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Supreme Court Blocks House from Getting Trump Tax Returns For Now; One Week from Today, Voters Decide Who Controls Congress; Today, Suspect in Paul Pelosi Attack in Court for Arraignment. Aired 10- 10:30a ET

Aired November 01, 2022 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:03]

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Erica, this is all part of this long running litigation that actually began when the former president was still in office. At that point, the Democratic- led House was conducting several different efforts to try to get they are hands on some of the former president's financial records.

In this specific case, though, the House Ways and Means Committee argued that it needed access to the former president's tax returns because it wanted to assess how the IRS audited presidential tax returns. The former president's attorneys argued that was just pretext to get their hands on the former president's financial documents. But lower courts have said that, in fact, the committee could obtain these documents until the Supreme Court intervened here and put a temporary pause on this.

Now, Erica, if the Supreme Court affirms this lower court ruling, if this is allowed to stand, it is significant, because if the House Ways and Means Committee is allowed to obtain these tax returns from the former president, that really would represent a significant chipping away at some of the protections that are afforded to sitting presidents and it would signal a real boost to Congress' over site powers. So, we'll see what the Supreme Court does here. This is just temporary.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Paula, I appreciate it, thank you.

Also with us, Elie Honig, former federal prosecutor, CNN Legal Analyst. Elie, when we look at this too, I think it might be helpful just to remind us all the reason that they said, as Paula laid out there, the House Ways and Means Committee said they want to look into how the IRS is going through the tax returns. If and when they actually do get those tax returns, they have to remain secret. That is part of the deal, correct?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, Erica, that is absolutely right. So, first of all, the law here is clearly, in my view, on the House Ways and Means Committee's side. The law says that, if requested by the House Ways and Means Committee, the IRS shall furnish the tax returns over to the committee, shall furnish. All the judges who have looked at this so far, we had a trial court judge and three appellate court judges have said, shall furnish, means shall furnish.

But if those tax returns do go over to the committee, it's really important to know, the law says the committee has to keep those tax returns confidential, and as Paula just said, the committee has said in court papers, our purpose here is not to investigate Donald Trump, not to try to expose his finances, but because we're considering legislation about potential audits of presidents and presidential candidates. So, even if they get those returns, if they're following the law at the committee, those won't leak out into the public.

HILL: One of big questions, I think, for a lot of people is will this just end up running out the clock. So, Chief Justice Roberts said it needs a response by November 10th. That is next Thursday. Timing-wise, Elie, game this out for us.

HONIG: So, the key date to watch here, Erica, is January 3rd, 2023. That is when a new Congress takes over. Certainly, if that is a Republican-controlled House, this subpoena will be gone. Even if it is a Democratic-controlled House, they will still have to renew this subpoena.

Now, what the Supreme Court has done for now is temporarily paused the lower court's rulings, that the Ways and Means Committee gets the tax returns. The Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts have said, hold on, we're going to put this on temporary pause because we want to decide whether we should take up the case and make a decision on it ourselves.

It looks to me like the chief justice, by setting the fairly quick, short turnarounds, understands that and understands that if he lets this drag out past January 3rd, 2023, it will be mooted. So, that's how I look at the decision today from Chief Justice Roberts in saying, hold on, don't turn the documents over just yet. We have to decide whether we want to wade into this. And he seems to be aware of the realities of the calendar.

HILL: Yes, they're kind of hard to avoid, aren't they? Elie, I appreciate it, my friend. Thank you.

HONIG: Thanks, Erica.

HILL: All right. Who is ready to talk a little politics? Final countdown here, one week until the midterm elections, early voting is already smashing records. More than 21 million Americans have already cast their ballots. Candidates, though, are still burning up the campaign trail. They have several days left to make their final pitches and they're going to do it.

Let's begin with CNN Congressional Correspondent Jessica Dean. She's on the trail in Philadelphia this morning. So, when we talk about Pennsylvania, boy, everybody is pulling out all of the stops there with just seven days to go. What do you see?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CONGERSSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That is exactly right, Erica. Look, we're one week out and that is when you really start to see these big name surrogates hitting the campaign trail. That is when you see these closing ads, closing messages from these candidates. And, look, as is the case in midterm elections, the balance is of power for Congress is what is at stake here. The Republicans hoping to maintain control of both the House and the Senate and, of course, Republicans hoping to take it back. And that means we're seeing some big names out on the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN (voice over): Candidates in key races are making their final pitch to voters.

SENATE CANDIDATE HERSCHEL WALKER (R-GA): Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

[10:05:00]

DEAN: And receiving a boost from some big names.

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Are you ready to go and vote?

DEAN: Former President Barack Obama is set to stump for Democrats in Nevada tonight and Arizona tomorrow, two states critical to the party's path to retain control of the U.S. Senate.

[07:10:10]

Those stops coming after he fired up crowds in Georgia, Wisconsin and Michigan over the weekend, campaigning against Republican candidates, like Herschel Walker and Senator Ron Johnson.

OBAMA: He's a celebrity who wants to be a politician. And we've seen how that goes.

He's not the person who's thinking about you and knows you and sees you.

DEAN: Meanwhile, President Joe Biden heads to Florida today where he will rally with Senate hopeful Val Demings and the state's Democratic candidate for governor, Charlie Crist. And former Vice President Mike Pence will campaign in Georgia with Governor Brian Kemp, a candidate who's drawn the ire of former President Donald Trump.

Another Republican at odds with Trump, Congresswoman Liz Cheney, travels to Michigan today to campaign for a Democrat, Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin. Cheney last week endorsing Slotkin, who's facing a competitive re-election race.

GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE STACEY ABRAMS (D-GA): Right now, we are seeing record turnouts.

DEAN: Re-election voting is surpassing 2018 levels. More than 21 million ballots have been cast across 46 states, including nearly 2.8 million early ballots in Florida and more than 1.6 million in Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE) DEAN (on camera): And back here in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, again, this is an open seat. So, Democrats hoping to flip it, Republicans hoping to hang onto it. It is critical. It could very well determine who has control of the U.S. Senate. And to that end, Erica, we do expect to see President Biden and former President Barack Obama here in Philadelphia over the weekend. Obama will also be traveling to Pittsburgh as they really try to get the base to turn out, to really persuade any unpersuaded voters here at the end.

We're also going to see former President Donald Trump coming here into Pennsylvania. So, a lot of big names coming into the state as we really head into the final days of this campaign.

HILL: Yes. And those big names tell you just how much each party thinks is -- or knows, rather, is riding on that seat. Jessica, I appreciate it, thank you.

Joining me now from the White House to talk about a number of issues, including the president's time on the campaign trail, Brian Deese, he's the director of the National Economic Council. Good to see you this morning.

The president is set to talk about some things that are pretty important to him. He's on the trail this week. And as we're looking at what is coming, there is talk as we know, about Medicare, potential changes to Medicare, some of those changes from Rick Scott, who actually said over the weekend, he didn't foresee making those cuts, a lot of people in his party have pushed back against it. And yet, this is a real talking point right now. Is this just to scare voters?

BRIAN DEESE, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: No, absolutely not. It is good to be here.

I think it's important to start by putting this in perspective. We are making some real progress on the economy right now. We saw the economy grow 2.6 percent last quarter, gas prices are coming down and the job market continues to be strong, but at same time, prices are the top issue on the minds of American families, it is the top issue for the president as well. And so what the president is trying to underscore is the choice that is clear is that his policies are focused on bringing down costs and bringing down the price for American families.

Medicare is case in point. He fought for and secured reforms to prescription drugs so that Medicare, for the first time, could actually negotiate better prices for prescription drugs. Republicans in Congress have made clear that is a top priority for them to repeal that provision. That would that mean that Medicare would no longer have that ability and that prices for drugs will be higher.

And beyond that, but what Senator Scott and others have made clear, is they would like to see a vote in Congress every five years to continue to sustain and continue to affirm social security and Medicare. That means that every five years, there would be debate about whether to change or alter or cut Medicare and social security. That's a big policy difference and it's one of several that affects this question of cost for the American people. HILL: So, why not more of a focus on that earlier on in the campaign, even in just the last few weeks? Why is it now today becoming much more of a push when we only have one week to go and so many have voted early?

DEESE: Look, the president has been fighting for lower prescription drug costs and Medicare for years. He ran on that. That was part of his campaign for president. And he fought for and secured something that, for decades, people have been trying to do in Washington and haven't gotten done, which is to actually change the way that Medicare negotiates for prescription drugs. Actually put a cap on costs for seniors in Medicare so they pay no more than $2,000 for their drugs.

He fought for the last two years to get that done and we got it done. We passed it in the Congress. And now, the president is making clear that that reflects a big choice for voters.

[10:10:00]

Now that he has succeeded in getting that done, that he's succeeded in that passing Congress, the question is do we want to implement that, do we want to make sure that the benefits of those costs actually are felt by the American people and seniors or do we want to go backward? Do we want to eliminate those provisions?

So, the president has been consistent on this issue, that lowering costs and lowering prescription drug costs for seniors is a top priority. And that what's changed is that we've actually gotten something done concretely here, and now the question is do we move forward and implement or do we move backward and repeal those provisions.

HILL: Brian, the president is once again calling for a windfall tax for oil and gas companies' profits. I want to play for you what the Chevron CEO Mike Wirth told my colleague, Poppy Harlow, when this came up again in September.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL WIRTH, CEO, CHEVRON: If you tax our industry, it does not incentivize -- if you increase taxes in our industry, that does not incentivize investment, it discourages investment. And it is a simple economic truth. We work around the world and our capital is mobile. And so a windfall profits tax in one country is likely to move that investment somewhere else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: So, you're there. He thinks this would incentivize companies like his own to do business elsewhere. There's that part of the equation. I think there's also the really simple question that when people here this, it has them scratching heads. How exactly does this translate into lower costs for consumers? Where is the benefit to the consumer?

DEESE: Well, it's a great question. And, again, I think we have to start with some context. This president has been focused on what he can do and the tools he can use to try to bring down the cost of gas at the pump and we've made significant progress. Since the beginning of the summer, where the average price of the pump was over $5, we're now down more than $1.25. And people are seeing the benefit of those lower gas prices at the pump today. And in no small part of that is because of the actions the president has taken, including using the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

But part of the reason why gas prices haven't come down even further is because there is a historically high profit margin for every gallon of gases being sold. Wholesale prices have come down because oil prices have come down. But those prices at the pump haven't come down to where they would be if the profit margins were at historical level.

So, what you heard the president say yesterday was clear. He is urging the industry to do what is right and bring those profit margins down, pass on more of that savings to consumers at the pump. If they do so, then they still will be making a significant profit. But they also will be providing more of that benefit to consumers particularly at a moment where we have a war in Europe that is driving prices up. And that is what he wants to see. And if the industry is not willing or able to take those steps, then he said he's going to work with Congress to look at what options he can pursue.

But the president has been focused on that core issue for the last nine months, which is what we could do to try to actually make sure that American consumers are getting some relief. The good news is they are in a significant way but we need to make more progress on that front.

HILL: So, really quickly, the president is saying he would work with Congress if need be. The reality is, as you know very well, we're staring down midterm elections. Democrats expected to lose their hold on the House there. What is the president actually think he could get done? What is -- realistically, what is he going to be able to pass with Congress?

DEESE: Well the president is looking forward to working with a Democratic majority in the Senate and the House going forward on the backend of this election to do what is necessary to keep making progress, to bring prices down for American families. That includes at the gas pump. And that was what the president was communicating yesterday.

HILL: Brian Deese, I appreciate you joining us this morning. Thank you.

DEESE: Thanks.

HILL: Still to come here, he wanted to break Speaker Nancy Pelosi's kneecaps and send her back to Congress in a wheelchair to send a message. The frightening details from police as the man accused of assaulting Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband heads to court today.

Plus, we are keeping a close watch on a Florida courtroom. Right now, the families of survivors and victims are making their speeches, talking directly to the gunman in the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas school shooting who is now facing sentencing. You're going to hear my conversation with the father of Gina Montalto who was killed on that day.

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[10:15:00]

HILL: The man accused of assaulting House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul, in their San Francisco home goes before a judge today. 42-year-old David DePape is expected to be arraigned on several charges this afternoon, among them attempted murder.

And there is some really disturbing new details about what happened and what DePape allegedly planned to do to the speaker if he encountered her in her the home. According to the FBI, he wanted to hold her hostage, to question her, even, quote, break her kneecaps if she lies.

CNN Correspondent Veronica Miracle is live in San Francisco for us this morning outside the courthouse. He wanted to send a message, Veronica. It is chilling, some of those details.

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very chilling details, Erica. He is going to be arraigned here on numerous charges here at the courthouse later today. David DePape facing attempted murder, elder abuse, assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, false imprisonment of an elder, as well as making threats to a public official or their family. And just between those charges, he faces 13 years to life in prison. That does not include the federal charges that he is looking of attempted kidnapping and assault. And if convicted on those two charges, he faces 50 years in federal prison.

Now, some of those chilling details that you were talking about revealed in court documents in an affidavit David DePape is described as telling police that he wanted to kidnap and injure Nancy Pelosi, including breaking her kneecaps so that she would have to be wheeled in front of Congress and that other members of Congress would see the consequences of their actions.

[10:20:04]

He describes her as a leader of a pack of lies promoted by the Democratic Party. San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins says this was a politically motivated attack. Here is what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKE JENKINS, SAN FRANCISCO DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Well, it is something that we have to take very seriously and it is very sad to see that we are one again at a point in history where people believe that is it is okay to express political their sentiments through violence.

And so I think it really demonstrates that we have to calm things down. We have to decide that we are going to be more respectful as an American society, that it is okay to disagree, but it certainly is something that has unnerved us all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MIRACLE: Paul Pelosi is still recovering at a local hospital from very serious injuries, including a skull fracture. He also had very serious injuries to his arm and his hands. And Speaker Pelosi released a statement last night saying that, while he is recovering, he has a very long road ahead of him. Erica?

HILL: Veronica Miracle, I appreciate it, thank you.

Well, even as Paul Pelosi recovers from those serious injuries, that long road ahead as we just heard, some Republican lawmakers are using that attack to score political points and even joking about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE KARI LAKE (R-AZ): It is not impossible to protect our kids at school. They act like it is. Nancy Pelosi, well she's got protection when she's in D.C. Apparently, her house doesn't have a lot of protection. But --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Joining me now to discuss, CNN National Political Reporter Maeve Reston. Maeve, on the one hand, what I think this shows is just how sad the state of things are in this country, right, to joke about that attack in the face of increased threats, as we know, calls from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for increased protections. At least one maker -- one lawmaker even saying he's not seeking re- election over concerns of threats to his family. Is there any sense that that matters to some of these candidates?

MAEVE RESTON, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, it is just really remarkable that we would see someone like Kari Lake, who is the GOP gubernatorial nominee in Arizona, use that moment as a laugh line instead of trying to cool the temperature, which is what we would have seen from political candidates often even a few years ago. But this is the reality in the Trump era.

And there is a really astonishing statistic, to your point, Erica, in The Washington Post around the anniversary of the insurrection, where 34 percent of Americans and 40 percent of Republicans said that violence against the government is sometimes justified.

And I think that really tells you where we are in our politics today, that you have these candidates knowing that the reaction of the audience there, with Kari Lake, is going to be that this is somehow funny and they get rewarded for that within the base. And you saw obviously Donald Trump also being asked about this attack and saying that it was terrible, but then immediately pivoting to the violence in San Francisco as though this was just some random act of crime, which, of course, we know from investigators that it was not.

And so it is just -- it is really astonishing that we're seeing all of these conspiracy theories around it that are festering within the base.

HILL: And in terms of those conspiracy theories, right, it is also another reminder of how many people really don't care about the facts, because so many of those were finally put to rest even though we know of them to be untrue, by what we learned even just in that affidavit yesterday, and yet it seems to go out of the window for some folks.

Shifting gears a little bit here, I think it is interesting too what we're seeing now from Liz Cheney as she endorsed Elissa Slotkin. She's going to be campaigning for her. She put out this attack ad in Arizona and Slotkin specifically addressed that support from Liz Cheney this morning on CNN This Morning. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ELISSA SLOTKIN (D-MI): Look, the last time that she was doing media in my media market, she was disagreeing with me vehemently on a point of policy, January of 2020. But we agree on one really big thing and that is that there has to be a democratic system in order for our system to function. So, you know, it is pretty important to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Is Liz Cheney, you think, an effective surrogate at this point?

RESTON: Well, certainly not within the Republican base at the moment. But, I mean, I think that what Liz Cheney has said over and over again in all of these appearances that she's been doing is that the fate of democracy is on the line here. And though she could not recall having voted for a Democrat in the past, she feels that getting out and campaigning against people like Kari Lake or Mark Finchem in Arizona, who have embraced Trump's lies about the election, that that is critical to ensuring that we have a free and fair elections in 2024.

[10:25:10]

You know, in the case of Slotkin, they worked very closely together in Congress. And Liz Cheney is basically saying there is a middle in America out there, independents who do not like this rhetoric that we're hearing on the right. And she's trying to get out there and have more people sort of come to that consensus.

And so, we will see her, you know, probably doing a lot of this in the next year, potentially positioning herself for 2024.

HILL: Yes. We'll certainly be watching for that. Maeve, I appreciate it, nice to see you this morning. Thanks.

RESTON: Thanks so much, Erica.

HILL: Still to come here, 17 families lost loved ones when a gunman opened fire at a high school in Parkland Florida in 2018. Right now, the families of the survivors and the victims finally have a chance to really talk through their pain in court, speaking specifically to the man who took their loved one's lives.

Tony Montalto lost his daughter, Gina, in that horrific attack. My conversation with him is next.

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[10:30:00]