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Dams in Vermont Expected to Breach; Israeli Protesters Launch Day of Disruption; Senator Holds up Military Nominations; Companies Break Promise to Leave Russia. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired July 11, 2023 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Right, well, Georgia is unique -- or maybe not unique but particular in the sense that they have a provision for these special grand juries that are empaneled for a specific purpose and can recommend charges but not actually vote on them or bring them. After something goes to a special grand jury, then it's brought to a regular grand jury. And that's what's happening here, this group of 23 jurors will have to now vote on the charges that are presented to them.

Now, most of the time, when grand jury's proceed, they tend to vote on charges. Prosecutors come to them and have already vetted, that's saying that they believe a crime has been committed. Most of the time jurors will proceed with charges, but they don't have to. And if they're not convinced by what they've heard, they can just decide not to bring charges against the former president or anyone around him. There were a number of people who were also possibly being investigated here. Any of them could be charged.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Elliot Williams, always lovely to see you. Thank you so much for that analysis.

And we should mention that next hour they're going to begin this process of seating those new grand jurors.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And coming up, also for us, protests erupt in Israel this morning. It's being called a day of disruption and resistance. There have been dozens of arrests already. We're going to take you there.

And, the downtown of Vermont's capital city shut down this morning. Just look at Montpelier. Severe flooding there, and it's expected to get even worse. That is next.

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[09:35:51]

BOLDUAN: This morning, Vermont authorities are urging residents in the state capital to seek higher ground. And they're really bracing today. More dams right now are threatening to reach capacity and spill over after what has just been torrential rains. People living in the area for years say they haven't seen anything like this since Irene hit them back in 2011.

The flooding has wiped out entire streets. It's left two areas of the state, Weston and Londonderry, completely inaccessible is how they're describing it, with emergency crews rescuing dozens of people.

CNN's Miguel Marquez is in Chester, Vermont. He's on the ground for us.

You've been out all morning and yesterday as well, Miguel. What are you seeing there?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're actually in the capital, Montpelier, and this is the Winooski River.

BOLDUAN: Oh, OK.

MARQUEZ: We're just at the conjunction of the north branch of it and the river itself.

The concern is -- the good -- the good news is, it stopped raining and the sun is almost out. It's been sort of poking out all day. The bad news is, the water is still rising.

This is the Taylor Street Bridge. We're about a block from the state capital, the statehouse here. And I just want to give you a sense of what it sounds like.

I'm watching the river. It's mesmerizing to watch because, you know, we were here several hours this morning, since about 5:00, and the -- the water was below the bridge. Now it's coming up over the top, and it has been for a while.

They are concerned for the next several hours that that reservoir that is north of here, it may overtop the reservoir there and dump even more water into this area. And that would cause problems with this bridge and other areas.

I mean look at the bridge just below us. This is just west of where we're at. That is a walking bridge. Also a trestle bridge. And the water has been hitting that.

We have seen everything from trees, to construction debris, to it looks like parts of either businesses or homes hitting these bridges. You can feel it just shake as it hits. Amazingly, so far, there have been no confirmed fatalities in all of this rain that Vermont has had. They've -- they've effected over 100 rescues at this point by water. You see rescue teams now everywhere. And it's just impossible to get through here.

I tried to cross State Street this morning about a block up that way, so the main street through the capital, couldn't getting across it. It was up to my waist and it was just moving so fast. There's a car that is stuck in there right now that we've been watching. You can start to see the top of it. So, the water is coming down ever so slightly. But they're afraid in the next hours ahead they may see even more water come down this way.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes, as the governor -- I think as the governor tweeted out, even if the rain stopped that does not mean that the floodwaters are not going to continue to rise is what you're seeing.

MARQUEZ: Exactly.

BOLDUAN: All right, thank you, Miguel, very much.

Sara.

SIDNER: Protestors in Israel have begun what they're calling a day of disruption and resistance. They are in the streets, that's Tel Aviv, as anger over judicial reform once again has boiled over. Demonstrators erupted across the country after lawmakers moved forward Monday on a plan to strip the supreme court of some of its power. It's part of a larger controversial overhaul of Israel's judicial system. CNN's Hadas Gold is following developments for us.

Hadas, what have you been seeing and give us some sense of exactly why protestors are so angry about this.

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Sara, I'm at Ben Gurion Airport. This is Israel's main airport. And as you can see and hear behind me, the protestors are here out in force blocking the arrivals level of the airport. We also know they've been blocking other parts of the airport, blocking some of the entrance roads to the airport. And this is part of a massive day of disruption that these protestors have planned. It started early in the morning and it's going late into the evening all across the country.

Now, there have been protests here now for six months at least against this judicial overhaul plan. But the reason that today has been sort of an amped-up version of that is because of what you mentioned, the legislation that was passed last night. This is an attempt -- it's the first vote of three that this particular piece of legislation needs -- is an attempt to strip the supreme court of its ability to declare government actions as unreasonable.

[09:40:06]

It's part of the overall big, massive judicial overhaul plan that the government has been pushing forward. But also that overhaul plan had been essentially frozen in place since March, since those massive general strikes and the defense minister coming out against this plan (INAUDIBLE) legislation. There were attempts at negotiations with the opposition, but they failed. And that's why the coalition government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, is pushing forward with this overhaul legislation.

They're doing it slower in a more piecemeal fashion and they say they've removed some of the more controversial elements of the plan, like the ability for parliament to overturn supreme court decisions. They say that's off the table. But even that watered down version potentially is not enough for these protestors and the opposition because they essentially don't believe anything that Benjamin Netanyahu says. And that's why they're out here today and they say they will continue -- some of them even saying they're going to be pitching tents in central Tel Aviv to make this protest even more permanent.

Sara.

SIDNER: Wow. Yes, I know the protesters there really believe this is a problem with checks and balances that is eroding. And so, as you just heard, they're going to be out there for quite some time. Thank you so much, Hadas Gold, for your reporting.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Coming up for us, why a single U.S. senator is holding up hundreds of military nominations in the Senate. His reasoning and what it could mean now for the U.S. Marines.

We'll be right back.

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[09:45:48]

BOLDUAN: For the first time in more than 100 years, a major branch of the U.S. military does not have a confirmed leader. General David Berger relinquished command of the U.S. Marines in this ceremony that happened just yesterday actually, but his successor's confirmation is still on hold and languishing in the Senate. That is because of this man, Tommy Tuberville, a Republican senator, and he is holding up all military nominations right now, more than 250 of them. Tuberville objects to the Pentagon's reproductive health care policies, including offering leave and travel funds for abortion care.

Let's get the very latest. Lauren Fox has that from Capitol Hill.

It's good to see you, Lauren.

This has been percolating for a bit. Where does this stand with the Marines? What's happening now?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tommy Tuberville has had this hold for several months now, Kate, and it has stopped numbers of military promotions from being confirmed in the U.S. Senate. Typically, these would be done by voice vote. They're not controversial. But this is coming under new scrutiny because now, this morning, the Marine Corps is without a leader for the first time in 164 years.

And there has been lawmakers on both the Republican and Democratic side who've argued they don't agree with Tuberville's tactic, including Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader. But behind the scenes, Tuberville says he isn't feeling any pressure from the Defense Department or his own Republican leadership. Instead, he says, he wants one thing, and what he wants is a vote on the Senate floor enshrining the Pentagon policy that they are going to cover the cost of travel for service members and their families if they have to cross state lines because abortion procedures are not legal in the states where they are residing.

It's important to point out to our audience back home that a lot of service members are stationed in places that they have no choice to be stationed in. That is part of serving in the U.S. military. So, the Pentagon, after the Dobbs decision, said that they were going to enact this policy. What Tuberville says is, OK, if this policy is going to come from the Pentagon, it really should be coming from the U.S. Senate. If it can't pass the Senate, then they should repeal it.

Now, we should point out that there aren't going to be 60 votes in the Democratic controlled Senate for this policy because there are many Republicans, Democrats don't have 60 votes. So, it's just important to point out that Tommy Tuberville's hold right now, Republican and Democratic leaders could move these nominees one by one on the floor. But, Kate, that would take years at this point.

Tommy Tuberville also appeared on Kaitlan Collins' new show last night and he doubled down on some controversial comments he made about white nationalists serving in the military.

Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (R-AL): To me they shouldn't.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: A white nationalist is someone who believes that the white race is superior to other races.

TUBERVILLE: Well, that's some people's opinion. And I don't think --- I mean a lot --

COLLINS: That's not an opinion.

TUBERVILLE: Pardon.

COLLINS: What's your opinion?

TUBERVILLE: My opinion of a white nationalist -- if somebody wants to call them white nationalist, to me is an American. It's an American. Now, if that white nationalist is a racist, I'm totally against anything that they want to do because I am 110 percent against racism.

A lot of people that believe in different things --

COLLINS: That is a white -- a white nationalist is racist, Senator.

TUBERVILLE: Well, that's your opinion. That's your opinion. But if it's racism --

COLLINS: It's not an opinion.

TUBERVILLE: If it's racism, I'm totally against it. (END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: And, obviously, Tuberville had made similar comments in the past. But, you know, one of his Republican colleagues, Mike Rounds, appeared on "CNN THIS MORNING" and was asked by our Phil Mattingly about this. And Mike Rounds doubled down and said that he did not believe in white nationalists serving in the military. A pretty simple answer there. But, obviously, Tommy Tuberville doubling down once again on his previous comments.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes, and given ample opportunity to clear it up. And, well, maybe he did clear it up.

It's good to see you. Thank you so much, Lauren.

Sara.

SIDNER: I think a dictionary is in order.

All right, coming up, a CNN exclusive, some well-known brands who promised to stop doing business in Russia after Moscow invaded Ukraine are now accused of violating that pledge. Details on that, ahead.

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[09:53:52]

SIDNER: Call it a corporate exodus. More than 1,000 companies have left Russia since Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, but some major companies that pledged to leave have broken their promise and are still doing business in Russia. That is according to Yale research shared exclusively with CNN. Yale Professor Jeff Sonnenfield says supporting those companies amount to helping fuel Putin's war machine. He calls their actions shameful and unethical.

CNN reporter Matt Egan is joining us now with the details.

The first thing everyone's going to want to know is, who are the companies, and can you walk us through the findings here.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Sara, this is a big deal because it really undermines what has been an unprecedented corporate exodus from Russia. And what this new research from Yale finds is actually based on a whistleblower's and corporate documents and even students who are inside of Russia right now. Jeff Sonnenfield, the Yale professor, he's accusing multiple companies of basically breaking their promise to leave Russia, or at least dramatically scale back there, including Unilever, Mondelez, Heineken, Philip Morris, WeWork and Nestle.

[09:55:05]

Now the Yale professor, he's not saying these companies are breaking the law per say, but he is saying they're breaking a moral code. Listen to what Sonnenfield told me. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PROF. JEFF SONNENFIELD, YALE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT: It's beyond disappoint to the point of shameful and unethical. They're breaking their promises. They are functioning as wartime profiteers benefiting from the mass slaughter of innocent civilians showing no concern for their most valued resource, the most valued possession, which is the trust of the institution, the character of the brand. So, they're -- they're self-emulating their own brand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

EGAN: Strong words there from Sonnenfield. He says that the, quote, poster child of this problem is Heineken, which over a year after promising to get out of Russia still has seven breweries there, employs 1,800 people in the country. And Heineken told me that, quote, the war in Ukraine is a, quote, terrible human tragedy. They say they are still committed to getting out of Russia. They actually already have a potential deal in place to sell their business in Russia, but like a lot of other companies, they are having problems getting regulatory approval to actually get out of Russia.

And, Sara, that was a common theme here that we heard from companies is that Russia, Moscow, they've made it intentionally hard for western brands to get out of the country. But, listen, the Yale professor, Sonnenfield, he would note that we still have over 1,000 companies that were able to get out.

SIDNER: Interesting. I mean hard for them to shut down or to sell off?

EGAN: I think that it's both. They put up legal restrictions that actually make it very hard to sell those assets. It forces companies to basically give it up to the state. And a lot of companies don't want to do that for understandable reasons.

Another common theme here we heard from companies is that they don't want to hurt innocent people in Russia. They don't want to hurt employees who are there or customers. But Yale Professor Sonnenfield, he rejected that argument. He said, listen, the whole point here is to turn up the pressure on Russia.

SIDNER: Matt Egan, great reporting. Thank you.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right, these are live pictures that we're looking at right now in Fulton County, Georgia, in a courtroom. You see the district attorney there, Fani Willis over there, as the -- as the camera zooms in. What we're looking at here is just minutes from now. Grand jury selection is expected to begin in this courtroom, in Fulton County, Georgia. This is the next critical step in the long and closely watched election interference investigation into Donald Trump and his allies. The fate of any potential indictments will soon be in that grand jury's hands.

Plus, a show of unity for Ukraine as NATO leaders meet -- meet for the summit in Lithuania. But will it be enough? Ukraine's president will soon arrive to attend the summit and meet with President Biden. His warning that any further delay in the country's path to membership only empowers Russia further. Much more on that, coming up.

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