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January 6th Committee to Meet for Last Time on Monday; Migrant Surge Feared When Trump Era Title 42 Soon Ends; Argentina Celebrates World Cup Win; Turbulence Injures at Least 36 on Hawaiian Airlines Flight; Putin Set to Meet with Lukashenko in Belarus. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired December 19, 2022 - 04:00   ET

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

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MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world, I'm Max Foster in London. Bianca off this week. But just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When have we had a president essentially incite an attack on his own government?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We believe that this evidence rises to the level of criminal culpability.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is an escalating level of concern inside the Biden administration about the exploration of Title 42.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thousands of migrants are waiting for the opportunity to go into the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On Monday even the Argentinian national football team and Lionel Messi will come back to Buenos Aires. Well, that is when the atmosphere will be definitely a big party.

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ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM, with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.

FOSTER: It Is Monday, December 19th, 9:00 a.m. here in London, 4:00 a.m. in Washington where in just a few hours the House committee investigating the January 6th Capitol riot will hold its final hearing and release a report on their findings. Committee members say they will also consider referrals for lawmakers and individuals who failed to comply with Congressional subpoenas as well as attorneys who did legal work to overturn the election. But in large part, the hearing will be presenting the evidence for potential criminal referrals against former President Donald Trump. Those referrals will be passed on to the U.S. Department of Justice for potential criminal prosecution. REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): I think there's sufficient evidence to charge

the president. This is someone who in multiple ways tried to pressure state officials to find votes that didn't exist. This is someone who tried to interfere with a joint session, even inciting a mob to attack the Capitol. If that's not criminal, then I don't know what is.

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SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: The House committee investigating the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol is set to hold its final public hearing on Monday. A source tells CNN that they are expected to refer former President Donald Trump to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution on at least three charges. Those include insurrection, obstruction of an official proceeding and conspiracy to defraud the federal government.

Now, these referrals don't necessarily carry a ton weight with the Justice Department. DOJ does not take its cue from lawmakers on who is going to bring criminal charges against and who it is going to prosecute. But lawmakers have said they think that this is important for the historical record. Also, in talking to some of them, they believe that they found evidence of criminal wrong doing and it's part of their duty to lay that evidence out and lay these referrals out the Department of Justice.

Now all of this comes as a sort of politically and legally perilous time for former President Trump. You know, we know he's already under DOJ scrutiny for activities around January 6, efforts to subvert the 2020 election. We're also learning from sources familiar with the matter, that a special grand jury that has been investigating Donald Trump and his allies in a criminal investigation there is set to wrap up its work. It will be up to the district attorney there to decide whether he's going to bring charges against Donald Trump or his of his allies.

Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.

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FOSTER: We want to make it clear, no one's being charged with insurrection related to January 6th. The committee will present evidence to prosecutors but it's up to the Department of Justice to actually charge the former president. A former federal prosecutor says it doesn't mean the committee's work goes unnoticed.

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JENNIFER RODGERS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I think they've made the case that he violated his oath, that he acted abominably in a way that you would never want a president to act. You know, they made very good case against him in the sense of the kind of case that they were trying to make. A criminal case is something different. You know, the committee had no burden of proof. They had no unanimous jury to convince. They didn't have elements of statutes they had to satisfy. So, DOJ is looking for something a little different here.

And the problem really is the committee didn't make enough of their evidence public for us to say definitively whether you can actually meet those burdens beyond a reasonable doubt with competent evidence. I think DOJ has a ways to go and we see that they're doing that with the witnesses they're now putting into the grand jury.

So, I can't say for sure what has been released publicly by the committee is enough, but I think DOJ has more and you know, I think we're eventually going to see it in the form of charges.

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I don't think whatever decision DOJ makes says anything negative about what the committee did which is really extraordinary work that they managed to do. But DOJ, as you said, is a different animal. And you know, they are not looking at this politically. They're looking at exactly what I said a moment ago. They had elements of statutes that they're trying to meet by competent evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. They're looking at this very methodically. Did this man commit offenses that we can charge and win in front of a jury and then should we? You know, do we need accountability for this in order to make sure that it's never tried again. So that's the question they're trying to answer. It's not about politics. It's really about rule of law and accountability.

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FOSTER: Be sure to stick around for CNN's special coverage of the committee's final hearing, that begins later today, 1:00 p.m. in Washington and New York, 6:00 p.m. out here in London.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department continues to pursue people involved in January 6th. Jury selection begins on Monday in the trial of former Proud Boys national chairman Enrique Tarrio. Four other members of the far right group are on trial with him. The trial is taking place weeks after two leaders of the Oath Keepers were convicted of seditious conspiracy. If convicted, Tarrio and the others could face up to 20 years in prison.

Also happening this week, a high stakes meeting on Capitol Hill focused on Donald Trump's tax returns. The Democratic-controlled House Ways and Means Committee is set to meet tomorrow to discuss and perhaps decide what, if any, personal tax information to release about the former president. Time is running out for Democrats to decide what they'll do with just two weeks until Republicans take over the House majority and Democrats lose control of the committee.

Activists and politicians alike are warning of a looming humanitarian crisis on the U.S. southern border. A Trump era policy known as Title 42 is expected to end on Wednesday. The measure has allowed border agents to quickly turn away migrants to slow the spread of COVID-19. Now is estimated that as many as 10,000 people could be waiting to cross into the U.S. from Mexico in the coming days. CNN Gustavo Valdes has more from the Mexican side of the border.

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GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This group of Venezuelans are using the leftover clothing in trash they find on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande to stay warm and witness the people who are crossing the Rio Grande to get into the United States. Oftentimes they tell them to wait, not to cross right now. They encourage them to wait until Title 42 expires on Wednesday, arguing they might have a better chance to remain on the United States. Yet we see time and time again, how people decide that once they get to Ciudad Juarez, they need to get across as soon as possible to turn themselves into the border patrol in El Paso and try their chances that way.

The flow of migrants continues. It's been constant group of 20, 30 people are taking several times an hour. We see the border patrol dealing with them here at the border to be taken into El Paso where now the mayor has declared a state of emergency. Arguing that the number of people crossing over is more than the city can handle. And he fears that come Wednesday the number is going to be much greater and the situation could get out of control.

On the Mexican side, city and state authorities in the state of Chihuahua are telling me that the migrant situation is not different for them. Yes, there are more than in other times, but their main concern is what's going to happen if more border agents are having to be moved to deal with the surge of migrants and abandon or not do their daily duties at the crossing -- at the legal crossing points, creating a longer waiting time for the people who want to go and spend their money, spend Christmas with their relatives in El Paso or in other parts of the United States. This is high season for crossings in this area. And on the Mexican side, that is the main concern.

Gustavo Valdes, CNN, Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

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FOSTER: The border town of McAllen, Texas is seeing the influx of migrants firsthand. And a local Democratic Congressman there tells CNN he would like to see more action from the Biden White House. You may recall President Biden appointed Vice President Kamala Harris to work with Central America on the migrant issue, but Representative Vicente Gonzalez says both parties have to go beyond just showing up at the border.

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REP. VICENTE GONZALEZ (D-TX): This is not a problem from just this administration. I've been in office through both Democratic and Republican administrations. And when Republicans are in office, Democrats come down here and point fingers at them and say you're doing a horrible job at the border. And when Democrats are in office, Republicans come and do the same thing. This is not a Democratic or Republican problem, it's an American problem. We need to solve it together. We need real proposals.

[04:10:00] I don't want to see people coming down here for photo ops. You have a ton of members from all these red states across the country that came down in this last election season that have much bigger problems in their home city and they're here taking photos in my district saying, hey, you know, the sky is falling. Instead, come down here and say we have a proposal. We have a solution. We have a plan. And I haven't seen that from anyone.

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FOSTER: Gonzalez also says he's looking for support from the White House what he calls the Safe Zone Act. It would create a system where migrants from the south of Mexico would be required to process their asylum claims at the Guatemalan border. The White House says it needs Congress to act on immigration reform.

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KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS, WHITE HOUSE OFFICE OF PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR: The president has been working very closely with our partners across the globe to address this global issue, but we also need partnership at home. We need partnership from Congress. And we need to focus on what this decades' old issue is. And that issue is making sure that we have comprehensive immigration reform, not focusing on trying to impeach the Homeland Security Secretary. So, we're going to keep working around the clock and simply because people don't see the president at the border, doesn't mean that he's not working.

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FOSTER: Well, meanwhile, non-border cities like New York are nearing breaking points as they struggle to accommodate the tens of thousands of migrants coming their way. New York's mayor says two buses carrying migrants arrived in the city on Sunday and at least 10 to 15 more are expected in the coming days. He's urging state and federal officials to increase funding for migrant services or some city programs may have to be cut.

New York governor's office says they have state $20 million in related migrant costs and deployed 700 National Guard members to support New York City.

Nearly 260 million Americans could feel the impact of an arctic blast just day before Christmas and could affect holiday travel at airports and on the roads. In the Midwest and northern and central plains, wind chills may dip down as low as minus 40 degrees, which is the same temperature in Celsius and Fahrenheit. This includes portions of Montana, Wyoming, the Dakotas along with Nebraska and Minnesota. Dangerously cold temperatures are forecast for the region east of the Rockies. It's expected this cold arctic air will spread across east and the deep south where cities like Atlanta could see temperatures dipping as low as 30 Fahrenheit.

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CROWD, CHANTING: Argentina! Argentina! Argentina!

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FOSTER: Euphoria in Buenos Aires after Argentina captured the World Cup title. Thousands of fans poured into the streets to celebrate, many waving flags. They screamed for joy. Some even celebrated the top of a giant obelisk. This video shows a person coming out of the monuments windows. Images of the team are project on that structure.

Argentina lifted the trophy after a thrilling final against France the reigning champions. It was the third World Cup title for the Argentines and the fourth for their superstar Lionel Messi. He scored two goals of the match which may be his last World Cup appearance. Let's get more from our correspondents. CNN's Amanda Davies is in Doha. Jim Bittermann joins us from France. Amanda, they are -- well, some people are calling this the best World Cup final ever. What's your final summation?

AMANDA DAVIS, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, Max, I have to tell you, it was one of those nights where I feel really sorry for people who don't have an interest and don't watch football. If you weren't watching and you're not a fan, honestly, you missed out. Please, please get involved with this crazy, beautiful game. I know it's my job to try to put it into words, to sum it up, but I am struggling. It was the most insane, nerve-jangling, sensational couple of hours. That was as a neutral.

I can only imagine for the fans, for the players involved in those moments what it was like. And I mean, the FIFA World Cup accounts very quickly declared it the greatest World Cup final in history. But for me, what is always a really good marker is how other sports people, the greatest at the top of their games react to something like that. You know, those people who know what it's like to deal with the pressure, perform under the pressure. You have the likes of Usain Bolt, Serena Williams, Roger Federer absolutely declaring it the best.

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And it had been billed as Kylian Mbappe against Lionel Messi, but it was so much more than that. It was the roles of their surrounding cast as well. We had advantage Argentina, then the momentum very much swinging back to France. Then back to Argentina. Then back to France. Then finishing on a penalty shootout, which is always great for the neutrals. Horrendous for everybody involved.

But ultimately, as you said, Lionel Messi being crowned World Cup winner for the first time in his career. That long-awaited moment. I was there watching. So emotional being embraced by his mom. Incredible moments on the pitch with his family, his wife and his children being able to enjoy the moment. And this is what he was able to say afterwards.

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LIONEL MESSI, 2022 WORLD CUP GOLDEN BALL WINNER (through translator): It's madness that it happened the way that it did, but it's amazing. I said at one point that god was going to give it to me. And I don't know why I foresaw it. I felt like it was going to be this one.

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DAVIES: So, a lot of people are talking about perhaps it was fate. Perhaps it was written in the stars. Max, I have to tell you, if that was the case, it would have come much more easily to Argentina than that. That was hard fought. It was a battling performance. It was epic. Lionel Messi had said, you know, that was going to be his last World Cup performance in an Argentina shirt. But he said after the match he does want a few runouts to be able to enjoy this moment as a world champion. So, we certainly haven't seen the last of him yet.

FOSTER: t really was well deserved on the side. But Jim, also, you know, you have to feel for Mbappe getting, you know, three goals in a World Cup final and still not winning. How is France feeling today?

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think they've resigned themselves to the defeat last night, Max. But I'll tell you, it was one heck of a match, as Amanda has already summarized. And in fact, I think it's the best headline in the papers this morning is this one from "Le Parisien," which says, "Proud of our Bleus," Bleus being the name of the team, Les Bleus is a nickname of the team. But it's also kind of a summary of the mood here. President Macron was at the match last night and he tried his best to offer a little consolation to the team and to the nation. Here's what he said.

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EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT (through translator): You have the heart, the finish, the desire and the talents to be here. And that's why I wanted to come see you to say thank you. You have woken up French men and women who needed it. Thank you to you.

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BITTERMANN: And so, that was President Macron in the dressing room. The sports minister of France basically said the team was inconsolable but dignified in their defeat. They have decided not to take the usual parade route as they return home tonight down the Champs-Elysees because that's pretty much reserved for victorious teams. Instead, they've decided to have some kind of a celebration in the Place de la Concorde in the heart of Paris and expect to be a lot of

people out there for that. So, it's kind of a resign but not so sad really because the team really did acquit itself very well -- Max.

FOSTER: OK. Jim, thank you so much. And Mbappe, he's going to be there, isn't he, at the next few tournaments. So, it's not over for him. Amanda as well. Thank you very much indeed.

BITTERMANN: Exactly.

FOSTER: Now severe turbulence has sent two dozen airline passengers to hospital, would you believe. Ahead, we'll here about the nightmare trip from Arizona to Hawaii.

Then Viktor Bout in Ukraine, the freed Russian arms trafficker is seen over the weekend in one Russian-occupied city. We'll have the details in a live report just ahead.

And later, Elon Musk is polling Twitter users, asking if he should keep running the social media company, and he says, he'll abide of those results.

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FOSTER: Rescue efforts are under way in the Gulf of Thailand after a Royal Thai Navy ship sank earlier this morning. 33 of the ships 106 crew members are missing. And bad weather in the area is complicating the search and rescue mission. The Navy says strong winds caused the ship to tilt and water to flow into its electrical system shutting it down.

U.S. aviation authorities are investigating the severe turbulence on a Hawaiian airlines flight. It happened yesterday on a flight from Arizona to Hawaii leaving at least 36 people injured. This video shows the aftermath of the incident once the plane had landed, passengers described what it was like.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My life flashed before my eyes, I was scared.

KAYLEE REYES, PASSENGER: The plane shook and then went into a sudden drop. Kind of like how you would go into a drop on a roller coaster. My mom wasn't buckled, so I turned to my right and I saw she wasn't -- she hit the ceiling and she hit the floor. There were like several other people that hit their head.

When we landed, paramedics came and they were like wheeling people out. And I saw like a few -- a handful of people with lacerations on their head and blood dripping down.

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FOSTER: Well, authorities say 20 people were taken to emergency rooms. 11 were in serious condition. A 14 month old child is amongst those hospitalized. CNN's Pete Muntean has more details on what happened.

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PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: This flight, an Airbus A- 330, very large airplane had to hit very extreme turbulence for this to happen. The FAA calls it severe turbulence, but an Airbus like this weighs about a quarter of a million pounds, 274,000 pounds, twin isle airplane, very large. You've probably been on one before. They usually fly on transatlantic, transpacific routes.

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This turbulence had to be very, very extreme to cause injuries like this, which is very rare. It's something that investigators at the FAA and also the NTSB have been looking into for a long time, just sort of underscores why flight crews tell you to stay in your seat with the seat belt on, even if the air is smooth. Things can go awry very quickly and it can hurt people, too.

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FOSTER: North Korea says its finished an important step to develop a spy satellite. State media reports a test was conducted to evaluate satellite imaging and data transmission. Both of those reportedly taken by the new equipment show what looks to be a major South Korean city. CNN is unable to independently verify if images come from tests.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to travel to Belarus today where he'll meet with President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk. The Kremlin says this will be a working visit but the trip is raising concerns about Belarusian joining the fight in neighboring Ukraine.

Meanwhile, freed Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout was in Eastern Ukraine over the weekend visiting the Russian occupied city of Luhansk. Bout, who was recently exchanged in a prison swap with WNBA star Brittney Griner, attended an opening event for the Luhansk branch of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia.

CNN's Clare Sebastian following developments for us, join us from here. What do you expect to come out of this meeting in Minsk?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is significant. Putin and Lukashenko, the head of Belarus, have met a lot of time. There's been a lot of photo opportunities in various parts of Russia since the beginning of this war, but this is the first time that President Putin traveled to Belarus in more than three years. And really every trip that he takes overseas should be closely watched.

But Belarus is of course, a very close ally of Russia. They've been very supportive of this war as Russia has becoming increasingly isolated. And some of the original invasion was actually launched from Belarusian soil. It's the closest land route to Kyiv. And of course, we know that Ukrainian officials are increasingly concerned that this relentless aerial bombardment that we've seen from Russia could proceed a new ground offensive.

Now, we don't know. There's no indication yet that Belarus would join the fight. They haven't yet. There's no sense of mobilization there. But they did conduct snap drills last week. There is a new grouping of Russian forces on Belarusian soil. They have new images published by state media this morning showing them conducting exercises. So, there are various things that are sort of raising concerns, but perhaps it's also that Russia just wants to keep Ukraine focused on a potential threat from this northern border. Perhaps to distract attention away from the other front lines.

FOSTER: Viktor Bout, obviously a very high profile figure being seen in Ukraine. Why do you think he was there?

SEBASTIAN: I mean, it's pretty quick, right? Less than two weeks since he touched down on Russian soil after that prisoner swap with Brittney Griner. He is clearly perhaps repaid the favor to the Russian government for securing his release. He has now joined politics. He's joined the LDL, which is the liberal democratic party, a very Kremlin friendly party. And he was there to attend an event of the opening of that party in occupied Luhansk.

I think this is clearly the Kremlin sort of maximizing the propaganda value of this release, this negotiation. They want it to be clear that they one-upped the U.S. in their eyes in this negotiation. Able to secure his release and now he's, you know, been expressing his full support for the war in Ukraine. So, I think that's kind of what's going on here.

FOSTER: OK, Clare, thank you.

Just ahead, FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's legal battles continue later today and he could find himself back in the U.S. pretty soon.

Plus, a CNN investigation reveals how Iranian authorities are using technology to crack down on protesters. That exclusive report up next.

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