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Putin Agrees to Temporary Halt of Attacks on Energy Infrastructure Facilities; Fragile Ceasefire Collapses as Israel Launches New Strikes in Gaza; Chief Justice Pushes Back After Trump Calls for Impeaching Judge. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired March 18, 2025 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:00:23]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": New details from the call between President Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The two sides agreeing on negotiations toward a temporary halt in attacks in Ukraine, but more talks will be necessary to end the fighting.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": The White House is now explaining itself after deporting 261 migrants to El Salvador. The administration arguing those were deported -- who were deported were carefully vetted. Trump himself calling for the judge who attempted to put a halt to these deportations to be impeached. And what happened to Sudiksha Konanki, the last person believed to have seen her alive is asking a court to free him while the missing student's parents are asking officials to declare her dead. We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to "CNN News Central."

KEILAR: We are learning some new details about a high-stakes phone call between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that just wrapped up. And we learned this just moments ago, the White House releasing a statement about the call saying the leaders agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations on implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire and permanent peace. These negotiations will begin immediately in the Middle East and we should emphasize that is a 30-day halt of attacks. It does appear to be temporary, though they are calling it a ceasefire.

SANCHEZ: It is fascinating. There are some differences between the U.S. readout and the one that was put out by the Kremlin. Let's go live to Fred Pleitgen who is in Moscow for us. Fred, what is the Kremlin saying about this phone call?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Boris. Well, first of all, Kremlin put out a readout that was extremely long and covered on a lot of points. And I think one of the things that was really emphasized in the big difference between the U.S. readout and the Russian readout is that the Russians speak a lot more about general terms, about trying to normalize relations between the U.S. and Russia. But there are certain points where the readouts are nearly the same or say the same things. And one of them, is that halt in attacks on infrastructure. And there, the Russian president, according to the Russian readout, say that he immediately gave the order to the Russian military to stop attacking infrastructure and energy infrastructure inside of Ukraine.

Now of course, that is a pretty big deal because of course, one of the things that we've been reporting on over the past couple of years a lot was those major Russian missile and drone attacks that happen almost every night against Ukrainian towns, against Ukrainian critical infrastructure, energy infrastructure. So certainly, for the Ukrainians and for the Ukrainian air defenses, if this really holds true, then certainly that would be a bit of respite.

On the other hand, the Ukrainians also in the past couple of -- really the past year or so, have been launching pretty effective attacks with drones of their own against Russian refineries, against other oil and gas installations. So certainly, this is something where mutually it seems as though the Russians also have an interest in these attacks stopping. And as far as that maritime, you can call it ceasefire, but trying to negotiate a ceasefire on the Black Sea is concerned, there also, the Russians of course at the beginning of the full-on invasion of Ukraine, really had their ships in the Black Sea, launched a lot of missiles towards Ukrainian territory.

But in that also, the Ukrainians have felt in the past year or so, that the tides sort of have been turning where they've been using little seaborne drones to attack Russian assets in the Black Sea. And that has certainly made it a lot more difficult for the Russian Black Sea fleet to operate and really to project any power onto Ukrainian territory. So, it seems as though that is something where the U.S. and Russia agree there should be movement where things should move forward.

There's one other sticking point that we found in the Russian readout that we certainly didn't find in the U.S. readout where the Russians are saying that they believe there should be a full end to any Western military aid for Ukraine. Now of course, on the face of it, that seems like a pretty steep demand considering the fact that the Ukrainians most probably wouldn't be in the fight anymore if they didn't have Western military equipment, certainly military equipment from the United States. So, it's unclear whether or not that was something that was touched on by both sides, certainly is something that the Russians have put out there saying that they believe that it would be important to themselves.

And then finally, of course, both sides saying, and I think this is -- shows up in both readouts, that they want to at least improve relations because they feel Russia and the United States are two very important global actors that should then try to work together to tackle other problems globally as well.

[14:05:00]

But as far as the war in Ukraine is concerned, as far as the fighting in Ukraine is concerned, it seems as though that temporary halt, as Brianna was saying, to attacks on energy infrastructure, is certainly the main big news that we're taking away and certainly something that on the ground in Ukraine, could be a very big deal in the days and weeks going forward, guys.

KEILAR: All right, Fred, thank you so much for the latest there. Let's get some more perspective on all of this from Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, Bill Taylor. He is also the Vice President for Russia and Europe at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Thank you so much for being with us at such a critical time, as this call has just wrapped up. And you are hearing this, a halt for 30 days, so a temporary halt in attacks on infrastructure and energy infrastructure. What does that mean for civilians specifically?

WILLIAM TAYLOR, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: It's a big deal for civilians. It's a big deal for the energy system in Ukraine which the Russians have bombed, as you've reported, over the last three years. So stopping that, stopping attacks on infrastructure, and that's yet to be determined or defined it sounds like, but that could be a big thing as well. That is, infrastructure normally means apartment buildings and hospitals and schools, and other forms of services for civilians.

So this could be a big thing. I will say, Brianna, that this -- the Russians probably agree to this because Ukrainians have been hitting military targets inside of Russia. So that has been effective. That part of it has been effective.

KEILAR: Yeah. They've taken it really to them there. And then as the Kremlin is emphasizing, but we didn't see this in the White House readout, they're demanding no military aid and Intel sharing to Ukraine. What stands out to you about what that would mean?

TAYLOR: So we've seen the problems that causes Ukraine when they had -- when there was a pause on military assistance and intel sharing, and that is a problem. It doesn't sound like the Americans have agreed to that. Certainly, the Ukrainians have not agreed to that. And this is an important point. The discussions on actually implementation will take place apparently in the Middle East again, and the Ukrainians will be there. The Ukrainians have a say in this. The Ukrainians have something to be able to put on the table and demand on the table. So, this will be part of that kind of conversation.

KEILAR: Is it in the American interest to say no, we're not giving military or intel aid to Ukraine?

TAYLOR: It's not in our interest for the Russians to be able to push further into Ukraine. Ukraine wants to be able to stop them and best case, push them back. In order to do that, they need to have the American weapons and the American intel sharing.

KEILAR: And Putin, according to the Kremlin, told Trump that a prisoner exchange would happen between Russia and Ukraine on Wednesday. 175 people would be exchanged on both sides. In addition, this is a quote, as a gesture of goodwill, 23 seriously-wounded Ukrainian servicemen who are being treated in Russian medical institutions will be transferred. There are a number of other people though, I wonder what you think of this, but also the fact there's a number of other people, specifically children, in question who certainly there's a standing request to have them returned.

TAYLOR: Thousands of children, Brianna, have been taken from Ukrainian families and Ukrainian facilities and taken back into Russia, thousands. And so, they need to be on the agenda to return. There are prisoners of war. Now, there have been exchanges of prisoners of war in the past. This is another one, that's a good thing. There are civilians that are being held in Russia, that are also being demanded. Demanded -- Ukrainians want to have them returned as well. That's going to be an important part of these follow-on conversations.

KEILAR: I also want to ask you, because as I noted, you are with the U.S. Institute for Peace and George Moose, who is the Acting President, whom the Trump Administration has said has been fired, said that DOGE has broken into our building. And DOGE says that they were denied lawful access to Kenneth Jackson, the Acting President, and Moose was later forced to exit the building by police. Can you tell us anything about this or what this means?

TAYLOR: So no, I've not been there and I actually have left the Institute as of last Friday. But, this is now being taken to the courts. The courts will decide what the responsibilities are, who is in charge, whether or not it is possible to make those changes. Institute of Peace is going to court with that question.

KEILAR: Can you just speak briefly to the importance of the Institute at this moment in time? I mean, we are watching so much happening between Ukraine and Russia. We're hearing also talks of Russian-U.S. cooperation when it comes potentially to Iran.

TAYLOR: To Iran, as well as there's a lot of work that the Institute of Peace had been doing on nuclear arms control.

[14:10:00]

There's a lot of work that Institute of Peace had been doing on peace in the Middle East. So, those kinds of issues are important for the United States and that's what the Institute has been contributing to.

KEILAR: All right, Ambassador, thank you so much for being with us. Really appreciate it. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Keeping our focus overseas, we're also watching the unraveling of a two-month ceasefire in Gaza. Israel relaunching its war with Hamas overnight, pounding the enclave with a deadly barrage that has killed more than 400 people. It's the deadliest single day in the war in over 15 months. Horrified Palestinians describe scrambling for cover as bombs started dropping.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I woke up to the sounds of explosions and fire. So we went out and came here after the ambulances to see that everything was charred and four bodies were burned. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We were sitting at the displacement school and getting ready for the sahur. I was about to connect my phone to charge when all of a sudden all the rubble fell on me. The women started screaming. Behind the school, there were humans in pieces. My son was injured.

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SANCHEZ: Let's get the latest now from Tel Aviv with CNN's Jeremy Diamond, who's live in Hostage Square. And Jeremy, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to speak in just moments. What are you hearing from Israelis there where you are?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's been a lot of concern about what this return to war will mean, not only for the people of Gaza, but also of course for the hostages who remain inside of the Gaza Strip. We just heard actually from several former hostages who were released during this latest ceasefire agreement, including the American-Israeli citizen, Keith Siegel. And all of them made very clear how concerned they were when the ceasefire collapsed at the end of November 2023.

The fear that they had as the bombardment restarted and also their concerns about what military operations resuming means for the hostages who remain in Gaza. Sasha Troufanov, for example, who was released said, "Military operations in danger their lives directly." Keith Siegel called for ending the war and returning all of the hostages. So, we will see if the Israeli Prime Minister addresses those concerns directly.

Certainly, today was a very deadly day in Gaza, the most deadly in more than 15 months of war there, as we saw more than 400 people were killed in these Israeli airstrikes. Many of the victims, according to people on the ground and the imagery that we have been seeing, were indeed children. The question now is where does this escalate from here? We know that the Israeli government, the Israeli military have made very clear that these airstrikes are just the beginning and they will continue to escalate that military pressure unless Hamas agrees to release additional hostages.

We will see how quickly that will escalate to include the possibility of Israeli ground troops going into Gaza. But that is certainly on the agenda. It is certainly on the table. One Israeli official telling me though that if Hamas agrees to release additional hostages along the lines of the proposal offered last week by the U.S. Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, then indeed Israel would stop its march to war and agree to a deal. But of course, the two sides are still very, very far apart, remains to be seen if that is even something that Hamas would entertain. But if it does not, certainly the military pressure will escalate. And of course, the people of Gaza and potentially the hostages still held there will suffer the most. Boris?

SANCHEZ: And we will be awaiting those remarks from Prime Minister Netanyahu set to begin in just moments. Jeremy Diamond live force in Tel Aviv, thank you so much. Still to come, a federal judge is demanding an explanation as to why the Trump administration allegedly defied his orders to stop deportation flights. Now, Donald Trump wants that judge to be impeached. And the parents of a college student missing in the Dominican Republic have made the heartbreaking decision to request that their daughter be declared dead. And tens of thousands of pages about the assassination of JFK will finally be made public today. Would it finally put to rest those conspiracy theories out there? We'll discuss in just moments on "CNN News Central." Don't go anywhere.

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KEILAR: New developments now as President Trump is escalating his fight with the judiciary, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts pushing back after Trump called for the impeachment of the federal judge who temporarily blocked the administration from deporting hundreds of migrants suspected of being gang members, or at least tried to do that. They were ultimately deported. Roberts in a rare statement saying for more than two centuries, it has been established that impeachment is not an appropriate response to disagreement concerning a judicial decision, adding the normal appellate review process exists for that purpose.

SANCHEZ: Meantime, the Justice Department has now handed over new information to the court about why those deportations apparently continued on to El Salvador this past weekend despite the judge ordering them to turn around. The White House maintains it did not ignore the ruling. With us now is CNN Senior Political Analyst, Mark Preston.

Mark, it's fascinating that the White House, through Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, has said that this is a fight that they're looking for. And then you have Chief Justice John Roberts essentially saying, you have to let this play out in the courts and not attack a sitting judge.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah. Two different messages from two different people with two different hopes for the results. Obviously, John Roberts doesn't want to be dragged into this political fight that we're seeing right now, but clearly, the Trump administration, not only when it comes to immigration, but everything that they're doing right now, they're pushing the limits.

[14:20:00]

A lot of people use the word constitutional crisis, are we in a constitutional crisis? I think it's a mistake to use words like that. I think you've just got to be very plain and simple and say, look, he is pushing the boundaries right now to a place that have never been pushed before. And even if some of that bounces back on him, even if half of it bounces back, they still would've got half of what they wanted through, which is a huge victory and still will affect our lives from what we know today. KEILAR: Because the point is, to what end? Like broadly, it's

expanding presidential power. If you look at it from a bigger point of view and not just in this particular incident, but you look at the scope of all the different things he's doing.

PRESTON: And who is to stop him right now, OK? So he has control of the executive, right? He basically has control of the legislative because all the Republicans, first of all, they have control of the majority in the House and the Senate, and they have fallen lock and step behind Donald Trump. And now, you'll get the courts, specifically the Supreme Court. It's a six-three majority right now on the Supreme Court, right? Three of those justices are from Donald Trump. So, can the justices stop him? And at some point, when is this all going to come together to a head when somebody says, enough is enough?

SANCHEZ: Is it fair to say that the White House does have a point in the sense that the political headwinds are moving in their direction, that it's going to be difficult for anybody to come out and make a political argument about keeping folks that are suspected of being gang members in the United States, albeit at the risk of law and the rule of law being eroded?

PRESTON: And that's where he has all his power right now. Because who is going to come out and say, no, I think we should keep these Tren de Aragua gang members here in the United States? They deserve to be here. No, you're not going to get anyone that's going to say that. And when Donald Trump keeps on going out and his allies are parroting, you know, these claims of rapists and mental patients, and just really bad people fleeing across the border, at some point, that sticks in the American people's minds.

So right now, politically successful. Let's talk a year from now though when people see what this has done, I think it will be a different situation.

KEILAR: So when you look at this, and it is rare that you have the chief justice saying something like this, I hear you say don't say constitutional crisis.

PRESTON: Right.

KEILAR: But people are raising that question and you're seeing these co-equal branches of government butting heads. There's a lot of politicization, denigration. So, what do you call it? A constitutional kerfuffle?

PRESTON: Well, let me say this. I think that, and that's not very nice, by the way, Brianna.

KEILAR: (Inaudible) That word is lovely.

PRESTON: No, no. I do like a good kerfuffle.

KEILAR: Maybe. Is it too mild, is my question.

PRESTON: No. No, I think I -- look, I think that when we talk here on TV often or when you read the papers, there is this Stella Carter (ph) think space. And listen, I'm from Boston. I live in Washington, D.C. so I'm on both ends of it. OK? So, but I don't think the American people, when you're using words that are at a level where American people just aren't dealing with it. Because when you say constitutional crisis, what does that even mean? Like, I just think that if people want to fight back against Donald Trump, you've got to be more plain spoken about what's happening. And I don't think Democrats have successfully done that.

SANCHEZ: There's also the --

KEILAR: That's bad messaging is what you're saying.

PRESTON: Oh, terrible messaging.

SANCHEZ: There is also the question of rhetoric versus what's actually being argued in court. And so, we will wait and see if it reaches that level. Mark Preston, thanks so much for the analysis as always.

PRESTON: Thanks, guys.

SANCHEZ: Coming up this hour, the man last seen with a missing college student is asking a court to grant him freedom. And just like we've seen at Republican hosted town halls, voters are showing elected Democrats how angry they are over what they've been watching unfold over the last 50 or so days of this new administration. Stay with us.

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[14:28:20]

SANCHEZ: Facing growing backlash from within his own party and calls to step aside, today, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is defending his decision to vote for the Republicans' funding bill last week. On ABC's "The View," Schumer argued that allowing a government shutdown would've given President Trump even more unchecked power to slash federal programs. Watch this.

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SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER, (D) MINORITY LEADER OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE: If we ended up with a shutdown three weeks from now, people would come to me and they'd say, they just cut off my Medicaid. They just got rid of my veterans' benefits. Stop it. And I say, we can't, we are in a shutdown. And then they'd say to me, why did you let the shutdown happen?

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SANCHEZ: Meantime, during a fiery town hall last night in Arizona with Democratic Senators Ruben Gallego and Mark Kelly, audience members demanded that Democrats start fighting harder against Trump's federal cuts, especially potential slashes to Medicaid. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JEFRI KNAZAN, TOWN HALL ATTENDEE: We want you to be straight with us. How do we go to the next level to fight this, if that's the case?

FIONA, TOWN HALL ATTENDEE: We're trying to shield ourselves before we're wounded and we don't know how. Would you mind telling your colleagues in Washington that when they're burning down this house, there's people still inside.

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SANCHEZ: Joining us now to discuss is Democratic Congressman Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania. Congressman, thank you so much for being with us. Let's start with the rationale you just heard there from Chuck Schumer for supporting that funding stop-gap that you voted against. What do you make of it?

REP. BRENDAN BOYLE, (D-PA): Well, good to be with you. I voted against the Continuing Resolution, the Republican plan for a variety of reasons. 99.5 percent of House Democrats, including our House Democratic leadership led by Hakeem Jeffries, did as well. It does include --