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Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA), Is Being Interviewed About His Concerns On How Arms And Resources From U.S. Is Being Distributed In Ukraine; Russian Agency Reports Group Of Civilians Has Left Mariupol Steel Plant; United Nations: More Than Three Million Ukrainians Have Fled To Poland; 16-Year-Old Ukrainian Rape Victim Recounts Attack; Cawthorn's Legal Troubles, Controversies Mount Ahead Of Primary: Guns At Airports, Driving Citations, Talk Of D.C. Orgies. Aired 12-1p ET
Aired April 30, 2022 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:46]
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
All right, we begin with breaking news out of Ukraine. A Russian agency reporting that a group of civilians has left the Mariupol steel plant, and moments ago, we're learning of new explosions in Odessa.
CNN's Scott McLean, joining us live now from Lviv. So, what more can you tell us about all of this?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Hey, Fredericka.
Yes. So, as you mentioned, this is news out of Mariupol that we are getting from Russian state media who say that 25 people have been allowed to leave that sprawling steel plant and get out.
Six of them are under the age of 14, they say. Now, we're not in a position to verify that information, obviously, because we're not in Mariupol. But, the mayor's office had said previously that there was reason for optimism because the Russians were allowed -- allowing some people to move from one neighborhood near to the steel plant to the other side of the river to potentially re-link up with a humanitarian corridor.
Now, it wasn't clear whether that would include the people from the steel plant, but it seems based on this reporting, if it's true, that, that may be the case. And if it does turn out to be the case that would be a major breakthrough in a situation that has been bad and only getting worse.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCLEAN (voice-over): These are Russian troops making a break for cover in the streets near the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. One of them is shot along the way. This fellow soldier attempts to pull him to safety amidst heavy fire.
When Ukrainian deputy commander says that Russia is not only bombarding the plant from the sky, but now also attacking from the ground.
SVIATOSLAV PALAMAR, DEPUTY COMMANDER, AZOV REGIMENT (through translator): As of today, there have been attempts to storm the territory of Azovstal.
This is infantry, this is enemy military equipment. But those attempts have been beaten off as of this hour.
MCLEAN: Sviatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov regiment, which is leading the fight from the plant says that recent bombing left some sellers and bunkers cut off by rubble.
He is not sure if there are survivors trapped inside. He says bombing also hit a field hospital. It mean the number of wounded soldiers to more than 500. The city mayor puts the number of injured at more than 600.
MCLEAN (on camera): How many do you think will survive the next day or two?
PALAMAR: I'm not going to say how long we could be here. But I'm going to say that we're doing everything we can to stabilize them.
MCLEAN (voice-over): With the soldiers in the plant or hundreds of civilians, mostly elderly, women, and children, they say as young as four months old.
Ukrainian officials say are also running low on food and water.
Thursday, the U.N. Secretary General arrived in Kyiv, determined to broker a deal to safely evacuate civilians from the plant after securing an agreement in principle from Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Friday morning, Zelenskyy's office announced an operation to evacuate civilians was planned for Friday, but no other details. Palamar said a convoy was en route, but had yet to arrive. He is also hoping for a deal to allow soldiers to get out, though perhaps it's a long shot.
MCLEAN (on camera): Would you rather die fighting, than surrender yourself to the Russians.
PALAMAR: We are not considering the terms of surrender. We are waiting only for guarantees of exit from the territory of the plant. That is if there is no choice but captivity, we will not surrender.
MCLEAN (voice-over): Petro Andriushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, says getting soldiers evacuated safely would take an international intervention or a divine one.
I really want something, something like miracle. Look like a pope has to sit in the main bus from Zaporizhzhia and to drive into Azovstal to take to the bus the soldiers and get back. MCLEAN (on camera): You don't think that it makes sense for the soldiers at the steel plant just to surrender themselves to the Russians?
ANDRIUSHCHENKO: It might be.
[12:05:00]
MCLEAN: That might be the best thing to do?
ANDRIUSHCHENKO: Yes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCLEAN: Now, we just managed to make contact with the deputy commander of the Azov regiment who is inside, sheltering under that vast steel plant. And he says he's not aware of any civilians being able to get out.
But perhaps that's not surprising, because he also stressed that the soldiers there are trying to stay in a different part of the plant, from the civilians for their safety so that those civilians don't get -- don't get targeted in the same way that the Russians are targeting the soldiers, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh, so sad and terrible.
Scott McLean, thank you so much.
All right, let's talk further about this and so many other things.
Congressman John Garamendi is with me. He's a Democrat from California and a member of the House Armed Services Committee.
So, good that you could join us. So, is that encouraging to you to hear -- well, my colleague there, Scott is reporting that possibly 25 people may have been able to get out of that steel plant, when we understand that hundreds of civilians and soldiers are there in Mariupol?
REP. JOHN GARAMENDI (D-CA): Well, every life that has saved, every life that is able to continue on, we should kick that as a good thing.
However, this entire war is horrible, totally unnecessary from the beginning, and 1000s of people have already died. And at some point, I fear that all of us will just be hardened, and our heart will not bleed for these horrible incidents that are going on, both the soldiers as well as the civilians.
Of course, all of the civilians should be able to evacuate. Of course, the Russians are just terrible, and an atrocity all across the country of Ukraine, with civilians being caught up and being unable to escape.
You take a look at the city of Mariupol. The Russians have simply destroyed it. Just destroyed it for what? For what purpose? So that Putin could have a victory? Going from here, Fredricka, United States is simply must continue to turn up all of our efforts, make it much more equipment, the heavy artillery, make sure that, that gets there, and make sure that support is there. Putin cannot win.
You'll take Mariupol. But in a cost of human life, unexplainable tragedy.
WHITFIELD: Do you feel like all the arms and resources that the U.S. has been dedicating to Ukraine is being distributed? It's one thing for it to arrive in country. But what are your concerns about how it's being distributed so that those who are able to use it to defend their country are able to do so quickly?
GARAMENDI: Well, I'm absolutely certain that the Ukrainian military and Ukrainian government is making every effort and having great success at moving that equipment into the war zone so that it will be available for the Ukrainian army.
It's really important that it get there. I was talking with some parliamentarians from Romania yesterday, and they were making a pitch that the Romanian artillery, which is already the same artillery that the Ukrainians have available, that, that artillery be transferred immediately into Ukraine.
Frankly, I think it's a very good thing. The Ukrainians know how to use it, it is the same as theirs. The American artillery is of a different caliber. Even so, that is being made available.
WHITFIELD: Russia has cut off some gas exports to Poland and Bulgaria. They're also growing concerns about Moldova's security. Are we looking at Russia simply becoming even more aggressive?
GARAMENDI: Oh, absolutely. There's no doubt about it. Russia is using long range missiles to attack every city in Ukraine. And clearly, they are widening the effect of the war into Poland and Bulgaria.
However, United States government, the Biden administration is making it possible for additional oil supplies to flow into the European theatre.
However, that doesn't necessarily mean that it will solve the gas problem or that will exist.
I do know that Poland has been working for several years and really intensely in the last year to get off of Russian gas to find alternative supplies. Some of that is available through Lithuania, where a liquid petroleum facility has been built, and those pipes and pipelines do flow into the -- into Poland.
[12:10:10]
GARAMENDI: Whether that will be sufficient to make up the loss is unknown, I would suspect that it will be insufficient.
WHITFIELD: Yes. So, Congressman Garamendi, if indeed, it appears as though Russia is becoming more aggressive, then, in your view, what is it going to take to make it stop?
GARAMENDI: Victory by Ukraine. Plain and simple, victory by Ukraine. That's why the NATO countries and the European Union are pushing more and more military equipment into Ukraine, so it will be available for the Ukrainians.
I do not believe and I think it was clear from the interview that preceded mine, that the Ukrainian military is about to give up. They're fighting to the death.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
GARAMENDI: They do not want to be captured by the Russians. It appears that in Mariupol, which is the most consequential situation at the moment, that the Ukrainian military is simply going to fight until either they win or they die.
That kind of courage, that kind of dedication will ultimately win this fight.
WHITFIELD: OK.
GARAMENDI: We'll see other communities are similarly fighting to the end. That will make all the difference. And therefore, we need to fight along with them by providing the necessary equipment, the necessary support -- humanitarian as well as financial support for the Ukrainian people.
WHITFIELD: All right. We will leave it there. Congressman John Garamendi, thank you so much for your time.
GARAMENDI: Thank you, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: The United Nations is now reporting that almost 5-1/2 million people have fled Ukraine since the start of Russia's unprovoked invasion. The majority of those refugees are now in Poland.
CNN national correspondent Erica Hill is in Warsaw for us, where the tide of refugees continues to grow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERICA HILL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From coffee to clothes, laundry, to daycare. Two months into this crisis, refugee shelters like this one outside Warsaw have found their rhythm. Offering a place to rest and regroup, while people try to determine what and where is next.
We will go back to our home of Melitopol, this dad tells me, if it's under the Ukrainian flag.
They left two weeks ago, making their way to Warsaw through Crimea, and Russia.
HILL (on camera): You were able to leave with your family. Do you want to go fight for Ukraine? UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Yes, I left with my family. But to fight? I don't know. It's a difficult question for me. I can't answer.
HILL (voice-over): There is so much that can't be answered, including how long this will last.
HILL (on camera): The need is massive. There are volunteers working in this space, 24/7 to deal with all of the donations. But if needed, they could push all of this back to accommodate more beds, and as many as 6,000 refugees.
HILL (voice-over): Currently, they're averaging 3,000 people a night. But officials say there's no way to know what the numbers will be from one day to the next.
Alla fled with her mother and two young daughters at the start of the war. Now, she's one of several psychologists volunteering to help those who just arrived. Increasingly, they're from the hardest hit areas.
ALLA LYKOVA, PSYCHOLOGIST, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE FROM ZHYTOMYR (through translator): There are no easy stories here. Either you spent a month in the basement, or ran from shelling or don't know when you can go back. You don't have anything here.
HILL: Making simple moments, all the more important. The goal is to make this space as comfortable as possible. Get the truth is no matter how warm or welcoming, no one wants to be here. They'd rather be back home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL (on camera): And Fred, the tough part is, even for all the volunteers and the staff running that shelter, nobody knows how long it will be needed. But just to give you a sense of what they do need in the logistics there. In the span of a month, use six tons of toilet paper. I was told in some half a million coffee cups.
The need never ends at this point. And as we noted, they -- it's tough to plan when you don't know what's coming.
WHITFIELD: Right, the need is great and it's not waning, sadly.
Erica Hill in Warsaw, Poland. Thank you so much.
[12:14:39]
WHITFIELD: All right. Still ahead, a former attorney for President Donald Trump is going to hand over 10,000 pages of e-mails to the January 6th committee. Details on that, next.
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WHITFIELD: One of the key figures behind former President Donald Trump's legal efforts to overturn the 2020 election, he's agreed to turn over 1000s of pages of documents to the House committee investigating the January 6th insurrection.
John Eastman had claimed the material was confidential attorney-client communications. But attorneys for Eastman now say he will no longer keep the documents from the committee.
CNN crime and justice reporter Katelyn Polantz is covering this for us. So, Caitlin, what more are you learning about these new developments?
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER (on camera): Well, Fred, the battle here is still ongoing for the House as they're seeking documents from lots of people, especially John Eastman, who is in court.
So, we've talked about Eastman's, e-mails many times before.
In this situation, there was a set of e-mails, about 800 documents. That's more than 10,000 pages that he had held back from the House Committee, saying these are attorney-client privilege. So, they may indicate communications that he thought should be confidential between him and Donald Trump.
A few weeks ago, he got a ruling from a judge a about a different set of e-mails, where the judge said, no, you can't claim privilege over these things for various reasons.
[12:20:07]
And so, Eastman now is acknowledging that order, still going through more e-mails that he had after January 6th -- or I'm sorry, after the election up to January 6th. And he's now saying, I can give you a little bit more to the House Committee. So, they're getting things, gradually.
And all of this comes as the house is still fighting, not just with Eastman in court, but with lots of other people, too, who are trying to hold back various information from them.
Just yesterday, we still are seeing filings in this case, from Mark Meadows against the House, where he is trying to keep back additional text messages and documents he has.
CNN has reported and seen, and the House has obtained more than 2,000 text messages from Meadows. But there still are things that they're fighting over. And a lot of this, Fred, it really comes down to timing.
So, there's these fights, they're ongoing, but at the end of the day, they're in court, they could move fast, they could move slowly, but the committee really wants to have things all in order in the coming weeks because they're headed for public hearings in June. We just learned that this week. Back to you.
WHITFIELD: Yes. All right. Well, a lot of drip, drip, drip, ahead potentially of a big flood. We'll see. Katelyn Polantz thank you so much. All right, still ahead, an extreme drought is gripping the west coast and triggering historic water restrictions in California.
What this means for millions of residents? Straight ahead.
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[12:26:00]
WHITFIELD: All right, throughout the west and southwest of this country, one of the worst droughts in decades is sparking concerns ahead of fire season.
WHITFIELD (voice-over): And as water levels drop in area reservoirs, some officials are concerned of a potential energy crisis for millions who rely on dams for power.
WHITFIELD (on camera): CNN's Camila Bernal, joining us live from California with the latest on this.
So, Camila, you're in Sylmar, California, in front of a section of the Los Angeles Aqueduct. So, just how bad is this water crisis right now?
CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, officials are telling me, look, we are running out of water here in Southern California. It's bad, no matter how you look at it. And you can see the evidence of this mega drought all throughout the region.
But, in particular, in Lake Mead, which provides water for more than 25 million people. Its original valve, which was actually put in in 1971, is now sitting above the water.
And look, officials realized that this was going to be a problem. In 2015, they started building another valve that goes deeper into Lake Mead, and that's what's being used at the moment. it started operating this week.
And while people are still getting their drinking water, everything is running smoothly, this goes to show just how big this problem is, just how low these water levels are. And it's not just Lake Mead, so many of the lakes and reservoirs in the region and in California at extremely low levels.
In fact, it's part of the reason why here in Southern California, officials are telling millions to start conserving water, to be mindful of how they use their water in their everyday lives.
About 6 million people are actually being told that beginning June 1st, they will only be allowed to water their lawns once a week. We spoke to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the general manager telling me that the situation could even get worse.
Here is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ADEL HAGEKHALIL, METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: If I don't see the response between now and September, that I will go in a mandating, a full ban of outdoor watering across the service area that's impacted.
That's serious, and I'm ready to do it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERNAL: And they have never done this before. They have never told people to only water their lawns once a week. They say it's serious and everybody needs to pay attention. Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, got our attention. Camila Bernal, thank you so much.
All right. Also getting our attention, a manhunt underway right now in Alabama for a capital murder suspect and the corrections officer who said she was escorting him from jail to the courthouse.
WHITFIELD: Officer Vicki White was transporting inmate Casey White -- no relation, to court for what she told authorities was a mental evaluation, Friday. But nothing of the sort was scheduled and neither of them showed up.
Later that day, Officer White's patrol car was spotted in a shopping center parking lot at around 11:00 a.m. And then, at around 3:30 p.m., other officers tried to contact her but her phone went straight to voicemail.
Well, last hour, I spoke with Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton about why this might have happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SINGLETON, SHERIFF, LAUDERDALE COUNTY, ALABAMA: She knew the policy, she knew she was not to leave their home with him. And so, that tells us that -- you know, something was she carried him out of the detention center to a -- to a schedule court appearance that was non-existent.
So, you know, we don't know if she was coerced, threatened, to compare that plan out or she did it willingly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Officer Vicki White was armed with a 9mm handgun. Therefore, authorities are considering Casey White, armed, and dangerous.
All right. In an amendment to their lawsuit filed earlier this spring, Gabby Petito's parents allege that during the search for the young woman, Brian Laundrie's parents knew their son had killed her, and knew, quote, "the whereabouts of her body", end quote.
[12:30:08] In the new lawsuit, Petito's parents claim Laundrie's family went on vacation to a Florida Park in early September, and failed to informed them that she was dead or where her remains might be located.
Petito's body was found in Teton County, Wyoming, where a coroner ruled she died by strangulation. Laundrie's remains were later found in a Florida reserve. A medical examiner ruled, he died by suicide.
And this quick programming note Stanley Tucci is back. New episodes, new food, and new discoveries, Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy. The new season premieres tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. right here on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STANLEY TUCCI, CNN STANLEY TUCCI: SEARCHING FOR ITALY HOST (voice- over): There's nowhere on Earth quite like Italy, every mouthful here is an eruption.
(on camera): It's so good.
Cheers.
(voice-over): A city in the sea.
(on camera): Let's go.
(voice-over): If you want to know the best place to eat, ask the gondolier.
(on camera): I'll try it.
(voice-over): The note for any vegetarians watching or millions eat a lot of meat.
(on camera): I surrender to the pork.
Oh, look at that. Oh, gorgeous.
That's a revelation.
(voice-over): There are more Italians here than in Bologna or Pisa. And whatever you heard, the food here is incredible.
(on camera): I don't even want to talk anymore. I just want to eat it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A new season of Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy premieres tomorrow at 9:00 on CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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[12:36:25]
WHITFIELD: As the invasion into Ukraine continues the world is hearing more and more stories of Russia and atrocities. Nick Paton Walsh introduces us to one young girl who says she was raped by a Russian soldier. And a warning the details are disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (voice-over): It's from these gentle shrugs of villages, lazy and clean, in the green expanses of Kherson region that some of this war's ugliest crimes are being dragged into the light.
This is Dasha (ph). She's 16. And was six months pregnant when just over a month ago, Russian forces came to her village here. Her family were in the basement sheltering from bombs, the cold, and the Russian shooting in the air or at cars and legs, she said. At dusk, they brought the children out to the kitchen to eat, where there were two soldiers, one drunk.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking of Foreign Language).
WALSH (voice over): His sober colleague then came in and told the drunk attacker to stop to no avail and left.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking of Foreign Language).
WALSH (voice over): By then, night had fallen in the cold house.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking of Foreign Language).
WALSH (voice over): She heard the Russian say her attackers name was Blue (ph). He was from Donetsk and had a criminal past. He tried to attack her again, she said, until Russian snipers later came to help her.
(on camera): But still some of the Russian soldiers in that unit even were disgusted by what happened and tried to move her and part of her family away to safety and then began a process in which Russian soldiers seemed to try to get her to go back on the claim she'd made.
(voice over): Two days later, she was taken to a Russian paratrooper commander who she said began shouting at her like her attacker had.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking of Foreign Language).
WALSH (voice over): It seems they did believe her, but the fate of her rapist remains unclear. While we can't independently verify her harrowing story, Ukrainian prosecutors told us they have investigated the case and confirmed this attack, which they said was a war crime. But like so much here, the question why is the one without a humane palatable answer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking of Foreign Language).
[12:40:08]
WALSH (voice over): There are lives here that you can see Russia has changed forever, but also those whose trauma sits beneath the surface and lives on.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kherson region, Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: I want to bring in now Federico Borello. He is the Executive Director of the Center for Civilians in Conflict. And he joins me now from The Hague in the Netherlands. It's so good to see you Federico. So, as we watch and listen to that little girl, you know, tell about her horrific experience. Where does the war crimes investigation begin on a case like this? How do you prosecute this?
FEDERICO BORELLO, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR CIVILIANS IN CONFLICT: Yes, well, it begins right there. It begins from the courage of a young woman like Dasha (ph), who came out with her story, because for decades, the perpetrators of such heinous crimes have counted on the silence and the shame of the victims. And so this is the first most important aspect, will this younger want to speak to a prosecutor and give all the details.
And then the second thing is to try to identify the perpetrator. And there are two ways of prosecuting this case. One is prosecuting the rape as a crime in itself. And the second is prosecuting the rape as a war crime in the context of what is happening in in Ukraine. In the first case, the individual soldier Blue (ph), from the Donetsk should be identified and tried. And in the second case, we would need to see where the investigation goes.
WHITFIELD: So the International Criminal Court while it has its, you know, processes, when other countries like the U.K. most recently said, it is sending its own investigators into Ukraine to help, to help investigate war crimes. How will all of these resources be combined?
BORELLO: Yes, it is important to combine resources because the evidence is so much and especially it degrades over time. So the more investigators are on the scene at the same time, the better, provided as you say that they are coordinated. And I've seen a statement by the prosecutor who was welcoming this support from the U.K. and other countries and promising it will be a two-way street for sharing information because cases could be prosecuted at the ICC. It could be prosecuted in the UK, in Ukraine, or elsewhere. It doesn't matter in the end, as long as the crimes are prosecuted somewhere.
WHITFIELD: So how do you hold senior officials accountable, because it's one thing to get kind of the low hanging fruit like Blue (ph) from Donetsk, there's a name, there's a location, holding that person potentially accountable. And maybe pictures assist also, as well as eyewitness accounts, but who, you know, is giving the orders or making allowances? I mean, how do you get to those people?
BORELLO: Well, that is precisely the purpose for the creation of the International Criminal Court to prosecute those bearing the greatest responsibilities, those who order these crimes. And therefore you need to prove in order to get there three things, first, the crime scenes, so you need to prove that the crime has been committed, then the linkage to this individual. Was the individual, this -- the commander of this battalion, the commander even further up the chain? And second, the intent. Was there an intent to target civilians and committing war crime? Once these three elements are approved, then you have a case.
WHITFIELD: And help us understand what are the things that, you know, are considered evidence? What, you know, what do investigators collect, whether it's in a Bucha where we hear, you know, horrible atrocities taking place, and, you know, and grave sites in Mariupol, where we're also seeing mass graves. What is considered evidence of war crimes?
BORELLO: Yes. A lot of things are evidence. First, victims and witness statements. They are considered evidence. Second, physical evidence gathered on the field from spent bullets to, you know, bloodstains to whatever else can be found on the scene. Then we have social media, we have digital evidence that these days is becoming overwhelmingly available to prosecutors.
And then a very important source of evidence is the evidence that comes from perpetrators, whether it's defectors who are willing to speak or whether it is intercepted communication that is very precious when you want to prove intent, such as in the case. Three weeks ago, the German government released publicly information that its intelligence had intercepted communication between Russian officers ordering to kill civilians. That evidence is extremely powerful.
[12:45:05]
WHITFIELD: Yes, Federico Bordello at The Hague, thank you so much. You have a huge job, and hugely important. Thank you so much.
BORELLO: Thank you very much.
WHITFIELD: All right despite horrific conditions in Mariupol, the people there are also refusing to give up hope. In a video posted on Twitter, war weary border guards, singing the national anthem in a small basement at Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant. In the recording, you can hear what appears to be an infant crying in the background and they end their song with the phrase, victory will be for Ukraine.
We'll be right back.
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[12:50:39]
WHITFIELD: Freshman Congressman Madison Cawthorn is finding himself in center stage. And his Republican colleagues are growing wearisome of his antics, the latest just this week when the North Carolina representative was stopped at an airport with a loaded gun. CNN's Dianne Gallagher has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. MADISON CAWTHORN (R-NC): So I'm flying home from D.C. DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Congressman Madison Cawthorn on Instagram appearing to make light of his latest criminal charge.
CAWTHORN: I just went through TSA, no major alarms, nothing bad happens.
Mr. Speaker --
GALLAGHER (voice-over): This week for the second time since taking office just over a year ago, Cawthorn was stopped from carrying a gun through airport security. The TSA confirming to CNN that Tuesday morning agents at Charlotte Douglas International Airport detected this loaded pistol at a checkpoint. Charlotte police seize the handgun and cited the freshman Congressman who they said was cooperative with a misdemeanor charge of possession of a dangerous weapon on city property. He could also face up to nearly $14,000 in TSA fines as a repeat offender. California called it a quote, flat out mistake in his Instagram caption.
CAWTHORN: Fly safe, make sure you don't have a gun in your bag.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): The Republican representative was not charged in February 2021. When Asheville Regional Airport agents found a different gun in his carry-on bag, Cawthorn's team told the "Asheville Citizen Times" last year that he brought the gun by mistake. His run- ins with law enforcement not limited to air travel. Cawthorn is set to appear before a judge in May on charges of driving with a revoked license. Dash cam video obtained by a coalition of North Carolina news organizations shows the March 3rd Stop for driving left of center and an expired tag where a trooper tells the youngest member of Congress --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your license has a pickup order on it.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): -- that his license is revoked, though the reason is unclear. But the record that has Republicans on the Hill riled up isn't his legal one. It's his pattern of controversial comments.
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA), MINORITY LEADER: Madison is wrong.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): Like calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a thug.
CAWTHORN: Volodymyr Zelenskyy is a thug. Remember, the Ukrainian government is incredibly corrupt and it is incredibly evil.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): And claiming he has been invited to cocaine fueled orgies in D.C.
CAWTHORN: Oh, hey, we're going to have kind of a sexual get together at one of our homes, you should come. I'm like, what did you just ask me to come to? And then you realize I asked you to come to an orgy and then you watch them doing it. I'll keep up with cocaine right in front of you. GALLAGHER (voice-over): That landed him a closed door meeting with party leadership.
MCCARTHY: I just told him he's lost my trust, and he's going to have to earn it back. I laid out to everything that I find is becoming.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): Members of his own party are seeking to stop him from getting a second term.
CAWTHORN: We're starting to see this coordinator drip campaign.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): Next month primary has a crowded field of GOP candidates backed by state Republicans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They call it Instagram famous, famous for what they post online.
GALLAGHER (voice-over): And they're leaning heavily on Cawthorn's slate of scandals.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GALLAGHER: So what does all this really mean for the May 17th primary? Well, look, North Carolina's 11th District is very red and Madison Cawthorn had plenty of baggage when they elected him the first time. But he's not a newcomer anymore. There are seven Republicans running to replace him and that is where most of the state GOP support is concentrated. U.S. Senator Thom Tillis is actively campaigning for one of his challengers.
To win the primary without a runoff, you have to get 30 percent plus one. Now look, May 17th dawn, sounds like it's a long ways away, but early in person voting in North Carolina started today.
WHITFIELD: All right, Dianne Gallagher, thank you so much for that.
And thank you for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The CNN Newsroom continues with Jim Acosta right after this.
But before we go, this week's Start Small Think Big.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELSEY WEIST, CLEARLY TAHOE CO-FOUNDER: Clearly Tahoe is actually an incredibly unique recreational watersports company offering guided tours and completely transparent kayaks. Lake Tahoe is beautiful but the water is so cold. So these kayaks enable guests to have the experience of scuba diving without ever having to get wet. It is gorgeous.
You have the opportunity to pilot around and taken the rocky shoreline, snow-capped mountains, and depths of about 65, 75 feet below the surface. Our whole team is really passionate about educating, preserving, and protecting Lake Tahoe. Sometimes we see stuff that doesn't belong. We'll paddle over a tire or a guardrail or a piece of a boat we welcome our guests to help us log these large items and we go down with a team of scuba divers to remove a lot of that trash.
[12:55:13]
We take guests along areas of the shoreline they can't otherwise easily access and even do night time, stargazing tours and eco tours. The LED stargazing tours are an amazing way to just kick back, relax and take in the bright night sky. We started with just the five boats and one tour. And we've grown to five locations with over 100 kayaks. And we now have the opportunity to launch experiences from a vessel and enable guests to explore any area of Tahoe in a completely clear kayak.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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