Transcripts For CNNW CNN 20240703

Defiance and determined to stay in office. Democratic senator bob menendez says he will be exonerated after hes indicted on Bribery Charges as members from his own party are calling for him to resign. Hes got time, money and options, House Speaker Kevin Mccarthy is ramping up the pressure on hardliners in his own party as the government moves towards a potential shutdown. And we have a tentative deal, the Writers Strike that has Paralyzed Hollywood for months might finally be over. What comes next. Were following the major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to cnn news central. Hes not going anywhere. A short time ago, democratic senator bob menendez made his first number comments about the federal Bribery Charges hes now facing amid mounting calls from his own party for him to resign, the embattled new jersey senator said this i understand how deeply concerning this can be. However, the allegations leveled against me are just that. Allegations. I recognize this will be the biggest fight yet. But as i have stated throughout this whole process, i firmly believe that when all of the facts are presented, not only will i be exonerated, but i still will be new jerseys senior senator. This is actually the second time hes faced corruptionrelated charges just in the last ten years, the prior federal indictment resulted in a mistrial and his acquittal. Cnns Kara Scannell has been following the story. Kara, Senator Menendez leaned into his record, and of course, you heard him say in his remarks, hell be exonerated. Will that be the case . Reporter yeah, jake, the senator has been charged in a threecount indictment alleging that he was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and gold bars and in a convertible mercedesbenz that his wife had received, all in exchange for helping three new jersey businessmen in aiding the government of egypt. This is where the senator leaned in today in his first public remarks. He talked about his record on egypt. Saying hes tough on egypt. Taught him on human rights abuses. And held up the military aid referenced in the indictment. He also addressed the hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash that the fbi found stuffed in a Jacket Bearing his name when they searched his home last year. Take a listen. Remember, prosecutors get it wrong sometimes. Sadly, i noseknow that. For 30 years i have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal Savings Account which i have kept for emergencies. And because of the history of my family Facing Confiscation in cuba. Now, this may seem oldfashioned, but these were monies drawn from my personal Savings Account, based on the income that i have lawfully der derived over those 30 years. Reporter now, there are growing calls from democrats, and many in new jersey, for him to resign. And the senate saying that he has not lost the confidence of his constituents. He pointed to a number of them in the room today, who he brought in here to support him, and with this Press Conference in a statement in a building in union city, new jersey, this is where he grew up, and where he first started his political career, today in the same place, did doubling down that he is not going anywhere. Jim. So formally, what happens next in this case, in terms of court appearances, his chances to respond . Reporter yes, so, he will appear in federal court in Lower Manhattan on wednesday, along with his wife and those three other codefendants. That is when is the first time he will face these charges in a court of law. Its possible he will be arraigned on those charges. Seeming today hes expecting a plea of not guilty. From there, begins the usual process which could take, likely takes several months to play out. And that is going to intersect with this question will he run for reelection. And hes up this year. Its the first time we saw an indictment and someone still runs for office. Kara scannell, union city, new jersey, thank you. Lets talk with jennifer rogers, and cnn political commentator errol louis. Errol, what stood out to you about the Press Conference that the senator held . A lot of what stood out for me is what he did not talk about. He was very emphatic and said that while it might seem strange to the rest of us, its perfectly normal, at least acceptable, that he would hide 500,000 in his home. He just didnt believe in the banking system. Hes the son of immigrants. You never know what might happen was essentially what he said. What he did not get into, the other people in that caption, including his wife, its not u. S. Versus robert menendez. Its et. Al. He didnt pressure them to go eases on his Business Associates or employees, efforts to maybe swag who he was nominating to become a u. S. Attorney in new jersey. Theres a lot discussed there, including those famous gold bullion, those gold bars that literally have the serial numbers of one of the businessmen alleged to have bribed his family. The payments for the mercedesbenz. He didnt touch on any of that, and he didnt have to, obviously. But i want to hear a whole lot more about that, the general posture of saying im being politically persecuted is one thing. But thats not what is in the indictment. The indictment has specific crimes for which he has to answer to in court and public. He did, jennifer, specifically address the cash saying it came from his personal savings, and over the course of years, based on income that was lawfully derived. So what happens with that . Will he have to prove that . Could that come back to have bite him if that is not the case . Oh, it sure do, brianna, hes begging the government to do an unexplained wealth analysis to put up there what he makes as a senator, what investments bring in, the property, et cetera. And then explain how he has that kind of cash just sitting around the house, errol is right, if it were just the cash and didnt have the Treasure Trove of Text Messages and emails and mercedesbenz and kthe noshow job and theres a lot of evidence here vastly than the first time around. This is a very different and more dangerous case. Talk about this for sure, why is more dangerous . Why is there more evidence . Why is he in more peril than last time . Well, they worked really hard to collect evidence here, they had, i think, a wiretap on the Text Messages of menendezs wife. That just gave the whole scheme. She was talking to the other defendants what it was they wanted menendez to do. And his influence. Talking what about he was going to get. And cover. Up stuff. They bought the mercedesbenz effectively. As soon as they got a visit from authorities, and nknew they wer under investigation, they tried to paper it back. And without the money, with the Person Bribing Menendez the last time was actually a close friend of his, a preexisting relationship. Which i think the jury kind of confused whats he doing for himself because of the friendship or the bribes. This time around, theres no such thing. Its truly transactions. Errol, lets talk about the politics of this because we have someone, you know, through his wife and through an intermediary, shared sensitive, nonpublic information about the u. S. Embassy in cairo with an Egyptian Government official. This is very serious business. He was, temporarily stepped down as the chairman of the Senate Foreign relations committee. Politically, how do democrats, aside from Senator Fetterman who has called for him to resign, how do they kind of hold their fire at this point in time . When you have someone who is still in a position to do harm in this role in the senate . Yeah. Well, listen, putting aside the n senate, right there in new jersey, the democratic governor of new jersey has called for him to step down. This is a world away from the last time Senator Menendez was in ethical trouble when the democratic establishment essentially lined up behind him and supported him. Hes asking them, that was really a big part of todays Press Conference, hes asking them to withhold judgment, hang in there in more of the facts are known and not just sort of throw him overboard. But as your question suggests that poses political peril for the rest of the party, both In Washington and in new jersey. And its not clear theyre going to endure that kind of danger. The notion look, the big part against republicans up to and including the race for president is about ethics, its about having a government that is above board, not taking eing fo bribes. This flies in the face of that, hes a very inconvenient democrat right now. There are a number of democrats who have called for him to resign. But the senate is a different story and there are a lot of People Holding his fire in his party there. Errol and jennifer, its so great to have both of you take us through. Thank you. Jim. House speaker Kevin Mccarthy is again pushing back on members of his own party, warning house hardliners that shutting down the federal government in five days will be a big mistake. It comes as were learning now details about the white houses strategy this week to Ramp Up Pressure on House Republicans behind all of this, President Biden and top aides plan to repeatedly hammer home whats at stake for millions of americans. And emphasize that a handful of republican hardliners would be entirely to blame. Heres transportation secretary B Pete Buttigieg on todays state of the union. American people dont want to shut down. From what i can tell, the senate is ready to go, House Republicans need to come to their senses and keep the government running. Cnns Melanie Zanona is on capitol hill, following the latest shutdown threat. So, i feel like ive asked you this question, not just in the last three days, but in previous cycles, are they getting any closer to the point where they have the votes . Reporter jim, they are nowhere closer to avoiding a Government Shutdown but closer to that looming deadline on september 30th. Right now s, Speaker Mccarthy h been passed as many bills, and the hope is that will build goodwill with republicans and theyll rally around a shortterm conservative plan to keep the government open. But there are a couple of hurdles with that plan. First of all, its unclear whether the republicans either have the support to pass either longterm or shortterm Spending Bills. Second of all, if they do, those bills are dead on arrival in the senate. And you no you have former President Trump calling on ultimately the federal government to shut down if they dont get everything they want. And now Kevin Mccarthy trying to Ramp Up Pressure on his own members to fall in line. Take a listen. Well, you have to keep the government open, people want to keep the government, a week away, why would they want to stop page the troops or Border Agents or the coast guard . I dont understand how that makes you stronger . Or a point youre trying for make. Weve got a border thats wide open today. Its getting worse each month under joe biden. Weve got now Border Agents we saw this morning, why would you want to the stop paying those individuals. I couldnt understand somebody that would want to do that. Reporter of course, one way out of this mess is for Kevin Mccarthy to work with democrats. Over in the senate, Chuck Schumer has already taken steps to try to advance their own shortterm Spending Bill that would include Something Like ukraine aid and disaster funding. And Kevin Mccarthy has not yet committed to putting a bill like that on the floor. But if he did, jim, he could face a rightwing rebellion and face an immediate vote to try to remove him as speaker. So for Kevin Mccarthy it may ultimately come down to a choice between keeping the government over or keeping his speakers gavel. Its a great point. Brianna. After 146 days writers and members of the hold union have reached a tentative deal. The strike over Tv Production and movies appears to be over. Will of the actors make a deal next . Plus, Southeastern Border Cities pleading for help as they tell us the number of Mig Migrantings remain high. For and who doesnt like a good sample, one brought back by an asteroid and the good glues about the earth solar system. Coming soon, hollywood writers back at work. In fact, the 11000 plus members of the Writers Guild could get the green light to return to their jobs, after they reached a tentative deal over the weekend. And guild writers call it exceptional. There was a reception caught by the los angeles times. If you didnt make that out, theyre chanting thank you nedcom which is short for negotiating committee. This would end the second longest strike ever, 145 days. That has cost the industry an estimated 5 billion. Cnns Camila Bernal is in long los angeles. Give us the details of this tentative deal. Reporter so, brianna, so far theyve not been made public. Every writer i talked to said, look, we trust our committee and the wga. They believe theyre getting what they asked for including higher wages and guarantees for streams. And a. I. , and not knowing whats coming in the future, according to sources that spoke to cnn, that was actually the final sticking point, Artificial Intelligence. So, we know theres some sort of progress on that end. What happens here is theyre going to have to figure out what the language is going to look like. Thats what the wga is saying, theyre dotting every single i. And after they do that, then, theres going to be likely a vote tomorrow by the leadership. And then after that, it then gets made public. And were all able to see exactly whats in this contract. I want to read part of the statement from the wga, heres what theyre saying what we have won in this contract, most particularly everything that weve gained since may 2nd is due to the willingness of this membership to exercise its power, to demonstrate its solidarity. To walk side by side and endure the pain of the last 146 days. It really has not been easy for the industry, for many here in hollywood and beyond. Its just been tough over the last 146 days. So people are just so thankful and so excited to see this happen. One of the writers i talked to told me im ready to go back to making magic, to making stories. Thats kind of the thing youre hearing in hollywood today, brianna. What about the actors, the Screen Actors Guild has been on strike, 165,000 members. Theyve been on strike here. Yeah, thats what makes it harder to go back to normal even if there is a deal made by the wga, the actors are still on strike that means a lot of people are really not able to go back to work. The wga telling its members go out and telling its members to support the picket lines for s. A. G. Aftra, waiting to see whats in the deal, but saying theyre going to fight for their demands and the things theyre looking for. So its going to be a tough negotiation on that end as well but many do believe that this deal with the writers will likely encourage or speed up the deal with sagaftra, well see what happens, but for a lot of people in the industry, it means waiting even longer to go back to work. Camilla, thank you very much, jim. Josh rhett from atlanta is a member of the actors union sagaftra. Thank you. Good to be on. The writers and actors have issues that theyve been striking on. One is for better compensation from streaming. Another on technology, your image getting stolen used in a thousand different places. Or a. I. Taking over the jobs of writers. Based on what you know, granted theres a lot that you dont know, but based on the deal that they have struck, does it seem like the producers have largely met your demands, or willing to . Well, as i dont speak officially for sagaftra, but obviously, as a member, i will say that the feeling amongst us, the members, is that this is a good sign. I feel like its something that weve been waiting for, obviously, while weve been supporting the wga, this seems like, okay, maybe at this point, we can go back to that Negotiating Table and figure out something thats going to work for everybody. Because we all want to work. Thats all anyone wants to do. We just want to be fairly paid and to work. You can tell us how, just so folks at home understand it, because terms like a. I. Get thrown around, about everything you talk about these days. But can you explain how a. I. Technology has impacted your Work Compensation and your colleagues . Whats the real worry here . I think one of the biggest worries is, especially with background actors, this was mentioned during negotiations in the past, its scanning our likeness and then reusing it in perpetuity which obviously means forever. And being paid once. And that is something that seems completely outrageous to me. And i think one of the other big misconceptions about the strike itself is that all of the actors that you see on your television screen, at the movie theater, theyre all millionaires and were just hungry for more money. And that may be the case for the 1 but for like edveryone else, and other actors, we just want to work, we want a living wage and make enough for health insurance. We dont want the art to be lost in Artificial Intelligence because the art is human. Its us, its action, its connection. And that, to me, is a scary concept where its slowly no longer human and no longer real. The image piece, ive heard about this, you do one spot and all of a sudden you get calls, hey, i saw new a video game. Your face in the back of the crowd. Yes. Youre a tv actor, i think we have a clip of you from the show monarch. Another issue here were going to play it. The make of the rounds is that youre sick, thats why youre not performing. That youve got cancer, that youre even beyond the doctors. No more questions. Wow, you took a punch for being a reporter, ive got to say, i cant stand close to you and watch that. On the streaming issue, see, thats another one, right, everyone at home oh, yeah, im streaming. I betcha the actors, they must be making out great from these new shows and so on. But tell me what the reality is. The reality is that so much of the art thats being consumed by the consumer is now streaming. Its netflix, its hulu, and now if i have a show that airs on nbc, fox, et cetera, we know what those residuals are going to be because they can track how many times its been reaired, et cetera. Wereaftra with honestly an ancient contract for streaming that hasnt changed over the last decade. Because of that, we dont know how many times something has been watched or streamed that were on and the compensation does not equal the amount of people consuming that product. Its literally just wanting to be paid for your work. The same with the writers. It seems very elementary when you get down to it. But thats it. Its just fair wages. And equal pay. In 2023, were still saying that, equal pay, equal pay. I get it. A small part in the office gets paid more from that an a major part on streaming in part because of residuals, john rhett noble, we wish you luck and we hope that you and your union come to a settlement as well. Thank you for shedding light on what were going through. Appreciate it. Still ahead, a new deal could help slow down the migrants crossing into the United States. And the Alabama Dock Worker attacked in a brawl that drew National Attention now speaking out. Hear his story for the first time. Mexico has now made an agreement with the u. S. To deport migrants from its Border Cities back to their Home Countries. This is part of a new effort to combat a recent surge in border crossings. U. S. Officials still expect migrant crossings to remain high, at least in the near term. The mayor of el paso. Texas warns that the city is reaching a Breaking Point with more than 2,000 migrants coming in each day with overflow shelters to deal with that influx. Cnns rosa flores joins from us houston. Rosa, i want to get to the details of this agreement but, first, what is driving this latest wave of migrants . Reporter well, you know, jim, i talked to contacts and sources from both sides the border from the tip of texas all wait to california. And these are individuals who work with migrants. Who talk to migrants every day. And what they say that is driving this particular surge is misinformation, a lot of it flowing from migrants themselves who have already crossed into the United States, have been sending videos or having conversations with migrants on the border. And the migrants are saying ive been, quote, allowed into the United States. I have been released into the country. And the misinformation there, jim is the nuance. When individuals say theyve been, quote a allowed into the country, thats incorrect. A lot of these migrants have entered in between ports of entry. And what u. S. Border patrol has to do by law as an enforcement agency, they have to apply the law, they have to process these migrants. And some of them are allowed to enter allowed to stay in the country, pending immigration proceedings. Now if you ask u. S. Customs and border protection, they say lot of this information is big disseminated by cartels and information on the border. And ill add one other thing, texas said theres an increase in kidnappings in mexico as well, across the border from south texas in places, and a lot of migrants have to make the decision, do they stay in a violent location in mexico. D or do they take their chances. And cross into the United States. The smugglers get paid for this. This agreement, how does it work potentially it seems to have impact if mexico is sending migrants back to their Home Countries . Reporter you know, jim, this could be a gamechanger for the United States and the Biden Administration, at least for now. Because it could mean the difference between having another border surge and not. And we know that impacts the Biden Administration politically, especially right now. What the mexicans are saying theyre going to do is, quote, depressurize their northern Border Cities by deployed migrants back to their Home Countries and also using Law Enforcement and interdiction efforts to stop from using trains to get to the United States. In essence, what this means is that mexico will be in a way rerouting migrants out of the area, out of the northern border before they get to the United States. Now, as to what the u. S. Is doing, theyre having what they describe as mirror pa patrols. What this means, theyre coordinating with the mexicans on the border and theyre both patrolling at the same time. Theres Law Enforcement agencies on both sides of the border that can apprehend the migrants. In the United States, theyre processed under u. S. Law. In mexico, mexico saying theyre deported to their Home Countries. With the law, you get a hearing in the u. S. Rosa flores, thanks so much. Brianna. Canada has upgraded its Travel Warning to india and urging residents to be cautious. This is detailed in why Justin Trudeau accused the Indian Government of having a hand in a s sikh activist. Five eyes referring to the intelsharing pact between the u. S. , uk, canada, australia and new zealand. India denies the allegations, calling them absurd. And its relations with canada, though, have gone downhill since then. Cnns paula newton is joining us from ottawa on this. Paula, what more are you learning about this new intel . Reporter you know, whats interesting here is the fact that ambassador cohen would even utter such a thing, quite frankly. Some people have deemed that information from sources, but what is so sensitive here is the fact that the allegation of what Justin Trudeau calls credible intelligence actually may have come from indian diplomats here in canada. I want you, though, to listen to ambassador cohen speak for himself. There was shared intelligence among five eyes partners that helped lead canada to making the statements that the Prime Minister made. Reporter the State Department declined to repeat that to me in a statement, brianna. In fact, saying they do not comment on intelligence matters. And the ambassador has declined an interview with cnn. Putting all of that to one side, you can start to see how sensitive this is. Both countries, india and canada raising their travel alerts. There are protests planned in both countries. But more than anything, this is an incredibly sensitive topic, including for those countries you just mentioned and the five eyes but principally, the Biden Administration, india was supposed to be the centerpiece of this indo pacific strategy. It likely remains so. This spot between the two allies just doesnt do anyone any good. Were waiting to see if india continues to retaliate on this. Paula, thank you so much. Obviously, we know this continues as a story youll be watching. Jim. Former white house aide Cassidy Hutchinson speaking out for the First Time Since she testified about what exactly happened with trump on january 6. Her response to critics and what shed like to see in the 2024 race. Thats just ahead on cnn news central. Former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson says it would be easier for her, quote, continue to be complicit about what happened Behind The Scenes january 6 but instead, she chose to tell the truth to house investigators. Those comments came in the first tv interview since providing that testimony during the January 6th Hearings Last Summer which included this second hand story about the president allegedly attacking his own secret Service Agent on the day of the insurrection. The president reached up towards the front of the week to grab at the Steering Wheel. Mr. Engle grabbed his arm. Said, sir, you need to take your hand off the Steering Wheel. Were going back to the west wing. Were not going to the capitol. Mr. Trump then used his free hand to lunge towards bobby engle. Cnn senior crime and Investigative Reporter Katelyn Polantz has been following this story. What else should we learn, and we should mention that the former president denied the happening of events out there. Right, Cassidy Hutchinson is out there shes standing by to what she testified to in the house in those series of Testimony Interviews she gave in recounting those stories. One of the things, too, she was doing in the first interview with cbs was she was also being reflective about why she changed her story. Talking a little bit about how there was a lot of pressure on here, including lawyers that had been paid for by donald trump initially. And that she didnt recall thats what she said to the house at first, she is didnt recall things but she knew in her heart that actually she did remember and she did have more to say and thats why she went back in to be truthful. Heres a little bit more of what she said to cbs. I felt torn a lot of the time because i knew what i knew. And i wanted to come forward with what i knew. But at the same time, i didnt want to feel like i was betrag them. I heard the door click open and i turned around and looked at my attorney and i cant do this. And started to walk, and gently pushed my shoulders and said you can do this. Then we walked out. So in that interview as well, shes specifically saying she still stands by the story of donald trump that she heard, the one she heard of Donald Trump Lunging at the drive of the suv, at the Steering Wheel wanting to go to the capitol. If the others say they dont recall, perhaps they didnt, but she know what is she heard. Interesting. Katelyn polantz, thank you so much. Jim. To other headlines were watching at this hour, were hearing for the first time from the alabama dockworker at the summer montgomery brawl. Dameion pickett asked voters to move the position of the pontoon so his ship could dock. They refused. Heres what more he had to say about that violent incident. And move the boat, four steps to the right. Thats it. And im like, im just doing my job. After we dock, i dont mind you guys staying there, but not at this time while were trying to dock. What exactly were they saying to you at the time . Just, some cuss words like violent. The alcohol involved they got beers in their hands while theyre on the dock. So, i was trying my best to ignore them. Whats going through your mind at that time . The people on the boat, their safety. Getting everybody off and getting them home. Montgomery Police Charged four white people in that incident. They have pleaded not guilty. And set to appear in court this week. A black man who will hit someone with a Folding Chair has also pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor assault. Also, an italian mob boss captured for nearly 30 years has died in capture. Dubbed the last godfather, Mateo M Messino Dinaro for two of the italys prosecutors, the 61yearold who once claimed to have murdered enough people to fill a cemetery was suffering from cancer at the time of his arrest. And businesses from across the Midatlantic States are cleaning up after Tropical Storm ophelia. Its now been downgraded to a posttropical cyclone. But forecasters warn that the storm is Weakening Trekking up the coast, could remain drenching rains over the weekend. Localized floods are expected in some areas. Still ahead, its a time capsule of the ancient solar system. And now its in the hands of nasa. How a space rookck of 4. 5 billi years ago was dropped off by a spacecraft. Its pretty cool. Here in the bs and all of our stuff where we want to go. But, our cars cant take us e with unpaid tolls. Vehicles with overdue, unpaid tolls may not be able to renew their registration until outstanding balances are paid. Payment assistance is available. Visit bayareafastrak. Org ase so go pay your unpaid tolls y and keep your wheels on the delivery. Touchdown. Frc has touched down. What touched down . The space aye swren si has its hands on a sample from an asteroid seven years after launching to space. Cnns Christian Fisher joins us now. How did we get this little thing. How do we pick it up and get it back to earth . Nasa launched the osiris rex space craft, it travelled 4 billion miles to this asteroid called bennu. From there they had to circle it, orbit it, find the best place to get up close and collect the sample. H they thought it was going to be one big rock, but they explained it like a pit of plastic balls. Bennu almost grabbed the space craft itself, but they grabbed the sample and made its way back to earth. It reentered the earths atmosphere and landed a cool 11 miles an hour with the help of some big parachutes. Thats crazy. Very cool. What do we do with this now . Right now its in the process of being transported from where it landed in utah to the Johnson Space center. Scientists want to learn about if this was the type of asteroid that could have ceased Life On Earth all those years ago. Then theres the Planetary Defense aspect. Its an asteroid that has a small chance of Hitting Earth in 150 years. This has a special back story in that a rock star had a piece of discovering this rock. I had no idea about this until he mentioned it yesterday. Brian may, queens guitarist, also an astro physicist, he created images from the space crafts data and those images are what the teams used to learn where it would be safe to collect a sample from bennu. He played a Critical Role in this. He couldnt be there yesterday because he was rehearsing with queen for a concert. Special delivery for nasa. Special delivery for you a little while ago. Yes, baby number two. So glad to have her back. Six days until the government runs out of money. House speaker Kevin Mccarthy has a tough choice to make. Does he risk a shutdown to keep his job or does he work with democrats . Were live from the hill ahead. Senator menendez speaks publicly poor the First Time Since he was indicted. Well tell you how he explains what was found in his home and how his colleagues are responding. Republicans are still fighting. The government is running out of cash in days. The Biden Administration is looking to leverage the dysfunction. Later, salt from the Gulf Of Mexico could threatening the Drinking Water in new orleans. Well tell you how theyre scrambling to deal with this. Were following these stories and many more all coming in to cnn news central. Earlier today democratic senator bob menendez offered up his first public response to a federal indictment on Bribery Charges. This is actually his second time facing corruptionrelated charges in ten years. Just lik