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Hopes Fade For Bipartisan Commission To Investigate January 6th Riot; Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) Is Interviewed About The Bipartisan January 6th Commission; CNN: Gaetz's Ex-Girlfriend To Cooperate In Sex Trafficking Probe; Trump Allies Pushing Arizona-style Election Audit In More States; Supreme Court Takes Up Major Abortion Case That Could Limit Roe V. Wade; Israel And Hamas Ceasefire Enters Second Day. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired May 22, 2021 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:18]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

A bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6th Capitol attack may be the stuff of pipe dreams as the House bill is likely dead on arrival in the Senate. At this point, Democrats just don't have the votes, it seems to avoid a Republican filibuster. Some GOP lawmakers more worried about protecting former President Donald Trump than following the facts.

Even so, we are learning disturbing new information about the events before that mob attacked. A top aide to Republican Congressman Carlos Gimenez telling me on the morning of January 6 he overhead disturbing talk from a man in tactical gear inside the lobby of a D.C. hotel.

That aide telling us here at CNN, quote: It didn't sit well with me. I could have sworn I heard we're going to storm the FBI building. It just seemed off for a peaceful protest. He then contacted the FBI and Capitol police.

With him in that lobby at the time is my next, Republican Congressman Carlos Gimenez of Florida.

Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.

Take me back to that moment, let's talk about it, when you first encountered people in tactical gear in the hotel lobby on January 6th. I know you were just coming into Washington, in the Congress as an incoming lawmaker, which is explaining why you're at the hotel at that time. But I know your chief of staff witnessed most of this.

Did you have the sinking feeling then that this was perhaps shaping up to be something very different than a peaceful protest?

REP. CARLOS GIMENEZ (R-FL): Well, look, there was a number of people in the lobby. Most of them looked like normal people. But this guy really was out of the ordinary, and he spoke to two other people that were not quite the same. This guy had a helmet on, he had looked like had tactical gear.

I didn't hear what he said. My chief of staff was walking ahead of me. And then he said, hey, this is what -- this is what he said. I'm going to call the Capitol Police, and he called the Capitol Police. He later got interviewed by the FBI, wanted to know who the individual was and what time did we encounter him because they wanted to see if they could somehow identify him.

But, you know, this happened at 9:00 in the morning. So, people -- at least some people were ready to cause trouble at 9:00 in the morning. Like I said most of the people in that lobby were regular folks. They had Trump hats and American flags and all that, and it was -- it was kind of a happy mood with them. Just these two -- these three guys were a little different.

ACOSTA: And by 10:00 in the morning on January 6th, as you were just alluding to this, your chief of staff alerted the Capitol Police, talked to the FBI about the disturbing things he had seen. These men in tactical gear saying something was going to happen later on in the afternoon, it sounds like from what you are hearing.

Were you surprised then by how unprepared the police were even though you had given them this 4-hour heads up?

GIMENEZ: Yeah, actually, I was very surprised. And look, I was the mayor of Miami-Dade County. As the mayor, I was the sheriff. We had disturbances here in Miami-Dade, and we knew we were -- we were ready for the worst. We hope for the best but always prepare for the worst.

And so, you know, you saw in Miami we didn't have the kind of disturbances they had around the nation. But, you know, this is the Capitol Police and the FBI, I mean, had some warning that something was going to go down. That's one of the reasons I voted for this bipartisan bill because we need to get to the bottom of what the Capitol Police knew, what were their -- you know, operating procedures, their communications.

It looked like the response was disjointed at best. And that should have never happened. The Capitol should have never been breached, and we need to make sure that the Capitol never gets breached again.

ACOSTA: And you're one of the only -- one of the only 35 Republicans in the House who voted to have this commission, study the events surrounding January 6th. It's past the house and now looks like it's going to die in the Senate.

Can you explain why so many in your party, 175 over in the House, don't want answers, the kind of answers you were just talking about, where these security break downs happen?

GIMENEZ: Look, I want -- I want to get to the bottom the security break downs, et cetera, but a lot of my colleagues think there's going to be politics played here. And so, they're a little bit antsy. Remember, if you --

(CROSSTALK) ACOSTA: This is Washington. There's always politics being played.

GIMENEZ: I know that. But, you know, listen, this bill is basically the same one I signed onto right after the Capitol Hill, you know, riots on January 6 that Rodney Davis had sponsored, which was held up for a long time. Five Democrats, five Republicans. You got to -- both of them have to agree subpoenas.

[16:05:00]

The -- whatever -- whatever comes out, the report has to be approved by the majority of this ten-member panel.

So, you know, that seems to me a bipartisan effort. But, again, Nancy Pelosi wanted to have, you know, heavily Democrats, seven Democrats, four Republicans. That would have been completely partisan, and I'm not sure what's going to happen at the end here, and I hope we do get to the bottom of what happened.

Look, there are some serious issues, and I'm not talking about the great men and women of the Capitol police and the great men and women of the police departments in general. There was something going on here with leadership. There was a failure of leadership to protect the Capitol. And there are things that we as Congress need to add to Capitol Police -- more equipment, better communications gear, all those things we need to make sure this never happens.

You know, again, this is the People's House --

ACOSTA: Right.

GIMENEZ: -- and that -- you know, the imagery that came out of it is damaging to the United States. And I believe it could have been avoided had the Capitol Police, you know, listened to other agencies and done a better job.

And the police agencies, security agencies in general done a better job to avoid it.

ACOSTA: Yeah.

GIMENEZ: Yes, you would have had demonstrations, but I'm not sure if other things would have happened the Capitol would have never been breached.

ACOSTA: Yeah. You mentioned Speaker Pelosi. It does sound as though if this bipartisan commission were to go forward, first of all, it would be removed from members of Congress. You'd have experts from various walks of life in there from both parties. So, as you know, Congressman, it was going to be a very bipartisan effort.

But I want to play you something Senator Ron Johnson said about Republicans in the House like yourself -- I'm sure you picked up on this comment -- talking about House Republicans who voted for this commission. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): I suppose some of them take a look what the media has done to me for pushing back. They pretty well take a look at me as roadkill and say, don't want any of that. So there's an enormous amount of media pressure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: What do you say to Senator Johnson? Did you vote for this because of media pressure?

GIMENEZ: No, listen, anybody who knows me knows I vote my conscience, period. And one of the things that I do admire about my leader, you know, Kevin McCarthy is, he never -- he never called me. He never said, hey, you need to change your vote. He never pressured me. He lets us vote our conscience.

And so, look, I have a little bit different experiences than some -- some of the folks in Congress. I was -- I was a firefighter. I was a SWAT medic. I was a mayor and a strong mayor. And I also -- as mayor, I was the sheriff, too, in Miami-Dade County representing 2.8 million people.

And so, you know, I know -- I've been an incident commander, and I know -- and I know a failure of incident command when I see it. We need to make sure that never happens again. And so --

ACOSTA: But your party was whipping against it in the House, and your party is whipping against it in the Senate, by and large.

GIMENEZ: That's -- you know, that's up to leadership and that's up to them to whip it or not. I didn't get whipped, I know that.

And so, you know, again, we have 35 members that feel the way I do. I -- this is America. It's a democracy.

You know, I believe in what we're doing in the Republican Party. I stand firmly against most of the things that are being pushed by the Democrat Party in a very partisan manner the way they're doing it, $6 trillion in expenditures and infrastructure bill that's not really infrastructure. A COVID-19 bill that really didn't need to be passed.

I mean, I'm -- my voting record stands for itself. Every once in a while, I won't do what leadership wants the rest of us to do. But, again, you know, I didn't get whipped on it. I got to vote my conscience, and they'll allow me to do that and I'm appreciative they do.

ACOSTA: Let me ask you this, Congressman, I need to get your reaction to something that you're colleague, Marjorie Taylor Greene, said on a conservative podcast comparing mask mandates in the House to the Holocaust. Let's listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): You know, we can look back in a time of history where people were told to wear a gold star, and they were definitely treated like second class citizens, so much so that they were put in trains and taken to gas chambers in Nazi Germany, and this is exactly the type of abuse that Nancy Pelosi is talking about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Congressman, in a tweet, Liz Cheney called this evil lunacy. As you know Congresswoman Greene, she gets to spout these kinds of comments all the time. It's unfortunate there. I mean, it's just plain nutty what she was saying there, comparing mask requirements in the House to the Holocaust.

What's your response to that?

GIMENEZ: Obviously, I disagree wholeheartedly with that response. The Holocaust is a tragic event that incredibly painful to the Jewish community here in the United States and around the world. Six million Jews died because of it.

[16:10:00]

Nobody's going to die because of wearing masks.

However, I do agree that we need to let go of the masks. I mean, there's no reason why we should be wearing masks now in the chamber. The vast majority of us are vaccinated. All of us had the opportunity to get vaccinated and it's time for us to be the example to the rest of the country that, yeah, if you're vaccinated, it's safe. Go ahead and take off your mask. It's time what we move on.

ACOSTA: Do you think that this -- do you think that this -- I mean, this comment from Marjorie Taylor Greene is just another example that she's just too unhinged to serve in the House of Representatives. I mean, shouldn't there be some standards for serving in the House?

GIMENEZ: Look, the people of her district voted her in, and we'll see what happens in a couple of years. You know, she has the right to voice her opinion. I obviously disagree wholeheartedly with what she just said. Wearing masks in the House is not the same as the Holocaust, no way, shape or form.

But I do believe -- I do believe that it's time we shed the masks in the House to show the American people the vaccine works, we're confident in it and we need to move forward.

ACOSTA: Okay. Congressman Carlos Gimenez, thanks for coming on and talking about what you and your staff saw on January 6th. We'll see if your party, whether the Congress gets to the bottom of what happened at the Capitol that day. We appreciate your time. Thanks so much.

GIMENEZ: Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

ACOSTA: And there are new developments in the federal sex trafficking investigation into Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz. CNN has learned Gaetz's ex-girlfriend has agreed to cooperate with federal investigators. This woman is a former Capitol Hill staffer and one of two key witnesses in the probe. The other witness, former Florida tax collector, Joel Greenberg, formerly struck a deal to cooperate with prosecutors earlier this week.

That brings me our cross exam segment with CNN senior legal analyst, Elie Honig.

Elie, you have this weekly segment where you answer folk's legal questions. They're vitally important.

One viewer asked, let's get right to it, given that Joel Greenberg has committed many serious crimes, how risky is it for prosecutors to base a charge on his information? Obviously, there's other information involved, but is he a risky witness do you think in all of this?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: She's extraordinarily risky witness but less so now with the cooperation of the ex-girlfriend. Joel Greenberg is going to be a very difficult witness really for both sides. He has very damaging information on Matt Gaetz. Reportedly this week, he told prosecutors that Gaetz had sexual contact with a minor.

On the other hand, Joel Greenberg this week was convicted of heinous crimes, sex trafficking of a minor, all sorts of fraud and theft. And so, he's going to be difficult for prosecutors to put in front of a jury. That's why the ex-girlfriend is so important here because she doesn't have any of this baggage.

And if she says things that support what Joel Greenberg says, that's what we call corroboration. That's really the key to any case for a prosecutor. And if you look at the paperwork in this case, prosecutors have made clear they have an awful lot of corroboration for Joel Greenberg, financial records, photographs, texts. And then you layer in testimony from this ex-girlfriend and prosecutors could be putting together a really solid case here.

ACOSTA: And Donald Trump's top money man, his long time CFO, Allen Weisselberg, he's been on the news a lot this past week, he's now under criminal investigation over tax issues.

One viewer wants to know, how likely is Weisselberg to flip against the Trump Organization? I guess that's a key question. That can make the difference.

HONIG: It's going to be absolutely pivotal, Jim, in my view. So, Weisselberg is sort of uniquely positioned within the Trump Organization. It's really a family-run organization, despite all the appearance of glitch. It's really run by Donald Trump and his children.

The only person on the inside is Weisselberg. He's been the chief financial officer for about 40 years for the Trump Organization, and the Trumps. Now, what prosecutors are trying to do is build leverage on him by putting together a tax case against Weisselberg and his family. The idea is that some of his compensation was paid as tuition direct to a school to enable both sides to avoid paying taxes.

Will prosecutors have enough to make that case? And if so, will it be enough leverage? Tax charges in New York state can be as low as a misdemeanor. No one's going to flip off a misdemeanor or they could carry up to 25 years in prison. So, a lot is going to depend there. If they do make a charge against Weisselberg, then it'll be a question of loyalty. Is he loyal to the Trumps or does he do what he needs to do to keep himself out of prison?

ACOSTA: That is going to be a key question, a pivotal moment in all of this.

Elie Honig, once again, thanks so much for those great insights, we appreciate it.

HONIG: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: Coming up, follow the facts or follow the former president. Why so many Republicans keep running from the truth about the January 6th insurrection.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:18:49]

ACOSTA: Hopes for a bipartisan commission to investigate what happened on January 6th are fading fast. Almost as fast as some Republican leaders are sprinting from a key question, whether GOP lawmakers were in communication with the insurrectionists. See how they run.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), MINORITY LEADER: No, I don't think so.

REPORTER: Are you absolutely certain that none of your members were in any communication with any of the people who swarmed Capitol Hill?

MCCARTHY: I don't believe that they are. But thank you for the question.

Everybody, have a nice day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Who knew House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy was so quick. It's as if the get away car was parked just down the street.

Over in the Senate, GOP Leader Mitch McConnell who initially sounded open to a commission later showed off his cat-like reflexes, side- stepping the idea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY), MINORITY LEADER: After careful consideration I've made the decision to oppose the House Democrat's slanted and unbalanced proposal for another commission to study the events of January 6th.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ACOSTA: You didn't know he could move so fast, did you? Like a ninja.

Now the bill to create a bipartisan 9/11-style commission may be doomed in the Senate. Surprised? Remember it was McConnell who talked a good game around Trump's second impeachment trial.

[16:20:05]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCONNELL: They stormed the Senate floor. They tried to hunt down the speaker of the House. They built the gallows and chanted about murdering the vice president. They did this because they'd been fed wild falsehoods by the most powerful man on earth, because he was angry he lost the election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: But McConnell also voted to acquit Trump. Not exactly a profile in courage. More like cowardice and calculation.

That's because Republican leaders have made the decision to put next year's mid-term election ahead of the good of the country and that Trump is the key to winning back control of Congress.

You remember the Mussolini of Mar-a-Lago writing in his blog, which has become his online diary, you could say, Trump demanded that Republican leaders shut down this commission, saying, hopefully, Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy are listening. Were they listening?

It's like he pressed his button for another diet Coke.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCARTHY: This is driven solely by politics and Nancy Pelosi, but we should not be a part of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Another top Republican in the Senate, John Thune, pulled back the curtain on what this is all about.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): It could be weaponized politically and dragged into next year. Anything that gets us rehashing the 2020 election I think is a day lost on being able to draw contrast between us and the Democrat's very radical left-wing agenda.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Thune is worried about how this effects next year, as in next year's mid-term elections. Can you hear that? Rehashing. Can't have any rehashing.

No wonder some in Congress are tearing their hair out. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TIM RYAN (D-OH): We have people scaling the Capitol, hitting the Capitol police with lead pipes across the head and we can't get bipartisan. What else has to happen in this country? Cops -- this is a slap in the face to every rank and file cop in the United States.

We need two political parties in this country that are both living in reality, and you ain't one of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: The bill did pass the House with bipartisan support. There were 35 Republicans brave enough to stand up to Trump and his lies. Yay democracy. Pass out the participation trophies.

But hold on, 175 GOP members chose party over country or in one case party over family. Consider Congressman Greg Pence, Republican of Indiana, brother of, yes, former Vice President Mike Pence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence! Hang Mike Pence!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: His brother could have been killed and yet, Greg Pence said in a statement, and let's put this up on-screen, this is unbelievable. Quote: Hanging Judge Nancy Pelosi is hellbent on pushing her version of partisan justice complete with a hand picked jury that will carry out her predetermined political execution of Donald Trump.

Hanging Judge Nancy Pelosi, interesting choice of words, when it was a pro-Trump mob that built a gallows outside the Capitol on January 6th -- an image not lost on one of the Republicans who did vote for the commission.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. FRED UPTON (R-MI): If it had not been for the brave Capitol and metropolitan police men and women that day, who knows how many of our heads would have been swinging on those gallows that were constructed on the east front of the Capitol.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: But too many other Republicans are still busy rewriting the history of what happened that day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNSON: The fact of the matter is even calling it an insurrection, it wasn't. I condemn the breach, I condemn the violence. But to say there were thousands of armed insurrectionists that, you know, breaching the Capitol intent on overthrowing the government is just simply false narrative. By and large, it was peaceful protests except for, there were a number of people, basically agitators that whipped the crowd and breach the Capitol and, you know, that's really the truth of what's happening here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Peaceful protests. Tell that to the officers beaten by the traders who stormed the Capitol. It was like something out of the lord of the flies to save the lord of the lies.

Check out this new FBI video of what happened.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

ACOSTA: Here's a man beating the police with a tactical baton. Then there's this other guy in the MAGA hat punching the police with metal knuckles. Doesn't look very peaceful, does it? McCarthy for his part recently had a photo-op and bike ride with police officers. Tweeting to all officials out there, Republicans have got your back. But McCarthy, we just stepped on this, still hasn't met with Officer Michael Fanone. I checked on this earlier this afternoon, still hasn't happened.

Fanone has been trying for weeks to show McCarthy his body cam footage, tell him what he saw, what he experienced as he was beaten by the mob. But McCarthy can't seem to find the time to listen.

Why wouldn't Republicans want a commission to uncover these facts? Maybe it's because they want you to remember the lies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ANDREW CLYDE (R-GA): If you didn't know the teeny footage was a video from January 6th, you'd actually think it was a normal tourist visit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Last week, we told you about Congressman Andrew Clyde, Republican of Georgia, who compared the rioters to tourists. It turns out he was on the floor of the House looking pretty worried, standing behind a guy with a gun as rioters tried to break into the chamber.

It's time for a tour of the truth. If we can't even agree on what happened on January 6th, if we can't establish the facts, how are we going to stop this from ever happening again?

That was the question put to the 9/11 Commission, which taught us a lot about the gaps in our security, about the way information needs to be shared so that we could prevent another horrific day like that one. Why did Trump and some in the Republican leadership want to run from the truth? Is it because they're too busy looking for that get away car to avoid the hard questions?

Mitch, please, if you listen closely I think you can hear the screeching of the tires. And with me now to discuss this, Timothy Snyder, a professor of

history at Yale University. His books include "The Road to Unfreedom: Russia, Europe, America."

Professor Snyder, you made the point the big lie never could have sustained itself solely on the strength of Trump, that he needed Congress to go along with it. I've observed that myself it's not just Trump. It's the people at the rallies. It's supporters up on Capitol Hill. What happens do you think if Republicans successfully prevent a commission from investigating what happened on January 6th?

TIMOTHY SNYDER, PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, YALE UNIVERSITY: Well, the larger point, Jim, is that democracy as you've suggested in your coverage already depends upon truth.

Citizens have to have certain basic ideas that they can share about the most important events in their past. And the failure to have a peaceful transition of power, the attempt by a sitting president to carry out a coup d'etat is the single most important thing that happened in the United States in the 21st century. So, it's not just we, it's our children and grandchildren which is going to know the truth about this. So, the lack of a commission that's just one small part of the problem.

Of course, we should have a commission. We should have a commission with historians and digital forensics people. And if Congress doesn't do its job other people are going to rush in to feel the breach here.

ACOSTA: Yeah, it feels like a government break down that we're witnessing in real-time. And we're not only in the cover-up phase, we're also in the punishment phase where the few Republicans who have dared not to go along with Trump's lies like Congressman Liz Cheney are being taken down by the party. They're being made examples of.

When one of the major political parties in the U.S. punishes its own for not propping up lies, what does that do to our democracy?

SNYDER: Well, it makes -- I mean, if this logic continues, democracy becomes impossible. So, one thing which happens is that the person who tells the lie is necessarily the leader because the lie is independent reality, everything goes back to the leader. Evidence doesn't matter. It's only what the leader says.

The second thing that happens as you say is the political party gets purged. You're left with the true believers and cynics and fools. You don't actually need that many true believers. You just need enough cynics to keep the ball rolling.

And the third thing that happens is you make a play for power which is based upon entirely different rules. If you're going to tell a lie American elections don't work, that means you're going to come to power in some way besides elections. It's as plain as that.

ACOSTA: And that segues nicely to the next question. There's a sham audit happening in Arizona. I'm sure you've been following this like everybody else. But now, it seems to be spreading. And (AUDIO GAP) moving forward, it sounds like in Georgia's most

populated county, Fulton County. There's also an audit happening in New Hampshire.

How dangerous is this?

[16:30:04]

I mean, it sounds as though the people who are trying to conduct these audits are walled off from the real world?

SNYDER: Well, I mean, so I'm looking at this from abroad and I'm looking at how other countries are following this. And so the first thing I have to say is that if you're in charge of Russian propaganda and your job is to show that democracy is a sham, this is -- you know, this is Christmas in May for you. And if you're Chinese propaganda and your idea is to show that democracy is chaos, again, you could hardly get a bigger gift than what's happening in Arizona and what could spread.

And as you say the idea that Maricopa County, that Arizona is a precedent is of course extremely dangerous because if you get on that road it means that basically everybody has a right to count votes. You know, in Arizona you have people who are actually being voted for, you know, and they're counting votes themselves. You have a private company which is totally unqualified to do this unsupervised.

This is the kind of thing that if we wrote political fiction about it in some other country we'd be shaking our heads.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. And they've counted the votes so many times in these various states it just kind of also begs the question how many times does Donald Trump need to lose the election before they get it through their heads?

Tim Snyder, thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate it. Great talking to you.

And coming up, Trump forfeited Supreme Court takes up a key case that could put "Roe vs. Wade" in jeopardy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:36:02]

ACOSTA: Texas is now the latest state to pass sweeping abortion restrictions. Governor Greg Abbot signed a so-called "heartbeat ban" into law this week essentially dictating that if a fetal heartbeat can be detected a woman cannot have an abortion. That's even though a fetal heartbeat can be detected sometimes before a woman even knows she's pregnant. This is happening at the same time the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up an abortion case that could test the limits of "Roe vs. Wade."

And I want to get to our Supreme Court reporter and expert, Ariane de Vogue. She's here with us this afternoon. First of all, Ariane, great having you here. Appreciate it so much.

This is the Donald Trump-engineered Supreme Court with a very heavy conservative majority. Do you think at this point it's fair to say in light of what we saw take place in Texas this week that "Roe vs. Wade" could be in jeopardy?

ARIANE DE VOGUE, CNN SUPREME COURT CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean the most lasting legacy of former President Trump is what he did with the Supreme Court, putting these three justices on the bench. And a few weeks ago they agreed to hear a Second Amendment case. Now they're taking up this big abortion case, has to do with this Mississippi law that bars abortion after 15 weeks. And supporters of abortion rights are nervous. They think that this court is going to gut or limit "Roe v. Wade."

And keep in mind, the Supreme Court doesn't like to overturn precedent. Right? They like to build it. But there is a lot that they can do here while not overturning it per se. So that's what the people -- the supporters are nervous about here. And it comes as you say as states across the country are pushing at a really rapid pace. They're emboldened and they're passing these strict restrictions.

ACOSTA: Yes, they want to get these test cases to the high court as soon as possible. And you wrote a piece for CNN.com on how Clarence Thomas, longtime conservative voice on the high court, and how this could be his time to make a pivotal stand on the Supreme Court. Talk to us about that.

DE VOGUE: Well, keep in mind it was about 30 years ago the last time the Supreme Court heard a really big abortion case. And then the court upheld the core pinnings of "Roe v. Wade." But Justice Thomas, then newly on the bench, he was in dissent. He joined the dissent that said "Roe" is wrong and over the years, over and over again, he has criticized the abortion jurisprudence.

So now when the Supreme Court takes up this case next term, he could very well be in the majority, and that goes to show you how far this court has moved to the right. And that's what's going to be fascinating to watch next term.

ACOSTA: Which takes us to President Biden because he potentially could have a possibility here to put a nominee on the court. There's a lot of speculation. You've talked about this so much that Stephen Breyer, Justice Stephen Breyer could step down from the high court, create an opportunity for President Biden. A lot of folks are saying they don't want another situation like Ruth Bader Ginsburg where folks hold on until the next administration and it may end up being a Republican administration.

How likely do you think it is that Joe Biden might have a chance to put a justice on the court?

DE VOGUE: That's the big question. Will he stay or will he go? And on the one side Breyer has a history with these conservatives on the court. He has written abortion cases so he may think to himself, you know, I can be useful, maybe even to limit the damage. He's been on that court for a long time and he now is the senior liberal. On the other hand, he used to work in the Senate. He was a staffer. He gets how the Senate works.

He sees how precarious the majority is here, and of course he witnessed his great friend Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who died. She did not obviously want her seat to go to a more conservative member of the court. So it will be fascinating to see. There's a short list that's already developing, but that's the big question. Nobody knows what Breyer is going to do and of course this term ends probably around the end of June.

ACOSTA: Yes. And you're right, that slim majority in the Senate is so key in all of this, right?

Ariane de Vogue, thanks so much for coming in this afternoon. We appreciate it.

And coming up millions of dollars in humanitarian aid finally arriving in Gaza for those caught in the middle of fighting.

[16:40:03]

How long will this fragile ceasefire hold?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas militants appears to be holding at least for the second day. The fragile truce is letting officials assess the damage after 11 days of devastating back and forth airstrikes and rocket fire between Israel and Hamas militant groups. At least 250 people were killed in the fighting with thousands left homeless.

Let's get right to CNN's Nic Robertson in Jerusalem.

Nic, you've covered this issue for so many years. You've seen this flare up time and again. It's just before midnight where you are. I gather both sides of this conflict are welcoming this relative calm at this point.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. Hamas think that tthey've got a political victory. The government of Prime Minister Netanyahu think they've got a military victory and that seems to be, you know, helping this sort of ceasefire endure.

[16:45:03]

Well, the U.N. is saying on the ground in Gaza 800,000 people without reliable running water, 600,000 of those they say are children, 258 homes they say completely destroyed, 769 buildings and work premises badly, badly damaged, in need of repair. And the U.N. Security Council just issued a report thanking Egypt for being the mediators in this and other regional countries but stressing the need for an enduring lasting peace process.

The Foreign Ministry here has taken the U.N. to task and said on this statement it's a shame that there's no mention of the more than 400,000 rockets fired by Hamas into Israel. Of course there's damage done there and a need for repair there, too. But the ceasefire itself is holding, and Jim, it really is principally because both sides think that they've scored something out of it, think that they can sell that to their public, and don't feel the need to continue to push ahead.

Of course the huge international pressure and coming from the White House as well has been part of that. And another part of that picture will be later in the coming days we expect the Secretary of State Antony Blinken to come here. So that again also putting a more diplomatic complexity on the picture here rather than just a military one -- Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, Nic Robertson, we'll see if this fragile ceasefire holds. It's holding for a second day now, and you're on top of it as always.

Nic Robertson, thanks so much. We appreciate it.

And coming up a surprise on the fairway. There's no tiger at this weekend's PGA championship, but there is a gator. But first a getaway to the Bahamas can always get you away from the crowds and this week's "Off the Beaten Path," we take you to the outer island of Eleuthera where hidden swimming holes and secluded beaches are waiting to be discovered.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LADY DI, LADY DI'S PINEAPPLE FARM: The islands are here wide and open and vacant. If you've never been to Eleuthera you need to come to see our beautiful different colored waters. You can see the ocean on one side and the Caribbean on the other side.

Clean spot is two little pools, and then the sun comes down and shine and it's like you're going for a warm bath. I know everybody wants to go to see (INAUDIBLE). Well, I'm not going to jump in but the young people jump in. They climb up the rocks.

JAMES DUNNAM, CAPTAIN, BAHAMAS OCEAN SAFARIS: Right now we're here at Sandala Beach, one of the most beautiful places in the world. The Atlantic joins the Caribbean here. Only on low tide do you see this. You only have six hours and then it goes back under water. The swimming pigs are the things that you want to see when you come here.

It's my big boy right here.

The swimming turtles is new. It's so many there at one time when you're in the water feeding them, it's a beautiful experience.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:53:06]

ACOSTA: One of the most viewed viral videos of all-time is about to turn into a real cash wind fall for the family that recorded it. You're going to want to watch this. We're talking about the "Charlie Bit Me" clip that has been watched more than 880 million times since 2007. If you've not seen it I don't know where you've been living, but let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ouch. Ouch, ouch. Ouch, Charlie. Ouch. Charlie, that really hurt.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: The laughing baby is the best part of that, isn't it? And we're not just showing you videos on the internet for the heck of it. The boys are now 15 and 17 and as of tomorrow the family is going to delete that video from YouTube. That's right. That's because they're auctioning it off as an NFT. Have you heard about these things? That stands for a nonfungible token, basically a digital deed to the content. So whoever buys it will be the sole owner of that video.

And yes, it is difficult for me to continue to read this as Charlie is biting his finger. It's just funny stuff and I can watch it again and again.

Anyway, professional golfers -- there he is again. And professional golfers are used to blocking out distractions on the golf course but usually not like this. Check this out, a baby alligator brought the third round of the PGA Championship in Kiawah Island to a brief pause yesterday as players waited for the little guy or girl -- we're not sure -- to cross the sixth hole at the Ocean course. Golfing resumed once the gator cleared the green and was safely out of the way. Talk about a water hazard.

[16:55:00]

Stand back if you see that little guy crossing the course. Don't get in the way of that. In the meantime, a graduation to remember for one high school student in Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello, Knight Nation. This is Master Sergeant Drew Macke calling from Doha, Qatar.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can we get the video board working or is it not going to work? Well, ladies and gentlemen, if you can't see the video, can you help me welcome out Master Sergeant Drew Macke. He is home.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: That is so cool. Grace Macke thought her dad would not be able to make it to the ceremony after he was deployed last fall to the Middle East. But thanks to her high school and the U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Drew Macke was able to return home to see his daughter get her diploma. Tomorrow night join CNN as we celebrate the class of 2021 with an all-

star special. It all starts tomorrow night at 7:00, and congratulations to all the graduates out there.

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