Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Eminem Takes Knee During Super Bowl Halftime Show; Biden Calls on NFL to Improve Hiring Practices; Pentagon Gives Briefing as Russia/Ukraine Tensions Escalate; Hate Crimes Trial Now Underway for Ahmaud Arbery's Killers. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired February 14, 2022 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

CARI CHAMPION, CNN-PLUS HOST, "CARI & JEMELE: SPEAK EASY": What I did -- and you mentioned Eminem taking a knee. What I thought was interesting about that was that he purposely did that and the NFL knew he was going to do that.

But that celebration, what we saw was very significant and in so many ways.

On the heels of Brian Flores filing this damning lawsuit against the NFL saying they're racist and systematic racism and then we have this halftime show, which is very clearly playing to the hip-hop culture, the black culture.

There was this part of me that felt like, should I be enjoying this as much as I am, while I know there are some very significant issues happening in the NFL.

When it comes to diversity, when it comes to racism, when it comes to how they treat the players and the coaches or lack thereof, black head coaches.

But at end of the day, there was an effort made and I will acknowledge that. And people were entertained. And sometimes you do have to separate the two. There was entertainment there.

But I am still feeling like there's more work to be done.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Yes, I mean, the inclusion of black entertainers and all hip-hop halftime shows but the inclusion of black entertainers is not the problem.

CHAMPION: Right.

BLACKWELL: People are fine welcoming black entertainment. It is the black owners. It is the black coaches.

Here is what President Biden said about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The whole idea that a league that is made up of so many athletes of color, as well as so diverse, that there's not enough African-American qualified coaches to manage these NFL teams?

It just seems to me that it is a standard that they want to live up to. It is not a requirement of law. But it a requirement of some generic decency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)'

BLACKWELL: So the sugar high of the entertainment, even before the game. We had Mary Mary, we had black country singer, and Jenai Aiko.

After that kind of settled, you still have issues that need to be solved.

CHAMPION: Yes. You can't quiet me with black entertainment and think that it is OK. There was a significant issue in the NFL.

So that is why there was this part of me that knew, all of the while I was enjoying the halftime show, I still haven't forgotten the issues nor am I distracted.

I'm going to make sure we're still disrupting the system and talking about the issue.

I think that Roger Goodell knows he has a very significant problem on his hands but --

(CROSSTALK)

BLACKWELL: OK, I have to interrupt you.

We have to go to the Pentagon now where John Kirby is speaking.

REAR ADM. JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: OK, a couple of things on the top and then we'll get right at it.

Secretary Austin will be departing tomorrow on an overseas trip to meet with senior military and government leaders in Belgium, Poland and Lithuania and in Brussels, of course.

He'll meet with allied and defense ministers across NATO leadership in the defense ministerials to discuss military buildup around Ukraine.

Also reiterate the United States' commitment to our allies made in Article 5 and continue the alliances progress on deterrence and defense while ensuring our allies are prepared to face tomorrow's challenges.

In Poland, he plans to meet with the Polish president and the minister of national defense to enhance bilateral cooperation and security and deepen the Polish/American partnership, which we believe is vital to addressing today's current threats and challenges.

He'll also get a chance to meet with U.S. and Polish troops that are at the air base to tour the facilities there and to observe the conditions of our rotational presence.

Secretary Austin will also travel to Lithuania to meet with the Lithuanian president, the prime minister and the minister for national defense as well.

Again, to reaffirm that the United States stands with Lithuania and the Baltic States, working together to strengthen Lithuanian armed forces and to continuing to stand shoulder to shoulder against threats and adversaries.

Separately, Secretary Austin does plan to meet jointly with his counterparts from Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia together. And he'll has a chance as well to visit with some U.S. servicemembers that are there in Lithuania.

On another note, I'd like to announce that the secretary has appointed Dr. Eric D. Evans to serve as the chair of -- OK, it is not here. I'm missing some sentences here.

I'm going to -- we'll announce this later after the briefing. I don't have all of the texts of it here.

So with that, Bob, we'll take questions. Sorry about that.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Improvising.

KIRBY: Yes.

Let me see. Do you have it there?

All right. I apologize.

Go ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Thanks, John.

A question about the Russian buildup on the border area of Ukraine.

Can you give a little bit more detailed description of the lay of the land there in terms -- in fact, in recent days, for example, have some of the ground units that were in larger assembly areas moved out toward closer to the border into what might be attack positions, other movements over the last 24 hours or so?

[14:35:14]

KIRBY: Yes. So I would say, Bob, is even over the last 24 to 48, over the course of the weekend, Mr. Putin has added military capability along that border with Ukraine and in Belarus.

And he is exercising his units on the ground there in the south as well as naval units in the Black Sea.

So he continues to add to his readiness and continues to give himself more options should he pursue a military path. I'm not going to -- I would like to refrain from getting into specific

movements of their troops? I think that is probably not a wise thing to do with any great specificity.

I would just say this. That he continues to advance his readiness should he choose to go down a military path here.

And should he choose to invade again, he is doing all of the things that you would expect him to do to make sure that he's ready for that option, or options.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: There's no indication, for example, that what they've called exercises have ended in any way, or are changing in any way, they're presence?

KIRBY: I want to be careful to characterize another nation's exercises. We've seen them conduct exercises in recent days. Exercises are designed to make you ready.

And that gets to my previous point. He continues to do the things that you would expect one to do if one was planning on a major military action. And that is to sharpen the readiness and to add to the capabilities of his force.

Now, look, we obviously don't want that to be the outcome and neither do the Ukrainians or our NATO allies.

And Foreign Minister Lavrov said today that -- or seemed to indicate that he still thinks there's oxygen here for diplomacy.

We would welcome a pursuit of that path by the Russians. Because we, too, believe that there still should be and can be a diplomatic path forward.

Jen?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: John, I'm trying to understand, are you still suggesting that Putin has not taken a decision to invade Ukraine?

KIRBY: We still don't believe that some final decision has been made.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Then how is it that communications continuing -- and we just heard from President Zelensky, that he's been told that an invasion will happen on February 16th, which is Wednesday.

How do you reconcile Putin hasn't taken a decision but an invasion is happening on the 16th?

KIRBY: I won't talk about specific intelligence assessments. I think you can understand that.

We've said for a while that military action could happen any day. And you heard from the national security adviser making it clear that it certainly could happen before the end of the Olympics. Maybe even this week.

We have shared with our allies and partners, and that includes Ukraine, our assessment of the information that we've been receiving.

And certainly, have reflected in those conversations, our deep concern about the continued capabilities that Mr. Putin has at his beck and call.

So, I won't get into a specific date. I don't think that would be smart.

I would just tell you that it is entirely possible that he could move with little to no warning.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What will the U.S. response be at that time? Defense secretaries going to NATO ministerial? Are we are talking about the NATO response force being activated? What would we expect to see?

KIRBY: President Biden has made clear that, should there be another incursion into Ukraine, that the United States would respond swiftly with severe economic consequences.

I won't speak for the alliance. A decision to activate the NATO response force is a decision that the North Atlanta Council has to make. That is not something that the United States would unilaterally call into being.

I will only add this. And this is why a couple of weeks ago we talked about making our contribution to the response force more ready and so we've done that.

And one of the messages that the secretary will carry with him to NATO is that our contribution to the NATO response force, should it be called or activated, they'll be ready to go.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And just to be clear, your answer to Bob, you do not see evidence that his forces have moved into attack positions?

KIRBY: I'm not going to talk about what specifically we're seeing on the ground when it comes to unit by unit.

What I would tell you is that we continue to see him advance his readiness and improve his capabilities and provide himself more options should he decide to take another -- to take military action in Ukraine.

[14:40:06]

Let me go to the phones here. I promise I'll get to everybody. We'll be here as long as you want.

Tom?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Hey, John. Good afternoon. Thank you very much.

The U.S. Navy has yet to pinpoint the exact location and depth of that F-35 that was involved in an accident, by extension hasn't been able to secure the area in the South China Sea. You've said several times from the podium that the F-35 is U.S.

property and you have no concern that other nations or entities will try to pilfer it.

What will give you confidence that the Chinese will abide by international protocols regarding ownership and salvage, given they've ignored other international court rulings regarding the South China Sea.

KIRBY: It is not about confidence that the Chinese will or won't do anything, Tom.

It is our property. It is not uncommon for us to recover our property when it is lost at sea. And we're making every effort to do that in this case.

And if it can be done, I'm confident that the United States Navy will be able to get it done. They're on site and working through this in real time.

Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Thank you, John.

The Russian defense minister, Shoigu, said this morning that they are going to end soon or they are ending some of their military exercises.

So since you say that they continue to reinforce their deployment, what does it mean? You don't take him as his word or it's not relevant for this --

(CROSSTALK)

KIRBY: I'm not challenging his word that he's ending exercises. That is not the point.

The point is he continues to make ready and increasingly large number of Russian troops along that border with Ukraine.

The fact that -- I'm happy that they're speaking to their exercises. That is a welcome change for them to be transparent about what they're doing with exercises.

But they haven't been at all transparent about what they intend to do with this massive buildup.

It is strange credulity that think that they would have this many troops, a raid across Ukraine and Belarus simply for winter exercises.

So, we still think there's a diplomatic path. If they want to send a strong signal about de-escalation, they could.

If, in fact, these the troops have done their exercises, they could send them back to their home garrison and reduce the presence along the border. That would go a long way.

Yes, Oren?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: John, officials have warned that a Russian invasion is a series of preparatory steps, information warfare, cyberattacks, instigating in Ukraine, and state media preparing for Russian casualties.

Are you seeing that? And how specific can you be about what you're seeing.

KIRBY: It is a piece of Russian playbook to lay down a foundation for these military action with cyber operations, information operations.

And even hybrid operations as we saw back in 2014, you know, the little green men. These are, in fact, Russian soldiers that aren't dressed as Russian soldiers.

We're on the -- we are monitoring this closely and certainly on the lookout for the use of any of these kinds of tactics.

I won't speak to specific assessments here today. I would just tell you that we're watching this very closely.

And it is one of the reasons why, Oren, we've been trying to be open over the last week and a half, two weeks, about the potential for these kinds of -- of non-kinetic, if you will -- that is a Pentagon phrase, I know.

But non-kinetic tactics and procedures used by the Russians to begin to begin to sow the seeds for potential armed conflict, to include creating some sort of pretext that the Ukrainians would react to, that then they could claim was a threat to their national security.

So, I can't speak with specificity today that -- of anything that is glaringly obvious.

Except to go back to what we said before about the things that we have seen in the intelligence about their preparations for those kinds of non-kinetic sort of low-intensity operations that they could use to their advantage.

LIEBERMANN: Broadly speaking, you can't say yes or no a foundation is being laid at this point?

KIRBY: I think we've seen them certainly make it clear that they want to lay that foundation. I think I would leave it at that time.

Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: If there's any sort of invasion this week, would that effect the secretary's schedule at all while he's in Europe?

KIRBY: The secretary is leaving tomorrow morning for Brussels.

[14:45:02]

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And the plan is to stay for the entire time, no matter what?

KIRBY: We'll have to see obviously how things play out.

The secretary is looking forward to his trip. He's looking forward to meeting with these leaders. He's looking forward to making clear our commitments to our NATO allies.

Jim?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: John, just a -- what role is China playing in this whole Ukraine/Russian aspect? And is the defense secretary worried about the role they're playing?

KIRBY: We certainly have been watching the -- at least public burgeoning relationship here between Russia and China.

Their February 4th joint statement certainly provided further evidence that China has decided that they're going to stand alongside Russia with respect to what is going on in Europe.

And we would say that their tacit support for Russia is deeply alarming and, frankly, even more destabilizing to the security situation in Europe.

Nancy?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: I have a question about some of the comments the president made in his interview with Lester Holt. He said in that interview that he was, quote, "not told," about what commanders were observing on the ground in Afghanistan.

And I'm trying to get some development on that because it seems that the secretary and the chairman are tasked with communicating to the president what --

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: OK, we've been listening here to Press Secretary John Kirby at the Pentagon talking about where they're assessment is of where Russia is in terms of whether it will invade Ukraine, what is happening with the troop buildup all along the Ukraine border.

And what the defense secretary is doing. He's planning to go tomorrow to Europe to meet with other leaders to talk about a host of things including this.

So, let's bring in CNN anchor, Erin Burnett, who is on the ground in Ukraine. Also joining us, CNN international correspondent, Matthew Chance, CNN global affairs analyst, Kim Dozier.

I know you've all been listening along with us.

Matthew, I know that you have some perspective in terms of the timeline. We keep hearing all sorts of different dates as to whether or not there's going to be an invasion.

And President Zelensky, of Ukraine, sounds like he said very different things at different times.

Help us understand what is happening.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, I think he made a national address earlier this evening on Facebook where he was announcing essentially a national holiday, a day of unity.

And he said it would happen in just a few days from now, on Wednesday. The day he had been told, we've been told, he said that there would be an attack.

He said we're told that February the 16th will be the day of the attack. We will make it the day of unity.

On this day, we'll hoist national flags, put on blue and yellow ribbons, and show the world our unity, the colors of the Ukrainian flag.

So that was interpreted in some circles that there's confirmation that there will be an attack on February 16th.

But what I've been told by the presidential office, and what's clear if you listen to the content of the speech, is that he was using some irony, I think, to say, look, we've been told, you know, time and again, that this invasion by Russia is going to be imminent.

And that is not -- let's not panic and let's be calm.

And it fits into the general narrative here in Ukraine, which is very different from the one that you're getting over there in the U.S. where they're talking about how imminent the threat is, they're talking about how it could happen within days.

The politicians in this country, particularly Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, have been pushing back on that quite strongly saying there's no reason for panic.

It is causing economic damage to the country to keep on saying that there's going to be an imminent attack by Russia.

They're also concerned I think behind the scenes. If you keep on saying Russia is going to attack, it might lock them into a corner, and so they feel they have to attack.

And so it is not in their interest for -- to provoke Russia to do that.

And so, yes, this is part of a sort of an attempt to calm the Ukrainian population further and say, look, you might be hearing it is February the 16th.

But on that day, we're going to have a national holiday, and we're going to wave our flags and put ribbons on our big overcoats.

So to some extent, that backfired internationally. But I think locally domestically, the message was heard loud and clear.

BLACKWELL: So, Erin, tongue-in-cheek from President Zelensky of this date of when the attack will happen.

[14:50:04]

But where you are, the people there, the Western part of the country, what is the sense of urgency? Is there an appetite for a tongue-in- cheek statement from the president about a potential attack?

Or do they see all of this talk about, it could happen at any time now, as alarmist, as President Zelensky does?

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST, "ERIN BURNETT: OUTFRONT": You know, it's interesting talking to people of different ages, men, women, different stages of life.

You know, in a sense, there's calm, but one thing that has stood out from several of them is that they sort of feel like they have to take matters into their own hands.

That Zelensky is saying, be calm or the head of the defense minister is saying be prepared, don't panic. And they sort of feel like they want more affection.

I was talking to a woman tonight and she said this just reminds her of what happened before Crimea where there was this, be calm, be calm, don't panic, sense of complete don't worry, and then, all of a sudden, Putin came in, incredibly swiftly, and took Crimea.

That, to her, seems like where we are again. So there's some frustration and fear.

That being said, people are going about their normal lives. It's Valentine's Day. There's -- I saw a party earlier happening at an art gallery. People are going about with their normal lives.

But at the same time, many of them are concerned. Some of them -- here there's a lot of information technology companies based out of London or the U.S., Czech Republic, Poland, other places in Eastern Europe.

And their frustration is a lot of those companies are pulling people out.

The local Ukrainians say we've learned to work remotely during COVID but what happens to our jobs? Do we leave? Do we move our families?

There's a lot of questions and uncertainty. I would say a lot of concern, frankly. So that is sort of the mood here.

CAMEROTA: It's just so interesting to think about that split screen as you describe it, Erin. Possible impending war and people out for Valentine's Day on dates at restaurants.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

BURNETT: Yes.

CAMEROTA: It's just so -- it scrambles the brain to think about all of that.

So, Kim, speaking of technology, you just heard Press Secretary John Kirby there asked about cyberattacks and whether they are seeing that because the impression is that would precede any physical attack.

And he was coy and vague about -- they said they're monitoring but he didn't really explain whether Russia is already doing that.

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, so far, we haven't heard of any major cyberattacks on Ukrainian electrical systems, something that would make its presence known to the public there.

But what the U.S. is doing and all of the rest of the West, by signaling this invasion is about to happen or could be about to happen, is they are depriving Russia of the false-flag strategy that the U.S. and the West have alleged Russia was going to try to do.

Which is stage some sort of Ukrainian attack on Russian or Russian- aligned forces as an excuse to invade.

They are laying it out to Vladimir Putin that, if you are going to invade and take this country, you'll have to do it through naked aggression. We're all watching. Do you really want to go there?

The shocking thing is, there doesn't seem to be anyone who can dissuade Putin from doing this. We're all just watching and waiting for him to make a decision.

And that is a lesson that may, down the road, strengthen the NATO alliance. But right now, it's making the U.S. and the West look pretty powerless.

BLACKWELL: Kim Dozier, Erin Burnett, Matthew Chance, thank you.

CAMEROTA: Now to this. Opening statements in the federal hate crimes trial against the three white men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery. We're live from the courthouse with the latest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:57:31]

BLACKWELL: Opening statements just wrapped up in the federal hate crimes trial of the three men convicted of murdering Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia.

CAMEROTA: The judge in the state murder trial sentenced father and son, Greg and Travis McMichael, along with their neighbor, William Bryan, to life in prison.

In this new trial, they face federal hate crime charges which allege they chased down and killed Arbery because he was black and violated his civil rights. CNN's Nadia Romero joins us from Brunswick.

Nadia, what did you hear today in court?

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we at least heard both sides agreeing on one issue. Both the prosecution and the defense say that this case is all about the why. Why did Travis and Gregory McMichael and Roddy Bryan go after Ahmaud Arbery killing him?

And that why, the answer to that question, well, that's where they differed.

The prosecution says this is all about race. That they targeted him because he was a black man in their neighborhood. They believe that they had the right to stop him. And when he didn't stop, they had the right to kill him.

But the defense says, no, there were reports of things missing in the neighborhood. They had video surveillance of Ahmaud Arbery going through a home that was under construction. And they would have approached anyone regardless of race.

Well, that is the center of this case.

Both sides already know that we already had the state trial where these defendants were already convicted, serving life in prison now, because they were convicted of killing Ahmaud Arbery.

This is about the why. So that's why this case is so important.

Marcus Arbery, the father of Ahmaud, came out today and said there's going to be new evidence. That's what we heard in opening statements from the prosecution.

They will present social media posts, text messages that show the defendants using racial slurs and likening black people to monkeys and less than human.

They believe that that is why they killed Ahmaud Arbery.

And the father of Ahmaud Arbery, Marcus Arbery, says that new evidence is so important.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCUS ARBERY, FATHER OF AHMAUD ARBERY: There's a lot of evidence the state had that they didn't put out, like on the racial point. So the fed is going to bring all that. That's what we want the world to see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: And you also heard the same thing from Ahmaud Arbery's mother as well saying that she wants all of the evidence presented.

[14:59:54]

Now, of course, we just wrapped up opening statements for the defense and the prosecution, which means we have a full jury, something that happened this morning as well.

You'll have eight white people, three black people and one Hispanic, a much different makeup than the state trial when it was 11 to one, white to black, on the first jury.