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Erin Burnett Outfront
Dems Dig In Deeper Ahead Of Planned Vote Tomorrow; At Odds Over Prioritizing Bigger Bill VS. Infrastructure; Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D- WA) Discusses About Bipartisan Bill Vote And How They Plan To Move Ahead; Jan. 6 Panel Targets Stop The Steal Rally Organizers In Subpoenas; Cheney Apologizes To Milley For Trump Allies' Attack; Attorney: Brian Laundrie Bought A New Phone Before He Went Missing; Senator Sinema Meets With White House Officials For Fourth Time In 2 Days; Judge Suspends Britney Spears' Father As Conservator Of Estate. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired September 29, 2021 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Erin Burnett OUTFRONT starts right now.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next, President Biden's agenda teetering on the edge of collapse with less than 24 hours to go until a crucial vote. A vote that the House Speaker just told CNN she is sticking with despite a revolt from dozens in her own party.
Plus, breaking news, more subpoenas tonight issued from the Committee investigating January 6, so who is on that list?
Plus, a video Brian Laundrie and his family at a campground shortly after he returned without his fiance, Gabby Petito now in the hands of the FBI. We're learning Laundrie purchased a new phone on the day his parents claimed they last saw him. Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight, down to the wire. President Biden scrambling to save his first term agenda from collapse at the hands of his own party and it may be an impossible order. Moderates and progressives have to strike a deal in less than 24 hours or nearly all of the President's domestic priorities could be in jeopardy, including the bipartisan deal that they had agreed to with Democrats.
The House Speaker Nancy Pelosi back in meetings at the White House today as she tries to persuade progressives who are threatening to sink tomorrow scheduled vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill. That is unless there's an agreement on their $3.5 trillion spending plan, which amounts to a Democratic wish list. Pelosi tonight insisting that she is keeping the vote on the bipartisan bill on the schedule tomorrow. Here's what she just said to our Manu Raju.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You still plan to move ahead on the vote on Thursday?
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): That's the plan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: That's the plan. She's never brought something to the floor with a failing and she's planning to do it tomorrow, because this is coming in the face of progressives who are openly revolting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: You're a hard no tomorrow when this comes out.
REP. CORI BUSH (D-MO): I'm a hard no tomorrow. I'm an absolute no. You can write it on the wall with Cori Bush next to it. I'm a no.
RAJU: Just to be clear, sir, you're a no on infrastructure tomorrow?
REP. JAMAAL BOWMAN (D-NY): Well, if it comes to the floor for a vote without the Build Back Better Act, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Okay. And if they all mean what they say, then the bipartisan deal is dead and tomorrow's vote will fail, because on the Senate side, the votes are simply not there for that $3.5 trillion spending bill. It's just not going to happen the way that those three Congress people just said it needed to.
What we're talking about here, of course, is the Build Back Better Act, the Congressman Bowman just referred to. Just listen to Joe Manchin, one of the two Democratic holdouts when he was asked about Pelosi's requirement that the White House sign off the spending bill before the infrastructure vote.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: She said that they need by tomorrow legislative language agreed to, that means ...
SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): That won't happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: That won't happen. He isn't mincing words. There's no ambiguity there. And when it comes to the other holdout, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, someone who has had four meetings with White House officials, including Biden over the past two days, she seem to give progressive the metaphorical middle finger.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you say that progressives, progressives that are frustrated that they don't know where you are?
SEN. KYRSTEN SINEMA (D-AZ): I'm in the Senate.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BURNETT: Physically she is in the Senate.
Manu Raju is on Capitol Hill. Kaitlan Collins is at the White House both covering this breaking story. So Manu, let me just start with you because I know you just spoke to the speaker just moments ago. As of now, she is keeping that vote on the schedule tomorrow. I mean, tell me what happens here. She let it go and fail, and the bipartisan deal fails, I mean what happens?
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's unclear. She certainly has the authority to delay the vote and she's also making it very clear that that ultimate decision has been made because she continue to say, "That is the plan," to have that infrastructure vote tomorrow.
Then I said are you concerned you might not have the votes to pass this tomorrow and she said, "We take it hour by hour." And then when I asked her about the concerns from Sen. Joe Manchin who essentially rejected her request that a deal be reached on that larger package of expand the social safety net by tomorrow, she said we'll see ultimately and then she said they'll discuss what to do going forward.
So the question ultimately is does she move forward with the vote. There are several dozen progressives in the House who plan to vote that bill down because they want Joe Manchin and they want Sen. Kyrsten Sinema to sign off on that larger package. They believe if they vote yes tomorrow on that infrastructure bill, they would lose all leverage to demand this larger bill going forward.
But they have a problem, they simply don't have the votes to get what they want through the Senate. Any one Democratic senator can defect and vote to tank that overall bill which is why there has been so much attention on Manchin and Sinema to see if they can get any sort of resolution.
Sinema has had hours of meetings with White House officials over the last day. Manchin has had conversations as well, but Manchin wants to hit the brakes and he is not ready to move forward. So Erin, a major question left for the Democratic leadership, they may be forced to delay it but how long will they delay it? What will it mean for one or both packages?
[19:05:07]
All major questions as Biden's agenda could most certainly collapse, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Manu, thank you very much.
The story moving so quickly, let's go to Kaitlan Collins OUTFRONT at the White House. I mean, so Kaitlan, you heard what Manu say, I mean, President Biden's agenda could completely collapse, I mean, that is what's at risk here. What is the thinking there given this situation?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. The agenda is basically hanging in the balance at this point, because you are seeing these progressives warring with the more moderate members of their party over what the next path here is going to look like. And so the White House has been deferring to the House Speaker when it comes to the process.
But I do think that they realize the very real consequences here. And, of course, they're hoping that it works out they are having these constant phone calls between staffers and lawmakers and lawmakers and their staff. And, of course, even the President himself, meeting with these lawmakers he was supposed to speak to Sen. Manchin today.
We know, of course, that the White House staff went up to Capitol Hill to speak with Sen. Sinema and her staff. And there's even a chance the President himself could go to Capitol Hill tomorrow as they are trying to work through these negotiations and get to a place where everyone can agree.
But Erin, they're also, to a degree, watching like the rest of us are where Manchin is putting out statements saying he can't support trillions of dollars in spending and then later telling reporters that he could see a reconciliation package happening by the end of the year.
And so I think you look back at what President Biden was saying earlier this summer, when he was saying he wasn't going to sign just the infrastructure package if it came to his desk by himself. He wanted both packages to happen and so now they are working essentially around the clock, Erin, to make that happen.
BURNETT: All right. Thank you very much, Kaitlan.
And I want to go now to the central player in so much of this, the Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal. She is Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. So I appreciate your time very much, Chair.
So you have said you won't vote for the bipartisan infrastructure bill until there's a vote on the three and a half trillion dollar bill. But you just heard Sen. Joe Manchin, he was categorical. There will not be a bill by tomorrow on that front and he went further. He said spending trillions more on government programs when the U.S. can't pay for Social Security and Medicare now is his words 'the definition of fiscal insanity'.
But Pelosi said this vote on the bipartisan bill is going to happen tomorrow, so what happens?
REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): Well, Erin, thanks for having me on. Look, I have respect for every senator and every member of Congress. And what I would say is calling the President's agenda the Democratic agenda insanity is not, I think, what is actually appropriate or real. The reality is we ran on this Democratic agenda. This is not some left wish list. This is the President's agenda that he, five months ago, yesterday, came down Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House to Capitol Hill and laid it out and we all stood up and cheered for it. And that's our job is to deliver the President's agenda to his desk in its entirety. So we have made it clear for three and a half months, that progressives are not going to leave behind women who desperately need childcare, families who desperately need paid leave, communities who desperately need action on climate change, housing, immigration, these are important parts of what we said we would deliver, what we ran on and why voters gave us the House, the Senate and the White House.
And so if there is a vote tomorrow and I have no idea whether there will be or not, I have a feeling that it will be delayed. But if we do have a vote, then we'll vote it down and we'll continue the negotiations so that we can actually deliver the entirety of the President's agenda as he himself, the President himself, said he wanted us to do.
BURNETT: Okay. So a lot I want to ask you, but first, just in terms of this agenda and this is what he was elected to do. So just right now, obviously, the Senate is split 50-50 in terms of Democrats and Republicans, you've got eight seat majority in the House. It's a very narrow margin. Progressives don't make up a majority of house seats, even among Democrats and yet this is the progressive, this is the agenda that you obviously passionately want.
Are you sure that what you want in this is really what the majority of the American people want when I actually go through those numbers?
JAYAPAL: Yes. I mean, 96 percent of Democrats in the House and the Senate support the Build Back Better Act. The act that is currently being blocked by 4 percent of Democrats in the House and the Senate. It is also supported by 70 percent of the American people.
Now at the same time, Erin, I want to just say progressives have been incredibly thoughtful about how we've engaged. We understand we can't get everything and that's why we went from, we wanted one package for exactly this reason. Actually, everything we thought would play out is playing out.
[19:10:00]
We wanted one package because we didn't want roads and bridges to be pitted against childcare or paid leave and climate change. But when we didn't get that, we said, okay, well, we'll make you a deal and we were very clear about this three and a half months ago. We will vote for the bipartisan package if you make sure that you pass the reconciliation package first. That was the deal that 11 senators put out a statement and said was a deal.
Now, Sen. Manchin appears to be saying that those senators ...
BURNETT: He said he wasn't a party to that, yes.
JAYAPAL: ... we're not telling the truth. I don't know what - I mean, they put out a statement, so obviously there's something wrong here. Anyway, we believe that was the deal, that was what the senators were told in order to vote for the bipartisan bill and it was faith.
And then it came over to us and we thought that was the deal and all of a sudden 4 percent say, no, we want to vote for the bipartisan bill first. And we said, sorry, no, because we've been told that there are deals too many times. We're beyond trust, Erin. We're at verify and we believe that at the end of the day we'll deliver both bills to the President's desk.
BURNETT: So let me play again what Sen. Sinema said today to a reporter when she was asked. I just want to play it again for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you say that progressives, progressives that are frustrated that they don't know where you are?
SINEMA: I'm in the Senate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: What's your response to her? I mean, as I said it was sort of a metaphorical middle finger. It was sort of like stop asking me, I'm physically in the Senate. Leave me alone.
JAYAPAL: I couldn't hear it. I couldn't hear the clip, but I'll just say that I think everybody has been focused on the power of one or two senators who I might just add were given that power by voters putting Democrats into the majority based on this Build Back Better agenda.
But anyway, I've always said, look, everyone is Joe Manchin or Kyrsten Sinema in the House. We have a very thin majority in the House. And the reality is everyone's got to get on board and that's why, Erin, there are a lot of my members who if the infrastructure bill really was decoupled from the reconciliation bill, would just, on its own merits, vote against it.
And what I was able to do is get every single one of our members of the Progressive Caucus to say, you know what, we get that we're not going to get everything they want and so we will vote for that as long as we get the infrastructure bill. And you people who don't like the - sorry, as long as we get the reconciliation bill. And you people who don't like the reconciliation bill, you might have to do some things you don't like too, because we're all part of the Democratic team and that's what I still believe. And that's why I think ultimately we're going to get it done.
But we're going to have some hiccups along the way and it might have to go down tomorrow and that's okay. We'll do that and then we'll continue to negotiate.
BURNETT: And you don't think that sends a message to the American people that the one thing that was bipartisan with 19 Republican senators voting for, it was actually bipartisan that the Progressive Caucus just killed is a problem?
JAYAPAL: Well, let me just be clear, it's not the Progressive Caucus that killed it, it's the 4 percent that doesn't support the reconciliation bill and it's sticking to the agreements that they made. Now, I still believe, Erin, that we're not going to have a vote tomorrow.
Nancy Pelosi herself said on Sunday and I have watched her with tremendous admiration, she never brings something to look for that she doesn't think is going to pass. So let's see how tomorrow plays out.
All I'm saying is that we are in the game for good. We're here to deliver to the American people the entirety of the Build Back Better agenda and we're not going to stop. Somebody asked me today if I was losing patience with some of my colleagues and I said never.
We're in Congress to deliver real tangible results to the American people and we're going to fight for that the whole way to the end.
BURNETT: All right. Congresswoman Jayapal, I appreciate your time. Thank you.
JAYAPAL: Thank you, Erin.
BURNETT: And next, Congresswoman Liz Cheney calling out her Republican colleagues and apologizing to Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley for what she calls despicable attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): I want to apologize for those members of this committee who've done so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Plus, CNN learning Gabby Petito's fiance purchased a new cell phone on the last day his family claims he was seen.
And breaking news in Britney Spears struggle to retain control of her life, a judge just making a major decision tonight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:17:53]
BURNETT: Breaking news, the House Select Committee investigating the deadly insurrection on January 6th just issuing its second round of subpoenas for the probe. And the subpoenas, a whole series of them, focused on those involved in the planning of the stop the steal rally that preceded the riot as well as other rallies organized before the actual riot.
I want to go straight to Paula Reid who's covering this. So Paula, who's included in this list of subpoenas, what is the Committee looking for from them as you put all this together?
PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Erin, these subpoenas specifically target 11 individuals who have connections to the organization Women for America First. They are the ones who organize events including the January 6 rally on the Ellipse.
Now, among the names on this list, Amy Kremer, the Founder and Chair of Women for America First, and Katrina Pierson. She's a former Trump campaign official who lawmakers allege was in direct communication with the former president about events organized by this group.
Now, these subpoenas are specifically requesting any materials related to the organizing, planning and the funding of this event. They're also looking for any communication with Trump administration officials or lawmakers about this event. Now, as you noted, this is the House Select Committee's second round of subpoenas. Their first round targeted just a small group of former President Trump's closest advisors, lawmakers say that first group they were really targeting people, they thought would be unlikely to cooperate.
Now, they have a deadline. That group of four advisors has a deadline of next Friday to submit documents and then they have been requested to appear the following week. At this point, though it is not clear if they intend to comply. But today, definitely a much broader group as they continue this investigation.
BURNETT: All right. Paula, thank you. And this news, Paula's reporting comes amid a powerful moment on Capitol Hill today, the Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney invoking January 6th as she apologized to the Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley for the attacks he has been subjected to by former President Trump and his allies. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHENEY: Gen. Milley, on January 6th, we had a violent attack on our capitol.
[19:20:00]
It was an effort to stop the constitutionally prescribed process of counting electoral votes. The first time in our nation's history that we did not have a peaceful transfer of power. In the aftermath of that attack, many of the members of our constitutional system failed to do their duty. Many of them punted, many of them today are still attempting to obstruct the investigation into that attack, attempting to whitewash what happened.
Gen. Milley, you found yourself in your constitutionally prescribed role standing in the breach. And for any member of this committee, for any American, to question your loyalty to our nation, to question your understanding of our Constitution, your loyalty to our Constitution, your recognition and understanding of the civilian chain of command is despicable. I want to apologize for those members of this committee who've done so and I want to thank you for standing in the breach when so many, including many in this room failed to do so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Well, here are some of the attacks on Gen. Milley that Congresswoman Cheney is talking about.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MATT GAETZ (D-FL): We're questioning in your official capacity going and undermining the chain of command, which is obviously what you did. You've created this whole chain of communication narrative.
GEN. MARK MILLEY, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: Did not undermine the chain of command in any manner that they performed, Congressman.
GAETZ: Yes, you did. You absolutely did. And it ...
MILLEY: Did not.
REP. RONNY JACKSON (R-TX): Well, I submit to you, sir, that you should resign because of your dereliction of duty to this country and your inability to do your job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And more from where those came from.
OUTFRONT now, John Kasich, the former Republican Governor of Ohio. So Governor, who spent 18 years in the House Armed Services Committee, did you ever think you'd see a day like this where a member of Congress would feel so compelled to have to apologize on behalf of her colleagues to the Joint Chiefs Chairman?
JOHN KASICH, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I would never have seen the Republicans attacking the military like that. Now, Erin, I have to be careful when I say this or be clear with you. I was never soft on the Pentagon. I was involved in many reforms that some in the military really didn't like and resented in a way.
But in this case, Gen. Milley was doing his job. It is not uncommon for a person like him at the top, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to have ongoing conversations and regular conversations with people who are adversaries in order to keep things calm. Now, what is interesting about Republicans attacking the General is what they're missing is the fact that Milley has been critical of Joe Biden by saying he'd recommended a force that should have stayed there. That was a direct contradiction to what the President said and now it's starting to emerge that he also had been urging the State Department to process those visas that never got processed until the day before the fall of Kabul.
So Milley is doing his job and he's standing tall and the idea that we're going to kind of attack him because somehow they think this is some attack on Trump to me is absurd and I think Cheney said it right. And Erin, I said when they were after Cheney, they should realize she's not fading away and she clearly is not.
BURNETT: Well, Chairman Milley for the second day in a row also defended himself, Governor, against accusations that he's become political. And part of the reason this is coming up is because he spoke to reporters for several books that have come out that have all ended up being critical of Donald Trump. Here's one exchange from today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JIM BANKS (R-IN): What happens when a military general becomes a political figure? You would agree that it's dangerous.
MILLEY: I think it's dangerous and I have done my best to remain personally apolitical and I tried to keep the military out of actual domestic politics.
BANKS: Are you embarrassed by the portrayals of the book? No doubt you're aware of them.
MILLEY: Embarrass, no. I'm concerned that there's mischaracterizations of me becoming very politicized as an individual and that it's my willingness to become politicized, which is not true. I am trying to stay apolitical and I believe I am.
BANKS: Do you regret speaking with Bob Woodward?
MILLEY: No, I think that it's important for me to speak to the media.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So where do you fall on this? I mean, did Milley cross a line here by talking to these reporters? I mean, these reporters were writing books about Donald Trump. They weren't going to be flattering. Or do you think he did the right thing?
KASICH: Well, Erin, the fact that he recounted what was happening at the time is entirely appropriate. And I think Milley's actually done a very good job on how he's run this position of his. And I've had a little bit of evolution in terms of Gen. Milley, but in terms of the fact that he wanted to kind of communicate to them what was happening at the time, and think about this for a second, what he was concerned about is that we had a president who may not have been stable.
Now, this is something that just shouldn't start with criticism of Milley. What they ought to be talking about is what is the Congress doing to clearly investigate and think about what the Constitution says about a president who could become unstable who has the power to release weapons of mass, mass destruction.
[19:25:06]
So now I think they're just looking to pick on him. And at the same time, he's now testifying and he's not being easy on Joe Biden.
BURNETT: That's true.
KASICH: I mean, he said that this whole situation in Afghanistan was not good. I said earlier what he's done. I think he's done appropriately. At some point, he'll rotate on, all chairman do.
BURNETT: All right.
KASICH: Give him a break.
BURNETT: Governor, thank you very much.
KASICH: All right. Erin, thank you. BURNETT: And next we're learning Brian Laundrie purchased a new cell phone on the very same day that his parents claimed they last saw him. This as the FBI is now in possession of new video of Laundrie with his parents at a Florida campground after he returned home without his fiance, Gabby Petito, who've lived with them there.
Plus, Trump looming large in what is a closely watched and competitive race for Virginia Governor. The Democratic nominee Terry McAuliffe is my guest tonight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:29:55]
BURNETT: Tonight, the lawyer for Brian Laundrie's family confirming Brian purchased a new cell phone on the same day he was last seen by his parents. This as the FBI obtained surveillance video from a campground Brian and his parents stayed at shortly after he returned to Florida without his fiancee, Gabby Petito. His fiancee, with whom he lived in Florida so he returned without her, they go camping.
Leyla Santiago is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the search for Brian Laundrie intensifies, new details are surfacing, creating a better timeline about how Laundrie was spending his days after he returned home September 1st without his fiancee, Gabby Petito.
New today, the Laundrie family attorney revealing that on September 14th, the last day Laundrie was seen by his parents, he purchased a new cell phone at an AT&T store in North Port, Florida. The attorney says the phone is the same one Laundrie left behind at his parents' home, and is now in the FBI's possession. The FBI telling CNN it will not comment about the phone, citing an ongoing investigation.
The Laundrie's attorney tells CNN that Brian and his family went camping from September 6th to the 7th at the Ft. De Soto campground 75 miles away from their home. He says they all left the campground together.
Today, Pinellas County surveillance footage from De Soto Park from when the Laundrie family has been camping has been given to the FBI and that video is part of their active investigation.
Gabby's parents reported her missing September 11th, just days after Brian and his parents returned from their camping trip. A neighbor of the Laundrie's says she last saw Brian at his home the weekend of September 10th.
KARYN ABERTS, LAUNDRIE FAMILY'S NEIGHBOR: Saw him and the family in the neighborhood out in the front yard.
SANTIAGO: How would you describe them?
ABERTS: I thought it was just, again, a normal, you know, they were going for a walk. So, never thought anything about it.
SANTIAGO: On September 17th, Laundrie's parents reported him missing, telling police they last saw him three days earlier. The FBI executed a search warrant at the Laundrie home on September 20th, a day after authorities found Petito's body at a campground in Wyoming.
Finally, September 23rd, the FBI announced a federal-arrest warrant for Brian for using a debit card that wasn't his between the dates of August 30th and September 1st.
This Monday, the Laundrie's attorney issuing a statement saying, Chris and Roberta Laundrie do not know where Brian is. They are concerned about Brian, and hope the FBI can locate him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The letters were GBZ.
SANTIAGO: The Petito family and their attorney asking for Brian to do the right thing.
RICHARD STAFFORD, PETITO FAMILY LAWYER: Brian, we're asking you to turn yourself in to the FBI or the nearest law enforcement agency.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANTIAGO (on camera): And, Erin, as we have been here for nearly two weeks now, we've certainly seen how this search here in North Port has changed. This week, investigators calling it a more targeted approach based on intelligence.
We do know that there are -- there is a team at a 25,000-acre reserve still searching for them. They were there today. But that has been scaled back. That search for Brian Laundrie. While that's being scaled back, I'll tell you what's growing. This memorial where we are right now has been growing over the week, and the demand for answers from this community.
BURNETT: All right. Leyla, thank you.
And I want to go now to Jim Clemente, the retired-FBI profiler who as you know has been with us to analyze this tragic case from the start.
And, Jim, just so everyone knows, you were part of the 23-day manhunt that led to the capture of the D.C.-area sniper. So the -- the manhunt situation that we're in here is one that you know well.
So the Laundrie family lawyer confirms Brian brought -- bought -- I'm sorry, bought -- a new phone on the day his parents say they last saw him. But the lawyer says it's the phone that he left behind at his home. So, he buys a new phone. He leaves it at home. And he disappears.
Does this make sense to you?
JIM CLEMENTE, RETIRED FBI PROFILER: Not really, unless he actually thought better of actually carrying a phone that he purchased with him. So he might have taken a phone that someone else had purchased that nobody knows about at this point. Or he could have taken the SIM card out of this phone, and carried that with him. It wouldn't have been trackable unless and until he puts it in another phone and uses it. And it -- and it pings off a tower.
So that could be what he bought it for so that he would have a SIM card available if he needed a phone in emergencies or to contact whoever might be helping him along the way.
BURNETT: So, we understand that the FBI has this phone. Laundrie's lawyer has said as much. They also have surveillance footage now from the campground where Brian went with his parents after he returned to Florida without Gabby. And I always feel like I need to say this but he returned to Florida without his fiancee, who lived with him there with his parents with her van. And people continue somewhat as normal it appears and they go camping together. It's really bizarre to just a normal person looking at this.
What kinds of things is the FBI looking for here, especially now that they have the video?
[19:35:02]
CLEMENTE: Well, that surveillance video can give them a time of arrival at the campgrounds and a time of departure most likely as well as it could have caught things that he was doing during the course of the time that they were there. What the time of departure does, one, they may be able to determine whether or not he was in the camper with his family or the truck that had the camper on it with his family. And then, it will give them a -- a time to look at basically perimeter cameras that they may have passed on the road on the way home.
To see whether or not, at any point, they can determine whether he is actually in that vehicle, or whether he got out at some point. So, they'd look at traffic cams and ATM cameras and -- and private and public-security cameras.
BURNETT: So as I mentioned, the manhunt for the D.C. sniper was 23 days and now we are 12 days into the search for Brian. So, more than two weeks since his parents say they saw him but 12 days into the actual search. Nobody has admitted to knowing where he is. If you're looking for him right now, when do you begin worrying that the trail has gone cold?
CLEMENTE: Well, Erin, there's no real stated date that turns a case cold. It's really a judgment call, and in this case it's going to be based on manpower and other needs that might arise as well as money expended. There is going to be a point where there is no real opportunity to -- to get a return on this -- on -- on a massive manhunt.
So unless they have specific information, at some point they'll call it and say we're going to basically assign it to a fugitive squad and let those officers or agents actually work the case along with many other cases that they're working.
BURNETT: All right, Jim. Thank you very much. CLEMENTE: Thank you, Erin.
And next, Kyrsten Sinema, the Arizona senator. How did she go from the far-left wing of the Democratic Party to a moderate who now controls the face of -- the fate of President Biden's agenda?
Plus, breaking news in the family fight over Britney Spears '13-year conservatorship. A judge just ruling her father's legal influence will end.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:41:10]
BURNETT: Tonight, the person who may have the most power over President Biden's agenda and the name is not Joe Manchin. Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema meeting multiple times with the president and his staff in just the past two days. And the White House is doing everything possible to try to get Sinema onboard.
Sunlen Serfaty is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Arizona freshman Senator Kyrsten Sinema emerging as the key player, holding the fate of the president's agenda in her hands, meeting with the president and his team four times in the last 24 hours.
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: They had a constructive meeting, agreed that we're at a pivotal moment. Need to continue to work to finalize the path forward.
SERFATY: With time running short, the pressure is mounting for her to reveal exactly what she is willing to accept.
REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Literally one senator, one senator, Kyrsten Sinema, is holding up the will of the entire Democratic Party. The president keeps begging her. Tell us what you want.
SERFATY: But so far, she's kept that very close to her vest.
REPORTER: What do you say to progressives frustrated that they don't know where you are?
SEN. KYRSTEN SINEMA (D-AZ): I'm in the Senate.
SERFATY: A pattern that Sinema has relied on on Capitol Hill, choosing to operate largely behind the scenes over public posturing, as she navigates her outsized power as one of the two key moderate Democrats in the Senate.
But it wasn't always this way.
SINEMA: It is merely a distraction. SERFATY: Sinema first started out far left of center as a Green Party
activist, even penning a letter to "The Arizona Republic" in 2002 criticizing capitalism.
Her political past in Arizona as a Ralph Nader supporter and a post- 9/11 anti-war protest organizer drew attacks years later when she ran for Senate.
AD ANNOUNCER: Kyrsten Sinema was protesting us in a pink tutu.
SERFATY: An Arizona state legislator, she fought for LGBTQ rights and against Arizona's controversial immigration law.
SINEMA: They passed an unconstitutional immigration bill that does nothing to solve our state's problems.
SERFATY: Her politics began to shift as she sought higher office.
After winning her first congressional campaign in 2012, she joined the Blue Dog coalition, a group of centrist House Democrats.
SINEMA: The American public doesn't care much about Republican or Democrat. They just want solutions.
SERFATY: And with her ascent to the Senate she attempted to take over the late Senator John McCain's mantel of maverick.
SINEMA: It was Senator McCain's example lighting the way and with the trust of the people of Arizona shaping my service, I recommit to ignoring political games.
SERFATY: Her maiden speech on the Senate floor foreshadowing how far she has come from her leftist roots -- opposing abolishing the filibuster and voting against raising the minimum wage, bucking her party in the model of McCain.
Sinema came from humble beginnings. She grew up in Arizona poor. Her family at one point living in an abandoned gas station.
SINEMA: Thanks to friends and family, my parents' church and sometimes the government, I made it through.
SERFATY: She was raised Mormon, but after graduating from Brigham Young University, she left the church.
REPORTER: Do you believe in God?
SERFATY: You know, I'm not a member of any faith community. And I think that faith is a deeply personal issue that individuals should deal with in their private lives.
SERFATY: At 19 years old, she was briefly married, divorced within a few years.
SINEMA: Can we get a spouse? Just kidding. Just kidding. SERFATY: She broke barriers coming to Congress as the first out
bisexual member but it's never part of her identity that she's dwelled on.
At 45 years old, she is a marathoner and triathlete. Her unique and edgy style from this F off ring to her colorful rings to dangerous creature shirt she wore to preside over the Senate floor.
SEN. MITT ROMNEY (R-UT): You're breaking the Internet.
SINEMA: Good.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SERFATY (on camera): And White House officials met again today with Senator Sinema on Capitol Hill.
[19:45:01]
It is at this moment still very much a mystery and open question where she stands on these bills. And that is causing patience among some of her colleagues, her fellow Democrats, to wear very thin, Erin, especially as they barrel towards these deadlines.
BURNETT: Well, she's got the power.
All right. Thank you very much, Sunlen.
And next, Virginia's closely watched race for governor now becoming all about Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TERRY MCAULIFFE (D), VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: He's a total wannabe Donald Trump.
GLENN YOUNGKIN (R), VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: There is an over and under tonight on how many times you are going to say Donald Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: The Democratic candidate, Terry McAuliffe, is my guest.
And breaking news, Britney Spears' father just removed as her conservator. So is the singer finally free?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BURNETT: Tonight, former President Trump taking center stage in the most closely watched race for Election Day. And that is the race for governor of Virginia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCAULIFFE: He's a total wannabe Donald Trump. He said he's honored and pleased to have Donald Trump's endorsement. He is bought and paid for by Donald Trump. He wants to bring Donald Trump style politics to Virginia and we're not going to allow it.
YOUNGKIN: Terry, you just made folks in Las Vegas a lot of money, and I know you'd love to go campaign there, versus being here.
MCAULIFFE: Listen, I do love Las Vegas. Who doesn't love Las Vegas?
YOUNGKIN: There is an over and under tonight on how many times you are going to say Donald Trump and it was ten and you just busted through it. You're running against Glenn Youngkin.
[19:50:01]
Let's have Terry McAuliffe versus Glenn Youngkin, and let's decide -- let's let Virginia voters decide who they want their next governor to be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OUTFRONT now, Democratic candidate for governor in Virginia, Terry McAuliffe.
So, Terry, okay. Let's just start with this. To be fair, your opponent's rhetoric in this race, in some instances, has sounded a lot like Donald Trump's rhetoric in this race, in some instances, has sounded a lot like Donald Trump's rhetoric about Joe Biden and other Democrats. I'll just give everybody the examples.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: He's going to defund the police.
YOUNGKIN: He doesn't want to fund the police.
TRUMP: Critical race theory is being forced into our children's schools.
YOUNGKIN: We, in fact, are not going to allow critical race theory to be taught in our schools, for our kids to be divided.
TRUMP: Ossoff and Warnock are the two most extreme far-left liberal Senate candidates in the history of our country.
YOUNGKIN: We have this left-liberal progressive philosophy that is led by Terry McAuliffe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, your opponent, though, says this race has nothing to do with Trump. So, you disagree. How come?
MCAULIFFE: Well, first of all, he says -- his quote -- so much of the reason why I'm running is because of Donald Trump. He's been endorsed by Trump four times. And for 80 percent of his campaign, he has said the number one issue for him is election integrity which, of course, is the crazy-conspiracy theory, the big lie. He said a couple days ago, if he were in Congress, he would not answer the question whether he would have certified the election.
So, Erin, he is trying to appeal to the Trump people. Trump has endorsed him four times. Trump wants to use this race to be the launch pad for 2024.
BURNETT: All right. All this being said, I went back to look at some of the things that Youngkin has said. And last week, he specifically said he had not talked to Donald Trump at all about holding a possible rally in Virginia. He said, clearly, that he would have voted to certify the election -- clearly, not a Trump thing. And he specifically said he believes in the integrity of the voting process. He went to vote early in Fairfax County, and here's what he said about it then.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Do you have confidence in the integrity of early voting across Virginia?
YOUNGKIN: I do. I do. This is why we came to vote. And -- and I think that the process is going to be fair.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Obviously, Trump, himself, has suggested Youngkin hasn't embraced him or the MAGA movement enough which those statements, of course, would be consistent with.
So, when you hear that, I mean, are you wrong to be calling him wannabe Trump? I mean, he is going against Trump on -- on election and certification.
MCAULIFFE: Come on, Erin. He's not going against Trump. I mean, through the whole campaign, he's talked about election integrity. Come on. For eight, nine months, that's been his number one thing he's talked about.
(AUDIO GAP)
BURNETT: All right. I'm sorry, everybody. Literally, you heard him begin his sentence but we lost his connection there. I wasn't sure if it was just my audio or if you all were hearing the same thing. We are trying to get it back, so just give me a second here. Bear with me.
Okay. We are trying to restart it. In the meantime, I'll tell you -- it's still frozen. Okay. What do you guys want to do? Do you want to keep trying? Or -- okay.
Bear with me here for a second because I do want to tell you one other thing while we try to get that back. And that is, what is President Biden doing as he is in those desperate negotiations for his agenda? Well, he is arriving at tonight's congressional baseball game in National's Park right now. Only, he is not there just to cheer on his fellow Democrats in what is usually a collegial game. I have been there before.
Of course, his agenda relies on the very people that are playing tonight and the president is not wasting any opportunity to pressure progressives to fall in line to vote for the $1.2 trillion bipartisan bill which they have made clear, at least at this point, that will vote to kill.
In less than 24 hours, House Speaker Pelosi said she is planning to hold that vote. She has not changed that here in the past few minutes. Of course, she will also be there as well. So as it stands tonight, that bill will fail as the progressives have said, unless there is a clear agreement on their $3.5 trillion spending plan. There will not be an agreement on that by tomorrow, says Joe Manchin.
All right. I am going to take a break. When I come back, the breaking news here after more than 13 years, Britney Spears. Her father's no longer in charge of her estate. So what does this win actually mean for Spears?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:58:17]
BURNETT: Breaking news. A huge win for Britney Spears. A Los Angeles judge just suspending her father's legal oversight of her affairs. The ruling is a step closer to ending what has been a 13-year fight against her father, Jamie Spears.
Stephanie Elam is OUTFRONT outside the courthouse.
So, Stephanie, this is what Britney Spears, of course, has been fighting years for. And now, you know, over the past year, there's been incredible public attention to.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. You would argue that that public attention has helped Britney get to this point, Erin. What we know is that in court today, the judge did side with Britney Spears and her attorney, Matthew Rosengart, saying this seemed like an untenable situation.
And so immediately -- effective immediately -- suspending Jamie Spears, her father, as the co-conservator of her estate. Now, this does not get rid of the conservatorship completely but it moves it in the direction of what Britney wants. And also, her lawyer Rosengart, wanting that the CPA, John Zabel, will be appointed as now co- conservator of her estate until the end of the year.
We do expect another court hearing this year to actually go ahead, to terminate the conservatorship but this is giving things the direction that Britney Spears has wanted. We hear that this was contentious in court. Actually, saying Jamie is cruel, he called him toxic and called him an abusive man, as well, and that -- saying that his client, Britney Spears, wants her father out of her life totally, and rather than having this lingering caustic relationship with this man.
We do know that Britney Spears was not in court. She did not call in. We also know her father was virtual. But obviously, people here, beyond themselves with excitement knowing that Britney Spears is moving toward her freedom -- Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Amazing. Just to know that kind of, worldwide attention to this.
Thank you so much, Stephanie. I appreciate your time.
And thanks to all of you. I appreciate yours.
"AC360" starts now.
