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Alexey Navalny Facing More Legal Jeopardy; Sudan Evacuations; Republican Debt Ceiling Fight; Trump Accuser Testifies; Biden Meets With South Korean President. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired April 26, 2023 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:31]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: A critical meeting and a major show of support. President Biden and his South Korean counterpart meet, as the U.S. faces global questions about its alliances after a high-profile intelligence leak.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Plus, wheeling and dealing. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's plan to avert disaster and raise the debt ceiling is changing fast. But the doubts won't go away. Can he pass the bill? Its prospects are bleak, and the debt deadline is creeping closer.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And Trump's accuser testifies. E. Jean Carroll takes the stand in the civil battery and defamation trial against the former president.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SCIUTTO: This hour, President Biden and South Korean President Yoon are expected to hold a joint news conference as they hold critical talks at the White House. They are expected to sign a key new agreement focused on deterring North Korea's rising nuclear threats.

CNN's Phil Mattingly joins us now.

I wonder, Phil, as we look at this, why this meeting now. And talk a little bit about the nuclear piece of this, because it's alarming.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, look, this is a critical agreement, I think that -- one that one that underscores a president's foreign policy that has long since centered on alliances, the importance of them, and ensuring that they are at a place that is as productive as can be, but also one that underscores a very real and tangible threat from North Korea.

You see it on a seemingly, to some degree, weekly basis in terms of their tests, their missile launches, but also very real concern from a domestic political sense in South Korea, where the commitment from the United States, the extended deterrence that the U.S. provides and has long pledged to continue to provide might not be as locked in as perhaps U.S. officials believe it is.

And that, more than anything else, drove a months-long process behind the scenes on a bilateral basis to hammer out the details of this agreement. And its an agreement that is significant, in the sense that it will lead to new assets flowing in to the region, including a nuclear submarine that would dock at a South Korea port, something that hasn't happened in four decades, but also additional training capabilities and exercises.

And this is also critical and something South Korea has been very keen on, the ability for South Korea and its government officials to have a seat at the table when it comes to nuclear planning and consultations. They will not get a say anything, but that seat at the table has been important. In exchange, the South Koreans are committing that they will remain at a posture of not pursuing any nuclear weapons, something U.S. officials really wanted to see.

So that's the basis of the agreement, I think a central component of what Biden administration officials wanted out of this bilateral.

SCIUTTO: And, listen, we should note presidents of both parties said for years, decades they would not allow a nuclear North Korea. It's happened. This is a new reality.

The U.S. and its allies, Phil Mattingly at the White House, dealing with it -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Time is running out.

The nation is racing towards a financial disaster. And leaders in Washington are not any closer to pulling us back from the brink. Overnight, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy cut a deal with fellow Republicans. They initially scoffed at his first effort to temporarily raise the $31.4 trillion debt limit. They wanted a slew of budget cuts.

Now, after some overnight changes, McCarthy claims he has the votes to pass this bill in the House in just a matter of hours. But we should note the chance of this bill getting through the Democratically controlled Senate is virtually zero percent. And the president has already vowed to veto the thing.

Meantime, experts warned the U.S. could default on its debt as early as June. Remember, this is money the United States already spent. This is like arguing if we should or shouldn't pay our bills. A default could spark a recession, a credit downgrade, market mayhem, more interest rate hikes, along with job losses and cuts to benefits for federal workers.

Let's take you now live to Capitol Hill and CNN chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju.

Manu, the speaker told you that you would be the first call he made once he knew he had the votes. So has the phone rang just yet?

(LAUGHTER)

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm still waiting by the phone, nothing yet, but, at the moment, the speaker in his office still meeting with some holdouts, people who have not yet said they will vote for this, some who have said that they would oppose this.

[13:05:00]

And, of course, he's got a math challenge, given the narrow majority in the House Republican Conference. There are 222 seats, meaning he cannot lose more than four Republican votes.

And, already, there are several members who are concerned, raising concerns that they may not vote for it or simply not saying one way or the other. He just met with Matt Gaetz, one member of the Republican Conference who had been a no. They had made some changes over how the Medicaid work requirements will be implemented to appease him.

He has yet to say publicly whether or not he would support the plan. Tim Burchett, another member who has been saying for days that he is a no, told me earlier this morning he is a no. He left McCarthy's office also saying no.

And, also, Ken Buck, Colorado Republican, someone who has not yet said which way he will come down, also says he is still reviewing the plan. There are others too who are also suggesting they could vote no. But McCarthy's allies are trying to make the case to the conference that they need to pass this bill now, in order to have an argument going forward that it's time for the White House to come to the table and negotiate a deal to avoid a default.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. KELLY ARMSTRONG (R-ND): This is what gets us in the game. This is the first conversation. The next conversation is what -- is what comes next. And we know that. And this is part of negotiating.

We know we don't control all three. We don't control the White House and the Senate. But this gets us where we need to start.

REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): I'm still leaning no. But we cannot continue doing what we have always done. And if you look at this plan and what it does with the debt over the next 10 years, it does not reduce the debt over the next 10 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: So, that last congresswoman, Nancy Mace, saying that she's still leaning no.

So therein lies a challenge from McCarthy. If those members I first referenced vote no, Mace votes no, he cannot afford to lose any other votes. Nevertheless, Republican leaders are still confident that they will get the votes tonight, it could be very close, get this through.

But after that, Boris, it is an open question what will happen. The White House Senate Democrats say, no negotiations, raise the debt limit, that's it, no cuts attached to it. That's a position Republicans strenuously oppose. And, of course, we're staring at the prospects of the first ever default by June if no deal is reached.

Can they get there, a major question that still dominates these halls -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Yes, big open question.

Manu, please let us know if that hot line blings. Manu Raju from Capitol Hill, thank you so much.

Jim, these are huge questions with enormous implications for the U.S. economy.

SCIUTTO: Yes, we talk a lot about the politics, the voting, et cetera. What would it mean for Americans at home, to their benefits? Let's take a closer look.

What the Republican proposal has is adding and strengthening work requirements for two forms of aid, food stamps for people at the bottom end of the income graph here who need help feeding themselves and their families, also Medicaid, again, intended for the poorest Americans for them to get basic medical care.

So, Medicaid, we should note, has never had a work requirement. If McCarthy somehow gets his way, certain Medicare recipients would have to work, do some community service, or earn a certain minimum monthly income in order to receive those benefits.

We should note there are some exceptions, exceptions if you're pregnant, physically or mentally unfit, or if you're enrolled in a substance abuse program. What impact would this have? The CBO, the Congressional Budget Office, which, we should note, a bipartisan group, has estimated that, if these restrictions were to come into effect, 2.2 million Americans, 2.2 would lose their Medicaid coverage, 2.2 million Americans.

The administration paints an even more dire picture. The Department of Health and Human Services says that this would jeopardize or put at risk health coverage and access to care for 21 million Americans.

So, remember, Brianna, as we look at these numbers, it's not just about counting votes on Capitol Hill. It is about counting benefits requirements, and then how many people, as a result of those requirements, would lose those benefits. We're talking about millions of Americans.

KEILAR: Yes, huge effects here.

Now to the civil battery and defamation trial against Donald Trump, E. Jean Carroll arriving at court. Here you can see the pictures before she took the stand this morning.

She told jurors -- quote -- "Donald Trump raped me." The former magazine columnist alleges that Trump assaulted her in a dressing room at a department store back in the mid-'90s. Trump has repeatedly denied these allegations.

CNN's Kara Scannell is live outside of the courthouse in New York.

Kara, what else did she say today in court?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, E. Jean Carroll took the stand in her own case today. She was testifying for about 90 minutes before they broke for lunch.

And right out of the gate, she made that very clear allegation and accusation. She said: "I'm here because Donald Trump raped me. And when I wrote about it, he said it didn't happen. He lied and shattered my reputation, and I'm here to try and get my life back."

Her attorney then had her walk through the alleged events of that day. Carroll said it was likely a Thursday, but she couldn't say for sure, in the spring of 1996. She said she was shopping at the Bergdorf Goodman department store, leaving, going through the doors, when Donald Trump was entering.

[13:10:08]

She said that he put his hand up, as in the universal sign of stop, and said: "Hey, you're that advice lady."

And she replied: "Hey, you're that real estate tycoon."

They then continued, she said. He asked her for some advice to buy a gift for a woman. And they can -- they were in a joking mood, she said. It was it was fun. She said that she was enjoying it, where they were looking at handbags. Then they were looking at hats. And then Trump suggested that go to the sixth floor and go to the lingerie department.

There, she said that they continued in this jovial mode. She said they were Joshing around. Trump picked up a bodysuit and suggested that Carroll try it on. She replied: "You put it on."

She said then that things turned and they went into the dressing room. And this is where she described in graphic detail what she alleges happened. She said that Trump pushed her and shoved her up against the wall, that he shoved her so hard, her head banged against the wall at least twice. Then she said he pulled down her tights and he raped her.

At that point, she said that this was extremely painful. She could remember it to this day. She also then described how, after that, she fled the department store and called one of her friends. That friend is expected to testify for Carroll later on in this case.

Now, the former president is unlikely to testify. The judge tells his attorney he wants a firm answer on that this week, although the jury will likely see a video deposition of Trump fully denying these charges. He claims this never happened -- Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Kara, thank you. And we will continue to watch this trial -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Still ahead: the race to evacuate. Nations from around the world getting their citizens out of war-torn Sudan, as we're now learning two Americans have died there in clashes.

And Alexey Navalny now in even more legal jeopardy, the jailed opposition figure now facing two big trials in Russia. We have the latest on his plight when CNN NEWS CENTRAL returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:16:16]

SANCHEZ: Two Americans have now died in the violence in Sudan.

One was a Sudanese American physician killed just outside his home. The White House says that a fragile cease-fire has led to a reduction in fighting, but, on the ground, the race to flee is ramping up.

Here, you see two contrasting scenes on the right. These are Nigerian students desperate to get on buses deporting today, and, on your left, the U.K. military evacuating British citizens. Their first plane landed back in the United Kingdom today.

As for Americans, the White House says it's only facilitating a -- quote -- "small number" of departures at this time.

Let's take you live to the region and CNN's Sam Kiley, who's on the ground for us in Djibouti.

Sam, the U.K., Germany, China, they have evacuated hundreds of citizens. But the U.S. government says that a large-scale evacuation operation is simply too dangerous.

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there is a different attitude, but they have different challenges, I think, there, Boris.

The British, for example, have 4,000 British passport holders estimated to be in Sudan. That is a pretty mass evacuation challenge. They're talking about trying to run at least eight flights from Cyprus into Khartoum. I understand they have -- they have done about six so far.

But they have troops on the ground. They have got Royal Marines that have secured a bridgehead there at an airport just outside Omdurman and are escorting people to that location, or at least encouraging the situation to be possible to do that.

For the Americans, they have got 16,000 potential evacuees, if all of them want to leave. Those are often people with the Sudanese background as well. But the fact of the matter is that, as far as the Americans have assessed it, they do not believe that there is a permissive enough environment to conduct particularly not an airborne evacuation.

This is what John Kirby said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN KIRBY, NSC COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS: I'm not going to go so far as to say there's no violence. Of course, we have seen reports of sporadic firing and shelling in and around Khartoum.

But, largely, the violence is way down from what it was. And so we want to take advantage of that cease-fire to make sure that Americans know, if they want to make the move -- and that's a decision they have to make. And it's not that it's risk-free.

QUESTION: Yes.

KIRBY: But if they do want to make a move, we're going to see what we can do to get them the information they need to link up with these ground routes. It is still dangerous. I want to stress that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KILEY: Now, the key phrase in there is if they want to make the move.

This is rather putting onto those American citizens the obligation to figure out their own way out of town. Now, that is itself fraught with problems. We have spoken to numerous people who talk of multiple roadblocks that you have to go through, potential to be looted. There's no military escort necessarily that they can trust.

Even if they can, they have to cross front lines. But some people have been -- a significant numbers have made it out all the way to Port Sudan. That's an 800-kilometer, 500-mile, drive. But doing so requires access to a vehicle, food and fuel and water. And people sheltering in place in Khartoum very unlikely to be able to, unless they're extremely wealthy, because the banks are all closed, Boris -- it's very, very difficult to raise the money, even if you have got the cash in the bank, to even make these sorts of trips.

So people are effectively trapped, Boris.

SANCHEZ: It is a difficult situation that is unfolding in Sudan.

And something you reported yesterday could potentially exacerbate the situation, especially in Khartoum, the capital city, because these RSF fighters to control of this lab that has some potentially very dangerous diseases. Do you have an update on the status of the situation at the lab?

[13:20:02]

KILEY: All we know is that the World Health Organization has identified this armed group as having been behind taking over the -- it's the national lab that the researchers produce and produces vaccines and keeps an eye on the pathogens in the country.

Now, they obviously keep supplies of pathogens, and the ones that they're drawing attention to are polio, measles, and cholera, Boris. And, as you know, measles and cholera are actually endemic anyway in Sudan. But a polio release would set back a pretty successful campaign to eradicate that disease across Sudan. I think cholera would also be a massive trigger, if it did get out of

that lab. It would be endemic anyway in Khartoum. It is the sort of disease that preys on vulnerable people who don't have access to clean water. And that would really define pretty much everybody in Khartoum.

And the other really important point to understand in this context is that only 16 percent of the hospitals there or clinics are even working. So any kind of pathogen getting out into the population is going to be catastrophic -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Yes, with conditions deteriorating there, an outbreak of any kind would only worsen the situation.

Sam Kiley in Djibouti, thank you so much -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: In Moscow, jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny is now up against two big trials, that according to his spokeswoman, who says the Kremlin critic is facing new terrorism charges, along with an extremism case that had him in court today.

This comes as Navalny's daughter tells CNN Russian authorities are depriving him of food -- you saw that on this broadcast just yesterday -- and that he is suffering as a result of all that dramatic weight loss.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen has been following the latest developments.

Fred, tell us what you have learned about these new charges, because it seems, with Navalny, the Russian judiciary gets him in jail for one thing, and then accuses him something else, and with something far -- or far short of a fair trial.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that certainly is what it looks like, Jim.

And you can really feel, you're absolutely right, that grinding attrition against Alexey Navalny and his organization continue there in those Russian courts. It was interesting, because the hearing today in that court was actually about the extremism trial.

And what they decided there is that Alexey Navalny would only have a very limited time, 10 days, to go through hundreds of documents about that trial to familiarize himself with what he is actually up against. And, of course, the court there ruled in favor of the prosecution, saying that Alexey Navalny would only have until May 5.

And, apparently, on the sidelines of that hearing, he found out that there was also, in preparation, a terrorism trial against him as well in front of a military court, and that that trial was set to take place in secret.

Now, there's very limited information, obviously, available about this. Kira Yarmysh, the spokeswoman for the Navalny organization, for the Anti-Corruption Foundation, she was saying that she believed it might be because Leonid Volkov, who is the chief of staff for Alexey Navalny, may have said something critical of Vladimir Putin on a YouTube channel.

But it really is unclear whether it's only that or whether other things are in play as well, so, certainly, by all accounts, a devastating day for Alexey Navalny. On the one hand, you have that extremism trial that continues, where he faces up to 30 years, and then possibly up to 35 years, according to his organization, for the terrorism charges.

And you did have his daughter on yesterday. And, of course, we all -- we all watched that interview, Jim, which was remarkable. And you could see how concerned she is about his health. He did, however, today joke even in the courtroom.

Want to listen in to some of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXEY NAVALNY, RUSSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER (through translator): I just wanted to say that I got a little bit lonely in solitary confinement. And it is just amazing for me to see so many people.

The only people who I am in contact with are the ones who hand me the food and, of course, my favorite head of the unit, who sits next to me filming.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: So, despite that, despite all the adversity he faces, still obviously keeping at least some humor there in the docket.

He was sent straight back, Jim, to solitary confinement in that penal colony that he's in east of Moscow.

SCIUTTO: Yes, his daughter made the point yesterday they don't look at this as a legal process. They look at it as a political process, further ways to restrict him and punish him, emanating from the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

Fred Pleitgen, always good to have you covering the story -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Still ahead, we're standing by to hear from President Biden and the president of South Korea. They will soon take questions after meeting at the White House. We're going to bring that to you live.

Plus, the special counsel investigating the Capitol riot is now interested in audio recordings involving FOX News hosts.

We will have the latest coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:29:38]

SANCHEZ: Soon, President Biden and South Korean President Yoon are expected to hold a joint news conference, the two leaders holding critical talks at the White House today. And they are expected to sign a key new agreement focused on deterring

North Korea's rising nuclear threat. A significant part of the deal is a show of deterrence, a U.S. nuclear-armed submarine that's going to be deployed to South Korea for the first time since the Cold War in the early 1980s.

KEILAR: And with us now, we have CNN chief White House correspondent Phil Mattingly and CNN's Paula Hancocks, who is live for us.