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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Russian Missile Blows Up Government Building In Major Ukraine City; At Least 677,000 Ukrainians Have Fled Their Country Amid Russian Invasion; Evaluating Russian President Vladimir Putin's State Of Mind Is A Top Priority For U.S. Intel Community; Biden To Speak State Of The Union Amid Russia's War Rages, Gas Prices Surge; Trumps File Appeal To Block Depositions In N.Y. Attorney General Investigation; MLB Cancels Start Of Season As League And Players Fail To Reach Labor Agreement. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired March 01, 2022 - 17:00   ET

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

[17:00:00]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Officials say more than 10 people died in Russian airstrikes there today, in addition to the nine civilians killed Monday, including three children. The Russian strikes also shattered windows incinerated cars and destroyed a large government building in Kharkiv's main Freedom Square.

In the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv more explosions tonight after Russian rockets hit a massive television tower and the surrounding area killing at least five people and wounding five others, according to the Ukrainian government. And official also says the strikes damaged the Babyn Yar Holocaust memorial site nearby, which honors the 200,000 people massacred by the Nazis in World War II, 150,000 of them Jews.

A senior Pentagon official says the massive 40 mile long Russian military convoy appears to have as of now stalled on the outskirts of Kyiv. It's a possible sign that the Russians are running out of food and fuel. U.S. intelligence officials fear that Russia could use those vehicles to encircle the Capitol and cut it off entirely.

Nearly 680,000 people and counting have now fled Ukraine nearly two- thirds of them crossing into Poland. People are now waiting in line for days to leave the country. As CNN Sara Sidner now reports for us once they finally get out of Ukraine. Many have no idea what to do or where to go next.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

SARA SIDNER, SENIOR NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): A 15-year-old desperate tears she says she has just walked across the border to meet her mother but her mother has just fainted. She has no pulse, she has not breathing.

Volunteer medics from Israel rush in. They get her breathing but she remains unconscious. She needs a hospital. It takes 30 minutes for an ambulance to arrive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She came back. Thank God.

SINDER: You saved her life. This is life on the Polish side of the border with Ukraine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's only woman and children come and own up to today in the cold.

SIDNER: In Poland hope and heartbreak are everywhere as refugees pack into the country. Olga fled the country with her nine-year-old daughter, Angelina. Olga had to leave her husband behind so he could fight with whatever he could find.

OLGA SHEVCHENKO, UKRAINIAN REFUGEE: So difficult. I cannot tell you how difficult it is feel. Your life, you know, and here don't want to what to do.

SIDNER: She is still shell shocked but at least has friends to take her in.

As night falls in the bitter cold, more heartbreak. But the Polish people are offering refugees a warm welcome. Warm clothes, a warm place to stay, a warm meal, even diapers and toys for children of grassroots efforts smack in the middle of a supermarket parking lot just a few kilometers from the border.

VICTORIA BUNIK, UKRAINIAN VOLUNTEER: My father is actually like helping the city to like hold the ground and I'm trying to help as much as I can.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

TAPPER: All right, Sara Sidner reporting from the Polish side of the border. Sara, you have been talking not only to Ukrainians, but also to residents of Ukraine trying to get out students and families from all over the world are recent really, Sara? Sara is frozen.

SIDNER: Yes, I mean, what we are --

TAPPER: Oh, go ahead, Sara. I'm sorry.

SIDNER: Are we frozen? Can you see me now? Oh, OK. No worries. This is -- this happened. So right, we're near the border. So there are a lot of technical issues. But yes, we have spoken to a lot of people. We have seen, you know, hundreds of Ukrainians running across (ph), people who were born and raised there. We've also seen a lot of people from places like Cameroon, people from Nigeria, people from India, people from Afghanistan, people from Nepal.

And what we are hearing from the Africans. And sometimes the Afghans is that when they try to board the plane -- train, excuse me, in Ukraine, there is a free train that people are being allowed on to get them out of danger. When they do that, they are being in their words discriminated against. They're being pushed off. They're being told to wait. They're being told that they're not wanting to even women and children. And so they're waiting longer, for example, than their counterparts. And they said, Look, this is the really the first time that they really felt the sting of what they feel is discrimination. The first time because many of them have said, Look, we were treated very well before this. But as soon as war came along, things felt very different suddenly, and they are also the ones who were seeing in the cold and without a place to live.

That being said, we've also heard from them, and from many of the people of Ukraine who have left try to figure out what to do that Poland has opened its doors to them, and that they are so grateful to be able to be here. And I just want to give you one quick look, Jake, at what is happening here. It is remarkable really. Hundreds of people, thousands of people coming across the border. These people are literally just volunteers.

[17:05:01]

This is not a government effort here but this entire area, this entire, entire area is filled with hundreds of volunteers who are doing this completely, because they want the Ukrainian people to fill welcome. Food, hot food, clothes. Anything you could imagine, baby diapers, everything is here just to make Ukrainians feel comfortable, Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Sara Sidner reporting live in Przemysl, Poland. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. More explosions rocking Ukraine's capital of Kyiv this evening. Let's go to CNN's Matthew Chance live in the capital city. Matthew, what more do you know about the explosions that just happened about an hour or so ago?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, about an hour ago, very late. Indeed, three explosions really sending sort of shockwaves across the city really, really quite, quite enormous. We don't know what it was exactly. But it was to the north, northeast of the city.

We had another strike inside the northern part of the city as well, which struck a television tower, it also hits it, you know, the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial area as well, five people were killed in that strike. And it's all part. You know, there's a particular amount of expectation at the moment as well, anticipation because, you know, we all know about this huge column of Russian armor that is making its way towards the north, northwest part of part of the city.

And, you know, what the plan is for that massive military force is still very uncertain. But there's a concern that it's going to attempt to surround the city or encircle it, and then launch potentially a heavy bombardment of it. Now, we don't know when that's going to happen. We don't know what progress they've made over the course of the past 12 hours or so.

What we do know is that Russian media has been reporting, there may be more talks tomorrow between Russia and Ukraine about trying to find a diplomatic solution to this conflict, to this crisis. I've spoken to senior Ukrainian officials tonight. And they've said that's a possibility. And clearly the Russians with these attacks that are carrying out are trying to, you know, improve their negotiating position, I think is what they said.

You know, but yes, very tense, very tense evening today in Kyiv, one of many that we've been experiencing. Every night, it's very tense, because we don't know what to expect. We don't know at what point the Russians are going to really ratchet up the military pressure and make a concerted effort to take to seize or to bombard the Ukrainian capital, Jake.

TAPPER: Matthew Chance, thank you so much. And coming up, we're going to have your interview with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy right after this. So stick around. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:12:15]

TAPPER: And we're back now with our breaking news. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy talked to CNN today. He did it from a bunker in Kyiv. He talked about his country's determination to fight off the Russian invaders. And he talked about his message to Americans and to President Biden. Let's bring CNN's Matthew Chance in Kyiv who did this interview, who conducted it. Matthew, tell us about your conversation with President Zelenskyy.

CHANCE: Yes, well, first of all, we were taken to a secret location inside central Kyiv near the presidential compound. We were escorted by heavily armed military forces into an underground bunker when President Zelenskyy finally arrived wearing green sort of military fatigues. You know, I started talking about all these things. But I started off by asking him what his message was for President Biden, the head of the State of the Union address later on tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINE PRESIDENT: What message, so many messages, I think that he has to give those message what will really work. That is very important to be very, you know, useful in this situation, in this war against Russia.

(through translator): I think first of all, he's a world leader, that's very important for people in the United States to understand that, despite the fact that the war is taking place in Ukraine. It's essentially the values enlightens the democracy for freedom. Therefore, this war is for all the world. And that message should be sent far and wide from Ukraine to people in the United States so they understand what it is like for us here, what we're fighting for, and why support for Ukraine matters.

CHANCE: For a long time, you downplayed the U.S. intelligence assessments about the being an imminent Russian attack. Do you now regret that? And do you think the fact that you didn't act earlier has left the people of Ukraine unprepared?

ZELENSKYY (through translator): The response you see today, how we work, how our army works and defenses is a testament that we're ready for anything. Even though we were preparing in advance, it's important not to let your enemy anticipate your reaction. That's why I really did not like that situation where we put everything at risk and tell the world that we're preparing for war.

CHANCE: The United States has said that it will not enforce a no-fly zone over this country and it won't put boots on the ground. Do you think it is now time for President Biden and other western countries to reconsider that and to help you not just with military aid but with manpower?

ZELENSKYY (through translator): I've already turned to some foreign leaders with this request. I believe that leaders must support democratic states of the world who are keen to defend some (INAUDIBLE). The powerful issue of closing the airspace helps us tremendously. This does not mean dragging NATO into this war. We spoke many times with President Biden, and I'm thankful for him for these opportunities and support, but they also did not hear me. I've been telling them that Ukraine will fight harder, you will see. But us alone against Russia, you would not be able to do it.

CHANCE: Your army has enjoyed some significant battlefield victories in the past week. I myself have been to see some of the Russian armored columns that have been totally hammered and destroyed by the weapons and the men that you've got fighting the Russian advance. Are you now concerned, though, that the Kremlin will double down on its military operations, and hit Ukraine even harder?

ZELENSKYY (through translator): Firstly, why are we winning? Or why are we defending ourselves, because this is our home. Yes, Russia will double up but take a look at them, why our men are stronger, more powerful and successful? Because as I said, we have what we need to protect. And they do not even understand our state. They do not know the streets, they do not know our people, do not understand our philosophy, our aspirations, what type of people we are. They don't know anything here. They were just sent here to fight and to die.

CHANCE: You send your delegation to meet the Russians for talks.

ZELENSKYY: Yes.

CHANCE: Did anything substantial come out of that? Is there any hope as the world watches for diplomacy?

ZELENSKYY: They decided to begin to speak about this situation. And I wanted, I really wanted and I owe them. So you have to speak first of all, everybody has to stop, stop fighting. And to go to that points from where it was beginning?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

ZELENSKYY: Yes. It began five today, six days ago?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

ZELENSYY: I think there are principal things you can do it. And that is very important moment. If you'll do these and if those site is ready, it means that they are ready for the peace. If they don't ready, it means that you're just, you know, just wasting time.

CHANCE: And do you think you're wasting your time? Or do you think they're ready?

ZELENSKYY: We'll see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHANCE: Well, Jake, we will see, indeed, because it's been reported from Russia that there are more talks scheduled for tomorrow, between Ukraine and Russia to see if there's a diplomatic solution that can be found to this. Ukrainian officials that I've spoken to those say the bombing campaign is so intense, that everything might change.

TAPPER: Matthew, it's tough to envision any sort of diplomatic off ramp for Putin. He has decided to go in and invade a country and kill civilians unprovoked just because he thinks that country should be part of Russia. Does President Zelenskyy see any diplomatic off ramp at all?

CHANCE: At this stage, no. I mean, he was -- he played down the possibility there was going to be a diplomatic outcome, not even the possibility of a ceasefire, he said, until he saw that, until he stopped the actual fighting. He saw the actual fighting stopping. As you said he didn't think that the other side, the Russians were serious about this.

I mean, look, I mean, the Russians may be playing for time. They may be engaging in these negotiations so that you can rethink their plan. We think that their tactics which clearly aren't going very well, and perhaps gather more forces. On the other hand, you know, Vladimir Putin and the Russians, they have been blooded. I mean, there have been significant amounts of Russian forces that have been destroyed in their attempt to take this country and to take its population centers.

And so, you know, I don't want us to rule out. We all should -- we should hope that there is still a possibility that there will be some kind of climb down but I mean, the truth is the record when it comes to the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin, it doesn't give you much room for optimism.

TAPPER: And President Zelenskyy, I don't mean this in a critical way but he was unshaven, he looked exhausted. Did you get any sense of how he's holding up, not just physically but mentally?

CHANCE: Yes, I mean, well, look, I mean he's obviously under a massive amount of pressure.

[17:20:02]

TAPPER: Right.

CHANCE: I mean this is a hunted man. He believes he's hunted. Yes, he believes is the number one target of the Russians and that his family are the number two target. That's what he says.

But yes, and he's hiding from moving from, you know, moving from bunker to bunker. You know, this was just one of the locations where they met him, that he spends time. And yes, he was wearing military fatigues. He was unshaven. He looked very pale. He had red eyes. He spoke very emotionally about his family was asked, you know, at one point, you know, it was last time you saw your family. And he said, I haven't seen them since before this war. And then he corrected himself as it actually was three days ago.

So he wasn't happy about that. You know, he's, under an enormous amount of pressure. He's been thrust into this role. Remember, you know, it wasn't long ago that he was an actor on television, playing the president in a very popular sort of comedy on Ukrainian television. He then actually became the president. And now he is this kind of figure of, you know, this almost iconic figure of the Ukrainian resistance to Russian pressures and enormously pressurized, you know, role to play.

TAPPER: Matthew Chance in Kyiv. Thank you so much for that interview. Please be safe. Coming up, decoding Vladimir Putin. Our next guest is the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee. He's been briefed about Russia and Ukraine. We're going to talk to him. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:25:49]

TAPPER: In our world lead, sources tell CNN that the U.S. Intelligence Committee is focused on getting to the bottom of Vladimir Putin state of mind. Longtime Moscow watchers have publicly speculated about the Russian president's mental and emotional health noting that the former KGB officer has gone from careful and calculated to erratic and irrational. Let's get right to CNN's Katie Bo Lillis.

And Katie, obviously, Putin has long been a murderous thug. But the question of what motivates him in terms of strategy is something the U.S. intelligence community has spent decades trying to figure out and decode. What exactly are they looking for now?

KATIE BO LILLIS, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Jake. So ever since Putin gave this sort of uncharacteristically emotional speech last week, full of, you know, kind of crazy revisionist history really laying out his -- laying out his justification for invading Ukraine.

Sources tell us that U.S. officials have been really pressing the intelligence community for any new insights that they can come up with, that might help explain Putin state of mind right now. So they're looking for things like how is Putin reacting to this sort of unified and sort of massive pressure campaign from the west? How is he responding to the stress of a military campaign that by all accounts hasn't really gone exactly as planned? And maybe most intriguingly, has there been an impact to Putin's mind -- mindset from what longtime Kremlin watchers say has been this kind of protracted period of isolation during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. And one piece of information that we do know that officials are looking at is this piece of raw intelligence that the FBI has obtained. This report, which our colleagues, Zac Cohen, managed to get ahold of and take a look at, has detailed what a FBI source has told the bureau about what he has learned from a source of his own, presumably, in Russia, although it is not clear based on the document that we reviewed.

And what this source is telling the FBI, and I want to quote this directly, is that over the last couple of days, Putin's behavior has been highly concerning and unpredictable and that he has expressed extreme anger over Western sanctions.

Now, of course, this is raw intelligence, not vetted, not verified, not analyzed. But it gives you a sense of how seriously U.S. officials are taking this question right now. Because we do know from our sources that the FBI is under a little bit of pressure here to kind of try to go back to this source, see if there's anything else that they can learn.

TAPPER: All right, Katie Bo Lillis, thank you so much, really appreciate it. Let's discuss this with Republican Congressman Mike Turner of Ohio. He's the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee. So congressman, you've been briefed by U.S. intelligence officials. Obviously, you're only going to share with us what you're allowed to share. But what are you hearing about Putin's mental and emotional state?

REP MIKE TURNER (R-OH) HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Well, certainly, it's a great concern because, you know, it affects how everyone tries to evaluate what is occurring. But I think in this instance, you know, adversaries self-select, and Putin has identified himself as an adversary to the west, adversary to the United States. And as you said, a murderous thug. We're seeing that as he's killing civilians, women and children in Ukraine.

What I think, though, is that, you know, he is absolutely stating that he wants to reconstitute the geographical area of the Soviet Union, we need to believe him. And so in that, we need to understand that all of the things that we're looking to try to deter him, to try to arm NATO allies, to arm the Ukrainians has to be with the context of this is going to be a much broader war. Putin, it needs to be stopped. No, he's just going to continue.

TAPPER: What do you tell Americans who are watching right now and are concerned seeing this individual described as erratic, isolated, unpredictable, and knowing that he has access to the second biggest stockpile in the world of nuclear weapons and he's put them on high alert, what do you say to your constituents?

TURNER: Well, he didn't really put them in high alert. He say put them on a an alert status. It was kind of undefined really as to what that was. Certainly, we're watching from the intelligence side what movements, what's happening with respect to them. We also have a nuclear deterrent. But I think the big focus has to be not on the statements that he's made that are, you know, bravada (ph) and trying to puff himself up, or how do we make certain that our allies are safe, how do we support the Ukrainian people. We need to get weapons in there. We need to assist them.

President Zelenskyy is absolutely right. This is a fight about democracy. This is about the future. This is about the future of the West and Europe and the United States. And we need to make certain that we rise to this occasion.

TAPPER: A fellow Republican who's on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska was on the show earlier, he says that White House lawyers, I imagine National Security Council lawyers are slowing down the process of sharing with the Ukrainians real time actionable intelligence. Is that accurate? And if so, what should be done about it?

TURNER: So members of Congress are receiving a lot of different communications from people on the ground in Ukraine, and they're hearing the same thing as have I. I think we need to make certain that we give them actionable intelligence immediately. We need to get weapons in there. I mean, this administration should have got weapons in there last year, it should have been built up so that, you know, when Russia began this war, Ukraine had the ability to defend themselves even more strongly than they have.

But as you've seen the miles and miles of weapons that Putin intends to move into Ukraine to kill civilians, women and children, we didn't make certain that we give them weapons to respond and defend themselves.

TAPPER: What do you think about people who are calling for a no fly zone, which obviously would require either NATO pilots or U.S. pilots, Air Force or Navy to risk their lives come in contact with Russian fighter jets? I mean, is that something that you're willing to do?

TURNER: Right, I don't think there's anyone who wants to escalate to the point where there are U.S. and Russia troops that are fighting against each other. But I do think certainly that the Ukrainians have shown both the will and the ability to fight for themselves, and we need to give them the weapons to do so.

TAPPER: What weapon specifically --

TURNER: Well have you seen, right, certainly, surface to air missiles, as even President Zelenskyy said, give me ammunition. They're going to run out of ammunition. We need to get both weapons, ammunition, missiles, stingers, all of us needs to be at their disposal so they can defend their country. And as they say, defend democracy.

TAPPER: Do you think there's actually any sort of off ramp for Putin? Or is he just going to do this, ultimately, until Ukraine falls, killing, who knows how many innocent Ukrainians while doing it, and then installs a puppet government after either capturing or killing Zelenskyy? TURNER: I don't think there's an off ramp for him. I think is there's a retreat. We've seen so far, he has an invasion force. He doesn't really have a occupying force. And as we've seen in the will of the Ukrainians, they're going to continue to fight. Once these people get out of their armored vehicles and tanks, they're going to be met by Ukrainians who have weapons and hopefully ammunition that Europe and the United States are going to help them to have it at their disposal, and they can continue to defend their country, even if they have lost ground. That's the point at which Putin is really going to have a very difficult time because he's not going to be able to hold Ukraine, even if he takes territory.

TAPPER: So ultimately, you see this ending for Putin the way that it ended for the Soviets in Afghanistan. It's just 10 years of a bloody low grade insurrection, rebellion. And ultimately, they just decide it's not worth it.

TURNER: He and the Russian people are going to have a very difficult decision to make, because this is not going to be over. This is not, I mean, you saw President Zelenskyy saying, you know, these are our homes, we're going to fight for this country, I believe them. I also believe that Putin wants to expand this war, even outside Ukraine, but he can't do that until he gets finished with Ukraine. I don't think Ukraine is going to let him be finished.

TAPPER: You're going to be going to President Biden's first State of the Union this evening. Is there anything in particular you're hoping to hear from him?

TURNER: Right. I've been talking to Democrats and Republicans. And I can tell you that there's bipartisan agreement that the President needs to talk about increasing domestic energy production, ending Russia exports of oil coming to the United States, arming the Ukrainians and making certain that we are our NATO allies so that we can have a forward position to assist against any advanced by Putin.

TAPPER: all right, Congressman Mike Turner, the ranking Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, always good to see you. Thank you so much, sir.

TURNER: Thank you.

TAPPER: President Biden just hours away from his first State of the Union address. CNN just got to look at some of the speech. We're going to talk to a member of the President's Cabinet next. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:38:16]

TAPPER: Breaking news in our politics lead. Just moments ago, the White House released an excerpt from President Biden's pending State of the Union address that speech, of course is set for tonight as the nation and the world face crises on multiple fronts. CNN's Phil Mattingly is live for us with the White House. Phil, we now have a better idea of what Biden is going to say about Russia, you say? PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And it underscores a key point officials have made about the message the President wants to get across when it comes to this geopolitical crisis that is rattling the world right now. And that is the stakes for the American public. There's a recognition when you look at markets, when you look at prices, that this will have an impact on the American public.

So why is it important for America to be so involved? That's a message the President wants to get out. And in these excerpts, he underscores that message giving the history of NATO, the history of kind of the pillars of Western democracy over the course of the last eight decades and saying this, Putin's war was premeditated and unprovoked. He rejected efforts at diplomacy. He felt the West and NATO wouldn't respond. And he thought he could divide us here at home. Putin was wrong. We were ready.

And I think that will also be a key element. The ability to put together the coalition that we've seen, unleash unprecedented sanctions over the course of the last couple days along with military assistance, along with other aid for Ukraine, underscoring that the U.S. has led in the -- lead up to this moment in time and also that has gotten results, even though obviously Russia is still advancing right now, Jake.

TAPPER: Obviously, Phil, a lot of Americans are going to be watching to see and hear what President Biden is planning on doing when it comes to inflation, anything there?

MATTINGLY: Yes, prices at a four-decade high and the administration is very cognizant of the real world impact that has on everyday Americans. When you talk to officials who are involved of the key themes the President was thinking through when he started getting his head around the State of the Union back in the December, this was always going to be a core component and it still is.

[17:40:03]

The President making clear in the excerpt of the remarks that we've gotten that he does believe he has plans. There are successes from his first year that he can build on and lay the pathway to progress, particularly in terms of increasing the capacity of the economy, underscoring that he wants to push Congress to pass key elements of his Build Back Better plan, not the entire plan probably won't mention it by name at all. But key elements of that plan and also a focus on supply chains.

Obviously, we've seen the administration talk about this repeatedly over the course of the last several months, Jake, not just in the near term, but also in the long term trying to address supply chain, supply chain bottlenecks, what they can do now to try and address those bottlenecks. But also over the long term to ensure that America doesn't have another supply chain crisis like they've had in the wake of the pandemic, Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Phil Mattingly at the White House. Thank you so much. Joining us now to discuss Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Secretary Buttigieg, we're hearing the President Biden intends to address the economic burden at home caused in part by sanctions on Russia. Right now, gas prices, of course, at a national average of $3.62 a gallon up by nine cents just a week ago, up 24 cents just a month ago.

How is President Biden going to convince Americans that these rising prices are going to be worth it, when too many of them the war in Ukraine seems thousands of miles might as well be planets away?

PETE BUTTIGIEG, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Well, the President is somebody who very much thinks and acts in terms of the kitchen table. It's how he got started, and how he approaches the presidency every day. And so you're going to hear a lot about those issues. You're also going to hear about America's moral commitment to stand with Ukrainian people, and to make sure that Putin's Russia faces severe consequences for launching this unprovoked attack.

But when it comes to the prices and the impact that people are feeling here at home, you know, the President has taken several steps to make sure that not only we're doing everything we can to keep gas prices under control, but more broadly, challenging Congress to make sure that we're lowering costs across the board.

Now remember, the President has put forward ways to lower the cost of insulin, lower the cost of childcare, lower the cost of housing, lower the cost of transportation, all steps that would make a difference on the bottom line of so many American budgets, no matter what's happening with the ups and downs of global oil markets. And I think you're going to hear about that continued vision today, in addition, of course, to reminding America about all the progress America has made over this past year.

TAPPER: So West Virginia, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin spoke to a West Virginia radio show today he said he wanted President Biden to ban all Russian products from coming into the country, including Russian oil, take a listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): We've been purchasing about 500,000 and last year it went about 670,000 barrels a day. And that's just entirely unacceptable. Now, we're asking the whole world to unite around and help Ukraine every way possible, and put as much pressure as we can on Russia. It only makes sense that we lead by an example of showing that we're shutting down all Russian products coming into the United States.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

TAPPER: I know your transportation secretary, Energy Secretary, but it's in your wheelhouse. What's your reaction to that?

BUTTIGIEG: Well, look, the President and the administration have taken a number of steps that are imposing severe pressure on Russia right now, in terms of the sanctions that have taken place, steps related to many sectors of the economy. There are more options available to the President, and I'm sure they will continue to be considered based on the reality on the ground and the actions that we see.

I'm not, you know, can't get ahead of the President on that. But obviously, this is a moment where so many actors and players around the world are standing together on the measures that we can take, and also being smart about it, that taking steps that will impact Russia and Putin, most of all.

TAPPER: So just in terms of elucidating and educating our viewers, the banning Russian fuel and oil imports is an obvious reason to do that, that we can see it will weaken Russia, it will be a moral position. What's the counter argument? What just -- I know you're not taking a position here. You're not getting ahead of the President. But what is the counter argument it will drive up fuel prices in the United States.

BUTTIGIEG: Look, at any step that you take. And this is true of a number of the action items on the President's menu of options, can have effects here on Americans as well. They have an effect -- have effects on our allies and partners in Europe and other parts of the world. Everything is connected.

And obviously, you want to make sure that any step that we take is one where the impact on Russia and Russia's behavior outweighs any negative impact that could affect the American people are any of our allies and partners. None of these decisions are simple ones. But that's the nature of the decisions that come before the President and the President has already led a number of steps to put that extreme pressure on Russia and it's clearly being felt in Russia in ways that perhaps they hadn't prepared for when they launched this unprovoked military aggression.

[17:45:09]

TAPPER: So I was thinking about this because I saw a statement from President Obama, former President Obama talking about the need to take a very strong stance in supportive Ukraine and against Russia, even if that means some pain at home. And I thought to myself, yes, I mean, that pain, you know, President Obama is not going to really feel that pain, he's a multi 100 millionaire, I'm not really going to feel that pain, you probably won't really feel that pain.

But there are a lot of Americans out there, you know, for whom $1,000 extra a year in gas prices, that's really painful. Is there a way to help those people, if we're all taking this national sacrifice?

BUTTIGIEG: There may well be but the other thing I would emphasize is that there are steps right now that the President has put forward that are worth at least $1,000 to millions of American households, and he's challenged Congress to pass those and send them to his desk.

So no matter what is happening in any international theater, no matter what is happening in global energy markets, the President's proposals that would again right now lower the cost of insulin, lower the cost of child care, lower the cost of taking care of an elderly relative, lower the cost of housing, lower a lot of transportation costs that people feel. Those are good policies, precisely because there may be other pressures, sudden, acute ones, like what's happening overseas are ones that have built up over time, like the inflation that we've seen, that we need to make sure that we're bringing Americans relief from. There's no reason not to do those. We could do them right now. And I think you'll hear a powerful case for some of those steps tonight from the president standing there on the floor of the House.

TAPPER: While I have you the Transportation Security Administration's mask mandate expires in 17 days, March 18, giving the CDC his recent move to drop these strong mask recommendations for most of the United States. Are you planning on renewing or lifting the mandate for masks on trains, planes and buses?

BUTTIGIEG: Well, the TSA, I think it's going to continue to follow the signs, follow the guidance from CDC. Obviously, the recent new information from CDC on Friday has simplified a lot of our lives, going into the workplace and going about our daily routines.

Transportation can be different, but transportation is another arena where I think a lot of us are looking forward to being able to put so many of these pandemic restrictions behind us.

As of now, nothing has changed with regard to that guidance. But I know that TSA is going to take a good look at the latest and we're going to be partnering with them in making sure those decisions are well informed.

TAPPER: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg enjoy your good seats at the State of the Union this evening.

BUTTIGIEG: Thanks very much.

TAPPER: Be sure to join CNN tonight for President Biden's very first State of the Union address. I'm going to be anchoring along with Anderson Cooper who's in Ukraine live coverage starts at 8:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.

Coming up, the sound of silence former President Trump and his children and trying to block a judge's order that would force them to answer questions under oath. The latest illegal wrangling, that's next.

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[17:52:33]

TAPPER: In our her politics lead, former President Trump along with Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. are seeking to block a judge's order that they sit for depositions by next week. New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking their testimony in a civil probe of the Trump organization's business practices. CNN's Paula Reid joins us now live with more on this. Paula, explain what's going on here. Why are the Trump's filing this appeal?

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, as we know, though, former president and his namesake business they will use any option at their disposal to delay litigation. But in speaking with a source close to the former president's legal team, I am told that they are preparing for the possibility of these depositions. And one of the biggest issues that they need to tackle is whether any of these folks should take the Fifth Amendment.

And by invoking their Fifth Amendment, there is a possibility in a civil case in New York, that a jury could draw what's called an adverse inference and basically hold it against someone who doesn't answer questions.

Now, the President's other son Eric Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment multiple times over when he was asked questions in the same civil investigation back in the fall.

Now, I'm told they will continue to try to delay this as long as they can. But they don't believe that any civil action brought by the Attorney General is a bar to former President Trump running for the White House again.

TAPPER: What is the state of the separate criminal probe being run by the Manhattan District Attorney's office?

REID: So great question, Jake. Because of course, the civil and the criminal probes they're running parallel investigating many of the same questions about whether the Trump Organization misled lenders and the government about the value of its assets.

Now, the newly installed district attorney says this investigation will continue even though two of the top prosecutors on the case recently resigned from his office. Now the investigation has already charged the Trump Organization and one of his top executives Allen Weisselberg in a tax fraud scheme.

But Jake, this investigation has been going on for years, and they have not been able to secure a key cooperating witness or enough evidence to charge the former president or any member of his family. Now, I'm told began by a source close to the legal team that they do believe it'd be harder to run again with a criminal indictment. But with all the developments with how long this has been going on, they believe a criminal indictment is a fading possibility.

TAPPER: All right, Paula Reid with all the latest. Thank you so much. We have some breaking news for you. In our sports lead, I wish it were better news. But baseball's opening day and several of the season's first games have been canceled after a last minute push for a new labor deal between Major League Baseball players and owners failed.

[17:55:01]

Last hour, the Players Association rejected the league's final proposed collective bargaining agreement ahead of today's 5:00 p.m. deadline. Commissioner Rob Manfred says the league is canceling the first two series of games for the regular season. Owners implemented the lockout after failing to come to an agreement with the players late last year. Today's announcement means baseball is losing regular season games due to a work stoppage for the first time since 1995.

I will be back with you at 8:00 p.m. for CNN special coverage of President Biden State of the Union address. Anderson Cooper will be joining me live from Ukraine. But first, our coverage of the breaking news out of Ukraine continues with Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM." I'll see in about two hours.

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