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Nicaragua Arrests More Opposition Leaders; Iran Holds Presidential Election; McConnell and Trump on 2020 Collision Course; Juneteenth Become Federal Holiday; Katherine Heigl is Interviewed about Animal Advocacy. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired June 18, 2021 - 06:30   ET

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

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[06:32:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: In Nicaragua, at least 13 opposition leaders have been arrested and charged with vague so-called national security violations, including a prominent presidential candidate. Current President Daniel Ortega has spent the last week using the undisputed power of the country's police and courts to crack down on his political opponents.

CNN's Rafael Romo has the latest.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AFFAIRS EDITOR: I'm Rafael Romo in Mexico City. The Nicaraguan government has been cracking down on opposition leaders and activists since the beginning of the month and now it seems like bankers aren't safe either. (INAUDIBLE), director of a regional bank, was arrested Wednesday. He faces the same vague national security charges the other detainees are accused of. The latest round of arrests comes as Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is seeking a fourth term when the country holds elections in less than five months.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And voting is underway this morning in a controversial presidential election in Iran that will likely deliver a hardline president who lost the 2017 election and has headed the country's judiciary for the last two years.

CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is live for us in Tehran, Iran, with more on this.

Fred.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Brianna.

Yes, the main reason why this election is so controversial here in Iran is that because many of the candidates who actually wanted to run got disqualified by the body that vets the candidates before they're allowed to run in the election, heavily favoring this hardline candidate. His name is Ebrahim Raisi. He is, indeed, the head of Iran's judiciary and he is known for a very, very tough line and has indeed supported a lot of death sentences in the past couple of years as well.

Now, there are some moderates who are also running. And one of the things that people were fearing or the authorities are fearing is that the participation in the election could be very low. Voter turnout could be very low.

I want to show you some of the voting that's going on here right now. We've been to three polling stations actually already here in Tehran over the past couple of hours and it does seem as though there is a steady stream of people who are coming. So maybe the voter turnout won't be as low as the authorities here had feared.

The supreme leader of Iran already came out earlier this morning and urged people to vote. Of course the main thing on most people's mind is the devastating state of the economy here. Iran's economy still railing from those crushing sanctions leveed on it by the Trump administration. And one thing that many voters here are looking to is what's going to happen next with the Iran nuclear agreement. Of course right now Iran, the U.S. and other powers are negotiating for the U.S. to come back to that agreement and many people here do hope that that could mean sanctions relief for them and a better economy as well, Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Frederik Pleitgen, thank you so much, live for us in Tehran.

Donald Trump has teased another presidential run, but is he on a collision course with Mitch McConnell even soon never 2022?

BERMAN: Plus, why some black Americans say declaring Juneteenth a federal holiday is just for show. It ignores the real injustices.

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[06:38:56]

BERMAN: So a new face-off emerging in the Republican Party that could come to a flashpoint in the midterm elections. It pits Mitch McConnell against former President Donald Trump.

CNN political reporter and editor at large Chris Cillizza writes, they are on a collision course. And Chris joins us now.

And, Chris, this has to do with the candidates that Donald Trump has already come out and says that he is supporting in 2022.

CHRIS CILLIZZA, CNN POLITICS REPORTER AND EDITOR AT LARGE: Yes. Yes. So Donald Trump is about Donald Trump, breaking news on that front, not always about the Republican Party, and Mitch McConnell wants to be Senate majority leader come 2023. In order to do that, he has to help nominate the candidates who have the best chance of winning.

Now, I want to walk through a few places, John, where they're going to, I think, come in conflict. The most obvious one, this one's already set up, in Alaska, Lisa Murkowski is the incumbent. We know she has been one of Donald Trump's biggest targets. He says he's going to campaign against her.

Now, there's already a candidate, Kelly Tshibaka, announced against Murkowski. Interestingly, Trump has not endorsed yet.

[06:40:00]

He's just said, I'm not going to be for Lisa Murkowski. So let's see if he endorses Kelly Tshibaka or not. But this is the one that we know for sure is happening.

But I want to run you through a bunch of others where Trump has a favorite candidate that may not be the candidate most likely to win in a general election. This one is the biggest problem for Republican. Missouri should not be a state -- it's an open state, Roy Blunt, the incumbent Republican senator who's retiring, open seat. Missouri's a state that's pretty comfortably Republican.

But Eric Greitens is the former governor of the state. He left amid allegations of sexual harassment. He resigned his office. Well, he's running again and he is running expressly in an attempt to get Donald Trump's endorsement. Crowded primary, worrisome because if he's the Trump candidate, he may wind up winning. And people can remember back when Todd Akin was the nominee in Missouri and they lost a seat they should have won back in the 2010s, that could happen again.

North Carolina, if you watched Donald Trump's rally or heard about his rally last weekend in North Carolina, he says Lara Trump, Eric Trump's wife, he's not running. He endorses this guy named Ted Budd. Basically no one has heard of. He's a congressman, credible, but Trump passed over and took a shot at Pat McCrory, the former mayor of Charlotte and the former governor of the state who is widely seen as the candidate who can be in the center in a general election and have a better chance to win. So Budd clearly has benefitted from Trump's endorsement but does that help the Republican Party? It keeps this -- you'll -- this is a common theme.

Sean Parnell ran unsuccessfully in 2020 for a House seat in southwestern Pennsylvania. Trump endorsed. The Trumps love him. He is running in a crowded Republican Party to replace Pat Toomey, another Republican. Pennsylvania's going to be a hard state for Republicans to hold, no matter what. But Parnell may not be the best nominee.

Georgia, OK, everybody has heard of Hershel Walker. I mean the guy does a thousand pushup as day. How can you not remember him. Former NFL great. Part of one of the wildest trades in NFL history. This is Donald Trump's preferred candidate in Georgia. Problem? Hershel Walker lives in Texas. But that's no big deal. Again, this could be an issue. Raphael Warnock, the incumbent Democrat, is one of the most venerable Democrats in the country. Hershel Walker may not be the best to defeat him.

And, just finishing up, last but certainly not least, OK, neither of these two people are Trump favorites. Mark Brnovich, the attorney general, and Doug Ducey, the governor of the state. Trump has tagged both of them because this ridiculous recount happening in -- recount happening in Maricopa County over the 2020 results. They haven't been supportive of it. Brnovich is already running. McConnell and his group are trying to get Ducey to run, sitting governor would have a lot of appeal. Again, another venerable Democrat incumbent, Mark Kelly, who was elected in 202.

So, look, one, two, three, four, five, that's six races where if Trump weighed in heavily for one of those candidates I just went through, or against one of these two guys, you may have him weighing in against a candidate or for a candidate who is not the most likely to win a general election. And that makes Mitch McConnell very, very nervous, rightfully so.

John.

BERMAN: And McConnell says he says he cares about who can win the general election. That's what he will be focused on.

Chris Cillizza, thank you so much. Have a great weekend.

CILLIZZA: Thank you, my friend.

BERMAN: Brianna.

KEILAR: Details continuing to emerge on the January 6th insurrection. CNN's senior investigative correspondent Drew Griffin spoke with those who were there for a new CNN special report.

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DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: The election is rigged.

CROWD: Stop the steal! Stop the steal!

TRUMP: Fight like hello.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not a law enforcement operation. This was a military defense.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're coming for you, Nancy!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Once they started banging on the door, that's all I heard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Overran the Capitol.

ANNOUNCER: Now, new details from those who were there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Trump said come to D.C. It's going to be wild. And I knew it was going to be history.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This might sound extremely strange to a lot of your viewers, but I feel like he was anointed by God.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Donald Trump?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We peacefully protested.

GRIFFIN: You call January 6th a peaceful protest?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold them! Hold them this way.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God, what is happening? I was scared. Absolutely scared.

ANNOUNCER: CNN's special report, "Assault on Democracy: The Roots of Trump's Insurrection," Sunday at 9:00.

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BERMAN: So, Brianna, I had a chance to talk to Drew about this. This is a remarkable special that CNN has put together. And Drew has actually heard from, and you will all hear from, more insurrectionists in one place than I think you've ever heard from before, and it is deeply revealing.

KEILAR: Yes, I think it's essential viewing. I think it's so important to understand where people are coming from that this could happen. And I -- I -- Drew's the best, so I can't wait to see that special. I'm glad that you got to speak with him, Berman.

Still ahead, a congressional candidate accused of threatening his rival with a, quote, Russian hit squad. Seriously.

[06:45:00]

BERMAN: And is it a turning point in America's racial reckoning, the significance of Juneteenth, the nation's newest federal holiday.

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OPAL LEE, ACTIVIST WHO CHAMPIONED TO ESTABLISH JUNETEENTH AS A FEDERAL HOLIDAY: I guess I thought it would be like this. But to have it actually happen was -- can I use the phrase the children use, it was off the chain.

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BERMAN: You can use whatever phrase you want. That's Opal Lee, the 94- year-old grandmother of Juneteenth who helped lead the fight for the newest federal holiday, describing her emotions after witnessing President Biden sign into legislation that establishes June 19th as Juneteenth National Independence Day, commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

Here was her take on the significance of all this is Natasha Alford, CNN political analyst and V.P. of digital content and senior correspondent at "theGrio."

And, Natasha, look, undeniably a milestone but I think you make the case not an end in and of itself.

[06:50:06]

NATASHA ALFORD, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Absolutely. Juneteenth is a holiday about emancipation. The day was June 19, 1865 when enslaved African-Americans in Galveston, Texas, learned that they'd been legally free more than two years earlier. Many black Americans have celebrated that day for nearly 156 years and now the rest of America joins us with President Joe Biden officially signing Juneteenth into law as a federal holiday.

But Juneteenth is elevated at a time when the truth is under attacked in America. Lies about the so-called dangers of critical race theory have spurred legislation against teaching what is normally taught in law schools.

The 1619 Project has grown-up politicians throwing tantrums worse than the children they don't want reading it. And a big lie about a president who lost an election he won't let go of, had our Capitol in pure chaos with criminal parading as patriots.

So, naturally, the truth that Juneteenth represent that America doesn't always live up to its principles in real time, that's a hard pill to swallow for some but a necessary history lesson for all. Juneteenth reminds us of the perils of preaching we are a free and equal nation in theory but not in practice.

Take, for example, overly strict voter ID laws that discourage participation of the wrong kinds of voter, or limiting early voting and absentee voting when people have jobs to go to and families to take care of. Yes, racial discrimination in voting is illegal, but the effect of certain voting practices discriminates.

Perhaps that's why some black Americans are not impressed with taking Juneteenth mainstream. Instead of more symbolism and celebration, black people would rather have voting rights protected, reparations, equal wages, and police who treat them like equal citizens.

Remember how many American companies pledged $50 billion to black communities in the wake of George Floyd's murder, but never actually followed through. We're tired of bounced checks.

However, if America wants to make good on its Juneteenth holiday, Americans will join ongoing -- will join ongoing attacks against democracy and fight against them. Stacey Abrams has Hot Call Summer. Reverend William Barber has Moral Mondays. There's plenty of good trouble to get into because just like the African-Americans who got news of emancipation on juke 19, 1865, knew, freedom delayed by even a second is freedom delayed too long.

BERMAN: Natasha Alford, that was great.

Listen, so -- so a milestone but not a solution is, I think, one way to think of it. And on the solution front, it was big news yesterday when Joe Manchin put forth a compromised proposal on voting rights and voting protections. And Stacey Abrams, on this show, endorsed it as a compromise.

What happened after that, I think, is revealing and telling, which is that Joe Manchin gave Republican a lot of what they wanted in this, including voter ID, which you raised concerns about there.

ALFORD: Right.

BERMAN: It gives some Republicans a lot of what they wanted, but then Mitch McConnell stands up and says, no way, no how, not anything. What does that tell you?

ALFORD: And I think that's the obstruction that so many Americans are frustrated with. We say that we can't get things done because we need do things in a spirit of bipartisanship. And then when you see compromise, you see a proposal put forward that even Stacey Abrams, whose the leading voting rights advocate in America right now, if she can get behind that but Mitch McConnell can't, what is the obstruction really about? You know, 14 Republicans -- House Republicans who voted against Juneteenth, what is that about? Why wouldn't you want to celebrate the America that actually represents freedom since you claim that, you know, black people and minorities were so divisive by focusing on slavery, you have a moment where we focus on freedom and people can't get behind it. So there's an agenda that unfortunately is bigger than democracy, and I don't think that's acceptable.

BERMAN: Natasha Alford, thanks so much. I really appreciate you coming in.

ALFORD: Thank you.

BERMAN: The Justice Department releasing horrifying new police body camera footage from the Capitol insurrection showing the moment a former NYPD officer charged a Capitol officer with a flagpole.

KEILAR: Plus, kids and young people driving a serious surge of COVID cases in England, but they're not the group the experts are worried about.

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[06:58:38]

KEILAR: She's an Emmy award-winning actress, currently starring in "Firefly Lane" on Netflix, which was just picked up for a second season. And you certainly know her from feature films like "27 Dresses" and "Knocked Up," as well as her portrayal in Dr. Izzie Stevens in the TV hit "Grey's Anatomy."

But Katherine Heigl other passion is animal advocacy and she is asking for help with an urgent cause that is near and dear to her heart to stop the mass roundup and removal of the famed and beloved Onaqui wild horses of western Utah.

And Katherine Heigl is with us now to talk about this.

Katherine, thank you so much for coming on to discuss this. I've always been a big fan of your work, but I'm also someone who has gone to many national parks. You know, I come from out west and I think anyone who does and has gone to national parks and knows about the wild horses, this is something that is going to kind of perk up their ears.

KATHERINE HEIGL, EMMY AWARD-WINNING ACTRESS AND ANIMAL ADVOCATE: I hope so.

KEILAR: Tell us what drew you to this -- to this plight of the Onaqui horses?

HEIGL: It was brought to my attention by the Animal Wellness Action, the group that's really working very hard to save them. And they asked if I would partner with them to try to bring more awareness. This is happening July 12th, the roundup. And we're doing everything we can. And being here today is such a big help to us. Thank you so much for having me.

KEILAR: Explain what this roundup does because the horses are rounded up and then what happens?

HEIGL: The horses are rounded up by helicopter.

[06:59:52]

Essentially they're chased for hours and hours until they're too exhausted to continue running and then rounded up and penned and held either in captivity for the rest of their lives or they -- well the BLM has a now very flawed adoption.