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CNN International: 21-Year-Old Guardsman Arrested, Due In Court Today; Justice Department To Ask Supreme Court To Intervene In Case Involving FDA Approval Of Mifepristone; High court to rule on Macron's plan to raise retirement age. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired April 14, 2023 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

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BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Bianca Nobilo.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Max Foster joining you live from London. Just ahead on CNN Newsroom.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Suspects Jack Teixeira taken into us custody in connection with leaked classified documents that have recently appeared on social media sites.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just kept coming in and coming in and went over the thresholds. Next thing you know we're in two or three feet of water.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are seeing that the government in different statement showing that they are still deaf to the requests of the workers.

ANNOUNCER: Live from London. This is CNN Newsroom with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.

FOSTER: Well, it is Friday, April 14th, 9am here in London. 4am in Boston, where the man suspected of leaking highly classified Pentagon documents is expected to make his first court appearance today. Federal agents arrested 21-year-old Air National Guardsmen Jack Teixeira at his home in Massachusetts on Thursday.

NOBILO: Multiple U.S. officials say Teixeira is believed to be the leader of the online chat group where the classified documents were posted. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland formally announced the arrest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MERRICK GARLAND, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Today, the Justice Department arrested Jack Douglas Teixeira in connection with an investigation into alleged unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified national defense information.

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FOSTER: But damaging leaks and Teixeira's arrests have prompted the Pentagon to tighten access to classified intelligence. CNN's Kylie Atwood reports.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dramatic overhead video of a 21-year- old airman in the Massachusetts National Guard being arrested outside of his relative's home. Suspect Jack Teixeira taken into us custody in connection with leaked classified documents that have recently appeared on social media sites.

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GARLAND: FBI agents took Teixeira into custody earlier this afternoon, without incident. He will have an initial appearance at the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.

ATWOOD: The arrest comes exactly a week after President Biden and other senior U.S. leaders, including the Secretary of Defense were briefed on the leak, unleashing a fastmoving search by the US government to identify the culprit who was under surveillance for at least a couple of days before his arrest according to a U.S. government source.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's a full-blown investigation going on.

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ATWOOD: The documents were leaked on Discord, a chat and messaging platform often used by gamers. The Washington Post spoke with a member of the group who met the leaker online about four years ago and had seen the posted classified documents on Discord.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's talks of foreign intelligence agencies who's supplying what and what wars, who's funding certain things. There's talks of nuclear weaponry. I mean, that's hardly touching the iceberg. There's just stuff that if your tax dollars are funding these atrocities, then you should be able to know about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ATWOOD: He said the wide ranging us secrets began appearing in the chat group six to eight months ago, earlier than U.S. officials have so far publicly acknowledged.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think that there was a goal nor some sort of accomplishment that he was looking for in sharing these documents. Of course, there's some anti-government sentiment, but that's not unlike most right wingers in the modern day.

The group known as Thugs Shaker Central included 20 to 30 people who bonded over military gear, guns and God, The Washington Post reported and Teixeira was viewed as their strict but revered leader. The Pentagon spokesperson described the leak as a deliberate criminal act, and said steps are being taken to limit the number of people who have access to this top-secret information.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We continue to review those distribution lists, update them, make sure there's a need to know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ATWOOD: The Pentagon is also carrying out a damage assessment to determine the scope of leaks' impact, and U.S. officials are seeking to quell the concerns of intelligence sharing allies. While Biden said today, he's not anxious about the leaks' impact on U.S. national security or operations underway.

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BIDEN: I'm concerned that it happened. But there's nothing contemporaneous that I'm aware of that is of great consequence.

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ATWOOD: U.S. lawmakers remain concerned about the possible implications on the battlefield in Ukraine.

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JIM HIMES, U.S. HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE DEMOCRAT: I've never seen a leak like this that may and I do emphasize may have a real effect on the battlefield in Ukraine if in fact sources of and methods have been compromised. That could translate into dead Ukrainians that didn't need to be dead.

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ATWOOD: Now, Teixeira joined the Air National Guard in 2019. That was even before he graduated from high school, but he went through the training to be a cyber transport specialist. Essentially what that means is he was an IT specialist, making sure that the communication systems work and according to a U.S. government official familiar with this situation, the FBI was actually planning to arrest him when he went into work on Thursday.

But when he didn't go into work, they positioned themselves outside of that family's home. And they arrested him when he came out. Kylie Atwood, CNN, the State Department.

NOBILO: The battle in the U.S. over access to abortion medication is headed to the nation's highest court.

FOSTER: The Justice Department will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in the case involving mife--

NOBILO: Mifepristone.

FOSTER: A drug use in medication abortion.

NOBILO: The view comes after an appeals court froze part of a ruling that would suspend mifepristone's FDA approval but kept in place restrictions that make the drug more difficult to obtain.

FOSTER: Meanwhile, Florida now has some of the harshest restrictions on abortion access in the U.S.

NOBILO: Late Thursday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into law a measure that bans most abortions at six weeks after the state House approved a final version of the bill earlier on in the day.

FOSTER: The measure also bans the use of telemedicine for abortion prescriptions and requires that medication be dispensed by physicians not by mail.

NOBILO: Under the legislation victims of rape, incest and human trafficking can obtain an abortion up to the 15th week of pregnancy if they present evidence like police reports or medical records. The news outlet ProPublica reports U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose a 2014 real estate deal with a Republican megadonor.

It's the second bombshell report in as many weeks that calls into question the ethics of the Justice and his relationship with megadonor Harlan Crow.

FOSTER: The deal involved the sale of three properties in Savannah, Georgia owned by Thomas and his relatives. Legal experts say the failure to disclose the deal appears to be a violation of the law.

NOBILO: Crow tells CNN he has since sold two of the three properties. However, ProPublica reports that Crow still owns the home where Thomas's elderly mother lives and one of Crow's companies pays the annual property taxes.

FOSTER: Nine days after being arrested on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, a former U.S. President Donald Trump answered questions under oath on Thursday in another legal case.

NOBILO: The deposition which lasted nearly seven hours is related to the New York Attorney General's lawsuit alleging business fraud with the Trump Organization. The case that could ultimately block Trump or his adult children from operating businesses in the state. CNN's Kara Scannell reports.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Former President Donald Trump met with investigators with the New York Attorney General's Office for nearly seven hours on Thursday. A source telling CNN that he answered numerous questions under oath during that period. The New York Attorney General Letitia James within the room for part of that time, the source says.

Trump's decision to answer your questions marks a significant shift in strategy. In August he asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when asked nearly 400 questions. James sued Trump, his eldest children and the Trump Organization in a $250 million lawsuit alleging they defrauded lenders, insurers and others by inflating the value of their properties on their financial statements.

Trump and his children have denied any wrongdoing. Since then, a shift in strategy. One factor in a civil lawsuit, the jury can make an adverse inference meaning they can hold it against someone when they don't answer any questions. Neither Trump nor James have made any official statements following this deposition. This case, though, is going to trial in October. Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.

NOBILO: The U.S. president is on the last leg of his trip to Ireland, a visit that's been part homecoming and part politics. On Thursday, the Irish Prime Minister thanked the U.S. for helping to protect the peace in Northern Ireland.

FOSTER: Joe Biden emphasized the resilience of both Ireland and the U.S., saying there's nothing the two nations can't achieve together.

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BIDEN: It feels so good to be able to have this emerging and stronger and stronger relations between the United States and Ireland. I think our values are the same. And I think our concerns are the same. So, I'm really looking forward to continuing to work with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Later, during the banquet at Dublin Castle, President Biden said he feels very proud and lucky to be Irish and, in a few hours, he'll get another opportunity to explore his family's roots in as Nic Robertson is live in Dublin for us. It's not often a country the size of Ireland gets this attention from the U.S. President.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Not at all. And there's a lot of relaxed time and it really for the President and the people of Ireland to enjoy. We've heard really yesterday the President talking of -- talking about his roots explaining how his roots, his Irish roots, give him the -- the sort of character that he is the beliefs and understandings that he has.

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But today he'll actually really be able to go and explore the physical roots when he goes to Ballina in County Mayo because it's there that the bluest side of his family. His great, great, great grandfather, Edward Blewitt, it sort of laid the foundations, the physical foundations, if you will, of the family's emigration in 1851 to the United States because he sold the bricks to the Cathedral in Ballina, to support part of -- that will put use as columns to support part of that cathedral.

At that time, he was paid about L-21, today's money that was about $25,000. And that essentially paid for Edward Blewitt to take his family, including son Patrick, who was the great, great grandfather of President Biden to the United States. So, there's a real homecoming yesterday in the Oireachtas, the parliament here, the President, President Biden spoke about, I'm home again, I'd like to be able to stay longer he said.

But when he's in Ballina, it really be mixing with relatives and friends and it's expected to be, you know, quite the turnout on the streets there and will give a speech, the last thing he'll do, a big speech outside of that cathedral that his ancestors paid for and that paved the way and paved the way for his family to end up in the United States.

FOSTER: OK, Nic, we'll be with you through the day and watching what you unfold. Thank you for joining us from Dublin.

NOBILO: In France, a fresh round of protests against the government's controversial pension reform plan.

FOSTER: At least 47 people were arrested in Paris and at least 10 police officers were injured on Thursday's protesters clashed with police. Hundreds of 1000s of people took to the streets against President Macron's plan to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. The nation's highly concentrated -- highest rather constitutional court is expected to decide hours from now whether to approve the pension reform law asked to make some changes to it or to scrap it altogether.

The head of a French trade union tells CNN, the protests will continue if the plan is approved.

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MAHER TEKAYA, HEAD OF EUROPEAN AFFAIRS, FRENCH TRADE UNION CFDT: Unfortunately, we are seeing that the government in different statement showing that they are still deaf to the requests of the workers. They are trying to carry on as if nothing is happening and to go to another discussion on the working condition.

But unfortunately, the anger that was expressed during the last weeks and in several demonstrations will not just disappear once this law, this law is promulgated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Joining us live now from Paris is CNN Senior Producer Saskya Vandoorne. So Saskya, the Constitutional Council could essentially accept, modify or reject these plans. And there could even be the possibility of a referendum.

SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: That's right, Bianca. They can't modify it themselves. But they could ask for parts of it to be changed, which we think is the most likely outcome today. The idea that they would throw the whole thing out is highly unlikely. But yes, it's a big day for France. And all eyes are on the Constitutional Council, but also the nine members who will be voting on the divisive law.

Now they've been deliberating for the past four weeks, and we expect the decision to come sometime this evening. Now, yesterday was the 12th day of pension reform protests and we saw 380,000 people take to the street. That was a lower turnout than previous weeks. And they were on the whole peaceful, Bianca but we did see once again, you know, violent flare ups throughout the day.

Those protesters that stormed the LVMH headquarters in the morning, and then they went to the Constitutional Council and set off red flares. Now Bianca I just want to talk about these live pictures that are coming to us from the Constitutional Council. And you'll be able to see these barricades that the police have set up in front of the Council.

And Bianca, this is unprecedented. We have never seen this level of security in front of the Council. And it goes to show just how charged this ruling is today. Now Bruno Le Maire, the French finance minister was speaking to Richard Quest yesterday about the decision. Take a listen.

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BRUNO LE MAIRE, FRENCH FINANCE MINISTER: I will not say that the level of ease is growing. We have violence in the street. I strongly condemn all violence, but nevertheless, the process is going on. We are waiting for the very last decision of the French Supreme Court tomorrow. I just want to emphasize how vital this reform is for our pension system. We have a very efficient, very generous pension system, but we need to ensure to the French citizen that there is a financial balance by 2030. This is the purpose of the reform.

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VANDOORNE: Now there is a ban on protesting around the Constitutional Council today. So, we'll probably see the spontaneous protests happening elsewhere in Paris, which might mean that the police have a harder time trying to rein in the protesters and it won't just be in Paris. We'll see these protests at Nationwide, Bianca.

NOBILO: Saskya Vandoorne for us in Paris. Thank you.

FOSTER: French citizens have a long history of taking the grievances to the streets. CNN European Affairs Commentator Dominic Thomas explains the role of the street versus the government in French politics and culture, take a listen.

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DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: It's important to understand how those are presented and taught in school and deeply ingrained in the -- in the French psyche, that protest is an acceptable form of engaging and with the authorities and you think just during the Fifth Republic going back to 1968. And then since then, every single government, particularly around issues of educational reform, and labor pension reform have resulted in these kinds of protests.

And more often than not have either cost presidents their reelections, or they have been forced to either abrogate, tweak or even withdraw legislation. And we see this process unfolding here on the streets of Paris as they express their discontent with this legislative process and also with a Macron presidency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: Still to come, jury selection is underway in Dominion voting systems. $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News.

FOSTER: Still ahead, residents in South Florida are taking stock of the damage after the rainiest day ever. Meteorologist Britley Ritz joins us.

BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And unfortunately, we are still dealing with this area of low pressure bringing in the threat for flooding rains for Florida today and the threat for severe weather across parts of the southeast. We'll talk about the threats and how much rain in just a few minutes.

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NOBILO: The area around Fort Lauderdale, Florida is trying to recover from its rainiest day in history. Officials say Wednesday's rainfall was a one in a 1000-year event. Fort Lauderdale recorded more than two feet of rain in a 24-hour period. The widespread flooding was made even worse by more rain Thursday and into Friday.

FOSTER: Drivers were forced to abandon cars as the water rose. Rescue teams brought 600 people to shelters. The Fort Lauderdale Airport is closed until at least nine o'clock this morning. Florida's governor has declared a state of emergency. CNN's Carlos Suarez has more from Fort Lauderdale.

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More rain fell across parts of Broward County on Thursday a day after too weak tornadoes moved through parts of the county. You're taking a look at the flooding in one neighborhood just to the north of Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood International Airport. Rescue teams here spent the day going from home to home, rescuing people that were trapped inside of their house.

According to Fort Lauderdale fire rescue, a number of drivers were also rescued from their cars. Now from their homes, residents were taken to a nearby shopping center where the Red Cross offered them clothes, food and shelter. Here now is one man we caught up with who told us just how high the water got in his home. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL GUERRERO, FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA RESIDENT: We put towels and stuff in front of the doors because we didn't have time for sandbags. We didn't know it was going to rain this bed so we did the towels. And then we just got overwhelmed. It just kept coming in and coming in and went over the thresholds.

Next thing you know we're in two-three feet of water. I had to run over and shut off all the power. So that way we didn't get electrocuted. All sorts of things going through my mind. I tried calling but really nobody could come out and help us because it just kept raining and raining and the water just kept coming up and up and up.

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SUAREZ: Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport remains closed through at least Friday morning, late Thursday. The Broward County School District said that classes are canceled on Friday. Carlos Suarez, CNN, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

FOSTER: Let's get the latest from CNN meteorologist Britley Ritz. So, what's the latest in those forecasts Britley.

RITZ: Thankfully, things have tamed back a bit but we still have that opportunity for scattered showers and thunderstorms. So once again already starting to see a few of them pop up but let's take you back a good 48-hours, kind of recap what happened. When West Palm to Miami you'll see the areas highlighted in yellow, that's about two inches of rain. I know that's a widespread here but we narrow in on Fort Lauderdale, 20 plus inches of rain and 25.9 inches.

And if that's confirmed that would be the one in 1000-year event in some of these locations. Of course, it doesn't really matter because that rain just kept backing up regardless of 20 inches or 10 inches. These cities are only meant to take on about three to four inches in a 24-hour timeframe. And this fell within six to seven hours, we if 25.9 inches confirmed will have broken a new state 24-hour record rainfall amount.

23.28 inches back in November 1980 in Key West is the original record. There's that area of low pressure spinning over the southeast moving up into the Tennessee River Valley some of the heaviest rain concentrated through the Carolinas. Most of the rain is sitting off into the Atlantic but let's narrow in on Broward County and Palm Beach County, showing you scattered showers and storms starting to fire up.

This is going to be the case to the rest of the morning and into the afternoon. So yes, more rain is expected. Now it's not going to be near as much as what we (inaudible) but through Friday, we can pick up an additional inch to possibly two inches of rain and not only that, but the threat of severe weather, one extreme to the next. This is the next system moving in.

You'll see areas highlighted in yellow Wichita, the Omaha where we'll have that threat for strong to severe storms later this afternoon, damaging winds and hail. Let's speak of another extreme, the ridge ahead of that next front bringing in record temperatures. Newark, New Jersey on Thursday, 92 degrees. 86 previous record was back in 1977.

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We have the possibility of breaking record highs once again across the Great Lakes and right up into the Northeast, each one of those black dots indicating that 30 plus record highs again today. Now Friday's high in Albany, New York 85. Eventually it'll start to cool back down as the next cold front move through.

Typically, we should be in the 50s here in these locations. Max, Bianca.

FOSTER: OK, Britley, thank you so much.

NOBILO: Right now, Western Australia is still getting battered by a historically powerful cyclone. Ilsa broke records of speed when it smashed into the coast making landfall late Thursday night with the strength of a category four Atlantic hurricane. The storm is weakened as it moves further inland.

FOSTER: But it still has potential to cause significant damage with high winds, heavy rain and flooding over the coming hours. It's expected to weaken below tropical cyclone strength later on Friday night and dissipate on Saturday.

Still ahead, a suspect arrested, accused of posting highly classified Pentagon documents online. One expert explains why he thinks it took so long for the leaks to be discovered.

NOBILO: Plus, months of grinding battles have taken a toll on the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. We'll give you a bird's eye view of the city and its deep scars that have been left by fighting.

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NOBILO: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm Bianca Nobilo.

FOSTER: I'm Max Foster. If you're just joining us, let me bring you up to date with our top stories this hour. The 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman arrested in connection with the leaking of classified Pentagon documents is due in court today. A government source tells CNN.