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Biden Officially Announces He's Running For Reelection; Shaky Ceasefire Holding Even As Some Gunfire Heard; Hearing On New Charges Against Navalny Expected Tomorrow. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired April 25, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: President Biden holds his first event since announcing that he is all in for 2024. He says he's ready to finish the job and plans to take Republicans head-on. But how are those within his own party feeling about is big?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: A key hearing set to take place in Russia for imprisoned opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, as we learn more about his deteriorating health inside what he calls a hellish prison. Navalny's daughter, Dasha, will join us live.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, five members of the Proud Boys on trial accused of assembling and leading the mob on January 6. Closing arguments are happening right now. So, what will the jury decide? We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: Moments ago, President Biden gave his first public remarks since he announced that he is running for reelection. And the crowd of union workers made it clear they heard him.

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KEILAR: President Biden made his 2024 bid official in a three-minute video this morning. It started with images of the January 6 attack and protests against the overturning of Roe v. Wade. The president then warned about the cost of letting the opposition win.

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know around the country, MAGA extremists are lining up to take on those bedrock freedoms, cutting Social Security that you paid for your entire life, cutting taxes from the very wealthy, dictating what healthcare decisions women can make, banning books, and telling people who they can love.

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KEILAR: CNN White House Correspondent Jeremy Diamond is with me now. I guess you could call this a bit of a reprise of his 2020 message.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): It certainly is. I mean, you could draw a straight line from the 2020 campaign to the president's message even in the midterms in 2022, all the way to now this reelection announcement where President Biden has been talking about this battle for the soul of the nation.

And we heard him talking about the attacks on democracy and his belief that the job there is not done yet. And we saw the president today in his first appearance since that reelection announcement, he talked about the job not being done, not just on the democracy front, but also in terms of his economic agenda. Listen.

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BIDEN: I'm here because there's no better place to talk about the progress we've made together. And it wouldn't be made without you. And that's not hyperbole, it's a fact.

Our economic plan is working. We now have to finish the job. But there's more to do.

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DIAMOND: And you can expect to hear President Biden making that case a lot more going forward. And in these types of events, specifically, that's because sources tell me that President Biden isn't expected to hit the road for any kind of campaign rallies anytime soon, just like President Obama's reelection announcement in 2011.

It took Obama 13 months to actually get to his first reelection rally. You can expect the focus right now to be on fundraising, on building out the infrastructure for a winning campaign, and again, a lot of official events like this where the president can still get out his reelection message.

KEILAR: Yes, bringing in that money. And you do have some information about some new polling, right on how Democrats are feeling about a Biden 2024 run? What is the trail?

DIAMOND: Yes, that's right. And this is really consistent with the kind of polling that we've seen in recent weeks as it relates to President Biden. And that shows that not only do most voters not see a -- does -- have a desire for a second term, but Democrats themselves. And you can see here 55 percent of Democrats in this new CBS News poll say that President Biden should run for a second term, but 45 percent say he should not. A recent NBC News poll put that last figure at 51 percent. So, clearly, there's work to do for President Biden here.

And that's going to be a big focus of these first weeks. And I also think it's why when you -- if you were watching President Biden's remarks today, he was extremely enthusiastic. He was very energetic. That's because we know that those age concerns are top of the list for those Democrats who don't think he should pursue a second term.

KEILAR: All right, Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much. Boris? SANCHEZ: Let's discuss more about the president's reelection bid with Congressman Ro Khanna of California. Congressman, we're grateful to have you this afternoon. Thanks for joining us.

[14:05:02]

You initially endorsed Senator Bernie Sanders for president in 2020. And when the general election came around, you got behind President Biden. But today on the day of his announcement, are you prepared to endorse President Biden for reelection?

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): I am. I enthusiastically endorsed him. President Biden has delivered on bringing manufacturing jobs back.

He has had the largest climate package in American history. He has forgiven student loan debt. We have made enormous progress on child poverty.

I'm proud to stand with him. And he's really delivered for the American people.

SANCHEZ: Congressman, in that poll, that Jeremy Diamond just pointed to, 45 percent of Democrats did not want Biden to run for reelection. Do you think he should face a primary challenger, perhaps a younger progressive?

KHANNA: I am supporting him. I would never tell anyone don't compete. This is American democracy. But I believe that President Biden will unify the Democratic Party.

And I've called that and said he's going to be a bridge to the future -- to a more progressive future. I mean, the reality is this. People are still upset and frustrated. Wages have not kept up, too many of our jobs have gone offshore, the cost of living, costs to housing, cost of health care is too much. So, we still have a lot of work to do. But I believe the president is the best person to defeat Donald Trump and to unify this party.

SANCHEZ: Congressman, what about his age? If he serves out a second term, Joe Biden will be 86 years old. Does that concern you at all? Do you think that might be a concern for Democratic voters?

KHANNA: I think it's a fair question. I can just tell you when I meet with the president, he is deeply engaged. He is very much curious about detailed policy questions. And he's often very, very energetic. And he has a great sense of humor when he's interacting with people.

I think the American people will see that. And it's for the president to convince them of that. Look, you never take voters for granted, even if you're President of the United States. He has to make the case that he will be the best person to lead this nation and to convince people he is up to the job, and I think he will.

SANCHEZ: And, Congressman, what about inflation? The economy is always top of mind for voters. It was initially described as transitory. It has proved not to be. Does that concern you at all? KHANNA: Yes, it's an issue. I mean, rents are going up. People are paying way too much in their deductibles on health care. That is an issue.

But what is the Republican plan? The Republican plan is not to increase social security benefits. Democrats want to put more money in the pockets of seniors and Social Security.

Democrats want to make sure rents aren't going up higher than the rate of inflation. The Republicans don't have that plan. So, I think when we look at the plans of who's going to tackle inflation better, who's going to bring jobs better, people will choose the president and the Democratic Party.

SANCHEZ: And, Congressman, quickly if you had to choose a Republican of the -- Republican rival for President Biden to face, who would it be?

KHANNA: Anyone but Donald Trump. Look, Donald Trump was underestimated in 2016 and 2020. It would be a colossal mistake to underestimate him again.

SANCHEZ: I think some Democrats would prefer Donald Trump run again because polling has shown President Biden may have better odds against the former president. Congressman Ro Khanna, thank you so much for the time. We appreciate it.

KHANNA: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Of course. Jim?

SCIUTTO: The court has now seated a jury in the battery and defamation lawsuit brought by E. Jean Carroll against Donald Trump. She had arrived at a federal court in New York earlier today. Carroll alleges that Trump raped her in the New York Department Store dressing room in the 1990s and then later defamed her when he repeatedly denied her allegations.

Trump denies that ever happened. He has said that Carroll is "not my type." There are big questions whether Trump will even appear in court for what is a civil, we should be clear, not a criminal trial. He is not required to under those circumstances.

CNN's Kara Scannell. She's outside the court for us. Kara, so the jury just selected today, and he is now -- what do you expect to happen from here?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes, Jim. So, a panel of nine jurors were selected and then they went to a lunch break. But when they come back just before three o'clock, there's going to be opening statements in this long-running lawsuit.

The first step will be attorneys for E. Jean Carroll. She's accused the former president of raping her in a New York Department Store dressing room in the 1990s. She's also accused him of defaming her. That is when he denied the rape took place, said that she was not his type, that he didn't know her, and said that this was a hoax. All -- which her attorneys say was part of it is an effort to try to suggest that she was making up these allegations to boost sales of her book.

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Then next up will be the former president's attorneys. Now, they're going to say that this never took place. That Trump didn't meet E. Jean Carroll in this department store, and that no rape ever occurred.

From then, we'll head into the first witnesses in this case. And E. Jean Carroll has -- you know, she's expected to testify herself, give her own first-person account. She also won some free trial motions where she will be able to call two friends that she says she confided in in the 90s about this alleged assault.

In addition, she can call two other women who have said that they were assaulted by the former president. They have previously come forward. One woman was a columnist or a writer for People Magazine and she was interviewing Trump. She said that he had kissed her on an unwelcome kiss on the lips. And then another woman said that she was groped by Trump while they were seated on an airplane. Trump has denied both of those allegations.

Then the plaintiffs can also call her up and have the jury watch an Access Hollywood tape. That is where Trump is on camera where he's talking about his aggressive moves toward women. You know, Trump had dismissed that as locker-room talk.

Now, it's not clear if Trump himself will testify, but the jury can possibly see a videotaped deposition of him. His lawyer says that they will make a decision in this case as this trial plays out, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Yes. So, you got this case, you had the Manhattan DA's case, and now you have the attorney -- the DA in Georgia now considering the possibility of charges. Kara Scannell, thanks so much. Brianna.

KEILAR: Sudan further marred by violence despite declarations of a ceasefire. Now, one of the warring parties says it has seized a lab. We'll show you why the World Health Organization calls this a huge biological risk.

And tomorrow could be our first glimpse into the health of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. His condition is said to be getting worse. His daughter joining CNN NEWS CENTRAL. Ahead.

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[14:15:40]

KEILAR: In Sudan right now, a three-day ceasefire appears to be holding but just barely. Some gunfire and fighter jets have been heard around the capital of Khartoum. Each of the two warring factions accusing the other of not honoring this agreement. More than 450 people have been killed so far in clashes. As demonstrators take to the streets to protest the violence, some residents are now warning that desperation is starting to set in as food and fresh water are in short supply. And we're also seeing some new pictures of U.S. diplomatic staff extracted from Sudan arriving at the U.S. base in Djibouti.

We have CNN's Sam Kiley, who was there. And, Sam, the U.S. says it's still too dangerous to help evacuate its citizens who are still stuck in Sudan, but they are sending warships to Port Sudan on the Red Sea. What else can you tell us?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, I can tell you that other countries don't take the same view or at least a less risk-averse. But perhaps the British are under pressure, I think from the local media in the United Kingdom scheduled to send in two aircraft or two missions overnight more or less as we speak to an airfield just outside Omdurman because, in their view, it is a more permissive environment or should be under the state of the ceasefire.

But that ceasefire is tenuous. It is very, very tenuous, indeed. Hardly word -- hardly worthy of the name as this recording that we were sent by a contract in Khartoum attests.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know if you can hear this but there is now a short fire as I'm speaking with you. As for the food situation and the supplies, food is OK but shops are running out of food completely. All the factories in Bahri have been looted by the -- by some people.

And as for the water supply, still, we don't have water for the (INAUDIBLE). They can continuously -- we only get water from a well nearby. I wish to stay and to see how this is going to be -- going to progress. If it's going to be worst then, definitely I will escape. There is no other way or there is no -- it is what it is. War. You cannot see at war situations.

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KILEY: Now, the French have managed to get a frigate into Port Sudan with a view to extracting some 500 evacuees from many different nations. They were part of the UN convoy that made the overland trip from Khartoum, some 500 miles, 800 kilometers to Port Sudan which at the moment indicates that it would be unnecessary to deploy troops there. But could be a bridgehead for further evacuations, possibly involving those American warships heading in that direction, Brianna.

KEILAR: Sam, the World Health Organization is sounding a bit of an alarm here. They're saying there's "a huge biological risk" after one of the warring factions here occupied the central public health lab in Khartoum. What can you tell us about this?

KILEY: Well, this is a -- has a potential -- almost a doomsday scenario. Inside that laboratory are live cultures of cholera, polio, and measles. Now, all three are to some extent but with the possible exception of the polio-endemic in a country like Sudan.

But this would be an utter catastrophe if they were to get released and suddenly infect a population that is already suffering from malnutrition or at least food shortages, suffering from chronic water shortages, and unable to use fuel with a health system that has all been -- all but collapse.

Particularly dangerous there I think would be cholera, which go -- can run right through a population that has got -- not got ready access to clean water. And the only water that people have access to is well water in most of Khartoum, Brianna.

KEILAR: That's a very, very scary thought. Sam, thank you so much for the latest there. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, in a moment rife with irony, sharing a Security Council meeting at the United Nations on international peace. He gets to do that because it's Russia's turn to host. Notably, among those who attended was Elizabeth Whelan. Her brother, Paul, has been in a Russian prison for more than four years.

She told CNN afterward that keeping up hope for her brother's release has been a struggle. Listen.

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ELIZABETH WHELAN, BROTHER DETAINED IN RUSSIA SINCE 2018: It's very difficult to keep up a level of -- you know, of trying to press the U.S. government to do something helpful when really what you need is for Russia to free Paul. I think it's very difficult to maintain a steady -- a steady sense of hope. But I will say that we know really good people are trying to help Paul get out. We just have to keep working with them and push them forward so that Paul is not left behind for a third time.

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SANCHEZ: There is still no sign that Russia is prepared to release Paul Whelan. Jim?

SCIUTTO: Well, tomorrow also in Russia, a Moscow court is expected to hold the first hearing in a new criminal case against the imprisoned Putin critic and opposition leader, Alexei Navalny. These new charges stemmed from an incident at the penal colony, yes, those still exist in Russia, where Navalny, he is being detained allegedly an inmate with "poor hygiene" was placed in his cell prompting Navalny to drag the inmate out of the cell, guards then physically assaulted Navalny.

Now, the opposition leader could be facing even more prison time in addition to the 11 and a half years, he is already facing. All this as there are growing concerns about his physical condition and health. He said to be severely ill, with his health deteriorating rapidly.

Joining me now is Navalny's daughter, Dasha Navalnaya. Dasha, it's great to have you on.

DASHA NAVALNAYA, ALEXEI NAVALNY'S DAUGHTER: Thank you so much for having me. First, I want to, unfortunately, say that you're -- right now, what's happening -- tomorrow is what's happening is not a court case hearing.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

NAVALNAYA: And that's what the Russian propaganda wants you to understand -- to be confused about. What's happening tomorrow is a potential judge's ruling on whether the defendant can become familiarized with the court case, which is even ridiculous in its own place. What's in the case is for extremism and justification of fascism, which is an absurd accusation.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

NAVALNAYA: And basically, the prosecution has asked the judge to not give the defendant, my dad, any time to prepare for the case. And the key has -- the case has 150 volumes. And each volume -- which is already a lot and each volume, there's 250 double-spaced pages, and basically preparing even if they don't have any -- it was an -- even if they do get time.

Preparing for the process will be impossible because my dad's lawyers are forced to communicate through a firm. And they can't exchange documents. They can't really talk. They can't -- basically, they can't -- they can't see the case that is going against my dad, which is very concerning

SCIUTTO: Yes.

NAVALNAYA: And, of course, any defendant in -- around the world in Russia anywhere can talk to their lawyers in order to prepare for their hearings. My dad can't. Yes.

SCIUTTO: Now, it's -- listen. It's a great point, and I was going to ask you because we should note this. The Russian court system operates essentially in cases like this as an extension of the Kremlin.

It is not -- it may purport to be a fair process but in fact, it is a very much orchestrated process here. I wonder then as you watch this play out, as you have before, I mean, your father sitting in a penal colony, not to mention survived a horrible poising attempt by the Russian regime, what is his best hope as this "legal process" plays out? Is it public attention?

NAVALNAYA: Public attention, definitely. We have no idea. Also, one of the huge problems with the justice system being answering to the government itself is the fact that we don't know when the actual court hearings going to happen.

We don't know whether it's going to be open or closed. We don't know if we're able to have any press in the -- during the hearings. And you know, if for my dad, this is a big problem, then for any other political prisoner in Russia, this could have been -- going to become -- you know, they're just going to be put in prison without a court hearing because it's closed --

SCIUTTO: Yes

NAVALNAYA: -- and because no one's there to support them. They don't have attorneys. They don't -- they don't have the time to prepare for their hearings. And, of course, international attention is what we need the most right now.

SCIUTTO: Can I ask you what your knowledge is at this point of your father's health? And what your concern is, it's -- that he might be poisoned again. I mean, first of all, that the confinement he's going through is a threat enough, but are you concerned that authorities might take another step to try to take his life?

[14:25:03]

NAVALNAYA: Of course, there's always the concern of worsening health or even more radical approaches from the Russian government. Today -- actually, this morning, my dad -- one of my dad's attorneys has confirmed that according to the new rules that they specifically drew up for my dad, he is now legally limited to the amount of food that he can purchase in the canteen, which is -- which doesn't seem like this big of a problem but the food and the Russian prison system was bad.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

NAVALNAYA: And my dad has had some problems with losing weight. And now, the situation got -- has gotten so ridiculous that he buys the food, which is you know, oats. It's nothing. It's not that he was sure it was.

And he buys the oats, that oats are brought to him -- shown to him, and then are just destroyed. So, he can't eat.

SCIUTTO: This is --

NAVALNAYA: And it's, you know, something so basic is stripped away from a human being. It's outrageous.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

NAVALNAYA: -- which is why I'm here and I'm trying to advocate more and I'm trying to bring more attention is because people don't necessarily realize how important -- how the Russian government is stripping everyone who's a political prisoner in Russia right now of some such basic needs as feeding food.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And we should note to people that this is deliberate, right? I mean, the system -- the punishment designed to demean, right, it's deliberate.

NAVALNAYA: Right.

SCIUTTO: I need to ask you this because you and your mother and your brother are forced to watch this from afar with limited contact with your father, as you witness him going through this. How's your family doing? How are you doing?

NAVALNAYA: I'm doing all right, as well as you can do in a situation like this. I am on campus at Stanford studying. You know, it's difficult to sort of going through studying being an undergraduate student and having that happen to your father, to your family, to your country. And I think that what my dad wants, as any parent, is for me to sit here and study --

SCIUTTO: Yes.

NAVALNAYA: -- and do what the most that I can to help the situation. Although, you know, being here -- because without an education, I can't really help. That's the world -- that's the way the world works, unfortunately.

And my brother is in school. My mom is being a supportive and amazing mother and is an incredible and loving and supportive wife. And I'm just so grateful that there's a -- there's a person that I can look up to in this entire process is her. She's my role model.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Well, I'm sure your mother and your father, they want you to have this, what a father would want for his daughter. Listen, we, at CNN, of course, follow you and his case very closely. And we're thinking about you. And we really do wish you the best. Dasha Navalnaya --

NAVALNAYA: Thank you so much for having me.

SCIUTTO: (INAUDIBLE)

SANCHEZ: Yes, and it's such an important conversation, Jim. Thank you for that.

Still to come on CNN NEWS CENTRAL. President Biden, threatening to veto the Republicans' debt limit bill. All of this proving to be a tense 24 hours for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy as he is scrambling to lock down votes within his own party. Plus, closing argument is underway in the seditious conspiracy trial against five Proud Boys accused of plotting the January 6 attack. We're going to bring you the latest updates from inside the courtroom when we come back.

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