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Two African American Democratic Lawmakers Expelled from Tennessee State House after Participating in Anti-Gun Protests; Israeli Defense Forces Launch Strikes in Gaza after Rocket Attacks; Report Reveals Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Enjoyed Luxury Travel Paid for by Republican Mega Donor; House GOP Subpoenas Ex- Manhattan Prosecutor Who Investigated Trump; Tennessee GOP Expels Two Democratic Lawmakers Over Gun Reform Protest. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired April 07, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

DON RIDDELL, CNN HOST, WORLD SPORT: We don't know how many more rounds of golf he's going to be able to play here. He told me earlier this week sometimes he's out on the course and he thinks this could be the last time. And he really struggled, as you guys said, on Thursday, so he's got it all to do if he's going to make the cut. He hasn't missed the cut here since the mid-1990.

The weather is going to be a factor today. We're expecting a lot of rain both today and tomorrow. And I'm going to do something just for you guys because when we spoke this time yesterday, you were asking about the pimento cheese sandwiches. I wouldn't normally do one for breakfast, but just for you, I will.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Let's see.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, my God.

LEMON: And we need a --

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: We need a chomp.

LEMON: We need a review.

RIDDELL: Heaven on a stick, heaven on a stick.

(LAUGHTER)

COLLINS: Are they that good?

HARLOW: The jealousy factor is through the roof right now.

LEMON: Yes.

COLLINS: I would love a pimento cheese sandwich for breakfast.

HARLOW: Why is the food such a thing there? It's just classic.

LEMON: I'm not -- it's good and it's cheap. Thank you, Don, appreciate it.

COLLINS: Pimento cheese sandwiches are amazing. Don, I love that you just did that. But the pimento cheese sandwiches, they're a classic, and lemonade.

HARLOW: And pulled pork?

COLLINS: Pulled pork sandwiches.

LEMON: Pulled pork is great. And the pimento cheese, the egg salad sandwich. It's so good. I know, the producers are like we've going to go. It's top of the hour.

CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

JUSTIN JONES, (D) EXPELLED TENNESSEE STATE REPRESENTATIVE: It's all they want today, but they don't realize, they don't realize what they're started.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Good morning, everyone. While you were sleeping Music City turning into chaos. The national spotlight is on Tennessee after two black state lawmakers, one of you heard from there, were expelled for protesting on the house floor.

LEMON: We're going to get into that story in a bit, but violence escalating in the Middle East, Israel launching strikes against Gaza and Lebanon after a rocket attack.

Plus this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS, U.S. SUPREME COURT: I prefer the RV parks. I prefer the Walmart parking lots to the beaches and things like that. There's something normal to me about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: That is Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas, claiming he prefers RV parks and beaches. But a new bombshell report says he also enjoys private jets and mega yachts paid for and not disclosed by a Republican donor.

COLLINS: More on that in a moment, but we'll start with the protests that erupted at Tennessee's state capital and are expected to continue today through the weekend as Republicans voted to expel two young black Democrats from the statehouse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(CHEERS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: A crowd of supporters cheered the lawmakers on as they walked into the chamber for that historic vote yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Those cheers turning to boos as protesters shouted and screamed from the balcony as Republicans voted to expel them. It was in retaliation for a protest the lawmakers staged on the House floor last week. They disrupted the session with a bullhorn. They demanded gun reform after that Covenant School shooting that left six people dead, including three nine-year-old children. That attack happened just miles away from the state capital that you see here.

Earlier, moments ago, we heard from Justin Jones. He is the lawmaker that you see there on camera. He was expelled. He is also vowing, though, to keep protesting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN JONES, (D) EXPELLED TENNESSEE STATE REPRESENTATIVE: This extreme tactic to expel us 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 and 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 can, not just survive, but they can thrive and flourish.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: This has even captured the attention of the White House. President Biden issuing a statement, saying the "expulsion of those who engaged in peaceful protest is shocking, undemocratic, and without precedent."

This is a major part of the story. There was a third Democrat, the woman that you see there. She is white. She was also up for expulsion, but she survived narrowly by one vote. Last night, I spoke with a top Tennessee House Republican who defended the drastic move.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEREMY FAISON, (R) CAUCUS CHAIR, TENNESSEE STATE HOUSE: It's not possible for us to move forward with the way they were behaving in committee and on the House floor. There's got to be some peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: Let's bring in now global human rights leader, chairman of the Drum Major Institute and the son of Dr. Martin Luther Ling, Martin Luther King III. Thank you for joining us, sir. How are you doing?

MARTIN LUTHER KING III, GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS LEADER: Thank you. I'm doing well, thank you. This is --

[08:05:01]

LEMON: You called this is an outrageous affront to democracy.

KING: Yes, it is. It is it beyond. It's unconscionable that members of the legislative body that are raising issues that need to be addressed -- April 4th, As you know, we observed the 55th anniversary of my father being assassinated. Fifty-five years later, children are now being focused on as it relates to guns being brought into school, assault rifles specifically, and our nation refuses to deal with this issue. It is a very sad day.

And I'm so excited that these young men, both of them 27 years old. At the time my father was leading Montgomery he was 27 years old. These are young men who are fighting for democracy.

COLLINS: And what we hear from these young men, and even from Gloria Johnson, the third Democrat who is also up for expulsion, she believes that the reason she survived her expulsion vote is because of her race.

KING: Well, that seems to be absolutely crystal clear, and it shows the tragic divide in 2023. We're still dealing with racism. My dad wanted to eradicate, he said, from our nation the issues of poverty, racism, and violence. Racism is still very real, whether it's in Tennessee or whether it's in Georgia or whether it's in New York City. It does not matter where it is. We've got to eradicate this evil.

Dad used to say darkness cannot put out darkness. Only light can do that. So we continue to try to address issues by acting as if they don't exist. These are very, very real. But it's wonderful to see communities of young people coming together. Young people, this is why these young legislators were able to stand up, because it was young people in the community of Tennessee, of Nashville and around the nation who said, who are saying, listen, we are sick and tired of this. This is not right. And who -- I mean we had an assault ban up to 2004. Now we've allowed that band to be eradicated. It's very sad. It's a sad commentary.

But people can stand up and things can change. My father and mother taught us that throughout the work that they were engaged in throughout their lives.

HARLOW: You're, in his letter from Birmingham city jail, your father also wrote about how silence can be complicity -- how silence can be complicity, and the white moderates. And I wonder what your thoughts are on that today in terms of other voices that can help elevate these voices in this fight? KING: So I think that, again, what we are seeing is an emergence of

people coming together. There is an, unfortunately, it feels like a silent majority, the majority of Americans I think, want to see assault went weapons ban. But clearly the Republican party has sold out to the National Rifle Association. It's not about protecting and preserving the Second Amendment. It's about protecting and preserving communities.

The fact of the matter is if we can, if we can have safe zones in certain places. For example, we have the technology where a gun would not even work on a school zone. If we can put a dog in a fence and keep him from coming out, why can't we use that same kind of technology to protect our schools? We should be able to do that. Children should be able to go to school and not have to worry about whether or not someone is going to come and do something beyond heinous, as we've seen around our nation. We are a much better nation than the behavior we're exhibiting.

BLACKWELL: Can I ask you one final question, because it has been said by the Republican side that this was a matter of decorum, right, and that these young -- these three members should apologize. They haven't apologized. They were -- they went to the floor with a bullhorn. Your father was about peaceful nonviolence, but he was also about disrupting the norm. And that meant -- if that meant, I believe, standing in the well with a bullhorn, it would have happened. That's not violence. Do you see this in the same vein as your dad?

KING: Oh, absolutely, that is clearly --

LEMON: Should they apologize?

KING: That is -- no, I don't know that there should be an apology. I think that they have to continue to do -- I hope that they will be reelected by their local city councils or reappointed, and then they will run and win again. It's unconscionable that this behavior is happening. There are other violations that some have been alleged that have done in the legislature and there's been no expulsion. So why would you expel these two, and particularly African American legislators, and not the white legislator?

[08:10:00]

It just goes to show how sad and tragic and divided and how awful racism is. We are better than that. We have got to change this behavior. We've got to come together, ultimately to realize the dream of my dad. That's why we're going back to Washington on August 26 as we observe the March on Washington, because all of the country, democracy is seeming to fall apart. But people are saying no, we're going to stand for democracy.

We saw what an insurrection would do on January 6th. Now we're saying we need a resurrection, a resurrection of democracy for truth and for all people.

LEMON: Martin Luther King III, thank you.

KING: Thank you.

HARLOW: Really powerful to hear from him today.

Let's take you to the Middle East violence escalating dramatically overnight. We're getting new images this morning after Israeli forces unleashed air strikes in Gaza, also in Lebanon. The strikes sent dirt and debris into this home covering the pink sheets on two children's beds. This happened just hours after rockets launched from the Lebanon border, hit Israeli territory. The string of attacks started after police in Israel storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque twice earlier this week.

Our senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen is right now live near the Israel-Gaza border. One of the big questions this morning seeing this is what is this going to become? And we all think back to 2006.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Poppy. You're absolutely right. There is, of course, a big danger that this could escalate further. It seems from our vantage point here on the ground that right now, all the sides that are involved really don't want that to happen. But certainly, a lot of them are really upping the rhetoric.

And as you perfectly correctly pointed out, it was a very violent night, especially here in this area in Gaza and in the border with Gaza. I just want to show you where I'm standing right now. What you see behind me is an iron dome missile defense system. That's what the Israelis used to intercept some of those rockets that are shot from the area of Gaza. And of course, for this battery, as for the many others around here, it was a very busy night. There were dozens of rockets that were launched from the territory of Gaza. A lot of them were intercepted. One did land in a town called Sderot, which is not very far at all from where I am standing right now, very close to the border with Gaza.

And then of course, there were those airstrikes that the Israelis conducted in Gaza as well overnight. The Israelis are saying that they hit tunnels that the Palestinians, specifically Hamas, used for logistics. They hit what they call research and development areas as well, of course, Hamas developing new rockets all the time as well.

And Hamas says that the Israelis also hit a hospital and that there was some damage done there as well. They're obviously condemning all of this and vowing to fight back. And then you did have those strikes also in south Lebanon as well after those rockets were shot from there yesterday. The Israelis are saying that they hit some Palestinian infrastructure there as well.

So very tense here on the ground. At the same time, it does seem as though all sides that are involved in this want to try and not get this to go out of control. Nevertheless, there is the real danger that is there.

HARLOW: Absolutely. Fred, we're glad you're there for that reporting. Thanks very much. LEMON: This is just into CNN, an update to a story that we have been

following out of central Florida. The Marion County sheriff will be announcing arrests in the latest in the investigation there after a recent triple homicide in the area. Three teenagers were fatally shot at three separate locations over several days last week. The sheriff there has said that he believes the deaths are connected and could be because of a hybrid gang. A news conference set to start at 9:30 a.m. eastern time. We're going to bring that to you when it happens, the very latest.

COLLINS: Yes, we'll be tracking that. Also, House Republicans have just issued their first subpoena into the investigation here in New York, into Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, following his indictment of Former President Trump. How Bragg is firing back.

LEMON: All right, how about this? A mega yacht, private jets, and exclusive resorts. A bombshell report that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been going on free luxury vacations for decades paid for by a GOP mega donor.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: House Republicans have now issued their first subpoena and the investigation into the Manhattan district attorney Alan Bragg. The subpoena though, it's not for the district attorney. Instead, it is for Mark Pomerantz, that is the former Special Assistant District Attorney who previously led the investigation into Trump. House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan authorized the subpoena saying Pomerantz is uniquely situated to answer the committee's questions.

Pomerantz says he resigned from the Manhattan D.A.'s office in 2022. Soon after Bragg informed him, he was not prepared to move forward with a criminal charges at that point focusing on Trump's business practices overall. Bragg himself has responded to this new subpoena for Mark Pomerantz saying, "The House GOP continues to attempt to undermine an active investigation and ongoing New York criminal case with an unprecedented campaign of harassment and intimidation."

Joining us now with perspective on this is former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who prior to serving at the Department of Justice was commissioned as the White House counsel to President George W. Bush. And now, serves at the Dean of Belmont at the Belmont University College of Law. A lot to get to this morning but I do wonder what you make of the fact that this subpoena went to Mark Pomerantz not Alan Bragg himself.

ALBERTO GONZALES, FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL: Yes, I think I worry about it, quite frankly, because it really is an indirect attack on the investigation, despite what people may say. This is about interfering, trying to get information about ongoing investigation when I worked in the White House and then in justice. I always push back when the White House was inquiring about an ongoing case investigation or prosecution. I'd say it's dangerous to go there.

So, I think that's the case here, I think to the extent that there's wrongdoing, by the DEA in New York City. There are state entities that can look into that, the state's highest court can look into it, the bar can look into it. There are various ways to deal with it. And typically, those investigations would occur after the fact because they know the danger of interfering with an ongoing investigation. And so, that's what's going on here. And I think --

COLLINS: Yes.

GONZALES: -- that's unfortunate. I think -- I think the -- I would hope that the House Republicans would stand down on this.

COLLINS: Well, and it's unusual to see them subpoena a line prosecutor. But the idea because Mark Pomerantz has written a book about a lot of this and about why he left that office. Do you think that hurts his ability to resist subpoena like this one?

[08:20:02]

GONZALES: Well, we'll see, you know, I assume that he'll be reluctant to comply. But whether or not he'll be successful in avoiding providing testimony, it remains to be seen. Again, from my perspective, I looked at, I simply look at the fact that as to whether or not is this the Congress stepping in and interfering with the ongoing investigation at the state level. And I really don't see that as the role of Congress, quite frankly. And even to the extent that they have some kind of jurisdiction. I think, again, weighing in interfering with an investigation is really not what they ought to be doing.

COLLINS: OK, well, on that -- on that front, the other remarkable story we're talking about this morning is this ProPublica report and to Supreme Court Justice, Clarence Thomas. And these luxury trips that he and his wife took with a Republican megadonor, which the donor says, you know, that was just hospitality. It wasn't anything that Justice Thomas had asked for Justice Thomas himself has not commented. And there's, you know, no formal code of conduct at the Supreme Court that would bar him from doing this. But I wonder if this makes you think there needs to be tighter restrictions on the ethics code for someone like a Supreme Court Justice.

GONZALES: Well, first of all, I don't know if the facts of the report the reporting is accurate, I assume it is, but parts of it may not be accurate. And I know Justice Thomas, I've worked with a lot of people hard people that know him extremely well. I don't think this kind of action would in a way influence his decision in the court. But having said all that, I worry about the image. The fact that a justice is taking these gifts and not reporting it if in fact, the law requires reporting. And if the reason you don't report is because you're afraid of how it looks, maybe you shouldn't accept it.

Again, I don't think it has any influence or impact on the work of the justice. But I think it's creates further angst about the court, about the justices. Obviously, given the recent decisions at the end of the last term. A lot of people have raised questions about the court, talks about expanding the court, talks about term limits, talk about limiting the jurisdiction of the court. So, I think that justices need to be careful, because it's not all about just your individual conduct. Whatever you do, whatever you say, it affects the rest of the justices, it affects the reputation of the court.

And I think if you look at recent polling and the judges generally should -- I would say, urge them not to look at recent polling. Because they need to make the decisions based on what they believe is right, believe based upon what the Constitution or the statutes say. But nonetheless, you need to be sensitive about how your actions affect how people believe or respect the court because in the end, respect -- respecting --

COLLINS: Yes.

GONZALES: -- the judgement of the court depends upon how people view the court.

COLLINS: Before I let you go, yes, I can't ignore what's in the top right of the screen there Nashville. The fact that you are where all the headlines are coming out of this morning, what we were watching so closely at the Statehouse last night. You are where the attorney general, you served in a Republican administration. What do you make of Republicans in your home state expelling two young black Democratic lawmakers, for how they respond and for their protests breaking decorum on the House floor?

GONZALES: Well, there are rules here and obviously, when you break the rules, or sometimes it has to be accountability, but I think that what happened here goes beyond, I think what was right, I think people would -- look at the facts here. The fact that the demonstrations related to the shootings that happened a week or so ago here in Nashville. And I think that they first should have taken other action, report it to the Ethics Committee. Perhaps, stripped into the jurisdiction of sitting on certain committees.

So, I think it will went well beyond that and I think it sends a terrible message, quite frankly. You know, Nashville prides itself on being an open, welcoming city. This -- I think this could hurt business, I'm part of an effort to bring major league baseball to Nashville. I don't know how that's going to affect our efforts in terms of how people around the country look upon this city. And I know that, you know, by and large, the people that I know here, I love them. They've been great to me and my family. But this is just not a very good story for the city of Nashville. And I think it's very unfortunate.

COLLINS: It's remarkable to hear you say you think it could affect business as well. We'll see what the repercussions actually our former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, thank you for your time this morning.

GONZALES: Thank you.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, that's interesting, it could affect business. And that would not be good, and Nashville is doing so well and thriving right now, right?

COLLINS: That's a good point of the larger implications of this. It's not just a Tennessee thing.

LEMON: Yes, we are just minutes away from seeing the March jobs reports, after a tumultuous month for banks worldwide. We're going to see if it had any impact.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Also, does JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon think more banks are going to collapse. Also, does he think a recession is coming? We asked him.

[08:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: All right, we're just a few minutes away from the March jobs report following a tumultuous month for banks worldwide during the 2008 financial crisis. It was Jamie Dimon, along with the other bankers it really steered this economy through what we saw. He led the rescue of Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual helped avert a total collapse of the country's financial system. So, I asked him, why did we just see two more banks fail? Could it have been avoided?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: What we do know is it regulators told Silicon Valley Bank at least six times, you've got a problem, and your vulnerabilities you need to fix them. Because of a law change few years ago they didn't have to fix them, they didn't, there was just a recommendation. They didn't fix those vulnerabilities.

JAMIE DIMON, JPMORGAN CEO: I don't -- I don't think it'll do lot of change.

HARLOW: Well, let me --

DIMON: They should have fixed it. The regulator should force it.

HARLOW: Yes. So, let me ask you this question because you -- the regulators can't force it. Should the public know when banks like that are warned multiple times? Or is the risk too great that then there's a run on the bank if you wave a flag and say this bank has an issue?

DIMON: So, you may know more than I do about it because I didn't read all those reports.

HARLOW: I doubt that.

DIMON: But my view is the regulators could have forced it. If my regulars called me up and said, we do not like x and you have to change it. I would change it.

HARLOW: You would.