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Trump's Ex-Chief of Staff Mark Meadows Expected to No-Show; Committee Issues 100+ Subpoenas for Phone Records; Biden and Putin Hold Two-Hour Video Call, Adviser: Biden Direct with Putin on Ukraine; Actor Jussie Smollett Denies He Staged a Violent Hate Attack; French Authorities Detain a Suspected Killer of Journalist. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired December 08, 2021 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Max Foster in London. Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is now not cooperating.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's worried about a perjury trap being created for him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Messages sent and received during the riot, texts, e-mails, calls.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're prepared to hold him in contempt if he doesn't show.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: A former Trump official changes his mind on cooperating with the January 6 investigators, but an exclusive report tells us lawmakers may not need him after all.

Warnings of more sanctions. The high stakes call between President Biden and Russia's Vladimir Putin turns tense at times. So, what did it achieve?

And a standing ovation for Angela Merkel who is take a bow after 16 years as Germany's first female chancellor. We're live in Berlin for a vote on her replacement.

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster.

FOSTER: Well, it's Wednesday, December 7th, and we're just hours away from a key deposition in the investigation into the attack on the U.S. Capitol, and that sounds like it's no longer happening.

But first exclusive reporting on the very wide net, the January 6 committee is casting. CNN has learned members have officially subpoenaed the phone records of more than 100 people including former Trump officials and associates and his one-time Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVAN PEREZ, CNN U.S. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: One of the first things that this committee did when they first got stood up some months ago, was they sent letters to phone carriers, to telecommunications carriers asking them to preserve these records. And now we know that they have gone ahead and requested and gotten the records of more than 100 people. And some of these people, this includes people inside Trump's inner circle.

For the committee, what they're doing is they're trying to put together a picture of what was happening inside the White House, you know, among those Trump associates in the days leading up to January 6 and during the event of the Capitol riot. And so, for them this is actually very, very important. And so, they can get details from some of the people who already are cooperating. And we know that there are a number of those people that are cooperating and providing -- filling in those blanks that the records that they have don't provide.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: An attorney for Mark Meadows says he won't be cooperating with congressional investigators after all. Meadows is supposed to face the committee in about six hours' time. CNN's Ryan Nobles as why he is now dodging the deposition.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The January 6 Select Committee is no longer expecting Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff, to appear for a scheduled deposition on Wednesday. Meadows sending the committee a letter on Tuesday morning where he expresses reservations about the tentative agreement that the committee had worked out between him and his attorney for him to come forward and provide information about what he knows about the January 6 riots.

Now, Meadows had expressed a willingness to cooperate with the committee and he had even handed over thousands of documents with information related to the January 6 riots. But the deposition was key. This in-person interview was something the committee was counting on. And in that letter Mark Meadows expresses concerns about what may or may not be covered under executive privilege and what questions he may be asked as a result of it. And he also expressed concern about the committee requesting phone records from not only him, but several hundred other -- several individuals that were also connected to this investigation.

Now, even though the committee is starting to run into roadblocks with Mark Meadows, and with Steve Bannon, Jeffrey Clark and others, the committee stresses that this is just a small number in terms of the wide universe of people that they've spoken to. This is what Adam Schiff had to say about the investigation.

REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): We've interviewed in excess of 250 people. These are the outliers. Now, these outliers still have very important information. So, I don't want to minimize the fact that we should hear from them. And we're going to do everything we can. But nonetheless, the fact that we are moving with expedition to hold them accountable.

[04:05:00]

NOBLES: Now, even though the committee does believe that they are making progress, there is a time line that they are working under and as they are trying to get some of these reluctant witnesses to participate, they are going to be running into just a situation where they could run out of time. For instance, in the criminal prosecution of Steve Bannon, that's not scheduled to take place until July 18th. That's not a lot of time between July 18th and the midterm elections when many believe this investigation needs to be wrapped up by. Because if Republicans were to take back control of the house, it's likely that this committee's investigation would come to an end.

Ryan Nobles, CNN on Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, some legal experts say Meadows' change of heart could be a sign that investigators already know too much. Others say he's trying to play both sides and some suggest his testimony isn't even that important.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELLIOTT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: People get in their heads that you have to have always the big fish, the king pin, the president, the vice president, the chief of staff, whomever it is when you're running an investigation. When often it is far more valuable to speak to the people around them, providing testimony about what you have hard evidence about in the form of phone records. And so, these phone records are incredibly valuable.

SHAN WU, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: He's worried about a perjury trap being created for him. Because when he disclosed those documents voluntarily, I would bet that he is giving over things to make him look pretty good. Now, though, he doesn't know what other people may be saying. There may be people that he didn't disclose that he spoke to, so he's worried about that and he's afraid of being ambushed so they're backing out. Now they know there are ways he could be impeached or confronted.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, CNN will have much more coverage of the January 6 investigation throughout the day, of course.

Now, the Republican and Democratic leaders of the U.S. Senate have agreed to a one-time process that would allow Democrats to raise the debt ceiling on their votes alone. The House just passed legislation that sets up the process and also delays automatic Medicare cuts. The measure will need ten Republican votes in the Senate to pass. But Mitch McConnell is confident he can secure those votes. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has more on the debt limit that could be reached within a week from now.

Now, as Congress grapples with how to pay for previous spending, President Joe Biden is hitting the road to promote his plans for future spending. U.S. president will be in Kansas City, Missouri, later today, to deliver remarks about his bipartisan infrastructure package. The $1.2 trillion bill was signed into law last month.

Meanwhile, another key part of Mr. Biden's economic agenda is making its way through Congress. The $1.9 trillion Build Back Better bill passed the House in November. It faces hurdles in the Senate, though, where more moderate Democrats have been hesitant to get on board. But Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says he's still hopeful it can be passed by Christmas.

Now, as the president touts the spending plan every day Americans are finally spending a little less at the pump. A new report finds the national average price for gasoline has already dropped 4 cents in the last week to 3.35 a gallon. The U.S. predicts those costs will dip even lower with average prices likely dropping below $3 a gallon by next year.

Now, with tensions running high, U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin sat for a two-hour virtual summit dominated by Ukraine and deep concerns over Russia's military buildup. The Biden administration says it does not believe Mr. Putin has made his decision on whether or not to invade Ukraine, but Mr. Biden laid out the consequence if he does, which could include strong economic penalties. Sources say the video call turned tense at times as the two leaders discussed the tens of thousands of Russian troops at Ukraine's border. CNN's Kaitlan Collins has more on the meeting from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A high-stakes call amid fears of a Russian invasion.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hello. Good to see you again.

COLLINS (voice-over): With tensions simmering on the border of Ukraine, President Biden spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin for two hours and 1 minute.

JAKE SULLIVAN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR TO PRESIDENT BIDEN: The call covered a range of issues but the main topic was Ukraine.

COLLINS (voice-over): The call posing a critical test for Biden as he tries to avoid a major European security crisis if Russia invades Ukraine.

COLLINS: So, did President Biden get clarity from him on whether or not that is his intention?

SULLIVAN: We still do not believe that President Putin has made a decision. What President Biden did today was lay out very clearly the consequences if he chooses to move. COLLINS (voice-over): Biden warning Putin about strong economic consequences and, quote, other measures, but it remains to be seen if the combative Russian leader backs down.

SULLIVAN: There's no finger wagging but the president was crystal clear.

COLLINS (voice-over): Putin had his own demands, including blocking Ukraine from joining the military alliance known as NATO.

SULLIVAN: He made no such commitments or concessions.

COLLINS: Sullivan adding the U.S. is prepared to act in ways it didn't after Russia illegally annexed Crimea when President Obama was in office.

[04:10:00]

SULLIVAN: I will look you in the eye and tell you as President Biden looked President Putin in the eye and told him today, that things we did not do in 2014, we are prepared to do now.

COLLINS (voice-over): Tensions between the United States and Russia have only gotten worse in the months since Biden and Putin sat down for talks in Geneva. At that meeting in June, six months ago, Biden predicted he would know soon if he had made real progress with Putin.

BIDEN: What is going to happen next is we're going to be able to look back, look ahead in three to six months and say, did the things we agreed to sit down and try to work out did it work?

COLLINS: Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: President Biden set to speak with Ukraine's president on Thursday. Joining me here in London to talk about all the developments is CNN's Scott McLean. We heard a lot from the U.S. side. How is it being viewed from Moscow this meeting?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Russians made it quite clear in that call, they say they have serious security concerns about themselves in the region. In fact, they say that, look, these soldiers, tens of thousands of soldiers amassed at the border, look, these are Russian soldiers on Russian soil defending Russian borders. There is nothing to see here. There is certainly no risk to Ukraine at this point.

And what's interesting is if you ask U.S. officials, they're a little bit puzzled by this. They're not really certain if Russia is actually trying to retake part of the former Soviet Union, or whether this is just sort of a ploy for Russia to have some leverage in future negotiations with the U.S. in order to de-escalate things.

Russia has been known to sort of create crises in the past and then offer to solve them on their own terms. And so, perhaps that may be what's happening here. The two big things Russia is really interested in is they want some legal assurances that Ukraine is not going to become a member of NATO, and they also wanted to -- NATO to stop sending military equipment to Ukraine as well. Because they don't want Ukraine to sort of become for lack of a better term, an eastern flank of NATO even though not officially a member.

There were some positive signs though. National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, saying, look, the U.S. is open to dialogue as long as there is some de-escalation going on in that part of the world.

There were also positive overtones from the Kremlin's read out, their characterization of the call. One Kremlin aide even saying that there were some jokes and exchanges of complements during the call, which I thought was quite interesting.

Here's the problem though with where things stand right now. There's really no indication at this point that the Russians are going to move their troops out of that area at least any time soon. And there's also no indication that the Americans are going to stop sending military equipment to Ukraine unless they genuinely feel like the threat has passed. Probably not even if those troops were to be moved that they would feel that way. The Americans also making quite clear, that look, it is not up to the Russians to decide who gets into NATO and who doesn't. That is a question for the Ukrainians and of course, the NATO members as well.

Ukraine saying, look, this would be a bloody massacre if they were to actually invade that area, and obviously as you mentioned, the U.S. saying, look, there's going to be economic sanctions big time, but no commitments of any American boots on the ground.

FOSTER: At least they're talking, I guess.

MCLEAN: Progress.

FOSTER: Thank you.

The Omicron coronavirus variant is being identified in at least 21 U.S. states now. Florida and Illinois are amongst the latest states to detect it. Experts expect it to spread. The reason data suggests it's transmissible but doesn't cause severe disease. And Delta remains the dominant variant by far still.

In Michigan cases are up and the new data shows more people are hospitalized with COVID now than at any other point during the whole pandemic. And a New York doctor says Delta's problem right now -- Delta is a problem right now, but people need to get vaccinated and booster to fight the coming wave for the Omicron variant. And a top medical expert agrees with that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. FRANCIS COLLINS, DIRECTOR, U.S. NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: Delta is still their most significant player by far that we have in the U.S. And we're not in a terribly good place right now. Following Thanksgiving, we're seeing cases going up again. I've been hoping this for a few months that people looking at this situation with both Delta and maybe the threat of Omicron would say, if you're not vaccinated, boy is this the time to roll up your sleeve. And if you are vaccinated and you're eligible for a booster, get that booster now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Early findings out of South Africa suggest Pfizer's COVID vaccine may be somewhat less effective against the Omicron variant. Researchers found it was able to partially dodge protections offered by the two-dose vaccine, but they also found that adding an extra layer of defense like a previous infection or indeed a booster shot can help fend off infection. Still unclear how those results will translate into fighting real-life infections, though, since researchers were working with samples in a lab.

[04:15:00]

CNN's Larry Madowo is live from Johannesburg. And that's where it was first detected. And that's where we're getting the first sense of how effective the vaccines are against it.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's correct, Max. This is the first experiment that tries to track how this Omicron variant might behave in somebody who is already vaccinated. So, it's a small sample size, just 12 samples here in a lab. So, it's not a real-life experiment. But the researchers say this is a little positive because they expect it to be way worse. The headline here is that at least for the Pfizer virus, the Omicron variant does escape immune protection but not entirely. And if you were infected and then vaccinated, you have slightly better protection. Or if you have had a booster shot, you have also slightly better protection.

There is going to be a lot more data and research necessary until they can say more about how this Omicron variant behaves with the vaccines and this is just for Pfizer. So, we need hear more about Moderna or AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson. So, it's a long way to go, but it's a start. And this is, like I said, the researchers think it's promising.

This is something that's coming as South Africa is still surging. Cases here about a quarter of all the tests South Africa is doing are turning out positive, Max, and that is an incredible, incredible number. Because two weeks ago the positivity rate was only 2 percent. Yesterday the positivity rate was 24.9 percent. And now the government is considering a vaccine mandate making it mandatory for everybody in the country to get vaccinated to access basic services, maybe even get on public transport.

And before the government makes an announcement on that, a lot of private companies are doing so. Even universities requiring their staff, their students to get vaccinated. Many starting from January before the government can really make a decision on that.

FOSTER: Larry in Johannesburg, thank you.

Now, Australia won't be sending a delegation to the Beijing Olympics. Chinese officials are already speaking out about the move. Still to come, why they're putting the blame on Australia for botched relations.

And closing arguments start soon in the Jussie Smollett trial. We'll have details on some of the heated cross-examination when the actor was grilled by prosecutors over his hate crime allegations.

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[04:20:00]

FOSTER: An Instagram chief Adam Mosseri will likely face tough questions later today over his company's child safety practices. He's due to appear at a U.S. Senate hearing months after a Facebook whistleblower leaked internal documents. Some of those documents showed the company was aware of mental health harm from its apps, especially amongst teenage girls. Mosseri will likely point out some new features Instagram just rolled out to make the platform safer.

Now opening statements are set for today in the trial of the former Minneapolis police officer who fatally shot Duante Wright during a routine traffic stop. Kimberly Potter faces first and second-degree manslaughter charges. Her lawyer suggests she mistook her gun for a taser. Wright's killing in April sparked days of protests. Body camera video expected to be critical in the trial. Footage shows Potter yelling, taser, before pointing her hand gun and shooting the unarmed 20-year-old.

In Chicago closing arguments in the Jussie Smollett's criminal trial will take place a few hours from now. On Tuesday the defense rested its case after the actor testified, he was the victim of a violent hate crime and refuted charges that he staged the 2019 attack for media attention. CNN's Sara Sidner has more from just outside the courtroom.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jussie Smollett taking the stand for a second day. There were fireworks in the courtroom because prosecutors were cross examining him. Now you know that he is accused of six counts of disorderly conduct for allegedly participating and planning a fake hate crime against himself, blaming it on Trump supporters and then lying to police.

Smollett has constantly said he is innocent of the charges against him, but prosecutors trying to poke holes in his testimony. And they pointed to a couple different things including the images and video of him with a noose around his neck. They asked whether he took that noose off and put it aside and then only put it back on when police came to his door. He said that is indeed what he did. He did take it off and put it back on. But not to try and make the crime look worse than it was by disheveling the noose, but to put it back on because he was told by a colleague that, indeed, he didn't want to be tampering with the evidence. And then the prosecutor said, then, why did you say this to "Good Morning America's" Robin Roberts?

JUSSIE SMOLLETT, ACTOR: There was like this bleach on me, too. So, when the police came, I kept the clothes on. I kept the rope.

ROBIN ROBERTS, ABC, GOOD MORNING AMERICA: So, you had the rope on the entire time?

SMOLLETT: It wasn't like wrapped around. But yeah, it was around. Because I wanted them to see. I wanted them to see what this was. I told them what happened, everything. I asked them to turn their body cams off. Because they were trying to stay in the hallway. And I was like, please just come in. Like I don't want a big scene with my neighbors and would like the second round of police officers. I went down to where it happened and I walked them through exactly what happened.

SIDNER: Smollett acknowledged what he said during the interview but couldn't explain the inconsistencies. He also though called out these two brothers, one of whom is his trainer, who both testified that indeed they were paid by Smollett to plan and then carry out the attack against him. Smollett outright calling both of those Osundairo brothers liars. Back to you guys.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: A woman testifying in the sex trafficking case against Ghislaine Maxwell says her heart and soul are broken over the abuse that she endured. The woman named Carolyn is the third woman to testify Jeffrey Epstein sexually abused her and that Maxwell was involved. She claims the abuse started when she was 14 and lasted until she was 18. She is now in her 30s.

[04:25:00]

In cross-examination, the defense went after Carolyn's credibility revealing she had used money given to her by Epstein to buy drugs including cocaine. The government expects to rest its case this week.

Sometime today we could find out whether a Saudi man in French custody is connected to the gruesome assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Saudi authorities say this is a case of mistaken identity. But French police have yet to reveal whether they confirm the suspects identity. Turkish authorities have a warrant out for him and other members of a Saudi hit squad saying that dismembered Khashoggi after he entered the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

CNN's Cyril Vanier is tracking this live from Paris for us. What are we waiting to hear today, then, Cyril?

CYRIL VANIER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Max, French authorities are still trying to confirm the identity of this 33-year-old Saudi man that they arrested yesterday, 9:30 a.m. local time as he was about to board his flight to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from Paris's international airport.

Now, what are we looking at here? The French have just told CNN that the name of the man they have arrested matches a name for a man who was wanted by Turkish authorities and by Interpol. It also matches a name of a man who is under a sanctions regime from the U.S., from the U.K., from France because that man is believed to be a member of the hit squad that dismembered and killed Jamal Khashoggi, the Saudi journalist and Saudi dissident in Istanbul in 2018.

So, it could be that we are facing a situation where one of Jamal Khashoggi's killers is now in custody in France and will be made to face justice. That would be a very interesting turning point in this story because until now Khashoggi's killers have only faced justice in Saudi Arabia. And, Max, the U.N. special repertoire for extrajudicial killings, at the time had said the trial had taken place in Saudi Arabia was a parody of justice.

Now, the international community as you know was shocked by this grisly murder. We also cannot lose sight of the fact, Max, that the identity of the man currently in custody has not been fully confirmed yet to us by French authorities, and Saudi authorities are saying they believe it could be a case of mistaken identity -- Max.

FOSTER: Cyril in Paris, thank you.

Germany's Parliament has just elected a new chancellor. Ahead, a new political landscape as Angela Merkel ends 16 years of her leadership.

Plus, France records one of its highest COVID counts to date as the country grapples with the fifth wave of the virus. We're live for you in Paris just ahead.

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