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Defense Plans to Call Hunter Biden's Daughter and Uncle to Testify; Biden Delivers Speech on Democracy from D-Day Site; Day Five of Hunter Biden Gun Trial; Netanyahu Likely to Defy Pressure for Post- War Gaza Plan. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired June 07, 2024 - 10:30   ET

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

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: -- key family members today. The defense plans to call his daughter, Naomi Biden, and uncle, James Biden, as they look to counter yesterday's testimony from Hallie Biden. She's Hunter Biden's sister-in-law turned girlfriend. She detailed their past relationship, how he introduced her to crack cocaine, and how she disposed of the gun right at the center of this case back in 2018.

Meanwhile, President Biden told ABC News he will respect the jury's verdict in his son's trial. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me ask you. Will you accept the jury's outcome, their verdict, no matter what it is?

JOE BIDEN, U.S. PRESIDENT: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And have you ruled out a pardon for your son?

BIDEN: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: CNN's Senior Justice Correspondent Evan Perez is outside the courthouse there in Wilmington, Delaware. Evan. What's the latest? What are you hearing?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, the final two witnesses from the prosecution have been on the stand this morning. Right now, an FBI chemist is on the stand explaining to the jury about the testing that they did on a pouch where Hunter Biden allegedly stored the gun that he bought in October of 2018. And prosecutors want these two experts, a DEA agent who described some of the drug terms that are in those text messages that prosecutors have displayed to the jurors and this FBI agent to sort of wrap up their case. We expect that they're going to rest sometime this morning before, as you pointed out, we will hear from the defense and we expect Naomi Biden, the defendant's daughter to take the stand and Jimmy Biden, the president's brother, to also take the stand. Both of them are intended to try to blunt some of the evidence that prosecutors have put on, including from Hallie Biden, the things that she testified to yesterday, which the importance of which is -- was to place some of his drug use -- alleged drug use into October of 2018, around the time that he bought that gun and why he's on trial here today, Wolf. We expect also that this case is going to go into next week before going to the jury. Wolf.

BLITZER: You're outside the courthouse right now, Wilmington, Delaware, Evan. I know you've been in that courtroom as well. When you're inside, you're hearing all of this wild testimony going on. What's it like in that room?

PEREZ: It's a very tough trial, Wolf. To watch Hunter Biden, obviously, he's not at the defense stand, but his mother, Jill Biden, has been here for most of the week, except for yesterday. You have other family members who've come in to try to provide some support. In some cases, where prosecutors are showing these embarrassing photographs and videos, photographs showing him passed out with crack pipes behind him, showing him in sort of his most -- his lowest moments. You can see the family members, in some cases, not looking up at Jill Biden.

For instance, First Lady Jill Biden sometimes doesn't even look up at the screen to see what is being displayed. And you can see also the jurors paying very close attention, particularly to the star witness, Hallie Biden, when she described finding the gun and throwing it away.

It's a very, very -- obviously, a very tough time for the family. But it is truly what happened, what Hunter Biden himself has described his struggle with drug abuse. And so, the question is, can the defense turn on what is really a mountain of evidence that the prosecution is offering in this case, Wolf. We'll see whether that happens in the day -- the next couple of days of this trial.

BLITZER: We'll stay in very close touch with you, Evan Perez. Thank you very, very much. Once again, we're standing by to hear from President Biden. He's about to deliver a major to speak on this -- the 80th anniversary of D-Day. We're looking at live pictures over there at the podium.

Some of the guests have already showed up, including veterans from D- Day, almost all of them at least 100 years old going on right now. So, we're watching. They were maybe 19, 21 years old during the D-Day invasion. We'll hear from the President of the United States. That's coming up very soon. We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.

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BLITZER: Any moment now, President Biden will be delivering a major speech defending democracy and defending freedom. We're going to bring it to you, of course, live as soon as he begins speaking. Stand by for that.

In the meantime, as we await the president, I want to turn to another major story we're following right now. A story involving the Israel- Hamas war and a CNN exclusive. A new CIA report says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu likely believes he could get away without setting up a post-war plan for Gaza. That, despite increasing pressure from the Biden administration to end the conflict.

CNN's intelligence reporter, Katie Bo Lillis, is joining us now with more of her excellent reporting. Katie Bo, how did the CIA reach this conclusion on Netanyahu?

KATIE BO LILLIS, CNN REPORTER: Well, Wolf, this is a CIA assessment that was circulated amongst senior Biden administration officials just this week, and it represents really one of the most up-to-date pictures of what the Intelligence Community thinks is going on inside Netanyahu's head, right? What are the political calculations that he's making right now?

And what they determined was that they believe that Netanyahu is likely to continue defying pressure from the Biden administration to try to define a really clear end point for what post-conflict governance and security is likely to look like in Gaza.

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And specifically, of course, what they found is that Netanyahu believes that he can try to buy himself a little bit of time here by continuing to talk about what the future of Gaza might look like in really vague terms. Remember, of course, Wolf, that he is really balancing this tricky act in between both the right-wing elements of the government of his very fragile governing coalition and the demands of the Biden administration and the west.

And specifically, I'll share a little bit with you of what this assessment found, which was that Netanyahu "probably believes he can maintain support from his security chiefs and prevent defections from the right-wing of his coalition if he continues to discuss the future of Gaza in very vague terms."

Now, that's largely what CNN and other outlets have been reporting. But what's significant here, Wolf, is that it really shows you the degree to which what the U.S. Intelligence Community believes that Israel is likely to do is in direct opposition to what the Biden administration and the International Community wants it to do.

BLITZER: You know, it's interesting, Katie Bo, because this follows -- it was almost exactly a week ago when President Biden personally announced what he described as an Israeli three-point plan to end the war in Gaza. How's that working out?

LILLIS: That's exactly right. I do think, you know, one of -- there continues to be a real awareness that there's a very narrow path here for potential success, getting all the parties to sort of agree to this proposal.

Now, the Biden administration has been characterizing this as an Israeli proposal. They say that the ball is in Hamas' court, but of course, we have heard some very tepid statements from Israel itself about this proposal, and one of the things that the CIA assessment really highlights is how deep the divisions are within Netanyahu's own governing coalition about what a post-conflict Gaza might look like, you know, from a security perspective, from a governance perspective.

And so, I think that really just underscores and emphasizes how difficult of a moment this is for the Biden administration to try to achieve the goals they want.

BLITZER: Very difficult indeed. Katie Bo Lillies, thanks for your excellent, excellent reporting. And once again, let's go back to Normandy right now, we'll show you some live pictures coming in. The president of the United States getting ready to address veterans and others, including many dignitaries throughout Europe. There you see the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, with one of the D-Day veterans who have gathered there at Pointe du Hoc. The president will be delivering a major speech on democracy and freedom.

Kayla Tausche is on the scene for us over there at Pointe du Hoc for us. So, what else are you seeing, what else are you hearing right now, Kayla?

KAYLA TAUSCHE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, we just heard the Voice of God introducing the president who, first a few minutes ago, surveyed these cliffs here, the Herculean task that the World War II Army Rangers conducted here. Now, he's surveying this site by foot. He is walking to the stage. He has a front row that's filled with his top foreign policy officials, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, John Kerry, of course, former secretary of state, his onetime climate envoy.

And he also has one living army ranger who arrived here at Pointe du Hoc in the days following D-Day. He plans to talk about that veteran, John Wardell, in this speech as he talks about the power of democracy and what Americans continue fighting for.

The president is now approaching the podium and we expect him to begin momentarily, but you can see him taking in just the magnitude of the situation. Honoring those who have died here, looking at the wreaths that serve as memorials to the lives that were lost here, the battle that was fought here and everything that has occurred that led to the liberation of Europe. Let's listen to the president.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please welcome the 46th president of the United States of America, Joe Biden.

BIDEN: John, how are you? Please sit down. At last, the hour had come. Dawn, 6th of June, 1944. The wind was pounding as it is today, and always has against these cliffs. 225 American Rangers arrived by ship, jumped into the waves and stormed the beach. They could see -- all they could see was the outline of the shore and the enormity of these cliffs. And I'd like to look -- I know I'll get in trouble with the Secret Service if I go to the edge and look over, but think of those cliffs as my hostess showed me. That's what we're standing on top of. They could hear -- all they could hear was a crack of bullets hitting ships, sand, rocks hitting everything. All they knew was time was of the essence.

In only 30 minutes, 30 minutes to eliminate the Nazi guns high in this cliff. Guns that could halt the Allied invasion before it even began. But these were American Rangers. They were ready. They ran toward the cliffs and mines planted on the beach by Field Marshal Romney -- Rommel exploded around them, but still they kept coming.

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Gunfire rained above them, but still they kept coming. Nazi grenades thrown from above exploded against the cliffs, but still they kept coming. Within minutes, they reached the base of this cliff. They launched their ladders, their ropes, and grappling hooks, and they began to climb. When the Nazis cut their ladders, the Rangers used their ropes. When the Nazis cut their ropes, the Rangers used their hands. And inch by inch, foot by foot, yard by yard, the Rangers clawed, literally clawed their way up this mighty precipice until the last they reached the top. They breached sister's (ph) Atlantic wall and they turned in that one effort, the tide of the war that began to save the world.

Ladies and gentlemen, yesterday I paid my respects at the American Cemetery just a few miles from here, where many of those Rangers who died taking this cliff are buried. I spoke of what the fallen had done to defend freedom. Today, as we look out of this battlefield and all the bunkers and bomb craters that are still surrounded, one thought comes to mind, my God, my God, how did they do it? How are these Americans willing to risk everything, dare everything, and give everything?

There were Americans like Sergeant Leonard Lomo (ph) from New Jersey. He was one of the first Rangers to jump off his ship and run toward the cliff. He almost was shot right above the hip initially, and he didn't -- wasn't sure, but he was. He kept going. At one point, he was scaling the cliff. Another ranger yelled, I'm not sure I can make it. And Lomo (ph) yelled back with every ounce of strength he had in him, you've got to hold on. And he did, and they did.

Americans like Sergeant Tom Ruggiero from Massachusetts. The German shell hit his boat as he's approaching the shore. Everything exploded. The sergeant was knocked into the freezing water. And as he told it, he began to utter a prayer, Dear God, don't let me drown. I want to get in and do what I'm here and supposed to do.

Americans like Colonel James Rudder, Texas. When the military asked for a battalion for this daring mission, he raised his hand and said, my Rangers can do the job. He knew their capacity. He knew the strength of their character. A few days after they scaled this cliff, he wrote a condolence letter to a mother of one of the Rangers who gave his life here. And that letter said, a country must be great to call for the sacrifice of such men. A country must be great to call for the sacrifice of such men.

And Americans like John Wardell from New Jersey. John is here. John, we love you, man. Thank you for all you've done. You deserve that and a lot more, John.

Just 18 years old, he deployed to this clip to replace the surviving Rangers on that D-Day invasion. He would go on to fight across France and Germany. In early December of 1944, during one of those battles, a shrapnel pierced his skull. By Christmas, he was back, fighting with his unit. And here's what he said about -- what the notes he kept at that time. He said, knowing that my buddies and I always looked out for one another. That's why he came back. That's why he fought so hard to come back. He always looked out, and his buddies looked out for one another.

We talk about democracy, American democracy. We often talk about the ideals of life, liberty, pursuit of happiness. What we don't talk about is how hard it is, how many ways we're asked to walk away, how many instincts are to walk away. The most natural instinct is to walk away, to be selfish, to force our will upon others, to seize power and never give up.

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American democracy asks the hardest of things, to believe that we're part of something bigger than ourselves. So, democracy begins with each of us. It begins when one person decides there's something more important than themselves, when they decide the person they're serving alongside of is someone to look after, when they decide the mission matters more than their life, when they decide that their country matters more than they do. That's what the Rangers at Pointe du Hoc did. That's what they decided. That's what every soldier and every Marine who stormed these beaches decided.

A feared dictator had conquered a continent, had finally met his match because of them, the war turned. They stood against Hitler's aggression. Does anyone doubt? Does anyone doubt that they would want America to stand up against Putin's aggression here in Europe today?

They stormed the beaches alongside their allies. Does anyone believe these Rangers want America to go alone today? They fought to vanquish a hateful ideology in the '30s and '40s. Does anyone doubt they wouldn't move heaven and earth to vanquish hateful ideologies of today? These Rangers put mission and country above themselves. Does anyone believe they would expect any less from every American today? These Rangers remembered with reverence those who gave their lives in battle.

Could they or anyone ever imagine that America would do the same and wouldn't do the same? They believed America was the beacon of the world. I'm certain they believed that it would believe that way forever.

You know, we stand today, where we stand was not sacred ground on June the 5th, but that's what it became on June the 6th. The Rangers who scaled this cliff didn't know they would change the world, but they did. I've long said that history has shown that ordinary Americans can do extraordinary things when challenged. There's no better example of that in the entire world than right here at Pointe du Hoc.

Rangers from farms and cities in every part of America, from homes that didn't know wealth and power, they came to a shoreline that none of them would have picked out on a map. They came to a country many of them had never seen for people they had never met, but they came. They did their job. They fulfilled their mission and they did their duty. They were part of something greater than themselves. They were Americans.

I stand here today as the first president to come to Pointe du Hoc when none of those 225 brave men who scaled this cliff on D-Day are still alive. None. But I'm here to tell you that with them gone, the wind we hear coming off this ocean will not fade. It will grow louder as we gather here today, it's not just to honor those who showed such remarkable bravery on that day, June 6, 1944, it's to listen to the echoes of their voices, to hear them because they are summoning us and they're summoning us now.

They ask us, what will we do? They're not asking us to scale these cliffs, but they're asking us to stay true to what America stands for. They're not asking us to give or risk our lives, but they are asking us to care for others in our country more than ourselves. They're not asking us to do their job, they're asking us to do our job, to protect freedom in our time, to defend democracy, to stand up aggression abroad and at home, to be part of something bigger than ourselves.

My fellow Americans, I refuse to believe, I simply refuse to believe that America's greatness is a thing of the past. I still believe there's nothing beyond our capacity in America when we act together. We're the fortunate heirs of a legacy of these heroes, those who scale the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc. We must also be the keepers of their mission, the keepers of their mission, the bearers of the flame of freedom that they kept burning bright. That is the truest testimonial to their lives.

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Our actions every day to ensure that our democracy endures and the soul of our nation endures. To come here simply to remember the ghosts of Pointe du Hoc isn't enough. We have -- need to hear them. We have to listen to them. We need to listen to what they had. We need to make a solemn vow to never let them down.

God bless the fallen. God bless the brave men who scaled these cliffs. May God protect our troops. God bless America.

BLITZER: Very powerful speech by the president of the United States at Pointe du Hoc in Normandy on this, the 80th anniversary of the D- Day invasion that turned the tide of World War II and helped defeat Nazi Germany in those days. Took another -- almost a year, but the U.S. and its allies won that war. Nazi Germany was defeated and the world has been different ever since.

You see the president there meeting with some of the dignitaries who have shown up for this historic moment right now, 80 years after D- Day. We saw the secretary of state, Antony Blinken there. We're watching the president go through the receiving line, meeting with others who have come to listen to his words, very powerful words. Among other things, he said, I refuse to believe America's greatness is a thing of the past. Significant statement indeed.

Christiane Amanpour is joining us right now. Christiane, what -- give us your thoughts on what we heard from the president.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, he started with an almost a blow-by-blow account of how those several hundred American Rangers not just got off their amphibious boats and had to clear the beach in the hail of Nazi mines, gunfire, shells and the like, but then had to get to the cliff and scale that cliff, up to Pointe du Hoc.

He talked about one of them who had been shot in the hip and yet kept going. And he talked about that one who turned around when one of his comrades said, I don't think I can do it. And the injured man said, yes, you can. You have to do it. So, all of that was the illustration of how he described the greatness of these Americans, who, as he said, at that time, many of them had -- couldn't even find this coastline on a map, had never been to a country, they didn't know it. These were people that they didn't know or had never met. And yet, they went there to do the right thing and to, you know, listen to the call of duty.

He talked immediately about how that, face down, Hitler and the Third Reich and how Americans, in that moment and all the other allies who helped, showed that this kind of tyrannical bully could not continue and turned the tide of that war.

And then, he immediately made comparisons to Putin and the aggression and the tyranny that's undergoing now in Ukraine. And he rhetorically kept asking, would these rangers who scaled Pointe du Hoc 80 years ago, would they have said that we couldn't do the same now when there's a similar aggressor in Europe? And he turned also to the United States saying, would these men have wanted Americans to think just about themselves and their own selfish desires as opposed to everyone in the country, as opposed to defending and remaining committed to democracy?

So, this was a speech most certainly about what those incredible people did. Who he said, frankly, and I hadn't even realized it, he's the first president to come to this ceremony and make this speech when no surviving member of the boys of Pointe du Hoc, as Reagan called them, remain. They've all passed away. There were other veterans there, but apparently, none of those who scaled that hundred-foot cliff and turned the tide of this war.

But he was very clear that this was about defending democracy, as he said, at home and abroad, and for putting something greater than self at the center of the political project that he wanted to further for the United States and also for the rest of the world. Wolf.

BLITZER: I was very moved, and I'm sure you were as well, Christiane, when we heard the president mention specific names of some of the young men who were there in that assault on D-Day, who risked their lives going forward to mention their names, their states. He praised them. And he said, the mission matters more than their lives. That's what they believed themselves. The young men, who were then 19, 20, 21 years old, 80 years later, they would be 100 or even more right now.

And you're right, he pointed out that he's the first president to actually come --

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