Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Roughly 16,000 U.S. Citizens In Sudan, Most Of Them Dual Nationals; Biden Finalizing Plans To Announce Reelection Bid; Hunter Biden's Lawyers Strike Back At Accusers, Demand Probes. Aired 11- 11:30a ET

Aired April 24, 2023 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: U.S. diplomats and their families were airlifted out from the U.S. Embassy, but there's still an estimated 16,000 Americans there. So what's the plan?

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: President Biden is ready to launch his reelection bid. But new polling finds most Democrats still on the fence. How his team is playing to boost 2020 for support.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So two words, you never want to hear together, planes and fire. The story behind these two intense scares right here on CNN News Central.

BOLDUAN: Right now desperation is growing as tens of thousands of people are trying to escape the violence that is unfolding and escalating in Sudan. Over the last 24 hours, a mass evacuation has really been picking up speed and urgency. U.S. officials have confirmed all U.S. personnel have been evacuated.

On President Biden's order U.S. Special Ops, they flew into Sudan's capital city under the cover of darkness. The troops were on the ground less than one hour airlifting nearly 100 U.S. diplomats, staff and their family members out

Now at this hour, roughly 16,000 Americans remain in Sudan, most of them holding dual citizenship. And also this just in, Secretary of State Tony Blinken speaking about the crisis for the first time since this big U.S. evacuation, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: On Saturday, I directed the temporary suspension of operations at Embassy Khartoum, and we conducted a successful operation to safely evacuate all U.S. Embassy personnel and their dependents.

I want to reiterate my appreciation for the leadership of Ambassador John Godfrey and the entire Embassy team who managed the consolidation of our people and the necessary preparations for the evacuation under a very fluid security situation, even as they were tirelessly working to broker an Eid ceasefire. I could not be prouder of our team, most of whom are now on route back to the United States. I especially want to express my gratitude to Secretary Defense Austin, Chairman the Joint Chiefs Milley, and the men and women of the U.S. military who executed the evacuation operation with their usual extraordinary precision and skill.

They once again demonstrated that they are the finest in the world. The decision to suspend operations at the embassy remove our personnel from their sign posts is among the most difficult that any secretary has to make. But my first priority is the safety of our people. And I determined that the deteriorating security conditions in Khartoum poses an unacceptable risk to keeping our team there at this time.

I want to be clear that even as we've temporarily suspended operations on the ground in Khartoum, our diplomatic and consular work in Sudan continues. Indeed, in just the last 36 hours since the embassy evacuation operation is completed, we've continued to be in close communication with U.S. citizens and individuals affiliated with the U.S. government to provide assistance and facilitate available departure routes for those seeking to move to safety via land, air and sea.

This includes Americans who are traveling overland to the U.N. convoy from Khartoum to Port Sudan. We also continue to coordinate with allies and partners who are conducting their own operations and to leverage those efforts to include Americans. We're taking further steps to support Americans and exploring options to return a diplomatic and consular presence to Sudan as soon as possible.

We also continue to engage directly with General Burhan and General Hemedti to press them to extend and expand the Eid ceasefire to a sustainable cessation of hostilities that prevents further violence and upholds humanitarian obligations. The Sudanese people are not giving up on their aspirations for a secure, free, and democratic future; neither will we.

The United States will work with all parties, in coordination with regional and international partners, to bring an end to the fighting and a return to the transition to a civilian government.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: An update there from Secretary Blinken on the evacuation efforts of U.S. personnel, also giving an update on the efforts that they're trying to provide to support and help Americans, American citizens, private citizens who are still trying to get out of the country. But as we heard last hour, a family member of two young men that are stuck in the country, they need more help they say. Sara?

SIDNER: All right, thank you, Kate.

At the heart of the conflict in Sudan, these two men, Sudan's military leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the commander of a paramilitary group known as the rapid support forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Until recently, the two men were allies. They gained power during the bloody conflict in Darfur nearly two decades ago. Some 300,000 people were killed in that conflict. Nearly 2.5 million were displaced by the violence.

[11:05:11]

In 2019, they both work together to topple ousted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. He was behind a campaign of ethnic cleansing in the country's Darfur region. And just two years ago, they played a pivotal role in a military coup. That's where things began to get complicated and frayed.

The coup ended with what was supposed to be a power sharing agreement, a deal between military and civilian groups, but tensions begin to rise over who would be the subordinate in the new hierarchy. Sources tell CNN, that these are the hostilities that led to the fighting. That's playing out today, John?

BERMAN: All right, Sara, with us now former Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, Jacqueline Burns, thank you so much for being with us. How dangerous do you think this situation has become? And how essential to try to help get those some 16,000 Americans out?

JACQUELINE BURNS, SENIOR POLITICS ANALYST, RAND CORPORATION: Hi, thank you. First of all, I was an advisor to the U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan for seven years. And the situation right now is very dangerous. And it's very dynamic. All of the ceasefires that have been announced have not been abided by.

And the people that are trapped in Khartoum and other places of Sudan face a very difficult decision of whether they continue to shelter in place, without access to electricity, to food, to water, to other supplies, to medical care, or whether to try to flee the country on their own, perhaps with support of some organizations that are organizing convoys out of the country.

However, we know that many convoys have come under fire, and experienced difficulties and very dangerous conditions when they were trying to get to one of the country's borders or to Port Sudan. So it's a very dangerous situation. But it's also a very dangerous situation for the United States and other countries trying to consider how they could evacuate their citizens.

We know that the evacuation effort of our embassy was a very well executed, well coordinated operation by Special Forces. But other countries have had difficulties trying to evacuate their citizens and their staff. We know that both the French and Egyptians came under fire when they were trying to undertake their evacuation efforts that people were injured.

So the United States has to balance all these factors when they're deciding -- trying to decide how to help U.S. citizens who are still there. And I know that they are working very closely with American citizens are in touch with the embassy to provide information on the current threads, on overland routes, on different organizations that are organizing convoys, so they can try to get out of the country on their own.

BERMAN: What's the situation currently for Sudanese citizens? And do you have a sense of what they want?

BURNS: Absolutely. The Sudanese people from everyone I've talked to, they just want these armed forces to stop fighting. They may have some indications or inclinations to which side they think is more right. But most of the people I talk to you just want them both to go away. The situation is incredibly dire. The Sudanese people led to popular uprising board democratic transition in 2019.

And since then, as noted, there have been multiple military takeovers. They just want a civilian led government to be able to lead this country through a transition which has not happened. These ceasefires have not been abided by. It is very dangerous for people all over Sudan, not just in Khartoum. But in Khartoum, they are under threat of aerial bombardments of artillery strikes, of looting, of raids, it is a very dangerous situation, and they just want the fighting to stop.

BERMAN: Where do you see this fitting in to what I think you call the global power struggle?

BURNS: Yes, absolutely. So there are a lot of dynamics at play here. For decades, the international community has been involved in peace process cease in Sudan, trying to stop the conflicts on the peripheries, and then since 2019, to help them into a civilian led transition.

But there's a lot of players that are interested in some of the resources that are in Sudan, as well as interested in who is going to have control, actors who aren't so concerned if it is a military leader and who have taken sides. We know that Russia, as well as the Wagner group out of Russia have been very involved in dealing with both Generals Hemeti and al-Burhan. Gulf States have been involved. Egypt has been involved with the Sudanese armed forces.

So there are unfortunately over the last few years we have seen an increase in support for these military leaders, which has helped embolden them and empower them in this power struggle at their current end.

BERMAN: We have about 30 seconds left. How do you see this ending?

BURNS: Unfortunately, the situation right now is really grim. Everyone is trying to get them to abide by a ceasefire. But a ceasefire isn't going way to solve the problems in Sudan long term. It is needed to help the civilians to get humanitarian access. But what is needed is a much more inclusive process one that values the voices of the people who are actually fighting for a peaceful transition rather than their own military and political gain.

[11:10:16]

BERMAN: Jacqueline Burns, thank you so much for helping us understand the situation there on the ground, the somewhat dire situation on the ground. We really appreciate it. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Tomorrow, President Biden is expected to make official what it seems like has been hinted about or hinted at for quite some time, set to announce he's running for reelection. This morning, some new details on the rollout, the plans, the thinking, as he was working through finalizing this announcement over the weekend.

Let's get to the White House, CNN's Arlette Saenz is there. She's standing by for us. Arlette, what more are you learning about the plans, the thinking, the process behind this announcement now?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, President Biden spent the weekend at Camp David, a weekend intended to give him the opportunity to go over some of those final operational and staffing decisions relating to a campaign. His advisors have been working towards rolling out his reelection announcement with a video of possibly tomorrow, though, people is still caution, they're still waiting for those final timing details to be set.

But the President also has settled on one major decision regarding his campaign and that is who exactly will lead it. Democratic sources tell us that Julie Chavez Rodriguez is expected to be named the campaign manager for Biden's reelection. She is one of the most senior advisors here at the White House. She serves as the Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs coordinating with state and local officials about the administration's agenda.

She is also the granddaughter of the late labor icon Cesar Chavez. And she wouldn't be one of only a few Latinas to run a presidential campaign, if she in fact moves in to that position. But all eyes will be on tomorrow. And whether President Biden will formally announce his reelection, we know that both he and Vice President Harris have a pair of events to key constituencies.

Biden is expected to speak to a union group, while Vice President Harris will be speaking at a reproductive rights rally at a point where abortion is such a hot issue for Democrats. So, all eyes will be on tomorrow for this potential rollout.

BOLDUAN: And there's also this new polling out kind of looking at Biden and reelection, Arlette, what are you seeing in it? And what are you hearing about it? Because, you know, of course, this is something that his campaign needs to consider.

SAENZ: Yes, you know, this, some of the challenges that President Biden would face in a reelection are starting to come into focus, and that includes the headwinds he's facing when it comes to the public perception of whether he should even be running for reelection. This "NBC News" poll released over the weekend, found that the majority of Americans do not believe President Biden should seek a second term.

And within his own Democratic Party, a little over half of Democrats don't believe that he should seek reelection. And if you take a look at the breakdown of those people who don't believe Biden should run in 2024, 48 percent say that his age is a major issue. President Biden is 80 years old.

He'd be 86 at the end of a second term, if you were to win. His advisors ultimately believe that Democrats would be coming on board to support his reelection. But these are all challenges facing the President over the next year and a half.

BOLDUAN: Certainly. It's good to see you Arlette, thank you. John?

BERMAN: Hunter Biden is fighting back against Republican investigations in Congress. New CNN reporting on the aggressive strategy now being implemented by Hunter Biden's legal team.

It was the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in U.S. history. And now the man accused of killing 11 Jewish worshippers in Pittsburgh is facing a death penalty trial, jury selection now underway.

[11:13:45]

And Russia's foreign minister is in New York to chair a United Nations Security Council meeting, what Sergey Lavrov is saying and how his message is being received.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Here's what is on our radar at this hour. The FAA is investigating what happened when an engine on an American Airlines flight just burst into flames. You see here caught on camera mid-air after a possible bird strike. The Boeing 737 was able to turn around and land safely back in Columbus, Ohio and no one was injured. The airline blames what they have called mechanical issues.

This week, Disney is lying off several thousand workers. It's the second and largest wave of cuts as Disney carries out its plan to slash the workforce by 7,000 employees to save $5.5 billion. This latest round of cuts will impact ESPN, Disney's entertainment division, Disney parks and its experiences and product division.

And former "Dancing with the Stars" judge Len Goodman, he has died. He passed away over the weekend after battling bone cancer. The former professional dancer he was well known as a judge on "Dancing with the Stars" from 2005, up until last year, while also judging the British version of the show "Strictly Come Dancing." Goodman was 78 years old. John?

BERMAN: May his memory be a blessing.

On Capitol Hill this morning, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is poised for a crucial test. McCarthy wants to unite his party to pass his plan. It would raise the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion for a year in exchange for deep spending cuts. McCarthy says he will blink -- bring the plan up for a vote this week.

He also invited President Biden to discuss the debt ceiling with him. But the White House has repeatedly said it will only accept a clean proposal meaning no cuts. CNN's Manu Raju tracking all of this. He is on Capitol Hill this morning. So Manu, does the Speaker have the votes?

[11:20:15]

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That is the question at the moment. At the moment he does not. But they do expect come the middle of the week when we expect this bill on the floor that he will. That is the word from a number of people close to the Speaker that I've been talking to over the last couple of days.

They have been on the phone all weekend long, with members of the Republican Conference trying to get them on board. And Kevin McCarthy has very little margin for error, 222 votes that's House Republican seats currently in the chamber. They need 218 to pass this bill.

Meaning they cannot afford more than four Republican no votes because we expect all Democrats to vote against it because in most -- for the most part, Democrats in line with the White House's demand for a clean debt ceiling increase, meaning no conditions attached.

But Republicans have added a slew of conditions, cuts across the board to domestic agencies as well as provisions provide new work requirements for social safety net programs like Medicaid, as well as provisions such as blocking President Biden's student loan program, among the slew of issues now being considered as part of this effort to raise the debt limit into next year.

But behind the scenes, there have been some concerns including from some members from Midwestern states, concerned about pulling back on energy tax breaks for ethanol, as well as some concerns from members of the far right House Freedom Caucus want to toughen some of those proposed work requirements for social safety net programs like Medicaid.

But nevertheless, there is an expectation among Republican leaders that they will in fact get the votes later this week. But then it will blaze a big question. What happens next? Because right now the White House still is maintaining that there should be no conditions whatsoever to a debt limit increase, Senate Democratic leaders also on the same page.

McCarthy making clear there must be a many conditions including spending cuts, and not much time left, John, as soon as June is when the nation could experience its first ever default if the debt limit is not raised.

BERMAN: Yes, big week for McCarthy and Republicans but a big season for the U.S. economy. Manu Raju on Capitol Hill, Manu, great to see you. Thank you. Sara?

SIDNER: Hunter Biden's lawyers are going on the offensive against Republican investigators in Congress. CNN has learned his legal team is now demanding an investigation into why a former Trump aide had Hunter Biden's banking records.

And they're also going after Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. CNN's Paula Reid has all of this new reporting. What are we learning about what's happening here. Is this team being more aggressive than we've seen in the past?

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: They really are Sara. In the past few months as the criminal investigation into Hunter Biden has appeared to stall. And of course Republicans took over the house. Hunter Biden's legal team has definitely taken a more aggressive and litigious approach to his detractors. And we see that playing out here.

Among the requests they're making today are for in inspector general investigation at the Treasury Department into how former Trump aide Garrett Ziegler came to obtain suspicious activity reports known as SARs, related to Hunter Biden. They allege that Ziegler has engaged in a quote, conspiracy to illegally post these online.

They point to comments that Ziegler made on a podcast with Steve Bannon where he alleged to have an insider at JPMorgan helping him obtain these records. Now we're told from a source familiar with the strategy that Ziegler is a primary focus for the Biden team right now. They also filed a lawsuit against him alleging that he was harassing members of the legal team.

Now we have reached out to Ziegler's attorney, but we have not gotten a response. There are other requests is for an ethics review into Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene for statements that she has made about the president's son. Now of course his personal issues, his addiction, his personal life, those have spilled over into possible legal action, different investigations, litigation. But they alleged that the comments that she has made in public amount to quote, defamatory statements and the promotion of conspiracy theories.

They say her remarks quote, sound and read like schoolyard insults rather than the work of a member of Congress. Now the Ethics Office says they cannot comment on this and the congresswoman's office has not returned our request for comment.

SIDNER: Paula there is a meeting expected with the DOJ this week. What's supposed to happen there?

REID: Yes. So Sara, we broke this news on Friday learning that the Justice Department is expected to meet with Hunter Biden's legal team. And this came at the request of Biden's lawyers. They're seeking an update into this year's long investigation into their client. Now in attendance is expected to be at least one career Justice Department attorney as well as the Trump appointed U.S. attorney who has been overseeing this investigation into Hunter Biden.

But we've learned from our sources that prosecutors have narrowed down the charges to potentially some tax crimes and at least one false statement related to the purchase of a gun, but that reporting is for Last summer. There've been no public developments in this case since then and a lot of folks looking, a lot of writing on this meeting.

[11:25:08]

SIDNER: Paul Reid live there for us from Washington, D.C. Thank you. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Jury selection is now underway in the trial the man accused of killing 11 worshipers inside a Pittsburgh synagogue. We're alive at the courthouse following this very important trial, that's ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)