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Thompson Comments on January 6th Committee; Branson Rockets to Outer Space; New Arrest in Haitian President's Assassination; Christopher "Freedom" Laroche is Interviewed about Haiti; Huge Events Dominate Busy Sports Weekend. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired July 12, 2021 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:30:00]
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: That is investigating January 6th, Congressman Bennie Thompson telling CNN that the investigation will go on as long as it takes to uncover the truth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. BENNIE THOMPSON (D-MS): I would say that we will do this work as long as it takes to complete it. Flexibility is important. If we run into significant resistance, then, obviously, it will take longer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: CNN's Lauren Fox is the one who conducted that interview and she's with us now.
That's what he -- he's saying this is open-ended and so that means hello midterm elections.
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's exactly right. And you saw there, you know, Bennie Thompson, we did this deep dive of who this chairman is going to be, and he's really someone who his colleagues say is patient. He's going to take the time that this investigation deserves.
You also are hearing from him that he's very careful that he does not want this to devolve into a political circus, but he also knows there may be people he wants to hear from. And if he needs to subpoena someone, he's going to be willing to do that.
Here's what he told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. BENNIE THOMPSON (D-MS): No one is exempt from the review of our committee. And without saying we will do this to former President Trump or some other individual, I will trust the professional investigation that will be conducted. I will trust the people who are tasked with the responsibility of a deep dive into the scope and circumstances that got us to January 6th. And if, in fact, they bring to us that information that says you need to do this, there's absolutely no reluctance on my part as chair to issue the subpoena.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOX: Republican colleagues who he may have to hear from because there are questions about who Trump talked to that day. And, of course, there are questions about the former president himself and whether he will testify. You're hearing there from Thompson, he's not closing the door from hearing from Trump. He's not closing the door on hearing from Republican colleagues, including people like Kevin McCarthy. I asked him very directly, do you want to hear from the minority leader, and he said, I'm not going to make any promises right now, but we're going to hear from who we need to hear from.
So this is going to be a long journey. This is not going to be something that is probably going to be wrapped up even by the end of the year. And if you remember, that bipartisan commission they were trying to negotiate, that was guaranteed to end by the end of the year. This is very different than that. This is going to take some time, Brianna.
KEILAR: And that was Bennie Thompson, who worked with Republican Congressman Katko to come up with that proposal, just to be clear, when we're talking about the person now overseeing this committee.
FOX: Well, that's exactly right. This was not his first choice. He didn't want to be the chairman of the select committee. What he was hoping was they could come up with some kind of agreement and he worked with Katko for months to create a commission.
Now, when that fell through in the Senate, he saw an opportunity that this investigation still needed to move forward. And, of course, Speaker Pelosi has made it clear, she wanted to get those answers, too.
But, you know, he's making it very clear here that he realizes Republicans are opposed to some of this. There are still questions about who McCarthy is going to appoint to lead the Republicans on this committee. But one thing is very clear to me, Benny Thompson is not mincing words, that if Republicans want to make this a side show, that's on them. He told me, if you want to use your five minutes of questioning to, quote, look stupid, then that's how you're representing your constituent. That's not what this committee is really supposed to be for.
KEILAR: All right, Lauren, great reporting, as always, on what we're seeing with this committee. Appreciate it.
San Jose is becoming the first city in the nation to make gun owners pay for gun violence. But is it legal?
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, Richard Branson making a kind of history, successfully reaching the edge of space aboard his Virgin Galactic space plane. So what does this mean for the future of space tourism?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RICHARD BRANSON, FOUNDER, VIRGIN GALACTIC: For the next generation of dreamers, if we can do this, just imagine what you can do. Yeah!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:38:29]
BERMAN: Richard Branson making a kind of history, becoming the first person to ride into space aboard a rocket that he helped fund. Branson's flight, a landmark moment for the commercial space industry.
CNN's Rachel Crane live in Las Cruces, New Mexico, near where this launch happened.
Rachel.
RACHEL CRANE, CNN BUSINESS INNOVATION AND SPACE CORRESPONDENT: John, this flight was 17 years in the making and a dream come true for Branson. Delay after delay and a fatal crash back in 2014 had led skeptics to doubt whether or not this flight would ever take off. But luckily for Branson and space enthusiasts around the globe, this test flight was described as flawless.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CRANE (voice over): An historic flight nearly two decades in the making. Billionaire Richard Branson becoming the first person to take a trip on a self-funded spacecraft.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Release, release, release.
CRANE: The entire journey captured and broadcast on a live stream, all taking place in about an hour.
RICHARD BRANSON, FOUNDER, VIRGIN GALACTIC: It's the complete experience of a lifetime.
CRANE: Virgin Galactic's ship rocketing more than 50 miles above earth, high enough to even experience weightlessness.
BRANSON: To the next generation of dreamers, if we can do this, just imagine what you can do.
CRANE: Branson and his crew safely returning to earth, celebrating their mission accomplished.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, this here is Sir Richard Branson, astronaut.
[06:40:02]
CRANE: I spoke to the 70-year-old after the successful landing. CRANE (on camera): But you've now been back on earth for a couple of
hours. So tell us, what was this experience like for you?
BRANSON: Look, I've dreamt of going to space since I was a kid. I've always pictured what it would be like. And it was just far more extraordinary than I could ever, ever imagine.
SIRISHA BANDLA, VP OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS AND RESEARCH, VIRGIN GALACTIC: Everything from the blackness, contrast with the earth is just deafening. It's incredible.
CRANE (voice over): In the billionaire race to space, Branson beating his competitors, launching his first flight before Jeff Bezos on Blue Origin and Elon Musk via SpaceX. Bezos is sending his congratulations on social media, adding, can't wait to join the club. Branson offering this advice to the Amazon founder in return.
BRANSON: I hope he can have as wonderful a voyage as we had and just do your training. You know, I mean it's important to get that sort of, you know, seven days of training before you go.
CRANE: Virgin Galactic plans to launch at least one more test flight before allowing paying customers to fly. The price tag for a seat, up to a quarter million dollars. And while they wait, Branson says he's taking some time for himself to rest before planning any future feats.
CRANE (on camera): Are you eager to go back up?
BRANSON: I would go back tomorrow if I didn't feel I was taking a seat away from the many hundreds of people who have already signed to go up and the many hundreds of people who will want to sign up.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CRANE: Now, John, Bezos' flight is scheduled just eight days from now. So these two flights together really indicate that we are on the precipice of a new era in space flight. A day, you know, very close in the future, John, you and I could both be traveling to space one day.
John.
BERMAN: Yes, all we need is a few hundred dollars to come our way. You know, a new era for really, really rich people. But it is -- it is a milestone to be sure.
Rachel Crane, thank you very much.
Brianna.
KEILAR: Yes, I want to know when it -- we're going to get to like megabus (ph) prices, right? That's what I want to know. So let's bring in --
BERMAN: $49 and free wi-fi.
KEILAR: Exactly. Let's bring in Hakeem Oluseyi to talk about this. He's an
astrophysicist and he's a professor at George Mason University.
You know, this, obviously, gets a lot of attention, Richard Branson going to space. Do you see this trip as ground breaking as he sees it?
HAKEEM OLUSEYI, ASTROPHYSICIST: Well, I don't know if I see it as ground breaking as he sees it, but it's certainly ground breaking.
We already had a billionaire start the space race, the tourism space race back in the late '90s, in 1998. And so there were several space tourists that went to space in the early 2000s before this but more in a standard model. And that was, take up a rocket, go to the Space Station, hang out for several days, then come back down to earth.
This is something completely new. And this is a different manifestation of space tourism. So instead of going and staying at a space hotel, right, you just kind of go and hang out, see the earth, see space, and then come back to earth. And it's just a day.
KEILAR: Yes. It's very, very quick.
How will Jeff Bezos' trip be different, do you think?
OLUSEYI: Well, listen, it's a completely different model. They're coming down on parachutes. They're not going down on a plane. They're going up on a rocket. So it's a completely different takeoff and landing experience. But they go to about the same altitude. So as far as the space experience goes, they'll be very similar.
KEILAR: And how often do you think that we're going to be seeing these trips happen? It's very rapid succession right now.
OLUSEYI: Yes, well, listen, you know, what we're doing right now is, we're under a mode that the government calls sort of a learning mode, right? So that means that the government regulations around things like safety for passengers and tourists isn't where it's going to be. So once we get out of the learning mode and get into the regular space tourism, then we're going to start to see how the business is actually going to pan out.
But let's remember, as far as the new space economy goes, space tourism is just a small part of it.
KEILAR: When do we get to the point -- we were joking about it --
OLUSEYI: Yes.
KEILAR: But where it's affordable?
OLUSEYI: Listen, you're talking -- you're speaking to the choir here, right? I want to go. Well, look, when we started, tickets were in the tens of millions. Now they're in the hundreds of thousands. And there is visions for even getting it down to about $2,500.
But look at what we're talking now. We used to have the concord of hypersonic craft. Now with space planes, one of the most common uses may just be to travel around earth. But you get to do it a lot more quickly if you go into space.
KEILAR: That's right. That would be crazy.
OLUSEYI: Yes.
KEILAR: Hakeem, it is great to have your perspective on this.
OLUSEYI: Thank you.
KEILAR: Thank you so much.
OLUSEYI: Thanks for having me.
KEILAR: There's been a new arrest in Haiti connected to the assassination of the president. So we're going to see what police are saying about how the suspect allegedly recruited mercenaries who carried out the attack.
[06:45:02]
BERMAN: Plus, lies, conspiracies and political attacks. The dangerous rhetoric on display at the conservative conference over the weekend.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BERMAN: Breaking overnight, police in Haiti announced they arrested a man accused of flying into the country on a private jet and working with the masterminds behind the assassination of the president there.
CNN has the latest from the ground.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Matt Rivers in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, where the investigation into the assassination of President Jovenel Moise is continuing with authorities holding a press conference here on Sunday night, in part to announce the arrest of a 63-year-old man they say was born here in Haiti. They allege this man actually helped recruit and then organize the Colombian mercenaries that the Haitian government alleges actually carried out this assassination.
[06:50:06]
Upon raiding that 63-year-old man's home, authorities here say they found multiple boxes of ammunition and shooting targets.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BERMAN: Our thanks to Matt Rivers on the ground there.
Joining us now is Haitian rapper and anti-trafficking activist Christopher Laroche. He goes by the name Freedom.
Listen, we appreciate you being with us.
What are you hearing from your friends and family who are in Haiti right now?
CHRISTOPHER "FREEDOM" LAROCHE, HAITIAN RAPPER AND ANTI-TRAFFICKING ACTIVIST: Well, everyone's been quite shocked and saddened by the assassination of the president. First and foremost, I want to present my condolences to the Haitian people and wish a speedy recovery to the first lady.
Everyone has really been going through it. It's -- it opened our eyes to the seriousness of the situation, how it can get to everyone's house. When we look at the situation, this should have never happened. And we're hoping that the future can make it brighter for us because we deserve something different.
BERMAN: What conditions are people living under right now where it's not in any way clear who's running the country?
LAROCHE: Well, I'm going to say that I was born and raised in Haiti. And ever since it started, it's just been getting worse. It's just been getting worse and the people -- the people deserve to see the future, a brighter future.
Haitian youth (ph) has always had a tremendous potential. And the opportunities lack. We have no unemployment -- we have no employment. We're in a place where the dream, the ability to have a dream doesn't exist. And it's time for us Haitian people to come together to change that.
BERMAN: What do you think Haiti needs now from the United States? There's been a request for at least one of the people who claims power for the United States to send in troops.
LAROCHE: Well, I feel that the United States should help Haiti stands on its own two feet and that Haiti is one of the most beautiful places in the world. So the best thing that the U.S. could do is help us uplift our people and create a better future.
BERMAN: And I want to give you a second to speak directly to the people in Haiti right now. What's your message to them?
LAROCHE: My message to the people in Haiti is to stay strong. And that if we bring together all types of Haitians, that we can have an effect on the future. We're one of the most beautiful people in the world. We're one of the most beautiful countries in the world. We have beaches. We have mountains. We have rich soil. We have a rich history. We have a rich culture. I want us to come together to make a difference in the future. That's the message.
BERMAN: Christopher "Freedom" Laroche, we appreciate you being with us this morning. We wish you, your friends and your family all the best.
LAROCHE: Thank you. Have a blessed day.
BERMAN: So a state of emergency underway in Tokyo just 11 days before the Olympics is set to begin.
KEILAR: Plus, President Biden fired the head of the Social Security Administration. But he's refusing to leave and he says he will show up to work today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[06:57:36]
KEILAR: Between the euro final, Wimbledon men's final and the NBA finals, it was quite the weekend for sports.
Andy Scholes has more in this morning's "Bleacher Report."
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning, Brianna.
You know, it was certainly an incredible sports weekend. Start with game three of the NBA finals last night. And this is the game the Bucks had to win because they just could not afford to fall behind 0-3 to the Suns. And you had thousands of Bucks fans outside the arena, in the (INAUDIBLE) district, watching the game on the big screens. First NBA finals game in Milwaukee since 1974.
And Giannis Antetokounmpo, a man on a mission in this one again. He would go for 41 points, 13 rebounds, second-straight finals game he poured in more than 40. Now, the Suns were trying to hang in there in the second half. Cameron Johnson, an incredible dunk on P.J. Tucker, plus the foul. But the Bucks would go on a 24-6 run to end the third quarter. They go on to win game three, 120-100. Suns still lead that series, 2-1. Game four is Wednesday night where the fans will certainly be rocking again.
But maybe not as rowdy as the English soccer fans at the Euro finals yesterday at Wembley Stadium. Tens of thousands of people were ready to celebrate England's first major title since 1966, but it ended in heartbreak in what was a drama-filled penalty kick. England missing three straight to give Italy their first Euro title since 1968. Now, the three black England players who missed kicks were subjected to racial abuse online after the game. The English Football Association and Prince William condemning the abuse, saying those responsible should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
And, you know, guys, this certainly is a shame that such an amazing sporting event like that Euro final that we saw yesterday was scarred by people saying racist things online.
BERMAN: The racist stuff just reprehensible, Andy, no question about it.
From a purely sports perspective, I hate penalty kicks to decide championships. I just do. They play -- they pay -- it was their seventh game. They played two hours, 90 minutes of regulation then 30 minutes of extra time and then you decide on penalty kicks?
SCHOLES: So --
BERMAN: It's crazy. It's like deciding a basketball game on free- throws at the end.
SCHOLES: Well --
BERMAN: It just doesn't make sense.
SCHOLES: Well, Berman, I mean, you've run around for 120 minutes, like you just said. I mean what would you suggest, they just keep running around forever until someone finally scores?
BERMAN: Exactly. That's exactly what I suggest. They used to have goal to (ph) goal. Just do it. Keep playing.
SCHOLES: So I have heard one fun solution.
[07:00:00]
It would be, every few minutes you take one person off the field on each team. So maybe you end up with a five on five on a giant field. That might be fun. But I just don't think you can have those guys.
