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Reports: 2 People Killed After Rockets Or Missiles Hit Poland; Pelosi Attack Suspect Pleads Not Guilty To Federal Charges; Georgia Gov. Kemp Testifies Before Fulton Co. Grand Jury; Sen. Graham To Testify Before GA Grand Jury About 2020 Election; Jan. 6 Committee Says Trump Has Failed To Comply With Subpoena. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired November 15, 2022 - 14:30   ET

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

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[14:34:24]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: More now on the breaking news. Two people reportedly killed when rockets or missiles are said to have landed in Poland near the Ukrainian border.

The U.S. is officially still waiting for information about this. But here's what we heard from the Pentagon moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED PENTAGON OFFICIAL: As I mentioned, we're looking into these reports. Don't have any information to corroborate them at this time. So I don't want to speculate or get into hypotheticals.

When it comes to our security commitments and Article 5, we've been crystal clear that we will defend every inch of NATO territory.

And when it comes to force protection, we always take the safety and security of our troops, no matter where they're serving, very seriously. And so we're very confident in any force protection measures that we take, whether it be Poland or elsewhere.

[13:35:11]

But again, we're not going to get ahead of ourselves here. We're going to get the facts. And when we have more to provide, we will.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: OK. CNN's Alex Marquardt and Kylie Atwood join us now.

So, Kylie, tell us what you've learned there.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, that is pretty much the extent of what we're learning right now. The Pentagon says that they are tracking these reports, though not confirming anything right out of the gates here. Though being very clear in saying that the United States stands by

Article 5, which is an attack on one, AN attack on one NATO country is an attack on all.

And that is the concern here, guys. If these were Russian missiles -- all we know right now is that these were missiles or rockets that landed in this farm that is along the border of Poland and Ukraine in Polish territories, killing two.

And if those were Russian, then that is the concern here, that the Ukraine war could extrapolate and become something bigger. But we just don't know right now.

It's important to note that we're hearing from Polish officials that their National Security Council is meeting right now.

And a NATO official tells me that essentially they're standing by to learn more what they can from Warsaw to then, of course, follow through and talk to all of those NATO allies.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

Alex, to you.

And this is a moment that calls for caution and confirmation. All we know is that there are reports of two people killed by these rockets or missiles. We don't know yet who is responsible for them.

And we don't know if -- you were getting to this -- the question of intent. If this was intentional.

But when you have reportedly two people dead, of course, how much does intent matter to Polish leaders? Two of their citizens potentially killed by these weapons coming in.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, to Kylie's point, obviously, it needs to be confirmed what the source of these missiles or these rockets were.

You're absolutely right, Victor. Everyone is being very cautious here.

I just spoke with a European military official who said to me facts first and then the options for reactions later. Obviously, we immediately start to think about the question of Article 5.

As Kylie was saying, an attack on one is an attack on all. And that has been reiterated today by the Pentagon. It is something that President Biden has said repeatedly throughout this war.

So right now, everyone is waiting for the facts. I've spoken with a number of diplomats and officials here in Washington.

What is clear is that we are all watching that National Security Council meeting that is taking place in Poland and waiting for more information from the Poles as to what may happen next. They will, of course, then disseminate that information to the rest of their NATO allies.

The question of intent is, of course, so important. There have been so many fears since the beginning of this war that it would spill over into eastern Europe.

That it would spill over into those NATO countries that border Ukraine in a way that it would draw in all the other countries in NATO and lead to a much larger conflict.

That is one of the main reasons that Ukraine wasn't being considered for NATO membership, that there was a concern that then the rest of NATO would, of course, have to rush to their aid and uphold Article 5.

But now we are waiting for more information from Warsaw.

You have to imagine, as I was saying to you earlier, that if these are Russian missiles that landed in Poland that the Russians will have to be trying to assure Poland and the rest of NATO that this was not intentional.

If this was intentional, then, of course, that could lead to serious consequences, a much greater conflict and something that has been talked about and feared for quite some time.

So right now, all the capitals are calling each other. We're trying to get more information out of Poland, out of Warsaw to really get a sense of whether this was an attack on Poland or whether this was accidental spillover violence that we saw in Ukraine today.

Now, remember, we saw some of the biggest bursts of violence from the Russians that we've seen in weeks. Scores, dozens of missiles being fired all across Ukraine. Around 85 at last count. And from initial appearances, some may have fallen across the border into Poland.

So right now, waiting for more information. We ourselves, of course, are trying to gather more information.

We have -- as Kylie was saying, we have only heard from the Pentagon so far. We're calling the White House and the Intelligence Community as well, as we wait for more to come out -- Alisyn, Victor?

[14:40:00]

CAMEROTA: Yes. But I mean, Kylie, even if it isn't intentional, even if it's just sloppiness, two Poles are dead. Two Polish people are dead.

And so surely, in Poland, the military, and I have to assume the Pentagon, have planned for this type of hypothetical on some level, knowing that there might be sloppiness and something might have crossed over the border.

And so do we know what the plan was if something like this were to happen?

ATWOOD: We don't know. And I think your point is exactly correct, though, Alisyn. The Biden administration, military officials here, very closely with military officials in NATO countries, they've been preparing for a number of circumstances.

And of course, you know, one of the major concerns that U.S. and European officials have had is Russia using a nuclear weapon. We know that they are preparing for what they would do in response in that instance.

So rest assured that they would have to -- at their fingertips right now a whole host of ways that they could respond to what would be perceived as an escalatory, even if it was accidental, situation.

!: All right. Kylie Atwood, Alex Marquardt, thank you for the reporting. And we'll bring you back as we get more in about this happening in Poland.

CAMEROTA: OK. This is also just into CNN. The man accused of attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband has pleaded not guilty to federal charges. We have a live update of what just happened, next.

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[14:46:06]

CAMEROTA: The man accused of attacking Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul, with a hammer at their home, just pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and attempted kidnapping.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Veronica Miracle joins us live from outside the courthouse.

Veronica, what happened?

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor and Alisyn, David DePape entered not guilty pleas for both of those federal charges that he's facing. It was a very quick initial court appearance.

His public defender said they're not seeking release from custody. So now he heads back to state custody, where he's also facing a slew of charges.

Now, for those federal charges, he's looking at a maximum of 50 years in federal prison. And for those state charges, he's looking at 13 years to life. He's also entered not guilty pleas for those felonies.

It's been a couple of weeks since he's been accused of breaking into Speaker Nancy Pelosi's home and attacking and injuring her husband, Paul Pelosi.

And since that time we've learned a lot through court documents about his alleged intentions. He told authorities that he was trying to get to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and use her so that he could get to another target on a supposed list that he had.

He told authorities that there were other government officials and their family members on this supposed list. And he also said that -- he's quoted as saying that -- he's quoted as

saying he wanted to break Speaker Pelosi's knees so that she would have to be wheeled in front of Congress. And that he wasn't exactly trying to injury Paul Pelosi but he would go through him if he had to.

Paul Pelosi has since been released from the hospital. He's recovering at home from those very serious injuries, including a skull fracture.

And the last time that we saw David DePape in court he had a sling. His arm was in a sling from a dislocated shoulder. Today when we saw him in his first federal court appearance he did not have a sling. He seems to have recovered from that injury -- Victor? Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: OK. Veronica Miracle, thank you for all those details.

BLACKWELL: Georgia's Republican governor testifies in front of the special grand jury investigating Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the state's 2020 election results. The implications there, and the other big names before the grand jury this week, next.

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[14:52:25]

BLACKWELL: It is a busy week of testimony for the Georgia grand jury investigating efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election results. CNN was the first to report that former White House aide, Cassidy Hutchinson, will testify before the panel tomorrow.

CAMEROTA: Georgia's Republican Governor Brian Kemp testified today after winning re-election. A judge had delayed Kemp's testimony until after the midterms.

CNN's senior legal analyst, Elie Honig, joins us now. He's also a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Elie, great to see you.

Why is everything wrapping up this week? Because the midterms ended?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Alisyn, I think the reason we're seeing things accelerate and expand is, yes, because the midterms are now mostly over. Most prosecutors have a general policy not to announce big things or make big public moves before an election.

Now we're clear of that, and I think we're going to see more and more of this kind of reporting, and the Department of Justice taking aggressive oversteps to advance their investigations.

BLACKWELL: Senator Lindsey Graham took his attempt to block the subpoena from this special grand jury all the way up to the Supreme Court. Lost there. He will testify in the next couple of days.

But there are some limitations on the scope of questions that he'll be required to answer. Explain those. HONIG: Right. So Senator Graham has only very partial protection from

having to answer questions under what's called the Speech and Debate Clause in the Constitution.

That says that a sitting member of Congress like Lindsey Graham does not have to answer questions about his legislative activities. That's what the courts found.

Now what's legislative? Well, the court said it's definitely not anything you did politically with the Trump campaign. It's definitely not your public statements. And it's definitely not any pressure that you put on state or local officials.

I think that's where prosecutors are going to focus their questions, and Lindsey Graham will have to answer those questions.

CAMEROTA: So, Elie, as you know, the January 6th committee subpoenaed Donald Trump for his testimony documents. He's now suing them to avoid having to testify and the clock is going to run out fairly soon.

So what recourse do they have? And is he just going to be able to run out the clock?

HONIG: Yes, Donald Trump is playing the delay game here. And he's going to win in large part because the January 6th committee waited so long until last month to issue the subpoena.

They could have re-issued the subpoena six months ago, a year ago. Now here we are, Alisyn. We're 50 days out from a new Congress taking over. There's no way this case gets all the way through the district court, the court of appeals, and potentially the Supreme Court in that time.

So Trump has an easy obvious motive here. He's going to go to courts. He has gone to the courts. He's going to delay, and there's no way this gets resolved by January 3rd, 2023.

[14:55:06]

BLACKWELL: All right, Elie Honig, thank you.

CAMEROTA: All right, we continue to follow breaking news out of Poland where a rocket has reportedly landed, killing two people. We have all of the latest details ahead.

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[14:59:59]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CAMEROTA: It's the top of the hour on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Alisyn Camerota.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell.