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American Eagle Flight Makes Emergency Landing At LaGuardia Airport; Pfizer Seeks Emergency Authorization To Vaccinate Kids 5 To 11; Interview With Dr. Francis Collins; Biden Rejects Trump Request To Withhold Docs From January 6th Committee; Capitol Officer Harry Dunn Speaks Out On Trauma Of January 6th Insurrection, Trump And Allies Trying To Impede Investigation; Police Describe Behavior Of Brian Laundrie's Parents As "Odd". Aired 5-6p ET

Aired October 09, 2021 - 17:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:00:34]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington and we have breaking news at the start of this hour.

An American Eagle flight has just been forced to make an emergency landing at New York's LaGuardia Airport due to a potential security threat. Passengers describing a dramatic scene on board with the pilots and flight attendant yelling for them to evacuate.

I want to get straight to CNN's Polo Sandoval.

Polo, as we know with these kinds of situations, the early details, the early information has to be sussed out. We're just at the beginning of this process. But it does sound disturbing.

(CROSSTALK)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And obviously --

ACOSTA: What can you tell us.

SANDOVAL: -- but at this point, this is the very latest that we have directly from the airline. Telling CNN that no injuries to any of the 76 passengers and four crew aboard this flight after what's being described as a security incident.

We're going to get you to more of what we understand right now but we do have some pictures that came out of the scene there, some of those passengers that essentially deplaned on the tarmac itself. This was a flight that was servicing a route from Indianapolis here to New York City mainly New York's LaGuardia.

New York's Port Authority telling us it was Flight 4817. The passengers there evacuated after -- that way crews can actually board the aircraft and clear it of any potential threats.

Apparently, the passengers noticed that there was a fellow passenger that was showing some kind of erratic behavior. And so the result was that was relayed to the crew which then relayed that to the ground and the result was a massive mobilization of authorities.

We saw fire crews and police in and around the area there as they essentially waited for that aircraft to land and then shortly after it was wheels down, that's when those passengers were asked to pretty much evacuate that plane so that they can make sure that there was no threat.

Now the authorities that are investigating this right now telling us that again, nobody was hurt. They're in the process of speaking to the passenger that was apparently exhibiting this kind of behavior. They're not going into great detail as to what kind of behavior that was.

But as you can imagine, these kinds of incidents are certainly not taken lightly especially aboard these passenger -- these passenger planes.

It did, again, land safely here in New York city at LaGuardia Airport. And authorities now in the process of speaking to this individual and obviously in the process of also making sure obviously everything's ok.

But at this point, we can tell you again, nobody injured aboard that aircraft after this apparent possible security incident aboard that American Airlines flight that was headed from Indianapolis here to New York, Jim.

ACOSTA: Yes. That video there Polo is unsettling.

Let me bring in CNN transportation analyst, Maria Schiavo and CNN national security analyst Juliette Kayyem.

Mary, what is the protocol midair when there's a potential threat like this? We're just going off of this video. And again, we can just showed it a few moments ago. It does look as though they had the situation under control pretty quickly and it appears that you see what looks like the suspect face down. We don't know that for a fact. But that's what it looks like.

What is your sense of how this was handled at this point?

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN TRANSPORTATION ANALYST: Well, in the air, it depends on what kind of threat it was. You know, after 9/11 in 2001, of course, some of the terrorist threat vectors changed. They underwear bombers, the shoe bomber, Russian things attack with what they call the shrap-bomb, it was a pop can.

And then, of course around about five, ten years ago, of course the threat of cell phone bombs became very prevalent. So if someone's acting erratic, they had a cell phone, a pop can, anything like that would cause what would happen then is the flight attendants move people away from the source of the threat.

If they can identify any kind of an item that is the threat, they're supposed to put items on top of it in case something explodes. If somebody's acting erratically, they are permitted to use zip ties or any other manner that they have to restrain the person.

And after 9/11 in 2001, of course, passengers readily jumped in and help just as they did with the shoe bomber to take the shoe bomber down and the underwear bomber as well.

So it could be any number of things, but this is what they have to do. They have to call in the emergency. And we knew from the early calls it was probably not a medical emergency because that's handled through a company that handles in-flight medical emergencies. One of them is out of Arizona, for example, and the calls would have come in from that company.

[17:04:52]

SCHIAVO: So it looked like a security threat. And that's what they have to do there. Call it in and then meet (ph) the plane away from the terminal in case it's a situation where the plane itself is a tactical weapon.

ACOSTA: And Juliette, when you look at -- I don't know if you can see this cell phone video that we're showing right now -- but you see what appears to be the suspect lying face down and people scattered about, passengers scattered about there on the tarmac.

You and I both know flying into LaGuardia, you don't see passengers usually out there in that kind of setting. What are you noticing when you look at some of this?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I mean just basically, this was a very quick evacuation and it does suggest, just given the reaction of the flight attendants and the pilot, that this was a situation that they at the very moment it was happening did not feel that they could control and still keep the plane in the air.

So we don't know what he was alleging, what he was threatening or if his behavior was just so erratic that they just needed to simply bring the flight to a safe arrival in LaGuardia and just evacuate everyone quickly.

I know it looks chaotic, it's probably less chaotic than it looks to us. They're just trying to separate the person who was threatening things from everyone else.

There's two quick things we certainly know that flying has gotten quite aggressively, about 2,000 percent more complaints regarding passenger behavior that's related in some ways to the pandemic, but also just we know that that number is out there right now in terms of concerns by flight attendants and pilots. So their reaction seems very appropriate since they don't know what they had.

The second is this behavior should absolutely be prosecuted to the full extent possible. This might be a mental distress issue, but it might also be something that can't be prosecuted. The FAA has been urged to defer these kinds of incidents to criminal investigation. It's not just because of you want to make a point here and you want to protect passengers.

But let me just tell you, an incident like this has delayed domestic flight travel throughout the United States at this stage. If you have to close a runway in LaGuardia, they're not even just feeling it in the U.S. They're feeling it throughout the globe.

ACOSTA: Major impact.

KAYYEM: Yes. You make -- a major -- it's ridiculous, yes.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. Yes.

And Mary Schiavo, final thought from you. Hopefully this is it. And we're not going to have any more problems out of this flight, hopefully not from this passenger from here on forth.

SCHIAVO: There's a key thing here that tells us that additional points and usually when you have somebody misbehaving and engaging in criminal behavior, bad behavior, you have to tie them up on board, that passenger goes off first. Law enforcement comes on board and takes them off.

In this case, they evacuated the passenger so there was some sort of additional threat vector. Whether he was acting like he had something dangerous or explosive --

ACOSTA: Right.

SCHIAVO: -- or something else was going to happen. But since they didn't come on the plane and take him off, we know that there was one additional thing at play here and not just bad behavior.

ACOSTA: And I think -- and you probably both know this also and I think, Juliette, you were just saying this a few moments ago. What are flight attendants and pilots and all of the wonderful people who work at the airport are dealing with these days, my goodness. Our hearts go out to them. It is just out of control.

People need to calm down when they go to the airport these days and get on these flights.

Polo Sandoval, Mary Schiavo, Juliette Kayyem -- thanks so much for helping us look at this situation.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

ACOSTA: Hopefully being resolved just fine there at LaGuardia airport. We appreciate it very much.

Now to what could be the beginning of the end in the fight against COVID hospitalizations. Cases and deaths continue to fall nationwide and for the first time in two months, new COVID infections have dipped below 100,000 per day. But we've seen this movie before when the data trends in the right direction only to be reversed after the holidays.

The difference this season, we have widely available vaccines. At this moment, however, just 66 percent of all eligible adults are vaccinated. And the CDC says the majority of doses being administered right now are boosters, not first time doses.

A new group could soon be eligible for the shot though. Pfizer has officially applied for emergency use authorization for its vaccine in kids ages 5 to 11. If authorized, it would be the first COVID vaccine for kids that young.

The sad reality -- if their parents aren't getting vaccinated, they likely won't get the vaccine either. That is a sad reality.

And joining me now the director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis Collins.

Dr. Collins, great to have you on. We appreciate it so much.

On Tuesday, you announced you'll be stepping down from your post. I'm sure that came as a disappointment to a lot of Americans out there who have had you on their TV screens for so many months during this pandemic.

But I want to ask you about when you got this job in the first place. There was some pushback as you might recall over your faith as an Evangelical Christian and how it might factor into your role as a man of science.

[17:10:01]

ACOSTA: But lo and behold, those two things can work just fine with one another. But based on your personal history, what is your message to Evangelicals? Other people of faith using religion as a reason not to get the COVID vaccine? If I may start there.

DR. FRANCIS COLLINS, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: Well it's a good question. Yes, you may indeed. Let me first say it's just been an incredible privilege serving the nation for more than 12 years as the NIH director, serving three presidents, trying to keep medicine out of politics, usually successfully.

But yes, we do still now have this serious issue right now about vaccination hesitancy and certainly Evangelical Christians, and I am one of those, have had a lot of trouble in many instances rolling up their sleeves.

Lots of reasons for that much of it is this this disinformation that is so widely spread on the Internet and which has I think caused a lot of people to be confused or fearful about what the vaccinations might do to them and that is truly heartbreaking when we see still more than a thousand people losing their live to this disease. Almost all of those unvaccinated and therefore didn't have to happen. Christians of all people are supposed to be particularly worried about their neighbors. And this is also a really critical situation where if you're an unvaccinated, you may be the one spreading this virus to somebody vulnerable who can't necessarily resist it.

ACOSTA: Right.

COLLINS: So once again, let me make a plea right here, if you are a Christian or if you're anybody who has not yet gotten vaccinated, hit the reset button on whatever information you have that's causing you to be doubtful or hesitant or fearful and look at the evidence.

The evidence is overwhelming. The vaccines are safe. They're effective. They can save your life.

ACOSTA: And I have to ask you, Dr. Collins, at church, have you had these conversations with fellow parishioners about this sort of thing? May I ask?

COLLINS: Well, I have not been in -- yes, I have not been in an actual face-to-face church service for this whole time because of the risks of being indoors. All of my church experiences are virtual.

But I have lots of opportunities to talk to other believers. I've done podcasts with Rick Warren, with Franklin Graham, with Walter Kim, with Tim Keller -- all of these are pastors who have a big reach out there and there's a wonderful set of videos from Pastor Curtis Chang that basically tackles all of the misinformation and provides reliable evidence-based on science and people should look at that, too, if they're still not quite sure what the facts are and they want to hear from a pastor.

ACOSTA: Ok. Good. I wanted -- I'm so glad we touched on that.

But let's move to the big headlines right now. Cases, hospitalizations trending down. We've seen this movie before as we were just saying. But is the worst of the delta surge finally behind us, do you think?

COLLINS: Well, if you just look at the shape of the curve, you would say we went over the top, which was a terrible top and we're starting downward now, but I can't be absolutely assured how steep that downward slope will be or whether we might encounter another bump.

So this is not the time for people to let down their guard. We are in a circumstance where there are more people gathering indoors. Cold weather's coming. Schools are in place. So it is an opportunity for this virus and we should think of the virus as the enemy, not anybody else, to have a party and to take advantage of those moments where we begin to think, we're ok. We are not yet ok.

I know people are tired of hearing that. I know they're tired of having to wear masks when they're indoors. I know they're tired of all of the arguments that are going on about masks in schools, which certainly have a lot of science behind them.

But this is not the moment to say, ok, we're done. Like you say, we went to that movie before, it didn't have a good ending. This time, let's try and do it right.

ACOSTA: Yes and once the delta wave subsides and let's hope it does, unvaccinated people may feel less urgency to get the shot. Already the number of first doses administered has plummeted. Are work and school mandates the best way to combat this and to prevent future surges? What are your thoughts?

COLLINS: Jim, I think they are. I was slow to come around to mandates. I really hoped we wouldn't have to go there because the evidence was so compelling. It was hard to imagine why people would turn down this opportunity for something potentially life saving.

But we're in such a bad place in our country where truth doesn't seem to actually have as much influence as somebody's opinion or somebody's Facebook post.

[17:14:45]

COLLINS: And if it takes mandates to get us past this because the country isn't going to get past this with the current level of vaccination, then let's do the mandates. Let's ask people to do the right thing even if it's not something that was quite the way I thought it would happen.

I run an organization of federal employees. They're all going to have to be vaccinated by November 22nd or we're going to have rough conversations about letting people go.

ACOSTA: I was told to eat my Brussels sprouts when I was a kid. I mean I had to do it. I had to eat the broccoli. I had -- that's how I was raised. So, you know, it's sort of like the same thing.

Speaking of that, a new study shows children are as likely to be infected with the coronavirus as adults. And that kids only show symptoms half the time. This is something -- it kind of hits at a misnomer that a lot of people have. They think well, kids aren't showing these symptoms, so kids are just fine. They're immune from all this when that's just not the case.

But as we await authorization for Pfizer's vaccine for kids ages 5 to 11, what do you say to parents who would rather play the odds than get the kids vaccinated?

COLLINS: I would say like every decision you make, what's the benefit and what's the risk? If you're worried about playing the odds, what really is the risk we're talking about here? And the evidence makes it clear these vaccines are remarkably safe.

And what's the benefit? Yes, 540 kids have died of COVID-19. Walk into any pediatric ICU right now in a hospital, you will see children who are severely ill with this disease.

The myth that kids really don't get this severely needs to be wiped out and replaced with the reality. So just balance those things. Why would you say oh, I'm not going to do this. And unfortunately, already, you know, kids 12 to 17 have been eligible for vaccines now for several months. We have only about half of them that have actually received the dose because their parents are holding back.

Come on, parents, look at the data. Figure out what's best for your kid and then try to make a decision based on that evidence. Not something that somebody told you based on some crazy rumor. There's too many of those.

You know, this is the thing that really bugs me and worries me, Jim, about our country. We have two epidemics going on. One is COVID-19. The other is an epidemic of dangerous disinformation that is causing reasonable people who care about themselves and their families to make bad decisions.

ACOSTA: Really bad.

COLLINS: This is heartbreaking. It never should have come to this.

ACOSTA: I agree with you. That is so right. And I have to ask you. I want to ask you one more personal question if it's ok, if I may. Throughout this pandemic, your friend and colleague, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has faced death threats he's talked about. He's talked about it on CNN and other places.

I'm wondering if you've gone through the same thing yourself and what that has been like? I know, I think I know the answer to the question, but I'm just wondering. It touches on this disinformation problem that we have in this country.

Why people, when they get infected with this disinformation, feel like they can lash out at people. And I'm just wondering if you've gone through that yourself?

COLLINS: Yes, I have, not at the same level that Dr. Fauci has, which requires him to have 24/7 security, but I've had knocks on the door at 1:00 in the morning from the police saying you might want to be extra careful. I've received e-mails that are really hard to read from people with such venom lashing out at somebody they've never met based on something they heard that they didn't like.

Gosh America, how did we even get to this space. If we could at least be civil, that would be a good start. But better than that, let's seek out the truth and then try to make decisions on that basis.

ACOSTA: And I think if people had a better understanding of who you were as a person, if they knew what you went through in getting this job, that you had to overcome these concerns about your faith and bringing that to the job. And so I wonder if that might have helped people, say ok, if Dr. Collins is saying it, I I'll take it as gospel, so to speak.

COLLINS: You're very generous to imagine that would help. I'm so privileged. Don't make it sound as if I've done this big sacrifice being a public servant. And I hope there are some young people out there listening to us, wondering about their career.

Being a public servant can be one of the most satisfying, rewarding things you can do. You may not get paid very well, but you'll have the satisfaction waking up every morning, you're doing something that matters. You're helping people.

That's the joy I've had for 12 plus years.

ACOSTA: Well thanks so much for doing it. You've done a tremendous service to this country. And we appreciate you coming on Dr. Francis Collins. Thank you so much.

COLLINS: Thanks. I'll come back anytime. I'm not quite gone yet. Give me a couple more months.

ACOSTA: We know you're not. All right.

We won't push you out the door just yet. All right. Thank you sir. Appreciate it.

Coming up: denied. President Biden rejects Trump's request to withhold dozens of documents from the January 6th Committee.

Plus, dodging a subpoena the former president's former chief strategist, Steve Bannon, defies Congress and the law.

[17:19:48]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: New developments in the Capitol riot investigation. A source telling me and CNN that Dan Scavino a top aide to former President Trump has now been served with a subpoena.

Scavino is one of several former Trump aides the January 6th committee wants to appear at a deposition next week. This as President Biden refuses to invoke executive privilege over Trump documents sought by that same congressional committee.

CNN's Marshall Cohen is covering these developments for us. Marshall, what more do we know about this subpoena? It's pretty far reaching, it seems.

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: Yes, the committee, they want to get their hands on as much as possible, but with Dan Scavino, as you mentioned, sort of the brains behind some of Trump's social media presence, he was finally served with that subpoena yesterday in Mar-A-Lago.

He is the last of four subpoena recipients. The first batch of subpoena recipients who were members of President Trump's inner circle that the committee wants to talk to. They want their e-mails and everything.

[17:24:53] COHEN: You've got Steve Bannon, Mark Meadows the former chief of staff, and Kash Patel who was a high ranking official at the Pentagon in the final months of the administration.

The deadline was earlier this week for them to at least give some sort of response to the committee. Bannon said he's going to put his foot down and try to invoke executive privilege. That's probably never going to work because he wasn't working in the White House.

ACOSTA: I guess he's the president of his podcast.

COHEN: Yes. I mean, podcast privilege.

ACOSTA: Yes, right.

COHEN: And then for Patel and Meadows, the committee said that they are engaging with their attorneys. Who knows? Maybe they'll be able to come to some sort of accord and hand over something or give some sort of testimony, but it's too early to tell. But that's really where things stand on those four subpoena recipients.

ACOSTA: And what's the latest on Trump's attempts to exert -- to assert I should say, executive privilege? I mean he can't.

COHEN: He's trying. But it's not up to him.

ACOSTA: Right.

COHEN: You know, he's out there on the sidelines, right? At Bedminster and Mar-A-Lago. He's not in charge anymore. It's Biden who's in the White House. It's the sitting president that gets to make that decision. They get the deference over what happens with the former president's documents.

So we're talking about this because the committee asked the National Archive for all kinds of stuff from Trump's White House. We're talking schedules, calendars, e-mails. Even the president's DMs and Twitter postings. Information about his movements on and around January 6th.

That's what they want. They think that will help them get to the bottom of it. Trump wants to keep it shielded with executive privilege. The Biden administration just this week said for this first batch, they are not going to do that. They are going to let this stuff go to the committee.

Jim, here's why. They say basically if you were trying to shred the constitution, you can't use the constitution to protect your documents.

I'll tell you what the White House counsel said in a letter to the National Archive. She said quote, "The constitutional protections of executive privilege should not be used to shield from Congress or the public -- so that's us -- information that reflects a clear and apparent effort to subvert the constitution itself." Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Marshall Cohen, thanks so much for that. These developments bring us to cross exam with CNN's senior legal analyst and former federal and state prosecutor Elie Honig. He's also the author of the book "Hatchet Man: How Bill Barr broke the prosecutor's code and corrupted the Justice Department".

Elie, Marshall Cohen gave us a lot to chew on there. As you know, these questions are on everybody's mind right now. A viewer asks who controls executive privilege? The current president or prior president whose communications are at issue.

I think this is self-explanatory, but let's talk about it.

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well Jim, this is the question of the week. It's actually a little bit more complicated than just saying it's Joe Biden.

So the Supreme Court actually addressed this issue in 1977. They didn't decide it, but they said the former president actually does have potentially a limited interest in exerting executive privilege, but they also said that in the majority of cases, the current president is going to be the one who's in best position to make the decision on executive privilege.

If you look at precedent, we have seen current president exercise or not exercise executive privilege on behalf of their predecessors. George W. Bush did it for Bill Clinton. Barack Obama did it for George W. Bush.

However, those cases were different because the prior president wasn't objecting and threatening to go to court like Donald Trump is now.

But yes Jim, fundamentally, the privileges about protecting the institution of the presidency and not any one individual.

And even if, as Marshall was saying, even if Donald Trump had the ability to raise executive privilege, it can't be used to hide away from criminal charges or wrong doing. The court's going to have to do that balancing test. So it's a real uphill climb here for Trump legally.

ACOSTA: And another viewer wants to know can a person who defies a subpoena from Congress be criminally prosecuted?

HONIG: Yes absolutely. It is a federal crime to commit contempt of Congress, to defy a congressional subpoena without legal justification.

Now the way this has to work is Congress will have to vote to hold the person in contempt and then refer the case over to the Justice Department. Important to note, it's not up to Congress ultimately. It's up to DOJ. It's up to Merrick Garland.

And interestingly this provision has not been criminally enforced for over 50 years. In the last decade, we've actually had four instances of people held in contempt both parties, by the way, and all four times, DOJ declined to prosecute. So will Merrick Garland sort of go with that bizarre tradition or will he recognize that we're really in unprecedented times here where accountability is necessary?

ACOSTA: And this one makes no sense to me but Elie I know you'll (INAUDIBLE) so sort this out.

Bannon -- Steve Bannon is essentially daring the House to sue him or hold him in content. This could be a fight which plays out in court for quite some time. Obviously trying to drag things out if you were watching.

Is there anything that can be done to speed up the legal process so that court cases over congressional subpoenas can't be dragged out for months or years. I mean if that's the playbook every time, then why even have this process? I mean that's the other part of the question.

[17:30:02]

HONIG: This is why it's an important question. Because ultimately, it's about delay.

Now Congress has to move quickly. We've seen Congress take months to go to court. Congress needs to be ready to go to court this week.

Now you can also, when you go in front of a federal judge, you can request expedited review. Meaning, Judge, I really need you to do this quickly.

But ultimately, it's up to judges. And I think we have the right to demand that our judges do better.

They control their dockets and deadlines but there's no reason that a case like the one over Don McGahn should take two years to get through the federal courts. They could do this in a matter of weeks or maybe months.

I think it's fair to look at judges here and say, you need to do your jobs and do it quickly.

ACOSTA: Elie Honig, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

HONIG: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: As the former president tries to block potential answers from getting out, my next guest wants desperately to get to the bottom of January 6th.

Why? He was there. It was his life at risk that day. A police officer, who protected our nation's capital and our democracy, joins us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:35:32]

ACOSTA: Before the break, we told you about efforts by former President Trump and his top allies to impede the investigation into January 6th.

My next guest has spoken passionately about the importance of getting to the bottom of the insurrection. That's because he lived through it. Bravely defending the capitol on January 6th, along with his colleagues while witnessing the violent and racist attacks from the rioters.

Capitol Police officer, Harry Dunn, joins me now.

Officer Dunn, thank you so much for being here with us. We appreciate it.

We want to be clear, you're speaking on behalf of yourself, not the entire Capitol Police Department.

But what do you say to those like the former president and these aides of his who were trying to make it harder to find out what happened that day?

OFC. HARRY DUNN, U.S. CAPITOL POLICE DEPARTMENT: Thanks for having me on. First of all, I appreciate the opportunity to be here to talk about everything that's going on.

They said nothing happened. They said it wasn't really that bad. So show us that and then if it's nothing, we'll move on. What do you got to hide? Simple as that.

ACOSTA: You testified before Congress about the racist attacks that day, including being called the "N" word by the rioters. It took a heavy toll on you and your colleagues. You even sought counseling.

I guess, as we get this conversation started, how are you doing? How is everyone else doing? It's been a while since we've spoken to you.

DUNN: Yes. I'm still in counseling. The healing process, I've noticed a difference. I have noticed a shift in my last couple of weeks, couple of months from sad, depressed, hurt, down, to angry.

And especially with all the rhetoric that's going on now and it's making me more and more angry.

And I'm anxious about this committee. And I kind of just want it to see it done right. And I do believe the people that are on the committee are determined to see that through, also.

ACOSTA: I know you're angry that some of these Trump aides aren't going to testify. That they're trying to avoid testifying. People like Mark Meadows who used to be in the Congress.

DUNN: Yes, I --

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: You used to protect him.

DUNN: That's the thing. Mark Meadows was a congressman. The people that suffered the attack, the lawmakers that day, those were his co- workers, so to speak.

The fact that these people are just taking these subpoenas as a joke, it's just disrespectful to this country. It's disrespectful to the whole democratic process.

It's -- you know, I know it's cable, but I'm going to monitor my tongue a little bit.

But infuriating to think these people are above the law. Nobody's above the law. Nobody's above democracy.

I just hope these people, excuse me, the committee, takes this -- they're serious about, they're worried about holding these people responsible for what they're doing to these subpoenas.

ACOSTA: And Meadows, I guess, has said or through his lawyers that he is going to start cooperating. We don't know how far that's going to go.

Let me move on to something else. Even nine months later, there are voices on the far right trying to whitewash what happened. I'm sure that must be part of what you're feeling as well in terms of what ticks you off.

Here's what Tucker Carlson said a few weeks ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST, "TUCKER CARLSON TONIGHT": You don't see people hiding bombs or using bayonets or firing weapons, trying to take over the country in an insurrection. You see people walking around taking pictures. They don't look like terrorists. They look like tourists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now, he's showing video there that looks pretty harmless. But we've seen video after video after video that showed -- and this was hand to hand combat. People spraying bear spray, attacking police officers with shields.

And of course, they were attacking you attacking you and saying all sorts of things.

What is your response when you hear something like that?

DUNN: When they show that clip, how did they get in that capitol? How did they get in there? We didn't just let them in. It was a fight. They forced their way through layers and layers of security to get there.

It's coincidental that they just show that particular footage. Show the footage leading up to that. How about that? That clip you just showed, of them spraying us and fighting and hitting us with poles.

Show that clip. What have you got to say about that? [17:40:04]

ACOSTA: Why do you think they're not saying that on FOX?

DUNN: It goes against their narrative. It goes against their narrative. The whole thing about with Tucker Carlson, he had some words about me.

Have me on your show. I'll go on.

They want to talk about you, not to you.

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: I don't think he has the courage to have you on the show, if you don't mind me saying.

DUNN: I'm not going to get too into that. Like I said, I'm angry about it, but talk to me, not about me. They didn't show that because it doesn't fit their narrative.

ACOSTA: There's been a lot of criticism about the rioters getting off the hook, being let off the hook with a slap on the wrist, not getting serious jail time.

For you personally, what does that mean?

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: Does that mean the system isn't working?

DUNN: Before January 6th, there's been flaws in the criminal justice system, disparities, so that doesn't really surprise me that that is occurring.

I just got to keep on holding faith that, in the end, it's going to work out. I don't like the -- but you know, what can I do? You know? It's unfortunate.

But I just keep holding on just a little faith that it's going to work out, you know?

ACOSTA: You have a 9-year-old daughter.

DUNN: She's 10 now.

ACOSTA: She's 10. If you don't mind me asking, how is she doing with this?

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: Is it OK to ask that?

DUNN: Yes, it is. You know what?

(CROSSTALK) DUNN: I think she just likes seeing daddy on TV. That's all it is.

ACOSTA: He's on right now.

DUNN: Doesn't pay attention too much. If it comes up, we'll have honest conversations about it. Obviously, with gloves on to have that conversation. But be honest and truthful about what happened.

ACOSTA: And about talking to your children, there was this troubling tweet put out by a candidate for the U.S. Senate. Somebody who wants to come to the capitol and be protected by folks like yourself.

He says, "Great breakfast this morning with another Ohioan. He took his daughter to the January 6th rally. It's so important for our kids to see democracy up close and exercise their God-given rights."

I mean, what do you -- here's the question I have. It's based on that tweet. How do you deal with people who are not dealing with reality? That's got -- that's tough. How do you do that?

DUNN: You know, God-given right, First Amendment, free speech, absolutely.

You come up there, 20,000, 30,000 people up there protesting. They're disgusted with the election. That's what you're allowed to do. I have no problem with that.

But when you start physically trying to -- storming the building -- not trying to, they did. So that's where it becomes problematic.

ACOSTA: The line has to be drawn somewhere.

DUNN: That's free speech. Correct. Even if we don't like it. But when it got to the point that violence, that's where you got to draw the line. It's unacceptable, no matter what the cause is.

ACOSTA: Well, Officer Dunn, my hat's off to you. Thanks for what you do.

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: And let's have you on again sometime.

DUNN: I'd love to.

ACOSTA: All the best to you and your family and all the other officers and Capitol Police Department. Just amazing what you guys have been through.

DUNN: Thank you.

ACOSTA: Thank you very much.

DUNN: Thanks for having me.

[17:44:00] ACOSTA: All right. Coming up, police describing the interaction with Brian Laundrie's parents after he first disappeared as odd. Where the investigation now stands almost a month into the manhunt.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Three weeks into the manhunt for Brian Laundrie, police are offering up new details about their interactions with his parents, describing the couple's behavior as, quote, "odd."

It was Laundrie's parents who led officers to the vast nature reserve where they've spent nearly a month searching for him. So far, though, they have found zero sign of him.

CNN's Nadia Romero is in North Port, Florida, outside the Laundrie home.

Nadia, tell us about these, quote, "odd" interactions.

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, Gabby Petito's family, remember, they live in New York and called to the North Port Police Department, looking for their daughter. They hadn't seen or heard from her in quite some time.

And they knew, before she went on that van trip with her ex-fiance, Brian Laundrie, out west, she was living in this house behind me with Brian Laundrie and his parents.

They called and reported their daughter missing. North Port police officers said they came to the house to try to talk to Brian Laundrie's parents.

And they received basically a business card with the details of their attorney and they were told that they weren't going to answer any questions about Gabby Petito.

That's why North Port said the interaction was odd.

So, the police officers were told by Brian Laundrie's parents that they last saw and heard from their son on September 14th.

[17:50:00]

And so for the past couple of weeks, that was the date we were given and that we thought he was going to the Calton Reserve.

But then it was just this past week that the parents said, oh no, it wasn't September 14th. It was actually September 13th, a day earlier.

And the lawyer for the parents say that it was a simple mistake, and nothing to really read into there.

But North Port police has been really facing a lot of criticism and scrutiny over the last couple weeks because people wonder why they didn't arrest Brian Laundrie, why they didn't do more.

And listen to the spokesperson explain their legal limitations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH TAYLOR, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, NORTH PORT POLICE DEPARTMENT: I mean, the guy goes for a walk in the Calton Reserve. He's not wanted for a crime.

I mean, what are we supposed to do? We're going to go tree to tree, tree to tree, following him back through the woods?

I mean, you know, it just wasn't there with the information we had in this case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: So, at the time that they were surveilling Brian Laundrie, remember, Gabby Petito, her body hadn't been found yet, so there was no crime.

There was really not a lot for them to go off of, so they couldn't arrest Brian Laundrie. That's what we're hearing from North Port police.

Jim, they're still looking for Brian Laundrie. The FBI now taking over this case.

Here in North Port, though -- you'll see it spreading on social media -- the city says they're going to have to remove the memorial that people in this community came far and wide to build, this memorial for Gabby Petito over by city hall.

The city says the rain and the wet weather has caused them to move that memorial. And a lot of people are talking about having a permanent place to remember Gabby Petito here in Florida -- Jim?

ACOSTA: Nadia Romero, thank you so much.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: This week's "CNN Hero" is a survivor of the Boston Marathon bombing. On Monday, Heather Abbott will be at the 125th Boston Marathon cheering on runners and continuing to live life to the fullest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEATHER ABBOTT, CNN HERO: I heard the first explosion just ahead in front of me. The next thing I knew, a second explosion occurred just to my right. And that was the last thing I knew before I landed in the restaurant on the ground.

I was in the hospital for several days while doctors were deciding whether or not to amputate.

It was hard to come to terms with the fact that I am an amputee at first.

And had my injury not happened in such a public way, where there was so much assistance available, I never would have been able to afford multiple prosthesis.

Some of our recent beneficiaries.

So I decided to do what I could to help people get those devices that simply couldn't get them because they were out of reach.

It has been life changing for them. And a lot of them remind me of that.

There's a crazy man.

It feels very rewarding to be able to do that

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[17:55:03]

ACOSTA: And to see Heather's full story, go to CNNheroes.com.

That's the news. Reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. I'll see you back here tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.

Pamela Brown takes over the CNN NEWSROOM, live, after a break.

Have a good night.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)