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President Biden Calls Ukrainian President Zelenskyy And Other Leaders Amid Russia Chaos; Uncertainty Looms Over Russia After Insurrection; Ukraine Says It's Making Gains Around Bakhmut; Trump Tells Supporters He's Being Indicted For Them; Interview With Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA); Biden Urges Allies Not To Give Credibility To Putin's Claims Of Western Interference; San Antonio Officers Facing Murder Charges After Fatally Shooting A Woman In Distress. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired June 25, 2023 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:46]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington. Good evening.

The world watched and now the world wonders. There's no doubt the armed insurrectionists who have raced toward Moscow have weakened Vladimir Putin's regime. Now the U.S. as well as its allies and enemies are closely watching a country that barely pulled back from the brink of chaos.

There's no word on where Yevgeny Prigozhin is, the head of the ruthless mercenaries in the Wagner Group that abruptly turned around. His troops were just 125 miles of the capital. That's how close they came to pulling off something spectacular.

Russia said Prigozhin would not be prosecuted and instead would go into exile. Prigozhin's news service, as they're calling it, tells CNN that he will answer questions when he has, quote, "proper communication."

And you might remember these stunning images. Prigozhin's fighters were greeted as heroes in some towns for confronting a government they feel has abandoned them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DMITRY, RESIDENT OF ROSTOV REGION (through translator): There are very serious problems in the country and they need to be solved. People who can no longer tolerate it, they resort to such radical methods as Prigozhin.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: It goes without saying this is the most serious threat to Vladimir Putin's 23 years in power and Secretary of State Antony Blinken tells CNN he does not think the turmoil is over just yet.

Let's begin at the White House with CNN's Arlette Saenz. Arlette, we know President Biden spoke today with Ukraine's President

Zelenskyy. How did that conversation go?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, President Biden is spending the weekend at Camp David and he's been working the phones to allies and partners trying to consult them as the situation in Russia has played out. Now one of those phone calls today was to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The White House says that the men talked about not only the United States' continued support for Ukraine but also the situation in Russia as allies have been trying to get a handle on what exactly happened with this short-lived rebellion waged by the mercenary group Wagner against Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces.

Now in addition to that call with Zelenskyy, the president also today spoke with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and yesterday he held a call with European allies including the leaders of France, Germany and the United Kingdom. Now the White House has very deliberately maintained this cautious strategy as these events have unfolded. They have not wanted to give any fodder to Russian President Vladimir Putin to have him use any of the West's comments against him, trying to weaponize against him.

And that is why the White House has been fairly quiet. We haven't heard from President Biden yet. But earlier today, we did hear the first administration response from Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He described the situation as a moving picture and said that it's not one that is yet completely resolved. And he also noted that there are cracks emerging as is evidenced in this episode about Russian President Vladimir Putin's hold on power.

Now one big question going forward for U.S. officials is they're going to try to ascertain the larger ramifications that this could have, not just for Putin within Russia, but also on the war in Ukraine. And that is why the White House has said the president has wanted to stay close with allies and partners over the weekend as they continue to assess what exactly happened and what impacts it will have moving forward.

ACOSTA: All right, must be some very interesting conversations going on between the White House and U.S. allies right now on this situation.

Arlette Saenz, thank you very much.

Russia's Vladimir Putin is dealing with the most serious challenge to his authority since he came into power 23 years ago. An adviser to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy says Prigozhin almost, quote, "nullified Putin." Secretary of State Tony Blinken says we can't underestimate the significance of what has happened this past weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE: It's too soon to tell exactly where this is going to go. And I suspect that this is a moving picture and we haven't seen the last act yet, but we can say this. First of all, what we've seen is extraordinary and I think you see cracks emerge that weren't there before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: CNN's senior national security correspondent Alex Marquardt is back with us.

[19:05:03]

Alex, we're hearing words like nullified, humiliated, these are words that Vladimir Putin does not like. What are some of the diplomatic challenges of dealing with a politically wounded Vladimir Putin?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Huge diplomatic challenges, Jim. Huge security challenges. Remember this is a man who is in charge of the world's biggest nuclear arsenal. Any Putin watcher will tell you that if Putin is backed into a corner, that makes for a very dangerous Putin. We have never seen a challenge to his authority like this, as you mentioned, these Wagner troops getting within 125 miles, 200 kilometers of the Kremlin.

His weakness has been exposed. And so he is going to have to reassert himself in a way that demonstrates to the world and demonstrates to his country that he is fully in power. The U.S. is going to have to navigate this carefully. And we're already starting to see that. Now Arlette touched on the fact that the U.S. has had a very hands-off approach, making clear -- trying to make clear to the world that they really didn't have any role in this. That they certainly are not supporting Prigozhin on his march to Moscow.

But, Jim, at the same time, obviously watching this very carefully and we are told that the intelligence community did see this coming, that in the past few days and weeks, they've really seen planning for this. They've seen Wagner troops getting into position, equipment and weaponry on the move. There was a briefing we're told midweek by intelligence officials to the Gang of Eight in Congress which includes the heads of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees essentially telling them that this was imminent.

Let's take a listen to Mike Rogers, the head of the House Intelligence Committee.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE TURNER (R-OH): The intelligence community was very much aware of it. The conflict between Prigozhin and Putin was inevitable. This is not a weekend trip he's taking. Taking his convoy and his military convoy up to Moscow. There's a number of accomplices included as we saw some of the Russian people on the border with Ukraine who clearly support the Wagner Group, in contrast to their support for the Russian government. This is something that would have had to have been planned for a significant amount of time to be executed in the manner which it was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: So that was Mike Turner, the Republican head of the House Intelligence Committee, indicating that this was very much known by the intelligence community.

Jim, what was not expected was the lack of resistance to these Wagner forces. I'm told the U.S. assessment thought that there would be a lot more violence, a lot more bloodshed as Wagner tried to get -- head north and get to the Russian capital.

ACOSTA: All right. Alex Marquardt, thank you very much for that.

At this hour, we still do not know where Vladimir Putin is. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said yesterday the Russian leader is, quote, "very afraid and was no longer in Moscow."

With me now is Yuri Shvets. He studied with Putin at the KGB Institute and worked as a Soviet spy in Washington.

Yuri, thank you very much for joining us tonight. I can't imagine there are a whole lot of folks out there who might have better insights into what has occurred this past weekend than you do. What do you think? How do you think Putin is reacting to this near insurrection and at the same time why is it that we have not seen Putin since that angry statement that he put out just about 24 hours ago?

YURI SHVETS, FORMER KGB OFFICER: Thank you for having me, Jim. First, I believe this is a disaster for Putin. And he understands, he realizes this is a disaster. And according to his practices in similar situation, he digs into a hole and stays there as long as possible. This is what he's doing right now.

The last two days, it was the final act of defeat of Putin, Putin's image which he has been building since the year 2000. Since the beginning of the aggression into Ukraine, he destroyed his reputation and myths about the Russian army being the second best army in the world. Now this is the second army in Russia after Wagner, apparently.

And over the last two days, he showed that his grip on power in Russia is almost nonexistent. He balances over the last 20 years, his act was to balance between different factions. He does not -- he doesn't -- he is not in a position to do it anymore. He controls the country as a mafia-style organization. And --

ACOSTA: So that leads me to this question.

SHVETS: He lost control by what --

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: How humiliating is it for Putin to be challenged by someone like Prigozhin, to essentially have Prigozhin 125 miles or so from Moscow, somebody who was once his protege?

[19:10:02]

SHVETS: Exactly. Exactly. Because Prigozhin, especially betraying of Prigozhin because for Putin, it was a lap dog. Prigozhin as a personality was created by Putin. Essentially before the -- before they met, Prigozhin was a two-time, hard-core criminal. Hard-core criminal. And this is Putin who made him very famous and powerful. So Putin can see this as a real betrayal and as he used to say it in the past, there's one crime which he cannot pardon, and this is betrayal. And this is what he did yesterday. He didn't just pardon -- he does it well.

ACOSTA: Yes. What do you make of this deal that they made? They made this deal where Prigozhin gets to leave for Belarus and his mercenaries and Wagner are folded into the Russian military, and that is that, all is forgiven. Can you believe that?

SHVETS: Well, this is what -- not just I cannot believe. I have difficulties believing. But most Russians hardly -- can hardly believe it because it's a clear humiliation. Even more so because what we know so far, this isn't official, part of the arrangement, but sources close to Kremlin, they say that there is one very important point of the arrangement which is not -- it has not been announced.

And this is Shoigu, the defense minister, and Gerasimov, the chief of staff, will go into retirement. They will not be fired in disgrace as Prigozhin demanded. But they will be moving to retirement and it was a single explicitly formulated demand of Prigozhin.

ACOSTA: And let me ask you this, how is Putin going to survive this politically? We were talking about this with other guests during this program that I know from Russian history and history of the Soviet Union, generational change in Russia or the Soviet Union for that matter can happen very quickly, very suddenly, and take the world by surprise. Do you think something like that could happen and bring about the end of Vladimir Putin?

SHVETS: It's hard to say. Because Putin's personal policy over the 20 years in power was to nominate (INAUDIBLE), his subordinates. People who are not intelligent, they have no guts. Most of them have no entities whatsoever. So they -- like, you know, gray mice, as they used to say. So it's hard to imagine that these people can commit a coup d'etat.

Prigozhin, two-time convicted criminal. Putin's chef. He dared to do this by the high-ranking military FSB. They did it there. So the country right now is basically in a free fall. I mean, in terms that the system of control and governance is almost destroyed. I don't know how they're going to repair this. But what is important to understand, in similar circumstance, Putin's tactic is to fight back with threats, with bluff.

Most of them are those threats are bluff, such as, you know, brandishing nuclear weapons, tactical -- use of tactical, you know, use of nukes in Ukraine or elsewhere. I can tell you on the basis of professional experience, this is the bluff which goes back to the days of the KGB.

ACOSTA: Very interesting. All right. Well, and you would know that subject well, Yuri Shvets. Thank you very much for joining us. We'd love to have you back and continue having this conversation. It's very important. Thanks very much for your time. SHVETS: Thank you for having me.

ACOSTA: All right, we appreciate it.

Amid the chaos in Russia, Ukraine's military says it is gaining ground around the city of Bakhmut. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh is in Kyiv for us.

Nick, Ukraine clearly wants to capitalize on this power struggle in Russia, can they do that?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Yes, that is the ultimate question certainly in Kyiv for the days ahead. You were hearing there about the acute level of chaos that may still yet bitterly come in Russia top brass ranks, whether or not the defense minister and the head of the Ukraine campaign end up leaving their jobs.

Now it is unclear at this stage what level of turbulence the move by Wagner towards Moscow has caused on the frontlines. Many argue that Wagner wasn't necessarily involved in frontline fighting. Certainly those units that made that move were adequately prepared and have been away from the front for some time.

But what has this done to morale?

[19:15:01]

Certainly Ukraine is saying they've managed and have relatively obtuse by what they say here to move forward one or two kilometers on the outskirts of Bakhmut. And today they, without any real specifics, suggested they had some progress in the Tavriya direction. That's essentially in Zaporizhzhia where many believe in that southern area Ukraine wants to make a breakthrough to cut the Crimean Peninsula occupied by Russia off from Donbas and the Russian mainland proper.

So suggestions that we might be seeing some kind of progress, but it's very hard to get specifics and I think too probably a sense of cautious timing here amongst Ukrainian military. They don't want to move necessarily too fast without being fully apprised of exactly how things have changed along the frontline. But they certainly don't want to wait so long for the chaos to subside in Moscow but that moment is indeed passed. So utterly vital that Kyiv seizes this moment for its benefit -- Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, Nick Paton Walsh, I know you'll be keeping an eye on that situation. It's very interesting. Thanks so much for that report. We appreciate it.

Coming up, quote, "I'm being indicted for you." That's how former president Donald Trump is spinning his federal indictment as he faces allegations of putting the national security of the United States security at risk in his handling of classified documents. We'll talk about that. Plus three San Antonio police officers are now facing murder charges after shooting a woman in her own apartment. What the body cam footage shows. We'll talk about that as well.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:20:31]

ACOSTA: Former president Donald Trump's new spin on his indictment in the classified documents case is that he's taking one for the MAGA team.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: I'm being indicted for you and I believe the you is more than 200 million people that love our country. They're out there. And they love our country.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: That was Trump speaking last night before a major gathering of evangelical Christian voters here in Washington. His remarks come as Special Counsel Jack Smith is seeking to delay the classified documents case against the former president until December.

And joining us now to talk about this, former adviser to Vice President Mike Pence Olivia Troye, and "Vanity Fair" special correspondent Molly Jong-Fast.

Molly, let me start with you. What do you think of Trump's line, I'm being indicted for you? I mean, leave it to Trump to speak before a crowd of evangelicals and play the martyr, I guess.

MOLLY JONG-FAST, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, VANITY FAIR: Yes. I mean, it's actually sort of smart in a way, right? He's saying that they're coming after him because -- not because he did crimes, right? Not because he refused to return the documents, which is what makes sense, but instead because somehow he was too MAGA for the -- you know, the mainstream world.

I mean, it works. His people like it. He's done well with this messaging and you know, there's not much else to say, I think. I mean, he's found an effective way to spin his own indictment to make him more popular with his base.

ACOSTA: And that leads me to this, Olivia. A new NBC poll out today shows that Trump is way out in front of his main rival Ron DeSantis, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Trump is now leading DeSantis, 51-22. That's up from 46-31 just a couple of months ago. Why hasn't Ron DeSantis gained any ground with Trump being in so much legal hot water? Is it -- is it because he took this tact of kind of getting behind him a little bit and not slamming him for all of this legal trouble that he's in?

OLIVIA TROYE, FORMER ADVISER TO MIKE PENCE: Yes, look, I think that that is where the Chris Christie approach is actually the best approach. I think that you have to come out and you have to punch Trump in the face, and you have to talk to the voters directly and say this is actually what's really going on here.

I think what has helped Trump is the fact that so many Republicans in leadership and elected officials have gotten behind him and repeated some of these talking points, right? It's about the weaponization of the Department of Justice. It's about like them going after you, it's about attacking the FBI. All of that, instead of focusing and saying, hey, by the way, Donald Trump put the national security at risk for all of you, for all Americans. That's what this person has done.

But that is not what the machine is doing. And so -- and you know, that's all part of the fundraising scheme as well, right? The grift continues by all of this because the fearmongering unfortunately works.

ACOSTA: And Molly, and, you know, another subject that came up at this conference, obviously it was abortion. At this speech before evangelicals, Trump said there remains a vital role for the federal government in restricting abortions. He did provide any specifics about what that looks like. The reporters have been hounding him for those kinds of specifics. But he wasn't afraid to do this back in 2016. I just want to remind our viewers this is what he said back in 2016. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS MATTHEWS, FORMER NBC HOST: Do you believe in -- do you believe in punishment for abortion. Yes or no? As a principle.

TRUMP: The answer is that there has to be some form of punishment.

MATTHEWS: For the woman.

TRUMP: Yes, there has to be some form.

MATTHEWS: Ten years? What?

TRUMP: That, I don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now I'm old enough to remember that one, Molly. He is a lot more hesitant around this issue this time around. Why do you suppose that is?

JONG-FAST: Because he -- Republicans caught the car on abortion, right? Abortion has never been more sort of universally accepted than when they overturned Roe. I mean, they -- you know, what they did was they showed us this idea that abortion is actually health care, right? We see -- you know, every day, story after story of, you know, a woman has a, you know, miscarriage, can't get a DNC.

I mean, it's just sort of -- it's amazing the stories that we're reading and, you know, just real hardship. And I think that, you know, the polling shows that, like, as, you know, Roe is more and more popular, bodily autonomy is more and more popular, and a federal ban is less and less popular. I mean, Trump is in a real pickle here because, you know, he wants to claim credit for taking away Roe v. Wade because he did put in these three Trumpy justices, but the problem is, you know, it's not that popular. And swing voters don't love it.

[19:25:08]

So he's really in a pickle and he's going to -- I think he's going to try to bob and weave this as long as possible.

ACOSTA: And Olivia, let's talk about Russia a little bit. You were the national security adviser for Mike Pence when he was vice president. And as you know, I'm sure you witnessed this when you were in the White House and in the administration, but some in the GOP have elevated Putin over the years as a strongman who should be admired.

When I asked Republican Congressman Tim Burchett about this last night, he said something surprising. He does not agree with this. Let's listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): I wish he was on a fast trip to hell right now, Jim. Honestly. He's caused nothing but suffering in this world and he is a very bad person. And I would never -- I've encouraged my colleagues to be very cautious in that because I think that sends the wrong message.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: I thought that was very interesting. But you don't hear that in some of the other quarters of the Republican Party, people like Tucker Carlson and others. Why do you think that is and do you think that Republicans are going to reassess Vladimir Putin and whether or not it's a good idea to cozy up to the guy when, you know, he has mercenaries 125 miles from Moscow as we saw over the weekend?

TROYE: Yes, look, I mean, Putin is a tyrant, right? And I think the congressman is absolutely correct. I'm grateful actually for his voice on the Republican side because that is traditionally where the Republican Party has been. We have been very forceful on Russia going back to Reagan. I'm glad to see some sort of semblance of that kind of peeking its head out again.

But I'll say this, I think it is MAGA. It is the party of MAGA. And when you see people out there like Lauren Boebert, who was tweeting about Trump saying, you know, this wouldn't happen under him, well -- and things like that. Actually MAGA, Trump admired Putin. He looks up to dictators like that, right? That is who he aspires sort of to be, to be honest with you, from everything that I saw in the White House and that my colleagues saw.

And so I think they're balancing this thing of where they don't want to alienate their followers and supporters who support Trump because he speaks so highly of him in the past. And so how do you balance that? But the right thing to do for the international community, for our national security, and for the party overall, I would say, is to call it for what it is and say, no, we are not going to hold this man on a pedestal. Putin is a horrible person. He's creating atrocities and we have to really stand together and not support such things like this guy.

ACOSTA: Yes. All right, Olivia, Molly Jong-Fast, thanks to both of you. Really appreciate it. Glad we were able to get this conversation during a very busy news weekend. Really appreciate it.

Coming up, how the U.S. react to the instability in Russia? Congressman -- Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell joins me next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:32:12]

ACOSTA: Moscow has avoided an armed insurrection for now, but it faces a world keenly aware of major weaknesses that are now exposed in Vladimir Putin's regime.

Today, there is no word on where Yevgeny Prigozhin is, the head of the ruthless mercenaries in the Wagner Group, abruptly turned around his troops when they were just 125 miles within the capital.

Prigozhin's news service tells CNN that he will answer questions when he has "proper communication." It is the most serious threats Vladimir Putin in his 23 years in power and secretary of State, Antony Blinken tells CNN he does not think the turmoil is over.

And joining us to talk about this further is Democratic congressman, Eric Swalwell, member of the House Judiciary Committee.

Congressman, great to see you.

You tweeted that as Russia's command and control collapses, you hope to see GOP colleagues who rooted for Russia would rethink their support for Ukraine. Have you spoken to any of them who have revised their opinions? What's your sense of it?

REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA): Well, my Republican GOP friends who have been with Ukraine are also hopeful and I've spoken with some of them. And again, the hope here is, if this was a football game, Russia has fumbled the ball on their own 20 yard line right now.

And so Ukraine is in the red zone as it takes on this counteroffensive. They are making gains in Bakhmut, and the best thing I think we can do, as the US government is to first have unity among both parties, and to juice the counteroffensive in any way that we have not already done.

You know, Putin right now, he's going to have to rob resources from the battlefront in Ukraine and bring them back to Moscow to protect himself. And so he has taken on essentially, a two-front war now. You know, one within his border and one outside, and that lies an opportunity for Ukraine. ACOSTA: And President Biden has resisted the urge to seize on these

developments in Russia over the weekend to avoid, you know, feeding into any kind of narrative in Moscow that the US was sort of sort of behind some of what was going on with Prigozhin's march on Moscow and so on.

But as the days go on, do you think it's time for the president to perhaps step up the messaging when it comes to Putin and Ukraine and perhaps, urge, you know, a bit more weaponry going into the Ukrainians to help them out there? Is that something that you would like to see the president do, step up that message?

SWALWELL: Yes, well, the first, you know, Secretary Blinken, I thought it was pitch perfect on "State of the Union" on CNN this morning. But right now, it is important not to root for regime change in Russia. Again, Prigozhin, he is not bringing what we call an "iskra" in Russia, you know, a spark, a revolution. As they say, there's a Russian phrase you know, from spark can flare up a fire. That's not what this is.

He is seeking, you know, a command and control change to better prosecute the case in Ukraine.

[19:35:07]

And so I think, I think the best thing we can do is if there are areas where you know, additional weaponry, additional logistics support, additional intelligence would help them, I hope we do that to the max, and also Europe should be looking at it that way as well.

ACOSTA: And last night we spoke to Republican congressman, Tim Burchett, who said he thinks the US should opt to punish Putin economically with sanctions rather than get more involved in arming the Ukrainians. What is your response to that?

SWALWELL: That was the first thing that we did, Jim, if you remember, on 24th February, we got the Germans to go along with not doing Nord Stream 2 and we put in place some of the most powerful sanctions any country has suffered.

And then came the military aid that we stitched together with NATO and our other allies. So you know, we have done that. That's a part of the effort, but Republicans have walked away from this. They're either rooting for Russia, now, that's the Marjorie Taylor Greene-like folks, or they're actually helping Russia in their inaction.

So when Speaker McCarthy says essentially, there is no more funds for Ukraine in the deals that we struck in Congress, this is very binary, either you're helping Ukraine in their fight for freedom to push Russia out, or your inaction is helping Russia take over Ukraine.

And so right now, that's why I think unity is the best thing we could see come out of this opportunity.

ACOSTA: And just this past November, Yevgeny Prigozhin admitted interfering in US elections, and as he now breaks with Putin, I mean, I think this raises the question, what would it mean for the US if Prigozhin were to somehow swoop into power? Could the US do business with him if he has admitted to interfering in US elections?

SWALWELL: Yes, that's why I think that the best posture for us is to just help Ukraine push Russia out. Of course, track any movements of loose nukes, but Prigozhin is a murderous thug.

You know, he did interfere in our elections. You know, he, just like Putin has not shown anything but an anti-Ukraine sentiment, and that runs rampant inside Russia, so I don't think we should believe that we'd get a better outcome with Ukraine.

And also, Jim, if you start talking about regime change, what you do is you put Putin in an impossible position where this guy who thinks Russia is Putin, and Putin is Russia, you know, that's where he could cross the red line, and start using his nuclear capabilities.

And so I think, Biden has been perfect in this in making it all about stitching the alliance together to push Russia out of Ukraine.

ACOSTA: And I understand what you're saying about not wanting to talk about regime change too much. That's difficult to do, diplomatically speaking.

But what do you think? Do you think that the Biden administration and perhaps they're doing this behind the scenes, do members of Congress need to start thinking about what some of these scenarios might look like in a post-Putin Russia?

I mean, is that something that conversations-- are conversations like that occurring?

SWALWELL: Yes, well, Jim, we just don't have a great track record where we try and, you know, be a part of it from Iran under Mosaddegh in the 50s, or in Latin America.

An organic regime change, of course, you know, as we've seen in Ukraine, as we've seen across parts of the Middle East, that can be better, but when we are seen as being a part of it, or even perceived as being a part of it, it often backfires.

And so that's why I think, this is about the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Go all in right now. Push Russia out and let the Russians see how weak Putin is and it is up to the Russian people if that's the kind of leader, a weak leader who could be toppled by Prigozhin so quickly or threatened by Prigozhin so quickly, is that who they want is their leader?

ACOSTA: All right, Democratic congressman, Eric Swalwell, thanks very much for your time. We appreciate it.

SWALWELL: My pleasure. Thanks.

ACOSTA: All right, coming up, three San Antonio police officers charged with murder after shooting a woman at her apartment. What the police bodycam video shows, next. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:43:13]

ACOSTA: Three San Antonio police officers are facing murder charges after fatally shooting a woman inside her apartment on Friday. The police chief says the woman appeared to be in distress when the officers responded to a police call.

I spoke with Mayor Ron Nirenberg of San Antonio last hour and got a chance to ask him about the very disturbing bodycam footage showing the incident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR RON NIRENBERG, SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: It is very disturbing. Murder charges have already been filed, so those police officers, while they still are obviously given due process, they are no longer on the job in terms of patrolling the streets of San Antonio.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: CNN national correspondent, Mike Valerio joins us with the latest.

Mike, what more do we know?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, you know, we were asking about the experience levels of those officers and we have that information for you. There is one sergeant with 14 years' experience who was involved in this and then two other officers, one who was five years with the department, the second officer has two years.

But the really, the center of this case, Jim, is the woman, the victim here, a mother, 46 -year-old, Melissa Perez, and she is cutting the wires of her apartment's fire alarm system early Friday morning, just after midnight.

So people go up to her and they say hey, what are you doing? And she tells those people in addition to firefighters, she is cutting those wires because she thinks that the FBI is listening to her. So it is clear that she is having a mental health episode.

Officers show up and they determine that they're going to charge her with defacing property, a felony criminal mischief, and she is quite afraid of that. She goes into her apartment building, locks the doors and she grabs a hammer.

She looks towards the officers from her back patio, not once, but twice with the hammer and officers opened fire in both of those instances.

So what we're going to show you, it is unsettling video. There is that first a confrontation, an exchange of words between the victim here and an officer. And then there are two volleys of gunfire.

So again it is unsettling, it is video that's disturbing, but it is at the center of what happens here. It is about 20 seconds long. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE.)

POLICE OFFICER: You're going to get shot.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shoot me.

POLICE OFFICER: Go. Hey watch out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey. Hey, watch out.

(GUNFIRE.)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, hey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey.

(GUNFIRE.)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back up.

(GUNFIRE.)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: So that Jim is the sorrowful crescendo of the incident right there, but we have some key details from a detective who has been investigating this, quoted in the affidavit that is part of the arrest charges here. He says: "The defendants (we are talking about the officers) were not in clear danger of death or serious bodily injury at the time the defendants used deadly force."

He goes on to say: "Your affiant (which means the detective writing this) does not believe a reasonable officer in light of the same facts and circumstances at the time would have felt compelled to use deadly force."

So I was combing through the affidavit late last night, Jim, and one of the officers wrote to police that he thought the victim here could have thrown the hammer through a glass window, but the police chief and certainly the people who decided to file these murder charges in San Antonio, vehemently disagree with that, writing that there was a wall, a window with a TV and another window between the officers and this victim here, again, a 46-year-old mother.

So where are we leave this, the officers are all out on bond at this hour and they have a preliminary hearing a month from now, July 25th -- Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, Mike Valerio, a very disturbing case. Thank you very much for that update. We appreciate it. Coming up, some very shocking and disturbing images coming out of

Georgia, neo-Nazi demonstrations outside of synagogues. Details on that next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[19:51:39]

ACOSTA: Today, leaders in Georgia are condemning disturbing neo-Nazi demonstrations outside two synagogues. One in the city of Macon, and the other in the Atlanta suburb of, Marietta.

People gathered outside the synagogues and waved swastika flags and held anti-Semitic signs.

CNN's Rafael Romo joins us now with more.

Rafael, what more do we know about these demonstrations?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Jim.

The anti-Semitic demonstrations and at least one incident of hate happened on Friday and Saturday. The first one happened at a synagogue in Macon, Georgia located about 85 miles southeast of Atlanta. People were observed yelling anti-Semitic messages Friday night outside Temple Beth Israel, where one man was arrested after allegedly shouting obscenities through a bullhorn as CNN affiliate WGXA reported.

Just a few hours before this incident, Jim, police in Warner Robins located about 20 miles south of Macon reported officers were made aware of what they called anti-Semitic packages. Warner Robins Police are now working with county, state, and federal agencies in their investigation of the incident.

And then on Saturday, a small group with signs and Nazi flags was seen outside Chabad of Cobb County, a synagogue in Marietta, a suburb of Atlanta, as CNN affiliate, WANF reported. At least one person also appeared to be standing on top of an Israeli flag according to CNN affiliate, WSB.

This is how the rabbi at the synagogue in Macon reacted to the anti- Semitic demonstration outside her temple.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RABBI ELIZABETH BAHAR, TEMPLE BETH ISRAEL: If we read anything and learned anything from most recent anti-Semitic events, which as you know, have been unfortunately increasing across this country. If you look at the ADL, they're up 33 percent over the past couple of years, tells me that we need to do more reaching out, more addressing anger that is found within other people, more addressing things like fear -- fear of the other, fear of what's different.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And Jim, as you can imagine there was swift reaction from state leaders condemning the demonstrations and acts of hate.

Georgia governor, Brian Kemp condemned the anti-Semitic acts in a tweet Sunday saying that: "There is absolutely no place for this hate and anti-Semitism in our state. I share in the outrage over this shameful act and stand with Georgians everywhere in condemning it."

He said, adding that, "State officials remain vigilant in the face of these disgusting acts of bigotry."

Jim, back to you.

ACOSTA: It's absolutely despicable, and in this climate right now, where people in the Jewish community are worried about these anti- Semitic attacks, it is important that people from all sides of the political aisle speak out on this.

Rafael Romo, thank you very much.

Still ahead, what a US Taskforce is recommending to try to improve America's mental health. Stay with us for that story.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:58:46]

ACOSTA: A health taskforce is now recommending all adults ages 19 to 64 get screened for anxiety disorders.

CNN's health reporter, Jacqueline Howard has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Anxiety disorders are common and this new recommendation to screen more adults could lead to more cases of anxiety disorders being identified and potentially more people receiving treatments because it's already estimated that only 41 percent of people with an anxiety disorder get treated, so that means more than half are not receiving the care they might need.

So here's exactly what the taskforce now recommends: Screening for anxiety disorders among adults, 64 or younger, including those who are pregnant and postpartum. And then more research is needed on screening in adults 65 or older.

The taskforce also continues to recommend screening for depression in all adults, including those 65 and older, and it calls for more research into screening for suicide risks.

Surprisingly, there is not much data on how and when to screen for suicide risks in people who have not already been diagnosed with a mental health disorder or are not already showing signs or symptoms. But in the meantime, there are resources available for anyone

experiencing a mental health crisis. You can call or text 988 to get connected to a mental health counselor for help.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And make sure you get help if you need it.

All right, thanks for joining me this evening.

Reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. CNN's coverage continues now with Jim Sciutto.

Stay with us. Have a good night.