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Johnson Survives Confidence Vote, Vows to Move On; Senators to Meet in Coming Hours to Discuss New Measures on Gun Violence; Uvalde Teacher Recounts Horrific Encounter with Shooter; Trump's Efforts to Overturn Election Results; Proud Boys Leaders Charged with Seditious Conspiracy; Ukraine: Russia Hammers Easter Ukraine in Push to Take Donbas; Russia Threatens Retaliation Against U.S. Media. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired June 07, 2022 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in United States and all around the world. I'm Max Foster in London. Just ahead --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Parliamentary party does -- are convinced.

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: As a government we can move on and focus on the stuff that I think really matters.

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): Whatever they want to do, I'm open to doing something that makes sense.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've never seen this many Senators, Republican Senators, come to the table. I think it's put up or shut up time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But they have an obligation to uncover everything that led up to that day including all the violence and chaos that happened in this building behind me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The idea that all of this was just a rowdy demonstration that spontaneously got a little bit out of control is absurd.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster.

FOSTER: It's Tuesday, June 7, 9 a.m. here in London, where Boris Johnson is clinging to his leadership after a closer than expected confidence vote in Parliament. U.K. lawmakers are angry that the Prime Minister attended numerous parties whilst the rest of the country was under COVID lockdown. Mr. Johnson will meet his cabinet today to lay out his vision for the coming weeks. He says he wants to continue delivering on the issues that matter to British people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I'm grateful to colleagues, I'm grateful for the support they have given me. And of course, I understand that what we need to do now is come together as a government, as a party, and that is exactly what we can now do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: But it won't be that easy for the Prime Minister who only has a year to turn around his declining popularity if that. Downing Street is now hoping to move on from the "Partygate" scandal and tame rising inflation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRAHAM BRADY, BRITISH CONSERVATIVE MP: I can report, as returning officer --

FOSTER (voice-over): This is the moment Boris Johnson's future as the UK's Prime Minister hung in the balance. But the scale tipped his way.

BRADY: The vote in favor of having confidence in Boris Johnson as leader was 211 votes and the vote against was 148 votes.

FOSTER (voice-over): Boris Johnson survived the vote, but just barely. 148 MPs wanted him out, dangerously close to a majority. A damning result even worse than his predecessor Theresa May got in 2018. She also survived a confidence vote but ruling Britain without the support of her own party proved mission impossible. She ended up resigning just a few months later. Nevertheless, Boris Johnson said the result was a sign to move on and he shun away from the idea of a snap election.

JOHNSON: A Very good result for politics and for the country. Just this in this sense, it's a convincing result, a decisive result and what it means is that as a government, we can move on and focus on the stuff I think really matters.

FOSTER: Opposition leader Keir Starmer offering a harsher read into the vote.

KEIR STARMER, BRITISH LABOUR PARTY LEADER: The British public are fed up, fed up, with a Prime Minister who promises big but never delivers. Conservative MPs made their choice tonight. They have ignored the British public.

FOSTER (voice-over): Polls showing a majority of Brits agreed that Boris Johnson should resign over the so-called "Partygate." Downing Street gatherings at the height of the pandemic and lockdowns. If Theresa May's fate is anything to go by, Boris might not see his term to its end. With his future as Prime Minister uncertain, the question of who might take his place is already in the air. Two of the three names circling as possible replacements are from Johnson's own cabinet. Chancellor Rishi Sunak in Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, the third option could be Jeremy Hunt, former foreign secretary who voted against Boris in the confidence vote. The Prime Minister may have survived another day, but not unscathed.

The question now, how badly wounded is he? How will this disguised defeat shake his own party and just how long will he last.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER (on camera): CNN's Nina dos Santos is live this hour at 10 Downing Street in London. Extraordinary to see this decline considering this huge victory he had at the last election and now only 40 percent of his own party is, you know, rebelling against him.

[04:05:03]

NINA DOS SANTOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Max, and many of those same MPs are saying this has been a squandered opportunity and the toxicity of the handling of the "Partygate" crisis and Boris Johnson's own participation in some lockdown busting events here in Downing Street at the height of the pandemic is just too much for them to face their constituents on. And for that reason, they say 41 percent of them say they no longer have confidence in Boris Johnson's leadership and that means that they don't think that he is the right person to lead this party into the next election which has to think called in 2024.

Boris Johnson earlier today appeared to rule out the prospect of hosting a snap election here to try and get this out of the way soon, but the issue is that for now since he's already had this vote of no- confidence and has surpassed had challenge in the immediacy, he can't technically face another one within one year to come.

But we're already starting to see some of the big rebellious figures on the back benches saying, well look, hey, we could change the rules for that. And that's when Conservative Prime Ministers start to get into district territory. That is what happened to Theresa May back in 2018 to 2019. She actually won more support than Boris Johnson got in this no-confidence vote yesterday evening. But despite that, she had to resign six months later. Boris Johnson's showing last night was the worst we've seen by a sitting conservative Prime Minister in about 30, 40 years. Even Margaret Thatcher managed to muster a little more support when she faced the last few day of her leadership and she had to resign two days after a no-confidence vote despite the fact that she one that, she ended up losing the cabinet.

We've got a cabinet meeting that's set to take place in about 25 minutes from now, Max. Ahead of that, Boris Johnson has issued a statement saying he's going to be rallying the troops to try and make sure that they focus on the priorities of the British people now and get this leadership issue out of the way. That means more investment to the health system, more investment for policing and also big measures to try to tackle the precipitous rise in the cost of living -- Max.

FOSTER: Time to move on. It's often how he handles these things. Let's see if he can manage that. Nina at Downing Street, thank you.

Now in the coming hours U.S. Senators are expected to meet to discuss gun control and safety measures. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says he wants a deal this week. 60 votes are needed to pass major legislation as the Senate currently operates. Democrats will need 10 of these 50 Republicans to say yes to pass gun safety measures, just 10. Many conservatives say that they view the issue as a slippery slope to giving up constitutionally protected rights. But one Republican Senator said there is room for tougher gun laws.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. PAT TOOMEY (R-PA): There is no one thing that will prevent mass killings. A determined criminal is going to be able to eventually get a gun. I understand that. But that doesn't mean that there's nothing we can do to make it harder for that person to get a gun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: One Democratic Senator says the small bipartisan group negotiating the issue is making progress but there is still more work do. CNN's Manu Raju has the latest from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Tuesday could be a critical day on Capitol Hill as Senate Republicans will meet for the first time since bipartisan talks have taken place to put together a package to deal with the growing number of massacres, deadly massacres induced by gun violence over the last several days, really these past several months. And Republicans are engaging in these talks, but can there be a deal that will reach 60 votes in order to overcome a GOP- led filibuster? That is the big question.

But talks have centered around a handful of issues dealing with state red flag laws in order to give authorities some power to take away firearms from individuals who are deemed a risk, dealing with mental health issues as well as school security provisions as well. Potentially also changing the criminal background system.

Now, one issue that appears likely not to get included in this proposal is to raise the age of purchasing semi-automatic rifles from 18 to 21. That is something that Republican Senators are resisting at the moment. Instead, they are saying that they are open to enhancing the background check system so individuals can have their juvenile records scoured as part of the background check process, something that does not currently happen under the current system.

So, these issues still being discussed, still uncertain whether they can get there. While there is some optimism, there is still some uncertainty and even some Democrats who say this is not going to go far enough to deal with the problems signaling that they could support something that they view as essentially window dressing of sorts but suggesting that it could be at least one step towards dealing with the problem all across the country. But the question is, can they get there. That's what will be determined starting on Tuesday as Republicans decide whether or not this is something that they can get behind.

[04:10:00]

Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: After another weekend of bloodshed, the U.S. is now on track for the worst year of mass shootings on record. The nonprofit Gun Violence Archive says there have been at least 246 mass shootings in 2022. According to a CNN tally, at least 17 people have been killed, more than 70 wounded -- at least 13 mass shootings since Friday.

The call for lawmakers to take action is louder than ever with even the Senate's most conservative Democrats saying he supports raising the age requirement to buy semi-automatic weapons like the one use the in Uvalde and many other mass shootings.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV): Two things that could have prevented this, an age requirement would have prevented an 18-year-old and basically a red flag law that's basically intended to try to help a person get some mental help.

RAJU: Do you think raising the age from 18 to 21 for all gun purchases?

MANCHIN: Well, that's it's where it is. Everything except for rifles and long guns right now. Or if it's just for these high capacity weapons. Whatever they want to do, I'm open to doing something that makes sense.

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): We've never seen this many Senators, Republican Senators, come to the table. I think that they have been impacted by the shock of what has happened in Buffalo and Uvalde, but also, they are hearing the American people say to them as my constituents in Connecticut have said to me again and again over these past days, please do something. And I think it's put up or shut up time for them. They realize that they will be held accountable and many of their colleagues will be if they don't do something real and meaningful. Not just face-saving or window dressing, but real progress.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: The elementary school shooting in Texas may have pushed some U.S. lawmakers to act, but the community needs more than new laws, it needs time to heal. A teacher who survived the shooting is opening up about his experience on the day of the horrific attack, Which none of his students survived. CNN's Omar Jimenez reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's now been just about two weeks since the shooting at Robb Elementary School and we continue to hear stories about what happened during those horrific moments. This time from a teacher, Arnulfo Reyes He was shot twice inside one of those classrooms as many of his students would later be killed. Take a listen.

ARNULFO REYES, TEACHER INJURED IN SCHOOL SHOOTING: He started asking out loud, Mr. Reyes, what is going on. And I said I don't know what's going on. But let's go ahead and get under the table, get under the tabled and act like you're asleep. As they were doing that and I was gathering them under the table and told them to act like they were going to sleep, is about the time when I turned around and saw him standing there. And one of the students from the next door classroom was saying officer, we're in here, we're in here. And then -- but they had already left. And then he got out from behind my desk and he walked over there and he shot over there again.

JIMENEZ: Now Reyes is expected to be OK, but as he wrote on Facebook, it's going to be a long journey ahead.

The grandfather of another young girl who was shot that day but survived told me that she still hears the sounds of bullets and that she even still gets scared at the slightest sounds. It's part of why her parents are among the parents of four injured young survivors who are now suing the estate of the Uvalde shooter alleging in part he intentionally injured these young children. Stole their innocence and forever changed their lives.

The lawsuit went into even more detail reading in part: Each of these children have undergone extensive medical care. Some have undergone multiple surgeries and they've all suffered unimaginable physical injuries and emotional trauma.

This joins a series of legal efforts that we've seen from the parents of survivors and survivors themselves to at least begin the process towards some form of accountability -- Max.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Thank you to Omar. Now the committee investigating the attack on the U.S. Capitol is getting ready for big public hearings and the multimedia presentation to show the American people what led up to scenes like this and how the riots unfolded.

And newly revealed emails show some shady dealings between the Trump campaign and Georgia Republicans, but were their efforts to overturn the presidential election results a crime?

[04:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: New e-mail obtained by CNN shedding light on how far the Trump campaign was willing to go to tamper with presidential election results in several swing states. According to multiple sources the e- mail indicates the Trump team directed a group of Georgia Republicans to meet in secret back in December 2020, before a so-called group of alternative electors gathered at the state capital.

Trump's election day operations leader wrote: I must ask for your complete discretion in this process. Your duties are imperative to ensure the end result -- win in Georgia for President Trump -- but will be hampered unless we have complete secrecy and discretion.

The e-mail is part of the Justice Department's investigation into fake electors in states Trump lost and whether a scheme to organize them could be considered a crime. The January 6 Committee also has copies of the email and so does a local Georgia district attorney's office which has seated its own grand jury to investigate Trump's attempts to overturn the election. The Trump campaign and Georgia Republican Party did not respond to requests for comment.

Now there are new developments in the investigation of the U.S. Capitol attack.

[04:20:00]

The Justice Department is charging leaders of a far right extremist group that working together to intimidate members of Congress and law enforcement, Evan Perez has more on this story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The Justice Department charged the head of the Proud Boys Enrique Tarrio and four others leaders of the far right extremist group with seditious conspiracy in the January 6 U.S. Capitol attack. The new charges escalate the criminal case against the group with prosecutors now alleging that they tried to use force to try to stop the presidential transfer of power. Similar seditious conspiracy charges -- rarely brought in the United States -- are also being brought against members of another extremist group the Oath Keepers for their role in the January 6 riot.

Tarrio and the four others pleaded not guilty to earlier charges. And the new court documents from the Justice Department appear to show how they were using the help of cooperators from inside the Proud Boys organization to go after the other leaders of the group. Prosecutors cite text messages among a group of members from around the country which they say show the group was plotting to intimidate members of Congress. Their ultimate goal to keep Donald Trump in the White House.

Evan Perez, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: The House Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol has announced the date of its second public hearing. It will take place Monday of next week just a few days after the first hearing. Ryan Nobles explains why making all this public is so important for that committee.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The January 6 Select Committee is certainly concerned that a lot of American's opinions about what happened here on January 6 have already been decided, that there isn't a lot of convincing left to do. But they still feel that they have an obligation to uncover everything that led up to that day including all the violence and chaos that happened in this building behind me and then all of the different things that were happening leading up to January 6 that brought the big crowds here, made them angry and led to that riot.

And to that end, they believe that this first hearing that will take place on Thursday night in primetime will be covered by all the major news networks, needs to be a story, a narrative that can be told through a multimedia presentation that will keep viewers' attention. Allow them to see bit by bit point by point and connect all these dots as to exactly what happened leading up to January 6 and on the day itself. And to that end, they brought in a former president of ABC news to help with the production of this television and multimedia event to help meet that goal of trying to connect with the American people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Now a Democratic member of the committee says the panel has uncovered evidence of concerted planning and premeditative activity and that the idea that this was just a rowdy demonstration that spontaneously got a little bit out of control is absurd.

In a grinding battle for eastern Ukraine, Russian forces appear to be stepping up attacks in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Heavy smoke could be seen rising from the city of Donetsk on Monday. The area is currently controlled by Russian-backed separatists who blame Ukraine for a missile strike on the city. But Ukraine says, it's Russian strikes hammering most of the towns and villages across the east. This is the town of Druzhkivka, where officials say one person was killed in attacks on Sunday. The town is west of Severodonetsk. A city that remains a major target for Russia's offensive in the east. Fierce fighting has raged there for week leaving thousands of civilians trapped inside and leveling homes and businesses across the city.

CNN is covering this story from every angle for you. Clare Sebastian here in London, first let's go to CNN's Salma Abdelaziz. She's live in Kyiv for us. It's difficult getting hard and fast information, isn't it, on this, because we're relying on officials basically in the region.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely, Max. Ukrainian officials telling us that the situation on the ground in Severodonetsk is changing hour by hour. That is the city, of course in Luhansk, a key battleground right now where fierce fighting is going on street to street -- fighting that is.

Last week Ukrainian forces conceded that the city was 80 percent under Russian control and it looked on the verge of falling. Yesterday we heard that Ukraine forces were able to push back, take control of up to 50 percent of the city. But again, the situation on the ground constantly changing. President Zelenskyy in his nightly address saying Ukrainian defenders are holding their ground. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Our heroes do not give up positions in Severodonetsk. In the city fierce street fighting continues. But it is the 103rd day of the war and the Ukrainian Donbas stands. It stands strong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: Now, as you heard there, Max, Ukrainian defenders still trying to hold that grounds. But why are we talking about Severodonetsk, why is it so important? Why is it a key city right now?

[04:25:00]

Well, consider it the gateway to Kramatorsk, that is of course the last stronghold for Ukrainian troops in the Luhansk region, a major key victory if Russians are able to enter that. A major step toward Vladimir Putin's goal of trying to take control of the Donbas region. So, this is critical for Ukrainian defenders to continue to hold their ground. But both sides here now draining serious resources. The Ukrainian officials tell us that an incredible amount of resources are being drained, that is troops, artillery, resources, equipment by Russian forces as they try to bombard the main access route into Severodonetsk.

You also have civilians trapped in the middle, of course, 15,000 people still in Severodonetsk, Ukrainian police trying to pull them out. But again, the main access road heavily being shelled. So, you're seeing a conflict now that's really grinding into a street to street battle, an hour by hour change. What could turn the tide here for Ukrainian forces is those key long range weapons the United States, the U.K. promising those weapons but they could still be weeks away -- Max.

FOSTER: OK, Salma, thank you for joining us from Kyiv. Moscow is threatening to retaliate against American news organizations meanwhile in Russia, over what it claims are restrictions the U.S. has placed on Russian journalists. A spokesperson for the Russia Foreign Ministry made the comments during a meeting with journalists from multiple outlets including CNN. Let's bring in Clare Sebastian on this. What happened in that meeting?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so American journalists from various news outlets CNN, ABC, NPR, various outlets were summoned and they were threatened with what the foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said would be retaliation for restrictions, she said, are being placed on Russian journalists in the U.S. She wasn't very specific about those restrictions. She says she was talking about visas, broadcasting, banking, you know, unblocking on social media, things like that. It's related most likely to the sanctions that the U.S. placed on three Russian TV networks -- state owned TV networks, back in May.

We don't know specifically what kinds of restrictions are on Russian journalists in the U.S. but she said unless the Russian journalists that she summoned spoke to their senior management, asked them to speak to the government and tell them to take the restrictions, they would be subject to the same measures. So, just to be clear, this isn't about the very restrictive media law that Russia passed in March, criminalizing fake information. She isn't alleging any violations of that by Western media. She is saying that because of restrictions back in their home country placed on Russian journalists, Russia could now retaliate. The State Department has responded to this and called it a full assault on media, freedom, access to information and the truth.

FOSTER: So, what is likely to happen to the U.S. journalists in Russia? And how does that affect the story? Because there are already restrictions on them potentially, aren't there? There is these new laws that came into effect which, you know, our reporters are very aware of in Russia.

SEBASTIAN: Yes, they are already subject to the very, very strict Russian control of information. The law passed in March criminalizing even mentioning the word war in relation to what Russia calls it's special military operations in Ukraine. And that could, you know, have a prison sentence of up to 15 years.

I think what this means for certainly for U.S. media operating in Russia, we're not looking imminently at sort of bureau closures or, you know, visas being revoked or things like that. But it is getting harder and that is getting more likely. We know that Russia has done this in the past. Canadian channel CBC, they just had their Moscow Bureau close. And staff credentials revoked after RT was banned in Canada even before the war, Deutsche Welle met a very similar fate as Moscow Bureau. And there's a bill right now, Max, in the state Duma -- it hasn't been turned in to law yet -- that would sort of enshrine in the law retaliation against Western media companies operating in Russia for actions against Russian journalists in what Russia calls unfriendly countries. So, is definitely getting harder.

FOSTER: Clare, thank you.

Still ahead, he's down but not out. Boris Johnson hopes to recover from a no-confidence vote. It was too close for comfort.

Plus, the White House tries to explain its mixed messages on dealing with dictators.

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