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Committee Votes To Subpoena Trump: "We Want To Hear From Him"; Parkland Families Devastated That Jury Spared Shooter's Life; Colorado Deputies Reunite Family With Missing Support Dog. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired October 14, 2022 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Alongside Ukrainians. We're going to speak to his sister, ahead.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN ANCHOR: And the January 6 Committee voting unanimously to subpoena former President Donald Trump. We'll be speaking to two Trump White House officials who have been very outspoken about their former boss.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. BENNIE THOMPSON (D-MS): The clerk will report the vote.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Chairman, on this vote, there are nine ayes and zero nos.

THOMPSON: The resolution is agreed to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And with that, the House select committee investigating January 6 unanimously voting to subpoena former President Donald Trump. The vote comes after an hours-long hearing in which the committee introduced some new testimony and evidence to show that Trump knew he had lost the election but still went forward with efforts to overturn the results.

Joining us now is Sarah Matthews. She is a former deputy White House press secretary who worked for the Trump White House. She resigned after the insurrection and testified before the committee back in July.

And we're also joined by Gavin Smith. He is a former Trump White House official who has also become a vocal critic of the former president.

[07:35:02]

I just wonder, for both of you -- you know, Sarah, what stood out to you from what you heard yesterday?

SARAH MATTHEWS, FORMER DEPUTY WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY UNDER PRESIDENT TRUMP: I think the most compelling thing that we saw yesterday was the footage that Nancy Pelosi's daughter captured while they were in the Capitol. I mean, myself, watching it, I was extremely disturbed and just shocked to see how calm she was knowing that -- everything that was going on, but she handled the situation. And I think she was forced to have to make those calls and stay calm because the president wasn't making those calls. He didn't lift the phone once that day to call and help his own vice president and the lawmakers inside the building who were under attack. So that was extremely disturbing to see.

MARQUARDT: Gavin, what did you think when this hearing culminated with the subpoena of the former president? Do you think there's any chance that he's going to comply?

GAVIN SMITH, FORMER WHITE HOUSE TRUMP OFFICIAL: Yes, you know, I think in my time working for Donald Trump, one thing that I learned is simply, Donald Trump can't avoid a show. So if the committee were to agree to carry this on national television, I'm just not convinced that he wouldn't show up for simply the fact that he could say he had the best ratings -- you know, all of the above. All of the things that Donald Trump likes to say. So, yes, I do think that there's an instance.

Now, there's a question of will he? I'm not really sure. Does he want to? Yes, I think he does.

KEILAR: Would you like to see that?

MATTHEWS: To be honest, I just think there's no chance that he would. If he has any good lawyers around him they would advise him not to. But Gavin has a good point. He, I think, would like to maybe make a spectacle out of it.

But I do think that Donald Trump, yesterday, made a point where he said why is the committee just subpoenaing me now? Why didn't this come earlier? And I do wish that maybe the committee had issued the subpoena a little bit earlier because, at this hour, there's no reason for him to comply with a subpoena knowing that there's a chance that the committee won't exist next Congress.

MARQUARDT: Yes, we kind of knew where the committee was heading and certainly, in terms of the culpability of Donald Trump.

I want to play a little bit more sound from the chairman, Bennie Thompson, who speaks to that point. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMPSON: We have left no doubt -- none -- that Donald Trump led an effort to upend American democracy that directly resulted in the violence of January 6. He tried to take away the voice of the American people in choosing their president and replace the will of the voters with his will to remain in power. He is the one person at the center of the story of what happened on January 6.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: And Gavin, this is a point that they've been making over and over again. And obviously, this was the last hearing. But why do you think they waited until this late hour, when there's a very good chance this committee gets disbanded in the next Congress, to issue this subpoena?

SMITH: Well, look, I'm not an attorney, though oftentimes, what you see is that when investigations begin, they begin very broad and then they narrow in scope. And I think what we've seen over time is that this investigation -- all paths have led to Donald Trump.

So at the end of the day, when you see that footage yesterday, what you saw was all these members of Congress and the vice president -- they were leading. What was Donald Trump doing? He was sitting in the White House in the dining room, eating and apparently throwing catsup against the wall or whatever it was -- those allegations.

And at the end of the day, Donald Trump was called on to lead and he failed the test. And I think that proves what me and many of my colleagues have been saying, is that it's been less about American first and more about -- more about Donald Trump first.

KEILAR: Republicans have been saying -- and Republican supporters of President Trump's, in Congress -- they said in response -- many of them -- to what they saw yesterday that there was really nothing new that came out of the hearing.

Did you learn anything new? I mean, did you see new things coming out of that hearing?

MATTHEWS: Yes. I do think that there was new information. We had the footage with Speaker Pelosi, but also the Secret Service messages that were shown. We learned that it was, I believe, 10 days prior t the Capitol attack that Secret Service was aware there was going to be violence. And that's new information to me.

And so, I think that -- I'm looking forward to the report to see just how much they were aware of the violence prior to the attack and what that coordination was between law enforcement.

KEILAR: You guys, thank you so much for joining us after such a pivotal day on the Hill with this testimony -- or with this hearing I should say. Thank you so much.

SMITH: Thank you.

MATTHEWS: Yes, thank you.

KEILAR: A suspect is now in custody after five people were killed in a mass shooting in North Carolina. We have a live report ahead.

MARQUARDT: And parents in Parkland, Florida now reeling from a jury verdict that spared the killer of their children from the death penalty. Next, we'll speak with a mother of one of the victims who is trying to pass a national law in her daughter's name to make schools safer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LORI ALHADEFF, MOTHER OF PARKLAND SHOOTING VICTIM ALYSSA ALHADEFF: Your job as a police officer is to go in, engage, and take down the threat. And if you can't do that, don't do the job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:44:10]

KEILAR: No death penalty. That is the jury's recommendation in the case against the Parkland shooter who killed 17 people in one of the deadliest school shootings in American history. Now, prosecutors are asking the court to investigate a reported threat that one juror felt threatened by another juror during deliberations. This, after devastated family members listened in agony as the judge read the jury's recommendation to spare the life of the convicted killed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBBIE HIXON, WIFE OF PARKLAND SHOOTING VICTIM CHRIS HIXON: What it says to me, what it says to my family, what it says to the other families is that his life meant more than the 17 that were murdered and the 17 that were shot.

ANNE RAMSAY, MOTHER OF PARKLAND SHOOTING VICTIM HELENA RAMSAY: Today, we let someone off that murdered 17 people in cold blood. What kind of people are we? There should be an automatic penalty for someone that does that.

[07:45:04]

FRED GUTTENBERG, FATHER OF PARKLAND VICTIM JAIME GUTTENBERG: This jury failed our families today. This decision today only makes it more likely that the next mass shooting will be attempted.

ALHADEFF: I sent my daughter to school and she was shot eight times. I am so beyond disappointed and frustrated with this outcome. I do not understand. I just don't understand this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Lori Alhadeff is that last mother that you heard from. She's with us now. Her 14-year-old daughter Alyssa was one of the 17 victims who died that day.

Lori, what was it like hearing this decision that it sounds like you, definitely, and the other families were not expecting?

ALHADEFF: I was so disappointed. I was just sitting there numb, in shock. I couldn't even believe what I was hearing.

KEILAR: And when you hear now -- you know, I'm sure you're probably curious about what went into this decision-making process. We're hearing now that one juror felt threatened by another juror. We don't know which juror that was but clearly, there was acrimony in these deliberations.

What do you make of that?

ALHADEFF: So, I thought the deliberations actually happened very quickly. I thought that decision when it came yesterday morning -- that it was going to be life in prison. I was shocked and surprised how quickly that they did deliberate that this outcome was the life in prison and not the death penalty. And I just would have wanted the jurors to spend more time going through the evidence -- really trying to convince them -- everyone -- all 12 jurors -- that this animal should be getting the death penalty.

KEILAR: So you thought that they would deliver the death penalty and the fact that they were coming back so quickly told you that they were going to deliver the death penalty. You thought that if they'd spent more time that might be an indication that they weren't going to deliver the death penalty. Is that right?

ALHADEFF: Correct. I just don't understand how quickly they came to this decision. They had time and they really should have gone through the evidence. It almost makes me feel like that there was somebody that already had this notion that they were going to have life in prison. That they were never going to give the death penalty.

KEILAR: So you have a question of did someone come into deliberations with their mind already made up?

ALHADEFF: Absolutely.

KEILAR: I want to ask you. You've been working to pass Alyssa's Law nationwide, which is a law that addresses the law enforcement response time. And I was hoping you could tell us a little bit about this. This is something that would allow people in schools to trigger an alarm very quickly to summon help.

ALHADEFF: So, if you to our website makeourschoolssafe.org you can find out more information about Alyssa's Law, which we have already passed in Florida, New Jersey, and New York. In a life-threatening emergency situation we want to empower our teachers to push a button -- a panic button that's directly linked to law enforcement so they can get on the scene as quickly as possible to go in, engage, take down the threat or triage any of the victims. Time equals life.

KEILAR: It certainly does. I think we've all watched and can agree with that.

Lori, thank you so much. We're so sorry for everything that you go through and continue to go through every day, and we appreciate you speaking with us this morning. ALHADEFF: Thank you.

KEILAR: Coming up, we'll have more of the never-before-seen video of congressional leaders frantically calling for help as the rioters closed in on January 6.

MARQUARDT: And Colorado sheriff's deputies going beyond the call of duty to reunite a family and their golden retriever. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:53:49]

MARQUARDT: A golden retriever who served as a Colorado family's support dog is back home after wandering the mountains outside of Colorado Springs for nearly three months. The owner credits some area -- credits some area sheriff's deputies -- excuse me -- for orchestrating the long-awaited reunion.

CNN's Lucy Kafanov has the details of the deputies' willingness to go beyond the call of duty.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAYLOR SALAZAR, DOG OWNER: Come here. Come here. Come over here.

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Taylor Salazar's family, this golden retriever is no ordinary dog.

SALAZAR: There you go. I bought Farrah for my husband who was battling stage 4 stomach cancer in 2019.

KAFANOV (voice-over): For three months, Farrah was his faithful companion, with him until he drew his final breath.

SALAZAR: He loved her. She's brought a lot of happiness into our home.

KAFANOV (voice-over): But this June, tragedy struck again. Taylor's dad had a seizure while driving with Farrah and crashed.

SALAZAR: They had to use jaws for life to get him out of it.

KAFANOV (voice-over): Both survived but a spooked Farrah fled the scene. Her disappearance sparked a frantic search.

SALAZAR: Three times a day -- morning, noon, and night -- looking for her and searching for her.

KAFANOV (voice-over): Desperate, Taylor pleaded for help on social media, writing, "I feel like we are running out of time." The post caught the attention of the Fremont County Sheriff's Office.

[07:55:04] DEPUTY WILLIAM SAUNDERS, FREMONT COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: We do have mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes here -- raccoons. I wouldn't expect a dog like a very sweet golden retriever to survive that long up here.

KAFANOV (voice-over): As days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months, Taylor began to lose hope.

SALAZAR: We hadn't seen her in a while. Nobody's seen her. So I was like well, maybe that -- maybe she's gone.

KAFANOV (voice-over): But locals kept spotting here, as did surveillance cameras.

SALAZAR: They called her the ghost of eight mile because you'd see her and then you wouldn't see her.

KAFANOV (voice-over): For nearly three months, no luck until the Fremont County deputies stepped in with a novel idea.

(Drone taking off)

KAFANOV (voice-over): Deputies Will Saunders and Justin Toppins decided to launch their department's high-end police drone equipped with a thermal infrared camera.

SAUNDERS: You going to light it up?

KAFANOV (voice-over): Five minutes are takeoff, they struck gold.

JUSTIN TOPPINS, FREMONT COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Yes, that's her. Good job.

It was honestly just complete luck. We saw a heat signature that we thought was -- kind of looked like a coyote and we switched to our color view and pretty quickly saw that it was the dog that we'd been looking for.

SALAZAR: Come on, Farrah.

KAFANOV (on camera): How does it feel to have her back?

SALAZAR: It's amazing.

KAFANOV (voice-over): Although Farrah is several pounds lighter and has some interesting new habits --

SALAZAR: She howls like a coyote. I never heard that before.

KAFANOV (voice-over): -- Taylor is grateful to the deputies for bringing her best friend home.

SALAZAR: They are our family. They are our heroes. We wouldn't have her without them. And just that they were willing to help us in something that seemed impossible is -- we're forever grateful.

SAUNDERS: You asking for belly rubs? KAFANOV (voice-over): Our cameras captured the moment Farrah reunited with her rescuers.

SAUNDERS: Well, we're glad to see her happy and well.

SALAZAR: We wouldn't have her without you.

KAFANOV (voice-over): The deputies say it's all part of the job.

SAUNDERS: Our duty is to help people and Taylor needed this really bad. Our job isn't necessarily just law enforcement. We like to help our communities and that's what it's all about for us.

KAFANOV (voice-over): Lucy Kafanov, CNN, Cripple Creek, Colorado.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARQUARDT: How can you not go beyond the call for a dog like that?

KEILAR: I'm just -- five minutes -- five minutes and they had a heat signature. What luck.

MARQUARDT: And it looks and now howls like a coyote.

KEILAR: That's so funny.

MARQUARDT: All right, NEW DAY continues right now.

KEILAR: A powerful closing argument by the January 6 Committee voting to subpoena the former president, and never-before-seen video of lawmakers fleeing the Capitol and frantically trying to bring an end to the insurrection.

I am Brianna Keilar. John Berman is off this morning and Alex Marquardt is here with us. Thank you for being here.

MARQUARDT: It's nice to be with you.

KEILAR: The vote to subpoena former President Trump -- it was unanimous. Committee members saying they want him to answer for his actions. We're expecting a response from Trump to their demands here at any moment.

MARQUARDT: And the January 6 Committee also unveiling never-before- seen video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rushing to safety as the Capitol mob closed in. And in new video obtained exclusively by CNN, congressional leaders are seen frantically working the phones trying to quell the riot and finish certifying the 2020 presidential election.

CNN's Kristen Holmes joins us now with more of the exclusive video.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Alex, I think we all thought that we had seen every single video that existed of January 6, right? We've seen all the social media video that was portrayed. We have seen all of the documentaries that were done on this day.

But this is really stunning. This is a behind-the-scenes look at what lawmakers were doing as they were trying to lead and take control of that situation on January 6.

And I talked to a number of Trump aides -- former Trump aides who thought that they'd seen everything. But even they were surprised, particularly by Trump's inaction on that day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES (voice-over): It's never-before-seen footage.

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): (INAUDIBLE).

HOLMES (voice-over): House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shown fleeing the U.S. Capitol as it was under attack on January 6. The videos captured by her daughter, Alexandra Pelosi, a documentary filmmaker.

PELOSI: We have got to finish the proceedings or else (INAUDIBLE).

HOLMES (voice-over): She provided some of her footage to the January 6 select committee who played clips in their hearing Thursday.

But in the roughly hour of additional footage obtained exclusively by CNN, we see lawmakers transforming Fort McNair, a military base two miles away, into a command center to communicate with Vice President Mike Pence and others -- even considering reconvening the congressional proceedings at the military base.

PELOSI: We're being told it could take days to clear the Capitol and that we should be moving everyone here to get the job done. We're at (bleep), which has facilities for the House and the Senate to meet. We'd rather go to the Capitol and do it there but it doesn't seem to be safe.

HOLMES (voice-over): While Pence evacuated the Senate chamber, he stayed behind in the Capitol with his security detail.

PELOSI: I worry about you being in that Capitol dome. Don't let anybody know where you are.

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): Yes, I'd like to know a good goddamn reason why it's been denied.