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Erin Burnett Outfront

NY Times: Manhattan Prosecutor Subpoenaed a Senior Trump Org. Exec to Testify Before a Special Grand Jury; Biden Rejects GOP Infrastructure Offer as Growing Number of Dems Urge Biden to Stop Compromising; New Urgency in White House Over Threat of Cyberattacks as FBI Director Wray Compares Danger to 9/11; Facebook Extends Trump Ban Until 2023 Citing "Risk to Public". Aired 7-8p ET

Aired June 04, 2021 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM. You can always follow me on Twitter and Instagram @WOLFBLITZER. You can always tweet the show @CNNSITROOM. Have a nice weekend.

Erin Burnett OUTFRONT starts right now.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next, the Manhattan District Attorney subpoenaing Trump's longtime financial executive to testify before a special grand jury that could decide whether to indict former President Trump. That's according to The New York Times. The reporter who just broke that story is my guest tonight.

Plus, breaking news this hour, President Biden rejecting a new counteroffer by Republicans on infrastructure, just rejecting it. Growing number of Democrats say, good, go it alone. Stop compromising. One congressman who says Republicans cannot be rewarded on this is OUTFRONT.

And breaking news, a new urgency inside the White House tonight to address the spike in cyberattacks as the FBI Director compares the threat to the United States to 9/11. Let's go OUTFRONT.

And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.

OUTFRONT tonight, prosecutors tightening the screws on Trump. The New York Times reporting tonight in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office to subpoena the former president's longtime senior finance executive to testify before a grand jury. A grand jury that could decide whether to indict Trump or other members of the Trump Org.

Now, this executive's name is Jeffrey McConney. And as The Trump Organization controller for 35 years, he knows the ins and outs of the company. Trump wrote this about McConney's role as controller of the Trump Org, let's be clear, Trump controller of the Trump Org the company in his book Midas Touch. Here's what Trump writes at McConney, "It's my money and his job is to protect it."

It's a telling sentence in many ways, because Trump viewed the company's money as his money. And McConney subpoena is clear signs that the DA's investigation is advancing to a now crucial stage. We know the DA has been investigating Trump, his company and the company executives on multiple fronts including tax returns, executive perks, the way the company accounted for reimbursements made to Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen.

OUTFRONT now William Rashbaum, a reporter with The New York Times who was on the team breaking the story. And William, let me start with you with all this news that you're breaking here tonight. McConney is one of the top members of the Trump Org as you report, what, 35 or more years working for the organization. And as you point out, he's going to have immunity on the subject of his testimony to the grand jury.

So, he can say everything he knows he's not going to pay a price for it. Others, of course, might. How much could he know?

WILLIAM RASHBAUM, SENIOR WRITER, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Well, Erin, it's hard to say. I'm sitting here if I knew what Jeffrey McConney knows, I'd probably be writing different stories than I am. But he's someone who has been at the right hand of Allen Weisselberg, the CFO of the company. And the grand jury appears now to be focused on Mr. Weisselberg and I would imagine that the questions that they're asking Mr. McConney having some measure focused on Allen Weisselberg.

BURNETT: So, let me ask you that, because I know the DA's office has been digging into Allen Weisselberg who is the Chief Financial Officer at the Trump Org and has been along with his sons running the organization while Trump was in the White House. So Weisselberg, they've been looking at his personal finances, benefits given to his son Barry, who's another longtime employee of the Trump Org. How much of all of this that we're seeing right now, William, is actually aimed at Weisselberg, at putting the squeeze on Weisselberg?

RASHBAUM: Well, grand jury investigations, Erin, are conducted in secret but from what we can gather, there's a fair, a significant amount of focus on Mr. Weisselberg and on the District Attorney's office's effort to get him to cooperate. It's a standard law enforcement tactic. They put pressure on a witness who they think can serve as a guide for them through a complicated case. A lot of different financial issues that they're focused on involving the company and they want to get him to play ball with them and they're doing what they can to push forward that agenda.

BURNETT: So, stay with me, William, if you will, please. I want to bring Norm Eisen into the conversation. He served as special counsel on the impeachment trial of former President Trump and Harry Litman, who is the former U.S. Attorney and Deputy Assistant Attorney General. So, thanks to both of you for joining the conversation as well.

Norm, let me ask you based on William's reporting.

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McConney appears to be the first member of The Trump Organization to be called to testify in this investigation for the grand jury as far as we know. How significant is this development, Norm? NORM EISEN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Erin, thanks for having me back. I

think it's very significant. What we've seen in recent weeks is an acceleration of the New York State criminal investigation. We know that investigation revolves around financial issues, including the alleged concealment of the hush money payments to Trump's former mistresses that was the subject of our impeachment investigation as well.

And so, to bring in the controller who knows where all the financial bodies are buried, one of the closest associates of Weisselberg, it shows that I think there is forward movement, rapid forward movement in this criminal investigation.

BURNETT: So rapid movement possibly, Harry, under New York State law McConney has immunity for any testimony he shares with the grand jury.

HARRY LITMAN, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY: Exactly, yes.

BURNETT: So, go ahead, so what does that mean for him and for the investigation?

LITMAN: Yes, Norm is dead on. So, look, in other investigations you see witnesses jockeying for immunity. By virtue of being called we know he has immunity. That's how New York works. Another way New York works is the grand jury that returns a - indictment must itself hear the evidence, so we have every reason to think that McConney has testified to this special grand jury, which indicates just as Norm says an acceleration.

But a controller is second only to the CFO. He's the assistant grave digger, if you will, in terms of where the bodies are buried. He would have worked hand in hand with Weisselberg, if Weisselberg turns their formidable team against Trump, but for now he's a laser aimed directly at Weisselberg. Take the allegation that Weisselberg's - the confident money for his kids, tuition was doctored up to make it look like it was a bonus and that would have been improper.

No way. No way the controller of the company who is mister basically accounts receivable doesn't know that. He is, for all those purposes, hand in hand with Weisselberg every day.

BURNETT: So, I want to ask all of you about that because this is crucial and we have people, obviously, some in the Weisselberg family speaking out about this. But William, first how McConney goes way back with Trump and his family, you laid this out more than three decades and all these people have been together for a long time. So, I want to read more of what Trump wrote about McConney in one of his books, the Midas Touch.

So, this is back in 2011, 10 years ago, Trump writes about McConney, who testified in front of grand jury, quote, "My controller, Jeffrey McConney learned a big lesson early in his career with The Trump Organization. He'd been with me for about six or eight months, and each week he would come in and give me a cash snapshot of how things were going. So, one week he comes in and tells me we were down a substantial amount from the week before. Then the phone rang, and I picked it up. During the conversation, I looked up and told Jeff, 'You're fired.' I hired him back a few minutes later, but the point was made. It's my money, and his job is to protect it."

As I said, William, the telling part about this, of course, is how Trump viewed The Trump Organization as his money and now you have McConney, 35 years. This sort of a relationship forced to choose between protecting Trump or protecting himself.

RASHBAUM: Well, when McConney testified in the grand jury he is under oath. He can't take the fifth, because he's testifying under immunity in connection with the subject that he's testifying about. So, if he lies, he can be charged with perjury. And he, as Harry said, he's going to know a lot about all of the financial transactions that prosecutors are interested in as relates to Allen Weisselberg.

We know that they're focused on what benefits Mr. Weisselberg received and whether he reported them properly on his taxes. So he's on the hot seat.

BURNETT: So, Norm, I spoke to Jennifer Weisselberg who was married to Allen Weisselberg's son and they just are going through a divorce now. She has been with him for 20 plus years, former daughter-in-law of Allen Weisselberg. So, she told me that she has decade's worth of relevant financial documents. You see her here actually with them on a cart.

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And she told me that she has checks, that she has other evidence and documents that prove that both Allen Weisselberg and Donald Trump paid for her kids to attend a private school at $54,000 a year so that she's got the receipts that they've been looking through all of this. OK. And then, Norm, she told me this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Is there any distinction between Donald Trump and The Trump Organization?

JENNIFER WEISSELBERG, TRUMP ORG. CFO'S FORMER DAUGHTER-IN-LAW: Donald Trump and The Trump Organization are one in the same. Allen and Donald may look different, but they are not different inside, there's no difference.

BURNETT: Will Allen Weisselberg flip on Trump?

WEISSELBERG: Yes.

BURNETT: Wow. I mean, no hesitation at all with your answer there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: No hesitation whatsoever, Norm. I mean, this is what this is all about, it seems. Point this at Allen Weisselberg and if there's something to turn on Trump, that's what happens. EISEN: That's right, Erin. There's overwhelming evidence. This is the

classic prosecutorial playbook. It's not gentle, but they squeeze the people around Weisselberg, including McConney to get to Weisselberg, his family members and then Weisselberg to get to Trump. And one of the things that McConney's testimony provides in addition to the undoubtedly, he's a Sherpa, he's a tour guide through these finances of Donald Trump.

But it's also a reminder to Weisselberg get your deal while you can. There's other ways for us to prove this case. So, they are working their way up the food chain. And remember, Donald Trump is a notorious micromanager and the story you told about McConney proved it. He signs the checks. He signs the tax returns. He stays on top of everything.

So, there is really mounting criminal peril for all those who say is Donald Trump ever going to face justice, it now looks more and more like he just might.

BURNETT: And Harry, Jeffrey McConney, look, as the controller of The Trump Org to all these points, 35 years with Trump, with Weisselberg during this entire time, a former Trump Org employee told CNN, quote, "Allen knows where all the financial bodies are buried." Does McConney also know where all the bodies are buried or at least what closets they're in?

LITMAN: Yes, he buried them with Weisselberg. So for now, the immediate pressure is all on Weisselberg and norm just made an excellent point. They could bring this case against The Trump Organization and Weisselberg himself, if Weisselberg decides not to cooperate. So, in that sense, they are not bluffing. It really falls to Weisselberg either to voluntarily go under the bus or to turn.

But anything for higher up the food chain, as Norm puts it, really has to go through Weisselberg and McConney. And you did interview his daughter in law but all these financial transactions, they need to be decoded. The two best decoders, Weisselberg and McConney and that's what happening in the grand jury now.

BURNETT: Well, that's incredible. And one of them in there with immunity testifying. Thank you, all three, very much. I appreciate your time.

And next, we have breaking news, President Biden rejecting Republicans' latest infrastructure proposal as a Democratic Congressman accuses Republicans of giving them the middle finger. So, what does this mean? Is this thing going to pass and how big?

Plus, Donald Trump not about to get on Facebook anytime soon? Social media giant has now banned the former president for at least two more years. How come?

And tonight's inside look, UFOs. The government report found no evidence of aliens and yet they have no explanation for what they see.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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BURNETT: Breaking news, President Biden rejecting Senate Republicans' latest infrastructure counteroffer. His hard line coming as many Democrats are angry, Biden is already compromised with Republicans. Biden offering to cut his most recent offer of $1.7 trillion nearly in half to 1 trillion. So, he's already nearly cut his proposal in half. And along with that cut, he dropped a key Democrat demand saying he wouldn't increase the corporate tax rate to pay for any of it. Big compromises there.

So where does Biden's GOP rejection tonight put this entire thing? Kaitlan Collins is OUTFRONT near the White House tonight. And Kaitlan, I mean, does this put us back at the beginning. I mean, this is major pushback from the White House tonight to meet with the GOP today and then say, sorry, not working.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It is major pushback, because they're basically completely dismissing what the top Republican negotiator brought to the table today. In this latest conversation, the second one that President Biden has had with Sen. Capito this week.

But the White House says it just wasn't enough for them, because she put forward 50 billion more dollars that would put the new spending proposal from Republicans for infrastructure at about $300 billion, maybe just a little bit over that. But compare that to what the latest at the White House has put forward saying they want a trillion dollars in new spending.

So even though you've seen multiple exchanges go back and forth between the White House and Republicans, they're still not really getting that close together when it comes to what they want to spend. And that is only one of several disagreements that they have. And so, President Biden is basically scoffing at this latest offer from Republicans saying thanks, but no thanks and saying that he appreciates Sen. Capito's goodwill here, according to the readout that we got from Jen Psaki, the Press Secretary, but saying he is going to meet and talk to other Republicans, other lawmakers about ways to move forward here.

He is going to speak to Sen. Capito on Monday, but it doesn't seem like there's a lot of promise for these negotiations going forward. Though today during the briefing, we should note that Jen Psaki did tell reporters that President Biden would be opened to considering some of the other proposals. We know people like Sen. Romney and a few Democrats were putting together kind of a plan B in case what happens with these talks with Capito did fall through and that was necessary.

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The other thing we have to consider though is this chance that Democrats could go it alone here, because that increasingly seems to be something that the White House is considering. President Biden spoke to the top Republican on the House and Transportation Committee who is going to start marking up a bill next week. So, the White House is essentially saying we're not giving a deadline.

They still felt like there was runway left for some of these talks to go forward. But they kind of are giving a deadline, saying look at what these lawmakers are doing. Those are the deadlines that we're operating by.

And so, Erin, it remains to be seen how this could be resolved. But it doesn't appear that President Biden is going to be coming to a deal with Sen. Capito and those Republicans on infrastructure.

BURNETT: All right. Kaitlan, thank you very much.

So, one of the Democrats taking a stand against Biden's concessions to Republicans is Jamaal Bowman. The Congressman threatening that he may vote no if the final bill includes Biden's offer to slash the price tag nearly in half and drop the corporate tax hike. Bowman tweeting, "Republicans have given democratic governance the middle finger since the day President Biden was inaugurated. We can't - and won't - reward them by keeping Donald Trump's corporate tax cuts in place and slashing our infrastructure package in half."

Out front now, Democratic Congressman Jamaal Bowman of New York. And Congressman, I appreciate your time. So, Biden, tonight meets with Sen. Capito and says no in her latest offer. But he'd already agreed to cut the price tag nearly in half and to drop that corporate tax increase. Do you think he should go back on those terms, try to push the price tag back up?

REP. JAMAAL BOWMAN (D-NY): So, Biden ran on an infrastructure bill that was north of $2 trillion.

BURNETT: Yes.

BOWMAN: Because that was the number, progressives organized across the country to make sure Biden won the election specifically in Georgia and Michigan, and places like Pennsylvania. To go from over 2 trillion to 1.7 trillion should never have been done and to try to cut it further definitely should not be done.

We have 100-year-old infrastructure. We have children getting lead poisoning from drinking out of lead pipes. We have public housing that hasn't received any money from the federal government in over 10 years.

And when you speak to climate organizers and activists and scholars and infrastructure scholars, they say the number needs to be much higher. This is our new deal moment. We have just lost over 600,000 people due to COVID in one year. We lost that many people in the Civil War over four years. What was our response?

It was the Homestead Act. It was the Industrial Revolution. We invested in bringing the American economy back. We need to do the same thing now beginning with the working people and almost marginalized communities.

BURNETT: So, OK, so I understand where you stand on this, but the thing about Biden is even though he said no to the latest GOP proposal tonight after speaking with the lead Republican negotiator, he is going to speak to Sen. Capito again on Monday. So should he even be doing that? I mean, I understand there's lots of ways to look at this, but I can look at it and say going from 1.7 trillion to 1 trillion when the other side goes from 250 billion to 300 billion, one side is moving a lot more than the other and the two sides are still really far apart.

BOWMAN: So, I question why we're even deciding to negotiate with the Republicans. Republicans have not tried to negotiate with us in good faith since Biden has been in the White House. They push the big lie, which led to the insurrection. They voted to overturn the election results and did not support an impeachment even though Donald Trump was clearly at fault there.

I understand wanting to engage in bipartisanship, but they have not negotiated with us and tried to engage with us in good faith since this session has begun. We can use reconciliation to get this done. We have enough Democratic votes.

BURNETT: Right.

BOWMAN: And we need to do so because the American people sent us here to deliver and as Democrats we have to deliver. That is how we win the midterms next year, not negotiating with Republicans who do not want to negotiate in good faith.

BURNETT: OK. So, I understand your point on Republicans, but a big part of why Biden is in this position is because of a Democrats; Sen. Joe Manchin, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. Manchin has been insistent on bipartisanship. He just spoke to our own Manu Raju and said he's not going to do this alone. He's not going to do this just Democrats. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): We've got to work together and that takes a lot of time and energy and patience. You can only do so much by yourself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: I mean, Sen. Manchin is refusing to support a party line vote in the Senate.

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So even if you were to go that route, this bill cannot become law without him. So, what do you say to Sen. Manchin?

BOWMAN: Sen. Manchin has to realize, yes, he represents West Virginia but he meant represents the American people. And the policies that progressives are pushing for are policies that are popular with the American people, lowering drug prices, investing in the care economy, rebuilding our crumbling school infrastructure. We introduced the Care For All Agenda which is a resolution that

centers care as the rebirth of our economy. That is very popular amongst the American people so as investing in our school infrastructure, so as lowering drug prices. I encouraged Sen. Manchin to look at what's been happening with water quality in West Virginia for many years, what's happening with poverty in West Virginia for many years, but also what's happening with the American people overall.

This is our moment. History is going to tell this story and it's going to tell the story of us either responding to the needs of the majority of the American people or responding to large corporations and the wealthy elite. It's time for us to build an economy that works as a multiracial democracy, not to do business as usual in a way that we claim as responsible governance, but it hasn't met the mark of those who are marginalized, which is the majority of the American people.

BURNETT: All right. Congressman, thank you very much. I appreciate your time tonight.

BOWMAN: Thank you so much.

BURNETT: Congressman Jamaal Bowman.

And next breaking news, the White House taking new steps tonight to address an alarming surge in crippling cyber attacks on America.

Plus, Facebook suspending Trump until 2023. I guess that's after the midterms. And tonight, Trump has something to say about that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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BURNETT: Breaking news, an urgent review by the White House now underway after a spike in ransomware cyberattacks on major American businesses. Concern growing tonight inside the Biden administration after attacks on food supply, fuel, hospitals and transportation. Translation, crucial things without which we cannot survive here in the United States.

The White House tonight saying that the President Biden sees all as a, quote, rising national security concern. The latest incident was actually just today. The University of Florida Health is investigating a possible cyberattack at two of its hospitals.

This is just the latest. It's fast-growing list. It's every day and it's crucial infrastructure.

Jessica Schneider is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Biden administration sounding the alarm about the growing threat of cyberattacks. FBI Director Christopher Wray comparing the effort needed to combat the rapid succession of hacks and ransomware attacks to how the FBI approached the response to terrorism after 9/11. There are a lot of parallels, there's a lot of importance, a lot of focus bias on disruption and prevention, Wray said.

Director Wray told "The Wall Street Journal" the FBI's investigating about 100 different types of ransomware. Many that traced back to hackers in Russia. One study shows that the U.S. was hit by more than 15,000 ransomware attacks last year alone, costing businesses and organizations between at least half a billion and $2.3 billion in 2020.

Ransomware locks up computer files and hackers demand payment to release the files.

JOHN CARLIN, PRINCIPAL ASSOCIATE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: The study of cryptocurrency payments, it's some of the techniques that were just described to you, show a 300 percent increase in ransom payments over the prior year.

SCHNEIDER: Ransomware attacks have impacted everything from the gas pipeline operated by Colonial that led to gas shortages all across the East Coast, to meet projection plants being shut down. And even individual health care networks whose computer systems have been shut down sporadically across the country and the world.

JOHN HULTQUIST, DIRECTOR OF INTELLIGENCE ANALYSIS, FIREEYE: Before long, we are worried that some people will get hurt, especially when we consider all the incidences that are affecting health care. Ireland's health care system went down.

SCHNEIDER: The Department of Justice signaling this week plans to coordinate its cyber investigations. The same way treats terrorism cases, by sharing information and interagency coordination.

Former FBI cyber official Shawn Henry says it's going to take an international effort.

SHAWN HENRY, PRESIDENT, CROWDSTRIKE: They've got to work collaboratively with foreign launch meant agencies to take these people off the field.

SCHNEIDER: The massive threat from cyberattacks have been looming for years. Former Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats warned about the threat 3 years ago.

DAN COATS, FORMER DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Today, the digital infrastructure that serves this country is literally under attack.

SCHNEIDER: The White House this week sent business leaders nationwide a letter appealing for immediate action, saying we urge you to take ransomware crime seriously and ensure your corporate cyber defenses matched threat.

(END VIDEOTAPE) SCHNEIDER (on camera): FBI Director Wray also called out Russia in his interview for knowingly harboring cyber attackers. But President Vladimir Putin today calling it nonsense that Russia was ever involved in any cyberattacks. President Joe Biden will get the chance to confront Putin at a summit in Switzerland later this month. The White House says President Biden will address the increased cyberattacks emanating from Russia -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right, Jessica. Thank you very much.

I want to go now to David Kennedy. He is a former hacker for the NSA and the Marine Corps, and now the CEO of the cybersecurity company TrustedSec.

So, let me ask you, FBI Director Wray compares these attacks to the challenges of 9/11. Obviously, he did not do so lightly. Your job is to look at his vulnerabilities and see how it risk we are.

How at risk is America?

DAVID KENNEDY, CEO, TRUSTEDSEC: Unfortunately extremely. That is not to say -- over 85 percent of our infrastructure which you consider energy, water treatment facilities, obviously the food chain that we saw, Colonial Pipelines with gas, they're all owned by private sector organizations. This security is really lacking in almost every aspect, they are not capable of handling the types of threats they are seeing from the organized crime groups who are continuously getting more and more sophisticated, especially as more money funnels into them.

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So, it's a really big issue that we have both in our critical infrastructure and corporations we have here in the United States.

BURNETT: I think it's fair for people to take a pause and think about the way that we live our lives right now. If certain things are really shut down, you know, your days away from complete chaos. And it's pretty terrifying when you think about it.

These attacks that we've seen as he pointed out, every facet of our society, our food chain, our energy, our hospitals.

Could it be a test for something much larger?

KENNEDY: Here's the thing, these organized crime groups are making hundreds of millions of dollars. We deal with hundreds of these types of cases on a yearly basis dealing with the ransomware groups, and predominately out of Russia, with impunity from Russian government, meaning a lot of people do whatever they want as long as they don't impact the Russian government and cause chaos here.

Here's the thing. So, organized crime groups I would say, let's just say at the sophistication level of, here we start looking a nation states like Russia for example, the FSB, you look at the people's Liberation Army of China, their sophistication levels are way up here. And when you see how vulnerable we are to these specific types of

attacks, if there's ever any type of conflict with Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, they all have a very sophisticated cyber warfare capabilities. You can expect major pain happening here in the U.S. and with our allies.

We're highly vulnerable, these groups of highly sophisticated, the organized crime groups are sophisticated. So it's a really big mess right now we're dealing with on the defensive side of the house.

BURNETT: It's been incredible when you think about that somebody want to shut down everything, cause chaos, it could do so and people don't realize that could happen but it could there's multiple groups that could do it right now.

I mean, what's happening is that as you point out a lot of these places being attacked or run privately, not that the U.S. government. That's the way our country operates, it's capitalist country. So, the Colonial Pipeline actually paid ransom $4.4 million to hackers so the hackers got the money. You say they're making hundreds of millions, well, that's why. And the CEO of Colonial went on NPR to explain why he paid up.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

JOE BLOUNT, CEO OF COLONIAL PIPELINE: The conversations went like this. Do you pay the ransom or not? The initial thought is, you don't want to pay it. You don't want to encourage, you don't want to pay these criminals. But our job and our duty is to the American public. It was the right decision to make for the country.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BURNETT: I mean, David, look, you are having panic. You are having people put gas in bags. So I understand where he's coming from. I guess one way of asking this question, though, is what terrifies me is that there was no other way out. There wasn't somebody who could come in and undo what they had done, that it was so sophisticated that the only way out was actually paying the ransom.

KENNEDY: Yes, unfortunately I got goose bumps as you said that. I've seen this time in time again. I've been in the boardroom where CEOs are bawling in tears because of the family-owned business is shut down over 100 years running. They have no other way of recovering other than paying these ransoms.

Let's be clear -- these groups that are being -- that are going after these companies criminals. The people being hit by this are victims and everybody can say don't pay the ransom, you know, and it's easy to say that. But when your company that you've been running, you're in charge of, you employed hundreds of thousands, tens of thousands, thousands and thousands of people, it shut down with them ability to ever recover, you're either at a business or you're paying these ransomware groups.

And these groups are really, really, really good at maximizing as much damage as possible, going after your backup, going after your servers, going after everything. And it's not just encrypting. They also know take your data and house that as ransom as well. So they take all your data, they steal into their servers, and they will auction that off to say, well, hey, if you could still recover, because so publish all the intellectual property. And all of a sudden, you're in a double whammy situation.

BURNETT: Right. Well, then you're -- then you're a hostage, for as long as they want.

All right. David, thank you very much, pretty sobering conversation. Thank you though.

KENNEDY: Thank you.

BURNETT: And next, Trump responding to Facebook's decision to ban through the midterm until at least 2023.

And tonight, inside look on UFOs. So, a much anticipated government report doesn't roll out the possibility of alien spacecraft. Scientists who are studying UFOs is OUTFRONT tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:43:10]

BURNETT: Tonight, Facebook announcing it is suspending former President Trump until at least January of 2023. A full 2 years after his initial suspension for praising the rioters to storm the U.S. Capitol. Of course, that would, you know, keep him out of the Facebook for the midterm elections.

Trump slamming the decision, calling it an insult to the people who voted for him.

OUTFRONT now, Brian Stelter, our chief media correspondent, and, of course, the anchor of "RELIABLE SOURCES".

So, Brian, let's just talk about the implications of this, just pure and simply. It takes away one of Trump's biggest platforms to communicate with people through the midterm elections, what more can you tell us about it?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And Facebook says these roles will apply to others, but it's happening because of Trump. Here is the new presentation from Facebook today, showing a two-year ban, basically saying they're going as far as they decided they're ever going to go, a two-year ban, in a time of civil unrest, an ongoing violence.

So, this is the scale of -- sliding scale Facebook will use in the future. But a 2-year ban has been given to Trump.

Here is the language after 2022. What will happen after January 2023? Well, Facebook says at the end of this period, we will look to experts to assess whether the risk to public safety has receded or not. So, they are thinking two years ahead and thinking, Trump may still be out there, still inciting violence, still inciting his crowds, and they may then ban him permanently. But for now, Erin, it's a 2-year ban.

BURNETT: All right. So, you know, he's going to be speaking again this week and he's going to start doing his rallies, and, you know, putting aside for a moment, a crucial question, right, which is weather company having a control over American political speeches right, or even good.

The reality of this is, Trump is going to do these rallies, and there are other places that these conversations are happening that Facebook doesn't want people to see. Like Telegram, with QAnon now is obviously very active.

[19:45:02]

Law enforcement officials are concerned you could have new attacks following the January 6th insurrection because of places like Telegram.

So, the conversation is still happening, right, and a lot of people may just like, well, I'm not saying it anymore. It doesn't mean that it isn't there.

STELTER: And we have to recognize that. That in the darker corners of the Internet, this is still going on, even if it's not as visible on Facebook. Even if Fox News doesn't carry Trump's event tomorrow, Newsmax is out there promising it will.

So, there will be attention for these, and it's not just a problem in the U.S. In Nigeria this week, Twitter tweeted a tweet from the Nigerian president, because it was threatening, and then Nigeria banned Twitter.

So, this problem that we're seeing in the United States, Facebook, Twitter, trying to protect their users from these rogue leaders -- well, it's not going to last. Not just in the U.S., this is going to be a global problem going forward.

BURNETT: Right. And, of course, that gets back at the crucial question which is, some people may like this when they agree with Facebook's definition of rogue leader, but it does set a precedent.

STELTER: Private, corporate power, it's a huge precedent.

BURNETT: Yeah. All right. Brian, thank you very much, as always for your analysis, your perspective.

And next, tonight's inside look, UFOs. So, hear me here. A new government report says that extraterrestrial activity cannot be ruled out. OK. So what more are we learning? Let's put science on this, and one of the big headlines from today's jobs report -- women, accounting for most of the jobs added in May. But, that does not even begin to tell the story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BURNETT: In tonight's inside look, the U.S. not ruling out an extraterrestrial activity. Sources telling CNN, the government, in its first unclassified report on unidentified flying objects, says that while there is no proof of aliens, it actually cannot explain several strange objects that appeared in the sky spotted by military pilots.

In fact, more than 120 incidents according to "The New York Times".

Tom Foreman is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who! Got it! Whoo hoo!

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The videos are captivating.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my gosh, dude.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow! What is that, man?

[19:50:01]

FOREMAN: Dark, grainy images of air, or spacecraft, of unknown origins.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a whole fleet of them. Look at the S.A.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My gosh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are all going against the wind. The wind is 120 knots to the west.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at that thing, dude.

FOREMAN: Spotted by civilians, commercial pilots, and military officers too. All insisting that what they saw was real, and inexplicable.

LT. RYAN GRAVES, NAVY PILOT: Once we actually got close enough to the radar signatures, and get our visual systems engaged on objects, we can actually see an IR signature, infrared energy, emitting from where the radar telling us something was.

FOREMAN: The unprecedented, unclassified report to Congress includes analysis of more than 120 incidents over the past decades, according to "The New York Times".

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Break Omaha (ph) (INAUDIBLE) looking at the possibility to launch halo ASAP.

FOREMAN: Sources tell CNN it will say there is no evidence UFOs encountered by Navy fliers work from outer space, while not entirely ruling out that possibility.

The report is further expected to say, these are not high tech, secret U.S. aircraft, and his former President Barack Obama put it --

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT: We don't know, exactly, what they are. We can't explain how they move.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy (EXPLETIVE DELETED) they're going fast. Oh, it's turning around.

FOREMAN: Time and again, witnesses have said, just imagine a craft that can fly thousands of miles per hour, maneuver in ways no known aircraft can match, evade radar --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And, oh, by the way, has no obvious signs of propulsion, no wings, no control surfaces, and yet, still, can defy the natural effects of Earth's gravity. That's precisely what we're seeing.

FOREMAN: Some analysts speculate the UFOs could be new technology from the Russians, or Chinese. Sources say, the report will not rule that out.

Certainly, the U.S. military has denied the existence of secret American aircraft in the past.

And, there are skeptics that all of this, as much of anything at all.

SCOTT KELLY, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: I think it, is likely, some kind of optical illusion. Maybe combined with some military flight test of some unmanned aerial vehicles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN (on camera): Still, after so many years of the government refusing to acknowledge that anyone was seeing anything out there, the mere fact that there is an official report going to lawmakers is out of this world, Erin. Who knows, it may be seeing it out there.

BURNETT: All right. Tom, thank you very much.

And, you know, this gets to the whole point of putting scientific rigor on all of this.

Let's go now OUTFRONT to Robert Powell, executive board member for the Scientific Coalition for Unidentified Aerospace Phenomena Studies, as UAPs as the scientists call them.

So, Robert, look, this is a much anticipated government report, and it took a lot to get them to do this. So, they say there is no evidence that the aerial phenomenon that lady pilots have talked about seeing, or alien spacecraft. Yet, they admit, they have no explanation as to what they actually are.

So, then, I don't know how do they know what they know what they aren't, but they don't know what they are. What's your reaction to that?

ROBERT POWELL, EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBER, SCIENTIFIC COALITION FOR UAP STUDIES: Really, it's difficult to believe what they said. Here is why. They said one thing, and it's that these are not U.S. craft. So, that leaves China, Russia, and basically some unknown intelligence.

But the next step after that, is it Russian, or Chinese?

BURNETT: Yeah.

POWELL: What was in that "New York Times" article that is so interesting is that they said, there was 120 incidents over the last 20 years. Well, we know of one in 2004, a couple in 2015, and one or two in 2019. Where are these 100 plus incidents?

That means the government has a massive amount of data, and over 20 years, with that many incidents, we haven't figured out if it was the Chinese, or the Russians.

We have the most sophisticated radar. We have spy satellites all over the planet. We would know where these objects originated, and where they headed to. If it came from China, or Russia, by now, we should be able to have figured it out. If we haven't, that's concerning.

BURNETT: Extremely concerning, especially given, as you point out, this is over a long period of time. So, that would indicate a level of technological advancement that is extremely disturbing, that we wouldn't even know, or identify. So, you know, we talk about these navy pilots, Robert, they spoke up to "60 Minutes", about what they call a white Tic Tac object, that they saw off the coast of San Diego.

Here's how they describe that particular encounter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Tic Tac doesn't point north-south, it goes -- turns abruptly, and starts mirroring me. As I go down, it comes up.

[19:55:02]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, it's mimicking your moves?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was aware we were there. So, I go like this, and it's climbing still, and when it gets right in front of me, it just disappears.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Disappears?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Disappears, like gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: So, Robert, what do you think these objects actually are? What do we need to do to find out? I think everyone would agree to say, we don't think it's aliens, but we have no idea what of this. Like that's not acceptable as a conclusion.

POWELL: Yes, you are absolutely right. We can't say we just don't know, and then hope that whatever this is resolves itself. The organization I represent, we did a 270-page paper on that specific event that evolve Commander Fravor.

And we took not only his statement, but the statements of Commander Slate, and the other two pilots that were involved. And using their statements, if you believe them, that this object disappeared in one or two seconds, then, you basically have accelerations that are hundreds to thousands of Gs, which is, at least, 100 years more advanced than anything we have on the drawing board today.

BURNETT: It's incredible, and thought-provoking way to leave this. Obviously, so many more questions to answer.

Robert, I appreciate your time, thank you.

POWELL: Thank you.

BURNETT: And next, more women returning to work. But today's jobs report, also, reveals a crucial group of women are still struggling in a major way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Tonight, hiring picking up steam. The U.S. adding 559,000 jobs in May. Now, one of the biggest headlines that women accounted for most jobs added last month, which is good news. But look beyond that headline, because the number of women between the ages of 25, and 54, dropped last month, working.

This age group is the most likely to have kids at home, obviously, has suffered with childcare issues during the pandemic. And there are still 1.8 million fewer women in the workforce, then there were in February 2020, before the pandemic, 1.8 million fewer.

And that fits with a McKinsey study which found that more than one and four women are considering either downshifting their careers, or leaving the workforce entirely, post pandemic. Much more needs to be done to help the women who have been hurt most by this economic downturn.

Thanks for watching.

It's time for Anderson.