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Calls to Delay Kavanaugh Vote; Border Agent Confesses to Killings; Kavanaugh Faces Me Too Test; Bills Player Quits Midgame; Man Killed in Shark Attack. Aired 6:30-7:00a ET

Aired September 17, 2018 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00] JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Conversation. But this is -- but I don't think Republicans can sweep this under the rug where we are as a country. And I think that would have -- the political backlash would be far worse than whatever credit they'd get for pushing through a nominee.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: And we'll see, of course, what Donald Trump will -- will tweet at some point. He will likely have to comment.

And I think one of the problems that the Republicans made was that they elected Donald Trump, who had all of these accusations against him. And one of the reasons they elected him was because of the Supreme Court.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: And, don't forget, part of the context here is the Democrats on the committee believe he has been untruthful on other subjects, not only in this confirmation but in earlier ones.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, this discussion is going to continue throughout the morning and for a long time. Or maybe just until Thursday, we don't know, because we don't know if the Republicans are going to push this through. Stay tuned.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: We will try to find out for you this morning. So he's supposed to uphold the law, but now, of course, he's being described -- well, this -- wait until you hear this story, OK. I thought we were going in one direction. This story is even more shocking. This guy is accused of being a serial killer. Prosecutors say a border patrol agent has confessed. We'll tell you more about it, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:35:14] BERMAN: A supervisory agent for the U.S. Border Patrol has confessed to four murders, according to a criminal complaint. Prosecutors are calling Juan David Ortiz a serial killer.

CNN's Joe Johns is live in Laredo, Texas, with the very latest on this story.

Joe. JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

The significance of this, as you said, is that this guy is a supervisor with the border protection and now they're calling him a serial killer. Juan David Ortiz, 35 years old, was supposed to be involved in interdiction of sex and drug trafficking here along the border. Now, they say, he has confessed to four counts of murder, plus an abduction count thrown in. All said to be involving sex workers here in the area.

These are cases going all the way back to the very beginning of September. But it all unraveled over the weekend when authorities say he picked up a woman apparently known to him, took that woman back to his house, upon leaving they started talking about one of the women who had been killed in this series of murders. The woman he was with became sick. The -- they started talking more about this woman and she tried to escape. Then authorities say Ortiz pulled a gun on her, he pulled off her blouse as she was trying to get out of his truck. She ran to a state trooper and they followed the trail. Eventually locating Ortiz and finding him on the parking lot of a hotel here in the Laredo area.

So this investigation continues. We are expecting a news conference here. Obviously Washington, D.C., very worried about this case. The Office of Inspector General for Homeland Security is among the agencies dealing with the local police.

Back to you, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Joe, just chilling details about this. Thank you very much.

So a woman has come forward to accuse Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault decades ago when they were in high school. How will this affect his confirmation to the Supreme Court? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:41:18] CAMEROTA: Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh is facing something of a Me Too test to reach the high court after a woman has come forward accusing him of sexual assault when the two were teenagers in high school.

Let's discuss this. Joining us now are CNN political commentators, Republican strategist Alice Stewart, and former executive director of the Congressional Black Caucus Angela Rye.

Ladies, great to have you here to talk about this really delicate and complicated story.

Let's start with procedure.

Alice, should the committee vote this Thursday given all the new information that has come to light?

ALICE STEWART, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: They should vote when they have a more thorough understanding of exactly what happened. Ideally it would be Thursday, but I don't see that happening. I think it's important, given all that has come to light over the last 48 hours or even more, that both sides hear everything from both sides. Republicans and Democrats on the Judiciary Committee should hear this from the accuser and the accused. And I think it's critical to do that.

My question is, why didn't Senator Feinstein release this information when she first was notified of this, when the letter first came to her? I think that was a -- a terrible miscarriage of this process. If she truly believed what was being said or thought this should have been brought up, she should have not only raised it during the committee process, she also had opportunities to ask Judge Kavanaugh directly about this.

But make no mistake about it, their -- these women need to be heard in the Me Too movement and certainly much before that we need to be heard. But we also have to keep in mind the judge has categorically and unequivocally denied these allegations, therefore it puts us in a situation where both of them need to come forward and put all of this out there on the table.

CAMEROTA: Angela, your thoughts?

ANGELA RYE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I think first we have to acknowledge how Dianne Feinstein came across this information, and that was through a confidential letter to the senator, as well as to her member of Congress, and how we've come into knowing who Christine Blasey is, is the fact that she felt like there were several other people involved in the process who did not respect her request for confidentiality. I don't know what those reasons are, but I can tell you that at this point I'm grateful for her bravery. There are a number of articles, Alisyn, as I'm sure you're aware, that are talking about this smooth-sailing process that Brett Kavanaugh has had, and that has not been my experience in watching these hearings. In fact, watching Senator Cory Booker talk about what he was willing to do, which was be -- experience expulsion from the Senate, to share with the community, with the -- with the country and with the world Brett Kavanaugh's record on issues that are critical to communities of color and to the disenfranchised.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

RYE: And then to watch his exchange with Kamala Harris is also equally as troubling, where he is like, well, who told you what I said -- or, you know, that I sat down and met with someone from a Trump law firm, right? So this is not someone who to me should have had a smooth sailing process. This is just yet another issue and hopefully it's the tipping point.

CAMEROTA: Alice, I think that the larger question is, if these allegations are true, should Brett Kavanaugh be seated on the Supreme Court?

STEWART: Look, once again, I can't stress enough that Judge Kavanaugh is somebody of immense integrity. We have letters from 65 people who have known him over the years, that have attested to his character. He's passed six vetting processes by the FBI throughout his career and I believe that he is a man of tremendous integrity.

CAMEROTA: I understand, but do you --

STEWART: That being said -- that being said --

CAMEROTA: But, yes, if this one is true?

STEWART: That remains to be seen with regard to what -- what we hear from this woman. If what she has said to the letter is true, it does raise tremendous questions and it is something that we certainly need to take a look at. We're in a new day and age with regard to the Me Too movement and women having the courage and having the ability and having the venues for them to come forward with such allegations. And I think these are very troubling.

[06:45:15] And if that remains -- if these are true, if these allegations are true, I does something -- I don't see how he can go forward. I don't see how members of the Judiciary Committee can go forward and vote for him. But, that being said, we need to make sure we get the truth and the entire truth before we even have that conversation.

CAMEROTA: Angela, does something that someone does as a minor, if they are, quote, stumbling drunk, should that 35 years later ruin their career trajectory?

RYE: Well, it sounds like from the notes that were taken in Christine's therapy sessions that her life has also been ruined from this situation. So what I would say to you is that if he did handle himself in this way, which he has been able to, you know, tell a consistent story, not just once, not twice, but three times, there should be some repercussions for that. If you are going to the highest court of the land where you are going to be hearing cases about rape, about sexual harassment in the workplace, about freedom to choose and what a woman's body should mean to them, you should have some modicum of respect for women.

And, more importantly, if this process has to be slowed down to really endure an investigation, that should be something that we should not balk at. That is something I know Republicans are saying, hey, elections are 50 days out. This is our last shining moment to get a conservative on the bench. But I would ask them, at what cost? Partisanship should never stand in the way of human decency and what we should require of someone going to the highest court in the land, period.

An interesting, I think, turn here is that Lisa Murkowski, of course, is on the Senate and she is filling the role of, you know, proceeding her father, Frank Murkowski, who voted in support of Clarence Thomas. And she has the opportunity to write history.

I think another very interesting point here is we have a president who has been accused of -- by more than 20 women of sexual harassment and inappropriate sexual misconduct and here we have someone who could be named to the Supreme Court with that same kind of record. And it should not go forward in that way. CAMEROTA: Angela --

STEWART Alisyn, I just want to --

CAMEROTA: Very quick, Alice, a few seconds.

STEWART: I want to just really quickly stress Angela's point. It is so true. Take partisanship out of this. This is not about right -- left and right. This is about right and wrong.

RYE: Yes.

STEWART: And we need to make sure when we look at these, such as Senator Al Franken, who recognized that he made some mistakes. He has stepped aside. So if we realize there is mistakes made, we need to do exactly what's right.

CAMEROTA: Ladies, thank you very much. Alice and Angela, we appreciate it.

RYE: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: John.

BERMAN: An unexpected moment during a football game. What one player did at half-time that has everyone talking today. The "Bleacher Report" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:51:55] BERMAN: Things around the Buffalo Bills have apparently become so bad that one player just quit at half-time.

Andy Scholes has more in the "Bleacher Report."

Andy, I have never seen anything like this.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: John, I don't think any of us have ever seen a healthy player just basically quit and retire mid game in the NFL, but that's exactly what the Bills Vontae Davis did yesterday. So Davis was in his tenth season. He started for the Bills yesterday, but he did not come out for the second half. And Bills' Coach Sean McDermott said Davis pulled himself out telling them he was done. Now, Davis' teammates were not very pleased with him leaving them hanging mid game.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LORENZO ALEXANDER, BUFFALO BILLS LINEBACKER: I've never seen it ever. Pop Warner, high school, college, pros, never heard of it, never seen it and it's just completely disrespectful to his teammates.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he say anything to you, a veteran or anybody?

ALEXANDER: He didn't say nothing to nobody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He left?

ALEXANDER: Yes. You know as much as I know. I know I found out go into the second half of the game. Coming out, they said he's not coming out, he retired.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Now, Davis, who is just 30 years old, later issued a statement about his decision to retire. It said in part, I've endured multiple surgeries and played through many different injuries throughout my career. And over the latest few weeks, this was the latest physical challenge. But today on the field, reality hit me fast and hard, I shouldn't be out there anymore.

He also said he didn't mean any disrespect to his teammates. Guys, and the Bills lost to the Chargers 31-20. I guess when you're done, you're done, right?

CAMEROTA: Yes. Promise me that on the day that you're done, you'll wait till 9:01. Not in the middle of the show.

BERMAN: 9:01. I'm going at 8:37.

CAMEROTA: No.

BERMAN: Maybe today.

CAMEROTA: 9:01.

BERMAN: Maybe today.

CAMEROTA: Andy, thank you very much.

SCHOLES: All right.

CAMEROTA: OK, now to this scary story. There has been a deadly shark attack on Cape Cod, the first in more than 80 years. What we know about this attack, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:58:11] CAMEROTA: There was a deadly shark attack off of Massachusetts this weekend. A man was boogie boarding in the waters off Cape Cod when he was attacked by a shark 30 yards from shore. It is believed to be the first fatal attack in the state in more than eight decades.

CNN's Alison Kosik is live in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, with more.

What do we know, Alison?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

So the signs are still up showing that Newcomb Hollow Beach is closed to swimmers and surfers after 26-year-old Arthur Medici was boogie boarding out there in the water and was killed by a great white on Saturday afternoon. Now, friends last night gathered to remember him as a guy who had a bright smile and a bright future ahead of him. They walked to the water's edge. They threw fresh flowers in the water as part of their vigil.

Now, shark sighting here on the Cape are becoming more and more common as this seals population here has increased dramatically. Sharks are their number one predator. But the reality is, shark attacks are actually very, very rare. Experts tell me that there are actually less than 100 shark attacks per year around the globe.

But there is one thing that is concerning scientists in the video that we're showing you here. What -- the thing that's concerning them is that sharks are getting closer and closer to shore, especially as they hunt their prey in the prime season, which we are in the middle of right now. And that, of course, is too close for comfort for beachgoers and experts giving advice say this. They say, look, if you're going to go in the water, be vigilant. Know what's going on in your environment. And even if it's close to shore, but there's a deep drop off, their suggestion is, just don't go in that deep water.

John.

BERMAN: All right, Alison Kosik out in Wellfleet. Alison, thank you very, very much.

I want to thank our international viewers for watching. For you, CNN "TALK" is next. For our U.S. viewers, NEW DAY continues right now.

[07:00:03] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a very serious allegation. You've got to have that tested in order to judge the credibility.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe 100 percent in Judge Kavanaugh. There are a lot more holes in her story.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is not comfortable moving ahead