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CNN This Morning

Iran Executes Second Protester; Putin Cancels News Conference; Afghan Refugees Could Face Deportation. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired December 13, 2022 - 06:30   ET

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

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[06:33:27]

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: These are live pictures out of New York and Washington this morning.

Welcome back, everyone, to CNN THIS MORNING.

Coming up, Iran carried out a second execution linked to protests sweeping the country. How the State Department is responding.

Plus, Vladimir Putin canceled his annual year-end news conference for the first time since 2013. What is behind that move?

And, Richmond's last confederate statue finally removed. We're going to take you to that moment straight ahead.

Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Also this morning, the State Department is condemning Iran for executing another protester involved in anti- government demonstrations. Just think about that, a government executing multiple protesters for protesting. That is what is happening in Iran right now. A court convicted the man of fatally stabbing two members of Iran's paramilitary force last month. His public hanging Monday came less than a week after another protester was executed.

Our Salma Abdelaziz joins us now from London.

Good morning.

What can you tell us?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Poppy, it seems that Iran is employing a brutal new tool to repress dissent. That is public executions. The second protester was hanged in the early hours of Monday morning. His body was seen hanging from a construction crane in the city to Mashad (ph). A clear message there to residents about speaking out against the government.

Now, authorities say he is alleged to have killed two members of the security forces, wounded several others. But the devil is in the details here, Poppy, because they claim that this occurred on November 17th.

[06:35:02]

That means he went from being a man accused to a man hanged in less than a month. Death penalty proceedings and an execution in under a month. That's why rights groups say he is the victim, and these executions are carried out by sham trials in courts that have very little due process with only one intention, to intimidate, to silence and to repress.

Poppy.

HARLOW: And on that point, Amnesty International, Salma, is reporting there are at least 17 other people right now in Iran at risk of execution connected to their protests.

ABDELAZIZ: That's absolutely the fear is that we could see another one of these executions in a matter of days. These first two occurred just a few days apart. And you have to remember, there are thousands of other detained protesters in Iran. So, the concern is that Iran could continue to use these executions as a way, again, to intimidate protesters.

But the question is, is it going to work? I would say absolutely not. Already these two executions, already these two men are becoming symbols of heroism and perhaps every more importantly symbols just how brutal Iran's government is.

Poppy.

HARLOW: Salma Abdelaziz, thank you for following all of this.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Also this morning, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is calling for hundreds of millions in aid to Ukraine as world leaders are gathering right now in Paris to talk about Ukraine's most immediate needs as a harsh winter is setting in. But this comes as we won't be hearing from President Putin in what has come to be an annual ritual, his end of the year press conference, which has really become kind of a hallmark of his time in power. Usually, a wide- ranging marathon kind of press conference that typically is stretched on for hours. Though there are questions, but maybe he doesn't want to answer questions about his war in Ukraine and the setbacks that he's faced.

CNN's Bianca Nobilo and Max Foster are joining us live from London.

You know, Max, this is - this is what Putin does at the end of almost every year, and I guess the question is, have they said why he's not going to be holding this press conference or have they said if they are going to reschedule it potentially?

MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR AND ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, no. This comes - there's also a public phone-in that happens once a year. That's been canceled as well. And it's the one chance that, you know, outside media, non-Russian media, really get a chance to ask him questions. So, it has been noted. The Kremlin isn't saying much about it. British intelligence, strangely, has got involved in this and they are suggesting that they are concerned the Kremlin - that it could be hijacked by unsanctioned discussions about the special military operation. Also saying it's likely to increase concerns about the prevalence of anti-war feeling in Russia. So, any sense of Putin being questioned, they're concerned not just what we think but what Russians think.

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: And it's quite remarkable when you consider this annual press conference that he does, as you say, Kaitlan, often goes on for four or so hours. It's still an act of political theater because who gets to ask questions remains controlled. So the fact that this isn't occurring just shows further restriction of press and media freedoms and even more censorship and probably in response to the fact that there hasn't been a good response to the draft in Russia and more and more questions being raised about the special operation which is grinding on and costing so many lives on Russian soil, too.

LEMON: Good morning, guys. This one I have to ask you because we were facing something very similar here in the United States.

HARLOW: Yes.

LEMON: And I'm talking about a rail strike. The U.K. is looking at a massive rail strike today and bad weather is slowing down or stopping airport traffic. That could have a huge impact on people there.

NOBILO: Massive. And the strikes are quite comprehensive. There are going to be strikes across ten industries this week. So, there's rail, buses, our national health service, nurses striking for the first time ever, as well as 10,000 ambulance workers too. And so the army's actually being trained to drive ambulances and familiarize themselves with those vehicles in the event that they need to step in. This is a time when Covid is increasing more pressure on the health system. We're expecting those medical strikes to be occurring across the Christmas period, from around the 21st to the 28th, as well as this weekend.

FOSTER: Yes, it's interesting, I also read that they're booking up all the taxis, the health service, to replace the ambulances, which is, again, causing even more chaos because people are trying to get taxis because they can't get trains.

LEMON: Wow.

FOSTER: It's grinding to a halt.

NOBILO: And they're speculating that around 1 million working days will be lost in December, around 500,000 working days in Britain were lost in October because of these strikes. It's having a huge economic impact as well at a moment when the country is facing inflation and an economic crisis.

LEMON: All right, we'll be talking about that in the days to come.

Thank you very much. Bianca and Max, appreciate it.

So, Afghans who helped Americans during the war are at risk of being deported unless Congress acts soon.

COLLINS: We're also getting a clearer picture of what it's been like since Brittney Griner has been back in the United States, back on American soil for the first time in two months. We have new reporting from CNN's Abby Phillip.

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That's next.

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HARLOW: Well, this morning, time is running out for thousands of Afghan allies of the United States. You'll remember, they escaped to the U.S. when American troops pulled out of Afghanistan and the Taliban quickly took over, putting all of their lives in danger. This could face -- they could face, though, deportation from America unless Congress acts.

Our very own colleague, Clarissa Ward, was on the ground -- you'll never forget that reporting -- to witness the chaotic scenes of Afghans trying to leave their country. This was a year ago.

Watch.

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CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think those images that you're seeing, and they're seared into all of our minds, speak to this desperation. How desperate, how petrified does an individual have to be to risk everything and just try to physically crush yourself on to the outside of an airplane?

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[06:45:02]

HARLOW: Many of the people who made it out and found a temporary home here in America assisted the American military in the 20-year war. But now those Afghan refugees, again, allies to the U.S. military, could be deported from this country if Congress does not pass something called the Afghan Adjustment Act.

Our senior political analyst John Avlon is here with more.

I'm so glad because I was, I think, probably like many Americans, not aware enough of how critical this legislation is, and - and soon.

JOHN AVLON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: That's right.

Look, this is the Afghan Adjustment Act, sometimes called AAA by its advocates, and it's designed to hope what people feel is a moral obligation American has to help our allies who served alongside America troops during America's largest war. Over 70,000 of them made it back to the United States after the fall of Kabul, which we saw there and the disastrous withdrawal. But they're under something called humanitarian parole -

HARLOW: Right.

AVLON: Which only lasts two years. And so additional actions need to be taking to make sure they have safe harbor here in the United States. And the clock is ticking. This has bipartisan support, but some folks oppose it because of the overall immigration debates. And it expires at the end of 2023. So, there's urgency.

COLLINS: And so it's this temporary authorization. A lot of it expires next year. But these people, they don't have a home to go back to. It's not like they have anywhere to go.

I was struck by what Chris Coons said about this. Obviously, he's a senator. He's a very close ally of President Biden's. The White House endorses this. It's some Republicans who have said there's security concerns.

AVLON: Yes.

COLLINS: And he talked about - he believes there's like a bias here because so many people have been so welcoming for Ukrainian refugees.

HARLOW: Oh, interesting.

COLLINS: Obviously saying, you know, it's a mostly white, majority Christian nation. But that has not been the same. And he said, the degree of support for Ukrainian refugees, it's appropriate. It's deservedly high. But he said, but for Afghans, even those who served alongside U.S. forces -

HARLOW: Yes.

COLLINS: They have struggled to garner the same level of support.

AVLON: I think that's so revealing. Look, America has a generous heart. I go back to the 1970s where Republican Governor Robert Ray in Iowa took the lead in welcoming, for example, Vietnamese refugees. But I think he makes an important point. We've been open-hearted. And look, we're a nation of immigrants. Welcoming refugees is - is the best of us, particularly when these folks risked their own lives to serve alongside American troops. So, this should be a no-brainer.

Now, it was taken out of the defense bill by some Republicans. There's concern about the overall immigration controversy. Now there's an attempt to put it in the ominous bill, not to get to washed in jargon.

HARLOW: Right.

AVLON: But the concern is, is that once Republicans take control of the House of Representatives, there may not be the political will to do this because of how much a third rail for some folks the immigration policy is.

HARLOW: But to Kaitlan's point, included in this legislation are a bunch of checks against crime. Did I miss something?

AVLON: No, no, no.

LEMON: No, no, this - I was - he saw me jumping in and this is like, no --

HARLOW: Oh, I'm sorry.

LEMON: Go for it.

HARLOW: I was just saying they're - they go through another round of vetting.

AVLON: Yes. Exactly.

HARLOW: If they've committed any crime in the United States, they're disqualified. They look into any links to drug trafficking or terrorism. Like, there's all of these safeguards.

AVLON: To address these concerns.

HARLOW: Yes.

LEMON: My - my thing is that the GOP, this is the bad - it's a bad message to send about immigration because - you know, the GOP will take over the House and there's concern, as you said, some people don't want to do it. But I think that Democrat, the White House and the GOP should be concerned. This is bad optics and it would just be bad for America if these people who helped us are not somehow given access to citizenship in this country.

AVLON: Yes, it's more than optics, right? This is about a moral obligation we have.

LEMON: Yes.

AVLON: These are folks who served alongside our troops in America's longest war and they can't go home, as Kaitlan said, to a country currently controlled by the Taliban. So, this is just the right thing to do. And this is an opportunity to do it. And it does seem like a no-brainer, particularly with all those provisions that Poppy just put - listed if folks are concerned about these issues.

Look, there's a larger conversation we can and should be having about immigration. You know, there's some immigration compromises which are even on the docket right now in the lame duck. You know, Senator Tillis (ph), Senator Sinema putting forward compromises.

Do more, but at the very least, do this, because there is a moral obligation.

LEMON: Thank you, John. Always a pleasure.

HARLOW: Thank you very much.

LEMON: Good morting (ph). HARLOW: All right. Well, Richmond, Virginia, is turning the corner on Monument Avenue. How the city, which once boasted about having the most confederate statues in the country -

LEMON: Wow.

HARLOW: Is about to have none.

COLLINS: Also, big news just came in. the SEC has now filed charges, moments ago, against Sam Bankman-Fried. He is the failed crypto king who was just arrested last night in the Bahamas. We'll tell you the charges. That's next.

LEMON: He was just laughing because he -

HARLOW: Thank you. Sorry.

LEMON: He looked at - no, no, that's -

AVLON: It was funny.

LEMON: I was - I kind of was doing this.

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[06:53:24]

LEMON: You know, it's the end of an era in Richmond, Virginia. The city removing its last-standing confederate monument. The former capital of the confederacy removed the bronze statue from a road's intersection which depicted Confederate Lieutenant General A.P. Hill who was killed in one of the last battles of the Civil War. Richmond's Monument Avenue, it's a long grassy mall with multiple statues honoring confederate figures, it's almost empty now. The last confederate statue, one of Robert E. Lee, was removed just last year. The only statue now standing has nothing to do with the Civil War. It is a monument dedicated to tennis legend and Richmond native Arthur Ashe. The city's mayor, Levar Stoney, says that Richmond used to be home to more confederate statues than anywhere in the country. But now that chapter is closed.

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MAYOR LEVAR STONEY (D), RICHMOND, VIRGINIA: We've done something that a lot of communities have struggled with. And I think a ton of people are ready to turn the page. And now that we can turn the page and focus on lifting more people up, becoming more inclusive and creating a place that everyone belongs.

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LEMON: So, the removal of the monument follows a legal battle brought by Hill's indirect descendants who said the monument shouldn't be anywhere since it had been built on top of Hill's burial site. In October, a court ordered the city to move Hill's remains to a local cemetery and the monument is now headed to the city's black museum. Now, confederate symbols that have been taken down across this country

since George Floyd's death in 2020 sparked a nationwide reckoning with police brutality and racism. But hundreds of monuments and markers still stand around the country, whether or not the states they stand were former members of the confederacy.

[06:55:04]

Many of them put up years after the Civil War in the early 1900s during the Jim Crow era. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, as of February, around 700 confederate memorials are still standing in the lower 48.

COLLINS: He went from crypto king to pariah in a matter of days, and now he has been arrested. The SEC has also charged Sam Bankman-Fried with defrauding investors. We have legal analysis on what this means, ahead.

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ALEXANDRA PELOSI, DIRECTOR, "PELOSI IN THE HOUSE": But my faith in humanity has been destroyed by all this. So, I have no idea if people are - are good.

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