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Pence Now Criticizes Media For Reporting On January 6 Mob That Wanted To Kill Him; Grisham: FOX News Is "Where We Went To Get What We Wanted Out"; California Governor Declares State Of Emergency Over Oil Spill; Soaring Energy Prices May Be Here To Stay; WSJ: Cotton Prices Rise To Highest Level In 10 Years; Laundrie's Sister: "I Don't Know Where He Is, I Don't Know If My Parents Are Involved". Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired October 05, 2021 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[13:30:56]
ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: The mob had a noose. The mob wanted to hang him. They were actually chanting it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHANTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: But Mike Pence is now saying this about the capitol attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE PENCE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know the media wants to distract from the Biden administration's failed agenda by focusing on one day in January.
They want to use that one day to try to demean the character and intentions of 74 million Americans, who believe we could be strong again and prosperous again and supported our administration in 2016 and 2020.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Attacking, deflecting, blaming the media. Sound familiar?
The former V.P. is pulling from his former boss' playbook. The same boss who threw him under the bus while he, his wife and their daughter were fleeing for their lives.
And the same boss who Pence himself said just this past June that he'll, quote, "never see eye to eye with" about January 6th.
But now --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PENCE: You can't spend almost five years in a political foxhole without developing a strong relationship.
And, you know, January 6th was a tragic day in the history of our capitol building. But thanks to the efforts of Capitol Hill Police, federal officials, the capitol was secured. We finished our work.
And the president and I sat down a few days later and talked through all of it. I can tell you we parted amicably.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Parted amicably.
I want to bring in CNN political commentator, Ana Navarro.
Ana, what changed? Why this message from Mike Pence right now? Why the cozying up, all of a sudden, to Trump?
ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Because he is looking for a political future, which is, frankly, nonexistent.
But, really, when you listen to those clips, Ana, it's -- you know, it's so embarrassing, you almost want to feel sorry for the guy. Until you realize just how pathetic Mike Pence is.
How can be such a boot licker? How can you be so servile to somebody who did not call off a mob that wanted to hang you?
Practically, anybody else can go and make these arguments, and it wouldn't be so cringe-worthy. But we all heard the mob asking to hang Mike Pence. Hang him.
Nobody should be as invested in us finding out the truth in what's behind January 6th as much as Mike Pence. Because his life, literally, literally, was hanging in the balance.
CABRERA: And we know the president was on Twitter really egging on the people who were at the capitol during that time. And he was -- he was, you know, attacking his vice president, at the time, during those very dangerous moments.
So what does this say about Trump's grip on Republicans, when a man whose life was threatened by these Trump supporters, contorts himself in knots to excuse their behavior?
NAVARRO: Look, it tells you that Mike Pence is looking for a place in the sun, right? He is looking to be somebody that's in the mix, if Donald Trump announces he's not going to run.
But I just don't see that in the cards. Trump supporters don't like Mike Pence. Trump supporters were the ones out there on January 6th. Trump supporters fought Mike Pence and blamed Mike Pence for not overturning the election results.
And those Republicans that are left, likely not Trump supporters, don't like Mike Pence either and don't respect him for having been an accomplice for 10 years. There's somebody like a Liz Cheney has taken that spot.
On the Trump side, he's not going to out-Trump somebody like a Ron DeSantis. So really there's no place for him on the Republican primary dance card should Trump bow out and say he's not running.
But he's desperately going to continue this because he's desperate for Republican relevance, which apparently he needs.
[13:35:01]
CABRERA: President Trump's from press secretary and communications director, Stephanie Grisham, she's been on a book tour. She came on CNN this morning for a lengthy interview.
And she was asked about the former administration's favorite media outlet. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: What was the role of FOX News in the White House?
STEPHANIE GRISHAM, FORMER PRESS SECRETARY & COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR TO PRESIDENT TRUMP & FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO MELANIA TRUMP: That's a great question. That's just where we went to get what we wanted out, you know.
I looked forward to going and doing Lou Dobbs, because Lou Dobbs would do all the talking about how great everything was and I would just nod and say yes.
They, you know, by and large, didn't get tough with us. They just took what we were saying and disseminated it. And I think they're disseminating it to a lot of people who went to the capitol for January 6th.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: Grisham also admitted she probably wasn't honest during her FOX News interviews. Just what she, you know, is explaining there, what's your reaction to hearing that?
NAVARRO: I really can't stand it. I find all of these, you know, late- developing-consciences in people who served in the Trump campaign, or the Trump administration, repulsive.
And look, I know we like the tea she's spilling. I know we like the gossip she's spilling.
And it's not often I agree with Trump supporters, but she's got no credibility. If she's talking about how she lied on FOX interviews, what makes you think she's saying the truth in a CNN interview?
So, I think these folks are trying, people like her who write tell-all books after they left the administration -- and she left the administration January 6th, OK? Give me a break.
By then, all of America knew who he was. She certainly knew who he was. By what she writes in the book, she knew who he was. He had been promoting the Big Lie for two months before then. And it took until January 6th to resign?
I frankly don't see any redeeming quality in this woman or in any of the Trump accomplices who now want to clear their names and want to make a buck and exploit their time in the White House as accomplices to the abuses of power of Donald Trump by writing tell-all books and trying to please people like me who want to hear the gossip.
I'm never, ever going to buy one of these books. Never going to spend a penny on it. If somebody gives me one, I'm going to buy a parakeet, so I can go ahead and line the bottom of the cage with the pages of this book.
(LAUGHTER)
CABRERA: All right, that seems like a good place to leave this conversation.
Ana Navarro, it's good to see you. I really appreciate your perspective. Thank you coming on.
Two Anas - two Anas on TV. It's Hispanic Heritage Month.
CABRERA: It is. Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
CABRERA: All right. You've probably noticed by now it's costing you a lot more to fill up at the pump. And heating your house this winter could also be more pricey. So what's behind rising energy prices? How long will that last? That's next.
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[13:42:52]
CABRERA: California's governor has now declared a state of emergency over the massive offshore oil spill. Right now, hundreds of workers are trying to clean it up.
And we have a look at just how big this spill is. Officials are now saying 144,000 gallons may have leaked from an oil pipeline.
The spill has forced several beaches to close, including Huntington Beach. And that's where CNN's Camila Bernal is for us today.
You're on the beach, Camila. What's happening around you?
CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Ana. It's just an ongoing cleanup process. And anywhere you go on the beach, you'll be able to see it.
Of course, this beach is closed and we were able to get in. I wanted to show you some of the crews.
These are crews made up of 10 or so people. They have the bags. They're picking up small chunks of the oil. Sometimes, you won't even notice or see what it really is. They're small pieces of oil and putting them into the bags to later dispose of them safely.
Similar efforts, though, happening in the water as well. There are boats out there trying to collect the oil.
And it's going to take a long time because, of course, this is a huge amount of land. And it takes a lot of time to go up and down the beach.
Now, the focus here, of course, the cleanup. But also the investigation. And there are a lot of questions, people here wanting to know exactly how this happened and why it happened.
But also when exactly this occurred. Because there are now reports, according to documents that we have reviewed, of this spill happening on Friday.
That's about 12 hours before the energy company announced the leak. They announced it on Saturday.
But they are saying that they're basically doing everything they can to figure out exactly how it happened.
They say it's possible that the anchor of one of the ships passing by was the cause of the leak. But we are expecting them to give us further details and a better explanation of what happened.
But authorities here say that is not enough. They want an independent investigation. And they say that someone needs to be held accountable here -- Ana?
[13:44:59]
CABRERA: Camila Bernal, in Huntington Beach, thank you.
Meantime, the price of energy is soaring, which means we'll all be paying more. How much more? Here's what we know. The price of oil today hitting levels we haven't seen since 2014.
CNN's Matt Egan joins us now.
Matt, just how bad is it? How worse will it get?
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Ana, like so many other things right now, supply is simply not keeping up with demand. That's why we see U.S. oil prices top $79 a barrel for the first time since late 2014.
It's an amazing move, when you remember, that oil prices crashed below zero in April-2020. If you can see on that chart. At one point, it got to as low as negative $40 a barrel.
The main issue today is that OPEC and its allies are not returning supply very quickly at all. They've been very gradual. They're not heeding calls from the White House to aggressively return production to pre-COVID levels.
U.S. production companies, they're very slow to add supply. But at the same time, demand has picked up as people fly more and drive, they start commuting more.
Ana, what we're starting to hear from people on Wall Street calling for $90 or even $100 oil.
CABRERA: That obviously gets passed along to the consumer.
What does this mean for upcoming holiday travel? Are we talking sky high gas prices, plane tickets, et cetera?
EGAN: Well, unfortunately, people are paying more at the pump. Normally, prices go down at this time of year but we see $3.20 is the average right now for regular gas. It's up from $2.19 a year ago.
Also, national gas prices have been skyrocketing. And that's a big deal because natural gas is the most common way to heat homes and for electricity.
So people are definitely seeing energy sticker shock right now.
CABRERA: And now we're hearing that the price of our clothing could get a lot more expensive as well.
EGAN: You know, oil and gas gets all of the headlines. But, quietly, cotton prices are skyrocketing. Cotton prices hit a 10-year high. Futures are up 22 percent over the last two weeks alone.
There's a few factors at play. One is extreme weather, drought and heatwaves in the United States has wiped out crops of cotton. Also, there's been a really strong demand, especially from outside, especially from China.
If you put that together, I think it means that Americans could expect to pay more on jeans and T-shirts this holiday season.
CABRERA: Not the news you want to hear but thank you for bringing that to us. Information, knowledge is power is the way I look at that.
Thanks, Matt.
EGAN: Thank you.
CABRERA: Brian Laundrie has now been missing for three weeks. But we're hearing from his sister today who says she is angry. And she is raising doubt about what her parents knew.
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[13:52:44]
CABRERA: Where is Brian Laundrie? His sister, Cassie, is now speaking out again and saying she has no idea where her brother disappeared to after the death of his fiancee, Gabby Petito.
Cassie then said this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CASSIE LAUNDRIE, SISTER OF BRIAN LAUNDRIE: I've been cooperating with the police since day one. I have been in touch with law enforcement.
I don't know if my parents are involved.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: CNN's Athena Jones joins us now.
So, Laundrie has been missing for three weeks, Athena. We just heard her say, she doesn't know if her parents are involved. What else is this sister saying?
ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Ana. It's pretty interesting to hear from Brian Laundrie's sister, her saying those things about her own parents.
Keep in mind that Cassie Laundrie is the only member of the Laundrie family who has spoken publicly.
But we haven't heard from her in several weeks. We haven't heard from her since Gabby's body was found, since her brother, Brian, went missing, left his family at home three weeks ago today,
And since a federal arrest warrant was issued for Brian for use of that debit card and P.I.N. that weren't his. So, it's significant to hear her talking.
She also talked about, you know, not knowing where he is and the advice that she would give to him if she did. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAUNDRIE: No, I do not know where Brian is. I really wish he had come to me first that day with the van, because I don't think we'd be here.
I worry about him. I hope he's OK. And then I'm angry and I don't know what to think.
I would tell my brother to just come forward and get us out of this horrible mess.
The last time I physically saw and the last time I physically spoke to my brother was on the 6th. I've tried to get in touch with him. The phone went to voicemail.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: So, you hear her there referring to September 6th. That is when Brian Laundrie joined his parents on a camping trip to a camp site, north of their home in Florida. That was September 6th. His sister, Cassie Laundrie, said she and her family hung out with him
for a little while. They made s'mores. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. That is the last time she saw or spoke with him.
Two more important notes she made. She told ABC that she believes that Brian might be able to survive in a place like the Appalachian Trail where there have been supposed sightings of him but she still called him a mediocre survivalist.
[13:55:02]
So a few more clues coming from Cassie Laundrie -- Ana?
CABRERA: Athena Jones, thank you.
That does it for us today. Thank you so much for being here. We'll see you tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. In the meantime, join me on Twitter, @AnaCabrera.
The news continues next with Alisyn and Victor.
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VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Hello, and thank you for joining us. I'm Victor Blackwell.
