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Trump Threatens Iraq With Sanctions If U.S. Troops Expelled; Trump Threatens To Attack Iran Cultural Sites; Pelosi Announces House Will Vote On War Power Resolution This Week; Congress Not Notified Of Strike On Soleimani; Despite Iran Crisis, Over 300 Days Without White House Press Briefings. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired January 06, 2020 - 14:30   ET

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

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[14:30:21]

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: The president has been notably silent about this weekend's deadly terror attack in Kenya. But the U.S. military is taking action. They're sending about 50 troop to secure the military base where a servicemember and two civilian contractors were killed in Sunday's attack. Al-Shabaab is claiming responsibility.

And while President Trump has talking and tweeting about Iran, he has said little about Kenya. He did make one on-the-record comment telling reporters, "We lost a good person, just a great person", referring to the U.S. servicemember who died.

President Trump is vowing to hammer Iraq if it kicks U.S. troops out in retaliation for the U.S. military strike that killed a top Iranian commander. Just over 5,000 American troops are in Iraq right now as part of the coalition mission to stop ISIS.

A furious President Trump told reporters, and I'm quoting him, "We will charge them sanctions like they have never seen before, ever. We'll make Iranian sanctions look somewhat tame."

The Iraqi parliament voted Sunday to begin the process of expelling troops and we're told that U.S. officials tried to persuade Iraqi leaders to stop that vote. And Iraqi lawmakers and militia leaders now issuing threats on their own. And Iraqi lawmakers promising to criminalize U.S. troops if sanctions are imposed. And a Shiite militia leader is vowing to stop the flow of gulf oil to America.

CNN Chief International Correspondent, Clarissa Ward, is with me now.

So, Clarissa, on Iraq first. They are walking this fine line having now to really choose between its ally, the United States, or its neighbor, Iran. How do they make that choice?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is not an easy choice to make. I think most Iraqi officials understand full well that they are absolutely dependent on the support and security cooperation of the U.S. But when they see what they would perceive as such a flagrant

disregard to Iraq satisfy trinity and for the sort of delicate diplomatic tight rope that Iraq is walking on, trying to balance the interests of its different benefactors or sponsors, if you will, then they feel that they are being sort of painted into a corner, whereby they have to do out with these bombastic political statements to the effect of it is time to have U.S. forces removed from Iraq.

As you mentioned, the Iraqi parliament did vote to start that process, but there are some technicalities, whereby, it likely wouldn't happen for quite some time because you have a caretaker government in place and they can't actually sort of codify that in on law.

But, nonetheless, the sentiment is worrying, Brooke, because what you are seeing is various different Shiite factions that previously were not all aligned coalescing together, like, partly, at Iran's behest, to try to seize the moment of the moment and use it as an opportunity to force the U.S. out once and for all.

What you are not seeing from the U.S. is the kind of conciliatory language that some Iraqi leaders would like to hear that would appease people and calm the tensions down, de-escalate the situation somewhat.

BALDWIN: And also potentially worrying in the wake of this targeted strike, our American friends, right? With regard to our European allies, how isolated is the U.S. right now?

WARD: I think the U.S. is very isolated. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo basically said as much, saying that they were disappointed that the Europeans didn't play more of a role.

The Europeans have come out where with a statement today saying it is essential to start the process of de-escalation.

And you heard from the German foreign minister saying that he was very concerned that the Iran nuclear agreement is basically falling apart now because Iran obviously announcing that it will no longer partake of any constraints on it nuclear activity. They see that as a direct reaction to the U.S.'s actions against Iran.

I think there's a lot of frustration in Europe that the U.S. has taken such an aggressive posture to Iran. And there's real anxiety as well, Brooke, that there isn't a clear, coherent strategy ahead. That the U.S. isn't four moves ahead on the chess board, if you will.

BALDWIN: That is exactly what Tony Blinken was telling me.

I wanted to end with this. And this is all breaking when you and I were speaking.

I don't know how many times you have been to Iran as a journalist, but you were telling the story about, last fall, that you were in Tehran and, because Qassem Soleimani isn't a household name here, you were saying that you were in a gift shop and this man is so revered in Iran by so many that his face was on all these trinkets. Tell me more about that. [14:35:09]

WARD: It is not just revered. It is loved. He was beloved to many Iranian people.

We went to the Museum of Holy Defense, as you mentioned, and the gift store. You would expect there to be lots of souvenirs with pictures of the supreme leader, but the vast majority of souvenirs were plastered with images of Soleimani.

And if you look at the Internet, you see Iranians sharing images of Soleimani reciting poetry. Turn on the television and see videos and films of him visiting the front line, attending the funerals of martyrs who had died in the cause.

And it is very difficult for us in the U.S. to really understand and feel that because we don't have quite the same sort of thing with our military leaders. Though they might be very well respected, they don't tend to be loved in that way.

But I think that you got a sense when I saw on the streets, hundreds and hundreds of people.

BALDWIN: Oh, my god.

WARD: And what's interesting, Brooke, some were hardliners, who love the regime in Iran. Some were reformers, who have no time and no respect for the supreme leader. But this moment has galvanized them and united them in feeling anger and resentment toward the U.S.

And so if the U.S.' goal is this is to try to implement or instigate regime change, that may well have backfired -- Brooke?

BALDWIN: Clarissa, thank you so much, for us in London.

More on our breaking news. One of the people with first handled knowledge of the Ukraine scandal says that he will testify if he is subpoenaed. How John Bolton could change the Senate impeachment trial.

And new video just in of New York's governor helping rescue a man after a car accident. Look at this. We'll tell you what happened.

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BALDWIN: Just into CNN, disgraced Hollywood producer, Harvey Weinstein, has been hit with new sex crime charges, this time, in Los Angeles. Today, the L.A. County district attorney charged Weinstein with rape and sexual battery. He's accused of raping one woman and attacking another in separate incidents over a two-day period.

Weinstein's New York sexual assault trial began today. In that case, he is facing five felony charges based on claims by two women and he is pleading not guilty. President Trump's decision to take out the head of Iran's military has

been called unprecedented. Now critics say he could be on the verge of committing a war crime after announcing that the U.S. could target more than 50 Iranian cultural sites if the country decides to retaliate and attack Americans or American assets.

In an interview with CNN the next day, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the administration would act in a lawful way while noting that the U.S. is ready to respond.

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JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: So cultural centers are theoretically fair targets in your view?

MIKE POMPEO, SECRETARY OF STATE: Jake, we'll do the things that are right and consistent with the American lives. I've been part of the discussion and planning process. Everything that I've seen about how we will respond with great force and great vigor if the Iranian leadership makes a bad decision -- we hope they won't -- but when they do, America will respond.

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BALDWIN: Joshua Geltzer served as a senior counterterrorism director for President Obama's National Security Council and is the author of "U.S. Counterterrorism Strategy and Al Qaeda: Signaling and the Terrorist World View."

Josh, thank you for being with me.

Let's start on the cultural sites. Explain why hitting them would be unlawful.

JOSHUA GELTZER, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBER UNDER PRESIDENT OBAMA & AUTHOR: What Trump has been threatening do is a violation of U.S. law and a violation of international law. No ifs, no buts, no hemming and hawing.

Starting with international law, there's a 1954 international agreement, the U.S. is a party to it, that makes it a war crime to deliberately attack a cultural site. That is the international law.

Domestically, the U.S. Congress turned around and implemented that and made it a federal crime to violate that provision of international law. You put that together and there's just no caveats here. The threat is do something unlawful.

BALDWIN: A number of Democrats were upset that the president took this action without notifying them. Trump claims that he can notify Congress via tweet.

Part of what he said is, "These media posts serve as notification to the United States Congress that, should Iran strike any U.S. person or target of the United States, will quickly strike back and perhaps in a disproportionate manner." But that is not correct.

GELTZER: I don't think that is the formal notification that those crafted the world power resolution had in mind.

BALDWIN: Had in mind, yes.

GELTZER: And even if he is tweeting out these rather hard to decipher things, what he is doing is equally problematic.

Saturday, his administration delivered to the Congress within 48 hours the sort of notification that the war powers resolution does anticipate. And yet it was entirely classified.

And as Speaker Pelosi pointed out, it is very unusual, especially here, that something must be able to be provided at the unclassified level so the American people can understand at least the legal authority this is based on.

BALDWIN: And Speaker Pelosi says that the House will introduce the war power resolution. Will it, if it passes, Josh, will it have any teeth?

GELTZER: I'm not sure that it will. There are different versions, especially between the House and the Senate. And there are long- standing executive branch interpretations of the 2002 Authorization for Use of Force, which the national security advisor said they relied on here, as well as Article II of the Constitution that are robust.

But I feel like people are looking to the law to get out of a situation where there's no strategy and bad judgment. And ultimately, there may be a different forum in which accountability is needed when that is the problem.

[14:45:06]

BALDWIN: Last question, but is there even a true mechanism to hold presidents, Republican, Democrat, accountable when it comes to war?

GELTZER: If something is not within the president's own constitutional authority -- and again here, the national security adviser has said that the president relied on a statute -- there are at least conceivably mechanisms.

The 2002 AUMF could be repealed. The interpretation of it could be clarified by Congress. Money could be withheld.

Even expressions of disapproval could be passed by the House, the Senate, or both. But that is hard and we rarely see it happen in practice.

BALDWIN: OK. Josh Geltzer, thank you very much.

GELTZER: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Nice to have you on. Remember the days of the White House briefings? Well, it has now been

more than 300 days since the last one. And with everything escalating with regard to Iran, there are some very serious questions journalists would like to ask of this administration. So where is President Trump's press secretary?

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[14:50:30]

BALDWIN: The threat of war with Iran looms over the American republic. Thousands of troops are about to be deployed to a turbulent Middle East. And the president is a Senate trial away from potentially being removed from office. And today marks the 301st day that there has been no press briefing from the White House.

Brian Stelter is out CNN chief media correspondent, host of "RELIABLE SOURCES."

It seems like forever ago. And given this international crisis, we have questions that need answers.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN ANCHOR: And worth recognizing these milestones. We need to recognize that it is not normal. And the reason why there's not briefings because the president does not want briefings.

Stephanie Grisham is not out there because the president does not want her out there. And it is a sign of weakness. A strong administration would want to answer a lot of questions. But instead the president is on the phone with Rush Limbaugh giving rants and speeches. That is the way the president likes it.

BALDWIN: Has this just totally eroded their credibility?

STELTER: I think the president squandered his credibility early on and his aides have as well. And when they are out there getting the facts wrong, it does make matters worse. Sarah Sanders did that at multiple briefings. But people can win back credibility.

I've been thinking about that in the context of the U.N/Iran context. They could be winning back credibility, one true statement at a time, one piece of evidence at a time. That is what journalists do every day. If we make a mistake, we correct it and try to get better every day.

And unfortunately, this administration doesn't want to win back credibility Instead, he wants to take in his Rush Limbaugh, FOX News- type bunker.

BALDWIN: And in this time of international crisis, what is the significance of them not talking to the media?

STELTER: I think it shows weakness and it shows a lack of transparency that is troubling regardless of party or affiliation.

When the stakes are this high, that is when transparency matters more than ever. And expecting to hold government officials accountable. That is the ultimate act of patriotism. It is what makes America so great.

But unfortunately, there's an unwillingness to enable than transparency, that access by having things like briefings.

BALDWIN: Yes, and we needed to call it out.

Brian Stelter, thank you very much.

Back to the breaking news out of Washington. Former national security adviser, John Bolton, says that he is ready to testify in the impeachment trial, that is if he is subpoenaed. How the House is responding to this offer, next.

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[14:58:05]

BALDWIN: Just in, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo helped state police rescue a driver after a van flipped on its side. The governor's motorcade came across the accident. And you see the governor himself and two other people standing on the ledge of the truck when they pulled the man to safety. Cuomo helped cut the man's seat belt off.

And we're one week away from the last presidential debate before the Iowa caucuses. And Senator Elizabeth Warren is picking up a major endorsement from a former competitor. Julian Castro saying he's backing the Massachusetts Senator. The Democrat in Texas making his endorsement official in a video posted to Twitter.

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JULIAN CASTRO (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's one candidate I see that is unafraid to fight like hell to make sure America's promise will be there for everyone. will make sure no matter where you live or where your family came from in the world, you have a path to opportunity, too.

(CROSSTALK)

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BALDWIN: Meanwhile, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is picking up a celebrity endorsement. Judge Judy is throwing her support behind his bid. The TV personality appeared in a new campaign ad for Bloomberg set to run in 26 states.

And we continue on. You are watching CNN on this Monday, I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you for being with me.

The Trump White House is preparing to make its case to the House and Senate this week about the drone strike that killed the top Iranian general sparking massive protests and outrage in the process. Iran not only vowing retaliation but it says that it will abandon the nuclear deal from a couple of years ago and ramp up uranium enrichment.

President Trump says is Iran makes good on its threat, the U.S. will respond swiftly by targeting more than 50 cultural sites in the country, prompting experts to say that the president could be close to committing a war crime.

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