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Dramatic Rescue Of Bloomberg's Kidnapped Employee; Russia Has 70 Percent Of Military Capability In Place For Invasion; Manchin Says Electoral Count Act Reform Will Absolutely Pass; Trucker Protests Against COVID Restrictions Spread Across Canada; Parents Question Safety Of Pfizer Vaccine For Kids Under 5; Queen Elizabeth II: "Camilla Will Be Known As 'Queen Consort'". Aired 2-3p ET

Aired February 06, 2022 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:41]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE SULLIVAN, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We believe that there's a very distinct possibility that Vladimir Putin will order an attack on Ukraine.

REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R-TX): This would be the largest invasion in Europe since World War II.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR: -- NEWSROOM.

Stark warnings on the buildup of troops along the Russia/Ukraine border.

Plus --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This whole event has gone beyond just vaccines. And it is now about the entire ordeal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're asking for our freedom. That's all we want.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: It's being called a siege. Blockades and protests as the so- called Freedom Convoy spreads.

And Queen Camilla? The new title Queen Elizabeth has just granted.

NEWSROOM starts right now.

Hi, everyone. Happy Sunday to you. Thanks for joining me.

I'm Amara Walker, in for Fredricka Whitfield. And we begin with breaking news. The search is over for the man who

police say rammed his truck through a gate at Mike Bloomberg's ranch in Colorado, kidnapping an employee at gunpoint as he hunted for the billionaire's daughters.

CNN's Camila Bernal joining me now with more.

And Camila, let's start with this brand-new video released to CNN showing a SWAT team arriving at the motel where the suspect was hiding out and they were able to rescue the woman who was kidnapped. Can you walk us through this really incredible rescue?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and look, thankfully she was ok. And that's what's most important here, but this really is a disturbing story.

And I do want to start from the beginning though because authorities say that all of this started on Wednesday at around 10:15 in the morning. And the information that we have coming from an arrest affidavit and also from a criminal complaint that was filed in federal court.

And according to those documents, Joseph Beecher (ph) got to the ranch and got out of his truck, started inspecting the front gate. And this is according to surveillance video that police officers watched after. But they say he got back into his truck and rammed into that gate, was able to get inside of that ranch and once inside, he found that employee.

She is not being identified in the court documents but she told authorities that he was heavily armed. He was essentially ranting on and just talking about Michael Bloomberg, asking for his daughters by name, telling this employee that he wanted to shoot her head off and saying that he wanted to create an international scene.

But once he found out the Bloombergs were not at the ranch, he made this employee get into her car and drive him around. They ended up in Wyoming and that's the video that police released where a SWAT team arrives at a motel where they were.

And they were able to track their location because of her iPad. And so that was helpful in terms of the technology there. And as I mentioned, she was ok. He was arrested. He's facing a number of charges, including federal kidnapping charges. And his first court appearance is on Tuesday.

We do not know yet who his attorney will be, but we're, of course, trying to figure all that out.

We also got a statement from Michael Bloomberg's spokesperson saying that they're thankful to law enforcement for essentially bringing this employee back home and safe to her family, Amara.

WALKER: What a terrifying ordeal for this employee. And thank goodness she is ok and she emerged there unharmed.

Camila Bernal, thank you for your reporting.

Let's turn now to a key development in the crisis along the Ukraine border. Two U.S. officials telling CNN that Russia now has about 70 percent of its troops and weapons in place for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The assessment reflects Vladimir Putin's continued build- up of forces along Ukraine's border. It's unclear how long it would take Russia to ramp up further.

Officials in the administration and in Congress are warning not to underestimate how quickly that could happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCAUL: It's more likely than not. I think the noose is being prepared. It's around Ukraine right now as we speak.

These are dangerous times. Time is of the essence. This would be the largest invasion in Europe since World War II.

[14:04:58]

SULLIVAN: We believe that there's a very distinct possibility that Vladimir Putin will order an attack on Ukraine. It could take a number of different forms. It could happen as soon as tomorrow or it could take some weeks yet.

He has put himself in a position with military deployments to be able to act aggressively against Ukraine at any time now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Another potentially troubling development. New satellite images appearing to show Russia's military has also advanced its deployments at several locations in Belarus within about 30 miles of its border with Ukraine.

CNN's international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is in Moscow and CNN political and national security analyst David Sanger is in Washington. He's also a correspondent for the "New York Times" and the author of book "The Perfect Weapon".

Welcome to you both. Nic, let's start with you and as we well know, the M.O. for Russia is denial and more denial. How is the Kremlin responding now to this latest assessment?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Silence I think is the short answer. This weekend at an unknown time, President Putin arrived back from his visit to China. Watching state media this evening on a Sunday evening, as always, a good way to get an idea about the mood of the Kremlin and indications of which direction they are going in. And as we know, the Kremlin is not giving any indication so far.

And that very much was what played out on TV this evening. You know, huge amount of criticism of the west, of the United States, of the way that this is all being characterized and portrayed in the United States. The narrative, of course, that the United States is the aggressor.

But the reality here is very simple, really simple. President Putin hasn't got what he wants. NATO is not going to give it to him. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, turns up here tomorrow. He will meet with President Putin. The Kremlin is calling him a good interlocutor.

But it's, you know, Macron's office is saying very clearly that what they have to discuss is not going to get solved quickly or easily.

There doesn't seem to be a bridge between the two positions on the table, and as far as we're aware, you know, president Macron over the weekend spoke with Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister. Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary-General at NATO. Two days before that with President Biden. The day before that with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

He's had a round of phone calls as well with the Polish President Duda as well. He's had a round of phone calls. So he comes armed with the collective international opinion. But not a bridge between the two positions.

It's silence from the Kremlin. And this is essentially, with that military build-up, their negotiating position.

WALKER: Yes. And David, to you, as Nic was mentioning, I mean Putin has given these ultimatums regarding NATO's expansion and Ukraine's membership knowing that they are nonstarters for Washington and its allies.

And when you look at the big picture and you try to add it all up, especially with these latest images, the build-up, the positioning of Russian troops and of course, the other day, the Biden administration warning of this propaganda video that may be released by the Russians as a pretext to invade Ukraine.

It almost looks like Putin has made up his mind, no?

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: We don't know that yet and it really depends on two things, Amara. I think the first is, is his bottom line here that he wants to get some kind of, as he says, ironclad guarantee that Ukraine is never going to enter NATO?

The president of the United States already said at his press conference two weeks ago, it wasn't going to happen any time soon. We know that probably means a decade or two, you know, within Putin's political lifetime here.

The second thing we don't know is whether or not, at this point, he is planning to use these troops for diplomatic leverage or he really wants to go in and grab some or all of the country.

I think what's most alarming about the briefings that Congress got on Thursday and that many of us have heard from U.S. officials -- you heard a little bit of it in those clips that you played before -- is that there seems to be a movement in the U.S. assessment away from the thought that he's simply trying to grab a little more territory around Crimea or the East, the Russian-speaking parts of the country where he'd have lesser resistance. And maybe more of a U.S. assessment now that he would try to grab the entire country or go for Kyiv, the capital.

[14:09:54]

SANGER: And that is alarming because it suggests a more full-scale invasion if he chooses to go do it.

WALKER: And let's talk about the Ukrainian viewpoint, Nic. An adviser to Ukraine's president said this today on state media. "The situation is completely under control. One way or another, we are not reducing the activity of diplomatic work to ensure a sustainable and full- fledged de-escalation."

Why does Ukraine seem less concerned about this, or at least on the outside? I mean is this about -- is this about calming potential fears at home?

ROBERTSON: It's about projecting an image of stability. President Zelensky has been very clear when he's disagreed with President Biden's assessment. He's let that be known through sources and has come out and given open press conferences about it.

He is very clear that he wants the Ukrainian people not to be worried about the current situation. Although obviously, there are concerns but people, you know, as they are here in Russia, don't really believe that there's actually going to be a war.

But what in essence he's trying to do is not play into the pressure that President Putin is putting on him. You know, if he tells his people we have an army staring down over the border and the assessments are absolutely dire, that will have negative consequences.

It will have negative consequences for the population who will be afraid. It may force some of them to leave their homes. But worse than that, when it comes to essentially trying to meet President Putin's position in negotiating, which is one to sort of come with an army and overbear the table, Zelensky wants to be able to stare him back in the eye and say look, here we are. Let's talk.

In fact, he is trying to reassure the population, but stand up a very tough and strong diplomatic position. Some might assess from a military weaker standpoint. That's a realistic interpretation of where Ukraine's army stands.

But, you know, our reporter Clarissa Ward went to the front lines and didn't find a level of preparation, didn't find a level of fear or concern from the front line soldiers that an attack was imminent. She found the same response from the population near the, you know, near the front line.

So President Zelensky is having success at the moment in projecting that image. And for negotiations, that's really important for him. WALKER: Yes. It's a very good point.

And David, let's go to your reporting in the "New York Times" today. You write that the U.S. is warning of a grim toll if Putin pursues a full invasion. Biden administration officials telling the -- saying that a large-scale Russian invasion could kill as many as what -- 50,000 civilians? And also there's this concern of a refugee crisis in Europe.

SANGER: That's right. This all comes out of the briefing that was given on Thursday to Congress from Secretary Austin, the Secretary of Defense, Secretary Blinken, Secretary of State, Avril Haines, the director of National Intelligence, and others.

Now that's the worst case scenario, and it's one that, as Nic points out, is one that President Zelensky does not want to discuss very much in Ukraine. He's afraid of flight of civilians before any invasion happens. Something that might weaken his government. A flight of capital, sinking the markets.

But the result is that you've got this great disconnect between what we're seeing on the satellite photographs as the Russians move more missiles, more people, more tanks closer to the border and what we're hearing from the Ukrainians which is don't worry, we think we've got the diplomacy of this down. And I can't find many people in Washington who think right now that the diplomacy of this thing is pretty well set.

WALKER: Yes, definitely seems to be a disconnect if you have been paying attention, especially to those images.

Nic Robertson and David Sanger, appreciate the conversation. Thanks so much.

Still ahead this hour -- a CNN exclusive. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Joe Manchin joined Jake Tapper for a rare joint interview. Does this signal a new push for bipartisanship or is it just political theater?

Plus, vaccine mandate protests spreading to cities across Canada and a chaotic scene unfolds after a man drives his jeep into a crowd in Winnipeg.

And later, Her Majesty Queen Camilla? On the 70th anniversary of her reign, Queen Elizabeth makes a surprising announcement.

[14:14:51]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALKER: Today on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION", Democratic Senator Joe Manchin and Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski threw their support behind a bill to reform the Electoral Count Act, a proposal which aims to clarify the vice president's role in overseeing the counting of the electoral college vote.

The change is in response to former president Trump's attempt to get Mike Pence to throw out results from battleground states that he lost in the 2020 election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): What really caused the insurrection? They thought there was a kind of ambiguity, if you will. And there was an avenue they could go through and maybe overturn an election because there was. It was not clear.

And when one congressman and one senator can bring a state's authentic count to a halt, it's wrong. And basically not protecting the electors and change electors before you send them here, after the election, all these thing? This is what we're going to fix. And we have a group right now that's continuing to grow.

[14:19:58]

SENATOR LISA MURKOWSKI (R-AK): Yes. 16.

MANCHIN: There are probably 15 to 20 people that want to be part of it now.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: So do you think it's going to pass?

MANCHIN: Oh, I think absolutely it will pass. Now, there will be some people saying it's not enough. There will be other people saying that it's more than what we should do or we don't need it.

And what we'll do is try to bring them all together and say, listen, this is what we should do because this is what caused the problem and it's what we can do and let's do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: All right. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux joining us now. Suzanne, we just heard there from Senator Joe Manchin speaking about the growing support that he believes there is for the Electoral Count Act. What is the status for this -- on this bill right now?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Amara, it could possibly pass, as is, with the bipartisan support. But really it depends on what is added necessarily at the end of this process.

You heard Senator Manchin essentially defining this problem and the solution to the problem as really those who violently enter the capital on January 6th, tried to overturn the election results here.

Democrats and specifically Progressive Democrats would argue that this really doesn't address the two voting rights bills that they put forward and essentially failed. The fact that there's state legislatures around the country that are making it more difficult, they say, for voters and particularly African Americans to vote.

So is there more meat on the bone? When Senator Murkowski introduced a couple of things that she was thinking of, perhaps more security for those who are counting the ballots at those polling places or perhaps maintaining a chain of custody. She says ballots that might be cast in her home state of Alaska and a small village providing a crop plane to make sure those ballots get safely to another location. So those are things that she's working on.

But Senator Manchin also suggested, well, perhaps, in an off election like we saw in 2018, he says that is an election that wasn't widely contested. Perhaps all the states would use that as a base line for voting. Go back to those rules instead of these new ones.

It's far from certain, Amara, that anyone would actually agree to that. As a matter of fact, Jake had asked Senator Murkowski then and there if she would commit to that. And she did not.

WALKER: And Suzanne, Murkowski also weighed in on the president's upcoming Supreme Court nominee, right? What does she have to say?

MALVEAUX: Well, she did. And she is really rejecting what some of her colleagues have been pushing for. She truly believes that the president does have a right and he is doing the right thing, by nominating a black female judge as a candidate for this Supreme Court nomination position.

And she says, however, in order for the president to prove that yes, he is trying to be bipartisan, he's trying to unify the country, that he is also trying to bring forward, if you will, more confidence in the institution of the Supreme Court that he has to choose someone who is more moderate. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MURKOWSKI: There are many, many exceptionally well-qualified African- American women who could move forward into this position. So Mr. President, I am asking you to look through those critically, and not pick the one that would be to the furthest left. But to pick that one individual who will enjoy some level of bipartisan support. So how we make sure that, again, our court is representative of the country.

TAPPER: Yes.

MURKOWSKI: And so I want to make sure that the president nominates an exceptional candidate, an exceptional individual. And I would be honored to be able to support an exceptional African-American woman.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: And Amara, the name that keeps coming up, Judge Michelle Childs (AUDIO GAP) candidates that they're looking at. Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of course, had also backed her as well.

And finally, in this really exclusive and rare interview that Jake had with these two lawmakers, it was interesting -- a final push, both of them, endorsing the other for potential re-election at the end of that interview, Amara.

WALKER: Yes, some positivity to be seen when you had a Republican and Democrat, albeit moderates, sitting next to each other with CNN. Suzanne Malveaux, thank you for your reporting.

With me now is Ron Brownstein. He's a senior CNN political analyst and a senior editor for "The Atlantic".

Ron, always good to see you. Thanks for your time.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Good to see you.

WALKER: So as Suzanne was saying, this was unprecedented to see two senators sitting together for an interview who are currently not exactly popular by the outer wings in their parties.

What did you make of just, in general? I mean did you see this as the emergence of actual middle ground? Or more political theater?

[14:24:54]

BROWNSTEIN: Well, look, I think it is what Manchin and Murkowski genuinely would want the Senate to be. I mean, you know, there's a small group of moderates that want, in fact, to work across party lines wherever they can, even if it means saying no to much of their caucus.

The problem is the critical mass is no longer big enough to carry the day on many issues. I mean, Murkowski ultimately signed on to a Democratic effort to extend the Voting Rights Act, to renew the Voting Rights Act that every senate Republican had voted for the last time it was reconfirmed in 2006 but no one else did. She was alone in the end.

And that, of course, is the big question. If you don't have ten Republicans in an environment where Republicans are going to filibuster almost any Democratic initiative, you basically have none.

And so the question on the Electoral Count Act will be, can they count to ten? And if they can count to ten, they may be able to do something worthwhile. But no one would be confused that it would be sufficient to deal with the breadth of the challenges the voting rights emerging around the country in red states.

WALKER: Yes. So I mean it seems, at least according to Joe Manchin, that there's more support for this Electoral Count Act. And I am sure critics will ask, well, you know, why protect the results of an election, while not protecting the rights of voters? And I'm referring to the voting rights bill?

BROWNSTEIN: Right. Now, that is the question. I mean look, there's no reason not to clarify the Electoral Count Act. But while it may be necessary for 2024, it's hardly sufficient to guarantee a free and fair vote when you have so many states that are going down several tracks.

They are making it harder for voters to vote. They're increasing partisan control over the administration and the tabulation of the results. And as I said, you have seen a dramatic move in the Republican Party. Don't forget what happened just a few weeks ago. It wasn't that Republicans only filibustered and blocked the Democratic bill that would have said nationwide standards for voter access on things like early voting and mail voting and same-day registration.

They also filibustered and blocked legislation that would have restored the Voting Rights Act basically to where it was when all of the Senate Republicans voted for it and George W. Bush signed the extension into law, provisions that have since been weakened and undermined by two Supreme Court decisions delivered on a party line basis with every Republican appointed justice outvoting every Democratic appointed justice.

So there's a big change that has happened in the voting rights landscape over the last 15 years, and even -- and we're seeing all of that accelerate since the big lie in 2020. So even if they can come together and get ten votes on the Electoral Count Act, it's a necessary but not sufficient response to what's going on.

WALKER: Quick 10 seconds. The fact that they, both Murkowski and Manchin, endorsed each other. Does it matter?

BROWNSTEIN: It's a senate that used to exist, right, when you had that kind of comity. Amara, in 2016, first time ever in American history every senate race went the same way as the presidential race in that state. In 2020, it happened again in every race against Susan Collins. The name on the back of the jersey no longer matters as much as the color on the front of the jersey.

And we're seeing it become harder and harder for senators to win states that vote the other way for president no matter what their colleagues say.

WALKER: Ron Brownstein, thanks so much.

BROWNSTEIN: Thank you.

WALKER: All right. Straight ahead, cities across Canada brought to gridlock as vaccine mandate protests continue to grow. We're going to have a live report, next.

[14:28:32]

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[14:32:58]

WALKER: The widespread trucker rallies in Canada protesting vaccine mandates are growing even more.

For the second weekend in a row, thousands of demonstrators in the so- called freedom convoy have shut down neighborhoods in Ottawa. And now we're seeing similar scenes in several other Canadian cities, including Toronto, Quebec and Vancouver.

Police in Winnipeg say they arrested a man after he drove into a crowd of protesters and four people suffered minor injuries as a result.

CNN's Paula Hancocks is in Ottawa.

I can't believe we're talking about Canada right now. So, what's the latest on the situation. Is there any end in sight? It's like something has to give soon.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, unfortunately not. I will say today is a quieter day and many residents in this city and throughout Canada are thankful for that. Having said that, the protesters say, look, we're not going anywhere.

And the reason is that this began as something against the vaccine mandates, right? To cross the border into the United States on either side you had to be fully vaccinated. Apparently the trucking industry says the vast majority of truckers already are. This wasn't enough, though, for truckers who felt that their livelihood was at risk. So they started a convoy nearly two weeks ago. They landed here in Ottawa last weekend. But it's turned into so much more, so many people fed up with the health restrictions here.

And even though Canadians have been quite compliant, they have one of the highest vaccination rates in the world yet they're tired of the health restrictions and lockdowns. That's what we're hearing from the vocal minority.

And, listen, Amara, if you start to see what's been going on in a small section of the downtown core here, the issue is really the police have been very blunt about not being able to really control what goes on here with the protesters. It has been mostly peaceful, but as you just pointed out, from some of the incidents in Vancouver and as well, we've had some hate-motivated incidents here in Ottawa.

[14:35:03]

This is not under control by any siege. The police chief was categorical calling this a nationwide insurrection driven by madness saying his city was under siege. And the question, Amara, is what's going to bring an end to this?

The protests will tell you they're here for the long haul, to use a term, and they're also saying they want to talk to the politicians. And namely Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who, so far, has refused to meet with them, and again pointed out a lot of these restrictions are based on provincial orders. He's in charge of the federal government and for that reason, people are stuck in the middle wondering what could possibly mediate this.

WALKER: Paula Newton, appreciate your reporting. Thank you.

Still ahead, why one physician says he won't vaccinate his kids under 5 and, no, he is not an anti-vaxxer. He's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:40:30] WALKER: The FDA's vaccine advisory committee will meet on February 15th to weigh in on emergency use authorization for the COVID-19 vaccine for kids under 5. It's welcome news for many families.

But some are questioning how effective, not safe, but how effective the vaccine will actually be, including our next guest, Dr. Jeremy Faust, emergency medicine physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

Dr. Faust, great to see you.

Let's start with what you wrote in your newsletter this week called "Inside Medicine." And you write, quote, we will -- we will vaccinate our 3-year-old with two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine if the FDA and CDC authorizes its use this month.

You asked that as a question and you say absolutely not. Not unless there are actual data showing the vaccine is certain to work for her. So far, such data does not -- do not exist or are not public.

What data are you talking about?

DR. JEREMY FAUST, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN, BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL: Thank you for having me. The data we need to see is the data that will show us that the vaccine is both safe, which we know it is, and that it provides real protection. I'll enthusiastically vaccinate my 3- year-old daughter when we see that daughter as we would have already vaccinated her if she were 5 or older where the vaccine has been shown to be safe and effective.

In fact, Pfizer gave us some information back in December that their trial looking at the very, very youngest children, 6-month-old to 5 years old or up to 5 years. The 6-monther to 24-monthers had good response. If she were younger, I'd also vaccinate her. They didn't get the dose right for the 2 to 4-year-olds.

That's what we're waiting for and parents want to know from a doctor and a parent who has skin in the game that we will enthusiastically vaccinate her once we see data that show that she'll have the protection that will give us the peace of mind we're really waiting for.

WALKER: Yeah, I have skin in the game as well. I have a daughter also close to your daughter's age, 3 1/2. So this is a very interesting information for me.

So for the average parent, how do we navigate this data once it does come out? What should we be looking out for?

FAUST: Well, right now we know that two doses did not give an adequate response for the 2 to 4-year-olds but we're hoping to see in the FDA filing, and I would like Pfizer just to put a press release out now if they had it, with anything to suggest some kind of protection.

There's really two kinds of protection. There's protection against infection, which we're hearing there might be some, which is -- that's really good news. And there's also the idea of protection against the severe consequences, severe disease, hospitalization, inflammatory syndrome. And that's harder to detect in these trials because they're small and the events are rare.

So, they use immune bridging looking at antibody levels. And the antibody levels if high enough, imply that protection. That is what they were unable to show so far, but what I will say is in the older kids, 5 and up, that has been effective and subsequently, the real world data has shown that to be a really wise strategy. It worked.

So that's what we're really looking for. Does it protect against infection? That would compel some, really move the bar. And for others they want to see that immune data to say not only against infection but that I'll go that my kid is safe against what makes this virus so terrible.

WALKER: You have a very interesting viewpoint. A man who, obviously, believes in science and looks -- scrutinizes data. So we appreciate your viewpoint. Thank you so much, Dr. Faust for that.

FAUST: Thank you.

WALKER: All hail the Queen Camilla? Details on her new title soon to be bestowed by the monarch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:48:36]

WALKER: Britain's Queen Elizabeth II used her platinum jubilee to announce a royal bombshell. After 70 years on the throne, she is making her wishes known on the royal transition.

CNN's Max Foster joining me live from London with more.

Hi there, Max.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Amara.

Yes. It's an interesting one because, obviously, Camilla's still quite a divisive figure. Lots of people still blame her for the breakdown of the average marriage of Charles and Diana. But Charles hasn't made any secret the fact really behind the scenes that he wants Camilla to be known as queen when he is king. He wants her very much part of his monarchy. He wants her crowned next to him when she's crowned.

And this is the culmination really of that. So, Queen Elizabeth using her message to endorse that idea and I think it's partly a reward for years of public service from Camilla as well. So it's really interesting that Elizabeth has used this moment to endorse Camilla.

But what she's really doing is future-proofing the monarchy. You know, her monarchy has been very successful. But she has to think about the second one, the one coming up. And Camilla will be part of that. She's really asking the public, I think, to throw their support behind Camilla. We'll wait to see whether or not that will work. WALKER: Interesting stuff. Max Foster, thank you.

Let's talk more about this with CNN royal commentator and historian Kate Williams.

[14:50:01]

Kate, so I want to first get your reaction to the queen's news about Camilla because she was supposed to be called Princess Consort at one point. So how significant and symbolic is this?

KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL COMMENTATOR/HISTORIAN: Yes, you're right. It really is significant moment. Significant intervention.

The queen put out a statement. She talked about service, talked about her 70 years on the throne how Britain and the world has changed and then she said she hoped very much that Charles would have the same affection that she has had and that she had wished was that Camilla would be queen consort. And as you said, up until now, the official line of the palace has been she'd be princess consort, not queen consort, that she wouldn't be crowned with him. Now the queen is opening the way for it to be a coronation ceremony with Camilla by Charles' side, full queen, everything that could be possible.

And it really is a major intervention. This is something we weren't really sure about but quite interesting. They used to have a Q&A about Camilla's position on the royal website and a few years ago it dropped off. And I did wonder, I wonder whether they're thinking about making something formal.

And clearly the queen decided that it was the moment of her day she came to the throne 70 years ago to talk about her reign and talk about how the future monarchy will be under Charles and now Camilla.

WALKER: So how do Britons -- I guess how have their feelings for Camilla evolved over the years? We know at least three decades ago she was quite reviled. I won't mince words. Do you think public perception has softened towards her?

WILLIAMS: Yes, there was certainly a lot of blaming towards Camilla for the breakdown of the marriage, the sadness of Princess Diana. Diana saying about three people being in the marriage, and it was very difficult.

And Charles was determined, absolutely determined that Camilla was the one for him. He was going to marry her. He was going to introduce her to the public. And I think Camilla's attitude has been she was going to keep her head low, focus on her charity work and she's done important work, particularly in pointing out about domestic violence, talked about domestic violence increasing during the pandemic.

And I think she has won people over, over the time. And certainly what's made clear is Charles relies on her very highly and very much wants her to be by his side when he becomes king. And I think what was significant about the queen's incredible statement as well, all about service and duty, how she was humbled and great for what everyone was saying was that she hopes that Charles will be extended the same affection.

But she also made it clear that she was going to carry on. She wanted to continue reigning, serving with all of her heart. And that, to me, is significant because obviously is she's going to step back for Charles? She made it very clear that she's not going to step back. No abdication.

So there will be a monarchy of Charles in the future but not in the very near future. She wants to keep as queen as monarch. It's a job she loves.

WALKER: I don't doubt that for a second. I mean, 70 years of reign. That's quite impressive.

And I have to ask you, Kate, Prince Andrew agreed to make a statement under oath in the civil lawsuit filed against him by Virginia Giuffre. And we know Prince Andrew has denied her allegations.

If the case isn't settled, he could face trial as early as September. What's been the public's reaction as this case has been unfolding?

WILLIAMS: Well, we will see what happens if there's a trial. But certainly at the present, Andrew is losing in the court of public opinion. There was a lot of resentment against him. A lot of really angry feeling against him for what went on because even if he is innocent of the allegations of Mrs. Giuffre, certainly he was socializing with a convicted sex trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex trafficker, Ghislaine Maxwell, and socializing with a young girl in there so much younger than him who was in their orbit.

So, really no good outcome for it. And Andrew's attitude has been to deny and he did a disastrous interview with the BBC in which he said he didn't know her and had never been upstairs in Ghislaine Maxwell's house. A collection of disastrous words and when he's interviewed by Virginia's lawyer, they are -- she's got some of the best lawyers in the world. They'll ask him challenging, difficult questions and I would be very surprised if he can come out the better of that situation.

WALKER: Yeah, not looking too good, right?

Kate Williams, appreciate you. Thank you.

All right. Still ahead -- she took a spill on the ice. Now a U.S.-born figure skater competing for China under attack after her Olympic debut.

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[14:59:31]

WALKER: Hi, everyone. Thanks for joining me. I'm Amara Walker in today for Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin with a new warning about Russia's troop build-up along the border with Ukraine. Two U.S. officials telling CNN that Russia now has about 70 percent of the troops and weapons in place for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It's unclear how long it would take Russia to ramp up further.

Officials in the Biden administration and in Congress are warning not to underestimate how quickly that could happen.

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REP. MICHAEL MCCAUL (R-TX): It's more likely than not. I think the noose is being prepared.