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Student-Led "March for our Lives" Rally Pushes For End To Gun Violence; "March for our Lives" Returns to D.C. Amid Gun Debate In Congress; National Gas Price Average Hits All-Time High Of $5.00/Gallon; Next 1/6 Hearing to Focus on Trump's False Claims about Election; Jan. 6 Committee Lays Out Case Blaming Trump for Riot; CNN's "Watergate, Blueprint for a Scandal" Airs Tomorrow Night at 9:00; Biden Addresses National Gas Price Average Hitting $5 Per Gallon, Gun Safety, Saudi Arabia Trip. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired June 11, 2022 - 13:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:01:02]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everyone. Thanks for joining me. I'm Amara Walker in today for Fredricka Whitfield. And we begin this hour with math demonstrations nationwide calling for tighter gun laws. More than 300 March for our Lives rally is happening today.

Some like the event in D.C. underway right now. That is David Hogg by the way. He is one of the cofounders of this rally March for our Lives and also a survivor of a mass shooting that happened at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

These marches are renewing calls and cries to lawmakers to address the gun violence epidemic after a series of horrific mass shootings.

Moments ago, Manuel Oliver, the father of Joaquin Oliver killed in the Parkland, Florida shooting had this powerful call to action. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANUEL OLIVER, FATHER OF PARKLAND SHOOTING VICTIM: On today from this stage, and alongside Joaquin we want to announce a new kind of call to action because I think it's time to bring a consequence to your inactions.

If lawmakers who have the power to keep us safe from gun violence are going to avoid taking action that will save our lives then young people across this country, everyone who can hear my voice should also avoid.

Avoid attending school if your leaders failed to do the job and keep us safe from gun violence.

Avoid a school if Senate leaders, Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell failed to pass life-saving laws to reduce gun violence.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes, yes. OLIVER: Avoid going back to school if President Biden fails to open the White House Office of gun violence prevention so that we can finally give this issue the attention that it deserves. I need everyone to put your hand on your heart and take the avoid pledge and please repeat after me. I pledge allegiance.

RALLYISTS: I pledge allegiance.

OLIVER: To the legacy of all victims of gun violence.

RALLYISTS: To the legacy of all victims of gun violence.

OLIVER: And will avoid school until our leaders.

RALLYISTS: And will avoid school until our leaders.

OLIVER: Pass gun laws capable of bringing safety and justice for all.

RALLYISTS: Pass gun laws capable of bringing safety and justice for all.

OLIVER: Avoid will create a social disruption, they ask for it. Good trouble. As parent of Joaquin Oliver, who was killed in the Parkland shooting, we are calling for a nationwide strike of American students from all levels of education.

[13:05:04]

OLIVER: From elementary education to college to avoid going back to school until our elected leaders stop avoiding the crisis of gun violence in America and start acting to save or lives. Please visit. Iwillavoid.com.

Be part of the Avoid movement. It's time to pay for the consequence. You didn't listen to us. Now you're going to have to do what we are asking you to do. I will avoid I will avoid. I will.

RALLYISTS: Avoid.

OLIVER: I will.

RALLYISTS: Avoid.

OLIVER: Thank you.

WALKER: Wow. A powerful moment there from a father Manuel Oliver. His son was one of the many killed during the Parkland massacre at that high school in Florida in 2018. You heard him there asking everyone at this rally to avoid going to school if lawmakers avoid passing laws that would keep children safe in schools.

Really powerful moment there of resolve. You know, CNN is covering the rallies across multiple cities today. And I want to begin with Brian Todd at the Capitol. Brian, what more are you hearing?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Amara, David Hogg, the founder of this movement has just led a chant here. This time is different as the crowd has swelled at the foot of the Washington Monument here.

Very angry frustrated crowd here. Tired of the gun violence, especially after the shootings in Uvalde and in Buffalo. David Hogg still addressing the crowd here. On the theme of frustration and anger I'm just talking to two rally goers here.

Amber Gaines and Quinn Wonderling, like when you told me a little while ago, that you were furious just to be here talking about your level of frustration.

QUINN WONDERLING, MARCH FOR OUR LIVES PARTICIPANT: I am furious. This weekend is my little brother's birthday here. It's -- this month is pride instead of going bowling or doing anything fun like that. We are here doing this again.

Like Columbine happened when I was in high school. And now I'm 37. This to have mass shootings day after day is a choice. And the -- it's not the will of the people being done. I'm sick of it. This is a choice. I am furious. It's --

TODD: Amber, we talked to you a little bit about the measures are going through Congress now. The House has passed one bill, it's, you know, it's not clear whether it's even going to pass the Senate or if it doesn't, might be narrow. If nothing happens, or very little happens what's the strategy from there?

AMBER GAINES, MARCH OF OUR LIVES PARTICIPANT: That's just one tactic. We have to demand corporate responsibility for the manufacturers, from the distributors.

I'm a native of Bentonville, Arkansas the home of Wal-Mart, the largest gun distributor in the United States, we need to demand corporate responsibility. The blood is on their hands, too.

TODD: Thank you, Amber. Thank you, Quinn. Thanks for talking to us. We appreciate it, guys. What we've seen here is a lot of personal messages guys, the two sons of Ruth Whitfield, a lady who was killed in the Buffalo supermarket shooting on May 14th.

Two of her sons, Garnell and Raymond spoke here. They're really delivering messages that want to hit home the personal nature of some of this violence.

And that's really what we're seeing here today as David Hogg gets ready to wrap up and head over to other speakers. Amara?

WALKER: Brian, appreciate you. Let's go now to CNN's Whitney Wild also joining us live from D.C. Whitney, it seems like the overarching theme from a lot of the people attending is that they're fed up.

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Right. I would say if there was one single message today, it is no more next, no more next week, no more next month, no more next year. It's now, replace next with now.

That was the speech, you know, one of the bones of the speech coming from David Hogg who was continuing to speak and continues to say he's very angry.

And I think what makes this event unique when you look at, you know, the way that we sort of look at gun crime across the country is it is a reminder that gun crime touches so many different lives in America, it is an everyday problem in some neighborhoods.

It is a mass shooting and other areas and other soft targets and other everyday places that are frequented. And one of the things that one of the speakers said here today is everyday shootings are an everyday problem.

Brian spoke about Garnell Whitfield who had this really powerful moment where he said that that elected leaders have to protect America's most precious commodity which is people. There was another man who spoke, RuQuan Brown.

He's 20 years old. He's a D.C. native. He's a student at Harvard now. And he said, I don't want to be here. I don't I want to be here talking about this terribly tragic sad thing.

[13:10:03]

WILD: I want to be watching the NBA finals with my stepdad but I have to be here because there's just not enough action for our elected leader. So this message is directed at the very people who they believe can affect change.

It was directed in very pointed terms to elected leaders for many of the people here in the crowd outright say are just not doing enough on gun crime, Amara.

WALKER: Yes. A lot of resolve there. A lot of them saying, look, if you're not going to do it, Congress, we're going to make the change happen.

Whitney Wild, thank you. Now just CNN's Polo Sandoval joining us live from New York. You are walking with those marching. What are they telling you?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, it's an iconic moment, Amara. I was able to see this a month ago during the Women's March. And here we are, again, walking over the Brooklyn Bridge, the NYPD clearing the way for a large credit demonstrators to make their way from Brooklyn over to the Manhattan side. The head of the group is Attorney General for the state of New York Letitia James.

Basically with a message for federal lawmakers at the national level to that now is the time to act. Something that perhaps stands apart from other demonstrations that we're seeing other parts of the country is New York State.

One of the most recent to enact some of the meaningful gun legislation that we saw just a few days ago. And what I'm hearing from this crowd, Amara is that they are not only taking a moment to reflect on what the New York State Assembly has been able to do but hoping that that will perhaps inspire lawmakers at the national level to act and to implement similar measures as well.

So not only do we have the Attorney General Letitia James at the head of the group, but also New York Mayor Eric Adams as well, showing their support, hoping that the rest of the nation, the rest of the world, sees these pictures of a massive crowd of demonstrators make their way from Brooklyn over to Manhattan where they expect to hold various remarks will be shared not just by elected officials, but also those that have perhaps been directly impacted by the civil of gun violence. Amara?

WALKER: This is truly the voice and the cries of the American people. It's very important event. Polo, thank you for being there along with Brian Todd and Whitney Wild. Thanks to all of you for this.

So today's marches come as lawmakers face growing pressure in Congress to take action on gun control. CNN's Daniella Diaz Joining us now from Capitol Hill.

Daniella, a lead Democrat involved in the bipartisan negotiations saying he believes he's being optimistic that there will be more than 10 Republicans supporting gun safety measures in the Senate.

That is what the Democrats need. What can you tell us about what may be in the bill? Are we talking about meaningful change that gun safety advocates are pushing for?

DANIELLA DIAZ, CNN CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER: American it's just as Brian Todd said just a couple of moments ago that whatever the Senate ends up agreeing on this bipartisan group that has been meeting virtually and in person since the wake of the Uvalde shooting, since the wake of the Buffalo shooting. They believe that they can reach a framework but it will be narrower.

It won't be what Democrats were hoping, it won't be what these activists are hoping for, it won't be as far reaching. But it is something. That's what Democrats say. They are thankful that there could be some sort of incremental change on gun safety reform.

And just as you noted, Senator Chris Murphy, that Chief democratic negotiator in these bipartisan talks, he says that he is optimistic and hopeful that they could get more than 10 Republicans on board with any of this framework.

And you're expecting them to announce a framework at some point this weekend, or at least early next week. That's what we were told yesterday by these aides that are part of these negotiations, this bipartisan group in the Senate.

And this is very, very notable, Amara, because this is the farthest the Senate has gone in the wake of these shootings on some sort of framework on gun safety reform.

Now, they are likely discussing the topics that will be in this framework, incentivizing states to pass red flag laws, they're discussing a potential waiting period to 18 -- of 18 to 21 year olds to purchase a firearm. They're also talking about school safety and investments in mental

health care. It's likely that this framework won't go far enough, like a lot of what these activists want, a lot of what Democrats want which is to ban assault weapons and they want expanded background checks.

It's unclear right now what this framework is going to look like, but it will be something. Now I want to point out that Murphy is incredibly optimistic. You know, he is that from Connecticut, where that terrible shooting and Sandy Hook took place at that other elementary school shooting that we recall time and time again. He has been working since then in the Senate to try to find some sort of framework on gun safety reform.

And he said yesterday, he's incredibly optimistic that they will reach something. He said Washington is listening to Americans. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): That is the work that we're engaged in right now, trying to find is the art of compromise is possible. My hope is that will be able to deliver good news to you, transformative news to you soon because this country needs it, this country needs to know that Washington is listening to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:15:13]

DIAZ: Amara, Democrats are using this momentum that they have in the wake of these terrible shootings to work with Republicans. And as you noted, Murphy has said this week that he believes they can get more than 10 Republicans on board and that is crucial for them to be able to get this legislation if they have that framework ready by next week, over the finish line, because of that 50/50 split in the Senate and in order to advance any bill in the Senate.

They need, of course, every Democratic senator and 10 Republicans at least to break the filibuster. So Democrats continue to be hopeful they can do that.

And I should note there are Republicans at the table just unclear right now if there are 10.

WALKER: And because you mentioned Sandy Hook, I do want to mention that, you know, I remember back in 2013 there was a bill that was introduced to expand background checks.

This is after Sandy Hook and that also failed in the Senate. So this is a tall task but look, you know, I'm sure a lot of, you know, people and advocates -- gun safety advocates would just say we'll take what we can take at this point.

Daniel Diaz, appreciate you joining us. Thank you so much.

All right. Still to come. $5.00 a gallon. Gas prices soaring across the U.S. We'll take you live to California where drivers are facing prices even higher than that.

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[13:20:33]

WALKER: It is official. Not a good one. The national average for a gallon of gas is now $5.00. Setting an all-time record. More than 20 states are now over that average. California is the highest at $6.43.

One gas station in Northern California is charging almost $10.00 a gallon. How do people even get gas these days? CNN's Paul Vercammen in L.A. Paul, there's not much relief for people as we enter the busy summer travel season.

What are drivers telling you about whether or not they'll move forward with their plans?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN REPORTER: Well, they're laying out tales of heartbreak and cutting back those day trips that you've been alluding to, Amara. If you look behind me at this gas station, as you said here in California were $6.43 a gallon.

And this is considered a great deal at $6.09 a gallon. Also diesel here and that's what our trucks use, our huge agriculture business in California relying on diesel a lot, $5.75 a gallon.

And I talked to one resident. She beautifully laid out just what sort of pain Californians are dealing with. She's a 72-year-old career counselor still working, her husband is retired.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MONICA LOND LEBLANC, LOS ANGELES RESIDENT: We're curtailing a lot of what we're doing. Not taking any even short trips like going up north to like Solvang. We'd love to go up there or down south to San Diego.

My husband who's retired is a golfer. And he likes to go to various, you know, driving ranges and golf courses like in the valley or even over to the west side. And he's not doing that as much because of the gas prices.

It's really hit us -- hit, you know, home that this is a lot of money for gas and to watch this gas station across the street go up five cents a gallon or five cents a gallon every day is amazing. Yes, it's always busy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: And so, they drive a Jeep and they say now it is costing him more than $100 to fill up. And when she was alluding to Solvang or San Diego, both of those are about 100 miles from here.

And it's clear there's going to be a ripple effect on the economy, especially that tourism economy because these people just can't take those little day trips right now, Amara. It is really a lot of tales of getting hit hard at the gas pump and other places as well. Back to you.

WALKER: Yes. And a lot of people who drive in L.A., spend a lot of time in their cars which means a lot of money. Paul Vercammen, appreciate you. Thanks for that.

And stay with us. We're going to talk about why the skyrocketing gas prices are fueling fears about inflation and whether it is here to stay.

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[13:27:45]

WALKER: Record high prices for gas are fueling inflation fears. The Consumer Price Index saying that inflation rose 8.6 percent In May. Its highest pace in 41 years. That send financial markets into a spiral on Friday.

And many experts worry about where the economy may be heading. Joining us now is Victoria Guida. She is an economics reporter for Politico. Good to see you, Victoria. I mean, 8.6 percent is higher than many were expecting from May's report.

How concerned should people be about costs continuing to rise?

VICTORIA GUIDA, POLITICO ECONOMICS REPORTER: Yes. So people were sort of hoping that March, April would sort of be the peak given that we had that spike in oil prices because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

And so, this last inflation report sort of spooked people because it's -- it shows that we're really not through the worst of it yet. The Federal Reserve is hiking interest rates which should help start to bring inflation down.

But unfortunately, we're stuck with relatively high inflation for the time being, and it doesn't look like it -- in any time soon it's going to be going down quickly.

WALKER: Oh, well, I kind of want to end this conversation then. I mean, it's depressing that, you know, we're not even through the worst of it, Victoria. I mean, there's also the notion of consumer sentiment, right?

Survey data released on Friday shows it has slumped to a record low level. And you tweeted about this recently as saying, "Inflation is really bad," but this is still strange.

We are in a recession in vibe only. More bad news for me. What do you -- what did you mean by that?

GUIDA: Yes, so I mean, in -- the reason I said it strange is that if you look at certain pockets of data, things look really good. The unemployment rate is really low, which is, you know, one of the reasons why we have so many job openings for workers, you see, you know, now hiring signs everywhere. Consumer spending has been really strong and, you know, when prices go

up, one of the -- one of the concerns is that, you know, that's really going to put a damper on sort of healthy demands.

But people are spending like there's no tomorrow. I mean, you were talking about gas prices, which are, in some ways, the biggest dampener on consumer sentiment.

That's something that you see all the time. And filling up your tank is just awful how it puts a dent in your wallet.

And even then, nationally, we're seeing demand increase. It is the highest since the beginning of the summer in three years.

So you know there are sort of this fascinating disconnect where people are feeling terrible about the economy. You said a report low.

And just to put that in context, that is lower than how people felt during the 2008 financial crisis. And, yet people are still spending.

So, it is sort of the strange situation where the economy is growing but people are really worried about, you know, whether we're going to have a recession.

AMARA WALKER, CNN HOST: It is almost like we're our own worst enemy. We are driving the demand for gas, right? And it doesn't look like that demand is going down any time soon because of the summer travel season, you know, already upon us.

What can the Biden administration do? I mean, what tools does the White House have to bring down prices?

GUIDA: Yes, so, I mean, it is tricky for the White House because a lot of things that would be sort of their job are getting the supply up.

So when you consider why we have inflation, it is because there's an imbalance between supply and demand. People want too much stuff and there's the not enough of it. And so you have both of those sides of things causing inflation.

So things like trying to make sure we have more semiconductors or finding ways to incentivize oil production, those are all things that the Biden administration could do but they're not quick fixes.

The main agency that is tasked with fighting inflation is the Federal Reserve.

WALKER: Right.

GUIDA: And they could really deal with the demand side of the economy. Basically, when you raise interest rates, people spend less and they invest less, and so it slows economic growth. So you never really want to have to do that.

But that is basically what is happening right now is the Federal Reserve is trying to do what it could to bring down demand without causing too many layoffs, without causing a recession. And that is going to be pretty tricky.

WALKER: It is a tricky balancing act for the Federal Reserve.

Victoria Guida, we appreciate you. Not shooting the messenger. It is good to talk to you, nonetheless. Thank you.

GUIDA: Thank you.

WALKER: All right, coming up sure thing -- one down and many more to go. Details on what we learned from this January 6th hearing and what is expected at the next one scheduled for Monday. John Dean joining me live, next.

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[13:37:13]

WALKER: You're taking a live look at pictures from Washington, just one of the locations today where thousands will march in support of gun safety laws, reform.

In more than 300 cities nationwide, March for Our Lives participants are demanding action on gun reform laws. Speakers are taking to the stage in what is the second rally these organizers have held since 2018.

The first March for Our Lives followed the deadly shooting rampage at a Parkland, Florida, high school. We'll continue to bring you live reports from the rallies just ahead.

Now the January 6th committee will hold the next hearing on Monday. The panel said they will focus on former President Trump's efforts to spread false information about the 2020 election.

This follows the committee's primetime hearing on Thursday that laid out in detail how the attack on the capitol unfolded. With graphic video and never before heard testimony, the panel pointed much of the blame at former President Trump.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz is joining us now with more.

Katelyn, hi, there. Where do the hearings go from here?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME & JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, hi. Good afternoon.

Each day now, we believe that committee is going to be drilling down on to the different aspects that they've learned about Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

So Vice Chairwoman Liz Cheney, on Thursday, she spoke at one point about a sophisticated seven-point plan used by Donald Trump to try and oppose the 2020 election results and to secure that win for him even though he lost.

And what we believe now is the that the hearings will track each of those seven points.

So Monday, as you mentioned, that is looking at the disinformation effort that Trump was engaged in, in trying to convince the American public that the election was stolen from him.

Even though the committee found from multiple people, multiple depositions that he was being told, even on his own campaign, he lost, it was over, it wasn't going to change.

And then, Wednesday, the committee is looking closer into the parts of the administration that were pushing back against Donald Trump.

So Wednesday will be inside of the halls of justice, the Justice Department. That is where Trump was trying to replace the acting attorney general.

And top officials were telling him he cannot do that. He couldn't use the Justice Department in the way he wanted or they would resign.

On Thursday, it appears that the committee will then be looking at the vice president's office. This campaign of pressuring Mike Pence and having people in the vice president's office, top people saying no, you're not going to be able to do that with him either.

And then after that, we do believe that the committee will turn to the White House itself. They've said they're going to take you through minute-by-minute what was happening around Donald Trump.

[13:39:59]

So we don't know exactly who will be testifying. We do believe some top officials, some top vice president's office officials will be making public testimony next week.

But we just do know now that the committee is promising many more details that we haven't learned before. And so we'll have to stay tuned for the blockbuster hearings -- Amara?

WALKER: And we stay tuned.

Katelyn Polantz, thank you very much.

Joining us now, CNN contributor and former Nixon White House council, John Dean. He is the subject and a key part in the CNN original series, "WATERGATE, BLUEPRINT FOR A SCANDAL."

John, you're the perfect person to talk to. Thank you for joining us.

Just curious to know what you thought about Thursday and how effective Liz Cheney and the panel was in opening the case to the American public?

JOHN DEAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I thought it was very effective.

To flashback to Watergate, 50 years ago, they started very slow. They had low level staffers. And it was so boring that the networks that were covering it, all three of them at that time, threatened to pull back.

And they actually did go to one pool camera and each network rotating around after that.

So, that didn't happen here. This was very intense. It was very well produced. It was very informative.

And I think if that continues to be the pattern the committee is going to help Americans understand what is going on much better than we do right now than previously understand.

WALKER: So this January 6th hearing, you're saying much more riveting than the way the Watergate hearing were held.

But it was your testimony about Richard Nixon's involvement in the Watergate break-in and the coverup that really turned the tide in the hearings.

Do you think there's a potential John Dean whistleblower or whistleblowers in the Trump administration that could have a similar impact?

DEAN: Well, I know a number of people I know have made public statements and had different candidates. It's a rough row to hoe.

I don't know if any of the lawyers who were involved in the Trump White House and know exactly what was going on are going to step forward. I think they should.

There's something called a -- a fraud crime exception that lawyers do not privilege information when they're engaged in a crime fraud situation.

So, I think there's some of that. And I wish some of those lawyers would step up and account for themselves.

WALKER: You know, obviously, the shorthand for what happened is January 6th. We always -- the term Watergate is thrown around a lot, too, without a lot of people understanding the significance of what happened with Watergate and with January 6th.

Do you think that the public recognition of the significance of what happened on January 6th is being recognized as a result of these public hearings?

DEAN: I think it is. You're right, we do use the shorthand labels and think that is one event is all that we're talking about. That wasn't true in Watergate. It isn't true with the January 6th proceeding.

There were events that preceded January 6th, and the insurrection. Months and months of proceeds that -- and events that went on. And there have been events that followed it.

So, I think this committee will draw that out. It is got the label of the January 6th attack committee. But it's looking at much more information, because much more is involved. And it has just sort of culminated and that marked the event

permanently as did the bungled break-in at the Watergate.

WALKER: In many aspects, the Watergate hearings and the investigation were a success in the fact that you had a president that resigned. Some people, like yourself, served time in prison for that.

What would success look like to you when it comes to this deadly insurrection on our capitol?

DEAN: Well, I think all of the people involved in Watergate really were held accountable to the degree that they did owe accounting. And I think the same should happen here.

And this looks like it comes down, as did Watergate, right from the top. It wouldn't have happened, but for Donald Trump. Watergate wouldn't have happened, but for Richard Nixon.

They're very different though. And this is much more serious. As I tweeted yesterday, nobody died at Watergate. Nobody was beaten at Watergate during that scandal.

[13:45:00]

We've got much more serious situations here where people died. People were beaten. Democracy was challenged like it has never been. And showed it has weakness. It is fragile. And we must correct those weaknesses.

So, we're dealing with a exponentially much more dangerous situation today, 50 years after Watergate, than we were.

WALKER: Yes. And this threat to democracy could happen again if people are not held accountable and changes are not made.

John Dean, appreciate you joining us. Thank you for the conversation.

DEAN: Thank you.

WALKER: And speaking of John Dean, what made him testify against President Richard Nixon? The Watergate scandal heats up when the CNN original series "WATERGATE, BLUEPRINT FOR A SCANDAL" continues tomorrow night at 9:00 on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: The next day, the president called me to the Oval Office. As the door was being opened for me to walk into the Oval Office, walking out of the opposite side of the Oval Office and chuckling were Haldeman and Ehrlichman.

It was one of many meetings with the president. He said, I've drafted up some letters, why don't you take a look? Which he slides them across his desk and I read them. And, first of all, I realized they were open confessions. He gave me a blank resignation letter, actually, two of them. Had I

signed, I would be admitted to whatever they wanted to claim I was admitting to.

They were both drafted by Ehrlichman, I later learned. And that doesn't surprise me.

I understood the way the White House worked, that people at the top didn't take responsibility, but rather blame somebody else. Create a scapegoat. It was standard operating procedure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: "WATERGATE, BLUEPRINT FOR A SCANDAL" continues tomorrow night at 9:00 eastern on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:51:32]

WALKER: This just into CNN. As President Biden left California heading to New Mexico today, he spoke moments ago to reporters about plans to help ease gas prices, which hit a historic high of $5 a gallon today.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is traveling with the president. She joins us live with more -- Priscilla?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Biden spoke, as he's leaving Los Angeles, to reporters, touching on a series of issues, including sending a resounding message to gun safety advocates who are marching today, telling them to keep marching.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you have a message for those marching for gun safety?

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes, keep marching. It's important. Look, this has to become an election issue. The way people say this isn't going to affect my vote. Too many people are dying needlessly.

What's being proposed in the House and Senate is marginal. It's important, but it's not all that needs to be done.

The idea that we're not going to do background checks? The idea we're not going to -- anyway, the answer is march.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Have you gotten an update from Senator Murphy or any of the negotiators on where the talks stand?

BIDEN: Yes. We're still mildly optimistic. I spoke with Murphy several times. I talked to him yesterday as well, yesterday afternoon. And -- UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What about New Mexico, sir? They want the

government to pay for all of the bills for fighting the fire started by the Forest Service. Are you willing to commit to that?

BIDEN: I can't commit that on my own. That's being proposed by -- in the Congress. I support what they're doing.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you support doing that?

BIDEN: Yes. Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

BIDEN: I support it.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Have you decided, sir, whether to go to Saudi Arabia?

BIDEN: No, not yet.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What would be holding up the decision at this point? Are there commitments you're waiting for from the Saudis or on the negotiation over peace talks?

BIDEN: No, no. The commitments and the Saudis don't relate to anything having to do have with energy. It happens to be a larger meeting taking place on Saturday. That's the reason I'm going.

And it has to do with national security, for them, for Israelis. I have a program -- anyway, it has to do with much larger issues than having to do with the energy.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The average price of gas nationally hit $5 a gallon for the first time. What's your message to the American people, especially as we head into the summer months, who are really struggling with this?

BIDEN: It's outrageous what the war in Ukraine is causing. And we're trying very hard to make sure we significantly increase the barrels of oil being pumped out of the reserve we have.

We have 240,000 barrels as well coming from other nations. We're going to keep pushing on it. We're going to keep pushing.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, thank you, guys.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ALVAREZ: There you heard Biden speak about a number of issues, including, number one, gun prevention and gun legislation. Saying he spoke to Senator Chris Murphy, who has been leading negotiations on gun legislation on Capitol Hill.

Biden said he spoke to him several times, including yesterday and that they remain mildly optimistic. This, as urgent marches take place around the country to raise awareness on gun prevention.

He also spoke about Saudi Arabia. That's actually an issue that came up this week while Biden was here for the Summit of the Americas after deciding not to invite the autocratic governments of Nicaragua, Venezuela and Cuba.

[13:55:01]

But he is still entertainment a visit to Saudi Arabia, who Biden has had strong words for before. But there, you heard him say it is a matter of national security.

But speaking about gas prices, we've been talking about gas prices all morning and the increase over the last several weeks in gas prices.

Again, Biden saying again, as he said yesterday, this is Putin's price hike, placing the blame on the war in Ukraine and the ripple effects it is having here in the United States on gas and inflation.

So all of that as Biden heads to New Mexico here shortly -- Amara?

WALKER: All right, Priscilla Alvarez, thank you very much.

Much more ahead. Stay with us.

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