Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Ukraine Investigating Case Of "Willful Killing" After Iran Admits Shooting Down Plane By Mistake; Senator Bernie Sanders Gaining Momentum In Final Weeks Before Iowa Caucuses; Shifting Stories Raise Doubt Over Justification For U.S. Strike; GOP Senator Susan Collins Working On Deal To Call Impeachment Witnesses; Puerto Rico Rattled By 5.9 Magnitude Earthquake; Iraqi Officials Continue To Question U.S. Troop Presence; Jill Biden Responds To Trump Attacks; Talks Underway To Move Secret Service To Treasury Department. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired January 11, 2020 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Last week, we learned that President Trump ordered a U.S. drone strike killing Iran's top military commander Qasem Soleimani days later on Wednesday Iran vowing harsh revenge attacked two Iraqi military bases that were housing U.S. troops and this all unfolded around the same time learned that a Ukrainian commercial airplane on Wednesday was shot down as it flew over Iran's Capital, killing all 176 on board.

And then now in a stunning admission, Iran is now claiming responsibility for the crash after denying it for days, calling it now a mistake. We'll have more on that in a minute. But first, CNN's Senior International Correspondent, Arwa Damon is the first journalist to gain access to the Al Asad Air Base which was housing U.S. troops when Iran attacked earlier in the week. She now joins me with an exclusive look at the damage for the very first time.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: These used to be living quarters. This is where the troops would sleep at least one of the areas, there is almost nothing left, nothing that was salvageable we were told. The crater itself impacted over here and it was one of ten impacts that happened.

Being here is truly extraordinary how anyone managed to survive, that there were no casualties. When you look at the destruction and then hearing all of the stories of the close calls, of the heroics, what we're now learning are that there was advanced warning to a certain degree. They knew something was going to happen.

They just didn't know what. About 11:00 pm at night those that were able to go to the bunkers went to bunkers, but there were still troops that were out manning posts that because of the security situation they had to stay at. So people were beginning to take shelter at around 11:00 pm and at 1:34, that's when the first impact happened.

A lot of those who we are talking to are saying that it was unlike anything they've ever imagined. Of course on the one hand, the training does kick in. But at the end of the day, this is a terrifying experience.

WHITFIELD: That's Arwa Damon reporting from the Al Asad Air Base in Iraq, we'll have much more for exclusive reporting throughout the day.

Meanwhile, Iran is apologizing after admitting that it shot down a commercial airline killing all 176 people on board. CNN has obtained new video of that deadly crash and warning to some viewers, you might find this very disturbing. In the video you can see the fiery wreckage as the Ukrainian Airlines flight 752 crashes just outside of Tehran on Wednesday.

Look at those images right there, if you have the stomach for it. There's a wall of fire and burst of debris as the plane hits a field. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen is in Tehran for us. So Fred you know this week Iran was denying any involvement as soon as it happened and then this Mea Culpa, that they're taking responsibility. What happened? How did this happen?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you're absolutely right. It was throughout the better part of the week that the Iranians were saying they didn't believe that a missile could have even hit that plane. And now that they're acknowledging that they are behind it, there's a flurry of information coming from the Iranians, and specifically from the elite unit that is in charge of missile defenses here which is really something that's very rare here for Iran.

Essentially what they're saying Fredricka is that after that strike on that base housing that U.S. troops actually one that Arwa was just out at, they believe that the U.S. would retaliate, or might retaliate. At some point they believe that there might even be American cruise missiles in the air making their way towards Iran.

And then they said the plane, the Ukrainian Airlines plane took off from Imam Khomeini Airport and it was at an altitude at some point, traveling at a speed, going a direction they believe that it might be a cruise missile coming towards one of their bases. Now the person who was in charge of that surface-to-air missile battery, and this all coming from the Head of the Revolutionary Guard Aerospace Defense Forces.

A person in that missile defense battery, he mistakenly identified the plane for a cruise missile. He then had to make a decision whether or not to fire his surface-to-air missiles. He apparently tried to reach a commander he wasn't able to get through. And then the Revolutionary Guard is saying he had ten seconds to make a decision on whether or not to fire the missile, and then tragically decided to fire it, obviously then hitting that civilian airliner.

The Iranians are also saying that the military here are saying and the Revolutionary Guard saying that they had asked for flights to be grounded, civilian flights to be grounded after the Iranians struck those bases with the U.S. assets on them. Apparently that didn't make its way through the chain of communication, that's why there was even civilian traffic in the air. As you can imagine, Fredricka, there's a lot of public anger here in Iran after what happened, a lot of those who were on that plane, in fact most of those were either Iranian citizens or dual citizens of Iran and other nations.

[12:05:00]

PLEITGEN: The President of Iran Hassan Rouhani he has come out and he has called this an unjustifiable mistake. The Iranians are saying that there is going to be justice. They say that those who are in charge of the operation are going to be held accountable.

Nevertheless, a lot of people here in Iran also taken aback in grief and also quite angry as well in fact this night there were some protests at a university here in Tehran. From that university there were at least 15 students and faculty who were on that flight, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Terribly sad. Fred Pleitgen, thank you so much in Tehran. All right Ukraine now says it wants to investigate the downed jet as a case of willful killing. CNN's Chief International Correspondent, Clarissa Ward is in Kyiv, Ukraine with a very latest. Clarissa?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Well, I think the primary consideration now for the Ukrainians is that they want to make sure that the investigation goes ahead. They want to see the dead identified and returned to Ukraine, and they want to see the beginnings of a judicial process whereby those people, those innocent people and the families of those lives lost could start to receive some compensation as well, of course as the Ukrainian airliner.

We heard from President Vladimir Zelensky today, he basically said that Iran's admission of guilt is a step in the right direction, but now those things need to happen with no delays. There needs to be unfettered access, no more stalling for time, and the beginnings as I said of that judicial process.

We saw the Ukrainian special prosecutor's office change the category of this plane crash to what they call willful killing and aircraft destruction. And that is explained Fredricka is about sort of teeing up that judicial process that would have to begin.

We also heard today from Ukrainian Airlines and understandably they have faced some criticism for their decision to go ahead and fly that night. It is important to remind our viewers that nearly two dozen ballistic missiles were fired from Iran into various U.S. military targets, primarily in Iraq just hours beforehand at a press conference at the airport today.

The Head and Vice President of the Ukrainian Airlines essentially defending their decision to go ahead and fly, being told that they received absolutely no information that there could be any possible danger to aircraft, that they had followed the sort of guidance they were given about the corridor they were supposed to fly into the letter, and so really trying to essentially reject any criticism that has been leveled their way.

We know also that President Zelensky spoke to the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and now I think begins the process for a lot of people here of accepting that they do have some closure in terms of knowing how this happened, and looking to the next chapter in terms of getting compensation for what happened? Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, Clarissa Ward, thank you so much from Kyiv.

All right Congressman Ro Khanna rather is a California Democrat and a Member of the House Armed Services and Oversight Committees and Chairman of Senator Bernie Sanders's Campaign. Iran's military first denied it was a missile but now an admission. Are you concerned that the whole story is not getting out?

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): I am. It is unconscionable what happened and Iran first was not transparent, now at least they're admitting error they need to be fully transparent, and those people responsible for this need to be brought to justice.

WHITFIELD: So what's your concern about Iran making this admission? Does it send a signal that no further investigation is necessary because they are claiming culpability, responsibility, end of story, or does that only will ignite more questions for you, Congressman?

KHANNA: It raises more questions. I mean I don't trust the Iranian government. They first lied about their own involvement. They haven't released the black boxes, there obviously no protocols there to prevent something like this I mean, the shooting down of a civilian aircraft. And you see these horrific images of a young girl's shoe on the ground because her life was taken.

It is appalling what happened. They should have far more remorse, should have far more transparency, and they need to allow access both to the United Nations, Canada, Ukraine to conduct the investigation. I don't trust the Iranian government to be investigating this.

WHITFIELD: And then what do you think should happen? Should there be the United Nations involved with more sanctions because just prior to downing of this commercial flight, you heard from our own Clarissa Ward already, there were dozens of missiles that were originating from Iran as a result of targeting the air bases in Iraq in retaliation to the U.S.

[12:10:00]

WHITFIELFD: So I mean, what is your thought about the whole collateral damage and fog of war?

KHANNA: First, the officials in Iran who are responsible for these acts need to be brought to justice, they need to be prosecuted. There needs to be a closure to this, and then it needs to be a clear message from the international community that what Iran did is wrong, appalling, and there has to be justice.

But then we also need to figure out how we reduce and end the cycle of violence? How do we have a cease-fire with Iran so that these incidents do not continue? How do we restore diplomacy? How do we negotiate so we can get back in ultimately to the Iran Nuclear Deal and have some stability in the region?

WHITFIELD: Okay. A lot has happened. Minimizing it - if I saying a lot have happened in the last week really to two weeks involving Iran and the U.S. However, you have sponsored a bill that would deny President Trump funding for any future Iran military action without express consent from Congress. Is there any danger putting those restrictions on the President, particularly at this time?

KHANNA: No, because that's what the constitution requires. The constitution says that Congress declares war, not the President. And I don't think people in this country want another Middle East war.

All our amendment, our bill says Senator Sanders and my bill, is that the President will not have any funding for an offensive war against Iran or Iranian officials without Congressional Authorization. The President can still act in the United States self defense, but this is denying him any funding to make an offensive war.

WHITFIELD: All right, similar to your legislation in the House, Senator Bernie Sanders sponsoring similar language in legislation in the Senate, and we're learning today that Republican Senator Mike Lee is agreeing to co-sponsor the bill. And of course we want to remind people, Mike Lee, his reaction earlier in the week about the kind of information that the White House State Department was willing to give to justify the drone killing of General Soleimani. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MIKE LEE (R-UT): Probably the worst briefing I've seen at least on a military issue in the nine years I've served in the United States Senate. To come in and tell us that we can't debate and discuss the appropriateness of military intervention against Iran it is un- American. It is unconstitutional. And it is wrong. That was insulting. That was demeaning to the process ordained by the constitution.

And I find it completely unacceptable. I walked into the briefing undecided. I walked out decided specifically because of what happened in the briefing.

(END VIEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, so you heard Mike Lee, very upset, saying that the White House has not been forthright which largely explains perhaps why he's also supporting you know this legislation in this Senate. So what do you think this is demonstrative of do you believe this demonstrates that there might be some fishers - in decisions that he has made particularly --?

KHANNA: Well, Mike Lee's decision, Senator Lee's decision is a big deal. I have a lot of respect for him. He is a close ally of the President. For him to join Senator Sanders to help stop any funding for an offensive war signals that there could be a majority of the Senate. You may have Senator Rand Paul and others join this effort, and that's very necessary to prevent war in Iran.

And I think Senator Sanders' leadership in opposing the original Iraq War, in opposing everyone of military budgets for Trump, standing up to stop war power, to stop the war in Yemen with his War Powers Resolution, and now preventing a war in Iran has really made him one of the leading voices in the country to stop the war in the Middle East.

WHITFIELD: And quickly, now I want to turn to the 2020 campaign, still very much a four person race particularly in Iowa Bernie Sanders you know getting a boost this week in the polls. So what do you attribute to the momentum that he is gaining?

KHANNA: It is his grass roots effort. He decided instead of investing all of the money on fancy consultants and ads to build an operation on the ground. There are over thousands of volunteers on the ground. I am in Des Moines right now. He has knocked in and knocked on over 500,000 doors. He has one of the best organizations in Iowa and around the country and that's why I believe he will win the Iowa Caucuses.

WHITFIELD: Congressman Ro Khanna, thank you for being with us today.

KHANNA: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: President Trump's impeachment trial it could begin as early as next week, and he's already trying to stop John Bolton from testifying if subpoenaed.

[12:15:00]

WHITFIELD: Plus, another earthquake rocks Puerto Rico, causing more damage and power outages. We'll go there live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In a new interview, President Trump is defending the U.S. drone strike that killed Iran's top Military Commander, Qasem Soleimani. The President claims Soleimani was planning to attack four U.S. Embassies, posing an imminent threat. However, the White House is struggling to offer any proof or a clear and concise explanation on what he means exactly?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: When you say the attacks were imminent, how imminent were they? We're talking about days, we're talking about weeks?

MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: If you're an American in the region days and weeks this is not something that is relevant.

MARK ESPER, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: If you're looking for imminence, you need to look no further than the days that lead up to the strike that was taken against Soleimani.

[12:20:00] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you clarify, the attack Soleimani was planning, was it days or weeks away?

ROBERT O'BRIEN, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I think it is more fair to say days for sure. Strong evidence and strong intelligence, unfortunately we're not going to be able to gets into source and methods at this time, but I can tell you it was very strong.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We did it because they were looking to blow up our Embassy. We also did it for other reasons that were very obvious, somebody died, one of our military people died, people were badly wounded just a week before.

He was looking very seriously at our Embassies and not just the Embassy in Baghdad.

POMPEO: There is no doubt that there were a series of imminent attacks that were being plotted by Qasem Soleimani, we don't know precisely when and we don't know precisely where but it was real.

We had specific information on an imminent threat, and those threats included attacks on U.S. Embassies, period, full stop.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you were mistaken when you said you didn't know precisely when and you didn't know precisely where?

POMPEO: No, completely true, those are completely consistent thoughts. I don't know exactly which minute we don't know exactly which day it would have been executed.

TRUMP: I can reveal that I believe it would have been four Embassies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Kristen Holmes is at the White House for us. So Kristin, what else did the President have to say about the attack on Soleimani?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, it is not just the President, it is the administration as a whole offering these contradicting statements. You heard the President there in the interview last night saying that it was four Embassies that Soleimani had been planning to attack.

But he then went on to say that it could have also been military bases it could have also just been U.S. personnel overseas. And so there are still a lot of questions here. The big focus is one of two areas. One is how imminent was the threat that Soleimani posed? And two, what exactly was the threat?

Every person on both sides of the aisle agreed that Soleimani was a bad guy. No one is defending Soleimani. But the question is why did they choose to act at this time? And they still don't seem to have a consistent answer. You heard one of his officials essentially saying that it was weeks or days, the same as saying that we don't have a time line.

So a lot of back and forth, more and more questions being raised particularly as to - if the threat wasn't imminent then why didn't they approve Congress, or why didn't they at least brief some of the leaders in Congress Fred.

WHITFIELD: Still lots of questions. All right, Kristen Holmes thank you so much.

So it is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi prepares to send over the articles of impeachment to the U.S. Senate next week, Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine says she's working on a deal to include witnesses at the impeachment trial.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS, (R-ME): I am working with a group of Republican Senators and our leaders to see if we can come to an agreement on some language that would be in the initial resolution setting out the parameters of the trial in the Senate that would include an opportunity for the House to call witnesses and the President's Counsel to also call witnesses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, Democrats have submitted a list of four witnesses they would like to hear. One of them, John Bolton, the President's Former National Security Adviser, who says he will testify if subpoenaed. But the President is now saying he would likely invoke executive privilege to block that from happening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: Why not call Bolton, why not allow him to testify? This thing is bogus.

TRUMP: I would have no problem other than one thing. You can't be in the White House as President in the future, I'm talking about future, many future Presidents, and have a Security Adviser, anybody having to do with security and legal and other things.

INGRAHAM: Are you going to invoke Executive Privilege?

TRUMP: Well, I think you have to for the sake of the office. I would love everybody to testify. I would like Mick to testify. I like Mike Pompeo to testify. I like Rick Perry to testify. I want everybody. But there are things that you can't do from the standpoint of executive privilege. You have to maintain that. So we'll see where it all goes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Julie Hirschfeld Davis is Congressional Editor for "The New York Times," and CNN Political Analyst Michael Zeldin, is a Former Federal Prosecutor and a CNN Legal Analyst.

Good to see both of you. So Michael you first, can the President exert Executive Privilege against John Bolton testifying when Bolton has tweeted after leaving his position and there was testimony from diplomats that's already happened involving their conversations with him directly but perhaps not necessarily about his conversations with the President. So where's the exerting of Executive Privilege in that scenario?

MICHAEL ZELDIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: So the privilege resides with the President of the United States. It is the President who asserts the privilege. Bolton cannot waive the privilege that the President possesses.

[12:25:00]

ZELDIN: It is a qualified privilege. It allows the President to assert privilege to not have Bolton testify as to policy advice that he received, or he gave to the President. So it is a very qualified privilege. It's not absolute. In this case, the President could say ask the certain questions that you're asking Bolton, that calls for the revelation of policy advice and I assert Executive Privilege.

If they ask Bolton what's his favorite color, or what did he have for breakfast, that has nothing to do with Executive Privilege and so he would be required to answer that question.

WHITFIELD: Or wouldn't a question be what did you mean by a drug deal? You didn't want to be part of a drug deal. Is that fair game?

ZELDIN: That's right. I would think that that's fair game. That's not policy advice. If he says beware of Giuliani to Sondland or Taylor or anybody else, that's not advice to the President. So I think what you can have here is a question by question analysis as to whether the notion of this qualified Executive Privilege to protect policy advice applies complicated.

WHITFIELD: So I think I'm hearing from you there are conditions in which the President can exert Executive Privilege. So if John Bolton, for example is subpoenaed he really could honor the subpoena but he may have restrictions on answering some of the questions. So he could still testify.

ZELDIN: That's exactly right. And the President's comments that you played where he gave the interview to Fox News about the need to protect future Presidents, the thing to keep in mind of course is that all Presidents faced with similar situations, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, they all waived Executive Privilege because of the importance of having the testimony be heard by the American public. There's a bit of a sort of a false claim of need here by the President in my estimation.

WHITFIELD: Okay, Julie, Republican Senator Susan Collins says she's working with a small group of GOP Senators and she says in other leadership on a potential deal allowing both sides potentially to call witnesses in President Trump's trial.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said that he doesn't want to go that way, maybe on conditions there might be witnesses, but says he can do it without. And then you know Senator Lindsey Graham says it shouldn't even be on the table.

So, has the fact that Senator Collins had this conversation or conferencing with other leadership changed things? Has the dynamic that there are reports about withheld emails, has that changed things, the fact that John Bolton says he is willing to testify, has that changed things for Mitch McConnell?

JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, CONGRESSIONAL EDITOR, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Well, I think clearly it hasn't changed McConnell's position that Bolton says he is willing to testify or that we've seen emails that have come out since the House Impeachment Vote that would indicate that there's more information out there that might be relevant to trial.

That hasn't swayed Mitch McConnell from his position that he is not ready to commit to any witnesses. But what you heard Susan Collins say yesterday was essentially the reason that he is left the door open for potential witnesses in the resolution that he is drawing up that will probably be acted on next week.

It doesn't say there have to be witnesses, but it also doesn't close the door to that - Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney, perhaps I've been saying you know we want to hear from people but we're willing to vote to move forward without a hard commitment to do that.

What's interesting to me is how she is sort of spinning this, she is highlighting the fact that she's open to hearing from witnesses at some point, but clearly she is willing to move forward without that pledge. That's the important motivating factor for Mitch McConnell right now.

WHITFIELD: And then Julie, the fact that Speaker Pelosi has been holding on to these articles of impeachment for about three weeks now, may be handing them over next week, in the end, was there a real payoff for her strategy because there was an opportunity for other headlines to be made like withholding of emails that I just mentioned, John Bolton to similar and a little bit more and say okay, no yes, I am willing to testify if subpoenaed?

DAVIS: I think certainly you know the time that elapsed between the House vote and now her decision to send these articles over did leave room for some of those developments, and perhaps not ratchet up obviously enough pressure on Mitch McConnell to move his position, but put a lot of public focus on this issue of should this trial include new evidence and gave Democrats a chance to message to the public about why they will very likely argue that this trial is skewed in President Trump's favor unfairly because it is not going to include all of the information that they think is relevant.

[12:30:00]

But I think she had reached by the end of the week the point of diminishing returns, and Democrats had started voicing some impatience to sort of get this going. It was very clear that Republicans were not going to move their position. And so I think she found the strategy, had sort of reached its logical. And that's why I think we're seeing her move forward.

WHITFIELD: And quickly Michael, yes or no, do you see witnesses will be called?

ZELDIN: I hope so. I think both for the president's sake and for the sake of the American people understanding what happened here, witness testimony would be a valuable asset.

WHITFIELD: All right, we'll leave it there. Michael Zeldin, Julie Hirschfeld Davis, thank you so much.

ZELDIN: Thank you.

DAVIS: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, more danger, and damage in Puerto Rico. Another earthquake struck the island a few hours ago causing even more destruction. The latest on the race to restore power there, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:35:19]

WHITFIELD: All right, this breaking news out of Puerto Rico where the island has been rattled by another aftershock. This one, a magnitude 5.9 earthquake hitting the same area where an earthquake hit Tuesday killing one person, destroying homes, and leaving most of the island without power for days.

CNN's Maria Santana is there. And Maria, you felt this latest aftershock yourself.

MARIA SANTANA, CNN EN ESPANOL CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: That's right. Hi, Fredricka.

Our team was just leaving the hotel here in Ponce, Puerto Rico at about 9:00 a.m. when the ground suddenly started shaking. The doors and windows began rattling and swaying back and forth. That's when people began to run out of the hotel.

But just to give you an idea how powerful this 5.9 was, this debris that you see here behind me is the roof of this building here in Ponce which collapsed just this morning after that 5.9. This building had sustained major damage during the last earthquake. And this one just collapsed the roof.

Now, we did -- we have been hearing from the authorities here of other buildings that have collapsed since then, the power authority has reported more power outages which is a setback for them because they were hoping to get everybody back on the power grid here on the island by this weekend.

Earlier today, we did an aerial tour with the National Guard to assess some of the damage. We saw dozens of toppled houses, schools, churches. We also got an aerial view of the tent cities and makeshift shelters that people have been staying at. We've seen those images of people sleeping on the streets, sleeping in their cars, but it's because they are terrified.

And this is exactly what they're afraid of, that another big aftershock or earthquake will finish toppling over their homes, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Oh my goodness, it's so frightening. All right, Maria Santana, thank you so much.

All right, coming up, the U.S. Secret Service spending, President Trump makes a move to keep his travel costs secret until after the 2020 election. We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:41:39]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. CNN gets an exclusive firsthand look inside one of the Iraqi military bases three days after it was struck by Iran. Wednesday, Iran launched several missiles at the Al Asad airbase which was housing U.S. troops and coalition forces at the time.

The Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announcing new sanctions punishing Iran for that attack now. He's also dismissing Iraq's request to work on a plan to withdraw U.S. forces.

CNN Sam Kiley joins me now from Baghdad with reaction now. So Sam, what are officials there saying about U.S. troop presence?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, they have -- at least the prime minister has said that he had a conversation over the phone with Mike Pompeo saying that they need to start negotiations about the future of Iraqi troops, and specifically the withdrawal of Iraqi troops here following vote in the parliament by overwhelmingly Shia members of parliament in Iraq. Sunnis and Kurds and moderates here stayed way but they just got it through.

Mike Pompeo says that's not exactly how he would characterize the conversation. But Fredricka, the critical thing in the wake of airstrikes is that they show enormous capability on the side of Iranians. I think American military commanders be fairly shocked by the accuracy and the intelligence behind some of these airstrikes into the Al Asad airbase.

And on top of that, the two main militia organizations here, the two main -- most extreme ones led by the local equivalent of Hezbollah whose leader was killed alongside Qassem Soleimani in the American airstrike that set the latest round of tit for tat exchanges have pledged they will use violence against U.S. forces unless there is immediate movement towards the withdrawal of U.S. forces.

And ironically, of course, the Americans are here at the request of the Iraqi government as part of the support and training that went into defeating the so-called Islamic State and, of course, the air components of that was highly important. On top of that, of course, from the American perspective, Donald Trump wants to get out of Iraq but he still has troops in Syria, Special Forces troops overwhelmingly, and their rare bases are on Iraqi territory. So ultimately it could jeopardize operations there but there is a strong feeling here that things may descend into violence on the Shia militia against U.S. forces unless there is serious movement to withdraw them imminently.

Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: All right, Sam Kiley, thank you so much for that.

All right, coming up next, Jill Biden responding to the president's attacks on her family.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL BIDEN, WIFE OF JOE BIDEN: We knew Donald Trump was going to be a difficult opponent, that he was never going to play fair.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:48:58]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. Joe Biden's closest surrogate who happens to be his wife is making the case that Biden is the most electable with just 23 days to go until the Iowa caucuses. CNN's Arlette Saenz caught up with Jill Biden in New Hampshire this week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My name is Joe Biden and I am Jill Biden's husband.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER (voice-over): Jill Biden is married to a 2020 frontrunner.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please welcome Dr. Biden.

SAENZ (voice-over): She's quickly becoming a campaign headliner of her own.

BIDEN: If the election were held today, who would you want to step in to clean up this mess?

SAENZ (voice-over): The former second lady crisscrossing the early states here in New Hampshire this week with young voters, meeting with volunteers, and making her pitch at intimate house parties.

(on camera) How do you see your role in this campaign?

BIDEN I see it as a partner. This is a critical time for me to support him because, you know, I want change. I mean, I want a new president.

SAENZ (voice-over): Like her husband, Biden is frustrated with the current occupant of the White House. Biden watch as her husband and son Hunter have become targets of President Trump.

[12:50:08]

BIDEN: We knew Donald Trump was going to be a difficult opponent, that he was never going to play fair. I think we were ready for whatever was going to come our way, but I think it is important that you move forward in a positive way.

SAENZ (voice-over): Joe Biden has faced criticism from his Democratic rivals. Bernie Sanders saying he has too much baggage and can't excite voters to beat Trump.

BIDEN: I say that's ridiculous. I don't like it that Democrats attack other Democrats. We're in this race against Donald Trump.

SAENZ (on camera): Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, she said that Democrats can be too big of attacks. Is she right?

BIDEN: No, she's not right. Democrats can't win without independent support. A lot of people come up to me, Arlette, and a lot of people say, you know, I voted for Trump last time but I'm sorry I did it. And they said I want to vote for someone who is pragmatic, who is a moderate, who is reasonable, who can achieve things. And that's my husband.

SAENZ (voice-over): Off the campaign trail, Biden has devoted her life to teaching, even working at a community college as second lady. But this semester, she's taking a break from the classroom to help her husband win the nomination.

BIDEN: I just took a leave of absence, but if we get to the White House, I mean, I think there would be no better message for teachers to say hey, look who we are.

SAENZ (voice-over): As she jumps from stop to stop, Biden says she draws energy from life on the trail.

BIDEN: You know, it's invigorating. Look at the women I just met. I mean, they were so much fun. I meet really interesting people all over the country and hear their stories.

SAENZ: Arlette Saenz, CNN, Concord, New Hampshire.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, it is the last debate before the first vote and it's only on CNN. The top Democrats head to Iowa for a live CNN presidential debate in partnership with the Des Moines Register. It is Tuesday, 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:56:58]

WHITFIELD: An effort to bring transparency to President Trump's travel cost is hitting a roadblock. Talks are underway between congressional Democrats and the Trump administration that would move the U.S. Secret Service from the Homeland Security Department to the U.S. Treasury.

Democrats are willing to support the move if secretary, we're talking -- Secretary Steve Mnuchin agrees to disclose the amount of taxpayer money being spent on the travel of President Trump and his adult children, something the White House has kept under wraps. Mnuchin would be willing to release the information, but not right away.

A Democratic Congressional Aide tells CNN he wants to wait until after the 2020 election.

Joining me right now, Jonathan Wackrow, a Secret Service agent under President Obama and CNN law enforcement analyst. Jonathan, good to see you.

JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Nice to see you.

WHITFIELD: OK, so let's talk about this whole move. Why move it from one department to another?

WACKROW: Well, listen, this goes back -- we got to look back to 2002 when the Secret Service was merged into the Department of Homeland Security. The reality is that the integration of the Service into DHS didn't go well. And because it didn't go well, the integration, you know, has been lumpy, you know, over the last 18 years.

The Service has really felt, you know, as an outcast to the department overall, whether it's, you know, fighting for finances, manpower. You know, they feel like they're fighting a groundswell of DHS just to get a foothold. So moving back to Treasury seems like a -- the path of least resistance to stabilize the organization.

I think while we're looking at the situation, we have to look at it in two ways. You know, the Secret Service, the traditionalist will say that -- or argue that the agency as a whole is more attuned and aligned to the Treasury Department just in terms of being able to work, terrorist financing investigations, supporting the financial crimes enforcement network, and the core competency of the investigative mission is based around finances. So whether it's counterfeiting, bank fraud, credit card fraud, they feel more comfortable in that environment.

Progressives -- oops, sorry, go ahead.

Progressives of the Secret Service will take the other side of this and say over the last 18 years they did integrate well into the Department of Homeland Security with certain core competency, such as the electronic crimes task force, looking at critical infrastructure, and then working through expanding the mandate to protect national special security events, something that's been, you know, really successful for the Secret Service over the past few years. I take the viewpoint that it's better for the Secret Service to stay where they are and try to develop a better integration into the department and focus on their -- how best to integrate their protective and investigative missions into the Department of Homeland Security, rather than try to go back to Treasury and recreate something they may not be able to do.

WHITFIELD: All right, very comprehensive. Jonathan Wackrow, thank you so much.