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Trump Indictment; Russia's War on Ukraine; Next Hour: Before Being Arraigned, Trump Travels to Florida; Ukraine Asserts It Has Retaken A Few Frontline Villages; 16 U.S.-Made Armored Vehicles Recently Lost in Ukraine; Putin Says His Country is Going Through a "Difficult Time"; Brittney Griner Harassed at Airport; Two Racehorses Perish at Belmont Park. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired June 12, 2023 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATE REPORTER: 67 percent believe that Trump should not have been charged with a crime when it comes to his handling of the classified documents. And again, you know, I was saying, this is something we've been seeing over and over again.

Take a look here. Right. So, should Trump have been charged over his handling of the classified documents? Overall, we see that 48 percent, among Republicans we see 16 percent. But look at how it compares after the polling that was done revolving around the Stormy Daniels' hush money case. Look at that, the overall column, basically, the same.

SARA SIDNER, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: The Same.

ENTEN: And look at the GOP. I don't think you can get more of the same than this, 16 percent and 16 percent.

SIDNER: That's exactly.

ENTEN: People are set in their ways.

SIDNER: Which explains why so many people are scared in the Republican Party as they're going for president. Scared to say anything because the base is clearly hanging with Trump. Can you talk to me about why Biden and Trump are so close despite many Americans, overall, that you're seeing, saying, yes, he should be charged for this -- in this documents case?

ENTEN: Yes. So, look -- let's take a look. Let's break it down among Republicans and then we'll break it down overall, OK. So, take a look here. This is a CBS News, YouGov poll that just came out this weekend. The top choices of the GOP nominee. Look where we were on April 29th, the poll that was conducted then. Trump was at 58 percent, DeSantis at 22 percent.

Where do we stand now? Look at this, Trump at 61 and DeSantis at 23. Trump is holding on to a clear advantage in the Republican race, and while this poll is perhaps a little bit more favorable to Trump than the average, the fact is pretty much all the polls at this particular point showed Donald Trump garnering a majority of the Republican vote.

Now, let's look at the general electorate, right. Look here. The choice for president, Trump versus Biden. Pre-indictment in the hush money case, Biden was up by just a point. Very close nationally. Look at where we are today. Look at this, we're tied nationally. We're tied nationally. This is unbelievable given that the plurality of folks overall believed that, in fact, Trump should have in fact been charged with a crime. What's going on? This is what you asked. What's going --

SIDNER: What is going on?

ENTEN: What is going on here? Well, I think this gives you a pretty good indication of what is going on. Voters have a favorable view of Trump, just 39 percent. The clear majority have an unfavorable view of Trump. But what percentage have an unfavorable view of Joe Biden? Just 38 percent. This is the group that we'll be looking out for, this neither group. This neither group, 23 percent of Americans have a favorable view of neither Trump nor Biden.

These are the folks who could ultimately end up determining the election. This is like deja vu with 2016 when you had that big chunk of voters who liked neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump, they went for Donald Trump, the one with the election. This time around, we'll see who they go for. If they go for Trump, he may win another term in the White House. Biden better hope they go for him because this is a clear key proof of voters.

SIDNER: Just one thing to note here, how remarkable it is and the time that we're in, that he is still getting this and it's more than Biden, he is an indicted person right now for charges. When it comes to classified documents, it is remarkable to see. Harry Enten, always great to see you. Love to see the numbers. I know you break them down for us so we don't have to do it. Thank you.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: He brings the numbers.

So, you heard about the base there from Harry and Sara. What about the fire brands in Congress? Jim Jordan, the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee spoke with CNN's Dana Bash, the new anchor of "Inside Politics with Dana Bash."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR, INSIDE POLITICS: Does that look secure to you?

JIM JORDAN (R-OH), JUDICIARY CHAIRMAN: Again, Dana, the standard is the standard. The president of the United States -- he can classify and he can control access to national security information however he wants. The standard is what the constitution says and the commander in chief, the president of the United States has the ability to classify and control access to information. That's what the constitute and the court have said.

BASH: The United States -- JORDAN: So, you can't obstruct when there is -- well, you can't

obstruct when there's no underlying crime.

BASH: He is not the president of the United States.

JORDAN: that is the fundamental flaw.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: And joining me now is the anchor of "Inside Politics with Dana Bash", the aforementioned Dana Bash. Congratulations, by the way. We cannot be more excited --

BASH: Hi, John.

BERMAN: -- for the big show in just an hour and 27 minutes.

BASH: Thank you. Thanks for having me on your big show.

BERMAN: Well, we try to give you a good lead-in. Look -- so, you heard Jim Jordan -- what did you hear? When Jim Jordan made that argument, what did you hear in that?

BASH: I have to admit I was surprised that he made such a strong argument for the idea that it was OK for Donald Trump to have those classified documents, even arguing that he was able to classify them when, in the indictment itself, you have not one but multiple quotes from Trump himself saying that what he was holding, the paper he was holding was still classified and that he shouldn't have been showing it to the person he was talking to, who, by the way, had no security clearance.

[10:35:00]

What I thought he was going to do was the whataboutism, was that the people in America who don't really know the details like we do see a double-standard. That is the way that the Republicans from Trump on down have been arguing this case. So, that was surprising to me because, you know, there are ways to show what he said doesn't really comport with the way the law is set out on how to deal with classified documents for a post presidency.

BERMAN: What are the other Republican candidates and their campaigns really saying behind the scenes. The range of reactions has been from condemnation from Chris Christie and Asa Hutchinson, to outright defense from, you know, a little bit like Ron DeSantis and others. But do they see an opportunity here, Dana?

BASH: In the short term, not much. What's so interesting, John, and I am sure that you getting this from the sources that you talk to as well, is that despite the divide in whether or not this is right or whether this should be condemned on the campaign trail among Donald Trump's competitors. In private, I haven't really found anybody who does not think that this will help him in the primary process, because of all of the numbers Harry just showed to Sara. Because of what we have seen in recent history. The way that the base rallies around Donald Trump. And in large part, they're rallying around him because he is sending out fundraising notices. He is going on the campaign trail, like he did Saturday. And leaning into this indictment as a reason to re-elect him. I am you. You are me. We are aggrieved.

All of the, sort of, broader themes that helped him get the nomination back in 2016, it's a different, more personal variation of it. And it looks like -- we're pretty far from the actual voting taking place starting in the Iowa caucuses, but at this point, it looks like that kind of rhetoric is working.

BERMAN: So, the White House, like, completely silent, radio silent on this.

BASH: Mm-hmm.

BERMAN: And other Democrats, too. You know, a lot -- including many Democrats who, you know, you don't want to get between them and a microphone. Now, they're nowhere near the microphone. Why so quiet?

BASH: Because the argument that I was just talking about, that this is just political even though Joe Biden, never mind that he swears up and down that he has not had any conversations with Merrick Garland. There's even a person in between, which is Jack Smith.

So, he is officially two people removed from this investigation, and there's no evidence to the contrary. Having said that, the Republican argument that this is political retribution. They're just going after him. These are Democrats trying to get back at Donald Trump.

There's no reason for Joe Biden or anybody in his orbit to say anything to feed that. They wanted to stay as far away from it as possible to prove, as much as they can, that they have nothing to do with this. That this is an independent investigation.

BERMAN: Dana Bash, I know everyone is universally excited for the new show. You've been getting flowers and applause all weekend. No one's more excited than you. Congratulations. Truly. It could not happen to a better journalist and a better person --

BASH: You're -- no. Thanks, John. You're the best.

BERMAN: Do not miss the premier of "Inside Politics with Dana Bash" today at 12:00 p.m. Eastern.

Rahel.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: We're all very excited, John. Thank you.

And so, ahead for us, Ukrainian forces gaining ground as Russian President Putin shares a message with his nation. We have the latest on the conflict, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [10:40:00]

SOLOMON: Welcome back. Russian President Vladimir Putin says that his country is going through a, "Difficult time" as Ukrainian forces claim success on the battlefield. Putin's admission came during his Russia Day address to the nation. Ukraine's military says that it has made gains in the southeast, recapturing three frontline villages. And they continue to make advances on several fronts.

Joining me now to discuss is Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, a CNN Military Analyst. General, welcome to the program. Good morning. So, I want to start there with that new CNN reporting that we are seeing advances along certain areas of the border, Donetsk, for example, Zaporizhzhia. What do you make of that?

LT. GEN MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST AND FORMER COMMANDING GENERAL, U.S. ARMY EUROPE AND SEVENTH ARMY: It -- these are still not the main attack in my view, Rahel. This is still, sort of, the looking for places to attack.

You know, this is the very early stages of this offensive. And whenever you have an early stage, what you're doing is looking for an advantage and attempting to move the enemy forces around. Ukraine is doing that. They are probing in a very -- variety of direction. The American public all knows now the military terms of shaping operations and probing and reconnaissance and forth (ph), that's what they're continuing to do.

So, you're seeing some tough fighting. Ukraine has entered into the first two of four complex obstacle belts. And they're having great success in liberating villages. But we're going to see what's going to happen next. And I'll introduce you to two new phrases that we'll start using soon, and that's main attack and supporting attacks. That's what Ukraine will eventually do when they out the best places to employ their reserves.

[10:45:00]

SOLOMON: General, as you say, early days in this counteroffensive were about one week in, but CNN is reporting that, at least according to an open-source intelligence analysis, that Ukraine has all 16 of its armored vehicles from the U.S., that's about 15 percent of the 109 that the U.S. had provided. At this stage in the counteroffensive, early days as you say, what do you think about that rate of loss there?

HERTLING: When you're -- whenever a force goes into an obstacle belt, like you're seeing Russia has built over the last seven months, you're going to lose vehicles. You're going to -- they're going to get destroyed, truthfully. Now, when we're talking about the armored vehicles, we don't know what type of each kinds of armored vehicles. Are these Leo tanks that they've lost, or are they Bradley fighting vehicles, are they strikers, or are they HIMARS, we don't know.

Ukraine is doing a very good job in terms of keeping operational security. But truthfully, Rahel, I think everyone's getting excite about the fact that Russian has shown a couple of pictures of what they claim are destroyed Ukrainian vehicles. But as heartless as this sounds, that is to be expected in the kind of operations Ukrainians had conducted. They're on the offensive against the tough defensive belt. So, you're going to lose some vehicles, and unfortunately, you're going to have casualties as well.

SOLOMON: General, what do you make of Putin saying that this is a difficult time for Russia?

HERTLING: Yes, that's fascinating. When I heard that report this morning, I -- he has increasingly admitted some of the challenges that Russia is experiencing. Now, part of that is to generate additional support from the Russia -- Russian people as he attempts to mobilize more forces or manufacture more vehicles, more ammunition and do different things.

So, when he says, it's a difficult time, he is basically signaling, I believe, to the Russian people that we have to step up the operations and that there will be more pain and suffering whether it's in returned, injured, and killed soldier -- Russian soldiers, or banks shutting down, or less goods on the market, or less opportunities for Russian people to do the kinds of things that they are used to doing. So, all of those things are signals from a politician to basically prepare for more losses and more damages to his government.

SOLOMON: Yes, really fascinating statement. Now, 15 months into the war. General, great to have you today, thank you. That's General Mark Hertling.

Sara.

SIDNER: A second horse has died at Belmont Park following Saturday's race. Marking a deadly season in horse racing. What we're learning about the incidents, that's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:00]

SIDNER: In sports news, the Phoenix Mercury plan to change travel arrangements after Brittney Griner was confronted and harassed by a man at the Dallas Fort Worth airport. WNBA star spent nearly 300 days in a Russia jail. The U.S. says she was wrongfully detained and one released in an in exchange for U.S prisoner Viktor Bout known as the merchant of death.

CNN Sport Correspondent Carolyn Manno joins us with more details. What more do we know about what happened during that incident?

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, her teammate, Diana Taurasi, said that this was the first time that they were all really together in public. I mean, WNBA teams have always flown commercially, but the league worked with the Phoenix Mercury before the season began to allow Griner to book these chartered flights for games to be flown alone. And the frequency of those flights will likely have to be revisited now with her safety in mind. I mean, she has not spoken publicly about these incidents but her teammates were very vocal about how unsafe they felt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIANA TAURASI, PHOENIX MERCURY PLAYER: You know, it's unnerving to be in a situation like that. That happened for our players, our coaches, the safety of everyone comes first. You know, basketball is secondary to all that.

BRIANNA TURNER, PHOENIX MERCURY PLAYER: It was obviously very alarming, very startling. Traditional (ph) to the airport how (ph) people waiting at your gate to just, I mean, just totally abrupt your day and follow you on the airport, shouting, causing a scene. So, that's, obviously, nothing no one wants to deal with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: The team has been through so much. The WNBA's players' union was extremely critical. They released a statement, essentially, saying, Sara, that something like this was inevitable and that those inside the sport should have been a little bit proactive to prevent a potentially triggering event. But this is just a stark reminder of Griner's new reality, that she has to be safe and hopefully things will be adjusted.

SIDNER: Yes, police tackled this man and it was a terrifying moment for everyone.

I do want to ask you about what's happening in horse racing. Another horse dying at the Belmont Stakes?

MANNO: Yes. You know, historically, Sara, these clusters of injuries and horse fatalities have happened sporadically. And in this year's case, they have cast a very dark shadow over the sport's Triple Crown. And there's a lot of things that happened to racetrack surfaces, training mismanagement. In some case of these horses, sometimes, it's a freak wrong step into a divot. All of that contributes to the perception of a really substantial amount of equine fatalities in the sport.

Now, in Belmont's case, a total of 1,670 horses have run in more than 200 races in the spring summer meet this year. So, these latest deaths, these deaths over the weekend, that was the fourth at the track, the third and fourth. So, according to the New York Racing Association, that really equates to 0.2 percent, which is a lower figure.

[10:55:00]

But the sport has long needed and is working towards centralized regulation when it comes to therapeutic treatments, when it comes to drugs that are administered to these horses and mismanaged that potentially contribute to these fatalities. But it's a multifaceted nuance issue and it has certainly casted a very dark shadow over the sport this year, in particular.

SIDNER: It certainly has. Carolyn Manno, thank you so much for those updates.

John.

BERMAN: So, any minute now, Donald Trump will depart his New Jersey estate heading to Florida where he will surrender in a Miami courthouse tomorrow. We are getting new information who is with him, how he will defend himself, and what key decisions will be made in court tomorrow.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:00:00]