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The Lead with Jake Tapper

N.C. GOP Nominee For Governor Made Dozens Of Disturbing Comments On Porn Forum; Presidential Race Remains Tight With 47 Days To Election; "White Dudes For Harris" Launches $10M Ad Campaign. Why Black Greek Life Could Matter In Georgia's Close Race; Officials: Iranian Hackers Sent Stolen Trump Campaign Info To People Then Associated With The Biden Campaign; Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), Is Interviewed About Trump Says He'll Visit Town At Center Of Immigration Controversy. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired September 19, 2024 - 17:00   ET

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

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[17:00:26]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to the lead. I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, Donald Trump says he is planning to visit Springfield, Ohio, the center of Republicans evidence free rumors about migrants there eating local cats and dogs. I'm going to be joined live this hour by the Republican congressman who represents Springfield, Ohio in Congress for his thoughts on this entire saga.

Plus, a brand new look at the state of the presidential race, thanks to an avalanche of data we've gotten over the last 24 hours, not only does it give us a snapshot of how Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are seen by voters across the country, it also gives us new insight into how voters in one crucial battleground see the election right now.

And leading this hour, an exclusive investigation by CNN's KFile is rocking the political world. KFile uncovered shocking new details about the Republican running for governor of battleground North Carolina, the state's current Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, a CNN investigation finds that Robinson, for years, posted on a porn site starting in 2008. On that site, he described himself as a quote, "Black Nazi," and he also wrote post expressing support for reinstating slavery, even wanting a couple slaves himself. Robinson spoke to CNN this afternoon, he repeatedly denied having written any of these comments, despite online evidence connecting him directly to the post.

Let's go to CNN's Dianne Gallagher in North Carolina. She's been following this race very closely.

And Dianne, Mark Robinson certainly having a day. Walk us through the details and the response that you're seeing.

DIANNE GALLAGHER,CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know Jake, in addition to some of those comments that you just discussed, that KFile uncovered on some of these sites, the same username on Nude Africa, a pornographic website that contains a message board, Robinson graphically described his own sexual arousal as an adult, when he thought of memories of -- he said, secretly peeping on women in public gym showers as a 14-year-old. He said I came to a spot that was a dead end but had two big vent covers over it. It just so happened it overlooked the showers. I sat for an hour and watched several girls came in and showered. He said he went peeping again the next morning, but afterward, it was locked.

So those two times were the only two times, according to those comments that KFile has reported on. In other comments on Nude Africa, Robinson discussed his affinity for transgender pornography with very graphic comments. Of course, Robinson has made very intense and bigoted comments against transgender people, including calling people of the LGBT community filth here in North Carolina during his political career. Now, it is important to say Robinson has denied that he made those comments under that username and that e-mail address.

But there is intense political fallout here in North Carolina. There was a lot of discussion leading up to this story with many individuals saying they were waiting to see what was going to happen, whether his campaign could survive this. His opponent, Democrat, Josh Stein, the current attorney general, issued a statement just a few moments ago saying, quote, "North Carolinians already know Mark Robinson is completely unfit to be governor. Josh remains focused on winning this campaign so that together we can build a safer, stronger North Carolina for everyone."

You know, Politico just went out with a report as well, which CNN's KFile also has obtained that shows an email address belonging to North Carolina governor -- lieutenant governor, Mark Robinson, who is running for governor, was also registered on Ashley Madison. That's, of course, a website for married people who are seeking affairs.

And Jake, I can tell you that my inbox is now flooded with Democrats who are trying to basically tie their opponent -- their Republican opponent to Mark Robinson right now with those words from those comments and those message boards on those Pornographic sites right now. I received one just a few moments ago from one of the individuals running, the Democrat running for Attorney General, trying to tie his opponent to mark Robinson, with a slew of photos of them together and former endorsements,

TAPPER: Diane Gallagher in Charlotte, North Carolina. Thanks so much. Let's bring in CNN's Phil Mattingly.

Phil, this governor's race is big and important and significant, and is also in a battleground state between Harris and Trump.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And it's already been viewed as problematic for Republicans. Now keep in mind, despite the fact, Republicans have won 10 out of the last 11 presidential contests in this state, there's actually been a Democratic governor, two term Democratic governor, Governor --

[17:05:00]

TAPPER: Cooper.

MATTINGLY: -- Roy Cooper --

TAPPER: Yes.

MATTINGLY: -- who outran President Joe Biden, outran the nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016 and 2020 to secure the governor mansion two times in a row. Josh Stein now running as the Democrat in that race. You heard Dianne reference his statement really kind of reiterating what he said throughout the course of this campaign because of Mark Robinson's past comments. This certainly makes things worse.

And that's not an opinion. That's what every Republican I've talked to over the course of the last 12 hours has said. And I say 12 hours because Republicans before, long before this story actually was posted, have been panicking on some level. And also, one of the questions I got repeatedly before this was posted by our KFile team was, what could possibly be this much worse than what he said in the past, those same people confirming this is, in fact, this much worse.

And so I think the big question right now is less about the governor's race, which already seemed to be moving away from where Republicans are, though, still going to be a close race because of the state's makeup, it's the presidential campaign. Yes, you've seen down ballot both Republicans and Democrats trying to. Republicans distance themselves from this, including the NRCC chair, Richard Hudson, Democrats trying to, as Dianne was pointing out, make their opponents kind of almost all of whom have endorsed Mark Robinson own it on some level. For the Harris campaign and the 16 electoral votes, as David Plouffe, the advisor, pointed out on Twitter on top of this story, this is a pathway opener. They've been targeting this.

They think they have a good shot because of the expansion of the population in the state, and particularly where that population grew around the suburb areas over the course of the last four or five years. This only adds to some optimism that's possible.

TAPPER: I bet. Phil Mattingly, thanks so much.

Let's talk about this issue with Derrick Johnson. He's the president and CEO of the NAACP. Thanks so much for joining us.

So you're a non-political, nonpartisan, I should say nonpartisan organization. What was your response when you heard these comments that CNN uncovered that Mark Robinson wrote on this message board calling himself a Black Nazi, talking about how he wanted slavery to come back. He even wanted a couple slaves himself. What's your response as the head of the NAACP?

DERRICK JOHNSON, PRESIDENT & CEO, NAACP: First of all, he's delusional. It's unfortunate that he have such a platform, I would hope that the voters of North Carolina would reject his candidacy because he's dangerous. Clay Cane wrote a book called "The Grifter." He's a grifter. He's using race to promote himself in a political party that is put into the lowest common denominator of human nature. Is one that's divisive, is one that's offensive, both to the legacy and history of African-Americans and the Jewish community. This is something that no American should tolerate. This gentleman is a danger not only to this democracy, but to human humankind.

TAPPER: Yes. I mean, we should note that Lieutenant Governor Robinson, one of the reasons why so few people believe his denial is because this completely fits with what we know about the wild and unhinged and offensive things he has already said and acknowledged saying on social media for years, and you mentioned his comments about the Jewish community. He had some wildly offensive anti-Semitic post about the movie "Black Panther." Just a rant, have you in the modern day, so let's say, since the year 2000 ever heard anything like this from a lieutenant governor and candidate for governor?

JOHNSON: No, but we are in that climate where divisive, hurtful language has been accepted. We need to reject all candidates who seek to divide country and create an atmosphere that could cause harm. There is no reason any citizen, black, white, male, young, old, you name it, should support this type of language, this type of individual. And I don't care that he's an African-American male, or whether it's a white male, this should not be accepted. He's delusional.

He's doing this to self-promote, not to promote a common, healthy democracy that we should all be a part of.

TAPPER: Let me ask you about that, since you brought it up. The fact that he is saying things about wanting slavery to be back, and he himself is a black man, does that make it -- I mean, explain to viewers your perspective. I mean, there might be viewers out there in North Carolina who think, well, how can he be racist, he's black?

JOHNSON: Well, first of all, he's foolish. Second of all, is a long legacy of African-Americans pandering to get attention for personal effects. He's not doing it because he's trying to create a better society. He's doing it out of his own self-interest. Secondly, no citizen should accept the rhetoric that he has been spewing.

[17:10:06]

We should be looking at candidates who are offering policy priorities on how they view this nation, that state ability to move forward, not individuals who only are spewing negative the most vile racist statements. It doesn't matter whether the person is black or female or white or you name it, it is bad, bad taste for anyone to lift up Nazism, for anyone to bring back the history of slavery, as if it's OK. We are a society that is the most diverse that we've ever been and we need to celebrate that, not look backwards.

TAPPER: I just want to give you an opportunity to respond to the fact that President Trump has praised Lieutenant Governor Robinson in the past, calling him quote, "Martin Luther King on steroids," unquote.

JOHNSON: Well, foolishness knows foolishness, and that's the foolish statement. There is no reason anyone should embrace eating the -- those of eating cats and dogs. No one should embrace Nazism, no one should embrace anything that divide us as a country. The public square should be a place where we are discussing public policy alternatives, how we view the role of government and what space we play. We don't need to tear each other down or try to recount negative history, we should be looking forward and how we create a better society.

And I'm not surprised to hear that from the former president, just like it is unfortunate that this delusional individual who happened to be the standard bear for the North Carolina Republican Party should be denounced by all members of that electorate body.

TAPPER: Do you think Lieutenant Governor Robinson should drop out of the race?

JOHNSON: I think not he should drop out, he should apologize for the statements that he are -- that he's making. He should apologize to all of the communities that he's offending, including his own community.

TAPPER: Derek Johnson from the NAACP, thank you for joining us, sir. Appreciate it.

All this as we get a brand new glimpse at the state of the presidential race nationwide and in another of the most important battleground states. We're going to squeeze in a quick break. We'll be right back.

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[17:16:20]

TAPPER: In our 2024 lead, there are fewer than 50 days until Election Day, fewer, and the presidential race is razor thin. A "New York Time/Siena poll shows Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump tied, tied nationally among likely voters, each polling 47 percent looking specifically at battleground Pennsylvania, which it all may come down to. A new CNN poll of polls shows no clear leader there, Harris at 49 percent, Trump at 47 percent, essentially tied to there too.

Let's bring in Nate Silver, the founder of FiveThirtyEight, author of the new book "On the Edge, The Art of Risking Everything." He also has a sub stack silver bullet.

So, Nate, this race is bigger than any one state, obviously. Looking at the larger perspective, what are the dynamics at play that make this race so close?

NATE SILVER, FOUNDER, FIVETHIRTYEIGHT: I don't think we've ever seen such a close race. All seven battleground states, our averages have, yours probably have the same polling within two percentage points or less. Look, it's probably intellectually have very high turnout. It comes down to just who has the better, bigger coalition. Trump has made some inroads with some groups, for example, younger Hispanic voters, younger black voters.

But you know, Democrats continue to gain ground in the suburbs. They're going to have probably a more robust data and turnout operation in a state like North Carolina, in particular, it's mostly a turnout state. You have 50-50 groups. The GOP side has been a little bit bigger, a point bigger, so historically. But if you have something like Mark Robinson, that moves the polls by half a point, all of a sudden that state becomes more interesting.

TAPPER: Well, let me, let me ask you about, about Mark Robinson. How -- let's assume that the story is what it is, which it seems to be. Will this -- I mean, obviously Stein was already favored to win the governor's race. Might this affect --

SILVER: Yes.

TAPPER: -- the presidential race in North Carolina?

SILVER: So usually you do not have reverse coattails, meaning the presidential race can affect down ballots races, but not the other way around. In this case, first of all, you're going to have ads, I'm sure, running of Trump endorsing enthusiastically Robinson. There's also maybe a story about depressed GOP turnout, where maybe people who would have crossed the finish line for Trump in the suburbs with a more normal, well rounded GOP gubernatorial nominee might just say, you know what, I've had enough of this. I'm going to selection out potentially. There's no Senate race in North Carolina this year, by the way.

So again, we'd already seen in the polls North Carolina polling slightly better for Kamala Harris than Georgia, a reversal of 2020. This is more of a reason to believe that actually could be true, and why you'll probably see all the candidates spending lots of time in that state from now through November.

TAPPER: So when someone corners you at a bar and says, OK, it's just us here. Tell me what's going to happen, who's going to win? Do you have a gut answer on that?

SILVER: Look, it's 50-50 for a reason. The national polls are very close. There's a slight Harris lead, but we know that the GOP has an edge in close races in the Electoral College. With all seven states polling so closely, I don't really have an intuition beyond what's in our forecast, which is 50-50, almost exactly.

Look clearly, Harris has some kind of momentum post-debate. The thing that would worry me a little bit if I were Democrat is that she had the same momentum earlier on in the campaign and then had a very flat to negative period afterwards. So, can she sustain the good vibe, so to speak that she had before? You know, to me, Trump seems pretty off kilter recently. It's a bit more subjective.

But we're not going to wake up on November 5 with a lot of certainty about the outcome. We might not go to bed on November 5 with a lot of certainty, either. You could even have a recount 2020 style or 2000 style, rather, in one or more key swing states.

[17:20:06] TAPPER: Your new book "On the Edge" is about the biggest risk takers in the world. What lessons from their experiences might apply to this year's presidential election in terms of -- I mean, for instance, should Kamala Harris, I think it's fair to say, is running a relatively cautious campaign, should she be taking more of a risk?

SILVER: Well, first of all, the decision to replace Joe Biden with Harris was a risk on decision and a decision I think Democrats now appreciate was a good decision. Yes, look, if I were her, I would do a little bit more local media and things like that. You know, look, I've been doing a book tour, and every little media hit helps as far as getting those marginal voters in an 0.1 percent election across the finish line.

For voters out there, I'd say, look, you have to become comfortable dealing with uncertainty. The things you can control, you can vote, you can volunteer, you can donate, you can persuade your friends. You know, sweating the polls on social media might be entertaining for some people. That would actually change the outcome, though.

TAPPER: All right, Nate Silver, thanks so much. Good to see you again, sir.

Poll after poll shows that some white male voters who supported Joe Biden are not yet, at least on board with Kamala Harris. How is her campaign trying to change that dynamic? Well, there's a new push, by quote, "White Dudes for Harris," a push to the tune of $10 million. We'll tell you more. Stay with us.

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[17:25:42

TAPPER: Continuing with our 2024 lead with just 47 days left to the Election Day, the Harris campaign is trying to close the gender gap with former President Donald Trump's advantage with men, a significant advantage. Today, a group calling itself "White Dudes for Harris," that's what they call themselves, don't tweet me, is out with a new $10 million digital ad by targeting white male voters in swing states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin. Here's a little taste.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, white dudes, so I think we're all pretty sick of hearing how much we suck. They're actually talking to guys like us. No lectures, no BS, just real solutions that protect our freedoms and help us take care of the people who matter. And honestly, I think Harris and Walz wants to make that happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Political panels back.

Maura, $10 million is nothing. What do you think?

MAURA GILLESPIE, FORMER PRESS ADVISER, SPEAKER BOEHNER: Well, I think what we're seeing is Donald Trump is clearly focusing on white males and bringing in RK Jr. shows that he's trying to do that, because that's largely what RFK Jr. brought, you know, to his campaign.

TAPPER: Yes, sure, the whole Rogan voter.

GILLESPIE: That's right. So in this ad, though, I think what's important is it does say, you know, your voice -- you know, you're -- it's up to you to choose. It's your choice. Here's how I'm going. And it's kind of giving men this kind of relatable way of talking about it, but saying at the end of the day like it's up to you to decide. So it's not necessarily forcing them to, it's drawing them at attention to the Harris-Walz ticket. That's different there.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: There's a line in the ad that says, if anyone gives you crap about it, tell them it's none of their damn business. And it does give permission to sort of say, I'm done with this MAGA stuff.

GILLESPIE: Right. I think that's also something that Republicans can talk about in down ballot races, right? If you're not a Republican like I am, and you're not thrilled with any of the choices you have, but you still want to encourage people to go out and vote, because down ballot Republicans need people to go out and still vote. This voter fatigue and this, you know, not being interested in the top ticket, well, that's not the only vote up in November. It's not just Donald Trump versus Kamala Harris. There are other things to be voting for.

And I think with this ad, and with conversations about giving people a permission structure, essentially to vote different, you know, you don't have to always just go down ballot Republican or down ballot Democrat, you can mix. And I think that's important for people to remember you have options.

TAPPER: Mo, I have to say I'm a little underwhelmed by this ad, because, I mean, Trump actually has these avatars of white maleness, whether it's Joe Rogan, although I don't think he's officially endorsed Trump.

MO ELLEITHEE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,GEORGETOWN INSTITUTE OF POLITICS & PUBLIC SERVICE: Right.

TAPPER: But he expressed interest in Bobby Kennedy Jr. Yes, has Bobby Kennedy Jr. He has a bunch of people like this that the folks that my brother-in-law Texas loves, you know, the Barstool Sports --

ELLEITHEE: Yes.

TAPPER: -- kind of person. I don't know who's behind this, some disembodied voice --

ELLEITHEE: Right.

TAPPER: -- and pictures of Tim Walz. It doesn't mean anything to me.

ELLEITHEE: Yes, but I'm not sure this was designed to be like go toe to toe with Joe Rogan. The fact that they're even starting a conversation, I mean, Democrats have kind of given up on this group --

TAPPER: OK.

ELLEITHEE: -- at least in recent elections, right? I mean, this whole notion that was hot for a while, that demographics are destiny, and if we stitch together this coalition of black voters and brown voters and women, then we don't even need the white men. That's not what this campaign seems to be about. They are actually starting the conversation. So, will it flip the script entirely? Probably not.

But could it be the beginning of a conversation that gets them a couple points in Michigan, couple points in Wisconsin, in Pennsylvania? That's the ball game. So I think it's smart to start this conversation and to be reaching out.

BORGER: They're not giving up on these voters. A lot of these voters might be a little --

TAPPER: That's $10 million on that ad.

BORGER: Yes, but it's -- a lot of these voters might be low propensity voters, but you know, there's a huge gender gap on, you know, both sides. She's winning a lot with women, he's winning a lot with white men. And I think that, you know, they're looking for every inch they can get --

TAPPER: OK.

BORGER: -- because it's their choice.

GILLESPIE: Republicans and Donald Trump's camp, then what are they going to do for women? So are they making any efforts to try and reach women, knowing that they're losing women so much? Are they going to try and do something? And how do they do that when you constantly have Sarah Huckabee Sanders, you got J.D. Vance doubling down, attacking women and again, constantly saying --

TAPPER: Who haven't given birth to children, yes.

BORGER: Yes.

GILLESPIE: But just -- again, the whole conversation about a woman's only value is her womb. That is a ridiculous thing to continue to say. And it feels like we're taking crazy pills here to have to keep saying it.

TAPPER: Let's go back to the North Carolina reporting your favorite subject, CNN uncovering these wild and disturbing posts on the porn site made by North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson back before he was in politics, the Harris campaign seizing on it. Post after post on social media today from Kamala HQ, showing Trump and Robinson together, one after the other, quotes of Donald Trump saying that Mark Robinson is Martin Luther King on steroids, and over and over again. We should note the Trump campaign put out a statement basically saying we're competing for North Carolina. The statement doesn't even mention Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, their gubernatorial candidate.

GILLESPIE: And they're going to be there on Saturday. So what happens then? Do they bring him still on stage? Are they going to have him speaking at the rally? Who's to say? Well, but you know, again, if his -- if his goal is simply to win over white men and build that, you know, base even more than he already has that maybe he doesn't care to disavow Mark Robinson. I don't see how you get by without doing that. But again, part of me doesn't really believe that Donald Trump wants to win. I don't think he wants to win. I think that's being shown time and time again, but I think he wants to be able to fundraise office the next four years.

TAPPER: New reaction to CNN from several House Republicans. First listen to South Carolina Republican Congressman Ralph Norman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RALPH NORMAN (R-SC): Pretty sad to go this far along, and then for the people who supported him, all the money that he's raised, and I think he needs to drop out today so they can get another candidate. But, you know, like Mark, he great speak -- speechwriter, but he knew this was in his background, and to think it wasn't going to come out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: I mean --

GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes.

TAPPER: -- the idea that he thought that -- that wasn't me, or actually, how he put it, that wasn't us, white politicians talking the first person, plural. That wasn't us. The congressman from South Carolina, Republican, very conservative Republican, not buying it.

MO ELLEITHEE, FORMER DNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: No, that's right. And, you know, there's reporting that Marjorie Taylor Greene has said that if these -- if this is true, she kept, I mean, if you've lost Marjorie Taylor Greene, if you're too extreme for her, that shows just how problematic this is. And look, will this blow up the whole campaign at the top of the ticket in -- in North Carolina, you know?

TAPPER: I doubt it.

ELLEITHEE: That his voters, Trump's voters, will stick with him. But if you are a squishy Trump voter, if you're, you know, you either love Donald Trump, you hate Donald Trump, or you tolerate Donald Trump, if you're in that third category, and this is what people are talking about.

BORGER: Well, what Congressman Norman was saying was, what was the vetting process here?

ELLEITHEE: Right.

BORGER: How did they not know, given the things he said publicly that have already been disclosed, how did they not know about this stuff and his background? And so Norman was upset about it for -- for the voters, because they should have been treated better.

TAPPER: Understandably. Thanks to one and all. Appreciate it.

New details on foreign efforts to interfere with the U.S. election, including hacking the Trump campaign, stealing information from the Trump campaign. Stick with us.

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[17:37:07]

TAPPER: In our 2024 Lead, YOU might remember when Donald Trump said this during the presidential debate earlier this month.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: She hates Israel. She wouldn't even meet with Netanyahu when he went to Congress to make a very important speech. She refused to be there because she was at a sorority party of hers. She wanted to go to the sorority party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So it was not a sorority party. Harris was in Indianapolis to speak before the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority National Conference. Zeta Phi Beta is one of the largest black sororities in the United States of America. We note this at -- as Greek Life at historically black colleges and universities could theoretically play a critical role in this year's presidential election, where turnout is so important. CNN's Audie Cornish traveled to Atlanta and sat down with Democratic Congresswoman Nikema Williams to talk about how Black Greek Life could matter in this election, particularly in the battleground state of Georgia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN HOST, "THE ASSIGNMENT" PODCAST (voice-over): Today, we're taking the assignment to the heart of Atlanta, to the home of historically black colleges like Spelman and Morehouse, and a district where a movement of Black Greek Life organizations has been animated by the rise of Vice President Kamala Harris. I wanted to know how the so called Divine 9 of black fraternities and sororities might swing things in a battleground state like Georgia, with black women a solid Democratic electorate, what more can a sorority do for Harris? Where can they make the difference? I'm Audie Cornish, and this is The Assignment with Congresswoman Nikema Williams.

CORNISH: You talk about one of your own. And I am interested in how Vice President Harris sort of changes the game, so to speak, because of her affiliation with AKA's.

REP. NIKEMA WILLIAMS (D-GA): All of the different connections make a huge difference, because then she has these validators that are out there way before she even has to enter a space or a room, validating who she is, because they know her lived experiences. And she -- the fight that she has for our HBCUs is different because she's an HBCU alone.

And we know that when we show up to fight for her, we are fighting for one of our own. We have a new influx of volunteers and people that are eager and ready to do the work because of the excitement that they feel around her at the top of the ticket.

CORNISH: You know right now, when I look at voting rates for young people in particular, there was this enthusiasm gap when Joe Biden was the nominee, especially among black and brown voters. But in general, the voting rate at HBCUs lags behind white universities.

WILLIAMS: So I think there's a number of factors behind the gap. It is a collection of things that -- that come together that impact access to the ballot and impact the --the way that students are engaged and want to access the ballot.

[17:40:08]

CORNISH: Is this the beginning of something the end of something, a turning point? When you think of the Divine 9 and its participation in this election, where do you see it?

WILLIAMS: Well, I think it is definitely the beginning of more people paying attention to the work that we're doing, especially now, where so many of our Divine 9 organizations are starting political action committees so that they can endorse candidates and can be more engaged. I know that my sorority has an affiliated pact that was just formed.

But it is new work that is definitely worth elevating, because it is a difference that we can make when we're winning elections like we did in Georgia, about only 11,780 votes, then we know that every vote matters, and if we have trusted messengers for communities, getting those people out will make the difference.

CORNISH (voice-over): You can hear more of this conversation on The Assignment Podcast. We're taking the show on the road to meet the people shaping the election in the weeks ahead. Find us online or wherever you get your podcast.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: The Assignment with Audie Cornish. It's Audie Cornish Thursday. Be sure to tune in to her latest podcast.

Coming up next, I'm going to be joined by the Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee as we learn new details about foreign hackers targeting the Trump campaign. I'll ask Chairman Mike Turner about it. Plus, he happens to represent Springfield, Ohio, the town at the center of all those lies about immigrants eating pets. We'll get into all of that after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:45:41] TAPPER: In our 2024 Lead, new details on Iran's efforts to interfere with the U.S. election. Federal officials say that Iranian hackers stole information from Donald Trump's presidential campaign over the summer and then sent that stolen material to people then associated with the Biden campaign. The officials say there is no indication that Biden's team ever replied. That is not stopping Mr. Trump from seizing on the news.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: But no Iran hacked into my campaign. I don't know what the hell they found. I'd like to find out. Couldn't have been too exciting, but they gave it to the Biden campaign. I can't believe it. Oh yes, I can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: CNN's Evan Perez joins me now. Evan, what kind of material was sent to the Biden campaign associates? Do we know who they are? Do we know if they did anything with it? And is this the same stuff that hackers sent to journalists?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: That's one of the things we do not know. We don't know whether this the same material that they sent to news organizations over the last few -- few months, Jake. But we know, according to the FBI, the -- the -- the -- that the -- the -- this material was non-public, confidential information from inside the Trump campaign, and it was sent to people associated with what was then the -- the Biden campaign.

And what we now know from the Harris campaign, people -- the -- the spokesperson for the Harris campaign, they say that the information or -- or these e-mails went to the private, the personal e-mails, e-mail accounts of these people who, at the time, were working for the Biden campaign, that it looked like they were spam or -- or phishing e- mails, and that, according to the FBI, there's no indication anyone from the Biden team actually responded to receiving this.

And so it may have been that they thought it was phishing or -- or spam attempts. Keep in mind, Jake, around that same time, the FBI says that the Iranians were trying to break into the -- the -- the -- the Biden team operations. They were trying to get inside their e-mails. They were successful in getting into the Trump campaign, which is where we presume that they got some of these documents.

One of the big questions that I think is being raised is, you know, what happened next? Did they call the FBI? It appears that the FBI found this out on their own as part of the investigation into the Iranian hack and leak campaign, Jake. And we anticipate in the next few days that we might hear more from the Justice Department that we expect that there's going to be some charges brought against the Iranians who are believed to be behind this entire effort.

Keep in mind, all of this, according to -- to intelligence and -- and the FBI, is -- is an attempt to really undermine our system, right? And they want what exactly what you see from the former president. They want some of that to -- to sort of put us pin -- pin Americans against each other.

TAPPER: Evan Perez, thanks so much.

Republican Congressman Mike Turner joins me now. He's the chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence. Thanks for joining us. So federal officials say there's no indication that Biden's team ever replied to the e-mails that contained the hacked Trump campaign material. Trump is falsely claiming that Harris and her campaign, quote, were illegally spying on me. That's not true.

You posted on X earlier today. What did Biden Harris do with Iran's espionage? Are they colluding with Iran? That's quite a tweet. Do you have any evidence that they're colluding with Iran?

REP. MIKE TURNER (R-OH), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: I think what's important here is what Evan was saying is that we don't have all the evidence and information yet. Remember, we went through the Russian hoax, where they said that Trump was colluding with -- with Russia. These are actual questions that need to be asked. As Evan said, we don't know what the Biden-Harris campaign did when they got the information.

It doesn't appear that they went to the authorities. The authorities found this information in I -- Iran's cache of hacked materials, and then went to the Biden-Harris campaign. And it says it doesn't appear that they replied. What means they didn't reply to this e-mail. We don't know what else that the Biden-Harris campaign has done with this information. And those are valid questions.

But I think what's really important here also is to look at the issue that Iran has shown its clear preference for the Harris candidacy. You've got both their -- their clear indication that they wish to assassinate President Trump and his cabinet members, in addition to then them hacking his campaign and -- and taking what should be considered confidential information from his campaign and giving it to his opponent.

TAPPER: So Congressman Jim Himes, the Democrat from Connecticut, with whom you work, he's the ranking Democrat Committee on your Committee.

TURNER: Great guy.

TAPPER: He issued a -- a -- a tweet saying, quote, it's worth recalling that Donald Trump famously asked Russia to hack his opponent, and his senior campaign staff eagerly met with Russians hoping to obtain hacked documents. He and anyone else who excused his behavior should sit this one out, unquote. He is partly talking to you, he told me. He said he thought that your tweet was egregious.

[17:50:20]

TURNER: Well, I think what's important about my tweet, which is really some of the -- the bias that we see in how the media handles these stories, is that these are valid questions. I didn't make an accusation. I -- I asked these questions. Someone should be asking the questions. Unfortunately for the Trump issue, were there allegations that Trump had colluded with Russia which were completely false and baseless. And we had a huge Mueller investigation, a special prosecutor appointed, I mean those accusations on the "Nightly News" were reported every day, and of course, they were completely and totally false. This is just questions. We need the answers. People should be asking them.

TAPPER: I mean, I don't want to get into the whole Russiagate thing, but I mean, yes, there was no chargeable evidence of collusion or conspiracy.

TURNER: There was no collusion. The -- the Mueller came, I was involved in both the Committees in doing the review the Mueller investigation concluded there was no collusion.

TAPPER: There were -- there were lots of questions of obstruction of justice, which I think you would agree, helped keep that story alive. But let's talk about something that is relevant to 2024 which is you represent the city of Springfield, Ohio in the House of Representatives. And that city has been through a lot. It's been through a lot for a number of reasons. First of all --

TURNER: Heartbreaking.

TAPPER: -- thousands of Haitian migrants there because there is a labor shortage, also huge strain on the city's resources, without question. But then also, you know, you have Donald Trump saying that these Haitian migrants are -- are destroying our country, eating the pets of their neighbors. Officials in that town, city manager, mayor, governor, all say that's not true, and have been pleading for Trump and Vance to stop talking about that, stop with that lie. What -- what's your take on all this?

TURNER: Well, it's not true. And as you and I were just discussing during the commercial break, this -- this is both heartbreaking and tragic. This is a result of the Biden administration's parole policy, where they actually went to Haiti, took, got these people, had them fly into --

TAPPER: Because of the --

TURNER: -- United States. And no, no -- no, it's -- it's I think, further evidence of this administration just wanting to bring additional people into the -- the country. Now, these people didn't come here legally. They did not come across the southern border, no fault of their own. They -- they participated in this program from the Biden administration.

And the Biden administration ended up with 15 to 20,000 people and a community of about 60. They didn't tell the community. They didn't tell the mayor. The mayor learned that 15 to 20,000 people were suddenly in his community by -- by interviewing people on the street. This isn't communities. This isn't a community that had 5,000 available housing units. This is a strain on housing.

TAPPER: Sure. TURNER: Strain on -- on hospitals. Strain on the -- the -- of the schools. And the Biden administration provided no financial assistance to Springfield. They're struggling. Their hospitals are struggling. Their schools are struggling. The mayor and I, we came here, we went around asking federal agencies for assistance, still no assistance. The Biden administration has refused to step up the plate and recognize the consequences of what they have done, not only to these people who -- who have come here, the -- the Haitians themselves, but to this community also.

TAPPER: Without question. That is a legitimate issue to be talking about, and a legitimate question in terms of the federal and state relief for Springfield when it comes to housing and education and translators and all that.

TURNER: The Biden administration should stop that.

TAPPER: So but let me ask you, should Donald Trump and J.D. Vance stop lying about these migrants eating people's pets because, as you know, in Springfield, since this lie took -- took route, schools have had to shut down. Students have been absent. There have been all sorts of closures, bomb threats, shooting threats. And the people that started this pet rumor -- the pet eating rumor, both the woman who originally did the police complaint and the woman who posted it on Facebook have said, have expressed contrition and -- and apologized for it. Where are you on that?

TURNER: This is -- this -- this -- this certainly is -- is incredibly tragic and completely untrue. And -- and this should not have happened. It's been tearing the community apart. I have not heard that they've continued these statements, though -- though, Jake. I do think that -- that they have moved on. And -- and the -- and really the community need is -- is a community that has been -- been welcoming and -- and is together. They're trying to rise to the occasion of the needs of the people in the community. And the Biden administration that put them there should rise to the -- to come to the aid of this community.

TAPPER: They need the relief. But should Biden, I'm sorry, should Trump and Vance correct the record? Would that help?

TURNER: Well, certainly, I think -- I think Senator Vance has done that.

TAPPER: No. He has --

TURNER: He's certainly --

TAPPER: -- done not.

TURNER: Well, you know, he represents the area just like I do, and he certainly has the ability to vet these claims by talking to the community.

TAPPER: All right. Congresswoman Mike Turner, the Chairman of House Intelligence Committee, good to see you, sir. Thank you so much. TURNER: Thank you.

[17:54:50]

TAPPER: Coming up our last leads.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Our last leads now, start with our Law and Justice Lead. Today, Hunter Biden, the President's son, got a new sentencing date in his gun case. The judge agreed to push the date until after the presidential election because of a request from Hunter Biden's lawyers. President Biden's son was convicted of three federal felony gun charges and could face a maximum of 25 years in prison.

Stunning video shows a woman being lifted to safety as rushing floodwaters take over her town in central Italy. Local officials say more than 1,000 people had to be evacuated overnight, including some helicopter rescues by the Italian fire brigade. Authorities warn the situation could get even worse, with more than a dozen rivers at risk of spilling over.

In our Out of This World Lead, they're calling it a vote while you float, two NASA astronauts who are spending months longer than expected aboard the International Space Station will get a chance to vote in this November's election. A special law allows for their absentee ballots to get beamed into space and returned to a county clerk in Texas to be counted. I guess it's good that they don't have the old ones that still say Biden on them.

[18:00:10]

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 X at TheLeadCNN. If you ever miss an episode of this great show, you can listen to the show once you get your podcasts. All two hours just sitting right there waiting for you like a -- like a -- an adoring puppy waiting for you at the gate.

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