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Coast Guard: About 40 Hours of Oxygen Left; Hunter Biden Agrees to Plead Guilty to Federal Charges in Deal with DOJ. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired June 20, 2023 - 15:00   ET

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

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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: The clock is ticking and time is running out for five people trapped in a missing submersible. Experts say they have about 40 hours of oxygen left and making matters more complicated. The equipment they need to salvage the sub has not yet arrived. This update as we're learning alarming new details about how this submersible was built and operated.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: Plus, the President's son Hunter Biden pleading guilty to tax charges, making a deal as well on a felony gun charge. We are following all those charges and the political fallout both at the White House and on Capitol Hill.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And Trump's busy defense, the former president's new explanation for why he had classified documents at Mar-A-Lago. We are following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SANCHEZ: Right now, both American and Canadian Coast Guard officials are combing the seas for any evidence of that missing tourist dive vessel. Four people and a pilot were on board as it's submerged off the coast of Newfoundland to visit the shipwreck site of the Titanic. It was about an hour and 45 minutes into their voyage that it lost contact with its support ship.

Now that was on Sunday and now officials estimate there are only about 38 to 39 hours left until they run out of oxygen. The vessel is about the size of a minivan and it's a property of an expedition company called OceanGate.

The U.S. Coast Guard says their surge area is about the size of the state of Connecticut. But one of the biggest challenges is the depth of the vessel may have already reached. At some 3,200 feet, you can no longer see light. And while much of this search equipment is equipped with sonar, keep in mind that Titanic wreckage sits at more than 12,000 feet below the surface.

We want to take you now live to Ottawa and CNN's Paula Newton has been tracking all these details for us.

So Paula, what can you tell us about the latest of this ongoing mission? PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris. We just had a very

sobering update from the U.S. Coast Guard which as you say is leading certainly the search and rescue. But that's in a unified command with both Canadian and American officials. And I have to say, Boris, with all the resources they can muster literally from anywhere in the world.

What has happened now though and just to try and start with the good news here is that a vessel called Deep Energy has arrived at the site and is already doing what they knew need to - had to be done immediately and that was actually try and go to the depths of the seabed there.

They had already searched about well over 7,000 square miles in the air. And I had been saying having been in those waters that if the submergible had come to the surface, that it would take some time to find it even in the water given as you just said the size no bigger than really a family van.

Having said that, though, now that they've actually told us how much they've searched in the air and on the surface, it is important for them to get to do what they call a sub surface search and not require some deep diving I want you to listen now to Captain Jamie Frederick.

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JAMIE FREDERICK, U.S. COAST GUARD: Today the vessel, Deep Energy, 194- meter pipe-laying vessel arrived on scene with underwater ROV capability. They have rendezvoused with the vessel, Polar Prince, they could then commenced an ROV dive at the last known of the position of the Titan in the approximate position of the Titanic wreck. That operation is currently ongoing.

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NEWTON: Ongoing Boris but no matter what here, even if they see it, depending on where it's located, the true task is going to be how do you bring it to the surface. And to that point, both the U.S. and Canadian officials are looking for any expertise they can as well as obviously leaning on the resources of those two governments to pre- position as much equipment as they can weather onshore in St. John's or in the North Atlantic to find a way assuming - they're assuming the best, Boris, that they will see it somewhere and then will try to bring it to the surface.

Two hours ago, they said there was 40 hours of oxygen left. I can tell you right now I know from the Canadian side officials are focused on the clock. They know they have a limited time to try for this rescue and they are bringing all the resources to bear not just for military or government but also commercial assets like that vessel that's out there now and that has sent a remote control unit to the seabed force, Boris.

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SANCHEZ: Yes. And at that depth, a rescue of this scale would be unprecedented.

Paula Newton live for us in Ottawa, thank you so much. Jim?

SCIUTTO: Well, the U.S. Navy says it is working to bring more assets to help in the search for the missing submersible. Currently, the U.S. Coast Guard, Canadian Coast Guard and now France have joined in international search efforts. CNN's Oren Liebermann joins us now from the Pentagon to speak about U.S. assets here.

I mean, the questions here what and when, what kinds of assets they're sending. I know there's a P-8 already on scene from the Canadians that has enormous capability to search underwater. It's designed to search for subs. Are there more like that coming and how quickly can they get them there given - listen, time is of the essence.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Of course, there are more assets on the way. We just learned a bit more from the U.S. Navy. So let me pick up right where Paula left off in the key question here.

Once you're able to find this submersible, how do you lift it. And we have at least a potential answer to that from the Navy which says they're sending not only subject matter experts to assist in the search, but also what's known as the flyaway deep ocean salvage system. That's essentially a fancy name for something that can lift heavy things such as fallen aircraft or vessels off the bottom of the ocean floor and bring it up, crucially fly away.

So you're able to transport it, you're able to bring it and connect it to a ship. And then you're able to use it, it would certainly be able to lift something of this size, which is to say not all that large, the submersible as long as you can find it. That, of course, remains the key question at this point and back to where we started this, what are the search assets that are being used.

First, there are C-130s. Those likely use to search to the surface of the water, long range patrol aircraft that have the ability to stay up for a long time and keep searching an area the size of Connecticut. Here is the Pentagon Press Secretary from a short time ago.

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SABRINA SINGH, DEPUTY PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: By later today, an Air National Guard C-130 will also join the search and conduct a search flight over the area. So by the end of today, we would have committed three C-130s to conducting search and rescue flights.

In addition to that the Navy has been in touch with the Coast Guard and is working to provide personnel such as subject matter experts and assets as quickly as possible.

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LIEBERMANN: The Canadian Coast Guard has also dedicated P-8s and P-3s. Those are anti-submarine aircraft capable of detecting the mass of a Submarine Underwater in different ways. That's just another option right now, Jim, for trying to figure out how to figure out or find exactly where this submersible is.

SCIUTTO: The Pentagon press secretary there said as soon as possible, what does that mean if we're talking about less than 40 hours of oxygen still inside the submersible? Did they specify the arrival times?

LIEBERMANN: So we don't know exact arrival times. We do know and we've seen this on flight trackers. In fact, more assets being flown towards St. John's where they'll then be moved to the search area, so that process is ongoing.

One of the questions I asked is why are these discussions happening now between the Coast Guard and the Navy, shouldn't they have started two days ago, the Deputy Press Secretary there said those conversations have been ongoing. And it's a function of when the Coast Guard needs the assets and knows it needs them to bring them in.

SCIUTTO: Goodness, seems like urgency is of the essence as well.

Oren Liebermann, thanks so much, at the Pentagon. Brianna?

KEILAR: Let's take a closer look now at what the inside of this missing submersible looks like. You can see it here. There is not a lot of space for five people, right? It's about the size of a minivan. It's very cramped. It is uncomfortable, and a CBS crew took a trip on the Titan last year, they were surprised by some of the hardware that was inside. Let's look.

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DAVID POGUE, CBS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Inside, the sub has about as much room as a minivan.

STOCKTON RUSH: So this is not your grandfather's submersible. We only have one button, that's it.

POGUE: It should be like an elevator. It shouldn't take a lot of skill.

RUSH: We can use these off the shelf components.

I got these from camper world. We run the whole thing with this game controller.

POGUE: Come on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: CNN's Gabe Cohen has also been inside of this very submersible. It was actually about five years ago when it was about to launch. You were a reporter in Seattle when you got a chance to look inside. What was it like?

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, did the story back in 2018 actually taking a look inside Titan as it went out right before its first expedition to go to the Titanic. The first thing as you saw on that piece that's really striking is the size of it is extremely cramped, very small space for five people to be on board. And then, of course, that technology aspects of it, pieces, components that felt simple, even rudimentary. It is operated as you saw by a gaming controller, a PlayStation controller.

And yet the company insisted that while some of those components may be off the shelf that really the structure of it, they did not cut any costs, cut any corners when it came to safety that with its carbon fiber structure, it would have no issues of making that dive to the Titanic, 13,000 feet down in the ocean with pressure 400 times the pressure at the surface around it actually at the ocean floor.

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Now, of course, we have learned since then that Titan has had some communication issues. We know last year, the crew of the vessel did lose communication with their support crew on the surface of water for about two hours. It was lost. But again, we don't know what the issue was here.

KEILAR: You actually interviewed, as well, the CEO of the company who we have now confirmed is onboard at this very moment.

COHEN: Yes, that's right. Stockton Rush who is the founder of OceanGate founded it back in 2009. He is onboard this vessel. I interviewed him several times. He always spoke extremely passionately about the science behind these expeditions, not just going on a journey, but trying to map these vessels, the wreckage down below.

But we also pushed him during those interviews on some of the safety aspects of the vessel, just how safe they were. And I want you - to read you a quote, just before another expedition to the shipwreck Andrea Doria, I asked him about how safe the vessel was. He said, "Everyone's getting back safe. We can take risks with equipment, but not with people."

KEILAR: Let's hope that everyone gets back safe. Gabe, thank you so much. It's just rare to have someone who's had a look inside of this and it's certainly very helpful. Jim?

SCIUTTO: Coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, Hunter Biden's deal with federal prosecutors led - negotiated by a Trump appointee. What the White House and also Capitol Hill are saying.

Plus, did Donald Trump just admit to obstruction on national TV, one of his 2024 rivals think so, we'll let you decide. And the big one didn't get away, the big money did. Now the fishermen who caught this 600 pound fish are suing for the $3 million prize they say should be theirs money they lost because the shark had bitten their Marlin.

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KEILAR: Major developments today in the years long Hunter Biden investigation. The President's son now agrees to plead guilty on to misdemeanor tax charges and to strike a deal on a felony gun charge. The federal prosecutor in charge who is a Trump appointee in Delaware says the investigation is still ongoing.

CNN's Kara Scannell is joining us now from Wilmington.

Kara, what penalties will Hunter Biden now face?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN REPORTER: Well, Brianna, so on those tax charges that you mentioned, that was two misdemeanors of failing to pay taxes and that was for the years 2017 and 2018. And prosecutors say that Hunter Biden didn't pay taxes on more than one and a half million dollars in income for each of those years.

Now according to a source, the U.S. Attorney - the Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney David Weiss here has agreed to recommend to the judge that Hunter Biden get probation on those charges. Now under the statutory statute, the maximum possible punishment for those charges is up to a year in prison each.

Now there's also that gun possession charge that you mentioned, and that is a felony. But in this instance, Hunter Biden won't plead guilty to that charge, instead it's going to be diverted which means that if he lives up to certain elements of conditions that are set by this agreement, then that charge will go away.

And that's a common charge that's used in instances where someone has been under the influence and addict. It's a one way to resolve that kind of case. So clearly, a negotiated deal that has been in the works for some time, this investigation has spanned more than five years. And at one point it was looking into potential foreign lobbying violations, some money laundering violations with this resolution being announced today.

Now, Hunter Biden's attorney said that this - to their knowledge means that this investigation is closed. That attorney Chris Clark also said, I know Hunter believes it is important to take responsibility for these mistakes he made during a period of turmoil and addiction in his life. He looks forward to continuing his recovery and moving forward now.

How much of that will take place given that there's going to be a lot of attention from Republicans who are focusing on this investigation, not only saying that they're going to continue to look into the Biden family finances, but also exploring or hoping to, you know, get some more information about the Department of Justice investigation that ultimately led to the guilty plea filing that we saw today.

Now, the next thing here will be - a judge will be assigned to this case and then Hunter Biden will come into court behind me and allocate to these charges say that he he's pleading guilty to them and saying to the judge exactly what crimes he's committed, Brianna?

KEILAR: All right. We'll be looking for that, of course.

Kara Scannell, thank you.

Let's talk now with CNN Legal Analyst and former White House Ethics Czar, Norm Eisen.

Norm, you've been hearing this. We've heard a lot of Republicans today, different kinds of Republicans. Sometimes they don't agree on certain things, but they seem to agree on this including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who are saying that this plea deal is evidence of a two-tier justice system that this is a sweetheart deal, is it?

NORM EISEN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It doesn't appear to be, Brianna. The firearms charges of this kind, false statements in getting a firearm, the tax misdemeanors, these are typically charges where you do get no jail guilty pleas. And you can't really compare that to the very serious offenses that Donald Trump is accused of, innocent until proven guilty in the Mar-A-Lago classified documents mishandling case.

It would be wrong if prosecutors treated Hunter Biden better than anybody else. But it's also wrong for them to treat him worse than anybody else. Here it appears that he's being treated the same way.

KEILAR: Yes, that's right. It should be equal, right? So here we are talking about these are tax charges. This is a gun charge.

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Just because the DOJ hasn't found anything illegal in terms of Hunter Biden's business dealings with foreign - with entities in foreign countries like Ukraine, like China. At least - so far, they haven't found anything. We should be clear about that.

That doesn't mean that his business dealings were ethical, right? There can be a distinction here between the law and ethics. You were the ethic czar, as I mentioned when Biden was vice president, are there more questions that still need to be answered when it comes to that?

EISEN: Well, Brianna, it was foolish for Hunter Biden to do business with Burisma in Ukraine, with that energy company in Ukraine given his father's role. But when I was counsel in the first impeachment, we did a very deep dive into these issues.

And there just appeared certainly as to Joe Biden that there's no there there. We're not actually aware of any allegations of unethical behavior by Hunter Biden, but certainly he's had a pattern of unwise decisions and this was another one. And we'll have to see if anything else emerges, but having looked at it, we looked hard, we did not find any violations of law there.

KEILAR: David Weiss, who is the U.S. attorney in Delaware, Trump appointed remain on under the Biden administration says the investigation is ongoing. Hunter Biden's legal team put out a statement saying the deal resolved the DOJ is investigation, obviously kind of different stories you're getting here.

What do you understand the situation to be? Could there be other charges still on the table even if there's a deal like this?

EISEN: Well, if Mr. Weiss says the investigation is ongoing, we need to take him at face value. This certainly resolves the gun charges, the tax charges. He may not have concluded his look at Burisma or other matters, but he does have the feeling, Brianna, that that we're coming to a close in the Hunter Biden investigation.

Part of that is I know his lead counsel, Abbe Lowell well. I don't think Mr. Lowell would be resolving the case, unless he thought he were getting a clean bill of health for Mr. Biden. So we'll see what happens as the investigation continues. But the greater likelihood is that we're seeing the terminus of the Hunter Biden review.

KEILAR: All right. Norm, thank you so much for being with us this afternoon.

EISEN: Thanks very much,

KEILAR: Jim?

SCIUTTO: For White House reaction now, let's go to CNN's Jeremy Diamond.

And Jeremy, I wonder, do we know if the White House had any involvement with Hunter Biden's legal team in terms of encouraging a deal or any involvement from that end? And two, has the White House said anything about this plea deal?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, Biden advisors have repeatedly told me that look, they do keep tabs on this. They have maintained contact with Hunter Biden's legal team throughout this process. But one thing that a senior Biden adviser told me was that they do not direct or advice that legal team on what they should do. But they certainly have kept apprised of this.

And the President himself, he remarkably has made little to no effort to distance himself publicly from his son throughout this investigation. Instead, he has really embraced him. We have seen Hunter Biden at the President side at public events on a foreign trip to Ireland just a couple of months ago where he was a constant presence there.

And so it's no surprise that the first reaction we're getting from the White House is a statement of support from the President and the First Lady saying, "The President and the First Lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life. We will have no further comment." That's a statement from the White House spokesman, Ian Sams.

And the President, as recently as several weeks ago, said that he is proud of his son that he doesn't believe that he has done anything wrong. Of course, in this case, Hunter Biden has now admitted to wrongdoing with these expected guilty pleas. But White House officials and the President's personal attorney, as I said, they have kept tabs on this situation.

And so this did not come as a surprise to the President in the way that we have seen when charges are announced against the former president, for example, the President hasn't been aware of that. But that's because of the communication with Hunter Biden's legal team, not because of any involvement with the Justice Department. This is a White House, of course, that has tried to maintain that independence and that bright red line between those two entities.

SCIUTTO: Yes. And then their statement expressing love for their son, their reaction - their only reaction to this.

Jeremy Diamond at the White House, thanks so much. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Still to come after an interview last night on Fox News, Chris Christie says that Donald Trump's attorneys probably want to throw themselves out of a window, why he believes the former president just admitted to obstruction.

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And former Special Counsel John Durham is on Capitol Hill right now, testifying behind closed doors about his scathing report on the Trump- Russia investigation, what he is expected to reveal when we come back.

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