Skip to main content

tv   CNN News Central  CNN  January 17, 2024 7:00am-8:01am PST

7:00 am
all right. any moment now we expect the woman who won a defamation case against donald trump about sexual abuse, she is to take the stand with donald trump sitting just feet away. we're getting new details from inside the courtroom. and it is all about new hampshire and donald trump is, as john said, back in new york. trump, haley, desantis, sharpening their attacks with so much on the line. >> breaking news this morning out of london, the princess of wales, kate middleton, she is in the hospital after abdominal surgery. we are told she will be there for two weeks. that's a long time.
7:01 am
we have very few details here, but we will tell you what we are learning. sara is away. i'm john berman with kate bolduan. this is "cnn news central." right now donald trump is back in the courtroom where his accuser e. jean carroll will soon take the stand and he will be watching there feet away as carroll testifies right in front of them face to face they will be. the columnist has sued him and won a sexual battery civil case against the former president, but today's case is ability defamation. she is suing over remarks he made in 2019 about her. her attorneys claim his comments destroyed her sense of safety, ruined her reputation, but trump's lawyers say carroll used the spotlight to make a name for herself. i'm joined by paula reid and legal analyst jenna rogers. what is going to happen and what's happening in the
7:02 am
courtroom and what does today mean? >> yesterday was a busy day. they were able to select the jury of nine people and will remain anonymous as they assess whether e. jean carroll should receive damages with the statement trump made in 2019. trump was in attendance yesterday but left before the opening statements where both sides laid out their theory of the case. her lawyers argue he used the biggest microphone to attack her and she lives in fear and is entitled to significant damages. trump's lawyers argue that actually her career prospered after she made these accusations. trump did not stay for the opening statements, but he's back again today for what could be quite a significant day in this brief trial and this is, of course, the expected testimony of e. jean carroll. now she testified in the trial back in may where a jury assessed her allegations about what happened in a department store in the mid '90s and claims of defamation. they ultimately found trump libel for sexual abuse and defamation and awarded her $5
7:03 am
million. her testimony during that trial last spring incredibly emotional. you can tell this is something that has had a profound impact on her. what i've seen for years of covering cases related to sexual abuse, it is very difficult for survivors often to tell their story and in this case talk about the impact that something has had on them when the accused is just a few feet away. so this is going to be really a pretty significant, possibly very emotional event in the course of this trial and, of course, after she testifies, she could be cross examined by trump's attorneys. >> what is the impact, jennifer, not only -- clearly an impact on having donald trump in the room and in the courtroom, what could be or do you think would be the impact that his presence could have on the jury as all of this is happening and e. jean carroll is on the stand? >> it's an interesting question. he wasn't there last time. the jury sees everything. if you watch the jury, you will
7:04 am
see them paying, of course, close attention to the witness, but in this case, i think they'll be paying close attention to donald trump and seeing his reactions as she testifies. i think it's going to be like a tennis match, ping-ponging in between what she is saying, his reaction to it. it's going to be fascinating to watch for those in the courtroom. it really will be a big difference this time around. >> what jury -- the jury will remain anonymous. >> we don't know much. the judge instructed them not to reveal too many personally identifying details. what was fascinating during jury selection there's several dozen people there for the larger pool, everyone, nearly had heard of this case, and there were a lot of connections to trump and the trump family, worked in communications for ivanka trump, someone else worked for a moving company that serviced buildings, three people donated to trump or affiliated groups and ten people had donated to biden and affiliated groups. it was really interesting to see the diverse array of people
7:05 am
assembled, but they will remain anonymous. that's not a surprise because we have seen judges, court workers and jurors in other trump related cases facing threats. >> one of the prospective jurors from the reporting coming out, asked about political donations as paula was getting to, and also whether they believe the 2020 election was stolen and how they got their news. what are they trying to sus out in this questioning? >> there are two ways to get a juror dismissed. one is for cause, if they do have a conflict, they worked too closely or personal knowledge of the parties, the other is a preemptory challenge. each side has the ability to strike people for reasons they don't have to explain. asking questions about these issues, do you believe the election was stolen as former president trump has been pushing, he's asking a few questions that parties might be able to say, listen, if this person is such trauma fan they believe the election is stolen we may strike them. >> what do you gather from
7:06 am
opening statements coming from e. jean carroll's attorney for what we could hear in her testimony today? >> they're going to talk about what it feels like when trump turns his supporters on you, right. this is something we've seen again and again. to hear someone speak firsthand about the impact that has on your life, on your career, on your day to day, if you feel under that kind of threat, we heard a little bit of this from her, again, last spring. we're not going to talk about the incident at the heart of these allegations. we're going to be talking about the impact this has had on her life. i think it's going to be about the firsthand experience of what happens when trump turns his ire on you. >> part of trump, the trump attorneys opening statement, i want to read part of what we heard, which is, here she is looking for you to give her a windfall because some people on social media said mean things about her, also saying, imagine if every time a public person
7:07 am
got a mean tweet they could get money. what do you think of that and what are they setting up here? >> this is a risky argument, but it's part of trying to separate what trump did and said from what his supporters, who they say trump has no control over other people, right, what they did and say. he's just saying, you know, listen, i'm not responsible for what other people do. this has been a theme with everything. every time someone has turned to him something you said has caused damage, problems, threats, he always says, i'm not responsible for what other people do. this is part of that same argument. get them to blame the anonymous people who sent these tweets and ruined her life from the person who actually set that in motion. >> paula, e. jean carroll has already been awarded $5 million at the previous trial we're talking about, that the -- the previous civil case. this was in -- >> may of -- >> i was there. >> yeah. the fact that trump has already been told he has to pay e. jean
7:08 am
carroll, does that impact, could that impact, do you think, how the jury assesses how much or if any he should pay here? >> it's unlikely. i mean one thing that's interesting about this, you have already carried over that verdict, that yes, he sexually abused her, defamed her and because of the statements the jury was weighing in the spring and these 2019 statements are similar, we're just going to look at damages. she was awarded $5 million in that case, $3 million was for defamation, here she's asking for $10 million. so it will be interesting to see how they approach that number, but a lot of it is going to speak to her testimony and experts and the impact they believe that these words had on her. he was in the white house during this time. he was arguably in terms of influence and that bully pulpit and as many of our colleagues and many people have experienced, when he turns his spotlight, right, his ire on you, your voicemail, your e-mail, people show up at your
7:09 am
house, everything is flooded with threats, you have very stressful, scary experience. it will be interesting to see how her testimony registers with the jury. >> i agree. great to see you in person and have you. john? >> so once donald trump leaves this new york courtroom, which we should note is very much the campaign trail for him, he will go to new hampshire, also the campaign trail where he will join the other two top republican candidates. now less than a week away from the new hampshire primary. cnn's omar jimenez is on hampton beach this morning with what we can expect today, omar? >> reporter: yeah, john. well, one, we've got a lot of candidates out and about, everybody is trying to cut into what is essentially been domination by trump leading up to this point, both in the polls, but also, of course, in the caucuses that we saw just a few days ago at this point. now, nikki haley in this particular state, at least coming in, seems better
7:10 am
positioned to actually pose a serious challenge to trump, coming in, she polled within single digit it, some polls within single digits of the former president. we've also got a much more moderate voting base here, which is a group she's polled better than trump with. those are sort of the inroads that her team is looking to try to take advantage of in these final days to not only get close to the president, but to actually beat the president in this state, which they believe they can do and is why they are framing things as a two-person race. that said, ron desantis finished second in iowa and while he hasn't polled as well here in new hampshire, he is also trying to take whatever he can from this particular state. we went around and talked to voters across this area, specifically independents, specifically also to get their reaction from what we saw in iowa. take a listen to some.
7:11 am
>> did trump win in iowa surprise you in any way, motivate you in any way? >> it surprised me a little bit. >> why did it surprise you? >> with all these allegations and all that, it's -- i don't know. it's -- it's -- i'm on a fence. >> i was a little surprised at the results to see the level of popularity given he hadn't attended any of the events or been involved in any of the debates. i would have liked to have seen more participation from him. >> i ruled him out in the primary, but you know, if he were to win the nomination, he would be ruled back in because -- >> you got him over biden? >> oh, absolutely. >> reporter: that's the environment these candidates are trying to cut into. trump, as you mentioned, when he leaves court he will come here for events. ron desantis not far from where we are is going to have an event early this afternoon. nikki haley this evening as well. less than a week away.
7:12 am
>> all right. omar jimenez on the beach, keep us posted. kate? >> donald trump's commanding win in iowa no doubt puts him closer to securing his third presidential nomination. republican presidential nomination. many republican lawmakers as we have seen have been quick to endorse trump. others remain uneasy about his possible return to the white house and they're now privately hoping he loses momentum. manu raju has some new reporting on this and joining us now. what are you hearing from lawmakers? >> reporter: yeah. i've spent the last day, along with several of our colleagues, talking to a number of republicans in the house and the senate about trump's dominating win in iowa, and very likely he will once again be the party's nominee, and you're seeing a split we have seen for so much time within the gop. yes, trump has gotten more support within the house and senate republican conferences, more people coming out and endorsing him, like his one-time
7:13 am
rival ted cruz yesterday, but there are a number of republicans who are simply not there yet, fearful of his impact down the ticket including senator john thune of south dakota, number two senate republican, who told me, quote, i have always been worried about trump's viability in a general election candidate, warning frankly, if he's unable to appeal to the middle, which thune is skeptical he would be, that could hurt their candidates down the line, particularly as they try to take back the senate majority. there are a host of other members, people who hoped others would emerge, like senator todd young of indiana, who did not want donald trump to get the nomination, didn't want to address trump's dominating win on monday when i talked to him about this just yesterday. several of those as well, there were some members from the iowa delegation themselves, congresswoman meeks of iowa, i tried to ask her whether she voted for trump in the iowa caucuses and would not say that and neither did senator joni
7:14 am
earnings who appeared at a rally for nikki haley in the closing days and i caught up with her and tried to ask about trump's win, whether she would support him at this moment. she is not willing to go there there are other members in that leadership, senate republican leader mitch mcconnell has made it clear he wants to move on from the trump era and does not want to discuss trump much at all after january 6th. that is a different view than house republicans including the house republican leadership. the speaker of the house mike johnson was one of the first to congratulate trump on his victory, endorsed donald trump, but that split only bound to persist as trump moves closers to the nomination potentially with a win in new hampshire next week. guys? >> thank you so much for your great reporting. a key meeting at the white house very shortly that might be the last chance for new aid to ukraine and happening now, the supreme court hearing oral arguments in the case that really just could reshape how the federal government works. a former church serving as a
7:15 am
shop for trump merchandise. the man behind some of the popular and profane memorabilia.
7:16 am
7:17 am
7:18 am
7:19 am
today president biden is hosting congressional leaders for a key meeting at the white house. aid to ukraine hangs in the balance. this could be the last chance to get new aid for ukraine this year. sources tell cnn the president plans to focus on the, quote, cost of inaction if they don't get something done here. with us is senator chris van hl hollen a democrat.
7:20 am
what does president biden need to do at this meeting today? >> great to be with you. this is a very important, very high stakes meeting at the white house. it would be a huge blow to american leadership around the world if we abandon the people of ukraine to putin's aggression, not just in terms of denying the people of ukraine their sovereignty and their democracy, but it would send a terrible message to both friend and foe around the world. i think president biden is going to talk about this very historic moment and how we cannot walk away, that walking away from ukraine means walking away from u.s. credibility and responsibility around the world and they will also talk about the other elements of a package. >> well, which is because ukraine, aid to ukraine, has been tied to some kind of action or deal with the southern border and there have been senate leaders, not leaders but senators, in negotiations trying to hammer out a deal. we're getting word from the
7:21 am
house side that whatever the senate comes out with, the house isn't going to listen to, right. punch bowl news is reporting speaker mike johnson and his leadership team gave the clearest signal yet the emerging senate deal on border security and immigration is d.o.a. in the house on a house gop conference call sunday night, johnson said congress can't solve the crisis at the border until donald trump or another republican is in the white house. johnson saying it doesn't matter what deal is reached in the senate. we're not doing anything. your response? >> well, john, i was very worried when i saw those comments from speaker johnson because what it indicates is that he and his house republican colleagues want to play politics on border security. president biden's supplemental has lots of resources for more border patrol agents. we are, as you mentioned, in discussions on some targeted policy changes. we have to see the details, but for speaker johnson to preemptively say that whatever
7:22 am
we do in the senate on a bipartisan basis is dead on arrival, is a total abdication of american leadership and tells me that republicans simply want to use the border security as a political issue in the election, that they're not interested in solving the issue right now. >> what kind of a bind does it put republican senators, james lankford from oklahoma, involved in these negotiations, what kind of a bind does that put him in? >> well, you're exactly right. i think what speaker johnson and the maga republicans in the house are trying to do is exert pressure on senate republicans to not go along with an agreement, even though an agreement could find some potential middle ground here. so i hope that senate republicans will not be deterred by what speaker johnson is doing. it's totally reckless to, first of all, tie aid to ukraine to resolving the border, but especially if they're not willing to resolve the border
7:23 am
issues. we need to deal with both. tying them together as republicans have done, could result in decades of undermining american leadership around the world. this is really an important moment in history, and i hope that speaker johnson won't take the position, that they won't accept any agreement reached on a bipartisan basis in the senate for political reasons, just to have the issue of border security in the election. >> how closely are you watching the republican nominating contest of the presidential election? >> well, i'm following it closely. i didn't think there were any real surprises the other night in iowa. you know, donald trump was expected to do well, and he did do well. i will say if you look closely at the results there, very interestingly, donald trump did not do very well in some of the more urban and suburban areas, which spells trouble for him in
7:24 am
the general election. >> do you think president biden is doing well compared to his own past performance in those areas? i ask because there was a poll out of georgia just monday which got obscured by iowa that shows president biden trailing donald trump substantially in georgia? >> well, look, john, what i saw were the results in iowa. the polling will go up and down throughout the year. i do think president biden is getting the word out more and more in terms of the benefits to the american people from his economic policies and the contrast will not be clearer when you're talking about trump chaos, when you're talking about a republican party that wants to take away women's reproductive freedoms, not just at the state level, which is bad enough, but at the federal level, so i think when this comes down to it and people focus on trump versus biden, biden is going to do well. >> the state of the union
7:25 am
address first week of march basically, what does president biden in your mind need to accomplish before he walks up that podium? >> well, i think he needs to be prepared in what he's going to do is talk to the american people and congress about how his economic plan is making a positive difference for working americans. unemployment is down, inflation you coming down, prices did go up because you had a lot of corporations taking advantage of things like the covid-19 pandemic to raise prices, but now they're stabilizing. i think president biden has a very good news story to tell and he's going to tell it and talk about next steps. child tax credit which we're trying to get passed here to cut childhood poverty in half which we were successful for doing for a short period of time a number of years ago, but it lapsed, which was really an awful result. we're trying to bring that back. i think the president will talk
7:26 am
about lots of important things he's doing on the economy and also provide these contrasts that i mentioned. >> senator chris van hollen from maryland, great to have you on. thanks so much. >> great to be with you. excessive and pesky overdraft fees may be a thing of the past. the new rules the biden administration is ruling out. breaking news this morning, the princess of wales, kate middleton, is in the hospital and could be there for two weeks, a long time, not many details here, but we are getting new information in. to duckduckgo on all your devie
7:27 am
7:28 am
7:29 am
7:30 am
duckduckgo comes with a built-n engine like google, but it's pi and doesn't spy on your searchs and duckduckgo lets you browse like chrome, but it blocks cooi and creepy ads that follow youa from google and other companie. and there's no catch. it's fre. we make money from ads, but they don't follow you aroud join the millions of people taking back their privacy by downloading duckduckgo on all your devices today.
7:31 am
happening now the very way the federal government works might be about to change. the supreme court as we speak is hearing a pair of cases on the power of federal agencies to regulate things like health care, finance, and a lot more. this case is very big deal. senior supreme court analyst has the details. >> reporter: good morning, john and kate. the supreme court is about to hear a case that will affect regulatory power over the environment, workplace safety, drugs and all manner of government benefits. big business interest rats watc as environmentalist and labor advocates. in dispute a 1984 supreme court
7:32 am
decision called chevron versus natural resource defense council. it has become the touch stone for any lawsuits over agency power. congress routinely writes open-ended laws that delegate the policy details to agency officials and the chevron principle dictates that when disputes arise over regulation of an ambiguous law judges should defer to agency interpretation as long as the interpretations are reasonable. that principle has generally favored agencies in disputes and business groups say it has led to a runway bureaucracy. a majority of the justices on this conservative court have signaled they might agree and be ready to rein in what's known as chevron deference. i want to focus on one justice in particular, who has a notable personal history with the case. neil gorsuch, appointed by donald trump in 2017. first, as a justice, he has
7:33 am
called for reconsideration of chevron. he dissented in a 2022 case when fellow justices postponed looking at this chevron dock trip. he wrote, quote, rather than say what the law is, we tell those who come before us to go ask a bureaucrat. we place it on the scales of justice in favor of the most powerful of litigants, the federal government, and against everyone else. unquote. the federal government counters, of course, that those bureaucrats of which gorsuch speaks are experts in their field. now another interesting element of justice gorsuch is that the chevron case dates to the tenure of his mother ann gorsuch over agency. she was the first female chief of the epa, appointed by ronald reagan in 1981. the case began as a dispute over the loosening of an epa permit requirement and ann gorsuch embraced the reagan
7:34 am
anti-regulatory agenda and constantly was battling with the democratic run congress. in one fight she was held in contempt of congress and she was essentially forced out of office by her own administration. ann gorsuch wrote in her memoir that son neal who was 15, was distressed over the deal. now justice gorsuch is in position with his fellow conservative justices to continue the legacy and further curtail regulation of american business. kaitsz, john. >> thank you so much for that. developing in london we're watching to learn more information about kate middleton, the princess of wales, is in the hospital we've learned after undergoing ab nominal surgery. back to max foster. when it comes to anything having to do with surgery and personal health, there's a lot of secrecy around it, but what more are you learning from the palace?
7:35 am
>> as you say, you know, these prior medical matters they keep them quiet but she has gone into hospital, some might have seep her, but there is a public just in knowing that future queen has gone into hospital. we know it's gone as planned and she will be in hospital up to two weeks but she could be in recup per rags up to three months at home. quite significant in terms of the treatment she's going to receive as a result of this surgery. a source has said it's noncancerous, so that's what some people would have been concerned about. it's not that. there is a significant amount of recovery involved here. she was doing that in windsor, which is the home nearest her children's school. what do we read into that? she's a senior royal, she's got full private medical care, so they won't be taking any chances. we're not going to learn anymore about the specifics of why this
7:36 am
surgery was carried out. it's really based on what information we're being given. all future travel international travel has been canceled and she won't be taking on any engagements until after the spring. recent pictures she looked well. she's fit and healthy and does a lot of sport. she's in a good place to recover strongly. i don't expect any more updates until she leaves hospital unless there's something significant it say. >> we will be sticking close to you. thank you so much for the update and talk to you soon about this. could massive overdraft fees be a thing o of the e past? whatat the bidenen administrtras proposed.
7:37 am
7:38 am
7:39 am
7:40 am
7:41 am
kind of maga mart or donald depot, trump town usa, a store where you can buy all things donald trump. cnn's elle reid took a trip. >> the mugshot was really hot, and this stuff lasts us probably about two months. it stays hot. the first week that we -- the mugshot came out, we sold l llike 2,000 t-shirts. >> what's that? >> that's trump's balls. >> reporter: he runs a busy trump store in boonsville in southwestern virginia.
7:42 am
we visited a week after christmas with the iowa caucuses days away. taylor predicted trump would win the republican nomination and business would really boom. >> you can only get these here. >> how much? >> $20. >> reporter: customers were bullish too. what the super fans bought offers insight into what they want. the merch is not just slogan, it's defiant and even vulgar, mad at the state of america and think there's one guy that will fix it. >> when trump was indicted did people stop buying his merchandise? >> they bought it more. >> why? >> they knew it was like russia collusion just all made up bull [ bleep ]. he gained a lot of people because of this administration that we have now, yeah. >> you get people coming in saying that? >> definitely. they'll come in and say never again will i be that stupid. >> welcome to the trump store. >> reporter: what have you observed about what people are
7:43 am
looking for? >> people want our economy better. they're scared i think because of the way things are going. they feel like where we're at right now is not -- is like stagnant. >> were you interested in politics before trump? >> yes. it's strange, because i've always been democrat. >> really? >> yeah. so i am a firm believer in believing in a person and system that's going to make positive changes. i think in the past, i made some quick judgments about my voting and so i'm very more selective and it's more thought put into it. >> what's coming up right now? >> who knows. the more the democrats talk about maga crazy people, you know, something will spin off of it. within 150-mile radius of here, anybody that gets company in they bring them here. >> why did you come in today? >> to get some trump stuff so i can advertise, you know, and support him.
7:44 am
06-08 i lost everything i had. i barely survived. this is leading up to the same thing again. it's coming. >> do you think trump could prevent that? >> i think he can. i think he can put the brakes on it and turn it around. >> i often wonder what encourages people to be a democrat because i don't see a lot of kindness. i don't see a lot of help for our country. i see a lot of talk and no action. >> he got into this business at the beginning of trump's takeover of the republican party. taylor is an entrepreneurial and attention seeker and prayed to god to guide him selling racing merch at the daytona 500. >> my son said, what is it? came in my spirit. i'm going to order 1,000 t-shirts. that's crazy. just get 100. go big or go home. if god is telling me we'll sell every one of them and if not we'll throw them in the trash can and leave.
7:45 am
all we had was a white t-shirt, hire the vets, fire the idiots, trump 2016 red, white, and blue and on the back someone with balls, donald j. trump. i became known as the balls plan on the tour. >> reporter: taylor opened the store inside a 100 year old church. after the election the slogan was stop the steal. >> did you think the election was stolen? >> no doubt the election was stolen. >> what did you think of january 6th? >> it was a bad thing, but if you look back, look at the tapes and stuff, they were let in. they should have never went inside, okay. never go in somebody's house or a public house like that. >> does that complicate what you think of trump at all? >> no. >> why not? >> he definitely didn't tell them go and storm the house. >> would you have any interest running the store if trump sornts controversial? >> i doubt it. we need something we can be happy about and laugh about. liberals that think they can
7:46 am
come in here and tell me what to do. the last one was a professor from unc. she would tell me what a great job biden is coming. >> do you not appreciate her wanting to mix it up? >> i love it. she don't want to hear what i have to say. only wanted me to hear what she had to say. >> you said you want to rename this trump town? >> why not. the mill is gone, let's change. >> do you think other people support you with that? >> not really, but doesn't really matter. it's good controversy if it never happens. >> reporter: elle reed, cnn, boonsville, virginia. >> great reports always. thank you so much. coming up still for us, the alaska airlines incident now a focus for lawmakers on capitol hill. what they're hoping to learn today about the incident in a briefing that's coming from investigators and regulators. plus, e. jean carroll on the stand right now. what we're learning from inside court. we'll be back.
7:47 am
7:48 am
7:49 am
7:50 am
7:51 am
happening now federal investigators are on capitol hill to brief lawmakers about the in-flight alaska airlines incident in which a door plug blew out of a 737 max 9 minutes after takeoff. the hearing comes as the wall street journal reports the boeing investigation will open a whole new can of worms and claims the company has had quality control and engineering problems for years. cnn's pete muntean has the latest. what are you learning here? >> a lot of developments here and this hearing is just beginning on capitol hill. to give investigators -- for investigators to give senators a
7:52 am
better picture of how long it will take the max 9 to be ungrounded. remains ungrounded in the u.s., that includes 171 planes in total, flown by alaska airlines and united airlines. here's the latest from the faa. preliminary inspections of 40 of those planes just wrapped up and data from those inspections will inform future checks that must be performed on each max 9 before they can fly again. airlines still waiting on the faa for full details of what they need to do. right now this investigation is focusing on the door plug, the part of alaska airlines flight 1228 that shot out of the plane. alaska airlines ceo just released a new video message says he has witnessed inspections himself firsthand in a hangar in seattle and says the airlines is making good progress but here is the sound bite he apologizes for the speed of the process and the airline forced to cancel 110 to 150 flights per
7:53 am
day. >> with respect to the cancellations, i've asked our team to give guests as much advanced notice as possible and our reservations team is working around the clock to re-accomodate people on our flights. to all who have been impacted, i am sorry. when you make plans, you put your trust in us, and we haven't been able to deliver. >> reporter: united airlines canceling about 200 flights per day and has removed max 9 flights from its schedule today but unclear how long it will take until the planes are ungrounded, something senators want to hear in the closed-door briefing about the max 9 which just started. they'll hear from the ntsb and faa. a house briefing will take place tomorrow, john? >> it's a closed-door briefing, but i trust you will get information from behind those closed doors as soon as it becomes available. thank you. kate? >> it is a move that the biden administration says could save consumers as much as $3.5 billion a year.
7:54 am
the target is overdraft fees at some of the nation's biggest banks. matt egan has more details for us on this. what is the administration proposing? >> they're basically proposing taking a sledge hammer to overdraft fees. i don't think you will hear many americans complain because they're kind of the worst. first you run out of money in your bank account and then slapped with a fee. it's like getting kicked when you're already down. we're not talking about pennies. the average overdraft fee is $35. that adds up. since 2000, regulators say americans have been charged $280 billion on overdraft fees alone. $280 billion. now, under these new rules proposed by regulators the cost of an overdraft could go down to as little as $3. officials say this could save the average household $150 a year. that's nothing to sneeze at because they say overdraft fees hurt the most vulnerable, the people who can afford it the
7:55 am
least. president biden put out a statement saying, quote, for too long some banks have charged exorbitant overdraft fees that hit the most vulnerable americans the hardest while banks pad their bottom lines. banks call it a service. i call it exploitation. the administration has targeted what they call junk fee, concerts, credit cards, cable bills, and now overdraft fees. >> so what's the banking industry saying? >> they're not too happy about this because they argue overdraft is providing a service to customers, right, helping them bridge the gap until their next paycheck. >> they think it's deterrence to -- you shouldn't be overdrafting and cost them money. >> and they think it's better to have people be part of the banking system which is true. one bank trade group put out a statement from the consumer bank association and call these new rules, quote, misguided and politically driven. they're demanding that the cfp pull the rule. i don't think that's going to happen. the bank industry notes overdraft fees have been coming down.
7:56 am
we've heard from a series of banks like citi and capital one and ally have abolished overdraft fees. i don't think this fight is over. >> is the rule in place? >> this is an initial rule. they're going to take comment and then put out a final rule and if that final rule goes into effect, it could actually start to impact consumers as soon as late next year. >> okay. wow. let's keep following this. thank you so much. >> thanks. >> john? >> e. jean carroll is on the stand in her case against donald trump. we're getting a new read out on her testimony. stay with us.
7:57 am
7:58 am
7:59 am
8:00 am

119 Views

1 Favorite

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on