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Two Religious Groups Were Violently Attacked In Recent Hours; Jewish Leaders And Organizations Around The World Are Reacting To The Last Night's Horrific Stabbing; U.S. Forces Launched Air Strikes On Several Facilities In Iraq And Syria. Aired 5-6p ET
Aired December 29, 2019 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[17:00:00]
JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: There are many injuries, and now, confirmation that some people have died. The attacks happened at a Jewish holiday gathering in New York and at a Christian church in Texas. People in both places are terrified tonight in their places of faith where they should feel the most safe.
Late Saturday night inside a rabbi's house near New York City, a man burst into a crowded Hannukah celebration with a knife and started stabbing people there. Five people were taken to the hospital. The suspected attacker caught in his car and covered with blood was arrested shortly afterward. The person in this surveillance video shot from a neighbor's home is believed to be the suspect running toward his car a few minutes after that attack.
Then this morning, inside a church of Christ near Fort Worth, Texas, police say a man opened fire on worshippers during Sunday services. Officials now say one person is dead, another in critical condition there. The shooter also reported dead. More details from that horrific shooting in just a moment. But we start first tonight with CNN's Alison Kosik in Monsey, New York, where the Hannukah's celebration inside a rabbi's home was so violently attacked late last night. Alison, what more can you tell us?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Jessica. We are learning just how the suspect, 38-year-old Grafton Thomas, got inside the rabbi's house behind me during that celebration. He walked through the unlocked front door. Now, it wasn't unusual for Rabbi Hayam Rothenberg to leave the door unlocked, an open door policy as one guest told me.
An open door policy for the community to join in on a celebration late last night, the seventh night of Hanukkah when almost 100 people gathered inside that home, but Thomas went ahead and took that opportunity to walk through the door with a long machete type knife and began his stabbing spree, stabbing five people including the rabbi's son.
Now, one guest is being hailed as a hero. Joseph Gluck, Gluck, he is being called a hero because he threw a coffee table at the suspect and actually wrote down the license plate of the suspect's car before he fled. And that is a good thing because his car was spotted electronically on the George Washington Bridge as he was headed back to New York City.
Authorities wound up catching up with him in Harlem. They found him covered in blood. Prosecutors later said that he also smelled like bleach, telling them that or indicating to them that he tried to cover up some sort of crime. Now, as for the neighborhood here, they are kind of in disbelief at the violence that happened here last night.
And is this a close-knit community here in Rockland County, 90,000 residents here, and a third of them are Jewish. There are also synagogues all around this area. And tonight, there was actually a dedication to a new torah to one of the synagogues down the street. And there was already a planned parade, but the parade made a special stop here at the rabbi's house where everybody got out with music and dancing.
And there was laughter. And they all gathered on the lawn here to show solidarity and strength during a time violence, Jessica, back to you.
DEAN: All right. Alison Kosik for us, thanks so much. I want to bring in now, Rabbi Joshua Stanton. And Rabbi, sadly this is not the first time you've been here with us in the aftermath of a senseless act of the violence against Jewish worshippers. I know this is such a sad, heavy day for so many of us, all of us especially you.
And your people that are calling you asking you what you think. Help us understand. What are you hearing from people this evening? What are you telling people?
RABBI JOSHUA STANTON: Thank you for having me. Our community is in a state of shock. And yet we are not entirely shocked. And this is the eighth night of Hanukkah. And we are called puresome namisha (ph), literally to publicize the miracle of Hanukkah. In this Hannukah, we need the help of all of our fellow citizens, everyone who resides in the United States.
We need their help in terms of solidarity. We need calls. We need kindness. We need other people to post the menorah on their social media feed. We need people to say that we will not stand for hate, and we stand with the Jewish community. And I've been incredibly heartened by all of the calls I've already received from pastors, from imams, from clergy of all stripes, and community leaders from all backgrounds. That if anything is the Hanukkah miracle of the eighth night.
DEAN: Yeah. It is about that support. It's about calling it out, pushing back against this hate for sure. New York's Governor, Andrew Cuomo, is certainly angry about this. He was on CNN earlier, calling this string of attacks on Jewish people and other minorities an American cancer that is spreading.
And he wants a law to go after what he calls domestic terrorism. Rabbi, where do you and other faith leaders fit into fighting the source of these hate motivated attacks? How do you think you fit into all of this?
[17:05:08]
STANTON: I think there is an immediate inclination on the part of public officials to move towards law enforcement. What we also need is a stronger civil society. We need more people working together and building together and living in solidarity together. We need more people reaching out to their friends and neighbors and relatives who are Jewish asking what do you need.
And I think that comes before any other steps by way of law enforcement and any other steps in general. We need to live together in strength and pluralism. And if we can do that, then we can think about what comes next.
DEAN: The need to move forward. It is important to note that in the last week, there have been a number of anti-Semitic incidents and acts here in New York. It is almost every day last week, which is just incredible I think to all of us. And tonight is, of course, the eighth night of Hanukkah. What is your message to the people out there, who are gathering in their homes and gathering with their community to honor and celebrate Hanukkah, but probably have very heavy hearts tonight, and may even be scared in their own church or synagogues and homes?
STANTON: So one of the core ideas of Hanukkah is pride in Jewish identity and faith and tradition. So I would say be proud. The best way that we as Jews can fight hate is with pride in who we are and the values that we stand for. And in addition, I would say be proud of your Jewish friends and community members and family. Stand with them. Stand in support of them.
That would be a Hanukkah miracle to remember. And we can do it together this year. The acts of hate have been going on against farsidic Jews actually throughout the year. And we should make a new year's resolution not to let this happen again in 2020. We can do so much more in 2020, and we can by building together.
DEAN: Building together, moving forward together to shine that light. Rabbi, thank you so much for being here with us. We're sending you all our love tonight. We really do appreciate it.
STANTON: Thank you so much.
DEAN: New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo, called the stabbing a despicable and cowardly act.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): I consider this an act of domestic terrorism. Let's call it what it is. These people are domestic terrorists. And the law should reflect that, and they should be punished as if it was an act of terrorism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: And to that end, I want to bring in now Former Police Executive. Cedric Alexander, also the former Chief of Police from Rochester, New York into Count County (ph) Georgia. Cedric, Governor Cuomo says they are treating this as domestic terrorism. What steps are investigators likely taking right now?
CEDRIC ALEXANDER, FORMER POLICE EXECUTIVE: Well, what they are going to do, they're going to look at this case certainly that occurred last night in New York and take all of those events, particularly those that were against the Jewish community. And they're going to do everything that they can working with other agencies across the state and across the country to develop to see if there is some pattern or is this just irrational acts that are taking place.
But regardless, any time that you attack a particular group of people, in this case Jewish Americans in this country, and those who are in a place of worship such as what we had occur this morning in Texas, people who are out worshipping whether they are Jewish, whether they are Christian, whether they are gay, a lesbian, a transgender, or people of color, no group should be targeted with acts of hatred from anyone.
So I applaud Governor Cuomo in terms of taking the action that he is taking. In taking a step at looking at how do we write law around domestic terrorism and call it exactly what it is. And develop those elements into law, and hopefully to be passed. And some action can be taken. But I think that your rabbi articulated very clearly there in your last guest.
The rabbi clearly stated what it's going to take is certainly the Jewish community coming together and supporting each other, but not just the Jewish community alone. All of us as Americans in this country regardless of what particular group we may identify with, through religion, through race, through gender or whatever it may happen to be.
Because we have to stand together against violence and against hate, regardless of where it's coming from, we may not know right now at this very minute what is causing all of this, what's going on in our environment that's creating this type of fear among particular groups. But one thing we're not got to assure of as Americans that all of us are going to stand with Jewish communities across this country.
They're in New York and across this country, and every other group that identifies itself. And there is just absolutely no place for this type of violence. And it is a cowardly act. What occurred in Texas this morning and what occurred last night in suburban New York City, and what we have seen tragically occur across this nation in recent weeks, months, and years.
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DEAN: Right. And it takes all of us standing up together, fighting back against that, to your point. I want to go back to the investigation here in New York for a moment, because the state police hate crimes task force is now also investigating this stabbing. Help us understand what additional resources -- a task force like that can provide local law enforcement. ALEXANDER: Well, the development of that task force was certainly a
very smart idea by the state of New York and by the governor and by the leadership in that state. And one thing it will go after with support from local law enforcement, with support from the prosecutor's office and those districts or regions where it is appropriate.
They will support this hate crime task force. And that they're going to certainly get the support from other law enforcement, both at the local and the federal level. And as a result, they're going to do everything that they can to find out who are these perpetrators, those that even deceased, get a history of them, who they are associated with, what has been their history in the past.
And begin to profile and begin to come up with some identification, maybe in some way in which we can prevent some of these future attacks. But even if we cannot predict what is going to happen next, all of us have urgent responsibility at this very moment, because I truly believe this is a sense of urgency that we have with the number of attacks that we are seeing take place.
Is that we all have to pay very close attention, we have to be watchful, we have to be listening, and we have to be willing to work with our local authorities and give them the support that they need because they're exhausting all types of resources to make sure that they keep communities safe. And that is important to all of us.
DEAN: Indeed. And what about counterterrorism, what role will those officials play with all of this when the perpetrators are domestic?
ALEXANDER: Well, our counterterrorism groups will continue to do the work that they do behind the scenes. They will certainly work in collaboration with our hate crime task force there in New York State and across this country as well. So the work that they have always done will continue to be there. And they will engage with these current law enforcement agency and public safe agencies and share information as they deem appropriate in identifying and coming hopefully some ways in which we can get in front of some of these attacks if possible.
But I truly believe the biggest defense that we have in this nation is 300 million Americans who are making sure that we are watching out for each other and we're keeping each other safe, and we publicly, publicly, go against hatred and those who want to do harm to others regardless of who they may happen to be.
DEAN: Our biggest defense, fellow Americans. All right, Cedric Alexander, thanks for joining us.
ALEXANDER: Absolutely.
DEAN: We appreciate it.
ALEXANDER: Thank you for having me. Thank you.
DEAN: President Trump tweeting today from Florida, quote, the anti- Semitic attack in Monsey, New York on the seventh night of Hannukah is horrific. We must all come together to fight, confront, and eradicate the evil scourge of anti- Semitism. Melania and I wish the victims a quick and full recovery. Reaction to the attack in New York is pouring in from around the world.
We're going to have the latest from Jerusalem and Israel's prime minister. That's just ahead. Plus, we're also going to have the latest on that deadly shooting inside a Texas church today. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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[17:15:00]
DEAN: Jewish leaders and organizations around the world are reacting to the last night's terrifying stabbing at a rabbi's home during a Hannukah celebration in Monsey, New York. The Jewish Agency for Israel said in a statement this is an attempt of cold-blooded murder of Jews in the heart of a warm and thriving Jewish community that gathered to light Hannukah candles.
This past year, the Jewish holidays have turned from joyous times of light to dark days filled with fear for Jews around the world. CNN's Oren Liebermann joins me now from Jerusalem. And Oren, I understand both the prime minister and the president of Israel have now commented on that attack. What are they saying?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As well as many others here, it was right at the beginning of the workweek Sunday morning when this news broke, and it's a feeling that you see expressed in that and that statement there from chairman from the Jewish agency that this is happening all too often, Israelis waking up and seeing these attacks.
It happened here with Monsey, New York. It also happened with the San Diego and Pittsburgh shootings. Those happened on the Sabbath, right as this country was coming out of the Sabbath. And that was the news. And that was the point that the chairman of the Jewish agency made, that at a time when Jews are supposed to feel their safest in their synagogues in their homes, with their congregations.
That is when they're targeted and attacked. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu weighed in on this shooting and condemned it at this morning's cabinet meeting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Israel strongly condemns the latest surge of anti-Semitism and their brutal attack in the middle of the Hanukkah holiday at the rabbi's house in Monsey, New York. We send our wishes of recovery to the wounded.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIEBERMANN: Netanyahu also offered whatever help Israel could provide, not only the local authorities in Monsey and in New York, but assistance to any country that is looking to fight anti-Semitism. And that is indicative of a much bigger problem there. That was also pointed out by Israeli leaders here, that anti-Semitism is a symptom of a problem of intolerance, a much wider problem.
In fact, the chairman of the Jewish agency pointed out that it begins with the Jews but never ends with just the Jews. It's worth pointing out that next month Israel will host at the holocaust museum here in Yad Vashem, a conference on anti-Semitism that coincides with the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. We will certainly look to see what ideas they have to combat anti-Semitism worldwide. Jessica.
DEAN: Yeah. Oren, as we've noted already in our broadcast, this is just the latest in a string of anti-Semitic incidents, one almost every day here in New York in the last week. But also attacks all around the world. You touched on this a little bit. But I'm curious how Jewish organizations there in Israel are responding to all of this.
LIEBERMANN: Part of this is simply the shock and the horror of seeing yet another one of these attacks on top of all the anti-Semitic incidents we've seen in New York and elsewhere. It is something that's becoming all too common here in the sense that these attacks are happening far too often. And Jewish organizations here, the Israeli government as well, is trying to find a solution here.
That is obviously not easy. For Yad Vashem at the conference next month, part of that will be education, not only about anti-Semitism, but also the holocaust. But as we've discussed on CNN, the problem and the solution are far more complexed than that. Not only just education as a part of it, perhaps a small of it, but also added security.
And that, of course, brings its own questions, but also more about intelligence information. And that bring -- all of that together, again, that is only a small part of the solution, Israel trying to do its part, Jewish organizations as well trying to find some way to pitch in to help to try to make sure that Jewish people all around the world feel more secure, not only on their holidays but also frankly on any other day.
DEAN: Yeah. Year round, that's certainly right. All right, Oren Liebermann for us in Jerusalem thanks so much. A gunman opens fire inside a Texas church. We're going to have the latest on that and a live report from the scene. You're live in the CNN Newsroom.
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[17:20:00]
DEAN: We're following breaking news out of Texas right now where one person is dead after a gunman opened fire during a Sunday morning church service. That terrifying moment happening at the West Freeway Church of Christ in the town of White Settlement near Fort Worth. One victim died but was resuscitated and is now in critical condition.
The other victim and the shooter died on the way to the hospital. CNN's Ashley Killough joining us now from White Settlement, now Ashley, what are we learning? We're learning that parishioners actually shot the gunman after he opened fire. Tell us more about that heroic moment.
ASHLEY KILLOUGH, CNN PRODUCER: That's right, Jessica. Authorities who are just here a few minutes ago and they told us that a couple of parishioners returned fire on the gunman. We've been told by multiple people that this happened during the communion part of the service. And that by all accounts has happened very quickly, and that the threat was removed. They have told us multiple times that there is no longer a threat in this situation.
DEAN: Yeah, that they really think that it was limited to this one shooter. Are officials saying anything about what led up to the shooting? I know you said that it happened pretty quickly.
KILLOUGH: They don't have a motive yet. We are expecting to hear from authorities here again in the next hour or so, and we're hoping to get some more answers on that. I spoke with one man who said his in-laws were sitting in the service when this happened, and they said that it just kind of happened out of nowhere.
This man was sitting in the service and then got up, and that is when the shots started. So they are trying to get more answers. A lot of the parishioners were kept inside for questioning. And then just recently a lot of them were bussed over for more questioning. So there -- the investigation is still very much ongoing at this point.
[17:25:04]
DEAN: Yeah. And it has to be such a horrific day for all of them. I mentioned at the top that one of the victims was resuscitated on the way to the hospital. What else are we learning about the victims in todays shooting?
KILLOUGH: Yes. And so far for that victim, we know that that victim is in critical condition at this point. There is one victim who has died. And Lisa Farmer, who is the wife of one of the ministers at this church, she spoke with CNN about this victim who has passed away and described him as, quote, He wonderful man, a lovely man who would do anything for anybody. Jessica.
DEAN: It is just so heartbreaking -- and I just -- a lot of times, you know, churches, of course, is where you go to worship, to feel safe, to feel love. And to have this sort of hate and violence storm in there so quickly, it had to be horrific, scary, heartbreaking. What is the town, what is that community feeling like tonight as the sun begins to set on this day?
KILLOUGH: Yeah. It's -- it does feel like another shooting has happened. One of the authorities who spoke earlier, he talked about how, you know, the community almost feels used to this kind of thing now, unfortunately, these shootings. But people are shaken. We've seen people who have started to walk out of the church.
I talked to one man who was just trying to get in his car, just trying to go home with his wife. And he said that the shots went right over his head in that service. And it was obvious people just wanted to leave. DEAN: Yeah. We're sending our love to them as well tonight. They're
going to need it. Ashley Killough for us, thanks so much. The Pentagon says U.S. air strikes in Iraq and Syria targeted a militia that's been attacking American military personnel. We'll break down for you with CNN Military Analyst, John Kirby. You're live in the CNN Newsroom.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DEAN: The Pentagon says U.S. forces launched air strikes on five facilities in Iraq and Syria linked to an Iran-backed militia. The strikes were retaliation for a series of attacks by the militia group that injured American military personnel and left a U.S. civilian contractor dead. Iraq's military says four members of the militia were killed.
But the Iraqi prime minister is calling the operation a violation of the country's sovereignty. In the last hour, key national security officials, including Defense Secretary, Mark Esper, arrived in Florida to discuss the strikes with President Trump who is there for the holidays. Rear Admiral John Kirby joining now to discuss all of this.
He's a CNN Military and Diplomatic Analyst and former State Department and Pentagon Spokesman. Thanks so much for being with us. Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have been growing, no question about that. How significant of an escalation do you think this is?
REAR ADMIRAL JOHN KIRBY, CNN MILITARY AND DIPLOMATIC ANALYST: Well, I think that remains to be seen to be quite honest, Jessica. This was a retaliatory strike to try to deter Iran from conducting any future rocket attacks on American coalition forces in Iraq and in Syria. And they are probably bracing for whatever Iran might do.
[17:30:14]
I don't know that -- I would say this is a hugely significant escalation in terms of the conflict inside Iraq and Syria, which is based on, you know, going after ISIS. But it certainly is going to further strain U.S. and Iraq relations from a diplomatic perspective.
DEAN: Right. And we saw Defense Secretary Mark Esper arriving in Florida there, a U.S. official telling CNN that Esper did brief President Trump Saturday before carrying out the strikes with the president's approval. And as I mentioned, it came two days after this attack on a base in Iraq that killed an American contractor, but it's not really the first act of aggression by Iran or its proxies.
There were attacks, of course, this summer on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia and Iran's downing of a U.S. drone in June. Why do you think it took this long for the U.S. to retaliate on this one?
KIRBY: I think it is also important to remember that there have been nearly a dozen rocket attacks on U.S. bases and coalition forces in the last year or so. So that -- this particular rocket attack that killed a U.S. contractor was after so many. And I personally think that it was probably the death of these U.S. contractor, which probably tipped the U.S. government over the edge.
My guess is that they had been planning options to retaliate against the Quds force elements and Iranian-backed militias for a long time, given the rise in rocket attacks in general, and that yesterday's attack that killed a contractor probably is what tipped them over the edge. And why they were able, quite frankly, to react so quickly with these manned air strikes against these targets, they probably already had it pre-approved, pre-thought up, pre-planned, because these rocket attacks have been mounting in number over the last few months.
DEAN: Right. And what kind of response do you think we should expect from Iran?
KIRBY: Well, that is the big question, right? We just don't know. Again, these were -- these strikes today were intended to deter Iran from doing anything more along these lines. What we have seen from Iran in the past is you may deter a specific action, and in this case rocket attacks, but you may cause them to take retaliatory action of their own of some different source.
It could be in cyber. It could be in a maritime front. We don't know. It's probably safe to assume that forces -- U.S. forces in the region have increased their force protection in general vigilance against any kind of Iranian retaliation. My guess is whatever that is, it won't come in kind. It will be something different if it comes at all.
DEAN: Interesting. And Senator Lindsey Graham praised these strikes. He tweeted the only language Iran understands is force. Do you agree with a diplomatic solution possible here or like you were saying this has been going on now over and over and over again in the last year. Was it just time for these strikes?
KIRBY: Yeah. I think that it is important to remember that Iran is a divided country. The Quds force and the Iranian-backed militia, they report right up through the Ayatollah, the religious leader. They do not report through the ministry of defense. They are not part of the traditional military infrastructure of Iran which answers to the elected government there.
So there serves are two arms here. So I agree with the senator in terms that the Quds force -- because they report to the supreme leader and not through the normal channels of government. They do answer more to force and powerful influence rather than diplomacy. But I would hate to think that diplomatic solutions are completely off the table when it comes to dealing with Iran's larger maligned activities in the region.
Look, whether you like the Iran deal or not, I've obviously supported it. It did prove that the Iranian government could be bartered with from a diplomatic perspective. I think I would never want throw diplomacy completely over the transom (ph). But these strikes appear to me to be to be proportional, certainly related.
The targets are related to the rocket attacks, specifically hitting ammo facilities and command and control facilities that they believe it had intelligence were directly involved in the most recent rocket attack. So I think that it was all proportionately done and well planned and executed. Again, the big question is now how does Iran react.
DEAN: Yeah. We will see about that. Rear Admiral John Kirby, thanks for being with us tonight.
KIRBY: You bet. My pleasure.
DEAN: Russia's Vladimir Putin is thanking President Trump for sharing information. We'll have more on their first phone call in months. That is just ahead.
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[17:35:00]
DEAN: President Trump took a break from the golf course today to speak with President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin says Putin called Trump to thank him for information that helped prevent terror attacks in Russia. The two leaders also discussed, quote, matters of mutual interest.
Jeremy Diamond joins me now from West Palm Beach, Florida, where the president is now on his second week of vacation. Jeremy, do we have any more details about their conversation?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, there is not too much information aside from what the Kremlin put out earlier today. We do know that this call was initiated by the Russian President. Vladimir Putin apparently calling President Trump earlier today to thank him for the U.S. intelligence information that was provided to the Russian security services.
That information apparently led to the arrests of two men on Friday, two Russian nationals who were apparently plotting a New Year's Eve terrorist attack in St. Petersburg, Russia. Now, this is not the first time that U.S. intelligence has actually led to preventing a terrorist attack in Russia. The same thing actually happened back in 2017 with another terrorist plot that was planned for St. Petersburg.
Now, as far as what else that they may have discussed, as you said, Jessica, they discussed matters of mutual interests according to the Kremlin. There is a range of issues that could have been discussed. Of course, it came in the same day that President Trump authorized these strikes in Syria and in Iraq against Iranian proxies.
We do not know if that came up in the conversation or if perhaps domestic politics, the issue of impeachment that is always on President Trump's mind. We don't know either if that came up. The White House so far, Jessica, has not provided a readout, its own readout of that conversation. Jessica.
DEAN: All right. Jeremy Diamond for us in Florida, thanks so much. And joining me now to talk about this, CNN Counterterrorism Analyst and former CIA counterterrorism official, Phil Mudd, thanks for being with us, Phil.
PHILIP MUDD, CNN COUNTERTERRORISM ANALYST: Thanks for having me.
DEAN: Yeah. The last time the two men spoke on the phone was in July. And that is when they discussed wildfires in Siberia and trade between the two nations. For you, how significant is today's call in your opinion?
MUDD: Not that significant. To me, this looks like a courtesy call. Look, it's hard. As a former intel guy, it is hard to get intelligence that specific to stop an attack like this. The press reports are suggesting that based on U.S. information, the Russians were able to pick up two individuals who may have been plotting an attack in the next week or maybe in the next few days.
So for the United States to provide that kind of specificity, to my mind, it is almost like Vladimir Putin got to call to give a thank you. Whether or not there's more information in the call, obviously I don't, but I wouldn't read too much into this one.
[17:39:54]
DEAN: Yeah. And the White House hasn't released a readout of that phone call yet. This isn't really the first time Russia has put out a call statement ahead of the White House. It happened back in July when the Kremlin that was the first to report that President Trump called President Putin. It took the White House several hours to acknowledge that call happened. Do you think the delay by the White House is intentional or is this just kind of how this goes?
MUDD: It is a holiday season. So I'm going to give them a pass here. I'm assuming -- I'm assuming, I'm not kidding. A lot of people are on vacation. That said, at some point, you got to see something on the call. We have seen indications obviously that the president is concerned about how many people in the White House are listening into his foreign phone calls.
When you see the transcript of this, the first thing like when the president meets Vladimir Putin personally, the first thing you got to do is to compare side by side and see whether the two sides issued different interpretations or different statements on what the call is. I'd give them a little while. But I tell you -- like I hope a lot of Americans, I will be looking at both them side by side as soon as the White House briefing comes out.
DEAN: Yeah. You can look at it for yourself. What would you -- we heard Jeremy Diamond talking a little bit about what these matters of mutual interests could be between the U.S. and Russia. What would you consider potential matters of mutual interest that could have been discussed?
MUDD: Boy, I -- you got to find out a better analyst than I am on most the issues that you want to talk about. North Korea could be one. Iran could be one. Obviously, the strikes today against Iranian organizations would be one. The Iranians are historically very close to the Russians. I suppose the president could have raised election security.
But remember one thing. This call was at the initiative of Vladimir Putin. So I'm going to think that at the other end of the line, the president of the United States is not going to talk a lot. Season's greetings, thanks, we're happy to pass intelligence when it can help save people's lives. I'm going to guess there is not a lot to this phone call.
DEAN: Yeah. I mean, to your point earlier, the Russians did receive this really important information about thwarting a terrorist attack. So a thank you is definitely in line. Sergey Lavrov met with President Trump at the White House earlier this month. And the Kremlin called it an important moment but also said it did not signal a thawing in relations. Where do U.S./Russia relations stand, and do you think that they are just kind of improving generally?
MUDD: I don't. I mean, if you are the Russians, you look at one decision maker in the United States. That is the commander in chief. And you say I understand where the commander in chief sits. You know, we don't have to belabor. But for three years, he's been close to Vladimir Putin. That said, if you look at what has happened around the world, whether it's Russian activities in Syria, supporting a man, the Syrian leader who used chemical weapons against his own people.
Whether it's the fact that the Iranians are not -- pardon me, the Russians are not on the same side as the Americans on Iran. I suppose there is some room for compromise or talks with the Russians about North Korea. But the North Korean situation is not looking good. The president's been reluctant to talk about election security.
So I don't view relations as that good. I suppose the president does, but I want to know where it looks good to you. I -- to me, it looks pretty ugly around the world.
DEAN: Yeah. And to that end, you recently told our Jake Tapper that Russian foreign policy once smelled like dog poop, now smells like roses. Really that you believe Russia has a reason to feel pretty good right now. Do you think that they hold the upper hand here?
MUDD: They don't hold the upper hand in some ways. I mean, if you look at the American military, I'm talking big terms. If you look at the American economy, Russia is a pip squeak. Not militarily but they are second tier compared to the United States. Economically, they're not even close. That said, if you compare Russia to where we've been over the past decade or two, and again take a high end look, look at Russian influence.
The Russian president just went down to open a bridge into Crimea. Crimea was an annexation of a part of Europe by a Russian state. We haven't seen that in decades. If you look at how Russia's expanded influence in places like Syria, where we backed down and basically said to the Russians move on in. This is your turf.
If you look at how the president has responded to the Russian interfere in American elections, if you're the Russians, you're saying I don't look that great economically. I can't match the Americans militarily. But diplomatically around the world, they're riding high. They are looking pretty good.
DEAN: Yeah. It's interesting. It's almost like they are punching up, right, the Russians.
MUDD: Sure. If you are a Russian and you're sitting there -- again, if you are Vladimir Putin trying to sell to a domestic audience in Russia, one of the things you've got to sell is after the fall of the Berlin Wall, being Russian was humiliating, humiliating. We, the Americans, said we won. We beat the Soviets and the wall came down.
Now the decades later, the Russians can say we're no longer humiliated. The answer is Vladimir Putin. And one of the proofs is that the president of the United States sits there and says I love this guy. The Russians are back.
DEAN: Interesting stuff there. Phil Mudd, we really appreciate your time. Thanks for being with us.
MUDD: Thank you.
DEAN: Well, before Beyonce, before Lady Gaga, there was Linda Ronstadt. Here is a preview of the new CNN film, Linda Ronstadt, the Sound of My Voice. It premieres New Year's Day.
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[17:45:00]
DEAN: Twenty nineteen was a historic year in politics from record fundraising numbers to the impeachment of President Trump. CNN's Dana Bash has the top nine political stories of the year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It has been quite the year in politics. Here are the top nine political stories of 2019. It didn't get as many headlines as other big political stories. But make no mistake about it. The president's success in getting his judges on the bench will have implications for years to come.
[17:50:12]
Thanks to Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, who is focused like a laser on this. The senate confirmed a record 50 circuit court judges. McConnell took to Twitter, boasting that is already the most in any president's whole first term since 1980.
DONALD TRUMP, UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: Constitution of the United States.
BASH: President Trump announced his re-election campaign the day he was inaugurated, a historically early start that his team took advantage of, raising more than $165 million, nearly 100 million in this year alone.
BRAD PARSCALE, TRUMP 2020 CAMPAIGN MANAGER: It's much more efficient two years out to try to find a possibly voter, a possible donor. It's just a considerable advantage that the other side won't have, because you just can't replace time.
BASH: Control of those big coffers not only his re-election campaign but the Republican Party's contributed to the president's firm grip on the GOP, which in various ways, became even more clearly the party of Donald Trump in 2019.
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Take back our democracy.
BASH: The Democrats' 2020 presidential field took shape early in the year as the most diverse ever, more women and candidates of color running for a single party than ever before, the first openly gay candidate a major contender.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The top 12 Democratic presidential candidates are at their positions.
BASH: It was also the biggest. CNN's October debate was the most crowded stage in the history of presidential primaries.
KLOBUCHAR: I want to give a reality check here to Elizabeth because no one on this stage wants to protect billionaires. Not even the billionaire wants to protect billionaires. We just have different approaches. Your idea is not the only idea.
SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think as Democrats, we are going to succeed when we dream big and fight hard, not when we dream small and quit before we get started.
BASH: That shrunk to seven in December thanks to the party's increase in fundraising and polling thresholds. No question defined the Democratic primary fight this year more than this. Do voters want an ideological revolution or a candidate focused on relief from Donald Trump? At the top of the field, Senator Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren are the revolutionaries, promising sweeping change, while former Vice President Joe Biden, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and Senator Amy Klobuchar say incremental change is more realistic. Nowhere was this more on display than healthcare.
JOE BIDEN, FORMER UNITED STATES VICE PRESIDENT: Build on Obamacare. Add a public option.
BERNIE SANDES (D-VT) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Seventy one percent of Democrats support Medicare for all.
BASH: Stay tuned for the answer in 2020. Twenty nineteen started with a historic new class of House Democrats, a record number of women sworn in and many more firsts. The first Muslim American women, the first Native American women, and the first female House Speaker in history reclaimed the gavel.
NANCY PELOSI, HOUSE SPEAKER: I'm particularly proud to be woman Speaker of the House of this Congress, which marks the 100th year of women having the right to vote. BASH: Speaking of Nancy Pelosi, going head to head with President
Trump is one of the 2019 story lines, starting with the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
PELOSI: Federal workers will not be receiving their pay checks. The president seems to be insensitive to that. He thinks maybe they could just ask their father for more money, but they can't.
TRUMP: The State of the Union speech has been cancelled by Nancy Pelosi because she doesn't want to hear the truth.
BASH: In October, a clash over the president deciding to pull troops out of Syria ended in a Pelosi walkout. The president tweeted a photo of Pelosi having what he called an unhinged meltdown. She owned the image, making it her social media cover photo.
PELOSI: Article one is adopted.
BASH: The year ended with the Speaker reluctantly leading the House and making Trump being only the third president in history to be impeached.
PELOSI: I pray for the president all the time.
BASH: After nearly two years, Robert Mueller concluded his Russia investigation with a 448-page report. On the key question of collusion, Mueller's probe did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in the election interference activities. It noted 10 instances where the president may have obstructed justice, writing, while this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime.
[17:54:55]
It also does not exonerate him. Much to the outrage of Democrats, Attorney General William Barr tried to play it as exoneration.
WILLIAM BARR, ATTORNEY GENERAL: The evidence developed by the Special Counsel is not sufficient to establish that the president committed an obstruction of justice offense.
BASH: Democrats were hoping Mueller would clear it up, but his nearly seven-hour testimony, slow moving and drama free, did not, then a whistleblower complaint that Trump urged the Ukrainian president to investigate Joe Biden and his son Hunter in exchange for nearly $400 million in U.S. military aid.
TRUMP: That call was perfect.
BASH: Moderate, vulnerable House Democrats who had resisted impeachment before changed their minds and called for an inquiry, an equally reluctant House Speaker announced the House would do just that.
PELOSI: The actions taken to date by the president have seriously violated the Constitution. BASH: A day later, the White House released a rough transcript of
that July conversation. In it was what Democrats would focus their impeachment inquiry on, an apparent quid pro quo. The impeachment inquiry would make its way through the House Intelligence Committee with closed door witness testimonies followed by several days of notable public testimony.
GORDON SONDLAND, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE EUROPEAN UNION: Was there a quid pro quo? As I testified previously with regard to the requested White House call and the White House meeting, the answer is yes.
BASH: Former Trump Russia adviser, Fiona Hill, called out some of the president's team for carrying out a quote, domestic political errand and sent a warning.
FIONA HILL, TRUMP'S FORMER TOP RUSSIA ADVISER: Russia security services and their proxies have geared up to repeat their interference in the 2020 election. We're running out of time to stop them.
BASH: Republicans attacked the process, generally sidestepping the facts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't make your case against the president because nothing happened.
BASH: Democrats drafted two articles of impeachment, abuse of power, and obstruction of Congress, which passed the committee and later the full house on party line votes. The year ending with Donald J. Trump, the third president in history to be impeached. So how does it all end? We're going to have to wait until 2020. Dana Bash, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN: Our thanks to Dana there. Two violent attacks on religious congregations in less than 24 hours, we have updates on both of these terrible acts. That's next. You're live in the CNN Newsroom.
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DEAN: You're live in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Jessica Dean in for Ana Cabrera in New York. Thanks for being with us. We are following breaking news here on CNN, two American communities right now in shock after sudden and very violent bloody attacks. Both of them against people gathered for peaceful religious services, a Hanukkah celebration in New York and a Christian church in Texas.
Late Saturday night inside a rabbi's home, Monsey, New York, crowded with people observing Hanukkah, a man walked inside the home and started stabbing people. Thankfully, no one died. But five victims were taken to the hospital with injuries. The person in this --
