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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Trump Makes Surprise Campaign Stop In New York; Rep. Abigail Spanberger, (D-VA), Is Interviewed About Donald Trump, Funding Bill, Speaker Johnson, Government Shutdown, Hezbollah Attack; Soon: House To Vote On Funding Bill That's Expected To Fail; Speaker Johnson Keeps Members In The Dark On His Plan B; Lebanon: Today's Attack On Hezbollah Kills 20, Injures 450; New: Trump Reacts To Assassination Attempt; Trump Reacts To Teamsters' Decision To Endorse A Candidate; Trump Accuses Other Of Dangerous Rhetoric; C.J. Rice Files Federal Lawsuit Against City Of Philadelphia; Demi Lovato Open Up About Realities Of Childhood Fame. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired September 18, 2024 - 17:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:00:20]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper.

This hour, an update to a story that we've been following literally for years here at The Lead and that I wrote about in a cover story for The Atlantic magazine, CJ Rice, a Philadelphia man freed after more than 12 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit. His conviction was overturned as we have covered. He joins me live in studio today. He's going to explain how he's trying to make sure what happened to him does not happen to anyone else.

Plus, brand new polls from a handful of states likely to decide the presidential election, what voters in these battlegrounds are saying about Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

And leading this hour, the clock is ticking and failure is almost guaranteed as dysfunction continues to rain on Capitol Hill. The House of Representatives is getting ready to vote on what is said to be a doomed government funding bill. If and when this fails, House Speaker Mike Johnson is not revealing as of now what Plan B is, that is assuming he has a Plan B. Republicans are aware of the timing and are warning about the repercussions of federal government closing for business just weeks ahead of the presidential election.

Complicating all of this, Donald Trump this afternoon putting out a social media post pressuring Republicans to shut down the government unless they can also get a controversial bill passed that targets noncitizen voting, which is, of course, already against the law. CNN's Manu Raju is on Capitol Hill.

And Manu, the former President is not making speaker Johnson's job any easier right now.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, he's absolutely not. In fact, putting Johnson in a bit of a jam here. Johnson will have a choice to make, once this bill fails tonight, which it is expected to fail, he can decide to go along with what Donald Trump is saying, which is to not pass any extension of government funding unless they get that immigration bill, which Democrats say is dead on arrival, or he can agree with what Democrats want to do, which is to extend government funding for three months, don't include any of those other provisions, and potentially endure Donald Trump's wrath in the process.

What is clear, though is that in talking to Republicans, there is a lot of concern both about what Speaker Johnson's tactics are and what Donald Trump is saying about a possible government shutdown, making clear this conference once again divided over the issue of spending.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. STEVE WOMACK (R-AR): I get frustrated. Greatest country on the planet in the legislative body, of the greatest country on the planet cannot do something as fundamental as finding agreement on Appropriations.

RAJU: Is the former president complicating this?

WOMACK: To me, it is counterintuitive to somebody in government to think about shutting the government down.

REP. CORY MILLS (R-FL): I'm disappointed the way the 118th Congress has handled this entire session.

RAJU: Why is that?

MILLS: Because I think that we should have had more policy wins, and we should have been a lot more -- I think we understand that we're a one legged stool and a four legged post. That's fine. That's understandable. But I think the American people would rather see us fight and lose than not fight at all.

REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): Speaker Johnson has had a lot of time to do this. We weren't here the entire month of August. We could have been here working. So he's on his own to figure it out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Now, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Cory Mills are two Republicans, both indicating that they plan to vote against this Johnson plan, and we expect at least a dozen or so Republicans to vote no, and we'll see if Donald Trump has changed the equation anyway. But that is not the expectation, as Democrats, too are expected to vote en masse against this. Johnson, if it's upon a party line vote, if everyone is voting, can only afford to lose four Republican votes.

And Jake, I asked the speaker directly earlier today, do you agree with what Donald Trump is saying that essentially they should be a government shutdown if there is no agreement on this immigration bill. And he didn't exactly say. He simply said that he was in Mar-a-Lago this weekend. He has spoken to Donald Trump about this issue, and he said that they both are fighting to deal with these anti-immigration measures, but did not indicate what Plan B is. We'll see what he decides to reveal his hand, Jake, if and when this fails in a matter of hours.

Jake.

TAPPER: All right, CNN's Manu Raju on Capitol Hill, thanks so much.

Donald Trump just made a previously unannounced campaign stop in New York City. And CNN's Alayna Treene, who covers the Trump campaign for us, joins us now from Uniondale on New York's Long Island, where Trump is going to hold a rally in about two hours. Alayna, Donald Trump touched on several topics just now. Give us an update.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN REPORTER: He did, and I think most notably of all, he reacted to that decision by the Teamsters union not to endorse this cycle. Remember, the Teamsters have endorsed a Democratic presidential nominee in every single election going back to 1996. So this is a huge deal. And Donald Trump noted that today when talking to reporters. Take a listen to what he said.

[17:05:09]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Look, it's a great honor. They're not going to endorse the Democrats. That's a big thing. And this is the first time in, I guess, 50, 60, years of this happened. Democrats automatically have the Teamsters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Now, Jake, one of our colleagues, Kate Sullivan, also asked the former president about some of the comments that Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders made last night during that speech in Flint, Michigan, where Donald Trump was yesterday, where she had really attacked and kind of seemed to go after Kamala Harris saying that, how can she be humble for not having children? Remarks that received a lot of criticism. Donald Trump dismissed it. He dodged the question, said that he didn't really know anything about it. So, keep that in mind.

A lot of people have been looking for answers on whether Republicans agree with the comments she made. And just to give you very briefly, because we're in New York and that off the record stop, or excuse me, that previously undisclosed stop was in New York City. It is very interesting that Donald Trump, with just 48 days now until Election Day, is choosing to rally in in New York. I talked to a number of Donald Trump's advisers about this, and while they acknowledge it is not a battleground, they say the real reason Donald Trump is here is because this visit is steeped in nostalgia. Donald Trump has long wanted to hold a large scale rally like this in New York, particularly in a large arena. Months ago, there had been discussions about maybe doing something at Madison Square Garden, the logistics, of course, which were unfeasible. So he's doing something here today. But at the same time, you know, Donald Trump himself is insisting that he thinks he'll be able to win New York. Of course, most Republicans recognize that's just very unlikely, and that Democrats are expected to secure it again come a couple weeks. Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Alayna Treene in Uniondale, New York, with the Trump campaign, thanks so much.

Joining us now to discuss, Democratic Congresswoman from Virginia, Abigail Spanberger, she's currently running to be governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Congresswoman, thanks so much for being here. I want to get your reactions to the comments we just heard from Trump at the top of the hour here.

REP. ABIGAIL SPANBERGER (D-VA): Well, I think it should be a pretty straightforward thing for someone running for president to be able to speak out against the comments that we heard from Governor Huckabee Sanders and the personal attacks of this manner on Vice President Harris.

TAPPER: Let's talk about this legislation. What is the problem Democrats have with the spending bill, and specifically with this part of the bill that deals with undocumented immigrants shouldn't be allowed to vote. I mean, on its face, an American might hear that and think, what's the big deal American -- they can't vote and they shouldn't vote, and so who cares?

SPANBERGER: Yes, absolutely, it's already illegal for someone who is not a U.S. citizen to vote in federal elections. And so if this were merely an effort to restate what is already the law, I think you would have broad, broad support across both the Republican Conference and the Democratic caucus. But this bill does more than that. It puts forth real hurdles that, in fact, would create challenges for service members, veterans, women who may change their name and marriage and then move states.

The way that one would go about proving one's identity, as outlined in this bill, is just -- it's untenable in terms of how this bill is constructed, certainly an effort to affirm that it is the United States' Congress' intent that U.S. citizens vote in our elections, I think is one that would be broadly supported. But that's not what the Save Act does, and that's why we see across the board, so much opposition to it.

TAPPER: So Democrats are going to vote against it because of that provision? Do you have any idea? And then it will probably go down. We already know that Speaker Johnson can only afford to lose, I think, like two or three Republicans, and already there's a dozen or so that are going to vote against this. So, this spending bill, it looks like, is going to fail.

SPANBERGER: Yes.

TAPPER: Has he outlined House Speaker Johnson in any way, even privately, what comes next? What's plan B to keep the government going?

SPANBERGER: Well, notably. And I say this as a Virginian, and Virginia is the most impacted state in times of government shutdown.

TAPPER: So many federal employees.

SPANBERGER: And contractors and small business owners, all of whom are impacted when there's not just a shutdown, but even a talk of a shutdown. And another sticking point with this proposal from the speaker is the six month time frame. Frankly speaking, a continuing resolution, perhaps through the remainder of this Congress, would make sense. But the idea that we would kick the can of funding the federal government for the next fiscal year, I mean, almost through into more than halfway through that fiscal year is it's just poor planning. It negatively impacts, certainly our military, our national defense, and the very function of our government.

TAPPER: If Democrats vote against this bill, this first vote with the sit, the noncitizen voting provision --

SPANBERGER: Yes.

TAPPER: -- as Democrats, I think, are all going to do, or most going to do, who knows what golden is going to do in Maine, but you know, with a handful of exceptions. Do you own any of the government shutdown, Democrats?

[17:10:08]

SPANBERGER: So, I think the clear answer on this is this is not even a serious effort when you have chairmen of committees, so Republican members of the House of Representatives chairing important committees, saying this bill is not a good faith effort, this bill is not how we fund the government. I think is a note to everyone that there's bipartisan disagreement in taking this tact. We should be funding the government. I mean, frankly, we should have done appropriations bills over the summer, and we should, in the absence of having been able to fulfill that requirement of us, we have to have the speaker bring forth a bill.

The bottom line is, if Hakeem Jeffries as minority leader had the ability to bring a funding bill, a continuing resolution forward, he would have done it last week and avoided the will they, won't they? But time and time again, with this Republican majority, we see the brinksmanship. And failure seems to be a requirement before at the last minute the speaker, whether it's Speaker Johnson or former Speaker McCarthy, does what is kind of demanded of him and the role of the speaker. So, my hope is that between the Senate and the House, we will, within the next week, pass a continuing resolution and send it over the President's desk.

TAPPER: You sit on the House Select Committee on Intelligence.

SPANBERGER: Yes.

TAPPER: What do you make of the string of deadly explosions in Lebanon targeting members of the group Hezbollah? Is Israel behind them? Do you worry that this could inflame matters further? What's your take?

SPANBERGER: Well, I think it's interesting in that it's bringing great clarity to the fact that the challenges that Israel faces with Hezbollah to its north has been ongoing. Hezbollah continues to fire rockets into Israel, and so now recognizing this coordinated effort to go after Hezbollah terrorists clearly, I think, highlights the challenges that the Israeli people and the Israeli government do face. And certainly, there's a lot more information, I presume, that will come out in the coming days related to how these attacks occurred and what might be a Hezbollah response.

But I think it's important that everyone knows that Hezbollah has been perpetrating attacks on Israel, rockets fired into Israel. And so many Israelis not even able to live in their homes in the northern portion of the country because of ongoing offensive efforts emanating from this terrorist threat.

TAPPER: All right. Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger, Democrat of Virginia, good to see you. Thanks so much for being here. Appreciate it.

SPANBERGER: Thanks for having me.

TAPPER: Donald Trump calls out people he says are spreading dishonest rhetoric around the presidential election. What's that phrase about people in glass houses?

Plus, breaking news at a court where Sean "Diddy" Combs just appeared before a judge. That's next.

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[17:16:47]

TAPPER: We have breaking news in our law and justice lead. Just moments ago in a Manhattan federal courtroom, a judge denied Hip Hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs' appeal to hold him in jail without bail. Combs must stay in jail as he waits for his criminal trial to start. The judge said there were no conditions that reduced the risk of witness tampering or obstruction. This comes despite Combs lawyers proposing new bail rules, including restricting all non-family female visitors from Combs home.

On Tuesday, combs pleaded not guilty to racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution.

Moving on, moments ago, Donald Trump asked if he would talk to the Secret Service about security after Sunday's apparent assassination attempt. Said this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You don't want to ever be curtailed because of crazy people out there. Dead people, crazy people, whatever you want to call them. So we'll let the Secret Service determine that if they think things are safe, you do it like coming to a place like this. You just don't want them dictating to you where you should go and what you should do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: I want to bring back the panel.

And Machalagh, I'm sympathetic to what the president is going through here, two assassination attempts, but at the same time, you don't want to proverbial -- let the proverbial terrorists win, and yet the Secret Service, if they had their way with any candidate, just keep them in the basement forever. What's your reaction?

MACHALAGH CARR, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF. SPEAKER MCCARTHY: I think you have to have a really strong pushback of the Secret Service. We have a very long history on a bipartisan basis of making sure that presidential candidates get to pick their secret service director, even when there have been significant investigations into really egregious behavior, and that is how it should be. But we need better behavior from Secret Service. We need better attention to detail. And at the same time, they have to allow presidents to move and presidential candidates to move so they're really in a tough spot, but I think they need to step up by a significant margin, because what we're seeing is just unsatisfactory.

TAPPER: What's your take?

SARAH LONGWELL, HOST, "THE FOCUS GROUP PODCAST": I mostly agree with that. I don't have a longer take than that. Actually, I was reading the question on the prompter for the next thing, I thought, that's what you're asking me about, obviously.

TAPPER: I keep telling them, don't put the questions in the proctor.

LONGWELL: Sorry.

TAPPER: We have these --

LONGWELL: I thought we're going to talk about the teachers (inaudible) --

TAPPER: -- Willie Washington hands --

LONGWELL: Yes.

TAPPER: -- anticipating my very move. So let's talk about the Teamsters endorsement, or lack thereof. You heard Trump also say it was an honor to not get the Teamsters endorsement since it has endorsed Democrats, but he but he also noted that Kamala Harris did not get it, which is a big loss for her.

LONGWELL: Yes, it's a big deal. And look, the Teamsters have a lot of members in Pennsylvania. And I think, as people have been sort of picking over the Teamsters endorsements. One of the things that they're looking at is the Teamsters have gone up to their members, and their members sort of were overwhelmingly supportive of Donald Trump. And I think it's interesting the way that Republicans have been making an active pitch toward the working class. I think that if there's one real coherent through line to what Republicans are doing now, it is how they become sort of a multiracial working class party. And so they've been much more friendly to unions than what, you know, in the 2000s. And so I think it's a big coup for them not to be actively -- not to actively endorse the Democrats.

[17:20:01]

TAPPER: It's interesting, though, if you look at the list of things, legislative accomplishments that the Teamsters want, generally speaking, Kamala Harris checks all those boxes, minimum wage increase all that. But there are two other things going on. One is obviously social issues and where a lot of these Teamsters come from on a cultural basis, and also the feeling that a lot of Teamsters have that the economy was better under Trump before COVID. And you know what Sarah was talking about, also the inroads that Republicans have made when it comes to working class voters, that's a real issue for Democrats. Do you see them addressing it sufficiently?

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: Yes. I mean, I think that the Vice President has, you know, obviously made roads there, and is doing more to do that. But I do think, you know, there are 95,000 Teamsters just in Pennsylvania alone. And if they're going to thirds for Donald Trump, that is an issue for her. So I think that they definitely need to address that.

That is something that will impact -- could impact her campaign and the election in some of these, you know, the blue wall state. So I do think it is important. I do think she's making inroads. Again, she has amend the top the ticket, and Joe Biden was very much a middle class union president, and I think that she just needs to prove that she also has some of those same philosophies. I don't know if she'll ever win them over. I don't -- she might be able to pick some off, but it is a concern for Pennsylvania for sure.

TAPPER: You think Republicans are doing a good job with working class voters, white, Latino, African-American?

CARR: Yes. I mean, they need to focus on the issues. And when we focus on the issues, Republicans win. Americans trust Republicans on the issue of the economy, and they trust Republicans on the issue of immigration and the border, and specifically inflation. And so they need to stay focused on that and not allow themselves to get distracted by some of the other things that are being talked about or that are shiny objects for the moment.

LONGWELL: Yes, but here's what's interesting. You know, this Quinnipiac poll that just came out, I don't know if we're going to get to that, but one of the things that was jumped out to me in the cross tabs was the fact that, you know, Trump has long held a real advantage over the Democrats on trust on the economy. But Kamala Harris has really been narrowing the gap on that and on immigration. In Pennsylvania alone, I think that Trump had a two point lead on trust better to handle the economy, only a one point lead on immigration. That is staggering for her to be closing the gap. And of course, she's winning by big margins on things like abortion. She's also now, you know, above water, in terms of favorability, people liking her, where Donald Trump continues to be sort of negative 10 or, you know, negative by a large margin. And so the fact that she's closing the gap on some of these issues where Republicans have been dominating, which they need big margins on is pretty interesting.

TAPPER: I don't know if we have the Q polls ready, but just to bring them up, to be completely candid, I'm not sure how much I believe any polls, but they show in Michigan, Harris up, in Pennsylvania, Harris up, in Wisconsin, they're tied. Again, I'm super skeptical of policy states, but that's what you're referring.

LONGWELL: Yes. And I think, look, I think it's fair to be skeptical of like any individual poll, but I think what's interesting is the trend line where you're seeing more and more polls coming out showing her having plus positive favorability among voters, as well as sort of closing this gap on immigration and the economy. And Republicans need to be dominating on the economy --

TAPPER: Yes.

LONGWELL: -- because their entire campaign strategy is to make people feel like the economy is in a negative place.

TAPPER: Pull me once, shame on you. Pull me twice, shame on me. That's what I say. Thanks all.

Coming up, what Trump and his running mate have called the responsible rhetoric, but instead of blame, should this be a moment of self- reflection for all of us? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:27:30]

TAPPER: Cognitive dissonance tops our 2024 lead. Let's go back a few months to the time frame after the June 27 presidential debate, but before President Biden dropped out of the race, Democrats were essentially telling the public to ignore what we had all seen and heard from Biden at the debate, the first debate. While also arguing, mind you, that Mr. Trump was not capable of telling the truth. Now I might have said at the time that that was the most glaring moment of cognitive dissonance in the 2024 race.

But then came this last week, former President Trump and his running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, are criticizing the news media and Democrats for what they call irresponsible rhetoric that they allege was behind the thankfully unsuccessful assassination attempt against Mr. Trump on Sunday. At the same time that they're doing that, Trump and Vance and their minions continue to spread lies about Haitian migrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio. Those lies are now disrupting life in that town.

So let's start with these ongoing lies and the fact that the Wall Street Journal today confirmed that the Trump campaign actually knew or had been told that the Springfield rumors were false back on September 9. The Journal reports that Vance's team contacted the city, Springfield, that morning. And here's how Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck described the call with the Vance staffer, quote, "He asked point-blank, "Are the rumors true of pets being taken and eaten?" I told him no, there was no verifiable evidence or reports to show this was true. I told them, these claims were baseless," unquote.

Baseless. But Vance's tweet making the allegation stayed up, and the very next day, former President Trump elevated this lie to 67 million viewers during that second presidential debate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: In Springfield, they're eating the dogs the people that came in, they're eating the cats. They're eating the pets of the people that live there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Dogs, no, cats, no, pets, no. No, no, no, no evidence for any of that. And here we are, eight days after that debate, and schools and two colleges in Springfield have been disrupted by bomb threats and shooting threats. We're told by reporters on the ground and people who live there that there's a general sense of fear among residents and especially among Haitian migrants.

[17:30:09]

The Republican governor of Ohio, Mike DeWine and the Republican mayor of Springfield are -- are pleading with Trump and Vance and others, please stop.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. MIKE DEWINE (R-OH): Those comments are, you know, about eating dogs and things, they're very hurtful. They're very hurtful for these men and women who work very, very hard. They're obviously very hurtful for -- for their children. The statements are wrong. I've said they were wrong. The mayor has said they were wrong, and frankly, they need to stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: And yet, when confronted with the pleas of these Republican officials and just their fellow Americans. And with news of these threats to the people of Springfield, Trump and Vance have expressed, frankly, indifference and a little bit of indignance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: All that I've done is surface the complaints of my constituents, people who are suffering because of Kamala Harris's policies. Are we not allowed to talk about these problems because some psychopaths are threatening violence?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And now there are bomb threats at schools and kids being evacuated? Why do you still spread --

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: No, no, no, the real threat is what's happening at our borders.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you denounce the bomb threats in Springfield, Ohio?

TRUMP: I don't know what happened with the bomb threats. I know that it's been taken over by illegal migrants.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So they continue to push these falsehoods about the migrants. At the same time, they demand that Democrats curb their rhetoric. It -- it's really, frankly, quite a sight to behold.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANCE: Don't lecture Donald Trump about softening his rhetoric after two people tried to kill him. Tell Kamala Harris, tell Joe Biden, tell all of her surrogates who are saying things like Donald Trump needs to be eliminated. They need to cut that crap out, or they're going to get somebody hurt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: If Senator Vance thinks that Democrats using the word eliminated is bad, he should take a gander some of the things that his running mate has been saying since he came down that escalator in 2015.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: So if you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of him, would you? Seriously. I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees. I promise.

Do you know what they used to do to guys like that when they were in a place like this, they'd be carried out at a stretcher folks. I like to punch him in the face, I'll tell you.

And when you see these thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon, you just see them thrown in rough I said, please don't be too nice.

Stand back and stand by.

We will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: That was just a little sampler. In March 2016 Republican Senator Ted Cruz described the Trump campaign as a campaign that, quote, affirmatively encourages violence, unquote. That's Senator Cruz said that. And as Trump called as president, Democratic politicians and journalists the enemy of the American people. In 2018 Trump super fan, Cesar Sayoc, mailed 16 homemade pipe bombs to them, including to former President Obama and former Secretary of State Clinton and, yes, to us here at CNN.

As Trump lamented a plot to steal the 2020 election, David DePape broke into the home of then Speaker Nancy Pelosi, brutally attacking Pelosi's husband, Paul, with a hammer, causing lasting damage to him. DePape -- DePape testified that he believed that Pelosi was part of a plot to, quote, manipulate the country and, quote, steal votes from Donald Trump. But Trump, in response, blasted Pelosi and made light of the attack that left these horrible wounds on her husband, Paul, and he did this in front of a laughing crowd.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And she's against building a wall at our border, even though she has a wall around her house, which obviously didn't do a very good job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Last year after Trump posted what he claimed was former President Barack Obama's address, Taylor Taranto, another Trump supporter, was arrested with weapons in Obama's neighborhood. The same suspect was also one of thousands who, as you might recall, stormed the Capitol on January 6th, 2021 wreaking havoc, causing violence, causing serious pain to law enforcement. After then President Trump told his supporters this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We fight. We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Taranto is facing federal charges, plus a civil wrongful death lawsuit alleging he contributed to the death of D.C. police officer, Jeffrey Smith, who was assaulted on January 6th, experienced great trauma and died by suicide days later. Taranto has denied any wrongdoing. Trump, during the second debate this year, bypassed an opportunity to express any remorse for anything he did relating to January 6th.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[17:35:15]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.

TRUMP: I had nothing to do with that, other than they asked me to make a speech.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So let's posit, for the sake of argument, that some of the Democratic rhetoric and some things said by members of the new -- news media have in some instances, gone too far, and that everyone should really take a breath and think about the words that we use when describing people that we disagree with. That doesn't mean even if you believe that that the previous eight years of dehumanizing and incendiary and, yes, violent rhetoric from Mr. Trump has been erased. That's not how the space time continuum works.

Coming up next, an update to a story we've been following here on The Lead for years. C.J. Rice is going to join me live with what comes next for him after spending more than 12 years behind bars before his conviction was overturned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:01]

TAPPER: In our Law and Justice Lead, a -- a huge update for you now on a story out of Philly that The Lead has followed for years. It's been six months since C.J. Rice was officially exonerated for the wrongful conviction that forced him to endure more than 12 years in prison for a crime he physically could not have committed. And now C.J. Rice is fighting to give back what was taken for him a promising future.

I found out about this case first from my father, as you might recall, Dr. Theodore S. Tapper, who was Rice's pediatrician and testified at the trial in 2011 that he did not think Rice would have been physically capable of carrying out the shooting in 2011 given that Rice was recovering from a separate shooting at the time and could barely walk. I looked into Rice's case. I wrote a cover story in "The Atlantic" that was published in October 2022 which was also covered here on The Lead and noted the many ways that Rice did not have effective counsel when the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania tried him and then sent him to prison for 30 to 60 years for a crime in which no one was even seriously injured.

Lawyers argued that same point, and the district attorney's office and two judges since granted C.J. what's called Habeas Relief, meaning that he was freed from prison last December. Now he's a free man, C.J. Rice, with the help of his legal team, are suing the city of Philadelphia and at least seven employees of the Philadelphia Police Department over the wrongful arrest, asking a federal jury to award damages and relief. And C.J. Rice joins us now here in the studio live and Jon Loevy -- Loe -- Loevy, one of C.J.'s attorneys joins us remotely. So C.J., let me just start with you. Why is it important for you to file this lawsuit?

C.J. RICE, FREED AFTER 12 YEARS OF WRONGFUL INCARCERATION: So I believe the importance of the lawsuit is to deteriorate from happening again, right, to -- or to set some kind of precedent so that it don't happen again. Because what happened was, like, it was surreal a little bit so something like that, in a way, to have that, be looked at through the lens of this is unacceptable that may come by way of the lawsuit like it's -- it's unacceptable.

TAPPER: So John the lawsuit accuses the Philadelphia police officers of manufacturing the case against Rice. Part of it says, quote, the defendant officers manufactured identifications from the victims and then withheld the manner in which the -- that evidence was created. The defendant officers further withheld evidence that the plaintiff could have used to prove his innocence, unquote. How confident are you that the court will ultimately rule in C.J.s favor?

JON LOEVY, ATTORNEY FOR C.J. RICE: Well, it will be a jury, of course, Jake, that will decide what justice is, a jury of his peers. And we're quite confident C.J. is going to get justice. You know, backing up, this was a 17-year-old kid who didn't hurt anybody, who ends up spending 12 years in maximum security prison, convicted of a crime he didn't commit.

He didn't have anything to do with the shooting. He couldn't have committed the shooting because the shooters ran away, and as the police knew, C.J. had been shot himself. Had serious pelvis injuries, he couldn't even walk, much less run away from a shooting. So they fabricated these identifications. They got these witnesses who saw nothing in the dark, who knew C.J., knew it wasn't C.J., and they manufactured this case. It's inexcusable and indefensible. And Jake, you and your father deserve a lot of credit for bringing attention to it and helping get justice.

TAPPER: C.J., I want to update people now, because you are also pursuing a career in the law. Tell us why.

RICE: So I figure if one of my teachers, right, during the paralegal studies Professor Myers, she was a part of this like class action suit down in Alabama, where they made real difference. So having the esquire behind your lane, it'll allow you to be the one that make the real difference, instead of having to just push, but if you could do the pushing then. So I think having and passing the bar and having that esquire behind my name would allow me to help more people more. It would allow me to help more people more in a sense.

TAPPER: Yes, I heard a former solicitor general of the United States, Don Verrilli, who worked on your case, say that you'd be a great, great lawyer, he said. Jon, the lawsuit also says, quote, the Philadelphia Police Department has a long history of similar misconduct by its officers that has gone unchecked and uncorrected for decades, unquote. How many wrongful convictions are we talking about here?

LOEVY: Dozens, Jake, you know, the complaint lays out scandals actually going back to the 70s, serious scandals in the 90s and continuing. It's been a problem in Philadelphia, not unlike other big cities, but there are literally dozens of people who were framed and have been exonerated, and who have evidence that the Philadelphia Police Department systematically wrongfully convicted people.

TAPPER: And C.J., again, I want people because people who watch the show know your story. How you doing? How's everything?

RICE: I'm doing great. I'm doing great. Some days are better than others. But once I make it back, like once I make it home, everything is good, but some days are better than others. Some -- some days be trying, right? [17:45:11]

TAPPER: Because you're still kind of angry what happened, 12 years stolen from you?

RICE: I wouldn't say angry, but I would say it's hitting me, like I'm realizing, like, when I spend time around my grandma or I spend time around my aunts or my little cousins, it's like, wow, that's -- I'm big on family, so like, having that reality hit me each time I'm around them. It's like, wow. This what I was missing.

TAPPER: It wasn't fair what happened to you. But you know what? It's good to see you here in my studio.

RICE: Right.

TAPPER: It's good to see you here and it's good to see that smile.

RICE: All right.

TAPPER: All right. C.J. Rice and Jon Loevy, thank you so much.

RICE: Appreciate it.

TAPPER: We'll continue to update our viewers on your lawsuit.

Demi Lovato is sitting down with other child stars and revealing the dark side of achieving fame at such a young age and what needs to be done to protect the younger generations of actors and actresses and celebrities, that story is next.

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[17:50:15]

TAPPER: Pop Culture Lead, superstar Demi Lovato opens up. The superstar is out with a new film called "Child Star" details the impacts of young fame. In the film, she speaks with other child celebrities including Drew Barrymore and Kenan Thompson and Christina Ricci. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister sat down with Demi Lovato.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pop Star Demi Lovato facing the music.

ALYSON STONER, AMERICAN ACTOR AND SINGER: There was a sense of walking on eggshells.

DEMI LOVATO, AMERICAN SINGER AND SONGWRITER: I'm genuinely so sorry.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): From her past, sitting down with former co- stars and fellow former child stars in her new Hulu documentary.

LOVATO: I take full responsibility for all of my actions. I come to terms with a lot of that in this film. WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Lovato sat down with CNN for a revealing interview on her film "Child Star," which marks her directorial debut.

CHRISTINA RICCI, AMERICAN ACTRESS AND FILM PRODUCER: I immediately went right to drugs and alcohol.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): Not only does Lovato get major stars like Christina Ricci, Kenan Thompson and Drew Barrymore to open up, she exposes the roots of her own well documented struggles with substance abuse.

After landing a role on "Barney & Friends," Lovato returned to Texas to pursue music and was eventually bullied in school.

LOVATO: I think the jealousy started to run rampant. One day, there was a letter that got passed around, and in the letter, it had said for me to take my life. I really didn't know how I was going to bounce back. I thought to myself, I want to be so famous that they can't escape me. I want them to regret making this decision to bully me.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): She did break out on Disney Channel projects like "Sonny with a Chance" and "Camp Rock." But Lovato says she carried the baggage of her inner pain.

LOVATO: I was in such a dark place. I had trauma from being bullied. I was undiagnosed bipolar. There was some substance abuse issues going on, and I had an eating disorder. I would have fans chasing my tour bus, but I would sit in the back and just be crying and couldn't figure out why.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): None of it stopped Lovato from pursuing her dreams and becoming a mega star.

But her struggles peaked in 2018.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Breaking news, singer Demi Lovato rushed to the hospital.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): When she was hospitalized for a drug overdose, what she later revealed in a 2021 documentary nearly killed her.

LOVATO: My doctors said that I had five to 10 more minutes.

WAGMEISTER: Looking back at your start so young, what have you discovered now and how it impacted your troubles in your adult life?

LOVATO: Fame for a child creates instability, and when you pair that with instability that was already there, it's kind of like a recipe for disaster.

I wouldn't end up where I am had I not made all the choices leading up to this point.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): In "Child Star," Lovato chronicles her own perseverance, along with that of her peers, but she hopes the film's impact goes further helping new stars emerging in today's evolving media landscape.

LOVATO: It's kind of the "Wild Wild West" in the digital age. What I hope is that this documentary raises the awareness for legislation so that minors are protected and compensated like they are in the film and television industry.

WAGMEISTER: As you look back on your childhood, teenage years up to what brought you to here now, how proud are you of yourself?

LOVATO: I'm very proud of myself. I try to live by the philosophy of not having regrets. When I look back at how resilient I've been over some of the darkest moments of my life, I am very, very proud of myself that I've dug myself out of the rubble and living the life that I am today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WAGMEISTER (on camera): Now sitting down with Demi, Jake, she is really the happiest and healthiest that she has ever been. She is engaged. She's getting married. She spoke to me about planning her wedding. But also you may notice from the tone of this interview, it was very uplifting, despite all of the hardship that she's faced. And Jake, I know that you and I on your show have spoken about the recent Nickelodeon docuseries "Quiet on the Set" that was more of a industry takedown and really negative for all the right reasons. Demi said that's not what she wanted to do. She wants to uplift child stars and kids in today's digital landscape.

[17:54:59]

TAPPER: Interesting stuff. Elizabeth Wagmeister in L.A., thanks so much. Appreciate it. And if you or anyone you know is struggling with substance abuse or mental health issues, help is available for you. You can call or text the suicide crisis lifeline at 988. That's 988. It operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It's free. It's confidential. 988 there is help for you. There is love for you.

Our last leads are next.

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TAPPER: Our last leads now, they start on a remote island off the coast of Alaska, where U.S. Army soldiers known as the Arctic Angels, are currently on duty. The deployment comes ahead of an expected increase in Russian and Chinese military exercises in the region. U.S. officials say they've intercepted Russian military aircraft flying near Alaska four times over just the last week.

[17:59:59]

In our Health Lead, new research shows popular weight loss drugs could help reduce the risk for heart attack or stroke for millions of people. Data from the drug maker behind Wegovy says people taking the medication had a 20 percent lower risk of a cardiac event than people taking a placebo. Researchers found similar drugs also reduced the risk of a stroke by 15 to 20 percent. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, formerly known as Twitter and on the TikTok at JakeTapper. You can follow the show on the X at TheLeadCNN. The news continues on CNN, with one Mr. Wolf Blitzer, in a place right next door I -- I like to call it The Situation Room. See you tomorrow.