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Backlash to Biden's Pardon; Opponents and Allies Weigh in On Controversial Pardon; Trump's Pick for FBI Director Plans Bureau Overhaul; How the Renewed Rebel Offensive in Syria Unfolded; Ukrainian Troops Defend Against Drone Attacks in Kursk; NATO Allies Pledge More Military Support for Ukraine. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired December 03, 2024 - 04:00   ET

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

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't lie to us. Don't tell us you're not going to do it and then do it. That's not what a president should be like.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a really important mistake.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think people will understand his act as a father but not as a president.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You get used to this kind of weather living here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've been lucky so I guess we're due.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is measured in feet and not inches during this event.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The music legend retired last year after decades of live concerts.

ELTON JOHN, SINGER, SONGWRITER: I've lost my eyesight so it's hard for me to see it but I'd love to hear it.

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ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Christina Macfarlane.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, warm welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Max Foster. It is Tuesday, December the 3rd, 9 a.m. here in London, 10 a.m. in Luanda, Angola where U.S. President Joe Biden is today far away from the lawmakers still processing his bombshell decision to grant his son Hunter a full and unconditional pardon.

You can see the document here with the president's signature at the bottom. First Lady Jill Biden remains in Washington where on Monday she fended off questions about the matter whilst unveiling the new White House Christmas decorations.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dr. Biden, what changed on the pardon for Hunter?

JILL BIDEN, U.S. FIRST LADY: Of course I support the pardon of my son. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Criticism for President Biden's decision continues to pour in even from some of his own allies.

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SEN. MARK WARNER (D-VA): I'm disappointed in terms of the signal it sends to faith in our American system and I'll leave it at that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You disappointed by the decision?

WARNER: Yes, I'm disappointed by the decision.

SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA): He didn't need to tell the American public I will not do this and he did and when you made a promise you got to keep it.

SEN. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (R-AL): Well, I'll put it this way. If it was my son, I'd pardon him too but here's what I didn't like. Don't lie to us. Don't tell us you're not going to do it and then do it. That's not what a president should be like.

SEN. LINSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I'm a human being. I know the Biden's and it's been done and let's look forward. All I can say is I'm ready to turn the page.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: CNN's Paula Reid has more on the reaction to Hunter Biden's pardon.

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PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even as President Biden publicly declared he wouldn't pardon his son.

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I said I abide by the jury decision. I will do that and I will not pardon him.

REID (voice-over): Sources tell CNN that people in the West Wing and those close to Hunter Biden believed a pardon was always coming. In June, Hunter became the first child of a sitting president to be convicted of a crime.

REID: The jury has found Hunter Biden, the president's son, guilty on all three counts in this case after three hours of deliberation.

HUNTER BIDEN: Good morning. REID (voice-over): After that historic conviction on gun charges, he

faced another federal case in Los Angeles on tax charges. But just hours before the trial was set to begin, he entered a surprise guilty plea on all of the counts he faced.

ABBE LOWELL, HUNTER BIDEN'S ATTORNEY: This plea prevents that kind of show trial that would have not provided all the facts or served any real point in justice.

REID (voice-over): Sources familiar with Hunter's legal strategy tell CNN he would not have pleaded guilty, exposing himself to the possibility of 17 years in prison and possibly more than a million dollars in fines without the expectation of some form of clemency.

And even as the White House repeatedly denied a pardon was on the table, one senior White House official told CNN they felt certain Biden would pardon his son before leaving office, saying, I know how much he worries about Hunter. Then, after the president spent the Thanksgiving holiday with Hunter, his wife and their son, Biden informed his staff about the pardon decision on Saturday night.

On Monday, the White House had no clear explanation for the president's flip flop.

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I can speak to where we are today, and so I can't speak to hypotheticals here. Where we are today, the president made this decision over the weekend. He thought about it. He wrestled with it.

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REID: Well, one former White House staffer asks the question, which is if it was so obvious that the president was going to pardon his son, why did he and the White House pretend otherwise for so long?

And we do not have an answer to that question. But another source points to the fact that, look, the president did allow David Weiss, who began investigating Hunter in the Trump administration, allowed him to continue his work, allowed the Justice Department to bring two cases against his son.

They argue that this pardon should not undermine the lengths that Biden went to, to allow the DOJ to act independently. But again, that was not the message from the White House over the past year. And their contradictions have now made this pardon a far greater controversy.

Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Speaking with CNN, former U.S. federal prosecutor Jeffrey Toobin says, while so not intended, President Biden's decision to pardon his son speaks volumes about privilege and preferential treatment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: The prosecution came down very hard on him. But it's important to remember that he was guilty of these 12 felonies. You know, nine that he pleaded guilty to, three was convicted by a jury.

Lots of people get leaned on by the federal government in this country. Lots of people plead guilty in difficult situations are convicted and they don't get pardons. This president in particular has been very stingy about pardons.

He's only granted 25 other pardons when other presidents have granted substantially more. So the idea of singling out his son, I think, just sends a terrible message about who gets preferential treatment in this country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: And that pardon will last partly -- will at least partly overshadow the U.S. president's Africa trip. Joe Biden is now the first U.S. president to visit Angola. Next hour, he's expected to take part in an arrival ceremony and meet with the Angolan president.

He'll also deliver remarks at the National Slavery Museum in the capital, Luanda. President Biden's seeking to highlight the United States' commitment to sub-Saharan Africa and efforts to boost investment as China makes deep inroads into that region.

Some of Donald Trump's cabinet picks are spending this week on Capitol Hill ahead of their confirmation hearings. They include Attorney General pick Pam Bondi, who met with Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina on Monday. He's currently the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee and likely to be chairman come January. Trump's choice for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is also expected to make the rounds on Capitol Hill.

And one of Trump's most recent picks, Kash Patel, as FBI director, is getting a lot of scrutiny. CNN's Sara Murray reports.

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SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Donald Trump's bombastic pick to run the FBI --

KASH PATEL, DONAL TRUMP'S PICK FOR FBI DIRECTOR: The FBI's footprint has gotten so freaking big.

MURRAY (voice-over): -- already has some controversial ideas for overhauling the bureau.

PATEL: I'd shut down the FBI Hoover building on day one and reopening the next day as a museum of the deep state. And I take the 7,000 employees that work in that building and send them across America to chase down criminals. Go be cops. Your cops, go be cops.

MURRAY (voice-over): In choosing Kash Patel to lead the law enforcement agency, Trump picked a loyal firebrand who has vowed to take on the so-called deep state, which Patel claims is made of journalists, big tech, elected leaders and senior government bureaucrats.

PATEL: And our biggest enemy against that truth is the deep state. And we are on a mission to annihilate the deep state.

MURRAY (voice-over): He's also shown a taste for retribution including over false claims of 2020 election fraud.

PATEL: We will go out and find the conspirators not just in government, but in the media. Yes, we're going to come after the people in the media who lied about American citizens who helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections. We're going to come after you, whether it's criminal or civil. Well figure that out.

MURRAY (voice-over): He's been a public defender and a federal prosecutor in the Justice Department's National Security Division. During the first Trump term, he worked on the National Security Council and then as chief of staff to the acting defense secretary.

PATEL: We're blessed by God to have Donald Trump be our juggernaut of justice, to be our leader, to be our continued warrior in the arena.

MURRAY (voice-over): Patel defended Trump against the charges he faced in the now dropped, classified documents case.

PATEL: They can take what they want. You can't be prosecuted for possessing classified documents.

MURRAY (voice-over): And while he's claimed violent offenders from January 6th deserve punishment, he's defended others charged in relation to the riot at the U.S. Capitol.

PATEL: Their lives have been destroyed by the Justice Department because of a political vendetta they want to enact through the justice system to take out Trump.

MURRAY (voice-over): As for his other endeavors, Patel has a line of apparel as brash as its creator, with items featuring his signature K$H. He also penned a children's trilogy apparently dedicated to Trump, the quote, "King" of the series.

The most recent installment describes the tale of the, quote, MAGA King and his journey to quote, take down Comma-la-la-la and reclaim his throne.

Patel's book for adults, government gangsters, now, his rallying cry for reform.

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PATEL: I am going to go on a government gangster's manhunt in Washington, D.C. for our great president, who's coming with me?

MURRAY: Of course, to assume that role, he's going to have to be confirmed by the Senate. And there's also the awkward issue of what to do with the current FBI director. Christopher Wray is still in the midst of a 10-year term, a term that's designed to insulate FBI directors from the kind of political wrangling that we're seeing now.

So in order for Kash Patel to take over, Trump is either going to have to fire Christopher Wray or Wray will have to step aside.

Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.

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FOSTER: Syrian and Russian forces intensifying their aerial assault on opposition fighters after significant rebel gains in northern Syria. The U.N. says Syrian army airstrikes have killed dozens of civilians, injured many more, and displaced nearly 50,000 people in less than a week. Syria's long-running civil war has resulted in several groups with areas of heavy influence inside the country, everything in pink, still controlled by the regime.

Kurdish forces have a strong presence, though, in that yellow area. Large parts of Aleppo and Idlib provinces in green are in rebel hands. The head of the internationally recognized Syrian opposition made this vow from Istanbul.

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HADI AL-BAHRA, HEAD OF INTERNATIONALLY-RECOGNIZED SYRIAN OPPOSITION (through translator): We see that if the regime does not respond to the people's demands, this military operation will continue. We will liberate our lands and restore the rights of the Syrian people, all the Syrian people.

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FOSTER: Surprise rebel offensive is the first time in eight years that opposition forces have seized territory in Aleppo, shattering the stalemate of a war that never really ended. CNN's Katie Polglase takes us through the events of the past few days.

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KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Over the weekend, there was a major shake-up in the Syrian civil war. Rebel forces entered Aleppo for the first time in nearly a decade. It is a major achievement in their fight against the Syrian regime, led by President Bashar al-Assad.

Aleppo is Syria's second largest city, and they took it in a matter of days. Here's what we know so far about what happened.

Rebel fighters had been fighting near Aleppo for days, and just the day before, on Thursday, this video shows they were less than five kilometers from the city's entrance.

By Friday, we see fighters arriving at the western entrance to Aleppo. You can see this distinctive arch in the background. The sunlight indicates it's late afternoon. Further along the same street, we see them racing into the city. As they enter, many are on foot. At this point, regime forces are nowhere to be seen here.

By early evening, even closer to the city center, the fighters get hold of a loudspeaker and start addressing local residents, telling them not to be afraid. As it gets dark, they reach Al-Basel roundabout and take down the regime flag. By geolocating videos of this route, we can see that they are riding in the west, and by nightfall, they've taken more and more of the city.

Imagery shows they reach as far north as al-Rahman Mosque. And they take the citadel much further east.

On Saturday morning, the offensive gets bolder. A statue of President Bashar al-Assad's brother is toppled at Al-Basel roundabout. But now the regime is striking back. An airstrike hits the same roundabout within hours.

Journalists in the city told CNN there were civilian casualties. The rebels fight on, even entering Aleppo International Airport. Still, the strikes by the regime continue, this one by the hospital.

The strikes are delivered not only by Syrian airplanes, but Russian ones too, a key regime ally. As the situation on the ground continues to evolve rapidly, and with the regime's main allies, Russia and Iran, being occupied with other wars, the question is whether these rebels can retain the land they have so quickly gained. And what will this mean for the civilians of Aleppo, who will inevitably bear the brunt of this fighting?

Katie Polglase, CNN, London.

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FOSTER: Catherine, the Princess of Wales will undertake her biggest engagement since returning to royal duties after chemotherapy. Buckingham Palace saying she'll join Prince William in welcoming the Emir of Qatar to the U.K. today. The Emir and his wife in London for a two-day state visit.

Catherine's involvement in the ceremony marks another step in her return to official duties, since ending chemotherapy treatment following her cancer diagnosis. But still some concern about the Queen, Camilla, who's had to scale back her involvement because she's got a chest infection.

Still to come, the U.S. and Germany pledge new military aid for Ukraine as the war against Russia heads into yet another brutal winter.

Plus, TSA says it screened a record number of air travelers in the U.S. during the Thanksgiving holiday. We'll have those numbers for you just ahead.

[04:15:03] And Christmas decorations are up at the White House. Look at that. We'll have more on what the U.S. First Lady's saying about this year's holiday theme. Can you work it out?

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FOSTER: Protests in Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, stretched into the early morning after a fifth consecutive night of demonstrations. They began last week after the government suspended talks on joining the European Union until 2028. The former Soviet state's outgoing pro- Western president, who's been calling for fresh elections since a contested vote in October, says security forces are violating basic human rights. Protesters have faced a violent crackdown by police using tear gas and water cannon that's alarmed international watchdogs.

And the U.S. has announced a new $725 million military aid package, meanwhile, for Ukraine in the same region. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says it'll include stinger missiles, HIMAR rockets and anti- personnel mines. It's part of the Biden administration's efforts to bolster Ukraine's defenses before Joe Biden's time in office ends next month.

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Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also reaffirmed his country's support for Ukraine on a visit to Kyiv, promising to deliver more air defense systems next year.

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OLAF SCHOLZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): My visit to Kyiv today made one thing very clear to me. Ukraine will prevail. We have talked not only to the current American administration, with which we had a very good cooperation in this regard, but we've also talked to the future president, Donald Trump, too. I believe that we can set on developing joint policies.

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FOSTER: Other military aid can't come soon enough for Ukrainian forces, as troops on the front lines try to hold off swarms of Russian drones. CNN's Nick Payton Walsh reports from Kursk on Ukraine's defensive efforts there.

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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They have a three-second window, rushing out with a U.S.-supplied stinger and an ageing anti-aircraft gun to shoot down Russian attack drones in the fleeting moment they fly overhead in range.

WALSH: Three kilometers from them.

WALSH (voice-over): They could hit that and prepare to, but the radar is wrong and they pause to hear it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translated text): Turn there.

WALSH (voice-over): So reposition the entire truck, but suddenly the drone has vanished. It sounded like a decoy, but that usually means others are coming and the sky is filling up with drones in the next region. A month ago, the targets here seemed endless.

November was a record month for drones across Ukraine, that usually crash into towns, not this empty field. Their sound slices through the dark.

WALSH: It was pretty low and close and while they think this is Ukrainian drones headed for Russia, the Russians also use this moment to take the same routes to try and sneak their drones in.

WALSH (voice-over): Right now, a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia is underway, so they've been forbidden, even if they could, to fire. Each night, they watch Russian drones weave their complex way out of their tiny range. When the defenses fail, the icy silence breaks.

Moscow, pummeling the border town Sumy, here with a cluster munition missile that killed 12 in an apartment block because Ukraine is still inside Russia, holding positions in Kursk.

This thermal drone image shows, just hours earlier, the dawn's fight in Kursk for Aleksandr.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translated text): The assault teams came in the dawn grey. There was almost no contact. We worked with birds (drones). Then the infantry simply swept them up.

WALSH (voice-over): In the positions they've hit, no sign of the North Korean troops meant to be in Kursk. Instead, Chechens, even African mercenaries, but above all, endless waves of Russians.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translated text): I have the impression they have unlimited people It's like the next Russians don't know what happened to the previous Russians. So they go there, into the unknown.

WALSH (voice-over): His Humvee is a mess, he hasn't slept for three days, and shelling has damaged his hearing. But he knows what he'd say to President-elect Donald Trump.

When Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons in the 90s, we were promised protection.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translated text): You took away our nuclear weapons? You promised up protection? Yes, in simple terms, so keep your word. We're being slaughtered, and you're still trying to play games, to defend you interests. You have to give everything you could to end this war in two days. Who will believe the words of the U.S. or England, who are pissing themselves in front of Russia? Pardon my English.

WALSH (voice-over): Confident they can hold out in Kursk, less confident of how long the West expects them to.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Sumy, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: And Salma Abdelaziz joins us now to discuss the developments of NATO meetings in Brussels. I mean, we're going to go back to the same point that, you know, Biden is a lame duck, almost.

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, and we have Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who's just arrived in Brussels for this foreign ministers meeting. I believe we have images to show you of him getting there.

This could potentially be his last major meeting here with NATO foreign ministers before, as you mentioned, of course, he is on the way out. He, just before arriving in Brussels yesterday, I believe, announced this massive new aid package for Ukraine, more than $720 million. And what is unique about this package is that it's part of what is called presidential drawdown.

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And it means that President Biden can take from the U.S. stock, U.S.'s own arsenal of weapons and send that straight to Ukraine. That makes it much quicker for it to get on the ground.

FOSTER: Trump wouldn't be able to reverse that if he does it before.

ABDELAZIZ: And President Trump would not be able to reverse that. And all of this, of course, laying the groundwork that President Biden wants to lay for Ukraine to be as supported as possible before President Trump enters the Oval Office. You can, of course, expect Secretary of State Antony Blinken and European allies to say, we are with Ukraine. We stand with Ukraine. They're going to continue to announce that support.

But standing alongside them today is going to be Ukraine's foreign minister. He recently wrote a letter asking for NATO to formally invite Ukraine to NATO and to set out a timeline for that membership. That's something, so far, NATO has been unable or unwilling to do. Yes, they've said Ukraine will join, but never have they said when or how or how that plays out.

And now, more than ever, there's uncertainty over that, of course, with President Trump and European leaders preparing for that possibility.

FOSTER: There's some speculation that this negotiation Donald Trump is talking about might involve Ukraine membership in return for Russia keeping hold of some of the land.

ABDELAZIZ: Look, there's a lot swirling about what could potentially take place. We won't know until President Trump's in office. But we do know that he's made a pick. General Kellogg, he's the one who's going to be in charge of the Ukraine file. He has written strategy papers that indicate that he would be willing, if he was in charge, that he would be willing to barter and trade with Russia. So is there something in terms of maybe lowering sanctions in order to bring Russia to the table?

How do you provide Ukraine with that guarantee of security? Because you're going to hear that term over and over again, the security guarantee. How does Ukraine ensure that it is not attacked by Russia?

All of these are very complicated things. In the meanwhile, all you're going to see is everyone shoring up their support ahead of any speculation as to what Donald Trump will do.

FOSTER: And just explain why Russia's got such an issue with Ukraine, in particular, joining NATO. It would create a border, it would border a NATO country, Russia. So it's going to be a red line, isn't it?

ABDELAZIZ: Yes, just like the West has said, we are concerned about Russian aggression. We are concerned about Russian expansionism. What Moscow is saying is we are concerned about NATO aggression and NATO expansionism.

As you said, that would bring NATO right up to Russia's border. If Ukraine did join NATO, it would also trickle Article 50 in NATO, which is the requirement that if any nation is attacked, that all nations would have to defend it that are part of NATO. That's why Ukraine has yet to join NATO.

Look, joining NATO is a long process. It would take many, many years. We do not even yet have a formal invitation.

Even if that took place, it would be unlikely that all of that would fall into space before President Trump ends his time in office. For now, it is about the conflict and how moving forward Ukraine can defend itself and prevent Russia from taking any further gains. Absolutely, Russia has momentum on the ground now.

You saw that report from Nick Paton Walsh in Kursk. Those troops are suffering, they are struggling and they are outmanned and outgunned by a superior military.

FOSTER: OK, Salma, thank you so much.

Donald Trump is planning his first overseas trip since winning re- election. Find out where he's heading this weekend, just ahead.

Plus, why Elon Musk's multi-billion dollar Tesla pay package was blocked by a judge for the second time.

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