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CNN International: Ukraine to Dominate this Week's European Union Summit; House Republicans Formalize Impeachment inquiry into Biden; Judge Pauses Case Proceedings Amid Appeals, May Delay Trial; Trump Rallies Supporters in Iowa Ahead of First Caucus; Russian President Vladimir Putin Holding His First News Conference Since Ukraine Invasion. Aired 4:00-4:30a ET
Aired December 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]
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Bianca Nobilo, live from Brussels. I'm here as a key high stakes discussion kicks off today between the Member States about Ukraine potentially starting formal talks to become a member of the European Union. And more support for the country too, off the back of Zelenskyy's disappointing trip to the United States. All of this, as Putin holds a Q&A and addresses his country in Russia.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Max Foster joining you live from London with a look at the impeachment inquiry against President Biden that the House Republicans passed along party lines. This as the president's son, Hunter Biden rips the GOP for, quote, lies believed by too many people.
ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Bianca Nobilo.
FOSTER: It is Thursday, December the 14th, 9:00 a.m. here in London, 10:00 a.m. in Brussels, where Bianca is covering a key summit where EU leaders are discussing Ukraine's membership bid and whether to fast track accession talks. She'll join us a bit later in the show.
But we begin at the U.S. Capitol, where, despite a lack of evidence, House Republicans have voted to launch a formal impeachment inquiry into Joe Biden. Model Raju, CNN chief congressional correspondent
The president released a statement saying in part, quote, instead of doing anything to help make Americans lives better, they focus on attacking me with lies.
CNN chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju has more on where things stand.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The House voted along straight party lines 221 to 212 to open up a formal impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. And there actually had been an impeachment inquiry on the books released since September since Kevin McCarthy and then the Speaker of the House announced that it would move ahead, but it doesn't actually need to be a formal vote. But Republicans contended that there needed to be a vote to give them more power if they had to go to court to get records if they thought they had to fight people who are defying their subpoenas that this vote could help them push back on any of those claims that this was an illegitimate inquiry.
But the reality is that they wanted to try to show that the conference was united behind the idea that impeachment investigation needed to happen. But that's not to say that members are united about charging the president with high crimes or misdemeanors. In fact, many of them who I spoke with simply said that they have not seen enough evidence or proof that shows that Joe Biden acted corruptly in any way to benefit his son, Hunter Biden's overseas business dealings. Several of them said, let's wait to see what evidence ultimately is gathered before we make the decision about charging him with the high crime or misdemeanors. Even some top Republicans indicated it is still possible that Joe Biden could get exonerated in the months ahead.
REP. RICHARD HUDSON (R-NC): Well, the vote today was a search for facts, and we're going to follow the facts wherever they lead. And if they exonerate the President, then we'll make that known to the American people.
RAJU: Could you guys really get exonerate the president after all of this?
HUDSON: Well, we're following the facts and you know, a lot of these allegations are very serious and you guys should spend some time looking into them. And if we're wrong, report that.
RAJU: And Speaker Mike Johnson faces a real challenge in the weeks and months ahead because of the fact that our a number of Republicans who are pushing to get Joe Biden impeached. Yet there are several in those swing districts who say that they want to see much more information before they're willing to vote for impeachment. And this drum beat is going to get louder on the right to push for impeachment, while Mike Johnson in that race with the majority cannot afford to lose more than three Republican votes in order to move forward with impeachment. So, it remains to be seen where Republicans go as they are now moving ahead in this impeachment inquiry after this party line vote.
Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: House Democrats say the impeachment inquiry into the president is nothing more than a distraction and a sham. Here's Congressman Adam Schiff.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): I'm not surprised. These are not serious people. This is not a serious impeachment inquiry. It is a tragedy and a farce, and it's motivated by two things. One of them, I think, was that social media post that you just showed on the screen, that is, they want to dilute the stain of Trump's two legitimate impeachment, with an illegitimate impeachment of Joe Biden. They have no affirmative agenda for the country. They're doing nothing on housing, nothing on food, nothing on healthcare, nothing on climate change, nothing on gun safety. What they are doing, they're doing a they did a sham censure of me.
[04:05:02]
They vacated their own speaker. They had to expel one of their own members. And now they're engaged in a farce of an impeachment proceeding as a way of, I guess taking up time on the floor because they have nothing else to offer the American people. It's a terrible reason for an impeachment proceeding.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Now the president's son Hunter is a main focus of Republican investigators. On Wednesday, he defied a subpoena to appear for closed door questioning about his family's foreign business dealings. He says he's willing to testify publicly, but not in private.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTER BIDEN, SON OF U.S. PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I'm here today to answer at a public hearing. I have been the target of the unrelenting Trump attack machine shouting, where's Hunter? I am here. There is no fairness or decency in what these Republicans are doing. They have lied over and over about every aspect of my personal and professional life, so much so that their lives have become the false facts believed by too many people. No matter how many times it is debunked.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, the Republican chairman behind the impeachment inquiry says he'll start contempt of Congress proceedings against Hunter Biden for his refusal to participate.
The Federal District Court judge overseeing Donald Trump's election subversion case has paused all procedural deadlines while matters play out in the Court of Appeals, Judge Tanya Chutkan says she no longer has jurisdiction over some aspects of the criminal case. Whether or not Trump is actually immune from prosecution is being considered by the Court of Appeals right now. The special counsel overseeing the case has also requested the U.S. Supreme Court weigh in on the matter. CNN's Katelyn Polantz explains why the judge made this decision.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Essentially, she has to she doesn't really have another option . Because in Donald Trump's criminal case, before he goes to trial, the courts have to figure out two things. If Donald Trump can even be tried. He was already tried by the Senate. Is that double jeopardy now that he's charged again in a Criminal Court of law? So they have to decide that. And also they have to decide a question about presidential immunity. Is Donald Trump protected from being charged with any crime for something he did while he was president, something that he may argue was part of his role as the President of the United States?
Now all of this is up in the air. There's a lot of wheels turning in the courts right now. What's happening at the trial level before Judge Tanya Chutkan in Washington, DC, is Trump essentially wanted her to cancel everything, pause everything. The Justice Department said no, we're actually doing a bunch with appeals. They're going to the Supreme Court. They're trying to get an order very quickly, determining what is happening here.
And what Judge Chutkan said is the trial date is still standing. It's still March 4th. But that doesn't mean that the rest of the things that are happening in this case don't have to pause while the Supreme Court determines if they want to do anything. What the appeals court above her might do. And so now, essentially all of the things that Donald Trump's lawyers would have to do to show up in court to determine, to get to trial, they're not going to have to do that right now. But there's still a gag order over Trump, and there's still bail conditions. And this case still exists, and the trial date still is in March.
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FOSTER: Our CNN's Katelyn Polantz there, reporting from Washington.
During the Town Hall with CNN, Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy told a crowd of Iowa voters that the federal government has lied systemically to Americans. That's just one of the conspiracy theories he embraced in an effort to appeal to supporters. Former U.S. President, Donald Trump, just weeks before the national first nominating contest, like Trump Ramaswamy is calling for a strict and far reaching crackdown on immigration, saying he would deploy the military to secure U.S. borders and use police to deport millions of undocumented migrants. And he wants to end birthright citizenship.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIVEK RAMASWAMY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, if the kid of a Mexican diplomat who's here legally does not enjoy birthright citizenship, neither does or should the kid of a Mexican or Venezuelan migrant who's here illegally. And there's been case law on this at the appellate court level, the one case that's been ruled agrees with me on this. I believe the current Supreme Court agrees with me, six to three on this. All we need is a president with the spine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Trump is also looming large in Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley's race for the White House. Haley says voters shouldn't judge her based on how much she loves or hates the former president.
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According to the latest CNN poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire, Haley is in second place at 20 percent. Trump has a significant lead with 42 percent of likely voters in the Granite State. Haley sat down with CNN's Dana Bash for a joint interview with New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu one day after he endorsed her for president.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Governor DeSantis did a Town Hall with CNN in Iowa last night and he was asked about this endorsement. And he said, even a campaigner as good as Chris is not going to be able to paper over Nikki being an establishment candidate. What do you say to that?
NIKKI HALEY, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You can say something, but it doesn't make it true. I was a Tea Party candidate when I became governor. I was a strong Conservative governor that brought an 11 percent unemployment down to 3 percent unemployment. That we went and we moved thousands of people from welfare to work. We reformed education. We did tort reform. We did voter ID. And then you saw me go to the UN and I took the kick me sign off of our backs and America was respected again.
Everything I've ever done has been strong. It's been economic freedom. It's been individual freedom. It's been making sure that I have made people proud along the way. So, he can say establishment or whatever. I don't think labels matter. I think at the end of the day, this is we're fighting to save America. I truly believe that. And we're going to continue to do it. And Chris's endorsement has just really given us a big kick at a time that the momentum was building and this is going to continue to take us where we need to go.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Former U.S. President and current Republican frontrunner Donald Trump ramping up his campaign efforts in the states who have early nominating contests. On Wednesday, he visited Iowa, where the States caucus in mid-January opens the Republican nomination calendar. He's set to attend events this week in New Hampshire and Nevada, the second and third Republican contest, respectively. Trump is looking to hold onto his lead over his Republican rivals in the polls and blunt any of their momentum less than five weeks before voting actually begins. CNN's Kristen Holmes has the latest from the campaign trail in Iowa.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Former President Trump's message in Iowa to voters was clear that that it was not just about the primary and the caucuses, but this is about a general election. Attempting to use the unpopularity of President Joe Biden to galvanized voters, to bring them to the polls just five weeks out from those caucuses. Here's what he said when he went after Biden, giving a fairly, fairly clear message.
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're just 33 days away from Iowa, first in the nation. I wonder how you got that. You got that because of me. First in the nation caucuses, and we're going to keep you first in the nation for a long time. You know, the Democrats bailed out. And without Trump, you wouldn't be first in the nation anymore either. But we kept you right here where you belong. You're going to be here for a long time. First in the nation.
On Monday, January 15th, we're going to win the Iowa caucuses and then we're going to crush Crooked Joe Biden next November, and we're going to very simply make America great again. During this holiday season families all across America are struggling under the brutal weight of "Bidenomics." you know, "Bidenomics," it means a lot of bad things. This year alone the typical American family is $7,500 poorer because Crooked Joe's globalist blunders and greedy betrayals have really hurt us badly.
HOLMES: Now that was one of the most on messages -- attacks on Biden that I have heard in his various campaign events. Focusing clearly on the economy, something that he and his team believe would help him potentially win a general election against President Biden should he be the GOP nominee.
Now, he also went after several of his rivals going the furthest he has on Nikki Haley, likely because his team, according to advisors I have talked to, is concerned about the rise that they have seen from Haley in New Hampshire and were particularly unhappy with the endorsement of Governor Sununu. They are looking at her. They are watching her. And they are watching New Hampshire very closely.
Now he also went after Ron DeSantis with his typical remarks here in Iowa, talking about DeSantis's record on ethanol and farmers, something that is very important here in the State of Iowa.
Kristen Holmes, CNN, Coralville, Iowa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: The U.S. Supreme Court justices have a new major abortion case on their hands. This time, the fate of a major abortion drug has been available for years is on the line. We'll explain.
Plus, Vladimir Putin taking questions right now. Life pictures for you. The Russian President holding a rare press conference. We'll have a live report on that.
Ukraine dominating a major summit as Brussels -- in Brussels and that's getting underway right now -- Bianca.
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NOBILO: Here in Brussels, the leaders of 27 Member States are gearing up for a marathon difficult session. In fact, the start of it's already been pushed back so that last minute discussions can take place between Putin's closest EU ally, Viktor Orban, and key players within the European Union to decide the future of Ukraine, Max, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) FOSTER: Right now, the Russian President is holding an end of year
news conference for the first time since his country invaded Ukraine. Putin expected to take questions or likely be asked about his plans to seek a fifth presidential term, as well as the war in Ukraine, of course.
On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian leader might enter the New Year in high spirits after the U.S. failed to pledge any new military aid to Ukraine.
And the war in Ukraine is the big focus of an EU summit about to get underway in Brussels, of course. European leaders wanting to give Ukraine a huge boost in funding for its defense against Russia, and they're pushing to advance Ukraine's bid to become part of the EU as well. But Hungary's Prime Minister intends to spoil those plans.
[04:20:00]
Victor Orban is the closest EU ally of President Putin, and all decisions about future accession to the EU have to be unanimous.
Lots to cover. Clare Sebastian joining me here in London. But first we're going to go to Bianca who's live in Brussels. Hi, Bianca.
NOBILO: Hi Max, good to speak to you. So the start of this European Council summit has already been delayed, Viktor Orban a large reason behind that. He arrived at the European Council building about half an hour ago. And before the discussions with all of the Member States kick off, he is having behind the scenes meetings with the Chancellor of Germany, with the President of France and with key players within the European Union to try and thrash out these last minute discussions about the future of Ukraine. And that is because the EU operates on a unanimity principle. So if one of the 27 Member States holds out on this decision to support Ukraine, then that means it can't go ahead.
Also an interesting timing. Last night it was announced that 10 billion euros worth of frozen funds to Hungary had been unfrozen by the EU. They'd been held back because of concerns over Hungary's rule of law. So some critics in the European Parliament are saying that just looks like bribery and it's allowing Viktor Orban to be a Trojan horse for Putin and disrupt discussions about Ukraine's potential membership of the European Union. But here is what Orban had to say about that specific issue when he was entering the council building about half an hour ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIKTOR ORBAN, HUNGARIAN PRIME MINISTER: Enlargement is not a theoretical issue. Enlargement is a merit based, legally detailed process, which has preconditions. We have set up seven preconditions and even by the evaluation of the Commission, three out of the seven is not fulfilled. So there is no reason to negotiate membership of Ukraine now.
(END VIDEO CLIP) NOBILO: Hungary has made no secret of the fact it does not think that Ukraine should be joining the European Union. It also doesn't agree with these large amounts of funding to give Ukraine economic and more lethal aid support, because that's also being discussed here, 50 billion euros for Ukraine's economy and around 20 billion euros for more lethal aid to help fight off Russia's invasion.
So there's a huge amount at stake here. It will be interesting to see what the results of these discussions are, because there are absolutely no foregone conclusions. There's obviously optimism that compromises can be made, but there's real -- no real confidence that that could actually be achieved at this point.
And a potential event which may or may not occur, which could have had quite a lot of import for these discussions, is whether or not President Zelenskyy would actually make a surprise visit to this European Council Summit. Obviously, he's done that in the United States. He's gone to the U.K. when he's needed support, but the chatter is here that that may have antagonized Viktor Orban and actually made it harder for the EU to come to discussions which are favorable to Ukraine's future membership and support -- Max.
FOSTER: Yes, fascinating couple of days. Bianca in Brussels, thank you. Back with you later.
Now let's get back to our news conference then over in Russia with the Russian President. These are long events, aren't they? They're quite unusual. Very significant. What have you learned so?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, they used to be annual. Obviously, he skipped last year and this year he's combining a news conference and press conference and this direct public phone in that as I said, used to be an annual event. I think the very fact that he's holding it signals sort of a new degree of confidence that he has in the special military operation. And that's really where things started.
Right now you're seeing this is the sort of public questions portion of the event and the moderator -- one of the moderators, said that the main theme, the questions that they got sent in were the special military operation.
But they kicked off by asking him about his reelection campaign. He just announced less than a week ago that he's going to run for a fifth term. And he said the main thing that he's looking at is the strengthening of Russia's sovereignty that that has done in part by strengthening its military readiness. He's been talking up the economy even though we know that Russia has a major problem with inflation. He alluded to that, but in general he's sort of emphasizing the positives.
And he started to now take questions on the special military operation, saying that, you know, the aims are the same. To denazify, to demilitarize Ukraine, and that there won't be any peace until Russia achieves its goal. So nothing new as of yet. But as I say, this is Putin really, with the
wind in his sails. Russia can see what's happening with Ukraine's allies, with the Zelenskyy trip to Washington, which failed to push Congress into making a deal on Ukraine aid. Now real hurdles in Brussels, as Bianca was saying, over accession talks and new funding. And all of this is strengthening Russia's resolve to do what many believe, including Ukraine, that it's trying to do, which is simply to outlast Ukraine on the battlefield.
FOSTER: OK, Clare, thank you.
Up next, the families of American hostages held by Hamas sit down with the U.S. President in Washington. We'll hear from them about how the meeting went there.
Plus, a look at the worsening in humanitarian crisis in Gaza as the war against Hamas expands.
[04:25:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max foster. If you're just joining us, let me bring you up to date with our top stories this hour.
Right now, Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding his first end of year press conference since invading Ukraine. Mr. Putin will likely be asked about his recent announcement that he's seeking a fifth presidential term with elections in March.
Meanwhile, in Brussels, EU leaders are holding a Council Summit calling for an increase in financial aid to Ukraine. The summit will also focus on Ukraine's bid for EU membership and whether to fast track accession talks.
We're now learning from a source that the Israeli government has cancelled the Mossad chiefs trip to Doha. The head of Israel's intelligence service, David Barnier, was set to restart talks on a possible second hostage release deal. The move has angered the families of Israeli hostages. And while in Washington, the families of American hostages are praising the Biden administration after meeting with the president. CNN's MJ Lee has details from the White House.
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MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: For the first time, President Biden meeting in person here at the White House with some of the family members of those American hostages that are still being held captive in Gaza. About a dozen of those family members, we are told we're here at the White House. Several others tuned in virtually.
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