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CNN This Morning
Body Found in I-95 Collapse; Republicans' Comments Supporting Trump; Christie Calls Trump a Loser. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired June 13, 2023 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:30:00]
LAURA COATES, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Very plainly here. When you left the presidency, you don't get to have all the same things you had when you were there. If I move out of my house, I cannot have the keys still and go back any time I feel like and say, I used to live here. I liked the bed. Can I stay a little bit.
The same thing is true when you're talking about classified documents. You do not have the authority -- he's absolutely right about the word authorization. That's going to be the key to all of this. Did you have the authorization? Did you know you didn't - you no longer had the authorization to have the documents? He did not have any longer.
One other point. Evan Corcoran, that is going to be extraordinarily important testimony. And he is absolutely right that they're going to have to probably relitigate what is going to be admissible in an actual court of law in front of a jury or not, but that crime fraud exception, the reason why the attorney/client privilege is so sacrosanct is because you want to make sure that it's not being used for nefarious purposes. I don't get to say and plot crimes and then say, I talked to my lawyer. Don't worry, everyone, we're safe about this. If that is coming up, that will be important.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: We're also following other news. Officials say both the north and southbound lanes where Interstate 95 collapsed in Philadelphia will have to be demolished. What police are learning about the body recovered from the wreckage. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:35:12]
HARLOW: New this morning, at least nine people have been injured in a mass shooting in Denver, Colorado. Right now three are in critical condition, the others are said to have non-life-threatening injuries. This shooting happened just hours after the Nuggets won their first NBA championship on Monday night in Denver. It's just not clear if the shootings were all connected to the celebrations in that city. Still tragic and we will keep you posted.
Phil.
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: We want to turn now to Philadelphia where crews have recovered a body from the wreckage of Sunday's fiery highway collapse. Pennsylvania State Police say they have not identified the body yet. According to state officials, the body was discovered in a tanker that had been driven into a wall, crashing on Sunday morning. It burst into flames before a stretch of I-95 collapsed. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is set to visit the site today.
And I want to bring in CNN's Danny Freeman, who is live near the scene.
And, Danny, right now I think the big question for a lot of people is, how long is this going to take? What -- in terms of fixing this. What's your sense of things?
DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Phil, there's no easy answer but the estimate that we have right now is easily months, but I'll get to that timeline in a moment.
I want to actually update you on some of the new information that we learned yesterday afternoon about exactly what happened that led to the I-95 collapse behind me -- rather over this shoulder.
State officials told us in a news conference that basically almost 48 hours ago to this moment on Sunday morning a tanker truck carrying 8,500 gallons of gasoline was traveling northbound on I-95, tried to get off the exit ramp, took the curve hard, though, lost control, crashed, landed on its side, and eventually ruptured, and that ignited a fire that caused I-95 to ultimately collapse on the northbound lanes.
Then yesterday we learned that the southbound lanes, they are not structurally safe, so they will have to come down as well. We've been seeing -- actually demolition begin and chip really into the southbound lanes last night and into this morning.
Now, of course, as you said, initially there were no reported injuries, but then late yesterday afternoon Pennsylvania State Police did confirm one body was pulled from the wreckage, but the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's Office still has not yet officially identified that person.
Now, Phil, you've been asking, everyone's been asking that big question, when will things get up and running right here. Well, the best estimate that we have was from Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. He said some number of months.
But as you mentioned, Secretary Buttigieg, he'll be on the ground today. We'll ask him that same question.
Meanwhile, traffic in these small streets behind us, still a nightmare. Government officials hoping folks take public transit if they can.
Phil.
MATTINGLY: All right, Danny Freeman, great reporting, as always. Thanks so much. HARLOW: All right, ahead, former President Trump's allies say this
federal prosecution isn't fair. You'll hear their arguments, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:42:03]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): You want to have equal justice. When you sit and look at -- have a sitting president in President Joe Biden that has a number of classified documents sitting in a garage.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So is that a good look for the former president to have boxes in a bathroom?
MCCARTHY: I don't know, is it a good picture to have boxes in a garage that opens up all the time? A bathroom door locks, so --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: That was House Speaker Kevin McCarthy arguing that if Donald Trump is in trouble for withholding national defense documents, well, President Biden should be too. But the Biden case is still under investigation. By the way, by another special counsel.
Let's bring back our experts, John Avlon, Sara Murray, Josh Campbell, and Laura Coates.
John Avlon, there are -- there are a lot of differences here. We don't know what Robert Hur is going to decide. That's the special council probing Biden. But there are so many differences, namely obstruction.
JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Right. I mean that's the essence of this indictment is willful retention, right? The government said, hey, you've got these documents, and then they seem to have been -- kept been moving around willfully within a private club that is open - notwithstanding, you know, Speaker McCarthy's argument that bathroom doors lock.
Look, that's the fundamental difference. That's why Pence, who had documents, there's no - no charging involved. The Biden case is still ongoing. But the attempt to draw parallels to these say there's unequal judgment doesn't fit the facts of this case. And that's what you need to keep focusing on.
MATTINGLY: Murray, I'm not going to make a judgment on whether Speaker McCarthy's defense was well thought out or applicable in court, but I do want to play some sound from another Trump ally that our good colleague, great colleague, Manu Raju, got and get your response to it.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wouldn't -- I wouldn't be pulling out the drapes and the curtains for a new FBI building right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: It's this weird dynamic of like the law enforcement -
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
MATTINGLY: Back the blue party saying the Justice Department needs to go, the FBI needs to be defunded or they're not going to get their new building. It's -- again, Poppy made a great point, this isn't monolithic across the party. There's different factions here.
In -- how much of this is actually tangible? Like, what actually happens with these lawmakers? They do control the House.
MURRAY: Yes, I mean, look, it's not a surprise to you that lawmakers will sometimes use the appropriations process to get things they want. I know I'm not telling you anything you don't already know.
But I do think when you hear someone like Marjorie Taylor Greene saying we're going to defund Jack Smith and his investigation, I'm sorry, that's not going to happen. Are there legitimate concerns about a new FBI building, so if you wanted to use this as sort of a cudgel, you could try to say, we have legitimate concerns and, by the way, we don't trust the FBI in this case, sure, you could try to make that kind of an argument.
Again, though, I think the broader picture here is what we're seeing on Capitol Hill are all these Republican congressmen, all of these Trump allies trying to come up with ways to give Donald Trump air cover in what is a very bad week for him.
COATES: You know, last night in our town hall with Governor Chris Christie -
[06:45:00]
HARLOW: Yes.
COATES: He spoke about the ability to walk and chew gum at the same time. Not his particular words, but the idea of, you could legitimately talk about and question whether or not you believe Hillary Clinton should have been prosecuted. You can talk about the propriety of James Comey usurping the role of the attorney general when he went and had that press conference in prior - prior to election. You can talk about funding and all those aspects of it. But you can also address the legitimacy and the validity of a very serious allegation contained in this indictment. You're talking about somebody -- this is allegations, again, presumption of innocence certainly, but you can actually articulate that this is something worthwhile without undermining the entire institutions.
And I just offer, you know this, John, a quick civics lesson. You want to be the head of the executive branch of government. Their job is to enforce the laws. And under their org chart, what is it, the FBI and everything else. Either you are pro-executive branch or you're not. AVLON: And - but let me actually just double down on the political
problem Republicans find themselves in -- and I have a new column up on CNN Opinion about this -- regarding the threats of violence that Trump and some of his surrogates are putting forward. There's nothing less conservative than the threat of mob violence. If a party has defined itself historically as being a party of patriotism, individual responsibility, national security, law and order, following Donald Trump down this path is the worst thing you can possibly do for your brand on those core principles. And that's where the Republicans are going to find themselves unless they start standing up, like Chris Christie has and Asa Hutchinson has and said, actually, these principles are more important than any one person.
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's so perplexing too. I mean just -- I talk to law enforcement folks all the time. I talk to people inside the FBI almost every single day. They are perplexed by this constant stream of, you know, accusations that this is some deep state den of liberals who are out to get Republicans.
MURRAY: That is the thing, the den of liberals.
CAMPBELL: The den of liberals.
MATTINGLY: Right.
CAMPBELL: Yes. I mean I could tell you, you know, there's a saying that you check your politics at the door. That's kind of true. I mean you -- it doesn't interfere with your work. But you know the political leanings of your colleagues, I mean, in law enforcement. You're together for hours on end. You're talking about news of the day.
And - and, you know, to look at the FBI, which is a quasi- paramilitary-type organization, as most law enforcement agencies, it leans to the right. And so, again, I talk to people all the time that just ask, like, what is happening here? Of course, they're not -- they're not allowed to go out on television and say, by the way, these are lies.
HARLOW: Right.
CAMPBELL: What are you guys - what are you people thinking about. And so people can score political points off of them.
HARLOW: Yes, that's a great point.
Can I ask you one question, Laura, just about another Republican defense that has been used. This was one used by Jim Jordan again in that interview, but elsewhere. I keep hearing some of them say you can't have obstruction without an underlying crime. That's just -- that's not true. That's not true. Obstruction often doesn't get charged by itself, but you can absolutely have a -- the obstruction is the - is the alleged crime.
COATES: And they articulate that in the indictment to suggest, what was he trying to avoid. HARLOW: Right.
COATES: We talk about what the motive is. They don't have to tell you what the motive is, but to avoid a federal grand jury. That's part of an investigative arm of the government. That's part of the pursuit of justice. And so you can obstruct even if you do not have the underlying crime because that, of course, is a set alone case.
But it's all part of, I think, a conflation of something. They're very well aware that you've got to have something pretty sexy for a jury when you're talking about the court of public opinion. Whether you like that or not, we live in a kind of law and order world. We think that the crime is committed, you're apprehended, you've got a jury trial, and you've got the walk down the courthouse steps in the front at the end of 48 minutes. That's not how it really works. It's 49 minutes. If that -
CAMPBELL: Yes, (INAUDIBLE).
COATES: Exactly. And snacks as well.
But the whole point is that people believe that that's how everything works. It's just not. And Jim Jordan knows that.
HARLOW: Thank you all.
MATTINGLY: I've got to say, it's 6:44 a.m., June 13th.
HARLOW: Phil is writing notes in, like, what is happening.
MATTINGLY: Sara Murray discusses appropriations process on live TV. This is history for me. This is -
HARLOW: Your fellow nerd.
MATTINGLY: This is years of effort to bring Murray into the fold on all things, everything.
MURRAY: I feel like we also need to say garage doors have locks. (INAUDIBLE).
HARLOW: I was going to say that. I was thinking the same thing.
AVLON: On the most innocent level.
CAMPBELL: I hope somebody reported this.
HARLOW: Is that where we are?
MURRAY: That's where we are.
HARLOW: Is that where we are in this argument?
COATES: But bathrooms don't.
HARLOW: Whatever. COATES: Depends on the bathroom.
HARLOW: Who knows.
Thank you, guys, very much.
MATTINGLY: Thanks, guys.
HARLOW: Republican Presidential Candidate Chris Christie was on the CNN town hall last night with Anderson Cooper calling former President Trump angry and vengeful. Why he believes the evidence in Trump's federal indictment is really only just the beginning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This is vanity run amuck, Anderson. Run amuck. Ego run amuck. And he is now going to put this country through this when we didn't have to go through it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:52:15]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Oh, it's the Democrats' fault. It's DOJ's fault. It's this person's fault. It's the media's fault. How about it's his. He hasn't won a damn thing since 2016. Three-time loser.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: That was Republican Presidential Candidate, former New Jersey governor, Chris Christie railing against the frontrunner, Donald Trump, ahead of his federal court appearance. This was all in a CNN town hall last night where Christie blamed Trump for the Republican election losses and called his alleged mishandling of national defense documents, quote, inexcusable.
CNN's Omar Jimenez is here.
And, Omar, it was the political angle, the blaming of the losses that I actually thought was really interesting in terms of how he was framing things. And what's your takeaway?
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I mean he talked about policy. He talked about the future of America and more of what you'd expect to hear in a town hall. But part of Chris Christie's strategy is to confront Donald Trump directly. And so that's why when he talked about the House being lost from Republicans, the Senate, and the White House under Trump, he didn't just say Trump hasn't won anything since 2016. He made a point to say Trump is a three-time loser.
And that's not all he said.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've known him for 22 years. The only thing he understands is force. The only thing he understands is coming right at him and making your case.
JIMENEZ (voice over): Chris Christie didn't disappoint on his vow to take on Republican frontrunner Donald Trump. In a 90-minute CNN town hall, Christie took aim at the former president for his alleged mishandling of classified documents.
CHRISTIE: It is a very tight, very detailed, evidence-laden indictment. And the conduct in there is awful.
Whether you like Donald Trump or you don't like Donald Trump, this conduct is inexcusable, in my opinion, for somebody who wants to be president of the United States.
JIMENEZ: Christie not pulling any punches.
CHRISTIE: Did someone remind him he's not the president anymore? You don't need these things anymore. This is vanity run amuck, Anderson. Run amuck. Ego run amuck. And he is now going to put this country through this when we didn't have to go through it.
JIMENEZ: The former New Jersey governor slamming many of his other GOP rivals for not criticizing Trump.
CHRISTIE: They're playing political games with you because they think, if you kind of like Trump a little bit, and I don't say anything bad about Trump, and then Trump kind of implodes and goes away, then you're more likely to vote for me.
JIMENEZ: Christie urging Republicans to think twice about the country. Christie issued this warning to voters.
CHRISTIE: I am convinced that if he goes back to the White House that the next four years will all be about him just settling scores.
And he has shown himself, and I think most particularly in his post- presidency, to be completely self-centered, completely self-consumed, and doesn't give a damn about the American people in my view.
[06:55:07]
JIMENEZ: On policy, Christie took on the question over access to abortion.
CHRISTIE: Leave it to the states. Let's leave it to the states. And if a consensus emerges, we'll know it. And if the federal government feels they need to step in then, I'd certainly consider that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President. Mr. President.
JIMENEZ: He also leveled plenty of criticism against President Biden.
CHRISTIE: The reason we're struggling to make ends meet is because government spending under Joe Biden has gone completely out of control.
JIMENEZ: And then took a dig at both Biden and Trump for their age.
CHRISTIE: If those two people are the nominees, they're going to be a combined 160 years old on Election Day. I'm sorry, guys, nobody beats father time. Nobody does.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JIMENEZ: Now, look, up to this point Chris Christie hasn't been at the top of GOP polls. So the question here is, while his message might appeal to some Republicans and independents, will it be appealing enough to GOP primary voters. We will see.
But after the town hall, Christie's folks told me that the Christie you saw last night is the Christie you can expect to see as his campaign moves forward.
HARLOW: It's going to be a fascinating one to cover for you that's for sure.
JIMENEZ: Yes, I hope so.
HARLOW: And we're glad to have you on the trail with him, Omar. Thanks very much.
JIMENEZ: Of course.
MATTINGLY: Well, our coverage of Trump's indictment continues. What we're learning about security measures around Miami's courthouse and Trump's search for a lawyer to defend him, all coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: Just hours away from a historic moment in America.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Pleading not guilty for the second time in just a matter of months.
[07:00:02]
NIKKI HALEY (R), 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If this indictment is true, President Trump was incredibly reckless with our national security.
