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GOP-Led House Votes To Remove Ilhan Omar From Committee; DA: Up to 20 Hours Of Additional Footage In Case To Be Released; FBI To Search Pence's Home, Office For Classified Materials. Aired 2-2:30p ET
Aired February 02, 2023 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
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ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. I'm Alisyn Camerota. Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell.
Today, the Republican-led House voted to remove Democrat Ilhan Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee. Omar calls it revenge. The resolution passed along the party line vote of 218 to 211. Omar faced backlash over her anti-Israel comments in the past which were criticized by members of both parties as anti-semitic. She apologized. But before he was even House Speaker, Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy promised that he would take this step.
CAMEROTA: McCarthy claimed that Speaker Nancy Pelosi set a precedent when she removed the Republicans Marjorie Taylor Greene and Paul Gosar from committees, though that was for violent rhetoric and posts. Before the vote, Omar told her colleagues that she was not going anywhere.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ILHAN OMAR, (D-MN): I am Muslim. I am an immigrant. And interestingly, from Africa. Is anyone surprised that I am being targeted? Is anyone surprised that I am somehow deemed unworthy to speak about American foreign policy? And my leadership and voice will not be diminished if I am not on this committee for one term, my voice will get louder and stronger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: CNN's chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju is on Capitol Hill. And Kevin McCarthy, the speaker, he just talks with reporters about this. What did he say?
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. He defended the vote. He had actually faced some concerns -- some criticism from a handful of members even though he did get support from all of his members except for one who voted present, the final vote was 218 to 211, essentially, along straight party lines. But some members had concerns about the precedent that they were setting here. They believe it was -- went further than what Democrats did in the last Congress.
They said they didn't shouldn't engage in this revenge or tit-for-tat just because Democrats did something. This is a new Republican majority. They said they should focus on some other issues that congressmen like Nancy Mays had raised concerns about this, that Tony Gonzalez also raised concerns about this. They ultimately voted for it, one reason why Mays got some changes to the language to allow for member to give some more due process or allow for a future process to allow some members to appeal the potential of getting kicked off committees.
But I put that question directly to the speaker, whether or not he was engaging in tit for tat, and if that was exactly the message that voters sent to Republicans in this new Republican majority that just took power.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY, (R-CA): No. And that's the clear part, how it's not tit for tat. We're not removing her from other committees. We just do not believe when it comes to foreign affairs, especially the responsibility of that position around the world with the comments that you make. She shouldn't serve there. But this is what the clear. This -- if it was tit for tat, we would have picked people took them off all committees, and said nothing about. We don't believe that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: Now, McCarthy said that he and Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader, have begun some discussions about creating a new process altogether to avoid what has happened here in the aftermath of McCarthy, not just removing Ilhan Omar, but also denying those two Democrats to the House Intelligence Committee. He could do the -- kick them off the Intelligence Committee because he has the power to do that, because of the special nature of that intelligence committee. This required a vote of the full House.
And as you can see, some members just were uncomfortable in going this route. McCarthy wants to figure out a new way to deal with this given concerns from his own conference that this is not the issue that they want to focus on right at the beginning of the new Congress. But nevertheless, got the support of his members and now Ilhan Omar won't be on that committee, guys.
CAMEROTA: OK. Manu Raju, thanks for all that reporting.
BLACKWELL: Well, plenty of positivity, but no signs of progress in the standoff over the nation's debt. Both speaker McCarthy and President Biden were optimistic after their meeting yesterday on the debt ceiling.
CAMEROTA: If this is not resolved, the issue could lead to an historic default on the debt, which experts predict would result in an economic crash, job losses, and more. CNN's chief White House correspondent Phil Mattingly is here. So, Phil, both the president and the speaker said that they did not change their positions. So, now what? PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. At the risk of defining down the term productive, to some degree, just the fact that they met -- they met for more than an hour and they had what both sides framed as a productive conversation was at least a start. It got them a little bit further, maybe about a half inch further than they had been the day before, where both sides were very dug in, but also very caustic in terms of the political attacks going back and forth between Republicans in the House and White House officials.
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Now, those attacks aren't necessarily going to recede forever. This is certainly going to be a months-long process where there will be many conversations between White House officials, their House Republican counterparts, the speaker, likely the president as well. But I think the idea of trying to take the temperature down a little bit, particularly for two politicians who are very much known for their ability to work with other members, for their ability to engage even across the aisle is important. It's something the president alluded to this morning at the National Prayer Breakfast. Take a listen.
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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We start treating each other with respect. That's what Kevin and I are going to do. Not a joke. We had a good meeting yesterday. I think we got to do it across the board. It doesn't mean we got to agree to fight like hell, but at least treat each other with respect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: And again, that seems a little bit simplistic or maybe a little bit idealistic to some degree based on how this town has operated for the better part of a decade, but I think it underscores the fact that they believe the conversation has started. It's an important one. They don't necessarily have an endgame now, but the fact they're talking is important.
BLACKWELL: The president also has police reform on his agenda today, Phil. Tell us about this Oval Office meeting that's coming up.
MATTINGLY: Yes, it's an important Oval Office meeting because it's something members of the Congressional Black Caucus called for in the wake of the beating death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of police officers. Obviously, police reform was front and center on the president's agenda in the last Congress. That did not get over the finish line. It fell apart in the U.S. Senate.
And the members that will be there today, including Steven Horsford, the chair of the CBC, Senator Cory Booker, one of the lead negotiators on police reform in the last Congress, Raphael Warnock, Sheila Jackson Lee, Joe Neguse, Jim Clyburn, are all very critical members, not just at the CBC, but in both chambers of Congress will be to try and figure out a pathway to restart those conversations, but also to see what the president can do on his own. Obviously, he's signed executive orders related to police reform going further than any president before him on that issue.
But I've been told that members of the CBC have ideas on the executive authority side of things that perhaps the president could pursue going forward. That'll be something that comes up. Obviously, a critical meeting, but no clear path forward on this issue either when it comes to Congress, guys.
BLACKWELL: Phil Mattingly, for us at the White House. Phil, thank you for that. And now let's turn to Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas. She is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus who will be, as you saw there in Phil's report, at this meeting later today. Congresswoman, good to have you again. You were in Memphis yesterday at the funeral for Tyre Nichols, which was as much of a call to action to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act as it was a celebration of life. Take us inside this meeting today. What will you be taking to the president? What's the strategy to get it passed?
REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE, (D-TX): Well, Victor, the first thing I'd like to do having been at the funeral is again off of my deepest sympathy to the Wells, family to the extended family of Tyre Nichols, to his beloved son, and all others in that community who are absolutely mourning and devastated by his death, this young spirited life. And so, there was a sense of urgency for police reform but it really should be a call to action for all of America. And I asked the question, would any American want their loved one to be beaten to death on the streets of this country?
And so, for that reason, I think our meeting today called by the Congressional Black Caucus, our Chairman, Mr. Horsford, we're delighted to be part of this working team as -- I'm a member of the Judiciary Committee, the crime subcommittee ranking member, is that we are not turning any corner without a sense of hope. We're not closing any doors. We know that we have to do something because in the last three years when George Floyd, who was born and raised in Houston, Texas --
BLACKWELL: Yes.
LEE: -- nothing has been able to move forward not because of lacking the work of those of us in the House, the Congressional Black Caucus, and many in the Senate, but it still means we have work to do.
BLACKWELL: But, Congressman, hope is one thing, strategy is another. This could not get to the president's desk in the last Congress and Democrats had control of the House, then the House passed it couldn't get it through the Senate. Well, now Republicans have control of the House, again, what's the strategy? How do you get it to President Biden to sign?
LEE: Interestingly, enough, elements of the George Floyd bill, which I'd say 70 percent plus more bipartisan provisions that many in the Judiciary Committee in the House Republicans joined in, many in the Senate. So, I think what we are going to do is not presuppose what's going to happen at this meeting but we have more in common than we have differences. If we can focus on the fact that we believe that protect and serve is a highest element of service for law enforcement, that this is not a condemnation of the vast thousands of police officers, it is a recognition that 18,000 police departments need guidance from the federal government, I think we can find common ground with Republicans in the Senate and in the House.
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In addition, there are other pathways such as an executive order. I think purpose needs to be that failure is not an option. So, Victor, I do believe that there is common ground. When you look at the landscape, look at the combination that came out, of turn, all of police came out and said this was just heinous behavior. We heard they called EMTs --
BLACKWELL: But, Congresswoman, we had all of that -- we had all of that condemnation after the murder of George Floyd. We had condemnation in cities across the country that didn't have large black populations, that in cities typically you would not see these types of rallies and protests and still they did not greet the president. But let me move on to another element because we heard from --
LEE: But if I might, Victor.
BLACKWELL: Go ahead.
LEE: It was clearly negotiations preceded. And yes, there was one element in the Senate that just would not proceed. We now know that we cannot let any stop sign stop us from doing what people wanted three years ago. I think this is a totally different climate. I think this is totally different circumstances --
BLACKWELL: All right.
LEE: -- where people are wondering what's going to happen next. And we don't want this to happen next. I -- the urgency is here. I believe we can get something done.
BLACKWELL: Ben Crump said yesterday that you're going to introduce the Tyre Nichols duty to intervene. Is that going to be part of this legislation? And tell us what it is.
LEE: It is already in the existing bill, George Floyd justice in policing, but I believe in the words of Tyre's mother, the duty to care needs to be elevated. And so, yes, we want to look at that provision and pay tribute to her son by having that section about duty to care, that is part of the duty of intervention.
But also, as you recall, EMTs and others came forward. It got no direction from those officers. Officers are in control of the scene. It was a crime scene, to be honest. And so there was no urgency or rush this victim to the hospital, and so the duty to care will be attributed to Tyre.
BLACKWELL: All right. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, thank you so much.
LEE: Thanks. Good luck.
BLACKWELL: Let's go now to Congresswoman Ilhan Omar who is speaking -- I'm sorry --
CAMEROTA: Oh, we'll get to that in a second.
BLACKWELL: OK.
CAMEROTA: OK, we'll get to that in a second, Victor.
BLACKWELL: All right.
CAMEROTA: But first, prosecutors investigating the Tyre Nichols' beating say there's roughly 20 more hours of video still to be released.
BLACKWELL: We don't know when that video will be made public, but we do know that prosecutors are already weighing additional charges over false reporting ties back to the initial police report and the multitude of contradictions between what officers said happened and what was seen in the released video.
CNN's Nick Valencia is following this. Nick, tell us about this new footage that's coming, the unseen footage.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hey there, Victor and Alisyn. It notably includes audio of what officers were saying after they beat up Tyre Nichols and it also includes audio of what was being said at the scene after Nichols was transported by ambulance to the hospital in critical condition. One of the big questions we have here is why police stopped Nichols, to begin with.
Initially, we were told it was because of reckless driving. Later, the police chief clarified to say that there was no evidence of that. So, will this video and audio provide a better understanding as to why police pulled him over in the first place? Listen to the district attorney who was on our air with Wolf Blitzer yesterday telling us what we should expect in this video, and saying that a lot of it is what happens after the beating.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVEN MULROY, SHELBY COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: There's a lot of footage, maybe as much as 20 hours. And some of it, I think may be more relevant because of the audio and then a lot of it depicts things that take place, you know after the beating has already occurred. And, you know, people are sort of talking afterwards even after the ambulance takes Mr. Nichols away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALENCIA: We still have no timeline as to when we will see that audio and video. The district attorney says it's up to the city of Memphis and the police department when they will release that. And earlier this morning, the police department telling CNN that they are working on a strategy and plan of how and when to release that video and audio, guys.
CAMEROTA: Nick, as you know, we're also waiting on autopsy and toxicology reports. When will we get those?
VALENCIA: Not only the official toxicology report but also the final independent autopsy that was done and conducted by an independent pathologist. The family hired an independent pathologist to look into that. Remember, we were initially given the preliminary findings which showed that he had extensive bleeding caused by severe bleeding. So, we haven't been going at a timeline on that. A lot still that we have not learned about here and we're still waiting. This story is far from over, guys.
BLACKWELL: Nick Valencia with reporting for us there. Thank you, Nick.
VALENCIA: You got it.
BLACKWELL: Soon, the FBI is expected to search former Vice President Mike Pence's house in Indiana and office in DC for additional classified materials. We have new details for you ahead.
CAMEROTA: And Hunter Biden's attorneys are calling for investigations into who they say unlawfully shared contents from his laptop. We'll discuss.
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BLACKWELL: New CNN reporting, the FBI is expected to soon search the home and office of former Vice President Mike Pence. Sources say the Feds will focus on his house in Indiana and his office in Washington, DC.
CAMEROTA: CNN's Evan Perez joins us live. So, Evan, what's the Pence team saying about this?
EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, for the Pence team, they want to try to get this investigation wrapped up as soon as possible. Of course, Mike Pence right now is not a declared candidate for president. And that's one reason why, you know, his -- discovery of these documents at his home in Indiana does not pose the same type of conflict of interest for the Justice Department, at least, that's a -- that's -- you know, the thinking inside the Justice Department. So, for the Pence team, they've been talking to the FBI.
And Jamie Gangel and I -- and I, are told that they've been trying to arrange for a consensual search to be done both at the home in Carmel, Indiana, and at a think tank office, which is right across the street from the FBI building here in Washington. The idea being that if you can try to make sure that the FBI does these searches doesn't find anything, they can try to complete this investigation as soon as possible.
[14:20:02] BLACKWELL: All right, let's turn some -- to some of your other reporting today about President Biden's son and his counter-strategy against the Republican quest to investigate him. What do you know?
PEREZ: Right, exactly, Victor and Alisyn. This is an attempt to turn the tables on some of the right-wing media figures who have been going after Hunter Biden. And in this case, Hunter Biden's legal team -- his new lawyers have sent letters to the Attorney General in Delaware, as well as the Justice Department and the IRS asking for a number of investigations including against the computer repair shop owner who first said that they -- he had these -- this laptop that belonged to Hunter Biden. Of course, that'd be blown up in the media in 2020, just before the 2020 presidential election. Of course, Rudy Giuliani, some of the other figures that you see on your screen are people who are involved in trying to disseminate some of the contents of the said laptop.
And Hunter Biden says that this is a violation of his privacy, obviously. They say he says that some of his data were stolen, inappropriately accessed, and distributed are really just a part of a statement from -- or letter from Abbe Lowell, his new lawyer who says this failed dirty political trick directly resulted in the exposure, exploitation, and manipulation of Mr. Biden's private and personal information.
And you know, this information, according to Hunter Biden and his team has really been weaponized against him and his father. And this is why you see now Republicans are organizing hearings. They say they're going to investigate -- spend more time investigating Hunter Biden. And, of course, the backdrop of all of this, Alisyn and Victor, is that the Justice Department separately has an investigation going into Hunter Biden for tax issues and his purchase of a gun. That, of course, is something that is still pending.
BLACKWELL: A lot going on. Evan Perez, thanks so much.
PEREZ: So much.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
CAMEROTA: All right, in the slew of ongoing inquiries into the truth challenge Congressman, George Santos, federal investigators just interviewed a Navy veteran who says he was scammed by the Republican lawmaker in 2016. Rich Osthoff claimed Santos stole money from a GoFundMe set up to help save the life of the veteran's dying dog. Osthoff says Santos ran off with the nearly $3,000 that was supposed to be for the dog's surgery.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICH OSTHOFF, NAVY VETERAN WHO CLAIMS GEORGE SANTOS SCAMMED HI: Santos really took a piece of my heart oh -- when he did this. I -- my opinion of humanity was very, very extremely diminished crashing to the floor.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BLACKWELL: Osthoff tells CNN that he spoke with a pair of FBI agents on Wednesday about the incident. Now, the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of New York is investigating Santos's finances as well.
CAMEROTA: New Russian missile strikes overnight, this time targeting rescue workers in eastern Ukraine who were trying to save survivors from a previous attack. And CNN will take you there.
BLACKWELL: Plus, the U.S. announced its plans for four new military bases in the Philippines as prompting a stark warning from China. What this means for the tensions in the region?
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BLACKWELL: There's been another round of deadly Russian missile strikes today in eastern Ukraine. Look at this. This is the aftermath in the military hub city of Kramatorsk. It said as you see here, flames into the air, people running for shelter.
CAMEROTA: So, our own CNN team, including Fred Pleitgen had just arrived at the scene to document search and rescue efforts when the missiles struck.
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There had been a missile strike in that town overnight last night that killed several people, flattened a building. It was a huge missile that the Russian shot right into the center of town there. And there was a big search and rescue operation that was still going on because the Ukrainians believed that there are still people and were still people who were trapped underneath the rubble. So, we went to that area to film there. And we had just arrived on the scene, had parked our vehicles, and had gotten out of those vehicles when another missile struck in the exact building that we were parked in front of. So, we heard a loud bang.
There were obviously a lot of civilians there on the street, many of them then trying to take shelter. We did the same thing. We then went towards another building to try and take shelter there. And then as I looked up, I saw another missile that then hit almost the exact location, obviously causing a huge explosion there, leading to even more people trying to flee the scene. We then tried to run for cover -- or went for shelter, and then after a while, tries to get out of there.
But I think one of the things that's very important to point out is that there was a big search and rescue operation going on, on the ground, and the Russians targeted exactly the area where that search and rescue operation was going on in the city of Kramatorsk. This was not some sort of military facility. We saw no military facilities in that area. We saw a lot of civilians, however, who were in that area. And this was right in the center of town. And certainly, we later got word from the Ukrainians who said they believe that these were S-300 missiles that were used in the strikes by the Russian military. Now, those are normally, missiles that are used to try and take down airplanes at high altitudes, the very powerful missiles. They also have ground-to-ground configuration, but when they are used against surface targets, they are extremely inaccurate, which means that if they're used against surface targets in densely populated urban areas, you certainly have the potential to cause extreme harm among civilians. So far, the Ukrainians are saying this is all still fairly fresh that there were several people who were wounded in this one. Obviously, several people killed the night before.
