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Don Lemon Tonight
Seized Documents Shows Laundry List Of Things; Former President Didn't Admit What He Brought To Mar-A-Lago; Personal Things Are Different Than Political Views; Cori Bush Not Afraid To Double Down On Defunding The Police; Anonymous Woman Confirms Herschel Walker Has Lied; Money Resolves One Of Alec Baldwin's Headaches; President Biden Promise To Help Floridians. Aired 10-11p ET
Aired October 05, 2022 - 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)
KASIE HUNT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Thank you so much for joining us tonight. Don't go anywhere because DON LEMON TONIGHT starts right now. Hey, Don.
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: You're right. Don't go anywhere, Kasie Hunt. Thank you. Well, except for Kasie Hunt. You can go home.
HUNT: I'll have to say goodnight.
LEMON: Yes.
HUNT: But I will, I will have you on.
LEMON: I'll see you soon. Have a great night, Kasie. Thank you so much.
HUNT: See you. You too.
LEMON: This is DON LEMON TONIGHT.
And we are, there's some news brewing that we are going to try to get to this hour and you'll find out what it is. It involves the whole Herschel Walker thing, but we'll -- we're checking on that to make sure everything is OK with that, with the reporting.
But we are learning that more and more about those boxes and boxes and boxes and boxes of material, what was in them, including classified documents the former president took with him to Mar-a-Lago. Clemency requests, IRS forms and intriguingly paperwork that appears to be related to the 2020 election.
Even an e-mail accepting Trump's resignation from the Screen Actors Guild or SAG as they call it in the business. That is according to a Justice Department list that was apparently, inadvertently posted publicly and reported by Bloomberg News. That as we have more secretly recorded audio from an alleged November 2020 Oath Keepers meeting, played in the trial of leaders of the far militia -- far-right militia group on seditious conspiracy charges. Watch this.
(BEGIN VOICE CLIP)
UNKNOWN: If the fight comes, let the fight come. Let Antifa go -- if they go kinetic on us, then we'll go kinetic back on them. I'm willing to sacrifice myself for that.
(END VOICE CLIP)
LEMON: And there is this. Other defendants discussing what weapons are legal to bring into Washington, D.C. That according to prosecutors.
(BEGIN VOICE CLIP)
UNKNOWN: Pepper sprays is legal. Tasers are legal. And stun guns are legal. And it doesn't hurt to have a lead pipe with a flag on it.
(END VOICE CLIP)
LEMON: Yes. No weapons, right? According to some people. Right. The secret recordings are the first major piece of evidence prosecutors have used to try to establish how the Oath Keepers allegedly planned to oppose the peaceful transfer of power. What else will it take to make their case?
And then there is President Joe Biden visiting Hurricane zone in Florida, promising long-term federal aid and putting aside his differences with Governor Ron DeSantis. For now, anyway.
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I think he's done a good job. Look, I told him, I think even before he called me. We worked hand in glove. We have very different political philosophies but we worked hand in glove. And he's been (Inaudible) dealing with this crisis. We've been completely lockstep.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Also, the president having a hot mic moment with Mayor Ray Murphy of Fort Miles (Ph) -- Myers Beach with some true Joe Biden fashion. We call it a, some colorful language. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR RAY MURPHY, FORT MYERS BEACH, FLORIDA: Thanks for coming down, we really appreciate it.
BIDEN: No one (muted) with a Biden.
MURPHY: Goddamn right. BIDEN: Can't argue with your brothers outside the house.
MURPHY: That's exactly right. That's exactly right. All right. Good to see you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So, Biden's words are a bit difficult to make out, and the full context of the conversation isn't clear. The White House did immediately, did not immediately, I should say, respond to a CNN request for comment.
Plus, tonight, Maggie Haberman is here with new details from her blockbuster book, "Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and The Breaking of America."
I want you to listen to what the former president tells her about why he doesn't think the allegations against Herschel Walker's personal life would be a problem for him. And I quote here, "it's a personal history. That 10 years ago, maybe it would've been a problem, 20 years ago would've been a bigger problem. I don't think it is a problem today." Trump said. "Why is that?" She asked, "why do you think that that's changed?" She said, "because the world is changing." He said, he did not acknowledge that it was changing because he had helped changed it.
Maggie Haberman will be here in just moments. We'll discuss more of that.
But I want to bring in now CNN senior political analyst, John Avlon. Also, Jim Walden, a former federal prosecutor. And Jennifer Rodgers, former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
So glad to have all of you here. Thanks so much.
John, I'll start with you. This inadvertent court filing revealing some of what the DOJ sees from the Mar -- from Mar-a-Lago. What's in there? What is this?
JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well look, it's embarrassing because it should have been posted. It's revealing to the extent that it gives you some insight into what was being, you know, hoarded by the ex-president.
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But it's hard to say how much detail there is. This is, this is all sort of, you know, penny and stuff. It's phone records. It's a medical, a medical letter. There's no, no smoking gun that's evident in this list that was provided. But it does show just how granular this information ultimately is going to get and be for us.
LEMON: Yes. Jennifer, listen, you know this better than anyone else. Does this list show that the DOJ system of filing out -- filling out -- filtering out material, excuse me, that it's actually working here? I mean, how does something like this, how do documents like this get out to the public?
JENNIFER RODGERS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, this document gets out to the public by mistake. I mean, DOJ shouldn't have filed this document. This was a mistake. But what it does show is that they have a process in place and yes, that process is working. I mean, the things that they're separating are things that might potentially be privileged.
One thing that's interesting is it's, you know, we would need to know more. It's hard to tell from the descriptions, but a lot of it looks like it's not ultimately going to be privileged. So, they're putting aside things in an excess of caution that ultimately I think, that they will not need to keep away as privileged.
LEMON: Because you know he's filed this right with the Supreme Court about certain documents, but so does he have any claim over documents that were flagged, like things that related to his business dealings or his health.
RODGERS: Well, he will have claim to the personal documents that they decide should not have been seized under the search warrant term. So ultimately, they will give some things back. But what I'm saying I think is a lot of that stuff isn't particularly exciting. DOJ doesn't want it anyway.
LEMON: So according to the reporting, Jim, several other records on the list pertain to legal work for Trump, lawsuits, and other legal disputes. Does that give Trump a way to say, well, why did they get, you know, caught up in this suite? Why were they seized?
JIM WALDEN, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Yes. I mean, I think of it as a low hanging fruit list. A lot of that stuff looked like things that could easily be segregated, but there clearly were some things that looked like core privilege. But I agree with Jennifer.
To me, overwhelmingly the list looked like the kind of list you'd expect. I mean, obviously it shouldn't have been filed, but the kind of list you'd expect from a diligent process where they're trying to put documents into different categories, and make sure that all of the protections are there. So, it's called the filter team. The filter team looks like it's working.
LEMON: So, the -- so -- they wouldn't, if the DOJ does bring charges, it wouldn't be on documents at the (Inaudible) regime has already said. Right?
WALDEN: Well, there's a -- there's a process and ultimately, it's Judge Dearie who's going to make the initial recommendation about which of these things stays privileged and goes back to Trump and which things are not privileged or where a privilege has been waived, or if the document was used in a fraud or evidence as a fraud. It can be removed from the privilege under the crime, crime fraud exception.
So, that's all something that Judge Dearie will decide in the first instance, and Judge Cannon will decide finally.
LEMON: Did you want to get in, Jennifer? I see you're shaking your head.
RODGERS: No, I was -- I was nodding in agreement. Exactly right.
LEMON: OK. So, John, listen, I want to bring you here. There was this. This is new today, right? A federal appeals court is expediting a DOJ request to determine whether the special master should review those documents seized from Mar-a-Lago.
What impact could that have on the criminal investigation? Should Trump be worried about this?
AVLON: Well, a lot -- Trump's core game is delay. we know this. This is one of the reasons he's been throwing all the spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks with regard to seeing how far out he can get this and whether he can potentially declare for president after the midterm elections and then, you know, claim some sort of special victimhood.
But any acceleration is not what he wants. But he -- he's going to -- he's willing to throw the dice as long as he can, obviously up to the Supreme Court. I think what's more revealing and we'll get to this is some of the lies that Trump and his allies have been saying about how the box has ended up in Mar-a-Lago.
Bloomberg reporting is showing that that's -- that's not consistent with the truth. I know. Shocker.
LEMON: Yes. Shocker. Jennifer, spell this out for us, if you will. If the DOJ gets its way here, would that make Trump's request to the Supreme Court yesterday over those 100 plus classified documents moot?
RODGERS: No, not exactly. His DOJ is, they are appealing the merits decision of Judge Cannon that what Trump has asked the Supreme Court to decide is what happens with those 100 documents that are classified, whether the special master gets a hold of those.
But what's so notable to me is that, you know, as John was just saying, delay, delay. We have litigation now at all three levels of the federal judiciary on a matter that should never --
LEMON: Crazy.
RODGERS: -- have been litigated in the first place, because only in very rare occasions do special master issues, you know, ever get, ever come about at all. Right? And in fact, that aren't included in this case. So what's going to happen if he's actually charged? I mean, how much litigation are we going to be facing on every single little issue all the way up to the Supreme Court? It just shows you how protracted this is all going to be if it happens.
LEMON: Yes, because --
(CROSSTALK)
WALDEN: I think there's a point to the delay too. I think the real fight is in that special proceeding that's secret in Washington, D.C. where he's trying to block Mike Pence and other inner circle people, the center of the hub, from testifying and providing evidence.
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He's trying to slow everything else down until that issue can get up to the Supreme Court because the Supreme Court tipped its hand in January about the executive privilege. And for the first time there's a Supreme Court opinion that Kavanaugh, spelled out that, at least he believes, and it seems like Judge Roberts may agree with him. Justice Roberts may agree with him that a former president can actually assert executive privilege.
And if that's the law of the land, then Trump could win a lot of carving back of evidence that DOJ would want for the investigation and the eventual charges if they're brought.
LEMON: John, I'm hearing a lot of heavy sighing from you.
AVLON: Well, no, I'm -- first of all, because I'm -- I think it's a fascinating point Jim makes, but also because he's talking about comments Kavanaugh made before he was on the bench. I believe he's referring to Kavanaugh's side that he thought Nixon v, United States was wrongly decided.
And that of course, I mean , that's the ultimate gamble in a delay by the ex-president, but that would be a decimation of precedent. Just --
LEMON: Well, guess what? We're all going to see.
AVLON: Stay tune.
LEMON: We'll see soon enough. Thank you, all. I appreciate it.
The former president says that he doesn't think Herschel Walker's complicated personal history is a problem. He told Maggie Haberman why, and she is here, next.
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LEMON: So, one month until the midterms, an election that will be a test of the former president's hold on the GOP and the candidates he supports. That, as the legal pressure is mounting here, especially over the investigation and the classified documents seized from his Mar-a-Lago Beach resort.
One person who knows the former President well is here, and she has some insight, that's Maggie Haberman. She's a CNN political analyst and a senior political reporter for the New York Times. Her new book, of course, is "Confidence Man," it is out now. It is making news and waves and I'm surprised that it continues to.
Thank you so much for joining us.
I want to. You talked about Herschel Walker in this book. This was a year ago, but it is still going on to this day. All eyes are going to be on this, what's happening down in Georgia and whether or not, you know, Herschel Walker paid for this woman's abortion and in relationship back in 2009.
So, you talked to Trump about this, about Walker again a year ago. And this is what you asked him. You said, you said that Walker has a complicated personal history, namely accusations of the assault against women. That worried other Republicans. Trump responded. He does.
But do you know that is a personal history. That's 10 years ago. Maybe it would have been a problem, 20 years ago it would've been a bigger problem. I don't think it's a problem today, Trump said. Why is that us? Why do you think that's changed? Because the world is changing, he said. He did not acknowledge that it was changing because he had helped it to change.
Is that his access Hollywood defense there? What is?
MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Basically, yes. I mean, I think that Trump looks at everything as if, you know, I survived. I, being him. He survived all manner of scandal in his opinion. He survived all sorts of personal accusations and allegations, and he feels like therefore, you know, he always denied them. We should mention that, and therefore, other people can, too.
However, and he started talking about Herschel Walker. I mean, he's, he's infatuated Walker with Walker. Walker played for the football team that Trump owned many decades ago. This is not the same scenario. You know what Walker is accused of, number one, there is a woman who is the mother of, according to Daily Beast reporting, the mother of one of his children who is involved in this allegation involving an abortion.
There are other allegations about violence. It's just not quite the same. What Trump was caught on tape saying he has been accused of a rape in one case. He was accused of sexual misconduct and a number of others. Trump and every other politician are not the same.
Trump convinced a wide swath of voters over many decades that he was a very successful tycoon, and they felt bonded to him in a certain way. I don't know that Walker is at that level with Georgia voters, even with his sports celebrity.
LEMON: But listen, we -- the Access Hollywood tape, I wondered if this was the, you know, the grab him by the p moment of 2022, right? When we saw this, because we don't know if it's going to hurt him.
HABERMAN: Exactly.
LEMON: Right.
HABERMAN: We don't. We don't. But I am willing to believe it's likely are too than Access Hollywood turned to be with Trump.
LEMON: Then for Trump. Because Trump, that was, I think that was probably the biggest armor and his cloak of invincibility, right? It was the Access Hollywood thinks having survived that, everyone thought it was over. Right? Everyone thought it was over.
HABERMAN: Correct.
LEMON: It's -- Walker was on Fox talking about the allegations today. Let's watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIAN KILMEADE, HOST, FOX NEWS: Have you figured out who it is?
HERSCHEL WALKER (R), GEORGIA SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: Not at all. And that's what I hope everyone can see. It's sort of like everyone is anonymous or everyone is leaking and they want you to confess to something you have no clue about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So, you mentioned his, you know, the Daily Beast's reporting, that response is straight out of a Trump playbook. What do you think of that?
HABERMAN: I think that he is, as you said, he is using the Trump standard of deny, and Trump didn't invent this. Other politicians have used it, but Trump uses it to an extreme, which is deny, say something isn't true. Question the credibility of the allegations.
You know, Walker has gotten a distance from it. He has gotten to a point, but I think it is just reaching a new phase for him right now. Now that somebody has reported to me on the record talking about it.
LEMON: The midterms, that's going to be a test of his political capital, as you know. We had, we've been watching all of these races around the country all year and some, you know, some of the Trump backed candidates, many of them have been winning, but this is going to be a test of this political capital and the fracture within the GOP right now. What do you think he would consider a win in November?
HABERMAN: A number of candidates who he endorsed winning and he will, you know, he spins everything. So, he will say that he had a terrific record even if it's a spotty record. But, you know, in the case of Walker, he will point to that if Walker wins. There are -- there are other statewide candidates who he's backed. J.D. Vance in Ohio.
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There are candidates who he is supporting who look as if they're likely to win their races. I think if Mehmet Oz won in Pennsylvania in the Senate race, he would be extremely happy. I think if Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania wins for governor, and that's a longer shot, he would be extremely happy.
I think that if he can point to a bulk of candidates, either who he backed or who support his election denialism or who support aspects of Trumpism win, he will consider that a win. But again, he says everything is a win, even if it isn't.
LEMON: Yes. Or a Kari Lake. Right?
HABERMAN: Yes, Kari Lake. Definitely.
LEMON: You asked the former president what he took with him when he left the White House. Now this was before --
HABERMAN: That's right.
LEMON: -- this investigation into what happened at Mar-a-Lago. Let's play it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HABERMAN: Did you leave the White House with anything in particular? Are there any memento documents you took with you? Anything of --
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: No. No. Nothing of great urgency. No. I have great things there, you know. The letters. The Kim Jong-un letters. I had many of them.
HABERMAN: You were able to take those with you?
TRUMP: Look at what's happening.
HABERMAN: Wow.
TRUMP: No, I think that has the -- I think that's in the archives, but most of it is in the archives.
HABERMAN: OK.
TRUMP: But the Kim Jong-un was -- we have incredible things. I have incredible letters with other leaders.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: It sound like he knew something there.
HABERMAN: It's a -- the statement was very vague and it meanders all over the place and he actually starts out denying something. My question was memento documents. I asked this on a lark because he was known to waive these Kim Jong-un letters around the Oval Office and show them to visitors, dignitaries, reporters. He was obsessed with them.
He initially denies anything. Then he volunteers mentions the Kim Jong-un letters. I thought he was suggesting he had them. He registered my surprise and backtracks and says, no, no. But we have great things. It was not clear at all what he was talking about.
This exchange is far more interesting in hindsight now that we know what happened on August 8th with this, this FBI search of Mar-a-Lago. But his impulse is to immediately say, no, no, no. Nothing.
LEMON: Nothing. OK, so listen, I want to, this is a conversation that is between the former GOP governor, Chris Christie, and then candidate Trump in the lead up to 2016, specifically Trump's support, from white supremacists like David Duke.
And Maggie writes, besieged by other Republicans, Christie called Trump to tell him that he had to be more forceful in distancing himself from his white -- from his white supremacist backers. Reaching him on a golf course, Christie implored Trump to quickly issue a strong statement. Trump was heard assuring Christie that he would get to it, but it didn't have to happen too quickly. A lot of these people vote, Trump said, and ended the call.
Over the weekend, Trump made a racist attack, as you know, against his former cabinet member, cabinet official Elaine Chao, calling her Coco Chow. Are we going to see more of this, you think?
HABERMAN: I think so. He's leaning into it pretty aggressively. He has been much more since he left office. He was doing things like this in office as we know, but he seems to be leaning into racist statements.
There was also a veiled threat against Mitch McConnell. Not so veiled in that social media post where he said, McConnell has a death wish. Now his backers would say, no, no, he meant political.
There's just no justification for doing something like that after January 6th, 2021 because it's very clear the impact his words have on his supporters. So, I do think that we are seeing everything that he sort of, hinted at or leaned into or just wouldn't disavow and left something open during the course of the first campaign in 2016. And then the presidency and the 2020 campaign, I think you are going to see much more overtly now.
LEMON: Yes, listen, I know the answer to what you're going to say, but I think it's backed up by the evidence, you know, and I said, I went on the air and said the former president of the United States, I mean, I said the president of the United States at the time was racist.
And then I gave the evidence of why I thought he was racist. And there were many who said, I can't believe you're saying that about the president and others who were saying, finally, I can't, you know, I can't believe you didn't say this sooner. Do you believe that he's racist?
HABERMAN: I've gotten this question a lot in the last couple of days. I think that he has made a series of racist statements over a very long period of time, and he has incorporated racial paranoia into his public persona and his political persona for decades now.
There were -- there were pieces of information that I learned during the course of reporting on this book. One was what you just read. Others related to Kara Young who was a biracial model who he dated in the 1990s. You know, it's at a certain point, you know, his backers will say, no, no, no. He's being misunderstood. How many times is someone misunderstanding him?
LEMON: Yes. Thank you, Maggie. It's fascinating.
HABERMAN: Thank you.
LEMON: I appreciate your honesty and I appreciate you coming on.
HABERMAN: Thank you.
LEMON: Best of luck. Again, the Maggie's book is called "Confidence Man." It is out right now.
President Biden in Florida seeing firsthand the destruction caused by Hurricane Ian. A Florida resident who met with the president joins me next.
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LEMON: So now less than five weeks until the crucial midterm elections that will decide who controls the House and who controls the Senate, Democrats are counting on the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade to work in their favor, while Republicans are hammering home inflation and rising crime across the country.
So, let's get some perspective on this from Representative Cori Bush, a Missouri Democrat and she is the author of the book "The Forerunner: A Story of Pain and Perseverance in America."
I'm glad to have her here in studio. Thank you so much for joining. I really appreciate it.
REP. CORI BUSH (D-MO): Yes.
LEMON: I've been -- I've been wanting to talk to you about this and you actually talk about it in your books -- in your book, but I just -- let's start with the midterms. OK?
BUSH: OK.
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LEMON: You've been one of the most outspoken progressives in the House. But the political win changed, you know, over the last couple years. As you know, there's a pretty strong backlash to things like defund the police. I know you've been getting a lot of questions about this.
For example, did defund the police, did progressives go too far in hurting Democratic chances in the far with -- in the fall with slogans like, defund the police?
BUSH: No, because the data has not, like, there is no data that actually shows that def -- saying defund the police cost actual elections. Not that that one thing specifically did it. You know, there were other factors there. You know, someone lost elections.
You know, when we look at, you know, what happened two years ago, there were -- there were other things at play. Campaign -- the way that they campaigned, how they did not use digital technology and all, and you know, many other things.
And when we talk about right now, we have Republicans saying, defund the FBI, you know, where, where are we? Where is our narrative? Let me tell you this. Democrats, there were not Democrats scaling walls on January the 6th when I was at the Capitol. They weren't the ones outside scaling walls.
Democrats didn't kill police officers. That came at the hands of those that felt like that their -- their candidate should be the president of the United States. So, so defund the police is not the issue, but this is -- but this is -- but this is my thing with that. People are more upset about defund the police than they are about the fact that black people are still killed disproportionately in this country. And with impunity, they won't fix the problem. Fix the problem, and I never have to say defund again.
LEMON: And you were talking about what happened when you said scaling the wall. You told me what happened January 6th.
BUSH: It's January 6th.
LEMON: Right.
BUSH: They were injured police officers and there were police officer that there was -- there was a police officer that died.
BUSH: There was a police officer that --
LEMON: That died then. If you, if you could do it again would you still double down or use that slogan, defund the police?
BUSH: Absolutely.
LEMON: You would?
BUSH: Absolutely. Yes.
LEMON: So, let's -- Democrats gain some ground after this, after Roe v. Wade was overturned. It enraged women all across this country. Republicans are pushing, as I said in the open to you, in your introduction, they're pushing inflation, crime, illegal immigration at every opportunity.
Do you think pocketbook or cultural issues will motivate -- motivate voters more in November?
BUSH: More? No. I think it depends on where people live, but we've seen gas prices continue to go down. We've -- even though utility costs have gone up, you know, the president has, you know, made steps to help with lower inflation. You know, he used the Defense Production Act, you know, very recently for clean energy.
You know, I think that we have to look at everything that's on the table. And right now, the numbers have shown us that reproductive freedom, reproductive rights, talking about bodily autonomy has made a difference in elections recently. And we see that people are still, that the numbers are continuing to grow.
As a matter of fact, there was a poll that came out in my state. So, Missouri was the very first state to enact its trigger band law. Well, I'm going around the state in October 8th through the 10th into communities that where there are Democrats, but also, independents that may say, you know what, I, you know, 60 percent of Missourians are saying they don't want restrictions to abortion.
So, I want to go touch those folks and say, hey, we need you to turn out to vote. We need you to get registered if you're not registered. Because what can -- what is at stake is at is that possibly there will be a national ban on abortion if we allow Republicans to take hold of the House and the Senate.
LEMON: And you talk about this in your book.
BUSH: Yes.
LEMON: You have come forward to talk about your personal experience with abortion. You've been very forthcoming --
BUSH: Yes.
LEMON: -- very candid about this. What do you say to constituents? Constituents who say that they are losing a fundamental right control over their own bodies, and that it is more than just another issue.
BUSH: It is more than another issue because people die when they don't have access to safe abortions. We're talking about people who need the procedure in order to stay alive. We're talking about someone's personal decision. You know, I think about when I had my abortion, I was the only one on that table. That was the decision that I had to make. I would've been the only one to take care of that child.
I was not in a position to take care of a child at that time. But what happens when that child is born. Late years later, I had a child and I was unable -- I was physically sick and I couldn't take care of my child. I couldn't go to work.
And so, then I got slammed for being on, for food stamps. I got slammed for trying to get ton of benefits, you know, when I could not physically work. So, what, which -- which one is it? You know, do we want to fully fund our social safety net? Do we want to, you know -- but the point is it's someone else's body. Mind your own business, you know? And so, I will continue to stand up for the -- for the freedom of people's reproductive health.
LEMON: You are very, you just mentioned some of it, but you are very personal in your book too, about including things that happened to you, your personal experiences, some terrible issues that you had.
[22:35:03]
You talked about homelessness, domestic abuse, sexual violence. What is that like to be out there so publicly and to put that down, to write that down in a book for all to see?
BUSH: It is, it's hard. I didn't, I mean, who wants to bear all, you know, for people to criticize them and attack them, you know? But -- and this -- at this time, we have so many people that are continuing to go through what I went through and some worse. And it's allowed.
How can we fix this? You know, if policy violence opened the door for some of this, then policy should be the reason -- should be a way for us to fix it. And what I mean by that is, if I couldn't afford to pay back my student loans, you know. I was working full time job, couldn't afford to pay daycare, car note, rent and student loans.
Right now, President Biden just made it to where those that you know, that Pell grant, Pell grant recipients, you know, $20,000 forgiven. What that would've done for my life, how I would've been able to feed my children differently, how I would've been able to, you know, to not worry about the lights being on, not getting an eviction notice. How that would've changed my life it's huge.
And so, but people need to know the steps that we've gone through to be here. And another thing with this book, people criticize me about like, Cori, why do you fight so hard? Why do you keep pushing? Why do you keep saying these things? Because somebody is hurting the way that I was hurting.
And I remember wondering who speaks for me, like who's going to -- who's going to help? How do I get some relief? And will relief ever come? Well, I know what that feels like. I know what that pain is like. I know what it's like to have your rape kit sit on the shelf for four months. I know what it's like to not get any accountability or justice.
I know what it's like to be brutalized by the police and you can't tell anyone because no one will help you. I know what it's like to be hungry. I know what it's like to live out of a car. You know, I know. And so, because I know I got to use this power that I have in this seat to help, and I have to do it as quickly as I can because people die when we don't act.
LEMON: Thank you, Cori.
BUSH: Thank you.
LEMON: I remember I interviewed you when you first were elected --
BUSH: Yes.
LEMON: -- for my podcast.
BUSH: Yes, you did, yes.
LEMON: And other, and I really appreciate you. I appreciate your candor, and I thank you for coming on. Let's put the book up again. Cori's new book up is out now. It's called "The Forerunner" by Cori Bush. Check it out.
Thank you for appearing.
BUSH: Thank you.
LEMON: I hope that you'll come back.
BUSH: Thank for having me.
LEMON: Thank you so much. And we've got news just in. It's on Herschel Walker. The Daily Beast tonight reporting the anonymous woman who says that she had an abortion paid for by Herschel Walker. Also, the mother of one of his children.
The Daily Beast originally agreed to withhold personal details about her, but the woman has now told them that she decided to share this after Walker's denial of her original allegation. The woman told the Daily Beast that she wanted to stay anonymous to protect her family's privacy. The Daily Beast reported the woman provided proof that she is the mother of one of Walker's children, but did not say how.
I want to bring in now CNN senior political analyst, John Avlon.
John, this is what I promise at the top of the show that we were working on some new reporting, and we wanted to make sure that it checked out before we did it.
So, this is another bombshell, John Avlon, from The Daily Beast about this anonymous woman who came forward, saying that Walker paid for her abortion after relationship in 2009, and she is the mother of one of his children.
What is this going to do to the Senate campaign in Georgia? What's your response to this?
AVLON: It should have a massive impact, and the woman came forward apparently, according to Daily Beast reporting, after Walker denied having any knowledge of who she was. Denied that, you know, denied the existence of this and saying he did not know who this woman was, you know, despite the evidence that was put forward in the initial reporting. And that caused her to come forward.
Again, this is daily abuse reporting. Still not directly confirmed by CNN, but in any rational political world, the lie, the hypocrisy would be disqualifying. And I think what the question Republicans in Georgia are going to have to confront is, what's too much?
The folks who've rallied around him and said, you know what? We take him at his word. We believe him. We want to -- we want the policies. We don't care about the person. Can that hold in the face of this level of hypocrisy and lying? Is that the new normal. If you're a person of faith, given that he's running against a reverend, Raphael Warnock. Where's that line? When do we vote for the person, not the party.
LEMON: I played this, but I just want to play it again. This was him denying today that he knows the woman.
AVLON: Yes.
LEMON: Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KILMEADE: Have you figured out who it is?
WALKER: Not at all. And that's what I hope everyone can see. It's sort of like everyone is anonymous or everyone is leaking and they want you to confess to something you have no clue about.
[22:40:05]
LEMON: OK, John, and so that's he's denying. This is her quote here. Still anonymous woman about Walker's denial. She says, "sure, I was stunned. But I guess it's also -- it also doesn't shock me that maybe there are just so many of us that he truly doesn't remember," she said. "But then again, if he really forgot about it, that says something, too."
Now, CNN has not independently confirmed the woman's allegation about the abortion or that she is the mother of one of his children. But talk -- John, talk about how this whole scandal has been handled and how could he not know that this was coming.
AVLON: Well, Politico reported today that the campaign knew that something like this was out there, and yet they were still unprepared to deal with it. And the candidate seems to just be embracing that Donald Trump playbook of denial, of lying, where Trump has normalized lies.
But anybody with a heart and a soul who can look at that statement, that is -- that is every different kind of bad in the book. And so, the self-identified, you know, pro-life groups who've been, you know, condemning abortion, they're going to stand by him after this. To what end? The people of faith whose faith drives their politics, stand by him after this. To what end?
I mean, it's the definition of party over country, and we depend on people who are -- or don't just vote straight party line. Th this is just got to be disqualifying as a matter of character. And if it's not, I think those voters are saying character doesn't count.
LEMON: Well, it's a definition of double standards. It's also the definition of democracy.
AVLON: Big time.
LEMON: Right?
AVLON: Big time.
LEMON: Right, right. So, listen, let me give you, this is a Daily Beast reporting that a woman is a Democrat.
AVLON: Yes. LEMON: Saying the woman is a Democrat who had long relationship with
Walker even after the abortion, and that she wanted to protect her family, but still came forward. This is another. Quote, "it has been very civil thus far. I keep my mouth shut. I don't cause any trouble. I stay in the background, but I'm also not going to run over time and time again. I'm not going to get run over, excuse me, time and time again, she said. that's crazy."
Now, CNN did reach out to Walker, the Walker campaign for comment. He flat out denies the original report. It's hard to believe that this woman can remain anonymous. I mean, it's -- this is just getting uglier and uglier. Again, I cannot believe the doubling down on this story, especially when you consider what his son Christian Walker.
AVLON: Yes.
LEMON: Basically, Christian Walker and this woman are kind of saying the same thing.
AVLON: They are. And if the people who know you best trust you least, that's all you need to know. I mean, to your point, over the course of this campaign, three previously unknown children of Herschel Walker have been identified.
One would presume that this woman will be identified, and her wanting to keep her privacy is understandable, but in the face of this kind of hypocrisy, this kind of disrespect, this kind of denial of her personhood.
Again, the question will be for the voters of Georgia. For Republican voters in Georgia. People -- voters who are voters of faith in Georgia. If this isn't too much, what is. Does character count or is it just party over country, party over character?
LEMON: Well, it's really about power because people say they don't care, really care --
AVLON: That's it.
LEMON: -- if he paid for an abortion or not, or whatever he did. And some of them even calling the woman a derogatory name. They just care about control of the Senate, which is sad.
AVLON: You know, again, it's about the character of the people you send to the Senate. And again, I mean, he's running against an actual reverend, you know, who sits and preaches from Martin Luther King's pulp.
LEMON: If you are a Christian, if you're an Evangelical, who are you going -- a reverend or --
AVLON: Well, what we've been hearing, at least until this revelation, is that you and I know many of our Republican friends have been saying, so what? At the end of the day, I want the vote. I want control of the Senate and that matters to me more. But we've not seen the kind of symbolic incoherent, I mean, amoral lie and erasure of this woman, in addition to the hypocrisy about abortion.
LEMON: A reverend --
AVLON: Stunning stuff.
LEMON: -- or a hypocrite.
AVLON: That's it.
LEMON: Thank you, John. I appreciate it. Again, the reporting is, the Daily Beast is reporting that the anonymous woman who came forward saying that Walker paid for her abortion after relationship in 2009 is the mother of one of his children.
We'll be right back.
[22:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: President Biden and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis surveying the wreckage today in Fort Myers, Florida, speaking with residents and business owners in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. The death toll in that state now stands at 120.
Joining me now to discuss was she heard from the president and how the community plans to rebuild local business owner, Jacki Liszak, President and CEO of the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce.
Jacki, thank you. I'm so sorry for what happened to you.
JACKI LISZAK, PRESIDENT & CEO, FORT MYERS BEACH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Thank you. Thank you so much and thank you for, having me on this evening. I really appreciate it.
LEMON: So, you're in Fort Myers Beach tonight. No power. It's been almost a week since Ian hit. How you holding up?
LISZAK: Well, we're doing -- we're doing pretty good all things considered. It's been -- it's been a traumatic week. It's been catastrophic. It's been, life altering for everybody I know, around me. Yet, we are still holding each other up, holding each other strong, and we're now turning our eyes toward the future.
[22:49:55]
LEMON: So, here you are standing next to the president as he delivered his remarks, vowing his support to the people of Florida. And you spoke to the president and first lady, as well as the governor, mayor, and other officials. What did you hear from them?
LISZAK: Yes.
LEMON: And do you feel confident in their support as your community rebuilds?
LISZAK: You know, first of all, I want to thank all of them for coming out to see all of us this afternoon. It meant a tremendous amount to the residents and the business owners and the folks on Fort Myers Beach.
I heard some really great things today. I heard the commitment in their voices. I saw it in their eyes. I watched their faces as they looked around and saw boats upended and lives torn apart, and heard the stories of my friends and my neighbors and my business associates.
And they really truly listened and had empathy for us and are committed to communicating and getting us the assistance that we need and giving us the tools, we need to rebuild our lives and to rebuild our community.
LEMON: These are some of the pictures that you shared of your home and your son's home in Fort Myers Beach. Your home is the, the yellow right there.
LISZAK: Yes.
LEMON: His home is blue. Right?
LISZAK: Right, that is correct.
LEMON: Were you able to recover anything at all?
LISZAK: Well, my Cambria countertops on the ground, so I'm hoping maybe when we can get back down the island and I can, at least pick that up and hopefully have something else made out of it so that we can remember. You know, you got to remember, those homes have been there since 1960 and '61. They're concrete block houses. They're very, very sturdy. They've gone through many hurricanes on the island.
And as someone said to me just after the storm, you know, we had, we had Charlie in 2004, and that was a rainstorm compared to this. I just think this was the one that everybody talks about, but yes, you always think it's never going to happen to you.
LEMON: Jacki, best of luck. We appreciate you coming on. OK. You take care.
LISZAK: All right.
LEMON: Thank you.
LISZAK: Thank you so much. I appreciate it. Have a good --
LEMON: So, a major settlement between Alec Baldwin and the family of Halyna Hutchins who was killed on the "Rust" set. Now the movie is set to resume filming.
[22:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: Actor Alec Baldwin has reached an undisclosed settlement in a
civil lawsuit with the family of Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer shot and killed last year on the set of the movie "Rust" in New Mexico.
The movie's director was also injured in the incident. Hutchins husband Matthew filed the wrongful death suit back in February against Baldwin, the film's production companies and its producers and other key members of the crew alleging numerous industry standard violations.
"Rust" will resume filming in Jan -- in January. And as part of the settlement, Matthew Hutchins will be an executive producer, but this case is not over. The Santa Fe District attorney's office is conducting an ongoing criminal investigation into the deadly incident.
A spokeswoman says the settlement of the civil lawsuit will not have any impact on the investigation, and if criminal charges are warranted, they will be filed.
Less than five weeks until the midterms and the chaos within the GOP over candidate quality is reaching new highs.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
