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Putin: Annexed Ukrainian Regions Part Of Russia "Forever"; U.S. Issues New Sanctions After Russia Annexes Parts Of Ukraine; Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson Ceremonially Sworn In At Supreme Court; Could Cost Tens Of Billions To Rebuild In Florida. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired September 30, 2022 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: It is a violation, we should note, of international law. But in a public ceremony today, Vladimir Putin says no territories are now part of Russia forever, his words.

I want to speak now to Andrea Kendall-Taylor, she's a former Deputy National Intelligence Officer for Russia and Ukraine, now Senior Fellow at the Center for New American Security. You watch these words here, Andrea, and you and I have spoken about Putin and Russia in this war for some time. He says he will defend these territories as part of Russia. Does that, in your view, mean he will escalate the war there? And could escalation include a step as dramatic as the use of nuclear weapons?

ANDREA KENDALL-TAYLOR, FORMER DEPUTY NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE OFFICER FOR RUSSIA/UKRAINE: Well, I think it's clear from this speech that this is a major escalation. I think for the first time Putin is ever more personally invested in this war. I think up until this point, he's been able to deflect blame. You know, he's blamed his generals, he's blamed the bureaucracy for bad information and faulty assumptions.

But now he's really raised the stakes for himself personally. So with this annexation, what happens when Ukraine takes the territory back? Likewise, with the mobilization, he's sending 300,000 more troops, he's going to have to show something for that. And so in these ways, I think it is a significant escalation. He has raised the stakes, including for himself.

SCIUTTO: Understood. Stay there just for a moment, Andrea, because we do get some news just now with the CNN and this coming from the White House. New sanctions announced in response to this move by Russia. CNN White House Correspondent Jeremy Diamond, joins us now. Jeremy, walk us through some of these steps and what they mean exactly.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, the White House had pledged a swift and severe response to these annexation effort by the Russian President. And that is exactly what we are seeing now. The United States rejecting this annexation moved by the Russian President and issuing a series of severe sanctions against Russian officials, their family members, and also targeting crucially Russia's defense sector and providers of weaponry and other supplies to that defense sector that are based in other countries. A list of them goes from beginning with the Treasury Department sanctioning the head of Russia's central bank Elvira Nabiullina, the Treasury and State Department and also sanctioning relatives of members of Russia's National Security Council, including the wife of Russia's Prime Minister and his two adult children. There are visa restrictions on Ochur Suge-Mongush, who is a Russian national, has been accused of torturing Ukrainian prisoners of war. 14 international suppliers of Russian military hardware are being sanctions here. And also the Department of Commerce, adding 57 new entities to its list for export controls.

We've also just gotten a statement, Jim, from President Biden who says that he condemns Russia's fraudulent attempt to annex sovereign territory. He says that this is a violation of international law trampling on the United Nations Charter and shows, quote, contempt for peaceful nations everywhere.

And this is a crucial line from his statement where he says, make no mistake, these actions have no legitimacy. And he says that the U.S. will always honor Ukraine's internationally recognized borders. He also pledges to continue supporting and arming Ukrainian -- Ukraine's military.

All of this is notable, of course, Jim, because President Putin is drawing a harder line and raising the specter, of course, of the potential use of nuclear weapons. We heard him today saying that Russia will defend at all costs its territory, which he believes now includes these four Ukrainian regions, which he is annexing. And he has said that it is not a bluff that he will defend Russian territory at all costs, using all means.

Of course, this is a heightening the tensions in the region. And we are seeing, of course, a strong U.S. response to these moves. Jim?

SCIUTTO: Jeremy Diamond at the White House, thanks so much.

Back with Andrea Kendall-Taylor, you look at that response there. Does it have teeth?

KENDALL-TAYLOR: Well, I think it's a good first step. But I should note, I think there's other parts of the strategy to response. So we know too, that as a result of the annexation, he was just talking about the risks of nuclear escalation. And I think part of the White House's response has also been the direct communication behind the scenes with Russian officials to warn them about the consequences of their potential use of a nuclear weapon.

So it's raising the costs through the sanctions that we just heard about. They're trying to manage the new risks that are stemming from Putin's decision to move forward with the annexation. And there's certainly a lot of effort in the White House, I think, to build the coalition of countries that are pushing back against Russia.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

KENDALL-TAYLOR: I think on Capitol Hill, they just recently introduced legislation that would impose sanctions on any country that recognizes that annexation --

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Andrea, I'm very sorry to interrupt --

SCIUTTO: Andrea, sorry, so stay there one moment here. We do have the live pictures from the Supreme Court. This is following what's known as the investiture which is the ceremonial swearing in of the newest Justice of the Supreme Court Ketanji Brown Jackson, she's there with the Chief Justice who just did this ceremonial swearing in behind closed doors.

[10:35:18]

She was formally -- she was sworn in actually, over the summer, this somewhat ceremonial as we know, but a moment. And, by the way, we should note, we've said this before, a moment of history, the first black woman to serve on the Supreme Court Justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson. They're walking down the steps of that edifice just on the other side of the Capitol here in Washington.

HARLOW: Let's bring in our colleague and Supreme Court Reporter Ariane de Vogue. What a moment to see, Ariane. So much history here again, as Jim said, the first black female justice to sit on the Supreme Court. I remember Cory Booker, the senator, calling her nomination at Jackie Robinson moment for our nation. And you recall she pointed many times to those four words above the high court equal justice under law, reminding us all of the importance of real equal representation for everyone.

ARIANE DE VOGUE, CNN SUPREME COURT REPORTER: Right. I was just in there now in that courtroom proceeding and historic moment, the first time we've seen a black woman take her seat at the highest court in the land. As you said, the President, the Vice President made that rare trip up to the Supreme Court to celebrate this moment.

And as you said it was ceremonial. She's been on the job since last July. But she has yet to hear oral arguments and she had yet to take that seat. And now she did take it today. But it started off this place, is steeped in history. She came in and she sat in the well of the chamber and she sat in the chair that had been used by Chief Justice John Marshall. That's where she began.

She got her commission that came and was rolled up piece of paper with a ribbon on it. It was read. She had her oath read to her again by the Chief Justice. And then she took her seat just briefly, it was all under 10 minutes there. She joined those other women on the Supreme Court who all smiled broadly.

And this audience was filled with luminary. You saw very pointedly that Justice Breyer, right, retired Justice Breyer was sitting in the front row. He was watching this woman who served as his clerk, now actually take his seat. He was sitting with Retired Justice Kennedy. And this is pointed, Poppy, because --

HARLOW: Yes.

DE VOGUE: -- in the audience also was attorney general Merrick Garland. And remember, he had been nominated to this court, he never got a hearing. And here he was, as Attorney General, reading the commission. So all very, very poignant, short ceremony.

SCIUTTO: Ariane --

HARLOW: Ariane --

SCIUTTO: Sorry, go ahead, Poppy.

HARLOW: No, no, go ahead, Jim.

SCIUTTO: No, I was just going to say the new term starts October 3, can you remind folks who are watching right now, all that's on their plates coming up in just a few days?

DE VOGUE: And you remember the last term she wasn't on the bench ended on such a bitter note with those divisive opinions, and they reversed Roe v. Wade. But now she takes the bench and there are very important cases. And here's what's interesting, Jim and Poppy, this term, there are several disputes that really take on the issue of race, in particular.

The courts going to be looking at affirmative action, how much colleges can take race into consideration and admissions. And they're also hearing a really important case about the Voting Rights Act. And they're looking at a particular section of the Voting Rights Act that looks to see to make sure that there's no discrimination on race.

So this young justice, 52 years old, she's going to take the bench on Monday, hear those arguments and begin what could be a tenure of decades on the court.

HARLOW: Ariane de Vogue, thank you so much. I'm glad you were in there for that and could help us put our heads around all of it and the significance of this moment this morning. We appreciate you.

DE VOGUE: Thank you.

HARLOW: Still ahead, the Florida governor's office is updating everyone on the death toll from Hurricane Ian. We will speak with a commissioner of one of the hardest hit counties in Florida. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:43:49]

SCIUTTO: Welcome back to CNN's ongoing coverage of Hurricane Ian and take a moment to look at this video that's coming from Naples, Florida. Take a pause for a second. Wow. The force of the water pounding that door, this from Naples, Florida on the coast there, an apartment complex. Just as Hurricane Ian was hitting the full force of it last night, CNN spoke the man who confronted and filmed that harrowing moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) RADU MARGINEAN, NAPLES, FLORIDA RESIDENT: I grabbed onto a guardrail because initially the water pushed me up the stairs and then it sucked me back down as well. And so, I had to grab onto a guardrail. I lost my shoes. I got completely submerged under water all above my head. And I ran up the stairs barefoot after that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: My Lord, that water, Poppy, engulfed him. I didn't realize but I guess that's the part of the video you don't see that the water then came in and --

HARLOW: Yes.

SCIUTTO: -- sent him up the stairs.

HARLOW: My goodness. Let's bring in our colleague Brian Todd, he's in Naples this morning. Brian, good morning to you. Thanks again for your coverage. Tell us about the damages you get sort of a better assessment.

[10:45:04]

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. Poppy and Jim, that video you showed, we can now show you kind of an illustration of that power and force in its aftermath. Take a look at this SUV behind me, it's dangling here by this canal. It didn't get pushed over into the canal, but it's all relative. It's a total loss.

And we were told by the owner of this vehicle and this one that our photojournalist Wayne Cross is going to appear over here and show you this. This is right on the edge here. It seems like maybe you could save this, you can't, because we talked to the owner of that truck as well. He says it's a total loss.

Both of these vehicles were engulfed in water, they were basically underwater. And they're pretty much lost at that point. But now they're dangling and just show you exactly where they came from. Take a look. These people who own this, so they came from the street. They were parked right near the street there. The inertia of the storm surge in the water, pushed it over this way.

Here's another illustration of, you know, what the force of this water did. We're going to walk over here and show you these boats. Take a look at that boat across the canal over there, tipped over on its front. Can't really assess the damage from here. But clearly, that was pretty dramatic. And you've got another boat over here, tipped on its side here at the marina.

We have talked to residents and others and boat owners who say that a lot of these boats got picked up and carried blocks inland, past other canals and are now sitting in other people's driveways. So, you get a sense of just kind of, you know, with that video you showed of, you know, of the storm on Wednesday, this is what it all looks like in the aftermath. And people are just kind of getting their arms around the damage, what it's going to take to recover. You've got furniture, beds, everything being piled onto the curbs of the streets over here. It's really, you know, it's horrible when you think -- when you put yourselves in the situations of these people. They've got to get rid of all the stuff that's ruined. They've got to try to assess the damage. They've got to get their insurance adjusters over to see what can be paid for, what can't be. You really feel for these people.

On the personal property front, we talked to a city manager who said the personal property losses just in this town, in Naples, could get to about $200 million. And he said that was a conservative figure. And when you see stuff like, you know, what happened to these boats and these vehicles, you know what he means.

HARLOW: Yes, certainly do and so many people in Florida as we've learned can't even get insurance at this point. That's how hard it is.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

HARLOW: Brian Todd in Naples, thank you.

So still ahead we will go back to Florida where the destruction done by hurricane Ian could cost billions of dollars to fix. As we just said, many people uninsured. And you'll see the damage from above. Stay with us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This boat which is also on its side, not supposed to be here, this is the boats line, OK? This, John, if you look, is still attached to the dock. This piece of dock came along. This boat brought its piece of dock with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:52:30]

SCIUTTO: Sometimes you got to go high to see exactly the extent of the damage. New areas this morning of destruction in Fort Myers along the coast there where the bulk of his hit. So many people on the southwest coast of Florida this morning, looking for their homes and this is what they're seeing, imprints of homes in many cases. All that's left.

HARLOW: You have other people stranded on an island with no water, no power desperately trying to get out. Liz Bello-Matthews is with us. She's a spokesperson for the city of Fort Myers, Florida. Liz, I know this goes without saying but we are so sorry. We know what, you know, the pain and devastation that everyone is going through right now. Do you have a sense of how many people may still need to be rescued?

LIZ BELLO-MATTHEWS, SPOKESPERSON FOR CITY OF FORT MYERS, FLORIDA: Well, I do know that in the city of Fort Myers, we are just responding constantly. We have been since the evening before yesterday, and it has been literally nonstop. In terms of a number, I don't have that yet. We also don't have a number for casualties at this time yet. We're still just moving forward and trying to make sure that we're there when they need us.

The calls are still coming in. Although we don't believe that there's anyone really in the city of Fort Myers stranded anymore. We do have a lot of residents that are struggling. Obviously, our connectivity is down right now. We don't have, obviously, internet. We don't have electricity. These are all things that we're going to have to rebuild.

A lot of sections of our city currently do not have water. So we're just, you know, we're in recovery mode right now.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

BELLO-MATTHEWS: We're setting up, you know, our resources so that people can come and get them. And, yes, you know, it's what's expected after a major hurricane like this.

SCIUTTO: Goodness, we're seeing pictures of a causeway there just wiped out. Where do people who don't have power in their homes, water safe place to stay, a roof over their head? Where do they go? And do you have the resources to keep these people for the long term?

BELLO-MATTHEWS: Well, we are absolutely gathering those resources. I mean, we were prepared in advance. We did open multiple shelters. Within the city of Fort Myers, we have one really large one that was highly underutilized. I will say that we didn't see that many people evacuating.

And then outside of the city of Fort Myers, which we're talking about maybe a mile off. We have multiple shelters throughout Lee County. And so, you know, the resources are there. They're still open. We still have resources at those shelters and that's where we're guiding people to go at this time to make sure that they're safe if their home is just not inhabitable.

[10:55:08]

HARLOW: It's very helpful to know. Liz Bello-Matthews thank you and good luck.

BELLO-MATTHEWS: Thank you so much.

HARLOW: Thanks to all of you for being with us today. Obviously, our continuing coverage today and all weekend of the devastation of Hurricane Ian. I'm Poppy Harlow.

SCIUTTO: And I'm Jim Sciutto. Kate Bolduan continues our coverage right after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, I'm Kate Bolduan. Thank you for being here. We want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. Hurricane Ian is about to make its second landfall in the United States, this time in South Carolina. The storm is expected to come ashore near Charleston very shortly within hours definitely. Similar to what we saw in Florida, heavy rainfall and a powerful storm surge are expected to cause widespread flooding.