Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Pace of Hiring Slows; Travel Outlook; Awaiting Ruling in Mar-a- Lago Case. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired September 02, 2022 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: She was expected to leave after a year on the job, but stayed on to help get that historic climate deal across the finish line. She will be replaced by her deputy.

We have the first Atlantic hurricane of the season. Danielle was upgraded to hurricane status today with sustained winds of 75 miles an hour. Danielle expected to head for the Northeast early next week.

Thanks for your time today on INSIDE POLITICS. Hope you have a peaceful weekend. We will see you Monday.

Ana Cabrera picks up our coverage right now.

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Hello, and happy Friday. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. Thanks so much for being here.

At any time, we could learn whether a federal judge will grant Donald Trump's request for a special master. That's a third-party attorney who would independently review the stash of documents that federal agencies from Mar-a-Lago.

Now, the Justice Department says that review isn't warranted and would bog down its criminal investigation.

While we await that ruling, this same judge has just unsealed a more detailed inventory of items taken from that search. And it reveals the sheer scale of government documents found in that former president's personal home more than a year-and-a-half after he left office.

And among what was seized, we know more than 100 documents had classified markings, along with more than 11,000 government documents and photographs without the markings intermingled with gifts and clothing, among other things. And keep in mind this was after Trump's attorney signed a statement saying everything had to be turned over and was.

CNN's Kara Scannell is joining us now.

Kara, walk us through what we have learned. What -- fill us in on the details.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ana, I mean, I think the big takeaway here is just how commingled so many of these documents were. It goes through 33 boxes, containers that they describe, some of them from the former president's own personal office at Mar-a-Lago, and some from the storage room. And you remember there was a distinction there, because the storage room was where the FBI was initially told these records were. And then, when they executed that search warrant three weeks ago, they found that there was more material in the former president's office.

So, I mean, if you -- if you just even look at one of these boxes -- this was from a storage room -- it said that there were magazine articles, 32 classified documents, three articles of clothing and gifts and a book, right? So that just shows that these classified documents are not being kept in a secure filing system in a secure way, as they would be, as they're expected to be and supposed to be.

Another interesting thing is that -- the volume here. You talked about how there are 11,000 non-classified, government documents. They had initially given the National Archives 15 boxes of documents, and then signed that letter after they got that subpoena saying they had provided everything else.

So now we're finding 11,000 more non-classified documents, plus the additional classified documents that we have been talking about all week.

CABRERA: All of which should have been turned over to the National Archives, because they're not the president's or former president's records. They're the U.S. government's record.

SCANNELL: Exactly.

And that's the point that the Justice Department has been hammering home in court. I mean, also, within all this, they said that there were 90 empty folders, and some of these folders had classified marking. Some said, return to staff secretary/military.

We don't really know much about these folders, why they're empty, if they were always empty, if perhaps documents were removed from them. It's just very unclear from this. But, again, it raises questions about, why were these -- return to the staff secretary, the military, that is certainly an indication that someone's not supposed to take them and keep them.

So it's really just fills in a lot more detail about the breadth of the records that were here and how they were handled. And in this filing, the Department of Justice, they also had to provide an update on their investigative status report. And the judge unsealed that as well.

And they said that all evidence pertaining to these seized records, including the nature and manner in which they were stored, will inform this ongoing criminal investigation. So the handling of this is also something that DOJ is signaling that they're looking at.

CABRERA: And, again, we should mention that the DOJ was not opposed to the judge unsealing the inventory list here. And I think when this came out, we were all anxiously kind of champing at the bit to see her ruling, thinking maybe that was coming next.

It hasn't come just yet. And her ruling would be specifically on whether there should be a special master assigned to this case. Any clues, based on what she said yesterday in court, what she's inclined to do?

SCANNELL: Well, it's interesting because she had asked the Trump team, what would the special master do? You know, the DOJ team has already reviewed this. It has been three weeks since they have had it.

But she did say she didn't think it was settled law over whether a former president could assert executive privilege or claim it once he's left office. So that seemed like she was giving an indication there. She said to the government more than once, what's the harm in having one?

So, certainly signaling that she's still open to the idea. She hasn't made her ruling yet, but she said it will come in due course.

CABRERA: OK, we will be watching for it. And I know you're going to keep on digging and watching and will alert us as soon as anything develops. Thank you, Kara Scannell.

[13:05:00]

Let's get to in your conversation now with former Watergate prosecutor Nick Akerman.

Thank you, Nick, for joining us on this Friday.

We have this new detailed list of inventory. What stands out to you?

NICK AKERMAN, FORMER ASSISTANT SPECIAL WATERGATE PROSECUTOR: Well, I think what really stands out to me is that there are 35 folders, empty folders, that have banners on them that say classified documents that were in Trump's office.

I mean, these -- you have to ask yourself, did the government really get everything? Are there other documents out there somewhere that we just don't know about?

I mean, I think that is probably the biggest concern at this point. Of all those empty folders that had classified markings on him, most all of them were in Donald Trump's office at Mar-a-Lago.

CABRERA: Yes, we know 27 documents marked classified were taken from his office alone and, again, more than 100 total documents in all of the materials recovered had the classified markings.

Beyond that, there were 11,000 documents and photographs also, in addition to those classified documents, found at Mar-a-Lago. How does the sheer volume of documents recovered impact the case?

AKERMAN: Well, I think it's huge. I mean, it just shows that he took whatever he could take. And the question is, what are those documents? Why did he take them?

What was he going to do with them? I mean, we can't really answer that question unless we're able to see what those documents are. That's the problem.

But, yes, the sheer volume here is staggering. And certainly with respect to the classified information, it's not like he could ever claim there was a mistake, he took something accidentally. I mean, there are a lot of documents, and he very purposely put a number of those classified documents in his office.

And I think nearly a quarter of the classified documents were seized in his office.

CABRERA: Yes, yes, and a lot of these documents intermingled with other things, newspaper clippings, magazines, gifts, books, clothing items.

AKERMAN: Right.

CABRERA: Let's talk about the special master as we await that ruling.

During the hearing, the judge pushed prosecutors on their argument that a special master wasn't necessary. And, as Kara said, the judge asked a couple of times at least, what's the harm? Fair question?

AKERMAN: Fair question.

I mean, look, here's her inclination. I think she'd liked to appoint a special master here. I mean, I think even as the judge who handled the search warrant, they are kind of leaning towards more transparency, more openness, in terms of having an independent person be able to put a rubber stamp on what's going on here.

But the problem the judge is wrestling with is that, under the law, there really is not a good reason in this case to appoint a special master. I mean, it just is not like the typical lawyer case, like the Cohen and the Giuliani cases, where you had private lawyers who have lots of clients, and there's attorney-client privileged information among a lot of clients.

Here, there really isn't very much. I think they came up with 60 documents with the team that was going through this initially. That's not many documents. And even then, it's not clear that all those documents are even privileged.

So, basically, under the law, there really isn't a need for a special master here. But a lot of things have happened in this case that are different than other cases, mainly because this is the first president who has ever had a search warrant executed on them.

And...

CABRERA: You mentioned...

AKERMAN: Go ahead. Sorry. CABRERA: You mentioned the filter team. Real quick, I just want to get some clarification for our viewers, because some of us aren't familiar with what that filter team is and how they operate.

AKERMAN: Right.

CABRERA: They're not actually a part of the team of investigators working on the case itself, right? Would you consider them an independent party already looking at these documents?

AKERMAN: Of course. I mean, they are. They're set up that way purposely.

The idea is that you get an independent group of people that will have nothing to do with the investigation itself to keep it completely separate, to go through and try and identify attorney-client- privileged documents. That's essentially what a special master does.

I mean, there are very few cases,other than cases with lawyers, in seizures in lawyers' offices, that involve a special master, other than with lawyers.

And I think what's also important here is, Donald Trump never put in an affidavit claiming any attorney-client privilege on documents that were seized.

CABRERA: Former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton said this on Wednesday after the DOJ revealed more of its discoveries. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BOLTON, FORMER U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Given that it's Donald Trump we're talking about, I'm not surprised in the slightest. And I wouldn't be surprised if there were more highly classified documents at Bedminster or some other residents of his.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:10:07]

CABRERA: I was like "whoa" when I heard that.

Do you think we will see a search of other Trump properties?

AKERMAN: I don't know. I think it all depends on what the FBI learns.

But, certainly, with all those empty folders, it certainly does raise the question that there may be other documents in other locations. We just don't know. Pure speculation at this point.

CABRERA: Sure.

Nick Akerman, thank you so much for offering your expertise and insights. Good to have you here.

AKERMAN: Thank you. CABRERA: Let's turn now to the hate out West, triple-digit

temperatures gripping millions of people, and there's no relief coming over this holiday weekend.

In Arizona, the largest county has already logged 111 heat-associated deaths this season, compared to just 81 at this time last year.

And, in California, residents are now being told to curb their electricity for the third day in a row. So people are sweltering. This is dangerous heat.

Natasha Chen is joining us in Los Angeles.

Natasha, heat alerts for millions of people in Western states, what's in store for them in the coming days?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ana, there are going to be some really difficult situations here, not only with conserving energy during those peak times, but also fire dangers.

As far as that flex alert that you're talking about, Californians are being asked to voluntarily conserve energy between the hours of 4:00 and 9:00 p.m. So, during those hours, today, I'm going to be turning my thermostat up a bit. And that's to try not to stress out the electric grid, as everyone's depending on that air conditioning.

And people who own electric cars are also being asked not to charge them during those hours. You mentioned the triple-digit temperatures throughout the region, really seven states; 45 million people are affected by this. They're expecting 15 to 20 degree temperatures above normal in most places, a lot of places breaking daily records, some places even breaking monthly records.

And that includes 20 of the most populous cities in the West, including coastal San Francisco that typically escapes some of the worst heat here. Now, we are in North Hollywood Park. It's usually very busy here. But you can see it's pretty empty at the moment, people trying to avoid running in the middle of the day.

Another caution for people to try and avoid heatstroke as they're out, caution people not to actually get in the water and swim at two beaches nearby because of the bacteria levels that are higher than the health standards would allow.

And then we are also really tracking the fire conditions, because the Route Fire has been very explosive. And we have been warned that that could be a wake up call for what to expect in the coming days, Ana.

CABRERA: Yes, it's not just hot. It's super, super dry all across the West. In fact, Las Vegas is now limiting pool size because of the drought conditions as well.

Natasha Chen, thank you for your reporting.

This is not what a recession looks like, American jobs making another strong showing in August, but the numbers are softer than the month before, so what that means for the bigger picture.

Plus, we are following a slew of new January 6 headlines, including Trump White House lawyers appearing today before a federal grand jury, and former President Trump dangling pardons for January 6 rioters.

And the wildest story of the day, the vice president of Argentina nearly assassinated at point-blank range, but the gun loaded with five bullets did not go off.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:17:54]

CABRERA: Labor Day weekend is here, capping off a summer filled with some travel frustrations and some relief for drivers.

Gas prices have been sliding all summer. In fact, according to GasBuddy, which helps point drivers to the cheapest gas stations across the country, Americans have now enjoyed 11 straight weeks of falling prices.

Today's national average, $3.81, a gallon that is the lowest since March 3, and is 20 percent less than the Fourth of July, the last big travel weekend. For air travelers, the summer travel season has been marred by a spike in delays and cancellations. And, this holiday weekend, some 12 million Americans are expected to fly.

So let's check in with CNN's Pete Muntean now. He is at Reagan National Airport.

Pete, what is the travel outlook for the next few days?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ana, the big question now is whether or not airlines can keep it together after this really bad summer for flight cancellations.

According to FlightAware, more than 45,000 flights have been canceled since June 1. We saw about 800 flights canceled on Tuesday alone. That was mostly because of bad weather. Today, so far, so good. We have seen about 1,700 or 1,800 delays at last check, according to FlightAware, about 120 flights canceled so far today.

The good news here is that there are new tools just in time for this holiday weekend rush. The Department of Transportation has rolled out this new dashboard essentially breaking down airline by airline what you are owed in the case of a cancellation or delay. There's a lot of pressure on airlines from the federal government to step up their game.

I want you to listen now to the Department of Transportation, which says, in many cases, airlines completely rewrote the fine print that is associated with your ticket.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POLLY TROTTENBERG, U.S. DEPUTY TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: It's been a great process working with the airlines. It's really encouraged them to sort of up their game and commit to things.

Like, for example, eight of the airlines have now committed in writing to providing meals or hotel accommodations, depending on the nature of a delay or cancellation. That's a great one for consumers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:20:07]

MUNTEAN: Travel site Hopper says that 12 million people will travel domestically by air this holiday weekend, about 1.8 million people internationally.

Today is the second biggest day we're going to see in terms of flights scheduled, according to the FAA, but the FAA adds in a bit of a word of caution here, Ana. We're not totally in the clear. We could see thunderstorms at some major hubs like Atlanta, Florida, often a big destination, also along the Gulf Coast, going into Texas.

So we will see, as this day unfolds, how it really goes.

CABRERA: I'm sure, as you have been spending a lot of time at the airport lately doing your reporting, Pete, you are daydreaming about where you would go if you could hop on a flight. Where would that be?

(LAUGHTER)

MUNTEAN: That's a good question.

I fly myself. And I just was able to get away last weekend and go to West Virginia for a little bit. It was nice to unplug for a moment and get away from the airport and all the travel misery of late. So, that's the choice.

CABRERA: Ooh. Yes, yes, West Virginia, getting real exotic.

(LAUGHTER)

CABRERA: Have a great weekend, Pete. Thanks for that.

More now on the economy. U.S. job growth slowed last month. And that may be encouraging news, actually, for the Federal Reserve and its effort to cool things down and ease inflation.

Still, the job market does remain strong. U.S. companies added 315,000 jobs in August. The unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 3.7 percent.

And joining us now is Justin Wolfers, professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan.

Good to have you here, Professor.

What do you make of today's numbers in this topsy-turvy economy?

JUSTIN WOLFERS, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: This is just about as good of a report as you could have hoped for. It's the Goldilocks report, really.

It's not too cold. Remember, for the past few weeks and months, people have been wringing their hands worried we're in recession. Well, this number said for darn sure we're not. The U.S. economy is creating jobs. Goldilocks always wants to make sure her economic porridge isn't too hot. And the Fed has been very worried about that.

And the fact that job growth has started to slow from the extremely rapid rates we have seen earlier in the year is actually good news. It suggests we're getting towards a good sustainable trajectory, so a lot to like here.

CABRERA: So there are those bright spots in the economy, strong job market, overall inflation easing a bit, gas prices falling, good news, for sure.

But inflation is still the Achilles' heel, right, of the economy? It's why the Fed keeps raising the interest rates. Here's what the president said about that today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The bottom line is, jobs are up, wages are up, people are back to work, and we're seeing some signs that inflation may be -- may be -- I'm not overpromising -- may be beginning to ease.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: May be, may be, being a bit careful there.

Professor, I know, you have said gas prices are giving you hope more broadly on inflation. How do you connect falling gas prices to inflation in other areas?

WOLFERS: Well, falling gas prices is just going to be a hell of a lot of relief for a lot of families who can get their paycheck to go a little further.

Gas prices are a big part of the cost of living, a big part of the reason why inflation has been high, and a big part of the reason why inflation is going to fall over coming months.

But, more generally, energy prices have been a big part of the inflation story. And so all we need is, actually, we don't need energy prices to fall. If energy prices just stopped rising, they'd stop contributing to inflation.

In fact, we have had better news than that. They have started falling. So there really is reason to be optimistic that the worst of the inflationary days are behind us.

CABRERA: Let's try to do a quick lightning round of questions here. You talk to students all day, so treat us as your students.

WOLFERS: You bet. CABRERA: But, on a more practical level, you need or want to buy a house in the next year, do you do it now or do you wait until this recession economists think is coming?

WOLFERS: Well, I think we just learned that we're not in a recession. And economists generally have a rotten record of predicting when recessions are coming.

Look, here's the best I can tell you. Over the last 50 years, we have had seven recessions. That is seven in 50, or 14 percent. So there's a risk there will be a recession next year, but I don't think it's much higher than that. So the question for whether you should buy a house is, do you want a house? Does your family need a house? Can you afford a down payment?

And if interest rates rise, which they are at the moment, will you be able to continue to make your payments?

CABRERA: So, you're heading to college, what can you do to not rack up student loans?

WOLFERS: Well, I am heading to college, and I'm talking to my students every day.

And, in fact, I tell them the opposite. I say, go ahead and borrow. And that might sound like counterintuitive advice from an economist, but here's how I want you to think about it. If you're a student today, convene a meeting. Now, it's a meeting between your current self and your future self.

Your future self-is going to be 35 years old in a pretty good job earning a pretty good income. Your current self, you're at college, you're broke, you can't afford to go out.

[13:25:04]

Wouldn't it be great if there was a way that we could move money from your future self, who's got a lot of income, to your current self, while you're in college? There is. It's called student loans. Go ahead and borrow and shift some money from that part of your life when you're going to be wealthier to that part right now, when you really need it.

And that investment really matters. Remember, college students, on average, go on to earn about a million bucks more than they otherwise would. So it's worth making the investment now, even if you have to go into debt.

CABRERA: OK, let's back up and say you just had a baby. How do parents prepare for that child then to go to college and how expensive it could be in the next couple of decades from now?

WOLFERS: Well, let me just say, it's one of the most important investments you make. And, like you, I'm a parent, and I love my baby, and I want the best for them. Now, this is a place where a lot of the headlines you have been

reading aren't quite telling you the full truth. It is true when you go to a college's Web site, and you will look up the price of college, that that price has been going up and up and up and up.

What's not shown is it in, reality, colleges have been giving more scholarships, more grant, more aid. And so the actual prices that people have been paying hasn't risen anywhere near as much.

And so the fear that you have of future tuition is a real fear. But it may not be as much -- as bad as some people have led you to believe. In fact, at my school, University of Michigan, we have got what we call the go blue guarantee. If your family earns less than $65,000, and you're a Michigan student, we're going to give you a free ride for four years.

Look around, and you will discover that colleges in your part of the country, they may not advertise it, but they probably offer really good deals like that. Even so, keep saving and realize that the government does its own bit to help too, because some of the ways you can save for a college fund, like through a 529 plan, well, some of those have some pretty big tax breaks which can help you get that baby into college.

CABRERA: All good advice. We really appreciate it.

Justin Wolfers, great to have you here. Happy Friday.

WOLFERS: Love the lightning round, mate.

CABRERA: Thank you.

Pardons for rioters who attacked the United States Capitol? That's what the former president of the United States is floating in a new interview. And it comes as one of his lawyers or his one-time lawyer appears before a federal grand jury today.

Details next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)