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Ukraine Says It's Holding Off Russian Attacks On Several Fronts; American Killed Fighting Alongside Ukrainian Forces; Marjorie Taylor Greene's Marshall Law Text; Biden Frustrated, Shifting Midterm Strategy to Attacking GOP; Utah Democrats Throw Support Behind Independent Evan McMullin in Effort to Beat GOP Sen. Mike Lee; Independent Senate Candidate Evan McMullin Discusses Race to Unseat Sen. Mike Lee & Sen. Lee Exploring Ideas to Overturn 2020 Election; 40 Million Under Threat of Severe Storms Today. Aired 1-2p ET
Aired April 30, 2022 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:00:27]
JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: You are live in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington, We begin with a Russian military desperate for victory. A Ukrainian resistance that has ruled out surrender and thousands of civilians caught in the middle. That is the nightmare scenario happening in the city of Mariupol right now. New satellite images show what's left of the steel plant that has become Ukraine's last holdout there.
You can see much of that facility has been flattened from near constant Russian bombardment by air, land and sea. Underneath the rubble, hundreds of women and children have been sheltering for weeks. Today's small group reportedly got out, 25 people including six children were just evacuated according to Russia's state news agency. CNN has not verified that. And for those who remain stranded, the CEO of the steel plant company paints a very dire picture.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YURIY RYZHENKOV. CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, METINVEST HOLDING LLC: The city is being destroyed, basically beautiful striving city was turned into a concentration camp by the Russians in less than two months. You can say it's genocide. I have a terrible story. One of our employees who had to leave the city and walk through to minefields with his pregnant wife for more than 30 kilometers.
Actually, as he got into safety, his wife gave birth the next day but unfortunately the child and the parents are OK but what they had to live through is terrible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Vladimir Putin seems to be flaunting the indiscriminate brutality. Thursday his forces launched a missile strike that hit a Kyiv apartment while the U.N. chief was in the city. Also this week, Russia chained together a series of strikes on rail and supply lines, but Ukraine's defense has not backed down. Today we have stunning footage of Ukrainian artillery shelling, Russian positions in the East.
Ukrainian military officials say they've repelled over a dozen attacks in the Donbas in the last 24 hours. Let's get you on the ground to Lviv with CNN's Scott McLean. Scott, let's start with evacuation attempts in Mariupol. Where do things stand right now?
SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Looking promising, Jim. As you mentioned, we have just gotten word according to Russian media 25 people have been able to get out from under that sprawling steel plant in Mariupol. Six of them are children under the age of 14. Again, we're not in a position to verify this reporting. But if it is true, then that would confirm the glimmer of hope that we heard from the mayor's office earlier today that the Russians were allowing people to move from the eastern bank of the river to neighborhoods on the western side.
And that is where a humanitarian corridor was being organized to get people out of that city toward Ukrainian territory. This would be a big deal considering that for days now, humanitarian corridors have not worked. And even when they have, many people have ended up in Russian-held territory. The situation is dire. The head of the company, the CEO of the company said that there's room in the underground network of bunkers and cellars and tunnels for about 4000 people at any given time.
But they only had pre war about two or three weeks of food there. Now it's been well over two months. And so, you can imagine the conditions. The soldiers who are sheltering there say that there are children as young as four months old who are still there. I spoke yesterday with a deputy commander of the Azov Battalion. They're the branch of the Ukrainian military that has done the bulk of the fighting who said that during airstrikes, where you can see from those satellite pictures that have really flattened the plant.
During airstrikes, there were parts of that tunnel system that actually collapsed. And there's so much rubble in some places that there are areas that they cannot access. And so, they're not even certain whether there are survivors, whether there are people under those areas that are trapped and may still well be alive. Now, even if this glimmer of hope that we're seeing from Russian-state media, even if it succeeds in getting civilians out through diplomacy.
That is unlikely to save the soldiers who are there. Who are not only being hit from the sky, but also from ground troops as well who are as of yesterday were storming the plant on foot as well. Doing a ground assault and an official from the mayor's office told me that it may take a miracle to get the soldiers out of that place. Safe they say that they will not leave without a weapon in their hand.
[13:05:04]
MCLEAN: That official said that it may take a papal intervention, literally the pope driving the bus to get those soldiers out in order for them to come out alive, Jim. ACOSTA: All right. It's a desperate situation. Scott McLean, thank you very much for us for that reporting from Ukraine.
A former Marine who traveled from the U.S. to fight alongside Ukrainian forces has been killed. That's according to his family. Willy Joseph Cancel was just 22 years old, and is believed to be the first American fighter to die in Putin's wars. CNN Oren Liebermann has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: For Willy Joseph Cancel, this wasn't his war. The 22-year-old had already served his country in the Marines. But after Russia invaded Ukraine Cancel's family says he felt the need to leave Tennessee and join the fight.
REBECCA CABRERA, WILLY JOSEPH CANCEL'S MOTHER: Even before he left to go to Ukraine, you know, he was proud because he wanted to do the right thing and, you know, fight alongside the underdogs and help them with things that he thought was important.
LIEBERMANN: Cancel's mother Rebecca Cabrera says her son was the one to stand up when everyone else stood back.
CABRERA: Everybody that he's come in contact with in his life, so that they were proud to serve next to him to be a part of his life. And just everybody remember who he was, you know, he was a hero and, you know, he was doing the right thing no matter how people feel about it.
LIEBERMANN: Cancel's mother says he started working for a private military contractor shortly before the war. Cancel agreed to go fight in Ukraine. He arrived in a country still defending on multiple fronts mid-March. Russian forces inching towards Kyiv and carrying out more strikes on Western Ukraine. His mother says she was told he fought with men from different countries before he was killed in action.
His body has not been recovered because of the danger his new brothers in arms mourning his loss.
MIRO POPOVICH, U.S. CITIZEN FIGHTING IN UKRAINE: It makes me feel sad and I'm grateful for his sacrifices. Unbelievable that you are able to -- that he was able to go here and put an ultimate sacrifice for my home country of Ukraine.
LIEBERMANN: Cancel leaves behind a wife and a seven-month-old baby, a family left without a father and a husband. His brother-in-law says he was the type to fight for what's right regardless of the outcome. He's not the only one. Ukraine's military created international legion foreign fighters. A Ukrainian official said more than 20,000 volunteers and veterans from 52 countries wanted to join, though how many served is unclear.
The U.S. has sent billions of dollars in weapons to Ukraine to help them fight Russia. But the White House says American citizens should stay out of this fight. JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We know people want to help. But we do encourage Americans to find other ways to do so rather than traveling to -- rather than traveling to Ukraine to fight there. It is a war zone. It's an act of war zone. And we know Americans face significant risks. But certainly we know a family is mourning, a wife is mourning, and our hearts are with them.
LIEBERMANN: Cancel's mother says the call was too great, the cause to important one for which can sell gave his life.
CABRERA: He knew they needed help. And it was just something that he felt that he could help him because he had the experience and the training and the knowledge to go and help them. Oren Lieberman, CNN at the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Very sad story. CNN Military Analyst, retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton joins me now. Colonel, just hearing, you know, these incredible stories of these Americans who are going off to Ukraine to join the fight, the resistance over there, one American now dead, confirmed dead in this battle. And that very sad story we just saw there from Oren Liebermann. What are your thoughts on the risks that some of these Americans are taking?
I mean, some of them are trained, certainly, to do this sort of thing. It is risky. It -- may be unfamiliar territory in many cases for a lot of these Americans going over there.
CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, it -- absolutely, Jim. And, you know, of course, our hearts go out to his family --
ACOSTA: Absolutely.
LEIGHTON: -- you know, to every single person who was affected by his death. The key thing here, I think, Jim, is that it is, like you said a very different environment, very different than what we know in our military. When we go in serve, we have units that we go and serve with there's a certain procedure or certain protocol, certain things that you expect and we end up protecting each other.
When you go out alone, especially if it's, you know, something where you're by yourself and you're in a unit with people from other nations. It can be a very different experience and Ukraine is very, very different from In the Middle East for example and a lot of our servicemen -- experienced servicemen have experienced in the Middle East now not so much in Europe.
[13:10:07]
LEIGHTON: Different enemy, different way of fighting and a lot of things that you have to consider before you go do something like that. Not to mention, of course, there's going to be high risks in a situation like this.
ACOSTA: And I want to get your thoughts on what's happening at this steel complex in Mariupol. Russian-state media now saying that some civilians have left that complex. And you'll recall Putin was saying, we're not letting anybody out of there. We're not going to even let it fly out of there. What's going on there? Why do you suppose if this can be confirmed, what Russian state media saying? Why do you suppose this is being allowed?
LEIGHTON: I think part of it may be that there's always this some kind of friction when it comes to these kinds of things being done in the, you know, in place, like the Azovstal plant in Mariupol. There's always a way in which a lot of these lower echelons within the Russian military may have agreed to do something. I've been the higher ups, may have said -- may have turned a blind eye to it. That's a possible way of doing it.
There's also the possibility that the Russians may want to look good in comparison to what they've done before. So, there might be a bit of a propaganda war going on here, or at least a start of one. So, it's hard to say right now, Jim, exactly how they're doing this. But -- and why they're doing it, but the key thing I think is this. It's good that 25 people according to these reports have been let go if they are true.
But that's way less than the number of people that are there. So, this is a token. But it's not enough. And it's certainly not a true humanitarian gesture.
ACOSTA: Might just be more Putin propaganda going back to the Russians, who you might be questioning what they're seeing unfolding Ukraine despite all of the state media reports that they're inundated with on a regular basis. Let me ask you about what we just picked up a little while ago. Former nightclub owner has been sharing his story about evacuating some people from Mariupol using his own van.
And it sort of paints the picture of just how desperate the situation is. And we want to warn our viewers what you're about to see here is disturbing. But let's watch.
LEIGHTON: Yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): Go down below. Is everything OK? Come here. Something fucking hut me in the side. Lord. Guys, this is fucked up, fucking hell.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Yes. Getting back to, you know, the reality versus what the Russians are hearing back in Russia about what's happening in Ukraine. I mean, this clearly shows once again, what appears to be intentional strikes on civilian targets. And people just caught in the middle of it. Are they in a -- in the middle of a frightening situation?
LEIGHTON: Absolutely. And this is the type of video that should be shown in Russia.
ACOSTA: Right.
LEIGHTON: This is the kind of thing that people need to know because this is exactly what is happening. It is pure hell, it is a very difficult situation because of the targeting of civilians. Most militaries nowadays have procedures to avoid targeting civilians. Unfortunately, the Russians are not following any of those procedures. They seem to not even have those procedures, or they have certainly not taught those procedures to any of their soldiers.
And that is a real crime. That very fact and not to mention the crimes that they've actually committed. So, the fact that this is going on the way it is, Jim, is really, you know, not only disgusting but it is also extremely dangerous for all the civilians. But it fits with the Russian narrative and with the Russian plan to basically annihilate Ukraine. That's why they're doing this. Why they're letting this targeting take place the way it is, that targeting of civilians.
ACOSTA: All right, Colonel Leighton, always good to see you. Thank you very much. We appreciate it. And a quick programming note today. At 3:00, actor and UNICEF, Goodwill Ambassador Orlando Bloom who just visited with Ukrainian refugees in Moldova joins me to talk about the immense need he saw on the ground. You don't want to miss that. It's coming up a little bit later in the program.
Coming up. Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and the text about Marshall Law. One that she says she doesn't remember sending but wow, watch her defend it.
ACOSTA: Did you send a text asking for the president to declare Martial Law? Did you do that?
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): I, you know, I don't recall those being my text messages. But have you read the text message that is -- you -- that you're referring to?
ACOSTA: I did. Yes. I saw it was --
GREENE: Because it actually says --
ACOSTA: It was misspelled, but it seemed to say that you were calling for Martial Law.
GREENE: Well actually it says if you read it correctly, Jim, your problem is you're lying again right now, it says, I do not know on those things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[13:19:09]
ACOSTA: I don't recall. Those three words have been Marjorie Taylor Greene's line of defense after CNN obtained a text showing the Georgia Congresswoman texted then White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows about Martial Law just days before President Biden's inauguration. The text message she can't seem to remember is pretty memorable. We'll put it up on screen for you.
"In our private chat with only members several are saying the only way to save our republic is for Trump to call for Marshall Law. I don't know on those things. I just wanted to tell him. They stole this election. We all know. They will destroy our country. Next, please tell him to declassify as much as possible so we can go after Biden and anyone else. And I tried to go up to Marjorie Taylor Greene and ask her for some answers about all of this.
And as you're about to see the same text message that she says she could not remember. She also vigorously defended. Let's watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[13:20:02]
ACOSTA: Hey, Congresswoman. Can we ask you about the Martial Law text? You said you didn't recall them.
GREENE: I don't recall.
ACOSTA: You don't recall? And you also -- I guess you also said you didn't recall calling Nancy Pelosi a traitor. Is that right?
GREENE: You know, Jim, the problem --
ACOSTA: You don't seem to recall a lot. What's going on there?
GREENE: You know, Jim, you have a show, and in all fairness, you try to present this image of me to your viewers and it's just really not correct.
ACOSTA: Well, we're just trying to get some answers. Did you send a text asking for the president to declare Martial Law? Did you do that?
GREENE: I, you know, I don't recall those being my text messages. But have you read the text message that is -- you -- that you're referring to?
ACOSTA: I did. Yes. I saw it was --
GREENE: Because it actually says --
ACOSTA: It was misspelled, but it seemed to say that you were calling for Martial Law.
GREENE: Well, actually, it says if you read it correctly, Jim, your problem is you're lying again right now, it says, I do not know on those things. That's what that text message actually says.
(CROSSTALK)
ACOSTA: Let me ask you this.
GREENE: No. Why don't you be honest?
ACOSTA: Why even bring it up? Why bring up Martial Law?
GREENE: No. You know, your problem is you're just one of those liars on television and people hate it. They can't stand the liars on television.
ACOSTA: I'm not the one saying I don't recall, I don't recall, I don't recall.
GREENE: No, no. Quote the supposed text message. Quote it. What does it say? I don't know on those things.
(CROSSTALK)
GREENE: Yes. Read it. Read it out loud.
(CROSSTALK)
ACOSTA: Let's read it. Let's read it. OK. Let's take a look.
GREENE: Why don't you be honest for once?
ACOSTA: Let's take a look.
GREENE: Read it out loud.
ACOSTA: Let's take a look. I mean, my question is --
(CROSSTALK)
GREENE: No. Read it out loud. What does it actually say?
ACOSTA: OK.
GREENE: What is the text message? Read the whole thing.
ACOSTA: Let's look at. OK.
GREENE: Yes. Let's read it.
ACOSTA: But you're saying you don't recall it.
GREENE: I don't know if that's my text message or not, but if you want to talk about a text message, read the text message. Do something real.
ACOSTA: Let's take a look. Let's take a look. Let's take a look.
GREENE: OK. Read the exact text message that you're talking about.
ACOSTA: I'll read it. I'll read it. Let's take a look here.
GREENE: Oh, we got an article. Why don't you find the actual text message?
ACOSTA: Let's see. Let's -- hang on a second. In our private chat with only members, several are saying the only way to save our Republic for Trump to call for Martial Law. Marshall was not felt --
GREENE: No. Keep going with the text message.
ACOSTA: I don't know on those things. I just wanted you to call him.
GREENE: Wait. Excuse me. Stop. I don't know on the thing. Is that what that says? It says I don't know on those things?
ACOSTA: So why did you bring it up?
GREENE: Wait, hold on. Stop. This text message that supposedly mine, I don't know if it is. What does it say?
ACOSTA: Right.
GREENE: It says some members and then it says --
ACOSTA: So why did you bring it up?
GREENE: Wait, hold on. It says, I don't know --
(CROSSTALK)
GREENE: Wait. I don't know if that's my text. It says I don't know on those things. Why don't you tell that story? No, no, no, no.
(CROSSTALK)
ACOSTA: You're saying you don't know if it's your text but you're being also defensive about it.
GREENE: No, you're lying. You're a liar. You know why people do not like you? Because you're a liar.
(CROSSTALK)
ACOSTA: Why are you being so defensive about it? I'm not a liar.
GREENE: Why do you want to lie on television for your viewers?
ACOSTA: I'm not trying to lie.
GREENE: No, no, you're trying to --no, you're accusing me of something. And then when you read the actual words, that tells another story. It tells the truth.
ACOSTA: Right. But you're being awfully defensive about it.
(CROSSTALK)
GREENE: Yes. I don't want -- no, you know what. When you want to be honest and you actually want to -- want to talk about me as a real person and present me fairly then I'll talk to you. But until then I don't want to have anything to do with you.
ACOSTA: Let me ask you this. GREENE: No, I don't want --
(CROSSTALK)
ACOSTA: If you are subpoenad -- if you are subpoenad to testify by the January 6 Committee --
GREENE: Stop harassing me. Stop harassing me.
ACOSTA: If you are subpoenad by January 6 Committee --
GREENE: I'm not subpoenad -- stop harassing me.
ACOSTA: I know. But if you are, will you comply with that subpoena? Will you testify?
GREENE: Stop harassing me.
ACOSTA: I'm just trying to ask you some questions.
GREENE: You're not. I didn't give you permission to. Leave me alone.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Now, for the record, we're on a public sidewalk and had every right to interview a congresswoman or congressman whoever came along. That's our right as journalists. But joining me now is CNN Senior Legal Analyst and former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Elie Honig. Elie, before we get into her denials. Can you first explain what Martial Law is? And of course, we're talking about martial, M-A-R-T-I-A-L not M-A-R-S-H-A-L-L.
You know, and the other thing, you know, she was very caught up in I don't know on those things. You heard that repeatedly in the video. I mean, she does go on to say in the text, we didn't get a chance to read it because she was screaming at us. I just wanted you to tell him.
ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Yes.
ACOSTA: She still wanted the president to be told about this conversation about Martial Law.
HONIG: So, starting with Martial Law, I prepared a couple of demonstrative exhibits, which I think will help to make the point. Now, this is how Marjorie Taylor Greene spelled it. And by the way, we're not -- I'm not doing this to be the spelling police. The words matter, and they're important. Now, this is what she meant Martial, M- A-R-T-I-A-L.
ACOSTA: Right.
HONIG: And what this means is war like military, right? It's happened only very few times in our history. But it essentially means when you throw out the laws and the military takes over the government. It's one of the most serious, drastic, dangerous things that we can do as a constitutional democracy. We cease to be a constitutional democracy if we impose M-A-R-T-I-A-L, Martial Law. That's a very serious thing.
Now think about it. If you had proposed even floated the idea to the Chief of Staff of the president, we ought to think about Martial Law. You would either know that or you would know for sure you had not.
[13:25:00]
HONIG: I don't recall is completely implausible. There's no human way that any person of sentient mind would have sent a text like this and would not recall it. And, as you noted, her sort of full throated defense of the text by saying, well, she says, I don't know about these things, she floats it. It's --
(CROSSTALK)
ACOSTA: Yes. What do you make of that (INAUDIBLE) I don't know on these things. You know, it's sort of like I heard they're going to rob a bank down the street. I don't know on these things.
HONIG: Yes.
ACOSTA: But, you know, they're -- my friends are talking about robbing a bank, you know.
HONIG: Right.
ACOSTA: Does that exactly get you out of some legal hot water here, talking about Martial Law in a text with the White House Chief of Staff?
HONIG: Dear Chief of Staff. I'd like you to discuss the possibility of Martial Law with the president. Look, I don't know about these things but please, it doesn't it doesn't really change anything. It's not much of a disclaimer.
ACOSTA: Let me ask you about Rudy Giuliani. We got the news this week that Giuliani, who was a central figure in this push to overturn the election result is going to appear next month before the House Select Committee on January 6. Do you expect them to get anything out of this appearance? I mean, is this going to be, I don't recall, I don't remember. Attorney-client privilege. I mean, they seem to have a menu of ways not to respond to these very important questions.
HONIG: Yes. Count me deeply skeptical of the committee getting anything of use from Rudy Giuliani. I mean, most fundamentally, the things you need from a real cooperating witness are truthfulness and acceptance of responsibility. I am not willing to bet on Rudy Giuliani exhibiting either of those things given his conduct over the last several years. So, I think what they'll see is a mishmash of perhaps Fifth Amendment.
He has a Fifth Amendment right. Perhaps specious claims of attorney- client privilege, perhaps lies. I guess, the only hope is maybe because he's Rudy, he'll just sort of blurt it out. He doesn't care. And maybe you can get some nugget of truth out of that. But I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for Rudy to be the star witness here. ACOSTA: And in getting back to Marjorie Taylor Greene at the very end of that piece of video we showed everybody. I was asking her, would you comply with a subpoena? If you are, in fact, subpoenad? We know that the committee has been reluctant to subpoena members of Congress to talk about all of this and you have some strong feelings about this. Does somebody like Marjorie Taylor Greene need to be subpoenaed?
HONIG: So, the shame of it is Marjorie Taylor Greene can feel 100 percent confident sort of blowing that off because she knows full well she's not going to be subpoenaed. Now, the committee has said, well, it's still on the table. We're still considering it. They've been saying that for months. Look, here we are almost May, the time has passed. They clearly have made a decision to go easy on their colleagues, whether it's Marjorie Taylor Greene, Kevin McCarthy, Jim Jordan, Scott Perry on down the line.
ACOSTA: But how shocking is that, Elie, when you -- when you see some of the filings that have come from the January 6 committee, and you see conversations going back and forth between members of Congress, a woman named Cassidy Hutchinson was testifying to this. A former aide to Mark Meadows, that there were members of Congress talking about all of these different options for overturn the election results. What they have to say is, is extremely important.
HONIG: One hundred percent. It is a political compromise by the committee, and it is costing us getting towards the truth. I mean, let's be straightforward about it. There's no reason these people shouldn't be given a subpoena. And by the way, a subpoena is not a punitive thing. A subpoena is -- you are ordered to come in and testify. Maybe you're just a witness. But we need your testimony, Kevin McCarthy, Scott Perry, to get the full truth here.
The committee has made this political decision, we're going to go easy on our own. Even Republican Democrat, you know, this idea of Congress going easy on its own crosses party lines.
ACOSTA: Right. And the committee is now saying public hearings in June. What are you going to be watching for?
HONIG: Yes. So, look, I think we're all well familiar with the attack itself. There's ample video footage, we've heard a compelling testimony from Michael Fanone and the other officers, that's important they need to focus on that again. But let's really get inside the decision making walls here. Let's get as close as we can inside the White House, who was behind this effort. And I want to see focus before January 6.
The effort, the fake electors, the fraud that went on with state legislators. That's a really important part of the story, too.
ACOSTA: All right. Elie, thank you very much. And in case anybody's wondering, the sunglasses were in case we saw any space lasers being used out there.
HONIG: Protective equipment.
ACOSTA: Protective equipment.
HNIG: You have to be -- you have to be prepared or any no options there. Thank you very much, Elie. We appreciate it. Coming up. President Biden's new plan for the midterms campaign built around hammering the GOP. Can he save Democrats in the House on the Senate? We've got some brand new CNN reporting coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:30:49]
ACOSTA: A frustrated President Biden is shifting his strategy for the midterms and is increasingly going on the attack against Republicans.
Sources tell CNN the mantra inside of the White House is, "Don't compare me to the Almighty. Compare me to the alternative."
But the Biden team has a tough task ahead. The latest CNN poll of polls shows 54 percent of Americans disapprove of the president's job performance.
CNN's Arlette Saenz joins me now from the White House.
Arlette, is this the strategy Dems are looking for? What is the reaction to how the White House is trying to position things for the president?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, Democrats are certainly looking for any help they could get heading into the tough midterm elections.
And President Biden in his own thinking believes that the way to help Democrats at this moment is to go on the attack against Republicans.
Sources close to the president and his inner circle have told CNN he's become frustrated with journalists not calling out Republicans for what he sees as not -- making these choices, not pursuing the truth and things of that matter.
But certainly the president plans on heading out on the campaign trail, being an active campaigner. And you've already started to see him take these swipes at Republicans.
[13:35:04]
Just the other day, when he released a statement about the contracting economy, the president, yes, citing that there were technical factors but he took aim at Republicans in those -- in that statement.
So that is something you should expect to see from the president heading into these next six months.
Of course, there are some Democrats, like Senator Elizabeth Warren, who released an op-ed earlier this month where she was really lamenting Biden's stalled agenda and what she said is a failure to get big things done. Those comments did not sit well with some Democrats here at the White House.
But really over the next six months, as the president is getting out there, hitting the road to try to help save Democrats, the House and the Senate, he's also looking ahead to his own possible 2024 run.
This will give him a chance to sell his brand and what he believes Democrats can offer.
ACOSTA: And we talked about President Biden going after Republicans in the midterms. What about at tonight's White House Correspondents Dinner? A lot of people are waiting to hear what the president says.
SAENZ: It seems like no topic will be off limits. And President Biden is expected to poke fun at himself and the media and even Republicans.
Of course, his aides do say this is a difficult time for standup when you have things like the brewing war in Ukraine and also the COVID-19 pandemic that the country has been dealing with.
But the president has been working on this speech for a few weeks. He's been receiving possible joke submissions from a host of aides here at the White House.
And they also -- the White House is insisting that the president wants to ensure that he's honoring and supporting the free press, something that you've heard him talk about that recently as he's talked about the war in Ukraine.
Of course, there's also COVID concerns for tonight. The president will likely be wearing a mask when he is not speaking. And he's only attending the speaking portion, not actually going to the eating portion of the dinner.
ACOSTA: OK, Arlette Saenz, thank you very much. We'll be watching.
Coming up, Utah Democrats take a highly unusual step to try and unseat a Trump ally in the Senate.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:41:39]
ACOSTA: Out in Utah, Democrats are throwing their support behind Independent candidate, Evan McMullin, in an effort to unseat Republican Senator and Trump ally, Mike Lee.
Last week, a CNN exclusive found that Lee had explored ideas to overturn the election.
Here is one of the messages that he sent to Trump White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows.
Quote, "If a very small handful of states were to have their legislatures appoint alternate slates of delegates, there could be a path."
Publicly, however, Lee has dodged a lost questions on this issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Senator Lee, the texts show you worked hard to try to overturn the presidential election. Are you still OK with that?
How come you won't talk about it, sir? Your public position was much different than what the texts indicated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Now we did invite Senator Lee on the program and have not received a response.
But joining us now is Utah Senate candidate and former CIA officer, Evan McMullin.
Evan, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it.
First, were you surprised that the Democratic Party in Utah threw its support behind you, an Independent? And even with that support, what are your chances in a bright-red Republican state like Utah? Do you have a shot?
EVAN MCMULLIN, (I), CANDIDATE FOR U.S. SENATE FROM UTAH: Well, most Utahans, Jim, want to replace Mike Lee. A majority of the state does for some of the reasons that you just detailed and others.
But the challenges -- that they are divided, the majority is divided between Democrats, principled Republicans and Independents and third parties like the United Utah Party.
And so the entire strategy and task of my campaign is to unite this existing majority for this purpose, to replace Mike Lee, to protect our democratic republic, and to help our state and our country overcome the major challenges that it faces.
So I was very encouraged that Democratic delegates voted to join our coalition. The same is true for the United Utah Party. They voted to join our coalition.
And so it goes and it grows. And we're very encouraged by that and optimistic we could build this coalition and be successful in November.
ACOSTA: And earlier, we showed one of the texts that Senator Lee sent to Mark Meadows and sent one talking about former Trump attorney and conspiracy theorist, Sidney Powell.
Which says, quote, "Sidney Powell is saying that she needed to get into to see the president but being kept away from him. Apparently, she has a strategy to keep things alive and put several states back in play. Can you help get her in?"
Evan, what is your reaction to the fact that Senator Lee was essentially lobbying the White House repeatedly to overturn the election results?
And he will say that, well, he -- he had a change of heart towards the end of that whole process. But for a while there, he was definitely trying to pursue any and all options for the Trump team to turn over the election results.
What is your response to all of that?
MCMULLIN: Well, I think it is very clear that Senator Lee not only betrayed his oath of office, his oath to defend the Constitution, but even more profoundly, I believe he betrayed the American identity.
We have a system of self-government here, which -- in which people lose elections at times and then there are peaceful transitions of power. It is an essential hallmark for our system of self-governance. And Mike Lee was sworn to defend it.
[13:45:00]
And he calls himself a constitutional conservative. As a constitutional conservative, he should be doing everything in his power to uphold the institutions that protect liberty and justice in America and he did the opposite of that. And it is a serious problem.
He advised Trump's various legal -- so-called legal challenges, most of which were defeated in court. But had the impact of convincing tens of millions of Americans that the election had been stolen. That was -- that laid the groundwork for what we saw on January 6th.
He claimed that he only found out about the plot to send fake electors from swing states on January 2nd when he received the so-called coup memo.
But what we know from those texts that he was an advocate for that plan as early as the December 8th when he was texting Mark Meadows, advocating for this as a path, alternative electors, he called them. That sounds a lot like alternative facts.
But he thought that if fake electors were sent from swing states, that could be a way to overturn the election.
So he was using his constitutional knowledge to try to find a legal fig leaf or a weakness in our system -- which I believe he understands very well, he knows it well -- to try to overturn our democracy.
And that is what is he was hard at work doing. Working up to 14 hours a day by his own description for that purpose.
And that is something that is highly dangerous to our democratic republic and obviously means that we need to make a change in Utah.
ACOSTA: And you think he needs to talk to the January 6th committee? Should the committee be bringing him in to talk to them about this?
MCMULLIN: Well, absolutely. He's been running from the press on questions, as you showed earlier. But he owes the American people and certainly Utahans a full and complete description of his knowledge and activities over this time.
I mean, he represents our great state of Utah. This is a state that was founded by people who fled persecution and fled, you know, a lack of freedom, from which they -- from where they came, either on the east coast of the United States of America, or beyond its borders.
And we have a tradition in this state of defending the Constitution. And we certainly need to have our two Senators doing that. I think we see that in Senator Romney.
But we need to have that be the case, our two Senators upholding their oaths of office because that is only way to represent Utah.
ACOSTA: All right, Evan McMullin, a lot of issues to talk about in your race. We'll have you back on program if you would like to come back on.
MCMULLIN: Sure.
ACOSTA: And, of course, we extend the invitation to Senator Lee as well.
Evan McMullin, thank you very much for your time.
MCMULLIN: Thank you. Appreciate it.
ACOSTA: All right. Coming up, 14 reported tornados tear through Kansas and Nebraska. Homes and buildings leveled. Where the powerful storm system is headed next.
You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:52:25]
ACOSTA: More than 40 million people across the Midwest and southern plains could see severe storm today. It's all part of the same system that unleashed a string of tornadoes in Kansas and Nebraska yesterday. As many as 14 twisters.
You can see debris getting picked up into the air in this video. Just stunning stuff there.
A tornado ripped off the walls and roof of this home in Andover, Kansas, near Wichita. The family who lived there trying to remain hopeful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KLOEY VALENTINE, TORNADO DESTROYED HER HOME: It's really sad. I hate seeing my family cry because they lost everything. I hate that all these things are, like, gone.
I keep thinking like, what now, and like, I have nothing. Trying to stay positive, because last night was really terrible. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: New drone video shows some of the dozens of other homes that were leveled. Officials say nearly a thousand buildings were in the tornado's path. About a dozen people were hurt. Just devastating footage there.
A Nebraska teacher and coach saves a student's life after the teenager started choking. School cameras captured the moment the basketball coach, Joel Hooser (ph), rushed over after another student alerted him to what was happening.
The coach lifts the student up and performs the Heimlich maneuver. It worked. And the school officials say the student is doing fine now. The school principal rightfully called the coach a hero.
Way to go, Coach. That's amazing work there. Look at that, just incredible.
All right, and Stanley Tucci is back. New episodes, new food, and new discoveries in the season 2 premiere. He heads to the floating city of Venice to discover how an aquatic environment impacts its culinary scene.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
STANLEY TUCCI, HOST, "And these are chicceti, a traditional Venetian snack.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
TUCCI: It's only 8:30, but a Venetian breakfast is eaten standing up, washed down with a glass of wine known as an umbra, or shadow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
TUCCI: This is fast-food lagoon style. The word "chicceti" means a nothing. Ironic because it is really something.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
TUCCI: Oh, my god.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
TUCCI: I love it.
I'm coming over here so I can see it. Look at that. Oh, my god.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[13:55:07]
ACOSTA: Venice, it's an amazing city. Be sure to tune in, all new season of "STANLEY TUCCI, SEARCHING FOR
ITALY," premiers tomorrow night at 9:00 right here on CNN.
