Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
CNN International: Former Counsel Robert Hur Defends His Investigation; Lawmakers Expected to Vote on Bill Banning App in U.S.; Romanian Court Approves U.K. Request to Extradite Tate Brothers; Argentina Reports World's Highest Inflation for Third Month; Dozens Injured in Mid-Air Drop on LATAM Airlines Flight; Lenny Kravitz Honored in Hollywood. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired March 13, 2024 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00]
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: But the U.S., U.K., France and Germany have already backed the Dutch Prime Minister to be the next NATO chief.
New video shows the moment a suspected gas explosion occurred in northern China. At least one person was killed and several others injured. State media says it happened at a restaurant and the blast also damaged nearby buildings and cars.
The White House has responded to testimony by former special counsel Robert Hur about Joe Biden's handling of the classified documents.
He said his assessment of the president's memory and cognitive skills was necessary and fair. After his report concluded that the president was forgettable -- forgetful, rather, and lax about sensitive information. But the White House says the case is now closed since President Biden hasn't been charged.
CNN's Paula Reid has more from Capitol Hill.
PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS 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 JORDON (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, been in office like 50 years.
REP. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-WA): You exonerated him. I know that the term willful retention has --
(CROSSTALK)
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 see 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 doesn't go to the top floor, you don't think you can 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?
ROBERT HUR, FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL: 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, 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 of various properties and even sat for a voluntary interview with the special counsel.
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?
HUR: 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 (voice-over): Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Hur faced criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the political divide as he gave his testimony. CNN legal analyst, Joey Jackson, explains why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: In an election year, people want their candidate to win. The political parties want their candidate to win.
And so if you're Republican, you're hoping that the special council indicts the former vice president, then vice president, now the president, right, Biden, with respect to the classified documents. And if you don't do that, that is indict, the Republicans are upset about that.
So now you're before the committee with a whole bunch of upset Republicans saying, why wouldn't you indict? At the same time that you don't indict, but you call out the president by speaking to him being elderly and having memory loss, the Democrats are going to go wild.
Why? OK, you didn't indict him, but you impugned his character. Essentially, what Hur said is that there was a willful retention of documents, classified documents, and there was even a sharing of those documents. But you're not indicting.
[04:35:00]
The critical question becomes, well, why not? And then I think the answer has to be because I've made the determination that a jury would conclude that we can't prove our case.
Well, why would a jury make such a conclusion? Then Hur goes on to say it's because a jury could, in fact, conclude that it was because Biden was elderly, Biden had potential memory problems, and as a result of that, they would not be willing to convict him.
So I think it was a necessary ingredient for him to explain transparently, without regard to politics, what was in his mind. And so I don't view it as gratuitous. I view it as something that is necessary and appropriate to explain his logic for not moving forward.
And that's what he did. And he certainly took a lot of criticism for it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Well, in just a few hours, U.S. lawmakers are set to vote on a bill that could make it very difficult for Americans to access TikTok. If it's passed, the law would remove the social media platform from U.S. app stores. TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. Cybersecurity experts believe TikTok could pose a national security threat, hypothetically.
And some lawmakers argue the Chinese government could make TikTok's parent company hand over its data, which could then be used for disinformation to it's target -- to target users. TikTok dismisses those claims, and one Democratic congressman says it's really a matter of free speech.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ROBERT GARCIA (D-CA): All of our social media platforms need to be treated equally and need to be treated the same way. And to single out TikTok in this way, we believe is dangerous and certainly against freedom of expression.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: The police chief of Uvalde, Texas, resigned on Tuesday. It came just hours before the city council was expected to reject a report that clears local police officers of wrongdoing during the massacre at Robb Elementary School nearly two years ago now.
Chief Daniel Rodriguez's resignation takes effect on April the 6th. Rodriguez was on vacation when a teen gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at the school after being left unchallenged for 77 minutes. Uvalde residents are upset over an independent investigator's report, which concludes that all the Uvalde police officers who responded to the shooting but failed to stop the massacre should be exonerated.
A remaining court has approved a request from the U.K. to extradite a controversial internet personality and his brother, but not until after their trial in Bucharest wraps up. Andrew and Tristan Tate are facing sex offence charges in the U.K., charges that they both deny. CNN's Bianca has more. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BIANCA NOBILO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Controversial internet personality Andrew Tate made headlines again on Tuesday after the 37-year-old was arrested alongside his brother Tristan on sex offence charges in Romania. Criminal investigators were carrying out two arrest warrants that were issued by U.K. judicial authorities for the, quote, commission of sexual offences and exploitation of persons in Great Britain.
According to a police statement which was obtained by CNN affiliate, Antenna 3. Tate's spokesperson responded swiftly to the arrest, calling them bewildering and saying that they had left the brothers, quote, dismayed and deeply troubled. Both brothers categorically reject all charges, the spokesperson added.
The pair appeared before a Bucharest court on Tuesday with Andrew telling the judge he wanted to, quote, remain in Romania and clean up his reputation rather than be extradited to the U.K.
Tate, who previously had his social media account suspended on several occasions, also made a typically cryptic post after the news broke, saying: The matrix is afraid but I only fear God.
The former kickboxer turned social media influencer built up his fame and loyal following online, drawing attention for his posts encouraging young men to engage in money-making schemes.
Long accused of promoting misogynist views to impressionable audiences, things took a darker turn when Andrew and his brother were arrested in Romania in 2022 on charges of human trafficking, rape and forming a criminal group to sexually exploit women.
Little has been heard from the brothers since their release from house arrest last August. Their lawyers are now set to be kept busy with these fresh charges, with the Romanian court hearings still looming on the cards for later on this year.
Bianca Nobilo, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Police in Brazil have arrested a man who held more than a dozen people hostage on a bus for four hours before finally turning himself in. CNN's local affiliate reports two people were injured in the incident in the capital Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday. One of them was hospitalized in a serious condition.
The station also reports that, according to the police, the man has a history of robbery, thefts and hijacks targeting buses near Rio's main bus station have become common in Brazil this year.
An alarming new indicator about the cost of living in Argentina. It's recorded the highest inflation in the world for the third month now in a row.
[04:40:00]
Prices jumped by an average of 13 percent last month. It puts Argentina's overall inflation rate above that of countries like Lebanon and Venezuela. Stefano Pozzebon has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, JOURNALIST: For the third month in a row, Argentina recorded the highest inflation rate in the world. According to new data released on Tuesday, prices grew approximately 13 percent on average here in Buenos Aires in the month of February from the previous month. Yearly, that is an inflation rate of over 270 percent.
And particularly for young people, the prospect of prices growing week after week is particularly daunting.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I go to the UBA university that is Universidad Buenos Aires and it's a public university. But well, taxes always are growing. So, well, we have to we have to adapt in order to stay here because, well, we want to stay here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw my grandparents coming here from Italy, both of them, both trying to escape either from the war, from poverty and trying to like, you know, there was like two -- two ships, one to New York, one -- one to Argentina. They choose Argentina. And here I am. And they tried. They always hope for the best. It never came. Same for my parents. They try to stay, hope for the best. Never happened.
And I'm not -- I don't think I'm willing to hope much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (translated text) It's tough. You go to the market and you can afford something on day, and the following day everything is much more expensive.
POZZEBON: Now, the country's president, Javier Milei, entered office in December specifically on the promise of keeping inflation under control. His government has dramatically cut public spending and has devalued the Argentinian peso in order to try stem the price growth.
These policies have already brought some impact because, for example, in February, Argentina, for the first time in months, collected more taxes than it spent. But that also meant that more and more people are falling below the poverty line.
According to data released by the Catholic University of Buenos Aires, the poverty rate in Argentina for January was over 50 percent. And many of Milei's critics are arguing that these measures to try to keep inflation under control are actually hurting the economy even more than necessary.
For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Buenos Aires.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: A new trading day just hours away on Wall Street where investors are cheering the latest inflation report here. All three major indices ended Tuesday up with the S&P 500 closing at a record high.
The latest consumer price index shows prices rose by 3.2 percent for the year ending in February. But categories like food prices held pretty steady. Investors hope the data keeps the Federal Reserve on track to cut interest rates as soon as June.
More than 12 million people are under a severe storm threat right now across the central U.S. States affected are at risk of heavy rain, large hail and damaging winds that could reach tornado level. And forecasters say it's expected to get worse heading into Thursday. Here's CNN meteorologist Chad Myers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We have three big stories coming up today. Fire, snow and the possibility of tornadoes and tornadoes all the way into tomorrow as well. And the snow continuing.
But for today, extreme fire danger across parts of Texas and Oklahoma. Remember, this is the area that already had fires and not all of these fires are completely out. You blow a 50 or 60 mile per hour wind gust on top of some of those hot spots and we could reignite some of these fires.
On up into Colorado, even parts to the north winter storm warnings in effect. There'll be a lot of snow just to the west of I-25 and then to the east where the warm air is. That's where the potential for the tornadoes will be. But from Denver, it's going to be a very tough call for you. If you're below 5,000 feet, you're not going to get a lot. But if you go up the hill at all or for that matter to the Palmer Divide, that's where the feet of snow will be possible. Yes, temperatures today in Denver still mild, but that won't last as that cold air comes in.
Look at Oklahoma City in the middle of the possibility of some of those fires. A high today of 82.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Still ahead, Boeing comes under fire again after a midair incident on a flight from Australia to New Zealand.
Plus, we'll hear how Lenny Kravitz feels about getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LENNY KRAVITS, MUSICIAN: It's heavy. It's surreal. It's -- it's -- it's I feel like I'm dreaming. It's like an outer body experience.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We honor Lenny Kravitz.
(CROWD CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[04:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Disappointment for a private Japanese space company after its Kairos rocket exploded, as you can see, just seconds after liftoff. The company behind it, Space One, have been hoping to become the first Japanese firm to put a satellite into orbit. Hanako Montgomery has reaction from Tokyo. I mean, really dramatic images for the Japanese to watch when that happened.
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Max, I mean, such dramatic images and so much disappointment from Space One, as we saw in that video there. Its aspirations to become the first Japanese company to put a satellite into orbit very quickly ended in flames.
So what happened on Wednesday morning local time was that shortly after the rocket was launched, it exploded. And in its wake, it left behind these huge clouds of smoke, a fire and also bits of the rocket actually falling from the sky.
Now, there were people nearby watching this rocket launch. Fortunately, nobody was injured and that fire was very quickly extinguished.
Now, Space One doesn't know what went wrong with this launch. They don't know why it exploded in that dramatic way that it did. But its president at a press conference earlier today stopped short of calling it a complete failure.
Masakazu Toyoda said, and I quote: I will not use the word failure. Today's data and our experience will feed our new challenges.
So trying to inject some positivity, some optimism there. But really, this is a huge setback for Japan's space industry. They've been trying to develop more satellites as the Japanese government has been trying to ramp up its intelligence capabilities and its overall national power with a specific focus on satellites.
But it hasn't been all smooth sailing. JAXA, Japan's version of NASA, saw its flagship rocket H3 explode during a test last year. Another solid fuel rocket also exploded last year during a test.
But, you know, there are some positives to highlight. Japan last month in February became the fifth country ever to land on the moon. It achieved a soft landing on the lunar surface and also something called a pinpoint landing, which means that it landed within several meters of its target rather than several kilometers. So, you know, a huge, huge feat.
So Japan still can become this bigger space power in this space race as it's been trying to do. But, you know, as for Space One, it said that it's going to continue trying to develop its rockets, hopefully ones that don't explode, however -- Max.
FOSTER: OK, Hanako, thank you so much for that update. We're hearing from more passengers on that LATAM Airlines flight which
experienced a sudden drop midair on Monday. It was heading from Australia to New Zealand at the time.
Medical officials in Auckland, where the plane landed, said about 50 people were treated for injuries. CNN's Marc Stewart has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
[04:50:00]
MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ambulances waited on the tarmac at the Auckland airport on Monday to help the injured on board a Boeing 787 just in from Sydney. Pictures from inside the jet show some of those injuries after passengers on LATAM Airlines flight 800 were suddenly thrown around inside.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it felt like, you know, when you are in a roller coaster and you just go like this, that sensation.
STEWART (voice-over): LATAM Airlines calling what happened a technical event in a statement but did not elaborate. A description prompting more questions from the safety analyst.
DAVID SOUCIE, FORMER FAA SAFETY INSPECTOR: Had it been a mechanical failure, they would have called it a mechanical failure and they would have turned around and gone back or they would have gone to a maintenance base. But that's not what they did. They said it was a technical event. So I just wish we had more information right now as to what happened here.
STEWART (voice-over): Uncertain moments for the passengers aboard.
BRIAN JOKAT, LATAM AIRLINES FLIGHT 800 PASSENGER: The plane basically stopped. Like it almost -- the best way to describe it is it just -- it's dropped out of the air.
STEWART (voice-over): Approximately 50 people were treated for injuries, adults and children.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was a two and a half year old sleeping on the seat next to us on the other side. He went up in the air and landed on the ground. But his mother was nursing a one year old, so she couldn't control both.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were in the back row. The girl in front of my girlfriend, she was pretty much on the roof of the cabin. The girl next to me hit her head on the cabin.
STEWART (voice-over): This isn't the only recent attention getting case involving a Boeing jet. On Monday, a Boeing 777-300 operated by United heading to San Francisco was rerouted back to Sydney for an emergency landing due to a maintenance issue.
Earlier this year, a door plug on a 737 Max blew out mid-flight.
As for the passengers on this flight, a sense of relief to be back on the ground.
JOKAT: So we had about 45 minutes to fly to get to Auckland. So we hit the ground, we landed, everyone applauded. And then they said, right, everyone sit tight. We're going to get the injured off the plane first.
STEWART (voice-over): Investigators in New Zealand have seized the plane's black boxes. The cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder may hold the explanation to this latest scary mishap aboard a Boeing passenger plane.
Marc Stewart, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Still ahead, a thrilling penalty shootout in the Champions League. One team hadn't reached this next stage in nearly 15 years. Highlights from Arsenal versus Porto next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: The PGA Tour commissioner is admitting to some missteps in how he initially handled the proposed merger with LIV Golf. But Jay Monahan says he sees a positive outcome as talks with LIV's Saudi backers are accelerating.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY MONAHAN, PGA TOUR COMMISSIONER: While we have several key issues that we still need to work through, we have a shared vision to quiet the noise and unlock golf's worldwide potential. It's going to take time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: The proposed merger sent shockwaves through the golf world last June, you'll remember. Some PGA Tour players were -- or are questioning Monahan's leadership, whilst others say they're excited about the group's future.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
XANDER SCHAUFFELE, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: Trust is something -- something that's pretty tender. So words are words. And I'd say in my book, he's got a long way to go. He could be the guy, but in my book, he's got a long way to go to gain the trust of the membership.
SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: If the fans are upset, then look at the guys that left.
[04:55:00]
We had a tour, we were all together, and the people that left are no longer here. And at the end of the day, that's where the splintering comes from. And as far as our tour goes, like I said, we're doing our best to create the best product for the fans. And that's really where we're at.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: There was joy and relief for Arsenal fans on Tuesday as the team advanced to the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in 14 years. The Gunners tied the match on aggregate, one all, with a goal shortly before the half. The match later went to penalties, with Arsenal players finding the back of the net in all four of their spot kicks. Practice paid off.
It was goalkeeper David Raya who emerged the hero as he blocked two of Porto's attempts. Raya says he's over the moon that the saves helped the team advance to the quarterfinals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LENNY KRAVITZ, MUSICIAN: American woman Stay away from me American woman Mama, let me be ...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: American woman, of course, from rock star Lenny Kravitz. And yesterday, the four-time Grammy winner was in Hollywood to receive a star on the Walk of Fame. Actor Denzel Washington paid tribute to Kravitz, calling him more than a friend and a brother for 30 years.
His daughter, actress Zoe Kravitz, had some beautiful and funny words about her cool dad in his revealing wardrobe. Lenny says he's truly touched by the honor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRAVITZ: To see my name, Lenny Kravitz, permanently engraved on the same streets I used to walk is a surreal, indescribable feeling.
ZOE KRAVITZ, ACTOR AND DAUGHTER OF LENNY KRAVITZ: I've seen the way you show up and take care of the people you love. I've seen your incredible dedication to your art, but mostly I've seen through your shirts. According to my dad, if it doesn't expose your nipples, it's not a shirt.
And sure, it used to embarrass me when you'd pick me up from school as a kid, but I got to say, at this point, I respect it.
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Finally, England might not be the first place that comes to mind when you think of surfing -- but try telling that to this lot. Surfers in Gloucestershire have been taking advantage of the Seven Boar, a tidal surge that creates a series of waves along the River Seven. People line the banks of the river to watch as thrill-seekers rode Tuesday's five-star bull. That refers to the biggest wave possible, and it's the only one expected this year. I think it actually shows a sharp sign of our desperation to find a wave in the U.K.
Thanks for joining us on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Max Foster in London. CNN "THIS MORNING" is up next after a short break.
[05:00:00]
