Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Hunter Biden to Testify on The Hill; Biden's Annual Physical; Raging Wildfires in Texas; What Presidential Physicals Reveal. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired February 28, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Anomalies, alert banks, and prevent the checks from ever being cashed.

And the crazy thing here, Kate, is all of this is really just getting started.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: It's crazy - and you say the crazy thing. I mean it's like awe-inspiring and also terrifying. I don't know. We'll - Treasury, clearly, happy to have the help though.

It's good to see you, Matt. Great reporting. Thank you.

Any moment now Hunter Biden will arrive on Capitol Hill to go behind closed doors with House Republicans leading the impeachment effort against his father. The drama and the questioning is about to unfold.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news, explosive growth of the wildfires in Texas. One just became the second largest in state history. It is zero percent contained. We have new reporting on who needs to take cover.

And very shortly, IVF families will rally at the Alabama state house. Could a major about face be imminent after the state's supreme court controversial ruling that some say put IVF in jeopardy?

Sara is out today. I'm John Berman, with Kate Bolduan. This he is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BOLDUAN: OK. So, you know you love Capitol Hill drama. You don't have to admit it, but you know you love it. And today is going to be one of those days. Very soon President Biden's son, Hunter, is arriving on The Hill and heading behind closed doors for what has become a highly anticipated moment, the face-to-face with Republicans lawmakers in the biggest moment so far in the Republican-led effort toward impeaching President Biden.

CNN's Paula Reid, she's watching all of this, tracking all of this, hopefully has sneakers on because it's going to be wild.

Paula, what is going to happen today? And what questions is he likely to face? PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Look, I definitely

wore my sneakers for today. Let me tell you how significant this is. They are actually moving this deposition to a bigger room than the one they usually use because they anticipate a record number of members are going to attend. This is a make-or-break moment for GOP lawmakers who so far have not been able to provide clear evidence to support their allegation that President Biden benefited from his son's foreign business dealings.

Now, initially Hunter Biden said he would only testify publicly. They said they were worried about selective leaks from Republican lawmakers. But Republicans agreed not to videotape this deposition, unlike other witnesses in this inquiry who have been videotaped, and also swiftly release the transcript. So, these are two concessions that they needed to make in order to get Hunter Biden to sit for this interview.

Now, among the topics that I think particularly Democrats may want to bring up is the fact that this appearance, Kate, comes just two weeks after the Justice Department charged an informant who had alleged that the Bidens received millions of dollars in foreign bribes with lying about that, with fabricating those allegations that are at the heart of the GOP's inquiry here. So, I think Democrats are really going to seize on that.

And again, this is make-or-break for Republicans. I think they're going to try to find any way to get something to support the merits of this impeachment inquiry.

So, this is going to be one to watch. It could be a late day. And right now we're just waiting for the president's son to arrive here on Capitol Hill.

BOLDUAN: All right, and when that happens, we will bring it to you. We have cameras all over Capitol Hill. Great to see you, Paula. Thank you.

BERMAN: All right, with us now, former deputy assistant attorney general Harry Litman, and former assistant special Watergate prosecutor Nick Akerman.

Harry, I want to start with you. And let me stipulate, I have never been under federal indictment as far as you know.

BOLDUAN: What?

HARRY LITMAN, LEGAL AFFAIRS COLUMNIST, "LA TIMES": (INAUDIBLE)

BERMAN: As far as you know.

BOLDUAN: (INAUDIBLE) know.

BERMAN: But were I to be, I'd be pretty reluctant to answer any questions to a congressional committee when what I could say could ultimately be used against me in a different trial.

So, what I'm getting at here is, I know there's a lot of anticipation about this, but how much is Hunter really going to answer?

LITMAN: So, I think it will depending on the category. You're totally right, he's under indictment for two different crimes. Those will both be off limits. And his lawyer, Abbe Lowell, will jump in and say, we can't talk about that, he's under indictment. What does that leave? For them, the motherlode. And just as Paula said, this is really -- the whole investigation is at risk of just ending with a whimper, and the stakes are high for Republicans. The motherlode would be anything about Joe Biden's business dealings with him. I think that's going to be a dry hole. Nine witnesses have already testified there's nothing there. This will be - the (INAUDIBLE) say so. He's already made public statements to that effect.

What does that leave for a gang that wants to get at anything? Stuff about Hunter's career, his art, anyway he's gotten money. And they'll be sort of sneering questions about his art career and attempt to just insinuate that he's been exploiting the Biden brand. And that's what we'll see sort of on the periphery.

[09:05:01]

How far will that go? How aggressive will it get? It will depend somewhat on Abbe Lowell. But he can expect a very aggressive set of questioners today.

BOLDUAN: And, Nick, how much does todays deposition -- how much is it different now, as Paula was talking about, what happened just two weeks ago, which was there -- at that -- to that point, the Republicans' star witness and star information, this former FBI informant, he's indicted.

NICK AKERMAN, FORMER ASSISTANT SPECIAL WATERGATE PROSECUTOR: That's right. This is totally anti-climactic. There is nothing that's going to come out of this. Harry was 100 percent right. What they're going to do, and if you really want the see the roadmap of what they're going to question him about, it's in Jim Jordan's tweet that he put out there a couple of days ago where he goes through all of these conspiracy theories and all of these dredged up allegations made over the years.

And essentially what it all comes down to is that Hunter Biden was trading off his dad's name. Essentially, this is the same thing that we've seen prior with Lyndon Johnson's brother, with Jimmy Carter's brother, with Richard Nixon's brother. I mean this is no different. It's basically what my dad said to me, you can pick your friends but you can't pick your relatives.

BERMAN: My sister might be watching, so I'm just going to take - take a moment. Just going to take a moment, and we pause here.

BOLDUAN: I saw the wheels in your head turning very quickly.

BERMAN: Abbe Lowell and Hunter Biden. Since Hunter Biden has taken on Abbe Lowell as his counsel, there's been this aggressive defense here against particularly the congressional investigations. But if you're walking into this hearing right now, I imagine they could be in a car together on the way to Capitol Hill at this moment. If you're Abbe Lowell, what are you telling Hunter Biden.

LITMAN: Yes.

BERMAN: What are you advising him? How are you advising him to act?

LITMAN: Yes. They've been living together for the last several weeks, let's face it. And Lowell I think is going to say to him, rely on me. Just listen to the question. Answer it. If I come in, stop everything. And -- you know, but they have had a very different strategy and its changed subtly, I think, even in the last week. I think you're going to see Hunter basically, in response to some of these more afield questions, actually aggressively defend himself as a recovering addict. I think you'll hear him sound that theme. And that seems to be less matter of concern for the White House than when they first came out of the box with this aggressive strategy.

So, it's basically, listen, wait, and let me come in if there's trouble. Don't -- don't put out the fire. I put out the fire.

BERMAN: All right, guys, standby for a second, if you will, because we have some breaking news we're going to report right now out of the White House.

CNN's Arlette Saenz here with the details.

Arlette, what can you tell us?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, President Biden is departing the White House right now -- you can actually hear Marine One taking off -- to go to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to receive his annual physical. He told reporters this as he was boarding Air Force - Marine One.

And this was not previously on the president's schedule, but it does line up with the president's previous physical, which he received around this time one year ago.

Now, President Biden is 81 years old. If he is elected to a second term, he would be 86 at the end of that second term. And this physical, while it is a routine update, it will be -- its expected to be conducted by his physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, who typically, in the past, has provided a report, an update following that physical. The president has received two prior physicals while in office, back in 2021, and that, again, around this time back in 2023.

But this physical is coming as the president's physical and mental fitness has been in the spotlight in the 2024 campaign. He has faced criticism from his Republican opponents about his age and his mental fitness. And polling has shown that there is concern from Americans as well about the president's physical fitness and ability to serve a second term.

A recent Quinnipiac poll found that only a third of voters thought the president had the physical fitness and the mental fitness for a second term in office. So, this physical will be watched very closely. It is an annual -- a routine physical that he has undergone in the past and hopefully later today we will also be getting a similar readout of how the president is doing.

Now, just to note what the president's physician, Dr. O'Connor, said last year, back in 2023, he -- in his report he said that the president was "healthy, vigorous, and fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency." He noted a few of the issues the president has had, like a stiff gait, also being treated for AFib, which he did not show any symptoms of during last year's physical. And also some symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux. That is clearing his throat off. And that is something that we often hear in the - from the president in some of his speeches.

Now, one other thing that was disclosed within the past year was that the president has sleep apnea and that he was using a CPAP machine to treat that. That is a very common issue that millions of Americans have been diagnosed with.

But certainly this physical today will be closely watched.

[09:10:01]

There are some who have called for the president to receive a cognitive test. Cognitive tests have not typically been part of these presidential physical examinations. It's unclear whether it would be part this time. They didn't feel it was warranted in the past. But we will be waiting to see what further updates we receive from the president's physician a little bit later this afternoon.

Typically, these physicals take quite a few hours. We likely won't be seeing him back here at the White House until later in the morning, possibly early afternoon. But we could get a clearer picture of the president's physical state after this annual physical at a time when there has been concerns expressed by some voters about the president's physical and mental stamina heading into the 2024 campaign.

BERMAN: President's annual physical. It is a regular event in and of itself. However, as you said, this one is one that will be analyzed with everyone looking at the readout very carefully, maybe as soon as later today.

Arlette Saenz, thank you for filling us in on what is happening behind you. We appreciate it.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: We're going to continue to follow that. Any updates coming from the president's health, we will bring to you.

But we are also following more breaking news this morning out of the Texas panhandle. The Smokehouse Creek Fire, which we've been talking about this morning, it has now gotten larger. It is now the second largest fire in Texas state history, scorching over 500,000 acres.

Now, these fast moving flames, they're very clearly from the video we've seen making for terrifying conditions.

Look. (VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: So, this fire is now more than a size -- more than half the size, rather, of the state of Rhode Island. It's burning so fast that its scorching the equivalent of 150 football fields every minute. And that's just one of five fires that is burning in the panhandle right now. Several communities have been forced to evacuate already. Many are without water. And this morning, John spoke with a pastor of one church in Texas that is sheltering over 200 people now

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COURTNEY KIRKSEY, CHILDREN'S PASTOR, CELEBRATION FAMILY CHURCH: Most of the people that have come in, they have lost everything. And we even have people here that are helping to help with the community that have lost everything, but yet they're here showing compassion and love to one another.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: CNN's Lucy Kafanov, she's on the ground for us in Amarillo, Texas.

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Well, let me set the scene for you. We are in Amarillo, Texas, where there is low visibility, extremely high winds. All of that due to the five wildfires burning in the surrounding areas.

Now, the air here is still full of smoke. It burns your eyes. It burns your mouth and throat. Residents are being encouraged to stay inside, to keep their pets inside. This is also one of the areas that folks who can get here from neighboring counties are being encouraged to come here for evacuation. We actually visited a shelter late last night. They're bringing in more cots to make it more comfortable to people who have sought refuge and shelter here.

Governor Greg Abbott issuing a disaster declaration for 60 counties. That's six zero. And as of this morning, that blaze exploding to more than 500,000 acres. Now the Smokehouse Creek Fire, that's the largest of the five that's burning, being described as the second largest in Texas history.

Now, a lot of these areas are rural. That means it's not just people that are impacted, but ranches, wildlife. There were some dramatic footage of horses and other animals trying to flee the smoke and the flames. The main facility that disassembles America's nuclear arsenal is located about 17 miles from where we are standing. That is the Pantex Plant. That had to shut down on Tuesday. It is back online as of Wednesday morning.

Meanwhile, the city of Fritch, one of the areas that was evacuated, residents were asked to limit the water use so that fire trucks could be filled. They are also, that city, asking for outside help to bring their water system back online after that massive wildfire knocked out power there. Canadian, Texas, another area that was very hard hit by the blaze, one

of the motel owners there told CNN that it looked like Armageddon. All of the trees are covered in white ash. The local hospital there had to evacuate all of their patients due to the fire on Tuesday.

In other parts of the panhandle, people had to take shelter in schools, in churches. Not safe enough just to stay home. The blaze, just so powerful there. And now we are learning those fires spreading to neighboring Oklahoma.

Back to you.

BERMAN: All right, our thanks to Lucy Kafanov for that report.

We're now joined by Brooke McQuiddy. She is in Childress, Texas, forced to evacuate from her town and her mother's home was burned.

[09:15:04]

Brooke, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

Just walk us through what you went through the last 24 hours.

BROOKE MCQUIDDY, EVACUATED FROM WILDFIRES, MOM'S HOUSE BURNED DOWN: Yes. Thank you.

In the last 24 hours myself, my mother and my son, along with many friends and family, were evacuated from Canadian, Texas. Although some had to stay behind because roads closed after we, my family, actually left.

We had to evacuate to the neighboring town. As we got there, we all stayed around, watched, waited and were evacuated from that town to the next neighboring town, where the same thing happened, and then we were evacuated to the next neighboring town. So, we've been outrunning the smoke and outrunning the fires all while sitting and waiting to hear what's happening back home, what's happening to our friends and our family that are still caught inside the city limits of Canadian, where they were told to gather at the football field and the high school and to shelter in place.

BERMAN: We were looking a moment ago at some -

MCQUIDDY: Many have lost their homes.

BERMAN: Yes, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, Brooke, but I was -- we were looking at some of the pictures you had taken and shared with us moments ago. Just this bright orange. Everything on fire. Your mother, at one point, said it looks like Armageddon. Can you just describe what you were looking at?

MCQUIDDY: It went from smoke billowing in that was white, to then sunshine coming through that looked like we were engulfed in flames all around, to then it got very dark and gray. And as we were leaving, we could turn around and it did, it looked like Armageddon. It looked like our town was just being engulfed in black and it was just disappearing right before us as we were walk -- driving in our rearview mirrors. We all were wondering, what is this? What's going to happen? Are we going to be able to return? Is there going to be anything to return to?

BERMAN: Do you have any reports about your homes? Do you know if there's something to return to?

MCQUIDDY: Myself, my home, I am able to return to. It is safe. My mother's home, unfortunately, has burned to the ground and there is absolutely nothing left. She has lost everything. Many of her neighbors on the street, Locust, that she lives on, have lost theirs. I do know that her neighbor, which is the sheriff, Brent Clap (ph), across the street, lost his home as well. The neighbors to both sides, one house is standing, the other house is also gone.

It seems that inside city limits houses are OK. But if you lived on the - right on the outskirts of the city limits the fire engulfed many of those homes. My son's best friend, she and her family lost their home. So, it's - we have confirmation that highways are open back into Canadian, so residents can return home. North Plains Electric has crews coming to Canadian and Glaser to begin restoring power where it's out. Many do not have power. And we will be returning as soon as we can to go assess damages, hug our friends, hug our families and be thankful that we are all alive and start rebuilding.

BERMAN: We are so sorry for your mother that she lost her home. But you have each other, and you have her and you got her out safely. And I imagine that's what's truly important.

Do you know of anyone -- is anyone missing as far as you know? Did everyone you know get out? Have you been able to account for everybody?

MCQUIDDY: As far as I know, yes, everyone is accounted for. I do not know of any casualties. We did have enough time to evacuate. And then, like I said, if you didn't make it out, then everybody knew a place to go.

BERMAN: Well, there is that. Listen, Brooke McQuiddy, I can't imagine what it's been like for you the last 24 hours, and I can't imagine the uncertainty surrounding you and your mother and what you face when you go back. We wish you all the best. Stay strong.

MCQUIDDY: Thank you very much.

BERMAN: Kate.

BOLDUAN: They're going through so much. It's so sad. And it's not over yet for them, that's for sure.

Coming up for us, Nikki Haley is back on the campaign trail after losing to Donald Trump in Michigan. We're going to hear from her soon in Utah today as she looked toward -- as she looks towards Super Tuesday.

A Texas death row inmate is running out of options after a federal appeals court said it would not stop his planned execution.

[09:20:02]

The question is now really left up to the Texas governor, Greg Abbott. What will he do?

And an important gun rights case is headed to the nation's highest court. In minutes, the Supreme Court justices will be hearing a challenge to the Trump era ban on bump stocks.

We'll be back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: You're looking at pictures from moments ago of President Biden arriving at Walter Reed Hospital for his annual physical. Now, this is routine. It is news we just learned this morning, but it is something that happens every year, the annual physical for the president of the United States, but obviously it is of interest this year.

[09:25:08]

CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, is with us now.

What usually goes on at these physicals, Sanjay, and how much do we learn after the fact?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a pretty extensive physical exam. We know, for example, he, interesting, arrived around the same time last year, about 9:15 in the morning for his physical, went till about noon. So, you know, roughly two-and-a- half, three hours of testing that goes on.

Looking, as you say, routine stuff. So, there's not a particular problem that they're addressing.. But we know, for example, from last year, some of what the readout was, was the medications that he's taking. We know he takes a statin medication for -- for cholesterol. He takes Eliquis to prevent blood clots because he has a history of atrial fibrillation.

A lot of people have noticed that his gait, the way that he walks has changed over the past couple of years. That was something that was addressed last year as well, significant arthritis, they said, in his spine, in his foot, and some -- what is known as neuropathy in his feet. These will all be things that are assessed again. So, cardiac function, heart function, lung function. It's a pretty - pretty -- a pretty exhaustive physical exam. He's 81 years old.

I will tell you this, interestingly, about 16 percent, according to various organizations, about 16 percent of seniors get some sort of cognitive testing done. So, most do not. But that's going to be something that we're going to be curious about as well. Will he get any kind of cognitive testing? He did not in the past. The White House has said that he probably will not now unless his doctors have some particular reason to order that test. So, that's sort of a glimpse likely of what we're to see today. BOLDUAN: I was going to ask you about that, Sanjay, because obviously

he's been dogged by Republican criticism during the campaign about his age, stamina. Nikki Haley calling for a mental acuity test for anyone over the age of I think she said 75 for elected officials.

GUPTA: Yes.

BOLDUAN: And on the question of a cognitive exam, what would actually go into that? Because we know from the White House -- I was just looking back, Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters just this month that Biden's physician did not think a cognitive test was warranted during his last physical.

GUPTA: Yes, you know, and it's interesting because a lot of people have become familiar with these tests. And we can put one of them up on the screen just so you can see, this is the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, to give people an idea of what a test like this involves. I don't know how well you can see that, but, you know, you're matching letters and numbers, you're drawing a clock, for example, trying to draw a three-dimensional cube, identifying animals, remembering words. It takes about ten to 15 minutes.

One thing to point out is that President Trump -- former President Trump had this done, I think twice. Both times at his own request. And I point that out to say that it wasn't the doctors necessarily asking for this. They typically ask to do a test like this, or recommend it, if there is some specific concern. And again, about 16 percent of people who are seniors will actually get that as part of a routine exam, meaning most don't.

But that - that - it's a screening test, Kate. It's not a diagnostic test. It gives you some indication, is there a need to explore further? Is there some problem with memory loss or executive reasoning or speed of thought, things like that. President Trump, again, I think a couple years ago, a few years ago now, got a perfect score on the exam, he said 30 out of 30. But again, it's a screaming and it's not - it's more often than not, not actually done at a test like this, at an exam like this.

BOLDUAN: All right, Sanjay, thanks for jumping on. It's great to see you. Thank you.

GUPTA: You got it. Thank you.

BOLDUAN: We'll have much more when we have more. How about that for a tease?

So, coming up for us, a new focus on Alabama after that state supreme court ruling saying that embryos are children in terms of state law. There's a rally planned today at the state capital and new questions about state lawmakers and what moves they are making to try to correct what's been done here.

And a Texas inmate could be executed tonight, even though his legal team says that there is evidenced that key witnesses in the case against him lied. What options he still has and does not have before him now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:00]