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Trial of Lindsay Clancy Resumes; Michigan Senate Primary; Todd Blanche Nomination Moves Forward; Ohio Congressman Under Fire. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired August 04, 2026 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

MANU RAJU, CNN HOST: "I won't cancel Thanksgiving as governor."

Thanks for joining INSIDE POLITICS.

Don't miss Republican Congressman Max Miller's sit-down with CNN's Jake Tapper today on "THE LEAD" at 5:00 p.m. Eastern here on CNN.

"CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right now.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: A lawmaker calls for an investigation into himself. Congressman Max Miller wants the House Ethics Committee to look into allegations of domestic violence leveled against him, as critics call for him to step down immediately.

And neighborhoods in ashes. Washington state's governor says wildfires have destroyed entire communities in Spokane, as an arson arrest is made in connection with one of the fires threatening the city.

BRIAN ABEL, CNN HOST: And a big decision for Democrats. In today's primary in Michigan, the party is deciding between two candidates with very different visions for the future.

We are following these major development stories and many more all coming in right here at the CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: We're following a fast-moving story on the Hill.

Embattled Ohio Congressman Max Miller now says he plans to ask the House Ethics Committee to investigate him in an effort to clear his name. Miller is facing domestic abuse allegations that he denies and is under pressure to drop his reelection bid. If he exits the race by close of business today, a special primary would then be held to replace him.

And in a text with CNN's Manu Raju, Miller said he talked with the president yesterday, and he says that Trump -- quote -- "never asked me to drop out."

CNN congressional correspondent Lauren Fox is with us now from Capitol Hill.

Lauren, Miller's facing mounting pressure to drop his bid. What's the latest?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, in this new gambit just a couple of hours ago, Miller said on X that he is now requesting that the House Ethics Committee investigate him so he can clear his name.

Here's what he said on X. He said: "In light of all of the renewed interest in my family affairs, I am going to file my own paperwork for an ethics investigation into myself to clear my name from these horrific attacks on myself and my family. I have absolutely nothing to hide. We will be providing the committee all necessary documents needed for a detailed examination. The accusations continue to change, but my facts stay the same."

Now, we should note that his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, the daughter of Bernie Moreno, has accused him of abuse, an allegation that Max Miller has denied. But, earlier today, our colleague Ellis Kim was able to catch up with Senator Moreno, who responded that this has been a horrific experience for his family. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE MORENO (R-OH): This is truly the seventh level of hell. This has been a horrific experience for my entire family. My daughter lives in constant fear of this man, not like something that's existential, but deeply in her heart, she fears what this guy is capable of.

You can't even -- you can't fathom what that makes me feel like when the dad's number one job is to protect your kids. This has been brutal beyond comprehension, and if there's any minimum standard for being an elected official, as I said, he fails to meet that minimum basic standard.

I don't care about the politics at all. Don't think about it. It doesn't enter my consciousness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: And the clock is ticking, of course, on whether or not Max Miller is going to remain in this race because he does have until the end of the day to get out of this race for a special primary to be held. The next deadline is August 10 for him to get out of the race.

But, at that point, it would be up to party officials to choose a replacement candidate. After August 10, though, if he remains on the ballot, he is expected to face off against Brian Poindexter in that district in Ohio.

Poindexter is an ironworker who is gaining some momentum there in part because of these allegations -- Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Lauren Fox, thank you for the latest on this.

Congressman Miller will be on "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" today at 5:00 p.m. Eastern -- Brian. ABEL: Brianna, we are following more breaking news from Capitol Hill.

The Senate Judiciary Committee has now advanced Todd Blanche's nomination to become attorney general, teeing up a full Senate vote as soon as this week.

Earlier, two Republican holdouts cleared Blanche's path after Blanche agreed to rescind President Trump's anti-weaponization fund. Today, Democrats pouncing on the potential loopholes in that deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): He is still refusing to make it a binding guarantee in a sworn statement submitted before a judge. Is this because, once confirmed, he will simply revoke this new order, as he did ones before it? Nothing would stop him from doing just that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:05:12]

ABEL: And CNN's Katelyn Polantz is joining us now with more on this.

So, just how large are those loopholes?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the loopholes are something that only a court would be able to figure out at the end of the day, and it could be many years after Todd Blanche ends his service at the Justice Department.

Remember, the anti-weaponization fund that was set up in May by the agreement of the U.S. government signed by Blanche and Donald Trump in his personal capacity, it was that they were going to set aside money for people who were essentially Trump supporters, potentially people who would be January 6 rioters.

That was the sticking point for a number of Republicans, especially in this committee. But Blanche, over the weekend, he said that he was willing to rescind that plan, he never was going to see any movement towards a fund that could award January 6 rioters. He put that in writing. He also signed off on limiting immunity for Donald Trump on tax offenses, saying it would only apply in the past, it would only apply to him, his sons, his business, although that's still pretty significant, super unusual.

ABEL: Because how long are the tentacles of the Trump business?

POLANTZ: Exactly.

And that's something that Trump could bring into court at any point in time if he wants to say he has immunity. But the senators on the committee at least were able to get to yes.

Here is both John Cornyn and Thom Tillis before the vote today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): The weaponization fund is dead, and, of course, I expect them to live up to that. My vote to advance Mr. Blanche's nomination goes beyond this document. We need a stabilizing force at the Department of Justice. And Mr. Blanche deserves the opportunity.

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): I have never liked this 1776 fund. It made no sense to me, and I thought it was an insult to the police officers and the people that defended us on January the 6th. It's done. It's been rescinded, and I am satisfied.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POLANTZ: So, Brian, between now and the -- and next week, when there could be this vote to make Todd Blanche the permanent attorney general, there's going to be a question of does this conversation remain around what he's doing with the anti-weaponization fund, sort of a very recent development and smear on Todd Blanche's leadership of the Department of Justice?

There's going to be other senators, Republicans, that he will have to win over who weren't on that committee, but whose votes he will need. And the question that will be posed for them is, do they allow for a Justice Department that has essentially no daylight between its law enforcement choices and the politics of the president, a president where Todd Blanche was previously his personal attorney?

It's a remade department already under Blanche, but now it may be one where he formally will be forever known as the attorney general that led us to this point in American history.

ABEL: So, some questions meaning not across the finish line just yet. Katelyn Polantz for us.

Katelyn, thank you -- Brianna.

KEILAR: They barely escaped the flames, and now survivors of Washington state wildfires are getting hit with the news that one of the fires may have been deliberately set.

Aaron Farinacci is facing a first-degree arson charge for allegedly starting the Old Trails Fire near Spokane. Spokane County authorities arrested him yesterday. Old Trails is one of three major fires that has destroyed at least 700 buildings and forced the evacuation of more than 65,000 people.

Aerial images show devastation from the Old Trails fire before you can see homes, cars, driveways, trees, and then after ashes blanketing that neighborhood where structures are now burnt to their foundations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS STANLEY, SPOKANE RESIDENT: Oh, my God. What's the punishment? What could the punishment be? I'm a Christian. And I just -- I can't imagine what goes through a person's mind. JOE WILSON, WILDFIRE EVACUEE: My family barely got out of this alive.

Kids are probably going to have to go to counseling for dealing with all that with PTSD. Like, our daughter has anxiety man. A teacher that I work with right behind my house lost everything that he had, including his pets.

And, like to know that that all could have been avoided is heartbreaking, man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: So many stories of people losing their pets that we have heard. The suspected arsonist does have a criminal record. This is a mug shot from a 2010 case in Arizona.

CNN's Julia Vargas Jones is outside of court in Spokane with the latest here.

Julia, what more are you learning about this arson suspect?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, investigators are saying that the case began on Saturday, when a witness reportedly saw Farinacci near the area where the fire had started.

[13:10:06]

According to Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels, they saw him kneeling near the grass in that area, and then later saw smoking -- smoke coming out of that very area. He was initially detained. He was questioned, but, ultimately, he was released.

But then it was because of the waterproof mattress and a butane lighter that he had. Investigators went back and used body camera footage from that initial encounter to arrest him later than on Monday. He is being held on a million-dollar bond.

We hope to learn more about him in this case and the details. This afternoon, 1:30 p.m., there is an initial hearing set here at the courthouse, where we hope to learn more both about this suspect and how investigators used those pieces of information to piece together and then find him.

And, of course, as you mentioned, all of this now landing with residents that are just starting to wrap their minds, understand, how is it that -- how much this fire has impacted them directly, some people who lost absolutely everything in some of those hardest-hit neighborhoods. We were able to speak with one couple as they were walking to -- through what was left of their home, Brianna.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRY ZIMMER, WILDFIRE VICTIM: When you close your eyes and think about the house, you think about the garden, you think about all the family and friends that have been here and the great times. But, luckily, Jim took photos of every single room before we left, so we can see that and really remember everything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

ZIMMER: No. Sorry. I'm sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VARGAS JONES: It's just so heart-wrenching every time I hear that sound bite that moment.

They were in the northwest of Spokane, hit by the Old Trails fire, but that's just one of three fires that continues to burn here. The air quality in the city, we can still see that blanket of smoke here as firefighters continue to fight those flames.

We heard from the National Guard it could still be weeks before people are allowed to go back into their neighborhoods to survey their homes, and who knows how long before they're able to actually move back in and rebuild their lives.

KEILAR: Yes, if ever. We have heard some saying they're not going to do it, the devastation there unbelievable.

Julia, thank you for the report.

Still to come: Voters are lining up to cast their ballots in a hotly contested race in Michigan, one that could be a real indicator of where the broader Democratic Party is heading.

Plus, disturbing new evidence in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial, as jurors are shown graphic photos of blood spatter just one day after a prosecution witness described Clancy's self-inflicted wounds as superficial.

We'll have that story and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:17:15]

ABEL: It is decision day in America, voters casting ballots right now in key primaries that could determine the balance of power in Congress. We are watching races play out in five states Michigan, Kansas, Missouri, Virginia, and Washington.

KEILAR: But it is the Michigan Democratic Senate primary that is pitting moderate Congresswoman Haley Stevens against progressive Abdul El-Sayed that both parties are closely watching here. This is a race that is seen as a potential linchpin for Republicans and Democrats who are battling for control of the Senate.

We're joined now by CNN political commentator Karen Finney, who is a former senior adviser to the 2016 Hillary Clinton presidential campaign, and Democratic strategist Sawyer Hackett is with us.

All right, so, Sawyer, does Stevens or El-Sayed in this case have a better chance of winning against Mike Rogers? How do you see it? Do you think this is a factor for voters? Do they look at that electability?

SAWYER HACKETT, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST AND CONTENT CREATOR: Unfortunately, I think it is it has become a factor for a lot of Democratic voters, and I think that this is part of Democratic campaigns kind of inserting that electability argument into these primaries races, which I think is -- can be fairly destructive to the Democratic Party brand.

I think both of these candidates can win in a general election, and I think we kind of have to dispense with this idea that one of these two candidates is not electable. This head-to-head polling that we're seeing in the primary part of this race is kind of all over the place.

You have millions of dollars being thrown on behalf of one particular candidate. And so I think, in general, Democratic voters shouldn't have to choose between their hearts and their heads. We should go into -- they should go into those ballot booths looking to pick the best candidate to represent the state.

ABEL: Karen, what are your thoughts on that? Should it be this electability thing, or should voters just be going to the polls with who you want the best candidate to be to represent you?

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: You know, it's interesting. Our coverage this morning, you heard voters saying both things, right? We heard one voter saying, I just want to vote for who I like. I don't want to think about it. And another voter said, but I want to beat Mike Rogers, so I am thinking about it.

And I agree that, from the outside and primaries, we always -- the electability question always comes up. That being said, I agree that I think both can win. There's a lot about Abdul El-Sayed we have not talked about, in terms of his credentials as a Rhodes Scholar, as someone who also went to Oxford, as someone who also figured out how to cancel the debt of 300,000 Michiganders, the medical debt.

We don't talk about that. We have been asking him, I have -- and I have seen across all his interviews a lot more about Israel and Gaza, instead of asking both candidates, how are you going to lower costs? How are you going to beat Mike Rogers? How are you going to do these things?

Because if Democrats aren't in the majority, part of it is going to be, how are you going to continue to fight Republicans? Because we saw last year, that's what they really want. So I think it's important we don't ignore -- regardless of who wins, I don't want Democrats to ignore what voters are telling us.

[13:20:05]

They are pissed off, and they want Democrats out there fighting. One voter this morning said, I want Democrats fighting for us the way I see Republicans fighting for Trump.

KEILAR: Yes, it's really interesting.

So I wonder what you think, Karen, about black voters in Michigan because it's such a crucial voting bloc there, one-fifth of the state's Democratic primary electorate. What are you expecting?

FINNEY: Yes.

KEILAR: What are you looking for?

FINNEY: You know, it's interesting because one of my concerns, I mean, obviously Abdul would say he's not a Democratic Socialist, he's a capitalist.

But my concern about DSA is, they're 85 percent white. And there has been a tension for a long time between that socialist movement and the African-American community. So that does concern me sort of big picture in terms of the party.

I think they have both done a good job of trying to win over the black vote. Haley, though, what's interesting is she had just has -- is more known to some of the black churches, and so Abdul has had to make his case and build those relationships.

So, obviously, the black vote is going to be critical and it'll be interesting to see at the end of the day what do black voters say when they come at those exit polls? What do they say about what most influenced their decision?

ABEL: All right, let's talk about the money in this race for a minute, because there's been a lot of it, right? Outside groups spending about $62.2 million for the Stevens campaign, compared to El- Sayed's $2.1 million.

Sawyer, that pales in comparison. How do you think that plays into this race?

HACKETT: Well, and it's funny hearing Haley Stevens kind of bring up that electability argument in the context of being propped up by some $60 million in dark money spending.

I think money is not necessarily the determinative factor in a lot of these primaries. It's usually whether a candidate can catch fire organically determines how well they perform. And I think right now you're seeing independents especially moving towards Abdul because I think he is kind of leading on the affordability issue.

It's -- he's putting that right out in front, putting kind of forward bold, populist policies to address it. And I think independent voters are responding to that. That money has certainly done some damage in terms of his reputation within the coalition of the Democratic Party, but it clearly has not done enough in terms of what we're seeing in the polling right now to bring Haley over top.

KEILAR: The biggest spender in that was AIPAC with nearly $32 million, and the issue of Israel has been so divisive. When you talk to Democrats and they try to talk about let's discuss the things where we overlap, where we can find common ground...

FINNEY: Yes.

KEILAR: ... once you talk about Israel, it's really difficult for them to find common ground.

And I wonder if you're seeing a place, Karen, where there is a discussion that can be had on that issue.

FINNEY: You know, there's two pieces to this conversation though. The AIPAC spending -- I'm on the board of End Citizens United -- is about big corporate and big PAC dollars being spent to influence campaigns, which I am for getting that money out of our politics because it is corrosive and it -- you have heard voters say, I don't like -- I don't want somebody who feels like they were bought and paid for.

And I think we can't underestimate the power of all the things people are seeing happening in Washington in terms of the corruption of the Trump administration sort of driving fears about well, what does it mean if this money has been spent in favor of someone?

Look, I think the party is going to have to come back together. I don't think it's going to happen before the midterms. We're going to have to have a conversation about Israel and what do we as a party believe America's role in Israel should be.

I think one of the things that's been so powerful that Abdul has talked about is -- and literally we won on this issue in 2006, when we said, why are we spending money in Afghanistan to build roads, when we're not spending that money here at home? That was a winning issue in 2006.

So I think we have to pay attention to that and understand that there's a cost element, as much as there is an ideological philosophy about what the relationship should be.

KEILAR: What do you think?

HACKETT: I think that this race has clearly become a proxy war for the various fights within the Democratic coalition, progressive versus moderate or centrist, insider versus outsider, pro-Israel versus anti- Israel. Kind of pick your preferred fight within the Democratic Party.

But if you look at the polls, there was a poll out of "The Detroit News" this week that showed that that issue, the issue of funding for Israel, was a 5.6 out of 10 for most Michigan voters. So it's clearly a conversation happening very intensely within the Democratic Party within that kind of primary base of elites.

But it's not the issue that's driving most people's support when they head to the polls.

KEILAR: It's really interesting.

Sawyer, Karen, thank you so much for the discussion. Really appreciate it. An ominous threat from Iran raising new concerns of a major military

escalation in its war with the U.S. We're going to discuss ahead on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:29:12]

KEILAR: We are now following day six of testimony in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial. She is the Massachusetts mom accused of fatally strangling her three young children.

And, so far today, jurors have heard from a general surgeon who briefly treated Clancy after the killings and officials who collected evidence from inside of the family's home. But one of the more important moments of the day may have been an exchange that happened before the jury ever even entered the courtroom. This is a moment where we heard from Clancy herself.

CNN's Jean Casarez has been following this case from the very beginning.

Jean, explain what happened this morning.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's the first time we've heard her speak, we heard her voice. Just as you said, no jury was in the room.

But the attorneys said that they have actually stipulated, meaning reached an agreement on facts in this case. So there will not have to be prolonged witness testifying as to a fact that the prosecution has to prove. And, remember, the defense in this case is, for all intents and purposes, conceding that Lindsay Clancy killed her three children, the event itself.