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The Situation Room

Biden Refuses To Shield Trump Docs From January 6th Investigators; Biden on Defensive Over Jobs Report, Stalled Economic Agenda. Police Say Laundrie Was Under Surveillance Before He Disappeared; House Panel: Trump Hid Over $70 Million in Losses at Trump Hotel While Falsely Claiming Big Profits. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired October 08, 2021 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Our coverage continues right now. Have a great weekend.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking news, President Biden is refusing to help Donald Trump stonewall the January 6 investigation, rejecting a request to assert executive privilege over White House documents. Now, former President Trump is responding and making his own request to keep the information under wraps.

Also tonight the president is on the defensive after a disappointing jobs report as party infighting keeps threatening the economic agenda. Over on Capitol Hill, a short-term solution to the debt limit drama is highlighting long-term dysfunction.

And as police keep searching for Brian Laundrie, we're learning they have him under surveillance before he went missing. There's even more mystery surrounding Laundrie's disappearance and Gabby Petito's death, even their cell phones seem to have vanished.

Welcome to the viewers in the United States and around the world. Wolf Blitzer is off today. I'm Pamela Brown and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

And let's get right to the breaking news on the January 6th investigation and including President Biden's refusal to assert executive privilege on behalf of former President Trump, a lot of moving parts on this front today. Our Justice Correspondent Jessica Schneider is following all the new angles.

So, Jessica, the January 6 committee got an important green light from President Biden on this.

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: They did, Pam, but this is setting up a very big and looming legal fight here. So, the current president, President Biden, saying that he will not invoke executive privilege, basically saying, he will not shield those Trump White House documents from going to the committee. He called these unique and extraordinary circumstances. But the former president, he is already firing back him. He's already released his own two-page letter to the National Archives saying that he will invoke his own executive privilege. That's actually something that a former president can do and, of course, that means that this fight could play out in federal court.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER (voice over): Tonight, the Biden administration is clearing the way for the January 6th select committee to get details about what was happening inside the White House before and during the insurrection. The White House counsel telling the National Archives that President Biden will not assert executive privilege over some records from the Trump White House since the documents shed light on events within the White House on and about January 6 and bear on the select committee's need to understand the facts underlying the most serious attack on the operations of the federal government since the civil war.

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: This is just the first set of documents. And we will evaluate questions of privilege on a case by case basis but the president has also been clear that he believes it to be of the utmost importance for both Congress and the American people to have a complete understanding of the events of that day to prevent them from happening again.

SCHNEIDER: The committee made 12 pages of demands to the archives in August. And while it's unclear exactly which documents have been cleared by the Biden White House to give to the committee, the wide ranging request included call logs and schedules from Trump's family members on January 6th, including Melania Trump, three oldest children and son-in-law Jared Kushner, also visitor logs from the White House on January 6th and even documents pertaining to the mental stability of the former president.

Trump promptly sent a letter to the archives trying to assert executive privilege. He signed his own letter rather than using attorneys and ended it with, should the committee persist in seeking other privilege information, I will take all necessary and appropriate steps to defend the office of the presidency.

STEVE BANNON, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF STRATEGIST: Is the Democrat Party's fear of the return of Trump. That's all these committees are.

SCHNEIDER: Meanwhile, former Trump Official Steve Bannon is telling January 6th select committee he will not comply with the congressional subpoena. His attorney saying in a letter, the former president plans to invoke executive privilege and you must accept his direction. Bannon's legal team also saying it could be up to the courts to decide whether Bannon will be forced to cooperate, essentially daring the committee to sue or hold Bannon in criminal contempt.

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: This letter that we saw from Steve Bannon is a delay tactic, it's a political strategy but, legally, it holds no water. SCHNEIDER: Many legal experts say Bannon would not be covered by executive privilege because he left the White House in 2017 and was not working for the federal government on January 6th. One day after that deadline to turn over documents, the committee revealing in a statement that two other subpoena targets, former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and former Trump Administration Official Kash Patel, are engaging with the committee even though Trump told them not to comply.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHNEIDER (on camera): And the committee now is firing back at Bannon. And they're accusing him of hiding behind big references to privilege that were asserted by the former president.

[18:05:00]

And in a statement here, lawmakers are saying that they will act swiftly against anyone who refuses to comply with these subpoenas. They're including potential criminal contempt that could apply to Bannon if he does not comply here.

The committee is not referencing anything as it pertains to Dan Scavino, the former Deputy Chief of Staff. We don't know if he's been served or he is working with the committee. But we did hear today from the former Trump administration official, Kash Patel, he actually released a statement and he said at this way, he said he's engaged in confidential dealings with the committee and he said that he did respond to the subpoena in a timely manner. So, a lot moving here, a lot of fights and, again, that court fight definitely looming here.

BROWN: Yes, and no surprise that we see a court fight ahead us here on this. Jessica Schneider, thank you so much.

Let's get more in all of this with our Chief Political Analyst Gloria Borger and our Senior Legal Analyst Laura Coates. Great to see you both ladies.

Laura, I want to start with you. President Biden isn't asserting executive privilege. Former President Trump says he is. Help us understand, does Trump have any standing here? What do you think is going to happen?

LAURA COATES, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, remember, the executive privilege belongs to the person who actually is in charge of the expectative branch, and that is about the incumbent, President Joe Biden. But they did assert that they would do so, or think about doing so on a case-by-case basis.

And the reason for that, of course, is, think of, Pam, the people who they have subpoenaed. You have a chief of staff, a deputy chief of staff, an adviser and also a Pentagon chief of staff. There is some precedential issues that could be set if you have a president willing to extend or withhold the executive privilege as it relates to conversations around the chief of staff. You could foresee the notion of a future president taking issue with this. And remember we are thinking about the role of executive privilege, it is not about protecting the president, it's about the presidency. And so they're going to be contemplating whether or not to extend it, until you got the former president and in fitted unchartered territory here trying to be able to assert, that which he has abandoned by no longer being the president. He can't veto, he can't command the U.S. Armed Forces. He can't sign legislation, he can't pardon. But he wants to have this one be the one he keeps. And the courts are not likely to find that to be the case.

BROWN: And it's also interesting to note that his former DOJ officials, he let them go forward and talk to the committee, now he's trying to assert this in this case. Gloria, we saw under the Trump White House how Trump and his attorneys trying to use the courts to run out the clock on investigations.

GLORA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: They succeeded, remember?

BROWN: And they succeeded. And do you see the same strategy at play here?

BORGER: Absolutely, absolutely. Look, there's a midterm election coming up. Stonewalling is their M.O. We have seen it time and time again over the last years and I think that's what this is all about. I think there are very complicated legal issues, here as Laura points out, and the committee wants to get to the bottom of January 6th. They could go the criminal route, charging these people with contempt. They could charge civil contempt. Also there're lots of ways they can figure this out. But time is of the essence.

These Democrats know what happened in the Mueller investigation. They know what happened over the last four years. And they are determined to have this done in a manner that people can see for themselves quickly. And that's going to be very difficult but they're going to proceed very differently from the way Democrats have done in the past.

BROWN: And, Laura, Gloria raises the important point of what the leaders of the January 6th committee are going to do next. They say they are going to take quick action, will seek to hold those who refuse to comply with their subpoenas potentially in criminal contempt. How much power do they have to force these insiders to comply?

COATES: They have power on a dual-track system. They have to work in connection with the Department of Justice as well for the criminal referral element. As Gloria noted, you have a different attorney general here who has been prone at this point in time to follow the law obviously, to honor the Department of Justice.

They also have the role of what other members of Congress could play in essentially saying the person can be held in contempt. And, remember, it requires a vote out of the committee from the people who are asking for the subpoena to be honored and also an overall chamber being able to vote on it through a majority.

And so there is a process at play here. They have to follow it, but it will be on an expedited basis for the reason that Gloria spoke of.

BORGER: You know, and also I want to say, that someone like Mark Meadows who was a chief of staff, you can understand why members of Congress would say, well, maybe a circumstance under which a chief of staff's conversation with the president of United States should be privileged. And Meadows said he was engaging with the committee. So does that mean they're going to try and cut some kind of a deal where some things he would agree to and some things he wouldn't agree to?

[18:10:01]

We know that Donald Trump doesn't want him to talk to the committee at all. But it's clear to me that he is engaging with them and trying to come up with some way to cooperate. We'll have to see.

BROWN: We'll have to see. And then you have people -- go ahead, Laura.

COATES: I mean, absolutely. And for the reasons that we're talking about, I mean, the idea -- remember, the executive privilege being withheld or extended is not just about what will happen to the Biden administration, it's about for future presidents, as well. So you have the Office of Legal Counsel saying, you know, no. Hold on a second, are we sure we want to go down this route, because it could be used against a future administration.

BROWN: Right. That's a really important point to end on there. Laura Coates, Gloria Borger, thank you.

BORGER: Thanks, Pamela.

BROWN: And now, let's bring in Democratic Congressman Jim Himes of Connecticut. He is a member of the House Intelligence Committee. Nice to see you, Congressman.

So, you have this letter from former President Trump. Does he have any legal standing, in your view, to continue to fight the subpoenas?

REP. JIM HIMES (D-CT): Well, it's an interesting question. I mean, certainly, for people that work in his administration, I'm thinking of Steve Bannon, who is not working for the president at the time, that the committee is interested in, and, of course, all the people associated with the Stop the Steal, he has absolutely no claim to executive privilege. And then it gets a little complicated, right?

And I think the resolution, if we have time to get to that resolution, is that, first of all, President Biden, who is the president right now, is the ultimate arbiter of executive privilege and, you know, he may decide that there's enough of an issue there to be careful.

But, look, we need to remember here, we can't lose sight in all these legal technicalities, Pamela, that the last president showed total disrespect for the law, for conventions, for norms, calling judges Mexican judges, violating the law, every day. Every person who makes a decision like President Biden, like judges, need to remember that we are dealing with a failed coup d'etat here and that he gets no benefit of the doubt that when discretion is involved, we need disclosure, we need to get the facts, because for the first time in the history, we almost and very deliberately on the part of the president did not experience a peaceful transfer of power. And it doesn't get more serious than that.

BROWN: I want to note to our viewers, you serve on the House Intelligence Committee, played a role in the Russia probe, so you dealt with trying to piece together an investigation as participants who refuse to cooperate. What should Democrats learn from what you experienced being on the committee and what we saw there with the Trump White House trying to play out the clock in court so that they wouldn't have to comply. What do you think Democrats should do differently now?

HIMES: Exactly. I mean, you summarized it perfectly. You know, when we are investigating Ukraine, investigating Russia, both things that led to the president's impeachment, Ukraine in particular, a lot of witnesses just said we are not coming. They showed contempt to Congress. And I am disappointed that we didn't come down hard on them.

And, by the way, this is not -- you asked Democrats, this is not about Democrats, this is about the Congress of the United States, the representatives of the people. If the precedent is established that anybody can just say, no, sorry, I don't want to talk to you, you know my Republican friends understand that that is a very serious problem for them because some day they will have the majority, they will want to subpoena people and they want people to answer those subpoenas. Sadly, the Republican colleagues today that would be a sign of disloyalty to their president for life and therefore they won't say it.

But they understand that this isn't about Democrat, that this is about whether Congress will have the power, the legislature, the representatives of the people should have.

BROWN: But are you concerned looking at the flip side of that, that the precedent this could set for President Biden not invoking executive privilege, that a future president would then or a future Congress would then try to investigate him or other Democratic presidents given what is at play right here?

HIMES: Well, it's a really good question, and it's a really hard answer, Pamela. Because, remember, the last president, President Trump, used every available remedy, all of the things that were traditionally there to protect things, like the conversations between an adviser and a president, he used all of those remedies not to protect legitimate conversations but to shield himself from liability.

Which is why I go back to the notion that, yes, we can't just throw out the concept of executive privilege. Now, obviously, we can for Steve Bannon and lots of other people. But what I would expect the White House to do, which, by the way, the last White House would never have done, I would expect the Biden White House to look to see exactly what the committee wants and where there is a legitimate interest in getting that information. And, remember, executive privilege does not protect criminal activity. It does not protect criminal activity. I would trust the Biden administration to make the judgment about whether something should on behalf of future presidents be protected or whether something is critical to understanding the full details of what happened when we almost failed to have a peaceful transfer of power in our democracy.

[18:15:00]

BROWN: All right. Congressman Jim Himes, thank you so much.

HIMES: Thank you.

BROWN: And just ahead The Situation Room, President Biden tries to put a positive spin on the disappointing jobs report, as his economic agenda is strapped in the chaos on Capitol Hill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Well, tonight, President Biden is on the defensive over a new slowdown in the jobs market. A new report shows the U.S. added 194,000 jobs last month. That's far fewer than expected. The president suggests COVID-19 is to blame.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Today's report is based on a survey that was taken during the week of September the 13th, not today, September 13th, when the COVID cases were arching more than 150,000 per day.

[18:20:07]

Since then, we have seen the daily cases fall by more than one-third and are continuing to trend down. We are continuing to make progress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: The disappointing jobs report comes a chaotic week here in Washington that threatened the U.S. economy as well as the president's agenda.

Our Congressional Correspondent Ryan Nobles has the latest on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Tonight, President Joe Biden's multitrillion dollar domestic agenda in the hands of a dysfunctional Congress that has shown little desire to budge.

SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): We now have the time and the space to finish those negotiations and get that done before we have to turn to our end of year appropriations.

NOBLES: His agenda stalled on Capitol Hill with moderates like Joe Manchin and progressives like Bernie Sanders unable to come to a consensus on how much money to spend and what to spend it on.

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): We can't be delivering both if you don't communicate. You got to communicate.

NOBLES: Sanders and Manchin's differences are coming to a head. At one point this week, multiple sources on a virtual call with the White House and progressive members of Congress said that Congressman Ro Khanna suggested to President Biden that the two men get in a room and negotiate. Biden described that scenario as homicide.

Sanders meanwhile telling reporters Friday that, quote, my criticism of Manchin and Sinema is not the views. They are entitled to views. I disagree with their views, but they're entitled to their views. My strong criticism is it is wrong when the American people, when the president of the United States, when 96 percent of your colleagues want to go forward, it is wrong to obstruct.

Congress, meanwhile, did avert one potential disaster, passing a short-term fix that will prevent the federal government from crashing through the death ceiling, as Democrats cut a deal with Mitch McConnell to allow the bill to come to the floor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The motion to concur with the amendment is agreed to --

NOBLES: But that short-term extension did not resolve the long-term problems. And it also exposed an ongoing rift in the Republican Party, pitting former President Trump against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT (voice over): The Republican Senate needs new leadership. I've been saying it for a long time. Mitch is not the guy.

NOBLES: Trump wanted the GOP to hold firm and many sitting senators agreed.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): We blinked. Two things have happened. We have let our people down and made the Democrats believe we are all talk and no action.

NOBLES: Both parties dealing with different factions wanting different things, and as a result, very little is getting done.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBLES (on camera): And all this rancor here on Capitol Hill between progressives and moderates, between Republicans and Democrats, it seems to be on full display at just about every stage of this negotiations. Last night, Chuck Schumer, after this somewhat bipartisan deal was struck to avert the debt ceiling crisis, went to the floor of the Senate and gave a blistering speech attacking Republicans for their obstruction of this negotiations.

And you can see right behind him the Democrat, Joe Manchin, with his head in his hands just concerned about the level of attack that Schumer put against Republicans at a time when they're trying to find areas of negotiation and compromise, Pam, just a kind of a very glaring symbol of why it's been very difficult to get anything done here on Capitol Hill.

BROWN: Yes. And no surprise that moment went viral, after the fact. Ryan Nobles, thank you so much for your report, from Capitol Hill.

And joining me now is CNN Senior Commentator and former Ohio Governor John Kasich. Great to see you, Governor.

Following just all the chaos on Capitol Hill this week that Ryan laid out, is it any wonder Americans have grown so frustrated with the Congress? What's your view?

JOHN KASICH, CNN SENIOR COMMENTATOR: No. There is no -- there is a complete reason to understand why they're frustrated. I am as well. I think what they were able to do, Pamela, was to get an agreement to move things into December, which means that they basically have said we will raise the debt ceiling to accommodate spending that's already happened.

The challenge is going to be come December. We have to see what the Democrats plan to spend in both bills, the real infrastructure bill, which is highways and roads and all that. And then this other social spending bill and that's going to have a price tag as well.

So at that point there's two ways this can go. The Republicans can be involved in a negotiation on the broader bill because on the narrow highway bill that's already pretty much agreed to, but on the other bill there can be negotiations, or the Democrats can say forget it. We'll just go alone and will just pass what we want and raise the debt ceiling just with our party doing it, which they, I think, would prefer not to do. But we have just averted a short term problem and the big one is coming down the road.

BROWN: Yes, as Ryan said. It didn't create a long term solution.

[18:25:01]

That's for sure. We're going to be right back here talking about this.

KASICH: Right.

BROWN: What do you make of Senate Majority Chuck Schumer's partisan comments after this crisis was averted for now? And Senator Joe Manchin says that was not appropriate at this time. What do you think?

KASICH: Well, Pamela, look. The negotiations have to go on. And you know, nobody in America cares what Chuck Schumer said when he blasting the Republicans. But the Republicans heard it and Manchin heard it. And so when you try to negotiate you know this. You have been in negotiations whether setting a house or selling your car. When somebody gets to be carried away and they get to be nasty it just make it more difficult. Chuck, I know Chuck Schumer. He should have restrained himself and probably frustrated but that was a mistake to do it. But he'll recover from that. BROWN: All right, John Kasich, thank you so much.

KASICH: You're very welcome. Thank you, Pam.

BROWN: And breaking news, up next new details in the Gabby Petito investigation. Authorities now say Brian Laundrie was under surveillance before he disappeared. But police never spoke with him about the missing fiance.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

BROWN: New developments tonight in the homicide case of Gabby Petito. And the search for her missing friance, Brian Laundrie. CNN's Leyla Santiago is working the story for us. Leyla, the phones that Brian and Gabby had on their trip, they are still missing. What new details are you learning from investigators?

LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pamela, that information just coming in that the north port police say they don't have the cell phones that the couple used during that cross country road trip that they searched the van that ended up in this very home when Brian Laundrie rather came home alone from that trip and in that van they did not find those two phones. the same phones that you see in the body cam footage from August is 12 when the couple encountered police.

So those are new details coming in on the investigation. But we have also just learned in the last half hour we asked the attorney for the Laundrie parents or Brian Laundrie's parents if they have taken a polygraph. We were told they have not when asked if they were willing to he declined to comment.

And you know, it speaks a little bit to the frustration that investigators have been vocal about in terms of cooperation from the Laundrie parents on this investigation. We did see Chris Laundrie, Brian's father out in the reserve yesterday searching with teams.

The first time publicly seen him do that. They told us that he was out there pointing out places where Brian was known to frequent given that the parents have told police that is where he was headed when they last saw him.

But we had also learned this evening, Pamela, that there are no current plans for either of the parents to return to the reserve to search for Brian Laundrie. We should also mention that we were there today and it was pretty quiet. We didn't see any teams going in and out like we have for the last three weeks. What we did see here at the Laundrie home was a plane that was flying over the home with a banner that read, end the silence, justice for Gabby.

So really today we have seen the frustrations, sensed the frustration not just from the community wanting answers from the Laundrie parents but also from investigators. Pamela?

BROWN: CNN's Leyla Santiago. Thank you so much. And for more let's turn to CNN Senior Law Enforcement Analyst Chief Ramsey. Chief Ramsey, authorities confirm to CNN that they don't have the phone, Brian Laundrie used on the road trip with Gabby Petito. How crucial is that missing piece of evidence?

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, it's very crucial. I mean it might have information on the phone but no doubt the phones were disabled. Probably pull the SIM card, the battery and so forth. And so it's not all that surprising, it's unfortunate that they don't have it. I was led to believe from the information we got publicly that the phone was there, that he left that phone when he took off. But apparently was a different phone that he left behind.

BROWN: And we know that Brian Laundrie was being surveilled by police before he disappeared. Help us understand, how did he slip through the cracks?

RAMSEY: Well at the time, and I don't know the exact time line when they're actually conducting a surveillance. But at the time this was still a missing person. And, you know, he was the last person that we that we know of, that was with her.

Now, you know, conducting surveillance can be rather manpower intensive and I don't know how large that department is. But I doubt if it's very large. I don't know whether they tried to set up round the clock surveillance just for a few hours a day. I have no idea what they were trying to do, were to accomplished with that. But that's something that's going to have to be looked into to find out exactly, you know what took place. Did they have surveillance? And if so how did he elude them when they were on surveillance?

BROWN: And we have also learned that Laundrie's parents have not take a polygraph. What do you make of that?

RAMSEY: Well, I'm not surprised at that at all. The lawyer won't let them a polygraph. At this point in time if it were me I think that they need to go before a grand jury. I think they need to get subpoenaed before a grand jury, they need to lock in their testimony. If they lie or say something that's really untruthful, they have going to get a major legal problems.

[18:35:04]

I think it's time to quit playing around with this thing.

I mean, you know? They may have some information that they withhold and w going to get to the bottom of it. This thing can't go on forever unless we find Brian Laundrie and I think they can help in that regard.

BROWN: Right. Because we know that initially according to reporting that the Laundrie's refused to talk about Petito's disappearance during their initial conversations with police. All right Charles Ramsey, thank you so much.

RAMSEY: Thank you. BROWN: And just ahead, a potential milestone in the latest U.S. COVID surge. Is the country turning a corner? We're going to ask one of our medical expert when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: Turning now to the latest on the coronavirus pandemic. For the first time since August the U.S. has now averaged fewer than 100,000 new cases a day.

[18:40:00]

Joining us to talk about that and more, Dr. Leana Wen, the former Baltimore City Health Commissioner, and Author of Lifelines, A Doctors Journey in the Fight for Public Health. Great to see you as always, Dr. Wen.

So, you know look. We are all tired of this pandemic, right? I mean that is something that we can all probably agree on. Are we finally through the worst of the delta driven COVID surge? And what is it going to take to keep the trends going in the right direction?

DR. LEAN WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Pamela, as a country we are definitely trending in the right direction finally. The problem though is that people really need to look at where they are. Because while they are some places that are really doing very well with high vaccination rates and low infection rates, there also other places that are still trending in the wrong direction. We have Alaska, we have states in the mountain west in the mid-west that have very high infection rates.

And even here in Maryland, were seeing the number of new cases ticking up. And so, I think it's really important for people to look at where they are, make judgments accordingly and for our federal government to put as much effort into increasing testing as we have around vaccination because that is a really significant missing component of our COVID response.

BROWN: I couldn't believe how hard it was to find and at-home test recently when I came down with a cold. And, you know, It's expensive to have to get that all the time. So it is good news that the Biden administration is putting more resources toward that but this point the pandemic one would think they would be more readily available. And the other big part of this equation of course is kids and vaccines. The CDC vaccine adviser just announced a meeting to discuss COVID vaccine for kids ages five through 11 on November 2nd and 3rd. Why are they waiting a four week thought after the FDA advisers reviews the same data?

WEN: That's exactly the same question that I have as well. I think the FDA has been acting with the appropriate level of urgency by scheduling this meeting on October 26 which is a Tuesday. The CDC advisers could have had their meeting on Wednesday and Thursday and by the end of that week, before Halloween, we could have seen shots going into the arms of kids aged 5 to 11. I am not sure why they're waiting another week. I would hope, certainly we don't want to cut it in corners but in this case, this seems like bureaucratic red tape and really I hope that the CDC is acting with the appropriate level of urgency, too.

BROWN: Right, if the FDA can review it, why does the CDC then have to wait a week? It doesn't quite square. We are still waiting to hear what the FDA decides on booster shots for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. You received the J&J shot, but now you say you would much rather received a booster of Pfizer or Moderna. Tell us why.

WEN: Well, I hope that when the FDA and CDC review data around Moderna and Johnson & Johnson that they will allow a mix and match approach, first because it's actually matter of convenience. If you got Moderna two doses, but now the pharmacy near you only has Pfizer you should be allowed to get that.

The mRNA vaccine is really should be interchangeable. But people who got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine specially for younger women, we know that there is an association between the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and a very rare but extremely serious blood clotting disorder in women under the age of 50. Now if J&J vaccine were the only vaccines available, I would say you still get that. But the fact is that, we actually have two other very safe and effective vaccine that don't cause the side effect in younger women.

And so for me, I will not be getting a second dose of the J&J booster. I will want to get one of the mRNA vaccines as the booster and I would hope that the FDA and the CDC will look at the mix and match studies already being done here in the U.S. as well as the data available in other countries that support this type of mix and match approach.

BROWN: All right. Dr. Leana Wen, thank you so much. Have a great weekend.

WEN: You, too. Thank you.

BROWN: Coming up in The Situation Room, documents reveal that then- President Trump concealed millions of dollars in losses from his name sake hotel here in Washington even as he bragged about big profits.

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[18:48:36]

BROWN: There are new questions tonight about former President Trump's self-proclaimed business expertise after some surprising revelations about his high profile hotel here in Washington.

CNN's Brian Todd has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New information tonight that Donald Trump's celebrated Washington hotel was not the successful venture the former president claimed it was. According to the House Oversight Committee, Trump's company reported in financial disclosures that the Trump International Hotel earned more than $156 million in income between the 2016 opening and last year. But the committee has just released documents saying that the hotel suffered a net loss of more than $70 million in that period.

How did they lose so much money?

ZACH EVERSON, FORBES MAGAZINE: The math never made sense. I mean, the problem is they couldn't fill the rooms. There's no shortage of pro- Trump fans at the bar and embassies and other groups going to the banquet rooms but the guest rooms sounded like they weren't renting that much.

TODD: Earlier this year, during a weekend stay, a CNN employee who shot this video and took still pictures observed few guests at the hotel. Hallways elegant but empty, elevators up and down a handful of times.

The House Oversight Committee documents say that during the four-year period in question, the Trump Organization had to funnel more than $24 million from other parts of the company to help the D.C. hotel.

[18:50:01]

But that's not all. The committee says its analysis of the financial documents shows the Trump hotel received about $3.7 million from foreign governments which the committee says raises concerns about whether Trump violated part of the Constitution that bans federal office holders from receiving gift, payments, anything of value from foreign officials.

NORM EISEN, FORMER WHITE HOUSE ETHICS CZAR: It calls into question whether Trump's dealings with these foreign governments were motivated by the best interest of the United States or his own financial interests.

TODD: The committee says the documents also show that Trump received, quote, undisclosed preferential treatment from Deutsche Bank on a $170 million construction loan for the hotel. Just before Donald Trump was elected president, the Trump International Hotel opened touted as a crown jewel in his real estate empire.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: With the notable exception of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, this is the most coveted piece of real estate in Washington, D.C. the best location.

TODD: It boasted luxurious suites, a Himalayan salt chamber and a spa. Foreign officials, business elites, political power brokers like likely trying to curry favor with Trump constantly shuttle through the lobby.

SHAWN MATIJEVICH, FORMER EXECUTIVE CHEF AT STEAK RESTAURANT IN TRUMP INTERNATIONAL HOTEL: It almost got overwhelming at times how many VIPs and members of our government that are making headlines are all together in the same place.

TODD: Now, sources tell CNN the Trump organization has been looking to sell the lease on the hotel for more than a year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): Contacted by CNN, the Trump Organization issued a written statement saying the allegations made by the House Oversight Committee are intentionally misleading, unequivocally false, and irresponsible. The statement also says the committee does not have a fundamental understanding of basic accounting principles, including the difference between gross revenue and net profit. And it says at no time did the organization receive any preferential treatment from any lender.

The statement also says that any profits collected during Trump's presidency here at the hotel were voluntarily deposited back to the U.S. Treasury at the end of every fiscal year.

Now, as for Deutsche Bank, CNN contacted them as well. They issued a statement saying the committee has made several inaccurate statements about Deutsche Bank and its loan agreement -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right. CNN's Brian Todd, thanks for bringing uses latest on that front.

And we are going to have more news just ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:56:55]

BROWN: Well, this Sunday, CNN is bringing you an all new season of "THIS IS LIFE WITH LISA LING".

The first episode looks at the recent rise in anti-Asian hate crimes around the country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA LING, CNN HOST: Mr. Chang, this is where your car was parked here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, my car as you can see, black.

LING: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can see, right? Black and dirty. See?

LING: So, when you come out of your house, and you see this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think what happened my car? Who do my car? And fire department come in but too late.

LING: Makes you sad?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, sad right now.

L.ING: So the only cars that burned that night was your car and another Asian man's car?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

LING: Do you think it may have to do with the fact that you are Asian?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. 100 percent, I don't know who did the car, I don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: That's so sad.

Joining us now is the host of "THIS IS LIFE", Lisa Ling.

Great to see you, Lisa.

This premiere episode is a really personal one for you. Tell us a little more about what inspired you to explore this issue.

LING: Well, thanks for having me on, Pamela.

This whole season, we are dedicating to moments and events and stories in American history that didn't make it into the history books. And our first episode is an exploration of the discrimination that Asians have faced in this country that goes back more than a century. We isolate.

The case of Vincent Chin who in the 1980s was a Chinese man living in Detroit, accused of being Japanese during the -- an economic downturn that affected the automobile industry. And he was beat to death with a baseball bat by two out-of-work auto workers and his killers didn't serve a single day in jail or prison, paid a $3,000 fine and several months of probation.

But again, it's a look at that in the context of the Asian hate that we've been experiencing over the last year and a half, and in a historical sense.

BROWN: A bit of a departure for you. What do you hope to reveal to viewers this season?

LING: Well, look, Pamela. I have always believed that we cannot move forward, we can't know where we're going unless we've -- we know where we've been. And it's ironic that one of the fiercest debates going on right now in government, local legislatures, in school districts, even in homes is about what history to teach our kids.

So I am hoping people will -- will watch the show over the next eight weeks. And -- and learn something because, again, these are stories that didn't make it into our history books.

BROWN: I love your show. Lisa Ling, thank you so much.

And be sure to tune in to an all new season of "THIS IS LIFE WITH LISA LING" premiering Sunday night at 10:00, only on CNN. I'm Pamela Brown. I will see you tomorrow at this time, on CNN

NEWSROOM.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.