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21-Year-Old Airman Charged With Leaking Pentagon Secrets; Sudanese Paramilitary Group Claims Control Of Presidential Palace; Supreme Court Temporarily Extends Access To Mifepristone; Fulton County Jail Inmates To Be Transferred To Other Facilities; Sons Of Notorious Drug Lord El Chapo Charged In Fentanyl Indictment; 2024 GOP WH Hopefuls Court Gun Rights Activists At NRA Convention; Wedding Dress Retailer Laying Off 9k Workers; Tupperware Signals It Could Go Out of Business. Aired 11a-12n ET

Aired April 15, 2023 - 11:00   ET

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

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[11:00:31]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin with new details in the case against a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman accused of leaking top secret Pentagon information. Jack Teixeira appeared in court yesterday and was charged under the Espionage Act. His arrest follows an intense week long search for the source of the online leak of secret documents.

Teixeira held a top secret security clearance and is accused of posting documents that exposed sensitive intelligence the U.S. has on both close allies and adversaries.

CNN senior national correspondent -- national security rather correspondent Alex Marquardt joining us live from Washington.

Alex, so what more are we learning about Teixeira and how he was able to print off these documents undetected?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Fredricka.

Well Airman First Class Jack Teixeira, 21 years old and you said he enlisted in the Air National Guard back in 2019, around four years ago. And then it was two years ago that he got his top secret clearance. So that gave him access to all kinds of intelligence.

According to the unsealed affidavit presented in court it was back in December that Teixeira started posting classified information online first as just text, but then photographs of these classified document back in January.

So Fred, it was several months between the time those photographs first appeared online and when they really surfaced publicly back on April 6th, which is when the story broke. That's when the Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, was first briefed. And then exactly a week later, so just on Thursday, a couple of days ago is when Teixeira was then arrested at his parents' home just south of Boston.

So how did Airman First Class Teixeira have access to these documents? Well he was part of the 102nd Intelligence Operations wing. That is a military outfit in Massachusetts that provides intelligence packets, products to senior commanders all around the world. And Teixeira himself was what is known as a cyber defense operations journeyman.

Fred that is military speak for an IT specialist. But because these are highly classified networks with extremely sensitive information, you can't just have a regular IT guy working on them so that is why Teixeira had this level of security clearance.

Now the federal government, the FBI, certainly looking into the kinds of information that Teixeira was trying to access. We do know that they've already been inside his computer. They know that he looked up the word "leak" on his government computer, an indication that he was worried that the government was looking for him.

So there are still all kinds of questions like whether he printed out these documents. When you print out top secret documents, that is something that is -- that they are able to trace.

But it also raises significant concerns, Fred about the thousands of people within the U.S. military who are able to access extremely classified information, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And then Alex, CNN has reviewed more than 50 of these documents so far. What stands out?

MARQUARDT: It's remarkable the range of subjects that these documents touch on, really spans the globe. A lot of them Fredericka focus on the war in Ukraine, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, there are lots of specifics about Ukrainian weaponry. There's the U.S. assessment that the war is heading towards a stalemate.

There's a remarkable level of penetration that we see in these documents by U.S. intelligence into the Russian military, ministry of defense and Russian intelligence agencies.

And then there's the spying on American allies, Fred. There are -- there's a remarkable level of detail about conversations among South Korean senior officials. It's Signals Intelligence, so eavesdropping on the Mossad in Israel. Conversations that were listened to around the U.N. secretary general.

So it really does pull back the curtain, Fred, but we have seen more than 50 of these documents. We know that there are hundreds out there. So there's likely a lot more still to come.

WHITFIELD: All right. Keep us posted, Alex Marquardt. Thanks so much.

All right. Let's talk more about the fallout from these leaks.

{11:04:51] WHITFIELD: Brett Bruen is president of the Global Situation Room. He is also the former director of global engagement in the Obama White House, and he also spent several years as a U.S. diplomat around the world.

All right. Good to see you. So in your view how much damage has been done?

BRETT BRUEN, PRESIDENT, GLOBAL SITUATION ROOM: Well Fred, let me pick up on something that Alex just said, which was that term Signals Intelligence that we were eavesdropping on South Korean officials, Israelis, others.

Those lines of insight and intel are going to go dry because, yes, in theory, everyone around the world knew, including leaders that the U.S. has this capability. It's a reminder and I think the fallout from this we are only starting to appreciate.

And it does raise a question why a 21-year-old airman in the National Guard had access to so much sensitive information?

WHITFIELD: So just based on what we've heard from a lot of military access the question of why he had to access that is his job. That was his job to have access -- that kind of special access.

But the big problem was that he was able to print it and there should have been some safety net or someone who should have been able to detect or a red flag raised once he printed it.

So does that simply magnify that there's a big oversight problem even in highly sensitive areas and areas of intelligence which is where he worked.

BRUEN: Well not only Fred, in terms of what he was able to print. And as you point out, that's one red flag. But just the fact that he's visiting all of these different if you will links that exist within our intelligence classified network, that could be raising some red flags and supposedly, that was something that was fixed the last time that we ran into some of these issues.

Edward Snowden, obviously the WikiLeaks was another example of contractors of part time staff that are, you know, poking their nose perhaps where it shouldn't belong.

WHITFIELD: So in other words he had in his profile at least one of the sites. He was named Jack the Dripper, which right there, says drip, you know, revealing information, and that's interesting. That was in his kind of handle name.

And you're saying that because of the kind of job he had, there should be someone or an entity that should be watching his behavior. So when he would go to sites like this, there should have been someone to identify his identity, his name, his profile, and that it is he that is at this locations -- at this location or various locations that in concert with the fact that he has access to highly sensitive information. So you're saying there should be a level of distrust even though you

are entrusted with this very valuable job.

BRUEN: Well, I think yes, certainly we need to continue to be vigilant about what people have this highest level of clearance are doing or saying but also Fred within this classified network, the U.S. government should have the capability supposedly to notice when you're clicking on an intelligence document. Why are you doing that?

And it ought to raise red flags if you're downloading a whole lot of documents, or you're simply looking at those documents when you don't have a need to know. And that's really I think the question that looms large over Washington right now is do all of these part time people whether they're contractors, whether they're you know, national guard folks or reservists or, for that matter, a lot of the political appointees.

Do they really have a need to know our most sensitive secrets?

WHITFIELD: In fact, you wrote an op-ed for CNN on this, you know, and you do think there should be some limitations on the number of people who could access the documents to what extent? Who makes that decision.

BRUEN: Yes. Here's my point, Fred. You know we after 9/11 opened the floodgates allowed all of these contractors, all of these additional folks into, you know, that that core classified part of our government.

I think this issue has to be revisited. I think we have to reform that classification access so that you know, ultimately, things like you know what Zelenskyy is saying in those private meetings, you know that only applies to a few people at the Pentagon, a few people at the White House and State Department.

But we should not be spreading that information so widely and I think that is the problem, the vulnerability that we've discovered in recent years.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And you did at the top of the interview revealed that there are now vulnerabilities between relationships between the U.S. and allies as a result of this. And take a look at you know these headlines, you know issues with South Korea, Ukraine's war strategy, Egypt considering Russian arms sales in Ukraine's air defenses.

I mean, elaborate further on your concerns now.

[11:09:55]

BRUEN: Well, there's several. One Fred, is what our allies are going to share with us. You know, we have proven to be pretty reckless and irresponsible in how we handle their secrets.

So you know, when foreign officials tell us hey, you know, I have picked up this terrorist cell or I picked up this report about what Vladimir Putin is planning to do. We're going to get less of that. And it's unfortunate because we need it.

We need it in order to protect Americans. We need it in order to help Ukraine or Taiwan, other hotspots around the world. And I just fear as a former diplomat that they're going to be sharing less with us because they don't trust us as much.

And I think it also quite frankly undermines our influence or credibility. You know, we obviously are coming off of what was a pretty traumatic withdrawal from Afghanistan, and this is just one more point that unfortunately is going to undermine trust in a lot of those foreign capitals in American leadership.

WHITFIELD: Yes I remember hearing those same concerns following Ed Snowden and how those -- the revealing of those documents then made people nervous about the relationships between the U.S. and various allies. So it does seem to, there -- there are many layers in which episodes keep happening.

All right. Brett Bruen, thank you so much.

BRUEN: You bet.

WHITFIELD: All right. In Sudan, a paramilitary group claims it now has control of the presidential palace and the airport in the capital of Khartoum as tensions between those forces and the army erupt into violence.

Heavy gunfire and fighting has been reported around the palace and army headquarters. The U.S. ambassador to Sudan said he is sheltering in place amid the clashes.

The military has been in charge of Sudan since a coup in 2021, which ended a power sharing arranged former -- formed rather following the ousting of former long term president.

For the very latest, let's bring in CNN's Larry Madowo. So Larry, what more do we know about all of the circumstances and the situation right now.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, this is a conflict between the Sudanese armed forces and the very powerful paramilitary group, the rapid support forces, which are led by the two most powerful military men in Sudan.

It's just after 5:00 p.m. in Sudan and we've seen a whole day of heavy gunfire and fighting, smoke coming from some buildings. There's been reported fighting around the army headquarters, the presidential palace, state television as well. And there's back and forth and blame games between the Rapid Support Forces and the military about who attacked first.

But these tensions have been building over the past couple of weeks, and especially this week, and this was always going to happen in this really testy situation. This difficult arrangement in an attempt to try and bring Sudan back to civilian rule. Since the 2021 October coup that you mentioned, Sudan is ruled by what is called a sovereign council. The leader of the sovereign council General al-Burhan, is also the de facto leader of the military and the country.

But his number two is Lieutenant General Hemeti and he is in charge of the Russia supported rapid support forces and at the center of this conflict is over who exactly gets to be in charge of a combined military force if that were to happen. It's one sticking point in a return to civilian rule.

And I want to show you some important context here from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Major parties in in Khartoum some weeks ago reached a very important framework agreement on how to proceed with a transition to civilian government. And there's been real progress in trying to move that forward.

But I think there's a real opportunity to move forward on the agreed framework. And certainly that's what we're strongly supporting. It's a -- it's a fragile situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MADOWO: The U.S. says there is no immediate plans at this time to evacuate U.S. citizens. Many include the U.K., the U.S. and others are telling their citizens in the country to stay put.

I want to read this statement from you -- for you also from the African Union, which is an important regional voice here. It says it's appealing to the parties, the armed forces and the rapid support forces in particular to immediately stop the destruction of the country, the terrorization of its population and the bloodshed during the last 10 days of Ramadan.

So still no idea as to where this is heading. But many people concerned Fred that it could be a return to civil war.

WHITFIELD: Ok. Larry Madowo, thanks so much.

All right. Still ahead, a last minute order from the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily extending access to a critical abortion drug while the court considers the case. We'll explain what comes next in the fight.

Plus the family of a Georgia inmate says he was eaten alive by insects and bedbugs, claiming that deplorable conditions led to his death in jail. Details straight ahead.

[11:14:53]

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WHITFIELD: Welcome back.

The U.S. Supreme Court has now hit pause on the battle over a key medication abortion drug. The high court on Friday temporarily extended access to mifepristone without any restrictions for now.

The move gives the court more time to consider the issue. Earlier today President Biden reacted to the recent ruling from a federal judge in Texas that would have suspended the FDA's approval of the drug.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it's outrageous what the court has done relatively including that they're going to overrule the FDA and what the drug (INAUDIBLE). I think it's out of their domain (ph). But we'll see what happens. We'll see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN Supreme Court reporter Ariane De Vogue has been closely following the developments. Ariane, what can we expect while the justices review the case?

[11:19:49]

ARIANE DE VOGUE, CNN SUPREME COURT REPORTER: Fredricka, as things stand restrictions to accessing that abortion drugs are on hold. Justice Samuel Alito stepping in and freezing a lower court opinion for now, to give the justices more time to consider this issue.

He has said that the court will ultimately rule Wednesday by midnight, and this does not at all forecast how they will cast their final votes. It's just meant to put things on freeze to give them more time to get ready and the Biden administration and the manufacturers of this drug argue that the lower court got it wrong in restricting access.

They say if the lower court opinion is allowed to stand labeling on the drug will change. For instance, women will only be able to access it up to seven weeks of pregnancy instead of 10 weeks. Women would have to come in and have it administrated in person, instead of being able to get it by mail.

This will make abortion access more difficult, the Justice Department says, unless the Supreme Court steps in. They want the justices to either freeze the lower court opinion for now, permanently while the appeals process plays out below, or alternatively, they want the justices themselves to bypass the lower court, take up this issue themselves and render a decision by the end of June.

Abortion medication continues to be used by a majority of women. Seeking abortions. Today the Supreme Court is going to consider a couple of things that look at whether the doctors have the legal right to be in court. They will look at the scope of the FDA's authority in this area.

It all comes, of course, as it's been less than a year since the high court reversed Roe v. Wade and now the justices are poised to consider whether to make abortion more difficult to obtain, even in the states that allow it, Fred. WHITFIELD: All right. Ariane de Vogue, thank you so much.

While the future of abortion access in the U.S. remains unclear, I want to talk about its impact with my next guest, Alexis McGill Johnson. She's the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. So good to see you, Alexis.

ALEXIS MCGILL JOHNSON, PRESIDENT/CEO, PLANNED PARENTHOOD FEDERATION OF AMERICA: Hi, Fred. Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: So tell me how you are viewing all that has happened this week from the Texas judge's decision to now Sam Alito -- Justice Sam Alito saying hitting pause for now.

JOHNSON: I mean, honestly, from Judge Kacsmaryk in Texas to Justice Alito and the Supreme Court, you know, it's clear, right? We should never be in a position where judges or justices are deciding the fate of medicine.

The FDA has the directive to determine what is safe and effective, and the fact that we are even here, the fact that you know there are patients who, you know, are concerned about what will be available for them to get the health care that they need is just quite outrageous, as the president said.

WHITFIELD: Well sometimes it takes a long time before the Supreme Court even acknowledges that they're taking on a case. Does this give you any worry or concern that Justice Alito so quickly was able to say we are considering the case? Give us at least until Wednesday.

Does that in any way foreshadow anything to you?

JOHNSON: No I mean, I can only hope that what -- what Justice Alito was perhaps considering or taking in is the impact not just on mifepristone, but the disruption of medicine in general, right. When you have over 500 pharma executives writing, you know, to the justices. When you have the AMA, the American Medical Association, the association of OBGYN, concerned about the court's interfering with the FDA' ability to determine what is safe and effective for Americans. Perhaps that is what is being taken in consideration.

But you know, the reality is, you know, we were waiting for a decision yesterday. The court had until midnight. And I had colleagues across the country who were worried about their early morning appointments. They did not know whether or not they would be able to reach their patients and in you know, in time if a decision came in at 1:00 a.m. in the morning.

That's the kind of chaos and confusion that we are putting into place here right now. That's what's happening with folks across the country.

WHITFIELD: And now what's your understanding of how patients are being advised?

JOHNSON: Well, we are being very clear that for now, mifepristone is available. They should seek guidance from their local provider, their local Planned Parenthood, their local abortion provider if they have an appointment this week

And they're doing that outreach right now. But just consider the wear and tear for a provider to have to make a phone call to say that perhaps they might not be able to make it.

[11:24:47]

JOHNSON: These are people who, you know, are going to have to take off from work to travel in and they're making plans to do so because there are already restrictions in 18 states. One out of three women can no longer get access to care in their own state and that I think is also an incredible burden that we are facing.

It's not that they're not seeking access, just making it harder.

WHITFIELD: And this has been a busy week as it pertains to women's reproductive health and rights.

This week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a six-week abortion ban. Opponents point out that many women don't even realize that they are pregnant by then. So where does this leave Florida women who are seeking an abortion but can't afford to travel to get the procedure or what else they are encountering and enduring as they make the discovery that they are pregnant.

JOHNSON: Well currently, Florida is still -- while that six week ban has been signed, the Florida Supreme Court still has to take up this question as to whether or not abortion rights are protected by privacy in the constitution. That court is incredibly conservative, and you know, we don't know what will happen.

But as you said, it is actually quite shocking right that Governor DeSantis, who clearly is, you know, thinking and considering running for president is not paying attention to the tea leaves of what is happening across this country in states like Wisconsin and Kansas and Kentucky and Montana and Michigan, critical states that he would have to win.

The voters overwhelmingly have rejected these extreme and restrictive bans. And yet here he is signing in a six week ban when most people don't know that they are pregnant, they don't have the opportunity to make a decision in time.

It just seems completely tone deaf, you know, catering to a rabid base that really does not understand the realities of the implications of these decisions.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll leave it there for now. Alexis McGill Johnson of Planned Parenthood, good to see you. Thank you so much.

JOHNSON: Thank you. All right coming up conditions not fit for a deceased animal, eaten alive by bedbugs -- that's what one family member says led to the death of a Georgia inmate. Details next.

[11:27:23]

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WHITFIELD: Welcome back.

In Georgia more than 600 inmates imprisoned at Fulton County Jail are now being transferred to other facilities due to an outbreak of bedbugs, vermin and overcrowding. That's according to the Fulton County sheriff.

And this as the family of an incarcerated man who died there last year blame the unsanitary conditions at the jail for his death.

CNN's Isabel Rosales joining me right now with more on this. So tell us about the family's demands, the discovery made and how the jail is responding.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. And the family, Fred has three big demands here. First, they are demanding a criminal investigation into the death of LaShawn Thompson. What happened here? How did we get to this point?

Secondly, they are demanding for Fulton County jail to be closed and a new one to be built in its place. Now we really heard from the family and from the family attorney Michael Harper during a press conference where they're blaming unsanitary conditions and complications from insect bites for Thompson's death back in September.

The family attorney tells us that he had been in jail for just three months on a missed in custody for misdemeanor assault charge before his death.

The family attorney also tells us that he was housed in the psychiatric wing due to mental health issues. Here's what he had to, say Michael Harper, the family attorney, about the discovery of Thompson's body.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL HARPER, ATTORNEY FOR LASHAWN THOMPSON'S FAMIILY: He was found in a deplorable, filthy jail cell. Body was eaten and infested by insects and bugs. This was a deplorable situation. The cell he was in was not fit for a diseased animal.

I have photographs here. And I want you guys to take a look at this of the cell that he was housed in. This is inexcusable. And it's deplorable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: Fred, we did hear back from the Fulton County Sheriff's office who say that they cannot by law speak about Thompson's health conditions or what decisions he made regarding his right to accept or to refuse medical care.

We do have this statement from the sheriff, the sheriff's office that reads, "Without making any explicit statements about Mr. Thompson's health. it is fair to say that this is one of the many cases that illustrate the desperate need for expanded and better mental health services. This is precisely why Sheriff Labat continues to call building a new Fulton County jail and criminal justice complex."

It's also very important to mention here that based on documents that we reviewed from the Fulton County medical examiner's office that the cause and manner of death have not been determined in this case, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right.

Isabel Rosales, thanks so much.

All right. Coming up, sons of the notorious drug lord El Chapo are facing charges from the DOJ in their crackdown on the deadly influx of fentanyl into the U.S. What we know about this rolling (ph) Justice Department indictment.

[11:34:20]

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WHITFIELD: The DOJ announcing charges against more than two dozen leaders of Mexico's powerful Sinaloa cartel, among them sons of notorious drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman.

The charges range from fentanyl trafficking to money and weapons laundering and spans three countries where members of the cartel allegedly operate.

Polo Sandoval is joining me now from New York. Polo, what more are we learning about this case?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, we've all heard of Joaquin El Chapo Guzman. But perhaps not so much about his Chapitos or little Chapos. The Department of Justice saying that these are the sons of the now imprisoned former Sinaloa cartel leader and quickly took the reins at least partial control of this drug trafficking organization.

At least four of his sons -- three of them have been pointed to as the sort of spearhead of this massive and global fentanyl trafficking organization, Fred.

The DEA yesterday as they, along with the Department of Justice unveiled this indictments sharing a graphic, showing just a massive reach of this organization.

According to federal investigators, cartel brokers would purchase the precursor chemicals, which are the ingredients used for fentanyl in China and then transport them to Mexico to secret labs where the fentanyl there was in some cases turned to powder or pills.

[11:39:48]

SANDOVAL: From there this material would be then smuggled into the United States where other criminal organizations would mix that fentanyl into drugs like cocaine or heroin, or in some cases, even mass test as counterfeit painkillers leading to many, many overdoses. What we heard yesterday from federal officials here, Fred is really just the disturbing nature of this massive organization. 23 defendants that you just saw there, seven of them are in custody, either here in the U.S. or in other countries with pending extradition proceedings.

And finally Fred, the attorney general, really painting just a very disturbing picture in terms of the enforcement of this Sinaloa cartel, mainly the Chapitos testing fentanyl on tied down individuals in Mexico to test the potency and in some cases, according to the U.S. attorney general, even feeding their rivals to tigers dead or alive.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. Brutal, brutal details. All right. Polo Sandoval, thank you so much.

SANDOVAL: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right.

Still ahead, Texas Governor Abbott is committed to pardoning a man convicted of killing a Black Lives Matter protester even after text messages and online post reveal the man's history of racist and violent rants. Those details next.

[11:41:04]

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WHITFIELD: The National Rifle Association's annual convention is underway in Indianapolis. The gathering comes just days after tragic mass shootings in Louisville and Nashville.

Former President Trump along with other 2024 GOP hopefuls spoke to the gun enthusiasts on Friday and vowed to protect the rights of gun owners in America.

CNN national correspondent Kristen Holmes has more on what the speakers at this year's event had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I was proud to be the most pro gun, pro Second Amendment president you've ever had in the White House.

SENATOR TIM SCOTT (R-SC), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will stand with each and every one of you in protection of what we all know is common sense.

NIKKI HALEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm a concealed weapons permit holder myself, my husband is a hunter, and we value the fact that citizens have the right to protect themselves.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The National Rifle Association convention highlights the sway the NRA still holds with the Republican Party, even amid a rise in mass shootings in the U.S. including those in Kentucky and Tennessee in recent days. MIKE PENCE (R), FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know I speak with everyone here when I say that our hearts and our prayers are with all the families that suffered loss and injury in these unspeakable attacks.

HOLMES: Former Vice President Mike Pence called for mass shooters to be punished more quickly.

PENCE: I believe the time has come to institute a federal death penalty statute with accelerated appeal to ensure that those who engage in mass shootings face execution in months, not years.

HOLMES: Several contenders suggested policymakers should focus on expanding mental health resources and armed guards to protect schools.

ASA HUTCHINSON (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you're going to protect children, you need to have armed personnel to protect the children.

GOV. CHRIS SUNUNU (R-NH): We know the crux of these issues, it's undiagnosed mental health. It's the lack of opportunity in schools.

HOLMES: Former President Trump delivered the closing remarks at the forum, promoting his actions to expand gun rights while in the White House.

TRUMP: I fought Obama's unconstitutional effort to ban 3d printed guns. I stood up for our hunters, fishers and sportsmen like no other president has ever done before.

HOLMES: Appearing via video, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is seen as Trump's top rival for the nomination, touted his efforts to expand gun rights in the Sunshine State.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL): As governor, I've resisted calls to take up gun control, even when such a stand is superficially unpopular because I understand that it is precisely at those moments when a right is unpopular that it needs true champions.

HOLMES: The conference also marks the first time Trump and Pence have appeared in person at the same event after their public split following the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol as the two former allies appear on a collision course in 2024 GOP primary.

And the former president didn't just talk about what he did while he was in the White House. He also talked about what he would do if elected president again in 2024, including calling for national concealed carry reciprocity. Now that would be something that would be incredibly hard to pass and obviously incredibly controversial.

Kristen Holmes, Indianapolis, Indiana, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The family of Garrett Foster is calling for Texas officials to deny Governor Greg Abbott's request to pardon the man convicted of killing him. Foster was shot to death while protesting at a 2020 Black Lives Matter rally in Texas.

Daniel Perry was found guilty just over a week ago and has yet to be sentenced, but newly unsealed documents not shown to the jury revealed that he described himself as a racist and talked on social media about killing people.

CNN's Ed Lavandera has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When Black Lives Matter protests erupted around the country in the summer of 2020, newly released, court documents revealed Daniel Perry intensely watched the chaos, quickly becoming angry.

In a social media post. He described the protesters as a zoo full of monkeys. The unsealed documents include 76 pages of social media postings and text messages. Most of these details were not shown to the jury that convicted the army sergeant of murdering protester Garrett Foster and raises new questions about why Texas Governor Greg Abbott is rushing a push to pardon this convicted murderer.

[11:49:57:]

LAVANDERA: Foster's family and longtime partner have called the governor's call for a pardon disgusting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This has been a complete nightmare.

LAVANDERA: The court documents show Perry talked about killing people and shared racist memes and comments on social media, including a 2019 message saying "Too bad we can't get paid for hunting Muslims in Europe." And in a Facebook message in May 2020 just months before the deadly shooting, Perry wrote, he might have to kill a few people on my way to work. Another text said. I might go to Dallas to shoot looters.

Perry's attorneys called the release of the documents a political move by prosecutors and said Foster also made posts advocating violence. In this 2020 post, Foster praised the burning of a Minneapolis police station.

Perry's attorneys are calling for a new trial, saying they want to introduce evidence that Foster repeatedly instigated confrontations and was the quote "first aggressor".

When the murder happened on July 25th, 2020 Perry, now a 35 year old army sergeant worked as a rideshare driver and had just dropped off a passenger near a BLM protest. Prosecutors say Perry drove into the protest and instigated a confrontation.

Perry's attorneys say Foster, a 28 year old air force veteran motioned to Perry as protesters were beating on his car.

(INAUDIBLE)

LAVANDERA: Foster was legally carrying an assault style weapon that night. Perry had a handgun in his car, and at some point in the exchange, he fired multiple times, killing Foster.

During the police interrogation, Perry gave several versions of the position of Foster's gun.

DANIEL PERRY, CONVICTED FOR KILLING GARRET FOSTER: I believed it was aimed at me. I believe it was going to be aimed at me. I didn't want to give him a chance to aim at me, you know.

LAVANDERA: Perry also told police he did not try to kill Foster.

PERRY: I honestly did not want to want him to die. All I wanted to do was to incapacitate him.

LAVANDERA: Texas jury rejected his claims of self defense.

We reached out to Texas Governor Greg Abbott's office to find out if he was still pushing for a pardon of Daniel Perry. Given this new information that has come to life, his office responded with a simple one sentence statement which read, "All pertinent information is for the board of pardons and paroles to consider, as this is part of the review process required by the Texas constitution".

And what he's referencing there is that the governor has to wait for the recommendation from that board before he can issue a pardon, but right now there is no timeline on exactly when that will happen.

In fact, we should all remember that this trial isn't even over yet. The sentencing hearing hasn't even been scheduled.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Ed Lavandera, thanks so much.

All right. Still ahead, it's a household name for wedding dresses but now David's Bridal is reportedly on the verge of bankruptcy.

Details next.

[11:52:48]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.

David's Bridal is laying off thousands of workers. The company telling CNN that it's evaluating its strategic options. And according to the New York Times, they're filing for bankruptcy for the second time in five years.

CNN's Nathaniel Meyersohn is joining me right now. Nathaniel, why is David's Bridal struggling?

NATHANIEL MEYERSOHN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So don't worry brides. You'll still be able to get your wedding dresses, but David's Bridal is in big trouble. It may file for bankruptcy. It's laying off about 9,000 workers. And the fact that that David's Bridal is struggling is because women are not -- they're buying more online, and they're buying less elaborate wedding dresses than they used to. Not going to change stores

And David's Bridal has not been able to capitalize on this boom in weddings that we've seen since the peak of the pandemic in 2020.

WHITFIELD: Ok, that's pretty surprising because they are such a big name in the wedding industry.

So another large brand Tupperware. It's struggling as well. The company is warning this week that it could go out of business entirely. Tell us about that.

MEYERSOHN: Yes so Tupperware's also in big trouble the stock plunge about 35 percent on this week after it warned that it may have to go out of business. Tupperware has been hit hard by the rise of knockoffs and competitors, including Pyrex, which I have here.

We couldn't find any Tupperware in New York City. But this kind of just shows the difficulties that Tupperware is facing from all the competition.

We're also ordering more for delivery and just reusing some of those containers.

WHITFIELD: Oh my God. Well, I covet my Tupperware and I'll cover it even more, knowing that it's going to be really hard to find any kind of replacements because we're talking about Tupperware, 77 year old business, and it has a very fascinating history, doesn't it?

MEYERSOHN: Yes so this is an iconic brand founded in the 1940s to keep the food fresh and they had a really interesting way of doing business. They had this direct selling model where women would introduce, particularly women would introduce the products to other women in Tupperware parties.

That's how they got the word out about the brand, but this kind of direct selling model ended up hurting the company because they didn't expand into some of these big box retailers like Walmart and Target.

So the direct selling model, it was revolutionary, but it wound up kind of really, really hurting the company.

WHITFIELD: Yes. I mean, things change and it's about evolving, right.

All right. Nathaniel Meyersohn, good to see you. Thanks so much.

MEYERSOHN: Thank you.

[11:59:52]

WHITFIELD: All right. And a quick programming note, Nick Paton Walsh embarks on a treacherous journey through the Darien Gap, a lawless jungle riddled with danger, alongside migrants hoping for a better life on the other side.