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Erin Burnett Outfront
Biden Family Huddling Together At Delaware Home Tonight; ISIS Arrests In U.S.; Alito's Wife Recorded. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired June 11, 2024 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:37]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
Breaking news, President Biden now at his son's side, behind closed doors, after Hunter Biden was found guilty today in a federal gun case.
Tonight, a member of the jury who helped convict Biden speaks out. You'll hear.
Plus, more breaking news this hour. Federal agents arresting eight people from Tajikistan with suspected ties, I'm sorry, to ISIS, after they entered the U.S. through the southern border.
Tonight, we're going to take you to one of the deadliest stretches of that border.
And, Martha-Ann Alito secretly recorded, threatening to put up more flags to counter the, quote, Pride flag that's going up nearby.
Her neighbor who's at the center of the controversy over Alito's flags is OUTFRONT tonight.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
(MUSIC)
BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news, President Biden rushing to his son's side tonight. Hunter Biden greeting his father on the tarmac of the Delaware air National Guard base. Just hours after Hunter Biden was found guilty on all counts of lying about being addicted to drugs when he bought a gun.
Today's verdict, historic. Hunter Biden is now the first child of a sitting president to be convicted of a crime. And the first family is now grappling with the fallout of the jury's verdict -- a verdict that came incredibly quickly, just three hours. So fast, in fact, it caught almost everyone off guard.
Firstly, Jill Biden, who was attended the trial almost every day, even commuting back and forth from France was unable to get into the courtroom in time to hear the verdict herself. And according to people who were there inside that room, Hunter Biden stared straight ahead as the verdict was read, stone-faced, showing little emotion afterwards, though he could be seen hugging family members.
A close Biden family friend, Fran Person, who was with the Biden's today, gives us this statement tonight OUTFRONT, says there was nothing but love in that room with Hunter after the verdict.
Abbe Lowell and his team put up the best defense he could ask for. Hunter was incredibly strong and gracious. Look at how good a Hunter looks today, sober, going on four years. It is remarkable how far he's come and he will be a powerful story of redemption and hope for addicts and their families that love conquers all.
Now, Hunter Biden could face up to 25 years in prison and a fine of up to $750,000. In a moment, we're going to hear from one of the jurors about the discussions that took place inside that jury room and those few hours of debating, as the 12 men and women deliberated.
It truly is incredible when you take a step back here. You've got the president's son just found guilty, criminally, less than two weeks after former President Trump was found guilty and is now a convicted felon, both are now awaiting sentencing. And yet the reactions from Biden and Trump could not be more different.
Just hours after his son was found guilty, President Biden spoke to the nation's largest gun control group. So he's actually at a gun control group. He did not mention his son's conviction. He did not talk about a corrupt judge, or rigged trial or witch hunt. Instead, he released this statement separate from his speech.
I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal.
Jill and I will always be there for Hunter and the rest of our family with our love and support.
Priscilla Alvarez is OUTFRONT. She is live in Wilmington, Delaware. And Evan Perez is outside the courthouse.
I want to start with you, though, Priscilla, because I know you've got some new reporting on this last-minute trip by President Biden to Delaware. So what is the Biden family doing right now? How did this all come together as far as you're learning?
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erin, the president and his family are huddling behind closed doors here in their residence in Wilmington tonight, after the president rights only hours ago and was greeted by his son, Hunter on the tarmac.
Now, this was a last-minute trip with sources telling CNN that it was floated late Monday night, but came together after the verdict was reached and finalize with the president arriving here again, only a couple of hours ago.
But, of course, this is a family that has often come together over the course of the trial. The first lady in the courtroom multiple times as these legal proceedings were underway and even coming back from France briefly to attend the trial. And that really underscores the debt, the delicate and difficult balance that this president has had to strike with his foreign travel in recent days, and also as these deeply painful family moments were playing out in this trial and publicly.
Now, the president did release the statement earlier today, and it was a statement that was framed through the lens of a father, not so much a president where he talks about the resiliency of his son, but also said that he would accept the outcome of the case.
[19:05:09]
Now, the president has previously affirmed that he would not pardon his son. Now, also, hearing Wilmington is the Biden campaign headquarters, and sources telling us that as far as tonight, that is business as usual for this very sensitive and delicate issue for the Biden family.
BURNETT: All right. Priscilla, thank you very much, in Wilmington.
And I do want to go to Evan Perez now because he's been in the courtroom throughout this trial every day. You've watched the jurors. You've watched the Biden family there, and I know you just spoke to one of those jurors, Evan.
What did he tell you?
EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erin, this is a juror number ten. He's man in his 60s from -- he's from southern the southern part of Delaware.
And one of the things that we heard from the defense team as we were going through this trial was they believe that politics had a role in why Hunter Biden was even facing these charges. He said -- the defense team believe that the U.S. attorney, who was appointed by Donald Trump was essentially bullied into going after Hunter because of criticism from House Republicans and Republicans in general.
I asked the juror number ten, who did not want to be to show his face on television whether politics played any role in these deliberations. Listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTER BIDEN JUROR 10: If anybody was in that courtroom or the jury room, they would know it was not motivated by politics. Politics played no part whatsoever in my mind.
I can't speak for the other jurors but nothing was -- nothing was ever said about this being election year. That was never brought up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PEREZ: And, Erin, we also -- he also told me that the gun form that Hunter Biden signed back in October of 2018 when he bought the firearm, that was the crucial piece of evidence in his mind and he believed that Hunter Biden lied when he signed it, and none of the other evidence from the -- from the -- from the defense to try to explain it away, really worked on the part of the jury.
One of the things that may come up by the defense team, they do -- they are weighing an appeal of this -- of this verdict is the fact that jurors never got to see. A second version of that form because the judge did not allow it. And so, I asked the juror whether he believed that that would have made a difference. He said it would not have -- Erin.
BURNETT: All alright. Evan, thank you very much. Outside that courthouse and having a chance to speak to juror number ten -- which was, obviously, so -- so fascinating, as we heard about the jury and their reactions and who they are.
All right. The panel with me now.
Katie Rogers, I want to start with you because you have covered the Biden family closely for a long time at "The New York Times". And now, we're seeing the president arrive in Delaware, greeting his son. What are your sources telling you about how this has impacted President Biden personally?
KATIE ROGERS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Well, I think everyone who has spoken to me who is close to the president and close to the Biden's. They always really reiterate to me how much the president believes in his son's ability to stay sober. He's very proud on that level of his son, and they always stressed to me that, yes, he is worried about the legal problems ahead for Hunter Biden, but he believes in his son's ability to continue his recovery.
Now, that said the people close to him say that this is the thing that more than anything else he wakes up if he's briefed by aides on Gaza. The next immediate thing is about his son or he is constantly in contact with his son. They speak at least once a day.
So this is something that is going to add more weight to the president's mindset. He's already been quite worried about these legal problems never having an end for his son, and this just adds to that.
BURNETT: Right. And certainly, at a crucial time in this campaign.
Congressman Buck, I wanted to play something else for you that juror number ten shared with Evan Perez about Hunter Biden. Let me play it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTER BIDEN JUROR 10: I did have empathy for him -- for his addiction. I don't wish that on anybody and especially crack cocaine. I mean, that was -- that's a -- that has to be a terrible addiction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: You know, Congressman, it's significant that that juror says that after they unanimously convicted him on all counts, right, but still able to have that human empathy. And obviously a lot of Americans can relate to that who are dealing with this themselves or with others and their families, some sort of addiction.
The president though is to deal with the political side of this. Do you think that he has managed this appropriately as a father and as a president, Congressman?
[19:10:08]
KEN BUCK, FORMER REPUBLICAN REP., COLORADO: Yeah, I do. I think it's very difficult. You look at your son having an addiction like that. The federal government, the Congress obviously passed this law because of folks who are addicted to drugs and by guns are more likely to commit crimes. So certainly not a Hunter Biden category necessarily, but I think the Joe Biden -- President Biden has done a great job of trying to stay above the fray and recognizing that his department of justice was in a very difficult position.
Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel so that counsel would be independent and render independent judgment. And I think that people look at this case and recognize that it was done in an independent and fair way.
The idea that there may have been other crimes are really irrelevant. This defendant Hunter Biden got a fair trial, a quick jury verdict, and I think that Joe Biden made the right statements after the verdict.
BURNETT: Ryan, the thing is this -- this is not done for Hunter Biden or for Joe Biden, the poll family, right? He can still appeal just even on this case, I'm talking separately from the tax case, which is very serious. But on this case alone, is this going to drag out for the remainder of election, between sentencing, appeals and all kinds of this process?
RYAN GOODMAN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: A hundred percent because he's going to both appeal on the grounds that certain evidence should not have been excluded from the defense.
And he's going to appeal on the grounds that under the Second Amendment of the Constitution, that this particular criminal provisions should be invalid. And none of that is going to be sewed up before November, in fact, will probably be at least a year from now before any of that gets sorted up, even conservatively speaking.
BURNETT: Wow, even conservatively speaking. All right, so that's a -- that's a long time, Katie, and its certainly shows in terms of weighing on the president all the way through the election way beyond, but through the election.
You know, I mentioned how Joe Biden, the first lady, was not able to get there in time today because it happened so quickly. She wasn't actually able to be in the courtroom for the verdict but she was there almost every day. Hunter sister was there, his uncle. A lot of other family members, his daughter testified. You know, ex-girlfriends, wives and we've seen support from almost all of them on Hunter and he's recovery. It has been something that clearly has damaged and hurt this family
for a long time. They've struggled with it. What does the conviction mean, Katie, for the whole family?
ROGERS: I mean, I think that this family has dealt. I mean, Hunter Biden has detailed his addictions over the years in various ways, whether it's through a memoir, through a lengthy magazine profile. But for the rest of this family, it's been overly long, private, painful battle.
BURNETT: Yeah.
ROGERS: As we saw, this week during and last week during the trial -- sorry, these members of the Biden family, onetime members of the Biden family and current members recounted what was essentially -- they had all described as a hell that they were in with him and a conviction is really the first time this very private battle has been laid bare for public consumption.
So it's uncomfortable for them and they have had to sit there -- and here, the shrapnel hit them yet again of Hunter Biden's choices, have had to sit there and listen to him in his own words through his memoir, recount his drug use. It's a painful time for them.
BURNETT: Congressman Buck, President Biden was asked about whether he would pardon his son right on this crucial point.
I want to play that exchange. It was with David Muir.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID MUIR, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: Let me ask you, will you accept the jury's outcome, their verdict, no matter what it is?
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes.
MUIR: And have you ruled out a pardon for your son?
BIDEN: Yes.
MUIR: You have?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Congressman Buck, how do you feel about this? When he's saying that to show he believes in the system and he's not going to question it, with, no witch hunt and rigged and all that, right? Clearly. It is his son.
How do you feel? Does you have to take this all the way to the mat? No pardon? No commutation of his prison sentence, which, by the way, he did not -- he did not commit to? Or do you think it would be appropriate and not hurt belief in the system if he were to commute his son's sentence?
BUCK: I think that President Biden wouldn't do anything until after the appeals are finished, number one, and that's going to happen after the election. So he's going to have much more flexibility after the election whether he wins or loses to make a decision like this.
Now, if he were to engage in a pardon of President Trump and President Trump was convicted of a federal crime. At the same time that he pardoned his own son. I think Americans would understand a father doing that, but I think he made the right statement at the time and that is I'm not going to show preferential treatment to a member of my own family.
BURNETT: And a quick final word, Ryan, just to be clear, that this would go another year, you also have a very serious tax evasion charge, federal charge in California, which would carry significant present time that is underway.
[19:15:04]
GOODMAN: That's right. And the Justice Department said that it could carry up to 17 years in jail. And what's unfortunate for Hunter Biden is because he didn't do a plea deal. He will now have to convictions potentially stacked up against each. Under the U.S. sentencing guideline, the conviction that he just got today in Delaware would count against him. He will not be a first-time offender if he is convicted in California.
BURNETT: Right, which could affect sentencing.
Thank you very much, Ryan, Katie, and, Congressman. I appreciate all of you very much.
And next, Trump and his supporters called the DOJ rigged and political. So what are they saying tonight now that Hunter Biden was convicted by a jury on all counts unanimously, just like Donald Trump was a couple weeks ago.
Plus, breaking news. The U.S. is now tracking a flotilla of Russian warships less than 100 miles off the coast of Florida. And passing by a U.S. cruise ship packed with passengers.
We are speaking to a person on board that ship, just sending us some pictures of what they saw on that crews a new audio tonight of Samuel Alito's wife threatening to put up more political flags.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
MARTHA-ANN ALITO, WIFE OF JUSTICE ALITO: You know what I want? I want a Sacred Heart of Jesus flag because I have to look across the lagoon at the Pride flag for the next month.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Alito's neighbor, who had a confrontation with Martha-Ann Alito, and is at the center of the story is OUTFRONT tonight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:20:46]
BURNETT: More of our breaking news, the deep states sacrificial lamb. Those are the exact words from top Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene. She claims Hunter Biden took the fall for his father. In a new conspiracy theory today, Greene tweeting, quote, Hunter Biden became the deep state sacrificial lamb to show the justice is balanced, while the other Biden crimes remain ignored.
Meantime, longtime Trump adviser Stephen Miller, posts in part, quote: Don't be gas lit. This is all about protecting Joe Biden and only Joe Biden.
There are, though, some Republicans who are coming to Hunter Biden's defense. Tom Foreman is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the first time that Hunter Biden has faced responsibility and consequences for his actions.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Political spinners on the right are spinning out of control in all directions.
Calling the conviction of Hunter Biden, a step toward accountability and kind of dumb and saying things like Hunter Biden might deserve jail for something, but purchasing a gun is not it.
Why is this verdict so confounding for the right? First, it is about a gun.
For some conservative politicians and advocates opposing gun restrictions, the case against Hunter Biden was an invitation to attack his father.
So long as this president continues to use every tool at his disposal to harass and criminalized guns, guns owners, and gun dealers, his son should be receiving the same treatment and scrutiny as all of us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's just do a little more shooting over here.
FOREMAN: But other gun enthusiasts, while not fans of the Biden's, believe the law in this case is unconstitutional.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a matter of principle, I do not believe that Hunter Biden should be convicted of that any more than anyone else should.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hunter Biden is not talking, but he is walking in right now.
FOREMAN: Second, this wasn't the case Republicans wanted. For years, they have talked without evidence of far-reaching foreign corruption, secret payoffs and influence peddling tied all the way to the top.
So after this verdict, the Trump campaign quickly issued a statement: This trial has been nothing more than a distraction from the real crimes of the Biden crime family.
And lastly, this verdict came just a dozen days after Donald Trump himself was convicted of 34 felonies, even as he appeals, a chorus of Republicans have joined him in calling the courts corrupt.
REP. TOM EMMER (R), MAJORITY WHIP: Their case against president Trump has been a witch hunt from the beginning.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): This was not criminal justice.
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): The entire thing is political.
FOREMAN: But now, some conservative seem to be squirming, suggesting Hunter Biden's conviction must be a ruse posting, timing is everything. This is the veil of fairness in the justice system.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOREMAN: So maybe it is a measure of how twisted up the right is on how to respond to all of this, that when the Trump team put out that statement after the verdict and much I made all those crazy claims about the Biden family, they then send out an edited version shortly thereafter because the first version at the end so they wish Hunter Biden well. And then in the edited version, they had dropped the well wishes. They didn't fix the false claims. They just dropped the well wishes.
Clearly, this has the Republican right saying, what are we supposed to do on this? Because there are cross purposes on so many issues -- Erin.
BURNETT: Yeah. I mean, well, you know, you say it's rigged system when your guy's guilty and then the other guy's guilty and then all the sudden, what are you supposed to say? Maybe they could have foreseen that possibility.
All right. Tom Foreman, thank you very much.
I want to go down to Ty Cobb, a former Trump White House lawyer.
So, Ty, I mean, can you believe Hunter Biden gets convicted on all counts by a jury in a case brought originally by a special counsel who Trump had initially appointed as a U.S. attorney -- and some now it's not fair and square to many in the GOP. Can you believe it?
TY COBB, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE LAWYER: O, yes, I can sort of believe anything.
I mean, it's a really crazy when Marjorie Taylor Greene is, you know, out there making the rest of us look like geniuses, what she can do on it regular basis.
[19:25:03]
You know, I think it takes away from the gravity of the moment which is, you know, he was an addict. It was a sad situation that was tragic but it wasn't political and keep in mind that he did have the opportunity to take accountability for this year ago and the plea agreement blew up, and they decided that they would insist on their day in court and they got it.
But I think it's -- I think this is -- you know, has to be looked at on its own merits. I mean, this was a case the evidence says the jurors -- juror who was interviewed said was overwhelming, you know? And they didn't put politics into it and I just ruled on what they saw and what they were told, just like Trump's sure did. And I think both juries got it right based on what they were told to do and the evidence that was before them.
But I think it is a crazy time because you have the president today, you know, out given a speech on -- you know, on a tighter -- tighter gun controls, yeah, and keeping guns out of the hands of felons and people who don't deserve them, and, you know, his son's on trial.
I think, you know, it's just -- it's a crazy time in America, full of contradictions, but --
BURNETT: Yeah.
COBB: But this was -- this was a sad day and I think that was inappropriate result. I don't think he's going to jail for very long. My off the cuff assessment is, you know, he's scheduled for 10 to 16 months as the first defender and the judge may well go below that and give him a probationary sentence. Who knows?
BURNETT: Yeah.
COBB: It's not going to be a punitive situation. And then he does have the serious tax case involving --
BURNETT: In California.
COBB: -- $7.5 million in taxes.
So, yeah, I mean, that's -- you know, and that'll be in September and that'll be in the heart of the -- heart of the election. So I think it's very hard for Republicans to insist that this is somehow a ruse.
BURNETT: Well, I mean, it's sort of amazing. It seems to me that if you did get a guilty verdict here, that this would be something that everyone could say, okay, well, there was -- you can't say that it's rigged or jury goes one way or the other.
And yet somehow that there are still some finding a way to say that this is basically a veil of as Nancy Mace said, congresswoman, a veil of fairness, right, that this is all to distract you from. It's frightening in some senses.
But you mentioned that it convicted felon, right, cannot have a gun and obviously, you know, Donald Trump and in this context, we found out today, Ty, that he disclosed in his probation interview that he had three guns and he acquired them legally. Obviously, he's now prohibited from having any as a convicted felon. Were you surprised at all but to hear that Donald Trump own three
guns?
COBB: Not really. And I think though, that, you know, people are hyperventilating on this a little bit. I mean, it's sort of ordinary that it would come up in this context, particularly for somebody -- Donald Trump's not carrying a gun. I never saw him carry a gun. I didn't know him to ever carry a gun.
BURNETT: He has a concealed carry registration in New York but you're --
COBB: Right.
BURNETT: That's what he had, yeah.
COBB: You know, I understand that. And I think he obviously has these guns and he's going to have to pony him up. But that's what -- that's really what this process is designed to do is to get all that -- all that, all those requirements out of the way before he could run afoul of any other laws, you know, after the time of being sentenced.
BURNETT: Ty, before you go. Also today, Trump asked Aileen Cannon, the judge in Florida, Mar-a-Lago, to dismiss the classified documents case. And she didn't do that. He asked her to throw it at any evidence gathered during the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, which sort of confusing and confounding because that appears to be the entire case as far as most of us understand it.
COBB: Right. That's actually much of the case. It's actually not quite the entire case, but it's most of the documents, yes, that were -- that were included in the indictment. And, you know, I mean, the worst thing that could happen to him is that she actually does it in advance of trial because that will certainly be reversed abruptly by the 11th circuit and giving them the opportunity I'm sure that they're dying for given the circus that she puts on to remove her.
BURNETT: All right. Well, Ty, thank you very much, as always.
COBB: Thank you, Erin. Great to be with you.
BURNETT: Ty Cobb.
And next, new secret recordings tonight of Justice Alito's wife, talking about conversations with her husband about political flags at their homes.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
MARTHA-ANN ALITO: And he's like, oh, please don't put up a flag.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BURNETT: Alito's neighbor who is at the center of the dispute with the Alitos is OUTFRONT next. Plus, breaking news this hour, federal agents arresting eight Tajik nationals with suspected ties to ISIS after they came into the United States through the southern border.
And we're going to take you tonight to one of the most dangerous stretches of that border right now. We'll take you there next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:33:37]
BURNETT: Tonight, Martha-Ann Alito, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, in secretly recorded audio, vowing to continue flying political flags outside her home, mocking gay pride flags that flying nearby. Mrs. Alito finally reacting to the controversy that now swirls around her and her husband after "The New York Times" reported that an upside down American flag flew outside their home in Virginia in January of 2021. Flag used by insurrectionists, as well as the second flag also carried by insurrectionist, seen flying outside there their vacation home.
Here's part of what Martha-Ann Alito said. CNN has not obtained the full audio.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
MARTHA-ANN ALITO: You know what I want? I want a Sacred Heart of Jesus flag because I have to look across the lagoon at the Pride flag for the next month.
LAUREN WINDSOR, LIBERAL ACTIVIST: Exactly.
MARTHA-ANN ALITO: I made a lag in my head. This is how I satisfy myself. I made a flag. It's white and it's yellow and orange flames around it. And in the middle is the word vergogna. Vergogna in Italian means shame. Vergogna, V-E-R-G-O-G-N-A. Vergogna.
WINDSOR: Vergogna.
MARTHA-ANN ALITO: Shame, shame, shame on you. You know? Anyway.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BURNETT: Wow. Shame, shame, shame on you, spelling it out like that, such vehemence about the gay Pride flag.
Those comments were secretly recorded by a liberal activist, a journalists Lauren Windsor, who misrepresented herself to Mrs. Alito as a sympathetic and like-minded admire her, but she recorded these conversations and we now know what was said.
[19:35:09]
OUTFRONT now, Emily Baden, a former neighbor of the Alitos in northern Virginia. She's the person Justice Alito says provoked his wife and to flying the inverted American flag after a verbal dispute between the two. A claim Emily says is false and is backed up by police reports which showed that the dispute actually happened weeks after the flag went up.
So, Emily, I'm glad to see you again. What's your reaction now you hear this audio, you hear Martha-Ann Alito, a voice, you know, because you've had conversations with her and she's saying she's going to fly these flags, spelling this out, that she's going to fly a flag, vergogna, and she spells it every letter, to say shame, that she wants to fly a flag against the gay pride flag.
EMILY BADEN, FORMER ALITO NEIGHBOR: Yes. And, Erin, excuse me, thank you so much for having me again. It's great to be with you again.
My first reaction to hearing this audio I think was the same as most other folks, which was absolute horror. If there's one thing that is the basic job description of a Supreme Court justice, it is to remain impartial and with the upside-down flag, with the Appeal to Heaven flag, Samuel Alito has shown that he is not impartial and, yeah, hearing Martha-Ann talk about that, it's interesting because I was used as a scapegoat for why she flew the other flag and we know clearly that that's not true.
BURNETT: And, you know, she says, you know, you obviously interacted with her and in very negative circumstances at one point, which I'll ask about in a moment, but she -- when you hear her tone of voice here, that she's going to fly this flag against the gay pride flag that says vergogna, in Italian means shame, and she says it, and then she spells it out, she hits every single letter vergogna, she says again, and then she says, shame, shame on you, did that tone sound like the same woman, the same tone that you'd heard?
BADEN: Yes. It was defiant. It was just very, very clear that she wishes shame upon the LGBTQ community. And, yeah, I definitely recognized the tone for sure.
BURNETT: So that secretly recorded conversation went on for about six minutes. At one point, Mrs. Alito said her husband asked her to stop flying flags and she said she would do it temporarily. I wanted to play that part of the exchange for you, Emily. Here it is.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
MARTHA-ANN ALITO: The fem-nazis believe that he should control me.
WINDSOR: Yeah.
MARTHA-ANN ALITO: So they'll go to hell. He never controls me.
And he's like, oh, please don't put up a flag. I said, I won't do it because I'm differing to you. But when you are free of this nonsense, I'm pulling it up and I'm going to send them a message every day, maybe every week. I'll be changed in the flags, there'll be all kinds.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BURNETT: I mean, you know, look, she -- you know, you talked about how she glare at you, called you a fascist. She spat on your car. I know that you have said you regretted calling her that vulgar epithet.
But when you hear this audio, is this -- this is consistent with the woman that you interacted with?
BADEN: It is. And I think it's only fair for me to point out that Mr. and Mrs. Alito are essentially strangers to me. And my interactions with them are very limited. So I can't really make any type of comment on you know, their attitude or their mental state or just aside from the facts of what I witnessed and what I experienced, and I just want to bring that back to the facts of this whole situation that he showed allegiance to January 6. He showed allegiance to Christian nationalism and it's just very dangerous for our democracy.
BURNETT: He wrote an opinion --
BADEN: And I think most of us who value our secular --
BURNETT: Yeah, he wrote -- wrote an opinion actually after a year after the upside flag was flown and it was actually about flags flying outside Boston City Hall. And I just wanted to read the operative lines. So again, this is after he himself had known these flags were flying at his homes and he says, a passerby on Cambridge Street confronted with a flag flanked by government flag standing just outside the entrance of Boston seat of government would likely conclude that all of those flags convey some message on the government's behalf.
So it's clear he's saying if they fly the flag, then any reasonable person would think that you support what that flag stands for. And yet he's saying it's not the case when they fly in his own home. Is there any doubt -- you did interact with him and I know he didn't really speak. He didn't say much in those interactions.
But is there any doubt in your mind that Supreme Court justice sees the hypocrisy here?
[19:40:04]
BADEN: So he must see the hypocrisy and maybe just doesn't care. It seems to me that their behavior and these words, maybe they feel like they're above the law and a lot of ways they are. We don't have an enforceable code of ethics for the Supreme Court. They essentially police themselves.
And that ruling is really important because it only proves me write and it proves all of us right? Who think that he, of course, knew about the flags. Of course, he endorsed them and him making those statements to Congress that oh, my wife did it, I don't know about it. Oh, I did it because of the neighbor. Those are lies.
And this is important for our country. We need to, we need to hold our elected officials accountable and we need to have a congressional hearing. We need to enact term limits. We need to have an actual code of ethics that they have to abide by.
BURNETT: All right. Well, Emily, I appreciate your time and thank you for coming back on.
BADEN: Thank you so much, Erin.
And for all who want to hear more, more of those Alito audio tapes will be played tonight on "LAURA COATES LIVE". That is at 11:00 Eastern.
And next, we're going to take you to one of the deadliest stretches along the American Mexican border, where scores of migrants are now risking their lives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Because of all the threats there, they can't go back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Also breaking, the U.S. tracking Russian warships, including a nuclear powered submarine that are passing by Florida. We're going to be speaking to a passenger who is right now on a U.S. cruise ship and just saw those Russian warships.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:45:50]
BURNETT: Breaking news, CNN learning eight people with suspected ties to ISIS have been arrested after entering the U.S. from the southern border. The source says the suspects were arrested in Los Angeles, New York, and Philadelphia. So they'd fanned out three different cities and had been monitored for over a month. It comes as CNN is going deep into the deadliest stretch of the U.S. Mexican border, speaking to migrants reaching this remote and desolate region.
After days without food, seemingly, these people unaware of President Biden's announced crack down on asylum claims.
David Culver has this special report that you'll see first tonight, OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CULVER: Well, this is a larger group here. Let's see.
(voice-over): She's asking us if its much longer to reach asylum.
With documents in hand, this family desperate to find Border Patrol.
They've been walking for three days and obviously, she's very emotional. She says there's no food. There's no anything.
We're in a remote part of the Arizona Mexico border, getting here, not easy. Took us about two-and-a-half hours from Tucson. Much of the drive off road with new cells signal and yet as desolate as this part of the border might seem, the trash and close literary in the gravel tell a different story.
We find make makeshift encampments where migrants shield themselves from the scorching sun and wait for border patrol to pick them up.
She said three Border Patrol passed about a little more than three hours ago and they assume they'd be coming back, but they haven't seen them yet.
This family fleeing cartel death threats and kidnappings. We're surprised hearing where they're from.
Mexico.
And as we drive on, we meet another.
He points us towards an encampment further down.
He's saying there's a bunch more that are coming from Mexico and he said after the election in particular, they felt the motivation to leave, fearing for the corruption and the lack of work.
What we end up seeing because it's late, getting near sunset. There's a huge encampment, mostly children.
A non-profit set this camp up for migrants who've just crossed.
They're saying, please wait here. Immigration is going to come and get you here and actually have Wi-Fi setup.
Most everyone you meet here, Mexican.
He said that they've been getting a lot of threats and they said it was for the reason of the elections. They didn't vote for -- they put it the candidate who ended up winning.
June 2nd, Mexicans voted in local, state and presidential elections. The campaign season proved violent and deadly.
She says that's the reason they left, for reasons of security, which she says as of now, everybody that we see here is from Mexico.
But they might not be in the U.S. for long. Just days after Mexico's elections, the Biden administration took executive action on the border, allowing for swift deportation of most migrants after a daily cap is reached.
In Nogales, Arizona, we see those deportations up close.
We counted probably a dozen people altogether, most of them kids, about eight kids from what we could see you getting off that bus and Border Patrol agents, then escorting them directly to the border and they'll continue walking them over right into Mexico.
What do you think this executive order? Is that going to do anything?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it only took him what, three years and seven months?
CULVER: In a rare encounter, we meet a Border Patrol agent eager to vent. He asked us to mask his identity, worried he'll be fired for talking to openly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a job you did take pride in. Secure the border, we didn't have to babysit.
CULVER: Does it frustrate you when you hear that, when you hear the narrative like why Border Patrol doing anything and --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our hands are tied. If I don't allow them to cross, they call and complain, now I'm in trouble. Now I'm going to lose my job.
CULVER: He blames the current administration but isn't any more hopeful with the alternative.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I really don't like our two candidates.
[19:50:05]
CULVER: We meet others also frustrated by border policy though, for more personal reasons.
Is this the only way that you can get face-to-face?
KARLA PACHECO, WAITING FOR GREEN CARD: Yeah.
CULVER: Karla Pacheco crossed illegally nearly 30 years ago. She's recently gotten her work permit, but still waiting on a green card.
K. PACHECO: I can be within the U.S., can't cross it.
CULVER: The Mexico side, that's her dad, Freddy, who crossed illegally and was deported more than a decade back. They and other families meet here every couple of months to catch up.
When's the last time you got to hug your dad?
K. PACHECO: Oh, 15, 16 years ago.
CULVER: When you think about what's happening at the border now, what goes through your mind?
K. PACHECO: Yeah, well, its unfair because we've been waiting what has been 20 years, 26 years, and nothing -- you know, nothing was done. Being here, paying my taxes and not owing anything, no tickets, no nothing. And yeah, you know, there's -- I don't get anything out of it.
CULVER: While Washington focuses on illegal crossings and asylum claims cases like Karla's have been put on the back-burner for decades.
Still, Freddy wants his next crossing to be done lawfully. FREDDY PACHECO, MEXICAN NATIONAL: I wanted to take it right.
Everything, you know, with my passport, with everything legal.
CULVER: Even if it means waiting years?
F. PACHECO: Don't worry.
K. PACHECO: They don't happen --
F. PACHECO: I can wait, I can wait.
CULVER: The weight for Border Patrol at this remote section of the Arizona-Mexico border unbearable for some. And so you're going to keep walking where?
Cartel backed smugglers often mislead migrants to think that once they've crossed, the hard parts over, it's not. They struggled a push on and triple-digit heat, clinging to the border wall for balance and shade. Ahead of them, a seemingly endless stretch of hills to climb.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CULVER: Erin, I want to go back to that breaking news you mentioned just a few minutes ago, those individuals was suspected ties to ISIS, who were arrested, believed to have crossed over the U.S. southern border.
It's something I'd actually asked our Border Patrol agent that we had connected with, somebody who is very candid and open and he was concerned about some of the folks who are coming in. He said, look, the vast majority, sure, are women and children and he said it's heartbreaking.
But they in turn can distract from nefarious activities that might be coming across, including potential terrorists. He said, it's terrifying for him. It's for that reason, Erin, that he does not want his signature on any of those release warrants.
BURNETT: Wow, that's really incredible and honestly amazing that you able to speak to him and admirable that he was able to both be honest, but yet he wasn't -- didn't express rage or anger at anyone.
Fascinating what he said about Trump and Biden not being satisfied with either.
All right. Thank you so much, David Culver, for that spectacular reporting.
And next, the U.S. is now tracking Russian warships packed with high precision weapons that are just off the coast of Florida.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:57:05]
BURNETT: Breaking news, a flotilla of Russian warships are now just off the coast of Florida. The flotilla, including a nuclear powered submarine, is being tracked by U.S. Navy and Coast Guard ships as the Russian flotilla is heading to Cuba.
And OUTFRONT has obtained pictures a passenger on a celebrity cruise line ship. Look at this picture off the coast of Florida, took these pictures as the war ships pass by. He said because they were just a couple thousand feet away. And he saw U.S. ships and planes tracking them.
The passenger telling us, quote, I just happened to look outside and I saw one of the ships. So I went outside to investigate. I could see six ships at one time across the horizon. There have been shifts in sight, most of the day.
I mean, just think about that. Most of the day, Russian warships next to a U.S. cruise ship?
He adds, quote, I was surprised how close they are. We're not that far off shore.
Meantime, in Moscow, Russian state television is touting the deployment of the ships off the U.S. coast as tensions increase with the U.S.
And Matthew Chance is OUTFRONT from Moscow tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are the first images of the Russian flotilla steaming towards Cuba just 90 miles off the U.S. coast.
The Russian defense ministry says the strike group, including a nuclear powered submarine, the Kazan, armed with modern Kalibr cruise missiles. He's practicing the use of high precision weapons. But it's really about Putin flexing his muscles on the international stage.
Led by the flagship of Russia's northern fleet, the Admiral Gorshkov, which Russia's defense ministry says, is normally equipped with latest Zircon hypersonic missiles.
This is meant to deliver a powerful message to Washington.
Russian state television has been celebrating the naval deployment, placing some of Russia's most powerful vessels in Cuban waters.
The American media has been discussing the event, reports the Russian news anchor, claiming the Pentagon has no idea where our submarine is positioned.
In fact, U.S. officials are downplaying any threat but Moscow has been signaling displeasure that Washington recently greenlighting Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory with U.S. supplied-weapons.
Speaking ahead of the Cuban naval visit, Vladimir Putin warned of a possible Russian response. VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): If they in the
West supply weapons to the zone of combat operations and call for the use of these weapons against our territory, then why do we not have the right to do the same to mirror these actions? I'm not ready to say that we'll do it tomorrow, but we, of course, should think about it.
CHANCE: Elsewhere, Moscow has been stepping up tactical nuclear drills, too, staging exercises with neighboring Belarus near the Ukrainian border. Russian tactical nukes delivered from either ground or air can level entire cities, although the Kremlin insists it has no plans at this stage to use them.
Matthew Chance, CNN, Moscow.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: Our thanks to Matthew tonight.
And thanks to you, of course, as always, for being with us.
"AC360" with Anderson begins right now.
