Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

State Department: McCaul Contempt Threat To Blinken Unfortunate; Texas Gun Safety Bill To Be Heard In State House; Iran Smuggled Weapons To Syria In Aid Convoys; Russia Resorting To Cold War-Era Tanks For Ukraine Battle; White House Pushing Rule To Compensate Flyers For Delays, Cancellations. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired May 08, 2023 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:29:59]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Congressman Mike McCaul, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee is threatening to hold the Secretary of State in contempt of Congress. Tony Blinken declined to turn over a classified diplomatic dissent cable related to the chaotic 2021 U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. And McCaul says he is ready to move forward with contempt proceedings this week.

Today a State Department spokesperson said that Blinken has already given the committee everything it need.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VEDANT PATEL, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: It's unfortunate that after being provided with a classified briefing and being provided a written summary of the contents of the dissent channel cable as well as the department's response. The House Foreign Affairs Committee continues to pursue this, the materials in briefings that we've offered and provided have sufficiently met the mark when it comes to the committee's legitimate oversight request.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: My colleague Jake Tapper joins me now. Jake, you're going to take a closer look at this, but also, that's the administration saying that we have given them the information they need, as determined by the administration though that is being overseen. So that doesn't quite square.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, it's not really how oversight works. The oversight committee or in this case, the House Foreign Affairs Committee gets to decide what they want. And certainly, there is nothing untoward about wanting this dissent cable. Now the best argument that the administration has is that they don't want the diplomats that were candid in this dissent cable to have their careers dragged into the political arena. But there does seem to be a simple solution. That which would be to redact their names so that the issues can come out.

Look, whatever the position is on the war in Afghanistan or whether the U.S. should be there or President Biden or the like, there are obviously lessons that needs to be learned from this withdrawal. I mean, hundreds of people lost their lives, 13 American service members lost their lives. There is a dissent cable. This is legitimate work. Congressman chairman Mike McCaul is not a firebrand, he is just doing his job.

KEILAR: And there is some political exposure for the Biden administration on this, right, that they would like to minimize. So, that's also something to keep in mind as they are trying to minimize the oversight here.

TAPPER: Yes, I mean, look, nobody likes oversight, that's why people like to have Congress be controlled by the same party when you're running the White House. But this is the legitimate function of Congress. And you can point to other investigations going on Capitol Hill and question the legitimacy or not, but this is -- this is real.

Different topic, a very interesting thing happened in Texas today. And you on "THE LEAD" are going to you are going to be speaking to a Texas state lawmaker, a key one, when it comes to this advancing a big gun bill that -- it was very surprising that it did move through the legislature.

TAPPER: That's right, now you might know, like nationally the age to purchase a handgun is 21. That's a national law. But when it comes to semiautomatic weapons, that's state-by-state. In Florida after Parkland, they raised the age from 18 to 21 under a Republican legislature and a Republican governor. And now there is something very interesting going on in Texas. Take a listen to Democratic state representative Jarvis Johnson. This is him calling out his Republican colleagues on Friday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JARVIS JOHNSON, (D) TEXAS STATE HOUSE: You are blowing me off because I don't have an "R" by my name. It is time to legislate -- children have died in this state, and you guys are sitting here joking and playing and thinking that this is a joke. This is not a joke.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: I believe that was before the shooting in Allen, Texas. Because there have been so many shooting in Texas, but out of committee -- that is not a passage -- but out of committee, there was a vote to raise the age for the purchase of a semiautomatic weapon in Texas from 18 to 21. It still would require a full vote of the Texas legislature.

KEILAR: It's a victory. A small victory, it's not a complete victory at this point for, say, families from Uvalde. Will it go further you think?

TAPPER: It's unclear that there -- it will even be voted on, on the floor of the state legislature there. But it does show -- I mean, there were two Republicans, I believe, on the committee who voted to raise the age. It does show that this is these non-stop shootings are taking a toll on the American people even conservative Republicans in Texas.

KEILAR: Yes, and the death toll is so much higher with the AR-15 style weapons. We see that with the shootings. Jake, thank you so much. We will see you on "THE LEAD" at the top of the hour -- Boris.

TAPPER: Thank you, Brianna.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Listen to this, Iran used the cover of humanitarian aid shipments to smuggle weapons and military equipment into Syria. That's what two sources and an Israeli defense official have official told CNN.

[04:35:00]

The aid convoys were supposed to be taking help to Syria after a devastating earthquake in February. CNN's Natasha Bertrand is at the Pentagon for us on this. Natasha, what exactly are your sources telling you about these shipments?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Boris. So, there was intelligence in February created by the U.S. that suggested that Iran was actually using convoys that were supposed to be sending humanitarian aid into Syria, to actually send weaponry and other military equipment to Iran backed proxy groups in Syria. Likely in order to be able to carry out attacks on American personnel there. There are about 900 American troops currently stationed in Syria as part of the anti-ISIS coalition there.

And what we are told is that according to this intelligence which was confirmed to us by an Israeli defense official, the Iranians wanted to ship things like rifles and ammunition to these proxy forces under the guise of this humanitarian aid. But of course, was pouring into Syria at the time after that devastating earthquake that left roughly 50,000 people dead in both Turkey and Syria. And of course, many, many countries were sending their aid.

Well, apparently Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is the military arm of Iran, they actually worked with the Quds Force, which is part of the IRGC that specializes in unconventional warfare, to send convoys from Iraq into Syria that were hiding these weapons. And of course, this is extremely concerning to U.S. officials who are trying to stem the flow of weaponry into Syria for use to potentially attack U.S. forces.

And in fact, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, he told lawmakers back in March that, quote, Iran threatens to push the Middle East into regional instability by supporting terrorists and proxy forces. President Biden, of course, has ordered multiple airstrikes on Iranian backed facilities used by their proxy forces in Syria to kind of house this equipment and also do other operational planning to target U.S. troops.

But the fact that Iran was able to get this military equipment and this weaponry into Syria at that time, it really remains an ongoing concern for the U.S. and its allies -- Boris.

Yes, a major concern. Natasha Bertrand from the Pentagon, thank you so much -- Jim.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: Still to come, as Russia hurts for military equipment on the battlefield in Ukraine, it appears there now digging deep into the archives. Pulling out World War II era tanks.

Also ahead, an incredible story of survival in Australia, all thanks to a bottle of wine. Stay with us.

[04:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Now, to some of the headlines that we are following at this hour. In Canada, more than 100 wildfires in Alberta have forced nearly 30,000 people out of their homes. Firefighters say this is much -- this much activity is not normal, but bone-dry conditions, high winds and scorching temperatures are fueling these fires.

Also, a new revelation in the lawsuit filed by the family of Gabby Petito against the family of her boyfriend Brian Laundrie. Petito's family is seeking a letter in which they say Laundrie's mother talks about, quote, baking a cake with a shiv in it should her son go to prison. The Petito lawyer say the letter was in the backpack found with Laundrie's body. But the Laundrie's say they should not turn over the letter which was written before Petito went missing.

And here's a rescue to raise an extra glass to. Victoria police in Australia saved a 48-year-old woman who had been missing for five days in the bush. The only thing the woman had to drink, a bottle of wine that she had bought for her mother. The woman police she did not usually drink alcohol. She is now being treated in the hospital for dehydration. Amazing story there -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Well, they had head of the Russian mercenary Wagner Group says his fighters may stay in the battle for Bakhmut after all. You remember, he had threatened to pull out. Saying that his men were getting killed because the Russian military was not giving them the ammunition they needed. Russia struggled to supply its troops. It's now become so bad they are pulling Cold War era tanks out of mothballs and then putting them into service. Our Clare Sebastian reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN DELANEY, SENIOR CURATOR, IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM: What a missile will do is it will fly over the tank, then down in a 90-degree, straight into the top of the turret which is less well defended.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This scenario has played out hundreds of times over the past 14 months. Ukraine using Western weapons to devastating effect.

Russia, according to one recent estimate, has lost up to half its operational tank fleet in this war. Now western officials say Russia is dusting off much older models to replace them. DELANEY: This gun was used on the SU-100 tanks destroyer in 1944. So, it's a Second World War gun.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Including this T-55, first built in the 1940s. This one now housed at the Imperial War Museum outside Cambridge.

Satellite imagery for a storage facility in Russia's far east showing dozens of tanks have been removed in the last year. This image showing the T-55 at that same facility.

Video that first surfaced in March also showing a train load on the move, reportedly somewhere in Russia. The Russian minister of defense hasn't confirmed their deployment.

But in recent weeks well connected Russian bloggers have begun showing T-55s in Russian occupied territory in Ukraine.

DELANEY: There're so many of these were manufactured, over 100,000 altogether.

[04:45:00]

And the parts, the basic mechanical parts are all interchangeable. So, there will be vast stockpiles of these.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): The T-55 was a central piece of the Soviet Union's Cold War arsenal, helping crush democratic uprisings in Eastern Europe. Hungary in 1966, the Prague Spring 12 years later. But by the time Iraq used them in the Gulf War in the early 90s --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We took out -- all told 14 T-55 tanks.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): -- they were already outclassed by U.S. M1- Abrams and British Challengers. Earlier versions of the tanks NATO countries are now supplying to Ukraine.

TREVOR TAYLOR, PROFESSIONAL FELLOW IN DEFENSE, RUSI: I think faced with Western weapons the Russians must expect very heavy casualties if they expect to move forward using that type of system.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Experts say behind the official propaganda, Russia cannot build new weapons quick enough.

SEBASTIAN: Well, Western sanctions primarily targeting Russia's access to higher tech parts for weapons have made it much harder for them to manufacture more modern equipment.

Older, simpler tanks like this, thousands of them just sitting in storage, provide an alternative.

SEBASTIAN: But this against say, a Leopard 2 or a Challenger, what happens?

DELANEY: If it's a one-on-one tank engagement over a reasonable distance, this will loose every time. But in wooded or closer built environments, this is adequate. SEBASTIAN (voice-over): It is also simpler to maintain and train on the newer systems, an advantage for Russia's mobilized troops.

DELANEY: Dig a pit. Sit in tank in the pit so you can only see the turret, and then that can be used to defend a front line against a counterattack.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Russia is now digging in with everything it has, as Ukraine gets ready for what may be its biggest counteroffensive yet.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, in Duxford, England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Our thanks to Clare for that report.

Hey, remember when you, the taxpayer, bailed out the airline industry in the early days of the pandemic. So, when they cancel a flight with something in their control, like scheduling or staffing. Why are passengers paying the price? President Biden says he has a plan to fix that. We'll take a look, straight ahead.

[04:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We've all been there, right? You check the weather. You pack your sandals and your floaties. You make sure your luggage isn't too heavy. You get to the airport early and then, boom, the airline cancels your flight and suddenly you're on the hook to pay for changes.

Well, today the Biden administration is trying to change that. They have a new proposal that would force airlines to compensate passengers and cover expenses like meals and hotels in cases where the airline caused the cancellation or delay. This does not apply when weather gets in the way of your travel plans.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond has been tracking all of this for us. Jeremy, help us wrap our heads around this plan that Biden presented today.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, you sound pretty happy about it. I mean, I know you've probably dealt with delays at the airport or cancellations we all do traveling for our jobs, right?

But this new rule that President Biden is proposing is going to do what many airlines already do, but also require them to actually do so and perhaps add a little extra compensation than what is currently happening.

Look, this new rule-making process is just getting started -- announced by the president. But it's going to require that these airlines compensate passengers with meals, with hotels, with rebooking and potentially as well with cash or mileage to compensate travelers for delays or cancellations that are within the airline's control. And that part is important to note because as you said, weather, for example, would not be getting you those kinds of rights. Let's listen to the president talking about this issue just today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know how frustrated many of you are to serve as you get from your U.S. airlines. Especially after you, the American taxpayer, stepped up in 2020 in the last administration in the early days of the pandemic to provide nearly $50 billion in assistance to keep the airline industry and its employees afloat. I get it. That's why our top priority has been to get American air travelers a better deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: And Boris, like I said, the majority of airlines currently already do compensate passengers with meals or hotel rooms, for example, when their flights get delayed or cancelled. But no airline currently guarantees cash compensation when an airline is responsible for that delay or cancellation. And while this rule-making process is just getting started, it appears that that could be part of the deal that the travelers are getting with these new rules -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Who is going to say no to cash, right, Jeremy? Thanks so much, Jeremy Diamond from the White House. Jim, over to you.

SCIUTTO: Not this guy, Boris. After a whirlwind coronation weekend, the royal family members are out volunteering at community events. How the youngest royals lent a helping hand. That's next.

[04:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: The coronation celebrations continue across the British Commonwealth. Buckingham Palace releasing this today -- the official portrait of King Charles III looking fresh off his coronation on Saturday. Pretty good, right?

SANCHEZ: A little bit of a throwback. Like 300 years.

SANCHEZ: Looking very much like his mom. The newly crowned king sending a message today thanking everyone who attended the event.

Saying, quote: To know that we have your support and encouragement and to witness your kindness expressed in so many different ways, has been the greatest possible coronation gift.

Today also marking the first official royal engagement for one of the youngest members of the royal family. Check this out. Prince Louis, just 5 years old seen helping out his dad Prince William by doing some heavy lifting as part of the big help out event. Prince Louis and his siblings Prince George and Princess Charlotte also did some renovations for a local scout group along with their mom, the Princess of Wales. You've got to start them early and develop that work ethic. I remember the way my parents drove me when I was a child working at a warehouse making minimum wage.

SCIUTTO: We didn't have a backhoe in the backyard.

(CROSSTALK)

SCIUTTO: I didn't have a backhoe.

KEILAR: I will say that I think that Louis' contribution is the entertainment -- as always. So, he's helping out there, but he's always just so funny.

[16:00:00]

SCIUTTO: You're saying that that was not like genuine hard laborer that was going on there?

KEILAR: No, I love his antics. In fact, I tuned in just for his antics. What's Louis going to do this time, I said?

SCIUTTO: They are cute kids. I had some jealousy of the backhoe. Just putting that out there. It is a pretty sweet toy.

KEILAR: That is awesome. And that does it for CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "THE LEAD" starts right now.