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Pentagon: Up to 8,500 U.S. Troops on Heightened Alert; NATO Sending More Ships and Jets to Eastern Europe; Frenzied Comeback on Wall Street at End of Monday; Georgia to Investigate Trump's Election Interference; Birthday Parties Held for U.K. Prime Minister Amid Lockdown; Colorado Fire Near Big Sur Now 45 Percent Contained. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired January 25, 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 right here ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very clear the Russians have no intention right now of de-escalating.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If one nation is attacked all of them will come together and fight the attacker.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're really on the brink of eastern European war here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: The U.S. puts thousands of troops on standby for deployment as Russia amasses its military on the Ukrainian border. We're live in Moscow for you on this hour.

Plus, another party hangover for Boris Johnson. New reports the British Prime Minister attended his own birthday party during lockdown.

And inflation has the U.S. president hot under the collar and caught using expletives on a hot mic. We'll explain.

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Isa Soares.

SOARES: Welcome to the show everyone. It is Tuesday, January 25th. And we begin with a significant step by the U.S. as fears grow that Russia could be on the verge of invading Ukraine. Now, the Pentagon has announced that as many as 8,500 American troops are now on heightened alert for possible deployment to Eastern Europe though no final decision has been made. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: In the event of NATO's activation of the NRF or deteriorating security environment, the United States would be in a position to rapidly deploy additional brigade combat teams, logistics, medical, aviation, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, transportation and additional capabilities into Europe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Now U.S. President Joe Biden says he and his European allies are on the same page after holding urgent talks with the group discussing preparation to impose massive consequences if Moscow takes military action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I had a very, very, very good meeting totally in unanimity with all the European leaders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: The Biden administration plans to send a written response this week to Russia addressing ideas and concerns regarding security. Russia, if you remember, has been demanding a reply to its demands released last month.

And there's more than 100,000 Russian troops remain amassed near the Ukrainian border. NATO is bolstering its military presence in Eastern Europe sending fighter jets and ships to the region and placing troops on a standby.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENS STOLTENBERG, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: We are considering to further enhance our presence in the eastern part of the alliance. This could include deployment of additional NATO battle groups. These deployments are proportionate and in line with our international commitments and they reinforce European security for all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Now the Pentagon says Russia is showing no signs of de- escalating and is actually sending more forces to the western frontier. Moscow has also sent additional troops and military equipment to Belarus ahead of military drills.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Has their presence on the border enlarged or changed in a qualitative way that is escalatory?

KIRBY: Yes. It's gotten bigger. Absolutely. They continue to add battalion tactical groups to the western -- to their western border, to the border with Ukraine and in Belarus as well. The numbers there are increasing. So, they have not only shown no signs of de-escalating but they are in fact adding more force capability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Well, Ukraine's leader is trying to calm nerves inside of his country telling citizens there's no need to panic as authorities work for full de-escalation of the situation.

Now, we are also learning the Marines Corps has bolstered security at the U.S. embassy in Kyiv. Now an official says the additional measures were deployed recently but didn't say how many were sent. This word comes one day, of course, after the State Department announced it was reducing staff at the embassy. CNN's Oren Liebermann is at the Pentagon with more on the latest U.S. news for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The Pentagon is making clear first that diplomacy is still the number one option when it comes to Russian forces that are near Ukraine and, second, that there are no deployment orders yet in place.

[04:05:00]

But the Pentagon and the Biden administration are well aware of the situation as Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to build up his forces on the eastern side of Ukraine within Russia as well as on the north side as Russia keeps sending forces into its ally Belarus there. Given that situation, the Pentagon has decided to put as many as 8,500 troops on prepare to deploy orders. Essentially on heightened alert getting them closer or quicker to be ready if that deployment order comes.

Where would it come from? The Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby says it would likely come from NATO. NATO activates its response force, a 40,000 strong multi-national force that it could use to bolster Eastern European allies to send in more troops to that area and crucially to send a message to Putin that the U.S. and NATO are serious about the strength of the alliance and its intent to deter from any Russian actions and defend against any Russian aggression.

Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby also said there are other scenarios of a deteriorating security situation and other different situations where the U.S. might decide to deploy some troops on its own but most of those 8,500 if they are deployed would go to that NATO response force and that's how seriously the U.S. views the situation in Eastern Europe at this time.

Some of U.S.'s European allies will speak with Russia and Ukraine later on this week. But crucially that window of diplomacy seems to be shrinking quickly as the U.S. and NATO are very much preparing to move forces to that part of the region. Some NATO countries have already sent fighter jets to that area, as well as ships realizing the gravity of the situation at this point.

Again, the order to deploy hasn't come yet but it seems that's what the Pentagon is getting ready for. Press Secretary John Kirby also making it clear that that might not be the only movement of troops. U.S. troops within Europe could also move suggesting the troops that are in Western Europe could be pushed east towards Europe's eastern flank and NATO's eastern flank to be ready for whatever Russia decides to do.

Oren Liebermann, CNN, at the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Thanks, Oren.

Well, let's get more on this story. CNN's Nic Robertson joins me now from Moscow. And Nic, give me a sense of what the Kremlin is saying, how the Kremlin is reacting to all these developments, if particularly the news, of course, that you have there that the U.S. is ready to activate 8,500 troops. Is it rattling Putin at all there?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It certainly doesn't appear to be. And it certainly gives the opportunity -- sort of can potentially play into his hands in a way. The current sort of escalation of tensions and in particularly the drawdown of diplomats by the British, the United States and the Australians in Ukraine has caused a little bit of tension with the Ukrainians. This is something that the leadership in Ukraine is concerned about because it grows fears among their population that something bad is about to happen.

One of their senior defense council officials said that they don't see -- Ukraine doesn't see an imminent, huge threat of an imminent Russian invasion, that the Russian forces on their boarder and the threatening posture is something the country has become used to.

And it was interesting last night that the foreign ministry spokeswoman picked up on this and the fact that the Pentagon is saying that they're essentially seeing an escalation and pointing out the sort of difference between those two positions. So, while you sort of have this sort of diplomatic tension between the Ukrainian officials and the United States in one context.

You know, Russian officials are picking up on this and saying, look, the United States is just trying to undermine the morale of the Ukrainians. So, in a way the buildup of forces and the sort of tensions that rise with it are something that the Kremlin can exploit. And the ball is essentially in President Putin's court at the moment because he's waiting for those written responses from the United States and NATO.

So, at the moment it really -- the sense here is that the Kremlin is pushing the blame on Ukrainian authorities for building tensions in the east of the country with Donbas. SOARES: We shall wait to see what those written responses include and

whether it meets any really of the guarantees that Russia was seeking. Nic Robertson for us in Moscow this hour. Thanks very much, Nic.

Now, the possible invasion of Ukraine and along with the Federal Reserve plans to raise interest rates, well, it has investors on edge. And it was a rather frenzied come back on Wall Street after stocks spent most of the day really trading in the red. At one point the Dow was down more than 1,000 points. But all three indices -- if you can see -- ended the day up four three green arrows across the board.

[04:10:00]

Let's get more on this. Anna Stewart joins us now. And Anna, it's been really a roller coaster. But let's peel back the layers if we could. Because we have seen gas and oil prices very high recently. How much does Ukraine and the geopolitical tensions play into this, Anna?

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Well, there are a host of risks weighing on all of these markets at the moment. But certainly, I think tensions between Russia and Ukraine are beginning to weigh on it ever so slightly more. And actually, one analyst said to me yesterday that he felt that selloff that we saw yesterday was very dramatic, particularly on Wall Street. He felt that the planning point for that was actually the U.S. and the U.K. announcing that they were withdrawing some of their embassy staff from Ukraine, suggesting, of course, that they see the risk increasing for conflict there.

And that's the rift of sanctions as well, being imposed on Russia. This is something President Biden was discussing with European leaders yesterday. They are looking at costly sanctions to punish Russia in the situation for any kind of incursion. But those sanctions would have a much broader impact.

There would be repercussions beyond Russia's border. Particularly for Europe which has very close economic ties. Particularly when you're looking at oil and gas.

Added to that of course is the Federal Reserve's two-day meeting. That kicks off today and closes tomorrow. Investors are betting of course on the pace and expectations really for rate rises, particularly looking at all the inflation numbers we've had this month. It has been a roller coaster. We've had earnings season. We've had some shocking earnings report from the likes of Peloton and Netflix and stay-at-home stocks.

So, a lot is weighing on the markets. Now, Wall Street yesterday, as you said, had an abysmal day but it did actually climb out of it by the end. Europe wasn't so lucky. But today it's looking like it's trading higher. U.S. futures pointing down, Isa. I think we're going to be talking about volatility relating to all of these factors for days and weeks to come.

SOARES: Yes, only see the European markets all starting their trading day following on from the U.S. All green arrows across the board. I know you'll stay on top of this as well as the federal rate decision expected to come in the next two days or so to see whether really, they can tame inflation. Anna Stewart there for us. Thanks very much, Anna.

Now the U.S. and its NATO allies say their efforts are focused on deterring Russia, but if Russian forces do invade, one expert says Ukrainians will put up strong resistance. Have a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM TAYLOR, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: President Putin has had -- has done the opposite of what he's interested in doing, which is he has united Ukrainians, and certainly the military, and united the civilians on the east and west, no matter what language they speak. He's united them against him. So, they will resist. Mr. Putin has the decision. We hope he's deterred. We hope that he will cost up. He'll take a look at the cost and benefits and decide it's just not worth it. Better to sit down and have that conversation with President Biden and Secretary Blinken to talk about it.

But if he does go, if he does not deter, then he will have a fight on his hands. First with the Ukrainian military -- as you just said -- but also the Ukrainian people will resist, will fight guerrilla warfare. They will fight in the villages, on the streets, in the towns. It will be very difficult.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Yes, Putin has his chance really, option to turn back. But will he? That is the question of course. CNN will continue following this story as well as every detail, every angle and development. We'll bring you the very latest updates as they develop.

Now the U.S. House Select Committee investigating the Capitol insurrection could soon get access to emails between former President Donald Trump and a conservative lawyer who crafted a questionable legal theory on how to overturn the 2020 election. Now, a federal judge is forcing John Eastman to respond to the committee's subpoena with his former employer for his emails. He had refused to cooperate when they've requested testimony from him directly. Eastman's legal team is set to sort through thousands of emails to determine which should stay confidential.

Now the House Committee has reportedly had a preliminary discussion with former Attorney General William Barr. Sources tell CNN lawmakers wanted to know if Barr had any information regarding the January 6th Capitol insurrection. But he says he didn't know much because he resigned in December weeks before former President Donald Trump launched his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

Meanwhile, a district attorney in the U.S. state of Georgia will be allowed to seek a special grand jury to investigate Trump's alleged election interference. Our Paula Reid has the details for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: The Fulton County, Georgia district attorney has been investigating former President Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election for over a year and now she has been granted a special grand jury to hear evidence exclusively in this case.

[04:15:00]

Now the district attorney said she needed this special grand jury to issue subpoenas to compel witnesses to testify. She told the court that she's had difficulty getting key witnesses, including Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to comply with her investigations. Clearly an essential part of any probe into Trump's efforts to overturn or undermine the result of the election.

Now that she has this grand jury, it can help her gather that evidence. And she says that she will be making a decision about whether or not to charge Trump by summer of 2022.

Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Paula Reid there. Thanks very much, Paula.

Now still ahead right here on the show -- could Boris Johnson's birthday bashes during a COVID lockdown be the last straw? The uproar over the latest allegations against the embattled Prime Minister.

And a rare winter wildfire has been scorching a scenic stretch of coastal California.

PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN METEOROLOGIST : Some good news coming out of California as it relates to the Colorado fire. Yes, the winds still gusting into Southern California but right there around the southern coast, that's where the winds have calmed down giving the firefighters maybe the upper hand here over the next several days. We'll talk about this and also the brutally cold temperatures across the northern tier of the U.S. coming up in a you minutes.

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[04:20:00]

SOARES: Well, more parties, more problems for the British Prime Minister. He is now accused of attending not one but two parties celebrating his own birthday at Downing Street when the country was in during its first COVID lockdown. Now, his office denies breaking any rules. But these new allegations come just days before the results of an official investigation into the pandemic gathering that could end up toppling his premiership.

All CNN's Scott McLean is covering this story for us in London and he joins me now. And Scott, it's only Tuesday and that list of parties is growing ever so long. The question now becomes will this have any impact on members of his own party, Conservative Party? Will that change -- will this change their mind, do you think? SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's sort of a drip, drip, drip.

And you know, what's odd here, Isa, is it's weird to think that a Prime Minister having a birthday party could possibly boot him from office but that is the bizarre and very real possibility for Boris Johnson right now.

You mentioned this ITV reporting of these two gatherings that were held at Downing Street. One of them was held with four colleagues in the cabinet office where there was singing of happy birthday, and they presented him with a cake. A second one was held later with his family up in his apartment.

Now Downing Street acknowledges that these happened. However, as you mentioned, they say they didn't break the rules. So, on the cabinet office one, they say that, look, this was a meeting and then afterwards they sort of just presented the Prime Minister with a cake, wished him a happy birthday, he was there for less than 10 minutes. For the later one they say this didn't actually take place indoors, they say that it took place outdoors.

Now earlier in that day the Prime Minister had visited a school just outside of London. and there's a photograph of him -- you're looking at it right now -- holding a birthday cake. When he got back to Downing Street that's when apparently, he was presented with a second cake.

Now, the transportation secretary has been tasked with defending the government on this this morning, making the rounds of all of the British television networks. And he sought to diffuse the situation by saying that, look, it's not like Boris Johnson presented himself with a birthday cake and many of the people who were at that gathering, of course, they would have been working with him anyways. They would have been in the same room with him anyways.

And that's a familiar defense here that we've heard in that, look, maybe this was more of a work gathering than a party. The last time Boris Johnson was accused of the garden party in May, he said that, look, he wasn't aware that it was a party, he thought it was a work event even though it said BYOB on the invitation.

I want to play you if we can though, Isa, of a quick bit of sound from the opposition leader. Here is how he described how the Prime Minister has reacted to all of these different party allegations. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH LABOUR PARTY LEADER: He started by saying there were no parties and all the rules were followed. Then he said, ah, there were parties, I just found out and I'm furious. Then there was evidence that he's gone to a party and he said, I didn't realize it was a party. And then last week he was on the fourth defense, which was nobody told me it was against the rules. And now these allegations mean that all of that can't possibly be true.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MCLEAN: Now a senior civil servant named Sue Gray has been tasked with investigating all of this. Her report is expected to be released later this week. The transportation secretary says this particular incident is already on her radar. Of course, the big question with that report is will it change any minds within the Conservative Party and will more and more MPs call for a no confidence vote -- Isa?

SOARES: Yes, we normally don't present ourselves with our own birthday cake. Do we, Scott? But who knows? Is it a good excuse? I can tell you my son was really unhappy when he had to celebrate his birthday party via zoom during lockdown. So, we shall see what happens with it Sue Gray report. Scott McLean there. Thanks very much, Scott.

Now the U.K.'s Supreme Court has ruled that Julian Assange can continue with his legal fight against extradition to the United States. The WikiLeaks founder is allowed to try and appeal his case. But the U.K. High Court can decide whether to hear it. Assange is accused of violating the U.S. espionage act when is website published classified documents in 2010. He has been in a British prison for almost 3 years after being kicked out of the Ecuador Embassy.

Now an unusual January wildfire is threatening hundreds of homes and buildings south of San Francisco. Authorities say the Colorado fire near Big Sur has burned nearly 700 acres, that's roughly 300 hectors and has shut down part of California's famous Pacific Coast Highway. Pedram Javaheri has the details. Good morning, Pedram.

JAVAHERI: Yes, good morning, Isa. Some good news when it comes to what's happening across parts of California. The weather pattern quieting down a little bit. The winds certainly dying down as well over the next several days.

[04:25:00]

Temperatures generally staying into the upper 50s and lower 60s in this region. But of course, the damage already done but at least the containment numbers on the increase as well. Up to almost 50 percent containment, 700 acres consumed. That's the number we been out here for the past 24 hours. And the broad perspective shows you how rare it is to see fires across the United States in the month of January. That's large active fires, only 12 of them scattered across five states. And you see that the majority of them are located here across portions of south-central U.S.

But again, the winds will be a little bit stronger in southern California. Not the case across the region of the Colorado fire there on the central coast region of California. And that's the good news moving forward.

The other story we're following carefully, what's happening across portions of the Great Lakes, the upper Midwest. How about this? Wind chill alerts. Don't adjust your sets. That is minus 50. 50 below zero what it feels like with the winds howling across portions of northern North Dakota and to parts of Wisconsin as well and Minnesota where wind chills are going to be kind of in this territory of 35 to 50 below zero. And this pattern really goes to continue with very, very a significant bounds of cold air the next several days that eventually set up shop around the northeast.

Then that's where we take you now where temps into the early morning hours, generally into the upper 20s and low to mid 30s. A few snowflakes across places such as Boston, on into Portland, Maine. Not much in the way of accumulations though with this disturbance as it moves on out of here.

The southern portion of the U.S. along the Gulf Coast, some showers in place. The state of Florida also getting in on some wet weather as well. And some of the heaviest rainfall there is in south-central Florida near Orlando and points just towards the south.

Leave you with this, temperatures across Chicago, from 13 for an afternoon high. Climbing up to 33, and eventually moderating out by early next week -- Isa.

SOARES: Thank you very much, Pedram.

Now just when you could need it most, the warnings from the IRS. U.S. tax refunds could be delayed. The reasons why ahead.

And a shouted question about inflation gets an unusually candid response from the U.S. president. We'll have the details ahead.

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