paula reed, cnn, washington. >>> the judge she mentioned sits on the u.s.esday he handed down the first sentence to a capitol riot defendant. the he said i don't know what planet they are on, the release of new videos will show the attempt of some congressmen to rewrite history that these were tourists walking through the capitol is utter nonsense. >>> and the pentagon's top officials pushed back on republican efforts to question the defense department's diversity efforts during a house armed services hearing that was supposed to be focused on the budget. instead several questioned on critical race theory, a concept that recognizes systemic racism as part of american society. take a listen to their strong response here. >> how should the department of defense think about critical race theory? >> can i make a comment, secretary? >> i'm very limit ordeed on hig time. i've asked the question. >> i don't know what the issue of critical race theory is and the rely advance is. we don't teach critical race theory. and i think that that is a spurious conversation.

paula reed has been covering this story. paula, there are really two possibilities here, either mcgahn was a target of the leak investigation in some way or his communications were scooped up because he was in communication perhaps with someone who is a target. do we know at this point? >> at this point, jim, we don't have an answer to that question. one of many in the investigation. we have been talking to many sources. at this point it is not clear. just got off the phone with someone at the justice department, it is not clear whether he was swept up in some other investigation or being specifically targeted. but we know this is an extraordinary step by the trump justice department to secretly request records of then president's top lawyer. apple was barred from disclosing the request until this past may which means that the justice department repeatedly had to go before a judge to insist on keeping this secret. it is also notable that the request came around the same time they were seeking requests for records of democrati

a warning this report from paula reed certainly contains graphic language. >> reporter: these videos related to a major planning conspiracy case in the capitol ryes investigation. charles donahoe is accused of organizing the proud boys, he coordinated group chats and was a trust ed senior lieutenant wh gave directions to others and cheered on proud boys even obtaining the police riot shield during the siege. now, we have a longer clip where you can see donahoe, his face covered with a striped bandana, but you can see him look on as others take down four police officers blocking a stairwell into the capitol. let's take a look. >> way to fight back! [ crowd noise ] [ bleep ]. >> prosecutors have made it clear they believe this was a key moment as the pro trump crowd violently broke the police down to move further into the building. mr. donahoe is seeking to be released from jail, he has pleaded not guilty. and important to note these videos were only released after a coalition of media outlets including cnn sought access to the tapes which had previously not been made public. paula ree

paula reed, cnn, washington. >>> leaders from cnn, the "new york times," and the "washington post" will meet with attorney general merrick garland today. the meeting is set to discuss a controversial trump era leak investigation. it comes after revelations that department of justice officials saw 2017 phone and e-mail records from reporters at all three media outlets. >>> still to come, despite a massive vaccination push in the u.s., some experts warn of a potential new wave of covid-19 on the horizon. we'll tell you what one former official says about the spread of the delta variant. >>> also, ahead a full easing of lockdown restrictions in england is supposed to be one week away. now british media say prime minister boris johnson is likely to hit the pause button. back in a moment. >>> u.s. president joe biden's former senior advisor on covid-19 is lashing out at the previous administration. he says the trump white house committed, quote, "three deadly sins in the early pandemic response." he said the first sin was simply denying the existence of the pandemic. in his view, the second

with me now, joey and paula reed. thank you for being with me.e political element and before we get to the president's conversation with vladimir putin, how is your son? what is the latest on his diagnosis and treatment? >> well, we got a quick phone call from him and he has been returned back to his jail. he said he is still having chest pain and he has requested a new covid test and x-ray, and it's -- he also said that while he was in the hospital jail that he did not receive any treatment, all he got was, like, vitamins. >> so you had a phone call with him. when was the call? >> monday morning -- >> i think it was tuesday. was it monday? >> the day before yesterday. >> paula, the last time we spoke at the end of our conversation you were breaking down just having not heard from him. what was it like to hear from your son, to hear his voice? >> obviously it was very exciting for us, and i could tell the phone rang and you could tell from the number on it it was trevor from overseas, and his sister was here and got to talk to him, joey, and his

paula reed is joining me now with more. >> kate, i've been working through this. 33-page opinion fromd from his law license for false allegations about the 2020 election. pretty stunning language in this opinion. this panel found that giuliani made false and misleading statements to the courts, lawmakers and the public at large in his capacity as an attorney for former president trump. and the trump campaign in connection with the 2020 election. >> the court concluded his actions warrant this suspension. now, prior to this, he has had a lengthy career in new york law. he was first admitted to the bar in 1969 and worked in the justice department. he was the mayor of new york and more recently he's been representing former president trump in various legal issues. now, this all came about after the attorney grievance panel received numerous complaints and conducted an investigation and here they have decided he should be stripped of his license. >> paula, thank you so much for that. joining me right now is the senior legal analyst for more on this. ellie, what's your reaction? >> well, t

paula reed, cnn, washington. >> thank you. it could be a big way for trump and the trump organization. >> absolutely. >>> still ahead, for the first time in 15 months, an american cruise ship is carrying passengers at sea! cnn is on board. join us next. there's interest you accrue, and interests you pursue. plans for the long term, and plans for a long weekend. assets you allocate, and ones you hold tight. at thrivent, we believe money is a tool, not a goal. and with the right guidance, you can get the financial clarity you need, and live a life rich in meaning, and gratitude. to learn more, text thrive to 444555, or visit thrivent.com. what happens when we welcome change? we can transform our workforce overnight out of convenience, or necessity. we can explore uncharted waters, and not only make new discoveries, but get there faster, with better outcomes. with app, cloud and anywhere workspace solutions, vmware helps companies navigate change-- meeting them where they are, and getting them where they want to be. faster. vmwar

joining us now, trevor reed's parents joey and paula reed. thank you both. or the immediate release of trevor reed, a marine veteran who is being held as a political prisoner in russia. we will not tolerate putin using americans as political pawns. your response, paula? >> of course we're very happy that that has passed. we've been waiting for it for a little while. we're glad that it is out there and it's passed. and i know that it will make trevor feel great as well. >> joy, tell me about yesterday, about the court decision yesterday and where you were when you heard that the court had denied trevor's appeal and what your reaction was. >> my reaction was a little different than my wife's. but we were expecting this, we had been told all along by the attorneys that no matter what defense we presented, we could have had a thousand witnesses and he would have still been found guilty. and we'll have to appeal to the next level of court. we were a little surprised that judges actually fell asleep during the hearing. it was a two-hour defense argument, and some o

paula reed has the details. what are you learning?rst criminal charges to be filed in the years-long investigation into the trump organization. tomorrow we expect these charges to be tax crimes, both against the company and alan weisselberg. the allegation is they failed to pay proper taxes on certain benefits doled out to employees, like free apartments, cars and even private school tuition. it's unusual to charge a company criminally for failing to pay taxes on fringe benefits. when it comes to mr. wee weisselberg, private school tuition could be harder to explain. these charges are really capping off a pressure campaign trying to get him to flip on former president trump, to share what he knew about what was going on behind closed doors at the trump organization. the big question i keep getting is will the former president be charged? based on our reporting, there is no indication the former president or any member of his family will be charged. we know this investigation is active and ongoing. they will continue to pressure weisse

we'll bring in paula reed with the never before seen videos from the capitol insurrection. paula, good evening to you. thank you for joining us. new videos last night. you had now videos last week and these new videos are showing harassing and attacking police. the violence in what we can see and hear on these videos is absolutely chilling. go on. what do you have for us? >> it is completely chilling and what's so extraordinary about these never before seen clips is that many of them are from the view point of police as they were over run. the footage was coming from body cameras and surveillance cameras, it's the latest chilling frame by frame account how these protrump supporters broke into federal buildings as police tried to protect themselves and the capitol. don, you and i talked about why it so important for the public to see these videos especially as some lawmakers and right wing outlets continue to shift blame away from the former president and supporters by distorting what happened that day. but videos like this, they leave no doubt. but these videos are only avai

paula reed is "outfront" in washington for us tonight. what more are you learning from this new video? >> good evening, it was released after news outlets including cnn sued to make it public. these new videos provided an up close look of what officers who were trying to protect the capitol actually went through on january 6th. now here you see scott farland, a jim owner from new jersey, taunting and shoving an officer and punching him in the face. he was one of the rioters inside the senate side of the building ch . he's charged with 12 criminal counts including assaulting police and carrying a dangerous weapon. prosecutors sending this video directly to the federal judge. while videos like this have been used, it was not been released publicly which is why. cnn and over a dozen other agencies have been fighting to release them as much of the police body camera footage and surveillance tapes that are being used in court still have not been seen by the public. now the clips that have been revealed, they come as some republican members of

. >> joey and paula reed are joining us now.k you for having us. >> i have to ask how are you feeling right now about where things stand as it relates to your son? >> we're very, very encouraged and hopeful. and optimistic. >> the best news we have had in a couple years. >> best news meaning what? there was no big announcement that he would get to be released, but president biden did speak his name and it did come up, what is encouraging about that for you? >> we are try fog have realistic hopes, so our hope is that we would both discussion it and i think very positive terms even before the meeting president putin said they would be open. and they say yes, yes, yes. so that and the kind words that president biden said yesterday were very encouraging. >> what did it mean for you to hear the president speak your son's name? that is something that we have been hoping for, didn't happen in the prior administration. and of course that is so great because we should remain hopeful for our family, it's really what we were just hoping fo

our senior legal affairs correspondent paula reed is joining us. l our viewers what you're learning. >> reporter: wolf, we learned that investigators had concerns about possible obstruction almost as soon as the investigation into congressman gaetz began in the final months of the trump administration. now sources tell us that investigators are scrutinizing alleged contacts to the congressman, his associates and some key witnesses in this case. tonight, federal investigators looking at whether congressman matt gaetz or his associates have tried to obstruct an ongoing sex crimes investigation, according to sources familiar with the matter. >> this is bad news for matt gaetz on two levels. first of all, it is a federal crime and a serious one to obstruct justice. people get charged with obstruction of justice all the time. people go to jail simply for obstruction of justice. >> reporter: a source tells cnn that investigators have been told about gaetz and an associate discussing a plan to visit gaetz's ex-girlfriend in october 2020. investigators have

. >>> now, i want to turn to cnn's paula reed because she has more information on the breaking news. ks for joining us. the newly released i have owes. what are you seeing in the new videos, paula? >> what is incredible is there is the first time we've seen evidence related to a major planning conspiracy case in the capitol riot investigation. charles donohue is charged in the case that accuses the leaders of the proud boys of orchestrating breaking into the u.s. capitol on january 6th. now prosecutors say and donohue has been coordinatcoordinating, coordinating group chats and a trusted lieutenant on january 6th that gave directions to others and actually cheered on allegedly other proud boys and apparently cheered them on while obtaining a police riot shield during the siege. we have a longer clip where you can see donohue's face is covered with a white striped bandanna and looking on as others in the crowd take down four police officers walking a stairwell into the capitol. let's take a look. incredibly disturbing video. prosecutors believe that was a key moment as the protrump cro

cnn's paula reed is with me now. paula, what kind of allegations are we talking about here?eek. >> it could be a very bad week for the trump organization. we know the manhattan district attorney's office has informed the company it could be criminally charged as soon as this week. and this case would really focus on benefits. the allegation being that the company was trying to avoid paying payroll taxes on fringe benefits like cars, apartments, and school tuition. it's highly unusual to charge a company for failing to pay taxes on perks like this. so we're going to wait for any charges that are filed and look at exactly how they're supported. we're also watching for potential criminal charges against long time trump organization cfo allen weisselberg. the allegation there is expected to be that he received some of these perks. there's been a pressure campaign on weisselberg for quite some time to flip against former president trump or anyone else he could potentially have evidence against. our colleague reports weisselberg's lawyers have told prosecutors, look, i'm not going

in paula reed, i appreciate it. >>> and thank you all for being with me.t 1:00 p.m. the news continues next with alison and victor. new projects means new project managers. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. the moment you sponsor a job on indeed you get a short list of quality candidates from our resume database. claim your seventy five dollar credit, when you post your first job at indeed.com/home. tonight, i'll be eating a veggie cheeseburger on ciabatta, no tomatoes.. [hard a] tonight... i'll be eating four cheese tortellini with extra tomatoes. [full emphasis on the soft a] so its come to this? [doorbell chimes] thank you. [doorbell chimes] bravo. careful, hamill. daddy's not here to save you. oh i am my daddy. wait, what? what are you talking about? it's an important time to save. with priceline, you can get up to 60% off amazing hotels. and when you get a big deal... you feel like a big deal. ♪ priceline. every trip is a big deal. >>> thanks for joining me on "newsroom." i'm victor blackwell. a new report has revealed the stunning secur

paula reed, cnn, washington. >>> and breaking news out of new mexico. world where every one of us is connected. everyone. everywhere. where everyone is included. where everyone has access to information, education, opportunity. ♪ ♪ ♪ when everyone and everything is connected. that's really beautiful. anything is possible. good morning. cisco. the bridge to possible. (piano playing) here we go. ♪ [john legend's i can see clearly now] ♪ ♪ ♪ make your reunion happen with vrbo. your together awaits. vrbo the harry's razor is not the same. our razors have five german engineered blades designed to stay sharp, so your eighth shave is as smooth as your first. and we never upcharge you for high quality. harry's. available in store and at harrys.com. >>> breaking news out of new mexico. four people are dead, following a hot air balloon crash. alison kosik joining me with more. how did this happen? >> we are learning details at the moment. here's what we know. five people total involved. four died. one has been taken to the hospital. this all began around 7:00 a.m

the senior legal affairs correspondent paula reed has more about the footage and how republicans likepewing lies in and at toemt to rewrite history. >> reporter: newly released footage to show and up close look at what the officers protecting the capitol went through in the january 6th attack. these new videos released to outlets sued for show him taunting and then punching the officer in the face. another video taken from the officer's body cam showing thomas webster, a former marine and retired nypd officer seen here wearing a red coat threaten the police with a flagpole before tackling one officer to the ground. both men have pleaded not guilty to all charges. >> it is a rude awakening for everyone, but hopefully it will also help people see the lies of the former president. >> it is shameful. sadly, there is an awful number of my republican colleagues who seem to not feel shame. >> reporter: but the videos come as some republican members of congress are attempting to rewrite history downplaying the events of the day and latching on to baseless conspiracy theories. >> doj, fbi or a

paula reed reports. >> reporter: newly released footage showing an up-close look at what officers protectinghe capitol went through during the january 6th attack. these new videos revealed after cnn and other media outlets sued for them in court, showing scott fairlamb, a gym owner from new jersey, taunting, then shoving an officer and punching him in the face. >> no, they work for us. fuck them! >> a former marine and retired nypd officer is seen here wearing a red coat threatening police with a flag pole before tackling one officer to the ground. both men have pleaded not guilty to all charges. >> it's a rude awakening for everyone but hopefully people see the former life of the president. >> it's shameful but some of my republican colleagues do not feel shamed. >> reporter: some members are congress are attempting to rewrite history and downplaying the events of that day and latching on to conspiracy theories. >> dojo intel community what kind of role were they playing. >> reporter: they were not trump supporters they claim but the fbi but claim stemming from reference from a right wing w

paula reed joins us with more.the chances the da's office could be persuaded to chang its mind here? >> pretty slim. today's meeting is not expected to change the tra trajectory of the investigation. prosecutors informed the company it could face criminal charges as soon as this week. cnn learned the charges stem from allegations the company was trying to avoid paying taxes on benefits it gave employees like free cars, apartments and school division. it would be unusual to charge a company for failing to pay taxes on benefits like this. we know the former president and some others have suggested this investigation is politically motivated. so we need to wait to see what if any charges are filed and how strongly they are supported by the evidence. now, we also know there are charges that could be coming as soon as this week against long-time trump organization cfo. the allegation being that he was among the people who received the benefits where taxes were not properly paid. this has been a long-term pressure campai

cnn's paula reed has our new look at the video.is graphic and a reality check of what happened that day. >> reporter: newly released footage showing an up-close look at what officers protecting the capitol went through during the january 6th attack. these new videos revealed after cnn and other media outlets sued for them in court, showing scott fairlamb, a gym owner from new jersey, taunting, then shoving an officer and punching him in the face. >> no, they work for us. fuck them! >> another video taken from an officer's body cam showing thomas webster, a former marine and retired nypd officer is seen here wearing a red coat threatening police with a flag pole before tackling one officer to the ground. both men have pleaded not guilty to all charges. >> it's a rude awakening for everyone. but hopefully, is will also help people see the former lives of the former president. >> it's shameful but some of my republican colleagues do not feel shamed. >> reporter: but the videos come as somebody republican members of congress are attemp

. >> hallie jackson, thank you joining us now are trevor reed's parents, joey and paula reed who have for more than two years. good morning to both of you. it's good to see you >> good morning. >> good morning, thank you >> you just heard what vladimir putin had to say about your son. you heard those words for the very first time just a few moments ago when we aired them what is your reaction? >> i think on the first part of his response talking about paul whelan and our son, trevor reed, they both pleaded not guilty because they're innocent him referring to the number of russians in american prisons, he never mentioned anything about their innocence. we believe that many of the russians in american prisons pleaded guilty because they committed a crime. our son and paul whelan did not. >> right in trevor's case, witnesses, video evidence were ignored by the judge and he was given the longest sentence in modern russian history for that crime there was no one injured and there really was no crime. >> but to hear vladimir putin be so -- yeah, vladimir putin seemed so dismissive, almost g

cnn's senior legal affairs correspondent paula reed has our report. >> reporter: attorney general merricknd says important questions must be resolved about trump justice department's efforts to obtain phone records of democratic lawmakers and their staff. this comes as cnn has learned that the top national security official is stepping down. the justice department insists that his departure has been in the works for months, but it comes just a day after senate majority leader chuck schumer called for him to testify about efforts to target democratic lawmakers. >> he is one of them because he was the assistant attorney general for national security. >> reporter: cnn has also learned that former white house council don mcgahn and his wife had their records secretly obtained by the trump justice department in february 2018, when he was still the top lawyer representing the presidency. apple was barred from reviewing the request until may of this year. it is not clear at this point whether mcgahn was being investigated or if his records were swept up in a request related to someone else. mcga

our senior legal affairs correspondent paula reed has the latest on this. >> reporter: good morning. cnn has learned in february of 2018, the justice department requested from apple records for former white house counsel and his wife. to underscore what an extraordinary request this is, at the time, mcgann was the top lawyer for the president of the united states and apple was barred from revealing this request until may of this year. that means the justice department had to go to court multiple times to keep this under wraps. it's not clear right now whether mcbegan was individually targeted in an investigation or swept up into an investigation of someone else. as of right now, a source familiar tells cnn that the former attorney general jeff sessions and former deputy attorney general rod rosenstein had no knowledge for the request for don's records. something about that does not add up. we continue to work our sources on how that could be possible. the two top justice officials would not know about such an extraordinary request. also, an important piece of context here? few weeks

i want to get straight to paula reed. >> reporter: this is a stunning development for one of the nation's top law enforcement officials. in its opinion, this state appellate panel concluded there's evidence that giuliani communicated demon -- false statements for former president trump and the trump campaign in connection with trump's failed effort at reelection in 2020. they concluded what he did is a threat to the public interest which is why he has been suspended from the practice of law. it is not easy to have your license suspended this way. this all came about after the bar received multiple complaints conducted investigation and came to this result. but we're actually expected to see mr. giuliani in a few hours. he is due to appear in federal court here in washington d.c. to defend against a defamation suit brought by dominion voting systems. we may have the chance to ask him to react. he first joined the bar in 1969. he's had a lengthy legal career. he was in the justice department for a while. he was the mayor of new york. and then he has been representing former president trump

that's a statement from paula and joey reed, the parents of trevor reed.t comes a few days after they received their last communication with him in the form of a letter. it was handwritten in russian because apparently according to the russian prison rules, you have to write letters in russian so the authorities can read it. here's sort of a translation of what he said. said his blood pressure was very high, telling his parents, i've got pain in my lungs, i suffer from a cough from time to time, i've lost several kilograms in weight. we aren't allowed to go for walks. he's saying that he hasn't had much access, either, to embassy officials, and he's concerned whether they even know about his case. look. this is one of the issues that the two presidents are going to speak on. i spoke with the kremlin a couple of days ago. they say, look, it's a sensitive issue, but it is likely to be on the agenda when the two presidents meet on wednesday. >> what is the president saying so far? >> reporter: in the case of trevor reed, the diplomats in moscow have been real

. >> shannon: let's talk about trevor's case with his parents, paula and joey reed.e any renewed hopes about a conversation about your son going into that summit next week? >> yes, thanks for having us. we have a lot of hope after the summit. the administration has been speaking out for trevor for quite a while now at the white house, and with a secondary along with members of congress and senator cornyn in the senate. >> shannon: i know that you got word that he tested positive for covid back in may. you have been trying to get information about how he is, what is the ability of you all to communicate with him at all at this point? >> we don't have any ability to communicate with them right now. we've been trying to get phone calls to ourselves or to them and they have been and denied along the way every time they have tried. so 14 days today as we haven't been able to talk to him directly to find out what is going on. >> and they won't give any reports of the embassy or to our attorneys on what his condition is. >> shannon: are you all worried that this -- first of

and joining us now trevor reed's president paula and joey reed and his sister taylor reed. morning to all three of you. >> good morning. ainsley: big day for you guys. paula what are your hopes here. >> we are hoping that some kind of agreement can be made clear to countries and they can figure something out to let our son come home to us. ainsley: joey, what happened? why was he imprisoned? >> one story short, we believe that when they realized that the police had detained a former united states marine presidential guard with former top secret clearance, that he would be a good bargaining chip. ainsley: wow. and what are you hearing about today's meeting? >> just that we have had assurances both publicly and privately that he is a priority and he will be discussed with the russians. and they have been demanding for month that he be released. ainsley: paula, are how is he doing? i know you have talked to him on the phone. how are they treating him? >> he's doing okay. he had been sick with covid. he thinks he still has residual illnesses. he was asking for a lung x-ray. i'm