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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Garland Defends Special Counsel Amid Trump Attacks; Trump Attacks Biden, Special Counsel After Court; Constant Combat On Ukraine's Southern Front; Federal Reserve Halts Interest Rate Hikes But Signals More Likely To Come This Year; Pennsylvania Officials Release Plan To Fix I-95. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired June 14, 2023 - 16:00   ET

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

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JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Did Donald Trump just publicly admit to the very crimes he was arrested for?

THE LEAD starts right now.

A mere few hours after he was arrested and arraigned, Donald Trump told donors this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: I hadn't had a chance to go through all the boxes. It's a long tedious job. It takes a long time. Which I was prepared to do, but I have a very busy life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Can prosecutors use this admission against him?

Plus, an up close look at front lines of Ukraine's counteroffensive.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, we had to evacuate to the shelter now because apparently the guys fear there could be aviation bombs coming in fairly soon. You can see the situation here is still very kinetic. There's a lot of shelling still going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: The items Ukrainian troops say are key to defeating the Russians.

And then, if inflation is supposedly easing, why does it seem every trip to the grocery store is getting more expensive?

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TAPPER: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

And we start today with our law and justice lead.

Despite Donald Trump launching a growing number of baseless attacks on special counsel Jack Smith, Attorney General Merrick Garland is standing by his man. Garland, today, emphasizing that contrary to Trump and his Republican allies' criticisms of the prosecutor, the Justice Department is committed to independence and accountability.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MERRICK GARLAND, ATTORNEY GENERAL: Mr. Smith is a veteran career prosecutor. He has assembled a group of experienced and talented prosecutors and agents who share his commitment to integrity and the rule of law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: The attorney general's comments come after a lie-filled rant by Mr. Trump last night. He tried to paint himself as a blameless victim, targeted by Biden, Biden's thugs, misfits and Marxists.

But during that same event, a fund-raiser at Trump's golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, Trump admitted to having kept classified materials, just hours after he pleaded not guilty to all 37 charges in federal court related to having classified materials.

CNN's Paula Reid starts off our coverage today with a closer look at what happens next in this historic legal saga.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARLAND: I now take a few questions.

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Speaking for first time since former President Trump was indicted --

GARLAND: Mr. Smith is a veteran career prosecutor.

REID: -- Attorney General Merrick Garland standing by special counsel Jack Smith who is prosecuting Trump and addressing fears of a violent response from protesters.

GARLAND: We live in a democracy. These kind of matters are adjudicated through the judicial system. The Justice Department will be vigilant to ensure that there are no threats of violence or actual violence.

REID: Demonstrations Tuesday outside the Miami federal courthouse where Trump was arraigned were largely peaceful.

TRUMP: I did everything right and they indicted me.

REID: Trump gearing up for the legal and political fight of his life, as the first former U.S. president to face federal criminal charges, the result of a large scale justice department investigation into his handling of national security secrets after leaving office. TRUMP: Many people have asked me why I had these boxes, why did you

want them?

REID: Trump speaking to supporters at a fund-raiser held at his New Jersey golf club, the same day he made his first appearance in federal court. Telling them how the FBI ended up recovering hundreds of classified documents from his Mar-a-Lago home last summer.

TRUMP: These boxes were containing all types of personal belongings -- many, many things, shirts and shoes. I hadn't had a chance to go through all the boxes. It is a long, tedious job, which I was prepared to do, but I have a very busy life.

TIM PARLATORE, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: Don't talk about the case in public. Let your lawyer do all the talking for you.

REID: Attorney Tim Parlatore who up until a few weeks ago was representing Trump in this matter says, ideally, Trump would stop talking about this case in public altogether.

In court Tuesday, Trump was silent. His attorney, Todd Blanche, entering a not guilty plea on his behalf. During his nearly hour-long arraignment, Trump signed his bond agreement and the judge telling him not to communicate with his co-defendant, who is also his personal assistant, Walt Nauta, about this case.

TRUMP: That young man right there, he's answered more subpoenas than any human being in the history of the world.

REID: Parlatore worked alongside Nauta when he represented Trump. Asked if he thinks the president's assistant might make a deal to flip on his boss --

PARLATORE: Every criminal defendant has to make their own decision as to what they are willing to do, how much they're willing to risk. It's the client that has to live with it for the rest of their life.

REID: What's next in this case? The Justice Department will provide a full list of witnesses Trump would be barred from talking to except through counsel.

The discovery process begins and with it likely disputes over evidence, and Walt Nauta's arraignment will be in two weeks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

REID (on camera): Going forward, Trump's hearings will be held a little closer to home in West Palm Beach, the location of his Mar-a- Lago resort.

Now the case will be heard before Judge Aileen Cannon. She was appointed by Trump after he lost his election, but before he left office.

Now, according to an analysis done by "The New York Times," she has only presided over four trials, which amounted to a total of just 14 trial days. Jake, according to the special counsel, this case is expected to last around 21 days.

TAPPER: Wow. Pretty big trial for somebody who just got on to the bench.

Paula Reid, thank you so much.

In a separate investigation into Donald Trump, the Fulton County, Georgia, sheriff said he sent teams down to the federal courthouse in Miami, Florida, yesterday, that was -- so they could learn about the security measures needed when a former president is in court. Or translated, how they can prepare for another possible arrest and arraignment of Donald Trump.

The Fulton County district attorney has been investigating Trump and his allies' efforts to overturn the 2020 election in that state specifically.

I want to bring in CNN's Sara Murray.

Sara, how else did the sheriff say his team is preparing for a possible indictment?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, they basically said that they are talking to local, state and federal partners, which we would expect as they try to come up with this security plan. They went to New York, they went to Miami, they now have the benefit, if they decide -- if the district attorney decides to move forward with the Trump indictment, of being able to see this play out twice.

And we know there have been a lot of security concerns around this investigation in Georgia. Obviously, they're worried about keeping Donald Trump safe, if he is a defendant in this case. There may be multiple defendants so they have to think about that.

And they're also frankly about the district attorney and her staff. I mean, she's a Black woman who's been overseeing this case and has been pretty outspoken about the kinds of threats they have been getting.

TAPPER: What do we know about when possible charges will likely come and also how many people will be involved?

MURRAY: Well, we're expecting Fani Willis, the D.A. there, to make an announcement sometime in the first three weeks of August on who, if anyone, is going to face charges. That's based on some of the smoke signals that are not so hard to read that she sent out to some of the security agencies and other county officials. And we know she's looking at a racketeering and potential conspiracy case.

So, again, we're talking about potentially multiple defendants. If she does decide to bring charges against Donald Trump, you can also see her bring charges against people who were working alongside him in Georgia. You could also see her bring charges against people in Trump's inner circle.

We know people like Rudy Giuliani have been named targets in that investigation. So, there is a wide array of people she's been looking at, as potential defendants.

TAPPER: All right. Sara Murray, thanks so much.

This morning, CNN was told that the Trump campaign raised more than $2 million last night at that post-arraignment, post-arrest fund-raiser at Mr. Trump's New Jersey golf club. Sources say apart from the former president's comments on camera, to guests, he complained about the indictment, praised himself for his handling of the indictment, and also asked guests what they thought of his court appearance.

I want to bring in CNN's Jeff Zeleny.

And, Jeff, a Trump aide said they're now confident in what they see as their playbook moving forward.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, they certainly had experience with this now. I mean, first in New York, and then in Miami, and it gives the sense that Sara was just reporting that they expect Georgia is coming.

So there is a classic playbook of the former president, seeking affirmation. He, you know, arrived in the Versailles cafe in the Cuban neighborhood, Little Havana, in Miami. He was appearing with supporters are. Most people charged with these serious crimes, of course, might handle this differently. But this is his -- it is his playbook.

The question is, now he has melded the courtroom with the campaign trail and he is reveling in that, but there is a sense out there of is this adding to Trump fatigue or not. So, we don't know yet at this point if this playbook is working for him in the long term, but in the short term, they think it is.

[16:10:04]

And the fund-raising is one example they point to.

TAPPER: It is interesting, though, because now that the indictment is public, some of the people that were very critical of it have changed their tune. At least to a degree.

Take a listen to former Vice President Pence. He sounds very different today than he did just a week ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I had a chance to review the indictment over the weekend. And this indictment contains a serious charge, and I cannot defend what is alleged. Highly sensitive classified material could have fallen into the wrong hands, even inadvertently. That jeopardizes our national security, it puts at risk the men and women of our armed forces.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: It's really interesting there because that's obviously not what Donald Trump is saying. Donald Trump was saying he had every right to have these documents, there's no problem, this is all a witch-hunt, et cetera. That's not what Mike Pence is saying at all. What is his strategy here?

ZELENY: Well, look, I think he initially said such charges would be divisive for the country. But now, he said after he read the indictment, how serious it is. He's pointing to the actual substance of this indictment.

I think interestingly going specifically at what it did for national security and members of our military. His son is a marine.

TAPPER: Yeah.

ZELENY: His son-in-law serves in the Navy. So, that is what he's pointing to there.

So, I think the former vice president's words there are very sincere. He's not likely to find much political upside for sort of speaking as frankly as that, but then at the same time, he still adds a little bit to those who are suspicious of the justice department, those Trump loyalists saying, but it looks a little political.

So, it is a challenge for all of these candidates. The biggest challenge, of course, is once again, we're heading into a summer where Donald Trump appears to be sucking up most of the oxygen in this presidential race. And that's what the very thing that these candidates need.

TAPPER: It was eight years ago this week that Donald Trump rode down that golden escalator at Trump Tower and announced he was running for president. He was accompanied by Melania down that escalator. He was introduced by his daughter Ivanka at that event.

We didn't see either of those women, the closest two women to him as far as we know, in Miami. We didn't see either of them at Bedminster. Instead, he is surrounded by, you know, these acolytes, these far right MAGA folks.

What's going on?

ZELENY: It is so striking. Eight years ago in Friday that he essentially began his commandeering of the Republican Party where no one then took him seriously but was surrounded by the closest people to him.

I don't think it was that odd he was in the courtroom alone, but being at Bedminster last night without Melania Trump, she was in New York city, a close distance away, Ivanka Trump was not in Miami where she lives and she was also not at Bedminster.

So, what is going on is most of his family is simply not interested in being involved in the presidential campaign with the exception of his sons this time around. And he is surrounded by Marjorie Taylor Greene and other figures who have risen up in this Trump era. But it was a moment of solitude. He looked alone in some respects. So not to get into his head here, but he clearly is not surrounded by

the people who brought him to this. Melania in particular, I thought, was very striking that she was not next to him or anywhere around Bedminster, frankly.

TAPPER: Yeah. And, in fact, it was his granddaughter's bat mitzvah over the weekend and he also apparently didn't attend either, an incredibly important day in the life of that young girl, and Ivanka and Jared Kushner. Mazel tov to the family.

Jeff Zeleny, thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Donald Trump had a lot to say about his arraignment. Some of what he said could land him in even more trouble potentially. And we're also going to -- we're going to do a legal fact check of a number of the claims that Donald Trump made.

Then, falling flat. Bud Light no longer the top selling beer in the United States. So which beer topped it?

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TAPPER: In our law and justice lead today, we're getting an inside look at what former president Trump might be planning for his legal defense as he prepares to fight his 37-count federal indictment for his alleged mishandling of classified materials and refusal to give them back to the federal government.

In a speech at his Bedminster club last night, Trump made several claims that he says prove these charges are political persecution, but Mr. Trump, you will perhaps not be surprised to learn, said a lot of things last night that were not true.

With me now is CNN's Daniel Dale for the first of our two fact checks about the remarks.

Daniel, I'll start with Trump's claims about the Espionage Act under which he's charged.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The Espionage Act has been used to go after traitors and spies. It has nothing to do with a former president, legally keeping his own documents, which just about every other president has done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: What's the truth here, Daniel?

DANIEL DALE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's a lot of dishonesty there, Jake, in a just few words. So, these were not his own documents under the Presidential Records Act. They legally belong to the federal government the moment he left office. It is not true that just about every other president has done this.

He's the only president in the Presidential Records Act era to take sensitive documents to his home and club and refuse to give them back when asked.

And this suggestion of the Espionage Act is only for spies and traitors is just not true. Of course, the law does deal with spies and traitors, but there is a provision under which he and many other people have been charged, 793E, that says all you have to do to violate is willfully retain national defense information.

And just in the Trump era, a number of people have been charged for not spying, but just retaining information. We have Harold Martin, a former NSA contractor, took a bunch of sensitive information to his house, not accused of disseminating them, being a spy, he was sentenced to nine years in prison.

There was an Air Force officer, again, accused of taking classified documents and not being a spy and not disseminating them and sentenced to three years by a Trump-appointed judge.

And there was an NSA employee who took sensitive classified documents to his house because he feared he was falling behind on his work and wanted to do work with them on nights and weekends and sentenced him to five and a half years in prison under this provision.

[16:20:00]

TAPPER: Former President Trump also criticized Joe Biden several times in his speech, President Biden. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You watch a corrupt sitting president had his top political opponent arrested on fake and fabricated charges. Joe Biden had troves of classified documents from his time as vice president and even as a senator, which was completely and totally illegal. And Biden sent 1,850 boxes to the University of Delaware.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: A lot there. Daniel, help us as much as you can. First of all, Trump insinuated that Biden had him arrested, that Biden did it, also that Biden also had illegally obtained and kept troves of documents.

DALE: Yeah. So, the first part, there is no indication, no evidence whatsoever that President Biden is somehow behind these charges that were brought by a special counsel and approved by a Florida grand jury of ordinary citizens.

Then this claim about Biden and the 1850 boxes. Look, Biden is under his own special counsel investigation because he did take some number of classified documents from his time prior to being elected president.

But these 1,850 boxes, Jake, are not 1,850 classified boxes. What they are boxes of records from his 36 years in the U.S. Senate.

Senators, unlike presidents, own their own offices' records. They can do whatever they want. They usually donate them to colleges. They can burn them. They can give them to passers by, whatever.

So, he donated them. And contrary to Trump's claim that Biden won't let anyone look at these 1,850 boxes, Biden consented to two FBI searches of those report records as Paula Reid reported and there was no initial indication as of February at least that there was anything classified in them. So, not only were they not entirely classified, there was nothing classified as far as the initial search showed.

TAPPER: Just throwing stuff against the wall to see what sticks, I guess.

DALE: Yeah.

TAPPER: All right. Daniel Dale, congratulations on the newest Dale.

DALE: Thank you so much.

TAPPER: We missed you, but we're glad you're back. We're also glad there's an extra Dale in the world.

DALE: Thanks, Jake.

TAPPER: We're going to continue fact checking Trump on his legal strategy with CNN's senior legal analyst Elie Honig and Jason Baron, former attorney and senior counsel to the Justice Department during the George H.W. Bush and Clinton administration. He's also director of litigation for the National Archives and Records Administration.

Elie, another thing we heard the president say last night, another claim is that he could face up to 400 years in prison. I guess that's theoretically possible, but do you think that's at all really on the table?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: No, not at all, Jake. Nobody is getting 400 years in this case or 40 years or anything close to it.

The way he gets that number is if you take the maximum allowable sentences for all 37 charges in this case and you add them up, it does come out to 400. However, nobody is getting the maximum in a case like this. You have to look at the federal sentencing guidelines, which are influential, the judge has to consider them, but they're not binding. If you run that calculation, this case comes out pretty high, to about 8 to 12 years.

Now, the judge can go above that, which seems unlikely to me. The judge can go below that, but, Jake, this seems to me to be no matter what, even if the judge goes below the 8 to 12 year range, it is hard to see a judge going down to probation, to no sentence.

So, this seems to me if there is a conviction like it is very likely to be a prison sentence of some sort, maybe not eight to ten or 12 years, definitely not 400 years. TAPPER: Yeah. At least that's a claim grounded in some sort of

foundation of reality, though. I mean, that is -- if you add up all the sentencing.

Jason, another claim we heard from Trump last night is that he is allowed to take these documents under the Presidential Records Act. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Very simply, the Presidential Records Act, which is not even mentioned in this ridiculous 44-page indictment, under the Presidential Records Act, which is civil, not criminal, I had every right to have these documents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So, Jason, you're an expert on the Presidential Records Act. You worked at the National Archives. Is what he saying true? And why isn't the Presidential Records Act mentioned in the indictment?

JASON BARON, FORMER JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ATTORNEY AND SENIOR COUNSEL: Well, the president is simply wrong. The records that were taken to Mar-a-Lago are the American people's records. The Presidential Records Act was passed by Congress to change prior practice where presidents had their records as personal and they could take them home.

But every since Ronald Reagan, presidents have been governed under the PRA and the Presidential Records Act says that when Joe Biden was inaugurated, when he was sworn into office, those records were in the legal custody of National Archives. President Trump had no right to take a single document to Mar-a-Lago, whether it is classified or unclassified. And he's conflating the indictment, with respect to the Espionage Act.

He separately is charged under that act for taking information related to the national security, some portion of the documents were classified. That may be a crime. The Presidential Records Act was violated because he took any document outside the legal custody of National Archives and should have returned them when the NARA staff asked for them.

[16:25:04]

TAPPER: Elie, Trump's Bedminster club is mentioned several times in the indictment as a place where Trump showed classified documents to others. Do you think it is possible we might see additional charges brought by the special counsel in New Jersey because all the charges from yesterday's arrest and arraignment took place -- had to do with things that took place in Florida.

HONIG: Yeah, Jake, I've seen this hypothesis out there. I think it is interesting. I think it is a smart concept, but I do see a couple of possible difficulties with it. One, it's not actually clear from the indictment that there were actual classified documents at Bedminster. There's two incidents referred to in the indictment, where Trump sort of alludes to or refers to or suggests that he has some classified information.

But let's remember, the indictment does not actually refer to any documents recovered and a reporting is that DOJ was not able to recover any documents that match up. So, we don't know if DOJ has that or not, but if they don't, we're not going to see additional charges.

The other thing is when prosecutors have a related set of charges, you're not supposed to charge them seriatim. You're not supposed to sort of charge one and then wait and maybe hold back the other for strategic advantage. So, I think if they had New Jersey charges based on those Bedminster incidents, they would have charged them altogether.

TAPPER: Jason, Trump's lawyers have been making the argument that Trump in their view has the absolute right to designate his records as personal. Is there any legal support for that claim?

BARON: No. That's just not the law of the D.C. Circuit.

In fact, they keep citing a case that involved President Clinton's interview with a historian and deciding that those interviews were personal and took them as his personal records. That's different than taking classified records out of the White House or any records that are in the official business of the White House.

And so, personal records are like diaries and journals and other records that are not circulated, not used for government business. Everything that we know of that are -- that he took with him seemed to be official records and classified records. And so, that's just not what he should do.

The case law actually says the opposite. The cases that are cited here, there is D.C. Circuit precedent that says we did not hold that the president could designate any material he wishes as presidential records and thereby exercise virtually complete control over it. So, these claims are just absolutely not what the law is.

TAPPER: Jason Baron, you sound a little frustrated and I have to say, welcome to my world. Appreciate to you and to Elie Honig. Thanks so much.

As America's top diplomat heads to China, there is concerning new proof that China is using Cuba to spy on the U.S. We're going to talk to a Republican member of Congress who was once stationed at Guantanamo Bay when he was in the Navy.

Stay with us.

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TAPPER: Our world lead brings us back to Ukraine and consecutive days of deadly Russian strikes on southern war battered cities. Today, Ukraine says at least three people were killed in the port city of Odesa. On Tuesday, 11 were killed including a child in Kryvyi Rih, when a

Russian missile struck an apartment, a civilian apartment building, according to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Still, the people of Ukraine are pressing forward with their counteroffensive against the Russians.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen is with Ukrainian troops on the southern front lines, taking cover as Russian jets drop bombs from above.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Ukrainian forces laying into Russian troops holed up in southern Ukraine. This video shows what was the Russians' final stand here, the brigade said, but Vladimir Putin's army continues to put up stiff resistance, a drone pilot tells me.

They are good grunts, he says. Sometimes it is very difficult to knock them out of those positions.

But the Ukrainians have been making significant gains here, after launching large scale offensive operations across southern Ukraine. Heavy combat now nearly constant.

This is the area of Ukraine where the heaviest fighting is currently taking place. You can see what it has done to a lot of the buildings in the cities and villages around this area. And that fighting is set to get even worse.

We're with the 68th Jaeger Brigade, the soldiers confident and grateful for U.S. supplied vehicles, saying it's not only the firepower, but also the protection that matters.

A lot of times it saved my life, he says, it saved our lives every day from shrapnel, shelling and bullets.

But some vehicles have already been lost, and the Russians continue to fire back with frequent artillery barrages, but also using jets to try to hit Ukrainian forward positions. We had to take cover as a plane dropped bombs nearby.

Not the only time we had to scramble.

We had to evacuate to the shelter now because the guys fear there could be aviation bombs coming in fairly soon. You can see the situation here is still very kinetic.

[16:35:01]

There's a lot of shelling still going on.

Still, the deputy brigade commander says his soldiers are just getting started.

Our counterattack will definitely be successful, he says, we believe in victory, we are moving towards our goal, we are advancing. On this part of the front line, the Ukrainians believe they have the

gear, the manpower, and the determination to advance far into Russian- held territory.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (on camera): But, Jake, the Ukrainians certainly are also facing some pretty big obstacles there on the part of the Russians. What we have seen and heard from that part of the front line is not only those combat jets, but also attack helicopters and combat drones as well, as the Ukrainians are trying to push through those very tough defenses to try and make this counteroffensive a success, Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Fred Pleitgen in Ukraine, please stay safe.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is headed to China this weekend after his original trip in February was scrapped over the Chinese spy balloon incident. Now, Blinken is going to meet with his counterpart in Beijing as new cracks continue to form in the U.S./China relationship. U.S. officials now say they have well-documented proof that China is currently spying on the United States from bases in Cuba, a practice that has been on the U.S. intelligence committee's radar since at least 2019. China and Cuba both vehemently deny the accusations.

Texas Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales joins us now.

Congressman Gonzales, just so our viewers are aware, you served in Cuba at Guantanamo Bay when you were in the U.S. Navy and you say you used to worry about communist Cuba. Now you worry about communist China. Blinken says the Biden administration is taking a quiet but direct approach to dealing with these spy bases, Chinese spy bases in Cuba. What do you think is the best approach?

REP. TONY GONZALES (R-TX): Yeah, thank you for having me back on, Jake.

You know, five years ago today, I was at Guantanamo. And at that time at Guantanamo Bay, and at that time, we were worried about the Chinese. We've had -- honestly, this isn't a new topic. But you've seen them become more and more aggressive.

You know, when I was at Guantanamo, we were also worried about the communist Cubans, but it was the iguanas that were everywhere that took a lot of our attention. Times have changed. What does that mean?

It means communist China is becoming a more and more of a greater threat to the United States, a direct and clear and present threat to the United States. And it is important that secretary of state Blinken, when he goes to China, when he visits China, it is important he has a conversation, but he lets them know that we're going to be firm in protecting our allies and our assets.

TAPPER: China has been watching Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a potential playbook as China threatens its independent neighbor Taiwan. Both Putin and President Xi see any western military aid as a

provocation. How does the U.S. bolster Taiwan's military defenses without igniting a larger conflict?

GONZALES: At you alluded earlier, I spent 20 years in the military, five years at war. I fought in two wars. I want to do everything we can to prevent another war. And a big part of that is getting ahead of it.

One of the things I think we're seeing or learning from the Ukrainian conflict is the Ukrainians, as strong as they are to fend off these -- the Russian aggression, it would have been a lot better if we would have given them the tools they needed to be successful ahead of the invasion.

So I think that's part of what we can do is ensure that Taiwan has a the resources it already -- it needs. And there has been some military aid packages that have already been agreed to, already passed in Congress, and signed by previous presidents that still have not reached Taipei. That's a good start.

Get Taiwan the military resources it needs to fend off communist China.

TAPPER: Speaking of U.S. national security in China, two Chinese nationals were arrested for intruding, for trespassing at Trump's Florida Mar-a-Lago resort, the same resort where the FBI found troves of classified documents stored unsafely, unsecurely -- insecurely.

How upset, how disturbed, how distressed were you to see the images and read the indictment?

GONZALES: Jake, this is dangerous. When we have a country that does not protect classified material, it is dangerous to national security of the United States and others. And it disturbs me that you have elected officials like President Biden, you know, we saw some documents out of his Corvette, former vice president pence, and others, you go back to Secretary Clinton and former President Trump, it just bothers me that you have a political class that is not protecting classified material.

I spent 20 years as a navy cryptologist. If myself or someone else in that space were to act in the same manner, we would be in prison a long time. So that bothers me.

[16:40:00]

TAPPER: There is a -- I mean, first of all, Pence has been cleared of any wrongdoing and Pence and Biden reported the documents to the National Archives. There is a qualitative difference between all of those other individuals and Donald Trump and what he did, what he's alleged to have done given his refusal and reluctance to turn the documents over, and also the fact that according to the indictment, he was showing the documents to people that did not have the classification to see them. GONZALES: Yeah, that case is still ongoing and we'll see how that all

shakes out, you know, in a court of law. But it is more of just the way elected officials are handling classified material. That worries me. That concerns me. The manner in which the house intelligence and the Senate intelligence committee are dealing with things.

We got to get back to blaming one another and utilizing political wins and getting back to protecting America, protecting our national security interests, protecting our allies abroad, that starts with Ukraine, that continues with Taiwan, and any other of our allies abroad -- a big part of that is protecting our national security. And we have to take it more serious.

TAPPER: Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales of Texas, Navy veteran, thank you so much for your time today. Appreciate it, sir.

GONZALES: Thank you, Jake.

TAPPER: Some prices are dropping, while others are still soaring. What's behind the pain in your wallet when you go to the grocery store?

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[16:45:37]

TAPPER: In our money lead now, some good news. After raising interest rates 10 times in a row to fight high inflation, the Federal Reserve finally today hit a pause button. That's the good news. The bad news, this is not making all of your bills cheaper.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich joins us now.

Vanessa, what's getting more expensive and what is not?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS & POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Good news for consumers, energy prices coming down and that's why you're seeing inflation continuing to drop. So energy prices meaning gasoline, home heating and cooling prices coming down as well. But what is still keeping inflation at 4 percent instead of 2 percent that the Federal Reserve wants to see is shelter, prices for rent still very high. You also have used cars and trucks still expensive. And you have food -- prices at the grocery store after falling for a few months back up.

So, bakery goods, vegetables, meat, still high at the grocery store. Good news for egg lovers, a really historic drop, egg prices down 13.8 percent in May. We haven't seen that kind of drop since the 1950s. And that is because earlier in the year, we saw egg prices up 70 percent. That was because of the avian flu and concerns over inventory.

So, good news at least on the egg front. But still a little bit of elevation on other key items that Americans are shopping for at the grocery store every day, Jake.

TAPPER: And, Vanessa, a victim of the culture wars, Bud Light no longer the top selling beer in America, so what is? YURKEVICH: Yeah, there is a new beer king in town. Modelo Especial, a

Mexican beer company, and this has overtaken bud light as the best- selling beer in America after Bud Light held this title for two decades. So you have Modelo sales, the four weeks leading up to June 3rd, in May, up 12.2 percent and you have Bud Light dropping by 24.4 percent.

And experts say that part of that is because Modelo has had really good advertising, great packaging, and they're riding the bump after Cinco de Mayo. As you mentioned, Bud light has had a lot of backlash, conservative backlash over a partnership that they did with transgender activist and actress Dylan Mulvaney. That has played out over weeks. We have seen Bud Light sales come down.

A little glimmer of hope for Bud Light, though, Jake, they still hold the sales, the top leading sales year to date, but in May, overtaken for first time in two decades, Jake.

TAPPER: Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

When will one of the busiest sections of I-95, one of the biggest highways in America, when will it be able to reopen after that deadly collapse in Philadelphia? We'll bring you an update next.

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[16:52:51]

TAPPER: Crews in the great commonwealth of Pennsylvania are scheduled to work around the clock to finish the demolition of the section of I- 95 that collapsed in a truck fire on Sunday. The collapse has forced traffic to be rerouted to several different detours through the great city of Philadelphia.

Today, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro unveiled a plan to fix the bridge and restore the key East Coast highway.

CNN's Pete Muntean joins us now.

Pete, what are officials saying is the plan to get the highway back up and running as soon as possible? I don't need to tell you how incredibly pivotal I-95 is.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Critical. You know, the idea now is to finish the demolition tomorrow and then move on to essentially a two-step process to get traffic flowing on again. The first step essentially doing -- likening it to a dental temporary crown. Fill in the gap and then pave over it to open up the lanes of I-95 north and south sometime soon, and then build a new bridge, because this bridge has been essentially completely wiped out.

The bad news here is that we don't really have a timeline just yet on fixing the new bridge. The good news here is that the traffic will be flowing sometime soon. And the governor says this is really just the quickest and easiest way to get the traffic flowing again in such a critical spot of Philadelphia. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOSH SHAPIRO (D), PENNSYLVANIA: The quickest way to reopen I-95 is to back fill what is behind me and pave over it. This approach will allow us to avoid delays to shipment and supply chain issues, and pursue a simple and quicker path.

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MUNTEAN: Shapiro also says the work will take place 24/7. Also, interestingly, you heard, Jake, they're going to add in a webcam so people can stream this live. Also around the clock, it shows how important this part of I-95 is to the area and beyond.

TAPPER: I love that. I love that accountability and transparency. You keep an eye on them. You get up at 3:00 in the morning and let us know, Pete. I'm assigning you that right now.

I-95, as we talked about, it's one of the busiest highways in the country. What has been the effect economically on the supply chains?

MUNTEAN: The numbers are pretty big, 160,000 vehicles every day through that stretch, 8 percent of them are trucks. Transportation Secretary Buttigieg says it's a huge impact on the GDP of the country, not just of the state.

[16:55:06]

So, this was beyond Philadelphia, and it's one of the reasons why the federal government has released $3 million in emergency funding to get this bridge fixed again because it's having such a big impact on the supply chain.

TAPPER: All right. Pete Muntean, thanks so much. Keep us updated on it.

Coming up, why Donald Trump's political team says they're celebrating his arraignment. That's at the top of the hour.

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TAPPER: Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

This hour, quote, the office of pastor is limited to men, unquote. A divisive vote by the largest Protestant domination in the United States, the Southern Baptists Convention, expelling two churches because they had women pastors.