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Witnesses: Trump Pushed Justice Department to Overturn Vote; Trump Documentarian Reveals Committee's Focus; Senate Passes First Major Gun Safety Bill in Decades; Regional Leader: Ukraine to Pull Out of Severodonetsk; EU Grants Candidate Status to Ukraine, Moldova; Rescue Workers Scrambling to Reach Afghan Quake Survivors. Aired 4- 4:30a ET
Aired June 24, 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]
ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a very warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and right around the world. I'm Isa Soares in London. And just ahead right here on CNN NEWSROOM --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD DONAHUE, FORMER ACTING DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: What I'm just asking you to do is just say it was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the Republican Congressmen.
JEFFREY ROSEN, FORMER ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL: He asserted that he thought the Justice Department had not done enough.
REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): The only reason I know to ask for a pardon is because you think you've committed a crime.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Donald Trump genuinely believes that he won the 2020 presidential election. And that is terrifying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Damaging testimony against former President Donald Trump as officials inside the Justice Department detail how he tried to weaponize the department to steal the election.
Plus, some positive news for Ukraine as the European Council finally says OK to them becoming an official candidate to join the EU. We are live this hour in Brussels.
And growing doubt over U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson's future as his party loses two by-elections.
ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Isa Soares.
SOARES: Welcome to the show, everyone. It is Friday, June 24th. 9:00 a.m. here in London, 4:00 a.m. in Washington. Where the January 6 Committee has held its last public hearing before the July 4th holiday break and there were plenty of fireworks. Top officials in Donald Trump's Justice Department testified the former president was relentless in pushing election conspiracies and wanted them to overturn the 2020 vote. The witnesses said every time they refuted Trump's bogus fraud claims, he'd push back with another demand. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KINZINGER: You also noted that Mr. Rosen said to Mr. Trump, quote, DOJ can't and won't snap its fingers and change the outcome of the election. How did the president respond to that, sir?
DONAHUE: He responded very quickly and said essentially that's not what I'm asking you do. What I'm just asking you to do is just say it was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the Republican Congressmen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: The committee revealed handwritten notes from the Justice Department officials documenting their calls with Trump. And you can see it here.
Just say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the Republican Congressmen.
Multiple sources tell CNN Trump's allies acknowledged Thursday's testimony was damaging as well as bleak. Another handwritten note revealing where the former president was getting his conspiracy theories.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KINZINGER: He told Mr. Donoghue in that December 27th call, quote, you guys may not be following the internet the way I do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: We are also learning that several Congressional Republicans who were pushing these internet conspiracy theories, are trying to overturn the election, asked for pardons from Trump. And they include -- as you can see there on your screen -- Scott Perry, Matt Gaetz, Mo Brooks, Andy Biggs, Louie Gohmert and Marjorie Taylor Greene. Well, now from CNN's chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONAHUE: Well, he just told me it's your job to seize machines and you're not doing your job.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Top Justice officials testify about the lengths Donald Trump went to use the power of the federal government to pursue this conspiracy that the election was stolen. Despite being told repeatedly there was no merit to his claims, Trump demanding they declare the election corrupt and leave the rest to him and members of Congress.
KINZINGER: Were any of the allegations he brought up found credible? Did you find any of them credible?
DONOGHUE: No.
RAJU (voice-over): Trump's pressure campaign was relentless.
JEFFREY ROSEN, FORMER ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL: Between December 23rd and January 3rd, the president either called me or met with me virtually every day.
RAJU (voice-over): All of it came to a head in a tense January 3rd Oval Office meeting, when Trump threatened to replace acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen with Jeffrey Clark, a DOJ official who was willing to act on Trump's plan.
RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER ATTORNEY FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP: I do recall saying to people that somebody should be put in charge of the Justice Department who isn't frightened of what's going to be done to their reputation.
RAJU (voice-over): But top DOJ officials balked, including then Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue.
[04:05:00]
DONOGHUE: I made the point the Jeff Clark is not even competent to serve as the attorney general. He's never been in criminal attorney, and I said, that's right, you're an environmental lawyer. How about you go back to your office and we'll call you when there's an oil spill?
RAJU (voice-over): Clark even writing this draft letter to Georgia and other states where Trump lost, falsely claiming there was voter fraud and calling on them to convene special legislative sessions.
ERIC HERSCHMANN, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR ADVISER: And then he finished discussing when he planned on doing, I said, good (BEEP) excuse me, sorry, (BEEP) hole, congratulations, you just admitted that your first step or act you would take as attorney general would be committing felony and violating Rule 6C.
RAJU (voice-over): Clark, who had his house raided by the FBI on Wednesday morning, testified to the committee behind closed doors in February, but he took the Fifth more than 100 times.
JEFFREY CLARK, FORMER ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: An executive privilege again, just restated for the abundance of caution.
RAJU (voice-over): Trump only backed down from replacing Rosen with Clark when the top officials all threatened to resign in protests.
DONOGHUE: And then the other AAGs begin to chime in and in turn in all, they essentially said that they would leave, they would resign in masse if the president made that change in the department leadership.
RAJU (voice-over): Committee members today also revealing more information about the GOP lawmakers who sought a pardon, including Congressman Scott Perry who played a central role pushing for Clark to be elevated in the Justice Department.
White House Attorney Eric Herschmann saying he believes Congressman Matt Gaetz also was seeking a pardon.
HERSCHMANN: A pardon that he was discussing and requesting was as broad as you can describe. From the beginning -- I remember from the beginning of time up until today, he had mentioned Nixon, and I said Nixon's pardon was never nearly that broad.
KINZINGER: The only reason I know to ask for a pardon is because you think you've committed a crime.
RAJU: Now in addition to Perry and Gaetz, other Republican members apparently also asked for pardons, that includes Louie Gohmert, also Mo Brooks, Andy Biggs and Marjorie Taylor Greene.
Now Marjorie Taylor Greene has denied the testimony that the committee showed was send secondhand testimony saying that they had heard that Greene had asked for a pardon through the White House counsel's office. She has denied that.
Others though have confirmed it including Mo Brooks, the Congressman from Alabama who said that he had asked for a pardon, a blanket pardon, for all Republicans who sought to challenge the election results, overturn the election results, because he said that he was concerned that Democrats coming in would weaponize the Justice Department against their political enemies.
Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Thanks very much, Manu. Well, the January 6 committee has met behind closed doors with the British filmmaker who documented the final week of the Trump presidency. Alex Holder's three part series "Unprecedented" will be released this summer by CNN sister company Discovery+ which provided us with this clip. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX HOLDER, FILMMAKER: Can we talk for a minute about January 6th?
TRUMP: Yeah.
Well, it was a sad day. But it was a day where there was great anger in our country. The people went to Washington primarily because they were angry with an election that they think was rigged.
A very small portion as, you know, went to the Capitol, and then a very small portion of them went in. But I will tell you they were angry from the standpoint of what happened in the election because they're smart and they see and they saw what happened and I believe that that was a big part of what happened on January 6th.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SOARES: Well, after his deposition, Alex Holder sat down with CNN's Don Lemon to talk about this time with the Trump's and January 6 Committee questions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And what was the focus of their questions?
HOLDER: I think the focus was on the material that we have captured on January 6 and also on some of the interviews as well. Some of the interviews that I had with the Trump family.
LEMON: What were they most interested in today? Because you spent hours and hours with the Trump family, with Trump associates, with the former president, with the former vice president. So, what, what were they most interested in about the time that you spent with them?
HOLDER: I think they were interested in them talking about the election and about whether the election had any irregularities and also, their comments, if any, on January 6th.
LEMON: Did you -- was there anything, because there's a lot of, I'm sure there's a lot that was left on the editing room floor, right, because you only have a, you know, certain amount of time to put a documentary together. You don't have forever.
HOLDER: Yes.
LEMON: Was there anything they were interested in that does not appear in the documentary?
[04:10:00]
HOLDER: Yes. So, I mean, the main one being, there's sort of a -- the first part of the Ivanka Trump's sort of reaction to her father's position on the election is in the documentary, but there's another part of it that didn't make it into the documentary, and they were interested in her entire sort of piece on that particular point.
LEMON: Inconsistencies perhaps? And because she says one thing to her father. She says another thing to the committee, and perhaps something different in your documentary. Were they focused on possible inconsistencies from Ivanka Trump?
HOLDER: I think so, yes.
LEMON: How so?
HOLDER: I think they were just -- they wanted to understand exactly when that particular interview took place and how it came about. And I think they -- well, I think quite a few people think there's some sort of inconsistencies between what she said to the committee and what she said to me.
(END VIDEOTAPE) SOARES: The committee played testimony last week of Ivanka Trump saying she accepted Attorney General William Barr's conclusion that there was no evidence of widespread election fraud. But a documentary clip shows her saying that her father should fight until every legal remedy is exhausted. Of course, we'll stay on top of that story.
Well, for the first time in decades, gun safety is getting traction in the U.S. Congress. On Thursday the Senate passed a bipartisan bill to address gun violence, which is on track to possibly reach a new record this year. The bill advocates resources for mental health, crisis intervention and school safety. It provides grants for states to enact red flag laws making it easier to take guns away from anyone who might be a danger to themselves or others. And it closes the so-called boyfriend loophole which had allowed some domestic violence offenders to buy and as well as own guns. But it does fall short of what Congressional Democrats and most Americans want. One Senator says it may not be the best bill, but it's the best bill possible.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): This is not the measure I fought for. It's not the measure I would have written if I'd been doing it alone. But it marks meaningful progress. If you wait to get everything in the United States Senate, chances are that you will get nothing. Progress is better than nothing. This measure will save lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, the passage of the Senate bill came on the same day the U.S. Supreme Court dramatically struck down a New York state gun law that had been on the books -- if you remember -- for more than a century. In a 6-3 decision, the court ruled that the New York's conceal carry rule was unconstitutional because it restricts you can carry a concealed gun in public. The stunning ruling is expected to have a far reaching impact. Not only in New York but also in multiple states with similar laws.
A U.S. Supreme Court decision on abortion could come as early as 10:00 this Friday morning. A leaked draft of the majority decision earlier this year indicated the court was preparing to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion in 1973. The prospect of abortion becoming illegal again set off a firestorm of protests right across the country. And if it does happen, of course, we shall bring to you right here on CNN.
Meanwhile, a judge in Florida has approved a billion dollar settlement for those impacted by the collapse of the Champion Towers South over a year ago -- it happened a year ago, if you remember. The settlement amount will be awarded to survivors, families of deceased victims and owners of damaged property. The South Florida community will mark the anniversary that claimed 98 lives with a public memorial. U.S. First Lady Jill Biden is expected to attend the service in a few hours from now.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news. SOARES: And breaking news coming to us from Ukraine this hour, the country's military is apparently giving up on a city they've been fighting over for weeks now. A regional military leader says Ukrainian troops will pull out of Severodonetsk, the site, of course, of brutal street fighting that we've been seeing for weeks on end. He says Ukrainian positions became unsustainable after Russian artillery razed much of the city.
And just across the river, Russia is also stepping up its attacks near the city of Lysychansk. This video shows the damage done by Russian artillery, including burned-out cars, blown up apartment buildings and unexploded rockets embedded in the street. Ukraine says Russian forces are advancing on the city from the south.
Well, as Ukraine takes the losses on the frontlines, more military aid will be headed there from the United States. Washington says it's sending another $450 million worth of weapons to Ukraine. And that includes more advanced rocket systems which can launch a barrage of rockets at targets more than 60 kilometers away. The White House says it's doing its share of heavy lifting to help Kyiv. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KIRBY, U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL COORDINATOR FOR STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS: This is the 13th time that President Biden has authorized a presidential drawdown package during this crisis. Bringing the total amount of security assistance that we provided to Ukraine to approximately $6.1 billion just since February 24. Approximately $6.8 billion since the beginning of this administration.
[04:15:00]
As President Biden told President Zelenskyy when they spoke last week, the United States will continue to bolster Ukraine's defenses and support its sovereignty and its territorial integrity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: In addition to the rocket systems, the new aid also includes 18 patrol boats as well as artillery ammunition and small arms.
Well, as the war grinds on in eastern Ukraine, Brussels handed Kyiv some good news on Thursday. After weeks of exhaustive review, the European Council finally said OK to Ukraine becoming an official candidate to join the EU. For Ukraine it was a reason for hope. President Zelenskyy said the move is not only helping Ukraine but also, the EU itself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I believe this decision is not only for Ukraine, this is the biggest step toward strengthening Europe that could be taken right now in our time and in such difficult condition when the Russian war is testing our ability to preserve freedom and unity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: EU candidate status was also granted to Moldova and conditional candidacy was given to Georgia. In all three former Soviet Republics now embarking in the dream they have shared for decades.
Well, the European Council summit in Brussels set to resume its deliberations in the coming hours. Our CNN correspondents are covering the conference from every angle from across the globe. Our Nic Robertson is in Brussels and Salma Abdelaziz is in Kyiv for us. But first I want to go to our international diplomatic editor Nic. And Nic, the speed of course in which this is happening is pretty historic. But it's one step of course that could take decades. Talks through the challenges here for Ukraine.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, super-fast. Ukraine asked the European Union that it would like to join back on the 28th of February, four days after Russia invaded. Fast forward four months and it really was a super-fast forward to get candidate status. But the reality from here, I mean compared if you will to Poland, which took ten years from taking that first move to becoming a member of the European Union, and they weren't at war. So, you know, Poland sort of taken as a benchmark standard if you will of how long it can take to become a member.
There's a lot that Ukraine has to do and candidate status does help with that because it provides financial support for some of the sort of legal heavy lifting that has to be done. There's an estimated 200,000 pages of EU law and that all has to be folded into Ukrainian law, you know, rule of law, justice. Issues and ways and means to tackle corruption. All of those types of issues have to be handled within Ukrainian law to meet EU standards.
And another area you might look at and see that it's going to take Ukraine a long time to manage the transition because they are at war -- is in agricultural. You know, the EU and other international, and other countries, say that Russia is fighting a war using food against Ukraine and the rest of the world. Ukraine's agricultural is being decimated. It can't use its ports to export last year's wheat. It doesn't have places to store the crops from this year. The world is looking at ways and the EU is looking at ways to help export those crops.
But in terms of agricultural, all the sort of EU rules and regulations that Ukrainians must sign up to and take on board in their agricultural practices, trying to do that under war with so many pressures, it really gives you an understanding that it is a very long process to come.
SOARES: A long process and plenty of homework of course for Ukraine. Nic Robertson for us there in Brussels, thanks very much, Nic. Good to see you.
Humanitarian agencies are scrambling to get aid to remote area of Afghanistan. Coming up, we'll take a live report on the earthquake that has devastated parts of the nation leaving more than 1,000 people dead. Plus, dangerous heat is now blanketing much of the U.S. CNN's Derek
Van Dam tells us that there might be some relief in sight?
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Unfortunately, not, Isa. The South of the United States continues to bake under this impressive heat dome. I'll show you how hot it's going to get. Plus, we're tracking some tropical mischief across the Atlantic Ocean. I'll show you where. Coming up after the break, stick with us.
[04:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: It's been two days since a powerful earthquake devastated parts of Afghanistan killing more than 1,000 and rescue workers are struggling to reach survivors. Humanitarian agencies are trying to get aid into the area, but many of the devastated villages are remote as well as difficult to reach. However, the U.N. refugee agency says it successfully dispatched humanitarian aid to cover the needs of approximately 4,000 people.
CNN's Vedika Sud is in New Delhi and joins me now with all the latest. And Vedika, where are we on the relief effort? Is it arriving to these remote provinces?
VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: Well, relief efforts are on and undergoing in these provinces and areas in the eastern part of Afghanistan. As of now, Isa, but they're trickling in very slowly. These aid agencies are facing several challenges. The first of course is the lack of coordination over the last few months ever since Taliban takeover in Afghanistan in August last year.
International aid organizations are reluctant really to reach out to the Taliban and keep communication lines flowing between the two. And that's one basic reason why there is a lack of coordination on the ground. According to some of the officials from these aid agencies that we have been speaking to.
The other problem they are facing of course, are lot of these roads that lead to these regions and these all mountainous regions, the villages that have been cut off really, are actually cut off because of landslides and mudslides that took place earlier on due to the floods in these areas. So, telecommunications still is down in some places. That's another reason why aid agencies are finding it difficult to get to the spots.
[04:25:00]
But, yes, there has been movement when compared to the last 48 hours Wednesday and Thursday. These aid organizations have been able to send in some rescue material and relief material to the people there in terms of food, medicines and tents.
Now, let me just take you through some of the aerial visuals that we've been getting from different aid organizations of which they've put on their Twitter handles as well. What we see is mass destruction really due to this earthquake especially in Paktika Province in eastern Afghanistan. And there is a place called Gayan inside this province that has been severely impacted. You can see homes without roofs, people have been living right next of their homes or whatever is left of it, rather, complete rubble and debris and they've been living in tents right next to it awaiting help from officials and aid organizations.
So, we do know that the death toll unfortunately stands at over 1,000. We are awaiting word from officials from the region to update that figure if there has to be an update. But it is going to take time before we know the extent of damage, the large scale extent of damage to this area given that relief material, relief organizations are still getting to these spots.
Also, we've spoken to analysts in Afghanistan who have just said that when it comes to relief efforts in these areas, as of now they can only define it as patchwork, Isa. This is just a Band-Aid solution, one analyst said, there's a lot more to be done in this area to make it a stronger region in terms of its economy, infrastructure to battle such national calamities. Because the medical offering also in this area, the assistance in this area, is extremely poor due to it being a very, very poor region economically as well -- Isa.
SOARES: Yes, very dire situation indeed. Thanks very much, Vedika, with the latest in Afghanistan.
Well, much of the United States is sweltering with dangerously high temperatures, record setting heat has settled over the South and some plain states. Around 40 million people are under heat alert, triple digit temperatures are expected to push as far north as Nebraska. Nearly 70 percent of the country population will see highs above 90 degrees Fahrenheit in the coming hours.
Let's get details from CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam at the CNN Weather Center in Atlanta. And Derek, before the break, you had this really heat globe that really covered much blanketed much of the country.
VAN DAM: Yes, we call that a heat dome and that heat dome is what's responsible for this oppressive heat, the triple digit temperatures. I hope you can see this on my map here because we had to highlight that New Orleans, a large population here in Louisiana, in the Gulf Coast area, lots of humidity within this area. The heat index today will reach 116 degrees. That is 46 degrees Celsius. That is why the National Wealth Service has heat warnings for that location, heat watches across the Florida Big Bend, and then from Oklahoma City basically to Florida that's where we have heat advisories in place.
We broke a number of records, here's a sampling from yesterday. Macon, Georgia just outside of Atlanta where CNN is located, 104 degrees. So, we have the potential to break more record high temperatures today. And you can see where they are kind of conglomerated, right along the southern states. So, Louisiana, eastern Texas, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama and into Florida, it's all thanks to the heat dome that continues to shift eastward through the course of the weekend. And that means we'll see the heat move eastward along with it. Here is a look at your temperatures through the course of the weekend,
triple digit heat for Dallas and Houston. Now Atlanta, even though your temperatures will reach the lower 90s, we'll still have the humidity factor to deal with. New Orleans more of the same for you. You saw the heat warnings in place.
Chance of severe weather today across the northern plains and into the northern Midwest states. Check it out from Fargo to portions of South Dakota, severe gusts, large hail and even a potential of an isolated tornado today. You can see some of those thunderstorms firing up thanks to the passage of a cold front across the area.
But I do want you to take note because 'tis the season. It is the tropics, this is just off the west coast of Africa, a tropical wave has just emerged and the National Hurricane Center has a 40 percent chance of development. We're going to monitor this very closely. That's the Saharan dust kind of suppressing development at the moment, but as it continues to march its way westward, we have the potential to see our first tropical depression at least across this region of the season. Isa, back to you.
SOARES: And Derek, very quickly, these temperatures you were just showing, is that normal for this time of the year for us here on the other side of the Atlantic?
VAN DAM: Yes, look, I mean, we're talking 46 degrees Celsius, there's nothing normal about that, right. So, we're talking 15, 20 degrees Fahrenheit above where we be this time of year.
Derek, thank you very much, appreciate it.
VAN DAM: You're welcome.
SOARES: You are watching CNN NEWSROOM live from London. Still ahead right here on the show, more on our top stories just ahead. Including a look at how Donald Trump wanted the Justice Department to back up his election conspiracies.
Plus, British voters are showing their displeasure with Boris Johnson voting against conservative candidates in two by-elections. And in both cases, the final tally wasn't even close. We'll explain next.
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