A CNN Town Hall: America Asks Congress - The Source with Kaitlan Collins - Podcast on CNN Audio
A CNN Town Hall: America Asks Congress The Source with Kaitlan Collins 83 mins
On April 10, 2025 CNN hosted a Town Hall with Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA), Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT) and Rep. Derek Tran (D-CA), hosted by Jake Tapper and Kaitlan Collins
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23 minutes ago
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RFK Jr. made some promises on vaccines to get confirmed. Is he breaking them?
The Trump era is rife with Republicans who abandon their principles in the name of toeing Donald Trump's line. But few have gambled with those principles recently like Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy. The chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee in February played the pivotal role in confirming a longtime purveyor of vaccine misinformation, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., as Health and Human Services secretary. Cassidy did so despite often citing how 30 years of practicing medicine taught him how crucial vaccines are – and despite his very public reservations about Kennedy's views and motivations on the subject. He also did so at a time when vaccine skepticism has risen sharply on the right, meaning Cassidy's strongly held beliefs were already losing ground. At Kennedy's confirmation hearing, Cassidy recalled loading an 18-year-old woman who had hepatitis B onto an ambulance so she could get an emergency liver transplant. 'And as she took off, it was the worst day of my medical career, because I thought $50 of vaccines could have prevented this all,' Cassidy said. 'That was an inflection point in my career.' Cassidy, who faces reelection and likely a primary challenge in 2026, ultimately gave Kennedy a decisive vote, after obtaining what the senator cast as a series of vaccine-related concessions. But pretty much ever since then, Kennedy has tested the spirit of that agreement, if he hasn't violated it outright. Most recently, that took the form of Kennedy on Monday removing all 17 members of an expert panel of advisers that guides the federal government's vaccine recommendations. Many immediately cast this as contrary to what Kennedy promised Cassidy. It's not quite so simple, for reasons we'll get to. But plenty of other actions could fit into that category. For his part, Cassidy on Monday would not tell CNN whether he regrets his vote for Kennedy. Last month, the senator said Kennedy had 'lived up to' the agreement. But at other times, he has taken issue with Kennedy's actions. It's worth a review of what Cassidy said back then – and since. Cassidy laid out the conditions during a speech on the Senate floor. In those February remarks, Cassidy cited the same vaccine advisory panel Kennedy just cleared out. 'If confirmed, he will maintain the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices' recommendations without changes,' Cassidy said, according to video of his remarks. An old transcript of Cassidy's speech on his own website omitted the word 'recommendations,' leading Kennedy's critics on Monday to accuse him of breaking his word by changing the makeup of the committee itself. But Cassidy's comments pertained to the committee's recommendations. (CNN has reached out to Cassidy's office about the transcript.) Cassidy in an X post Monday expressed concern about what comes next. He cited a 'fear' that 'ACIP will be filled up with people who know nothing about vaccines except suspicion.' 'I've just spoken with Secretary Kennedy, and I'll continue to talk with him to ensure this is not the case,' he added. He declined to go further when pressed by CNN's Manu Raju. Cassidy also said in his February speech that Kennedy had 'committed that he would work within current vaccine approval and safety monitoring systems and not establish parallel systems.' But just in the past two weeks, Kennedy announced changes to the CDC's recommended vaccine schedules without ACIP's input. 'CDC will not remove statements on their website pointing out that vaccines do not cause autism,' Cassidy said in his speech. There is no evidence that the CDC has done this. But Kennedy has taken actions that seem geared toward his longstanding and debunked linking of vaccines to autism, which Cassidy took exception to at Kennedy's confirmation hearing. Most recently, this took the form of launching a 'massive testing and research effort' to find the causes of autism, which critics worry will be geared toward vaccines. And indeed, CNN previously reported HHS had asked the CDC to study vaccines and autism, despite strong evidence there's no link between the two. This is one area where Cassidy has expressed reservations. 'I'll point out that has been clearly laid to rest,' the senator said in April of the supposed link between vaccines and autism, according to The Advocate. 'The more resources we put towards that, we are not putting towards actually finding out what is the cause of autism.' Finally, Cassidy's floor speech suggested Kennedy had provided assurances that he wouldn't use his position to 'wrongfully' create suspicion about vaccines. 'I will watch carefully for any effort to wrongfully sow public fear about vaccines [through] confusing references of coincidence and anecdote,' Cassidy said. 'But my support is built on assurances that this will not have to be a concern …' There is no question Kennedy as HHS secretary has said many things that could undermine confidence in vaccines – often using misinformation. Amid a measles outbreak in Texas, Kennedy wasn't quick to explicitly recommend the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, while floating unconventional treatments like vitamin A in ways that experts worried would discourage vaccinations. He also made a series of claims about the MMR vaccine that experts reject. These have included that it contains 'fetal debris' and that it 'was never safety tested.' He has also claimed that no childhood vaccine except the Covid-19 vaccine has been fully tested against placebos. But that's not true — something Cassidy pointed out in perhaps the most significant example of him calling out Kennedy. After Kennedy made the claim at a hearing last month, Cassidy returned to the hearing to correct him. 'The secretary made the statement that no vaccines except for Covid have been evaluated against placebo,' Cassidy said. 'For the record, that's not true. The rotavirus, measles and HPV vaccines have been, and some vaccines are tested against previous versions. So, just for the record to set that straight,' Cassidy said. It was the kind of claim that might lead one to wonder whether the guy you elevated to such a powerful position was actually living up to the agreement that got him there. Cassidy doesn't seem willing to go there yet. But all signs are Kennedy is going to continue making him second-guess his choices.
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
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Former GOP state Rep. Austin Smith, a Turning Point leader, indicted for forging election documents
Rep. Austin Smith, R-Surprise, on the floor of the Arizona House of Representatives on April 17, 2024. Photo by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy | Arizona Mirror Former Republican state legislator Austin Smith has been indicted on 14 misdemeanor and felony counts for allegedly forging voter signatures on his petitions for reelection last year. Former member of the state legislature's far-right Arizona Freedom Caucus Smith dropped his reelection bid last spring after he was accused of personally forging more than 100 petition signatures to get on the 2024 Republican primary ballot. Around the same time, Smith resigned from his position as senior director at Turning Point Action, the political advocacy arm of Turning Point USA, a far-right organization based in Phoenix that aims to mobilize young conservatives. But according to Smith's Linkedin and X accounts, he was rehired in January as Turning Point Action's strategic director. Smith made his X account private, blocking his biographical information — including his job title — on the morning of June 10, after the news of his indictment was made public. A Maricopa County grand jury indicted Smith on June 2 on four felony counts, for presenting documents he knew were forged to the Arizona Secretary of State's Office, and 10 misdemeanor counts for personally forging the names of electors on his reelection petitions. The felonies each come with a 1-2 year prison sentence; the misdemeanors come with a six-month imprisonment. When the allegations of signature fraud became public in April 2024, Smith vehemently denied them, calling them 'ludicrous' and accusing Democrats of creating a 'coordinated attack' against him. However, 100 of the signatures on his petition to get on last year's Republican primary ballot, along with corresponding addresses, obviously look like they were all written by the same person. And some of the people whose names were on the petition told the court that they never signed it. Smith took no accountability for the allegedly fraudulent signatures and said that he dropped out of the race because didn't want to spend tens of thousands defending himself in the civil elections challenge — as well as a possible criminal case for forgery. Ironically, Smith was a member of the Arizona House of Representatives Municipal Oversight and Elections Committee, where he decried unproven election fraud in Maricopa County, and has even made jokes accusing county officials of mail-in ballot signature fraud on social media. 'Signature verification in Maricopa County is a joke,' Smith wrote on Twitter in May 2023. Smith was one of the many Arizona Republicans who falsely claimed without evidence that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from President Donald Trump. 'What happened on November 3rd, 2020 in Maricopa County continues to be a national disgrace and embarrassment,' Smith wrote on his website. 'Not only that, Austin believes it was criminal and will fight every day in the State Legislature to hold those responsible to account.' Multiple audits, including a highly partisan review orchestrated by Arizona Senate Republicans, found no discrepancies in the election. Fraud allegations made in court in the days and weeks following the 2020 election were all rejected because there was no evidence backing up the claims. Neither Turning Point USA Action nor Smith immediately responded to a request for comment. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
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He called for election integrity, then was indicted for fraud. Oh, the irony
A former Arizona legislator who was one of the state's fiercest crusaders for so-called election integrity has been indicted on charges of election fraud. You cannot make this stuff up. Ex-Rep. Austin Smith, R-Wittmann, stands charged with 14 felonies and misdemeanors alleging he forged signatures on his nominating petitions to run for reelection last year. Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes announced the state grand jury indictment on June 10. Those who see a conspiracy behind every cactus will likely rush to Smith's defense, just as they rushed to defense of Arizona's fake electors. Just as they rushed to the defense of Arizonans and others who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to try to stop Congress from certifying the 2020 election. 'Patriots,' I believe they called the rioters. Now, they have a new cause célèbre. Smith was a rising star on the hard right, a member of the Arizona Freedom Caucus and a senior official in Turning Point Action, the political advocacy arm of Turning Point USA. But his political career went into freefall in April 2024 when a Democratic attorney filed a lawsuit challenging Smith's nominating petitions. The lawsuit claimed he forged 100 of the 826 signatures on petitions he circulated — signatures that 'bear a striking resemblance to Smith's' — and thus should be disqualified from running for office for the next five years, as state law requires. The lawsuit included sworn statements from two voters whose signatures appeared on Smith's petitions, saying they did not sign them. Lawsuits seeking to knock candidates off the ballot are common. What wasn't common was Smith's reaction. Rather than fighting the petition challenge, as is typical, Smith quickly dropped out of the race. Naturally, he played the Trump card, proclaiming himself the victim of a politically motivated plot by those who fear him. 'What I was (told) was this was a very intense effort to 'get me' and I needed to be prepared to spend tens of thousands of dollars to defend myself, not only against the civil elections matter, but most likely against some sort of criminal investigation that would be launched by those on the left who are unhappy with my politics,' he wrote in a lengthy statement laying out his victimhood. Smith never struck me as the type to stand down from a fight that he deems righteous. Surely, if those signatures were not forged, I thought at the time, he would stand his ground and explain why those signatures looked so remarkably like his own. Surely, if those signatures were not forged, I thought at the time, Charlie Kirk and his powerhouse Turning Point operation would defend one of his key leaders against the 'tyranny' of the justice system. Yet, there was Smith, high tailing it out of the race and leaving his post with Turning Point. Opinion: Gov. Hobbs finally goes on offense against lawmakers 'The recommendation I received most was that I bow out and live to fight another day,' he wrote at the time. 'I might be confident of victory, but all it would take is a judge believing any one person, and all would be lost.' All wasn't lost, though, as the suspected forger was allowed to continue on at the Legislature through the rest of last year, making laws for the rest of us to follow. Not so much as a single Republican raised an objection. Mayes, meanwhile, launched an investigation at the request of then-Maricopa County Supervisor Clint Hickman, a Republican. 'This is a man who has lied to the people of Legislative District 29 and the entire state about our election operations for at least three years,' Hickman said at the time. 'And now he is accused of lying about the signatures he personally collected to get on the ballot again. 'An investigation will reveal the truth, but this episode tells us something about those who have spread falsehoods with such ease since the 2020 Election. They can't comprehend that most Americans and Arizonans are honest people. They accuse others of dishonesty so easily because they have no qualms about lying to win a political race or a business deal.' On June 2, Smith was indicted for fraud, filing false instruments and 10 counts of signing someone else's name on his petitions to get on the ballot. That same day, Smith announced his appointment to the advisory board of the Arizona Young Republicans. Just think of the advice he can offer young generations of election deniers and conspiracy buffs. Expect to hear the heated cries of 'lawfare!' from the far right in five, four, three … Reach Roberts at Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) at @LaurieRobertsaz, on Threads at @LaurieRobertsaz and on BlueSky at @ Subscribe to today. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Austin Smith will call his indictment 'lawfare' in 3, 2 ... | Opinion
