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South Korea's Yoon Pressured to Resign After Martial Law Fiasco; Senior Trump Team Source: Hegseth Nomination in Trouble; Capital Tbilisi Rocked by Pro-EU Protests; NATO Foreign Ministers Hold Final Day of Meetings in Brussels. Aired 4-4:30a ET
Aired December 04, 2024 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:00:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The U.S., of course, has been in touch with the South Korean government.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What will be the president's next move amid growing anger across South Korea?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pete Hegseth now facing a tough road to become the next Secretary of Defense.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This nomination is doomed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need an FBI background check to evaluate the allegations.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go, Trump, get out!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This lady was progressively getting more and more irate and was ultimately restrained with handcuffs and yellow twist ties.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Max Foster and Christina Macfarlane.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us in the U.S. and around the world. I'm Max Foster.
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Christina Macfarlane. It's Wednesday, December 4th, 9 a.m. here in London, 6 p.m. in Seoul, South Korea, where the U.S. embassy is urging Americans to exercise caution as protesters demand the resignation of President Yoon Suk Yeol. Yoon abruptly declared martial law late Tuesday, only to rescind his order under pressure a few hours later.
FOSTER: The president says he did it to protect against anti-state forces and threats from North Korea. Now labor unions are threatening to strike unless Yoon leaves office. And six opposition parties have submitted an impeachment bill. Yoon's emergency order set off chaos in and around parliament as protesters and lawmakers clashed with troops who were blocking the building.
MACFARLANE: What you're watching here is video of one woman arguing with a soldier that has gone viral. As you can see, she tries to grab the rifle from the soldier shouting, Aren't you embarrassed? The South Korea's opposition party leader, who ran against Yoon in the 2022 presidential election, live streamed himself climbing over a fence to get into the parliament building.
Well, the protests are still taking place outside the National Assembly. But with martial law over, the situation now is much more relaxed.
FOSTER: Big question. Can President Yoon hang on to power? Well CNN's Ivan Watson reports now from Seoul.
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IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's very calm here right now. On the front steps outside South Korea's National Assembly. And that's all the more striking when you consider how dramatic the events were here overnight.
In the immediate hours after President Yoon Suk Yeol made his late night announcement on Tuesday, imposing emergency martial law, lawmakers flocked to this building. And at times they confronted some of several hundred military troops who tried to block them. And despite those confrontations managed to conduct a vote, 190 lawmakers voted to overturn the martial law decree.
And among them were at least 18 members of President Yoon's own People Power Party, which has largely condemned the emergency martial law decree in the hours since. In fact, by 4:30 in the morning on Wednesday, President Yoon had overturned his own decree.
So now you have people that have gathered here. Many of them are holding signs that say, Resign Yoon. Gathering for a rally here. Many of them very angry at what their president tried and now apparently failed to do.
His own party has called for the resignation of the defense minister. The president's chief of staff has resigned. And inside, opposition lawmakers have tabled a resolution calling for the impeachment of the president.
It has plunged this country into political uncertainty. But amid that, what is also striking is how little this seems to have impacted ordinary life in Korea. The airport was functioning normally this morning. And in Seoul, businesses were open. People were bustling around in the streets. Certainly talking about what has taken place, which was definitely a short-lived challenge to decades of democracy in this country.
[04:05:04] Ivan Watson, CNN, Seoul.
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FOSTER: Well, the White House expressing relief that South Korea's president lifted his martial law order. Reporters asked President Biden about the situation during his visit to Angola.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, anything on South Korea? Martial law?
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm just getting briefed on it. I'm just getting briefed (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, the National Security Council said in a statement, the U.S. was not notified in advance of the martial law announcement and is seriously concerned by the developments on the ground.
FOSTER: Well, U.S. defense officials say the martial law declaration had no real impact on American forces stationed in South Korea, though they're still being advised to avoid large crowds and non-essential travel.
MACFARLANE: A spokesperson for U.S. Forces Korea says personnel are also being told to avoid protests in government offices. Our Pentagon correspondent, Oren Liebermann, has more on the U.S. reaction to the unrest.
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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The Pentagon has been watching the situation in South Korea very closely, at least partially because of the massive U.S. military presence there at Camp Humphreys, some 28,500 U.S. troops there, in addition to all these civilian DOD personnel and the families that are there. So it is a major U.S. military presence, as well as a critical U.S. military alliance.
U.S. Forces Korea is led by a four-star general, General Paul La Camera. So that is part of the critical nature of the relationship between the U.S. and the South Koreans there. The U.S., of course, has been in touch with the South Korean government, and that includes military-to-military conversations here, according to the Pentagon, although they haven't detailed the extent of those conversations.
Throughout the hours that this took place, there were no changes to U.S. military force posture there and no additional rules or curfews that were imposed on U.S. service members there, according to the Pentagon. But this is a situation they're obviously watching and continue to watch very closely. And that, of course, includes because of North Korea. This is sort of
a situation where you might expect to see Kim Jong-un try to take advantage of this and carry out a ballistic missile launch or a drone launch or a military exercise that would sort of flex his muscle, especially because the South Korean president blamed what he called North Korean communists for the situation that led him to declare martial law.
But at least as of now, the Pentagon says they haven't seen any indication of any major change from North Korea. But of course, given -- frankly, given how sensitive the entire region is and given Kim's history of sort of taking advantage of a situation or a perceived insult and carrying out some sort of military test or exercise, this is something the Pentagon is still watching very closely.
Oren Liebermann, CNN, in the Pentagon.
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MACFARLANE: CNN spoke earlier with Kenneth Choi, international editor for the Chosun Daily newspaper, in Seoul. He explained the significance of President Yoon's short-lived martial law decree.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KENNETH CHOI, INTERNATIONAL EDITOR, THE CHOSUN ILBO: It's a very tragic moment right now. I don't know why the president made such a decision. You know, most, I mean, 99 percent of the population couldn't agree with this martial law decree.
And now he's, you know, facing this backlash. Obviously, this repercussion will go on for foreseeable time, because, you know, if the president is impeached, then, you know, it will go into the constitutional court. But, you know, right now, we don't have enough members in the constitutional court.
So the parliament has to appoint judges. So that will take some time. And then the constitutional court will, you know, make a decision whether, you know, the president should be impeached or not. That will take maximum three months.
Then after that, you know, we have to have another election. So the campaign period will take place. And next year, you know, if the president is impeached this month, we will have another presidential election next year.
So politically, yes, it is a huge crisis. Our economy is not doing well. And, you know, the politicians should be gathering together to get the economy, you know, up and running again. But, you know, because of this political turmoil, everything's going down the tube. And a lot of people are worried.
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MACFARLANE: Now, Donald Trump may be considering replacing his pick for secretary of defense. A senior transition team source tells CNN the nomination of Pete Hegseth is in trouble. The former Fox News host has been navigating multiple controversies and allegations.
And Senate Republican Lindsey Graham says Hegseth has a difficult road ahead if he wants to keep his nomination.
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SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Some of these articles are very disturbing. He, you know, obviously has a chance to defend himself here. But, you know, some of this stuff is going to be difficult. You know, time will tell. I like Pete, I've known him for a very, very long time.
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FOSTER: Well, multiple sources say Trump's allies are making a list of alternative picks in case the situation gets worse for Hegseth.
[04:10:00]
Amongst the names are Florida governor and former rival Ron DeSantis, Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, and Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty. CNN's Manu Raju has more now from Capitol Hill.
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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pete Hegseth now facing a tough road to become the next Secretary of Defense.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): Some of these articles are very disturbing.
RAJU (voice-over): The former Fox News host and military veteran has tried to weather a series of damaging stories about his personal conduct, including allegations of sexual assault.
RAJU: Are you concerned?
SEN. KEVIN CRAMER (R-ND): Of course, it's concerning, but I look forward to visiting with Pete about it I'm interested in who Pete Hegseth is today and who he is going forward.
SEN. MIKE ROUNDS (R-SD): We'll be asking questions, but look, the president always gets the benefit of the doubt on his nominees.
RAJU (voice-over): But there's little margin for error since just four GOP defections could derail the nomination, with all Democrats in the 53-47 GOP Senate likely to oppose him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This nomination is doomed.
RAJU (voice-over): Several GOP senators are undecided, including Joni Ernst, a survivor of sexual assault who has spoken out against such crimes in the military and told CNN today she planned to have a, quote, frank and thorough conversation with Hegseth later this week. All of it key demands amid undecided senators for more information about Hegseth's past.
RAJU: What's your level of concern about him right now?
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): As I've repeatedly said to you, I believe that we need an FBI background check to evaluate the allegations.
RAJU (voice-over): Hegseth has faced a series of damaging stories, including about a 2017 incident when a woman alleged he sexually assaulted her in a California hotel room. But no charges were filed as Hegseth entered into a financial settlement with the accuser and later contended their interaction was consensual.
PETE HEGSETH, TRUMP'S SECRETARY OF DEFENSE NOMINEE: The matter was fully investigated and I was completely clear.
RAJU (voice-over): This week, The New Yorker reporting that Hegseth was forced out of running two veterans groups over, quote, serious allegations of financial mismanagement, sexual impropriety and personal misconduct, including allegedly being intoxicated on the job. A Hegseth advisor called them outlandish claims from a petty and jealous former associate.
RAJU: Mr. Hegseth, can you respond to these allegations in The New Yorker article?
RAJU (voice-over): The last time the Senate voted down a cabinet nominee was in 1989. That's when George Bush's pick of John Tower to serve as defense secretary was defeated amid allegations of womanizing and drunkenness.
RAJU: Hegseth has faced similar allegations. Have the standards now just changed?
CRAMER: Well, I don't think there's much question that the tolerance for certain things has changed, but I would say in many respects, grace abounds all the more and I think that's not such a bad thing.
RAJU: One of the big questions that senators have is what is contained in a whistleblower report that was reported by The New Yorker magazine detailing allegations of misconduct that occurred while Pete Hegseth was running a veterans organization.
Roger Wicker, who's going to chair the Senate Armed Services Committee next year, which will be in charge of considering Hegseth's nomination, told me, quote, I'm sure we'll see it when I ask him if he wanted to see that whistleblower report as many other Republican senators and Democrats are curious about the contents underscoring the challenges that Hegseth has ahead.
Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Well, Donald Trump's pick to lead the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has withdrawn from consideration just three days after the president-elect announced his choice. FOSTER: In a post on X, Florida Sheriff Chad Chronister said he decided to withdraw, quote, as the gravity of this very important responsibility set in.
MACFARLANE: He said he appreciated the nomination and will continue working for the citizens of his country. He's now the second of Trump's picks to withdraw from a potential role in his new term following Matt Gaetz's decision not to seek the attorney general post.
FOSTER: Current President Joe Biden addressing America's horrific history of slavery while speaking at the National Museum of Slavery in Angola on Tuesday whilst acknowledging that slavery links the two nations. Biden's message is hopeful for the future.
MACFARLANE: Angola was the point of departure for millions of enslaved Africans. And Biden said his visit to the country is, quote, a reminder that no nation need be permanently the adversary of another.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: Our people lie at the heart of a deep and profound connection that forever binds Africa and the United States together. We remember the stolen men and women and children who were brought to our shores in chains subjected to unimaginable cruelty.
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FOSTER: President Biden will conclude his visit today with a tour of port facilities and a food processing plant, and meetings with regional leaders at a trade summit.
[04:15:00]
His visit, likely his final foreign trip as president. It's aimed at highlighting U.S. investments in Africa in the face of deepening Chinese influence in that region.
Now, NATO's foreign ministers are in the final day of their meeting in Brussels. Find out where they stand on membership for Ukraine and why some members are waiting to make a decision.
MACFARLANE: Plus, new details are emerging about how a Russian woman was able to stow away aboard a flight from New York to Paris. We'll have the details on how she avoided security.
FOSTER: A bit of a loo, apparently, as well.
The British royal family rolling out the red carpet, welcoming the Emir of Qatar, his wife. Coming up, King Charles' special message to the Qatari royals.
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FOSTER: More demos in Georgia. No slowing down there as police and pro-European Union protesters continue to clash in the capital, Tbilisi. For nearly a week now, the former Soviet Republic has been rocked by demonstrations after the ruling Georgian Dream Party announced it would delay EU membership talks until 2028.
[04:20:02]
MACFARLANE: Well, most Georgians support joining the EU and critics are accusing the government of following authoritarian and pro-Russian policies. More now from CNN's Matthew Chance.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After another night of mayhem on the streets of Tbilisi, the capital of the former Soviet Republic of Georgia is now torn between Russia and the West.
Protesters here furious their government seen as increasingly close to the Kremlin is delaying further talks to join the European Union.
NIA TKHELIDZE, PROTESTER: We should be the members of European family and unfortunately our government tries the best not to let us and not to allow us.
GIORGI BAGRATION DAVITASHVILI, PROTESTER: I think Georgian government thinks that Georgia is Russian and we will act as a Russian peoples do, and no one will come out in the street if others are beaten, and if others are disrespected. But they are wrong in this, you know, this is Georgia and Georgian people are not like that.
CHANCE (voice-over): For years now, the conservative ruling party, the Georgian Dream, has denied any formal links with the Kremlin. But by passing repressive laws like limiting civil society and gay rights similar to those in Russia, it's thrown into question the country's future with the West.
Over in Ukraine, a daily sobering reminder for Georgians of the price of defying Moscow. Georgia suffered a brief war of its own with Russia in 2008, but avoiding this devastation of their Ukrainian neighbors in a conflict that began with a popular uprising known as the Maidan, is what the Georgian ruling party says now justifies its crackdown.
IRAKLI KOBAKHIDZE, GEORGIAN PRIME MINISTER: So the attempt to organize the Maidan in Georgia is already over. I would call everybody to keep quiet, let's say, and to keep peace in this country. So we are responsible for that. I can assure everybody that there will be peace in this country.
CHANCE (voice-over): But that's not how it looks on the streets of the Georgian capital, with police and pro-Western protesters outside the embattled parliament in what looks like a pivotal standoff.
Matthew Chance, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Ukraine is pressing NATO's foreign ministers to extend an invitation for membership but their meeting in Brussels will likely end today without a decision. FOSTER: Ukraine's foreign minister insisting on membership to guarantee its security in the future and says an invitation would erase one of Russia's main arguments for starting the war which was to keep Ukraine out of the alliance. Ahead of the meeting, NATO chief Mark Rutte touted support for Ukraine arguing Moscow isn't interested in peace.
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MARK RUTTE, NATO SECRETARY-GENERAL: Ukraine is entering another crucial winter and Russia's aggression shows no sign of abating. Just the opposite. Putin is ramping up his rhetoric and reckless actions.
He is using Ukraine as a testing ground for experimental missiles and is deploring North Korean soldiers in this illegal war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, on the sidelines of the meeting, Latvia's foreign minister told Reuters that in principle, leaders have agreed Ukraine will be a member but she says some members aren't comfortable bringing in a country currently at war.
FOSTER: She said some are waiting to see where Donald Trump stands on the issue once he takes office. Trump has said he'd end Russia's war in Ukraine on the first day in office but hasn't explained exactly how.
MACFARLANE: Our Nic Robertson's joining us here. Nic, this is the rub essentially, isn't it? Because none of these members are likely to commit to this until the Trump administration takes office.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: And it's unlikely they'll get support from the Trump administration. It was interesting hearing David Lammy, the British foreign secretary, going into the NATO meeting this morning and talking about the need to spend more GDP on defense spending. This is, of course, Donald Trump's principal commitment of NATO in the past that they don't spend enough.
Lammy's saying we do 2.3 percent. We need to go to 2.5 percent. We need to see that across all NATO nations. So it's clear there's already this effort to win on board Donald Trump again when he gets into the White House. But from a point of view of support for Ukraine's membership of NATO, that really seems to be distant at the moment.
And you do get that sense that NATO members and Ukraine are trying to cram in as much support as possible in the immediate term.
And this was one of the questions to Mark Rutte going into the meeting this morning from a Ukrainian journalist saying, look, the foreign minister was here. He had dinner with you last night. He said, we've got these 19 critical energy infrastructure locations.
[04:25:00]
They need this important, vital air defense commitment. And can you give it? And this was Russia's reply to the journalist this morning.
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RUTTE: There was a clear agreement on the table last night that to help Ukraine, particularly with this infrastructure, has to be a priority. And I'm confident that allies will follow up in the coming days and weeks in making sure that whatever they can supply to Ukraine will be supplied.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTSON: But he also went on to say that, look, those supplies aren't unlimited. There isn't overflowing stocks of air defense systems. So I think the message here for Ukraine is you're getting a lot. And going forward, there is uncertainty, that they are astutely aware of that. But I think the framing that you get from NATO, from the Secretary-General today, he talked about it there as an escalation from Russia, not wanting peace, involving North Korean troops in the fight, testing missiles. But he also spoke about how Russia increasingly relies on China and Iran for military and financial support.
So framing it as an escalation where Trump is coming in, talking about peace in a day.
FOSTER: It's also an internal crisis, isn't there, when you consider that Germany and France are facing political turmoil and they are two key members, particularly France, when it comes to the Ukraine war.
ROBERTSON: Oh, absolutely. I mean, the economy in France is at the center of the current crisis. Michel Barnier, the current Prime Minister, been in for 57 days now, has been trying to push through an emasculated budget process.
And the left, the left bloc that did best in the snap elections called last summer, and the right-wing bloc that did better, both at the expense of the centrists in French politics, are at loggerheads over this. And there'll likely be a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister today. And that's something I've expected.
FOSTER: And the right, obviously, part of their campaign was to not keep resourcing the Ukraine war.
ROBERTSON: And in this way, they are getting a stake in controlling it. Because, you know, you create greater uncertainty in the French economy, one of the prime drivers in the European Union and within NATO, at the same time that Germany is experiencing those problems and other nations within NATO as well. And therefore, you foster the question centrally of what can we really afford to finance at a question, at a moment where Russia is effectively raising that price all the time by escalating.
MACFARLANE: Worth remembering that Donald Trump is, of course, due to visit Paris this weekend for the opening of Notre Dame, as they are due to hold this vote of no confidence today. What will happen next, Nic, if, you know, the vote puts Michel Barnier out? Will he stay on as caretaker? What's likely to come from this?
ROBERTSON: Yes, I mean, there's a bind in the country right now because the president can't call another election until the summer because you have to leave a year between the elections. So there's that. So he's stuck with the current government, which means he's stuck with the difficulty of finding another prime minister, which means effectively Barnier is stuck as being a caretaker until Macron can find another prime ministerial candidate that will have enough support across, again, the diminished center and with the increased left and right.
MACFARLANE: Very unlikely, given what we've seen.
FOSTER: And I'm seeing talk of a no confidence vote in Macron even because he is the architect of this government, which wasn't really what the public voted for if you look at the election results.
ROBERTSON: Look, Macron, I think the critics said last summer on a sort of a moment of hubris and feeling that he was going to be a weakened president after the European parliamentary elections, which showed a big surge in support for the right. He thought he would challenge them. And this is a challenge in a way that's been long coming.
But the way that he called it so quickly, and it did backfire on him because, again, the politics that he represents has been, or the parties and the politicians within the National Assembly have been diminished. So his gamble to call a snap election really backfired on him and left him on the back foot. So now even worse than being on the back foot, he may be facing this vote of no confidence also.
FOSTER: Fascinating.
Now, fresh off their games in Aleppo, Syrian rebels are moving south towards a key city. We'll have a live report.
MACFARLANE: And South Korea's president is facing possible impeachment. More on the next steps in that process just ahead.
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