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Insurrection Investigation; White House Weighing Whether To Declare Monkeypox A Public Health Emergency; Biden's Condition Continues To Improve; Out Of Control Oak Fire Burns Over 14,000 Acres Near Yosemite; 90M-Plus Under Heat Advisories And Warnings Across U.S.; Police Probe Violent Arrest Of Black Man In Tennessee; FBI: Chinese Made Cell Phone Gear Cold Disrupt U.S. Nuclear Arsenal; Trump's Media Ally Calls Him "Unworthy To Be Chief Executive Again". Aired 2-3p ET
Aired July 24, 2022 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[14:00:25]
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Happening now in the NEWSROOM, the January 6th Committee eyes Ginni Thomas, the wife of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for her role in trying to help overturn the 2020 election.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): We certainly hope that she will agree to come in voluntarily, but the committee is fully prepared to contemplate a subpoena if she does not.
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WHITFIELD: Plus --
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was scary when we left because we were getting ashes on us, but we had such a visual of this billowing. It just seemed like it was above our house and coming our way really quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Forced to flee. Thousands of acres burn outside Yosemite National Park. Residents run from their homes as firefighters try to beat back the flames.
And deadly heat continues to punish the country. 90 million people are suffering in scorching temperatures. Many areas hitting the triple digits.
NEWSROOM starts now.
Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. All right. We begin this hour with new developments in the January 6 investigation. Today Republican Liz Cheney, the vice chair for the committee, not only put Ginni Thomas, the wife of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, on notice that she could be subpoenaed to testify but Cheney also accused former President Trump of serious misconduct and dereliction of duty and says the committee is not ruling out recommending criminal charges against him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Do you believe that your committee has successfully made the case that Donald Trump committed crimes and, if so, which ones?
CHENEY: Well, I think that the committee has produced and provided and gathered a tremendous amount of information. We're not finished yet. Certainly it's clear if you look at Judge Carter's opinion that he believes that it's more likely than not that President Trump committed at least two federal crimes.
I think we certainly -- we have not decided yet as a committee whether we're going to make criminal referrals, but that is absolutely something we are looking at.
And there's no question that we've seen very serious misconduct and certainly supreme dereliction of duty. But you look at what we've laid out in the hearings in terms of the president's efforts to corrupt the Department of Justice, to corruptly pressure state and local officials. Certainly what he did in terms of attempting to pressure the vice president to violate the law and the constitution.
And then what we saw last week in terms of once he had sent the armed mob to the Capitol to refuse to call them off and send them home for multiple hours, despite the fact that people, everyone really, was pleading with him to do so.
TAPPER: So I know Judge Carter's opinion that it's likely crimes were committed. Your fellow Republican on the committee, Adam Kinzinger, told CNN on Friday that he believes that the committee has proven Donald Trump broke the law. What's your personal opinion? Do you think Donald Trump broke the law?
CHENEY: I think that Donald Trump, the violation of his oath of office, the violation of the constitution that he engaged in is the most serious misconduct of any president in the history of our nation.
I think that, as I said, the committee has not decided yet whether or not we will make criminal referrals. That's something we take very seriously. And I would also say that the Department of Justice certainly is very focused based on what we see publicly on what is the largest criminal investigation in American history.
But there's no doubt in my mind that the president of the United States is unfit for further office. Any man who would conduct themselves, or woman who would conduct themselves the way that he did in attempting to overturn an election and stay in power must never again be anywhere close to the Oval Office.
TAPPER: At the end of the hearing you said, quote, "doors have opened" and, quote, "new subpoenas have been issued". It took public pressure from you before former White House counsel Cipollone agreed to speak to the committee. Who is next on your wish list of witnesses you most want to hear from in the coming months?
[14:04:45]
CHENEY: Well, we have a number of many interviews scheduled that are coming up. We anticipate talking to additional members of the president's cabinet. We anticipate talking to additional members of his campaign. Certainly we are very focused as well on the Secret Service and on interviewing additional members of the Secret Service and collecting additional information from them.
So it's true -- and I would say in particular after Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony we saw a number of people come forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. Joining me now to discuss this is CNN legal analyst Norm Eisen. He's also a former House judiciary counsel for President Trump's first impeachment trial. Mr. Ambassador, good to see you.
So Cheney says it is possible the committee could recommend criminal charges against Trump. Does the Department of Justice need the recommendations? Isn't it likely paying attention to all the witness testimony and looking at the evidence anyway?
NORM EISEN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Fred, thanks for having me back.
I do think that these eight incredibly powerful hearings that the 1/6 Committee has put on have been a rolling criminal referral because more important than the rhetoric, and you saw how careful Liz Cheney was, is the evidence.
And there has been a mountain of evidence that President Trump knew he lost the election. He knew he had no legal basis to attack it, and he did so anyhow. That raises very serious criminal issues under those two crimes that the federal judge found were likely.
So I don't think you need a formal referral, but it can also help push DOJ to do the right thing.
WHITFIELD: So the committee continues to gather evidence. There's an upcoming September set of hearings, and we don't yet know what will be the focus of the hearing. But Cheney did say the committee wants to speak to Ginni Thomas, the wife of Justice Clarence Thomas. Take a listen.
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CHENEY: The committee is engaged with her counsel. We certainly hope that she will agree to come in voluntarily, but the committee is fully prepared to contemplate a subpoena if she does not. We've certainly spoken with numbers of people who are similarly situated in terms of the discussions that she was having that you've mentioned.
So it's very important for us to speak with her and, as I said, I hope she will agree to do so voluntarily. But I'm sure we will contemplate a subpoena if she won't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And could Ginni Thomas exert any kind of privilege against testifying?
EISEN: No, Fred. Just last week we saw Steve Bannon, the president's former adviser, convicted of criminal contempt for his refusal to comply with the subpoena and for asserting nonexistent privileges. That didn't work there.
It won't work for Ginni Thomas. She had multiple contacts both with the individuals who are responsible for the campaign of election denial out in the country and with the White House, including Mark Meadows. There is no reason on earth, and the fact she's the wife of a Supreme Court justice doesn't matter. She's been engaged in these election denial activities with the terrible consequences we saw in January 6. She's got to come in and answer questions like any other American.
WHITFIELD: You mentioned Steve Bannon, a former Trump strategist. He was found guilty of two counts of contempt of congress for refuse to going to cooperate with the committee's subpoena. He of course, has appealed that conviction. He still is facing a sentencing scheduled for October.
Cheney says the committee still wants Bannon to testify. Do you see that happening either ahead of any kind of scheduled sentencing or even if he appeals and it delays any kind of sentencing?
EISEN: Fred, when it comes to criminal contempt, the law does not allow you to, as lawyers say, purge, to get rid of your criminal contempt after you've been convicted by testifying. But it could help him at sentencing. It would be the right thing to do. And his information is badly needed.
Unfortunately, Mr. Bannon does not exactly have a history of doing the right thing. So I thought that his offer to testify was a bit of a last-minute grandstand, as I wrote in the CNN Opinion, and I don't think we're going to see his testimony. Although it would be smart to cut down his sentence.
WHITFIELD: So still unclear, you know, whether the committee will indeed recommend charges, but you say the hearings really are kind of an ongoing, you know, big old recommendation. Do you think the hearings have boosted -- or in what way have they boosted the likelihood that charges could come against Trump? Particularly in Georgia.
(CROSSTALK) [14:09:47[
EISEN: I think they've turbocharged the Georgia criminal investigation, Fred. Whenever we talk about this, we have to keep in mind the DOJ but also the Atlanta DA Fani Willis who's out in front of everybody. She's already issued 16 target letters warning people they could be prosecuted for the schemes led by President Trump in Georgia.
So I think they've had an impact. There're a lot of new evidence that's useful to her. And I think they've done the same for DOJ.
It's not moving quite as briskly. I think we will see DOJ charges, too. Whether that will include Trump, I think likely yes in Atlanta. We'll see when it comes to the feds.
WHITFIELD: Ok. Norm Eisen, good to see you. Thanks so much.
EISEN: Always great, Fred. Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Thank you.
All right, the White House today still undecided on whether to declare monkeypox a public health emergency. And this comes after the World Health Organization announced that yesterday, calling outbreak a global health emergency, the highest alert that it can declare.
The CDC reports there are more than 2,800 monkeypox cases in 44 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico. So why hasn't the U.S. issued this critical designation?
CNN's Arlette Saenz is live for us outside the White House. So Arlette, is there an explanation thus far?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well Fred, top administration officials insist that they are continuing to assess whether to declare that public health emergency related to the monkeypox virus here in the United States. Declaring such an emergency would open up some additional measures that the administration could take to try to contain the virus including additional funding. And that is something that is being assessed over at the Department of Health and Human Services.
But it comes on the heels of the World Health Organization declaring this a global health emergency, something that administration officials have lauded as a call to action on a global scale.
And here is how Dr. Ashish Jha, the COVID response coordinator here at the White House, talked about the administration's efforts to contain the virus saying that there is more that could be done at this moment.
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DR. ASHISH JHA, WHITE HOUSE COVID RESPONSE COORDINATOR: We have substantially ramped up testing. We have substantially ramped up vaccinations. We have to keep doing more, by the way. We're not done on that effort. We're going to do more of that in the days and weeks ahead.
You know, whether we declare a public health emergency here or not will be based on the facts on the ground and what that declaration will allow us to do.
No decisions on that have been made so far. We obviously will continue to assess that on an ongoing basis.
No Americans have died of monkey pox in this outbreak. I don't know globally. I think it's a very small number, but zero Americans have died of monkeypox.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAENZ: So even as Dr. Jha talked about some of the efforts that the administration is taking that they have faced some criticism in the speed of their response including from the former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb who served under President Trump.
And a bit earlier today he had this tweet that said "If we have allowed monkeypox to become an endemic virus in the U.S., which is becoming an increasingly possible outcome, it will be among the most unfortunate public health failures in recent times."
Now the administration has been touting some of the efforts they have made over the course of the past few weeks. That includes shipping out 300,000 doses of this vaccine out to the states.
But that is simply a fraction of the doses that will be needed. As the CDC estimates there are 1.5 million people eligible for that vaccine. Of course, doctors are recommending that they take two doses of that.
So far the White House is trying to promote what they've done. But you heard Jha there even conceding that there is more that should be coming in the coming weeks.
WHITFIELD: All right. And to another public health crisis, the COVID- 19 pandemic and the president's recent COVID diagnosis, what more can you tell us about how he's doing today?
SAENZ: the president's physician Dr. Kevin O'Connor released another letter talking about the president's current condition. He said that his symptoms are continuing to improve significantly and that also right now the predominant symptom is a sore throat. He said that that is likely, quote, "due to lymphoid activation" as his body is clearing the virus, the runny nose, the body aches, the cold cough, the doctor said that that is starting to diminish a bit.
Now the president continues to isolate here at the White House. He will continue on that Paxlovid treatment. But his wife, first lady Jill Biden, is still up in Wilmington, Delaware. Her spokesperson says that she tested negative earlier today.
Now one question going forward is what the president's activities will look like in the coming week as he continues to isolate. Top officials here at the White House have insisted that he's continued to work over the weekend including taking phone calls but that he's also been resting up a little bit as he continues to fight COVID.
WHITFIELD: All right. Arlette Saenz at the White House, thanks so much.
All right. Still ahead, beating back the flames in California.
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CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Water drop after water drop just like this falling from the sky.
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WHITFIELD: Thousands evacuate as fires rage near Yosemite National Park. We'll take you there live next.
[14:14:52]
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WHITFIELD: All right. New today a state of emergency issued in California where the fast-moving Oak Fire is burning out of control near Yosemite National Park. More than 14,000 acres scorched in the hours since it started on Friday.
At least ten structures destroyed but thousands more are being threatened as firefighters race to hold back the flames.
CNN's Camila Bernal is live for us in Mariposa County. Camila, what's the situation?
BERNAL: Hey Fred. Just over the last couple of minutes we've been seeing plane after plane dropping that red fire retardant. It's kind of hard to see because the flames are right behind that very thick black smoke.
But look, despite the firefighting efforts both in the air and on the ground containment is at zero percent. I talked to one firefighter who told me we are at the mercy of Mother Nature. And that's because a lot of their work depends on the weather.
[14:19:50]
BERNAL: And the next couple of hours, the afternoon hours -- that is really the worst time for them. And that's because temperatures increase, the winds pick up, and the moisture, the humidity, it drops. And so they are getting ready for really difficult hours ahead.
They've also told me that the fire is in areas where it is very steep so that's also making it very difficult. And they say it's really hard to get to people and to get to homes because a lot of this area people live in say a five-acre lot and it's surrounded by the forest. A lot of it is overgrown and dry and all of that adding to how quickly this fire can spread. Authorities here telling people to be ready, to pack up, to listen to evacuation orders because those flames can spread very quickly. Listen to how residents were describing it.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We started to get our stuff together. I went up the hill and looked and I'm like, oh, my God. It was coming, fast.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was scary when we left because we were getting ashes on us, but we had such a visual of this billowing. It just seemed like it was above our house and coming our way really quickly.
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BERNAL: Now the other problem that Cal Fire was telling me about is that this area was specifically hit hard with bark beetles. These beetles killed a lot of the pine trees in the area. So what happens is that it is now full of this dead material, what firefighters call fuel, and that's also making it easier for this fire to spread.
Now, there is some good news here and it's the number of people fighting this fire. Just yesterday there were 400 people here. Today there's more than 2,000 and so they're hoping that because the resources are increasing we are going to be able to see some progress here, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Let's hope that power in numbers works, indeed. All right. Be safe out there, Camila Bernal. Thanks so much.
All right. Meantime a deadly heat wave is sweeping much of the country. More than 90 million people are under heat alerts and many cities are expected to break records in several cities.
And it's not just in the U.S., temperatures around the world are scorching. And this morning former vice president Al Gore made a stark comparison about those who deny climate change and how it's contributing to the harsh extremes.
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AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You know the climate deniers are really, in some ways, similar to all of those almost 400 law enforcement officers in Uvalde, Texas who were waiting outside an unlocked door while the children were being massacred. They heard the screams. They heard the gunshots. And nobody stepped forward.
And god bless those families who suffered so much. And law enforcement officials tell us that's not typical of what law enforcement usually does.
And confronted with this global emergency, what we're doing with our inaction and failing to walk through the door and stop the killing is not typical of what we are capable of as human beings. We do have the solutions, and I think these extreme events that are getting steadily worse and more severe are really beginning to change minds. We have to have unity as a nation to come together and stop making this a political football. It shouldn't be a partisan issue.
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WHITFIELD: CNN's Polo Sandoval is in New York. It's hot there and has been for a few days and will continue to be, right? So what are people doing to try to handle it?
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, here in Williamsburg, Brooklyn you can see how some of the youngest folks affected by the heat wave are trying to keep cool. Sadly, we did learn that this heat wave that's now entering the sixth day for the region did claim the life of one New Yorker just yesterday. The local medical examiner's office explained that believe that it was an individual with a pre-existing health condition.
And what's really the concerns about the dangers of this heat are not just here in New York City but they're extending down the Eastern Seaboard and extending into the southern plains as forecasters are expecting the heat index, which is really what it feels like on your skin, to now enter triple digits for millions and millions of people throughout the country.
And that's why you have places like Philadelphia that went ahead and extended their health heat emergency into the end of today. And what that does, Fred, is essentially opens up more cooling centers especially for the homeless and even creates teams that can do some of the home checks for those that are considered the most vulnerable.
That's really the message that health care officials throughout the country are sending out to the public which is not only to take care of yourself but also of each other as the heat is expected to really peak today and you hear people say it's July, it's supposed to be hot. But when you hear from forecasters, they will tell you that by the time that we finally get some relief here in New York, which may not come for another day or two, then New Yorkers will have experienced seven straight days of 90-plus-degree weather. The last time that happened was almost a decade ago, Fred.
[14:24:54]
WHITFIELD: Well, let's talk to one of our meteorologists. Tom Sater is with us. Polo thank you so much.
Tom Sater, so what is the outlook?
TOM SATER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: This is not good. I mean, sure, it's July, right, Fredricka? It's summer. We should have hot temperatures. We have broken over 200 high temperature records just this month and we did it again yesterday from Nevada and Colorado up toward Massachusetts. The all-time hottest summer so far for Austin, for Houston, for San Antonio, and it's expanding. So when you see the advisories get into the Tennessee and Ohio Valley and then to the larger cities with a heat emergency for Philadelphia, this becomes deadly.
Now as Polo mentioned we do have some records. But first look at the heat index values because humidity still is building. This is for this afternoon. Tulsa 108. Springfield 103. St. Louis 108 degrees. You get up to Louisville it feels like 102. This is madness.
We have more records today. Boston, if you get up to your record, it's a 90-year-old record, goes back to 1933. So this is not usual. There it is, forecast high Boston 99, the record is 98. But others will fall.
And as Polo mentioned yes, we've had six days so far in in New York above 90 degrees. That record goes back to 2013. Now when you look at the chance of it coming to it an end, what we we're going to find here is notice there is some relief. Not a lot tomorrow.
It really gets much better as you get into Tuesday and Wednesday. That's because when you have high heat building like we have in the middle of the country, around the periphery of that dome is where you have some of the heaviest rainfall, some of the most damaging winds.
So this is going to end with a bang and it could be quite severe. Again, we could have winds 60, 70 miles per hour and flooding rainfall.
Then our focus, Fred, goes out to the Pacific Northwest, last year this climate-induced killing ridge took over 400 lives in British Columbia. The Metro Seattle area, only 44 percent have air conditioning and it's not just going to be for the week. It's going to continue all week long into next weekend. So here we go again. Not normal.
WHITFIELD: No. Serious dog days of summer. This is a long summer. It's feeling even longer for a lot of people.
All right. Tom Sater, thanks so much.
All right. Coming up, a police officer in Tennessee is on administrative leave following a violent arrest of a black man. The incident was caught on cell phone video. Details straight ahead.
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WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back.
A police officer in Tennessee is now on administrative leave following a violent arrest of a Black man. Brandon Calloway was tased, beaten by the baton and bloodied in Tennessee after police say he failed to stop at a stop sign and didn't pull over for officers. State authorities are now investigating the use of force in that arrest.
CNN's Nadia Romero has more.
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NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is 25- year-old Brandon Calloway, police say he failed to stop at a stop sign and was driving 12 miles over the speed limit.
A complaint affidavit obtained by the Tennessee attorney general's office alleges that Calloway refused to pull over until he turned into his driveway. He then ran into his home and ignoring police commands as another officer identified Officer Richardson arrived on the scene. Then police say officers pursued and made entry by kicking in the front door.
Now, you're about to see video of law enforcement officers running into the home of Calloway, where he was tased and hit by a baton after police say he resisted arrest. The video was recorded by Calloway's girlfriend, and we want to caution you, this video is disturbing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stop! Stop! Stop! Brandon, Brandon, Brandon, stop! Stop hitting him! Stop hitting him! Stop! Stop it! Stop it! Stop it! Stop! Stop! Stop! Stop it! Stop!
Why are you chasing him and hitting him? He has no weapon. He has no weapon. Why are you chasing him? He's beating him and tasing him he has no weapon, sir. He has no weapon.
They're being aggressive. I have all of this on video. No, I need to record this. No, you will -- don't put your hands on me. Do not put your hands on me.
Bring me my phone. I need to call my mom. I need to call his mom.
POLICE OFFICER: Get on the ground! Get on the ground! Get on the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look how they're doing him. Stop hitting him! Stop!
Brandon, stop resisting. Stop resisting. Don't resist. Just stop. Just stop. No!
Just get on the ground. Get on the ground, Brandon. Get on the ground.
POLICE OFFICER: Get on the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get off of his neck! Get off his neck!
ROMERO: Calloway was arrested and later bonded out of jail. He says he still has bruises and had to get stitches and is experiencing blurred vision and headaches following that police interaction. He says he never thought he would be involved in this kind of an incident.
BRANDON CALLOWAY, SUBJECT OF VIOLENT ARREST IN TENNESSEE: I'm definitely having flashbacks and nightmares. I really feel like the nightmare is consistent thing. I've always had fear because of what's happened to other people like me. But, no, I never thought anything like this would ever happen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stop! Stop!
ROMERO: The cell phone video does not show the entire police interaction.
Former Washington, D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey says he didn't see any efforts by police to de-escalate the situation.
[14:35:04]
He says other video elements will be important in this investigation.
CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: It is going to be important to see that body cam footage because when you look at the cell phone video, there are periods of time he's out of sight and you can't see exactly what's going on.
ROMERO: The Tennessee attorney general's office denied CNN's public records request to obtain the officer's body camera footage, citing the open and ongoing investigation.
Brandon Calloway's attorney, Andre Wharton, says they're asking for transparency into the investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. He also says the allegation of a traffic violation should not have escalated.
ANDRE WHARTON, ATTORNEY FOR BRANDON CALLOWAY: At best you have two honor traffic violations, no prior felony alleged, no robbery, no homicide, no shooting, no active shooter allegations, nothing of that sort. Rise to a quick level of forced entry into the home, immediate use of force.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROMERO (on camera): So one of the officers involved in that arrest is on administrative leave, Officer Richardson of the Oakland, Tennessee Police Department. And we have reached out to the police union, to other authorities throughout that state and county to get more information about this. Of course, it's the weekend, so we will follow up with them.
And, Fred, we have talked a lot about police interactions with people, what they look like, trying to de-escalate, trying other options to arrest someone. And that's what's really causing that particular piece of video to circulate wildly on social media with a lot of people weighing in.
WHITFIELD: Keep us posted on any new developments.
Nadia Romero, thanks so much.
We're also learning new details in a triple murder/suicide at an Iowa campground. Police say the three victims, Tyler Schmidt, his wife, Sarah, and 6-year-old Lula were killed while in their tent at the Maquoketa state park early Saturday. Officials say their 9-year-old son survived the attack. The suspect, 23-year-old Anthony Sherwin, who was found dead at the scene.
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MIKE KRAPFL, SPECIAL AGENT, IOWA DIVISION OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION: We had information that he was armed at the time. Officers, the Iowa state patrol, Jackson County sheriff's office, numerous law enforcement agencies have been out there and just shortly, we believe we have located Anthony Sherwin west of the park and he deceased of what appears to be a self-inflicted gun shot wound.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Police are still looking into what may have led up to the shooting and the gunman's possible relationship, if any, to the family.
The FBI is raising concerns Chinese-made cell phone gear could potentially disrupt the U.S. nuclear arsenal. We'll hear why it's part of what some are calling a counterintelligence frenzy by the U.S.
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[14:41:59]
WHITFIELD: All right.
So, CNN has learned an FBI investigation found that Chinese-made cell phone equipment placed near U.S. military bases has the potential to capture and disrupt highly restricted Defense Department communications, including the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
CNN's Katie Bo Lillis has been working on this exclusive reporting.
So what kind of sensitive data are we talking about?
KATIE BO LILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So this all started with this FBI investigation that dates back to the Obama administration and was ultimately briefed up to the Trump White House in 2019. The FBI knew that these small rural telecommunications companies out in the Midwest were using Chinese-made Huawei equipment on top of their cell towers, in places like Colorado and Nebraska that were close to sensitive military installations including U.S. nuclear missile silos.
Now, these companies say they were using this equipment because it was cheap and it was reliable. But the FBI in the course of this investigation was able to determine that this equipment had the capability to recognize, capture and potentially even disrupt restricted Defense Department communications, potentially offering China a really pivotal and dangerous window into command and control for America's nuclear arsenal.
As one source familiar with the investigation described it to us, this was in the BFD category. And in the course of the investigation, the bureau was also able to determine, they learned these telecommunications companies, the leading regional provider, Viaero, was placing weather and traffic cameras on many of its cell towers across the were live streaming as a public service which is great if you want to see whether or not you will be delayed getting into work, in a traffic jam that day.
But for U.S. counterintelligence was a huge concern because they knew that China or any other foreign adversary would be able to monitor those live streams and potentially track the patterns of sensitive military movements around the region.
Now China, of course, denies that it uses any of this equipment to spy on the United States, and Huawei denies it is even capable of being used in such a way. But this comes at a moment U.S. counterintelligence officials are increasingly concerned about what many of them describes to us as a dramatic escalation of Chinese espionage on U.S. soil over the past decade.
Take a listen to how FBI Director Chris Wray described the threat to CNN in an exclusive interview with our colleague Evan Perez, earlier this month.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS WRAY, FBI DIRECTOR: We're concerned about allowing any company that is beholden to a nation state that doesn't adhere to and share our values giving that company the ability to burrow into our telecommunications infrastructure. And I will point you and the public to our superseding indictment of the company of Huawei for RICO, for being a racketeering enterprise.
[14:45:03]
And that indictment lays out a pattern of essentially serial intellectual property theft.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LILLIS: Three years later, that Huawei equipment on top of the towers in the Midwest remains in place in large part because of the amount of money Congress has appropriated to reimburse these companies, to rip and replace the equipment as they've been mandated to do by the FCC is $3 billion short of what it's going to take -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Wow, pretty alarming.
All right. Katie Bo Lillis, thanks so much.
All right. Still to come, unworthy to be chief executive again. One of Donald Trump's favorite newspapers increasingly more critical of the former president. Is conservative media turning against Trump? That's straight ahead.
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[14:50:12]
WHITFIELD: Claiming him unworthy to be the country's chief executive again, one of Donald Trump's favorite newspapers, controlled by Rupert Murdoch, is calling him out. In a clear 180, "The New York post" published a scathing critique of Trump's behavior on January 6, published online Friday night. It dropped about the same time "The Wall Street Journal," also controlled by Murdoch, called the Trump the president who stood still on January 6, and wrote, Trump failed to do his duty as commander in chief.
Joining me right now is CNN media correspondent and host of "RELIABLE SOURCES", Brian Stelter.
So, Brian, wow, this is quite the shift from the couple of his favorite newspapers that he liked to be in.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Right, certainly, these two men had a mutually beneficial relationship for several years, Rupert Murdoch and Donald Trump. Although they didn't always personally get along, they found themselves in a very convenient relationship where Murdoch has been promoting Trump, and Trump promoting Murdoch's brands, et cetera.
I do think in the past year, it started to slip, Fred. We've seen Rupert Murdoch in the past, for example, late last fall say, the GOP needs to move on, the Republican Party needs to move on, and his papers have started to say the same thing, "The New York Post" last month, urging conservatives to pick new candidates for 2024, to bring in younger, fresher, faces.
But now, this weekend is the strongest rebuke of Trump that I've seen from the Murdoch papers. Here is the quote from "The New York Post," saying look, what happened on January 6th, Donald Trump's behavior, it's up to the Justice Department to determine whether that's a crime, but, quote, as a matter of principle, as a matter of character, Trump has proven himself unworthy to be this country's chief executive again.
That's "The New York Post," the tabloid owned by Rupert Murdoch that Trump grew up reading, he loves "The New York Post." So, those are strong words from "Post", the strongest I've ever seen from "The Post" against Trump. And as you said, on the same weekend, "The Wall Street Journal" also editorializing, critiquing Trump's inaction on January 6th.
There are two things that are true at once, it's significant that "The Journal" is saying this, saying that Trump failed his test on January 6th. It's also important to note that Murdoch's loudest megaphone of all is Fox News and Fox is not sounding the same way "The Journal" and "The Post" are.
Historically, Rupert Murdoch has made his own point of view more clear through his newspapers, less so through Fox. I would suggest if we see Fox News stars saying these words on the air every single night, it would be more significant as a sign of where the GOP is. But it's very telling to see the media elite like Rupert Murdoch, with
his own newspapers sending very strong messages against Trump. And, by the way, the same time promoting possible alternatives in 2024 like Ron DeSantis.
And, by the way, Friday night, Trump holding a rally. What did Fox do? Didn't air the rally, instead they featured Ron DeSantis.
WHITFIELD: Right.
STELTER: Just looking at these tea leaves for clues about the GOP media, Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Brian Stelter, thanks so much.
STELTER: Thanks.
WHITFIELD: All right. On tonight's episode of "PATAGONIA: LIFE ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD," we journey from the foothills to the dizzying heights of the Andes to witness one of South America's most fascinating species in a courtship dance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NARRATOR: Now courtship can begin with a water dance. The male makes the first move. The dunk.
(MUSIC)
NARRATOR: Step two: the synchronized head bob.
(MUSIC)
NARRATOR: Step three: head turns.
The female ends the dance. He'll do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Oh, wow, that's amazing, to capture that tango. Join CNN for an epic journey through Patagonia's wild highland, "PATAGONIA: LIFE ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD," tonight at 9:00 p.m., right here on CNN.
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[14:59:38]
WHITFIELD: Hello again. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredericka Whitfield.
All right. We begin with a massive wildfire raging outside Yosemite National Park. Residents forced to flee their homes as firefighters desperately try to beat back the flames.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just don't know anything. We don't know anything.
UNIDSENTIFIED MALE: I went up the hill and looked and I'm like, oh, my God, it was coming fast.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The fire has consumed more than 14,000 acres, leaving a trail of ash in its path.
