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Lawmakers Return To D.C. As Govt Funding Deadline & Midterms Loom; Biden Tests His Political Strength In Return To Campaign Trail; Body Found In Memphis Identified As Abducted Jogger Eliza Fletcher; Uvalde Students Back In Class For First Time Since Shooting. Aired 3- 3:30p ET

Aired September 06, 2022 - 15:00   ET

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

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VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: It's a brand new hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to have you.

And we start this hour with the high stakes to do list for Congress. Senators are returning to Capitol Hill today after the August recess, the January 6 Committee is weighing more hearings, Midterm elections are nine weeks away and unless they pass a spending bill in the next few weeks, the federal government will run out of money. You got all that?

Let's now go to CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju. Let's start with the spending bill and Democrats are considering adding something to it.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. That's potentially passing legislation to codify same sex marriage here in the United States. This could be attached to a bill to keep the government open past September 30th and recall that that is one of the things that Congress must do to avoid a government shutdown. The end of the fiscal year is at the end of this month, so Congress needs to figure out a way in order to avoid a shutdown.

And oftentimes, that legislative vehicle is used to attach a whole host of priorities of the majority party. Democrats are looking at ways to try to pass this same sex marriage bill. They do need 60 votes the United States Senate to do just that. They do not have 10 Republican support votes to codify same sex marriage, but there is expectation that they will eventually get there.

Now there are also other items that could be attached to the government spending bill. The administration last week asked for roughly $50 billion it needs for a host of emergency items, everything from money for Ukraine, as well as money for the fight - for the COVID-19 as well as monkeypox. They're looking for money to deal with monkeypox outbreak across the country and natural disaster recovery as well. Things of floods and other natural disasters that have occurred in states across the country, they're looking at potentially adding a whole host of items in that. These negotiations undoubtedly will take place through the course of

this month could be close to the deadline by the end of the month before they could sort all these issues out. But this is the one big piece of legislation that Congress will likely be approved before they had to campaign in the final weeks before the midterm elections, Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right. Let's also move down to the 1-6 Committee and their future hearings, potential witnesses, what's the update?

RAJU: Yes. It's still uncertain exactly how this will shake up this - later this month. The Committee is planning to have public hearings at some point. They have not announced the date yet. They have not exactly specified on the number of hearings or the topics but those are discussions that are still underway. After the Committee has spent the last month behind closed doors, interviewing witnesses, deposing more witnesses and coming to some conclusions as they try to draft a final report.

[15:05:00]

Jamie Raskin, one of the members of the Committee, indicated there is still some hope about getting some high profile witnesses to come forward, including potentially former Vice President Mike Pence.

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REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): Vice President Pence was the target of Donald Trump's wrath and fury and effort to overthrow the election on January 6. The whole idea was to get Pence to step outside his constitutional role and then to declare unilateral lawless powers to reject Electoral College votes from these States. So I think he has a lot of relevant evidence and I would hope he would come forward and testify about what happened.

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RAJU: Now, this will all culminate in a final report that will come out by the end of this year. A big question right now is whether or not the Committee will come up with some sort of interim report before the November midterm elections. There have been some discussion about it. Some members are saying different things about that, whether they actually get to that point of issuing an interim report, but the Committee moving into its final stages here as it moves into could - what could be its final hearings later this month, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Manu Raju on Capitol Hill, thank you very much. Let's turn to another deadline now looming in the case of hundreds of highly sensitive documents found at Donald Trump's estate in Florida. The former president's legal team and the Justice Department have until Friday to figure out the duties and limitations of the special master and submit suggestions on who should fulfill that role.

On Labor Day, a judge granted Trump's request for the independent third party who will oversee the handling of the evidence collected from Mar-A-Lago. Brian Greer is a former lawyer for the CIA who specializes in national

security investigations. Michael Moore is a former U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia. Gentlemen, welcome back.

Brian, let me start with you. And you say that this judge's decision has now created a Wild West atmosphere, explain that.

BRIAN GREER, FORMER CIA LAWYER: Yes, it's important to keep in mind, we are in a civil proceeding right now where Donald Trump is trying to use a civil case to attack an ongoing criminal investigation. There are no procedures in place by law for how classified information is going to be handled and what are in this litigation.

In criminal litigation, there's a statute called the Classified Information Procedures Act, which as - is very well established. There's no corollary in civil litigation. And so when it comes time to preventing - presenting this information before the special master, potentially letting witnesses access this information, writing briefs about this information, storing this information, go on and on down the list.

It is a little bit of a Wild West and that there are procedures in place for how this is going to work for the classification perspective.

BLACKWELL: Michael, on the point of if the Justice Department will be able to use these documents, the judge says, at least until the special masters done that's a no. The implications of not being able to use them, does that mean they cannot continue with potential witnesses they found irrelevant from these documents, they can't go along the second and - secondary, tertiary steps of investigating these, how broad is use?

MICHAEL MOORE, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY, MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA: Well, I'm glad to be with you. I really think that it may be much to do about nothing, because hopefully the department had enough sense to go ahead and know that they had sufficient evidence before they did the search. I mean, we already know about classified documents and materials that they claim were present from February through August, because you see this back and forth correspondence with the Trump camp about these are not there, what are you going to do, put another lock on this type of thing and some statements made from people on the inside.

So they probably have enough just to go ahead. And this might be the case where it's almost like playing chicken with the other side, they might want to go ahead and just issue a quick indictment, if that's what they're doing. Hopefully that decision was reach long before we got into this place. But they may not be able to question people about the contents of the specific documents that they're looking at now until the special master gives a clearance and in case there's some privileged information and that's a whole another can of worms, whether it's attorney-client versus executive privilege, but they should have had enough information to - early on.

And I'm a little troubled to hear their response that this is the investigations in the early stages. You should have never gone into a former president's house with an investigation in the early stages. This is something where you would have typically had enough information to charge. You decided you're going to do the search warrant. You got some information from the search warrant, then you move on to the grand jury, not that you somehow use this as a fishing expedition or whatever. And that's I'm afraid the picture that's being painted by some of their claims about how they may be harmed to the special master decision.

BLACKWELL: So you suggest that because this is not something that you do early on, that all these questions about whether there will be charges if they have enough to charge they're far beyond that.

MOORE: I would hope so. I mean, I can't imagine a scenario where up prosecutor in a case like this and it is, we are in uncharted waters, I mean, let's talk about that.

[15:10:05]

But it would be hard for me to imagine that somebody somewhere from the Attorney General on down would have approved the search warrant on a former president's home without already thinking and having a discussion like that. If we find X, are we going to go ahead and charge, what do we have that may be sufficient to charge.

Because this is not a - we're not talking about going in and looking for missing food stamps or something. We're talking about a situation where they're going into to a new territory that could have massive implications. And the problem with where they are is that the judge has now opened up this idea of executive privilege.

So now, suddenly, there's something that was fairly well settled about the privilege belonging to the current president, now is that going to be re litigated. So this has caused a little bit of a kerfuffle that they could nip in the bud if they just went ahead and did a quick indictment of what they had and not rely solely on the information they received from (inaudible)--

BLACKWELL: Brian, does this judge's decision to prevent the DOJ from using these documents, while the special master does his or her work, impact the ongoing assessment from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence at all?

GREER: I believe it could impact aspects of that review that's going on with the ODNI right now. They - if you're an intelligence professional, you're looking at this document, getting the document is super helpful. But then you're going to have a lot of questions, you're going to - it's critical to know who accessed when, why, how, under what circumstances. You're going to want to ask the FBI those questions. They can't do that right now.

Hopefully, those conversations already took place before the order came out and so maybe the intelligence community has what they need to complete their assessment. But that's very, very critical that the intelligence community get that information. If I were the Justice Department right now, I'd be thinking of ways that I could make a better argument before the court through declarations from the FBI or the ODNI saying that we know you've split the baby this way, but it just can't work that way, these two investigations are going hand in hand.

BLACKWELL: Michael, they've got a list of to-do's by Friday, they've got to determine the duties of this special master, the potential candidates, the schedule, how much this person will be paid. Considering how much this has been politicized, do you think that's possible over the next three or four days?

MOORE: No, I don't think it is and anybody who's ever seen two parents divorce and try to figure out where the kids are going to spend the Christmas holiday, that's about where you're at now. And that is, both sides have their lines drawn in the sand. I think it's going to be very, very hard for the department to come to some agreement on the duties of the special master, especially since we're now talking about the executive privilege issue within that.

So for instance, they're going to agree that the executive - that the special master can review for executive privilege document, well, that would say then to waive arguments they may make later, so I think it's going to be tough. Picking a person shouldn't be hard, because that's just somebody that has a classification level security clearance levels to look at this kind of information.

But defining those duties, I think they're probably going to involve some further intervention by the court. At the same time the other department may consider appealing this up to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. They may be so dissatisfied with how the baby was split, that they want a different ruling or at least to say tell this judge that they want to go to Court of Appeals to tell this judge that attorney- client privilege is one thing, but getting into executive privilege and allowing a special master to make those recommendations is against sort of our settled law (inaudible)--

BLACKWELL: All right. Deadline is Friday to answer some of those questions from the judge. Michael Moore, Brian Greer, appreciate it.

Nine weeks now until the November midterms. On Friday, President Biden will head to Ohio, a key state in the battle for control of the Senate. Yesterday he made back to back stops in two other critical states: Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. And CNN Chief White House Correspondent Kaitlan Collins is with me now.

So Kaitlan, the President is increasingly focused on Democrats' prospects in the midterms, understandably. Just how involved, though, will he be?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The White House says you can expect President Biden to be very involved. He is going to be on the road several times a week, two to three times a week actually is what the White House officials say. And, of course, we've already seen him on the campaign trail, as you noted, Victor, several times in recent days.

Typically, after Labor Day, that's the start of political busy season here in Washington and certainly that is going to be the case. For the White House, they say, President Biden on the road in Pennsylvania three times in the last week alone, also in Wisconsin. As you noted, he is going to Ohio on Friday.

And when he's going to each of these states, Victor, that he is obviously hoping to help Democrats and to help boost them in the midterm elections, which are just nine weeks away from now. He is going to be talking about Republicans as we have seen him doing so with this new term MAGA Republicans, but he's also talked about his accomplishments and he really feels like he's gotten a boost from the legislative victories that he's seen in recent days.

[15:15:05]

He previewed a bit of that message today when he was doing his fifth Cabinet meeting here at the White House.

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Steps we've taken like the American Rescue Plan, student debt relief and - is proof that democracy can deliver for the people.

And there's a foundation of the kind of strong, forward-looking economy that we want to continue to build: the economy with lower prices, more breathing room for middle-class families. This economy that works for the country from the bottom up and the middle out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: That is part of the message from President Biden, the rest of the message is also going after these Republicans which he has sought in multiple instances in recent days to distinguish what he says are MAGA Republicans from mainstream Republicans that he says he's worked with during his decades in office, but also when it comes to the MAGA Republicans, he says these are Republicans he believes are working to undermine democracy, they are a threat to democracy, because they are following in the footsteps of former President Trump and working basically to be loyal to him and not the United States. That's been the argument he's making out on the road several times, including calling out lawmakers personally after Ron Johnson in Wisconsin and several others. And so that is part of the message you'll - you should expect to see from President Biden.

BLACKWELL: Kaitlan Collins, thank you.

The body of the missing teacher in Memphis is found and her accused kidnapper is now charged with murder, details on that tragic story next.

Also, a really difficult return to school in Uvalde, Texas. The students and the teachers are back in classrooms today, for the first time since the deadly mass shooting that changed their community.

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BLACKWELL: Memphis police say it's too early to know the details surrounding the death of Eliza Fletcher, a 34-year-old school teacher and mother of two was kidnapped during an early morning jog. Her body was identified by officials this morning. Now, surveillance video showed her being forced into an SUV last Friday, 38-year-old Cleotha Abston has been now charged with murder and kidnapping. CNN's Martin Savidge is with us. What more do we know?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, as you point out, the body of Eliza Fletcher was actually discovered yesterday but it wasn't until she was identified this morning by authorities to be - know who it actually was. Her body was discovered according to police in the back of an abandoned apartment unit, located about eight miles away from where they believe that she was abducted on Friday morning.

The authorities did not reveal a manner of death in this particular case. We know that the suspect was actually arrested over the weekend. According to authorities he's not been cooperating with them, Cleotha Abston, 38 years of age. He's now charged with first degree murder. He's also charged with kidnapping as well as other charges.

Fletcher was out jogging Friday morning, 4 am in the area or neighborhood around the University of Memphis, when a man began chasing her and forced her into a black SUV. We know this because all of that was captured on surveillance video. Also, at the scene, authorities were able to recover a pair of sandals they tested them for DNA and when they did that, that's how they came up with the identity of Cleotha Abston who is no stranger to law enforcement.

They discovered that he had previously been convicted and served more than 20 years in prison for kidnapping. This is the district attorney speaking today after the suspect was charged with murder.

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STEVEN MULROY, SHELBY COUNTY, TN DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Any kind of violence, of course, is unacceptable, but repeat violent offenders particularly deserve a strong response and that's what they'll get from this district attorney's office. We will continue to cooperate with law enforcement and work closely with them as we already have, so that we can do our best to bring justice to this tragic situation.

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SAVIDGE: Other evidence that authorities have in this case is a witness who came forward over the weekend and said that Abston had been acting strangely when they saw him. He was washing his clothes in the sink and he was seen also cleaning out the interior of the black SUV, Victor?

BLACKWELL: Martin Savidge with the reporting. I appreciate it, Martin.

Students, teachers, staff, they went back to school today in Uvalde, Texas three months after the deadly massacre at Robb Elementary that left 19 children, two teachers dead. Students that chose to return to in-person learning were welcome to nearby schools with stepped up security measures, though many families chose virtual learning for their children instead. CNN's Ed Lavandera is there in Uvalde. So how is this community doing today?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Victor. Well, we're about an hour away from some of the first school classes getting out for their first day of school. As you might imagine today, a day with a wide range of mixed emotions. We saw teachers greeting students with smiles on their faces, trying to welcome them back with open arms.

This is the first time all of these students have been back inside a classroom since May 24, the day that 19 students and two teachers were killed at Robb Elementary. So an emotional day, many parents have been struggling for months with the decision on how to handle this new school year for their own children. Many student - many parents grappling with the idea of whether or not to send them back or to do virtual learning, but we've also seen many parents sharing pictures of their children going back first day of school.

[15:25:04]

But we were struck that just a few hours ago, a gentleman by the name of Brett Cross, and he has been - he is the uncle of Uziyah Garcia, and he's been raising Uziyah as his own son for some time. And he posted this picture, this was his first day of school picture, and it was a picture of Uziyah's ashes in an urn inside their home.

He said in the caption saying, "This will be his first day of school picture for the rest of his life." So you can really sense just how emotional this is for all of the families here in Uvalde, who have struggled with this. We actually sat down with Brett Cross several days ago as he was trying to figure out what to do with his four children who are also still attending schools here in Uvalde. Again, decided whether or not they would go back in-person or go virtual. We have not heard from him today as to what they finally decided, but you could tell that there was a great deal of angst in all of this decision making.

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BRETT CROSS, UNCLE AND LEGAL GUARDIAN OF SHOOTING VICTIM UZIYAH GARCIA: The school says that they're doing certain things, but then you look around and they're not done. This is something that terrorizes you daily and nightly. I close my eyes all I see is my son, I hear the gunshots. It's something that doesn't ever go away.

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LAVANDERA: Victor, for many people here in Uvalde, it's been a tumultuous summer. They have been fighting with school district officials trying to get security measures in place. You can see behind me, the eight foot fence that was around this particular campus. This is where last year second and third graders at Robb elementary are now attending. There are also more campus officers and campus monitors stationed at school campuses all across the city of Uvalde. Those are some of the things that parents had been pleading with

school district officials to implement. But despite all of that, there is still a great deal of frustration and a lot of uncertainty as to whether all of it is enough to protect these kids.

BLACKWELL: Yes, still a long way to go on those security measures at the schools across the district. Ed Lavandera, thank you.

I knew warning today about the fighting around Europe's largest nuclear reactor in Ukraine. The UN's top experts tell CNN there is grave danger.

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