Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Army Secretary Details How U.S. Would Help Taiwan If China Invades; Airlines, Travel Industry Push W.H. To End Testing Requirements For International Travelers Flying Into U.S.; Georgia A.G. Subpoenaed In Trump Election Interference Probe; Verdict Reached In Johnny Depp-Amber Heard Trial; California Restricts Water Amid Historic "Megadrought". Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired June 01, 2022 - 13:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:32:07]

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Today, we are learning how the U.S. Army would back up President Biden's vow to respond if China attacks Taiwan. The Army secretary says the U.S. is ready to provide air and missile defenses.

CNN's Oren Liebermann is at the Pentagon with more details.

Oren, why are we hearing about this now? Does the U.S. think there's an imminent threat?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Ana, this came off as a part of the conversation about the U.S. Army's role as a part of the national defense strategy.

So even if there isn't an imminent threat of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, this is a hypothetical scenario that the U.S. watches very closely, believing in China's statements about plans to be able to have the ability to, what it calls, reunify Taiwan by 2027.

So even if it's still five years away, that is still relatively soon in the big picture here.

Of course, the U.S. focusing on China and the Indo-Pacific, as the region, the theater and what it calls the hastening challenge of not only the present but, of course, the future.

And this was Army Secretary Christine Warmouth talking about the Army's role in this hypothetical scenario of Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

What will the Army's role be? First, she said, it's primarily a supporting role, using the Army's relationships in the region to get greater access to bases.

But also helping with planning, logistics and sustainment of what would no doubt be a joint-force role in a hypothetical Chinese invasion of Taiwan. A big part of that would be air and missile defense, as you pointed out.

She mentioned two specific systems here, the mid-range capability, as it's called, which is a land-based system to send ships trying to cross the Taiwan Strait for an invasion of Taiwan.

Also -- and I want to get this name right -- the Long-Range Precision Fire System, which is supposed to be able to hit some 200 miles out with precision. She doesn't say specifically how it will be used.

But these are what she sees as having a role in the scenario where China would make a move on Taiwan -- Ana?

CABRERA: Oren Liebermann, thank you for that reporting.

Meantime, in China, life is slowly returning to normal for millions of people in Shanghai after months of strict lockdown restrictions.

Take a look at this. People literally racing to get out now that measure is forcing them to stay home have been lifted. Most of the city's 25 million residents are free to leave their community.

But some COVID restrictions are still in place. Most public venues and transportation still require a negative COVID test within 72 hours.

Back here in the U.S., major airlines and travel industry leaders are pushing the White House to end its testing requirement for vaccinated international travelers flying into the United States. They argue the policy is out of date.

Joining us is ThePointsGuy and travel expert, Brian Kelly.

Brian, first, on this push to try to end the testing requirements for international travelers, any progress there?

[13:34:59]

BRIAN KELLY, FOUNDER, THEPOINTSGUY.COM: You know, we've Heard Secretary Buttigieg mention that the CDC is going to be the one to decide, maybe this summer. But travelers in the industry, a lot of us are pushing to get these rules taken away because it's, frankly, just a broken system.

You know, the whole system relies on foreign airline workers to check tests. Right? There's no checking to make sure it's actually not forged. And of course, domestically, we don't have them at all, nor do you have to wear a mask.

So it is a burden on those who travel internationally. Especially when many countries have handle COVID a lot better than we have here in the U.S.

CABRERA: If people can get stuck if they have a positive test. All of a sudden, they had a one-week trip turning into a two-week trip. That's the problem.

KELLY: Right. And remember, many of these antigen tests, which they are allowing, are not accurate. There are many false positives, people without symptoms. And the rules there are very unclear.

But even the system is still broken where you can fly to Canada or Mexico and drive across the border with no test. But only when you are flying do you have to get this test. So it's a big headache.

I do recommend, if you're traveling internationally, don't get tested aboard. Bring your own BinexNOW proctored tests. They're only $25. Pack one in your suitcase.

You do it from your hotel. It takes 20 minutes. So you don't have to run around and pay a lot of money for a foreign test. You can do it yourself. It saves a lot of time and money.

CABRERA: That's a good tip.

Of course, there are other issues out of traveler's control. Today, alone, more than 250 flights within, into or out of the U.S. have already been canceled. That's according to Flight Aware.

We've seen a lot of flight cancellations lately. We know hundreds of flights were cancelled over the holiday weekend. What's going on?

KELLY: It's a perfect storm. No pun intended. Weather is an issue. This past week, the east coast saw a lot of storms. What happens then is that flights can't get where they need to go. Crews get stuck.

And in the old days, we had reserve crews to pick up the slack. We don't have that anymore. There are staffing shortages and weather issues.

And we saw in Europe this past weekend, five hours, one of our readers had to wait to get through Portuguese immigration due to strikes and labor shortages at the Dublin airport.

So no matter where you are traveling, I highly recommend, A, book non- stop flights whenever possible. Try to take away any of those extra flights. Get to the airport early.

If have you to have a layover, do not do a one-hour layover these days because you are going to miss your connection and get stranded.

CABRERA: OK, we appreciate those useful tips.

Brian Kelly, thank you so much for your time and sharing your experience and advice.

KELLY: Thanks.

CABRERA: It has been more than two years since former President Trump tried to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results. But today, the investigation into Trump's actions officially heats up. What's happening? What's at stake? We'll discuss with Elie Honig, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:42:42] CABRERA: Welcome back. The investigation into Donald Trump's efforts to undermine the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia is heating up.

The state's attorney general, Chris Carr, has been suspended. Tomorrow, Brad Raffensberger, the secretary of state, is expected to appear before a special grand jury.

Investigators are digging into whether Trump's pressure on Georgia officials was criminal, including the call where Trump pressured Raffensperger to find enough votes to win.

CNN senior legal analyst and former federal and state prosecutor, Elie Honig, is with us.

Elie, let's start from the beginning here in terms of explaining how this process works. What is a grand jury? How does it compare to a typical trial jury?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Ana, a trial jury and a grand jury sound similar but they're two different things. Starting with their function.

What does a trial jury do? They hear the evidence and then they deliver a verdict, guilty or not guilty.

A grand jury has two things it does. First, it can investigate, primarily by issuing subpoenas, which requires witnesses to testify or produce other evidence. The second thing the grand jury can do is issue an indictment.

Now this grand jury in Fulton County is a special grand jury, which will not have the power to indict. But they can make a recommendation. If they do, presumably the case will then go to a regular grand jury, which can indict.

Also, if you look at the mechanics, a trial jury, 12 members, they have to be unanimous to reach a verdict. And the legal standard is beyond a reasonable doubt. That's the highest legal standard in our system.

A grand jury is 23 members. That's why they call it a grand jury because it's bigger. No complexity with that. You only need a majority of the grand jury. You need 12 out of 23. The legal standard is much lower. It's probable cause.

Finally, Ana, a trial jury operates in public. Sometimes there are cameras in the courtroom and a person can walk in and watch. We know what's being said day-by-day.

A grand jury will operate in secret. It's not public. But witnesses can tell us if they have been subpoenaed and witnesses can even tell us what they said in the grand jury. But prosecutors and grand jurors have to remain secret.

So we will not know what's happening day-by-day, but we will who is going in and potentially what they said.

CABRERA: That can give us some clues as to where this is all headed.

HONIG: Yes.

CABRERA: As you mentioned, a special grand jury cannot indict. But they may help determine exactly what crimes, if any, were committed, right?

[13:45:00]

HONIG: Yes. So Fani Willis, who is the D.A. of Fulton County, said, in her letter requesting this special grand jury, that her office has a reasonable probably that Georgia's administration of elections in 2020 were subject to possible criminal disruptions.

Now, what potential criminal is she looking at? She didn't specify in the letter. But if you take a look at Georgia law, you can get a pretty good sense.

It is a crime under Georgia state law to solicit election fraud. Solicit means to ask. Including willfully tampering with votes, meaning count votes that weren't cast, or the ultimate certification of who won.

And of course, the primary focus will be on the infamous phone call that Donald Trump placed to the Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger January 2nd.

Where Donald Trump said, quote, "All I want to do this. I just want to find" -- that's an important word -- "11,780 votes, which is one more than what we have, because we won the state."

Prosecutors are going to be focusing on the word "find." They're going to say that means that they wanted him to essentially rig the election for Donald Trump.

CABRERA: OK, we know Raffensperger has been subpoenaed.

Now, I've got to leave it there, Elie, because we have breaking news.

Thank you for --

HONIG: Absolutely.

CABRERA: -- for laying that all out for us.

Let's get to our breaking news right now. We've learned a verdict has been reached in the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard trial.

CNN's Jean Casarez is following this for us.

Jean, what do you know?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have learned a verdict has been reached in this really complex defamation case and counterclaim. It will be read in open court at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time.

Now this was born out of an opinion piece that Amber Heard had published in "The Washington Post" in 2018. And the headline of the online version was, "I Spoke Out Against Sexual Violence."

The jury had to look at statements from that op-ed, because Johnny Depp, himself, said, I had to file this defamation suit because they were not true. I was not an abuser, a physical abuser, an emotional abuser, a sexual abuser, and the public needs to know that.

Plus, we've had this six-week long over 100 hours of testimony in this defamation case. He is claiming that he was abused as a male. And there are recordings that Amber Heard would hit him and she would tell him and admit to him in those recordings that she hit him.

But there's also allegations of his drug and his alcohol use and emotional abuse coming from that. So that is another aspect to this case.

But there's also a counterclaim where she alleged three statements were published in "The Daily Mail" that defamed her and that Depp was responsible for those statements.

So it will be read at 3:00. This is a civil case. If money damages -- but Johnny Depp says, I don't care about the money. I just want my good name back -- Ana?

CABRERA: OK, thank you for laying the ground for us as we await that verdict to be read.

Again, the breaking news, we have a verdict in the trial of Johnny Depp against Amber Heard. Our Jean Casares will stay on top of that verdict as soon as we learn it.

Thank you for that.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:52:34]

CABRERA: California is dealing with an unprecedented drought, and it is getting worse. Today, new water restrictions are kicking in for millions of people in southern California.

CNN's Stephanie Elam joins us with just how dire the situation is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With no rainfall and record-high temperatures exacerbating the already dry conditions, the Southwest megadrought is intensifying.

And 11% of California is now in exceptional drought, the worst designation, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Add to that Lake Mead, the nation's largest reservoir, which keeps

draining to unprecedented lows.

From human bones to old boats --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See if it will start.

ELAM: -- the precipitous fall is revealing secrets long hidden underwater.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's probably two V-8 engines under the mud.

ELAM: For the first time, Lake Mead, which supplies water to millions of people in the West, has fallen to a level that may force the federal government to institute a second tier of unprecedented water restrictions, following the first round of cuts in January.

Officials now say it's likely to drop another 12 feet by this fall. By September 2023, the government expects the lake will only be 19% full.

For the Southwest, that can mean the most severe level of water cuts.

PATTI AARON, BUREAU OF RECLAMATION, LOWER COLORADO BASIN: We're falling about a foot a week right now because of the agricultural demands downstream.

ELAM: California is one of those states that relies on water from Lake Mead. Its two largest reservoirs, Shasta Lake and Lake Oroville, are at critically low levels, at just half of their historical averages.

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): We are doing what we had signaled, was likely to happen.

ELAM: For months, Governor Gavin Newsom has called on residents and businesses to voluntarily cut their water usage by 15%.

But in March, urban water usage rose by 19% from the same month in 2020, spurring Newsom to pressure the state's largest urban water suppliers to beef up their water conservation efforts or potentially face a significant reduction in water use statewide this summer.

In response, municipalities and agencies are taking action. The State Water Resources Control Board voted to ban watering any ornamental turf at commercial sites.

In Los Angeles, outdoor watering is only allowed two days a week. In the Bay Area, at least two water districts are enforcing excessive water usage with fines.

[13:55:06]

The East Bay Municipal Utility District is also prepared to release the names of customers who excessively violate the mandatory restrictions.

All this, and it's not even summer yet. (on camera): And these agencies are targeting the outdoor water because they say most residential customers are actually using 50 percent of their water to irrigate outdoors.

But there are things you can do. Like this, with this fake turf and also this bark here.

And that is what they're hoping many people decide to do during this drought is to move away from grass. Because, as we know, it's getting drier and drier here as the climate crisis is getting worse -- Ana?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: It's important to share all of that.

Thank you so much, Stephanie.

And that does it for me. Thank you for being here.

The news continues next with Alisyn and Victor right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)