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CNN International: Marking 80 Years Since D-Day; Israel Hits School Sheltering Civilians Without Warning; Far-Right Parties Look for Gains in EU Elections; Hallie Biden Believes Hunter was Using Drugs in October 2018. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired June 07, 2024 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave out today.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will not walk away, because if we do, Ukraine will be subjugated, and will not end there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Israel has a right to try and target those civilians.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think accomplishing objectives and protecting civilians are mutually exclusive endeavor.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Emboldened by winning elections at home, Europe's far right is pushing the boundaries.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These parties really live or die by their own domestic public opinions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNA COREN, CNN ANCHOR: In just over two hours from now, the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents will meet in France, where they've been commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Well, that's when tens of thousands of Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, turning the tide against Nazi Germany in World War II. Direct parallels have been drawn between the battles of 1944 and Russia's current war on Ukraine.
That country's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is being honored across France today. In the hours ahead, Joe Biden will make the case for democracy against the backdrop of a pivotal moment in World War II. Pointe du Hoc is where U.S. Army Rangers scaled tall cliffs to seize German artillery that would have fired on Allied forces landing on Normandy's beaches. It was a dangerous mission with a high cost of life.
Well, CNN's Nic Robertson has been closely following all this live from London. And Nic, as we saw yesterday, the Ukrainian president said that these veterans, they saved Europe 80 years ago. History, as we know, repeating itself.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Indeed. And I think that's how President Zelenskyy would like to present himself and is being presented, you know, in the way that President Biden has presented him as fighting the big fight for Europe at the moment. And Zelenskyy continues to tell leaders and publics alike that the fight that they're fighting against Russia and Ukraine holds the Russian forces back from greater advances into Europe, particularly into Eastern Europe, particularly into the Baltic states, where those fears remain real.
But it was the veterans yesterday who clawed their way up the beaches, fighting fear to pick themselves up out of the blood soaked sand and move towards the dunes and take the enemy positions. It was the sort of hard won fragility of age, if you will, that they were struggling against yesterday and the ceremonies, but again, rising out of their wheelchairs to get the thanks and praise that they had earned so long ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Heroes 80 years ago, soldiers in their hearts again today. Honored by not one, but two presidents.
EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: And you are back here today at home, if I may say.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Survivors of an era and a battle unparalleled in history, telling their story, a cautionary tale.
JOHN DENNETT, BRITISH VETERAN: When you go home, tell them of us and say for your tomorrow, we gave our today.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): The seas calmer, the stinging buzz of bullets gone, so too the life ending explosions. This June 6, more than a carefully crafted commemoration of the 156,000 allied troops, 5,000 ships, 13,000 aircraft in the D-Day landings.
[04:05:00]
A warning, dangers are back on the horizon.
KING CHARLES, UNITED KINGDOM: Free nations must stand together to oppose tyranny.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): U.S. President Joe Biden also connecting then and now. Today, Vladimir Putin's Russia, the threat.
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The United States and NATO, and a coalition of more than 50 countries standing strong with Ukraine, we will not walk away. Because if we do, Ukraine will be subjugated and will not end there. Ukraine's neighbors will be threatened. All of Europe will be threatened.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Ukraine's president, not Russia's, invited this year a break with tradition and an instant hit with the vets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, no, no, no. Save the people. Oh, no, no, no, save Europe.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Yet even here, celebrating unity, Europe's emerging divisions on show, British paratroopers reenacting D-Day airdrops, getting passport checks not needed before Brexit.
For these young performers, a new world, not bounded by the post-World War II rules-based order, the vets watching them fought for. This 80th anniversary, their baton passed.
LT. CMDR. KATHERINE MIYAMASU, U.S. NAVY: American World War II veterans, You stand relieved. We have the watch.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): A watch that has a price. The account for this generation now settled.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON (on camera): And at Pointe du Hoc today, this is what we expect President Biden to address, to address what's owed to the veterans, but the watch being on watch now and what that really means in terms of unity, in terms of supporting countries like Ukraine.
And we've got live pictures here. President Zelenskyy about to speak to the French Parliament today, a big day for him. The French president has already said that he will give Mirage 2000 fighter jets to Ukraine. These are very much like the F-16 fighter jets. That's something that President Zelenskyy has been wanting. France was committing to training an additional 4,500 Ukrainian troops.
Really, that's what Ukraine needs, battle-ready forces for the fight. It needs all the help it can get. So this will be what President Zelenskyy will be speaking about today, to thank, I'm sure, but also, as we've heard him do before, to ask for any additional help that can be given.
But I think one of the points, going back to President Biden at Pointe du Hoc today, he'll be speaking about those Rangers who not only scaled the cliffs there on June the 6th, but held their position, even though they were forced back to a tiny fighting position all through June 7th. They weren't relieved until June the 8th. So that idea of resilience, of holding your ground, of being forced to take steps back, like Ukraine, has had to do on the front lines near Kharkiv right now.
But knowing that you can fight back with support from that position, these, I think, will be the themes of the day.
COREN: Nic, speaking to a military analyst in the last hour, he said those French fighter jets and eventually those F-16s arriving in Ukraine, that could really be a game-changer in the war, Ukraine's war against Russia. And as we see, you know, President Zelenskyy, he received a standing ovation as he walked into the French Assembly. He will be addressing lawmakers very shortly, obviously walking up now, perhaps to take to the podium.
But in the coming hours, we know that he will be meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, where no doubt he will be asking for more, more aid, an easing of those restrictions that the U.S. and NATO countries have placed on the use of their weapons inside of Russia. But as we're looking now, Nic, at those images of President Zelenskyy addressing the French Assembly, let's listen in for a moment.
[04:10:18]
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Thank you. (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
COREN: OK, President Zelenskyy there addressing the French Parliament to a standing ovation. We will check in a little bit later. Nic Robinson, to you in London, we thank you as always.
Well, Ukraine says at least one person is dead and 14 others injured after a new barrage of Russian strikes overnight. Officials report Russia went after critical infrastructure across the country. The strike started a fire at an industrial facility near Kyiv, and firefighters are still working at the scene.
Meanwhile, a second model of Western fighter jets could be on its way to Ukraine in the coming months. French President Emmanuel Macron says his country will supply its Mirage 2000 jets to Kyiv, as Nic Robertson just reported. Ukrainian pilots could start their six-month training this summer.
A Frenchman was arrested in Moscow on Thursday and accused of gathering military intelligence. French President Emmanuel Macron has denied the man was collecting the information for France. Russia's investigative committee arrested the man, who is employed by the non- profit Swiss Center for Humanitarian Dialogue. They allege he had been gathering information on Russia's military and military technical activities for several years without registering as a foreign agent.
There are growing calls for an investigation into a deadly Israeli airstrike on a U.N. school in central Gaza, where thousands of displaced Palestinians had been seeking shelter. The attack killed dozens of people, including children, and wounded many more. The U.N. says there was no warning. A CNN analysis found U.S.-made munitions were used to carry out Thursday's strike. Israel says it has identified nine of the roughly 30 alleged Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants it says were the targets of the strike, but has offered no evidence so far. The White House says it's asking Israel for more information about the attack.
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MATTHEW MILLER, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: If it is true that you have this site where Hamas is hiding inside a school, other militants are hiding inside a school, those individuals are legitimate targets, but at the same time they're embedded near civilians, Israel has a right to try and target those civilians, but they also have the obligation to minimize civilian harm and take every step possible to minimize civilian harm.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COREN: Qatar says Hamas is still studying the latest ceasefire proposal for Gaza. The Biden administration is pressuring allies in the region to threaten Hamas with consequences if it does not accept the deal on the table.
Well meanwhile, tensions have been boiling over along Israel's northern border with Lebanon amid increasing attacks from Hezbollah. The Iran-backed group released this video, which it claims shows a rocket targeting Israel's Iron Dome defense system in the north.
Well, CNN's Ben Wedeman has spent years reporting from inside Gaza and is following developments for us now from Beirut. Ben, let's start with these escalating tensions between Israel and Hezbollah. What are you learning?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, in addition to that strike on the Iron Dome system, which is the first time the Iron Dome has actually been hit by any of Israel's opponents. Yesterday, Hezbollah said it used anti-aircraft missiles to fire at Israeli jets over in Lebanese airspace, forcing those jets to return to base. Now, we can't -- the Israelis haven't confirmed that, but it does appear to be the first time that the Hezbollah has used such a weapon against Israeli aircraft. And it really goes to underscore sort of the shifting technological edge that Israel perhaps seems to be losing as a result of the change of technology in warfare.
And, certainly, it is raising tensions that have been actually high since the 8th of October, when Hezbollah entered into this war, so to speak, in support of the people of Gaza. And so what we have seen over the last few days is a series of senior Israeli officials, including, of course, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, going to northern Israel and essentially issuing dire warnings that there is a very good possibility that there will be a major Israeli operation against Hezbollah in Lebanon itself. Although I have to say, driving around Beirut, you certainly don't get the feeling that war is on the horizon at the moment -- Anna.
[04:15:04]
COREN: Ben, can you tell us more about the fallout of this strike on the U.N. school inside Gaza?
WEDEMAN: Well, it's interesting. There's a headline in the Israeli daily Haaretz, which talks -- the headline says, waning legitimacy, an exhausted army, and war in Lebanon will push Israel to the edge. I think this latest strike on that UNRWA school in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza that left at least 40 people dead, many of them, of course, civilians, really underscores the position Israel finds itself today, which, of course, is the day in which we enter the ninth month of this war, 245 days.
And I think the international patience with this operation that still has not managed to stop the water by Hamas of rockets into Israel is -- the patience is running out. I think, increasingly, even the United States feels that the political consequences of this war are starting to become very high. And this latest strike on this school in central Gaza really underscores just how fragile Israel's position is becoming in the international arena as it continues to pursue this war that, of course, has left, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, more than 36,000 people dead in Gaza, in addition to those killed in Israel.
And they're -- even though there's talk of a cease-fire, the Americans have redoubled their efforts to bring about an end to the fighting in Gaza, it just doesn't seem -- there doesn't seem to be any light at the end of this very dark tunnel -- Anna.
COREN: Yes, the loss of life, Ben, it's unfathomable. Ben Wedeman in Beirut, always good to see you. Thank you.
Well, hundreds of millions of people are expected to vote in the EU parliamentary elections. We'll look at what's at stake in the world's second biggest democratic vote.
Plus, Donald Trump returns to the campaign trail, this time as a convicted felon. We'll have more on that.
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COREN: Voting is underway and will continue for the next three days for the next European Union Parliament. It's the world's second largest democratic election after India's, with nearly 400 million people from 27 countries eligible to vote for 720 candidates.
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The election comes as the EU grapples with major issues, such as the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, immigration, climate change and security.
A coalition of two centrist parties is expected to retain the majority in the EU parliament. But candidates for some far right-wing groups could gain more power and eventually change the political direction of the bloc for the next five years. CNN's Clare Sebastian has more on that.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We will act by expelling delinquents, criminals and foreign Islamists who pose a threat to national security.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From threats of mass expulsions in France to openly Islamophobic campaign material. This from far right Portuguese party, SEGA, asking which Europe do you want?
Emboldened by winning elections at home, Europe's far right is pushing the boundaries as it eyes big gains in EU parliament elections.
CATHERINE FIESCHI, VISITING FELLOW, EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE: They've tried in different places and in different ways to kind of test the waters and trying to be bolder if they can, right, to see how closely they can flirt with really inflammatory rhetoric.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): With just weeks to go, Germany's Alternative for Deutschland crossed a line after its lead candidate claimed the Nazi paramilitary group, the SS, were quote, not all criminals.
France's Marine Le Pen kicking the party out of her far right coalition in the EU parliament.
SEBASTIAN: So it's really a sort of litmus test as to how far right is too far.
FIESCHI: Yes, that's right. Because, you know, these parties really live or die by their own domestic public opinions.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): For Hungary's voters, culture wars are playing well. Prime Minister Viktor Orban's party has put up billboards showing opposition leaders carrying gender, among other things, on a dinner plate to Brussels. Not clear yet how that will play out for France, where candidate Marion Marechal is promising to, quote, preserve our families, our values in the face of wokeism.
Or Italy, pregnant men and woke madness. No thank you, reads this post from far right Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini.
FIESCHI: For them, it's an upending of the natural order, right, which is, you know, sort of the heart of ultra conservative ideology.
SEBASTIAN: And if that doesn't work, there's always the war in Ukraine. Prime Minister Orban's party in Hungary holding a massive peace rally in recent days. Free, neutral, safe, one slogan from Austria's lead far right candidate calling for an end to, quote, warmongering by Europe.
Here, though, divisions in Europe's far right are stuck. Italy's Giorgia Meloni, a key supporter of aid for Ukraine. And so, in what could be Europe's most right-wing parliament ever, alliances may be blurred.
Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.
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COREN: The U.S. has imposed sanctions against dozens of private citizens and public officials in Georgia over the so-called foreign influence law. The State Department has criticized the newly enacted law as anti-democratic. The sanctions apply to those who deny peaceful assembly, violently attack peaceful protesters, and deliberately spread disinformation as directed by the Georgian government.
The parliament passed the law in May. It requires organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence or face huge fines. Opponents say it's modelled after similar laws in Russia that are used to silence opposition. With his New York hush money trial behind him, U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump returns to the campaign trail for the first time as a convicted felon. At a town hall in the battleground state of Arizona, Trump talked about immigration and the money he's raised. CNN's Kristen Holmes has more.
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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In his first appearance since his felony conviction, Donald Trump talked a lot about immigration in the battleground state of Arizona. He delivered a lengthy political speech, which was supposed to be 15 minutes, lasted for over an hour, talking specifically about immigration. Here's some of the message he had.
DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want to send Joe Biden's illegal aliens back home where they belong. They have to go back home. Because quite simply, Joe Biden wants an invasion. I want a deportation.
HOLMES: The former president and his team believe that immigration, crime, the economy, these are all issues that are going to help propel him back to the White House as long as he keeps talking about them ahead of the election. Now, this was not all Donald Trump focused on. He also talked about that conviction, saying it was a rigged trial and touting his fundraising numbers.
We have been told by people close to Donald Trump that he will continue to talk about this trial, saying that it is political persecution as long as it keeps helping him boost those numbers.
Kristen Holmes, CNN, Phoenix, Arizona.
[04:25:02]
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon's appeal of his 2022 conviction for contempt of Congress has been rejected, and a judge has ordered him to start serving his four-month prison sentence on July 1st. Bannon was prosecuted for contempt after he refused to testify and provide documents to the House committee investigating the January 6th, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
The outspoken Trump defender remains defiant, and he vows to take his case, quote, all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.
And in another federal trial, critical testimony from Hunter Biden's sister-in-law-turned-girlfriend, Hayley Biden, on day four of Hunter's federal gun trial. CNN's Paula Reid has more from Delaware.
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PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Today, federal prosecutors put their star witness on the stand in the trial of Hunter Biden, the widow of his late brother Beau, who would become Hunter's girlfriend. Hayley Biden testified as federal prosecutors are close to finishing their case against the president's son in Wilmington, Delaware.
She testified how she saw Hunter with crack rocks the size of ping pong balls, witnessed him smoking crack, and even went with him to buy drugs from dealers in Washington, D.C., and how she had conversations with him between 2017 and 2018 about his drug use.
Telling him: This can't go on. We can't do this.
His responses would vary, sometimes saying: Leave me alone. I'm fine.
Or at other times: I'm an addict and I'll figure it out my way.
She also testified how Hunter introduced her to crack in 2018.
It was a terrible experience that I went through. I'm embarrassed and I'm ashamed and I regret that period of my life.
But Hunter's defense argues there's no evidence he was actively using drugs when he bought the gun in October 2018 and allegedly lied on the federal background check form. Hayley testified that she found drugs and drug paraphernalia in Hunter's car days later.
I did find some remnants of crack, cocaine and drug paraphernalia.
She went on to testify about when she found the gun, saying: I was afraid to kind of touch it. I didn't know if it was loaded.
The prosecution then produced video evidence of her tossing the gun into a grocery store dumpster.
I was so flustered. I realized it was a stupid idea now.
The prosecution also introduced text messages between the two, including when Haley asked where Hunter was the night after he bought the gun.
He responded: I'm now off Maryland Ave behind Blue Rock Stadium waiting for a dealer named Mookie.
But Haley also testified during cross-examination that sometimes Hunter would lie to her about his whereabouts.
REID: The last witness the jury heard from on Thursday was the older man who found the gun in the dumpster. He testified that he was rummaging through the trash can to try to find recyclables to sell to earn some money when he came across this firearm. Now, prosecutors have two more witnesses and then the defense will be out.
They say they have two or three witnesses, but the big question is whether Hunter Biden will take the stand. His lawyer said Thursday hasn't been decided.
Paula Reid, CNN, Wilmington, Delaware.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COREN: Well, President Biden says he will accept the outcome of his son's trial and will not pardon him if he's found guilty of the criminal gun charges.
Well, still ahead, the U.N. issues a dire new warning about mass starvation in Gaza, citing the heavy restrictions on access to aid. The latest on the humanitarian crisis next.
Plus, Sudan's top leader says there will be a price to pay for a horrifying paramilitary attack on civilians. That story and much more after the break.
