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CNN This Morning
Pence Won't Appeal Judge's Order To Testify In DOJ's Jan 6th Probe; Cash App Founder Killed In San Francisco Stabbing Attack; CNN Goes Inside Nuclear-Powered Warship On Alert For Threats From China. Aired 6:30-7a ET
Aired April 06, 2023 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[06:30:00]
POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: What about politically for him? It's so interesting because this decision not to fight on appeal, the former president may still appeal and try to claim executive privilege. But there are - that doesn't always hold. It's interesting to me that Pence is not going to fight this in terms of what's the political calculation is he and his family decide if he's going to, you know, make the make the leap?
GEOFF DUNCAN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, politically speaking, you know, he's got a chance to kind of thread this needle, right? And he's got to do a lot of work to do it. But he can claim the political wins, the conservative policy wins that Donald Trump had, but then separate himself from the chaos that Donald Trump has had.
And I don't know if he can do it or not, it's going to be difficult.
HARLOW: Can he thread the needle. I mean, that's the needle he's been trying to thread. He did it again, in this great interview that our Wolf Blitzer did with him last week. But the thing is, he wrote a book and talks about a lot of things and then didn't agree to talk to Congress about it in their probe.
DUNCAN: Yes, there's certainly some confusing decisions made along the way, but he's got a chance to do it and not to say it's going to be easy, but there's a chance that he can try to pull it off.
HARLOW: OK, so let's move on to Georgia and what's happening here. And there are three additional probes happening in addition to the charges we saw in the indictment of Trump in New York. And one of them is right here. It's Fani Willis' probe, and the famous phone call to the Secretary of State's office that Trump made asking them to find the votes.
Do you think that what happened in New York Bragg's indictment makes Fani Willis' job here harder?
DUNCAN: Yes, certainly. Her job got harder when that indictment came out, and folks realized it was much weaker than probably anticipated.
HARLOW: That's your opinion. DUNCAN: Yes, that's certainly my opinion. And there's more, there's more work to come. But we're not going to really hear the details of the rest of this until December. And so certainly her job got tougher. But this--
HARLOW: But why did her job get tougher? Because they're totally separate independent probes. Do you mean tougher in the sort of public opinions here?
DUNCAN: This stuff, the public opinion sphere does matter, right? And certainly the optics of this does matter. Now the legalities of it -
HARLOW: Doesn't matter legally, right?
DUNCAN: Well, legally, I think that's her - that's her biggest separation. This is her - her charges that she's trying to investigate are real, right. RICO statutes, racketeering these are things that organized crime families have to deal with. And so she's got a real case. I - I'm not worried that if she brings indictment forward, it will be a swing and miss. I think if Fani Willis brings it forward, she's been very methodical, very calculated in this.
She's not been in a rush to get it to market.
HARLOW: But I have to push back on that. It sounds like you're saying without saying it that you think Bragg has been those things. But he - he declined to pursue this a year ago, in order to take more time on it.
DUNCAN: Yes, I think you're - you're watching not just Republicans, but even disappointed Democrats that thought that there was going to be more of a case brought forward. I think -
HARLOW: Who?
DUNCAN: Well, certainly there's - there's a number of folks all across the ecosystem inside of politics that were thinking that this case in Manhattan was going to be stronger. I think Donald Trump received a tailwind of epic proportions.
HARLOW: A tailwind of epic proportions?
DUNCAN: In the primary.
HARLOW: You have criticized -
DUNCAN: Oh, for certain I'm not happy about that. But in the primary, but I think Donald Trump still has a math problem. Right? So he's gained this tailwind in the primary process, but his math problem is the 2024 general election, right?
All these voters that were with him now, he only won by 78,000 votes in three states in 2016. 2018, a week showing in the in the midterms. 2020 obviously lost at least I feel that.
HARLOW: Oh, he lost. DUNCAN: Well, yes, we agree on that. 22, obviously, the midterms were significantly disappointing for the folks that he endorsed. And so those voters aren't coming back to him all of a sudden, just because of this Manhattan DA's outcome or, or the indictment process. And so he's got a math problem. And that leads to disaster for - for Republicans like me that want to run Joe Biden professionally out of the White House.
HARLOW: But this made it more likely hopefully, the GOP nominee for President--
DUNCAN: Certainly didn't make it harder for him. And if I'm a Ron DeSantis, a Nikki Haley or others that are out there thinking about, you know, who are obviously really running, you know, I'm certainly not happy about what's going on. It's a tailwind. And like I said earlier, this is this was probably the largest campaign contribution ever to somebody running for president. This Alvin Bragg situation.
HARLOW: Wow. We'll watch. There's a lot more we don't know that we will see in the coming months Lieutenant Governor Jeff Duncan, thank you.
DUNCAN: Absolutely.
HARLOW: Good to have you. Guys, back to you.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thanks, Poppy. This morning, police are searching for the person who stabbed the founder of Cash app to death. Latest in the investigation how it's reigniting concerns about crime in San Francisco.
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[06:35:00]
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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: A manhunt is underway in San Francisco this morning after police say that the founder of Cash App, Bob Lee was fatally stabbed on Tuesday morning. Tributes have been pouring in ever since they confirmed his death. He was a well-known 43-year old tech executive and business leaders are criticizing the city's approach to public safety in the face of increased crime there after the pandemic.
CNN's Veronica Miracle is live in San Francisco. Veronica I think the big question is morning is do police, do investigators have any leads as of this moment?
VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kaitlan, some who knew Bob Lee are speculating that this was a random and violent attack but as of this morning the San Francisco Police Department has not released any information around the circumstances around his death or any suspect information.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MIRACLE: A crime scene blocks from Google's San Francisco office. The victim, 43-year old Bob Lee, a tech executive himself, the founder of Cash App and the first Chief Technology Officer of Square. Lee was stamped Tuesday. Friends of Lee say, while walking in a downtown neighborhood around 2am.
JAKE SHIELDS, FRIEND AND MMA FIGHTER: You know were both going to hang out tomorrow night. That's a little strange. It just happened. My mind is still processing it you know. When you lose someone you're like damn, this is not expected. I know he had two - two daughters as well that he loved.
[06:40:00]
MIRACLE: Lee's father honored his son on Facebook writing Bob would give you the shirt off of his back. Bob Lee had recently moved to Miami with his father who wrote I'm so happy that we were able to become so close these last years.
Lee was known in the industry as crazy Bob for his tenacious energy. His latest employer, the Crypto firm MobileCoin, tweeted this photo calling Lee, a child of dreams and whatever he imagined no matter how crazy he made real.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not a city where anybody should fear for their lives at 2:30 in the morning.
MIRACLE: The killing has renewed anger in San Francisco over perceptions that the city isn't safe. On Twitter, Elon Musk claimed, "many people I know have been severely assaulted, then push the District Attorney to do more to incarcerate repeat violent offenders.
JOEL ENGARDIO, SAN FRANCISCO SUPERVISOR: And for too long, the leaders of San Francisco have ignored the basics.
MIRACLE: Joel Engardio worked on the successful recall campaign of the previous progressive DA last year, then won a City supervisor seat, defeating the incumbent by running on a public safety agenda.
ENGARDIO: Residents are feeling like the city is not working for them. And they just want clean streets, safe streets and good schools and they don't understand why the city hasn't been able to deliver.
MIRACLE: Still violent crime overall is falling in San Francisco compared to previous decades. This is the 12th homicide this year according to police data. Baltimore with fewer people reports nearly 70 but property crime is high in San Francisco. In 2020, there were more than 4000 incidents per 100,000 people. That's nearly three times the rate of New York City.
Friends of Bob Lee say all that matters now is the one crime that has them in mourning.
SHIELDS: He's a humble, nice guy you know talks about his kids a lot, family, just a generally good guy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MIRACLE: And Kaitlan, San Francisco Mayor London Breed told CNN in a statement this city is committed to public safety. She pointed to a recently passed supplemental budget that increases the number of police officers in local neighborhoods. Kaitlan.
COLLINS: Yes.
LEMON: Just an awful, awful story.
COLLINS: And to see his dad saying, you know, it feels like he lost his best friend, which is terrible. Veronica, thank you for that.
LEMON: This morning, our Will Ripley is taking us inside one of the most powerful submarines on the planet that's on high alert for threats from China.
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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The USS Mississippi like all of America's nuclear submarines can essentially sustain itself under the water for weeks or even months at a time because of the nuclear reactor that powers them.
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[06:45:00]
HARLOW: Welcome back. Now to a CNN exclusive report, an inside look at the cutting edge technology and life on board one of the U.S. nuclear submarines at the center of the U.S., UK and Australia's AUKUS pact. The vessels of the world's most elite technology as crew members prepare for the possibility of conflict with China. Our Will Ripley takes us inside.
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RIPLEY: Our journey begins in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the bustling hub of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, covering almost half the world. 100 million square miles, 1500 aircraft and around 200 ships, including more than half of the Navy's nuclear powered submarines. Today we're getting an exclusive look inside the USS Mississippi, one of the most powerful warships on the planet.
With a crew of around 140 people, Rear Admiral Jeff Javelin is Commander of the Pacific Fleet Submarine Force facing new powerful threats in the hotly contested Indo Pacific. Are you concerned about what China's Navy is doing particularly in the South China Sea and around Taiwan?
REAR ADM JEFF JABLON, COMMANDER, U.S. PACIFIC FLEET SUBMARINE FORCE: I am concerned. You know in today's world, we are facing two nuclear peer adversaries where we've never had that before. The Soviet Union and post-Soviet Union Russia was our peer adversary. We're now facing China which has expanded and modernized their nuclear capabilities.
RIPLEY: The Mississippi is one of 49 fast attack submarines in the U.S. naval fleet. The fleet also has 14 larger submarines carrying nuclear armed ballistic missiles. The U.S., UK and Australia's newly announced AUKUS partnership will send nuclear powered submarines to Perth, potentially challenging China's ambitions for the region.
Beijing now has the world's largest navy. But U.S. submarines have the world's most advanced technology, a key advantage in underwater warfare.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mississippi is ready to dive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dive.
RIPLEY: This sub is capable of diving deep and fast descending hundreds of feet in a matter of seconds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 300 feet.
RIPLEY: At angles of up to 25 degrees. Even standing up can be a challenge. Traveling underwater makes the submarine almost impossible to detect. The nuclear reactor is so quiet, the submarine makes less noise than a whale. In the dark depths of the ocean, there's no light to navigate.
The team relies on highly sensitive sonar.
JABLON: Well, the ocean environment is very unforgiving. So there are a lot of challenges that prevent a submarine from hearing another submarine or another surface ship. And you've got to be able to understand those different challenges.
RIPLEY: The USS Mississippi like all of America's nuclear submarines can essentially sustain itself under the water for weeks or even months at a time because of the nuclear reactor that powers them. They breathe recirculated air and purified water. The only thing that they need to actually get resupplied with is food for the crew members.
And that means that they get used to spending a very long time not only without sunshine and blue skies but also without regular communication or conversations with their families.
[06:50:00]
The food on submarines is surprisingly good but spending months under water can be tough. No mobile phones allowed outside communication only possible on emails. Sailors have to look after each other.
What most surprised you about life and working on a submarine?
STEVEN WONG, CREW MEMBER, USS MISSISSIPPI: Honestly, what surprised me the most was like the people. How close you get with each other, these kind of the shared hardships - you end up with a really strong bond.
RIPLEY: The crew relies on that bond carrying out complicated, dangerous tasks. Inside the torpedo room, technicians practice loading high precision weapons, capable of taking out other submarines and ships. At the back of the sub Jack O'Brien works with a team of technical engineers. Do you ever get bored on a sub?
JACK O'BREIN, CREW MEMBER, USS MISSISSIPPI: No, absolutely not. Every day I come in thinking I know what I'm thinking that I know exactly what's going to happen, what I got to do.
RIPLEY: Rear Admiral Jablon says deterrence is the key objective, even winning a war against an increasingly powerful China would likely result in devastating losses for both sides.
JABLON: I'm confident that should we be called upon to fight that hopefully that will never happen that we would win.
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RIPLEY: Submarines like the USS Mississippi are constantly preparing for war. Ready at a moment's notice for whatever the future holds. Will Ripley, CNN, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
HARLOW: Unbelievable.
LEMON: Yes.
HARLOW: Guys, you know, I kept just thinking, is that the Hunt for Red October? Do you remember that movie?
COLLINS: Yes.
HARLOW: But the real thing.
COLLINS: But it's real and the idea, their capability is amazing. They basically have unlimited range. That was such a cool look.
LEMON: I was just in awe of Will standing you know, on the top of a submarine going across the water, pretty cool.
COLLINS: It's amazing.
LEMON: Pretty cool.
COLLINS: All right, something that is still cool. Maybe not as cool as a nuclear powered submarine, the Masters at Augusta, 87th Masters actually tournament that is teeing off in just a few hours. All eyes as always at a golf tournament will be on Tiger Woods. Questions about whether or not it's one of his final Masters. We'll take you live to Augusta next.
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[06:55:00]
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That sure sounded like a hole in one. (inaudible) over our shoulders, across the pond. This is Seamus Power on nine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just slope, come back down, at the proper speed. Looks good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seamus Power.
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COLLINS: Can you do that?
LEMON: That is - that's not real. Come on. Is that what did we call it, the AI?
COLLINS: No, no, that's real. It is that time of year again that Seamus Power had back to back holes in one ahead of the 87th Masters tournament as if you want to get (inaudible) during the tournament. The repeat aces happened yesterday during the par-three contest in Augusta, Georgia where the first round of the master is going to kick off in just about an hour. CNN's World Sport host, Don Riddell is live from the Augusta National Golf Club.
LEMON: Jealous, jealous, jealous.
COLLINS: I mean, talk about the assignment of the year. how many pimento cheese sandwiches have you had so far?
LEMON: And pulled pork?
COLLINS: Yes.
DON RIDDELL, CNN HOST, WORLD SPORT: Only one pimento cheese sandwich, guys but the week is yet young. There's - there's plenty of time. How cool was that par-three yesterday? Of course Seamus Power, absolutely brilliant. He's from Waterford in Ireland. When you shoot a hole in one here you get some Waterford crystal. So he's very familiar with that.
Nothing cuter than seeing all the kids running around. getting in the way of the golfers, their dads who are trying to play you know, kids in bunkers playing in there like in sandpit. Kids, that can barely stand high fiving the patrons, that was absolutely awesome. But the child's play is now over, as you say the serious business of this tournament gets going really, really soon.
In just over three hours' time, Tiger Woods plays, the five time champion. We all know what he's been through. It was this time last year that he was trying to come back from that devastating car accident. He's hardly played since then. Is he going to be any good? We're about to find out.
TIGER WOODS, 5-TIME MASTERS CHAMPION: I can hit a lot of shots. But the difficulty for me is going to be the lock and going forward. It is what it is. Whether I'm a threat to them or not, who knows? People probably didn't think I was a threat in 19 either, but it kind of turned out OK.
RIDDELL: It did. It did turn out OK a few years ago. He actually says he's playing better than he was a year ago. His endurance is better but he aches more. So we'll see. This is a very hilly place and walking for him is the hardest thing. A lot of people are expecting that Scottie Scheffler is going to do it. He's the world's number one the defending champion.
It will be historic if he could do it though only three guys have ever successfully defended their title here. And the last guy to do it Tiger Woods but Scottie Scheffler, a really, really hot pick here this week, guys.
LEMON: Don, we did not hear one word you were saying. And you know, why? Can we show why? Put up the video. Let's go to the video.
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COLLINS: Look how cute these kids are.
LEMON: Because of these kids. They are so adorable.
COLLINS: Little caddies.
RIDDELL: I know I should - I should have just talked about that for two straight minutes. That would have been much better TV. Sorry, sorry next time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[07:00:00]
