Federal Judge Examines Mississippi Abortion Ban; Interview With Rep. Val Demings (D-FL); Impeachment Calls Grow Louder.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Miguel Marquez, CNN, Cape Porpoise, Maine.</s>BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Miguel, thank you. And thank you for being with me. I'm Brooke Baldwin. "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER" starts right now.</s>JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Another empty chair, as congressional oversight falls not on deaf ears, but on no ears at all. THE LEAD starts right now. Making a show over the no-show. Democrats torn after the former White House counsel defies a subpoena and snubs Congress today, as the impeachment debate causes more division than the "Game of Thrones" finale. Rebooting Beto. The complain trying to put lightning back in the bottle, as he prepares for a CNN town hall tonight in a potential make-or-break event. Plus, happening right now, thousands of Americans protesting historically restrictive abortion bans passed across the country, as a judge claims one state's new law -- quote -- "smacks of defiance." Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper. We begin this Tuesday with the politics lead. The drumbeat for impeachment growing lower inside the Democratic Party, as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who does not favor such a move right now, attempts to downplay and dismiss the deep divisions within the Democratic Caucus. This all comes as former White House counsel Don McGahn defied a congressional subpoena to testify publicly before the House Judiciary Committee today, setting the stage for a potential contempt of Congress vote and a court fight. Democrats on the committee wanted McGahn to testify about the many instances detailed in the Mueller report when President Trump was potentially obstructing justice by, for example, telling McGahn to fire Mueller. McGahn says the president told him -- quote -- "Mueller has to go. Call me back when you do it." For the second time in less than three weeks, the committee's top Democrat, Chairman Jerry Nadler of New York, lectured an empty chair today and slammed the Trump administration for stonewalling Congress and ignoring its role in conducting oversight. CNN's Manu Raju is on Capitol Hill today with breaking news now. And, Manu, you're learning now that Nadler has issued some new subpoenas?</s>MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. The House Judiciary Committee has just served a subpoena to Hope Hicks, who's the former White House communications director, someone who's been President Trump's closest confidant, one of his closest confidants, for years. Now, this subpoena demanding her testimony by June 19, demanding documents to be turned over by June 4. At the same time, the committee has also issued a subpoena for Annie Donaldson, who was the chief of staff for Don McGahn, the former White House counsel, served in the White House counsel's office. Those two individuals have said been witnesses to some of the episodes detailed in the Mueller report. Democrats demanding more information. But the White House has been moving to defy subpoenas, as we saw today, instructing Don McGahn not to show up to the House Judiciary Committee, despite facing a subpoena, and now Democrats are threatening to punish McGahn.</s>RAJU (voice-over): Former White House counsel Don McGahn will soon be held in contempt of Congress, after President Trump directed him not to comply with a subpoena, demanding he testify about potential obstruction of justice at the White House.</s>REP. JERROLD NADLER (D-NY): We will not allow the president to prevent the American people from hearing from this witness. We will not allow the president to stop this investigation.</s>RAJU: The Justice Department said Congress cannot compel former senior White House officials to testify about their interactions with the president. And Republicans argued it's time to put the Mueller report behind them.</s>REP. DOUG COLLINS (R-GA): There was no collusion. There was no obstruction charges. There's nothing here.</s>RAJU: The White House is resisting virtually all Democratic probes into the president, prompting more Democrats to say their only choice is to launch an impeachment inquiry.</s>REP. JOAQUIN CASTRO (D-TX): Of course, nobody runs for Congress with the idea that I want to go there and start impeachment.</s>RAJU: The pressure building across the Democratic Caucus, from veteran members.</s>REP. JOHN YARMUTH (D-KY): The impeachment process is going to be inevitable, just a question of when, not if.</s>RAJU: To freshmen. (on camera): Do you think it's time to move forward with an impeachment inquiry?</s>REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): I do. I personally do. We can't be scared of elections. We need to uphold the rule of law.</s>RAJU (voice-over): And even some skeptics are softening their opposition.</s>REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): I think that the administration is certainly pushing the Congress in that direction by obstructing everything.</s>RAJU (on camera): Are you changing your tune on that?</s>SCHIFF: I think the case gets stronger the more they stonewall the Congress.</s>RAJU: Are you there yet?</s>REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D-MD): I'm getting there.</s>RAJU (voice-over): But the most important person still not convinced.</s>QUESTION: Madam. Speaker, are you under increased pressure to impeach the president from your caucus?</s>REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): No.</s>RAJU: That's House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who believes her caucus should methodically pursue their investigations, while focusing on an economic agenda. And in private meetings Monday night, Pelosi argued the strategy is getting results, pointing to a court ruling that could force a Trump accounting firm to turn over financial records to the House Oversight Committee. Many of her allies agree. (on camera): You don't think it makes sense to open an impeachment inquiry right now?</s>REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): The question is, why would we open an impeachment inquiry if we're winning?</s>RAJU: Now, if the White House moves to defy these two new subpoenas, expect those calls to grow. One Democrat who supports an impeachment inquiry, David Cicilline, said that doing so would convey the seriousness of an investigation moving forward. And I'm told this is one area that Jerry Nadler brought up with Nancy Pelosi in a closed-door meeting on Monday. She said no to that, moving forward in that respect, but this will be a topic of discussion, Jake, at a closed-door meeting tomorrow with the full Democratic Caucus on the agenda, investigations and talk of impeachment -- Jake.</s>TAPPER: Deep divisions. Manu Raju on Capitol Hill, thanks so much. Joining me now is Democratic Congresswoman and former chief of police for Orlando, Florida, Val Demings. She serves on the House Judiciary Committee. Congresswoman, thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate it. Your committee just issued subpoenas for Hope Hicks, the former White House communications director, and for Annie Donaldson, the former chief of staff for White House counsel Don McGahn. What specifically does the committee, do you want to ask them about?</s>REP. VAL DEMINGS (D-FL): Hi, Jake. Well, it's great to be here. And, right, it's been quite a day. History has dealt us a very unusual, but a critical hand during this period. And in terms of Judiciary and the oversight responsibility that we have, we are proceeding forward. These are people who we, from the very beginning, wanted to get in front of the committee, ask them questions about what they know about the 10 incidences of instruction (sic) that are mentioned in the Mueller report involving the president. And so we're moving forward. As you have seen, the attorney general did not honor the subpoena, nor did Mr. McGahn today. But we are moving forward. And I think you know and a lot of other people do that, over a month ago, after reading portions of the Mueller report, and now having read the entire report, and what we witnessed with total disregard for the law, I just believe that we are at the point of opening impeachment proceedings.</s>TAPPER: And, specifically, you want to ask Hope Hicks and Annie Donaldson about what they know about the potential obstruction of justice that's detailed in the Mueller report?</s>DEMINGS: That's absolutely correct. They both, as you know, worked very closely with President Trump. They both testified and have given testimony. So we just want to dig a little deeper into things that might have been said or actions taken that they are aware of involving the president's intentions to obstruct justice.</s>TAPPER: Don't people who work directly for President Trump in the White House have a presumption of executive privilege, that their conversations will be covered, so that they can give free advice and speak freely to the president? Hasn't that historically been how presidents wield executive privilege in keeping people from testifying?</s>DEMINGS: Yes, Jake, there's no doubt about that. But, normally, there's no historical precedence where presidents have inserted it after the fact. As you well know, the president appeared to have no issue at all with his administration sitting down with Mueller, although he refused to do so. But once the report came out and even though the president has yelled from the top of his lungs no collusion, no obstruction, we know that the Mueller report tells a very different story. And so, to come in after the fact, and then say, oh, no, I don't like what I have read, really, or what is now being said or what the public now knows, I want to insert executive privilege, is totally unprecedented.</s>TAPPER: So, as you know, Speaker Pelosi is expected to discuss these ongoing probes into the president during a meeting with your caucus tomorrow. Pelosi and Judiciary Committee Chairman Nadler have thus far rejected calls for impeaching President Trump. You obviously disagree with that. Why do you think that Pelosi and Nadler are wrong, and why do you think they are holding the position that they do?</s>DEMINGS: Well, let me say this. There's a reason why Nancy Pelosi is the speaker and Jerry Nadler is the chairman. And they have to provide oversight in those various roles. There's a lot that they have to consider. But, as a member of the House Judiciary Committee, when I look at the responsibility given to us by the Constitution of the United States and Article 1, the oversight responsibility, and if you read the Mueller report, especially volume two, I believe it's pretty clear that the president made numerous attempts to obstruct justice or obstructed justice. And so I believe, based on that information, as I did a month ago, that we have enough to begin those proceedings. And, remember, it's a process, right? And so we're opening an investigation, so we can get the whole story, which it seems like the House Judiciary Committee, at least on the Democratic side, appears to be the only ones on Judiciary who are really interested in getting the whole story and providing the oversight that has been granted to us by the Constitution.</s>TAPPER: I just want to ask you, before you have to go, the polls indicate that voters want members of Congress like yourself to be talking about immigration, talking about the economy, talking about health care reform. And the feelings, I believe, that people like Speaker Pelosi and others in Democratic leadership, including Hakeem Jeffries, are saying is they want the American people to see Democratic members of the House working on these issues. And the -- at least according to polling, the American public does not support impeachment. Do you not hear those concerns of Democratic leaders, that it would be better for Democrats to be doing more on those issues, talking more about those issues, the economy, health care, immigration, et cetera? And I guess the concern is from Pelosi and others that Democrats, instead, are going to be seen as just trying to get the president.</s>DEMINGS: You know, Jake, certainly, I represent Florida. The people in Congressional District 10 sent me here represent their interests. Since I have been here in the 115th Congress, as you know, we came through the door and opened up the session fighting to protect health care, so that 20 million people would not be thrown off the rolls. Being a representative from Florida, I clearly understand immigration and that we need to establish a comprehensive immigration plan that includes TPS. I also understand that people who are working hard every day, worried about keeping a roof over their head and food on the table, how they're going to send their children to college, if that's what they want to do, those are primary issues. And, as you know, we have not stopped talking about those things or working on those things. You're aware of legislation that we have passed. But I also believe that the American people expect us to make the tough decisions and provide the oversight, too, that they sent us here to do. And we're going to continue to do that. When we protect our democracy, we protect health care, we protect immigration, we protect persons covered by TPS. And we protect those things that are important to the American people.</s>TAPPER: Former Orlando police chief and Congresswoman from Florida, Val Demings, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it.</s>DEMINGS: Thank you.</s>TAPPER: Brand-new CNN reporting about a possible deal that could disclose more of the Mueller probe than we ever thought we would see. What is it? We will have that story for you next. And the president nudges the attorney general to investigate the FBI for treason. There is no reason there that we know of, but the president is saying it, of course, your daily reminder that we are not in normal times. Stay with us.