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Supreme Court Allows Idaho's Near-Total Abortion Ban For Now; Former Capitol Ofc. Harry Dunn Running For Congress; "Oppenheimer," "Succession," "The Bear" Win Big At Golden Globes. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired January 08, 2024 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:31:05]

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, doctors in Idaho could face criminal charges for performing an abortion in almost all cases, and that includes emergency room doctors. Here's why. The Supreme Court is allowing the state's near total abortion ban to take effect on Friday in a blow to the White House. Idaho law says physicians can only perform an abortion if it will prevent the death of the mother. That's the law on Idaho.

The Biden administration is arguing that federal law requires emergency room doctors to provide what's known as stabilizing care and that includes abortions if a patient's health is in serious jeopardy, those are different standards and the Supreme Court will hear this case in full in April. But until then, doctors and their patients have to abide by state law.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Joining us now is Dr. Stacy Seyb, an obstetrician gynecologist and maternal fetal medicine specialist at St. Luke's Health System in Boise, Idaho. Doctor, we appreciate your time. I don't want to start there. The tension between what you feel you're bound by based on federal law versus what you are now grappling with based on state law and what that does in your approach to the job.

DR. STACY SEYB, MATERNAL FETAL MEDICINE SPECIALIST, ST. LUKE'S HEALTH SYSTEM: Well, you EMTALA or the Emergency Medical Triage and Labor Act is nationwide. C -- any hospitals who remain receive CMS money, Medicare, Medicaid, et cetera, must abide by this law, which basically protects and make sure that hospitals will take care of patients who present either in labor or in a medical condition, regardless of payment, et cetera, et cetera. And they either have to be taken care of their or sent to a referring hospital that has a higher level of care.

Now, what we're trying to do is try to figure out the types of things that we can treat as physicians when it comes to abortion type care, and medical emergencies in pregnancy. I think there are a lot of things that can happen, especially infection and bleeding, that are very life threatening to women before a pregnancy is viable. And we want to make sure that we're able to treat those without the fear of being prosecuted.

We've asked the state to try to clarify through their laws, you know, what are these exceptions? And so far, we haven't gotten any response on that. And instead, you know, we've tried to use EMTALA as a place to make sure that we can treat our patients.

HARLOW: Do you fear that you right now until the court decides are facing the potential of criminal charges if you follow EMTALA, the federal guidelines, that could put you in violation of the state law?

SEYB: Well, I'm not sure that that necessarily. Yes, I mean, it could, to a certain extent. I -- it's not the first thing that I worry about. I worry about the health of the patients. I worry about, you know, one of the things that we have to do is we have to make sure that we are -- we ended up transferring a lot more patients out of state, which is a huge inconvenience and expense to the patient and their families.

MATTINGLY: When you talk to your lawyers, what do they tell you? Do they have more concrete guidance? Do they have a better sense of kind of what the line is for you?

SEYB: Oh, not at all. Not at all. I mean, this line is really something that is medically driven. And I think, you know, we as providers have not had any say whatsoever really in helping define what these boundaries are.

HARLOW: Every second counts, right, as an ER physician, as an OB-GYN, et cetera. I wonder how this is playing?

SEYB: It can.

HARLOW: Yes, I can. How this is playing out, for example, in emergency rooms, right? If you even have to second guess yourself as a physician and not just be thinking about the health of the patient as you said is your first priority, but also think about any jeopardy to you. How does that impact potential health and safety for patients?

[08:35:18]

SEYB: Oh, I think it delays treatment. I think things that would have been, you know, addressed earlier, are being delayed, people trying to find out, OK, especially if it's someone who doesn't deal with it on a regular basis. As a referral center, we see this a fair amount. But at the same time, other people are calling around trying to get advice, et cetera, and very afraid, you know. I think, you know, providers are between a rock and a hard spot. We've got, you know, the possibility of jail time on one hand, and the other is we -- if we don't act quick enough, are we medically liable?

HARLOW: Right, you take the Hippocratic Oath as physicians and what a predicament to be in.

MATTINGLY: Yes. Just one quick one before I let you go, is the view right now that you have to wait until somebody is dying, and I understand there's probably some ambiguity and how you would define that, but before you can act? SEYB: Yes, I mean, I think -- I do think that someone has to be really on the doorstep of being severely ill and or already possibly have long term damage to their body, their fertility, or other things like that.

HARLOW: Dr. Stacy Seyb, thank you very much for being with us this morning. Really helpful.

SEYB: Thanks for having me.

MATTINGLY: Well, there's no reporting that takes us inside the mindset of Donald Trump on January 6th, Trump's own inner circle revealing his two word response after learning Mike Pence was evacuated from the Capitol.

HARLOW: And one of the officers who defended the Capitol, there you see him, Harry Dunn, joins us live. We'll ask him about that report and his decision to quit the force and run for Congress.

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DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They have to release the J6 hostages. They've suffered a lot. They got to release them. I call them hostages.

REP. ELISE STEFANIK (R-NY), CONFERENCE CHAIR: I have concerns about the treatment of January 6th hostages. I have concerns. We have a role in Congress of oversight over our treatments of prisoners. And I believe that we're seeing the weaponization of the federal government.

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MATTINGLY: Those comments first from former President Trump and then from Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik are drawing intense backlash this morning. The rioters of course, are not hostages. They're defendants in the government's January 6th cases. And this morning, one of the officers who defended the Capitol that day, well, he's now running for Congress. Harry Dunn will run for Maryland's Third Congressional District to replace retiring Democratic Congressman John Sarbanes.

Dunn's campaign announcement features the attack at the Capitol front and center. He retired from the Capitol police force in December after receiving the Congressional Gold Medal and Presidential Citizens Medal for defending lawmakers. Now, Dunn's decision to run comes as new CNN or as new reporting from "ABC News" reveals Special Counsel Jack Smith uncovered new details about Donald Trump's actions and attitude on January 6th.

Now, according to "ABC," former Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino, told investigators that his violence intensified. Trump, quote, was just not interested in doing more to stop it. When Trump was told that then Vice President Mike Pence was evacuated to a secure location inside the Capitol, Trump reportedly told an aide, quote, so what?

Joining us now is Harry Dunn. Sir, appreciate your time this morning. To start with the comments you heard at the top from the former president and Elise Stefanik, who if you were to win your primary and win your general election would be a colleague of yours inside the United States House referring to January 6th rioters as hostages. How to respond to that?

HARRY DUNN (D), MARYLAND CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Hey, good morning, Phil. No, that's right on course for them. I expected nothing less from, you know, those individuals making those statements. I am glad that they do want to look into prison reform. And, you know, that's an issue that a lot of individuals have been complaining about for a long time. So we'd be happy to look into that. But these individuals, a lot of them, the -- I don't even say the defendants, the accused of -- excuse me, the prosecuting individuals have taken plea deals, they pled guilty, so they acknowledged their crime. So it's right on par for Trump to make those comments, and Elise Stefanik to parrot them.

MATTINGLY: You know, I was curious once you announced, having covered the Hill, having watched kind of the last three years play out your presence and your efforts to make sure that people didn't forget or didn't whitewash what happened. When did you decide that you wanted to actually make a run for Congress?

DUNN: Well, you know, as the last 15, 16 years of my life, my adult life, I dedicated it to public service. So if you want to ask me before January 6th if I would have decided to run for office, then that's what maybe, you know, after a full career, and being able to retire. You know, you said earlier I retired, no, I resigned. So, you know, being able to fully retire, then maybe we'll have that discussion. But, you know, in the events of January 6th, and honestly everything that's happened afterwards, like I said, like you just said the attempted whitewashing to flat out lying and denying what we went through, the backtracking of the individuals of the body of Congress, who refuse to fully acknowledge what happened they did on January 6th that night, and January 7th, but shortly after Donald Trump got their ear, their tone changed a lot.

MATTINGLY: You know, to that point, it was fascinating why there's a new video released over the weekend by the Justice Department that shows what was happening on the House floor during those moments. I want to play that real quick.

DUNN: OK.

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REP. TROY NEHLS (R-TX): I've been in law enforcement in Texas for 30 years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Talk a little louder.

NEHLS: And I've never seen people act this way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's because you've never seen corruption just like we have seen this last month.

NEHLS: I'm ashamed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I'm ashamed of my Congress people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mike Pence is -- traitor, man. He could have done the right thing and certified those legislators' electors and we wouldn't be standing here with a nine millimeter pointed at me right now.

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MATTINGLY: What goes through your head when you see videos like that again?

DUNN: You know, I'm glad you said again because like I said, you know, I was there. We saw that, that's exactly what we saw that day and exactly what we saw from the lawmakers. I think that was chewing nails in that video --

MATTINGLY: Yes.

[08:45:00]

DUNN: -- who said that he's ashamed. I wish he would have said that publicly and not just on a cell phone footage that he -- I'm sure he hoped never got released. But they know, those members they knew how bad it was. They know and they knew then. So, you know, it's par for the course for them. They know the truth, but they refuse to say anything out loud that will make the Republican front-runner, their leader look bad.

MATTINGLY: I -- you're in a crowded Democratic field. When you look through kind of the dynamics of your race? What do you think will set you apart, obviously, your experience what you've been through over the course of the last three years? That's the same central pitch that President Biden has in running for reelection, but in this race, specifically that you're looking at, what do you think sets you apart?

DUNN: Just my experience right now, like, you know, I'm not a career politician. I'm not, but I am a servant of the people. I've been a public servant. I'm a career public servant. And I think that's what the people in Congress need is a person who is shown and will continue to demonstrate, you know, that they are listening to them, and they will go to the floor, in the halls of Congress and fight for them. And that's just that's what I'm about.

And this moment that we're in, like I said, if January 6th didn't happen, then maybe we're not even having this conversation. But it did happen. And we -- I don't think it's an exaggeration to say we are one election cycle away from our democracy, as we know it. And you know, that, you know, that goes with all the issues that fall under the umbrella of democracy, a woman's right to choose, just like you just showed in your last segment, you know, we need to make sure that that is, politicians don't have any business and, you know, the doctor's office when it comes to that common sense gun reform. All of those issues to me fall under the umbrella of democracy. And if we have a dictator on day one, you know, what were those -- what does it even matter when it comes to those other issues?

MATTINGLY: Former Capitol Hill police officer, now Democratic candidate in Maryland's Third District, Harry Dunn, we appreciate your time, sir. Thank you.

DUNN: Thanks, Phil. Harry Dunn for Congress. Find out more. Thank you.

HARLOW: Well, star studded Golden Globes returned after a year of Hollywood strikes. The winners, losers biggest moments. We've got that ahead.

Also rescue workers in Japan pulled a 90-year-old woman from the rubble 124 hours after the deadly earthquake last week. A two-story house collapsed. She was inside. You can see the first responders shield the woman from cameras that she was being taken to the hospital Saturday night. A doctor told reporters her legs are injured but she is well enough to have conversations.

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AYO EDEBIRI, WINNER, BEST COMEDY ACTRESS: This just really means a lot. There's so many people who I've probably forgot to think. Oh my god, all of my agents and managers assistants, to the people who answered my e-mails, you all are real ones. Thank you for answering my crazy, crazy e-mails.

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HARLOW: Can we just have a shout out for assistants everywhere, always and in perpetuity, that was "The Bear" actress Ayo Edebiri at last night 81st annual Golden Globes accepting her award for Best Performance by female actor and a musical or comedy television series major awards, also went to succession in last summer's hit films "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer."

MATTINGLY: CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister live in Los Angeles with more up early tell us movies. We're going to go through this a little bit. Start with movies. Was it what we expected in terms of who won?

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: You know, it was and it wasn't. "Oppenheimer" won huge. That film walked away with five awards, a big win for director Christopher Nolan. Somehow his first Golden Globe win ever, which is really shocking. Then big wins for actors Robert Downey Jr. and Cillian Murphy. And of course, they walked away with the big award the best drama film.

Now this is the shocking part, Phil, "Barbie" only walked away with two awards, went into the night of course leaving the nominations, now only walked away with an award for Billie Eilish for her song and the new category of box office and cinematic achievement. Now even though this film didn't do as well as we predicted that it would, it's obviously not just a huge success at the box office. "Barbie" is a cultural movement. And actually I spoke to Helen Mirren who is the narrator of "Barbie" on the red carpet and she spoke about that film's success.

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WAGMEISTER: What does it mean that "Barbie" is getting so much recognition tonight?

HELEN MIRREN, ACTRESS: Oh, it's the greatest thing. It's fabulous. I mean great, great for Greta, great for women, great for filmmaking in general. It broke so many rules.

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WAGMEISTER: And she's absolutely right. You know, regardless of the wins and the trophies you bring home, this was a huge win for female filmmaking. Greta Gerwig becoming the only female director to have a billion dollar movie, so there's so many wins aside from these awards, right?

MATTINGLY: Yes. And Margot Robbie being not only the star in it but also having such a key part in even having purchased the rights to even have it made very much for women across the board. What about in T.V., who won a lot there?

WAGMEISTER: In T.V., the big winner of the night was "Succession." This is its farewell season. Typically voters like to bid adieu to shows that are going away. And "Succession" walked away with four awards. Also beat Ali Wong and Steven Yeun making history as the first actors of Asian descent winning in their categories.

HARLOW: Elizabeth, thank you. Appreciate it.

[08:55:02]

MATTINGLY: Well, this just in, a senior Hezbollah military was killed by an Israeli drone strike on his car -- in his car in southern Lebanon, that's according to a Lebanese security source. Wissam Tawil is the most senior Hezbollah militants to be killed by an Israeli strike since the onset of daily crossfire between the Lebanon-based group and Israeli forces on October 8th, so obviously very volatile situation on the northern border. We will keep you updated throughout the day as we learn more.

HARLOW: Yes, we'll keep you posted on that. Thanks so much for joining us. We'll see you right back here tomorrow. CNN News Central is after this.

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