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Biden Says Light Recession Possible But Doesn't Expect It; Biden, Congress to Re-evaluate Relations with Saudi Arabia; Lawmakers in France Start Legal Process to End Blockade of Refineries; Global Support for Ukraine After Missiles Strikes; Justice Department Urges High Court to Reject Trump Request. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired October 12, 2022 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Max Foster in London. Just ahead --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't think there will be a recession. If there is, it will be a slight recession.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The three largest economies the United States, China and the Euro area will continue to stall.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We believe we are in a stronger position than many other countries when it comes to dealing with global challenges.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Do you think Putin is a rational actor?

BIDEN: I think he is a rational actor who has miscalculated significantly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Putin is failing in Ukraine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to continue to work to provide air defense capabilities to the Ukrainians.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Justice Department is now urging the Supreme Court to stay out of this ongoing Mar-a-Lago classified document saga.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I agree with the Justice Department. These are sensitive materials and you ought to very closely and very carefully manage who has access to them.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a new hoax, the document hoax.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster. FOSTER: It's Wednesday, October 12th. 9 a.m. here in London, 4 a.m. in

Washington where President Joe Biden is facing a growing list of national and global challenges. This as the U.S. midterm elections are just 27 days away now. Americans will vote to decide the control of Congress as well as a number of governorships, state legislatures and other local offices.

And for many voters the state of the U.S. economy is on the ballot. Investor, economists and banks are warning a recession is likely coming. Mr. Biden isn't quite there yet. This is what the president told CNN's Jake Tapper in an exclusive interview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: Should the American people prepare for a recession?

BIDEN: BIDEN: No. Look, they've been saying this now how -- every six months, they say this. Every six months, they look down the next six months and say what's going to happen.

It hadn't happened yet. It hadn't been -- there has -- there is no -- there's no guarantee that there's going to recession. I don't think there will be a recession. If it is, it'll be a very slight recession. That is, we'll move down slightly. They've been predicting this off and on, for the last --

TAPPER: But you just said that a slight recession is possible.

BIDEN: It is possible. Look, it is possible. I don't anticipate it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, the International Monetary Fund has a different perspective. The agency issued a stark warning after a difficult year, quote, the worse is yet to come. The IMF taking a gloomy outlook of the global economy. The agency has again downgraded its forecast for 2023 saying global growth will slump to 2.7 percent next year and it says more than 1/3 of the global economy will contract this year or next while the U.S., Europe and China will continue to stall.

Here's how global markets are doing today off the back of all of that news as the war in Ukraine, the result of the energy crisis and concerns over a potential recession weigh heavily on the minds of investors. Stocks in Europe are all in the red as you can see. Swiss shares up slightly.

These are the U.S. futures. They're all up less than 1 percent though. U.S. stocks finished mixed on Tuesday after sliding for the past four days as investors await key inflation and earnings reports.

Now let's take a look at how oil prices are to go this hour. Brent crude is at more than $94 a barrel and WTI crude is up over $89 a barrel.

Here's how those prices will impact Americans at the pump. According to AAA the national average gas price is $3.92 today. That's 9 cents more than last week, 20 cents more than a month ago and 64 cents more than a year ago.

Soaring gas prices ahead of the midterm elections are not what the White House wants. It says President Joe Biden will work with Congress to reevaluate relations with Saudi Arabia after the kingdom partnered with Russia to cut back on oil production. CNN's Kaitlan Collins explains.

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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Biden now taking a different tone when it comes to Saudi Arabia. Saying he does believes there needs to be a review of the U.S./Saudi Arabia relationship in light of that decision by OPEC+ to slash oil production despite attempts by the White House to get Saudi Arabia to continue oil production as it was, potentially to increase it.

[04:05:00]

And this is something that is causing Democratic lawmakers here in Washington to say that Saudi Arabia is effectively siding with Russia in its war on Ukraine. Because of course, a phased off production that could potentially boost prices for Russia helping them finance the war that they are conducting in Ukraine.

And to that that is something that is under consideration here at the White House. But we are told by John Kirby from the National Security Council, that doesn't mean that a formal policy review is being conducted. No special teams, no deadlines. The White House also not saying exactly what options they are looking at when it comes to potentially retaliating against Saudi Arabia. Though they do seem to sense a sense of urgency here saying that this is something they are going to be having conversations with members of Congress about.

Because you've seen Democrats, people from Biden's own side of the political aisle saying that they believe the weapons sales that are going to Saudi Arabia should effectively be curtailed, potentially stripping some of those antitrust laws that help OPEC+ function with the price of oil. All of the matters that are under consideration now in Washington. Because Congress is vowing to push back against this decision. The question is just how much the White House is going to go along with this.

But it is a big shift in tone for President Biden himself given over the summer he took the political hit going to Saudi Arabia, meeting personally with Saudi leaders and fist bumping the crown prince, a decision he says he doesn't regret. But of course, all of that factors into what the White House is thinking now when it comes to the U.S./Saudi relationship. And they said really that amounts to a rethinking of what that relationship is going to look like going forward and whether or not it serves the U.S. national security interests of the United States.

Kaitlan Collins, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE) FOSTER: Well, during that exclusive interview President Biden warned that Saudi Arabia will face consequences over its decision. He sat down with Jake Tapper.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: Do you think it's time for the U.S. to rethink its relationship with Saudi Arabia?

Do you think it's time, for the U.S., to rethink its relationship, with Saudi Arabia?

BIDEN: Yes. And, by the way, let's get straight why I went. I didn't go to one -- about oil. I went about making sure that we made sure that we weren't going to walk away, from the Middle East.

We should, and I am, in the process, when the -- this House and Senate gets back, they're going to have to -- there's going to be some consequences for what they've done, with Russia.

TAPPER: What kind of consequences? Menendez says, suspend all arms sales. Is that something you'd consider?

BIDEN: I'm not going to get into what I'd consider and what I'm having in mind. But there will be -- there will be consequences.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: French lawmakers are starting the legal process to end the blockade on gas refineries as a workers strike enters its fourth week. Long lines at gas pumps have become common in France 31 percent of gas stations across the country are facing shortages leading to rationing in some regions. Refinery workers are demanding a pay hike to cope with soaring inflation. And lawmakers want talks between the workers unions and energy companies to resume. CNN's Jim Bittermann is following the story and joins us now live from Paris. And the public understandably getting very frustrated and want this to be over.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Max. This is the kind of thing a lot of motorists in France are seeing this morning if they go out to and try and fill up their cars at the pumps, long lines as you mentioned. Long lines that in this case they go back about 500 yards down the road here. Some people waiting as long as 2 1/2 hours to get a chance at the pump.

Basically, the situation is that six out of the seven refineries in France have been affected by this strike in one way or another. Some completely shut down. And that's led to the situation that you mentioned at the pump, we're about 1/3 of the gas stations across the country are either completely out of fuel or at least one grade is missing from their stock. So, it's the kind of thing the government looks at with a great deal of alarm because in the past we have seen what that can lead to in France.

So, the government last night threatened and then this morning enacted the requisition of employees at the refinery. Basically, that means they ordered some of the employees, key employees back to work. This is something the government can do if the industry is ranked as a critical industry -- and of course this one is.

So in fact, they are being -- workers are being ordered to go back to work. There's still some doubt about whether they will really go back. But if a policeman knocks at your door and says you have to be at work, then perhaps they'll comply with the government's wishes. But it does remain to be seen how that's going to be enacted exactly and what impact that's going to have. It will probably take a few days anyway for the impact to really be shown up at the pump -- Max.

FOSTER: Jim in Paris, thank you.

In the coming hours British Prime Minister Liz Truss will face questions in Parliament as support from her own party dwindles. This comes as the U.K.'s finance minister promises that his medium term economic plan will have an iron commitment to fiscal responsibility.

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The plan will be published on October 31st, three weeks earlier than previously announced and is expected to elaborate on how he'll fund tax cuts after his mini budget sparked chaos in the markets recently. Plus, the Bank of England says it will not extend its bond buying support for pension funds be on Friday. Investors hit hard by a slump in bond prices for just three days then to adjust their investments before the central bank withdrawal support.

Nearly eight months into Russia's war in Ukraine, U.S. President Joe Biden sat down for an exclusive interview and addressed Russian President Vladimir Putin's mental state. It's part of that interview with Jake.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAPPER: Do you think Putin is a rational actor?

BIDEN: I think he is a rational actor who's miscalculated significantly. I think he thought -- you may recall, I pointed out that they were going to invade that all those 100,000 or more troops there. And no one believed that he was going to invade Ukraine.

You listen to what he says. If you listen to the speech he made after when that decision was being made, He talked about the whole idea of he was needed to be a leader of Russia that united all of a Russian -- I mean, it just -- I just think it's irrational.

TAPPER: So if he's not rational and --

BIDEN: I didn't say he's not rational.

TAPPER: You said the speech is what --s

BIDEN: I think - I think the speech --

TAPPER: OK. BIDEN: -- and his objectives were not. I think he thought, Jake, I think he thought he's going to be welcomed with open arms, that this was, this has been the home of Mother Russia, and Kyiv, and they were -- he was going to be welcomed. And I think he just totally miscalculated.

TAPPER: What is the off-ramp? Is there any acceptable way that he can leave, in his mind, without seizing territory in a way that would not be acceptable to Ukraine?

BIDEN: I don't know what's in his mind. But clearly, he could leave. He could just flat leave and still probably hold his position together in Russia. The idea that he's been able to convince the significant Russian -- of the Russian people that this is something that he thought made sense, but now he's accomplished what he wanted to do, and it's time to bring Russians home.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Now NATO defense ministers are set to meet soon in Brussels to discuss the alliance's support of Ukraine. NATO Secretary General says whilst NATO is not party to the conflict, the support is playing a key role in helping Ukraine defend itself from Russia's attacks. On Tuesday G-7 leaders spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a virtual meeting. Mr. Zelenskyy told the group his country needs an air shield as Russia continues its assault. And warned Vladimir Putin still has room for further escalation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I am asking you to strengthen the overall effort to help financially with the creation of an air shield for Ukraine. Millions of people will be grateful to the group of seven for such assistance. When Ukraine will receive a sufficient number of modern and effective air defense systems, the key element of Russian terror, missile strikes will cease to work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Ukraine says there are no victims from the Russian missile attack overnight in the city of Zaporizhzhia and its suburbs. But rescuers pulled several people out of the rubble of a residential building that was hit.

Meanwhile, President Zelenskyy says Ukraine shot down 20 out of 28 missiles fired by Russia on Tuesday. He praised one soldier for bringing down two cruise missiles on Monday with a shoulder fired rocket.

Ukraine's energy minister reports about 30 percent of the country's energy infrastructure has been hit by Russian missiles since Monday. They tell CNN crews are working around the clock to restore power. But he's also urging people across the country to limit their energy use.

Russian state media report eight people have been detained in connection with the explosion on the bridge linking Russia to Crimea over the weekend. Russia's Federal Security Service, the FSB, claims it was a terrorist attack organized by the main intelligence department of Ukraine's defense ministry. Ukraine has yet to publicly comment on the FSB claims.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz is following the latest developments and joins us now. If spies are involved, we're not really going to hear anything are we?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You're not going to get what Ukraine's secret plan -- if there was a secret plan. Ukraine still of course, denying any involvement while openly celebrating this. But it does begin to give us an indication of what the Kremlin is concerned about, right. Because this is a major attack. This is exposed a really serious security flaw here.

This is a Russian bridge, access should have been controlled, it simply shouldn't have happened. And so, you're seeing these arrests, you're seeing this blow back of course, in the form of the missiles that are landing across Ukraine.

[04:15:00]

Again, Ukraine denying any responsibility but Russia pointing the finger at Ukraine's defense ministry saying that this bomb was planted, that it's been in circulation since August. So, all of these details that of course Ukrainian officials are not going to comment on.

FOSTER: And with this NATO meeting, they're obviously making the point that they're not part of this conflict but they do want to help Ukraine as much as possible.

ABDELAZIZ: This NATO meeting first and foremost is about showing that Western resolve remains steadfast, right. Even many months into the conflict, even as President Putin his attacks escalate. Even as we're seeing these retaliatory strikes, what this NATO defense ministers meeting wants to do is to show we still stand shoulder to shoulder by Ukraine.

But there's also some technical matters that need to be discussed as well, right. How do you continue to support Ukraine? How do they continue to provide the weapons the Ukrainian military needs to continue to make the gains that we've seen on the grounds in the last few weeks. Yes, that means air defense systems. We know Germany is sending some are ready to Ukraine, the United States has promised two more surface to air missile systems. But President Zelenskyy is going to ask for more.

And then the other thing I think that they'll be discussing today at this meeting is the Nord Stream pipeline. I think that's very important, those two pipe lines that were attacked in late September, an act of sabotage. Some European leaders of course suspecting Russia. Russia has denied this. But what all of this shows is that energy infrastructure for these NATO defense ministers, energy infrastructure needs to be secured especially as we head into the winter. So, you're going to see them discuss how do they tighten that security ring around Kyiv.

FOSTER: Back with you when we get more on that, Salma, thank you.

Coming up next, the Justice Department wants the Supreme Court to stay out of a dispute over documents seized at Mar-a-Lago. We'll have the details from Washington.

Plus, after 23 years of maintaining his innocence, Adnan Syed has been exonerated in the killing of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee. Why Baltimore prosecutors dropped all the charges coming up.

And from pro wrestler to Hollywood action star to U.S. president, Dwayne, The Rock Johnson weighs in on a possible bid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DWAYNE JOHNSON, ACTOR: And this idea and the question continues to pop up on whether or not I would run for president, would I seriously consider it? And I have seriously considered it, you have to. When you start looking at some of the --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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FOSTER: The U.S. Justice Department is now urging the Supreme Court to reject a request from Donald Trump for the court to intervene in the dispute over classified documents seized from his Mar-a-Lago estate. CNN's Jessica Schneider has all the details from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The Justice Department is now urging the Supreme Court to stay out of this ongoing Mar-a-Lago classified document saga, at least for now.

In a filing on Tuesday evening the solicitor general for DOJ went point by point to lay out to the Supreme Court why they should not grant Trump's emergency petition. Trump, of course, asked the Supreme Court last week to step in to allow the special master and his own legal team to access the 100 classified documents that were seized during that Mar-a-Lago FBI search in August.

It's something an appeals court has blocked and DOJ is now arguing that the appeals court -- the 11th circuit -- did have the power to step into this dispute and block those 100 classified documents from Trump's team and the special master. Especially because, in their words they say these are extraordinarily sensitive government records that implicate national security.

So, the DOJ is arguing that the Supreme Court should not now undo that as Trump's team is requesting. And DOJ is stressing here that Trump just wasn't harmed by the decision from the 11th circuit to block those classified documents from his review. And remarkably throughout this 34-page response, the DOJ blasted the lower court judge here, Eileen Cannon, for her actions even appointing a special master and then allowing him full access to these classified documents. Writing this in part.

The district court's order was a serious and unwarranted intrusion on the Executive Branch's authority to control the use and distribution of extraordinarily sensitive government records.

So now we wait for the Supreme Court to act. It could be at any point now. It takes five justices to grant Trump's request but you know the last time Trump went to the Supreme Court for this kind of emergency relief, it was in January to block White House records from January 6th Committee, but he was denied.

Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: CNN legal analyst Elliott Williams weighed in on the latest development in the documents dispute.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELLIOTT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: When dealing with information that is this secure -- at least as we believe to be this secure -- the mere risk of disclosure is itself significantly sort of -- that's the harm, the thought that it might get into someone's hands. And so, it's not an unfair question or an unfair point from the Justice Department to be suspicious of it getting into anyone's hands. Now look, Judge Dearie certainly with his background having been around classified materials before and certainly as good a position as anyone to review the materials. But I agree with the Justice Department. These are sensitive materials and you ought to very closely and very carefully manage who has access to them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: We're now learning the Secret Service has given the January 6th Committee -- House Committee nearly 1.5 million communications from the leadup to the Capitol riot in the last two weeks. That includes emails and documents and does not include text messages lost in the data migration. The committee is set to hold their next public hearing on Thursday.

New developments in the story we've been following for you. Authorities in Texas have charged a now former police officer in the shooting of an unarmed teen. Police body camera footage shows then officer James Brennard walk up to a car, open the driver's side door and order 17-year-old Eric Cantu out.

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The visibly startled teen put the car in reverse and started backing out when Brennard opened fire. His family says Cantu has been in critical condition, on life support ever since. The San Antonio Police chief called the incident horrific. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF WILLIAM MCMANUS, SAN ANTONIO POLICE DEPARTMENT: Someone questioned our training and our policies, and my response was that this was a failure for one individual police officer. It had nothing to do with our policies. Policies did not allow that. Our training does not teach that. So, this was a fail for one particular police officer, and here we are as a result of that fail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: James Brennard is now in custody. He's facing two counts of aggravated assault, one charge for each person who was in that car.

In Florida defense attorneys for the Parkland school shooter made their final plea to a jury on Tuesday saying he's a broken person who should not die for his crimes. Prosecutors argue Nikolas Cruz wanted to kill people and deserves the death penalty. The jury is expected to start deliberations later today. Cruz pleaded guilty to killing 14 students and 3 adults in 2018.

In the U.S. state of Maryland, Baltimore police have dropped all charges against Adnan Syed. He spent more than two decades behind bars for the 1999 killing of his girlfriend. Syed has always maintained his innocence and was featured in the landmark podcast "Serial." CNN's Jason Carroll has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: An attorney for Adnan Syed said he will spend his time now truly being free without the burden of having to wear an ankle monitor. This after prosecutors made it official and dropped the charges against Syed for the 1999 murder of his girlfriend Hae Min Lee after releasing him from prison last month.

They did it after receiving new DNA test results on items that had never been tested before which they say excluded Syed from evidence collected at the crime scene. All of this the result of Syed's case gaining national attention on the first season of the "Serial" podcast that was back in 2014. He was already serving a life sentence but new evidence came to light, much of it shown in that podcast.

The state's attorney confirmed that previous prosecutors on the case had failed to tell Syed's defense attorney about evidence that would have allowed him to defend himself, including that there were two other possible suspects in the case. Syed served 23 years behind bars before his release last month. The state did have a 30-day period to decide whether or not to refile the case but once that DNA evidence came in late last Friday, the decision was made to officially drop it.

ERICA SUTER, ADNAN SYED'S ATTORNEY: He is elated. He is joyful. He is still processing this. I mean, I think you can imagine this has been -- there have been so many ups and downs over the past 23 years. So, he is really just taking it all in. But he's incredibly grateful for all of the people who have supported him and believed in him over the years. MARILYN MOSBY, BALTIMORE CITY STATE'S ATTORNEY: Although my administration was not responsible for neither the pain inflicted upon Hae Min Lee's family, nor was my administration responsible for the wrongful conviction of Mr. Syed, as a representative of the institution, it is my responsibility to acknowledge and to apologize to the family of Hae Min Lee and Adnan Syed.

CARROLL: Now the murder of Hae Min Lee remains unsolved. But prosecutors say they are determined to find her killer. Her family angered over the development saying through an attorney, they found out from the media that the charges have been dropped. There attorney saying all this family ever wanted was answers and a voice, today's actions rob them of both.

Meanwhile, Adnan who is 41 years old has always maintained his innocence. His attorney would not say whether or not he plans to file civil charges against those who were responsible for his conviction. His attorney did say that now that he's free he'll continue to pursue his education and with hopes of possibly pursuing a degree in law.

Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Still ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, much more on Jake Tapper's exclusive interview with U.S. President Joe Biden including his thoughts on running for re-election in 2024.

Plus, Republican Senate hopeful Herschel Walker digging in and slamming the woman who claims he paid her to get an abortion.

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