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Biden Blames Congress For Fall Of Key Ukrainian Town, Avdiivka; Trump Suggests Russia Can Invade US Allies; Judge Orders Trump To Pay Nearly $355M In Civil Fraud Trial; Alexey Navalny's Family Demands The Return Of His Body; TX Gov. Announces Plan To Build Military Base In Eagle Pass; Judge to Decide Whether Fani Willis Can Stay On Trump Case. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired February 17, 2024 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:59]

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

We start with breaking news. President Biden railing against Congress for skipping town while Russian dictator, Vladimir Putin takes a town.

This afternoon, Biden blamed congressional inaction. The Ukrainian military's a withdrawal from a key city in the Donetsk region during a call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. Moments ago, he once again called out House Republicans for refusing to take up the Senate's bipartisan foreign aid package saying it is absurd and unethical to walk away from a key US ally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Look, the Ukrainian people have fought so bravely and heroically. They've put so much on the line.

The idea that now, they are running out of ammunition and walk away, I find it absurd. I find it unethical. I find it just contrary to everything we are as a country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: House Republicans say the Senate's foreign aid bill is dead on arrival, but as were already seeing the suspension of US aid to Ukraine has dire real-world consequences and one senior US defense official says, it is about to get even worse for the Ukrainians telling CNN that if Congress does not approve more funding for Ukraine's air defenses, more cities will be bombarded and more civilians will die

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is with us right now.

She has more on this developing story.

Priscilla, I mean, obviously the president is issuing this urgent call for aid to Ukraine, but you don't often see him get this fired up about this. He seems to almost be taking this personally, that he wants to see this get done.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: And two days in a row because he also had remarks on this yesterday. He is really trying to underscore the stakes here and making the case that this isn't just about the security of Ukraine, but it is also about US national security and all of this, of course, follows that notable moment earlier today where Ukraine had to withdraw from one of its towns, cede ground to Russia because they are low on ammunition and this is exactly what US officials have been fretting about and what they warned would happen if these funds don't get to Ukraine.

Now, the president also said that he wasn't sure that other towns wouldn't fall to Russia if these funds don't get Ukraine.

So all of this converging in this moment and really adding fresh urgency in making sure that money gets there.

As far as the state of play right now, and to remind our viewers, the $60 billion that the president is referring to are ones that the White House asked for last October and was part of a broader national security supplemental request.

They were stalled because of infighting in Congress. This week, we saw some progress. Senate passed a foreign aid package that includes this $60 billion, but the House left for recess and House Speaker Mike Johnson has indicated he has no plans to bring this to the floor, bringing all of -- or making all of this uncertain, and it comes against the backdrop of the US trying to reassert its leadership and reassure its allies that it will be there in times of need and that includes with NATO after former President Donald Trump said that he wouldn't come to defense of a NATO ally if they didn't pay enough, and the president also talking about that today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: The idea that we are going to walk away from Ukraine, the idea that NATO begin to split is totally against the interests of the United States of America, and it is against our word that we've given.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: So again, the US coming out, being very forward and defiant when it comes to foreign policy and making the case to Congress that they need to get this money to Ukraine because not doing so, is it gift to Putin.

ACOSTA: We also saw the president getting very passionate about the death of Russian opposition leader, Alexey Navalny. How does that change things?

ALVAREZ: Well, in his remarks yesterday, he said that he hoped it would, that it would change the calculus and that it would make it clearer that this is -- that these funds at least are necessary to give to Ukraine and also the consequence of not doing so with Russia.

[18:05:10] He also said to reporters that he didn't have any additional information that he could confirm on the circumstances surrounding Navalny's death, but what was clear from President Biden today and Vice President Kamala Harris earlier today, is that there is no Plan B, and if there isn't any punishment for Russia moving in to Ukraine, then what does that mean for the future? And that's been the message throughout the course of the day and throughout the course of the week.

Of course, where it goes from here? It is still very unclear.

ACOSTA: Right. Putin is already getting wet off the hook right now because this funding is not getting to Ukraine, and then comes the death of Alexey Navalny and if that aid does not get to Ukraine, it is almost like he is getting let off the hook a second time.

Priscilla Alvarez, thank you very much.

Meantime, at the Munich security conference, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with CNN's Christiane Amanpour when he made this offer to Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: If Trump -- Mr. Trump, if he will come, I am ready even to go with him to the frontline.

I think if we are in dialogue how to finish the war, we have to demonstrate people who are decision-makers, what does it mean the real war -- not in Instagram. Real war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now, back here in the US, it was Donald Trump who pressured House Republicans to drop the Senate's foreign aid package and last week, he suggested that Russia can invade NATO countries that don't meet the organization's defense spending benchmark.

Steve Contorno is live for us in Michigan where the former president is set to hold a rally later tonight.

Steve, I wonder if we will hear from Trump yet again addressing these NATO comments. He made this comment about telling Vladimir Putin he can do whatever they want, the Russians could do whatever they want, if NATO countries aren't meeting their spending obligations and then he doubled down on it. Just the other day, he defended those comments and said he doesn't take any -- have any regrets for any of that. I suppose we might hear that again tonight. What do you think?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Jim. Listen, a lot has been swirling in the last 48 hours that we are waiting to hear the president weigh in on how, whether or not he will address his mounting legal challenges in his $355 million ruling against him yesterday.

The fact that he is going to have a court trial starting in March, a judge in New York on Thursday ruling on that. There are all of these ancillary issues that are going around his campaign. And earlier today, he was actually unveiling a new line of shoes at a Philly Sneaker Con, so just a taste of how unconventional this campaign is going to be for Donald Trump, not just because he is Donald Trump and he has been such an unconventional candidate, but also because he has these legal issues that are going on as well.

So we really are getting a taste of that this week with everything that happened in New York, what is happening in the Georgia courtroom and then now he is out here on the campaign trail and we will have to see how much he addresses all of that later today.

Nikki Haley earlier today has gone at this issue head-on. She is pointing out how can this guy be running for president when he is spending so much time in a courtroom. But when you talk to people here at this event, they don't see this as distraction at all. In fact, one woman I spoke to says she thinks all of this is happening for a reason -- Jim.

ACOSTA: Yes, I mean Steve, Trump has turned the courthouse into the campaign trail, so I mean, I suppose he has used this to his advantage up until this point.

We will see how it plays out from here. Steve Contorno, keep us posted on what the former president has to say as his rally gets going here in the next hour or so. Thanks a lot, Steve. Appreciate it.

Well, let's discuss that and more now with CNN senior political commentator, Ana Navarro; CNN political commentator, Paul Begala; and CNN contributor and former Nixon White House counsel, John Dean.

Ana, let me start with you first. We will get to the legal stuff in just a few moments, but I do want to continue to talk about what Donald Trump has been saying about Russia, what Donald Trump has been saying about Ukraine and that impact it has had up on Capitol Hill. Trump said he did not want to see aid go in Ukraine or if it did, it would have to be in the form of loans.

And then Congress, the House skips town and Putin takes a town.

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, it is so concerning, right, and it feels so undemocratic when you think that the whims of one man, one madman seem to be what controls the agenda of the House of Representatives.

[18:10:01]

It is frankly quite sad that that's what the Republican Party has come to and that instead of thinking about geopolitical foes, instead of thinking about our word around the world, instead of thinking about freedom, instead of thinking about being the party of Reagan and confronting the type of dictatorship and communism, and just the octopus-like tendencies of Vladimir Putin, instead of all of that, we have seen Russia, you know, there has been talk of Russia putting a weapon in space. When we have seen what has happened to Navalny, when we have heard Trump basically invite Russia to invade NATO allies this week, and what do they do? They are doing nothing. They skipped town.

It is frankly as low as they get and it is an embarrassment; one more embarrassment for the Republican Party.

ACOSTA: Yes, Paul, we heard the president at the beginning of this program blasting House Republicans for taking this break without passing aid to Ukraine. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: Well, it is about time they step up, don't you think, instead of going on a two-week vacation. Two weeks, walking away, two weeks. What are they thinking ? My God.

This is bizarre.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Yes, I mean, that was Biden yesterday. He did it again this afternoon just a little while ago.

Paul, I talked about this with Priscilla a little while ago. I have not seen the president this fired up, this feisty, this passionate about something in some time. Maybe I'm missing something, but he really seems to be taking this personally. He wants to get this done.

PAUL BEGALA, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, he is -- I've known him 35 years and he has got vast experience in national security. This is where being older helps, right? He is older and wiser. Trump is also older, but nobody has accused him of being wiser.

And what President Biden understands is the greatest lesson of world history is that weakness invites aggression. Ronald Reagan used to say that as Ana pointed out, he was right, and it is the whole history of humanity is that weakness invites aggression.

The Republicans are showing weakness and literally, Mr. Trump is inviting aggression. He is telling our greatest enemy to invade our closest friends. It is astonishing. I do think -- look, I've known Biden, as I said, a long time, this is real, he is angry and he understands that freedom is on the line.

I also think that one way he can make this argument, the Democrats should, this bill that the Republicans have walked out on, it is not aid to Ukraine. You know what it is? It is re-arming America.

Here is the deal. We send them are older weapons, which they use to fight our enemies without a single American being in harm's way, in exchange then, we take that money and build new stuff. The Abrams tanks, for example. They're made in Lima, Ohio. Why does JD Vance, the senator from Ohio, against creating jobs in his home state and re- arming America? The ATACMS and the HIMARS, these wonderful missiles. These amazing missiles that we were sending to the Ukrainians. They are made, if memory serves, at Camden, Arkansas. I used to work for the governor of Arkansas as I remember.

Those weapons are creating jobs. Where is Tom Cotton, the senator from Arkansas? He is a military veteran, so is JD Vance. Why are they so weak? I think that's an argument that Democrats need to make. In addition to -- that we care about freedom in Europe. We care about jobs here at home and we care about re-arming America so that their weakness doesn't invite Putin's aggression.

ACOSTA: And I do want to ask John about a legal angle as it pertains to the president in just a moment. Ana, just very quickly, just to kind of put a button on what Paul was talking about.

Part of this is Donald Trump, a part of it is the Republican Party responding to what is taking place on the far right? There is Tucker Carlson, who we saw in this past week, the former Fox News host posting these videos and we can show some of this, experiencing life. This is him experiencing life in Russia after he does this fawning interview with Vladimir Putin.

He includes this visit of Tucker Carlson going to a Russian grocery store. Let's look at that and talk about it on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUCKER CARLSON, FORMER FOX NEWS CHANNEL HOST: I went from amused to legitimately angry. We are just putting in the cart what we would actually eat over a week and we all came in around 400 bucks, about 400 bucks. It was $104.00 US here and that's when you start to realize that, ideology, maybe does it matter as much as you thought?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Yes, I mean, Ana, what is this? Is this Tucker picking up a bag of onions for Vladimir Putin? I mean, I don't understand what's going on here? But what is happening on the far-right in some corners of the Republican Party where there is almost this idolatry of Vladimir Putin and Russia. It's bizarre.

[18:15:05]

NAVARRO: Look, it is inexplicable and its particularly inexplicable after this week. We know who Vladimir Putin is. I remember when the Republican Party had a nominee, John McCain, who said that when he looked in to his eyes, he saw three letters, KGB.

I remember when the Republican Party had a presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, who said Russia was our biggest geopolitical foe.

And what did -- you know forget the onions and forget that stupidity in the supermarket. It is offensive, yes, but it is Tucker being stupid and it is Tucker being stupid. But really what we should focus on is the interview he gave about a week ago after that interview with Putin and what Tucker gets asked and why didn't you ask him about Alexey Navalny? Why didn't you ask him about assassinations? Why don't you ask him about restrictions on the opposition? And what did Tucker Carlson answer? What did American Tucker Carlson to answer? Every leader kills people.

ACOSTA: Right.

NAVARRO: Some kill more than others. Leadership requires killing people. Well, guess what? Vladimir Putin has the blood of Alexey Navalny on his hands, and the leader that you are kowtowing to, the leader that you are sucking up to, the leader that even said that he got no satisfaction from the interview that you did of him because you were so soft just killed a freedom seeker and a fighter for freedom and a voice for the world.

And you should -- I mean Tucker Carlson, really, he is just so disgusting, I have a hard time even speaking about him.

ACOSTA: I mean, it was a shameful moment, but so influential on the far-right to this day, even without the platform that he had on Fox and John, I did want to ask you about this because a former FBI informant was charged this week with lying about President Biden and his son, Hunter and their involvement with the Ukrainian company that it just became a nothing burger for House Republicans.

This has been cited by House Republicans in their push to impeach the president. What was your response to all of that when you saw that fall apart?

JOHN DEAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, it was not surprising actually. They've been relying on this fella for actually several years now. He been in and out of the FBI's Informant Program. They've tested him, not always satisfactorily and finally, it all blew up and they had do indict him because he just openly manufactured documents and lying to the government.

So the Republicans deserve this embarrassment because they did no independent checking at all. They just took this fella and actually tried to prop him up and make him look like a better informant than even the FBI considered him to be.

But just to footnote the earlier remarks that Ana and others -- this is all very understandable to me. I have spent the last three or four decades studying authoritarian personalities as a result of my experience in the Nixon White House.

ACOSTA: Right.

DEAN: But people do things thoughtlessly and this is very typical behavior. Social science has been looking at these people for decades and this is the way they respond, and you can't convince them to do otherwise. That's why it is so important to vote them out of office and get them back under rocks where they're embarrassed by this behavior. But right now, they're not. They think this is okay, so they are going to proceed and there are lots of them, but there are more of us who are not.

ACOSTA: All right, Ana, Paul, John, hold tight, we will be right back after a quick break. We will talk about Trump's legal situation and more.

Stay with us. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:23:17]

ACOSTA: Some big questions tonight about whether Donald Trump will be able to pay a massive judgment in his civil fraud trial if the ruling against Trump holds up on appeal. How would he pay for all of that? CNN's Kristen Holmes explains.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jim, in addition to the $355 million that the judge ordered Donald Trump to pay, he was also last month ordered to pay $83 million in the defamation case of E. Jean Carroll.

Of course, these are both being appealed, but some of the money will have to go down and does raise the question as to whether or not Donald Trump has his money and how exactly he would pay these fines after all is said and done.

Now, in the past, he has used his leadership PAC, which is the Save America PAC, to pay a lot of his legal fees. We talked to campaign finance experts who said that that was possible, there is loose interpretations of the rules of these leadership PACs, in particular, so it would be possible for him to dip into that PAC to pay some of these bills.

But there is one huge glaring problem here, which is that in 2023 alone, Donald Trump spent $50 million on various legal fees, leaving that account, that Save America PAC with $5.1 million, which is very short of the roughly $400 million or more than $400 million that he would owe in these various cases and various fines.

The other part of this is that Donald Trump can continue to fund raise. We have spoken to a number of Republicans who say, if we are giving Donald Trump this money, he can use it for whatever he wants. They can give it directly to that leadership PAC.

But one thing to remind viewers about is that Donald Trump's real claim to fame in how he gets most of his money is from small dollar donors, not these big giant donors. That would be very hard to get these small dollar donors to add up to more than $400 million that he owes in these various legal cases -- Jim.

[18:25:10]

ACOSTA: All right, thanks for that. My panel back to discuss.

John, I mean, Trump has this reputation for not paying his bills Can he stiff the court? DEAN: He cannot. He cannot. What is going to -- Jim, first of all, I'd like to note that the judgment is actually a little higher than people think. There is something called a pre-judgment interest rate that runs to this and the court set a date on this and some of them are as old as two years and that adds up to about another hundred million dollars that's on his judgment that is already there and grows every day at a rate of nine percent interest rate.

So this isn't something he can just sit on, even if he appeals, the rate apparently goes on and on -- the interest rate. So this is a growing debt.

Now, what can he do? Can he stiff them? No.

What's going to happen is the attorney general will come in. They will seize the properties and they will liquidate them at fire sale prices and that will take more buildings than he could probably negotiate if he tries to make an effort to do it.

The other thing is he could probably go to some rich Arab and say, listen, I'm in trouble, I'd like some help and that Arab will then own a man who is running for president of the United States.

ACOSTA: And Paul, I mean, if anyone was waiting for the other shoe to drop, I guess we can show this, Trump, today announcing he is launching his own line of footwear. I don't know if Paul, you're going to be picking up a pair of these. But the most expensive pair apparently come at a steep $400.00.

But it goes to show you can have the most expensive shoes money can buy, but you can't outrun the long arm of the law.

BEGALA: No, I think it is interesting. He actually knows a lot about feet because you remember he dodged service in Vietnam by falsely claiming that he had bone spurs in his feet.

So, he has got very soft and delicate feet, and so I hope these shoes are wonderfully comfortable for Mr. Trump. He is a very soft man.

I thought it was interesting to come back to our previous segment that President Zelenskyy of Ukraine invited Mr. Trump to visit the frontlines of a real war. Yes. Good luck with that. Don't hold your breath, Volodymyr. Mr. Trump, he heads for the tall grass when there is real servicer action to be faced.

I think, you know, it is an unkind word, it is a word Trump hates the most, but you know what he is? He is a loser. I mean his show was called "The Apprentice." If he came back, he did another show, it would have to be called "Biggest Loser." He lost this really important case where he was found liable sexually abusing and then defaming E. Jean Carroll, he lost that and he is going to lose eighty some odd million dollars.

Now, he has lost this civil trial in New York, where he has been found to be guilty of fraud, so the losses keep piling up and he is turning to some of the like the most wonderful patriotic people in this country to hand him five bucks, ten bucks, 20 bucks.

It is really pathetic that he is such a big loser. He is supposed to be the richest guy in the world, and instead, he is turning to some of the most hardworking people in America to bail him out, or maybe John is right, maybe it will be some Arab sheikh, or maybe a Russian or a Chinese, but I hadn't thought about that, John, but it is a really frightening prospect.

ACOSTA: Yes. It is. Ana, I mean, you know, we've gone from Trump wine to Trump water, I guess. Now, we've got Trump sneakers. I know if we can show that video again.

Ana, would you buy a pair of these sneakers?

NAVARRO: Listen, please. If I want to waste $400.00, I'd rather do it on margaritas and I don't even think he is going to go that far to figure out who he is going to get the money from.

Listen, he can call up Jared, his son-in-law and ask him for the phone number of the Arab that lent him -- that gave him $2 billion for his fund.

So this is something that I think they are used to doing. It is certainly tacky, but it is also surreal, right? It is surreal that this man who is in this much legal trouble, who as Paul just said, keeps losing in court, who have these ginormous judgments against him, more than $500 million as John just mentioned, when you include the accrued interests. He is still well on his way to being the Republican nominee.

I mean, if you think Nikki Haley can beat him, I'd like some of what you're smoking. She is like a little insect punching at the feet of an elephant and it is -- again, it goes back to how embarrassing -- what an embarrassing position the Republican Party is in that after calling itself the law and order party, what it is doing is that it is nominating a man who has been now found liable for sexual abuse, who is now found liable for fraud.

It seems to me like the only person speaking sense in the Republican Party these days is Mitt Romney, who unfortunately is retiring, who said this week, listen, that is a line I will not cross, voting for somebody who has been found liable of sexual abuse is something I will not do.

That's what people who are supposedly Christians, who supposedly believe in Christian values and in family values should be doing. Instead, he is about to skate into the nomination. There we go.

[18:30:57]

ACOSTA: All right. Yes. All right. Ana, Paul, John, great conversation. Thanks a lot for leading us off this hour.

BEGALA: Thanks, Jim.

ACOSTA: I really appreciate the time. Great to see all of you. All right. Still ahead, President Biden saying, "Putin is responsible for Alexey Navalny's death," as hundreds are detained inside Russia at gatherings to observe the loss of the Putin critic. A live report from Russia straight ahead. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:35:32]

ACOSTA: World is mourning Russian opposition leader, Alexey Navalny. His family is demanding that Russian officials hand over his body immediately, calling his death a murder and blaming Russia's leader, Vladimir Putin. As questions remain over Navalny's death and the exact location of his remains, a Russian human rights group says hundreds of people have been detained at gatherings across Russia, including St. Petersburg. And that's where we find CNN's Matthew Chance.

Matthew, if you can tell us what you're seeing at this hour.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOGBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, I mean, it's absolutely freezing here in St. Petersburg and it's very late at night as well. But there are still lots of police activity in the city, which I noticed as I was driving through it earlier tonight, because this has been one of the main places where people have been arrested for paying their respects, offering their sympathies and condolences after the death of Alexey Navalny, Russia's most prominent opposition leader.

The police are cracking down hard on public attempts to show that sympathy. There's been more than 400 people now across the country who have been detained, according to OVD-Info, which is a group that monitors freedom of expression in Russia. More than half of that number have been here in St. Petersburg, where it's a very liberal city, relatively speaking, and there's still a lot of support, of course, for Alexey Navalny and the anti-corruption campaign that he led.

In terms of the whereabouts of his body, that's still uncertain. We know that Alexey Navalny's mother, Lyudmila, has traveled all the way to the north of Russia, about 19 - well, about a thousand miles or so north of the Russian capital to try and get access to the body of her son. She was told that it was at a morgue in a little Siberian town called Salekhard. But when she got there, the morgue was closed and the person inside told her that the body was not there.

Subsequently, the Russian authorities say that an initial autopsy on Alexey Navalny was not conclusive and they are going to have to do another one. And they're going to keep that that body for as long as it takes for those tests to be done and that could take as long as 30 days, we're told by lawyers, for that process to come to an end. And so there is no end in sight at the moment for the suffering of the Navalny family and no certainty either about when we may see, for instance, a funeral for this prominent opposition leader who we're told died on Friday.

ACOSTA: And so, Matthew, what might we see in the coming days? Might we see more people trying to observe and remember Alexey Navalny and see more detentions? Is that is that what we might see or might this end fairly quickly? What do you think?

CHANCE: Yes. Well, I think we could well see more. I doubt whether we've seen the last of the people who are determined to defy the laws essentially and the rules and to come out and to risk their liberty to pay their respects and offer their condolences to Alexey Navalny. But I mean, even though there have been thousands of people across Russia who have done that, and as I say, more than 400 have been detained because of it.

This is a country of 140 million people and so those numbers are not particularly great at the moment. We're not seeing tens of thousands of people come out onto the streets and voice their support and their sympathy for Alexey Navalny. And so those lower numbers are not figures that are going to necessarily worry the Kremlin. All this, of course, Jim, comes as the country prepares for a presidential election, not so much a competitive process, more an opportunity for Vladimir Putin to be reappointed for a fifth presidential term.

ACOSTA: All right. Matthew Chance, thank you very much. We know it's very late, very cold there. We'll let you get inside and get warm. Really appreciate the reporting, though. Thank you, Matthew.

CHANCE: Thanks.

ACOSTA: All right. Still ahead, the fight between the Biden administration and the state of Texas over the southern border continues.

[18:40:00]

What the state of Texas wants to do now to stop migrants from entering the U.S. illegally. We'll talk about that next. You're live in CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:44:21]

ACOSTA: Texas governor, Greg Abbott, announced the state of Texas will begin building a permanent military base in the border city of Eagle Pass. It will serve as an 80 acre base camp housing up to 1,800 Texas National Guard members. The governor says it's being built to aid Texas in its controversial efforts to prevent illegal crossings from Mexico. It's also the latest salvo in the dispute between Texas and the federal government over who has authority over the border. And CNN National Correspondent, Camila Bernal, is following all of this for us.

Camila, tell us more about this camp. What can you tell us about that?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, Jim, as you mentioned, this is just the latest in this contentious feud between the state of Texas and the Biden administration over federal immigration policy and really how things should be handled at the border.

[18:45:06]

Now, the base will house up to 1,800 Texas National Guard members, but it could also expand to 2,300 if there's a surge of migrants at the border. And the governor is calling it a military base to amass a large army in a very strategic area. But it's also an 80 acre base that appears to be in direct defiance of federal border control.

Now, according to Abbott, the base will help them consolidate and it will give them that flexibility and speed because of its proximity to the border. And he also highlighted the ability it will give them to expand that razor wire in the area, something that has already been such a big point of contention between the two sides.

Here is what Governor Abbott said:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R) TEXAS: Our goal is to make sure that we expand the effectiveness of that razor wire to more areas along this border. Having the soldiers located right here, right by the river, they're going to have the ability to more quickly be able to construct that razor wire barrier and this will reduce the travel time and costs of current living conditions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: Now, last year, Texas officials sued the Biden administration for cutting that razor wire at the border. But last month, the Supreme Court ruled that Border Patrol agents could remove that razor wire while the state's legal challenges play out. And it's not just the razor wire and the Border Patrol access to the border that's really playing out in court, there's also the legality of the Texas decision to implement a series of buoys along the river and the border with Mexico. That's all still in question. An appeals court is said to reconsider an earlier court's ruling declaring that barrier illegal. And you can't forget, Abbott continues to send migrants from the border to Democrat-controlled cities across the U.S., which, of course, has been at the center of this showdown between the state of Texas and the federal government.

Now, the administration, they continue to say that this is a federal issue, but Abbott is showing with this latest announcement that he is just not backing down, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Camila Bernal, thank you very much. We'll keep our eyes on that.

Still ahead, will a judge disqualify Fulton County DA Fani Willis from overseeing Donald Trump's election subversion case? What's next after two days of courtroom drama? You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:51:50] ACOSTA: The judge in the Georgia election subversion case against Donald Trump and his allies will now decide whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from prosecuting the case because of her past romantic relationship with the special prosecutor in the case, Nathan Wade. Willis' father took the stand on Friday, as did Wade's divorce attorney and former law partner. CNN's Nick Valencia has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you tell us why you were late today?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Terrence Bradley was supposed to be a star witness for defense attorneys trying to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from the Donald Trump election interference case.

But on Friday, Wade's former law partner and divorce attorney couldn't provide details to show Willis and Nathan Wade were lying about the extent of the romantic relationship.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRENCE BRADLEY, NATHAN WADE'S FORMER LAW PARTNER & DIVORCE ATTORNEY: I have no personal knowledge of when it actually happened. I was not there I do not have any personal knowledge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA (voice over): Attorney-client privilege, a major hurdle for the defense, especially after Judge Scott McAfee ruled Bradley could not be asked about what privileged conversations he had with Wade about his relationship.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASHLEIGH MERCHANT, DEFENSE ATTORNEY FOR MIKE ROMAN: If we're going to talk about the privilege, I'm happy to ask him the substance of the question.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA (voice over): Yet, one defense attorney managed to introduce a text exchange with Bradley in 2023 about the Wade-Willis romance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRADLEY: So what I have is a text message from you saying, oh, my god, Nathan took Fani on a trip to Napa and pay for with his firm.

MERCHANT: Okay, continue reading.

BRADLEY: And you said, is he dumb?

(END VIDEO CLIP) VALENCIA (voice over): Also testifying Friday, Fani Willis' father, backing up her heated testimony from Thursday when she said she always keeps cash on hand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FLOYD WILLIS, FANI WILLIS' FATHER: I've always kept cash. And I've told my daughter, you keep six months worth of cash, always.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA (voice over): On both days, money was center stage because defense attorneys are trying to prove that Willis somehow benefited financially from a relationship with Wade through gifts and vacations that weighed paid for with money he earned on the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FANI WILLIS, FULTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: We went out multiple times. That probably went to the level of more than a hundred dollars. But if we're doing tit for tat like that, I probably paid for as many meals as he paid for. And so, I did not receive any gifts from him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA (voice over): And Willis and Wade both maintain the relationship began only after Wade took the job of special prosecutor. Willis' father testified he didn't know about the relationship until the rest of the world found out and only met him region certainly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

F. WILLIS: I did not meet Nathan Wade until 2023.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA (voice over): In a surprise turn, Willis did not take the stand again on Friday, her team believing they had enough to beat back efforts to this qualify her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The state has no further questions for Ms. Willis.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA (voice over): The judge has signaled that these hearings will continue sometime in the next week. When they do eventually wrap up, he's going to allow the state and defense attorneys to write replies and written legal briefs, which means that it could be weeks before we know the conclusion of these hearings altogether.

These allegations have already led to a delay in this case. Prior to them surfacing, the DA appeared to be on track for an August start to this trial. For now, all of that has been put on hold. Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[18:55:05]

ACOSTA: Still ahead, President Biden says Vladimir Putin is responsible for the death of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny. We'll have a live report from Russia as hundreds of Russians are detained just for paying their respects. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:59:43]

ACOSTA: You are live in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

We begin tonight with fury from world leaders as they call on Russia's Vladimir Putin to answer for the death of opposition leader, Alexey Navalny. President Biden saying this tonight.

[19:00:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The fact of the matter is, Putin is responsible, whether he ordered it or he is responsible for the circumstances that that man in. And he is a reflection of who he is, and it just cannot be tolerated.