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CNN This Morning

McConnell Escorted Away After Freezing Mid-Sentence; Hunter Biden Plea Deal In Jeopardy As Judge Raises Concerns; Wagner Leader Yevgeny Prigozhin Spotted In St. Petersburg; Biden Meets With Mayors Of Phoenix, San Antonio On Heat; Singer Sinead O'Connor Dies At Age 56. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired July 27, 2023 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:23]

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN HOST: Toosii's Favorite Song remix featuring Khalid.

All right. Thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans. Have a great day, everybody. CNN THIS MORNING starts right now.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN HOST: Good morning, everyone. We're glad you're with us on this Thursday. A lot of developments overnight. A huge surprise in court yesterday.

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: Yes, not at all what folks were expecting.

HARLOW: Not at all. We'll get into what it means. Let's get started with five things to know for this Thursday, July 27th, 2023.

New questions this morning about what happens now for Hunter Biden after his plea deal fell apart in court. His legal team is now scrambling after the judge put the deal on hold. Prosecutors also confirming in court that the investigation into the president's son is still ongoing.

HILL: New overnight, CNN has learned Republican Senate Leader, Mitch McConnell, has fallen multiple times this year. The incidents taking place during an overseas trip and also at a D.C. airport. McConnell is brushing off health concerns that arose in the wake of him freezing mid-sentence during a news conference on Wednesday.

The unrelenting heatwave, that's been scorching this country, is moving further east today. And emergency alert has already been declared for the country's largest power grid. President Biden said to announce a new heat-related action today.

The world is mourning an international pop star this morning who is known as much for her fearlessness as she was for her music. Sinead O'Connor has died at the age of 56.

And happening overnight, the U.S. women's soccer team clawing its way back to tie the Netherlands in a one-one draw. Up next, Portugal.

CNN THIS MORNING starts right now. HARLOW: Here's where we begin this hour. We have new CNN reporting this morning on Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell. He has fallen more times this year than previously known. This report comes as the 81- year-old Republican insists he is fine after he froze mid-sentence yesterday for 23 seconds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): We're on a path to finishing the NDA this week. Been good bipartisan cooperation and a string of --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you good, Mitch?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You okay, Mitch? Mitch, anything else you want to say or just go back to your office? Do you want to say anything else to the press?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: McConnell's fellow senators, you've heard them there, checking on him, asking if he was all right. They pulled him to the side. He did eventually though return to the podium.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Could you address what happened here at the start of the press conference and it was related to your injury from earlier this year where you suffered a concussion? Is that --

MCCONNELL: I'm fine.

RAJU: You're fine? You're fully able to do your job?

MCCONNELL: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: So this is just the latest incident this year for Leader McConnell. Sources telling CNN In February he tripped and fell in Helsinki while getting out of the car. It was a snowy day there. He was there to meet the Finnish president.

That was just days before he fell in March that happened at D.C.s Waldorf Astoria Hotel, where he slammed his head, suffering a concussion and breaking ribs.

During a press conference in June, he had trouble hearing questions from reporters, even though the senators next to him could clearly hear. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What are your concerns as it relates to AI?

MCCONNELL: Repeat that again. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On AI, are you concerned at all about artificial intelligence? And what are your concerns related to that and how should Congress address it?

MCCONNELL: What is my concern about --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Artificial intelligence.

MCCONNELL: It's kind of hard time hearing your voice. Sorry.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On artificial intelligence.

MCCONNELL: AI?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, AI.

MCCONNELL: Yes. Well, I think everybody's concerned about AI.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Earlier this month, McConnell tripped and fell at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. while getting off a plane.

Yesterday, as you saw, he abruptly stopped speaking mid-sentence while at the podium.

Let's get to CNN congressional correspondent Lauren Fox. Obviously, everyone first wants to know how his health is, how he's doing. And then there is the question that Manu posed to him. Are you able to do your job, to continue like this?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And he said repeatedly yesterday that he was fine. He also said that later in the day, as he left his office, it had been several hours since the incident. And as he departed for part of the day, he was telling reporters that he got sandbag trying to make a joke, saying that the current president called him actually to check on him. Here's McConnell.

[06:05:17]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCONNELL: The president called and checked on me. I told him I got a sandbag.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, nice. How are you feeling now, Sir?

MCCONNELL: Huh?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are you feeling now?

MCCONNELL: I'm fine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you seen a doctor? Are you going to see one?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any idea what happened?

MCCONNELL: Huh?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any idea what happened?

MCCONNELL: I'm fine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dehydrated?

MCCONNELL: Got to watch those sandbags.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: And only know about what happened yesterday is what his office is telling us that he got lightheaded, that he had to step away for a moment. And then when he came back, his office points out he was able to answer a series of questions, very succinctly able to continue on with the press conference, which he did.

He took a series of questions, not just on his health, but also on the impact of impeachment on the country and on the Republican Party. So it -- their point is that he's totally fine.

But as you point out, there have been a number of incidences over the last several months. And he has been asked about his political future.

Our colleague, Manu Raju, back in May, sat down with him for a story on the U.S. Senate map and taking back the Senate. And he tried to sort of push McConnell at that time about what his political future was. McConnell didn't want to get into it, didn't want to answer the question, saying just that this was not an interview about his political future.

So, obviously, there are a lot of questions about what happened yesterday. He did not answer repeated questions about whether he saw a physician. His office did not answer those questions. So we just are going to continue pressing to get more information on how the Senator is doing, what his health status is. And, of course, that larger looming question of, does this affect his ability to do the job?

HILL: Which made me feel. I find it so interesting that his office will not confirm whether he saw a doctor to you, Lauren. That is fascinating. That has been the number one concern, I think, you've seen from people.

In terms of, as you point out, you'll also be pressing for that reaction on the Hill. Are people concerned about his role and whether he'll be able to carry it out? What have you heard so far?

FOX: Yes, Erica. If you talk to Republicans who are very close with McConnell, they will tell you that they have full trust in his ability to carry out his job. They say that, you know, they trust McConnell to make decisions about his own health, that they believe that he is making the best decisions that he can, you know.

But, obviously, it was a scary moment yesterday. And you saw in that video that as he sort of having this moment of freezing, there are colleagues who are checking on him, John Barrasso, who is a fellow member of leadership, but also a doctor, you know, says, Mitch, do you have anything else to say? Are you OK? And that is obviously a moment in which you can see sort of just larger concern within his leadership team about, you know, that incident in particular.

But if you talk to them, they say they believe in their leader. They say that it is up to him to make decisions about his health and his future.

HILL: Lauren, appreciate the reporting. Thank you.

HARLOW: This morning, Hunter Biden's legal fate is in serious question. This is after his plea deal collapsed at the last minute in this remarkable, really unprecedented court hearing yesterday.

The federal judge put it all on hold as the president's son was preparing to plead guilty to tax crimes to avoid prosecution on a felony gun charge. This hearing was supposed to be quick, 30 minutes, just a formality, but it turned into an hour's long ordeal as the judge raised questions about this deal.

HILL: She called it unusual at one point asking if it was even constitutional. So the judge said, she would not be a rubber stamp there. The deal began to unravel when the judge asked if it gave Hunter Biden broad immunity for other possible crimes, including in his foreign business dealings in Ukraine and China.

But when a prosecutor responded, no, Hunter Biden's lawyers snapped back that in that case, the deal would be null and void.

Let's bring in our CNN political correspondent, Sara Murray. So, Sara, I think a lot of people in reaction are wondering how did they even get to that point?

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, this is not the day that anyone expected to have in court. As you said, Hunter Biden walked into that federal courthouse in Delaware, prepared to plead guilty to misdemeanor tax charges, and strike a deal to complete a program that would allow him to avoid a felony gun charge.

But as the judge was sort of pressing about what the scope of this deal encompassed, things began to fall apart.

And Politico obtained a copy of the version of this plea deal. CNN has not verified that it's the final version. But I want to read you part of it because it gets into, you know, the scope of what this deal was supposed to encompass.

It said, "The United States agrees not to criminally prosecute Biden outside of the terms of this agreement for any federal crimes encompassed by the statement of facts. This agreement does not provide any protection against prosecution for any future conduct by Biden or by any of his affiliated businesses."

[06:10:02] So as the judge is running through this making sure Hunter Biden knows what he's pleading to, she says, you know, is this an ongoing investigation? And prosecutors confirmed it is. And they sit in the judge says, so -- you know, you can't bring maybe charges against him for tax crimes, but could you bring charges against him for foreign lobbying?

And the prosecutors say, yes, we could. And that is the point when the deal begins to fall apart. Hunter Biden's attorneys say, that's not our understanding. They take a recess. They come to an agreement, again, about this deal, the prosecution and the defense and say, OK, OK, we've reached a deal in which prosecutors will not prosecute Hunter Biden for tax crimes over a five-year span. They're not going to prosecute him for drug offenses. They're not going to prosecute him on this firearms offense. And that is the scope of it.

And then as the judge continues to look this over, she takes issue, especially with this deal to avoid the felony firearms charge and essentially says, I'm not going to reject it or accept it, but I want more information. I'm going to put this on hold. And she has given both sides 30 days, essentially, to answer some of her questions and concerns about this plea deal.

HARLOW: So you've reported on this so closely for so many months. There's a world in which a plea deal does not come together, right, and where this could go to trial?

MURRAY: I mean, there is, of course, a world. I mean, I think the way we saw yesterday play out the way this deal fell apart, came back together, the judges concerns about it. There is always a chance that this is the kind of thing that ends up going to trial, which I don't necessarily think is what prosecutors want in this case.

My colleagues have previously reported, prosecutors had some concerns about some parts of the strength of this case, as they've been investigating Hunter Biden. And, obviously, it seems like Hunter Biden would like to avoid a trial.

So I think what's most likely is that both sides are going to go back and try to craft a plea agreement that they think is going to satisfy the judge, maybe make tweaks to the one they have, or at least be able to answer the judge's questions more efficiently.

But you can't rule out the possibility that this could be something that goes to trial. And again, because Hunter Biden was not able to get that deal signed off on in court yesterday, he did this pro forma move of pleading not guilty.

HARLOW: Sara, thank you for the reporting.

HILL: Let's bring in now CNN senior legal analyst and former federal New Jersey state prosecutor, Elie Honig.

Elie, when you look at this, we have this proposed plea deal. How do you get to the point where you show up in front of a judge and you have the DOJ and Hunter Biden's attorneys who have such a different view of what the agreement is that they all agreed to?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: It's a great question. In large part, it was a failure of lawyering. It was a failure by DOJ. It was a failure by Hunter Biden's lawyers to communicate and made sure that they had the agreement set.

Now, the key language that Sara just talked about in that plea agreement, essentially says, Hunter Biden will not be further prosecuted for anything laid out in the statement of facts. If you look at that document, there is a statement of fact, it's about four pages, and it lays out Hunter Biden's business history making millions of dollars, by the way, from Chinese companies and from Ukrainian companies, and his drug use history.

Now, this is where the legalese comes in. There's play on this. DOJ apparently reads that to mean only the tax stuff that's talked about in the actual text. Hunter Biden's lawyers said, well, we sort of understood it to mean anything in the periphery, anything that might touch on any of his foreign dealings at all. That was the disconnect. And when the judge identified that, she said, you don't have a deal.

HARLOW: Yes. By the way, the judge here meticulous in her -- in her questioning, a former patent attorney.

HONIG: Yes.

HARLOW: It was really interesting to just hear as Sara was coming out of the court and reporting that as this was going step by step. The question was ambiguity --

HONIG: Yes.

HARLOW: -- and how ambiguous this language is. And then the issue of -- potential FARA charges came up. Can you explain to people what that is and why that matters?

HONIG: And so first of all, I think the judge is the only person in the courtroom yesterday who did her job --

HARLOW: Yes.

HONIG: -- properly. The judge -- when the judge was trying to explore this disconnect, what is he covered for? What is he not? The judge said, interestingly, she said, would he be covered for FARA which is the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which says, if you are lobbying the U.S. government on behalf of a foreign government, you have to register with DOJ. Hunter Biden had not registered.

And DOJ, here said, he's not covered for that. And Hunter Biden's team went, whoa, that's a problem. And that is crucial. Is he still chargeable for this under their agreement or not? And when the judge identified that, she said, you all need to go back to the drawing board here.

HARLOW: Can I just ask you? Why wouldn't they think that that was possible? Why wouldn't Hunter Biden seem think -- because this is anything but a normal case? And that letter from David Weiss, was it a month or so ago?

HONIG: Yes.

HARLOW: Did say that the investigation was ongoing? I know we all thought that was sort of pro forma, but apparently it wasn't.

HONIG: I think the answer is undue optimism. I think they were hoping he would be covered maybe that clearly they never had a direct conversation about this with prosecutors which is not good practice by defense.

It's important to understand. A plea agreement is an agreement. It's a contract. It's the most important contract you will ever -- not you two, but one will ever --

HILL: So we never have a plea agreement, Poppy.

HARLOW: One would hope.

HONIG: You never know. It's the most important contract one will ever enter into. Forget about buying a house or something like that. A plea agreement is your future and the judge has to do her job there and make sure

It's the most important contract one will ever enter into forget about buying a house or something like a plea agreement is your future and the judge has to do her job there and make sure there is not going to be a dispute down the line about what this means. What you are buying here, defendant, you have to fully understand.

[06:15:17]

HILL: All right. Elie, appreciate it. We will be checking in with you.

HONIG: I'll be back.

HARLOW: Yes, you will. Elie gets no breaks here.

More than a third of the entire United States population this morning, again, under heat alerts. Record smashing heatwave spreads from coast to coast. We'll take you live to South Florida for the latest in this.

(MUSIC)

HILL: Tributes pouring in for singer songwriter, Sinead O'Connor after learning that she has passed away at the age of 56.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Well, a fascinating development. We've just learned that Wagner leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is in St. Petersburg, Russia. In the same city as Putin, the man he tried to depose in an armed rebellion just last month. Our Nic Robertson following it all. Not exile in Belarus?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: No. We know that CIA director, Bill Burns, had said that he -- that he believed that Prigozhin had been in Belarus, but was moving around including in Russia.

And this is the first time we've seen Prigozhin in public. It appears to be perhaps a hotel meeting with what appears to be a leader or a member of the African delegations that are meeting in St Petersburg.

[06:20:10]

Right now, Putin's hosting this big African delegation meeting, 17 leaders and 50 -- more than almost 50 different countries represented.

Who Prigozhin is meeting there? And is looking very relaxed and smiling. And that leader is looking relaxed and smiling. We don't know yet. We're working on that, of course.

But what we do know is just this week, Wagner was -- Prigozhin was speaking to an African media outlet and telling them in a -- on a voice note that Wagner, his mercenary company, is still in business in Africa. Any country that is doing business with it will continue. Any country that is starting to do business, it will continue.

And, of course, we know that Wagner intrinsically tied up with Kremlin and Putin's interests in Africa or in gold mining and any number of concessions in a list of countries, Central African Republic, Mali, Mozambique, Libya, to name but just a couple, that Prigozhin has been working for the Kremlin, essentially, in these African states.

And here it is again, it appears, as if he is very much still in business as he was telling this African media outlet earlier this week, making good it seems with certain African leaders, and potentially extending and still having an involvement in the Kremlin's interest there.

Interesting in those comments Prigozhin made was, the only limit for Wagner at the moment was, and this is super interesting, is that they cannot do anything that contravenes the national interest of Russia. Is that the totality of his rap -- the rap on the knuckles he got for that rebellion?

HARLOW: Keep your friends close, your enemies closer, maybe. Nic Robertson, thank you. Erica.

HILL: This brutal heatwave we've been covering so closely continues to smother the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And this is probably the worst July we ever had. Oh, my god, this is hell on earth. I guess you're -- it's just that hot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is hell. We want heaven.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is unreal, day, night. Never seen anything like it. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: You may be feeling exactly the same way as those folks and they are going to be even more people feeling it today. New this morning, 140 million Americans under heat alerts. And there's also an emergency alert that's been declared for the nation's largest power grid that could impact electricity for 65 million people across 13 states and in Washington D.C.

Also new this morning, we've learned President Biden will meet the mayors of Phoenix and San Antonio to talk about those soaring temperatures and also announced some new measures to protect workers from extreme temperatures.

The threat there is real. We probably don't have to tell you that. But take a look at some of this in Yuma County, Arizona, a 25-year-old farm worker and father of two lost consciousness while working and later died.

Neighboring Maricopa County says 25 people have now died as a result of the heat so far. That county doesn't compass Phoenix where temperatures reached a record 118 degrees yesterday.

Derek Van Dam is joining us live this morning from Key Biscayne, Florida. We've been talking so much about the heat of the water even in Florida. As this heat spreads, how much worse is it going to get?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is all about the heat. And people who thought that they were protected from the summer heatwave, well, it's coming for you. And I'm looking at you New York City, D.C., Philadelphia. Today is going to be an absolute scorcher, dangerous heat.

But we're in Key Biscayne in Miami, specifically, because of how that heat has transpired into our oceans directly behind us. We're following up on a very important story, a crucial environmental unfortunately, a catastrophe that is unfolding right before our eyes. The bleaching and the eventual mortality of coral reefs within this area. We'll highlight that in just a moment.

But did you know that 90 percent of excess greenhouse warming is actually stored within our oceans? And it was so apparent this week with temperatures skyrocketing over 100 degrees in the waters behind me.

But let's talk about the heatwave across the U.S. You mentioned Phoenix. This is amazing. Just three hours ago, temperatures there dropped below 90 degrees Fahrenheit for the first time in 16 days. That is their longest stretch on record. They have never done that.

Think about what that means for your body. No opportunity to actually get cool overnight when your body anticipates that relief, right?

Well, look at this excessive heat warnings now issued for New York City. It has been 710 days since the last time that you've experienced heat just like this. This is certainly the hottest temperatures you have felt this summer so far. So prepare yourself, hydrate. You know the drill.

It's all about the heat dome. It is moving eastward. So places that have the excessive heat over the western U.S. getting some relief, minimal. We're really slicing hairs here, but now the heat is going to impact places like St Louis, the Eastern seaboard.

[06:25:11]

If you look at the heat indices, this is what it feels like on your skin as you step outside, over 100 degrees for the entire Atlantic Seaboard. Just incredible. Atlanta, all the way to the Big Apple today. So that is what we're concerned about.

And, of course, the reason that I'm here is the water temperatures. Don't forget about the thunderstorms today along the East Coast. Could bring a few tornadoes and stronger wind gusts to the major metropolitans.

But it's the water temperatures. We're going to follow up with the coral reef experts today. Find out if this coral bleaching is underway. Find out what is happening. It is a major environmental story for this area. It has impacts far-reaching, not only protecting our coastlines from hurricanes, but also the tourism industry in Florida.

HILL: Yes. Tourism, fishing, broad environmental and economic impacts. Derek --

VAN DAM: Yes.

HILL: -- appreciate it. Thank you.

HARLOW: Tributes pouring in this morning for Irish singer, Sinead O'Connor, after her family announced yesterday that she had died at the age of 56. Ireland's public broadcaster, RTE, released a statement from her family yesterday. They said they are devastated.

O'Connor rose to fame with her cover of Prince's "Nothing Compares To You."

(MUSIC)

So many stars reacting to her death. Singer, Melissa Etheridge called it a tragedy and added that O'Connor was haunted all her life. REM frontman, Michael Stipe, said, there are no words. And actress Jamie Lee Curtis remembered her as a warrior and a rebel.

Our Chloe Melas has been following it all. What a life she led.

CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Indeed, I mean, not just the voice, but the fact that she spoke truth to power. She was not afraid to speak up for what she believed in.

Let's go back to that infamous moment in that song, in the '90s, I believe in 1992 on Saturday Night Live when she ripped up the photo of Pope John Paul II that you see right there. And she told the New York Times in 2021, it was brilliant. I don't regret it.

And so she was speaking out about, you know, the sex abuse in the Catholic Church, these issues long before others, and she faced widespread criticism all over the world.

But I also want to talk to you guys about this really tough past year for her. We're all moms, everybody out there has a loved one, right? Last year, she lost one of her children to suicide. And she spoke about it on Twitter. She talked even recently on a Twitter account that's unverified but, you know, it appears to be her saying that she's lost her way. Lost the meaning to live.

And she was hospitalized after the suicide of her 17-year-old son, Shane, canceled her shows. But on her Facebook page, it appeared that she did want to get back -- get back out there this year, start touring, and that she wanted to reconnect with her fans and that she had sort of found this reenergized part of her life.

And also, she had just done a documentary with an incredible filmmaker that actually won many awards and debuted this past year. And you guys can actually watch that on Paramount and Hulu and other places. And they're actually streaming it overseas this weekend, but a really hard year for her.

And so we don't know the cause of death or the circumstances right now. But we know, based on the statement from her family, that they are asking for prayers, and that this is a very tragic loss for them right now and that they need privacy.

HILL: Yes. And she had talked so openly about her own struggles about the child abuse that she endured, about what she struggled with in terms of mental health. A lot more to get into. We're going to continue to cover this this morning. But just sad. Too sad overall for so many people. Thanks.

MELAS: Yes.

HILL: Robert F Kennedy Jr. was just grilled on Capitol Hill for spreading vaccine misinformation. So why is presidential candidate, Ron DeSantis, now floating the name of RFK Jr. to lead the country's most important health agencies? His reasoning.

HARLOW: And a rematch of the 2019 World Cup finale ended in a draw, but what a draw it was. We'll break down the highlights of the U.S. Women's National match against the Netherlands with two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champ -- Cup champ, Julie Foudy.

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