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Biden Gets Rare Opportunity to Pick Supreme Court Justice; Breyer Expected to Announce Retirement on Thursday; U.S. Delivers Written Response to Russia and Ukraine; South Korea: Two Ballistic Missiles Fired By North Korea; Boris Johnson Rejects Calls for His Resignation. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired January 27, 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 --
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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: A big moment for this president, a moment for Justice Breyer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're long overdue to have an African American woman on the Supreme Court.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not every president gets the opportunity to do so.
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: We'll potentially see some Republicans voting yes depending on who the nominee is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: President Biden could soon gain a major political victory with a chance to nominate a Black woman to America's highest court.
North Korea carries out its sixth missile test this month alone. What is rattling Pyongyang? We have the latest.
And U.S. lawmakers are considering swift action against Russia, hitting them where it hurts, their pockets.
ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Isa Soares.
SOARES: Welcome to the show, everyone. It is Thursday, January 27th. With much of his domestic agenda stalled in Congress, and midterm
elections looming later this year, U.S. President Joe Biden has a rare opportunity to leave a lasting mark on the American political landscape. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer is expected to normal formally announce his retirement at an event later today with the president. Now Breyer is 83 years old and has served on the high court for the past 27 years.
For Mr. Biden it means whoever he nominates to replace Breyer could exert a powerful influence over the U.S. judicial system, long, of course, after the president leaves office. But with the Senate split 50/50, any nominee is bound to face a tough confirmation battle as CNN's MJ Lee now reports.
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MJ LEE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): President Biden confronting a major decision about the Supreme Court. Justice Stephen Breyer expected to retire from the highest court, paving the way for the president to nominate his replacement, one of the most of the most coveted and momentous action a sitting U.S. president can take.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There has been no announcement from Justice Breyer. Let him make whatever statement he's going to make and I'll be happy to talk about it later.
LEE (voice-over): Biden now getting the opportunity to fulfill this 2020 campaign promise.
BIDEN: I'm looking forward to making sure there's a Black woman on the Supreme Court to make sure and in fact get --
BIDEN: I committed that if I'm elected president, have an opportunity to appoint someone to the courts will be -- I'll appoint the first Black woman to the courts.
BIDEN: We are putting together a list of a group of African-American women who are qualified and have the experience to be in the court.
LEE (voice-over): The White House reiterating today Biden's position on this front remains unchanged.
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president has stated and reiterated his commitment to nominating a Black woman to the Supreme Court and certainly stands by that.
LEE (voice-over): The upcoming nomination and confirmation fight now expected to dominate Washington and the White House for weeks. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer looking to move quickly following a similar timeline that Republicans used to confirm conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett in 2020.
The political calendar and the upcoming midterm elections looming large over Democrats. The president's party currently has the slimmest of majorities in the Senate with Vice President Kamala Harris as the tie-breaking vote, this adding urgency for Biden to act quickly before the Senate potentially changes hands.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mitch McConnell said that if Republicans were to take back the Senate in 2022, he did not see a way that you could get a Supreme Court justice confirmed. Do you have a response to that?
BIDEN: Mitch has been nothing but no for a long time, and I'm sure he means exactly what he says. But we'll see.
LEE (voice-over): Appointed to the court in 1994 by President Bill Clinton, Breyer, a consistent liberal justice on the bench. He has been a defender of abortion rights and affirmative action, as well as a fierce opponent of capital punishment. Breyer also writing the opinion rejecting the challenge to the Affordable Care Act last term. More recently, Justice Breyer coming under intense pressure including from many progressives to retire. The 83-year-old justice saying the confirmation process should have nothing to do with politics.
JUSTICE STEPHEN BREYER, SUPREME COURT: If the public sees judges as politicians in robes, it's confidence in the courts and in the rule of law itself can only diminish.
[15:35:00]
LEE (voice-over): Several names already in circulation as possible replacements for Breyer. Among them, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, a former Supreme Court Clerk for Breyer.
JUDGE KETANJI BROWN JACKSON, D.C. CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS NOMINEE: When you become a judge, you take an oath to look only at the law in deciding your cases, that you set aside your personal views about the circumstances, the defendants or anything else.
LEE (voice-over): And California Supreme Court Justice Leondra Kruger.
LEONDRA KRUGER, CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT: I think we tend to forget when were in the outside world that, really, conversations about these very difficult cases are confined to a very small number of people.
LEE: Now the White House being asked repeatedly about the Breyer news, but everyone from the president on down essentially staying on message and saying they're not going to comment on the specifics until Justice Breyer himself announces his retirement.
MJ Lee, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Now, the U.S. Supreme Court has the final word on any legal appeals that come before it, with adherence to the U.S. Constitution as the guiding principle, of course. Their decisions can directly affect daily life in America for generations. The court is made up of nine justices, who span really the political spectrum from the left to the right -- as you can see on your screen.
Under former President Trump, three right leaning justices were confirmed, giving conservatives a 6-3 majority. The most recent was Amy Coney Barrett whose confirmation process was pushed through the Senate in less than a month.
The nine justices can choose which cases they will accept to hear, including hot button issues such as the Texas abortion law and the president's vaccine mandate for large businesses. But there are many other cases the high court declines. As MJ Lee -- you heard her there just mentioned President Biden has promised to nominate a Black female judge.
CNN's senior legal analyst Laura Coates explains why that choice will be both historic as well as consequential. Have a listen.
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LAURA COATES, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: The idea of bringing a discussion about a wholistic approach, having the entirety and themselves being part of the court, having an opportunity to weigh in on the most consequential matters of our lifetime, my parent's lifetime, our children's lifetime is extraordinarily important and it should not be lost on anyone. This is not the first time, for example, a president has mentioned what his intentions would be when it comes to someone on the bench.
Roe v. Wade comes to mind, trying to have people believe that they'll be able to nominate those justices who could possibly overturn precedent. This notion of what it looks like for a president to be able to figure out what type of justice they want, it seems in all of these years it is always eluded Black women. And it is unconscionable and it makes no sense, given what you know of the wide scope of qualified candidates. And just in those alone who have been named, it's quite extraordinary that it's taken until this point to even have them nominated at this level.
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SOARES: Laura Coates there.
President Biden may be on the verge of a win at home, but he is still facing a major international crisis with Ukraine, with Russian troops on the border with Ukraine. The U.S. is waiting for an answer from Moscow after it sent a written response to Russia's request for security guarantees. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says there's a serious diplomatic path forward if Russia chooses it. Have a listen.
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ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We made clear that there are core principles that we are committed to uphold and defend, including Ukraine sovereignty and territorial integrity and the right of states to choose their own security arrangements and alliances.
The document is with them, and the ball's in their court. We'll see what we do as I said repeatedly, whether they choose the path of diplomacy and dialogue, whether they decide to renew aggression against Ukraine, we're prepared either way.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SOARES: An adviser to Ukraine's president says the U.S. response to Russia is comprehensive, well thought out, and the right strategy. The top U.S. diplomat in Kyiv spoke with CNN about the situation.
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KRISTINA KVIEN, U.S. CHARGE OF AFFAIRS IN UKRAINE: We're trying to make it very clear to Russia right now that if they go in, it will not be easy. I've been here for over 2 1/2 years and I've been -- I've seen Ukrainian troops, Ukrainian national guard, Ukrainian border guards where they work. I've gone all around the country and I can tell you, Ukrainians will fight. Ukrainians love their country, they're patriotic, they will stand, they will fight. And the Russians will not have any easy time of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Meanwhile, a Ukrainian diplomat says his country is willing to negotiate around the clock to prevent all talks with Russia taking place in Paris and ended with both sides supporting the idea of an unconditional permanent cease-fire.
Anna Stewart is covering the economic impact of the tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Scott McLean is following the latest peace talks I was mentioning in Europe.
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But we begin this hour with Nic Robertson, with the reaction to the U.S. response to Russia. And Nic, let me start on that. What has been the reaction to this letter of guarantees from Moscow? Has it appeased Putin at all?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Zero reaction so far, Isa. The Kremlin is likely to take some time over this. Yesterday, the Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov when he was addressing Parliament said that he would respect the United States' wishes to keep the contents confidential, that they would consider what was written there. He really warned and very stark terms that this should be something that is not confrontational, that it should be constructive, that the United States should sort of lose some of its aggressive lines that it has been using recently. Otherwise, the Russian government would be facing an alternative response that in the past they characterized as a legal military response. He didn't say that there in the state duma.
But what he did say was that the government and the foreign ministry -- which is where the letter was handed over to -- officials there would consider the -- consider what is written and find some proposals to offer to president Putin for his consideration.
So, I think that the expectation is, although we'll hear very likely from the Kremlin spokesman in the next couple of hours and may possibly get some hint of what's thinking -- of what the government's thinking is. I think the reality is that this process, this piece of diplomacy here, is perhaps not going to play out very fast and perhaps not all of it in the public domain either.
SOARES: And I know you'll keep us posted Nic. Stay with us. We go to Scott. And Scott, while this letter guarantees, security guarantees were being handed over, there were talks in Paris. How successful were the talks in trying, of course, to diffuse tensions?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Isa. Yes, there were flickers of progress, real baby steps made in these negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, mediated by the French and the Germans. Now from the French perspective, they were simply just trying to test Russia's willingness to engage, and, of course, that is a pretty low bar, but in that department, they are touting this as a success.
This is the first time since 2019 that all four parties have agreed to a joint statement at the conclusion of talks. They say that they want to make sure that the cease-fire in eastern Ukraine is maintained, and that the Minsk Agreement that brought peace to the region after the invasion in 2014 is maintained.
Now, there is differences on interpretations of that agreement, but at least the parties say that they're willing to try to work through those differences. So, there is a long way to go there, but at least all of these countries are planning to meet up in Berlin in about two weeks from now to continue.
Now, Berlin is also where the British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace was yesterday, speaking with his German counterpart. And he's on this European tour to try to push European and NATO countries to do more, to, you know, fend off Russian aggression, sanctions, things like that. And one of the things that they're keen on is sending aid in the form of lethal aid to Ukraine.
The Germans are reluctant to do that. They have committed to sending for instance 5,000 military helmets to the country, as well as a field hospital and other resources. But they are not interested in sending lethal weapons. They think that that will further fuel the conflict, something they're not interested in doing.
Now, another topic that came up was the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The Brits, the Americans, they think that it should be canceled. This is what Ben Wallace said yesterday.
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BEN WALLACE, BRITISH DEFENSE SECRETARY: I think Nord Stream 2 is important. And I know the German chancellor has talked about it being one of the areas that would be under consideration. And I think that if President Putin chose to invade Ukraine and all the consequences, that he should not be rewarded by Europe funding him any further.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCLEAN: Under consideration is how the Germans are framing it, if there were to be a Russian invasion, but, of course, the Americans, the Brits would certainly like to see a firmer commitment from Germany on that. Of course, this is all very delicate, because the Russians have said
that, look, if that pipeline were to be canceled, if they were cut out of the SWIFT banking system, then, well, they would have problems getting paid by Europe for their energy, which Europe is heavily reliant on. In which case they wouldn't be sending it at all -- Isa.
SOARES: We'll talk economic impact in 50 minutes or so with Anna Stewart on this. Let me go back to Nic on that point. Nic, we're talking about the SWIFT way, the way to target, of course, Russia and Putin and those around him, Nic, talking about sanctions as well, potentially targeting Putin directly. Has that rattled at all Putin?
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ROBERTSON: No. His spokesman yesterday addressed that straight on. He said, look, this would not be painful in any way, it would be politically destructive and then he went on to say and give it some context. That, you know, clearly, he said people in the West, these Western leaders don't understand the way the Russian system works, that the Russian system at the highest level of government, no one there is allowed to have any large international assets, any international assets, and therefore, the affective sanctions on individuals, including the president, would not be felt.
I think there are many analysts that look at the structures of power, financial influence, financial holdings, outside of Russia, of senior people, many analysts who say that probably is not an accurate assessment. But this is the Kremlin's line. No pain, but politically destructive.
SOARES: Well, like secretary Blinken said, the ball is now in their cart. We shall see, Nic, what Russia responds to that letter, some guarantees. I know you'll stay on top of that. Nic Robertson for us there in Moscow, Scott McLean here in London, thanks very much to you both.
Far to the east of Ukraine, North Korea is ratcheting up its own aggressive challenges to global security and stability. Earlier this morning North Korea apparently carried out its sixth missile test since the start of the year. South Korea's military believes two short range ballistic missiles were fired from Hamhung and landed in the ocean.
The U.S. military in the region said it is aware of the latest launch and is calling them illegal as well as destabilizing. It also said U.S. commitments to defense of Japan and South Korea remain iron clad. Let's get more on this. CNN's Will Ripley joins me now live from Taiwan. And Will, Pyongyang has certainly been busy so far this year. Explain to us the timing of this, why they're testing so heavily now.
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we don't know entirely, Isa. We know we're about a week out of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games. China, North Korea's neighbor, their benefactor, their economic patron, has a lot of hopes on these games going off very smoothly and certainly wouldn't welcome the kind of distraction these North Korean missile tests increasingly provocative, some might argue, would cause. And yet North Korea is doing it.
And they might be doing it precisely for the reason they want all eyes to be on their country. They want people to be talking about North Korea, even though they're not participating in the Beijing games, citing the coronavirus pandemic, and hostile forces, such as the United States.
So, the test that they've carried out -- and we don't know for sure yet, because we're going through the numbers -- but this could be North Korea's busiest month ever for ballistic missile tests or certainly at least one of their busiest months ever. They lay out the full spectrum of North Korean weapons capabilities.
They've been testing ballistic missiles. They've been testing cruise missiles earlier this month. They launched a ballistic missile from a railcar at the beginning of the month. They tested what they claim are two hypersonic missiles that can travel ten times the speed of sound and have warheads with gliders on them that can cause the gliders to make an unexpected turn, making them almost impossible for existing U.S. missile defense systems, which are also deployed in Japan, to shoot down. And this is what experts say is so troubling.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DUYEON KIM, ADJUNCT SENIOR FELLOW AT THE CENTER FOR A NEW AMERICAN SECURITY: North Korea is aiming for the types of weapons that can evade U.S. missile defenses, make it harder for the United States to detect to try to target and try to hit if it wanted to.
MELISSA HANHAM, STANFORD UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY AND COOPERATION: North Korea has been making really powerful threats for decade after decade. But they are now reaching technical capability where they can make some of those threats real.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RIPLEY: These tests are barred by international law, Isa. North Korea, though, undeterred by international sanctions. Saying in fact, they're only going to strengthen their pushback against the U.S. because of those sanctions. Even saying that they could restart the kind of testing, nuclear testing, that we haven't seen since 2017. So, we really need to keep close eyes on the Korean Peninsula, Isa, to see where this thing goes.
SOARES: And I know you will for us. Will Ripley for us in Taipei. Thanks very much, Will. Good to see you.
On the economy front, Americans can expect to pay more interest soon on new car loans as well as mortgages. The U.S. Federal Reserve signaled a rate hike is likely to come in March. Mostly in an attempt really to get inflation under control. Have a listen to what Jerome Powell said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEROME POWELL, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: Supply and demand imbalances related to the pandemic and the reopening of the economy have continued to contribute to elevated levels of inflation. In particular, bottlenecks in supply constraints are limiting how quickly production can respond to higher demand in the near term. These problems have been larger and longer lasting than anticipated, exacerbated by waves of the virus.
[15:50:00]
While the drivers of higher inflation have been predominantly connected to the dislocations caused by the pandemic, price increases have now spread to a broader range of goods and services.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Two new Gallup polls show Americans are struggling with rising prices and don't expect relief soon. As you can see on the screen, 79 percent say they think inflation will go up over the next six months. 49 percent say inflation has caused hardship for their family.
Rising rents are a big part, excuse me, of the problem. Realtor.com reports the cost of rent on average was more than 10 percent higher when compared to 2021. Growing -- higher in 2021, growing five times faster than the first year of the pandemic. The national median rent for a one bedroom in December was more than $1,600 a month. And Miami leads the way among large U.S. cities with rents rising nearly 50 percent over the past year.
Some of the most popular grocery store items will be getting more expensive in March. Kraft Heinz says it is planning to do raise prices on Oscar Mayer cold cuts, hot dogs, bacon and as well as sausages. The company will also charge more for Velveeta cheese and Maxwell House coffee, Kool-Aid and Capri Sun drinks. Last week, if you remember, Procter & Gamble announced price hikes on Tide and Gain laundry detergents and Downy Fabric Softer.
One company that doesn't seem to be struggling though is Tesla, the automaker shook off supply chain issues to report that its earnings more than tripled from a year ago at $2.9 billion. The growing appetite for electric vehicles pushed the company's revenue to $17.7 billion, that's up 65 percent from a year earlier. The CEO Elon Musk told investors on a conference call Tesla won't be producing any new vehicle models this year.
Despite growing calls for his resignation, Britain's Prime Minister is standing firm. But public support is dwindling -- Salma.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Salma Abdelaziz in London. Stay tuned to find out about the growing "party gate" scandal. Why Britons are so angry with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and how it could spell the end of his premiership.
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SOARES: New research shows Moderna's booster shot provides durable protection against the Omicron variant for at least six months. But the antibody protection wanes and is six times lower after that time. Now Moderna is beginning its next phase of an Omicron specific booster trial. The company plans to enroll about 600 people in the study. Some participants will have already received two doses of the Moderna vaccine and others will have received a booster shot.
Pressure is building on Boris Johnson for allegedly violating Britain's COVID lockdown rules. In a contentious and heated session in Parliament, the Prime Minister rejected calls for him to resign over a series of Downing Street parties that allegedly violated lockdown rules. The tally of alleged parties during lockdown stretches -- as you can see on your screen -- from garden parties in May of 2020 to Christmas parties to leaving celebrations in April of 2021. When of course, the nation was mourning the death of Prince Philip.
Salma Abdelaziz reports now, and the accusations are reminding people of the sacrifices they made during those times.
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ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Spring 2020, about two months into England's strict nationwide lockdown. The death toll mounting so quickly, mass graves are dug on the outskirts of London.
BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: To obey those rules...
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): The prime minister consistently urges the public to abide by COVID restrictions.
May 15th, this photo is snapped in the Downing Street garden, Johnson allegedly hosting a wine and cheese party for his team. Johnson's government has denied wrongdoing, claiming this was a work meeting.
Bereaved mother Emma Jones says it's hypocrisy.
EMMA JONES, 18-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER DIED MAY 15, 2020: The date just jumped out at me. So, the 15th of May 2020, which is an incredibly sad day for us.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): That day, her 18-year-old daughter, Ruby, died of blood cancer at home.
JONES: After Ruby died, we opened up our front garden and invited people to come by, but they had to do in their household bubbles.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Because funeral attendance was severely limited, this is how loved ones said goodbye to Ruby.
ABDELAZIZ: You made the sacrifice of not having a funeral for your daughter.
JONES: It was very, very hard. But we didn't begrudge that. But now to realize that the people who set the rules weren't following them is absolutely infuriating.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But this government needs to stop -- ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): May 20th, 2020, police are out to enforce restrictions and break up illegal gatherings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need to disperse this group and go about your business.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): But in the prime minister's garden, a party is allegedly taking place, after his top secretary invited more than 100 staffers to "make the most of the lovely weather" and "bring your own booze."
Johnson now admits to his attendance and has apologized but that it's he believed the BYOB event was a work function.
JOHNSON: Mr. Speaker, I want to apologize.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): That spring, Olufemi Akinnola followed the rules until his dying breath, isolating at home, his son, Lobby, told us.
LOBBY AKINNOLA, LOST HIS FATHER TO COVID IN 2020: You have someone who was so dedicated to the people he loves. And then the Prime Minister just doesn't care?
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): In the fall of 2020, Lobby met the Prime Minister with other bereaved families to share his story of grief.
AKINNOLA: I don't think the man can maintain his position as prime minister because I think he's betrayed us all so deeply.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): For many, the accusation their government broke COVID rules to party is unforgivable. The inquiries into the alleged breaches, first by the cabinet office and now the police, are set to make it unforgettable.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
