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Former Japanese Prime Minister Assassinated; Shihoko Goto is Interviewed about the Death of Abe; Cipollone Meets with January 6th Committee; Biden to Sign Order on Abortion. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired July 08, 2022 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:33]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Erica Hill.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Jim Sciutto.

We are following several breaking stories this hour. But, first, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is dead after being shot during a campaign speech outside of Osaka. That moment caught on video. We do want to warn you, it's shocking to see.

(VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Police tackled the gunman, you can see there, described as a man in his 40s. State broadcaster NHA quotes police who said he used a homemade gun. We will be live in Tokyo in just a moment.

HILL: We are also keeping a close watch this hour on what's happening in Washington. Former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone expected on Capitol Hill for closed door testimony today. He'll speak with the January 6th select committee.

Again, watching that closely, as well as the latest jobs report, just out a short time ago, which shows the economy added 327,000 jobs in the month of June. The unemployment rate holding steady at 3.6 percent.

A lot going on this morning, as you can see, but we do want to begin with this breaking news out of Japan, the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Want to bring in CNN's Blake Essig, who is in Tokyo this morning.

What more do we know about this suspect and also what's the reaction throughout the country?

BLAKE ESSIG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, you know, Jim, Erica, I apologize, I cannot hear you right now, but let me tell you about what we just learned, just moments ago.

You know, police have confirmed that the man believed to have shot former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is a 41-year-old man. His home has been raided. He's unemployed. And police say that he went after the former prime minister because he believed that he was part of a group that he didn't like.

While a controversial figure here in Japan and around the world for his policies, Abe really an incredibly important figure. And news of this shooting has absolutely sent shock waves across the nation and around the world. In the hours following the shooting, many have taken to social media to say that they hoped he would pull through, and some calling today's shooting a barbaric act that shakes the root of democracy, saying that whether or not you agree with Abe's political stances, violence to suppress political - political -- any political stance is unacceptable.

Now, during a press conference shortly after the shooting, current Prime Minister Fumio Kishida really encapsulated the feeling of the people here in Japan. He appeared emotional, almost in tears, while speaking to the press and said that this is not a forgivable act, and that we will comprehend the situation and take appropriate measures.

Abe's brother, and current minister of defense, Nobuo Kishi, also addressed the media, calling the attack an affront to democracy and, excuse me, suppression of freedom of speech. Excuse me.

And we've seen pictures of Shinzo Abe's wife looking down at the ground as she entered the hospital where her husband was fighting for his life. Simply put, there's been an overwhelming sense of sadness and shock across Japan, and really around the world. And those emotions will likely only deepen with the news that former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has died.

And what we know that Abe was shot twice and, as a result, has died from those injuries. Again, you know, still trying to figure out exactly why Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was targeted.

Jim. Erica.

HILL: Blake Essig with those updates for us.

Blake, thank you.

Well, this morning, the White House putting out a statement saying it was both shocked and saddened to hear the news, keeping the former prime minister's family and the people of Japan in their thoughts.

SCIUTTO: Joining us now to discuss is Shihoko Goto, director for geoeconomics at the Wilson Center.

First, if you could describe the rarity of this in Japan. Gun deaths in Japan, on a yearly basis, are practically in the single digits. This must be - it would be a shock in any country, right, to lose a former leader under these circumstances, but particularly in Japan where this kind of violence is to rare.

[09:05:03]

SHIHOKO GOTO, DIRECTOR FOR GEOECONOMICS, WOODROW WILSON CENTER: Absolutely. It really is unheard of. This whole debate about gun violence, it does not simply exist in Japan. Gun deaths in Japan top out - top out at about 10 a year. Gun ownership is incredibly tightly controlled. So there really hasn't been this need to look into gun violence as something that politicians or any public figure should be exposed to. And this is probably going to change that dynamic as well.

HILL: There's also, in terms of the dynamic, I feel we've heard so much this morning too about just how culturally this is hitting too, in a country that is known as being so safe. For this to now happen - and we just learned from this press conference -- police say that when they raided that apartment, there were also several handmade pistol- like items that were confiscated. We're talking about a handmade weapon as it's been referred to. That has really got to leave people on edge.

GOTO: Right. So, there's still a lot of unknowns. This is, obviously, breaking news. But from what we understand is that the gunman was acting on his own. He is a former self-defense force personnel. And that is expected to have led him to actually obtain a gun. So, we can already trace where this gun is coming from. There isn't any expectation that he would -- he is acting on behalf of the bigger group.

But, yes, there is this whole conversation about gun ownership, fighting against terrorism, and ensuring that democracy prevails. And, bear in mind, that Japan is actually having an upper house election on Sunday. There will be this united front to make sure that it happens safely.

SCIUTTO: Let's speak for a moment about Abe's legacy here, one of the longest serving prime ministers in recent Japanese history, also had pushed for a more robust Japanese foreign policy, including lifting some of the limits that had been in place since World War II on Japan's military, the self-defense forces as they're known.

Can you discuss for a moment his legacy and what a loss this is for the country, because his -- he maintained his popularity out of office?

GOTO: Yes. At the beginning, your Tokyo reporter described him as controversial. Certainly, there were many opponents to Abe as much as supporters. But what question can say is this, he was a very strong leader who had a clear vision for Japan, especially on the foreign policy front. He had been Japan's longest serving prime minister. And with that he had a vision to have a Japan that was relevant in the 21st century, worked closely together with the United States to confront some of the challenges that Asia in particular is facing regarding the rise of China, but also to have a more broad role for Japan in ensuring that Japan answers cross border challenges from environmental security to democratic rule.

HILL: I mean, there's so much there too. And I just want to hit quickly too in terms of that legacy, it's fascinating, too, if you look at how he worked with different leaders here in the United States, Obama and Trump, two excellent examples.

GOTO: Yes. So, he - he's very noteworthy for being the first foreign leader to have met with President Trump and he came bearing gifts. The gift was golden golf clubs. But he also was very good with previous presidents as well, both past and present. He really did play up this role of statesman, which was quite lacking in Japan until previous prime ministers.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

GOTO: So, he really was able to play to the global stage, which is a challenge that subsequent prime ministers in Japan have been facing.

SCIUTTO: Yes, maintaining that close relationship with the U.S. through very different administrations, frankly, and making sure that he was the first foreign leader to meet with Trump after his election in 2016.

I do want to bring in former Secret Service Agent Jonathan Wackrow.

And this issue here of a homemade gun, first of all in Japan, very hard to get a weapon, and that's why firearms deaths there are just a tiny fraction of what we see here in this country, but that is a threat that extends far beyond Japan to the U.S. and around the world, the idea that with information and designs you can get on the Internet, you can make your own, in effect. And we see the catastrophic effects here.

JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yes. Jim, this is a stunning and brazen attack. And, you know, as I said earlier, this just reinforces that the threats that our political leaders, you know, face every single day don't end when they leave office, especially if they stay within the political environment. So, typically we do see the threats reducing over time, but they're never eliminated.

[09:10:01]

And as such that's why, you know, there's a level of protection around them.

And, again, to focus in on the gun here, it is so anomalous to have a weapon used in Japan for any type of criminal activity unless an assassination of - you know, that was so brazen in public. It just speaks to the level of sophistication and planning that this attacker went through to really look at how are they going to, you know, execute on, you know, this attack and make sure that it was successful.

SCIUTTO: Yes. We do, I see, have a statement in just now from President Biden on Abe's assassination and death. I'll read it now briefly here. This from the president. I am stunned, outraged and deeply saddened by the news that my friend, Abe Shinzo, former prime minister of Japan, was shot and killed while campaigning. This is a tragedy for Japan and for all who knew him. Biden goes on to say, quote, the United States stands with Japan in this moment of grief. I send my deepest condolences to his family there.

Back to you, if I can, Shihoko, for a moment.

The U.S./Japan relationship, it's been close for decades, particularly close now in light of the rise of China. And Abe has been one of those leaders in terms of making a more robust Japanese foreign policy, and not only engaging with the Chinese President Xi Jinping, but also ensuring that his country can stand up to what he, like the U.S. sees, as a growing threat, challenge from China.

GOTO: Yes. And Abe was carving out a role for Japan as the regional and global stabilizer. We have this great power competition emerging between the United States and China, but many countries, including Japan, really need to find a balance navigating these two large powers.

And so what Abe has done is really focus on bringing in other countries across Asia, reaching out to the Indo-Pacific countries, bringing on the United States to embrace that idea from even the Trump administration, which has been carried on by the Biden administration. And moving forward, the expectation is that the Japanese government will continue to do that. And Abe's assassination, this dramatic assassination, will presumably give it more legitimacy that there is this need to carry on the Abe legacy of promoting Japan as this regional stabilizer.

HILL: Shihoko Goto, Jonathan Wackrow, really appreciate you both being with us this morning. Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

WACKROW; Thank you.

GOTO: Thank you.

HILL: In just a few hours, President Biden is set to speak about steps he is now taking to protect abortion rights in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade. How far can he go? That's just ahead.

Trump's former White House counsel sitting down for an interview today with the January 6th committee. What we know about that closed door meeting that took months of negotiations.

SCIUTTO: And just heartbreaking new details about one of the survivors of the Highland Park shooting. An eight-year-old boy who is now paralyzed from the waist down. We'll have an update on his condition from the family.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:17:19]

HILL: Right now, former White House Counsel Pat Cipollone is on Capitol Hill, there to sit down with the January 6th committee investigating the insurrection. This could be one of its most critical interviews to date. The panel expected to ask, of course, what he witnessed in the waning days of the Trump administration.

SCIUTTO: For more and on the significance, let's speak now to CNN political analyst and Washington bureau chief for "The Daily Beast," Jackie Kucinich, plus CNN legal analyst and former White House ethics czar, Norm Eisen.

Norm, first to you.

What specifically, in this investigation, has changed since Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony regarding the former president's potential legal exposure, and how might Cipollone's testimony contribute to that?

NORM EISEN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Jim, thanks for having me back.

What Cassidy Hutchinson added was the -- really the missing link in the alleged criminal conspiracy. We knew Trump had pushed to overturn election outcomes. We knew he was involved in phony electoral certificates. Then we got the proof of his violent intent, knowing that mob was armed, wanting to march with them, and putting out that tweet against Mike Pence and then agreeing with the mob, according to Cassidy Hutchinson, that Pence should be hanged. So, Cipollone's going to corroborate all that.

But not just that. He goes throughout the entire conspiracy, including the so-called murder/suicide pact, as Cipollone put it, of Trump wanting to corrupt DOJ and use them to attack the election.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

EISEN: So, he's a critically important witness.

HILL: Critically important. Look, this took a lot of negotiating to get to this point, Jackie, as we know. This testimony, there are certain parameters around it, as I understand. How tight lipped do you folks are going to be today in the wake of this testimony? Are we going to have to wait to hear a little bit more about what was said until perhaps Tuesday when the next hearing is scheduled?

JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: I don't think that will be -- I don't think I would be surprised if they did keep their mouths shut today. We might get, you know, some kind of broad outlines of a readout potentially.

However, I mean, this is being taped. And we've seen the January 6th committee run several hours -- or several clips of their testimony from their witnesses behind closed doors. So I don't think it's that much of a reach to think that we will actually get to see this testimony, we just might have to be a little patient.

But, you know, Norm mentioned some of the things that she testified last week, and you have to imagine that he is going to be asked about, you know, what she said about him - about them having criminal exposure if Trump is - was allowed to walk to The Mall, about that exchange she overheard between him and Mark Meadows, where he was asked -- telling Mark Meadows that Trump had to do something and Mark Meadows said he doesn't want to do anything.

[09:20:17]

So I think those critical -- those are critical moments in her testimony and I wouldn't be surprised if he is asked to verify that and perhaps give us a little bit more. We'll see if he does.

SCIUTTO: Norm Eisen, a particular detail from Hutchinson's testimony was that the president, then president, knew the crowd was armed, but still was encouraging them to march to The Hill. You have that line saying, well they're not - you know, they're not going to threaten me, you know, with the implication that they might threaten someone else, but not me. How essential is that particular detail and how might Cipollone fit into piecing the pieces of the puzzle together if they do indeed fit together?

EISEN: Cipollone was an opponent of Trump participating in that march to The Mall, Jim. As Jackie points out, he said, if Trump is a part of that, they -- it opens them up to being charged by -- with every crime under the sun. And then, of course, Hutchinson gave us the additional information, which we'll see if Cipollone corroborates that Trump knew the mob was armed. So that really changed everything.

And I think the exposure on these crimes, obstruction of an official proceeding in Congress, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and the state crimes, Jim, Cipollone's testimony, that video will also be usable in the Georgia investigation, which is speeding forward.

KUCINICH: Right.

EISEN: This is likely to be a jump forward in Trump's criminal exposure.

HILL: You talk about the jump forward in terms of criminal exposure. I'm curious, Jackie, you know, being there in Washington, we've talked so much about, is this breaking through certainly in certain circles. It does seem that securing this interview today, knowing that we have this next hearing coming up as well, is there a sense in Washington, specifically since Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony as well, that things are changing, that the conversations are changing, that there is -- people are sort of perking up and paying attention a little bit more?

KUCINICH: Well, I mean, the committee itself said that her testimony in particular kind of opened up more witnesses, more people coming forward, saying, you know, I did hear something. We know that Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Matthews is slated to testify publicly in front of the committee perhaps as early as next week. So this - this -- you definitely are hearing more about it. There's an acknowledgement that this is real. And there is an acknowledgement that, you know, Trump might be in trouble.

Now, whether he actually ends up charged with anything at the end of the day, we don't know that. Norm mentions the Georgia investigation. We know that that is also ramping up. There were all sorts of subpoenas sent out to Rudy Giuliani, to Lindsey Graham, you know, even, you know, Bill Barr's testimony could have opened Trump up because it goes to whether he knew that the -- there was no election fraud in Georgia. If he knew that, and he still pursued it, that could be a big problem in that particular investigation.

SCIUTTO: Yes, and the timelines on those still uncertain.

KUCINICH: Yes.

SCIUTTO: Jackie Kucinich, Norm Eisen, thanks so much to both of you.

Still ahead this hour, the father of Highland Park, Illinois, gunman defending his decision to help his son purchase five firearms. Why and what state attorneys says about any potential liability he faces. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:28:24]

SCIUTTO: We are watching the White House there, where, in a few short hours, President Biden is expected to sign an executive order protecting abortion rights.

HILL: This comes amid pressure from Democrats for the president to take a stronger stance to codify abortion access following the Supreme Court's landmark decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond joining us now live from the White House.

So, Jeremy, what more do we know about these plans and what they will actually do?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, Erica, it's been two weeks since the Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade, fundamentally changing the landscape of abortion access in the United States. And now we are seeing President Biden will today sign an executive order taking steps to ensure that women can have access to abortion in parts of the United States. Many of these steps in this executive order, frankly, are codifying things that we've already seen President Biden talk about, or the HHS secretary, Javier Becerra, pledge to do.

There are four key components here. The first of which is safeguarding access to reproductive healthcare services, including protecting access to medication abortion. That's something that we've heard the HHS secretary talking about, protecting the privacy of patients at a time when there are fears in some of these states where abortion is now illegal that data from cell phones, for example, could be used in prosecutions in some cases, promoting the safety and security of patients and also coordinating the implementation of federal efforts by establishing a new interagency task force led by HHS and the White House's Gender Policy Counsel to coordinate effort on reproductive healthcare.

All of this is going to require the HHS secretary, Xavier Becerra, to submit a report to the president within 30 days on his efforts on all of these fronts.

[09:30:06]

And, again, there are not a lot of details.