tv Cuomo Prime Time CNN April 8, 2021 6:00pm-7:00pm PDT
6:00 pm
donald went through. >> that is an excerpt from the people versus the klan, the new cnn original series premiere this sunday night with back-to-back episodes beginning at 9:00 p.m. eastern. it's extraordinarily powerful. chris? >> thank you, anderson. i'm chris cuomo and welcome to primetime. more news breaking on our watch and big developments to discuss, specifically in the gaetz scandal. congressman gaetz's buddy joel greenberg is working on a plea deal with the feds prosecuting him for dozens of crimes, including sex potentially with a minor. now, people are getting this wrong, so this matters. they're hearing he's negotiating a plea deal and interpreting that to mean greenberg may cooperate with authorities about others. that's wrong. that means that greenberg has already been cooperating with
6:01 pm
the feds in all likelihood and for some time and in ways that have satisfied authorities that what he has given them or promised to give them on others warrants a deal. that's how a plea deal works in this context. you get one after you've shown that you can be of value cooperating. now, if you think about it, the sequencing should make sense. remember, the gaetz sex trafficking and prostitution investigation sprung from, what? the sex trafficking probe of greenberg, the former county tax collector. and if there were any doubt that gaetz is on the menu of what greenberg had to offer feds, listen to his lawyer today try to down play the obvious. >> does matt gaetz have anything to worry about? >> does matt gaetz -- that is
6:02 pm
such a -- does he have -- >> what happened today in court? >> does he have anything to worry about? and you're asking me to get into the mind of matt gaetz. i'm sure matt gaetz is not feeling very comfortable today. >> first of all, good for sheller. you don't represent gaetz, you represent greenberg. you're not here as a legal analyst. that's a real lawyer. but what's interesting about it is that what does it sound like? a yes. now, of course the house for trump gaetz has not been charged with anything yet. gaetz maintains there's absolutely nothing to any of the allegations or reports but here is what we know. if gaetz has legal exposure, it almost certainly will involve greenberg. and proof may be emerging tonight of questionable ties. we have that coming up for you straight ahead. we also have a lawyer tonight for one of greenberg's alleged
6:03 pm
victims. he was in the courtroom today. he can put some meat on the bones of the theory i laid out above about what is going on here and when. but let's keep first things first. the george floyd murder trial is in the most critical phase of argument. the issue is, what caused the death of george floyd. the jury was said to be fixated on dr. martin tobin, renown pull manologyist, lung doctor who took the stand. just about every juror touched the necks when the doctor was demonstrating the anatomy of the neck. took notes. dr. tobin was there for the prosecution to make painfully clear that it was chauvin's actions that caused floyd's death. he literally showed an obviously
6:04 pm
upset jury the moment he believes floyd died from the video. now, i'm asked to warn you that you may not want to watch this because it's graphic. but i believe you need to see what you seek to understand. here it is. >> at the beginning you can see he's conscious. you can see slight flickering. and then it disappears. so one second he's alive and one second he's no longer. that's the moment the life goes out of his body. >> as important as what tobin believes caused the death was his equally adamant analysis of what he believes did not cause the death. drugs or some kind of previous condition. listen. >> do any of those conditions have anything to do with the cause of mr. floyd's death in your professional opinion
6:05 pm
whatsoever? >> none whatsoever. the cause of death is a low level of oxygen that caused the brain damage and caused the heart to stop. >> you asked questions about fentanyl and meth. >> yes. >> any evidence that he died from meth? >> no. >> any evidence then that any fentanyl in his system depressed his breathing in any way whatsoever? >> no. >> now, here is the key for you in understanding what may be the outcome in this case. to cause, all right, to cause something in minnesota law means that what you did was a substantial causal factor in floyd's death. what does that mean? it means you are responsible for all consequences that reasonably occur from what you did. the fact that other causes contribute to a death does not necessarily relieve the
6:06 pm
defendant of criminal liability. that will be the operative concept that decides this trial with the jurors. the better minds, former federal prosecutor elliott williams, dr. joy carter also joins us, forensic pathologist involved in the case. she helped review the autopsy reports for the chauvin prosecution. good to have you both. elliott, how big a day for the prosecution on the issue of proving causation? >> it was pretty big. and you know, chris, i think one of the most important revelations that dr. tobin made today that i didn't -- i hadn't thought about before, he makes the point that even -- any healthy person would have succumbed to the pressure that was on floyd's neck. so what that point does is it allows the prosecution to concede that the defendant
6:07 pm
methamphetamines and fentanyl were in the floyd's system and heart conditions or anything else, that still doesn't matter because even healthy people who weren't -- who hadn't ingested drugs in any way would still have died. that sort of gives the prosecution an out almost to say that, you know, whatever. the substantial causal factor is quite clear. and so, that testimony from a believable expert, the defense can put their's on. also one more important thing to note, chris, notice the prosecution put this witness on before they even called the medical examiner, right? before even calling the person who examined george floyd after his death. this sets the stage for the jury when they actually do hear from the medical examiner. >> and again, under the law in minnesota, what you do doesn't have to be the only factor in why somebody dies. now, doctor, that said -- thank you for joining us again.
6:08 pm
and do you agree with everything that tobin said and in the way he said it today? >> well, he's testifying as a medical practitioner. forensic pathologist testifies a little differently and explains the cause and manner of death. dr. tobin is explaining the physiology that happens when conditions exist that are incompatible with life, so he is explaining the mechanism that happens when someone cannot get enough oxygen. >> what is the difference for the lay people in terms of how he testifies versus how you would or medical examiner? >> a forensic pathologist is there to explain to the jury why the person is dead, what injuries are present, what injuries are significant and those that might be insignificant and it deals certainly with the cause of death and all conditions that are incompatible with life they have found on examining the
6:09 pm
deceased body as well as all the death that they are aware of. so, it's a little bit different in most forensic pathologists do not treat living patients so they're explaining manner and cause of death as well as mechanism of death. >> so in reversing the analysis, having reviewed the records yourself for the prosecution, to the defense theory that, well, look, a lot of things came together to cause the death here. obviously the officer had something to do with it, but look at all this fentanyl, look at all this methamphetamine and look at this fragile heart. this amount of stress is not that unusual that the officer used on him. but it was because of george floyd's fragile and drug-induced intoxication. what would you make of those findings? >> well, i don't think that information has been introduce odd into the court from the medical examiner's perspective, so i can't comment on that. again, to say that we explain what has happened to that
6:10 pm
particular deceased body. >> all right. i'll take your integrity on point as unsatisfying as it is. but elliott, let me bounce it to you as a legal question that if they come and say, sure, sure, substantial causal factor, but you have to weigh it out here, percentages, people. look at all the drugs. look, we know from the autopsy that they're going to say there were amounts of fentanyl that could have killed him all by himself. that's a good reason not to have the medical examiner on first is that finding was probably the biggest wave that hit the boat for the prosecution before this trial ever started. how do they handle it? >> but again, what we heard today was testimony that indicated that it wasn't an overwhelming amount of fentanyl that would have led to an overdose amount but i think like a dui level of substance in his system, so that's the big point there. again, and also what we saw testimony of today was he might have gone into a coma had he actually been overdosing or
6:11 pm
something like that. so, i think this was very valuable testimony for framing up what we will see later. again, getting back to the legal point you raised, chris, substantial causal factor, it's pretty clear based on the testimony, the scientific testimony, we've seen thus far. >> right. >> that a major factor in his death was the asphyxia and not any other substance or any other factors that might have sort of led to a less than perfectly healthy body. >> here is some sound on that from the trial. >> yeah. >> he is saying, please, please, get off of me. i want to breathe. i can't breathe. that is not a fentanyl overdose. that is somebody begging to breathe. >> with fentanyl, his respiratory rate should be down around 10. instead it's right at the middle normal at 22. what you're seeing is that the increase in his carbon dioxide that is found in the emergency room is solely explained by what you expect to happen in somebody
6:12 pm
who doesn't have any ventilation given to him for 9:50. >> and the rebuttal to this doctor was then why don't we see the kinds of wounds on george floyd, ligature marks from choking and that kind of pressure on his body in the autopsy said the defense. >> well, it's well known and accepted in forensic practice that you don't always have to see a physical sign of asphyxiation. you have to consider the circumstances of death. that's most important. many articles and scientific literature demonstrated you don't have to have pi teak eye to be asphyxiated or ligature marks. consider the situation and the circumstances that a thorough investigation will lend itself to not only the situation of death but also the autopsy findings. >> i spent all the time on this
6:13 pm
because it is all that is going to matter when those jurors go in the room. almost invariably their debate is going to be on the single issue -- what killed george floyd. how much of it was chauvin? what does that mean under the law? that's why this case is pivotal. dr. joy carter, thank you for the forensic perspective. elliott, plus as always the thinking of the mind of the attorneys at play. thank you both. as i promised we have breaking news on the gaetz scandal unfolding on our watch. there is new reporting out tonight about a possible money trail between the congressman, joel greenberg and young women. we have a reporter who has just broken this story. let's get into it. let's get after next. aliens are real, alright. there's just too much evidence.
6:14 pm
but ghosts? not so much. i mean where's the proof? show me the data. ooh, iced tea! kill weeds not the lawn with roundup for lawns products. i think the sketchy website i bought this turtle from stole all of my info. ooh, have you looked on the bright side? discover never holds you responsible for unauthorized purchases on your card. (giggling) that's my turtle. fraud protection. discover. something brighter.
6:15 pm
step up. prep up. to help keep you free from the risk of hiv. descovy for prep. a once-daily prescription medicine... ...that helps lower the chances of getting hiv through sex. it's not for everyone. descovy for prep has not been studied in people assigned female at birth. talk to your doctor to find out if it's right for you. descovy is another way to prep. descovy does not prevent other sexually transmitted infections, so it's important to use safer sex practices and get tested regularly. you must be hiv-negative to take descovy for prep. so, you need to get tested for hiv immediately before and at least every 3 months while taking it. if you think you were exposed to hiv or have flu-like symptoms, tell your doctor right away. they may check to confirm you are still hiv-negative. serious side effects can occur, including kidney problems and kidney failure. rare, life-threatening side effects include a build-up of lactic acid and liver problems. the most common side effect was diarrhea. tell your doctor about all the medicines and supplements you take, or if you have kidney or liver problems, including hepatitis. if you have hepatitis b, do not stop taking descovy without talking to your doctor. ask your doctor about your risk of hiv... ...and if descovy for prep is right for you.
6:16 pm
get help paying for descovy for prep. learn more at stepupprepup.com. well, well, well. look at you. you mastered the master bath. you created your own style. and you - yes, you! turned a sourdough starter. into a sourdough finisher. so when you learn your chronic dry eye is actually caused by reduced tear production due to inflammation ...you take it on by talking to your eyecare professional about restasis®... ...which may help you make more of your own tears with continued use twice a day, every day. restasis® helps increase your eye's natural ability to produce tears, which may be reduced by inflammation due to chronic dry eye. restasis® did not increase tear production in patients using anti-inflammatory eye drops or tear duct plugs. to help avoid eye injury and contamination, do not touch bottle tip to your eye or other surfaces.
6:17 pm
wait 15 minutes after use before inserting contact lenses. the most common side effect is a temporary burning sensation. ask your eye care professional about restasis®. now to trick out these lights. visit restasis.com to learn more. not everybody wants the same thing. now to trick out these lights. that's why i go with liberty mutual — they customize my car insurance so i only pay for what i need. 'cause i do things a little differently. hey, i'll take one, please! wait, this isn't a hot-dog stand? no, can't you see the sign? wet. teddy. bears. get ya' wet teddy bears! one-hundred percent wet, guaranteed! or the next one is on me! only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ there is new reporting
6:18 pm
tonight from the daily beast. is question is did money go from gaetz to greenberg to women? the daily beast says they have proof the answer is yes. cnn has not yet confirmed this, so let's bring in jose, one of the reporters breaking this for the daily beast. good to see you, jose. what do you got? >> like wise. so, so far what we've heard is this reporting that started with the new york times about how this investigation, corrupt investigation into a local tax official in florida extended over to congressman matt gaetz. what we heard is that investigators have been looking at receipts, looking at payments. what we got ahold of at the daily beast are receipts, and what we have are venmo payments that show payments from the congressman to this local official and then hours later payments that add up this same exact amount to three young women, one of whom who later turned out the be a porn star and all these women are extremely young. >> extremely young meaning what? >> one just turned 18 about six months before that happened, but
6:19 pm
let's talk about what these receipts show when you make an online payment, you have to do two things. you have to pick who you're going to send this to, how much, right? but what it's for. you list what it is for. and that's key to understanding what we have here. because what we've obtained are venmo payment records that show that late one night in may, 2018, the congressman sent two payments to joel greenberg, this local official. the first payment is $500. it says test. the second payment is $400 and it says hit up and then it names a girl. we have chosen not to name her yet, but just seven or eight hours later, joel greenberg makes three payments totaling $900 including one of them who was named by matt gaetz. >> all right. let's check some boxes here. do you know what the payments were for? >> so, this is fascinating. let's put two things together. when these payments -- again, when you make a payment on venmo
6:20 pm
you describe what it is for. so when matt gaetz sent them to joel greenberg, it said test and hit up this girl. when joel greenberg paid them to these girls, it said school and tuition. now, we know from the indictment against joel greenberg that 33 count indictment that was just updated last week, that he's being accused of having sugar daddy relationships and using taxpayer funds to do so. and so what we're trying to figure out, of course, is the next step which is what exactly were these payments for. >> right. >> but we have so much more reporting on this that we have not broken yet that is about his circle, about joel greenberg, about his behavior and about his relationship with this congressman. >> so, this is very subjective, but to be clear, we don't know or you don't know, you're ahead of us on the reporting, you don't know exactly what the money was for and it is not clearly indicated in the venmo slips. i get the constructive
6:21 pm
suggestion of it and you're still looking into it. >> i want to make sure we're very clear about this. we were able to get these payments because through our sources we had been asking for specific things. we asked for what is the proof that these sources have that would show that joel greenberg had a relationship with matt gaetz in which he would be paying for sex. so we asked our sources to show us proof. and what we've been able to get is a list of venmo payments. >> gotch ya. >> our story very clearly stated the reasons given for venmo payments is test and hit up this girl. what happened right afterwards was tuition and school payments from this tax official in florida to these young girls. now, we have additional reporting that shows a lot of the relationships that this local tax official had with young girls all across florida, all of them have overlapping relationships with matt gaetz either on instagram or venmo. again, one of these girls ended up being a porn star. she's still connected to matt
6:22 pm
gaetz. >> understood. i'm just saying in court where this may play out, you only know what you can show. and if they want to say gaetz paid for sex, greenberg paid for sex, they have to show that's exactly what it is. when you say the women, you decided not to name one of them, one of them turned 18 six months before the date of the transaction, so she would be legal under the federal statute at trafficking. >> that's right. >> have you gotten to speak to any of the other women yet? >> we have been reaching out to all of these women and we have not heard back. we can say there are some women we have called that have chosen not to talk to us yet. there are others that are agreeing to speak to us in the short-term. of course there's more reporting to be done. and there's a lot more reporting that's going to be coming out in the next few days, but this is why it's pivotal, pay attention to the news that happened today, right, where joel greenberg's attorney is making very clear that his client is indicating where he might be taking a plea and he could very well be helping prosecutor get to the bottom of this because in the end it's about joel greenberg what he knows and whatever
6:23 pm
favors he might have done for his friend. >> well, there is no question that the way a plea deal works is you don't get the deal first in cooperate second. you cooperate first and then you get a deal you may cooperate thereafter and likely so. but if he's getting a deal, that's because of what he has already shown and what they believe they can get going forward. the ages of the women, the one you say had just turned 18 before, do you have any indication that any of the women involved here were minors at the time of their involvement? >> no. not in this instance. so we have a big group of venmo transactions. the ones we decided to break news with today, no, there's no indication that the three women that we know of were under the age of 18. but there are lots of other women's names we're trying to confirm and get to the bottom of so there are other venmo payments we're looking into we haven't been able to confirm their ages. so the one i think that's pivotal here which is one that other people have reported on,
6:24 pm
politico, for example, had reported on one of the women who was a porn star and it appeared that maybe she wasn't of age, no, we were able to confirm that she actually was of age. so if there was any relationship between her and this congressman, she would have been 18 at the time, just turned 18 but she would have been 18 at the time. >> remember, that age is a federally significant age. states have different ages of consent depending on what the ak tity is, but it is an important distinction and good that you got on it. what about gaetz's response? >> so, initially we reached out to the congressman's office and his chief of staff told us they were still preparing a response and be looking at a legal response and then shortly after that they emailed us again and told us that they are totally fighting back against what they call any of this rumor, any of this gossip. so they are coming out hard against this and from the beginning the congressman has said that none of this is true whatsoever. so, i mean, he's given no bit of room here. he's saying this is absolutely false. >> but to be clear, did he say i
6:25 pm
never sent any venmos to greenberg? >> interestingly no. they did not directly answer our question. we asked about these specific payments to these specific young women and, no, we didn't get answers on that. the answers we got was that the congressman denies any of these rumors and gossip and all this talk about him. but, let's be really, really clear about what we have here. we've started out with a new york times report last week that pointed out that this federal investigation to a local official in florida extends to the congressman and what we were able to get today were receipts that show that there are payments late into the night from this congressman to his friend who is now under indictment. one of those charges is sex trafficking but there's a lot more at play. >> understood. and jose, i look forward to continuing conversation with this. i know you're good at the job because we used to work together. all right. jose, good luck going forward. thank you for being conscientious about the reporting. >> thank you, chris. >> be well. as i said, if gaetz has trouble, it has to flow through
6:26 pm
greenberg. i'm not blaming greenberg. i'm just talking about the way this investigation has to be going. it can't be a coincidence that they started with greenberg and then just happened to start investigating gaetz for the same things. does it mean that they can get him? absolutely not. the standard for journalism is not the standard that is present in a court. proof is going to have to be beyond a reasonable doubt. so we are a long way from anything like that. but, this is very interesting development in terms of there's nothing here. certainly not nothing here. we have someone who is inside the greenberg courtroom today, a lawyer for one of the tax collectors alleged victims. interestingly wait until you hear what greenberg accused this lawyer's client of. next.
6:27 pm
6:31 pm
the response by the lawyer for matt gaetz's friend is why today's talk of cooperation matters. take a quick listen. >> did your client introduce matt gaetz to any underage girls for sexual relations? >> all right. so, i'm just going to let you sit down there so i can look over your head and ignore that question. >> look, scheller doesn't represent gaetz and i'm sure he doesn't want to be part of any political process or drama and trying to get his client greenberg. he can ignore the press but you don't get to ignore this point from prosecutors and they know the answer. and our next guest understands these realities very well. he's the florida attorney who first pointed authorities in greenberg's direction, david
6:32 pm
bayer was in the courtroom today. good have you, counselor. >> thanks very having me, chris. i appreciate it. >> so you got into the greenberg sphere by him accusing your client who is a political opponent of his of being a pedophile, correct? >> that's basically what it comes down to. it's the irony runs thick, i guess, given the charges that we see here. so, like a lot of people that get involved in lots of different crazy stuff, you know, sometimes it just one of those things that opens the door and everything else comes spilling out. >> right. >> and that's definitely what this is a story of. >> so you're in the courtroom today. what was your understanding? does it meet my own and your experience in practice that you don't get a deal from the feds unless you've already given them something that is valuable to them? >> in order to get to where the conversation was today, where you have both roger, the prosecutor, as well as fritz, the defense attorney, both
6:33 pm
standing up there saying we anticipate there being a plea deal reached in a month and a half, there's already been some substantial conversations and show-mes that have happened. this isn't some willy nilly process where, you know, before court they're like, i don't know, how about 10.5 years and we'll see what we know. you know, it's much more meticulous than that. >> right. and you don't believe it's a coincidence that these types of investigations and charges started with greenberg and then moved to gaetz. that that would seem to square with the understanding that once greenberg started talking it expanded the am bit of the investigators to include gaetz? >> i don't think it's a coincidence. i know that the investigation into greenberg led to the secret service and the u.s. attorney's office being interested in gaetz. so, yeah, it's not a
6:34 pm
coincidence. it was a linear process. >> what do you make of greenberg? >> he's a very smart guy, but he has a lot of demons. and you know, he's a loose cannon and a little unpredictable, so that ties in with what we're -- everybody is wondering, what's going to happen here with this criminal trial and how it dove tails into the other one. so the options that mr. greenberg has, he's faciing 33 counts all of which have a whole lot of evidence and the jury is going to hear them all together. nobody is coming out of that trial without a whole lot of convictions. which are going to send you to jail for the vast remainder of his adult life. that's not an option. and so the alternative is to plea. and any normal, rational person is going to do that. but, you know, what i just said,
6:35 pm
joel is sometimes unpredictable to say the least bit. and so, you shouldn't necessarily assume he's going to do the same thing that, you know, you or i or normal rational person would do standing in his shoes. >> how damage rg the venmo transactions that were mentioned from the daily beast, jose in the last segment? >> oh my gosh, that's incredibly powerful evidence. as a former prosecutor sitting here hearing that recounted, it's sort of strikes me as a lot of people think, well, if i don't directly hand the money to that person or i don't directly shoot that person or whatever the crime might be, then i can't be responsible. that's certainly not true. like, if you operate through an intermediary, you're just as responsible, whether it's a financial transaction or a violent crime or whatever. so, you know a lot of people that aren't prosecutors or aren't practicing law might not
6:36 pm
think that way. they might think they're building themselves some insulation if they have some go between, some intermediary. but that certainly is not the case. >> but it doesn't say it's for sex explicitly. we don't know whether or not the woman who got the money says that that's what it was for. and if gaetz denies it, how likely is it that that is enough to get him in trouble with authorities? >> well, if you didn't have a cooperating witness that had first-hand information, then all you have is circumstantial evidence which can strongly be -- >> greenberg theoretically says, oh, it's for sex. this guy is a liar. he's trying to help himself by working with the feds. the woman doesn't say it is. even if she does, it's just prostitution and she was of age, so, you know, how big a deal is that to federal prosecutors? >> yeah. so any time you have a witness
6:37 pm
testifying against another, especially for a plea deal, you know, you have a right to be skeptical of the veracity, the credibility of their testimony. and so, you should always look to find some corroborating evidence for what they say if it just this testifying flipping witness saying it, well, you know, maybe that's not enough beyond a reasonable doubt. but if you have some corroborating evidence, which these venmo transactions certainly could provide that. >> and the women. >> especially understanding circumstantial evidence is evidence. >> yep. >> we don't need -- we're not limited to just explicitly written directions. we can read between the lines. jurors can read between the lines. so, yes, all those things tied together into a bow totality of the circumstances that can certainly be a very powerful story for prosecutors to tell. >> again, we haven't confirmed it at cnn, daily beast has it.
6:38 pm
jose is no joke, but we haven't confirmed it yet. the women we would have to know what they say it was for. and prostitution is a problem, not a big federal haunt. but if they were under age and if it was for prostitution and they were traveled for that purpose, this then becomes a federal matter of concern for matt gaetz. a lot of ifs and thens and we'll see and thank you very much david bear for helping us understand the trail that we are on. appreciate you. >> thanks very having me. i appreciate it. >> be well. >> you, too. >> again, we don't have the reporting, but court different than court of public opinion. but this is not a good development that someone who says there is no connection between me and any of this stuff has these kinds of payments pop up. so be on the lookout for another potential flipper. not on gaetz, on trump. new pressure may have been added today on allen weisselberg, remember that name, the
6:39 pm
long-time trump org spts cfo worgs for trump's daddy knows everything that trump did, all the money in and out. the feds just got more help from an ex-relative whom we spoke to on this program. big bolo next. scotts turf builder triple action kills weeds, prevents crab grass and feeds your lawn. all three,in just one bag. i like that. scotts turf builder triple action. it's lawn season. let's get to the yard.
6:40 pm
dana-farber cancer institute discovered the pd-l1 pathway. pd-l1. they changed how the world fights cancer. blocking the pd-l1 protein, lets the immune system attack, attack, attack cancer. pd-l1 transformed, revolutionized, immunotherapy. pd-l1 saved my life. saved my life. saved my life. what we do here at dana-faber, changes lives everywhere. everywhere. everywhere. everywhere. everywhere. the dexcom reads my number. it sends it to my phone. that means my sugar is going it sendhey siri.y phone. what's my sugars? you're 123 and steady.
6:43 pm
a bolo, be on the lookout for a big name possibly cutting a deal with prosecutors. no, it's not about gaetz but is in trump world. nobody knows more than allen weisselberg. he is the long-time cfo of the trump organization. his role in the trump business dates back decades to when the former president's father was running the operation. his former daughter-in-law told you on this show how investigators were turning up the pressure on her husband, weisselberg's son and weisselberg himself. >> i think they'll turn on him. >> why? >> i think his sons have too much criminal liability. >> you think your ex-father-in-law might turn on trump to save his own sons? >> yes. it's the only way. >> of all the investigations civil and criminal that trump
6:44 pm
faces, this is the one to watch. because the manhattan district attorney's case is built on one thing, documents. and the d.a. just obtained boxes of documents from that same key player that you just saw on cuomo primetime. >> i'm being bullied and abused by donald trump's power. and the investigation going on is serious. and i'm a witness. i'm a character witness for the control, misuse of power, for who they are and how they've done things for four decades. i've been close in the family for 25 years. >> not only does the d.a. have documents, they're also adding muscle to follow the money. they just hired a former fbi forensic accountant who played a key role in bob mueller's prosecution of paul manafort.
6:45 pm
and it tells you something when the trump org just beefed up its own criminal defense team. keep in mind, this investigation is into whether trump was telling the banks and insurance companies his properties were worth one thing while telling the tax man they were worth something else. this is not going to come down to how you interpret trump's words or needing testimony from someone like a michael cohen. it's about what was on paper and nobody knows that part of the former president's money world more than allen weisselberg. and also, the idea that if weisselberg is that close, he'll never do -- we know he already worked with prosecutors in the case involving cohen and the payments to two women early on in trump's political tenure. you remember that? so weisselberg was part of that then, too. now also tonight, two mass shootings in our country within 24 hours. the timing, just as president biden reveals details of his new
6:46 pm
6:48 pm
6:49 pm
now, simparica trio simplifies protection. ticks and fleas? therabreath, it's a better mouthwash. see ya! heartworm disease? no way! simparica trio is the first chewable that delivers all this protection. and simparica trio is demonstrated safe for puppies. it's simple: go with simparica trio. this drug class has been associated with neurologic adverse reactions, including seizures; use with caution in dogs with a history of these disorders. protect him with all your heart. simparica trio.
6:50 pm
this time in texas at apoffice park. one person is dead at least. five others wounded. a texas state trooper is included in the number of injured. the suspect is in custody. the details are terrible, of course. our hearts should go out, but they never do enough to change anything, right? ever time it comes down to why it happened, it's mental health. that's stigmatized and we see it as an excuse about behavior in society too often and how to treat it. guns, forget it. these shootings seem to mean as much to people who want less gun control as those who want more. so it's a stoshz i tell too often, but nothing changes. in fact, if this doesn't tell you just how screwed up we are, just hours before the shooting
6:51 pm
texas' governor tweets, governor abbott, this is what i'm seeking for texas. a law to defy any new federal gun laws. it will make texas' second amendment sanctuary state. very clever. a preemptive strike on the executive actions president biden took today on gun violence. how does it look to tweet that people who want guns should be worried about their rights being restricted and then exactly what the real problem is occurs right after, and what does the governor say now? it is not about keeping good people from getting guns. it's keeping the wrong people from getting guns. and, frankly, there is not enough discussion about how to keep bad guys from getting guns. now, biden put out the executive
6:52 pm
actions. he can't do that much. he needs congress to step up. listen to the president himself. >> there is much more that congress can do to help that effort and they can do it right now. they've offered plenty of thoughts and prayers, members of congress, but they have passed not a single new federal law to reduce gun violence. enough prayers. time for some action. >> let's bring in van jones. it's time for action but you are not getting action. let's discuss why. whether it's this or anything else, the filibuster will keep it from happening, but is it really the filibuster's fault or the complete breakdown of political culture of compromise? >> well, that culture of compromise has broken down and the filibuster is keeping the breakdown in place.
6:53 pm
it needs to be reformed. i think it's terrible to have a governor suggesting that he wants to have a sanctuary state for the second amendment. we need sanctuary from the shooters. the shooters don't need sanctuary. and so we're already, with the governor's statement before there was anything that happened today, that horrible thing that happened in texas, the idea that it's the people who have the guns that need the protection, the people who have the guns have too much protection, especially when you are talking about weapons of war, et cetera. what we need is protection -- the rest of us being victimized. so i think where we are now, you know, we had joe manchin come out today and say he doesn't want to reform the filibuster. i hope that he is in a process of thinking that all the way through. i know senator manchin, he has been a great champion for working people. but you get a lot of republicans now doing the happy dance saying joe manchin just made mitch mcconnell president because now nothing can get done unless mitch mcconnell wants to cough up ten votes.
6:54 pm
that's not what manchin wants. i think he is trying to bring people together. on the questions of guns and voting and infrastructure, i think it's very unlikely that his transition team is going to pay off. >> a pushback that will be proof of your so much more popular than i am. i think mansion has been put in a bad spot by the democrats because -- shhears's why. there is no attempt to work with republicans because you know mitch mcconnell keeps baiting and switching. you don't have schumer meeting with mcconnell. you don't have democrats wanting to put pills in the senate in committee. they want to go to reconciliation and play power politics. i am not criticizing the move. i believe the culture of compromise is pass and the filibuster was born from an unholy place to begin with. but joe manchin, who believes in working across the aisle and has relationships, democrats aren't giving him anything to work with. they are not trying to work with republicans. shouldn't the democrats force the hand, put it in committee,
6:55 pm
put continue the floor, let's hear what the amendments are, see how halollow the oppositions and then make a move on manchin and say, now what? why not do it that way? >> part of the thing is everybody is looking in the rearview mirror. we remember 2009, 2010 where we bept over backwards and 15 different pretzel moves and couldn't get a single republican vote on republican proposals. o obamacare was romney care. it was the heritage foundation's idea that george h.w. bush used for acid rain. we were going through everything you said and came up with zero, zilch, nada. >> that's why you guys had the high ground, because you did it the right way. they showed bad faith and then people were with you. i am just saying if you take too much of a shortcut this time, you lose the high ground.
6:56 pm
everybody knows mitch is going to play you. let people see him play the game and everything will be a little bit more obvious, because otherwise you are never goading gun control. >> i got to go. >> quickly. >> if anybody can figure it out, it would be joe manchin, joe biden and some of the better mind on the democrat side. don't give up on joe manchin. >> or you. van jones, be well. we'll be right back. to be scary. spraying flonase daily stops your body from overreacting to allergens all season long. psst! psst! all good
6:57 pm
do you have a life insurance policy you no longer need? now you can sell your policy, even a term policy, for an immediate cash payment. we thought we had planned carefully for our retirement. but we quickly realized that we needed a way to supplement our income. if you have one hundred thousand dollars or more of life insurance you may qualify to sell your policy. don't cancel or let your policy lapse without finding out what it's worth. visit conventrydirect.com to find out if you policy qualifies. or call the number on your screen. coventry direct, redefining insurance.
6:58 pm
7:00 pm
10:00. time for the big show, cnn tonight and the big star. d. lemon. >> business right now. i didn't like what you did earlier. should i tell everybody? >> okay. >> so i am minding my business today and chris said, hey, did i just pass you? was that you i just passed on the beach? he texted me. i said, no, i am in the city. what are you talking about? he goes, are you sure it wasn't you? i said, no, i am in the city. then he sends me a picture of this giant black seal on the beach.
120 Views
Uploaded by TV Archive on
