Inside The Upheaval At FEMA From Staffer Put On Leave

26:06You have the largest private police force in the world. When they're done with this, all that funding and that big, beautiful betrayal allows more resources for this private police force that increasingly is showing a tendency not to swear an oath to the Constitution, but to the president of the United States. And he'll be sending them to voting booths and polling places all across this country. In our politics lead, that's just an excerpt from California Governor Gavin Newsom at a Politico event this week in Sacramento. My panel's here. Brian, your reaction? I mean, some very stark words from Governor Newsom.

26:46Listen, I think that's his shtick, right? Like he has to find ways to scare people. He has to find ways to be engaged. And he also has to find ways to take attention from his record as governor. I mean, the only worse governor than Gavin Newsom was Arnold Schwarzenegger. That's a very low bar. And so - You're a Californian, right? A proud Californian. I still think it's the best state we have. And it's actually shamed away that the governance has taken place. You have businesses leaving all the time. But I think this engagement that you see from Governor Newsom, it's all politics. Even this special election for redistricting, that's a$200 million campaign for Gavin Newsom's presidential launch.

27:20That's all it is. I mean, he has made it abundantly clear that power politics is the way that he can get to the presidential nomination. And he doesn't care that he's spending$200 million of taxpayers' money to do it. So I think I saw Chuck Todd, our friend Chuck Todd, say that he thinks Gavin Newsom is essentially the de facto leader of the Democratic Party right now. Do you think that's true? I think that he is one of a few that are stepping up, especially to challenge Trump's policies. I think what you saw in Texas with redistricting is a perfect example where the party didn't really have tools in order to fight that back.

27:55They, you know, we saw in Texas, they're in the minority there. The National Party can't do anything about it. We don't have the House. We don't have the Senate. So you have to look towards governors to really fight back. And that's why you're seeing governors sort of step up. That's what you saw there. And you're also seeing Trump go after these governors, right? So it gives them an opportunity to really bring the Democratic Party a message where there isn't one otherwise. Speaking of which, breaking this afternoon, just this afternoon, Missouri's Republican governor is now calling for a special session on redistricting.

28:23This follows Texas and the retaliation vote in California. Are we going to see, I think they're talking about maybe trying to put together one additional Republican seat in Missouri. They're talking about maybe doing an Indiana too. Is this just going to be what's going on until? Yeah, I mean, this goes to show you that Newsom's plan to sort of retaliate against Republicans in Texas has backfired. Because in the end, what he's done is he's motivated other Republican legislatures who also have governorships to do something. And we've done the math. By the time this exchange is done, we probably pick about seven to nine seats, including what we lose in California.

28:59That's just another example of how Gavin Newsom, everything he touches, ultimately leads in failure. I have to disagree. Donald Trump is going to try to gain as many Republican seats as possible, regardless of what Democrats were going to do. He was already having these conversations before Gavin Newsom. He believes that they're going to lose the midterm elections because of his policies. He's worried about it. He also doesn't want the oversight that comes with losing the House of Representatives. And so I think this was going to happen regardless. And Democrats just couldn't sit back and just watch Republicans steal seats and walk all over them.

29:31Let's turn to the midterms because two sources tell CNN, the Republican two-term Senator Joni Ernst, a veteran, has decided she's not going to run for a third term. Does Iowa become a potential pickup for Democrats in the Senate or in the House? Because Ashley Hinson, the congresswoman who is pretty strong in her competitive district, she might run for Senate, at least opening up a House opportunity, if not a Senate one. I think the House is going to be more in play than the Senate. I mean, Iowa has clearly become a Republican state over the years. It's gone a long way since we voted for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012.

30:04But listen, the House is up for play. History has shown us that a president in the midterm loses a dramatic amount of seats, whether he gains more seats through a district or not. It was always going to be a tough race for us. And at the end of the day, the economic message that matters is whatever resonates in July of next year. It's not right now. Do you agree? Well, I actually agree with that. The Senate map is really hard for Democrats already as it is. but it doesn't, Republicans don't want to lose a seat that they now have to defend and spend millions of dollars on. And so I think that's the dynamics you have for the Republican party.

30:34Thanks to both of you. Really appreciate it. Back to our health lead. What are some of the potential consequences when public health officials base policy on dubious, if not downright false scientific research? It's worth discussing because Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has no medical or scientific degrees and has long traffic and fringe conspiracy theories about vaccines, is upending leadership at the CDC, accused by former top CDC officials of ignoring real science. Nick Catozio of The Dispatch draws a bleak parallel between RFK Jr. and another historic figure, writing, quote, America at last has its own Trofim Lysenko.

31:10Trofim Lysenko, a crank whose screwy ideas about science gained influence over policy because their contrarianism reflected the prejudices of a feral populist revolutionary movement. Trofim Lysenko, for those who don't know, gained the support of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin because his ideas, mostly crackpot ideas, aligned well with Soviet communist concepts. As The Atlantic once wrote about Lysenko in 2017, quote, Lysenko believed wholeheartedly in the promise of the communist revolution. So when the doctrines of science and the doctrines of communism clashed, he always chose the latter, confident that biology would conform to ideology in the end.

31:44It never did. In particular, we should note, Lysenko denied the existence of genes. He believed the environment alone could magically change or reshape plants and animals. The logic sounded great to Stalin. So in the late 1920s and early 1930s, he used it to start an agriculture scheme that led to widespread crop failure, resulting in famine, as the Atlantic Notes was detailed by the book Hungry Ghost. It gets worse because Stalin asked Lysenko to fix the famine using his new scientific ideas, and almost every crop died or rotted. So in this case, the consequence of a government trying to make science fit into the prevailing politics were millions of famine deaths.

32:21Now, it gets worse again, believe it or not, because then communist China adopted Lysenko's methods contributing to horrible famines there. And despite this complete and utter disaster, Lysenko still had power while Stalin was around. His loyalty, his ideology, his contrarianism against the scientific experts continued strong, even as he mounted a body count. So any Soviet scientists who refused to renounce genetics found themselves in prisons or psychiatric hospitals or sentenced to death. All of this set back that country's biological sciences back by about half a century. By some accounts in the last several months, many scientists and scholars have been comparing RFK Jr.

32:57to the notorious Lysenko. Now, that's not entirely fair. Lysenko, after all, was kind of a scientist. We're in no way saying that RFK Jr. wants to throw dissenting scientists in the gulag. He's just firing them. And obviously, starvation isn't the issue here. Vaccines and disease are. But the results of Lysenko and Stalin's failures should be a cautionary tale. When politics infect medicine, people can die. Coming up, my reunion 20 years later with a man who evacuated his home during Hurricane Katrina, only return and find that home gone. How's he doing today? An oyster fisherman named Stacy Geraci.

33:31I'm psyched to reunite with him. Coming up.

33:37When you're 7-Eleven's hottest fire chicken sandwich, people think you're intense. Well, yeah, I'm hot! Oh, yeah, intense. Want to see if you can handle the heat? Then try me. With pickles or spicy mayo and jalapenos. Oh, and it's all just$4.99. That's a deal almost as hot as I am. Almost? Sweets? No. Spicy? See for yourself. $4.99 and only at 7-Eleven. Valid through 825-46. Participating stores only while supplies last. Visit store for full terms. Starting a business can seem like a daunting task. unless you have a partner like Shopify. They have the tools you need to start and grow your business.

34:15From designing a website to marketing to selling and beyond, Shopify can help with everything you need. There's a reason millions of companies like Mattel, Heinz, and Allbirds continue to trust and use them. With Shopify on your side, turn your big business idea into... Sign up for your$1 per month trial at shopify.com slash special offer. August 29th is today, but August 29th, 2005 was 20 years ago today. Hurricane Katrina made landfall that day as a Category 3 storm. It's a story I covered at the time on the ground for ABC News. I did a wide range of stories while in that region, from relief efforts by local churches to a shady local congressman who had the National Guard help him save his own personal property while locals were drowning, to previously ignored warnings about how waterways might channel the storm into New Orleans.

35:06But of all the stories I covered in Louisiana, the one that I remember the best had to do with a local oysterman named Stacy Geraci. Stacy Geraci was from Hopedale, Louisiana. It's about 30 miles southeast of New Orleans. He evacuated his own home when Katrina hit, and then three weeks after the storm, Geraci went back and he let me and my cameraman go with him as he saw what was left of his property for the very first time since the storm hit. Oh, man, here we go. This used to be my greenhouse. Here's my house. Oh, damn.

35:43God damn.

35:57It was tough to experience with Stacy, watching him realize that he lost the home he grew up in. Almost 20 years after the moment, it's my honor to welcome Stacy Tracy to the lead. Stacy, it's so good to see you. You look fantastic. The years have been good to you. Hopedale, Louisiana, heavy fishing community. Oysters were big business. Where are you now? What are you up to now? How did Katrina change your life? Well, I'm 10 miles up from Hopedale. I got a new house, new babies, four grandkids, Two good boys. They grew up to be very, very, very good gentlemen. Working for, actually, we are restoring the marsh, marsh restoration.

36:42So I keep busy. But things have gone really good for us. But, man, hearing what I just heard just now, that's hard. People might not know this, the younger people watching. But 2005, the technology was not there for you to have that video on your phone so you could see it. This is probably the first time you've seen it in 20 years. When we went back to your house that day, you found this family chest in the debris. It was one of the most poignant moments. Let me play that for our viewers. That's it. Look at this. Hey, Nicky, I found a coin collection. Look. Katrina destroyed almost everything you owned.

37:27What has rebuilding your life looked like? Did it take years and years? Well, it took about three good solid years to get us back to where we could just say relax. Because, I mean, obviously we had to rebuild everything that we had bought anyway because all houses in the parish were completely damaged. So we kind of picked one that was in really good shape outside, redone it from top to bottom. And after about three years, I would say we really started feeling not normal, but pretty close to it. Nothing's normal anymore, not even now. I mean, you've got days that are really good and you've got days that are really bad.

38:09I could sit down and think about it and still come to tears. It's just it never leaves you. Twenty years later and it never, ever leaves. I remember you quoted a saying back then. You said God only gives you what you can take, but he can push you to the edge. Right. After Katrina, you got into recovery work. You helped other people with cleanup. That had to be gratifying, helping others also find a way out of such a dark time in their lives. It was. That little guy that was with me the day I took you through there, that's Nicky Monez. Him and I got together, and he had equipment, and I had a big boat.

38:44And he said, we don't have a choice. Let's go to work. And we did. And I've been with them 20 years now, and I'm still with them. We bought another barge and a big machine, and we went to work. And now we're redoing some of the marsh. And let me tell you, that's satisfying because that's where I made my living. So you were an oysterman at the time, so you just stopped doing that after the storm? Yes. Right after the storm, I got in. And I tried it again. No, I went back, but my heart just wasn't into it. And I found out I like big equipment. Yeah. So I'm in a big piece of equipment every day. Nietzsche once said, that which does not kill us makes us stronger.

39:29Has that been your experience? Did this horrible ordeal made you stronger, you think? Yes. You know, Jake, if you don't get strength from this, you lose. You lose. You got to have heart and you got to have strength. and I've seen people unbelievably come back and everything now. I mean, you go down there now, it's still messed up. There's no locals down there, nothing. But every time I go through there, I get that same feeling, you know. I miss it. And I would probably, if it wouldn't have took the house, I would probably be down there. But you've seen it yourself. There wasn't nothing to come back to.

40:07One thing I remember that was amazing was a lot of the people, a lot of your neighbors would park like their their cars or their trucks on top of a stack of oyster shells because the water would just go through the oyster shells and spare the hill. The hill would survive it and the truck or the car would survive. It was one of the most amazing things. Yes, you better believe it. Let me tell you, they never moved. You knew that. Remember I was telling you we was coming through. They did not move. Them things stood together. Yeah. And it's a it's a heck of a barrier. Stacey Dracy, God bless you.

40:43It's so good to see you again. Thank you and continued success in your life, my friend. Thank you, my friend. Same here. Oh, and you know what? Congratulations on a marriage because your cameraman ran me down a couple of years later. Yeah. He said, you want to send Jacob Maxwell? I wish I could have sent you a message. That's right. Congratulations. I got married. 20 years late. I got married one year later. That's right. That's right. Nice. Almost to the day. All right, Stacey, God bless. Good to see you, my friend. Take care, my friend. Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. This hour, the legal showdown inside a Washington, D.C.

41:17courtroom as a judge is trying to decide whether President Trump can actually fire a Federal Reserve governor for an allegation. What the judge is asking from both sides on a tight deadline. Plus, the other major firing this week, sending the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention into chaos. I'm going to be joined live by two of the top CDC experts who resigned in protests this week after Trump and RFK Jr. ousted the director of the CDC. Also, the bookie at the center of the gambling scandal involving Shohei Ohtani's translator was officially sentenced to prison today. But before learning how long he's going to spend in prison, he sat down with CNN's Nick Watts to reflect on how all of this unfolded.

41:58And as we head into this Labor Day weekend, states in the eastern United States are warning about a rise in cases of flesh-eating bacteria lurking in swimming water. Hear from one patient who says she's lucky to be alive.

42:17Breaking news right off the top of our show. A federal appeals court has just delivered President Trump's global tariffs a big blow, striking down the controversial economic policy. Let's get right to CNN's Caitlin Polance, who joins us now. Caitlin, help us break down this major ruling. It is a major ruling, Jake. This is the appeals court for the federal circuit. They're based in Washington. And what they're doing is they're not saying Donald Trump can't impose any tariffs, but they're saying that a set of tariffs that he imposed at the very beginning of this presidency, unconstitutional. He didn't have the power.

42:48That's because at that time, at the very beginning when Trump took the White House, He said it's a national emergency because illegal drugs are coming into the United States and that he was going to impose tariffs on places related to those drugs coming across the southern border. And that included Canada and China as well. Him saying that those countries were not doing enough to address transnational criminal organizations trafficking drugs. The federal circuit looked at that and they said, this is not the power that the president should have. He's doing this in a way that he can't under this emergency authority that he says he has.

43:32That's a very big deal, not just in this case, but in a lot of ways where the president has tried to say there are emergencies here and I'm going to do different things with presidential authority. But I should say this court, they are not blocking these initial tariffs. at this time. They're sending things back down to the lower court, the Court of International Trade, and telling them, you guys figure it out and whether or not these tariffs should be blocked. Okay, so the tariffs stand, but they're just saying, we don't think that President Trump had the authority to do them the way he did. That's right.

44:07Okay, let's talk about Lisa Cook. Lisa Cook is the Fed chair, the Fed governor that President Trump has been trying to fire from the Fed so he can have a majority of supporters of lower interest rates right now on the Fed. And he said it was because of allegations of mortgage fraud. There was a hearing today on that. What happened at the hearing? Well, the hearing, there wasn't a ruling from the judge and everybody sort of skirted around the allegation of mortgage fraud on whether grappling with that is a real thing that Lisa Cook will face down the road, even if there's a Justice Department investigation.

44:42What the hearing is turning on right now is the definition of what a for-cause termination is. Does Donald Trump have the ability to say, I think these allegations are enough for me to want to fire her? And that is the question the judge will have to answer. Is for-cause, is that gonna be defined by a judge or the president? And can Lisa Cook be removed at this time? One of the really interesting things the Justice Department was arguing here is that it's harmful enough that mortgage fraud allegations are hanging over a governor on the board of the Fed, that that could be harmful to the Federal Reserve and thus a reason why the judge should allow for her to be removed at this time.

45:25Right. But an allegation is not a charge of a crime and a charge of a crime is not a conviction of a crime. That's right. But this is one of those situations where everybody's going to be debating how much ability does Donald Trump have and what actually is the standard for four cause. As the judge even said, you know, it's not written in the law what this means. And so the courts are going to have to figure it out. And no one's tried to do it before. Caitlin Polance, thanks so much. I want to bring in Washington correspondent for The New York Times Pulitzer Prize winning Maggie Haverman. Maggie, what do you think about this breaking news on this court ruling that Trump's tariffs were unconstitutional?

46:02Jake, this is the one that a lot of people who follow trade issues have been concerned about. And it's the outcome that they anticipated, frankly. You know, the president has used a lot of emergency powers in a lot of situations that many who are watching don't think qualify as emergencies. This was one that was always going to be difficult. And the further it got along down the process, the U.S. is going to end up in a position, if the Supreme Court upholds this ruling, and it is almost certainly going to go to the Supreme Court, the U.S. is now going to be in a position of having to pay people, countries, excuse me, back for tariffs.

46:36That gets very complicated. So this is a big blow to the president's agenda. He has sometimes ignored courts. We'll see what this looks like. Switching to the case involving Trump's attempt to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook, I just want to play some sound of President Trump from Tuesday to remind people what he said about reshaping the Federal Reserve by firing Cook so he could get decisions like his desire for lower interest rates right now. Take a listen. We'll have a majority very shortly, so that'll be great. Once we have a majority, housing is going to swing and it's going to be great. People are paying too high an interest rate.

47:14Are you prepared for a legal fight? Oh, sure. Always. I always have legal fights. I had a legal fight that went on for years with crooked people. As they say, saying the quiet part out loud, do people around Trump, are they concerned at all about the fact that he's out there saying instead of, you know, this is very serious and like we can't have somebody that has these allegations surrounding her. He's he is saying that. But in addition, he's also saying, I can't wait to get the majority on the Fed. I mean, he's he's making his intention and perhaps even his motive very clear. Well, there's been a lot of reading the stage directions out loud from him recently as he, you know, the last week in particular, as he has been talking quite a bit.

47:59There was that marathon cabinet meeting the other day where he said a number of things that some people close to him wished he had not said. Yes, this does not help their case as they are trying to argue to a judge that this is for a reason, you know, in terms of behavior by Lisa Cook. Also, I'd note, Jake, Lisa Cook and a few other people are among the few people who are fighting back internally within in the government when Trump makes a move like this because Congress has essentially made itself subordinate to the president. And normally it exists as a check. The Republican GOP is not doing that.

48:32Take a listen to what Trump's White House Trade Counselor Peter Navarro said about Lisa Cook earlier this week on Bloomberg TV. It was a DEI hire. She's not qualified. She's a partisan animal who weaponized the Federal Reserve. This is not about federal Fed independence. Lisa Cook's background is actually pretty impressive. She has a Ph.D. in economics. She was an economics professor at Michigan State. She served on the White House Council of Economic Advisors under President Obama. Why can't the Trump administration just stick to saying we disagree with the Fed or we want them to do this and lower our interest rates?

49:08Why dig up these really ugly attacks like calling her a partisan animal or a DEI hire? Peter Navarro went to prison and he continues to be quite upset about it. People who were investigated during the four years of the Trump interregnum between his two presidencies continue to be upset about it. And you heard the president say himself, he leads things anytime there is some kind of a legal issue or an allegation against someone who he is either somebody who he has targeted, like Adam Schiff or like Letitia James, people who have investigated him, or Lisa Cook, who has not, but is not doing what he wants, he often leads it back to the investigations into himself.

49:50And I think that's what you're saying there. All right, Maggie Haberman, thank you so much. A new ruling in a landmark case. Why a judge is allowing a lawsuit to go to trial that alleges the government of Saudi Arabia helped the hijackers responsible for the September 11th terrorist attacks? Stay with us.

50:10In our law and justice lead, a major victory for the 9-11 survivors and the families of 9-11 victims and their years-long legal fight against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A federal judge yesterday rejected the Saudi Arabian government's attempt to dismiss the lawsuit, which alleges that the government of Saudi Arabia specifically assisted the hijackers in the lead-up to the deadliest terrorist attack ever against the United States, which means that this landmark civil case can go to trial. The Saudi Arabian government has repeatedly denied the suit's allegations. Let's bring in Terry Strada. She's the chair of 9-11 Families United and is part of this lawsuit against Saudi Arabia.

50:53Her husband, Tom, was killed in one of the Twin Towers on 9-11. Terry, after Thursday's ruling, you posted on X or Twitter, quote, Congress played a huge role in getting here, and now the FBI has a choice to make. Side with American victims of terrorism or continue providing cover for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. How do you think the FBI has been providing cover for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia? Because they have not cooperated with a subpoena that was served on them in 2018 after the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act was enacted in 2016, which you remember, I'm sure, quite well. The judge then said we could go to a very narrow jurisdictional discovery on two individuals, Thumari and Bayoumi.

51:44The subpoena was ordered on the FBICI, all of them. Well, they've ignored it. I shouldn't say ignored it completely, but they have not fully cooperated. And they have withhold quite a bit of this information. A lot of the evidence that was admitted into court last year for the oral arguments for this dismissal, they had in their possession in 2001. That's pretty egregious. What's your message to President Trump or the FBI Director Kash Patel or anybody else in the Trump administration, Attorney General Bondi, when it comes to holding the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia accountable for their alleged role in the 9-11 attack?

52:21Right. So they need to get behind the 9-11 community and be on our side and stop protecting the kingdom over the role that they played. The evidence is there. The judges ruled that there's enough evidence to take this to trial. And now we need our government. We need President Trump to side with us. And we also need the intelligence agencies, Patel and Bondi, Bongino, all to take a look at how the FBI has the misconduct that they've portrayed for these last two decades and stop that immediately and turn around now and go back and give us the documents that we've been asking for. and don't block these new subpoenas that will be served on them due to this ruling.

53:02You mentioned Bayoumi a minute ago. Some of the video shown in court last year included Saudi national Omar al-Bayoumi. It's a man that the 9-11 commission report from 2004 says helped two of the hijackers upon their arrival in the United States. There's video from 1999 of al-Bayoumi filming in and around the U.S. Capitol. There are also questions about this handwritten note, including an airplane along with an equation and other notes. He's never been charged with anything. He's living free in Saudi Arabia. What was your reaction when you heard some of the 9-11 lead investigators say they never even saw this evidence that we're showing right now?

53:42That was shocking to all of us that they made the requests for over a year to see this evidence and that the New York office, FBI office refused to send it to them. So a lot of this information that we have has come actually from the MPS, Metropolitan Police Services in London, because they've been served the equivalent of a subpoena and they actually cooperate. And so now we are seeing the chain of custody and where this evidence went. And we know that it was buried and it was hidden away. It was found years later in a burn bag, basically, in a supply room ready to be destroyed. And thankfully, it was not.

54:21All right, Terry Strada, the case is going to go forward now, the civil case, and we will continue to follow it with you. Thank you for coming here. And as always, may the memories of your husband, Tom, and all of those lost on 9-11, may those memories be a blessing. Thanks for joining us and we'll see you again soon. Thank you. Breaking news. The Federal Appeals Court has just ruled against President Trump sweeping global tariffs. It's a huge defeat. The lead lawyer for the businesses challenging Trump is going to join me live in minutes.

54:55When you're 7-Eleven's hottest fire chicken sandwich, people think you're intense. Well, yeah, I'm hot! So, yeah, intense. Want to see if you can handle the heat? Then try me. With pickles or spicy mayo and jalapenos. Oh, and it's all just$4.99. That's a deal almost as hot as I am. Almost? Sweet? No. Spicy? See for yourself. $4.99 and only at 7-Eleven. Ballad through 825-26. Participating stores only while supplies last. Visit store for full terms. Starting a business can seem like a daunting task. Unless you have a partner like Shopify. They have the tools you need to start and grow your business.

55:33From designing a website, to marketing, to selling and beyond, Shopify can help with everything you need. There's a reason millions of companies like Mattel, Heinz, and Allbirds continue to trust and use them. With Shopify on your side, turn your big business idea into... Sign up for your$1 per month trial at shopify.com slash special offer. A big defeat for President Trump. Breaking news in our money lead. A federal appeals court has just ruled against President Trump's sweeping global tariffs, saying he unlawfully leaned on emergency powers to impose tariffs. President Trump just reacted to the tariff ruling, saying that all tariffs are still in effect.

56:12He called the appeals court highly partisan and said that the United States Supreme Court was going to get involved. Let's bring in Neil Kochel. He represents some of the plaintiffs in this case. He's also the former acting U.S. Solicitor General for President Obama. Neil, your reaction to the ruling, your reaction to President Trump seeming to suggest that he's going to appeal this to the U.S. Supreme Court. Well, we're just studying the ruling. I had the privilege of arguing on behalf of the Liberty Justice Center and a group of private plaintiffs, Jake. And I guess I'd start by saying, I don't view this as you started by saying it's a defeat for President Trump.

56:46I think the way to think about it is it's a win for the American Constitution, that our founders basically said that decisions that are major over things like taxation have to be done by the Congress, not by the president and the stroke of his pen. And the idea is, President Trump says that this is like some highly partisan court or something. I mean, the senior most judge in the majority to rule against Donald Trump was a guy appointed by President Bush, Judge Lurie. So I don't buy that whatsoever. I think the court overwhelmingly today in a seven to four decision rejected President Trump's notion that he can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants.

57:25And it said, no, the Constitution imposes limits. And one really important limit, Mr. President, is you're not allowed to tariff on your own. President Trump also said in that Truth Social post that he thinks tariffs are the best tool to help American workers and support companies. Your clients who we've interviewed, we interviewed the ones who are wine sellers in Manhattan. They disagree very strongly. Exactly. So they do disagree and, you know, do think that the tariffs are harmful. But I think what the court today said is, look, if the president thinks these tariffs are so important. And today, I guess he said they're going to destroy the country if you don't have the tariffs.

58:03then make that case to Congress. That's what every president has done before him. Indeed, it's what Donald Trump did the first time around when he was president. When he was first in his first administration, he went to Congress and tried to ask for tariff authority. And what did they say, Jake? They said no. And so if this is so important, he's got, you know, the part of the Congress is controlled by the Republican Party. It's his party. You know, go make the case there. But don't distort the Constitution and the process. And it's always, you know, I think a fraught, petty thing when you're going in a court and saying the president did something illegal.

58:39You only want to do so in the rarest and gravest of circumstances. But, Jake, as we looked at this case, that is this situation. You've got the president who's imposed the largest tax increase on American consumers since 1993 in the form of these tariffs. That's according to the Nonpartisan Tax Foundation. And he did it without Congress saying one word. That is not our constitutional structure. All right, Neil Katchel, I guess you're gonna gear up for a Supreme Court fight. I mean, ultimately, if he's gonna appeal this to the US Supreme Court, that court at the very least, in the most charitable description, I can say, they're inclined to hear his arguments, don't you think?

59:19Well, they should, of course, hear his arguments. He's the president and he's asserting these things. And to the extent he continues to believe them, absolutely should make those arguments. You know, my hope is that if he does see these tariffs as so important, he should go to the Congress and not try and run to the courts to do what he can't get done through the legislative process. If he goes to the Supreme Court, we will be absolutely ready and we are confident that the Supreme Court will hear our arguments and take them in good measure. Neil Kochel, thank you so much. Always good to see you, sir.

59:50Multiple top CDC officials resigned this week after Trump fired the director of the CDC. In minutes, two of those officials are going to join me live to explain exactly what happened behind the scenes, as well as discussing their fears about the future of public health in the United States.

1:00:09In our sports lead, earlier today, the bookie operating an illegal gambling ring used by the ex-interpreter of Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani was sentenced to a year in prison. Matthew Boyer had pleaded guilty to running an illegal gambling and money laundering scheme, along with filing a false tax return. And earlier this year, Ipe Mizuhara, Otani's former interpreter, was sentenced to more than four years in prison after he stole nearly$17 million from Otani's bank account to pay for his gambling. CNN's Nick Watt has been following the story. And Nick, you spoke to the bookie, to Boyer.

1:00:45What did he tell you? Yeah, we hung out at his house down in Orange County a couple of days ago, and he told me that he, like many of us, initially thought that it was Shohei Ohtani who was gambling. He, Ohtani, is one of the greatest players of all time. That could have been one of the biggest baseball scandals in history. Well, the first time I saw The Wire with Shohei Ohtani was a holy moment for me. Good and bad, right? The greedy side of me was, oh, this is amazing. I'm going to not have to worry about getting paid. This is a great client. I mean, unlimited funds. The negative side is this could draw eyes onto me.

1:01:25The account at Matt Boyer's illegal sports book was in the name of Ipe Mizuhara, Otani's longtime interpreter. Stealing never really crossed my mind. It would be natural to think it was Shohei. Well, I mean, truthfully, I did, but I wasn't sure. And you know, sometimes in life, you have a question that you really don't want to know the answer. That's where I was. It was not Shohei. Turns out the interpreter had stolen nearly$17 million from one of Otani's accounts to pay off his own massive gambling debts to Boyer. He's now serving 57 months in prison. Boyer just sentenced to a year in prison.

1:02:04He pleaded guilty to running an illegal betting operation, money laundering, and tax evasion. You do a crime, you got to do the time. So So at the end of the day, I was doing something illegal. So he's going to be sentenced to a year. He lost about two million bucks in terms of what was seized from his house in cash and what he said to pay in restitution. His business is obviously closed down. But Matt Boyer, after 35 years of gambling, has just this unshakable confidence. I suppose he's inured to the highs and lows. He is convinced he will bounce back legitimately with a book, with a movie and with businesses that are legal.

1:02:43Fascinating guy, fascinating story. And Boyer is just glad that it wasn't Otani. So strange story. Fascinating stuff. Thanks so much. Really appreciate it. Turning to our health lead now, pharmacy giant CVS is no longer offering COVID vaccines in 16 states in these United States. Even if someone meets the CDC's new eligibility criteria, they say they're not going to offer it because of the quote current regulatory environment. This after a tidal wave of high profile resignations at the CDC following Trump and RFK Jr.'s firing of their own CDC director, Susan Menares, who'd been on the job for just a few weeks.

1:03:23The White House says that Menares was not aligned with the president's health mission. Sources tell us that she and HHS Secretary of RFK Jr. frequently clashed over vaccine policies and And now RFK Jr. has tapped a biotech investor named Jim O 'Neill as acting director of the CDC. Joining us now are two of the top CDC officials who just resigned, Dr. Deborah Howery and Dr. Dimitri Daskalakis. Dr. Howery, let me start with you. You say you felt the need to resign to raise the, quote, bat signal that the CDC and public health are in trouble. What kind of potential public health emergency do you think the current administration would be unable to handle or even responsible for causing?

1:04:05So, honestly, at this point, I would say if there was an outbreak, a new pathogen or bug, we're not ready. With the number of staff that we have lost through terminations, resignations, early retirements, the proposed budget decreases, as well as all of the inability to move things as quickly as we used to with a lot of these changes, we're not prepared for that next outbreak. We were, but we're not right now. Dr. Daskalakis, you say in your resignation letter, quote, I have never experienced such radical non-transparency, nor have I seen such unskilled manipulation of data to achieve a political end rather than the good of the American people, unquote.

1:04:45Can you give us an example of the unskilled manipulation of data you talk about? Sure. I think probably the best example that I can bring up here is when the secretary gave his directive to change the childhood vaccination schedule for COVID-19 and for pregnant women. There was a fact sheet that was released that misinterpreted data from other investigators to really make the point of why they made the decision. I think that the story so far is really covered with a lot of examples of where there is an attempt to retrofit data to actually support policy decisions that were not come to through any scientific process.

1:05:30And sticking with you, you also mentioned, I think you told Caitlin Collins, that RFK Jr. was never briefed by a CDC subject matter expert on vaccines or anything else. We just saw one of the worst measles outbreaks in decades, 1 ,400 cases, 13 percent of which resulted in hospitalizations. At least three people died, according to 2025 data from the CDC. Just to be clear, he never received a CDC briefing on measles during this outbreak? Yeah, the center that I used to run before I resigned is responsible for measles for the United States and, in fact, has the laboratory that really many countries look to for technical assistance.

1:06:10And my SMEs, those SMEs, my former SMEs at CDC, those individuals are looked at as world experts in measles and are sought after for their knowledge and experience, clinical consultation all the way to how to do a public health response. So other countries have asked us for support. So far, really, my experience as of yesterday was that the secretary had never been briefed by anyone at the National Center of Immunization and Respiratory Diseases about measles. I don't know who's briefing him. It's not us. Dr. Howard, independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders says, we are witnessing a full-blown war on public health from the Trump administration.

1:06:53unquote. Sanders is calling for an investigation into the firing of the CDC director Menardez. What do you think an investigation like that might find?

1:07:04You know, I think it's important to realize that to me, this is not just politics, it's ideology, because under the prior Trump administration, both Dr. Daskalakis and I served and we saw that the COVID vaccines were developed and there was funding and new programs stood up, including things that I ran, like the suicide prevention. I think if we looked into what resulted in the firing of Dr. Menara is we're going to see that she had some new ideas to bring scientific rigor to the ACIP or Vaccine Committee, and the department did not want her to do that. I just think it's worth noting that I think it's fair to say that Donald Trump, perhaps his greatest accomplishment in the first term was Operation Warp Speed.

1:07:45I think that he's responsible and all the people in the Biden administration who helped get those shots into arms, saving millions of lives. And I wonder, Dr. Daskalakis, what do you think RFK Jr.'s ultimate goal is here? I mean, I think based on what we're hearing from him publicly, you know, he's come out and said that he believes that the mRNA vaccines did nothing for the pandemic and are the most dangerous vaccine deployed in human history. So, I mean, I think if that is the sort of background that he's using, I feel like his intent for mRNA vaccines is to remove them from the possibility of both responding to, you know, the pathogens that we have all the time.

1:08:32Right now it's COVID, but, you know, there were flu vaccines that were being developed that looked like they were very promising. There were the flu vaccines that if there was an outbreak of a novel flu could be adapted very quickly to be able to mobilize into the community vaccine, shaving six to eight weeks off of the process. And as you remember from COVID, six to eight weeks is a lot of lives. So I think that the intent is to really make mRNA vaccines sound like something that we shouldn't be doing based on no data, based really on statements that are made in public that are not backed up by any scientific information.

1:09:10And that doesn't only unplug infectious diseases. These vaccines are things that potentially have applications in cancer. And so I think that that's something that we really need to think about as he touts his interest in chronic disease. Dr. Deborah Howery, any thoughts? His goal here?

1:09:30Yeah. I don't want to presuppose his goal, but I do want to go back to what he said about under President Trump. You know, the assistant secretary at the time, Admiral Zarrar, you know, was a big proponent of mRNA vaccines. And I think that's the thing that we're seeing the difference is, like Dr. Daskalakis said, there's been very little exposure of scientists to the secretary and his department. Under the prior Trump administration, we regularly brief the assistant secretary and the secretary. Dr. Howery, Dr. Daskalakis, thank you so much. I really appreciate it. President Obama wading back into politics, warning about the impact of Republican redistricting efforts.

1:10:06Our panel joins me next.

1:10:11In our politics lead, Missouri is the latest state as of this afternoon to join the national redistricting fight ahead of the midterms. Today, Republican Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe posted he's, quote, calling on the General Assembly to take action on congressional redistricting and initiative petition reform to ensure our districts and constitution truly put Missouri values first, unquote. This the same day that Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a new map favoring Republicans in Texas even more. California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, is hoping to offset Texas by adding more Democratic seats in California.

1:10:42Voters in California are going to have to approve or reject a plan in November. Here's what Speaker Johnson said about the redistricting race earlier today on CNN. The Speaker of the House has no control over some national redistricting strategy. It's the resolve and the decision of the individual states. But I will say there's a big difference between what happened in Texas and California. Gavin Newsom's gambit, which is what it is, is going to disenfranchise millions of California voters because they all supported their redistricting commission, the Citizens' Redistricting Commission. Joining us now is Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell of Michigan.

1:11:17Congresswoman, what's your reaction to what the speaker just said? I have many things. First of all, if the speaker really was worried about redistricting or was hands off, He would go to President Trump and say, my own members are upset about what you're doing. There are many Republicans who are not happy with what the president is. Two, you know, I have a great deal of respect for Michelle Obama. I am someone who talks to everybody, believes in civility. And when you go low, when they go low, you go high. We got to fight fire with fire. Our democracy right now is on fire. And I believe in redistricting commissions.

1:12:01Michigan has one. That's what we should be. But when people aren't playing by the rules, you've got to fight fire with fire. So if your state, Michigan, were to try to change your current congressional map, it would require an amendment to the state's constitution. Last week, your governor, Gretchen Whitmer, said, quote, we're not changing any maps in Michigan. Other states that could redraw maps are Illinois, Maryland, and New York for Democrats, and Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, South Carolina for Republicans. We had a Republican commentator on the show a few minutes ago saying that ultimately this is all going to result in Republicans picking up a net of anywhere from seven to nine seats.

1:12:41Is it wise for Democrats to be fighting fire with fire? Could it not ultimately create even more Republican seats? Look, I hope that we get back to that. We should have redistricting commissions in every single state. But Jake, I'll tell you something. I've done more town halls probably than almost any member this August. People are worried. They want to see us fight back. We are watching. Now he wants to take away mail-in voting. That's disenfranchising seniors, people who live overseas, veterans. We have to do something to fight back. We cannot simply sit in our hands. So I think it should be redistricting commissions.

1:13:20I don't like this precedent. But what Texas did was wrong. People there are against it. People are having their arms broken in some of these Republican states. I've talked to Republicans in some of these states. I don't like it. I want the American people to speak up. And we'll see. I think some people may be surprised what even happens in some of these elections because people aren't happy with what they're watching. Congress is back in session next week. Yesterday, Democratic leaders sent a letter to their Republican colleagues to try to meet in an effort to avoid a government shutdown at the end of September.

1:13:56You've been holding town halls throughout Michigan. And do you want your voters? I mean, I'm sorry. Do voters want you to stand up to Republicans or do your voters want you to work with Republicans, especially on government funding? I will tell you that I think it's a very mixed bag out there. I will tell you that the one I've come away with a lot of messages, but people are angry. They are worried. They want to see Democrats fight. They want they're worried about many of the things that they are seeing. I had one last night. It ended up going for nearly three hours. And people were very pointed on what they want to see and that they want to see people pushing back.

1:14:41People are worried about the budget. They're worried about the government shutting down. But they're also, what good does it do? One person said to the meeting last night, if you're going to appropriate the money and then the president isn't going to spend it and he doesn't care what you think anyway, how are you going to fight back? So we are unprecedented times. We have to figure it out. I think what I do know is that Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer are going to work hand in hand in figuring this out. Republicans have refused to meet with them. The president isn't meeting with them. You know, do they want a budget shutdown?

1:15:15And don't try to blame it on the Democrats. They need to be meeting with us and talking about what they want to do. Michigan Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, thanks so much for joining us. Appreciate it. Thank you. Joining us now in the studio is the panel. And Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor of California, responded to Governor Abbott, posting, quote, congratulations on your new position as Trump's number one lapdog. I know you worked hard for it. This is an obviously response to Abbott signing these new Republican leaning seats in the new congressional map. What's your reaction, Joe?

1:15:51Well, I think people go first to the question of, you know, as a lawyer, they say, is it legal? It's all legal. I mean, there's no point in going to Texas and fighting this or in California to fight that as long as the processes are followed. Is it a good idea? And I think it's disappointing. Look, as a conservative, we've been able to say for a while the ones who change the rules mid-game are the Democrats, whether it's blowing up the filibuster or bypassing the Electoral College or packing the Supreme Court. Now we lose that moral high ground, unfortunately. And so it's a race to the bottom, and it's really unfortunate.

1:16:17What do you think? Well, I don't agree that the Democrats are the ones who change things midstream, but I do agree largely with your assessment here. And I also think there's a political opportunity for Democrats in the sense that, you know, you've got Trump and the Republicans making this aggressive, essentially power grab to try to swipe more seats in the House of Representatives. What they're not talking about is this bill that they passed, that they're nominally supposed to be out there right now defending. And yet instead, they feel like they are not going to be able to make a case that's going to be persuasive.

1:16:48So they've got to try to change the rules. So I do think there's an opportunity for Democrats here to really drive both what they're doing to fight some of this action, but also to really drive a truck on are they are the Republicans focused on the things that matter to you? Are they bringing your costs down? Are they bringing prices down? Are they doing what they said they would do? Or are they focused on this partisan this partisan fighting? Well, I'll tell you who's focused on the partisan fighting is former President Barack Obama and former Attorney General Eric Holder, because they clearly are waiting into the redistricting fight.

1:17:20They released this video that we're going to run just a little snippet of it. It's Barack, and I am here with my good friend, Attorney General Eric Holder, because we're facing an existential threat to our democracy, and we need your help. Rather than facing their voters at the polls next year, they're trying to silence them instead. Help us meet this moment and preserve our democracy. Do you really think this is an existential threat to democracy? I mean, as Joe pointed out, this is a legal process. It's not unprecedented. It might be unseemly, but it's not unprecedented. And I mean, Democrats can still compete in these elections.

1:17:59I think it's part and parcel of a larger attempt by Trump and the Trump administration to mess with our democracy, both around the edges and right down the middle. So, yes, I do actually think it's an existential threat, particularly when it's taken in the context of everything that Trump has tried to do to subvert all of our democratic norms. Governor Newsom also said this about President Trump possibly deploying more National Guard troops to more Democratic-led cities and states. Take a listen. The murder rate that's nearly four times higher than Californians in Louisiana is Speaker Johnson, 4x higher.

1:18:38I'm just offering this again. You've not seen this on Fox News, so the president may not be familiar with these facts. I mean, he's accurate. His numbers are accurate. The homicide rate is higher in Louisiana. I mean, you could make the argument, send the National Guard to Shrevesville. Well, let's go back to legality, right? No problem deploying a National Guard here in D.C. That's within the president's power. Los Angeles, he had a good argument because there was a particular purpose under the statute to protect federal law enforcement. There's no such condition in whether it's Nashville or whether it's Chicago or whether it's Boston or whatever.

1:19:12So, legally, the president would have a problem there. I think it's largely posturing. I don't see it happening, nor do I see it as a long-term solution. Look, as a long-term member of the military myself, we're not trained as police officers. And so, it might look good, the presence might be good for a short period of time, but it's not a long-term solution. All right. Joe and Kay, thanks for being here. Really appreciate it. Have a great Labor Day weekend. Appreciate your being here. It is Labor Day weekend. For many, that means one final trip to the beach. But before you stick your toe in the water, you're going to want to see what Dr.

1:19:39Sanjay Gupta has to say about a bacteria that might be swimming right next to you.

1:19:49Our health lead this weekend traditionally marks the last blast of summer. For many, that means heading to your local lake or river or the ocean for a nice swim. But increasingly, waterways in the United States are seeing a surge in a specific kind of bacteria that can lead to a serious flesh eating condition. Here's CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. I thought she was going to be a goner. Stephanie and Lacey. Two sisters taking a walk they thought might never happen. It was just last year that Lacey almost died from a flesh-eating bacterial infection. You wouldn't believe the pain.

1:20:27I mean, it's just, I wouldn't wish it on no one. And the whole time I thought I had the flu. It started with pain that seemed to come out of nowhere. Then came difficulty walking. A few days later, Lacey's daughter rushed her to the emergency room in her small town of Brookhaven, Mississippi, where she was diagnosed with an infection caused by the deadly flesh-eating bacteria known as Vibrio vulnificus. She was so sick that she was immediately airlifted to a trauma hospital in Jackson for emergency surgery. I had a surgery just about every day to every other day that I was in the hospital. You know, I was just in shock.

1:21:05They tell me it cut. But all her thigh, part of her behind. I went from being a healthy person to I have to have a cane or a walker. And I'm thankful to be here, though. Very grateful. Take a look. This is the bacteria. It loves warm salt and brackish waters. Sometimes people get sick through contaminated seafood. Other times, it is open wounds. Thankfully, the more serious type of infections are rare. Maybe a couple hundred reported in the United States every year. But out of those, one in five may die. And fast. From the time of the bacteria gaining access to the GI tract or through a wound to where it gets into the bloodstream and can cause illness.

1:21:56So it can be a matter of hours or a few days. States up and down the eastern seaboard have been concerned with the rise in cases due to warmer water. And lately, Atlantic Ocean temperatures have been off the charts. The warmer, the better. It incubates really well, you know, with the heat. So it doesn't get too hot for it. Like many people, Lacey doesn't know when or where she actually contracted the bacteria. But she does know this. That little pathogen changed her life forever. It was a nightmare. I mean, it was just a nightmare. I just, I don't wish it on nobody. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.

1:22:36And our thanks to Dr. Sanjay Gupta for that report. Coming up Sunday on State of the Union, White House counterterrorism advisor Sebastian Gorka, Minnesota Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, and Cindy McCain, the executive director of the UN's World Food Program. That's Sunday morning at nine Eastern and again at noon, only here on CNN. Until then, you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, threads X, and on the TikTok at Jake Tapper. You can follow the show on X at The Lead CNN. If you ever miss an episode of The Lead, you can listen to the show once you get your podcast Have a safe and memorable Labor Day weekend.

1:23:10Aaron Burnett out front starts right now.