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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson Resigns Amid Scandals, Cabinet Revolt; WNBA Star Brittney Griner Pleads Guilty to Drug Charges; Trump Foes Comey, McCabe Faced Intensive IRS Audits in 2017, 2019. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired July 07, 2022 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: After losing his party's confidence to lead the U.K., Boris Johnson resigned today with a resignation speech that was largely unapologetic for his various scandals. But Johnson was left with virtually no choice. In just the last 48 hours more than 55 officials quit his Conservative Party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, OUTGOING BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: To that new leader I say, whoever he or she may be, I say I will give you as much support as I can. And to you the British public, I know that there will be many people who are relieved and perhaps quite a few who will also be disappointed. And I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world. But them's the breaks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: In a statement to CNN President Biden said he looks forward to continuing America's cooperation with the U.K. on a range of priorities including Ukraine. Saying, quote, the United Kingdom and the United States are the closest of friends and Allies and the special relationship between our people remains strong and enduring.

With this now is CNN international diplomatic editor to Nic Robertson. Nic, at this very time yesterday Johnson was defiant about not stepping down. And then we understand he had a conversation with the Queen. Do we know what she said to him?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: We don't and we're very unlikely to know. Because these kinds of conversations don't ever get divulged. She certainly doesn't say, and no British Prime Minister would go public would go public with their conversation with the Queen.

But we know that the Queen has counseled over the years many, many, many Prime Ministers. Boris Johnson was clearly in a position where he needed some higher advice if you will. He was wanting to fight on in the face of the rest of his party and indeed we all went to bed last night thinking that he was going to fight on. And it wasn't until the early hours today when more of his ministers quit, then he decided to resign.

But in that resignation speech I think characteristically and leaving the country hanging a little bit if you will. He'll be a caretaker prime minister, yes, but for how long and who will succeed them and what will the process be? All of those have been left as unknowns at the moment.

[15:35:00]

And Boris Johnson even in his sort of departure speech there, his resignation speech sounded a little bit scathing about all of those in his party that had turned against him. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNSON: As we have seen at Westminster, the herd instinct is powerful and when the herd moves, it moves. And my friends in politics, no one is remotely indispensable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: A historic day, but within hours of giving that speech Boris Johnson then held a cabinet meeting. But a problem for him is the cabinet was divided. There were some who still support him, there are many around the table there who want his job and have said that publicly. And there are many who want him gone right now as caretaker. So, it was a very short cabinet meeting.

And I think the conclusion has to be in this country at the moment that eventually there will be a new Prime Minister and the new Prime Minister will continue to want to have a special relationship with the United States. But how to get from where we are today to that point, it really is unclear, and I don't think we're seeing the end of the chaos yet given the divisions within inside Boris Johnson's own government still.

CAMEROTA: Nic Robertson, so interesting to see how quickly these things can turn around. Thank you very much for all of that context.

Joining us now is CNN European affairs commentator Dominic Thomas. So, Dominic, great to have you. Just remind us of the scandals that caused Boris Johnson support to dry up so quickly this week.

DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Yes, I mean, look, Alisyn, it's really with Boris Johnson it has never been a question if he would be ousted it was just a matter of when. From the moment he became party leader all the way back in 2019 he's been involved in a whole range of controversies that have had to do with COVID lockdown rules and regulations, rules that he set, rules that he broke. To financial issues involving the renovation of the Prime Minister's residence, all the way through to one of his junior whips, members of his party that was involved in range of sexual harassment and allegations which Boris Johnson both downplayed and also denied knowing about. So, at that very moment when he needed the absolute confidence of the MPs, yet again reminding us that this is a parliamentary system that Boris Johnson serves at the pleasure of his Conservative Party MPs, they were unable to get him that trust and that he was asking for and ultimately it was time for him to go.

CAMEROTA: Dominic, you know, it seems almost inconceivable to us here in the U.S. that a politician, a president, virtually, could be brought down by scandal, by members of his own party, getting disgusted and ousting him. I mean, nowadays. Obviously, we've seen it in the past, but we haven't recently. So, how is the U.K. different?

THOMAS: Well, once of all things is not a presidential system and in fact it was very interesting to see that at the moment at which Boris Johnson realized with the resignations with the word, he was giving from the Conservative MPs that they were no longer going to report him. He tried to make an appeal to the general public saying that he had a mandate. But that's actually absolutely incorrect. Yes, he was of course the leader of the Conservative Party is when they ran in the election around the question of Brexit is secured that historic and vote and support, that he serves at the will of Parliament.

And in the same way -- and this really that's so important to underscore here, is that he's not being removed because of policies. In the way that one could argue that day that Cameron stepped away after the Brexit vote, which he has supported, and it became untenable for him to remain in power. Or Theresa May that was unable to get supposedly Brexit done.

In this particular case it has everything to do with Boris Johnson, with his behavior and with his actions. And is important to remember that this is an individual whose life has been shaped by privilege and who fundamentally believes -- this is a sense of entitlement -- that the privilege that he has is that he deserves, that the rules that he said are not for him. And I think we saw this play out in a terrible reminder We saw that any terrible reminder of the sort of post Trump election when President Biden was elected in which they did not show decency. He did not show respect for the precedent.

And in this particular case, in his sort of initial refusal to step down and to challenge the system, went about undermining it. But the fundamental difference is that this is a parliamentary system. The Conservative Party have a majority and they choose the Prime Minister, the leader that they want to serve in their particular party. And in this case, it was unsustainable to keep Boris Johnson on any longer.

CAMEROTA: I mean, you've touched on the, you know, destructive or wrecking ball quality he had on David Cameron, Theresa May. And you know, he championed obviously, you know, Brexit. And so, what is -- how would his legacy be seen in the U.K.?

THOMAS: Yes, you're absolutely right. He became the champion of this extraordinarily and divisive policy. Which is continuing to shape politics today.

[15:40:00]

Because within the Conservative Party there are those who are absolutely unambiguously committed to Brexit and to the post-Brexit era. Whether it's others throughout and have been lukewarm on this process and are dealing with the consequences of that. This is someone who's been around for a long time. He was initially elected a member of Parliament all the way back in 2001. He was the mayor of London, the foreign secretary.

But I think at the end of the day, it is not so much the fact that he delivered Brexit as the party leader that he will be remembered for. It is the way in which he essentially weakened the name of the Conservative Party, weakened U.K. politics, squandered this lead that the Conservative Party had. And it's done some damaged to the system.

Now having said that, he has resigned, a process will be in place soon to find a new leader and the system will move on. But it is this damage through his sort of populous ideals and the ways in which he has sort of, you know, willfully lied and to the public, to cabinet members, but I think will leave an indelible stain on this one Prime Minister in the history of the U.K. -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Dominic Thomas, thank you very much for all of that.

All right, now to this. Basketball star Brittney Griner pleads guilty in a Moscow courtroom today. How this could affect her sentencing and what the White House is saying about it, next.

[15:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: WNBA star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty in a Russian court this morning. The basketball player has been detained since February after being accused of drug smuggling. CNN's Kylie Atwood is following this for us. So, Kylie, how does this plea affect chances of coming home?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well the Biden administration officials say that they are working aggressively to try to get a Brittney Griner home, also Paul Whelan home and other wrongfully detained Americans. But her coming out today and pleading guilty is significant because a senior U.S. official explains to me that if there is to be a prisoner swap here -- which is one of the things that has been considered as one of the ways that Brittney Griner could get out of Russia. The expectation is that she would have to be convicted and also plead guilty. Admit that there was some sort of guilt. And that's what she did today.

Now there isn't yet a sentencing for Brittney Griner, there isn't a conviction yet that could come next week. We know that there is going to be a third hearing as part of this ongoing trial a week from today, so we'll watch from that. But the national security council responded today about this hearing saying that they still believe that Brittney Griner is wrongfully detained. I want to read to you what the Secretary State Tony Blinken tweeted

Saying quote: U.S. Embassy Russia officials again attended Brittney Griner's trial today and delivered to her a letter from President Biden. We will not relent until Brittney, Paul Whelan and all other wrongfully detained Americans are reunited with their loved ones. Now we also heard from Cherelle Griner yesterday saying that she was

grateful after she received a phone call from President Biden just yesterday. But she also spoke yesterday about just how intense her emotions are right now and how frustrated she continues to be because Brittney Griner isn't home. Listen to what she said last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHERELLE GRINER, BRITTNEY GRINER'S WIFE: Truthfully, I can't rest as her humanity is being stripped from her. I can't rest as her safety is in question. I honestly can't rest until she's home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ATWOOD: Now we have also heard from the families of other Americans wrongfully detained saying that they want the same attention from the Biden administration that Brittney Griner's family is receiving. They don't begrudge the fact that President Biden called Cherelle Griner, Brittney Griner's wife, earlier this week. But they also want those phone calls. So that is an area for us to watch. The NSC said earlier today that Elizabeth Whelan, who is Paul Whelan's sister, he is also wrongfully detained in Russia. Did have a phone call yesterday with staff from the White House.

All right, Kylie Atwood, thank you very much for that reporting. Let's discuss now with Terri Jackson. She is the executive director Of the WNBA Players Association, that's the union for the organization. Terri, thanks so much for being here. What's your reaction to Brittany's guilty plea? Were you expecting that?

TERRI JACKSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, WNBA PLAYERS ASSOCIATION: Well, you know, I don't know quite honestly what we were expecting. Russia has a process as I have said many times since the beginning of this to our members. Russia has a process that is very much its own process. It is not like ours at all, so, we are never quite sure what to expect in this. And yet knowing that this process is continuing to move forward in some way gives us a bit of hope or a bit of relief that we are indeed continuing in a forward progress, so, that is where we are right now. We are watchful, we are waiting.

[15:50:00]

Yesterday, being in Phoenix with the Phoenix Mercury, with Cherelle Griner, with so many others who came out to show their support. Hearing that Cherelle Griner got the call from the president and from the vice president gave us again, a little bit of hope. And we're taking those small wins, those small pieces of continued progress as a good sign.

CAMEROTA: Yes, as you know, the Phoenix Mercury head coach has been outspoken about all of this. And she said that -- she has said a few times that if Brittney Griner were a famous male athlete, she would be home by now. So, here's what she said on CNN this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) VANESSA NYGAARD, PHOENIX MERCURY HEAD COACH: The coverage of women's sports and the coverage of women athletes is really the concern here. I mean, the question is, would Tom Brady be home? But Tom brady wouldn't be there. Right? Because he doesn't have to go to a foreign country to supplement his income from the WNBA. And so, we want to keep the focus on bringing BG home but there is an uncurrent here of a lack of coverage and value of women's sports.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: What are your thoughts on that?

JACKSON: Well, coach said a lot there. There are a lot of pieces and a lot of layers to what she said and I think it's important to focus on two big points. She's talking about the covering, the overall media coverage of women's sports and women athletes. And she's also talking about a pay equity problem, issue, concerns that we as the union have. We believe our colleagues that, you know, our counterparts in the league also share these concerns, too. And we have to work together to address them quite honestly.

The situation that BG's in right now forces us if we're going to be honest, if we're going to be good partners. Forces us to have the conversations and to look to ways to address them. I think the coverage in the media issue is huge. It impacts the business which impacts the marketability, which impacts the pay equity issue and the opportunities to make more money here in the U.S. for those players, for those of our members who are Americans and so, it's many layers. And you know, if we're going to honor BG right now, if we are going to do right by the members of my union, WNBA Players, then we're going to have those hard conversations and we're going to get to address those issues.

CAMEROTA: And very quickly, you had said that you wanted a face to face meeting with President Biden and Brittney Griner's wife. Now that there's been a phone call what do you want from the administration?

JACKSON: I think it's helpful. I think it's very helpful that there has been a phone call. In that conversation, our commander in chief gave Cherelle Griner, BG's wife, gave her the assurances that she needed to hear that BG was a top priority. That Paul Whelan is a top priority and others detained U.S. nationals are a top priority. And quite honestly that's what Cherelle Griner deserved and that's what we needed to hear. And we're hopeful that other families get that same opportunity.

What we now need to do is to stand by this administration, our commander in chief, our Vice President Harris and let them know that we encourage and support all efforts that they will undertake to bring our citizens home.

CAMEROTA: Terry Jackson, thank you for your time.

JACKSON: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Two of former President Trump's biggest foes were the subject of intensive tax audits. One says his was no coincidence. They had of the IRS is now taking action. We have new details next.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: Questions today about why the top two FBI officials during the Trump administration were singled out for a rare intensive IRS tax audit. Former director James Comey and his deputy Andrew McCabe were both the subject of this special review. The two were both fierce Trump critics and both fired by Trump. CNN's Kara Scannell is here with more details. So, how is the IRS responding to this?

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's been a new statement from the IRS today. They said that the head of the agency, the commissioner, Charles Rettig, who was appointed by Trump, reached out personally to the inspector general yesterday after calling -- they were called for comment by "The New York Times," and ask them to conduct a review into this. I mean, the big questions here, was this politically motivated? What are the odds and chances that two former executives of the FBI, two people who were investigating Trump in Trump related areas, were both fired by the Trump administration, how did they both turn up in these audits?

CAMEROTA: What are the odds?

SCANNELL: I mean it's like you said it, it's like 1 in 30,000 per year that are swept up in this. So, it's interesting questions here. It's something that people are hoping to get to the bottom of. Now Andy McCabe was on CNN as we broke the news that the IRS had made the referral. Let's listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW MCCABE, FORMER FBI DEPUTY DIRECTOR: That's the responsible thing for the IRS to do under these circumstances. I'm glad that the head of the agency made the referral and looks like the IG is going to take it up. The question is will they do it, you know, quickly and thoroughly and more importantly, will they make those results public? I think the answer should be yes to all those things but we'll see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCANNELL: Now we're also hearing bipartisan support for this review. Both the Democratic chair of the House Ways and Means Committee and the ranking Republican member have said that they are supportive of this review and they want to get to the bottom of whether there was any kind of political agenda here. I mean, the IRS has been adamant in denying this.

They say that these audits are handled by career civil servants and the IRS has strong safeguards in place to protect the exam process -- and against politically motivated audits. They also said is ludicrous and untrue to suggest that senior IRS officials somehow targeted specific individuals for the national research program audits.

I mean, these are supposed to be random audits that are automatically generated. So, a lot of questions here to see what happens.

CAMEROTA: Do you know how long will the review take?

SCANNELL: Well, that's another thing here. I mean, the inspector general could take as long or short as he wants and it will depend the type of cooperation, of course, IRS employees are required to cooperate. But it's unclear how soon they will get an answer to this and how soon it will become public.

CAMEROTA: Did Andrew McCabe and Jim Comey know that they were both being targeted?

SCANNELL: Well, that's what's so interesting. So, McCabe has been on CNN talking about this.

[16:00:00]

And he said that he did not know that this -- that James Comey, his former boss, had also been picked up in the same audit a couple years earlier and he only learned about it when he was contacted by "The New York Times" reporter who was working on this story yesterday.

CAMEROTA: So, I guess if you are being audited you don't spread it around and say, hey, are you also being audited. But then when they figured out, who they both were, is that when their antenna went up?

SCANNELL: Yes, I mean, so we haven't been able to reach James Comey for comment, but we have heard from McCabe who said, you know, his instinct was to think that this was a normal audit and then after all this came to light, he started to question it.

CAMEROTA: Kara Scannell thank you for all of your reporting as always. Great to see you.

And "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.