Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Four Israeli Hostages Rescued In Gaza Military Operation; Palestinians Call Central Gaza Hell On Earth Amid Israel Raid; New Poll: Trump Beating Biden In Key Swing States; Dinner With French President Macron; Biden Heralds "Cherished Ties" With France, Reinforces Commitment To Supporting Ukraine; Mark Meadows Pleads Not Guilty To Charges In Arizona; Burbank PD Facing Questions Over Disturbing Video. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired June 08, 2024 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:01:20]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in New York.

And we are following breaking news out of the Middle East today as Israel welcomes home four hostages rescued this morning from Gaza during a special military operation.

All four were kidnapped by Hamas from the NOVA Music Festival during the October 7th attacks. That was eight months ago.

They include 22-year-old Almog Meir Jan, 25-year-old Noa Argamani, 27- year-old Andrey Kozlov, and 41-year-old, Shlomi Ziv.

Andrey and Shlomi were working as security guards at the music festival and you may remember Noa Argamani from this horrific video from the October 7th attacks, where we saw her screaming as Hamas fighters drove away with her on a motorbike.

Israel saying this morning's rescue mission took place at two separate locations in Central Gaza near a refugee camp.

Palestinians there describe the raid as hell on earth as heavy shelling and artillery fire bombarded the area. Hospital officials say at least 236 people have been killed and more than 400 injured, including women and children.

CNN cannot independently verify those numbers and Gaza's media office does not differentiate between civilians and militants killed in its numbers.

We have a team of reporters covering this story from all angles, Ben Wedeman has more on the casualties inside Gaza, but first, were going to go to Paula Hancocks, who is in Tel Aviv for more details on this surprise rescue mission.

Paula, how are the hostages tonight?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, as soon as they came back to Israeli soil, they were taken straight to a medical center just outside of Tel Aviv and the doctor said that they were all stable, they were all in good medical condition, but obviously they were undergoing a number of checks after eight months in captivity in Gaza.

Now, all day, we saw friends and family of those four rescued hostages coming to the medical center to meet with their loved ones for the first time since October 7th when they were all taken from that NOVA Music Festival, where hundreds were killed on October 7th.

Now, we heard from the mother of one of the hostages, Almog Meir Jan, and she said that she can't stop hugging him. She thanks everybody who was involved, but she also had a message for the other hostages still in Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ORIT MEIR, MOTHE OF RESCUED HOSTAGE, ALMOG MEIR: There are still 120 hostages in Gaza, and we want a deal now. We want them to come back home as soon as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And this is really a message we heard from many of the family members. They gave a press conference saying they thank the military for going in and carrying out this mission, given their condolences for one Israeli soldier who was killed in the process, but I do point out that the ceasefire deal is the way to go forward and to make sure that the other hostages are released.

Now it is the third successful Israeli hostage mission, we know there was one in October, one in February. In those cases, there were three hostages that were rescued -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Paula Hancocks for us live in Tel Aviv. Thank you so much for that reporting.

Let's turn now to the impact in Gaza where Palestinians are describing the Israeli special operation as hell on earth, and I do want to warn you, the video we are about to show you is graphic.

[18:05:07]

Locals telling CNN this about the aftermath of the attack, "There are children torn apart and scattered in the streets."

We go now to Ben Wedeman.

Ben, what more do we know about the impact inside Gaza?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well this is beyond a doubt, one of the bloodiest Israeli assaults since the beginning of the war back in October. Now CNN has been in touch throughout the day with doctors in the central part of Gaza where this operation took place and we've been getting regular updates about the death toll. At this point, it is 236, more than 400 wounded. Now, we are talking of course, we can't verify those numbers because neither Israel or Egypt will allow journalists into Gaza.

And as far as the breakdown between civilians and fighters go, I can tell you, I went through lots of raw video shot by our freelance cameraman who was in one of those hospitals, and for the most part, there are a lot of children, there are a lot of women. There are some men, but it is not clear whether they are fighters or simply civilians who were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

But we were able to speak with one doctor at the Awda Hospital which is also in Central Gaza and he told us, today was the worst day of his entire career as a doctor and the work made far worse by the fact that they are short on medicine, equipment, the hospitals are working on generators that are barely functioning after basically providing electricity for eight months.

And this obviously underscores just how dangerous this sort of operation being conducted in a crowded civilian area can be. Keep in mind that oftentimes, this kind of commando operation takes place at night. This took place at eleven o'clock in the morning on a Saturday when the streets were full of people out trying to buy food; children, and anybody who has been in Gaza knows everywhere you go, there are children.

So there were children everywhere, which explains why in the video I went through, I saw so many wounded children.

Now, the reaction to this outside of Gaza, we are hearing, for instance, the Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas best is calling for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council and Josep Borrell who is the top European Union diplomat said that reports of another civilian massacre are appalling and he called upon all parties to join with President Biden and his three-point plan to bring about a ceasefire and release of the hostages as soon as possible -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Ben Wedeman for us live from Beirut, Lebanon. Thanks so much.

Joining us now is former middle east negotiator for the State Department, Aaron David Miller.

Aaron, great to have you on. Thanks so much for being here. I just first want to get your reaction, your thoughts on this operation that rescued the four hostages today.

AARON DAVID MILLER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Look, the headline here, excuse me, for the Israeli public so caught up post-October 7 PTSD is clearly uplifting. The redemption of Israelis lost on the battlefield, taken prisoner is a core Israeli value, so I think it is a kind of a collective sigh of relief. Obviously, the Palestinian death toll here, even if you don't believe Hamas statistics is a frightful one and it is horrific.

I would also point out that in all three cases, the seven hostages rescued and freed by the IDF, they've all been freed aboveground, not from the tunnels. In this particular case, apparently a family or even two families paid by Hamas were guarding with Hamas guards regarding these hostages in two separate locations, which raises the real question, in my mind, I mean, most of the hostages are clearly below ground in tunnels.

But you have to wonder if families are guarding hostages, then the information, the information loop on a family holding Israelis in Gaza, that's got to spread very, very quickly and I suspect that may be one of the reasons that the Israelis have had so much more success in freeing hostages above ground, even though the degree of difficulty of this operation is just quite remarkable.

DEAN: Right, because they are going into these civilian apartments and we just -- we did see that video of children severely injured, killed in this rescue mission and I wonder from your perspective, is that where we are in terms of if the Israelis are going to be able to get back these hostages, is this what is going to happen every time?

[18:10:21]

MILLER: I mean, nine months, Jessica and the Israelis have managed -- I don't want to trivialize this -- managed to free using military force or military ops seven hostages. The big hostage released last November, which 105 were released, came as a consequences of negotiation and I don't think there is much doubt, frankly.

Channel 12 -- it is the only Channel 12 poll out yesterday, basically said 62 percent of the Israeli public favors the Biden plan. So I don't think there is any doubt both from a practical and a political and from the standpoint of preserving life of both Israeli lives in Palestinian lives, the best course here, it is the best pathway here, is through a negotiated release. It is just if the headline today was a positive one, Jessica, the trend lines to me don't look terribly favorable.

DEAN: Yes --

MILLER: I'm sorry. Go ahead.

DEAN: No, no, no. Finish your thought.

MILLER: No, I was just going to say, you've got a situation in which Hamas and the government of Israel, the work happening, which has approved President Biden's plan have reached a point where they appear to have mutually reconcilable objectives. Hamas will trade tunnels, time, and hostages for what they really want, which is the preservation of the senior leadership and their families and a role for Hamas in some post October 7 environment for Gaza.

And the Israelis are determined, it seems to me, I mean, forget destroying Hamas as a military organization, yes, and preventing another October 7th, but the Israelis are concerned, rightly, it seems to me that Hamas will survive as an insurgency and given the weakness of the Palestinian Authority and the complexity of Palestinian national politics, Hamas is going to have a role. Now the Israelis have not helped themselves frankly, this government by not doing a lot of post-war planning, which might over time minimize Hamas' influence, but therein lies the dilemma. If I had to bet where this is going, I think if Hamas could be convinced, I think you're probably talking some point of a phase one release, 30 additional hostages, may be fewer -- the women, the elderly, the infirmed for an undetermined number of Palestinian prisoners, humanitarian assistance, plus a six-week ceasefire.

I think the Biden administration could get that if they take it.

DEAN: And so that's what I wanted to ask. I mean, you were a Middle East negotiator. These talks have been going and not bringing anything to bear. They have been stalled. Secretary of State Tony Blinken is going back to the Middle East to ratchet up pressure on this latest proposal, which you were just talking about that it was laid out by President Biden that he said is an Israeli proposal.

Youve talked about Biden being in this foreign policy cul-de-sac on this issue. Do you see -- it sounds like you think that potentially, they could get there on what is phase one or something like phase one of this proposal?

MILLER: I mean, we talked about this before. Middle East negotiations, these are not normal negotiations, right? They are indirect.

The principal Palestinian decision maker, Yahya Sinwar, is inside somewhere 20 or 30 meters below ground in a tunnel maybe even in a tunnel in Sinai or below Rafah or Khan Younis. There is no trust to say the least. You have two parties who want to destroy Hamas and Israel and you end up with two speeds, slow and slower.

I do believe that if in fact there is an opening, it will have to be a phase one opening. I just don't see this Israeli government and with Hamas, which has no incentive, frankly, for returning all of the hostages until they get what they want and the Israelis are simply not prepared to give them what they want, that you're probably talking about a phase one deal, and that now that Benny Gantz is in the process of deciding whether or not he wants to stay in the War Cabinet, the heavy lift on even a phase one deal with this Israeli government, the most extreme and right-wing in Israel's history is going to get a hell of a lot harder.

DEAN: And I did want to ask you about Benny Gantz because he had set today as this deadline for when he would leave the government if there was not a day after plan in place and other plans in place for this war in Gaza. He did not take part in that news conference today because of the successful rescue mission. He wanted to give that a beat.

[18:15:09]

But where do you see that going? And what kind of role might his decision play in all of this? MILLER: I mean, I think Benny Gantz wants to stay in the government. I think he joined the government several days after October 7 as an act of patriotism, even though he probably cannot stand the prime minister and he has been crossed at least twice by Benjamin Netanyahu before. He doesn't trust. There is no confidence there. But at the same time, he also provides the prime minister with a sort of legitimacy by remaining inside the government.

The real problem here, Jessica is Knesset arithmetic. All you need is 60 seats plus one in a 120-seat Israeli Parliament, Knesset, to govern, and Benjamin Netanyahu has 64 and if you ask me, I know what Netanyahu's thinking is this, if he can get to July 25th, which is the date for the summer recess of the Knesset, and the Knesset will not come back into session until a week or two before our elections, I think the prime minister is buying time.

I think he wants to get to the end of this session. He is coming to Washington on the 24th. I don't know who agreed to that date, but it is awfully coincidental, and he thinks he can ride this out and then make a judgment on November 5th who -- how he is going to maneuver depending on who is the president. And frankly, if Benjamin Netanyahu could vote in this election, let's be clear, he wouldn't be voting for Joe Biden, he'd be voting for the other guy, there is no doubt about that.

So, it is a buying time strategy, and I am not sure that the Biden administration has a way to cut that short, and that is I think the real problem.

DEAN: Before I let you go, I do want to ask you one more question about the northern border.

Former Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren was here her with us the last hour and he was talking about the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah as a real point of concern up in the north.

Do you think Israel is headed toward a wider war with Hezbollah and in --

MILLER: I mean, people have been talking about this for a very long time, Jessica.

The last Hamas -- excuse me, Hezbollah-Israeli war was in the summer of 2006 where 5,000 guys with relatively and sophisticated high trajectory weapons shut down the northern half of Israel from heightened Lebanese support.

Now, you have Hezbollah, hardened and battle trained as a consequence of its involvement in the Syrian Civil War, possessing anywhere from 150,000 high trajectory weapons, varied ranges and lethality and precision, which cover most of Israel.

I don't think Hezbollah wants this for them. I don't think the Israelis want it either. They've gone 18 years since the summer of 2006 without a major escalation, and I think it is a concern, it is a big concern because that war is going to eclipse in ferocity and probably even in destruction especially in the Lebanese and the Israeli side what you watched play out in Gaza.

I don't think it is inevitable, but I think the United States is going to have to step up and try to figure out a way to take advantage of the fact perhaps that the Biden administration doesn't want this conflict. I don't think the Iranian's undergoing leadership transition in the wake of Ebrahim Raisi's death wants this.

So I guess the real question is whether or not a pathway can be found to de-escalate this before you end up with an escalatory ladder into full and all-out-war.

DEAN: All right, Aaron David Miller, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

MILLER: Thanks for having me.

DEAN: So ahead this hour on CNN NEWSROOM, find out which Supreme Court justice has raked in more than $2 million in gifts, that eye-popping number has some wondering about impartiality.

And Donald Trump's former chief-of-staff pleading not guilty to election subversion charges in Arizona, the latest on the case against him and 17 other Trump associates.

Plus, video appears to show Burbank Police abandoning a homeless man who is clearly in distress and where they dropped him is raising some serious questions.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: A recent Fox News poll has Donald Trump beating President Joe Biden and some key battleground states, while also showing some concerning numbers for the president in states easily won in 2020. Now, it is important to note those polls are all within the margin of error.

CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten joins us now to run the numbers and Harry, what can you tell us about this new Fox News polling?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Yes, You know, you mentioned four key states, three of which Joe Biden won last time around, two by a very small margin, Arizona and Nevada. Virginia, which she won by a wide margin last time around, and that to me by far is the most concerning poll result here, a tie in Virginia, in a state that Joe Biden easily won that every Democratic presidential candidate has fairly easily won since Barak Obama back in 2008, my goodness, gracious.

[18:25:08]

But it is more than that. The dates on this poll, this is post- conviction.

If Democrats were hoping that the conviction of Donald Trump in the city of New York, in the borough of Manhattan, where I am right now, is going to mess up this race, move the race more towards Joe Biden, these polls should be a wake-up call for them.

In Arizona and Nevada, the fact that Donald Trump is ahead by five percentage points, this is very much in line with the polling that we saw prior to the conviction, which suggested that Joe Biden is a lot of trouble in the Sunbelt battleground states. Nothing I see here changes my mind about that.

The only thing that really changes my mind about anything is, I didn't think that Joe Biden would really need to seriously campaign in the state of Virginia or the Commonwealth of Virginia. He may very well have to if this poll result holds and other poll results.

DEAN: So let's talk about that Virginia poll for a second because he beat Trump there by 10 points in 2020, as I think you mentioned. We know that Black voters are a key part of Joe Biden's coalition that took him to the White House in 2020.

What is this poll telling us about Black voters in Virginia?

ENTEN: Hey, it is telling us what we've known from the national polling that is Joe Biden is struggling with Black voters, doing significantly worse than he did four years ago in the pre-election polling. I mean, you see it up on your screen right now, Joe Biden was leading among Black voters in the state or the Commonwealth of Virginia by 76 points at the end of the 2020 campaign, he is only a head by 49 points in this particular poll. Now, you may look at that and you may say, oh, wow, Joe Biden still has a considerable advantage.

But the fact is, Democratic candidates for president usually when among Black voters by 75, 80, 85 or 90-plus points in the case of Barack Obama.

Here we see Joe Biden with only a 49-point advantage among African American voters. You know, if you go back through the record books, Jessica, and you look at Democratic performances among Black voters, this is the worst. If it held through the election since I believe JFK back in 1960 before of course, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, this would be a truly historic performance on the bad end for Joe Biden and on the very good end for Donald Trump.

DEAN: So let's talk about some stunning new reporting on the Supreme Court justices and the gifts that they receive. This is from the group Fix the Court. They reported this, but what are the numbers saying?

ENTEN: They're telling me that maybe I should have been a Supreme Court justice. That's what they are telling me because I would have loved to have gotten these gifts.

I mean, look at this amount of gifts accepted by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, 103 gifts over the last 20 years, amount greater than $2 million. Now, you'll see there are other justices on that list who, of course, have received gift amounts. Samuel Alito, north of a hundred thousand, $170,000.00. But the fact is the amount that Clarence Thomas, not just the number of gifts, but the amount of money that he has received. I think these numbers will do nothing to quell the idea that Supreme Court justices have to be much more transparent with the gifts that they've received, perhaps have to step back from issuing or taking part in certain opinions, and more than that, will do nothing to quell the thoughts from a lot of liberals who think that Clarence Thomas should not be on the United States Supreme Court.

Now, of course, he is probably not going to listen to them, right? He hasn't listened to them all along. But these types of numbers are something that just puts the political pressure on the United States Supreme Court and that low approval rating that we've seen, that historic low approval rating from the American public, I think this super charges that and it is just something that I think a lot of folks wouldn't necessarily have expected, but a lot of watchdogs on the courts certainly did and these numbers definitely bear that out.

DEAN: Yes. I was going to say, it is not going to do anything to help those very local numbers for the Supreme Court that we've seen.

Okay, on a lighter note, before we let you go.

ENTEN: Yes.

DEAN: This week, we saw the end of an era on "Wheel of Fortune." Longtime host, Pat Sajak retiring. Where does he rank on your Mount Rushmore of greatest game show hosts, Harry Enten.

ENTEN: You know, this is a great question and we can all have different Mount Rushmores here. You know, I think I have Bob Barker at the top of my list, right? I mean, how could you not have Bob Barker, of course, it is a long time -- he wasn't just a host, he was the star of "The Price is Right." That was what he was. He came out, you loved him. He was America's grandfather.

You've got Pat Sajak of "Wheel of Fortune," or of course, Alex Trebek on "Jeopardy."

One, gentlemen, not on your slide, who I would put forth would perhaps be Regis Philbin, who I absolutely adored on "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire." But you really can't do anything wrong.

I love game shows. I am sad to see Pat Sajak go, but fortunately, we have Vanna White to continue holding the candle for all of us who loved the game shows of our youth.

Ryan Seacrest perhaps will be a good host, but Vanna White there will at least ensure some continuity because the fact is, there is so much changing in the world and with Pat Sajak going, it is just another thing from my childhood that goes Adios Amigos into the winds of our memories.

DEAN: I know you talked about Bob Barker. I spent a lot of like sick days from school watching "The Price is Right."

ENTEN: Of course.

DEAN: He kept some comedy.

ENTEN: Those are the best days, right?

DEAN: Yes.

ENTEN: Chicken soup and Bob Barkat, no better quell for the cold.

DEAN: That's right. Harry Enten, thanks so much. Good to see you.

ENTEN: Thank you.

DEAN: Up next, as the world marks 80 years since D-Day, historians ask, does it all feel a little bit familiar? Some world leaders, they are being a lot more direct about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It is the same now as it was when evil was unleashing its aggression against its neighbors in the 1930s.

Hitler crossed the line after line. Putin is doing the same.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:34]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Watching the price is right.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Oh, those are the best days, right?

DEAN: Yes.

ENTEN: Chicken soup and Bob Barker (ph). No better quell for the cold.

DEAN: That's right. Harry Enten, thanks so much. Good to see you.

ENTEN: Thank you.

DEAN: Up next as the world marks 80 years since D-Day. Historians ask, does it all feel a little bit familiar? Some world leaders, they're being a lot more direct about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through interpreter): It is the same now as it was when evil was unleashing its aggression against its neighbors in the 1930s. Hitler crossed line after line. Putin is doing the same.

(END VIDEO CLIP) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:34:56]

DEAN: President Joe Biden wrapping up his visit to France tonight with a state dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron. This event was the grand finale to Biden's five-day trip to France as he looked to strengthen the relationship with this critical U.S. ally.

CNN Correspondent Priscilla Alvarez is joining us now with more from Washington, D.C.

And Priscilla, earlier today, Biden categorized this trip to France as his most remarkable. Why is this visit standing out for him?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, this trip also came at a critical time. President Biden has spoken multiple times about how important it is to preserve freedom and democracy. And that was front and center during this trip, marking the 80th anniversary of D- Day. And in his remarks on Friday, stressing these exact points and he was doing it alongside one of the U.S.'s oldest allies in France.

Now, today was focused on underscoring the ties with this country. And over the course of the day, the two leaders participated in multiple ceremonial events, including starting the day paying their respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. And the president describing it as a, quote, "moving experience."

Now, again, France is one of the U.S.'s oldest allies. And the two talked about Ukraine first and foremost. This, of course, came up multiple times over the course of this trip because of the invasion of Ukraine and France being one of the leaders in Europe and standing by Ukraine.

And so this was a moment to reaffirm the U.S. leadership, but also the support worldwide for Ukraine in this moment and pledging additional support to them. And the President speaking of that directly during those remarks that you see there. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And this week, we have showed the world once again the power of allies and what we can achieve when we stand together. That's what this relationship between France and the United States exemplifies. Because we know what happens if Putin succeeds in subjugating Ukraine, and it won't - we won't - you know Putin not going to stop at Ukraine. It's not just Ukraine; it's about much more than Ukraine. All of Europe will be threatened, but we're not going to let that happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALVAREZ: So this was a theme really over the course of the trip, was tying the present to the past and making clear the stakes of this moment. Now, of course, the two leaders also were excited to talk about the situation in the Middle East, and they did today welcome the news of the rescue of those four hostages. And France, of course, has also expressed their support for the hostage deal that President Biden laid out recently, that three-phase proposal for the exchange of all the hostages for a ceasefire agreement.

So all of these issues were expected to come up over the course of these last few days. But again, with democracy and freedom being front and center simply because of the anniversary that they were commemorating this week. Now, tomorrow the president and the first lady will also participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at an American cemetery and then return to the United States.

But certainly the President spending these last few days talking about the cherished ties with France and really trying to strengthen this alliance with, again, one of the U.S.'s oldest allies.

DEAN: Yes. Priscilla Alvarez, thanks so much for that reporting.

And I want to talk more about the president's trip with Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian and professor of history at Rice University. He's also a prolific author, including the book "The Boys of Pointe du Hoc: Ronald Reagan, D-Day, and the U.S. Army 2nd Ranger Battalion."

Douglas, thanks so much for being here today. I really appreciate it. And you're just the perfect person to talk to, to kind of tie all of this together, the moment that we're seeing presently and then looking back to the history that we're marking as well.

Biden calling this trip to France his most remarkable yet. What has stood out to you about these past five days and the President's trip to France?

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Well, it's been Joe Biden's most successful foreign policy trip. I say that because you're always very special when any president goes to Normandy.

I mean, you go to the cemetery there, you see the white crosses, the stars of David of the fallen heroes of the Battle of Normandy. You have the English Channel as your backdrop. And you're able when you're standing with the head of - the leader of President of France to realize, wow, we're in a repeat situation that we now have Putin acting as a totalitarian thug who's gone and brutalized Ukraine and could they - could Russia expand further.

So it was a huge foreign policy moment for Biden and I think he did well. I mean, FDR will always be remembered for the original on June 6, 1944 prayer to the nation when the Normandy landings were occurring. Ronald Reagan in 1984 gave that extraordinary Peggy Noonan written speech.

[18:40:00]

Reagan delivered it beautifully about the valor of the U.S. Army 2nd Rangers. These 225 Special Ops who climbed those - a hundred foot cliffs there while Germans were shooting at them. And now Joe Biden coming, reminding us Ukraine matters, that NATO matters, that we've got to make sure we don't leave Zelenskyy in the lurch.

DEAN: Right. I mean, I'm thinking about D-Day and as you're describing it, it's - it is - it was such a collection of allies defending Western democracy and Europe. And it - this trip clearly about trying to strengthen those ties as well.

Douglas, for so many Americans that maybe don't quite see it or don't have all the dots connected, connect the dots. Why so many people like yourself are saying look back to the 1930s and look to now and look at a lot of these parallels?

BRINKLEY: Well, let's say 1938, you had Hitler on the loose. He was, you know, invading. You know, you have the whole problem with the Czechoslovakia issue. You have the problem of invasion of Poland and it just kept going. And there was an isolationist sentiment at home led by people like Henry Ford and Charles Lindbergh and others to get out of it. It's a European war we don't want to repeat.

And so FDR had a hard time educating the country about the need to stop the Third Reich, to stop their expansion in Europe. Alas, we were bombed on December 7th 1941 and Japan declared war on us, and then Germany declared war on us.

And Roosevelt had put a lot of mechanisms in place so we could have a hurry up industrial mobilization economy where we were able to convert, say, a factory that was making women's blouses to suddenly making parachutes or a saxophone company being converted to make ship valves. It was the greatest, most extraordinary innovation and industrial might the world had ever seen. And the United States, in the end, pulled it off.

And what we accomplished and won at Utah, Omaha, Gold Sword (ph), Juneau beaches, it was a long slog after winning that Battle of Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge and the march to Berlin. But the - at the end, totalitarianism was stamped out in Western Europe, but now we're seeing a totalitarian rise of Putin's Russia and the moment is here to kind of thwart that.

And it's just about convincing enough more Republicans in Congress to fund the Ukraine issue. About half of the Republicans want to help Ukraine and about half don't. And I think this trip helped Biden's cause.

DEAN: All right. Douglas Brinkley, great to see you. Thanks so much.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:47:29]

DEAN: Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has pleaded not guilty to election subversion charges in Arizona. And CNN's Kyung Lah has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Arizona prosecutors, arrive for the arraignments of some of former President Donald Trump's closest advisers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, could you state your name, please?

MARK MEADOWS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: Mark Randall Meadows.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH (voice over): Trump's former White House chief of staff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do enter a plea of not guilty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH (voice over): Also, entering a not guilty plea. Trump campaign operative Mike Roman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Could you state your name, please?

MIKE ROMAN, TRUMP CAMPAIGN OPERATIVE: Michael Roman.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH (voice over): Roman and Meadows, both faced charges in multiple states in the fake elector scheme, aimed at overturning the 2020 Election results in Arizona and in Georgia. Roman also this week was indicted in Wisconsin. The state cases all date back to an alleged plan hatched and the days and weeks after Trump lost his last reelection bid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We the undersigned being the duly elected and qualified electors ...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH (voice over): In Arizona, calling themselves electors, these 11 people assembled on December 14, 2020 to declare the state's winner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Donald J. Trump, of the state of Florida, number of votes, 11.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH (voice over): But Joe Biden had won Arizona. Arizona prosecutors say Meadows, Roman and other Trump allies charged in April, like former Trump attorney John Eastman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN EASTMAN, FORMER TRUMP ATTORNEY: I, of course, pled not guilty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH (voice over): And current RNC election integrity counsel, Christina Bobb ...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINA BOBB, RNC ELECTION INTEGRITY COUNSEL: We'll deal with the case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH (voice over): ... coordinated fake electors in Arizona and other swing states, attempting to keep Trump in power, perhaps the most well-known of the 18 indicted by Arizona is former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who say Arizona prosecutors, dodged them for weeks, as they tried to serve him court papers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER TRUMP LAWYER: If they're so incompetent, they can find me, they also can't count votes correctly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH (voice over): Live streaming has taunts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALL: Happy birthday to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH (voice over): Until Arizona agents caught up with Giuliani at his 88th birthday in Florida.

Now has two weeks to appear in person in court and post a $10,000 bond.

LAH (on camera): Giuliani so far hasn't indicated exactly when he's going to be heading to Arizona. We did check with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department. And so far he has not yet been processed for his mugshot or his fingerprints.

[18:50:01]

We checked in to see where Giuliani might be. He was live streaming his show from Michigan.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: We'll be right back.

[18:54:52]

DEAN: Burbank Police are facing questions tonight after the release of disturbing surveillance video. It shows two officers abandoning a homeless man in a neighboring L.A. neighborhood, leaving him in distress on the sidewalk. CNN's Camila Bernal joins us now.

And Camila, this video was released by an L.A. city councilman who says this actually happened outside his office?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and so now what he's saying is that he wants a state investigation, Jessica. And Burbank Police also saying that they're looking into the actions of the officer. And looking also into the videos, both the body cam, the camera inside of the patrol car and also the witnesses that were around.

This video that was released essentially shows that patrol car pull up to the street here behind me and you see the officers getting out of the vehicle trying to help this man who appeared to be in handcuffs. They get those off. And when he comes out to the street, he essentially starts kind of waving his arms. And it appears that he loses his balance and falls on all fours.

And then you see those officers get back into the patrol car and leave. You then in the video see this man laying down, belly down, you know. And it was just something that the city council member said didn't know how long it lasted. He said this was a disgrace, said essentially that this man was dumped on the side of the road and said that he was outraged by all of this.

Now, Burbank Police releasing a statement essentially changing things a bit and explaining things a bit further. Saying that initially they got this call about a naked man and the officers went to see him, got him to get dressed. Talked to him and told him that they would take him anywhere that he wanted to go.

And so here's part of the statement from Burbank Police. They say, "He voluntarily got into the patrol vehicle and was driven towards the Metro Red Line station. Along the way, the individual asked to be let out of the patrol vehicle to get coffee. The officers complied immediately with his request, pulled over and let the individual out of that patrol car.

But overall the big picture here is homelessness and how difficult it is for politicians here in Los Angeles. And really in California to deal with this. It's something that they really haven't figured out, Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Camila Bernal for us reporting live from Los Angeles. Thank you so much. And still ahead, new details about the special operation that led to the rescue of four Israeli hostages.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)