Return to Transcripts main page
Erin Burnett Outfront
America's Largest Retailer: Price Hikes Coming Because Of Tariffs; Trump Covering For Putin?; State Attorneys General Spotted On Corporate-Paid Luxury Trip. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired May 15, 2025 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:26]
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:
Major warning signs. Americas largest retailer says they're about to raise prices. The Fed chair warning about shocks to America's supply chain. And America's -- Americans are pulling back big time on spending because of Trump's tariffs.
Plus, is Trump covering for Putin? The president offering up an excuse for Russia after Putin skips out on the most crucial peace talks yet.
And tonight, a CNN investigation. Attorneys general from across the country treated a luxurious trips, including stays at five-star hotels, all paid in part by some of the companies they are regulating.
Let's go OUTFRONT.
Good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
An OUTFRONT tonight, prices are going up. America's largest retailer Walmart, warning today that it will have to hike prices because of Trump's tariffs.
Here's the CEO of Walmart.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
DOUG MCMILLON, WALMART CEO: We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible, but given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren't able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BURNETT: So, who then will be absorbing some of these costs? Well, Main Street America, everybody who shops at Walmart and that is almost everyone. Walmart is the biggest retailer and the biggest private sector employer in the United States.
Now, according to Capital One, they did all this research on Walmart. It's fascinating. They say 95 percent of Americans shop at Walmart. Regular Walmart shoppers visit an average of 67 times a year, and people who shop at Walmart spend 13.5 percent of their shopping dollars at Walmart.
The average Walmart shopper, a woman with a household income between $40,000 and $80,000.
So, Walmart raising prices is not a small business. It is American business as Americans know it. And Walmart raising prices exposes the black and white reality that Trump's campaign promise was false.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to be a tariff nation. It's not going to be a cost to you. It's going to be a cost to another country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Only it is costing you. And today's news from Walmart comes just days after Trump essentially declared victory in his unprecedented trade war with China. Victory, even though at this point there have been no -- no details on any kind of a deal. One Wall Street firm writing that the agreement such that it is so far and understanding sort of does not include any commitments by China on exchange rate policy or the bilateral trade imbalance, which is the core of the whole thing.
And even after Trump backed off of the tariffs big time, without any sort of a deal, what he left on China is still higher in terms of tariffs than those infamous Smoot-Hawley tariffs of the 1930s.
Here's how Trump framed it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We achieved a total reset with China. We made a great deal with China. Great trade deal. They've agreed to open China. Fully open China. Going to be great for everybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Except Walmart shoppers, except the 95 percent of Americans, right? The Walmart shoppers.
And that may be part of why the CEO of JPMorgan Chase is not backing down from his predictions of a recession.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMIE DIMON, CEO, JPMORGAN CHASE: If there's a recession, I don't know how big it will be or how long it will last. Hopefully, we'll avoid it, but I wouldn't take it off the table at this point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And the Fed chairman, Jerome Powell, again today, warning that the U.S. could still be facing empty shelves because of the trade war and soon. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEROME POWELL, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: We may be entering a period of more frequent and potentially more persistent supply shocks, a difficult challenge for the economy and for central banks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And that uncertainty is dramatically changing how Americans spend money so far. According to new data, Americans significantly cut back on spending at U.S. retailers in April, when Trump announced his sweeping tariffs. And tonight, the fallout from those tariffs has hit a nerve with Trump.
The president taking aim tonight at Apple CEO Tim Cook while on the road in Qatar.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I had a little problem with Tim Cook yesterday. I said to him, Tim, you're my friend. I treated you very good. You're coming in with $500 billion. But now I hear you're building all over India. I don't want you building in India.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Well, Apple, of course, is building plants in India. And they are doing that because. Well, it's the production of where Tim Cook is making the iPhone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM COOK, APPLE CEO: The majority of iPhones sold in the U.S. will have India as their country of origin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: That was his earnings call on May 1st. So, it's not as if he's trying to hide what he's doing, right? I mean, he just said it there, made in India to avoid Trump's trade war with China, which, of course, is not what Trump wanted to hear. He wants iPhones made in the United States.
Just listen to Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD LUTNICK, COMMERCE SECRETARY: The army of millions and millions of human beings screwing in little, little screws to make iPhones, that kind of thing is going to come to America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: You know what our Dan Ives has said? If that is how you want to make iPhones, then be prepared to pay several thousand dollars for an iPhone. Jeff Zeleny is traveling with the president tonight OUTFRONT, live in
Abu Dhabi.
And, Jeff, Trump has been in the Middle East touting the U.S. economy and lots of deals lined up. Of course, to support his trip coming home, though, to the reality of rising prices, Americans have cut back their spending because of the tariff war.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Erin, there is no doubt that tomorrow when President Trump lands in Washington, he'll be met with the blunt reality that one of the biggest challenges still faces him that did before he left on this trip. That's the economy and higher prices.
President Trump was elected on a central premise and promise to lower prices. He talks about the price of groceries a lot. In fact, he did earlier today when he was talking with service members who were stationed here. And he has brought down the prices of groceries have fallen somewhat.
But look, the bottom line, the Walmart news is an indicator, as you well know, Walmart is as good as -- as any economic indicator there is in terms of shoppers and Trump supporters and Democratic voters, et cetera. People will feel this.
But the Trump administration, this is why the president, I am told, is trying to push some more of these tariff deals to be done, as soon as possible because they want and are worried about supply chain issues. They're worried about prices going up, but it's happening anyway.
So, it's a challenge going into the summer. There is no doubt about it. So, for all the opulence that President Trump has been surrounded by here in the Middle East this week, for all the deals he has talked about, we will have to go back and check all of them to see how many of them come to a fruition.
But the bottom line, the American economy remains the biggest challenge for the president. There are some positive indicators, there's no doubt about it, but there are some negative ones as well. And the Walmart one, while the White House did not comment on it, there's no doubt they are paying very close attention to all of this, Erin.
BURNETT: Absolutely.
All right. Jeff Zeleny, thank you very much.
And I want to go now to Torsten Slok, partner and chief economist at Apollo. Torsten has been one that, you know, as he has spoken out and written about what's going on, have become a voice everyone on Wall Street has been listening to.
So, when you look at Walmart and you're just going through Walmart, Walmart touches Americans, okay, in a way that almost no other retailer does. No other retailer does touch so many people so directly, and they are having to raise prices. And they're not -- they're not -- Walmart doesn't raise prices unless Walmart has to raise prices.
TORSTEN SLOK, PARTNER & CHIEF ECONOMIST, APOLLO: Well, and looking at it from the tariff perspective, it used to be the case until a few days ago that tariffs from China would be 145 percent. Then it was lowered to 30. When it was 145. It was very clear that trade between the U.S. and China was simply shutting down.
So that's why if we had continued on that track, we would have had empty shelves. So now the question, of course, is, is lowering tariff enough to prevent empty shelves? Or are we getting to a point where tariffs might still create uncertain product categories? Still, the risk that we might not get the goods from China.
BURNETT: Right. I mean, because, you know, I guess we're putting out the point here that even though there's no deals yet. But the tariffs came down from 145 to 30 percent, 30 percent historically, by the way, on top of already existing tariffs in various categories is still the highest or higher than anything when we look at Smoot-Hawley in history, right? I mean --
SLOK: Absolutely.
BURNETT: That's what we're seeing here.
SLOK: Yeah. So, before Trump got inaugurated, tariffs on average the price that we were paying for imports was 3 percent. So, now, we moved up to on average for all imports to 18 percent. That's a very dramatic jump. That will have consequences also for consumer prices more broadly.
It will also have consequences for sales because of course, if you raise prices, if you're Walmart or in the macro world, then of course sales will begin to go down. So, we really are in a situation where we're seeing higher prices and less sales. And that's the definition of stagflation, meaning higher inflation and lower GDP.
BURNETT: Which is -- which is the worst possible thing. And then in addition to what you're talking about, you had some incredible numbers, very powerful. So, you win the whiteboard tonight, Torsten. And that is that when you buy something imported from China, 56 percent of what you pay goes that you pay for that product stays in the United States. So, 56 percent stays in the USA, 44 percent goes to China. So even when you're buying something imported from China, which they say they want less of that, that's bad. The majority of the money you pay is actually staying here. Explain.
SLOK: Because the product that you buy, if we go to Manhattan here somewhere and buy a new pair of sneakers and they cost $100, then, of course, some of that money goes to the manufacturer in China. But some of that money also goes to the seller in Manhattan to pay for labor, to pay for transportation, to pay for the building, and turning on the lights.
[19:10:02]
So, ultimately, what is most important about our trade with China is that more than half of the revenue that you get from selling a pair of shoes or a T-shirt, or a pair of socks that is coming from China, actually ends up in the pockets of someone in America.
BURNETT: Well, we were just talking about the merger today between Dicks Sporting Goods and Footlocker, right? But if you think about athletic apparel or so many of the things that are made in China, right, they do go into U.S. retailers. So, they are -- they are transported by all of the things you're talking about.
SLOK: And that's why in the retail sales report today, it was very interesting. The categories where there was weakness was exactly the tariff related areas such as apparel such as footwear, because things that we import from China was already in April beginning to see a lot more weakness simply because of tariffs being much higher, meaning much higher prices.
BURNETT: But I just think this is so fascinating because it's in addition to the tariff itself showing that the buying that that shoe, the majority of the money stays in America, something I think a lot of people may not have known.
So, when you look at all this now and we don't -- I know we don't know what we don't know, right? And 30 percent could go to zero. It could go back to 100. I mean, who the heck knows?
Given what you know, right now sitting here tonight, Torsten, Jamie Dimon from JPMorgan Chase is saying a recession is still on the table. Is it?
SLOK: Well, the key issue is exactly that it's not only about the impact of tariffs on sales and how much sales might be going down because things become more expensive. It's also the general uncertainty. So, since liberation day, we have had a 90-day clock ticking on a lot of different countries that will potentially see of course, tariffs maybe go up, maybe go down.
Likewise, we now have another 90-day clock last Sunday with the deal with China, with China also has 90 days where well need to figure out what the 30 percent on China is going to mean. Are we going back to 145? Are we going lower?
That's why from a business perspective, and to Jamie Dimon's comments about a recession, it's not only about the impact of tariffs alone, it's also the cloud of uncertainty hanging over both spending for consumers, but in particular spending for firms in terms of hiring, in terms of capex decisions, what should we be doing as a business in an environment where we don't know what will happen in the next 90 days?
BURNETT: All right. Torsten, thank you very much. Really good to see you and to explain all this.
All right. Joining me now, of course, Lulu Garcia-Navarro and Peter Tuchman, otherwise known as Einstein.
All right. Peter, can we just start with this Torsten's whiteboard though? I mean, because this is a whole layer to this that we haven't really talked about, that when you buy a pair of shoes from China, 56 percent of the money that you pay actually would stay in the United States to begin with. Sort of, I think the baseline premise, if anyone had really thought about it, would have been, well, all that money is going to China, but it's not. The majority of it was staying here anyway.
PETER TUCHMAN, TRADER AT THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE: Well, I mean, he just missed. Mr. Trump just said there that some other country was going to pay for it on top of it also, which just it's still confusing.
(CROSSTALK)
BURNETT: This is Americans paying for and -- right? Yeah. Yeah.
TUCHMAN: So, we're still not getting any clarity on who will benefit and who will suffer from the whole tariff question. I mean, I'm still confused, right?
BURNETT: Right, that's the thing. It is confusing and it's confusing to even know what's tariff, and at what amount, and on top of what. I mean, Lulu -- and what I guess this boils down to for American consumers is they're buying less, they're pulling back, they're worried. Those are the numbers we saw today.
The chief, the chief financial officer of Walmart, said, I'm concerned the consumer is going to start to see higher prices. You'll begin to see that likely towards the tail end of this month and then certainly, okay, here's the two most important words in the sentence, much more in June.
LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: This is the thing. You know what's not confusing? That little number changing and going up and up and up.
I'm an inveterate online shopper. You'll be not surprised to know. And when I am looking at the prices, I'm now seeing banners saying we got inventory before the tariffs hit pre-tariff prices.
This is something that is like a banner, an advertisement to everyone who is trying to buy something in this country saying, actually, there's one person to blame for this, and that is Donald Trump and his policies. And so, it's bad politically and it's bad economically.
I mean, if there was one lesson from the last election, one lesson is that Americans don't like inflation and they don't like paying more for more money for the things that they're buying.
TUCHMAN: We -- we've worked really hard to get inflation down. I mean, that was one of the great accomplishments of the last couple of years to get to this point. I believe this is -- this is the president right here. And it's made in China, and I believe --
BURNETT: It's stamped.
TUCHMAN : It is stamped. It says made in China. I believe it did make it in before the tariffs that were not that clear on it.
But, you know, at the end of the day, it's -- this whole -- it's so problematic for everybody. Look, you saw what happened with Amazon the minute that Jeff Bezos decided to put on the -- on the sales sheet.
BURNETT: He said he was going to say, this is what the tariff impact is.
TUCHMAN: So, Mr. President just now said that it's going to be other countries that are going to be carrying the brunt of these tariffs, which is really not the case.
BURNETT: By the way, the Capital One report I cited when they said 13.5 percent of shopping dollars go to Walmart, for those families, the next biggest place that they go is Amazon.
TUCHMAN: Okay. So, let's -- let's talk about, you know, last week -- well, last week, we talked about that Mr. Trump had said that the price the tariffs that were going to be for Rolls-Royces were going to be knocked down from 25 percent to 10 percent.
[19:15:02]
I mean, we're talking about Middle America here. I don't think that has that much impact, right? But perhaps caviar has even less impact, right?
BURNETT: Yeah.
TUCHMAN: So, a friend of mine has a caviar company here in New York called Wall Street Caviar. Before -- when -- during Trump's first presidency, the tariff on caviar was 40 percent. During Biden's administration, it was not raised at all. The minute Mr. Trump came into office, it had gone up to 70 percent. As of April 2nd, it was 185 percent.
BURNETT: A hundred eighty-five percent tariff.
TUCHMAN: There was a window there of a month where they actually, if they took delivery on product between April 2nd and May 2nd, it was 185 percent. Now it's been knocked back down to 70 percent.
Now, I've spoken to him and he's doing the best he can, right, to absorb as much of the cost as possible himself. He is a small business. I know it's a luxury good, but still, it's a small business trying to absorb as much of the cost as possible.
Think about it, Walmart -- you would think Walmart would be able to absorb so much of the cost not to impose that on their -- on their consumer, but they're going to be raising their prices.
BURNETT: If Walmart -- I mean, it's a low margin business, right? But if Walmart can't -- is now passing it along, certainly, a small business owner, whether it's something super high end like caviar or stuffed animals or whatever it is, they have to pass it along. GARCIA-NAVARRO: They have to pass it on. This is now the rubber
hitting the road, because what ended up happening was a lot of people who could bought a lot of inventory before the tariffs hit. So, they stocked up. And then they sort of wanted to protect their customer base from these high prices.
That is already ending. And so now you're starting to see this, and I think you're going to be seeing it more and more. It's a big political problem. It's an even big economic, even bigger economic problem.
BURNETT: Yeah.
TUCHMAN: Do you remember when we started this a couple of weeks that we've been together when Apple, in fact, right when they started mentioning tariffs, Apple actually chartered five planes of iPhones to get them in here. It was billions of dollars worth of iPhones that they tried to get in here under the radar before the tariffs hit.
That's apple. That's $1 trillion company, that's trying to save money in doing that. It kind of puts things in perspective.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: It's one bit of good news, though, is that, so far, we haven't seen an impact on employment. So, people at the moment, this is affecting prices. But this hasn't really affected some fundamentals in the economy. That is something that I keep on hearing. The Trump administration and supporters of the Trump administration really touting that, you know, the fundamentals of the economy so far are pretty solid.
But when you listen to Jamie Dimon, when you listen to others, it's -- problems could be coming down the line.
BURNETT: Right, absolutely because employment would lag.
TUCHMAN: Well, also, if you saw the port in L.A. said that this is going to start having an effect on employment, people who are working the ships at the docks, that's already seeing a 30 percent pare down. So, it is affecting unemployment.
BURNETT: The small -- butterfly's wing starting.
All right. Thank you both very much.
And next, Trump's top negotiator Steve Witkoff, in his own words about his meeting with Vladimir Putin, along with new details about how Witkoff's golf game may have been, why he has this top job even though he does not have diplomatic experience. The reporter, who just spoke at length to Witkoff is my guest.
And tonight, a special CNN investigation. Kyung Lah tracking down attorneys general from across the United States who are being treated to luxury trips funded by the corporations they are regulating.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Attorney General Torres, excuse me, sir? Hi. Can I just grab you for one second?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And for the first time, the jury in the Sean "Diddy" Combs trial hears the graphic text messages between Combs and the prosecution's star witness, his ex-girlfriend. So, what did they reveal?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:23:04]
BURNETT: Tonight, Putin calling the shots with Trump, blowing off peace talks in Turkey, which are designed to end the war in Ukraine. That was hoped that both men would be there, along with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump today trying to claim that Putin is not going to the talks because Trump won't be at them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Nothing's going to happen until Putin and I get together. He wasn't going if I wasn't there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: But just days ago, he says he wasn't going because I wasn't there. Trump himself said this, though days ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I believe the two leaders were going to be there. I was thinking about flying over.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Trump also said that he would be willing to change his very full schedule to go. He made that clear.
So, when Putin decided to leave everyone hanging and stand everybody up. Who did he send to the talks? He did not send Kirill Dmitriev, who is his top negotiator? No. He sent a delegation led by a man named Vladimir Medinsky, who is a former minister of culture in Russia, now an assistant to Putin, who hasn't been part of any talks since 2022. Zelenskyy called the delegation, quote, unquote, decorative.
And keep in mind that this whole performance comes just days after Putin said what might be really the most important thing. He said this. He said that Russia would still achieve its strategic goals militarily in the war versus Ukraine.
So let me just say that again, to let it sink in. Putin said that Russia can achieve its strategic goals militarily in Ukraine. Well, that is actually consistent with his actions. Not only just that, he decided not to go to these talks, but what happened overnight, just now in Ukraine. Ukraine's air force saying Russia launched more than 100 drone
attacks. Five civilians died. This is day in and day out in Ukraine. This is actions. The rest is words.
Meanwhile, Steve Witkoff, the last American believed to share a room with Putin, is in charge of many negotiations for the U.S., including those with Iran. And Trump's envoy is defending Trump's use of him, despite the fact that he has no diplomatic experience, in a new profile for "The Atlantic" titled "Trump's real secretary of state".
[19:25:07]
OUTFRONT now, the man who interviewed Witkoff for that piece, Isaac Stanley-Becker.
And, Isaac, I really appreciate your time.
I mean, he is -- Steve Witkoff has become a crucial figure in in the world because of his role. And you sat down with him twice for this profile. You spoke to him extensively.
Tell me about how he proudly described himself to you as the, quote, amateur diplomat.
ISAAC STANLEY-BECKER, THE ATLANTIC STAFF WRITER: Well, Erin, I think that this shows a healthy dose of self-awareness on Witkoff's part. He is an amateur diplomat. As of a couple months ago, not many people outside of New York real estate circles knew of Steve Witkoff. He is a longtime friend of President Trump's, first real estate lawyer and then real estate investor in New York and other locations, and took on this role really because he has the trust and the confidence of President Trump.
And I think what's really important here is that the premise of his work and the value proposition of putting someone like Witkoff in charge, is the notion that it's okay to be an amateur, that the professional diplomats have failed, and that what is necessary is not a deep, rigorous understanding of this experience in foreign affairs, foreign relations, but kind of business savvy and negotiating skills.
BURNETT: So Witkoff told you that President Trump embraced his meeting alone with Putin, right? And we saw all the images, right. Putin had Kirill Dmitriev and other very seasoned senior diplomats around him. Witkoff was alone. And it turned out, it appears with a with a Kremlin provided interpreter at the end of the day.
And you write that Witkoff described Trump's attitude this way. He wanted to gain knowledge from my visit. Witkoff said his role was to almost be an active intelligence agent for Trump. And he said, I don't mean in a surreptitious way, but an active intelligence agency for Trump.
So, what is Trump's view? How does he describe Trump's view of his role?
STANLEY-BECKER: Well, I first just want to emphasize, I learned in the course of my reporting that the reason that Witkoff went into those meetings alone, as you said, without a note taker, without a translator, is because those were Putin's terms. Those were his conditions for those meetings which Witkoff and President Trump accepted.
And the way that Witkoff described it to me is that the president was interested in having someone face to face with Putin. He was interested in Witkoff's read on Putin. And you read out the quote about the intelligence agent. And I really pressed Witkoff on. What did he learn? What does he now know about Putin, that even U.S. intelligence analysts who've been studying this man don't know?
And I will say that he was not terribly straightforward. And maybe that's because he was playing some of that close to the vest, keeping it close to the vest. Or maybe it's because there wasn't that much exchange beyond niceties and beyond lectures about 18th century Russian history.
BURNETT: Yeah. Well, I have to say, I just want to emphasize again, because you're saying the new reporting that you say you have that, that he said those were Putin's terms, that you couldn't bring anyone and you couldn't bring a negotiator. I mean, that is so significant and hugely significant that they would accept those terms. And obviously important new reporting.
So, Isaac, you also I know spoke to so many people for this who are in Trump world who know Witkoff know Trump. One of them was the Republican senator, Lindsey Graham. He told you his understanding of how Witkoff gained so much power actually comes down to one word, and that word is golf.
STANLEY-BECKER: Well, I thought this was really illuminating about the way that business is done in Trump's universe and the way that Lindsey Graham described it to me is that this was essentially cooked up over golf, over breakfast, before lunch, after a game of golf. Witkoff is President Trump's longtime golfing partner.
And the discussion was essentially, do you want to run for Senate? What do you think about an ambassadorship? And Witkoff was interested in something more informal. And so, Lindsey Graham told him about envoys and President Trump's attitude, or then candidate Trump's attitude was essentially, you know, yeah, Steve, you know, whatever you want.
And the way that Lindsey Graham described this to me was its essentially, you know, Mr. Smith goes to the Mideast.
BURNETT: And that is, of course, what we're all witnessing now. And we'll see what the outcome will be.
Isaac, thank you so much. Such important reporting. I hope everyone will read your full stories. Really excellent. And thank you for sharing with us.
STANLEY-BECKER: Thanks very much. BURNETT: And next, a CNN investigation. Our Kyung Lah uncovering state attorneys general taking luxury trips paid for by the companies they regulate. And some of them didn't have much to say when she asked why.
Plus, Sean "Diddy" Combs ex-girlfriend back on the stand and she claimed the music mogul once overdosed on painkillers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:34:16]
BURNETT: OUTFRONT tonight, a CNN investigation, exclusive trips to luxurious cities around the world, all paid stays in five-star hotels. Just some of the perks. Attorneys general from the United States, around the country, from both political parties are enjoying, paid for in part by the very companies that they are investigating.
Kyung Lah is OUTFRONT. This is her second report in her groundbreaking investigation on how lobbyists could be influencing your state officials.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Among the thousands of international tourists flocking to Rome, Italy, CNN spotted American politicians. This looks like a vacation, but this is a snapshot of how lobbyists and lawyers pay for access to your top state leaders.
Stepping off the tour bus, Attorney General Liz Murrill. She's from Louisiana.
Next, Treg Taylor the attorney general from Alaska, and a few people behind them, the attorney general from Idaho, Raul Labrador, taking in the sights of the Vatican with representatives from some of the very corporations, their states regulate. Some of those companies are currently being sued by state AGs.
It's no coincidence that this group of state AGs and competing corporate interests ended up together, standing in line for the Vatican. This is an exclusive Italian getaway, a week-long conference arranged by a group called the Attorney General Alliance, or AGA.
The group picked up the tab for the AGs to travel, business class, to the luxurious five-star Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Rome.
Documents show corporations and lobbyists donate large amounts of money to the AGA, paying to get special access to state attorneys general at foreign trips like this.
Join us for an unforgettable experience with the AGA, in an email invite.
While the weeklong itinerary shows some law enforcement meetings in the morning and discussions with Vatican officials, CNN saw guests chauffeured to excursions and captured Maryland's Attorney General Anthony Brown, resting near the pool at the Waldorf. Brown's office tells CNN that he is honored to participate in the bipartisan delegation to address pressing global issues.
Records show the ag paid more than $14,000 for Brown and his wife's business class tickets to Italy. Along with Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, the AGA also flew her husband to Rome. The man chatting them up is Paul Connell. He works at a law firm which represents Blackrock, a company AG Murrill is suing, but the law firm is also representing Murrill's Department of Justice in another matter, and it told CNN that conversations with clients are privileged.
CNN also spotted in Rome multiple other representatives from corporations and law firms, including Kia Floyd from General Motors. GM was slapped with a lawsuit from two different states. The company did not reply to requests for comment.
Besides Italy, the AGA has also flown state AGs and their plus ones to Spain, France, and South Africa.
We tried to talk to state AGs earlier this year about why they joined other foreign trips with the AGA.
Excuse me, sir. Hi. Can I just grab you for one second?
New Mexico's attorney general, Raul Torres.
RAUL TORRES, NEW MEXICO'S ATTORNEY GENERAL: We got to run.
LAH: Minnesota AG Keith Ellison said international partnerships are important to his state.
KEITH ELLISON, MINNESOTA ATTORNEY GENERAL: I understand how this game is played. I mean, us reporters and politicians always, oh, you went on a trip and try to embarrass the politician.
LAH: The concern from --
ELLISON: I get it.
LAH: Ethics.
ELLISON: I know where you're coming from, and I'm just telling you that we have substantive programs, our constituents that are disadvantaged if we are not having meaningful conversations with international partners. I'd like to end the conversation right there. Thank you.
LAH: I appreciate it. Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAH (on camera): Now, the AGA tells CNN that they held accredited legal educational sessions, and no litigation was discussed during this trip in Rome. The AGA also says that just because an attorney general decides to go on a trip like this, quote, it does not in itself constitute impropriety.
Now, records do show that Torres did say yes to the invitation to go to Rome, but Ellison did not attend the Rome trip. We did, Erin, reach out to an ethics professor who said, this is really hard to defend what CNN saw in Rome, and that if this really was about getting together in person in one place, how about Chicago in January? Erin?
BURNETT: I mean, why not? Why not? That because that would make sense. You know, Rome.
All right. Thank you so much, Kyung.
And also tonight, Trump's pick for surgeon general praising psychedelic drugs. Dr. Casey Means writing extensively about magic mushrooms in her book good energy, including, quote, if you feel called, I also encourage you to explore intentional guided psilocybin therapy. Strong scientific evidence suggests that this psychedelic therapy can be one of the most meaningful experiences of life for some people.
She goes on to say, in my experience, psilocybin can be a doorway to a different reality that is free from the limiting beliefs of my ego, feelings and personal history. She credits psychedelic mushrooms in part for helping her make, quote, space to find love at 35.
Now, this comes from the surgeon general nominee. All right. And obviously, there's been a lot of work done on these mushrooms. But I will say this they are outlawed in almost all states.
Joining me now, Harry Enten to tell us something we don't know.
So here's the thing -- outlawed almost all states. I remember you know, I believe it was for "60 Minutes", Anderson did a phenomenal piece on it and tried them, you know, because it was becoming something more and more people were talking about.
So, this -- he wants her to be the surgeon general. She's not alone, though. So how popular are these psychedelic mushrooms?
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: I've got to say, this is going to be one of my favorite segments we've ever done, Erin.
Look, if you look at the number of Americans who have tried magic mushrooms, the number has gone through the roof. Compare now versus from where we were back in 2019. It has jumped from 25 million who have tried it at least once now to 31.3 million in 2023. That is a jump of over 6 million more people who have now at least tried magic mushrooms at least once in their life. And I am stalling a little bit as Erin is doing a little math.
BURNETT: I was doing some math because that's a lot of people. That is, in fact, 10 percent of the U.S. population.
ENTEN: It has gone from --
BURNETT: That is a lot. ENTEN: It's 12 percent of all adults.
BURNETT: And it's amazing. It's amazing. Okay. So that is a lot of people. And that -- that is why we're talking about it. In fact, it's not just young people. And however we define young, it's not just, you know, whatever, 18 to 25.
ENTEN: Yeah. This to me was the more interesting part of it. You know, you notice the upswing. Where is the upswing happening? Well, it's happening if you look at adults, it is happening from those 18 to 29 who said they've had it during the last year, but it's up 44 percent among those aged 18 to 29, comparing 2019 to 2020.
But look at that jump among those aged 30 or older, those in middle age. Look at that jump between 2019 and 2023. It's up 188 percent. Holy cow.
BURNETT: All right. So tell us something we don't know.
ENTEN: I'll tell you something you don't know.
BURNETT: I didn't know any of this.
ENTEN: Yeah. There you go. This is one of those great segments. I'll tell you something beyond that that you don't know. It turns out that there are a lot of famous people who have tried mushrooms at least once. Right?
I have never done it. Sorry. Can't say I have, but how about Mike Tyson? Mike Tyson has done it. He's done it numerous times. How about Prince Harry? And how about Joe Rogan?
So it turns out this isn't something from the far end. It turns out a lot of mainstream people are using them.
BURNETT: Mainstream, Prince Harry.
ENTEN: The mainstream today, Prince Harry is an American, just like any of us.
BURNETT: Yeah, actually, I don't think he is. Is he?
ENTEN: He lives here.
BURNETT: He lives here legally. Here? I don't know.
All right. Thank you, Harry.
And next, Sean "Diddy" Combs legal team finally getting their chance to question Combs' ex-girlfriend and there was a lot of attention on graphic text messages. Our reporter was in the courtroom.
Plus, a medical breakthrough. That could be a game changer. Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at why pigs -- pigs could one day be the norm when it comes to kidney transplants. You won't believe this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:47:06]
BURNETT: Breaking news, graphic text messages about drug-fueled freak offs and the swingers lifestyle read aloud in court as Sean "Diddy" Combs former longtime girlfriend nears 15 hours on the witness stand. Cassie Ventura testifying. Combs was addicted to opiates and would be, quote, explosive whenever she did drugs without him. She claimed he overdosed on painkillers after a Playboy mansion party in 2012.
Elizabeth Wagmeister is OUTFRONT and I warn you that the content of this report is graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CASSIE VENTURA, ACTRESS: Each character and each actor that came into the project brought their own thing to the table.
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A 21-year-old Cassie Ventura in 2008 promoting the film "Step Up 2".
VENTURA: Oh my gosh, it was an overwhelming experience, but exciting all at the same time.
WAGMEISTER: During day one of cross-examination, she was asked about her budding relationship and emails with Sean Combs from that same year. When Combs said, "I love you. I miss you. Can't wait to hold you" Ventura responded, "I'm a very lucky woman. I miss you so much. I'd fly wherever you needed me."
The defense is building its case that Ventura was a willing participant and enjoyed the so-called freak offs, or long drug fueled sex sessions involving male escorts, she says, were orchestrated by Combs in 2009, when Combs messaged asking if she wanted to freak offs, Ventura replied, I'm always ready to freak off LOL. I just want it to be uncontrollable, Ventura said, referring to sex with the escort. I can't wait, that's why I want to see, Combs responded.
Later that year, when Combs emailed, I want to be nasty for you, Ventura replied, in order for me to be more open with the things we do in bed, I need to feel safe, like home. This is my husband, and this is the only man that will ever have this aggressive sexual side of me. When asked by the defense if this showed open communication between the two, Ventura said, I would say.
But the prosecution says this video from 2016 showing Combs assaulting Ventura as she says she tried to flee a freak offs proves the relationship devolved into abuse and control.
Still, a year after that assault, the defense noted Ventura sent this to Combs in 2017. I love our freak offs when we both want it. Ventura saying on the stand that the text was just words at that point, echoing her previous testimony of feeling trapped in, afraid of Combs's rages.
The defense also argued that jealousy played a role in the volatile relationship, with Ventura, writing, I'm nervous that I'm just becoming the girlfriend, that you get your fantasies off of, and that's it.
SEAN "DIDDY" COMBS, MUSICIAN: I just miss Kim, y'all, you know what I'm saying?
WAGMEISTER: Combs' time with the late Kim Porter, the mother of four of his children and other women also came up.
[19:50:03]
Ventura testifying she has some jealousy of Ms. Porter because Combs would spend holidays with her even though they had split up.
Their fights over infidelity were a little scary, she said. In 2011, she dated rapper Kid Cudi while on a break from Combs. I thought it would be way too dangerous to tell him about that, she said. But Combs lunged at her. She says after finding Kid Cudi's name in her phone during a freak offs, which still went on during breaks in their relationship because it was a job, Ventura said.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WAGMEISTER (on camera): Now, Erin, the judge, actually reprimanded Combs defense in court today essentially for taking too long with their cross-examination. The judge had said that there was a pre- arrangement that Cassie Ventura would be finished with all of her testimony, that she needs to be off the stand by tomorrow. The reason why she is so pregnant, Erin, that she could literally go into labor at any time. So, her cross-examination will wrap up tomorrow, judge's orders.
BURNETT: All right. Elizabeth, thank you very much. She's been in the courtroom every single day.
And also, tonight, Laura Coates. She is going to have a full hour on the Diddy trial tonight at 11:00 on "LAURA COATES LIVE".
And next, a groundbreaking new technique that could save the lives of so many who are right now waiting in vain for a kidney transplant. And it has to do with using pig kidneys. Yes. Pigs. Dr. Sanjay Gupta next with this incredibly in-depth investigation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:56:15]
BURNETT: Tonight, a kidney from a pig saves a dying man's life. That's right, a pig kidney in a human. It's a groundbreaking technique. And taking an organ from a genetically modified pig and implanting it, in this case, in a 67-year-old man with end stage kidney disease. And it is now at the center of a years-long investigation by our own Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
Here's a glimpse of Sanjay's reporting.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, Rafael (ph), she'll be able to donate one of her kidneys to a man who's in dire need. And essentially, she's saving his life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go, Rafael.
UNIDENTIFEID FEMALE: It's a really big moment. Theres a lot of emotions. We love our piglets like our own.
Thinking about the purpose that Rafael is serving by getting to go and give someone a new lease on life is just such a gift.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That someone is Tim Andrews. Rafael will be his donor.
Would you like to see Rafael?
TIM ANDREWS, PIG KIDNEY RECIPIENT: I would love to see that.
GUPTA: All right, let's show it to you. Let's just go ahead and hit play right there whenever you're ready.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my goodness.
ANDREWS: Oh, cool.
GUPTA: What was that like for you?
ANDREWS: That's amazing, huh. Given life, what a gift. Oh, God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: And Dr. Sanjay Gupta is OUTFRONT.
And, Sanjay, I know you spent an extraordinary amount of time, you know, covering this, investigating this. You know, people hear pigs, you think pigs? Maybe there's a wince, to say the least. I mean, what why pigs? And are there downsides?
GUPTA: Yeah. First of all, can I just say it's so cool being a journalist, Erin. I mean, just that moment with Tim Andrews seeing somebody, the only person in the world right now to have a pig kidney in him.
You know, it's remarkable. Pigs -- I think there's a practical reason why pigs, which is that they're similar in size to humans. So, a pig kidney will be similar in size to a human kidney. Same thing for the heart.
You can -- the pig pregnancy also is short. Just under four months. Make lots of piglets. So, if you're trying to create more organs during (AUDIO GAP) of them at the same time, pigs end up being a really sort of (AUDIO GAP) organs. You can also modify as you mentioned, Erin, modify (AUDIO GAP) to make it, and that's what we saw happened with Tim Andrews there. BURNETT: I mean, it is incredible. I'm thinking of people I've known who've, you know, come up against kidney disease and it's dialysis constantly and they're told it's for the rest of their life and that there's no chance of ever getting off of list and actually being able to get a kidney.
So does this transform that? Does this make it so that humans who need kidneys truly can get them?
GUPTA: I think that many people are banking on the idea that this is going to be a significant, significant solution for people, at least, you know, at some point over the next five years. It's not right away. And they're starting clinical trials now, but it's happening.
I met some of the first people on the planet to have these pig kidneys transplanted into their bodies, and they work. When you just saw Tim there, and he was so emotional seeing Rafael, he's been living for just three months or so now with this pig kidney and doing really, really well. It takes time and it's expensive to gene edit these pigs, to use cloning, to use IVF, transplant immunology.
There are five Nobel Prize winning discoveries that go into what I just showed you there.
BURNETT: Wow.
GUPTA: But, yeah, it's happening for sure. And I think, you know, within the next few years, five years or so, it'll probably be mainstream and a real option for people who are waiting, maybe with no chance of actually getting a transplant.
BURNETT: And you think about it, over that time, hundreds of thousands of people whose lives could be saved, worthy of every one of those Nobel Prizes.
All right, Sanjay, thank you so much. And as I said, Sanjay spent years investigating this. Don't miss "Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports: Animal Farm". That is Sunday night at 8:00.
And thanks so much for joining us.
"AC360" begins now.
