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President Joe Biden Announces Final Piece Of His American Rescue Plan; Former Trump White House Counsel Pat Cipollone To Testify For January 6 Committee; Sen. Linsey Graham To Challenge Fulton County Grand Jury Subpoena. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired July 06, 2022 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I'm here today to say we've done something about it. And I've kept a promise. I can't pay to restore the backbone of this country, the middle class and unions.

Because I know this, the middle class built America, unions built the middle class of today. I'm keeping a promise to one of the most significant achievement union workers and retirees have received in over 50 years, and that's not hyperbole.

For years and years, union workers have been driving trucks from factories to stores, bagging your groceries. Constructing the buildings, bridges, roads we need and so much more.

The iron workers, bricklayers, carpenters, laborers plumbers, truck drivers, musicians I might add. Food workers, and so much more. And with each paycheck you earn, their employers put money in pension plans. These workers work hard today to secure a retirement for tomorrow, that's what it's all about.

Now, a lot of businesses aren't able or willing to run their own pension plans, and some industries workers are employed by several different employers over the course of a year or longer.

For example, we see that in transportation construction and entertainment. So, working with a union that represents their employers and businesses in the same industry, often come together to form was called a multiple employee union. I know you know this. But people listen to this on television may not know this.

Pension plans that serve 11 million Americans across the country and to make sure these pensions are managed responsibly, and protect the participating workers and retirees, the federal government oversees, and assures the plans.

We're seeing the risk millions of workers face as they watch their hard-earned pensions turn into broken promises.

We saw it before the pandemic, and the economic crisis that followed, millions of retirees at risk of losing their retirement security through no fault of their own, based on conditions and unrelenting attacks on unions that were taking place. 200 older employee pension plans for 2 to 3 million workers and

retirees were going insolvent.

What that means to those two or three million workers, they faced painful cuts to the benefits they counted on, and for the dignified security retirement.

You just heard from Bill what it's like to work 30, 40, 50 years, working hard every single day, doing everything to provide for your family. Track every dollar of that paycheck for groceries, mortgage and hopefully for family vacation maybe one day.

And knowing when it's time to retire your pension you earn will be there. Knowing that together the social security benefits, that pension will continue a good middle class life for you in retirement. For some -- just my day used to say -- just a little peace of mind.

But for folks at home, imagine losing 50 or 60 percent of that pension through absolutely no fault of your own. Imagine what it does financially and emotionally. What it does to your dignity.

Also here is David Grubs, retired teamster, truck driver from North Carolina who faced nearly a 70 percent cut in his pension, and now also joining me today is Rita Lewis -- where are you, Rita? Rita's here somewhere, I'm told.

She stepped out, I don't blame her. No, she's Butch's widow. Their anniversary is coming up in a couple of days. Childhood sweethearts.

Butch was a ball player directed by Pittsburgh Pirates out of high school. But he enlisted the United States Army instead. Special Forces, Army Rangers, served in Vietnam. Earned like my son, the Bronze Star.

My son did not have the Purple Heart. But the Purple Heart came back home to resettle in Cincinnati. Became a trucker -- represented by the Teamsters and then president of his local. Known as an honorable, honest and decent labor leader.

Butch faced severe cuts in his pension. He became a fierce advocate protecting the pensions of his fellow workers. He died more than 16 years -- 6-years-ago, and Rita has carried on his legacy ever since.

And with Democrats in Congress, I might add, and Marty Walsh's leadership, we fought for the Butch Lewis Act to protect pensions for millions of the workers and retirees.

[15:35:02]

As candidate for president, I argued for its passage and promised when it passed, I would sign it. And that's the promise I've kept when I included the Butch Lewis Act in the American Rescue Plan.

Now, multiple employee plans will remain solid for decades, and come at least until guaranteed to 2051. These retirees -- those retirees who lost their benefits will have them restored retroactively. We turn to a promise broken into a promise kept. It matters to

workers. It matters to their families. It matters to the country.

You all remember what the economy was like when I was elected, a country in a pandemic with no real plans how to get out of it. Millions of people out of their jobs. Families in cars, remember, backed up for literally miles.

Waiting for a box of food to be put in their trunk, just a box of food to be put in their trunk because they didn't have enough to eat. Previous administration lost more jobs on its watch than any administration since Herbert Hoover.

That's a fact. All based on failed trickledown economics that benefit the wealthiest Americans and hit the middle class working people the hardest.

We came in with a fundamentally different economic vision. An economy that grows from the bottom up and middle out. It's good for everyone. Because when the middle class does well, the poor on the ladder up and wealthy still do very well.

And that's why we designed the American Rescue Plan based on the belief that a recovery should help all Americans prosper, a belief that working building power and unions are good for workers and for the economy.

A plan that led to the most jobs created in the first period of a presidency, and anytime in all American history.

Now, we've seen in the past how economic crises can leave so many Americans in tough straits for years, sometimes for the rest of their lives. Economists call it the scarring effect.

A lasting bad effect of economic hardship, including folks unemployed for a long time. Remember, when we started this, a lot of people were equally as qualified but they have been unemployed for eight, ten, twelve months, they wouldn't be considered.

Two people who put in an application, a person may be more qualified, but an employee out of work for longer, it's called a scarring effect. People not able to get back to work, period. But we changed that. And young people who faced a weak labor market, their back.

Losing a big part of your income late in life, that's a scar, though, that doesn't heal. Well, not this time. Long-term unemployment, youth unemployment dropped at a record pace.

With today's actions, millions of workers will have the dignified retirement they earned and they deserve.

And folks, let's be honest, I'd love to tell everyone here that here that this policy that honors hard work and ensures dignified retirement was universally supported regardless of political party -- but this is an important point, and this really matters -- unfortunately that's not the case. Not one single Republican -- I mean, this is what I'm talking about.

Not one single solitary Republican voted for the Butch Lewis Act or this legislation.

And folks, I can tell you, those of us -- where I was in the Congress for a long time, and people are still in the Congress. There's ones who wanted to but they were afraid to. Afraid to. Because the Trumpers would literally take them out. Not a joke. That's how bad it's gotten.

We've got to change it. We've got a change in. In fact, when this bill was moving through Congress, Republicans call these pensions, quote, rat holes. No, that was their phrase on the floor. Rat holes. Who do they think they are? Who do they think you are, for god sake.

And my predecessor had a chance to act but he didn't have a commitment to you or the courage to stand to his own party to get things done, dismissing and ignoring the forgotten people he promised to help. Remember how he was going to help working-class folks.

With tax cut for the wealthiest Americans. They had no trouble passing that. They passed a $2 trillion tax cut. Not a penny of which is paid for, increased the debt by $2 trillion. The vast majority of people making the top 1 percent of income, the biggest corporations and their biggest cheer leaders in that $2 trillion tax cut.

[15:40:00]

Again, disproportionately benefitted the wealthiest Americans. Protecting a system in which, for example, the 55 largest Fortune 500 companies in America play zero in taxes -- zero. They made -- they made $40 billion.

Didn't pay a single penny. A party that chose to make life for comfortable for the already comfortable, disparage and oppose retirement security for working people, and now when Republicans actually do offer a plan, they finally -- you know, I'm not joking, ask yourself this question.

What is the Republican platform going into this campaign? No, no, I'm now being deadly earnest. I'm not trying to be flippant. It's just a fact. Well, they have a guy who is the -- Rick Scott from Florida who heads up the Republican campaign committee.

He put out the plan. What does the plan do? It makes the tax system less fair, by giving -- wanted to everybody making under $100,000 significantly more on average a lot more money. It actually raises taxes on those working families because he thinks you don't pay enough in taxes already.

No, no, not a joke. I should have brought along the actual copy of the plan. Well, go online and get -- no, for real, it's been published. They published it. They think we're free loaders.

But he's got a problem with the tax code that allows billionaires, none at all, no problem. Trillion and billionaires in America, there's 789 or thereabouts. You know what their average federal income tax they pay? 8 percent.

Every one of you have a job that pays more than 8 percent. Every single one of you. You're a cop, a teacher, a firefighter, union worker, you probably pay two to three times that.

Now actually if choosing to protect your pension they're going after your social security. Look, I would have thought had I not seen it on paper and heard the talk about it that I was making it up. Not a joke.

There's a big idea is to put security on the chopping block every five years. That is every five years Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid have to be reauthorized or they go out of existence.

Social Security you paid in from the day you started working. It's your other pension. You paid into it every single paycheck. You earned it. It's your money, just like your pension.

And he adds in Medicare and Medicaid for the choppy block every five years unless Congress explicitly votes to extend those programs, they go away.

You know how they work the rules in the Senate, the ability to slow this up and keep that from happening is real. You know how hard it is to get anything done in Congress. Imagine what it would mean if Republicans had their way.

Look, the ultra-MAGA Republicans, Congress is deciding every five years whether your promise of your hard earned Medicare, Social Security, would be continued or discontinued or slashed.

It's shameful. But Rick Scott's not alone. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina is talking --

CROWD: Boo, boo.

BIDEN: No, he has a proposal, cut social security. And by the way, I might note parenthetically, as president, the first year I was president, I cut the federal deficit by $350 billion, and you know how much I cut it this year? Cut this year by the end of September, I will have cut the federal budget by $1 trillion, 400 billion. Cut the deficit.

So, when they start talking about you being big spenders, let's pour into that. But here's the point, Republicans are talking about privatizing Social Security. Privatizing Social Security.

No, this is not a -- I mean, you know, we used to hear this stuff and think they didn't mean it, but they've written it down. The Senator from Wisconsin, Ron Johnson promised again that if they regain power, they're going to get rid of the Affordable Care Act.

What does that mean? It means that any of you have a preexisting condition will automatically lose insurance. Because insurance companies, are able to right now because of the Affordable Care Act, no one can be denied insurance because they have a preexisting condition. It's the only thing they know. And by the way, we're talking 90

million people with preexisting conditions gone, gone. They tried to do it about 17 times last -- under Trump. We were able to stop them.

But folks, this is a different world. I don't know where they live. No, I'm not joking. That's why elections have consequences, that's why they matter, and that's why what we're doing here is so important.

[15:45:00]

Let me close with this. We made an incredible progress on the economy from where we were a year and a half ago. We got a long way to go because of inflation, because of the -- I call it the Putin tax increase.

Putin, because of gasoline, and all that grain he's keeping it from being able to come to the market. Now I'm fighting like hell to lower costs on things we talk about around the kitchen table.

My dad used to say, at the end of the day when you sit at that table do you have enough money to pay for everything you need. Not a lot over, do you have enough money to pay for everything you need.

Well, Republicans do nothing to obstruct our efforts to lower your gas taxes. I proposed that. I've asked the Congress to eliminate the federal gas tax for the next -- as long as this crisis goes on. Lower food prices, lower health care costs hopefully soon, lower your prescription drug costs.

By the way, you've got a Republican leader in the United States Senate. I was able to work out something with Intel. They're going to provide for over 7,000 jobs in this state out of Columbus --

(APPLAUSE)

-- making computer chips. Well, there's another bill that if we get it passed -- and my guys are working like hell to pass it -- it'll create another hundred million dollars in investments in Ohio. Creating more jobs.

But you know what -- you know what, the Republican leader is saying, if in fact, we pass the law that says Medicare can negotiate drug prices, like they can for the military, if in fact, we pass the plan that says we're going to raise taxes on multimillionaires, so they start paying their fair share.

He's going to block the passage of the legislation that will provide for another $100 billion invested in this state.

Folks, this is not right. This is not right. And that's why this election is going to be so darn important. Key is that we have to remember who built this country. I know I remember.

Tomorrow I'll be awarding the highest honor that can be given to a civilian, the Presidential Medal of Freedom to our dear friend, the late Rich Trumka, who fought so damn hard to protect -- for the protection of these pensions. He once said unions, quote, we do America's work. Unions do America's work.

This Fourth of July let's remember who, who is the backbone of this country. It's you, the American worker. I promised you I would be the most pro-labor, pro-union, pro-worker president in history, and there's another problem I'm going to be keeping as well.

So, let me tell you something. There's no other place I want to be than right here with the workers this this room and the workers that built American.

I see you. I hear you and I'll always have your back, I promise. God bless you, and may God protect our troops. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: All right, you've been listening to President Biden there speaking in Cleveland to a group of union workers.

He got rousing applause when he came in. He was talking about the work of unions, the important work he would say in protecting pensions and how he will protect them. He was also talking about of course the economy and his plans for that.

All right meanwhile, attorneys for Senator Lindsey Graham are spelling out their plan for how to fight these special grand jury subpoenas. So, we have more on that for you next.

[15:50:16]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone will now cooperate with January 6th investigators. Two sources tell CNN that Cipollone will participate in a videotaped interview behind closed doors this Friday. He was subpoenaed last week after that important testimony from former deputy White House chief of staff, Cassidy Hutchinson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CASSIDY HUTCHINSON, FORMER AIDE TO FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF MARK MEADOWS: Mr. Cipollone said something to the effect of, please make sure we don't go up to the Capitol, Cassidy. Keep in touch with me. We're going to get charged with every crime imaginable if we make that movement happen.

HUTCHINSON: And Pat something said something to the effect of, and very clearly, said this to Mark. Something to the effect of, Mark, something needs to be done or people are going to die and the blood's going to be on your f-ing hands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: The committee also just announced the next televised hearing will be this coming Tuesday July 12th.

Joining us now to discuss, is CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen. He worked as special counsel for the House Judiciary Committee in Trump's first impeachment trial and Dave Aronberg, he is the state attorney for Palm Beach County. Gentlemen, great to have both of you here.

OK, so Norm, how big of a deal is it that the January 6 Committee has now gotten Pat Cipollone to agree to this interview?

[15:55:03]

NORM EISEN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It's important, Alisyn. Cassidy Hutchinson was extremely convincing and provided dramatic additional evidence of possible crimes by the former president.

But we need corroboration. So, Cipollone will come in and will provide some of that. Plus, corroboration plus new evidence. So, I think it's a step forward in this very steady march of the committee really laying out a powerful criminal case against the former president.

CAMEROTA: Dave, this interview will not be televised. It will be transcribed. In your experience, is that freeing for the witness? Does it allow more to come out?

DAVE ARONBERG, STATE ATTORNEY, PALM BEACH COUNTY: Yes, I think it's important for him to testify without the glare of the TV cameras because he knows what happens when you act against the MAGA world -- ask Cassidy Hutchinson.

You get discredited. You get harassed. And so here, he's going to be testifying in private, but that testimony could, as Norm said, corroborate Cassidy Hutchinson's very powerful testimony and lead prosecutors closer to charging the former president with things like incitement of a riot or conspiracy to defraud the United States or obstruction of an official proceeding or even possibly seditious conspiracy.

CAMEROTA: And then there's another young woman, norm, Sarah Matthew, who was a deputy press secretary. She quit, right, on January 6th because she was so appalled by what she had seen. So, I believe hers will be public. What will she be able to offer?

EISEN: Undoubtedly additional evidence. She's spoken publicly in support of Cassidy Hutchinson. So, more corroboration.

At this point, Alisyn, it's become clear that there's such disturbing, shocking is not too strong a word, evidence of possible criminal conduct that went on before January 6th and on that day.

And undoubtedly, we'll hear, for example, what drove her to quit so possibly corroboration, but also new details of the conspiracy that's unfolding before our eyes.

CAMEROTA: Dave, let's talk also about the investigation going on in Georgia -- the special grand jury there. They've issued seven subpoenas to people in former President Trump's inner circle.

I'll pull up the graphic that we have of them. Including Senator Lindsey Graham. And Senator Graham's attorney has talked about how they're going to fight this.

The statement today is, Fulton County is engaged in a fishing expedition and working in concert with the January 6th Committee in Washington.

Any information from an interview or deposition with Senator Graham would immediately be shared with the January 6 Committee. Senator Graham has to go to court, challenge the subpoena and expects to prevail.

Will he prevail?

ARONBERG: No, Alisyn, he will not prevail. He can take the Fifth Amendment, right, against self-incrimination, but that'll make him look bad. All these other claims that, well, there's a separation of powers issue, where somehow DA Fani Willis is an agent of the January 6 Committee.

I mean come on, she's a district attorney. She's my counterpart in Fulton County. There's a reason why we call that job district attorney or state attorney. It's because we're not federal prosecutors. And so, the separation of powers argument will fall flat.

I mean, he really doesn't have anything good except for the Fifth Amendment. He can try to use the speech and debate clause but that only applies to the legislative activity.

And when you call a local government official to try to possibly get votes thrown out, there's a political action, not a legislative one. So, it's going to be the Fifth Amendment or nothing from Lindsey.

CAMEROTA: And Norm, what do you think? Because as we remember, Senator Lindsey Graham did make calls to -- on President Trump's behalf to pressure the Secretary of State and then we all remember that President Trump did the same thing. So, do you think that Senator Graham is in trouble?

EISEN: I agree with Dave that Senator Graham does not have a legitimate basis to resist the subpoena here. Although I want to hear his arguments and we'll see.

Alisyn, if you think about the case that DA Fani Willis is pursuing in Atlanta, she has the smoking gun tape of Trump saying just find 11,780 additional votes. We know now from the 1/6 committee,

Trump was involved in the phony electoral certificates. That's down there in Georgia. And Trump's allies were involved. That's how Lindsey Graham comes in. According to Raffensperger, the Secretary of State himself a Republican, he says that Lindsey Graham was trying to get him to throw out mail-in ballots selectively in certain counties.

[16:00:00]

Well, I don't see how a federal Senator from South Carolina calls a Georgia Secretary of State to throw out ballots? How can that be an official act? So, I think, you know, we need to know more and the DA's going after him.

CAMEROTA: OK, ten seconds, Dave. Do you think that Donald Trump will be in trouble?

ARONBERG: He will be in trouble and Cipollone could be a huge witness unlike everyone else. He can't call him the coffee boy. He was his former White House counsel.

CAMEROTA: OK. Ambassador Norm Eisen and Dave Aronberg, thank you both.

And "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.