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Hunter Biden Accused Of Evading $1.4M In Taxes; Pro-Trump Lawyer Kenneth Chesebro Cooperating In Multiple State Probes Into 2020 Fake Electors Plot; University Presidents Face Calls To Step Down In Wake Of Capitol Hill Testimony; Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) Discuss About Republicans' Probe To Joe Biden Impeachment Inquiry. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired December 08, 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: Welcome back to CNN NEWS CENTRAL. We start this hour with the President's son in more legal peril but this time the charges could land Hunter Biden in prison for up to 17 years that's if he's found guilty on nine new charges the Justice Department has brought forward. Three of them are felony counts.

Special Counsel David Weiss is accusing Hunter Biden of million dollar tax evasion, tax fraud and more. The new charges add to the fallout from that collapsed plea deal that he struck with federal prosecutors that fell apart over the summer.

Hunter Biden's attorneys say this: "If Hunter's last name was anything other than Biden the charges in Delaware and now California would not have been brought. After five years of investigating with no new evidence and two years after Hunter paid his taxes back in full the U.S. Attorney has piled on nine new charges when he had agreed just months ago to resolve this matter with a pair of misdemeanors."

President Biden, we should point out, is not part of any of his son's charges.

Let's break this down with CNN'S Paula Reid.

Paul, the Special Counsel said that Hunter Biden had the money to pay his taxes but he spent it on other things which they spell out in great detail.

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. They go to great lengths to be extremely specific and really kind of embarrass Hunter Biden in a lot of ways by detailing what it was he was spending his money on during this time. They say he was spending it on "drugs, escorts and girlfriends, luxury hotels and rental properties, exotic cars clothing and other items of a personal nature, in short everything but his taxes."

You can see he spent $600,000 on various women, hundreds of thousands of dollars on adult entertainment and 10s of thousands of dollars on rehab for drug and alcohol of course he has been very open about his substance abuse issues.

Now, Hunter Biden did pay these taxes along with hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees and penalties and his lawyers have insisted that prosecutors here have bowed to political pressure to charge the President's son with something. Now, interestingly, Hunter appeared on Moby's podcast, now it's unclear when this was taped but it was definitely before the indictment was unsealed last night and he gave his first really in-depth public comments about how he's internalizing these investigations he's been facing for five or six years now. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTER BIDEN, JOE BIDEN'S SON: They are trying to, in the - in their most illegitimate, way but rational way, they're trying to destroy a presidency. And so it's not about me, and their most base way, what they're trying to do is they're trying to kill me, knowing that it will be a pain greater than my father could be able to handle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: Again that was before last night's indictment. At this point it's unclear when Hunter Biden will make his first appearance in federal court and this is the second federal case he is facing this year. The first, of course, being those gun charges in Delaware.

SANCHEZ: Paula Reid, thanks for the details. Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Now to a CNN exclusive, pro-Trump lawyer, Kenneth Chesebro, who helped orchestrate the 2020 fake elector scheme is now cooperating with investigators in Michigan and Wisconsin. Sources telling us that Chesebro is hoping to avoid more criminal charges after he already pleaded guilty to the conspiracy in Georgia.

CNN's Marshall Cohen is with us now on this.

Marshall, what more are you learning?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Hey, Brianna. This is a radical transformation for Ken Chesebro from a 2020 conspirator to a cooperator today. So we already knew that he was cooperating with state investigators in Georgia and Nevada. The news today is that that cooperation has gone on in a broader degree than we knew. He is now speaking and proffering information to the investigators in Michigan and Wisconsin.

And that's very notable for many reasons, one of which is that this is the first time that we've learned of a criminal investigation in Wisconsin.

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As you can see on this map, there were seven states that the Trump campaign targeted in 2020, and this development means that there are now criminal probes in six of the seven. Three of those probes have already led to criminal charges, most famously Georgia, where Chesebro pleaded guilty. Nevada indicted its fake electors earlier this week, and Michigan indicted its fake electors in July. Sources telling myself and our colleague, Zachary Cohen, that that probe is possibly widening, ramping up and the Chesebro cooperation is a big part of that. Brianna?

KEILAR: Yes, it certainly is. Marshall Cohen, thank you for that report.

And with us now is Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. He recently co-authored an op-ed for the National Review, along with several other secretaries of state, talking about the need for both parties to help restore trust in American election systems.

And to that point, Secretary, you just saw our exclusive reporting here that Chesebro is now cooperating with probes in Michigan and Wisconsin, already pleaded guilty, of course, to conspiracy in Georgia. Are these investigations and cases enough to put an end to election-related conspiracies and to rebuild public trust in elections?

BRAD RAFFENSPERGER, (R) GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, I think it's incumbent upon all of us, both sides of the aisle, to stand up and give people the facts. And that's what we've been doing in Georgia since 2020. And I've been responding to people, giving them the facts. The big facts in Georgia, going back to 2020, is that 27,500 people approximately skipped the Presidential race and yet voted down ballot. And that's why you saw the Republican congressman get about 27,500 more votes than President Trump.

And then also 33,000 Republicans that voted in the June 2020 primary never came back out to vote in the fall election. And that's why he came up short. It was as simple as that. But all the other allegations that were raised, we responded point by point at the time, even wrote a 10-page letter to Congress.

But I think it's really important that we all stand up and give people the facts, but also look at how we can improve the process. And I know here in Georgia and the other states that joined me in that editorial have also been working. So such as having photo ID for absentee voting, it shores up security, but also has elevated confidence.

And so after our 2022 race, both the MIT and UGA (ph) did a poll and they said over 90 percent of all Georgians is what they found, 90 percent of all Georgians really feel comfortable and have high confidence in the results of the Georgia election process. They may not like the results, but they do have confidence in the process that we have here in Georgia.

SANCHEZ: So you're on the Fulton County prosecutor's witness list in the election subversion case there. Notably, several co-defendants in that case, including the former president have had very charged words for some of the witnesses on that list. You have been someone that has received all sorts of threats going back to the 2020 election, because of your taking a stand for democracy and essentially for repeating the truth that Donald Trump lost the 2020 election in Georgia.

I'm wondering what you make of what you've seen lately from some of these co-defendants, including the former president himself, when it comes to attacking not only Fani Willis, but other witnesses in that case.

RAFFENSPERGER: Well, as you know, you can make all sorts of allegations and say anything you want to on social media, but when you get to a court of law, you're going to have to prove facts and we have the facts. Also, when you write a letter to Congress, a 10-page letter like I did, and they got it on January 6, 2021, I wanted to make sure I did have the facts, and I've responded on every single point. Nothing has changed other than we found two more dead people, so now we're up to a total of four.

But I understand that the Trump campaign paid for two reports, and those reports very early on gave him data that showed them that President Trump did come up short. They knew very early on that they had only identified less than 50 potential voters that actually had died and that people had assumed those identities. And we had found two, and now we've found two more, so up to four. That's it.

But those types of allegations just never were proved out. They were just misinformation - disinformation. And the real problem with that also, people are losing sight of this, it's tearing our society apart. We live in polarized times, but let's deal with the facts. And when you lose, lose honorably, and then it's by all means, if you want to run again, there's nothing stopping you from doing that.

But also, when you win, win graciously, too. I think that's the American way. Be a good sport about things.

KEILAR: When you win, win graciously as well, sort of the definition of being a good sportsmanship, right? So you write in your op-ed: "The very ideals of constitutional democracy that define America are at risk in every corner of the world. Amid such darkness, the United States is a beacon of hope for those who struggle under dictators and autocrats and yearn for peace, freedom, and self-determination. For democracy."

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This is timely, considering what we heard from President Trump. He made some comments at a town hall this week. He's talked a little bit about what he would do in a second term, raising questions about whether he would be authoritarian or more authoritarian. And he sort of - many Republicans downplayed what he said when he was challenged on that. He really sidestepped questions about it. What's your reaction?

RAFFENSPERGER: I believe that Americans are aspirational, positive people and they're looking for someone with a positive vision to move us forward. I would like to talk to people. In fact, I've done a couple talks recently about leadership. And if you look at whether it's political, military or business leadership, it's someone that can cast a positive vision and get things done. I'm at - I come from the engineering and construction background, and we build things. It takes maybe 18 months to 24 months to build a building. Now, if you want to, you can blow it up in over a weekend and everyone watch that on TV. But it takes time and energy to build things up. That's a positive force and Americans are positive people, and they're looking for a positive vision.

And that's the kind of people we're looking to vote for next year. And I think that's what is really that - I guess, a lot, of excitement in both political parties right now. They're looking for that next generation leader. Is it a Lincoln? Is it a Reagan? Is it a Truman? Or is it an Eisenhower? What does that look like going forward? I think both parties that are casting are looking for positive, visionary leadership.

SANCHEZ: Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, thank you so much for the time.

RAFFENSPERGER: Thank you.

KEILAR: And still to come, the pressure is really mounting for the University of Pennsylvania president to resign after her controversial congressional testimony about anti-Semitism on her campus.

Plus, we're awaiting the sentencing of the teenager who opened fire at a Michigan high school when he was 15. He is facing the harshest possible punishment in the state life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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KEILAR: Pressure is mounting on the presidents of Harvard, Penn and MIT to resign after their congressional testimonies this week when they struggled to say that calling for the genocide of Jews violates their respective schools' codes of conduct on bullying or harassment. But others are sounding off.

Today, we learned that Rabbi David Wolpe resigned from Harvard's anti- Semitism advisory group. And a prominent Penn alum is threatening to pull a $100 million donation unless the school's president steps down. Penn's board of trustees held an emergency meeting on Thursday about President Liz Magill, and the Wharton Board of Advisors is calling for her immediate resignation.

Magill attempted to clarify her testimony in a social media post on Wednesday. And today, Harvard's president, Claudine Gay, apologized for her comments in an interview with the school's newspaper, actually published last night. It said, "I'm sorry." And it said, "Words matter."

But those apologies may be too little, too late for a growing list of alumni, students, business leaders and politicians who want those leaders out. Boris?

SANCHEZ: We want to dig deeper on all of this with former University of Penn trustee, Vahan Gureghian.

Vahan, thank you so much being with us.

Now, you actually stepped down from the Penn Board of Trustees in October citing the university's embrace of anti-Semitism. This was actually before we saw some of the most intense demonstrations, not only on that campus, but other campuses around the country. What led you to resign specifically? And what do you feel now, in retrospect, seeing what's come of the situation with these university presidents?

VAHAN GUREGHIAN, FORMER UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA TRUSTEE: Well, I was - I resigned because I was appalled at the behavior and the position taken by the university president. She was visited by one of our major donors, Ron Lauder, prior to a Palestinian festival, and was - and it was explained to her that the nature of the organization and that they were not just a festival that they were putting on, but that they were a group that was calling for the annihilation of the State of Israel, and for the genocide of the Jewish people.

She was given evidence of that fact and information and documentation. And I'm sure that she reviewed that with the board chair, but decided to put the festival on anyway. And it came to backfire on her as Mr. Lauder's comments were correct. And in fact, that the festival turned out to be exactly what he outlined it to be.

She was given an opportunity to right the wrong and really didn't. And the board was very passive about it and did really nothing. I wanted to speak up and do something about it and make my position clear. I talked to other board members and it was the same old, same old. Everyone was just - didn't want to be involved in that controversy and didn't want to buck the system or buck the President or the board chair.

I agreed to stay on till we had (inaudible) an emergency meeting was held on a particular Saturday. And when I heard that there was nothing that was going to change, I just was so appalled that I resigned.

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SANCHEZ: And ...

GUREGHIAN: And to me, I don't know when Ivy League institutions stop being havens for higher learning and they become hotbeds for radical political manipulation.

SANCHEZ: So, Vahan, you mentioned the emergency meeting that took place on a certain Saturday that expedited your resignation. There was one yesterday. If you had still been in that room, would you have been calling for Magill's resignation?

GUREGHIAN: Absolutely. I think yesterday's testimony before Congress clearly demonstrated that she is unfit to be the president of the University of Pennsylvania. But having said that, and I don't know how Harvard and MIT work, but at the University of Penn, the board chair and the president are joined at the hip. And there's nothing that the president says or doesn't especially in a controversial matter that isn't passed on by the board chair.

So I can tell you that in addition to Liz Magill, Scott Bok needs to resign as board chair, because he's been absolutely joined at the hip with her on these issues.

SANCHEZ: Do you think Penn's policies are clear when it comes to what students can say, what issues they can demonstrate for or against on campus?

GUREGHIAN: Well, I think in a general sense, they're clear, but I mean, there's a big difference between freedom of speech and hate speech. And you cannot allow hate speech to occur on any campus. I'm all for freedom of speech. People want to demonstrate peacefully. They want to take their position on and espouse and talk about what their positions are on any particular subject. That's fine by me, but you cannot have hate speech. You cannot intimidate other students. You cannot make it so that the Jewish students are afraid to come out of their dorms and go to class.

The Anti-Defamation League did a study recently of the Jewish students at colleges and universities across the country, and they found that 50 percent - more than 50 percent of the Jewish students were afraid to leave their dorms and go to class. They found that 75 percent of the Jewish students were either involved directly in - with anti- Semitism on campus or witnessed anti-Semitism on their campus. You cannot have that in America. You cannot have that at the University of Pennsylvania.

SANCHEZ: Vahan Gureghian, we have to leave the conversation there. We very much appreciate your time, sir.

GUREGHIAN: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Of course. Still plenty more news to come on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, including House Republicans ramping up their probe into President Biden. They're expected to authorize an impeachment inquiry in the coming days and weeks. We're going to discuss with Republican congressman, Tim Burchett, when we come back.

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KEILAR: This is the sentencing hearing for Ethan Crumbley, the Michigan school shooter. These are closing arguments underway, but if sentencing does begin, we are going to bring that to you live, so we'll keep an eye on this.

In the meantime, Hunter Biden is facing new tax charges. House Republicans ramping up their probe into his father as well. In the coming days, they'll take a key step towards formalizing their impeachment inquiry into President Biden.

We're joined now by Congressman Tim Burchett. He is a Republican from Tennessee. He serves on the House Oversight and Foreign Affairs Committees. Congressman, thank you so much for being with us. Our Republicans in swing districts, can you tell us, are they worried about the floor vote on the impeachment inquiry? What are they telling you and are you sure that this will pass?

REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): I think we're very close to having the votes for an inquiry. You've got to realize an inquiry is not an impeachment, and everyone should be - well, everyone should support something looking for open records and getting the facts out.

And Speaker Johnson was very clear, as well as Chairman Comer and Chairman Jordan that, in fact, we would be looking at the facts and not rumor and innuendo. And this allows us to do that in a very open setting. And I think the American public would be very encouraged to follow along with this thing, because there is a very long money trail through this thing.

KEILAR: Even if they're - that being the distinction, it will leave these vulnerable Republicans that more vulnerable. Are they telling you they're worried?

BURCHETT: I don't see how it leaves anybody vulnerable, ma'am. You've got $30 million that has flowed through this family. The President said early on he had no knowledge of it. We've had sworn testimony to say they did. Then he said, I didn't talk to my son about this and, in fact, he did. And then he said he wasn't involved with the Chinese and, in fact, this latest investment of $5 million from a communist Chinese member with Hunter Biden follows a very circuitous route.

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