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Potential GOP Witness in Hunter Biden Investigation Facing Charges; Georgia Election Probe Continues; Interview With Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly; Interview With Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired July 11, 2023 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: NATO's show of force. The alliance is growing.

And, today, Ukraine's president is making the case to world leaders face to face: Let us in.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Plus: delay, delay, delay. As the special counsel pushes for a trial in December, it is now up to a Florida judge. And former President Donald Trump's legal playbook is clear. So could he kill the case? Why this fight is about much more than a delay.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: And a state capital underwater. Ominous warnings, as a deluge threatens the city of Montpelier, Vermont, dams now pushed to the breaking point.

We are following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: President Biden is meeting with key allies at the critical NATO summit in Lithuania today.

And now that the alliance has cleared the way for Sweden's membership, the focus turns to Ukraine's desperate push to join. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is there to make the case in person. He will be meeting with President Biden tomorrow, but he's already slammed NATO leaders for their hesitancy. The message may have been received.

Today, the NATO chief announcing they have simplified the process for Ukraine to eventually become the alliance's 33rd member.

CNN's Natasha Bertrand is there for us covering this.

So, Natasha, how is President Biden approaching the Ukraine issue?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Brianna, very cautiously.

We heard from President Biden over the weekend saying that he does not believe that right now is the right time for Ukraine to become a member of NATO, and it appears that the alliance feels the same way. We heard that Jens Stoltenberg spoke earlier today to reporters, and he did say that, while one hurdle has been dropped for Ukraine to join NATO, there are still many that remain.

Namely, there are conditions that Ukraine still has to fulfill, and NATO unanimously has to agree that it is the right time for Ukraine to join before they can actually become full-fledged members. Now, he did not actually say what those conditions are, and he did not lay out any kind of concrete timetable for Ukraine's membership, noting that, for other allies who have tried to join the alliance, they have not had timetables either.

But, obviously, this is not going to be what Zelenskyy exactly wanted to hear. We heard him this morning -- in a tweet, I should say. He tweeted that he has heard from allies that they were discussing Ukraine's membership without actually having Ukrainian representatives at the table.

And he was very angry about that. And he said that Ukraine's future and its pathway to membership for NATO really has to be decided with Ukraine at the table. He also called it absurd that NATO was not willing to extend an invitation to Ukraine at this point, even if that formal accession to NATO doesn't happen until after the war ends.

So Zelenskyy did give kind of a rallying speech earlier today here in Vilnius in a public square, saying that NATO would be stronger with Ukraine in it. And he reemphasized that Ukraine may have a lot of bullets in its flag right now, but it is still standing, and that should be enough to show NATO that it is a military that is prepared to be a full-fledged member of the alliance, Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, that tweet might have given a lot of NATO members heartburn, but, certainly, this is a leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is very desperate.

Natasha Bertrand, live for us from Vilnius, thank you -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Now to a CNN exclusive and the other major headline so far of this NATO summit.

Fewer than 24 hours ago, Turkey agreed to back Sweden in its bid to join the military alliance, after Turkish President Recep Erdogan opposed the move for more than a year, citing multiple reasons. So, this stunned many.

I asked Sweden's prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, about it moments ago. Here is part of our conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: This is a historic moment. What does this mean for Sweden?

ULF KRISTERSSON, PRIME MINISTER OF SWEDEN: Well, yes, you're right.

We were nonaligned for 200 years, and obviously always in a close cooperation with -- with the U.S. and with other Western countries. So, it was -- I mean, where we belong was quite obvious anyway.

But after the awful invasion by Russia and to Ukraine, we -- we -- suddenly, an overwhelmingly majority in Sweden and in Finland came to the conclusion that our right place is in -- within NATO. And so we applied.

[13:05:04]

And now I think we took a very decisive step yesterday with this agreement between Sweden and Turkey and the NATO secretary-general.

SANCHEZ: And you mentioned Turkey. There were significant concerns from Turkey over your membership.

Take us inside the room. What was your conversation like with President Erdogan?

KRISTERSSON: It was a good conversation.

I mean, it's no secret that Sweden and Turkey have different views on a few topics. But we tried to concentrate on common ground and the common security and fighting terrorism and fighting financing of terrorism and -- and organized crime. That is our -- our concerns of mutual interest and mutual -- so, we really have decided to continue cooperating on these issues.

And I think that's a very good -- that's a very good common ground for our two countries, for Sweden is very -- everybody realizes that, Sweden, we seek common protection by becoming a NATO member. But I think it's also important for us to tell the world and to say -- tell other NATO countries that we also want to provide security.

We have capabilities which we bring to the table, and we think these are important to other countries. And I hope -- I hope to be able to prove that very soon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: We have more of our conversation focusing on President Biden's role in these talks, what he thinks about Ukraine's push to join the alliance, and what Sweden makes of Russia's threats ahead of the next hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

And, Jim, it was a really fascinating conversation. One thing he did not mention, did not expand on, the assurances the United States had to make to Turkey, in the form of military assistance, to secure its bid to back Sweden.

SCIUTTO: Listen, in a year, in two NATO conferences, two major new members in Finland and Sweden.

We're joined now by the Canadian minister of foreign affairs, Melanie Joly, who has long been supporting, of course, as other members of the alliance, Sweden's membership.

Can you tell us what its membership in the alliance means in terms of strengthening the group?

MELANIE JOLY, CANADIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: Hi, Jim.

Well, of course, it is important that Sweden joins NATO, because, first and foremost, it's an added value. They have a strong military. They have a lot of knowledge about Russia. They are an Arctic nation, such as Canada, and, of course, the U.S.

And so we were the first one to ratify Sweden and Finland's accession. And we have been there as a steadfast supporter of their accession within NATO.

SCIUTTO: Can you help us understand what brought Turkey over the line on Sweden's membership? Because just until a few hours before that announcement, it wasn't clear that was going to happen at this summit.

JOLY: Well, of course, Secretary-General Stoltenberg has been heavily invested in the accession of Finland, the accession of Sweden.

He developed a very strong relationship with Turkey. And all of us have been working very hard to make sure that the united -- the unity within the alliance is even stronger. And so that is why I think we can thank Secretary-General Stoltenberg for his work, but also the work that the Swedish government, past government and recently elected government, have been doing in this context.

And so the alliance was 30 members before the invasion of Ukraine. Putin thought he would divide us. Now we're 31-strong, soon to be 32- strong, and we will continue to show strong unity.

SCIUTTO: Of course, the alliance has made clear that now is not the time for Ukraine while it is at war with Russia.

I wonder, do you worry that then incentivizes Russia to prolong this war? Because, of course, Russia doesn't want Ukraine in NATO. If they know there won't be genuine discussions while that war is continuing, why not just continue that war?

JOLY: Well, first and foremost, it's written in the communique. We have been clear about it. Ukraine's future is in NATO.

And so we know, as you were mentioning, that a war is raging in Ukraine. Ukrainians are fighting for their freedom and for ours as well. And so we need to make sure that we continue to support Ukraine. At this point, Canada has invested $8 billion in financial, military, and humanitarian support to Ukraine.

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But even when the war ends, Russia will still be a very dangerous neighbor. And, in that sense, we need to be thinking about the long- term security needs of Ukraine. And offering long-term security guarantees is definitely important, because we need to make sure that there is strong deterrence and self-defense on the part of Ukraine, because we don't want Russia to eventually leave, rearm and re-invade Ukraine. And so that's why we have been a steadfast supporter now, but also in

the future. And we have been making sure that we're a part of these very important diplomatic conversations that are happening.

SCIUTTO: Prior to the summit, Canada made a significant upgrade to its support for the eastern-facing NATO nations.

As you know, I was visiting Estonia recently. When you speak to leaders of those nations, they described the threat of Russia attacking NATO in the east as being very real. Is that one of the reasons that Canada is stepping up its support. Do you consider that threat genuine?

JOLY: Of course, we consider that threat genuine, but not only that, Jim.

When NATO calls we answer. And so we agreed at the past NATO summit in Madrid last year that we would be bringing up many of the eastern flanks to brigades. We wanted to make sure that our president in Latvia was in conformity with what was agreed last year at same date.

And so that's why we decided to up our presence by 2,200 Canadian armed forces.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

JOLY: This is the biggest commitment that Canada has had in decades outside, of course, of our country.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

JOLY: And it is important that we continue to send that strong message, as other also host nations are also increasing their investments and increasing their presence.

SCIUTTO: OK.

JOLY: This is a new commitment of $2.6 billion. And we stand by that and we're proud of it.

SCIUTTO: And twice the number of troops there, Canadian troops on rotation.

JOLY: Yes.

SCIUTTO: Finally, before we go, Canada one of several NATO nations opposed to cluster munitions. Was it a mistake for President Biden to approve the transfer those munitions to Ukraine?

JOLY: Well, we don't agree with it. We have said it to American officials.

At the same time, Canada has a longstanding history when it comes to the protection of human security. And, in that sense, we will continue to abide about our own international obligations. That being said, we know Jim, that there is an issue in Ukraine with a lack of ammunition. So we need to enhance our defense industrial capacity.

That's really important. We need to do so in Canada, in the U.S. and across the alliance. And that's a conversation that we continue to have. And, meanwhile, we're making the right investments.

SCIUTTO: Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly, we appreciate you joining us this afternoon.

JOLY: It's a pleasure, Jim. Take good care.

SCIUTTO: Brianna.

KEILAR: It's a big step toward another potential indictment. How what is happening inside this Georgia courthouse could soon bring new criminal charges to former President Trump in connection to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Plus: He's a so-called whistle-blower who claimed to have dirt on the Biden family. Now he's facing his own legal troubles, including accusations of arms trafficking and acting as an agent for China.

And an urgent disaster that is unfolding in the Northeast, so much flooding in Vermont that the governor is now deploying Black Hawk helicopters for rescues, as a critical dam gets dangerously close to overflowing.

We have a live report when CNN NEWS CENTRAL returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:18:08]

KEILAR: Some pretty historic moments happening today inside this Georgia courtroom.

Moments ago, the grand jury in Fulton County was formally selected, and it is expected to decide if Donald Trump should be indicted for interfering in the 2020 election; 23 grand jurors and three alternates were picked. At least 16 of the 23 will need to be present for a vote. And at least 12 jurors will need to vote to indict, all signs indicating that the big decision Trump will come in August.

We have CNN political correspondent Sara Murray, who has been following all of the twists and turns of this Georgia case. And, trust us, there have been so many of them.

Sara, so the jury here has been selected. What are the grand jurors expected to look into specifically?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right.

These are the two normal grand juries that sit in Fulton County, and they're going to be hearing all kinds of cases. I mean, they're going to be hearing murders. They're going to be hearing carjackings, and then at some point we expect later on the DA's team will go into one of these grand juries one of these days and say, OK, today, you're going to hear a different kind of case.

And then we expect that they will hear the case against Donald Trump and his allies, assuming she still plans to move forward with these indictments. And, as you pointed out, it's been a long road to get here. This is a grand jury that can actually issue indictments. It comes after that special grand jury spent months and months investigating, hearing from witnesses, and offering their recommendations under seal to the district attorney about who should face indictment.

KEILAR: And then let's talk about the classified documents case, right?

There's of course, a number of different legal lanes that the former president is traveling in. And, on that one, his legal team is trying to delay the process. What can you tell us about that?

MURRAY: That's right.

In this filing that came late last night, Trump and Walt Nauta's team didn't propose a trial date, but they basically said, look, December is not going to work for us. They raised all of the issues, about the amount of discovery they have to go through. And they raised the fact that Donald Trump is running for president.

[13:20:00]

And they said there's really no way for him to get a fair trial and to essentially have the time he needs to prepare for trial while he is a presidential candidate.

So, of course, it's not unusual for defendants to ask for more time to prepare, especially in a complicated case like this, where there is a lot of discovery, but there are broader constitutional questions about this when it comes to Trump, because, if you try to kick the can down the road, and then he wins reelection, and is the president of the United States, you could envision a situation where this case falls apart, goes away pretty quickly, Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, even if it's a simple case. It's not simple when you look at the circumstances surrounding it.

Sara Murray, thank you so much -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: So, some top Republicans have described this man as a possible key witness in the Hunter Biden investigation, yet the Justice Department says he's actually a global arms trafficker who also acted as an unregistered agent for China.

Gal Luft has been on the run since he skipped bail while awaiting extradition from Cyprus on different charges. He's a dual U.S.-Israeli citizen and co-director of an American-based think tank.

CNN's Kara Scannell joins us now live with more.

So, Kara, what else do we know about Luft, his status and the charges that he's facing?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, as you said, it depends on who you ask.

Yesterday, the Justice Department unsealed an indictment where the grand jury charging Luft with eight criminal counts. Now, those charges include a numerous counts, including acting as an agent for China and not registering with the Department of Justice, brokering arms -- illicit arms deals involving the Chinese, as well as acting as a middleman in attempted sales of Iranian oil, in violation of U.S. sanctions, and also providing false statements when he was interviewed by prosecutors and the FBI.

But some House Republicans say that he is potentially an informant. That's what James Comer said, an informant because he allegedly has incriminating information the Biden family, including some of their overseas dealings involving China.

Now, Senator Ron Johnson, another Republican, has also said he's an important witness. We know that the Republicans are interested in investigating the Department of Justice's handling of their investigation into Hunter Biden, Hunter Biden is expected to plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors later this month.

Now, Gal Luft, as you mentioned, has been on the run. He was initially arrested in Cyprus in February on this indictment, but then jumped bail when he was awaiting an extradition hearing. At the time, he did tweet denials.

And here's what he tweeted: "I have been arrested in Cyprus on a politically motivated extradition request by the U.S.. The U.S. claiming I'm an arms dealer, it would be funny if it weren't tragic. I have never been an arms dealer. DOJ is trying to bury me to protect Joe, Jim and Hunter Biden. Shall I name names?"

Now, his lawyers also saying that this is these charges are a vicious attempt to silence a witness. Obviously, a lot of attention by Republicans on Hunter Biden, the Biden family. And FBI Director Christopher Wray will be testifying tomorrow before one of the House committees -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Yes, and several Republicans are calling for his impeachment over this.

Kara Scannell from New York, thank you so much -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Well, Vermont ravaged by historic rainfall and extreme flooding, authorities reminding residents there the emergency is not over yet. We're going to take you there live coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:28:08]

KEILAR: Just in to CNN, two of the top prosecutors in the special counsel's investigation into Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election spotted here, as you can see, entering the federal courthouse today.

We cannot emphasize enough that we don't know if or when an indictment will be filed.

We have CNN senior crime and justice reporter Katelyn Polantz joining us live from outside of the courthouse.

Katelyn, what is this signal, if anything?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: If anything, Brianna but it does signal that there's grand jury activity today in the special counsel investigation around January 6.

So there has been grand jury activity for many, many months. But the reason why this is notable today is that these two top prosecutors, Mary Dorhmann, Tom Windom, they had been working on some of the most

significant aspects of this investigation around Donald Trump, getting testimony secured around the White House, what was happening in the White House, even testimony from Mike Pence, the former vice president himself, about Trump.

And then they hadn't been around for a few weeks. There were other parts of the investigation that the grand jury appeared to be looking into and fleshing out, such as that fake electors scheme that Donald Trump was using to try and overturn the vote in some battleground states.

And so we see these prosecutors coming back today. It is not totally clear what that means. But it comes at the same time that the witnesses and the investigative activity where prosecutors are asking for information still and gathering evidence, it seems to be winding down.

And so there is a big question now of, what is this grand jury still up to and exactly when, if at all, will an indictment emerge in this case?

KEILAR: All right, we will be waiting to see that.

Katelyn Polantz, live for us, we appreciate it -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Well, right now, the capital of Vermont is pleading for more swift water rescue teams, this as dangerous flooding reaching critical levels in the city's main dam.

About an hour-and-a-half ago, officials said there was only one foot of storage capacity behind that.