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Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) Discusses Pentagon Briefing on Troop Deployments in Eastern Europe & Biden's Potential Supreme Court Pick; Rudy Giuliani Unveiled as "Masked Singer," Judges Walk Off Set; Concerns Over Chinese Tennis Star, Peng Shuai; Official Opening of 2020 Olympics Just Hours Away Amid Pandemic; Anger after Ex-Cop Convicted of Killing Laquan McDonald Released Early from Prison. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired February 03, 2022 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[14:30:30]
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: This morning, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other senior Pentagon officials held a classified briefing for all U.S. Senators on the decision to deploy 3,000 U.S. troops to Eastern Europe as Russia continues to consider a Ukraine invasion.
New video from CNN affiliate, WTVD, shows soldiers leaving Fort Bragg in North Carolina. And 1,700 are headed to Poland, 300 to Germany.
The Kremlin accuses the U.S. of, quote, "stirring up tension" with this deployment.
Joining us now is Senator Tim Kaine, of Virginia, who was in that briefing.
Senator, great to see you.
SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA): Thanks, Alisyn. Good to be back with you.
CAMEROTA: You got this classified briefing today from these senior officials. I know you can't reveal the classified information that you got.
But did you leave that briefing, as some of your colleagues did, feeling more certain that, in fact, Russia is soon going to invade Ukraine?
I'll just read to you what Senator Roger Wicker told CNN after this. Quote, "When the ground freezes, Mr. Putin is going to do something dangerous and foolish, and I think he will regret it." What was your impression?
KAINE: Well, it is the case that cold weather provides them options that they don't have when -- in the springtime. So that is cause for concern.
And, look, I have been very concerned at just the amassing of the numbers of Russian troops, the disinformation campaign they're waging in Ukraine, and their increasing desperation as they see Ukrainians turn more and more to the West.
This really isn't about will Ukraine join NATO. It's more about the Ukrainian population is rejecting Russia, even in parts of Ukraine that are right on the Russian border.
And I think the Russian government understands that Ukrainian is turning West because they're rejecting the Russian authoritarian model.
So I walked into the meeting concerned. I left even more educated but no less concerned.
I think it's very important that the United States put a strong sanctions package in place.
And particularly reassure our NATO allies that the Article 5, you know, joint protection aspect of NATO is strong. And that's what the Biden announced deployments will do.
CAMEROTA: Do you want to see sanctions now or if Russia does something?
KAINE: I think the best thing to do is to announce, in advance, these are the sanctions we will put in place if Russia does something.
I think it's right to communicate our intent in advance because it's most likely to have a deterrent effect.
Nobody wants a kinetic activity or a war or invasion. It's less about punishing bad behavior than deterring bad behavior.
And in that sense, I do think we came out with a pretty clear resolve from this meeting that we need to act promptly with respect to sanctions so that they can have potentially a deterrent effect.
CAMEROTA: Today, Pentagon press secretary, John Kirby, just explained this false flag operation. I'll just try to summarize it in the interest of time.
Basically, a very graphic propaganda video that would employ actors and big, fake explosions that would make it look as though Ukraine was being the aggressor and give Russia a pretext to go in.
Does this sound like a country that is engaging in good faith diplomacy? KAINE: No, it doesn't. And yet, this is a very accurate portrayal of
what Russia is up to in Ukraine. And what they've done in other nations.
People are familiar with the Russian effort to impact the election in the United States in 2016.
But if you go and read what they were doing at the same time in other nations in Europe, I mean, it's astounding, the disinformation campaigns they put together to try to create pretext or chaos.
The U.S. had very, very good intel that that was the intent here. That Putin was going to fabricate a video that made it look like Russian speakers in Ukraine were being targeted.
And then that was going to be sold to a domestic audience in Russia to make them feel comfortable that their nation was going to war.
Instead, this is now blown up in their face. And I really applaud the U.S. Intelligence Community for getting this information out on the table.
CAMEROTA: Let's talk about the Supreme Court and President Biden's upcoming pick for nominee.
We've heard Senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott, both of South Carolina, voice their support for Judge Michelle Childs, a South Carolina district judge.
Do you think that President Biden picking her would spare him and the country a more bruising nomination fight?
[14:35:07]
KAINE: You know, Alisyn, it is going to be a very robust nomination process with a searching inquiry by Senators and probably a searching inquiry by the Judiciary Committee.
And no matter who President Biden nominates, you should not expect this to be a walk in the park. It's going to be very robust.
However, having Senator Scott and Senator Graham say very positive things about Judge Childs, that's a positive.
And I think there are other candidates that President Biden is considering who might also be able to get Republican support. That's very, very heartening.
CAMEROTA: Senator, while I have you, I want to let you know there's a big snowstorm heading east. And I just want to make sure you have your supply of Dr. Pepper in your car, ready for whatever happens.
KAINE: I am a survivalist. I can get by 27 hours on one orange and one Dr. Pepper. Give me two of each and I'm good for nearly a week.
(LAUGHTER) CAMEROTA: I believe you, Senator --
(CROSSTALK)
CAMEROTA: -- after we witnessed what happened.
Great to talk to you. Thanks so much.
KAINE: OK, take care.
CAMEROTA: OK, you, too.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: He's never going to live that down.
CAMEROTA: No, no, he's not.
BLACKWELL: That's always going to be a moment you all are going to have together.
(LAUGHTER)
BLACKWELL: So the "Masked Singer" had, let's say, quite an unveiling with Rudy Giuliani. I mean, we have so many questions. Like the first one, why?
CAMEROTA: Why?
BLACKWELL: Why?
CAMEROTA: Why?
BLACKWELL: We've got more on that next.
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[14:41:16]
BLACKWELL: After helping Trump's failed effort to overturn the 2020 election, Rudy Giuliani, he's got a new gig. He's now turned up as a game show contestant.
His taped appearance on the "Masked Singer" reportedly prompted two judges to leave the set in protest.
CAMEROTA: Did you say, "Masked Singer?"
BLACKWELL: "Masked Singer," indeed.
CNN's Chloe Melas is here to tell us, what --
CAMEROTA: Why.
BLACKWELL: -- why, all the questions.
CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: It's like the best worst story of the entire day. So Rudy Giuliani is trending on social media once again for something just terrible.
And it's because he is on the season seven premier of the "Masked Singer," which, don't worry, my mother keeps asking, where is the video? It's not out yet because it doesn't come out until March.
And that's going to be March 9th, to be exact, so mark your calendars because it will be a disgrace.
So, he is on there. And he gets revealed, Rudy Giuliani, in the first episode. And Robin Thicke and Ken Jeong, two of the judges on the show, they walked off. I can confirm, they walked off in disgust that he was there.
They eventually came back. I don't know what words but there was some banter exchanged.
Jenny McCarthy, Nicole Scherzinger, they're also judges.
And we don't know what song he sang. We don't know what his costume was.
The point of the show is to guess who it is, the celebrity that's singing. I didn't know he could sing.
But he does get revealed in the first episode, which means he gets booted off. Yes.
So, that did happen. Truth is stranger than fiction. I know. I'm blowing your mind right now. It happened. We will see the tape.
CAMEROTA: Here's some -- I mean, here are some of the costumes that he could be, and we have a split screen of how sometimes Rudy Giuliani does resemble some of these characters.
These are past ones. These are just possibilities.
BLACKWELL: No idea.
CAMEROTA: We have no idea. I don't know what we're seeing here. That's just a --
BLACKWELL: "Disco Panda."
CAMEROTA: "Disco Panda," thank you.
BLACKWELL: That looks like a mouse.
CAMEROTA: How did you know that was "Disco Panda?" What's this?
BLACKWELL: Well, the -- the Michelin Man dressed, I don't know, as a street hustler.
CAMEROTA: OK, so, Chloe, is this about money? How much does he get paid for this? Why would he do this if not money?
MELAS: Well, it's also for exposure. It's also to get people talking. I don't quite understand why FOX would agree to have such a polarizing
character on. They did have Sarah Palin in the past.
But again, I feel like people are much more outraged about Rudy Giuliani being on.
As for getting paid, there's no grand prize money at the end of the show. But there's a sign-on agreement. It can be anywhere from $10,000 to $200,000.
(CROSSTALK)
MELAS: But a lot of people are really upset, saying they're never going to watch the show again because he was on.
I feel like maybe he was a pig. Maybe he sings "Bye, Bye, Bye." I don't know.
CAMEROTA: Wow.
MELAS: I don't know. It could be a horse. I don't know.
But you should see on social media all of the things that people are saying. It's pretty outrageous.
CAMEROTA: Wow. Just wow.
But I think we answered the why question.
BLACKWELL: Up to $200,000.
CAMEROTA: Up to $200,000.
MELAS: Yes.
CAMEROTA: Chloe Melas, thank you for the preview of what will be happening on March 9th. Thank you very much.
MELAS: Thank you.
BLACKWELL: I mean, that is --
CAMEROTA: How do we segue?
BLACKWELL: I don't know that we do. Let's just move on.
Despite COVID concerns and diplomatic boycotts, the show goes on. We are live in Beijing next where the Winter Olympic Games are about to begin.
[14:44:41]
CAMEROTA: Maybe that will be it.
(LAUGHTER)
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CAMEROTA: We are just hours away from the official start of the 2022 Winter Olympics. Some of the competitions like hockey and curling are already under way.
But the jury is still out on Beijing's bubble experiment. Can organizers keep enough athletes COVID free to take part?
BLACKWELL: Already the Beijing Olympic Committee reports more than 280 COVID cases, 102 of which are athletes and team officials, have been identified inside its closed loop system.
CNN's David Culver joins us from Beijing.
David, the biggest story right now has nothing to do with the Winter Olympics. It has to do with the whereabouts and condition of tennis star, Peng Shuai. What can you tell us?
[14:50:07]
DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Victor and Alisyn.
There are so many different issues that will overshadow these games, among them the situation with Peng Shuai. A lot of folks hear the name and know the hash tag, where is Peng Shuai?
To quickly bring you up to speed on where things are, it started in November. This is a former Olympian, a tennis star here in China.
She put what was a heartbreaking story put out on Chinese social media describing her being forced into sex by a former senior party official here, one of the highest-ranking, in fact.
Within 30 minutes, that post quickly erased. Any subsequent mention on Chinese social media has been scrubbed since.
And questions remain, where was she after she posted that? People didn't have any interaction with her.
Fast forward several weeks, state media started to put out some videos of her that many considered to be staged. And then you saw a denial of those accusations coming from her in another state media video.
The IOC, the International Olympic Committee, also played a role in this. They had interactions with her. They said the video conference, they only put out one picture at the time.
They face a lot of criticism and still do. Many consider them to be implicit in her disappearance and not able to speak freely.
We're expecting in the next week or so is the head of the IOC, Thomas Bach, here in Beijing, to meet one-on-one with Peng Shuai.
The question remains, Are we going to get any more details? Are we going to see any video? Are we going to have hard evidence that would give folks the comfort
to say, OK, she is speaking freely? She doesn't want to pursue any sort of investigation?
The IOC says they will engage with her and ask her about that. But it seems to be tainted all around.
The Women's Tennis Association, one of the organizations that have taken a very strong stance, pulling out of its tournaments from China indefinitely until they can ensure Peng Shuai can speak freely.
All of this, of course, will happen behind that closed loop system that is the Olympic bubble -- Victor and Alisyn?
CAMEROTA: And, David, how is that Olympic bubble working and keeping COVID cases down?
CULVER: OK, we're outside the bubble. Our colleagues inside are telling us it is incredibly restrictive. I think there's a culture shock for anyone who comes to China, firstly.
Secondly, when you come to China, in the midst of the pandemic, this is a zero-COVID policy approach.
It is quite harsh, to be blunt with you. You have to go through several layers of testing constantly. You're being monitored.
You mentioned the athletes who are contracting COVID-19. They are in isolation.
And it is really, for them, heartbreaking situations because it is out of your control. The Chinese really take control in all of this. And they will determine when you can re-engage with society, so to speak.
BLACKWELL: David Culver, for us in Beijing, thank you.
CAMEROTA: OK, back here, anger in Chicago after the police officer who shot and killed Laquan McDonald is released early from prison. We have more next.
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[14:57:48]
BLACKWELL: The former Chicago police officer convicted of second- degree murder in the 2014 shooting death of Laquan McDonald was released today from prison. He served a little more than three years of a six-year sentence.
CAMEROTA: Jason Van Dyke initially claimed the 17-year-old McDonald was acting erratically and pointed a knife at him. But police dash cam video showed McDonald was moving away with his back turned when Van Dyke shot him 16 times.
CNN's Omar Jimenez is following developments today in Chicago.
Omar, why was he released early? And what's been the reaction?
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the reaction has been anger that this wasn't a long enough sentence.
Jason Van Dyke, as you mentioned, was released this morning after serving a little more than three years of a nearly seven-year sentence.
And his attorney tells me he doesn't plan to release any sort of public statement. And that moving forward, he just wants to spend time with his family.
But technically, even though he got out in this little more than three years of this nearly seven-year sentence, that was always supposed to be the timeline because of Illinois' good behavior statutes.
And it's why people feel this was nothing more than a slap on the wrist.
The mayor of Chicago, for one, said she was extremely disappointed in the sentence.
And she released a statement this morning that reads, in part, along with that disappointment, as I said:
"While I know this moment is disappointing, it should not prevent us from seeing the significant progress of Van Dyke's prosecution and conviction represents. He was the first officer in more than a half of a century to be convicted of a crime reportedly in the line of duty."
And that's something the lead prosecutor told me as well, that it's extremely rare for a police officer to be convicted, one, but especially of murder.
Separately, there are many who say federal charges need to now be added to Jason Van Dyke, similar to what we're seeing in Minneapolis with the former officers charged in the killing of George Floyd.
And it's why later today, we're expecting to see protests outside the federal courthouse here in Chicago.
With a little over 30 community groups telling me they plan to deliver a letter to the U.S. attorney here demanding those charges be instated.
That's on top of the NAACP, who has already sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, demanding the same thing.
[14:59:57]
The Department of Justice said they've gotten the letter, they're reviewing the information, but still no word how things would proceed federally as of now -- Victor, Alisyn?
CAMEROTA: OK. Omar Jimenez, thank you for the update.
