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Today: Hunter Biden To Appear For Closed-Door Deposition; Reports: Apple Kills Plans To Develop Electric Car; Judge: Prince Harry Not Entitled To Taxpayer-Funded Security In U.K. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired February 28, 2024 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:33:43]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So this morning it is going down on Capitol Hill -- the biggest moments, so far, in the Republican impeachment effort against President Biden. His son, Hunter Biden, is headed behind closed doors to face questions from House lawmakers.

This deposition has been a long time coming. We've been talking about it a long time and quite a spectacle in the lead-up as Hunter Biden -- he wanted to testify publicly but Republicans wanted to question him away from the cameras.

Katelyn Polantz is with us tracking all of this. So what is going to happen today, Katelyn?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, Kate, it's going down. Hunter Biden will show up on Capitol Hill. He will go behind closed doors with two different committees, the House Oversight Committee and the House Judiciary Committee. And he will respond to questions from them in their impeachment inquiry of Joe Biden as they try and get information about the Biden family finances.

This has been sought after for so long. There have been -- there was a subpoena. There were many times where Hunter Biden was challenging Republicans to have him testify publicly.

Ultimately, there was a negotiation that is leading to this day with Hunter Biden sitting for testimony. That negotiation includes the result that he's not going to be videotaped like other witnesses in this impeachment inquiry. And there is going to be -- at least we believe there's going to be a quick transcript release of this, something that Hunter Biden's team wanted to stave off any leaks -- selective leaks about what Hunter Biden might say.

[07:35:15]

Now, there will be drama around this even if we don't see Hunter Biden as he's testifying. He always is embracing the theater and the Republicans have been wanting the momentum to get them to this point in their impeachment inquiry for so long now. This is the president's son. They want to ask him about his role on the board of Burisma, the

Ukrainian energy company, and also some of his business ventures connected to China. Things that he was doing several years ago that the Justice Department ultimately investigated and never charged him around.

But there is that thing hanging over this -- that FBI informant that was falsely accusing him and Joe Biden of bribes. And there hasn't been evidence that House Republicans have found linking foreign money directly to Joe Biden in a corrupt fashion -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: All right, so stand by to see exactly how this goes down. Katelyn Polantz all over it for us. It's going to be quite a morning, John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right.

Also this morning, no deal -- not yet -- which means a government shutdown is still on the calendar just days from now. This comes after President Biden met with top congressional leaders at the White House. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the meeting was, quote, "One of the most intense he had ever encountered."

CNN's Lauren Fox in Washington for the very latest. Where do things stand in these talks, Lauren?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. You would be forgiven if you feel a little confused waking up this morning because it does appear that Speaker Mike Johnson has sort of changed his mind in terms of the direction that they want to go. He has offered to move forward with a short-term spending bill to get them over this government funding deadline coming Friday at midnight, but only if they can get a broader agreement on the spending packages moving forward.

Essentially, what this short-term deal would do is it would kick Friday's deadline to next week. The deadline after that to March 22. And then you would have the situation where you would continue to have these staggered dates that lawmakers have to work beyond. But the argument from the speaker's office is this would guarantee that appropriators know exactly where they are headed.

This is the fourth iteration that we have seen of these punted deadlines, however, and it's not clear that this is all going to come together because it does require them to agree on sort of a broader negotiation about what to do about some of these poison pill policy writers that they have been fighting over. The same things that have really kept them from reaching deals over the course of the last several months.

So that's where things stand. It's also not clear how the conservatives in Mike Johnson's conference will take this news. Do they view this as a positive? Do they view this as really just kicking the can down the road to the inevitable? I think that remains to be seen. The House of Representatives is coming back tonight. That is the first

opportunity we're going to get to talk to some of these members and see how are they feeling about this direction -- this back and forth from Speaker Mike Johnson -- John.

BERMAN: Yeah. One of the safest bets in Washington has been on dysfunction the last few months, so the smart money may be headed there.

Lauren Fox, keep us posted over the course of the day. Thank you -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: So after nearly 10 years in development and billions of dollars, Apple is pulling the plug on plans for an electric vehicle. Why and where they're putting their focus instead.

And a judge says Prince Harry is not entitled to security detail paid for by British taxpayers. What this means for him now and his family.

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[07:43:26]

BERMAN: New this morning, the team for the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny says they have finally found a spot for his funeral. It will take place in a church in Moscow on Friday.

Just hours ago, Navalny's widow, Yulia, addressed the EU Parliament urging leaders to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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YULIA NAVALNAYA, WIDOW OF ALEXEI NAVALNY: You cannot hurt Putin with another resolution or another set of sanctions that is not different from the previous ones. You cannot defeat him by thinking he's a man of principle who has morals and truths.

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BERMAN: CNN's Claire Sebastian is with us now. And she really is emerging as a leader now in this movement.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, John. It was really interesting to see her speaking English. That's the first time that she's done that. I think that shows that she is really trying to leverage this moment to use this international spotlight. She's already spoken to EU foreign ministers. She's met President Biden. Now, addressing EU Parliament.

These audiences, by the way, not available to the current occupant of the Kremlin at the moment. So she is really trying to deliver this message internationally that there are ways that the international community can help the cause that her husband started and that she is now picking up.

She urged leaders, for example, not to -- not to give diplomatic notes but to try to do investigations into the financial machinations of the Kremlin. To search for what she called members of Putin's mafia gang in their countries to try to stop them being able to hide money. To really try to undertake concrete action.

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And obviously, she was making this speech just hours after we learned that her husband's funeral will be in Moscow on Friday. She addressed that directly. She said that she didn't know if it was going to be peaceful or if the authorities will arrest those who want to turn out and mourn her husband.

I think this is true. This is going to be a litmus test of the level of opposition feeling in Russia. The level of bravery given the context of repression and propaganda of the Russian people, and the level that the extent that the Kremlin is going to be willing to let them go to express their support.

BERMAN: Yeah. Chilling, Clare, to hear her say that she can't guarantee that people won't be arrested just for attending her husband's funeral in Moscow.

Clare Sebastian, thank you very much -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: So after a decade of development and billions of dollars spent, Apple is reportedly abandoning plans to develop an electric vehicle. According to Bloomberg, the tech giant told employees working on the EV project that they will now shift their work onto the company's AI division.

CNN's Matt Egan joins us now with more details. What are you learning about this, Matt? What's going on?

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Kate, the Apple car appears to be dead and it never even hit the road. This was one of the most expensive, most ambitious projects in Apple history. It's called Project Titan. It reportedly involved almost 2,000 employees, right, spending billions of dollars since 2014, all with the mission of trying to build an electric vehicle.

But now, according to multiple media outlets citing anonymous sources, Apple is pulling the plug, right? They're walking away altogether and they're deciding to pull out all that money and all of those people into the next shiny bright object, artificial intelligence.

Now, Apple is winning some early praise here. The stock did go up a bit yesterday on this news.

A veteran tech analyst, Dan Ives -- he says that Apple is clearly making the right move here because of all of the struggles in the EV market. Ives wrote a note to clients saying that, quote, "Apple saw the writing on the wall to rip the Band-Aid off."

And it's true, Kate. I mean, as you know, sometimes you just have to know when to fold the hand you have.

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

EGAN: Now, we should note we did reach out to Apple and have not heard back. But we could hear Apple CEO Tim Cook address this issue as soon as today at Apple's shareholder meeting.

BOLDUAN: Are people saying this is also making a statement on kind of the state of electric vehicles in general?

EGAN: It is. It is. I think this is another sign that the EV market is hitting some significant turbulence. I mean, think about it. Demand has not lived up to hype. There's a price war trying to lure customers. And we've seen Ford, GM, and others -- they've actually cut their investment.

And the most telling part of the Bloomberg story breaking this news -- they wrote, "Apple had imagined the car being priced at around $100,000. But executives were concerned about the vehicle being able to provide the profit margins that [Apple] typically enjoys on its products."

So think about that. Even at $100,000, Apple didn't know if it could really make money here. So if you're Tim Cook you have to decide between plowing billions of dollars more into the uncertain EV market or going head-first into AI, which has almost limitless potential, it's probably not that hard of a decision.

BOLDUAN: Interesting. It's good to see you, Matt. Thank you so much.

EGAN: Thanks, Kate.

BOLDUAN: John.

BERMAN: So after one congresswoman told us that Republicans are terrified of the politics surrounding IVF, Republicans in Alabama now moving to protect the procedure after the Supreme Court there put it in jeopardy.

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[07:53:08]

BOLDUAN: So, today, Senate Democrats will try to move on a bill protecting IVF in the wake of Alabama's State Supreme Court ruling. But Republicans in the Senate -- they're already signaling that they are going to block it. They argue IVF shouldn't be in the hands of Congress -- rather, it's an issue for the states.

Now, in Alabama, IVF treatments remain really in limbo in large part. Services on hold in at least three Alabama fertility clinics. And now, the state legislature, though, is trying to step in. Two Republican state lawmakers have introduced bills to better protect providers from legal peril. Democrats in the Alabama State House -- they're also making moves to better define what frozen embryos are. Specifically, that frozen embryos are not children counter to the Supreme Court ruling. CNN's Isabel Rosales is in Montgomery, Alabama for much more on this. And Isabel, a rally is planned at the state capitol this morning of families and advocates. What's happening?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. In just a couple of hours, there is an Advocacy Day rally happening here just outside of the State House.

We're going to have IVF patients, providers, family advocates coming out here to really condemn this Alabama Supreme Court ruling that has led to the shutdown -- essentially, the pausing of IVF treatments at three critical clinics here throughout the state of Alabama. They're going to share how this is limiting their options to continue their quest to build a family and also to push lawmakers to take action to protect IVF.

What we've got here, Kate, is really a series of competing bills. These bills, really, a page of two -- not very long at all. And they're taking two very different approaches to protecting IVF here in Alabama. Ultimately, both chambers are going to have to agree on a bill -- on its language before voting on it, and then sending it over to the Gov. Kay Ivey for her signature.

[07:55:06]

Let's dig into this a little bit deeper starting with Senate Bill 159. This was introduced by Sen. Tim Nelson, a Republican. It offers criminal and civil protection to anyone who provides IVF. So that's critical here because this focuses on the legal protection to IVF providers and it does not address when an embryo should be considered unborn life -- an unborn child.

Now, if that language had been in the bill, that certainly would have been a sticking point to getting any sort of legislation passed. Now, that legislation is set to expire April of 2025. A companion bill has been filed in the House.

Let's also really quickly get into House Bill 225. That's on the Democratic side. This was introduced just last week to declare that any human embryo outside of the uterus is not an unborn child. That one was sponsored by House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, who tells CNN that he feels confident that if the governor gets an IVF protection bill on her desk she will sign it -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Isabel, thank you so much. A lot that's going to be happening in Alabama today. And that State House minority leader, Anthony Daniels -- he's going to be joining us this morning -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Today, a Texas death row inmate is set to be executed for two murders he insists he did not commit. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected Ivan Cantu's request for a stay of execution. He says his trial attorneys were ineffective and witnesses lied at his trial in 2001. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott could still issue a 30-day reprieve.

Family Dollar must pay a record $41.6 million fine for keeping food, drugs, medical devices, and cosmetics in a warehouse infested with rats and mice. The Justice Department says the Arkansas warehouse shipped items to hundreds of stores even after it first got reports of these pest issues in 2020.

And starting today in the United Kingdom, Britains can see the new banknotes featuring King Charles. They are on display at the Bank of England's museum in London. The late Queen Elizabeth was featured on these bills starting in the 1960s. Right now, the new King Charles cash is just for looking. The new notes don't go into circulation until June -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Just for looking.

BERMAN: Just for looking.

BOLDUAN: It would be great to see your face on a dollar bill. I don't know what denomination.

BERMAN: It's only a matter of time.

BOLDUAN: Totally. Totally.

New this morning, a British judge says that -- says since Prince Harry is not entitled to taxpayer-funded security when he is in the U.K. because he is no longer a working royal -- even though Harry, himself, has insisted that he and his family have been in danger when they visit his home country.

CNN's Max Foster has the very latest from London. He's joining us now. How significant is this moment? What does this judge's ruling mean? Talk to us about this.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Well, I just had a message from Prince Harry's office saying he's going to appeal it, so I can tell you that. That's the latest. He says he's not looking for preferential treatment.

Just to explain what's happened here, obviously, Prince Harry left the royal -- his working -- his role as a working royal. With it came lots of public support. Part of that was security from the police.

He left that public role. He lost that security. Now he says he has a right to it when he visits the U.K. So this is a debate around that.

I think what a lot of lawyers on the other side say is -- looking at this -- you're just another VIP now. You're not a member of the royal family. You're not fulfilling a public role so you shouldn't get all of those public benefits.

And they are offering a bespoke service, effectively. So think about a big Hollywood A-lister coming over to the U.K. If there's a credible threat against them, then they do get armed police to support them. But it's not a given.

Harry wants it to be a given. He wants it every time he comes over. He's cited that actually for the reason he hasn't brought his kids over to the U.K. in recent years.

But we have just heard he's going to appeal it. Should he have an exemption? Should he be a completely different type of VIP than currently exists? The judge today said he felt it was fair to give him a bespoke security service -- so only getting that armed support when there is a credible threat against him when he comes over.

BOLDUAN: So interesting.

Max, it's good to see you. Thanks for bringing us that update -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Later today, President Biden will issue an executive order aimed at keeping your sensitive personal information out of the hands of foreign governments. Health, location, and even financial data are legally now up for sale, something the Justice Department warns is a growing national security threat.

CNN's Sean Lyngaas has this report for us this morning. Sean, what are you learning?

SEAN LYNGAAS, CNN CYBERSECURITY REPORTER: John, in some respects, the horse has already left the barn. There's so much commercially available data from dating apps, iPhones, Fitbits -- that sort of thing -- that's out there that the administration is trying to batten down the hatches. But they're realizing that you really need comprehensive legislation from Congress to do that.

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