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Jury Reaches Verdict in Parkland Shooter Sentencing Trial; Today, January 6 Committee to Lay Out Threats Trump Still Poses to Democracy; New Report Shows September Consumer Prices Up 0.4 Percent, 8.2 Percent Year-Over-Year. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired October 13, 2022 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:01]

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN ANCHOR: So, if you're trying to minimize head impacts, focusing on practices and focusing on specific drills, this is data that I think is, you know, emerging data that people can now use to try and make this a safer game. It is tough to make it safe. It can be a violent sport, as we've talked about over the past couple of weeks. But this could help, especially in some of the younger players.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, the safer you can make it, as early as possible, the better overall for the players, that's for sure. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, always great to have you analyst on. We appreciate it.

GUPTA: Thanks, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: And good morning, everybody. I'm Bianna Golodryga.

We begin this hour with breaking news. The jury in the death penalty trial of Nikolas Cruz, The Parkland school shooter, has reached a decision on whether to sentence him to death or life in prison without the possibility of parole.

CNN's Carlos Suarez is outside of the courthouse in Fort Lauderdale. Carlos, what more can you tell us about this?

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bianna, so, we're expecting that the jury's verdict will be read in court at 10:30 this morning. They really only spent a single day deliberating whether or not Nikolas Cruz is going to die for his actions at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas. They had a few questions yesterday about some witness testimony and then last thing, one of the last things they did yesterday was ask to see the AR-15 that Cruz used to kill 17 people in Parkland, Florida.

The jury's decision on death does have to be unanimous. So, they all have to agree that Cruz should die for these murders. If there is a holdout in any of the charges, then Cruz would be essentially told that he will have to spend the rest of his life in prison.

The deliberation process really, again, was quite, quite short. We were expecting that this could take a few more days because each of the 17 counts have four pages worth of questions. However, word came this morning that shortly after the jury took a look at that AR-15, they have reached a decision. Again, we're expecting that word to be read in court at 10:30 in the morning. The jury's decision, again, they all have to be on the same page on death, if not, Cruz will die in prison.

GOLODRYGA: Cruz convicted of killing 14 students and 3 staff members in 2018. We'll bring that you decision live at 10:30 when it happens. Carlos, thank you.

Well, we're also following several other major stories this morning. January 6th select committee expected to unveil new evidence supporting its message that former President Donald Trump is still a danger to democracy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): We have a bunch of new documentary evidence and statements that establish the central role that Donald Trump played in his overwhelming culpability in these events.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Sources say there will be no live witnesses but the hearing will feature new details the committee uncovered this summer. Today's hearing is the committee's final public event before the midterm elections and they're expected to treat it as a closing argument.

I want to bring in CNN Justice Correspondent Jessica Schneider. So, Jessica, walk us through what we're expecting to see at today's hearing.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, Bianna. the committee will be presenting actually new testimony from witnesses they've already interviewed, plus new video and documentary evidence. But at the same time, members will be tying all of the new evidence with previously revealed evidence. And they say they want to focus on the former president's state of mind and his involvement in the events of January 6th as they unfolded. Crucially here, sources have told our team that the committee is going to hammer home this idea that Donald Trump remains a clear and present danger to democracy.

And the committee really has a lot to showcase. Since the last hearing in July, members have interviewed more members of Trump's cabinet, that includes Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. Plus, they did sit down with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' wife, Ginni Thomas, a few weeks ago, all to find out more about her texts to the former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, about overturning the election, her emails to various state officials disputing the election results.

Plus, we did learn earlier this week that the committee now has received more than 1 million communications from the Secret Service. That includes emails, other planning documents, all from the lead-up to January 6th, all about the preparation of Secret Service, what they knew as well.

But, Bianna, the committee does say that this hearing will look different from the ones we've seen in the past. All of those sort of had a specific theme. This one, in turn, will be more of a compilation and continuing to drive home that point from the committee about the danger that the former president still poses. Bianna?

GOLODRYGA: And they say it will include new information as well, a lot of new information. Jessica Schneider, thank you.

[10:05:00]

I'm joined again by CNN Legal Analyst Elliot Williams. So, Elliot, you and I were talking off air about this. It can be hard to keep track of all of the investigations touching the former president. We've got a civil investigation with the New York Attorney General, possible criminal investigations in Georgia and New York, a federal search warrant executed at the president's home and Justice Department investigations into the events of January 6th. Okay. So, I think all of it. So, how does today's hearing factor into all of that.

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It is a lot. And people will be forgiven for getting lost in all of it, Bianna. But let's go back to the beginning. How did we end up with the January 6th committee in the first place? There was some fighting in Congress, but last summer, Congress passed a law calling for a select committee to investigate and report what happened in January 6.

Now, that -- these are the hearing that we've seen, the behind the scenes have been meeting with witnesses and researching and so on, now report what is going on here. And at the end of this process, they will, by law, put out a big report. Now, what is that going to look like?

I think the clearest parallel going back for those of us old enough to remember, 9/11, the 9/11 commission report, which laid out number one in quite good detail what happened that led to the events of 9/11, but also made a number of recommendations as to laws that could be changed, people who can be hired by the government, positions hired by the government to make sure that this kind of thing never happens again. And I think that is sort of what we're going to see from Congress.

GOLODRYGA: So, the previous hearings featured testimony from many witnesses. Who haven't we heard from?

WILLIAMS: Yes. So, a number of -- so, William Barr, we've seen the former attorney general of the United States, who sort of, in somewhat captivating testimony, laid out that he said that the former president was delusional. These were some of the great witnesses that the committee has heard from. Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide, with a colorful tale about the president throwing a bottle of ketchup against the wall and being aware of the violence.

Now, who hasn't appeared, to answer your question, look, there was never a serious claim that we were ever going to hear from Donald Trump or Mike Pence, former vice president of the United States. People sort of have been clamoring for that testimony. It was just never going to happen. Mark Meadows, who was the former White House chief of staff, never did appear publicly. He provided some documents, but at the end of the day we didn't see him. The public hasn't seen public testimony from Ginni Thomas, Clarence Thomas's wife, as Jess was reporting.

Maybe we'll see this today. But, look, I've done this a lot working for Congress and the Justice Department, a lot of witnesses don't appear publicly, Bianna. And at the end of the day, they probably got a lot of useful information out of here, but we'll see.

GOLODRYGA: And perhaps we'll hear from cabinet members, like Mike Pompeo, right, and Elaine Chao later on today, as well.

What questions remain unanswered?

WILLIAMS: Yes. So, what open questions? there is a few big ones that the committee still hasn't gotten to the bottom of. Number one, we know about the communications between Donald Trump and Roger Stone. We know about communications between Roger Stone and extremists, right? But was there direct communication between any of these folks, number one.

Number Two, missing Secret Service messages, and this is what Jess was reporting about earlier, there is still a lot of information out there that we don't know from text messages and emails that the Secret Service sort of disappeared and was it like government incompetence or something far worse. And subpoenas to members of Congress, a number of members of Congress got subpoenaed, they haven't been called before the Justice Department, so we shall see.

GOLODRYGA: We shall see. And the big question also is that, will the Justice Department have a criminal referral.

WILLIAMS: To refer or not to refer, that is the question, Bianna. And, look, a criminal referral would be an important and big statement from Congress that they think a crime was committed. To me, it just doesn't matter. The Justice Department is under no obligation to follow what Congress says, even if they recommend that crimes have been committed.

Now, look, it looks like they're going to, probably in this report, I think, they might lay out who committed crimes. But at the end of the day, it is on Merrick Garland's hands. If the attorney general wants to charge these folks with crimes, he will.

GOLODRYGA: Elliot Williams, thank you for breaking it down for us. We appreciate it. Thank you.

Well, sources tell CNN that in today's public hearing, the January 6 committee will seek to emphasize that former Donald Trump remains a clear and present danger to democracy. Here is Trump's former Deputy White House Press Secretary Sarah Mathews on the threat she believes Trump still poses.

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SARAH MATTHEWS, FORMER TRUMP DEPUTY WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: He had every opportunity to call off the mob and condemn the violence. We've seen from taped testimony from several of my colleagues that folks were pleading with him to do that. And he didn't ever pick up the phone once. And I think that the January 6th committee has laid that out.

But furthermore than just January 6th, he's continued to push the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him with zero evidence of that. And I think that that does pose a threat to our democracy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Joining me to discuss is Doug Heye, Republican Strategist and former RNC Communications Director, and John Avlon, CNN Senior Political Analyst and Anchor.

So, Doug, let me start with you.

[10:10:01]

These aren't Democrats that are saying that the former president continues to be a threat to democracy. These are Republicans. These are Republicans that have worked in his administration. How impactful will that have.

DOUG HEYE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, it has a big impact and a minor impact in two different ways. One, it certainly drives a lot of the conversation in Washington, D.C. It certainly gives permission to other folks in the administration who, let's point out, were fine with Donald Trump calling the election in question before he lost. It was after he lost that they thought this might be a problem, it drives some of that conversation.

But you get outside of Washington, D.C., it is not a topic of conversation for Republicans or for Democrats. Politico had a study that showed that 2 percent of the political advertising in House races in this country are focused on January 6, 2 percent. That is not much. And it means that what people are talking about ultimately are all of the other issues that you're going to be talking about in this hour and the previous hour, inflation, energy and so forth, all these things that are really driving the wrong direction track on the country. GOLODRYGA: So, John, pick up on that. I mean, clearly there are a lot

of issues weighing on households today, right? And it is not just this committee's hearings, and that's not necessarily their purpose either, right? This is putting together a compilation months' long of investigation.

That having been said, why do you think this isn't having that big of a pick-up with most Americans.

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I disagree that it's not having an impact. I mean, concerns about democracy are not usually in the top five considerations set for American voters. That's a direct reaction to the lies around the election resulting in January 6th, and then I think have been put forward in a more forceful manner by this committee, because we've seen Republicans giving testimony that directly contradict the lies that the former president keeps spouting.

And so while I think a lot of these groups are hermetically sealed in their own echo chambers, I do think it's having a knock-on effect. It is going to overwhelm considerations about the committee, more day-to- day concerns? Not necessarily. Republicans desperately want it not to be about the economy just as they don't want it to be about abortion.

I think that democracy though is something that should transcend those considerations because that's our baseline. If you don't support that, if we don't have that, we have got nothing.

GOLODRYGA: So, Doug, what happens then today if we hear evidence from this committee that shows a direct link from the former president to those insurrectionists and perhaps egging them on, having been warned of what was to come that day?

HEYE: Yes. Again, I think the political impact, and it is very hard to determine what political race this directly affects, the political impact may be minimal for now. It is certainly important for history and maybe important for the future as well. If Donald Trump really wants to run in 2024, what we see today, what we've seen in previous hearings certainly is going to have an impact politically, but also potentially legally. And that is the critical thing, is whether or not he'll actually be allowed to run for president again in the future.

GOLODRYGA: And yet there are other candidates -- John, let's put Donald Trump aside, there are other candidates who he's endorsed who are also questioning the 2020 election who could very well win in the midterms.

AVLON: I mean, more than 200 (ph). A majority of Republican nominees right now back the election lies and that is a fundamental problem, just with dealing with reality. But that is become a litmus test for winning Republican primaries in most cases. There are honorable and important exceptions to that. But they're coming under pressure and constant attack not only from their right but from Trump to date.

So, that is why these secretary of state races matter so much in the states, because if election deniers put in position to oversee the election, that almost bakes in the cake future constitutional chaos. So, that's why it's an issue in this election as well as, I think, the 2024 election, as Doug just indicated.

GOLODRYGA: Doug, does the Mar-a-Lago investigation impact this hearing at all for Americans and for Republican voters in general considering that we continue to hear more and more damning revelations just today, that he directed an employee to move boxes after a subpoena was served to preserve them?

HEYE: Yes. Look, Donald Trump wasn't really responsible with sensitive documents, I don't think, is a big surprise, but the cake is baked, as John said earlier on this. You've made up your mind on Donald Trump and probably did well before this. You either liked him or you didn't like him. You thought he was making America great or you thought he was a terrible direction for the country regardless of policy. Mar-a-Lago is a part of that.

But again moving forward, electorally, it is not going to have a real impact on 2022. This is about 2024 and also learning from our own history.

AVLON: Here is why, Doug, I disagree with you quickly. What we're dealing with here is actually evidence, testimony from a Trump employee that the former president directed him to disregard a federal subpoena. That is getting into federal crimes.

HEYE: Yes.

AVLON: Right? That is a different deal. This isn't just, well, everybody knows Donald Trump lies a lot. This is a different criteria.

HEYE: Sure. But that is not going to change the Senate race or a House race on this. That's going to affect Donald Trump.

GOLODRYGA: Sorry, Doug, John, we've got a lot to news to cover this hour. We appreciate this heated conversation, a lot more to cover as well. As always, John Avlon, thank you. Doug Heye, thank you.

HEYE: Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: And make sure to stay with CNN for special live coverage of today's hearing.

[10:15:02]

Coverage begins at noon.

And still to come this morning, the Dow starting down this morning on the news of a disappointing inflation report as consumer prices increase for the month of September. The director of the National Economic Council joins us next with how the White House is responding.

And we're continuing to follow breaking news. This is a live look inside a Broward County courtroom where the jury has reached a verdict in the trial of the gunman behind the Parkland massacre. We'll bring you that verdict when we get it.

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[10:20:00]

GOLODRYGA: And we are continuing to follow breaking news. This is a live look inside of a Broward County courtroom where the jury has reached a verdict in the trial of the gunman behind the Parkland massacre. We'll bring you that verdict when we get it.

But also this morning, disappointing new inflation numbers as the country looks to fight off rising prices. A new report shows consumer prices rose 0.4 percent last month and 8.2 percent year-over-year, the increase considerably higher than anticipated. Markets, of course, are responding in a big way to the news, already down hundreds of points.

Joining me now to discuss is Brian Deese. He is the director of the National Economic Council. Brian, good to see you.

So, there is no way to really sugar coat this report. Prices rose at 8.2 percent year-over-year, down from the high that we saw of 9.1 percent in June, but still at an unacceptable level. What is the administration doing and what can the administration do aside from just telling Americans to be patient at this point?

BRIAN DEESE, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: Well thanks for having me. Inflation is a challenge, it is a global challenge and I think the first and most important point is that the United States is in a better and stronger position to take this challenge head on than virtually any other country in the world. That's in no small part because of the policies that we've put in place and the strong and resilient economic recovery that we have here in the United States.

As you mentioned, there was some progress in this report. Headline inflation has come down. A lot of that is gas prices that are down more than a dollar a gallon since the summer. That is important for American families. But at the same time, prices need to come down, they need to come down faster.

This has been the president's primary focus and we have taken action on measures that will provide some real relief here in the near term. Health care, for example, was one of the places where prices you saw in this report increasing. Because of the policies that we've put in place, health care premiums are going to come down for 13 million Americans, we're going to bring prescription drugs prices by allowing Medicare to negotiate for better prescription drug costs and we're going to cap out of pocket costs for seniors in Medicare at $2,000. In addition, we put in place policies that will bring down energy costs and energy bills for American families in the coming months.

So, these are policies that are going to make a difference as we keep bringing these prices down and it will continue to be our focus.

GOLODRYGA: But if you look at core inflation at 6.6 percent, that's stripping out food and energy, and, Brian, just telling Americans that things aren't as bad here as they are around the world really isn't a reassuring statement at this point.

And I want to ask you about the president's comments earlier this week to Jake Tapper, still saying that he doesn't believe that the U.S. will experience a recession, but if we do, it will be a, quote, mild one. What does that even mean? What should Americans be prepared for in the months ahead?

DEESE: Well, look, the most striking feature of the American economy right now is the resilience of the American economy. We have a historic labor market recovery going on right now, one of the lowest unemployment rates in modern history, 700,000 manufacturing jobs created and businesses are investing all around this country in places, I'm in Cleveland today, across Ohio, across the industrial Midwest, because they believe in the long-term potential of the economy. And Americans, American families are the beneficiaries of that strong labor market recovery.

At the same time, prices are too high, but the message the president is delivering is that you have a president in the administration that is waking up every day trying to address that problem head on and we are making progress. We are making progress on energy prices. We are making progress. We just have to -- we just have to stay at it.

And so we have policies that are going to make a difference. We have policies that have already made a difference. We just have to stay the course.

GOLODRYGA: Brian, are we going to experience a railroad strike? The president took a victory lap just a few weeks ago seemingly averting one that could have been a fatal blow, a massive blow at that, to the U.S. economy. There appears to now be renewed concerns that there could very well be a strike. So, what was resolved on the president's front? Did he just kick the can down the road?

DEESE: This is part of a process, a process that happens between labor and management as they negotiate and seek to resolve their differences. Because the president and his administration, Secretary Walsh intervened in that process. The parties were able to reach a tentative agreement and then the process moves forward to a democratic process of taking that agreement to a vote to a number of different railway unions. That is a process that is underway now and as is always and often the case there are twists and turns in that process.

There is time to resolve all of the outstanding issues, so they will need to get resolved before the end of the year. But we have this in a place where we now have the potential to resolve this issue, a tentative agreement that become a permanent agreement. We are staying very closely engaged with both of the parties but we were able to avert an immediate and what would have been a catastrophic hit to the economy.

[10:25:03]

And we have to stay at this and encourage labor and management to stay at this themselves and reach a resolution in the interest of the country.

GOLODRYGA: Brian, quickly, can Americans expect to see higher prices at pump with OPEC+'s surprising decision to cut production by 2 million barrels a day?

DEESE: Well, here is what I'll say. Most Americans are seeing price at the pump now that are down $1, $1.20 from where we there this summer and the prices that energy companies are paying. The wholesale prices are at historically low levels compared to what the retail prices are being paid. And so if markets do what they should do, those retail prices should come down. They should come down over the course of the next couple of weeks and consumers should see that at the -- in terms of the retail price that they pay.

So, that's what we are communicating when we're talking to energy companies and industries, those prices should come down and we're hopeful they will over the next couple of weeks.

GOLODRYGA: Well, oil prices up 13 percent from their low just last month. We, of course, will be following and watching it closely. Brian Deese, thank you for your time. We appreciate it.

Well, we have a verdict in the death penalty trial of the Parkland shooter. This is a live look inside the courtroom where, in just minutes, we're expected to be -- for it to be read. We'll bring it to you live.

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GOLODRYGA: And we are continuing to cover the breaking out of Florida, as we look live inside a Broward Country court --

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[10:30:00]