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Prigozhin Presumed Dead In Plane Crash Two Months After Mutiny; Judge Rules Meadows, Clark Can't Avoid Arrest In Georgia Case; Iowa Voters Weigh In After First GOP Debate. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired August 24, 2023 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

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JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, the man at the center of the armed mutiny against Russia's military a couple of months ago is believed to be dead. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the chief of the Wagner Group was reportedly on a plane when it seemingly fell out of the sky. Investigators say everyone on board is dead, but their remains have not been identified.

Now, Vladimir Putin has not commented on the incident and no evidence has directly tied Putin to the crash. But many world leaders are linking it to the Kremlin, including President Biden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't know for a fact what happened, but I am not surprised.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe Putin is behind this, Sir?

BIDEN: There's not much that happens in Russia that Putin is not behind but I don't know enough to know the answer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine. That response from President Biden, I don't know exactly what happened but I'm not surprised, it's really being shared by many leaders around the world.

[11:35:00]

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Frankly, it's going to be exceptionally hard to get an independent definitive take on what exactly happened at the high altitude when a private jet remarkably carrying it seems not just Yevgeny Prigozhin but all of his top henchmen or many of his top henchmen from the Wagner mercenary group, clearly feeling very safe in Russia, traveling altogether, despite the fact that exactly two months earlier, they've led the most direct challenge to Vladimir Putin in their failed armed rebellion and march towards Moscow.

The details we do have, though, John, it's important to point out, they're all supplied by Russian officials. They have said eight of the 10 bodies have been recovered. They have named who those 10 people on board the plane indeed, were, and they are now combing a site that's potentially a mile wide and we understand that some of the human remains there have been brought to the Tver. That's the nearby region forensic bureau.

That's where the tough job of exactly working out who was on board that plane will be done. But I should tell you, you know, Russian officials, we've learned that over time, John, they essentially say what the Kremlin wants them to say. And so, the narrative we will eventually learn with all the bows tied up will be what Vladimir Putin wants people to hear.

Essentially, though, is there any proof concrete or otherwise, that Prigozhin definitely died on board? No, we haven't heard from his own Wagner representatives that they even confirmed his death. And he is a man who's been very elusive, particularly just in the days after that failed armed rebellion.

But it's a remarkable moment. And you heard there, President Biden, many other world leaders saying, look, Putin to "Bill Burns, the head of the CIA is the apostle of payback." And so many have been wondering quite how Prigozhin had lived so long after the failed rebellion and maybe this is the answer. But a seismic moment showing that Vladimir Putin perhaps still if he was behind this felt threatened by his former chief who'd been such an instrumental man for him around the world. John.

BERMAN: Look. There is a reason why so many experts are so suspicious this morning. Nick Paton Walsh, in Zaporizhzhia, thanks for being with us. Appreciate it. Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, we're joined now by the CEO of Hermitage Capital Management, Bill Browder. Browder, you will remember, was once the largest foreign investor in Russia, and now one of the Kremlin and Vladimir Putin's biggest critics and significant enemies. He's also the author of "Freezing Order: True Story of Money Laundering, Murder and Surviving Vladimir Putin's Wrath." Bill, it's good to see you again. Thank you so much for coming in.

You are among those that are -- that are skeptical that this could be anything other than Vladimir Putin behind this. Despite a lack of evidence pointing directly to the Kremlin, you say there's no doubt that Putin is behind this. Why do you feel confident of that?

BILL BROWDER, CEO, HERMITAGE CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: Well, Putin has a long, long history of killing his enemies and his opponents. And he particularly goes after people he deems to be the traitors. People who were unfaithful to his cause.

And if you remember, back in 2006, he killed Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian FSB officer with poise -- polonium poison. He tried to kill Sergei Skripal in Salisbury. And many, many people who have opposed Putin have died in mysterious circumstances.

It's just his standard operating procedure. And so, of course, you know, we all want to sound reasonable and not take -- you know, not jump to conclusions, but in a situation where you have a serial killer like Vladimir Putin, who has made it very clear on so many different occasions that he goes after his enemies who has governed for 23 years as a hard dictator by going after his enemies, I mean, it's just -- it couldn't be more plain and more obvious that that's what happened here.

The only uncertainty is that we don't know with 100 percent certainty whether Prigozhin was actually on that plane. It's he -- his name was on the manifest. That's what the Russian officials have announced.

I think that it's like very likely he was on that plane. But, you know, he's a master of disguises. They found passports and wigs in his office when they raided it after the attempted mutiny.

Who knows? Maybe the guy didn't go on the plane because for the exact reason that he thought it'd be shot out of the sky. And so, I think that's the only thing that we don't know.

We -- I think that the plane was shot down. It was an attempted assassination. If he was on that plane, then of course, it was an assassination and Putin was behind it.

BOLDUAN: What do you -- does the timing of this raise any questions or tell you -- suggest anything to you two months after Prigozhin, you know led that failed rebellion?

BROWDER: Well, the timing was very odd from only one perspective, which is, why did Putin wait two months to do it? Putin was -- every day that Prigozhin was running around carrot -- carefree every day that he was showing up on in videos doing different things, all of that you know raises a lot of questions, which is you know Putin was humiliated on those days, and Putin is a guy who doesn't like to be humiliated so why did he wait so long? That's the main question I have.

[11:40:15]

BOLDUAN: Yes. I mean, you and -- you and I have talked you know for years now about the threats that you have faced. I remember you talking to me in 2018, about how it would be a death sentence, if by chance, the possibility you would have been sent back to Russia, and you've been very public about it. Do moments like this -- what does it stir up in you?

BROWDER: Well, what it -- what it says to me is something that I've always known and I've lived by, which is that Putin never forgives and never forgets. And if he views you as somebody who he needs -- who needs to be eliminated, it doesn't matter how much time has passed. And so, I haven't ever sort of putting my guard down because I understand that Putin is a guy who has a very long memory, and he's ready to act on his vengeance whenever he can.

And from my perspective, I've been able to stay alive because I've been living in the West, and I've been conducting myself in a very careful way. But it doesn't mean that I -- that my countermeasures will work. I mean, he is a guy who truly is a murderous man.

He's killed many, many people at home and abroad. And he'll do whatever he has to do whenever he can do it if he thinks he can get away with it. And it's, of course, much easier to do something inside of Russia like what he did to Prigozhin, but we've seen many, many instances where people have been killed outside of Russia by Russian assassins.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Bill Browder. Thank you for coming in, Bill.

BROWDER: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Sara?

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. The two of Donald Trump's co- defendants in a Georgia election subversion case have tried to avoid being arrested but a federal judge nixed that request. Both must follow Georgia law now and get booked into jail. More on those developments ahead.

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[11:46:24]

BERMAN: All right, happening now. There was just a small crowd of Trump supporters gathered at the jail in Fulton County where Donald Trump will surrender later. They appear to have moved on, or at least. We don't have the shot right now. We also just saw the Fulton County Sheriff outside the facility.

Now, co-defendants, Mark Meadows and Jeffrey Clark are trying to get their cases moved to federal court. They didn't even want to show up to surrender. But a judge on that specific issue ruled that they have to. They now have less than 24 hours to turn themselves in.

CNN's Zach Cohen is outside the Fulton County courthouse where there is also action taking place. Zach?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, that's right. We're still waiting on a few of Trump's co-defendants to -- for their lawyers to come here to negotiate bond agreements. And now, Mark Meadows and Jeffrey Clark, as you mentioned, are likely going to have -- to also do the same thing. A judge ruling that they can't avoid being arrested if they miss the Friday noon deadline to surrender to the Fulton County Jail.

Now, a bond agreement is usually what happens right before somebody surrenders to the jail and they've been negotiated here with the DA's office prior to that happening. And so, it's basically to see if Mark Meadows and Jeffrey Clarks' lawyers do show up here in the next couple of hours. But they have less than 24 hours as you said, to ultimately surrender to the Fulton County Jail or risk being arrested.

Now, on Monday, there is a hearing that will determine if they can move this case to federal court. But Mark Meadows in a filing, Fani Willis the DA here in Atlanta argued that Mark Meadows is a central player in this broad conspiracy case that she's been building. She says that he witnessed various episodes and cited House January six committee depositions.

Saying Mark Meadows is the firsthand player in this conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election, and she knows too that influencing an election outcome is not sanctioned for federal officials that undercuts one of the core defenses that Mark Meadows is making as he tries to move this to federal court. So, a lot going on here behind the scenes, but at the end of the day, two boldface names now have less than 24 hours to surrender to the Fulton County Jail.

And, you know, obviously later today, we expect to see the former, President Donald Trump, here in Atlanta to also surrender himself. That will be a lot of activity going on at the jailhouse later. But you know Mark Meadows and Jeffrey Clark, we'll see what they do in the next 24 hours.

BERMAN: All right. Zach Cohen, great to see you there. Keep us posted. A lot of happenings there to be sure. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Exactly. 19 people have been charged in Georgia as part of this alleged -- an alleged criminal enterprise to overturn the 2020 election results there. Donald Trump, nine others still have yet to report to that county jail to be arrested.

Trump preparing to do so today. More mug shots are coming in. That's ahead. But first, here's Dr. Sanjay Gupta with this week's "CHASING LIFE."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, host of CNN's "CHASING LIFE" podcast.

Back pain can be debilitating. It is one of the most common reasons patients come to see me. And it's important to know that there are some small proactive steps you can take every day that can help prevent this sort of pain in the first place.

First of all, make this your mantra. Move more. Just move more. A body in motion helps avoid the generalized stiffness that can lead to these aches and pains.

Specifically, build more walking into your life. Take the stairs instead of the escalator. Park further away from the entrance. Set a timer, make sure you get up every hour, and just move.

And here's another common issue. Maybe you always carry your purse or your backpack on one side or maybe you hold the dog leash with your dominant hand. The advice is to switch it up, maybe even start opening up doors with your non-dominant hand. See, the thing is small tweaks like that could actually help realign your back, preventing the pain.

[11:50:05]

Finally, stop slouching. And when you catch yourself doing it, take a deep breath and correct your posture. You can hear more about how to optimize your health and chase life, wherever you get your podcasts.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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[11:55:32]

SIDNER: One-liners, political Smackdowns, and even some policy debated last night. So, what did voters think about all that? CNN's Gary Tuchman sat with 15 Republicans in the first in the nation caucus state, Iowa to find out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Anyone think Doug Burgum did the best? Now, zero. Anyone think Chris Christie did the best? He certainly got most of the airtime. A lot of their time, not most of your time.

How about Ron DeSantis? How many of you think Ron DeSantis did best? That's two people.

How about Nikki Haley? One, two, three, four people. Asa Hutchinson? Mike Pence? Zero.

Vivek Ramaswamy? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Tim Scott. OK. So, this panel here thinks Ramaswamy won the debate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: You know what? I bet you will be -- they will be talking about that "INSIDE POLITICS."

SIDNER: Do you think?

BERMAN: -- which is up next. Thanks for being with us.

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