Biden must address Black on Black crime: Former DC police detective
Fox News contributor Ted Williams discusses the White House's management of rising crime across the U.S.
This is a rush transcript from "Your World with Neil Cavuto," June 23, 2021. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
NEIL CAVUTO, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Man, oh, man, folks, you are in for one incredible hour, Biden and Britney. I kid you not.
They are both dominating this next hour, the president with his plan to combat crime, and Britney, well, to just combat her conservatorship and the fact that her father's been running her finances for the better part of 16 years.
And we are on top of both.
Welcome, everybody. I'm Neil Cavuto. And this is your very active crazy world today, where these two huge stories converge at the same time.
The big important one, of course, the president of the United States has a plan to combat crime that he says is really at the source of guns, too many of them out in everyone's hands, and he wants to limit that.
We're also going to be hearing from his attorney general on how you go about doing that without stepping on some constitutional rights here. Critics are already saying that the president is ignoring some other factors that have been at play for quite some time, long before the gun issue even was issue.
More on that in just a second,.
first to Blake Burman with the latest at the White House -- Blake.
BLAKE BURMAN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Neil.
State Dining Room over here at the White House. We do expect to hear from President Biden at any moment now, as the White House says the president will lay out what they are describing as the administration's comprehensive strategy to combat gun violence and crime, is how they are putting it.
Let me walk you through some of what we are about to hear from the president this afternoon. His plan calls for, for example, a zero tolerance policy for rogue gun dealers, allowing ATF to aggressively revoke licenses for dealers who are knowingly breaking the law. It calls for increased operations by the FBI, DEA and U.S. Marshals Service.
There's also a focus, Neil, on that $350 billion you will remember that was sent to state and local governments in the American Rescue Plan, as the Treasury Department will make clear that funds can be spent on policing and other things, like expanding employment services and summer education and enrichment programs.
Now, over here at the White House today, they were asked several times why a law that was designed to help against the fight against COVID and keep the economy moving is now being touted to fight crime.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It has always been the case that ensuring funding was used by state and local authorities to keep cops on the beat was always a part of what was allowed in the parameters of the spending.
And that is something that a number of communities, as I outlined at the beginning, did take the steps to do. So this is just giving additional guidance on how to use the funds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURMAN: Neil, we talk about this trend in crime all across the country.
Over here at the White House, they make the argument, they say that this is an 18-month trend. However, critics of the president say that his policies and his messaging are contributing to the problem. We will hear from the president and his attorney general at some point, we believe, later this hour -- Neil.
CAVUTO: All right, Blake, thank you very much, my friend.
In the meantime here, crime is a very big issue for the American people and the timing of this comes amidst polls that indicate, even among liberals and Democrats, it's become their number one concern, including in New York City, where they just had a big mayoral primary. The exact results still aren't known.
But we do know that the law and order candidate is the guy leading right now.
Aishah Hasnie on how all of that is going down in the Big Apple -- Aishah.
AISHAH HASNIE, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Neil.
It's really interesting how the issue for voters really shifted from the pandemic, the economy, to crime and policing. And it's really showing in the results that are coming in. Right now, Eric Adams, as you just said, he's got a 10-point lead in those first choice votes in this new ranked choice voting system, very new for New York City.
He is the former NYPD captain who ran heavily on fighting spiking crime across the city. He does not want to defund the police. Here he is blasting his opponents' view of policing last night. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC ADAMS (D), NEW YORK MAYORAL CANDIDATE: How dare those with their philosophical and intellectual theorizing and their classroom mind-set talking about the theory of policing?
You don't know this. I know this. I'm going to keep my city safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HASNIE: OK, a huge surprise, though, is the number two spot right now, Maya Wiley. She's a progressive who does want to slash the police budget by a billion dollars.
She's edged out the other two favorite moderates in this race, Kathryn Garcia and Andrew Yang. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYA WILEY (D), NEW YORK MAYORAL CANDIDATE: Fifty percent of the votes are going to be recounted. The way that folks ranked their number two and their number three votes are going to count. We have known all along that we have strong support in the top rankings. So we're excited about the possibility here. We know we can win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HASNIE: And you know what? She could. It is definitely in the realm of possibilities that she could win.
Curtis Sliwa is former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's picking. And he won the Republican primary last night. But, again, Neil, we may not have an official Democrat nominee until July, because absentee votes, they won't even begin to be counted until next week. It's going to be a long process - - Neil.
CAVUTO: I have an idea.
All right, Aishah, thank you very, very much for that.
Ray Kelly is not really too surprised that crime is the dominating issue in this race on both the Democratic side, we had 13 candidates competing for mayor, on the Republican side, where you had two. He is, of course, the former New York City police commissioner.
Always good to see you, Ray.
RAYMOND KELLY, FORMER NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER: Good to be with you, Neil.
CAVUTO: The crime issue, it's a dominant issue.
What do you make of that?
KELLY: Well, there's no question about that, that it's a dominant issue in New York.
We have had over 100 percent increase in shootings since 2020. People are afraid to ride the subway. It's just a feeling that I haven't had in many, many years, living in New York all of my life.
So it is a dominant issue. You can see that Eric Adams, based on his anti- crime platform, has done well. We have to see, number one, if he does become mayor and, secondly, if he lives up to his words. Talk is cheap in the campaign. But we will have to see what the actions are.
CAVUTO: Again, the devil is in the details. And the president will reveal those details, Commissioner.
What we do know is his spokesman, Jen Psaki, had said that the spike in crime has nothing to do with the defunding of the police movement or any of that. What did you think of that?
KELLY: Well, I looked at the program, the proposed program. It's like chicken soup. I mean, there's not much you could be against.
But it doesn't take on the core problem as to why crime is elevated to such a great degree in this country. And that is of police officers have backed off from engaging with the public, and backed off because they believe that, if they do their job, they may lose their job. They may get arrested.
In the aftermath of the George Floyd death, hundreds, if not thousands of regulations and laws were passed throughout the country that puts cops' jobs at risk. So, there's a lot of this question in policing. They're not engaging in the proactive measures that were successful in making New York, for instance, the safest big city in America.
And I don't see anything in the president's proposal that's going to take that on. We have a tremendous recruiting problem. Cops are leaving. There was a report that I saw, a 48 percent increase in retirements. There was another report that came out that said only 7 percent of police officers would recommend that profession, that job to a relative or a friend.
Now, it's not so much that there's not money in the localities. They have money to hire new people because the senior people are leaving. So, as I say, nobody can really be against any of the proposals in the president's speech coming up.
But it's not going to make much of a difference, unfortunately.
CAVUTO: You know, if you think about it too, Commissioner, the number one concern of New Yorkers who are slowly going to be going back to their office buildings isn't so much getting COVID or running into any of the commuting problems that are legendary in the New York metropolitan area, but crime.
They're very worried about crime. No surprise there.
KELLY: Yes, they're worried about crime getting to the office.
There's a pretty big reluctance on people to go back. And in New York City, a lot of it has to do with crime or the fear of crime or what's happening on the subways. I know there's been additional police officers assigned to the transit system, but it's not quelling the fears as yet.
Hopefully, it will, because that is vital to the rebirth, the reinvigoration of New York City post-pandemic. You have got to get people into those Midtown offices. Right now, it's still only about 25 percent occupancy, which is significantly lower than a lot of other cities in America.
It's critical that people have a higher level of confidence getting on the trains these days than they have had in the last 15 months or 20 months.
CAVUTO: Yes.
You know, Commissioner, the president says the problem, guns, way too many guns, and that what he's going to principally address today. Do you think there are too many guns out there?
KELLY: Well, there's too many guns, but that's a fact of life.
I mean, that's part of our culture. Take your pick. People say there's 350 million. People say that's 500 million guns in the United States. And I can tell you, from my experience, that criminals are not going to licensed gun dealers making the forms, going through a background check for a gun to be used in a crime.
And guns are everywhere. And the rationale now in big cities is, I have to carry a gun because everybody else is carrying a gun. I need it to defend myself. So it's a circular problem that, unfortunately, is going to take, I think, a lot more different measures or different approaches than simply focusing on the firearms dealers.
The ones that I have encountered are legitimate businessmen. And we know now that there's a high concern about individual safety throughout the country, and that the purchase of firearms by the public is increasing tremendously. And they are going to licensed dealers who do the whole background check.
So I don't think there's much to get out of that apple, not much to squeeze out of that. But we're going to see.
CAVUTO: Yes, we will see.
Commissioner Ray Kelly, always great catching up with you. Thank you for joining us.
KELLY: Thank you, Neil.
CAVUTO: All right, in the meantime here, we are going to be hearing from the president very shortly. We understand they're pushing things back a little bit at the White House.
But as soon as he appears, we will go to him.
Also giving you the latest on Britney Spears. She's expected to address a court in this battle over the conservatorship, where her father has essentially controlled our money and affairs, what, for the better part of 13 years, at a minimum.
The question now is, at age 39, is it time for that to stop? She certainly hopes so. We're on that too.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, we are moments away from hearing from Britney Spears, making her case in court against her father as a conservator for her entire business dealings. It has been going on that way now the better part of 13- plus years.
But she says enough and wants to put a kibosh on it now and hopes that a judge will agree it is more than time,
Jonathan Hunt following all of this in Los Angeles.
Jonathan, what are we in for today?
JONATHAN HUNT, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's Britney, which, Neil, makes it no surprise that it's also a circus right here outside the courthouse.
Britney Spears supporters are here en masse as they have been every time there's been a hearing into this 13-year-long conservatorship. So we expect to hear from Britney Spears. It could be a video conference call. It might just be a phone call, we're told, and it could ultimately even still be in closed session.
So we hope we will be able to hear her words exactly. We're not sure of that at the moment. We also are not sure of exactly what she's going to ask for. Obviously, she wants some changes. That is why she requested this emergency hearing.
But the extent of those changes is what we're waiting to hear. Does she simply want to her father, Jamie Spears, removed from involvement in and control over so many aspects of her life, or does she want the conservatorship taken away completely?
We will find out, we hope, within the next 15 minutes or so. But these supporters who have gathered here usually reserved their ire for Jamie Spears, her dad, who they believe his relationship, his control is essentially toxic, although you can find legal experts who will argue, Neil, that the conservatorship has actually been good for Britney Spears.
Listen here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER MELCHER, FAMILY ATTORNEY: The whole reason why she was under this conservatorship is because she was being pursued by paparazzi, that she was being triggered, perhaps, to have a breakdown at the very vulnerable part of her life.
And so I think that she may feel protected by this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Now, perhaps you could make an argument, Neil, that at one point in her life, she would have felt protected by the conservatorship.
I think you would be hard-pressed to find anybody out here now who would agree with the idea that she stills feels protected by it. Clearly, she wants something to change. Exactly what, we will find out when she speaks to the judge -- Neil.
CAVUTO: You know, Jonathan, her father, Jamie, had said any time that Britney wanted to end his conservatorship, all she need to do is ask.
But he obviously is fighting it right now, isn't he?
HUNT: Right.
And -- yes, and if you believe the reporting of The New York Times -- and we have no reason not to -- they did an in-depth look at this. You will remember the documentary that sparked so much interest again in Britney Spears' case. That was released earlier this year.
The New York Times' reporting is that Britney has sent through court documents, not actually to the judge, personally, as she is expected to today, but she has said through various court documents that she does not like the way this conservatorship is being run. She wants changes.
She has argued that for several years, according to the reporting of The Times. So, Jamie Spears, while saying on the one hand that she can change it any time she likes, does not appear to have done much to actually allow that to happen.
In fact, lawyers who will obviously talk to him all the time, given that he runs her life, have argued in court that she is not fit to take back control of her affairs.
And, Neil, remember what you have got here is her personal life, who she can marry, what color even cabinet she can choose for her house. You have got all her business affairs. And most importantly of all, Neil, you have got a $60 million fortune that she has amassed through so much great music and that long and lucrative Las Vegas residency.
So these are high stakes and most importantly, obviously, for everybody in this, you imagine, particularly Jamie Spears, a lot of money -- Neil.
CAVUTO: Well, I don't know what's going to happen, but I know this. You're the best guy to be covering this, Jonathan. So thank you very much for that, Jonathan Hunt following all these developments...
HUNT: Thanks, Neil.
CAVUTO: ... fast moving in Los Angeles.
Let's get the read with attorney Sarah Gounder on this.
Conservatorships are sort of a slippery area, as you know better than others, Sarah. The father saying, I shored up her finances. I built them back up again. I have done a very good job overseeing my daughter's future and her finances.
Is that true?
SARAH GOUNDER, ATTORNEY: Well, there is some argument to be made that she has actually done really well under his guidance and control.
And if you look at the revenue that's come in the last 13 years, that's exactly where the court will look for that guidance. Now, I think it's really, really important to note that, under California law, it's going to be really interesting to see what she decides to do, because what she will end up probably saying today is that she either wants to -- to the reporter's point, she wants to end a conservatorship or she wants her father removed.
And so, in order to do that, it's not just enough for her to ask for that in itself. She will need to have an investigation done by the court and a medical professional who will look at whether or not she can make those decisions on her own, financial decisions, personal decisions.
And also, taking it back to 2008, I'm really interested to know what the evidence was outside of those health-related issues and mental illness issues that were presented, because, under California law, you have to show clear and convincing evidence, which is a very high bar.
CAVUTO: I also wonder too. There have been plenty of celebrities, and not so celebrities, who have lost control of things, but not in control of their finances and their future.
And this has gone on quite some time. Is it unusual, or is this the nature of conservatorships in general, they start and they don't end?
GOUNDER: You know, usually, you find that a conservatorship is put in place for somebody who has a disability or who has a cognitive impairment.
And Britney Spears' situation is unique in itself, which is why I'm interested in knowing what evidence was presented during 2008, because you could actually argue that half of Hollywood would need a conservatorship if Britney Spears' situation also warranted that as well.
(LAUGHTER)
CAVUTO: But how is it warranted? How would someone intervene, in this case, the father, some 13 years ago or others?
Someone must intervene to say, I'm going to take charge here. I'm going to make the legal case. And, in this situation, my daughter isn't up to that task. So I have got to protect her and her assets.
Is that how it's done? Does someone else have to intervene to say, this is my case, and this is why I'm doing it?
GOUNDER: So, Britney can actually make that decision. Someone who is related to her can make that decision to actually file with the court for the conservatorship.
But again, I'm surprised, because, in California, it's so hard to get a conservatorship granted. Usually, the default is a power of attorney or a trust. So, I'm really surprised that the conservatorship...
CAVUTO: Because she agreed -- I'm sorry -- but she agreed to this in the very, very beginning, maybe with some reservations, but I'm sure she didn't think it would go on as long as it has.
Do we know anything about that, and whether that that will come up in this discussion?
GOUNDER: It may, but I think there's enough argument and history to show that she's actually been able to function pretty well the last 13 years and make independent decisions by herself, going on stage performing.
I think there's a lot of argument that she can make on her behalf here to give her that autonomy again.
CAVUTO: All right, Sarah Gounder, thank you very, very much.
Again, moments away from that.
Moments away also from the president of the United States outlining his plan to combat rising crime in this country. We are told the focus will be on all the guns that are out there, and not necessarily some of these other protests and riots that ensued, for example, after the killing of Michael (sic) Floyd.
How he threads that needle is anyone's guess. We are on top of that after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: Kamala Harris is going to the border. Mark it down, Friday in El Paso, Texas.
The relief among those there that they want to show her everything that's going on there. Now, what happens when she does get there?
After this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER DOOCY, FOX NEWS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Why is the vice president visiting the border this week, when, earlier this month, she dismissed a trip like that, saying it would be a grand gesture?
PSAKI: She also said in an interview with NBC that she would be open to going to the border if it was an appropriate time. She said that after she said that. So that's important context.
DOOCY: Was it important for the White House to have her seen at the border before former President Trump has a trip there next week?
PSAKI: We made an assessment within our government about when it was an appropriate time for her to go to the border.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAVUTO: All right, Donald Trump, by the way, is expected to visit the border on June the 30th.
Of course, it's this Friday that the vice president has set, along with the homeland security secretary, to visit El Paso, Texas, to see for himself what's going on.
I think my next guest would say better late than never.
Sean McGoffin is the Big Bend sector chief patrol agent.
Sean, very, very good to have you.
What do you think it is?
SEAN MCGOFFIN, BIG BEND SECTOR CHIEF PATROL AGENT: Thanks for letting me be on, Neil.
The vice president isn't going to visit Big Bend Sector, but I can tell you, as a fellow chief along the Southwest border and throughout the board trail, we're always happy to have anybody to come down and see what's going on the border, see what see what the men and women are doing every day, and some of the struggles that they have to go through.
I think it's important for our communities and for the men and women to have their story told.
CAVUTO: You have witnessed firsthand what some of those struggles are like for those who try to make the trip and get in themselves.
Tell us a little bit about that.
MCGOFFIN: Absolutely, Neil.
That's one of the biggest concerns that we have. Our -- right now, our highest priority, obviously, is national security. And what we do conducting is border security, and it -- but it's the same thing.
But part of that is the humanitarian effort that goes along with it. Routinely, we have subjects that are out in -- they're being told that it's not hard to cross the border, that it's going to be easy. And then we have to go out and rescue them.
We spend an enormous amount of time getting out there and rescuing those individuals, because, quite frankly, the smugglers see them as a commodity, not as human beings.
So, regularly, we have had rescues on a regular basis. And we have had migrants that have unfortunately been deceased in the desert. And we also do that with conveyances as well. Working with one of our partners in Brewster County, the sheriff's department there, we were able to share tactics and techniques that are being utilized by the smugglers.
And, as a result, through our partnerships with them, they were able to stop an R.V. with 48 individuals in there.
Now, the concerning part about those 48 individuals is that they were in a vehicle not set up to contain that. And when the accidents like that happen, it's very, very dangerous. So, all of these aspects that we're dealing with on the border is very dangerous. And for these migrants that are trying to -- trying to escape some of these dangers, we have to be involved in that.
And so it's very unfortunate. And I will tell you, from one of the worst standpoints is when agents are out there, they're doing their absolute best, they're working hard to try to rescue somebody, and they don't make it in time, Neil. That just never goes away.
So our agents are dealing with that on a regular basis. And it's very difficult.
CAVUTO: Yes, this one truck image we're showing pictures of that you were kind enough to share with us, Chief, I don't understand how this keeps happening, how they keep this up, the abuse, the human rights abuse just for these folks, many of whom died in the process.
Had you not discovered this, many of these people in this crowded truck, of course, many of them would have died.
I'm just wondering, is this something you think the vice president should know about? Is something that, if you were there at the border, and then had a chance to talk to her, you would want to raise?
MCGOFFIN: Absolutely.
I would raise that with anybody that comes to the border. We have had one congressional visit here in the last six months. And we talked about that very specific issue, because it is a concern, because I think we have to remember that people who are smuggling individuals are not just doing that.
They're also -- all these -- these transnational criminal organizations are smuggling other things. They're smuggling -- they're smuggling, weapons, narcotics, individuals, and money laundering it. It's just the numerous things that are going and being controlled by these transnational criminal organizations.
And they put people's lives in danger. And the box truck that you're talking about, we were lucky that we were able to see that and do something about it. And immediately after that happened, we had to send 12 individuals to the doctor immediately and get them to the hospital because of the conditions in which they're in. And we had to medically treat the remainder of a total of 33 individuals.
So, it is something that I think we want to share, and, more importantly, want to share we think of smuggling as an activity that goes on across the border in Mexico, but the reality is, there are individuals here who are facilitating that money or that smuggling for money. It's dangerous. It gets people killed. And it's something that we're doing our absolute best to stop as part of our national security efforts.
And, quite frankly, the agents, it's personal for them. It's not something that the -- they realize what the smugglers are doing. They're doing their very best to prosecute them when we can and to try to create a good law enforcement resolution that hopefully will keep people safe in the future.
CAVUTO: You know, you always commend your men and women, Sean, but the fact of the matter, it's personal for you. It means a lot for you as well.
So, hopefully, this visit on Friday will go a long way toward addressing the concerns that I know you have had for some time.
Sean McGoffin, he's the Big Bend Sector chief patrol agent. And he's been sending out warnings about what's happening there, and is probably relieved, as he just said, that the vice president's going to see it for herself, or so -- or so we hope.
We will have more after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, will anything that president proposes in just a few minutes, when he talks about combating crime in this country, address the type of ambush attacks we have been seeing on more and more police officers, including one in Colorado, who was killed in an ambush attack?
Alicia Acuna yet has more from Denver -- Alicia.
ALICIA ACUNA, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Neil.
And the Arvada Police Department tweeted this photo of fallen Officer Gordon Beesley with the caption "End of watch, 6/21/2021." On the force for 19 years, Officer Beesley was responding to a suspicious incident on Monday when he was shot and killed.
The police chief says suspect Ronald Troyke targeted Officer Beesley because of his uniform and badge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINK STRATE, ARVADA, COLORADO, POLICE CHIEF: Communities need to understand and know what they ask of their police officers, the sacrifices that they make, the cost to them for your safety.
While this was a deliberate act of violence, we still believe this is an isolated incident and our community is safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACUNA: Chief Strate says John Hurley of Golden, Colorado, also lost his life and became a true hero when he intervened.
A Facebook post by the Arvada Army Navy Surplus store, where John was shopping when everyone heard gunshots, reads -- quote -- "John ran quickly without hesitation straight toward the shooter. John shouted at onlookers behind him to stay inside and hide because the gunman was coming back. John pulled out his concealed pistol and shot five to six rounds toward the suspect. Exactly how both John and the suspect died remain unclear."
Arvada police confirm investigators found a document written by the suspect that contained threats and anti-police ideas, these images from his apartment the SWAT team rated after the shooting. The community of Arvada is mourning the loss of Officer Beesley. Outside of the summer months, he was a well-liked school resource officer at a middle school.
Students and former students say he would help them out with classwork and, Neil, he always managed to make folks smile -- Neil.
CAVUTO: So sad.
Alicia, thank you very, very much, my friend.
I want to go to Ted Williams right now, the former D.C. homicide detective, FOX News contributor, very good read of what's happening here. And he's has been very worried about these ongoing shootings and developments for quite some time.
Ted, always good to have you, always under these sad type of circumstances, my friend.
But want do you want to hear out of President Biden?
TED WILLIAMS, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, hi, Neil.
I'm happy to be with you under the sad circumstances of what's happening in his country with law enforcement officers.
But what I want to hear from President Biden is more than just a Band-Aid being put on a problem. It's my understanding that the president is going to talk about gun dealers and trying to get the illegal guns off the streets of these major metropolitan cities.
I think that that's a good start. But what we must try to understand is, number one, in these neighborhoods, Neil, believe it or not, the neighbors and everybody know who the crooks are. They know where they are. They know what they have got there.
And what is going to be needed is, number one, if I was the president, is that I would have a recruitment drive at every military base where soldiers or military people are about to get out of the military, and try to get them to come into law enforcement, because we have got this shortage. The morale is clearly low.
Also, one of the things that have to be targeted, Neil -- and we need to face this elephant in the room -- and that is black-on-black crime. In our neighborhoods, we are just overloaded with black-on-black crime. And that has to be addressed.
And the way you address that, Neil, is that you have intelligence units. You don't send in police officers in uniform. You send these intelligence agents into these communities. You make them a part of that community. You get these individuals involved.
And they in turn can get information from citizens in that community. Good law-abiding citizens, and specifically in black communities, they won't these crooks gone. But they are afraid, they're intimidated by the process.
And so law enforcement need the help. So, I want to hear from the president where he is sending, having the federal agents and the local agents to get together, but to get together and help out in these neighborhoods.
CAVUTO: You know, Ted, it's interesting, because the big fear, politically, that the president was timing these remarks ahead of what could be another violent summer.
Do you think that that's what we're in for?
WILLIAMS: I think, unfortunately, Neil, we're in for a hell of a hot summer in these various neighborhoods.
Just think about it. If you are in Chicago and you are going to have eight or nine shoes on a weekend, you're not in Chicago. All over this country right now, crime is out of control. And so it is certainly something that I'm happy that the president of the United States is focusing in on, because I'm telling you, good men and women in these neighborhoods are in fear, fear of just coming out of their homes, Neil.
CAVUTO: Ted Williams, you tell it like it is. Thank you very much, a FOX News contributor, former D.C. homicide detective, so much more.
Again, we are waiting for the president's remarks. As you might have imagined, right now, his timing of those remarks is a bit delayed. When he speaks, we will take you there.
He's with the attorney general as well on how this one-two effort to address crime in this country will be handled.
How Senator Chuck Grassley feels about all of this. The Iowa senator is coming up as well. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAVUTO: All right, a CDC panel choosing today to look into these heart- related issues that have popped up for some young people in taking these various vaccines.
Steve Harrigan has more from Atlanta on how it all went down.
Hey, Steve.
STEVE HARRIGAN, FOX NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Neil, that panel basically told the CDC today that there is a link between myocarditis, inflammation of the heart, and these COVID vaccines, both from Pfizer and Moderna.
Now, the numbers are extremely small, just about 300 cases out of 20 million. The people most affected are young man and adolescents. No one died. Usually, they recovered after rest after a few days, and the symptoms setting in generally within a week of the second shot.
This comes just as health officials are trying hard to get more younger people vaccinated. And the gap across the U.S. as far as regions go continues when it comes to the pace of vaccinations. Some Northeastern states, Vermont has a -- higher than 60 percent of its residents have been fully vaccinated, other states, like Mississippi, still below 30 percent.
And there are concerns with those variants, especially the Delta variant, that these regions where there is a very low rate of vaccination, that could cause a resurgence of the virus -- Neil, back to you.
CAVUTO: Steve, thank you.
To Senator Chuck Grassley right now, the Iowa senator joining us to talk about a whole bunch of things.
First off, if you don't mind, Senator, on what you want to hear out of the president. Now, he's going to be addressing crime and how to get a handle on it, but the focus seems to be more on guns. What do you think of that?
SEN. CHARLES GRASSLEY (R-IA): Well, when a policeman shoots somebody, and it's a national tragedy, the policeman is responsible for the killing.
But when an individual kills another person, then the gun is responsible for it. So, we have got to get over this business that the gun does the killing. People kill. So we have got to have tough laws on the use of guns and the misuse of guns, but not to violate the Second Amendment of the United States. That's what I want to hear.
Another thing, though, I'd like to hear from the president is how come Garland hasn't answered my letters in which I'm inquiring why they're prosecuting 455 people that broke into the Capitol on January the 6th, and they should be prosecuted, but that a whole bunch of people that were dealing with a federal building in Portland, a lot of those people in Portland are getting -- let go free.
And I just think that there's a double standard for justice in the United States. Some people are going to be prosecuted that it may be politically wise to prosecute, and then other people may not be prosecuted because it might upset some people on the left.
CAVUTO: It's a very good point. You're talking about the attorney general, Merrick Garland. A lot of those charges in that particular case were virtually dropped for everybody.
But I'd like to pivot, if I can, Senator, to ongoing infrastructure talks. Where does this thing stand? Apparently, the issue now is how to pay for it. It seems Republicans and now the administration against a gas tax, against a mileage tax. So, that takes away at least a big chunk of the way you could pay for it.
So, where are we?
GRASSLEY: Well, it's so contrary to the way -- since the 1950s, when the big increase in gas tax was put in to build the super highways, we have always had user pay.
And there's various ways of doing that. You can put a tax on electric vehicles. You can put a mileage tax on. You can put gas tax increase on. They don't want any of that because they dug themselves into a hole during the campaign by saying we aren't going to raise taxes on anybody under $400,000-a-year income.
Well, what does that mean? You're going to tax the 1 percent of the people of this country that make more than that and have them finance all of the infrastructure in the United States? It doesn't work out.
Now, I think an easy solution is repurposing some of the money that's been appropriated under the COVID bills and not used, and some of it goes back to last year that still isn't used. And there's a lot in this year, but it's OK to appropriate money for one or two years. But the COVID bills appropriated money in some cases out to the year 2028.
Are you saying that we going to need COVID relief until 2028? Nobody's planning to do that. And there's plenty of time to take care of it if you need it. So repurpose some of that money for infrastructure.
CAVUTO: Senator, time is a wasting. And you always remind me the calendar sometimes moves you and your colleagues more than anything else.
But is it fair to say that, if a deal isn't hammered out before the August recess, there's not going to be a deal at all?
GRASSLEY: I'm going to give you a general answer to that.
My rule is that a new president gets in office, and if he doesn't get his program done before Labor Day of his first year in office, he's not going to get much of it done. And so that would apply to the infrastructure, but it would apply to some other things as well.
CAVUTO: Inflation is a big issue, a lot of people concerned about it. The Fed chairman seems to think it's going to pass, it won't be around a while.
Are you of that view?
GRASSLEY: Well, even the Fed has changed their mind on that.
Last March, they said, Fed, that the inflation this year was not going to get higher than 2.4. They have already raised that to 3.4. And we know that real inflation for the month of May was 6 percent. So, this is out of control. We're going to be back in the 1970s with inflation of 12 or -- and 13 percent if we don't do something about it.
And Congress has a lot to do about it by not spending $6 trillion more that this president wants to spend. That would be the fiscal policy to get inflation under control.
But the Fed has got to quit buying up all these mortgage bonds and all of this national debt. They're financing 60 percent of our national debt. That's a bad policy. And they need to start gradually going down, doing less of that, and they need to start raising interest rates.
CAVUTO: Sir, we might be interrupted by the president, who will belatedly get -- and address the nation this crime plan.
But I couldn't leave without you sharing your thoughts on Kamala Harris going to the border on Friday to El Paso, along with the homeland security secretary.
What do you think of that?
GRASSLEY: Well, I haven't heard that news. So, you're giving me news she's going to the border Friday.
I think it's about time. It's about six months' late.
CAVUTO: All right. Got it.
All right, the attorney general, Merrick Garland, will be laying out the president's crime plan, and then the president himself.
Let's listen in.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
MERRICK GARLAND, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: ... law enforcement.
Protecting our communities from violent crime is a top priority for the Department of Justice, and one of our most important responsibilities. I'm glad the president brought us together today to discuss a subject of such importance to the public we serve.
As our participants in today's roundtable have noted, the increase in violent crime in 2020 and early 2021 is deeply troubling. That is why, last month, the Justice Department launched a comprehensive violent crime reduction strategy.
This strategy is built around four principles, setting strategic enforcement priorities, fostering trust with and earning legitimacy in our communities, investing in community-based prevention and intervention programs, and measuring the results of these efforts through a decrease in violent crime, not merely by arrests and convictions, as if they were ends in themselves.
Now, we know that the lion's share of violent crime reduction work is shouldered by our state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement partners. Core to our strategy is targeted support of the critical work that you will be doing in the weeks and months ahead.
Every one of our U.S. attorney's offices is working with its local partners to establish an immediate plan to address the spike in violent crime that typically occurs during the summer. And the law enforcement components of the department are making enhanced resources available to help prevent and disrupt violent crime and to focus on the most dangerous, most violent offenders.
The department is also strengthening our Project Safe Neighborhoods, our cornerstone initiative that brings together law enforcement and community stakeholders to develop solutions to pressing violent crime problems.
Community-led efforts are vital to preventing violence before it occurs. The Justice Department has available over $1 billion in funding through over a dozen grant programs that can be used to support evidence-based community violence intervention strategies.
And I want to say that's what I found particularly useful in our discussion just a few minutes ago, was the fact that there are such evidence-based programs available. And I'm hoping that you will get together with us, so that we can spread those across the country, as well, of course, funding your own.
A properly functioning criminal justice system is essential to our efforts as well. The department has grant funding available to help cities resume court operations and services that were curtailed during the COVID-19 pandemic. That includes funding for technology and equipment for courts to address the backlog of cases and enhance access to justice.
We know that an effective violent crime reduction strategy must also address the illegal trafficking of firearms and focus on keeping guns out of the wrong hands. And so the department is delivering on the promises we made here at the White House in April.
On May 7, we issued a proposed rule to help address the proliferation of ghost guns. On June 7, we issued a proposed rule to clarify that pistols equipped with certain stabilizing braces are subject to the same statutory restrictions as easily concealable short-barreled rifles.
And on the same day, the department published model extreme risk protection order legislation for states to consider as they craft their own laws to reduce gun violence.
We are now taking further steps. First, we will hold gun dealers that break the rules accountable for their actions. Most federally licensed firearms dealers operate legally in selling guns to individuals who have passed background checks.
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