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Erin Burnett Outfront

Soon: CNN Hosts Kamala Harris Town Hall In Pennsylvania; DOJ Warns Elon Musk; U.S.: North Korea Has Deployed 3,000 Troops To Russia. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired October 23, 2024 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:31]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

The breaking news, the CNN exclusive, Kamala Harris town hall happening soon as Harris and top Democrats go all in to condemn Trump and his reported praise for Hitler's generals. Trump hitting back hard this hour.

Plus, new reporting tonight from our KFILE. Trump's own campaign manager retweeting and liking posts blaming Trump for January 6th, one post even called for invoking the 25th Amendment against Trump. KFILE's report.

And breaking news, the Justice Department putting Elon Musk on notice for his battleground sweepstakes scheme. Is Musk breaking the law?

And by the way, who exactly has won the million dollars a day from him so far? We'll tell you.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.

OUTFRONT tonight, on message with just 13 days until Election Day, and moments away from our exclusive presidential town hall with Kamala Harris tonight, the vice president going all in on the allegations in "The Atlantic" magazine against Trump, claiming Trump told General Kelly, quote, I need the kind of generals that Hitler had.

Here's Harris today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is deeply troubling and incredibly dangerous that Donald Trump would invoke Adolf Hitler, the man who is responsible for the deaths of 6 million Jews and hundreds of thousands of Americans. Donald Trump is increasingly unhinged and unstable, and in a second term, people like John Kelly would not be there to be the guardrails against his propensities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Harris's running mate Tim Walz echoing the vice president while he went to early vote in Minnesota.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think for many of us, the last 24 hours certainly have been a bit shaking with the reporting coming out in "The Atlantic". Donald Trump's dissension into madness and John Kelly's who I thank for showing the courage to come forward truly telling the world those closest to Donald Trump know how dangerous he is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: All right. All this has Trump's campaign resorting to insults to respond in a statement. The campaign today writing, Kamala Harris is a stone cold loser who is increasingly desperate because she is flailing and her campaign is in shambles. She is despicable and her grotesque behavior proves she is wholly unfit for office.

There a lot of use of the adjectives there. We will see what Trump does. He is about to speak in Georgia at this hour. We'll see what his direct response to all this is, and of course, we can expect Harris to respond when she takes the stage at CNN's town hall in Pennsylvania. That, of course, is coming up here.

And Jeff Zeleny is OUTFRONT live inside that town hall. It's in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

So, Jeff, what are you hearing from the campaign about tonight and how much is -- you know, obviously, today, they have seized on "The Atlantic", and they have been running with that pounding the table. Is that going to be what she tries to do tonight as well?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Erin, this now is her closing argument for the presidential campaign or certainly a big chunk of it, this is something that, of course, she's been pointing to many comments from the former president from his time in office, but also his time on the campaign trail about how he -- in her words, he's unfit, he's unhinged, he's unstable.

We do expect the vice president to continue that this evening we saw her remarks earlier today really trying to jump on every single piece of new information that comes out about the former president to amplify her message, why she believes it's time for change.

We're also learning tonight that she is scheduled to hold a speech next Tuesday night, one week before election on the ellipse. Of course, that is where Donald Trump gave that speech on January 6th.

So this is a big part of her campaign but here, there going to be undecided and persuadable voters right outside Philadelphia and Delaware County. This is the place she needs to run up the margins if she is going to defeat the former president here in Pennsylvania. Her campaign is aware of that they do believe these undecided voters these movable voters are paying more attention now at this race.

So she has two objectives one to persuade and to motivate those voters. And she intends to do that tonight by, you know, explaining some policy ideas on the economy, of course, abortion rights, but we are closing this campaign in a way oddly that it began when President Biden was the nominee about democracy, about January 6th as well.

[19:05:02]

This is something the Harris campaign was not always planning on, but they believe trying to win over some of those voters, that slice of voters potentially in the middle who are undecided maybe reacting to Donald Trump's comments about the enemy within and other things. So look for her to continue that tonight, Erin, 13 days before Election Day.

BURNETT: Right, 13 days before election day and so many with his early vote, you know, we said Tim Walz there voting early. I mean, voting is happening as we speak.

All right. Jeff Zeleny, thank you very much.

We're going to check back in with Jeff in just a little bit. Everyone's here with me now though, obviously on this important evening.

So, Ashley, you know, Democrats have been seizing on "The Atlantic" reporting and what John Kelly says Trump said. Is it smart for Democrats to go all in on this now, you know, some of the Hitler comments? I mean, it's an odd world to be in but we have heard these before right something similar, right? So it's not as if this is sort of a new thing for most people.

Is this -- is this going to fall on fertile ground for her?

ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, I don't think they're just seizing on it now. I think this has been a part of their campaign strategy really from the beginning to talk about the threat that Donald Trump is to our democracy. And I think this just gives another proof point, someone who was so close to him, his former chief of staff is now saying that, you know, this is a reminder to the American people.

But I have always said that I think this is a three point a triangular approach to how we can uh persuade voters. She should be talking about this. It's a threat and not let people forget the type of language and type of leader that Donald Trump would be.

But she also should talk about issues like reproductive rights that so many Americans care about and the economy, and how she can -- she is going to plan to provide relief to them. So I think it is one thing she should talk about, but it's not the only thing.

BURNETT: Reihan?

REIHAN SALMA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, my sense is that early on in the campaign, what Harris was trying to do was define herself -- define herself as someone who is moderate, middle of the road, someone who is very much a mainstream Democrat. I think that that hasn't gotten her all the juice that she wanted it to. And right now, what she's trying to do is basically raise this idea that Trump is extreme partly because that's something --

BURNETT: Unstable, unhinged, dangerous, it's those words.

SALAM: And really extreme. Extreme is really important here because that's something that will unite her voters and also might win over some number of persuadable people who are Republican leaning independents.

Now, the problem for her here is that Trump, you know, is someone who is not always the most disciplined, but in recent weeks has actually run a pretty disciplined campaign. That's a big part of why this election is as competitive as it is and it really does seem as though Harris is moving from one strategy to another when one doesn't quite land.

So there is a real sense that there's panic here and this is why you could say they're playing the hits.

BURNETT: All right. So, Jamal, let me ask you and I put it again in the context of Harris saying unhinged, unstable, Walz, descent to madness. Just to put the radical rhetoric out there because then the statement from the Trump campaign was and I don't know you know but I'm saying he wrote it himself, we'll see what he says in Georgia a bit, stone cold loser, desperate, flailing, despicable, grotesque behavior, unfit for office.

So, you know, should Harris -- how should Harris directly respond to this tonight, to the -- you know, to the -- to this issue with "The Atlantic" magazine, Hitler's generals, the F-ing Mexicans because that's going to come up?

JAMAL SIMMONS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: One of my favorite responses from a friend of ours, Robert Gibbs, who was White House press secretary was, can you quote me yawning? I just don't think that this is that big of a deal for Donald Trump to attack back using that kind of language. We've all heard him do this before.

Part of what the vice president's got to do tonight is to then go back and say, see this is exactly what I'm talking about, right? We are talk -- we have a country that has a variety of needs, we've got a variety of things we need to address. We got to deal with our education system. We got to deal with our housing costs. We got to deal with a variety of things.

And then this guy is just calling people names like he's in the schoolyard. But I think there's a bigger question at the table. The bigger question right now is a few months ago in the summer, we saw Joe Biden out in the debate stage, and he did something that Democrats were very uncomfortable with, a lot of Republicans were uncomfortable with it.

They said maybe Joe Biden isn't really up to running for another four years and Democrats had to step up and say, you know what? Maybe this could be something that's right. We saw a lot of Democrats say that they risk themselves, they risk their reputations, they risked their relationships.

At a moment seems like Republicans are going to have to do this, too. We keep finding out these things about this president where our worst fears are confirmed that he actually does have autocratic and dictatorial tendencies. He does want to sic the press and the mil -- the military on the -- on his enemies. He'll do that even to Republicans.

At what point do the Republican Party -- do the Republicans say, you know what? For the sake of country, country over party, even though it's uncomfortable, even though it's something I may not -- it makes me feel -- it turns me up because I agree with the policy, this guy shouldn't be in office.

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It probably will shock Kamala Harris and the rest of her campaign staff to learn that there are incumbent Democrat, U.S. senators in this country right now running television ads touting all their work with this modern day Hitler.

I wonder if Kamala Harris tonight in our town hall meeting will call for them to take these ads off the air, touting their work with this Hitler. I mean, if -- if he were really Hitler, if he were really a threat to democracy, not a single Democrat in this country would be running ads touting their work with Donald Trump.

Now I'm callous on this Hitler business because I live through the Bush years and I used to peer out my window onto Pennsylvania Avenue and I saw everybody marching around in their brown uniforms, signs up, Bush is Hitler, Bush is Hitler, and then they did it to John McCain, they did it to Mitt Romney, they've done it to Donald Trump, they even did it to Paul Ryan I recall at one point.

So I've heard it all before, and I think the reason Democrats are freaking out about it right now is because what they have learned is that it's not Republicans who are the Hitlers or the Nazis, it's actually emanating from within their own party. If you want to find Hitlerish, Nazist, antisemitic tendencies, look on the left, not the right.

SIMMONS: But, Scott, you're ducking the issue because this isn't Democrats outside saying --

JENNINGS: She literally spoke in front of the Naval Observatory today.

SIMMONS: This is the president -- the former -- the former president's united -- the former president's chief of staff saying this about his boss nobody.

JENNINGS: It's her closing argument.

SIMMONS: Nobody's closer -- everyone thinks that the vice president of United States is deputy president, that's not true. The chief of staff is actually the deputy president in the United States, and when that person comes out and says this is a problem and it's his words, it's not like George W. Bush ever said anything he admired Hitler.

(CROSSTALK)

BURNETT: I do want to ask one question just on the timing of it and I know that Kelly has spoken about this in some ways before. So I don't want to ask as if he's suddenly putting it out now, but the timing of this all coming out right now. I get it. If you have some political -- something you think is going to be politically useful, you want to drop it right before -- I understand the strategy of it. Is that what we're looking at?

ALLISON: I don't think so. I don't think that General Kelly is in cahoots with Harris's campaign. I think it's the furthest from the truth. I think that he is seeing that this election is super close, and as a -- as duty -- as someone who is wanting to serve his country, he feels like he has important information that the voters should know before they cast their votes.

Now some people have already voted. Do I think this is actually going to be determinative to the outcome of the election? Minimally, I think that people already know --

JENNINGS: She's running on it.

ALLISON: She should, but she -- she should because it's an --

(CROSSTALK)

ALLISON: But when you get information -- when you get information -- I'm saying that they're not -- he didn't drop this out as a favor to Kamala Harris, he dropped this out as a favor to Americans, as a favor to our democracy. And I think that she should run on it because --

(CROSSTALK)

SIMMONS: But let's take the argument, Scott, that it's right. Let's say that it's right. Let's say that he actually said. It is that the kind of thing that Republicans should -- should elect a guy who wants to emulate Hitler?

JENNINGS: Jamal, Jamal, when you all clean up the thousands upon thousands of far-left, antisemitic mobsters in your party, then you can question me about General Kelly.

SIMMONS: Sorry, Reihan.

BURNETT: Reihan, go ahead. I will say, obviously, there's some people who are in the room now saying -- I mean to your point, right, you're saying if it did happen what --

(CROSSTALK)

BURNETT: They did, right, I understand that but Jamal's --

(CROSSTALK) SALAM: Putting the political analyst hat on, the fundamental issue is this, whether people like it or not. Donald Trump is perceived as more moderate than the Republican Party, whether it's entitlements, a range of issues, he's perceived as closer to your Rust Belt voter. Kamala Harris is perceived as less moderate --

BURNETT: Well, he's promising now to eliminating taxes on pretty much everything.

SALAM: Just to be clear, Kamala Harris is perceived as less moderate as to the left of Joe Biden. Folks who love Kamala Harris might disagree with that, they might not like that but that's how she is perceived. That is why she feels a need to change and move in a different direction and this is why the Trump campaign now has significant momentum.

Kamala Harris has to win all three blue wall states if she loses one of them, if she loses Wisconsin, it's game over for her. And that's why they got to do something.

BURNETT: OK. All right. All stay here because we're actually going to talk about that it's a crucial issue and none of you are going anywhere.

So, next, KFILE -- KFILE is going to be here and he has some revelations and they are that Trump's campaign manager retweeted and liked posts blaming Trump for January 6th and even supported calls for the 25th Amendment to be used against Trump. So how is -- well, Chris LaCivita and the Trump campaign explaining this tonight?

Plus, control of the House may come down to four New York House races. Why Democrats when it comes to the House have a lot to be hopeful about tonight?

And breaking news, Kim Jong-un coming to Putin's aid. U.S. says thousands of North Koreans are now training inside Russia. Where are they headed?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:19:09]

BURNETT: All right. You're looking at live pictures from Duluth, Georgia. That's where former President Trump is speaking at a rally. And tonight, Trump's campaign manager is on defense, after KFILE uncovered several posts that Chris LaCivita, longtime Republican operative, now Trump campaign manager, reposted and liked from the hours after the January 6th insurrection.

They lay the blame squarely at Trump's feet for January 6th and one even suggests invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office.

So KFILE's Andrew Kaczynski joins me now.

All right. Chris LaCivita obviously running the Trump campaign now. What did you find? ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN KFILE SENIOR EDITOR: Well, look, and, Erin, what has Donald Trump been doing the last couple of weeks? He's been recasting January 6th. He called it a day of love. He spread a conspiracy theory that it was a government staged inside job.

Well, one person we found who seemingly disagreed with him was his own campaign manager, all right? And this guy liked and he shared post condemning Trump on January 6, and I want to walk people through some of them.

You referenced that one in the intro, the 25th Amendment. Now, this was a tweet that he actually liked, from a former Republican member of Congress, Barbara Comstock, saying that, quote, Twitter locked at real Donald Trump for 12 hours now. The cabinet needs to lock him down for 14 days, #25thamendment now.

The 25th Amendment basically says that the cabinet can basically keep the president -- take the powers away from the president if he's essentially incapacitated. They were calling for him to do this after January 6. So that's one thing his campaign manager liked.

He also shared a lot of posts on his feed, some of which we found that he removed. One of them was a statement from former President George W. Bush that laid the blame at the feet of Donald Trump, just a couple of quotes from there that said: I am appalled by the reckless behavior of some political leaders since the election and added that the rioting at the Capitol was, quote, undertaken by people whose passions have been inflamed by falsehoods and false hopes -- again seemingly pointing the finger at Trump.

And then another post shared by LaCivita was -- this text message that said, quote, this is a disgusting tragedy, someone literally lost their life because of a lie that Trump told, and that again essentially points the finger at Donald Trump.

And then one more post talked about the people rioting at the Capitol and said, quote, these are not protesters these -- they are thugs.

BURNETT: All right. So you asked Chris LaCivita, I'm sorry, about the post, what what's his response?

KACZYNSKI: So we did reach out to the campaign. We said, how do you square these? As I mentioned, some of them had been removed, one of them was still on his feed and in a statement to CNN, they said retweets and likes, this is for LaCivita, retweets and likes are not endorsements. I'm focused on winning the election two weeks from now, not distractions from CNN.

BURNETT: Okay. All right. Well, well, stay with me.

I -- we're all familiar with the likes and retweets don't equal sign endorsements, except for in cases like this when obviously --

KACZYNSKI: But it wasn't -- it wasn't on his feet.

BURNETT: It's not like an intellectual -- it was -- okay. KACZYNSKI: Some people put that up top, you know?

BURNETT: So, it -- right, well, but even if you do is what I'm saying, but he didn't even do it. So that's fair. Okay.

Jamal, how significant is it that the person who is leading the Trump campaign, Chris LaCivita, was retweeting and liking these posts?

SIMMONS: Look, as someone who has had his own bout with Twitter in the past, I think -- I think we have to be a little judicious when we think about long ago tweets. The problem here though is that it is part of a pattern among Republicans that's hard to ignore.

We just finished this entire segment talking about John Kelly who was the chief staff. We've seen Mark Esper who was the defense secretary. We've seen other national security officials, communications officials who all felt so uncomfortable about what happened that day. And now, we have the president's campaign manager who when the cameras weren't on him said what he probably really believed.

The question is, why would he trade that moral consistency for some sort of political power? I don't know if that's exactly what it is that happened, but I do think it is part of a whole that it's just becoming harder and harder to ignore.

BURNETT: So, Scott, I know you're close. You know Chris LaCivita well. You spent a lot of time with him. You've spoken to him here in recent hours or day. How do you see it?

JENNINGS: Well, first of all, I've known him for over 20 years. I think he's probably the best political operative in the Republican Party and most Republicans I know in politics right now are saying thank God for Chris LaCivita who's done a hell of a job, he's put Donald Trump in a position to win and if he does win, a big part of it will be of because of the campaign that he and Susie and the rest of the team built.

BURNETT: Susie Wiles, yep.

JENNINGS: Yep, that's number one.

Number two, one of his favorite sayings is when you're taking flak, you must be over the target and I think that's how he feels right now. Look, and I'll just speak for myself on this air, I wrote and said some of the same emotional reactions to January the 6th that Chris had, a lot of Republicans did.

And I'll answer your question directly, the reason Republicans are going to end up voting Republican and for Trump and for the Republican ticket is because of what the Democratic party has done for the last four years and what they would do under Kamala Harris.

I'm certain Chris feels that way. I feel that way and there's not a politician alive that I think any of us agree with 100 percent of the time, and I certainly don't like everything Donald Trump has said and done, but I have already voted, happily cast my vote for Trump despite my misgivings and continued misgivings about what happened on January the 6th, and millions of Republicans are going to do the same thing.

BURNETT: So --

SIMMONS: Did you trade the Constitution for some policies that you think --

JENNINGS: I'm not -- I'm not trading the Constitution.

(CROSSTALK)

SIMMONS: Well, he said he go after -- he go after journalists. He'd go after journalist and have journalists put in jail.

JENNINGS: Like Obama?

SIMMONS: He said that he would go after the First Amendment of his of his of citizens have the military use against them? That is not something that most people who --

(CROSSTALK)

JENNINGS: -- being put in jail, call Barack Obama. He set the precedent on that.

BURNETT: Andrew, LaCivita though has -- doesn't want people to -- I mean, I guess it's not surprising but he deleted some of these posts, right?

He just was hoping people would not see them.

KACZYNSKI: Yeah.

BURNETT: So how did you find it? How did you find them that they existed?

KACZYNSKI: So we -- you know those numbers, Erin, at the end of a tweet where it's like five, seven, eight, whatever, you know? Those actually mean something. Those are a time stamp for when the tweet was sent. So we went to -- yeah, I know, right? Surprise.

BURNETT: I'm like what going in --

(CROSSTALK)

KACZYNSKI: So we went to the Internet archive, we went to the Wayback Machine, we went and we go we went and we looked at his tweets from that day or we went -- we looked at you know what the -- you know, the time stamps were for the tweets that day, we popped in to see any of his that we could pull from that day and we found these ones that had shared that were no longer on his feed, and yeah it's pretty easy, you know?

BURNETT: All right.

KACZYNSKI: So what we do. BURNETT: All right. And I guess the question is you all are having an important conversation about whether a person can evolve on the issue of January 6. I think there's a lot of people watching who feel -- like you feel Jamal, maybe some like you feel Scott but that's one thing.

The other thing is how many people it's going to influence, okay, to know something like this. So you have James Carville come out tonight, Reihan, and he's obviously was heavily responsible for Biden coming off the ticket, he's been pessimistic about Democrats chances at times.

But now tonight, he says Harris is going to win. He's certain of it. He cites her money advantage. Trump's election losses since 2016, and Carville writes, just a feeling. Just a feeling.

What do you think?

SALAM: Well, it's not clear to me that that feeling is going to guarantee Harris a victory in part because we're talking a lot about things that Donald Trump said and did several years ago. There are a lot of folks in the wider public who remember things that Kamala Harris said and did several years ago, including during her 2020 presidential campaign, including statements about for example sex reassignment surgeries for migrant detainees, something that the KFILE broke among others.

There a lot of stories like this where you have to believe that she has a drastically different position today that is more in line with the whiter American public. You have to believe that despite the fact that she's never explained why her views change so markedly. She hasn't said we went too far.

She hasn't said Democrats got this one wrong. She hasn't said let me meet you in the middle and explain why I'm meeting you in the middle. It's all my values haven't changed, my position is totally different, how dare you ask me why. And that just doesn't convince a lot of folks.

BURNETT: I hear what you're saying but, Ashley, okay, let -- what Carville said, money advantage, true. Trump's election office loss in 2016, true. I'll add in record-breaking early voting every single place you look, we don't know who that favors, traditionally Democrats, could be different this time we don't no but nonetheless you're seeing that.

ALLISON: Yes.

BURNETT: Polls and swing states which have consistently shown her up within the margin of air. So we call it a dead heat because it is, but I'm just saying if all these things were flipped and it was Trump people would be saying Trump was winning.

ALLISON: Yes, okay. As someone who has often make presidential predictions off of feelings. In 2016, I believe Donald Trump was going to win off of a feeling. In 2020, before the Democratic nomination even was secured by Joe Biden, I knew he would win the presidency.

Tonight, I will make a prediction based off of feelings that I think Kamala Harris will win and I will tell you why. I think that there are a lot of there is a silent majority out there that don't want to talk about politics that are sick of it, and might not like her policies and might have questions about why she has changed.

But what they aren't changing on is our Constitution. And so, they believe when she says that I will have a Republican in my cabinet or I have been vice president for four years and I have gone around and expanded my views on different things that she will lead.

And I think women in this election will be the determining factor because I think losing a constitutional right feels gutting to a lot of people, even if you don't believe in abortion, to lose a right and know you can lose it, and have less rights than your mother had and this time, I think that is why Kamala Harris will win.

BURNETT: All right. And we hit pause there but of course all coming back here, over this evening with the Harris town hall coming up.

And next, a crucial question on which way this is going. The House -- are Democrats about to win control of the House. It could come down to just four races in the state of New York. Harry Enten here to break it all down.

Plus, breaking news. The Fed's putting Elon Musk on notice after he gave voters million dollar checks.

Okay, there's the question of whether it's illegal. And then there's the question I really want to know the answer to, which is who actually won the money and what are they doing with it?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:34:03]

BURNETT: You're looking at live pictures from Delaware County, Pennsylvania, where CNN will be holding an exclusive town hall with Vice President Kamala Harris in just a little over an hour. It comes as Democrats are starting to feel bullish about their chances of gaining control of the House. So they need four seats to succeed in doing that, net, and of course it could all come down to New York.

That is where four of the country's most vulnerable Republicans won their seats by less than five points two years ago. And tonight, they are all running behind their Democratic opponents.

Harry Enten is at the magic wall.

So, Harry, you know, obviously, the House is massive so being able to boil it down to, hey, look at these four is so crucial. Where are these districts and how close are they right now?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yeah. So let's take a tour of the great state of New York. It's something I want to do this time of year. Look, you point out the basic math, Democrats need a net gain of four. I think they could get them from the state of New York.

Let's show you where these districts are. First, let's start off in the Syracuse area and where are we going? We're looking at the 22nd district, right? This district has actually been redistricted to be more favorable to Democrats.

[19:35:03]

But last time around, Brandon Williams, the Republican won by only a point. So Democrats think they could pick up a seat there.

Let's go down I-81, all right. We're going to go to the Binghamton area. All right. Tere's another district, the 19th, Democrats think they have a pretty good shot. Mark Molinaro, look at that, won by less than two points last time around. That's another district.

Let's go down the Hudson Valley, down I-87, all right? Mike Lawler last time around in the 17th district, won by less than a percentage point. So that's another district.

How about district number four? We're going to go out to Long Island. Let's see if I can hit this button correctly, I did. We're going to go to the fourth district, Anthony D'Esposito, last time around won by less than four percentage points.

So those are four races that were determined by less than five points last time around. Where are they at this particular moment?

Let's take a look at some House forecasts, all right? These are an aggregation of forecast and look what we have on your screen, Erin. We got a lot of blue on your screen.

Look at this, a forecast predicted for New York four on Long island, plus nine for the Democrat.

New York 17, Jones up by a point, well within the margin of error.

How about Riley in New York 19? All right. Up by just a point, again well within the margin of error.

And then New York 22, Mannion, a six-point advantage. That's one I think Democrats could definitely flip, Erin.

BURNETT: Well, you know, and it's interesting and, of course, when you think up ticket what all this could mean, that's significant as well.

There is another race though in New York that you're watching, Harry, which is not currently show a Democrat leading but the fact that there's no clear leader at this point might say a lot big picture about where Republicans stand. And this Democrat happens to be someone that our viewers know well, somebody that, you know, we personally love, John Avlon.

ENTEN: Yeah, exactly right. So we're going to go all the way to the eastern end of Long Island. Look, Nick LaLota last time around the first district, won this district by over 10 points and that was why it was so surprising when we saw a poll that just came out this past week.

And look at this, no clear leader. LaLota up by only three points over John Avlon who, of course, formerly worked here at CNN. This is a race that I frankly didn't think was going to be all that close given the result last time around, but Avlon looks to be giving LaLota a run for his money, Erin.

BURNETT: Right, Avlon obviously running as a Democrat. You know, he had worked for Giuliani, he's a moderate. If Democrats win the House though, Harry, and you look at what that means, it could make history in other ways.

ENTEN: It could make history in other ways. I enjoyed our trip down the L.A. by the way, Erin.

Let's take a look here.

BURNETT: Well, you're the only one.

ENTEN: I'm the only one. It often times has such bad traffic, right?

Look, Republicans are favored in the Senate. Democrats might have a slight edge in the House, you know the last time that the two houses flipped in opposite directions, it's never happened, Erin. It's never happened.

So it happens -- if it happens this year, we will be making history and you know what, Erin? I think in this segment, we just made history.

BURNETT: We made because someone likes to drive down the LIE (ph)?

ENTEN: Of course that's exactly right.

BURNETT: I think -- I'm trying to think where do -- okay, all right. Harry, thank you very much.

ENTEN: Thank you.

BURNETT: And now I want to go to Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell of Michigan.

And, Congresswoman, when you hear Harry lay this out, how Democrats could take back the House and obviously he was focusing specifically on the state of New York and how it could happen there, do you think it's realistic?

REP. DEBBIE DINGELL (D-MI): I do believe -- I think the presidential election is very tight in the battleground states but I think we are doing better in these House races. I think you're going to see more ticket splitters than some people expect to see this year, but I have been following all of these races district by district and I'm feeling optimistic that we will take the House.

BURNETT: So feeling optimistic about that. Let me ask you now about these swing states that are so close because you mentioned ticket splitting. So let's get to it.

"Politico" has a piece out today about Arab American voters in your state who they say are, quote, furious at Harris as the war in Gaza is raging and one person from Dearborn told "Politico" that voters, quote, may vote for Donald Trump just to punish Biden and Harris just to say, look, what you've done.

And, of course, Congresswoman, 100,000 Michigan Democrats did cast uncommitted ballots in the primary and that was them making a statement about the situation in Gaza.

Do you believe that Harris could lose Michigan over this issue?

DINGELL: Look, this is an issue that I want to be really clear has people on all sides of the issue raw, hurting, passionate. I spent a great deal of my time with that community right now listening to them.

There are angry people. There are people that aren't going to vote for either candidate. There are some -- I don't think that they're going to be -- Donald Trump is working this community very hard, let me be clear about that, but people have not forgotten the Muslim ban. They have not forgotten he's talking about interment camps.

So I think there are a lot of Arab Americans who haven't made up their mind yet. I think some are going to -- for the vote for the vice president and some may just not vote. But it is not a community that's gone.

BURNETT: So I think that's interesting. I appreciate your -- you know, giving such an honest evaluation of the situation.

[19:40:02]

When it comes to Michigan, you know, in many paths to 270, must win for the vice president, she has now launched the Harris campaign is, their second TV ad targeting specifically Jill Stein who is the Green Party candidate, airing in your state. Stein is trying to seize on the Harris problem with Arab American voters, not just Trump, but Stein is as well.

And I want to play some of what she said recently at an event in Dearborn. She was speaking with the group that its literal name, Congresswoman, is Abandon Harris.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL STEIN (G), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Abandon Harris is a moral compass for a nation that is lost at sea. Resist the propaganda telling you to hold your nose and vote for genocide. If you vote for genocide, you are consenting to it, you are enabling it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: The polls show her congresswoman at 1 percent in Michigan right now, but it's a race between Harris and Trump that's a complete dead heat, right? And we've all seen that Jill Stein can flip a state based on how she does.

So do you think that she is hurting Harris in Michigan right now?

DINGELL: Look, I want to take this very seriously. Third party candidates have determined races in Michigan before and she is not going to win. Let me make that really clear. Jill Stein is not going to win this presidential race. So a vote for Jill Stein is a vote for Donald Trump, and I think we got to be very clear on that talking to people.

So it's -- I take her seriously. I -- and I am being very clear with people that I want them to understand what that vote could me.

BURNETT: All right. Well, Congresswoman, I appreciate your time. Thank you so much.

DINGELL: Thank you.

BURNETT: Congresswoman Debbie Dingell.

And next, the breaking news, the Justice Department just sending out a notice putting Elon Musk on notice. We'll tell you exactly why.

Plus, new videos showing what appears to be thousands of North Korean soldiers in Russia training to help fight for Putin.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:46:35]

BURNETT: Breaking news, CNN learning the DOJ has warned Elon Musk's pro-Trump super PAC that his million-dollar sweepstakes in battleground states could be illegal Tesla CEO giving away a million dollars every day to registered voters who sign a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments. This is tonight we are learning more about the four winners so far and whether they even voted for Trump.

Jason Carroll is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELON MUSK, TESLA CEO: We are going to be awarding a million dollars to -- randomly to people who have signed the -- signed the petition every day from now until the election.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NAITONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): First, it happened in Harrisburg on Saturday.

MUSK: By the way, John had no idea. So, any way, you're welcome.

CARROLL: Then again, just outside, Pittsburgh on Sunday.

MUSK: Up there, okay.

CARROLL: Elon Musk made a promise to hand out $1 million each day until election day to registered voters in battleground states who signed his petition supporting the First and Second Amendments. So far, four winners identified and according to publicly available records all previously registered Republican voters must signature on all the checks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is John.

CARROLL: John Dreher at that event in Harrisburg followed by Kristine Fishell who took the stage outside Pittsburgh. Shannon Tomei announced in McKees Rock, Pennsylvania, and Andy Steinle named in Holly Springs, North Carolina.

CNN could not reach any of the winners for comment. Musk super PAC has not returned requests for comment as well.

In social media posts, the group says winners would be selected to earn $1 million as a spokesperson for America PAC. Some of them have already recorded videos for Musk political action committee.

According to Musk super PAC website, only those register to vote in swing states of Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin are eligible to win.

Sources tell CNN the Justice Department sent a letter to the super PAC warning the daily $1 million giveaway to registered voters in swing states might violate federal laws, citing it's legal to incentivize registration with cash or prizes.

DEREK MULLER, PROFESSOR OF LAW, UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME: I think for new voters who might register to vote and this being the inducement like I can have an opportunity to get a million dollars, it certainly feels like that kind of exchange. At the same time, the United States Supreme Court has been very narrow in how it's construed bribery statutes.

CARROLL: Muller also warns that voters who signed the petition could potentially face legal trouble for accepting money in exchange for their vote, though it should be noted that DOJ has not accused any winners or signers of the petition of any wrongdoing.

MULLER: I think what the Department of Justice is going to be weighing as it tries to figure out whether to prosecute and how -- how aggressive it wants to be in its theory.

CARROLL: If calculating from the day Musk first gave out that first honorary check, it would total 18 winners $18 million, perhaps a drop in the bucket for the world's richest billionaire who has already donated nearly $75 million to his pro-Trump super PAC.

The question is, will it have a ripple effect among registered voters in those swing states? Polling indicates the presidential race is still a tossup.

[19:50:02]

ADAM BABETSKI, REPORTER, PITTSBURG POST-GAZETTE: There's some bad publicity that you've seen out there as people are upset alleging that he's essentially trying to buy an election, but then there are people who think it's good that he's stepping up and showing his support for Trump.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: You know, it's fascinating. I'm fascinated by the people winning but it's also the DOJ's position here. You know, if they don't take action what sort of Pandora's box does this open?

CARROLL: Well, look, when you talk to legal experts, there is a worry that there's a slippery slope here, that if unchecked, this could open the door to other kinds of offers. Look, it doesn't have to be a million dollars. It could be much, much less than that, could be 500 --

BURNETT: Could be a new car.

CARROLL: A new car, it could be anything, it could be a gift. But what it does is it opens that door if unchecked and we were talking about the DOJ. I mean, look, the DOJ issued this warning which basically means, look, we've got our eye on it, but in terms of what if anything is going to happen -- I mean, that's pretty much very much an unanswered question at this point.

BURNETT: Yeah. Well, I mean, it's an unprecedented situation that they're in, but precedent does matter.

All right. Thanks so much, Jason Carroll.

And OUTFRONT next, thousands of North Koreans are now inside Russia and what they're doing matters a lot to the USA.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:56:02]

BURNETT: Breaking news, thousands of troops training in Russia and they are North Korean, all part of Putin's master plan to dominate the United States and its allies. The White House says tonight at least 3,000 of Kim Jong-un's troops are currently training at multiple military sites inside Russia. The soldiers recently traveled by ship to Russia before spreading throughout the country.

Will Ripley is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At this remote Russian military base, a convoy of what appears to be North Korean troops training in a barren bleak stretch of wilderness deep in Russia's far east.

CNN geolocated this video. Sergeevka training ground near China and North Korea. The front lines of Ukraine, more than 4,000 miles away. Ukraine is where South Korean intelligence says these soldiers are going, 1,500 now, as many as 12,000 could be deployed, South Korean media says.

Some seen here supposedly just days ago getting their Russian military uniforms. The audio muffled, the language sounds like Korean. We can't independently verify this video provided to CNN by the Ukrainian government.

They also shared this, a uniform sizing questionnaire dated last week in both Korean and Russian for hats, headgear, uniforms and shoes.

Why would Kim Jong-un be sending troops to Russia and to Ukraine?

DANIEL PINKSTON, LECTURER IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, TROY UNIVERSITY: So if Russia is successful, then, you know, the North Koreans could follow suit, and it could be a very dangerous situation.

RIPLEY: As Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin deepen their anti-U.S., anti-West military partnership, a terrifying scenario says Ukraine's president.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We know about 10,000 soldiers of North Korea, that they are preparing to send fight against us and this is the first step to a world war.

RIPLEY: At the United Nations, no comment from North Korea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Such groundless, stereotype rumors aimed at smearing the image of the DPRK.

RIPLEY: They've been busy lately blowing up border roads with South Korea.

Just days after supposed South Korean drones dropped propaganda leaflets on Pyongyang, North Korea's capital, almost at Kim's doorstep.

CARL SCHUSTER, FORMER DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, U.S. PACIFIC COMMAND JOINT INTELLIGENCE CENTER: His regime is very even beyond normal levels of paranoia right now.

RIPLEY: This week, Seoul summoned Russia's ambassador, condemning what could be North Korea's largest ever overseas deployment, bigger than the 1973 Yom Kippur War and Vietnam, says this retired South Korean lieutenant general.

CHUN IN-BUM, FORMER LIEUTENANT GENERAL, SOUTH KOREAN ARMY: So this could be a real serious problem for the entire world.

RIPLEY: A problem compounded by a massive influx of North Korean weapons into Russia, reports of 70 shipments of shells, missiles and anti-tank rockets since August 2023, not to mention North Korean ballistic missiles which Ukraine says have killed civilians, including children.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY (on camera): South Korea is one of the world's largest armed suppliers and they have held off during this Ukraine war sending lethal weapons to Ukraine. Russia has in the past thanked them for that. But now Seoul while condemning North Korea's troop deployment to Russia as a security threat is saying that they might send their own personnel and lethal weapons to Ukraine.

So, Erin, we could have a scenario where South Korean weapons are being used against Russia and on the ground North Korean troops fighting on behalf of the Russians or at least operating in some capacity.

BURNETT: It's troublesome. It's metastasizing all of that I know that the talk that you had in there of a broadening war.

Will Ripley, thank you so much for that, such important reporting.

And thanks to all of you as always for being with us, but please stay with me because I'll be joined by my colleague Jake Tapper for a special edition of "AC360" starting now.