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White House Tries to Clean Up Biden's Ukraine Comments; Supreme Court Allows Release of Trump White House Documents to Committee; U.K. Police Arrest Tow Men in Synagogue Siege Investigation; U.S. Braces for Snow, Ice and Storms; British Prime Minister Faces Growing Calls for His Resignation. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired January 20, 2022 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a very warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and right around the world. I'm Isa Soares in London and just ahead right here on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Biden bluntly predicting that Russia will invade Ukraine at least to some degree.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is going to be some kind of incursion, but it doesn't mean it's an outright invasion and all of them are bad.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: All eyes are on that area around Ukraine with those Russian troops amassing.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is going to be a disaster for Russia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: A minor incursion, President Biden sparks confusion and sows doubt on America's response if Russia invades Ukraine. We'll have reaction from Moscow this hour.

Donald Trump gets handed a major legal blow as the U.S. Supreme Court rejects his request to keep his White House documents hidden. What this means for the January 6 investigation.

And hundreds of thousands of Syrians facing a harsh and brutal winter. Human rights groups calling it a crisis within a crisis.

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Isa Soares. SOARES: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the show. It is Thursday,

January the 20th, and we begin with the last thing U.S. President Joe Biden needed really with his approval rating at a listless 41 percent, and that is a foreign policy stumble. His administration is scrambling really to clean up his suggestion that a minor incursion by Russia into Ukraine might get a less forceful response than an outright invasion. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Russia will be held accountable if it invades, and it depends on what it does. It's one thing if it's a minor incursion and we end up having to fight about what to do and not do et cetera. But if they actually do what they're capable of doing with the force amassed on the border, it is going to be a disaster for Russia. My guess is he will move in. He has to do something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, following that comment, the White House was quick to clarify, indicating something like a cyberattack would be met with a proportionate response. But Press Secretary Jen Psaki emphasized that any Russian forces crossing into Ukraine would be considered an invasion drawing a swift severe and united response. Well, an Ukrainian official tells CNN exclusively that he's shocked President Biden would give Russian President Vladimir Putin the green light to enter Ukraine at his pleasure. CNN's Fareed Zakaria offers his take here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, FAREED ZAKARIA GPS: I think what Biden is trying to convey is the complexity of this challenge. Let's say Ukrainians who speak Russian in eastern Ukraine who are allied with Russia do something provocative. The Russians in some way, short of an invasion, support it. What Biden is trying to convey is that is still bad. That is still a Russian incursion into Ukraine. That is still a Russian violation of Ukrainian sovereignty. Vladimir Putin wants a Ukraine that is subordinate, humble the colony of Russia. The Ukrainian people don't want that. That's the fundamental issue. We're just trying to help the Ukrainian people achieve their own aspirations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Fareed Zakaria there. Well, Ukraine estimates more than 100,000 Russian are amassed troops are amassed on its border, and new satellite images from Maxar Technologies -- as you can see there -- really shows the buildup. But the country's president is telling his citizens not to panic and that the situation hasn't really changed since Russia annexed Crimea -- if you remember -- back in 2014.

Meanwhile U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Berlin just a short time ago for talks with British, French, as well as German allies. He will meet with his Russian counterpart. That's happening tomorrow in Geneva. Have a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Finding a diplomatic resolution to the conflict and to de-escalate the situation. That is the clear preference. It's also the most responsible thing that any of us can do. At the same time, we've made very clear to Moscow that if it chooses to renew aggression against Ukraine, it will be met and it will face very severe consequences.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:05:00]

SOARES: Let's go live to Moscow and CNN's international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson joins me now. And Nic, it's clear Blinken is still very much looking for the diplomatic resolution or solution. But has President Biden's words that we heard at the top of the show, a minor incursion, has that, Nic, muddied the waters with NATO allies here?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, as Fareed was saying, it is a very complex situation and President Biden is trying to sort of, as Fareed outlined there, trying to, you know, pick his way through it very carefully and to lay it out carefully.

But it's undoubtedly that complexity that leads to the sort of gaps in positions between the United States and its allies and partners, that NATO, it's allow to a degree for the French president, for example, yesterday, to re-express his feelings that the European Union should have a voice at the table. The French president whose always wanted the EU to have a more united defense position, a defense policy.

So, this complexity has allowed the waters to become muddied. And undoubtedly the assessment, you know, from western analysts is that if the Kremlin -- President Putin will be able to look at that muddied waters and perhaps find an opportunity there to exploit the situation as he wants to do in Ukraine.

What we're hearing from the Kremlin today or at least foreign ministry spokeswoman today, saying that all this talk about an invasion that is being -- she implied sort of heightened built up by Ukrainian and western media is in Russia's view a cover to build the pretext for something on the ground, a provocation on the ground that will necessitate or could lead to violence.

And she pointed rather -- she pointed less to the diplomacy that's going on, and more to the actions of the British military, she said, have been shipping in weapons over the past few days to Ukraine, she said. She described that as NATO dragging Ukraine into NATO. These are words and language that will resonate at home. But you see how the complexity, the muddied waters are now sort of in a way thwarting this very, very intense diplomacy that's going on at the moment.

SOARES: Nic Robertson for us there in Moscow. Thanks very much, Nic. And of course, we'll have much more ahead on the president's speech in about 20 minutes or so. Now, the House Select Committee investigating the January the 6th

Capitol riot will now be able to see hundreds of documents from the Trump White House. This after the Supreme Court delivered a major blow to the former president and his request to block such a move. CNN's Paula Reid has the details for you from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: A significant loss for former President Trump made possible, in part, by three Supreme Court justices that he appointed. Here the Supreme Court has refused Trump's request to block the House Select Committee from obtaining some of his White House records connected to January 6.

Trump had tried to assert executive privilege over these documents, but the authority to protect materials from previous administrations lies with the current president. And President Biden citing the extraordinary circumstances of January 6 declined to assert executive privilege here setting off a truly extraordinary and unprecedented legal battle that made its way all the way to the Supreme Court.

Now on its way, this case was of course heard by a lower court where Trump lost. The appellate court also decided against Trump. And here in an 8-1 decision the Supreme Court also refusing Trump's request to block these documents from getting to investigators.

Now what could this potentially mean for the House Select Committee? Well, now more than 700 pages of documents could help them shed some light on what was going on in around the White House on January 6. Now, among the documents are call logs, handwritten notes, from the former chief of staff, draft speeches, correspondence about January 6. All of these documents could help lawmakers better understand what was going on around the president on January 6, on the days leading up to the insurrection as well.

Now, it's notable that Justice Clarence Thomas was the only justice who noted a dissent in this opinion. The three justices that former President Trump appointed to the Supreme Court all decided against him.

Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Now, the chair and vice chair of the January 6 House committee issued a statement calling the Supreme Court ruling, quote, a victory for the rule of law, and American democracy.

[04:10:00]

CNN's senior legal analyst Laura Coates weighed in on the high court's position. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAURA COATES, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: This is truly monumental to have the Supreme Court of the United States, where there is a former president not taking his case and saying really unabashedly, that arguments about privilege and the idea that he could somehow withhold documents from the incumbent president says they should be given over for transparency sake, for the interest of the nation, they are saying that the committee needs to have these documents. And they essentially say that any claim that the former president has is outweighed by the public's need to know.

But at this juncture, they probably have a whole host of information that could corroborate anything that comes down the line. And so, this might be the final jigsaw puzzle piece to show whether somebody was acting at the direction of really the highest office holder of the land, the president of the United States and anyone in his orbit. And it could give additional information about what the president was doing at the time. What he did leading up to January 6, and what he did afterwards.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Laura Coates there.

Well, the Trump organization is also in the hot seat and facing investigations into its finances. The Manhattan district attorney's office is looking into whether the organization and its top executives manipulated the value of several properties and provided misleading financial statements. Now, that criminal probe is running parallel to the New York Attorney General's civil investigation that is zeroing in on some of the same alleged fraud. Trump and his organization have called the investigations politically motivated and say they have done nothing wrong.

Well, Senate Democrats' efforts to strengthen voting rights protections failed on Wednesday, in moves that were not unexpected. Republicans first blocked the legislation by using the filibuster rule which requires 60 votes to keep bills alive. Democratic leader Chuck Schumer then tried to change the rule to lower the threshold to 50 votes. But two Democrats voted against it, Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin. Both say the filibuster leads to bipartisan compromise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): I rise in aid of the vote what I believe is a grave misleading of the American people. For the last year my Democratic colleagues have taken to the Senate floor, cable news airways, pages of newspapers across the country, and to argue that repealing the filibuster is actually restoring the Senate to the vision of the founding fathers intended for this deliberate body. My friends, that is simply not true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, given the rigid Republican opposition, President Biden admitted he'll have to break up his Build Back Better initiative, but said he believes Congress can pass big chunks of that.

Now, Georgia's Secretary of State has announced a new voter registration system for the key battleground state. Brad Raffensperger said it will be faster and more secure. Georgia is one of several Republican-led states that passed voting restrictions after the 2020 election, now a rural county is considering closing all but one polling place ahead of this year's election. And the Republican running for lieutenant governor is proposing banning the use of ballot drop boxes. They were widely used in 2020 to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Well, President Biden says he knows Americans are struggling with the high cost of living and he admits inflation will be difficult to get under control. And that's really not only the bad news on the economy front. The Nasdaq has officially entered correction territory, down more than 10 percent from its November high. The Dow and S&P also lost ground. You see the red arrows right across the board with the Nasdaq seeing the biggest losses on Wall Street yesterday, down more than 1 percent.

And there are new signs gas prices won't be coming down any time soon unfortunately. Oil finished the day at a seven-year high for the second day in a row. Brent crude down almost 1 percent. WTI crude down just over half of a percent. We'll keep on top of those numbers for you.

Now, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson now fighting for his political life. Coming up, members of his own party join the opposition in calling for his resignation after the Prime Minister's staff flouted lockdown rules on numerous occasions.

Plus, parts of the U.S. are in store for another weekend of freezing temperatures and winter weather. We'll have the latest forecast after the break.

(Please [04:15:00]

COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

SOARES: And we are getting new details on arrests in England that may be connected to the hostage-taking incident at a Texas synagogue, if you remember last weekend, British counterterrorism and police arrested two men in Birmingham and Manchester. Now, it is not clear if they knew the gunman at the standoff in the Beth Israel synagogue near Fort Worth, Texas -- if you remember -- lasted some 11 hours and resulted in the death of the gunman who was a British national. The hostages were thankfully not harmed.

CNN's Scott McLean is following this from London. Scott, what more can you tell us about these two individuals here?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Isa, look, there was precious little information in this statement put out by the Greater Manchester Police. That's the force that deals with counterterrorism in the northwest of England. We know that the hostage taker, his name is Malik Faisal Akram, 44 years old, originally from Blackburn, which is in northern England. So, we know that with these arrests, one man was arrested in

Birmingham and one man was arrested in Manchester. This is in connection with the Texas synagogue hostage taking -- as you mentioned -- was in suburban Dallas. Lasted for hours. Part of it was actually captured on a live stream before law enforcement was able to get in there, shoot the hostage taker. Some of the hostages were also able to escape.

We know that this man was known to British security services before.

[04:20:00]

They had opened an investigation into him in 2020, but then they had done a bit of digging, realized -- deemed him not to be a threat and then moved on and closed the investigation. Obviously, there was more to the story there at the time.

His family had put out a statement calling it or saying that they apologize wholeheartedly. Saying they are absolutely devastated. They also said that this man had mental health issues, but they didn't elaborate on exactly what those were. Local counsellor had said earlier this week they are working with the law enforcement in the United States. Even the Prime Minister weighing in on this calling it a terrible act of antisemitism and terrorism.

As for the arrest, we don't have a lot of information as to what the connection is, who these men are, what the relation might be, what their possible involvement might have been or how law enforcement was flagged to them in the first place.

And we should probably be a little bit cautious here, Isa, because you might remember back in November there was a terror attack in Liverpool where a bomb was detonated outside of a hospital in the back of a taxi. In that incident, police arrested three men -- three young men. I believe all in their 20s and then questioned them, realized that they didn't have anything to do with it and then they released them.

So, again, it's too early to tell what the connection might be here, what the involvement might be, if any. We just have to wait and see at this point.

SOARES: And I know you'll continue to work your sources. Scott McLean there with that breaking news. Thanks very much, Scott.

Now, parts of the United States are in for another weekend of snow and ice while some haven't had a reprieve really from last weekend. The Midwest is bracing for below zero temperatures North and South Carolina have both declared states of emergency ahead of winter storms. And other parts of the South could see tornadoes.

Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins me now. Good morning, Derek. Another round of heavy winter storm. Tell us what we can expect here.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, extremely busy along the east coast. So far so good in terms of the precipitation falling as rain. This is a really important map as meteorologists analyze what's happening on the ground and the upper levels of the atmosphere. Look at the temperatures from New York to Philadelphia to D.C. We're well above freezing. Temperatures of 32 degrees or below that, of course, indicating freezing and we see a change in the wind direction across this area. That's the demarcation zone between the warmer air to the south of the cold front and the colder air massed to the north where temperatures are quickly plunging.

And that means our precipitation is going to change from rain in New York, Philadelphia and D.C., and right over to snowfall just in time for the morning commute this morning. So, we have winter weather alerts across this particular area, 2 to 3 inches of snowfall perhaps locally higher amounts from the I-95 corridor, that heavily traveled interstate across the East Coast of the U.S. connecting many of the major metropolitan areas to the north and west. That's where we anticipate the higher snowfall totals.

This is some of the largest population density of the East Coast of the U.S. So, we're monitoring this very closely, especially as people head off to work this morning on Thursday.

You can see D.C. still light rain, light rain all the way to Philadelphia. But we do anticipate that to start changing. Mixing in with snowflakes in the next hour or so before changing to all snow. And starting to accumulate on the ground as well.

You mentioned states of emergency across the Carolinas. We currently have winter storm warnings and watches in place a for areas that don't normally see snow. So, this is out of the ordinary for these areas, especially along the coastal areas. Wilmington, as far south as Charleston. We have the potential to see snowflakes on the beaches there as this cold front starts to sag south over the East Coast through tonight and into your day on Friday.

Here's a look at the forecast accumulation. Snowfall totals already mentioned them across the big cities, New York to D.C., 1 to 3 inches. Locally higher amounts near Norfolk, Virginia. So, keep in mind that is a possibility. But it will mix in with sleet and freezing rain across the Carolinas. And then across the Deep South we even have the potential of freezing rain. Just north of New Orleans into the Baton Rouge region and into southern Texas today. This is part of same frontal system bringing cold air and a mixture of wintry weather to the Deep South including the chance of severe storms today along the Gulf Coast. Back to you, Isa.

SOARES: Stay safe, everyone. Thanks very much, Derek.

Now, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says England will soon return to less restrictive COVID rules thanks to the success of the government's vaccine booster campaign. Now, the announcement could help prop up his sagging support among conservative members of Parliament. Many of them if you remember are angry. The Prime Minister's staff held parties while the rest of the country was under strict lockdowns. Returning to plan A, means people in England will no longer be asked to work from home. And mask requirements will soon be lifted, including in classrooms. Let's get more on the story. Salma Abdelaziz joins us now with the

latest. And Salma, the easing of these restrictions, the ditching of plan B coming at a very good time for the Prime Minister.

[04:25:00]

Prime Minister, I think it's fair to say, has been pretty much on the ropes. Is he over the worst, Salma?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: He's definitely not, but he is back in fighting form, Isa. He's shown regret, he's shown remorse. But back in Parliament yesterday, he was that Boris we know ready on his feet, quick to evade questions, refusing to answer anything on "partygate," but that did not stop the hits from coming. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I now yesterday from the man who wrote the rules, it was, well, nobody told me what those rules were.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does the Prime Minister realize how ridiculous that sounds?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Finally take responsibility, resign, go, Prime Minister.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: I mean, it was a really boisterous session yesterday, Isa. Even before it began, there was this moment, very dramatic in which a member of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's own party, a conservative lawmakers defected, mutiny, literally crossed the aisle and sat with the opposition. That's a very rare thing. And it begins to captures just how much the mood against Prime Minister Boris Johnson has hardened.

Yes, you have the public outrage. But if Prime Minister Boris Johnson is going to lose his seat, it will be from his own party, from his own lawmakers turning against him. There's a handful of conservative MPs that said they will submit those letters to trigger a no confidence vote. We haven't reached that threshold of 15 percent yet.

But here is what's worrying for the Prime Minister, Isa. The reason why he holds that seat is because he is seen as a winner, as somebody who can succeed at the ballot box. As somebody who can unite the conservative heartland. Somebody who got Brexit done even when no one else could. If he's no longer the success story, if he's no longer the person that can win MPs their seats, that's when you can start to see that tide turn.

You have to remember lawmakers went home last weekend and they were flooded with complaints from their constituents. So, a real concern here that that rebellion within the Conservative Party continues to grow against Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

SOARES: Yes, it'll be interesting to see whether he continues to have that loyalty from members of his own party. And of course, we'll wait to see the release of that report from Sue Gray, we've all been waiting for. Salma Abdelaziz. Thanks very much, Salma.

Now, the flight cancellations are decreasing, but there is still concern about the safety of the 5G rollout near U.S. airports. Anna Stewart joins me with the latest.

Plus, there are hopeful signs the Omicron variant might begin to wane in parts of the United States. But it too many hospitals the struggled to save lives are still just a constant battle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've held the hands of people dying of COVID. I've been in the COVID ward. I've had close friends lose their lives even at my age. I've had -- I've had somebody who's like a mom to me -- lose her battle. There are just not words to what we're experiencing right now in the health care forefront.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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