answering information based on what you're being told and you have no reason to believe that it's fraudulent or that it's illegal what you're doing, well then you've got the notion do you really have the intent you need to prove these crimes?

But again, here talking about a very high ranking official. And here's why it's important, Don. You're talking about not just paying someone's tuition or paying for a car or an apartment. It's about not putting that in the column of salary. It's about not putting these things in the taxable income bracket that allows the state of New York to be able to collect or at the federal level.

If you're essentially moving around assets to avoid tax liability you are committing a crime. Now, of course, the organization has also been charged. They don't have -- they're not a person. The corporation is really just symbolically a collection of papers. But Allen Weisselberg, he could actually go to prison, which means that there is now an incentive for him to potentially cooperate if that discussion is not already been exhausted.

LEMON: Yes. So, let's talk about this indictment. It says the company had two sets of books to keep track of all of Weisselberg's hidden cash and other benefits. What are the chances that he was the only one to be paid this way?

COATES: Probably a snowball's chance in hell that's actually the case, Don. I mean the idea here is this probably a theme overall. And maybe -- maybe the extent of the perks is just not the same. Maybe he had some additional benefits. But if the M.O., which is what they're going to have to try to prove as well as to why the organization has been charged and him individually but also acting as its agent is that this was the M.O. of the organization in some form or fashion, that they were doing this as a way to proactively avoid paying charge -- paying taxes and committing other acts.

Again, these are all allegations that have to be proved up, but the investigation is still going on. We heard a statement from Letitia James, the A.G. there, who said that it is still ongoing. And there's a special grand jury, Don, that could still meet up to three times a week up to the end of this year.

So, this might be the beginning of the beginning. This might not be the main attraction or the end of the road. This might actually be the launchpad for other information to come in about who else may have benefitted this way, who else knew, or potentially who knew and could be acted on criminally.

LEMON: All right, Laura Coates, I appreciate that. Thank you so much.

COATES: Thank you.

LEMON: The Supreme Court giving a green light to red states to impose more voting restrictions. Dr. Cornell West, there he is, weighs in next.

[22:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So, the Supreme Court's conservative majority further gutting the Voting Rights Act in a six to three decision today upholding two provisions of an Arizona voting law. The high court allowing the state's election officials to toss out ballots cast in person at the wrong polling locations. And letting Arizona keep its restrictions on ballot collection or so-called ballot harvesting, making the practice illegal.

It's a blow for progressives who argue that these laws disproportionately target black and brown voters.

So, joining me now to discuss is Cornel West, the Dietrich Bonhoeffer chair at Union Theological Seminary. That's quite a title and quite a resume and quite a brain. So, thank you, sir. I appreciate you joining us. Good evening to you. Let me ask you.

CORNEL WEST, DIETRICH BONHOEFFER CHAIR, UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY: Always a blessing to be with you, my brother.

LEMON: If voting right, if the Voting Rights Act is now essentially moot, professor, as some are saying, what protects our right to vote now?

WEST: We have no significant protections, and you read that brilliant reflection of Sister Kagan where she says we now have law-free zones, that we're now at a fork in the road when it comes to equal citizenship. And what that means, brother Don, you and I have always known that white supremacy has been the many headed serpent wrapped around the legs of the table of the United States.

We lost in 2013 with Shelby, two of the legs of the table under. Now we've got a third leg that is for the most part no longer operative. We are reaching the point where the white supremacist, Jim Crow sensibility are devouring the very energies and souls of any Democratic possibility.

Because if you don't have equal citizenship, you don't have equal access to vote, you don't even have a (Inaudible) to lift up democracy, let alone a full-scale democracy. So, we're in a very, very dim moment right now. And as a result of the courts, the court that got a majority which means Congress must hit the ground running. There must be federal minimal standards for voting across the board. States rights will not do it.

States rights is nothing but another language for white supremacist subordination of black and brown and indigenous people, but not allowing us to have access to equal citizenship.

LEMON: You know what, professor, I have to tell you, I think your -- the camera is to your left, if you can turn to your left a little bit. Right there. There you go.

WEST: OK, I'm sorry. I've been looking away, but I should have been looking away because it's so painful to talk about just how ugly this situation is. I mean.

LEMON: Yes. No, look, I get you. I just want -- I want everybody to see that face so they could see the emotion and feeling in your face. You have a great voice.

(CROSSTALK)

[22:45:01]

WEST: Yes, I know I did.

LEMON: But still (Inaudible) what you did on is important. So, Justice Elena Kagan seeming to suggest in her dissent -- dissenting opinion today Congress needs to act on this issue. But right now, the John Lewis and For the People Act going nowhere in the Senate. Are you worried that we're seeing the chance to slip away if Congress doesn't do something?

WEST: You're absolutely right, brother. It's a sign of the spiritual decay and moral decrepitude, the callousness, too much indifference in the heart, too much greed in the brain. And never forget what the great rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel had to say about racism. What did he say? It's a form of satanism. It's the devil in us, the devil in America, the devil in institutions that can't keep track of the rich humanity and creativity and potentiality of black people and brown people and indigenous people and Asians.

That's what Sister Kagan was actually accenting. I think she hit the nail on the head. And it's a cry into heart, it's a cry into darkness. And I think I'm not always as you know -- you know, I'm not always in cahoots and coinciding with some of my Supreme Court judges even when they're liberal. But she's telling the truth in what she had to say, I'll tell you that.

LEMON: Yes. I don't know if you saw this earlier. I'm going to play it for you. This is Joe Manchin on with Chris Cuomo earlier. He's saying that he sees the -- he sees the way to push back. Here it is. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): We're going to have to rewrite the formula, and that's what we should have been doing all along. John Lewis Voting Rights Act is going to be the vehicle, I believe, that we can put some guardrails back on to where people have fair elections, there are open elections and they're secured.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: OK, what do you think? Do you think -- he's saying he still wants to work with Republicans to get it done. Is it a choice now between a filibuster or democracy? What do you think of that, what he said as well?

WEST: Yes. I think brother Joe come out of West Virginia. Some of my favorite folk I know from West Virginia. But I must say that he's going to have to get off his symbolic crack pipe, too. That you're going have to do away with the filibuster in order to get any work done because you've got a right-wing party that's authoritarian with deep-knee old fascism (Inaudible) that has no commitment to Democratic processes, no commitment to Democratic values.

And then at the same time you've got Democrats who run around talking about being bipartisan but for the most part they lack enough -- they lack a backbone. They don't have enough fight, and then they've got conservative elements in their party who stand in the way. So, we're really at an impasse, my brother, a serious impasse. And we're not even talking about the wealth inequality, we're not even talking about the militarism abroad.

We are not even talking about the degrees to which citizens are losing trust in one another, losing the ability to even have a heightened vulnerability and sense of community. That leads toward the end of your, our Democratic process, brother. It's very, very sad but we must keep fighting and we've got to continue to tell the truth. We have got to continue to fight against the callousness, the indifference and most importantly, we've got to try to accent the common humanity that cuts across all of us regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation or national identity.

LEMON: You know, I always love our conversations, and I always learn from you and so does our audience. Thank you, professor. Be well.

WEST: You stay strong, my brother.

LEMON: Thank you. You as well.

Facebook promising to stop the flow of misinformation and conspiracies, but take this. Their solution isn't stopping the information from spreading.

[22:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So, take this. Is someone you know turning into an extremist? Well, Facebook now asking that exact question of people who use the platform. Check this out. Some of the social site's users here in the U.S. now are being served a prompt that asks, if they are worried that someone might know -- might know -- you might know, excuse me, may be becoming extremist. And others are being notified that they have been exposed to extremist content. OK?

It's a social media version of those health warnings on a pack of cigarettes. Now Facebook has come under scrutiny, intense scrutiny, really, from critics for not taking enough action to curtail extremist content on its platform. The company's own independent oversight board even urged the company to investigate the role its platform played in the January 6th insurrection.

But extremism is not the only problem for Facebook right now. There's a whole lot of misinformation there too. And the White House chief of staff says that he talked to Facebook's boss Mark Zuckerberg about it. Ron Klain tells the New York Times that he raised the issue of COVID- 19 lies on the platform.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON KLAIN, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: I think Facebook itself has built a number of tools to help people find vaccines and so on and so forth. But I've told Mark Zuckerberg directly that when we gather groups of people who are not vaccinated and we ask them why aren't you vaccinated and they tell us things that are wrong, tell us things that are untrue, and we ask them where they've heard that, the most common answer is Facebook.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, Facebook has promised to do better at stopping the flow of misinformation and conspiracy theories and it's on them now to follow through.

Next, indicted. The Trump organization and its CFO facing charges tonight. Stay with us.

[22:55:01]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Tonight, the Trump Organization and the company's chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, charged with an alleged 15-year tax scheme. The charges include conspiracy and criminal tax fraud. The Trump Organization claiming the case is a political prosecution. The former president was not charged.

On Capitol Hill, the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointing GOP Congresswoman Liz Cheney, an outspoken critic of Trump to the new select committee that will investigate the January 6th insurrection.

Plus, President Biden and the first lady traveling to Surfside, Florida to meet with families of the victims of the deadly condo tower collapse.

In just a few moments I'm going to talk with a woman who met with the president today, her mother is still missing a week after that collapse.

[23:00:00]

There's a lot to get to this evening. So, I want to bring in now CNN contributor Michael D'Antonio. He is the author of "The Truth About Trump," and our legal analyst, Jennifer Rodgers. Thank you so much.