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Countdown To Midterms; Federal Appeals Court Pauses Biden's Student Debt Relief Program; WAPO: Docs Seized At Mar-a-Lago Had Secrets On China, Iran; Immigration A Top Issue Among Latino Voters; Dozens Of Election Deniers Running In Major Races Nationwide; Dozens Of Election Deniers Running In Major Races Nationwide; New FBI Data Base Focuses On Missing Native Americans; Kevin Spacey's Accuser Speaks Out After Jury Decision; EBay Pulling Jeffrey Dahmer Halloween Costumes From Site; Fashion House Balenciaga Cuts Ties With Kanye West. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired October 22, 2022 - 17:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:00:19]

SARA SIDNER, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Sara Sidner in for Jim Acosta.

Millions of ballots have already been cast with just 17 days to go until election day. At stake, the balance of power in Congress. The Democrats have it now, but that could all change come November 8th.

President Biden says he's not going anywhere, at least he doesn't intend to.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The reason I'm not making a judgment about formally running or not running. Once I make that judgment, a whole series of regulations kick in. And I have to be -- I have to treat myself as a candidate from that moment on.

I have not made that formal decision, but it's my intention. My intention to run again, and we have time to make that decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: CNN's Joe Johns is joining me now from Delaware. Joe, that statement is coming less than three weeks ahead of the midterms where the president seems to be carefully crafting a midterm strategy in those very tight races. What is that strategy at the moment, Joe?

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, you might also call it a practical approach, quite frankly, because what we're seeing from the president is he's going to a lot of fundraisers, Sara. He's going to some closed receptions, but he hasn't been to a lot of big political rallies with Democratic candidates running for office, and the reason for that is pretty clear and pretty simple. We're in an environment where he has low approval ratings. We have high inflation. There are concerns about recession and some -- some of these Democratic campaigns are looking at the situation saying would an appearance with the president help, would it hurt, or would it just be a waste of time?

That's not to say the president is sort of hiding or sitting on his hands. He's still out there, but the things he's attending are more issues based appearances, things on infrastructure.

Yesterday he was here in Delaware talking about his school loan debt cancellation program. So that's what they're trying to do. They're very sensitive about it, but the fact of the matter is some other presidents have faced similar situations in the first midterm, Sara.

SIDNER: You just mentioned the student debt program. There were a lot of students particularly who were really excited about this because it would make a big impact on them. But can you give us a sense of what's happening with that now because that rollout has been put on hold. What happened?

JOHNS: Yes. Well, to some extent it's been put on hold, ok? What happened is the Eighth Circuit essentially said hold on. Don't start canceling debt until we take a closer look at this program. And the issue before them, at least one of them is whether the president of the United States has the power to just start throw out these loans without an act of Congress.

The administration says they've already gotten empowerment from Congress in a bill years and years ago. Nonetheless, the president has been out pushing hard on this and it's pretty clear they're going to stay the course.

In that speech here in Delaware just yesterday, he slammed Republicans for trying to get in the way of his program. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Republican members of Congress and Republican governors are doing everything they can to deny this relief even to their own constituents.

As soon as I announced my administration's plan on student debt, they started attacking it saying all kinds of things. Their outrage is wrong and it's hypocritical, but you know, we're not letting them get away with it.

JOHNS: So they're going to keep taking and reviewing applications. The secretary of education wrote an op-ed in "USA Today", and he said in part Republicans are trying to block the Biden administration's debt relief program. But he also said they're going to continue with lawful preparations for the implementation of the program to help the people who need it most, Sara.

SIDNER: Joe Johns, it's always nice speaking to you. Thank you so much for that update. Now, lawyers for former president Donald Trump say they will review a

subpoena issued by the January 6th committee and respond as appropriate to what they're calling an unprecedented action. The committee's trying to compel Donald Trump to sit for a deposition under oath and to provide documents, a lot of them, about January 6th and the 2020 election. It is not clear if Donald Trump is going to comply.

[17:04:54]

SIDNER: There are also stunning new developments in the Mar-a-Lago document investigation. The "Washington Post" is reporting that several of the classified documents recovered during that FBI search of Trump's estate included highly sensitive intelligence regarding Iran and China.

Joining me now to discuss all of this is former Nixon White House counsel and CNN contributor John Dean. John -- thank you so much for joining me again.

JOHN DEAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Thank you, Sara.

SIDNER: It's been a little while since we've talked and of course a lot has happened. Let's start with this. What are the odds that we actually ever see former President Trump answering questions under oath from the January 6th committee.

DEAN: Well, the invitation he has is for a closed deposition. In other words, behind closed doors -- a non-public event. There is some rumor that he might want to come before the committee and try to take charge and make it a Trump show and actually try to beat up on the committee a bit. Whether he'd do that, I think his lawyers would oppose it because it's a very dangerous ploy. But it's in the rumor mill out there and I don't believe it's going to happen. But at least it's something that's being talked about.

SIDNER: All right, on that same day that Trump was formally subpoenaed, there was another big thing that happened legally. Steve Bannon was sentenced to four months in prison for defying a subpoena from that committee. So how does that factor into what might happen next?

DEAN: Well, Bannon was given a four-month sentence under a maximum of six months. The government actually asks for six months and asks for a $200,000 fine. He got fined $6,500. A lot of people thought this was kind of a non-sentence. The four months is actually a significant sentence under the statute, which has a minimum one month sentence.

So the judge added on three more months to that minimal under the statute. And it was two misdemeanors, so these are not considered by the Congress who wrote this law to be serious crimes. I've often wondered why they haven't made it a little bit more serious than they have and give the judge a little bit more flexibility.

Now the defiant act on Bannon's part was he refused to even talk to the probation offices about his financial situation so they could judge what would be an appropriate fine. He just said "Go packing. I'm not going to give you any information."

So the Justice Department asked that he get a full $200,000 maximum fine under the statute. The judge didn't go for that, and fined him $6,500 which is loose change for Bannon.

SIDNER: Well, so far he's defiant and he's appealing and out of jail at this time.

Let's go back to the highly sensitive intel that the FBI seized at Mar-a-Lago. Former President Trump has said that he either declassified it or had the right to have those documents. And the "Washington Post" is reporting that the information was shared with others and could expose intelligence gathering methods that, of course, the United States wants to keep secret, which is why they are secret, highly classified documents.

What do you make of that, how that might affect the Department of Justice's case going forward?

DEAN: What happens in cases like this when there is a potential disclosure of sources and methods, these are really the jewels of the intelligence community who these people are, particularly in Iran and China, which are very difficult places for the United States to collect intelligence, and it could threaten somebody's life. It could end the source and end the method.

So these are treasured and important, and what will happen is if the department decides they're going to indict, this is a more aggregating factor and would give them more basis and inclination to indict the president for violation of national security.

So they know what the intelligence is, the government obviously. They're now assessing what they think the damage -- this is purely speculation by "The Post" at this point. They have apparently sources that are telling them what might have been in there, but we don't know that for a fact, but this will all go into the calculation by the attorney general as to whether he's going to indict a former president for violating a very clear national standard.

[17:09:48]

DEAN: Trump, if he did some sort of magical declassification, that would even be more egregious because he would be releasing sources and methods, if you will. And this is something presidents just don't do.

SIDNER: I want to ask you about some of the subpoenas. There are several that we've been talking about in this hour. The last one is to Senator Lindsey Graham, where he has basically asked that the Supreme Court weigh in on his subpoena from a grand jury in Atlanta, Georgia, that Georgia, that is tied to an investigation in attempts to overturn the 2020 election.

And Senator Graham is claiming that he shouldn't face questioning due to a clause for senators called the "speech and debate clause". What, may I ask, is that? DEAN: The "speech and debate clause" is a part of the constitution

where the founders believe that our elected representatives to Congress, both the House and the Senate, should be able to debate openly without having any sort of criminal or civil liability for what they're discussing on the floor of the House and the Senate. So that's really what it is.

Now, over the years, members of congress have used that as a shield and tried to protect themselves. It happened in criminal cases. It hasn't worked very well.

Graham does have some privilege, but it's not clear he can block all testimony and the lower courts have already ruled that he must testify. The federal district court in Georgia as well as the 11th circuit have ruled that he must.

In reaction to that, he went to Clarence Thomas who is the justice with jurisdiction over that and said, will you intervene and stay this and stop this and Thomas has not acted yet.

He said I want to hear from the prosecutors by next Thursday and then I'll decide whether I'm going to pass this on to the court or I'll rule on it myself or what I'll do. I don't think it's going to end with the senator being excused from testifying.

SIDNER: You think that the senator, Senator Graham will have to testify.

John Dean, it's always a pleasure to speak to you --

DEAN: I do.

SIDNER: -- you give some great insights to us.

DEAN: Thanks.

And coming up, Latino voters leaving the Democratic Party saying they're under delivered on key issues including immigration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just seems like Republicans care and talk about more -- they talk about the border issue a lot more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[17:12:28]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: Latino voters are the fastest growing voting bloc in the United States, and winning their support is crucial to those running in the midterm elections. Recently there's been a shift in communities all across the country with more Latinos voting Republican.

CNN's Boris Sanchez talked with voters to find out why. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABRAHAM ENRIQUEZ: If America is so bad, if America is so -- is such a terrible country to live in, why did 50 migrants die suffocated in a trailer to come seek a better life in this country?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The grandson of Mexican migrants Abraham Enriquez says Democrats are losing support among Latino voters because their rhetoric is out of touch and that their policies allow for what he calls unrestricted immigration.

He says hard line policies like those pursued by former President Donald Trump resonate with many voters like him.

ENRIQUEZ: I think Latinos, we don't care really much what you say. It's what are you going to do, right? So many people are tired of politicians that just speak but don't act. And for the first time we have this political outsider that came in and spoke a lot but acted even more.

SANCHEZ: Do you feel like either party is addressing that issue well?

ENRIQUEZ: No, no, neither party is addressing the issue well.

SANCHEZ: Immigration attorney Carlos Gomez says a sensible balanced approach is sorely needed but missing.

CARLOS GOMEZ, IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY: And either they talk to their base, they talk to the right or they talk to the left, but they don't come and talk to us. They don't see what we're doing on a daily basis.

SANCHEZ: Justin Stubbs, an Independent who supported Bernie Sanders in 2016, says it's the GOP that seems to be paying most attention to the border crisis.

JUSTIN STUBBS, INDEPENDENT VOTER: It just seem like Republicans care and talk about more. They talk about the border issue a lot more.

SANCHEZ: The immediate impact of immigration might be felt most strongly by voters here in Texas at the southern border. It's an issue that resonates all over the map, including here in Florida where there's also a large Hispanic population and a Republican governor that's taken a hard line stance.

MARIA CORINA VEGAS, PRO-IMMIGRATION ADVOCATE: This is not a policy. That's a stunt. I'm sorry. That is a stunt.

SANCHEZ: Local pro-immigration advocate, Maria Corina Vegas says leaders like Ron DeSantis and Greg Abbott try to win votes by demonizing outsiders.

VEGAS: And that's what populists do effectively.

SANCHEZ: But the Venezuelan-American warns the long-term costs could be devastating. VEGAS: I never thought I would see that in this country. I saw that in

my country. It tore my country apart. And it doesn't matter if it comes from the right or from the left, it's anti-democratic.

SANCHEZ: For Cuban born entrepreneur, Julio Cabrera, the issue of immigration is tied to the economy.

JULIO CABRERA, CUBAN-BORN ENTREPRENEUR: This country moves because of the immigrants and Latinos.

SANCHEZ: 16 years ago, Cabrera says he was robbed at gunpoint by criminals in Mexico while trying to seek asylum at the southern border with his daughter. Today he's a successful restauranteur in Miami.

The American dream, Cabrera says would be impossible without immigrants, so he's turned off by what he calls incendiary rhetoric.

CABRERA: Everybody's immigrant around here. And we have done something remarkable for the community.

[17:19:53]

SANCHEZ: Younger voters, like Marvin Tapia, a Colombian-American who lives in Miami's Little Havana, argue that demographic change is a blessing that more politicians should embrace.

MARVIN TAPIA, COLOMBIAN-AMERICAN, COMMUNITY LEADER: We're sharing a country built on immigrants and we should kind of be proud of that, that we evolve and we grow and we change. You know, things can't stay the same forever.

I believe that growth is pivotal to the growth of a country, especially like the U.S. We should learn from it instead of run from it.

SANCHEZ: With early voting already underway in many states, the Latino vote could prove pivotal. Already in Florida, nearly a million a ballots have been cast. The question remains will this rightward trend in the Latino community continue.

Boris Sanchez, CNN -- Miami Beach.

SIDNER: And joining me now, CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist, Maria Cardona and former Republican congresswoman from Virginia, Barbara Comstock. Ladies, thank you so much for joining us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, Sara.

SIDNER: Can I first say this out loud because we should be really clear that when we say Latino vote, it is not a single thought. There are Colombian Americans and Cuban Americans and Mexican Americans, and you just heard from Boris's piece that they're not a monolith.

So we should say that from the outset. But I want to ask you, Maria, if the Democratic Party should be worried about the Latino vote. MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: The Democratic Party should be

worried about the Latino vote, should be worried about all votes because Sara, that's the only way we will win if we are out there every single day earning every single vote.

But I do want to say something that I think is really important to underscore, Sara. We have seen this narrative in so many places recently in the past few weeks and months about how Latino voters are running into the arms of Republicans, and that is just not true. Let me repeat that. It is not true. No es verdad.

The Democratic Party still has overwhelming support 30 -- 35 points nationally, more in places like Arizona, more in places like Colorado, Nevada, than the Republican Party does.

That doesn't mean that we should not be out there every single day making the argument that it is Democratic policies, the ones that have always had the back of the Latino community, and the ones that have always helped Latinos live a better life in this country. And that is as true today as it has been for the last 20 years.

If there has been any erosion in the Latino vote, Sara, for a party, it has been the Republican Party.

Barbara will be able to underscore this for us as well. George Bush got 44 percent of the Latino vote. The Republican Party has never come close to that ever since he left because he understood Latinos. He related to Latinos. And so the Latino community always is better off when both parties try to attract their vote in an authentic, organic, truthful and respectful way.

The Republican Party has not done that, I believe, in like two decades since the Bushes left.

SIDNER: So Congresswoman, you heard there from like Ms. Cardona who's like, no es verdad, this is not true that you know, Latinos are not going over to the Republican Party in large enough numbers to make a huge difference. What do you make of that?

BARBARA COMSTOCK, FORMER REPUBLICAN CONGRESSWOMAN, VIRGINIA: Well, I think you've seen some changes in some areas, you know, concerned about economic issues that's had some impact, and you've also seen some changes like at the border. You've had some candidates who have run on concerns about their communities being impacted by immigration issues on the border, issues of crime, and the economy.

so I do think you've had some particular issues that have played out in particular communities. But I think the real problem is you've had people in both parties who use this as an issue instead of solving a problem, and I think for decades people have been concerned that instead of solving the problem, it's been used as a fund-raising issue, as a political issue, and the communities have suffered as a result.

SIDNER: And I do want to mention that Donald Trump is actually campaigning now in south Texas this evening, and he is particularly campaigning trying to attract Latino voters, so we will see what happens in the midterms.

Maria, I do want to change the subject a bit here and look at this analysis that CNN did on election deniers who are running for office. In secretary of state races, at least 11 of the 27 Republican candidates nationally have tried to overturn, reject, or question the 2020 results. Among candidates for governor, at least 22 of 36 Republicans running. And in the senate races at least 19 of 35 Republican candidates running.

[17:24:56[ SIDNER: Now, we've seen this work in the Republican Party because there are people who got through their primaries. But what do Democrats do if it turns out that the people that are saying these things and denying the 2020 election results win?

CARDONA: Well, first of all, that is a super scary scenario that should run shudders down the back of every single American who loves this country and who loves our democracy because our democracy is on the line this November because of exactly the graph that you just put up, Sara.

So that's the first thing I will say.

Everyone should go out and vote and understand the person you are voting for may be in a position of power over elections to be able to deny a fair and free election, to be able to put in fake electors like we saw Donald Trump and his acolytes try to do, to be able to challenge people's votes when they are absolutely fair and legitimate. And that should scare everyone into getting up and going to vote for the person who understands that everyone's vote matters and everyone's vote should count.

Now, should some of these folks win who are election deniers, I believe that there are enough people or my hope is that there will be enough people around those election deniers that will be able to stop any shenanigans in their tracks.

But we're not sure that that's the case, Sara, which is why before that happens when we have something that we can still do about it, before we put our elections and our democracy in the hands of people who were ok with storming the Capitol and killing policemen and trying to put in fake electors and wanting to kill members of Congress to keep from certifying a fair and free election, let's keep those people from actually gaining the power to bring down our democracy from within.

It is in our hands, American voters. Let's go make sure that our democracy still sees the light of day on November 9th.

SIDNER: Congresswoman, if you don't mind, I'd like to turn to that Georgia senate race where Herschel Walker is battling back from a scandal to try and beat Raphael Warnock. He is out there on the campaign trail, and here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HERSCHEL WALKER (R), GEORGIA SENATE NOMINEE: What we need right now, we don't need politicians. We need warriors. Warriors that are ready to go to Washington and tell people that right now you're not going to separate my people. You're not going to tell us because you're black, you're white, that you know this or that because I remember Dr. King,

I'm running against a wolf in sheep's clothing. And he's trying to tell you because of the color of your skin, you're no good. You're oppressing. You're a victim. I'm here to tell you, you're victorious.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: I'm curious what you think about him and whether or not you think he's ready to serve on Capitol Hill.

COMSTOCK: In a word, no. Candidate quality has been a big problem for Republicans this year. Election deniers and candidate quality has really plagued Republicans and it's why in a year where the economy is bad and you've had Republicans -- certainly you look at Arizona, if Governor Ducey had run, we probably would have been picking up a senate seat there where we're not going to be getting a senate seat.

Same thing in New Hampshire if Governor Sununu was running. Those are two seats because of Donald Trump, Republicans aren't going to pick up.

Again here in Georgia where I think Governor Kemp and Brad Raffensperger are probably going to sail to re-election fairly easily, you have Herschel Walker certainly going to go to a runoff I would expect, but candidate quality is a big problem there. And I certainly don't think he is qualified, and I think he has been a big problem. And he's a problem that Donald Trump, you know, gave the party, again, as he has with any number of candidates throughout.

Now, I certainly think because of the bad economy and the problems the Democrats have had this year, you're certainly going to see Republicans gain the House majority and they might well gain the Senate but not in the numbers that we would have, but for Donald Trump saddling these poor quality candidates that he has.

And I am very concerned about these election deniers, people like Kari Lake running for governor, who had said, as Donald Trump said, you know, whenever he talks to her, she says she always leads it back to, you know, that she thinks the election was stolen in 2020.

SIDNER: Right.

[17:29:54]

COMSTOCK: So having somebody like that on the ballot is a real threat to democracy. So this is a big problem. I think democracy should be first and foremost for everybody as they cast their ballot.

And that's why I think it's important that we see so many people turning out in places like Georgia. And I think everybody should look at candidate quality and the character of the people who are on the ballot.

And I think that's why you're going to see this year, again, people are going to look individually at the candidates and not necessarily the party.

And I think, in Georgia, like you did in 2020, I think you're going to see people maybe splitting their tickets a bit, just like they did in 2020 --

(CROSSTALK)

COMSTOCK: -- when they voted down ballot for Republicans but not for Donald Trump.

SIDNER: Yes. I apologize for jumping in here.

But I do want to mention that there's a huge number of people that have been voting so far in Georgia that we just learned of.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, record numbers.

SIDNER: So those record numbers are up.

Barbara Comstock --

(CROSSTALK)

COMSTOCK: Which is good for democracy.

CARDONA: Exactly.

SIDNER: It's good for democracy if more people vote.

Barbara Comstock, I'm so happy that you joined us, as well as Maria Cardona. Gracias. I will see you soon.

(LAUGHTER)

CARDONA: Gracious, Sara.

SIDNER: Their stories don't make national headlines, but that does not make them any less important. How the FBI is launching a new tool to help find hundreds of Native Americans and indigenous people.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:35:42]

SIDNER: In New Hampshire, this massive fire broke out after a small plane crashed into a multifamily home. The two people on board ended up dying while no one on the ground was hurt or killed.

The plane went down shortly after departing a nearby airport. The FAA and NTSB are now investigating that crash.

In Baton Rouge, two men are in custody in connection to a mass shooting overnight near the campus of Southern University. Police say, when they initially arrived at the scene, nine people had apparently been hurt with nonlife-threatening gunshot wounds.

While the motive right now is unclear, investigators believe this was an isolated incident. And there is no immediate threat to the folks and the school. The shooting comes as the university celebrates homecoming this weekend.

In New Mexico and the Navajo Nation, there are almost 200 known cases of missing Native Americans. For some families, they've spent decades wondering what happened to their loved ones.

Now, thanks to a new effort by law enforcement, many have renewed hope.

CNN security correspondent, Josh Campbell, has their story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's hard to believe that amid so much beauty --

SADIE ACEVEDO, SISTER MISSING SINCE 1986: It's lonely. It's empty.

CAMPBELL: -- there could be so much pain.

ACEVEDO: I pray that if somebody knows something, that they would say something.

CAMPBELL: Sadie Acevedo lives an endless cycle of grief. Her sister, Anthonette Cayedito, went missing from her family's home in Gallup, New Mexico, one evening in 1986, never to be seen again.

ACEVEDO: I have a hole inside of my life because we don't know where she is.

CAMPBELL: Anthonette is one of nearly 200 Native American and indigenous people in New Mexico and the Navajo Nation listed as missing today according to the FBI.

ACEVEDO: I believe that number is higher. I believe that a lot of it is overlooked.

CAMPBELL: It's a crisis that has spurred the FBI into action, enlisting the agency's intelligence resources best known for fighting crime and terrorism to create a master data base of those missing, connecting their faces with the public, in hopes of bringing victims home.

(on camera): To you, this is more than just data.

DON METZMEIER, FBI INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: It is more than just data. These are individuals. And these are individuals that are either in pain or missing or in trouble.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've got to be able to learn the land. You've got to be able to learn the cultural norms.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): We rode along with an FBI special agent who worked with tribal police to solve cases on much of the nearly 30,000 square miles of Navajo nation land spanning Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.

We agreed not to name him, as much of his work involves searching for violent criminals.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And our number-one challenge is access. For certain crimes out here, it will be some sort of family on family crime, and they may not want the individual to go to jail.

CAMPBELL (on camera): So one challenge on working in missing persons case here compared to a big city is that you're limited on what evidence might be available.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, absolutely. There is not a neighbor with a doorbell camera. There's not going to be any exterior security cameras.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): The bureau and the tribal police acknowledge the database was long overdue.

Prior to the FBI's new database, law enforcement didn't have a firm grasp of the number of people actually missing.

RAUL BUJANDA, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: Native Americans, everywhere we go, they're embedded in our fabric of who we are as a society here. We consolidated everything.

That was kind of the biggest thing, right? So it is not that this work wasn't being done. It was being done by everyone in different ways.

DARYL NOON, CHIEF, NAVAJO POLICE: We recognize that maybe we weren't doing something the best we could have. This is a result of that. And we want the public to understand we get it.

CAMPBELL: Few know better than Chief Noon, whose family member went missing in California.

NOON: I understand, you know, the frustration and the need for closure. Because just having that hang over the family as a whole, the family unit, it's just -- it's horrible.

CAMPBELL: Police say the answers often lie within the Navajo Nation.

MICHAEL HENDERSON, DIRECTOR, CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS, NAVAJO POLICE: We're not looking at a boogeyman coming from the outside of the Navajo nation that's stealing people. When people go missing, we're looking at domestic violence. We're usually looking at sexual abuse cases.

CAMPBELL: Sadie Acevedo thinks her sister's disappearance may have been tied to a relative. The FBI says it's considered all options but needs new leads.

[17:40:04]

ACEVEDO: Just give us closure.

CAMPBELL: Acevedo hopes the public will scan the photos of the missing and perhaps end the family's pain.

(on camera): What is your message to viewers who might say, well, I don't have time to see if I know who these people are?

ACEVEDO: Time. If was your child, it would be important. It is somebody else's child. Make it important.

CAMPBELL (voice-over): Josh Campbell, CNN, on the Navajo Nation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: A really good message there, it's someone's child. Makes it important to you as well.

Coming up, backlash continues over Kanye West's recent anti-Semitic comments. A major fashion label is now cutting ties with him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: Actor Kevin Spacey's accuser is now speaking out after Spacey was found not liable by a New York jury for battery in a sexual misconduct trial after Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of sexual misconduct in 1986 when Rapp was just 14 years old.

[17:45:08]

He pledged "to keep on advocating for efforts to ensure that we can live and work in a world that is free from sexual violence of any kind." That is his quote there sent out on Twitter.

He went on to say he sincerely hopes "that survivors continue to tell their stories and fight for accountability."

Our Chloe Melas joins us now.

It's good to see you, Chloe.

Kevin Spacey was found not liable in this case. But he's not done facing sex abuse charges, is he?

CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Hey, Sara. Look, I was in that courtroom last week and the week before listening to Kevin Spacey's testimony, listening to Anthony Rapp's testimony.

And although, you know, the jury did not find Anthony Rapp's allegations credible enough to, you know, find Spacey -- that he had to pay anything to Anthony, he does face, like you said, a criminal trial in the U.K. next summer.

He's going to have a trial that starts. He faces several criminal counts about allegations of sexual violence against three men that ranged over a period of years when Kevin Spacey was running the old Vick Theater.

Kevin Spacey has vehemently denied, Sara, these allegations. But you know, he's currently out on bail that he was granted by that judge in the U.K.

And this is going to be a very serious trial where all of this -- remember, Anthony Rapp's case, that was civil. This is criminal.

And this is going to be -- kind of reach that watershed moment for Kevin Spacey next summer.

SIDNER: All right. We're going to move on to something else that's a bit disturbing. Halloween just days away. That's fine.

But there's this new hit Netflix series that everyone is talking about, and it's providing some pretty grim costume inspiration with people planning to dress up as serial killer, Jeffrey Dahmer.

I'm sure the victims are beyond upset.

Tell us what the retailer, eBay, is doing about this.

MELAS: So, many people have come out and said that if you see somebody wearing a Dahmer costume, say something.

And Simone Biles, the Olympic gymnast, she came out on social media saying, "Do not wear Dahmer costumes for Halloween."

Like you see this every year, people want to be gruesome and scary. But retailers are saying we draw the line when it comes to real acts of violence with real people, like Jeffrey Dahmer, who murdered so many men in the late '80s and early '90s.

And eBay, like you said, Sara, is the latest retailer to come out and say we're not going to be selling those costumes. And they have removed pretty much everything right now.

There's some glasses that look like Jeffrey Dahmer glasses that are still up, but they've removed costumes and everything. And you're seeing people do this.

And people are outraged. The families, many families of the victims have come out and said, Netflix, Ryan Murphy, they never approached us and asked us for any input.

They used our names. They used our children's names, our loved ones' names, and they never approached us at all. It's OK to have creative license, but these were real traumatic moments.

I myself watched the series, Sara, and I had such a hard time, like so many people, just getting through it because it's so realistic, so traumatic.

SIDNER: Yes.

And, Chloe, you know, this idea that you're going to dress up as him,, just think about the families and what they went through. This is real pain that still shattered so many families.

I want to move on to a headline this week that Balenciaga has cut ties now with Kanye West, who now goes by Ye, after he made so many times anti-Semitic comments and wearing that "White Lives Matter" T-shirt to a Paris fashion show.

But this isn't the only business that's backing away from him, correct?

MELAS: Correct, Adidas says that their partnership with Kanye is currently under review.

Remember, just a few weeks ago, Kanye sparked outrage by wearing a "White Lives Matter" shirt alongside conservative commentator, Candace Owens, at the Balenciaga show.

Kanye, Ye, has had a long-standing relationship with Balenciaga. And for them to come out -- he did that Gap line with them, with Balenciaga and Gap.

So for them to come out and say they are cutting ties with him is a very big moment.

But Kanye has said that he doesn't care who cuts ties with him because he believes that he is going to be just fine and continue to sell his fashion designs.

And as of right now, you know, he feels as though his comments -- he's not apologizing for them -- Sara?

SIDNER: Well, he has been spewing a whole lot of hate, so we'll see what happens with the businesses that he is involved with.

Chloe Melas, it's always a pleasure. Thank you.

MELAS: Thank you.

[17:49:52]

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: On a brand-new episode of "THE MURDOCHS, EMPIRE OF INFLUENCE," the head of FOX News, Roger Ailes, resigns in disgrace, bringing Rupert Murdoch back into the newsroom to run the network during the 2016 presidential election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Rupert, in honor of this relationship, in honor of the many billions of dollars that roger had earned for him, let him off quite easy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They paid for him to leave the company, to buy him out and to go away. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: James didn't want to pay roger that money and

wanted to be much harsher. He didn't have that kind of influence in the end.

[17:55:01]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ultimately, Roger Ailes left with $40 million.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Be sure to tune in. "THE MURDOCHS, EMPIRE OF INFLUENCE" airs tomorrow night at 10:00, right here on CNN.

And that is it for me. I'm Sara Sidner, in New York. Jim Acosta is back tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. Eastern.

And up next, Paula Reid takes over the CNN NEWSROOM.

Thanks for hanging with me. Have a great evening.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:00:07]

PAULA REID, CNN HOST: We are just over two weeks from the midterm elections.