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Did Trump Overcharge Taxpayers For Secret Service Protection?; Prosecutors Seek Six Months in Prison For Steve Bannon; Midterm Outlook; Russia Strikes Kyiv. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired October 17, 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: Let's be honest. Eagles fans are tough. They once booed Santa Claus. The first lady was there participating in a cancer awareness event. She is from the Philly suburbs, die-hard fan. And the Eagles won.

Thanks for your time today on INSIDE POLITICS. We will see you back here tomorrow.

Ana Cabrera picks up our coverage right now.

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Hello, and thank you for joining us. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York.

Kyiv under attack, explosions seen across Ukraine's capital from Russian kamikaze drone strikes. At least four people were killed in Kyiv, including a pregnant woman. A Ukrainian official says they were able to shoot down most of the drones, like this one caught on dramatic police bodycam video.

The words "For Belgorod" were written on one of the drones, an apparent reference to recent explosions in that region in Russia.

CNN's Clarissa Ward was at the scene of one of these drone strikes in Kyiv shortly after it happened. Here's what she saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think you can see behind me this is an ongoing rescue effort. This is quite clearly a residential building.

We have already seen one body being removed from here. We also saw another elderly woman being rescued from the rubble, actually from one of -- the balcony on the neighboring building.

If we sort of look around at just how chaotic this scene is, there are dozens and dozens of paramedics, firemen, rescue workers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Now, officials say at least 19 people were rescued from that building alone. Let's start our coverage with Fred Pleitgen and Ukraine.

And, Fred, earlier you were at a power plant that was targeted by the Russians. What does that tell us about their strategy?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ana, it certainly seems to indicate that the Russians are striking Ukraine across the entire territory of this country. And they're really trying to hit the energy installations. It's something the Russians have said they're doing anyway, but the Ukrainians also confirmed as well.

And if you look at the power plant here in the Dnipro region, it was a power plant that was right in the middle of a big steel-producing area. There's a lot of other factories there, so an area that needs a lot of energy, and that now has to conserve energy.

In fact, the authorities here in the town of Dnipro have now urged citizens to conserve as much energy as possible as they try to repair the damage. And they did say that there was widespread damage at that power plant. But, of course, the main targets today, even though wide parts of the country were hit, was really the capital of Kyiv, where we saw those massive drone strikes by those kamikaze drones.

Of course, the Ukrainians saying that those are Iranian drones that were supplied to the Russians. And, again, also in Kyiv, exactly the same picture, where you had a power plant targeted there as well. It was the same one, it seems, that was targeted last Monday. So it seems like the Russians trying to hit that area again.

And then, of course, as you mentioned, that residential building also targeted, with those four people who were killed just there and many people who for a very long time were trapped under the rubble. The authorities there very quick on the scene. The mayor of Kyiv denouncing that attack and ripping into the Russians.

I think one thing is really telling in all this. The Ukrainians are saying that, in total, three cruise missiles were launched in their territory today, and 42 kamikaze drones. And they said, of those 42 kamikaze drones, they were able to shoot down 36 of those, so a very large number of those drones, but some did make it through.

And then they caused that massive damage that we can see on our screen right now, and that really absolutely terrorized the citizens there of Kyiv, many people hiding in the metro stations for a very long time. And, of course, the Ukrainians are saying, this is something that right now is still continuing.

And they're calling on their backers, the international community, the U.S. and its allies, to give them a more capable Western air defenses as fast as possible to try and stop this and make sure that the citizens there can be a little bit safer -- Ana.

CABRERA: Yes, again, more civilian deaths in this latest round of drone strikes.

I want to get to Salma Abdelaziz with more on the situation in Russia. Salma, we're learning of a Russian fighter jet crashing into a residential area in Southern Russia, but not far from Ukraine. What can you tell us about this?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so we're just getting information about this in the last couple of hours, so please bear with me while we're trying to find out more details.

But what we know so far is that this is a Russian Su-34 supersonic fighter bomber jet, that it was taking part in a training exercise. And as this fighter jet was taking off from a military training site, it appears that there was a malfunction with its engine, one of the engines exploding, igniting.

The fighter jet pilot was forced to eject from the jet, that jet crashing in this port city of Yeysk into a residential area, in the courtyard of that residential area, setting off a huge fire, according to local officials speaking to state media.

[13:05:08]

Emergency services are on the site. Firefighters are on the way. And they're, of course, trying to battle those flames. We do not yet know if there's any loss of life in this.

But I think it's very indicative. Ana. Again, this is just a training flight, a training exercise, but indicative of the challenges that Moscow's military is facing. They're losing important equipment, losing a fighter jet like this. It's absolutely valuable. They're turning evermore to less experienced soldiers, soldiers who do not have the level of training that may be required as they lose more and more people on the battlefield.

So we're waiting to find out more. But this is important for the Kremlin. This is an indication of where that military stands.

CABRERA: Salma Abdelaziz and Fred Pleitgen, thank you both.

Back here at home, let's turn to the midterm elections. Just three weeks to go now, and Republicans today are gaining some new polling ground thanks to one key issue, the economy.

Joining us now, CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten and business reporter Matt Egan.

Guys, thanks for being there.

Harry, money talks. What do the numbers show?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yes.

So you take a look at this new "New York Times" poll, and you essentially see that on the generic ballot that the Republicans have a 49 percent to 45 percent lead. That's a larger advantage for Republicans than they had the last time "The Times" polled. In fact, it's a flip. But here's what I think is so important. Look at what voters are

saying is the most important problem facing the country; 44 percent say it's either the economy or inflation. There's nothing anywhere close. I mean, it's 44 percent, then 5 percent, then 5 percent, then 5 percent.

So the reason why Republicans have been able to turn in an advantage, at least in "The New York Times" poll, is because the economy is front and center, and voters overwhelmingly trust the Republicans more than the Democrats on the number one issue by far.

CABRERA: And so, Matt, let's talk more about the state of the economy now.

I'm just seeing an alert that stocks have rallied and Wall Street is apparently a little bit more optimistic today. But this is still with the backdrop of more recession fears, right?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: That's right, Ana.

Wall Street has been all over the place, ups and downs like a roller coaster, because there's just so much uncertainty in the economy, but another recession warning today out from economists surveyed by "The Wall Street Journal." They see a 63 percent chance of a recession in the United States in the next 12 months.

That is up significantly from just a few months ago. And it's the first time that the probability of a recession is above 50 percent in more than two years. Now, the biggest problem remains high inflation, high inflation that is forcing the Federal Reserve to slam the brakes on the economy.

Now, as you can see on that chart, inflation was really, really low for many years, and then, boom, spring of 2020, COVID hit and inflation skyrocketed, and it has remained very high. For families, that means that their paychecks are not going as far, especially at the gas station and the grocery store.

And that is really painful. But there are bright spots in this economy, especially the jobs market, which is historically strong, and the unemployment rate is just 3.5 percent. That is tied for the lowest level since 1969.

I think the question is, how long can it stay low, especially when the Fed is trying to cool off the jobs market by raising interest rates? I think that it's safe to say the unemployment rate goes up from here. But, Ana, the question is, how much higher?

CABRERA: And so voters are about to pick who they believe will do more for them when it comes to their money and their wallet. I guess we have been seeing a lot of polls, Harry, showing Republicans at this stage are doing better with voters on the economy.

And yet when you ask voters who they want to control Congress, Democrats or Republicans, it's about even on that generic ballot question. So how do you explain this? ENTEN: Look, there are a lot of things that go into a vote, right?

But I think what's important to look at here is the trend line. The trend line is so important, because, remember, Roe v. Wade was overturned earlier this summer. And that, I think, really shifted things. So if you look at the generic ballot, what you essentially see was, at the beginning of the summer, Republicans had an advantage of about two points.

Then, all of a sudden you go in August, it was tied. Even a month ago, the Democrats had a one-point advantage. But as the overturning of Roe v. Wade kind of goes on in the rearview mirror and economic concerns become front and center, you see the Republicans gaining back momentum.

So, yes, it's true. Republicans do not have a large lead. I wouldn't be surprised if Democrats won the overall House vote if the election were held today. But the momentum is clearly moving towards Republicans, in my mind. And the reason that's happening is because the economy is front and center, and voters overwhelmingly trust the Republicans on that issue.

CABRERA: Matt, are Democrats getting any help from the White House?

EGAN: Well, Biden officials have to walk a fine line here, right, because they want to express confidence and optimism about the future, but they also have to acknowledge the difficulties of the current moment. And that is not easy.

[13:10:02]

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, he was asked flat out this weekend whether or not the U.S. economy could go into recession. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE BUTTIGIEG (D), FORMER MAYOR OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA: It's possible, but not inevitable.

And we're doing everything we can to strengthen the foundations of the American economy. And that means a lot on the supply side, expanding the productive capacity of this country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

EGAN: Now, those comments might make some Democrats running for Congress cringe, right, acknowledging that a recession is a possibility.

But Buttigieg is right here. I mean, recession risks are high, but it is not a foregone conclusion. That survey from "The Wall Street Journal," it wasn't 100 percent probability of recession. It's 63 percent. No one really knows exactly what's going to happen here.

I mean, there's no playbook for what happens to a $23 trillion economy two years after a once-in-a-century pandemic and in the middle of a war in Europe. I mean, we really are in uncharted waters here, but, Ana, I think it is that uncertainty that is weighing on the minds of not only economists and investors, but voters.

CABRERA: Well put.

Matt Egan, Harry Enten, thank you, gentlemen.

I want to zoom in on the crucial Senate race in Georgia, where early voting begins today. In a new interview, Republican Senate nominee Herschel Walker acknowledges he sent a $700 check to a woman, but he continues to deny her claims that that money was sent to reimburse her for having an abortion.

CNN has not independently confirmed the woman's allegations. This race between Walker and Senator Raphael Warnock could decide who wins control of the Senate in the midterm elections.

CNN national politics reporter Eva McKend is joining us live from Atlanta.

Eva, what more are we hearing from Walker about this $700 check?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: Well, Ana Walker, is continuing to deny the core allegations here that he paid for a former girlfriends abortion.

But now he seems to conceding that he does recognize this check, that he did pay this woman. But he is saying -- maintaining that it is not for an abortion. Take a listen to the exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERSCHEL WALKER (R), GEORGIA SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: This is still a lie, because she's the mother of my child. So you're going to see a check -- somebody's giving a check. So, they're I'm saying, it's a lie.

KRISTEN WELKER, NBC NEWS CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: So, do you know what the $700 check is for?

WALKER: I have no idea what that can be for.

WELKER: Is that your signature on the check, though?

WALKER: Oh, it could be. But it doesn't matter whether it's my signature or not. Yes, that's my check.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: And, Ana, I want to say, while there is this national fixation on Walker's many challenges, I have been speaking to voters here in Atlanta today as they have been going in the polling location here for the first day of early voting in this state, and other issues are on their mind. They're not talking about Herschel Walker. They are talking about

concern about the future of abortion access. Another woman told me that she's worried about public safety, the proliferation of guns in the state.

And so I'm just not hearing as much about Walker, I think, as there is this sort of national chatter all over the country.

CABRERA: And, again, the vote is under way there in Georgia today.

Thank you so much, Eva McKend.

Six months, that is how long prosecutors want Steve Bannon to spend in prison for defying a January 6 Committee subpoena. But Bannon's team says he shouldn't spend one second behind bars.

Plus, a potential serial killer is off the streets of California, and wait until you hear how police finally found this suspect.

And the right-wing social media app Parler has a history of content moderation problems. Now the company says Ye, as in the artist formerly known as Kanye West, is buying Parler. What could go wrong?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:18:06]

CABRERA: Just into CNN, lawyers for Steve Bannon just filed their response to the prosecution's recommendation that a federal judge sentenced Bannon to six months in prison.

Bannon's legal team is asking that he be sentenced to probation instead and that his sentencing be delayed while he appeals. A jury convicted Bannon on two counts of contempt of Congress in July for defying a subpoena from the January 6 Committee investigating the insurrection. Prosecutors also want Bannon to pay a $200,000 fine.

Let's bring in our senior legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Elie Honig. Elie, Bannon faces sentencing on Friday. This six months behind bars that prosecutors want is near the top of the sentencing guidelines. Do you think they will get what they're asking for?

ELIE HONIG, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, they might well, Ana. And let me show you why.

So, the crime that Steve Bannon was convicted of is criminal contempt of Congress. Now, under the law, that carries a maximum sentence of 12 months behind bars. Now it carries a minimum, a mandatory minimum sentence of one month behind bars, which makes it curious that Bannon's lawyers just asked for probation. He cannot get probation, he has to get at least one month behind bars.

But in the federal system, you have to look at the sentencing guidelines. And what those are, are advisory ranges that the judge has to consult. And the range here is between one and six months. And prosecutors sometimes do and, in this case, they're asking for the top of that range, six months.

Prosecutors are making the point to the judge, this is not just any contempt case. Here's something that prosecutors wrote in the memo that they just submitted earlier today -- quote -- "The rioters who overran the Capitol on January 6 did not just attack a building. They assaulted the rule of law. By flouting the Select Committee's subpoena and its authority, the defendant exacerbated that assault."

So we have now heard both sides weigh in, Ana. And the judge will set the sentence on Friday.

CABRERA: Meantime, the House Select Committee just ended its last hearing, before the midterms, at least, by voting to subpoena former President Trump.

[13:20:03]

I want you to listen to one of the members, Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger, over the weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC "THIS WEEK" ANCHOR: Do you believe that the Justice Department, if the president refuses, should hold him in criminal contempt?

REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): Look, that's a -- that's a bridge we cross if we have to get there.

Look, we well recognize the fact that, because of the committee only being able to exist until the end of this congressional year, because that was the mandate, we're at a bit of a time limit here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: So, Elie, the committee has time constraints. Is there a deadline for Trump to give a definitive answer about whether he will comply with the subpoena?

HONIG: So, Ana, that is up to the committee itself.

Remember, the committee voted last week that they will subpoena Donald Trump, but they have not actually issued the subpoena itself yet. When they do, it will say you have until such-and-such a date to comply?

Do we know if Donald Trump will comply yet? It certainly seems like he won't, given that wild-14 page statement that he issued last week. If he does not comply, then the committee will have two options. First, they can pursue civil litigation. They can go to a federal judge, ask for an order requiring Donald Trump to testify. As Adam Kinzinger just said, though, they likely do not have enough time to do that.

Or the committee can refer the case over to the Justice Department for potential criminal contempt of Congress charges. And then the decision will be up to the Justice Department. Now, this has happened four times already in this case. Two of those -- one was Steve Bannon, who we were just talking about. He was charged. He's been convicted, coming up on sentencing.

DOJ also chose to charge Peter Navarro. He's coming up on his trial next month. But DOJ decided not to charge the other two, Mark Meadows and Dan Scavino. So if the committee goes this route, Ana, ultimately, it will be up to DOJ whether to bring contempt charges.

CABRERA: OK, contempt is one thing, but could Trump be looking at broader criminal liability in the wake of the committee's hearings over his attempt to steal the 2020 election?

HONIG: Well, Liz Cheney certainly thinks so, Ana.

She sent a pointed message to the Justice Department in that last hearing last week when she said -- quote -- "Our nation cannot only punish the foot soldiers who stormed the Capitol."

The implication there, of course, is that DOJ and other prosecutors need to look, of course, at the people who stormed the Capitol, but also the real power sources. And so the emphasis, the focus is now going to shift over from the committee to, of course, the United States Department of Justice under Merrick Garland.

And don't forget the Fulton County district attorney down in Georgia, Fani Willis. We know both of them have investigations going. We have seen signs that those investigations are expanding and getting closer to Donald Trump's inner circle. We know that these prosecutors have either subpoenaed or interviewed or negotiated with some key witnesses, Cassidy Hutchinson, Pat Cipollone, Marc Short, Mark Meadows, all of whom had some interaction with the January 6 Committee first.

Ana, quick note that's important here about timing. Because midterms are only three weeks away, we're not going to see any major politically charged indictments or charges between now and then. But once midterms happen, all the focus is going to be back on these two prosecutors.

CABRERA: Beyond the January 6-related investigations, Trump has plenty of other legal worries as well. So walk us through those.

HONIG: He has a full legal plate.

In addition to what we have talked about, there is the Mar-a-Lago documents investigation, which continues. That could result in criminal charges against Donald Trump or others. That will be up to the Justice Department. The New York state attorney general, Letitia James, brought that fraud lawsuit. That's a civil case, that's not a criminal case, against Donald Trump alleging that he used fraudulent business practices.

E. Jean Carroll, the writer, has sued Donald Trump for defamation, and that suit is progressing now. And, finally, there are a bunch of January 6 civil lawsuits by police officers, by members of Congress seeking damages, money damages, against Donald Trump.

So he's got an awful lot in front of him in terms of criminal and potential civil liability, Ana.

CABRERA: And you are helping us all keep it straight. Elie Honig, thank you so much for that great segment, information.

HONIG: Thank you.

CABRERA: We also have this just into CNN. A new report says the Trump Organization charged the Secret Service exorbitant rates at Trump properties while they were protecting the former president and his family.

Now, this is according to documents just released by the House Oversight Committee.

Let's get right to CNN's Kara Scannell with more on this.

Kara, how much money are we talking about here?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, according to the House committee which put out this new information today, they say that, from 2017 through September of 2019, the Trump Organization received $1.4 million, at least, from the Secret Service. And that's coming from taxpayers.

According to the House, they say that the Trump Organization had charged exorbitant rates, as high as $1,185 per night. That is despite Eric Trump having once said that the Trump Organization would not charge the Secret Service when they were staying at the properties or would charge them at cost.

So that's quite a big difference there. I mean, one of the other things that came out from this House report today is, they say that the Trump Organization at least 40 times had charged the Secret Service more than the government rate. One of those examples was in March of 2017.

[13:25:07]

Eric Trump was staying at the Trump-branded hotel in Washington, D.C. He was there to promote a golf tournament. That was taking place at a nearby Trump owned golf course. The Secret Service then was charged $1,160 per night. The GSA government rate at the time was $242.

So, the House committee says that they have significant concerns about self-dealing by the former president, and that they are trying to get more information from the Secret Service about how much in expenses they had been charged by the Trump Organization. They're still continuing that effort.

We have reached out to the Secret Service and the Trump Organization today and have not received a response -- Ana.

CABRERA: I was trying to do the math there. I mean, that was like five times, I believe four or five times, if I'm doing my math right, the GSA rate that they were charging. That is shocking.

Kara Scannell, thank you for that reporting.

Police in California think they stopped a suspected serial killer while he was out hunting for his next victim. What we know about the man in custody.

And how do billions of snow crabs just disappear? Hint: It is not over fishing.

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