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Time Running Out For Ceasefire Deal Ahead Of Ramadan; 80 Percent Of Households In Gaza Don't Have Drinking Water; Countries Plan New Shipping Of Aid To Gaza; Israeli Protesters Block Aid Trucks From Entering Gaza; IDF Targets Hamas Military Asset In Rafah; Competing Campaigns In Georgia; Some Health Clinics Say Hacking May Force Them To Close Down; Trump Could Get Intel Briefings Despite Classified Docs Charges; Hopes Dim For Ceasefire In Gaza Before Tomorrow's Start Of Ramadan; NY Gov Faces Criticism For National Guard In NYC Subway. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired March 09, 2024 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[16:00:00]
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN HOST: You are in the "CNN Newsroom." I'm Alex Marquardt in Washington. Time is running out tonight for a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, as U S. officials had hoped to broker that deal that would see the return of Hamas-held hostages before the Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan. That begins tomorrow night. But so far, President Biden says that is unlikely.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will there be a ceasefire by Ramadan?
JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: It's looking tough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you concerned about violence in East Jerusalem without one?
BIDEN: I sure am.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUARDT: This all comes as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is reaching a fever pitch. The U.S. just conducted more air drops with thousands of meals and bottles of water. But A-groups is saying that is not enough. The United Nations has issued a warning that four out of five, 80 percent of households in Gaza right now don't have safe drinking water. According to the Ministry of Health there in Gaza, at least two more people died today from severe hydration and malnutrition.
In response to the crisis, the White House has announced that the U.S. would join other countries to send aid from Cyprus to Gaza by ship, by barge. And as part of that, the U.S. says it will build a floating pier and a causeway on the coast of Gaza on the Mediterranean Sea to help deliver that humanitarian aid. Pentagon says the port could help deliver more than 2 million meals every day, but they warned that it could take weeks, even up to two months, to build that pier.
CNN's Clarissa Ward is on the ground in Jerusalem for us tonight. Clarissa, there are consistent warnings about Gaza being on the brink of widespread famine. President Joe Biden has told Israel there are no excuses not to open more border crossings to get more aid in, and yet, they haven't. And you've seen a big reason why, many Israelis are against that. Why is that?
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I mean, it may sound counterintuitive, but the reality is that according to recent polls, the majority of Israelis, Jewish-Israelis specifically, do not believe that international aid should be allowed to get into Gaza. And we spent the day with a group of protesters who for six weeks have been going to that Kerem Shalom border crossing, where much of the aid that gets in goes through. They have been actively trying to block it from going in.
The difference now is that the Israeli authorities and border police are taking a much stronger hand. They're much less tolerant that they have been. But we had the opportunity to confront some of these protesters and try to understand their thinking. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WARD (voice-over): They march with determination to the Kerem Shalom border as they have for six weeks. Their mission, to block international aid from crossing into Gaza. The border police are waiting for them. There's a danger of sniper fire and projectiles, the officer warns, I asked you to leave this place.
But the protesters are undeterred, made up mostly of hostage family members, former reservists and settlers, they ignore the order and change course to move closer to the crossing.
WARD: So, you can see the trucks with aid over there. The police had been trying to stop the protesters, but then they've just cut through this field and they're pushing ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How can anyone check these trucks and see what's inside were bags of rice that are meant to go to their children are filled with bullet.
WARD: Under international law, it's Israel's obligations to make sure that the ordinary citizens of Gaza don't starve to death. And right now, they are starving to death.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hamas is making it very difficult because Hamas is not allowing this to -- they're not holding it. They're not receiving it.
WARD: But --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We will do it. I'm telling you here and now, if we knew it's getting to the children of Gaza, we will do it. This does not arrive at their doorstep. This arrives into the tunnels of Hamas, that are fighting us and holding our hostages. And no one would --
WARD: There's no evidence to support the idea that all of this aid is going to Hamas.
[16:05:00]
KATYA, PROTESTER: Not to the rest of the population. This is intelligence only for terror. That's why they're getting -- as they should get only the minimum calories required to survive.
WARD: They're starving to death.
KATYA: They are not --
WARD: They are starving to death.
KATYA: You know what? If they are starving to death, give us back -- give the hostages back. Not a single loaf of bread should go there until our hostages are coming back.
WARD: To many people in the world, listening to what you're saying, or what you're protesting for, it sounds like, A, a contravention of international law and, B, incredibly callous in the face of an epic humanitarian catastrophe, in the face of children starving to death. People can't understand why anyone in their right mind would advocate for stopping aid.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hamas has no fair play. Hamas has no rules. Hamas is holding civilians.
KATYA: You know, even if there is a humanitarian crisis, and there is not, even if there is, it's my right and my duty to prioritize a life of (INAUDIBLE). One-year-old babies a desert over any Gazan babies.
WARD (voice-over): And with that, the interview is over as the protesters press on. Previously, they've managed to block aid trucks from crossing. But on this day, the police have been given their orders and no one is getting through, prompting anger from the crowd.
You are confused. Go deal with the war, this woman shouts, we came to help you.
Unable to cross here, the protesters tried their luck in another area. But the authorities are just as quick to stop them.
WARD: So, the police are now really starting to lose their patience. They've been trying to push these protesters away for hours now and still, they're not leaving.
WARD (voice-over): The crowd on this day is small, but their sentiment is shared by most people in the country. A recent poll by the Israel Democracy Institute found that 68 percent of Jewish-Israelis oppose the transfer of humanitarian aid into Gaza. On the other side of the border, the situation could not be more dire. Seven-year-old Fati al-Sand (ph) is suffering from severe dehydration and malnutrition. Doctors at the Kamal Adwan Hospital say they don't have the resources to properly treat him.
Fati's mother says she's already lost two children. She doesn't want to lose him.
According to Gaza's health authorities, at least 17 children have died of dehydration and malnutrition already. And with a U.N. warning that famine is just a step away, there is hardly room for debate. More aid needs to get to more people as quickly as possible.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WARD (on camera): Now, Alex, it is important to mention that there is a diversity of opinion about this in Israel. Of course, Israel is not a monolith. And on that same day that we were out with those protesters, there was another large protest, trying to get to Kerem Shalom, too. They didn't make it, but they had a convoy of aid that they were trying to get into Gaza. And there are people here, of course, who do not believe that restricting aid to Gaza is at all helpful to anyone. Alex.
MARQUARDT: Just extraordinary to hear that denial that there is any kind of humanitarian crisis there. Clarissa, we are going to be speaking in a moment with someone who is in Rafah in Southern Gaza. There were overnight strikes there by Israel, and Israel has warned about a ground offensive in Rafah to root out the rest of Hamas.
What do you think that that would mean for the people who are taking shelter there? I believe it's around one and a half million Gazans.
WARD: Well, I think that there have been warnings from many world leaders to the IDF that any kind of a move on Rafah would be potentially disastrous with a very high death toll because, simply put, there is nowhere for people there to go. It is heavily overcrowded, as you mentioned, one and a half million.
Now, we had heard Israeli Benny Gantz say that, you know, any kind of Rafah -- Ramadan would be basically a deadline for that incursion into Rafah to really get underway. Ramadan, obviously, expected in the next couple of days here. And a lot of anticipation that potentially we have gone from a scenario where it looked like there might be a ceasefire or two, it looks like there may be some kind of an offensive on Rafah. At this stage, we don't exactly know which it will be or if indeed it will be either.
[16:10:00]
But there is a sense, Alex, absolutely, that this cannot hold, that this cannot continue, that the unraveling situation inside Gaza is unsustainable for Palestinians, for the Israelis, and for the International Community at large.
MARQUARDT: And Clarissa, on that question of a ceasefire, which, of course, would include a release of what's expected to be dozens, at least, Israeli hostages, we're seeing huge protests again in Israel tonight demanding that those hostages be brought home.
How is that anger, how is that pressure playing into these talks about a ceasefire in Gaza?
WARD: There is so much anger, Alex. And these protests have been going on now for weeks and weeks. It's reaching a fever pitch. You talk to the parents of some of these hostages and they really can't understand how it's possible that more than five months later they are still no closer, it seems, to getting their loved ones back home safely.
And there's been such a paucity of information as to what kind of conditions they're being held in, whether they may be dead or may still be alive. We know that one of the key issues during the talks that have been going on is that the Israelis have been pushing to get a list from Hamas, which hostages are alive, which hostages are dead. Hamas has not been willing to hand that over.
And there's been a lot of speculation from analysts that Hamas at this stage is not really interested in agreeing to a ceasefire, that it would like to use the holy Muslim month of Ramadan as a period to try to ignite more fervor, more anger across the region. And, of course, a lot of world leaders fearful that that will happen. Up until this point, it hasn't spilled out of control to a mass regional conflagration. And many are concerned that Ramadan could provide a platform for that to happen if cooler heads do not prevail, Alex.
MARQUARDT: And that's exactly what Israel's Mossad intelligence agency is saying, that they believe Hamas wants to exploit that situation for this conflict to expand. Clarissa Ward in Jerusalem, thank you very much for your terrific reporting.
I want to speak now with Yousef Hammash He is an advocacy officer for the aid group the Norwegian Refugee Council. Yousef is joining me now from Rafah in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. Yousef, thank you so much for joining me this evening. I know how difficult that can be with connection issues.
You and I last spoke at the end of November. There was a brief pause for a week in the fighting. And at the time, you described what you were living through, what was happening as living in an earthquake for seven weeks. Now, it has been five months. How much worse have things gotten since then?
YOUSEF HAMMASH, ADVOCACY OFFICER, NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL: First of all, thanks for hosting me, Alex, and giving me that chance. And unfortunately, we -- nothing have changed. It's getting worse and worse, especially with the layers of -- the waves of displacement that we saw recently to Rafah here. In Rafah, as a city, doesn't have that capacity to host all that amount of people which added a new layer of challenge for the displaced families in Rafah.
The situation became worse and worse every day. And every day that this madness is lasting caused us human loss and engage us more in this disaster situation and the catastrophic situation that we're having in Rafah and other areas in Gaza. Unfortunately, nothing were (INAUDIBLE) since we last spoke until now.
MARQUARDT: And Yousef, you have two young children. They have now lived through several wars. You told me last time that they have become experts at war. They understand the different types of weapons and bombs that are being dropped. But as far as your family goes, what are your biggest needs right now?
HAMMASH: Yes. Unfortunately, there is not that ability for us in Rafah in general and it's not only my situation, it's the situation for more than 1 million and a half that they could fulfill their need. There is lack -- we are lacking literally everything. We are lacking electricity, fuel, food, water. Anything from our basic needs, we are lacking here.
And unfortunately, we cannot fulfill it as responsible and in front of our children or our extended families. The situation is really, really challenging for anyone who's in Rafah. I could say it's more acceptable for the Ramadan situation in the northern part of Gaza, which is totally forgotten and -- because there is no media appearance and recently, everyone on media is talking about invading Rafah, expanding the military operation in Rafah, which grab a huge media attention and kind of abounded the situation in the northern part of Gaza.
What we are hearing from our relatives and our neighbors, our friends that who stayed in the northern part in Gaza city is heartbreaking and making us, at Rafah, who are living a real catastrophe feel lucky somehow because we have kind of access for our basic needs. And what we are getting from the north is really heartbreaking.
[16:15:00]
MARQUARDT: Right.
HAMMASH: It's really weird when you're comparing the situation in Gaza in general why -- how -- despite how small it is.
MARQUARDT: Yes. And there are hundreds of thousands of people who, as you say, are in the northern part of the Gaza Strip who don't have access to what is already very, very limited aid that you may have access to in the south.
One of the solutions that the U.S. and other countries have come up with are air drops. Dropping aid from airplanes into Gaza. Do you know if those have made any difference? And when you hear about the United States planning to build that pier, that dock on the water on the coast of Gaza, how much do you think that would help?
HAMMASH: First of all, we started recently to hear that -- to hear a lot about the air droppings. First thing, any small help, even for one child, it's worth it. But I don't think that it was realistic to spend all that amount of effort on air dropping. And that's -- that -- we had a huge failure recently when one of the air drops that -- one of the items that have been dropped have killed some people in the north. And that was not a realistic option. While we could -- the International Community and world leaders and U.S., especially, could spend more efforts coordinating with this -- with its closest ally which could use its influence to allow the truck, which is like half an hour away from Rafah Crossing or Kerem Shalom Crossing.
Now, they are talking about this kind of a seaboard. Unfortunately, spending all -- again, all of these efforts on building a seafood seaport to allow aid is kind of unrealistic to be honest. We are -- the Gazans or -- we're dreaming for years to have a small piece of land in as a seaport. But in the -- and the situation that -- the circumstances that we are going through in Gaza, it's going to be more efficient if we allow the aid and the International Community use their influence on Israel to allow aid to (INAUDIBLE) different areas all across Gaza and don't put that restrictions on aid.
And we had different borders in the north and Gaza City, like Karmi Crossing Point in Gaza City and Erez Crossing Point in the north. And despite, we left all of that and we went to go to more kind of unrealistic options, unfortunately.
MARQUARDT: Yes, the U.S. has said that Israel will open up another border crossing in the next few weeks, which one, we don't know right now. But Yousef, as you know, Israel also accuses Hamas of stealing much of the aid that goes into Gaza. We've seen all kinds of widespread looting. But how big of an issue is it of Hamas taking some of that aid, as Israel alleges?
HAMMASH: And here, we are operating in Rafah, mainly, and we observe and we supervise all of the delivery of all of our items under a very technical, logistic procedures to reach the people in need. We didn't notice or see any of all of these allegations on the ground. And that's our own experience working in the field for more -- in more than 13 sites.
There were no evidence on all of these allegations so far. And we were all -- we are working in the underground in Rafah. And I'm talking about Rafah serving all these thousands of displaced families that we reach, and we didn't see anything on the ground related to all of these allegations.
MARQUARDT: Yousef, there is, obviously, these discussions about a ceasefire, that could mean a break in the fighting again, and this time for at least six weeks. What would that mean for your family?
HAMMASH: And to be honest, we are looking for a second to breathe. Even when our is in -- we're just looking for a breath. But based on our previous experience, we had two humanitarian boss (ph). They have different meanings, different names for everything for one week.
And after that week, we found ourselves in an endless nightmare. The bombardment have intensified. The machine, the killing tool have increased significantly. We don't want to find ourselves in that circle of violence again and again. We are looking for a permanent ceasefire, ensure the dignity and that basic human life for people who are suffering for years under the siege. And now, we are in these 155 days of madness that we are going through with all of these circumstances surrounding us, bombardment, drones, lack of aid, lack of fuel, lack of drinking water, doesn't have the ability to provide for your own children. All of this, we are looking for an end for it, and we are hoping that this is not going to be a break.
[16:20:00]
We don't -- we want -- we are -- we don't need a break, we want to ensure our lives back. We need our life back as Palestinians who are trapped in Gaza under this situation.
MARQUARDT: Yes, so many Gazans, of course, hoping that it's not just a pause but a permanent ceasefire and an end to this war. Yousef Hammash, thank you so much for joining us this evening in Rafah. I really appreciate it.
HAMMASH: Thank you, Alex.
MARQUARDT: The presidential campaigns are colliding in the battleground State of Georgia with President Joe Biden and his predecessor holding Julie events just about 60 miles away from one another. Stay with us.
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[16:25:00]
MARQUARDT: The calendar may say it's just March 9th, but the general election is already here. Make no mistake about it. Now, the country gets to watch eight months of days just like today with both major party presidential standard bearers in the same state.
Today, Donald Trump and Joe Biden have just 60 miles between them, meaning they're going directly for the same voters and directly at one another. CNN is covering both sides of this split screen. Let's start with Steve Contorno, who is in Rome, Georgia, where we will soon be hearing from Trump.
So, Steve, what are you hearing about how the Trump campaign intends to counter Biden's quite combative message from the State of the Union.
STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Well, Alex, in many ways, you can expect a continuation of the confrontations President Biden had at the State of the Union with Trump's Republican allies, particularly over immigration.
The Trump campaign staff have been handing out posters here that have the face of Laken Riley on it. This is the 22-year-old nursing student who was allegedly killed by an undocumented individual here in Georgia just a few weeks ago, and that is an individual who was brought up at the State of the Union by Marjorie Taylor Greene.
This is her district. She actually spoke here earlier today. She talked about that confrontation that she had with Biden at the State of the Union. And very clearly, this is something they're going to lean into more and more as we get deeper into this campaign cycle.
MARQUARDT: And Steve, something else that we could expect to hear possibly is about his legal troubles in Georgia. This is Trump's first campaign visit to Georgia since he turned himself into the authorities in Fulton County. No doubt that will be a focus of what he says here.
CONTORNO: Absolutely, Alex. He has talked about this case even when he isn't in George. I've seen him many times in recent weeks and he is constantly attacking the district attorney who indicted him and the special prosecutor who is now in charge of his trial.
And so, yes, you could definitely expect him to talk about it here. The question is, how much will that help him in a general election in Georgia? You know, this is a state that has been critically challenging for him. Obviously, he lost it by about 12,000 votes four years ago, but he has also struggled in the year since, partially because he had leaned so much into these election lies.
Now, that is something that's already been talked about quite a bit by the speakers before him, but whether or not that moves voters in November, I am hearing from Republican strategists who are worried that this is going to hurt them here in statewide elections once again, Alex.
MARQUARDT: All right. Steve Contorno there in Rome, Georgia. Thank you very much, Steve.
CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is live in Atlanta. She's been following President Biden today. So, Prisilla, Biden campaign feeling really that the city's union is their core message as they move into this campaign season.
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right, Alex. And this is, in some respects, an extension of that. Expect that the president is going to lay out his domestic accomplishments today while also drawing a stark contrast with Former President Donald Trump, who, as you noted, is just up the road some 60 miles from here.
But look, this is a moment that the Biden campaign has been waiting for. It has crystallized the campaign for them, the remaps that is Donald Trump versus President Biden, and that is exactly what they're planning to lean into, especially here in a crucial state, a state that President Biden only narrowly won in 2020, a state that also has a diverse coalition that the president wants to shore up support within.
And today, the president is accepting three endorsements from political action committees that represent Asian-Americans and black and Latino-Americans. Now, the early polls here show that Donald Trump is slightly ahead. The president and his campaign is well aware of that, but they're also very much in the belief that they can get supporters here just like they did in 2020.
I will note though, Alex, and talking to Democratic strategists, what they tell me is that this year there's no really key statewide races. And so, the enthusiasm has to come from the president to get voters to turn out. The president aware of that. And also, releasing an ad today with -- or acknowledging one of the top concerns among voters which was his age take a listen to that ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Look, I'm not a young guy. That's no secret. But here's the deal, I understand how to get things done for the American people. Look, I'm very young, energetic and handsome. And what the hell am I doing this for?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALVAREZ: That ad running in battleground states. And the president himself also continuing his -- hitting the road over the course of the next week in, again, those battleground states.
MARQUARDT: All right. Pricilla Alvarez, on the campaign trail in Atlanta. Thank you very much, Pricilla.
Still ahead, a cyber --
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ALVAREZ: That ad running in battleground states. And the president himself also continuing his hitting the road over the course the next week, and again, in those battleground states.
MARQUARDT: All right, Priscilla Alvarez, on the campaign trail in Atlanta. Thank you very much, Priscilla.
Still ahead, a cyberattack, described as unprecedented, is forcing health care providers into financial chaos because they can't bill their patients. We'll have a report on that.
Also, a show of force to fight subway crime now facing backlash in New York City
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MARQUARDT: Thousands of hospitals and health clinics across America have been thrown into chaos by an ongoing cyberattack, putting some of the -- putting some of them on the brink of collapse as far as their businesses are concerned.
[16:35:01]
The hack was aimed at a company that is part of the central nervous system of the U.S. health care market, disrupting things like insurance billing and prescription processing, affecting tens of thousands of patients.
CNN cybersecurity reporter, Sean Lyngaas, is here with us.
Sean, explain how this attack happened and why it lasted so long. SEAN LYNGAAS, CNN CYBERSECURITY REPORTER: Well, Alex, this is something that U.S. officials have been worried about for a while, where you have this single-point of failure, a company that does so much for the health care economy not being resilient to a fairly straightforward hack.
This was allegedly a cybercriminal gang that got into the network and forced the company take it offline.
And so now, when you're talking about going into the pharmacy to get your prescription filled, they can look up -- they can't bill your insurance and you might have to pay out of pocket.
I talked to one woman who has long Covid and she wanted Paxlovid and she had to pay roughly $1,600 out of pocket just to make sure she got that.
I talked to a mom in Utah whose teenage daughter has a rare genetic syndrome, was facing over $1,000 in out-of-pocket costs. So there's that.
That's just one portion of what we're talking about. We're talking about a widespread issue where health care providers, they're trying to get claims billed, and then they can't get paid.
And so one clinic I talked to in Pennsylvania told me we're hemorrhaging money.
This is a huge issue. It's -- it's really something that us officials are saying -- it's a reckoning for them.
They're saying, what we've tried, all these measures to try to make critical infrastructure more resilient to these types of things. But when you have a company like this, is too big to fail and it's failing, it's a huge issue, Alex.
MARQUARDT: And speaking of critical infrastructure, that -- the agency I don't government that is in charge of that, of keeping it safe on the cyber front, CISA, we now understand that they were hacked and some of their systems we're forced offline.
What happened there?
LYNGAAS: Right. We're all we're all targets, right, if we're using software that's really common and it has vulnerabilities.
What happened here is a -- a VPN software that federal employees use to log in remotely was exported by a multitude of hackers last month, including Chinese cyber agents, according to sources I've spoken with.
In this case, we don't know who did it. But CISA, the cyber agency, was forced to take two key systems offline, Alex.
One was a computer system that houses information on the security of chemical plants, and the other is a program that federal government employees share cyber tools with the state and local governments. So not a trivial issue.
There's -- CISA is saying no operational impact, but they're also trying to use this a teachable moment saying, hey, we got, we got hit, everyone, everyone can. So make sure you have a plan in place.
Which is also something that applies to health care hack. There haven't been enough plans in place, according to everyone I talked to -- Alex?
MARQUARDT: Yes, it's a real message. If CISA can get hacked and get taken down, then so can most companies and certainly individuals.
Sean Lyngaas, terrific reporting. Thanks very much.
Now, next, should Donald Trump have access to classified intelligence now that he's the presumptive Republican nominee for president? We'll be asking a long-time U.S. intelligence official about those implications. That's next.
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[16:42:53]
MARQUARDT: Washington is grappling with another unprecedented scenario sparked by Donald Trump's run in this year, 2024. For more than 60 years, presidential nominees have received classified intelligence briefings. There also available for former presidents like Donald Trump.
But until Trump, none had been facing trial for allegedly mishandling classified materials.
Back in 2021, well, before federal agents recovered classified materials at Trump's Florida property, Mar-a-Lago, President Joe Biden said that Trump should not get those briefings. This week, the White House implied that Biden stance has not changed.
We're joined now by former principal deputy director of National Intelligence, Andrew Hallman. He has also now the vice president of national security strategy at Peraton.
Andrew, thanks so much for joining us.
So how do you think the intelligence community is going to handle this now that we believe Trump is, indeed, going to be the Republican nominee?
ANDREW HALLMAN, VICE PRESIDENT OF NATIONAL SECURITY, PERATON: I think the intelligence community will give these briefings.
This is part of a 50 -- since 1952, a noble tradition that sitting presidents have offered the nominees intelligence briefings as they prepare and they acclimate for what could face them as president.
And this is my -- my understanding is there's no real legal or policy restriction on even a former president who's facing -- who's indicted for these charges to receive these briefings.
And the really important point here, Alex, is that the intelligence community, being very professional, dedicated service where apolitical professional behaviors is currency the realm, they're going to want to do this straight down the middle and apolitically.
And partly out of concern if they want to be treated fairly. When/if former President Trump is elected, they're treated fairly and they're not criticized as he did when he was in office before.
MARQUARDT: Criticized as being part of the deep state.
Now, the intelligence community may want to play it down the middle. But this is a unique situation. We've seen those photos of those classified documents being stored in a bathroom at Mar-a-Lago.
Do you think that that will impact how the intelligence briefers deliver that information? Is there any way for them to narrow the scope of what he gets if there are concerns?
[16:45:07]
HALLMAN: I believe they will do is they always have, which is providing that context and the not terribly sensitive information that they typically do when they're candidate briefings.
They'll wait, if the former president is reelected again, for the transition where they're gradually expose him to more sensitive intelligence information.
But the risk is relatively low during the candidate briefings. They keep them fairly high level as they have in previous briefings.
So I don't think they'll pull their punches. I think they'll give honest assessments of the world's situation.
But there will be some concerns about the potential that you make compromise information provided in those briefings. Those are real concerns.
MARQUARDT: I mean, concerns that, of course, what he's being given could fall into the wrong hands. Your predecessor, essentially the number-two person in the intelligence community, as you were, Sue Gordon, she wrote that Trump might be unusually vulnerable to bad actors with ill intent.
So is there anything that the intelligence community can do or do they simply have to, because of protocol, play it up the middle as you say?
HALLMAN: Well, they should. They should not be treating him differently.
They should be, as they always have, providing those cautionary warnings to not only the president, if he's re-elected again, but also to those around him to protect that classified information and help them understand the context where they understand the equities involved.
Not just to the human assets that may be jeopardized, but to the sources and methods that could be compromised that, on which this country depends for its security.
MARQUARDT: I want to ask you about Gaza now, because there are these ongoing ceasefire negotiations, lead in the United States by the CIA director. He's been out in the Middle East for the past few days. He -- he met with his Israeli counterpart in Jordan just yesterday.
What is the advantage to having the intelligence guys handle this if this incredibly sensitive and complicated issue versus, say, diplomats?
HALLMAN: Well, first, Bill Burns, being the consummate professional diplomat, widely respected around the world, that's one.
But two is, the intelligence services and heads of those intelligence services have an opportunity here.
And they use this to provide those important channels for negotiations where they can get -- have more discretion and shield themselves more from what is really highly charged environments, both domestically as well as abroad.
So they offer an opportunity to supplement the normal traditional diplomatic channels with these, again, very trusted relationship that they've formed over many years.
And this is not just the first time this has been happening. Church tenanted this as well.
MARQUARDT: Right.
HALLMAN: But especially for the Mossad director, I think, he's, of course, facing some very important political considerations at home as the Prime Minister Netanyahu is.
So it's high-stakes on both sides. But they do provide these really trusted channels that they can use for very important negotiations, shielded, in part, from those political wins that tend to be swirling around them.
MARQUARDT: But Burns is essentially carrying out Biden's message and -- and his wishes, but it's a little bit more complicated for David Barnea, the head of Mossad, who is approaching this as an intelligence professional, but dealing with what is an extremely political issue.
And intelligence professionals hate to deal with politics. So how complicated is that job for Mossad's Barnea right now?
HALLMAN: It's very complicated for him. I mean, certainly, the domestic situation is real.
Not only with what you who have reported in Clarissa -- as Clarissa just reported, with the Israeli citizens putting heavy pressure to restrict food going into Gaza, but also the fissure on the prime minister to continue the offensives and the one impending potential in Rafah.
Pressure to continue that to not only get the hostages home, but to root out Hamas. Very stiff political pressures that he's facing.
So for Barnea, it's very important that he maintain these channels, maintain these negotiations when the diplomatic or the political environment around him is so highly charged.
MARQUARDT: Yes, a very tough line to walk.
Andrew Hallman, thank you very much for your time and your thoughts.
(CROSSTALK)
HALLMAN: Thank you.
MARQUARDT: And coming up, a New York leader is facing criticism tonight for bringing in hundreds of National Guard troops to help address crime in America's biggest subway system.
[16:49:34]
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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MARQUARDT: New York Governor Kathy Hochul is facing backlash for sending National Guard troops into the New York City's subway system to help tackle crime.
And critics aren't just politicians or subway riders. Even some of the NYPD are blasting the move.
Here's NYPDs patrol chief fuming on social media saying, quote, "Our transit system is not a war zone."
CNN's Polo Sandoval is live in New York for us.
Polo, how is the governor responding to this?
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So Governor Kathy Hochul, Alex, has really sort of countered some of that criticism, saying that this is -- much of this, at least, it's about a perceived danger, countering that perceived danger.
I say that it's about perception given that the NYPD has really recently said that there has been a noticeable decrease in crime on New York City's transit system.
[16:55:00]
However, we've also seen some recent violent incidents that have been widely publicized. And that has a potential to psychologically impact the people who use a system every day. So that is why New York Governor Kathy Hochul has rolled out this
multi-pronged approach.
But as you can imagine, the one that's really getting a lot of attention is the increase of at least 1,000 -- a combination of National Guard and state police, as well as MTA officers.
Their main goal will be to really focus on bag searches, which are usually taken care of by the NYPD. They'll continue to do that. This will simply supplement that.
As you can imagine, this is being received in different ways by those people who use the system every day. Some of them have told CNN that they feel really reassured.
But others calling into question as to whether or not if bag checks will prevent, let's say, a late-night scuffle between some subway riders, like recently, a conductor that was slashed with a sharp object. Fortunately, he survived.
But ultimately though, the governor maintaining, Alex, as we send things back to you, that this is all about trying to reassure the people who use that, not only weekends but, of course, certainly, on the weekdays as well.
MARQUARDT: All right. Polo Sandoval, in New York City, thanks very much.
Tonight, all eyes on the state if Georgia as Biden and Trump hit the trail and hold dueling rallies in this key battleground state.
We'll be right back. Stay with us.
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