Return to Transcripts main page

At This Hour

Zelenskyy Addresses United Nations As More Russian Atrocities Exposed; Tiger Woods Announces He Intends To Play In The Masters; Sources: Ivanka Trump To Meet 1/6 Committee Today. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired April 05, 2022 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: We continue with the breaking news at this hour. Ukraine's President giving one of his most high-profile speeches since the war in Ukraine began addressing the United Nations Security Council moments ago. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: Speaking in a foreign language.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This shows leadership feels like colonizers in ancient times, they need our wealth, our people. Russia has already deported hundreds of thousands of our citizens to their country. They abducted more than 2000 children just simply conducted that those children and continue to do so. Russia wants to turn Ukraine into silent slaves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Zelenskyy's speech coming as we are seeing these horrifying new images of atrocities against civilians in Ukraine. The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations is also -- she spoke today and now publicly calling on the UN to punish Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDA THOMAS-GREENFIELD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Given the growing mountain of evidence, Russia should not have a position of authority in a body whose purpose, whose very purpose is to promote respect for human rights. Not only is this the height of hypocrisy, but it is dangerous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Joining me right now is Inna Sovsun. She's a member of Ukraine's parliament. Inna, thank you for coming in. So President Zelenskyy, you know --

(CROSSTALK)

BOLDUAN: He also said in this really emotional, passionate, angry speech, understandably, that would happen in Bucha and beyond is no different than terrorists like ISIS. And he said, and here -- and here it is done by a member of the United Nations Security Council. What's your reaction to that?

INNA SOVSUN, MEMBER OF UKRAINE PARLIAMENT: Well, I very much support what the President is saying, and I do believe that the president is right when he's calling for the reform of the UN, in general, but particularly the Security Council. Let me remind you that the main goal of the UN, as it was created, was to maintain international peace and security.

And that is not being done right now because Russia has a broken vote, they can -- they can veto any decision when they are the aggressive state. And that is unacceptable. But this is what we're seeing happening. We are seeing acts of genocide on Ukraine soil conducted by the member of the Security Council, an organization that was called created to ensure peace and security. That is unacceptable.

And then we believe if the organization just kind of fulfills its mission, the president rightly questions the reasons for the existence of such an organization.

BOLDUAN: Inna, Russia has VAs -- has veto power on the UN Security Council, the U.S. and others are now pushing for Russia to be expelled from the United Nations Human Rights Council. If that happens, what do you say to that?

[11:35:00]

SOVSUN: Well, I would say that Russia now controls vast territories in Ukraine. There are many people under Russian control right now and they're being subjected to the same cruelty and violence, as we have seen in Bucha. Removal of Russia from the U.N. Human Rights Council is the correct decision on a symbolic level but that will not save thousands of people who are currently subjected to Russian cruelty in Ukrainian territory.

I'm sorry for being tough but similar to the President of Ukraine, I have to do that because we do have people who have been killed, murdered, tortured, and raped right now. And removing Russia from a council, sorry, it's not going to do the job of saving those people. So what we're asking for is let us help save those people. That is what we need right now. Because otherwise, in a month to a year from now, we shall learn about yet other victims that could have been prevented.

But in order to do that, not some symbolic steps need to be taken but very decisive steps in terms of providing the Ukrainian army with weapons so that we can continue saving our people here, need to be done. And again, I support the move on the symbolic level but that's not going to save lives.

BOLDUAN: Yes. The massacre in Bucha has now -- the massacre exposed now in Bucha, and reports of similar atrocities being seen in another town outside of Kyiv. I'm wondering -- and President Zelenskyy made very clear that it's not going to stop there, it is other places. Are you hearing reports of the same thing in other towns?

SOVSUN: Yes, unfortunately. Particularly in the city of Mariupol, which we have been talking about for a month now, we do know that exactly the same is happening there just on a larger scale because you have to realize Mariupol is five, six times bigger than Bucha. So this is happening. The first reports of rape, we actually heard not from Bucha, but from the villages in the north of Kyiv, but also in the south and towns that have been under Russian control from February 24.

So, unfortunately, I have no doubt that the same atrocities are happening there right now as we speak. And I wish we could save those people and I wish there was a solution to that but the only solution to that is just the weapon provided to the Ukrainian army.

BOLDUAN: Inna Sovsun, thank you so much for coming in. Thank you.

SOVSUN: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Coming up for us. Will Tiger Woods tee up again -- tee off again at the Masters? We're going to tell you with a golf legend just announced next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:40:00]

BOLDUAN: All right, breaking news also just in, Tiger Woods and the big announcement, just saying that he intends to play in the Masters this week. CNN's Dianne Gallagher is in Augusta and just came out of that press conference with Tiger. Dianne, what else did he say?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kate, so there was a little bit of wiggle room in that statement from Tiger Woods. I will tell you that when he said as of right now I feel I'm going to play, you could almost feel the collective exhale here in Augusta.

There have been people ever since the rumors that he might come back to Augusta to play coming up, showing up the crowds look almost like Saturday and Sunday play, simply gathering around Tiger while he practice. He was also asked whether or not he felt that he could compete, could he win the Masters, and Tiger simply responded I do. I want you to take a listen to some of his press conferences when just moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIGER WOODS, FIVE-TIME MASTERS CHAMPION: Well, as of right now, I feel like I am going to play, as of right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: Again, those words right there are what everybody has been waiting for. He's been away from any kind of full PGA play for more than five -- over 500 days. There was an accident that he was in a car accident outside of Los Angeles 14 months ago in February of 2021 with just gruesome injuries to his right leg and foot that he's been recovering from ever since. Now, look he was lucky to escape with his life and his leg.

And he said in February of this year, he'd been frustrated with his recovery and never thought that he would play a full tour schedule again. But, Kate, he was seen in December playing with his son Charlie at a Pro-am again when those rumors that he was going to play here in Augusta came about, and people started showing up.

The big question now is not his game. People like Fred Couples have said he looks amazing. He's hitting bombs. It's his gait. And whether or not he can walk the course for multiple days, Tiger said that you know that is going to be the biggest issue for him looking at it. We are expecting rain, which can make the ground a little bit more difficult for him in the coming days, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Interesting. Dianne, thank you so much. All right, joining me now for more on this, CNN's Sports Analyst Christine Brennan, sports columnist for USA Today. You're also at Augusta, Christine. You were all -- you were at that practice round that so many people are talking about with Tiger Woods yesterday. What do you think of this announcement?

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: I think it's fantastic. I mean, it's great -- it's great, news-wise, Kate. It jazz's up a tournament that otherwise was -- Men's Major, but otherwise it's going to be kind of blah, you know Phil Mickelson in the penalty box for his awful behavior with Saudi Arabia, Tiger if he wasn't here -- and all of a sudden Tiger's here and he's playing well, and as Dianne just said, you know, it looks like he's going to play.

[11:45:00]

BRENNAN: And that is just stunning. It was less than 14 months ago that he had that terrible car accident. His leg was shattered. We thought, and we were hopeful that he could walk again. And now here he is at the Masters, a place that really, he calls home, he's won five times here and at 46 years old. This is a story that rivets the nation.

This is -- this is a story, Kate that transcends sports. This isn't just about golf. This is about a comeback for the ages, and a name and a man that people know so well. Grandmother's on Sunday, if he's playing on Sunday, I imagine the (INAUDIBLE) running to their TV sets and they would do that for only one golfer, Tiger Woods.

BOLDUAN: I want to play something else that Tiger Woods said during the press conference about his recovery. Let's listen to this together.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WOODS: My recovery has been good. I've been very excited about how I've recovered each and every day and that's been the challenge. That's why I came up here and test it out for 27 holes.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BOLDUAN: I mean, we can't it -- I guess it can be easy to forget, Christine, I think for a lot of people just how horrific the injuries were that he sustained in that car accident. I mean, his leg was shattered. I don't think anyone would have ever faulted Woods for retiring from the sport after that or even before then. I mean, I think people appreciate it. And you said though, you -- he looked really good and practice.

BRENNAN: Well, he did. I was in that press conference. And he said that you know that this -- he has he was lying in bed for three straight months. Think about that. Three months, Kate. You know, he never pictured this day. It would have been a distant dream for him. And yet he is so competitive. The fact he says he's here to win.

I don't think he's going to win, but never ever count him out. But you're right, the leg was shattered. They were talking about potentially amputating his leg. He might have lost that right leg. Instead, he's walking up the hills of Augusta with that leg, of course, and playing the game. He says, by the way, that his golf game itself is fine.

It's the stamina and it's the hills of Augusta, when you watch it on TV, you don't see the hills, it is a really hilly golf course and that's going to be the difficult test for him. Can he walk those hills on Thursday and Friday, if he makes the cut, Saturday, Sunday, and the recovery, the hours of recovery that he's going to have after he plays every round?

BOLDUAN: You've said and I always quote you because you say best. Tiger Woods needs golf, but golf really needs Tiger Woods. What does it mean to the sport if he's back?

BRENNAN: Oh it means everything. You know this is a niche sport. It's a -- it's a very popular sport but not a lot -- I mean, people play it but not you know, it's not -- it's not soccer, it's not baseballs --

BOLDUAN: Right. But he -- as you said he transcends the sport.

BRENNAN: It's a --

BOLDUAN: He can -- you know him by the first name, he's reached that status.

BRENNAN: Well, here we are talking about him right on your show. And it's also an escape, a breath of fresh air from all the horrendous news and the tragedies and the horrors of Ukraine and everything else. And Tiger gives us that respite. You can watch him and you can say all right, that that's inspiring. That's interesting. And this is extra inspired -- this is inspiring times 100.

You know, he's 46 years old. He's not the kid, that one here at 21, 25 years ago, and it is the 25th anniversary of when he kind of charged into everyone's lives and winning that first master's in 97. Obviously, he is a person of color in a lily-white sport, a black man and breaking barriers. And there's so much to him. And everyone's grown up with him and watched him forever and he's grown up with us. And yes, golf definitely needs him more than he needs golf at this point.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Christine, it's great to see you. Thank you.

BRENNAN: You too, Kate. Thank you very much.

BOLDUAN: Thank you. Coming up for us, we are just now learning that Ivanka Trump is meeting today with the House committee investigating the insurrection, the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Live report on that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:50:00]

BOLDUAN: Developing right now. Sources tell CNN Ivanka Trump will meet today with the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol insurrection. The committee sent a letter back in January to Ivanka, the former president's daughter and senior White House adviser, and in it, requesting her voluntary cooperation in the investigation. CNN's Whitney Wild has more on this now joining us live. Whitney, what are you learning?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're learning that again, this was a voluntary interview. And when you consider that she's coming in just a few days after her husband testified for six hours, it raises a lot of questions about how substantive her interview can't possibly be because, you apparently, Jared Kushner's interviewer offered some pretty useful information based on what members of the House Select Committee have said in recent days about that testimony.

But let's back up and just remind everybody about why she's so important. Again, of course, she is the daughter of former President Donald Trump. She is a former White House senior advisor. She's meeting today virtually, that's according to two sources telling CNN about this highly anticipated interview. In addition to being one of the president's closest advisors, Ivanka Trump had a unique perch from which she saw the events of January 6. She was with her father most of the day. She was in the Oval Office for key meetings.

The committee has also heard testimony from other White House officials who were counted that Ivanka Trump was in the room during this really pivotal phone call between her father and then-Vice President Mike Pence. Specifically, Kate, an 11-page letter asking for her voluntary interviews cites General Keith Kellogg's testimony to the committee according to that letter, after a call between former President Trump and then-Vice President Mike Pence ended, Ivanka Trump turned to Kellogg and said Mike Pence is a good man.

That was after a lot of pressure from the former president to get Mike Pence to overturn the election from his perch at the Senate overseeing the final -- the final signing off of the Electoral College vote.

[11:55:00]

BOLDUAN: Yes, another important day for that committee and their investigation. Whitney, thank you so much for that. Before we go, a quick reminder, you can also join me every morning on my new CNN Plus show, 5 Things at 7 a.m. Eastern and always available on demand. You can sign up at cnnplus.com. Thanks for being here, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan. CNN's coverage of Russia's war in Ukraine continues on INSIDE POLITICS after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END