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Daughter of Hunter Biden Testifies; Interview With Fmr. Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA); President Biden Makes Case for Democracy in D- Day Speech. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired June 07, 2024 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:28]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Honoring the heroes of the past with a call to arms for the future, President Biden talks about the sacrifices at Normandy and parallels to Ukraine's fight against Russia, as he promises President Zelenskyy we're not going to walk away from you.

And defying the United States. A new CIA assessment suggests Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may ignore pressure from Washington to set a postwar plan for Gaza, even as his own grip on power may be in jeopardy.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Plus, liquidating an empire built on lies. Right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones may be forced to sell Infowars in order to pay off that 1.5 billion-plus-dollars he owes to Sandy Hook families.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: We begin this hour with a high-stakes speech from President Biden in France, as he makes the case for freedom and the future of democracy, making that case at Pointe du Hoc in Normandy, where 225 U.S. Army Rangers scaled cliffs to capture key Nazi-held positions and helped turn the tide of World War II.

The president drew parallels between the bravery and courage in 1944 and what the challenges of today require. He talked about how those Rangers never quit, how they put their mission and country over self. And without naming names, Biden took aim at his political rival, former President Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I refuse to believe, I simply refuse to believe that America's greatness is a thing of the past. I still believe there's nothing beyond our capacity in America when we act together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Today's speech capped off two days of D-Day commemorations in Normandy, where Biden met with other world leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Let's go live now to the White House and CNN's Priscilla Alvarez.

Priscilla, this is a historic speech for Biden's presidency. It also encapsulates his argument for why voters should choose him over former President Trump.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, the preservation of freedom and democracy has been a hallmark of President Joe Biden's reelection campaign and something he has talked about at length over the course of the year, but the location of these remarks was significant.

And it was also the same spot that 40 years ago President Ronald Reagan talked about the threats of isolationism. Now, the president in his remarks also commemorated the heroism of 1944, but he also tied it to the challenges of today.

And while he did not name Donald Trump, he certainly offered some subtext about his Republican rival, who has embraced authoritarians, who has also moved toward isolationism, and who has disparaged veterans, tying all of this to the stakes of the moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Does anyone doubt that they would want America to stand up against Putin's aggression here in Europe today?

They stormed the beaches alongside their allies. Does anyone believe these Rangers would want America to go alone today? They fought to vanquish a hateful ideology in the '30s and '40s. Does anyone doubt they wouldn't move heaven and earth to vanquish hateful ideologies of today?

These Rangers put mission and country above themselves. Does anyone believe they would exact any less from every American today?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: Now, as he spoke, he said that the heroism and what those Rangers fought for should not fade away with them, so really bringing that point home in the course of his remarks, but the president also talking about the war in Ukraine, which really has been front and center over the course of these commemorations.

And he also earlier in the day had announced a new package for Ukraine and also appealed to the Ukrainian president and apologized for the stall in Congress to get the additional funding to Ukraine, so it can continue its war against Russia, that expected to continue into the day tomorrow as well when the president meets with the French president.

KEILAR: All right, we will be looking forward to that.

Priscilla Alvarez live for us at the White House, thank you -- Boris. SANCHEZ: For more on President Biden's high-stakes speech and what it means for the upcoming election, we're joined now by Cedric Richmond, a co-chair of the 2024 Biden/Harris reelection campaign.

[13:05:00]

Cedric, thanks so much for being with us.

One of the themes that Trump has tried -- rather, that President Biden has tried to evoke through these speeches is connecting the Allied efforts in World War II with some of the present challenges across the world in Ukraine and in Gaza that he believes require U.S. leadership and collaboration with allies.

How do you think that lands with the more isolationist view in Trump world that the U.S. needs to first address problems here at home?

CEDRIC RICHMOND, BIDEN/HARRIS CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIR: Well, the great thing about America is that we can do both.

And I think that that's why Joe Biden, President Biden, is the leader that we need. He has illustrated that this idea of America is one that's important and it's fragile, and we have to continue to fight for freedom and democracy all around the world.

And so, if we go back to the beginning of the president's term, he united the West, brought NATO back together again, so that we could help and empower Ukraine to defend itself against Putin's aggression.

And Putin, who thought that it would be a four-day war until he had his victory, has realized that America's leadership around the world thwarted that effort. And so leadership matters. Who the president is matters.

And being the leader of the free world means you have obligations to do exactly what this country did 80 years ago, when those 225 Rangers scaled Hitler's wall and saved the world.

SANCHEZ: And, sir, the other significant theme touched on attacks we have heard previously from the president. He's pointed to Donald Trump as a danger to democracy, as an authoritarian in waiting.

How do you think that message is resonating with voters as a key issue going into November's election?

RICHMOND: Well, we have to remind people exactly who Donald Trump is. He's a person who is fond of Putin, fond of dictators, called Putin a genius.

And so we have to remind people that former President Trump is only concerned with himself. And when he talks about this election, he talks more about revenge and retribution than a vision for America. It's all about harming and getting revenge on his political enemies, as opposed to the hardworking American families that show up every day to make this country a better country. And so you couldn't have a more stark contrast than what you see now.

You see President Biden honoring our fallen heroes, not calling them suckers and losers, President Biden talking about how important democracy is and coming together to do something great as Americans.

And you see Donald Trump only talking about Donald Trump, his perceived grievances, his selfishness, all of those things. And I think that voters are starting to remember exactly who Donald Trump is, who he was, in a contrast to President Biden, who is trying to bring this country together and protect freedoms.

SANCHEZ: And yet, in a slew of recent polls, President Biden is behind former President Trump in a number of key swing states and in certain key demographics.

It appears that President Biden is leaking support from black voters, including in this "New York Times"/Siena College poll that had Donald Trump capturing 20 percent of the black vote. That's more than any Republican in like six decades.

If that is the result on Election Day, is there any chance President Biden is reelected?

RICHMOND: Well, first of all, that won't be the result on Election Day. And that's what campaigns are for, for us to go and deliver messages.

And you talked about the black community. The racial wealth gap between black and white Americans is the closest it's ever been. Black wealth has increased 60 percent. Black unemployment is at an all-time low, black entrepreneurship at an all-time high.

And we have to go out there and make the case for why President Biden and Vice President Harris deserves to be reelected. We're going to do that. And, at the same time, we're going to remind them who Donald Trump was, the guy who got sued because he wouldn't rent apartments to black people.

So I think you're right, in the sense that we continue to have work to do. But the good news is that we have a story to tell. And during this campaign, we're going to go tell it.

SANCHEZ: You and I spoke several times when you were chair of the Congressional Black Caucus during the Trump presidency about a number of episodes related to race that didn't put the former president, let's say, in the best light.

And yet he's gaining support. Why do you think he's gaining voters in communities that he has, at least rhetorically, marginalized?

RICHMOND: Well, I'm not sure how real that gain in support is. I think that you still have people making up their mind, and it shows up as undecided.

[13:10:03] But what I will say to that is, the former president is the best con man you have ever seen in your life. And what he does consistently is give Americans somebody else to hate or somebody else to blame for why they're not reaching their full potential or why they're not satisfied in their plight of life.

And we're not going to do that. We do not believe America is a zero- sum game. We don't think one person has to fail for one person to do better. And we're going to continue to lift up America from the bottom up and the middle out. And we're going to continue to talk about that message.

And, look, you saw it today. We beat job expectations again, created 275,000 jobs last month, which is why you see things still trending in the right direction. But this is what campaigns are about. It is, one, talking about your accomplishments, two, reminding people who your opponent is.

And, in this case, our opponent is a seriously flawed human being.

SANCHEZ: Cedric Richmond, we very much appreciate you sharing your perspective with us. Thanks for joining us.

RICHMOND: Thanks for having me.

SANCHEZ: Of course -- Brianna.

KEILAR: As world leaders gather and draw parallels between World War II and the war in Ukraine, so too does Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Today, he said that Russia has many more nuclear bombs than the U.S. and Europe and more powerful ones than were used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, though he went on to say there's no need to think about nuclear war.

But Putin's comments come during what allies fear could be a dangerous turning point in Ukraine. After spending the last two years inching forward in the east, Russia has opened a new front in the north near Kharkiv and is now ramping up attacks there. Today, we have learned Russian strikes have now damaged or destroyed nearly half of Ukraine's available energy, and that has led to forced blackouts.

And Ukraine just recorded its highest monthly number of civilian casualties in almost a year. The U.N. says Ukraine saw a 31 percent increase in civilian casualties in May compared to April.

CNN's Melissa Bell is joining us now from Paris.

Melissa, these events in Normandy are happening as allies fear the Ukraine war could be a dangerous turning point.

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Brianna.

In fact, it was the opening up of that new front by Moscow last month to the northeast of Kharkiv that really sounded alarm bells across allied nations.

And that led to that significant shift that you have seen that what had once been a red line, the idea that Western weapons could be allowed to be used against Russian targets that had targeted Ukraine, that green light given by ally after ally, including the United States, in the wake of that opening of that front because of the pressure that's now being brought to bear, not only on the Ukrainian front lines, but you mentioned the huge civilian toll that was borne by Ukrainians in the month of may.

That is, of course, because that renewed campaign has led not just to strikes on the critical infrastructure that we saw again overnight, but, of course, tragically, strikes on superstores, on shopping malls, on businesses. And it is the people in the Northeast of Ukraine, around the greater Kharkiv region that are bearing that extremely high price.

The fear amongst Western allies is that, consistently, Ukrainians have told them, look, we're very grateful for the help, but it's coming too late, it's not coming fast enough, well enough to the right places. For years, they have been telling me on the ground, ammunition, ammunition, and we don't have what we need to continue fending off these Russian advances.

And this -- what we saw in May with the sudden what seemed to be Ukrainian forces very much on the back foot and retreating for the first time in a long time in that part of the country has definitely set a cat amongst the pigeons in Western capitals.

You saw that shift on the question of how Western weapons could be used by some countries. Now what you're likely to hear a great deal more about, President Zelenskyy is over at the Elysee Palace right now speaking to President Macron.

I expect we will get before tonight, Brianna, much more clarity on what the French president means about urging other allies to go ahead and help Ukrainian soldiers on the ground with their training, not Western soldiers in combat roles on the ground in Ukraine, but certainly present in their ability to train Ukrainian soldiers, Brianna.

KEILAR: And, Melissa, when Biden met with Zelenskyy, he actually apologized for that delay in military aid coming from the U.S. He also announced a new $225 million aid package to help Ukraine rebuild its power grid.

Hard to overstate how important that's going to be.

BELL: That's right.

And I think that apology was important, because, when you look at those advances that are being made, they're very much put on the account of those delays that we saw.

Imagine -- remember, rather, the Kyiv for many months was unsure about whether the next tranche of American aid was going to come at a very moment, looking at the ending of last year, when it was questioning whether it was going to get the next tranche of aid from the European Union because of delays being imposed on that by Hungary,so a great deal of uncertainty in Kyiv, many months of delay that have had real effects on the ground and a shift in some parts of the country in terms of momentum and the balance of force.

[13:15:17]

And that, of course, is what they're now, the Western allies, trying to make up for. So that apology was important. But, overnight, as you say, critical infrastructure hit. Ukraine says it is now to -- down to its lowest levels of energy. There are questions about how the country as a whole can continue to supply its people.

So it is a critical time. It is a turning point. And the question very much for Western allies now is how much quicker, how much better they can get the weapons to where they need to go and how much more efficiently they can help Ukrainians fend off those Russian attacks -- Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Melissa Bell live for us from Paris, thank you for that report.

And ahead this hour on CNN NEWS CENTRAL: The defense calls Hunter Biden's daughter Naomi to the stand in his gun trial. We're following all the latest there.

And CNN obtains a CIA assessment about Benjamin Netanyahu's mind-set, what it reveals about Israel's postwar plans and what the prime minister believes he can get away with.

Plus, the seismic move conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is making in order to start paying the $1.5 billion that he owes to Sandy Hook families.

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[13:20:51]

SANCHEZ: There was some emotional testimony today in Hunter Biden's federal gun trial.

His eldest daughter, Naomi Biden, just finished taking the stand, where she was asked about her father's past addiction battles. She described visiting her dad in a rehab facility in the summer of 2018 and how he -- quote -- "seemed really great" and that she was proud of him. She also said that she never saw her dad do drugs in front of her.

Now, sources tell CNN the defense is hoping that Naomi Biden's testimony would soften the impact of Hallie Biden's testimony. The widow of Beau Biden and former romantic partner of Hunter testified that she believed she saw Hunter high on drugs in October of 2018, but admitted that she never saw him doing drugs around that time that he purchased the gun that's at the heart of this case. Before the prosecution arrested its case this morning, it called a

forensic chemist to the stand who testified that the powder found on the pouch with Hunter Biden's gun in it tested positive for cocaine.

CNN chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid has been following the testimony from inside the courtroom. She joins us now live.

Paula, what else did we hear from Naomi Biden during her testimony?

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Biden -- Boris, anyone who is -- has been familiar with someone who is the child of an addict or is the child of an addict themselves would have an enormous amount of empathy for Naomi Biden being on the stand in front of her father, in front of many family members, many friends of the family to testify about this.

Even though she is a graduate of Columbia Law School, she certainly appeared a little nervous as she took the stand. She walked in with her husband. And, immediately, the first lady, who was seated in the front row, turned around and motioned to her husband to come sit right next to her.

The Biden family and some of their friends are taking up the first two rows of court right now. And she testified on direct examination by defense attorney Abbe Lowell about two instances where she saw her father in 2018. The first was around August or September 2018 after he had gotten out of rehab. He reached down to her and asked her to come to California. He would arrange the trip. He wanted to see her.

She said that she brought her boyfriend and she met with her father and his sober coach. And she said she hadn't seen him in a long time. But she said, when she saw him, he was as clean and as clear as he had been since her uncle, Beau Biden, Hunter's brother had died. And she said she was so proud of him. She was so proud to introduce her boyfriend, who is now her husband, to her father.

She next testified about seeing him briefly in New York in October 2018. Of course, that's a critical period, because prosecutors are focused on the time between when he purchased that gun on October 20 -- October 12 to October 23, when it was discarded. She saw him during that time period in New York, when she borrowed his car and he came up to get it.

She said that she saw him during that time and she remained hopeful. Problem was, Boris, on cross-examination, she and the defense attorneys, they appeared a little caught off guard when prosecutors presented some text messages between Hunter Biden and Naomi Biden while she was in New York, that second trip that she testified to, where it appeared that her father was a little bit difficult to connect with, was a little erratic in his communication about arranging a time to pick up this vehicle.

And, again, she is a graduate of law school, but she appeared very uncomfortable, a little surprised with these text messages, because her father comes across in these exchanges as, again, being erratic, texting at 2:00 a.m. about picking up this car, going MIA for long periods of time.

When she finally got off the stand, she left the courtroom. She was wiping away tears, Boris. She was visibly shaking. It certainly is a stressful situation for anyone. She did briefly greet her father as she stepped off the stand. She gave him a brief hug, a brief kiss on the cheek and then exited the courtroom.

But it's unclear if this achieved what the defense was hoping.

SANCHEZ: Yes, we will have to wait and see how the jury absorbed everything that was going on.

Paula Reid, thanks so much for the update -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Let's talk more about this with former Deputy Assistant Attorney General Tom Dupree.

Tom, Naomi Biden talking about how clear-headed her father was when she visited him at an L.A. rehab facility in late summer of 2018. Of course, it was October 2018 when this gun was purchased. She talked about how great he seemed when she saw him in late October 2018.

[13:25:11]

How do you think the jury's going to square that with what they heard from Hallie Biden, who didn't see Hunter Biden do drugs, but really detailed indicators that he very likely may have been doing them?

TOM DUPREE, FORMER JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Yes, in my view, I think Naomi Biden's testimony today is, frankly, too little, too late.

I don't think it is going to offset just the mountain, the avalanche of evidence that the prosecutors have already introduced showing that Hunter Biden was using controlled substances at the time he filled out that gun form.

We have seen physical evidence, namely the powder on the gun pouch. We have heard testimony from Hallie Biden and other people who are intimately close with Hunter Biden during the relevant time. And we have also seen in Hunter Biden's own words that he was using drugs during this period, his own texts, the excerpts from his own autobiography, which the prosecutors, I think, played to strong effect before this jury.

So, although I understand why the defense wanted to put on Naomi Biden to maybe elicit some sympathy from the jury, and I think her testimony was sympathetic, I don't think it's going to overcome all the evidence going the other way.

KEILAR: But, legally -- and I expect that the defense is going to point to this -- they have tried to create doubt, right?

For instance, you have the FBI chemist who testified, yes, to your point. There was cocaine tested in the pouch, but that it was minimal. He couldn't say when that cocaine was put in that pouch. It was tested in 2023. Of course, we know the gun was purchased in 2018. Is that enough to create doubt?

DUPREE: Well, look, that's what defense lawyers do, right? If they don't have powerful evidence in their favor, they basically try to kick up a lot of sand in hopes of planting those seeds of reasonable doubt in the jury.

I don't think it's going to work in this case. That's just my view of this. I think that the testimony that there was cocaine on the pouch, the fact that it may not have been a lot of cocaine powder doesn't change the fact that there was cocaine residue on the pouch. I think that's the point the jury is going to take away.

So, again, the defense doesn't have a lot of strong cards to play here. I think they're making best use of what little evidence they have. I'm not sure it's going to carry the day with this jury.

KEILAR: The defense called a gun shop employee as their first witness, who acknowledged that there was something wrong with the ATF form from Hunter Biden's gun purchase, did not elaborate after objections from prosecutors.

We do need to remember, of course, the judge did not allow into evidence that the form was altered after Hunter Biden signed it. So the jury does not know that. Is that enough, though, to sow some doubt in the jury's mind about the gun form?

DUPREE: I'm not sure it is, and largely for the reason you mentioned, Brianna, is that the judge has actually just slapped down the defense's efforts, one after another, to get in the evidence and allow witnesses to explain about these alleged discrepancies in the forms.

The judge just really hasn't been having much of that, doesn't think it's persuasive or credible enough even to be presented to the jury. So it's hard for me to see how the jury, based on this very limited sliver of information they have got about these alleged discrepancies, would find enough there to constitute reasonable doubt.

KEILAR: What's the effect on the jury of hearing from so many family members of Hunter Biden?

DUPREE: Yes it's interesting.

And one notable fact in this is, as we know that many of the jurors themselves have either struggled with addiction or have close family members who have struggled with addiction. And so I think, for those jurors, they can't but help put themselves in the shoes of Naomi Biden, of Hallie Biden, and others as they watch a family member go through one of the darkest periods that a human being can go through.

You can see it cutting either way. You could see them having more sympathy for this case. But, on the other hand, you could also see them maybe appreciating the prosecutor's point that we have these laws for a reason, that people who are abusing cocaine shouldn't be purchasing firearms.

These jurors understand the harms that addiction can cause and the dangers that it would pose if people who are using cocaine were walking around with firearms. So, again, I think it's a bit of a double-edged sword, but there's no question that these jurors, many of them, are going to be bringing their own personal experiences to deliberations.

KEILAR: Yes, it's a double-edged sword. They may want to -- this idea of protecting a family member, but not enabling them, and that's really a fine line.

Tom Dupree, thank you so much. We appreciate your insights.

Coming up: A new study raises concerns about a common low-calorie sweetener that you probably have in your house right now. We're going to tell you what it is and why it has experts worried.

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