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Proponents of Abortion Access Submit Signatures to Put Amendment on November Ballot in Ohio; Dems Push Abortion Rights on the 2024 Ballot; Dems Re-up Bill to Enforce Supreme Court Term Limits; Lab Test Confirms Cocaine Found at White House. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired July 05, 2023 - 12:30   ET

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

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[12:30:22]

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR OF 'INSIDE POLITICS': It's been a year since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the nationwide right to abortion access. Since then six states have voted on abortion-related ballot measures, and in each case, voters have supported abortion rights. Abortion rights activists hope Ohio could soon join the list.

Today, in a grand gesture you see there, there were petitions rolled into the Office of the Secretary of State (inaudible) box by box, in an effort to make sure the measure makes the November ballot. Ohio is exactly where CNN's Jeff Zeleny is right now, Columbus to be specific.

Jeff, what are you seeing and hearing on the ground when it comes to this fascinating effort to get this on the ballot?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Dana, there is going to be a summer showdown over abortion rights in Ohio and that became clear when, as you said, box by box some hundreds of thousands of signatures were delivered to the Office of the Ohio Secretary of State this morning. They need about 413,000 signatures to get the question on the November ballot of abortion rights being enshrined into the State Constitution. And organizers say that they have 700,000 signatures. Of course, those will all have to be verified. But, organizers of this November effort are confident. Here's what they said this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SRI THAKKILAPATI, FOUNDER, OHIOANS FOR REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM: Vote in November and vote in August.

(APPLAUSE)

Vote against the amendment in August. We are going to win this. We know that every single person in Ohio is aware of this amendment. We know that a majority, an overwhelming majority of Ohioans support this basic human right.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ZELENY: So you may be wondering why there would be an August special election for a November ballot question. That is exactly what makes Ohio absolutely unique here. A year after the Dobbs decision, Ohio Republican lawmakers, a few months ago, passed a law saying that there must be an August special election that would seek to change the threshold for what it takes to change the state's constitution.

For more than a century it has been 50 percent-plus-one to change the state's constitution. They are seeking to increase that to 60 percent of the vote in November. So a little confusing, Dana, and that is what some organizers say is the point here of these Republican lawmakers trying to stop what they believe is the will of the people here. So an August special election to set the threshold for the November ballot question. And 60 percent of the November ballot, that would be higher marker than Kansas which last summer, of course, passed abortion rights by 59 percent and Michigan passed it by 57 percent. So, that is why Ohio will be front and center in this abortion debate this summer.

BASH: Yeah.

ZELENY: Dana?

BASH: I was just going to say, the 60 percent threshold is definitely not random. It is very specific, and they saw the numbers...

ZELENY: Indeed.

BASH: ...that you just talked about, the percentages you just talked about in the very red state of Kansas and then the purple state of Michigan. Thank you so much for that reporting. Appreciate it. Good to see you out there, Jeff. And back...

ZELENY: Sure.

BASH: ...with me at the table is the great panel. Let's look at the map right now, just kind of set the table on the current state of abortion access in America a year after Roe. You see the red there is where it's banned. The yellow is 20-weeks-or-less-abortion is outlawed. And then the green is where it is legal. And what you're seeing with this ballot question is -- I don't know, it's twofold. It's, number one, obviously the policy. They want to change the policy. That's first and foremost. But it's also an enthusiasm driver when it comes to voting.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yeah. I mean, we have seen abortion politics flip on its head for the last year since the Dobbs decision because it turns out that when you upend 50 years of precedent, you actually enliven the folks who are on the losing end of that political case to try and rally around a change state by state to bring back abortion rights or at least fortify abortion rights that exist.

So I do think what we've seen over the last year, Jeff and you referenced Kansas, Michigan, I think broadly in the 2020...

BASH: And that's -- while you're talking, let's put up on the screen the results of Kansas and Michigan. Go ahead.

[12:35:00]

CHALIAN: And we saw recently in a state Supreme Court race in Wisconsin, this is an issue that has enlivened Democrats and the independents, some, that we've noticed, throughout these elections as well. And that is precisely the point of the abortion rights proponents here, to get this on the ballot to enliven the Democratic base and have them turn out, which is why -- I'm not so sure this Republican ploy to sort of change the -- move the goal post in the midst of the game here to 60 percent, it may work out for them. I don't know how that August special will work out. But remember, that Kansas election, that was also in August. And people thought, well, in this deep red state in August -- this seems to be an issue that still a year later has a lot of political potency.

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: I just want to -- before you guys come in, I just want to go back to a headline from our colleague Isaac Dovere back in April, talking about Democrats pushing abortion rights to the ballot in 2024 which is sort of stealing a Republican playbook. And it's not just Ohio, we're going to look ahead to New York and to Maryland. You might say, OK, well, those are blue states. They're also congressional races, particularly in New York.

JACKIE KUCINICH, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE BOSTON GLOBE: Well, right. I was going to mention, in Ohio in particular, you have Sherrod Brown who is going to be on the ballot in 2024 and you have a Democratic base in Ohio that really is atrophied over the course of the years. And we used to talk about Ohio as a swing state; Ohio is no longer a swing state, in the same sense...

(CROSSTALK)

BASH: And you say that as a daughter of Ohio.

KUCINICH: Yes, indeed. And the state government is completely Republican dominated which is why they were able to get this -- this election in August to begin with. So, the idea that -- you're absolutely right. There is a risk here and both sides already spending on either side of this issue a lot more than you would normally see in this part of the cycle because they know how important it is.

CLEEVE WOOTSON, WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: I think even if Republicans are successful in this special session, you know, there's some risk there. There -- voters can feel some type of way about changing the mechanics of democracy, about upending a century- old law in order to push one particular issue. You know, we -- we're seeing the same thing in Georgia with voting rights where the argument is not just, you know, policy Republican or Democrat, but it is, you know, is one party putting their thumb on the scale. And I think that that can lead to voters wanting to punish the party that's doing so.

BASH: Very interesting, fascinating discussion. This is going to be something that we are going to be looking at over and over as the months roll by. And up next, after a slew of Supreme Court decisions handed defeats to Democrats, President Biden is facing renewed pressure to shake up the High Court. One of the democratic lawmakers leading that push, Congressman Ro Khanna, will be here next.

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[12:42:33]

BASH: The Supreme Court dealt major setbacks to the Democrats' agenda last week pushing some on the left to renew calls for court reform. One proposal is term limits. Democrats in the House reintroduced legislation on Friday that would cap justices at 18 years on the bench. Here to discuss is a co-sponsor of that bill, Representative Ro Khanna of California.

Thank you so much for joining me. Today, I want to ask about this term limit legislation because, if enacted, it would apply to future justices, not those currently on the bench. Knowing exactly when a Supreme Court seat will become vacant, doesn't that make the nominating process even more heated and political?

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Dana, actually it would do the opposite because we wouldn't have the high stakes on each of the nomination. Every president would get two appointments every two years, justices would be there for 18 years. And Dana, 49 out of 50 states in this country have either term limits on their Supreme Court or age limits. So it's consistent with our political culture.

BASH: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, as you know, sat on the bench for 27 years. She earned the title 'Notorious R.B.G.' Could curtailing the legacy of justices or at least the tenure of justices make it hard for a future R.B.G. or even Sandra Day O'Connor who was there for 25 years?

KHANNA: Sure, there are great justices, and they wouldn't be able to serve 25 years, 26 years which is the average. They would serve 18 years and that is one downside. But, the advantage is you would make the court far less ideological and you wouldn't have a situation like now, where you have justices who are just out of touch with modern life, who don't understand the struggles of those with student loans, who don't understand what it's like for women to have their bodies controlled, and you just have a court that's out of touch with the facts of modern life.

BASH: So as you well know, those who are in favor of the Supreme Court rulings listen to what you're saying and say, "Wait a minute, the court has been ruling against various political agendas and ideals for decades." I mean, conservatives did not approve of Roe v. Wade when that was decided 50 years ago, and what they did was they mobilized, they got Republicans elected, and then, particularly at the White House, and then they got conservatives on the bench. Isn't that just how it works?

KHANNA: Right now, you have a crisis of confidence. That's why actually Republicans, many Republicans support this proposal.

[12:45:00] I mean, I think this idea that you have justices there for 30 years, 40 years was not the founding intent. And there are a lot of court reform proposals. This is one of the few that Republicans, Democrats, and independents support. 18 years is a long time. And then a justice can still be a judge because, under the Constitution, they have to be a judge for life. But they go on to a lower court or a district court. That's what the founders intended, not that they serve on the highest court for 30 years, 40 years.

BASH: So it would be a limit for the highest court, no limits on the circuit or district court levels?

KHANNA: Exactly because the Constitution says you have to be a judge for life. Now when we did this tenure, it was because we had monarchs who were basically throwing out the decisions of jurists. That's a long time ago. But still, we can keep the lifetime tenure for judges, but not on the highest court. They're there for 18 years. Every two years, a president gets his appointment. It would prevent things like what happened to Merrick Garland.

We'd know as a country, every two years, this happens. It would depoliticize the system and the president's own commission recommended this to him when all the reform proposals were there. I believe he should adopt it, and this should be an issue in the 2024 campaign.

BASH: You mentioned President Biden after the Supreme Court ruled on affirmative action last week, he was asked whether or not he believes that there should be court reforms. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I think if we start the process of trying to expand the court, we're going to politicize it may be forever in a way that is not healthy. I think that some of the court are beginning to realize their legitimacy is being questioned in ways it hadn't been questioned in the past.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: Are you satisfied with what he said there to Nicole Wallace?

KHANNA: Well, look, I understand the challenges with expansion. I was just watching the FDR documentary, and he had a challenge with that. So I understand that challenge. That's why I think term limits is a common sense proposal that the president could adopt, that his own commission has recommended, and that many Americans would say we should do them (ph). We've done it in the states.

BASH: Any chance for a Republican co-sponsor?

KHANNA: We're trying on it. Look, the Republicans have co-sponsored legislation when it comes to congressional and senate term limits. I've actually been a co-sponsor of that. I guess my question is, if you're for term limits for Congress members and senators, why not term limits for the Supreme Court who are not elected and who have the least accountability? BASH: That's a good question. Congressman Ro Khanna, thank you so much. Appreciate your time.

KHANNA: Thank you.

BASH: And we have more news ahead after a quick break. Stay with us.

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[12:52:30]

BASH: Moments ago, Former Vice President and current presidential candidate Mike Pence responded to the breaking news that it was in fact cocaine found at the White House on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE PENCE, (R) FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES AND CURRENT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I did Hugh Hewitt's radio show this morning, and he said, "If this would happen in (inaudible) White House, what do you think the news would be covering?"

(LAUGHTER)

Right? I mean, look, they need to get to the bottom of it. It's a very serious matter. Illicit drugs found, I heard it was in the library, I have heard it was in other places at the White House. There can be (ph) zero tolerance, and they have to get to the bottom of it. The American people deserve answers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: The drug was found near the ground floor entrance to the West Wing, near where guests are asked to leave their cell phones.

And now, real-life evidence that words have consequences. Prosecutors say the man arrested in President Obama's D.C. neighborhood last week went there after a social media post from Former President Trump. CNN's Katelyn Polantz is in Washington. Katelyn, this is extremely disturbing.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: It is, Dana, and the details here in a court filing from prosecutors just revealed the extent of the long tail of the January 6th insurrection, and what one of the people who was there that day continued to do in Washington, D.C. So, this man -- his name is Taylor Taranto -- he is a person that's currently being held and there is a detention hearing going to be held for him, we believe, later today, where prosecutors want to keep him detained because they think he's such a flight risk and danger to the community.

And that's because of the full story of his arc over the last couple of years. This is a person who formerly was in the military and then, on January 6th, came to the Capitol carrying a cane, got into a scuffle with officers, according to prosecutors, is now being charged by criminal complaint with some of those actions from that day. But then two months ago, came back to the D.C. area, had been living out of his van, according to the Justice Department, and livestreaming essentially about January 6th, visited an elementary school in Maryland, because he believed it was close to the home of Representative Jamie Raskin, one of the very outward critics of Donald Trump and January 6, was on that committee investigating the attack, and had been...

This man, Taranto, has been livestreaming himself inside the elementary school, posting about Raskin being one of the people who hates January 6th or Trump supporters, and wanting to send a shockwave through him.

[12:55:00]

And then last week, had a series of additional livestreams posted on a YouTube account where one of them said that he wanted to detonate a bomb in his van outside of a federal building, and then again, he was found outside of the Obama neighborhood -- in the neighborhood where the Obamas live, wanting to find him as well. And he was picked up by the Secret Service there.

BASH: After the former president put on his social media platform what he reported to be President Obama's address. Thank you so much for the reporting. And thank you for joining "Inside Politics." "CNN News Central" starts after the break.

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