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President Biden's Son Hunter Biden Suing Rudy Giuliani over Data Obtained and Released from His Laptop; House Republicans Struggling to Pass Continuing Resolution to Fund Federal Government; Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-NY) Interviewed on His Attempts to Pass Spending Bills in Congress with Support from House Republicans; New Revelations from Cassidy Hutchinson's New Book. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired September 26, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

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POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. So glad you are with us. 8:00 a.m. here on the east coast. Let's get started with five things to know for this Tuesday, September 26th. Four days left until a possible government shutdown. Kevin McCarthy and his conference remain in a standoff this morning. McCarthy insists GOP threats to oust him from his speakership are not influencing negotiations.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: And just hours from now, President Biden will be in Michigan joining members of the United Auto Workers union on the picket line. He will not be involved in the talks, but the White House says he is lending his support.

HARLOW: Police looking for this man in connection with a fentanyl death of a one-year-old at a Bronx day care. Prosecutors say he was seen on video fleeing through a back alley carrying two bags.

MATTINGLY: And former White House aide Cassidy Hutchison out with a new book that paints the closing days of the Trump administration as even more chaotic and more lawless than she previously disclosed.

HARLOW: And cities across the U.S.-Mexico border scrambling, dealing with this recent influx of migrants. El Paso's Mayor Oscar Leeser says his border city is at a breaking point. And he joins us live.

This hour of CNN THIS MORNING starts now.

But we do begin with this news just in to CNN. President Biden's son Hunter Biden is now suing former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and others over the data obtained from his now infamous laptop Hunter left in a Delaware repair shop. Let's bring in our senior crime and justice reporter Katelyn Polantz with more. What grounds is he suing him on?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: This is about data privacy, and Hunter Biden is going to court here in federal court in California, suing not just Rudy Giuliani, but also Giuliani's companies and a lawyer that was representing Giuliani for some time, a close friend of his named Robert Costello. And what Hunter Biden is accusing Robert Costello and Rudy Giuliani of doing is essentially getting access to data that was taken from his laptop. So that laptop was the laptop that he had given over to a computer repair shop in Delaware, and at some point Rudy Giuliani and Robert Costello got access to a drive of information that Hunter Biden says at least some of that was indeed from the laptop. He is not saying that everything was. There might have been manipulated data on there.

But what they are accusing Giuliani and Robert Costello of doing here in this lawsuit is essentially unlawfully invading his privacy, hacking into a computer. That's some of the language that they use in this lawsuit. And one of the things that they say is that defendant statements suggests that their unlawful hacking activities are ongoing today and that unless stopped will continue into the future, thereby necessitating this action.

So that's the reason that they are going to court on this. But it's also just one of these moments where Hunter Biden is on the offensive bringing a case against Rudy Giuliani, quite a well-known figure in the world of people who were talking about Hunter Biden, and at one point a person who held up the laptop, or held up a drive on air and said, this is the hard drive that all of the Hunter Biden material is on.

MATTINGLY: Katelyn, to that point, there has been a lot of talk over the course of the last several months about Hunter Biden's legal team being more aggressive in these moments. Is this part of a counteroffensive strategy?

POLANTZ: Absolutely. And we see that because we see multiple lawsuits from Hunter Biden now. This is not the first time he has sued over some sort of invasion of his privacy. There has been another lawsuit against a man, Garrett Ziegler, a researcher who had ties to the Republican Party who was working with a woman in Arkansas. He sued that man. He has also suing the IRS because of statements he believes were infringing on his tax privacy related to that Republican investigation that is ongoing around him. So there's a couple of different lawsuits here. Rudy Giuliani is just the latest, at the same time he is facing his own criminal issue in the state of Delaware.

MATTINGLY: All right, Katelyn Polantz keeping track of all of it somehow. Thank you, appreciate it.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is facing a ticking clock. Only four days left to avoid a government shutdown. McCarthy has to get Republicans to unite around a herm short term spending bill to strengthen their leverage in talks with the Democratic-led Senate.

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But now the promises he made the GOP hardliners back in January, they are catching up with him. This as House lawmakers are returning today to vote on a series of appropriations bills. Those bills, of course, are dead on arrival in the U.S. Senate.

HARLOW: To make matters worse, both the president and the former president are jumping into the fray. The Biden administration warning of dire consequences if the government cannot fund itself, saying the speaker has to do his job.

Meanwhile, Trump is encouraging Republicans to let the government run out of money and shut down if all their demands are not met. As the pressure mounts, McCarthy faces this stark dilemma. Fellow Republican Congressman Ken Buck says he believes McCarthy can get through this.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Before I let you go, do you think Speaker McCarthy will weather this?

REP. KEN BUCK, (R-CO): I do. And I mentioned before, I don't think anybody wants his job. It is a horrible -- herding cats is a very difficult process. And when you've got cats with big egos in this building, it is very difficult to do.

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HARLOW: Lauren Fox on Capitol Hill. That was an interesting take from Congressman Buck that no one else wants the job. So they don't want him to lose it?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No one else may want the job at this moment, Poppy, given how difficult it is. But the reality is that McCarthy potentially still does face potentially an ouster from some of his colleagues because of the pickle that he is in when it comes to government funding.

One of the things to be watching right now is there is a lot of drama that is going to play out in the House this week. They are going to try to move forward with one-year individual spending bills while leadership is simultaneously trying to rally members around a short- term spending package in order to try to get some leverage with the Senate. That is largely going to be a distraction because most of those options, all of those options would not avoid a government shutdown at this point.

Right now, the focus is in the Senate where you have Republican and Democratic negotiators and leadership trying to find a path forward on a short-term spending package that sources are telling me and our colleague Manu Raju, would likely be around 45 days long. That's not a whole lot of time. But one of the reasons for that shorter timeline is because they may not be able to include the full $24 billion in Ukraine funding that the White House has requested, nor will they necessarily be able to include disaster aid.

Those conversations are fluid right now, and there's a lot of things that could change in the next several hours as they try to get members of their respective caucuses behind this short-term spending plan. But the Senate is trying to find a way forward, and they need to move quickly so that they can send it over to the House of Representatives. And then it will be up to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to decide what to do. Depending when the bill goes over to the House of Representatives, it's possible that there may not be enough final for McCarthy to have any option other than deciding whether or not to put the bill on the floor in the House. It's also possible, of course, that the House may find some way to come together, that Republicans may try to change that bill that comes from the Senate.

But so many moving pieces here. And because we have such a short timeline that these leaders are trying to work within, that is the challenge, and that that is why McCarthy certainly does not have any good options left on the menu right now. Poppy, Phil?

MATTINGLY: But Lauren, to that point, I mean, he does, right? There is an option that always ends these types of issues, which is a bipartisan vote with half of the Republican conference that gets whatever the Senate jams them with across the finish line. Is there any indication whatever in your reporting that this is becoming a real option right now, or are we just going to play this game for another couple of days?

FOX: Every single day we push House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on that question, Phil. Would you put the Senate passed bill on the floor of the House? And every single day his response is, that is a hypothetical, and if we get to that point, give me a call. But obviously, that is becoming more and more of a potential reality for the speaker. Again, it assumes that the Senate can negotiate a short- term spending package, can pass it out of their chamber in short order, and volley it over to the House of Representatives. A lot of things have to happen for that to be a choice that McCarthy has to make. But if it happens, that is, obviously, the easiest path forward if you forget about the fact that any one member could call to oust the speaker at any moment. And certainly, working with Democrats could trigger that from some you have his hardliner. Phil?

HARLOW: Just one. Lauren FOX, thanks very much.

MATTINGLY: For more on the negotiations to avert a shutdown, let's bring in Republican Congressman from New York Marc Molinaro. He helped bring some House Republicans around to a plan to pass individual annual spending bills, four of which should face key procedural votes today.

Congressman, I appreciate your time, particularly because you have been in the room trying to navigate a path forward at this point. You have helped spearhead the idea of moving full-year bills that will start, at least procedurally, today. My biggest question is, is that enough to unlock enough Republican support to move a Republican stopgap bill?

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REP. MARCUS MOLINARO, (R-NY): I think we have been engaged in this conversation. And there are deeply held beliefs, principled people from both ends of the ideological spectrum. The goal here is to show good faith not only to each other, but to the American people that we mean business about shrinking the size, scale, and scope of the federal government. And by moving those bills, which, by the way, the speaker had committed to all along, and we've seen them, right. House Appropriations Committee was moving those individual bills forward. But showing an earnest effort, getting them on the floor and debating them, amending them, we are hopeful that unlocks support for short- term funding. And I would say, listen, it's critical that the House and House

Republicans present something that respects taxpayers, that presents to the Senate our best offer, which is we hope to drive down federal spending, secure the border, and ensure that we respect the people paying the bills.

MATTINGLY: Yes, I understand the plan, the proposal. But just to clarify, at this point you still don't have any assurances that you guys have 218 votes on a short-term bill?

MOLINARO: I think that the movement will produce more time to continue moving down the path of adopting appropriations bills. And so I am not, obviously, the speaker, nor in a position to say there is a final agreement. What we came together on I think is an earnest effort on behalf of the people we represent, move those bills forward, have the debate, obviously try to move forward a proposal that respects taxpayers, and with that brings forward support for short-term funding.

But there has to be -- listen, a government shutdown is in no one's interests. It's not in the best interests of the people that work for the government. It's not in the best interests of the American people. It's not in the best interests of the people we respect. And so we think that by pushing forward earnestly with this effort we hope to garner the support necessary to move a C.R.

MATTINGLY: The reason I ask is because, look, you are a member of the Problem Solvers Caucus. You, I think, expressed an openness if there is no path forward inside your conference to considering a discharge petition working with Democrats. What are the triggers to break off from your current path, for you personally, to break off from your current path and work with Democrats, or move forward and try and push the Problem Solvers proposal out instead?

MOLINARO: It's a bit of a hypothetical. But again, I think that moving the appropriations bills as we have will garner support for short-term funding to continue that process. I, of course, at some point, like many of my other colleagues, recognize two very important things. We don't want to see a government shutdown. We want to avert giving that authority to the president. It never ends well. It's not good for America or the American people.

At the same time, we recognize there is a slim House Republican majority and a Democrat Senate. Even if the Senate comes forward with something, there needs to be agreement between both parties in both houses, and that by default or design is what America has elected.

MATTINGLY: It's a great point, because there is no outcome here, there is no end game that doesn't involve Democratic votes, and yet members of your conference are saying if the speaker allows Democratic votes on a proposal, they are threatening his job.

MOLINARO: I --

MATTINGLY: Go ahead. MOLINARO: I'll say, with all due respect, the Senate is in the same

boat, assuming that they will pass something and we are forced to accept it. At the end of the day, what I think is in our best interests as a nation and certainly in the House is to present a conservative offer that respects taxpayers.

We know this. When the Democrats controlled both houses they forced trillions of dollars into the economy that fueled inflation, everything from gas to groceries on the rise. And by the way, I represent people in upstate New York who know their government. And this, with all due respect, this president living in some kind of fog, expecting people to believe something they know isn't true. The economy is certainly at risk. There are folks paying too much to get too little in return, and they want a government to respect them.

So irrespective of where we end in a bipartisan agreement, it's in the best interest of America that we come forward with a conservative offer and negotiate from there. We are hopeful, and I think the negotiations and conversations -- which I have been very much a part of -- will generate that kind of support.

MATTINGLY: Can I just ask you before I let you go with the little time I have left, you have run tough races. You are a frontline member. You are kind of in -- you're in the room right now. What is the political effect, do you think, on the fact that this intraparty warfare has broken out and continued over the course of nine months?

MOLINARO: We don't want to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The people that sent us here expect us to govern. And while we can't make those choices based on politics, certainly I recognize the people I respect want me to be pragmatic. And at the end of the day if I can bring people together and be a part of a strategy that strengthens the American economy, supports the people we serve and respects taxpayers, I will be at the table.

MATTINGLY: Busy week ahead. Congressman Marc Molinaro, appreciate your time, sir.

MOLINARO: Thank you. Be well.

HARLOW: So former White House aide Cassidy Hutchison is painting an even more chaotic picture of the final days of the Trump presidency than was previously known. Our own Jake Tapper has some of those claims in her new book. Before he talks to her, he is going to join us.

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HARLOW: So, we're hearing new stories of dysfunction, chaos, lawless, alleged behavior in the final weeks of the Trump White House from former aide Cassidy Hutchinson. They include Chief of Staff Mark Meadows burning so many documents in his office that his suits smelled like a bonfire. That is one of the claims. Let's bring in our Jake Tapper, who has read the book. You're going to talk to her later today.

Pretty stunning claim, she makes.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Indeed. She was the star witness at the January 6 hearings last year, and now she's back on the scene with a book telling her story from childhood to her courageous testimony, including all those years when she was loyal to the man, she's now warning the country about, Donald Trump.

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TAPPER: It was just last summer that Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, became a star witness in the January 6 committee's hearing. And in her new book, "Enough", Hutchinson paints the closing days of the Trump White House as even more chaotic and lawless than described in that shocking testimony.

Quote, "Cass, if I can get through this job and manage to keep Trump out of jail, I'll have done a good job.", Meadows tells her. It's a front-row seat to madness. At a mask-free Trump rally during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Former Presidential candidate Herman Cain contracted the virus and later died.

"We killed Herman Cain", Meadows tells her. But this does not change the White House's mask policy. In fact, during a visit to an N95 manufacturing plant, Hutchinson advises President Trump to remove his mask because his bronzer is smearing it time and again.

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At one point on the 2020 campaign trail, Meadows asks Hutchinson if she would take a bullet for President Trump. "Yeah sure", she responds, "but could it be to the leg?" "I would do anything to get him reelected", Meadows tells her. And after the election, in the wild scramble to overturn its results, Hutchinson says Meadows was constantly burning documents in the Chief of Staff's fireplace and at one point leaked classified documents to far right-wing media figures.

Meadows constantly reassures his boss that he will work to overturn the election that Trump clearly lost. Quote, "I was irritated that Mark gave the president false hope", Hutchinson writes. "Of course, that's what the president wanted to hear, but he was damaging the country by concocting false rationales." This is a theme in the book.

Soon-to-be House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Director of National Intelligence John Radcliffe both express concern to Hutchinson about the President erratically, acknowledging he lost, then backtracking and saying he didn't. Both men blame Meadows, but it's Trump who is most erratic.

After the US. Supreme Court refuses to take up the nonsensical lawsuit filed by Texas to overturn states that Biden won, Trump pushes Meadows. Quote, "Why didn't we make more calls? We needed to do more. We can't let this stand", unquote. Trump continues in a statement that could have legal ramifications.

Quote, "I don't want people to know we lost Mark. This is embarrassing." When multiple lawsuits and attempts to overturn the election do not come to fruition, January 6 becomes the failsafe. Much of Hutchinson's stories about that day were part of her congressional testimony.

CASSIDY HUTCHINSON, FORMER AIDE TO WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF MARK MEADOWS: I overheard the President say something to the effect of, I don't eff'ing care that they have weapons. They're not here to hurt me. Take the effing mags away.

TAPPER: But in her book, Hutchinson reveals for the first time that she was groped by Rudy Giuliani backstage. Quote, "He moves toward me like a wolf closing in on its prey", she writes saying, "He put his hand up her skirt." Giuliani denied this happened.

But even the horrors of January 6 were not enough for Hutchinson to resign. She stayed on with President Trump through the end of his term and sought to get a job with him post Presidency. The witness will please stand and raise her right hand.

When she was called to testify before the January 6 committee, Trump funded Attorney Stefan Passantino told her to, quote, "downplay her role as strictly administrative. She was an assistant, nothing more." Passantino says he did not advise her to mislead the committee, and Hutchinson says she was never told to lie to the committee. Quote, "I don't want you to perjure yourself", Passantino insisted.

Quote, "but 'I don't recall' this isn't perjury." She says he told her another time. Hutchinson says Passantino tells her, quote, "We just want to protect the President". Jobs are dangled and then withdrawn from Hutchinson as she begins to cooperate with the committee, she is ultimately shut out of and then demonized by Trump World altogether. The rest and her courageous testimony are history.

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TAPPER: Now, a spokesman for Mark Meadows denies the allegations made about him in the book. The spokesman says the burning fireplace was an absurd mischaracterization and not at all what it was about. It had nothing to do with documents. It claims it was newspapers to get the fire going. Meadow spokesman also denies leaking classified documents to these right-wing media figures.

He calls that a completely ridiculous mischaracterization. He says the documents were declassified. In regards to the we killed Herman Cain comment, Meadow's spokesperson says it is offensive to suggest that this was Meadow's initial reaction and that in the days after Cain's death, he was, quote, "Expressing exasperation that the media would blame the President for Mr. Cain's death, very different.", unquote.

MATTINGLY: So that's the responses or response or multiple responses. But, Jake, you say this book solves one of the big mysteries in Trump World. What is it? TAPPER: Well, we now know who told the committee all that information between Cassidy Hutchinson's second deposition and third deposition when she began disclosing so much more information, even though she still had that lawyer funded by Trump World, who kept telling her to keep saying, "I don't recall. I don't recall."

The answer is hinted at in the book, but never truly spelled out. But if you read between the lines, Cassidy Hutchinson and former Trump communications director and CNN Contributor Alyssa Farah come up with a plan where Hutchinson tells Alyssa Farah everything she knows, and Farrah then tells Congresswoman Liz Cheney what to ask Cassidy about in that third deposition.

And that, ultimately, is how the truth finally got out, Poppy.

MATTINGLY: It's fascinating. Jake Tapper. We appreciate it. Be sure to tune into the lead today, 04:00 p.m. Eastern. Jake sits down with Cassidy Hutchinson to talk about her book and what she alleged happened inside the White House as protesters breached the Capitol.

HARLOW: Really look forward to that interview.

MATTINGLY: Yeah, no question. Also, this morning, California's governor signing a series of laws aimed at protecting the rights of the LGBTQ community.

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The details and how long it will take to implement those laws. That's ahead.

HARLOW: Also, President Biden hits the auto workers picket line today in a first for a sitting President.

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MATTINGLY: Well, in the next 48 hours, a potential preview of 2024, in Michigan. Both President Biden and former President Donald Trump heading to the Detroit area to speak with auto workers. While Trump has been preparing for his event, he's also working in the campaign trail where he's made some claims that are interesting, to say the least.

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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: When I came here, everyone thought Bush was going to win. And then they took a poll and they found out Trump was up by about 50 points. Everyone said, what's going on right here? They thought Bush, because Bush supposedly was a military person, great. You know what?

He was a military he got us into the Middle East. How did that work out? There has only been listen to this. One such whale killed off the coast of South Carolina in the last 50 years. But on the other hand, their windmills are causing whales to die in numbers never seen before. Nobody does anything about that. They're washing up a show. I saw it this weekend. Three of them came

up. You wouldn't see it once a year. Now they're coming up on.

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