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3 Killed In Shootings In Washington State, Suspect Fled Scene; Poland Asks Germany For Permission To Export Tanks To Ukraine; Garland Defends Justice Dept. Handling Of Classified Doc Probes. Aired 11:30a- 12p ET
Aired January 24, 2023 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: There is some breaking news that we're tracking here, reports of another deadly shooting this time in Yakima, Washington at a convenience store. Adrienne Broaddus is gathering the details for us. She's joining me right now. Adrienne, what are you learning about this?
ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Investigators in Yakima, Washington, Kate, say three people are dead and the person responsible for firing now those shots is still at large. That is according to the chief of police, Matt Murray. And the chief of police telling reporters this person who fired the shots, dangerous. They're also saying this shooting was not random. Investigators believe there may be a fourth victim, but that person's status is unclear. Here's more of what the chief of police told us. Listen in.
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MATT MURRAY, CHIEF, YAKIMA, WASHINGTON POLICE DEPARTMENT: We do believe that there's possibly a fourth victim. We don't know their condition. The man, after he left the Circle K went across the street and shot into a vehicle. You can see the party in that vehicle moved to the passenger seat, and then the suspect stole his car. The suspect fled eastbound on Nob Hill, out Highway 24 and so we don't have his location at this time.
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BROADDUS: And you heard from the chief of police there, at least three people killed and likely a fourth victim. Earlier when I was speaking, the image you saw on your screen was the image police released of the suspect and that is him right there. It appears he's wearing a black skullcap as well as a black hoodie. Investigators say he walked into this gas station and started shooting, Kate.
BOLDUAN: Adrienne, what are the police saying about any leads that they have on the suspect? BROADDUS: Right now, they don't know where this person is. They don't know who he is. However, investigators are planning to release more surveillance video. That will not only show his image but the vehicle they believe he may be traveling in. Investigators say they believe this person is in a gray or silver Chrysler.
Again, police will be depending on the help of the public to find this person and asking people in that community to take cover. They're saying this is a dangerous person, folks overnight at a gas station in it -- you know, Kate, you have to underscore what else is happening across the country. We've been talking about the shootings in California all day. Where can you go where you are safe? A gas station is no longer safe, a church not safe, schools not safe. What is the state of America?
BOLDUAN: Well, you're seeing more and more examples from California now to Washington State, the latest examples adding to it. Thank you so much. I appreciate it. We're going to have more details. Adrienne's on top of it. She's going to be tracking it for us and bring it for -- bring it to us.
[11:35:10]
But do let's turn to Ukraine right now because Ukraine may be a good bit closer to getting the tanks that they say they desperately need. Germany now says that it has received a request from Poland to export German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Germany says that it will be making a decision on that soon. It comes as Ukraine's president just fired several top officials amid a corruption crackdown. Fred Pleitgen is tracking all of this for us. He's live in Kyiv. Fred, what are you learning?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Kate. Well, there's a lot of moving parts. And you're absolutely right. It certainly seems -- all seem to be moving in the direction of the Ukrainians possibly in the not-too-distant future getting those German-made Leopards 2 main battle tanks. As you've already said, the Poles, they came out and said that they had submitted requests to the Germans to deliver those German-made but Polish-owned tanks to the Ukrainians. And the Germans have indeed acknowledged that they got that request from the Poles as well.
Right now, it seems as though other countries specifically Germany also seems to be moving in the same direction, but they want to make sure that everybody is comfortable with that move. Now, the German defense minister came out and said yes, they want to decide as quickly as possible. Another person who said he was very encouraged was the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, who said that he also believes that right now all of this seems to be in the final stage. And a decision could happen very quickly. Now, the Germans, for their part, say they want to make this happen but they want all of this to be broader and closer cooperation, especially also involving the United States.
Now, ideally, the Germans say that they would like the U.S. to also give Abrams battle tanks to Ukraine, just to make sure that this is a really broad alliance. We know that the U.S. so far is saying they don't want to do that. They say they don't believe that the Abrams is suited for the battlefields in eastern Ukraine, takes a lot of gas, the maintenance of that turbine engine is also very difficult. But it seems as though the U.S. and Germany are trying to find some sort of way to mitigate that and to try and make that happen in the end. Right now, as you said, things pointing in the right direction. We'll see how long it takes and whether they get that across the line, Kate.
BOLDUAN: Yes. It's good to see you, Fred. Thank you so much.
All right. Joining me right now is CNN military analyst, retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling. It's good to see you, General Hertling. Thanks for being here.
Let's talk about tanks first because Poland has put in the request to Germany. Germany says that it will respond quickly. Do you think Germany is going to have to relent and not only allow others to send Leopard 2 tanks but send them as well? Do you think this is all heading in one direction?
MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: I personally do, Kate. I don't have any inside data or inside intelligence on that, but I think what we're talking about is just the export agreements that Germany has with the 13 other European nations that they have delivered Leo 2 tanks to. It is a smart move, in my view you know Fred's commentary about a mix and match of different vehicles.
When you take a look at what the Ukrainian forces attempting to put together with so many contributions from so many countries, it becomes a logistical nightmare for the commander on the ground to subsume parts, types of maintenance, and all kinds of training for a bunch of different types of equipment. I could go down a litany of the list of the kinds of new Western technologies that Ukraine has received from other countries. And from a commander's standpoint, it's staggering from the standpoint of what you have to incorporate into your force.
BOLDUAN: You know, if Jeremy -- you were talking about it, Fred was kind of indicating the kind of the -- I don't know if we call this tension or what are the push -- this push and pull here between the desire for Leopard 2 tanks, and then they asked for M1 Abrams as well. If Germany's indicated that it wants to see the U.S. -- I'll just say put more skin in the game as well, and send -- and send the M1 Abrams over -- you know this different type of tank. If it's the fastest way to get things moving and to maintain a united front with European allies in the face of Russian aggression, is there harm you think in the U.S. sending over M1 Abrams tanks?
HERTLING: You know, Kate, that's a political decision. And whoever is talking about, hey, we'll do it if you do it, just doesn't understand the implications like I said before, of the commander on the ground.
BOLDUAN: Right.
HERTLING: How many things do you incorporate into your force and how much trouble does it cost? You know, Secretary Austin from the very beginning, has talked that the goal is to provide Ukraine with equipment that they can immediately put to use, which will have a positive effect on the battlefield, and which Ukraine can easily sustain. You know, when we're talking about delivering all different types of equipment, certainly, you could send a couple of Abrams tanks and a lot of people have suggested that. I'm saying from an army commander's perspective, that's really a dumb idea. So, I'll just leave it at that.
[11:40:00]
BOLDUAN: You -- and you can. And you -- and you have the resume to do that, General. Today, I wanted to ask you also about this because you have unique perspective and working with Ukrainians. President Zelenskyy has fired several top Ukrainian officials now. It's been -- the way it's been described is its kind of like the biggest upheaval of his government since Russia's invasion. And it comes as they're facing this ballooning corruption scandal that appears to be linked to the Ukrainian government's military supplies and their procurement process of getting aid and supplies throughout the war. How does a shake-up like this in the middle of a war, impact Zelenskyy and the country?
HERTLING: Yes. Well, it generates a distrust first of all, but you know I'm going to bring up a couple of points, Kate. You know, the first thing is having worked with the Ukrainians back and I'm dated on this. I'm about eight years away from having -- last having worked with Ukrainians, they were having a significant amount of trouble inside the Ukrainian government. The younger Turks, if you will, within the government has stamped -- have stamped that down, but there are certainly still some holdovers. And I think President Zelenskyy has been magnificent in addressing it upon immediately finding out about it and says -- he says there's no room for this kind of thing.
But the other thing I would -- I would just say all governments have different elements of corruptions, gee, even our own. And in a time of war, that's something you have to stamp out when you're a leader. And in a time of peace, it's the same thing.
BOLDUAN: I'm also just looking at a new statement in from President Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian president is saying that Russia is preparing for revenge -- the Russian leadership preparing for revenge and amassing forces. It's kind of this building -- it's just adding to kind of this concept of the build-up if you will. Where do you think this is headed next?
HERTLING: Well, first of all, we've seen some success of the Wagner group for good reasons Wagner group sending away that wave of troops and getting a very small portion of the Donbass reclaimed. There's some debate on how much he has gained, but they are not going to hold on to territory. Part of that is a deflection away from the fact that Russia has just had a terrible time in mobilizing their forces. They had a 200,000 call-up. Well, by doing that, they were just snatching people off the street and not training them well.
And at the same time, they were having a brain drain of people leaving the country that didn't want to be snatched up and serve. So, when Putin says, hey, I'm going to now mobilize another 300,000 or 400,000, to me from the standpoint of again, a commander, he can't train that many in a short period of time. He has not shown the capability to equip or man that force either and get them to the frontlines of the battlefield. So, again, it's a lot of bluster on the part of Russia.
BOLDUAN: All right. It's good to see you, General. Thank you. Well, attorney --
HERTLING: Thanks, Kate.
BOLDUAN: Attorney General Merrick Garland. He's speaking up and defending the Justice Department's investigations underway now into both Donald Trump and Joe Biden, investigations into their handling of classified documents. What Garland is saying now? That's next.
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[11:47:26]
BOLDUAN: Attorney General Merrick Garland is defending the Justice Department's separate investigations into President Biden and former President Trump in their handling of classified documents. Paula Reid is in Washington. She joins me now. Paula, it's rare the Attorney General speaks about ongoing investigations. What's he saying?
PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, yesterday, Kate, he was asked specifically about what has become a Republican talking point alleging that the investigation into former President Trump is being handled differently than the one into President Biden. Let's take a listen to what he said.
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MERRICK GARLAND, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: We do not have different rules for Democrats or Republicans, different rules for the powerful or the powerless, different rules for the rich or for the poor. We apply the facts and the law in each case in a neutral, nonpartisan manner.
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REID: To most Americans, these two cases do appear to be similar, but the fact is, the Trump case is more serious, both in the volume, the amount of classified information that he retained, as well as his alleged efforts to obstruct the investigation. And Garland has this really, Kate, unenviable task of trying to convince the American public that these two asymmetrical investigations are being handled the same way.
BOLDUAN: All right, Paula, thank you for that.
It's also a big day in the long investigation into Donald Trump's attempts to overturn election results in Georgia. Today, a judge is hearing arguments on whether to release the special grand jury report. It was recently completed. Sara Murray is in Atlanta. She's been following this from the very beginning. Sara, what's going to happen today? SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the judge is going to hear from a media coalition that of course is going to argue let's release this. She's going to hear from the district attorney's office. We don't know what they are going to argue on this report. Trump's lawyers are not going to be in court today, making arguments about this.
But this all gets to the culmination of the grand jury's seven months of investigation, you know. This is a panel that has hauled in people like Rudy Giuliani, people like Michael Flynn, people like South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, it's investigating that call Donald Trump made to Brad Raffensperger and fake electors and efforts to harass election officials.
So, what we are trying to glean today is whether the judge is actually going to make this final report public that summarizes their investigation and recommends whether anyone should face criminal charges, or perhaps make some of it public. Either way, we're going to be listening in this hearing for any hints of what the grand jury decided, Kate.
BOLDUAN: All right. We'll see. We're going to stand by for that. Sara Murray, thank you so much. We'll be right back.
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[11:54:21]
BOLDUAN: American downhill skiing star Mikaela Shiffrin now has the most wins of any female skier in history. This morning, Shiffrin won her 83rd World Cup race. This one was in Italy, breaking the record held by Lindsey Vonn. After the race, Shiffrin said it was hard to describe this moment in reaching this triumph in her career insisting "it's like there's too much excitement to even feel."
Shiffrin is now arguably the greatest female alpine skier ever, the only skier in history to have won a race in all six World Cup disciplines. And she's now -- she needs to set another goal. She is now only four races away from breaking the all-time record of men's or women's of 86 World Cup wins.
[11:55:05]
She's a rockstar. And it's awesome to highlight on a day when the news is hard to take sometimes. Thank you so much for joining us today, I'm Kate Bolduan. "INSIDE POLITICS" with John King starts after this break.
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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everybody, welcome to "INSIDE POLITICS." I'm John King in Washington. Thank you for sharing it's a sobering news day with us.
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