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UBS Buys Credit Suisse In Bid To Halt Banking Crisis; Miami Beach Issues State Of Emergency, Curfew After Second Fatal Shooting; Trump's Legal Team Asks Judge To Toss GA Grand Jury Report. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired March 20, 2023 - 11:30   ET

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

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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breathing a sigh of relief. U.S. officials see some light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to the banking crisis. A U.S. official telling CNN deposits that small and mid-sized U.S. banks have stabilized in recent days. This, after the banking system, suffered its worst week since the 2008 global financial crisis. And in another sign of stabilization, mega Swiss bank UBS has agreed to buy and rescue its troubled rival, Credit Suisse.

Matt Egan. He's tracking all of this for us. It's another week of -- I don't know what we're going to describe it as. But talk to me about another weekend of officials around the world scrambling to fix this all up. What do you see?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Kate. They really were scrambling. Scrambling to try to come up with a solution --

BOLDUAN: Yes.

EGAN: -- before Asian markets opened Sunday nights of (INAUDIBLE) was a Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank that we came before and now is all about Credit Suisse. So, this deal values Credit Suisse at just $3.25 billion dollars, some context, that is a 60 percent discount to where this stock was trading on Friday.

UBS didn't want to buy Credit Suisse. This bank has been in trouble for years. But they were basically pushed to do this build -- deal by the regulators because Credit Suisse was facing this crisis of confidence. They were losing a lot of deposits.

So, the Swiss government actually had to sweeten the deal. They had to provide $9 billion to protect UBS from losses. This -- the Swiss central bank is also providing up to $200 billion in loans to make this happen.

Now, a lot of people are probably wondering, why do we care about what's happening in the Swiss banking system? And I think it's because the 2008 crisis showed us just how interconnected everything is.

BOLDUAN: Oh, yes. (INAUDIBLE) EGAN: And the failure of U.S. Regional Banks has really shaken confidence about the banking system around the world. Now, let's look at how regional banks are doing this morning. You can see they're actually moving mostly higher. The one exception is First Republic Bank, that's down another 16 percent. That comes after Moody's and S&P downgraded First Republic further into junk territory over the weekend.

BOLDUAN: Yes, well.

EGAN: But we did get some encouraging news on the regional bank front. A U.S. official telling Phil Mattingly and I that, deposits at the small and mid-sized regional banks, they are stabilizing, right? That comes after people took out a lot of money and put it in the bigger banks. So, this U.S. official says that the deposit outflows that have either eased or stopped or even just reverse, which, of course, is exactly what Washington wants to say.

BOLDUAN: Yes, what the country needs at this moment.

EGAN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: It's good to see you, Matt. Thank you so much.

EGAN: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Here with me now to talk much more about this is Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, also the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Congressman, thank you so much for being in.

REP. GREGORY MEEKS (D-NY): Right.

BOLDUAN: Let's talk about the avoiding a banking crisis in just a moment. But I do want to talk to you as the meetings are happening as we speak today, in Moscow, this visit from China's president to meet with Vladimir Putin. What do you think -- what do you think comes from this?

MEEKS: Well, I have very low expectations of anything really coming from it. Being a diplomat, being on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I believe dialogue and conversation should take place. But we will be watching what takes place after the conversation because here's China, if Xi is telling the truth, he wants to do that, then he should be leaving Russia going to Ukraine to talk to Zelenskyy.

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And if he's not doing that, then we're not really going to go anywhere because as we say, nothing happened with Ukraine without Ukraine. And so, we need to see if he's serious about trying to do something to negotiate some kind of deal that he must go talk to Zelenskyy and talk to the people of you -- of Ukraine as I have. And do you see --

BOLDUAN: Yes. But do you really see Xi as a -- as the -- as a peacemaker? MEEKS: No. I don't.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

MEEKS: That's what I'm saying.

BOLDUAN: OK.

MEEKS: That's why I have no expectation.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

MEEKS: Nothing's going to happen here. But we'll be watching him. We'll be watching to see whether or not he's going to give weapons or do something of that nature. And he should understand that that could mean isolation for China also. And that's why significantly important when we talk about foreign affairs and diplomacy that we make sure that our allies are locked in.

So, that is not just the United States. China has to understand, you know, he calls about the West but he has to understand that he's dependent upon the West for his economy in China also.

BOLDUAN: Also, true.

BOLDUAN: And so, we stayed together. There is a tremendous amount of pressure that can be placed on them.

BOLDUAN: Another big moment in Russia's war in Ukraine is the International Criminal Court late last week putting out an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin himself. These are the first international charges to be brought since the start of that war. How do you see this moving forward? I mean, do you see this as only symbolic, which is important and of itself, or do you see this as more?

MEEKS: No, I think that it's important. Because as what I've seen from my own eyes --

BOLDUAN: Yes.

MEEKS: -- when I visit Ukraine, and what I've heard from the Ukrainians and seeing the crimes that's been committed by Vladimir Putin, this is tremendously important. And you may not get him now but he's not going to walk away with impunity, as Charles Taylor of -- what happened to him.

BOLDUAN: Exactly, right.

MEEKS: You know -- (INAUDIBLE). So, we see examples of individuals who had been presidents or dictators and who did horrible deeds, criminal actions, and they were later prosecuted for what their crimes were. So, Putin needs to know because I don't see how we let him walk away with impunity after the criminal war crimes that he has committed and devastating the lives of so many Ukrainians.

BOLDUAN: But, Congressman, on that point. The -- reportedly, the Pentagon is blocking the Biden administration from handing over its evidence that it has to the ICC to help in prosecutions like this. It's -- this comes after Congress changed the law to allow it to happen was as it relates to the war in Ukraine. What do you think of that?

MEEKS: Well, I think that we will get down that road. Because I think that we are, and we're talking about to make sure that we're maintaining the evidence and getting the evidence --

BOLDUAN: Yes.

MEEKS: -- of the war crimes that Putin is continuing to do. So, long as we are getting the evidence, preserving the evidence, then at the appropriate time, we can give the evidence so that this man can be held accountable for the crime that he's committed.

BOLDUAN: Let's talk about House Financial Services. I believe the committee is planning a very big hearing, maybe even next week. I think it's March 29 if the next calendar --

MEEKS: That's correct. Next Wednesday.

BOLDUAN: If the calendar in my brain actually works.

MEEKS: Next Wednesday.

BOLDUAN: Talk to me about what you want to see come out of this hearing. Because some of the reporting coming out over the weekend from the New York Times is that for more than a year, the Federal Reserve in San Francisco had been telling Silicon Valley Bank that they did not have the right -- they did not have the right processes in place. They had weaknesses when it cames -- came to handling their risk. And obviously, it didn't do anything to stop this train wreck. What is the committee need to do?

MEEKS: Well, we need to find out. I'm interested in knowing. We're going to have the FDIC and the Fed before us next week. What did they know, when did they know it and what did they do about it?

So, we need to make sure that we ask those kinds of questions. And I appreciate the chair of the committee and the ranking member of the committee for coming together --

BOLDUAN: Yes.

MEEKS: -- to say that we're going to do this in a nonpartisan way so that we can get at the facts. Because what we know here is absolutely essential for the American people to have faith and confidence in our banks, particularly our small, medium-sized banks, and as well as the regional banks.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

MEEKS: They're all -- they're the lifeblood of many of our community. But you have to have confidence. And what we did learn, if you don't -- the run on the banks takes a matter of seconds. BOLDUAN: That's the truth.

MEEKS: So, there's got to be confidence.

BOLDUAN: Can I just get your take real quick from what we're hearing from Donald Trump? He says he thinks he's going to be indicted possibly tomorrow. He's the only one at this point actually saying that. And he's calling on protests here in New York if that happens.

The Speaker of the House that says he does not want to see protests happen, and that no one should protest. But are you concerned about protests?

MEEKS: Well, I'm concerned about the kind of protest that Donald Trump is calling for. You see. You know, I can recall sitting next to my great friend and colleague, John Lewis. And anytime he protests, it was a nonviolent protest, but it wasn't about an individual. It's about a cause.

What Donald Trump is doing, and what he always is only about Donald Trump, and he is calling for violence. He really -- you know, when you hear his attorneys talking about saying that it's going to be trouble and it may --

BOLDUAN: Yes, mayhem.

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MEEKS: That's correct. That is asked. That is basically given direction. Same thing that he did when he told the Proud Boys to stand down and wait and then call them out on January 6.

So, my concern is what he shouldn't be doing, if it was about, you know, really not about him about a cause is telling the people don't come out or be non-violent. But we don't need you because as an individual, I will deal with this. And I think that's the way we'd handle it.

Every demonstration that I've been a part of you know it's been non- violent. In fact, if there was any violence, it was against the demonstrators, not the demonstrators doing what we saw took place on January the sixth.

BOLDUAN: NYPD is making -- make -- they're all on alert now. So, thank you so much, Congressman, for coming in.

MEEKS: Thank you, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Always good to have you on studio.

MEEKS: Thank you for having me.

BOLDUAN: Thank you.

Well, coming up for us. Miami Beach is moving in to get control over rowdy and dangerous Spring Break crowds. State of emergency declared, curfews put in place, what's happening there? That's next.

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BOLDUAN: All right, we're going to break in right now and head over to the State Department where the Secretary of State is speaking about this meeting between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. Let's listen in.

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Protecting civilians. And indeed, the first element calls for upholding sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of all countries. The fundamental element of any plan for ending the war in Ukraine and producing adjusted durable peace must be upholding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, in accordance with the United Nations Charter. Any plan that does not prioritize this critical principle is a stalling tactic at best or is merely seeking to facilitate an unjust outcome. That is not constructive diplomacy.

Calling for a ceasefire that does not include the removal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory would effectively be supporting the ratification of the Russian conquest. It would recognize Russia's attempts to seize the sovereign neighbor's territory by force. It would enable Russia to further transposition in Ukraine. And the ceasefire now, without a durable solution, would allow President Putin to rest and refit his troops and then restart the war at a time more advantageous to Russia.

The world should not be fooled by any tactical move by Russia supported by China or any other country to freeze the war on its own terms. Such a move would violate the UN Charter and delay the fight -- excuse me, the will of 141 countries who have condemned Russia's war and the United Nations General Assembly.

One party to this conflict, Ukraine has already put forward a just peace formula. If China is committed to supporting an end to the war based on the principles of the UN Charter, as a call for in point one of his plans, he can engage with President Zelenskyy in Ukraine on the basis and use his influence to compel Moscow to pull back its forces.

Russia's purported annexation of sovereign Ukrainian territory including vast areas it doesn't even control. And its ongoing brutal attacks on civilians make clear that President Putin currently has no interest in such a piece. That President Xi is traveling to Russia days after the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for President Putin suggests that China feels no responsibility to hold the Kremlin accountable for the atrocities committed in Ukraine. And instead of even condemning them, it would rather provide diplomatic cover for Russia to continue to commit those very crimes. Now, every year, I come to this podium for the launch of the Human Rights Report.

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I do so because the report embodies the importance of human rights for American diplomacy and for our vision of an open, free, prosperous, and secure world. Human rights are universal. They aren't defined by any one country, philosophy, or region. They apply to everyone, everywhere.

This report makes a factual, objective, and rigorous accounting of human rights conditions around the world, looking at nearly 200 countries and territories. And importantly, it applies the same standards to everyone, our allies and partners, and countries with which we have differences. The goal of this report is not to lecture or to shame. Rather, it is to provide a resource for those individuals working around the world to safeguard and uphold human dignity when it's under threat, in so many ways.

And while this report looks outward to countries around the world, we -- you know, the United States faces its own set of challenges on human rights. Our willingness to confront our challenges openly to acknowledge our own shortcomings not to sweep them under the rug or pretend they don't exist. That is what distinguishes us and other democracies.

The report makes clear that in 2022, in countries across every region, we continue to see a backsliding in human rights conditions for closing and civic space, disrespect for fundamental human dignity. The report details the appalling and ongoing abuses committed by the regime in Iran against its own people in the wake of the tragic death of Mahsa Amini. Authorities have killed hundreds of peaceful protesters, including dozens of children, and have arbitrarily detained thousands.

Iranian forces using torture and gender-based violence against arrested protesters. Journalists and lawyers are harassed and preemptively detained. Sham trials and hasty executions are used to further intimidate the people of Iran. The international community has come together to condemn and confront Iran's brutal crackdown and will continue to act in support of the right of the Iranian people to speak out for their fundamental --

BOLDUAN: All right. As we're listening in to the Secretary of State speaking about human rights abuses, but also offering up what we can describe as clearly deeps skepticism cert from the Secretary of State around China's -- Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Vladimir Putin in Moscow. That visit continues and we'll continue to monitor that.

Let's turn to this right now. Miami Beach is moving in to clamp down on what's turned into a dangerous Spring Break scene. The city is set to hold a special commission meeting this afternoon to discuss what to do now after a second fatal shooting early Sunday morning. The city declared a state of emergency and put in place a curfew.

Carlos Suarez is tracking this. He joins us right now. Carlos, that curfew expired this morning, so what are they planning to do now?

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, good morning. So, the city commission is expected to give the city manager the power to bring back curfew back on Thursday. So, we're talking about a good portion of Miami Beach having a curfew on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. That curfew would go into effect at midnight and would be lifted at six in the morning. Meaning that hotels here on the beach are only going to be able to serve guests during that time period. And restaurants where they're only going to be able to do deliveries from midnight until six in the morning. All of this is in response to as what you said was a deadly weekend here on Miami Beach. There were two shootings, one on Friday and one on Sunday. Both of those shootings left one man dead.

Now we caught -- a one man that in both of those incidents. Now, we caught up with the owner of a hotel here on Miami Beach who said look, all of this violence, of course, is not welcomed here. They would like to see some of these changes be more permanent. But the reality is they're also going to lose money because of all this. They believe the hotel, a guest, the tourists that are in town are simply going to go ahead and pack up and leave. Here's what he told us.

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MITCH NOVICK, OWNER OF SHERBROOKE HOTEL: I'm going to have to give them a refund. And it hurts. And I hope the wisdom -- whatever wisdom those in charge have that they do not follow this through to next weekend. It should be Monday yoday being rainy. A new crowd comes in. They should wait and see. It's always generally the third weekend of March where we have these problems.

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SUAREZ: Unfortunately for some of these business owners who do not want to see this curfew brought back this weekend. Again, the city commission is poised to most likely give the city manager the power to bring all of this back for at least another week, Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right. Carlos, thank you for that. And the mayor of Miami Beach, Dan Gilbert. He'll be on CNN in the one o'clock hour for more of this discussion of what Miami Beach can do right now. We'll be right back.

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BOLDUAN: We have this just in to CNN. Attorneys for former President Donald Trump are now asking a judge to throw out the final report from that special grand jury that has been looking into alleged 2020 election interference in the state of Georgia. Sara Murray has this new reporting. She's joining us right now. Sara, what exactly is the Trump team trying to do here?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, look. They're just trying to do away with essentially with the entire special grand jury process, the months and months of work that this panel went into investigating the former president and his allies.

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They not only want to toss the final report, which of course you've only seen slivers of not in its entirety, but they also want to toss all of the evidence that the special grand jury was responsible for collecting. So, we're talking about all of these interviews, all of this grand jury testimony they got from witnesses, anything they subpoena in terms of documents and that kind of thing that the DA's office may be sifting through.

They also want to disqualify the district attorney's office from overseeing this investigation. You know this is an investigation that started with Donald Trump's phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. But it's expanded well beyond that to look at the fake electoral scheme, to look at payments for state lawmakers, and essentially the Trump team is trying to do away with all of this, Kate.

BOLDUAN: All of it. All of this month of work. All right, let's see what this judge says. It's good to see you, Sara. Thank you.

And thanks so much for watching everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan. "INSIDE POLITICS WITH JOHN KING" starts after this.

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