Soon Sanders Confronts Walmart Leaders in Shareholders Meeting; 2020 Democrats Candidates Criticize Joe Biden on 1994 Crime Bill, Plagiarism on Climate Plan
BOLDUAN: Bernie Sanders is headed to Arkansas, but not really to talk to voters. Instead, to talk to the board of Walmart. In just a few minutes, Sanders is going to be face-to-face with executives from the company at their annual shareholders meeting. Are you wondering what's going on here, like many of us? Let's go to CNN's Ryan Nobles. He is there. Ryan, this is fascinating, a fascinating political move. Sanders is serving as a proxy for a Walmart employee at the shareholders meeting. What is going to happen? What is he trying to do?</s>RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he's certainly trying to send a message to the executives and the leadership of Walmart here, Kate. Of course, this is a frequent target of Senator Sanders on the campaign trail. He often talks about big corporations and what he feels is their unfair treatment of their employees, and Walmart specifically is a company he talks about a lot. Take a listen to a smattering of things that Sanders has said on the campaign trail.</s>SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The wealthiest family in the United States pays their workers' wages that are so low that many of these workers are forced to go on food stamps, Medicaid or public housing. If you are worth $170 billion, pay your workers a living wage.</s>NOBLES: Of course, I spent a lot of time on the campaign trail with Bernie Sanders. I have parts of his speech where he talks about Walmart memorized. It will be a little different today, Kate, because now he will be face-to-face with his leadership. What he will do here is formally ask that a member, an associate, an employee of Walmart gets a seat at the table of their board of directors to give the employees a voice. This is about his fulsome argument about treatment of associates with these massive companies that make billions of dollars in profits. Kate, it's unlikely that that proposal will pass this is part of Sanders' broader message about economic inequality. And his message to Democratic primary voters, if he's elected president, these are the kind of challenges he will take on.</s>BOLDUAN: Fascinating move, no matter what comes of it, to say the least. Ryan, thank you very much. Good to see you. So that's happening in Arkansas. As for the Democratic front-runner, Joe Biden, he is facing trouble on two fronts this morning, accusations of plagiarism on the climate change plan that he just rolled out. And that's the very issue that helped end his 1998 presidential bid, you'll remember. That's one. And then there is his role with the controversial 1994 crime bill, something that he has had to answer to, and for, since the moment he announced his run. He is also stepping up his attempts to defend that past in the face of his competitors, not letting up one bit. Listen.</s>SEN. KAMALA HARRIS (D-CA): that I have a great deal of respect for Vice President Joe Biden, but I disagree with him. That crime bill, 1994 crime bill, it did contribute to mass incarceration in our country.</s>BILL DE BLASIO, (D), NEW YORK CITY MAYOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That crime bill was one of the foundations of mass incarceration, in a very painful era in our nation's history. And I think, look, the vice president, anyone else has to be accountable for every vote they take.</s>BOLDUAN: CNN's Arlette Saenz is joining me now from Manchester, New Hampshire. Arlette, how is Biden responding to this criticism?</s>ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN REPORTER: Kate, so far, we really haven't heard him directly respond to what his rivals have said on this but this issue will keep coming up over and over for Joe Biden on the campaign trail. And it was here in New Hampshire, three weeks ago today, where he defended the bill, saying it did not lead to mass incarceration. Last night, in Concord, he once again offered a defense for that crime bill. Take a listen to what he had to say.</s>JOE BIDEN, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES & DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When I wrote the crime bill, which you have been conditioned to say is a bad bill, there's only one bill, only one provision in it that had to do with mandatory sentences that I opposed and that was a thing called the three strikes and you're out, which I thought was a mistake. The rational way to go about it is to make sure you're not putting people in jail who, in fact, have not committed violent crimes. You should put them in work programs. You should put them in positions where they are on probation, et cetera. (APPLAUSE0</s>SAENZ: Though he's not directly responding to criticisms from people like Kamala Harris or Bill De Blasio, Biden is offering that defense of that crime bill. Today, we also see him in a different position at odds with his Democratic rivals when it comes to abortion. His campaign saying he does support the amendment that bans the use of federal funds for abortion except in the case of rape and incest and to save the life of the mother. This puts him at odds with many other Democratic rivals and could be an issue going forward that you see them bring up, especially as they're heading closer and closer to that first debate -- Kate?</s>BOLDUAN: Yes. I was thinking about the debate when you're talking about the crime bill. He will have a hard time not responding directly to his competitors when that's presented at that first debate. Good to see you, Arlette. Really appreciate it. Much more to come on that. Ahead for us, are the calls for impeachment of President Trump, are they having any impact on the one woman with all the power? Right now, Nancy Pelosi, she is speaking to reporters right now. One Democrat in her caucus says that they must act by August. Why is that? Is that the timetable that Pelosi is working with? That lawmaker joins me next.