Special Edition: Top GOP, Dem leaders & Intel committee heads briefed today; Bolton: I didn’t see evidence Trump read the daily brief; Study: New mutation of coronavirus is more infectious; U.S. hit record high number of cases: 50K in one day; Epstein’s ex-girlfriend charged with enticement of minors; Gillibrand calls for hearings over Russia bounty intel; Florida voter: Trump “blew it” on coronavirus;
The Lead with Jake Tapper
CNN
3.5 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 2 July 2020
⏱️ 76 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
NYT: Afghanistan businessman was middleman in Russian bounty scheme targeting U.S. service members; NYT: Afghan contractor served as middleman to pay Taliban; Dem Senator freezes military confirmations until Defense Secy confirms promotion for Lt. Col. Vindman; ICU manager: If you want to see Aug 1st, stay home July 4th; Herman Cain hospitalized with COVID-19; Attended Trump’s Tulsa rally; Florida sees 10k cases in one day, the highest yet; USC reverses decision to hold in-person classes in fall; Indoor businesses closed in counties where 28M Californians live; HHS: More than one vaccine could be ready next year; Moderna vaccine trial delayed until late July or early August; W.H.O. says 18 vaccines are in human trials globally; United Airlines: Very difficult to social distance on a plane; American Airlines to take new $4.75B govt bailout, says 20k employees are on payroll; Miami-Dade Police officer relieved of duty, under investigation after seen in video striking a woman; Outrage in Hong Kong on new law cracks down on dissent; As cases soar, Pence says “we’re going to keep opening up”; Fauci: U.S. never got the virus under control before reopening; People throwing “COVID Parties” with cash prize for getting infected; Trump testing Czar: Increase in cases not because of more testing; Pelosi: Trump failing in his role as Commander in Chief; Bolton: WH doesn’t have a “grip” on what’s going on; Sen. Gillibrand on Russia bounty Intel and the WH’s response; National Security Adviser: CIA briefer decided not to tell Trump “unverified: Russia bounty intel; TX Gov issues executive order requiring masks in public; Jobs report shows record 4.8M jobs added in June before spike in Covid cases; Trump: “Our economy is roaring back”; Did not mention U.S. down 14.7M jobs since February; Mnuchin: Upcoming stimulus could include school funding; Florida voter: Trump “blew it” on coronavirus; Older voters in Florida gauge Trump’s chances at reelection as Covid cases spike; GOP Officials, conservative leaders flock to “Parler” app; "Parler” brands itself as free speech space, but progressives claim they are getting booted off;
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is CNN Breaking News. |
| 0:06.0 | Welcome to the lead. I'm Jake Tapper. |
| 0:07.5 | We begin with breaking news in our world lead today. |
| 0:10.0 | Top Republican and Democratic leaders in the House, Senate, and Intelligence Committees |
| 0:14.7 | known as the Gang of Aid are just wrapping up a classified briefing with top intelligence officials |
| 0:19.6 | regarding information about the Russian bounty plot, a scheme that allegedly paid Taliban terrorists |
| 0:25.8 | hundreds of thousands of dollars to target American and other coalition forces in Afghanistan. |
| 0:32.2 | Moments ago, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer |
| 0:36.0 | accused President Trump of failing as commander-in-chief. |
| 0:40.4 | Our armed forces would be better served if President Trump spent more time reading his daily briefing and less time planning military parades and defending relics of the Confederacy." |
| 0:51.0 | This comes as the New York Times reports, U.S. Intelligence has |
| 0:54.4 | identified an Afghan contractor believed to be a key middleman in handling |
| 0:59.4 | those cash payments from the Russian GRU to the terrorists targeting U.S. service members. |
| 1:05.0 | CNN's Jeremy Diamond joins us now from the White House and Jeremy clarify when |
| 1:10.0 | this Russian bounty scheme or allegations of it came to the White House's attention |
| 1:15.6 | and what did they do about it? Well Jake one source familiar with the matter tells |
| 1:19.8 | CNN that the intelligence about this scheme came to the White House as early as the first |
| 1:25.3 | months of 2019. |
| 1:27.4 | Now this source says that the details at that time about this intelligence were fuzzy. |
| 1:31.2 | They weren't as fleshed out as they are today. But nonetheless, |
| 1:33.9 | Jake, this shows that the White House has been monitoring this intelligence for at least a |
| 1:38.4 | year. And one source also saying that then National Security Advisor John Bolton was aware of these |
... |
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