Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Defense Dept: Spy Balloon Part Of Larger Chinese Surveillance Effort; Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) Discusses Chinese Spy Balloon, Biden's Warning To China, Those Still At Risk From Taliban In Afghanistan; Ex-Twitter Execs Admit Mistakes Made In Handling Hunter Biden Story; Joe Rogan Accused Of Anti-Semitism While Defending Rep. Omar; NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Gives State Of The League Address; NFL Players Union Doctor: Damar Hamlin Will Play Again. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired February 08, 2023 - 14:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:32:49]

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: The Chinese surveillance balloon that was shot down off the coast of South Carolina is part of a broader surveillance program, we're learning, run by the Chinese military. That's according to the Department of Defense.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: FBI engineers are studying the remnants of the recovered drone. They are trying to figure out what intel, if any, the drone collected.

CNN's Natasha Bertrand joins us now.

Natasha, the Pentagon just held a briefing a short time ago. What did you learn?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes. We are learning more details about the purpose of this balloon that was shot down on Saturday.

And what we are told, and what U.S. officials have since acknowledged, is that they believe that this balloon was part of a broader Chinese surveillance program that has conducted about two dozen missions over at least five continents in recent years.

And roughly half of those flights have actually been within U.S. airspace.

So Pentagon press secretary, Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, he actually did just address this with reporters earlier, confirming that the U.S. has been tracking this surveillance program for quite some time now.

And does believe that it's part of a larger mission, a larger operation being carried out by the Chinese government.

Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. PATRICK RYDER, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: This is what we assess as part of a larger Chinese surveillance balloon program. You've heard us talk in the past about the fact that this is a program that's been operated for several years.

And this last week provided the United States with a unique opportunity to learn a lot more about the Chinese surveillance balloon program, all information that will help us to continue to strengthen our ability to track these kinds of objects.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERTRAND: So Ryder did say the U.S. is hoping to learn more about this balloon.

That is really the whole reason or largely the reason why it was shot down over water so that the payload or equipment it was carrying could be recovered intact and examined by the FBI lab in Quantico.

But he didn't go into a lot of detail about what the U.S. is hoping to learn from it.

We're told from sources that, among the details that the U.S. wants to learn about China's -- about these balloons is, of course, its technical capabilities, what satellites it was linked to.

And, importantly, whether it was able to transmit information to the Chinese military in real time or whether the Chinese military could only access that by having physical possession of the balloon -- Victor?

[14:35:08]

GOLODRYGA: So needless to say, this was not a weather balloon --

BLACKWELL: No.

GOLODRYGA: -- as China has claimed.

Natasha Bertrand, thank you.

Let's discuss more with Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton. He is a member of the House Select Committee on China and also served on the House Armed Services Committee.

Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.

REP. SETH MOULTON (D-MA): Good to see you.

GOLODRYGA: Now that we're learning more about the surveillance program that China has been conducting for years, given that this balloon flew over sensitive airspace, including a military base that's home to ICBMs, are you concerned about information transmitted to China?

And do you think perhaps it should have been shot down sooner?

MOULTON: Well, of course, we're concerned. But as we've learned more about these balloons, we've learned that there have been several balloons over the space of several years.

So whether or not we shot this balloon down on day one that we detected it or a little bit later when it was out over the ocean, frankly, wouldn't have made a difference.

There are other balloons that have been up there and going over sensitive airspace for some time.

GOLODRYGA: So what other questions do you and members of the China committee have that have yet to be addressed? Because Secretary Blinken said, quote, "We're learning more information about this program by the hour."

MOULTON: You did a good job at hitting on some of the key ones. What sort of information were they collecting? Were they able to transmit it in real time?

What actual capabilities does this balloon have? What communications networks were they using to get the information off the balloon? Those are obviously technical questions that we want to answer.

But there are also strategic questions. What do they intend to do with these balloons?

What I their broader purpose? Did they think they could get away with them being up there and never being detected, or had they planned that this might happen, and they were willing to take that risk?

Are they filling some gap in China's knowledge about the U.S. that they don't have?

These are really important questions that we want to answer to understand the real national security implications of this incident.

GOLODRYGA: The president last night in his State of the Union address did not specifically mention this balloon, but he did allude to shooting it down.

Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm committed to work with China where we can advance American interests and benefit the world.

But make no mistake about it, as we made clear last week, if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country. And we did.

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE) (END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Was that the appropriate way to address this issue? And do you think that message was sent and received by the Chinese?

MOULTON: I think it was a fantastic way to address this. Short and to the point. We're not intimidated by you, China. You gave us a problem, and we took care of it.

And the president followed the best military advice to take care of this balloon. And that's something that every American needs to know.

There's a lot of critics out there saying the president should have done something differently, should have shot it down earlier.

At the end of the day, what we learned is he listened to his top military advisers. That's exactly what we want a commander-in-chief to do.

GOLODRYGA: We know that these balloons have now been spotted over countries across five continents over the past few years.

Speaking of last night, your guest was Shams Rahmani, who worked as a site manager for the Department of Defense in Kabul, who now lives in the United States on a special immigrant visa.

And you know -- and I'm going to quote you -- that "there are tens of thousands of people just like Shams who are still stuck in extremely dangerous situations in Afghanistan and remain in the hands of the Taliban while they wait to evacuate."

I know special immigrant visa reform requires bipartisan support. But in your opinion, is the president, is the administration doing enough on their own to bring this issue to the forefront?

MOULTON: These amazing people like Shams, they are Afghan heroes, they're American heroes. They risked their lives for their country and for us and for America. We've got to get them home.

And the sad reality is that when we pulled out of Kabul, we left a lot behind.

Shams is very lucky to be here because they are not just at risk from the Taliban if they are still in Afghanistan. They are being hunted down by the Taliban every single day.

In fact, I recently learned of the story of somebody who was just about to get on the flight. The flights were postponed due to the World Cup and the Taliban found him while he was waiting and killed him before he could get out.

That is unacceptable. We've got to do more to get them home.

GOLODRYGA: Is the president doing enough to get them home?

MOULTON: I think everybody could do more. Congress needs to come together. We have a bipartisan group of veterans who are trying to advance legislation to help with this process.

But we don't have support yet from the Republican leadership. And I do think the administration could pick up the pace, too.

I think it was a mistake to postpone flights due to the World Cup. What's more important, watching a soccer game or getting these heroes out to safety?

[14:40:03]

GOLODRYGA: All right. Congressman, thank you for your time.

MOULTON: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: As promised, House Republicans are pressing ahead on investigating President Biden's family, specifically Hunter Biden.

And today, former Twitter executives admit mistakes in the handling of a story regarding Hunter Biden's laptop. We're live on Capitol Hill.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: Right now, House Republicans are holding a hearing focusing on Twitter's handling of reports related to Hunter Biden's laptop in the lead-up to the 2020 election.

Twitter's former head of trust and safety told lawmakers they conceded that it wasn't a mistake to block the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[14:45:06]

YOEL ROTH, FORMER GLOBAL HEAD, TWITTER TRUST & SAFETY: I've been clear, in my judgment at the time, Twitter should not have taken action to block "The New York Post" reporting. Just 24 hours after doing so, the company acknowledged its error.

But the decisions here aren't straightforward. And hindsight is 2020. It isn't obvious what the right response is to a suspected but not confirmed cyberattack by another government on a presidential election.

I believe Twitter erred in this case because we wanted to avoid repeating the mistakes of 2016.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Let's discuss with CNN media reporter, Sara Fischer.

What stood out to you from this meeting so far?

SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: I think the main thing is that, like we've seen with tech firms before, they are getting caught between politics and Washington. Republicans with the new majority are using this moment to try to

establish the narrative that the tech companies and the government are colluding together to suppress information.

And Democrats are pushing back saying you're using this to distract from the problems of January 6th.

But I think, moving forward, this step represents a big problem for tech companies.

With the Republican majority that believes that they are censoring them, they are going to be putting -- they will be under a lot more pressure, expect to see them in Congress to address some of these situations a lot more, even for Twitter, which is now owned by Elon Musk.

I think that this is just the beginning now that we have a new majority in.

GOLODRYGA: I want to bring in our Donie O'Sullivan who joins us on this as well.

Do you agree with what she's saying? And is this just opening a can of worms in what they are saying here?

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think there's a smart conversation to be had about what is going on, on these platforms, in terms of how they are working with the FBI and others and how we're not seeing those kinds of questions today.

And Democrats made that point. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D-NY): "The New York Post" had this alleged information and was trying to publish it without any corroboration, without any backup information.

They were trying to publish it to Twitter. Twitter did not let them and now they were upset.

I believe that political operatives who sought to inject explosive disinformation with "The Washington Post" couldn't get away with it.

REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): But instead of letting this trivial pursuit go, my colleagues have tried to whip up a faux scandal about the two- day lapse in their ability to spread Hunter Biden propaganda on a private media platform.

Silly does not even begin to capture this obsession.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'SULLIVAN: As we've mentioned, the former Twitter executives say they shouldn't have censored this "New York Post" story. But despite all of what we've heard through these hearings, the so-

called Twitter files, we still have not seen this smoking gun that there was this order from the FBI that said you've got to censor this story.

BLACKWELL: Sara, while we have you, let me ask you about another media story getting a lot of attention right now. Joe Rogan getting some backlash for employing an anti-Semitic trope.

Listen to it.

(BEGIN AUDIO FEED)

JOE ROGAN, PODCAST HOST, "JOE ROGAN EXPERIENCE": Ilhan Omar where she's apologizing for talking about it's all about the Benjamins.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

ROGAN: It's about money.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She shouldn't have apologized.

(CROSSTALK)

ROGAN: That's not an anti-Semitic statement. I don't think that is.

It's about the Benjamins are money, you know? The idea that Jewish people are not into money is ridiculous.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Listen --

ROGAN: That's like saying Italians aren't into pizza. That's (EXPLETIVE DELETED) stupid.

(END AUDIO FEED)

BLACKWELL: So is anything going to happen here, or is this just Joe Rogan says something and we all move on next show?

FISCHER: I think it is, Joe Rogan says something, we all move on, next show.

And that's because Joe Rogan is the most popular podcaster on Spotify and also in the world.

Spotify has a $200 million deal with him that expires at the end of the year. I don't think this is going to interfere with that relationship.

But what I do think is that this puts more pressure on the company. It's been under a lot of pressure around Joe Rogan and other content moderation issues over the past year.

And I think every time Joe Rogan says something like this, there's a little bit more pressure on Spotify about how they handle thorny issues.

We've seen that pressure on Twitter, clearly with the hearing today. We've seen it on Meta. And now it's coming to this audio giant.

GOLODRYGA: Doesn't take it away from being disgusting. And it is an anti-Semitic trope. But we'll leave it there.

Donie O'Sullivan, Sara Fischer, thank you.

FISCHER: Thank you.

[14:49:27]

Well, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is giving his annual State of the League address ahead of this weekend's big game and on the heels of a tumultuous year of on-field injuries. We'll have his comments straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: All right, just a few days out now from Superbowl LVII, Philadelphia Eagles versus the Kansas City Chiefs.

GOLODRYGA: Ahead of the big game, Roger Goodell just held his State of the League address.

CNN sports anchor and former NFL player, Coy Wire, was there.

So, Coy, before we get to that, we have some really good news. And we need some.

We're hearing now that Damar Hamlin, that it is being reported, the medical director of the NFL Players Association, said that he will play football again. Just incredible news.

What is the reaction there to that?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, the NFL Players Association medical director is the one who said, quote, "I guarantee you that Damar Hamlin will play professional football again," unquote.

It is just absolutely incredible when you think that he suffered cardiac arrest on the field of play this season.

[14:55:03]

You know, outside of the league, the highlight reel plays, the come backs we saw, the parity and the competition that brings excitement. And 50% of those at the playoffs were new to the playoffs.

Aside from that, perhaps, the league's greatest achievement this year was also bringing to light the importance of CPR preparedness.

The American Heart Association says that 350,000 cardiac arrests happen outside of the hospital every year. And 90 percent of the people don't make it receiving CPR. Here is Roger Goodell talking about the team's willingness to set

their players up to be saved if that is the case. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGER GOODELL, NFL COMMISSIONER: The work that they have invested in by bringing in these great professionals, by bringing in the best of the best, did contribute to saving a young man's life and I'm incredibly proud of that.

But I also believe, even more general, our medical professionals do an extraordinary job and our players are getting the best care anywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: What an incredible moment. It was such a big story. And we saw how the world rallied around that tragic moment. And it has made the world a better place.

The Damar Hamlin story has turned in to a positive story and continues to inspire to this day.

And I'm reminded, Christian Erickson --

(CROSSTALK)

GOLODRYGA: -- also suffered cardiac arrest in 2020. He game back and is playing again, too.

BLACKWELL: It has been five weeks. To hear, after what we saw on January 2nd, and now five weeks later, that he will play professional ball again, it is a miracle.

Coy Wire, thanks so much.

Newly revealed police documents show that one of the officers charged in the death of Tyre Nichols took cell phone pictures. And he was bloodied, slumped against a police car in these photos. We'll tell you what else we know, live from Memphis.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)