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Liz Cheney Loses Her Seat in Wyoming Republican Primary; Former Trump Lawyers Questioned by FBI Over Documents; New COVID Boosters to be Out Next Month in the U.S. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired August 17, 2022 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:33]

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Christina MacFarlane in for Max Foster here in London. Just ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: USA! USA! USA!

HARRIET HAGEMAN, WYOMING REPUBLICAN NOMINEE FOR U.S. HOUSE: Wyoming has spoken, and we have made it clear. That we are taking our country back.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: The people of Wyoming are going to tell her, Liz, you are fired. Get out of here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want Wyoming to be protected. And I don't feel that Liz is doing that job.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She stood up for what she believes in.

REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): This primary election is over. But now the real work begins.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Hello, and welcome. It's Wednesday, August 17th. 9:00 a.m. here in London, 4:00 a.m. in Washington, 2:00 a.m. in Wyoming where voters have spoken handing former U.S. president Donald Trump and his supporters perhaps their biggest primary victory yet just a few months ahead of the midterm elections. Trump's most forceful congressional critic Liz Cheney has lost her House seat.

Cheney conceded to her Trump-backed rival Harriet Hageman but defiantly issued a rallying call to all Americans who care about protecting democracy. Cheney is vowing to do everything she can to keep the former U.S. president out of the White House and stir the Republican Party away from his lies and influence.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny was there for her concession speech, and has this report from Jackson, Wyoming.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Congresswoman Liz Cheney in Wyoming concedes defeat in her congressional primary race but is looking ahead. Now the real work begins. In a sweeping speech outside of Jackson, Wyoming, on Tuesday night, the congresswoman talked about the threats to democracy. She talked directly about former president Donald Trump, saying she could've won reelection had she followed the path of election lies. She said she was simply not willing to do that.

CHENEY: Two years ago, I won this primary with 73 percent of the vote. I could easily have done the same again. The path was clear, but it would have required that I go along with President Trump's lie about the 2020 election. It would have required that I enable his ongoing efforts to unravel our democratic system and attack the foundations of our republic. That was a path I could not and would not take.

ZELENY: The speech from Cheney was infused with history. She is a student of history, a historian in her own right, talking about the young and fragile democracy that the United States indeed has. She talked about the need to bring Americans together, Republicans, Democrats, independents. She urged them to join her. What she did not say is join her for what exactly. She tiptoed to the line, clearly making the case she's going to be involved in the fight ahead for democracy but didn't say in what form that would take.

She did not talk about a presidential run of her own, as many supporters at her event certainly would like her to do. But she did talk about the urgency facing the country and the imperative nature of Republicans and Democrats and independents to come together against Donald Trump. She said her greatest goal is still keeping him from the Oval Office.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Jackson, Wyoming.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Well, Wyoming has won congressional seat, just one, and the Cheney name is strong in that state. Liz Cheney's father is the former Republican vice president, Dick Cheney. And her loss is a telling sign of Trump's influence over voters and the Republican Party. Wyoming's winner, Harriet Hagerman, knows it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAGEMAN: What Wyoming has shown today is that while it may not be easy, we can dislodge entrenched politicians who believe that they've risen above the people they are supposed to represent and serve. We want a Congress that actually legislates, not one that delegates it's law-making authority to administrative agencies in violation of the very foundation of our constitutional structure.

[04:05:04]

Obviously we're all very grateful to President Trump who recognizes that Wyoming has only one congressional representative, and we have to make it count. His clear and unwavering support from the very beginning propelled us to victory tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well, Donald Trump is also very pleased with the results, which he called wonderful for America. He posted on his Truth Social Web site that Cheney's loss is far bigger than had been anticipated and that she has should be ashamed of herself. Trump went on to say that this should be seen as a rebuke of the January 6th Committee, which he referred to as political hacks and thugs.

And now to Alaska and results from several key races there. Alaska's primaries are unique in that the top four finishers regardless of party advance in the general election. In the Senate race, incumbent Republican and Trump critic Lisa Murkowski will be on the ballot in November. So will her Republican rival Kelly Tshibaka who's endorsed by former president Donald Trump. And Democrat Patricia Chesbro will also advance there.

And former Republican vice president nominee Sarah Palin is one of the candidates who made the cut in the race for Alaska's at large House seat. Her fellow Republican Nick Begich and Democratic Mary Peltola join her on the November ballot. A fourth spot is too early to call for both races.

And the House candidates also took part in a special election to fill the remainder of the late congressman's term. But none of them received 50 percent of the vote, so it will be a while before the winner is determined. Alaska is using a ranked choice voting system that will start the tabulation on August 31st.

Well, Thomas Gift is the director of the Center on U.S. Politics at the University College London and he joins us now from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Thomas, great to have you with us.

THOMAS GIFT, DIRECTOR, CENTER ON U.S. POLITICS, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: Thanks. Good morning.

MACFARLANE: So let's just start, shall we, on what this is all going to mean for Liz Cheney herself. She said again, in her concession speech, that she will continue to focus on denying Donald Trump a second term in office. But having lost her seat now, what political power does she have to continue with that fight and where do you expect her to refocus her political goals?

GIFT: Well, it is a big question mark at this point, and I think what we can say is where I don't think that she will go, and that's in the role of a presidential contender. You know, a lot of her supporters certainly want her to jump into that race, but, you know, I would say that within today's Republican Party, where its political center of gravity is right now it's hard to think of a candidate who would be in much worse position to win the nomination where the primary voting bloc is so thoroughly Trumpified.

I mean, it's certainly true that Cheney has a very strong conservative record but this just isn't the same party that nominated George Bush or John McCain or Mitt Romney. You know, winning over a small number of moderate voters isn't enough to succeed in the GOP primaries. And even if Cheney did somehow manage to get the Republican nomination, I think that her crossover appeal would be very limited.

So, you know, if I had to guess I would imagine that she would be involved in some super PACs, maybe a think tank, trying to get involved in the grassroots, supporting candidates that are against Donald Trump. But it's very unclear. She left that kind of a question mark.

MACFARLANE: I mean this result was fully expected, you know, to go this way. But it was a big loss for Liz Cheney. I mean, Donald Trump and his allies have basically spent the large part of the summer turning Republican primaries across the country. So what does this result, you know, speak to in terms of how consequential this is for Donald Trump but also for the wider Republican Party? What does it say about the state of the party?

GIFT: Well, Christiana, Cheney's loss certainly fits into a broader pattern, for sure. And we've seen a litany of far-right Trump-backed candidates win GOP primaries today. In Pennsylvania, where I am, for example, Doug Mastriano who's peddled conspiracy theories and was on the Capitol grounds on January 6th is the Republican nominee for governor. We've seen election deniers win nominations up and down the ballot in various states.

It's really a sobering thought when you think about what these trends represent. I think there is some skepticism about whether these ultra MAGA candidates can actually be viable in general elections. And we have seen actually some liberal PACs even work to get Trump-endorsed candidates the nominations, anticipating that they'd be easier to beat in a general election. To me, though, I think that's really playing with fire.

Over and over we've seen a repudiation of establishment politicians. I don't think that impulse is fading. And given Trump's resurging base, particularly in the wake of the Mar-a-Lago search, I think the possibility of those Republican candidates gaining momentum is even stronger now.

[04:10:04]

MACFARLANE: Yes, absolutely. As we look ahead, Tom, to the other primaries underway in Alaska, we know that Lisa Murkowski has advanced now, as has Sarah Palin. Interesting really that Palin was almost the precursor to Trump, you know, heading into this. So how do you see both of those races playing out, especially when Murkowski, when you consider she was in many ways quite similar to Liz Cheney in terms of her background?

GIFT: You're absolutely right. You know, Lisa Murkowski, I think in Alaska maybe has a little bit better of a chance simply because there's more of an independent streak there than what we see, for example, in Wyoming. Sarah Palin, I think she's a real wild card. You know, she certainly had a lot of support in Alaska. I think one of the critiques of her of late is that she's been spending a lot of her time out of the state.

You know, she's become also a kind of reality TV star. Obviously that worked well for Donald Trump. But it's unclear if she can duplicate that success. So it will be interesting to see for sure, some very different candidates, and given this unique electoral setup with ranked choice balloting. You've got some candidates going on to further stage that are quite different, quite diverse.

I think a lot of it will depend, ultimately, on kind of who eats each other's votes. You know, if you have two Republicans versus the Democrat, and so on. So we'll have to see.

MACFARLANE: Yes, still a couple of months ago until we know the results of that.

Thomas Gift, thank you very much for giving us your perspective this morning. Appreciate it.

GIFT: Thank you.

MACFARLANE: Well, while Donald Trump scored a big win with Liz Cheney's defeat in Wyoming, he's still under intense legal pressure. We've learned two of Trump's most senior former aides were questioned in what's now a criminal investigation into his handling of classified documents.

CNN's Jessica Schneider has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: There are new revelations that former President Trump's two top White House lawyers interviewed with the FBI about classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. White House counsel Pat Cipollone and his deputy, Pat Philbin, were Trump's designated representatives to the National Archives when Trump left office.

So they could have shared details with the FBI maybe about what was taken to Mar-a-Lago, whether Trump insisted that documents remain with him, and why exactly 11 sets of classified documents remained at Mar- a-Lago until last Monday when FDA agents searched Trump's Palm Beach home.

Now those details are coming out just as the court fight for more information about the search is looming. A federal judge announcing that he will hold a hearing on Thursday afternoon on whether to publicly release the affidavit. That's what provided the basis for last Mondays search. Now the Justice Department is seeking to keep it completely secret. They say that any release would reveal what they're calling highly sensitive information about witnesses, plus specific investigative techniques.

So the DOJ is asking a judge to keep it under wraps because they say if it's released it would provide too much of a roadmap to the government's ongoing investigation. So the arguments are coming from all sides. The Justice Department, Trump's team that needs to file a response on Wednesday, and also media outlets who want this affidavit released including CNN. All of these arguments will play out in court, in federal court in Florida on Thursday afternoon.

Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACFARLANE: Well, Team Trump's legal troubles don't end with the search of Mar-a-Lago. Donald Trump's former attorney Rudy Giuliani is expected to appear before a special grand jury later today in Atlanta. Prosecutors informed Giuliani on Monday he is now a target of their wide ranging investigation. They are examining whether Team Trump violated the law in their efforts to flip the 2020 election results in Georgia after Trump lost to Joe Biden.

Meanwhile, a judge is ordering former Trump attorney, Jenna Ellis, to also appear before the grand jury in Georgia. Fulton County investigators believe Ellis helped Donald Trump and his associates pushed claims of election fraud in the state. The court date is still being worked out.

Now to another twist in Georgia's election probe, according to a new court filing, even Trump supporters involved in the so-called fake electors scheme want the Fulton County district attorney disqualified from the 2020 election investigation. A judge overseeing the special grand jury recently blocked Fani Willis from investigating Georgia state senator Burt Jones who also served as the so-called fake elector. The judge's decision came after it revealed Willis held a fundraiser for Jones' political opponent a conflict of interest of course.

Now just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, a major legislative victory just before the midterms. How the White House and Democrats are celebrating the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act.

[04:15:02]

And hackers and election officials gathered in Las Vegas to put voting machines to the test ahead of November's midterm elections. We'll have details on that just ahead.

And sweltering temperatures for parts of the U.S. today. Our meteorologist Pedram Javaheri will have the details -- Pedram.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Another week, another heatwave, this time across the western U.S. and as far north as the Pacific northwest. We'll break down the excessive heat here in spots as warm as 110. Details in a few minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: A look at European markets after U.K. inflation just hit a new 40-year high. The rate of inflation rose to just over 10 percent year on year in July. Up from 9.4 percent in June. Energy, fuel, and food prices have been rising over the last 12 months. Electricity prices have risen in the U.K. by 54 percent. And gas prices are up 95.7 percent. Fuel costs like petrol have increased to 43.7 percent and fuel prices have risen nearly 13 percent.

A quick look now at the U.S. futures as all three look to extend its recent rally.

[04:20:01]

You can see there the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 all currently down. Well, on Tuesday surprisingly good earnings from Walmart and Home Depot drove the Dow and the S&P higher. Only the Nasdaq's are a slight loss.

Now the White House and Democrats are celebrating a major legislative victory. President Joe Biden signed the $750 billion Inflation Reduction Act into law Tuesday. A sweeping climate, healthcare and tax package. It comes just as Democrats are gearing up for tough battle in the November midterms. Mr. Biden is calling it one of the most significant pieces of legislation in U.S. history.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Too often we confuse noise with substance. Too often we confuse setbacks with defeat. Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the critics in the Senate who delight in declaring failure. All those committed to making real progress through the hard work of governing. Making progress in this country is as big and complicated as ours clearly is not easy. It's never been easy. But with unwavering conviction, commitment, and patients, progress does come.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well, the Biden administration also moved to cancel almost $4 billion in student loan debt for those who attended the now defuncted ITT Technical Institute. The move impacts more than 200,000 students. The school shut down after the government pulled the plug on its federal funding over issues with its accreditation standards.

Now U.S. First Lady Jill Biden has COVID. It's the first time she's tested positive for the virus. She was last seen by reporters in South Carolina on Sunday while on vacation with the president. Her communications director says the first lady is feeling good and has mild symptoms. According to the White House, she's double vaccinated and double boosted, and is taking the antiviral drug Paxlovid. She'll isolate in South Carolina until she has two consecutive negative COVID tests.

Well, updated COVID-19 booster shots that specifically target the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 could be available as soon as next month in the United States.

CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard has more on this. And Jacqueline, what more can you tell us?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH CORRESPONDENT: Christina, the latest from the White House is that updated COVID-19 booster shots could be available by early to mid-September. And that's according to the White House COVID-19 Response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha. He spoke about this in an event with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ASHISH JHA, WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE COORDINATOR: So the good news here is about two months ago, FDA authorized the building of new vaccines which should be arriving in the next few weeks. These are bivalent vaccines. They have part of the original strain. But they have a part of BA.5, the virus that's out there right now.

The big picture bottom line is these are substantial upgrades in our vaccines in terms of their ability to prevent infection, to prevent transmission, certainly to prevent serious illnesses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD: And we heard him say that as we see the Omicron subvariant BA.5 dominating here in the U.S., having an updated vaccine will be important to maintain protection against COVID-19. Right now, Omicron subvariant BA.5 causes about 88.8 percent of all COVID-19 cases in the U.S. Dr. Jha also said that upgraded vaccines will be especially important this year in terms of reducing the strain on health care systems during the upcoming flu season.

The U.S. has seen little to no flu transition for the past couple of years, largely thanks to COVID protection measures like masking. But overall, Christina, according to the White House, we should hear more in the coming weeks about having a vaccine that specifically targets the subvariant. It's expected that the updated vaccine will be for every adult, but of course that is all contingent on the update authorizing the vaccine and the CDC signing off on it as well -- Christina.

MACFARLANE: Thanks, Jacqueline.

Well, people in the U.S. will be able to buy hearing aids directly from the store without requestion a custom fitting from an audiologist. The rule change by the FDA will make devices more widely available across the United States and drive down costs. Now that's important because Medicare does not pay for hearing aids and neither do most private insurance companies.

Over-the-counter hearing aids could be available as early as October. The FDA estimates an individual could save as much as $2800 for a pair.

Now California is urging residents to conserve electricity today between the hours of 4:00 and 9:00 p.m. due to high temperatures. Officials recommend avoid using appliances during that time and turning off all unnecessary lights. The National Weather Service issued several heat advisories across the western U.S. as temperatures are expected to peak in different areas throughout the weekend.

[04:25:09]

CNN meteorologist Pedram Javaheri has more on this -- Pedram.

JAVAHERI: Good morning, Christina. Yes, the western United States, really up and down the coast here, dealing with excessive heat conditions, Oregon, Washington, parts of Idaho, into areas of Central California. Even into Southern California. Heat alerts for some spots to reach as much as 110 degrees into the afternoon hours. Notice Sacramento, state capital here, taps into the 102, 104 range in the next several days. And then maybe some relief there. But notice, it wants to warm back up again towards the latter portion of the week.

The trend though, especially farther in hand, notice what happens here. Salt Lake City, 97, 98, down to 82. Phoenix 104, 101, down to 92. The reason I note this is that a very wet weather moving across the western U.S. on the next several days will bring relief across that region. Seattle, even they're dealing with another round of excessive heat up to 90 the next several days. And then note dropping back down for a few days and kind of settling down around the middle 80s.

The eastern U.S. all about the wet weather in the past 24 or so hours, and still plenty of cloud cover. Scattered showers and storms in this region keeps the temperatures at bay as well. Have to have rainfall totals as much as five inches across parts of Kansas. And notice again unsettled conditions mainly around the southern and central U.S. where we expect temps to be the coolest we've seen in weeks across this region. So lots of people are going to be talking about the nice change here.

Dallas, one or two down to 85. OKC to the 80s. Rebounding back into the 90s eventually, but we know how hot it's been here in recent weeks so finally some relief here with the added cloud cover over the next several days -- Christina.

MACFARLANE: Some good news, Pedram. Thank you.

Well, still ahead, Liz Cheney may be losing her seat in Congress, but she is promising to keep up her fight against Donald Trump and his election lies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHENEY: No office in this land is more important than the principles that we are all sworn to protect. And I well understood the potential political consequences of abiding by my duty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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