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Pivotal Day in Investigation of Insurrection; Committee Meeting with Former Justice Department Officials; Trump's Efforts Complicated by Lack of Legal Counsel; Shortages, Rising Prices Putting Strain on Economic Recovery; Police Charge Suspect After Deadly Attack in Norway; Airport Gun Seizures Skyrocket. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired October 14, 2021 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a very warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and right around the world. I'm Isa Soares in London. And just ahead right here on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump isn't the president any more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Former president of the United States is still out pushing the big lie.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bannon doesn't get to invent his own law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Deposition deadline day on Capitol Hill. The January 6 committee targets Trump aides Steve Bannon and Kash Patel. But will they show up?

Deploy the National Guard. U.S. business leaders call on the White House to address the bottlenecks choking U.S. ports.

And Bali is back in business. The Indonesian island open to tourists after 18 months of pandemic closures.

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Isa Soares.

SOARES: Hello, everyone. It is Thursday, October 14th. A pivotal day in the Congressional investigation of the deadly January 6 insurrection. Top aides to former president Donald Trump are supposed to appear before the House Select Committee today as well as Friday. Committee members are making it clear. Criminal contempt is the next step if they don't show up.

Lawmakers want to know what was happening in the Trump White House on the day the riots. President Joe Biden has formally rejected Trump's request to shield requested documents through executive privilege. And a former Justice Department official who pushed the election fraud lie is being called to appear. Ryan Nobles puts it all into context for you. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The January 6th select committee is making serious moves.

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): We're not messing around.

NOBLES (voice-over): Meeting with a key member of the Trump-era Justice Department and taking steps to force another one to comply with their investigation.

Sources say former Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen met Wednesday with the committee behind closed doors. Rosen served as A.G. leading up to January 6th and resisted the former president's efforts to use the power of the Justice Department to investigate false claims of election fraud.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The case has already been made if you look at the polls. It was a rigged election. You look at the different states, the election was totally rigged.

NOBLES (voice-over): Meanwhile, the committee is taking action to insure another Trump associate cooperates, issuing a subpoena to Jeffrey Clark, a high-level member of the Trump Justice Department who tried to help Trump overturn the 2020 election. Clark attempted to pressure DOJ leadership to investigate unfounded claims of election fraud.

The committee had been negotiating behind the scenes with Clark to get him to work with the committee. But after weeks of resistance, they took the step of a subpoena.

Writing to Clark, quote, the select committee's investigation has revealed credible evidence that you attempted to involve the Department of Justice in efforts to interrupt the peaceful transfer of power.

The new round of work by the committee comes a day before a series of major deadlines. Two Trump allies, Steve Bannon and former Defense Department Official Kash Patel, are scheduled to appear before the committee Thursday for private depositions.

Bannon has sent the committee a letter telling them he does not plan to cooperate. If he doesn't show on Thursday, they promised they'll take quick action to enforce the subpoena.

SCHIFF: If people don't show up, if people don't provide the documents they're compelled to, we intend to take up criminal contempt and refer to the Justice Department and we expect that it will be prosecuted, that unlike the last administration, no one is above the law, and so we intend to move quickly.

NOBLES (voice-over): On Friday, the committee has asked former White House Officials Mark Meadows and Dan Scavino to appear. Meadows is engaging with the committee, but Scavino only received his subpoena last Friday. REP. ELAINE LURIA (D-VA): I can assure you that the committee is considering each of these cases individually on its merits and will move swiftly to get that information that we need as part of this investigation.

NOBLES (voice-over): The committee is feeling a sense of urgency, as Trump continues to peddle his big lie about the election results and is finding willing Republican voters and leaders to agree with him.

TRUMP: You always read in there, while there's no evidence to prove this, there's so much evidence. It's pouring out of our ears.

[04:05:00]

NOBLES: And there is something complicating the former President Donald Trump's efforts legally to try and prevent the January 6 Select Committee from talking to some of his former associates or getting information and documents from his White House. He's having a hard time finding high-profile lawyers to help build that case.

CNN reaching out to a number of lawyers that have represented Trump, his administration or his associates over the past couple of years, and many of them saying that they are not signing up for this task, including Ty Cobb, Jay Sekulow, William Burke and others. Now Trump said that he's not worried about those lawyers that he'll have no problem finding good legal help. But at this point, it is unclear who is leading his legal team as he heads into this crucial effort on his part to try and deny the Select Committee that information that they're looking for.

Ryan Nobles, CNN on Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Well, House Select Committee member Adam Schiff -- you just heard in Ryan Nobles' piece -- says the central focus of the committee's investigation is where Trump fits onto the events on January 6. Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHIFF: I think really the big black box in all of this is what was the president's role. We know some of the things about what the president did, certainly propagating the big lie before that day, and what he did at the rally that day. But what was going on at the White House? What did he know in advance of January 6th about who was coming to this rally, the presence of white nationalist groups, the propensity for violence? Why didn't reinforcements come in to protect the Capitol more quickly? That's the biggest unknown. What was the president doing or what the people around him were doing?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, for the former Trump aides, the strategy may be to really just simply run out the clock on the Congressional investigation. CNN analysts explain what could happen if they ignore the subpoenas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: On the House side, what they will do is first vote to hold him in contempt. That should be pretty quick, pretty easy to do. And then from there they have a couple of options. They could refer that contempt citation to the Department of Justice and ask the department to prosecute him criminally for contempt. They could decide to pursue it in civil court, federal court, in the same way that they went after Trump and other Trump associates during the prior administration to try to enforce subpoenas. Or they could send the sergeant at arms out to grab Mr. Bannon and hold him in jail and on The Hill, which is highly unlikely to happen.

So, all of those things take a lot of time. That's what Mr. Bannon is gambling for right now. He knows he's not going to win legally, but he's gambling that he can probably outlast them.

NORM EISEN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Donald Trump isn't the president any more. He doesn't get to decide because he sends a letter. We know the Biden administration has been waiving executive privilege, letting witnesses testify, ordering documents to produce. Bannon doesn't get to invent his own law. There's been a lot of focus on the coming contempt, likely criminal contempt against those who aren't cooperating.

But there is much more cooperation that's happening. You have Mr. Donohue and Mr. Rosen, Mr. Clark's bosses who have gone in to testify. First to the Senate, then to the House Committee. You have the White House authorizing the disclosure of executive privilege documents. You have others cooperating. Still confidential providing information. That information is pouring in.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Our legal context there on what we can see in the coming days.

And staying in Washington this hour, U.S. President Joe Biden's approval rating is up to 50 percent in new CNN poll. But Democrats in Congress are still struggling to gain traction on his legislative agenda and really sell the specifics of his plans. Now, progressives in the House could be fighting for their political lives in the 2022 midterms, while moderate Democrats, Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema are standing in the way in the Senate. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): We're waiting for the two of them to agree with each other, and then to submit a counterproposal. And I'm not sure why it's taking so long, but obviously this is a moment where we're all in agreement. So, if somebody else has a different proposal, they should put it on the table. But it doesn't make sense for us to continue to negotiate against ourselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SOARES: Well, that new CNN poll just mentioned finds 75 percent of Democrats prefer a bill that goes further to expand the social safety net and fight climate change over one that costs less and enacts fewer of those very policies.

Now, with COVID restrictions easing worldwide and the holidays really rapidly approaching, consumer everywhere are eager to go shopping again. The But all of that pent-up demand has really exposed shocking weaknesses in the global supply chain. Ports around the world are suddenly choked with thousands of shipping containers you can see there, really waiting offshore.

[04:10:00]

The port of Los Angeles is switching to around-the-clock operations to try to clear the backlog. The White House says the supply chain problems underscore really the need to overhaul the nation's infrastructure. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We cannot guarantee. What we can do is use every lever at the federal government disposal to reduce delays, to ensure that we are addressing bottlenecks in the system, including ports and the need for them to be open longer hours so that goods can arrive.

PETE BUTTIGIEG, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: We are relying on supply chains that were built generations ago. It's one of the reasons why this entire year we have been talking about and working on infrastructure and are eager to see Congress act to get this infrastructure deal through.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, after meeting with key business leaders at the White House on Wednesday, President Biden announced a 90-day sprint to get merchandise off U.S. docks and into American stores. And he said it was vital for the U.S. shippers to begin adopting non-stop operations. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 24/7 system, what most of the leading countries in the world already operate on now except us, until now. This is the first key step toward moving our entire freight, transportation, and logistical supply chain nationwide to a 24/7 system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: But being made in the USA is no guarantee of avoiding supply chain issues, especially if workers walk off the job. About 10,000 employees at John Deere factories in the Midwest went on strike after rejecting the latest contract. The company makes farm and construction equipment and demand has been strong. Despite the supply chain challenges facing the U.S. auto industry, John Deere has had healthy bottom line this year and its workers want that reflected in their new contract.

Well, here in the U.K., cargo ships carrying holiday toys and electronics had to be diverted from the port of Felixstowe because the docks were full. You're seeing it right there. British officials are downplaying the delays, adding the country should plan for holiday shopping as usual. The U.K. finance minister meeting in Washington said the British government is doing what it can to get goods moving.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RISHI SUNAK, BRITISH FINANCE MINISTER: We're doing absolutely everything we can to mitigate some of these challenges. They are global in nature, so we can't fix every single problem. But I feel confident there will be good provision of goods for everybody and we are working our way to remove blockages where we can. As you've seen with HGV drivers for example where we provided short-term visas. We sped up the processing of tests and things like that. Those are the types of practical actions we can do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, earlier economist Paul Krugman spoke with CNN about the supply chain mess. He said bottlenecks are an unintended consequence of people being able to buy things during the pandemic. And he put it into perspective, take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL KRUGMAN, NEW YORK TIMES COLUMNIST: Stuff like refrigerators, like exercise machines, whatever. That's actually way up from before the pandemic. The problem is that people want to buy so much stuff that the supply chain can't handle it.

So, this is -- a lot of this is because people were not able to do, still in many ways are not able to do what they were doing before, so they've turned to things to take the place. You can't go to the gym so you buy some exercise equipment. You can't eat out so you remodel your kitchen. And that is what's placed the strain on the system. It's not that we've fallen short of the deliveries we were achieving before.

I just find it hard, at a sort of abstract level to believe a modern economy with all the resources ours has and all of the ingenuity that ours has is going to be unable to fix these, what are fundamentally short-term problems for that long.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Short-term problem seems to be going on for a while.

Well meanwhile, the White House is touting tremendous progress in its coronavirus vaccine campaign, saying cases are down across the U.S. and that vaccine mandates are a big part of the reason why. In the coming hours, President Biden will address the country's COVID response. Also today, vaccine advisers to U.S. Food and Drug Administration will

start tackling the next round of questions about booster shots. At issue here, whether to recommend emergency use applications for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. And whether any of the shots should be mixed and matched. The vaccine advisers will take up a new study that found it is indeed safe for people to do just that, and that getting a different brand of booster shot still generates a robust immune response. But the results of the study from the National Institutes of Health have not yet been peer reviewed. The latest data from the CDC shows the U.S. vaccination rate has fallen 18 percent from last week. The U.S. Surgeon General says vaccine mandates are helping.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. VIVEK MURTHY, U.S. SURGEON GENERAL: Recent reports show that 20 percent bump in vaccination rates among organizations have put vaccine requirements in place.

[04:15:00]

But most of all, they are an important public health tool that reflects that reality, that the decisions we make affect other people. That's really what should guide us. I worry when I see politics, polarization, misinformation and disinformation takes us away from sound public health guidance. We can't afford that to happen because lives are at stake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: And talk about vaccine confusion here. Two parents say they and their children -- their young children in fact, were given doses of the Pfizer BioNTech coronavirus vaccine instead of flu shots. The apparent mix up happened at Walgreens in Indiana last week. Joshua and Alexandra Price -- you can see there -- say the store contacted them later to admit the mistake. The couple's two children are 4 and 5 years old and the vaccine is not authorized for children under 12. The parents said the kids started feeling sick soon after the injections. One medical expert tells CNN the children should be OK despite the dose being triple tested in clinical trials.

I want to take you to Norway, a country on edge after a man armed with a bow and arrow went on attack in a town southwest of Oslo. Now, police say they have arrested and charged 37-year-old Danish citizen after five people were killed and two others injured in the rampage on Wednesday. So far police do not know his motive and have not ruled out a possible link to terrorism. They do believe he acted alone.

CNN's Melissa Bell is following developments and joins us now from Paris. Good morning, Melissa. What more are we learning this hour about this violent rampage and this man behind it?

MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: Well, even now, Isa, police chief is giving a live conference to give the latest details from the investigation. Nothing so far in what he's had to say, either in the statement or to questions so far, Isa, about the motives of the man. Clearly, that is the big question facing Norway this morning. Exactly why this Danish national went out on the rampage. It lasted just over half an hour last night, just after 6:00 p.m.

What we have learned from the police chief in the last few moments, he says more about the victims. None of them have been formally identified, but he did say that they were four women and one man who died all between their 50s and 70s.

We know also, of course, that rampage lasted just over half an hour before police were able to apprehend the man who was carrying a bow and arrow and a quiver full of arrows. Another of the questions will be whether there were other weapons involved in the rampage over the course of that half hour.

As you say, an extremely shocking event since this is a country where gun violence is limited, where murder rates are fairly low, and where we really don't see the kind of terror attacks that you've seen in other European countries. Of course, the last big one was in 2011, the far-right extremist who killed 77 people. Everyone now wondering what this motive was, whether there was a motive, and what we understand so far, what the police have revealed over the course of the last evening or so, Isa, is that he was -- is believed to have been acting alone. The big question now why he did what he did.

SOARES: As soon as you know more, Melissa, do keep us posted. Melissa Bell for us there in Paris. Thanks very much, Melissa.

Now, security officials are seeing a disturbing trend at U.S. airports. A record number of guns confiscated from passengers. Ahead a TSA chief explains what he believes is behind the surge.

Plus, Star Trek's Captain Kirk makes history on his ten-minute flight to the edge of space. His emotional reaction back on planet earth. That is next.

[04:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: Well, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is asking residents of La Palma for patience. Saying the government can't begin to rebuild until the island volcano stops erupting. It's been spewing lava for almost a month now forcing thousands of people from their homes. Al Goodman has the latest for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AL GOODMAN, JOURNALIST: The volcano eruptions on Spain's La Palma Island show no signs of slowing down in the coming days. Spain's Prime Minister said Wednesday while visiting the island. And right now, it's the northern flow of lava that's causing the most problem. It's the most fluid, also the hottest. That's what prompted officials to order the evacuation of 700 to 800 people this week. That brings it to 6,700. The total number of evacuees since the eruptions began three weeks ago on an island of 80,000 people.

It's also the northern flow of lava that caused a fire at a cement factory earlier this week which prompted the lockdown of 3,000 people who lived nearby. That order was later lifted but the authorities are trying to stay a step ahead of the lava with the evacuation and lockdown orders on La Palma, which is one of Spain's smallest of Spain's Canary Islands.

The Spanish government has approved $260 million in aid for La Palma to rebuild homes, businesses and roads, but as the Prime Minister said, none of that can really get going in a big way until the eruptions stop and the lava stops flowing.

Al Goodman, CNN, Madrid.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Two companies in the Canary Islands are using drones to help dogs stranded by the volcanic lava. You can see it in this video released by the local government. The drones dropped care packages with food and water, and the dogs can pry them open with their teeth as well as paws. The companies are working with veterinarians to decide what the dogs need. The government says hot air and ash from the volcano prevent helicopters from flying in to rescue those dogs.

Now, more than 1,300 firefighters are now battling a wildfire near Santa Barbara, California. The Alisal fire has burned more than 15,000 acres or 6,000 hectors. An air quality watch is now in effect. Strong winds are spreading smoke and ash from that fire. Evacuation orders have been issued and road closures along a major highway remain in place. We'll stay on top of that story for you.

Well, parts of the southern U.S. are bracing for flash floods as the remnants of hurricane Pamela move into Texas. CNN Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri is tracking the system for you -- Pedram.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Isa.

[04:25:00]

Well, we're tracking portions of Texas because tropical moisture that is left of hurricane Pamela is pouring into this region Texas into areas of Oklahoma, Arkansas and the state of Missouri where as many as 10 plus million Americans underneath the risk here for flooding. And some of the amounts here can tally up to maybe 3, maybe 4 inches before it's all said and done come Thursday afternoon.

Now that's not the only area of interest in weather. Portions of the Northern Plains upwards of 13 severe weather reports just in the past 24 hours, about seven of them related to tornadoes across this region and really has been an incredibly busy pattern over the past three days into the Western United States where active weather has been in place. Over 600 severe wind gusts reports to be had across the Western U.S.

And, of course, when it comes to severe weather and tornadoes, almost 50 of them reported across the Central and Northern Plains region of the U.S. and this is the second season as it's known typically as we transition from the warm season of summer into the cool season of autumn. Severe weather is prompted. And the cold is arriving and it is with a vengeance. We've got widespread coverage of freeze alerts across the higher elevations of the Western U.S.

Cooler air does eventually arrive across the Eastern United States. Atlanta going in from the 80s down into the 60s by this weekend. Look at the overnight temperatures. 68 on Friday into 48 or so over a 24- hour span dropping off into Saturday and Sunday. So certainly, a much cooler trend in store across the Southern United States.

High temperatures only 50 degrees in Denver. Middle 80s in Memphis, and about 76 degrees out of New York City -- Isa.

SOARES: Thank you very much.

Now, police in Portland, Oregon, said protesters caused half a million dollars of damage in just ten minutes. Police say about 100 anarchists broke windows and ATMs and set trash containers on fire. No suspects have been publicly identified. The gathering was meant to recall the death of an activist killed two years ago.

Now, ahead of the U.S. transportation security administration said there is a huge gun problem at the nation's airport. Security agents are confiscating more guns from passengers than ever before. And the really scary part, well the vast majority of them are loaded. CNN's Pete Muntean has the story for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are disturbing new numbers, and TSA Administrator David Pekoske and I just spoke exclusively about this. He said this is a big problem, especially since we have already reached the record set back in 2019 with 11 weekends still left in this year. The TSA has recovered 4,650 guns at airport checkpoints across the country since January 1st, 3,900 of them have been loaded. The record in 2019, 4,432 guns found at TSA checkpoints. You can face a $10,000 fine for a first offense of bringing a loaded gun to the airport. TSA Administrator David Pekoske says this is a serious issue and passengers need to take this more seriously.

DAVID PEKOSKE TSA ADMINISTRATOR: It's a huge problem. I mean, you know, as a passenger, I don't want to have another passenger flying on a flight with me with a gun in their possession.

MUNTEAN: Why do you think the numbers are up?

PEKOSKE: Well again, I think it does reflects society. I think more people are carrying weapons just generally across the country, and then we see whatever is happening in the country, we see reflected in our checkpoint operations.

MUNTEAN: Pekoske also underscores that this is happening during a time when there's an uptick in unruly passenger incidents, not only on board commercial flights, but also at TSA checkpoints. He says this just shows that the security system is working.

Remember, there are a patchwork of gun laws both state and local and the TSA would like some help with that. The U.S. attorney's office in the western district of Pennsylvania is now telling local sheriffs to revoke the conceal carry permits of those who violate these rules at airports.

Pete Muntean, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Well, still ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, Bali is hoping its empty beaches will soon be filled as the island reopens for international tourists after an 18-month hiatus. More on that after a very short break. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.

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