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Pennant with Russian Military Insignia Found in Suspect's Room; West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice Enters 2024 Senate Race; Fed Chair Pranked in Chat with Someone Pretending to be Zelenskyy. Aired 9:30- 10a ET

Aired April 28, 2023 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:32:25]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

We are closely tracking this hour the deadly new attack in Ukraine. It's truly devastating, the images coming out. And now it is a desperate search for survivors amid the rubble. So far, we know that at least 17 people are dead after a Russian missile hit a residential building in the central city of Uman. And we are being told, the death toll is likely to continue to rise as we speak.

This all happened just before 5:00 a.m. local time. So many of these people, asleep in bed. According to the Zelenskyy government, there were 46 apartments in that building, and 27 of them now destroyed.

The CNN team on the ground is seeing bodies being removed from this decimated residential building. We saw it playing out live unfortunately as Nic Robertson was speaking to John Berman just earlier this hour. Sara?

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: These pictures are awful.

All right. Take a look at this. This pennant bearing the insignia of the Russian military's general's staff was found hanging inside the bedroom of Jack Teixeira. He's the Air National Guardsman accused of posting classified documents online.

Teixeira was in court for a detention hearing yesterday. The judge has not yet ruled on whether or not he must stay in jail while he awaits trial. All of this has prompted the Pentagon to review how it vets individuals before giving them security clearances.

CNN national security reporter, Natasha Bertrand, is joining us now. What more are you learning about what might change when it comes to getting security clearances?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: You know, Sara, that is exactly what is under investigation now by the Pentagon, by the Air Force inspector general. They're both trying to figure out why so many of these red flags in Teixeira's background apparently went unheeded during the process of him getting a top-secret security secret security clearance.

And prosecutors revealed a lot of new evidence in their court filings earlier this week about just what those red flags were, including that he was suspended from his high school for making violent remarks about guns, about Molotov cocktails, things that generally made his classmates feel very uncomfortable and that was only three years before he was granted this top-secret clearance. He was only about 20 when he did so.

So a lot of questions here about why that wasn't flagged. Why it didn't prevent him from getting a clearance. In addition to the fact, according to prosecutors, that he applied twice for a gun identification card, and was actually rejected by the local police department in Massachusetts because they were uncomfortable with the fact that he had been suspended over these violent remarks.

[09:35:00]

So all of this taken together really raising questions within the Pentagon, especially post-Snowden after this massive overhaul of the vetting process to -- to detect insider threats. How this was not caught sooner.

And of course, there are questions about the insignia that was found in his bedroom, including things that were apparently sympathetic to the Russian general staff as well as a cache of weapons that the FBI found when they searched his bedroom.

Now, the Pentagon is saying that they have a prescribed process for the security clearance vetting process and that the vast majority of people who do receive these clearances are not bad actors. Here's what the Pentagon press secretary said just yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. PATRICK S. RYDER, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: An adjudicator follows a -- a very prescribed process that examines a sufficient period in a person's life to make an affirmative determination that that person is eligible first for security clearance, and then eligibility for access to classified information is predicated upon the individual meeting personnel security guidelines.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERTRAND: So another major question, though, has to do with his behavior while he was actually in the military. Of course according to prosecutors, he was posting things online about wanting to kill people, about wanting to use his van as a weapon to shoot out of the back of it in crowded suburban areas. Why wasn't the Pentagon able to catch that? And of course, the big, alleged leak of classified documents, much sooner. Sara?

SIDNER: There seemed to be a lot of red flags there. Thank you so much, Natasha Bertrand, live for us from the Pentagon. John?

BERMAN: So this morning, a political announcement that has the potential to shift the balance of power in the U.S. Senate. West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, a Republican, announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Democrat Joe Manchin. The Republican governor announced his candidacy to a room full or supporters, including Senator Shelley Moore Capito and Lindsey Graham. Everyone there knows that a shift of just one seat in 2024 could throw the Senate to the Republicans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JIM JUSTICE (R-WV), SENATE CANDIDATE: And it is our chance. It is our chance right now. You know, if you look at the math and you look at everything, and you look at what happens if this doesn't happen in 2024. Now just imagine, imagine this country on the pathway that we're on with the Biden administration today, and imagine this country as to what it would be if we continue on that pathway to 2030 or beyond.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Joining us now is Hoppy Kercheval. He is the host of "MetroNews Talkline" on West Virginia radio, and really the very beating heart of West Virginia. So great to talk to you. Look, I think there are two aspects --

HOPPY KERCHEVAL, WEST VIRGINIA RADIO HOST, "METRONEWS TALKLINE": (Inaudible)

BERMAN: -- of this -- there are two aspects of this which resonate with the national audience here, one, it's the balance of power in the Senate, and then the Joe Manchin of it all.

Let's start with the first, because it was interesting to hear Governor Justice there in his announcement speech make the balance of power a central theme. How big of a deal is that in West Virginia itself?

KERCHEVAL: Well, I think it's a significant deal because this state is very conservative. It has gone heavily red over the last couple of decades. Donald Trump won the state by 40 points in the last two elections. So the balance of power is important, and here's Jim Justice who was heavily recruited by Mitch McConnell and Steve Daines, saying you elect me, and I'll help swing the Senate to the Republicans. So yes, it's a factor for sure.

BERMAN: Now, you say West Virginia is a really at this point ruby red state yet Joe Manchin has been able to not just survive but, in many ways, thrive. I mean, he has been a presence in West Virginia for decades now. How vulnerable is he?

KERCHEVAL: Well, you're right. Joe Manchin has been around for a long time. He's held about every office in West Virginia, including governor, and now Senate for a couple of terms. And he's managed to thread the needle. He is a moderate to conservative Democrat. He does not run as Joe Manchin, the Democrat. He runs as I'm Joe Manchin, you know me.

He has 100 percent name recognition. He's very good on the stump. And obviously he's gotten a lot of national attention over the last couple of years. So he is -- he's right there. He should not be -- if he gets in this race, that's the big question, he's not to be taken lightly. This is not a slam dunk. And if he does run, you've got to figure that even if -- even if the Washington Democrats are not thrilled with Joe Manchin, he's their only hope. If it's not Manchin -- if it's not Manchin, this seat is automatically a Republican seat. It's an automatic flip.

BERMAN: Now you keep using the word if there, and I want people to know why. Because this is the statement that Joe Manchin put out after Governor Justice's -- after his announcement, Manchin said, quote, "I am laser focused on doing the job West Virginians elected me to do - lowering health care costs, protecting Social Security, Medicare, shoring up American energy security and getting our fiscal house in order. But make no mistake, I will win any race I enter."

[09:40:00]

That last line we highlighted. "I'll win any race I enter." That's not I'm in it. It's saying I might be. What's going on here?

KERCHEVAL: Well, first of all, Manchin -- this is West Virginia, and -- and politics is kind of sport here. So nobody's going to be wimpy about -- about an election, and Manchin is a fighter, he's proved he can win elections.

But I also think, John, keep an eye on this. Manchin has three options here. He's 75 years old. He's had a lifetime in politics. He could run for reelection, and it would be a blood bath in West Virginia, it would be a very tough election. He could not run again, but I think his attention span's very short, I think he would miss being in politics. Or, or, he can be a third party candidate for president. It is not lost on Manchin that 70 percent of the expected voters would like somebody other than Trump and Biden. And Manchin, I think, is testing the waters to see if he could be a third-party candidate.

BERMAN: So he's thinking maybe even beyond West Virginia. Hoppy Kercheval, always great to talk to you. Thanks so much for joining us in CNN NEWS CENTRAL. I think we'll be talking to you again soon. Kate?

BOLDUAN: John, please stick around. This is something that I know you're going to enjoy. It does not involve black hole but it does -- it does involve a historic spacewalk. I'm actually serious. Stay here.

Look right here. I believe, guys, tell me if these are still live pictures. These are playback. I believe these are live pictures from -- I mean kind of is given, from space, from outside the International Space Station. Flight engineers Stephen Bowen of NASA and Sultan Al Neyadi of the UAE, they're upgrading the power system of the International Space Station.

Al Neyadi, which -- I cannot tell which one is which obviously right now. But it's one of those two amazing men. Al Neyadi is the first Arab astronaut to perform a spacewalk. The mission is expected to last about 6 and 1/2 hours. We're going to be bringing you updates throughout this morning. As this is obviously playing out live. Oh well, actually, I can tell you which one is which, because you can see, one has an American flag on his pack. So that that is Bowen, and then the other one would Al Neyadi. It's so cool to see. Sara?

SIDNER: It's so cool. We kicked John out, because I wanted to see. So I kind of pushed him aside.

BOLDUAN: When I said John, stick around, I actually meant please leave and please Sara show up.

SIDNER: Yes, that's what I --

BOLDUAN: Oh, you're still here? Oh, we're live? Oh.

SIDNER: (Inaudible) Yes, sorry.

(LAUGHTER)

All right, coming up. Powell pranked. The Federal Reserve chief finds himself on the wrong end of a chat with someone pretending to be Ukraine's president.

Also, is speech on college campuses, free speech, I should say, on college campuses dead amid pushback over debates on sensitive issues? We'll look at whether college students still have the appetite to have those difficult conversations, ahead.

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[09:47:10]

SIDNER: Earlier this year, the head of the Federal Reserve held a video call with a person he thought was Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But it wasn't Zelenskyy on that call. Jerome Powell apparently got pranked.

CNN's senior international correspondent Matthew Chance is here live and in person with me. OK. This is mind blowing to me. How did this happen? How did he not know he was being pranked when it's the video -- it was a video call?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I mean, you've got to assume that Volodymyr Zelenskyy wasn't on it. It was a one-way video call. And -- and the pranksters, who are notorious couple of Russian comedians that do this all the time, you know, just pretended to be Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president.

And they do -- they always -- they do this all the time. They constantly posing as world leaders or prominent figures and then calling other prominent figures and world leaders and having prank calls that aren't necessarily hilarious, but they're sort of intended to kind of be similar to the conversations you'd imagine these two figures would have, as a means of revealing some kind of truth. You know, these people are not going to get interviews with, you know, Jerome Powell normally.

SIDNER: Right, right.

CHANCE: And so the fact they got through to him and then broadcast what he thought was a private conversation. He spoke about, you know, inflation in -- in the United States. He spoke about how there may be a recession, there may be low economic growth. They also tried to draw him on how Russia was coping amid sanctions. Take a listen, I think, to what Jerome Powell had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED PRANKSTER, WAS PRANKING FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN JEROME POWELL: So how do you assess the policy of the Central Bank of Russia, for example, so they managed to save the rubble, why?

JEROME POWELL, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: Yes. So I should say that in our system, in our governmental system it's really the administration, which is to say we're not part of the administration. We're an independent Central Bank.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHANCE: There, he was being asked to sort of praise the Russian Central Bank.

SIDNER: Right.

CHANCE: And that indicates, you know, that this is the objective of this -- this couple of comedians, they want praise for the Russians. They never do things about -- against Russia, it's always for Russia.

SIDNER: All right.

CHANCE: But, you know, Jerome Powell and, you know, the bank here basically releasing a statement saying that no sensitive or confidential information was discussed. And that's kind of borne out by what we just heard there from Jerome Powell who chose his words very carefully.

SIDNER: Very, very carefully. I think everyone knows just in case they're being recorded. And look at what happened. Matthew Chance, always a pleasure to have you. Thank you. John?

BERMAN: I love the fact we brought Matthew all the way here from overseas for that.

(LAUGHTER)

All right. Quarterbacks stole the show early and often during the first round of the NFL draft. Three of the top four picks, quarterbacks, but it's the one still in the green room that might be the surprise of the night.

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[09:53:50]

BOLDUAN: Night one, round one of the NFL draft is a wrap. And it delivered on the hype and all the buildup to the big event in Kansas City. For the fourth time ever, three quarterbacks were chosen in the first four picks.

Alabama's QB, Bryce Young, he went number one to the Carolina Panthers. And -- and he is now the first Alabama player to go first overall.

CNN's Coy Wire live in Kansas City with much more on this.

Coy, as the "New York Times" put it, and really, this kind of summed it up for me.

"After a handful of by-the-books selections, the draft settled into its familiar state of unpredictability."

What happened last night? And what is the deal with Will Levis?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: You got -- yes, absolutely -- poor Will. We'll get to him in a minute. Kate, we have to start with Bryce Young from Alabama, one of the most humble stars out there, their number one kick in history's draft, it's proof that hard work, discipline, and a positive attitude can make dreams come true. He's only about 5'10", 190 pounds, but he has built himself into a champion.

I talked to his parents yesterday, Kate, and asked them, what about Bryce that makes them most proud. They said that he's the same kind, humble young man when no one is watching. It's his character.

[09:55:00]

Bryce and I talked moments before he was drafted, Kate, about how he was never the biggest, fastest, or strongest. He always had doubters. And I asked him what advice he has for anyone out there chasing dreams. Listen.

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BRYCE YOUNG, DRAFTED 1ST OVERALL BY CAROLINA PANTHERS: We're all in our own journeys and just to run your own race, you know, to not look at someone else and be envious or be jealous and try to have what they have. What's meant for you will come to you in your time, you know, with -- with what God wants you to have and put work in. So, you know, run your own race. Focus on being the best version of yourself and, you know, try to have tunnel vision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: With the second pick, the Houston Texans selected Ohio state quarterback C.J. Stroud. And look at the emotion, Kate, he told me before, he was picked -- he's been through so much, grew up in a family of six, living at a storage facility where his mom couldn't afford cleats, and you can see that it all hidden, when his dream came true here, and his name being called. Anthony Richardson was number four, Kate, --

BOLDUAN: (Inaudible)

WIRE: -- from Sara Sidner's University of Florida. And went to the Indianapolis Colts.

Real quick on Will Levis, Kate. Awkward situation. Opposite of joy being called as the agony and turmoil when you are not called, yet a 92 percent chance on being drafted in the top 10 by ESPN. But no team called his name in the entire first round, waited, and waited.

When I was drafted, Kate, I remember it felt like my heart was beating out of my chest with every pick, wondering if your name would be called. Will Levis will certainly have his dream come true though later today.

BOLDUAN: I mean, absolutely. And how many examples are there -- I mean, when did Tom Brady get picked? I mean that's -- I know a factoid that I should remember. But I mean, how many examples of -- thank you, John Berman, from backstage, but like he's going to be good. He could be very fine.

(LAUGHTER)

WIRE: That's right.

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

And we still have 17 more days of the NFL draft to go, Sara.

SIDNER: That is -- that is almost true.

All right. Now, to an emotional day in court for the woman suing Donald Trump for battery and defamation. Hear how E. Jean Carroll responded on the stand when Trump's attorneys grilled her about why she didn't report the alleged sexual assault.

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