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Jan. 6 Panel Ramps Up Push To Track Money Behind Capitol Rally; Dems Vow To Continue Talks On Biden's Social Policy Bill. Aired 1:30- 2p ET
Aired December 27, 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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JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: It said, you want the truth, follow the money. And it appears the January 6 investigators are on that trail with at least one witness. Trump Spokesman Taylor Budowich is suing the Committee in hopes of blocking access to his financial records. He argues he's already produced hundreds of documents and has given hours of sworn testimony.
But this lawsuit is especially significant because it reveals the Committee's first subpoena for bank accounts that we so far know of. Let's discuss this now with the CNN Legal Analyst Norm Eisen. He was special counsel for House Democrats in Donald Trump's first impeachment trial. And he was also the White House Ethics czar during the Obama administration.
Norm, lovely to see you. Thanks so much for being with us. First, I just want to know what you make of this news that they're subpoenaing these financial records.
NORM EISEN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hi, Jessica, thanks for having me back. The Committee is pursuing a mosaic of evidence, all the different bits of evidence large and small, that can tell the story of what happened on January 6, the insurrection and the run up to the insurrection.
And, of course, as you point out one of the important parts of understanding how this terrible unprecedented event in American political history and Donald Trump's possible role in it, one of the ways we get to that is by following the money and this lawsuit is about a dispute over getting financial records of Mr. Budowich. Apparently, the Committee believes that there will be some indications of how the insurrection or the planning for the insurrection may have been funded or not, we'll see as they pursue this money trail.
DEAN: And your description of this as a mosaic is so apt because we are seeing them and who they're interviewing. It really spans it's lawmakers. Its people like Mr. Budowich, its others. Who else do you want to hear from when it comes to this Committee?
EISEN: Well, of course, we need to understand the events of January 6. We've seen recent effort to get to those who may have been in contact with former President Trump or others involved in the run up to insurrection, or even during that terrible event. So that's members of the House of Representatives, Jim Jordan, Scott Perry, the committee needs to continue to pursue their evidence, then we need to know about the planning. That's the infamous war room.
Jessica, they were getting ready for a war that's at the Willard Hotel, we need to know about contacts. Mr. Rudy Giuliani was a part of that. We know the President was and former president was in contact with him and others in that war room. And of course, ultimately, Donald Trump himself, I expect the committee will take a hard run at him without getting bogged down in the inevitable litigation that will ensue. But they have to ask.
DEAN: Right, and how do you think they'll go with the former president, because he's trying to -- this tactic that we've seen time and time again with him that he's trying to slow it down by going through the courts? How do you think they'll try to get at him and cut through that?
EISEN: Well, we had some experience in this, when I worked on the first impeachment, we invited then President Trump to come and testify. It was very important, both because his evidence was essential to impeachment, but also because you really can't do the investigation without at least trying. I expect something similar here. Of course, we know the former president will fight that. The committee would be ill advised to embark upon litigation.
And Jessica most importantly, because if they can't get him, they need to get his documents. And they're very close. They've won two rounds of litigation to get the critical administration documents from the era of Trump. And that case is at the Supreme Court now and the Supreme Court needs to move with equal speed. It's been going very quickly.
DEAN: And speaking of quickly before I let you go, walk me through what you think the Supreme Court will do. They have an option whether to take this case or not. As you mentioned, the lower courts have said that President Trump does not have a case here. What do you think the Supreme Court will do?
EISEN: Well, the House of Representatives has asked them to go very briskly by -- to make a decision whether they're going to take it or not by mid-January, and I think they should go quickly, and they should reject it quickly.
Jessica, the former president can no more take the rights over these official government documents with him then he could take the resolute desk or a portrait of George Washington out of the Oval Office. It's not a hard case that's why they should move fast, and they should say no to the former president. And we'll get these documents that tell us what was going on in the run up, and on January 6.
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DEAN: As many have said, there's only one President at a time. All right, Norm Eisen, thanks so much. We appreciate it.
EISEN: Thanks, Jessica.
DEAN: Coming up, President Biden's set to wrap up his first calendar year in office without success on one of his signature legislative goals. What's the strategy now?
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DEAN: As 2021 winds to a close, it's clear President Biden will end the year without movement on a major legislative goal, his Build Back Better social policy plan. But Democratic leaders still insist that bill is not dead, saying they're going to continue negotiating despite Senator Joe Manchin making it clear he will not support it in its current form.
With me now is CNN's Melanie Zanona. Melanie, what do we know about these discussions heading into the new year?
MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well, Democrats are not giving up on Build Back Better just yet. There are discussions underway currently about how to keep this bill alive. And one idea under consideration is to break the bigger package up into smaller chunks, for example, doing a standalone bill on the Child Tax Credit, with the idea being that perhaps smaller pieces could win over hold out Joe Manchin. Senator Ben Cardin has been outlining the strategy in recent days, take a listen.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are Democrats open to scaling it back even more or passing various pieces of standalones? Maybe attracting Senator Manchin or even some GOP on some of these issues?
SEN. BEN CARDIN, (D) MARYLAND: Well, that's a strategy decision that's being negotiated. We are open to a way to reach the finish line.
I think our best strategy is to find a common spot where all Democrats can agree and move that legislation. That's what we're trying to do now, that's what the negotiations are about between the President and Joe Manchin and the Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader in the Senate.
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ZANONA: As you know, Jess, the problem with that strategy is that Democrats only have one chance to use the fast-track reconciliation process, which would enable them to pass bills in the Senate with only 51 votes. So essentially, they're going to need Republican support if they want to start passing these standalone bills.
And it is just not clear that there's much, if any Republican appetite to start helping pass Joe Biden's agenda. That is why you're starting to hear progressives calling on Joe Biden to enact a backup plan. Pramila Jayapal, the Head of the Congressional Progressive Caucus wrote an op-ed over the weekend, calling on the President to start using executive action to address issues like climate change and prescription drug prices.
But Biden is pretty limited in what he can do with his pen. And anything he does accomplish through executive action can always be overturned by a future Republican president. So really not a ton of good options for Democrats right now. But they are still holding out hope that they can at least notch some smaller scale victories in the new year. Jess?
DEAN: Yeah, it'll be interesting to see what Senator Joe Manchin is open to and willing to negotiate on. Melanie Zanona thanks so much for that update. We appreciate it.
ZANONA: Thank you.
DEAN: Up next, from the Squid game phenomenon to an Adele comeback, we count down the biggest entertainment stories of the year. Can you guess what tops the list? Stick around to find out.
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DEAN: A big celebrity breakup, freedom for a pop music icon and a super twisted Netflix series revolving around life-or-death children's games. Just some of the year's biggest entertainment stories. CNN's Stephanie Elam counts down the top 10.
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STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: From Adele giant return, to Jeopardy's host in jeopardy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Players, here's the clue.
ELAM: And Alec Baldwin at the center of a Hollywood tragedy. Here's a look at the top entertainment stories of 2021.
Number 10, the Kim and Kanye split.
KIM KARDASHIAN: I want to be happy.
ELAM: After seven years of marriage, Kim Kardashian files for divorce from rapper Kanye West, citing irreconcilable differences.
KARDASHIAN: I think he deserve someone that can go support his every move, go follow him all over the place and move to Wyoming. I can't do that.
ELAM: It began with Kanye's elaborate proposal in a rented baseball stadium. Parts of the 2014 wedding airing on ease Keeping Up with The Kardashians. The splits also airing on the show.
KARDASHIAN: Yeah, I feel like I'm a loser.
ELAM: Which like Kanye, ended its run this year after 14 years. Number nine, a shocker when it comes to best actor Anthony Hopkins wins Best Actor for the father, stunning Oscar producers who were so confident the late Chadwick Boseman would win.
They move the Best Actor category to the end of the show.
ANTHONY HOPKINS: I really did not expect this.
ELAM: Hopkins wasn't on hand leaving the critically pan telecast to end abruptly and Hopkins to honor Boseman later on social media.
HOPKINS: I want to pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman, who's taken from us far too early.
ELAM: Number eight, the Astroworld concert stampede.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've never been in such chaos like so unorganized and just so many people like slamming into me.
ELAM: One of the year's top news stories also rocking the entertainment world.
TRAVIS SCOTT: I could just never imagine the severity of the situation.
ELAM: With Astroworld headliner Travis Scott and concert promoters facing scrutiny for not stopping the show as the crowd surge killing 10.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I could feel you know myself losing the ability to breathe.
ELAM: Scott said he wasn't aware of major problems during the show and denied legal liability in response to scores of lawsuits against him. But the tragedy has the industry considering change.
SCOTT: I definitely want to, you know, step in to figure out, you know, how can we fix this in the future.
ELAM: Number seven, a Grammy boycotts. The weekend calls the Grammys corrupt after his smash album after hours is shut out of the nominations.
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Not even his hit single blinding lights was honored. The Grammy said the omission wasn't intentional and later dumped controversial nominating committees that govern the final nominees, relying on a popular vote among the Recording Academy.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: Will a history making night for Beyonce, Taylor Swift.
ELAM: The show went on where women reign supreme. With Beyonce, nabbing her 28th Grammy, a record for a female artist. Number six, the return of Adele. For album, 30 becomes the fastest selling album of the year, besting every other title in just three days.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think all day people are going to go in. That's all you're going to hear.
ELAM: After a six-year absence, fans can't get enough of Adele. As roughly 10 million people tuned in to her CBS special, which included a concert and an Oprah interview.
ADELE: I'm nearing my goal of like, finding my happiness.
ELAM: And as if that weren't enough, Adele announced a 2022 Vegas residency, becoming the hottest ticket on the Strip.
Number five, the Jeopardy host controversy after a high-profile search for Alex Trebek's replacement.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to Jeopardy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A fun final jeopardy --
ELAM: Jeopardy hired its own executive producer.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Who is Mike Richards, the answer to the question is no longer the host of jeopardy.
ELAM: But then Mike Richards past incidents from another show and his comments on a podcast resurfaced. Richard stepped down and apologized. But the backlash continued, and less than two weeks later, he gave up his executive producer role and left the show.
Number four, the Squid Game phenomenon. The South Korean series swept the globe becoming Netflix's biggest series ever at launch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The plot, hundreds of people heavily in debt enter a game to win a huge pile of cash. The downside, if the contestants lose a game, they're killed on the spot.
ELAM: Netflix says Squid Game was viewed by 111 million accounts in less than a month. And fan recreations like this one in the United Arab Emirates. Prove the show has worldwide appeal. From BTS to parasite, and now Squid Game, the South Korean influence on entertainment seems here to stay.
Number three, the locks office bounces back, behind powerhouses like Spider Man no way home. Chunky and no time to die. The box office emerges from the pandemic topping $20 billion worldwide.
In North America theaters double their haul over 2020 passing $4 billion still way behind 2019's 11.4 billion but the resurgence came with growing pains as studios use streaming platforms to pick up the slack.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Black Widow biting back today. ELAM: Scarlett Johansson sued Disney for releasing Black Widow on Disney Plus the same days theaters, alleging it would cut into her profits. Disney said it had no merit. Both sides eventually settled.
Number two, the Alec Baldwin movie set shooting. The star discharged a prop gun on the set of his New Mexico Western Rust killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and injuring the director.
ALEC BALDWIN: She was my friend. The day I arrived in Santa Fe Institute, I took her to dinner,
ELAM: Hollywood and movie fans were stunned left to wonder how this could happen on a fictional set.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think there was some complacency on this set. And I think there are some safety issues that need to be addressed by the industry.
ELAM: As authorities investigate, speculation swelled.
BALDWIN: I'm not going to hammer bang the gun.
ELAM: Baldwin sat down with ABC in a dramatic interview professing his innocence and fueling the drama over what went wrong.
BALDWIN: The gun was supposed to be empty. I was told, I was handed an empty gun.
ELAM: And the number one payment story of 2021, the free Britney movement and the end of Britney Spears' life in a conservatorship.
The popstar had been living a restrained life since 2008 under the tight control of her father through a conservatorship.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was so open and vulnerable. How we treated her was disgusting.
ELAM: But a New York Times documentary energize the Free Britney Movement and put a spotlight on the courtroom.
Fans rallied outside the L.A. courthouse until the moment they'd been waiting for. Later Spears thanked her fans and shared what life feels like as a free Britney.
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SPEARS: Owning an ATM card, paying cash for the first time, being able to buy candles, it's the little things for us living but it makes a huge difference.
ELAM (on camera): And many wonder if Britney will do a sit-down interview, which just might make our list next year. We'll be covering all the top stories of course. From Hollywood, I'm Stephanie Elam.
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DEAN: Thank you all for joining me this afternoon. The news continues next with Alison Camerata after a quick break.
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