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New Day
Barbara Comstock is Interviewed about the Republican Party; Rioters Smoked Pot During Breach; A look at Big Lie Backers; Weekly Jobless Claims; Susie Espinoza's Story of Having COVID. Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired May 20, 2021 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[08:33:27]
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: The latest Republican in Missouri running for the Senate also happens to be facing felony gun charges. Mark McCloskey is the St. Louis homeowner seen last summer, along with his wife Patricia, pointing guns at demonstrators walking outside their home. The couple pleaded not guilty in October to weapons charges and evidence tampering.
Joining me now is former Republican Congresswoman Barbara Comstock.
Thank you so much. It's wonderful to have you in studio.
What is -- what's your reaction to that man being the face of the Republican Party? This is someone who's running for Senate.
BARBARA COMSTOCK (R), FORMER VIRGINIA CONGRESSWOMAN: Well, this is an unserious person. This is, unfortunately, part of the Trump era is you get characters like this, you know, like, whether it's Matt Gaetz or Marjorie Greene and now you're having this going over and infecting the Senate. I don't expect he will even get a nomination. I have a favorite in Missouri myself who is not a man. So I think the Republican Party, if they want to win back the majority, certainly can't have this type of ridiculous candidate.
KEILAR: There's no indication they aren't sort of leaning into that, though, right? We're seeing that.
COMSTOCK: I certainly don't think a lot of, you know, serious Republicans, including a lot of people in Missouri, want somebody like this. But this kind of notoriety they get, unfortunately, encourages this type of thing. And you have consultants around them who feel like they can make money promoting someone like that. That's really probably what's more behind this.
KEILAR: Yes.
COMSTOCK: There's money to be made.
[08:35:00] KEILAR: They certainly will make some.
All right, Congressman Andrew Clyde, who's a Republican, compared Capitol rioters to tourists. Of course, a photo has surfaced from that day that shows him barricading a door on January 6th. Certainly he can't actually think this was a normal day for Congress. We asked his constituents about this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I haven't the slightest idea why politicians say what they say.
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But do you agree that maybe he shouldn't -- he's a little misleading with how he said it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He shouldn't say that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, that's horse baloney. That's not true.
TUCHMAN: So you disagree with your congressman?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
TUCHMAN: And you voted for him?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Unfortunately.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: I mean, so, look, that's a sampling, right? That's not like we can say that's a poll. And he may have his support. But what do you think about some people who did say -- who say they voted for him, they don't like what he said?
COMSTOCK: Well, I think there's a great opportunity in that district, which is a red district, even after redistricting, to find somebody serious who wants to be a good conservative Republican but will not embarrass their district like that.
KEILAR: Trump Republican allies are now seeking a kind of Arizona- style audit in other swing states. Is this -- Georgia, for instance. Is this what we're going to see kind of crazy audits after audits in states where Republicans don't like the outcome?
COMSTOCK: Well, that's the problem with humoring the former president as long as has been done. And that's why I think the January 6th commission is so important and why I was so proud of my friend, John Katko, for, you know, getting 35 Republicans. And you look at the list of 35 Republicans. These are very serious legislators, as is John Katko. And this is why we need the commission because this kind of nonsense is going to continue to go on out in the states until we get the records, get the phone records, get the documents of how that rally went on, on January 6th. What was all the lead-up and planning? The speakers that were there at that rally, which were all the major Trump allies, that was no accident. And I think Democrats should have already done that themselves. They
certainly -- phone records aren't partisan. You know, hotel records, people coming in, all of that. I used to be chief counsel on the government reform committee. That's a committee that can subpoena anything they want. A very broad jurisdiction, as broad as any criminal jurisdiction. They can be deposing people.
I would prefer the commission because I think it would be more non- partisan, but these kind of actions in the states show why we need this commission and why I was very pleased to see at least 35 Republicans stand up and be counted and respond to John Katko, who just implored them, put politics aside. And that speech that he gave, everybody should watch. It was very brief, but just, he had been a former organized crime prosecutor. He had to send people out in harm's way to do it for our police, our Capitol officers who protect us every day.
KEILAR: But very quickly, if this does not get through the Senate, would you support the House going it alone with members of Congress on the commission or the committee?
COMSTOCK: Well, I certainly think it would be better to be in the 9/11 style. My predecessor, Frank Wolf, was one of the key people who pushed the 9/11 Commission. So that's the -- this is what it's modeled on. And so I think we have a very good precedent in the 9/11 Commission. The former, you know, leaders of that worked well together. I think somebody like a Will Hurd, who just retired from Congress, has a great background in the CIA, undercover, was on the Intel Committee, he'd be a great vice chairman. Republicans get to put half of the members. It will be 5-5. We get to have that vice chairman. It would be much more, you know -- will be less partisan in that situation.
KEILAR: Yes, if --
COMSTOCK: But the facts aren't partisan. When you get phone records and see who Donald Trump called that day, see who he was calling the weeks before. If you bring in the vice -- Vice President Pence and depose him about what went on, the White House Counsel's Office, who was advising the president not to do a lot of the things he was doing. We need to hear from them. And there's no reason that Congress can't do it. I'd prefer a non-partisan body to do it. But they need to get rolling right away and subpoena those records. They don't have to wait until this is approved.
KEILAR: Former Congresswoman Barbara Comstock, thank you for being with us this morning.
COMSTOCK: Thank you.
KEILAR: The insurrection may have been a low point in American history, but it was a high point for many rioters in the Capitol complex. We'll have a report ahead.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: High times ahead.
Plus, how the "Trump made me do it" defense reveals the big lie for exactly what it is.
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[08:43:49]
KEILAR: The Capitol riot suspects have bragged about lots of things online. But one trend seemingly overlooked is just how many of them got high during the breach.
CNN's Marshall Cohen has been digging through the court documents and Laura Jarrett has this super blunt NEW DAY explainer.
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LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR, "EARLY START": Oh, the things they carry, flex cuffs, bear spray, pepper spray, MAGA hats, a baseball bat, horns, a racist flag, and that's not all. The mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol also carried THC. As CNN digs through court documents from the attack, we're discovering a trend as suspects hit the chambers, the feds say that wasn't their only hit.
One guy bragged on SnapChat, quote, smoke out the Capitol, baby. In fact, we're told he cheered on how many others were smoking joints inside the building.
Another posted a video on FaceBook of himself blazing up something inside the Capitol. And if that wasn't enough, he added a caption confirming it.
Another suspect fired one up on the steps of the Capitol. A tipster outed him, sending a SnapChat posted by the suspect's apparent daughter saying, quote, in case you ever wondered who my father is.
[08:45:01]
Dad later said he was damn proud of being there.
Another also on video saying, quote, we made history, guys. People are smoking weed in here. Please, may I please hit that? He did.
And while that one seemed impromptu, others apparently hashed out their premeditated herb. One guy passed around pre-rolled joints, earning him the nickname of "Capitol Rotunda Doobie Smoker." In videos that went viral, Mr. Doobie made himself easy to identify with his USA flag pants.
But the suspects didn't just go one toke over the line. Police stopped another guy once he left the building. On him? Pot, two pipes and a bottle of bourbon.
These men have all pleaded not guilty or they're fighting the charges. None of them has been charged with any drug-related offenses. But certainly, while they failed to burn down democracy, they succeeded in burning one down on their way to jail. Talk about a gateway drug.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BERMAN: I don't have any pot jokes left after that.
KEILAR: Did they bring snacks?
BERMAN: I don't know. That was a hit. Super blunt, as you said. Wow.
KEILAR: That was weird, though. I mean, just strange. I had no --
BERMAN: Yes.
KEILAR: I had no idea.
BERMAN: Yes.
KEILAR: And you seeing Marshall Cohen, with all his spare time, going through and finding all these examples in court documents that Laura laid out so clearly.
BERMAN: I kind of want to hang with Marshall Cohen now, as an aside.
KEILAR: I know.
BERMAN: Captain Doobie.
KEILAR: Very fun.
BERMAN: All right. Thank you to Laura for that.
So among Capitol Hill rioters and Trump lawyers, there is a legal defense that keeps coming up again and again, "Trump made me do it."
John Avlon with a "Reality Check."
JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: The lawyer for the so-called QAnon shaman raised a lot of eyebrows when he floated this odd defense. Quote, a lot of the defendants, they're all f'ing short-bus people, Albert Watkins told TPM. These are people with brain damage. These aren't bad people. They were subjected to four-plus years of Goddamn propaganda, the likes of which the world has not seen since f'ing Hitler.
Now, there's a lot to unpack there, but Watkins seems to be arguing his client was easily duped, misled by the constant lies from Donald Trump and right wing media, incited to riot.
Now, this is all obviously offensive, especially to the developmentally disabled, but it's not isolated. In fact, it seems to be part of a pattern because earlier this month attorney for an accused Capitol Hill attacker said his client suffered from foxitis, that after watching the channel constantly air Trump's false claims of a stolen election, he, quote, believed what was being fed to him. That's the client who shouted, you want war? We got war. 1776 all over again. And then allegedly stormed the Capitol wearing a bullet bulletproof vest and wielding a stolen riot shield.
The defense that rioters were just following orders from Trump has become a regular refrain. For example, Garret Miller charged with invading the Capitol and threated to assassinate Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez said, I believed I was following the instructions of former President Trump. He had me believing that an American election was stolen.
Likewise, the lawyer for Proud Boy Dominic Pezzola said he now realizes he was duped into these mistaken beliefs.
But the lies didn't only derange people who attacked the Capitol. One of the very few cases of confirmed voter fraud this election came from a Pennsylvania man names Bruce Barton, who tried to cast a ballot in his dead mother's name for Donald Trump. Now he told the judge, I listened to too much propaganda and made a stupid mistake.
So the common defense is that these folks were duped by lies. And not coincidentally, that's the same defense we're hearing from some of the prime propagators of that propaganda, like pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, who is facing a massive defamation suit for spreading the big lie. Powell's defense is literally that no reasonable person would ever believe her bogus claims. Therefore, the people who did believe her, and there are many of them, were, by definition, not reasonable. They were easily duped fools.
And while Powell's defense seems novel, it's almost exactly what lawyers for pro-Trump conspiracy theorist Alex Jones argued back in 2018.
Look, big lies can't withstand the scrutiny of court. It's a place of truth and consequences. But what does the persistence of the big lie say about the people who still parrot. After all, it's the litmus test for Republican leadership now and believed by a majority of their party. We see it in the pathetic attempt to rewrite history from Republican lawmakers like Georgia's Andrew Clyde.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ANDREW CLYDE (R-GA): There was no insurrection. And to call it an insurrection, in my opinion, is a bold-faced lie.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AVLON: Which is absurd, even without the photograph of Clyde desperately trying to barricade the door of the House that day.
Which begs the question, does Clyde think his supporters are stupid? And if you're a person who still buys into the big lie, what does it mean that so many of your fellow travelers are now saying they were essentially brainwashed while some of the big lie's most prominent pushers argue that no reasonable person could believe their toxic nonsense?
[08:50:01]
They're saying that you're a useful idiot who can be milked for more money and political advantage as the grift goes on. There's an old saying in poker that applies. If you look around the
table, and you can't tell who the sucker is, it's you. This isn't a game. It's our democracy.
And that's your "Reality Check."
BERMAN: John Avlon, thank you very much.
So just in to CNN, a brand-new read on unemployment in America. What it tells us about the recovery from the pandemic.
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BERMAN: Just in to CNN, new weekly jobless claims numbers released moments ago.
Let's get right to CNN chief business correspondent Christine Romans.
Romans, what do they say?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, John.
So 444,000 new jobless claims in the week. That's the lowest we've seen of the pandemic, 444,000. You look at the trend. Clearly the trend is for fewer layoffs every single week. And we've been seeing that for some time now.
Pandemic unemployment, only 95,000 of those for those special programs. Here's why. This is sort of the story of the last few weeks. Some 20 or 21 states have ended the pandemic programs. So they are cutting off the checks -- those extra checks for people because small businesses are really complaining they can't find workers.
[08:55:01]
So you're seeing that trend happening here. Fewer people on those expanded unemployment benefits.
All together, in all programs, just under 16 million people, though, still receiving some sort of a benefit check here. It's just a reminder of the -- just the explosion in the labor market. The bottom really just dropped out of the labor market because of coronavirus. So we have a lot of work to do.
On that front, you've been seeing some companies start to raise wages this week in the last couple of weeks, John. That's really key here. You're starting to hear about a fight for talent, a fight for workers as we come out on the other -- other end of COVID. So that will be sort of the new phase of the labor market getting people back in the workforce and getting the supports for workers to be able to do that because the crisis, of course, is not over in terms of health.
BERMAN: Big changes.
Christine Romans, thanks so much for that.
Brianna.
KEILAR: A woman in Memphis, Tennessee, contracted coronavirus last year while pregnant and she came close to dying but managed to beat the odds.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta has this week's "The Human Factor."
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Susie Espinoza thought she had a bad cold last May until the symptoms got worse.
SUSIE ESPINOZA: To me, I feel like I was drowning.
GUPTA: Her COVID-19 test came back positive. And, at the time, she was 26 weeks pregnant. She said good-bye to her kids and her partner checked her into the hospital.
ESPINOZA: I remember putting the kids to sleep and, in my mind, I was like, please, God, let me come back to them.
GUPTA: Doctors had to put Susie on a ventilator, but she still wasn't able to get enough oxygen.
DR. PAUL DEATON, PULMONOLOGIST: She was working very hard to breathe.
GUPTA: So they decided to put the mother of three in a medically induced coma. Six weeks later, Susie took a turn for the worst.
DEATON: She almost died. I said, we've got to get the baby out tomorrow. And so she had a c-section the next day.
GUPTA: The baby was born healthy and Susie was well enough to be brought out of the coma to meet him.
ESPINOZA: But then, as the minutes went by, realized that I couldn't move.
DEATON: She'd been in the intensive care unit for so long she developed very severe weakness. She basically had to learn to walk again, use her arms again.
GUPTA: Then nurses introduced her to her baby boy, Brandon. And this is the moment she held him in her arms for the first time.
Today, Susie still struggles with nerve pain and numbness and she's working on getting her voice back every day.
ESPINOZA: I'm beating all the odds.
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