Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
CNN International: Banging Sounds Heard During Search for Submersible; Hunter Biden to Plead Guilty to Federal Tax Charges, Resolve Gun Charge; Trump Denies Flaunting Classified Documents in 2021; Andrew Tate Faces Rape, Human Trafficking Charges; Palestinian Gunmen Kill Four Israelis. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired June 21, 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]
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a very warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and everywhere around the world. I am Bianca Nobilo.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Max Foster joining you live from London. Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who's searching for the sob, reportedly heard banging sounds at 30-minute intervals.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All our efforts are focused on finding the sub.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President Biden's son Hunter reaches an agreement with the Justice Department.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are the president's son.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Notwithstanding what everybody wealth wants to say, nobody else has seen the evidence.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Andrew Tate and his brother are both due in court.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Prosecutors say the charges are human trafficking, rape and setting up a criminal gang.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Live from London this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.
FOSTER: It is Wednesday June the 21st, 9:00 a.m. here in London, 5:30 a.m. in St. John's Canada where crews who are scouring the North Atlantic for the missing Titan submersible say they've heard banging sounds. According to an eternal U.S. government memo, banging was hurt every 30 minutes on Tuesday, though it's unclear for how long. And was heard again hours later after more sonar devices were deployed. NOBILO: But earlier the U.S. Coast Guard tweeted it was unable to
identify the source of the underwater noises dictated by a Canadian aircraft. It says the searchers will continue, despite the negative results. The sub, owned by the underwater exploration company OceanGate, disappeared Sunday on its descent to tour the wreckage of the Titanic, almost 400 nautical miles southeast of Newfoundland, Canada.
FOSTER: We'll get more now on the search efforts from CNN's Jason Carroll.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAPTAIN JAMIE FREDERICK, U.S. COAST GUARD: Right now, all of our efforts are focused on finding the sub.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With each passing hour, it is becoming increasingly clear if the five people on board the missing submersible are to be rescued, it will have to be soon.
Search and rescue teams from the United States and Canada, have been working around the clock in the North Atlantic, and have scanned an area about the size of Connecticut. Remotely operated vehicles equipped with cameras are now searching the area where the 22-foot- long vessel was last seen Sunday.
Sonar buoys deployed to try to detect any sound from the submersible and deep sea rescue equipment is on its way.
FREDERICK: I will tell you, it's a unique operation. It's a challenging operation. But right now, we're focused on putting everything we can add it, and searching as hard as we can, and getting answers out there as quickly as we can.
CARROLL (voice-over): According to the Coast Guard, the Titan lost communication with its mothership, the Polar Prince, less than two hours into its descent Sunday morning, as it headed towards the wreckage of the Titanic, nearly 13,000 feet below the surface. The company that operates the submersible on voyages to the Titanic, OceanGate Expeditions, released this statement.
Our entire focus is on the well-being of the crew, and every step possible is being taken to bring the five crew members back safely.
On board OceanGate CEO and founder Stockton Rush, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Sulaiman. The vessels pilot, French national Paul-Henri Nargeolet, British billionaire Hamish Harding also on board. He was recently a passenger on board Blue Origin spaceflight in 2022.
On Saturday, he posted on his Facebook page, I am proud to finally announce that I joined OceanGate Expeditions for their RMS Titanic mission as a mission specialist on the sub going down to the Titanic.
Just before the expedition, Harding texted his friend, retired NASA astronaut, Colonel Terry Virts. COL. TERRY VIRTS, RETIRED NASA ASTRONAUT: He just said hey, he was all excited. I'm going down to see Titanic, as long as the weather permits. And that was right before he went down. So, he was very excited about it, and there was no concern in his voice.
CARROLL (voice-over): Jason Carroll, CNN, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NOBILO: Earlier our colleague Rosemary Church spoke with a veteran of the British Royal Navy about the challenges that the people in the sub are facing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAPT. RYAN RAMSEY, ROYAL NAVY (RET.): I think the noises that they describe could possibly come from the submersible and is classic rescue signaling to send a location.
[04:05:00]
But it's been detected by a maritime patrol aircraft in the air using sonar buoys, I'm assuming at that point. So there needs to be some degree of not skepticism so much, but no certainty attached to this. We need to be realistic about the situation that the adventurers find themselves in.
If you think about it, we've talked that they're in a submersible. They've gone down to look at the Titanic. You've already pointed out that it's four kilometers deep. The water temperature down there is zero degrees Celsius. So it's really very cold.
The air that they have is, well, remaining sort of 24 to 36 hours of air, but they're also breathing out carbon dioxide. And when I looked around the YouTube footage of the submersible itself, the carbon dioxide absorption units to be able to deal with five people for that amount of time didn't seem to exist in that particular hole. They might do, but I couldn't see that. So actually, the bigger challenge here is the cold and also carbon dioxide.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Yes. And the U.S. Supreme Court again at the center of a ethics controversy after a bombshell report but when the justices. ProPublica alleges that conservative Justice Samuel Alito in 2008 went on a luxury fishing trip to Alaska with hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer.
NOBILO: But he never reported the trip, the accommodations, the meals, nor the private jet flight on his annual financial disclosure. Nor did he rescue himself from the ten cases -- recuse himself from the ten cases involving Singer's hedge fund that came before the court in the years that followed. Alito wrote an op-ed in "The Wall Street Journal," the allegations against him he said are, quote, not valid.
FOSTER: U.S. president, Joe Biden, may have dealt a setback to already frayed relation with China. At a political fundraiser in California on Tuesday, he compared Chinese President Xi Jinping to dictators. Mr. Biden said the reason that President Xi got upset when U.S. shot down that Chinese spy balloon in February, is because he didn't know it was there.
NOBILO: He went on to say, quote, that is what a great embarrassment for dictators when they did not know what happened.
The comment comes after a weekend trip to Beijing by U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.
The White House says President Biden and the first lady love and support their son Hunter, who will plead guilty to federal tax charges.
FOSTER: But sources tell CNN he probably will not serve any time in prison, CNN's Jasmine Wright asked the president about the deal during a meeting in San Francisco.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Have you spoken to you son today Mr. President?
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am very proud of my son.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: More now from CNN's legal affairs correspondent, Paula Reid.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): President Biden's son Hunter reaches an agreement with the Justice Department to resolve a long running criminal investigation. According to a letter filed Tuesday by federal prosecutors, Hunter will plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and struck a deal to resolve a separate felony gun charge if he complies with his end of the plea agreement.
According to court documents, Biden owed at least $100,000 in federal taxes for 2017 and at least $100,000 for 2018 but did not pay the IRS by the deadline. His lawyers say he eventually paid the tax bill along with fees and penalties.
As part of this deal, the Justice Department has agreed to recommend a sentence of probation for the tax charges -- according to sources. But the final punishment will be up to the judge. On the gun charge, prosecutors allege he possessed a gun despite his addiction in violation of federal law.
Biden's lawyers met with the Justice Department in April, and sources tell CNN that negotiations to resolve the case have ramped up in recent weeks. The deal comes after a broad year long investigation that also looked at Hunter Biden's foreign deals and possible money laundering. On Capitol Hill, Republicans have been focused on the president's son and his foreign business dealings, but prosecutors haven't charged him on those claims. On Tuesday, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy criticized Hunter's deal.
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA) HOUSE SPEAKER: It continues to show the two-tier system in America. If you are the president's leading political opponent, the DOJ tries to literally put you in jail and give you prison time. If you are the president's son, you get a sweetheart deal.
REID (voice over): The Hunter Biden investigation has been overseen by Trump appointed U.S. Attorney David Weiss.
In an interview Tuesday, Biden's lawyer Chris Clark called the investigation dogged but fair.
CHRIS CLARK, LAWYER FOR HUNTER BIDEN: This was a five year very diligent investigation pursued by incredibly professional prosecutors. Some of whom have been career prosecutors.
[04:10:02]
One of whom at least was appointed by President Trump and they're -- no one has ever said they're not competent, good or diligent.
REID: We're still waiting for a date to be set for Hunter to head into court for his arraignment and to plead guilty. We expect that'll happen in the coming weeks. But I want to emphasize that this deal including that recommendation for probation is still subject to approval by a judge.
Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Donald Trump is speaking out against the Justice Department saying Hunter Biden is getting off with a mere traffic ticket, and Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence joined the criticism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE PENCE, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I, like tens of millions of Americans, are concerned about a two teared system of justice like one set of rules for Republicans and one set of rules for Democrats.
I have a sense that, while I welcome these charges and the guilty plea, I have a sense that this will do very little to allay the concerns of millions of Americans, that we simply do not have equal treatment under the law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: House Democrats are pushing back on Republican claims that Hunter Biden got a sweetheart plea deal through the Justice Department.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DANIEL GOLDMAN (D-NY): Let's remember, this was a five-year investigation that was conducted by a Trump appointed U.S. attorney, who was operating completely independently from the Biden Department of Justice as he wrote in a letter to Chairman Jim Jordan a couple of weeks ago. So there is no question that given the length of this investigation, the attention that it received, and the exhaustive nature that Mr. Weiss, the U.S. attorney, no doubt put into it, that this is what they could prove beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury.
And notwithstanding what everyone else wants to say, nobody else has seen the evidence as part of this investigation. And so, it is a little bewildering to me that you hear so many of my Republican colleagues talking about how this was a sweetheart deal and he should have been charged with more when they, of course, have not seen the evidence that Mr. Weiss had.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: A new CNN poll shows Donald Trump's favorability rating among Republican aligned voters as a fallen from 77 percent in May to 67 percent in June. That's the first time that his indictment in the classified documents case may be eroding his support.
FOSTER: Meanwhile, legal experts are blasting Trump for more potentially incriminating comments. CNN's justice correspondent Jessica Schneider reports.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA SCHNEIDER, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In his first TV interview since being indicted on federal charges, former President Trump said he retained classified documents even after being subpoenaed by the Justice Department, offering a new explanation why.
BRETT BAIER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Why not just hand them over then?
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Because I had boxes, I want to go through the boxes and get all my personal things out. I don't want to hand that over to NARA yet, and I was very busy, as you've sort of seen. I have every right to have those boxes. This is purely a Presidential Records Act. This is not a criminal thing.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): His claims are untrue and Trump is being charged criminally. He's facing 37 counts, including conspiracy and retaining national defense information. Trump also continuing to insist he declassified everything in his possession while president.
TRUMP: As far as the levels, everything was declassified because I had the right to declassify.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): His criminal trial is now moving forward. Florida Federal Judge Aileen Cannon setting a tentative but swift schedule, asking for pretrial motions to be submitted by the end of next month with a trial date in Fort Pierce, Florida, set for August 14th. That date though, will likely change with Judge Cannon noting the parties could push back the trial start date because of the complexity of the case and issues related to classified information.
BAIER: The Iran attack plan, you remember that?
TRUMP: Ready?
BAIER: You were recorded.
TRUMP: It wasn't a document.
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): Trump denying news reports that he flaunted documents he knew were classified related to Iran in the summer of 2021 at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey, even though -- according to the indictment -- he was captured in an audio recording admitting that the material was, quote, highly confidential, and that it was still classified. Now, he's insisting all he ever had were newspaper clippings.
TRUMP: These boxes were interspersed with all sorts of things, golf shirts, clothing, pants, shoes, there were many things. I would say much, much more -- not that I know of.
There was no document. That was a massive amount of papers and everything else, talking about Iran and other things. And it may have been held up or may not, but that was not a document. I didn't have a document per se. There was nothing to declassify. These were newspaper stories, magazine stories and articles.
[04:15:00]
SCHNEIDER (voice-over): All of these statements from Trump post- indictment could be admissible during his upcoming trial, but Trump continues to brush off the broad implications of his criminal charges.
BAIER: So, you're not worried about this case?
TRUMP: Based on the law, zero, zero.
SCHNEIDER: And Trump is taking fire from many of his former allies, including former Attorney General Bill Barr who just wrote in an op-ed that if the facts laid out in the indictments are true, Trump's actions amount to, quote, brazen criminal conduct that cannot be justified in any way. Of course, Bill Barr has denounced Trump's actions before and Barr did end up resigning as Attorney General in late 2020, just weeks before January 6th.
Jessica Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: The years long investigation finds no evidence of wrongdoing by election workers in Fulton County, Georgia in 2020. The Secretary of State's office worked with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the FBI on the probe. NOBILO: Donald Trump and his campaign had falsely claimed the workers
at State Farm Arena state were counting fake mail-in ballots.
FOSTER: Pennsylvania's governor says that the portion of Interstate 95 damaged by fire less than two weeks ago is expected to reopen this weekend. Construction has been going on less than a week after and an initial phase of demolishing the damaged area.
NOBILO: The governor says that crews from working around the clock in 12-hour shifts, rain or shine, to finish the job as quickly as possible. He says the last three days have been vital to the process.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH SHAPIRO (D) PENNSYLVANIA GOVERNOR: Based on the tremendous progress that we have made over the last 72-hours, and the time that it takes to complete the remaining steps, I can confidently state, right here right now, that traffic will be flowing here on I-95 this weekend. This weekend.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: Still to come, a self-proclaimed misogynist, social media influencer is about to face a judge. We'll have a profile of Andrew Tate as he prepares to face human trafficking, rape and gang charges.
FOSTER: And a violent night in the West Bank as Palestinians accuse Israeli settlers of attacking dozens of villages after a gunman killed four Israelis. We'll have live update.
[04:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Andrew Tate, the self-proclaimed misogynist, online influencer is now facing charges of rape and human trafficking in Romania.
NOBILO: He and his brother are due in court at this hour in Bucharest for a preliminary hearing. And CNN's Salma Abdulaziz is following this case for us. Salma, obviously Andrew Tate alleges that the matrix is out to get him and has all these unfounded claims. Tell us about these charges and they're not the only ones either.
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So he's indicted on rape and human trafficking charges. He is also being investigated for money laundering and trafficking of minors that could potentially come down the pipeline later on.
What's important to know about today's preliminary hearing is that all that's really taking place is, A, there's a determination as to whether or not he stays under house arrest, or what preventative detention would look like going forward and to set a date for the trial.
This is going to take years. And in the meanwhile, one could argue that Andrew Tate remains an extremely influential figure. His Twitter account has been reinstated in the months since. His number of followers has skyrocketed. I was on his account just before I came to speak to you guys and he has tweeted dozens of times since just this headline broke yesterday. Including one video that was seen by 4 million people. He simply continues to horrify and captivate. Take a look at the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDREW TATE, ONLINE INFLUENCER: I do believe if I had to predict the future that they will charge me.
ABDELAZIZ (voice over): Another chapter in the saga of divisive social media influencer, Andrew Tate. Now he, his brother and two female Romanian citizens have been indicted in Romania. Prosecutors say the charges are human trafficking, rape and setting up a criminal gang. The Tate brothers and the women have been under house arrest during the criminal investigation for alleged abuses against seven women, accusations they have denied.
But who is this self-proclaimed misogynist? Back in 2016, Andrew Tate found his first came to notoriety, when he was removed from the British reality TV show, "Big Brother," with no public reason given.
TATE: You learn a lot more by being quiet.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): In the years since, Tate turned his attention to online creation, where he shot to Internet fame, racking up at least 11.6 billion views on TikTok, mostly for his views on masculinity, gender roles, and wealth.
ANDREW TATE, CHARGED WITH RAPE AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING: I don't think the world has ever been equal. I'm saying that the modern society we live in has been built by men. All the roads you see, all the buildings you see, everything around you, men built.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Like this video, where the former kickboxer speaks about his version of so-called equality.
TATE: You had a completely different role --
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Tate's rhetoric prompted concern from critics about his influence on teenage boys before being suspended by most major social media networks last August for violating their policies.
Controversies around Tate and his brother slowly became a legal issue, as Romanian prosecutors pursued claims of human trafficking and rape. Just before his December arrest, Tate became embroiled in a Twitter spat with Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, over his car's emission.
TATE: I'm not actually mad at her. Please bring me pizza and make sure that these boxes are not recycled.
ABDELAZIZ (voice-over): Now, as the brothers await trial, Tate's Twitter has since been reinstated, with more than 6.9 million followers reading his every word. Commentators wonder whether it may take more than a clever tweet to change the tide.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ABDELAZIZ (on camera): Now the legal team of Andrew Tate has spoken out. They say that they, quote, embrace the opportunity to fight in court and present arguments and evidence to prove the Tate brothers innocents.
Of course, he's maintained his innocence throughout and as I mentioned, I think what's so concerning to authorities, to parents, to those who are worried about the influence of Andrew Tate, is every time he's in the headlines that attention is drawn back to the social media accounts.
FOSTER: And they say is talking about him again.
ABDELAZIZ: There you go.
[04:25:00]
FOSTER: Salma, thank you.
Now more bloodshed in the West Bank as tensions of violence soars between Palestinians and Israelis. Two Palestinian gunmen opened fired Tuesday near an Israeli settlement at a gas station. Four Israelis were killed, and four others wounded. Here's Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): In recent months, we have already proven that we hold all the murders accountable, without exception. Anyone who harms us will either be in the grave or in prison. The same applies in this case. However, I want to tell all those who seek to harm us that all options are on the table. We will continue to fight terrorism with full force and we will overcome it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NOBILO: A Palestinian official says Israeli settlers responded by attacking Palestinian villages the West Bank, burning farm fields and vehicles and injuring dozens of villagers.
FOSTER: CNN's Jerusalem correspondent Hadas Gold joins us from the West Bank. Bring us the latest -- Hadas.
HADAS GOLD, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Hi guys, I am at the scene of that attack that was the worst attack targeting Israelis since January. Four Israelis were killed at this attack. This is a gas station with a restaurant behind it. I'm right outside the restaurant and you can still see bullet holes in the restaurant windows and walls, we've counted at least five different bullet holes along the floor, throughout this restaurant and gas station area. We have seen medical gloves, bullet casings, and even bloodstains. And throughout the day we've seen people coming up to this scene. We
just saw a woman on her knees praying. There was two teenagers who were killed as a result of this attack, a man in his 60s and a man in his twenties. And right over here you can see the back part of the gas station, you can still see the very heavy police presence that is here as a result of this attack.
Again, the deadliest attack targeting Israelis since January. We are, just outside an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank. Now, Israeli officials say it was actually two Hamas gunmen who came up to this location, started firing at the restaurant and then started firing at somebody who's filling up his car at the gas station. They say one armed individual, a civilian, who was here shot and killed one of the gunmen. The another gunman stole a car, got away. That caused a man hunt. And after several hours Israeli forces shot and killed that man.
Now in the aftermath of that attack, several Israeli settlers started essentially on another rampage towards Palestinian villages that are nearby. We just drove by some of these villages where you can see the carcasses of burned-out cars. We hear from Palestinian officials that dozens of Palestinians were injured, at least 37, mostly from stone throwing. Most are in light to moderate condition and there's quite a bit of damage to things like homes and vehicles.
Now Hamas in their statement taking credit for this attack here at this gas station and restaurant saying, this was in response to that major gunbattle that happened in Jenin on Monday. That's when the Israeli military went into arrest what they say were two wanted terrorist suspects, but what turned into an arrest operation ended up being an 11-hour a very fierce gun battle, including the use of IEDs by the militants. The Israeli military using in Apache helicopter. We know of at least seven Palestinians who were killed as a result of that operation. Some of them were militants. And eight Israeli soldiers were injured during that operation as well.
But you can feel the tension right now in the occupied West Bank. And now there's a question of will the Israeli military be undertaking anything bigger and more serious military operation here -- guys.
FOSTER: OK, Hadas in Jerusalem, thank you.
Still to come, it's a race against time to find the submersible lost in the Atlantic Ocean before the crew runs out of oxygen. We'll have the latest on the search.
NOBILO: Plus, Ukraine allies are working out how to build the country devastated by war while the fighting still rages. And they have some ambitious plans, when we come back.
[04:30:00]
