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Georgia Senate Race in Virtual Tie; Wisconsin's Senate Race Critical for Power; Biden Makes Closing Pitch; Stewart Rhodes Faces Cross-Examination; Committee Responds to Meadows' Subpoena; Misinformation and Disinformation Around the Election. Aired 9-9:30a ET
Aired November 07, 2022 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[09:00:12]
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: I'm just staying out of this.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Kaitlan --
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Sorry, I'm reading Twitter.
LEMON: Here you go, Kaitlan. What happened this weekend? Do you - which jersey - do you want to wear the jersey or the hat?
COLLINS: You know, it says a lot about how you act when you win.
LEMON: (INAUDIBLE) - I did not gloat.
COLLINS: Gloating. Gloating.
LEMON: I did not gloat when we beat --
COLLINS: Don called me within 30 seconds of the end of the game.
LEMON: Did I gloat?
COLLINS: Yes, it was a little bit of gloating.
LEMON: Yes.
HARLOW: He sent a video, too.
COLLINS: You know what - you know what, the play calling was not great. You know, it was a struggle for Alabama. And I hated --
LEMON: Yes, you guys had referees on your team. You had extra men on the field.
COLLINS: (INAUDIBLE).
LEMON: Thanks for watching. Congratulations. Go, Tigers.
CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: A very good Monday morning to you. I'm Jim Sciutto.
ERICA HILL CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Erica Hill.
Polls open around the country in less than 24 hours. And right now candidates trying to take advantage of those final moments, making their final pitch to voters. Hanging in the balance, of course, is control of Congress.
Entering the midterms, Democrats have just the slimmest of majorities in both chambers, and that leaves pretty much all outcomes on the table.
So, just a reminder here, in the House, all 435 seats on the ballot. In the Senate, you've got 35 seats up for grabs. Thirty-six states will also be voting for governor.
SCIUTTO: Yes, it's a big election.
Interest in the midterms has been high from coast to coast. More than 30 million pre-election ballots cast in 47 states.
Plus, a CNN exclusive this morning. CNN sits down with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who could take the speakership if Republicans win the House tomorrow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Can you give a prediction for how many seats you think Republicans are going to pick up on Tuesday?
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): At least enough to win the majority. We're going to - we're going to fight for every single one possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: We are following the latest across the campaign trail.
We begin, though, in Georgia. CNN national politics reporter Eva McKend is there.
Eva, Georgia pivotal for both parties' hopes, particularly of controlling the Senate. What are the candidates focusing on today, and is there any sense of momentum with more than 2.2 million ballots cast already?
EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: Yes, Jim, listen, incumbent Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock is working to stave off a really aggressive challenge from political newcomer, former NFL star, Republican, Herschel Walker. Central to Walker's argument, as we - we're following him on the campaign trail this weekend in Athens, and other places, is that Warnock is too closely aligned with President Biden. That the past two years he has been more focused on Washington Democrats than the people of Georgia.
But Senator Warnock says that can't be further from the truth. He has really characterized himself as a bipartisan bridge builder. Over the weekend, mentioning the late Republican Senator Johnny Isakson, saying that he admired him, and really trying to fashion himself as that type of lawmaker.
He also spends a lot of time running on his record, talking about how he has worked to lower the cost of insulin.
And so, these candidates cannot get any more different. But, yes, this state could determine the balance of power in Washington.
Take a listen to how they make these arguments on the trail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-GA), GEORGIA SENATE CANDIDATE: You should ask yourself if the person you're voting for has actually demonstrated any interest in the subject matter. And you can tell if you listen to him talk. And I think character matters.
HERSCHEL WALKER (R), GEORGIA SENATE CANDIDATE: People are going to ask me why I'm running. I'm running because I'm sick and tired of this. And right now I want Reverend Warnock to know, don't let that door hit you in the backside as you walk out of the people's office. That's what you got to do. It's time for you to go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCKEND: So, more than 2 million Georgians voted during that early vote period, the last two weeks, and that indicates that people are paying attention here, lots of engagement, enthusiasm, and that many have their minds made up. But Georgia is a true battleground state. So right now, just the day before votes are counted, Senator Warnock, Herschel Walker, still trying to convince those fence sitters, those folks who have not made up their minds yet, those independents, those moderates to support them.
Jim.
HILL: Eva McKend with the latest for us.
Eva, thank you.
SCIUTTO: All right, now to Wisconsin, where Senator Ron Johnson is the only Republican senator running for re-election in a state that President Biden won in 2020, though it was tight then. He is arguably the chamber's most vulnerable GOP incumbent.
HILL: His showdown with Mandela Barnes could prove critical here in determining the very important balance of power in the Senate.
CNN's Omar Jimenez live in Milwaukee for us this morning.
[09:05:01] So, in these final hours of the campaign, what are the candidates putting out there in terms of messaging, Omar?
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim and Erica, both of these candidates are really campaigning on the future of this country being at stake. And with polls showing no clear leader between these two, both of them are trying to find an edge in really these final hours.
Now, the incumbent, Senator Ron Johnson, has tried to paint his opponent, Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, as someone who hates this state and the people in it. He's basically honing in on previous comments that Barnes made where he describes institutionalized racism as scarier than what some might see as traditional racism. He even coined it conceal carry racism. And Johnson has jumped on that, usually to mostly if not all white audiences, especially in some smaller towns here in Wisconsin.
Take a listen to some of what he's been saying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): He's talking about racism in Wisconsin. Said it's actually scarier than down south because we've institutionalized it here in Wisconsin. We've just figured out how to conceal it. He called it concealed carry racism. So, that's what he thinks of you. Kind of makes you scratch your head. I mean, why would he want to represent people who have institutionalized racism.
MANDELA BARNES (D), WISCONSIN SENATE CANDIDATE: Ron Johnson is running a completely negative campaign because he doesn't have a record to run on. He spent 12 years serving himself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: Now, Barnes obviously believes the framing by Johnson is ridiculous and he's called Senator Johnson the worst senator this state has had since Joe McCarthy of the '40s and '50s.
Barnes is on - he's also busy today making multiple campaign stops, but he's told me in this final stretch their strategy really is to try to meet as many people as possible, try not to take any votes for granted, especially on these major issues.
Senator Ron Johnson will also be out and about today campaigning with former governor and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley.
Bottom line, we are past the marathon mindset and in the final sprint here in this crucial state of Wisconsin that, as you all mentioned, could determine the balance of the U.S. Senate.
SCIUTTO: Yes, lots of final sprints today.
Omar Jimenez, in Milwaukee, thanks so much.
HILL: In Arizona, an investigation is underway after suspicious white powder was found in an envelope sent to the headquarters of Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake. A source familiar with the investigation telling CNN several items have now been sent to a lab in Arizona for testing.
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KARI LAKE (R), ARIZONA GOV. CANDIDATE: We're in dangerous times. This is not the first time we've been -- we've been threatened. I've been threatened many times. Our tires have been slashed. We've had screws drilled into our tires so that our tires would blow out while we're on the road. We are living in dangerous times, and that's why we need to elect somebody who's strong and a fighter and not a coward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Arizona has been a hot bed of extremism, threats leveled against political and election officials from both parties there.
Well, the president and first lady are making a final push on the campaign trail today as well. President Biden in Maryland for gubernatorial candidate Wes Moore there. Jill Biden, she's in Virginia speaking at an event for Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton.
HILL: CNN White House correspondent MJ Lee joining us this morning from the North Lawn.
So, busy, countdown here for the president and first lady. They've been going strong the last few days. What are - what are you seeing hearing from the White House in terms of those priorities in these final hours?
MJ LEE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's been a very busy final stretch for the president, who was on the campaign trail over the weekend, and today will make a final stop in Maryland.
You know, the president is covering a whole lot of ground in his closing pitch. He is obviously trying to sell his agenda and the Democratic Party's accomplishments. He's also trying to draw that contrast between Democrats and Republicans who he says stand for extremist policies.
And one central theme, of course, that has emerged is the theme of election integrity. You know, if you look at where the president has been in the final days, you can see pretty clearly that he is stumping for Democratic candidates who are running against Republicans who are election deniers or election skeptics. Whether it is Doug Mastriano in Pennsylvania, Lee Zeldin in New York or later today Dan Cox in Maryland, and over the weekend we heard the president again talking about how he believes democracy is at stake tomorrow.
Take a listen.
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These deniers are not only trying to deny your right to vote, they're trying to deny your right to have your vote counted. No, I'm not joking. I'm not joking. With these election deniers, there are only two outcomes for any election, either they win or they were cheated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: Now, he does go back to Maryland tonight for his final event before Election Day. This is the state where he kicked off his midterms campaigning earlier this summer.
[09:10:02]
And this is also the Democrats wanting the president to sort of end things on a high note. Democrats are feeling very good about Wes Moore winning the gubernatorial race there, so this would be a state essentially where they're able to, if all things go their way, turn the governor's mansion from red to blue.
But we are going to see if the question of the economy and the inflation, which we know and have talked about so much, is top of mind for voters, whether that ends up being an issue that Democrats really pay a price for come tomorrow.
SCIUTTO: We will see when the votes are counted.
MJ Lee, at the White House, thanks so much.
Tonight, former President Trump, he is headed to Ohio to rally for Republican Senate candidate there, J.D. Vance, who's squaring off against Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan. Although often at those events Trump injecting his own campaign hopes into his message.
HILL: They tend to sometimes be a little bit more about Donald Trump. The former president was in Florida last night. He was there to stump for Senator Marco Rubio and Governor Ron DeSantis.
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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: The people of Florida are going to re-elect the wonderful, the great friend of mine, Marco Rubio, to the United States Senate. And you're going to re-elect Ron DeSantis as your governor of your state. And you're going to elect an incredible slate of true MAGA warriors to Congress, many of whom are here right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: So, there was a little change in tone there if you were perhaps paying attention over the weekend. He had taken a jab, of course, at DeSantis during a rally in Pennsylvania, calling him Ron desanctimonious as he continued to tease once again another White House run in 2024.
I want to bring you to a CNN exclusive now. A one on one interview with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who, of course, could become House speaker if Republicans win control of the House.
SCIUTTO: Indeed. Though he might face some challengers himself.
CNN Capitol Hill reporter Melanie Zanona, she sat down with the minority leader on the trail today in McAllen, Texas, with more.
Melanie, Republicans, they are favored, looking at the polls heading into tomorrow. McCarthy made a number of predictions. I wonder what he told you.
MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well, I can tell you, Kevin McCarthy is feeling very confident right now about his chances of winning the majority and also his chances of becoming speaker. If you remember, in 2015, he had to drop out of the race for speaker amid opposition from the conservative House Freedom Caucus. But he told me, this time around, he's going to have support from that wing of the party and also from former President Donald Trump.
Take a listen to some of his other predictions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): I know all the pollsters said last time we'd lose 15 seats, and we ended up beating 13 Democrats. So, we're going to work and we're going to run hard. And if we win the majority, I'll run for speaker.
ZANONA: But, do you think you will have the votes for speaker?
MCCARTHY: I believe I'll have the votes for speaker, yes.
ZANONA: Can you give a prediction for how many seats you think Republicans are going to pick up on Tuesday?
MCCARTHY: At least enough to win the majority.
ZANONA: Can you -
MCCARTHY: We're going to - we're going to fight for every single one possible.
Look -
ZANONA: What -- what do you see as a red wave? What will be a red wave on Tuesday night?
MCCARTHY: Well, I think - I think anywhere over 20 is a red wave.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZANONA: Now, McCarthy has been barnstorming the country in the run up to the midterms. Last night he was here in McAllen campaigning for a trio of Republican Hispanic women. Tonight he'll head to Virginia Beach, where he's going to campaign for another key race in the battle for the House.
HILL: Melanie, I know you also asked him for some more specifics about if Republicans do, in fact, take back the House, what are the plans. What did he tell you?
ZANONA: Yes, he did. I pressed him for specifics, and he offered some broad plans for how Republicans plan to tackle crime by funding the police, providing grants for police officers, and also to bring down inflation by reducing spending and also by making America energy independent.
But also McCarthy highlighted that GOP investigations into a Biden administration are going to be a top priority.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCARTHY: You first do a very frontal attack on China to stop the poison from coming. You control your borders and take control of it down here. You don't keep it wide open. You provide the resources that the border agents need. But you also provide to make sure the cartels aren't controlling the border in the background. There are a number of provisions we have that we will move forward on. And then you also make sure that fentanyl in time anybody who wants to move it you can prosecute them for the death penalty because that's exactly what it's doing.
ZANONA: Will there be an immigration bill on the floor if Republicans win the House?
MCCARTHY: I think the first thing you'll see is a bill to control the border first. You've got to get control over the border.
ZANONA: I know you've said no -- not going to predetermine the outcome, but is impeachment on the table?
MCCARTHY: You know what's on the table? Accountability. Shouldn't we know where the origins of Covid actually started? They didn't have one hearing on it. Shouldn't we know what happened in the last 60 days of Afghanistan so we would never repeat that again?
[09:15:00]
We wouldn't have 13 new gold star families that should have never happened. Shouldn't we know why the DOJ would take it upon themselves to go after parents that would go to school board meetings? And shouldn't we know where the taxpayers' money is being spent? I call that accountability. And that's a -- that's a responsibility for Congress regardless of what -- whosever party is in the White House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZANONA: Now, McCarthy did not suggest that he has seen any evidence yet of an impeachable offense, but he did leave the door open to launching potential impeachment proceedings if they take the house.
Jim. Erica.
HILL: Melanie Zanona, appreciate it. Thank you.
And just a reminder, you'll want to stay with us starting tomorrow, Election Day, our special coverage kicks off at 4:00 p.m. Eastern. We look forward to seeing you here.
SCIUTTO: Coming up next, the leader of the Oath Keepers, a man who bought $20,000 worth of guns and ammunition ahead of January 6th back on the stand in his trial for seditious conspiracy. We're going to take you live to the courthouse.
Plus, an embarrassing mistake by Twitter's new boss. A new report says that Elon Musk is now asking dozens of employees who were just laid off on Friday to come back.
HILL: Kind of a big oops there.
And a bit later, an Iowa teen making national headlines when she was ordered to pay restitution for killing her alleged rapist is now on the run. Officials say she cut off her ankle monitor. A new arrest warrant has been issued. We have these details for you just ahead.
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[09:20:34]
HILL: This morning, the leader of the Oath Keepers will be back on the stand in the seditious conspiracy trial against him and four other members of that far right group.
SCIUTTO: The defense expected to wrap up its questioning of Stewart Rhodes. Then it will be the prosecution's turn to cross-examine him.
CNN's Jessica Schneider has been following the trial. She's outside the courthouse this morning.
Jessica, I wonder, what have we learned from his testimony so far? I know that on Friday there were some tearful words from the defendant.
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, Jim, Stewart Rhodes is really trying to lay out his own story here. That's exactly why he's taken the stand in his own defense. There is a lot remaining for this testimony from Stewart Rhodes. He was up there for a bit on Friday. That direct testimony continues this morning. And then after that he'll get cross-examination from lawyers for the four defendants, as well as prosecutors from the Justice Department.
Stewart Rhodes, here on Friday, began by laying out his own personal history, his personal story. He talked about the fact that he was honorably discharged from the military. He then went to Yale Law School. And then he talked about the fact that he founded the Oath Keepers in 2009, in his words, to reach change and inspire Americans about what exactly their rights are under the constitution. He pushed back against this idea that the Oath Keepers are a racist organization. He mentioned the fact that they actually went to Ferguson, Missouri, when the unrest there was happening to protest minority-owned businesses. And then he pointed out -- and this could be crucial to his defense -- he says that Oath Keeper rules actually bar anyone, any member, from advocating for the overthrow of the U.S. government. But, of course, that's exactly what prosecutors have to prove here,
that Stewart Rhodes and the other defendants in this case conspired to overthrow the government on January 6th. The prosecutors have already presented their case for five weeks now. Now it is time to hear from the defendants. We're hearing that from Stewart Rhodes this morning. But it is somewhat of a lofty charge here, guys. Seditious conspiracy, something that isn't typically charged from prosecutors here.
Jim and Erica.
SCIUTTO: Jessica Schneider, at the courthouse here in Washington, thanks so much.
Well, today, critical deadline for former Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
HILL: The House select committee investigating the January 6th attack is expected to respond in court to Meadows' efforts to fight off a subpoena.
CNN's senior legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid joining us now.
So, Paula, what are we watching for in this latest little bit of back and forth?
PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Just as you noted, it's just the latest in this fight that has been going on for over a year. For over a year Meadows has been fighting this subpoena from the House select committee. And in this latest round, investigators make it clear that they still want to depose the former White House chief of staff, and they're also after his phone records.
Now, last week a federal judge dismissed Meadows' challenge to the subpoena and investigators wasted no time reaching out to Verizon to try to get ahold of his personal call and text logs. Lawyers for the committee also made it clear that they still wanted Meadows to sit down across from investigators and answer questions.
Now, in response, Meadows' lawyers asked a federal judge to just put a pause on that while they continue to litigate these larger issues. And the House committee has until midnight tonight to respond to that.
Now, it's really interesting because this case does raise some legitimate questions about the protections that a White House chief of staff, even a former White House chief of staff, should enjoy in an investigation like this. But for right now, the strategy from Meadows' attorneys is just to delay, delay, delay in the hopes that the House changes hands and this issue becomes moot.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
HILL: Paula Reid, appreciate the update. Thank you.
Still to come here, don't be fooled this Election Day. Conspiracy theories are swirling ahead of the midterms. Donie O'Sullivan is -- if I only I could say his name -- Donie O'Sullivan is here. He will tell us what we need to watch out for. Stick around.
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[09:29:11]
SCIUTTO: Tomorrow as tens of millions of people vote across the U.S. in multiple territories overseas, and the many millions who voted already, the overwhelming majority will vote without a problem at all, but with different local election laws and procedures, different machines to cast and count ballots there will be some mistakes and some confusion.
HILL: It's those irregularities that often get the bulk of the attention. So, what should we be looking out for? We know there are different kinds of falsehoods out there related to Election Day. Some of them set to go viral on that day. And this is where there's a really important distinction between misinformation and disinformation.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
HILL: And this is why we need Donie O'Sullivan. One of the many reasons.
Donie here to help us differentiate between this.
So, first, let's take a look at misinformation, if we can. I know there's a really clear example that you have, Donie, from 2016.
[09:30:01]
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So the difference between miss and disinformation is that misinformation is, you know, people might share false information mistakenly.
