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CNN This Morning

Biden Meets with King Charles at Windsor Castle; After the Mutiny, Prigozhin Met with Putin; Interview with Former Deputy DNI and Fellow at Harvard's Belfer Center Beth Sanner; Biden Scheduled to Participate in Crucial NATO Summit in Lithuania. 25 Million Across Northeast Under Flood Alerts after Deadly Flash Flooding Strikes New York; Lawmakers and Advocates Push for Red Flag Laws; Sheriff: Marine Questioned in Custody after Missing 14-Year-Old Found on Base. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired July 10, 2023 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: And the warm embrace there between the two men. The president arrived, inspected the honor guard. It is the first time the king and President Biden have met face to face since Charles ascended the throne. They are set to discuss climate change and clean energy. And tomorrow, Russia's war in Ukraine will take center stage when the NATO allies meet in Lithuania.

Max Foster is live at Windsor Castle. Max, what is the significance of President Biden stopping in England before the NATO summit?

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's always an opportunity that American presidents like to take up and see -- be seen amongst all of that splendor, to be seen on the international stage. In the past, it would have been with the queen, of course, who was this towering figure on the international stage, the longest-serving head of state. Now, it's King Charles, the beginning, really, of his monarchy and his opportunity to show how he's doing things slightly differently.

So, as you say, they are going to discuss climate change, they're going to have a meeting about that, which in itself is very unusual, because Queen Elizabeth never really discussed what was going to be discussed in those meetings. Charles is handling things differently and wants to work on with the key figures who can actually have an impact on climate change, the president of the United States, to discuss that issue.

The key thing about this probably from our end is that everything went very smoothly. The two men appear to get on very well. This is all about reiterating the long-term, strong, as the Brits would call it, special relationship between the U.S. and the U.K. The U.S. is by far the most important bilateral party for the U.K. -- partner for the U.K. in the world. It's really important that we can solidify that relationship with the U.S. while Rishi Sunak is dealing with some prickly issues, really, in that, particularly in the -- how they're handling the war in Ukraine. Political issues, I mean, you could argue climate has become a political issue as well around the world, but this is something Charles is not going to let up on. In the past, these moments have been a bit awkward for President Trump, for example, getting a bit lost. But Charles very much in control of this moment, showing the inspection of the guard, allowing President Biden to inspect that guard, and it all went pretty smoothly. So, now they've gone in for tea and for a discussion about climate.

BROWN: All right. Max Foster, we're going to continue checking in with you through the hour.

And new this morning, we are now hearing from the Kremlin that Yevgeny Prigozhin met with President Vladimir Putin after his short-lived mutiny at the end of June. Remember that attempted coup? Well, we're told the meeting took place on June 29th, that was five days after the rebellion.

CNN Senior International Correspondent Fred Pleitgen joins us now. Fred, this is a bit of a surprise, right? I mean, what can we read from this?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is -- that's to say the least, it's a bit of a surprise. And I think it is something that certainly shows that Wagner -- the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin and his fighters, certainly, of huge significant to Vladimir Putin if he was willing to meet with Yevgeny Prigozhin just five days after that mutiny.

So, obviously, one of the things that we heard from the Kremlin today is no one really knew where Yevgeny Prigozhin was. People thought that he might have been in Belarus, then of course, the Belarusian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, he told our own Matthew Chance last week that actually Yevgeny Prigozhin was back in St. Petersburg in Russia.

So, now the Kremlin coming out and saying that on June 29th, so just a couple of days, five days after that mutiny, Yevgeny Prigozhin and 35 commanders, as the Kremlin put it, were inside the Kremlin. Now, apparently, Vladimir Putin gave his own assessment of what they called the special military operation, which is obviously Russia's war in Ukraine, but then also about the mutiny itself. And then also, apparently, this according to the Kremlin, offered his thoughts on possible further deployments.

Now, the interesting thing about all of this is they said that 35 commanders took part, including Yevgeny Prigozhin. They did not say whether people from Russia's defense ministry took part. Of course, one of the things that we know is that Yevgeny Prigozhin was on his way to Moscow on June 24th specifically to try and go after the defense minister and Vladimir Putin's top generals.

So, obviously, all of this directly also in defiance of Vladimir Putin. Now, we're learning that Yevgeny Prigozhin was in fact in the Kremlin. It certainly seems to show that despite the fact that Yevgeny Prigozhin has now been discredited on Russian state media pretty much since that happened, the fighters that he commanded and controlled still seem very important for the Kremlin leader, guys.

BROWN: Wow.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. No question about that. Fred Pleitgen, thanks so much.

We want to bring in CNN's Security Analyst Beth Sanner and Colonel Cedric Leighton is back with us. Beth, I want to start with you because I'm, kind of, mind blown, to be honest with you. And I'm not the expert that you are about all this. But Fred makes the great point, over the course of the last several weeks, you've seen Prigozhin, kind of, completely undercut on Russian state media. You saw President Putin's statement when he finally started speaking after the immunity, really attacking the idea of it and the actions that were taken. What do you make of the fact that Prigozhin was in -- was meeting with President Putin, just five days after the immunity?

[08:05:00]

BETH SANNER, FORMER DEPUTY DNI AND FELLOW AT HARVARD'S BELFER CENTER: Well, you know, I think this shows another step in the Kremlin plan to deal with Prigozhin in this kind of post-mutiny environment. I think it -- they have three things that are going on right here and that we're seeing unfold.

One is that they're trying to change the narrative and discrediting Prigozhin and getting leverage over this still-popular figure is the first part of this plan. The second part is to wrest control over as much of Wagner as they can, because Wagner is extremely important. So, they took over, for example, the internet, the disinformation arm, the IRA that still promotes disinformation worldwide, the Syria campaign. And then third is what we saw, I think, in this meeting with Putin, and that is to figure out how do we rebrand and reshape Wagner elements, the ones that we still need, says Putin, the ones that we can't yet get rid of, or maybe never can, because they're so important.

So, I think that's what we're seeing here unfold.

BROWN: All right, Colonel Leighton, I want to bring you in to get your thoughts on what this says about Putin, that he would meet with Prigozhin, mere days after the attempted coup.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST, FORMER MEMBER OF JOINT STAFF, PENTAGON, AND FORMER DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR TRAINING, NSA: Yes, to me it seems, Pamela, like this is a sense of his weakness. We're getting a sense that he is looking at things that he needs to change in order to maintain his power. It's also a situation, I think, where Prigozhin either has something on Putin, or he's got enough leverage where he can actually control some of, not only the narrative, but also what Putin does next.

Think about what they have, for example, in Africa. You know, you've got the Wagner group all over Africa. You've got them in Syria. That's a huge arm of Russian foreign policy that's sitting right there. And if that is, somehow, stopped or doesn't work as well as it once did, that creates a real problem for the Kremlin. And Putin can't afford to have that problem, in addition to the problems that he has in Ukraine right now.

BROWN: Keep your friends close, your enemies closer, right?

MATTINGLY: Exactly, exactly.

LEIGHTON: Yes, for sure.

MATTINGLY: And Beth, that kind of brings me to my next question. You know, our Ben Wedeman, called this, kind of, a little bit of a soap opera. A little bit of as the world turns to some degree as we watch from our position. If you're U.S. intelligence at this point in time, how are you, kind of, watching, analyzing what's been happening and trying to draw some conclusions about what this may say about next steps for President Putin and Russia?

SANNER: Well, you break it down into the things that matter to U.S. interest. And I think about this, kind of, in concentric rings. You know, the first part of it is, you know, how does this affect Putin? And I think, you know, while it shows some weakness in terms of the symbiotic relationship, it doesn't necessarily threaten Putin in the near-term.

And so, I think that, you know, he actually is fairly in control at home in the wake of this. But as you move out these concentric rings to the Ukraine war, and then really to relationships, China -- the relationship with China and how allies think about it. And then, like, this foreign policy security arm in Africa, Wagner. These things start to weaken as the ripples, kind of, go out on these concentric rings.

So, as an intel officer, you break these down and you start figuring out, you know, what are the leverage points to, not only understand it, but to take advantage of it.

BROWN: All right. Beth Sanner, thank you so much. Colonel Leighton, stick around. Lots more to discuss.

For more now on President Biden's trip overseas, let's bring back CNN Royal Commentator Sally Bedell Smith, CNN Contributor, staff writer for "The New Yorker", and Biden biographer, Evan Osnos, and CNN National Political Analyst and national politics reporter for "The New York Times", Astead Herndon.

All right. So, as we speak, King Charles, President Biden, they are meeting. What are you looking for out of this meeting, Sally Bedell Smith? What do you think is different about this meeting compared to the queens, the late queen's meetings with former U.S. presidents?

SALLY BEDELL SMITH, CNN ROYAL COMMENTATOR, AUTHOR, "GEORGE VI AND ELIZABETH: THE MARRIAGE THAT SAVED THE MONARCHY": Well, the queen's last meeting with President Biden was 45 minutes of pleasantry. She asked him what he thought of Xi and what he thought of Putin, but we don't know what he said and we don't know what she said.

In this instance, it is the first time that I -- that as a monarch, there has been a specific agenda. Prince Charles -- King Charles is very experienced with this back in 2007, for example. He started a rain forest initiative. And he had conferences, bringing together businesses, philanthropies. He got commitments from governments, $250 million from Sweden and other Scandinavian countries to put money into South America to prevent them from cutting down trees.

[08:10:00]

So, you know, in the past, he has focused on very specific actions. That is what he is doing today. He is -- he and Joe Biden are asking financial institutions, big businesses. You know a lot of businesses now have ESG. They are very much on the page of trying to mitigate climate change. And so, I think we're going to have these people meeting with John Kerry and with Grant Shapps, who is the environmental minister for the U.K.

And so, what we're looking at is an initiative by Prince Charles and something that he is very, very good at, and then -- and it's being backed by the government. When he was the Prince of Wales, he did things that were, sometimes, contrary to the government, but is very much in sync with what Rishi Sunak's government is trying to do.

MATTINGLY: Evan, can I -- I want to spin forward to the NATO meeting in a second, but -- which is obviously of huge consequence, but sometimes in our business, we try desperately to draw parallels.

EVAN OSNOS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR, STAFF WRITER, THE NEW YORKER, AND AUTHOR, "JOE BIDEN: THE LIFE, THE RUN, AND WHAT MATTERS NOW": Mm-hmm.

MATTINGLY: And sometimes we fail miserably at that. You're a big-time magazine writer and book writer, so you never fail.

OSNOS: Give me time.

MATTINGLY: But everything that sally is describing, I find so fascinating, of two individuals who throughout the course of their career were sometimes dismissed, sometimes scoffed at, never thought that they would necessarily get to the place that they always seemed destined to go, or at least in their minds were destined to go. Now, they're here at this moment. Describe that dynamic?

OSNOS: No, I think you're absolutely right, Phil. You know, these are two gentlemen of a certain age who have spent a long time thinking about what they would do when they found themselves at the top of the mountain. Getting the job that they've always wanted. Here they find themselves in King Charles' case at the age of 74, of course, President Biden is 80.

And they come to it with a sense that they have some wisdom to impart, but also a little -- a chip on their shoulder, a bit about the fact that it took as long as it did to get there. But the meaningful fact is, you have a President Biden who believes that climate is one of the issues on which he made an impact over the course of the last couple of years. They talk about the Inflation Reduction Act being part of his legacy. And of course, King Charles is -- has been talking about climate for five decades. So, they have a meeting of the minds on substance --

SMITH: Yes, definitely.

OSNOS: -- but as you say, also on life experience.

MATTINGLY: Yes.

SMITH: Yes.

BROWN: Yes, and of course, this trip comes ahead of the big NATO summit in Lithuania. The president will be traveling there shortly after his meeting there with King Charles. And I'm wondering, Astead, if you could just set the table for us. The main -- the big issues that President Biden will have to tackle with allies at this NATO summit.

ASTEAD HERNDON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER, THE NEW YORK TIMES: I mean, I think that that is really what he's starting here in England. He is meeting with the prime ministers to get the U.S. and the U.K. on the same page heading into the summit. And what we hear from the White House is that they're going try to make sure to shore up the relationship, to make sure that there is still willingness to support. You know, there was the investment into the ammunition recently that was controversial. I think the White House is going to try to make sure that them and Europe are on the same page.

I was in Munich at the security conference earlier this year, and there was a real sense, a palpable sense that this is an important year to really turn the page on the war in Ukraine. If they're at the same point next year, at this point, if they think that the support in their own countries may have to shift. And so, I think the U.S. is going to have to push on the, kind of, offensive right now. And they're going to try to make sure that them and Europe are on the same page right now, because the political picture looks a little murkier come next year.

I think that's why you're seeing the investment in ammunition right now. And that's why you're seeing the White House use this U.K. meeting as the, kind of, first step to make sure that they have a Europe that's on the same page going into what is going to be a very sequential year. For sure -- especially before an election. The White House is thinking about this next year as a way to -- as a key moment for the war, because they don't want there to be a push back domestically on the amount of investment they're doing over in Europe. And so, they're going to hope that this year really turns the page on the war, so that they're able to make a political pitch come in 2024.

MATTINGLY: All right. Everyone, we appreciate your time. Stay with us, many of you. There's about -- Pamela and I think have about a hundred more question for each of you on all of these things.

BROWN: So many. We never get to all of them.

MATTINGLY: So, we will definitely be going to get back to you. Thank you, guys, very much -- BROWN: Yes.

MATTINGLY: -- in joining us.

Also, this morning, parts of New York recovering from a once in a thousand-year flood event. We'll bring you the latest on the damage.

BROWN: And studies show, Red Flag Laws work to prevent potential violence, but in some cases like the one we're about snow you, they're not being enforced. Why one grieving mother says that can have deadly consequences.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want this story to be told and hopefully it will save another mother that's going through the same thing I'm going through.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[08:15:00]

VANESSA SALGADO, MOTHER AND AUNT OF MURDER VICTIMS: ... what the story to be told, and hopefully it will save another mother who is going through the same thing I'm going through.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back.

Right now, more than 25 million people across the Northeast are bracing for more flooding after a powerful storm drenched New York with staggering amounts of rain and deadly flash floods.

Just north of New York City, parts of the Hudson Valley saw a once in a millennium levels of rainfall. This was the scene in Highland Falls, New York where a woman was reportedly swept away by raging floodwaters and drowned while trying to evacuate her home and with her dog.

This powerful storm is now bearing down on New England as it slowly pushes north.

Polo Sandoval is live for us on the ground in Rockland County, New York.

Polo, you're near one of the hardest hit areas. What have you seen throughout the course of the morning?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, finally, a bit of a break in the clouds here, Phil. But overnight, some truly stunning pictures and videos that have emerged from not just here in Rockland County, but neighboring Orange County, which we can't really take you there too because of the roadblock that you see here over my shoulder.

I'm in touch with Orange County officials and tell me that overnight it really was just completely a chaotic situation with swift water rescues happening, parts of roads being essentially swept away.

And so today, they are basically reassessing the situation. One of the hardest hit areas that you mentioned there, the town of Highlands where Orange County officials told me unfortunately, one woman, a young woman who was in the process of evacuating her home with her pet lost her footing in floodwaters, swept away into a ravine and sadly did not survive yesterday.

There is perhaps a glimmer of hope here as officials saying that all the rest of the residents seem to be accounted for. So Orange County officials do not expect the need for any further rescues that we will certainly have to see throughout the course of the day.

[08:20:06]

The huge issue right now though for a majority of folks here and all you have to do is look behind me is going to be travel trouble. This interstate parkway, you see traffic backed up for as far as the eye can see. Officials are going to continue to keep that blocked off until they can determine that it is actually safe to actually travel through the Hudson River Valley, which is a very short drive from New York City.

So that really is the extent of the impact, still some 25 million Americans who are still under some form of flood alerts. This time though, north of New York State -- Phil.

MATTINGLY: All right, Polo, keep us posted. Thanks so much.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, new details this morning about the deadly mass shooting in Philadelphia over the Fourth of July weekend.

Officials say the suspect actually shot and killed one victim nearly two days before going on a rampage through the neighborhood killing four more people.

Police say the attack was "obviously planned" and that the suspect had been displaying abnormal behavior for quite a while.

Gun violence has killed more than 22,000 people in the United States this year alone, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Now some lawmakers and advocates, they are pushing hard for more red flag laws, which could help keep guns out of the hands of potentially dangerous people.

But some states that already have those laws in place are struggling to use them. I sat down with a mother who is now mourning because of the trouble enforcing the law.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (voice over): Vanessa Salgado's nightmare began last spring in her Albuquerque home.

SALGADO: He was molesting my daughter.

BROWN (voice over): Salgado learned her live-in boyfriend, Bradley Wallin had been sexually assaulting her 16-year-old daughter, Alexia for years. She called the Sheriff's Department.

POLICE OFFICER: We're going to try to get an emergency restraining order.

BROWN (voice over): On the bodycam video, you can hear Alexia telling deputies about an argument.

ALEXIA RAEL, VICTIM: He was telling me that I had been acting, like I had an attitude towards him. I couldn't keep it in and I said, it is because you've sexually assaulted me.

Then he got out of his car, and he admitted what he did, told me it was wrong.

BROWN (voice over): Weeks later, Wallin spotted Alexia's car at a shopping center. He shot and killed her and her cousin, Mario Salgado, and then turned the gun on himself.

It was Mother's Day.

SALGADO: No parent wants to lose a child. No parent wants to see their child gone before them.

Honestly, I wish he would have took me and let her live.

BROWN (voice over): Vanessa says she told law enforcement Wallin owned guns. The restraining order she filed against him lists two firearms.

SALGADO: And I literally opened up the drawer that had the guns in it and showed the officer.

BROWN (on camera): And did the officer saying anything about whether those guns are going to be taken away?

SALGADO: No.

These two were inseparable.

BROWN (voice over): What Vanessa didn't know then is that New Mexico passed a red flag law, which allows firearms to be temporarily taken away from those deemed dangerous to themselves or others.

Deputies escorted Wallin as he retrieved his weapons from the home, along with his belongings.

SALGADO: I said, I was concerned that he possibly might commit suicide.

BROWN (on camera): So you told law enforcement you were worried he would commit suicide?

SALGADO: Yes, ma'am.

BROWN (voice over): That alone should have allowed Vanessa or the police to file what is called an Extreme Risk Firearm Protection Order or gun restraining order, but she was never told of that option.

SALGADO: I just wish I would have known, so I would have had the right path to protect my daughter and my nephew.

SHERIFF JOHN ALLEN, BERNALILLO COUNTY, ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO: The system failed on all facets.

BROWN (voice over): Sheriff John Allen wasn't in office last year when the murders happened, but he says there was a breakdown in the process.

BROWN (on camera): She did convey that he could harm himself. That seems to be an example of when guns should be taken away under this law, right?

ALLEN: Correct.

BROWN: So was it a mistake they weren't?

ALLEN: I don't think it was communicated correctly. The information wasn't relayed to the district attorney's office enough and that could be from our detectives, that could be from family, that could be from witnesses, that could be from victims.

BROWN (voice over): What happened to the Salgado family is a key example of how difficult it can be to implement these life-saving laws in some states.

Records obtained by CNN show New Mexico's red flag law has only been used about 30 times since it took effect in 2020. As a comparison, Florida's similar law has been utilized more than 11,000 times since it was enacted in 2018.

ALLEN: It's difficult for people to understand how to enforce the law. Education and training hasn't gone around the state like it should have.

BROWN (on camera): Of the 21 states that have red flag laws on the books, New Mexico is by far the most gun violent. It's a blue state that is mostly rural, yet it has the third highest gun mortality rate per capita in the US.

[08:25:01]

(voice over): Even with that violence, New Mexico sheriffs petitioned against the passage of the law and created Second Amendment sanctuary counties where it wouldn't be enforced, a judge weighs every decision.

But because red flag laws are relatively new, there tends to be misinformation. MATT DIETZEL, ALBUQUERQUE POLICE DEPARTMENT COMMANDER: It's not law

enforcement filing in a vacuum. There is a judge looking at the facts of the case, and then making a determination based on that.

BROWN (voice over): Study show, red flag laws can work to diffuse potential violence. The key is making sure people know about them.

SALGADO: I just want to have a voice for my kids and what -- the story to be told, and hopefully it will save another mother who is going through the same thing I'm going through.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (on camera): I want to thank Vanessa for sharing her story with us, the courage to sit down and share given the death of her daughter and nephew.

And experts say, red flag laws are legally sound because they're based on domestic violence laws.

A recent Johns Hopkins study showed red flag laws temporarily disarmed 660 people in six states who threatened to kill multiple people. Of course, no one is suggesting that all of those people would have gone on to commit murder, but experts say, if even one life is saved, the laws are worth enforcing.

MATTINGLY: A US Marine is taken into custody after a missing 14-year- old girl was found in the Marine Corps Base in Camp Pendleton in California.

San Diego County Sheriff's Department says the girl's grandmother reported her missing last month. She was found at the base north of San Diego two weeks later.

CNN national correspondent, Camila Bernal joins us live from Camp Pendleton, and Camila, what else have you learned about what actually happened here?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Phil.

So we are learning that the Marine was taken into custody for questioning. That's after that 14-year-old girl was found here at the barracks on base. That happened on June 28th and it's according to the Marine Corps.

They released a statement and I want to read part of it because what they're saying here is that: "This command takes this matter and all allegations very seriously. The incident is under investigation and we will continue to cooperate with NCIS and appropriate authorities."

Now the NCIS is the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and they declined to comment citing respect for the investigative process. But the San Diego County Sheriff's Office did really sort of a timeline of what had happened here.

They said the 14-year-old's grandmother went to authorities and reported the girl missing on June 13th, but she told deputies that her granddaughter had actually ran away from home on June 9th. That's when authorities then put her name on multiple missing persons databases, but it wasn't until the 28th that military police actually found the 14-year-old here on base.

Detectives interviewed the girl. She was offered resources and she was reunited with her grandmother, but there are still a lot of questions here in this investigation and we will have to wait for the NCIS to give us the results of the investigation, but as of now, a lot of questions here base -- Phil.

MATTINGLY: All right, indeed. Camila Bernal, thanks for your reporting.

BROWN: And we are live at Windsor Castle where President Biden is meeting with King Charles ahead of the NATO Summit. We're going to take you there on this busy Monday morning, up next. Stay with us.

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