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Bob Saget's Family Says Actor Died of Head Trauma; Figure Skating Medals Delayed After Positive Drug Test; DOJ Asked to Probe Trump's Handling of Documents; Protesters Want All COVID Mandates Lifted; Russia and Belarus Staging Joint Military Drills; Pentagon Responds to Kabul Airport Investigation. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired February 10, 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 here on CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He continues now, even over the last 24, 48 hours. So, every day he gives himself new capabilities, new options.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He wants to show that he has capability.
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: More than escalatory not a de- escalatory action.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: War games, Russia and Belarus hold joint military exercises as tensions between Ukraine and Russia show no sign of easing. We are live in Kyiv and Moscow for you this hour.
Plus, skating on thin ice. Russia's biggest skating team wins gold at the Olympics but the celebration is on hold over reports of doping.
And Donald Trump faces another potential investigation for allegedly mishandling classified documents. What this could mean for the former president.
ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Isa Soares.
SOARES: Welcome to the show, everyone. It is Thursday, February 10th. And we begin with new details about what caused the tragic death of actor and comedian Bob Saget last month. His family released a statement saying that he died as a result of head trauma. Saget was found dead in a Florida hotel room in early January while on a comedy tour. His family says authorities have concluded that he accidentally hit the back of his head and went to sleep thinking the injury wasn't serious. No drugs or alcohol were involved in his death. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta walks us through what may have happened here.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's just sad. I mean, that's the first thing I think of. I mean, and it's quite possible, the plausible mechanism that someone, you know, would hit their head significantly enough to cause bleeding either right on top of the brain or between the layers, either a subdural sort of hematoma.
I can show you an image of what this looks like. But basically, what happens is in that sort of situation, again, it's sad. It's tough to talk about this this way. It's so clinical. But you know, some of the veins that are on top of the brain, they can tear as a result of that head trauma. Hitting your head pretty forcibly on something when you may say that really hurt. If I were in a different situation, maybe I'd go get it checked out.
But instead, it sounds like maybe he just went to sleep thinking it was not that serious. That's what I read in that statement. That bleeding accumulates over the next several hours and someone loses consciousness and subsequently they die. He was alone so obviously no one checking in on him. So, it's just -- it's an unusual situation a little bit the way that it's sort of been outlined here. But it's pretty tragic. But it can happen just the way that I described.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Incredibly tragic indeed. Bob Saget's family thanking the public for support. Saying, quote, as we continue to mourn together, we ask everyone to remember the laugh and laughter that Bob brought to this world and the lessons he taught us all to be kind to everyone. To let the people, you love know you love them and to face difficult times with hugs and laughter.
Bob Saget was best known for his role as Danny Tanner, of course, on the sitcom "Full House."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB SAGET, ACTOR AND COMEDIAN: You know what? From now on, there's going to be a new Danny Tanner. Somebody who everybody likes and they want to be around. Norman, it's the dawn of a new man. Yes, a natural. Spontaneous. Care free. Primitive. Ahhhhh!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: More recently he was featured in "How I Met Your Mother" and he repriced the role of Danny Tanner on "Fuller House," a sequel of course to the original.
Turning now to Beijing where Team USA celebrating some big wins as another day of competition heats up at the Winter Olympics. We'll get to that in just a bit.
But first a potential scandal threatens to overshadow upcoming events on the ice. The medal ceremony for the figure skating team events that should have been held on Tuesday have still not happened. And there are reports it's because of a positive drug test. [04:05:00]
Let's get more on this. Ivan Watson is following this from Hong Kong. Ivan, what more do we know about these reports about a positive drug test? And critically, what's the IOC saying here?
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The IOC is not saying very much. We have no real official explanation for why the medal ceremony for the gold-winning Russian figure skating team has been postponed since Tuesday. The IOC spokesman says little more than there's an active legal matter. This is what he says when journalists asked him about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK ADAMS, SPOKESMAN, INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC COMMITTEE: I'm sorry to disappoint you, but obviously, even if I comment on who is handling this matter, I can talk abstractly about responsibilities. But even if I comment on who is handling this matter, it tells you what type of matter it might be. So, I'm not going to. There's a legal issue going on. I can't say anything more than that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: You know, and the same thing goes for the International Skating Union which says it cannot comment if anything has to do with doping. So, that leaves us to try to fill in the gaps here. A number of sources have told CNN sports analyst Christine Brennan that somebody, an athlete who is a minor, has tested positive for prohibited substances. Now there is only one minor on the six-person Russian Olympic committee skating team and she was a breakout star in these winter Olympics. The 15-year-old Kamila Valieva.
Now the Russian newspaper RBC Sports, they say that one of the six skaters on that team in December tested positive for a banned substance called trimetozine. Which according to World Anti-Doping Agency is a banned metabolic modulator.
Now, the spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry, she has issued a statement calling Valieva a miracle. And also, kind of saying that there's some evil forces at work trying to cause harm and saying that the Russian government is going to stand by any athlete who is targeted by these evil forces.
So, we're trying to fill in the gaps here. We don't know when this sample could have been taken. We don't have exact confirmation of who this could involve, however, the Russian Olympic Committee is -- a team from Russia that isn't operating under the Russian flag with the Russian national anthem, that is because of past doping problems and punishment that has been meted out against the Russian team.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the U.S. and Paralympic team has issued this statement.
We don't have all the details but in situations like this, it's about more than gold, it's about the integrity of fair sports and accountability.
Worth noting that the U.S. team got silver in the figure skating team event. Don't know what would happen if it's possible there could be a disqualification. One final matter, the spokesperson for the IOC didn't say anything about if somebody tested positive, would they still be allowed to compete in future events? And that raises a whole heap of additional questions. Still waiting for official answers here -- Isa.
SOARES: So many questions about what might have happened, who might be involved. When the testing was done? And of course, Valieva interview said was really in the headlines all this week, while landing two quadruple jumps. She's been breaking headlines of course. We don't know who is right behind it, but I know you will try and get some answers for us. Ivan Watson there for us in Hong Kong. Thanks very much, Ivan. And of course, later we'll go live to Beijing for the latest medal winners.
Now former U.S. President Donald Trump could face another investigation, this time over his handling of official White House documents. A source tells CNN that the National Archives, the custodian of presidential papers, wants the Justice Department to look into whether Trump violated the Presidential Records Act. The request came after revelations that the National Archives had to retrieved 15 boxes of records that ended up with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Here's what two experts had to say about whether Trump could face legal jeopardy.
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ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: The mishandling statute, which is the one that penalizes people in government positions for taking classified information knowingly and bringing it to a place that's not authorized to keep it, that is a criminal statute. And it's punishable by a year in jail or some sort of a fine. So yes, I think it steps up the seriousness here considerably.
ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Look at the clips that we showed before of Donald Trump talking about Hillary Clinton's emails. It shows that Donald Trump actually has quite a sophisticated understanding of these laws that Andrew was just talking about. The need to preserve documents. Especially the need to preserve classified documents.
[04:10:00]
And so, it's sort of takes away that whole ignorance that this was an accident. I didn't realize what I was doing. I didn't realize the significance of these documents. So, that's something that I think the DOJ is going to be taking a look at and weighing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: The Justice Department has not indicated whether it will open investigation. Meanwhile, Trump's former trade advisor, Peter Navarro, is the latest to be subpoenaed by the January 6 committee. Here CNN's Ryan Nobles for you. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RYAN NOBLES, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The January 6th Select Committee has its sights on yet another close Trump ally. This time it's the former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro. Navarro is someone who's been brazen about his attempts to try and stand in the way of the certification of the 2020 election. He even wrote about it in his book. And the committee wants more information about exactly who Navarro was talking to during that period of time and what if any role it played in fomenting the violence and anger that we saw here on January 6th.
Now, Navarro out of the gate is already defiant as it relates to the committee's request. And it seems to be indicating that he is not prepared to cooperate in the fashion they would like him to cooperate.
Navarro writing in a statement that quote: As the domestic terrorists running the January 6 partisan witch hunt are well aware, President Trump has invoked executive privilege and it is not my privilege to waive.
Of course, the committee has had difficulty getting some of Trump's closest advisers and associates to come before the committee. However, they have had some success with those close to the former Vice President Mike Pence. Now the committee has said in the past that they're willing to do whatever it takes to get these individuals to cooperate. And they've already held Steve Bannon and Mark Meadows, the former White House Chief of Staff, in criminal contempt of Congress.
Ryan Nobles, CNN, on Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Trump supporters in Congress are not happy at all with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell. McConnell has pushed back against Republicans characterizing the deadly riot as legitimate political discourse. The veteran Senate leader is making clear he views January 6th as a violent attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power. Putting him at odds with many within his party who wish to downplay the mob attack on Congress.
In a few hours we'll get a better sense of just how much U.S. inflation accelerated in the month of January. That is when the Consumer Price Index will be reported. It's expected to show a 7.2 percent year-over-year increase. Which would be the highest since 1982. The price of goods keep rising as global supply chain issues of course remain a problem. The CEO of Maersk, the world's largest shipping company, says the issue does not appear to be getting significantly better.
Making supply chain issues even worse are the trucker blockades at two U.S./Canada border crossings. Ford and Toyota both announced the halt of some production because of the blockade at the Ambassador Bridge -- as you are seeing there. A major supply route for Detroit. The protest is spreading to cities right around the world. And now the Department of Homeland Security is warning law enforcement across the United States that a possible convoy of truckers could impact the Super Bowl and the State of the Union Address.
Canadian officials are looking for ways to clear the blockade and end the 13-day occupation of Ottawa. Donie O'Sullivan spoke to the protesters there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want all these mandates gone and I'm not leaving until all of the mandates are gone.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What is the stuff that you can't do right now as a nonvaccinated person?
SAMUEL GAUTHIER, SUPPORTING TRUCKERS PROTEST IN CANADA: I live in Quebec, so it's a bit more intense than other places in Canada. But look, I can't go skiing. I can't go to Walmart. I can't go to Canadian Tire. I can't go to Home Depot. I can't go to restaurants. I can't go to bars. I can't go to the gym.
O'SULLIVAN: Truckers here in Canada have brought part of the country's capital to a standstill right outside the national Parliament.
DYLAN FRIESEN, PROTESTING VACCINE MANDATES IN CANADA: I was hired on at a job not too long ago for a transport company out of Ontario. And I was let go due to not willing to get the vaccines for my job. And, I mean, that's not right for companies to be able to decide that and take away our right to earn money and support our livelihood.
O'SULLIVAN: Now this is all happening despite these protesters representing a small minority of Canadians. More than 80 percent of eligible Canadians are fully vaccinated and the Canadian Trucking Alliance, the primary advocacy group for Canadian truckers which has condemned these protests, has said about 85 percent of Canadian truckers who regularly cross the U.S. border are vaccinated.
O'SULLIVAN: And for you, why is it important for you to be here today?
Well, because if you're --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The abuse. Don't talk to him. He's fake news.
O'SULLIVAN(voice-over): But despite the fact that these people may be part of a minority in Canada, they are receiving a lot of support from conservatives and other right-wing figures in the United States.
[04:15:00]
CHIEF PETER SLOLY, OTTAWA POLICE SERVICE: We are now aware of the significant element from the United States that have been involved in the funding, the organizing and the demonstrating.
SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): The Canadian truckers are heroes. They are patriots and they are marching for your freedom and for my freedom.
O'SULLIVAN: This is very much a 21st century protest, playing out as much on the internet as it is on the streets. Viral means and sometimes false and highly offensive historical comparisons that circulate online are being repeated verbatim here. Like this.
O'SULLIVAN: And because you're not vaccinated, have you -- is there a business -- is there stuff you can't do in Canada now?
LAURIE BUNCH, SUPPORTING TRUCKERS PROTEST IN CANADA: Yeah, I'm like -- I'm like, well basically if you want to compare Canada to anything, it's like Hitler's Germany and we're like the Jews, say? One of the goals is to simply -- is to get a group of people you can get everybody angry with and this case is the unvaccinated.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): There is a lot of people here streaming live online.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just going to follow you guys and make sure you tell the truth.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Documenting every moment on social media.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You take those cams off of that truck. Is that your property?
O'SULLIVAN: In an effort to clear the protesters police have begun confiscating gas canisters resulting in encounters like this that clock of thousands of views online.
VOICE OF JIM KERR, SUPPORTING TRUCKERS PROTEST IN CANADA: My name is Jim Kerr and I give a shit about Canadians. How do you feel?
Hi, my name is Jim Kerr, I care about human beings. Especially ones who try to keep themselves warms in the trucks while fighting for the freedoms of Canadians. How do you feel?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The main problem I have is all the censorship that's going on. That's the main problem that I have. There is censorship everywhere, yeah. People's accounts get taken down. Even Facebook if you don't say the right thing. Even this convoy, a lot of groups started and people are even live streaming and all of a sudden, I heard yesterday in the restaurant my feed was cut. My feed was cut. My feed was cut.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Facebook shut down some groups on its platform supporting the truckers after the online outlet Grid News found that they were being administered by a hacked account that had belonged to a woman in Missouri. So, whoever was really running the groups wanted to hide their identity. And GoFundMe shut down a fundraiser for the truckers after the police told them the protest had become an occupation.
But organizers here have still been able to raise millions of dollars through an alternative service. A self-described Christian fundraising platform. Organizers say the money will help keep the truckers on the street.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translated text): The last time I saw my wife was on January 28. I have not seen her since. I am here on my own volition, 100 percent. There are some groups with resources trying to help us, sending us money, helping us so we don't go bankrupt.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We want those great Canadian truckers to know that we are with them all the way.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Trump indicating he is supportive of truckers descending on Washington, D.C. Other American right-wing figures goading their audiences to act.
TUCKER CARLSON, FOX NEWS HOST: The question is how long before protests like this come here?
LAURA INGRAM, FOX NEWS HOST: Will we need our own trucker rally to end all of this insanity once and for all?
O'SULLIVAN: What is the main goal, the main objective of the truckers there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Freedom.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Donie O'Sullivan, CNN, Ottawa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: The White House and top health experts are working on how to best steer the U.S. into a new phase of the pandemic. But a growing number of states are tired of waiting for new guidance and are already rolling back restrictions especially when it comes to masking. And that is causing a lot of confusion among people not sure which rules or recommendations to follow. But for now, the White House is sticking to the CDC guidance that says masks should be worn in schools.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you are a parent, a teacher, a student living in a state where that is no longer recommended, should you still follow the CDC guidelines?
PSAKI: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, even if the state is not requiring that you wear masks in the schools.
PSAKI: Well, this is where we would advise any American to follow the CDC guideline.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: From California to Illinois to New York, all of these so- called blue states have signaled they are ending mask mandates. It is a complicated decision. Transmission remains high in many areas and daily case counts average more than 200,000 a day over the past week.
Just ahead right here on the show, it's Russia's biggest military deployment to Belarus since the Cold War. We are live in Moscow and Kyiv with details on the joint exercises just north of the border with Ukraine. And the Pentagon response to CNN's exclusive investigation on the Kabul airport bombing. Both those stories after a very short break. You are watching CNN NEWSROOM.
[04:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Ten days of joint military exercises are underway in Belarus featuring an estimated 30,000 Russian troops. The drills are adding to the fears that Russia could eventually move into Ukraine but the Kremlin says the larger than usual exercises are a response to unprecedented threats from NATO. Russia's top general is on hand but President Vladimir Putin will not attend.
Meantime, diplomatic efforts to ease tensions are shifting to British leaders today. The U.K. Foreign Leader Liz Truss is meeting with her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will visit NATO's Secretary-General and Poland's president later today.
U.S. officials insist Russia is showing no sign of de-escalating the crisis. And a source tells CNN Moscow added another 2,000 combat forces to border areas near Ukraine. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PSAKI: As we look at the preparation for these military exercises. Again, we see this is certainly more of an escalatory not a de- escalatory action as it relates to those troops in the military exercises. This is happening at the border as well. And so, that is certainly concerning to us, but I wouldn't make a prediction of what it means in terms of invasion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: CNN's Melissa Bell is live this hour in Kyiv.
[04:25:00]
But first our international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson in Moscow. And Nic, good morning. Just a few days ago you and I were hearing from President Macron of a possible de-escalation and now we're seeing not just military drills but exercises that are being scaled up. Give us a sense, Nic, of what Putin may be thinking here.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, he's trying to put the focus for the reason and the necessity of such scale of forces at the moment and those military exercises. He's trying to put on NATO. Saying that it has been NATO's, you know, threat, a unprecedented threat, is how they term it. That's the reason they need to have this allied resolve 2022 joint military exercises with Belarus.
We heard it from the British defense secretary this morning. Who will actually be in Moscow tomorrow to meet with the Russian Defense Secretary and the Russian chief of defense staff as well. Saying that Russia currently around Ukraine has more than half of its combat forces deployed.
So, what is president Putin tried to do? Is trying to put the blame on the West saying it's your aggression. That's what's giving us a concern. This is why you must give in to our demands that Ukraine cannot become a member of NATO and that NATO forces need to go back to 1997 positions and levels. So, this has been his message at the beginning. It continues to be his message.
And of course, the British Foreign Secretary today Liz Truss who is meeting with Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister right now, is urging Russia to take a diplomatic path and avoid the potential, the potential for wider potential bloodshed.
SOARES: And Melissa, I know these exercises, and you've talked this have been long planned but scaled up like Nic said. Do these military reversals, dress rehearsals so to speak, do they add to a sense of escalation here like Jen Psaki was saying? More escalation rather than de-escalation which is what will be expecting at this point?
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They do, Isa, not only because of what they mean for Belarus's border with Ukraine. If you have a look at a map of Belarus, you'll see that it also has a border with Poland. And we know that as part of those exercises some of them are going to take place not only in Union-X which is very close to the border with Ukraine where there is an airfield. And we know that attack aircraft and antiaircraft missiles have been sent. And we know this from independent satellite imagery and videos that we've seen of men and weaponry being moved therefore these exercises.
But we know that some of those exercises are going to be taking place in Brest, which is in the very west of Belarus, very close to the Polish border. And we been hearing this morning in the last half-hour or so from the Polish defense minister about the fact that Polish troops were going to be moved now east of Vistula.
So, themselves very close to Poland's eastern border and therefore the border with Belarus. And really, I can't think of a time when active NATO troops have been as close to one another as they are going to be over the coming days along the Polish border with Belarus. So clearly by the geography of these exercises, by the size of these exercises really, Isa, Vladimir Putin is putting pressure not just on Ukraine but now far more directly on NATO itself.
SOARES: It does seem like we're very far from any sort of compromise after weeks of talks. We shall keep an eye on the developments. Melissa Bell for us in Kyiv, Nic Robertson in Moscow, thank you very much.
A follow-up now to the report on our four-month investigation into the deadly terror attack at Kabul airport last August. The Pentagon said the blast was the work of lone suicide bomber. 13 U.S. service members and at least 170 Afghan civilians were killed.
CNN reviewed medical records, analyzed video, photos and audio from the scene and spoke to over 70 witnesses. Families of the dead, doctors, as well as survivors. They insisted some of the dead and wounded were shot. The U.S. and British military say warning shots were fired after the blast at a suspicious man and to prevent a crowd search. But the shots did not hit anyone. CNN hired a forensic blast analyst who examined the scene. His conclusion was the bomb was not big enough to kill 180 people. Other experts we spoke to said it could have been that powerful. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby Spoke with Wolf Blitzer Wednesday about our investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: I want to be clear. U.S. investigators didn't speak to any Afghans or any of the five Kabul hospitals that CNN spoke to over these past few months. They didn't speak to any of the victims who have medical records of gunshot wounds so how can you be so sure, John?
JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: They didn't speak -- you're right, they didn't. And again, we even in the initial treatment of our troops, our own doctors at first diagnosed gunshot wounds and then after getting in and working on these troops realized there were no gunshot wounds to our troops.
[04:30:00]
