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S&P: Russia Has Defaulted on Its Foreign Debt; Oil Prices Settling Down after Spike from Ukraine Invasion; Soon, Biden to Announce New Regulations of "Ghost Guns"; Biden Expected to Name Steve Dettelbach As Nominee to Lead ATF; Russian Students Snitch on Teacher over Anti-War Comments; NYT: Jan. 6 Committee Split on Sending DOJ Criminal Referral on Trump over Concerns It Would Politicize the Investigation; Cheney to CNN: No Dispute on Panel over Trump Criminal Referral; Donald Trump Jr Texted Meadows Ideas for Overturning 2020 Election as Votes Were Being Counted; Key Ruling Imminent in Lawsuit Against GOP Rep. Greene's Candidacy. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired April 11, 2022 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:30:51]

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: More financial trouble for Russia today. The credit rating agency, S&P Global, says Russia effectively defaulted on its foreign debt after offering to make payments in rubles instead of dollars.

Matt Egan joins me now.

So, Matt, this is a consequence, it seems, of some of the sanctions on Russia. But what are the practical implications for Moscow?

MATT EGAN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Yes, Dana, this really is all about sanctions. Russia owed payments on interest and they owed it in dollars. But they tried to pay in rubles. Not because they don't have dollars. They do. They just can't access those dollars because of sanctions from the West.

So that's why S&P has downgraded Russia into selective default, which is when a country defaults on specific obligations but not its entire debt.

Now technically, Russia has 30 days here to make these payments. But S&P does not think that Russia will do so, at least not in dollars.

So what does this all mean for the economy? Well, a default would raise borrowing costs for Russia. Investors are not going to want to do business with Russia.

And this is also adding to the economic pain there. They are experiencing very high inflation, shrinking standard of living, and this exodus of Western companies.

And World Bank says that Russia is already in default. The World Bank expects Russia's GDP to decline by 11 percent this year. Really significant economic pain there.

But even more pain in Ukraine, as you can see. The World Bank is expecting that Ukraine's GDP will collapse by nearly 50 percent this year -- Dana?

BASH: I want to ask you about the price of oil and gas here in the U.S. Of course, there was a big shock to prices after the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Things seem to be settling back down a bit?

EGAN: Yes, that is safe to say. And energy prices have cooled off, which is, obviously, really good news.

U.S. oil prices are down to $94 a barrel, down about 4 percent as we speak. That is not cheap. But as you can see, that's a lot better than a month ago when oil was above $120 a barrel.

A few factors here. Shanghai and other cities in China are dealing with lockdowns and COVID cases and so that is going to potentially hit demand.

Also there's concerns about the U.S. economy slowing down. That would also be a negative for demand.

And on the supply side, the U.S. and allies have released unprecedented amounts of oil from emergency reserves.

So all of this has driven down the price of gasoline. The national average at $4.11 a gallon, down a penny overnight, eight cents in a week, down 22 cents from a month ago.

Again, that's not cheap but it's certainly a step in the right direction.

Dana, it does say a lot about the inflationary environment we're in right now when $4 gas qualifies as good news.

BASH: It's all about context.

Matt Egan, thank you so much for that.

Less than an hour from now, President Biden will announce a new crackdown on so-called ghost guns. It follows another weekend of gun violence across the country.

Two people were killed and 10 wounded at a nightclub in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. One person was shot and killed at a birthday party in Indianapolis. Six people were injured in a shooting in Elgin, Illinois. And four people were shot near Nationals Park right here in Washington, D.C.

I want to go straight to CNN White House correspondent, M.J. Lee.

M.J., explain what ghost guns are and what the White House is trying to do about it.

M.J. LEE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Dana, first of all, it's going to be pretty striking to see President Biden talking about a domestic issue that we don't hear him talk about too often. That is of course, gun control.

What we're specifically talking about is the regulation of these so- called ghost guns.

Just to explain what they are. They are these guns that can be made from kits that are relatively easy to make. They are largely unregulated and untraceable.

So what this administration would like to do is, in part, require that there be background checks for the purchasing of these kits and guns and also require that there be serial numbers attached to some of these parts in this kit so that the government can better track and control the use of these guns.

[13:35:10]

Now I should note that there's another part of this announcement that we are going to be hearing from President Biden this afternoon. And that is the announcement of his next nominee to the ATF. This is, of course, the federal bureau that controls firearms and guns.

This is a former federal prosecutor from Ohio. His name is Steve Dettelbach. President Biden's first nominee had to be withdrawn because he didn't have enough support in the Senate.

Now, of course, this is one area, gun control, where President Biden has found it difficult for there to be sort of comprehensive legislation coming out of Congress.

This is what you encounter when you have such an evenly divided Senate. It's also just an issue that has always been a very difficult one for Democratic administrations to get work done on.

But as you pointed out, we see so many examples of different kinds of gun violence. So as far as the advocates of control, the urgency is not going away any time soon -- Dana?

BASH: It certainly isn't.

M.J. Lee, thank you so much for that report.

Coming up, a chilling new example of Putin's war on the truth. A Russian teacher turned in by her own students for making anti-war comments. That story is next.

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[13:41:17]

BASH: A teacher in Russia got a lesson in just how far Vladimir Putin's campaign of disinformation goes. She learned that not even a classroom discussion of Russia's war on Ukraine is safe. Now she's facing charges. And the price she pays for telling the truth could be a prison sentence. CNN's senior international correspondent, Matthew Chance, has more.

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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this incident has echoes of the atmosphere of oppression in the Soviet Union. A schoolteacher in western Russia has been charged with spreading false information after being reported to the authorities by her own students.

Arina Jen (ph) teaches English in the Russian city of Penza. Was asked by her class why Russia had been banned from competing in European athletics championships.

And she went on a tear, saying, "If Russia doesn't behave in a civilized manner, this will go on forever."

She said the Russian military had begun to bomb western Ukraine and that it attacked the city of Mariupol. And they wanted to get to Kyiv, to overthrow the Ukrainian government of President Zelenskyy.

"We have a totalitarian regime," she added. "We're a pariah state like North Korea."

Well, honest, you might say, straight to the point perhaps.

The problem is, the remarks, which contradict the official narrative of what's happening in Ukraine and are critical of the Russian authorities were recorded, and the police were brought in to investigate.

This is the middle of March, remember. Days later, the teacher resigned from her post.

And just today, a lawyer has confirmed to CNN that she faces charges under new restrictive laws aimed at silencing dissent in Russia. She's now facing up to 10 years in jail if she's found guilty.

We've asked the Kremlin about this. They say they aren't aware of this particular case.

But it's an illustration of the atmosphere in Russia right now as it struggles to contain and control the narrative over Ukraine and about just how hazardous it is to speak out of line there.

Matthew Chance, CNN, London.

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BASH: Still to come, Congresswoman Liz Cheney says it is absolutely clear that Donald Trump's actions after the 2020 election were unlawful. Are criminal referrals coming next?

[13:43:40]

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[13:48:29]

BASH: Did then-President Trump break the law by allegedly trying to orchestrate an administrative coup after the 2020 election? The Republican vice chair of the committee investigating January 6th says, yes.

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REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): It's absolutely clear that what President Trump was doing, what a number of people around him were doing, that they knew it was unlawful. They did it anyway.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: It's absolutely clear -- that's what the Congresswoman just said. So you'd think that would make the committee's decision on sending a criminal referral to the Justice Department pretty easy.

But "The New York Times" is reporting that the panel is split, despite having enough evidence, that there are concerns a referral would further politicize the issue.

In the same CNN interview on "STATE OF THE UNION" with Jake Tapper, he asked the congresswoman about the committee being divided, and she denied it.

I want to go right to our senior legal analyst, former federal prosecutor, Elie Honig.

So, Elie, you are actually defending what could be reluctance by the committee to send a referral. Why?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, Dana, well, first of all, it's important people understand, a criminal referral has zero -- zero legal significance.

DOJ does not need a criminal referral from Congress in order to open an investigation. And a criminal referral from Congress to DOJ does not compel DOJ to do anything.

In my view, to send a criminal referral adds a political element here. It is really all about the evidence. The January 6th committee, no doubt, has put together astonishing, remarkable, damning evidence.

[13:50:03]

Let the evidence speak for itself. Putting a criminal referral on top of it just injects politics needlessly, in my view.

BASH: So devil's advocate here. Why isn't it political to not send a referral? Is there anything to be said about that being its own form of politicizing the process? HONIG: Yes, I think your highlighting the sort of "darned if they do,

darned if they don't" nature of this decision. And I think that is why the January 6th committee itself is so torn.

But let's keep in mind, that evidence that the January 6th committee has put together, that is going to DOJ. They're doing to have hearings. They're going to have a big fat report with all sorts of details in it.

The only question is do they slap a cover letter on that report saying, hey, DOJ, we really want to you investigate. And to me that could either -- could only really backfire.

BASH: Well, talk about that, as somebody who understands how the DOJ works from experience. How would they respond if the committee decided to give that referral?

HONIG: There's only three possibilities here, Dana. A., a referral could make prosecution more likely, have no impact, or less likely.

Let's consider what we know about this Justice Department. Merrick Garland, every time he opens his mouth, says, we will not be influenced by politics at all. He said it just the other day. It is sort of his core refrain.

And remember that incident a few months ago where our colleague, Kaitlan Collins, asked Joe Biden, should people be prosecuted for contempt of Congress. Biden said, yes, they should.

Well, DOJ shot back right away with a very forceful and unusual statement where they said essentially, we don't take political orders from anybody, including the president.

So, to me, there's no chance that a referral makes it more likely that Merrick Garland takes action. And I think he does need to take action.

There's a good chance it does nothing. And there's even a chance it backfires because Merrick Garland has shown a reluctance to do anything that even appears political.

BASH: Yes, he sure has.

While I have you, Elie, have to ask about these explosive texts, first reported by our colleague, Ryan Nobles, texts from Donald Trump Jr to Mark Meadows.

And his eldest son was offering up plans to reverse the 2020 election. That was before the votes were even tallied.

Does he have any legal exposure here?

HONIG: Well, you hit on what is the key point there, Dana, is the timing. And what this does, for me, as an investigator, maybe as a prosecutor, is it goes to the overall intent. It shows us this was the plan.

They were going to try to steal this election right after the election, before they even really knew who had won or lost.

And so, to me, it is an important piece of the puzzle. It shows they were all in on it. And it is written proof from Donald Trump Jr to Mark Meadows that they just can't deny.

BASH: Elie Honig, thank you so much. Good to see you.

HONIG: Thanks, Dana. You, too.

BASH: And staying with the January 6th fallout, today a judge is expected to rule on whether a constitutional challenge to Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene's candidacy can move forward.

The lawsuit accused the Georgia Republican of stoking last year's insurrection. And it argues that the 14th Amendment disqualifies her from running for re-election.

CNN's Marshall Cohen is tracking this and in the courtroom on Friday for the hearing.

Marshall, where do things stand right now?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Dana, it is shaping up to be a pretty important day in this case because we are expecting a ruling today.

They'll either let this thing move forward, let the challenge progress ahead, which would lead to another hearing later in the week that would get to the merits of whether Congresswoman Greene is an insurrectionist and should be disqualified.

Or the judge will sort of shut things down, end this thing dead in its tracks. And then she'll end up on the primary ballot as if none of this ever happened.

But we're talking about this because it is about accountability for January 6th.

Liberal groups and constitutional scholars have pointed to a provision of the 14th amendment that they put in after the Civil War that said people that swear an oath to the Constitution, then do an insurrection or help an insurrection, they can't come back to office.

It is really about Confederate generals and people from the 1800s. And the groups are trying to see if they could make it apply today to people like Greene, Congressman Madison Cawthorn, and maybe even Donald Trump if he runs again.

And by the way, Dana, all of these people obviously deny any wrongdoing regarding January 6th. They say this is ridiculous and they believe that they will win in court.

BASH: Yes, it is so fascinating.

You mentioned Madison Cawthorn, congressman from North Carolina. That was blocked. This -- in this case, with Marjorie Taylor Greene, the judge is open to it, it appears.

What is the difference in the two cases?

COHEN: Yes. I mean, it's -- sometimes you hate to draw these conclusions.

But I got to point out that the judge who was overseeing the Madison Cawthorn case was an appointee of President Donald Trump and reached a conclusion that a lot of the constitutional experts that I've talked to are pretty skeptical of. And that judge really shut that process down.

[13:54:59]

The judge overseeing this case with Congresswoman Greene, she's an Obama appointee. And she may, at least was indicating that she was leaning in favor of letting this thing move forward to the next step.

It is not a sure bet. It is not even close to over. But it seems like it likely will move on to the next step. And then everybody could have their day in court -- Dana?

BASH: Marshall, thank you for bringing those really, really interesting developments in both of those cases. Appreciate it.

And I am Dana Bash in Washington. Thank you so much for joining me today.

The news continues next with Victor Blackwell right after a quick break.

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