Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Indiana A.G. Vows To Investigate Doc Who Helped Child Get Abortion; Man Discusses His Experience With Monkeypox As It Spreads Across U.S.; Interview With Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA). Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired July 14, 2022 - 14:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:30:03]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: New information now about an abortion case involving a 10-year-old rape victim who crossed state lines to get an abortion. Indiana's attorney general is now investigating the doctor who helped the girl.

The story quickly caught the public's attention. And some conservatives doubted its credibility, including Ohio's attorney general.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE YOST, (R), OHIO ATTORNEY GENERAL: Not a whisper anywhere. Something maybe even more telling, Jesse, is my office runs the state crime lab.

Any case like this, you're going to have a rape kit. You're going to have biological evidence, and you would be looking for DNA analysis, which we do most of the DNA analysis in Ohio.

There's no case request for analysis that looks anything like this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST; Well, after the suspect was arrested, that attorney general released this statement:

Quote, "My heart aches for the pain suffered by this young child. I'm grateful for the diligent work of the Columbus Police Department in securing a confession and getting a rapist off the street."

BLACKWELL: CNN correspondent, Jean Casarez, is following the case. CNN chief media correspondent, Brian Stelter. is following everything that's happening around this case.

Jean, let me start with you.

We heard from the Ohio A.G. that there was not even a whisper, that clearly there would been an investigation. Clearly there was one. What do we know now? JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is interesting. Let's look at the timeline in relation to what he said.

First of all, the timeline -- and this is based on the felony complaint that has now been released, along with the hearing that was yesterday, the arraignment hearing.

It says that on May 12th is when this rape occurred. That is what the complaint states. Then goes on to say that June 22nd, the police report was generated for the rape of a child.

And then on June 30th, it says that this 10-year-old girl went to Indiana because the law as it stands now in Ohio is six weeks, you can have an abortion. The Ob/Gyn told CNN in Indiana, it was six weeks and three days. So she had to go to Indiana.

Then, we know that, on July 6th, that law enforcement obtained her DNA, so not until July 6th. And then we also know that she, herself, identified Fuentes as the perpetrator.

On July 12th, which was this tuesday, a search warrant was executed to obtain Fuentes' DNA. Fuentes was taken to the police station, and he confessed to raping the victim on at least two occasions, which is a very interesting statement to look at.

CAMEROTA: And, Jean, just out of curiosity, do we know why the Attorney General Yost there wouldn't have known any of that evidence?

CASAREZ: Well, as far as testing, do we know when the testing started? We don't know if a rape kit was done. We don't have a lot of information there.

His DNA was just taken on Tuesday. The statement was made on Monday by the attorney general. So, if we look at the timeline, was there not testing done?

CAMEROTA: But there was no police report. There was a police report, but maybe no DNA yet.

CASAREZ: But there was that. That is correct. That is correct. There was something in the system.

BLACKWELL: And, Brian, conservative media, conservative members of Congress held this up, as Jim Jordan said, potentially a lie. The A.G. There in Ohio said that this likely was fabricated. Any contrition now?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT & CNN HOST, "RELIABLE SOURCES": I'm not seeing any contrition at all. In fact, the attorney general in the state, Yost, he says, tell me why I should be sorry. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YOST: Tell me what you think I got wrong, and then I'll consider whether I should apologize. I'm not aware of anything I was wrong about. I stand by everything I've said.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STELTER: Representative Jim Jordan tweeted out, as you said, "Another lie. Anyone surprised?" He didn't put a question mark. He said the case was a lie.

"There was a claim that the story of this 10-year-old was a hoax."

So unsurprisingly, he has deleted that tweet. He's moved on,

And certainly, right-wing media has moved on. The national media will probably move on.

But this 10-year-old's life will be changed forever. The worst experience of her life will now be following her around, scrawled across the media, criticized and attacked and doubted by national politicians.

But there's been this attempt by conservative politicians and conservative media to downplay and even deny the consequences of these abortion bans.

And I think that is the broader context of this story, an attempt to say, hey, it's a hoax. Now we know it's anything but a hoax. We know there's this 10-year-old girl suffering.

And she's not going to be the only one. There will be other girls in other states facing the same choices and situations. And I worry we're going to go through this terrible cycle again, where there's going to be an attempt to deny reality.

CAMEROTA: We are.

STELTER: We are.

CAMEROTA: Because as the fear was, when Roe v. Wade was overturned, there would be scenarios like this. And it didn't take long for a real scenario like this to pop up.

And the problem is that all of the people who fought against abortion didn't solution for when a scenario like this came up.

[14:35:02]

So are all 10-year-olds going to have to travel to different states and be questioned in the media? I mean, this is -- there's no solution yet.

CASAREZ: I looked up the definition in Ohio, because there's a medical emergency exception, and I looked that up. And it is sort of vague.

But there's a question, well, a 10-year-old child, what is the damage that could be done? Is there a medical issue here? And that is for a pediatrician or others to denote. But it is, in a sense, like a case of first impression, right? That suddenly, you have this extraordinary and tragic situation that has come up but is reality and has to follow a law.

BLACKWELL: And now what about this potential investigation in Indiana into the doctors that helped this 10-year-old girl?

CASAREZ: This is another layer because you've got the legal case, the political issues.

And then you've got this, the attorney general of Indiana is stating that the -- a doctor that performed this abortion, this medical abortion, that you are a mandatory reporter when you're in that position.

And that she has not reported, legally, as she is supposed to, you know, child abuse, child assault, child rape. And that their office, this was uncovered, they're looking into it.

We have reached out to her throughout this day, Dr. Caitlin Bernard, and we have not heard back from her.

But there are always two sides to the story. We want to hear her side.

CAMEROTA: Brian, the -- very quickly, the mark of a real news organization is when you get something wrong, you disclose that to your viewers or readers, and you apologize.

So the fact that other organizations are not doing that, what does that tell us?

STELTER: The national outlets that were suggesting this was a hoax, they were not in the courtroom. There was one local reporter in the courtroom getting the truth about this story.

And it's not just about Ohio. Indiana, the place where this girl had to go to get an abortion, Republicans in that state are about to consider a strong abortion ban in Indiana.

This is a story that is local, but across the country, state by state. And unfortunately, that means there's going to be more cases like this, not hoaxes, real-life cases.

BLACKWELL: Brian, Jean, thank you.

CAMEROTA: Thank you both.

STELTER: Thanks.

CAMEROTA: Demand is quickly outpacing supply for the monkeypox vaccine as cases continue to rise across the country. So we're going to speak with one young man about his experience this month with the virus.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:41:53] CAMEROTA: The demand for the monkeypox vaccine is growing as the number of cases continues to rise.

BLACKWELL: According to the Department of Health and Human Services, the number of doses distributed across the country has more than tripled since last week.

The CDC says there have been more than 1,000 confirmed or probable cases of monkeypox. As of yesterday, 132,000 vaccine doses have been distributed, but still, supply is falling short.

CAMEROTA: One man who just had monkeypox is now sharing his experience on social media.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT FORD, HAD MONKEYPOX: I had a sore throat, cough, fever, chills. Sweeting through my cheeks at night. Just -- (technical problem). When I first noticed the lesions. And so I knew from the get-go that it was probably monkeypox.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Matt Ford.

I want to talk to you about these lesions because you just outlined your symptoms for us, and it sounds horrible, flu-like symptoms, sore throat, full body chills, sweating.

You sent us some pictures of your lesions, and I want to pull them up here. They look, to me, you know, sort of mild, like a mosquito bite or something.

But how many did you have of these, and what did they feel like?

FORD: Yes, so, I counted, in total, 25-plus of them all over my body, arms, legs, sensitive skin, scalp, everywhere.

And they were, at worst, on more sensitive skin, excruciatingly painful, constantly, to the point that I couldn't sleep and had to be prescribed narcotic painkillers and at best, they were still itchy and irritable.

CAMEROTA: That's enlightening, Matt, that you had to have hard-core painkillers because the lesions were so painful. Were they itchy?

FORD: Oh, yes. They were itchy, irritable, and the painkillers I had just kind of just barely cut it for me to even be able to sleep. It didn't even totally wipe out the pain.

CAMEROTA: So, Matt, I understand that, at some point, you got a call from the California Department of Public Health. They contacted you. And then did they issue a court order telling you that you had to isolate and you had to stay inside your House?

FORD: Yes. Yes. So, I had been in touch with the L.A. County Department of Public Health from the day, you know, I got the call that I had been exposed.

I got a test the following Monday, and it didn't come back positive until the Friday after. So it was a full week from the day I found out I was exposed and first had symptoms to when I had a confirmed positive result.

I was isolating in the meantime anyway. But as soon as they had that positive result, yes, I got a court-issued stay-at-home order via email.

L.A. County is the only one I know of that's doing that. But I got it, multiple other people got that. And I just had it formally lifted two days ago when I went to the department and was cleared.

[14:45:02]

CAMEROTA: So, how long did you -- were you alone for? How long did you have to isolate?

FORD: I was in isolation for a little over three weeks, three weeks and three days. It was a long time.

CAMEROTA: Matt, that's a long time. That's longer than COVID. So, how has this whole process been for you?

FORD: You know, I'm very fortunate and grateful that I had a good support system, so I had a lot of people checking in on me. The department had a nurse checking on me daily.

I had a lot of well wishes, which was a surprising positive reaction to speaking out on social media.

But it was tough. About two weeks in, I was starting to go a little bit stir crazy. And like you said, it's a longer isolation time than COVID, and that really does a number on someone.

So, it was hard. I'm glad to be done with it.

CAMEROTA: The experts that we've spoken to say that gay men are more at risk. Are you hearing about anyone in a larger community or friends that have also had it?

FORD: Yes. Absolutely. Especially since coming forward publicly on social media, I have had countless D.M.s from friends, acquaintances, total strangers, all different cities and countries, messaging me, saying that they have it, sending pictures, a lot of people think they've been exposed, trying to get tests.

It seems like it's been kind of a mess from soup to nuts in terms of getting vaccines, getting tested, trying to get treatment, an antiviral to treat it if you do come down with monkeypox, so it's been really frustrating.

CAMEROTA: And I know that it's your impression because of all of that response that the numbers are actually higher than the official numbers that experts are dealing with. FORD: Absolutely. Yes, I've seen it in an NPR article. My doctor told

me as much. I heard it from another doctor today in a teleconference.

And the CDC itself has said it, I believe, that the actual number of cases are way higher than what's currently being reported, due to lags in testing, and, you know, a lot of systemic issues with the American health care system.

CAMEROTA: So, Matt, how are you feeling now?

FORD: I am very glad to report that I am basically back to normal. I still have a little redness from where the lesions were, but there's smooth skin.

I'm no longer considered contagious. The isolation order has been lifted. So I'm glad to just be living my life again but still being very outspoken about this because it's obviously a very much ongoing outbreak.

CAMEROTA: I appreciate you being outspoken and sharing it with us.

What's your message to everybody?

FORD: My message is, if you can, get vaccinated -- obviously, that's tough with short supply -- but more are on the way so as soon as you can, get vaccinated.

And please try to keep in mind and remember that there's no place for shame or stigma in this. We learned from medical crises before that those don't help at all.

CAMEROTA: Matt Ford, thank you very much for your candor. Really appreciate you sharing your experience with us.

FORD: Thank you for having me.

BLACKWELL: First on CNN, new information about a phone call made by former President Donald Trump. Which January 6th witnesses did he attempt to get in contact with? We've got details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:52:18]

BLACKWELL: Steve Bannon will head to court after a judge rejected his attempt to delay his trial. He is a close ally of former President Trump.

He argued the ongoing January 6th committee hearing, along with the new CNN film will sway the jury. Bannon is accused of failing to testify and turnover documents to the committee.

Meantime, we are learning about the identity of a January 6th witness who claims they received a phone call from former President Trump.

Two witnesses tell CNN the witness is a former support staffer and in a position to corroborate some of Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony.

Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell is here to discuss.

Congressman, welcome back.

We have heard from Chairman Thompson of the 1/6 committee, who said this was highly unusual, alerted DOJ.

What's your view of what we're learning about this call?

REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA): It shows a very, very deep consciousness of guilt on Donald Trump's behalf. That's what guilty people do. They reach out to witnesses against them.

It sounds like this person is not even in his inner circle or would have any reason to be in regular contact with the former president.

Look, there has been a mountain of evidence that has been presented by the January 6th committee as it relates to Donald Trump's guilt.

All of the arrows point to Donald Trump. They have completely dismantled any innocent explanation he could have as to why he assembled the mob at the capitol.

BLACKWELL: Let's stay with the 2020 election. Senator Lindsey Graham has now filed this motion to quash a subpoena, to appear before a special grand jury in Georgia, part of this criminal investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The secretary of state there, Brad Raffensperger, said it was his understanding that Graham implied to look hard and see how many ballots you could throw out.

Why do you think he wants to kill the subpoena? What do you think?

SWALWELL: It looks like what we knew going into this investigation was that Lindsey Graham and Donald Trump and the MAGA Republican crowd are anti-majority.

They don't want to majority to actually mean something. They were looking to throw out votes that showed the majority of voters in Georgia went for Joe Biden.

Again, I'll go back to a consciousness of guilt. In the criminal investigation, if you are asked to cooperate and you don't believe you did anything wrong, it seems like you would crawl through glass and walk through fire to show you are innocent.

BLACKWELL: Let me switch topics here. We just had this conversation with Brian Stelter and Jean Casarez about the 10-year-old in Ohio who had to travel to Indiana for an abortion because she was six weeks and three days into the pregnancy.

You had this bizarre exchange with Catherine Glenn Foster today, president of Americans United for Live, in this hearing before the Judiciary hearing in the House. [14:55:11]

I'm going to play the exchange and then get your thoughts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SWALWELL: Would a 10-year-old choose to carry a baby?

CATHERINE GLENN FOSTER, PRESIDENT, AMERICANS UNITED FOR LIFE: I cannot --

(CROSSTALK)

SWALWELL: Do you think a 10-year-old should choose to carry a baby?

GLENN FOSTER: I believe it would probably impact her life. So, therefore, it would fall under any exception and would not be an abortion.

SWALWELL: Wait. It would not be an abortion if a 10-year-old, with her parents, made the decision to not have a baby that was the result of a rape?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Jean Casarez just talked about some medical exemptions in Ohio. But what was your reaction to what you heard there from Ms. Foster?

SWALWELL: It was completely shocking. And it shows that they don't want the public to know what their long really does, which is it requires a government-mandated pregnancy for little girls.

It's not just a war on women that we're seeing. It is a war on little girls.

No 10-year-old -- I have three young kids myself. I cannot imagine a 10-year-old, who is in the fourth grade, having to be forced to deliver a baby.

Now, we are seeing the Indiana attorney general suggesting they're going to go after the doctor who performed that procedure.

That is not in line with what most Americans believe. A woman should have the right to make her own health care decisions. And a family, when a child is raped, to make sure that 10-year-old does not have a pregnancy forced upon her.

BLACKWELL: One more shift here. I want to talk about electoral politics.

President Biden, at this news conference in Jerusalem, swatted off the question about the poll that found that 64 percent of Democrats think the party should nominate somebody else in 2024. The president says he intends to run.

I want to remind people about what you said during a debate in 2019 about then-candidate Joe Biden. Let's play that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SWALWELL: I was six years old when the presidential candidate came to the convention and said, it is time to pass the torch to a new generation of Americans. That candidate was then-Senator Joe Biden.

Joe Biden was right when he said it was time to pass the torch to a new a generation of Americans 32 years ago.

((CHEERING)

SWALWELL: He is still right today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Do you still believe that?

SWALWELL: The voters didn't believe that and that is what is most important.

And I think they got it right. Because that was before the pandemic. Having a seasoned hand take us from the freefall America was in during the pandemic to where Joe Biden took us was the right call.

Look, I am in Congress. I love my job here. And I'm trying to bring to leadership here.

I think, Joe Biden, who I'm going to be supported in 2024, dealing with inflation --

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: In the primary?

SWALWELL: Excuse me?

BLACKWELL: In the primary, you'll support him?

SWALWELL: Yes. And in the general election, of course.

(CROSSTALK)

SWALWELL: -- Russian aggression. Certainly trying to bring this democracy that was fractured by January 6th together. He has a lot on his plate. He's up for the job. That's why am fully behind him.

BLACKWELL: Congressman Eric Swalwell, thank you.

SWALWELL: Yes. Thanks, Victor.

CAMEROTA: All right, well, at least 23 people, including three children, are dead after a Russian missile strike in the Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia. We are going to take you there live for the latest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)