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Biden and Trump Clinch Party Nominations for November Rematch; US Scrambles to Provide Last Military Aid to Ukraine; Aid Organizations Rush Relief to Gaza Amid Crisis; Trump's Legal Troubles and Impact on Political Landscape; Former Trump Officials Expose Alarming Comments and Behaviors; Ukraine Faces Dire Situation Amid Ongoing Russian Attacks; Navalny's Former Chief of Staff Survives Attack in Lithuania; First Successful Food Convoy Reaches Northern Gaza in Weeks; Pressure Mounts on Israel to Allow More Access to Gaza; Haiti in Turmoil as Prime Minister Resigns Amid Gang Violence. Former Special Counsel Robert Hur Defends His Investigation; Dozens Injured in Mid-Air Drop on LATAM Airlines Flight. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired March 13, 2024 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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(COMMERICAL BREAK)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hello, I'm Paula Newton, head right here on CNN Newsroom. Like it or not, the rematch is set. Both Joe Biden and Donald Trump secure enough delegates to clinch their party's nomination, setting up another face-off for the White House this November.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We must act before it literally is too late.
NEWTON: The United States scrapes together a new multi-million dollar package for Ukraine, but warns it's the last military aid they can provide unless Congress steps up. And whether by land, sea or air, aid organizations race to get desperately needed relief for the people of Gaza.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON:. So to be clear, it is the rematch few Americans seem to want, at least that's according to the polls. But they're getting it anyway. Biden versus Trump. Trump this November after primary wins in three more states on Tuesday, put both candidates over the top, securing enough delegates to win their party's presidential nominations. Now, projected win in Washington state made it official for Donald Trump. His last remaining Republican challenger, you'll remember Nikki Haley, dropped out of the race last week. And President Joe Biden wrapped things up with a win in Georgia. He will officially be nominated at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August. Now, polls show. Voters are concerned about Biden's age, and many in his own party disapprove of his handling of the war in Gaza. Meantime, Trump is facing 91 felony charges for his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election, mishandling classified documents and covering up hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. The former president just posted this reaction on social media a few moments ago.
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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's your favorite president speaking to you on a really great day of victory. The Republican National Committee has just declared us the official nominee. And so, we're the official nominee of the Republican Party, which is a big deal.
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NEWTON: More now on President Biden's re-election bid from CNN's senior White House correspondent, MJ Lee.
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MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Biden saying in a statement Tuesday night that he is honored to have clinched the Democratic partys' nomination for president and echoing some of the language we saw him use in his State of the Union remarks last week. . He said that he believes that the country is in the middle of a comeback. But he also goes on to say in this statement, amid this progress, we face a sobering reality.
Freedom and democracy are at risk here at home in a way they have not been since the Civil War. Donald Trump is running a campaign of resentment, revenge and retribution that threatens the very idea of America. Voters now have a choice to make. About the future of this country. Are we going to stand up and defend our democracy or let others tear it down?
Now, the Biden campaign going into Tuesday fully expected that the president was going to cross that delegates threshold. But the fact that it was a state of Georgia that put the president over the top is basically a cherry on top for this campaign. Of course, President Biden ended up defeating former President Donald Trump in that state back in 2020. And that marked the first time that a Democratic presidential candidate had won that state in 28 years.
And there's no question that the Biden campaign continues to see that state as a battleground state going into November. They would very much like to win that state. It's not a coincidence that the president travelled to Georgia this weekend as he kicked off his post State of the Union tour.
Now, zooming out Tuesday night was not only just a symbolically important moment for the campaign, but campaign officials saying that they are hoping that the events of Tuesday night will help some voters who have so far been tuned out of the election see and realize for the first time that the 2024 election is, in fact, going to be between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. MJ Lee, CNN at the White House.
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NEWTON: Ron Brownstein is CNN's senior political analyst and the senior editor for The Atlantic. And he joins me now from Los Angeles. Ron, I can think of no one better to speak to as we cross over that finish line. So please explain. How did we? Get here? Both Biden and Trump, we just said, will be their parties nominees. So, it's game on, right? What are we in for here?
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah. Yeah. You know, it's a slight oversimplification, but I think you can encapsulate the competing strategies in one sentence. Donald Trump wants to look back and Joe Biden wants to look forward. Donald Trump, I think, very clearly wants to frame this election as a retrospective comparison about his presidency versus Biden's. issues of inflation, immigration, and crime primarily.
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I thought he really gave us a window in the way they're going to try to frame this in that Super Tuesday speech. It got a little lost because there was so much kind of random vitriol in it, but at one point he said, you know, if Joe Biden had spent the last three years on the beach and left in place everything that I did, we'd be in a much better position as a country. And I think that's going to be his argument, basically ignoring 2020, 2017, 2018, 2019 was better than now.
Joe Biden wants voters to focus on what each man would do if returned to a second term. I mean, you saw that in his State of the Union where he laid out this very broad populist economic agenda, basically saying, I'm on your side, Donald Trump isn't, even though many voters feel like they were better off under Trump's presidency. And obviously all the questions about rights, values, and democracy, how Trump would affect all of those dynamics if returned to power are going to be absolutely central to a Biden campaign.
NEWTON: Yeah, so that's great overall framing. And now if we want to dig a little deeper, Ron, what are the challenges for Biden and Trump in both the swing states, right, which are the only important states really, and with independent voters? Because, and I'm not sure if you agree, Ron, that the base in both parties will likely hold their noses and vote for their nominees.
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah, well, look, I think, there's, you know, they both face potential fractures, Paul, in their own coalition. There's no question that Biden at this point in the campaign is looking at significant discontent among Black voters, Hispanic voters, and young voters for various reasons. And Trump, as we saw in the primaries, continues to face substantial resistance among white-collar, right- leaning voters who normally have pulled the, you know, pulled the lever for Republicans, but are resistant to him.
We're likely, as you say, to have this come down again to six or seven swing states at most. There were five states that decided 2020 by swinging from Trump in 16 to Biden in 20. Those were Arizona and Georgia in the Sun Belt, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania in the Rust Belt. Those are the absolute core heart of this election. Maybe Nevada for the Republicans to put in play, maybe North Carolina for the Democrats to put in play. Beyond that, we're, you know, probably our people, it could be as little as 250 or 300,000 people in those handful of states that decide our direction.
Biden is facing a lot of discontent over his performance and his age, but that doesn't mean there is a majority of Americans who want to live in the America that Trump is sketching out. And we saw, in fact, the opposite in 1820 and 2022. There is substantial resistance to him, even among voters, even among a surprising number of voters who are discontented with Biden's performance and the way things are going. So, two candidates defined as much by their weaknesses as their strengths, and in all likelihood, a very tight election.
NEWTON: Yeah, exactly. All eyes on those swing states. You've really framed that well. Going into what was today, I mean, on Tuesday, pardon me, Robert Herr, the special counsel who investigated President Biden on the documents case, you know, he took incoming from both parties here. It was a very contentious hearing. I want you to listen now to Democratic Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal questioning Hur in terms of what his report actually said. Listen.
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PRAMILA JAYAPAL, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: Expensive and independent investigation resulted in a complete exoneration of President Joe Biden.
ROBERT HUR, FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL: I need to go back and make sure that I take note of the word that you used, exoneration. That is not a word that appears in the report, --
(CROSSTALK)
JAYAPAL: Mr. Hur, I'm going to continue with my question.
HUR: -- and that's not part of my task as a prosecutor.
JAYAPAL: You exonerated him. I know that the term willful retention has a -
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: So, what I want to ask you, Ron, is that, you know, Donald Trump, he's admitted it himself, his legal troubles have actually boosted his fortunes on the political scene. Given what we saw today, do you think it'll strengthen Trump's argument to voters that he and Biden both made mistakes with documents, but only Trump is facing charges?
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah, she probably overreached by trying to get him to accept the word exonerate. I think Trump's legal troubles have strengthened him within the Republican primary. I am not convinced that they have strengthened him in terms of the general election, Paula. I mean, we are still in a situation where Joe Biden's standing in the horse race is about eight points better than his approval rating among voters.
We've never seen that for an incumbent president. People ask me all the time, why isn't this hurting Trump? Why isn't that hurting Trump? And the answer is, it is hurting Trump. Biden is doing better than a president, any other president, I think, would be doing, or he would be doing against any other opponent, given his own standing. The problem for Biden is that that is not an absolute get out of jail free card. We saw in '22, we saw in '20, there are a large number of voters who may have doubts about Biden, who will vote for him anyway, because they find Trump unacceptable.
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But there is not an infinite pool of such voters. And really, Biden's situation at this point, and the Hur testimony kind of goes to that, is canding (ph) enough to where the voters who are best on Biden can put him over the top if they are resistant to Trump. Right now, the way I sometimes say it is Trump has provided him like an 18-foot ladder through all of his vulnerabilities, but Biden is in a 20-foot hole. So, the question is, can he get to a point where Trump's vulnerabilities push him over the top? Today, no, but we've got a ways to go.
NEWTON: Yeah, a ways to go. That analogy with the ladder is going to stick with me. A ways to go just under eight months, I'll remind everybody, which is still in politics an absolute eternity. Ron Brownstein for us from Los Angeles. Thanks so much. Really appreciate it.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.
NEWTON: Ukrainian officials say at least three people were killed by a Russian attack in Southern Ukraine Tuesday. At least 40 people were injured, and that includes 10 children after Russian missiles struck multi-storey buildings in the city of Kryvyi. Now, officials say the missiles started fires in residential buildings and rescue workers had to dig through rubble in order to save anyone.
Meantime, the U.S. announced a surprise package of new military aid to Ukraine on Tuesday, after months of warning, there was no money left. The $300 million package includes much-needed artillery, ammunition, anti-aircraft missiles, anti-armor systems, and more. The Defense Department explained it found money in the savings from weapons contracts.
Now, meantime, the leaders of the U.S. and Poland reaffirmed their support for Ukraine during a meeting at the White House Tuesday. President Joe Biden again called on House lawmakers to pass a bill that includes billions in aid for Ukraine.
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BIDEN: Congress must pass the bipartisan national security bill now, which includes urgent funding for Ukraine. We must act before it literally is too late, before it's too late. Because as Poland (ph) remembers, Russia won't stop at Ukraine. Putin will keep going, putting Europe, the United States, and the entire free world at risk, in my view.
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NEWTON: For more now, we're joined by CNN chief national security analyst and anchor Jim Sciutto. He is also the author of the new book, The Return of Great Powers, Russia, China, and the Next World War. Really good for you to be with us, Jim. And let's start with Ukraine, right? Through some kind of creative accounting from the Biden administration, Ukraine will muddle through for perhaps the next few weeks. But can you game this out for us politically? Is there a chance that the $60 billion aid package might actually come through in the next few weeks?
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANLAYST: There is a chance. We've been in this same place for a number of weeks, really months now, since the Biden administration proposed this aid, $60 billion aid to Ukraine, but also we should note aid to Israel and Taiwan as well. And there've been lots of stops and starts, lots of brick walls. I've spoken to both Democratic and Republican lawmakers who say there is a path now.
And we should always know that large majorities of Democrats and Republicans, even in the House, support this. But the leadership, especially the Speaker, and the presumptive Republican nominee, Donald Trump, are against this aid. So, the Speaker needs to bring it to the floor. And if he doesn't bring it to the floor, there's no vote unless Congress uses other means, including what's known as a discharge petition, which is now underway. That takes time. It takes a bit of jumping through hoops. It's really a last resort. But I'm told by both Democratic and Republican lawmakers that they're willing to try that last resort. We'll see if it works. It's not guaranteed, but I hear a bit more optimism today than I heard a week or two ago.
NEWTON: Interesting, especially given that the CIA director, William Burns, was on Capitol Hill the last couple of days, and he said this about Ukraine aid. Listen.
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BILL BURNS, CIA DIRECTOR: Ukraine is not running out of courage and tenacity. They're running out of ammunition, and we're running out of time to help them.
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NEWTON: Running out of time to help them. Jim, I have to say, your book is startling in terms of some of the revelations, and that includes, how, how close Putin came to perhaps using a tactical nuclear weapon when the Ukraine war began. So what's your assessment? How do you think Russia will interpret the lack of U.S. aid? Because many will say, look, that has repercussions.
SCIUTTO: They will interpret it as weakness and as a loss of unity within NATO and among Ukraine's allies, and really a loss or running out of patience and interest, which has been a real challenge for the United States. It's been Putin's calculation for some time. He lost the initial stage of the war.
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He expected it to be an easy win; it clearly was not. Ukraine putting up an enormous defense, and Russia suffering enormous losses. But now you're seeing in this country, growing opposition to the aid. You're seeing concerns about what the end game is for Ukraine. And the fact is, even with Europe stepping up, providing ammunition, weapon systems, etc., the U.S. is just so big. Without U.S. support, to Director Burns' point, Ukraine just won't have what it needs.
It's already being out-fired on the front lines, perhaps by five to one or worse. They are already losing soldiers on the front lines as a result of those shortages. So, when Burns says they can't last much longer, it's true. He's not exaggerating. And I've heard the same from Ukrainian officials and commanders, and I've heard it from Eastern European and European leaders as well.
NEWTON: You know, you have also had some great sourcing on how former President Trump conducted himself while in office. Shockingly, obviously, his admiration for dictators like Putin. But what did we learn in the last year that we didn't already know? And I'm asking you specifically because when it comes to his stand on things like Ukraine, what would a new government action look like in terms of what's happening? And what does our culture and doctrine look like if he gets a second term?
SCIUTTO: Well, some of the most alarming comments-and I heard this from senior officials who served under Trump in his first administration, including his former chief of staff, retired General John Kelly-who told me that Trump expressed outright admiration for Adolf Hitler. You heard that correctly. He said that Trump said, quote unquote, "Hitler did some good things." And John Kelly, when he heard that, said, "What good things?" And Trump said, "Well, he rebuilt the German economy." Reminded him that, well, he used that rebuilt economy to launch war on Europe, the bloodiest war in human history, not to mention carrying out the Holocaust.
And Kelly said to me, I can't believe he, in effect, forgot the Holocaust. Trump went on, said that Hitler's generals were more loyal to him, a complaint that Trump would make about his own generals not being loyal enough to him. But the concern is that beyond that fundamental misunderstanding of Hitler and alarming, appalling praise for him, that Trump has this admiration, this affinity for other of today's despots, Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong-un.
And his advisors say he was just fascinated by them, felt that he could have a good relationship with them, and to a large degree envied their power. So the choice that American voters face in the fall whatever your politics are, is a very real one in terms of how the U.S. approaches the world, its adversaries, but also its allies. And this should be a concern for Europe because, as advisors tell me in a second term, Donald Trump would be very likely to attempt to take the U.S. out of NATO, as well as other long-lasting, decades-old security agreements, such as with South Korea or with Japan. It's a consequential election for this country and for the world.
NEWTON: Yeah, absolutely. Everyone is taking President Trump at his word when he does speak about things like NATO. Jim Sciutto, thanks for being with us. The new book is Return of Great Powers, Russia, China, and the Next World War. Jim, again, so great to see you. Appreciate it.
SCIUTTO: Thanks to you so much.
NEWTON: Alexei Navalny's former chief of staff has survived an attack in Lithuania, according to Navalny's spokesperson. Someone struck Leonid Volkov with a hammer, and sprayed him with tear gas outside his home Tuesday. The Russian opposition activist was taken to hospital. He says he has a broken arm and was also hit in the leg and head. But he says it will not stop him.
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LEONID VOLKOV, RUSSIAN OPPOSITION ACTIVIST (through translator): Well, listen, this will pass. The main thing is that we will continue to work, and we will not give up. I'm not ready to give any comments yet, other than the obvious that this was such an obvious, typical gangster greeting from Putin, from gangster St. Petersburg. Vladimir Vladimirovich, hello to you, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: The attack comes less than a month after Alexei Navalny's death in a Russian prison. Volkov served as the chairman of his anti- corruption foundation until last year. More desperately needed assistance is now en route to Gaza. As the first maritime shipment of humanitarian aid leaves Cyprus, we will have those details ahead. Plus, as Haiti looks ahead to leadership, the country's gangs say they won't recognize any new government. Look at the political chaos in that country next.
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NEWTON: You're seeing new video there that shows the moment of a suspected gas Explosion in northern China state media says it happened at a ground-floor restaurant and Hebei province Multiple people were injured and sent to hospital as you can see in these social media videos the powerful blast damaged buildings and cars nearby We will of course continue to monitor that situation and bring you more information as we receive it
The U.N.'s World Food Program says it has reached northern Gaza with much-needed aid in the first successful food convoy to the area in three weeks. The WFP said it delivered enough food for 25,000 people, but says more deliveries are needed with direct entry points into the north where people now are on the brink of famine. The Israel Defense Forces says the six U.N. humanitarian trucks entered the area through a new route on Tuesday. Countries are also working to get food into northern Gaza from the air. Jordan's Air Force conducted joint airdrops with the U.S., Egypt, and Belgium Tuesday. And despite all of this, Israel is, of course, under growing pressure to allow more access to Gaza in an effort to get more aid in by land.
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JOSEP BORRELL, EU FOREIGN POLICY CHIEF: This is a humanitarian crisis which is not a natural disaster. It's not a flood. It's not a health quake. It's a man-made. When we look for alternative ways of providing support by sea or by air, we have to remind that we have to do it because the natural way of providing support through roads is being closed, artificially closed. And starvation is being used as a war arm.
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NEWTON: Strong language there. And more assistance is headed to Gaza, this time by sea. A ship carrying aid from the World Central Kitchen is now en route to the enclave after leaving Cyprus Tuesday. On board, about 200 tons of food. One U.N. official said the move is highly appreciated, but of course stressed it is not a substitute for the overland transport of food to those on the verge of famine in Gaza. CNN's Nada Bashir has our details.
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NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): On its way at last. The open arms, normally a search and rescue vessel, setting sail from Larnaca in Cyprus. With nearly 200 tons of aid in tow. Rice, flour and canned goods. Enough for 500,000 meals, according to World Central Kitchen.
JUAN CAMILO JIMENEZ, WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN: It's the first time it's happening in many years. And that means that we are working with different actors, different governments, different entities to make this possible.
BASHIR (voice-over): And this is where it's going. A makeshift pier in Gaza still under construction. This in addition to a temporary pier to be established by the U.S. military on Gaza's coast. World Central Kitchen says it plans to distribute the food in Gaza where a quarter of Palestinians are on the brink of famine according to the UN.
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ANTONIO GUTERRES, U.N. SECRETARY- GENERAL: My strongest appeal today is to honor the spirit of Ramadan by silencing the guns and removing all obstacles to ensure the delivery of life-saving aid at the speed and massive scale required.
BASHIR (voice-over): Any form of celebration during this holy month is at best muted with little food for Palestinians to break their fast at sunset. OM SHAHER AL QTA'A, GAZA RESIDENT: We decided to come and break our
fast here in our home which was struck. Despite the destruction and the rubble we bought our food and cooked on firewood.
BASHIR (voice-over): Open arms will be one of the first ships to enter the strip in years, ever since Israel implemented a naval blockade on the territory in 2007. Aid trucks which on average crossed at around 500 a day before the war began, now pile up at the Rafah border crossing in Egypt. Only a fraction actually make it across the border every day.
Governments and other aid agencies have also taken to airdrops though this option has been banned for a long time. has proven both controversial and even risky, leaving the sea as one of the last remaining avenues to bring food to those so desperately in need. Nada Bashir, CNN, London.
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NEWTON: Haiti is hoping to have a transitional council in place after the country's prime minister resigned following widespread gang violence in that country. But a powerful gang leader says his coalition of gangs will not recognize any government put in place by the new council. It says it's the responsibility of Haitians to choose their leaders. The council will be tasked with appointing an interim prime minister and establishing a provisional electoral council to facilitate free and fair elections.
The UN welcomed the new developments but says it's hard to predict if it'll help end the violence. CNN's Patrick Oppmann takes a look now at how Haiti will now move towards hopefully some stability.
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PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN HAVANA-BASED CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For more than a week, Haiti's marauding gangs prevented Prime Minister Ariel Henry from returning to the country he was supposed to lead. Until finally, Henry reached a breaking point and agreed on Monday night to resign.
ARIEL HENRY, HAITIAN PRIME MINISTER (through translator): My government will leave immediately after the inauguration of the council. We will be a caretaker government until they name a prime minister and a new cabinet. Haiti needs peace. Haiti needs stability.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Henry had traveled from Haiti to the United States. Haiti to Kenya to sign an agreement with the government there to provide troops to fight the out-of-control gangs terrorizing his beleaguered nation. Once he left, the gangs united to further batter the Haitian government in a series of coordinated attacks. The latest explosion of violence leading to a massive jailbreak that freed thousands of prisoners closed the country's main airport indefinitely and forced the United States and other embassies to evacuate diplomats via helicopter. The news of Henry's impending resignation is not placating the leaders of gangs, though, who have threatened an all-out civil war. JIMMY CHERIZIER, HAITI GANG LEADER: We in Vivasan (ph) are demanding that the Haitian people must choose the person who will lead the country.
OPPMANN (voice-over): But it is the Haitian people who are suffering the most. More than 300,000 have been displaced by the violence, the U.N. says. Gangs block access to food, water, and hospitals. Using hunger and sexual violence as weapons of war. Bodies of their victims lie uncollected on streets. On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with regional leaders in Jamaica and announced an increase in U.S. funding to the security mission to be led by Kenyan troops.
ANTONY BLINKEN, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I'm announcing today that the United States Department of Defense is doubling its approved support for the mission from $100 million to $200 million. And that brings the total U.S. support to $300 million for this effort.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Following the announcement that Henry will resign, Kenyan officials now saying a government needs to be in place in Haiti before their troops can deploy, creating more doubt of when exactly they will have boots on the ground to begin fighting the heavily armed local gang. For too many Haitians living in a country where there is no longer a functioning government, no escape from the violence. It is already too late. Patrick Oppmann, CNN Havana.
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NEWTON: Up next for us, the former special counsel that is behind the report that called Joe Biden an quote elderly man with a poor memory defends himself on the Capitol Hill. The latest on the investigation into the president's handling of classified documents.
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NEWTON: The White House has responded to testimony by former special counsel Robert Hur about Joe Biden's handling of classified documents. Hur says his assessment of the president's memory and cognitive skills was, in fact, necessary and fair.
Now, after his report concluded that the president was forgetful and lax around sensitive information. The White House says the case is now closed, since President Biden has not been charged.
CNN's Paula Reid has the story from Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you swear or affirm under --
PAULA REID, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former special counsel Robert Hur grilled by lawmakers from both sides of the aisle today about his investigation into President Biden's mishandling of classified documents.
REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): Mr. Hur, why'd he do it? Why did Joe Biden, in your words, willfully retain and disclose classified materials? I mean, he knew the law. He'd been in office, like, 50 years.
REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): You exonerated him.
ROBERT HUR, FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL: -- a conviction. I did not exonerate him.
JAYAPAL: I know that the term "willful retention" has --
HUR: That word does not appear in the report, Congresswoman.
JAYAPAL: Mr. Hur, it's my time.
REID (voice-over): Biden's memory took center stage as Hur said in his report that he did not charge Biden, because he believed a jury would wee him as a "sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory."
REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): You find in your report that the elements of a federal criminal violation are met, but then you apply this senile cooperator theory that, because Joe Biden cooperated and the elevator didn't go to the top floor, you don't get a conviction.
REP. ADAM SCHIFF (D-CA): You understood when you made that decision, didn't you, Mr. Hur, that you would ignite a political firestorm with that language, didn't you?
HUR: Congressman, politics played no part whatsoever in my investigative steps.
SCHIFF: You cannot tell me you're so naive as to think your words would not have created a political firestorm. You understood that.
REID (voice-over): Hur told the committee he stood by the words in his report.
HUR: My assessment in the report about the relevance of the president's memory was necessary, and accurate and fair.
REID (voice-over): Both sides using the issue to try to score political points.
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have a good memory and all that stuff, like a great memory.
REID (voice-over): Showing dueling videos, featuring gaffes by Trump and Biden.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My memory is so bad I let you speak.
REID (voice-over): Hur was also pressed on the differences between Biden's case and that of former President Trump, those being that Biden returned the documents; he allowed for searches at various properties; and even sat for a voluntary interview with the special counsel.
[00:35:03]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you find that President Biden engaged in a conspiracy to obstruct justice?
HUR: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you find that President Biden engaged in a scheme to conceal?
HUT: No.
REID (voice-over): And while Hur explained that he did not have enough evidence to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. he made it clear that his report does not absolve the president.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Hur, did you completely exonerate President Biden?
HUR: That is not what my report does.
REID (voice-over): Hur also emphasized that he was making a legal conclusion about Biden's mental state, not a medical one.
REP. SCOTT FITZGERALD (R-WI): Mr. Hur, based on your report, did you find that the president was senile?
HUR: I did not. That conclusion does not appear in my report.
REID (voice-over): A transcript of Biden's interview with Hur was released just a few hours before the hearing, causing Republicans to cry foul.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The timing is not coincidental,
REID (voice-over): And after the hearing wrapped, the White House responded, saying the hearing should put the classified documents investigation against Biden to rest.
IAN SAMS, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESPERSON: The conclusion was simple, that there is no case here. The case is closed. It's time to move on.
REID: Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Still to come for us, more rough skies ahead for Boeing after a mid-air incident on a flight from Australia to New Zealand.
Plus, a damning quality control report that has U.S. officials up in arms.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: So disappointment in the air for a private Japanese space company after its Kairos rocket exploded shortly after takeoff.
Now, you are looking at pictures of that failed launch.
The company behind it, Space One, had been hoping to become the first Japanese firm to put a satellite into orbit. Space One said the flight was interrupted after the launch and is investigating exactly what happened.
Boeing officials could be subpoenaed to testify before U.S. investigators in the coming months in a rare public hearing over the door plug blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight in January.
That news comes after a mid-air drop occurred on a Boeing aircraft headed from Australia to New Zealand Monday. Some of those passengers on that LATAM Airlines flight returned to Chile Tuesday.
Here's how one described the incident, which is now under investigation.
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VERONICA MARTINEZ, LATAM AIRLINES FLIGHT 800 PASSENGER (through translator): There was no turbulence. It was like suddenly, everything went off, and it went, like, on its face like a roller coaster. What struck me the most was a woman who was with a baby. I saw the baby fly. Yes, it was terrible.
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NEWTON: CNN's Pete Muntean now has more on the ever-growing list of problems for Boeing.
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PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New images show the aftermath of Monday's mysterious in-flight jolt on a Chilean Boeing 787.
LATAM Airlines says a "technical event" caused a "strong movement" on board, injuring 50 passengers, who peppered the pilots with questions.
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BRIAN JOKAT, LATAM AIRLINES FLIGHT 800 PASSENGER: I immediately engaged with him and said, you know, "What was that?"
And he openly admitted -- he said, I lost control of the plane. My gauges just kind of went blank on me, and that's when the plane just took a dive.
MUNTEAN (voice-over): Boeing says it is standing by to help investigate the incident, the latest involving a Boeing plane, following the Alaska Airlines door plug blowout in January; a wheel falling off a United flight last week; and hydraulic fluid trailing from another United flight during takeoff from Sydney this week.
MARY SCHIAVO, FORMER INSPECTOR GENERAL, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION: People are pretty wary of Boeing right now. And when anything happens on a Boeing, people want to know.
MUNTEAN (voice-over): Though there is no clear link between each incident, Boeing remains under the microscope of federal investigators.
The Federal Aviation Administration now says it has completed its review of the 737 production line, with "The New York Times" reporting Boeing failed 33 of 89 quality control audits.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It wasn't just paperwork issues. Sometimes it's ordered that work is done. Sometimes its tool management at -- it sounds kind of pedestrian, but it's really important in a factory, that you have a way of tracking your tools effectively so that you have the right tool and that you know you didn't leave it behind.
MUNTEAN (voice-over): FAA scrutiny follows anger from the National Transportation Safety Board, which blasted Boeing on Capitol Hill last week for failing to provide records that detailed the omission of key bolts from the Alaska Airlines plane. Boeing says those records do not exist.
JENNIFER HOMENDY, CHAIR, U.S. NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: We don't have the records. We don't have the names of the 25 people that is in charge of doing that work in that facility. It's absurd that two months later, we don't have that.
MUNTEAN: The National Transportation Safety Board just announced a rare hearing on the Alaska Airlines door plug incident. That means Boeing officials could be subpoenaed to testify publicly.
Boeing has not indicated how it will respond, but it is answering to the findings from the FAA's audit. A new Boeing memo underscores that workers must precisely follow every step when building airplanes.
Pete Muntean, CNN, Washington.
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NEWTON: I'm Paula Newton. I'll be back at the top of the hour with more NEWSROOM. But first, WORLD SPORT starts right after this quick break.
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