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Supreme Court Saves Obamacare in 6-3 Decision; Prison Guard Gene Palmer Now Facing Charges in the Escape Plot. 3:30-4p ET

Aired June 25, 2015 - 15:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:33:27] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Huge win today for President Obama's signature health care law, the affordable care act. Once again, the Supreme Court has saved Obamacare, the decision 6-3. But Republicans on Capitol Hill on the campaign trail are vowing to continue the fight. I want to go first to our chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash who spent the morning really on Capitol Hill.

I mean, list the bill for me, behind the scene, what are members of Congress saying behind the scenes and how are they reacting?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, publicly you've heard members of Congress and those that want to be president in 2016 and in many of those cases, they are one in the same. They are all saying how outrageous the Supreme Court decision is, that they've got to change the law, so on and so forth.

And when it comes to the full repeal of Obamacare, certainly that appears to be true. Across the board, Republicans didn't vote for it in the first place don't like it now. However, when it comes to this particular Supreme Court decision, Brooke, the concept of just repealing the subsidies but forcing people to actually hold on to this healthcare mandate and the people that healthcare but without paying for it, having to fix that would be a Herculean task for Republicans. There was a plan in place. They were ready for it, but they know behind the scenes quietly, it would have been very divisive, very, very hard and there is a very, very quiet, maybe not so quiet sigh of relief that they don't have to deal with that right now.

BALDWIN: Let me ask you about, Dana, don't go too far. Because you are so intimately involved in this story, I want you to weigh in here, as someone you cover. Republican lawmakers are working to repeal Obamacare, Wyoming senator John Barrasso.

So senator Barrasso, Dr. Barrasso, great to see you, sir.

[15:35:00] SEN. JOHN BARRASSO (R), WYOMING: Thank you, Brooke. Great to be with you, Brooke. Thank you.

BALDWIN: So to Dana's point and Dana is going to weigh in here as well in a second, but here is my first question to you. You know, if the ruling had gone the other way, you know, it wouldn't have entirely, obviously, dismantled Obamacare but it would have left some 6.5 million people who couldn't afford it, it would have left a mess potentially for your party to clean up. And I am just wondering, is this a careful what you wish for moment for Republicans?

BARRASSO: Well, we were committed to helping the people that have been harmed by the president's decision. We are dedicated to making sure that those that are temporary assistance for those 6.4 who would have lost their subsidies. But the bottom line is, the Supreme Court came to one verdict. The American people have come to a different verdict with regard to the healthcare law itself. Support for the law is still at an all-time low. We still need to fix healthcare in America. Obamacare can't be fixed but health care must be fixed.

BALDWIN: Dana, I want you to jump in.

BASH: Hey Senator, good to see you. Sorry I'm not up there on Capitol Hill.

BARRASSO: Good to see you.

BASH: But I just have a question about that. You know, I've been actually talking to some conservative activists, people who represent a lot of the groups that spent big, big bucks to give you the Republican majority that you have right now in the Senate saying, excuse me, you all voted, ran on promising to vote to repeal Obamacare. You haven't done it yet. Why don't you do it in the Senate?

BARRASSO: Well, we're committed to repealing the healthcare law. You know, we don't have a willing partner in the White House. We need to improve healthcare in America. You still have 30 million people who are uninsured. You still have a situation where the president's promises have been broken, people are paying more for their coverage and that's going through the roof. There's no end in sight for that. So the problems with this healthcare law which today as an all-time low of support, I think has been -- the problems are going to continue and the president needs to get involved in the discussions.

I think that the Supreme Court decision today, you know, I was disappointed by it because I wanted to have an opportunity to actually make a difference in people's lives as a doctor who want people to get the care they need from the doctor that they choose at lower costs. We worked together for the last number of months, Republicans from all around the country to find ways to make sure we can protect the people but not protect the law.

BALDWIN: But what about, senator, what about I have to get your thoughts on, you know, this Bush appointee, the chief justice John Roberts. You know, he has a couple years ago siding with the administration when it came to Obamacare on the constitutionality of the law and now on the interpretation on this part of the law. Just as a Republican, what do you make of the chief justice?

BARRASSO: Well, you know, I was in the courtroom as he read the argument and then later heard the rebuttal from justice Scalia. I agreed with justice Scalia. The chief justice looked actually on uncomfortable as justice Scalia talked about reverse somersaults to come to this ruling. But the bottom line is, in terms of healthcare for the American

people, we still have many people without insurance. People that have it are paying more than ever despite the president saying that costs would go down. Many people have lost their coverage. Healthcare needs to be fixed in America. Obamacare is not the solution.

BASH: Can I just follow up on that, senator, because let's just pretend that we had a time machine and we could go back in time and you were a Republican senator with a Republican president giving you the John Roberts nomination, would you have voted yes or no knowing what you know now?

BARRASSO: Well, I would have supported John Roberts for Supreme Court. I wasn't in the senate at that time. Yes, I would have supported it.

BASH: Even though he's twice sided with the president on the law that you and your colleagues say is ruining the healthcare system in this country?

BARRASSO: Well, I think it's a terrible law written behind closed doors. As Nancy Pelosi said, first, you have to pass it before you get to find out what is in it. I think that just about every democrat who voted for it didn't read it in the first place. And the president continues to ignore the fact that many people around the country are hurt as a result of his law. He just says it's working well. We're only one in 11 people across the country actually believe it's working well. So there's a disconnect between the way the president thinks the way the law is working and what people across the country are seeing. And I hear it every weekend in Wyoming from folks who have lost their insurance that they liked that worked for them. They had to buy more expensive insurance with higher co-pays, higher deductibles. For a lot of things being covered that they don't need, want or can afford. This law to me has been a very expensive failure.

BASH: Well, you've taken the art of a dodge to a new level. Well done, senator.

BALDWIN: Senator John Barrasso, thank you so much. And Dana Bash, you are the best. Thanks for jumping in. I really appreciate it. Thanks to both of you.

BARRASSO: Thanks for having me.

BALDWIN: You got it.

Coming up next, we got some breaking news now here on this manhunt for these two escaped killers. This charged officer, the second one now arrested of this whole scheme. He's about to appear in court. We're now hearing what his defense will be and what he says about these escapees ratting out their own fellow inmates. Don't miss that.

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[15:44:31] BALDWIN: All right, breaking development here, this a manhunt for the two escaped killers in upstate New York. We are now getting word of a New York state police interview with Gene Palmer that the correction officer who was arrested and posted bond last night. He'll be in court in a minute now. This is all connected to the case.

I want bring in Alexandra Field who is getting some new information.

Alexandra, what are you hearing?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Brooke. He's the second prison employee, of course, to be charged in connection with the escape. We are getting these details now from what he told state police about what was happening behind bars. He has told them that he didn't intentionally help the two inmates. He didn't realize what he was doing could or would make the escape any easier.

But Gene Palmer does go into detail in that interview about the culture behind bars, about his relationship with Richard Matt and David Sweat. He tells them that he was receiving from those two inmates both paintings and also details about the illegal activities of inmates in exchange for providing them with some help. That help, namely in the form of paint and paint brushes, he says, but also hamburger meat and access to an electrical box. And of course, Brooke, you know that both of those elements are incredibly important here because investigators believe that it was that hamburger meat that had the tools buried inside which they used to escape. And they that Gene Palmer passed that hamburger meat to them.

The electrical box also very important because Palmer has told police that he gave them access to this electrical box and provided them with tools that they needed to get work done on the electrical box under the guise, he says, that they needed fix their hot pot to cook in their cells. Of course, Brooke, we know that those catwalks were used in the escape. We have heard from officials, however, that Palmer had said that the work being done inside those catwalks was supervised and that he took the tools back at the end of the shift.

[15:46:23] BALDWIN: If someone isn't writing the script, they should be.

Alexandra Field, thank you very much.

Again, he is due in court at any minute now. Appreciate it.

The court arraignment for prison guard Gene Palmer is expected to happen here any second. This will bring you live as soon as we see it. So stay tuned for that. We'll be right back.

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(VIDE CLIP PLAYING)

[15:51:18] BALDWIN: The sweet, sweet sound from the Rhinestone cowboy himself, Glenn Campbell, the unforgettable country music hall of famer, winner of a Grammy lifetime achievement award, and now at the age of 77 a warrior, a warrior against his own deteriorating memory. CNN films has taken an intimate look at his struggle with Alzheimer's following him during the final five-week tour of his career. Watch this clip from "Glenn Campbell: I'll be me."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last time at the Ryne hand (ph) you sometimes forgot what key it was in but you could always remember the melody. How is that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I couldn't answer it. But I can do it. I can do it when I want to do it. It's amazing. Sometimes I don't want to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: With me now, James Keach, the producer and director of the CNN film who also produced the Johnny cash bio pic "walk the line." It is pleasure and an honor to have you on.

JAMES KEACH, DIRECTOR, CNN FILM, GLEN CAMPBELL, I'LL BE ME: Thank you.

BALDWIN: It's one thing to be given access, you know, to Glenn backstage of a gig. But it is quite another thing to be walking into a doctor's appointment with him.

Yes. Well, my partner Trevor Albert and I got access that I don't think we couldn't have gotten unless Glen wanted us to walk into the office. He wanted to tell the story. He want to change conversations about Alzheimer's in the world. He knew what he was up against. He knew what the outcome was going to be. And so did his family. But they knew that there was millions of people suffering from it. And you know what, Glen just wasn't afraid of telling the truth. He never has been and he still isn't, you know?

BALDWIN: You have said that this whole experience changed your life. How?

KEACH: It changed my life. I actually -- Trevor and I didn't want to make the film to begin with because it was about such a dark and daunting subject, it was about Alzheimer's. It was originally going to be a five-week tour. So we eventually asked to meet him and once we met him, it was magical. I mean, Glen would, you know, he would crack jokes --

BALDWIN: He's a funny guy.

KEACH: He is a really funny guy.

I'd say how is the Alzheimer's coming along? And he go what are you talking about Alzheimer's? I got part-timers, you know. And you hand him a guitar and just he shreds it and totally in love with his wife. And you know, he says things like I'm so bright my daddy would call me sun, you know. I mean, at the most crazy times when he has having this brain and talent for Alzheimer's, you know.

BALDWIN: I remember being a little girl and my great grandmother had Alzheimer's. And it's one of the memories I'll never ever, ever forget, visiting her in the home. She was so confused as to who I was, thought I was a little boy. I just really resonated on that. I will never forget it. And so many of us have been touched in some way. Unfortunately, with someone we know who suffered from the disease. But what is it in your whole experience of going, really being such an intimate portrait of Glen's, what surprised you most about it all?

KEACH: Well, what surprised me the most was the access we had, the support the (INAUDIBLE). When he would stand in front of audiences and he would forget his lines, the audience would lift him up. He would get 15 standing ovations per show. He couldn't find his way on or off the show or to the bathroom, but he could do things magically on the guitar.

BALDWIN: Music is a powerful thing.

KEACH: Music is incredibly powerful but so his family, and so his faith. And these are things that are really important to him. And when you see the movie, you're going to see, you know, there's more big laughs in this movie than a lot of the big comedies I worked on. And there is certainly the music is incredible.

But this is rocky with a guitar. That's what this is. This is a guy who has been diagnosed, told to hang up his guitar, go home, forget about it. And he says, I isn't done yet. And he goes out there, and we thought it was going to be five-and-a-half weeks, and we did 151 shows, two years of filming, 2,000 hours. And this is the end result. And who would have ever thought a guy with Alzheimer's would win a Grammy for best song and get nominated for an academy award.

[15:55:07] BALDWIN: It is such a special story. And we are thrilled to have you tell it to us here at CNN.

James Keach, thank you very much. And again, make sure you tune in this Sunday, CNN present "Glen Campbell, I'll be me," Sunday night at 9:00 eastern right here on CNN. Thank you.

KEACH: Thank you.

BALDWIN: And next, before I let you go today, back to our breaking news here on this manhunt of the escaped inmates in upstate New York. Prison guard Gene Palmer now facing charges in the escape plot. He's expected to be back in court any moment now. We will bring that to you live. Stay here.

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JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Any minute now, another prison employee could face a judge for allegedly helping two terrifying killers escape.