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Senior House Republican Predicts Explosive 1/6 Testimony "Will Lead to Indictments"; Sean Hannity Was Worried about 1/6, But Now Bashing 1/6 Committee; Hutchinson to 1/6 Committee: Meadows Didn't Seem to Care; Supreme Court Ruling Prompts New Legal Battles Nationwide; Poll: 78 Percent of Democrats Say Roe Decision Makes Them More Likely to Vote in Midterms. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired June 29, 2022 - 14:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:33:38]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: GOP lawmakers are privately telling CNN that they are stunned by Tuesday's bombshell testimony from former Trump White House aide, Cassidy Hutchinson.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: One senior House Republican, who voted against impeachment, predicts this evidence was so damaging that it could lead to indictments for Trump and/or his allies.

Let's discuss with former Republican Congressman Joe Walsh of Illinois. He's the host of the "White Flag" podcast. And Rina Shah. She's a Republican strategist and a senior adviser for the Republican Women for Progress.

Great to see both of you.

Congressman, you know, there's always a question of what will move the needle with, you know, Trump's very, very devoted base.

And there was one data point that I found interesting today, and that was "The Washington Examiner," this conservative outlet, as you know. It has all sorts of well-known contributors that appear on FOX regularly.

And here was their editorial today: "Former White House Aide Cassidy Hutchinson's Tuesday testimony ought to ring the death knell for former President Donald Trump's political career. Trump is unfit to be anywhere near power ever again."

What do you think changed yesterday, if anything?

JOE WALSH, (R), FORMER U.S. CONGRESSMAN FOR ILLINOIS & HOST, "WHITE FLAG" PODCAST: Alisyn, I think it's cumulative. I think these hearings are hurting Trump. The question is, how deep and for how long?

And I'd remind everybody, in the week after January 6th -- I'm in a unique position because I hear from that devoted Trump base every day. [14:35:04]

And in the week after January 6th, even Trump's most devoted base was back on their heels. And they were disappointed and angry and questioning Trump. And then over time, that was all corrected.

The other thing, Alisyn, that I'm hearing is from his devoted base they're not disappointed in his behavior that's coming out during these hearings.

What they're telling me is, oh, all of this stuff is going to make it harder for Trump to win in 2024. That's, I think, what's moving them for now away from Trump.

BLACKWELL: Now, that's the base.

Rina, let me ask you about the Republican members of Congress who, as we said at the top, are privately stunned. They're gob smacked in their offices behind closed doors.

Do you see anything, did you hear anything that would suggest, Rina, that they're going to come out and put some names behind this astonishment?

RINA SHAH, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST & SENIOR ADVISER, REPUBLICAN WOMEN FOR PROGRESS: Look, it's not a small thing that former Congressman Mick Mulvaney, who went on to serve Trump in the White House, came out in support of Cassidy Hutchinson. He doesn't think she's lying.

There are people who support this young woman, who's not even close to 30, might I add. They know she has no reason to lie about what she saw. She was part of the heartbeat of the West Wing.

And I'm, of course, no stranger to that kind of thing. I remember on Capitol Hill working for two different Republican members of Congress sharing sentiments like that when I was frustrated.

One big line she said which kind of struck me was, "he needs to care." And she was, of course, talking about her direct boss, chief of staff Mark Meadows.

The reality is this. Whether or not it moves the needle with Trump supporters or not is not the question here. It's whether or not people start to back candidates like Governor Ron DeSantis with more sort of enthusiasm.

The long-time sentiment in the Republican Party has been a love for our governors, of course, those who get things done. And now with this picture of an unhinged Trump, it bolsters the image.

It helps, too, that Trump-endorsed candidates are losing across the country. There's two things at play here.

CAMEROTA: Well, that leads us to Sean Hannity, Joe. He's confusing. Because the texts that have come out, I mean, honestly, during the hearings show that he was very worried in the days before January 6th. He saw the storm cloud, you know, gathering, and so he was sending

texts to Mark Meadows, "I'm very worried about the next 48 hours."

And then last night, he's just back on the slavish Trump train.

I'll just play a little bit of what he was trying to say about how there's nothing to see here at these hearings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN HANNITY, FOX HOST, "HANNITY": They were busy with yet another anti-Trump kangaroo court and show trial where the outcome, as we've been telling you, has been and remains predetermined.

We see nothing but blind, never-ending rage, what is seemingly an obsessive-compulsive cult-like rage against Donald Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: Joe, doesn't Sean want to pivot to a winner at some point?

WALSH: Alisyn, with all due respect, there's nothing confusing about Sean Hannity. Look, he's a fraud. And he is a Trump cheerleader. And he'll be that way -- I mean, Alisyn, Hannity would be the last person on the Trump boat.

The other thing that just drives me crazy -- and Victor, you nailed it -- these Republican members of Congress who are privately stunned, privately. I'm so sick of the "privately."

I think most of them, Alisyn, will move to a winner, but we're nowhere near that yet. Donald Trump is still the prohibitive nominee of this party.

BLACKWELL: Rina, I want to touch on something you mentioned there about trying to get Mark Meadows to care.

Repeatedly, Hutchinson described Mark Meadows sitting on his sofa scrolling on his phone at some of the crucial moments leading up to and through the insurrection.

Let's watch part of the testimony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CASSIDY: I remember him being alone in his office for most of the afternoon. Around 2:00 to 2:05, around 2:00 to 2:05, you know, we were watching the TV and I could see that the rioters were getting closer and closer to the capitol.

Mark still hadn't popped out of his office or said anything about it.

Watching the TV, Chief? And he's like, yes. The rioters are getting really close. Have you talked to the president? He said, no, he wants to be alone right now. And I just remember -- I remember thinking in that moment, Mark needs

to snap out of this, and I don't know how to snap him out of this, but he needs to care.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: "He needs to care." It's really a devastating portrait that she painted there of the chief of staff just scrolling on his phone as there are rioters approaching the capitol.

[14:40:06]

SHAH: Yes, the chief of staff to the president of the United States was so very passe about one of his bros in Congress, Mike Pence.

I remember being in the halls of Congress and watching the two of them, how they got along. Mike Pence and Mark Meadows, when they served together there, how they got along so well.

And here he was. They were calling for Mike Pence to be hung and Mark Meadows just does not care it seems.

So, look, that's frustrating. But the big picture here is that democracy's fragile, and it takes principled good people with good morals and values to say something's wrong here.

They should be the people who are able to decipher between right and wrong. Sadly, in this case, it was a woman so young and not older, more experienced people.

But listen, the reality is that Trumpism can be defeated. And I know a lot of people don't agree with me.

But as long as fear and division, and demonizing the Democrats is a playbook of the Republicans, which it will be for a very long time, more and more people will start to understand that's not the American way.

Already, last night, in Utah, we saw John Curtis and Blake Moore, two candidates that won primaries, and they both voted for the January 6th Select Committee.

That tells me, again, Trumpism can be defeated. Maybe not next hour, maybe not tomorrow, but down the line it can be.

BLACKWELL: Yes, and we saw some losses in Colorado for some election deniers in the primary as well.

Rina Shah, Joe Walsh, thank you both.

CAMEROTA: Thank you, guys.

OK, at least 27 states now have cases of monkey pox, prompting the White House into action. We'll tell you what they're doing ahead.

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CAMEROTA: Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer just notified President Biden that his last day on the bench will be tomorrow. The court will release its final opinions of the session beginning at 10:00 a.m. And his retirement goes into effect at noon.

Breyer says his successor, Ketanji Brown Jackson, is prepared to, quote, "take her prescribed oaths" and will begin her service as the high court's first black woman justice.

Meanwhile, legal chaos continues since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Several states already enacting trigger laws or trying to enforce centuries-old abortion laws. This is setting up a slew of legal battles.

CNN's Erica Hill has been tracking all of these for us.

Erica, great to have you.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR & NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It feels like they changed for the day already.

CAMEROTA: It's very, very hard to keep track of.

Let's start with Texas. What's happening there?

HILL: Texas is getting a lot of attention. You see on this map that we have the dark-orange states. These are states, whereas now, abortions are either banned or severely restricted.

The issue in Texas is that certain clinics -- not the entire state -- but certain clinics yesterday were granted a temporary restraining order, which means that they can now continue to provide abortions up until the period of six weeks through July 12th when another hearing is scheduled.

So how did this all come about? This is related to a law in Texas from 1925. And so what happened was on Monday, a lawsuit was filed that specifically named the attorney general, Ken Paxton in the state of Texas and also some local district attorneys saying, hey, this law doesn't work.

So what they're asking for -- sorry, what the judge said is, we're granting you a temporary restraining order.

The reason this law came up is because, on Friday, when the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, Ken Paxton put out a statement.

He said, oh, hey, by the way, while we're waiting for our trigger law to take effect in Texas, I want you to know we will assist with any local prosecutor who pursues criminal charges. And was specifically talking about this 1925 law.

So now there's a temporary restraining order. But again, only for the clinics that are -- that would fall under the jurisdiction of these local D.A.s who were named.

CAMEROTA: That's just one state's confusion. That's just one out of 50.

HILL: Yes. Yes.

CAMEROTA: OK. Take us to Wisconsin.

HILL: What's happening in Wisconsin, also confusing. Forget 1925. In Wisconsin, we're going to go all the way back to 1849. Women couldn't even vote. So this law bans abortion in almost every circumstance.

And what's happening here is, yesterday, the district attorney for the state and the governor announced that they were suing because what they want the court to say, is this law is no longer in effect?

They want it struck down because they say it also contradicts laws that have been passed in the years since. One of them includes a 20- week ban on abortion. So they're asking for that to be struck down in Wisconsin.

It's important to note that, in this state, in the state of Wisconsin, nearly all abortions were stopped. All abortions were stopped rather on Friday as soon as the ruling was announced.

CAMEROTA: OK. Are there states where they're adding in protections?

HILL: They are. They're trying to. There are a number of states where the attorney general have said they're working together.

We've heard from governors. We're hearing from Gavin Newsom. Most recently, we've heard from the governor of Nevada who signed an executive order sort of similar to what we heard from Newsom.

He's saying here, look, our state, nothing is going to change because of the way the laws are in Nevada. Abortion will remain legal. We want to stay a safe haven.

And if you come to me from another state with a warrant related to what you say is a crime related to reproductive health services, I'm not playing ball.

CAMEROTA: Erica, I actually understand it better. Thank you very much.

HILL: I'm glad it made sense. You're welcome.

CAMEROTA: Thanks for being here.

Victor?

BLACKWELL: Joining me now, Laphonza Butler. She's the president of Emily's List, which works to get pro-choice women elected to office.

Laphonza, thank you for being with us.

Let's start with the obvious now enthusiasm gap in the favor of Democrats. A new NPR/Marist poll shows 78 percent of Democrats say the decision makes them more likely to vote in November. That's a 24-point advantage over Republicans.

How do you sustain that passion, that momentum for the next four months?

LAPHONZA BUTLER, PRESIDENT, EMILY'S LIST: Well, that's going to be a real question, Victor.

And thank you for having me.

[14:49:59]

But I am convinced that the American people are ready to go to the ballot tomorrow. This -- never before has the U.S. Supreme Court taken away a right and a fundamental freedom from half of the country after 50 years of precedent.

So we are going to make sure that the candidates that Emily's List are supporting fighters like Gretchen Whitmer, fighters like candidate- elect, Democratic candidate-elect or Democratic candidate for governor, I'm sorry, Stacey Abrams.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

BUTLER: We're going to continue to talk about this issue. You're going to see Democratic candidates all over the country center this in their campaign, particularly ones supported by Emily's List. And we're going to continue to talk to voters and keep it in front.

There's no stopping the women in this country and, frankly, the majority of the American people who support the position of Roe and reject the decision of this court.

BLACKWELL: So you say you're going to keep it out front. But the polls show, and Republicans are banking on this in their congressional campaign committees, that the economy is out front.

When voters were asked -- and this is after the leak of the draft decision -- abortion, 12 percent say it's the most important issue for voting in November. The economy, 48 percent of voters.

So it suggests that abortion is important but it is not the primary driver.

BUTLER: And I think that is a real reflection of the American people, Victor. The American people are whole people. It is true that there are things that are taught that remain top of mind for them.

And, you know, it is going to be important that Democratic candidates are continuing to talk about the work that is being done, the plans that are being put forward, the laws that are being passed to address some of those most important issues.

I didn't hear the Republican plan for how to solve the baby formula crisis. Not a single Republican voted for it. And I think Democrats are going to continue to remind voters who is

standing with them in terms of protecting their essential freedoms.

BLACKWELL: But more than standing with them, the question is are the Democrats getting enough done?

This is from Congresswoman Cori Bush where she says -- this was to the "Washington Post":

"We can't just tell people, well, just vote, vote your problems away because they're look at us, well, we question already voted for you."

What do you say to those pro-choice Democrats, who say that Democrats have had an opportunity to codify this over the last 50 years, that this is a fundraising opportunity for many candidates?

And they're just dissatisfied with what Democrats have done on this issue leading up to this point.

BUTLER: I think Representative Cori Bush and Barbara Lee and Marie Newman, who have gone out and shared their story, Representative Pramila Jayapal, who have gone out and shared their experience of having an abortion and what the difficulties that surround making choices like that.

And I think the representative is right to call the attention to what members of the House have done. They passed the Women's Health Protection Act.

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: But that's not what she's pointing out.

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: What she's pointing out is what has not been done. She's pointing out what has not been done.

BUTLER: We don't have a pro-choice Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate. And that is what I think is what needs to be resolved. And that what Emily's List is working to focus on in so are many places around the country.

BLACKWELL: All right, Laphonza Butler, with Emily's List, thank you so much for your time.

BUTLER: Thank you.

[14:53:49]

CAMEROTA: Multiple Trump allies were reportedly left speechless by Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony. Does this open the door for different GOP hopefuls in 2024? That's next.

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[14:58:42]

BLACKWELL: The White House is stepping up its response to the monkeypox outbreak. So far, there are more than 300 cases across 27 states and D.C.

CAMEROTA: The administration now plans to send those states more vaccines. And the CDC is activating its Emergency Operations Center.

CNN's senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, joins us now.

Elizabeth, what does that mean?

DR. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: What it means is that the CDC is now recommending a vaccine for some people after they've been exposed to monkeypox.

So, Victor, Alisyn, it's a little bit different than the COVID vaccine and others that we discussed because, in this case, it's after you have been exposed to the virus.

Let's go ahead and look at those statistics again. As you mentioned, we have about 300 cases in 27 states in the U.S. so far. And we've got about 5,000 cases in about 50 countries.

They're going to prioritize the vaccine because they don't have enough of it at this point. They're going to prioritize it to places that have high case counts.

And so those states would include California, New York, Illinois, Florida, and D.C. Those are the states with the five highest case counts.

Now, because, as I said, they don't have enough at this point -- hopefully, they will soon -- they're going to be recommending it for certain high-risk groups.

So let's take a look at how those high-risk groups are.

[14:59:58]

If you have a sexual partner who was diagnosed with monkeypox, the CDC recommends a vaccination, and soon, within two weeks of exposure. Really as soon as possible but certainly within those two weeks.