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Biden to Meet with Nordic Leaders in Finland; Strike Looms as Deadline Missed for SAG-AFTRA Talks with Hollywood Studios; Phoenix Faces 12 Straight Days of Temps Above 110 Degrees; GOP Lawmakers Grill FBI Director on Capitol Hill. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired July 13, 2023 - 06:00   ET

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

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR/BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: "Ted Lasso" from Apple TV Plus gained 21 nominations for its third and final season, including Outstanding Comedy Series, which is already won for the past two years.

[06:00:11]

Now, the ceremony is scheduled to air on September 18, but it remains to be seen how the Writers Guild of America strike that has gripped Hollywood since May, with a now looming SAG-AFTRA strike, could impact the award show.

And thanks for joining us. I'm Rahel Solomon, in for Christine Romans. CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR/CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, everyone, from Washington, D.C. Poppy is off this week. Pamela Brown has survived three days with me. I'm going to try to make it our fourth.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Four. This is No. 4. Yes.

MATTINGLY: This is the fourth, just starting.

BROWN: Yes, we're just starting. But I feel really optimistic.

MATTINGLY: But you know what I'm excited about?

BROWN: What?

MATTINGLY: When Wolf Blitzer has a big interview.

BROWN: Yes.

MATTINGLY: And we get to have some of it. There's, like, a different energy.

BROWN: A hundred percent. I feel it. It's great. I mean, we've been so lucky with all this -- the news we've had.

MATTINGLY: Thank you.

BROWN: Yes. MATTINGLY: It's all you.

BROWN: I'm bringing it.

MATTINGLY: Let's get things started. It is another big news day. Here's the "Five Things to Know" for this Thursday, July 13, 2003 [SIC].

President Biden closing out his trip abroad in Finland this morning. This as Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin tells CNN's Wolf Blitzer he has, quote, "no doubt" Ukraine will join NATO when the war with Russia ends.

BROWN: And overnight, there is no deal. One hundred and sixty-thousand SAG-AFTRA members are set to strike after they failed to reach an agreement with Hollywood studios by this morning's deadline.

MATTINGLY: And tornadoes striking the Chicago area overnight, the severe weather halting air travel there, as millions of Americans face another round of dangerous heat from coast to coast.

BROWN: A CNN exclusive. Michigan's secretary of state saying federal prosecutors with the special counsel interviewed her for several hours. It is all part of the investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

MATTINGLY: And this is what Pamela was focused on last night.

BROWN: Yes.

MATTINGLY: LeBron James putting those retirement rumors to bed. Come on, guys. You know he wouldn't (ph) stand around. The Lakers star says he'll be playing for his 21st NBA season.

CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

And right now, President Biden is capping off his high-stakes trip to Europe in Finland, the NATO alliance's newest member. You're going to be looking like at Helsinki, where he'll be meeting with the Finnish president before a summit with Nordic leaders.

Now, this is a major show of force right in Russia's back yard, Helsinki only 120 miles or so from the Russian border. This also comes after Biden and NATO allies rallied behind Ukraine at a critical summit in Lithuania.

BROWN: And now Sweden is on the cusp of also joining the alliance in a huge strategic blow to Vladimir Putin.

CNN White House correspondent Arlette Saenz is live for us in Helsinki. Arlette, this is the final stop on a consequential tour. What are we expecting here?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Phil, President Biden is once again trying to reinforce his message to Vladimir Putin that the NATO alliance is strengthened in the face of Putin's war against Ukraine.

The president making his final stop here in Helsinki, Finland, which is the latest member of the NATO alliance, having just joined back in April.

Finland, of course, also shares an 800-mile land border with Russia, raising many concerns about Putin's moves in this area of the country.

But as the president is about to sit down with the president of Finland, he is also looking ahead to a summit with Nordic leaders from five countries, including Sweden. Of course, the president got a big win this week, heading into that summit, after Turkey dropped its objections to now allow Sweden into the alliance.

Now, Turkish President Erdogan has said that it still needs to hold a vote in the Turkish Parliament, and that will have to wait until the Fall. But Sweden could soon now be entering the alliance and expanding the strength that the president is trying to show against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Now, this all comes as the president has really built a trip around trying to relay that message. He went into that NATO summit trying to rally more support about Ukraine.

Yes, there was some tension between the president and Zelenskyy and other allies at the start, but at the end of it, the president did offer some long-term security commitments with G-7 allies to Ukraine.

And it also speaks to the president's broader world view, that he believes that Western democracies do have a hand in influencing and helping other countries. He's been stressing this message about democracy and freedom, saying that that fight for freedom is a lifelong calling and, in this trip, has been trying to message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the U.S. and its allies aren't going anywhere when it comes to Ukraine.

MATTINGLY: All right. Arlette Saenz, live for us in Helsinki. Thank you.

And ahead, you don't want to miss this. CNN's Wolf Blitzer talked exclusively with the secretary of defense, Lloyd Austin, in Lithuania just moments ago. We're going to have some of that here. What the defense secretary had to say about Ukraine receiving fighter jets and cluster bombs, this week's NATO summit.

He also weighed in about China. All of that coming up in just a minute.

BROWN: You don't want to miss it.

[06:05:02]

And overnight, no deal reached between the SAG-AFTRA actors union and Hollywood studios over a new contract, setting the stage for a strike among SAG's 160,000 members.

Union leaders said its national board will meet today to formally authorize a strike. CNN's Natasha Chen live in Los Angeles for us.

So Natasha, where do things stand right now?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Pamela, this was already an extension of their original deadline, and we fully expect the strike to happen. But as you said, it has to be made official with their national board vote. And we will find out about that result at noon in Los Angeles, 3 p.m. Eastern.

Now, the chief negotiators for SAG-AFTRA told us this: "The studios and streamers have implemented massive unilateral changes in our industry's business model, while at the same time insisting on keeping our contracts frozen in amber. The studios and streamers have underestimated our members' resolve, as they are about to fully discover."

Some of these actors have already gone to the picket lines to join the actors -- the writers, rather, who have been on strike for more than 70 days. Here's one of the actors talking to us this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOEL KIM BOOSTER, MEMBER OF SAG-AFTRA AND WGA: I think, like, people assume that, you know, writers in Hollywood or actors in Hollywood are all sort of wealthy and successful and, you know, why should we need even more money than we're getting now? But what I don't think people realize is that there's a whole middle class of writers and actors that is disappearing, because they're making it more and more difficult to just make a living.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: And one of those reasons that it makes it difficult is the issue of residuals in the world of streaming services. And the actors are also very concerned about the A.I. technology that could take their digital likeness.

Now, the studios in a statement said that they offered an historic pay raise and protective A.I. agreements there, in part saying in this statement, "We are deeply disappointed that SAG-AFTRA has decided to walk away from negotiations. This is the union's choice, not ours. Rather than continuing to negotiate, SAG-AFTRA has put us on a course that will deepen the financial hardship for thousands who depend on the industry for their livelihoods."

And Pamela, I've spoken to a number of people who don't have production roles, who are janitors or work in a deli. All of these people in the greater economy have been deeply affected already.

BROWN: That's really important context right there. Natasha Chen, thank you.

CHEN: Thanks.

MATTINGLY: Also this morning, soaring temperatures across the United States are threatening to break all-time records in several major U.S. cities. It's just after 3 a.m. in Phoenix, and it's already 96 degrees. That city has faced 12 straight days of brutally hot temperatures above -- get this -- 110 degrees.

CNN's Lucy Kafanov is live in Scottsdale, Arizona, this morning. And Lucy, I had to do a double take when I saw this. Forecasters are warning temperatures are set to soar even higher through the end of this week?

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We are actually expecting temperatures to hit an excruciating 118 degrees in Phoenix by Saturday. Obviously, it's going to be a lot higher the higher you go in mountain areas and sort of the more baking desert portions that are not as -- as heavily populated.

But Phoenix is definitely going to be feeling it. And we are looking at potentially breaking the 1974 18-day record of 110 consecutive -- pardon me, of 18 days of 110 -- 18 consecutive days of 110-degree weather. You can see that the sun is already impacting me from yesterday, even though it's not out right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAFANOV (voice-over): In Phoenix, Arizona, they may be used to the desert heat, but not like this. Every day in July has seen temperatures of 110 degrees and above, sending wildlife and residents scrambling for a splash of relief.

KAFANOV: In extreme heat like this, one of the few places where it's safe to be outdoors is the pool.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's too hot inside. They get -- they run around, and they just get overheated. Burns off a lot of energy, and it's a little bit cooler out here.

KAFANOV (voice-over): Excessive heat warnings are in effect across most of the state.

ADAM WALTZ, PIO, PHOENIX PARKS AND RECREATION: People don't understand that the heat is -- is very dangerous, especially if you haven't been hydrated and if you're not used to it. Every year, unfortunately, we have rescues. We have people who -- from out of town who just don't understand the heat, and they think that a short hike is easy and you can do it.

But it it's 115 in the air, it's likely 130, 140 on the trail.

KAFANOV (voice-over): And it's not just Arizona. Tens of millions of Americans face dangerous triple-digit temperatures this weekend. In California, residents are already trying to cool off. Along part of the Old Coast Highway, dozens of RV owners have parked for some relief.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a beautiful spot down here. It is about 70 degrees, and it's about 100 inland, where we live.

KAFANOV (voice-over): And while brush fires keep fire departments busy --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go!

KAFANOV (voice-over): -- new recruits train for the fire season.

BATTALION CHIEF ARTHUR GONZALES, VALLEJO FIRE DEPARTMENT: There's a lot of potential this time of year. The relative humidities that drop down and the few moisture (Ph) pose a challenge. We're ready for those challenges as they come up. We just want to make sure that we stay ahead of these fires before they get large.

[06:10:04]

KAFANOV (voice-over): And as they put out brush fires on one side of Palos Verdes Peninsula, on the other side, a landslide has destroyed more than a dozen homes. An investigation into the cause of the land movement is still underway.

From South Florida to California, more than 55 million Americans are bracing for temperatures at or above 110 degrees this weekend, making 2023 a year for the record books for all the wrong reasons.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAFANOV (on camera): And in weather like this, it's so much better just to stay indoors, stay hydrated, especially for folks in parts of the country that are feeling the heat but aren't used to it. The heat sickness could really sneak up on you faster than you think -- guys.

MATTINGLY: Lucy, I want to be honest. You look very calm, cool and collected. The heat is not getting to you. Lucy Kafanov for us.

KAFANOV: It was yesterday I actually woke up with, like, insane soreness of my calves. But yes, I'm going to pretend I'm very calm, and cool and collected.

BROWN: You stay like that, right?

MATTINGLY: You are absolutely that. Lucy Kafanov for us in Scottsdale. Thanks so much.

FBI Director Christopher Wray, he's defending the bureau from a barrage of Republican attacks on Capitol Hill. What he said about accusations of bias against conservatives.

BROWN: And a CNN exclusive. Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Vincent describes her hours-long interviews with federal prosecutors. Her take on the Justice Department's investigation into 2020 election interference.

MATTINGLY: And just moments ago, we saw President Biden with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto. They are having a bilateral meeting before President Biden sits down with the Nordic leaders. The final day of a very consequential trip. We'll have more on that, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [06:15:18]

BROWN: A live look at Capitol Hill this morning, where Republican lawmakers grilled FBI Director Christopher Wray yesterday.

Wray testified in front of the House Judiciary Committee, and the heated five-hour hearing is part of GOP efforts to paint the FBI as unfairly targeting conservatives.

CNN political correspondent Sara Murray reports from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We ask that you summarize your testimony in five --

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): FBI Director Christopher Wray --

CHRISTOPHER WRAY, FBI DIRECTOR: Thank you. Good morning, Chairman Jordan, Ranking Member Nadler, members of the committee.

MURRAY (voice-over): -- pulling no punches in critiquing former President Donald Trump's sloppy retention of classified documents.

WRAY: I don't want to be commenting on the pending case, but I will say that there are specific rules about where to store classified information and that those need to be stored in a SCIF, secure compartmentalized information facility. And in my experience, ballrooms, bathrooms, and bedrooms are not SCIFs.

MURRAY (voice-over): And insisting, in the wake of Hunter Biden's plea deal on tax charges, that the bureau is not protecting the Biden family.

REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): Are you protecting the Bidens?

WRAY: Absolutely not. The FBI does not and has no --

GAETZ: Well, you won't answer the -- hold on.

WRAY: -- interest in protecting anyone politically.

GAETZ: You won't answer the question about whether or not that --

MURRAY (voice-over): He also disavowed some of the behavior outlined in Special Counsel John Durham's probe, which documented missteps by the FBI in its investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign's ties with Russia.

WRAY: I consider the conduct that was described in the Durham report as totally unacceptable and unrepresentative of what I see from the FBI every day and must never be allowed to happen again.

MURRAY (voice-over): Wray, however, stood by the search at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.

WRAY: I would not call it a raid. I would call it the execution of a lawful search warrant.

MURRAY (voice-over): And defended the FBI's rank and file amid a wave of threats in the wake of that search.

WRAY: We did stand up a whole dedicated unit to focus on threats to FBI individuals, FBI employees and FBI facilities, because of the uptick that we saw over that time period.

MURRAY (voice-over): Wray facing off against some of his toughest congressional critics on the House Judiciary Committee, where Republicans have threatened to slash the bureau's budget and accused FBI leadership of political bias.

GAETZ: People trusted the FBI more when J. Edgar Hoover was running the place than when you are.

WRAY: Respectfully, Congressman, in your home state of Florida, the number of people applying to come work for us and devote their lives working for us is over -- up over 100 percent.

GAETZ: We're deeply proud of them, and they deserve better than you.

MURRAY (voice-over): All as Democrats took shots at their GOP colleagues.

REP. HANK JOHNSON (D-GA): Chairman, we are here today because MAGA Republicans would do anything to protect Donald Trump, their savior. No matter how unfounded or dangerous it may be to do so.

MURRAY (voice-over): Democrats also needling Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan for once defying a subpoena in the House January 6th investigation.

REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA): Quite rich to me that you're hearing all these allegations from somebody who won't even respond to a lawful subpoena.

MURRAY: Now Republicans on this committee, and particularly the chair, Jim Jordan, have made a big deal of their belief that the leadership of the FBI is somehow biased against conservatives. And Chris Wray was asked about this during this hearing.

He said it is insane to him, the notion that he would be biased against conservatives, especially given his personal background. And his background is he is a registered Republican, and he was appointed into this position by Donald Trump, a former Republican president.

Sara Murray, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: Let's bring in senior crime and justice correspondent Shimon Prokupecz; Reuters White House correspondent Jeff Mason; CNN legal analyst Elliot Williams; and Olivia Troye, former homeland security and counterterrorism advisor to Vice President Mike Pence. Shimon, I want to start with you. I think one of the issues with a five-hour hearing, the way this was kind of constructed, is you miss what may be important elements or nuggets or news.

You've watched the FBI very closely for years. What stood out to you in this hearing?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Look, I think this is supposed to be oversight. And I think there are legitimate concerns over some of the FBI practices and some of the surveillance issues; certainly, the Durham report and just the initial Russia investigation. Those are all very legitimate questions that need to be asked.

But instead, what you have here is the FBI director, for five hours, basically, trying to bat down conspiracy theories, political agendas, and really just trying to fight for the rank-and-file of the FBI.

And this is what they wanted to see. You know, the rank-and-file certainly, they needed to hear this from the FBI director. And I think we saw him in a way we have not seen him before.

You know, he was throwing some shade, certainly, at the former president. The fact that, you know, when he says, look, you know, I know a SCIF. A bathroom, a ballroom, and a bedroom is not a SCIF. Right? He didn't need to say that, but there's a reason why he was saying that.

[06:20:10]

And I think the whole exchange there with Matt Gaetz, you know, the fact that no one wants to work at the FBI. And he's like, well, people in your district, 100 rate we're getting people to apply for this job.

And this is what the rank-and-file wanted to see from him.

And I also think what's happened is that, for the director, is that he doesn't need to feel a fear that potentially -- like when he did under the former president, President Trump, he was going to lose his job if he said something wrong. He's got some protection now. And so that's why I think we saw a different side of him.

But we saw him there in a very different way than I think we've ever seen him before.

BROWN: Yes, you said he was throwing some shade.

PROKUPECZ: Oh, yes. I mean --

BROWN: It was really interesting when he addressed the issue of whether he was biased. We heard Sara talk about it. But I want to, like, listen to him, in his own words, how he responded to the question of him being biased, the FBI being biased. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WRAY: The idea that I'm biased against conservatives seems somewhat insane to me, given my own personal background. As to how we are approaching our work of protecting the American people and upholding the Constitution, it starts with me having emphasized to all of our folks over and over and over again, in everything we do, that we need to do the right thing, in the right way, and that means following the facts wherever they lead, no matter who likes it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Olivia, what was your take on that, and how awful do you think these attacks are on the country?

OLIVIA TROYE, FORMER HOMELAND SECURITY AND COUNTERTERRORISM ADVISOR TO MIKE PENCE: Look, I think it was important for him to state that. I mean, I think it's -- it's insane that we have Republicans attacking someone like Chris Wray, who served in the George W. Bush administration with me, someone who is well-respected in law enforcement circles. I mean, you know, he was confirmed with all Republican votes voting in favor of him at his confirmation, right?

It's amazing how much this is boomeranging to turn around and attack him, because it's politically convenient right now in this moment. I think it's a disgrace.

I also think that, in the eyes of the international community, I watched that hearing yesterday, and all I kept thinking was, for our national security and our homeland security, both domestically, to undermine the confidence like that in a federal law enforcement organization.

And internationally, our foreign adversaries must have been laughing at us yesterday. Because they were watching Republican leaders destroy the credibility of our own agencies in such a manner that it's very -- you know, it's eroding at the fibers of what our country is based on, which is rule of law and our democracy.

PROKUPECZ: The whole thing, defunding the FBI, right? I mean, this was something that, you know, came up, defunding the police and what happened there. But yet, now you have Republicans who are sitting there saying, you know, defund the FBI. And there's issues over whether or not they're going to give them money for a new building.

I mean, it sort of went into places that it should not have gone. And it took away from what they're supposed to be doing, because there are legitimate questions about the FBI, things that they need to be asking.

MATTINGLY: This is what I want to ask you about. The legitimate questions. Because Shimon has a great point. From the oversight perspective, if you look through the Durham report, if you look through some of the surveillance issues on FISA-related issues, if you look through January 6th, frankly, if you try to dig in on some of the Hunter Biden stuff and how long that investigation took, there are legitimate questions that should be probed by Congress. ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Even if it's not a matter of legitimate specific questions, the whole enterprise is itself legitimate and ought to be legitimate. It's a core function of Congress, but they ought to oversee, No. 1, how the FBI is spending the American people's money; and No. 2, how they're carrying out their enforcement mission, which is both, not just law enforcement but counterterrorism, as well. It's the only law enforcement entity in our government that's both law enforcement and counterterrorism.

And so, with respect to Hunter Biden, ask the questions about whether the Justice Department is politicized, the FBI is politicized. And it's a fair question to ask.

The Durham report, same thing. A fair question.

But what happens here is that the current majority then takes it the whole government is stacked against you, there's a conspiracy between Pfizer and Google and -- and vaccines and all kinds of nonsense that really gets away from the core function that they ought to be performing, which is making sure that law enforcement is serving the American people. And it's just a lot of noise.

BROWN: Yes. Just to take a step back here, I mean, you know, this is supposed to be -- the Republicans are supposed to be the party of law and order, right?

TROYE: Exactly.

BROWN: I mean, how did we get here, Jeff?

JEFF MASON, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, REUTERS: Yes. And we were talking about that a little bit before. It's so off-brand with what the Republican party used to be. And that's sort of an example of where Trumpism has taken that party. It's raising questions about defunding the police, defunding the FBI, being anti-law enforcement, when that was really a core principle of who the Republicans were.

And I think that -- I mean, I understand politically why Trump -- Trump-associated lawmakers are asking questions like that, some of them legitimate. Many of them resonating with people in President Trump -- former President Trump's base.

But it's going to bring up questions during the general election that I know the Democrats are going to ask and what Biden people are going to ask about, wait, we -- we're pro-law enforcement. Where are you guys?

[06:25:04]

WILLIAMS: Yes, and I think a lot of this is focused on Christopher Wray, the man. Well, he's a registered Republican. Therefore, you know, hold your fire.

I worked in law enforcement for a long time, both at ICE and the Justice Department. It's anecdotal. I -- you know, I never did a card check here. Law enforcement skews pretty conservative at the federal level. And the idea that it is this deep-state cabal of people who are out and colluding to go after Republicans is nonsense.

You talk to FBI agents or work with them, and talked about politics at all, which people don't, it's -- it's a truly mind-boggling allegation about sort of the rank-and-file and where their orientation is. And the fact that they're working hand-in-hand with political leadership at the White House to go after Republicans. It's simply nonsense.

MATTINGLY: I will say, to Jeff's point, you feel like Democratic ad makers, like the lightbulbs are just going off in their heads now.

Of course, if you guys are talking about cool stuff before the show, don't. Save it for the panel. For the panel. This is not a green room.

(CROSSTALK)

MASON: We were just getting warmed up. We were getting warmed up.

BROWN: That's what (UNINTELLIGIBLE). OK. All good. Thank you all so much, Shimon, Elliot, Olivia, Jeff. Thanks so much. We appreciate it.

Jeff, stay with us.

Well, tornadoes are rare near Chicago, but folks around the Windy City had to dodge multiple twisters, including passengers waiting for flights at O'Hare. A live report coming up.

MATTINGLY: And authorities hunting for a prison escapee now say a drone may have been flying near the Pennsylvania prison he broke out of, using bedsheets tied into a makeshift rope. And they're warning the murder suspect may be armed. More on that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)