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CNN International: ICC Issues Arrest Warrant for Israeli PM Netanyahu; Report Details Graphic Sex Assault Allegation Against Hegseth; Trump Tariffs Could Impact Elon Musk's Businesses in China; Halley Calls Tulsi Gabbard a "Sympathizer" to Russia & China; Israeli PM's Office Responds to ICC Arrest Warrant; American Airlines Aims to Crack Down on "Gate Lice". Aired 8-9a ET
Aired November 21, 2024 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:00:00]
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello and welcome to our viewers all around the world. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, and this is the CNN Newsroom. We're following two developing stories this hour. Ukraine is accusing Russia of launching an intercontinental ballistic missile in the country's east, as the war escalates. We're live in Kyiv shortly.
But first we begin with this breaking news out of the Middle East. The International Criminal Court has just issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant accusing them of war crimes in Gaza. And also, for a top Hamas commander, also known as Mohammed Deif who is believed to be dead.
The court says it found reasonable grounds to believe the prime minister bears criminal responsibility for war crimes, including starvation as a method of warfare, and it rejected Israel's challenge of the court's jurisdiction over the matter. CNN's Nic Robertson joins us now from Jerusalem. Nic, what more can you tell us?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, this is a very, very significant escalation. It was first announced by Karim Khan, the ICC Chief Prosecutor, back in May, that he was going to seek to request arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, who was the defense minister at the time, as well as three other senior Hamas officials, including Mohammed Deif Ismael Hanya Yahya Sinwar the other.
Those three are all dead. Deif believed to have been killed in July. So unclear why they issued an arrest warrant now for him. But by overturning Israel's rejection of the jurisdiction and the allegations by the court, this clears the way for something very, very significant, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel have never, ever faced before.
These are very, very serious charges and allegations, as you read them out there. The court believes he has -- they have grounds to believe that he bears criminal responsibility for war crimes, as you said, including starvation as a method of warfare and of crimes against humanity, of murder, persecution and of other crimes. These are very, very serious allegations. These are not the sorts of
allegations that the prime minister has faced before, when they -- when the ICC first made these statements back in May, the prime minister's office, said that they were absurd, that they were false, and that they were a distortion of reality.
It is something that back then, the prime minister took very, very seriously. Has been in meetings today with the U.S. Mediator, Amos Hochstein, talking about the possibility of a ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon to the North, but this is absolutely now going to come front and center of the prime minister's attention here.
WHITFIELD: So, this is very significant, Nic. But then what potentially could be next is this an issue of depending on where Netanyahu were to travel -- you know, he could be apprehended, or is he asked to voluntarily cooperate?
ROBERTSON: Yeah, this is -- you know, it's uncharted territory for the prime minister. Certainly, we understand the legal implications for all the countries that support the ICC. These are countries that have signed what's known as the Rome Statute. 124 countries have signed up to the Rome Statute that includes most European countries.
There are other leaders current and former, like Bashir of Sudan, who has essentially been on the land from the ICC for several years, since they issued an arrest warrant for him, an arrest warrant issued just in the past year or so for President Vladimir Putin of Russia, who continues to run his country and fight the war in Ukraine.
But he -- we have seen in the case of Vladimir Putin that there are countries that he has avoided visiting, like South Africa for a BRICS Summit, where potentially, because South Africa is a signatory to the Rome Statute, he could have technically been arrested and taken to the Hague so will the same fate or limitations on travel face Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu?
It appears absolutely so. If, technically, if he would have set foot today in the Netherlands or in the UK or in France, also all signatures of the Rome Statute he would be or those countries at least would be obligated to arrest him and turn him over to the ICC.
WHITFIELD: All right. Nic Robertson, thank you so much. We'll check back with you. All right there are other developing story, Ukraine's military has accused Russia of deploying an intercontinental ballistic missile, possibly for the first time, in an early morning attack on the city of Dnipro.
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CNN has not been able to verify the claim, and the Kremlin has declined to comment. CNN has obtained this footage of what's thought to be the moment of impact. Ukrainian authorities have not confirmed its authenticity. Nick Paton Walsh is joining us now from Kyiv. So, Nick details are still emerging, obviously. But what do we know for sure thus far? NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Look, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the altitude, the speed, showed that this attack had the characteristics of an intercontinental ballistic missile. That's kind of the clearest statement we've had from Ukrainian officials about the fact they believe a new type of weapon has been used by Russia in this conflict.
Now something was launched about five o'clock in the morning that appeared to be accompanied by six or seven other missiles, one of which was said to be a Hypersonic Kinzhal Missile. They may have been intended to take out air defenses or occupy air defenses to make space for this other missile, which a Western official has said was not intercontinental, was just a ballistic missile.
Now look, this can often be semantics about the capability versus the range over which something is indeed fired. And there are devices in Moscow's arsenal that kind of fit on the cusp between the intercontinental and the intermediate range, regardless, though of the terminology, this is clearly, it seems, Moscow, according to Ukraine, trying to use a new type of weapon in this conflict.
And it comes after days of ratcheting escalation. Just remember, in the last 48 hours, we've had the first use of U.S. made and supplied ATACMS missiles by Ukraine to hit targets inside that Russia. After Sunday, Joe Biden, U.S. President gave that authorization, and then it appears that British Storm Shadow missiles have also been used to hit targets inside of Bryansk in Russia as well, just yesterday, early morning.
So, a lot moving here in terms of the Western contribution towards Ukraine's fight, and now potentially this use of an ICBM missile, if indeed that is the case, by Russia. No comment from the Russians directly on this may be their response. I think, behind me here, you can hear the air sirens going on again in Kyiv.
That is regular here, but people who will hear that will be more anxious than normal, not just because of the use of this new type of weapon, but also because of the very specific warnings that yesterday caused the U.S. Embassy to close for the entire day. And so, yeah, we're certainly looking at a country on edge here because of the use of this weaponry back to you.
WHITTFIELD: And is this in response to the U.S. allowing Ukraine to use long-range Western weapons?
WALSH: Yeah, we're hearing this is a -- this siren behind me is a ballistic missile warning specifically. So that is obviously going to be causing people to connect this morning's events with what we're hearing behind being here.
But I should point out this kind of air raid siren, this kind of threat, is something which Ukraine has been dealing with, particularly Kyiv, in a more intense fashion over the past two months, very regular results by Russia here, using drones, using whatever, frankly, can throw at them. But yeah, a certainly a concern. I think that we're seeing a slow
escalation here. Moscow said it was likely it would respond to the use of U.S.-made missiles by Ukraine, and maybe what we saw this morning hitting, it seems, a target in Dnipro, a major Ukrainian city with suggestions, an industrial complex there was hit. May have been Moscow's response Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Nick Paton Walsh, be safe. We'll check back with you there from Kyiv. All right. Let's bring in now Matthew Schmidt, an Associate Professor of National Security at the University of New Haven.
Great to see you, Professor. So, Ukraine says -- you know Russia -- you know filed or launched this intercontinental ballistic missile. But Western officials say it was simply a ballistic missile. I mean, break down for us the differences. I mean, obviously it's range for one, but do they share a similar power and ability?
MATTHEW SCHMIDT, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF NATIONAL SECURITY, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN: Thank you and good morning. The simple answer is that an ICBM is an intercontinental ballistic missile is designed to travel a range that could move it, say, from the European Continent to North America and everything else after that is on that line that Nick was talking about. The key thing here is that it was a missile that was capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, even though it did.
WHITFIELD: And so, in your view, does this represent a type of escalation that is worrisome?
[08:10:00]
SCHMIDT: I think it's important to remember that this is a game of chess with -- you know intercontinental ballistic missile. It's unlikely that these missiles would change anything on the battlefield, but what they do change is the symbolism. What they do send is a signal to the American public, for instance, to frighten them.
When we go out and we say, ICBM that scares people, and that reinforces the incoming administration line that the U.S. needs to withdraw, that it needs to stop aid, that it needs to push the settle this war now, because the ICBM could come to the U.S., right? It could bring in the United States, and that's the risk they're trying to avoid.
WHITFIELD: And, I mean, that's part of Russia's -- you know modus of operandi, right? I mean, it likes to threaten. But at the same time, does this also kind of indicate that it's nervous, particularly after the U.S. has given Ukraine the OK to use long-range missiles.
SCHMIDT: No, I don't think it does at all. I think what it symbols is that -- you know Putin is doubling down, right? This is a strong chess move, and what he's trying to do is back the United States off and signal that he's willing to escalate right up to that line of actually putting a nuclear warhead on that missile.
WHITFIELD: What do you -- you said it does send a signal, especially as you transition from a signal to the U.S., transitioning from the Biden to the incoming Trump Administration. So how does this position the incoming administration on what it is either bracing for or what it may need or need to consider as it continues to support Ukraine.
SCHMIDT: It feeds the administration's line, right? It does -- the incoming administration's work of signaling to the American public that the U.S. needs to withdraw because there's a risk to the American public, it really supports Trump's campaign.
WHITFIELD: How concerned are you?
SCHMIDT: I mean, I'm concerned that we're in an escalatory cycle. You know, my concern is that this is shaping any kind of settlement on the side of Russia and weakening Ukraine's position -- you know and that's what I'm concerned about, because -- you know this is an illegal war in Ukraine, and Ukraine needs justice, and this takes that chance away.
WHITFIELD: All right, Professor Matthew Schmidt, appreciate your time and expertise.
SCHMIDT: Thanks.
WHITFIELD: Still to come, CNN obtains a police report with disturbing allegations against Donald Trump's pick to Head the Defense Department. Details straight ahead. Plus, Elon Musk went all in to help Donald Trump win the recent election. Could Trump's plan for steep tariffs on Chinese imports ruin their bromance, that straight ahead.
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WHITFIELD: CNN has obtained a police report that raises serious questions about Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's pick to be Secretary of Defense. The report details allegations that Hegseth sexually assaulted a woman in 2017. The woman told police Hegseth physically blocked her from leaving a hotel room and then forced himself on her despite her numerous protests.
Hegseth says the encounter was consensual, but he later paid the woman to keep the incident confidential. Separately, House Republicans blocked the release of an ethics committee report on Matt Gaetz, Trump's pick to run the Department of Justice. The report looked into allegations of drug use and sexual misconduct by Gaetz.
The Committee will meet again in early December to decide what to do next. Democrats have filed a motion calling for the entire House to vote on making the report public. Let's bring in CNN Political Reporter Sara Murray with a closer look at all of this. So, Sara, let's talk about Hegseth first. What is in that, new police report?
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, well, this sort of details the conflicting accounts around this evening in October of 2017 at a Republican Women's Conference in California. I want to run through the woman's account. She's referred to Jane Doe in this police report.
She says Hegseth was getting off a creeper vibe at the conference. She says she ends up in his hotel room. He takes her phone. He blocks the door with his body. And then she remembered saying no, a lot. Now there's a lot that she couldn't recall.
She said maybe something was slipped into her drink. And there are conflicting accounts, though, because there are witnesses who saw her and said she didn't seem to be overly intoxicated. There are also witnesses who saw Hegseth and Jane Doe interacting at the hotel bar before they end up in this hotel room.
One said that she was appearing to intercept Hegseth when he was hitting on another woman. Another person said it appeared that this woman, Jane Doe, and another woman, were flirting with Hegseth. At any rate, she seeks medical care a couple of days later, and says she believes she was sexually assaulted.
And this is all very different than Pete Hegseth's account to authorities. He describes this as consensual sexual conduct. He says she ended up in his hotel room, but there was always conversation, always consensual contact. He said they discussed that the woman, Jane Doe, was married. She said she would tell her husband she'd fallen asleep on the couch in someone else's room, and he said she showed early signs of regret.
And I want to get to the lawyer statement for Pete Hegseth, Tim Parlatore, he said the police report confirms what I've said all along. The incident was fully investigated, and police found the allegations to be false, which is why no charges were filed and there were no charges filed in this case.
The police report doesn't say it found the incidents to be false, but there is other evidence, like surveillance video, a memo from the DA which could shed light on why he wasn't charged, that has not been made public. Now this woman, Jane Doe, is not commenting to the media on this.
WHITFIELD: And so is there any sense yet of how this might impact Hegseth's chances on the Senate confirmation process.
MURRAY: Well, it certainly doesn't help the matter. I mean, when these allegations came to the Trump transition team's attention, it definitely caught them off guard. There has been some consternation, some hand wringing, about these allegations, whether there would be more that is going to come out, and so that's definitely a concern.
And you know, Hegseth is going to be on the Hill today with J.D. Vance. He's going to be meeting with Senators, Republican Senators, who are going to really be responsible for carrying his nomination to the finish line. So, I think after today and after these meetings, we're going to have a better sense of -- you know how much concern there might be over these allegations with Republican Senators.
WHITFIELD: All right. Sara Murray, we'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much. All right, let's now bring in CNN Politics Senior Reporter Stephen Collinson, always great to see you, Steven. So as our correspondents are reporting, Trump is really fixated on Matt Gaetz being his U.S. Attorney General.
Allegations that are public about Gaetz -- you know are pretty bad, despite the House Ethics report -- you know still being under seal. So, any idea why does Trump want Gaetz so badly in that position?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Well, it's the key question. Any other president who nominated two such characters as Gaetz and Hegseth, I think they might have pulled the plug already by now, these nominations would be dead. So why is Trump so keen to get them confirmed?
I think one reason is because they reflect his motivations. Gaetz would go to the Justice Department and begin tearing it down, purging it of what Trump believes are liberals and opponents who have pursued him legally over the last few years. He sees him as ultimately loyal.
Trump has a similar grudge against the top brass in the Pentagon, whom he believes leaked against him and constrained him in his first term. Hegseth has railed against this kind of behavior on Fox News for years.
[08:20:00]
So, Trump wants him to go to the Pentagon and operate in a similar way as Gaetz would in the Justice Department. This is about Trump's personal motivations. So, I think that is why Trump is sticking with nominees who most presidents would have cut loose.
WHITFIELD: Yeah, because it seems like the qualifications are really on the back burner. So ultimately, and you've reported on this, this will be a test of Trump's strength and loyalty among the GOP, correct?
COLLINSON: That's right. And it's setting a tone for the way Trump hopes his term will unfold. He is bringing pressure on individual Republican Senators to do exactly what he wants, even though they have great reservations. That is the exercise of power. That's how Trump operates. He'll bring in the conservative media attack machine against any Senator who stands up.
Having said that if at some point Trump gets the impression that he can get something else, he can wield power in another way by letting one of these nominees go. I wouldn't be surprised to see him do that, for example, if he sacrificed Gaetz and therefore got undertakings from Republican Senators that all of his other nominees would get through, he might decide that that is a good exercise of power.
On the other hand, there are some Republican Senators that may prove not to be reachable by Trump, for example, those who are running for re-election in six years, when he will no longer be in the White House because he's term limited. Look at a Senator like Thom Tillis in North Carolina.
He has to worry if he opposes one of Trump's nominees about getting a primary challenge, but he's in a state that just is pretty much 50-50, on the evidence of the last election, if he votes for Gaetz, that's going to become a huge issue in a race against a Democrat in the general election in two years' time, in the congressional midterms. So, each Senator has their own dilemma about how loyal they must be to Trump and to their own political hopes.
WHITFIELD: Yeah, they have to look at all that's at stake for themselves as well. So -- you know you've got the issue of the sacrificial lambs -- you know potentially that you speak of here, knowing that it is such an uphill battle already for many of these picks for the cabinet, such as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, too.
Does this also kind of pretend that perhaps Trump is leaning more toward the possibilities of these recess appointments that this is all -- this is -- this is a show. It's getting a lot of attention, but really, he has intentions of how he's going to make sure that his picks get through.
COLLINSON: I think if Trump had a choice as soon as he gets inaugurated on January 20th, the Senate would go into recess, and he would just appoint all of his people to what would then be two-year terms until the end of the next Congress. I don't think there is an appetite among most Senators for that to happen, simply because that would basically make them completely superfluous in Trump's second term.
There is, even though the GOP has been genuflecting to Trump for years, there is at least some small residue of Senators who want to wield their individual power. Take the case of Gaetz. A lot of Republican Senators are saying they want the process to play out. They want confirmation hearings.
I think what they're hoping is that the process plays out until Trump is inaugurated, there are confirmation hearings, and the new White House gets to a point where they believe that Gaetz can't be confirmed, and then the vote that is so hard for Republicans to take doesn't actually happen.
So, there's this idea that over a period of time, it just becomes politically unsustainable, and Trump decides it's got far more things to worry about when he's president. He doesn't really care that much about Gaetz anymore. He can find someone else to do what Gaetz would have done. So -- you know when Senators say one thing, they usually meaning that they hope, in the end, to get to some kind of fudge that gets them off the hook. I think that's what might be happening here.
WHITFIELD: Wow, fascinating. I mean, there is a long game here, all right. Stephen Collinson, thank you so much. President-Elect Donald Trump campaigned on a pledge to impose tariffs of 60 percent or more on products imported from China. But China is a major market for Elon Musk, who invested significant resources in Trump's re-election.
CNN's Will Ripley has more on how Trump's approach to U.S. China relations could create friction with his billionaire backer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Elon Musk was making moves in China years before stepping into U.S. politics. China is Tesla's second biggest market.
[08:25:00]
ELON MUSK, TESLA CEO: We are looking for the very best talent in China.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Tesla's Shanghai giga factory churns out nearly a million cars a year. The company's most productive plant. Musk built strong ties with Chinese leaders, making Tesla the first foreign automaker with full factory ownership in China. Musk even got the government to officially use Tesla vehicles.
MUSK: We intend to make, continue making a significant investment and increasing the investment in China.
RIPLEY (voice-over): And he's not done yet. A $200 million mega battery factory is coming soon to Shanghai.
MUSK: Fight, fight, fight, vote, vote, vote.
RIPLEY (voice-over): But in the Trump 2.0 era, Musk may find himself navigating tricky terrain. President-Elect Donald Trump is promising a 60 percent tariff or more on Chinese imports, a move that could create friction for Tesla's China operations.
LEV NACHMAN, POLITICAL ANALYST: This is the classic conflict of interest with having someone like Elon Musk in politics. He's not a politician.
RIPLEY (voice-over): And he's definitely not a China hawk. That could put him at odds with Trump's incoming cabinet, widely seen as the toughest on Beijing in U.S. history.
SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL): They allow the Chinese Communist Party to gain access to all of the private data.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Take Secretary of State Nominee Marco Rubio, a staunch critic of China, sanctioned twice by Beijing. Rubio has championed human rights in Hong Kong and democracy in Taiwan, positions that clash with Musk criticized for these comments last year, seen as siding with authoritarian Beijing over the self- governing Island.
MUSK: Their policy has been to reunite Taiwan with China. From this standpoint -- you know it may be disabling us to like Hawaii.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Two power players, two very different views on China, both potentially shaping policy in the second Trump Administration.
NACHMAN: The potential for fall out is very real.
RIPLEY (voice-over): Some say Musk may serve as a bridge between Beijing and Washington. Others warn his business interests could outweigh U.S. national priorities, creating more problems than solutions.
RIPLEY: The real wild card here is President-Elect Donald Trump. He'll likely be getting completely opposite advice on China from Musk and Rubio. So, nobody really has a clue as to which way he's going to go. And that unpredictability, that uncertainty, is really being felt right now on both sides of the Taiwan Strait Will Ripley, CNN Taipei.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, Russia raises the stakes yet again in Ukraine. Ukraine says Russia has brought in more firepower. We'll get reaction from Moscow and the U.S. right after this. And questions arise about Donald Trump's pick to lead the nation's intelligence community. Why Tulsi Gabbard doesn't trust the very agencies that she could oversee.
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WHITFIELD: All right, let's turn now to our developing story this hour, Ukraine has accused Russia of launching an intercontinental ballistic missile on the Eastern City of Dnipro. Its military did not say what kind of ICBM was deployed. And CNN has not been able to verify the claim.
It's likely the first time Moscow has fired the powerful, long-range weapon in the Russia Ukraine conflict. The Kremlin has so far refused to comment. This comes after Ukraine began using U.S.-made longer- range missiles to strike targets inside Russia. Moscow has called that an escalation of tensions. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is joining me now from Moscow. So, Fred, what has Russia had to say today?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Fredricka. A lot of things going on around all of this, a lot of uncertainty here on the ground in Russia, of course, using an intercontinental ballistic missile in any sort of strikes against Ukraine would be quite odd, because these missiles are definitely designed to strike a lot further than from Russian territory towards Ukrainian territory.
And so far, really have absolutely no confirmation whatsoever about all this coming from the Russian Federation. In fact, the spokesman for the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, he was on a regular call with journalists earlier today, and he was specifically asked by CNN, by the way, whether or not he would comment on all of this, and he said only the military would comment on this.
He was then asked whether or not the threats of the Russians using more force against Ukraine after the U.S. allowed the Ukrainians to use longer range U.S. weapons to strike deep into Russian territory would mean that the Russians would hit the Ukrainians harder than they have in the past.
He also deferred that to the military. There was a bit of a moment earlier today during the regular press briefing of the spokeswoman of Russia's Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, where she appeared to get a call in the middle of her press briefing telling her not to comment on this matter, on the alleged launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile by the Russians.
She later clarified and said that she had asked for some sort of clarification in general about topics she was supposed to speak about, and that answer came during her press briefing in general, though, from Russian officials, so far, we don't have anything official confirming or denying that they use this type of missile.
Of course, the Russians, though, have said in the past couple of days that there would be a reaction to the U.S. allowing the Ukrainians to use those longer distance weapons, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: OK. And then Russia, meanwhile, is reporting that Ukraine has launched its own drone attacks this morning?
PLEITGEN: Yeah. There are some pretty interesting things that we've been looking at. Some pretty interesting pretty interesting developments. First, there were two drones that the Russians allege that they shot down in the border area directly with Ukraine, one of them Rostov-on-Don that's a town on the Black Sea, or near the Black Sea.
Then there was also one in the Volgograd region, which is still in southwestern Russia, but a bit further inland. But the one that we've been looking at specifically were air raid alerts that apparently went off in the Astrakhan region. And it is from that region also that the Ukrainians alleged that this alleged intercontinental ballistic missile was fired from that then landed in Dnipro in Ukraine.
So, some interesting things that were sort of monitoring the Russians, however, saying that all of these drones were shot down, but they are saying that they are dealing with attacks by drones. And also said that they shot down to Storm Shadow missiles, which, of course, the United Kingdom gave to the Ukrainians, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Fred Pleitgen in Moscow, thank you. As the Russia-Ukraine war seems to be escalating, intelligence about what Russia is up to has never been more important, but there are new questions now being asked about Donald Trump's pick for Director of National Intelligence.
Tulsi Gabbard, has been highly critical of U.S. intelligence agencies in the past, and has blamed NATO for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Well now Nikki Haley a prominent Republican who was Donald Trump's chief rival for the Republican presidential nomination is voicing concerns about Gabbard.
Haley says Gabbard is a Russia and China sympathizer, and someone like that should not be Director of National Intelligence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FMR. GOV. NIKKI HALEY (R-SC): DNI, Department of National Intelligence. This is not a place for a Russian, Iranian, Syrian, Chinese sympathizer, after Russia invaded Ukraine, Tulsi Gabbard literally blamed NATO. Our Western alliance is responsible for countering Russia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[08:35:00]
WHITFIELD: CNN's Katie Bo Lillis has been looking into Tulsi Gabbard's history when it comes to the intelligence community. Good morning to you. Katie Bo, what can you tell us?
KATIE BO LILLIS, CNN REPORTER: Yeah, Fredricka, obviously, Gabbard has gotten a lot of attention for some of her remarks on Russia, on Syria, the clip that you just played, obviously from Nikki Haley. But it's really what's going to be really fascinating to watch about her is that, if she is confirmed, she will become the most markedly or most publicly anti surveillance official to ever hold the post at the top of the part of the U.S. government that is responsible for collecting intelligence on America's foreign adversaries.
Back when she was still a Democrat in Congress, she, Gabbard, introduced a series of bills that would have been really antithetical to the intelligence community's world view. Two of them were designed to get the U.S. government or to persuade the U.S. government to drop their prosecution of Julian Assange, the Founder of WikiLeaks, as well as of Edward Snowden, the Former National Security Agency contractor who revealed bulk collection of America's data by the National Security Agency back in 2013.
Both of these men are viewed really, as almost enemies of the state within the intelligence community, even as they have attracted a certain amount of support from not just Gabbard, but also from some civil libertarian sorry, from some sort of libertarian minded folks on the right, as well as some progressives concerned about press freedoms on the left.
But the other piece of legislation that she introduced that was really shocking to intelligence officials would have wholesale repealed one of the most powerful pieces of surveillance authority that the U.S. government has, something called Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
This is what allows the U.S. government to spy on foreigners overseas. Now, there's been some push by some on the left and on the right to try to reform it, to improve civil liberties protections for Americans whose data is sort of inadvertently sucked up as part of this collection authority.
But the idea of wholesale repealing it, this is something that former intelligence officials tell me really would deliberately blind the commander in chief, the president himself, on any given day, as much as half of the intelligence in his daily brief is drawn from FISA section 702.
So, this is a pretty extraordinary position to take, and it really speaks to this kind of profound mistrust that Gabbard has of the intelligence community and of its broader surveillance authorities, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: OK, and I mean, these are career intelligence people that she would be leading. Is there a feeling that is emanating among those who are concerned about her potentially getting that job?
LILLIS: Well, look, in a lot of ways, Gabbard is really a stranger to the intelligence community, beyond her role on the House Armed Services Committee, she doesn't really have any sort of formal experience or formal exposure to the intelligence community.
So, for a lot of the career officials that I spoke to in the course of reporting this story, she was a little bit of a stranger to them. They didn't really know a lot about her beyond the headlines. But what's certainly true, and I think very interesting about Gabbard is that she kind of predates this sort of very Trump perspective that the FBI has been illegally surveilling Americans and it's not to be trusted that the intelligence community is a deep state.
Even going back to her time as a Democrat in Congress, she was part of this sort of coalition of lawmakers, again, on sort of the libertarian side of the Republican Party, as well as the sort of progressive side the far left of the Democratic Party that was really skeptical that American surveillance authorities may have sort of overstepped their boundaries in ways that were infringing on the rights of Americans, as opposed to just sort of doing the work that they were supposed to do, collecting intelligence on foreign adversaries.
So, what's fascinating about Gabbard is that she does seem to kind of represent the sort of ascendance of this kind of techno libertarian, anti-surveillance wing of the Republican Party.
WHITFIELD: All right. Katie Bo Lillis, thank you so much. All right. Kenya was plagued earlier this year with scenes like this. The now protesters are calling for more demonstrations there, which could lead to more violence. The story straight ahead. Also, Australia is a step closer to banning social media for kids. But the big question is, how to make sure everyone complies? We'll take a look.
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WHITFIELD: Protesters in Kenya are threatening to occupy the parliament where President William Ruto delivered a State of the Nation speech just a short while ago. There's concern the protests could lead to these scenes again, which played on the streets of Nairobi over the summer.
That's when demonstrators held rallies for weeks, forcing the president to drop his unpopular tax hikes, and despite that, many Kenyans remain disillusioned with him. Social media posts are encouraging people to block roads to the parliament. CNN's Larry Madowo is outside the Kenyan parliament in Nairobi. Larry, what is happening at the moment? LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, the president just finished his State of the Nation address, where he said the State of the Nation is resilient. He covered some of what he considers achievements of his administration, and he's just about to leave here.
This is part of his entourage getting ready for the presidents to wrap up kind of meeting with the lawmakers in there and leave after doing that joint address of the nation. One of the big highlights out of this speech was that the president ordered two Kenyan ministries of transport and petroleum to cancel two recently signed deals.
One, with the Indian billionaire Gautam Adani's company to supply to build and operate power plants here for 30 years. And another was about to go forward that of the handover of the country's main national airport to the Adani group for another 30 years.
He says that's based on new information, but the protesters who've been on the streets for most of June and July were unhappy about corruption in his government. And one of the issues they were most concerned about was that potential handover of the country's main national airport to the Adani group, which is, as you know, was indicted for fraud in New York.
So that's a win for some of the protesters already claiming credit for it. But it's a little traumatic being back here. The reason why I say it's traumatic being back here is because we were here on, we just want to walk with you. We were here on June 25th, that's five months ago, which was the deadliest day of protests in Kenya.
And on that day, we saw protesters shot dead on this very street, walking down the same path. Fred, I can tell you exactly which bodies were where I've spoken to the members of their families. I know their names. 25-year-old Ericson Kyalo was lying there in his white overalls, and police ignored him until the protesters took his body to the morgue just further down there.
David Chege, a Sandy school teacher. His body was there, his brain splattered on the ground, and again, it's these scenes that people have been so upset about with the government of President William Ruto. The police brutality they saw in the way that it dealt with the protesters.
And over here, this wall five months ago was completely down as protesters breached it and made their way into parliament. And on that grill, the body of Eric Kayoni was there. He was there. He was the University of Nairobi student. His family, as many of these families, were just devastated that.
What started out as young people agitating for a better Kenya ended with dozens of people killed as they did that, and that's something President Ruto addressed in his address. But for many protesters, it was not enough for them.
WHITFIELD: Wow. All right. Larry Madowo in Nairobi, thank you so much. All right. And now we want to give you an update on this breaking news. The Israeli Prime Minister's Office has just responded to the International Criminal court's arrest warrants. Benjamin Netanyahu's office calls the warrants for him and defense secretary -- Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant absurd.
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The statement says, Israel utterly rejects the absurd and false actions and accusations against it by the International Criminal Court, which is a politically biased and discriminatory body. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not yield to pressure, will not back down and will not retreat until all the goals of the war set by Israel at the start of the campaign are achieved, end quote.
And we'll continue to follow the story and bring you any developments as we get them. Indian billionaire Gautam Adani was indicted in New York Wednesday for his alleged role in a multi-billion-dollar fraud scheme. He was charged, along with seven other business executives, accused of offering more than $250 million in bribes for solar energy contracts with India's government. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout has more.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is the latest blow for one of the richest men in India. Billionaire Gautam Adani has been charged with bribery and fraud in a U.S. federal court in New York. Prosecutors say Indian conglomerate Adani and seven other executives including his nephew agree to pay over $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts.
According to U.S. officials, Adani personally met with an Indian government official to quote, advance the bribery scheme, which took place between 2020 and 2024. In a statement out on Wednesday, attorney Bryan Pease said this quote, the defendants orchestrated an elaborate scheme to bribe Indian government officials to secure contracts worth billions of dollars, and lied about the bribery scheme as they sought to raise capital from U.S. and international investors.
In a statement, the Adani group says the allegations are, quote, baseless and denied, adding this quote, all possible legal recourse will be sought, and we assure our stakeholders, partners and employees, that we are a law-abiding organization, fully compliant with all laws.
Now, the 62-year-old Adani started his career in Diamond trading. Now worth more than $85 billion he is one of India's richest men with an empire that extends from ports and power to media and clean energy. In February of 2023, the billionaire exuded confidence in this handout video.
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GAUTAM ADANI, CHAIRPERSON OF ADANI GROUP: The fundamentals of our company are very strong. Our balance sheet is healthy and assets robust. Our EBITDA levels and cash flows have been very strong. And we have an impeccable track record of fulfilling our debt obligations.
(END VIDEO CLIP) STOUT: The indictment comes more than a year after Hindenburg research accused Adani group of stock manipulation and accounting fraud, charges, the conglomerate has denied. The indictment has slammed shares in Adani group. It spurred one unit, Adani renewables, to scrub a proposed bond offering and its rocked Indian politics with the Indian National Congress, a rival of the ruling BJP, renewing calls for an investigation into Adani's companies. Kristie Lu Stout CNN, Hong Kong.
WHITFIELD: Australia is considering a ban on anyone under 16 using social media. Officials there call it a world leading reform to protect children from harmful content online. The legislation follows several high-profile cases of children taking their own lives after bullying. Hanako Montgomery reports.
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HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For all the positive connections, the joy social media can create. It can also quickly strip it away, destroy it forever.
KELLY O'BRIEN, MOTHER OF CHARLOTTE O'BRIEN: I will miss your eyes, your kisses, your love, your beautiful, beautiful smile.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): In September, 12-year-old Australian girl, Charlotte O'Brien, took her own life after years being bullied on social media. Her parents quickly joined a political fight to protect children from online harm. The Australian government says the best way to do that is to ban anyone under 16 from using social media.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: The social media is doing social harm to our young Australians, and I am calling time on it. The safety and mental health of our young people has to be a priority.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Under new legislation introduced to Australia's parliament, there would be consequences for social media companies caught systematically breaching the age restriction and other safety measures, fines reaching tens of millions of dollars, but children or parents won't be punished for breaking the new rules.
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Instead, the government says the ban will help moms and dads to say no, to young people who want to stay online.
BEN KIOKO, 14-YEAR-OLD SOCIAL MEDIA USER: Yeah. So being autistic, I have a really, really hard time connecting with others and doing that online makes it a lot easier. MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Some experts too say that a catch all approach may not be helpful.
JUSTINE HUMPHREY, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY: Even though the age is really fundamentally important that we need to get right, what we're talking about when we say we're going to introduce a ban by age is that it negates the fact that young people have very, very different levels of maturity. MONTGOMERY (voice-over): But advocates of the ban point to age limits on alcohol, gambling and smoking. Arguing, social media can be equally damaging for those too young to use it. Hanako Montgomery, CNN.
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WHITFIELD: And Thanksgiving is now fast approaching, and as many travelers are flying, one airline has come up with a way to deal with line jumpers. You've seen them, haven't you? We'll explain more after the break.
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WHITFIELD: All right, well thanksgiving, exactly a week away, millions of Americans will be traveling all around the country by plane. And American Airlines is hoping to crack down on line jumpers by using a new technology that will cut down the number of passengers who are cutting the line during the boarding process.
And it works by alerting a gate agent when a passenger is trying to board before they're assigned group. CNN's Pete Muntean has more.
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, this might be more necessary at American Airlines than any other airline, the largest airline in the U.S., it has 9. Count of 9 boarding groups, really 10, when you consider pre boarding. Group one. Boards first, if you're unfamiliar with this, those are those with first class tickets.
Group 9 boards last, folks with the cheapest basic economy tickets. Few ways to get status in between. Group 5, if you have an American credit card. Group 6, if you have a frequent flyer account, you can see why people might get confused or simply try to cut the boarding sequence.
And there's a name for those who do that. They are called gate lice. And now when the gate agent scans their boarding pass, an audible alert will go off, American says. And that passenger sent essentially to the penalty box as to rejoin the line when their group is called to simple piece of tech, it's on the gate agent smartphone.
And American has been testing this at some smaller airports like Albuquerque and Tucson, but also one of its bigger hubs, Reagan National Airport, just outside of D.C. here. And it says this will be rolled out at Austin-Bergstrom in Texas and Atlanta, Hartsfield- Jackson, the busiest airport in the U.S. in time for the holidays, and then about 100 additional airports beyond that.
The timing here is key. Americans expecting about 8.3 million passengers over the Thanksgiving rush on 77,000 flights. You may ask, what if I'm flying with somebody who's in an earlier group? An American says it has thought of that a gate agent has a button to override and accept that boarding pass.
Boarding is one of the biggest pain points for airlines. United changed its plans last year, starting to board some customers window seat first to speed things up. Southwest, which has been famous for its open seating policy, says it will abandon that in favor of assigned seating starting sometime next year, Fredricka.
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WHITFIELD: Yeah, let's watch out that is that would be really embarrassing. OK, thank you so much, Pete. All right, she has given us many laughs as Bart's uncool best friend Milhouse on the Simpsons, but after 35 years, voice actor Pamela Hayden is hanging up her mic. Simpson creator Matt Groening paid his respects to Hayden, saying she made Milhouse hilarious and real.
Milhouse was first introduced in 1989 named after Former U.S. President Richard Milhous Nixon. Groening said he chose the name as it was the most unfortunate name a kid could have. And finally, if you're short on cash, maybe you should just duct tape a banana, for instance, to a wall and call it art.
It could sell for millions. That's what happened with this banana duct taped to this wall on Wednesday. It's one of three works of art by artist Maurizio Catalan, appropriately titled comedian. It sold at auction to a Chinese collector and cryptocurrency tycoon for an astounding six and a quarter million dollars.
Are you kidding me? The auction house will send the buyer a roll of duct tape, a single banana, a certificate of authenticity and instructions for installing it on whatever wall he chose -- he chooses. OK, is that a deal? That's a deal. All right. Thank you so much for joining me here in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Fredricka Whitefield. I'm going to peel away now because it's time for "Connect the World" with Becky Anderson, up next.
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