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CNN This Morning

Israel Launches Strikes in Lebanon and Gaza After Rocket Attack; Tennessee GOP Expels Two Democratic Lawmakers Over Gun Reform Protest; ProPublica Reports, Justice Thomas Accepted Undisclosed Trips from GOP Donor. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired April 07, 2023 - 07:00   ET

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

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: His confession and pinpointing Richard Glossip as the man who hired him to carry out this murder.

[07:00:07]

That has come out in new investigation. So, all of this information now going to the Oklahoma court of Criminal Appeals, and obviously Glossip side is hoping that this saves his life.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Equal justice under law is what everyone deserves. And thanks to 3,000 hours of pro bono work by lawyers, we're at this point. So, we'll follow it. Ed, thank you.

CNN This Morning continues now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dozens of rockets fired from Lebanon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Israeli military announced new strikes on both Gaza and Lebanon.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two days after Israeli forces stormed one of Islam's holiest sites.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hear the siren, I hear the warning. It was very, very scary.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: U.S. peacekeeping force in Lebanon stressed that neither side wants another war.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One week ago, we had members take it upon themselves to rush the well and stop the people's business.

STATE REP. JUSTIN JONES (D-TN): At no point did we encourage violence.

STATE REP. JUSTIN PEARSON (D-TN): We are still here and we will never quit.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Justice Thomas's luxury trips with a GOP mega donor, ProPublica revealing decades of perks the Supreme Court justice received from Texas billionaire Harlan Crow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What struck us in this reporting was just the frequency of these trips and just the lavishness.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The revelations in this report has critics in Congress calling to impose serious ethical rules on the highest court in the land.

HARLOW: You say better regulation would not have prevented --

JAMIE DIMON, CEO, JPMORGAN CHASE: No, they would have.

HARLOW: They would have. So, what's better?

DIMON: I think very often when it comes to regulations, you have -- this is the problem. They try to fix that. But it often has unintended consequences. If you want healthy regional banks, you should also listen to them.

HARLOW: You said, if you don't worry in this business, you are crazy. What are you most worried about right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 87th Masters here at Augusta is well and truly underway.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But the real question is what's the best Masters snack?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obviously, the pimento cheese is a big thing, even egg salad too. Georgia peach ice cream sandwich, dessert. Oh, my God, yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, everything this morning, even food. But good morning, everyone.

We begin with some really stressing news that is coming out of the Middle East. We're following this serious escalation there of violence this morning. Overnight, Israel, launching a string of air strikes on Lebanon and Gaza. They say they carried out the strike in retaliation against Palestinian militants. Here's how we got to this point.

On Wednesday, police in Israel, that raid of Al-Aqsa, the mosque there, one of Islam's holiest sites, video showed police shooting rubber bullets and beating worshippers. Then they stormed the mosque a second time just hours later. And on Thursday, Palestinian militants fired more than 30 rockets from Lebanon into Israeli territory, that is according to Israeli forces, they say that's why they were retaliated overnight, by striking targets in Lebanon and Gaza.

CNN's Hadas Gold live for us near the Israel/Lebanon border with more, Hadas, good morning. There's already been more violence this morning. What is happening at this hour?

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Don, we are right along the border with Lebanon. You can actually see it on that hill just behind me. And the past few hours have been calm here despite the fact that the airspace is still closed, and those airstrikes in Southern Lebanon.

Now, the Israeli military saying it was striking specifically Palestinian militant locations. They are seemingly taking pains, not to say that they are targeting the Hezbollah militant group, which would, of course, potentially open this up to a much bigger conflict.

Now, Lebanese security sources telling CNN that these strikes hit what they called militia targets and weapons hid by armed groups in agricultural areas. There have been no injuries reported in Southern Lebanon and both the Lebanese government and the Israeli military are making sounds and saying things that they essentially do not want this to escalate, especially up here into something bigger.

Now, most of the action has been down south in Gaza, the Israeli military launching several airstrikes overnight, they say, targeting Hamas, things like tunnels, they say weapons manufacturing sites, machine gun sites and the like. And at least 44 rockets were fired by militants from Gaza into Israel overnight as well.

But, once again, thankfully, no injuries have been reported on either side, although there have been damages reported on either side, including to a children's hospital in Gaza/ But, again, thankfully, no one seems to have been hurt.

Israelis in the area of Gaza have been told that they can go about their daily business. They don't have to stay close to shelters. That gives you an indication things are calm, but the Israeli military telling me that they have called up extra air force reservists, specifically fighter pilots and air defense specialists.

[07:05:00]

But there has been injuries and violence. In fact, two Israeli women were killed, a third actually their mother critically injured in the occupied West Bank in what officials are calling a Palestinian shooting attack. It just goes to show you how many fronts there are currently right now going on all the same time.

Of course, our eyes are still on Jerusalem, where there are actually demonstrations going on at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in response to what is going on all around here. Don?

LEMON: And we will continue to follow. Thank you, Hadas.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And back here in the U.S., protesters filled the state capital in Tennessee yesterday as Republicans who control the House voted to expel two young black Democrats from the statehouse.

The lawmakers who had an idea of what their fate was going to be were defiant, raising their fists as they walked in for those votes. This all came one week after they and another member staged a protest on the House floor, including with a bullhorn demanding gun reform after three nine-year-old students and three adults were killed and Covenant Elementary School in Nashville, a school that is just miles away from the state capital.

A crowd of protesters booing and shouting from the balcony above, as the Republicans voted to expel these two Democrats. Following that, the two lawmakers vowed to keep protesting, whether that's inside or outside the room.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: They thought they won today, but they don't realize what they've started. They've started a movement that can't stop.

Expel the two youngest black lawmakers standing with our constituents who are demanding that we take action on the crisis of mass shootings.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: This has gotten the attention of the White House. President Biden himself weighing in, in a statement, saying that the expulsion of the lawmakers who engaged in peaceful protest is shocking, undemocratic and without precedent.

Notably, of course, and this is a big part of all of this, a third Democrat who is a white woman, who was also up for expulsion for protesting with them, survived her expulsion vote narrowly, just by one vote. Afterwards, she cried and embraced the two other Democrats. This all comes as a top Tennessee Republican last night defended the decision to kick the lawmakers out of the legislature for breaking the rules and disrupting decorum.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STATE REP. JEREMY FAISON (R-TN): I brought our caucus together several times since last Thursday to ask the body what we as a group wanted to do. The overwhelming majority, the heartbeat of this caucus says not on this House floor, not this way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: We're going to talk about, get the reaction from that and more.

Joining us now, one of the two state representatives who was expelled last night, and that is Justin Jones.

Justin, good morning to you. I really appreciate you joining us. I know you haven't had any sleep. And I have to commend you right off on the way that you have conducted yourself, you and your colleagues. It has been notable. And so, thank you for joining us.

This has captured the attention of the country, your message to the nation after having been expelled. How are you feeling?

STATE REP. JUSTIN JONES (D-TN): Sorry. Thank you so much for having me this morning Don. So, I'm operating on very little sleep. LEMON: No need to apologize at all.

JONES: What happened yesterday was it was a very sad day for democracy not just in Tennessee but in this nation. And so, I think that there's a lot of thoughts going through my head. The House Republicans chairman who you just saw in this video is still doubling down, even though he is the same Republican chairman who engaged in inappropriate behavior and is still in leadership, as you can see, it was not expelled. But, you know, we have been expelled for standing with our constituents. But I have no regrets. I will continue to speak up for District 52 and for Tennesseans who are demanding change.

LEMON: Let's talk a little bit more about you're talking about your colleague. You're talking about Jeremy Faison. He's a Republican caucus chair in the statehouse. Last night, he did an interview with my colleague, Kaitlan Collins, and he said he was wondering why you haven't apologized. Let's listen in and then we'll get your response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STATE REP. JEREMY FAISON (R-TN): I'd like to add to you all, they've not backed down from that either. I told them earlier today, I feel like if they would have said, you know what, we messed up. I mean, what American, what human won't bring forgiveness and redemption, but they doubled down into which so far is sustained in the world today and said I'd do it again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: I mean, you haven't apologized? What is your response to that?

JONES: I mean, I think Representative Faison needs to reflect on his own actions as a representative. Just, you know, earlier this year, last year, Representative Faison pulled down the pants of a referee because he got mad at a basketball game, and he's still in Republican leadership, not expelled, not sanctioned in any way.

And so for him to tell us to apologize for standing up for our constituents, I told the speaker and I told that body yesterday that I would apologize when they apologize to the families in Covenant and in the mass shootings across this nation, but particularly in our state.

[07:10:13]

At covenant and Antioch, in the waffle house mass shooting, for these reckless gun laws that they passed that allowed people to lose their loved ones. Apologize to the families of the victims of these mass shootings, and we will apologize for our for our actions.

LEMON: I think I know the answer to this, but I have to ask you anyway, just for the record. So, you could be reelected. Do you want to serve again, Justin?

JONES: I mean, definitely. I think what happened was a travesty of democracy because they expelled the two youngest black lawmakers, which is no coincidence from the Tennessee legislature, because we are outspoken, because we fight for our district.

And I will, you know, want to continue to do that and whether I'm inside the chamber outside the chamber. Because what we saw in Tennessee yesterday was an attack on democracy and very overt racism, as you can see that the two youngest black lawmakers were kicked out but are calling my dear sister, Gloria Johnson, a white woman, was not. And we see clearly nation, has seen clearly what is going on in Tennessee.

LEMON: Yes. Listen, to say there's a double standard. Some people may sort of speculate about it, but I think it is obvious considering that the two black members who were men, right, we're expelled, but the white woman was not. What do you want to say to that? Speak more, please.

JONES: I want to say that this is what we've been challenging all session was a very toxic, racist work environment, where we're not even allowed to speak. That's why we went to the well because the speaker, when they call on us, he cut off our microphones. He ruled us out of order anytime we brought up the issue of gun violence.

And when I went outside to support the protesters, he turned off my voting machine, so I couldn't even cast a vote on the House floor. I mean, this is what we've dealt with all session. And yesterday, the nation was able to see that we don't have democracy in Tennessee, particularly when it comes to black and brown communities.

And so you know what we saw. Yesterday was an attack on this future of a multiracial democracy. But we are the state where the birthplace of the -- you know, of the clan. We're a state where we had a KKK statue in our capital until very recently. And we protested to have that removed. But what they're trying to do is to bring us back to day's that we don't want to go to. If I didn't know this happened to me, I would think that this was 1963 instead of 2023.

LEMON: If the Nashville city council next week wants to appoint you as an interim representative to a district, you would do it?

JONES: Most definitely.

LEMON: Yes. Let's talk about the issue -- but let me ask you why considering all everything that has happened right now, why even go through all the rigmarole?

JONES: I mean, because it's important to let them know that democracy -- we will fight for democracy. We will fight for a multiracial democracy. And so, this extreme tactic to expel us into trying to humiliate us has only put a spotlight of the world on Tennessee.

And so I will go back because fighting for the future -- I'm 27 years old fighting for the future that I want to live in, that I want my children to live in, it's worth whatever sacrifices that we have to give, whether it's being expelled, whether it's being in a hostile environment because I want to create a community that our young people cannot just survive but they can thrive and flourish. And that's what we were asking. The most very basic thing was to ban assault weapons so we can stop these mass shootings. Instead, they responded by assaulting democracy, and that is shameful and it's very scary.

LEMON: Do you think you can work with them? There's so much opposition there.

JONES: I mean, we are the voice of the opposition party. Our role in our party, there was only 24 members, now there's 22, 75 Republicans. Our role was to be a speed bump to try and stop them from driving this train off the cliff so that we no longer have democracy. I mean, our job was to be a voice of moral dissent. Our job was to be a voice of check on power.

That was what we did, and that's what we did every day we were in the body, which is why they expelled us. Because in every committee I was on, I stood up and spoke out and on the House floor, we're some of the most outspoken members.

And they retaliated not because of that one incident of us going to the well and joining those young people protesting gun violence, but because they got tired and did not feel like young black men have a right to be at the same dais as them. They felt like young black men don't have the right to sit in the chamber with them. They don't see us as equal. The House Speaker, Cameron Sexton, has trafficked in the rhetoric of racism. He's trafficked in the rhetoric of racialized narratives, and so we know what we're facing.

But it's worth whatever sacrifice we have to make, because the future we want to live in is what we're working for.

LEMON: One last thing. In an odd way, this has given you a very big -- much bigger platform, right? The White House is weighing in, the current and the former White House, current and former presidents, both weighing in on this. How do you tend to use that newly garnered platform, elevated platform that you have.

JONES: I mean, what our protest was about when we went to the well to stand with these young people is to elevate their voices.

[07:15:00]

And so with this platform, we hope to continue to lift up the issues that a week after mass shooting, I represented a part of Nashville, and our communities still grieve, our communities in trauma. These young people are begging us to say we want to live in schools. We must continue to lift up the issues.

And like I told my colleagues who expelled me, no matter if they vote to expel me or not, what I did was for their children and grandchildren too. We want their children and grandchildren to be safe from mass shootings. We want them to live lives where they can flourish and be children and that had to do active shooter drills or live in schools that look like militarized zones. And so we'll continue to lift up the issue and we'll continue to speak truth to power and I'll be back at the Capitol on Monday on the outside with those protesting demanding action from my former colleagues.

LEMON: Justin Jones, we appreciate you joining us. Our regards, best to you, best of everything to you and your colleagues. Thank you so much.

JONES: Thank you.

HARLOW: Quite a conversation.

LEMON: Young black men don't deserve the same, have the same platform as him. That was pretty huge.

HARLOW: Quite a conversation.

Let's keep it going. Astead Herndon is with us from The New York Times, national political reporter. Astead, thanks so much.

ASTEAD HERNDON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Thank you.

HARLOW: Look. I think there is something important that came from this expulsion and it is what the nation, if not, the world's attention on what's happening in statehouses across the country that we often ignore when we pay attention more to D.C.

HERNDON: Yes.

HARLOW: You really dive into this issue of gerrymandering in your new New York Times podcast, The Run Up, which is great.

HERNDON: Thank you.

HARLOW: Let's about Tennessee, though. How do we get to a place where Nashville, writ large, is not very represented in that statehouse?

HERNDON: I mean, it is a story that's really core to this, is because you know to hear the representative, he says, they're doing this because they don't want black men at the table. I think that's true. They're also doing this because they can. The Republicans in that state legislature have a supermajority that has been meticulously drawn through the state legislatures.

And what we see across the country is when this happens, it is not -- it empowers that party to be able to do whatever it wants. And so this Nashville, which was really a blue dot in that red state, has been carved up over the last years, and that's really allowed them to write out not only public opinion, on issues like guns, but also to be able to silence those voices that are coming from Nashville and that is something that they're doing intentionally.

HARLOW: Jeff Greenfield writes in Politico about this, right? But what if a legislature decides to exercise its power just because it can?

HERNDON: Yes. And that's the key point, is that they don't have to listen to other voices. This is what gerrymandering does. It's the real tangible impact of something that can seem really academic and out of touch, is that it allows lawmakers really to not be able to have to listen to folks who are coming from the other side or listen to people in urban areas or black and brown voices who are concentrated in Democratic cities. If those voices are cut out of the process, it allows folks to be able to do something, like kick out two representatives who we should say are probably going to come back.

This was done just to be a humbling of two young black representatives. This was not done for real political purposes. These are folks who -- and I think the representative is right, when you talk -- when you were reading yesterday about folks locally, this is built up for a long time, and this is not just about the actions that happened recently. But a body that can basically say who you are in the type of politics you represent, we can cut it out at any moment. And I think these actions this week were sent as an intentional reminder of that power.

COLLINS: Yes. And is it a taste of what's to come. And we look what -- just North Carolina. They just got a supermajority there with Republicans as well.

The other aspect of it that you can't ignore how young they are, and the question of this being a generational thing. You know, we had that Republican on last night. He's talking about they need to apologize, decorum, and what that looks like. There is a point that you can't when you just disagree with something, take a bullhorn and go to the well, as it's known, there is a point to that.

But what we questioned about is, you know, why take this route, why take the most extreme route, why not go to the ethics committee or do a censure or something like that? How much of this is also generational in the way people who are in their 20s and early 30s view decorum versus other members?

HERNDON: Absolutely. I think that's really core to it is that there is not that same kind of deference to norms and decorum that you see among younger lawmakers. But I think that's tied back to even that gerrymandering point. Because systems are so broken, you hear young lawmakers and younger electorate basically say that they don't care about the rules as much, we got going through the process has not yielded them political results and so things that pressure lawmakers have to be used as tactics.

And so, you know, I think it really flows out of the same brokenness that we're describing earlier, but it is key to really understanding how that disconnect really develops because it's somewhat ideological, it definitely has a race based element. But I think there is also a sense of decorum that this younger generation who is saying, I am not waiting for incremental change, I'm going to demand more now is bucking up against --

LEMON: Decorum gets in the way of progress, has gotten in the way of progress. And if you look at the start of the civil rights movement, people were saying, can you please, can you please, I would like to, I would like to.

[07:20:02] At some point, you just go stop, I'm not going to deal with this anymore, and you take a bullhorn and you go to the well, and that's what they did.

And, quite honestly, that's what they should do when people are dying with issues are so important that people's lives are in jeopardy. Taking a bullhorn to the well, it's not a big -- it's beyond stunning to me. Taking a bullhorn to the well is what you should do when people -- that is the least of what you should be doing when people are dying.

HERNDON: because what's the biggest grievance here? Is it that decorum was messed up by these lawmakers? Is it the response or is it the original act that has cost folks' lives, right? Like we can move away from the actual tangible issue that was being protested here when we focus on things like decorum.

But when you heard, you know, folks like President Obama weighing in, talking about civility, talking about the break of decorum and rules or polarization and the divisions in society, I think those words paper over some stuff too. This is not a both sides polarization type thing. This is asymmetric polarization. This is one party that has changed in much different ways, even in the Democratic Party has changed.

And so when you hear a Republican base, they are much more willing to use their power to really see -- to really cut the other side out of the process. They're really more willing to see the other side as inherently invalid in that democratic process, and that is unique to the Republican side. That's not one-to-one between R and D.

LEMON: A humbling process. It's the best thing you said, in my estimation. You said a lot of good things, but that was -- this was --

HERNDON: No, I think that's what this was.

COLLINS: Yes. And we'll see what Monday looks like when they're back.

And I think the other thing that's important remember, and I think we have their photos, is the six -- what's at the heart of this? The six people who were killed in that Covenant School shooting, including those three those three nine-year-olds, the three adults, we will show you their pictures here. We have that moment. Just of what's at the heart of this I think is what's so important, to remember --

HARLOW: What didn't get acted on because these expulsions did.

COLLINS: Yes.

LEMON: And those lives are worth --

COLLINS: And there they are, Evelyn, Hallie, William. Cynthia, Katherine and Mike.

LEMON: Those lives are worth a bullhorn, right?

COLLINS: Astead Herndon, thank you.

HERNDON: Thank you all.

LEMON: Thank you.

HARLOW: Thank you so much.

Coming up for us, luxury vacations around the world, a free trip on a mega yacht coming up a new report, a stunning report that a GOP mega donor funded numerous luxury vacations for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas that went undisclosed.

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[07:25:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS, U.S. SUPREME COURT: I prefer the R.V. parks. I prefer the Walmart parking lots, to the beaches and things like that. There's something normal to me about it. I've come from regular stock. And I prefer that. I prefer being around that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: R.V. parks and Walmart parking lots, that is what you just heard from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. That was him in a recent documentary. Well, Republican donor Harlan Crow helped fund. Well, ProPublica published an explosive report yesterday saying Pro actually treated Justice Thomas to the opposite, lavish trips, including one with a private jet to Indonesia, trips Justice Thomas didn't properly disclosed.

Correspondent Tom Foreman with the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): International travel on private jets, luxury accommodations on a super yacht and top shelf hospitality every step of the way. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, Ginni, enjoyed it all for free, according to an investigation by the nonprofit group, ProPublica.

So, who footed the bill, Texas real estate tycoon and Republican mega donor Harlan Crow.

JOSH KAPLAN, REPORTER, PROPUBLICA: We found that Thomas has been taking luxury trips from this Dallas billionaire virtually every year for over 20 years.

FOREMAN: Trips to California, Texas, Georgia, New Zealand, and just a few years ago --

KAPLAN: Mr. Crow flew Thomas to Indonesia on his private jet and then took him island hopping for nine days on his super yacht staffed by stewardesses and a private chef. And we talked to -- you know, we're told that if you were to charter that jet and that yacht yourself, it could easily cost over $500,000.

FOREMAN: The report says, often, fellow travelers included big business people and the heads of prominent conservative groups. And it says Crow once gave Thomas a $19,000 bible that belonged to the legendary abolitionist, Frederick Douglass.

Thomas declared that gift and some of the travel in his public financial filings, but the report says not most of it. CNN received no response to the report from the Supreme Court spokesperson, and in a written statement, Crow said this is just friendship. We have never asked about a pending or lower court case, and Justice Thomas has never discussed one. I am unaware of any of our friends ever lobbying or seeking to influence Justice Thomas on any case. And I would never invite anyone who I believe had any intention of doing that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN (on camera): Still, the revelations in this report have critics in Congress calling for swift and decisive action to impose serious ethical rules on the highest court in the land and every person who sits on it. Poppy, Kaitlan, Don?

HARLOW: Thank you, Tom, for that. Those calls are allowed from Congress to do something. There's not a lot, as Joan said, it was last hour, Congress can do separation of powers. The Supreme Court has like supreme power over what ethics rules that decides to impose on itself.

COLLINS: Yes. And Congressman Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is saying that he should be impeached over it. Obviously, that's --

HARLOW: That Thomas should?

COLLINS: Yes. It's not likely, but we will see what lawmakers when they're back on Capitol Hill.

HARLOW: I've never seen a Supreme Court justice impeached and convicted.

LEMON: Or you can say is it flouting of the norms, but where does that get you? We don't know.

HARLOW: Right.

COLLINS: Yes, remarkable. Also this morning, a bipartisan Congressional delegation has arrived in Taiwan despite those escalating threats from China to lawmakers. This is something you do not see every day, from both sides of the aisle who were on that trip, they're going to join us live from Taipei.

[07:30:04]

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