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Western Allies Get Sobering Update on Ukraine's Counteroffensive; Twin Russian Missile Strikes Devastate Ukrainian City; Deadline Today for Trump Team and Special Counsel in Coup Plot Indictment; House GOP Eyes Fall Push for Biden Impeachment Inquiry; Ohio Votes on Measure That Threatens Abortion Rights. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired August 08, 2023 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:36]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Brand-new CNN reporting this morning on Ukraine's counteroffensive. Details on Western officials' sobering assessments.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: A new deadline. The judge overseeing the 2020 election trial of Donald Trump says it's time to set the rules of the road as they head toward that trial. Trump's team arguing prosecutors are going after Trump's First Amendment rights now.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And nearly 40 million people are under severe weather threats today after extreme storms battered the Eastern U.S. overnight. Flight delays and cancellations piling up today.

I'm Omar Jimenez, along with Kate Bolduan and John Berman. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BERMAN: We have brand-new reporting this morning on Ukraine's counteroffensive in Russia. Weeks into the fight, reports from the battlefield are increasingly, quote, "sobering." Specifically, there are concerns about the Ukrainian forces' ability to retake significant territory.

Our friend, CNN anchor and chief national security correspondent, and award-winning author Jim Sciutto broke this reporting, and he joins us now.

Jim, what have you heard?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: This is a marked change, John, in recent weeks. And I've been speaking to folks here in the U.S. and Europe, in the military, in diplomacy, also lawmakers.

So there's a consistent read of the intelligence assessments here, and that is that this counteroffensive has run really into a brick wall in the east and the south, that is severe severe and difficult to breach Russian defensives, tree lines, tens of thousands of mines, that have led Ukrainian forces to incur just punishing losses there, and therefore make a change, pull back some of those units to reduce those losses.

Those Russian defenses are one factor, but another factor is training here, and it's been noted to me by a number of officials that eight weeks or so training that many of these units have received on some of these new advanced Western weapon systems like the German Leopard tanks, is not a lot of time. And the challenge of basically turning the Ukrainian military into a massive, mechanized armored force in short order to attempt to breach these lines, which is always going to be difficult, was perhaps too hopeful, too optimistic.

They haven't given up hope. But they do believe that time is short. A senior Western diplomat telling me that they're still going to see for the next couple of weeks if there is a chance of making some progress, but for them to really make progress that would change the balance of this conflict, I think it is extremely, highly unlikely, and it's that change that I have noticed speaking to these officials in the last couple of weeks that they feel time is short, and the chances of real significant territorial gains are falling.

BERMAN: Unlikely to make significant gains at this point.

Jim, it's notable that you're hearing this from a variety of sources, and it's uniformed reaction. Is there any consensus on what could change the scenario?

SCIUTTO: Yes. Well, there is certainly consensus that there is no one magic bullet here, right? One weapon system that you would send tomorrow that would suddenly change the dynamic on the battlefield, and by the way, it's impossible to do that because you have to train up on these systems. Take a look at the Abrams tanks, for instance, just approved this weekend to be sent there, but they're not going to arrive through the fall because it takes a number of weeks to train up Ukrainian forces to use them properly and well in the field.

F-16s, for instance, there's increasing agreement that Ukrainains need air power. They need air cover, because they're attempting to take these -- break through these Russian lines without much air cover. Russians keep the advantage there. And that's a really, really hard thing to do. So there's movement towards allowing F-16s to go. The U.S. has given approval. But again, you've got to train up those pilots.

It takes time to get them into position, and that's not going to happen before the fall comes, and then the fighting conditions change, so that's another pressure point here going forward.

BERMAN: Is it also true you have a new book coming out, Jim?

SCIUTTO: It is. It is. Thank you for mentioning.

[10:05:02]

It's called "The Return of Great Powers" and Ukraine is at the center of that. The argument is that this 30-year period that we have experienced post-1989, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the Soviet Union, that period of relative peace, it's over. The Ukrainian invasion was a clean break with that, and now the West challenged not just by Russia in Europe but by China in Asia.

BERMAN: Your reporting as always is terrific. The analysis this morning, Jim, is sobering. Look forward to the book. Great to see you. See you this afternoon, my friend.

SCIUTTO: Thank you, John.

BERMAN: Omar?

JIMENEZ: Well, John, more devastation this morning out of Ukraine. Two Russian missiles struck a residential area in an eastern city. At least seven people were killed. Officials say the missiles struck within 30 to 40 minutes of each other, the second hitting right as first responders arrived to try and dig people out of the rubble. In addition those killed, 81 people were injured including children and rescue workers.

CNN's Nic Robertson joins us now.

Nic, what are you learning about these recent developments?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: More than half of those people that were injured there, the 81 that were injured, more than half, 42 in fact, were rescue workers. They were either police, they were service personnel or they were emergency workers, and they were all on the scene responding to that first incident.

It's not the first time that Russia has tried this sort of, what sometimes called a double-tap tactic to drop a missile in, and then follow it up a little bit later to target the emergency workers. In fact, Ukrainian officials say since the war started 78 emergency workers have died in just these sorts of circumstances.

But in this particular attack, there is an uncomfortable familiarity to it not just from this double-tap effect, but from the fact that it was targeting a popular pizzeria in the Donetsk region, and remember just barely a month ago in Kramatorsk another popular pizzeria was targeted by a very accurate Russian missile system. And it killed a lot of people. And why? Because it came right around supper time in the evening.

When did the first missile impact yesterday evening? Right around supper time. Intended to get the most number of civilians, it appears. I've been to that particular restaurant. I've been in that location before. There were, when I was there fairly recently, no obvious military targets around it. So Russia clearly signaling that it's going to strike deep at civilian locations. Who knows why they've chosen to do it now, but it's certainly an indication to the Ukrainians that they can pick and choose these popular types of venues. Seven killed as you say. One of them was the deputy chief emergency worker in the region.

JIMENEZ: And when some of these strikes come, potentially following one right after, as we've seen other times were targeting first responders. Half of those injured as you mentioned in this particular case. I want to shift a little bit more to the war itself, but obviously

we've been tracking the counteroffensive. It's been slow-going to this point. We've had some reports that Western officials may be seeing these reports as sobering as far as progress goes, but are Ukrainians making any progress here?

ROBERTSON: Yes, they are. I mean, it's an asymmetric war, and the absolute fundamental, most important thing that they want to do is drive the Russians off of their territory. That's their prerequisite for peace, right? Well, they're failing. For all those reasons that Jim laid out there, and the Ukrainians will say, well, we've been short of ammos, supplies didn't come in time, the Russians are, you know, just listening yesterday to the defense minister speaking, talking about the fight around Bakhmut, not talking about being able to take ground but actually the Ukrainian fighters putting up a good defense and putting punishment under the Russians, but not taking any ground.

That kind of tells you even the Ukrainian narrative is shifting there. But they've had successes. You know, Russia has never been targeted over the border in the way Ukraine has done it. The Kremlin has never been hit before in the way the Ukrainians have managed to do it. The Central Moscow government offices have been hit the way they haven't before. There's been a mutiny in Russia because of the war. And there are a number of areas, it's asymmetric. Those games may put pressure on Putin, but they're not going to change the fundamental of the war on the ground, and that's the vital thing.

JIMENEZ: Yes. Nic Robertson, thank you as always. Kate?

BOLDUAN: This morning parts of the United States are preparing for another round of severe weather after hundreds of powerful storms hit several states in the east last night.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my god. Oh, my god.

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BOLDUAN: Yes. No kidding. You can see the force over there. Trees snapped in half, some landing on homes. The storms produced softball- sized hail. In certain places hurricane-force wind gusts.

[10:10:01]

A tornado touched down in southern Indiana ripping the roofs off homes and buildings there. In Westminster, Maryland, nearly 50 people were actually trapped in their cars for hours on a highway after downed power lines fell, and then they needed crews to come help to get them out safely.

Meteorologist Derek Van Dam, he's tracking all of this for us. He's joining us now.

So, Derek, talk to me about today. What -- is it going to be as bad today?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS CERTIFIED METEOROLOGIST: Yes, good question, Kate. Compared to yesterday, 600 storm reports, the hurricane-force wind gusts you saw knocking and toppling over trees, the softball-sized hail falling from the sky. Today will feel like a walk in the park. But we know that it only takes one storm especially across the populated area to create problem.

So let's focus in on the areas that are dealing with some of that severe weather risk today, and that is across northern New England. Check this out. We currently have a severe thunderstorm warning for a heavily populated areas, Newport, Rhode Island, into Bristol. The storm cell is actually moving across Rhode Island and into Massachusetts, so for the next 30 minutes or so, this area could experience gusty winds in excess of 50 to 60 miles per hour, and potentially some frequent cloud-to-ground lightning and large hail as well.

We're also monitoring the threat of flash flooding. You can see flood watches and flood warnings in effect, just west of the Boston metro area. This is different than what we experienced yesterday but part of the same storm system. Look at what that hurricane-force wind gust can do to apartment buildings. Completely sheering off the top of the roofs. There's a 600 reports of severe weather yesterday. Very active and it's all part of the storm system that is going to help fuel more thunderstorms later today.

It is simply just so hot across the Gulf Coast states that these thunderstorms will start to bubble up and that's where we can see severe weather again today. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. It's a severe weather and it's sparked by this heat that is just sweltering in so many parts of the country.

It's great to see you, Derek. Thank you. He's going to keep an eye on it for us. John?

BERMAN: House Republicans working out a possible impeachment inquiry against President Biden. There are new comments and maybe a new schedule from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

President Biden with a move today that will protect nearly one million acres around the Grand Canyon. And the brawl between a group of white boaters and black riverboat employee caught on camera. What witnesses are saying about the incident as officials plan to release new details this afternoon.

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[10:16:46]

BOLDUAN: Right now the grand jury that handed out the 2020 election indictment against Donald Trump is back at it, meeting again in Washington. And Trump's legal team and the special counsel, they're both up against a clock again today facing a new 3:00 p.m. deadline. What they need to do is respond to the judge overseeing this case over essentially what the rules of the road will be leading up to his trial, what evidence can be disclosed publicly.

CNN's Jessica Schneider following all of this for us. She's joining us now.

Jessica, Trump's legal team is accusing the prosecutors of the way they put it is a politically motivated campaign to restrict Donald Trump's First Amendment rights. Has the Justice Department responded to that?

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they are. And this has really turned into a massive back-and-forth, Kate, between the special counsel's team and Trump's attorneys, and that's why the judge here, Tanya Chutkan, is saying that there will be a hearing on this issue by the end of this week. She's telling Trump's team and special counsel they need to submit their availability for scheduling by 3:00 p.m. today.

So taking you back to these back-and-forth filings, Donald Trump's team last night they once again accused Special Counsel Jack Smith of trying to subvert Donald Trump's First Amendment rights by restricting what he can disclose publicly once he's received this evidence in the case, and that's when the special counsel quickly shot back here in the court filing saying that allowing Trump to share anything he gets before trial would really damage the case.

They wrote it this way. They said, "The goal of the defendant's proposed protective order pre-trial publicity is antithetical to the interest of justice." So basically saying there that Trump wants to use everything he gets to drum up his supporters on social media and the campaign trail. So this really does continue to be a fight that judge here is determined to put to rest by the end of this week.

So, Kate, a hearing will happen this week, much sooner than we expected. We weren't expecting a hearing until August 28th, but it will happen by the end of this week. Submissions are due at 3:00 p.m. today.

BOLDUAN: So, also, CNN has learned a new Trump ally has gone to meet with the special counsel. We're talking about Bernie Kerik who has close ties with Rudy Giuliani. What are you hearing about this?

SCHNEIDER: Yes, so they actually -- Bernie Kerik and his attorney, they talked to our cameras as they left the courthouse yesterday. They met with the special counsel's team for five hours yesterday. Now Kerik of course is the former New York City police commissioner. He worked with Rudy Giuliani after the 2020 election. So Kerik has a lot of knowledge about Giuliani's efforts to find what he claimed was fraud in the election.

And that is crucial because Giuliani is listed as co-conspirator number one, unnamed in the indictment, and uncharged in last week's indictment. So this clearly does show that the investigation continues. More people including Rudy Giuliani could potentially get charged, and of course, we're seeing that investigation continue, Kate. Our team on the ground at the courthouse today seeing the grand jury back at the courthouse for the first time since the indictment was handed up one week ago against Donald Trump. So a lot still swirling here, and a lot of investigations still to go -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Great to see you, Jess. Thank you. John?

BERMAN: So this morning, House Republicans are tiptoeing ever closer toward an impeachment inquiry into President Biden.

[10:20:01]

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is reportedly eyeing sometime this fall for the start.

CNN's Manu Raju live on Capitol Hill with the latest here. Manu, what are you hearing?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the House Republicans have been investigating the Biden family since the beginning of this Congress, but now they are saying that it is time to move forward with an impeachment inquiry. Now the speaker himself has indicated publicly that they are still investigating the matter. He has not made an official decision.

But in talking to Republicans up and down the line, my colleagues and I have heard from a number of Republicans who believe it's essentially a foregone conclusion that an impeachment inquiry will be launched sometime this fall, and then they'll see if they can move forward with the articles of impeachment that will make Joe Biden just the fourth president ever in history to be impeached.

Now the question is what evidence do they have to charge the president with committing high crimes and misdemeanors. They are trying to tie Joe Biden with his son Hunter Biden's overseas business entanglements. They say that they believe that Joe Biden was involved in some pay-to- play scheme while Biden was vice president. But they don't have the proof yet to corroborate their claim.

Even as they have come up with some evidence showing that Hunter Biden tried to use his dad's position and power for leverage in his own business dealings, not information about whether or not Joe Biden himself was influenced in his actions by Hunter Biden's positions in his own business. Now nevertheless, the speaker made clear that he believes that an impeachment inquiry is on the table if the evidence rises to it.

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REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): I raised it on this show not long ago that because the actions of the Biden administration withholding information that that would rise to the level where we need impeachment inquiry to get the strength of the Congress to get the information that we need to give to the American public and follow through on our constitutional authority. That is exactly what we're doing, and that's exactly what we'll continue to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Now the political calendar plays a role here as well. Republicans tell us that if they were to essentially not move forward with impeachment proceedings it could clear Joe Biden, and it appeared that Republicans are trying to clear Joe Biden and potentially give the president a boost heading into his reelection campaign, which is one reason why a number of Republicans say that there is just zero chance that that will happen, and another reason why Democrats are jumping all over House Republicans for suggesting they may move ahead.

The White House itself put out a statement attacking Republicans for what they call a partisan political stunt, calling them instead to focus on the issues at hand. So you're seeing the battle lines being drawn ahead of what we expect to be an impeachment inquiry this fall -- John.

BERMAN: Manu, does it require a vote to formally begin the impeachment inquiry?

RAJU: Yes. It doesn't require it, John. But that is what is expected that there would be an initial vote. And that would be a close vote. A narrowly divided House means that Kevin McCarthy can only afford to lose four Republican votes on any party line vote, and not all Republicans are sold particularly the 18 Republicans who hailed from districts that Joe Biden carried. One of them, Don Bacon.

The Nebraska Republican told me that he is not yet sold yet on this issue. He believes further investigation in the ongoing committees need to take place and there needs to be evidence, more evidence before they go ahead here, John. So Kevin McCarthy has his work cut out for him if he does go this route, not just on the initial vote, but ultimately on any articles of impeachment that could occur later this year -- John.

BERMAN: Manu Raju, great to see you. Keep us posted on what you hear. Omar?

JIMENEZ: Well, John, right now Ohio voters are heading to the polls for a special election to decide the threshold for being able to change the state constitution, and it may not seem like much, but it's actually putting the Buckeye State at the center of the abortion rights debate.

We'll explain after the break.

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[10:28:39]

JIMENEZ: Right now, polls are open in Ohio for a critical special election that could be key in determining the future of the state's abortion rights. The ballot measure known as Issue One deals with amending the state's constitution. For more than a century it only took a simple majority for Ohio voters to make changes to their constitution, but if this passes, this measure would require a supermajority of 60 percent of the vote.

But this election will set the stage for a greater abortion rights fight in November. That's when Ohio voters will head back to the ballot box to vote on a separate measure to enshrine abortion rights in the state. And that legislation will be harder to pass if this supermajority requirement is adopted today. So a big day, and to break it down for us, we got CNN's Jeff Zeleny who's joining us from Columbus, Ohio.

Jeff, what are you seeing, what are you hearing from voters so far?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Omar, this has been an expensive campaign playing out here in Ohio over the past summer months. Tens of millions of dollars have been spent on both sides of this issue, and it really is the latest example of the abortion battleground across the country, of course a year after the Supreme Court decision effectively overturned "Roe v. Wade" sending the issue back to the states.

That is exactly what is happening here in Ohio. And you can see people are lining up. A slower line this morning, but it's been steady all morning line, but more than 700,000 people have voted early in this. So this is a very unusual election as you were saying.

[10:30:00]