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Uvalde School Police Chief Defends Shooting Response; January 6 Committee Lays Out Case. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired June 10, 2022 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: Thanks for your time today. Hope to see you on Monday. Try to have a peaceful weekend.

Ana Cabrera picks up our coverage right now.

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Hello, and thank you so much for joining us. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.

A democracy under attack and, according to House investigators, a president who not only sat by and watched, but actively facilitated that attack. Detail by detail, the select committee investigating January 6 began to lay out its findings in an explosive prime-time hearing.

We saw brutal never-before-seen video of the Capitol attack and the revelation that it was a coordinated swarm of Proud Boys who first breached Capitol defenses.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just had protesters at Peace Circle breach the line! We need backup!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Key members of that far right extremist group are now charged with seditious conspiracy.

In an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper right after the hearing last night, Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson dropped a bombshell about the role of extremist groups in all of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Are there going to be witnesses that describe actual conversations between these extremist groups and anyone in Trump's orbit?

REP. BENNIE THOMPSON (D-MS): Yes.

TAPPER: There will be?

THOMPSON: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: We also her top Trump staffers admit there was no widespread election fraud.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX CANNON, FORMER DONALD TRUMP CAMPAIGN LAWYER: And I remember sharing with him that we weren't finding anything that would be sufficient to change the results in any of the key states.

WILLIAM BARR, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I made it clear I did not agree with the idea of saying the election was stolen and putting out this stuff, which I told the president was bullshit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: We also heard from Trump's family members.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IVANKA TRUMP, DAUGHTER OF DONALD TRUMP: I respect Attorney General Barr. So, I accepted what he was saying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: And we heard what then-President Trump was doing during the Capitol attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): And aware of the rioters' chants to hang Mike Pence, the president responded with this sentiment -- quote -- "Maybe our supporters have the right idea." Mike Pence -- quote -- "deserves it."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: All of that is part of what committee members call a mountain of evidence to be shared over the next several weeks detailing a seven-part plan to overturn the 2020 election with one man key to it all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMPSON: Donald Trump was at the center of this conspiracy. January 6, was the culmination of an attempted coup.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: CNN's Ryan Nobles is live at the Capitol for us.

Ryan, the promise here, they're going to directly implicate Trump, and now they have to deliver the facts. So what comes next?

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Ana.

The committee is no longer mincing words. They are blaming the former President Donald Trump very directly for what happened here on January 6. And they say that this plot basically began right after the election in November. And they are now going to lay out over the course of seven hearings a seven-part plan to basically prevent the certification of the election results, and it's going to start next week.

And they're going to lay this out in seven different parts. There's going to be first the spread of the false election claims, lay the groundwork for people to be angry across the country, then a plan to replace the attracting attorney general, also the pressure campaign that was then put on the vice president, Mike Pence, also the pressure campaign put on state officials to try and prevent -- or encourage their legislatures to deny the will of the voters in swing states.

Also, instructing state officials to lie, then summoning the mob to Washington, telling them to come here on January 6. And then, as everything was falling apart here at the Capitol, they're going to show -- at least they say they have evidence that the former president ignored the pleas to stop the violence and just did not do anything.

So this is going to be a methodical approach by the committee. Last night was essentially the preview, the tease as to what's to come over the next two weeks. The committee believes that there is a lot more information that the public has yet to see that will build this case that the former president is responsible for trying to undermine the results of the election and prevent the peaceful transfer of power -- Ana.

CABRERA: Ryan, what are you hearing there on the Hill? What kind of reaction to last night's hearing?

NOBLES: Well, I can tell you there were Democratic members of Congress that were here on January 6 that sat in the room last night. They were once again reminded of everything that took place on that day. Many of them left the hearing room angry about what they saw.

They -- many of them had already blamed Donald Trump for much of this, but then to see it just laid out in such a succinct fashion made them even angrier. And it led them to call for justice.

[13:05:09]

Now, on the other end of the spectrum, you have Republicans, who continue to downplay the significance of this committee, arguing that it is not constitutionally sound, even though that has been refuted by courts of law, and really arguing, Ana, not necessarily about the evidence that's been laid out by the committee, but, instead, the process, the way the committee was formed, the members of the committee, not necessarily the facts that they uncovered, and then, of course, the former president himself, trying to do likewise.

So, this is going to be the beginning of a lot of back-and-forth. What the committee is hoping is that that hard evidence that they display will trump any questions about whether or not their committee is legitimate -- Ana.

CABRERA: We have three more hearings already scheduled for next week. Ryan Nobles, thank you for summing it up and looking forward for us.

Let's bring in Alan Baron. He's a lawyer who's been special counsel to both Senate and House committees over the past three decades. Also with us, professor Daniel Freeman is a fellow at the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, also the author of "The House Was My Home: My Life On Capitol Hill and Other Tales." He has also been majority counsel on multiple congressional committees under both Democrats and Republicans.

Thank you both for joining us for this discussion.

Professor Freeman, last night's hearing kind of sets the stage for what's next. Given all your work on the Hill, I just have to wonder, have you ever seen a hearing like this? And what expectations do you now have for the hearings to follow?

DANIEL FREEMAN, CENTER FOR CONGRESSIONAL AND PRESIDENTIAL STUDIES: Well, I have never seen anything as impactful and powerful as the performance last night.

As a former staff person who frequently worked with Alan Baron, I thought that the staff had done an exceptional job in preparing their members, and also preparing the audiovisuals, no technical glitches at all, which were -- kind of frequently happens.

This was beautifully done. The committee presented itself as bipartisan and extremely dedicated to their purpose, which is to show what the facts were. I thought it was an excellent show of control by the chairman of the committee that both he and the ranking minority member, also known as the vice chair, were the only ones on the committee to speak.

Frequently, when you get into a congressional investigation, every member of the committee wants to have his or her five minutes. And then you lose the impetus. But this was just, I thought, a masterful job by both Mr. Thompson and Ms. Cheney.

CABRERA: And our understanding is that other members of the committee may be taking the lead in some of these follow-up hearings that we're going to see.

Alan, based on what we heard from Chairman Bennie Thompson after the hearing, what he told our Jake Tapper, tying the former president to all of this, is this committee teeing up the Justice Department to charge the former president?

ALAN BARON, FORMER HOUSE SPECIAL IMPEACHMENT COUNSEL: Oh, I think that's exactly what's going on.

To go through all this, to make this presentation in such detail and so dramatically, and then not end up with a criminal prosecution of Donald Trump and those around him who supported him, I think that that is exactly what they're doing. They can't prosecute. They can't indict. But the Justice Department, I

think, is being told what the Congress expects them to do.

CABRERA: Professor Freeman, what do you see as the significance of the Bill Barr clip that was played where he says he told the present this whole election fraud B.S. was just what it was, B.S.?

FREEMAN: Well, Bill Barr has been the attorney general under two separate presidents and has a lot of credibility amongst the legal community and on Capitol Hill.

That infinitesimal clip of seven to 10 seconds, I think, is really, really significant. And I'd like to add to what Alan has said about, what is the purpose of this. I'm not a political person. And I used to tell my students when I was teaching at A.U., I do government, but not politics.

But I'm going to dip a little bit into that. There is the idea that this whole process is to get Donald Trump indicted. I think there's a secondary motive, and not that I have talked to people about it, but to dissipate his impetus and his power in the Republican Party, to try to cut off any realistic option he has to run for president in 2024.

So, if he's in jail, obviously he's not going to be running for president. But I wouldn't be surprised if the backbone of what's going on is to make sure that the 2024 election does not include Donald Trump as a candidate, much less a factor.

[13:10:07]

CABRERA: Or maybe just to prevent a repeat happening in 2024, given everything this country has been through.

Alan, we do know one of the future hearings will be focusing on Trump's pressure on Mike Pence, the vice president at the time, both publicly and privately. Let's revisit what Liz Cheney told us last night about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHENEY: You will hear testimony that -- quote -- "The president did not really want to put anything out calling off the riot or asking his supporters to leave."

You will hear that President Trump was yelling and -- quote -- "really angry" at advisers who told him he needed to be doing something more.

And aware of the rioters' chants to hang Mike Pence, the president responded with this sentiment -- quote -- "Maybe our supporters have the right idea." Mike Pence -- quote -- "deserves it."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Alan, how does this fit into the conspiracy the committee's trying to prove?

BARON: Well, first of all, the statement and that interplay is chilling.

I mean, the president saying he's endorsing Mike Pence -- Mike Pence being hanged? I mean, it's just shocking. And I think that -- I think that this is the direction that Trump has pulled the Republican Party. It's shocking.

There was one thing that Liz Cheney said. She was talking about -- addressing Trump Republicans. And that's what stuck with me more than anything, I think, last night. She said, when Trump is long gone -- and I'm quoting -- "Your dishonor will remain."

And I think that was in many ways the most telling moment, for me, at least, of the entire evening. Coming from Liz Cheney, who is about as blue-blood a Republican as you can get, for her to say that was very, very powerful.

CABRERA: She also implicated some congressmembers.

I mean, she said that it was Congressman Scott Perry and -- quote -- "multiple other Republican congressmen" who sought presidential pardons for their roles in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election.

I just got to get your reaction to that, Professor.

BARON: They have no shame. That's the only thing I can say. They have no shame.

Having done what they did, and then sniffing around to get pardons for it is disgusting.

CABRERA: Professor Freeman?

FREEMAN: Well, I think Alan is right that it's disgusting, but I think that's just the secondary sideshow, as to whether or not these people were going to get pardons.

The real main event is the planning and orchestration and coordination of the president of the United States in this riot. I think that, down the line, we will see that there are other people who are actively involved -- who were actively involved, and who may also be subject to indictment and prosecution.

And the question is, how much of a chilling effect on future behavior will those actions have? I have high hopes that they will serve to bring America back into the mainstream, where we have, in the last four years, been kind of wandering away from what political norms have been.

This president has gotten away with all kinds of things that are unrealistic and outrageous. And political discourse has definitely gone very, very downhill since Mr. Trump became an active political figure.

CABRERA: Well, I do want to just echo the words or, I should say, quote the words of the chairman last night, who put it this way. He says: "Our democracy remains in danger and the conspiracy to thwart

the will of the people is not over." And, again, this is not just about what happened, but about the future of U.S. democracy.

Thank you both, Alan Baron and Daniel Freeman, for joining us today for your insights and expertise.

The next hearing is Monday. Again, CNN will have special coverage and new details of what happened inside the White House on January 6. That's Monday starting at 9:00 a.m. Eastern here on CNN.

Americans feeling the pain, and it's getting worse. Inflation hits a 40-year high, as gas and food prices surge. The president is set to speak on this in just minutes. We will take that live.

Plus, he was waiting for keys. The school police chief in Uvalde, Texas, is talking about what happened in that hallway and what kept him from confronting the shooter much sooner.

And something the travel industry has been waiting for and wanting to hear for months.

[13:15:00]

Goodbye, COVID testing requirements.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: President Biden is set to speak in just a few minutes on the economy.

And front and center likely will be today's government report on inflation. It's not pretty. Prices climbed last month at the fastest pace since 1981. One of the biggest drivers? The painful cost of gas. The nationwide average for a gallon of regular unleaded is now a record $4.99. Again, that is the nationwide average. We know there are at least a couple dozen states where $5 per gallon or above is now the average.

CNN's Rahel Solomon and Arlette Saenz are both joining us now.

And let me start with you, Rahel, and just a little bit more of the details of this report. What else stands out?

[13:20:01]

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, energy, of course, is the big one, right, for obvious reasons.

But there is plenty of pain to go around. Let's talk about shelter. Folks have been watching shelter very closely, as they have concerns around affordability, the cost of shelter, essentially, the cost to put a roof over your head, 5.5 percent higher than about a year ago. That is the fastest yearly hike since about 1991.

And we just got that news this week that the median rent for an apartment in Manhattan is $4,000. Granted, it's Manhattan. It's New York. That's a very different market. But we have seen rents rising all across the country, really sparking concerns about affordability.

Also, food, food prices, that category jumping 10.1 percent. That's the first double-digit increase we have seen since 1981. Essentially, this report today showing us what we already know as consumers, that the pain is widespread. You are feeling it pretty much at every part of your day.

CABRERA: Is there any good news or silver lining in today's numbers?

SOLOMON: If there is any good news, if you can call it that, it's that core inflation, which sort of strips away the more volatile categories, like energy and food, that monthly inflation increase moderated. It didn't go lower, but it sort of moderated. It didn't go higher.

Mark Zandi, who is an economist at Moody's, saying in a tweet today: "There is some good in this," saying it wasn't even uglier.

CABRERA: OK, could be worse, that old adage.

SOLOMON: Exactly.

CABRERA: OK, let's go to Arlette, because we know that the president will be talking about inflation. And he's going to be at a port this afternoon. What should we expect to hear from him?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: While, Ana, President Biden is expected to talk about how fighting inflation remains a top economic priority for his administration, as so many American families are feeling the pain of these increased prices.

The president released a statement a short while ago acknowledging that inflation is not lowering as sharply or as quickly as they are hoping. And he also once again blamed the rising price in gas, energy and food on Russia's war in Ukraine, the president saying -- quote -- "Even as we continue our work to defend freedom in Ukraine, we must do more and quickly to get prices down here in the United States."

Now, the president will be speaking here at the Port of Los Angeles, where he's also going to address supply chain issues. One thing that the administration is arguing is that one way to bring down the cost of goods is by ramping up access to the supply chain.

Here at the Port of Los Angeles, back in the fall, they ramped up their operations to be around the clock to try to address some of those bottlenecks. I spoke with the executive director of the port a bit earlier today, who said that there are nearly 80 percent fewer ships who are waiting to off-load their goods here at the dock.

So, the president, when he arrives here, will talk about that supply chain issue, but also acknowledge some of the pain that Americans are feeling due to this inflation report.

CABRERA: And we will take those remarks live as soon as the president starts.

Rahel, what else can be done at this point?

SOLOMON: Well, I mean, we're hearing a lot about tariffs on China. There is a hope that the White House might start to lift some of the tariffs on China.

And if you think about tariffs sort of as a tax, it would be like a tax going away on certain goods that are being imported from China. So that's one thing we have heard a lot about recently, including from Larry Summers.

Another thing though, is that this is a job largely for the Fed. We're going to hear from Chairman Jay Powell next Wednesday, but it's becoming clear, especially after this report, their job has gotten more difficult and that they may have to do more, rather than less, to try to cool inflation.

CABRERA: And doing more meaning raising interest rates.

SOLOMON: Exactly.

CABRERA: OK, thank you. We know you're going to stay on top of that.

Thank you ladies, Rahel Solomon and Arlette Saenz.

Still ahead: another huge issue confronting Americans and their leaders, gun reform. Key negotiators are back at it today. Where their talks stand.

Plus, his solution for gun violence went viral on TikTok. This retired Marine weapons instructor on what he says will work -- next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:28:48]

CABRERA: In Uvalde, Texas, there are troubling new details about the police response to the mass shooting there. They suggest confusion over leadership may have contributed to the hour-long delay in confronting the killer.

State officials have said school police chief Pete Arredondo made the wrong decision to not immediately engage the shooter inside the classroom. But Arredondo tells "The Texas Tribune" that he never considered himself in charge of the scene or authorized to make those decisions.

In his first extensive public comment since that day, he says he acted as a first responder and entered the school building. He tells "The Tribune" -- quote -- "I didn't issue any orders. I called for assistance and asked for an extraction tool to open the door."

CNN's Omar Jimenez is in Uvalde.

Omar, the families have been through so much, and now they're hearing that something as basic as a designated scene commander was bungled. What's the reaction there?

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Yes, Ana.

Actually, just a few minutes ago, I was talking to the parents of a 10-year-old who thankfully survived this. And we were talking a little bit about this. And they were outraged, upset not only at this portion that just came out in the past day or so, but about the entire law enforcement response. To summarize their words, they said they failed in their duties.

Now, in regards to this "Texas Tribune" interview that Arredondo gave through a series of phone calls, written responses.