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House To Vote Tomorrow On Bannon Contempt Charges; Cheney Lays Out Possibility Trump & Bannon Plotted Capitol Attack; Medical Examiner, Cadaver Dog On Scene Where Laundrie's Belongings Found; FDA Could Issue EUA For Moderna, J&J Booster This Afternoon & White House Details Plans To Roll Out Vaccines For Kids 5-11; Texas Lawmakers Approve New Congressional Maps At Expense Of Minorities; Hundreds Of Netflix Employees Walk Out To Protest Chappelle Special. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired October 20, 2021 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: As a prosecutor, what do you hear there and how far does it get you in building a case or narrative?

RENATO MARIOTTI, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Wow. Well, it's very powerful evidence. It's the sort of thing that is going to potentially move a jury.

I think the other interesting thing here is it might provide a reason for Bannon to ultimately take the Fifth. In other words, you know, they want to see his testimony.

The smarter legal move for Bannon, would have said, well, I'm going to take the Fifth. That may not be good from a P.R. perspective, but it's definitely a way of getting out of testifying.

And something like that suggests there might actually be a legitimate basis to do so because he may have some liability there.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: But, Renato, doesn't it sound like, to your ears, that he knew something? That he was aware of something?

I mean, Liz -- Congresswoman Cheney said something remarkable last night that, you know, President Trump, she believes, from what she now knows, was personally involved in the planning of January 6th.

She said, specifically because Bannon is stonewalling, it leads you to that conclusion.

But when you hear him say, it can be very different than what you think is going to happen, so strap in, isn't that somebody who knows something?

MARIOTTI: That's exactly right. That's why I'm saying he should take the Fifth because he potentially has liability for what happened afterwards.

What I see here is somebody who's motivated to not testify. And it explains why he's taking such a hard line. But he's doing it in a very foolish way.

Frankly, a lawyer, a criminal defense lawyer would likely be advising him, take the Fifth. You've got a reason to do so because you may have criminal liability for what happened afterwards.

So I definitely can understand why he doesn't want to talk about it.

BLACKWELL: So the judge who will hear the former President Trump's challenge to the House subpoena for records is Judge Tanya Chutkan. She has been critical of the insurrectionists, has presided over some of those cases.

What do we need to know about her?

MARIOTTI: That's what we litigators call a bad draw if you're on the Trump team. I think she's somebody, given that she takes this seriously -- frankly, it shouldn't be a partisan issue.

It should just be something all Americans take seriously, an attack on our capitol. I think it gives her an incentive to potentially move this forward quickly.

What I saw, the Trump -- it's basically, in lay tech, an aggressive Hail Mary that was built into this and she could prevent that from happening.

CAMEROTA: One more question, Renato, about what happens next with Steve Bannon.

So the House is going to vote. If the House votes to move forward with these criminal charges, who decides whether to prosecute him?

And why wouldn't they decide to prosecute him, given he's being held in contempt?

MARIOTTI: Well, the United States attorney for the District of Columbia would be the first person who makes that decision.

But obviously, there would be some consultation with the higher ups in the Justice Department, like Attorney General Garland, deputy attorney general and so forth.

Why wouldn't they? Because it can be a risky prosecution.

Bannon would, you know, he has been taking a very legally foolish strategy this far, basically giving a middle finger to the committee.

But if he smartened up and got a lawyer, that person would say, he's going to take the Fifth, he has liability, he has good reasons not to be showing up at the committee.

And then, you know, potentially, you have a difficult trial on your hands.

CAMEROTA: OK. Renato Mariotti, thank you. Great to see you.

MARIOTTI: Thank you.

So the White House is releasing a plan to rollout COVID vaccines for children aged 5 years and up. What all parents need to know.

[14:33:37]

BLACKWELL: And we're learning that items of interest were found in connection with the search for Brian Laundrie. We've got the latest on the breaking news ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:38:26]

CAMEROTA: OK, back now to the breaking news we've been following in the search for Brian Laundrie, the missing fiance of Gabby Petito.

Articles belongs to him were found today at the nature preserve where he was known to hike, according to the family's attorney.

CNN can also confirm the Sarasota County medical examiner and a cadaver dog are on the scene.

CNN's Randi Kaye is live in North Port, Florida.

Randi, do we know exactly what items for found at that park?

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We don't. We just know they were found off a trial that Brian Laundrie frequented.

His mother and father, Chris and Roberta Laundrie, alerting the FBI and North Port police they wanted to come here and search this morning. They alerted them last night.

Law enforcement was with the Laundrie parents when these articles were found, according to the family attorney.

But again, we don't know what they were. And we don't know where exactly they were found other than it was just off a trail.

This is an area that apparently Brian Laundrie would frequent. He would come here and hike and camp at the environmental park.

His father was here with law enforcement not long ago searching for him.

And I should note, Alisyn, the park here just opened yesterday to the public once again. And then, all of a sudden, the parents were here searching and found these items.

Law enforcement has been searching here since September 17th looking for Brian Laundrie. His parents were the only source of information sending law enforcement here to search for him.

[14:39:58] And they were not able to find any articles or any evidence that he was here, except for the Laundrie family Mustang had been parked in this area and tagged as an abandoned car on September 14th.

We also know there's a cadaver dog that was brought here. That is a human remains detection dog, which only detects human remains, not a living human being.

And we also know that the Sarasota County coroner was called in here.

Now the dog has been here before, but the coroner has not.

And we can also tell you that the FBI Evidence Response Team is here processing the scene.

And we did reach out to the family attorney for the Laundries asking about the fact the coroner was on scene and he had no comment.

Back to you.

BLACKWELL: Randi Kaye there for us in Sarasota County.

We just got from the FBI, as you mentioned, Randi, that they have confirmed that items of interest were found at the Carlton Reserve this morning. And the park is now closed. They won't be offering further details at this moment.

So let's turn now to the fight in this pandemic. The FDA could issue an emergency use authorization for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson booster shots as soon as this afternoon.

CAMEROTA: The White House is making plans to green light a COVID vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 as soon as those are approved.

And CNN's Alexandra Field has more!

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Today, the White House rolling out a plan to get shots in arms of those as young as 5 as soon as they're OK'd, possibly in the next few weeks..

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES: If we can get the overwhelming majority of those 28 million children vaccinated, I think that would play a major role in diminishing the spread of infection and immunity.

FIELD: And there's a likely new plan, a source tells CNN, to recommend booster shots for people as young as 40 for those who received Moderna and Pfizer.

DR. ASHISH JHA, DEAN, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: You saw some people in their late 50s and 40s who got very, very sick and ended up dying. So we want to make sure we're protecting that population. A booster can actually be helpful.

FIELD: For those who haven't had so much as a first shot, major cities begin to crack down.

New York's mayor announcing that all city employees, including firefighters and police, must be vaccinated by the end of the month.

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D-NEW YORK CITY): City employees not yet vaccinated. We think about 46,000. That's a lot of people.

The mandates work. And I'll tell you something. Every mayor in America, every governor, every CEO of a company should do the same thing so we could end the COVID era.

FIELD: The latest plea on behalf of the public good coming amid new reminders of how personal it is, too.

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR & CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm going to share a secret I've never spoken of before, that I never talk about. I have multiple sclerosis. So I'm grateful we're all vaccinated.

FIELD: CNN anchor and chief national correspondent, John King, making a powerful appeal of his own.

KING: We are getting to the point, John, that, by Thanksgiving dinner, the population of Denver will be wiped out by COVID. Is that not big enough to startle us to say, let's put our politics aside and let's debate these big questions.

But let's debate them on facts. The world is round. Trump lost. Vaccines work.

FIELD: FOX News host, Neil Cavuto, who also has M.S., shared he has tested positive for COVID-19.

In a statement, he says, quote, "Had I not been vaccinated and with all my medical issues, this would be a far more dire situation. I hope anyone and everyone gets that message loud and clear."

KYRIE IRVING, GUARD, BROOKLYN NETS: Don't believe that I'm retiring.

FIELD: The pressure now mounting on public figures to take a public stand against the shot.

Hall of Famer Charles Barkley sounding off on Net's player, Kyrie Irving, who has refused the vaccine.

CHARLES BARKLEY, NBA HALL OF FAMER: You get vaccinated for your family, first. You get vaccinated for your teammates, second. Things like that.

I really am proud of the Nets for putting their foot down.

FIELD: And tennis star, Novak Djokovic, putting his grand-slam record bid in doubt by refusing to reveal his vaccine status.

Australia's immigration minister says he won't be allowed into the country to defend his Australian Open title without proof of vaccination. (END VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD: And in this country, authorization of the boosters is expected today. Then CDC Committee of Advisers will meet tomorrow to further discuss.

But really I think a lot of the conversation will be about these vaccines for young children, 5 to 11. Not yet green lighted, but it's going to be on parents minds.

We're hearing from the White House that the federal government is going to launch a very robust education campaign to build trust and confidence among parents who might be on the fence still.

BLACKWELL: Yes, a lot of them still are.

Alexandra Field, thank you.

So Republicans are tightening their grip in Texas by redrawing the congressional map. And this is a huge blow to the influence of voters of color there.

[14:44:46]

CAMEROTA: There's a lot going on today. Here's what else to watch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Lawmakers in Texas sent the governor a final version of their new congressional map. Now, this helps Republicans already in office. And it cuts the number of majority Hispanic districts.

CAMEROTA: The Democrats call this a disservice to the people of Texas.

CNN's Dianne Gallagher is with us now.

Dianne, Texas is interesting because it has become more demographically diverse, yet somehow, this map does not reflect that.

[14:50:03]

So how does this work?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, Alisyn and Victor, this is the first time in a half century that Texas has been able to draw its own map without federal oversight, because of that 2013 Supreme Court decision that gutted part of the Voting Rights Act.

Now, look, these maps were approved by the Republican-controlled legislature on Monday night.

And here's the thing about Texas. Because of the explosive population growth over the past 10 years, it was given two new congressional seats, the most of any state in the nation.

And 95 percent of Texas's population growth over the past 10 years has been from people of color. But both of those two new districts have at least 60 percent of white residents making up the eligible voters.

Advocates say that that's just the tip of the trouble here. There are now fewer districts that have a majority Hispanic or black population in them.

Instead of the eight majority Hispanic districts, there are now seven. And there are zero districts in Texas at this point with these new maps that will have a black majority of residents who are eligible voters.

On the flip side, there are now 23 instead of 22 that have a white majority of eligible voters.

Look, Republicans say they adopted a colorblind strategy when they were doing these maps. The Democrats say that they protested to this. They talked about the disparity in this and where those problems were.

Civil rights groups have already filed one lawsuit to this. There will likely be more lawsuits filed once the governor signs these maps into law.

Former Attorney General Eric Holder, who is the chair of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, issued a statement saying:

"Texas Republicans have proven time after time that they don't want to risk fair elections. They know they are out of touch with the majority in the Lone Star state."

"And instead of adjusting their policies and politics for their constituents, they're trying to manipulate the structures of our democracy to artificially hold on to power."

Victor, Alisyn, Democrats in Texas, voting rights and fair map advocates have all pointed out that federal legislation, including the watered-down version that's being considered today, would prevent a map like this from going into effect.

Because it would not meet a federal standard set by that.

CAMEROTA: That's really important context.

Dianne Gallagher, thank you.

BLACKWELL: Netflix employees walk out in protest of the Dave Chappelle's latest special. And the CEO standing by Chappelle says he screwed up. A live update ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:56:11]

BLACKWELL: Right now, hundreds of Netflix employees are staging a walkout in protest of the company's decision to stream Dave Chappelle's latest special, which according to critics, contains transphobic remarks. In a new interview, Netflix's co-CEO says he screwed up in his

handling of the fallout. But he stands by the decision to continue to stream the special.

CAMEROTA: CNN's Josh Campbell joins us from Los Angeles and that protest.

Josh, how big is the protest right now? And what else did the CEO say?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: We're seeing several employees and also supporters of the transgender community coming here at this Netflix complex, demonstrating against the way this company has handled this whole controversy.

As you mentioned, the center here, the focus is on this Dave Chappelle special, which so many of the critics here say is transphobic.

Now, the CEO of the company himself receiving a lot of controversy, a lot of criticism from his own employees after a statement that he put out right after this.

I'll read you a part of it.

He said, "With The Closer" -- Chappell's show -- "we understand the concern is not offensive content, but titles, which can increase real- world harm. While some employees disagree, we have a strong belief that content on the stream does not directly translate to real-world harm."

Now it was that statement, again, that elicited all of this criticism.

We talked to some of the demonstrators here, who said not only did the Dave Chappelle show and the manner in which this company has handles this, it puts transgender people at risk.

Take a listen to what they told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIDGET SAMPSON, MOTHER OF TRANSGENDER DAUGHTER: It's really harmful when someone spreads misinformation about our kids and saying something like gender is real in a statement. Many are watching it. It's against all the educational work we're trying to do.

MATTHEW BROUGH, PROTESTING NETFLIX'S CHAPPELLE SPECIAL: This is not only about people's feelings getting hurt or political correctness. This is about the threats of violence that people in the trans community face every single day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL: Now, I apologize. It's very loud here. There's a lot going on here at this demonstration.

But again, even though the CEO said that he, in his word, "screwed up," that he would handle the situation differently. One of the main focuses here for criticism is that this company has

not yet taken down this show from its platform. And at least, what we're hearing from officials at the company, no plans to do so -- Victor, Alisyn?

BLACKWELL: Josh Campbell, for us there in L.A., thank you so much.

Let's push forward on the breaking news out of Florida. The FBI says items of interest were found in connection with the search for Brian Laundrie. New details at the top of the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)