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Putin Says, We See NATO At Our Door, But We Don't Want War; Accounting Firm Says, Ten Years of Trump Organization Financial Documents Are Unreliable. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired February 15, 2022 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN NEWSROOM: A very good Tuesday to you. I'm Jim Sciutto reporting live from Kyiv, Ukraine.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN NEWSROOM: And I'm Bianna Golodryga in New York.

Moments ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz holding a joint news conference following their meeting in Moscow. So far, the major takeaways, Putting telling reporters that Russia, quote, sees NATO at our door but that his country does not want war. He also confirmed that Russia is pulling back some troops from around Ukraine. And this morning, the Ukrainian foreign minister said that the Russian partial withdrawal will believe it when we see it.

SCIUTTO: Conflicting signals as the Pentagon warns that Russia has, in fact, increased its military capability near the Ukrainian border over just the last 24 to 48 hours, could invade, in the Pentagon's view, with little or no warning. I'm told this morning that some Russian units have moved into combat positions and that the U.S. is on alert today for a possible Russian false flag event.

We do begin this morning with CNN Senior International Correspondent Matthew Chance. He's here with me in Kyiv. We also have CNN Senior National Security Correspondent Alex Marquardt, he is in Zaporizhia, which is in the southern part of the country.

Matthew, I want to begin with you. You've followed, covered Russia for a number of years, you've lived in Russia. Russia and Vladimir Putin often sending conflicting signals, they often don't tell the truth but they are claiming today to be reducing forces and they're claiming to be open to diplomacy. What signs do we have that that's genuine?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have these instances by the Russians --

GOLODRYGA: We seem to have some issues there with the camera. Let's go to Alex Marquardt in Zaporizhia. Alex, what are you seeing there on the ground?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bianna, we've just made our way down from Zaporizhia in Eastern Ukraine, down to the port city of Mariupol, along the southern coast. There has been some concern, as Russia has built up its forces, that this coast line would essentially be a third front for Russia. They have been carrying out military exercises in the Black Sea. They have built up their forces in Ukraine, in Crimea, which, of course, annexed back in 2014.

Bianna, we've just seen new satellite imagery that shows that as the Russians claim that they're pulling back their forces, they have actually increased the air potential that they could use in a potential military invasion of Ukraine. We've seen imagery that shows that some 60 helicopters have moved on to the Crimean Peninsula. They are being stationed in an airbase that hasn't been used since 2003. We've also seen satellite imagery that shows that strike fighters, jets have been positioned across the Sea of Azov in Russia that, of course, could fly over here in no time at all and take part in a potential military invasion.

Now, Bianna, where we are right now, if President Putin wanted to connect Russia with Crimea, having seized it eight years ago, they would come right through here and come right through here with relative ease. This is a key strategic point. Back there behind me, you can see a major port, not just for commercial ships but for navy ships as well.

And, Bianna, we are just a short distance away from the fighting that has raged for the past eight years between Russian-backed separatists in Eastern Ukraine, in the Donetsk and the Luhansk areas against Ukrainian forces. And so if -- and that fighting is a key component to try to get this entire situation to deescalate.

The French leader, the German leader and others have said that in order to get Russia to pull back their forces that have now gathered on all three different sides of Ukraine, a key component to try to really resolve here is that fighting between those Russian-backed forces and the Ukrainians. Bianna?

GOLODRYGA: It is so important to have you there in Zaporizhia, and it's just an indication, Jim, giving a glimpse of the scale of what a possible invasion could look like, how large the country really is, and how surrounded it is by Russian forces and if they choose to go in, they have multiple options to do just that.

I want to bring you back to Kyiv there, because, as you said, things are a bit more peaceful on the ground, nevertheless, still a major target.

SCIUTTO: Well, the capabilities remain, even with a small pullback, if it's confirmed that Russia maintains force that the U.S. believes is capable of a broad-based invasion.

[10:05:01]

But back to the point we've brought up before, before we lost the signal, Matthew, there are mixed signals here from a government and a leader that deliberately misleads, sometimes tells the truth as it happens, sometimes it doesn't, deliberately. When and how will we know if this is genuine partial withdrawal and if Russia is genuinely interested in diplomacy?

CHANCE: Well, look, I mean, you're right. I mean, this is a strategy that Vladimir Putin employs. He keeps everybody guessing. We don't know what his intention is. We know he's got this capability, this enormous military capability that's assembled near the border of Ukraine, tens of thousands of troops poised if the order is given to come to take the capital of Kyiv perhaps and to take other areas as well, potentially.

But will he do that? He could wait until the 11th hour, 59th minute of the 11th hour to decide not to pull the trigger. In the meantime, these are the messages, he's ready for negotiations, messages that, as a rotation of forces from these drills and a suggestion from the Kremlin, which has been reiterated again by Vladimir Putin, that they don't think the diplomatic path has come and finally run its course.

They did this, remember, last year as well. There was a big escalation in April last year. The last moment, as it reached the crisis point, they pulled back, pulled thousands of their forces back, they may well be repeating that again.

SCIUTTO: Or then with them reserving the right to make the opportunity to then ratchet them up again, as we saw in the fall leading into this year. Matthew Chance, thanks very much.

Joining me now to speak about the threat from Russia is the Prime Minister of Estonia, Estonia, of course, a member of NATO, Kaja Kallas. Prime Minister, thanks so much for taking the time this morning.

KAJA KALLAS, ESTONIAN PRIME MINISTER: Glad to be with you.

SCIUTTO: Estonia, and I don't have to tell you, has a great deal of experience with Russian aggression. In 2007, the target of a massive Russian cyberattack shut down the country for a time and has continued to face up to Russian threats. You know Russia well. As you read the signals over the last 24 hours, Putin and Lavrov saying they're still open to diplomacy and now claiming a pull-out of some troops from the Ukrainian border. Do you see a genuine change here or are you still not convinced?

KALLAS: Well, we believe it when we see it, but we don't see it right now. Russia has done this military build-up around Ukraine for already months. They had the military exercise called Zapad. Zapad means the west in Russian, and they actually exercise how to attack the west. And it has been going on for months, so nothing happens in a few days, a few hours and we haven't seen any real de-escalation yet. SCIUTTO: What would you need to see, you and your fellow NATO allies, to believe there was a genuine change, because the Russian president has proven himself capable of both ratcheting down but also then ratcheting up his forces around the border? What would constitute a substantial change in your view and the view of the alliance?

KALLAS: Well, first of all, moving the troops away from the borders, that's one sign, but also together with the propaganda, the narrative that they present in their media. Right now, they're building this narrative that NATO or Ukraine or these are the hostile nations and Russia is under threat. This all refers to waiting for sort of provocation on the side to give an excuse to actually attack Ukraine.

But I'm also -- I also agree with you when you say that creating this first building or putting the military around Ukraine and then pulling them off is also this tactic of really confusing and tiring the western world because you know the fairytale of a Boy Who Cried Wolf, if you have done this several times, then the other side also gets its act together but then nothing happens, and the next time, somebody will say that nothing happened the last time, so maybe we shouldn't do this effort, and then it's already a different picture.

SCIUTTO: Information warfare, always part of his plan. Estonia has done its part in this potential conflict, sending lethal military assistance here to Ukraine, even as it continues to face threat of its own from Russia. Do you believe that NATO allies across the board have sufficiently stood up to Russia, to the Russian threat or should they have done more?

KALLAS: Well, first of all, I'm very happy that we have kept a unified line across European Union but also NATO, that we have consulted with the allies.

[10:10:06]

And, you know, even if we had different meetings with Putin, everybody has the same talking points. And it has been a negative surprise to Russia that the line really holds and I think this is great on our side in this respect.

But looking into the future, I think we should hold the line because what Russia wants to see is to see us divided and we are stronger when we are together.

SCIUTTO: We heard from the British foreign secretary earlier today who said that if Russia invades Ukraine, it wouldn't end in Ukraine. You, the Estonians, other Baltic leaders, have expressed the fear that if Russia wins here, in effect, that you also, former Soviet republics who Russia does not recognize as having the right to join NATO, would be next. Do you believe that's true?

KALLAS: Well, I don't think it's true because we are part of NATO. This is the clear difference between now and Ukraine. I think there was a short opportunity window when we joined NATO and this is one of the pillars of our defense. Of course, we're making our own defense investments over 2 percent of GDP, but we are also relying on our allies and, therefore, we are in a totally different position than Ukraine.

We don't see any military, direct military threat to us at the moment. But, clearly, something happens in Ukraine. It has much broader implications also to European security as a whole.

SCIUTTO: There is a tendency to look at Vladimir Putin as forever brilliant, a flawless strategist, always gets it right, to look at him as 12 feet tall, in effect, but he makes mistakes, he's made miscalculations, and, in fact, he is seeing more, not fewer NATO forces close to his border in response to the threat to Ukraine. Is it possible here that Putin has blinked?

KALLAS: Interesting, interesting question, really. I think he's a player and he's definitely enjoying himself being in the center of this attention. So, as we don't know what's going on in his head, and he's clearly making the decisions, what we see, you know, the military build-up is there for the attack, but it's up to him to decide whether, you know, to go on with it or not. And, of course, it's a play when the U.S. says that, you know, discloses the intelligence information showing off his intentions, all the build-up that is there, then he's playing that, you see, I'm not doing this, so that U.S. would be wrong. So, clearly, this is something that he's enjoying. But coming to his height, and I'm actually exactly the same height as Putin.

SCIUTTO: I like that response. The Estonian prime minister, Kaja Kallas, thanks so much for joining us this morning. We do appreciate your time.

And, Bianna, it's notable there when you speak to people here in Ukraine or to, for instance, the Estonian prime minister, when the issue of NATO comes up and Putin will say, well, this is NATO forcing its way to our borders, that was choice of Estonians to join NATO, for their own security, as has been Ukraine's courting of western institutions, a choice because they want things like the rule of law and they feel threatened by Russia. That's often forgotten when we make those arguments back and forth about whether NATO has pushed too far.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And I have to say, I can't think of a better way for the prime minister to have buttoned that conversation and to note that she happens to be the same height as Vladimir Putin.

SCIUTTO: The same height, exactly. I'll bet you $5 that that gets back to Putin's desk in some way, that comment.

GOLODRYGA: I bet you $10 he won't be happy to hear that.

Still to come massive implications for former President Donald Trump as his accounting firm says nearly ten years of the Trump Organization's financial statements are unreliable. We'll discuss that.

Plus, a brutal attack in New York, 35-year-old Asian woman was followed to her apartment and then stabbed and killed. That attack shaking the city and attracting the attention of the mayor. And the women's number one men's tennis star Novak Djokovic willing to risk it all to stay unvaccinated after everything. More on that story later this hour.

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GOLODRYGA: The longtime accounting firm for the Trump Organization has now cut ties with the company and announced that it can no longer stand behind ten years of financial statements it prepared for the former president's family business. The firm, Mazars USA, also advised the Trump Organization to inform business partners to no longer rely on those documents.

The Trump Organization has responded saying, quote, their letter confirms that after conducting a subsequent review of all prior statements of financial condition, Mazars work was performed in accordance with all applicable accounting standards and principles, and that such statements of financial condition do not contain any material discrepancies.

[10:20:04]

This confirmation effectively renders the investigation by the D.A. and A.G. moot.

Joining me now to discuss is former U.S. District Attorney Kim Wehle, she's also a law professor at the University of Baltimore and the author of the new book, How to Think Like a Lawyer -- and Why. So, I'm so glad you're here to walk us through this.

First of all, explain just how unusual this is for an accounting firm to cut ties so publicly in the way that it has with the Trump Organization?

KIM WEHLE, FORMER ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY: Well, we can just apply our own logical minds to this kind of issue. I mean, remember, this firm goes back to Fred Trump, to Donald Trump's dad. They have a long standing relationship, and the firm itself, as we know, just in being engaged in any type of business transaction, this is not a good look for the firm. The firm is coming out and saying, we made some mistakes, we can't stand behind it. So, this puts into potential jeopardy its own reputation and other relationships it has both with banks and with clients.

So, it's a super big deal for the firm and, of course, for Donald Trump because this information could give rise to banks calling their loans, saying, listen, we gave you money in reliance on information that now turns out by your own accounting firm to be inaccurate, that's separate from the potential legal liability from New York.

GOLODRYGA: And this case revolves around the accusation that the former president and the organization would either overinflate or undervalue assets that that would be beneficial to them. And I'm curious to get your take on how this relates to the former president's M.O. in general, right? Hyperbole, exaggeration was always the name of the game for him. He wrote about it in his book, The Art of the Deal and he talked about it, and I'm going to quote from it now, that he said, hyperbole is something he can use all the time and it's something that he would advise others to as well.

Given that, where does the law come into play?

WEHLE: Well, the law is, as you described it, Bianna, I mean, if you're applying for a bank loan and you want to use your house to back up that loan, that is, if you don't pay back, they'll take your home and sell it, you've got to properly value that home so they can have legitimate collateral. But on the flipside, you pay taxes on your home. So, if you go to the IRS and downplay the value of your home, you're going to pay fewer taxes.

That's argument here that Letitia James, the attorney general, has said publicly, is the problem. Michael Cohen told the United States Congress that Donald Trump routinely did this. And the other wrinkle here is that his children, Don Jr. and Ivanka, have taken the position that they shouldn't have to respond to subpoenas in connection with this investigation and the attorney general has made public that Ivanka was involved in these negotiations, Don Jr. signed some of these documents.

So, this potentially scoops in not just Donald Trump, Teflon Don and the Teflon on the pan is wearing off now, but also, his children. There are many people that potentially were involved in this scheme and in hindsight, maybe it's the presidency that blew it open because it's one thing to do this as a private citizen, it's another thing to do it when you have your fingertips, the public fisc (ph) the massive authority and power of the presidency. You get more scrutiny. That's just part of it.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. How likely is it, in your opinion, that Mazars is cooperating with this investigation? And if so, what does that mean for any criminal liability that the former president faces?

WEHLE: Well, again, think about it. This is not something they took likely. They didn't want to do this. It makes them look really, really bad. But the fact that they said they've an irreconcilable, or something along those lines, conflict of interest in their letter suggests that they might be cooperating with the government. So, it's hard for them to do that and then also, at the same time, represent the Trump Organization.

So, I think there's a strong suggestion here that they are cooperating and it's a domino effect. This is how these big investigations are going. Of course, Letitia James, civil, there's no criminal liability there. It would just be money damages. But there's an ongoing Manhattan D.A. investigation that would be criminal. So, this could be one domino in a series.

And as you recall, Allen Weisselberg, their top CFO, has refused to cooperate. So, we'll have to see now that this could start a chain reaction and many people with expertise in this and experience in this could have suggested we could see some action publicly out of one of the two offices in the state of New York investigating the Trump Organization.

GOLODRYGA: I do have to say at this point, it seems like we've just had an endless number of dominos fall in this investigation. Kim Wehle, thank you for helping us break it down.

[10:25:01]

WEHLE: Thank you. Sure.

GOLODRYGA: Ahead, the Russian teen skater accused of doping at the Olympics who says she mistakenly took her grandfather's medication. Well, last hour, she surged into the women's single skating lead. Is it fair? We'll have the latest from Beijing ahead.

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[10:30:00]

GOLODRYGA: This morning, following his news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin says his country does not want war but he also sees NATO --