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Blinken Says He Accomplished What He Set Out to Do in Beijing; Judge's Order Bars Trump Disclosure of Specific Evidence Given to His Attorneys in Documents Case; 17-Year-Old Killed, 9 Teens Hurt in St. Louis Shooting. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired June 19, 2023 - 10:00   ET

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

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JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A high stakes meeting in Beijing. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sits down with the Chinese President Xi Jinping amid rising tensions over Taiwan, spying, Beijing's ties to the Kremlin. We are getting a fresh readout of what happened behind closed doors.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: A violent and deadly weekend in multiple cities. Deadly gunfire interrupts a Juneteenth celebration, also a music festival. What we're learning as police continue searching for suspects in at least one incident.

BERMAN: Plus, a sheriff's deputy put his life on the line for a trapped driver. But the dramatic rescue took a terrifying turn when both the deputy and the driver were sucked into a drainage pipe. This is CNN News Central.

We are getting new readouts of what took place inside crucial high- stakes meetings between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the Chinese leader just held in China. We saw Blinken shaking hands with the Chinese President Xi Jinping just hours ago with tensions between the two global superpowers extremely high. Xi has described the meeting as, quote, very good. Blinken offered this.

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ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: Very candid, very in depth and in places constructive, and in other places, we have a lot more work to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: National Security correspondent Kylie Atwood is live in Beijing, Arlette Saenz is at the White House.

Kylie, first, you are there, to you. How are they describing these meetings now that they're done?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, the Secretary of State was very clear as you played there in talking about the fact that there was progress made in some areas, but this is a relationship that is a process. There's progress and work here on a number of issues. He said that the two sides did agree that they need to stabilize the relationship and that, in and of itself, is quite significant.

But one thing that U.S. officials were very clear that they set out to achieve here, they didn't achieve. They aren't returning to Washington with an agreement from the Chinese side to stand up military to military channels of communications, crisis communications between the two countries.

The reason that that is significant is because there have been close calls incidents in just the last two or three weeks between the U.S. and Chinese military in the areas surrounding the South China Sea. Those are just the recent examples of why those channels of communication are so vital.

The secretary said that he raised the necessity for those channels multiple times over the course of his two-day meetings here. But the Chinese just did not agree at this time to implement those channels of communication.

Now, when it comes to Taiwan, we heard from the Chinese, readout that they were very clear in making demands regarding Taiwan to the secretary of state. They also made it clear that the United States cannot recognize Taiwan's independence. They said that this is the area that presents the most pronounced issue for the U.S.-China relationship.

And here is what Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, making it very air that the U.S. position on Taiwan stands, the two sides clearly still very far apart on this topic.

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BLINKEN: We do not support Taiwan's independence. We've made clear that we oppose any unilateral changes to the status quo by either side.

[10:05:03]

We've been clear and consistent in our policy.

At the same time, we and many others have deep concerns about some of the provocative actions that China has taken in recent years.

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ATWOOD: Now, we also heard from the secretary saying that China has told U.S. officials that they are not going to be providing lethal support to Russia to be used in the war in Ukraine. That's something Chinese officials have said before, but U.S. continues to watch Chinese companies providing technology to Russia that could be used on the battlefield.

BERMAN: Kylie Atwood in Beijing, it's been a long day for you watching this historic and very important meeting. Thank you so much for your work there.

Now, Arlette, as the secretary heads home, what are you picking up from the White House on how they are viewing these meetings that took place?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, heading into these meetings, officials here at the White House and within the Biden administration weren't really expecting any major breakthroughs to come through from it, but they did hope to have some form of lines of communication strengthened between the two countries. And you heard Kylie talk about there that Secretary Blinken said that they did agree that there needed to be these efforts to try to stabilize relations between the U.S. and China.

This all comes as tensions have been incredibly high between the two countries. When you think about the whole episode with the Chinese spy balloon flying over the country earlier this winter, then those close military calls that have been seen in the air and in the sea.

This meeting is coming a little over a month after President Biden himself said that he predicted there would soon be a thaw in relations between the U.S. and China. We will see once he gets a debrief from Blinken about these meetings, whether he feels that they are heading towards that thaw at this moment.

But one thing that was notable in those comments from Secretary Blinken earlier today was that he said that they do plan on having these future officials continuing to speak between the U.S. and China, people going there, people coming to visit here in the U.S.

And, ultimately, the goal would be culminating in a meeting between President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping. This weekend the president said he hopes to meet with President Xi in the coming months to talk about those areas of a disagreement, but also areas where they could cooperate on.

So, we will see over the course of the day the president is traveling, he could have some opportunities to answer questions and weigh in on how he thinks the state of relations between the U.S. and China are after these meetings held by Blinken and Xi.

BERMAN: President Biden just left for California. We will see him when he lands. Arlette Saenz, thank you very much for that. Kylie, thanks once again to you. Rahel?

SOLOMON: All right, John. In the federal indictment against former President Trump, a judge has just ruled that Trump cannot disclose information that was given to his attorneys during the research phase of his classified documents case. This was a request from Special Counsel Jack Smith that Trump and his co-defendant, Walt Nauta, be barred from talking about specific evidence with the media or online.

Less than a week after Trump pleaded not guilty to those federal charges, it took his former top cabinet officials speaking out against another Trump presidency. Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper says that Trump should not be trusted with the nation's secrets if the allegations are proven true. And ex-Attorney General Bill Barr tells CBS that Trump always prioritize his ego over national security.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would he put the country at risk if he was in the White House again?

WILLIAM BARR, FORMER ATTORNEY GENERAL: He will always put his own interests and gratifying his own ego ahead of everything else, including the country's interests. There's no question about it.

This is a perfect example of that. He's like -- you know, he's like a nine-year-old, defiant nine-year-old kid who's always pushing the glass toward the edge of the table, defying his parents to stop him from doing it. It's a means of self assertion and exerting his dominance over other people.

And he's very petty individual who will always put his interests ahead of the country's, his personal gratification of his ego.

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SOLOMON: CNN Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash joins us live from Washington. Dana, it's not just Barr talking about the indictment here, but also getting personal, calling Trump petty. What do you make of these insults?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Incredibly, incredibly devastating, because you're exactly right, Rahel. What Bill Barr did yesterday was basically take down the former president, not on this one issue only on what happened with the classified documents in the indictment, but on the core of who he is, the core of his character or the way he described it, lack thereof, calling him a narcissist, calling him so many things, and, again, making clear that he is speaking from experience, somebody who interacted with him at the highest levels during the Trump administration.

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Remember, he was Donald Trump's attorney general.

And as I was listening to him, I was thinking, the argument that he made against Donald Trump for president is stronger and more potent for any Republican primary voter who is listening than almost any of Donald Trump's actual opponents for the nomination, other than, say, Chris Christie. And it's just different because Chris Christie -- he certainly has known Donald Trump for over 20 years but didn't serve with him and didn't serve in a loyal way with him as Bill Barr did.

SOLOMON: Well, Dana, as you point out, he had the experience of working very closely with him. Another person who we know had a lot of experience working very closely with him is the former Defense Secretary Mark Esper. And take a listen to what he told CNN.

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JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Based on your experiences working with the Trump and the actions alleged in the indictment, do you think Trump can be trusted with the nation's secrets ever again?

MARK ESPER, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY: Well, based on his actions, again, if proven true under the indictment by the special counsel, no. I mean, it's just irresponsible action that places our service members at risk, places our nation security at risk.

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SOLOMON: And, Dana, criticism like this from former cabinet members, how does this impact Trump?

BASH: We'll see. I mean, it is a really open question as to whether or not these comments, both from former Defense Secretary Esper on State of the Union with Jake yesterday and, of course, Bill Barr, will penetrate with the diehard, ride or die, Donald Trump voters. And, again, we have seen Donald Trump's primary poll numbers go up with every indictment that he has gotten.

And when you have Mark Esper and Bill Barr, I should say both of them basically had falling outs with the former president, the then- president, over and around January 6th. And so both of them have been critical of him since then, but nothing like they have said very publicly in the clips that you just played and much, much more because they're focused right now, not just on January 6th, which we should mention, Jack Smith, the special counsel, still has the investigation going on this, but just about the notion of having the classified documents, why he had the classified documents, the reason for it, and both for Esper and more specifically, more bluntly, Bill Barr, they're saying that it is because he has a serious character flaw that they believe should prohibit him from being president again.

SOLOMON: And I also want to turn to another former ally turned critic, Chris Christie, who also spoke with Jake on yesterday's program. Let's listen to that.

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CHRIS CHRISTIE, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now, look, either Donald Trump, if you believe what he said when they left, that means he didn't pick the very best people and doesn't know how to pick personnel. If you believe what -- about what he said at the beginning, the great stuff, then this guy is the worst manager in the history of the American presidency.

Either way, Republicans should listen to what he says. He's a petulant child when someone disagrees with them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: So, Dana, also making the personal attacks there, but also making the point that this back and forth that Trump is having with his former cabinet officials, you can't have it both ways, right? So, it also reflects badly on Trump. What do you make of that?

BASH: Yes, it's so interesting. You're exactly right that the former president lashes out at the Bill Barrs and Mike Espers and John Boltons and so many other former top level Trump administration officials. And Chris Christie is trying to put that in context to say, well, you're the one who picked them and you promised to pick the best people, just another sort of slice of the character/manager argument against Donald Trump. Still remains to be seen whether there is a broad enough audience in the Republican electorate for this.

SOLOMON: Yes, that's the key point. Dana Bash, great to see you, thank you. John?

BERMAN: Russia says it remotely detonated a tank filled with explosives as it reportedly tests a new battlefield tactic in Ukraine.

And then Senator Tim Scott called Barack Obama's call out a compliment as he pushes back on the former president's comments about race in the Republican Party.

Police in a number of cities investigating deadly shootings, including one at a Juneteenth celebration.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were all just out and next thing you know, shots just got to going off and everybody ran and, yes, it was chaos.

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BERMAN: In St. Louis, a 17-year-old was shot and killed during a party, nine other teenagers were hurt. Authorities say they recovered multiple weapons.

A 17-year-old suspect is in custody. In Washington State, two people were killed in a shooting on campgrounds near an electronic dance music festival. The sheriff's office says the suspected gunman shot randomly into a crowd as he ran from the scene. Officers did track him down and arrest him.

And just west of Chicago, a Juneteenth celebration took a deadly turn after police say an unknown number of suspects fired multiple rounds into the crowd. One person was killed.

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At least 22 people hurt there.

CNN's Adrienne Broaddus is in Willowbrook, Illinois, with the latest on this. Officials have any new information yet, Adrienne?

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No new information at this hour, John. We do know authorities are still here on scene in Willowbrook. If you look behind me, you'll notice the entrance leading to this parking lot is blocked. And it's the same way around this shopping plaza. And that's where authorities with the DuPage County Sheriff's Office say people gathered over the weekend for a Juneteenth celebration right in this parking lot. Deputies were here on site to monitor the event. They left because they were called to another scene, but quickly returned when they heard the gunshots fired here. At least 22 people shot, 1 person was killed, and witnesses who witnessed it say it was chaotic. Listen in.

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BARTOSZ MAJERCZYK, WITNESS: And out of nowhere it was like a major gunfight for like 30 seconds. I'd say 60, 60-plus rounds. And you could tell it was like two different groups of people shooting at each other.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody started running. It was a man. He fell on top of me. He had a gunshot wound in his leg. It was like something you won't imagine.

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BROADDUS: A few feet from where I'm standing off camera, there's a gym shoe. It looks like an Air Force One by Nike. I can't help but to wonder if someone lost that shoe while they were running, trying to escape the gunfire here. John?

BERMAN: Horrible images, to be sure. Adrienne Broaddus, thank you so much for that. Rahel?

SOLOMON: All right, John. Thank you.

Cleanup is underway after a powerful and dangerous tornado ripped through parts of Mississippi. Coming up, the latest on these deadly storms.

And Ukraine has reportedly retaken a village near a critical nuclear, but Russia denies that and claims that it has repelled Ukrainian advances. We have the latest from the battlefield coming up next.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. And our top story right now, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is now heading to London before returning to Washington. He's fresh off a critical two-day trip to China. That included a sit down with President Xi Jinping.

Moments before leaving Beijing, Blinken called the talks constructive. Both sides say that progress was made, but there are still signs of deep divisions over issues like Taiwan, spying and the war in Ukraine. John?

BERMAN: All right. Stunning new video from Russia this morning, a tank -- this is coming from the Russians, I might add. A tank filled with explosives detonating in Ukraine. This is something of a new tactic that we have not yet seen in Ukraine.

Joining us now, CNN Military Analyst, retired Lieutenant General Mark Hertling. General, great to see you.

So, help us understand the significance here. Yes, it's a spectacular picture and getting a lot of attention because of that, but what does it tell you if the Russians are blowing up some of their own tanks in defense of territory?

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, not quite sure yet, John. But what I'd suggest is we saw pictures weeks and months ago about Russia bringing very old T-62s, even some T-55 tanks to the frontline. So, if you can remotely pilot them, like a kamikaze drone or something like that, and put them into a frontline, you could actually maneuver some of those tanks over short distances and then have them explode remotely. It's kind of a moving improvised explosive device, if you will.

Yes, the United States also has remotely piloted vehicles like this, not used very often. They're usually used for reconnaissance. But this is -- if this proves to be true, this is a new type of tactic that the Russian are using, exploding old tanks on the frontline. It seems a little bit ridiculous, truthfully.

BERMAN: Let me show people where we believe the most activity is currently going on. It's in this region right here, which is south of the city of Zaporizhzhia. I can push in to give people a better sense. These towns right here are towns that the Ukrainians say they have retaken over the last few days.

Now, you look at this, General, and you say these towns are important because of where they bring the Ukrainians closer to, and that's down here to the city of Melitopol there. What's the significance?

HERTLING: Yes, a couple of things, John. On the first one, you see that town of Piatykhatky, which is below Lovkovy (ph), which the Ukrainians claimed the latter was something that they overtook last week, last Friday. Piatykhatky is what the Russians are now saying the Ukrainians have taken. So, it's getting information from the other side.

And as you continue on those lines, it takes it toward the city of Melitopol, also Berdiansk and Mariupol, which are clear on your maps, big city. Those are three cities which connect a major transport route, what they call the M14 European highway. That is how Russia is bringing goods and resupplies to their frontline troop on that so called southern bridge that they have.

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