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Hunter Biden Convicted On Federal Gun Charges; Sources: 8 Tajik Nationals Arrested In U.S. After Surveillance Abroad Found Suspected Terrorism Ties; Baltimore Shipping Channel Reopens After Bridge Collapse. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired June 12, 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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[07:31:21]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: President Biden about to be heading off very soon to head to Italy for very important high stakes G7 meetings. This is of course after this happened yesterday, a day after his son, Hunter Biden, was found guilty in his felony gun trial. Now Hunter Biden could face up to 25 years in prison and a $750,000 fine. But what happens now with this? Joining us is CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson. Hey, Joey, what happens next?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: So there's a process. Good morning to you Kate. Good morning to you John. And here's what the process will entail. We have something called pretrial services at the federal level, what is that? It's a probationary wing. What they will do is they will do a deep dive into his prior history, including everything, finances, health, family, et cetera. They ultimately, that is pretrial services probation issue a report and recommendation. That's significant. That goes to the judge.

While that's happening, what ends up happening is that your lawyers are preparing a memorandum with the recommendation as it relates to sentencing. I suspect that that'll be inclusive of all kinds of people who know you, know what you're about, whether it be clergy, business people, colleagues, et cetera. Thereafter, prosecutors submit their sentencing memorandum to the judge. And then you of course, have the sentencing date where you go in. There'll be oral argument with respect to what's appropriate. And there are these things at the federal level called sentencing guidelines.

I know we talk about this with respect to 25 years, 10 years on this, that, not at all. The federal sentencing guidelines include the offense level with regard to the offense for which you were convicted, in addition to your criminal history. Let's remember, he's a first offender, no, you know, no criminal history to speak of. And the nature of this allegation is not violent. And so all of that will be happening in the ensuing weeks and months.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: But he pleaded not guilty, may this go to trial. JACKSON: Yes.

BERMAN: Generally speaking, in sentencing, when you plead out, you plead guilty, that's when you get the lighter sentence. So what might the impact be there?

JACKSON: So that's true. And obviously, you know, at this -- they also, at the federal level, have acceptance of responsibility points. It's this interesting mix, John, where you have these calculations. It's really you quantify that. At the same time a person should be permitted to exercise their due process. Let's remember, this is a very sympathetic case, jurors themselves questioning whether it should have gone to trial saying it's a waste of taxpayers money. So I don't think the judge will ultimately hold that against him. Obviously, there'll be some explaining to do. That was gut wrenching testimony, et cetera. It's not an offense for which he needs to, right, go to jail. That's obviously up to the judge. But what I'm speaking about is regarding mandatory minimums. So it's very discretionary. The person in the black robe will decide.

BOLDUAN: So on some of the gut wrenching testimony, I did find it as the -- after this wrap and the verdict came down, jurors seem to think that the defense's decision to call Hunter Biden's daughter, Naomi, to the stand, that it didn't help his case, wandered number 10 said I felt bad that they put Naomi on trial as a witness. I think that was probably a strategy that should have not been done. No daughter should ever have to testify against her dad. What do you think when you hear that?

JACKSON: You know what it is, Kate, hindsight is always 2020, right?

BOLDUAN: Of course, right.

JACKSON: And so what ends up happening is, is that you're having to make as a defense lawyer strategic decisions that you think can move the ball forward. I do believe that one of the plays of the defense was not only as it related to the merits of the case, you know what, he wasn't addicted at the time he didn't form the mental state, he was in denial, et cetera. But I also think the play was what we call jury nullification. Having the jury feel bad about the fact that we're here, having the jury believe it's a waste of resources to do it, having the jury believed that this is not a just result to convict.

And I think as part of that play who would be more sympathetic, of course, then the daughter. I just think some of it backfired with respect to what she said versus what text messages demonstrated with respect to how her father was really doing at the time.

[07:35:08]

BERMAN: Very quickly, the judge has said she wants to do sentencing with the next four months. But if there is an appeal, when does that -- how does that impact when Hunter Biden, if he gets prison time would have to record?

JACKSON: So what will happen is, is that there certainly will be an appeal. That's part of the process, right? And what ends up happening is, is that there's many bases to appeal. One, of course dealing with whether it's constitutional. That is to take away his gun rights. Another whether of course, a psychiatrist or medical health official could have testified as to addiction. While that's happening, the matter will proceed. The judge will pronounce sentence. I suspect that there could be what we call a stay pending that appeal.

And then I'll also look for, John and Kate, the timeframe. Timeframe is very important. Why? Dad is in the White House. Daddy said, I'm not going to pardon my son, has not ruled out a commutation. What's the difference? If you're given prison time, do we delay the prison time. Then there's that other case and I'm looking for a timeline on that other case, California tax case, because the timeline of that and should he be convicted and his father not be in the White House that presents other problems his father could be, we just don't know. But these are all things to watch out for.

BOLDUAN: It's great to see you, Joey. Thank you.

JACKSON: Always. Thanks, Kate. Thanks, John.

BERMAN: All right. As we said, President Biden is in Delaware with his son, Hunter, right now. But very shortly, he leaves for the G7 meetings in Italy. You're looking at live pictures by the way from Delaware right now where the President will be departing shortly. These are hugely important meetings that will cover everything from the Israel-Hamas war to Ukraine to climate change. Let's get right to Nic Robertson, who is in Italy right now, where these meetings will take place. Nic?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. The President is expected a touchdown here later this evening. And, yes, a full schedule here, the first ticket on the agenda, if you will, will be Africa, it will be climate change and development. They sound a little bit not as if they would be the central issues of such an important meeting. But of course, they are fundamental to so much that concerns all the leaders here. And that is migration. Migration itself comes up on another day. But you'll have the leader of the African Union here, Prime Minister from Kenya. You'll also have leaders from Tunisia and Algeria here as well.

And why does Africa matter so much? It's just across the Mediterranean, of course, from Italy. Italy on the forefront of huge migration waves coming out of that continent. So what can these developed democracies with powerful economies do to help the African continent and the people there and perhaps, in essence, persuade them not to migrate towards Europe? So that's one issue. Then you have Ukraine coming up. And of course, the central focus there will be getting agreement on how to fund a $50 billion loan to Ukraine, which is going to be paid for by frozen profits from frozen Russian assets.

That looks likely U.S. and E.U. will sort of underwrite that. Then you get into the issue, as I said, of immigration. And you have a central and important issue for President Biden, the Indo Pacific region, China, in essence. AI, that's also going to be a big topic here. And the Pope coming in Friday, AI will be something he'll want to talk to these world leaders about. So a packed agenda for President Biden.

And of course, the specter if you will, of Donald Trump, a potential president. Donald Trump attending the next G7, that's what these leaders will have on their minds as well. But of course, coming into this, there are five leaders out of the eight leaders coming here who face election or potential election challenges over the coming -- John?

BERMAN: John, all right, Nic Robertson, for us in Monopoly, Italy, do not land on Boardwalk, Nic, thank you very much for that. Kate?

BOLDUAN: New details this morning about the ICE operation to detain eight men living in the U.S. with suspected ties to ISIS. The men are Tajik nationals, who sources to say were screened when they crossed at the U.S.-Mexico border, and nothing in their past was flagged at the time. CNN's Josh Campbell has much more on this. Josh, what are you learning about this?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, you know, this is really interesting. We're learning about how federal authorities actually identify these people. I'm told from a law enforcement source. It was the U.S. government's targeting of ISIS targets abroad that actually allowed them to make these identifications, part of this ongoing investigation. Of course, that's interesting, because we know that earlier this year, we saw that some of these U.S. surveillance authorities come under heavy scrutiny in Congress with these sweeping ability of the U.S. government to surveil certain targets abroad.

But I'm told it was those kinds of authorities that allowed them to actually determine we have people here who have some kind of connection to ISIS targets overseas. Now here's what we know, as you mentioned you know these are eight Tajikistan nationals who were arrested recently by ICE as part of their removal authorities. Now when they came across the southern border, they were vetted, a source tells me. But there were no red flags that the U.S. authorities identified at the time.

[07:40:19]

It was later after they were already in the country that this investigation determined they had those alleged ISIS connections. And the decision was made to deport them. I'm told that this was hotly debated within federal law enforcement. Do we continue to surveil them, you know, federal investigators to determine if there's a potential plot here? Or do we just expel them? And I'm told that it was the latter that U.S. senior officials ultimately decided to actually just get them out of the country.

Now of that group that was arrested, I'm told that it was extremist rhetoric. So it's unclear whether the other members of the group were arrested simply by association with those individuals but still have questions there. We're waiting to determine when the expulsions will actually take place. And then finally, it's worth pointing out that this is obviously all coming as the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, have warned about increasing threats from terrorism. You know, this is not a point in history. There are current threats now.

We know that the DHS recently came up with an assessment indicating just that. So it's something that federal authorities are certainly looking at this elevated threat that continues this year.

BOLDUAN: Josh Campbell, thanks so much. John?

BERMAN: An emotional day in Connecticut, survivors of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre will graduate high school, almost 12 years after 20 of their classmates and six adults were killed. CNN's Brynn Gingras is in New Town this morning. I have to imagine this is going to be a difficult day, Brynn?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, listen, bittersweet is the word that has been said many times in this community for what is going to happen today, this graduation. Obviously, there are more than 300 students who are celebrating the fact that they've finally reached this milestone in their lives graduating high school. But of course, they will never and have never forgotten those 20 classmates that should be right there with them. And those six educators should be celebrating with them as well. Actually, during the ceremony, they're all going to wear green ribbons on their caps and gowns to, you know, have that memory close to them.

The names of those 20 students are going to be read throughout the ceremony. So there are little bits of this celebration, where they are really going to just remember how far they've come and what they lost along the way. I want you to hear from three students who talked about what this day means to them, after what they've been through, while they were in Sandy Hook on that day.

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LILLY WASILNAK, GRADUATE AND SHOOTING SURVIVOR: We are still kids. So we do as much as we can to enjoy ourselves and still live our lives, while still carrying the memory of those walks with us.

ELLA SEAVER, GRADUATE AND SHOOTING SURVIVOR: It's hard, because, you know, you have these big moments in your life, things that are supposed to be solely exciting. But they get clouded by those. And a way that we want to be remembering our friends and we are going to keep them with us but it's also something that we wish we never had to deal with.

MATT HOLDEN, GRADUATE AND SHOOTING SURVIVOR: Compared to some of our classmates, we can go save our memories are worthy, like empty, blocked out best parts of it. But it is still graduation. And it is still exciting day. And we're trying to make sure we put, you know, that feeling first. I don't know, you know, we don't want to make this memorial is ultimately what should be the biggest day of most of our lives.

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GINGRAS: Yes. And that they still so vivid in their memories. Actually, it's tradition, John, in New Town for these high school seniors to go back to their elementary school. There are several in this town. And to go back to this building and see the people, the teachers that shaped their lives. Of course, these students that you just heard from, they had to go to a new high school since that other one where, you know, this tragedy happened was torn down a new one rebuild. So the memory just continues to be with them.

But they are survivors. Look, the trajectory of their lives have changed. You just heard from people who say they now want to be activists. They want to be therapists. They want to be lawyers. They want to be politicians. They want to change gun laws. So it's quite incredible how far these little first graders have come to now this high school graduation and certainly the memory of those last is very vivid today.

BERMAN: Well, congratulations to all of them there, all the places they will go. And of course, we are thinking about that community this morning. Brynn Gingras, great to have you there. Thank you very much.

Russian warships sailing less than 100 miles from U.S. oil, what they're doing and how the U.S. military is now responding.

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And this morning House Republicans, well, here's the question, do House Republicans have the votes to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt. All of a sudden that seems to be up in the air we've got the latest whip count.

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BERMAN: All right this morning, the Port of Baltimore's shipping channel is fully operational. It was 11 weeks ago that the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed, killing six people. Nearly 50,000 tons of wreckage had to be removed from the river. So the critical U.S. trade war port could resume operations. This is what some port workers had to say about this.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm glad we're back to work, you know, and I hope it gets better. Hope more ships come in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The state took care of us, you know, we were OK but other than that I'd rather go to work.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I kind of wish the bridge was being built a lot sooner, you know, I mean coming through the tunnel was a little tough. I mean, that is that has changed too because we have to leave like an hour early.

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BERMAN: All right, with us now is Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg who is in Baltimore. Mr. Secretary, thanks so much for being with us. What difference will this now make, and what have you learned over the last 11 weeks?

PETE BUTTIGIEG, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Well, you know, what happened that morning was horrific but what happened next was inspiring. So in terms of what we've learned, I think the biggest thing has been about the power of teamwork. I asked our team to count up the number of agencies involved. We think it was 56, 56 different entities from our department to the U.S. Coast Guard and the Army Corps of Engineers, the state DOT under the leadership of Gov. Wes Moore, county, city. All of the first responders from the divers looking for victims to the people making sure that traffic was handled and managed safely, all adding up to this moment where less than 100 days after that shocking event, more than 50,000 tons of concrete and steel have been cleared out of the Patapsco River. The channel is open. The port is up and running. Those workers are working.

Now, obviously, we've got a long way to go in terms of part two, which is getting a new bridge up to replace the Francis Scott Key Bridge that was destroyed. And more and more of the focus is going to now turn to that, although we've been working on that from day one as well and already got $60 million out to the state. But again, my big lesson, my big takeaway here is the power of teamwork. I have never seen this many different organizations, agencies, responders come together since I've had this job to deal with a crisis touching our transportation system. So it's what people expect from government that when something terrible happens, those agencies snap into action, team up, and get results.

BERMAN: You're talking about the bridge. Do you have any estimate on when there may be a new bridge?

BUTTIGIEG: So the original one took about five years to build. We're hoping we can beat that this time around. But obviously, a lot goes into building a bridge and it's going to look different. The design that went in in the 70s is not the same as the right answer for a bridge that's going to be standing, hopefully, well in the 2070s.

But we're already underway on that. We released $60 million to help get that process going. We're side-by-side with Maryland DOT in their work. They're already engaging the procurement and the design. They estimate it will take about $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion to get that new bridge in place, but when it is there, it will be not just a new part of the Baltimore skyline but an important link for supply chains and INFRA commuters.

BERMAN: So you are not a member of the president's family, although he has said you remind him of his son, Beau. I'm wondering what you think it must be like for the president now that his other son, Hunter Biden, has been convicted on federal gun charges as both a President, on his way to Europe for key meetings, and also as a father.

BUTTIGIEG: Well, I think anybody should imagine what would I do? And one of many things I admire about my boss is that it is so clear how much love he has for his family. And that's not just something that obviously, as a human being, you see and feel in terms of how much he cares about his loved ones. But also, as a boss, it is a tone that he has set across the administration that he expects everybody who reports to him to take good care of their families. He made clear on day one there's a standing policy that if any of us needs to take care of a family matter, we go look after that, no questions asked, and balance that with the responsibilities that we all have.

BERMAN: Just so you know, Secretary, we're looking at live pictures from Delaware right now where President Biden is arriving. He'll get on Marine One, head to Andrews, and then head to Europe for meetings. Again, we're looking at live pictures of that right now. It does not appear as if the President will comment before arriving at Andrews, and we don't know if he'll comment there.

I want to ask you very quickly about another subject, too. There was a secret recording made at a meeting where many Supreme Court justices and their spouses were. And Martha-Ann Alito, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, was discussing how she feels about, apparently, a pride flag that was flown not far from her house. Listen.

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MARTHA-ANN ALITO, WIFE OF SUPREME COURT JUSTICE SAMUEL ALITO: I want a Sacred Heart of Jesus flag because I have to look across the lagoon at the Pride flag for the next month.

LAUREN WINDSOR, LIBERAL ACTIVIST: Exactly.

ALITO: And he's like, oh, please don't put up a flag. I said, I won't do it because I'm deferring to you. But when you are free of this nonsense, I'm putting it up and I'm going to send them a message every day.

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BERMAN: How does that make you feel knowing that the wife of a Supreme Court justice wants to send a message to people with a Pride flag?

[07:55:09]

BUTTIGIEG: Look, I'm often reminded that the most important thing in my life, which is my marriage and my family, and the two beautiful children that my husband Chasten and I are raising, that marriage only exists by the grace of a single vote on the United States Supreme Court that expanded our rights and freedoms back in 2015 and made it possible for somebody like me to get married.

And, you know, Supreme Court justices have an unbelievable amount of power. And, you know, by the nature and the structure of the Supreme Court, there's no supervision over that power. They are entrusted with it literally for as long as they live. And part of that trust is we expect them to enter into those enormously consequential decisions that shape our everyday lives with a sense of fairness.

I also hope that most Americans can understand the difference between a flag that symbolizes, you know, love and acceptance and signals to people who have sometimes feared for their safety that they're going to be OK. And insurrectionist symbology. I'll just leave it at that.

BERMAN: Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. Thank you so much for being with us this morning. Appreciate it.

BUTTIGIEG: Thank you.

BERMAN: This morning, uncertainty on Capitol Hill. The House is scheduled to hold a rules vote surrounding whether to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt over failure to comply with subpoenas. But there are whispers that it's possible there are enough moderate Republicans that enough moderate Republicans are skittish that this might not have the votes to pass. The contempt vote might not have the votes to pass. CNN's Lauren Fox has been whipping the votes on Capitol Hill, or at least counting of where things stand this morning, Lauren?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, you're putting a lot of pressure on me as a vote counter. But, you know, behind closed doors, leadership is still trying to ensure that they have the support they need to go to the floor to try and advance his contempt vote that's going to happen as soon as later today. What we expect to see on the House floor around 10:30 is they will vote on the actual rule governing the debate over this vote on contempt against Merrick Garland.

But as you noted, there are some concerns that there could be some moderate holdouts, and because the speaker only has a two vote margin, that does mean that he has to get all of his ducks in a row before this actually comes to the floor. A critical meeting will happen this morning at 9:00 a.m. when House Republicans will gather for their weekly conference meeting. That is obviously going to be an opportunity for Republican leadership and key voices on those committees to make the case for their colleagues why this is so important to advance right now.

But this all stems from the fact that Republicans want to get those audio tapes of Robert Hur, Special Counsel Robert Hur's interview with Joe Biden. We do have the transcript but Republicans arguing that they need that audio tape because they think that it could help them in their investigation in the Biden family. They also say that they want to make sure that the transcript was accurate. They have not voiced exactly why they think it would not be consistent. John?

BERMAN: Lauren Fox in Washington for us counting the votes. Let us know where things stand when you find out Lauren, thank you very much. Kate?

BOLDUAN: U.S. officials are tracking a group of Russian warships in the Caribbean right now. They include a nuclear powered submarine and also warships carrying hypersonic missiles. Final Destination, Cuba, Russia's military is planning to run drills with its high precision weapons in the Atlantic Ocean, war games that the Pentagon says poses no direct threat to the U.S. But war games nonetheless that Vladimir Putin is trying to use as his latest muscle flex against the West. CNN's Patrick Oppmann joins us from Havana, Cuba with much more on this. Patrick, what are you hearing about this?

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, good morning. Well, you know, CNN is also tracking these Russian warships and they're actually right behind us. We're going to try to focus in we can see them it's a bit of a cloudy day. And behind that statue there, you can just make out the lead. Russian frigate, the Admiral Gorshkov, which, as you were saying, carries hypersonic missiles. It is when those modern Russian Navy ships that Vladimir Putin has in his navy, and is at this moment entering Havana Harbor one of four of these ships, including a nuclear powered submarine that is expected to arrive today in Cuba arrive in the next few hours into Havana Harbor. You see it just coming up behind that statue there as it makes its way into the port of Havana.

And, you know, there are Russian ships, Russian Navy ships that come to Cuba over the years. I don't remember a convoy as large as this a convoy that has the latest weaponry that Vladimir Putin has at his disposal. So while it may not be a direct threat to the United States, it is very symbolic because Vladimir Putin has been talking recently about how if the U.S. will deploy weaponry to his borders, he could do the same to the U.S., certainly, meaning countries like Cuba or Venezuela.

[08:00:26]

The Cuban Armed Forces, the Cuban government have said that they -- these ships are not carrying any nuclear warheads, that they're not a threat that this is a friendly visit. But we all know that history, of course, was only 60 years ago that of course, there were Russian warheads based in Cuba. No one expects that to happen now. But certainly, this is a message that behind me right now, this morning, you have Russian warships coming into Havana Harbor, some of the most modern that Vladimir Putin has. You couldn't have expect it, couldn't ask for a more high profile visit than this one that's taking place right behind me as we speak.

BOLDUAN: Yes, it's wild to see it right over your shoulder, Patrick. It's so great to have you there. And it's great to see you. As always, thank you so much.

A new hour of CNN News Central starts now.