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Unclear If Hunter Biden Will Show Up Today For House Cmte Deposition; Wholesale Inflation Cooled In November; Soon: Biden Meeting With Families Of U.S. Hostages At WH. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired December 13, 2023 - 09:00   ET

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

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JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Impeachment showdown, Hunter Biden called to appear before Congress in just minutes. CNN has learned he is in Washington and that there is a debate within his team about what their show up.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And making it official, the House is set to vote today on formalizing the impeachment inquiry into President Biden. The Republican House Speaker saying he has the votes. But will this change the fact they so far haven't uncovered any conclusive evidence against Joe Biden.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And in just the next few hours, President Biden will meet at the White House with families of the eight Americans still being held hostage by Hamas terrorists. I'm Sara Sidner with Kate Bolduan and John Berman. This is CNN News Central.

BERMAN: So a great deal is about to happen or not happen on Capitol Hill that will set off dominoes with far reaching consequences. A House Committee issued a subpoena for the President's son, Hunter, to testify behind closed doors. That is supposed to happen just minutes from now. We are standing by for any sign that he will show up.

CNN has learned that he is in Washington, but his lawyers have demanded the testimony be public for the world to see. Again, any number of things could play out in the next few minutes and we are watching in several locations looking for any movement. This is all part of the House impeachment inquiry, not enter hunt -- not into Hunter Biden, though you might be forgiven for thinking so, into President Biden.

So far, House Republicans have struggled to prove President Biden benefited personally from any of his son's questionable business dealings. Still, the Republicans plan to hold a vote to formalize the impeachment inquiry as soon as today. CNN's Evan Perez watching all of this in Washington this morning. It's going to be a big hour here, Evan.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's going to be a little bit of a circus today up on Capitol Hill, John. Look, we do not know what Hunter Biden is going to do at 9:30. What the Republicans want him to do is to show up to be deposed behind closed doors. And that is something that Hunter Biden's team has objected to. They say that he's willing to show up and answer questions.

But they want to make sure that it is in public, because they don't trust Republicans to actually convey everything he says behind closed doors. So that's where the standoff remains. They're keeping the Republican House members there in a bit of -- in the dark. And they have no idea whether Hunter Biden is going to show up. They haven't heard at all. And so we're all waiting for 9:30.

Of course, one of the things that has made this all more complicated for Hunter Biden and his team is the fact that since those, since that request for a deposition came in, Hunter Biden has been indicted. He's been indicted with nine counts of on tax charges, including three felonies, failing to file, filing false tax returns, and tax evasion. Those are serious charges he's now facing in Los Angeles.

And so that does make it more complicated for him to answer any questions as part of this House investigation. And of course, as you pointed out, John, a lot of this -- all of this is all about his father, President Biden, which Republicans, we expect are going to vote today on formalizing an impeachment inquiry.

And so at a minimum, if Hunter Biden doesn't show up, if he doesn't agree to do this deposition with the House Republicans, they are promising that they're going to hold Hunter Biden in contempt. So that's where the ball starts rolling. John?

BERMAN: All right. Evan Perez, thank you for explaining that. Again, a lot of uncertainties about what we will and might not see in the next few minutes. Evan, thank you very much. Kate?

BOLDUAN: One thing though, that we might see, definitely see probably definitely, almost definitely going to see though, is an impeachment vote this afternoon.

BERMAN: Yes. Well said.

BOLDUAN: Or not at all. House Republicans are preparing to formally authorize the already ongoing impeachment inquiry into President Biden. Three Committees have been investigating for months any links that the President has to the business dealings of his son. So far, no evidence has been uncovered that the President has had any personal benefit from any of it. CNN's Lauren Fox tracking all of this. She's with us now. Lauren, what is going to happen today with this vote? What are you hearing?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, this is such a fascinating moment, right, for House Republicans. Because in many ways this is just a furtherance of the process that they have already been engaged in when it comes to those three committees that are investigating the President and his son's business dealings.

[09:05:11] As you noted, so far, they have yet to find any concrete evidence connecting the President directly to any of Hunter Biden's foreign business dealings. And yet, they still argue this is an important step to take on the floor of the House today. One thing that is really clear, though, is that the leadership of the House Republican Party is making excessively clear that this is just an initial step. That this doesn't necessarily mean they are going to go forward with impeaching President Biden in the House of Representatives.

In fact, Mike Johnson went to great lengths yesterday to make that case to his members. And there's a strategic reason for it, right? Because politically, if you are a Republican running in a district that Biden won in 2020, you are looking at this as now just furtherance and its next step in a process that doesn't necessarily have to end in impeachment. And that is starting to be a talking point. You hear time and time again from some of these more moderate Republican members.

So I think that that is why this is an important step today, but it is just an initial move. It does not necessarily mean they're going to move forward with impeachment. But you can guess that once they get that ball rolling, it's going to be really hard in an election year when you have the base, clamoring to take that next step for Mike Johnson to hold his members back from wanting to do that, despite whether or not they have evidence or not. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Great point. Good to see Lauren. Thank you. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Jennifer Rodgers is joining us now to discuss all this. We'll start with the impeachment inquiry. So the White House not so long ago, sent a letter to the chairs and said, look, there hasn't been a full vote. So we don't really have to take this inquiry seriously. If there is a full vote, how does that full vote give the power to the House to go forward with this? And what does that going to mean to the Biden administration?

JENNIFER RODGERS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, it doesn't give them automatically any power. But if they go to court to litigate, say subpoenas for documents or subpoenas for witnesses, judges will pay attention to whether there is a vote or not, because that makes it a legitimate legislative inquiry, which is what the standard is for whether you're enforcing a subpoena or not.

So that's really what they're doing is they then set it up for the battles in the courts to try to force witnesses and testimony as they get their inquiry underway.

SIDNER: OK. I did notice something yesterday that I found interesting, and I'm not sure correct. The Speaker of the House said that this is legal, a legal thing. They have to do this. It's not political. Isn't an impeachment inquiry political at its very base?

RODGERS: Yes, I mean, you could argue it both ways obviously. It's a political animal, but it has some legal kind of trappings. And one of them is, as I said, if you take steps that put you in better stead when you go to court and then are in the legal system, as opposed to the political system, that's where it kind of crosses those lines.

SIDNER: OK. Thank you for clearing up that confusion. Hunter Biden, you know, expected maybe to show up at 9:30, maybe not to show up at 9:30 for a behind the closed doors deposition. If he does not show up what happens?

RODGERS: So probably what will happen is they will refer him to the Department of Justice for a contempt charge, right, as we saw with the Trump inquiries, right, we saw them refer people for contempt. It doesn't seem if DOJ is consistent in the way that they treated witnesses before that he would be charged with that because the only people who were charged with contempt were people who absolutely ignored the subpoenas, didn't engage in any good faith negotiations over showing up at all. Hunter Biden obviously has done that. So I suspect he wouldn't actually be charged with contempt. But I think the GOP would probably send it over to DOJ.

SIDNER: I'm still trying to understand why behind closed doors, why, look, Biden has said, look, I will come and speak to you Hunter Biden, but I want to do it in public. I want the public to be able to see and have this be very open. Why say no to that?

RODGERS: Well, they want to control this narrative. They want to control what happens, right? They want to ask their questions, make their speeches, and then be able to craft their own, you know, pieces of that for public consumption and not have Hunter Biden control that narrative and get it out the way he wants. It is just about who's controlling how it actually appears to the public.

SIDNER: Well, that can be very frustrating if you're somebody who is sitting before a Committee that is not powerful. Not to have your side shown to the public as long as is there. It's not like you have them, you know, separate. Everybody sees it all at once. But at this point behind closed doors, we are expecting he may show up at 9:30, which is in what, I don't know 20 minutes. So we'll see what happens. Jennifer Rodgers, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

RODGERS: Thanks Sara.

SIDNER: John?

BERMAN: All right, just in a key inflation gauge, the Producer Price Index shows that inflation is cooling as energy prices continue to drop. Inflation on the wholesale revenue level rose at a slower pace for the last 12 months, rising slightly less than 1 percent. Here with me now CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich. Again, this is just the latest piece of what I think should be considered fairly good inflation is.

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VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS & POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: A continued cooling trends, beating expectations, which is always good. The month over month number unchanged. So from October to November, prices for producers, this is what businesses paid unchanged, good news. Prices in the last 12 months still up 0.9 percent. But a cooling trend and this is driven because what we've seen with energy prices, energy prices have continued to cool. We've seen gas prices fall. You're seeing that show up in this report.

This is also coming on the heels of CPI, what we saw with consumer prices yesterday, which also has been cooling off. And important to note about producer prices, what businesses pay ultimately gets passed down to the consumer, to us. So this is a an encouraging sign that we're still seeing this cooling trend.

BERMAN: And a sign of maybe what's to come which is more cooling. All right, we're expecting new guidance from the Fed today. And this is a big deal.

YURKEVICH: A big decision there last decision of the year. We are expecting, analysts, economists are expecting a pause, another pause in rate hikes. Ultimately, this is to let the previous 11 rate hikes play out, see what it does to the economy, see what it does to inflation. But also clearly a sign that the Fed is liking what they're seeing with inflation. They're liking these cooling numbers. It's also encouraging for all of us because when you pause interest rate hikes, that starts to play out into the way we all pay interest rates on credit cards, on student loans, car loans, and that should also help to moderate mortgage rates, which have been incredibly high also the most interesting part of today's Fed meeting and announcement will be at 2:30 when reporters try to get inside the minds of Jerome Powell.

They want to know why he made this decision today. What is the economy look like? And no doubt he's going to get questions about when we can see cuts, many economists saying that maybe in the spring. Jerome Powell, though, holds a lot close to his vest. He's not going to give that away. But ultimately, he's going to get questions on that and that's what Americans want to know, when can I see even more relief?

BERMAN: Yes. I was going to say good luck trying to break through the veneer to get the actual information. They're going to be looking for any sign, any hint from him that maybe rates will drop. So Vanessa Yurkevich, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Kate?

Oh, I should note that we are going to speak to the White House about all of this coming up. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. And also this coming up, Ron DeSantis took to the stage, took questions from Iowa voters and very clearly wanted to take on Donald Trump at every turn. The key moments in the CNN presidential town hall.

Plus, eight Americans have now spent 68 days held hostage by Hamas. President Biden is about to meet with their families at the White House. The promise he is going to make them.

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And Tesla recalling nearly every one of its 2 million cars on the road in the United States right now. The safety concern sparking this drastic move. We will be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SIDNER: We are keeping a very close eye on the White House now where President Biden is expected to soon welcome the families of American hostages believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza as we speak. The meeting comes as the White House is making it clear this morning that there are no plans to put conditions on aid to Israel.

The blunt message we're not going to do a damn thing other than protect Israel. Those are Biden's words. But that's his pressure from lawmakers and public rift with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are coming into very sharp focus. Biden, in his speech to Democratic donors warned that Israel's attacks on Gaza are alienating allies.

CNN's White House correspondent Arlette Saenz is following all of these different strains. What can you tell us about what will happen today as these families come to talk to the President? And I know they've been wanting to talk to him for a very long time.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they really have, Sara. And President Biden in just a few hours will be meeting for the first time face to face with some of the families of the American hostages who remain in Gaza. It is believed that there are eight Americans who are still being held by Hamas that includes seven men and one woman and all members -- all of those hostages, family members are expected to participate in this meeting with the President.

Some will be here in person and some will join virtually. But it also comes this meeting while the president is expected to stress the commitment to trying to get their loved ones back home. It also comes as a new reporting from CNN indicates that so far, Hamas has been unresponsive to attempts to try to get negotiations back on track to secure the release of more hostages. Officials said that Qatar which has served as the main mediator in these talks, has relayed ideas to Hamas about potentially releasing more hostages, including releasing the remaining women and some men.

But so far, there has been no response to trying to pursue that route. One source saying that this does not a negotiation at this point but an exchanging of ideas. But National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby this morning spoke to the message that President Biden plans to deliver to these families as he meets them here today.

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JOHN KIRBY, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL SPOKESPERSON: He'll guarantee them that we are not going to lose sight on their loved ones. We're not going to stop trying to get them home. It's something that the President is 100 percent committed to and that will be the message for those families today.

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SAENZ: Now while the President's focus here today will be on speaking with the families of those hostages, we've also started to see this a public rift emerge between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. As you noted, the President spoke in very blunt terms, saying yesterday that Israel is beginning to lose international support due to its indiscriminate bombing in Gaza there.

There are also differences when it comes to talking about what the region will look like when this conflict end. President Biden saying that Netanyahu does not want to see a two-state solution and noting that Netanyahu has to change but that he is limited by his hardline government at this moment. Netanyahu has spoken about how he does not agree with the U.S. plans for the post conflict, Israel and Gaza.

But really, the focus for President Biden here today, even as that rift is emerging, is trying to hone in on these families and assure them that the U.S. is doing everything they can to get their hostages back home, even as at this time, those negotiations still are not on the table.

SIDNER: Arlette Saenz, thank you for bringing all of those elements together and explaining that so well. John?

BERMAN: Thank you. And again, the news just in this morning, Hamas, unresponsive to the idea of new hostage negotiation. So the meantime, new this morning, the IDF says at least nine of its soldiers were killed overnight in northern Gaza in an operation right around here. This is the largest single loss of life for the Israeli military since the ground offensive began.

And this happens as U.S. officials now confirm that Israel has begun flooding the tunnels in Gaza with seawater on a limited basis. You can see what this tunnel structure has looked like over the last several years. CNN's Natasha Bertrand at the Pentagon. Natasha, what are you learning here?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, John. So we have learned that the Israelis informed the United States that they have begun testing out on the limited basis, flooding some of those vast networks of tunnels that exist underneath Gaza with seawater to try to see if it'll work to actually drive these Hamas fighters out of those tunnels.

However, the U.S. does not know at this point, which tunnels exactly they're testing them at. The IDF and the Israelis told the United States that they're being careful not to flood hostages, flood tunnels where they believe hostages might be. However, President Biden actually spoke to this last night and he told -- he said that he was not confident or positive that hostages are not in the tunnels where the Israelis are kind of trying out these tactics. Here's what he said.

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JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There is, assertions being made that nerves quite sure there are no hostages in any of these tunnels. But I don't know that for a fact.

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BERTRAND: So look, as Arlette just laid out, the U.S. really has a very clear stake in the hostage, the release of these hostages because several of them are believed to be American citizens. And the fact that the U.S. is not sure that the areas where the Israelis are going to be flooding these tunnels with seawater do not contain hostages that are being held by Hamas really just underscores how reliant the U.S. is at this point on what the Israelis are telling them about what's going on inside the Gaza Strip.

The U.S. does not have great visibility at this point into of course, where the hostages are. And this is a very creative way, according to Israeli officials, to try to test kind of what -- how they can actually drive these Hamas fighters out because that has been of course, an extraordinarily difficult task, given the vast network of tunnels they have there, John.

BERMAN: And Natasha, key U.S. officials are actually headed to Israel soon. Yes?

BERTRAND: That's right. So National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, he's going to be headed to Israel on Thursday, and he's going to be meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, his war cabinet and Israeli President Herzog. Of course, to discuss all of these developments and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is also going to be headed there next week. And he's going to be meeting with key Israeli officials as well. He's going to be traveling in the Middle East writ large to talk about as well, the attacks we've been seeing on U.S. forces in the region. He's going to be meeting with troops there. But clearly still a very top priority for the White House and the administration writ large. John?

BERMAN: Natasha Bertrand at the Pentagon. Natasha, thank you so much. Keep us posted. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Coming up still for us, Ron DeSantis says goodbye to the culture wars as a campaign strategy it seems and makes a hard turn now to taking on the front runner. Did Iowa voters like what they heard last night? Was it enough to dent Trump's lead with Republican support? We'll discuss.

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And in literally minutes, Hunter Biden will be up against the deadline set by House Republicans to show up on Capitol Hill and be deposed. Is he going to? We'll be back.

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BERMAN: All right, breaking news, I want to show you some live pictures from Capitol Hill. You're looking right there at a lectern outside the U.S. Capitol building. Why? Because CNN has now learned that Hunter Biden is expected to head to Capitol Hill. Unclear whether he has left yet, but expected to head to Capitol Hill. He had been subpoenaed to testify before a House Committee at exactly 9:30 today.

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We are told he is headed there. We were looking at that podium which I hope we can show you again right now because it's very possible that Hunter Biden makes a statement at that microphone shortly, not clear whether that is a statement he will make before going --